taolpha

"Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." The above verse from Genesis 1:26 New International Version was brought to my attention when talking with my parents one day. I am neither Christian nor well versed in the "bible". Studying religions of various types is a fascination of mine is the only reason I bring this up. Christians as I understand it believe in only one God yet if we are to take the words just as they are; he says "our image, in our likeness". Does that not mean more than one? Through my studies I'm starting to find a lot of truths in the bible more related to my Taoist way of thinking (haven't taken the time to read the thing yet). Any one else have thoughts on this? Just as a comparison I pulled up the King James Version and "our" was still used there.

Very cool thread and thanks for the link here. I've been doing a Tai Chi short form for about three months and would like to do some stilled meditation but haven't found the time yet. This will be very help full for when I get there. /taolpha

I just took a beginning T'ai Chi course at a local community college here. It was 10 weeks long and the teacher was great I thought. He never named the form beyond a "Taoist Healing" form predating Yang and Chen. Transmission of this form is purely verbal and training nothing written to his knowledge. My own curiousity would love to know the lineage of this form. I know the following: 153 postures, learned from a Professor Cheng (Cheng Man-Ching's cousin), and is specifically meant for healing. It can have martial applications of course but that is not its intent. Any insight to where this came from would be appreciated. Below I have typed up the postures he gave us to shorten the form for a 10 week course. After 18 are postures he taught us beyond the "short form" because we asked him to. 1.Preparation (N) 2.Beginning Tai Ji (N) 3.Grasp Sparrow's Tail, Right (N) Transition: waist turn, weight shift right leg (NE) 4.Ward Off, Left (N) 5.Grasp Sparrow's Tail, Left (N) Transition: waist turn, weight shift left leg (N) 6.Ward Off, Right (NE) 7.Rollback (NE) 8.Press Forward (NE) 9.Look to the Left (NE) 10.Look to the Right (NE) 11.Withdraw (NE) 12.Push (NE) 13.Turn to Counter (NW): left toes point left, shift weight left. Turn waist toward left, pivoting right foot to point left. Right palm turns up. Left palm faces down. Both feet point diagonally toward left. 14.Right Suspended Stance (NW): shift weight to right foot, drawing left toes to align about one foot distant from outside edge of right heel. Form cranes head with right hand held at heart level. Left palm up relaxed on left thigh. 15.Single Whip (NW): step forward & outward to the side, left heel toughing first, raising left palm to face left shoulder. Shift weight 70% to left foot, while unfolding left palm to face forward & right arm unfolds outward to the right line with right shoulder. 16.Carry Tiger (N): shift weight right, pivoting left foot to point north. Fingertips of both hands point to sides of head. Shift weight left foot & pivot right foot to point north. Shift weight center, relaxing arms down. 17.Cross Hands (N): shift weight to left foot & draw right foot back, shoulder width distant, right toes on a line with left toes. Simultaneously, bring arms up from the sides to cross right wrist in front of left at throat level. Knees are still bent. Evenly distribute weight. 18.Ending Tai Ji (N): uncross wrists, moving arms outstretched at shoulder height & parallel to floor, elbows slightly bent. Bend elbows, bringing wrists inward toward shoulders. Slowly straighten up your legs while relaxing arms down to your sides. Knees and elbows are still slightly bent at end of the movement.

Thanks Eric23. That is exactly what I would like to find. My retreat is to the outside with the iPod. With a four year old, one year old, two cats, and a dog it is never quite inside. I will check out this Steve Roach guy. /taolpha

I totally agree. Only been doing T'ai Chi for 10 weeks and am not quite there yet.

I live in a fairly noisy area so when I practice I set the iPod to Pilgrimage: 9 Songs of Ecstasy by Pilgrimage. Most songs on the album are relaxing and flow well with my practice. Unfortunately it is the only album I have of this type. Can any one recommend any other artist that is good for T'ai Chi practice? When I searched Amazon for Pilgrimage they only have the one album but those that bought it also bought albums from Magna Canta, Lesiem, and Era. Any one heard of any of these artists? /taolpha

Wow, that is an amazing story. Glad that some thing good came out of that situation. Thank you for the DVD suggestion. It has been added to the list for consideration. /taolpha

I've just learned my first Tai Chi short form and got my mom pretty interested in it. On her Christmas list she has asked for a Tai Chi video. Learning from someone of course is the best way but she keeps making excuses up for not going to an instructor. What DVDs our there would you guys recommend? /tyler

Very interesting indeed but I prefer to consult my quite self. I feel we have the answer to all our questions and problems with in us. Just relax and wu wei.

sean, Thank you. I'll shall give that one a try. /taolpha

Couldn't agree more with this. I myself have said similar in other forums. Looks like I'm going to have fun here. /taolpha I have had the same thought. Since I feel what all believe ultimately derives from Taoism in some fashion then all are following deviations from the path of Taoism. Titles in any way bug me but are a fact of life in this world. Was Jesus a Taoist? Jesus was a man who found enlightment and shared with all who would listen. /taolpha

Does this work for any one? I borrowed a friends book called: T'ai Chi Ch'uan and Meditation by Da Liu and there is a chapter on this. My friends Sifu does some thing similar called fire breathing but I've been doing this for four days now and have not experienced any thing more than shortness of breath. /taolpha

Hello, I'm a network engineer in Oregon and have had a strong interest in Eastern philosphy for many years. Recently be studying Taoism quite a bit and just had my first Tai Chi class last night. Looking forward to great conversations. /taolpha