Spectrum

Nice photo. How bigs the vid?

It's not me, it's not us, it's the Art(s) we study. Glad to assist in your journey. Iron Buffalo Plowing the Field

btt cuz i wanna know too

I wish dynamic image tags were allowed. Iron Buffalo Attached.

Ocean of Qi? My first mentor explained this as a big water basin w/ a figure 8 following yin/yang taiji symmetry. A certain circular cycle. That w/ the wu ji crouch the hips loosen and the posture aligns, he demonstrated it everytime by going from a normal stance and taking whatever I threw at him and seemed to draw it into his center while redirecting the incoming energy through the technique back at me. I think Oral Transmission is often taken for granted, to be expected when the Father Son Mother Daughter Oral Traditions are replaced with the electronic campfire. Anyone who is training directly w/ a teacher is fortunate. Beautifully described. This sinking into the center of the 8 seems like what happens on the down side of the cycle, while the entire circuit activates on the upcycle. By keeping the movement of the body isolated to the horizontal plane the figure 8's potential is realized by always circling back to center to continue the cycle. Vertical movement is left to the breathing motions effect on the internal levers. Wu Ji feels like floating in the center, spinning on an axis, the figure 8 is externalized if you drew a mandala for where you can reach each foot in it's respective rotational range of motions. I've likened this dropping free of the sacrum from the hips as a feeling of the bottom dropping out. It is most definatelly accompanied by both increased relaxation in the waste and pelvis allowing casual and smooth shifting while at the same time the center of gravity is significantly lower rooting the body into the ground deeper then when standing normally. Interesting note on leaning. Which stance are you talking about I assume Wu Ji / Horse stance? Excellent observations. It's funny as soon as the posture starts coming up most often the sacrum tilts back out and the whole posture just won't look right, as soon as wu ji happens, the breath keeps everything in balance... as long as I r e l a x ...

Glad to see ya over here Blueheron.

From what I understand this is how wuji manifests between and in every posture. It's so beautiful. Another way to describe it might be how the axis stays center; the hips & shoulders, elbows and knees, hands and feet maintain their alignment and fluidity while constantly transitioning. WuJi in motion. The stillness of the diamond body in motion. This type of poetic order also suggests the blending of "moves" by guiding the practitioner into modes that at first pierce the layers between the orthodox movements, and eventually the layers between what is inside and what is outside. I believe there are many layers to movement forms this way, and in my experience a certain deepening and rounding off of movements seem to take place during these times. Once the cross tension lines of force are established and understood the idea of "one move" doesn't seem so far fetched when you consider how many different directions you can actually enter into one single move. I think TaiJiQuan is a good example of this. Spectrum

Blending of senses into one phenomenological set of events. Taste what you see, smell what you feel, feel what you hear, see what you hear... this isn't disassociative "trance"; navigation means you get to where you're going regardless of the obsticles, including the senses. It's all in Wu Ji & Sung (Song). In todays busy world it takes some a long time to find their wu ji, but that's the start of Taoist meditation study in my opinion; start practice from there everytime and do it everyday. "Great movements are not as efficient as small movements. Small movements are not as efficient as stillness.Stillness is the mother of eternal movement" - Wang Xian Zhai

Purified or ionized water will do the same when frozen. It's obvious that chi gung changes the electrical nature of the body though. Nice experiment. Like aligning the molecules or something. We used to experiment with tap water vs. purified and the purified (ceramic filters) would do this quite often!

The permutations of TaiJiQuan postures is the manifestation of wuji between them. Is it called the space between the 13 original postures? and then I think Wang of the YiQuan lineage wrote somewhere that it started w/ 3 and that the 3 came from One. This is the same as I have learned through my mentors and individual research. The standing postures compliment moving, the moving compliment standing. Stillness in Motion, Motion in Stillness. Regardless of the geometrical lineage of the evolution of human movement from primordial to infinate; the space between the lines seems to be the majority of the 'form'. The evolution is a given, and representive through wuji/yin/yang/taiji/iching, etc. The photos we have of Yang Cheng Fu etc are points in which proportional lines coincide, i.e. phi spirals through the "opponent" due to a postural faults in wuji. If both people move together nicely it doesn't much look like fighting, but the dance of blending is more important to me personally at this point then the "stops" that make up many other "forms" of movement. I agree, Tai Chi Chuan executed correctly is one move, in sparring the point in which movement stops is usually judged as success or failure, depending on perspective. Once you always learn from both there's no stopping anyways. I've learned a lot from following this philosophy of embodiment. Spectrum

Perhaps the Taoist sage would say the space between form and formlessness is the single perfect move; then he would fu out a lil bit, and you wouldn't be able to help yourself, you'd be doing fu together. It might appear fruity, but a nice kind of hawaiin fruit.

Rickson doesn't have sex b4 a fight... Shamans have you fast from things, including sex, before visionquests... Moses couldn't bust one out 3 days before he went up the mountain...(;o)) Taoist monks need juice to do fu; to prove it just excert yourself physically right after having sex; women are more definately wired different then men. In my experience once a certain "level" i.e. simply not getting in the way of their bodies natural cycles, i.e. observation and stillness; is attained it doesn't matter to much, chi gung for creating heat/etc, still works, cycling the loads seem to be the key for constant progress, it seems like the tan tien charge takes 3 days normal breath, less w/ chi gung breathing. I think it's not so important that you think about "losing" anything; rather invest yourself wisely. Those gold coins are gonna get strung. Spectrum

That looks like a seriously nice place to fu it up; follow the yellow brick road; morning rainbows in the mist of the i ching pavalon! I wonder what the surrounding terrrain connects to. Spectrum

Could you describe this pivot in more detail? Does it have a representitive shape or pattern? Thanks for your reflections on standing. Spectrum

If more people were tuning into Golden rules, golden proportions, liberating, revolutionizing, freestyling, living and loving and bringing together the musicians of this age the world will be a much more magical place. Check out what Moses is doing w/ the Golden Proportion. Never moving the same way twice. I've been jamming w/ these things lately! www.youtube.com/user/kungfumoses

"Warrior of Stillness by Jan Diepersloot " I'll put in another vote for Diepersloots books. Don't forget this is two books so far: Valume 1 & 2

You can't 'make' it happen, you have to relax into your foundation, into your feet for starters. Start w/ how far apart your feet are, align from the feet up. The point is to drop the sacrum, elongate the spine, and let your long chain muscle groups support you instead of short ones. Master Fong has some good things to say about the Gung of standing practice. http://www.i-chuan.net/pages/zz.pdf As you relax and relax, the breath will get more... relaxed. Also holding pushup position w/ a flat back (yoga:plank) w/ hands in fists, on finger tips, or flat, will do a good job of relaxing the breath and postural deflections common of our modern ergonomic wastelands. Good researching to you, Spectrum

y0 I'll get down while breakin it open on the dance floor.

Two quotes: "It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society" - Krishnamurti 'The autumn sun lets fall a pale radiance' The great void, the cool sky is calm Crystal billiance, the white sun is autumn The round light contains all things And its broken image enters the quiet stream Far up and uniting with the blue depths Away and down floating with the river plain The shades at noon make all the trees distinct The slanting light falls on the high houses Sung Yu climbed up and resented it Chang Heng looked into the distance and grieved But if that last glow can be trusted Will those paths in the clouds be sad, sad? Wang Wei (699-761)

btt

Grover, Attitude and intent is everything. Personally I think it's important to remember that we're working with what we are born with, so in actuallity what we're observing, and Working (gung) with are completely natural processes. In my own journey it seems the importance of learning stillness first in Taoist meditative practice stems from the mind/body dualism/unification condition. In the start of practice the novice doesn't experience mind and body as one, thus not experiencing body directly, only the chatter of mind kind of overlayed. Then as the mind quiets, the dialog of body comes to the surface, and the phenomonological effects of the mind-body dialog can be observed clearly. It's a gradual process, with ups and downs like any type of training. Consistant practice produces clear results. Concerning circulating, I believe again is a very natural event, we just have to look for the times in which it happens naturally. This is the goal of practicing "Wu Ji" standing meditation. To reconnect the old and new parts of our mind/body, dissolve un-needed patterns and engrain positive life giving patterns. A very good way to "get the kinks out" of both body and mind is to routinely practice physical discipline such as TaiJiQuan (Tai Chi Chuan) to compliment your meditative journey. Eventually "circulations" form as results of movementment from nothing back to nothing. Practice a tai chi form that is going to engage your mind into your body for at least 30 min. I'd say Yang 108 is the best, because of it's length. It a classical style, and it's principles are solid for health and for martial art if you get a good teacher. Experiment freely, less is more. With these principles in mind you can assume a "little" sensation can be made bigger by pumping the wave, like if you were to get behind a wave a push it. Or make it smaller by getting in front and slowing down. Just ideas. Books I'd recommend for some clearer pictures of the traditions in which your exploring: Fundmentals of Tai CHi Chuan by Huang (1951 HK) : A huge bible of tai chi w/ some solid information in the appendix on different levels of "circulation" in tai chi chuan including meridian maps. Daoist Health Exercises by Da Liu : A small book by Da Liu who came over at the same time as Chen Man Ching around cultural revolution time. Has some good info on sitting meditation (althought I don't do exactly 36 eye rolls...) and some nice ideas on freestyling Tai Chi Chuan for moving meditation, by chaining specific sequences together. Warriors of Stillness Vol1-2 by Jan Diepersloot: Meditative Traditions of Chinese Martial Arts. Focusing on the traditions of Tai Chi Chuan and Yi Quan of Master Wang (synthesis tradition founded in the 50's?) Good infor on biomechanics of energetic awareness, etc. Chi Gung by Lily Siu Phd. The Root of Chinese Chi Gung by Yang Jing Ming. Good historical overview. Finding good people to practice with is the single most effective thing you can do to progress fast. Spectrum

Saw a recent thread on Healing Dao Forums encapsulating some sacred geometry into the healing dao framework of reality. It got me thinking and felt I wanted to share some developments of a Sifu I had the honor of studying w/ off and on for the last few years. Healing Tao Sacred Geometry Reference Link: http://forum.healingdao.com/practice/message/11801%5C The link explores various relationships of geometry and harmonics and makes some interesting notes oriented around the Fibonacci sequence essentially translating into the Golden Mean or Golden Proportion. While I was visiting Hawaii on a training trip a few years ago I met Sifu Rob Moses. Rob has a background in Shaolin styles, being an accomplished practitioner under Sifu Kam Yuen (who's now WAY into energy work), his primary system of movement was the Praying Mantis system, but honestly he's a true lover of movement, very eclectic and coached David Caradine for many years (was onsite for KillBill) after Kam Yuen retired from the martial arts / movie scene. Regardless of the endless tagents on history and style, my travel companion and I had the honor of both sitting down and visiting w/ Rob on a few occasions and training w/ him while on big island visiting our Sei Gung. Sifu Rob had some things to share w/ us about Sacred Geometry and what he feels is the future of evolutionary movement, namely the Golden Mean; humanities relationship to form and function, the nature of stillness, gravity and relaxation, among other things. He was very gracious and let us take some video of him demonstrating various aspects of Proportionally "harmonic" (inserted by me) Movement using one of his Golden Mean sticks called "Sphere Knot". Sphere Knot Example: (looks like from boyant sphere to squiggily line... ) Sifu Rob is the first to say that he is not a proponent of what he calls "bloodshed imagery" in the martial arts, instead he's telling everyone around him about the endless possibilities contained in the spirals of the Golden Proportion. When I first met him in 2000 he had constructed a rather large spiral staff that was a perfect fibonacci spiral to the 5th sequence. It was about 40in in length. I've never seen anything like it. He's experimental to the extreme in the true spirit of seeking. He demonstrated to us a number of inventions oriented around "martial physics" in which he explained, exclaimed and expounded to us that Sacred Geometry was the single guiding connective thread between all the various principles and movements of all forms of human movement and expression. During one of our evening visits between Allan Holdsworth guitar rifts Rob talked to us about human movement, it's relationship to the double tetrahedron ala icosahedron and the likes of natural "exaust points" within the "ma". Of particular interest to myself (as I live near the coast) was one of his inventions called the "quiller bee" which is basically a wing with a handle to fly in the wind. At first glance it seems simple, on second, the geometry of note is the geometry of a feather, phi , on the third... it flies.... and GOOD. I've never held anything like it before. I've taken one out in 25 knot winds and am most impressed with it's qualities. It's great for rounding off the edges of any sword work, and seriously tests your follow-through. The wind propels every movement you make w/ it. I've never felt a "weapon" float in my hand like this, and honestly I think it's due to the proportion used to make it. Quiller Bee Experimental Demo: Since then he's sent me a number of smaller versions to experiement with and reflect on, always with a sense of humor that he egged us on, c'mon, experiment, it's not just about punching, there's so much more! It was hard not to move around him, he's got a great sense of humor cracking us up all the while telling us how all the Classical styles are connected by the Golden Proportion by default of the human form. Think "asthetics of art". Regardless of the theoretical opinions surrounding the Golden Proportion and it's mystical or mathematical significance, Sifu Rob sticks in my mind as a man w/ passion to share something. Something that he says is bigger then him.... Of particular note was a conversation we had about "forms". He response was "After all these years, I don't feel like moving the same way twice..." I have to agree. I think I got some of this on video, I will have to look around. It was fascinating conversation. At one point during a practice session we observed Rob moving for upwards of 45 min straight, not moving the same way twice... ? Impossible? Rob swears it's not when you moving w/ Phi. While at first struggling w/ the opitical illusion effect of Rob moving like the bent pencil trick in school.... surprisingly enough this bent pencil effect is with a solid; curved to the Golden Proportion. Anyways I think it's a wonderful way to introduce someone to free forms of movement, sacred geometry, or otherwise.... my wife is experimenting with a version for use during yoga, she says "it's got just the right curve...." I agree. There is something to Phi. Just sharing the Aloha; I feel there's no wrong way here, movement is beautifully expressive. Keep breathing w/ the ebb and flow of the endless cycles and spirals. I miss this guy, he's hilarious and potentially enlightening. Spectrum

Engrained preservation. We value life intrinsictly no? Create music with it weedoodoo. Insects I'm sure don't think about being the mimic, that is their role in the face of their natural survival obsticles. Humans, clutching onto life, lose it, Embracing death is a transformative journey. A bridge between two spaces in which we must pass. Reborn we forever know that the layers are eternal, perhaps competition matters little more then the tortoise and the hare concept. The expansion and contraction, the dialations, um, last time I checked in we're still floating through space spinning, spiralling, oh God we are going some place out of c0ntrol. Navigation is real, it's happening all around us if we're still and listen. There is most definately an energetic accumulative around "works" of deed, but unless the intention is vof irtue behind it's manfestation or movement, your song, your call, your inspiration, isn't this the Dhama Inititive? <laughkaugh> Perhaps once seekers find "zero point" consistantly, nuturing their bud if you will, not smoking it, the textures that make up different forms of consciousness can flow like the master dancer expresses emotion through suggestion from stage distances. The power of natural habit, compressed into the Mimic, the Story Teller, the Poet. Fooling oneself, forgetting oneself, into following the flow of the natural cycles observal by nothing more then being quiet, then nothing more then sacrificing your own forms of dialog in order to accept the finality of the naural order, the music inside and around, takes on mythical proportions when the mechanism of story and heretidary preservation is applied to the medium of kinesthetic awareness, psychosomatic alpha state of suggestability etc... ; at this point the DMT cults of South America start to sound almost psycokinetic, because this people are all seeing the same thing, not different "subjective" results. Much more interesting in my opinion then what's on the 6 o clock news. Playing music by a creek for a week straight in general feels more accumulatively better than say a week in 60 hz cubeville delux. Hans Jenny and Buckminster Fuller were onto something about how we organize and integrate, internally and externally. Funny you see the same patterns in the Green Living section of any bookstore. Greenhouses and the flow of the ecosystem are natural organizers. If only "the system" wasn't an exploiter of the natural order. Sounds like we're talking about Animal Styles & Shaman Dances?

Gung = Work I had the refining process described as turning rocks to sand over a slow period of time. The draw on the other hand was not taught in "parts", but as a whole process of circulation, and not for sex, but for raising the hair on the back of your neck, or rather a response to the fight/flight response / squat, transforming that response into a state of Sung, relaxed readiness responsive. The prerequisite meditation was a certain gathering of chi in the dan tien, wuji or center. This was the examination of motion in stillness. This is as much physical as psychological. Sung is the meditative state that is a relaxed readiness to flow w/ the go.... before the vacuum is used to circulate. Circulating without being centered and balanced is inviting an increased energy load onto your existing life patterns. Testosterone is very connected to agression. On a very primary level you can use the growth hormone effects of you're own endocrine system to compliment your practice. Body weight exercises and flexibility is where most people go first, martial arts are good, but in order to progress far cross training is needed. Grappling is good for whole body strength. Nothing replacing punching and kicking a swinging bag. For chi gung practice stopping the bag w/ as little of movement as possible. Chi gung for health and well being is good, but again depending on your path it's good to balance health technique w/ martial 2 person dances for balance as well. Yang Cheng Fu talked about the belief he had that 2 person exercises harmonized the yin/yang balance of each practitioner. Just something I read the other day in Yang Family Oral Transmissions by Douglas Wile. If you choose some type of internal martial art to help focus your energy you might encounter some similar ideas. Again best of luck. Spectrum

This is what I was taught as a beginner exercise: Adopt wu ji stance. Hold a small 2.5lb preferably a small round barbell weight, at 45 degrees off your shoulder looking through the hole up into a corner of the room. As the load begins to settle, adjust your breathing and posture accordingly. Repeat on both sides. After establishing a baseline for your practice, gradually extend your times, but do not go back. Example 1 min one day, is 1 min the next, not 45 sec. A few days later if you extend to 1.5 min you stay there, you don't do 1 min the day after. This is the methodology of longevity practices. It may surprise you how long you can maintain this position to begin with. This in combination with "threading the nine pearls" exercise aka "wall prop" works pretty good. Best of luck in your training. Spetrum Edit for PS- Good Observation. Less is more. Subtle guidances towards transformation over a long period of time will yeild results. Forcing anything just ends up hurting more then healing. Spectrum