devoid

IMO this discussion calls for reexamining a number of chapters of the TTC - chapters 5, 17 and 56 spring to mind, but there may be others, too.

Hi Friends, I would like to take a moment to thank you all for your insights on this question. I really appreciate the time each of you took to respond and I am thrilled at the many insights into what people mean when saying 'all is one'.

Hi Everybody, Aaron: Great topic! Everybody: Great posts! Here's a bit more food for thought - three things for treasure: You are what you eat IMO when intention and actions align you have strong integrity The intent vs. action mind In some of the old Xingyiquan Songs it is said that the Yi (the wisdom/ego/intent-mind) is the General / Leader and the Xin (the subconscious/emotional mind) is the Army / Follower. On Wu Wei, action and inaction Thus, to add to the Wu Wei discussion: Out of the Wu Wei springs a spark: an idea, if you like, which can then become the basis for intent, and which may eventually be followed by action or inaction (note: inaction to intent has nothing to do with Wu Wei! ) Edit: Typo

Hi Trunk, What a funny and great idea. I want to try to see if I can incorporate "my tail" for balance during my next IMA session - sounds like worth a try to maintain balance Edit: Typo

Based on the encouragement from many of you we'll continue the Sun Tzu discussions here in this sub-forum. Again, feel free to post alternative translations, thoughts, ideas, comments, questions, etc. I have requested that the previous discussions on chapters one through three are also moved here from the general discussion forum. Here's chapter 4:

I have come across many taiji practitioners who have learned to do the form quite elegantly. Yet if you start testing their form you will realize that many forget the full required "relaxed tension" in their upper limb movements - in other words, the tension of the upper limbs and supporting structures are only strong enough to exactly carry out the form while making up for gravity. Adding the stick helps remind the practitioner of the constant additional tension that must also be included. As such, the stick helps force the practitioner to what would otherwise be a solely imagery-based exercise of carrying out the form as if moving through water, honey or mud. A stick or a ball helps make it more tangible and as such can be considered a supplement to training.

Hi wtm, I just wanted to add that it is indeed possible to combine reverse abdominal breathing with any type of internal martial arts - the internal principles presented by Stephen Hwa are universal to IMA - regardless whether effectuated using small or large frames.

My IMA teacher suggests doing reverse breathing the whole time whenever I train - especially emphasizing it during Taijiquan. I don't know why one would want to try to limit it as the whole idea with the repetition is to make it an pattern under which one acts also when under a lot of stress (e.g. if one is suddenly attacked). I do it whenever training and I generally train for up to three hours straight. It's highly energetic and grounding is important (i.e. observing the bodily principles diligently). It is paramount to stretch well in advance and recommendable to spend a bit of mindful time closing. As others suggested, it is always good to check with your teacher if you're in doubt or feel uncertain or of course if you experience any side effects. Happy training

Hi The Way Is Virtue, and surfingbudda, TWIV: Thanks for the tips - I just ordered the Fools Crow based on your recommendation - looking forward to reading it sb: Yes, I agree there's lots of cultural stuff in there too and of course those are things that have helped the peoples of the past survive harsh and less hygienic times - especially keeping in mind that they would often eat their meats dried or smoked rather than cooked. One thing that really got to me though was the occasional mentioning of the grandmother spirits. I am fortunate enough to still have both of mine in flesh and blood despite their advanced age, but I have come across some very strong-minded great grandmothers previously during deep meditation sessions, so this is something that really caught my eye. A thing I really like, is their approach to seeking advice through the meditation / seeking visions rituals. It's not so much the suffering that they go through or the time they spend to achieve this, but rather the principle: I.e. that one has to listen patiently (and for long enough) to attain some answers to ones personal questions - a thing that we often forget in our hectic and pleasure seeking lives. Edit: Typo

Absolutely, Marblehead - wait too long with something (no matter how great and awesome it may seem) there will come a time when it is simply too late.

Hi surfingbudda, I just want to say thanks for this recommendation. I think it was a great and inspiring book about a topic of which I have little / no knowledge. I found many similarities to taoism and yet also many differences. Whilst I was surprised at the presented orthodoxy of rules to adhere to (e.g. related to women around their "moon time") it was also interesting to get a glimpse at the native American tradition and the beliefs of a hunter / gatherer society.

Hi surfingbudda, Exactly - it's funny how we (as humans) often think of ourself in total, conscious control of our muscles (except for the muscles around heart and a few others, perhaps). Keeping in mind that when walking while carrying something of a certain weight and size we use the lion's share of some 640 skeletal muscles. Thus imagery (such as "pushing an energetic ball from our center to our hands" or performing our form "as if we were submerged in honey, water or mud") helps activate a plurality of muscles which we are never consciously aware of (in addition, of course to the movement of the limbs which tend to be more under the control of the ego). I wish you happy training and only little soreness as you begin to realize that you have muscles and tendons that you have never even thought of

I would like to come back to my pet theme that The Art of War can be read as the art of dealing with challenges: It is interesting how the perspective shifts a bit in this chapter: Focus is shifted from the general and his army (as separate entities) to the fighter and fighting (as a unit): Whilst in the middle of the chaos of dealing with a dynamically changing and complex issue, there is not much time for pondering on strategy. A nice example of the challenger acting as a unit can be found in verse 2: "To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands" - yet there is no wishful thinking that the unit is not made up of components in 3: "Thus the good fighter is able to secure himself against defeat, but cannot make certain of defeating the enemy." Apart from that, this chapter reaffirms the requirement of the previous chapters, i.e. that a salient view must taken. In other words, in tackling challenges one must take into consideration as many relevant factors as possible, weighing them and then using them as tools for attaining victory. This is summarized in 17: "In respect of military method, we have, firstly, Measurement; secondly, Estimation of quantity; thirdly, Calculation; fourthly, Balancing of chances; fifthly, Victory. ". This is universal in tackling complex problems: Measurement (Assesment of the situation) Estimation of quantity (How to respond and how much) Calculation (To which degree and where to focus) Balancing of chances (Double-checking before betting the family farm) Victory (Voila! )

DON'T LISTEN TO ANYBODY! (except me!)

Hi surfingbudda, Remember that all the talk about dan tien and energy in internal martial arts is only one of many models to try to understand what goes on. As such, you can train to do what your Sensei demonstrated by training perfect form and once you have that in place, you will need perfect intent. The good thing is: it is really that simple! The tough thing is: it requires incredible efforts and hardship to learn the form. Thus, my advice in your training for the next 18-36 months is to forget about energy (at least while training martial arts) and focus on doing the form to perfection as directed by Sensei. Here's a side-training exercise for training how to "sink your energy": Whenever you are standing on moving bus or similar wobbly ground, take your stands and try to ride the bus without holding on. The trick to not falling is plain and simply to adjust your stands deeper. This is an excellent way of learning to "shift your center". On a side-note: Be ready to hold on in case of unexpected and overly rough movements such as e.g. pot holes. NB: I don't train Aikido, but I do train Xingyiquan, Baguazhang and Taijiquan. The principles of internal martial arts remain the same. PS: I am not suggesting to give up your energy studies completely. Keep them up for any other pursuits

I can't read Mantak Chia either. You'll be pleased to know that Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming has a Ph.D. in physics from Purdue and starts out most of his books with describing his own understanding of the underlying theory of energy.

Hi Wynn, Welcome to the Taobums

Hi Kuno45, Welcome to the Taobums

Hi R.A.D., Welcome to the Taobums

Hi tccii, Welcome to the Taobums

Hi Marblehead, Manitou, Nice posts and interesting observations: Thanks Again, I will soon argue that this goes beyond war and fighting, but I'll give it a few more days in the hope that we'll get some more response to this thread, first.

Hi zerostao, Thanks for the positive feedback - I really appreciate it! Great suggestion on including other things such as the body conditioning qigongs etc. Let's give it till and including the WE and see if others join in - if not, perhaps you or I could simply considering throwing out a text or two there for discussion on the general forum

I'm surprised that nobody brought out Tao Te Ching Chapter 31 yet, so I'll use this as an opportunity to make a bit of advertising for our TTC discussions in the sub-forum in which Marblehead just kicked off the discussion with three different translations: http://www.thetaobums.com/index.php?/topic/17975-ttc-study-chapter-31-of-the-tao-teh-ching/ Here's a line from the English / Feng translation that caught my eye in relation to this odd topic thread: If you delight in killing, you cannot fulfill yourself.

CAUTION Hi Dagon, Nice post. This said, I think you managed to miss the two most important safety measures: Number one by far is to maintain a fairly straight spine - if it is bent or stretched you risk sending a tsunami through a curve causing the damage you talk about, but didn't experience. If it hurts or feels weird: STOP, take a break, think it though, wait a couple of days before trying again

Hi andrew, Welcome on board Sounds like you're already on a good path and also lots of good thoughts / advice on this thread. Often, when people start out meditating they don't really know why they're doing it - they just know that they want to know more about it and therefore need to experience it. Once having realized this, it begs for splitting meditation into two: 1) the method of meditation and 2) the goal (even if intermediate) of the meditation. On meditation methods Having read quite a few books on meditation, I have found The Secrets of Chinese Meditation: Self-Cultivation by Mind Control As Taught in the Ch'An, Mahayana and Taoist Schools in China by K'Uan Lu Yu / Charles Luk to be the most complete - although the title sounds a bit crazy, the book itself goes through the main principle method of meditation from the various schools of meditation (e.g. meditation on silence, breath, the senses, visualization, etc.). On meditation goals / purpose As for the (intermediate) goal with meditation there can be many - the following list provides some examples, but is in no way exhaustive: Attain inner calm / Feeling more centred Understanding the microcosmic universe (looking into oneself) Understanding the macrocosmic universe (looking outside oneself through meditation) Finding / Connecting with oneself (higher self if you like) Connecting with dead souls (subject to ones beliefs! ) Accessing ones Akashic Records Etc. -now, the above list serves only as examples - you need to make your own list and prioritize it in case it contains one than one element. Regardless of what your goal is with meditation, once you are able to meditate and still your mind, you will need to connect you heart and mind - this opens the door to reaching your goals. In case some of this speaks to you, but you are not sure how to go about it, please feel free to ask for some pointers. (Should you ask, but not get an answer, please feel free to pm me as I may not be following the thread too closely) I wish you happy meditation