Stuart Shaw

Ah a perfect example of how adjustment yields rewards. Thank you for your posts. Tis true tis true ... focusing only on one element of life will only bring limited results. To not cultivate Jing, Qi, and Shen as one will only create dysfunction and imbalance. Thank you thank you ... and the duck says thank you to.

Your comments are totally in order my friend (can I call you that, I treat everyone as a friend until they prove otherwise). And I confer that posting the article in general forum may not have been the most appropriate way to deliver it. I certainly did try and introduce it with a specific disclaimer saying I was merely seeking feedback ... and the feedback has been most welcomed. The article is presented in a strong manner ... and I agree that it may indeed be too strong as it can be seen that the real message has been saboutaged by the confrontational delivery. In which case I have failed in my intent and have taken all due corrective feedback. So let me continue the train of thought instead with a simple question: Do you think that Qi is the essence of Taoist study? If so how may we best obtain our own personal experience of Qi?

With due respects Buddy all we have to know each other is the words we post. Your earlier post demonstrated your willingness to belittle a recognised teacher of Tao apparently without any experience of what he had to offer and you made assertions that were IMO incorrect. As a student and teacher of both Tai Ji and Tai Chi Chuan my experience and the experience of my students empirically demonstrates that understanding the essence of Tai Ji movement goes a long way to enhance Tai Chi Chuan Shen Fa. Taiji is just a concept? Taiji is life ... it is a mistake to think that Taoists create concepts and theories about life, to say so implies that Tao is a rational enterprise. Taoists experience life directly and the subsequent teachings arise as a direct translation of that experience. For example experiencing Taiji movement engages the practitioner in a purely subjective experience of Tao. The natural rise and fall, expansion and contraction of Qi is a living reality of Taiji. The 'model' and description of the Taiji symbol is the best language to transmit this experience to another person in the hope that they may discover their own experience of Tao. When is a statue of a duck a duck and when is it just a rock?

Firstly my friend it is best if you have your definitions correct. Taiji is the yin yang symbol ... "the Taiji is the infinite, essential, and fundamental principle of evolutionary change that actualizes all potential states of being through the self-organizing integration of complementary existential polarities." Wiki The term Tai Ji on it's own and in it's authentic usage is the root of all Taoist practices and does not, as you have mistakenly assumed or learned, automatically imply Tai Chi Chuan. Tai Chi Chuan is the form created using Tai Ji as its guiding principles. So Tai Ji movement is the precursor of Tai Chi Chuan Shen Fa. Playing freeform Tai Ji is not just 'dancing around' my friend nor is it simply 'soft flowing movement with happy thoughts', it is living the pure spontaneous manifestation of Tao. The secret is Qi perception and an adherence to the guidelines of Qi cultivation ... full breath, awareness and integration of the three Tan Tien etc. I have seen students train Tai Chi Chuan for years without achieving Taiji, and I have seen students reach Taiji in one afternoon with no formal Tai Chi Chuan training. To do Tai Chi Chuan without knowing the Taiji that Al Huang teaches is IMO "like a waterbug skimming the surface trying to claim he knows the ocean floor". Best you experience something before commenting on it with a superficial perspective.

I see no joke with Al Huang's teaching ... perhaps I am slow so you had better explain. "First of all, Tao is everpresent and all pervasive. Qi is many things, as has been said. Digestive qi, earth qi, mental qi, etc." The above article doesn't disagree with this comment ... again what is your point?

A good start is to get Al Huang's "Embrace Tiger Return to Mountain -- The Essence of Tai Ji" If you know Tai Chi movement and know how to coordinate breath with movement then you will find Tai Ji movement spontaneously. You are getting lost in your movement because: a) Your are not staying connected with your Tan Tien You are not following the full cycles of Yin and Yang c) You are not trully following your breath You start in stillness and just breathe ... really feeling the breath in your body ... taking full breaths from your Tan Tien of equal Yin and Yang. If a movement 'happens' you simply follow it ... breathe ... following the full Yin/Yang cycle of the movement. The trick is to remember to keep 'returning to yourself' in that you always return to your Tan Tien following your movement. If you start thinking about your movement, sink into your feet and into your Tan Tien and just breathe. One exercise is to practice the raising arms movement at the beginning of the Tai Chi Chuan form. Following full breaths of Yin and Yang you just keep this movement going really feeling how the Qi is moving through the movement. Then you may spontaneously feel a movement happen ... trust it and follow it. Enjoy

Here is, as best as words can describe, my experience of Qi when I play with freeform Tai Ji. I breathe and the breath rises within me, indescribable flows through and around. My body moves through no thought of my own, My heart beats in tune with inaudible sound. The breath flows and I am carried along, Invisible Qi following its course. Immersed in true reality of self, self dissolving with the mysterious source. ---- Or this... Now the tree breathes me in and breathes me out a leaf falling to fall and be caught by flowing stream Twisting, turning dancing amongst shards of light the world turns I turn with it I breathe and become myself. ---- And even this... I feel the cocoon Dancing web across my skin Shining from within

1. Live simply 2. Love simply 3. Remember to breathe

** appreciative bow ** Wow! Not only constructive criticism but a willingness to develop on an idea. I love you guys already! "The easiest chi to feel is various emotional chi... so I tell people to remember (or even play) as a song/ piece of music that moves them - then when they're listening to it (whether in the mind or with their ears) I tell em to direct their attention inwards and notice what's happening 'inside'... When they 'get it', it's like a whole new world opens up for them - "wow it's moving up my spine into my heart" etc... "so what happens if you move it to the belly?" etc. So not only do they get a sensory experience of it, but also experience of moving it with intention and the effects of having the chi in different places in the body." Thank you for this FF ... I see this as a nice intro to Qi, may I use this elsewhere? And yes the article was certainly written as a intro for people investigating Qi. Discussing this article with others has reminded me of where the inspiration came from ... that being freeform Tai Ji. As someone with tactile perception of Qi it is an incredibly awesome experience to feel Qi flowing to its own nature and letting go and simply moving where the Qi goes. I breathe as breath leads the river of life flows forth the leaf finds the sea. Thank you to all...

* sigh of relief * Thanks folks for your fine and constructive responses. I recognise that all models and descriptions remove the truth from the source. They can be useful however to point one's awareness in the direction of the truth ... experiential truth. In essence models and descriptions can be useful teaching tools. Once the practitioner has experienced the truth that the model is trying to describe then the model is no longer needed. It's like when learning Tai Chi Chuan you have the models of: ** Yin / Yang form ** Open / Close form ** Spiral Qi form etc. Once these models are integrated they dissolve, and you are left with Tai Chi. I know also that many people here are familiar with Qi ... but because of the open public nature of the group there are a lot of newbies who may be reading about Tao for the first time. I felt it would be remiss not to make the article 'stand on its own'. Also I will be open and honest in saying that I do publish my articles elsewhere and am a teacher of sorts ... I am not here for self-promotion so I will leave it at that. I present my article not to preach but to get corrective feedback from your differing perspectives ... you have done this and helped me refine my article further. My intent with the article was to help the reader find their own experience of Qi. If my use of words, descriptions, and models have interfered with this then I need to adjust how I present my suggestions. Thank you again one and all.

Hi there all, I am a gypsy wayfarer in Australia looking to connect with other folks cultivating Tao. Here's cheers to push hands with words. Stu