Inspirations. Aphorisms, philosophy, pictures.
"This laogong Light, this energy in the palms of our hands, holds incredible power. This is the power that moves mountains and creates worlds. This is the timeless, infinite energy of which we all are part. This is the Universal Life Force that flows without end through every being that lives, has ever lived, or ever will live across all time, space, realities and dimensions. It exists within and without. We cannot know it or understand it, we can only accept it IS. " by Mya Gleny
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How many can you tick on this list?
Qualities possible from martial arts practice.
Perception; awareness; confidence; patience; friendship; communication; adaptability; resilience; loyalty; reflection; humility; perspective; compassion; honesty; empathy;
discipline, (external and self); humour;
co-ordination, (of mind and body); flexibility; intuition.
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They can all be yours for the having. . . it is entirely your choice.
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Tai Chi Ch'uan ; The ultimate source and limit of reality from which springs yin and yang and all of creation. (Oxford dictionary)
Even when you think you know everything ... remind yourself that you do not, and keep looking, for nothing is ever as it seems.
Become calm, become quieter, and all that was always known to you will be revealed, and when it is you will never explain it, for such words do not exist in the thinking world. The Gods do not allow it.
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Sue's little book of treasures
This little book, made by Sue Valentine, holds all the secrets if you have the key to look.
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A friend, Steve, passed me a scrap of paper at class, I don't know who wrote it but it is here for you to consider, no doubt the purpose of the author anyway.
Light like scattered flowers
Solid like tempered metal
Competing with the Tiger for ferocity
Challenging the Eagle for speed
In movement it is like a flowing river
In stillness it is like a solid mountain
The spirit concentrated at the brink before emmitting.
Some months later I have read this again ...
there must be hope for me, as I can sense a new meaning.
....... Several months later it makes more sense.
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Skidaw, Cumbria.
Whatever you can do, or dream you can ... begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.
Goethe
I cannot recall where I read the two following seperate lines,
but it matters little, what does, is what they say.............
'First, abandon hope, all ye who search for certainty'.
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'What ever part of Tai Chi you have your hand on, know that you have as much chance as anyone else to find the rest of it'
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Were it darkness not light, and a tiger not a rabbit, then we should still be not afraid. Into the unknown we tread, walking safe within the body we built as home for our true self. To live in the moment is not to fear the future.
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Above left, Wudang Mountain : Right, Yellow river hovercraft.
Why in inspirations section? Well it sure inspired me!
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Hebei province - a temple and the Longfei March 2008 group.
Become a part of such a group, join Longfei taijiquan association of Great Britain; travel to China, enjoy the food, the culture, the history and their future. Be taught by the very best teachers in Tai Chi, practice with dedicated students, laugh with friends, see a new world and find a new you. Live in the now but have one foot in history and another in the future; your future.
Change your mind - change your world.
Why so difficult to engage the 'now' ? - because all thinking of the progressive mind is all done past and future, we are not trained in thinking in the present.
Tai Chi creates a wholeness you never knew you lacked.
'There is nothing else, it is a place where no other place exists. Go deep within self so that nothing else is there'. Tony.
'Take a step back and you'll have much more space.'
Your mind should not be inside, it must not be on yourself - it must be out there...
Tai Chi is full of paradox, yin and yang seem to make it so, but there is more to the understanding and of that mere words cannot suffice.
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Try to learn from the experience of your own practice;
try not to return to a teacher with a fault that they have already corrected.
Tai Chi is there to improve your quality of life, not give you problems;
don't let your yesterday spoil today.
'Seeing is not seeing.'
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Somewhere, beyond the Spirit Mountains and Seas, the answer sleeps;
Put one foot in front of the other and you can go and wake it up.
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Open your mind - or else how much will it stay closed to?
Our personal reality may be illusion; beyond illusion is reality; looking in a mirror is an illusion. Andy Channer
Peace lies not in the world, but in the man who walks the path.
Trying too hard, wanting too much is counter productive.
Chi and breath are willing partners.
How you use your mind makes all the difference.
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Dinner time at Shaolin Temple.
The centuries old cooking pot for the monks of Shaolin Temple. If that's not inspiring I don't know what is. Imagine peeling the spuds. Photo taken during a group visit to China by the Longfei Taiji Quan Association of Great Britain in 2006.
Anne, Richard and Barry.
Your body is the home you live in, therefore, build a good home.
Master Wang Yanji
Nurture your 'internal garden'
'Whatever you practice, over time you become'
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Tonight I saw my teacher, I saw, felt and understood everything he said; I sit here now to tell you,;.... but I remember nothing ... only that I was there, and in the moment, I did know. When this happens to you, you too will 'know'; look for this knowing.
It is said we cannot tell for the Gods forbid it, leaving us with that which cannot be taught ... only learned.
Hence the old saying, "he who speaks does not know, he who knows does not speak."
Sometimes we glimpse a 'knowing' and later forget where and how we came to it.
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A true Master, man of peace and skill.
This man was obviously a master in his own right, by word, act and demeanor he was a master. He crafted this excellent calligraphy for me in a street market in Xian. It says, quite simply, 'through quiet will come all your answers'. (a loose translation)
Calm is the key, as always, to enlightenment.
Find the balance between the defeat of your mistakes and the inflation of your successes; the middle way is calm and relaxed.
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The Founder of Aikido went to China too.
The Dojo at the Koriana Mind and Body Centre in Kefalonia. I'm kneeling with the Chinese straight sword in hope that the Great Teacher, O'Sensei, Morihei Ueshiba is looking down from his portrait in approval. Though his journey to China was a touch more dangerous than my own, considering he was lucky to escape execution. He must have learned many valuable lessons in China.
Guided meditation - the rock.
I've always liked the guided meditations my Aikido teacher would sometimes lead during seminars or workshops. One in particular; all about climbing a mountain path, and on the way you meet a monk going in the same direction. In your mind you must see, 'feel', how you and the monk walk, what the surroundings look like, notice plants and birds etc, eventually you find a flat rock at the top. You help the monk to climb up and then climb up also. You sit with the monk and look out across the valley, a river flows far down below you. Across the valley are more hills clad with trees. You sense that you can leave this place and cross the valley, your spirit leaves and soars across the rocks, trees and river far below. You fly easily, effortlessly, peacefully. As you cross the forests below you notice a clearing, then another, and as you look you see people and animals, they wave at you and smile, you see them for who they are, past friends and ancestors, they are happy for you. Spend some time enjoying their kindness.
You smile and wave back, then effortlessly glide further over the forest below to find the next clearing. There you also see lots of old friends, perhaps ancestors too, they smile and laugh and wave to you. You enjoy the feeling of the care they have for you, how you are valued by them, what they wish for you.
Now it's time to leave the forest skies and return to the rock. Soaring high above the valley and river below you return to the momk's side on the rock. You climb down and help the monk do also. You walk together down the mountain, the way you had come up. When you approach the meeting place it is time to say goodbye to the monk and your ways part. You continue alone with your feelings down the path and it is time to re enter our world of now.
Well, that is a rough version of one such meditation. When my teacher, Tony, went to live in Kefalonia he was to find such a rock, at the edge of his overgrown garden, a rock shaded by an olive tree overlooking a valley and out to an island strewn sea. I couldn't resist a visit to that rock, nor would you.
The photo shows myself (left) and my teacher's dog, Ella, on the right. ( I hope you appreciate that bit of humour ! ) Not a monk perhaps but no doubt has many of the qualities and attributes that a monk seeks throughout a long life.
Strange isn't it that we consider ourselves superior to other animals yet still struggle to find what they have found without effort.
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Turn fantasy into reality - train.
Beneath the surface - calm.
Yet in the calm is life itself and in the calm lays great power.
Therefore seek the calm - it's what connects you to the universe.
I don't recall where this came from, I've just found it in my note book.
What is time? (or TaiChi)
If nobody asks, I will know, if I try to explain to one who has asked I will not know.
'Eventually through purely mental process the physical will be manifested'
Try this as an exercise; - be comfortable - concentrate on trying to feel your fingernails - imagine your very mind is there. Then leave the fingernails but put your mind in the Lao Gung point in your palm (where the long finger touches the palm when you make a fist)
Now alternate between nails and palm ....
can you feel the tangible presence that is created by mind?
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Inspiration comes in many ways
North Devon Seminar – Summer Solstice
Friday, 20th June 2008, a guest arrives in a village in North Devon.
He carries his own bags from the car, then sits comfortably and, enjoying a glass of wine, he speaks of many things.
He both listens and speaks with intent and purpose; he talks of his ideas for the morrow. Over a relaxing Chinese meal in a welcoming local restaurant more plans and ideas are unfolded.
The ‘morrow’ is soon upon us and students of the way gather at the appointed place. They greet each other over drink and snacks put out for a later lunch. For some this is their first seminar and early days in their Tai Chi journey, older hands chat with them and put them at their ease, while the organiser panics over the new car parking permits - £50 fine for each non-compliance!
That day we all went on a magical journey, a journey of discovery; stopping here and there to look closer at some posture, some application, some reason, some feeling. We stopped off at Chen, Sun, Wu and Yang styles, the value of their differences but the necessity of their similarities. As our journey came to a close we had a group photo and some relaxing closing Chi Kung.
The caretaker arrived and it was time to give our thanks and continue on our paths, our guide and mentor went away on his, our guest had gone.
After our guest left for his long drive home I asked myself ‘what had he brought with him’ … my answer came quietly …he had brought kindness, humility, laughter, friendship, and a selfless politeness; among the other gifts, upon which the wise would surely place great value, were exceptional skill and deep knowledge, infused with youthful enthusiasm and inspiration and an ability to carry us forward with him.
How lucky we were that longest day.
We thank our valued guest, Simon Watson.
Richard Small (Longfei North Devon)
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Secrets and freedom.
Over heard and witnessed at an Aikido seminar in Sept 09 .
''There are secrets, then there are secrets that you are told, but they remain secrets because you don't understand them'.
I saw a man who had saught the secrets for himself and by his self, he was invincible, his freedom had led him to places where for a while he saw energy, even the strongest man present could not hold him, he was at peace with who he was and where he was; His freedom (from what, is also a secret) led him to understand what others see as secrets.
How to set yourself free? Now that's a secret. When you find out let me know.
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Needs no words.
I don't know the artist, but admire the idea and the drawing; I have had this copy for many years now and hope the artist will enjoy our silent gratitude as it is displayed here.