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Ways To Wisdom
From what flowering tree I know not - but, ah, the fragrance. - Basho
| Past Sightings |
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Winter Waning |
Dojo Experiences
Conscious Connections
The Whole Is Greater Than The Sum of Its Parts
“A good education is not primarily a process of adding something to yourself, it’s more a way drawing out and using what’s already inside of you.”
Education is a main passion in my life; a proven springboard for new opportunities, new possibilities. I’ve pursued education to some degrees in the halls of academia, and in the dojo; been influenced by minds, past and present, talking to me in books, and have learned plenty by rubbing elbows, bumping heads, and developing the knack for telling the difference between truth and deception. And then there came a time when I realized that I knew something more than the content of my lessons. Best explained by the ancient Greek geometrist who said:
“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
Your Knees and Tai Chi Walking
In a recent article in the health section of the New York Times ("Vital Signs,” by Mary Duenwald, 8/31/2004), it was pointed out by researchers at Harvard that running caused the knees to use five times as much force than when running, requiring the knees to stay flexed, “compressing and extending like a pogo stick.”
After years of Tai Chi and the other meditative martial arts, the way I walk enables me to carry my body like a cork bobbing on water—getting where I want to, without hurting my precious needs. [Remember: only two (real ones) per customer.]
I call the kind of walking I do: Tai Chi walking.
Tai Chi Walking
Tai Chi walking is a special type of walking, special in the sense that it is done consciously; and when done properly, strengthens and reeducates the whole body.
So if you have problems with your knees, you’ll find that Tai Chi helps you strengthen you legs so that your knees don’t have to support your weight in ways they weren’t designed to. When you practice the Tai Chi way, what gradually happens is that your body learns how to ‘transfer,’ or ‘shift’ your weight so you ‘roll’ along as you walk, instead of banging down with each step.
Plus, the “Chi” in Tai Chi—the “life force” in your body—flows through your legs, like water flow through a hose, so that your knees, in a sense, get an energizing wash that helps them retain their health, and start to repair deterioration.
War and Peace - Revisited
Quietly, walking together along the promenade beside the bay, my friend and I heard a couple discussing the war. After overhearing their attitudes and emotions for a few minutes, with his gaze still on the path in front of him, my friend said: “Peace begins inside of you, just like war begins inside of you. If you want to feel ‘peace,’ then focus your attention on your breath.
I said to him: “But it doesn’t last. I feel that peace, but after a few breaths, I get distracted, and then after a thought or two, I’m remembering those things that annoy me.” He said, “But the breaths keep coming, and so does the opportunity to continue feeling peace. All it takes is a genuine desire to feel it.”
He said goodbye, and turned onto the path leading up to the trees.
I lingered by the water, letting his words sink in.