Understanding Practice

Practice is the best of all instructors, says an ancient text. I have often shared with my students and I firmly believe that unless I practice every day I have no right to teach. I am a student of my own practice. Daily training is the key to self-cultivation. Making money teaching T’ai Chi Chih is secondary to sharing such a profound transformative tool. Better to help one person release fear than to teach many and have none be truly changed!

What really occurs after the initial 8 to 10 classes of T’ai Chi Chih, if the student trains faithfully, is an opening to higher energies and higher information from within. This is the beauty of commitment to the art and science of chi cultivation. The daily discipline aligns us to the higher self, the Tao, God, to the perfection of life behind the apparent chaos.

Then we truly experience unity–rather than just hope for it…
we radiate joy–rather than just conceptualizing it…
we manifest calm–and transcend negativity…
we transmit love wisdom–naturally and without pretension…
we learn the art of letting go and trusting Life
all of the above come forth from daily practice,

remembering that we are not only practicing for ourselves–but our practice directly contributes to world peace since we are the world individualized. Each of us experiences this meditation-in-action in a slightly different way–the Tao has a great sense of variety and does not repeat itself.

Each practice session will refine ever more deeply the understanding that consciousness is actually working on itself in T’ai Chi Chih. The contemplation of softness, continuity and bubbling spring expands into our daily life as a theme for awareness of the qualities of surrender, graceful flow, and grounding in our behavior. In one of my sessions the affirmation “I am grounded, centered and poised” came forth symbolizing centeredness in bubbling spring and dantien, and relaxation. There are many insights.

The heightened awareness comes from increased relationship with purified chi. The stillness and effortlessness of the forms allow us to enter the abode of the Real and therefore be healed of the heaviness of thought-identification. The Bible states it simply as “be still and know”.

You will learn more from your own sincere daily practice than from any other source. The true source is within and all any true external source or teacher will do is point you toward your own withinness. I, as your friend (known or not!) point you in the same direction. I’ve practiced passionately since 1979. Do it, love it, teach it, learn from it, enjoy it, study it, and IT (the Chi) will guide you through your life.

Doing T’ai Chi Chih daily allows us to let go and walk on in life with awareness and faith rather than doubt and fear for we establish our relationship with Peace Profound rather than noisy externals only.

Practice practice and practice.
Relax always and follow
the path with heart!