Awareness, Circularity, Softness & Continuity

“…awareness is the root of T’ai Chi Chih…” *

Just like a tree or plant which will not and cannot flourish without developing its roots (to let water and nutrients in), my T’ai Chi Chih and Seijaku practices cannot progress unless I allow nourishment through awareness. Living in accord with reality. Living in truth and with integrity. Being truly present in each moment. Listening, seeing, feeling, hearing, touching, tasting, sensing with every fiber of my being, with every cell, with all that I am. This brings about real awareness of who and what I am truly made of – that I am not separate from the other (person, place, thing, time, situation), that there is no “other,” that there is only One. We are all one.

“…circularity is fundamental…” *

I freely receive… I freely give. One of the hardest lessons I’ve had to learn is that it is okay (in fact, it’s necessary) and very good to receive. For if I were empty, I would have nothing to share… T’ai Chi Chih has taught me to allow myself the privilege to accept the gift of daily practice. As Justin Stone says repeatedly, “Practice everyday. Practice when you feel like it but most especially when you don’t feel like it.” It is specifically during those difficult and challenging times (when so many other things want to encroach on my personal practice time) when I need to be doubly faithful and persevere in my practice. It’s when I need to circulate and balance the Chi the most.

Just like our body-mind-emotions-spirit need to let go of toxins (anything that blocks our evolution – physical, mental, emotional, spiritual), we also need to give our body-mind-emotions-spirit the best nourishment possible. And what better way than through the daily act of circulating and balancing the very core and essence of our being, our vital force.

“…softness and continuity are the essence…”

Without softness, there is no flexibility. When we practice T’ai Chi Chih with stiffness, tension blocks and doesn’t allow the meridians to open. Our energy is unable to flow freely. However, softness does not mean limpness. On the contrary, it is the most stable, grounded strength that one can have. (Remember what Justin says: the soft water wears away the hard rock and the flexible bamboo outlasts the sturdy oak.) Without softness, there is no movement; and without movement, there can be no joy!

Continuity is essential between yin and yang, teachers and students, families and communities, individual countries and the whole world. We are, after all, a part of each other’s lives. As the song goes: “No man is an island. No man stands alone. Each man’s joy is joy to me. Each man’s grief is my own.”

Have you ever felt that when you are present, and witness another person’s healing, that a part of yourself is healed as well? That’s precisely what we do when we practice and teach TCC. We become the vessels of this continuous flow – this fountain of holy, sacred, pure love, gratitude, peace, light and joy. It is limitless. We truly can reach our maximum potential, the best self that we can be.

I know that there are many good forms of therapy and healing. But what sets TCC apart is that we truly become facilitators of change and evolution. We are not trying to do it for other people. On the contrary, our mere presence and gentle yet grounded guidance (how we live as TCC teachers and students) help lead others into their own path of enlightenment to holistic healing: self-awareness, self-knowledge, self-realization. This practice allows us the freedom to choose every single day, at our own pace, in our own readiness, to transform and manifest the true beauty and goodness that we truly are deep inside.