From Form To Formless

After feeding the cat, drinking my morning shake, tidying up the living room and pulling up the shades, my eyes land on the lush green courtyard, rhododendrons, ferns and a large cedar tree bowing to all passersby. The stage is set and I’ve “come home.” Without thought, my body starts the slow familiar rhythmic glide. With quiet attention I notice areas of tension – shoulders/neck, hip, tender foot. The body adjusts miraculously, finding a way toward more ease, releasing closed areas and welcoming that innate fresh energy lying dormant while sleeping. Chi flows through the limbs, rising slowly up from the “bubbling spring,” swirling around the tan t’ien, traveling to the fingertips, temples, top of the head.

Some mornings my mind is full of chatter, and I’ve gone through many movements before I realize “Where am I?”…”Daughter on the Mountain Top or in the Valley?” After refocusing, I’m ready to start again, allowing the tan t’ien to lead, sensing the connection between each part of the foot as it touches the earth and peels away. When the shifting rhythm is established, there may be mind murmurings, but they are behind the stronger awareness of gentle rocking in the body.

There are special moments, when I’m so engaged in the experience that I’m no longer thinking. As Justin would say, “TCC is doing TCC.” It’s an intimate state of connection to being, to silence, to a moment of “no self” – just presence, ease and spiritual delight. And then, the returning to what’s around me: the clock ticking, the sharpened hues of colors outside, rising up to Cosmic Consciousness Pose and settling down to rest. My heart opens, bows to the Tao. How grateful I am to have touched such an intimate place and returned again to a renewed and deeper sense of home.