From Individual Outlook To Global Outlook

When I first began teaching T’ai Chi Chih, eleven years after it was developed, rarely would I meet anyone who had heard of it. I recall one time being completely dumbfounded when during breakfast at a bed-and-breakfast in a small town in Newfoundland several years ago, TCC was mentioned and two of the three women at the table had taken a class in their hometown of Montreal. Now it doesn’t surprise me when TCC comes up in conversation that someone has heard of it or tried it.

Most people who have become teachers have done so for one reason, because they experienced the value of the practice and want to share it, giving others the opportunity to receive the benefits. TCC has grown mainly through word of mouth rather than through mass marketing. Those who experience the benefits of the practice tell others and teachers promoting their classes advertise the benefits that may be received through practice: People grow stronger, healthier, emotionally stable and more aware of an inner life and who they are.

We have an opportunity to take this practice from the individual outlook, what can it do for me, to the global outlook, how can I use the power of this practice to benefit the earth and everyone on this planet. Seventeen years ago World T’ai Chi Qigong Day began. That has blossomed into World Healing Day. On the last Saturday of April practitioners of T’ai Chi, Qigong, yoga, meditation, prayer, sacred dance, chanting and other such practices gather at 10 a.m. in a spirit of unity to create a vibration of peace and compassion around the world, to surround the world with a flowing web of positive energy.

I would like to encourage everyone who practices TCC to set aside 10 a.m. on April 30 and enter into the Cosmic Rhythm, as Justin might call it, by doing TCC. Approach your practice unemotionally, with the intention to be open, alive, vibrant, grounded and filled with compassion. Do not direct or selectively send the energy or compassion but allow that feeling of compassion to flow from you. Let go of self and be the infinite.

The Global Consciousness Project is a research project with specially designed computers positioned around the world that show when human consciousness focuses collectively on a massive scale, it actually has a physical impact in the world. In their research the strongest emotion registering was compassion.

“Compassion is not religious business, it is human business, it is not luxury, it is essential for our own peace and mental stability, it is essential for human survival.” – Dalai Lama XIV

Compassion is showing concern, or a feeling of wanting to help someone who is sick, hungry, in trouble. What is the feeling of compassion, goodwill, love, acceptance, non-judgment? On April 30 prepare before you practice and connect with how and when you heard those words; what is the feeling behind them not the action. Allow that feeling to permeate your practice and flow through you. Maintain your focus on feeling awareness rather than engaging the mind. Allow the wisdom of the Chi to manifest in its own way without being directed by the mind. As you practice you are creating a positive atmosphere that is a good counterbalance to lessening fear and anger in the world.

For several years there have been TCC groups meeting in parks and public places to be part of World T’ai Chi Qigong Day. As the focus has broadened into World Healing Day I feel TCC has a role to play, a responsibility even to contribute its beauty, its essence, its joy, its power to join other healing practices around the world on this day.

Whether you practice individually or form a group or 5 or 25 and meet in private or public, it does not matter. If you make it a well-advertised event for the public to watch or join in, providing an opportunity to advertise classes, it doesn’t matter. How you approach the practice and set the intention is what is important. Provide an opportunity on April 30 for TCC to take its place alongside other beneficial practices and lend its power to benefit the world and mankind.

2016 Teacher Conference

August 11-14

University of Washington, Seattle, WA

See /conference-2016