From The State of Emptiness …

“… Man’s body is a body pervading the Universe; Man’s voice is a voice filling the Universe; Man’s life is a life without limit.” This excerpt from the Lotus Sutra is quite profound and has powerful ramifications when we really sit with and consider it.

Shortly after announcing the Philadelphia location of the 2018 T’ai Chi Chih teacher conference, I asked people about their perspective on the theme, “Flowing From Emptiness.” People shared that “life empties us out and TCC fills us back up” and “life kicks the crap out of us and TCC cleans us out.”

These viewpoints caused me to consider the difference between feeling emptied out by life (as if exhausted or depleted) versus be-ing or flowing from the state of emptiness. Who knows? Perhaps we need to be depleted before we can be filled up from the State of Emptiness. You know, only the empty cup can be filled…

Suppose when we are flowing from the state of emptiness, we are aligned with the Cosmic Rhythm and things unfold joyfully and effortlessly. When we become agitated or dig in our heels we are, in effect, resisting the flow that supports and guides us rather than flowing with it.

No matter your perspective, the Intention behind the 2018 conference is to delve into the theme through presentations, movement refinement sessions and mindful, concrete activities. All will be interspersed throughout the weekend and remind us to empty out so that we can push the re-set button. We look forward to seeing you and to practice Flowing From Emptiness.