Inspiring My Teaching from the Inside, Taking Out the TCC Trash, or Inside-Out: Doing My TCC Laundry

The bottom line: this is about clearing the debris to make room for the inspiration available to all of us. It may be expressed differently (sometimes quite uniquely) in each of us, but it is there, ready for cultivation. For me, the inner teacher has taken on the tendency to speak in rhyme; maybe I read too much Dr. Seuss to my children!

Early on, my inner teacher mimicked the voice of Sharon Sirkis, my teacher and mentor for teacher training. Sometimes it sounded a lot like Ed Altman. But these days, through poetry and writing, I am learning to hear my own voice and I’m trying to listen to what it has to say. Some of you may be familiar with my poetry and writing from the Vital Force. What you may not know is that I didn’t write poetry (or anything else) before my teacher training week, which was a turning point in my life.

My husband and I home-school our children, so I am constantly aware of being a teacher. Not that everything I do is worthy of being taught, but, I believe by our individual actions we affect other things, other people. By cultivating, deeply, my personal daily practice (nurturing this inner teacher), I feel it keeps some of the debris out of the way so that the “Chi” or Prana, can more easily be expressed through me. By devoting time to my daily practice, I feel I’m doing some small part in promoting peace and tranquility on this planet.

This is a deeply spiritual practice for me, as I know it is for many of you. Sharing it seems to strengthen it and encourage it to grow. In fact, there is nothing like the reward of a student really “getting it.” That idea inspired this poem:

When a Student Can Flow

When a student can flow from the center
With softness and continuity

It is more prized than a mere
Financial gratuity

It is the essence within
That has been transmitted again

To ever flow out into the universe

The spark has been lit

It smolders and burns

And before you know it,
The student surpasses and learns

More than you thought you knew how to teach

As far as they go, there is more to reach

Point the way to deep down inside

Then buckle up and enjoy the ride!

This was also partially inspired by a student who called me after the first night of class to thank me “for making the decision to teach.” Wow, what a thought! How many lives have been changed because T’ai Chi Chih classes became available in a particular area? This is not something to be taken lightly. This is a very important undertaking, and to continue to nurture that inner teacher, as well as empower and enhance my own life, I feed it a daily dose of T’ai Chi Chih or Seijaku practice. It is my honor and privilege to clear the debris for and touch base with my inner teacher.

As that student expressed gratitude, I too express gratitude to Sharon for being there when I was ready to learn and especially to Ed Altman for being the one to introduce me to myself and whose teachings continue to inspire me. I also want to express gratitude to each and every teacher here. Your mere presence has helped strengthen my practice. I also feel gratitude for my inner teacher working so hard to bring me up to speed. I realize that my job, many times, is just to get out of the way.

Real
Simple
Let it go
Simplicity
Allows one
To grow
Truth

My daily practice helps keep the garbage at bay. The inspiration flowing, it brings me back to the present moment, giving me moments of insight and clarity. It also helps me recognize inspiration in other settings as I’m going about my day, as I ponder which venue may be the best to start a new class or a new way of presenting the material.

Spark of Intuition

The spark of intuition
Leads my way

It’s there to guide me
Be it night or day

Whether I’m in a circle
Or at a classroom front

When I’m still and quiet
I don’t have to hunt

It’s there with me always,
It won’t let me down

I just have to remember
To “let it go” –and ground

Throughout all this, my perspective is ever changing. With each new insight, I seem to come up with different challenges and new ways to view these challenges. Then, the process starts all over again.

I am changing
I am morphing
Where do I go from here?

Onward, upward
Through the fog
Even if it’s not clear

Trusting my intuition
Honing my instincts
Learning to let go and live

Finding my gifts
Simplifying my life
Exploring what I have to give

Sharing my knowledge
Sharing my possessions
Sharing my wisdom from within

Whittling it down to essential components
So, again, I’m allowed to begin

Now as I travel around this bend
I experience the full circle of life again

With my desire for inner sincerity, or teh, and my desire to live in the moment, allowing time to just BE, my intention is to one day truly live up to my name –[teh-BE].

I would like to leave you with one last writing. This was written within a different spiritual community, but I also had the TCC community in mind as I wrote it.

Explorers

We are explorers of the spirit,
Astronauts of the internal,
Divers of the great depths of the soul.

This work is not for the faint of heart.
The digging required would exhaust any miner,
But the nuggets are worth more than gold.

There is a risk of finding out more than one wants to know
Or unveiling something that
Promotes a potentially challenging “opportunity for growth”
Stretching beyond our own limitations,
Making way for the new seeds one wishes to water,
The new experiences yet to come.

We are truly a brave bunch
For once you’ve started this trek,
There’s no going back –only pushing forward
Toward the depths of one’s soul.

May God help us and guide us on this long and arduous journey.
May Gaia accept and comfort us as we continue.
May the wisdom of the Buddha bring peace to our hearts.
May our own conscience lead the way.