Mindfulness, Zoom & TCC

Walking on the Old Tiburon Trail in California, needing to move this heavy energy, these life-draining thoughts. Walking, allowing my mind to move into Justin Stone’s “Satipathana, Mindful Meditation” from his book Meditation for Healing (and excerpted in the August Vital Force). I pay attention to my breath, noticing a smoothing out; then I notice my body sensations, a heaviness moving more into an open emptiness; then I notice my thoughts, and it’s a relief to just watch them and let them go. Then sounds enter: birdsong, wind whistling, human voices soft with laughter. I enjoy putting these four elements together into my conscious awareness while walking.

I sit and think of the wonderful Zoom class I co-teach with Linda Prosche and Tom Rothenberger. We have such amazing, dedicated student practitioners. I love our on-screen mosaic as we meet for our T’ai Chi Chih practice in gallery mode. After greeting each other this way, we usually ask everyone “pin” the teacher who is presenting/instructing. (When you “pin” someone on Zoom, they become large on the screen and everyone else is seen in a small picture.) On Zoom, we can choose how we want the screen to display. I find it fun to change who I have in “pin” mode.

Our students offer such richness to our shared practice; together we are all exploring our present and our presence. Students graciously share their experiences of how TCC has affected their lives. A few examples include thoughts on Mind (“to chatter less, allowing me to focus clearly”), Soul (“a sense of place and role in our infinite universe”) and Chi (“to share my joy, passing the energy to others). The biggest gift is the complete letting go of tension, the deepest relief of letting go. TCC is pure gift. We respect and trust one another; this enables us to completely relax into the practice. I love how we three teachers project our love of TCC. Each shows the TCC principles in their unique way, which gives us permission to find our own way.

I can imagine Justin’s joy to experience TCC being Zoomed around the world. In April, we happily added a practice in our local park. And from this creative place we crafted the pyramid poems below:

grass

green blades

soft carpet

for tai chi chih

hands gently

passing

clouds

plums

canning

is not fun

but when you’re done

it turns to

yum, yum

yum

still

sitting

hidden glade

leopard lit woods

cluttered mind

let’s go

ahh

wind

blowing

shadows leap

across the grass

chi flowing

tranquil

trance

szu

chui

can you hear

using no ear

sound round me

love peace

chi

feet

we move

it’s quiet

our hearts connect

centers know

no words

chi

breathe

my life

my dear ones

all together

in this place

we are

now

joy

moment

alive with

a sense of peace

carries a

feeling

love

joy

tai chi

in the park

gentle movement

refreshing

peaceful

gift