Seijaku Accreditation

in North Carolina, August 2015

From Jim Eagle: T’ai Chi Chih has always been primarily a yin practice for me, and I work each day on softness, flow and continuity. Seijaku has a little more of a yang feel for me, and I have appreciated the addition of some male energy to my practice. But as Pam responded, “A little [male energy] goes a long way in Seijaku.” I’ll keep that in mind.

From Stephen M. Steffan: I get a more real feeling when grounding during Seijaku verses TCC. Seijaku feels faster paced than TCC even though in reality it is probably slightly slower. This is most likely because of an increased intensity of the flowing Chi. That said, it is all the more important to make sure one gets and stays grounded during this practice. Hearing Pam’s slow, spiritual and commanding voice about “the soles of the feet” brings me to ground in a quick, profound and knowing way. I feel fortunate and blessed to study with our dedicated Pam Towne. Her kind and knowing spirit is always with me when I practice and teach TCC; it will now continue with Seijaku. It is special to have our gifted leading teachers – Sandy, Pam and Daniel – doing a terrific job keeping TCC and Seijaku pure and simple. 

From Harry Dieckman: This Seijaku session was probably the best ever. I have audited several since my initial training in 2010. The refrain “holding fast and letting go” is still a difficult concept to practice or live with consistency. I realized that these two opposite concepts must be in perfect harmony and balance for the consciousness to follow its natural path of expansion. I will continue to work on the letting go – remembering that the resistance should leave no trace, as if it had never been there. The resulting detachment will allow the impeccable timing of the universe. As Max Ehrmann says in Desiderata: “No doubt that the universe is unfolding as it should.”

From Judy Hubbell: Perhaps Harry said it best of all: “Holding fast and letting go is like a song you get in your head.” We just need to keep practicing that song. Each day together felt like banquet, going deeper into the physical practice by also going deeper within, accessing more yin. As Justin wrote in Spiritual Odyssey, “The closer we are to Joy (not pleasure), the nearer to Reality, God, or whatever we want to call it.” There is that wonderful edge to his words. In a meditation with a lavender waterfall, we learned to not focus on a loud fan overhead, but instead focus our minds on a waterfall lit by a lavender light. Serenity in the midst of activity (or loudness in this case). What a glorious concept. As Susan Quinn taught us in her conference meditation talk, we were learning to just be. And here it was in Seijaku too – that soft element felt more fully, first holding fast and then letting go.

From Charlotte Livingston: What a wonderful opportunity to attend this accreditation as an auditor. In thinking over our time together, “holding fast and letting go” has continued upon my reentry at home. The concept of not anticipating the hard energy (but “whoops there it is and it’s gone without a trace”) comes to mind during many daily activities. Seijaku is the gift that just keeps on giving. Each year my TCC and Seijaku practices have deepened. My personal health (I’m off blood pressure medicine) and life in general have been enriched. There is no doubt that Seijaku has played a part in these changes. Seijaku is a wonderful gift; thank you Justin Stone.

From Linda Jones: One of the most important things I learned from Pam was that Seijaku isn’t as hard as I thought. The practice is softer a larger percentage of the time than it is hard. Seijaku is very much like life: We need hard (or bad) times some of the time in order to recognize and appreciate the soft (or good) times.

From Bruce Eisenmenger: As Linda said, “Seijaku is very much like life.” I returned home filled with the fullness of life. Then wham, two days later I learned that my spouse and partner of more than 37 years has been diagnosed with a very aggressive form of endometrial cancer. Shock, anger, fear. The possibility of losing my love saddens me, fills me with fear beyond description. But then I move through softness into hard resistance that then melts into beautiful love energy. And I am filled with gratitude for what I have been given. I don’t begin to understand it but use Seijaku and TCC to accept and work with it. And I think of you all, my special Seijaku friends, and feel your love energy. Thank you.