TCC Retreat: Deepening Our Practice

Santa Barbara, California; September 2017

By Michele Peterson, Santa Barbara, California

With a blessing from Mt. Calvary Monastery’s Brother Tom, who explained with reverence and humor his vision of community, the mood was set for entering into community. By our last night together, it was clear that we had reached our highest potential and that Brother Tom would have been delighted. We shared meaningfully, sang playfully and laughed so hard we nearly cried.

Pam invited participants to talk about retreat benefits. One of us viewed the Chi, “generated with so much practice,” as transformative emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Another marveled at what she witnessed: the depth of letting go, sense of palpable joy and “vastness” in practicing together. One group member especially liked experiencing the group’s joy and healing laughter. Everyone at the early morning practice with Dixie found it special, “peaceful, calming and energizing.” It was clear that group practice enhanced individual practice. A benefit for another was exposing “bad habits” and the opportunity to improve. She plans to take the time to practice adjustments “over and over” to “build muscle memory” until they become the new norm.

When someone reflected that it’s easier to understand T’ai Chi Chih movements by breaking them down, everyone nodded in agreement. Another saw TCC as a “path to mental wellness, a path to reintegration capable of restoring pieces of ourselves we’ve lost.” She said, “The practice can be part of who we are.” One of us observed the deepening she saw taking place “one step at a time” and described being connected to the tan t’ien as “richer than breath.” Dixie reflected on her belief that individual and group practice each have equal merit, both having helped her “find the place of joy and stillness inside.” She has come to appreciate Justin’s awareness that the inner landscape is richer than the outer. One group member said her retreat experience convinced her TCC is the proper vehicle for reclaiming what’s been lost. She sees how, with regular practice, the Chi will illuminate her path and lost joy will return. “That is the magic of TCC,” she smiled. Another teacher knows she no longer has to worry so much about getting right the slow even weight shift forward and back or the counting. She said, “I imagine now that everything will be slow, soft and continuous right up to that last grounding moment.”