The Notion Of Continuity

PULL QUOTE: There is a brilliance in Justin in not providing a name for this

Justin’s writings say that: “Softness and continuity are the essence of T’ai Chi Chih.” Softness is mentioned in a few of his videos. Not much is said about continuity. In the few discussions I had with Justin he said, “Softness and continuity is the essence of T’ai Chi Chih.” This seemingly small change opened up a new universe for me. Justin emphasized it like this: “Softness, AND continuity, IS the essence of T’ai Chi Chih.”

For me, this is a totally different concept than the way it is often written. It was Justin’s unvoiced challenge to me to explore softness and continuity stated this way. I also chose to focus a little more on my understanding of continuity because not much is written about it.

This statement points to a concept bigger than softness or continuity considered individually. In effect, Justin’s way of stating it to me is like saying “you, me, us.” Us is not you added to me. Softness is one thing, continuity another, but what shows up when these are taken together as a gestalt?

I felt Justin inviting me to explore softness, and continuity, and a third thing that wasn’t simply softness-plus-continuity without a word associated with it. Justin’s statement also made me curious about continuity, and how I interpreted it.

Tracing the outline of a circle with our finger, we can say it is continuous. If we pause every so often as we trace the circle, but keep our finger on the circle, have we lost continuity or just expanded our concept of what continuity could be? Is there a continuity of physical form, and a continuity in time, and energy, and perhaps in expectations?

We name parts of music – notes, rests, codas and others. These are all human-invented names to help us explore the notion of music with other people. When listening to music there are no parts, there is just music.

Is a piece of music with rests in it continuous? Is it continuous in the same way our journey around the circle punctuated by stops is continuous? The word music is a container for all of the things we call parts of music, yet greater than the sum of all the parts. It is the complete piece of music that is continuous – not just the parts with notes in it.

Symphony is a container word for a form of music with a very specific combination of notes, rests, movements, etc. As a structure, a symphony has integrity, and wholeness, and continuity even though we can speak of many different parts. A symphony from beginning to end represents structural continuity. This expands my understanding/experience of continuity even further beyond physical continuity.

Concerto, scherzo, round, are all container names for forms of music. Each one brings different things to mind than simply thinking about notes and rests.

I perceive a TCC practice as continuous the way a symphony is continuous. I know there are names for parts (movement names, tan t’ien, arms, legs, etc.) but I prefer to hold them as a whole symphony called TCC – not just as a bunch of parts or movements added together. I am more mindful of the symphony of TCC than of the parts. I call this mindfulness spiritual continuity.

I embrace the starting, the movement, the completion, the graceful conclusion, the construction going on across the street, my dog licking its paws, a shooting star… as the TCC symphony playing right now.

We are all connected to everything. You and I interact with the air, the earth’s magnetic fields and the Chi. You and I are continuous in the same way that a punctuated circle is. Our practice of TCC is continuous with everything at all times even if it is not touching it in physical space. We act on the Chi and it acts on us. This is another form of spiritual continuity, perhaps like the difference between a scherzo and a symphony.

My most meaningful practices are when I hold TCC as all these understandings of continuity. The key element is the mind of the observer interacting with our universe. Mindfulness is the entry point to everything I have been speaking to.

Returning to the statement: Softness … AND continuity … IS the essence of Tai Chi Chih.

That collection of words is expressing ideas meant to be taken as a whole – a gestalt – a single nameless container holding softness and continuity. There is a brilliance in Justin in not providing a name for this. Our minds would just get stuck on the name and miss the experience.

The container is the essence not the individual parts, in the same way a symphony is not just a bunch notes and rests. The container operates at a higher level of mindfulness than any part individually. The number of containers one can perceive is almost endless. Play with it and see what comes up for you.