​The Power of Connection

​One of the many wonderful opportunities that practicing tai chi provides is the chance to increase our awareness and move a step beyond all the subjective busy-ness that we fashion into a sense of reality.

Most of us spend much of our time sweating the small stuff while remaining oblivious to the bigger picture.
Our big brain cleverness fools us into thinking we can figure it all out while remaining disconnected from God ( aka. the planet, universe, big Huey ). We might enjoy much of what life has to offer but remain ill equipped to explain the 'mysteries' of life. It's extraordinary that people are happy to turn their backs on the concept of a God and then trust in science to find the answers. They trust in a branch of human thought that continually re-invents itself. That disputes and dispels past theories almost daily. The human brain is wonderful but the intellect is restricted to the constructs of a high order ape.

There is a great Rumi quote - Trade your cleverness for bewilderment.
Clever thoughts won't grant you awareness. At least not at a level that provides a genuine understanding of our connection to the Universe that created us, nurtures us and will gather us back when the life force stops flowing.
In fact the constant intellectual chatter is counter-productive to obtaining this connection.

When I see people practicing tai chi, it's like watching a troop of performance artists interpreting life through movement. The metaphor is compelling. Some look stressed, some struggle, some can't remember, some look confident, some happy, sad, distracted, intense, etc etc. Very rarely does someone look connected.

​This connectedness comes from awareness. Being present, being focused and ignoring all the subjective trickery. I heard someone say they loved tai chi because it was so beautiful to move freely through space. Indeed it is but so is a nice massage. Satisfying the ego is what we are all highly skilled at but it doesn't elevate us to that higher level of consciousness.

Of course an article like this borders on hypocrisy in that it's using intellectual concepts to promote an awareness born of non-intellectual perceptions. That's where tai chi comes in. Awareness comes from experience, not thought. It comes from repetitions done correctly, and for the purposes of this article, it requires a specific source.

Calm the mind. Before you move become vitally aware of sinking your qi down into the substantial foot. To move you must first push up gently from the Yong Chuan point on that substantial foot. Whether you're moving forward or backward, begin by sinking into the foot and moving up from the Yong Chuan ( Bubbling Well ) point.
This is the start of Long Jin. Of moving Qi through the body. It must begin at the source. If you are moving without connecting to the Earth, then you are doing unconscious, unaware tai chi. In a spiritual sense you are disregarding an important part of your link to the Universe.

Practice like this and you will begin to understand.