From Intent to Action

Yi (Intent) is the base of every creation. Intent (Yi) leads the energy (qi) and once they are in line the flow of wu wei (no action) is achieved.

I unintentionally scratch where it itches, I lift spoon when I am hungry, I pick up a glass when I am thirsty. So does that mean that these actions happen without intention? These simple (seemingly unintentional) actions carry so much in them and just for the fun of it you can break them into long actions – the result is the same but learning is immense.

Today’s experiment:

Choose a simple action you would like to perform: like lifting your arm, scratching your nose or picking up a pen from the table. As you decide on the action, leave it for the end of the experiment and do a relaxation exercise first.

Sit with your feet flat on the floor and focus on each part of your body starting from head, eyes, nose, ears, relax each muscle on your face and around your eyes. Focus on your breath – in and out - and allow your thoughts to come and go without giving them any importance at all.
Relax your neck, shoulders, arms, torso, become aware of your stomach muscles and observe how it raises and falls with each breath.
As you continue scanning your body focus on your spine, relax each vertebrae one by one.

As you relax more and more, move intent to your legs, thighs, knees, calves and toes. Press your toes one by one gently against the floor - from small to the big toe, one foot at the time.

Once you are relaxed bring back your initial intent from the beginning of the experiment: let’s say picking up a pen. Observe the process that you need to go through in order to achieve such a simple outcome: first you have to have an intent, after that you need to will your hand to move and because it is relaxed you will be aware of each muscle moving by one. Imagine signals traveling from your brain to your muscles and how many steps it takes for you to move your arm an inch, two, further away, above the pen… each finger moves with different set of decisions guided by the initial goal to pick up the pen. How many fingers do you use? Will you use your left or right hand? Which hand do you use usually?

Everything that happens follows the same pattern: From Intent to Action. There are also lost intentions, the ones not followed by action. Those are lost ideas and thoughts that created energy waste trapped in the body. Roaming and swirling imprisoned in body cells this energy waste eventually projects itself in form of various injuries, pain or disease. If I could vote on this matter I’d say that no intent is better than lost intent, so if there is anything you planned to do for a long time – break it into small steps and celebrate the accomplishment: by actually doing what you intended to do your mind and body free of the wasted energy and you get to enjoy fruits of your own creation.

After all isn’t that the reason why we are here?

Place to Practice

Finding appropriate place for practice is the same like finding a suitable apartment or a house – a place where you feel comfortable and enjoy being there. When you are choosing an apartment or office you probably have set of guidelines that helps you make a final decision: is it central or peripheral, near the road or near a park. For finding a general good place for practice it is important to follow the basic principles:

• Practice outdoors
• Find a place amongst trees and near water
• It is better to practice on a soil rather than concrete

According to Feng Shui, an ancient Chinese wisdom that helps us interpret how we relate to our environment and how our environment influences us everything is made of energy, is interconnected, and is constantly changing. Finding balance with the environment and adjusting the living, working or practicing space according to basic principles of Feng Shui

I personally find practicing in Beijing's Temple of Sun truly an amazing experience. The history of the whole place is filled with energy of Emperors that walked on the same soil, rituals and life style from 400 years ago. As the Temple of Sun persisted in its existence, it now serves as the retreat of thousands of people who come here daily to practice taichi, sing, dance, walk backwards, scream (release energy), rub back against trees, play badminton or play with children.

Less is More

Less is More

Recently we moved to a 300m2 apartment - amazing condo in central Beijing. Total dream come true: big terrace where our dog can run, beautifully decorated in wood, antique furniture lying graciously around. I loved it the moment I saw it, how couldn't I? One thing that bothered us was if it was too big for only two people and a dog? How do we justify the cost? Can we afford it? It took us three days of talking, reviewing our finances and it wasn't until we heard that there was another couple interested in it that we were closer to making our decision. Is that human or what?

I ask Master Liu about his opinion on many life and work decisions. His daoist perspective helps me find the middle way. The wisdom he speaks is so simple and down to earth that brings calmness in knowing what is right and natural. When I asked about this condo he didn't give any specific answer, he just shrugged his shoulders and asked if it was necessary to move. Of course I had many justifications why it was necessary: we could extend our stay in China, I could move the office to the ground floor, I could organize workshops, I could be happier... So we continued with practice and I walked my bagua circle relaxed while twisting my waist. The feeling of greatness overcame me when I finished. As he asked me how I felt (as he does each time after I walk the circle) I looked at him with unfocused eyes and said: “I feel like that apartment is too small for me now.” We moved in two days later.

Few months and two parties later... People are amazed with the space we live in, a local lifestyle magazine interviewed me and took photos of the space, our families are excited about the upgrade of our living standard and it all seems to be better than it was. I, however, started to experience some unsettledness. I see dirty spots and get annoyed, I am worried that furniture will get damaged, when flowers dry out too quickly I wonder if something is going wrong with the energy of the place. The worry bug entered my mind and eats me gently. So I asked Master Liu again: Why is it so?

He looked at me with a smile and just said: More is Less, Less is More.

It all came back to the same old stuff: the more one has the more she is tied to the human laws and removes herself from the natural laws. Being connected with the simplicity of the nature, Yin and Yang cycles of intertwining growth and decline is the basic natural law. I know I chose the new living space as my natural habitat which created somewhat unnatural feeling of attachment to the possessions. The lesson appears again – success is not measured by how much we have but how happy we are with it. I embrace the consequences of my decision and find ways of providing my spirit as the home of 300m2 condo rather than the other way around. It feels awkward at first but I take small steps – I am human after all.

Copyright 2006 Dalida Turkovic

Internal Martial Arts and Implications on Daily Living

Flexibility
A lot of people are put off by the idea of martial arts for a simple reason that you need to wake up early and practice outside during winter. In my opinion these are such minor components of the whole practice and if you do get into practicing at dawn and during the winter than you are already into it that much that it doesn’t matter. Your teacher may be flexible enough to assist you in learning whenever it is convenient for you, some teachers take it easy during winter and if you have a spacious apartment you can practice at home. So, first of all martial arts teaches about flexibility. By being flexible I mean physically and mentally because it is all connected and one directs the other.

Calm
Another simple implementation of martial arts in daily living is that you learn how to keep being focused and relaxed while doing strenuous exercise. The practice gets your body to twist in new directions, to use muscles you haven’t used before, to learn what ‘natural posture’ means in terms of martial arts. After a while your body becomes soft outside (for the observer) and hard inside (you experience the flow of qi in your body). Simply, if you manage to keep your body relaxed during strenuous exercise then in daily living you can maintain being relaxed in stressful situations. Needless to mention, daily practice enables you to remain calm and focused despite the circumstances and the environment.

Focus
Many students ask – what do I do with my eyes? Where do I look? Regardless what the practice is – standing, walking, moving – eyes are looking straight but your mind does not register information taken by your eyesight. The gaze is turned internally, observing your muscles, your legs, your hands, scanning every single part of your body with your mind. I used to go to crowded places to train for competitions – the more distraction the better it was. Well, no doubt, I learned how to focus and keep final destination constantly in my mind – perfection of the body posture, allowing the energy to flow freely like cleaning blocked pipes or dirty chimneys. Meridians are fresh, blood circulates to all parts of the body, there are no blockages and as qi starts in your dan tian it swirls through the whole body and is being released into the ground. To reach perfection you first hear about what it is that you are looking for and then step by step focus on each requirement until you get it and lift yourself up to new horizons. I take focus as another insight for daily living.

Patience
Recently I have been translating for Liu Shifu – he has new students who don’t speak much of Chinese and I am amazed (again and again) how much patience he has. Each student is treated in a new way, with new perspective, so much appropriate for their personality. I stopped asking how he does it, each time it is just as if he knows how nature works. Of course, practicing ba gua was helpful for increasing this insight (amongst other things). As I translate I keep rushing ahead, giving my perspective on what is being said, talking about my experience while he sits calmly and waits for me to finish. Never a single comment, never a single request. I look at new students practicing zhang zhuan (standing stance) and keep thinking: they must be bored, there is so much more to it! And yet, I realize – their mind and body are so occupied maintaining the proper standing stance as it looks simple to an observer while the person practicing has busy time thinking of all things that need to be done – usual case with internal martial arts. I learned patience by living in China and I know that patience is part of every journey – accept the fact that beginning is slow and that some things you will do well, some will be hard.

Determination and Discipline
Over the course of 7 years of practice I have learned one thing about internal martial arts – there are times when I enjoy it, when the flow of it is so natural and free, by body wakens and mind empties itself accepting nature as the only guide. As everything else in life, there are also times when I am lazy, I dread waking up in the morning, my body rebels, practice seems boring and I question if there is anything coming out of it. Liu calls these times “guan” (“pass”). Each guan is blocking the way towards new learning, realization and expansion. So there is physical guan, lazy guan, guan of doubt etc. It is our choice to stop and retreat from practice or to continue and see what awaits us behind the obstacle. Usually it is expansion of physical and mental experience: body becomes stronger, mind reaches new horizons. However, it doesn’t mean that if you pass one guan you have finished with that lesson. For me, lazy guan keeps coming back but the time needed to pass it is getting shorter and shorter. Lessons are fulfilling enough for me to realize that determination and discipline is what takes me further towards abundant and balanced living.

With flexibility, calm, focus, patience, determination and discipline I look forward to every new challenge.