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Blocked? – Part 2
I know; it’s “poem Firday”. But this business of “blocks” is on my mind.
Yesterday I wrote here about being blocked: blocked from listening to my intuition, from changing my language to speak (and think) in positive terms. And I wrote about practice. After 10 years Tenno became a teacher of Zen; he was practiced. Then Nan-in demonstrated how he was not “fully aware.” So Tenno became his student and practiced another 10 years! And I concluded my post yesterday with …another nine years of practice and study and “lessons in lost sunglasses”!
But practice what? OK, I’ve got 9 more years, probably 10! But what am I to practice; what am I to learn; how do I break through the blocks?
Later yesterday I was in one of my practices: Artist Pages writing as prescribed by Julia Cameron. I am fairly disciplined in writing my “morning pages” (sometimes afternoon); and I really know when I skip that something isn’t quite right with my day. I wrote yesterday and came up with some answers to my blocks; not only what is blocking but how to respond; to break through. Here’s what I wrote:
“I wrote my blog post for Rosemary’s site this morning – on “Awareness” again although the title was about blocks. What are my blocks to “full awareness”?
“I think the main one is fear – fear of letting go completely and relaxing into full awareness. If I let go completely I might lose myself! I am not yet fully willing to let go of the ego – that little self that appears to be so important to me. I have no problem with this for moments – while sitting, while doing Qigong, while writing pages when I merge and let come whatever words flow. Practices like these are easy times to let go. But when I’m at a bank ATM my ego is busy in the forefront – considering a number of choices: what’s my balance, how much cash do I need, what do I want to buy at the market, how long will this nice weather last, on and on…
“The conscious mind, the ego, can only handle 7 to 9 bits of information at one time. The thought of the sunglasses on the shelf gets pushed aside. The ego can’t handle all the information. And I am not practicing standing at the ATM. Why not?
“What if I had stood at the ATM in a relaxed but present Qigong posture? What if I had softened my focus moving into peripheral vision? What if I had remembered to breathe deeply and slowly as when practicing Qigong or sitting on my cushion? Would I have seen the sunglasses and remembered?
“Practice can be constant. And there needs to be no fear in this. If we drop our attention and expand our awareness the ego doesn’t disappear, it simply recedes into the background of the 10-million bits of information being processed by the unconscious mind. It is there, aware, processing its 7 to 9 bits, and content to rest, yet ready to come alive as needed. The “full awareness” is in the unconscious mind lifted out of its obscurity through constant practice.
“Blocks are revealed, recognized and broken through by balancing conscious ego awareness with practiced unconscious access.
“Relax, let go, breathe deeply, sink, broaden, move fully into self and become fully aware of Self.”
I think I have my answers! Now to put them into practice…
Happy Full Moon. Have a good weekend!
Who is Your WHO? – Richard’s Commentary
Rosemary’s question this week is:
WHO is it that you are serving?
My first reaction to this question is to think about my Qigong students; they are my clients and I do feel that I am serving them when we are in class together, when I am leading them through a form, focusing on breath, gathering and storing Qi for health, well-being, and peace. The beauty of my “who” is I am serving myself as well. I am doing the research into Taoism, the basis for the effectiveness of Qigong. I am going through the form with my students, leading myself to health, well-being and peace. And I am working with the forms on my own as well, practicing the forms every day. I continue my research and reading on the subject to go deeper so I can take my students deeper.
In response to Rosemary’s statement:
If you don’t take care of your own health, no one else can do it. You know this. You accept this. But what about your spiritual and psychological health? Your emotional health? Your mental health? Are you serving yourself by taking care of yourself in those areas?
I can feel pretty good, right? Qigong covers all these aspects of my life. Qigong contributes to my health. And the study of Taoism supports my spiritual and psychological health. Reflection on the Five Elements, the basis for Traditional Chinese Medicine, helps me work through my emotional and mental issues. Through all these levels I am serving my students and I am serving myself at the same time!
If only it were that simple!
Everything I’ve written above is true. And Qigong does help my students and me work through issues. But what about others I serve?
What about Rosemary? She is my client as well. I support her business,TheScientificMystic.com, through managing the technology to operate the business, handling the finances, and helping her with the messaging and marketing of her services. How am I doing with that?
Here I can’t be quite as glib with my answers! Sometimes I grow impatient that Rosemary doesn’t work to my schedule! Whose business is this? Sometimes I get frustrated with the procrastination. But I am a great procrastinator! And too often I get bogged down with the technology rather than focusing on what drives the business – Rosemary’s talent!
So, I need to take Rosemary’s advice here:
My work is to build a relationship in which I support them.
My work with Rosemary is to create the best possible business relationship we can have in order to best serve her, as my client!
And I need to do this analysis for all of my relationships. Everyone is a “client” of everyone else. It is important to nurture client relationships and it is vital to nurture all of our inter-relationships.
Who are your clients? Are you nurturing them? Are you nurturing every relationship with others as if they were your client? Are you nurturing the relationship with yourself?
What a world it would be if this were the case!
Stay Happy Through the Holidays – Richard’s Commentary
Today, the holiday festivities all begin with the day we set aside here in the US to give thanks. I’ve been giving thanks, writing notes of gratitude in my “morning pages” this week. I began my thank you notes, giving deep gratitude for my incredible partner, wife and love of my life, Rosemary. And if you have been following our blogs and reading our posts you know what a talented and resourceful woman she is. Her advice for conscious living and spiritual evolution are profound and creative. And her advice for the holidays is no different! She suggests:
The first step to staying happy through the holidays is to do a realistic and honest assessment of this time of year for yourself.
This may sound superficial but do you move into this time of year with a perspective of staying happy? We have all heard the stories of people who are alone, who dread the holidays because they don’t get along with family, who feel bad because they can’t afford to give elaborate or expensive gifts, who party and drink their way through the season. Perspective is an all-important first step to be happy in every moment.
Next Rosemary suggests:
Consider a new way of operating through the holidays this year.
Everyone around you is struggling with their own life lessons. Somehow the holidays come with Hallmark Cards and Norman Rockwell expectations that nobody really experiences. If you put self-care at the top of your agenda, IT IS NOT SELFISH!!!! Let me repeat that – Self-Care is not being self-ish!!!
Self-Care – in other words, give yourself the gift of looking out for you! Attend to your health, prepare wholesome meals for your celebrations, if you drink alcohol moderate your intake, stay warm and especially keep your neck and throat protected and warm, keep moving with yoga or qigong or another body practice, take time to meditate and if you don’t meditate this season is a great time to start, celebrate the special holidays in your tradition – make them Holy, honor everyone you meet as learning their lessons just as you are – they are you!
Compassion begins with yourself. Taking care of you is taking care of everyone. Recall Rosemary’s question in her inspirational video posted Tuesday: “can compassion for yourself equal compassion for them?” She goes on to suggest:
Look at your calendar for the rest of 2013 and decide what you will do for yourself. Rest. Relax. Pamper yourself. Watch movies that make you smile. Hang out with friends or go on a silent retreat.
As we approach the Winter Solstice, one of those special holidays we celebrate, it is a good time to go inside, to do the inner work of deep winter. The Ancients took this time to retreat, to look inward for the coming renewal. Deep inner work is another way to take care of yourself on the personal level and all others on the global level. This is true compassion!
Coming back to Thanksgiving I took Rosemary’s advice and turned inward to give thanks for me. I am grateful for my soul path, my spiritual journey back to myself, I am grateful for the health and strength to make this journey, I am grateful to myself for making the commitment, I honor myself for my discipline and I am grateful for all of the spiritual teachers and guides that hold me in their love and compassion.
Be grateful for yourself! I am grateful for you because I know you are supporting me on my journey.
Have wonderful, blessed and happy holidays!
Necessity – The Mother of Invention
In yesterday’s post I offered a story about how I assess what is necessary in my life. As I get older less seems like more to me. I do know the leaves this year seem more abundant, heavier, and they just keep falling! I need to get out there and rake again.
I also mentioned, almost in passing, that there is a spiritual component to my sore-from-raking shoulder that both Rosemary and I have picked up on: And the spiritual? Rosemary detects that my heart-mind center is opening. It does feel like something is opening on the one hand; but the constriction feels more like something is struggling to stay closed. Why is there such a struggle for this opening?
I think I got my answer to this during our second Unlocking the Mysteries of Intuition class the other evening. Rosemary quoted a poem by Rumi:
New organs of perception come into being as a result of necessity.
Therefore, O man,
increase your necessity,
so that you may increase your perception.
Am I growing a new organ? Is this what the heart-mind center Rosemary speaks and teaches about is? A new organ of perception?
I am reminded here that “necessity is the mother of invention.” Or in my case, necessity is the mother of a new organ of perception! Am I creating this necessity? And if I am what am I struggling to “see” with this new organ. The way it is feeling this organ isn’t even fully formed yet. It is still fighting to get out of the “eggshell of my shoulder.”
The heart-mind center as I understand it is a merging of the heart center and the higher centers of throat and third-eye. It is a center for the blending of feeling and thought. I have also seen it referred to as the “high heart.” And I have been working on this center, breathing into it during yoga and qigong practice, balancing it along with my other chakras through breathing exercises. Has my work brought on this opening?
And where is the necessity in this? I’m not sure I have consciously set about to increase my necessity. In fact I am looking for ways to decrease what I find to be necessary in my life. But I have the sense that I am not dealing with material necessities here at all!
Both Rosemary and I have written about the evolution of human consciousness. Much of her teaching through the October Satsang event was on this subject and we have published several clips from that evening on this blog. If humanity is to evolve into the 21st century I believe we will need these new organs of perception Rumi wrote about in the 13th century!
And while I might be excited about this evolutionary journey we are on, I didn’t realize there would be pain involved!
Meanwhile those new fallen leaves are piling up!
MONDAY’S POEM: Hamsa
A while ago I offered a poem on the breath. It was inline with my approach to Qigong breathing. I got good feedback on that poem and even published a bookmark for use in my Qigong classes. That poem is here.
Last week I wrote about the happy discovery of Hamsa as both a way to breathe and a mantra meditation rolled together. My practice of Hamsa and my Qigong breath poem inspired today’s offering:
Hamsa
Inhale
Expand
Belly out
Ribs out
Spine straight
Head up
Ham…
Sa
Exhale
Neck free
Shoulders down
Chest in
Belly in
Contract
Pause
Be…
Ham
Sa
I Am
That!
©2013 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
This Issue of Balance
Yesterday I posted a message I channeled from The Divine Feminine as a response to Rosemary’s post from them the day before. And as I look back on it I realize I have been receiving a lot of information on balance lately. What’s going on?
Here’s the key quote from The Divine Feminine:
The Goddess is in you just as the God is in us. We are inseparable yet dual. We inter-penetrate one another, affirm one another, in fact, manifest one another. And there is the problem with the dual nature of existence, of consciousness, just as there is a necessity to it. Often there is an imbalance in our natures. In you men, when the masculine over-powers the feminine, there is too much action, too much aggression. When the feminine over-powers the masculine there is too much inaction, too much passivity. The mirror image of this imbalance is true for women.
While all of existence has this dual nature, it is the imbalances in that duality that are the root of difficulties. Restoring balance is critical to righting the wrong in everything, from paddling a canoe to improving one’s health; from improving one’s relationship to re-opening the Federal government of the US.
Interestingly we don’t wish for a static balance either; in this case there is no change, no dynamic to press for the evolution of consciousness. So, there is a need for some disturbance to balance to power progress. The dynamic seesaw of restoring, losing, restoring balance generates the spiral of evolution. Balance is desired; imbalance is required. But an over-imbalance can also lead to arrested development.
In my lifetime there have been a number of wars fought around the world over little and large territories and ideologies. I was nearly drafted into one such war, in Viet Nam, in which nothing at all was gained and so much lost. I believe The Divine Feminine was addressing this type of imbalance when they spoke of too much action, too much aggression. The predominance of war in the past 70 years is all about this imbalance. And I can only hope that the return of The Divine Feminine to power can begin to restore a balance and channel resources toward a more creative energy and away from this destructive energy of conflict.
We are in the Astrological Sign of Libra. This is about balance. For the New Moon in Libra I cast an I Ching Gua (or hexagram) that translates as “Little Exceeding.” (see Monday’s post). This divination for the month is about following the middle way – follow the way of balance.
How do we do this? Practice awareness. Go back to the practices that work for you, whether they are some form of meditation, a form of physical exercise (yoga, qigong, jogging) that leads you into a state of awareness, activities that bring you into the present moment, like creating ritual space. Just take a breath and do a quick “gut check” to ask yourself if you are feeling balanced in the present moment; and if not, take another breath to see what balance might feel like.
And don’t expect to remain there fully present and in balance 100% of the time! There are many sources of distraction, many events in a day that throw us off balance. These events and sources are our teachers; we learn from them and then we breathe and come back to balance.
Balance is the key. How do you restore balance in your life?
PS: If you are in the Annapolis, Maryland area, I am beginning a new series of Qigong classes next Monday, October 14. Check details here.
Moving Forward – Richard’s Commentary
Rosemary’s “Exploration” in her MuseLetter on Friday and again in her post yesterday was timely considering our physical move of home and belongings over this past weekend. Clearly we had a lot of experience “moving” and I can only hope, given the energy put into this move, that it was “forward”!
The move itself went very smoothly. The weather was great, especially for early August in Maryland. The logistics all worked well from rental truck to professional piano movers. Even the “baby grand” cooperated by just squeezing neatly through the door.
I expected to be sore from all the physical lifting and lugging, the twisting with heavy boxes and the tight hold needed to boost them into and out of the truck. And I do have twinges of an ache here or an over-used muscle there. But I don’t feel nearly as stiff and sore as I expected.
And immediately following the move I began a new Qigong class series this past Monday evening. As I was doing my final preparations and going through the form one more time before class I realized why I survived this strenuous and very physical move with relative ease: I had been practicing Qigong for well over a year and mixing in a steady dose of Yoga as well. I am fit and ready for this kind of physical exertion.
Qigong consists of circle-motions and spirals, movements to gather and focus the Qi. The more I practice and the longer I experience this building Qi the more effortless it becomes. The practice is to evolve to effortlessness. And while my move over this past weekend was anything but effortless, it certainly wasn’t as exhausting as I expected.
And then I reread Rosemary’s post and this paragraph caught my attention:
Our personal journeys are not linear – they do not go forward in a straight line. They spiral, around and around. And, if we are moving forward in our personal growth, we are able to see from a new perspective with each return of the spiral, to understand in a new way what we couldn’t see before. This is moving forward along our path of personal growth in consciousness.
Just as our Qi spirals and turns around and around, so too does our journey through life. As Rosemary observes, every cycle presents us with a new perspective to grow into.
Keep moving forward. It is not just for you. It is not just to ease your pain, extend your life or live more comfortably. It is to expand your consciousness and to be an essential part of the evolution of Universal Consciousness.
How? Practice. It doesn’t have to be Qigong, although I highly recommend it. Keep moving forward, spiral around and take another look from the new perspective. Learn, grow, take the next step and wake up to a new you!
Change…and moving in the rain!
As I write this I have finished up our first day of moving. I’m feeling a bit tired and stiff…some muscles were stretched a bit more than usual today! But thank goodness for Qigong! I moved well through the day and after a rest will be ready for another one tomorrow!
I woke up on the first day of August to rain. My first reaction was, “oh, no, moving in the rain won’t be much fun” (as if moving is ever fun!). Then I quickly recalled my Dad’s admonition to never complain about the rain. He was a dairy farmer his whole life. The grass and the crops that provided all the feed for the cattle depended on the rain. And when you are in the middle of a field, putting up hay for the winter, the rain can be inconvenient. But it is not something to complain about, ever!
I quickly changed my “oh, no” to an “oh, well, we do need some rain; and in any case there is nothing I can do about it!”
Fortunately we live in Maryland where the weather can change on a dime. By the afternoon the rain was gone and the sun was shining and we moved our first load without getting wet at all!
Whether we are talking about change in the weather or we are talking about bigger changes, like moving an entire household to a new house, change is inevitable. The only question is what attitude to assume when looking at the on-rushing changes.
And this is my point. Rosemary and I have both been writing a lot about change lately. We are anticipating many changes in the coming months. We know many will be great, in full alignment with our direction and goals. We also know there will be stumbling blocks put in our way; our lessons lie before us and we accept them. The question we ask as we move into every step, every change we either want to make or are forced to make by circumstances is: “how is my attitude toward this change?”
Some days it’s going to rain. Some days we might stumble. Some lessons may be harder to learn than others. But we both know we are on the right path, we are doing what we love, and we are ever expanding into our Soul Purpose Work.
How do you approach change in your life? Do you fear it? Avoid it? Do you rush into it with your eyes shut? These questions bring me to my second point about change: After I get my attitude about the inevitability of change set correctly I then face the choices in my response to the change.
All change comes with choice. My response today to the rain I awoke to could have been to postpone the move by a day. The weather report indicated the possible clearing by the afternoon, but you know how well the weather people predict! I moved forward with a certain amount of trust that things would work out. While my Dad was saying: “never complain about the rain” Rosemary’s Mom was saying: “things always work out for the best.” And sure enough, they did today!
So, maybe the big lesson today is “trust your parents.” They may have some pithy sayings and family proverbs to offer but in my case they tend to be right more often than not!
Adopt a positive attitude toward inevitable change, make the best choices you can under the circumstances and trust your parents! Good guidance for facing the changes that are coming!
PS: Happy Solar Return, Rosemary!! Yes, Rosemary and I have the same birthday. This year is the 41st one we’ve been happy to share!
ROSEMARY’S EXPLORATION: The Power Is in You – Richard’s Commentary
Rosemary’s Exploration this week contained a lot of good advice. I too have the sense that there is tremendous energy for change building in the World. I think a lot of this energy build-up is from the extreme polarity that we are experiencing. Whether it is political factions (both within and between political parties), economic debates about the best way forward, religious extremism or raging debates about social issues, people seem divided into camps of widely differing views and value. This polarization is creating the environment that will force change.
And there is another source of this change energy; as Rosemary observes: “It is time to transform. We’re still feeling the effects of the 2012 energy that gave a huge boost to the transformation energy. It’s not over yet!”
Rosemary and I are going through tremendous change ourselves as we are in the midst of packing up for our move to larger space and a greater degree of freedom. With any change of this magnitude comes the combination of excitement and trepidation. The questions: is this the right thing, am I taking the right steps, can I do it, do I have the energy, can we afford it, are followed by answers: yes, this is a necessary step forward, we have the way and the means, … and in the end, we trust!
And where does that sense of trust come from? Inside!
And this is the key response that Rosemary urges: as we face the building powers that are bringing about the changes we sense, we need to go inside to find the empowerment needed to make the best choices, to decide on our next steps for forward progress.
As I’ve written before, I am completely committed to writing my “morning pages” as urged by Julia Cameron in her book The Artist’s Way. I have been practicing this approach to inner work for years and for me it works very well. As I sit with my pages I move inside and let words flow up and out onto the page; I gain insight, strategies, confirmation, hope, trust…Where does this support come from? Inside, from both my self, and my Self!
If you have been reading this blog much at all you probably already know I have many practices for inner work (and outer, physical work): Qigong, Yoga, sitting meditation, breath-work, cooking (yes, I consider this a spiritual practice!) and even household chores (I enjoy doing laundry!). But when I really need answers I seek my pages and write.
I wrote in my pages this morning about the move, the strategies and logistics, the concerns and the excitement. And I ended the pages with a tremendous sense of hope and trust. Yes, this is a big change; this is a time for big changes and hope, trust, and courage. Fortunately both Rosemary and I are Leos, both born on August 2. We both have courage to spare!
MONDAY’S POEM: Vital Force
The feeling of Qigong:
Vital Force
Formlessness
Empty force
Breathing in
Deep down
Belly out
Rootedness
Feet connect
Bubbling spring
Qi rises
Radiating upward
Earth offers.
Root chakra seals
Lower Tan T’ien stores
Energy forms
Prana expands
Heart opens
Expression flows
Mind merges
Vision extends
Crown reaches
Heavenly Love.
Humans link
Heaven and Earth
Form and formless
Eternally One.
©2013 Richard W. Bredeson. All rights reserved.
Men and The Goddess 