Cheng Man Ching
decided that he didn't want to do the "long" form, so he invented the
short form

Through some charming mistake somewhere along the way
this is called the "shot form."

Oh, well. If we watch this for a bit
(and in this day or Internet rush, rush, do we actually
have 7:41 minutes?
But surely we can hang in there for 3:33,
so let's see what we can see....
Be back in 3:33 (notice the simple minded rhyme scheme
creeping up on us.
Good, eh?)

Well, actually, he moves a bit fast for my taste,
kind of like I do on days I want to "get the form over."

However, he wasn't rushing, more like moving
seamlessly from one pose to the next
with no
"look at me, I'm here now"
feeling.

His weight shifted slowly and completely
like sand going from one foot to the other.

His hands seemed to float,
and knowing what I do of the form as taught
by his pupils, I'll guess that he had a great deal of
attention
in his hands

and feet

and spine

and feeling of soft arms

and knowing exactly where and how
his feet where.


Have you ever noticed that tai chi is a lot like walking,
weight on one foot and then weight on the next.

Unlike walking, but like some of the work we do in the Feldy/ Anat worlds,
his arms don't have a stable pattern vis a vis his legs.
In walking left leg forward pairs up with right arm forward.

In tai chi, many of the moves are like that:
in the punch (here right handed), the right fist is forward and the left foot

in brush knee, left foot and right hand and then right foot and left hand

However, many are right right and left left

the single whip is such a move

the kicks, which come later

and fair lady shuttles, again later, has same foot and same hand forward

And so it goes;

move slow

put attention on gravity and both arms and both legs and spine

create variation in patterns of arms and legs

It's a dance, don't you think?

And what's the other half of my roots for the Feldy/ Anat work.

Well, maybe I should have been dividing into thirds
with one third good old fashion NOW

and one third the Gurdjieff meditation of keeping attention
all day in both arms and both legs (plus light and sound)

Or maybe four:
add to Tai Chi
and Now
and Gurdjieff
a love of nature, and how natural can we get by being attentive to slow and novel and delicious movements
movements
learning
awaring
in the so called "body"

Waking us to Now.

Tai Chi can do that,
and it can be a "thing" we do.

So can reading.

So can writing.

It's all the dance: am I awake now,
and if so what is my experience.

Is that a good question for you?

I hope so.

Chris

 on Wednesday in Austin, where the cold was last week
and then it got warm and toasty this weekend
and now the cold is back.
Cold means 40s, sissy winter for most of the county,
and "too cold" for the spoiled Texans and all the immigrants.

In May I'll be back in the Northwest,
and in March visiting No. Cal.
If you are interested in connecting,
let me know.

Friday and Alive
and what a morning

a bee sting
a little way into the morning
after some fun times in the garden
transplanting this and that

transplanting
is one of the secrets to health:
having a garden and taking little bits of
this plant and spreading it
out somewhere else fun

healing:
the garden
being outside
puttering and experimenting
co creating with nature
taking a chance on something new
going for even more wonderfulness

and then the bee
in left hand
palm side, near where left thumb articulates
ouch
took sticker out
watched it
had idea of "sending love"
which seemed too vague:
so sensed the area
with interest
and curiosity
which is pretty close to love: attention, interest, curiosity
even a little fascination

didn't go off into emotional
poor me
didn't get worried about the sensation
which could be called "pain"
but as pure sensing
just was what it was

a stinging and a heat inspired me to walk to plants
that seemed cooling:
a basil leaf
a mint leaf
a purslane leaf and press them easily to the place

for awhile
then
since i'd alread made juice
and had the hand juicer out,
juiced the leaves and a little more
drank liquid

looked at the place
realized,
as i had earlier: temptation
to close everything down
and not move the ouchy part
so did little moves
like in the neurological work i do with others
and myself
if painful,
slower
find another route,
make it a path of ease
keep things moving

got into a whole nice game
with how the thumb moves
and how it moves with and in relation
to the other fingers:

try to touch your thumb and first finger
and have them together make circles
and then try this with the thumb and second finger
interesting puzzle

so looked at
loved
leafed
learned about
my left hand and the stung area
and
then
an urge to rip up some more of the
plant i'd been transplanting
and go the "wound" all nice and dirty
(oh, somewhere in there,
as playing with moving thumb and other fingers,
taking a walk down to check of recycled garbage
at bottom of driveway)

so anyway
using the hand as if it was okay
which is was
and dirty
and planting
and having fun

and then making some phone
calls
and a sister calling
with falling apart Mom stuff
and
i get to do
loving what is
work on that one

a grand morning
of this
challenge
and that
and rising to seemingly
enjoy
and go
with life

life is well worth
going with
it seems

and when i started this essay
though i've had bee stings that hurt and swelled
for several days,
i had to search to remember where
this one, a few hours ago, was

la
la

life
and learning
and staying
soft an loving:
worked today

who knows
about the rest
of the day