Just wanted to let you all know that there's no class this Saturday. We will resume next week, and look for extra classes I'll be throwing in during the week!
Have a great Thanksgiving, mm-kay?
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Sunday, November 23, 2008
I am so excited!
Sensei Andrew Pena and I are doing this video series, and it has really gotten me pumped!
Check out our first video!
Check out our first video!
Ha!
Sensei Andrew and I have a sneaky idea!
More details to follow!
It's not sneaky, really, it is very creative, actually. It's ART, man! lol
It's actually a demonstration of the universality of energy.
More details to follow!
It's not sneaky, really, it is very creative, actually. It's ART, man! lol
It's actually a demonstration of the universality of energy.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Lots going on
There are a lot of things going on in my mind about. As I was trying to create this blog, I had about 3 different blog titles/subjects, and then deleted them, because a gut instinct told me it wasn't the time to discuss those topics just yet...it would feel very forced.
I want this to be an organic expression of myself.
I got a piece advice from one of my mentors the other day. She said, "Sometimes, you have to be fearless, and jump off that cliff, and trust that where you'll land will be the right place."
Wow. That's a whole lotta guts, and a whole lotta trust!
The bigger lesson is when we fear, it means we fear losing something that we are attached to. In Buddhism, you'd question why that attachment exists, and seek to understand the attachment and ultimately lose it. In Taoism, it would be more about understanding fear by understanding it's opposite, which I suppose is courage. And of course, we understand courage by understanding fear. In other words, does fear = the absence of courage, and courage = the absence of fear? Having fear and courage would not be things to necessarily seek out and eliminate, but moreso to understand their relationship to each other.
I'm getting sleepy so I'll stop here from now.
I want this to be an organic expression of myself.
I got a piece advice from one of my mentors the other day. She said, "Sometimes, you have to be fearless, and jump off that cliff, and trust that where you'll land will be the right place."
Wow. That's a whole lotta guts, and a whole lotta trust!
The bigger lesson is when we fear, it means we fear losing something that we are attached to. In Buddhism, you'd question why that attachment exists, and seek to understand the attachment and ultimately lose it. In Taoism, it would be more about understanding fear by understanding it's opposite, which I suppose is courage. And of course, we understand courage by understanding fear. In other words, does fear = the absence of courage, and courage = the absence of fear? Having fear and courage would not be things to necessarily seek out and eliminate, but moreso to understand their relationship to each other.
I'm getting sleepy so I'll stop here from now.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Video boxes
I love to go to video stores and just browse the video/DVD cover boxes. I don't know why. I can spend hours in a video store just browsing the boxes and titles...well, I should qualify that - video stores like I Luv Video, Vulcan Video, and That's Rentertainment.
The artwork, design, and creativity that goes into creating the video boxes is an art in it of itself. Especially retro-cult films, sci fi, horror, and action.
Maybe it's just me. But I can't just go to a video store, get a video, and leave. I have to browse all the sections. I actually do the same at the video/DVD sections of places like Best Buy and Borders.
Maybe it's something that stems from my childhood - I loved going to the library, like all the time. Not necessarily to read, but moreso to browse.
I think there's an underlying impetus that some boxes will really catch my eye, and inspire new ideas to create something. Maybe even compelling enough to rent/buy...or at the very least, to google!
I guess I'm always on the search to find something to inspire and compel my own sense of creativity.
The artwork, design, and creativity that goes into creating the video boxes is an art in it of itself. Especially retro-cult films, sci fi, horror, and action.
Maybe it's just me. But I can't just go to a video store, get a video, and leave. I have to browse all the sections. I actually do the same at the video/DVD sections of places like Best Buy and Borders.
Maybe it's something that stems from my childhood - I loved going to the library, like all the time. Not necessarily to read, but moreso to browse.
I think there's an underlying impetus that some boxes will really catch my eye, and inspire new ideas to create something. Maybe even compelling enough to rent/buy...or at the very least, to google!
I guess I'm always on the search to find something to inspire and compel my own sense of creativity.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
How to Kung-Fu your Emotional mind
So I was talking to a fellow Kung-Fu practitioner who I've known for a long time. He was telling me how he felt like he was in a state where he was not allowed to scream, go crazy, vigorously and physically vent out his frustrations...that he always had to keep them bottled or "filtered".
By having done so much bottling and filtering, he said he felt like he has had the joy of life sucked out of him and thrust into an existential vacuum.
He said, "life keeps getting harder and harder, I'm being becoming duller and duller of a person, and I keep getting sadder and sadder, because I lost my confidence in my ability to handle it all."
I told him, "I know what you mean, I have had some major life changes, but I'm making a concerted effort to being positive and thankful for everything that I do have."
He replied, "If I were to try to put a positive spin and attempt a happy disposition, I'd really be wearing a mask. It's kind of like trying to improve my Kung-Fu techniques by wearing a different uniform."
I got engaged into the dialogue instantly. "So what do you need to do to improve your techniques?"
He: Improve the foundation.
Me: What's the first thing you have to do to improve your foundation?
He: Figure out what I'm doing wrong, or what's missing.
Me: And then?
He: Readjust.
Me: So how is your life circumstance any different?
He: I guess it's because I haven't figured out what is wrong or what's missing.
Me: I don't know if that's it, though.
He: Huh?
Me: We both come from Taoist philosophies, that is physical manifestation of our training, no?
He: Haha, well, to say that it is instantly negates it, but I get what you're saying.
Me: So, ultimately, we know whatever in life happens, is what it is. And we have to be fine with it.
He: So to be able to blend with any change that life thrusts on us...yeah I get that. But still.
Me: Well, yes and no.
He: Of course, that's the Taoist answer!
Me: Haha, no no, this is more concrete than that actually. It's actually the opposite of the blending and adaptability you were talking about. What's the opposite of adaptability?
He: Unchanging.
Me: Right, because changing implies movement. Unchanging implies?
He: Haha stillness.
Me: YES!!
He: Uh, so in order to deal with changing and difficult life circumstances, I have to inflexible, unchanging of my ways? I don't get that - then how do I cope, if my current mechanism is broken?
Me: If you're in wavy waters, you stand in a solid Front Stance, and a wave comes, do you fall or do you stay standing?
He: Oh.
Me: You're allowing yourself to interact, when the only motion you need to exert is stillness.
He: I get it. I suppose it's one thing to be able to have a still mind in a quiet room, but the real test is can you maintain a still mind when you're in the middle of 5pm traffic.
Me: Pretty much.
He: So basically I need to do more Tai Chi.
Me: Well, there's a time to interact and a time to be still.
He: Actually, I disagree. I think there is an ultimate - that is to be able to interact with stillness.
Me: True, I do agree with that, however, if we have not mastered stillness, we cannot interact with stillness. If we cannot demonstrate pure stillness, ie, holding that Front Stance against the most vigorous wave, it may not be a good idea to try interacting just yet.
He: So I have to train my stillness.
Me: Yes, but training stillness doesn't mean to stop listening to yourself, either. Part of attaining stillness requires you to listen to yourself - not with judgement, just to listen. Do certain things make you sad? What does it mean to be sad? Do certain things anger you? What does it mean to be angry?
He: That sounds like Krishnamurti! haha
Me: Haha! And if Krishnamurti heard you say that, he would probably say, "Why do you feel a need to attach my name to anything?"
Anyways, our conversation went much longer and deeper than this, but this was the crux. But the heart of it is that if emotion leads to thought, which leads to action, let's examine where this emotion comes from. Our temptation is to stay fixated on the thought part, and over analyze, over-reason, over-spin everything...when we really need to understand the emotion that got us to the thought in the first place.
I'll stop here! lol
By having done so much bottling and filtering, he said he felt like he has had the joy of life sucked out of him and thrust into an existential vacuum.
He said, "life keeps getting harder and harder, I'm being becoming duller and duller of a person, and I keep getting sadder and sadder, because I lost my confidence in my ability to handle it all."
I told him, "I know what you mean, I have had some major life changes, but I'm making a concerted effort to being positive and thankful for everything that I do have."
He replied, "If I were to try to put a positive spin and attempt a happy disposition, I'd really be wearing a mask. It's kind of like trying to improve my Kung-Fu techniques by wearing a different uniform."
I got engaged into the dialogue instantly. "So what do you need to do to improve your techniques?"
He: Improve the foundation.
Me: What's the first thing you have to do to improve your foundation?
He: Figure out what I'm doing wrong, or what's missing.
Me: And then?
He: Readjust.
Me: So how is your life circumstance any different?
He: I guess it's because I haven't figured out what is wrong or what's missing.
Me: I don't know if that's it, though.
He: Huh?
Me: We both come from Taoist philosophies, that is physical manifestation of our training, no?
He: Haha, well, to say that it is instantly negates it, but I get what you're saying.
Me: So, ultimately, we know whatever in life happens, is what it is. And we have to be fine with it.
He: So to be able to blend with any change that life thrusts on us...yeah I get that. But still.
Me: Well, yes and no.
He: Of course, that's the Taoist answer!
Me: Haha, no no, this is more concrete than that actually. It's actually the opposite of the blending and adaptability you were talking about. What's the opposite of adaptability?
He: Unchanging.
Me: Right, because changing implies movement. Unchanging implies?
He: Haha stillness.
Me: YES!!
He: Uh, so in order to deal with changing and difficult life circumstances, I have to inflexible, unchanging of my ways? I don't get that - then how do I cope, if my current mechanism is broken?
Me: If you're in wavy waters, you stand in a solid Front Stance, and a wave comes, do you fall or do you stay standing?
He: Oh.
Me: You're allowing yourself to interact, when the only motion you need to exert is stillness.
He: I get it. I suppose it's one thing to be able to have a still mind in a quiet room, but the real test is can you maintain a still mind when you're in the middle of 5pm traffic.
Me: Pretty much.
He: So basically I need to do more Tai Chi.
Me: Well, there's a time to interact and a time to be still.
He: Actually, I disagree. I think there is an ultimate - that is to be able to interact with stillness.
Me: True, I do agree with that, however, if we have not mastered stillness, we cannot interact with stillness. If we cannot demonstrate pure stillness, ie, holding that Front Stance against the most vigorous wave, it may not be a good idea to try interacting just yet.
He: So I have to train my stillness.
Me: Yes, but training stillness doesn't mean to stop listening to yourself, either. Part of attaining stillness requires you to listen to yourself - not with judgement, just to listen. Do certain things make you sad? What does it mean to be sad? Do certain things anger you? What does it mean to be angry?
He: That sounds like Krishnamurti! haha
Me: Haha! And if Krishnamurti heard you say that, he would probably say, "Why do you feel a need to attach my name to anything?"
Anyways, our conversation went much longer and deeper than this, but this was the crux. But the heart of it is that if emotion leads to thought, which leads to action, let's examine where this emotion comes from. Our temptation is to stay fixated on the thought part, and over analyze, over-reason, over-spin everything...when we really need to understand the emotion that got us to the thought in the first place.
I'll stop here! lol
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