THE ROOT OF ISOLATION
June 5th, 2011No comments »
There are chasms within us that are created by the poor condition of the body. It is hard to understand the great break between mind and body or between the emotions and the body until you begin a practice to heal those breaks. The condition of the body can affect our entire perspective of life and feeling of well-being.
When I correct a posture in Tai-chi, I look for how one part of the body is disconnected from the rest of the body. The upper body may move, for example yet the hips are held rigid, not allowing that movement to be counter-balanced by the activity of the legs. The back is usually rigid, throwing the entire body out of alignment.
This pattern of rigidity and isolation forms the basis of our identity. We see the world through that pattern. When the rigidity and isolation end we see the world more clearly. The beginning level of Tai-chi and Zookinesis training is to end the rigidity and isolation so that we can at least start with a functional body. People who are trapped within a body that doesn’t work feel imprisoned and retreat into their thinking minds. The bulk of their attention moves into the thinking process and moves away from the body.
The energy of attention is as vital to the health of the body as is food and oxygen. By depriving the body of attention, this person’s health deteriorates further. The body becomes a foreign land and then a hostile land. The chasm between mind and body widens. The hostility between mind and body then flavors that person’s whole outlook on life. The inner battle continually weakens the body, leading to what we call “aging”.
Most of the attention now retreats behind the battle lines into the thinking mind. Solutions are sought in ideologies rather than in healing oneself. Now the inner battle is externalized as one ideology fights against another, one religion against another. Tai-chi and Zookinesis training reverses this problem. Attention is brought into the body to increase mobility, relaxation and function. The student is made aware of how each part of the body works with the other parts. Balance and coordination become the central principles as the student attempts to heal the chasms and become whole.
Attention itself is redistributed evenly throughout the body which helps internal energy (chi) to seep into every cell and heal. The student’s life is no longer a battleground. Healing replaces conflict as the central focus of his life. This attitude is externalized so that he looks for opportunities to heal in everyday life such as in relationships between people. When I look around me at people in public places, I assess them as if they were my students. Their posture, the look in their eyes, what they pay attention to, how they walk and move, how they react to distractions and many other factors are all obvious indicators of their inner condition.
What I see frightens me. It is hard to understand how people can be so deteriorated. I can easily believe that the stress of modern life, combined with poor eating habits must be so severe that we have become crippled as a people. When people talk to me in confidence I realize that this crippling effect extends not only to the physical body, but to the emotions and spirit as well.
Yet these same people spend an inordinate amount of energy disguising these inner handicaps through their involvement in religions or politics or other mentally oriented activities. They put on a good face rather than facing up to the root of the problem. They tell me they would like to start on some healing activity but just don’t have the energy or the time. I am supposed to provide them with mental stimulation to get them started. This means that they want me to say some magic words to encourage them to start practicing. The best magic words I know are “Just do it”. Waiting for magic words just means that you want to remain within your mental world. You may just need someone to kick you in the pants rather than hearing words of wisdom.
There is an industry based on saying wise things. It is called, “motivational speaking”. You sit in a chair and watch someone walk back and forth on stage saying wise things. Then you think you are healed. If I were a motivational speaker, I would line up the audience in a row and then, without uttering a word, use the pants kicking technique. I believe that the most effective way to strengthen this country is to strengthen the people within this country. We live at a time when our leaders try to divide us. This leads to an attitude of division which then resonates inside of us causing our chasms to widen. If we work from the inside out, healing these chasms, and then extend this healing attitude externally, we can counterbalance the harmful, divisive effects of our leaders. It would be nice to have leaders who are also healers, but there is always the next election…
