As a teacher of Taoism and Tai Chi, Bob Klein* explains that in the Taoist perspective there are multiple ways of thinking about consciousness. In last week's post he began educating us on one of the ways: the external sense of sight.
This week we move inward with Bob continuing as our guide.
"The sense of chi (chee) gives us information about the inside of things. Chi gives us information about how everything is connected. It is the sense through which the cells and organs of the body fine-tune their interactions with each other. It is a finer mechanism of interaction than the nervous and endocrine systems.
The sense of sight and the sense of chi are considered to be "paired senses." They give a full understanding of the world around us.
In our culture, we have cut the pair in half and only have the sense of sight. We feel isolated and disconnected.
To practice a Tai-chi form is to re-connect your consciousness to the rest of the world of life. Attention is no longer located just inside your head. Your attention doesn't just start from the head and go to the subject of your interest.
Attention is the living field of life.
Out of the dynamics of attention grows our way of perceiving the world around us. We are in a relationship with that world, just as each cell and organ within our bodies is in a relationship with us as a whole."
Chi is often described as energy. Bob leaves us with a provocative statement:
"Attention is an energy that is a part of all things, just as is gravity, electromagnetism and nuclear forces."
Note to readers: Please join me in confusion and wonder. Give yourself a big pat on the back if you felt a tingle of excitement in addition to a stab of bewilderment while reading this post. Please let me know if you have questions. I probably won't be able to answer them but it would help me to know I'm not the only dizzy one. This is amazingly complex information from a different paradigm and a very wise man. We are indeed exploring the mystery!
*You can learn more about Bob by visiting his website: www.movementsofmagic.com.
If you would like to read earlier posts in this series or subscribe so you will receive an email when there is a new post, visit www.NickyMendenhall.blogspot.com
Friday, July 27, 2012
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Attention Please - #30
My attention for the next two weeks will be yin attention - going more with the flow and not being as focused on exploring the mystery. Posts will be statements culled from personal communication from Bob Klein.*
Bob, as you may recall, is a teacher of Tai-Chi and Taoism in Sound Beach, NY. His response to my questions about attention provided me with new ideas. Here's hoping you will find food for thought in his words. Please email me with your comments.
"The subject of attention (consciousness) is all about connection. When I "pay attention to" something, I am connected to it. We normally think that paying attention means just turning our eyes to something, but in the pre-modern world, attention is quite different.
Attention vivifies each cell and organ of the body. It is breathed in by each part of the body just as we breathe in air. It is absorbed from the ground just as each tree absorbs water and nutrients through its roots. We are a community of conscious beings and as we grow, a relationship among these beings must develop so that we can function effectively as a whole.
In some people, and in some cultures, the consciousness of the body is repressed and replaced by mechanistic behavior. In others, mythologies have developed to teach people ways of organizing this community of consciousness to live enriching lives.
In the Taoist system, consciousness is celebrated. Many ways have sprung up over the centuries to explain consciousness from a Taoist perspective.
The sense of sight gives us information about how each thing is separated from each other thing. It also tells us about the surface of things (texture, color, shape)."
Tune in next week to learn how Bob describes chi.
Thanks for exploring the mystery - Nicky Mendenhall
*You can learn more by visiting his website: www.movementsofmagic.com.
If you would like to read earlier posts in this series, visit www.NickyMendenhall.blogspot.com
Bob, as you may recall, is a teacher of Tai-Chi and Taoism in Sound Beach, NY. His response to my questions about attention provided me with new ideas. Here's hoping you will find food for thought in his words. Please email me with your comments.
"The subject of attention (consciousness) is all about connection. When I "pay attention to" something, I am connected to it. We normally think that paying attention means just turning our eyes to something, but in the pre-modern world, attention is quite different.
Attention vivifies each cell and organ of the body. It is breathed in by each part of the body just as we breathe in air. It is absorbed from the ground just as each tree absorbs water and nutrients through its roots. We are a community of conscious beings and as we grow, a relationship among these beings must develop so that we can function effectively as a whole.
In some people, and in some cultures, the consciousness of the body is repressed and replaced by mechanistic behavior. In others, mythologies have developed to teach people ways of organizing this community of consciousness to live enriching lives.
In the Taoist system, consciousness is celebrated. Many ways have sprung up over the centuries to explain consciousness from a Taoist perspective.
The sense of sight gives us information about how each thing is separated from each other thing. It also tells us about the surface of things (texture, color, shape)."
Tune in next week to learn how Bob describes chi.
Thanks for exploring the mystery - Nicky Mendenhall
*You can learn more by visiting his website: www.movementsofmagic.com.
If you would like to read earlier posts in this series, visit www.NickyMendenhall.blogspot.com
Friday, July 13, 2012
Yang or Yin Attention? - #29
"Through the midnight jungle a huge tiger silently edges his way between bushes and trees, a coiled spring of power in each step of his massive paws. Overhead, a thick python, well over twenty feet long, carefully glides over tree branches, focusing all its attention on the smell and the heat of the tiger. Quantities of power unimaginable to us seem poised within the giant serpent, waiting for just the right moment.
We humans can sense a degree of attention, a level of power in this scene which seems unattainable to us. It is almost mystical and other-worldly. Too often we accept sickness, emotional confusion, tiredness and feelings of helplessness as part of our lot as humans. And yet, we are part of the same natural system which has given rise to the tiger and the python, the soaring eagles and other awe-inspiring creatures."*
In order to complete my Fourth of July walk. it was necessary to change from a disempowering paradigm (older women are invisible), to a paradigm of natural power (deep breathing to bodily claim my territory). Klein labels this type of focused attention "Yang attention." If we allow our attention to be manipulated by Madison Avenue or by dysfunctional neural pathways, we are trapped:
"Trapped attention is like a bird you grab to see. You can't really see it because it is within your fist. Even if you did see it, you would only see the bird frozen in fear. This is called "Yang attention."**
Klein explains how Yin attention is different:
"When you release the bird you can see it clearly and can see how it behaves. But you can't control where it goes. This is called "Yin attention."**
The goal is for us to use as much Yin attention as possible while only using small amounts of Yang attention:
"The Yang attention allows you to follow your path. The Yin attention allows you to not get stuck in it."**
Both types of attention foster consciousness. Klein writes that attention is another word for consciousness.
Are you more comfortable with Yang or Yin attention? Which do you use most often?
Bob Klein is a teacher of Taoism, including Tai-chi-Chuan and Zookinesis (a modern translation of the "animal exercises" style of chi-gung). You can learn more by visiting his website: www.movementsofmagic.com.
Thanks for exploring the mystery - Nicky Mendenhall
*The two paragraphs that introduce this post are from the introduction of Bob Klein's, Movements of Magic,(1984). Used with permission of the author.
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**These quotes are from personal communication with Bob Klein, (July, 2012). Used by permission.
If you would like to be notified weekly when a new post is published, visit exploring the mystery and subscribe by providing your email address and then confirming your request: www.NickyMendenhall.blogspot.com.
We humans can sense a degree of attention, a level of power in this scene which seems unattainable to us. It is almost mystical and other-worldly. Too often we accept sickness, emotional confusion, tiredness and feelings of helplessness as part of our lot as humans. And yet, we are part of the same natural system which has given rise to the tiger and the python, the soaring eagles and other awe-inspiring creatures."*
In order to complete my Fourth of July walk. it was necessary to change from a disempowering paradigm (older women are invisible), to a paradigm of natural power (deep breathing to bodily claim my territory). Klein labels this type of focused attention "Yang attention." If we allow our attention to be manipulated by Madison Avenue or by dysfunctional neural pathways, we are trapped:
"Trapped attention is like a bird you grab to see. You can't really see it because it is within your fist. Even if you did see it, you would only see the bird frozen in fear. This is called "Yang attention."**
Klein explains how Yin attention is different:
"When you release the bird you can see it clearly and can see how it behaves. But you can't control where it goes. This is called "Yin attention."**
The goal is for us to use as much Yin attention as possible while only using small amounts of Yang attention:
"The Yang attention allows you to follow your path. The Yin attention allows you to not get stuck in it."**
Both types of attention foster consciousness. Klein writes that attention is another word for consciousness.
Are you more comfortable with Yang or Yin attention? Which do you use most often?
Bob Klein is a teacher of Taoism, including Tai-chi-Chuan and Zookinesis (a modern translation of the "animal exercises" style of chi-gung). You can learn more by visiting his website: www.movementsofmagic.com.
Thanks for exploring the mystery - Nicky Mendenhall
*The two paragraphs that introduce this post are from the introduction of Bob Klein's, Movements of Magic,(1984). Used with permission of the author.
.
**These quotes are from personal communication with Bob Klein, (July, 2012). Used by permission.
If you would like to be notified weekly when a new post is published, visit exploring the mystery and subscribe by providing your email address and then confirming your request: www.NickyMendenhall.blogspot.com.
Friday, July 6, 2012
Alive with Attention - #28
My desires for a morning Fourth of July walk were two fold: a leisurely nature walk while paying attention to diaphragmatic breathing and Tai Chi practice enhanced by sounds of water falling on river rocks.
While congratulating myself for starting early to avoid the holiday crowd, a bicyclist passed me with the conventional, "on your left," followed by, "there will be runners behind you."
Almost immediately there were runners spread three or four abreast on the trail behind me. Spotting a spotter at a nearby crossroad, I stopped for refuge and to get information. Learning that over three hundred people had signed up for this yearly race, that a victory celebration would be held at the library by the fountain, that runners would continue arriving at this location for another half hour, it was clear my initial desires were not going to be realized.
The energy and intensity of the runners was palatable. As far as I could see, runners were occupying the width of the paved surface. My initial perception: No place for me.
Older people, especially women, observe that the more mature they grow, the less attention they garner from the general public. Having white hair, being relatively short, and having a slim build, the feeling of being invisible occurs more regularly every year.
From a place deep inside me, the word fierce made an unexpected appearance. Deciding to pay attention to this gift felt powerful.
Going against the crowd, walking with my arms several inches from the sides of my body to make myself bigger, breathing deep and slow into my belly, taking large monster steps, I began my journey home. Fierceness radiated from every pore of my body. Runners made room for me. This was Yang* attention - an attention that allows one to follow a path.
As always - thanks for exploring the mystery - Nicky Mendenhall
*Bob Klein graciously gave permission to use material from his books and personal communication. In future issues I will be sharing from his reply to my inquiry requesting a paragraph explaining attention. His generous two-page reply was where I learned about Yang attention.
To learn more about Bob, visit his website: www.movementsofmagic.com or his blog: www.movementsofmagic.com/blog
If you would like to read posts from previous issues or this post on the blog go to: www.NickyMendenhall.blogspot.com
While congratulating myself for starting early to avoid the holiday crowd, a bicyclist passed me with the conventional, "on your left," followed by, "there will be runners behind you."
Almost immediately there were runners spread three or four abreast on the trail behind me. Spotting a spotter at a nearby crossroad, I stopped for refuge and to get information. Learning that over three hundred people had signed up for this yearly race, that a victory celebration would be held at the library by the fountain, that runners would continue arriving at this location for another half hour, it was clear my initial desires were not going to be realized.
The energy and intensity of the runners was palatable. As far as I could see, runners were occupying the width of the paved surface. My initial perception: No place for me.
Older people, especially women, observe that the more mature they grow, the less attention they garner from the general public. Having white hair, being relatively short, and having a slim build, the feeling of being invisible occurs more regularly every year.
From a place deep inside me, the word fierce made an unexpected appearance. Deciding to pay attention to this gift felt powerful.
Going against the crowd, walking with my arms several inches from the sides of my body to make myself bigger, breathing deep and slow into my belly, taking large monster steps, I began my journey home. Fierceness radiated from every pore of my body. Runners made room for me. This was Yang* attention - an attention that allows one to follow a path.
As always - thanks for exploring the mystery - Nicky Mendenhall
*Bob Klein graciously gave permission to use material from his books and personal communication. In future issues I will be sharing from his reply to my inquiry requesting a paragraph explaining attention. His generous two-page reply was where I learned about Yang attention.
To learn more about Bob, visit his website: www.movementsofmagic.com or his blog: www.movementsofmagic.com/blog
If you would like to read posts from previous issues or this post on the blog go to: www.NickyMendenhall.blogspot.com
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