I'm just an ordinary person studying Tao/Taoism and Tai Chi

with the aim to apply my learnings to our modern world. 

Here are some of my comments/thoughts from my journey so far.  

2024-08-1813:19 “Everything is one energy” - Alan Watts It’s all one energy,” this is the really the point. I mean, if you understand that this whole universe is one energy and you’re it, you don’t really have any much in the way of further problems. I mean, you have some few practical problems, like how to make a good table or a beautiful dress or whatever it is that you’re after. But you don’t have any more metaphysical problems when you see that. —---------------------- This is one of my favourite quotes from Alan Watts. This truly opened my horizon. Once you realize that you are part of everything then there is nothing to fear anymore. We are like waves in the ocean or leafs on a tree. We are unique like every wave but still part of the ocean. We are born from it and part of it and at the end we w Read More 2024-08-1607:23 Butterfly Dream "Once upon a time, I, Zhuangzi, dreamt I was a butterfly, fluttering hither and thither, to all intents and purposes a butterfly. I was conscious only of my happiness as a butterfly, unaware that I was Zhuangzi. Soon I awakened, and there I was, veritably myself again. Now I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly, dreaming I am a man. Between a man and a butterfly there is necessarily a distinction. The transition is called the transformation of material things." ------------------------ The ‘Butterfly Dream’ is a famous philosophical parable from around 300 BC. It’s found in the second chapter of The Book of Chuang Tzu, a collection of stories, anecdotes, and parables centered around, and likely written by, the p Read More 2024-08-1409:33 Single Whip This posture contains two breath cycles and basically two main sections. The first section transitions from the push into the wave hand-like movement. When you move to the left you slowly inhale and when you move back to the right you slowly exhale. The second section starts when you commencing the hook and center your feet and during those movements you slowly inhale. You start slowly exhaling when you place your foot sideways/forward and push out with your hand to complete this posture. #taichi #taichi24 #taichibreathing 2024-08-0810:35 Grasp Sparrow’s Tail (Breathing) This posture contains the following main sections: Ward-Off, Rollback, Press, and Push but it contains only three breath cycles. The first breath cycle is across Ward-Off where you slowly inhale until you hold the ball and slowly exhale when you stepping forward into the archer’s stance. The second breath cycle is across Rollback & Press. Basically you slowly inhale when rolling back and slowly exhale when pressing. The third breath cycle is across the push section. You inhale during the withdrawal part (shifting weight to the back leg) of the push and exhale when you shift the weight back into the front leg to execute the push. #taichi #taichi24 #taichibreathing 2024-08-0308:43 Repulse Monkey The breathing is very similar to the ‘ Brush Knee and Step Forward’ posture. It also contains only one breath cycle across the gathering & expanding section. You inhale very slowly during the first section (gathering) where you get your arms and feet into position before you step backwards and push forward with your arm. During the second section (expand) you slowly exhale while you step backwards and push forward with your arm. Each repetition (4 total) is one breath cycle. #taichi #taichi24 #taichibreathing 2024-07-3007:37 The parable below is Alan Watts take on the well known farmer story who has lost his horse. This version is personally my favourite one, which comes across really well due to it's simplicity. The moral of the story is basically that everything is interconnected, and we can’t see all the prior causes or predict the future consequences. Instead of judging something as “good” or “bad,” accept it as it is. ------ The farmer who has lost his horse by Alan Watts: “Once upon a time, there was a Chinese farmer who lost a horse. All the neighbors came around that evening and said, ‘That’s too bad.’ And, the farmer said, ‘Maybe.’ The next day the horse came back and brought seven wild horses with it. All the neighbors came around and said, ‘Why, that’s great, isn’t it?’ And, he said, ‘Maybe.’ Read More 2024-07-2809:47 Playing the lute This posture contains two exhalations and one inhalation. The first exhalation happens when the practitioner is extending the right arm. This exhalation is a carry over from the previous posture. The inhalation happens when the practitioner brings the weight back on the right foot, brings the right arm back and extends the left arm to the front. The second exhalation happens when the practitioner brings both arms in the final position and lowers the left heel to the ground until it touches. #taichi #taichibreathing #taichiprinciples

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