Category: Spiritual

  • The Lost Axe

    Once upon a time there was a craftsman who lost his Axe. He thought hard, and finally suspected his neighbor of stealing it. When he saw his neighbor walking, he thought that he walked like an Axe thief. When he meet his neighbor, the others countenance was just like that of an Axe thief, and when he saw him in conversation with others, he even talked like an Axe thief.

    Not long afterward, the craftsman found his Axe where he had mislaid it. Strangely enough, from that time on, his neighbor ceased to walk, look and talk like an Axe Thief.

    Reference:A Taoist Miscellany p. 67

  • I am home

    I have arrived
    I am home
    in the here
    in the now
    I am Solid
    I am free
    in the Ultimate
    I dwell

    Thich Nhat Hanh

    Reference:
    The Long Road Turns to Joy: Guide to Walking Meditation

  • Here it is

    Here it is – right now. Start thinking about it and you miss it.

    Huang Po

  • The Story of Stuff

    Reference: The Story of Stuff www.storyofstuff.com

  • Non Violent Communication

    Giraffe Language – Non Violent Communication
    The Language of Nonviolence interview with Marshall Rosenberg yesmagazine.org
    Marshall Rosenberg wikipedia.org

  • The Moon Waxes and Wanes

    The moon waxes and wanes
    Tides ebb and flow.
    Emotion moves up and down.
    Only achieved ones enjoy
    The smooth flow of nature.

    Reference:
    Moonlight in the Dark Night
    by Hua-Ching Ni
    ISBN 0937064440


  • Radiating loving-kindness

    May all creatures, all living things, all beings, be free from hatred, difficulties, and troubles, and may they live in happiness!

  • Watsu – Water Shiatsu

    Origins of Watsu

    Watsu® (Water Shiatsu) began in 1980 in the warm pool at Harbin Hot Springs when Harold Dull started floating people while applying the stretches and principles of the Zen Shiatsu he had studied in Japan. In the Orient, stretching as a way to open channels through which our Chi energy flows is even older than acupuncture. Stretching strengthens muscle and increases flexibility. Warm water, which many associate with the body’s deepest states of waking relaxation, is the ideal medium. The support of water takes weight off the vertebrae and allows the spine to be moved in ways impossible on land. Gentle, gradual twists and pulls relieve the pressure a rigid spine places on nerves and helps undo any dysfunctioning this pressure can cause to the organs serviced by those nerves. The Watsu receiver experiences greater flexibility and freedom. During Watsu a range of emotions can come up and be released into the process of continuous flow. This reprograms receivers to face life out of the water with greater equanimity and flexibility.

    Another principle of Zen Shiatsu, that of connecting with the breath, takes on a new dimension in Watsu. On land, the breathing is coordinated with leaning into points. In water, our most basic move is the Water Breath Dance, in which we float someone in our arms and let them sink a little as they breathe out and let the water lift us as we both breathe in. Repeated over and over at the beginning of a Watsu, this creates a connection that can be carried into all the stretches and moves. This Water Breath Dance, and its stillness, is returned to throughout the session.

    Experiencing both giving and receiving this most nurturing form of bodywork can help heal whatever wounds of separation we carry and renew in us our sense of connection and oneness with others. For this reason Watsu is Rebonding Therapy. Watsu is used around the world by professional bodyworkers, physical therapists, psychologists, as well as the general public.

    Watsu, and the way it is taught, has evolved over the years. In the beginning the focus was primarily on stretching. With the Waterbreath Dance and the greater connection of moves to the breath, a more meditative stillness entered in. The use of flotation devices on legs that would otherwise sink has widened the possibilities and the ease of a Watsu.

    Once a practitioner has reached the level of presence and connection that the carefully evolved Watsu Forms instill, they are taught and encouraged to explore the creative potential in Watsu Free Flow.

    Reference: www.watsu.com

  • The Master of Demon Valley

    The world has no constant values, events has no constant guide.

    When others act, I am still; When others talk I listen. If you know your nature, you’ll have few troubles; if you know your destiny, you won’t worry.

    Reference:
    Alchemists, Mediums, and Magicians: Stories of Taoist Mystics
    by Thomas Cleary
    ISBN: 9781590306598

    p. 14

  • Yoga Bibliography

    I compiled this list for Kristina from a recommended book list from her yoga school. Further recommendations are welcome..

    Hatha Yoga: The Report of a Personnal Experience
    by Theos Bernard
    ISBN 0955241227

    The Gheranda Samhita: A Treatise on Hatha Yoga
    Sris Chandra Vasu
    ISBN 1436690420

    Raja Yoga
    by Swami Vivekananda
    ISBN 8180900363

    Sacred Texts: The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
    by Swami Vivekananda
    ISBN 1905857039

    A Search in Secret India
    by Paul Brunton
    ISBN 1844130436

    The Morning of the Magicians (Mysteries of the Universe)
    by Louis Pauwels, Jacques Bergier
    ISBN 0285635832

    The Serpent Power: Secrets of Tantric and Shaktic Yoga
    by Arthur Avalon
    ISBN 0486230589

    Tantrik Texts
    by Arthur Avalon
    ISBN 8177557254

    Yoga: Immortality and Freedom (Works of Mircea Eliade)
    Mircea Eliade
    ISBN 0691017646

    Tibet’s Great Yogi Milarepa
    by W.Y. Evans-Wentz
    ISBN 8178222523

    The Gheranda Samhita: A Treatise on Hatha Yoga
    by Sris Chandra Vasu
    ISBN 1436690420

    Links:
    Raja Yoga wikipedia.org

  • A real human being

    I dwell in spiritual tipsiness, looking into the meaning of mellowness.

    I do not know why there is a profound smile on my lips,
    neither do I care to find out.

    Lighting up me entire body,
    filling it to the brim with nothing.

    I die to my self.

    Not knowing who I am,
    or where I am.

    Lost to the world,
    entering Heaven.

    Walking the earth,
    returning from bliss.

    The spark of tipsiness has lit my life.
    How can anything be the same.

    Learning how to die moment by moment. In an instant a real human being.

  • The Value of Boredom

    Learn to enjoy boredom and monotony. When you feel bored, it means that it is a really good time and everything is in good condition. This is the most valuable time for you. Most people are unpleasant when things are boring, because they do not know the value of boredom and monotony. Monotony to them is too simple, and they cannot stand it. Those things you consider boring and monotonous can help you come back to yourself instead of pulling you away. By accepting them, you can nurture yourself.

    Reference:
    Entering the Tao: Master Ni’s Teachings on Self-cultivation
    by Hua-Ching Ni
    ISBN 9781570621611

  • Cutting Up An Ox

    Cook Ting was cutting an ox after a sacrifice to be used as food for Lord Wen of Hui. At every touch of the hand, every heave of the shoulder, every move of the feet, every bend of the knee, he slipped the knife along effortlessly and all was in perfect rhythm as though he were performing the dance of the mulberry grove to the flow of the melody of Yao’s music.
    “Ah, this is marvelous,” said Lord Wen of Hui. “Imagine skill reaching such heights!”
    Cook Ting laid down his knife and replied, “What I care about is the natural path which goes beyond skill. When I first began cutting oxen, all I could see was the ox itself. After three years I no longer saw the whole ox. Now I go at it through intuition. Perception and understanding have come to a stop and intuition moves where it wants. I go along with the natural construction, strike in the big hollow places, guide the knife through large openings, and follow things as they are. So I never touch the smallest ligament or tendon, much less the main joints.
    “A good cook changes knives once a year, because he cuts. A mediocre cook changes his once a month, because he hacks. I’ve had this knife of mine for nineteen years and I’ve cut thousands of oxen with it, yet the blade is as good as new.
    “There are spaces between the joints, and the blade of remain in peace. Undeveloped people cannot do this; there the knife is just as if it had no thickness really. If you insert what has no thickness into such spaces, then there’s plenty of room, more than enough for the blade to play about. And after nineteen years, the blade of my knife is still as good as when it first came from the grindstone.
    “However, whenever I come to a complicated spot, I size up the difficulties, tell myself to watch out and be careful, keep my eyes on what I am doing, work very slowly and move the knife with the greatest subtlety until the whole thing comes apart like a clod of earth flopping to the ground. I stand there holding the knife and look all around me, my mind completely full with the satisfaction of accomplishing a perfect job, and then I wipe the knife and put it away.
    “Excellent,” said Lord Wen of Hui. “I have heard the words of Cook Ting and learned how to solve the problems of life!”

    Chuang Tzu or Zhuang Zi

    Reference:
    Entering the Tao: Master Ni’s Teachings on Self-cultivation
    by Hua-Ching Ni
    ISBN 9781570621611

    Links:
    Cutting Up An Ox about.com