On my post of 14 June entitled Yielding a person kindly added a comment: Yielding - soft like eyes welling up with tears heart in mouth unable to speak
I understand these feelings absolutely (& appreciate the poetry) - the poignancy of opening & connecting can often cause emotions to well up & catch one off guard, so to speak. However, these feelings, whilst admirable and a real indication of sensitivity & humanity, can only be registered & dwelt on if yielding has not taken place. If you are truly going forwards then even though these feelings 'happen' to you, you wont have time to 'feel' them - you'll already be onto the next engagement and the feelings will be shrugged off with irritation because they are irrelevant - you will be too in the thick of things.
Both TaiChi & HeartWork are martial arts - all about fighting. Many practitioners object to this, claiming that physical combat is an irrelevance in a modern civilised 'middle-class' existence, or arguing instead the case for self-defence - "I'm learning to defend myself in the unlikely event of an attack". However, the martial aspect of our work is crucial to being able to yield: the mindset of a successful yielder is that of a warrior, not of a victim. You basically have a choice between being a warrior or a victim, you can't usefully be a little of both (the epitome of double-weightedness - picking & choosing). A warrior lives every moment of her life meaningfully & with focus - directed toward the next battle. She doesn't allow herself to think in terms of self-defence because she knows that the best way to defeat an enemy is to take the fight to them and try to catch them off-guard. If you really live this sort of impeccable life then the last thing you'll turn into is a bully (another complaint against the martial way by the average victim) because by treating every moment of every day as a campaign against ignorance & fear (your two real enemies) then you learn to treat everything with respect because to be successful in this lifelong campaign you need all the allies & energy you can gather. The warrior way is the only way to travel deeper into the world of energy, spirit & connectedness. The sooner a student understands this the sooner they start to make real inroads into that world and stop skirting around the fringes. As John Kells says, "You are truly blessed to know you have no choice".
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Max - the application of Tai Chi doesn't always involve physical combat, though practising this aspect develops what Steven refers to as the "mindset" of a warrior. I am trying to apply this approach - an ongoing campaign against ignorance and fear - into work situations for example. It doesn't mean I try and throw my boss across the office !
Perhaps to help develop an understanding you could give it a try - see Steven's earlier post "Beginning Tai Chi". I am finding Tai Chi one of the most intriguing and challenging things I have ever done.
I consider myself lucky to have found my teacher at a time when I really needed something to help me re-evaluate my attitude to life.
point taken steven. As john kells wrote "THE FEAST IS FORWARDS" Hope i m not misquoting him. The poignancy is like that bruise on one's knee after a walk, shrugged off.Nothing to make a big deal of.
The sweetness of love is noticed but not dwelt in.
The power of compassion is used but not returned to.
The face of time is turned into itself and not adhered to.
The will of anger is drained and used to lubricate our smiles.
Joy and wonder are as accidental as the bruise from knocking your shin on a country walk - no need to go on about it, or make a big thing of a natural occurrence.
The winding down of a day is noticed but not complained about.
The winding down of a life likewise.
Each moment is not taken as a moment because the nourishment from the Natural Process is continuous despite your thoughts.
The sight of others, their ambition, greed and fear, is like an inspiration to bounce from peripheral sight.
Nothing but connectedness deserves direct.
To war is to enter where you may not be welcome.
But who is to judge?
So let’s revise that: to war is to enter.
Comparing one thing with another is no use.
Your business is to enter and then enter some more.
What happens after entering is a natural consequence of being forwards and need not be dwelt upon.
This entering cogs on entry and struggles out of all the dimensions your cleverness can imagine.
Dwelling is no use.
The feast is forwards.
The smell is not of yesterday or of today but of advancing.
This advancing is so immensely vital that it swallows all conceptions of future.
John Kells from a dictation entitled Warriorship
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