I love those chance meetings with strangers (although I certainly don't search them out - my failing). Strangers don't know you and tend not to encumber you with opinions and expectations. There can be a whole universe in a brief encounter, which can resonate through the rest of your life.
The job of the teacher is to see clearly your potential (destiny) and thrust you unmercifully into it. This is the opposite to friends and family who often hold you back with their selfishness and fears. John was always astonished that Dr Chi's family had no idea of his greatness. To them he was just a provider. There was so much he couldn't share with them and he had to remain somewhat aloof otherwise they would have drained him.
As you get deeper into your Tai Chi, any drain on your energy becomes a real impediment to progress. Best locate and excise. Or, if bound by duty and love, establish for yourself a circle of spiritual comrades and give each other all the encouragement and support necessary for you all to advance on a unified front. Strength in numbers.
The difference between support and disapproval can be subtle. People who claim to love you may still disapprove of your commitment to a teaching, which they may see as a weakness or slavishness. Hopefully your improving energy will win them over, but even this can be threatening to some. I remember one student whose wife gave him an ultimatum - it's either tai chi or me - because she was terrified that the positive changes he was undergoing would drive them apart (she was right). Unfortunately he made the wrong decision.
Real love does not attach, and certainly does not impede one's spiritual progress. Real love should be like that from your teacher: a burst of energy and connectedness that thrusts you into your destiny, no strings attached. If you find your soulmate then your destinies will be intimately bound up and you have companionship for the rest of your days. Next to finding a teacher, this is the ultimate good fortune.
There is no end to the teaching.
The pool is infinitely deep.
It's touch is constantly inspiring you to become more atuned - better connected.
There is no end to connectedness.
It will gradually deepen and transform if it is worked on.
The work strengthens and exposes your essential qualities.
Masculine - strength, sobriety, vulnerability.
Feminine - softness, sensitivity, omnipotence.
Within each of us there is an infinite richness.
Within the connexion there should be a similar infinite richness.
That's what life is.
The job of the teacher is to see clearly your potential (destiny) and thrust you unmercifully into it. This is the opposite to friends and family who often hold you back with their selfishness and fears. John was always astonished that Dr Chi's family had no idea of his greatness. To them he was just a provider. There was so much he couldn't share with them and he had to remain somewhat aloof otherwise they would have drained him.
As you get deeper into your Tai Chi, any drain on your energy becomes a real impediment to progress. Best locate and excise. Or, if bound by duty and love, establish for yourself a circle of spiritual comrades and give each other all the encouragement and support necessary for you all to advance on a unified front. Strength in numbers.
The difference between support and disapproval can be subtle. People who claim to love you may still disapprove of your commitment to a teaching, which they may see as a weakness or slavishness. Hopefully your improving energy will win them over, but even this can be threatening to some. I remember one student whose wife gave him an ultimatum - it's either tai chi or me - because she was terrified that the positive changes he was undergoing would drive them apart (she was right). Unfortunately he made the wrong decision.
Real love does not attach, and certainly does not impede one's spiritual progress. Real love should be like that from your teacher: a burst of energy and connectedness that thrusts you into your destiny, no strings attached. If you find your soulmate then your destinies will be intimately bound up and you have companionship for the rest of your days. Next to finding a teacher, this is the ultimate good fortune.
There is no end to the teaching.
The pool is infinitely deep.
It's touch is constantly inspiring you to become more atuned - better connected.
There is no end to connectedness.
It will gradually deepen and transform if it is worked on.
The work strengthens and exposes your essential qualities.
Masculine - strength, sobriety, vulnerability.
Feminine - softness, sensitivity, omnipotence.
Within each of us there is an infinite richness.
Within the connexion there should be a similar infinite richness.
That's what life is.
1 comment
Interesting comment about family. My wife hated me doing tai chi but she changed her attitude when I stopped getting ill two or three times a year. Haven't really been ill now for about 4 years so she's prepared to tolerates me going away for a week or two a year to practice, although she still doesn't really like it.
There's also a few other things I've had to do. I adapted my daily schedule, so getting up early to practice (a good thing anyway) which doesn't interrupt household task.
There's always a trade off in these things and giving extra love, helping the objector to feel better about themselves, paying extra attention etc can dissolve the problems. My experience is that when people object strongly to something it's because they're being neglected in some way.
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