One of the interesting things about the weight-training we did 12 years ago, was how it encouraged the chest to expand and the heart to fill. This was especially the case with heavy squats. To prevent the weight from buckling the spine one had to really thrust the upper chest up to the heavens as the legs drove the bar up. The feeling afterwards was of a heart emanating and reaching out into the world, and a spine strengthened by having stacked down through the backs of the legs. Chest work such as flies and pullovers were also excellent for opening the heart. What became clear in fact was that to manage hefty weights at all the spine had to be braced, the chest had to be full and open, and the belly had to be taut and contracted.
The closest I’ve come to the feelings of careless power, exuberance and generosity that the weights developed, is from reading poetry aloud. I stand up, sit back, hold the text up high and declaim (without in any way shouting) drawing power from the belly and legs and allowing that power to resound in the chest cavity, which expands and reaches up in much the same way it did whilst squatting. The resonating voice stimulates the physical body and the act of letting energy out stimulates the energy body. Projecting the voice to some imagined spot in the distance is helpful, and a good text is vital. I remember hearing old recordings of Yeats and Pound reading their own stuff and was struck by just how loud and strong their voices were. In the days before microphones projection had to be an act of spirit. We are vocal beings and part of being strong is to be of strong voice. Singing is probably even better, especially singing hymns within a congregation. An old girlfriend used to say to me that if ever I wanted to cheer myself up just sing. I’ve never done it but I will, one day. Some things stay on the back-burner for a long time before they’re cooked.
Those of you who have any of John’s writings (really dictations) should realise that they are meant to be read aloud in this way. This act evokes the energy with which they were created. The meaning is as much in their vital realisation by you as it is in the sense of the words and phrases. This is often the only way to make any sense of some of the longer sentences that just don’t seem to scan or resolve. They were originally read to me to write down, reading aspects of energy and the Natural Process. When I read them back to JK he’s as surprised as I am at what has manifest.
The closest I’ve come to the feelings of careless power, exuberance and generosity that the weights developed, is from reading poetry aloud. I stand up, sit back, hold the text up high and declaim (without in any way shouting) drawing power from the belly and legs and allowing that power to resound in the chest cavity, which expands and reaches up in much the same way it did whilst squatting. The resonating voice stimulates the physical body and the act of letting energy out stimulates the energy body. Projecting the voice to some imagined spot in the distance is helpful, and a good text is vital. I remember hearing old recordings of Yeats and Pound reading their own stuff and was struck by just how loud and strong their voices were. In the days before microphones projection had to be an act of spirit. We are vocal beings and part of being strong is to be of strong voice. Singing is probably even better, especially singing hymns within a congregation. An old girlfriend used to say to me that if ever I wanted to cheer myself up just sing. I’ve never done it but I will, one day. Some things stay on the back-burner for a long time before they’re cooked.
Those of you who have any of John’s writings (really dictations) should realise that they are meant to be read aloud in this way. This act evokes the energy with which they were created. The meaning is as much in their vital realisation by you as it is in the sense of the words and phrases. This is often the only way to make any sense of some of the longer sentences that just don’t seem to scan or resolve. They were originally read to me to write down, reading aspects of energy and the Natural Process. When I read them back to JK he’s as surprised as I am at what has manifest.
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