It is the persistent use of the calculating mind that makes you grow old and hard, or at least prevents you getting softer. Olson called it the Universe of Discourse – the abstract, artificial, and degrading world that civilized and educated man has created for himself to wallow in, like the swine in their mud grunting outside (they are calling me for apples). It started to develop with a vengeance with the advent of reading and writing, when communication started to mean something other than heart to heart, and those that couldn't read or write – those that could only rely on heart to heart – were considered primitive or uneducated. The trouble with books is that they get read – they encourage reading rather than listening – the words and ideas become important rather than the energy behind them. And they lie.
Practising Pushing Hands you develop the ability to feel and understand a person, regardless of the bullshit coming from their mouth. You feel their significance, where they are coming from and where they are going, but above all you feel their destiny – what their life should be if they had the sense, guts and grace to live it right. A correct life is one that moves gradually, and maybe even imperceptibly, into connectedness. A correct life is a natural process.
I remember Jeremy once telling me about the Tai Chi he studied before he found JK. They would similarly have day long Intensives (or maybe it was two days), but there was a rule – silence, absolute silence, apart from the last half hour of the session when students were allowed to talk to each other. He said it was fascinating because during the silence everyone was equal – of the group – and he just wasn't aware of who was good at their Tai Chi and who wasn't – such considerations were neither important nor relevant. However, as soon as the talking started hierarchies began to establish themselves (“How long have you been doing Tai Chi?” – the usual shit) and people began to disconnect as they slotted each other in their place. He said it became so obvious that we use language to create an ordered world we are comfortable with – an arms-length world.
Practising Pushing Hands you develop the ability to feel and understand a person, regardless of the bullshit coming from their mouth. You feel their significance, where they are coming from and where they are going, but above all you feel their destiny – what their life should be if they had the sense, guts and grace to live it right. A correct life is one that moves gradually, and maybe even imperceptibly, into connectedness. A correct life is a natural process.
I remember Jeremy once telling me about the Tai Chi he studied before he found JK. They would similarly have day long Intensives (or maybe it was two days), but there was a rule – silence, absolute silence, apart from the last half hour of the session when students were allowed to talk to each other. He said it was fascinating because during the silence everyone was equal – of the group – and he just wasn't aware of who was good at their Tai Chi and who wasn't – such considerations were neither important nor relevant. However, as soon as the talking started hierarchies began to establish themselves (“How long have you been doing Tai Chi?” – the usual shit) and people began to disconnect as they slotted each other in their place. He said it became so obvious that we use language to create an ordered world we are comfortable with – an arms-length world.
2 comments
Happy Birthday you miserable sod!
Happy Birthday oh handsome one.
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