WUJI: NO-Polarity
To Know Taiji, one must practice Wuji…
Be Still and Quiet…
Observe EVERYTHING happening around you…
Now shift ALL of that focus to just yourSelf…
Notice any undue Effort or Tension…give it to Gravity instead…
Notice your BReath…Notice your Breath…Notice the Motion…
Notice the RHYTHM…
Notice the Pace…
Relax and just let it happen
This Is;
The Practice
On the spiritual Path, every single moment is part of your Practice.
Whatever you are doing right now, is what you are Practicing.
What are you Practicing right now?
In our Wednesday AM TaiChi class, we discussed the importance of practicing outside of class, even if it is something very small or seemingly inconsequential.
The important thing is that we are developing the capacity to focus and invest some Time and Energy in the present moment.
The ability to be mindful in this manner gradually expands, and as it does, the scope of our Practice also expands.
When practicing a TaiChi movement or posture, what other qualities are you Practicing?
Judgment?
Jealousy?
Frustration?
Relaxation?
Contentment?
Taken in its broadest sense, every single moment of Life is your Practice.
How you choose to respond to, and engage with, the world and your experiences is your true Practice.
What are you Practicing?
This morning we were reminded that the quintessential skill of genuine TaiChi Practice takes less than three seconds.
Cultivating Awareness of your Body and Mind happens the instant you allow it.
Checking in with your posture and making physical adjustments can happen in less than three seconds.
Noticing that your Mind is wandering, and bringing it back to the task at hand, can happen in less than three seconds.
The only impediment to Practice is your commitment to the belief that you cannot.
Surely everybody knows the phenomenon: you go to the bathroom and the result doesn’t match the expectation. You might think you’re going to evict days worth of food and get rabbit pellets. You might plop down expecting nothing to happen at all and require the courtesy flush! That’s life, eh?
Practice sometimes feels the same way.
Oftentimes when it seems like our efforts won’t be fruitful is when we get the wildest results, or have the most incredible experiences.
If ever there were a meaningful case for DailyPractice, surely this is it.
There are no guarantees that we will have epiphanies or transcendent highs, but if we don’t attend to Practice we are assured to not have such moments.
The Gretzky-classic goes, “You miss one-hundred percent of the shots you don’t take.”
Even when it seems irrelevant or unimportant, Practice.
There aren’t substitutes or shortcuts. You just do the work.
Sometimes it will feel wonderful and amazing.
Sometimes it will feel procedural or difficult.
But Practice is not about how it feels in that moment. It’s about tending to the moment, no doubt, but Practice is largely just for Practice’s sake. You do it because you can.
Because you want to.
Because you have to.
Because what you develop through Practice pays off when it’s time for “performance”, so to speak.
You don’t have to like Practice to get results. But you will have to do it.
Shit.
Yin-Yang-Yoga 