Yujia Gong

Meditating Upon Meditation

2011-03-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

“You should really forget the word meditation. That word has been corrupted. The ordinary meaning of that word - to ponder over, to consider, to think about - is rather trivial and ordinary. If you want to understand the nature of meditation you should really forget the word because you cannot possibly measure with words that which is not measurable, that which is beyond all measure.

No words can convey it, nor any systems, modes of thought, practice or discipline. Meditation - or rather if we could find another word which has not been so mutilated, made so ordinary, corrupt, which has become the means of earning a great deal of money - if you can put aside the word, then you begin quietly and gently to feel a movement that is not of time.

Again, the word movement implies time - what is meant is a movement that has no beginning or end. A movement in the sense of a wave: wave upon wave, starting from nowhere and with no beach to crash upon. It is an endless wave.  Time, however slow it is, is rather tiresome. Time means growth, evolution, to become, to achieve, to learn, to change. And time is not the way of that which lies far beyond the word meditation. Time has nothing to do with it. Time is the action of will, of desire, and desire cannot in any way [word or words inaudible here] - it lies far beyond the word meditation.” - J.Krishnamurti

This talk given by Krishnamurti opens up the intellectual door for some form of understanding of what meditation truly is. There are many methods of meditation available today and most of them amount to nothing more than contemplation and concentration of the mind.

The conditioned mind is the very thing that we must free ourselves from, in order to discover the meditative state. Using it to concentrate and contemplate utilises willpower and effort to wilfully create a state of relaxation. The mind relishes this power and finds it intoxicating. However, it requires a quiet environment, ritualistic practice, a comfortable setting and various other procedures and requirements set the scene in order to allow the mind to enter the door to the relaxed state which it has created and called meditation.

Meditation in the midst of circumstances is the ultimate centring possible. If you can remain within your centre then, regardless of events, circumstances or any form of chaos you will be able to take action from outside of the conditioned mind. Any action from this state will not accrue Karma. This is because the action has not come from the conditioned mind but instead from the energy of the situation and thus the unconditioned intelligence. Which means that duality does not come into any action – there is no thought at any level of the psyche pertaining to reward or punishment for what you have done. In reality you have done nothing because normally you are purely in the mind. You are identified with this incessant and mostly fruitless chatter going on internally.

If you learn to watch your internal energy and allow it to guide you in this way, then you will have come to understand the principle of Wu Wei or Actionless Action. When there is no doer doing the action then it is no longer an action, it has simply become the flow of nature.

When we follow the Unconditioned Intelligence and are guided by our internal energy response & flow, then time and time again it will catch us up within its flow and take us back to the Source. On its journey back to the Source the Unconditioned Intelligence brings the psycho-physical organism back into unity by removing all energy stagnation and dis-ease. Allowing it to enter meditation, where there is no experiencer, nor any experience. Yet because our internal energy has been correctly cultivated we can sit with vitality whilst meditating. Instead of the usual reaction of drifting off into deep dreamless sleep.

It is only through practices that open us up firstly to our own internal energy that help us to have the experience that we are not the mind. Then by following the internal energy back to the Source that we also realise that we are not the body. Yet in this expansive, limitless and unchanging state are the seeds that can grow into an understanding of our true nature. Feed and water the acorn and it will grow into a mighty oak. Likewise more and more exposure to energy work governed by the Unconditioned Intelligence and more and more exposure to the Source grows the merest glimpse of our true nature into Wu Ji. Which means Ultimateless, Boundless, Infinite or even Primordial Universe.

Primordial Universe is the phrase that resonates with me because the understanding of Wu Ji is there to see. Primordial suggests “prior to order” (and the Universe is created by our Conditioned Mind). Meaning that the principle of Wu Ji is to move beyond anything that has been created by the mind. Living moment to moment because we are no longer pulled backwards by memories or driven forward by a lust for a future result. Only now do we understand meditation and even so we can only say truthfully what it is not because it is prior to the order of the Conditioned Mind.

Breath Of Life

2011-01-26T03:02:00.000-08:00

The primary system upon which we rely for life is the respiratory system. We will die if we stop taking food for 3 weeks, water for 3 days and breath for 3 minutes….. on average.

Chi/Prana/Potential Energy infuses the air that we breathe. The way in which we take in Chi directly affects both how it is processed and utilized. When young we breathe deeply into the abdomen, utilizing all the internal cavity space within the respiratory system.

When breath is taken into the abdomen it creates space for the internal organs to drop, the diaphragm to fully extend and for a full opening of the ribs as the lungs expand to full capacity unhindered. The maximum amount of oxygen infuses the blood and capillary systems, which are stimulated in Chi Gong practices by unifying breath, posture/movement and energy. As such deep breathing & Chi breathing techniques are foundational when seeking complete integration within oneself. To move within the flow of energy, without tension to hinder the flow and to unify matter, energy and intelligence is to activate your internal source of power

As we get older the breath tends to raise slowly up into the chest cavity and we forget all about thorough abdominal breathing. When breathing into the chest we only take in a fraction of the potential Chi and thus oxygen in. Chest breathing is a natural part of the fight or flight response and as such unnecessarily stimulates the endocrine system and in particular the adrenal gland. Constant stimulation in this manner leaves us in a constant state of stress and standard methods of “stress relief” in almost any western exercise, simply enhance our capacity and strengthen us for the purpose of being able to pile even more stress upon the body & mind.

When you begin to watch the breath, without interference then it becomes easy to see that the patterns, habits and inherent stresses from the conditioned consciousness directly affects our breathing. Any stress manifesting upon the breath is transferred into the physical structure. This can happen overtly as physical tension & pain or more covertly as dis-ease from poor oxygenation and mis-function of the physical body. In Western medicine we await for these causes to bed in and the overriding symptoms to occur before we treat them. The treatments concern either putting something into your body chemically or taking something out physically. They do not deal with the root cause of the illness. For instance, not many people have a lung removed and get a GP referral to Chi Gong or Pranayama classes. Yet perhaps they should !

The potential held within Chi Gong practice includes alignment of the breath with the physical structure, the physical structure with the internal flow of energy and the internal flow of energy with the unconditioned intelligence & the source of internal power.

When breath is combined with movement that pumps Chi through the energy meridians, both gross and subtle – the maximum physical benefit is experienced. With the newfound flow of energy we will notice habit patterns beginning to change of their own accord and without willpower or effort. This is because the intent of the conditioned mind is being drawn into close harmony with our physical being and energy flow. We are beginning to inhabit our physical bodies and listen to the cues provided from our internal energy, instead of the usual process of being pushed and pulled around by external influences.

In learning to both listen to and follow our internal energy flow, we are taking instruction from within our own physical being. This internal source of power is already unified and harmonious with our true nature. Thus by following our internal energy we are automatically drawn to work out any physical & mental tension, energy stagnation and energy blockages. Once a workout has reached this stage then meditation begins to happen all of its own accord and without effort, visualisation or any other form of technique. The mind and the physical body hold no tension or dis-ease. The energy is flowing unhindered and pulling the now unfettered mind into the void of meditation, where the Yin nurturing cycle is activated because there is no longer any need to be identified with the body or the conscious mind. When neither hold tension then our focus and attention is no longer required – there is nothing to fix and so our consciousness is no longer seeking routes to reharmonize and balance our reality.

Chi Gong - does it do what it says on the tin ?

2010-06-13T12:50:00.000-07:00

Got a new post brewing......

However, in the meantime I wanted to share this excellent article on Chi Gong. I was very interested to read about the hospital in Beijing that uses Chi Gong as an anaesthetic !

http://people.howstuffworks.com/chi-kung-exercises.htm

And how it describes everything that I do but still it is obvious that if I called it Chi Gong in the west. That I would certainly mis-interpreted by anyone coming to a "Chi Gong" class or workshop with me !!! Due to it's systemization and dilution into many separate practices the whole is difficult to understand from a closed perspective. Yet Chi Gong simply means Energy Skill or Work. The dilution of it's meaning and use into a system, means that people are over-developing their Chi in one area and at the cost of others. Chi, when used to connect with the Source of all power or the void of meditation in any & all circumstances has the byproduct of any of the other skills & benefits being available as and when required.

Now there it is in black and white........the secret that we all seek. If we seek the state of yoga, if we follow energy work to do so and include meditation then all physical, pyscho-physical, energetic & meditative doors and powers open themselves up of their own accord. Not to say that any demonstration of will can ever call these powers to the fore because to open to them fully the ego must first be dissolved, and their energy allowed to flow of its own accord and thus within natural law and YOUR EGO has no say in that......sorry !

Slow Mo is the Way to Go

2010-04-04T14:22:00.000-07:00

Wu Shu Gong, or martial skill/work can be developed internally aswell as externally. Most martial arts train externally by drilling moves and educating the body as to how it should move within that particular system. These systems produce some brilliant competitive fighters, who have learned through natural ability and hard work. In these systems the black belt is both the goal and the endpoint to a beginner. However, at this stage, if benefitted with any insight the fighter makes the realization that he has learned the entire system and only now can he begin to forget it and begin to train unconditioned action.

Internal systems study things such as alignment and energy flow. From this foundation the student gets to look internally from the outset. The easiest force to understand is a force that we can actually experience. Training into "reading" someone elses intentions through their physical movements and the workings of the human anatomy is a long arduous task for this very reason...because the force or energy that we are trying to read and understand is external and at best irrational. Will karate deal adequately with a psychopath ? Can Judo deal sufficiently with multiple opponents ? No amount of training in any discipline will furnish you with anything other than a modicum of confidence in your abilities to cope. However, bring in an unexpected or unsurmountable obstacle beyond the capacities of our training and the decision made in your fight or flight centre had better be the correct one. Or the result could prove to be pretty painful !

With Internal martial work we study our alignment and energy flow. Yet the standardized systems of Taiji, Ba Gua, Xing Yi etc. also all take years of arduous effort to learn this alignment and how to use it. If you go to a traditional Tai Chi class instead of one of the geriatric attracting versions that now dominate then you are in for a huge suprise. Think Shaolin training and you're getting close to the huge gap that has opened up even in this discipline. The offshoot designed to create longevity is a world away from the traditional and the traditional is designed for maximum fighting potential and calls for a lifestyle devoted entirely towards the training itself.

In martial arts, with so many options and connotations and indeed (in every instance) the hard work involved in reaching any beneficial level is tremendous. Especially if you have yet to uncover your natural abilities and utilise them.

The Taoist Warrior Monk's path looks at martial practice from a true internal and non-competitive standpoint from the outset. More often than not if someone brings into a martial stretch any aggression then it will revisit them. It will evolve within the energy of the stretch and be mirrored back upon them or if not it will hit psychologically or physically at some point. This is not reprisal but a manifestation of the energy that they have input into the situation from the ego. It happens because (ideally) the other player is watching their own internal energy. Any energy from the ego is mirrored back automatically. The idea of stretching is to overcome ourselves, to put ourselves to the side and find the point of harmony physically. If anger is bouncing about in the situation then it will be worked out or it will have to be dealt with at a later date when it manifests physically, mentally or emotionally. If at least one player has the intention of seeking harmony then this energy cannot be dissipated because it is not a harmonious energy. It is borne of dominance or frustration or whatever and thus can never be made harmonious.

This makes these practices unique as any martial encounter is never competitive. There is no win, but the result is to work out all the physical and mental stress from the engagement of two (or more) entities. When all end up in the void of meditation at the end of the stretch, harmony has been reached and a layer of the psyche has been passed through.

At all stages the internal process of alignment and energy flow are automatically at work. It does not take years to learn the correct alignment against any force when the force being applied is real instead of imagined, as generally is the case in other internal studies. As we perform the spontaneous martial stretches at a snails pace, we are given the opportunity to study every possibility in any position and find a powerful alignment. Sometimes in the most unlikely and weak positions we are given the point of concentrated yang within the yin and the situation itself flips polarity. Also by moving slowly we can observe energy flow and find where our bodies need to move rather than going where the mind wants it to move. Moving from the mind is utilising memory and habit pattern and desire for a particular outcome, projected by your desire to shape the future. Finally moving slowly empowers the entire physical structure due to the observation of alignment and energy flow. Which in turn builds up energy, flow, alignment and the muscles, tendons, sinews and bones in the most multi-dimensional and multi-purpose way.

In the pure observation of alignment and energy flow the ego and memory are dropped immediately. We are actually training and developing our powers of intuition, learning trust in our physical organism and our internal energy to provide perfect response, free of mind and desire for any result. We enter the flow of energy and allow it to take it's course. As we meditate we go beyond even this and enter the void, where even the experiencer is dropped. This state is usually entered into automatically at the end of a stretch, which educates us that the intoxication of being within energy flow is still not pure observation because there is a state beyond it which is not observe-able.

Interestingly as internal power is built up through the practices the energy that is usually developed for feats of Chi trickery, longevity, health, strength and so on - is transformed and a vital energy (sexual energy in it's true form) enables us to observe the void state itself for longer and longer periods. The martial work raises this energy to the next centre. Upon harnessing these two elements the resevoir of the primal force is made fully available to us. This is because it is now redirected and not utilised for ego gratification or reproduction or any endeavour that expends our energy only for the purpose of solidifying our ego.

Obviously the practices continue from this point and raise the energy throughout the organism to heal and empower it. It is also simultaneously raised through the centres until we can access the void state whenever there is no function present. In the void state we enter the Yin nurturing cycle where all non-essential systems (including AND most importantly the mind) go into abeyance.

Thus the practices of a Taoist Warrior Monk cover all aspects of bodywork, all aspects of energy work and all aspects of meditation. These are all utilised for the purpose of going beyond mind as rapidly as possible and increasing our exposure daily to the yin nurturing cycle. They are not used to build strength, emotional calm, vigour, health, strength, longevity or anything. They are used only as an experience to be studied upon the level that they function. We study the physical with the physical or body-mind, we study energy with our senses combined and functioning multi-dimensionally and we study the meditative from within meditation. They also serve as a process of stepping stones back to the source of our internal power as the physical work brings us a step back from the mind, the energy work peels us back one layer further and the meditative work shows us that there is something else available to us beyond all of these intoxicating experiences. A place that we normally only get to experience in sleep or death...

Quantum Yoga

2009-12-10T20:58:00.000-08:00

Quantum Yoga is a new and living system of yoga. It physically, energetically and meditatively explores the striking marriage of ancient alchemical principles with current discoveries in quantum science.

In Taoism it is the distilling of the golden elixir, in yoga the rising of the kundalini and in alchemy the transmutation of lead to gold. All alchemy seeks the same goal, to liberate the consciousness through redirection of base energy into a backward flowing motion. This refines the energy and prepares it for its journey up the central channel, through the chakras and then to raise the consciousness & level of vibration. Dropping all Karma and opening up to the universal consciousness.

That’s all great if you understand the cloaked images in alchemical texts. All systems utilise their own codified languages and offer no real instruction. Most yoga systems now available only focus upon the physical unity and thus brilliantly deliver the first stage. Which is to create a body that is sensitive and responsive to its own energy and (maybe) also to the energies of others. Chi Gong and other energy practices can also reach this stage where one has begun to transform, circulate and redirect energy within the body. When the popularised state of “yoga” is achieved then it is time for the work to begin and one must discover and fully experience ones own internal workings on every level – physical, energetic, emotional, expressive, mental and spiritual. Only after an understanding has been reached on all of these levels can one hope to break through.

A direct experience is certainly the only way that this can be fully understood. Intellectual understanding is merely the doorway to a greater picture. Quantum Yoga gives us glimpses of this. The methods are scientific and thankfully are now backed up by modern science. For instance an experiment was created to study the behaviour of electrons. These were fired through two parallel slits onto a sensitive screen, which recorded the pattern of impact. Over a period of time a pattern emerged that depicts the behaviour of a wave hitting the slits and causing an interference pattern on the screen. When a recording device was set up to monitor the behaviour between the firing point and the slits – the screen recorded a pattern that a particle would have made i.e. similar to firing tennis balls at the slits instead of them behaving like waves, as previously.

This demonstrates an almost sentient effect to these electrons or that they behave differently depending on how they are observed. If this is the case then the body can be affected at a cellular level simply by the use of pure observation and pure intention. Something that masters have been telling us for thousands of years. Energy solidified in the ego represents a particle, an individual making their own progress and when the ego is observed it manifests. When it is not observed the universal consciousness flows and energy passes through it as a wave. As it is free of the ego it is expansive and thus free of karma. The death of the ego cannot be achieved as it will again manifest if observed and the death of the particle/individual is the death of the wave.

With meditation and energy work the individual develops pure observation. In this the consciousness is expansive and free to watch all patterns build energy, emerge, manifest and pass. This is creative freedom because the ego is no longer drawn into old habits, patterns and cycles but merely observes. As the consciousness is no longer identified solely with the individual nor solely in the unconscious there are no longer any karmic traps that draw energy and manifest the reality of that cycle. At this juncture we can follow the energy of any situation and be certain to be taking what is called ‘right action’. In this state the principle of Wu Wei is alive. Actionless action is taken when the action centre of the ego is no longer the driving force.

This is becoming the ocean in which both the waves and the particles inhabit and enables a heightened overview. In this state of purified consciousness anything that comes before it can be watched without attachment and the pull of the ego.

Quantum yoga cultivates this state through the correct cultivation of energy, mind and matter within the physical organism. It works on every level from the outset from creating the required sensitive body and by working upon all the power centres or chakras simultaneously. It will create emotional, mental and physical stress upon the organism as the process of emptying out begins. Which is why we must have a strong foundation of meditation, practice and a strong vital body.

The practices give us physical opportunities to work through all of the elements that bind the consciousness to the ego. Without the heightened overview gained by this complete practise the ego would grasp hold of these ‘problems’ that we have had programmed into us since birth and manifest either physically or mentally. Through Quantum Yoga we get to observe down to the cellular level and this alone brings us closer to our own internal source of power. It is almost like someone acting the fool and simply being blankly watched without judgement – eventually they will feel silly and calm down of their own accord. Without the input of contradictory nor complimentary energy it cannot continue.

This is achieved through a process of discovery. We utilise any practice that works and as such build a personal practice for every individual to suit his or her requirements. An intuitive yoga develops that changes from moment to moment, can be practiced at any time in any situation and that takes the attention from the mind to the physical body. When this attention has moved then it will by its very nature begin the true work upon spiritual development.

What is spiritual development ? It is the building of this energy that takes us out of the heart-mind and into the body-mind and eventually beyond any mind at all, into an expansive and unrestricted consciousness. The best-kept secret of all is that in our reality this actually takes very little effort at all. Unfortunately the ego does not wish to relinquish control. The sense of I am, I feel, I think, I do ,etc. is very difficult to drop.

Getting lost in physical action is a by-product of telling the ego that the practices are to build power. The ego relishes in making itself more powerful and gaining total control of the organism. The death of the ego is an interesting concept and certainly useful for those that wish a suicide of the mind. However, the reality is that everything at your disposal falls into line with your internal source of power and becomes a mere tool for the continued development and connection with expansive consciousness. In this state there is no longer any unnecessary loss of energy. Effortless action becomes our reality as we learn perfect bodily alignment, where it falls into line with your energy, the energy of the situation and the energy of the soul.

The soul is the vessel in which the expansive consciousness resides and is immortal as it is no longer bound by the shackles of time. With Quantum Yoga we work towards this total line up of all existence through the physical organism that we use to experience this reality. Opening up the possibility of experiencing everything totally and without judgement. Action now comes from energy and no longer from mind. It is immediate and performed with a totality of being.

The dropping of Karma is the dropping of the past and as a result we cease to continue our struggle to shape the future. Giving us freedom to live in the now…

What Is Yujia Gong ?

2008-11-14T02:17:00.000-08:00

It is very hard to describe Yujia Gong as it is a unique practice that melds itself into any individual's existing lifestyle & abilities. The structure is similar for everyone in the beginning but the intricacies rapidly vary from person to person. The voyage of discovery on this path is never anything short of fascinating as every thought, movement, object, person, emotion, feeling, energy, breath or entity is an opportunity to breakthrough into a completely new dimension of consciousness.

One of the by-products of the practices is the realisation of our unconditioned intelligence. Anyone versed in Taoist philosophy will have heard of the term "Wu Wei" or "Actionless Action". Something that seems almost like an oxymoron or indeed one of those Zen statements that are unsolveable, unless meditated upon for some time. However, if we simply bypass the mind and gain direct bodily experience of Wu Wei then everything can be understood in one workout.

The photo above is an excellent example. This is from a series of photos taken at Durham Botanical Gardens and where some brilliant postures occurred. A veteran Tai Chi player could probably take a stab at which Tai Chi position they best correspond to & for which meridians they stimulate. Yet when the workout was happening there was only a flow of energy guiding the movement. There was no routine, no form, no instruction and no mind involved. Through a unity of breath, energy & movement the workout happened to the physical organism of it's own accord. There was no mind as a driving factor i.e. a leg wanted to raise, so it raised - an arm wanted to extend & hang loose at the wrist, so it did - and so on. The best example that I can give is when you stand in a doorway and push with the backs of your hands against he door surround for a couple of minutes. Then as you step out & relax the arms they raise all by themselves. Imagine this in a physical workout and your intellect has grasped Wu Wei BUT you have still not experienced it.

Yujia Gong is a Taoist practice which involves everything from diet right through the spectrum to exercise and even meditation. It can involve anything, any movement, any person or any tool. The foundational practices are designed to develop a body that is a sensitive responsive instrument and provide a doorway into many forms of meditation - be they active, dynamic or passive.

It could just as easily be called Taoist Yoga or Chinese Yoga. The problem with this is the poverty of language and our ability to misinterpret the clearest of statements. Ask 10 people just what yoga IS and you will get 10 different answers. Yoga means the union of mind, body & energy. What we tend to see is the method of achieving this as Yoga itself. A headstand for one person may well offer a doorway to this unity but another may not be able to perform the headstand, or find it uncomfortable or require a different position or even a different kind of body work, energy work or meditation to achieve the same results.

So What Does It Involve ?

In Short Everything !

Yujia Gong utilises any skills that can bring unity to energy, body & mind. As such the list is endless but it does involve Yoga, Chi Gong, Zen / Meditation (Ch'an Gong), Wu Shu Gong (martial work) & Nei Gong (internal power work).

Every element is within every persons capabilities because all exercises are done slowly and mindfully, the only purpose being to heal and empower the physical organism and to relieve bodily & mental stress so that meditative states can be achieved easily. This means that even martial work is nothing more than 2 person yoga...