The Zen Diarist

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Trees and the sinfulness of tai chi

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There is a wonderful magic about trees. But maybe today we are too concerned with world affairs. Trees have become an ecological issue rather than a beauty to behold. And they can teach us so much. Stand and admire a tree, any tree, and listen. Whether a magnificent horse-chestnut or a scrawny alder sapling, focusing on a tree can help us reconnect with Earth.

Those with some sensitivity may notice that different species impart varying qualities. A stroll through a deciduous wood feels so different from a walk in a coniferous forest, for instance. If we stand by an apple tree, the energy is very much in contrast to that of a mighty oak.

Some meditation traditions employ these differences, knowing that sitting under one type will produce different effects in the meditator than another. It is said that the Buddha attained enlightenment under the bodhi tree. Not just any old tree.

Jesus doesn’t do tai chi, I’m told

Ignorance is part of all of us but it can be staggering at times. Seeing a shard of light through a window doesn’t make us enlightened.

For nearly fifteen years we have run a not-for-profit tai chi group. Tai chi is wonderful for people of all ages, providing exercise for body and mind. It is recommended by the NHS, Versus Arthritis,  and the Alzheimers Society amongst many others.

This week I made enquiries about the possible use of a sports hall for tai chi. The hall is part of a community centre, which used to be in public ownership and is now owned by a church. They know us well on the community side of things and the wonderfully spacious hall was available. It would have been ideal.

However, the manager informed me that they would not allow tai chi there. It was completely at odds with their beliefs. They can’t allow that sort of thing. Tai chi is “Chinese and it has mystical roots which don’t fit with Jesus and his teachings”. Oh. Nor does yoga or meditation, in case you were wondering. I don’t know what they would think of trees.

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Can we let go of needing to know?

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If there is one thing we can be certain of, especially now, it’s that nothing lasts for ever. The temporary nature of everything in the universe is scientific fact, of course, and central to most spiritual teachings.

Over the years, a number of people have said to me that they find the notion of impermanence quite depressing – yet it’s supposed to help us and cheer us up!

Nevertheless, conditioned as we are to aim for health, longevity and maybe prosperity, we can feel a bit wobbly and disconnected when everything familiar seems to be falling apart.

How much do we really need to know?

Feeling adrift, it is natural to look for something to hold onto. We are ruled by our minds and emotions, so that often comes in the form of seeking information – lots of it.

Isn’t it great that we seem to have almost limitless access to information? Well, not necessarily. Information is not the same as knowledge.

Real knowledge resides in the boundlessness of pure consciousness and is accessed not by facts but through stillness and clarity.

We have all probably experienced that clarity many times, even if just for a few seconds. It usually occurs when there is a gap in thinking that gives us an “aha” moment.

Aha – how about an information fast?

If the information we seek leads us a little closer to the experience of pure consciousness, that’s great. Information as education should do that.

The trouble with most of the news, theories, rumours and banalities of social media is that they do the opposite. They actually pull us away from our inner nature.

Instead of peacefulness and unity, the mind careers into divisiveness, analysing and judging. Once that begins, the process is very hard to stop. It is like having an itch that, once scratched, moves somewhere else and needs scratching again.

If your mind is not peaceful, why not try a news and social media fast for a few days? After the initial withdrawal symptoms, you may feel surprisingly better and upbeat.

More of this in The Art of Not Doing

Guided meditations

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Taking refuge can give us what we really want

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When there’s a storm blowing, people and animals take refuge from it and, in a sense, that’s what many of us are doing now. There are plenty who are still working, of course, and others very busy looking after young children or with other responsibilities. But for the majority, it is a form of retreat, or can be. Time to reflect, perhaps, and time to enjoy being oneself. It has certainly caused me to reflect on many things, including a couplet from one of Thich Nhat Hanh’s breathing meditations: “Breathing in, I go back to myself. Breathing out, I take refuge in my own island”.

Taking refuge is finding safety inside as well as out

For many years, I felt slightly uncomfortable with that. It seemed quite at odds with John Donne’s famous phrase, “no man is an island”, with which I was sternly admonished as a teenager, and which thereafter always echoed in my brain. Suddenly, though, in this enforced retreat it makes sense. Staying at home takes care of the physical refuge. It also provides the opportunity to go further than that and bring the mind home, too, closer to its natural state.

Bringing the mind home

A good start is to resist the urge to check news and social media many times a day. We just don’t need so much information. It simply irritates the mind, uses up enormous amounts of energy, and drains our qi. Why shorten life unnecessarily? Taking refuge reverses that process of looking outwards all the time. It allows the mind to come to a more peaceful place, where true creativity lies. Surprisingly quickly, we can be satisfied with less and soon find fullness, here and now. Isn’t that, deep down, what we want? What we really, really want?

Drawn from The Art of Not Doing: How to Achieve Inner Peace and a Clear Mind

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Diet: the Vegans may have landed but don’t lose the feeling

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Diet and feelingDiet is a strange thing. The word itself dates back a long way to Middle English and beyond, and it essentially referred to a way of life. More often than not, these days it seems to mean a temporary trend in a way of eating – except in January when it means how to sell a lot of books, of course. Diet used to be a part of one’s culture, for good or otherwise, but now it’s a fashion.

Diet – a matter for the intellect or intuition?

Never before has there been such a wealth of information on the subject of nutrition and diet, nor such a diversity of types of food available to us. There is so much material to read, watch or listen to. Always, someone somewhere is saying what is good for us or what will surely kill us off. Advice is so plentiful that it can give us indigestion of the mental kind. But why is there so much? Are we really so out of touch with ourselves and our bodies that we need someone to tell us what to eat and drink? Sadly, I think the answer to that may be yes but it needn’t be. I believe it’s not too late to escape this madness.

Listen to your body and give your mind a break

Slowing down and listening to the body can provide all the information we need. But because we are bombarded by so many stimuli, we forget to listen. Diet should be the result of intelligence – innate intelligence – not the intellect.

A simple and effective technique to avoid diets

Next time you are thinking about what to eat or drink, slow down and feel your breath. Place a hand on the abdomen for a few seconds. Gradually, as this becomes habit, you will always know what is good and what your body needs. Your body will tell you, through the sense of touch and through the faculty of inner listening. It’s simple, it’s satisfying and it works. (Oh yes – and it’s free.)

Being in touch with yourself and your natural rhythms is set out in much more detail in The Great Little Book of Happiness – A Guide to Leading a Happier Life 

For free meditations and information on occasional workshops, take a look at the Joyousness website.

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Who are you, really?

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“Just who do you think you are?” That was a question my parents would often ask me when I was a boy – not from any philosophical standpoint – just as a remonstration for something said or done that in their view amounted to mischief or cheek! Little did I know then that I would spend my adult life exploring that question. So let me ask you, very politely, “Who do you think you are? Who are you?”

The normal response to that type of question would be something along the lines of, “I’m Jim (or Alice or whatever our name happens to be,” wouldn’t it? That might be followed with a description of our occupation, where we live or any of our personal details. The fact is, though, that answer is false. Conventionally we have to say it and will always say it because we have to communicate in a world that is full of conventions; but it isn’t right when we look at things in a deeper way than normal.

Does it matter?

You might say to me, “Does it really matter when all we’re looking at is happiness?” Well, yes it does matter because the most basic and fundamental threat to our own happiness is not who or what others think we are; it’s who we think we are. We all see ourselves as separate human beings – individual, self-contained units – and as long as we see ourselves in this way, there will be things in this world to protect ourselves from. We will see danger “out there” to our peace and happiness. So what do we do? We build barriers, barriers of protection in our minds (and often physical barriers, too). The trouble is that these barriers affect our thinking, our feelings and our behaviour. They stop us engaging fully with our world and with ourselves.

For our own sanity and well-being, we have to overcome this mental picture that creates a false sense of identity or reality. Keep reading these posts because we’ll be looking at how to do this.

Adapted from The Great Little Book of Happiness

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