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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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  4. Something to smile about

World view: why what we see has to change

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There is a truism that says the world is as we are. After all, the only world we can ever know is what we experience through our senses, our perceptions, beliefs, judgements and so on. How the world is to anyone depends on what is sometimes called their view. Due to the vacillations of the mind and the emotions, that view changes many times a day.

Our view is murky: it needs clarity

Our view of the world, however informed we think we might be, is World viewinevitably wrong. If we are driving a car, the view of the road will depend on a number of factors. The windscreen needs to be kept clear, our eyesight good and our focus and attention must be on where we are going.

Similarly, in life our view of what is in front of us must also be clear. That requires work on the heart as well as the head. Unless heart and mind are crystal clear and wide open, what we see is bound to be a distortion of reality.

Let go and let your heart melt

There are two essential areas above all else that affect how we react to the world. The first is how we see ourselves. The other is how we view other people. These are like two sides of a coin – each necessarily depends on the other.

Our heart needs to be soft and relaxed, at ease and accepting. If we are angry with the world or want to escape from it, it’s a sign we have some work to do.

Love and let live

We are not separate from the rest of the universe, but that is how we normally act and react. Our view of other people as being separate from each other and, indeed, separate from us is just as wrong. It is an ancient, entrenched view – and a false one. The cause of most of humanity’s problems lies here. We are all of the same essence, different forms but the same. If we know this, we can love and let live.

A gradual process

To change the way we see things is an enormous step. It is also the single most important and significant thing we can ever do. Because it is so enormous, we have to undertake it carefully and remain focused. There will be countless times when we feel we have fallen backwards. We mustn’t give up when that happens, otherwise we will simply “revert to type”.

Just water

When we begin, we may be surprised how stuck we are in our outlook. It can be a little frightening. It seems easier to hold onto our traditional view. But once we become aware of our rigidity, we can begin to soften it and gradually let our old beliefs melt. Then we will feel better. The world is not an insurmountable problem. Ice is, after all, just water once it has thawed.

This post based on an extract from my second book, Awakening Heart. Please share it if you feel it is relevant.

Evening workshop 5th June 2017 in Staffordshire “Pacifying the Mind”. Details here.

Related posts:

  1. Heart: why we have to listen to what it says
  2. Passion is life: why we are dead if we don’t have it
  3. Mindful living isn’t easy but it’s worth it
  4. Light lies ahead – we just have to see it

Blamelessness – part of letting go

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Blamelessness is freedom

Blamelessness is a state of a mind that is free; and in an unshackled mind, there is no room for grudge or blame.

To be free, we must understand very clearly that holding onto a grudge or resentment in no way harms the person we blame for some wrongdoing. We may think we are fully justified and in some slightly warped and unseen way believe that we are meting out justice. But in reality, we’re not. Okay, it may make things difficult or a little unpleasant but that is all. On the other hand, it can cause us great damage in terms of happiness and well-being. It most definitely reduces our capacity to love others and to be a useful member of society.Blamelessness

Is there any reason why should we not let go? The short answer is “no”. There might be a million and one reasons why a finger can be pointed at someone who has done dreadful things, but blamelessness is not the same as condoning wrong actions. We are not in the business of saying a terrible deed or omission is acceptable.

The essence of blamelessness is to release ourselves and free our own energy by seeing the truth that underlies the appearance. We need to see the deeper picture. Our resentment arises from false perception – we build up a picture of presumptions and judgments. We need to change our perception, and if we do the resentment dissolves.

A simple technique for letting go of blame

There are many ways of changing our perception – for example by analysing all the causes and conditions that gave rise to the action we resent, by taking into account the incredibly complex law of karma or cause and effect. But we don’t normally have the time to do this, or the inclination. Although for very deep issues some sort of analysis may be helpful, there is a simpler method that is both very practical and easy to use. It is this:

  • See the other person as a child.

It really is that simple. If we see the other person as a child (and ourselves, for that matter), we will see that it is possible, inevitable even, for Blamelessness childthat person to make mistakes and even do serious wrongs. But a child is not judged or condemned for ever and eventually grows up and out of his or her bad habits. Each one of us is a child in spiritual terms. We are all thoroughly immature. So we need to understand when seeing the other person as a child that we are a child also and from time to time we, too, make mistakes. At first sight, this technique may seem naïve – but it is incredibly effective and, in terms of releasing our energy, can be extremely profound.

More on this in The Great Little Book of Happiness. This article is an adaptation of an extract from Chapter 2.

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The happiest place to live?

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happiness image

The news in the UK this week has included the results of a survey on people’s perception of happiness, based on where they live. It’s near to meaningless, of course. The sample was very small and any survey is a wonderful excuse to have a moan. But it makes good news fodder, I suppose.

The fact is, most people, most of the time, are not particularly happy. In our desire for lasting happiness, we tend to blame anything and everything from the weather to politicians for not providing it. We seem to have become a race of malcontents. It’s crazy, so why do we do it?

Master your own happiness

The master of our happiness and, just as importantly, the absence of it, isn’t our state of health or wealth, nor is it our employment or lack of it, our social status or anything else in our environment.  It certainly has nothing to do with our gadgets or apps, how many Facebook friends we have or, despite the survey, what part of the country we live in. These may be contributory factors but, deep down, we know that happiness has to come from inside. The controller of that is simply the mind.

Your mind is the controller of your happiness. It really is that simple. But our minds are very complex. It takes a great deal of effort to change the way we habitually think, feel and react. But we can and, when we do, we control the controller; we become the masters of our lives and of our own happiness.

Each one of us has, since birth, built up a complex and convoluted “library” of likes, dislikes, loves, hates, fears, judgments, prejudices and so on which trigger us into thinking, feeling, speaking and reacting in certain ways. Everything we see, hear, taste, touch, feel and think passes through and is affected by the contents of this library. In other words, we are conditioned or programmed.

Changing the view

To regain our self-mastery, we need to bring in some extra light and knowledge. We need to rebuild our conditioning. This doesn’t involve dismantling the old, book by book, shelf by shelf and brick by brick. We don’t have to analyse every thought and feeling that arises. But we do need to see things, and ourselves, in a different way. When we look at things differently, gradually our preconceptions about many things change. Negative emotions, those clouds that cast shadows across our faces, start to dissolve and appear far less often. We become happier, more contented. This is the value of Zen thinking.

This isn’t something that happens overnight. It is a journey that is often challenging; but there is also a great deal of fun and satisfaction to be had. The Great Little Book of Happiness is intended as a guide-book for the trip. It is a tool to check where you are and give some pointers to the right direction in which to go. All guide books are limited, though. The real journey and scenery you have to make and discover for yourself!

Adapted from The Great Little Book of Happiness

Next week: a fundamental cause of unhappiness.

Related posts:

  1. Blamelessness – part of letting go
  2. Why is happiness such a problem?
  3. It really is a matter of choice
  4. Guilt – why it robs us of self-esteem