Taoist Canon:
"Heart and mind are in chaos.
Concentration on one thing makes the mind pure.
If one aspires to reach the Tao, one should practice walking in a circle."

Minds, Monkeys and Moving Meditation

Too Many Mind*:
Mind One: Rational Mind/EGO/The Hard Working, Always On, Dedicated Entity that gets things done and steers the car...  "What's for Dinner?" "Got to get dressed..."

Mind Two**: Monkey Mind/Sub-Rational/ID/The Noisy, Verbal, Critical, Self-Abnegating, Destructive, Wondering, Crowd of Monkeys that screech and throw sh_t...

Mind Three: Supra-Rational/Super-EGO/Deep Mind/ Non-Verbal-Pervasive: Quietely Observing all things/What Purpose can I serve?                  

Many of Us have a hard time finding or clearing time or space for anything significant because Minds One and Two are constantly in action -- "Too many mind!" "Monkey Mind" is the phrase we use to describe this mental "Circus of Distractions" that keeps us from really connecting to the finite moment, or to the infinite.

"Meditation" and Moving Meditation:
Meditation is an attempt to settle the body down, quiet the monkey mind and "let the film run out" of the mental projector, so that the endless stream of images and noise will simply "run down" and leave the "deep presence" free to roam. Trouble is, we can get the Monkey Mind "addicted" or habituated to the Rules of Meditation. It's an improvement to exchange Rules of Meditation and Sitting Technique for displays of bad temper and flipping the bird to passing motorists... It's an improvement, but only just. We still haven't stepped away from the sub-rational, critical Monkey Mind.

Moving Meditation
In TaiChi; we give the Rational Mind something to do (the Form), and concentrate on doing it repeatedly with a focus on "quality of movement." This quiets the Monkey Mind too, because there's so much going on that there's not much room for criticism or noise. Then the Deep Presence has the silent space to connect with Tao at a deep level. By involving the Body in Motion with the Mental Faculties required to complete the form, we give two selves something to do while the Spirit Being simply connects.

So, move to keep focused and disconnected from mechanism and urban rhythm; move slowly, sincerely, carefully and deliberately enough to allow the energy to catch up with you. The more you practice, the more Chi you collect, the more energy you gather.

Enough Chi leads to a direct and intimate connection to Tao.

*See Movie: "The Last Samurai" Tom Cruise
**See Book: "The Inner Game of Tennis" Tim Gallwey


 

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