The day will come when men look upon the murder of animals as we now look
upon the murder of men.
(Leonardo
da Vinci)
Blind to the present
If the mind is not
empty of extraneous thoughts, we do not pay
attention to what our senses tell us.
The information is there but we do not
notice it.
Only when the mind is
calm and
quiet can you hope to see.
We cannot walk around
looking for things that interest us,
otherwise we will only see what pleases us and disregard what does not.
Being in the moment requires
receptivity and openness:
let it all in, see it all, notice the details.
Avoid linearity of perception.
Emotional content
Your thoughts interpret reality and then your emotions are added to ideas
you consider to be valuable.
This is when matters become complicated.
In
tai chi practice a novice tenses-up when
they are attacked
playfully.
The physical
process of tensing is caused by the
contraction of the psoas muscle attempting to curl the body into a
protective foetal position.
Your body is responding to what the mind decides is happening.
Do you tense-up when your loved ones
touch you?
No.
Your mind interprets and then the body responds accordingly.
Tai chi students should not
tense-up at all, so this
habit must be worked through until you no longer tense-up your
muscles when somebody touches or attacks you.
How can we make the change?
We simply choose to regard all physical contact as
acceptable.
We do not
fight with the attacker. We do not
add emotions to the event. We do not
prepare.
Adding
emotions is the outcome of
fear.
The mind is desperate to control the outcome of a situation and
speculates on the variables involved.
This process of
anticipation is energetically-costly; you
worry and you plan.
Your very fear and tension may actually cause a neutral situation to move
towards an adverse outcome.
Page created 16 April 2005