He who
angers you conquers you.
(Elizabeth
Kenny)
Love
Love is not sentimental or nostalgic, it is not contingent upon rules
and protocols. Love is raw and unflinching, direct and uncompromising.
It cuts through every guise and sees the very heart of things. Love (real love)
for all
things truly will open your eyes.
Impulse
An impulse is a sudden urge to do something. It is an emotional reaction.
Spontaneous, immediate and surprising.
It can also be stupid.
Acting on impulse can leave you exposed and confused.
You act without thinking and have to deal with the consequences of your actions
later.
Zen cultivates spontaneous action, but it is altogether different to impulse.
It requires presence and
absorption in the moment.
Shen
Tai chi has a quality called 'shen'
- which is emotionally-charged expression.
Often referred to as 'spirit' or life.
Shen is not anger, aggression or upset. It is not a manifest emotion at all.
Instead of being a fixed emotional state, shen represents an emotional presence
within your movements.
It imbues everything with substance and meaning.
You feel to have 'your heart in it'.
Our school
Many of the
partner exercises teach you how to let-go and
stop fighting the situation.
Adverse emotions (especially fear) must be set aside.
This takes courage, honesty and patience.
Students come face-to-face with their emotions.
They learn to accept them and to deal with them healthily and constructively.
Anger, aggression and anxiety are not permitted in class.
Projecting
Emotions are projected by our voices and our body language.
Animals can read emotions very well. Humans are not quite so sensitive, we tend
to ignore our intuition.
We broadcast our emotions all the time. What message are you sending out?
If someone is friendly and nice, but they slam doors, bang about and drop things
- you can see a contradiction.
The person may be superficially pleasant but their underlying emotions are
unstable.
A friendly image is only skin-deep.
'Image' is dangerous. It distances you from the truth.
Tao, zen and tai chi are only interested in the real, in the essence, not the
'front'.
If you are emotionally aware, you will see through the image and read the
emotional state unconsciously.
If you want to emotionally interact in a healthy way, you need to start by
addressing your own emotions.
How composed are you?
How honest?
Page created 22 November 1999