Another thin slice of radish . . .
This is right on: "By making concrete, defined plans, you are actually being abstract, because you are making these plans for a self that is abstract: a future self that you imagine based on who you think you are now, even though you, the world, and your circumstances will change" (pages 77-78).
All things interrelated, not isolated -- sounds like a Dr. Bronner soap bubble saying.
"The Way [Dao] isn't something we reach while walking in the woods on the weekend. It's something we bring about actively through our daily interactions" (pages 94-95).
Start anywhere: you're already here -- or there.
Mind your Ps and Qis.
Qi, which I first heard about as chi or ch'i (akin to Prana) is vibrancy and life force.
Do anything new -- or anew -- and feel a tingling, like some culminating moment of acupuncture.
Songs in the qi of Life [bad pun, sorry Mr. Wonder].
"We nourish [there's that word again] our qi . . . when we marvel over a painting in a museum or feel transported by a piece of music. Anything that inspires awe refines qi by training the senses to respond more profoundly to the world around us. When we are more aware of the world in all its dimensions, we are more open to all that we can potentially feel about it and are better able to react to it" (page 134).
Hence my interest in just about anything that refines qi -- a broad spectrum, indeed.
Today's Rune: Movement.
3 comments:
I have a hard time reconciling ancient philosophies, with a culture that the originators of never could have imagined. Just be--doesn't matter what is in the surround just be? The interconnectedness of all that is? Were they, are we, able to reconcile the devolution of society over the past 5 millennium? Ones way of life is, it seems, of less and less value to them who do not recognize even remotely a path different than their own.
The role of 'daily' action is underappreciated.
Erik-I think chi, qi and prana were much more easily attained back in the day. We are so overstimulated now, that even my meditation practice is difficult. Grrrrrr!
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