There is one thing that continuously amazes me about this Art: when I go to a book store or search on the internet, I find many books that quote scientific discoveries and discuss the ``new findings`` of science/medicine in terms of health, well-being and longevity. Every single time, the end result of the application of what is new and recently discovered can be found in some older traditions and spiritual paths of study. I laugh every single time I hear that this is a ``new discovery``! All of the research and lab time, microscopic investigations and studies on athletes and the aging population come up with conclusions and recommendations that have been a part of many older traditions and Arts like Yoga, Kung fu, Chi Kung, Tai Chi ... and good old common sense!
Why do we waste our time and money to find out things that already exist?!! Topic for some other time, perhaps. One clue may be that in these cases, individuals are not valuing information that comes from older or more spiritual traditions ... some people have to prove these things on a physical and scientific level before they accept them as real or valid!
We think, we feel, we sense, we intuit, we take action in our physical world and we have the potential to connect/engage with something that is more than this ... some call this Spirit. In this Art, all of who and what we are is considered and worked with, so we do not worship the body at the expense of the Spirit - nor do we exalt the Spirit at the expense of the physical existence we have in the here and now. Either extreme moves us into imbalance of one sort or another.
All we have to do is look around and we can find imbalances of both sorts in individuals we meet all around us every day. This is the Work we do when we embark or a path of this nature: to come to know who and what we really are: to connect with the essence of who we are ... and to do the Work required in order to get there.
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| We are both physical and spiritual beings |
When we are disconnected for a period of time from either our physical reality or being ... or our Spiritual Nature, we can experience many various forms of chronic imbalances: various illnesses, mental/emotional disturbances, worries and fears, anxieties and anger, pretenses etc.
I have found that the Art I work with has assisted me in so many ways on my journey in this life ... with all that I encounter/have experienced: light and dark, illness and health, strength and weakness, grief and joy, pain and pleasure ... the physical and the spiritual ... along with many other states in between. I have learned what it is to feel wide open as well as to work within certain limitations. I have experienced the inexplicable as well as the mundane (like doing the laundry and changing diapers!).
The yin/yang symbol, in this blog topic today, is being used to express that this Art is both physical and spiritual ... it holds symbols of all things we can experience here on our journey. It holds many ideas within it ... we could write a book on just this one symbol alone ... so profound it is.
Walking along the path of life with this Art we can come to experience for ourselves what this symbol really means to us both on a physical and a Spiritual level. It really matters very little what I say; to experience these things for yourself is to feel what I am saying ... to live it ... to be it ... to transform along side it ... to really Know it in some way inside and outside yourself.
As a whole, this symbol represents all we are and have the potential to be. That in itself is worth meditating on!
This Art and path I walk offers us keys with which we can unlock, uncover, discover, rediscover, recover, explore all our uniqueness and potentialities. It addresses our lives in practical ways as well as mysterious and spiritual ways. We have the potential to work with the mind, the physical body, the emotions and connect with Spirit. We can come to Know the Essence of who and what we are.
The system ... or Path or Way that I have come to know and walk in my life is both a practical and a Spiritual Art. In this sense, it is an open system - meaning that there is room for its knowing and understanding to evolve and expand ... as in fact it has over the many centuries of its existence.
