|
December 2005 Newsletter Part 1
This newsletter has part one of an article on accomplishing your goals,
an update on the next Foundations of Medical Qigong workshop and another
question in our series of Chinese herbal FAQs.
|
Accomplishing your Goals
A key concept in Chinese
philosophy is that of “doing by not doing.” It may sound funny, but
this can be seen as the key to accomplishing our goals and effectively
using our energy. So what does it mean to accomplish our goals “doing
by not doing” ?
If we devote our energy to excelling at the process of what we are
doing (or what our goal is), the end results will take care of
themselves. By easing into the natural movement of the process we can
let go of the result, and in doing so, achieve remarkable results. By
letting go of the possibilities of success or failure and following the
movement of what we are doing to the point that we are simply part of
the process, we can accomplish almost anything.
For example, when I first started giving public presentations I would
get quite nervous. I would wonder what people would think of me and if
I would do well or not, to the point that I would feel sweaty and my
voice would begin to shake as I started to lecture. After a couple of
experiences like that I realized I could either get better at public
speaking or forget about teaching. As I have always felt that education
was an important part of what I wanted to do, I resolved to improve my
teaching. So I began to practice public speaking and teaching more and
more, until I wasn’t even thinking about speaking, but rather simply
following something that was natural inside of me. Now it doesn’t
bother me to get up before groups, both large and small, and speak or
teach quite naturally.
One of my teachers was asked how she could write so beautifully and
effortlessly in Chinese. She responded, “I write by not-writing. I let
my hand move in the right way and the characters come out. If I think
about it, it wouldn’t be possible.” Of course, this is only possible
after having mastered the movement of writing through countless hours
of practice.
The way to do something without doing it is to make it a part of
ourselves, or perhaps more accurately, to make ourselves a part of the
process of what we would like to do. By practicing and practicing,
consistently and regularly, we can enter into the natural movement of
whatever it is we are doing. The less we think about it then, the more
effective we become, and the accomplishment of our goals comes through
“not doing.”
In the next newsletter I’ll continue the article with more about applying this principle to specific health goals.
Click here to go to our articles page for additional articles.
|
|
Medical Qigong Workshop
Our next Foundations of
Medical Qigong workshop is scheduled for Saturday, January 21st,
2006.The specific Medical Qigong exercises that we will cover are
designed to enhance the body’s self-healing processes and increase
physical and mental vitality. This workshop will be a great opportunity
for those who have taken the course before to review the core exercises
and enhance and inspire their daily practice I’ll have more information
about this class in the next newsletter. You can e-mail me for more
information or use the link below to go to our classes page, which will
also have the updated class information on it.
Click here for our classes page.
|
|
Herbal FAQs: How do you address the underlying cause of a health problem with Chinese herbs?
The process of identifying the root cause of a health problem begins
with assessing how the qi is functioning. The functioning of the qi
within the body can be described through the principles of yin and
yang, mutually balancing opposites. As universal principles, yin and
yang include such pairs as heaven & earth, hot & cold, light
& dark, action & receptivity, motion & stillness and so on.
The dynamic, active principle is termed yang, while the receptive,
containing principle is termed yin. In terms of practical application
within the body, the balance of yin and yang is usually described
through the specific manifestations of hot and cold, excess and
deficiency and internal and external.
Once the pattern of imbalance has been identified within these
parameters an herbal treatment strategy can be developed that will
address the underlying cause of the health problem that is present.
|
As always, feel free to contact me with any questions or
thoughts.
With best wishes for a peaceful holiday season,
Sean
|