The Denver Airport looks like an overturned caterpillar, and is filled with vacant shops & hallways. There is also a small chapel, quiet & fragrant. That’s where I chose to spend my layover, meditating in standing posture. After a time, a tall dark stranger tapped me on the shoulder asking what I was doing. When I mentioned the universal password “tai chi” he brightened and told me he knew all about the practice. He intoned a common social-spell for this situation, “I have a friend who’s a master.” I thought, “Of course you do.” (It seems that everyone knows a martial arts master, has seen a ghost, & claims Native American ancestry.)
Now, when talking with folks about practicing these “mysterious & strange” internal arts, lots of questions arise. Everything from concerned “what’s the point?” to sarcastic “can you fly?” In this case the query was, “My friend can do the death-touch, have you learned it yet?” (sigh) “No, but I can eat when I’m hungry, sleep when I’m tired, and laugh at something funny.” When I laughed, he didn’t, so I gave him a mini-bagel instead. A mini-bagel beats an olive-branch any day.
Since these kinds of questions are pretty common in my life, I thought I’d reveal the great secrets of my accomplishments. The towering heights of staggering skill!
:o)
(Everything in this list derives from an actual question I’ve received, and every success stems recently & directly from a practice.)
No, I cannot yet throw an opponent a great distance with the lightest touch of my fingers. However, I can BE thrown in a match without anger, struggle, fear, embarrassment, or sense of loss. Yow! I am invincible! Feel my power!
No, I can’t fall into the splits after executing a back handspring. But I do have capacity for deep & flexible movement; and all without the slightest bit of stiffness or weakness, despite a lifetime of illness & injury.
Nope, sorry, I don’t have the ability to levitate while meditating in full-lotus. That being said, I can sit/stand in stillness with a quiet mind, great clarity, and an open heart. Feel the Earth tremble!
As far as I know, I cannot ring a bell or extinguish a candle with only the strength of my shout. (Unless I yell, “Hey! Put out that candle!”) Luckily, after much work, I have eliminated painful sarcasm, negative sentiments, and passive-aggressive tendencies from speech.
No, I’ve never developed the ability to astral-travel or clearly observe an aura. Deep & restful sleep without interruption through the night, waking up refreshed & alert? Ah, wonderful.
Can neither generate electrical shocks with my fingertips nor start fires with my gaze. But I can say that I will do something, and then to do it. Shazam!
Can’t receive full-power strikes to my throat or testicles without injury. Can approach challenge, confrontation, & obstacles peacefully without tension or aggression.
Sit in the snow with minimal protection and no sense of discomfort? Heck no! Healthy bowel movements, once per day, like clockwork? Absolutely! (Folks don’t appreciate the joy of poop until they lose the ability.)
Nah, I won’t freeze water with a touch or live solely on the energy gained by breathing. (At least for very long.) But I will eat delicious healthy meals without distraction or overeating. Gadzooks!
No, I can’t bi-locate or appear & disappear at will. (Except on Facebook.) However, my home-life is very clean, ordered, quiet, and filled with love.
Unlike the Naz, I cannot walk on water or turn it into wine. But I can turn water into tea, and be very peaceful, present, and joyful as I sip.
It’d be useful, but I haven’t learned telepathy or thought projection yet. But with Marina’s help, I’ve developed a capacity for honest & expressive emotional communication. Jinkies!
Fitness? Well, I don’t torture my body by running a marathon or by developing 6-pack abs. But I can engage in a day filled with activity without physical or mental fatigue.
Never have I been given a “super-secret indoor technique” or granted discipleship with a great master. But I have learned to give generously without feeling like I’m giving-away, and to be genuinely happy at the success of others. Ta-da!
No, I have not practiced the commonly claimed capacity of “remote viewing.” However, I can see what’s in front of my eyes without altering the vision.
Never tried mind-altering drugs to gain short-lived spiritual insight about the cosmic nature of the body. Yet I can feel breath move through every centimeter of my body. Aware of the complementary pulses of the heart, circulating blood, expanding cerebrospinal fluid, etc. Trippy!
It is true that I haven’t become fluent in Mandarin or Spanish, or memorized all of the Chinese medicinal herb functions. I do, though, clearly know the thoughts of mind and the sensations of body. To observe them as they appear & disappear without attaching a sense of meaning or “self.” No reference guide necessary.
This person of “John” is not well-known, does not have a nice car (or any car), a big house, nice clothes, a prestigious job, or more than one gorgeous lady. (I haven’t had a sparkly “grill” since the braces back in high school.) However, John can play movement with a genuine sense of interconnection/wholeness between body, mind, & breath. Between Earth & Sky, and the surrounding world. (Less shiny or likely to make me rich, but a better investment.)
I have never had visions of angels, received communications from alien superbeings, or experienced a past-life. But I have recently been gifted with a capacity to spend each day fully awake, truly joyful, and filled with life.
Thank you to my teachers whom I’ve never equaled, and to the friends who allowed me to mature at their expense. Thanks to the ancient practices that I’ve only scratched the surface of, & to the generosity of my community. …And thanks to you for taking the time to read my little blog.
:oD
These are the skills I’ve gained. I am very satisfied! This is my gongfu.
---
“Many spokes share the wheel’s hub;
Yet it is the center hole that makes the wheel useful.
If you form clay into a vessel;
It is the space within that makes it useful.
Cut doors and windows for a room;
And what is not there is what becomes useful.
Therefore, benefit comes from emptiness;
Usefulness from what is not there. ”
—Dao De Jing (Chapter 11)
4 comments:
Nice article. May your gifts and powers bring you unlimited happiness.
...that power which the disciple shall covet is that which shall make him appear as nothing in the eyes of men.
I can generate sparks from my fingertips. I've shocked Theresa violently a few times when trying to touch her gently.
The secret to this deep esoteric skill turns out to be wearing wool and polyester at the same time, while wearing shoes with rubber soles. ZZZZZAAAAAPPPPP!!!!!!
Don't mess with me. Especially if you catch a whiff of wet sheep
Ah, I remember it fondly, the "joy of poop". ;-}
John 3.
My heart is with you as you travel and experience. I have also learned so much from your editorials. Thank you for sharing your heart and being vulnerable. Missing you today. Your pop ...
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