River's Chi House

Tecumseh, what song would you sing now? You saw what was not seen before. What do you see now? They did not listen then. Please Mother, let us listen now.

You make a hundred resolutions to journey somewhere: He draws you somewhere else. He turns the horse's bridle in every direction that the untrained horse may gain knowledge of the rider. The clever horse is well-paced because it knows a rider is mounted upon it. He fixed your heart on a hundred passionate desires, disappointed you, and then broke your heart. Since He broke the wings of your first intention, how do you doubt the existence of the Wing-breaker? Since His ordainment snapped the cord of contrivance, how can you remain blind to His Command? Mathnawi III: 4456-4461Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski "Rumi: Jewels of Remembrance" Threshold Books, 1996(Persian transliteration courtesy of Yahyá Monastra)

I am going to take a few days off and reflect on this blog and my intent.

The above painting is of Kwan Yin the Chinese Goddess of Mercy. A small copy of this painting was given to me by my first chi kung teacher, Master Hilton Tam about sixteen years ago. I have spent a lot of time with Kwan Yin or Quan Yin since then. I have tried to give all my sincere students, copies of this Kwan whenever possible. I tell my students and friends that this Quan Yin card is not about religion or worship. It is a medicine picture that can be very helpful when you are in physical, mental, emotional or social difficulty. Just look at her for a minute now. Quan Yin is riding on the back of a dragon on a dark night, in a stormy sea. She is perfectly balanced and holds a stalk of grain in one hand and a bottle of oil in her other hand. She has a gentle smile on her lips. The dark night and stormy sea represents any difficulty we are going through.The dragon represents our movement through whatever situation challenges us. Kwan Yin represents the highest and most beautiful...

The door is open. Enter at your own risk. "There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance." ~Socrates~ "Mankind have a great aversion to intellectual labor; but even supposing knowledge to be easily attainable, more people would be content to be ignorant than would take even a little trouble to acquire it." ~Samuel Johnson~ "A cleaver horse needs only one touch of the whip." Chinese saying "When you know a thing, to hold that you know it; and when you do not know a thing, to allow that you do not know it - this is knowledge." ~Confucius~ Fear is an emotion which involves the prediction of a negative outcome. When faced with uncertainty or ambiguity, it is easy to respond with fear, rather than curiosity or having a sense of adventure. Fear is a difficult emotion to deal with, in part because it is frightening and painful to feel it. Paige Harrison There are three things extremely hard: Steel, a diamond, and to know one’s self.” Benjam...

I say this to you my student/teacher/brother. You are of the Hawk and Crow People now. The Hawk and the Crow fly with you, now and forever. I salute you my brother. I salute your courage and determination. Congratulations. I celebrate and sing this song. My student/warrior/friend is out of the hospital and eating. His story can be found in my blog sections "When Pain Comes Try This." and "You Can Cower In The Corner Or You Can Stand And Fight." When he was faced with his own fear and pain and uncertainty he chose to stand and fight. When you must chose, chose to stand and fight. Remember we are never alone. Remember that and smile. He has passed one of his initiations with honor and pride. Many others are doing the same even as you read these words. Let all the warriors of the Heaven and the Earth who stand and fight with honor and determination give you courage and strength when you need it most. Remember, you are not alone and smile. A new adventure now opens to...