Cheng Man-Ching’s Five Excellences December 16, 2008
Posted by Geoffrey Wilson in : Health Tips , add a commentThe famous Tai Chi Chuan teacher Cheng Man-Ching was a supporter of the view that one should pursue the 5 Excellences in order to develop personal integrity! Accordingly, he practiced Tai Chi, Chinese Medicine, and calligraphy, wrote poetry, and treasured his excursions into the world of painting.
I have also held this view of the 5 Excellences (despite the fact that I am not from the East) and have diligently pursued Oriental Medicine for nearly 30 years, classical, acoustic and electric guitar, musical composition, fiction and non-fiction writing, medicinal cooking and in more recent times, Tai Chi Chuan. As such, daily life is for me, an opportunity to cultivate personal development using the world to refine and polish understanding.
I can highly recommend pursuit of the 5 Excellences. Why? Because by doing so, you put some balance into your life and you also develop skills that over time become quite refined.
In other words, if you can find 5 things that you really like doing, and give everything you have to them (relative to your time constraints and so on), you won’t get too stuck and you will find a rhythm that keeps you in the swing of things and responsive to the challenges you will inevitably face from day to day.
There is something rather special about shifting from one form of expression to the other. It also means you never get too obsessive for too long without respite. Having said that, pursuit of the 5 Excellences might well spell the end of Spleen deficiencies!
Wouldn’t Li Gao be proud?
Surviving the ‘Silly Season’ December 9, 2008
Posted by Geoffrey Wilson in : Health Tips, Meditations, Wisdom Notes , 1 comment so farAnd so the pendulum swings yet again to mark that time of the year when the festive season is soon to arrive and we prepare for the emotional fallout frequently experienced by those otherwise gainfully employed in pursuit of rest and recreation. There is just cause for the commotion however.
In simple terms, it’s nigh impossible to maintain a sense of balance and harmony when the focus of attention is either on feeding sentiment, pandering to the demands of emotional blackmail, or finding the elusive voice that had previously and mysteriously gone missing.
Lest you get your knickers in a knot though, I’m not saying it’s wrong to celebrate. Nor am I implying that gathering with friends and family over the ‘holy holiday’ is necessarily fraught with negativity. However, the fact remains that we often reserve this time of the year to unleash our carefully measured accumulation of resentment, guilt, and dissatisfaction, on those we deem worthy of the special attention.
Throw in a drink or two or three, and the scene is set if not for a boxing match, then a verbal sling shot competition or something in between that resembles a toxic debate! While there are some that treasure the opportunity to rub shoulders again with long forgotten siblings or relatives and wax lyrical about their many noteworthy accomplishments during the year, others are not so predisposed to exposing their stories even if the perceived benefits of doing so might mean setting the ledger straight.
There are therefore two teams on the field usually – the extroverts who will gladly call a spade a spade – and the introverts who will happily retreat to the silence of the corner. One bludgeons the other until the referee shouts for a timeout!
Once the party hats have been packed away to vegetate for another year in a chest full of mothballs, most have been punished for breaking grandma’s golden rule. ’If you can’t say something nice, don’t say it at all!’
The great test for all of us intent on surviving the silly season ultimately is whether or not we can refrain from projecting our prejudices onto those we claim to love.
Try dispensing with the grog.
See if you can do it!
Don’t eat so much.
Go on! Try.
Listen to whomever it is that is speaking to you without saying a word.
Even if what is being said is absolute drivel, wear it.
Maintain silence and smile.
If you can compliment everyone you meet – find one thing that grabs you about them – and tell them why they inspire you – you’ll become the talk of the town.
You may not end up walking arm in arm with Chrissie Hind but you’ll win over more than you lose.
For those looking to cultivate their spirituality, take the opportunity to practice economy of speech. Keep your mood light. Do not buy into one single projection – either your own or someone else’s. Listen to everyone and look them in the eye. See if you can find their heart spirit. It’ll be there. But you do have have to look.