Beauty

Usually I don't post other peoples' articles up, but this one really warrants it. It's the story of how people decide what is beautiful and worth their time, and the story of how a musician who pulls in $1000 a minute to perform made 37 bucks in an hour.


Pearls Before Breakfast

By Gene Weingarten
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, April 8, 2007; Page W10

HE EMERGED FROM THE METRO AT THE L'ENFANT PLAZA STATION AND POSITIONED HIMSELF AGAINST A WALL BESIDE A TRASH BASKET. By most measures, he was nondescript: a youngish white man in jeans, a long-sleeved T-shirt and a Washington Nationals baseball cap. From a small case, he removed a violin. Placing the open case at his feet, he shrewdly threw in a few dollars and pocket change as seed money, swiveled it to face pedestrian traffic, and began to play.

Full article



Sometimes beauty and value is not where you expect it to be. Do you have time to see a master even if he doesn't wear the tai chi pajamas?

Benefits of Zhan Zhuang

Benefits of Zhan Zhuang (Standing Meditation):
I have noticed a TON of benefits from exploring this simple exercise, which is the core of my wujifa practice.

Image via Wikipedia

I'm a bit of a Zhan Zhuang fiend, I'm all about it. My friends and I get together about once a week to help motivate each other and give each other help on whatever we're working on in our lives, and whatever issue a friend of mine brings up, I find myself drawn to say "Stance practice would help with that"

"I'm having trouble focusing" - practice stance
"I get so angry I can't deal with it in a positive way" - practice stance
"I can't poop" - practice stance

whatever... I pretty much think that if it's practiced with the right mindset, stance can do anything you need it to do for you.... that's why they call it the million dollar secret of qigong. It's so simple too!

There's plenty of information on specifics in training in these few posts by Rick, which I would recommend checking out:
The Concept of Sit Down in Wujifa Training
Basic Tips for Zhan Zhuang and the Pelvis
More on Zhan Zhuang and Movement

I'd actually recommend reading and following Rick's blog, since he's always putting out top shelf information on internal martial arts. He may be one of the best IMA teachers in the united states today, definitely one of the best whities.

So returning to my recommending stance practice for anyone for anything, this just comes from my experience, that whenever I've had a problem and I've gone to my Zhan Zhuang practice for answers , I've tended to find them. I believe in the spiritual truths inherent in a wide variety of religions, and I'm a christian, or maybe a bit buddhist, but not really any of these things - however, my religion is pretty much standing meditation.

Sometimes you meet those fanatics who are all about "the answers you need are in the bible/quran/talmud/sutras/gitas/whatever" I'm kind of nutty in the same way for stance, but the cool thing about stance is that it's INTERNAL... which means that you're exploring yourself and looking for the truth there instead of going on someone else's word. In Christianity, they say "The kingdom of Heaven is within you" and the Buddha said (and this is paraphrased) "Don't take my word for it" so I figure stance kind of fits both of these ideologies.

At any rate, try it for yourself. There's a lot of good information out there, especially on the blog I suggested. You're the only person who can see how great stance can be for you and how many benefits you will find in it.