Rodney J Owen
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Polarities

3/28/2020

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On the subject of good and evil in our world:

There is one power in the Universe manifesting as ten thousand things.  We call this power Ultimate Reality.  It is neither good nor bad in ultimate terms.  Good and evil, as absolute self-existing separate entities, do not exist.  Good and evil are values we assign to situations, developments, events in our lives that are still nothing more or less than the expressive aspect of the Universe in manifestation.  That doesn't mean that there are not extremely bad, dangerous, and/or nasty situations.  We all know good and well that there are.  However, they are not evil.  That is, not if we define evil as a somehow errant power opposed to and separate from Ultimate Reality.

Ultimate Reality is pure potential without any attributes or aspects.  In actualization, it has an expressive aspect that creates and nourishes universes, or the Ten Thousand Things.  Like all energy it has two poles, known as Yin and Yang, or Shiva and Kali, the creator and the destroyer.  Inherent in the process of creation is destruction.  This is always true.  In our personal lives destruction may manifest as illness, death, perhaps pandemics and plagues.  While these things are not desirable, they are not evil.  It may be beyond our grasp in the moment, but they are ultimately necessary.  The Taiji symbol indicates one unified reality with two extremely opposite qualities.  Taiji is not really expressed as Yin and Yang, but Yin-Yang; one thing, with different qualities, always changing.  What is Yin this morning will be Yang tonight.  This too shall pass.

Our challenge in challenging times is to be patient and attentive and to try and learn from destruction.  This is hard, easier said than done, but necessary all the same.  In the end, the expressive aspect of Ultimate Reality, what we may know as Hunyuan or Primordial Energy, is a benevolent power that is nurturing our world.  We won't ever be able to fully understand it, and the quicker we realize that and accept it the better off we are.  We can, however, learn to recognize and cooperate with this power for our ultimate good.  This is a specific goal of spiritual practice and something that is not only within reach, but closer than most of us realize.  At the same time, it is something we are always working on, reevaluating, relearning.  That's why it's called practice.

Relax.  Fear not.  All is well.

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Varieties of Wuji Standing

3/25/2020

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In answer to questions concerning Neigong practice:
"What is the difference between the Wuji and standing we do in Neigong practice and that of Taiji-Qigong?  is there a difference?  When do we use one or the other?"

This is my answer based on my perspective at this time (which means it might change as we learn and experience more).  

I see two approaches to standing. 
(1) as martial and Qigong practice.  This is the Wuji, Santi, Mabu standing as taught by most Taiji, Qigong, and Gongfu teachers/lineages.  This would be Hugging the Tree, Standing Pole, Kung Fu Temple Stances, Yiquan Zhan Zhuang, etc...  The goals of this type of teaching are relaxation, meditation, improved body awareness, improved mental awareness, and improved Qi flow, all of which lead to better health (Qigong) and martial effectiveness (Gongfu).

(2) as Neigong practice.  The goal of Neigong is to activate and cultivate Jing and convert it to Qi.  In the context of our training, Neigong includes Daoyin, which is interpreted as guiding and pulling.  The conversion of Jing to Qi happens naturally anyway and is quickened via Taiji/Qigong practice.  Neigong/Daoyin is just an intense amplification of this natural process.  So, compared to the goals of Qigong-Wuji standing, the goal of Neigong is to intentionally activate and cultivate the Jing-to-Qi process.  Which is why we condition the body, to be able to withstand the intense energy flows and then position the body so that Qi flow is efficient and intentional.  In Qigong standing the goal is to relax and maintain frame and develop mindful awareness.  In Neigong, the goal is to adjust the body and guide the energy flow such that it activates Jing.  When that happens we often get the shakes, a sure sign that Jing is firing.

In a nutshell, Qigong standing is meditation.  Neigong standing is Tantra.

In Qigong standing, we stand in Wuji and/or Santi and relax while maintaining frame.  The body is soft and relaxed and allowed to move gently as will naturally happen, as if one is standing in water.  We are nurturing our inherent energy and mindfulness.

In Neigong standing, while we are relaxed, in fact intentionally practicing Fang-Song to release energy, we are also holding our bodies a bit more rigidly in the attempt to direct energy down to the ground on the outside channels or our legs, and back up via the inside channels.  Thus, we are setting up a differential in our bodies between the slightly rigid and fully relaxed.  This differential acts  much like two poles in a storage battery to allow the Jing to fire.  Neigong standing is typically done in Mabu and Wuji.  Our intention is to intentionally activate Jing so that it is converted to Qi.

Next Question:  "If we are turning our Jing into Qi, doesn't that leave our Jing depleted?"

My answer:
Jing, Qi, and Shen are all the same thing, ultimately.  They are all energy vibrating at different frequencies.  If you think about it, so is everything.  All things are just different vibrations of the same thing: Hunyuan (Primordial Energy).  All things are Primordial Energy.  Jing is equivalent to the physical body, Qi the energy body, Shen the spiritual body.  The conversion of Jing to Qi is a natural process.  Neigong quickens that process.  I don't think it increases the speed of the process, or necessarily depletes our natural store of Jing.  What depletes Jing is worry and stress, dehydration, excessive sexual activity, lack of sleep, alcohol, bad food.  I think Neigong increases the intensity of the process and our awareness of the process equally.  In fact, at a certain point our awareness of the process is the process.  Also, I believe we have far more potential energy available to us than we ever actually access and process through internal practices.  That is why the sudden awakening of Kundalini has been a devastating experience for some people.  They were not physically nor mentally prepared for it.

We replenish Jing as we replenish Qi: through Qigong, diet, exercise, proper sleep, controlling emotions, conserving sexual activity, engaged living.  Since Neigong practitioners are working with all these energies more intensely, we should have a program of strength training, stretching, and mindful movement.  In particular to replenishing Jing, I think care of the physical body is crucial.  We should be engaged in some form of strength training, something more than that offered by Taiji-Qigong and/or Yoga: lifting weights, running, hard-style martial arts, Crossfit, HIIT, etc...  We should be very careful with diet and alcohol consumption.  We should get ample sleep every night.  Jing is related to the physical body, so physical strength is crucial.  I emphasize this because so many Taji/Qigong players and teachers do not emphasize or teach this, some even discourage it.

So, I don't think Neigong depletes our Jing.  However, our bodies must be strong enough, supple enough, and our mind/intention should be aware enough to be able to deal effectively with the process.  I think the results of Neigong training are basically the same as Kundalini awakening, so the same preparations should apply.  Strength training, stretching, and meditation prepare the body for the Niegong process.  Qigong, diet, exercise, sleep, etc... replenish Qi, which is replenishing Jing.



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Life in a Time of Death

3/22/2020

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March 22, 2020.  We are living in a time like no other. Covid-19 will change, has changed and will continue to change, our world.  Life as we have known it will never be the same.  There are few left who survived World War II, the closest approximation that we can arrive at to describe our current situation.  Few of those still alive from that period are in positions of power or management.  We are on our own with no template for how to act and/or react.

Here in the US, the government is throwing money at it as fast as they can.  And while that money will likely help, I don't understand the economics of it.  As of today, official estimates of lock-down are from two-to-eighteen months.  Where is that money coming from and what is going to happen when it runs out?  Economics is not a science of numbers as much as it's a science of social action and interaction.  If we aren't interacting, how will we replenish the flow of money coming from the government?  I don't know that we have a formula for how a society under quarantine is to operate.

On the other hand, we can't lay down and die.  I am certain some business, perhaps some complete industries, won't survive this.  But humanity will.  Our focus should be to support each other and determine the form said survival will take and institute it...., sooner rather than later.

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Thriving in Isolation

3/18/2020

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I am seeing emails, social media posts, and all sorts of articles on how to survive isolation during pandemic.  I have been thinking about that in relation to writing this blog post.  I feel compelled to write something whether anyone else reads it or not.  As far as that goes, I'm not sure if anyone ever reads these posts.  I guess I write for myself as much as anything else.

In any case I'm considering life in isolation and after.  Of course we want to use this as a time to train, to practice.  We want to be positive and find what's good in this, as there is always something good that comes from everything.  In the case of the Covid-19 Pandemic, I fully believe that by this time next year we won't be the same people, we won't have the same society we have now and have had for some years now.  I believe everything will change, and in a big way.  But we must not only survive, we should thrive both during our isolation and as we come out to rebuild our world.

What I think is the perfect advice for navigating this, and indeed all things, is the definition of a complete Kriya Yoga practice, as laid out by my teacher, Roy Eugene Davis:
*Rational constructive thinking.
*Mastery of emotions, desires, and sensory impulses.
*Compliant observation of moral and ethical guidelines.
*Adherence to lifestyle routines that nurture and support health and overall well-being.
*Purposeful, effective living.
*Study, analysis, and contemplation of metaphysical (beyond the physical) realities.
*Mental and spiritual attunement with knowledgeable teachers (of this tradition).
*Skillful meditation practice that clarifies awareness and elicits refined superconscious (samhadi) states that progress to Self-realization, cosmic consciouisness, God-realization, and complete liberation of consciousness.
*Surrender (letting go) of the false, illusional sense of selfhood, to realize (apprehend and experience) the one field of unbounded Consiousness (God) of which souls are individualized units.

Of course this is not a quick pill for an easy fix.  It's discipline and a way of life.  But that is why and how we will thrive after all.


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