Blog Posts - Rodney J Owen

Inspiration

8/23/2020

I have started a suggested reading list a couple of times only to realize, or rather admit, that such a thing is extremely presumptuous. I have no reason nor authority to recommend anything. However, being a lover of good books, I thought I would share some of my most inspiring favorites, in no particular order, for the sake of discussion.

The Razor's Edge by W. Somerset Maughm
The Teachings of Don Juan, A Yaqui Way of Knowledge by Carlos Castenada
Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda
Hells Angels by Hunter S. Thompson
The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
Sand Pebbles by Richard McKenna
Taijiquan: The Art of Nurturing, The Science of Power by Yang Yang
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig
Walden and Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau
Discover the Power Within You by Eric Butterworth
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldgerg
Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn
The Infinite Way by Joel Goldsmith

This is of course not comprehensive. One could go on forever with this. These are a few of the books that have had the most impact on me. In fact, I can hardly imagine life without having read these. As noted, this isn't a suggestion of any sort, just a sorting of inspiration.

Mirror Dreams

8/19/2020

When the "individual seeker" understands that he, the individual, is not the seeker, that the only seeker is God, or Consciousness, then the seeking stops. When there is total acceptance, then the seeking stops. This is the understanding. This is what the seeking is all about. The seeking is to understand that there never was a seeker.
⎯⎯ Ramesh S. Balsekar

Sometimes you run across something that speaks your mind, and you never even knew it existed ten seconds earlier. Such is The Way.

"Our" Path

8/13/2020

Some time back I was having a difficult time after losing people close to me in this life. I knew I was having a difficult time but didn't quite know what to do about it other than put one foot in front of the other and get through it, assuming there was a thing as "through it." None of my training or spiritual practices offered more than temporary relief. I knew all the words, all the moves, all the theories on suffering and thought quality, all the practices. Still, I was in funk, plain and simple. In the middle of all this, with no end in sight to my mind, I went to a Kung Fu workshop with a high-quality teacher from overseas. She had just left a Buddhist Monastery where she did a short retreat before continuing on her U.S. training schedule. She was telling us about her experiences among these Chan Buddhists, and how they kept to a regular schedule of meditation, work, etc... And then she said something that hit me a like a bolt of lightning: "Our way is not like theirs.", meaning the path of a martial artist is not the same as that of a monk.

At that very moment my funk lifted. I can't explain it for the life of me, and in fact haven't really tried. It's not like what she said was auspicious new knowledge that I haven't heard before. I know that. I knew that then. In any case, I had a Satori moment and haven't looked back. What I think happened was it reminded me of my own unique path, a path that was as different from hers as hers was from the monks she had just sat with. But at the same time, we had a lot of commonality in that our way is Budo, Wushu; the way of the warrior. Again, I knew that but something about the moment, all the elements in my life coming together at just the right time so that when she said it, I was ready to remember and engage.

Upon reflection the most important aspect of that epiphany is not that my path is martial or not, or that I know and/or practice this, that, or the other thing. Those aspects are complimentary. What is crucial is the immediate realization that my path was mine and it was and is, unique. In fact, not long after that training session I made some moves and changes that have made a tremendous difference to me in so many ways. Maybe the time was right, or maybe I felt I was free to do whatever suited me, to follow my inner voice and not that of some tradition.

So, this is where it gets tricky. Tradition, and traditional paths are a great way to break out of mundane existence and get to know oneself and exceed the limitations placed on us by families, culture, and ourselves. However, tradition and organized anything have built-in limitations for those who follow. That is without exception. All groups eventually aim for normalizing. They eventually would like everyone in the group to think, act, and believe in the same way. This is where I start to have problems because these trends--which are in all groups to some degree without exception--limit creativity and self-growth.

The statement "our way is not like theirs" is crucial here, because there is no "our way". So of course it "isn't like theirs." In the odd and beautiful way that humans act socially, if we are bold enough to follow our own inner voice and not that of others around us, we begin to find that we have something in common with everyone. By not looking for exclusivity in small groups we find commonality with the largest group of all--everyone.

In his ground-breaking book, The Dao of Jeet Kun Do, Bruce Lee advised finding the best of different systems and utilizing them in your own unique system. While Lee is specifically talking about martial arts in this context, it applies to spirituality as well. Again, traditional paths are great. It can be a good thing to become a disciple in a traditional school of martial arts, spiritual practice, or some other artistic endeavor. But don't be afraid to leave the temple every now and then. And don't be afraid to utilize what you learn outside the temple gates. If your teacher tells you that his/her way is the best way, the only way, or that other ways are wrong, I suggest you turn around and run as fast as you can.

Every person is unique, no two are alike. The way we live should be just as unique. Find your way and make sure it isn't like theirs.

Adjustments

7/28/2020

I have had more time available for training during the COVID crisis and I have actually used it well. In general, my physical training modulates between strength training, Taiji-Qigong, and yoga. However, during the last 4-5 weeks I have focused more on strength training than I have in the past. So, obviously if I increase one thing something else will suffer. In this recent case that something has been my Taijiquan. I have stayed constant with my meditation and Qigong, but I have not put as much effort into Taiji form as I increased time spent on strength training--and it's starting to show. My Taiji feels clunky and double-weighted.

I'm not really worried per se. This is more observation than concern. I don't feel like I've lost something I may never retrieve. It's flow, and I'm basically not flowing as well as I can right now. But it's with good reason. This is in a way a confirmation of the importance of consistent focused training. And I can consider myself at a crossroads of sorts. If I continue my current trajectory I will gain more physical strength but compromise on agility and flow. Or, I can pickup my Taiji training and reduce my strength training back to a level consistent with where it has been for several years now. If I do that I will get back into the Taiji groove and continue my progress there, but won't likely see the gains in strength and muscle growth that I would get otherwise. I have to say in terms of overall fitness (fitness only), I'm not sure it matters much. However, I value my Taiji training and I know there is more to the practice than meets the eye.

I feel certain I will adjust my training schedule to allow for a balance that is more in keeping with my temperament and overall goals. Strength training is important for everyone. I just turned sixty this year, so it is especially important for me now. And I'm not going to scrap it. I'm just going to rearrange so that the balance is more like it has been for some time now. To that end, the benefits of Taiji are far more than strength, flow, and/or flexibility. Taijiquan, at least the way I have been trained and now practice is a holistic art that basically captures and nurtures what it means to live a full life. In short, if my Taiji is off, everything is off. And we just can't have that.

Rockin' in the Free World

7/11/2020

Here in the US, in early July, we are nowhere near getting the Coronavirus epidemic under control. As I have noted before, I wouldn't be surprised if we didn't get a vaccine, or if we do if that vaccine will work and/or if many of us will even take it. I, myself am not in favor of vaccinations. I haven't had a vaccination since I was in the Army 30 years ago. I may be wrong, but at this point I'm not counting on ever getting another one. You may not agree with that stance, but I'm not alone.

There is a good chance that all of us will eventually be exposed to this. I just don't know how we can avoid it forever. Even with the rate of infections, hospitalizations, and deaths skyrocketing again, I don't think we will or even can go into a full shutdown. Somewhere along the line we have to start living with COVID. That may be restrictive and limited, but we just can't hibernate forever.

So, given the risks we face, our best chance at survival is engaged living. In this environment engaged living already includes all the hygienic steps we have been taking: hand washing, face masks, social distancing, avoiding large groups, etc... Further, we need to shore up our physical bodies, our mental health, and our immune systems. For those of us who have been following a traditional system for some time, this isn't a problem. In fact, the specifics of a complete Kriya Yoga practice will address all our needs:
*Rational constructive thinking
*Mastery of emotions, desires, and sensory impulses
*Compliant observance of moral and ethical guidelines
*Adherence to lifestyle routines that nurture and support healthy and overall well-being
*Purposeful, effective living
*Study, analysis, and comprehension of metaphysical realities
*Mental and spiritual attunement with knowledgeable teachers
*Skillful meditation practice that clarifies awareness and elicits refined superconscious states
*Surrender of the false, illusional sense of selfhood

Perhaps this is our way forward. Like it or not, we should consider that. Granted, living an engaged life may not protect us from all the dangers we encounter. But it will boost our standard of living, our immune systems, our daily existence, and our spiritual growth. In the end it's all about quality of life and giving ourselves every advantage possible.

True Meditation

6/20/2020

"When we recognize a thought,
that recognition alone will not liberate it.
It is not that we should not recognize it;
it must be recognized.
But then when recognizing it, without grasping at the thought, the basis from which it arises –
the unaltered natural state of mind pointed out by our teacher – should also be recognized.
When we look at that recognition, the strength of the thought is broken, and the recognition
of the intrinsic nature becomes stronger.
Then no reaction can be produced.
Once we cease producing a reaction,
since thoughts in themselves are self-arising and self-liberating, we will find the source of that liberation. Being taken in by a thought is like being afraid of a man wearing a lion’s mask.
But if we know that the nature of thoughts is emptiness, like realizing that it is only a man wearing a mask, the strength of the thought will be broken and we will naturally relax."
~Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

This explains mediation better than anything I have ever read. It doesn't get any simpler.

Wuwei Dao

6/16/2020

The Way of Wuwei is the natural state. It is not the way of inaction, but of balance achieved through right action. It is a method of realizing the perfection of the moment in which we live, the rightness of the current situation even when it doesn't feel so right. Inaction is basically impossible. Humans act. Even choosing to not act is an action. What makes an action compatible with Wuwei is acceptance, going with the flow and not fighting said situation.

The thing to understand about the natural state is that it is inherently perfect as it is. This, now, right here, is as it should be. That applies to us and our individual lives as well. Of course it often doesn't seem that way in the middle of life with bills to pay, dirty diapers, illness, snowstorms, or whatever the current challenge may be. But all of these things have a purpose as well, a purpose that is for our own good and the good of the Universe as it unfolds. What is missing is not some ideal that we imagine. What is missing is acceptance and release, going with the flow.

The root word of both Karma and Kriya is action. This is crucial in reference to Wuwei which is often interpreted as no-action. Kriya is purposeful action typically taken with the intent to come into alignment with the natural state, which is synonymous with self-realization or awakening to reality. Karma is the sum effect, or result, of our actions which serves to influence our current and future states. Karma is not some mystical system of divine retribution. It is more cause and effect. So, to achieve a state of being (which in so many ways is a state of mind) that is in alignment with the natural state we are better served if our actions are consistent with this state. At the same time our attitudes should be informed with wisdom, understanding and faith in the benevolence that is inherent in things being just as they are. Thus, Wuwei is not no-action but right-action.

Ideally, the natural state doesn't require any effort to be realized. It is already all around us and within us. However, being human has its limitations and we are forever forgetting that fact. Our default is typically not to look around and realize the perfection, or to know when to act and when to let things be. We have to constantly work on that. And that is why it is called a way, or Dao. It is a path we are forever walking. We may get better but we will always need to be aware, open minded and willing to go with the flow, change with the change. As the natural state is perfect it is, like all things, forever changing.

Real Change...Now

5/31/2020

"The law perverted! The Law--and, in its wake, all the collective forces of the nation--the law, I say, not only diverted from its proper direction, but made to pursue one entirely contrary! The law become the tool of every kind of avarice, instead of being its check! The law guilty of that very inequity which it was its mission to punish! Truly this is a serious fact, if it exists, and one to which I feel bound to call the attention of my fellow citizens....
Thus, as the force of an individual cannot lawfully touch the person, the liberty, or the property of another individual--for the same reason, the common force cannot lawfully be used to destroy the person, the liberty, or the property of individuals or of classes.
For this perversion of force would be, in one case as in the other, in contradiction to our premises. For who will dare to say that force has been given to us, not to defend our rights, but to annihilate the equal rights of our brethren?"
The Law, by Frederic Bastiat, 1850.
(all punctuation his)

As I was thinking about writing this post I remembered an entry from earlier this year, right after New Years and way before COVID. In that post I expressed concern about the mental health of the planet. Without belaboring the obvious, I had no idea what was yet to come. So I will get that much out of the way right now. Who the hell knows what the rest of this year will look like?

As I write this our country burns and Coronavirus seems like an afterthought. Of course Coronavirus is not an afterthought, but just the same our country burns with good reason. On all levels, city, county, state, and federal government has had ample opportunity to address the systemic racism and double standard of our law enforcement agencies. On the other hand, considering who has been at the helm for the past 3+ years it's all quite understandable. One can't be expected to lead others if one has his own head stuck too far up the wrong end. Saying we have a leadership void in this country is not only an understatement, it is a 911 call.

I don't want protesters to vandalize and I certainly don't want anyone else to get hurt. But we have to see that protesters are not bad people looking for an opportunity to act out. They are the result of neglect, mismanagement, and tyranny. It is foolish to expect people to continue to go along with this situation. Enough is enough. One obvious solution is to ensure government employees are not immune to the law, even and especially those tasked with enforcing our laws.

In the meantime, COVID-19 is still on the prowl. We are reopening our economies, as we should, but with varying degrees of caution and restraint. Of course those protesting have thrown social distancing to the wind. That along with so many others disregarding medical concern and advice increases the risk of a resurgence. But what to do? It is extremely unlikely we will have lockdowns again, and cures and vaccines are still far on the horizon. We are going to have to live, and possibly die, with COVID-19. That is a fact of life till this changes.

So, typically, I don't know what to do other than what I always do. I will end this with a quote from that naive post I wrote in January: "In the meantime, I believe we can empower ourselves and be conduits of change by example. We can live in alternative community, right here among the insanity. Not brick and mortar communities of separation, but communities of ideas, ideals, and living examples of peace and harmony even if said community only exists in the recesses of our minds, exemplified through our actions." Be the peace you want to see, but never stop demanding justice for all.

Foundations

5/25/2020

The key to engaged living is having a strong foundation. Building one's foundation takes time, patience, and effort, also known as sadhana (intense, regular disciplined practice; progressing towards one's ultimate expression of being). A key element of Zen-Budo practice is Shugyo, interpreted as intense training. In a traditional sense Shugyo refers to a warrior or monk leaving the comfort and security of his/her family/village/zendo/dojo and venturing out to test his/her grounding in the world beyond. Contemporarily, Shugyo is often considered synonymous with sadhana. In the context of Daishin Zen-Budo, sadhana is dedicated, routine practice and Shugyo is a more intense version of this, perhaps sesshin (intense zazen meditation practice), or randori (freestyle martial practice), typically training to near the point of exhaustion. The distinction is important. Sadhana is regular, typically daily, practice. Shugyo is intense, not daily practice, but still considered on a regular basis in order to test one's limits and increase one's skill. Sadhana is the building of the foundation, Shugyo is pushing and testing the limits of the foundation.

In order to practice in the manner of Shugyo, one needs a strong, stable foundation. This is typically established through the regular practice of yoga (procedures used to strengthen and purify the physical body, clarify and nurture the energy body, and reveal and increase awareness of the spiritual body). Keep in mind, the term yoga is used here in the broadest, traditional sense. The yogi will train the body/mind on a regular basis, sometimes in retreat, often as part of a daily routine. A complete yoga practice may include aspects of Aryuveda, Qigong, yoga-asana, pranayama, Tantra, and of course, meditation. Needless to say, yoga practice is sufficient in and of itself to condition and fortify the practitioner without any other practices. For the Zen-Budo practitioner it is typically a component of training that also includes Zazen, martial arts, Zen lifestyle routines, and perhaps artistic expression (music, poetry, sculpture, calligraphy).

In this current period of quarantine and lockdown, social distancing, and virtual sangha, most practitioners are prevented from or at least limited in group practices typical of Shugyo intensity. Therefore the time is ripe for yoga. This is the time to build one's foundation, keeping in mind it may be tested unexpectedly through the many challenges, physical and/or economic that we all face in this environment. One doesn't need to sit in sesshin or spar with a partner to be challenged. Coronavirus and economic upset are enough.

A Return to Zero

5/7/2020

In Mind Training, we work to remove all that isn't essential, the things we use to identify ourselves, others, the world, mental addictions, obsessions, attachments. It is what Sri Ramana Maharshi identifies as "neti, neti". Not this, not this. In the process we strip down apparent reality to the absolute essentials. We are left with nothing but the void, our breath, the moment. All else is window dressing. This is tough training and is just not for everyone. Not everyone is ready for it, most are simply not interested. As Morpheus said, "most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inert, so hopelessly dependent on the system that they will fight to protect it." Further, many who think they are ready for intense training later find out they aren't. We grow accustomed to our attachments, our ego dressings, our illusions. It may just be easier to live with them, even knowing they are illusion.

Enter COVID-19. In the current situation, many of us are engaged in an involuntary version of Mind Training. Take away your job, your dojo, your gym, your favorite bar, the give-and-take of social interaction and then who are you? I am sure for many this situation is unsettling just for that reason, though they may not realize it. For those who are interested, this is a perfect opportunity for deep reflection to some degree. In fact, I think it can be healthy in this situation, because as we come out of lockdown we will not be going back to the world we left. The external things we once trusted for impression management and social support may no longer be options, and will at least be very different.

There are lots of thoughts and ideas being shared right now, some postulating about the strange new world. One thing we know at this point (early May, 2020): we don't know anything. We will be working with a clean slate to create this new world that will be socially-restricted and economically deficient, at least for some time. All the better if we approach it with open minds and no-limit attitudes.