Yeah, I need to stick to basics for a while, and by Basics, I mean breathing and speed. Although in truth, when I’m breathing correctly, the correct speed follows. That’s normal and in order. Which really means concentrating on only one basic: the breath coming in and out of my body. Everything else flows from that.

Ok, not everything. There’s a habit of reductionism, which says “Oh, If I can only master breathwork, or posture, or speed, or foot position, or balance, or Snake Creeps Down, then I will have mastered this form.” I think that’s one kind of mistake. We human beings are dynamic sub-systems nested inside more complex systems, until the whole system of the universe is filled ith the universal fire — what we call chi or in the West, the Anima mundi. And it’s turtles all the way down, in the other direction to the smallest.

So there’s a complex dynamic at work, I think. I feel that I need to concentrate on my basic operations because paying attention to those basic patterns makes it easier to fix whatever else is wrong with my tai chi movements. But at the same time I need to let go of attachment to fixing anything, and concentrate instead on the basic behaviors that help me move with fluidity and grace when doing tai chi. And I also need to recognize that I am part and parcel and subsystem of the Universal Fire: whole to myself, and wholly a part of all that is around me.

Keep breathing.

nota bene: I will be away this weekend, and involved in various activities which may preclude an entry here. I will definitely return to posting on Monday, powers willing and the creek don’t rise.

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