Valley Spirit
Journal

Daily Reflections, Activities, Reading, Notes, Quotations, Comments, Links, References
Notes and Observations about Fitness and Well Being: Gardening, Walking, Taijiquan, Yoga, Qigong
About This and That - Ku Shen Journal - A Daily Journal/Blog

August 2004

Index to the Valley Spirit Journal

By
  
Michael P. Garofalo
Living in the Rural North Sacramento Valley, Red Bluff, California
Brief Biography of the Author

 

 

 

 

 

August 31, Tuesday, 2004


Walking, Qigong, and Taijiquan for 120 minutes at dawn. 
Review Part III of Yang Style Long Form.
Work for CUESD 11 - 4:30.  

Rest my sore calf at night.  


I've been reading about Labyrinths.


"Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory."
-  Albert Schweitzer

I've been enjoying reading: 

Garden and Climate.  By Chip Sullivan.  Foreword by Marc Trieb.  New York,
McGraw Hill, 2002.  Index, 263 pages.  ISBN:  0070271038.  Ancient gardens
in the Mediterranean climates are considered in terms of their function to 
provided a more comfortable living space amidst the four elements.   

 

"Your life is a sacred journey. And it is about change, growth, discovery, movement, 
transformation, continuously expanding your vision of what is possible, stretching your 
soul, learning to see clearly and deeply, listening to your intuition, taking courageous 
challenges at every step along the way. You are on the path... exactly where you are 
meant to be right now... And from here, you can only go forward, shaping your life 
story into a magnificent tale of triumph, of healing of courage, of beauty, of wisdom, 
of power, of dignity, and of love." 
-   Caroline Adams

 

 

 

August 30, Monday, 2004


Seek medical advice from my primary physician, Dr. Plett, about my calf problem.
Work outdoors, irrigation opportunity, painting.  

Resting because of calf injury.  Applying heat compresses and taking 
Biaxin XL antibiotics.  After I move about a bit I don't have much pain in the leg.

I've been reading about Labyrinths.


"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."
-   Gandhi

 

"Michael:
First, many thanks for your website....and all the resources you have and are collecting.
For many years, I taught children's literature...and did a range of workshops in elementary
and middle schools about poetry.  No one ever developed concrete poetry in depth...
only as an "easy out" or some formulaic project.  Your site recognizes this form of poetry
as an art in a range of areas."  From Carolyn Gabb

 

Enjoyed the photographs in:  

Mazes and Labyrinths of the World.  By Janet Bord.  New York, E.P. Dutton, 1975.
Index, 181 pages.  ISBN: 0525474412.  An excellent assembly of black and white
photographs of mazes and labyrinths from around the world. 

 

 

 

August 29, Sunday, 2004


Walking, Qigong, and Taijiquan for 120 minutes at dawn. 
Review Part III of Yang Style Long Form.
Work with Greg on the Yang Long Form, Section I; push hands,
breathing aspects.  

"Smell is a potent wizard that transports you across thousands
of miles and all the years you have lived."
-   Helen Keller

Karen and I enjoyed a trip to the CSU Chico, Merriam University Library.

Reading and research about the month of August, and summer quotes and poems.

A surface vein in my right calf is blocked/clogged/collapsed.  A wide area of redness
and pain caused me to seek professional medical attention at St. Elizabeth's Emergency
Room.    

 

 

 

 

August 28, Saturday, 2004


Walking, Qigong, and Taijiquan for 30 minutes at dawn and 40 minutes at dusk.  
Review Part III of Yang Style Long Form.

Teach Taijiquan at TFFC from 9:30-11.  
Yoga class with Sam from at TFFC 11 - 12:30.  

Pain in my right calf.  

Work of shed roof in afternoon.  Very hot!!

"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's 
opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
-   Oscar Wilde, De Profundis, 1906

Reading and research about the month of August, and summer quotes and poems.

 

 


August 27, Friday, 2004


Time for rest today.  

Work for CUESD 11 - 4:30.  

Reading and research about the month of August.

 

"Gardens and flowers have a way of bringing people together, 
drawing them from their homes."
-  Clare Ansberry, The Women of Troy Hill

 

 

 

 

 

August 26, Thursday, 2004


Walking, Qigong, and Taijiquan for 120 minutes at dawn. 
Review Part III of Yang Style Long Form.
Work for CUESD 11 - 4:30.  

TFFC: weightlifting for 30 minutes, yoga class with Gudrin 75 minutes (5:30 - 6:45).   

Reading and research about the month of August.

"Life is all about ass.  You're either: covering it, laughing it off,
kicking it, kissing it, busting it, trying to get a piece of it,
or behaving like one."
-   Source Unknown

 

  Pulling Onions

 

 

 

 

August 25, Wednesday, 2004


Walking, Qigong, and Taijiquan for 120 minutes at dawn. 
Review Part III of Yang Style Long Form.
Work for CUESD 11 - 4:30.

Waxing moon Wednesday night rituals: Cutting (olive wand and willow staff) 
and 2nd preparation of two (peach, pecan) magickal wands.  

Reading and gathering information about olive trees.   

 

"The more you prepare, the luckier you appear."
-  Terry Josephson

 

 

 

 

August 24, Tuesday, 2004


Walking, Qigong, and Taijiquan for 120 minutes at dawn. 
A beautiful cloudy cool morning.

Tarot reading this morning: setback, sorrow, slow down, and creativity.  As I took my 
morning walk, I reflected on all the setbacks and sorrows of my neighbors and my 
own family.  Some were preventable and many not.  

The Uhr spell is: Abundant Fertility.
Variety, Creativity, and Fertility are Songs of the Great Goddess.  
Hell is a silent dark world where nothing grows.  
Pulling Onions


Review Part III of Yang Style Long Form.
Work for CUESD 11 - 4:30.  

TFFC: weightlifting for 30 minutes, yoga class with Gudrin 75 minutes (5:30 - 6:45).  

 

Reading and gathering tree lore.


"If we cannot live so as to be happy, let us least live so as to deserve it."
-   Immanuel Hermann Fichte
 
 

 

 

August 23, Monday, 2004


Walking, Qigong, and Taijiquan for 120 minutes at dawn. 
Mow back lawns and shed rooftop construction.  
Review Part III of Yang Style Long Form.
Work for CUESD 11 - 4:30.  

Reading: Ways of the Strega.  Italian Witchcraft: Its Lore, Magick and Spells.  
By Raven Grimassi.  St. Paul, Minnesota, Llewellyn Pubs., 1995.  Index, 
285 pages.  MGC.  ISBN: 1567182534.

 

Reading and gathering information about olive trees.   

"Long ago in Greece, King Cecrops established a city.  It was predicted that the city would 
become very famous and prosperous.  Many gods wanted to become the special patrons 
of the city.  In the end there were two contestants left--Athena and Poseidon. To resolve the 
conflict each one was supposed to give some kind of a gift to the city, and whoever 
presented the greater gift would win the contest. Poseidon made a (water) spring appear 
in the city and promised a strong navy to the city.  Athena made the olive tree. She told 
everyone how olives could be used for food, for cleansing, offerings, to light fires, and 
many other uses. Athena won the contest and the city was called Athens in her honor."
-   Ani's Greek Mythology


"At the height of laughter, the universe is flung into a kaleidoscope 
of new possibilities."
-   Jean Houston

 

  Pulling Onions

 

 

 

August 22, Sunday, 2004


Walking, Qigong, and Taijiquan for 120 minutes at dawn. 
A beautiful, overcast, cloudy and cool morning walk.  

Temperatures have dropped to the low 90's with overcast skies.  
Finally - just a little taste of autumn. 

"Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city."
-  George Burns

Reading and gathering tree lore.

Reading the exercise book:    
Jump Rope Training.  Techniques and Programs for Improved Fitness and 
Performance.  By Buddy Lee.  Champaign, Illinois, Human Kinetics, 2003. 
Index, 156 pages.  MGC.  ISBN: 0736041516.  

 

 


August 21, Saturday, 2004


Teach Taijiquan at TFFC from 9:30-11.  
Yoga class with Sam from 11 - 12:30.  

New shed construction work and garage remodel project.  
Lots of watering because the irrigation ditch has been running full since Friday morning.  

Continue to read and gather tree lore.

"True happiness is of a retired nature, and an enemy to pomp and noise; it arises, 
in the first place, from the enjoyment of one's self, and in the next from the friendship 
and conversation of a few select companions."
-  Joseph Addison, The Spectator

Started evening project to dress tree wounds on lower trunk bark
and paint them white.  Heat blisters and insects have damaged
some of our trees.  Hopefully, we will be able to save some of
them.  We lost two fruit trees to fireblight this summer.  

 

 

 

 

 

August 20, Friday, 2004


CUESD work from 7:30-4:30.  A very hot day, and little air conditioning in 
the library.  The heat really tired me out by the late afternoon.    

"Laughing is the sensation of feeling good all over and showing 
it principally in one spot."
-  Josh Billings
 

Continue to read and gather tree lore.

Reading: Ways of the Strega.  Italian Witchcraft: Its Lore, Magick and Spells.  
By Raven Grimassi.  St. Paul, Minnesota, Llewellyn Pubs., 1995.  Index, 
285 pages.  MGC.  ISBN: 1567182534.  

 

 


August 19, Thursday, 2004

 

Walking, Qigong, and Taijiquan for 120 minutes at dawn.  

CUESD work, 9:00 - 4:30 pm today.  I will be working part-time as the 
Technology and Media Services Supervisor for CUESD until June 5, 2005.
Normally, I work Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 7:30 to 4:30, 
although my schedule is flexible.  

TFFC: weightlifting for 30 minutes (start one leg presses and lifts), yoga class
with Gudrin 75 minutes.   

"The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance, 
the wise grows it under his feet."
-   James Oppenheim

Music: Beethoven's string quartets Op. 18, No. 6 and 
Opus 59, No. 1 (Razumovsky) by the Cleveland Quartet.  

Reading and writing about trees.   

 

 

 

 

August 18, Wednesday, 2004


Walking, Qigong, and Taijiquan for 35 minutes at dawn.  

Very hot today - 103 degrees.  

Back to work for the Corning Union Elementary School District today.
I will again work 24 hours, 3 days, a week as the Technology and Media Services Supervisor
for CUESD.  Home work projects will now be de-emphasized.  

TFFC: weightlifting for 30 minutes (start one leg presses and lifts), yoga class
with Lauren for 75 minutes.   

"To be stupid, selfish, and have good health are three requirements for 
happiness, though if stupidity is lacking, all is lost.
-   Gustave Flaubert

I listen to music when I'm reading, writing, surfing the net, and relaxing.  
I favor string quartet music, and have a substantial audiotape and CD
collection of string quartets.  Lately, I have been listening to J. S. Bach's
Art of the Fugue by the Julliard String Quartet, and the a number of my
favorites on audiotape from the Cronos Quartet, e.g., White Man Sleeps.

"Worthy of mention also, in Leland's Book [Charles Leland, Magic and Occult Remedies, 1892]
is the story about the walnut witches.  Manuscripts from old witch trials in Italy speak of this
walnut tree which (it is said) had always been there and was in leaf all year long.  For centuries,
legends were told of the great witch gatherings in the town of Benevento, at the site of an ancient
walnut tree.  In the year 662 A.D., Saint Barbato converted the Duke of Benevento (a pagan) to 
Christianity and had the tree cut down.  The witches replanted the walnut tree from seed, and 
legend says it still stands in Benevento.  Bottles of Strega Liguore, manufactured in Benevento
today, bear labels upon which appears the old walnut tree with a group of witches and satyrs
dancing around it."  This activity was associated with the worship of the Goddess Diana.  
-   Raven Grimassi, Ways of the Strega, 1995, p. 11

Reading and writing about trees.   

 

 

August 17, Tuesday, 2004

 

Hard outdoor work and construction project in the early morning.  Temperatures
expected to go into the upper 90's today.  

Shopping for building materials, books, and art objects in Chico this afternoon.

Yoga class for 75 mintues with Gudrin at TFFC.  

Reading and writing about trees.   

I usually get 2 or 3 emails each day from people reading a webpage
published by Green Way Research

Jim from Bend, Oregon, wrote:  "I came across your website today and was
filled with awe and gratitude.  Thank you for all the work you've put into it.
It has inspired me to keep up the practice of the forms."  

"Bear in mind, if you are going to amount to anything, that your success does not 
depend upon the brilliancy and the impetuosity with which you take hold, but upon 
the ever lasting and sanctified buldoggedness with which you hang on after you 
have taken hold."
-   A. B. Meldrum

 

 

 

 

August 16, Monday, 2004

 


Walking, Qigong, and Taijiquan for 120 minutes at dawn.  
Standing meditation.  

Attended the Gerber School Board Meeting tonight.  I told them I was
not going to continue to serve as a Board member in 2005.  I now have
three more meetings to attend.  

Karen and I put up a new trundle bed in south bedroom.  We are both now
working on indoor home improvement projects.  

Reading quite a bit about tree lore.

"When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a 
hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it.  Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split 
in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it - but all that had gone before."
-  Jacob Riis

 

 

 

 

August 15, Sunday, 2004


Walking, Qigong, and Taijiquan for 120 minutes at dawn.  
Teach Taijiquan and Qigong for 90 minutes at home to a private student.  

Work on garage cleanup, reorganization, and painting.  

Lots of reading about the Four Elements and Magikal practices.  

"The discovery of a new dish does more for human happiness 
than the discovery of a new star."
-  Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826), Physiologie du Gout, 1825

 

 

 

August 14, Saturday, 2004


Reading in the early morning.  I enjoyed looking at my collection of icons, totems, 
art objects, natural objects, and miniature sculptures this morning.

A pleasant walk at dawn - I chatted with neighbors.  .    
Teach Taijiquan and Qigong for 90 minutes at TFFC.
Attend Yoga class for 90 minutes at TFFC led by Sam (Cynthia) - she told us 
she was resigning as the Saturday Yoga teacher.  If only I had taken the 
training this summer!!!

"All sanity depends on this: that is should be a delight to feel heat strike the skin, 
a delight to stand upright, knowing the bones are moving easily under the flesh."
-   Doris Lessing

The grapes, peaches, tomatoes, and figs are ripening.  Karen made some tasty fig 
preserves.  We worked outdoors late in the evening.  I made a eight spoked wheel,
a Buddhist Dharma Wheel, out of grape and birch cuttings.  

       August Sunset in the Great Valley
  

Vahana Carries a Dharma Wheel.  Vahana is a mythical bird, a cosmic bird, 
a cosmic goose or swan, featured in Indian art.  Vahana carries the Indian
Creator God, Brahma, and Saraswati, his Shakti or life force.  Refer to my
notes in the webpage on Wild Goose Qigong.  

Worked on my notes regarding the lore and myths about Trees.

 

 

August 13, Friday, 2004


Walking, Qigong, and Taijiquan for 120 minutes at dawn.  

"Happiness: a good bank account, a good cook and a good digestion."
-  Jean Jacques Rousseau

 

Work on indoor home improvement projects!  

 

 

 

August 12, Thursday, 2004


Walking, Qigong, and Taijiquan for 120 minutes at dawn.  

"The only way to find the limits of the possible is 
by going beyond them to the impossible."
-  Arthur C. Clarke

Finish our outdoor work projects!!!!  Finally!!!!   Horray!! 

Begin work on many indoor projects.  These indoor projects with take
about six months to complete.  

Install ceiling fan in the garage.
Clean up and rearrange garage.
Put together the new piano bench made from pine.  
Repairs on our large refrigeration air conditioning unit.  

Weightlifting for 30 minutes at TFFC.  
Yoga with Gudrin Volpat for 75 minutes at TFFC.   

Magickal reading and experiments.  Developing ideas and 
layout plan for large oudoor ceremonial circle with a center
firepit and markers for the eight directions.  

 

 

 

August 11, Wednesday, 2004


Walking, Qigong, and Taijiquan for 120 minutes at dawn.  

Painting projects, workbench area construction compelted before 12:20 am.  
Over 106 degrees today - everything is heat stressed.  

Took some time to visit the Tehama County Library this afternoon and 
get books on woodworking, mythology (Joseph Campbell), and
Feng Shui.  

My feet are healing well - not problems and all activites cause no pain
or discomfort.  

Magickal reading and experiments.  I read the Tarot each day: 
5 cards from the Wanless' Vogager deck, 3 cards from the Crowley-Harris' deck,
and one card from the Andrew's deck.  

Reading works attributed to Trismegistus Hermes (Thoth)

I need to find my old notes on Quaternary Systems and look into expanding
it to Eightfold models.  
The Eight Circuits of Consciousness  Timothy Leary and Robert Anton Wilson.  

 

 

August 10, Tuesday, 2004

 

Walking, Qigong, and Taijiquan for 120 minutes at dawn.  
Over 102 degees today - exhausting!  .  

"The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that 
whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand."
-  Vince Lombardi

Prepare bench and area for scrool saw work.  Lots of shoveling.  
Painting projects.  
Go into Maywood office on work assignment.

A large Christian Church on main street (Solano) in Corning (population 4,888) has a billboard
on which various catchy phrases are placed.  Today's statement was "Under the Same
Management for 2,000 Years."  Christians delight in thinking that their religion and worship
has somehow remained the "same" since the time of Jesus Christ.  When I was young, 
my Catholics teachers would make similiar remarks about their religion, even contending
that the apostle Peter (the rock) was the first Pope.  Wiccan worshippers like to think
their religion is based upon ancient practices that pre-date Greco-Roman myths and
worship services.  The worship of antiquity, claiming an ancient family line, purporting
to uphold "The Old Ways" is an important aspect of religion - being yoked to ancient
lore and customs.  

Christianity has evolved, changed, metamorphized, and transformed itself over the centuries.
It has not been under the "same management" by person (Jesus, Apostles, Pope, Saints), 
place (Jerusalem, Rome, London), or thing (Book).   To think so is a false belief, and 
a delusion of spirit.  History confirms the changing nature of all religions.  Since most
people could not read or write for many centuries, and verbal lore is transformed every
four generations, we simply forget the past mistakes, stupidities, cruelties, and 
botched religious byways.  

Magickal reading and experiments.  

 

 

 

 

August 9, Monday, 2004


Walking, Qigong, and Taijiquan for 120 minutes at dawn.  

"Consistency is a virtue for trains: what we want from philosophers is insights, 
whether he comes by them consistently or not."
-   Stephen Vizinczey

Carpentry work to finish outdoor shed project and outdoor work bench.  
Set up scrool saw on a new low bench.  Started my first project- an eight spoked wheel,
a Dharma Wheel, and will paint it red.    
Painting outdoor sheds and work areas.  
We worked outside the whole day.  

A breezy day with afternoon temperatures near 100 degrees.  More like
a "Red Bluff" summer day than it has been the last week.  All our gardens
are looking quite nice after the heavy irrigation over the weekend.  

The vegetable garden is full of fruit, the grapes are ripening, figs are abundant,
and the last peaches are being picked.  Yet, the garden seems quiet and 
fatiqued by the heat.  Where are all the garden devas and fairies?  

 

 

 

Criticism of President George W. Bush
This "Resume of George W. Bush" has been 
circulating around by email:

 

RESUME

GEORGE W. BUSH

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington , DC 20520

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

Law Enforcement:

I was arrested in Kennebunkport, Maine, in 1976 for driving under the
influence of alcohol.  I pled guilty, paid a fine, and had my driver's license 
suspended for 30 days. My Texas driving record has been "lost" and is not
available.

Military:

I joined the Texas Air National Guard and went AWOL.  I refused to take
a drug test or answer any questions about my drug use.  By joining the Texas
Air National Guard, I was able to avoid combat duty in Vietnam .

College:

I graduated from Yale University with a low C average.
I was a cheerleader.

PAST WORK EXPERIENCE

I ran for U.S. Congress and lost. I began my career in the oil business
in Midland, Texas, in 1975. I bought an oil company, but couldn't find any
oil in Texas. The company went bankrupt shortly after I sold all my stock.
I bought the Texas Rangers baseball team in a sweetheart deal that took
land using taxpayer money.  With the help of my father and our friends in 
the oil industry (including Enron CEO Ken Lay), I was elected governor of Texas .

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS GOVERNOR OF TEXAS

I changed Texas
pollution laws to favor power and oil companies, making
Texas the most polluted state in the Union.  During my tenure, Houston
replaced Los Angeles as the most smog-ridden city in America.
I cut taxes and bankrupted the Texas treasury to the tune of billions
in borrowed money.
I set the record for the most executions by any governor in American
history.
With the help of my brother, the governor of Florida, and my father's
appointments to the Supreme Court, I became President after losing by over
500,000 votes.


ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS PRESIDENT

I am the first President in U.S. history to enter office with a criminal record.
I invaded and occupied two countries at a continuing cost of over one billion dollars per week.
I spent the U.S. surplus and effectively bankrupted the U.S. Treasury.
I shattered the record for the largest annual deficit in U.S. history.
I set an economic record for most private bankruptcies filed in any 12-month period.
I set the all-time record for most foreclosures in a 12-month period.
I set the all-time record for the biggest drop in the history of the
U.S. stock market. In my first year in office, over 2 million Americans
lost their jobs and that trend continues every month.
I'm proud that the members of my cabinet are the richest of any
administration in U.S. history.
I set the record for most campaign fund-raising trips by a U.S. President.
I am the all-time U.S. and world record-holder for receiving the most
corporate campaign donations.
My largest lifetime campaign contributor, and one of my best friends, Kenneth 
Lay, presided over the largest corporate bankruptcy fraud in U.S. History - Enron.
My political party used Enron private jets and corporate attorneys to
ensure my success with the U.S. Supreme Court during my election decision.
I have protected my friends at Enron and Halliburton against
investigation or prosecution. More time and money was spent investigating
the Monica Lewinsky affair than has been spent investigating one of the
biggest corporate rip-offs in history.
I presided over the biggest energy crisis in U.S. history and refused
to intervene when corruption involving the oil industry was revealed.
I presided over the highest gasoline prices in U.S. history.
I changed the U.S. policy to allow convicted criminals to be awarded
government contracts.
I appointed more convicted criminals to administration than any
President in U.S. history.
I created the Ministry of Homeland Security, the largest bureaucracy in
the history of the United States government.
I've broken more international treaties than any President in U.S.
history.
I am the first President in U.S. history to have the United Nations
remove the U.S. from the Human Rights Commission.
I withdrew the U.S. from the World Court of Law.
I refused to allow inspector's access to U.S. "prisoners of war"
detainees, and have refused to abide by the Geneva Convention.
I am the first President in history to refuse United Nations election
inspectors (during the 2002 U.S.
elections).
I set the record for fewest numbers of press conferences of any
President since the advent of television.
I set the all-time record for most days on vacation in any one-year
period. After taking off the entire month of August 2001, I presided over
the worst security failure in U.S. history.
I garnered the most sympathy ever for the U.S. after the World Trade
Center attacks and less than a year later made the U.S. the most hated
country in the world --- the largest failure of diplomacy in world history.
I have set the all-time record for most people worldwide to
simultaneously protest me in public venues (15 million people),
shattering the record for protests against any person in the history of mankind.
I am the first President in U.S. history to order an unprovoked,
preemptive attack and the military occupation of a sovereign nation. I
did so against the will of the United Nations, the majority of U.S. citizens,
and the world community.
I have cut health care benefits for war veterans and support a cut in
duty benefits for active duty troops and their families in wartime.
In my State of the Union Address, I lied about our reasons for
attacking Iraq
and then blamed the lies on our British friends.
I am the first President in history to have a majority of Europeans
(71%) view my presidency as the biggest threat to world peace and security.
I am supporting development of a nuclear "Tactical Bunker Buster," a WMD. 
I have so far failed to fulfill my pledge to bring Osama Bin Laden to justice.

RECORDS AND REFERENCES

All records of my tenure as governor of Texas are now in my father's
library, sealed and unavailable for public view.
All records of SEC investigations into my insider trading and my
bankrupt companies are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public view.
All records or minutes from meetings that I, or my Vice-President,attended
regarding public energy policy are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for
public review.

PLEASE CONSIDER MY EXPERIENCE WHEN VOTING IN 2004!

 

 

 

August 8, Sunday, 2004


Mow lawns and clean up in the cool early moring hours.    
Continue watering from irrigation ditch water all day.

Teaching Taijiquan (108 Long Form) to Greg.  We worked out at my home from
10 am - 11:30 pm.  Introductory conversation and preparation.  

A very hot day - 100 degrees.  We read and relaxed indoors.
The heat really seemed to sap my strength today.  

Posted notes and links to the new Green Wizard webpage.  

   

 

 

 

August 7, Saturday, 2004

"Let your character be kept up until the very end, just as it began, and so be consistent."
-  Horace

Walking, Qigong, and Taijiquan for 120 minutes at dawn.  

Taught 90 minute Tai Chi class at TFFC.

Trip to Chico for lunch, bookstore, and tools.  .  

Relax and read in the afternoon.  

Sunflower - Chianti Hybrid.  

 

 

 

August 6, Friday, 2004

 

"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, 
adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines."
-  Ralph Waldo Emerson


Walking, Qigong, and Taijiquan for 120 minutes at dawn.  Stunning sunrise with
broken dark clouds backlit in the West.  Clear skies all day due to lower
summertime temperature of 89 degees high.  

Working on finishing the carpentry project on the outdoor sheds.  

Trip to Redding for building supplies.  

Started a Garden Wizard or Garden Witch webpage.  It will provide links,
quotes, and a annotated bibliography about Green Witchcraft, Green Religion,
and Green wisdom.  

Today I read from the following books:    

Green Witchcraft: Folk Magic, Fairy Lore, and Herb Craft.   By Ann Moura (Aoumiel).  St. Paul, 
Minnesota, Llewellyn Publications, 1996.  Index, appendices, bibliography, 274 pages.
ISBN: 1567186904.  An good introductory text on the way of the old religion.  Insightful 
observations on the history of religon by a historian.  All aspects of the Green Craft are 
covered: philosophy, magick, rituals, seasonal celebrations, folk lore, herbals, craft tools, etc.  
For Aoumiel, the Green Craft involves pantheism, polytheism, reverence for nature, non-dogmatic
beliefs and practices, home arts, and mostly solitary practice.  MGC.  

Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard.  By Oberon Zell-Ravenheart.  Ranklin Lakes, NJ, New Page Books, 
2004.  Index, 370 pages.  ISBN: 1564147118.  A detailed and practical instructional manual on the way 
to become a wizard.  Intended for a young reader but useful to anyone.  MGC.  An excellent reference
tool.    

The Goddess and the God
The Lady and the Lord
Yin and Yang
Water-Earth and Sun-Sky

"Hearing voices no one else can hear isn't a good sign, even in the wizarding world."
-  J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, 1999.
 
 

 

 

 

August 5, Thursday, 2004


"Absolutes squirm beneath realities.  
There is not much to say about the "Unknown."
Your garden will do for you in proportion to what you do for it.
Watering is the practice of gentleness."
Pulling Onions, Michael Garofalo

 

"Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative."
-   Oscar Wilde

No walking, yoga, qigong or work all day - time for healing my toe.    
Reading, writing and relaxation all day at home.    

 

 

August 4, Wednesday, 2004


"The Way has its reality and its signs
but is without action or form.
You can hand it down but you cannot receive it,
you can ignore it but you cannot see it.
It is its own source, its own root.
Before heaven and earth existed it was there,
from the ancient times.
It gave spirituality to the spirits and to God,
it gave birth to heaven and to earth.
It exists beyond the highest point,
and yet you cannot call it lofty;
it exists beneath the limit of the six directions,
and yet you cannot call it deep.
It was born before heaven and earth,
and yet you cannot say it has been there for long,
it is earlier than the earliest time,
and yet you cannot call it old."
The Crookbacked Woman and the Sage
    Chuang Tzu, Translated by Burton Watson, 1964
    Crone Taoism

 

Walking, Qigong, and Taijiquan for 120 minutes at dawn.  
Work outdoors on mower equipment and gardening tools shed.  
Watering and garden improvements.
Relax and read in the afternoon.  


Appointment with podiatrist about my injured toe.  I ripped the
nail on my big right toe from its nailbed when I climed Mt. Lassen.
The toenail area has been black and blue for weeks, and bloody
beneath the nail.  Dr. Swaim removed this injured toenail.  It will
take four to six months to grow back.   

Weightlifting for 30 minutes and then 60 minutes of yoga class with Lauren.  

 

August 3, Tuesday, 2004


"Everything is both simpler than we can imagine, 
and more complicated that we can conceive."
-  Goethe

Complexity  - Quotations for Gardeners


Walking, Qigong, and Taijiquan for 120 minutes at dawn.  
Work outdoors on mower equipment and gardening tools shed.  
Watering and garden improvements.
Relax and read in the afternoon.  

Weightlifting for 30 minutes and then 75 minutes of yoga class with Gudrin Volpat.


August 2, Monday, 2004


"The essential ingredient in a temenos is the perimeter that marks
out the space, whether by a wall, a fence, a hedge of flowers and
bushes, or some rocks that only imply the full perimeter.  Having 
crossed the border, we find ourselves in a special place where
certain things happen and other things do not."
-   Thomas Moore, The Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life, p. 293


Walking, Qigong, and Taijiquan for 120 minutes at dawn.  
Work outdoors on mower equipment and gardening tools shed.  
Watering and garden improvements.

Reading books on wizardry, Wicca, and magick.  

Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard.  By Oberon Zell-Ravenheart.  
Ranklin Lakes, NJ, New Page Books, 2004.  Index, 370 pages.  
ISBN: 1564147118.  A detailed and practical instructional manual
on the way to become a wizard.   

 

 

Valley Spirit Journal

 

 

 

August 1, Sunday, 2004


"Everything is complex and everything is simple.  The rose has no why
attached to it, it blooms because it blooms, how no thought of itself,
or desire to be see.  What could be more complicated than a rose for
someone who wants to understand it?  What could be simpler for
someone who wants nothing?  The complexity of thinking, the simplicity
of beholding."
-   Andre Comte-Sponville, A Small Treatise on the Great Virtues, p. 150

Simplicity - Quotations for Gardeners


Ecstasy Zone Day: 6am - 4pm.  

 

Valley Spirit Journal - July 2004

 

Why You Should Not Vote for George W. Bush

 

Valley Spirit Journal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

Michael P. Garofalo's E-Mail

 

© Michael P. Garofalo, 2004, All Rights Reserved

 

 

 

Zen Poetry

Cuttings: Haiku and Short Poems

Cold Mountain Sages

The Spirit of Gardening

 

 

 

Cloud Hands: T'ai Chi Ch'uan and Ch'i Kung Website

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tai Chi Chuan, Taijiquan, T'ai Ch'i Ch'uan, Tai Chi, Tai Ji Quan, Taiji, Tai Ji Chuan, Tie Jee Chewan
Walking, Gardening, Weightlifting, Yoga, Meditation, Stretching, Exercise, Physical Fitness
Chi Kung, Qi Gong, Qigong, Chee Gung, Qi, Chi, Tu Na, Dao Yin, Yi, Neigong, Gung Fu
Valley Spirit Blog, Gu Shen Blog, Valley Spirit Taijiquan Journal, Tai Chi Diary
Tai Chi Chuan, Taijiquan, T'ai Chi Ch'uan, Tai Chi, Tai Ji Quan, Taiji, Tai Ji Chuan, Tie Jee Chewan

Chi Kung, Qi Gong, Qigong, Chee Gung, Qi, Chi, Tu Na, Dao Yin, Yi, Neigong,
Tai Chi Journal, Tai Chi Diary, Taijiquan Journal, T'ai Chi Ch'uan Journal
Ch'i Kung Journal, Ch'i Kung Diary, Qigong Journal, Qigong Blog, Qigong Diary
Yoga Journal, Yoga Blog, Yoga Diary
Walking Journal, Walking Blog, Walkng Diary
Meditation Journal, Meditation Blog, Meditation Diary
Valley Spirit Taijiquan Journal Blog
Cloud Hands Tai Chi Journal
Taijiquan Notes, Comments, Reflections

 

Home

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alphabetical Subject Index

 

Cloud Hands Website
   
Taijiquan, Qigong, Taoism, Classics, Weapons: Sword and Staff


Fitness and Well Being Website

      Gardening, Meditation, Walking, Yoga, Strength Training,
      Fitness for Older Persons, Aerobics, Relaxation  


The Spirit of Gardening

   
2,700 Quotes Arranged by 130 Topics, History, Guides,
     Psycho-Spiritual Aspects of Gardening 



Web Guides, Bibliographies, Links, Directories, Quotes, Notes

 


Alphabetical Subject Index

 

Aging Well   

Alphabetical Subject Index to the Cloud Hands Website   

Ancient Goddesses - Quotations, Poems, Sayings, Prayers, Songs

Animal Frolics (Wu Qin Xi): Tiger, Bear, Crane, Deer, and Monkey

Arthritis Therapy - Exercise: T'ai Chi Ch'uan and Chi Kung      

Bear, Standing Bear, Level 1 Ranking, Valley Spirit Taijiquan

The Bear: The Five Animal Frolics (Wu Qin Xi)    

Bibliography - Ch'i Kung

Bibliography - Taijiquan     

Bird - Five Animal Frolics (Wu Qin Xi)

Blog - Valley Spirit Journal by Michael P. Garofalo

Breathing and Taijiquan     

Breathing and Yoga    

Breathwork

Buddhism and Martial Arts    

Buddhist Ethics

California (Northern) T'ai Chi Ch'uan and Qigong Directory: Instructors, Schools, Information

Charkas (Energy Centers of the Subtle Body)

Chan Ssu Chin - Silk Reeling    

Cheng Man-Ch'ing  (1901-1975)    

Chen Style T'ai Chi Ch'uan     

Ch'i - Breathwork

Ch'i or Qi

Ch'i Kung: Bibliography and Links    

Ch'i Kung Instructor: Michael P. Garofalo in Red Bluff, California   

Chinese Massage

Ch'i or Qi and Taijiquan     

Classes, Valley Spirit Taijiquan, Instructional Program

Classics of T'ai Chi Ch'uan     

Cloud Hands: T'ai Chi Ch'uan and Ch'i Kung     

Cloud Hands T'ai Chi Ch'uan Journal     

Cold Mountain Poets: Wanderers, Mystics, and Sages     

Confucius (K'ung Fu-tzu)  (551 - 479 BCE)    

Contemplation

Crane - Bird - Five Animal Frolics (Wu Qin Xi)

Crane, Soaring Crane, Intermediate Program, Level 3, Valley Spirit T'ai Chi Ch'uan   

Cuttings: Short Poems by Michael P. Garofalo  

Cuttings: Above the Fog  

Dance and Taijiquan       

Dayan - Wild Goose Qigong

The Deer: The Five Animal Frolics (Wu Qin Xi)    

Diabetes Therapy - Exercise: Taijiquan and Qigong   

Disclaimer of the Cloud Hands Website  

Eight Section Brocade Ch'i Kung       

Eight Silken Treasures Qigong    

Eight Trigrams and Taijiquan          

Embrace the One - Zhan Zhuang - Standing Like A Tree

Emptiness in Full Bloom    

Entering Tranquility (Ru Jing) Meditation      

Exercise - Diabetes Therapy - Taijiquan and Qigong   

Feedback, Kudos and Reviews for the Cloud Hand's Website     

Fitness and Well Being    

Fitness for Older Persons     

Five Animal Frolics (Wu Qin Xi): Tiger, Bear, Crane, Deer, and Monkey

Five Precepts of Buddhism     

Five Elements (Wu-Xing) and Taijiquan   

Five Stepping Movements of Taijiquan    

Flexibility and Stretching

Flowers

Flowers in the Sky     

Gardening: Quotes, Poems, History, Sayings

Gardening: Quips and Maxims by Michael P. Garofalo

The Four Gates: Grasping the Sparrow's Tail    

Michael P. Garofalo's Biography

Michael P. Garofalo's T'ai Chi Ch'uan and Qigong Practice    

The Goddess - Quotations, Poems, Sayings, Prayers, Songs    

Goose - Bird - Five Animal Frolics (Wu Qin Xi)  

Goose - Wild Goose Qigong             

Grasping the Sparrow's Tail          

Green Way Research        

Green Way Research - Taijiquan and Qigong       

Green Wizard 

Gu Shen Taijiquan Journal     

Gu Shen (Valley Spirit) Taijiquan Instructional Program

Haiku and Short Poems     

Hatha Yoga

Health and Fitness - T'ai Chi Ch'uan    

Hidden Tiger, Beginning Program, Level 2, Valley Spirit T'ai Chi Ch'uan   

Index to the Cloud Hands Website

Instructional Program, Valley Spirit T'ai Chi Ch'uan    

Journal - Valley Spirit Journal by Michael P. Garofalo

Kriya Yoga    

Kundalini (Coiled Serpent) Energy

Kwang Ping Taijiquan of Kuo Lien Ying     

Labyrinths and Mazes

Links and Bibliography: Qigong    

Links and Bibliography: Taijiquan       

Long Form 108 Yang Style Taijiquan     

Massage

Master Chang San-Feng  (circa 1350)       

Master Cheng Man-Ch'ing  (1901 - 1975)    

Master Han Shan  (circa 750)    

Master Kuo Lien Ying     

Master Sun Lu-Tang   

Mastery, Self Control, Self Mastery, Choices, Will Power, Strength of Character

Meditation - General

Meditation and Breathing

Meditation and Walking    

Meditation Instructor: Michael P. Garofalo in Red Bluff, California        

Meditation Methods and Techniques  

Meditation Quotations    

Meditation - Standing Like A Tree  

Meditation - Wu Ji - The Edge of Emptiness  

Michael P. Garofalo's T'ai Chi Ch'uan and Qigong Practice    

Minding the Breath

Months of the Year: Quotes, Poems, Links     

Moving Hands Like Clouds:  T'ai Chi Ch'uan and Qigong    

Northern California T'ai Chi Ch'uan and Qigong Directory: Instructors, Schools, Information

Nature Mysticism   

Nine Movement Temple Ch'i Kung Exercise Set

Oak Tree in the Courtyard    

Old Cloud Hands Website

Older Persons Exercise and Wellness Programs   

Oregon T'ai Chi Ch'uan and Qigong Directory: Instructors, Schools, Information   

Original Cloud Hands URL    

Original Waving Hands Like Clouds URL    

Photography - Valley Spirit Photography Gallery    

Pranayama: Breathing Techniques from Yoga     

Private Instruction by Michael P. Garofalo, Instructional Programs

Pulling Onions: The Quips and Maxims of a Gardener

Push Hands - T'ui Shou   

Qigong: Bibliography and Links    

Qigong - Breathwork

Qigong Instructor: Michael P. Garofalo in Red Bluff, California        

Qigong Walking      

Qi or Ch'i and Taijiquan     

Raja Yoga

Red Bluff, Valley Spirit Taijiquan Instructional Program

Relaxation and Taijiquan     

Reviews of the Cloud Hand's Website     

Self Control, Self Mastery, Choices, Will Power    

Self-Massage

Senior Citizens Fitness Programs  

Sensing Hands: Push Hands - T'ui Shou   

Shoong, Sung, Song  - Loose, Relaxed, Open, Yielding, Responsive     

Short Form, Yang Style, Beijing Simplified 24

Silk Reeling    

Simplified 24 From, Yang Style       

Soaring Crane, Intermediate Program, Level 3, Valley Spirit T'ai Chi Ch'uan

Soulful Gardening

Speaking to the Spirit Meditation

The Spirit of Gardening    

Staff Weapons: Jo, Bo, Can, Staff, Spear    

Standing Bear, Level 1 Ranking, Valley Spirit Taijiquan

Standing Like A Tree - Zhan Zhuang

Standing Meditation (Wu Ji)

Sticking Hands - T'ui Shou   

Stork - Bird - Five Animal Frolics

Strength Training    

Stretching and Flexibility

Subject Index to the Cloud Hands Website

Sun Lu-Tang   

Sun Style T'ai Chi Ch'uan     

Swordsmanship and T'ai Chi Ch'uan     

T'ai Ch'i Classics      

Tai Chi for Arthritis

Tai Chi for Diabetes

T'ai Chi Ch'uan: Bibliography and Links     

T'ai Chi Ch'uan and Qigong Directory: Instructors, Schools, Information, Workshops      
Northern California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia

T'ai Chi Ch'uan Instructor: Michael P. Garofalo in Red Bluff, California      

T'ai Chi Ch'uan, Red Bluff, CA  

T'ai Chi Ch'uan Short Form, Beijing Simplified 24, Yang Style     

T'ai Chi Ch'uan: Links and Bibliography      

T'ai Chi Ch'uan Staff     

T'ai Chi Ch'uan Sword (Jian)     

Taijiquan: Bibliography and Links      

Taijiquan - Breathwork

Taijiquan Classics      

Taijiquan For Good Health, Fitness and Vitality         

Taijiquan Instructor: Michael P. Garofalo in Red Bluff, California        

Taijiquan Jian (Sword)     

Tantric Yoga

Taoism, Nature Mysticism, Alchemy      

Temple Qigong - A Nine Movement Exercise Set     

Thirteen Postures: 8 Gates and 5 Steps                  

Thirteen Treasures Walking Qigong       

The 300 Missing Poems of Han Shan      

The Tiger: The Five Animal Frolics (Wu Qin Xi)    

Tiger, Hidden Tiger, Beginning Program, Level 2, Valley Spirit T'ai Chi Ch'uan

Tree Qigong - Zhan Zhuang - Standing Like A Tree   

Trees - Quotations, Poems, Lore, Wisdom  

Trees - Lore, Magick, Myths, Magick

24 From, Yang Style, Standard       

Valley Spirit T'ai Chi Ch'uan Club        

Valley Spirit Journal by Michael P. Garofalo       

Valley Spirit Photography Gallery    

Valley Spirit Taijiquan Instructional Program

Valley Spirit Taijiquan and Qigong Journal by Michael P. Garofalo       

Vancouver, B.C., T'ai Chi Ch'uan and Qigong Directory: Instructors, Schools

Vitality, Health and Qigong   

Walking - General Fitness Exercise

Walking and Taijiquan     

Walking - Quotations     

Washington T'ai Chi Ch'uan and Qigong Directory: Instructors, Schools, Information 

Waving Hands Like Clouds:  T'ai Chi Ch'uan and Qigong    

Wild Goose Qigong

Will Power, Self Control, Self Mastery, Choices, Strength of Character   

Wizards

Wu Ji - Standing Meditation

Yang Style Taijiquan Long Form 108 Movements     

Yang Style Taijiquan Short Form 24 Movements       

Yin-Yang Sensitivity Training: Sticking Hands - T'ui Shou   

Yoga   

Yoga - Breathwork

Yoga - Hatha   

Yoga - Kriya

Yoga -Tantric

Yoga-Taiji Index

Zhan Zhuang - Standing Like A Tree

Zen Poetry       

Zen Buddhist Quotations   

 

 

Valley Spirit T'ai Chi Ch'uan Club


Red Bluff, Tehama County, North Sacramento Valley, Northern California, U.S.A.
Cities and small towns in the area: Oroville, Paradise, Durham, Chico, Hamilton City,
Corning, Rancho Tehama, Los Molinos, Tehama, Proberta, Gerber, Manton, Cottonwood,
Anderson, Shasta Lake, Palo Cedro, Igo, Ono, Redding, Shasta, Colusa, Willows,
Fall River, Montgomery Creek, Alturas, McCloud, Dunsmuir, Yreka, Happy Camp,
Shingletown, Burney, Mt. Shasta City, Weaverville, Williams, Chester, Orland,
Susanville, Weed, Gridley, Marysville, Yuba City, NorCalifia, CA, California.

 

August 30, 2004

 

Green Way Research   

Valley Spirit T'ai Chi Ch'uan

Cloud Hands: T'ai Chi Ch'uan and Ch'i Kung