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

Valley Spirit Hatha Yoga Website

Cloud Hands Yoga Blog

November 2004

Index to the Valley Spirit Journal

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

 

 

Michael P. Garofalo

Michael P. Garofalo
Playing the PiPa (Lute)

 

 

 

December 2004 Valley Spirit Journal

October 2004 Valley Spirit Journal

Index to the Valley Spirit Journal

 

 

 

 

November 30, Tuesday, 2004


"I long to accomplish great and noble tasks, but it is my chief duty to accomplish
humble tasks as though they were great and noble.  The world is moved along,
not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of the tiny
pushes of each honest worker."
-   Helen Keller

Work for CUESD 7:30 - 4:00:  Reading First grant managment, fill in for absent
worker, writing on the new 70 page CUESD District Technology Plan.  

Weightlifting for 45 minutes, and then yoga class with 
Gudrun Volpat from 5:30-6:45 at TFFC.   I chatted with Gunrun afterwards,
and will teach the Thursday night class in her absence.  

Added numerous quotes and links to the webpage on Will Power.  


 

November 29, Monday, 2004

"Give me a stock clerk with a goal and I'll give you a man who will make history.
Give me a man with no goals and I'll give you a stock clerk."
-   J. C. Penney

Walking, Qigong, and Taijiquan for 90 minutes in the morning (7:30- am).   
Review Part III of Yang Style Long Form.

Put up holiday season lights on the front of the house.  

Off CUESD work today.  Podiatrist and dentist appointments in the afternoon.

Weightlifting for 60 minutes at  TFFC:  Bench press, squats, upright
rows, pulldowns, and abdominal work.       

Added quotes and links to the webpage on Will Power.  Finished our
holiday message.   Started the daily goal/objective tracking program.  

 

 

 

November 28, Sunday, 2004

"First say to yourself what you would be, and then do what you have to do."
-   Epictetus

Walking for 60 minutes in the morning (8:00- am).   

Relax, read, and watch professional football: Chargers, SF, Oakland.  
The Oakland and Denver game in the snow in Denver was a very good
game which the Raiders won.  

 

 

November 27, Saturday, 2004

"I know the price of success: dedication, hard work, and an unremitting devotion 
to the things you want to see happen."
-   Frank Lloyd Wright

It was cold, foggy and raining in the morning.  Everyone packed up and left
for either Portland or Los Angeles.  We enjoyed a nice visit with everyone.
We cleaned up and return the house to normal during the day.  

Walking for 60 minutes in the morning (8:00- am).   

Watch USC play Notre Dame on ABC in the evening.  

 

 

 

 

 

November 26, Friday, 2004

"A dictionary is the only place that success comes before work.  Hard work
is the price we must pay for success.  I think you can accomplish anything
if you're willing to pay the price."
-   Vince Lombardi

Walking, Qigong, and Taijiquan for 90 minutes in the morning (8:00- am).   
Review Part III of Yang Style Long Form.

Karen and I are both off work.  Visit with our daughter and our guests.  

Weightlifting for 60 minutes at  TFFC:  Bench press, squats, upright
rows, pulldowns, and abdominal work.       

Yoga: The Path to Holistic Health.  By B.K.S. Iyengar.  London, Dorling Kindersley,
2001.  Glossary, index, 416 pages.  ISBN:  0789471655.  Lavishly illustrated compendium
of essential poses, routines, prop use, and yoga routines to help specific health
problems.  The renowned Yogacharya B. K. S. Iyengar was born in India in 1918.  MGC.  

Updated a number of my yoga and wellbeing webpages.   

 

 

November 25, Thursday, 2004

Thanksgiving Day!

"To will is to select a goal, determine a course of action that will bring
one to that goal, and then hold to that action till the goal is reached.  
The key is action."
-   Michael Hanson

Walking, Qigong, and Taijiquan for 90 minutes in the morning (8:00- am).   
Review Part III of Yang Style Long Form.  I walked in a light rain that soaked
my pants.  

Karen and I are both off work.  Visit with our daughter and our guests.  

Studying the ACE Personal Trainer Manual every day.  Today I studied the 
topic of aerobic training programs.  

Sean's brother, Matthew, and his girlfriend, Hannah,  joined us for dinner.  

Reading the January 2005 issue of Yoga International.

"I have visited and enjoyed your Spirit of Gardening website extensively in the past and 
wanted to thank you for keeping it up and running. I often revisit when my spirits are low 
and need something to keep me going. It may sound silly, but finding the truths and 
wisdoms in the quotes and poems reminds me that I'm not always as alone as 
I think I am. Thank you. Mary Dickerson"

I smoked a cigar in the evening on the back porch with Lori.  It was wonderful.  
A cigar and brandy ... perfect.  

 

 

November 24, Wednesday, 2004

"To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; 
not only plan, but also believe."
-   Anatole France

Walking, Qigong, and Taijiquan for 90 minutes in the morning (8:00- am).   
Review Part III of Yang Style Long Form.

Karen and I are both off work.  Visit with our Alicia, Sean and Lori.    

Lunch in Redding at Tokyo Garden with the group.  Tour the Sundial bridge
over the Sacramento.  Visit Barnes and Noble books.

Studying the ACE Personal Trainer Manual every day.  Today I studied the 
topic of aerobic training programs.  

Added links to the Willpower webpage.

 

Her brown eyes
still shining -
my daughter's hug.  

Walnut leaves
halfway gone -
Thanksgiving eve.  

 

 

 

 

November 23, Tuesday, 2004

"Change is the law of life.  And those who look only to the past or present
are certain to miss the future."
-   John F. Kennedy

Drive with Sean, Lori, Alicia to the Napa Valley in northern California.  We visited
the Sterling and Beringer and three other wineries in the area.  A beautiful crisp
clear autumn day in the Napa Valley.  Lovely colors to the remainding grape
leaves: golds, yellows, purples, soft reds.  As usual, this is a very popular 
area for tourists and traffic.  

Walking for 30 minutes during the day.

Studying the ACE Personal Trainer Manual every day.  Today I studied the 
topic of aerobic training programs: running, cycling, swimming.  

Added to my Pulling Onions webpage.

Exercises for desk workers: My Daily Yoga.  

 

November 22, Monday, 2004

"The secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all
the details of daily life, and in elevating them to art."
-  William Morris

Work for CUESD 7:30 - 3:00.   Writing, reading, paperwork.  

Aerobic activities, abdominal work, and weightlifting for 50 minutes at gym: 
bench press, squats, upright rows, curls for biceps and forearms.

Studying the ACE Personal Trainer Manual every day.  Today I studied the 
topic of aerobic training programs.  

Updated my November Poems - Cuttings webpage.  

Bright yellow
chrysanthemums -
moonrise at noon.  

 

November 21, Sunday, 2004

 

"The longer I live, the more I am certain that the great difference between the great 
and the insignificant is energy -- invincible determination -- a purpose once fixed, 
and then death or victory."
-  Thomas Fowell Buxton

Walking, Qigong, and Taijiquan for 120 minutes in the early morning (7:00- am).   
Review Part III of Yang Style Long Form.

Teach Greg Taijiquan.  

Mow lawns, clean the house, get ready for guests.  

Alicia and Sean Flinn arrive around 6 pm, and Lori Flynn, Sean's sister, arrived
around 9:30 pm.  They drove down from Portland and her from Los Angeles, 
and will be staying with us for a week.  We will have a nice week's visit with
our daughter and son-in-law.  They brought their dog, Brandy, a lovely
Golden Retriever, who was very excited.  Lori brought her boxer dog.  

Studying the ACE Personal Trainer Manual every day.  Today I studied the 
topic of aerobic training programs: walking, running.  

 

Cracks flow
along the asphalt path - 
bruised toe.  


Winter frees up time for gardeners.


Sundown
before five -
a pomegranate splits.

 

 

 

 

November 20, Saturday, 2004

 

"Construct your determination with Sustained Effort, Controlled Attention, and 
Concentrated Energy.  Opportunities never come to those who wait... they are 
captured by those who dare to attack."
-   Paul J. Meyer

Walking, Qigong, and Taijiquan for 60 minutes at dawn (6:45- am).   
Review Part III of Yang Style Long Form.

Teach Taijiquan, Qigong and Yoga at TFFC from 9:30-12:30.  

My eyes
trace her figure -
a dog sniffs.  

"Loved your Tai Chi web site.  Very nice, artful and interesting. 
Wonderful job!"  -  Wes Tabler, Berkeley, California, 20 November 2004

Watch part of the Oregon and Oregon State football game.  

Studying the ACE Personal Trainer Manual every day - fitness testing.

Studying the ACE Personal Trainer Manual every day.  Today I studied the 
topic of fitness testing.     

 

 

November 19, Friday, 2004


"If you set goals and go after them with all the determination you can muster, 
your gifts will take you places that will amaze you."
-  Les Brown

Work for CUESD 7:30 - 4:00:  Writing the District Technology Plan.  

Weightlifting for 45 minutes at  TFFC:  Bench press, squats, upright
rows, and treadmill walking.     

Watch part of the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons game.  

Studying the ACE Personal Trainer Manual every day.  Today I studied the 
topic of fitness evaluation.  

 

Baby shower
"oohs" and "aahs" -
ripe persimmons.

Unable to speak
he limped to bed -
rotting pumpkins.  

He drives up
above the fog -
her mind clears.  

Wispy cloud
streaked skies -
flapping flags.  

Sweating harder
before the squat rack -
women walk by.

 

 

Ann, 
 
Life is such a quirky clutter of impressions, sublime simples,
flowing to and fro, from breath to death, elusive as mountains,
as solid as souls - never centered.  Pieces upon pieces,
moans and groans, songs and sighs, 
till we leave alone.
 
We scattered some of my aunt's ashes on Lake Shasta;
all standing in sunburnt silence,
each rocking on our own heart-beats,
till our own bones
take their last swim down, down, down
to the bottom of silence.  
 
I wish I could give you a big hug,
read you a poem,
make you laugh ...
it would help to console me. 
 
mike

 

 

 

November 18, Thursday, 2004


"A vow is fixed and unalterable determination to do a thing, when such a 
determination is related to something noble which can only uplift the 
man who makes the resolve."
-  Mahatma Gandhi

Work for CUESD 7:30 - 4:00:  Writing a new CUESD Technology Plan.  

Weightlifting for 30 minutes, and then yoga class with 
Gudrun Volpat from 5:30-6:45 at TFFC.    Gudrun asked if I would
be interested in teaching the Senior Light Yoga class; unfortunately,
it is offered at a day and time that I work for CUESD.  Working with
senior fitness programs is a main interest of mine.  

A very foggy and cold morning in our low valley area.  

Old man
rubs stiff hands -
autumn dawn.  

Children waiting
in a bus stop line -
deepening fog.  

[Memories of waiting for the school bus in the Bandini barrio in ELA
on foggy mornings.  It would be so foggy you could hardly see beyond
20 feet.  Sometimes, even in May, the fog would roll in from the 
Pacific Ocean at Long Beach, 20 miles south of my childhood home.} 

Studying the ACE Personal Trainer Manual every day.  Today I studied the 
topic of nutrition and medications.   

 

November 17, Wednesday, 2004


"Desire is the key to motivation, but it's the determination and commitment 
to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal -- a commitment to excellence -- that 
will enable you to attain the success you seek."
-   Mario Andretti

Work for CUESD 7:30 - 4:00: Reading First grant ordering for library and 
computers, helping Kevin with website, training Mrs. Hall on computer
use, and follow up on various projects.  

TAi Chi Ruler Exercises - Qigong and Tai Chi:  Links, Bibliography, Quotes, Notes
Tai Chi Ruler, Qigong Ruler, Tai Chi Stick, Qigong Stick, Taiji Chih.

I was a bit tired and sore tonight so I rested.  I always find that walking is refreshing
even when I am tired; however, it was dark when I arrived at home.  With winter fast
approaching, and daylight savings time readjusted, it is gets dark quite early.  Our
country roads are very dark at night.  

Rest and recuperation are very important in every older person's training and conditioning
program.  We need to give our older bodies an extra day of rest now and then for 
full recovery.  

 

 

 

November 16, Tuesday, 2004


"Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough."
-  Og Mandino

Work for CUESD 7:30 - 4:00.  Follow up on communication new Board approved
procedures on Technology use, Reading First grant work, web projects.  

Weightlifting for 40 minutes, and then yoga class with 
Gudrun Volpat from 5:30-6:45 at TFFC.    

I was completely surprised when Gudrun Volpat asked me if I would 
teach the Thursday night yoga class starting on December 2nd.  She told
me she had discussed the offer with Cori Dittner, TFFC program coordinator.
She said she had confidence in me and that she had received positive
feedback about my Saturday class.  I accepted the offer and was very
pleased.  I felt very honored to be asked to teach.  

Gudrin old us she needed to take off work at TFFC on Thursday because she had
to devote some extra time to helping her aging mother and she was doing
more Phoenix Rising Yoga teaching.   She drives 90 minutes to get to the
TFFC from her home in the mountains on the road from Redding to Burney.
 

"Spain is the world's largest cultivator of olives, producing 970,000 tons
of olives annaully.  The principal olive producting regions in Spain are
Catalonia and Andalusia.  Spain and Italy together account for 54% of the
total amount of olive oil produced worldwide."
-   Guinness World Records 2005
Updated my Olives webpage.

 

 

 

November 15, Monday, 2004


"The only good luck many great men ever had was being born with the 
ability and determination to overcome bad luck."
-   Channing Pollock

Walking, Qigong, and Taijiquan for 90 minutes in the morning (8:00- am).   
Review Part III of Yang Style Long Form.
Mow front and back lawn, shovel gravel in driveway.  

Weightlifting for 60 minutes at the TFFC: Benchpressing, squats, upright rows,
dumbell work for arms.   

Yo and Jo Battistelli visit us in the afternoon.  Karen prepared a great 
gumbo and pecan pie.  

Participated in my last Gerber Union Elementary School District Board
of Trustees meeting.  We elected a new person to serve in my former position.
I have served for four years on this school board.  It was a positive and 
benefical experience for me.  I feel I made a significant contribution to
the leadership in this district of 490 children, grades K-8.  

ACE Personal Trainer Manual.  The Ultimate Resource for Fitness Professionals.
By the American Council on Exercise.  3rd Edition.  Edited by Cedric X. Bryant 
and Daniel J. Green.  San Diego, California, American Council on Exercise, 1996, 
2003.  Index, 589 pages.  ISBN: 1890720143.  MGC.  

 

 

November 14, Sunday, 2004


"Determination gives you the resolve to keep going in spite of the 
roadblocks that lay before you."
-   Denis Waitley 

Walking, Qigong, and Taijiquan for 90 minutes in the morning (9:15- am).   
Review Part III of Yang Style Long Form.

Teach Greg Taijiquan.  

T'ai Chi for Seniors: How to Gain Flexibility, Strength, and Inner Peace.  
By Philip Bonifonte.  New Age Books, 2004.  216 pages.  ISBN: 1564146979.  MGC.  

Updated my webpage on my Yoga class.

 
Cold Mountain Buddhas

"Dear Mr. Garofalo:

I would like to thank you and express appreciation
for the time and energy you expended and then
offered to all on your cold mountain web pages, I
was more than fascinated and spent days exploring
some of the links.  Thank you again.

I have a few questions which you might be able to
help with.

Questions:  What is the evidence that hanshan [let
alone shide] existed?  Is any of the extant
evidence contemporary with them?  Or much later?

What is the source for these cold mountain poems?
[For example, the source for most Hemingway novels
is an existing MS.  The source for Shakespeare
plays are existing 16th and 17th century printed
editions.  The source for the plays of Sophocles
are editions printed more than 1,400 years after
his death.]

If you do not know, perhaps you could direct me to
some reference where I could find the answers to
these questions.

For your reference, the Tochigi Prefectural Museum
[in Japan] published a catalogue of their exhibit
of hanshan and shide paintings snd scrolls, a
total of 84 with the titles and provences in
English and reproductions of each work.  There are
some chinese works but most are Japanese. English
title: HAN-SHAN AND SHI-DE isbn:4-924622-80-x  --
it's the best [and only?] publication of its kind
that I know.

Best regards

Luther Link"
- email on 11/13/2004

"Dear Luther,

Thanks for the positive feedback on the Han Shan page. 
I really appreciate your kind comments. 

It is better to ask a scholar and translator like Red Pine about
the original sources for the Han Shan Cold Mountain texts.  Look
at the introduction to Red Pine's translations. 

There are many examples of Chinese Chan or Taoist hermits, see
my webpage on Master Chang San-Feng, in Chinese and Japanese
literature.  Many live extremely long lives.  There are yogis, e.g.,
Babaji, with the same pedigree.  Did or do these fellows really exist?
Are they just concepts of a kind of crazy wisdom hermit that
exist in the minds of city dwellers?  Are their purported writings
the compilation of Taoist/Chan sect members over a number of
centuries, e.g., Lao Tzu.  It is my belief that much about and by
these figures is of a legendary nature.  Han Shan is the archtypical
monastery outsider who shakes up the expected order of
the insiders, like Hui-neng, the 6th Patriarch of Zen.  The
paradoxical and irreverent nature of Zen/Chan humor has
required more than one person - thus Han Shan and Shite -
to dust off our plodding everyday minds and stike up in us
a belly laugh of kensho. 

Best wishes for a fine autumn,

Mike Garofalo"

 


 

 

 

November 13, Saturday, 2004


"No problem is insurmountable. With a little courage, teamwork and 
determination a person can overcome anything."
-   B. Dodge

Walking, Qigong, and Taijiquan for 90 minutes at dawn (6:45- am).   
Review Part III of Yang Style Long Form.

Teach Taijiquan, Qigong and Yoga at TFFC from 9:30-12:30.  

The Yoga rountine I teach is a blend of the routine that my yoga teacher
uses, the YogaFit routine, some qigong postures, and vinyasa flows.

I am currently using the Yoga postures found in:
YogaFit Training Manual Level One.  Hermosa Beach, California, YogaFit, 2003.
Proprietary material.  100 pages.  No ISBN.  

Updated my webpage on strenth training for seniors.

 

 

 

 

November 12, Friday, 2004

"What really distinguishes this generation in all countries from earlier 
generations ... is its determination to act, its joy in action, the assurance 
of being able to change things by one's own efforts."
-  Hannah Arendt

Guiding Yoga's Light: Yoga Lessons for Yoga Teachers.  By Nancy Gerstein.  Pendragon
Publishers, 2004.  296 pages.  ISBN: 0972280987.  MGC.  

Work for CUESD 7:30 - 4:00.

Updated wepage on willpower.

 

 

 

 

November 11, Thursday, 2004


"Determination is the wake-up call to the human will."
-   Anthony Robbins

Veterans day holiday.  Karen and I stay home.  

Walking, Qigong, and Taijiquan for 90 minutes in the late afternoon.   
Review Part III of Yang Style Long Form

Weightlifting for 50 minutes, and then yoga class with 
Gudrun Volpat from 5:30-6:45 at TFFC.    

Mudras: Yoga in Your Hands.   By Gertrud Hirschi.  York Beach, Maine,
Weiser Books, 2000.  Index, 223 pages.  ISBN: 1578631394.  MGC.   

Updated my Yoga links webpage.

 

 

November 10, Wednesday, 2004

 

"We all have dreams.  But in order to make dreams come into reality, it 
takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort."
-  Jessie Owens

Work for CUESD 7:30 - 2:30.  Teach Kevin M. how to do website work.  Attend
CUESD Board meeting at 7 pm in case questions asked about items I sent
in for Board approval.  

Website work at home in the afternoon.  It was raining gently this afternoon
and evening - and we need these autumn rains!!  Lovely.  

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.  Translation and Commentary by Sri Swami 
Satchidananda.  Integral Yoga Pubs., 1990.  263 pages.  MGC.  

Updated my Valley Spirit Journal for November.  

 

 

November 9, Tuesday, 2004


"Good character is more to be praised than outstanding talent.  Most talents 
are, to some extent, a gift.  Good character, by contrast, is not given to us. 
We have to build it piece by piece-by thought, choice, courage 
and determination."
-  John Luther

Work for CUESD 7:30 - 4:00.  Finish SERRP grant, prepare requisitions,
reading grant RFP, catch up.  

Weightlifting for 50 minutes, and then yoga class with 
Gudrun Volpat from 5:30-6:45 at TFFC.   I felt pretty energetic tonight
after a few days off from exercise.   

Yoga Shakti with Shiva Rea.  Boulder, Colorado, Sounds True 2004.  
2 DVD's, 4.5 hours.  Instructional DVD.  ISBN: 1591791847.  MGC.  
 

Reading issues of Men's Fitness magazine. 

 

 

November 8, Monday, 2004


"Continuous, unflagging effort, persistence and determination will win.  Let not 
the man be discouraged who has these."
-   James Whitcomb Riley

Drove home from Portand, 460 miles, 5:45 am - 3 pm.  Very foggy from 
Portland to Medford, and overcast in northern California.  

Walking, Qigong, and Taijiquan for 90 minutes in the late afternoon.   
Review Part III of Yang Style Long Form

Principles of Anatomy and Physiology.  By Gerald J. Tortora and Nicholas P. Anagnostakos.
New York, Harper and Row Pub., 1990.  Sixth Edition.  956 pages plus index, glossary,
and appendices.  ISBN: 0060467045.  MGC.  This is a standard college textbook on
the subject.  

 

 

Valley Spirit Journal

 

 

 

November 7, Sunday, 2004

 

"Don't worry about genius.  Don't worry about being clever.  Trust to hard 
work, perseverance and determination.  The best motto for a long march 
is: ''Don't grumble. Plug on!''
-   Sir Thomas Treves

Mick, April, Karen and I went mushroom hunting in the woods near 
Scouppie.  We all enjoyed a fine dinner at Jakes Famous Crayfish Restaurant
in downtown Portland - the second oldest bar and restaurant in Portland.  
We then browsed a Powell's bookstore.  Mick made a fine soup from the 
Chantrel muschrooms.  


Yogaflows: A Dynamic and Fluid System to Transform Your Yoga Practice.
London, Firefly Books Ltd., 2003.  Index, glossary of postures, 144 pages.
ISBN: 1552976874.


Updated webpage on Aging and Wellbeing.

 

November 6, Saturday, 2004

 

"Determination that just won't quit -- that's what it takes."
-   A. J. Foyt

 

                     Alicia, Karen, April
                      Sean, Mike, Mick

Mick, April, Sean, Alicia, Karen and I all met in the morning a spent
the day together in Portland.  We had a family portrait taken at the Lloyd Center Mall,
ate lunch together, hung out a Alicia's home, and then drove to Corvalis for the
Oregon State and University of Southern California football game.  The 
night game was really fun.  It was 43 degrees F at gametime, and very foggy.  

OSU played USC (#1 in the country) very tough.  OSU led at the half, 13-7.  At the
start of the fourth quarter, USC led by 14-13.  Then Reggie Bush returned a punt
65 yards for a touchdown and USC pulled ahead.  The final was 28-20 for a 
USC win.  The Reser stadium was filled to capacity and quite loud.  We had
great seats in the USC section, very close to the USC band.  

 

November 5, Friday, 2004



"The most essential factor is persistence -- the determination never to 
allow your energy or enthusiasm to be dampened by the discouragement
that must inevitably come."
-   James Whitcomb Riley


Leave at 7 am for our drive to Portland, Oregon.  The skies were
very clear and cloudless with great views in all directions.  Mt. Shasta
was magnificant - dominating all views.  Medford and Grants Pass were
cloud covered along the Rogue River.  Spectacular fall colors along Interstate
5 and everywhere in Portland.  

We stayed with Alicia and Sean in the evening.  Enjoyed a nice meal and
conversations.  

No exercise all day.  

 

 

November 4, Thursday, 2004


"When you see a thing clearly in your mind, your creative ''success mechanism'' 
within you takes over and does the job much better than you could do it by 
conscious effort or "willpower."
-   Maxwell Maltz

Work for CUESD 7:30 - 4:00:  EduSoft training in the morning, SERRP grant
finished writing, requistions, library management.    

Minor surgery on my foot by Dr. Swaim.  I wore shoes in yoga class.  

Weightlifting for 70 minutes, walking, and then yoga class with 
Gudrun Volpat from 5:30-6:45 at TFFC.    

 

 

November 3, Wednesday, 2004

 

"The two powers which in my opinion constitute a wise man
are those of bearing and forbearing."
-   Epictetus 

Work for CUESD 7:30 - 4:00 - Reading First website work, Technology grant writing,
preparing requisitions.  

Kerry looses to President Bush.  GOP Republicans gain more power.  Four more
years of increasing federal debt, killing more people to satisfy revenge, pandering to the rich,
alienating our allies, upseting and angering 35% of our citizens, and implementing 
neo-conservative right wing agendas.  The votes were counted and such is the way it will be.   
So be it!!  

Email correspondence, web work, helping my son with his search for a 
Chef's job.  

Watched the first half of Lakers vs. Utah.  Utah seems to have much bigger
and stronger forwards.  I'm not confident the Lakers can even make the
playoffs this year without Shaq at center.  

 

Valley Spirit Journal

 

 

November 2, Tuesday, 2004

 

"Patience will achieve more than force."
-   Edward Burke

Work for CUESD 7:30 - 4:00:  Meetings, writing, coordination.  

Vote after work at polling place south of Red Bluff. I am a moderate
Democrat.  I favor the liberterian perspective on social/personal issues,
and think government should encourage freedom and respect our civil 
liberties.  I favor a balanced budget with sufficient taxes to get the job
of efficient and effective government done on a long term basis.  Half of
my life I was a registered Republican and half a Democrat.  

I greatly dislike the conservative right wing Christistian coalition that has 
supported mostly "compassionate conservative: Republicans lately.  The idea 
of the United States being a "Christian Nation" repulses me.  Fundamentalist Christians, 
just like right wing Moslems, do not believe in civil liberties - they want their views of 
family life, personal choices, proper reading/media, and correct  lifestyles IMPOSED upon
others.  Many Christians have been quite content to support and allow legalized 
slavery, racism, mistreatment of women, and persecution of religious and sexual 
minorities,etc.  I do not believe that these religious zealots really support ideas
of libertry, freedom, civil rights, and an open society.  Thankfully, there are members of
various traditional religuous groups that support many open society causes - moderate
and liberal believers; if not, we would continue to return to more repressive times 
and mono-cultures even faster than we are.  

President Bush, in my opinion, has failed as a leader.  He has reduced taxes
for the wealthy and spent the U.S. government into a 350 billion dollar debt.  He
cannot seem to control his urge to spend, spend, spend - more than any other
President in the last 50 years.  He was completely incorrect or lied about
Iraq having weapons of mass destruction and being a support and cover for 
Islamic terrorists.  Presidents Regan, Bush Sr., and Clinton did not think it
necessary to invade Iraq and were all correct - saving us huge debts and the loss
of over 1,000 of our brave soldiers.  He lacks good judgment.  He is a lazy and 
careless President.  His favoritism towards his wealthy cronies is shameful. 
Republicans spent millions investigating Clinton's petty lies about his mistress,
and little or nothing to investigate and jail the wealthy friends of Bush and Cheney at
Enron or Halliburton.   He leads a government for the wealthy, not for all the people.  


 

Weightlifting for 50 minutes, and then yoga class with 
Gudrun Volpat from 5:30-6:45 at TFFC.    

Lakers vs Denver Nuggets - first NBA game of the season.  

 

 

November 1, Monday, 2004


"Patience is power; with time and patience the mulberry leaf
becomes a silk gown."
-  A Chinese Proverb

Walking, Qigong, and Taijiquan for 90 minutes at dawn (6:15- am).   
Review Part III of Yang Style Long Form.

I read a statement by Osama bin Lauden this weekend.  This enemy leader is telling
us what we are doing wrong, criticising our President, warning us, and telling us 
how the Israeli attack on Lebanon in 1982 made him decide to attack the 
U. S. on September 11th.  He complains about how the Patriot Act is dictatorial.

Osama sounds like he drew he arguments directly from the film "Fahrenheit 9/11."
Michael Moore, the director of the film, had every right to criticize our current
bumbling and misguided federal administration, and I agree with most of his
criticisms.  However, Osama's borrowing these ideas to justify his violence 
in no way relieves him of his burden of responsibility for his use of terrorist methods.       


Osama is a man in hiding, never freely elected to any office of power,
leading bunch of religious zealots and malcontents who hate Jews and Christians,
plotting surprise terrorist attacks on people he hates, criticizing Arab and Western
leaders, claiming to have Allah's blessing to kill whoever he likes .... here is a
enemy telling us how to think and act.  What a pompous, arrogant, and deluded 
man.  He acts as if we deserved the attack on the World Trade Center, need to 
change to his point of view - then he will forgive us and call off his terrorists, and we
all can live in peace and harmony in the future.  

Osama reminds me of the Son of Sam killer in the New York prision who is now
a born again Christian telling other prisoners how to live their lives.  Shut up
Osama, shut up Son of Sam.  We can't forgive you, we can't respect you, we
won't listen to you.   

Someday we will find this mass murderer and execute him and his zealots.  We are 
at war with him and his ilk.  May our warriors be superior to his.  He underestimates
our resolve, our power, our courage, our intelligence, and our ferocity in battle.  

Atkins Diabetes Revolution.  The Groundbreaking Approach to Preventing and
Controlling Type 2 Diabetes.  Based on the teachings of Robert C. Atkins, M.D..
By Mary C. Vernon, M.D., C. M.D. and Jacqueling A. Eberstein, R. N.  William
Morrow, Harper Collins Publishers, 2004.  Index, resources, appendices, 
538 pages.  ISBN:  0060540087.   

 


 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

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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     

Five Elements (Air, Earth, Fire, Water, Metal)

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    

Kudos for the Cloud Hands Website

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, Ch'i Kung - Chinese Mind-Body Exercises

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

Qigong Ruler

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     

Ruler - T'ai Chi

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)     

T'ai Chi Ruler

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 Journal by Michael P. Garofalo     

Valley Spirit Labyrinths  

Valley Spirit Photography Gallery    

Valley Spirit T'ai Chi Ch'uan Club        

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 and Labyrinths

Walking and Taijiquan     

Walking - General Fitness Exercise

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   

Yoga Class, TFFC, Red Bluff, CA

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 Class, Red Bluff, CA - Instructor: Michael P. Garofalo

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, Vina, Tehama, Proberta, Gerber, 
Manton, Cottonwood, Olinda, Cloverdale, Dairyville, Bend, Centerville, Summit City
Anderson, Shasta Lake, Palo Cedro, Igo, Ono, Redding, Shasta, Colusa, Willows,
Richfield, 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.

 

November 14, 2004

 

Green Way Research   

Valley Spirit T'ai Chi Ch'uan

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