March
   2007   

Mike Garofalo in an almond orchard. 

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March 1,  Thursday,  2007

Work for CUESD from 7:30 - 4:00 pm

Gym:  Weightlifting then teach yoga class. 

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March 2,  Friday,  2007

Walking and Taijiquan practice in the morning.

Work around the house on chores during the day.  Clean off the back screened porch. 

"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

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March 3,  Saturday,  2007

Gym TFFC:  Teaching Tai Chi Chuan class and Yoga class in the morning.

Relaxing in the afternoon and evening: reading, television, napping. 
 

"I you want to follow the doctrine of the One,
Do not rage against the World of the Senses.
Only by accepting the World of the Senses
Can you share in the True Perception."
-   Seng-ts'an 

March 4,  Sunday,  2007

Walking and Taijiquan practice in the morning.

Work on cutting poles in the Sacred Circle and other gardeing chores.

Reading and writing in the evening. 

My own thinking is that a sensei is very much like another kind of person who is responsible for important matters. A person who, like the sensei seems to be from another age, a person of rare and unique gifts. The sensei, it seems to me, is very much like a vintner.

A vintner is the person who produces wine. He is the one who is responsible for it, from the planting of the grape vines, all the way until the raw wine is poured into casks to age. The vintner is the talented individual who can look at a particular hillside or a handful of soil and can tell you which kinds of grapes will grow best there, what kind of yield you can expect. He knows when the grapes need to be pruned. He makes vital decisions throughout the growing season, to fertilize, to spray for bugs. He must decide when to pick them in the fall, to wait for a few more days to let them fully ripen or to pick now and beat out the rain that can adversely affect the whole harvest.

The vintner is responsible for the blend of grapes that go into fermentation tanks. He must add the sugars if they're needed, to begin the fermentation process. In short, he is the guy responsible for the wine from the time the grape vines are planted or bud out, until the moment the wine is on its own, so to speak, when it has been put in casks and must now age and develop according to the qualities inherent in it.

Doesn't this sound very much like the sensei's task? He is the person responsible for a student, from the time that student enters the training hall until the crucial period of the training process has been completed. The sensei is a person, then, in my estimation, who can take a person of raw and unknown potential and turn out a complete and worthwhile product. He can oversee the process from beginning to end.

(Dave Lowry)

The sage is guided by the subtle, rather than the conspicuous;
By what is inside, rather than what is outside.

(Lao Tzu)

Speculation is an indication of restlessness; and a restless mind, however gifted, destroys understanding and happiness.

(Krishnamurti)

June 2007
May 2007
April 2007 
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007 
December 2006   
November 2006 
October 2006 
September 2006 
August 2006
July 2006  
June 2006   
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April 2006    
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February 2006    
January 2006   
December 2005     
November 2005  
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August 2005  
July 2005   
June 2005   
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March 2005  
February 2005   
2005   
2004   
2003 
Index  

March 5,  Monday,  2007

Reading, writing and research. 
Walking and Taijiquan in the morning.

Work on cutting poles around the sacred circle.  Painting five poles green color.

Teach Mary Ann how to post to TFFC Blog.

TFFC Gym:  Treadmill 15 min; Weightlifting: pulldowns, reverse leg curls, chair hyperextensions, triceps pressdowns; teach spin for 45 minutes. 

March 6,  Tuesday,  2007

Work for CUESD from 7:30 - 4 p.m..  Reading First Grant meeting, Maywood library, communications.

Gym TFFC:  Weightlifting: bench press, squats, dumbell presses, triceps extensions; teach yoga to 18 persons for 75 minutes. 

Writing and follow up.  Orders to Wayfarer and Chen Qingzhou. 

Biographies    

Reginald H. Blyth  
Han Shan
Sun Lu-Tang  
Chang San-Feng  
   

March 7,  Wednesday,  2007

Taijiquan practice in the early morning. 

Work for CUESD from 7:30 to 4 p.m.

Gym TFFC:  Aerobics on Elliptical: Weightlifting: bent rows, dumbell shrugs, incline squats.  Teach Yoga for 45 minutes, and then teach Sun style Taijiquan (my first Wednesday night Taijiquan class) - only River Wolf attended. 

Studying Qigong and Taijiquan books and DVDs  at night.

Down the mystic avenue I walk again
Remembering the days gone by
And I'm knocking with my heart 

And all the girls walk by
In all their summer fashions
And the churchbells chime
On a summer Sunday afternoon 

She gives me religion
She gives me religion 

And the angel of imagination
Opened up my gate
She said "come right in
I saw you knocking with your heart." 

And the angel of imagination
She lit your fiery vision bright
Let your flame burn into the night
I saw you knocking with your heart 

She gives me religion
She gives me religion
It's all right 

And all the girls walk by
In all their summer fashions
And the churchbells chime
On a summer Sunday afternoon 

It's all right
She gives me religion
I said she gives me religion
And I'm knocking and I'm knocking with my heart
And I'm knocking, knocking with my heart
And I'm knocking with my heart

Lyrics by Van Morrison
From "Beautiful Vision" album, song "She Gives me Religion" by Van Morrison

March 8,  Thursday,  2007

Taijiquan practice in the early morning. 

Work for CUESD from 7:30 to 4 p.m.

Gym TFFC:  Aerobics on Elliptical; Weightlifting:  Bench Press, dumbell curls and tricep extensions, lunge squats.  Teach Yoga for 75 minutes to 18 people.  Spoke with Georgia afterwards - tall, slender, athletic, redhead, 40's, likes chating, plays chant box, 360 open mind, said very nice things about the pace, workload, and friendly nature of my yoga class, interested in Tai Chi.   

Studying Qigong and Taijiquan books and DVDs  at night.

http://www.daoyin.it/e_Daoyin.htm

Many different interpretations were given to the word "daoyin" during the
ages. The following two are the most reliable:

daoqi yinti - guide the qi and stretch the body
daoqi yinliao - guide the qi to obtain a healing effect

Both interpretations describe important aspects of the exercise and are not
contradictory to each other. The first describes briefly the technique while
the second refers to one goal of the exercise; actually with daoyin we guide
the qi and move our body in order to obtain a beneficial effect to our
health.

 

Reading and writing in the early morning.  Updated Chen webpage. 

Walking and Taijiquan in the morning.  Did some staff and Chen work. 

Painted all poles in the Sacred Circle.  Cleaning, sweeping, and watering. 

Reading and Sun Taiji studies at night. 

Philip Garofalo arrives at 11 pm.

Taijiquan Classes Taught by Michael Garofalo

Wednesday, 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. at the Tehama Family Fitness Center, Red Bluff
Saturday, 10 a.m. - 11 a.m., at the Tehama Family Fitness Center, Red Bluff
Tehama Family Fitness Center

Wednesdays: 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

Saturdays: 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

Tehama Family Fitness Center
2498 South Main Street, Red Bluff, CA 96080
530-528-8656
Cost: Free for TFFC Members, $5.00 for Nonmembers

Fridays: 7:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.
Sundays: 7:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.
Valley Spirit Center
Outdoor Practice Areas for Taijiquan and Qigong
23005 Kilkenny Lane, Red Bluff, CA 96080
530-200-3546  -  Call if Coming
Cost: Donations Accepted or Free

 

Website for More Information:
http://www.egreenway/taichichuan/

Up at 7:20 am.  Writing. 

Chat with my brother, Phil. 

Gym TFFC: Teach Taijiquan for 60 minutes, then teach Yoga for 75 minutes.  Phil and Karen came to the Yoga practice. 

A beautiful afternoon for sitting outside. 

Phil, Karen and ate dinner in Chico at Christian Rich.  Wonderful food. 

"What is the work of works for man if not to establish in and by each one of us, an absolutely original centre in which the universe reflects itself in a unique and immediate way?  An those centres are our very Selves ..."
-  Teilhard de Chardin

"By assuming different postures we become the archetypal energy potentials inherent in life's aliveness; we transform one state of Being into another.  For each posture speaks a language of becoming on of the forms of creation ... of our creation ... of the universe's creations. 
Shape shifting from one stance to another breaks fixated life stances and activates the healing power of the universe of possiblilities.  The primordial heal gift of being human is being a consciousness-shaping animal.  When we do so, we return to the mythical cave of human creation. 
ancient sacred widsom traditions teach that the very purpose of human evolution is to become all things; and that this is one thing that makes human beings unique amongst the animals.  In the Daivalya Upanishads it says, "be seeing oneself in all beings and all beings in oneself, enlightment is obtained."
-  Michael Mayer, PhD., Secrets to Living Younger Longer: The Self Healing Path of Qigong, Standing Meditation and Tai Chi, 2004. 

An old Chinese Zen Master once said, "Some of you are taking me literally when I say, 'Don't think,' and you are making your minds like a rock. This is a cause of insentiency and an obstruction to the Way. When I say not to think, I mean that if you have a thought, think nothing of it."

Up at 4:30 am.  Reading and writing before daybreak and at night.  Mostly working on Chen Taijiquan webpages.

Walking and Taijiquan at daybreak. 

Updated the Chen and Standing Meditation webpages. 

Studying video on Sun 73 Taijiquan form, Movements 40-50. 

Hike with Phil and Marcella to Feather River Falls. 

An old Chinese Zen Master once said, "Some of you are taking me literally when I say, 'Don't think,' and you are making your minds like a rock. This is a cause of insentiency and an obstruction to the Way. When I say not to think, I mean that if you have a thought, think nothing of it."

Sitting in your garden is a feat to be worked at with unflagging
determination and single-mindedness - for what gardener worth
his salt sits down. I am deeply committed to sitting in the garden.”
- Mirabel Osler

Reading and writing before daybreak and at night.  Mostly working on Chen Taijiquan webpages.

Walking and Taijiquan in the early morning.

Phil left for Reno in the morning. 

Work outside on gardening and construction projects all day.

TFFC Gym: Weightlifting then teach spin cycling class. 

Reading and writing before daybreak and at night.  Mostly working on Chen Taijiquan webpages.

Work for CUESD from 7:30 - 4:30 pm.

Gym: Weightlifting then teach Yoga class. 

Reading and writing before daybreak and at night.  Mostly working on Chen Taijiquan webpages.

Work for CUESD from 7:30 - 4:30 pm.

Gym:  Weightlifting, then teach Power Yoga and the Sun Taijiquan. 

Reading and writing before daybreak and at night.  Mostly working on Chen Taijiquan webpages.

Work for CUESD from 7:30 to 1 p.m.  Karen was sick at home today. 

TFFC Gym: Weightlifting then teach yoga. 

Reading and writing before daybreak.  Mostly working on Chen Taijiquan webpages.

Walking and Taijiquan in the morning.

Work outdoors on garden and construction projects all day.

Karen goes out with her lady friends for dinner. 

Celebrate Karen's birthday. 

Reading and writing before daybreak.  Mostly working on Chen Taijiquan webpages.

Walking and Taijiquan in the early morning.

Teach Taijiquan and Yoga classes at TFFC.

Work outdoors on garden and construction projects from 2 - 7 p.m.

Watched Master Chen Zenglei's instructional DVD on Chen Taijiquan, Old Frame, First Form. 

Reading and writing before daybreak and at night.  Mostly working on Chen Taijiquan webpages.

Walking and Taijiquan in the morning. 

Karen and I go to the Art of Yoga Studio in Redding to listen to a lecture and demonstration by Gudrun Vopat on the Chakras. 

Lunch out together to celebrate Karen's 59th birthday.  Shopping at mall and at stores in Redding. 

Reading and watching videos in the evening. 

Reading and writing before daybreak and at night.  Mostly working on Chen Taijiquan webpages.

Walking and Taijiquan in the early morning.

Planting some potted plants in the ground.  Digging and moving dirt.  Clearing stumps.

Teach class to 7-12 graders on web publishing at the Tehama County Lit Festival.

Gym:  Weightlifting and then teach spin cycling class from 5:30 - 6 p.m. 

Reading and writing before daybreak and at night.  Mostly working on Chen Taijiquan webpages.

Work for CUESD from 7:30 - 4:30 pm. 

TFFC Gym: Weightlifting then teach yoga class for 75 minutes.  

Think about food on a full stomach, and you find you don't care about taste.
Think about lust after making love, and you find you don't care about sex.
Therefore, if people always reflect upon the regret they will feel afterward
to forestall the folly at the moment, they will be stable and not err in action.

(Huanchu Daoren)

Human feelings are fickle; the world is full of hazards.
When at an impasse, know how to step back.
When things are going smoothly, strive to remain deferential.

(Huanchu Daoren)


As fish dart through water, they are forgetful of the water;
as birds fly on the breeze, they are not conscious that there is a breeze.
Discern this, and you can transcend the burden of things and enjoy natural potential.

(Huanchu Daoren)


Be open and broad-minded in this life,
so that none may bear a complaint against you.

 (Huanchu Daoren)
 

When you are constantly hearing offensive words and always have some irritating matter in mind,
only then do you have a whetstone for character development.
If you only hear what pleases you,
and deal only with what thrills you,
then you are burying your life in deadly poison.

 (Huanchu Daoren)
 

People who are compulsively active are unstable,
while those who are addicted to quietude are indifferent.
One should have a lively spirit while in the midst of tranquillity:
this is the mentality of the enlightened.

(Huanchu Daoren)


The mentality of enlightened people, like the blue of the sky and the light of the sun, is not to be concealed from others.

The talents of enlightened people, as gems to be hidden, are not to be easily made known to others.

 (Huanchu Daoren)
 

When those who aid others calculate their own sacrifice and demand gratitude and recompense, even a great gift is small.

 (Huanchu Daoren)
 

In matters of desire,
don’t get hastily involved because of easy availability;
once you get involved, you will sink in deeply.
In matters of principle,
don’t back off for fear of difficulty;
once you back down, you will lose your ground entirely.

(Huanchu Daoren)
 

There is no greater fortune than having few concerns,
no greater misfortune than having many worries.
Only those who have suffered over their concerns know the blessing of having few concerns.

 (Huanchu Daoren)
 

When the road is narrow,
stop for a moment to let others pass;
when there is good food,
leave a third of your portion for others to enjoy.
This is one good way to live in the world in peace and happiness.

(Huanchu Daoren)
 

Rapid as the flow of the river may be,
The surroundings are always calm;
Though the flowers fall again and again,
The mood is naturally relaxed. 

(Huanchu Daoren)


Late at night, when everyone is quiet, sit alone and gaze into the mind; then you will notice illusion ending and reality appearing. You gain a great sense of potential in this every time. Only you have noticed reality appearing yet find that illusion is hard to escape, you also find yourself greatly humbled.

(Huanchu Daoren)


A grub in filth is dirty, but it changes into a cicada and sips dew in the autumn breeze. Rotting plants have no lustre, but they turn into foxfire and glow in the summer moonlight. So we know that purity emerges from impurity, and light is born from darkness.

(Huanchu Daoren)


Conscientious diligence is a virtue, but if it is too harsh, it does not bring comfort and joy. Frugality and plainness are noble, but if they are too austere, there is no way to help others.

(Huanchu Daoren)

1.   Back to Beginnings by Huanchu Daoren

Reading and writing before daybreak and at night.  Mostly working on Chen Taijiquan webpages.

Work for CUESD from 7:30 - 4:30 pm. 

TFFC Gym: Weightlifting then teach yoga class for 45 minutes and Sun Taijiquan for 60 minutes.  

Reading and writing before daybreak and at night.  Mostly working on Chen Taijiquan webpages.

Work for CUESD from 7:30 - 4:30 pm. 

TFFC Gym: Weightlifting then teach yoga class for 75 minutes.  

Reading and writing before daybreak and at night.  Mostly working on Chen Taijiquan webpages.

Walking and Taijiquan in the early morning. 

The Mat Sciene 1 and 2 Workshops in Sacramento that I had registered for were cancelled.  We had arranged for Lauren to teach my yoga class, and Kevin to teach my Taijiquan class on Saturday. 

Work outdoors on gardening and outdoor construction projects. 

Karen and I go out for dinner and shopping in Chico. 

Updated Chen Taijiquan website.

Walking and Taijiquan in the morning. 

Karen helped Debbie all day in Willows.

Updated and improved the 24 Form Yang Taijiquan webpage. 

Mowed lawns, pruned and weeded, scattered fertilizer, watered. 

Karen and I go out for dinner. 

Reading and writing before dawn.

Walking and Taijiquan at daybreak. 

Developed the Chen Long Pole webpage and practice the form outdoors.  Work on practicing and reviewing the Sun 73 Taijiquan form, movements 45 -55. 

Scatter fertilizer in anticipation of rain starting tonight.  Get swap cooler ready for use.  Trenching for new water lines. 

Practice using the Cannon digital camcorder. 

Work on Tehama County Commission on Aging Minutes and Agend.  Post online and get ready for mailing on Monday.

White Oak Jo Staff 50" x 1.25"
http://www.wle.com/products/00278.html

Straight Red Oak Staff   72" x 1.25"
http://www.wle.com//products/w001.html

This is an excellent chart provided by the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society.
They offer a variety of electronic versions of this "Tree of Contemplative Practices."

Reading and writing before dawn.

Work for CUESD from 7:00 - 3:30 p.m.  Staff meeting, assign work projects, coordinate. 

TFFC Gym:  Weightlifting, teach spin cycling, cardio kickboxing. 

Expand and improve the Chen Long Pole webpage and practice the form outdoors. 

Reading and writing before dawn.

Work for CUESD from 7:30 - 12:30 am.  Meet with Superintendent on projects and grants. 

Afternoon appointment with my cardiologist, Dr. Okonski. 

TFFC Gym:  Weightlifting, teach hatha yoga class.   

Expand and improve the Chen Long Pole webpage and practice the form outdoors.  Work on practicing and reviewing the Sun 73 Taijiquan form, movements 45 -55. 

Reading and writing before dawn.

Work for CUESD from 7:00 - 4:30 p.m. 

TFFC Gym:  Weightlifting, teach power yoga class.   

Expand and improve the Chen Long Pole webpage and practice the form outdoors.  Work on practicing and reviewing the Sun 73 Taijiquan form, movements 45 -55. 

Reading and writing before dawn.

Work for CUESD from 7:00 - 4:30 p.m. 

TFFC Gym:  Weightlifting, teach yoga class.   

Expand and improve the Chen Long Pole webpage and practice the form outdoors.  Work on practicing and reviewing the Sun 73 Taijiquan form, movements 45 -55. 

Reading and writing before dawn.

Walking and Taijiquan practice at daybreak. 

Pick up Betty Yarber at the Red Bluff bus station.   

Expand and improve the Chen Long Pole webpage and practice the form outdoors.  Work on practicing and reviewing the Sun 73 Taijiquan form, movements 45 -55. 

Every day you should spend from twenty minutes to two hours harmonizing and adjusting your internal energy. If you can balance your emotions, you will have no anger or sadness and will not be easily excited. In doing this Five Energies meditation, it does not matter what position you sit in, but it is important that you are not disturbed during the time that you do it. So unplug your telephone.
As you sit, you correspond a specific color to certain internal organs. Begin with the heart and visualize red Ch’i or a soft red cloud that is transformed from your heart and watch it carefully with your internal vision. After a few minutes, watch the red cloud move to the area of the stomach and then gradually change to become yellow. This is a pure mental practice; you need to do it until there is no “me,” only clouds. From the stomach, the cloud moves up to the region of the lungs, expands to cover both lungs, and becomes white. Then, after a while, the white cloud sinks down to the kidneys and bladder where it becomes dark, like the water of the North Sea, deep, dark blue with a little gray in it. This cloud surrounds all your water organs and then moves up to the liver area just to the right of your spleen and gallbladder. When it comes to this region, it changes from blue-black to green. From here, you can begin the cycle over again by moving the green cloud to the heart where it becomes red, and so forth.
Do this cultivation calmly and gently, following theorder I have given you. Do not change the order. Water gives birth to wood energy, which gives birth to fire; fire gives birth to earth, and earth gives birth to metal; metal gives birth to water and the cycle repeats itself. By your visualization, you burn away negative energy, and your internal movements harmonize your sexual energy beautifully. People are made of living energy. Someday the physical house of your soul will die, but these five clouds will be your new home that can carry you flying. The minimum goal of this practice is to fortify your energy and balance yourself.
Be gentle when you do it; be gentle when you stop it. After several circulations, you should take a break or stop. If you have done the circulation for two hours, then slow down before you bring it to a close. Collect your energy back to its original order. just calm down. You do not need to use strength to do it. Use your gentle mind.
The second stage of the Five Cloud Meditation is to sit quietly and visualize the center of the chest or the area one half inch above the navel. I recommend that women use the point in the center of the chest.

Reference:
Entering the Tao, by Master Huang Ni

Pulling Onions:

-  Pulling Onions, by Mike Garofalo

Feedback from Readers in March, 2007: