Home Over my break I decided to take an evening introduction to Rinzai Zen Meditation. Chobo-ji Zendo is about a mile from my home and I have known s

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Entrance to Chobo-ji Zendo

Over my break I decided to take an evening introduction to Rinzai Zen Meditation. Chobo-ji Zendo is about a mile from my home and I have known several people associated with it, including the Abbot of the center, Genjo Marinello, Osho, off and on for many years. I have to admit I have a lot of superficial assumptions about Zen but have also been curious to look into it. The week prior I had the pleasure of being invited to lead two Qigong sessions for the group during their Spring Sesshin (week long meditation retreat) and had a great experience with this open and open hearted group. I felt very much at home. Riding on that experience, and with some extra space in my week, the timing was right to take a peek in.

I felt excited and awkward as I entered the Zendo and took off my shoes. I’m not a neophyte to these types of environments but I really had no idea what the evening would be like. “Well HELLLO!” Eddie Daichi Salazar said, recognizing me from the Qigong session. His big beaming smile put me instantly at ease. There were three people helping out that night and before I knew it, I was sitting on my cushion with a few other members of the Sangha (community) and half-dozen other new and curious people. We talked about our impressions of Zen. Most of us had only cultural stereotypes as our reference points. “The Stick!” “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance!” “Zen in the Art of Archery!” We all had good laughs as we shifted around on our cushions, the sitting settling in to our unaccustomed bodies.

“Zen can be painful,” Eddie Daichi said. The youngest, a twelve year old, became very still and her eyes grew wide. I thought he was going to talk about the long sits, the struggles with the mind, the stick! “Correct posture can be painful!” Oh….yes, right! I giggled to myself. Eddie continued, “We have trained ourselves in slouching (he imitated himself slouching) - it affects our breathing and our overall outlook about our selves in the world.” Where have I heard this before! “We have to retrain ourselves, it can be painful.” He continued as he coached us through posture, breathing and hand positions. “Everyone who knows me knows I fidget! My legs fall asleep too. But, I have learned to ignore it.” We all nodded sympathetically, Daichi's humanity, our own. In Grandmaster Chen Xiao Xing’s recent workshop he talked about pain too. “Training is painful!” He slapped his legs and everyone laughed. “But if you can stay with it, it develops your character.” Indeed! All of us who are attracted to training environments come to appreciate and even seek out these types of sensations. Sitting still, holding posture, repeating the same ritual or form, day after day, year after year and more. This does build our character, helps us to focus on the present and somehow facilitates the slow burn of our personal histories that get in the way of who we intuitively know we are, now.

As the evening unfolded memories of my years of training and training environments flooded through me. I sat in between two people in their early twenties and was reminded of myself at that age, just starting this curious path of self-knowing. I was excited for them and grateful for all that I have been taught as well as my own capacity to stay with it. I never assume my day in and day out practice process will be like a Zen meme, a blissed out meditator riding on a lotus with the sage’s words pouring from the moon to the clear lake. Even this week, I ran into my own mind fighting hard to keep me distracted from the practice I love. It was a beautiful day as I began my Taiji form, the air fresh, the sun warm. I began: step left, raise and lower arms... Wait! Stop! The weeds! The chipped paint! The Newsletter! Is my butt sticking out? I’m never sure when the mental robbers will appear, nor how greedy their grabbing hands will be as they reach hungrily to steal my peace. I can only be sure they will come and continue to come. It is my job, like Daichi, with his fidgeting and sleepy legs, to ignore them and continue practicing.

Throughout my life I have felt at home in Dojos (training halls, literally “a place for practicing The Way”) more than anywhere else. I have also struggled with that. My life’s upbringing and our core social values teach me that just about anything is more important than having a contemplative practice. This values ‘push hands’ match has been more uncomfortable for me than any sitting, standing or moving practice could ever be. And still, I have always found a way back home, to a dojo, a practice hall, and to the people similarly compelled to prioritize and nurture self-knowing as an essential, if not the most essential, Way.

I think the world is insane right now. Systems and beliefs we counted on to support us are not just crumbling but have crumbled and we are in the death throes. We cannot make the mistake of thinking this is anything new; century upon century sees this insanity, this craziness, this cruelty, this crumbling. And we cannot make the mistake of believing it is outside of us. The outside world is the reflection of our inside world. The chaos, the cruelty; none of us is that far from that primitive evolutionary place, though we like to hope we are. If we take even just a moment to be with this possibility, the truth comes roaring through. We don’t shy away from introspection because of sore legs; we run away from it because of this truth. Its easier to turn on the computer, have a drink, complain about Facebook.

Still we know we have to train ourselves differently. Its a painful process to move the default, but the pain is not the process, its the resistance to the process. "If I try to move out of it, it just gets worse." Daichi said about his tingly legs, and we all knew he was referring to a bigger metaphor. This is where our home practice and the homes we find other soulful family members in can be our support and even our salvation. We learn we are not alone as we step over the threshold into this uncharted territory. We are all beginners, even forty years into it. Thankfully, gratefully, we see many others working hard like we are to press on, to slowly change our consciousness, others who know looking inside is the only way to still that choppy lake of our life and reflect that out into the lives around us.

My introduction to Zen ended with a delicious cup of tea and a cookie. I felt very comforted to have had this experience, to know a bit more about Zen, but more to experience another center, another home, like ours, where people gather to hunt for and sometimes find stillness. To breathe, to flow, and mainly to share time together looking beneath the surface of our lives. In this very unsettling period we are in, it fills me up to be at home with so many others, all of us making it an intentional practice to truly care, about ourselves, about the world and about each other.

May Peace Prevail on Earth.

Kim

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Spring Schedule & Registration

World Tai Chi Day 008

The Spring Schedule is live! Breathe down to your feet.

Early registration through April 2nd.

See you on the floor starting April 3rd.

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Spring Workshops

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Eric's Corner

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Springtime!

So, I got into a ‘fight’ with a stranger in the grocery store parking lot. He couldn’t fit his car into the parking space between my car and a cement pillar in the garage. So, he drove around to the other side of the lot and parked his car. In the meantime, I had unloaded my groceries into my car and was returning the empty cart to the central holding area for the carts which happened to be next to where he had parked his car. As he got out, he said (in a raised voice), “Your car is taking up 3 spots!”. And I said, “No, it’s not, I’m parked between the parking strip lines”. And a heated argument ensued. I’m neither ashamed nor proud of this incident. It never came to physical blows (more like immature yelling) but voices were shouting, chests were puffed and both ‘sides’ were trying to make each other see the other’s side of the argument. Such is an example of the energy of this Season!

In 5 Element acupuncture each Element is reflective of a particular season. Every Element, just like every season, has certain characteristics associated with it: a direction of energy, an emotion, an Organ, a sensory organ, a sound, a part of the body, etc… The season of Spring is associated with the Wood element. As we can all sense, the Spring holds the promise of new growth, new beginnings and the creation of a new generation of plants and animals. The direction of energy of this Element is up! The sap is rising in the trees and the new growth of plants is budding upwards. The emotion of this Element is Anger. Anger rises up within us just like the rising energy of growing plants. Although it may seem odd to say but anger is often a catalyst for growth and change. The sensory organ are the eyes so it’s not surprising that the aforementioned argument involved an attempt to make the other person ‘see’ their side of things, see the others’ perspective. The Organs associated with the Wood element are the Liver and Gallbladder. The Liver is the great detoxifying organ of the body. It cleanses and allows a ‘refreshing’ of the blood, a ‘clean start’, just like the Springtime generates a fresh start. Each Element also has an associated Virtue. The Wood element’s virtue is Benevolence (also referred to as Compassion). It is the challenge of the Wood element to transform the vision and plan for ourselves to also include and look kindly upon others. This transformation is about finding the balance of Anger and Benevolence.

So, what does this mean for us and our health? Of course we always have the Wood element within us throughout the entire year but in the Spring time it’s an especially good time to cultivate, reflect upon, and renew this Element.

Here are some suggestions to reinvigorate this Energy within you:
• Move your body (the ligaments are associated with the Wood element): do Tai Qi, Qi Gong; walking, running, or yoga.
• Start a new project—now is the time!!
• Plant seeds or starts in the garden.
• Clean out the basement or a closet—it’s time for that Spring cleaning!
• Make a plan for the next year and write it down.
• Eat seasonally and locally as much as possible (seasonal bitter greens like Dandelion or Arugula have a mild cleansing action on the liver).

I hope this season finds you moving towards a greater sense of well being!

photoofme

Eric Hartmann, M.Ac., Lic.Ac. is a 5 Element acupuncturist who has practiced for almost 20 years on Capitol Hill. www.acupuncture5element.com

(nb. All capitalized words are words translated from Chinese into English, which have a broader connotation and meaning in Chinese than the meaning in English)

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Worthy of Your Time

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Parking in the Hood, School Etiquette

Outside Dojo

Parking in the Hood
* There is still plenty of parking available. We are in the $1.00/hour zone, up to 4 hours at a time.
* You can also combine your classes and shopping and take advantage of the free 2 hour underground parking in the live/work spaces around. Please respect our merchants though and do some shopping if you use those stalls.
* There is free neighborhood parking from NW 59th St & 17th Ave NW, and north from there. Now that the weather is nice, combine your steps with your practice. Its only 4-5 blocks and a lovely stroll.
* Please do plan adjustments to your scheduling accordingly to be on time to class. Bussing and biking are great options too.

Dojo Etiquette Friendly Reminders
* No Fragrances. This is not simply a preference. We have many people with serious chemical sensitivities. Thank you.
* Please create a habit of turning your devices off before class and please do not excessively hang out on them in the dojo space. The dojo is a place for practice, door to door. Are you early? You can always Stand, review forms, etc.
* Late? Thank you for entering quietly. Take any noisy outerwear off before entering the lobby.
* During our hot political year, please, no political discussions in the dojo under any circumstances, even if you are in the back waiting for class.

Open Survey
We are listening! Please take a moment to fill out this brief survey and let us know how we are doing and what we can improve upon! Its completely anonymous. 10,000 Thank you's!

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Rent the Moon!

Dojo-floor

Rent the Moon! We have some wonderful additions to our school. Please let me know if you are seeking the right space for your class or event!

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