Tuesday, September 23, 2008

A New Day

I was oh-so inspired this morning by my Oriental Medicine Research class's instructor, Bob Quinn, with his revelations on the life of Richard Buckminster Fuller. A quote to inspire the masses, as I was warmed and uplifted to hear: at the site of BF's almost-suicide, he took a moment to contemplate and shifted gears deciding to embark on "an experiment, to find what a single individual [could] contribute to changing the world and benefiting all humanity".

Not that I've been quite to that precipice, but seriously. What a beautiful gift to the world so many have made by choosing a path dedicated to the idea lying behind that quote.

I am so thankful to those I am and am not aware of pledging to that path.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Yes!

At the Kennedy School hottubs tonight I ran into some lovely folks I know. One, who had been at the party on Saturday exclamed, "Hey! I heard the other night that you know something about Fingers!!" yes. a little. a very little. I will share here another time, but I must say that it was fun to be given the test of knowledge....which by the way resides in the right thumb, supported by the left which is stability.

Qigong

Hello! My year has begun, and I've started school. One of my assignments is to keep a journal of my developing Qigong practice. I am posting some of the parts I feel like sharing and adding some details I'd like to add.
Breathe, take care of yourself, and enjoy.

9/22

Our class began Thursday afternoon.
We did intros in which we shared something of ourselves that we think people would not know about us at first (or second) glance. I quickly threw out three (ha ha). That I was a gymnast as a youngster, I forgot the second now, and that I like Kung Fu movies, which caused an uproar (elated exclamations)...and later we started formulating ideas for study-horror/KungFu movie watching sessions.
It's going to be a good year.
We then went through some of the beginning movements, which cleansed a surface layer of my being....can't wait for some more. As I hear through the grapevine, it will go deep. I will change. I will watch my fellow classmates transform as well. I felt elated after the class and through the evening, in love with school already.

This morning I awoke at 8:15 to begin a practice, not quite meeting the goal of arising before 8 a.m. I hope to awake at 7 in the future to do this, someday in the 6 a.m. hour. This week practicing self-massage by Master Liu He: breathe.....
rest right hand over left, thumbs touching.
Rub hands together. massage face. shake hands(removes old Chi). rub together. massage scalp. shake hands. rub together. cup eyes. shake....
this goes into a series of other small movements that include tapping some acupoints (lung 1, kidney 1)...
end with quiet meditation. So far I can keep it up for a short while. A friend suggested meditating by staring into the flame of a candle. which helps.

The other day I did some of this practice after work, and studied a bit about the meaning of each finger, which I shared with friends at gatherings later in the evening. Friends were interested and conversation ensued, in and out of my presence. I love igniting conversation.
This self-massage technique feels great-very self-caring and loving, giving of self-attention, something I am needing right now as well as in general, having a tendency to be so heady: like Oh yeah! There is a body here that has thoughts and feelings too.
I look forward to the awakened communication that I (my mind?) and my body will cultivate in the coming year and beyond.