When I was in my “twenties” I met two people who had an impact on me. One was a my Tai Chi instructor, Paul Ying Po Mak and the other was a spiritual teacher named Ellafern. Meeting these two remarkable people at this time in my life was a blessing. Sadly, Master Mak passed away about a year ago.
Master Mak spoke “broken English” and each day when I practise tai chi, I try to emulate his graceful moves & his “spirit”...not so much “what he said”.
Conversely,...a day rarely goes by without reflecting on one of Ellafern’s insights. The most profound thing she ever said to me was that, “I had learned to become my own father and now I needed to learn to become my own mother.”
A few years ago, I read that one of the objectives of tai chi is to “balance our own male & female energies”. Suddenly it struck me that although these two teachers did not know each other, essentially they were teaching me the same lesson. Inner balance comes from honouring our male & female aspect...the balance of yin & yang!
Monday, July 30, 2007
Saturday, July 07, 2007
My sister Susan recently loaned me her copy of “The Secret”.
It was worth watching...but it’s nothing new. Old ideas in a new fancy package. This stuff was being talked about in the late 70's by “Shakti Gawain” and was also covered in “The Seth Material”(Jane Roberts). Believe me, I’m not “knocking” this DVD, but it’s good to acknowledge the individuals who “initially” made many of us aware of these “age-old” principles.
It was good to be reminded of some of the concepts in The Secret. A great “refresher” course in visualization techniques & affirmations. I read Gawain’s book, Creative Visualization a few years after it came out, and I’ve had some REAL success with her suggestions from the book! I found her book to be a much more practical way of getting down to work, on “SELF”.
“The Secret” did not cover anything about karma (I once read that there are at least 4 types of karma) or dharma and the powerful impact they both have on our goals and dreams. Being aware of the role karma plays, helps to understand some of our roadblocks, as well as the patterns that we tend to fall into. At the same time I think that dharma shows us that we may have a propensity to be involved in a certain kind of work. (A kind of "being in the Tao".) I just think it’s good to consider these variables as well, when trying to set goals and make life changes.
As stated previously, I derived “value” from watching this inspirational DVD and still see it as a good “primer” in getting what we really want in life!
It was worth watching...but it’s nothing new. Old ideas in a new fancy package. This stuff was being talked about in the late 70's by “Shakti Gawain” and was also covered in “The Seth Material”(Jane Roberts). Believe me, I’m not “knocking” this DVD, but it’s good to acknowledge the individuals who “initially” made many of us aware of these “age-old” principles.
It was good to be reminded of some of the concepts in The Secret. A great “refresher” course in visualization techniques & affirmations. I read Gawain’s book, Creative Visualization a few years after it came out, and I’ve had some REAL success with her suggestions from the book! I found her book to be a much more practical way of getting down to work, on “SELF”.
“The Secret” did not cover anything about karma (I once read that there are at least 4 types of karma) or dharma and the powerful impact they both have on our goals and dreams. Being aware of the role karma plays, helps to understand some of our roadblocks, as well as the patterns that we tend to fall into. At the same time I think that dharma shows us that we may have a propensity to be involved in a certain kind of work. (A kind of "being in the Tao".) I just think it’s good to consider these variables as well, when trying to set goals and make life changes.
As stated previously, I derived “value” from watching this inspirational DVD and still see it as a good “primer” in getting what we really want in life!
I got back from Calgary last night around midnight. Whew,...what a long drive!
After a week-end gig at the Strathmore Hotel (a BIG "thank you" to those of you that drove at least 30 minutes from your respective homes, to come & hear me perform.) I spent some time hanging out with lots of my old “good” friends, met one of my T.V. heros from when I was a teen-ager growing up (Cliff Kadatz), had a great work-out at the Eau Claire YMCA (thanks to my brother Randy and thanks to Lana from “memberships”) and I even caught a sneak preview of the 2007 Calgary Stampede.
It was great to have a few days off but now,...I’m really looking forward to gettin’ back to work! I’ve got some new equipment to try out & “adjust” and then I’ll be heading off to the Black Horse Pub in Fort McMurray, July 12, 13 & 14.
After a week-end gig at the Strathmore Hotel (a BIG "thank you" to those of you that drove at least 30 minutes from your respective homes, to come & hear me perform.) I spent some time hanging out with lots of my old “good” friends, met one of my T.V. heros from when I was a teen-ager growing up (Cliff Kadatz), had a great work-out at the Eau Claire YMCA (thanks to my brother Randy and thanks to Lana from “memberships”) and I even caught a sneak preview of the 2007 Calgary Stampede.
It was great to have a few days off but now,...I’m really looking forward to gettin’ back to work! I’ve got some new equipment to try out & “adjust” and then I’ll be heading off to the Black Horse Pub in Fort McMurray, July 12, 13 & 14.
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