You Are NOT What You Think!

By Paul Cavel

Some say, "You become what you think”, but if all we had to do is *think* our way through life, for a start, everybody would be super fit, rich and happy!

The Taoist sage Liu Hung Chieh thought differently. He said, "You become what you practise”.

Exercise the body, become stronger

Practise being present and live in the moment

Practise patience, become more tolerant

Let go of negativity and be at peace.

The Mind Is a Great Slave/Poor Master

Going deeper, people with a positively aspected ego primarily think positive thoughts about themselves, while those with a negatively aspected ego primarily think negative thoughts about themselves and the situations in which they find themselves, regardless of the facts. Whatever the case might be for you personally, thinking alone is not a good practice as the mind can lead a person into further delusion.

Feeling is the antidote.

Getting Out of Your Head

Taoist training eventually culminates in meditation, but all practices start with the physical body, that is with qigong. It's the one common thread amongst all Taoist schools throughout the ages. The aim is to get you out of your head and into your body.

Qigong gets the blood and qi moving, which not only immediately begins to clear some stagnancies in the body, but also hang ups in the mind and emotions. Over time, blood and qi circulation can become powerful enough to keep the body healthy and steadfast even through the most profound meditation practices, where all that blocks you from realising your full potential can be released.

Taoist Principle of Moderation

In the beginning and throughout all stages of Water Method practice, the Principle of Thirds [link] sets the tone for and regulates all aspects of training, including the length and frequency of training sessions, the effort you exert in any component practice, the range of motion used in all movements and so on. Among many other reasons, adhering to the Principle of Thirds guides you towards being more realistic about life in general and yourself specifically — both your strengths and weaknesses.

But the questions are: to what degree can you engage and apply the principle? In any given movement, are you consistently adhering to your two-thirds range in all aspects of practice and life?

The Principle of Thirds applies to, e.g.:

• Soft tissue stretches
• Opening and closing the joints
• Nerve flow
• Blood flow
• Qi flow
• The emotions and mind.

A defining feature of Water Method training is the Principle of Thirds, which prevents stress and injury, while progressively strengthening the body, qi and mind. Your growing ability to balance all aspects of practice and your being according to the tenets of the principle can dramatically improve your quality of life.

30-day Challenge

I highly recommend devoting at least a whole month to finding and playing your two-thirds line during practice. The line is more like a range as it changes form day to day, hour by hour. Next focus on training your ego to stay behind that fluid line. The ego’s drive can otherwise push you beyond your natural capacity and, paradoxically, limit your personal growth and well-being.

Start off by using only one movement, then practise your entire qigong form. For the first few days, a single, repetitive, slow-motion movement will give you a sense of your two-thirds limit with all the threads in play without overexciting your nerves. Keep it simple and observe what the practice does for you before adding to the complexity. This practice will help you build a solid foundation which supports every other technique or application you learn from here forward.

Eventually, you want to apply this methodology to all the internal arts you train, including tai chi, bagua and meditation. It’s a progressive approach to releasing lodged tension in your body, layer by layer, increasing the capacity of your nervous system, and training your body and mind to let go of — rather than hold onto — harmful stress and tension.

With a little consistent practice, you can become more relaxed, open, rooted and balanced in all aspects of training and life.

Good luck!
Paul