Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Half Moon Practice

Two degrees. Half moon half-frosted by clouds. It's quiet ... no sound of furnace, humidifier, or, even, music to distract me. As I stand in Resting Position I hear a soft, regular thump just beneath the surface of my thoughts. Is it a wild creature's footsteps on our deck? No. As I listen closely I recognize the deep rhythmical beating of my heart.

I relish these early morning t'ai chi chih moving meditation practice and writing sessions. If I accomplish nothing else during the day, I've begun with two disciplines that ask much of me but give me a tremendous return.... I feel lighter, more energetic, calmer, more centered. Not even dentist appointments can rattle me now.

Several days ago I noticed that I've begun restructuring my daily schedule around this morning routine. I'm opting out of late night movies. I'm pushing back other early morning activities 'til later in the day. Moving meditation ... then writing. This is now my morning routine. It's easy for many (all?) of us to think of a daily t'ai chi chih practice as just one more obligation; time consuming, overwhelming. In this fast-paced world of ours it's understandable we'd feel that way.

My t'ai chi ch'uan teacher spoke these words years ago.... "Monkey Mind will always try to convince you that you don't have the time or energy to practice," she admonished us. She made it clear that it was our obligation to get beyond Monkey Mind's distracting, unhelpful lobbying attempts. We had to take responsibility. We had to honor and uphold our own personal commitment to practice.

For me, at the moment, I've found something that works. Since I've been unwilling in recent years to maintain my commitment to myself, I've now made a commitment to the blogosphere. You--whoever you are--are now my practice partners....

No comments: