Sparkling Snow

Today diamond snow sparkled in front of me as I practiced in the warmth of my living room. Sunshine bathed my legs, warming me. And ... I thought about snow sparkles.

The glowing snow reminded me of a piece I wrote years ago--Sparkling Air, Flowing Water--which referenced my conversation with a bodyworker. "If we could see air," she told me, "I think it would sparkle."

Her comment planted a magical image in my mind. During our session she encouraged me to experience my breath, and particularly my sighs, with increased awareness. She reminded me that sighing filled the body with pure, life sustaining fuel and that each exhalation cleared the body of energy that was stale and depleted. 

Remembering that imagery and those long-ago suggestions I gladly bathed myself in the luminescence of sparkling snow and air. I moved with consciousness and thankfulness through an atmosphere of pure life force energy.

My TCC practice feels better--the energy stronger--when I envision myself as an integral player in the living energy force that flows from Heaven to Earth, Earth to Heaven. My body and pores soak in--and are nurtured by--the energy that surrounds me. My thoughts feed into that energy pattern, too, sometimes creating peace and harmony and other times, dissonance and distraction.

Clearly t'ai chi chih practice fills my spirit full when I focus on the natural world around me. When I ignore my surroundings or become entrapped in Monkey Mind's constant conversation, I become a t'ai chi chih player who simply goes through the motions. While I still receive benefits from my practice as my mind and body gradually slow into quietude it's important for me to remember my living connection with Earth and Sky ... and the part I play in the wholeness of All.