Cultivating Openness

A big snowstorm is forecast for tomorrow and we're rushing to prepare. This is the first major winter storm of the season in our area and the prediction for deep snow and deep freezer temperatures are wonderful motivators.

I practiced TCC in late afternoon after darkness shadowed the earth. Though I focused on softness I struggled to relax after a busy morning and early afternoon shift at the library. When I stepped into Resting Position, I exhaled deeply and visualized tension draining down my body and into the earth. It helped.

For me, softness and openness are similar concepts. I found this reading in The Book of Balance and Harmony by Thomas Cleary and include an excerpt here:

The Tao is fundamentally utterly open;
Open nonreification produces energy,
One energy divides into two modes:
The one above, clear, is called heaven;
The once below, opaque, is called earth.
Heaven is round and moving;
The north star, never shifting, governs motion.
Earth is square and still;
The eastward flow, never exhausted, governs stillness.
The "north star" is the heart of heaven and earth,
The "eastward flow" is the energy of heaven and earth.
When the heart is nurtured by openness,
It thereby becomes still;
When energy is nurtured by openness,
It thereby circulates.
When the human mind is calm and quiet,
Like the north star not shifting,
The spirit is most open and aware.
For one who sees this
The celestial Tao is within oneself....

So we know openness
Is the substance of the great Tao.
          "On Cultivating Openness," p. 91

In the above quote Cleary's characterization of openness is entirely descriptive of the practice of T'ai Chi Chih moving meditation. Heaven and earth represent yin and yang. When we alternate back and forth between these two elements, we create movement.

The root and stillness from below (experienced through the "bubbling springs" in the soles of the feet) allow flexibility and movement in the upper body. Though it may seem counterintuitive openness and softness permit both stillness and movement. We must practice remaining soft and open in the body and the mind in order to experience the movement of the Chi and the quiet stillness of the spirit.