I love a co-incidence. After our class at the library on Friday, while browsing the shelves for a book to read, I found Robert Pirsig’s seminal work Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. I hadn’t read it since high school and thought it might be worth revisiting. Then just this morning while reading the newspaper, I came across the following quote from that very same book: “The place to improve the world is first in one’s own heart and head and hands, and then work outward from there.”
The feeling that the world desperately needs improvement weighs heavily on many of us these days. It can be very discouraging. What can we possibly do to help? In truth, there are thousands of options and paths to pursue but for any of them to work, they must begin with “…(our) own heart and head and hands…” In Qigong, the heart, head, and hands correspond to our three energy centers, or dantiens. The heart, or middle dantien, is our wisdom center. It’s a place of love and compassion, where we feel and know in a deep, truthful way what matters most. The head (upper dantien) is our locus of clarity and intention, the lighthouse that guides our actions. And the hands represent the lower dantien, the vital essence of our physical being: our muscles, bones, fascia, organs: the miraculous systems that contain and support the other two dantiens and allow us to function, change, and grow.
During challenging times it’s especially important to maintain healthy balance in and among these three energy matrixes. What helps us achieve that nourishing balance is steady attention, consistent, measured effort, and as Pirsig suggests, some creative artfulness. Having the support of others who are patiently yet intrepidly working at the same thing helps a whole lot, too. That’s why we, like millions of people through the centuries, practice Qigong together.
Schedule for the coming week:
PLEASE NOTE: There will be no class on Sunday, November 2 as I will be out of town.
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO SHARE THIS NEWSLETTER WITH FRIENDS!
Zoom Qigong Classes Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday at 9:30 am EST
