In this update:
*** Being in the Present Moment
*** Meditation & Qigong Retreat this Sunday (MA Center)
*** Qigong Treatments at Five Branches University (San Jose)
*** Level 2 Medical Qigong Course (Oct. - Dec. 2010)
*** Calendar of Events
Greetings everyone,
Recently a student asked me about being in the present moment versus being apathetic, and I would like to share my answer with you all in this inner alchemy update.
*** Being in the Present Moment
When we are in the present moment, we feel wonderfully alive, We feel connected with all that is happening in this moment. We simply feel alive. In apathy, we feel dull, sleepy, disconnected.
In presence, we choose to drop all the personal drama, the "story" of our life situation, the excessive mental commentary. We simply act out of awareness, to whatever the moment calls for, without the burden of attachment to our personal past, nor our expectations of the future. We are simply in this moment. We laugh with people, we cry with people, meeting them on this human level of mind and emotion, and at the same time, we are also with them on the level of emptiness, for those moments that they too decide to drop their drama, their personal story, to simply be - we can also meet them in this expansive space, if they so choose, but we don't pressure them to be one way or another. There is no personal agenda on our part, we simply allow them to be as they are in this moment. We act in compassion to alleviate their suffering as best as we can, but we don't make it into a personal problem or a personal drama... It is not an easy practice, as the mind has so much momentum, and it lives on drama!
"The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers." ~ Thich Nhat Hanh
The quality of our awareness with people often determines the outcome of any given situation. In presence, people feel embraced by a deeper profound stillness within which they are free to be themselves. This silent empty space, void of personal agendas, encourages openness, ease, and genuine communication between two people. When our day to day activities become imbued with this quality of presence, our small daily actions are transformed into something much greater...
"We can do no great things, only small things with great love." ~ Mother Teresa
Mystical states described in the sacred literature of so many cultures are nothing more than this dropping away of the mental mind and its attendant emotions, revealing the sublime nature of true love underneath, revealing our own true nature that we share with all beings...
"In real love the lover and beloved disappear, and what remains is an unbroken experience of pure, unconditional love." ~ Amma
*** Meditation & Qigong Retreat this Sunday (MA Center)
This Sunday, join us for another day of deep relaxation, rejuvenation, and renewal at MA center, nestled in the hills of Castro Valley. The ashram grounds provide a supercharged spiritual vibration within which we'll alternate between sitting and movement meditation practices, as well as another crystal bowl and earth gong Sound Immersion experience lead by Anaghan (http://www.soundimmersion.com). We'll begin at 9 am, and break for a light lunch provided by the ashram at noon. Our afternoon session will end at 3 pm. The cost is $40, all of which is donated to Amma's humanitarian projects (http://www.amma.org). Please RSVP: events@ammachi.org
*** Qigong Treatments at Five Branches University (San Jose)
I'm now offering medical qigong treatments at the FBU clinic in San Jose, every Thursday from 1 pm - 5 pm. I'm very excited to get this going, as I so strongly believe in medical qigong having a place among Chinese medical practice. Medical qigong is one of the oldest branches of Chinese medicine. Treatments can have a powerful effect on one's Shen (spirit) as well as Qi (energy), touching very deep levels of one's being that cannot be accessed by herbs or needles alone.
The clinic front desk can be reached at (408) 260-8868, or sjclinic@fivebranches.edu.
*** Level 2 Medical Qigong Course (Five Branches)
Due to the success of our level 1 course, we will offer level 2 this fall semester at FBU San Jose campus, on the following Sundays, from 9am - 6 pm:
October 24th
November 7th & 14th
December 5th
Contact Mimi Latno for more information: sjextension@fivebranches.edu
(MTCM students, contact Gina Huang)
*** Calendar of Events
Also in the not too distant future, I'll lead another qigong session at the Insight Meditation South Bay retreat, on December 4th, 2010. More information: http://www.imsb.org/programs/retreatEvent.php?eventId=1184
Thanks for reading this far!
May all beings be happy and peaceful.
Om Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu.
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti.
Blessings,
Tom (Yogeshwar)
Photo below: "Tea Ceremony" Master Zhang and Chen Jie at Qingchengshan (青城山)
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Where there is Love, there is no effort.
Amma
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Tom Leichardt, DMQ (China)
408.772.6009
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