When peace calls you, you can not
avoid it. Here is a simple practice you can do every day to Journey
towards a supreme ultimate state of peace. If you would like to
join us for a Tai Chi for Peace session, please contact
us.
Tai Chi often refers to a
form of martial arts. The words Tai Chi (Taiji) refer to the
Supreme Ultimate state of possibility. Tai Chi Chuan is the martial
arts form and means Supreme Ultimate Shadowboxing or Supreme
Ultimate Fist.
Tai Chi for Peace (Tai Chi Heping) is
something you can do every day. In China, many people practice Tai
Chi Chuan outdoors at dawn. My hope is that Tai Chi Heping will
also be practiced outdoors (though not necessarily at dawn). And
when somebody sees another person practicing Tai Chi Heping, I hope
they will join with that person in practicing it.
Tai Chi for Peace can also be
considered a form of Qigong. Qigong and Tai Chi are very similar.
Qigong is older than Tai Chi Chuan and was developed to improve
health. Qigong means Ultimate Work or Ultimate Cultivation, with
Ultimate referring to the Ultimate state – so, Working with
the Ultimate State or Cultivating the Ultimate State.
Practice Tai Chi for Peace whenever
you like. Practice it outdoors, if you can. The movements are
simple and it is impossible to do incorrectly. If it is more
comfortable to you to practice this indoors, then do that. If you
see somebody else practicing Tai Chi Heping, please feel free to
join them. Perhaps one day, we will practice together!
Instructions:
Stand, facing the sun or each other.
Hold your arms loosely at your side, relaxing them. Allow your
elbows to bend slightly upwards. This in turn should bend your
wrists slightly upwards. Hold your fingers loosely, so that your
index and middle fingers are touching and are about 1/2 inch from
your thumb. The ends of these fingers should be 4-6 inches in front
of your hips.
Don’t worry about getting your
hands in the exact position. If you are relaxed, they probably are
in the correct position for you.
Notice the energy beam between your
(two) fingers and thumb. If you can’t feel this energy
beam; place one hand snugly, but loosely, around the forearm of the
other hand. Quickly, several times, stroke your forearm from your
elbow to your wrist. Now, stroke your other forearm. This will help
your chi flow.
Now, try again. If you still
can’t feel the energy beam, don’t worry about it. Trust
that it’s there.
Now, draw the peace symbol.
Currently, your fingers are where the diagonal lines meet the
circle. Keeping your fingers in this position, bring them up above
your head while drawing the upper part of the circle. When your
hands meet, draw the vertical line, lowering your fingers to your
heart.
Then, draw the diagonal lines until
your fingers are at their starting position. Now, draw the bottom
part of the circle. This last part is easier if you bend slightly
at the waist while doing it.
Your hands should be together now.
Pull them up to your heart chakra, completing the peace symbol.
Your palms should be turned toward your heart, sending peace into
your heart.
Now, turn the palms of your hands
outwards, pushing your hands away from you, then away from each
other in arcs (semi-circles), sending peace to all others.
Now draw the peace symbol two more
times.
Foot Movements – Standing
Variation:
If you desire, you can add in foot
movements, as follows. The angles are approximate and you should do
whatever feels natural. Start with either your left or right leg,
whichever feels more natural.
Start with your left leg a little
forward, bent at the knee at a 135 degree angle. Your right leg
should be diagonally straight back from your body at a 45 degree
angle.
As you bring your hands up to form
the upper part of the circle, let your legs come up naturally
(drawing your left leg back), so that you are standing straight
when your fingers meet at the top of the circle.
As you bring your hands down to your
heart, slide your left leg to the left, keeping it straight, until
it makes a 45 degree angle with your other leg.
As you draw the diagonal lines
downward with your fingers, slide your left leg back to center.
When your diagonal lines meet the circle, you should be standing
straight.
As you draw the bottom of the circle,
slide your right leg to the right, keeping it straight, until it
makes a 45 degree angle with your other leg.
As you bring your hands back up to
your heart, slide your left leg back in. When your hands reach your
heart, you should be standing straight.
As you send peace out to others, put
your right leg forward at a 135 degree angle and your left leg
diagonally back at a 45 degree angle. This is the same as your
original stance, just using the opposite legs.
Start drawing the peace symbol again
from this stance, so that you use the opposite leg (from the one
you used the first time).
Foot Movements – Balanced
Standing Variation:
This is the same as the
Standing Variation, except you hold your weight on
one leg for half of the Peace Symbol, then switch legs. So, start
with your left leg forward. Then slide it back. Then slide your
left leg to the side, then back in. Next (while drawing your hands
from your heart together in an arc to make the bottom of the
circle) slide your right leg to the side, then back in. Then put
your right leg forward.
This variation requires you to
balance on each leg for longer.
Foot Movements – Walking
Variation:
This is the same as the
Standing Variation with this exception. In the
Standing Variation, you draw the forward leg even
with the back leg. In the Walking Variation, you draw
the back leg forward, as in a forward walking step. If you shift
your weight as in the Standing variation, you will
always step forward with the same feet. If you use the
Balanced Standing variation as the basis of your
walking mode, your foward steps will alternate between your
feet. Fountain: If you are standing
facing each other, this will cause everybody to move in towards
each other. If everyone is facing inward in a circle, you can space
it so that when you are at the end of drawing the peace symbol,
everyone’s hands are touching. Then everyone’s hands
can go up (as in a fountain) when they send peace outward. Spokes of a Wheel: Place
everybody a little further apart (than Fountain) for the
starting position. At the end of drawing the peace symbol,
everybody puts their hands forward, sending peace to each other.
When their hands meet, every grasps hands, and walks one step to
the left in a circle. Walking in a Circle: For the
starting position, everybody stands in a circle. Then everybody
faces left. Then you start drawing the peace symbol, using the
Walking variation.
Foot Movements – Dance
Variation:
Using the Spokes of a Wheel
Walking Variation, draw the peace symbol once. Grasp
hands and take one step to the left. Turn around and walk back out,
drawing the peace symbol again. Now turn to the left and draw the
peace symbol, using the Walking in a CircleVariation. Turn back toward the center of the circle and
repeat from beginning.
Peace Calls
Peace Calls.
But, how can I be a friend of peace, when deep inside there’s
so much fighting?
Go away Peace. I do not want to change. I fear what change may
bring. I might end up a different person. One, even I don’t
like.
P’shah! Says Peace.
Peace Calls.
Please not again. I have not time for you. Haven’t you ruined
my life enough already? Ok, so it’s I who have ruined it by
not listening to you. But I haven’t got time to change.
Peace Giggles.
The Giggles turn into a river that carries me away.
