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Developing an understanding of shen seems to be necessary before emptiness. This makes sense from the progression jing, Chi, shen, wu, tao. It seems that gaining access to the unconscious must be possible before you really start working with the shen. From one perspective, it is all just integration.
The middle tan tien is developed in Bagua. It seems that we need to make it more dominate. It is capable of connecting everything to everything, or it might be more accurate to say recognizing that everything is connected to everything. It is from the middle tan tien, the development of the unconscious, and integration that shen emerges.
This seems to be where shrink and grow starts to be a better term. All of the integration that shen brings to Bagua allows us to start unifying the expansive and binding energies. The entire physical and etheric bodies can be coordinated, unified. From here, the stillness of Mountain is possible: you can make your etheric body feel as concrete as a Mountain and then release it instantaneously.
I think that moment of release is where emptiness is observed. In that precise moment of change, we can find and study emptiness.
This seems to be the point where spontaneous movement starts to appear. The middle tan tien wants to connect, but your unconscious mind still has gaps. The spontaneous movement helps you learn to follow the connection and find the gaps.
You can fill in pretty quickly but the problem is exactly the same – what’s blocking you from connecting to the gap. Usually you are holding somewhere else. At this point, Bagua starts to be a lot like meditation except you are just flailing about while you do it.
It also makes sense that spontaneous movement wouldn’t last forever. Once you connect, you move on. If you clear things out quickly, you finish quickly.
So, spontaneous movement could be considered following the unconscious mind. There is just purpose behind it that you might not be conscious of.
in Module 17, Lesson 27 Bruce addresses the power of the unconscious mind,
Generally he is using the terms “conscious mind” and “unconscious mind” as they are understood in modern Western psychology.
However, he notes that (at 5:32)
“if I really start talking in terms of consciousness,
you actually Go Beyond the unconscious mind.”
(ends at 5:42)This where my viewpoint starts.
And Japanese Buddhist monk Dogen (1300-1352) has an even more profound view that goes beyond that Eastern going beyond.
He thinks that when you use one polar opposite “totally” your USE is free from dualism.
Bruce later says something that sounds confusing,
like,
the yin and the yang are not real,
but you use them like they are real
(I need to look this up on the video.)
His purpose is to dissolve a powerful yin or yang unreality.
You have some degree of resolution.But my more immediate question is how do you use Dogen’s understanding while you’re doing Lake?
Right hand is rapidly moving from yin to yang,
while the left hand is moving from yang to yin.When the two sets of opposing actions meet at the central channel, you reach this point where the Unconscious mind dwells.
Then Bruce uses it to go forward into the Single Palm change with a cut that is still free from gaps and glitches,
and maintain this awareness as long as you can while walking the circle–when you lose it you change directions and start all over.Or is it a case of where the two opposing sets of opposites are TOTALLY cancelling all dualisms, as real as they are, so that the only thing left is nothing, emptiness?
This Lake movement is the ultimate stinker.
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