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Shen is loosely translated as spirit. IMO, the shen phase doesn’t come into play until you’ve found the central chi of the body. I hate using the term chi, but I’ll use it here for the initiated. If you’ve been reading any of my posts in the past year, you should know that I don’t believe that chi exists. Instead, I’ve described how the Taoist trained the body to relax by first mastering the blood circulation and then the CSF, and then in the final stage I described “How to Create Relaxation and Emptiness by Tricking the Nervous System. “
This is the beginning of the shen phase. The body is unified and can access what Bruce calls the central chi of the body. At this phase you’ll see the internal arts of Tai Chi, Hsing-I, and Bagua are distinctly different in their approach and organization. And it is at this stage you’ll see that Bagua’s complexity pays off.
This whole body relaxation is essential to opening the mind and spirit. This could also be described as the phase of neither yin nor yang. I’ll be posting more about this in the coming weeks.
Jim,
When you concentrate on the shen, the Qi
can be transferred to the shen.
Jou, Tsung Hwa, “The Dao of Taijiquan,” page 188.Apparently, Master Jou (1917-1998) believed that chi exists.
I’m reviewing his book today.
He wrote:
“This transfer or lianqihuashen (of Qi)
results in light opening or closing movements…”“Qi is exerted from the spine..”
After the requirement of concentration of jing has been met,
the spirit or shen can begin to be developed.
(Sounds like You and Jou agree here.)Jou asks:
How then is Qi activated from your spine?
Qi is pushed downward from your shoulders to your spine;
this process is called ‘closing.’When Qi is made to move from the spine to the shoulders and fingers,
the process is known as ‘opening’BTW, I don’t believe Qi exists,
I know it exists.
I can actually see Qi between my thumb and index finger.
It’s experiential.
(This discovery is a long story.)Oh, well.
cheers
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