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Hello Bruce!
I have a question regarding a statement you made in the State of the Tao 2015 message.
You said that: “Sometimes it takes a while to start teaching others…but I encourage everyone to share according to his or her abilities now and in the future. By teaching you improve yourself, find your gaps and it also is a great motivator to keep practicing.”
I am wanting to clarify that you are encouraging even relative rank newbies such as myself to begin to share basic concepts such as Taoist breathing or weight shifting, turning, etc. as appropriate and as far as we can practice ourselves, yes? I want to make sure that I am not misunderstanding the spirit of your message.Warmly,
Joel
Hi Joel,
Yes that is exactly what Bruce is saying. Please feel free to share what you know of qigong, tai chi, etc… with others.
His statement is equivalent to someone that is learning guitar, playing tunes for their friends and showing them how to hold the instrument and play chords.
This is different than calling yourself a certified instructor and charging money for lessons. Which Bruce does not endorse unless you have had the proper teacher training and certification.
So please share and enjoy the practice!
Warm regards,
EA Team
I think I see this statement of Bruce’s in another way too.
I think it also means that helping other people deal with their red-dust can be just another method for dealing with our own. Though, as we all discover and as Bruce teaches (and puts in the quote as “share according to his or her abilities”) we all need to practice this with the 70% rule so as to avoid negative-gains or, what people commonly refer to as, making other people’s problems their own.
We can all help each other out and help ourselves out, in a marvelous plus-sum game, we just need to avoid over doing it; 70%.
I was wondering if I could get some elucidation on this quote of Bruce’s: “It could be said that recognizing the proper role of the ego is one of the primary purposes of many spiritual practices.”
What is the proper role of the ego?
I’ve heard it said that its role is managerial, but, I gotta say, with how angry my ego makes me I really don’t know what to do; just trying to dissolve it or smoothen it out is like trying to catch a perpetually greased-up pig that can spontaneously teleport under duress!!
In this regard, I’ve been working with a death-wish for my ego that I haven’t quite been able to sate.
Two comments of Bruce’s come to mind in regards to ego..
The ego is a good worker, but a terrible master… given tasks, but not deciding upon which tasks (as boss)… and yet the part of “me’ that says, ego behave- is the ego….
In this regard- death-wish for ego (i can relate to that impulse, as well as that ‘strategy-concept’) yet having that drive is actually the strengthening of the ego itself. (not only sparking it, feeds it, but also sending it- resistance supports, gives structure).
…..
Dissolving ego being difficult- this would make sense- as just as the movement of fluids is subtler than the sensations on/in the itissue… and movement within/over the fluids (also nerves) is even more so…
Thus directly feeling chi (vs indirectly sensing its affect and reactions to its flow.. or as-if it was flowing, but sense-feel it directly, as you sense-know a finger is moving, or not) -this is more subtle than the above sensations.. (and thus the substance of mind- and the Echannels content- which relate to the Ego structure-pattern, as well as the material out of which Ego is made: two different things- but both clearly a subtle thing – hard to sense, how to contact)
“Bit by bit, inch by inch”a last thought- consider what part of thoughts is deciding “Ego XYZ..” ? What about the overall?
Just as the sense of what you are “looking out of” can-shift a bit as a blockage moves (or even actually disssolves).. which is not the same as the blockage itself- nor the same as the rest of your system fluctuating to that change… “Ego” is both part of what you might sense, with your attention- as well as what/where your attention is coming-from. [any pictures, concept-thought, idea(s) about.. aren’t the thing.. they may relate to the thing, or not, but they are not the thing… idea-concept-selftalk is good to organize/recall after-before practice, but in the midst of practice… they aren’t the thing.. feel/contact/work with “the thing” itself- whatever that might be]
also- just as where you sense a “blockage” may be (usually is) not in the same place as an expression that you notice of it (ie sore shoulder? blockage? likely what is causing/supporting the sore-sh, isn’t in the shoulder at all… espec if you are seeking to dissolve-shift)… and also as the Blockage (where it is) changes, the Energy-behind (of the whole that support-ed that E-str) is else/different (likely changes what you look-through, or how you understand it all, or what you are seeking to do.. all that comes from your pattern- and if the pattern changes… -where is the consistency? (where is your root?)
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