My attention for the next two weeks will be yin attention – going more with the flow and not being as focused on exploring the mystery. Posts will be statements culled from personal communication from Bob Klein.*
Bob, as you may recall, is a teacher of Tai-Chi and Taoism in Sound Beach, NY. His response to my questions about attention provided me with new ideas. Here’s hoping you will find food for thought in his words. Please email me with your comments.
“The subject of attention (consciousness) is all about connection. When I “pay attention to” something, I am connected to it. We normally think that paying attention means just turning our eyes to something, but in the pre-modern world, attention is quite different.
Attention vivifies each cell and organ of the body. It is breathed in by each part of the body just as we breathe in air. It is absorbed from the ground just as each tree absorbs water and nutrients through its roots. We are a community of conscious beings and as we grow, a relationship among these beings must develop so that we can function effectively as a whole.
In some people, and in some cultures, the consciousness of the body is repressed and replaced by mechanistic behavior. In others, mythologies have developed to teach people ways of organizing this community of consciousness to live enriching lives.
In the Taoist system, consciousness is celebrated. Many ways have sprung up over the centuries to explain consciousness from a Taoist perspective.
The sense of sight gives us information about how each thing is separated from each other thing. It also tells us about the surface of things (texture, color, shape).”
Tune in next week to learn how Bob describes chi.
Thanks for exploring the mystery – Nicky Mendenhall
*You can learn more by visiting his website: www.movementsofmagic.com.
If you would like to read earlier posts in this series, visit www.NickyMendenhall.blogspot.com