The Tao of Stress: How to Calm, Balance, and Simplify Your Life (22 page)

5. Making a Decision, Acting on It,

and Monitoring the Results

Given the evaluation and the weight of the evidence, the next step is to choose a solution and implement it. Given Martha’s obsession with texting, she may opt to reduce her texting, rather than completely eliminating it. It’s also necessary to monitor the effectiveness of all solutions.

Martha needs to monitor how effective her solution is in decreasing her pain and easing or eliminating her chronic stress. The same five- step process should be applied to the monitoring the results.

The Authentic Person and

Visualization

The
Neijing
’s description of the authentic person, who integrates qi, jing, and shen, is consistent with a later Taoist practice known as internal alchemy. A fundamental goal of internal alchemy is the integration of qi, jing, and shen to become a zhenren, or authentic person. One method used to achieve this is visualization.

I’ve discussed visualization in the context of both Breathing from the Heels and Mind Like a Mirror. However, visualization is a type of meditation in its own right. In fact, it appears to be the most frequently practiced type of meditation across Taoist history (Kohn 2008b).

Visualization is a creative, actively directed process that is used, like all
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types of meditation, to alter how practitioners think, feel, and behave and to center and root them, thus eliminating chronic stress. It is a fundamental practice for the authentic person.

In many cases, visualization is used to generate, cultivate, refine, and guide the flow of qi throughout the body. As such, it trains attention and concentration while stilling and emptying the mind and body of agitation. In the Taoist view, this process can be used to heal both body and mind and eliminate stress by visualizing meridians or channels running through the body, various organs, different parts of the body, and so on.

Taoists also use it as a spiritual practice that cultivates connection and merging with the earth and sky, various deities that inhabit both the external world and the internal world of the person, and the Tao itself.

Practice The Microcosmic Orbit

Visualization

The Microcosmic Orbit Visualization is a practice that activates the flow of qi through the two main qi reservoirs in the body: the
ren mai
(yin) and the
du mai
(yang). The du mai, or governing channel, runs from the
huiyin
point, which is between your genitals and anus, up your back along your spine and over the top of your head, and ends at the roof of your mouth just behind your front upper teeth. The ren mai, or conception channel, begins at the root of your tongue and

runs down the front centerline of your body, along your throat, solar plexus, and belly button, and past your genitals to the huiyin point.

The Microcosmic Orbit visualization can be practiced sitting

(on the ground or in a chair) or standing. Maintain the proper body posture you’ve learned in this book, with your head being gently

pulled up, your shoulders relaxed and down, and your back straight but not rigid, as in the Sitting in Stil ness and Wuji Standing postures.

Be sure to smile and apply guan throughout this practice.

Gently touch the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth

just behind your front upper teeth. This connects the ren mai and

du mai channels and makes a complete circuit in your body. Take

a deep, slow breath through your nose, al owing your abdomen to

extend out, and then slowly exhale through your nose, al owing your abdomen to retract. Repeat this two more times.

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Next, focus on the huiyin point, between your genitals and anus,

and as you begin to slowly inhale through your nose, visualize your breath slowly ascending from this point through a tube, about the

width of a finger, that travels up the middle of your back and over the top of your head and comes to rest where your tongue is touching the roof of your mouth.

As you slowly exhale through your nose, visualize your breath

descending from the tip of your tongue through a tube, again about the width of a finger, that travels through your tongue, down the center line of the front of your body through your sternum, solar plexus, belly button, and pelvis, and ends at the huiyin point.

One ascending of the breath (yang) and one descending of the

breath (yin) constitutes one cycle of the microcosmic orbit. When your breath reaches the
huiyin
point, begin again. Repeat for twenty- five cycles. Then take notice of what you feel. Do you feel more rooted and centered? Does your mind feel still and empty? Are you less

stressed? Did you get any sense of a tingling, a ful ness, warmth, pulsating, or flow along the pathway of the microcosmic orbit? All of these sensations are indicative of qi circulating through your body.

The more you practice, the stronger the sensations will be. If you don’t feel anything initial y, that’s okay. For most people it takes time to cultivate the flow of qi. Remember, the key is consistent and regular practice.

The Authentic Person and

Smiling

In June of 2009, I attended and presented a paper at a conference on Taoism on Wudang Mountain, in Hubei Province in China. Wudang

Mountain is a very famous Taoist mountain and is associated with internal martial arts and qigong. According to legend, taijiquan was invented on Wudang Mountain by Zhang Sanfeng.

While attending the conference, I met up with David Wei, a former

student of mine at Chaminade University. David had been living on

Wudang Mountain since 2006, training in Taoist martial arts, qigong,
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and meditation. He is a formal disciple of Master Yuan Xiu Gang. I also met up with Penghong Teh, a businessman from Malaysia whom I’d met at a previous conference on Taoism in China. One afternoon David took Penghong and me on a tour of the mountain. After visiting some of the more well- known sites, he took us off the beaten track to meet with a Taoist hermit monk who lived in a cave on the side of the mountain. As we approached his cave, we could see the monk in his blue gown and Taoist hat. Even though we were still some distance from his cave, his smile radiated through the forest. As we got closer, we all clearly felt his inner power. Were we seeing and feeling an authentic person?

David, who knew the monk fairly well, went ahead to talk with him.

When we reached the monk, his smile was overwhelming. After David

introduced us, the monk gave David three persimmons. We each ate one of the fruits. As David munched on his persimmon, he said the monk had been expecting us. Earlier, the monk received a visitor who gave him the three persimmons and told him that he would soon have three visitors and should give the fruits to them. Needless to say, this was a jaw-dropping experience. The monk looked at us with his penetrating smile and just laughed. His smile and laughter were quite contagious. The feeling of interacting with each other and eating fruit in a forest next to a cave on the side of a mountain while in the presence of the overwhelming smile of this Taoist monk was indescribable. The closest I can come is to say I felt no stress and had a profound sense of oneness.

Clearly, a spontaneous smile is a fundamental aspect of the authentic person. It is also quite beneficial both physically and psychologically, as demonstrated by recent research (Kraft and Pressman 2012).

The Authentic Person and

Laughter

One of the defining characteristics of the authentic person is that he doesn’t take himself too seriously. He is able to laugh at himself, laugh with others, and laugh at the absurdities in the world around him (Guo 1974). This is one of the ways he protects himself from chronic stress and integrates with others and the world around him. Recent research

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appears to support that laughter helps reduce stress (Mayo Clinic Staff 2010; Berk, Tan, and Berk 2008).

The authentic person’s laughter, which begins with a smile, further removes problematic, stress- producing entanglements, desires, thoughts, beliefs, judgments, and behaviors as it permeates inwardly and outwardly, encompassing everything. It is in the realm of genuine smiling and laughter that the authentic person sees and experiences others of like mind and like heart. This is where he finds his true friends and mate.

When you are truly smiling or laughing, your mind is still and empty.

There is no negativity. Try it right now: smile— not a forced, fake smile, but an authentic one. How do you feel? As you smile, try to think negatively. You cannot truly smile when negative thoughts are present. If a negative thought pops in, either you are no longer smiling or your smile isn’t authentic.

The next time you laugh (which should be a daily occurrence), notice how you feel and what occurs in your body and mind. When we laugh

authentically, we are free of negativity and stress.

Authentic smiling and laughing are fundamental aspects of the

Taoist path to removing chronic stress. Smiling and laughter are natural and neither excessive nor deficient, and as such, they harmonize mind and body and put us in harmony with our environment.

Even though consistently practicing both the mental and physical

components of the Taoist path to the removal of chronic stress is necessary and of the utmost importance, to fully eliminate chronic stress from your life and allow your yin and yang to be in harmony, you need to smile and laugh. It simply won’t work otherwise!

The Authentic Person and Proper

Body Alignment

In June, of 2007, I was studying baguazhang (a martial art that is focused on moving in circles), taijiquan, and qigong at Beijing Sports University in Beijing, China. One of the workshops I attended was conducted by a master of qigong and Wu- style taijiquan. He emphasized the importance of correct body posture and how correct body posture, correct breathing,
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and a peaceful mind are all interrelated in the practice of taijiquan, qigong, and meditation in general.

The master taught us a technique that’s fundamental to all Chinese martial arts and qigong: Zhan Zhuang, or Standing Like a Tree or Stake in the Ground, which you should be familiar with by now. He observed each of the participants individually and made corrections. He came up to me and said my breathing was too noisy because my body wasn’t in the proper alignment. He then proceeded to align my posture by simply

touching and gently pushing a few parts of my body with one finger. His subtle corrections centered me, quieted my breath, stilled my mind, and gave me the sensation of being suspended from above, much like a puppet being pulled up by a string on its head. The overall result was a feeling of being naturally and deeply relaxed.

Whether we are sitting, standing or moving, if our bodies aren’t in the proper posture, aligned and rooted, we won’t be stable or centered. If we aren’t centered, the flow of qi will be compromised and our minds can’t be still. The authentic person’s body is properly aligned.

The Authentic Person,

Community, and Family

While there are Taoists who are hermits and live by themselves in search of spiritual awakening, most followers of Taoism belong to religious communities. Some of these individuals practice celibacy (monastics in Quanzhen Taoism), while others are married and have families (Tianshi Taoism).

For the authentic person, interacting with others is a natural process.

It is with others that we share our experiences, thoughts, beliefs, and emotions. With others we cry, smile, and laugh. We are all part of the same continually changing process called Tao. It is with others that we find support, friendship, family, and love. With others, we can grow. We need to see and experience our thinking, beliefs, feelings, and behavior in relation to other people. We are not separate. While other people may contribute to our chronic stress, it is also other people who assist us in eliminating it. For the authentic person, the journey of life must be
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shared. It is through sharing, while rooted and centered with an empty and still mind, that we leave chronic stress behind.

Interlude

The first part of this chapter examined the Taoist role model of the authentic person, or zhenren, who is the epitome of good health, well-being, and freedom from chronic stress. The authentic person is sensitive and responsive to body, mind, and environment— qualities we can

develop through the physical practice of qigong.

Qigong

In this final section on qigong, you’ll learn the closing postures for the two sequences of eight movements you’ve learned: Baduanjin and

Yijinjing. In addition, you’ll learn the opening movement for the Yang style of taijiquan. Although taijiquan was initially developed as a form of self- defense, it has evolved over time to have the same functions for health and well- being as various forms of qigong. Remember, for any qigong and taijiquan postures to be effective in removing and eliminating chronic stress, you must practice them on a regular and consistent basis, applying guan and smiling. And if you find yourself suddenly laughing as you work through the postures, great!

Upon finishing each sequence, with all eight postures plus the closing posture, reflect upon your experiences while performing it. What were your body and mind telling you about yourself? Take some time to write in your journal about what you experienced while performing these

movements.

Practice The Closing Posture of the

Baduanjin Sequence

The closing posture of the Baduanjin sequence is essential y the same as the basic Sitting in Stil ness posture with two exceptions. The first
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