Martial Arts

All posts tagged Martial Arts

Do You Know Your Yin from Your Yang?

Published 28/02/2015 by inspiringyourspirit

My Dear Friends,

Living in China and having a long personal history of martial arts, Chinese history, culture and my own spiritual practice embedded in China for the past fifty years, has; over the years made me very interested in Daoism/Taoism, Lao Tzu/ Lao Zi, the Dao De Jing/Tao Te Ching, I Ching..there are so many ways they are represented globally šŸ™‚ The difference between Daojia 道家 , Taoist Philosophy and Daojiao 道ꕙ, Daoist Religion brings even more confusion to the western world let alone understanding the I Ching (The Book of Change), the oracle of fortune, a guide to success and a dispensary of wisdom. The ancestor of all Chinese philosophy, it is the primary source for the pragmatic mysticism of the Tao Te Ching, the rational humanism of Confucius, and the analytic strategy of Sun Tzu’s Art of War and of course the wonderful Yin 酓 Yang ꘜ in traditional Chinese and Yin阓Yang 阳 in modern simplified Chinese.

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Yin is the black side with the white dot in it, and yang is the white side with the black dot in it. The relationship between yin and yang is often described in terms of sunlight playing over a mountain and a valley. Yin (literally the ‘shady place’ or ‘north slope’) is the dark area occluded by the mountain’s bulk, while yang (literally the ‘sunny place’ or ‘south slope’) is the brightly lit portion. As the sun moves across the sky, yin and yang gradually trade places with each other, revealing what was obscured and obscuring what was revealed.

Yin is characterised as slow, soft, yielding, diffuse, cold, wet, and passive; and is associated with water, earth, the moon, femininityĀ , and nighttime.

Yang, by contrast, is fast, hard, solid, focused, hot, dry, and aggressive; and is associated with fire, sky, the sun, masculinityĀ and daytime.

Yin and yang applies to the human body. In traditional Chinese medicine good health is directly related to the balance between yin and yang qualities within oneself.Ā If yin and yang become unbalanced, one of the qualities is considered deficient or has vacuity.

Anyways, I could go on forever trying to explain Yin Yang, The Dao/Tao so I thought I would share with you this very short cartoon animated Ted Talk video explaining Yin Yang, I hope you enjoy it and that it will inspire you to learn more about Daoism šŸ™‚

Namaste with Love

Always

Mark

Do You Still Love Yourself, Do You Need a Reminder of How Great You Are?

Published 15/09/2014 by inspiringyourspirit

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Some days, Iā€™m not so sure!
I wake up and start my day, I amble out of bed
Feeling tired, lethargic and grumpy
More sleep needed maybe, more time to rest, to lie dormant and be; just me!

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A pick me up coffee to raise my spirits, its heady smell and strong taste slapping me awake like a hand to my face
Or does it help suppress my mind, control my senses and take away my creativity
Breakfastā€¦Oh no, thatā€™s for wimps, no time for that in my busy life
Off to the bathroom for me instead, the slow walk to that place of awakening

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The mirror lies before me, standing proud and tall the size of my wall, no place to hide
Iā€™m naked for my eyes to see, Ohh a sight for sore eyes and not for the faint at heart
Too much fat hiding my chin, my eyes are red and sleepy, lids wanting to close and sleep once again
Plenty of excess around my middle, my arms my hips, my rear, it appeared overnight, I think!

Is my hair receding even further, is that a spot on my face
Iā€™m no teenager, where have they come from, maybe a memory of dayā€™s gone bye
Whatā€™s that hair doing coming from my ears and nose, should it not be on my head
It wasnā€™t there yesterday, my body it would seem to be out of control

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A clean shave is what I need and into the shower I go
The fresh warm water cascading down upon my head
Awakening my body and my soul
Water cleansing, washing away my negativity, bringing life back to my body like rain to a seed

The towel meets my skin, rough and soft all at the same time
The water disappearing into the fabric, leaving my skin soft and dry
A splash of aftershave hits my jaw, awakens my senses to the sweet smell of summer
Stepping into my trousers, and a fresh shirt completes my attire

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Looking into the mirror a new man, a new day, a new opportunity
I love my self again, Iā€™m happy in my skin, Iā€™m proud of what I have achieved
Iā€™m off to start a fresh day, out into our wonderful world, more people to help, more spirits to lift
Opening the door, the sun greets my face it awakens me to mother nature, warm and gentle welcoming me once again

Stepping down my steps I feel my breath, catching the fresh morning air
Feet touching the ground with a steady momentum, taking me on to more challenges in life
I hear the sounds of our world, the noise of the city, millions moving towards their day, but if I listen carefully there is so much more to hear

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The quietness of nature, birds in song, the soft rustling of leaves as the gentle breeze passes through the trees
Mothers walking their children to school, grandparents exercising in the gardens their slow Tai Chi movements, bringing life to their aging bones
Ladies dancing under the trees, awakening their limbs and bringing smiles of joy to their faces

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I am indeed grateful for all I have in my life
I have a gift, the gift of sight, the gift of sound, the gift of smell, and the gift of touch
The ability to realize all that is around me, the gift is LIFE itself
So easy to forget in our crazy non stop world, so easy to loose sight of what we have, So easy to fall into the hands of the media and follow their never ending tales of doom and gloom

I do love my life; I do love my world
Iā€™m thankful and grateful for another day to share this gift with you

Namaste with Love
Always
Mark

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