Focus
Many students ask – what do I do with my eyes? Where do I look? Regardless what the practice is – standing, walking, moving – eyes are looking straight but your mind does not register information taken by your eyesight. The gaze is turned internally, observing your muscles, your legs, your hands, scanning every single part of your body with your mind. I used to go to crowded places to train for competitions – the more distraction the better it was. Well, no doubt, I learned how to focus and keep final destination constantly in my mind – perfection of the body posture, allowing the energy to flow freely like cleaning blocked pipes or dirty chimneys. Meridians are fresh, blood circulates to all parts of the body, there are no blockages and as qi starts in your dan tian it swirls through the whole body and is being released into the ground. To reach perfection you first hear about what it is that you are looking for and then step by step focus on each requirement until you get it and lift yourself up to new horizons. I take focus as another insight for daily living.
Flexibility (applies to practicing 1:1 with Sifu)
A lot of people are put off by the idea of martial arts for a simple reason that you need to wake up early and practice outside during winter. In my opinion these are such minor components of the whole practice and if you do get into practicing at dawn and during the winter than you are already into it that much that it does not matter. Your teacher may be flexible enough to assist you in learning whenever it is convenient for you, some teachers take it easy during winter and if you have a spacious apartment you can practice at home. So, first of all martial arts teaches about flexibility. By being flexible I mean physically and mentally because it is all connected and one directs the other.
Calm
Another simple implementation of martial arts in daily living is that you learn how to keep being focused and relaxed while doing strenuous exercise. The practice gets your body to twist in new directions, to use muscles you haven’t used before, to learn what ‘natural posture’ means in terms of martial arts. After a while your body becomes soft outside (for the observer) and hard inside (you experience the flow of qi in your body). Simply, if you manage to keep your body relaxed during strenuous exercise then in daily living you can maintain being relaxed in stressful situations. Needless to mention, daily practice enables you to remain calm and focused despite the circumstances and the environment.
Patience
Recently I have been translating for Liu Sifu – he has new students who do not speak much of Chinese and I am amazed (again and again) how much patience he has. Each student is treated in a new way, with new perspective, so much appropriate for their personality. I stopped asking how he does it, each time it is just as if he knows how nature works. Of course, practicing ba gua was helpful for increasing this insight (amongst other things). As I translate I keep rushing ahead, giving my perspective on what is being said, talking about my experience while he sits calmly and waits for me to finish. Never a single comment, never a single request. I look at new students practicing zhang zhuan (standing stance) and keep thinking: they must be bored, there is so much more to it! And yet, I realize – their mind and body are so occupied maintaining the proper standing stance as it looks simple to an observer while the person practicing has busy time thinking of all things that need to be done – usual case with internal martial arts. I learned patience by living in China and I know that patience is part of every journey – accept the fact that beginning is slow and that some things you will do well, some will be hard.
Determination and Discipline
Over the course of 7 years of practice I have learned one thing about internal martial arts – there are times when I enjoy it, when the flow of it is so natural and free, by body wakens and mind empties itself accepting nature as the only guide. As everything else in life, there are also times when I am lazy, I dread waking up in the morning, my body rebels, practice seems boring and I question if there is anything coming out of it. Liu calls these times “guan” (“pass”). Each guan is blocking the way towards new learning, realization and expansion. So there is physical guan, lazy guan, guan of doubt etc. It is our choice to stop and retreat from practice or to continue and see what awaits us behind the obstacle. Usually it is expansion of physical and mental experience: body becomes stronger, mind reaches new horizons. However, it does not mean that if you pass one guan you have finished with that lesson. For me, lazy guan keeps coming back but the time needed to pass it is getting shorter and shorter. Lessons are fulfilling enough for me to realize that determination and discipline is what takes me further towards abundant and balanced living.
With flexibility, calm, focus, patience, determination and discipline I look forward to every new challenge.
Copyright Dalida Turkovic 2007
About Author
Dalida Turkovic – Master Coach and Master NLP Practitioner has lived and worked in China since 1990. She practices Xingyi Bagua with Sifu Liu Xu Yang. Visit her coaching website http://www.small-steps-coaching.com/ and her blog at http://life-coach-balanced-living.blogspot.com/
Because it’s a piano concerto, but only using one hand…that’s why it’s “For the left hand”…
Nice perfomance
Update: Do yourself a favor and disregard what YA member Life is Short has posted. Its all BS.
A good start in learning more about life in the Philippines, its people, culture and the way things are their is to start by check out my wife's and my web site at http://www.ricexpats.com Much of our site is focused on life in the Philippines. There are hundreds of photos and many videos attached to this site. Page 14 is the Photo index page and the Video Sharing Page has many videos of the Philippines, some dating back twenty plus years.
Another good resource is the many Yahoo Support Newsgroup forums. Living in the Philippines is the most popular group that focuses on life in the Philippines. I have listed several other groups as well. Much can be learned through the interaction of other group members. Living in the Philippines has a 12,000 plus membership. Much can be learned through the collective thoughts and experiences of others.
I also highly recommend you participate in these various forum because there are several issues you should concern yourself with. Examples: Immigration Visa, Suitable living arrangements, meeting other expats, health and dental care, transportation, culture issues, things to do and not to do, common practices and not so common practices. the list of things to know is endless. by participating in the various Yahoo forums the more you learn, the more questions you are going to have and the cycle will be continuous.
The Philippines is a very beautiful country and the Filipino people are awesome, well mannered, very respectful and hard working. There is also a flip side to the story. The Philippines is not without interior government problems. That said it is best to stay clear of politics.
The Philippines is an undeveloped country with millions of unemployed citizens. If you are other than Filipino it is highly unlikely you will be able to find suitable employment. Employment is reserve for its citizens, as it should be and only those with a bachelors degree or higher are placed in good paying jobs. Even if you could find employment, you will require a Work Visa before you can legally work in the Philippines and its highly unlikely you can obtain this type of Visa.
Some people compare the cost of living to Mexico. In the Philippines the overall cost of living outside the big cities is fairly inexpensive. In the big cities like Manila it is quite a different story. Per communication with hundreds of foreigners living in the Philippines over the past few years there is a general consensus amongst the expat community at least $1,000.00 a month is required for a modest but simple life in the Philippines for two people and for a bigger city like Manila, it is suggested at least $1,200 a month. These figures are based upon communicating with many Americans and other western expats who participate on the various Yahoo forums I have listed below. Keep in mind you can live off much less, but than there is quality of life issues you may need to concern yourself with. One of the most important issues you need to remember is – You do not want to go broke in the Philippines. If you are without money in the Philippines, and you have no way to support yourself you are basically in some serious trouble, Since it is highly unlikely you will be able to work, make sure you have enough funds available to live off of while you are their. I suggest you check out the example budgets posted on many of the different Yahoo groups.
Some good things to know: Medical and dental is fairly inexpensive when compared to what it cost in the states or other western country. Hotels are not cheap, a 3 star hotel in Manila cost on an average of $40.00 – $60.00 a night. Meat products cost three to four times in what is cost in most parts of the states. You will be required to renew your tourist visa every 59 days. Landlords do not like renting out short term leases, it is better to live in an area where other foreigners live where the landlords cater to the specific foreigner rental market. Example: An area very popular for foreigners who visit for short periods, the rental market is going to be more geared to cater for short term rentals. Again by participating with the various Yahoo forums others in a similar situation as yours can help you.
Overall the American's and other western expats are received well by our Filipino friends. As I have previous indicated they are awesome people. Treat them with respect and they will do the same.
The Internet/World Wide Web, and popular Internet search engine Google at http://www.google.com and http://www.google.com.ph can wisely be used research more in dept subject matter you learn about through the various Yahoo sites. Another awesome Internet resource is YouTube and Google's Video Sharing sites. Example: You read an article of interest on one of the Yahoo newsgroups about a particular place in the Philippines. You are curious in what this place looks like, so you research this place on Youtube or Google to view videos.
I can write a book on my Philippines experiences. Perhaps you should look into purchasing the Lonely Planet and joining the Yahoo groups I mention. I highly recommend this because you have the option is reading and/or using Yahoo's group search option to specifically search through various groups for specific subject matter.
E-mail me for additional info if you like.