Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor,
Chapter 5 Translated by Sabine Wilms Humming with Elephants
An exploration of ideas and perspectives using clean language and Chi Kung/Daoyin movement Adam Hellinger
Yin and Yang they are the Dao of Heaven and Earth!
They are the guide ropes and connecting threads of the Myriad Things!
The father and mother of Alterations and Transformations, the foundation and beginning of giving birth and taking life, and the Palace of the Shen Ming.
The manifestation of ‘Dao’ our way/manifestation in the physical world. Yin and Yang can only exist via being relational. To develop our relationship with the Dao we have ‘to come from and be in a relational state’. And this must begin with ourselves. And our self-perception.
“The guiding ropes and connecting threads” can only exist from our own perception, and these manifest from our own relationship with our ‘senses’ and our ability to process and reflect upon them.
The process of practice has the ability to develop and refine our sensory perception and our reflections upon that information. Our senses are the “connecting threads” to the Myriad Things. (Our greater awareness.)
How we invite our senses to receive and feedback on the information generated is therefore very important. Any practice involves our preconception, habits and relationship to the practice. We develop patterns of behaviour that manifest in our minds, thoughts, nervous systems, connective tissues, muscles, organs and their functions and our Chi.
How can we interact with our “habits” so that space and realisation that change can manifest and is in fact possible?
What is the gateway to “The father and mother of Alterations and Transformations”
The gateway I believe is in our relationship to ourselves.
The inner orientation to our own structure provides the space, energy and feedback to change these patterns of relationship from within our own selves.
This is found in the practice of many Arts including Chi Kung.
Zhan Zhuang is an aspect of Yi Chuan. Zhan Zhuang is the structural development and awareness aspect translated as pole standing/standing like a tree. It focuses on the parts becoming aspects of the whole and the sum becoming greater than the parts. Since we are dealing with a conscious system it has an ability to ‘learn and develop more efficient ways of being, functioning and processing. The process is relational, how my physical body interacts with itself and how the process of that interaction develops one’s awareness and “self-embodiment”
There are structural physical principle involved, and these create the foundation for “The father and mother of Alterations and Transformations”
The “beginning of giving birth and taking life” can be seen as the process of developing
One’s self embodiment and becoming more who we are.
As the Daoist’s say “following our Lifes path”
The “Palace of the Shen Ming” is the space of awareness developed by our practice so
that our own “embodied presence” can manifest.
Sabine describes it as “the spirit/s shining brightly from within and that of the spirit/s being illuminated from without and reflecting the light of the sun and the moon through the connection with Heaven.”
This I feel beautifully articulates the process we are involved in, and which comes from working with clean language and a clean approach to study and develop our transformative practices.