Healing Tao of Cincinnati

Indeed.

TRAVEL WITH THE SAGES 30: D**G ZHONGSHU

D**g Zhongshu, 董仲舒 (179–104 BCE) was a Chinese philosopher, politician, and writer during the Han Dynasty. He integrated yin yang cosmology, a theory of original qi, and the Five Phases into Confucianism and promoted it as the official ideology of the Chinese imperial state.

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天地人
tiān dì rén
Heaven, Earth, and People: The World and Our Lives

天地人，萬物之本也。天生之，地養之，人成之。
Heaven, earth, and people. This is the root of the ten thousand things (all living beings and all things). Heaven generates. Earth nurtures. People complete.
—Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn Annals (Chūnqiū Fánlù, 春秋繁露), by D**g Zhongshu, 董仲舒

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Heaven generates: the word 生 is the same as life and birth. Heaven therefore originates. But earth nourishes. The word 養 is used to also mean raise animals and rear children. Then we come to “people complete.” The word 成 also means success.

Many people interpret this as heaven originates, earth nourishes, and people complete. I prefer a different interpretation: it’s only because of heaven and earth that people can find their completion.

I don’t think heaven and earth need people in the least. We just happen to be on board. So many people are enamored with humanity as somehow “special.” If you look at the term ten thousand things, 萬物, we’re just one member of the set. While 10,000 is a symbolic number, it certainly shows how minor we are if you think in terms of 1/10,000.

We need heaven and earth. Heaven and earth don’t need us. Therefore, we should be grateful for our place, not pollute it for others, and not speculate beyond the bounds of heaven and earth. Those bounds, as it turns out, and when compared to any human scale, are infinite.

We are the finite creatures who live by the grace of the infinite.

Hello all!
I’ve been away for awhile building my piano teaching career but since The pandemic hit I’ve been called back to help our world heal and teach others about the Tao once again.
I’m happy to announce I’ll be presenting a short talk about Taoism and leading a group meditation of acceptance and love for our wonderfully amazing bodies! Called the Inner Smile, it a powerful yet easy meditation to start any practice. It connects us with our inner sprits and sets a foundation of respect and appreciation for our entire being.
Please come out and ask me any questions!
I’d love to talk to you about how Taoism has changed my life for the better and how it can help you. I’ll be offering workshops soon!
This is going to be a great event with lots of of great presenters!

Greetings all!
After a long extended break while I worked on my piano teaching career the universe and my higher self is asking me to teach again and So Im honoring that call again.
During this extremely stressful and chaotic time I believe it is crucial to learn how to effectively manage our emotional and spiritual selves. In turn, this will also have a positive effect and tangible impact on our mental selves. Taoist energy meditations and movement is one of the most effective ways to learn.
I will be offering private workshops, one on one, working with your schedule on weekends and group workshops also on weekends. At this time I will be teaching the Healing Tao basics, including beginning Qigong, the Inner Smile and the Microcosmic Orbit. I also include a brief history of the Healing Tao system and overview of Taoism in general.
In the future I will be offering weekly classes.
All classes for fall, winter and spring will be held online.
If you’re interested please take a moment to read about the different meditations and levels in my notes section so you have an idea of what I’ll be teaching.
I soon hope to be offering classes just for women on the female Taoist practices as well.
Send me a private message if you’re sincerely interested and I will contact your for further info. Thank you all and abundant Qi blessings! ❤️☯️✌🏼

Hello all thanks for the Recent likes! I have stopped teaching weekday classes but will offer weekend workshops if I have 3 or more people interested. Thank you for your interest. :)

Yes! Exactly!

Why do I practice ancient methods?

It’s because the modern methods don’t address my problems.

When I had back spasms, the doctors wanted me to lie in bed for weeks. My pain didn’t improve.

When I had knee problems, the orthopedic surgeon couldn’t even read the x-rays himself. He simply described the opinion of a technician who wasn’t in the room.

The business consultants extol the virtue of promoting oneself, networking, and driving for “efficacy.” By next year, they will be gone.

The preachers tell me to put my faith in the unseen, but as soon as I ask a few questions, they reply that they don’t know the answers.

The banker wants me to invest all my money—but his fees get deducted first every year. He reminds me that there is no guarantee of profits and that I may lose some or all my funds.

The chair of my college art department said that he honestly didn’t know why anyone succeeded as an artist, and he concluded that it was a matter of luck.

Why do I practice the ancient methods? Because they teach me to heal myself and they teach me to rely on myself.

Love this! So important to remember and constantly be reminded. :)

Song of the Summer Solstice and the Largest Moon

The Taoists on Cloud Height Mountain held a ritual to celebrate the Summer Solstice. Another ritual to celebrate the moon at its largest and most beautiful time of the year was scheduled for two days later. In the day between these two great celestial events, Master Ancient Pine sat in a pavilion high on a cliff, listening to Soaring Crane play the flute. A broad valley lay far below them, and as the light changed, the late afternoon sun reflected off the river. A breeze stirred wisps of white hair and the old man smoothed them back with a sigh.

“The summer solstice has passed,” said Master Ancient Pine when Soaring Crane finished a song. “The days will get shorter. We’ll get to the autumn equinox, and then the darkest time of all at the winter solstice. Each month, the moon waxes and wanes. Once a month, for one day, it is full, and then it goes darker again. Tomorrow, the moon will be the largest and brightest it will be for the entire year.”

“Aren’t these just phases? The sun and the moon continue eternally.”

“Just as your soul is immortal. But as the sun and moon endure phases, surely so does each person.”

“I’m sad to see summer ending.”

“The sun is not sad to set. The moon is not sad to wane. Why should you be sad to see summer end?”

“I suppose we should have the wisdom to accept endings. But it’s hard to do. My father died several years ago, and I still think of that. Even now, I sometimes regret that I did not pass the examinations with high enough marks to serve the emperor.”

“If your father had not died, could he go on to the next adventure? If you hadn’t ended your career as a scholar-warrior, could you have begun your career as a Taoist? Look at the sun and the moon. They are not sad when darkness comes. The sun knows that it will be bright again tomorrow. The moon knows it will be full in another month. They know that they will ascend again.”

“I suppose you’re right. Beginnings follow endings.”

“So it’s written in the Great Treatise of the Book of Changes: ‘Beginnings reverse endings. The ancients knew this and so explained life and death.’”

Soaring Crane nodded and prepared to play the flute again.

“When I watch you take up your instrument, I look at the holes on your bamboo flute. They are fixed in position. Sometimes you leave them open, and sometimes you press them closed. The way we advance our days is the same. The intervals are fixed, but it’s how we play our music that counts.”

Soaring Crane nodded and brought the flute to his lips.

(Photo by Calvin Lee)

Spring Workshop Coming! Last Weekend in April!
This year I am changing the way I do my workshops. I will be holding whole weekend workshop, Saturday and Sunday, 8 hour days. One workshop a season.

The weekend workshop will cover all the fundamentals of the Healing Tao system including fundamental Qigong, Inner Smile, 6 Healing sounds and The famous Microcosmic Orbit.

Each 16 hour workshop will cost $175 and will include all materials, unlimited tea, snacks, and gift certificate for local eatery for lunch on Saturday.

This Spring the workshop will take place the last weekend in April, the 26th and 27th and run from 10am-6pm each day.

This is a great way to become deeply immersed in the practice and to experience the group chi dynamic.
You'll walk away knowing the fundamentals and have a strong start for your own home practice.
Want to stay on top of what you learned? Come by on Thursday nights to my open class for refreshers and loving chi support!
Message me if you are interested. Spaces will fill quick!

Happy Spring! Now those seeds you planted at the Solstice can begin to burst forth! Nurture those ideas, ambitions, goals and creativity so they can continue to grow and flourish for the rest of the year! What seeds did you plant? Are you helping them grow? How are you helping them? It is the year of the wood horse so use that explosive energy to help fertilize your seeds!
Care to share some of your goals for this year?