I recently spent a really enjoyable few days in Oxford with Bruce Frantzis and a few other tai chi enthusiasts. The retreat focused on the outer dissolving energy work of the taoist system of meditation. There is a wonderful sense of coming home when surrounded by a group of people all with a similar interest and goal. Some of us have been practising for the last twenty years so there was much sharing of ideas and catching up to do as usual.
Bruce is a larger than life character and this is reflected in the way he teaches. I love this honest and down to earth approach but it is not one for the faint hearted! What I most appreciate is that he ‘walks the talk’. Some years ago Bruce was involved in a serious car accident which left him with a broken back and in severe pain. Doctors thought he would never be able to walk again. Eventually he managed to walk but with great difficulty. However, having tried every conceivable treatment the west had to offer, the agonising pain remained. He resolved to return to China and find a solution through the internal arts such as tai chi, hsing yi and bagua as well as taoist meditation. After remaining there for some years, Bruce returned having achieved his goal.
To me this is testimony to the limitless power of the mind and body when we become fully connected. It shows the enormous depth and vastness of untapped resources that we all possess to heal ourselves when we have the right intention. All it takes is the choice to engage with our inner self and really stay with that connection 24/7, listening to whatever arises in that moment, without judgment and complete openess. This is my homework! What a fascinating journey it will be.
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