Mind, Body, Spirit: Meditation in Movement

You got to move
You got to move
You got to move, child
You got to move
But when the Lord
Gets ready
You got to move

--Fred McDowell

Every man is the builder of a temple, called his body, to the god he worships, after a style purely his own, nor can he get off by hammering marble instead. We are all sculptors and painters, and our material is our own flesh and blood and bones. --Henry David Thoreau

I grew up playing and watching competitive sports, and was a "gym rat" for much of my early adult years. Even when I lived in Cameroon with the Peace Corps, I used to lift buckets of rocks to keep in shape, much to the amusement of Cameroonians. I loved pushing my body. (I was fiercly competitive and would sacrifice my body to stop a goal in soccer.) I was fond of looking in the mirror and seeing how it was being sculpted. I was my body. Or so it seemed.

Then after my awakening in Nepal, I knew I was not my body, that I was spirit. And my interest in sports and competition just fell away. Besides hiking, which now became leisurely, I could care less about my body--it wasn't me so why focus on it. Meditation was much more important.

Yet it was when my first boy started growing up and was active that I knew I needed to keep my body more active, to be able to keep up with him. So I began to bring more focus back to the body, but not in the competitive area. I wanted to engage my body, but only if it help me to achieve and maintain a peaceful mind. In other words, meditation in movement. After all, I only had so much time in a day to meditate, with all my responsibilities, so I needed to multi-task.

Over the years I have played with several forms of movement that incorporated the alignment of mind, body and spirit. I have worked with Tai Chi Chuan, Qiqong (Chi Kung), Breema, Spatial Dynamics, Hatha Yoga and Eurythmy. I am no expert in any of these fields by any stretch of the imagination; however I found a natural response to playing with these forms, a familiarity if you will. I have no ambition to master them so they haven't been a primary focus, but I can truly recommend them to anyone who wants to come to a peaceful place in their mind, to keep their body in good supple shape, and to connect to the untouchable spirit of Being. They are also great for alleviating anxiety and depression.

Saint Francis apologized to his body, or "Brother Ass" as he referred to his body over the years, at the end of his life for all the austerities he performed with it. Ramana Maharshi would be unmindful of the afflictions that various creatures, such as rats and hornets, would inflict upon his body, so intent was his focus on the infinite Self. He would often say, Let what comes to the body, come, what concern is it of mine. I am not this.

I understand that transpersonal space. When one comes to that place of the timeless Spirit where is the body to focus on. It does not matter what one does with the body, for one is not that. A body comes and goes. However, I have come to believe that to walk the middle way, and to be involved in the world in a balanced way, one needs to involve the body. The body needs good, wholesome food, walks in nature, and some non-competiive movement that incorporates mind, body and spirit.

Is competitive sports bad? Not in the least, especially for those in the teenage and early adult years. However the emphasis in competitive sports these days (the Greeks were different) is on the body and mind. And with such a focus it is easy to be identified with those bodies. And when one eventually fails (even the greatest athlete will endure the defeat against time), unhappiness can be overwhelming. Just look at the many athletes who go way beyond their prime because they are hooked in their identification with the sport.

My focus is on waking up to who you truly are, to be free of the constraints of time, so you can move fearlessly in time. What I will be sharing are disciplines that are really meditations in movement. Movement that does not add more stress to body and mind, but brings them into a relaxed and concentrated state.

Topics to be Covered

Spatial Dynamics
Tantric Yoga: Sacred Sex
Tai Chi
Chi Kung
Eurythmy
Golf
Breema
Yoga Poses
Sufi Dancing
Yoga Breathing
Aikido

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Tantric Yoga: Sacred Sex
Tai Chi: Meditation in Movement
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