{"id":30753,"date":"2023-12-04T18:48:07","date_gmt":"2023-12-04T18:48:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chi-gong.net\/en\/?p=30753"},"modified":"2023-12-23T16:23:33","modified_gmt":"2023-12-23T16:23:33","slug":"standing-still-between-sky-and-earth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/chi-gong.net\/en\/blog\/standing-still-between-sky-and-earth\/","title":{"rendered":"Standing Still between Sky\u00a0and\u00a0Earth"},"content":{"rendered":"
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An unfolding antenna to the universe<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have come here to stand between the sky and the earth\u201d said\u00a0Master\u00a0Lam.

We had traveled with him to the Mongolian Plateau of Central\u00a0Asia.

It is a land of wild horses and, as you look out over the high grass\u00adlands, the earth\u2019s curve is unobstructed.

The sky feels so close you could touch it.

\u201cTo experience the full healing power of Chi Kung,\u201d says Master Lam in his book, The Way of Healing, \u201cyou need to have in your mind a clear vision of what is happening to\u00a0you.

In classical Chinese, this would be called a vision of Heaven and Earth. In many ways, it is exactly the same portrait of the cosmos as that now revealed by the most sophisticated discoveries of contemporary scientists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

We have come here to stand between the sky and the earth<\/p>\nMaster\u00a0Lam<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n


The early nomads of this region drew inspiration and strength from what they called the Munkh Khukh Tengri, literally \u201cEternal Blue Sky\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They handed down a tradition of living in harmony with the vast, open sky and fertile Mother Earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To experience this directly for ourselves was the reason Master Lam brought us to these highlands of our planet, where the horizon meets the endless sky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Mongolian
Mongolian horse sculpture \/ Photo by Jane Ward<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

One morning at sunrise, our group of 30 students from 12 countries gathered with Master Lam to practice the ancient art of \u201cStanding Like a Tree\u201d.

It is a gentle, profound discipline. You stand without moving, practicing deep internal relaxation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Don\u2019t waste your time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Use your time to practice!\u201d<\/p>\nMaster Lam<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

We stood together in silence as the earth turned towards the sun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The power was unmistakable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was like molten gold,\u201d said Master Lam\u2019s son and successor, Sifu Tin Yu.

Years earlier, Master Lam had spoken of this in The Way of Healing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It is as if we had opened up an unfolding antenna to the universe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The longer we practice, the more sensitive we become to the energy that flows around us and through us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As our practice develops, we begin to understand through our own direct experience, the intimate meaning of [the ancient Chinese philosopher] Chuang Tse:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHeaven and earth and I are living together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On our travels across the plateau, we saw landscapes and towns filled with startling and beautiful sculptures rising up into the sky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were ornamental carved columns, intricately decorated towers, and images of wild, flying horses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Heaven and earth and I are living together.<\/p>\nChuang Tse<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Throughout our trip \u2013 we traveled for hours by bus and train through prairies, desert, and mountains \u2013 covering several thousand kilometers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Master Lam made it clear that we do not need to be always standing still to cultivate and care for our internal energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He has demonstrated this in his other books, including Everyday Chi Kung.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDon\u2019t waste your time,\u201d he called out to us on the bus. \u201cUse your time to practice!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we look back on all Master Lam has taught us, those simple words sum up so much of his advice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can apply them whatever we are doing and wherever we find ourselves on our journey between sky and earth.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An unfolding antenna to the universe \u201cWe have come here to stand between the sky and the earth\u201d said\u00a0Master\u00a0Lam. We had traveled with him to the Mongolian Plateau of Central\u00a0Asia. It is a land of wild horses and, as you look out over the high grass\u00adlands, the earth\u2019s curve is unobstructed. The sky feels so … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":30754,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[27,25,30,28,29],"class_list":["post-30753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-master-lam","tag-chi-kung","tag-master-lam","tag-sifu-tin-yu","tag-travel","tag-zhan-zhuang","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/chi-gong.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/chi-gong.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/chi-gong.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/chi-gong.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/chi-gong.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30753"}],"version-history":[{"count":39,"href":"http:\/\/chi-gong.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30753\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31783,"href":"http:\/\/chi-gong.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30753\/revisions\/31783"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/chi-gong.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30754"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/chi-gong.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/chi-gong.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/chi-gong.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}