The Importance of Daily Practice
My mentor Horace Daukei had me going out on vision quests at various times during my apprenticeship. Horace would sometimes transfer portions of his own power to me during the vision quests. The whole experience felt very intense, but I really didn’t understand very much about what was taking place at the time.
Things didn’t turn out anything like I expected with Horace and I found myself on my own after a few years. I really wanted to go further in my training, but there was no one else that I could turn to and so it was up to me to find my own way.
All of my core issues seemed to be surfacing during my mid to late twenties and I went through some very difficult periods of depression. I felt totally consumed by the pain at times and the feelings would often intensify as I began to breathe into them. I couldn’t really do anything else so I just continued to breathe into feelings that were surfacing. But then it would feel like something had broken open within me. The pain would then move through and on out of my body in waves and then I began to experience very comforting emanations of warmth emerging from within.
Breathing through the painful feelings helped me to get through the really difficult times. But I would completely forget about the practice when I wasn’t in a state of acute pain. Many areas of my life were still not working very well. I wasn’t very present in my body and I lacked many of the resources that I needed to function in this world. I had a tendency to attract women who were either unavailable or abusive and I was really struggling to establish my practice. What made it that much worse is that I didn’t know what I could do to effect change in my life.
I was feeling very strongly that I needed to go on another vision quest. I called one of my friends in back in Oklahoma and told him of my desire to go to the mountain. My friend agreed to help me with the logistics of getting to the mountain, so I gathered what I thought I needed and then headed to Oklahoma.
The Vision quests are the most powerful of all the practices that I’ve worked with. Going through a vision quest is like receiving twenty healing sessions all at once. Some aspects of the process feel like a near death experience. I will often experience a whole series of feelings and images associated with different parts of my life. I’m able to see how the various dysfunctional themes or patterns began to develop and then play out in my life. I can also feel other forces or beings working within my body to heal the past hurts and traumas. It feels like parts of my mind or consciousness are being reformatted.
I knew that the really powerful Indian doctors from past generations would go through the vision quests many times over the course of their lives. They would receive other kinds of powers or gifts of healing and they continued to grow more powerful. I just followed right along in their footsteps. I’ve received different kinds of healing gifts during the times that I’ve been on the mountain that are making it possible for me to assist people with a wider range of health issues.
I usually go on the vision quest at certain times of the year and I’ll have to wait five to seven months before I can go back to the mountain. But I’m faced with all kinds of challenges in my everyday life. I realized that I needed tools or resources that I could use on a daily basis to further develop my body and mind and to effect change in my life.
Xin Yi, Baguazhang and Chi Gong
I began to train with Shifu Li Tai Liang in the internal martial arts in December of 2003. Shifu says that one never really gets anywhere unless they practice consistently. He continually emphasizes the importance of doing intensive daily practice to build power. Shifu teaches me various forms, their fighting applications and the corresponding practices that are allowing me to develop greater internal power.
Being able to practice chi gong on a daily basis has made a huge difference in my life. I do about two hours of intensive chi gong practices when I first get up in the mornings and then I do another two hours of training in xin yi and bagua. I may also do additional practices at other times during the day. The forms are very complex and it can take a whole life time to master them, but I continue to practice day after day. I’m continually drawing chi into my dan tien and then directing it through my body as I practice the forms and their fighting applications. Chi power enables me to go far beyond my normal level of endurance. The whole process has become a meditative practice for me and I often experience an intense electrical heat emanating from the core of my body.
Traumatic experiences or other forms of overwhelming stress can cause us to shut down parts of our body and mind. I was so disconnected from my body in times past. Chi gong practices have enabled me to awaken the consciousness within the lower half of my body. This consciousness extends out through my limbs to my hands and feet and the electromagnetic field surrounding my body. I’m able to feel what’s going on with people up to ten or even twenty five feet away from me.
Shifu has spoken on different occasions about the importance of training with a master. He’s said that one can only reach the advanced levels by training with a master and receiving the transmissions of power that are passed down through the lineage. I’ve done extensive training within two separate lineages now and I know with absolute certainty that I could have never learned these forms, received the transmissions of power or come this far in my own development without the assistance of Shifu, my mentor Horace and the other adepts that I’ve encountered along the way.
Finding what really works for us
Training in xin yi and bagua are perfect for me. I use to be so ethereal and I needed to do something that would get me into my body. Learning these highly complex forms makes it possible for me to become more present and to develop my body and mind. I also realize that training in the internal martial arts is not right for everyone. Some of us are better suited for yoga or sports. Our mind or consciousness extends throughout the body. It’s really important for us to find some form of physical or athletic activity that we really enjoy and then do it consistently.
Finding what really works for us
I tried all kinds of approaches over the years and it was very confusing at times. Many of the things that I explored did not produce the kinds of results I that desired. Sometimes I had to keep going back and doing the same practices for weeks or even months before I saw really tangible results. I just kept on working at it and I gradually figured out what did work for me. I let go of anything that was not effective and then I continue to work consistently with the practices that are producing the most powerful results.
Effective practices will augment our lives by facilitating the development of greater awareness and other resources and capabilities. They will also help us to become more present and to function at higher levels. We’re all unique as individuals and it’s important for each of us to determine what works best for us. Some of us will benefit most from working with Sufi practices. Others may resonate more with Buddhism and some will feel a greater affinity with the Vedic tradition.
Breaking through the inertia
Some of us have internalized so many hurts, losses and disappointments and then we feel as if we can hardly move. Unprocessed emotions and other stresses create a great deal of internal resistance that often takes the form of inertia. Feelings of inertia can make it very difficult for us to motivate ourselves. Digesting the feelings and emotions that surface will help us to reawaken our passions.
I usually begin my daily practice as soon as I get out of bed in the morning. There have been many times when I felt a lot of resistance to practicing. But I would sometimes force myself to get up and practice anyway, because I knew that I would never get anywhere if I didn’t give myself that extra push. Breathing into the boredom or any other feelings of resistance also helps me to break through feelings of inertia. Now it feels very natural for me to get up and do practices because it’s something I really enjoy.
Digesting what’s happening in our lives
I ran around the country for a few years training with a number of the best hypnotists and I developed some very valuable skills during that time. I learned to implant hypnotic suggestions that would help the body and mind to digest the intrusive feelings and impressions that cause so much suffering in people who have been subjected to various forms of trauma. The suggestions also helped people to become more open and receptive to the healing sessions. I still use these skills at times, but I wasn’t satisfied because I wasn’t leaving the people that I work with the tools that would enable them to further their healing. That’s when I began to rediscover the breathing practice I developed years ago and to develop many new applications.
Charged emotions often cloud or distort our perceptions. Emotions that are buried within us cause the various parts of our consciousness to shutdown, disconnect or become fragmented. Our feelings are not always pleasant, but they are an essential aspect of our awareness. Feelings and emotions comprise a whole bandwidth of our consciousness and they are a doorway into the subconscious mind. Digesting our feelings and our life experiences activates the innate healing powers that reside within our bodies and minds. Frozen parts of our consciousness begin to awaken. We begin to resolve the underlying issues and that allows us to grow and mature. Digesting our feelings and emotions allows us to experience greater integration of the various parts of our body-mind consciousness. That makes it easier for our soul to inhabit our bodies and the presence of the higher power to flow through us. The confusion that has muddled our lives begins to lessen and that allows us to experience greater resolution and clarity. Freeing our mind and body in this way will facilitate the emergence of many new resources and capabilities.
I’m continually learning to use everything that happens in my life as part of my daily practice. I breathe into the feelings that emerge when I find myself obstructed in some way or if someone frustrates or disappoints me. I’ll bring any issues or concern to the forefront of my awareness and then breathe into all the feelings that surface. I’m able to digest feelings by breathing into them. The issues begin to sort themselves out in the process and that gives me greater perspective on what’s happening in my life and clarity about what I really need to be doing.
Way too much on our plates
Many of us are living such busy lives. We have all kinds of demands and responsibilities placed upon us and the last thing we want is to have something else added to our plate. We become so busy that we lose touch with our needs and the stresses begin to accumulate within our bodies. But we need to make time to digest the day to day stresses and any other feelings that arise in response to whatever is happening in our lives. It’s crucial for us to sit down at times and to bring the concerns or issues to the forefront of our awareness and then to breathe into the feelings or sensations as they emerge.
We’re not always going to have the opportunity to sit down to digest the feelings and issues that are surfacing, so we need to integrate this practice into our everyday lives. We can learn to be present and stay connected to what’s happening within ourselves by breathing into the feelings and stresses as they surface while we are in the midst of whatever it is that we are doing.
Help along the way
I love to be present when the poojas are conducted by the Hindu Priests. Sanskrit words are comprised of sacred sounds that call form into manifestation. I feel these sounds reverberating within my body as the priests chant. I’m fascinated by the whole process and I’ll probably learn and practice more as the years go by. I only have so many hours available to me in a day and I can’t possibly do all the practices there are to do. But I learn as much as I can and I still benefit from the healing power of these practices. I’ve had a number of yagyas performed for me. The yagyas help to heal the body and mind and to neutralize the negative karmic patterns that create pain, suffering, obstacles and difficulty. The yagyas help to create the favorable influences that enable me to attract more of what I need and desire. I can feel a powerful presence working within as the pandits chant the mantras for me and I really appreciate having this extra support.
I’ve spent time with adepts from many different traditions. I find that being in their presence helps me to awaken and develop other aspects of myself. These individuals have helped me to make connections to aspects of the divine that I would not have made on my own.
One of the things I really admire about people who attain mastery is that they do not make excuses. They’re willing to do whatever it takes to facilitate transformation within themselves. All of these individuals have done many years of intensive daily practice. Their transformation has taking place gradually over the years as a result of their long hours of intensive practice. We can also experience these levels of self-realization when we take the steps that are necessary to facilitate change within ourselves.
A continual act of devotion
Adepts from the various ancient cultures worked continually with intensive practices to develop their bodies and minds and to deepen their connection with the higher power. Masters in China do hours and intensive practice every day to perfect their forms and develop internal power. Numerous Hindu Saints have lived alone in the jungles where they meditate, do pranayama and chant the Vedic hymns and scriptures. American Indians have gone through intensive periods of fasting alone in the mountains with no food or water. They often received gifts of healing or other kinds of powers during the vision quests.
Daily practice is an act of devotion that demonstrates a willingness to take the process of personal and spiritual growth seriously. Daily practice is not about reaching a finish line or attaining some end result. Spiritual development through daily practice is a continual journey that is meant to be enjoyed along the way. Consistent daily practice allows us to keep putting one foot in front of the other so that we can continue to move forward along our path.
Special wisdom and power
Every culture and tradition has its own special knowledge, power and connection to the divine. Practices taught within the diverse spiritual traditions can help us to develop different aspects of our body and mind. Training within these disciplines will enable us to deepen our connection with the different aspects of the divine. Each tradition serves as a doorway to another universe. We can spend our whole lifetime training within a specific discipline and still not see it all. But it’s fun to go forward with a sense of wonderment and a willingness to explore and go wherever the journey takes us.
The prefrontal cortex is the part of our brain that is associated with sensory perception, rational thinking, decision making, working memory and emotional processing. The thickness of the prefrontal cortex tends to decrease as we age. This shrinkage of the prefrontal cortex contributes to our tendency to forget things, such as where we left our keys.
Buddhist monks and others who meditate on a regular basis do not experience the same degree of age related brain shrinkage or deterioration of the prefrontal cortex that non-meditators experience. Buddhist Monks show a great deal of additional activity and increased thickness in the prefrontal cortex as a result of their meditation practices.
Tibetan monks sometimes go out into the snow covered mountains to do their meditative practices. They have been known to take their robes off, soak them in water and then put the wet robes back on. These monks would then generate tremendous internal heat through their meditative practices. This heat would warm their bodies and dry their robes. Many Indian Yogis have developed the ability to control various autonomic functions such as the heart rate and respiration. We can do all kinds of amazing things when we awaken the innate intelligence that resides within our bodies and minds and allow the higher power to move through us.
I watch with a sense of amazement as children, adolescents and young adults grow and develop new resources and capacities. What I really admire about those individuals who have attained mastery as a result of their training in the various disciplines is that they continue to grow and develop greater resources and capabilities and they demonstrate what is possible when we align ourselves with the forces of nature.
