i remember, little bird taiqi/qigong

[Guest guest]

Once upon a time, there was a bird who some other birds heard made

one of the the best nests they've seen. It was soon noticed by other

birds who would come along to see why it could withstand gales, stay

dry and comfortable in summer and winter.

At first the little bird was eager to allow others to view and try to

copy his nest. But they couldn't get it in a moment and whizzed off to

the clouds and sunbeams. The bird soon tired of being bothered at any

time by less than nice tourists who, if the truth be told, often came

only to try to show how weak the nest was, and criticized the bird,

because they reasoned if he had such great skill, then surely there

would be an impressive personality that they could attach to. But the

bird was not a dramatic bigger than life image of power and cunning,

so they only got bored.

So the bird retired to a more wilder place for a long time, until

later he felt regret at not sharing the hard-won techniques that were

the core of why his nests were so comfortable and long lasting.

Early as the sun was about to peak over the land, in the place after

night, but before day, he sang out with the other birds and lightly

chirped about an inclination to teach the process. To his surprise

later that dawn, a score of fledglings appeared, bright and ambitious

for the knowledge.

" Well " , he sang, " most of it will seem useless but I guarantee this

is all in how I go about it " . And the little birds sang, " sure, sure,

no problem, whatever you say " .

So he led them in flight to several wooded places of an air so pure

that it could have been another sky, and then some river islands where

they felt they could play forever among, and also to mouths of deep,

dark, frightening caves in the earth itself, and much more, over the

next few weeks, as the season was now proper for the undertaking, to

show them where and how he gathered the material for the building. How

it was selected, how it looked, when it was ready, how to cut, gather

and carry it and so on.

Some of the birds sang to themselves, " Oh, now I get it " . And they

left thinking they knew the whole process, and imagined themselves in

their perfect nest. The bird sighed and thought to itself, " 'They can

only take what they are capable of " . And set about the next step with

the remaining fledglings.

He led them to various locations to discuss the pros and cons of

building on each; why too high is unstable in a high wind and open to

predators of the sky, and how the fire that violently connects between

earth and heaven gathers there; why too low can't offer sufficient

views of the weather patterns and smells of the sky and is too open to

land predators. Also how to know if it will be too dry or wet from

clues in the surroundings, too exposed, too isolated, too cold or hot.

And also the creatures that should be present to ensure a stable, long

lasting protected place.

Well of course some of the little birds sang to themselves, " This is

irrelevant and childish. He is just monopolizing our attention to

inculcate us in a useless dogma, or maybe he's a bit crazy. Fire

between earth and heaven, Oh please " .

So the bird saw them go and sang to itself, " They can only take what

they are capable of " . And set about the next step with the remaining

fledglings.

Having decided upon a proper setting, and time to start, piece by

piece the frame was woven. Some of the little birds were getting

impatient and started to spread their wings, but the bird felt they

were so close and was afraid they would have wasted their, and his

time, if they left too soon, so he sang to them. " Most plans are

destroyed near completion, remember the desire for this that you had

in the beginning and be as aware now as you were then " .

But only a couple stayed, and the bird sang to itself, " They can only

take what they are capable of " . And set about the next step with the

remaining fledglings.

So the frame was finished, they moved quickly to apply the moss and

threads and grasses and worked them in, and the bird sang, " Ok, now we

sleep here tonight and fix our mind on this structure, remembering all

we've done, and tie the ends together with our dreams so it will never

come undone " .

Late that night, a thought appeared in one of the birds' mind. It

sang to itself, " I have learned this beginning to end, everything,

every variation and substitution in material and method. And I'm

stronger. I can't wait to teach, I'll become famous, the morning songs

will be about me, and all doors will be open to me " .

Surprised and a little embarrassed by the strength of its new self

importance, the little bird decided to leave in the night without

facing the bird and struck off on its own.

Early as the sun was about to peak over the land, in the place after

night, but before day, the bird felt and knew the little bird had gone

and it sang to itself, " They can only take what they are capable of " .

And set about the next step with the last remaining fledgling.

The bird sang, " you are the last, and you have calmly listened and

worked and sacrificed and pondered my poor teaching, so we must have

some connection, and I want to tell you that I am happy you thought

this worthwhile, and I hope it serves you for your safety, but also

for your joy and peace of mind. "

The last little bird sang, " I can think almost anything, but what I

can see is the perfect nest, and even more important, how happy has

been your method, and I have to say the things you've sang to me may

not be needed for just my nest, but nests for all the creatures for

generations to come. And you have made my world more real wondrous and

interesting " .

So the bird sang sang, " This is the last part, the glue that creates

something solid and whole from all the pieces, but I hesitated to show

others because it is unusual, but it will work for you I think. " The

little bird sang, " I trust you teacher, go for it.'

So the bird showed the mood, the breath, the movement of the inner

and outer energies and succeeded in applying the saliva which was

energized and processed, to the joints of the nest, making it a whole

thing, a unity that stood storms for a long time forward.

Kooky, huh?

[Guest guest]

This is by far my favorite post of this discussion group.  Thank you very much

for sharing.

 

Sincerely,

 

Ming H. Lee, MPH, L.Ac.

 

--- On Wed, 10/29/08, ykcul_ritsym <ykcul_ritsym wrote:

 

ykcul_ritsym <ykcul_ritsym

i remember, little bird taiqi/qigong

Chinese Medicine

Wednesday, October 29, 2008, 2:38 PM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once upon a time, there was a bird who some other birds heard made

one of the the best nests they've seen. It was soon noticed by other

birds who would come along to see why it could withstand gales, stay

dry and comfortable in summer and winter.

At first the little bird was eager to allow others to view and try to

copy his nest. But they couldn't get it in a moment and whizzed off to

the clouds and sunbeams. The bird soon tired of being bothered at any

time by less than nice tourists who, if the truth be told, often came

only to try to show how weak the nest was, and criticized the bird,

because they reasoned if he had such great skill, then surely there

would be an impressive personality that they could attach to. But the

bird was not a dramatic bigger than life image of power and cunning,

so they only got bored.

So the bird retired to a more wilder place for a long time, until

later he felt regret at not sharing the hard-won techniques that were

the core of why his nests were so comfortable and long lasting.

Early as the sun was about to peak over the land, in the place after

night, but before day, he sang out with the other birds and lightly

chirped about an inclination to teach the process. To his surprise

later that dawn, a score of fledglings appeared, bright and ambitious

for the knowledge.

" Well " , he sang, " most of it will seem useless but I guarantee this

is all in how I go about it " . And the little birds sang, " sure, sure,

no problem, whatever you say " .

So he led them in flight to several wooded places of an air so pure

that it could have been another sky, and then some river islands where

they felt they could play forever among, and also to mouths of deep,

dark, frightening caves in the earth itself, and much more, over the

next few weeks, as the season was now proper for the undertaking, to

show them where and how he gathered the material for the building. How

it was selected, how it looked, when it was ready, how to cut, gather

and carry it and so on.

Some of the birds sang to themselves, " Oh, now I get it " . And they

left thinking they knew the whole process, and imagined themselves in

their perfect nest. The bird sighed and thought to itself, " 'They can

only take what they are capable of " . And set about the next step with

the remaining fledglings.

He led them to various locations to discuss the pros and cons of

building on each; why too high is unstable in a high wind and open to

predators of the sky, and how the fire that violently connects between

earth and heaven gathers there; why too low can't offer sufficient

views of the weather patterns and smells of the sky and is too open to

land predators. Also how to know if it will be too dry or wet from

clues in the surroundings, too exposed, too isolated, too cold or hot.

And also the creatures that should be present to ensure a stable, long

lasting protected place.

Well of course some of the little birds sang to themselves, " This is

irrelevant and childish. He is just monopolizing our attention to

inculcate us in a useless dogma, or maybe he's a bit crazy. Fire

between earth and heaven, Oh please " .

So the bird saw them go and sang to itself, " They can only take what

they are capable of " . And set about the next step with the remaining

fledglings.

Having decided upon a proper setting, and time to start, piece by

piece the frame was woven. Some of the little birds were getting

impatient and started to spread their wings, but the bird felt they

were so close and was afraid they would have wasted their, and his

time, if they left too soon, so he sang to them. " Most plans are

destroyed near completion, remember the desire for this that you had

in the beginning and be as aware now as you were then " .

But only a couple stayed, and the bird sang to itself, " They can only

take what they are capable of " . And set about the next step with the

remaining fledglings.

So the frame was finished, they moved quickly to apply the moss and

threads and grasses and worked them in, and the bird sang, " Ok, now we

sleep here tonight and fix our mind on this structure, remembering all

we've done, and tie the ends together with our dreams so it will never

come undone " .

Late that night, a thought appeared in one of the birds' mind. It

sang to itself, " I have learned this beginning to end, everything,

every variation and substitution in material and method. And I'm

stronger. I can't wait to teach, I'll become famous, the morning songs

will be about me, and all doors will be open to me " .

Surprised and a little embarrassed by the strength of its new self

importance, the little bird decided to leave in the night without

facing the bird and struck off on its own.

Early as the sun was about to peak over the land, in the place after

night, but before day, the bird felt and knew the little bird had gone

and it sang to itself, " They can only take what they are capable of " .

And set about the next step with the last remaining fledgling.

The bird sang, " you are the last, and you have calmly listened and

worked and sacrificed and pondered my poor teaching, so we must have

some connection, and I want to tell you that I am happy you thought

this worthwhile, and I hope it serves you for your safety, but also

for your joy and peace of mind. "

The last little bird sang, " I can think almost anything, but what I

can see is the perfect nest, and even more important, how happy has

been your method, and I have to say the things you've sang to me may

not be needed for just my nest, but nests for all the creatures for

generations to come. And you have made my world more real wondrous and

interesting " .

So the bird sang sang, " This is the last part, the glue that creates

something solid and whole from all the pieces, but I hesitated to show

others because it is unusual, but it will work for you I think. " The

little bird sang, " I trust you teacher, go for it.'

So the bird showed the mood, the breath, the movement of the inner

and outer energies and succeeded in applying the saliva which was

energized and processed, to the joints of the nest, making it a whole

thing, a unity that stood storms for a long time forward.

Kooky, huh?