Mind over Matter

I am on day two of exploring yoga. Yesterday I did some Tai Chi and this morning my legs hurt. So today I am studying. With my hubby being home I actually get to sit from start to finish so this is exciting.

"The most recent research has proven that muscles have their own consciousnesses and memory. The aim of Martial Arts includes maximum development and strengthening of muscular consciousness and memory  so as to enable these two elements to exercise their special responsive functions after conscious intent has gradually withdrawn." Mind over Matter: Higher Martial Arts by Shi Ming

When studying PTSD it is said that the body remembers everything. During fight or flight moments our body becomes conditioned to the stimulus. Unconscious triggers result in automatic physical reactions in the future. Movement of the body can sometimes trigger stuck emotional memory of the muscles. When this happens in the presence of a trained healer it can be a liberation.

"Higher consciousness perception is the transformation of motor activity into consciousness  and the transformation of consciousness into motor activity (or into power), through the interaction and mutual reconstruction of the musculature and consciousness."

Martial Arts is a wonderful discipline. Higher Martial Arts aims to refine consciousness.  Consciousness operates on all four stages at once. Earth, Air, Fire, Water... an Earth based Ego Consciousness, Air based Thought Consciousness, Fire based Spiritual Consciousness, and Water based Emotional Consciousness.

Opening and refining consciousness through our mind, our hearts, our bodies and our spirits. By acknowledging the wisdom that truly resides in our bodies we can tap into our inner power.

When I think of Martial Arts I always think of Tiger's Eye.

A stone of the Sacral and Solar Plexus it mimics the essence of Higher Martial Arts:

Chakras - Sacral Chakra, Solar Plexus Chakra

Zodiac - Capricorn

Planet – Sun

Element – Fire, Earth

Combining Earth energy with that of the Sun it draws Spiritual energy down to the Earth, while still keeping you centered here on the ground. Tiger Eye helps to raise vibrations, while also connecting these higher energies to the lower Chakras, keeping you feeling in balance and connected when working with higher goals. 

Protection - Clear thinking - Personal empowerment - Integrity - Willpower - Practicality - Grounding - Power - Courage - Grace

The Sacral Chakra is our Sexual Center. It is the point from which we create. From the Root of our Base Chakra from Earth we move into Water. From Stability we have movement. From the Material world we move into Emotions and Relationships. 

The Sacral Chakra is where healing takes place. This is the point from which we can easy flow with the current or we try to control everything. It is the womb from which life is born from. A healthy Sacral Chakra means we are open, aware, abundant, fertile, feeling, postitive... but an unhealthy one will feel guilt, jealousy, obsessive controlling thoughts and behavior, inability to let go, depression, sexual issues, trauma, over or under eating, money issues, and become emotionally dependent on others. 

It is about honoring your body, your needs, and freedom of creative expression. It then flows up to your Solar Plexus where your Power center is. Water meets Fire. Intellect, Ambition, Will, Power, Individuality, Self-worth, Ego and Personality are the Solar Plexus. 

Martial Arts is learning to use Will rather than force. Which is the Strength Card in Tarot. 

Royo Tarot

Also known as Fortitude. Noun: Courage in pain or adversity. The Symbolism in the card shows that there is an infinite resource of Strength and Courage within us. The woman in the picture depicts our inner feminine side. Most cards show a passive woman with a powerful lion in a trance like state allowing her to open its massive jaws. This card shows a little bit more aggression on her part than usual but I like that. It shows that our inner forces are where true strength comes from. 

The Solar Plexus linked to Leo and the Sun. This is about taming our primal urges. It is about using our higher facilities to govern our lower animal like natures.

I can see why the Universe is wanting me to work on these two Chakras. We just bought our house and now we are firmly rooted in the ground. I spent all my life working on my higher Chakras. Now it is time to put them all together. 

When the Solar Plexus is functioning correctly, we are tolerate and accepting of ourselves and others, confident and strong willed. You have good self-esteem and respect. You can say no and honor your boundaries. It allows you to manifest your goals and balance the spiritual and material worlds. 

Martial Arts depicts this as Ying and Yang.  Or feminine and masculine sides. The seen and the unseen. The inner and the outer. As above so below. Positive and Negative. Sun and the Moon. 

When the Solar Plexus is damaged or un-evolved you fear power. Your power and the power of others. Or you feel the need to dominate or control. Anger, ego-focused, a need for material security, feeling a lack of choice, or a need to be constantly active. 

It is our ability to move forward in life with power and confidence... with the ability to control our lower selves. Each Chakra working in unison and communicate to each other. We do not judge from our mental facilities only... instinct has a lot to do with making good choices. But these Chakras have got to be able to consult our higher selves. 

"As stated above, psychophysical coordination means that consciousness and the body no longer disconnect with constitutional changes  involved in each movement or action. Thought and intent are no longer simply commanding officers giving out orders and examining the results of battle; they are warriors directly involved in battle from start to finish, working in unison, combining their power without interruption."

Shi Ming goes on to explain that when we are children we have no division in cognitive and physical communication. But as we all know the journey of being human is the forming of ego consciousness then blending it with higher consciousness. 

Different doctrines call the process by different things. The Bible calls it turning from God. A Pagan would call it disconnecting from nature. A psychologist would call it integrating the shadow side or the ego. It is a part of self-actualization. The Microcosm and the Macrocosm. Who I am in a small sense and who I am in the universal sense. A part of the whole. 

This particular Martial Arts book says this, "Only by relinquishing the ego can one realize the true self; only by getting rid of conscious intention can one attain true intent; only by forgetting the small self can on find the infinite self. This is the reward that refinement of consciousness will bring to the human body and mind; and this is its most valuable gift to human kind."

Doing energy work requires training. Whether you do Martial Arts or read Tarot the concepts are the same. You are an energy bender. You can transmute energy. 

This book explains how you can use consciousness to refine consciousness. It also describes how to use Division, "Interruption", and Combination as a means to refine consciousness. 

"Division" means to separate the intent from vitality, energy, at any given time."  

This is exciting to read. To understand the nature of division of consciousness meaning that you can facilitate the combination. Between mind and spirit and then therefore body.

Alchemy. Magic.... Art? Science? 

"First consciousness moves, then power moves (and then they physical body moves); this indicates insubordination in the relationship among the three elements in dynamic thought, but this is not the order that occurs when going into action."

"Operate energy by mind, operate the body by energy; then you can conveniently follow the mind."

Once one masters these concepts one must be pretty sure they are fully aware of their intent. Our lower based ego intent is self serving and power hunger by Tempering it with the Higher selves we can bring insight, reason, love, and communication to our instincts and basic survival needs. 

I am really excited to be studying the Art of the Body in regards to the mind body and spirit now. It is obviously the next step for me.