We live in a world where everything has a label. That’s a rock, that’s a car, you are “John”. All labels. The name is never the thing. This tie between language (the label) and the reality of the thing is just one of many ways that our left (logical, analytical) brain has trapped us into it’s preferred perception of reality. This left brained world was poetically called the world of the 10,000 things by the ancient Chinese. This part of reality is symbolized by the white (yang) half of the yin/yang symbol. This is where 99.9% of current humanity makes it’s living, plays with the kids and scientifically/mathematically dissects matter in order to try to understand our existence.

For many reasons this is unfortunate. It is true that man has “discovered” many wonderful things through left brained exploration and participation but man will never, can never, become whole (holy) until the other half, the yin, is as thoroughly explored, understood and played in.

The yin half of reality is the black half of the yin/yang symbol. It is the dark matter and dark energy of the universe. This energetic reality has been explored by numerous ancient wisdom factions but for the most part has been ignored by the masses and the majority of 20th century science. There have only been a few fringe mathematicians and scientists that have been compelled to risk their careers to truly delve into and explore the wonders of the unseen parts of our universe. Some of these brave souls you may have heard of as they have been able to interpret their findings for the masses in a way that has inspired complementary work resulting in previously untapped creativity. Einstein, Planck, Bohm and Wheeler are just a few of these pioneers.

Today it is claimed that only 4% of our universe is gross visable matter  A full 96% is composed of dark energy or dark matter. It is a world that only the most sophisticated (or ancient) technology can tap into.  It is a realm without borders where time does not exist. It is pure energy that seeks to creatively interact without judgment or expectation or fear. This is the land of Po.

To truly walk the path of Taijiquan one must straddle the internal border of the yin/yang dualistic reality with one foot in the world of the 10,000 things and one foot in Po. The player should always been looking to explore new avenues of training that facilitate understanding and growth into both of these realms. Mastery of the forms or Chin na or Dim Mak is still only within the yang realm and thus only half of the puzzle.

I will attempt to impart some of my very limited understanding of the realm of Po which I have gained through personal experience in future blogs. For now I just wanted to attempt to expand the consciousness of my readership to allow for the possibility of everyone opening up their practice to more than just the external techniques and lessons that are available. As I guarantee you, that if you ever enter into Po you will never be the same again.

If you feel so inclined, use this link to watch an inspirational video of a woman who has been to the land of Po.

Peace

Rod