All It Takes To Get Everything You Need
I just had a breakthrough about why combining "The Morning Ritual" and Tai Chi was a MUST for me…and that after eight years of daily practice I knew I had to teach this to others…and then was blocked by issues of Pandemic and distance. Arrgh!
Ten years ago I was totally broken, broke, overweight, couldn't see a way out or forward. And out of my despair I reached out to a mentor, who rewarded my faith with instructions for the Morning Ritual. Instead of using this amazing process with running, or walking, or some such, I decided to combine it with TAI CHI. And it (along with the MA.G.I.C. Formula!) transformed my life totally.
In MONTHS I went from
Broke to creating a new, near-six figure business IN MY SPARE TIME
Fat to RIPPED
Depressed to SUPERCHARGED, and to a new FIERY connection with my wife and loving bond with family
I had a technology that brought together, for the first time, EVERYTHING I'd been learning and teaching all my life. All that I had to do now was master it. The path of mastery involves:
Constant learning.
Constant practice
Constant Teaching.
I can rave all I want about how powerful this combination of Eastern and Western technologies is. Whole-brain, whole-body personal improvement. But my goal is simple: ONE MILLION AWAKE, AWARE, ADULT HUMAN BEINGS. And that demands that I show you a way to test this notion for YOURSELF.
To save this world we need Experts. Masters. "Awake" is at the edge of Enlightenment, the last phase of consciousness that is wholly useful in this world, a step that hovers around "Non-dualistic" thinking, but maintains the perspective that allows you to function in THIS world, not just sit cross-legged in a cave contemplating the nature of reality.
IT WORKS.
Here is a comment from a student:
"I just watched week 5 of Firedance Tai Chi. Wonderful! I am starting to feel comfortable and confident through movements 7 & 8, but it was the sequences of brush knee steps (where the f@#% am I) that was wrecking my flow. The new video really helped it click. It is getting more fun and feeling more and more helpful with every passing week. My ability to get things done on my to-do lists has gone through the roof. I’m getting things taken care of that have been on the back burner for ages."
If we unpack this, you'll find the core of what YOU need to do. First my comments:
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Dear XXX
This is great. The metaphor here is to "flow" around big chunks of "information." Finding the flow in spite of the fact that things are complicated demands that you do a variety of things:
Understand the basics of the task
Forgive yourself for imperfection. "Perfectionism is procrastination masquerading as quality control"
Focus your attention
Simultaneously relax.
Live in the questions rather than demanding that you have answers
The best way to learn to enter flow is to practice flow-condusive activities and gently notice when you enter a timeless state, where the "dancer becomes the dance" and the gap between actor and action decreases to nil. The FIREDANCE TAI CHI system uses a variety of tools to accomplish this, including the "Five Minute Miracle" (five short breathing breaks during the day) and the "Morning Ritual" which builds on this, where WHILE MOVING you visualize your goals, the role models who could accomplish them, and FLOOD yourself with positive, optimistic emotions.
Five to twenty minutes a day to set yourself up for the best day of your life. The Wu Style Tai chi form is GREAT because it is challenging, fun, infinitely scalable, an ancient tradition combined with modern sports psychology and physiology (at least the way I teach it!)
This student, by taxing their mind (frustration!) combined with opportunities for break-through (just keep practicing, and you'll figure it out…or ask the question that helps the Firedance community support you!) FIREDANCE ACTUALLY MIMICS THE BODY-MIND STATE OF GENIUS and MASTERY.
Focus, relaxation, energy, fascination. Five to twenty minutes of ACTING AS IF you were a master, bringing all aspects of your being together on a task that is BOTH challenging and just fun and engaging. Every expert, every "genius" you've ever heard of, walked a path of focusing on something after others turn away. They go deeper, longer. They study the pioneers who preceded them, but asked those questions: "who am I?" and "what is true?" after others settle for the cheap, easy answers.
I was broken. But by lifting myself emotionally IN MOTION, focusing on men and women who could solve my problem, when I asked "who am I?" I eventually got a series of answers.
They started with my name and occupation
Went from there to "pity party" answers, a cavalcade of "poor little me" b.s.
And went from there to a man who was and is committed to his family.
Committed to the path of the Warrior and Grio…the "Path of Pen and Sword"
Who is committed to joy and service.
BINGO.
Those three, my mind, body and spirit all aligned, I didn't know HOW I would succeed, but I knew WHAT success would look like (health, joy, safety for my family through contribution to my community) and WHY I wanted it.
And brothers and sisters: when you know WHAT you want, and WHY you want it, the "HOW" to get it is just a matter of generating ideas, studying models, taking actions and measuring results.
And the primary action was TO PERFORM MY MORNING RITUAL every day. Create a small, clear place in the midst of my problems. And just trying to do that ran me into all the confusion, depression, self-pity, negative beliefs, and confused values that had paralyzed me. It wasn't what the outside world was. It was about who I was in the FACE of those challenges. How I felt, whether I was committed to my pain, or to the family I love, and the destiny I chose.
Just commit to this one thing. Mark every day you do it on your calendar. And when you miss days (that’s inevitable!) ask yourself WHY YOU DID. The answers will be the SAME factors that have stopped every dream you’ve ever had. And for the first time in your life, you’ll have a single pressure point to push against, a single “knot” to unravel.
Solve this, just find the resources internal and external (like…bet ten bucks with a buddy that you’ll do it, AND PAY OFF every day you miss! If you’re broke, use push-ups!) to do this for just six weeks AND YOUR LIFE WILL CHANGE FOREVER!
One day at a time, I dug myself out. And out. And up. Until I shook off that damage and realized that the depths of my pain were just the shards of the armor I'd worn early in life to protect me. They were the scraps of the chrysalis the caterpillar needed to molt in order to become a butterfly.
This is available to ANYONE who will connect mind, body, spirit and emotions, balance and cultivate them, take a few minutes every day just to OWN YOUR OWN LIFE and separate you from your circumstances. Renew yourself. Ask the most important questions in life: "Who Am I?" and "What is True?"
There are many paths in life to happiness and awareness. This is the most direct I've ever found or heard of. I implore you to try it, either the FIREDANCE TAI CHI path, or take these pieces and create your own.
One thing I know: if you do, I hope to meet you along the path so we can laugh together, and exchange notes. Shake hands, perhaps hug..and continue our journey, alone or together.
All it takes to get everything you need….is everything you've got.
Namaste
Steve
