Thinking and Feeling.

When we study t'ai chi it is unfortunate that we have to spend some of the time thinking! Why is this considered to be 'unfortunate?'

Thinking takes us away from the actual experience. Yes, we have thoughts about experience, but the thoughts are not the experience. So it is best to keep thoughts to a minimum. They can be like sign posts which direct our attention to a particular feeling or they can help us discover new areas of experience .. or in other words, creative thoughts about our practice. Learning t'ai chi is a process of discovery. Ultimately the mind is directing the feeling and there is little thinking going on at all.

What do we feel? All the tactile sensations are acknowledged as part of the practice. In order to move in t'ai chi, for example, you will need to feel that the foot is pushing the body to create the weight shift and that the other leg is empty of body weight before taking a step, and so on.

The qualities of t'ai chi, such as softness and openness are experienced on a feeling level but we can use our thoughts to direct the experience. Once we have created a feeling then it will become more powerful if you let go into the feeling experience and let go of thoughts completely.