There are all kinds of people in this world. Some people are angels, others are assholes. Most people are somewhere in between. But this spectrum (should we call it the A-A spectrum?) is not all there is to defining what [...]]]> I recently got a question from someone asking advice on “How to deal with crazy people?”

There are all kinds of people in this world. Some people are angels, others are assholes. Most people are somewhere in between. But this spectrum (should we call it the A-A spectrum?) is not all there is to defining what people are.

Some people are just crazy.

Of course, a statement like that begs for a definition, but I’m not going to provide one for you. Calling someone crazy, much like calling someone an asshole, is too relative and judgmental. In the cultivation and teaching arts, we strive to avoid attachment to labels like “crazy, asshole, angel, etc.” They tend to stereotype and group people without due consideration to their individual character. But we do recognize that colloquially, these words are used. That is, most people will occasionally come across someone who is, for a lack of a better word, crazy.

In some cultures, the crazy people – the British might say ‘madmen’ – are thought to have seen a glimpse of the God’s face. What is certain is that they see the world differently than most people. For some, their perspective is so different they become dangerous. These people are not all locked up, but the truly dangerous ones can generally be avoided if you take reasonable self-defense precautions. These aren’t the people we’re talking about here.

Most crazy people are relatively harmless and somehow manage to function in society.

Let’s just say crazy has degrees, or shall we say variations.

Certain activities, like Qigong and Kung Fu, tend to attract those who are crazier than others. That is why my friend, a Tai Chi teacher, asked the question. Here’s a summary of what I shared with him.

The Kung Fu crazies are usually those who think they are (or want to be) Bruce Lee reincarnated, or something like that. Most of them are not so much crazy as they are lacking serious perspective. Sadly, they probably won’t get it until they run into someone (perhaps someone who falls on the wrong end of the A-A spectrum) who teaches them a hard lesson.

On the spiritual or Qigong side, you might meet “Thor” (Note: fantasy name changed to protect fantasy identity.) Who is channeling the spirits of deceased Druid Extra- Groovy High Priests from Pluto. Who knows, maybe he is channeling something. While it’s possible for this phenomenon to happen, it is far rarer than people would like to believe. For the most part these people are harmless, and are usually perfectly happy with their current situation. At most they usually just take up a little time while they tell you something about themselves. If you weren’t trying to work with a group of Qigong students, they might even provide you with a plot for a bad Hollywood B movie script.

The third major category of “crazy” people is those in serious need of help. They usually know they need help, but the way they ask for help is, well, not always normal. They might for example, have a real medical problem but blame the root cause of the problem on some nebulous conspiracy. These people can be the most difficult to deal with because their problems often prevent them from getting the help they need. So what should you do when these people show up? Should you shut them out? Should you try to “fix” them?

As Taoist and Buddhist cultivators, we have a concept of synchronicity. That is, things happen, people show up, because of certain conditions. Buddhism relates it to the law of cause and effect. The Chinese would say that “you have common affinity”. Yes, as strange as it sounds, that means that you and “Thor, the Channeled Spirit of the Dead Druid High Priest from Pluto” have a connection.

Buddhism asks its practitioners to have compassion.

Taoism reminds its practitioners that “softness and gentleness is the application of the Tao.”

So, when “Thor” shows ups, consider a few things. First, unless you are in a profession that is qualified to treat that person’s problem with a particular modality, don’t try to fix them. Instead refer them to a professional who you believe can help them. This is just common sense and applies not only to crazy people, but to everyone.

Second, before you give your advice, find something in them to which you can relate. Because they are ‘crazy’ they will likely have a hard time understanding suggestions that imply they aren’t normal. For example, telling “Thor” to “go see an exorcist” is probably not going to help, even if that is what he should do. You see, such a suggestion carries with it so many unwritten connotations that it can be extremely hard for him to accept without other conditions being in place. When you can find something in other people that you can relate to, it means that you have found a way to connect with them. If you can connect with them in a way they can trust, then your gentle suggestion is more likely to be accepted.

Third, you have to learn how to manage the time these people will want to take up in the class. In some cases, you might have to ask them to leave. But in most cases, you can probably find a way to help them, even if just a little bit. For nothing else, a kind word might be in order. In any case, the important point is there is a middle way to walk between having the crazy person disrupt the class and totally shutting them out.

Remember, even crazy people have real problems. Use compassion, wisdom and gentleness. It might even help them. And you might even get a movie plot…

I recently took my 4 year old son to get pizza at one of the local re-developed town centers around Washington DC. These places, though very commercial, are often great fun for the young ones. That evening they happened to feature a local band which was [...]]]> Most people want to be perfect. Not everyone, but most.

I recently took my 4 year old son to get pizza at one of the local re-developed town centers around Washington DC. These places, though very commercial, are often great fun for the young ones. That evening they happened to feature a local band which was going to play some sort of rock-funk synthesis. My son and I thought that was pretty cool.

This band was very serious about their music. They got there an hour early to warm up. Cool, these guys are a little better than “three cords and crank the Marshall to 11.” They were pretty good, for a free concert in the middle of planned town center.

People started showing up to hear them play – it was time to rock!

They kept warming up.

“We just want to get it just right” one of the band member announced.

They kept warming up.

“Hey, it’s DC, it’s okay if we start late, right?” another one said.

They kept warming up. It almost seemed like they were practicing for their next show.

People started leaving.

They kept warming up. They had to get it perfect…

… After all it was rock and roll. And everyone there in the little town square with the makeshift stage could tell if the guitar was slightly off, especially the first generation Chinese lady with her grandson.

More people left.

The band was tired – they spent their entire first set time warming up – they needed a break before they jumped right into rockin’.

Finally, we had to go – two hours is a long time for a 4 year old to wait for the band to get it perfect.

You could tell by their warm up the band was pretty good. But they weren’t exactly Parliament or the Red Hot Chili Peppers or AC/DC.

Two hours warming up just didn’t make them sound any better than they did after a half hour. At least if they had started playing many more people would have been exposed to their music.

This obsession with perfection is understandable in our society – on a certain level it is encouraged, even rewarded.

Unfortunately, it is also one of the greatest barriers to real success in life. Because our obsession with perfection creates a reality that very few can live up to, we often delude ourselves. In many cases this keeps us from accepting responsibility for our own actions or our own situation. It keeps us from really doing something.

Instead of doing something, we spend all our time getting everything just right.

In the end, we don’t do anything, just like this band. It becomes delusion when we think getting ready to do something is the same as doing it. We might wonder why, after we spent two hours warming up, all these people left.

Perfection is certainly one of biggest challenges a student encounters when studying Kung Fu, Qigong or meditation. Instead of just practicing their art, they worry about whether they have the form perfect. Instead of sitting down to meditate, they worry that everything isn’t “just right” for meditation.

The reality is that the form will never be perfect. The conditions will never be ideal for meditation. You just have to do it. Over time, with hard work and good instruction, you will get better.

One day, if you can give up the concept of perfect and replace it with hard work, you might even find you have some attainment.

That is the real meaning of Kung Fu – skill obtained through hard work over time.

Great masters aren’t born. They work hard at it.

Can you find the great master within yourself?

You can if you remember you don’t have to be perfect. All you have to do is do it.

Sometimes, it just needs to be “good enough for rock and roll.”

This video introduces you to the Qigong state and the Five Animal Frolics form [...]]]> The Qigong State and Five Animal Frolics medical Qigong were part of the Qigong credit courses that we taught to holistic nurses at their annual convention this year. All forms of higher cultivation including meditation and Qigong benefit from the Qigong state.

This video introduces you to the Qigong state and the Five Animal Frolics form (the Tiger, Deer and Bear are shown). The full form, along with several other forms, can be found on our Qigong practice DVD available at http://www.filmbaby.com/films/4744

You cannot just read about it or think about it.

You have [...]]]> Real Taoist and Buddhist philosophy is experiential. It is a practical method of living in the world. Even if there is a large body of scholarly work and scriptures written about it, at the end of the day, it is a practical method of living.

You cannot just read about it or think about it.

You have to go out and live it… actually do something.

Imagine you have never had fruit. But, you want to know what it’s like to eat a piece of fruit. What would you do?

Would you go ask an academic who has studied orchards all his life what fruit tastes like? What if he has studied them, but has never tried the fruit? Maybe he could tell you all about the various types of fruit, their scientific classification, which type of soil is better for which type of fruit, whether western peaches are better than eastern ones and so on. But ask him about the experience of say, eating a peach… he can’t tell you.

When I put it that way, it sounds absurd, doesn’t it? No one would do that if they wanted to know what fruit tastes like. They would simply go to someone who had fruit and get it from them and try it.

If you’ve never tasted a peach, you can only know about it intellectually. You have no real understanding – wisdom. It’s like this with scholars and putative masters. They read everything there is about Buddhism, Taoism, Kung Fu, Qigong, Nei Dan, mediation, philosophy, etc and then try to show how much they know. They might have knowledge, but not wisdom. They’ve never practiced it. They’ve never tasted the peach.

So, the first step is to find someone who has actually done it. Then you have to find out if they can teach it. Not all great practitioners are good teachers. But even if they are, there is still one critical part.

You.

You have to actually try it.

It’s great to be educated about something. But knowledge cannot replace real understanding of that thing. You have to actually do it to really know it.

Having someone tell you about it is not the same as actually doing it. It’s like savoring a peach. I can tell you how soft and supple its skin feels against my lips, how firm and tender it feels when I sink my teeth into its flesh, how sweet and refreshing its nectar is as it washes over my tongue…

For me it’s a sublime experience. For you, it’s just voyeurism. You have to find your own peach and taste it. Then you can know what it’s like to taste a peach.

When you come across the scholars and learned ones, ask them if they’ve tried it. Have they tasted the peach?

If they have, then all their scholarship might help. Then they can teach you about it.

But they can’t do it for you. Only you can do it.

That said, Taoism and Buddhism take a middle way. Don’t go to the opposite extreme and reject all scholarship. You don’t have to try every peach you come across. That only creates another set of problems.

Once you’ve tasted a peach then having a discussion about the merits of various peaches makes sense. You have some wisdom gained by experience. Then you can decide if you like western or eastern peaches better.

Personally, I prefer the eastern ones, especially those from the southeast.

But what I prefer is irrelevant. Which one do you prefer?

It’s all about you.

Have you tasted the peach?