Living Zen

Really powerful video on the effect that a traumatic events in childhood have on our adult life. These men at an extreme, yet we may need to realise that we have experienced shame and guilt. This impacts on our adult life and we shrug it off not understanding that it is having a deep psychological effect. Ask yourself a simple question

Would you step into the circle ?

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Step Inside the Circle Unaddressed childhood trauma changes how we respond to the world and when triggered, we make choices that sometimes have devastating consequences including domestic…

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Worth watching as it show a mans compassion in the moment. Truly Zen in my opinion

Below is an email I sent out to a private students and I wanted to share it, so people get an idea of my experience and what I bring when teaching :)

I am happy to do 1-1, the way I work is objective focused so working on what the client/students want or needs. To help this process I would like ask couple of question and present some background info about Chi Kung.

I am sure that you are aware of this, but I would like to give a back ground about the term and art of Chi Kung. The translation of the word Chi and Kung can be poorly misunderstood and dont translate literally into English. Chi can mean air, breath, energy etc and Kung can mean work, skill, process.. The translation of Chi Kung that I like is the Skill/art of Energy. There are literally hundreds/thousands of systems that all have different content eg such as patterns/movements. And all systems have a focus which can be generalised into four main categories of Health, Martial, Spiritual and Scholarly. At the essence of all these systems are skills, such as the skill of relaxation that is applied to the threes treasures of Jing, Chi and Shen or mind, energy and Physical. The relaxation of Body- is loosening the muscles, connective tissue, posture- Relaxation of Energy- breath, sensation and emotion are expression of "energy"- Relaxation of Mind/Spirit - cognitive thinking, unconscious reaction and intuition.

I hope this gives you an understanding of how I approach in teaching this art :), what informs it all is your needs and wants. I can also produce some useful tools such as audios of doing the body scan and relaxation.

So with all this in mind I would like to ask to the 2 questions

1) What is it would you like from the sessions and do you have an objective that you would like to work towards- for example I want to do a series of movements that open my joints, or increase my overall mobility. Or more deeper I would like to have some influence over my thinking >

2) In our past conversations you said that you had learnt Chi Kung when you were studying the Tai Chi. Is it that particular system of Chi Kung that you would like to refresh ? If so can you recall the name of the system ? Or would you be open to learning something extra ?

From my partners in Fully Alive. Chi Kung in action :)

We teach in lots of different places and circumstances. Got some lovely feedback from someone at the hospital, on the benefits of practising Chi Kung.

We all carry experiences that negatively effect us, and we have learned ways of coping with them. In my work with people from every walk of life, I see a huge contributing factor that can radically change those coping strategies and skills to ones of transformation and release. That is the ability to have kindness and compassion for ourselves.

We learn this and we can literally change the world, by transforming how we act towards ourselves and people. This has a ripple effect in the world.

Inspiration and moments of change are unique to all of us, and some come from the most unlikely sources....this man shares a wonderful experience of this

How learning compassion for himself from an unexpected source. Helped him to avoid continuing a cycle of abuse and how he is working with other to break it.

And then I found this.

"I don’t mean to dishonor the other stories here. But there is one I wanted to add.

A good portion of my pro-bono work is defending abused children. It’s a cause close to my heart. In the course of my work I met a man who was an adult survivor. You wouldn’t have known it looking at him. He was this gigantic Polynesian guy. Wild curly hair. I think of him every time I see Khal Drogo on GoT. He was counseling some of the little kids, and doing a fantastic job of it.

I visited his home to get his opinion on something and I noticed a little toy on his desk. It was Trolley. Naturally curious, I asked him about it. This is what he told me:

“The most dangerous time for me was in the afternoon when my mother got tired and irritable. Like clockwork. Now, she liked to beat me in discreet places so my father wouldn’t see the bruises. That particular day she went for the legs. Not uncommon for her. I was knocked down and couldn’t get back up. Also not uncommon. She gave me one last kick, the one I had come to learn meant ‘I’m done now’. Then she left me there upstairs, face in the carpet, alone. I tried to get up, but couldn’t. So I dragged myself, arm over arm, to the television, climbed up the tv cabinet and turned on the TV.

“And there was Mr. Rogers. It was the end of the show and he was having a quiet, calm conversation with those hundreds of kids. In that moment, he seemed to look me in the eye when he said ‘And I like you just for being you’. In that moment, it was like he was reaching across time and space to say these words to me when I needed them most.

“It was like the hand of God, if you’re into that kind of thing. It hit me in the soul. I was a miserable little kid. I was sure I was a horrible person. I was sure I deserved every last moment of abuse, every blow, every bad name. I was sure I earned it, sure I didn’t deserve better. I *knew* all of these things … until that moment. If this man, who I hadn’t even met, liked me just for being me, then I couldn’t be all bad. Then maybe someone could love me, even if it wasn’t my mom.

“It gave me hope. If that nice man liked me, then I wasn’t a monster. I was worth fighting for. From that day on, his words were like a secret fortress in my heart. No matter how broken I was, no matter how much it hurt or what was done to me, I could remember his words, get back on my feet, and go on for another day.

“That’s why I keep Trolley there. To remind me that, no matter how terrible things look, someone who had never met me liked me just for being me, and that makes even the worst day worth it to me. I know how stupid it sounds, but Mr. Rogers saved my life.”

The next time I saw him, he was talking to one of my little clients. When they were done with their session, he helped her out of her chair, took both of her hands, looked her in the eyes and said: “And remember, I like you just for being you.”

That, to me, is Mr. Rogers’ most powerful legacy. All of the little lives he changed and made better with simple and sincere words of love and kindness."

Zen can be found in anything and is reflected by a mastery that looks fluid and at ease. In my opinion it id a uniting of a still spirit and relaxed body.......

Words that I try to live up to. Being human all I can give us my best effort

"I sincerely believe that if we react with more compassion to ourselves then we will be able to close down our inner critic..By having the experience of being non judgemental, we can start to reduce emotions like guilt, shame and fear. This helps to let go of those behaviors and thoughts that make us avoid feeling these emotions, when that happens then we start to live life in a deeper way. From here we can create change that is stronger and more meaningful that naturally goes out into the world".

Mark Appleford

This is a small paragraph from a piece and audio that I produced on Self Compassion.....If you would like me to send it to you then please email me at [email protected]

Here is a great example of Flowing Zen in an intense situation. To be in the zone where you flow and react beyond thought takes a lot of training and experience. When you train it one area you can apply to others in life.

I also love the sportsmanship at the end show by Lomanchenkoe to Sosa ;)

A good training partnet is worth their weighy in gold. Filipino Martial Arts are fantastic for developing flow, mindfulness and are an eady vehicle for play. To me they are also art that lets you experience Flowing Zen

https://www.instagram.com/p/BdAtPTgHNwm/ .

Instagram post by Rannoch Donald • Dec 22, 2017 at 4:28pm UTC 2 Likes, 2 Comments - Rannoch Donald () on Instagram: “Huge shout out to my training partner Mark Appleford fir all this early morning park…”

This is a paragraph for an article/PDF for Self Compassion

"I sincerely believe that if we react with more compassion to ourselves then we will be able to close down our inner critic.. By having the experience of being non judgemental we can start to reduce emotions like guilt, shame and fear. This helps to let go of those behaviors and thoughts that make us avoid feeling these emotions, when that happens then we start to live life in a deeper way. From here we can create change that is stronger and more meaningful that naturally goes out into the world."

If you would like a copy of it and the audio please message me at [email protected]

Sharing some of my thoughts about what Zen might be :)

https://www.living-zen.com/single-post/2017/12/11/What-is-Zen-

What is Zen ? | livingzen What is Zen ? First we need to recognise that “Zen” is many things and I am going to share with you my own thoughts and opinions on what some of them are. Firs...

We can talk and explore compassion deeply, find out the essence of it. yet if it is not applied then it is still at the level of intellect and cognition

I find it hard to give them money as I know that in Edinburgh there can be high proportion of people begging for drugs, alcohol. How do I know this, because I worked with the homeless and addiction teams.

I find it hard, because I dont want to create harm for people and I know that they are suffering and sometimes they want that to stop or go away for a period of time.

Yet they are human and have ended up in a bad situation often by circumstances. And when we see them we often find ourselves unconsciously judging them and then feel guilt about doing it.

What I try and do is at least make eye contact, smile and say no thank you. This helps them connect on some level to a human who is not ignoring them and it helps you not judge and get into that guilt cycle......

This is one way I try to apply compassion, try it yourself

And who knows you may stop and have a longer chat :)

Compassion is something that is needed in the world. It is my experience that people to understand and learn self compassion. In my efforts to help with the growth of Self Compassion, here is an audio that may help you experience this

https://www.dropbox.com/s/a2p4adzg7hpentk/Self%20Compassion%20Audio.MP3?dl=0

Disclaimer-Like all self help audio recordings, This recording is not intended to be a substitute or replacement for any treatment, counselling or prescription from your health care practitioner. If you suspect you have any medical and/or psychological condition, or you are aware of having underlying trauma, you should first consult with your personal health care practitioner or mental health professional who will advise on their suitability for you

Self Compassion Audio.MP3 Shared with Dropbox

We have the warriors evolution at Living Zen.....here is a man that has walked that path for many years and is a master in the true sense.

And someone I am blessed to be learning from....I give you an insight into to Bob Breen

Interview with Bob Breen I was lucky enough to get an interview with Martial Arts Superstar Bob Breen about his thoughts on pad training. Enjoy. There is plenty of gold in this int

What is your story that becomes your "only" that defines you

Words of wisdom from Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: “The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.”

In her excellent TED talk, "The danger of a single story," Adichie discusses how "Our lives, our cultures, are composed of many overlapping stories... and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding." To watch her talk, visit http://bit.ly/U5t0Hy

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie recently published a short book offering guidance on raising girls to become strong, independent women, "Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions" at http://www.amightygirl.com/dear-ijeawele

She is also the author of several acclaimed novels including "Purple Hibiscus" (http://amzn.to/1q9TXCd), "Half of a Yellow Sun" (http://amzn.to/1uEGVSx), and "Americanah"(http://amzn.to/1qHkCN9), as well as the essay "We Should All Be Feminists" (http://amzn.to/1RVdM0u).

For stories of girls and women confronting the prejudice that can result from a one-dimensional or stereotypical understanding of others - be it due to gender, class, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, or religion - visit our "Prejudice & Discrimination" book section at http://amgrl.co/1eKNGjg