Fire in the Belly: Solala’s blog for 8/4/2014
We talk a lot about the lower dantian in qigong training. Actually we use it also in meditation and nei dan (internal alchemy) practice as well. The lower dantian, while the first (if you count from the bottom) of three dantians, it is considered the foundation level. As in building a house, we have to start at the bottom, rather than at the top. Many people, on first learning meditation, want to start at […]
Quote of the week for 7/28/14
When inner light shines forth, outward appearances are forgotten. It is all too easy to forget what should not be forgotten and not to forget what should be forgotten. This is true forgetfulness! Zhuangzi
Solala blog 7/28/14 Dancing in the Dark
I went to a concert last week with a friend. It was outside of town in a beautiful meadow with a wooden stage at one end. It was great to be in the country and visit with various friends and listen to the deep devotional music of my friend Matura, who was accompanied by much of the cream of Eugene musicians. After his set another pretty amazing musician named Fantuzzi came up on stage and shared his wonderful heart soul […]
Solala Blog 7/16/14
The black girl dog is Lili — short for Lilikoi (Passionfruit) — and the brown boy dog who always smiles and saved Lili’s life when she had kidney troubles as a pup is Koa (like the Hawaiian hardwood). I’ve just returned from a trip to Boulder and Denver. In Boulder I did a short presentation to some of the good folks at Sounds True, my new publisher. It was great to meet some of the people I […]
Solala blog 5/28
Daoist Nature Meditation There was something formed in chaos, coming before heaven and earth, existing in the silent and tranquil void. it stands alone and unchanging, It pervades everywhere without becoming exhausted, it is the mother of heaven and earth. I do not know its name and so call it Dao. For want of a better word I call it great. Being great it is far reaching. It is far reaching yet it returns to its source. Therefore I […]
Solala Blog for 5/1
Just One Flower Toyotomi Hideyoshi had risen from very humble ranks through a combination of guile, cunning, and great courage to become ruler of all of Japan. As a former low-level samurai he could be very fierce. Having been raised on the battlefields of Japan, Hideyoshi was a man of great strength, both of body as well as spirit. He always held himself erect and proud, like the great samurai warrior he was. But this fierce warrior was […]
Opening Like a Flower
Solala’s Blog for week of 3/11/13 The Daphne is blooming, sending its magical fragrance into the air, flowers are popping up in the middle of the lawn and our beloved grandmother willow tree is greening more each day. It seems that winter is transforming into spring, always miraculous, tho I have seen it happen countless times (well, 62 anyway)! I love the changing the seasons, as many of us do. What is it that makes us so happy and excited […]
What is Qigong?
What Is Qigong? by Solala Towler “What is this thing you do?” he asked, hesitantly, over the phone, “this quee gong?” (The transliteration of Chinese being so ridiculous that no one knows how to pronounce anything they read. Taiji teachers all over the country still call it tai chee, people do divination using the eye ching, meaning romantic love in Chinese.) “Is it a martial art?” he asks, “or is it some kind of health practice?” “well,” […]
The Watercourse Way
Solala’s Blog for the week of 2/11/13 One of the things that drew me to Daoism is its deep connection to the earth. It prizes the yin over the yang. For without the earthy yin to act as a stabilizing force, the yang would have nothing to launch up from and would just dissipate. Laozi says, “Know the yang but hold fast to the yin.” The other great image from Laozi is that of water. Water benefits the ten thousand […]
China Tour
A Journey into Daoist China with Solala Towler Hangzhou • Wuyi Mountains • Chengdu • Qingcheng Mountain October 12-27 2019 Join us this October as we explore Daoist China…we will begin our journey in Hangzhou where we will go boating upon the famous West Lake, visit the temple of the famous Daoist alchemist Ge Hong and drink tea at some of the traditional teahouses there…then we will take a fast train to the beautiful Wuyi Mountains in southern China, a […]
