Gualala Arts Promoting public interest and participation in the arts since 1961
Taoist Talks at Gualala Arts:
Staying Healthy With The Seasons series –
the ancient Taoist Arts perspective on longevity.
March 17: Spring Equinox and the Mystery of Transforming Anger into Forgiveness
As Spring arrives all of Nature is full of vitality – growing, expanding, moving upward. Within us, vision is becoming clearer and plans are developing. Things are starting to move.
As young shoots come up through the ground, they lack the rigidity that they will have as they mature into plants. For now they are supple, flexible and malleable.
And they offer an example for us. As the Yang energy builds within us and propels us along our course, we too need to be flexible and yielding. The natural push forward will certainly bring us up against obstacles, and if we don’t want to crash against them, we will need to soften and flow around them – maintaining our momentum and our focus on the our longer vision.
Within ourselves can we nurture our momentum and yet stay flexible enough to smoothly slide by the obstacles that arise? How can we be appropriate in the Spring season? What does the traditional Chinese Taoist perspective suggest about working with the emotions and energies of this time of year? Can we transform our anger into kindness and forgiveness?
This will be a talk about engaging with the energies of Spring. We will look at the cycle of the whole year, and think about what is most natural to pursue in this time of surging Yang. And we will explore a simple practice for transforming emotional energy.
No previous experience or knowledge is needed. Part of the Global Harmony Arts series at Gualala Arts Center.
For further information: www.birdsongclinic.com
May 4: The Movement from Spring into Summer – a Taoist perspective
The movement from Spring into Summer has a unique energy in the cycle of the year. What activities and aspirations are most appropriate? What can you do to be most in harmony with Nature at this particular time of year? What practices and perspectives can provide the smoothest flow through this season?
As the days lengthen and warm up, the body’s energy becomes more open and interactive with the world around it. We will look at Summer as a time to focus on the health and functioning of the heart.
This will be a practical talk about engaging with the energies of this season. We will look at the cycle of the whole year, and think about what is most natural to accomplish as Spring moves into Summer. We will also learn simple practices for strengthening health and staying in balance at this time of year.
No previous experience or knowledge is needed.
For further information: www.birdsongclinic.com
June 16: The Summer Solstice – a Taoist perspective
With the Summer solstice, Yang reaches it’s zenith, and at that moment the very first beginnings of Yin’s growth appear. This is a bright moment, and at the same time, the turning point in the great yearly cycle.
How can we make the most of this long-daylight time of year? And how do we prepare for the gradual resurgence of Yin? What are the opportunities and challenges to our health?
What can we do to be most in harmony with Nature at this particular time of year? What practices and perspectives can provide the smoothest flow through this season?
This will be a practical talk about engaging with the energies of this part of summer. We will look at the cycle of the whole year, and think about what is most natural to accomplish after we have passed the solstice. We will also learn simple practices for strengthening health and staying in balance at this time of year.
No previous experience or knowledge is needed. Part of the Global Harmony Arts series at Gualala Arts Center
For further information: www.birdsongclinic.com
February 4: The Approach of Spring and the Mystery of Eternal Youth
Youth is part of the cycle of life. And we only go through a single revolution of that cycle in our lifetime. But our life is still part of the greater energy of Nature all around us – and that greater energy that we’re part of is eternally cycling back through youth, through the stage of “being young” – everyday another early morning, every month another waxing moon, every year another Springtime.
So that even as the arc of our own life ushers us through the linear seasons of our aging, Nature continually gives us access to the energies of youth and beginnings.
As Spring approaches, let us be reckless! Let us be unplanned! Let us be wide-eyed! Let us be inspired! Let us be unburdened! Let us be inexhaustible!
Let us allow the sun’s inexorable climb into the sky, and the warmth and the burgeoning vitality course freely through our sinews and move us in unanticipated ways, quickly, without giving our worries and concerns a chance to catch up! Let us revel in the finite moments of early Spring, and be taken by Nature to wherever she chooses to lead!
We’ll have plenty of time to reflect on the wisdom of all this when Autumn arrives. For now, let the journey begin!
This will be a talk about engaging with the approach of Spring. We will look at the cycle of the whole year, and think about what is most natural to pursue in this period of reawakening Yang. And we will explore a simple practice for cleansing ourselves in the energy swirling around us.
No previous experience or knowledge is needed. Part of the Global Harmony Arts series at Gualala Arts Center
For further information: www.birdsongclinic.com
Karl is currently teaching small classes on the coast in Trail Walking Meditation, Tai Chi style movement, and other Taoist arts. Karl has been a student of classical Chinese health and healing practices since 1981. He learned Taoist meditation and healing practices from Master Mantak Chia, Taoist spiritual philosophy from Sifu Liu Ming, Taoist medicine theory and application from Taoist Jeffrey Yuen, and Tai Chi and Zhan Zhuang practices from Sifu Fong Ha.
Karl formerly taught Chi Kung and meditation at the Shiatsu Institute in San Francisco, the Acupressure Institute in Berkeley, and at the Center For Living in San Francisco, as well as being Director of the International Healing Tao Video Library, and teaching private classes extensively in the Bay Area.