My Stories
From time to time I come across experiences around the home or on the farm that I would like to share with others...........
The Water Pipe
Another little story around my farm life and Qigong...
A few weeks ago I was checking the water supply to a couple of our water troughs that sit quite high up in the hills and away from every day observation. When I have stock in these paddocks, it is a necessity for me to check all is well. These water troughs are gravity fed through a pipe with the source being a small stream that is a nestled in a gully in amongst some native bush.
On noticing that the water supply was not flowing, Quinn (my dog) and I tackled the problem by following the pipe line through the bush to reach the stream. It is such a lovely walk though care is needed as there is only a narrow unused ledge to follow and the ground is quite slippery. Quinn loves the opportunity to race around, up and down the sides of the valley amongst the forest litter. There is always a sense of pure nature connection with smells of the bush, birds twittering and a faint background noise of water running. I am never sad when I have to fix this problem.
Quinn and I reached the source and find that the intake area which has a filter system has silted up and needs clearing. Easy enough to do and after a while, clear fresh water is once again flowing out from the intake area. I reconnected the water pipe and made our way back to the water trough to find brown sludgy water pouring into the trough. I quickly disengaged the pipe so the trough did not fill with mud and waited for the water to become clear again.
It was a beautiful sunny spring morning so I sat down on the grass near the trough. Behind me were higher hills covered in both exotic and native trees and facing forwards to the west was the Tasman Sea with a view to the south. I might add that I am probably about 350m above sea level so there was plenty to see from where I sat. With all of that around me, the scenery I had viewed many times, it was in fact the flow of the muddy water out of the pipe on to the grass that took my attention.
I sat and watched as the water became clearer and clearer only for a sudden spurt of muddy water to darken the flow. Again the water would clear and then like before, another spurt of dirty water would exit through the end of the pipe. This went on for quite some time and just when I thought the water pipe was completely clear, more cloudy dirty water would immerge. What was apparent however was that the dirty water was becoming more and more diluted so the clean water entering the pipe was very effectively clearing old muddy residue.
As I sat mesmerised by the flow of water, I got thinking about how the water clearing through the pipe, symbolised much of our work with Qigong. If we have acquired an injury or unwellness, the journey of healing is not direct. It is important that our bodies have access to healthy inputs such as; fresh air, good food, soft movement (Qigong), clear and positive mind, relaxation of mind and body, settled sleep and these inputs are things most of us are aware of. However, very often we may start to heal and have an expectation that the healing process will be smooth and direct. From my observations, nature does not work like that and watching the muddied water clear through the pipe in spurts made it all so obvious. We may start to heal but it takes time and we need to be patient as our body goes through the process of clearing the channels and restoring balance. This may result in perceived mini setbacks but it is all just part of nature and how nature heals.
As students of Qigong we have the privilege of understanding how important it is to ensure our inputs and sources are healthy and to remember that Wild Goose Qigong is specifically designed to help our bodies heal and to help us stay strong and healthy. The very beautiful aspect about Wild Goose Qigong is that by following the principles, being clear with our movements, regular practise, the Qi will flow and do what it has to do to clear our channels, store our energy and strengthen our resilience to injury and illness. Through my practice it helps me to open my eyes and senses to the beautiful world around us and our connections with nature. For this, I am very grateful.
Sifu Belinda
September 2014
Another little story around my farm life and Qigong...
A few weeks ago I was checking the water supply to a couple of our water troughs that sit quite high up in the hills and away from every day observation. When I have stock in these paddocks, it is a necessity for me to check all is well. These water troughs are gravity fed through a pipe with the source being a small stream that is a nestled in a gully in amongst some native bush.
On noticing that the water supply was not flowing, Quinn (my dog) and I tackled the problem by following the pipe line through the bush to reach the stream. It is such a lovely walk though care is needed as there is only a narrow unused ledge to follow and the ground is quite slippery. Quinn loves the opportunity to race around, up and down the sides of the valley amongst the forest litter. There is always a sense of pure nature connection with smells of the bush, birds twittering and a faint background noise of water running. I am never sad when I have to fix this problem.
Quinn and I reached the source and find that the intake area which has a filter system has silted up and needs clearing. Easy enough to do and after a while, clear fresh water is once again flowing out from the intake area. I reconnected the water pipe and made our way back to the water trough to find brown sludgy water pouring into the trough. I quickly disengaged the pipe so the trough did not fill with mud and waited for the water to become clear again.
It was a beautiful sunny spring morning so I sat down on the grass near the trough. Behind me were higher hills covered in both exotic and native trees and facing forwards to the west was the Tasman Sea with a view to the south. I might add that I am probably about 350m above sea level so there was plenty to see from where I sat. With all of that around me, the scenery I had viewed many times, it was in fact the flow of the muddy water out of the pipe on to the grass that took my attention.
I sat and watched as the water became clearer and clearer only for a sudden spurt of muddy water to darken the flow. Again the water would clear and then like before, another spurt of dirty water would exit through the end of the pipe. This went on for quite some time and just when I thought the water pipe was completely clear, more cloudy dirty water would immerge. What was apparent however was that the dirty water was becoming more and more diluted so the clean water entering the pipe was very effectively clearing old muddy residue.
As I sat mesmerised by the flow of water, I got thinking about how the water clearing through the pipe, symbolised much of our work with Qigong. If we have acquired an injury or unwellness, the journey of healing is not direct. It is important that our bodies have access to healthy inputs such as; fresh air, good food, soft movement (Qigong), clear and positive mind, relaxation of mind and body, settled sleep and these inputs are things most of us are aware of. However, very often we may start to heal and have an expectation that the healing process will be smooth and direct. From my observations, nature does not work like that and watching the muddied water clear through the pipe in spurts made it all so obvious. We may start to heal but it takes time and we need to be patient as our body goes through the process of clearing the channels and restoring balance. This may result in perceived mini setbacks but it is all just part of nature and how nature heals.
As students of Qigong we have the privilege of understanding how important it is to ensure our inputs and sources are healthy and to remember that Wild Goose Qigong is specifically designed to help our bodies heal and to help us stay strong and healthy. The very beautiful aspect about Wild Goose Qigong is that by following the principles, being clear with our movements, regular practise, the Qi will flow and do what it has to do to clear our channels, store our energy and strengthen our resilience to injury and illness. Through my practice it helps me to open my eyes and senses to the beautiful world around us and our connections with nature. For this, I am very grateful.
Sifu Belinda
September 2014
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The Rotary Hoe
Lessons in life can present in strange ways. Often we are faced with the learning/teaching cycle. Being a good teacher requires you to be a good learner and I had the privilege or working with a very good tutor last weekend. It was our mechanised garden rotary hoe. Here is my story!
We have a fair bit of garden and one area was long overdue for a makeover. In a rash of decision making I stripped the beds of old and dying foliage and dug up everything else I might like to keep for transplanting. The main reason for digging everything out of the garden was so that I could give the soil a good makeover. It needed gypsum for the gluggy clay and lots of compost all to be dug through in anticipation of a new garden.
I decided the quickest way to get the soil in order was to use our mechanical rotary hoe. I have previously used it for short bursts on our vegetable garden but this garden had a gentle slope and I soon learned, all gardens and their soils are not created equal. I also had a plan to complete all the soil preparation pronto so I could get those plants in quick as, there, job done!
Just in case you are not familiar with mechanised rotary hoes I better explain a little. The machine is self propelled and to get it to move forward, you depress a lever on one of the handles. When you want it to cultivate, you hold the machine back a bit and it starts to cut into the earth under the blades and slowly creeps forward cultivating new earth as it moves along. To stop the rotation of the blades and the forward movement, you release the lever.
The first twenty minutes went just fine. The rotary hoe started (always a bonus) and off we went. I lined up a piece of garden to be cultivated and twenty minutes later it was duly soft and pliable. What was not fine was me. After twenty minutes my body was sore and I had only done about a fifth of the garden. I turned off the machine and took a break. I also stopped to consider why it was working so hard on me. My first concern was the tension and soreness in one of my hands. My hand was not happy so I figured out that while holding the rotary hoe, I needed to give the hand a break during the operation so relax it whenever I could.
Off we went again for the second section. This time I was much smarter and actually far more aware of what I was doing. Previously I had tried to continually pull the machine back to realign, often forgetting to release the forward motion lever.....so it was a “push me pull you” situation. If the machine in anyway became unbalanced, it would simply grab onto the top layer of soil and start to run away......again I had to pull it back. I was also rather impatient and would keep nudging it along, wanting it to do its job faster! Finally..........I learned to RELAX. And here are the lessons that we, as Qigong intstructors know only too well!.
I learned that some things take time. One needs to allow these things (and people or our students) to work at their own pace. Establishing good balance and alignment is essential. Do not resist or work against something or someone who is just doing their job. Sometimes when the things, or people get a bit stuck, we can give them a little nudge and/or helping hand but then they will carry on and work at their own pace.....let them! While these things or people are working at their own pace, relax and enjoy! Take time to breathe, consider your own balance and connection with earth. Let go! Learn to observe with sensitivity how something or someone works so you can work with it or with them, not against.
I guess this example just reminds me to apply our learnings and training to all facets of our lives not just when we are practising or teaching! I finished cultivating the whole garden with the assistance of my new friend, the rotary hoe, and at the end I had not a hint of soreness anywhere!
Sifu Belinda
July 2014
Lessons in life can present in strange ways. Often we are faced with the learning/teaching cycle. Being a good teacher requires you to be a good learner and I had the privilege or working with a very good tutor last weekend. It was our mechanised garden rotary hoe. Here is my story!
We have a fair bit of garden and one area was long overdue for a makeover. In a rash of decision making I stripped the beds of old and dying foliage and dug up everything else I might like to keep for transplanting. The main reason for digging everything out of the garden was so that I could give the soil a good makeover. It needed gypsum for the gluggy clay and lots of compost all to be dug through in anticipation of a new garden.
I decided the quickest way to get the soil in order was to use our mechanical rotary hoe. I have previously used it for short bursts on our vegetable garden but this garden had a gentle slope and I soon learned, all gardens and their soils are not created equal. I also had a plan to complete all the soil preparation pronto so I could get those plants in quick as, there, job done!
Just in case you are not familiar with mechanised rotary hoes I better explain a little. The machine is self propelled and to get it to move forward, you depress a lever on one of the handles. When you want it to cultivate, you hold the machine back a bit and it starts to cut into the earth under the blades and slowly creeps forward cultivating new earth as it moves along. To stop the rotation of the blades and the forward movement, you release the lever.
The first twenty minutes went just fine. The rotary hoe started (always a bonus) and off we went. I lined up a piece of garden to be cultivated and twenty minutes later it was duly soft and pliable. What was not fine was me. After twenty minutes my body was sore and I had only done about a fifth of the garden. I turned off the machine and took a break. I also stopped to consider why it was working so hard on me. My first concern was the tension and soreness in one of my hands. My hand was not happy so I figured out that while holding the rotary hoe, I needed to give the hand a break during the operation so relax it whenever I could.
Off we went again for the second section. This time I was much smarter and actually far more aware of what I was doing. Previously I had tried to continually pull the machine back to realign, often forgetting to release the forward motion lever.....so it was a “push me pull you” situation. If the machine in anyway became unbalanced, it would simply grab onto the top layer of soil and start to run away......again I had to pull it back. I was also rather impatient and would keep nudging it along, wanting it to do its job faster! Finally..........I learned to RELAX. And here are the lessons that we, as Qigong intstructors know only too well!.
I learned that some things take time. One needs to allow these things (and people or our students) to work at their own pace. Establishing good balance and alignment is essential. Do not resist or work against something or someone who is just doing their job. Sometimes when the things, or people get a bit stuck, we can give them a little nudge and/or helping hand but then they will carry on and work at their own pace.....let them! While these things or people are working at their own pace, relax and enjoy! Take time to breathe, consider your own balance and connection with earth. Let go! Learn to observe with sensitivity how something or someone works so you can work with it or with them, not against.
I guess this example just reminds me to apply our learnings and training to all facets of our lives not just when we are practising or teaching! I finished cultivating the whole garden with the assistance of my new friend, the rotary hoe, and at the end I had not a hint of soreness anywhere!
Sifu Belinda
July 2014
