Zurich

Begin the training the same way as beginning the meditation – breath in deeply while activating the body, then each out-breath close down the mind as if going to sleep while listening intently for the sensations of the body releasing, flowing down, aligning, then gently pressing onto the ground – muscle, joint and pressure sensors.

Learn to sense the difference as the Mind moves down into the body and enhanced awareness of the Deep Body sensations grows. Compare that to when you mistakenly keep the mind in the head while trying to be aware of the body, which produces a trance like, fixed stare, ‘mindfulness’ or when you close down the mind ‘as if going to sleep’ but mistakenly fall into a dreamy state where you loose awareness of the space and people around you.

Also note, mental pictures only useful to give the superficial brain consciousness an idea of what is intended. They are no use for actual deep training, as they will keep you up in the head – use the deep body sensors instead.

There are 3 levels of taiji, each with 3 sublevels – giving '9 clouds'. The first 3 sublevels work with the Physical-Etheric body – for those we use the 5 loosenings to train internal movements, the taiji form to train internal forces, tuishou to train energising, activation and connection. The next 3 sublevels work with the Deep Emotional body and the final 3 with the Deep Mental body – for those we use the meditation.

Aim on the 1st 3 sublevels to connect with the Deep Body Intelligence. To do that apply pressure at each moment to refine the body’s habitual patterns. If you don’t the Body’s Intelligence won’t activate and no connection will be achieved.

1st Loosening – as you pass the central position, concentrate down to the foot, allow the leg to bend slightly, but don’t let the centre sink until about 2/3 through the turning. That gently stretches the lightly activating muscles to create a light elastic connection for the centre to sink onto – somewhere between the 2nd and the 3rd timing.

2nd Loosening – concentrate on loosening and aligning the spine as you breath out and sink. Use the downward intention of the mind to lightly activate the muscles connecting the upper-body down onto the lower-body.

3rd Loosening – turn the waist ahead of the trunk to the maximum possible, 30 to 45 degrees. Remember phase one is as the waist begins to turn back, pulling the arm up, over and back (not as you sink forward and lift the arm to the front). That way of pulling the arm up and over occurs constantly through the taiji form.

4th Loosening – arms lift 15 degrees back, when halfway up shoulders begin to sink, 2/3 of the way up elbows begin to sink while hands moves towards ears – listen for the stretch at front of shoulders. Then maintaining forearms at 45 degrees, elbows and hands sink forward together. When hanging loosely, create maximum shoulder movement, with minimum hand movement. When straightening, bring one vertebrae into position at a time.

5th Loosening – 3 moments of ‘levelling off’. While floating between phases 1 & 2. While sinking straight down between phases 2 & 3. While making the small internal circle between phases 3 & 4.

On phase 1 neither bend nor straighten the back leg so it acts as the radius of the rising circle – at the first levelling bend the back leg slightly to reduce the radius, while the front leg continues to straighten. On phase 2, as the back leg bends, neither bend nor straighten the front leg so it acts as the radius of the falling circle – at the 2nd levelling allow the front leg to bend slightly to reduce the radius of curvature, while the back leg continues to bend. On phase 3 both legs bend while the centre advances – at the 3rd levelling keep the front leg bending to prevent the body rising, while the back leg begins to straighten.

For advanced training, on phase 3, gently increase the activation of the front leg as it bends, to provide an elastic training resistance to the increasing force from the back leg. On phase 5 the body either connects down in a figure 8 (when there is forward momentum) or sits down and back slightly as a result of the lightly compressed front leg.

Taiji Form
We use the body to train the mind – the body betrays the state of your mind. Soft and accurate is the base condition for training. If your body is hard, unconsciously activated, it will interfere with deeper levels of training.

Move the centre (waist or pelvic girdle), then move the trunk. Let the shoulders change before moving the arms. Shoulders continuously open and close vertically and horizontally, in response to movement of waist and trunk.

The lower-body cycles through the 5 phases to produce compressive forces. Changes in the waist pass the forces from the legs to the trunk.

The upper body stretches first one way then the other (double-stretching) to produce elastic forces. Changes in the shoulders pass the forces from the trunk to the arms.

Just as we can use the front leg as an elastic resistance to the developing power from the back leg, with a subtle control we can increase the elastic-stretch in any part of the muscle chain by lightly activating the opposing muscles to produce a training resistance. This is only possible when you have fine control of the activating and de-activating of individual muscles. We also use that in applications to change the timing of release of the internal force.

There are a two exercises you should train on your own every day. One is standing on one leg – to challenge yourself, try it with your eyes closed. This will give the balance necessary for the steps, kicks and single leg stances in the taiji form.

The other is training the small circle to push against a wall – rotate the centre under to pull down the spine, sink the shoulders back and down, and the elbows down and forward, to increase the hand-pressure. Only if you train it will you have the motor control to increase the power as the upper-body and arm muscles lengthen and stretch. Or while sitting – place your hands against the edge of the table, then use the small circle to increase the pressure in the hands. You can also do it standing to initiate the ‘Power Step’.

Pushing Hands (Tuishou)
Aim to work the arms between 90 and 135 degrees at the elbow. That will produce 4–5 inches of opening and closing of the hand relative to the body.

Yin and Yang, empty and full, is the special skill of taiji to take control of the connection. The initial (full) point withdraws in the direction of the partner’s intention, then circles smoothly. The second (intercepting) point, neither advances nor retreats but rises or falls to contact then merge with the circle of neutralisation. The first point gradually empties and the intercepting point gradually fills. Then circle back towards the partner.

‘Level off’ to connect lightly to the back foot, as the intercepting point touches. Begin to sink towards the back foot to empty the full point and fill the empty point. Continue to sink while circling forward.

Tuishou is for training the 3rd level of connecting – energising, activation, connection. Where the 2nd and 3rd timing overlap you can train connection and the subtle beginning of internal forces, by using a slight pressure or stretch to make the connection. Then advance the timing to connect with activation – that can occur even before touching. Later, at the depths of the 3rd timing, connect with energising, which overlaps with pure intention.

When reaching out, reach with the intention to connect – not to push nor just to touch.

When you connect, listen down through the person to their connection to the ground. When you sense pressure developing in their body match that pressure by increasing the pressure between your own foot and your hand, using the small internal circle. It may be better to say you increase the connection instead of increase the pressure.

Meditation
Connection is a most important part of the training for internal development. The internal levels can’t be developed on their own. You receive help from something higher, with which you gradually pull yourself up. You receive help through the connections you have formed.

In the meditation, beyond the deep body level, we use simple visualisations of a line of light, a cloud of light, or a picture of someone, to create an initial connection with that person or higher Being. After the initial connection, the visualisation fades to the background and is replaced by a deep sense of the other person or Being.

Behind every intention is a motive. The motive will determine the quality of the intention which will determine the quality of the connection. It’s the same when you connect to the higher Beings. They won’t accept a connection if it’s too rough. In a way, creating the connection is forming a relationship. Once you connect with them, aim to gradually develop a relationship with them. Connections rise one level at a time, through a chain of intelligent beings.

The longer you train and practice meditation, the more time you should spend on the later parts of the meditation (Deep Emotional and Deep Mental). With beginners spend more time on the earlier parts of the meditation – to bring the Mind down into the body then energise the middle dantian It would be a mistake to teach beginners to concentrate in the upper dantian.

The main work for a long time is on the level of the Deep Emotions. You have to clear out what’s blocking your internal growth. But the development can only completely happen with help from above. If there are periods when it feels like you’re making an effort but don’t see results, it may be due to spiritual pride blocking that help.

If you have children, the child to parent connection will create pressure to evolve on the Deep Emotional level, as long as you don’t deliberately cut yourself off from that relationship. If you don’t have a child, then it’s possible to develop your Deep Emotions through your close connections to others.

The solar system is our home. The Earth is a temporary place where we live. The planets are large energy fields, just like we are each an energy field. Each planet has a Keeper, and nothing enters the planet's energy field without the Keeper overseeing it. The Inner Guide is your personal Keeper – they guard your personal energy field. Guides protect children completely, up to a certain age. After that point, because people have free will, the Guide will stand back if you choose to do something foolish against their advice.

You can ask your guide for help with your spiritual work. Your Guide knows a large amount about the internal worlds, but it’s not correct to approach them seeking information about the external world or regarding your outer life. The guide has no direct knowledge of what you’re doing in the physical world. It is expected that you use your own intelligence on each of the levels to manage your own life – you evolve through that experience.

The Inner Guide is centred on the Deep Mental, which is very distant from the Physical-Etheric world. They can also operate freely within the Deep Emotional realm, so understand you well on that level. Any response they make to you will be on those high levels, so you would usually not be conscious of the response. You definitely shouldn’t expect to hear a voice in response to your questions. Hearing a voice in your head is almost certainly an Etheric event – either your own mind or some interferring low-level Being which will lead you astray.

The Guide, centred in the Deep Mental, would seldom descend below the upper third of the Deep Emotional. Conscious contact with the Guide seldom happens before the 3rd-Initiation, and more generally only after the 4th. As you develop so does the Guide – by the time you reach the 3rd-Initiaion the Guide has moved to the 4th and is based in the 4th energy level. You are always at least one level behind them!

Your physical teacher, assuming they are past the 3rd-Initiation, is your connection to the higher levels. The Keeper of the Earth connects the 3rd-Force to the teacher, which they then unconsciously distribute to their sincere students. Consequently only a school headed by someone past the 3rd-Initiation can support an Inner School within the outer school.

You can only connect directly to one level above the level of your own Inner Being. In early stages of inner growth the Guide is too distant to help your directly, a physical teacher is necessary. Only after the 3rd-Initiation does the Guide, themselves then past the 4th, take a more active role in teaching. It is a sign of developing spiritual pride when students begin to imagine that they are being taught directly from higher beings, such as their Guide or the teacher's teachers, or even the 3 Divine forces.

When I began with Abdullah, I asked him how often I should attend the meetings. He told me that I should come as often as possible, because there would be an energy available at those meetings. So I did as he said. Then years later, Abdullah told me that out of everyone in the group, I had come to the meetings the most. It turned out that I had, but attending the most wasn’t my aim. I had just done what he advised me to do.

Schools form around genuine teachers as a structure through which they express their teaching. When the teacher dies that structure should dissolve and those students past the 3rd-Initiation should form their own new schools. That's what Abdullah and Master Huang expected from their students, and its what I would hope for from my students. If not dissolved the structure will become an empty shell, gradually taken over by power seeking students.