Tao of Letting Go: Meditation for Modern Living

180 Pages·2009·21.81 MB·English

by  Bruce Frantzis

GO
TAO OF
LETTING
MODERN
MEDITATION FOR LIVING
THE TAOIST WATER TRADITION PASSED DOWN BY LAO TSE
;
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DENVER PUBLIC LIBRARY
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FRANTZIS
AUTHOR OF THE CHI REVOLUTION
Digitized by the Internet Archive
2012
in
http://archive.org/details/taooflettinggomeOOfran
TAO OF LETTING GO
Other Books by Bruce Frantzis
Relaxinginto YourBeing (TAOMeditation, Volume I):
Chi, BreathingandDissolvingInnerPain
The GreatStillness (TAOMeditation, Volume 2):
BodyAwareness, MovingMeditation andSex Chi Gung
The ChiRevolution:
Harness the HealingPowerof YourLife Force
Opening the Energy Gates ofYourBody:
Chi GungforLifelongHealth
The PowerofInternalMartialArts and Chi:
CombatandEnergy Secrets ofBa Gua, Tai ChiandHsing-I
Tai Chi: HealthforLife;
Why It WorksforHealth, Stress ReliefandLongevity
Dragon andTigerMedicalChi GungInstruction Manual
TAO OF LETTING GO
MEDITATION FOR MODERN LIVING
Bruce Frantzis
fBLUESNAKEBOOKS
BERKELEY.CALIFORNIA
TAO ofLettingGo:MeditationforModern Living
Copyright © 2009 by Bruce Frantzis.All rightsreserved. Noportion ofthis book,except
for briefreviews, may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any
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without written permission ofthe publisher.
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Printed in the United States ofAmerica
PLEASENOTE:ThepracticeofTaoistenergyartsandthemeditativeartsmaycarryrisks.
The information in this book is not in any way intended as a substitute for medical, men-
tal or emotional counseling with a licensed physician or healthcare provider. The reader
should consult a professional before undertaking any martial arts, movement, meditative
arts, health or exercise program to reduce the chance of injury or any other harm that
may result from pursuing ortrying any technique discussed in this book.Any physical or
otherdistress experienced during or after any exercise should not be ignored and should
be brought to the attention of a healthcare professional. The creators and publishers of
this book disclaim any liabilities for loss in connection with following any ofthe prac-
tices described in this book, and implementation is at the discretion,decision and risk of
thereader.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Frantzis,BruceKumar.
Thetaooflettinggo:howtomeditate/BruceFrantzis.
p.cm.
ISBN978-1-55643-808-0
1. Meditation-Taoism. I.Title.
BL1923.F742009
299.5'14435--dc22
123456789 Peter Schultz Printing 14 13 12 11 10 09
5 3
1 1
CONTENTS
DEDICATION
1 1
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
1
FOREWORD
1
INTRODUCTION 17
Why Meditate? 7
1
Integrating the Experiences of Your Life 1 8
What Is Meditation? 19
Lao Tse's Tradition 2
Balancing Expectations 21
An Education about Your Inner World 22
CHAPTER The WaterTradition ofTaoist Meditation 25
1:
Inner versus Outer Wealth 25
The Water Tradition 26
Balance, Then Compassion 27
The 70 Percent Rule 27
Old View for the New World 28
Accepting the Here and Now 29
The Dissolving Method 30
CHAPTER
2: Breathing and Body Awareness 33
The Stress Response 33
Longevity Breathing 34
^
Personal Practice Session 35
1
<&&?Author-guided Practice Session 1 35
Becoming Present 36
Physiology of the Breath 36
The Internal Organs of the Body 37
^
Personal Practice Session 2 38
Greatest Transformative Benefit with the Least Effort 38
^Author-guided Practice Session 2 39
CHAPTER
3: Body Alignments for Sitting Meditation 4
Physical Mechanics 41
Find Your Alignments 42
6 TAOofLetting Go
Know Thy Kwa 46
The Solution: Stretch and Keep the Kwa Open 48
Exercises to Stretch the Kwa 49
^Author-guided Practice Session 3 53
Sit Well, Be Grounded 53
CHAPTER 4: Blockages: Recognizing the Four Conditions 57
Strength 57
$£& Personal Practice Session 3 59
Tension 60
g^ Personal Practice Session 4 61
When Something Doesn't Feel Quite Right 63
^
Personal Practice Session 5 65
Contraction 66
g& Personal Practice Session 6 66
^Author-guided Practice Session 4 67
Putting It All Together 68
gj^ Personal Practice Session 7 68
The Present Is Freedom 72
Make Time Anytime 73
CHAPTER 5: The Dissolving Method:
A Process ofLetting Go 75
The Eight Energy Bodies 76
Nervous Tension 77
Letting Go into Happiness 77
Outer and Inner Dissolving 79
Letting Go Externally and Internally 80
^
Personal Practice Session 8 82
^Author-guided Practice Session 5 83
Let Go, Chi Flows 84
^
Personal Practice Session 9 85
CHAPTER 6: DeepeningYour Dissolving Practice 87
The Value of Outer Dissolving 87
The Value of Inner Dissolving 88
What Should Let Go Of? 89
I
Cutting the Root of an Agenda 90
Applying the Mind's Intent 90
Beyond Past, Present and Future 91
7 5
1
Contents 7
^
Personal Practice Session 10 92
Beyond Ordinary Conscious Thought 93
(§£ Personal Practice Session 1 1 94
v£K Author-guided Practice Session 6 95
Freedom Space 95
Is
CHAPTER 7: The Descending Current ofChi:
From Heaven to Earth 97
Targeting Specific Blockages 98
Your Intuition Is the Guide 99
^Author-guided Practice Session 7 101
Penetrating the Core of a Blockage 101
CHAPTER 8: How toTrain the Monkey Mind 1 03
Calming the Monkey 103
Distraction after Clearing Blocks 104
^&?Author-guided Practice Session 8 05
1
Dissolving a Psychic Itch 105
CHAPTER 9: Dissolving Emotions and Shock 1 09
Feeling Emotions below the Surface 109
J^ Personal Practice Session 12 09
1
^Author-guided Practice Session 9 111
Letting Go Begins with Your Intention 1 1 1
The Courage to Practice 1 1 2
Dissolving Shock 12
1
CHAPTER
10: Dissolving Fog and Depression
1 1
Deceptive Internal Dialogue 1 16
Face or Happiness—It's Your Choice 1 1
Depression Is a Black Hole 1 1 8
^^Author-guided Practice Session 10 118
Oh, You Think Life Is Fair?! 119
CHAPTER
11: TenThousand Agendas and the Greatest
Poverty in Existence 2
1
Formulating an Agenda 121
^Author-guided Practice Session 11 123
The Beast of Greed 23
1
Loneliness 23
1
The Antidote to Greed 1 24
1 1 1
8 TAOofLetting Co
CHAPTER 12: Anxiety: The Disease ofthe Modern Age 25
1
The Energy of Overwhelmingness 26
1
^Author-guided Practice Session 12 1 26
The Mentality of an Overachiever 1 27
Find theJoy that's Already Here 1 27
Perfection in Imperfection 1 28
Finding Space with Clarity 1 30
CHAPTER 13: Anger and Frustration as Agendas 1 3
Don't Wait for an Explosion 1 3
^^Author-guided Practice Session 13 132
^When Everyone Is the Enemy 133
Personal Practice Session 13 34
1
Denial Is Anger's Partner 1 35
CHAPTER 14: Fear as an Agenda 1 37
Confronting the Fear of Not Existing 1 38
Dissolving Fear as an Agenda 139
^Author-guided Practice Session 14 141
Spacing Out and Internal Fog 141
Unexpressed Fear 142
Bodily Fear 142
The Three Aspects of Fear 143
The Root of All Fear 144
CHAPTER 15: Pain as an Agenda 1 45
Physical Pain 145
^Author-guided Practice Session 15 147
Becoming a Mature Human Being 147
The Pain of Thought 149
<g&Author-guided Practice Session 16 150
Emotional Pain 150
<S&Author-guided Practice Session 17 151
Loss of a Loved One 15
&&>Author-guided Practice Session 18 153
Other Kinds of Loss 153
Dissolving Your Pain 153