Sifu Ford Edward’s extensive experience in the martial and healing arts of Northern Shaolin Kung Fu, Tai Chi Ch’uan, and Chi Kung therapy, as well as his training in Chinese Energetic Medicine, make him a true chi master – and I was therefore thrilled and honored to work with him on a new and powerful approach to energetic healing. Since it combines the higher consciousness energy of Reiki with the chi building of Chi Kung, and techniques from Kung Fu and Tai Chi, we are calling it REI CHI.
Rei Chi is a stand alone technique, but can also be easily integrated into other energy practices and will serve as an enhancement to both the healer and the receiver. It is a technique that is focused at the cellular level, so the healing possibilities are unlimited.
We truly believe that this is a significant time in our global history, and we both felt the importance of opening up our healing work to its full potential. This then means that we opened to the ways in which we could take the experiences and knowledge we had gained in our energy practices, and expand upon them. We mean no disrespect to our teachers, and the energy systems that have brought us to this point, but also felt that our duty was to grow with the energy itself, and to make our small contribution to the healing that the world calls out for.
And so, it is with great gratitude that we have come to REI CHI, and we look forward to sharing it with you. Our first introductory workshop will be on September 6th, at the GeniusWork Ki-Do. Check out the Events page!
Sakada
I took a class that focused on how to look like an expert. A question kept nagging at me – shouldn’t we be talking about how to become an expert, not just look like one?
Add to this nagging question, the definition I was once given of a “master.” The idea was that a true master did not have to speak of his/her virtues –That if there was really something there, others would speak of it. Now I am not saying that I am a true master, but I am saying that this idea of not spending my time on this blog or website telling you how good I am, seems, well, refreshing to me. There are, so many other things to talk about!
Finally, while I am third generation Japanese American, I am, in certain respects, quite Japanese. I still don’t find I want to horrify my parents and ancestors by blatantly and obviously talking about myself in a boastful manner. Of course, I am not so Japanese that I am sitting quietly at home waiting for you to notice me either. Balance.
One more finally: I have learned that the wisest people I have come across get that they don’t know everything and are therefore, always students. My favorite teachers were completely open to learning from their students. Not always so much in the subject matter, but in so many other ways. Even going a step further, I would say that I really gained confidence in what I know, when I realized I know “nothing.”
I am now worried, that in my own way, I just bragged and implied that I am a humble master. Well, all I can say is that I am very wabi-sabi – and happy to claim that.
People ask me if GeniusWork is spiritual, and if so, why I did not include this term when defining GeniusWork. I definitely think that when one (person, community, or world) finds his/her/its GeniusWork life, that that life will truly be about a level of spirituality that is profound and deep –which is the way I like my spirituality.
And yet, I will be honest – The word “spiritual” seems to be bandied about these days, in ways that seem to lessen it. Maybe it is simply because words are actually inadequate to convey spirituality. Maybe it is because the marketers have gotten to the word, and so are using it to sell you things – everything from books and coaching sessions, to products and media. Maybe it is because the logic and the ego may try to box it into a corner and offer it up as an answer to all your questions.
So I ask you to answer this question for yourself. Kristina mentioned the “spiritual and creative flow,” with an understanding that the two go together. And I know that for me, the way of GeniusWork is one that is very much fueled by a spiritual longing and exploration. I know that when Ann asked me if I was doing my GeniusWork, the resonance of the question entered me on many levels. I also know, that Rilke advised me years ago, to be willing to live the question.
In spirit,
Sakada
Those of you who have been to this site before will note that the focus of the site has changed, or should I say, broadened. Originally, I was taking very good advice about narrowing my focus to make it easier to be identified by potential clients and search engines. I completely understand the great logic and wisdom of this, but sometimes, it is wisest to be unwise.
And so, in all its wabi-sabi-ness, here is GeniusWork as a work in progress. Yes, I would like all of you to consider coaching with me, as you explore your GeniusWork life, or specifically, your work in writing, art, and/or energy. I would like you to join GeniusWork workshops and participate in GeniusWork events. But most of all, I would like to see a growing and diverse community of GeniusWorkers. Just as I would like to see individuals integrate the various aspects of the themselves into their GeniusWork life, so I would like to see various aspects of our communities join in collaboration to benefit all of us. Am I sounding too kumbaya?
Also, as a coach, I don’t want to say to you that I have a foolproof, five-step program for living happily ever after. As a workshop facilitator, I don’t want to promise you that you can write a novel in five weeks. In fact, I don’t even want to focus you on the product. I believe that if you focus on the process, the product will take care of itself. Remember that old cliché about life being about the journey, not the destination. Don’t you want the “products” of your life to truly reflect you, to truly speak to and of you, to emerge from you?
And so, let’s blow the conventional business advice up. Let’s find a way to all prosper and thrive and make “jazz.” I invite you to join me in coaching sessions, and at GeniusWork workshops and events, and also invite you to share on this blog, through your comments, your own unique path to, and questions about, the GeniusWork life.
Best,
Sakada
P.S. A very special tip of my hat to Tim for kicking me out of the box, shaking me by the shoulders, and pushing me off the cliff, then directing me off the main highway, and throwing me out of the convention – so that GeniusWork could take its full breath! Thank you Tim!
In A Poetry Handbook, Mary Oliver wrote: “Writers must…take care of the sensibility that houses the possibility of poems.” Oh yes! – And I extend this to all writers and artists. I urge you all to understand that this “sensibility” is not something that is easily just turned on, but rather, is something that you cultivate in everything you do in your life.
I remember when I was young and pursuing my photography work, amidst people who loved and cared about me, and therefore urged more practical pursuits. They recommended that I do my photography on weekends. And for a bit of time I took their advice and ended up judging myself a photography failure for not being able to quickly and instantly turn on my creative sensibilities, after working 40 hours at a job that was very far from being my GeniusWork.
So I ask you: What do you need to do for yourself so that your life is the life of a writer/artist? I understand that you can’t sit around contemplating clouds all day, as some romantic versions of a writer conjures up, but neither can you fit your writing into a busy schedule with only a small slot that fits between working out and work, with no attention to the care it takes to “be” in that place where the possibilities of writing can flourish. Furthermore, I suggest that the care of your sensibility can be done throughout your day, not just during the “writing slot.”
Write on!
Sakada
To add to what Jimmy told us in the previous posting, I offer a quote from Thich Nhat Hanh:
“The almond tree is itself truth, reality, your own self. Of all the people who have passed by your yard, how many have really seen the almond tree? The heart of an artist may be more sensitive; hopefully he or she will be able to see the tree in a deeper way than many others. Because of a more open heart, a certain communion already exists between the artist and the tree. What counts is your own heart. If your heart is not clouded by false views, you will be able to enter into a natural communion with the tree. The almond tree will be ready to reveal itself to you in complete wholeness. To see the almond tree is to see the way.”
Ahh, the heart of a writer/artist!
Sakada
Jimmy Mirikitani is an artist and the star of The Cats of Mirikitani, a PBS documentary. The documentary filmmaker is the woman who brought him into her home after 9-11, because he was living on the streets in NYC. It is an amazing film and I highly recommend it.
I mention it because Jimmy, who says he is a natural born artist, tells the filmmaker at one point, “I’m an artist. I know you inside, inside the heart.” Jimmy is right – This is how writers and artists know people, they know them inside.
This is certainly part of living like a writer. If you think about it, I would bet that you “know the inside” of people you encounter, especially since we are all natural born artists. So cultivate this knowing, in your writing, and in your life – both will be richer for it.
Sakada
P.S. Thanks to Renee Lackey, the artist who gifted me with this film.
A fabulous poet I know, John J. Trause, defines a poet as “someone who doesn’t necessarily write poetry, but who lives poetically, who sees the world in a really different way and wants to express that world.”
This I want to say to all writers. Yes, it is of course important to write. We all know the story about the man who prayed to win the lotto. God had to finally ask him to help out a bit by buying a lotto ticket!
But let us also listen to Trause – Live your life as a writer. In doing this, your life will be a creation itself and your writing will prosper. Live your life deeply and your stories and poems will “know” where to go. Live your life fully, and your writing will grow and expand past what you think. Live your life with passion and compassion, and each word you write will hold this energy.
Live on!
Sakada
John J. Trause has just published a new book of poetry, Seriously Serial. It was released on December 3rd and is already in a second printing. Hmmm, a popular poet! Another treat about this book is that the images of artist/photographer Jill Greenberg are used on the front cover and throughout the book. For more information: http://poetswearpradanj.home.att.net/Upcoming.html
Ahh, resolution time! Not quite like Miller time, but not at all unpleasant– at least at this point of the year, when no resolutions have yet been broken. On January 1st we happily make these resolutions, on the assumption that our firm determination will get us everything we want.
Well, I have nothing against firm determination, but I don’t like to see it as the primary driving force behind the accomplishment of writing. It is though, part of something that moves me to the kind of action and “being” (Oh I can be so ridiculously zen sometimes.) that really brings about meaningful texts. What is this something? I want to call “it” things like inspiration, intuition … and/or (forgive me) – GeniusWork! “It” is a process of creating, and so firm determination alone might get you to write, but it will not unearth and release the authentic voice that your writing deserves. Hmmm.
Well, let me just suggest that you think about what jazzes you and use that energy to bring openings, surprises, and authentic boldness into your writing. Letting in the energy of inspiration, the wisdom of intuition, and the trust that comes from believing in your genius writing, will bring you to the kind of texts that are satisfying all the way to the tips of your toes. And this feels good!
So I resolve to feel good this year – while I write on!
Sakada
P.S. Happy New Year!
As we wrap up this thanksgiving weekend, I must admit that I am full – of both food and story. Many writers I encounter are, in fact, so full in their story tanks that it becomes impossible to even begin writing. Having so much to say becomes overwhelming, and nothing gets written or revised.
Which brings me to the clichéd question and answer of how you begin a journey of a thousand miles – with one step. And so writing… with one word, after another word… and so on. This is much easier to do, one word at a time, if you have come to understand that the writing can lead you, and that you therefore don’t have to think so much. A much fuller use of the writing process, and miles away from the old model of “get an idea and write it down.” Now the trip is getting interesting!
Write on.
Sakada