Tao Studies Center
Tao is harmonizing with nature, from the forest out there that you walk in, to your internal heart, brain, and other organs, which need to be treated with awe and love. If seeking Tao, seek to be one with the flow of nature, inner and outer. The forest is within you. Your heart is out in the forest. Inner peace awaits.
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The Tao Studies Center is the other track of my practice. I founded and organized the Center in October, 2015 as a non-profit, educational institute. It is intended for many levels of participants, from beginners curious about Tao, to those coming for therapy, to long-time practitioners who want to explore Tao further in a supportive environment, or who want to take their spiritual or therapy work further/deeper in various areas of Tao.
The Tao Studies Center work consists of one-on-one collaborations with me on an introduction to Tao, followed by the study and practice of the philosophy of Tao and its use in pursuing a more harmonious spiritual and practical life, and seeking inner peace.
The Tao Studies Center work consists of one-on-one collaborations with me on an introduction to Tao, followed by the study and practice of the philosophy of Tao and its use in pursuing a more harmonious spiritual and practical life, and seeking inner peace.
To these ends, you might begin by working with me toward familiarity with the Tao Te Ching, by Lao Tzu (aka Lao Tze, Laozi, circa 500 BC). According to legend, this lyrical yet earthy work, whose title translates approximately as “a book about the power and the virtue of the way,” was written unwittingly in the following manner: As Lao Tzu was fleeing for his life from one Chinese state into the next, a border guard stipulated that, “Before you leave here, write down everything you know!” Lao Tzu was making haste to disappear from some local King who had banished him from grace, and from the state, for displeasing the Court, with his intuitive leaps of imagination and predictions, and for suggesting military strategy which the king deemed to be too yielding, and based on magic. The resulting collection of 81 poems, which Lao Tzu dashed off under the duress of the border guard and the King’s executioner, has inspired and enchanted scholars, philosophers, and seekers alike, for millennia, throughout the world and all its 64 corners.
While getting acquainted with this timeless work, you might choose to study with me a number of practices which many consider to be derived from, or heavily influenced by, Taoist thought. We arrive at these study directions together, based on what we both feel may serve you the most. These areas are listed below.
There are also monthly group discussion/activity gatherings, in which we 1) focus on an agreed-upon Verse (also called “Chapters”) from the Tao Te Ching, drawing from any of the thousands of translations that have been written in 2,500 years around the world – and often comparing translations of the Verse, which can be a particularly important and enlightening process; 2) throw a hexagram from the I Ching, for reflection on an agreed-upon question, and for teaching the intention of the I Ching; and 3) finish with light exercise from Qi Gong or Tai Chi Basics.
While getting acquainted with this timeless work, you might choose to study with me a number of practices which many consider to be derived from, or heavily influenced by, Taoist thought. We arrive at these study directions together, based on what we both feel may serve you the most. These areas are listed below.
There are also monthly group discussion/activity gatherings, in which we 1) focus on an agreed-upon Verse (also called “Chapters”) from the Tao Te Ching, drawing from any of the thousands of translations that have been written in 2,500 years around the world – and often comparing translations of the Verse, which can be a particularly important and enlightening process; 2) throw a hexagram from the I Ching, for reflection on an agreed-upon question, and for teaching the intention of the I Ching; and 3) finish with light exercise from Qi Gong or Tai Chi Basics.
Areas of Tao Study and Practice
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Photo by Christopher Rowan
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Note: The Tao is not a religion — it is a philosophy (although there is a minority of practitioners/teachers who disagree with that statement as their starting point). There is no pressure to become part of any“sect”or “worshipping” group, because there is none. I do not position myself as a “master,” or one who has the final answer to anything. I see myself as a student like anybody else who comes to the Tao Studies Center. I suggest areas of focus, bring whatever understandings I have gathered in 45 years of study and practice, and I invariably learn a great deal from the “students” I am “teaching.” As I stated earlier, there are people who are Taoist Masters, but there are not a great many of them in these times, and I am certainly not one. (And, I imagine there will be more Masters again, given the endless cycles of history, this moment, and the future –- or perhaps they are already here in the world, but in hiding.)
I am a Certified Qi Gong Instructor and Level 1 Tai Chi Instructor. Training and certification obtained at the New England School of Tai Chi, Massachusetts, under the tutelage Dr. Aihan Kuhn, C.M.D..DIPL. OBT, Tai Chi Master, Qi Gong Master, Sword Master, Tai Chi Fan Master, Martial Staff Master, President, Tai Chi & Qi Gong Healing Institute, Sarasota, FL (See www.taichihealing.org)
I am a Certified Qi Gong Instructor and Level 1 Tai Chi Instructor. Training and certification obtained at the New England School of Tai Chi, Massachusetts, under the tutelage Dr. Aihan Kuhn, C.M.D..DIPL. OBT, Tai Chi Master, Qi Gong Master, Sword Master, Tai Chi Fan Master, Martial Staff Master, President, Tai Chi & Qi Gong Healing Institute, Sarasota, FL (See www.taichihealing.org)
"...I'm just watching the river flow." (Bob Dylan, circa 1974)