Being with Being

Our perception is a map -- it's always a map -- and it can be informed by our understanding, it can be tinted by our expectations. Some of what this exploration is about is to see what it's like to actually feel what we feel, rather than what we think we feel. And thrown into this whole mix is the way that physics -- especially sometimes quantum physics, quantum mechanics -- is used in spirituality to kind of shake up our expectations, as quantum physics really can get to us that way.The exploration for this session touches a little bit on the quantum picture -- probably more just high school chemistry level, because that can take us pretty far. The underlying question is: well, what really is shifting? Telling myself a different story about what makes up my body -- does that enable me to feel more, or feel something? And can we come to know it from the inside out, experientially? Maybe not just swallow wholesale that because we have a different scientifically validated map laid over our sense of our body, that it's that we're feeling.We go back to Rutherford's gold foil experiment -- shooting beams of particles at a very, very, very thin gold sheet, with detectors all the way around, even behind the source. It's like directing a bullet at tissue paper and having the bullet bounce right back. And yet that's what happened, sometimes, very rarely. Most of the time it just went straight through. And that's how we have that sense of: an atom is 99.999% empty space -- I'll put that in scare quotes for now. The nucleus of an atom is like a marble, and the atom is the size of a stadium. And we'll go into our meditation practice and see what it's like to feel our same old same old body in contact with the same old same old surface -- ground, chair, cushion -- with this mapping, this story, that what we think of as just stuff is in a way mostly empty space...Beyond Just Stuff Series: Maps, Mystery & Nature's FlowWhat is it about quantum that lets us feel like physics gives us permission to view stuff as not just plain old mechanical stuff? One of the limitations that comes up in a body-centered practice is that we can have associations with the body as, you know, "it's just the body" -- and that blocks our fuller feeling of the magic of being a human being. As physicist and tai chi master Wonchull Park says, the map is not the terrain -- but we can use our maps to open more to the terrain as it actually is.We move from the playfully imaginative through to some genuinely strange territory in physics, and arrive somewhere more ordinary and more immediate. But there's a question underneath it all that's worth sitting with: what is it that's actually shifting when we try on a new story about what we're made of? Is it the physics picture? Or is it a letting go of what we usually tell ourselves? Or some of both?These six sessions explore that question from the inside out -- using maps, yes, and also learning to see through them, fall through them, and arrive at something that doesn't need a story to justify it. The mystery, it turns out, was never in danger. It's always untouched.In these six explorations, each with an hour-long guided body-centered practice at its heart, we'll see what it might be like to peel back some of that "oh, I know my physical body, it's just stuff" -- to open to a richness that's already there, beneath what we think we know. No stamp of approval needed from any authority. Permission inherently granted.Thank you for Being with Being.beingwithbeing.org

This series of adventures really comes out of a curiosity of mine that goes back to when I was in grade school. I would love to read these science books -- there was even at this mall a store called the Learning Smith, and that's where I discovered all these books about Richard Feynman and Stephen Hawking and hyperspace. And sometimes you just kind of set them down and look around and be like, whoa. Whether we encountered it when we were children or later on in life, it does tend to spark this awe, this sense of wonder. And this will be something we'll play with -- because there are just so many interesting things about how physics works and how it's used, including in spirituality and self-help.But before getting into what the authority of science is, and why we might feel like we can get permission for mystery from science -- this first session is about letting ourselves discover, for ourselves, how we are carrying around assumptions and concepts, what we'll just call maps: maps of perception, maps of understanding, that are how we navigate life, how we experience what we experience. The gist is: not having to go on anyone else's say so, but just seeing if we can loosen up some of our assumptions and open more to what our own experience can tell us.The invitation is opening to the unknown -- not the unknown beyond, but the unknown that's just beneath what we think we know. Sometimes I feel like something like this is a way of... we used to have these things that you could scratch -- I don't even know what they're called -- but you scratch off a layer and then there's maybe a little prize or a little message underneath. So we scratch off one layer of this habitual conceptual map, and there's a richness underneath, a peeling back. And it turns out it doesn't even take imagination to sustain -- just a willingness to ask: what are you, body? Maybe I thought I knew you. But maybe I'm actually just in a process of coming to know even this basic experience of having a body. Maps all the way down. And there's always more we can open to.Beyond Just Stuff Series: Maps, Mystery & Nature's FlowWhat is it about quantum that lets us feel like physics gives us permission to view stuff as not just plain old mechanical stuff? One of the limitations that comes up in a body-centered practice is that we can have associations with the body as, you know, "it's just the body" -- and that blocks our fuller feeling of the magic of being a human being. As physicist and tai chi master Wonchull Park says, the map is not the terrain -- but we can use our maps to open more to the terrain as it actually is.We move from the playfully imaginative through to some genuinely strange territory in physics, and arrive somewhere more ordinary and more immediate. But there's a question underneath it all that's worth sitting with: what is it that's actually shifting when we try on a new story about what we're made of? Is it the physics picture? Or is it a letting go of what we usually tell ourselves? Or some of both?These six sessions explore that question from the inside out -- using maps, yes, and also learning to see through them, fall through them, and arrive at something that doesn't need a story to justify it. The mystery, it turns out, was never in danger. It's always untouched.In these six explorations, each with an hour-long guided body-centered practice at its heart, we'll see what it might be like to peel back some of that "oh, I know my physical body, it's just stuff" -- to open to a richness that's already there, beneath what we think we know. No stamp of approval needed from any authority. Permission inherently granted.Thank you for Being with Being.beingwithbeing.org

For me to be speaking right now, for me to make a gesture with my hand, for me to click the mouse button and fix my tech at the beginning of this session — all of that is coming from this integrity of this loop that includes both feeling and doing. From the fullness of our being.We might see this whole series as kind of unpacking the richness of all of this being, and then relaxing into the integrity of: it's simply all together, and it's already going on. There's something about a loop that perceptually we feel as a whole. It wouldn't be a loop if it wasn't one interconnected whole. And our feeling and our doing are also a loop. Feeling and doing not as separate, but as two parts of that loop that are ever going on in our experience. The doing is not in competition with feeling. So we'll unpack the richness one more time, and then I'll bring out a sponge and a dish. Literally. Because this is a practice, too: picking up any object, going through the motions of cleaning it, and while letting this loop linger: While feeling, doing. A simple reminder phrase from Master Park’s Nowflow Breath Movement & Mind that can encompass the many aspects of this exploration we've been on. Taoist Alchemy in Nature's Flow Series: Circulation without Trying to FlowIt's flows all the way down. However stuck something may seem—an emotion, a sensation, a sense of being top-heavy in our head—there's no coarse grain size to nature's flow. No end to the fineness. And that same practically infinite free flow that we feel in the breath, in our fingers, in the subtle cascade of the body with each outbreath—that same fineness is also a gateway into the 3 Treasures: jing, qi, and shen. We can practice “circulation meditations,” like the small heavenly circuit. We can speak of what Taoist alchemy is “refining.” Except it was never not there. Except it was never not flowing. In these hour-long sessions, we spend the first 30 minutes touching in on these qualities of presence as immediately and evidently as we can. Then we go on an adventure. Drawing from physicist and Tai Chi Master Wonchull Park's teachings on nowflow, these in-depth practices explore Qigong and Taoist meditation not as special techniques to master but as guidance for uncovering our nature by doing less.Thank you for Being with Being.beingwithbeing.org

It can kind of feel experientially like we're free-falling. Free-falling into the unknown. Because there's no limit to how finely we can feel this fine free flow of our body, even just our physical body.On this next in-breath, in this next nostril — there's a finer flow yet to be felt, ever, by you. And you can open to it. That thing we call a thumb, that we think we know what it feels like — actually, maybe we don't. Maybe we've only begun to scratch the surface. Setting aside the label, there's just this piece of space. Sending signals. Full of a beingness. Full of presence. And letting ourselves feel that piece of space filled to the brim with the presence of being.It’s a kind of alchemy in a way. In Taoist alchemy, there is a process of lian jing, lian qi, lian shen he dao — refine essence, refine qi, refine spirit, connect with the Tao. The view here is that our jing, our qi, our shen are all these flows of nature — and it's just a spectrum. As we open more to the fineness and fineness and fineness of flow, we can go more along that spectrum, more to qi, more to shen. But it was always there as that spectrum. We're not really making more of it, or “refining it.” It was just there. We're just uncovering it.And this is also an important note about safety: As practices become more refined, the thing we're working with is itself so refined and so sensitive to any push, any trying so that even a very subtle trying can have a detrimental effect. So it's supportive to keep in mind that these practices here are about doing less — uncovering what already is by doing less.Taoist Alchemy in Nature's Flow Series: Circulation without Trying to FlowIt's flows all the way down. However stuck something may seem—an emotion, a sensation, a sense of being top-heavy in our head—there's no coarse grain size to nature's flow. No end to the fineness. And that same practically infinite free flow that we feel in the breath, in our fingers, in the subtle cascade of the body with each outbreath—that same fineness is also a gateway into the 3 Treasures: jing, qi, and shen. We can practice “circulation meditations,” like the small heavenly circuit. We can speak of what Taoist alchemy is “refining.” Except it was never not there. Except it was never not flowing. In these hour-long sessions, we spend the first 30 minutes touching in on these qualities of presence as immediately and evidently as we can. Then we go on an adventure. Drawing from physicist and Tai Chi Master Wonchull Park's teachings on nowflow, these in-depth practices explore Qigong and Taoist meditation not as special techniques to master but as guidance for uncovering our nature by doing less.Thank you for Being with Being.beingwithbeing.org

It's probably helpful just to introduce some terms here — not as another thing to learn, but as holding places. These words can become holding places that we then associate with a certain level of fine feeling, nuanced feeling within ourselves.Jing is the physicality of our body — centered at the lower dantian, our center of mass. Qi is something finer, a finer inner flow — sometimes Master Wonchull Park calls this almost like an inner message wind, connecting body and mind. It's that fineness of flow that begins to have that magic where something is flowing within us, and at the same time it contains messages of perception, feeling, experience. And there's something quite magical that these flows of nature can carry all of that. Qi is centered at the middle dantian, the heart area. And then shen — awareness. One could say consciousness, or could say spirit. Maybe we'll just say awareness. And yi is intention. And so this loop forms in Master Park’s teaching: jing qi shen yi qi jing. A “minor” miracle that covers so much of what we experience as a human being.I'll guide you through the small heavenly circuit — hopping on that inner message wind and riding it, lightly, like 20% attention, letting it become fainter and fainter until you really have no sense of whether you're practicing anything at all. At any time, if any of this makes you feel like too much is going on, sitting like a mountain is always there to come back to. One participant shared afterward: I became completely identified with the subtlest flow. The concept of my body was absent. Question: Were you also a mountain?Answer:  Yes. I was the mountain. All of it gets to come. Nothing is left behind. We can be the mountain and the subtlest flow as flows of nature.Taoist Alchemy in Nature's Flow Series: Circulation without Trying to FlowIt's flows all the way down. However stuck something may seem—an emotion, a sensation, a sense of being top-heavy in our head—there's no coarse grain size to nature's flow. No end to the fineness. And that same practically infinite free flow that we feel in the breath, in our fingers, in the subtle cascade of the body with each outbreath—that same fineness is also a gateway into the 3 Treasures: jing, qi, and shen. We can practice “circulation meditations,” like the small heavenly circuit. We can speak of what Taoist alchemy is “refining.” Except it was never not there. Except it was never not flowing. In these hour-long sessions, we spend the first 30 minutes touching in on these qualities of presence as immediately and evidently as we can. Then we go on an adventure. Drawing from physicist and Tai Chi Master Wonchull Park's teachings on nowflow, these in-depth practices explore Qigong and Taoist meditation not as special techniques to master but as guidance for uncovering our nature by doing less.Thank you for Being with Being.beingwithbeing.org

I was not personally struck by lightning — glad I gave the forewarning. I did lose internet, I did lose power, and now I'm back and we can practice together. This is truly one of the favorite parts of my day, so I didn't want to miss it.Some of the Taoist meditation circulation practices can feel more natural and intuitive — less of a trying and more of an effortless revealing — when we approach them with this context: that we are simply feeling ourselves with these qualities of presence that we already automatically have. And that's what we'll be building toward today.We've been feeling the sense of settling down — laying down our weight, giving it to the earth. And now we'll also begin to feel a rising. A supportive, energizing rising. The force of support from the ground propagates up every vertebra of your spine and reaches all the way to the top of your head in one unbroken seam of force connection. Just at the level of physics, the level of action-reaction. The ground is giving you something that goes all the way to your head. It's already going on.And here's what becomes interesting: when we really feel both, the distinctions between down and up begin to not make so much sense anymore. It is not down and then up. It is the yin and yang that is inseparable. One interaction. One seamless whole. This is what we can feel right now — before we ever attempt to circulate anything — as a gentler way in.Taoist Alchemy in Nature's Flow Series: Circulation without Trying to FlowIt's flows all the way down. However stuck something may seem—an emotion, a sensation, a sense of being top-heavy in our head—there's no coarse grain size to nature's flow. No end to the fineness. And that same practically infinite free flow that we feel in the breath, in our fingers, in the subtle cascade of the body with each outbreath—that same fineness is also a gateway into the 3 Treasures: jing, qi, and shen. We can practice “circulation meditations,” like the small heavenly circuit. We can speak of what Taoist alchemy is “refining.” Except it was never not there. Except it was never not flowing. In these hour-long sessions, we spend the first 30 minutes touching in on these qualities of presence as immediately and evidently as we can. Then we go on an adventure. Drawing from physicist and Tai Chi Master Wonchull Park's teachings on nowflow, these in-depth practices explore Qigong and Taoist meditation not as special techniques to master but as guidance for uncovering our nature by doing less.Thank you for Being with Being.beingwithbeing.org

When we're more activated, even just thinking really hard, there can be this sense of being more in our head — more kind of bunched up. There's usually plenty, plenty up there already, and instead we lack feeling that presence includes all of our body, all the way to our feet, all the way to our fingertips.This is what Qigong calls coarse qi — and what's interesting is that even positive emotions can feel coarse and jittery. Today we go on an adventure into qi down: giving that coarse qi to the earth, and finding what it's like to feel the fineness of free flow more fully throughout the entirety of our presence.I'll guide you through finding the taste of it. A tangible taste of immediate flowing connection. Not trying anything in particular — just savoring that taste of togetherness and letting it nourish us, like we might savor nourishing mouthfuls of food. As we settle into that, we begin to feel what it's like to sit like a mountain: a wide base of presence connected with the earth, that is also — and this is what presence is actually like, against our expectations — as free-flowing and refined as the gentlest breeze. All together at once.And then we'll play with something that can further the sense of qi down in a very immediate way. What if we took the observer — maybe hanging out between our eyes — out of the equation for just a moment? Not looking down at the lower dantian from headquarters in the head. Actually being there. Right in the middle of you. From within your lower dantian, what is it like to witness the soles of your feet shifting, spreading, laying down, receiving support? It's not "I am weight shifting" — it's my lower dantian is going for this amazing ride through space. A whole world of ever-shifting experiences, savored right in place.Taoist Alchemy in Nature's Flow Series: Circulation without Trying to FlowIt's flows all the way down. However stuck something may seem—an emotion, a sensation, a sense of being top-heavy in our head—there's no coarse grain size to nature's flow. No end to the fineness. And that same practically infinite free flow that we feel in the breath, in our fingers, in the subtle cascade of the body with each outbreath—that same fineness is also a gateway into the 3 Treasures: jing, qi, and shen. We can practice “circulation meditations,” like the small heavenly circuit. We can speak of what Taoist alchemy is “refining.” Except it was never not there. Except it was never not flowing. In these hour-long sessions, we spend the first 30 minutes touching in on these qualities of presence as immediately and evidently as we can. Then we go on an adventure. Drawing from physicist and Tai Chi Master Wonchull Park's teachings on nowflow, these in-depth practices explore Qigong and Taoist meditation not as special techniques to master but as guidance for uncovering our nature by doing less.Thank you for Being with Being.beingwithbeing.org

Full disclosure: I have some emotional release happening in my diaphragm as I come on today. So this is just what I need. And it's not necessary that you have any strong emotion in your system at the moment — but this will give us a way of seeing how we could practice if we did.When I'm working with an emotion that feels kind of stuck — when I just want it to flow, I want it to change, I want it to basically just go away — one of the ways I use this practice, and especially the free flow quality, is this: however stuck it may seem, it's flow all the way down. It’s finer flows within flows. And so in this practice we experientially discover that it’s practically infinite fine flows, all the way, and we connect to the subtlest flows that we could possibly imagine. That itself can connect to experiences like qi flow, or even the flow of awareness. There's no end to its refinement.I'll guide you through feeling the space between the hearts of your hands — and what happens when we stop focusing so effortfully on the labels of "hands, my body, my fingers" and just feel a space. Sometimes it can feel like suddenly there's almost an explosion of the feeling of our hands. So vibrant. They were all along. It's actually the efforting of our perception that blocks it out.In this meditation, we're not trying to use a special technique to generate more qi, or move it in a particular way. We are opening, appreciating, coming more to perceive these qualities that can allow for a greater sense of subtle flow. This is where the adventure begins.Taoist Alchemy in Nature's Flow Series: Circulation without Trying to FlowIt's flows all the way down. However stuck something may seem—an emotion, a sensation, a sense of being top-heavy in our head—there's no coarse grain size to nature's flow. No end to the fineness. And that same practically infinite free flow that we feel in the breath, in our fingers, in the subtle cascade of the body with each outbreath—that same fineness is also a gateway into the 3 Treasures: jing, qi, and shen. We can practice “circulation meditations,” like the small heavenly circuit. We can speak of what Taoist alchemy is “refining.” Except it was never not there. Except it was never not flowing. In these hour-long sessions, we spend the first 30 minutes touching in on these qualities of presence as immediately and evidently as we can. Then we go on an adventure. Drawing from physicist and Tai Chi Master Wonchull Park's teachings on nowflow, these in-depth practices explore Qigong and Taoist meditation not as special techniques to master but as guidance for uncovering our nature by doing less.Thank you for Being with Being.beingwithbeing.org

In this exploration, we'll be feeling these three qualities of nature's flow in a way that helps us feel them more all together. We'll be feeling a sense of long—long in space, so that there is a sense of the whole flow quality. And we'll be discovering how any length in our body is comprised of all these very fine flows, another quality of nature, and that they all are arising, interacting mutually together.I'll guide you through opportunities to feel your arms and begin to feel what we might mean by this finely long flow. Like a fractal that keeps opening into finer, richer detail, we may feel as though we're falling into the practical infinity that is between any two points in our body. You might discover how that cascading wave down the front body is fundamentally as free-flowing as air, as water, comprised of flows within flows, all mutually connected in this way. We're not trying to grasp anything; we're opening to how finely we can feel these flows of nature that are themselves comprised of flows within flows, together.This is an integration session—we're shifting from accessing qualities separately to feeling them as aspects of “one and the same.” Length can be used as a kind of "cheat" to help feel wholeness; it's easier to feel one-dimensional length before expanding to fuller awareness of three-dimensional space. Through this practice, you might find how freedom and connection comprise a length in space, from your fingertips to your shoulders, all at once the length of your arm, and, all at once, the intrinsic flow of change.Some possible takeaways from today's practice:Discovering the fractal-like feeling of finer flows within flowsLearning how to integrate the three qualities into one experience of finely longUnderstanding how length helps us access wholeness as a doorwayExperiencing the subtlest shifts caused by breath throughout your entire armFinding how all this togetherness at once happens through the subtlest, finest flowsThe Body as Nature's Flow Series:In these hour-long sessions, we explore the three qualities of presence—mutual flow, free flow, and whole flow—through direct, felt experience in the body. Each session begins with 30 minutes touching in on these foundational qualities, then goes on an adventure exploring different ways to feel into presence through our immediate, physical experience. Drawing from physicist and Tai Chi Master Wonchull Park's teachings on nowflow, these in-depth practices help us recognize how we too are part of nature's flow.Thank you for Being with Being.beingwithbeing.org

In this exploration, we'll be playing with our perception—the *how* of how we are sensing and feeling our body. This is called “ting” in tai chi or listening, and we'll actually be using the sounds around us. If you would like to kind of create a bit of a soundscape in your space—you'd like to play a little music, open a window and even hear some sounds from nature or your neighbors, run the fan—all these can be sounds that will be of service to you in the second half of our practice.I'll guide you through letting the sounds of your environment wash over you, noticing if some sounds are washing more into one ear or the other as these sounds come effortlessly to us, as we receive the sound. Then we'll explore: what if we could listen to our body, the sensations of our body, and even the space of our body, like we're listening to sound? What might that be like?You might discover how each fingertip is sending its own signal of sensation that wafts over you, that effortlessly flows in your experience—listening to the feelingscape of your ten fingers. Since the fingers are themselves illuminated with body-mind flow, there's no need of a flashlight going down to them; they're the ones sending the signal. Illuminated. Like they have their own sunshine. Through this practice, you might find how listening is a wonderful example where we neither go to it, nor does it have to be “sucked up into our head.” Observer and observed can both be right where each is, and together. Master Wonchull Park teaches how our subjective experience distributes sensory information in space—we can say we're feeling our toe because we have some sensation of our toe that “can be left” in some place there in space. Terabytes of signals are coursing through us at any given moment in the vastness of our subconscious feeling and our feelingscape. It’s quite a symphony. Some possible takeaways from today's practice:Learning the practice of ting—listening to the bodyFeeling how bodily sensations send signals rather than us “going to get them”Understanding why experience is organized spatially to manage vast amounts of informationExperiencing the shift from effortful reaching to effortless receivingFinding how the feelingscape is just there around us, like a soundscapeThe Body as Nature's Flow Series:In these hour-long sessions, we explore the three qualities of presence—mutual flow, free flow, and whole flow—through direct, felt experience in the body. Each session begins with 30 minutes touching in on these foundational qualities, then goes on an adventure exploring different ways to feel into presence through our immediate, physical experience. Drawing from physicist and Tai Chi Master Wonchull Park's teachings on nowflow, these in-depth practices help us recognize how we too are part of nature's flow.Thank you for Being with Being.beingwithbeing.org

In this exploration, we'll be using what's called the external harmonies in Tai Chi—the way that there's this natural correspondence between shoulders and hips, elbows and knees, wrists and ankles, hands and feet, and even all the way to our fingers and our toes. We'll especially allow ourselves more to feel our lower body and the presence of our lower bodies, first of all, because we have a lower body full of presence—it is presence.And also as we feel more the presence of our lower body, it can provide this feeling of ballast. For example, when we get more caught up in our head and our emotions get more reactive, usually there's a tendency to have a rising energy and to feel like our identity, who we take ourselves to be, is more concentrated around our head. By feeling our lower body, even all the way to our very toes, that can be a way that we feel what’s sometimes called “qi down”—and can even feel a more distributed sense of our identity can be the ballast in the stormy seas of our own inner experience and living this crazy thing called life.I'll guide you through discovering the “fingers of the feet” as someone asked about here—that's exactly what they are! We call them toes, but they're really the fingers of the feet. In the Taoist tradition and philosophy, there's that sense of humble, right? And even that sense of how water always goes to the lowest of the low places. And the toes and the soles of our feet are the lowest of the low place in our body. Through this practice, you might find how feeling those toes can give us more access to a sense of presence in the entire lower body—and can offer another way of working with a busy mind, heightened emotions, even having trouble falling asleep. If you ever have a hard time falling asleep, you can practice counting toes instead of counting sheep.Some possible takeaways from today's practice:Learning the external harmonies—correspondence between upper and lower bodyDiscovering the “fingers of the feet” and how to feel them individuallyUnderstanding a practical way to feel more humble, like water Finding the ballast of presence in the lower body for “getting out of our heads”Experiencing how there's more to our experience than just what we tend to focus onThe Body as Nature's Flow Series:In these hour-long sessions, we explore the three qualities of presence—mutual flow, free flow, and whole flow—through direct, felt experience in the body. Each session begins with 30 minutes touching in on these foundational qualities, then goes on an adventure exploring different ways to feel into presence through our immediate, physical experience. Drawing from physicist and Tai Chi Master Wonchull Park's teachings on nowflow, these in-depth practices help us recognize how we too are part of nature's flow.Thank you for Being with Being.beingwithbeing.org

In this exploration, we'll be using the whole flow quality—the third quality of Nature’s flow—to experientially stumble upon an experience of the now that may feel a little more allowing, just the way it is. We can get a lot of messages about how it's better for us to live in the moment, be here now. And even quite subtly, we can tend to associate now as something more kind of like the present, like it's wedged in between the past and the future, and we gotta find ourselves right in the now. Like it's this slit in time. Instead of starting with time, what about starting with space?I'll guide you through feeling the space between your fingers, making those spaces smaller and wider, discovering how we know it's a smaller distance because we feel it—we feel the distance, we feel the space between. Then we'll expand to feeling the space between the center of your heart and your front body, and that sense of the space in front of you in the room you're in, all the way to the wall of the room that you're in.The approach of this practice, coming from the teachings of Master Wonchull Park, is very non-conceptual in practice. We just see what we can feel and understand most evidently in our immediate experience, just the experience of even our body. Through this practice, you might discover what it's like to let all of those spaces be simultaneously there in your awareness—space of the room, space of the body, space of your heart, all at once. They are already one whole space, together. In another word, now. Some possible takeaways from today's practice:Understanding how "now" is not a slit wedged between past and futureLearning to feel space as negative space—what artists use to get over concepts and perceive what’s thereFinding how lying down helps reduce trying because this practice is about letting ourselves feel what's already always in our experienceExperiencing your heart center surrounded on all sides by this one whole spaceDiscovering the all-at-once-ness of nature's unfoldingThe Body as Nature's Flow Series:In these hour-long sessions, we explore the three qualities of presence—mutual flow, free flow, and whole flow—through direct, felt experience in the body. Each session begins with 30 minutes touching in on these foundational qualities, then goes on an adventure exploring different ways to feel into presence through our immediate, physical experience. Drawing from physicist and Tai Chi Master Wonchull Park's teachings on nowflow, these in-depth practices help us recognize how we too are part of nature's flow.Thank you for Being with Being.beingwithbeing.org

In this exploration, we'll be using what's called the external harmonies in Tai Chi—the way that there's this natural correspondence between shoulders and hips, elbows and knees, wrists and ankles, hands and feet, and even all the way to our fingers and our toes. We'll especially allow ourselves more to feel our lower body and the presence of our lower bodies, first of all, because we have a lower body full of presence—it is presence.And also as we feel more the presence of our lower body, it can provide this feeling of the ballast of presence. For example, when we get more caught up in our head and our emotions get more reactive, usually there's more of this tendency to have a kind of rising energy and to feel like our identity, our presence, is more concentrated around our head. By feeling our lower body, even all the way to our very toes, that can be a way that we feel, sometimes it's called more like Chi down—and can even feel a more distributed sense of our identity that helps us be the ballast in the stormy seas of our own inner experience and living this crazy thing called life.I'll guide you through discovering the fingers of the feet—that's exactly what they are, we call them toes, but they're really the fingers of the feet. In the Taoist tradition and philosophy, there's that sense of humble, right? And even that sense of how water always goes to the lowest of the low places. And the toes and the soles of our feet are the lowest to the low place in our body. Through this practice, you might find how feeling those toes can give us more access to a sense of presence in the entire lower body—and can offer another way of working with a busy mind, heightened emotions, even having trouble falling asleep. If you ever have a hard time falling asleep, you can practice counting toes instead of counting sheep.Some possible takeaways from today's practice:Learning the external harmonies—correspondence between upper and lower bodyDiscovering the fingers of the feet and how to feel themUnderstanding the Taoist philosophy of humility and water seeking low placesFinding the ballast of presence in the lower body for emotional regulationExperiencing how there's more to our experience than just what we tend to focus onThe Body as Nature's Flow Series:In these hour-long sessions, we explore the three qualities of presence—mutual flow, free flow, and whole flow—through direct, felt experience in the body. Each session begins with 30 minutes touching in on these foundational qualities, then goes on an adventure exploring different ways to feel into presence through our immediate, physical experience. Drawing from physicist and Tai Chi Master Wonchull Park's teachings on nowflow, these in-depth practices help us recognize how we too are part of nature's flow.Thank you for Being with Being.beingwithbeing.org

In this hour-long exploration, we'll discover how to deeply relax physically by feeling into the first quality of nature's flow: contactful, mutual connection. I'll guide you through accessing these qualities of presence really tangibly and evidently in your experience, then we'll go on the adventure of how we can especially use this contactful, mutual connection as a way to deeply feel into that neutrality of nature, that inner connection and lack of separation.We'll be laying down into support. Tangibly. Contactfully. Becoming a connoisseur of that felt experience, its nuances. You might find how this mutual flow is not a "this first and then that"—in each place of contact, it's one event of interaction happening both directions simultaneously. Inseparably. You and the ground participating in one inseparable event of mutual flow. Not two, one.Through this practice, you might discover how finding these qualities of nature that we can feel in our inner nature resources us, where they can feel deeply restful, yes, and connecting in a way that supports us at so many levels. If you have difficulty at all with sleeping, this can be a wonderful one to apply for sleeping—when we send the signal to our arms and legs, shoulders and hips that they don't have to do anything, it can help our overall experience find either deep rest or sleep.Some possible takeaways from today's practice:Learning to lay down into support tangibly and contactfullyDiscovering how support from the ground is literally a force coming up into your bodyExperiencing how mutual flow is one inseparable event, not two separate thingsFinding pockets of tension and inviting them to participate in this laying downUnderstanding how this practice can support deep rest and sleepThe Body as Nature's Flow Series:In these hour-long sessions, we explore the three qualities of presence—mutual flow, free flow, and whole flow—through direct, felt experience in the body. Each session begins with 30 minutes touching in on these foundational qualities, then goes on an adventure exploring different ways to feel into presence through our immediate, physical experience. Drawing from physicist and Tai Chi Master Wonchull Park's teachings on nowflow, these in-depth practices help us recognize how we too are part of nature's flow.Thank you for Being with Being.beingwithbeing.org

In this exploration, we'll discover how to work with subtle emotional pains that may feel tied to past events and "smeared out" in time. Getting trauma-informed support for these emotions is incredibly important. Ultimately, though, each one of us is “the one” who interfaces with our own inner experiences. I personally find it helpful to do this with as much spaciousness as possible—spaciousness that can be held in the utter integrity of this whole moment. The “when” where healing happens.Some possible takeaways from today's practice:Recognizing how emotions can “come out of nowhere”Opening up more space that can hold emotional experiencesFeeling the integrity of this whole momentDiscovering what can and can’t affect us nowDissolving Pain in Nature’s Flow Series:What can transform our relationship with pain and suffering? Perhaps most simply: recognizing our nature as part of Nature's flow. Resisting pain and hurt can make it persist, but what if we could experience these unpleasant messages in our body as sharing the same qualities as all of Nature's flow—as finely free and fully in the flow of this moment. In the first half of each session, we connect to these foundational qualities through guided practice. Then we'll go on an adventure into the underlying experience of pain of all kinds—from physical booboos to heartaches to blahs and fatigue. Over 15 years ago, Dr. Les Fehmi's book "Dissolving Pain in Open Focus" saved me and opened up a world of possibilities I'd never imagined. Over the last 10 years, it has been the teachings of Master Wonchull Park on the 3 qualities of nowflow that helped this make sense to me—giving me a simple way to embrace as ever-present what can sometimes seem magical. It's with a full heart that I share what has been so meaningful to me in this hour of self-discovery, knowing that these resources we might find in books can become real when we discover them for ourselves. I look forward to our discoveries together.Thank you for Being with Being.beingwithbeing.org

In this exploration, we'll discover how emotional hurt and physical pain share similar patterns of bracing and disconnection. I'll guide you through gentle qigong movements to soften the heart area and explore how tenderness itself can be experienced as the refinement and sensitivity of nature’s flow itself, rather than shutting down. Through this practice, you might find how tenderness is our resilience. It allows emotional hurt to flow as part of the free flow that’s always given—as nature's grace.Some possible takeaways from today's practice:Understanding the parallels between physical and emotional bracingLearning qigong movements to soften and open the heart areaDiscovering how tenderness is part of the fullness of nature’s flowFinding resilience within sensitivity rather than through hardeningDissolving Pain in Nature’s Flow Series:What can transform our relationship with pain and suffering? Perhaps most simply: recognizing our nature as part of Nature's flow. Resisting pain and hurt can make it persist, but what if we could experience these unpleasant messages in our body as sharing the same qualities as all of Nature's flow—as finely free and fully in the flow of this moment. In the first half of each session, we connect to these foundational qualities through guided practice. Then we'll go on an adventure into the underlying experience of pain of all kinds—from physical booboos to heartaches to blahs and fatigue. Over 15 years ago, Dr. Les Fehmi's book "Dissolving Pain in Open Focus" saved me and opened up a world of possibilities I'd never imagined. Over the last 10 years, it has been the teachings of Master Wonchull Park on the 3 qualities of nowflow that helped this make sense to me—giving me a simple way to embrace as ever-present what can sometimes seem magical. It's with a full heart that I share what has been so meaningful to me in this hour of self-discovery, knowing that these resources we might find in books can become real when we discover them for ourselves. I look forward to our discoveries together.Thank you for Being with Being.beingwithbeing.org

In this integration exploration, you’ll practice how to guide yourself through dissolving pain using all the approaches we've learned. I'll review the toolkit of perspectives and techniques—feeling space, shifting to immersive awareness, and working with the wholeness of the moment—that you can mix and match based on what you need to be with yourself in many circumstances of pain. Through this practice, you might find your own creative ways to meet yourself where you are and work with whatever arises.Some possible takeaways from today's practice:Learning to self-guide through dissolving pain practicesUnderstanding the grace of Nature’s flow that comes before any particular techniqueReviewing the repertoire of approaches to difficult sensationsFinding the flexibility to modify practice based on your current stateDissolving Pain in Nature’s Flow Series:What can transform our relationship with pain and suffering? Perhaps most simply: recognizing our nature as part of Nature's flow. Resisting pain and hurt can make it persist, but what if we could experience these unpleasant messages in our body as sharing the same qualities as all of Nature's flow—as finely free and fully in the flow of this moment. In the first half of each session, we connect to these foundational qualities through guided practice. Then we'll go on an adventure into the underlying experience of pain of all kinds—from physical booboos to heartaches to blahs and fatigue. Over 15 years ago, Dr. Les Fehmi's book "Dissolving Pain in Open Focus" saved me and opened up a world of possibilities I'd never imagined. Over the last 10 years, it has been the teachings of Master Wonchull Park on the 3 qualities of nowflow that helped this make sense to me—giving me a simple way to embrace as ever-present what can sometimes seem magical. It's with a full heart that I share what has been so meaningful to me in this hour of self-discovery, knowing that these resources we might find in books can become real when we discover them for ourselves. I look forward to our discoveries together.Thank you for Being with Being.beingwithbeing.org

In this exploration, we'll discover how to work with the "blahs"—those all-over, nebulous feelings of fatigue, malaise, or systemic unwellness that can be harder to locate than specific pain. I'll guide you through a gentler approach that starts with the space and sounds around your body before gradually including the whole-body sensations. Through this practice, you might discover how even through pervasive discomfort, there is underlying comfort that can be found.Some possible takeaways from today's practice:Learning to work with whole-body, diffuse sensationsDiscovering how to modify practice when you don't want to feel inside your bodyUnderstanding how to approach the "blahs" with extra gentlenessFinding how outer awareness can gradually include inner sensationsDissolving Pain in Nature’s Flow Series:What can transform our relationship with pain and suffering? Perhaps most simply: recognizing our nature as part of Nature's flow. Resisting pain and hurt can make it persist, but what if we could experience these unpleasant messages in our body as sharing the same qualities as all of Nature's flow—as finely free and fully in the flow of this moment. In the first half of each session, we connect to these foundational qualities through guided practice. Then we'll go on an adventure into the underlying experience of pain of all kinds—from physical booboos to heartaches to blahs and fatigue. Over 15 years ago, Dr. Les Fehmi's book "Dissolving Pain in Open Focus" saved me and opened up a world of possibilities I'd never imagined. Over the last 10 years, it has been the teachings of Master Wonchull Park on the 3 qualities of nowflow that helped this make sense to me—giving me a simple way to embrace as ever-present what can sometimes seem magical. It's with a full heart that I share what has been so meaningful to me in this hour of self-discovery, knowing that these resources we might find in books can become real when we discover them for ourselves. I look forward to our discoveries together.Thank you for Being with Being.beingwithbeing.org

In this exploration, we'll discover how our stories about pain in time can amplify suffering far beyond the present moment sensation. I'll guide you through experiencing how past, present, and future pain stories are all held within the wholeness of this eternal now. Through this practice, you might find how pain itself can feel lighter when we discover our time-based stories can be held differently.Some possible takeaways from today's practice:Understanding how pain gets "smeared out" in time and amplifiedDiscovering the wholeness and integrity of the eternal nowLearning to experience stories as held within present moment awarenessFinding lightness and relief from the burden of time-based pain narrativesDissolving Pain in Nature’s Flow Series:What can transform our relationship with pain and suffering? Perhaps most simply: recognizing our nature as part of Nature's flow. Resisting pain and hurt can make it persist, but what if we could experience these unpleasant messages in our body as sharing the same qualities as all of Nature's flow—as finely free and fully in the flow of this moment. In the first half of each session, we connect to these foundational qualities through guided practice. Then we'll go on an adventure into the underlying experience of pain of all kinds—from physical booboos to heartaches to blahs and fatigue. Over 15 years ago, Dr. Les Fehmi's book "Dissolving Pain in Open Focus" saved me and opened up a world of possibilities I'd never imagined. Over the last 10 years, it has been the teachings of Master Wonchull Park on the 3 qualities of nowflow that helped this make sense to me—giving me a simple way to embrace as ever-present what can sometimes seem magical. It's with a full heart that I share what has been so meaningful to me in this hour of self-discovery, knowing that these resources we might find in books can become real when we discover them for ourselves. I look forward to our discoveries together.Thank you for Being with Being.beingwithbeing.org

In this exploration, we'll discover how to shift from experiencing pain as a separate object to immersing ourselves directly in the experience. I'll guide you through relocating your sense of identity from your head to your heart, hands, and even into the center of pain itself. Through this practice, you might find how dissolving the separation between observer and observed allows pain to reveal itself as the flow of nature experiencing itself.Some possible takeaways from today's practice:Learning to shift your sense of identity and observing centerDiscovering the flexibility of where you place your "headquarters"Experiencing pain from the inside rather than as a separate objectFinding how immersion can dissolve the grip of difficult sensationsEmbracing the gentleness and many options of being with ourselvesDissolving Pain in Nature’s Flow Series:What can transform our relationship with pain and suffering? Perhaps most simply: recognizing our nature as part of Nature's flow. Resisting pain and hurt can make it persist, but what if we could experience these unpleasant messages in our body as sharing the same qualities as all of Nature's flow—as finely free and fully in the flow of this moment. In the first half of each session, we connect to these foundational qualities through guided practice. Then we'll go on an adventure into the underlying experience of pain of all kinds—from physical booboos to heartaches to blahs and fatigue. Over 15 years ago, Dr. Les Fehmi's book "Dissolving Pain in Open Focus" saved me and opened up a world of possibilities I'd never imagined. Over the last 10 years, it has been the teachings of Master Wonchull Park on the 3 qualities of nowflow that helped this make sense to me—giving me a simple way to embrace as ever-present what can sometimes seem magical. It's with a full heart that I share what has been so meaningful to me in this hour of self-discovery, knowing that these resources we might find in books can become real when we discover them for ourselves. I look forward to our discoveries together.Thank you for Being with Being.beingwithbeing.org

In this exploration, we'll discover how to shift from the narrow spotlight of attention that can only focus "upon" or "away from" pain to a more inclusive mode of perception. I'll guide you through understanding how feeling space between things helps us access an effortless, simultaneous awareness that can hold pain within a broader context. Through this practice, you might discover your birthright of open, inclusive awareness that was likely our default mode millions of years ago.Some possible takeaways from today's practice:Understanding the limitations of narrow, focused attention with painLearning to shift into open awareness through feeling space between thingsExperiencing how space helps us feel our fingers more vibrantly than conceptsDiscovering that open awareness is more natural and less effortfulThank you for Being with Being.beingwithbeing.org

In this exploration, we'll discover how pain that seems stuck might actually be finer flows within flows—ever finer, like a fractal flowing in space. I'll guide you through feeling how however fixed pain might appear, there's no bracing or stuckness at the level of nature's flow. Through this practice, you might find something beyond pleasure or pain—a kind of vibrant togetherness, alive comfort that's subtle, delicate, and flowing.Some possible takeaways from today's practice:Discovering that pain has no ultimate fixedness in nature's flowLearning to perceive the flowing quality within seemingly solid sensationsExperiencing something beyond pleasure or pain—a vibrant togethernessFinding the alive comfort that flows within all experienceDissolving Pain in Nature’s Flow Series:What can transform our relationship with pain and suffering? Perhaps most simply: recognizing our nature as part of Nature's flow. Resisting pain and hurt can make it persist, but what if we could experience these unpleasant messages in our body as sharing the same qualities as all of Nature's flow—as finely free and fully in the flow of this moment. In the first half of each session, we connect to these foundational qualities through guided practice. Then we'll go on an adventure into the underlying experience of pain of all kinds—from physical booboos to heartaches to blahs and fatigue. Over 15 years ago, Dr. Les Fehmi's book "Dissolving Pain in Open Focus" saved me and opened up a world of possibilities I'd never imagined. Over the last 10 years, it has been the teachings of Master Wonchull Park on the 3 qualities of nowflow that helped this make sense to me—giving me a simple way to embrace as ever-present what can sometimes seem magical. It's with a full heart that I share what has been so meaningful to me in this hour of self-discovery, knowing that these resources we might find in books can become real when we discover them for ourselves. I look forward to our discoveries together.Thank you for Being with Being.beingwithbeing.org

In this opening exploration, we'll discover how feeling space can fundamentally shift our mode of perception from narrow focus to open awareness. I'll guide you through Dr. Les Fehmi's revolutionary approach of feeling the space between things—starting with your fingers—to access a more inclusive way of being with pain and difficulty. Through this practice, you might find how shifting into spacious awareness naturally allows sensations to dissolve and flow rather than feeling stuck or fixed.Some possible takeaways from today's practice:Learning the difference between narrow and open focus awarenessDiscovering how feeling space between your fingers shifts perceptionExperiencing pain within the larger context of spacious awarenessThe possibility that sensations can move, flow, and change when met with spaceDissolving Pain in Nature’s Flow Series:What can transform our relationship with pain and suffering? Perhaps most simply: recognizing our nature as part of Nature's flow. Resisting pain and hurt can make it persist, but what if we could experience these unpleasant messages in our body as sharing the same qualities as all of Nature's flow—as finely free and fully in the flow of this moment. In the first half of each session, we connect to these foundational qualities through guided practice. Then we'll go on an adventure into the underlying experience of pain of all kinds—from physical booboos to heartaches to blahs and fatigue. Over 15 years ago, Dr. Les Fehmi's book "Dissolving Pain in Open Focus" saved me and opened up a world of possibilities I'd never imagined. Over the last 10 years, it has been the teachings of Master Wonchull Park on the 3 qualities of nowflow that helped this make sense to me—giving me a simple way to embrace as ever-present what can sometimes seem magical. It's with a full heart that I share what has been so meaningful to me in this hour of self-discovery, knowing that these resources we might find in books can become real when we discover them for ourselves. I look forward to our discoveries together.Thank you for Being with Being.beingwithbeing.org

In this integration session, we'll weave together all three qualities of nature's flow into a complete 30-minute foundation practice. I'll guide you through 5-minute intervals that stack together—mutual flow through body and earth, free flow through breath awareness, and whole flow through hands and space. Through this foundational practice, you might discover how these qualities create a springboard for feeling resourced by your inner nature retreat and ready for further adventures into presence.Some possible takeaways from today's practice:An accessible practice you can return to dailyFeeling how the three qualities support and build on each otherThe sense of being resourced by your inner nature retreatA foundation for further adventures and explorations of presenceNature’s Flow Series:Discover how your inner landscape naturally contains the same qualities that flow through all of nature. Whether you feel frustrated by rigid meditation "shoulds," curious about ancient wisdom, or seeking a bridge between spiritual teachings and lived experience, this Nature's Flow introductory series meets you in the immediacy of your direct experience—your breath, your contact with the ground, the space your body occupies.Thank you for Being with Being.beingwithbeing.org

In this exploration, we'll discover nature's quality of whole flow through the sensitive awareness of your fingers and hands. I'll guide you through feeling the length, volume, and space that your fingers occupy, exploring how our hands can feel right there -- right here -- filling and radiating through your hands all at once. Through this practice, you might discover how the all-at-once-ness and wholeness that we see in nature is also alive in the integrity of how your immediate experience unfolds.Some possible takeaways from today's practice:The sense of presence filling your hands completelyExperiencing the all-at-once-ness of whole flowFeeling the integrity of wholeness in this momentRecognizing the vibrancy and tangibility of presence in spaceNature’s Flow Series:Discover how your inner landscape naturally contains the same qualities that flow through all of nature. Whether you feel frustrated by rigid meditation "shoulds," curious about ancient wisdom, or seeking a bridge between spiritual teachings and lived experience, this Nature's Flow introductory series meets you in the immediacy of your direct experience—your breath, your contact with the ground, the space your body occupies.Thank you for Being with Being.beingwithbeing.org

In this exploration, we'll discover how the first two qualities of nature's flow arise together rather than separately. I'll guide you through feeling the free flow of breath coming down into your body and the wave-like motion of your breathing body, exploring how both freedom and connection are how nature flows together. Through this practice, you might find how the breath and body reveal themselves as flows of nature happening in space, mutually connected yet practically infinitely fine and free.Some possible takeaways from today's practice:Sensing how freedom and connection arise together naturallyFeeling the wave-like quality of your breathing bodyRecognizing breath and body as flows of nature in spaceThe experience that nothing in your body is physically stuckNature's Flow Series:Discover how your inner landscape naturally contains the same qualities that flow through all of nature. Whether you feel frustrated by rigid meditation "shoulds," curious about ancient wisdom, or seeking a bridge between spiritual teachings and lived experience, this Nature's Flow introductory series meets you in the immediacy of your direct experience—your breath, your contact with the ground, the space your body occupies.Thank you for Being with Being.beingwithbeing.org

In this exploration, we'll discover nature's quality of free flow through the practically infinite fineness of breath at your nose. Together we'll use gentle attention to the sensations in your nostrils, exploring how nature arises as ever finer flows within flows—never stuck, always free. I'll guide you through an open inquiry into the finest sensations you can feel, and you might discover how the free flow that we experience in the flow of air is also alive in the immediacy of your own experience.Some possible takeaways from today's practice:The practically infinite fineness within any flowRecognizing that nothing in nature is ever stuckFinding freedom accessible in simple breath awarenessThe sense that every experience has irresolvable richnessNature's Flow Series:Discover how your inner landscape naturally contains the same qualities that flow through all of nature. Whether you feel frustrated by rigid meditation "shoulds," curious about ancient wisdom, or seeking a bridge between spiritual teachings and lived experience, this Nature's Flow introductory series meets you in the immediacy of your direct experience—your breath, your contact with the ground, the space your body occupies.Thank you for Being with Being.beingwithbeing.org

 In today's exploration, we'll discover nature's quality of mutual flow by settling together into direct contact with your body and the earth. I'll guide you through gentle attention to your shoulders, hands, and seat as we explore how giving your weight to the ground and receiving its support can reveal the mutual connection that's already streaming through your experience. Through this practice, you might find yourself feeling how the wisdom of interconnection is tangibly happening in your direct experience right now.Some possible takeaways from today's practice:The sense of laying down and being held by supportLearning to relax held tension and settle into your bodyRecognizing the immediacy of contactful connectionFeeling the overall sense that you're not aloneNature's Flow Series: Discover how your inner landscape naturally contains the same qualities that flow through all of nature. Whether you feel frustrated by rigid meditation "shoulds," curious about ancient wisdom, or seeking a bridge between spiritual teachings and lived experience, this Nature's Flow introductory series meets you in the immediacy of your direct experience—your breath, your contact with the ground, the space your body occupies.Thank you for Being with Being.beingwithbeing.org