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It's always a hard time for Aussies to accept that weβre entering into our Winter season, and Iβm sure many of you elsewhere are the same, although many of you at least have good snow to look forward to. It's not an accident that Autumn is the season where we get to mourn for all that weβre letting go of and losing for the year, because we lose Summer every year, and when successfully mourned, it provides a good energetic platform for us to slide into Winter with acceptance and appreciation.
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Winter brings to surface our inner Sage; the archetype of the Kidneys who have their [shorter] day in the sun when the cold takes over the land. Many of you would know that this is a time that we focus on cultivating Jing, but the Kidney season delivers a secret bonus energy on a platter that we may cultivate as the Yin dominates, and it's one thatΒ makes our lives incredibly more rich.
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In Daosim / Taoism we talk about the Three Treasures - Jing, Qi and Shen (read more about these beautiful Treasures here), as these are the core of what creates our human experience, and what we attempt to βtoneβ and cultivate through taking the herbs and doing the practices we rave on about. There is a fourth Treasure though. Just the same way that the spirit of the Heart is known as our Shen, the spirit of the Kidneys is known as our Zhi, our Will [power], and it is so important to constituting the quality of our life that it is considered by many Daoists / Taoists as the fourth Treasure (a huge deal), and something worth focusing your cultivation methods upon.Β
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Now donβt get confused, the Jing is STORED in the Kidneys, and our Zhi/Will is the SPIRIT of that same organ system. We will experience an abundance of the expression of our Zhi/Will when the Jing is being cultivated and the Kidneys are:Β
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When these and all the other magical things we do to ensure our lifestyle is life-giving and restoring (sustainable) rather than physically and mentally taxing (unsustainable) are being done, the reality is that we will feel our Will building and emanating from our system naturally. This is completely different to using the mind to βovercomeβ something and sustain going cold-turkey (as many think of when hearing the term will power). Let us attempt to grasp this mysterious Treasure further as we flesh out its true nature...
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The Treasure of Will is entwined with our innate desire to take on responsibility in all facets. This would be shouldering responsibility for our own temperament, for our life in all its forms, our relationships and circumstances. The slippery slope here is thinking that in order to cultivate Will, we must start going out and taking on responsibility for as many things as possible straight away. Although this can be slightly useful to get us moving in an evolutionary direction, it is quite often caught up in an unsustainable lifestyle model that puts external before internal, personal image before long-term growth, βcausesβ before true capacity to inflict change, and leads to a lifestyle that systemically leaks our Jing.
When we move according to the traditions, going back to the indigenous teachings that emerged from India and China and became Daoism, we learn the nature of slow and steady, of the wise way of the Kidneys. We learn how to first feel the desire rising to truly take on responsibility in a particular area, move towards it without identity enmeshment or exasperation, and feel the embodiment of responsibility that almost becomes a part of your living tissue; rather than just allowing the mind to rush the process in search of being a βgood boyβ or βgood girlβ and gain accolades (especially on social media). Quite often these express endeavours are noble in intent, but we havenβt actually cultivated enough internal space or energy to truly be responsible in a way that ensures we:
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The second key aspect of Will that accompanies the desire for responsibility, and pulls it βinto the vortexβ more so, is purpose. Since this is such a diluted term, I want to make a distinction here.
The purposefulness element of Will is when we create enough space in our head and life that we can feel the magnetism of certain work, goals, missions etc. It is something that emerges within the cultivation of Will, and allows us to march purposefully and with gusto into our work and relationships, because we know its something we truly want to do and gives us further intrinsic purposefulness as we act upon true purposefulness itself (you canβt βwillβ your way into feeling βon purpose.")
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Most people are so tapped out from slogging it through school (goes completely against a child/teenagers circadian rhythm), uni, work, non-tribal family life etc. that we canβt really feel that strong force of purpose within that drives us forward in life and, introducing the third key element of Will, oneβs destiny. If your βpurposeβ is leading to one that is becoming depleted and self-sacrificing, then Iβd argue that a more sustainable model is required, as according to the Daoist roadmaps for living that weβve been gifted, such a life of βpurposeβ will not lead to the fulfilment of your destiny, and letβs be honest, thereβs always something tragic about a true destiny unrealisedβ¦ or perhaps we will inevitably fulfil our true destiny no matter whatβ¦? and in our failings encourage us to fall forward in our cosmic destinyβ¦? Phew, letβs pause that thought and explore destiny a smidge more.
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When our Zhi is balanced, meaning our Kidneys are respected, loved and constantly being restored (Western lifestyle, Iβm looking at you to start making some systemic upgrades so you donβt smash peopleβs Kidneys so bad!), weβre taking on responsibility in a sustainable matter, and weβre feeling purpose arise and draw us in particular directions, then we inevitably flow like Water (the element of the Kidneys and Zhi) towards our destiny in a effortless manner. Weβre propelled by an invisible force towards the gold at the end of the rainbow, and even though it is acknowledged by all sages that life is still challenging, and one must maintain their practice to stay in flow, we find that we make our own luck with our harmonious Zhi, and life can be that bit brighter.
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I tip my hat to Winter. This season is deep, dark and the time for lasting transformation, but experienced in a slow and steady pace. Iβm going to spend July layering on top of 30 days of JING a gentle personal movement practice that focuses on increasing my capacity to hear the whisper of my Zhi. I often go hard with my physical practice when Iβm starting a new cycle or gain lots of energy to move my body after a couple of months, but Iβm focused on allowing the Yin to dominate my practice and ensure I donβt allow agenda and physical aspirations to dominate my practice; its never sustainable when I do. Iβll be getting nice and rugged up and getting into nature - Iβm realising how poor I am at asking for what I want/need so Iβve asked Tahnee to really support me having walkabout time these next 30 days (and beyond haha). Iβll also be slowing down when Iβm with my daughter Aiya, Iβm really wanting to see, hear and feel everything that our interactions bring when Iβm present and meeting her, and I reckon thereβs more wisdom there than any meditation I could do hehe, although I will enjoy my sitting practice also, because a man has got to stay sane haha.
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Big love to you all, anyone who wants to join in on the 30 days of JING you can get info here.Β
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Many blessings to you this Winter as we invite in the dark embrace of Yin and allow our Will, that treasured Zhi to cultivate and pull us towards taking of responsibility, purpose, and our destiny with ease and grace.Β
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