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Dropping the Mind - Week Two - Dissonance and Consonance

What it means to be in tune? Sometimes it’s helpful to understand what it means to be 'out of tune', as there is often a lack of clarity surrounding the importance of 'dissonance' as a necessary counterpart and experience of 'consonance'. As we go about our daily lives, the feeling of being in tune or out of tune,  experiencing consonance and dissonance are all intrinsic to a deeper understanding of harmonic awareness and harmony in general. Qi Gong is a tool for developing this awareness and being playful with this awareness in the field of our actions.

In Sanskrit, the word Kriya is the activity along with the steps or degrees and effort in action, while karma is the executed action as a consequence of that activity, as well as the intention of the actor behind an executed action or a planned action (described by some scholars as metaphysical residue left in the actor). A good action creates good karma, as does good intent. A bad action creates bad karma, as does bad intent. 'Good' and 'bad' in this example relate to a more in-depth concept of 'right' and 'wrong' where 'right' action stems from a heightened compassionate understanding of the role a certain action plays beyond identifying personally with the action. 

Where we are not heading in this practice is towards black and white or even grey areas of ethics and morals. Nor are we able to retreat into the safety of deferring the wish for a positive outcome from actions based on our acceptance of the intention of another as our own. We are working within the experiential framework of our body. To listen, breath, tune in deeper. We are diving into harmony; into colour. We must not be afraid to step outside of the conceptual and into the experiential to understand the different qualities of relationships existing between degrees of consonance and dissonance and the role that the working with the subtle and dynamic meditative practice of Qi Gong as fundamental way to develop and evolve consciousness itself.  

Consonance and dissonance, pleasure and displeasure, action and inaction are spectral terms, as are sound, light and emotions. The more we dive into our Qi Gong as fields for integrating awareness and action the more we can understand what it truly means to make decisions that are in tune with not only oneself but also with one’s surrounding environments and this beautiful planet that supports and nourishes you. May you be nourished. For more on consonance and dissonance you might like to read my blog article on the topic here.

Below are some recap notes and videos on Week Two's Qi Gong and Meditation practice.

 
 

Qi Gong

  1. Standing Meditation - Dropping into the Dantien. Connect and check in with your feelings and energy levels

2. Warming and loosening up the joints - Shifting blocks, getting the internal juices flowing.

3. Clean Body Qi Gong - Mini explosions expelling of stagnant and sickness Qi

  1. Golden Flesh - Consciously breathing/massaging and nourishing Qi activation in the flesh, tendons, fascia and bones (NB bone focus requires hitting with the hand or bamboo).

  2. Posture and Alignment - Wu Ji Stance - Opening up to and connecting Earth and Heaven - Drop into the pelvis, breath with gravity.

  3. Microcosmic Smoothing - Starting at the Thymus Gland perform the smoothing down the arms, front line of the body, moving down the outside of the legs, connecting with earth, smoothing up the insides of the legs, up to the perineum and under to the tailbone, up the back (spine), back of the head and over to begin the cycle again. Finish at the Dantien.

  4. Wuji Gong Week two - One direction of form. Remember, a movement has its seeds in the state of stillness before it is seen. Before we rise, we sink our awareness deep into the earth to contact the roots.

 

Want More to Explore?

Nada Yoga

The following drone can be used to support the beginnings of your Nada Yoga practice

  • Try deeply sighing

  • Slowing start to pay more attention to shifting tone and pitch of your voice and continue until you find a resonant note you want to explore

Explore the relationship between the shape of the sound using not only your voice shaped by your mouth, throat and vocal chords but also your entire body. Go with the flow.

“You cannot get directly from thinking to being. Thinking, feeling, being. Feeling is the bridge between thinking and being.” - Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh 

 

Introduction to Pashyanti in Seated Meditation

Paśyanti or paśyantī (Sanskrit: पश्यन्ति or पश्यन्ती), the Sanskrit term which means 'see' is derived from the word paśya meaning 'to see' and paśyat meaning - seeing, beholding a particular sound.

In Indian philosophy the notion of individuality, which is the third level of personality and the seed of all thoughts, speeches and actions is called Pashyanti , meaning 'that which witnesses'. Thus, Pashyanti refers to the visible sound which is experienced as a feeling or a mental picture.

  • After you have finished your Nada Yoga practice just sit with the after effects of the luminary resonance. What is there? What are you witnessing in mind-body continuum?