Below are some tid-bits I've learned from talking with and reading books written by my Kung Fu Master, the honorable monk Fa Chuan Shakya.
RIGHT PROGRESS: Right Progess is changing for the better. Each day we should strive to become wiser, and we should attempt to make fewer mistakes. Right Progress can also mean putting good effort into what we are doing. On a daily basis we should put forth a good effort to understand and think on a deeper level. Right Progress also means to apply relaxed focus to whatever we find ourselves doing. If we do not put good effort in the task at hand, we can sometimes end up with a less than desirable result.
Before and after the Shaolin Monks of southern China went into battle, they would go through meditation rituals to prepare themselves mentally before battle. Today I will share with you a meditation that I have learned. Practiced and perfected...it can be one of many tools in your arsenal to keep you motivated, playing your best, and getting the most out of life.
Pre-Battle Meditation: The exercise is intended to last exactly five minutes. Play the following scenario over and over in your mind...Sit comfortably on the floor, keep your back straight, breath through your nose (tongue on the roof of your mouth) and close your eyes. Relax fully.
Imagine you are a tiger. You are hungry. Very hungry and you are about to go out hunting. You are standing on the top of a mountain or hill. Imagine the last time you were so hungry you couldn't take it. Slowly, you start creeping down the mountain looking for food. You are having to hold yourself back as gravity keeps trying to pull you down. As you are creeping down the mountain, you are wild with intensity and concentration. Letting gravity pull you down the mountain, you are prowling looking for food. You are ready to leap and tackle any prey you see. You've never been so hungry! Now go out and kill!
Once this group meditation had taken place, the monks would go out and fight with the highest levels of intensity known to man. It is said that many monks would literally bite people's throats off and devore their enemies...ripping limbs off their enemies with ease. Once the battle was over and they had defeated their enemies, the monks would perform another meditation exercise involving climbing back up the mountain and returning to the mental state ideal for normal everyday life (imagine walking back up the mountain, completely full and content, about to return home for a nice long nap...again, this exercise also is intended to last 5 minutes).
The more advanced I get at poker, the more I realize how important it is to be good at many different things. You must be an expert at being extremely tight and extremely loose. You must be able to adapt to the always changing conditions. You get out what you put in. Don't leave your life's pursuits and ambitions up to chance....don't be a leaf blowing in the wind. Take control of your life. Be the person you know you can be. Don't let anyone else define who you are or your capablities. Strive to better yourself everyday. A wise man once said, "Hard work makes life easy." Go out there like the hungry tiger you are deep down inside. Hunt. Kill. Win.
Comments welcomed as always. All questions/comments will be addressed in the forthcoming blog. Until then,...Work towards living up to your potential; nobody is going to do it for you.
D