Don't Lose It!

Calasanz on Forgiveness and Redemption:

Master Calasanz

I hate to give up on anyone in this world.  I believe that if somebody does something wrong and tries to make it up, that is enough to be forgiven.  There are cases that make it impossible for 99% of the population to forgive, but when confronted with a person who repeatedly acts against their nature, who has time and time again acted impulsively, seemingly unawares that their acting out is transgression in its basest form, then there is more to think about.

  

It is like depression, you cannot blame a person that is depressed for anything they do, why? Depression is the worst illness on the face of earth, but because mostly the entire world is ill people don't take it seriously; the public, their Doctors and even their families.

In my life there was a problem which, without a fraction of doubt was the most devastating problem to myself and my business, ever.  Let me tell you the truth, the only reason I remain in business today is because those around me know me very well, plus, there is one thing I do right, and that is that, the more pressure and adversity I face, the more I focus on staying healthy.

You find people that try so very hard not to do something that they just wait and wait to see if something will change.  This is not far from the Zen Buddhist concept of action through inaction.  In the world you will encounter people that do not listen to anybody, and despite their unwillingness to concentrate and consider perspectives to achieve a broader sense of things they insist that their knowledge is already complete and perfect.  And through their subjectively complete and perfect knowledge they insist that still, they can help best.  (Logically one with a broader more informed knowledge base would be able to make a more helpful decision than a more narrowly informed individual.)  

Today I ask myself many questions.  

Calasanz with student John Recor

Are we doing the right thing?  

Or rather, are we being too patient or passive?  

Are we just waiting for the worst?  

And we have indeed waited, in the past and into the present, meaning I was wrong to let all of this happen.  I personally do not belong with those who believe in the worst.  Those pessimistic attitudes, negativity, anger and hate.   The worst is when you "lose it", when you lose your patience and are genuinely unruly.  Later on, once those moments have passed, and as you reflect on those times, you remember what occurred and you begin to question your mental attitude and your intelligence.  

"How could I have done that?"  

"What was I thinking?"  

You might ask yourself these questions but there are no answers; for it was not really you who did it, and there was no conscious thought in the moment.  Passion and emotion had taken complete control.

Allowing anger, or any emotion for that matter, to arise to such a degree that you are no longer present in the world, no longer aware of your actions despite how radical they may be, is a quick way towards a self-guilt laden future of continued masochistic introspection and a yearning desire to "undo" those actions as they are remembered and come to mind again and again.  

This is why patience is king.  To be able to consistently remain calm, to learn to suppress the seeds of rage before they blossom fully so as to remain conscious, aware, functional, and deliberate.  To remain focused enough to have the foresight necessary to avoid taking unnecessary radical action.  To maintain composure even in the face of adversity and opposition.  Remember, the view to the bottom of the pond is clearest when it is devoid of agitation. (again I also remind you that breath control and awareness of breath are the proper tools of this suppression, discipline and control of self)

Patience Will Win the World, That is the Fact of Life.





Written by Calasanz

Editing / Concept Development by Alan Wedell

What the F*&! is so Great About Calasanz?

Here is Calasanz showing one of his best exercises based on Physical Arts under his self-titled 'Calasanz System'.  Physical Arts is Martial Arts, but Martial meaning in a general balanced term.

The Calasanz System - What is it?

Calasanz has spent a lifetime studying various martial arts and fitness trends. Over the years, he has dissected the best parts of each and combined them into what has become known as THE CALASANZ SYSTEM – a unique and effective style that has wide range appeal. THE CALASANZ SYSTEM includes a physical conditioning program that improves your overall strength, flexibility and endurance. This conditioning program builds a more functionally fit body than traditional weight lifting programs or other fitness routines.   

Calasanz has spent the last 30 years here in the U.S. developing and perfecting his system of martial arts and fitness training.  His unique teaching methods have helped countless men, women and children of all shapes, sizes and fitness levels enjoy the martial arts while getting fit.  His professional expertise and unique approach are why people like you have made Calasanz their number one destination for superior martial arts and fitness training.

 

We're Unique, - What Makes Us Different? 

Many martial arts clubs have a one-size-fits-all approach to teaching. Calasanz tailors an individual program specifically for each single person that walks through the door.  Whether you’re a seasoned martial artist looking to improve your skills or a beginner looking for a great way to get fit, Calasanz and his team will work with you in creating a program that meets your fitness and Martial Art goals. In this system a natural athlete can be passed on to more challenging feats while extra attention can be spent on developing the abilities that will help advance those at the dawn of their athletic experience. Our One-on-One training is the most superior method of enhancing your body and your skills.

Combining the Three Aspects

First is breathing.  Next comes awareness of the breath.  Then comes control of the breath.  Afterwards the breath is forgotten.  Followed by remembrance of the breath.  And finally a return to just breathing.

The three aspects of martial arts are the Physical, Mental and Spiritual.  Discussed in an earlier entry rudimentarily we will now delve deeper into these different facets and discuss the interplay between them for a deeper understanding and more open discourse about them.

At all times these three realities are present and are constantly being expressed, independent of the user's being aware of it or not.  In fact, it is not possible to consciously express all of them at once, for the simple reason that as soon as consciousness gets involved the moment becomes primarily mental.  For example, at this moment the processes leading to comprehension of these words puts the mental understanding of their meaning at the fore-front of the current experience which is being used to affect spiritual change within; all the while this comprehension is only achievable with the assistance of the physical events of eye-movement, sensory input, and brain synapse activity.  These physical happenings are combining with the mental capacity to understand in order to produce an amalgamation ending in a significant and inner spiritually altering experience.

This "three way amalgamation" is at all times occurring to create the present experience in which genesis and conclusion are in exact equilibrium through what is properly called time.




The concept of Nirvana within the Indian Tradition is described as a state of pure bliss or "ultimate reality".  It's opposite being "samsara" or a state of "non-nirvana".  Yogis and gurus have discovered certain methods of achieving this state of "ultimate reality" (most are based on awareness and control of the breath) and here I will let the proverbial cat out of the bag and let you all in on the big secret.  Nirvana, again might be described in this discourse as an instantaneous and simultaneous realization of the association of the three aspects: physical mental and spiritual.  Nirvana, however, cannot be experienced through solely a spiritual, mental, or physical means by itself.

One reaches Nirvana through a combination of mental and physical stimuli affecting the entity in the present to induce a spiritual realization and mental state.  It can occur at any moment, either through extended practice or even by surprise for no explicit reason, or anywhere there inbetween.  The moment of realization culminates into what has been referred to by Alan Watts as the "cosmological experience". and this experience is embodied by two different extremes at opposite ends of a spectrum.  One may feel as if he is the Omnipotent himself, a feeling that one is simultaneously producing and maintaining the entirety of reality (sometimes leading to delusions of grandeur among the unpracticed) or as if he is completely subordinate to reality under complete control of his surroundings / environment. (sometimes leading to a more nihilistic outlook or a feeling of ultimate surrender).

This state, however, is as temporary as anything else and does not usually last very long.  Understand that as one approaches an extreme, eventually there will only be one way to go.  As a great teacher once told me, "Something that turns so far into itself will begin to turn into its opposite."  This reversal can happen both spontaneously, or over a duration of time, just the same as the achievement of Nirvana.  However, the effect of the user achieving this state or having this realization is ever-lasting and never forgotten.

The first time Nirvana is achieved the experience is baffling, after which the user is often confused, amazed, unsettled and shocked all at the same time.  However, through practice and repeated achievement he will come to a realization which is what all religious traditions in the world today are paraphrasing in their own ways.  It is that Nirvana and Samsara are identical.  That they are, in the end, a simple pair of symbiotic opposites used to symbolize and conceptualize the contrasting perspectives of reality we experience.

In the Christian Tradition these are named "Heaven" and "Hell".  Here we refer to "heaven" and "hell" in the sense that they are not ethereal, postmortem destinations, but are instead the perceived, readily tangible and (fortunately) malleable expressions of reality here within.  For example, someone who is suffering is, at that time, in hell and someone who is experiencing joy is, at that time, in heaven.  The defiant, wayward rebellion of Adam and Eve within the Christian tradition being representative of our capacity to change and shape our own reality for better or worse towards heaven, or hell.

So how can I explain this interplay to you?  It is perhaps difficult to explicitly lay it out.  We are, after all, talking about the interaction between physical reality and abstract realms which is an incredibly complicated topic and one that is exceptionally challenging to understand intellectually. (Good on you if you are following this!)  This interplay might be described as a trinity of ever-present realms unified in concept; in which each aspect separately retains its certain individual properties while constantly adapting in accordance with the others and concurrently influencing them outwardly.  This interaction implicitly results in life and in harmony.  A harmony who's 'tune' and beauty originates from the balance between the three.

First is breathing.  Next comes awareness of the breath.  Then comes control of the breath.  Afterwards the breath is forgotten.  Remembrance of the breath follows.  And finally a return to just breathing.


Thanks for Reading and Share it if this helped you or spoke to you in any way!


Concept Develped and Written by:
Alan Wedell

Presentness Through Life and Kung Fu

When it comes to training the body for the long term, for the dedication to a prolonged life and for real longevity we are, in the end, talking about Kung Fu proper.

As a term that is thrown around in Western culture, often mentioned only in passing and almost never actually discussed or explored in any real depth, as if a joke or a farce, "Kung Fu" is very much a part of every day life and is an important practice for those living in those areas where Kung Fu was birthed and developed.  As life continues so too Kung Fu continues to develop along with it, independent of geographical location.  Do note, however, that the expression of Kung Fu in different geographical locations differs vastly from one place to the next and does not necessarily involve the complicated forms or movement sequences often brought to mind upon the utterance of the words "Kung Fu" (note: the existence and practice of said forms classically denotes a highly developed but still changing expression of Kung Fu).  For example, eating is Kung Fu, training is Kung Fu, sleeping is Kung Fu.  If you are breathing, if you are living you are in fact doing Kung Fu.

So, if we can agree that Kung Fu is synonymous with life it is also understood that any action taken which delays the Reaper's inevitable scythe is good Kung Fu, and any action which quickens the dark and final blow is directly at odds with the natural inertia of existence.  The good practitioner has a harmonious aptitude and a complete understanding, even without the understanding of every particular.  The good practitioner visualizes his life's path knowing that his present action affects his course directly.  It is difficult to consistently keep this vision front and center in sight and in mind, especially with the ever multiplying measure of external stimuli in today's world.

The good practitioner can develop and hone his ability to keep this vision at the forefront through meditation and more specifically control of the breath.  It's amazing that even the most minuscule lapse of judgment; the most concise, fleeting moment can cause a resounding deviation from the envisioned path.  Situations where this is the case might be called "accidents".  A mental consistency of awareness and a grounded recognition of reality must be maintained to a certain degree at all times to curb the likelihood of "accidents"actualizing themselves.  Reducing their possibility is best done by avoidance of the prerequisite conditions necessary for the accident to occur and using foresight to recognize those conditions.

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As we live there is a perpetual culmination of circumstances occurring at every moment in a constant fleeting genesis and it is here, within the moment, where lies the potential for all that is present to affect (for better or worse) the immediate circumstances towards a future reality.  Again, the potential there lies, in the moment, for us to bend our reality to a new extreme, or more likely to a new moderate circumstance as time passes.  Whether an extreme will actualize itself or not is uncertain, and the likelihood of a situation's development into an extreme reality a priori (meaning before the entrance of any empirical information) can properly be modeled by the mathematicians bell curve.  As we are great effectors of our own circumstance we must remain focused and resolute to ensure that as long as we are in control we do not breach over into an extreme displacement unless absolutely necessary.  But, if a breach of extreme does occur either by "accident" or through willful, deliberate action we must do our best to maintain control using our wisdom and intuition to characteristically proceed with magnanimity and honest virtue to reestablish equilibrium.

So we bring it back now to the topic at hand which is longevity.  Physical development is something that is also perpetual throughout a lifetime until death, so it is important that one understands how to develop safely and without injury as injury is properly a physical regression, which is the opposite of the desired outcome of development, progression.  So please!  Don't get hurt!  Our Physical Arts Exercises with the anatomical logicality of its holistic movements all centered on the core are the most simple and most effective exercises to promote longevity and real, internal power.  These exercises, when performed correctly and safely (meaning not with excessive weight) promote coordination, dexterity, power, proficiency and skill simply through their execution.  With this system the physical realm can be mastered in record time leaving the mental and spiritual realms ready to be conquered.

A Master of Kung Fu lives longer through dedicated physical training, spiritual serenity, and mental patience all contributing to a stressless life and ever-present mind.

Live Longer, Live Better, Kung Fu

Inspired by Calasanz
Written by Alan Wedell