Symbols in Dreams

[Kitsunebi]

Greetings to you all.
I am new to the site and admit I am very hesitant to post anything due to my extreme ignorance of the philosophy and training. What little knowledge I do have is based on a year's training in Tai Chi, though I was a student of Karate Do when I was younger.
For many years now I have found myself drawn to the philosophies of Zen and Buddhism. For over 17 years now I have had a re-occuring dream where I see myself from below (As if I am walking on glass) and i have strange circular tattoos on the bottoms of my feet. After years of searching I found the symbol in a book where I learned it represents "Equinimity." I understand what it means but I find myself very cut off from any source to learn more then this. I have tried on my own to read what little I can find, I practice what little Tai Chi and meditation I know in hopes of reaching 'Equinimity'. I must confess though I am having a very hard time letting go the anger I feel toward people who have hurt my children and myself.
Can anyone recomend practices or words that can help me let go this anger I feel poisoning me?
(I have searched for a teacher in hopes of learning Qi Gong, which I also feel a strange pull toward, but it seems I am in a remote area where there is nothing available to me.)
I would be most grateful for any words or help and humbly thank you all for your few moments of time in which you have at least heard my plee.

[Alex McLeod]

I may not be the best person to answer your questions, but I will attempt to do so, as I have logged in to this account for once and yours is the first post I saw.

I believe that anger is a natural reaction to being hurt or having your loved ones hurt. Except in the cases of very highly spiritually cultivated persons (Saints, Buddhas, Avatars, Immortals, Bodhisattvas, and any other title by which they are called), it is perfectly normal to feel angry at appropriate times. As we are not enlightened, we do experience beings other than the self, and as long as anything other than the self exists in our percieved reality, we can become angry, happy, sad, bored, etc.

If you allow yourself to feel angry, and then just let that emotion go on its way, you will not feel angry anymore. Your feelings are just trying to tell you something about your experiences. It is how you handle them that is what causes them to linger around and fester. Listen to them as they happen, take the lesson that they offer, if any, and allow them to flow naturally.

As far as practices, I'd say that the best is to just smile from the heart.

Also, Sifu is coming to the states to teach chi kung fairly soon, so you could go learn from him in New York, Florida or California, whichever is most convenient for you. All the classes give you the skills to continue your practice for as long as you wish, and the benefits of just the introductory course are amazing. You can register at www.grandmasterwong.com , and in my opinion, attending some courses with Sifu and practicing diligently will help you naturally release anger, so it's like killing two birds with one stone! (Of course, without the whole "killing of birds" thing)

[Adam Kryder]

Dear Kitsunebi,

Here are some powerful tidbits.

I must confess though I am having a very hard time letting go the anger I feel toward people who have hurt my children and myself.
Can anyone recomend practices or words that can help me let go this anger I feel poisoning me?

Say and practice prayers of Blessings
Say and practice prayers of Forgiveness.

If you need guidance on how to do this please write back

(I have searched for a teacher in hopes of learning Qi Gong, which I also feel a strange pull toward, but it seems I am in a remote area where there is nothing available to me.)

I see you are in Florida, there is a teacher in Gainesville, you are very lucky that there is one so close.

No matter how far away Gainesville is from your town in Florida, being accepted as a student by Sifu Anthony, would be a privilege worth traveling for.

https://www.flowingzen.com

Best Wishes,

Adam


Best Wishes

[Kingmonkey]

Hello Kitsunebi,

Adam Kryder's suggestion is absolute perfect, despite the fact that you may or may not be settled in Vermont/ New England and therefor the next authorised Shaolin Wahnam teacher would be found here.

That's a far way, shure, but it's worth it believe me.
If its to far to travel regularely you may want to attain a course with Sigung Wong directly.
You're lucky because there are courses from 18th to 26th of October this year . This would even more be worth the journey and it's likely to become more than a journey to New York....

all the best Pat

[Adam Kryder]

I see you are in Florida, there is a teacher in Gainesville, you are very lucky that there is one so close.

Sorry about the mix up there.

I too am from the North Eastern US. I am from Buffalo, NY

Other than the Sigong's (Grandmaster Wong) Courses in NYC.

Instructors in the North East are:

US:
NYC--> Sifu Eugene

Canada (Ontario):
Kitchener--> Sifu Anton (my sifu)
Toronto--> Sifu Emiko
Sifu Michael
Sifu Gordon
etc...

North eastern US, is a good place for the Shaolin Arts!

Best WIshes,

Adam

[Kitsunebi]

Thank you all very much for your answers. I will try very hard to make arrangements to attend the New York October classes.
Any help in regards to the prayers for Blessing and the prayers for forgivness I would be most thankful for as well.
Again, thank you all so much

[Kingmonkey]

Thank you all very much for your answers. I will try very hard to make arrangements to attend the New York October classes.

You're wellcome
It's worth it I can't repeat this enough. If you're open to it you will learn a priceless lesson and it is in fact a once in a livetime opportunity, even if it wasn't the last time...

You can praise Guan Shi Yin, The great Bidhisattva of compassion, who will help everybody irespective of race, religon and culture. You may also ask her for help;

Namo Guan Shi Yin Pu Sa
Namo Guan Shi Yin Pu Sa
Namo Guan Shi Yin Pu Sa

You can also praise Amitabha Buddha;

Namo Amitabha Buddha
Namo Amitabha Buddha
Namo Amitabha Buddha

and ask him humbly to let you be reborn in his western paradise.
To be reborn doesn't mean that you have to die, its just "something" that has to die....

Hope that'll help you as much as it did help me.

[ANegin]

Welcome to the forums, Kitsunebi. I'm a relative newcomer to the site myself, but I think it's safe to say that your inexperience with Shaolin Wahnam shouldn't make you terribly hesitant to post. This can be a great place to get your questions answered by some of the school's masters, who enjoy talking about their art. Nice name, by the way. I happen to be a gianormous fan of Japanese/Chinese fox lore--just look at my icon!

Anyway, these people are awesome and helpful, so listen to them. Qigung is nifty. Practice it... properly. There's something else that I would rather mention to you, though.

I hope you don't really think there is "nothing" available to you, just that there are no local qigung instructors available to you! Please don't forget that the arts that interest you do not have exclusive rights to paths to equanimity, happiness, enlightenment, and so on. I don't know if this is something you need to hear, but sometimes I have benefited from remembering it.

Always be on the lookout for teachers. They are everywhere, and even though they may not teach taijiquan or qigung, they are still capable of teaching you vital parts of those arts' philosophies.

One day you might meet a good teacher on the road. That teacher could be a priest, a group of playing children, or even a dog. Teachers come from all walks of life, in different colors, in different flavors too! Sometimes they teach meaningful lessons just by being themselves. Have you ever tried to sit like a mountain, or grow like a tree?

All kinds of things could grant you useful knowledge. Even increased intellectual understanding that you are in some ways similar to the people you get angry at, or that your angry actions can return damage to you and those you love, could end up going a long way. Just contemplate these things for a while, and see where it takes you. You might be surprised.

- Andrew

[Kitsunebi]

Thank you so very much for the prayers I sat and mediatated for an hour this morning while saying them. The whole house as well as my children, in addition to myself feels so much more calm and peaceful. All the clutter in my mind worked itself out and is gone, my worries have been cast aside because I see there is no use in them. If I can change them there is no use in worrying and if I can't change them then worrying does no good.
Thank you thank you thank you

ANegin, thank you for the welcome. I have Irish and Cherokee/Creek lineage and elders at pow wows used to comment on seeing or dreaming of foxes before and after meeting me, so the 'totem' stuck. I enjoy studying folk lore and myth and the stories of Kitsune, the loyal and honorable wife aspect especially, always appealed to me.
Regarding teachers I have learned that there are lessons to be learned everywhere and are not soley taught by masters, but recently the emotions and clutter in my mind was stopping me from seeing them.
I feel better now, thank you all so very much and I sincerely hope I can get to NY for the Oct event.

[ANegin]

Hey Kitsune, I guess it's a good thing that you didn't really need my advice, but I'm also glad I had an excuse to broach the topic of foxes with you. I wish I could start ranting on it now, although maybe I should keep this thread on topic. Later, I'll create a thread in the misc. section for people to share information about their personal totems! I'll be the first contributor. I think that would be really groovy.

Interestingly, I have partly Irish lineage as well. You'd never know it, except that left to my own devices, I start belting out Irish drinking songs. As much as I joke about it, I think the greatest thing I picked up from Irish culture is the idea that singing with a sincere heart can calm emotional turbulence. I'm more likely to deal with anger and sadness by singing simple tunes than by praying or chanting (although I think it's great that you are helped by those things).

- Andrew