"The Way of Great Learning consists in manifesting one's bright virtue, loving the people and coming to rest in perfect goodness.
When you know to stop, you will have stability; when you have stability, you will be tranquil; when you are tranquil, you will be at peace; when you are at peace, you can reflect, when you can reflect, you will attain.
Things have roots and branches, affairs have end and beginning. When you know what comes first and what comes last, then you are near the Way." …
Tiao Shen 调神 - Regulate the Heart (Mind)
The second of the three guiding principles for entering into what is called the “qigong state” is a type of deep relaxation that unfolds from within. The body is “yin 阴” or visible, substantial form of existence; the mind and spirit, which in terms of qi are “yang 阳”, comprise the invisible activity, the inspiration of human existence.
As you regulate the body, you are already beginning to regulate the heart qi; as tension is relaxed at the deepest physical levels, both the physical mechanism of breathing and the heart rhythm relax, allowing for a smoother flow of breath and blood to supply the body’s needs. When more relaxed in the practice of qigong, both the pulse and blood pressure are better regulated according to your needs - if the pulse is regularly too fast, it slows down; if the blood pressure is regularly too high or too low, it adjusts to a healthier value. This is the noticeable effect of regulating the yang qi of the heart - circulation, pulse rate and blood pressure all begin to adjust in a more relaxed physical state.
Regulating the mind, the thinking and feeling aspect of the heart qi, means you enter into a deeply quiet state, a vast calm, stable inner silence that is unaffected by any type of sensory intrusions from outside (sights, sounds, smells, weather or room temperatures). The internal activity of mental pictures, feelings or emotional reactions, and the constant, chaotic stream of thinking begins to slow down as a clear lightness of mind and heart arises.
More than anything, a calm mind creates a vast sense of space, and an experience of timelessness. Sitting in a cramped seat on a full train can feel like sitting comfortably alone in a quiet pasture; a journey of hours can feel like minutes. The sounds of machines and people can recede into the far distance, or come and go without making an impression or pulling you out of this rarefied state. This is the essence of what is called the “qigong state”, and even the briefest moment of entering into it is cultivating an ability to nourish life.
The Confucian “Great Learning“ describes how one can, step by step, develop one’s true nature as a human being in alignment with Heaven and Earth: Three of these steps are called Ding 定, Jing 静, An 安, which literally translate as “Stable, Quiet, Peace”. First there is “Ding”, becoming and remaining stable, or still; after stability comes “Jing”, becoming quiet, or a deeper type of stillness; and finally comes “An”, peace, a rarefied state of true reality.
“An”, or peace may not be possible to achieve in the course of “normal” daily life, especially in these uncertain times. But you can easily develop enough stability and stillness to be lead into the qigong state, a realm of deep inner calm and quietness, the source of profound health, regeneration and rest
