Shang Lee » Guides to life

How to Stay Motivated Throughout the Day

Shang Lee — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 04:55:56 +0000

Eat a good mental breakfast.

See the whole video by Brian Tracy here.

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What is real tai chi?

Shang Lee — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 02:15:29 +0000

This post is in response to a reader’s question on whether the style of Tai Chi that he is wanting to pick up is real Tai Chi or not. My response? I don’t know.

What I know is this – real Tai Ji doesn’t depend on style.

It is not the style of Tai Chi that defines whether Tai Chi is real or not. It depends on the interpretation of the person practising it. I can hazard a leap of assumption that anything, be it watering the plants or taking out the trash can be real Tai Chi, as long as you understand the principles.

Click here to read more on how to find teachers in general. Read the comments as well to see other views.

p/s: Thanks Greg for your question!

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Do you really want to live a rerun?

Shang Lee — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 16:53:58 +0000

The easy path is someone else’s path. It looks easy because it’s been done before. For the same reasons, it’s also incredibly boring. If you dislike boredom, you’ll sabotage yourself each time you try to follow that path. You’ll realize just how pointless it is to spend your precious life doing what’s already been done. Do you really want to live a rerun? Why bother?

via Steve Pavlina’s Being a Savage

Sounds logical when you put it that way. I do dislike boredom. But I am also a lazyholic.

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Live the questions, now

Making choice simple through visibility

Shang Lee — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 16:51:44 +0000

Building a choice architecture is a lot about building visibility. The simple premise is this – if you can’t see it, you can’t make a choice on it. So in my quest to get more things done, I had to change the way I list out the things to be done.

To put everything on just one list, I use to have a few nested list within the same list. For example:

Improve workflows

Create a better list

read Getting Things Done again.

This is in the structure of:

Areas of focus

Projects

Next action

The list became pretty long and with all the nesting going on in there, it was hard to see which one should be getting my attention. In the end, none of them did (get my attention) because I have grown immune to it. There were just too many things going on in there.

No more nesting in lists

So I end up making a “one-trick-pony” list. On my next actions list, I will only be able to see “read that book”. I won’t be able to see why would I want to read that book, as I have already made a choice to read that book. The reason for reading that book shouldn’t be debated during the “reading phase”. It should be debated when I “review the why phase”. And this phase has a different list.

In short, I have all these “nested stuff” separated into a list on its own, so that each list now only shows what needs to be shown.

I have a list for the very next actions. I have a list for the projects I intend to do, which I use to decide what next actions are there. I have a list on the roles I play as a person, to decide which projects should I be focused on. I have a list on the values I hold true to heart, to decide on the priorities I place on the projects I do. And most importantly, I review each of these lists separately, because each list requires a different frame of mind.

What you don’t see

By making items on these lists more visible, I am able to make my choices more easily between the different items. To put it differently, what you don’t see is actually as important as what you see. I’ve removed what I don’t want to see, to see what I want to see. See?

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A simple game

Resistance – A talented Tai Chi master

Shang Lee — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 16:24:10 +0000

Resistance.

It is not the enemy. Resistance is just an extremely talented Tai Chi master. When you are tensed, you feed Resistance. When you are weak, you feed Resistance. When you want to find an excuse, you feed Resistance.

You see, Resistance has developed this highly evolved martial art system that it uses whatever you throw at it against you. You don’t feel like working? Resistance loves you for it. In fact, it will be so encouraging that it will gladly help you to come up with the reasons of why you don’t feel like working. Why you don’t feel like drawing. Why you don’t feel like writing.

You see, Resistance doesn’t come in the form of bosses, or jobs, or family commitments. Resistance has evolved itself into a non-being. Resistance has elevated itself to the status of omnipresent. Whenever you feel like procrastinating, Resistance will gladly show up and help you on your way. Whenever you feel like taking a break, Resistance will be your best friend and share that one beer (or a dozen) with you. Resistance will urge you on to pick up that TV remote control. Resistance will tempt you with snacks in the kitchen. Resistance will make household chores seem so much more pleasant than having to sit for exams.

The talented Tai Chi master is able to use your force against you. He is able to absorb anything that you throw at it, and redirect those energy back to you.

The only way you can beat Resistance, is not to throw things at it, not to feed it. That way, Resistance will just disappear into thin air.

That doesn’t mean that it will not return. Remember, Resistance is the talented Tai Chi master. It awaits patiently at the sidelines, waiting for a chance to lend its hand to you again.

Feed it at your own peril. Resistance is not the enemy. You are.

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Maria Montessori on circulating spiritual powers

Shang Lee — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 16:09:23 +0000

Spiritual powers are a form of wealth. They must go into circulation so that others can enjoy them; they must be expressed and utilized, to complete the cycle of human relations. Even at the heights of spirituality, if pursued for their own sake, have no value, and if we aim at these alone, we shall be neglecting the greater part of life and its purposes.

From Maria Montessori in The Absorbent Mind.

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J. K. Rowling on magic in the real world

Shang Lee — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 18:08:35 +0000

We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.

Extracted from Harvard Magazine via Jonathan Fields.

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8 frequently asked questions about Qi

Shang Lee — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 04:58:07 +0000

I’ve gotten numerous questions or comments about Qi (or chi or ki) that I feel compelled to write a frequently asked questions about Qi and my thoughts on it. If you already have a preconception of what Qi is, good for you. If you are going to feel offended reading other people’s interpretation of it, you can stop reading now. Otherwise, please take a step into my world of Qi.

1. What is Qi?

As far as I can tell, it is a human construct. We have created this word to explain the unexplained. This does not mean that it doesn’t exist. It is just a convenient reference for something that we do not understand or more accurately, cannot comprehend using our conscious mind.

2. You haven’t answered my question yet.

Right on. So what exactly is Qi? I can only say that it is a common thing that runs through everything in the universe. That is why some people refer to it as a universal life force. However, it is not quite accurate as life force assumes it only appears in living things, which it doesn’t. It appears everywhere and in everything. This reminds me of the same definition of tha Tao. If you think you know what Tao is, that is not Tao. Same thing for Qi. In fact, I think Tao could be another word for Qi. It is The Way. But The Way implies the process and Qi could be the points that intersects The Way that could be understood in the human realm.

3. So Qi is not Tao?

I apologise if I am confusing. The closest thing I can think of is that of light. It is made up of discrete matter called photons, but although you can measure photons, you don’t recognise light as photons. Light is light. Photons is just something you are able to measure. So Tao is like Light whereas Qi is like the photons.

4. Ok. Now I am really confused. What exactly are you trying to say?

What I am trying to say is this. It doesn’t matter what Qi is, just like it doesn’t matter what photons is, as long as you are able to use the torchlight to light the way. If you treat your body with respect, your Qi will flow and your body will serve you well in whatever you are trying to do. Your mind will be calm and your actions will be conscious ones.

5. But my teacher can fly?

Ok. Some people has learnt the art of manipulating Qi. When you manipulate Qi that is against the natural flow, something has got to give. It might be your own body, or someone else’s body. On the positive side, if you were to use your Qi to heal someone else, you need to recuperate that Qi. Otherwise, you are exhausting your own Qi for others. Others will thank you for it. Your body won’t.

On the other hand, if you were to use your Qi to break an object, or break a human being, you have just concentrated your Qi into a very focused spot. The object (or human) has suffered as a result of that. It will take a lot more Qi from elsewhere to make that object or human whole again. That way, you are using Qi in excess, and we know what excesses do, they give rise to more waste.

6. What? You are saying I am wasting my Qi?

Not just your Qi. You are wasting the universe’s Qi, and they can’t be reduced, just like enthropy. I believe balance will be found somewhere else. Enthropy is probably balanced out by anti-matter. There is probably some anti-Qi that will absorb these increase in Qi, but I am only speculating. I only wish that the bad Qi you have created by harming someone else will come back to you, like karma, but that’s just me.

7. So what do you do with Qi?

I don’t do anything with it. For me, Qi is a measurement. I used to get real excited when my palms feel that tingling sensation. “Look! Look! I have Qi!” But I realise now that the feeling is just that, a feeling. Everyone is born with it. Discovering it is exciting, but that shouldn’t be your purpose. Your purpose is to make your life whole, and since we are born and have assumed the form of a human being, to make our life whole, we have to take care of the vessel we are in. Our body. We will know our body is in top condition when Qi flows well, not when we forced the Qi to flow in a certain way.

8. I think you have just spewed loads of crap

First, I thank you to have read this far. I have to emphasise that this is my interpretation of Qi. My understanding may change in the future. But at this point, this is how I understand it.

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Finding sanity

Shang Lee — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 22:24:05 +0000

Sanity. A word that seldom emerge from the sea of everyday conversation. People will readily tell you that they are insane – insane from working too hard, insane from the screaming kids, insane from the demanding in-laws, insane from coping with all of these – all at the same time. However, nobody will readily tell you that they are sane, apart from those who are actually insane.

I don’t understand why has sanity become such an endangered species, until I realize that I myself have been searching for sanity for a very long time.

When I first started out blogging, I didn’t know where I am heading. I just wrote.

It seemed like such a novel idea at that time to be able to throw words into the air and let it land anywhere in the world wide web. It doesn’t matter what I am writing about or who am I writing to. All I knew was, it was fun. After a while, people started to leave comments. Some helpful, some gibberish. Some encouraging, some downright rude. But the point here is this,

people actually read what I have to say.

I began to write more, hoping that this may one day become one of the superstar blogs that will make me rich beyond my wildest dreams. It is still a wild dream.

In the pursuit of millions, I lost my voice.

I lost the thing that made people want to read my stuff. I read how others did it. I signed up for training. I tried learning the tricks that will propel me into blogging stardom. I am still nowhere near. I’m still losing the thread that binds it all.

I gave my blog a new name – the journey within. It does epitomizes what I do, but it failed to answer a very simple question – why am I journeying within.

I’ve come to realize that my journey has not been without its fruits. But the destination, is in fact, trying to find sanity, for now.

I wish I have a more sexy word for sanity, but i don’t. My search for truth is to actually find sanity. Sanity in my work, sanity in relationship, sanity in my life. Maybe the sexy name can be “finding order amidst chaos”.

I’ll stick with sanity.

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Chen Zhonghua and his Chen Style Taijiquan Practical Method (Part 2)

Shang Lee — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 16:08:17 +0000

This is Part 2 of the translation and my interpretation of the text written by Sun Zhonghua. He is the 19^th generation master of Chen Style Taijiquan and a 2^nd generation master of Hunyuan Tai Ji. You can find the full text here if you can read Chinese. Here are the links to the other parts: Part 1 | Part 3 | Part 4

Foreword (continued)

Whenever I am giving a talk, I always urge my audiences, “To pass on and expand on the real Tai Ji, anyone who is interested and has the necessary conditions to learn the martial aspect of Tai Ji, please spare some time and effort into it.”

However, this leads to another problem. Regardless of how many passionate people learning the martial aspects of Tai Ji, only very few actually “get it”. Millions of Tai Ji student had to stop their pursuit of Tai Ji, causing them to regret the journey they have taken to get them this far. Another group of Tai Ji practitioners may have been “winning” when they use Tai Ji as martial art. This group of people is then acknowledged to have some degree of skill, but they are actually only showing the pros and cons of their mistakes. To put it in a different way, the latter group has not awakened from their dream state yet. It is hard to say which group among these 2 are the worse off…

Millions of people have spent and invested a great amount of time, money, effort and emotions, only to have the real Tai Ji elude them for life. Some will never have the chance to see and experience what real Tai Ji is. The real Tai Ji, as passed down by our ancestors, are facing a slow and painful death. The cost of this death is too high, the reality too cruel. This is just too depressing…

So, what’s going on here? Does real Tai Ji actually exist? If so, where is it?

I am also one of those people who possess that rare gene in my DNA. I am fairly accomplished in a lot of other kind of sports, but having spent 40 years searching for the real Tai Ji, I do not dare to stop my pursuit of the real deal. Just like many fans of Tai Ji, I have been through the long and arduous route of training and learning, sometimes feeling lost, depressed and sheer and utter disappointment. I remember telling my friends, “I haven’t really failed at anything I chose to do, but I failed in Tai Ji.”

Eventually, I chanced upon the real Tai Ji, and that is through logic and practical experimentation, based on my years of experience that built up my sensitivity towards differentiating the right from the wrong. It was a moment of tremendous joy and simultaneously a moment of tremendous sorrow. I was happy that I have finally found the real Tai Ji, but was sad that I am now an old man. I am too old now to learn the real Tai Ji. My thoughts drifted to some of the sayings from the sages,

“Since you have found the true path, just follow the path as it is laid before you”.

“Just take one step at a time, understand one bit at a time. There is no fame. There is no obvious sign. Just follow the purity of the true path, while enjoying the journey and the process.”

With these wise sayings, I started to feel relieved and a deep sense of gratitude.

(to be continued…)

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