In The Way of Power Master Chuen write about stress management as a natural strength. Right now I'm dealing with a few tons of stress: an upcoming court case, a mid career crisis, a huge transition about to take place in Ben's life. I've been having difficulty falling asleep so I'm tired and more vulnerable to identifying with the sense of panic in my brain and body.
Chuen's words remind me that I have the resources inside of me to deal with this stress. If I keep the focus returning again and again to my tan tien, if I return to my foundation postures and re-connect as often as I need to with the natural warmth and the natural relaxation I've been building over years of practice, this stress will be lesss likely to take me over and block my intuitive abilities.
Chuen says over time this develops fearlessnes. What an idea, to be fearless. We have normalized fear so much in our culture that to be fearless is something for action heros and movie stars. Not something for ordinary people who need so much strength just to fight against the social forces in their lives that are allways threatening to take away job security, rights to shared resources, etc. And then there are, of course, the natural forces the bring stress: ageing, death, grief at the ageing and death of others.
We need a cultivated resilience to deal with all of these things. That's why I stand.
