Chapter 1: Vision Quest

 

There's a path that runs both ways up and down the Bald Mountain in the middle of the Bear Paws of Northern Montana that has been the walk of many young men seeking wisdom, experience, and an escape from what waits them on and off the reservation.  Great care should be taken when walking this path during the early autumn as those that you meet along the path may be friend, foe, or predator.  After all in these hills man is sometimes considered a snack.  

This trail also doubles as a small access road used by Forest Service jeeps to gain admittance to a fire tower on an adjacent peak.  At the point where the road forks right the path turns quickly into a game trail.  About 500 feet up from the turn a small brown bear sow stood up in the middle of the path.  Frozen in place was a plan, not a real good one, but a plan.  

She placed her nose right in the middle of the forehead of the walker, stood there for what seemed like an eternity and snorted out loud blowing snot all over the head and face of the frozen one.  Just a moment more then she stood up straight and took a step, then two back.  She was tall with a white patch under her belly with soft tan brown fur.  She bent back down to all fours and made a quiet howl. At that point two small cubs scampered down a couple nearby trees to meet her on the trail.  She spun around and headed into the trees with the cubs following behind.  She grunted twice and was gone in an instant.  No site was seen of her after.

The trail continued up for another 4 or 5 thousand feet.  Baldy is between 6 and 7 thousand feet high, the highest peak around for more than 300 miles.  On top was a fire pit stoked and waiting for the walker.  This was going to be home for the next 4 days.  The fire was produced using the usual newspaper and pocket lighter.  Dry wood is always a good thing.

Around the fire pit was a large ring of rocks.  Each stone meticulously picked from a stream and placed in position by one who knows many moons before.  This quest was important, possibly the most important in the life of this wanderer.  The sun went below the horizon.

 The second day came and memories began painting fields of color in the minds eye of the seeker.  Paranoia snuck into the mind, but remembering what the old man said, "Do Not go outside the circle." kept the wanderer from wandering.  The sweat of fear came after the paranoia left.  Black images of death flooded the mind. The sun went again below the horizon.

The third day awoke with a pain in the pit of a lonely stomach and a small stone was place under the tongue.  Thirst and hunger were constant companions for the rest of this journey.  This day was hot.  Hot and dizzy, voices in the distance could be heard saying words not understandable.  Tired, and the sun began bouncing below and above, and finely below the horizon. 

During the night just outside the fire a small sow brown bear stood up and looked at the seeker across the ring of rocks.  She had a white patch just under her belly.  She was sniffing the air then dropped to all fours and crossed the circle and walked directly up to the seeker and put her nose on his forehead and snorted out loudly.  Snot ran down his face as two small cubs rolled into the ring laughing at the two.  They wrestled for a bit and ran up a nearby tree.  The sow bear stood back up and looked down on the seeker, raised a great paw and struck him once across the neck and head.  

The sun rose high on the 4th day and the old man was standing just inside the ring of rocks with a canteen, sandwich, and a couple horses to go down with.  He seemed amused.  The seeker had a powerful dream...

Peace and Balance,

John

Lessons In Compassion

 

As human beings we are occasionally presented with life lessons that will either test us or teach us.  One of these lessons is the ability to truly care for another individual.  As we get older we'll go through stages of development where we are in charge, we help those that need helping, and we are the one's needing assistance.  I'm at the stage in my life where I am the individual in the family that is caring for the love of my life.

Caregiver is a term that gets thrown around by bureaucrats needing a word to put down on a piece of paper about the relationship between one individual and another who is in need.  It is a poor word used when a spouse is in need and the care is given by the other person in his/her life.  The proper word is, loved one.  

I am the Care Giver for my Loved One.  I have been in that position for a number of years and accept it as part of the promise we made to each other many years ago after engaging in our lives together.  When people ask me how I'm feeling about caring for my wife I first give them a scornful look and tell them that there is no other place I would rather be.  Caring for my wife has become one of the great joys of my life.  I am learning so much about her, so much about myself, and so much about humanity, there is no question about this task, this lesson of life and Love. 

Human beings are the greatest creation yet made on this planet.  We stretch from both the negative poles to the positive poles.  Some learn these living lessons honorably and express tolerance, wisdom, compassion, and love.  Other's learn these lessons and express in terms diametrically opposed to the former.  That is ok too.  We will all Learn These Lessons eventually at different stages of our development.  Call is Life.

Lessons in Living come and go.  Some build and some destroy.  In the End there is only the One.

Peace and Balance,

John

Kung Fu Master

 

Some of you may already know that I am a practitioner of Taiji Quan, (Tai Chi Chuan) and other Kung Fooey things.  After a little more that 50 years of practice I can comfortably say that I am fairly proficient.  Some might even say just a tad deadly, but I don't trust those guys.   

I have learned some important lessons about keeping the bod healthy and happy, and keeping the mind just as healthy and happy.  The first mistake is to over practice.  Physically over practicing causes excessive wear on the structure of the body.  By pushing your personal limits beyond the boundaries of your physical limitations there are three major areas that begin breaking down:

1. The muscle and tendon structure breaks down and you have sever muscle pulls and tendon tears that require extended time to heal, if at all. 

2. The joints break down.  When joints break down the knees, elbows, shoulders, ankles, neck, hips, and the hands and feet, all start to wear, and worse case scenario, eventually need to be replaced with some of our modern bionic technologies.  Remember the "Six Million Dollar Man?"  Pocket change. 

3. Finely, practicing beyond the physical boundaries of the body and ignoring certain warning signs are some of the main causes of internal damage for all athletes beyond a certain age.  This breakdown can lead to heart attacks, high blood pressure (the silent killer), the break down of other internal processes, and certain kinds of cancers.  

Then there are the psychological effects of over working your boundaries.  Martial Artists are especially prone to emotional and mental disorders when they forget that what they are practicing is intended to be a life long health or holistic health process, and that in today's world most of us aren't training to go to war and kill other people.  That is a whole different set of perimeters. Most of us will practice an entire lifetime without having to actually use the art we've so intently focused on for such a long period of time.  Many practitioners will believe anything that is said or taught to them to the point where myth becomes fact.  If not put in check, this can lead to psychosis needing  treatment from a Mental Health Practitioner.  

Of course there is the We being Human thing.  This puts us at odds with our own Ego's.  The battle of the Ego has become the stuff of Eastern Religions, and Western Psychology.  Without getting to much into a philosophical discussion over Ego, it's fairly simple.   There is the danger of believing you are better at something than you really are.  There is the danger in believing that you are the smartest person in the room.  This belief can get out of hand and leak out.  When it does you usually say the wrong things to the wrong people at the wrong time.  A good martial artist will first ignore your ignorance believing you are just going through a learning thing, a growth thing, but if you persist you are wandering into the dangerous area of being called out by someone much more competent than yourself who will be very willing to teach you the error of your ways.  Hospital bills are expensive, and can ruin a good martial career.  My advise, Never try to tell an individual with severe cauliflower ear, or obviously many time broken nose how to practice, teach, or perform his own art.  These gentlemen, and ladies should be respected if not feared.  

I've been practicing a long time.  I wake every morning reminded of some of the lessons I should have paid more attention to.  I am in constant struggle with the self.  Jacob wrestled Gabriel for the right of way along the road to Damascus and was given the gift of insight for his success and became know as Israel.  

Learn the lessons of those who've come before you, heed the warnings of those who have failed, and strive to be a better person.  If you can manage these three things, you may learn to master yourself.

Peace and Balance,

John

 

Set your Sails

 Human beings by nature are generally goodly, or godly beings.  When the chips are down and you have earned a certain amount of positive karma, people will step forward and offer you a hand up.  Sometimes we fall, sometimes our family falls.  When we or part of us falls I have noticed that the few goodly persons in our lives will take that step forward.  This small item in the life of one individual is one of the reasons I still have great faith in the positive attributes of the human being.  

It has been said that a small summer breeze can move a considerable ship.  When the sails are all in good shape and all the stitching is in the right places the breeze will carry you a long distance.  Look at those sails and the stitching as a collection of the positive and happy things that you have done or thought about others and those around you.  Our, "Sails" stay in good shape when we take the steps to keep your lives in good shape.  The stitching stays strong when we take the steps to repair wrongs we have unintentionally or intentionally done to our fellow human beings.  That's called doing the right thing. 

I come from a culture that has a reflection woven into our sails.  That is when a friend or family member looks at you sternly and says, "You've done a good thing, " doesn't necessarily mean you've actually done a good thing.  That is a polite way of saying, "Look around you.  You've caused something to happen that you're not aware of that has hurt someone."  

Generally there is a hard task in front of you to repair that thing.  If it's repairable it's good.  If not, you take it with you to work on after you are here.  Actions are Karma.  

However, I find Human Beings are by nature heart felt and caring creatures that will look out for one another and step up with that helping hand.  Put you back on your feet and point you in the right direction.  Even the statement, "You've done a good thing." is a way to point you in that direction.  

Kind influences Kind, and shedding the light makes it easier to see.

Peace and Balance,

John