Your Own Private Heaven

I visited my friend Otis in the hospital. He had been hit by a car. On an empty street. At night. “It came out of nowhere” he said, miserable and confused from his sick bed. Face bruised. Hip twisted. It came out of nowhere? Really? What was he doing at the time?

The Hawaiian Huna have a saying that the body is like a “black bag”, where we store our unprocessed emotions. If so, that would explain his obesity, his lack of awareness, and body discipline. The only fully functional aspect of Otis was his VERY clever mind, and a good heart. He’d been lost in his head, thinking about…something. On an empty street, paying no attention to where he was, what he was doing. He could have seen the headlights or the motion. Could have heard the engine from a block away. ANY time you are alone in public, you need to be in “condition yellow,” aware of what is happening around you. At the very least trust your eyes and ears. But better still…you trust your instincts. Your guts. You FEEL what is happening around you, integrating sight, sound, touch into a single kinesthetic “flash” that kept your ancestors survive.

But no…he was in his head somewhere, lost. And now…he was in a hospital bed.

##

Continuing to transcribe Dawn’s talk to me about the “chakras” and the “Three Centers”. Please feel free to consider all of this metaphor: the “Tan Tien” and “Hara” of Tai Chi and Aikido relate to the body’s center of mass, but they are focused upon by martial artists as if they are “energy centers” comprising aspects…