A Short Drive On The Beara Peninsula

I couldn't resist driving further west,

     Knowing the sea would be wild,

       And mysterious,

       The muted colours, 

 Spoke to my heart in whispers,

And drew me along the winding roads,



 

 Entangling me more and more with

These westerly journeys.

 Dr. Masaru Emoto from Yokohama, Japan wondered if our thoughts and intentions  could affect the world around us .

 Emoto began exploring how the human consciousness could affect the molecular structures of the objects around us, such as water. His most famous experiment was the one on water crystals.

The water crystal experiment focused on how positive and negative thoughts and feelings could affect the appearance of the water crystals at its molecular level. To test this, he placed water into glasses. Then, he would use words, music, pictures, and even prayer to expose the different glasses of water to either a positive or a negative message. For example, he would tape a piece of paper with the words “Love” or “Hate” to the glass of water. He would then freeze the water, so that the crystalline structures could be studied under a microscope.

The results were astounding. The positive phrases produced more symmetrical and beautiful crystals, while the negative phrases produced irregular or incomplete crystals. 

Now our bodies are almost 90 % water. Imagine how our negative self talk impacts the water our bodies are made of. 
Learning to Release that negative self talk and be genuinely more loving of ourselves has a huge positive effect on our lives. We become healthier when we live in a loving body. We feel more open and loving towards others. Our whole life open up to new possibilities. 
If you would like to Release those negative thoughts and beliefs that are holding you back come and join us next Saturday. You will enjoy Letting Go and learning how simple Releasing can be.
Blackrock Community Centre 
  Saturday December 5'th
 11am - 4pm 

 Cost €35 per person 

 To reserve a place
 Phone 087 6616800  or email taichimcilraith@yahoo.co.uk

Some teachers say that applications should only be shown when students are already well versed in the Art of T'ai Chi. I am really grateful to my teacher Steven Moore who generously shared all these applications with me before I was even semi- versed. I have always loved hands on applications and find them a great tool in sharing the principles of our Art.


trim.7E3FF2E3-BEB1-43F1-8701-F943AFEA772F from ann on Vimeo.</

Here are Monday morning's music students investigating how the posture can be applied.   







trim.4F0EAD4A-02A6-4AE4-AD9A-7238EAF10C66 from ann on Vimeo.

So lovely to stand back and watch the soft flow and connection between these great young people.

Releasing Our 'Wanting ' Approval

Most of us believe that approval comes from outside of ourselves. We believe that if we can get enough approval from the outside world we will find it inside too and finally love ourselves. Now  there is nothing wrong with having others approval but when we think that we need it in order to love ourselves it can keep us from being our authentic selves.
 When we learn to 'Let Go' of wanting others to love and approve of us and give ourselves our own approval we gain the confidence to be our selves in every situation.
 Paradoxically being our true self makes us much better company. We all love to be around people who feel good in their own skin. They radiate good energy. They are at ease and help us to feel at ease too. People who want our approval make us fee uncomfortable there is a neediness about them that feels draining. They are trying to fill some emptiness and it is exhausting to be in their company. We all recognise this energy because most of us have felt that way. Most of us believe that in order to be happy we need love from the outside, when we release this belief and begin to discover that we have abundant LOVE inside, life becomes much easier.
 When we find our own LOVE we follow our dreams, we say Yes when we want to and also we say No when it is appropriate. We find ourselves more loving towards others not so they will love us back but because the LOVE inside just naturally wants to spill out.
So for today why not give yourself permission to LOVE yourself just as you are right now. Don't wait until you are 'perfect' Just give yourself LOVE and APPROVAL for being you.
Say 'THANK YOU' to yourself and 'I LOVE YOU' as often as possible. This may seem strange to begin with and your mind may fight telling you that you don't deserve it, that you haven't earned that LOVE. But this is just your mind ignore it and after a while giving yourself LOVE and APPROVAL will feel natural. You will be amazed by how much more energy you have when you live in a LOVING internal environment.
So go on and try it I bet you will LOVE how this works.
If you want to practise more Releasing come and join us on December 5'th this Workshop will be a Special Christmas Session focusing on Releasing our blocks to having a Fun and Easy Christmas.

Blackrock Community Centre 
  Saturday December 5'th
 11am - 4pm 

 Cost €35 per person 

 To reserve a place
 Phone 087 6616800  or email taichimcilraith@yahoo.co.uk

Releasing On Our Poblems

We are often so caught up trying to 'figure out  our problems' that we forget to enjoy this present moment.
So just for a few minutes give your self the opportunity to notice what is here right now.
As you read these words become aware of the sounds all around, the sounds in the distance, also notice the sounds close by. Next become aware of the silence that surrounds and interpenetrates these sounds.
 Now for a few moments switch your attention back and forth between what is being heard and not heard including the thoughts in your head.

Next allow yourself to focus on the sensations that are arising in this moment. Could you allow yourself to welcome whatever sensation is being felt in this moment. Could you also welcome the space or absence of sensation that is also present in this moment.
Now can you allow yourself to easily switch back and forth between feeling the sensations and feeling the space that is free of sensations.

When you are ready could you focus on what is being seen in this moment?. Could you allow yourself to welcome what is being seen in this moment?. Next could you allow yourself to become aware of the space that surrounds every object, including the space between the words and letters on this screen.
Could you allow yourself to feel the space all around you in this room.

Now allow yourself to switch your attention between being aware of the space and the objects the are present in this space.

Now allow yourself to focus on a particular problem, and welcome the memory of that problem, with all the sounds, thoughts and feelings that are associaed with that problem.
Next can you allow yourself to become aware of the all your life experience that happens appart from this particular problem.
Now can you allow yourself to welcome the possibility that this problem is not as all consuming as it seemed.
Switch back and forth between the problem and all its associations and also noticing and welcoming what is right here right now.

As you spend time practising

this exercise you will find yourself gaining more ease and clarity about your problems, you will also become much more conscious of all the spaces where life is already flowing with ease .

Come and explore more Releasing in blackrock on Saturday December 5'th it will be a great way to prepare for a Christmas of Ease and Joy.

Blackrock Community Centre 
  Saturday December 5'th
 11am - 4pm  
 Cost €35 per person 
 To reserve a place
 Phone 087 6616800  or email taichimcilraith@yahoo.co.uk

Why Do I Release ?

Learning to Release limiting beliefs has dramatically changed my life.

I used to believe that because I was lucky enough to have the time to practise T’ai Chi and to meditate each day I really didn’t deserve to have money too. That being ‘spiritual’ meant that I had to reject the ‘world’ and all it’s ‘goodies’.

Since learning to Release that belief and many other equally limiting beliefs, life has become easier and a lot more fun. Opportunities and connections seem to just come my way.

My personal and professional relationships are much smoother. I still have much to Release, I even find it difficult to write this and can hear a voice (that I call my Mother’s) warning me to keep quiet. As you can see I am learning to allow that limiting voice to stay in my head and not prevent me from sharing my truth. This in itself is a big breakthrough for me.

Learning to recognise my true nature which is always present gives a sense of peace and belonging that allows me to open up and be vulnerable.

It allows me to share the deepest aspects of my T’ai Chi practise. Energy aspects which I was too shy to demonstrate before learning to Release my fear of disapproval.

Do I still feel vulnerable Yes, but the difference is that it no longer controls me. Releasing has given me the Courage to be open and teach my truth.

If you would like to learn to Release come and join us at the next workshop in Cork. If you can’t make the workshop I encourage you to read The Sedona Method by Hale Dwoskin and begin your own Releasing journey and discover how much better life can be when you learn to ‘Let Go'. 

 
Blackrock Community Centre 
  Saturday December 5'th
 11am - 4pm 

 Cost €35 per person 

 To reserve a place
 Phone 087 6616800  or email taichimcilraith@yahoo.co.uk

The Healing Power Of LOVE

Here is Lester Levenson's story. He is the founder of Releasing. His story never fails to inspire and encourage me to share this great tool.
Why not explore this method for yourself at our next Workshop ?

Blackrock Community Centre 
  Saturday December 5'th
 11am - 4pm  

 Cost €35 per person 

 To reserve a place
 Phone 087 6616800  or email taichimcilraith@yahoo.co.uk


 “Wait a minute!” he thought. “If happiness is when I’m experiencing love for the other one, then that means happiness is a feeling within me.
“And if I felt unloving in the past? Well, I know I can’t change the past, but could I possibly correct the feeling now inside myself? Could I change the feeling to love now?” He decided to try it. He looked at his most recent unhappiness, the day he left the hospital.
“First,” he asked himself, “was I experiencing a lack of love that day?”
“Yes,” he answered aloud. “Nobody gave a damn about me, not the nurses, not the orderlies, not even Dr. Schultz. They did not care. As sick as I was, they threw me out, sent me home to die so they wouldn’t have to watch one of their failures . . . well, the hell with them. They can all go to hell.” He was shocked at the vehemence in his voice. His body trembled with rage and he felt weak. He really hated the doctor: He could feel it burning in his chest. “Oh, boy,” he thought, “this sure isn’t love.”
“Well, can I change it?” he asked. “Is it possible to turn it into love for the doctor?”
“Hell, no,” he thought, “why should I? What did he ever do to deserve any love?”
“That’s not the point,” he answered himself. “The point is not whether he deserves love. The point is, can you do it? Is it possible to simply change a feeling of hatred into a feeling of love—not for the benefit of the other person but for yourself?”
As the thought crossed his mind, he felt something break loose in his chest. A gentle easing, a sense of dissolving, and the burning sensation was gone. He didn’t trust it at first. It seemed too easy, so he pictured again the scene with Dr. Schultz in the hospital. He was surprised to find that it brought only a mild feeling of resentment rather than the previous intense burning hatred. He wondered if he could do it again.
“Lets see,” he thought, “what did I just do? . . . Oh, yes. Can I change this feeling of resentment into a feeling of love?” He chuckled as he felt the resentment dissolve in his chest. Then it was totally gone and he was happy. He thought of Dr. Schultz again, pictured him in his mind and felt happy, even loving. He saw now, reliving that last meeting, how the doctor had hated to tell him the things he had to say. He could feel the doctor’s pain at having to tell a young man in the prime of his life that his life was over. “Dr. Schultz, you son-of-a-gun,” he said, grinning, “I love you.”
“Well, it worked on that one,” he thought. “If my theory is sound, then it should work on everything.” Eagerly, he began trying it on other moments, and the results were consistently the same. Each time that he asked himself if he could change the feeling of hostility or anger or hatred to one of love, the dissolving process took place. Sometimes he had to repeat it over and over until he felt only love for the person. At times, the entire process would take only a minute or two; at other times, it might take him hours of working on a particular person or event before his feelings were only loving, but he would doggedly stay with it until it was completed on each person and each incident.
His entire life came up for review in bits and pieces. One by one, he changed to love all the old hurts and disappointments. He began to feel stronger as the weight of his pain dropped away. He was happier than he had ever been in his entire life, and he kept it going, feeling even more happiness with each new thing corrected.


Blackrock Community Centre 
  Saturday December 5'th
 11am - 4pm  

 Cost €35 per person 

 To reserve a place
 Phone 087 6616800  or email taichimcilraith@yahoo.co.uk

Next Releasing Workshop

Our true nature is.bright and shinning. This nature is covered over with limiting beliefs that block our light from shinning out.
These limiting beliefs hold us backin life and keep us from being fully present and enjoying each moment of our life.
You can learn to release these limiting beliefs so life can be easier and more fun.
Join us in Blackrock for the next Releasing Workshop and learn to recognise and 'Let Go' of patterns and beliefs that prevent you from reaching your full potential.

Blackrock Community Centre 
  Saturday December 5'th
 11am - 4pm  

 Cost €35 per person 

 To reserve a place
 Phone 087 6616800  or email taichimcilraith@yahoo.co.uk

T'ai Chi Lessons for Beginners And One Of John Kells' Partner Work Exrecises

trim.097D35A3-1B75-4A72-B8C6-59F0E1240A5C from ann on Vimeo.


Here is the beginning posture .

Beginning Posture of the Mini Form from ann on Vimeo.





Here is the full Mini form

Full Mini Form from ann on Vimeo.

Listening and connecting to your partner's energy is part of our training in T'ai Chi. John Kells was a great believer in 'tuning in' to energy. i am so grateful for his teaching that awakened me to partner work and the joy it brings.

trim.8A235032-5D07-4E71-8105-0214EE6449EF from ann on Vimeo.

Monday's music students' listeing'.

·
A big shout out guys....It's Movember and in support of the Movember Foundation Ireland initiative to help create a positive change to men's health Cork ARC are hosting a talk on Prostate Cancer.

This free talk will take place on Wednesday 18 November @ 7pm at the Kingsley Hotel and will be faciliated Greg Nason, Specialist Registrar in Urology and Anita Cahill, Prostate Cancer Co-Ordinator CUH.
We encourage you to get into the true spirit of Movember by attending this event where you will learn how cancer of the prostate can be managed. For further information and bookings please phone Cork ARC on 021 4276688. Please share this update with your family and friends ‪#‎movember‬

Wet And Windy In The West

trim.1F693629-D933-4D30-8EB1-D34A6A85F827 from ann on Vimeo.

I didn't take any photos during today's session but I couldn't resist a short video to remind me of this great trip to Castletownbere.

This was the only blue patch of sky that appeared to me today.

But I loved the mist shrouded hills.

  And sea,

Everywhere along the coast road seemed dreamlike.

 But the sheep were busy ignoring the wind and rain.



  trim.7493E519-F375-4B16-BBF6-B351EB5AB54C from ann on Vimeo.

I loved the 'feel'  of the countryside in the wind and rain, it felt ancient and mystical. The colours were soft and yet stunningly beautiful in a shy way quite different to the dazzling blue on my last trip west.

Open focus Exercise

Paying attention to space and /or silence is a great way to calm the mind and relax the body.
Open Focus training enables us to become much more conscious of the healing power of space consciousness.
 Learning to pay attention to the space in and around our body helps us to be more fully present in each moment, to become more conscious of the beauty in nature. It helps us to relax into the here and now.
Learning to listen to the silence in which all sounds arise and dissolve back into, is a balm. It helps us to notice that internal sounds ( that voice in our heads which can appear to be constant )also comes and goes.  The  sound of that voice in our head also arises in a silence and with practise we can allow ourselves to become more interested in the space or silence in which it arises rather than the sounds it is making.
Here below is a link to an Open Focus Exercise which was recorded at one of my T'ai Chi and Open Focus Workshops.

Open focus Variation

November 2015 Workshop

Such a great day at yesterday's Workshop, I love to watch as people experience awakenings, realisations of how the body works and how cross-energy works.  The  Open Focus practise enhances our awareness by allowing us to experience space  very consciously. This consciousness enriches our t'ai chi practise in many ways. We come to the t'ai chi already open and relaxed and 'tuned in' to the space in and around and between us.





trim.4B233CAD-CDCE-43FB-9236-3D3259F70E2B from ann on Vimeo.

We investigated the 'feeling' of cross-energy in this exercise as a preparation for working on ' Step Back To Repulse The Monkey posture.







trim.023B7971-4CE4-4A9D-88C3-ACF8A053EF0F from ann on Vimeo.




Here we are applying the cross -energy principle in  Repulse The Monkey posture.

Good fun, great learning and how enjoyable to spend the day with such a fabulous group of people.

 A Huge Thanks You All For Being There  Wholeheartedly



 

Saturday's Workshop (Only 2 spaces left.)

Nov workshop from ann on Vimeo.

I can't wait for Saturday's Workshop such a fabulous group of people coming along and I have some amazing work to share.
This space has been a bit quiet because I have been incubating, reflecting and refining work for Saturday.
We will explore connection in new and interesting ways. We will 'sink' deeply into our bodies and get to know ourselves from the inside out.
We will explore energetic connection with each other to enhance each others energy and awareness.


                                  

                      Mind at Peace   
  

                  When the mind is at peace,

                  the world too is at peace.

                  Nothing real, nothing absent.

                  Not holding on to reality,

                 not getting stuck in the void,

                 you are neither holy or wise, just

                 an ordinary fellow who has completed
                             his work.
                                                          P'ang Yün (龐蘊 Hõ Un)


We will 'Sink And Relax ' into a mindful day of practise, awakening to deeper levels of awareness and relaxation. This day will be an opportunity to listen deeply to the body and mind. We will explore how Open Focus practise can enrich our T'ai Chi and our lives.
It is great to give yourself the gift of 'Time Out', space to recharge through deep listening and practise.


The next T'ai Chi and Open focus Workshop will held in Blackrock Community Centre

Blackrock Community Centre
Saturday November7'th

11.30am - 4 .30pm  

Cost €35 per person 

To reserve a place
Phone 087 6616800  or email taichimcilraith@yahoo.co.uk

Inspiration

Give yourself a few minutes to do this exercise I bet it will inspire you.
Think back over your life and allow yourself to remember someone who really had an influence on you. It might have been a teacher , a neighbour, a family member, even a stranger who helped.

Go on close your eyes right now and reflect.




Who was it ? How did they make the difference?


When I did this exercise I was surprised to find  myself remembering a neighbour, a quiet man I hadn't thought about him for years and yet when I asked myself that question, it was the feeling of warmth and acceptance that I felt in his presence that came to mind. I didn't have to do anything or be anything special, there were no expectations from him.  


Who came to mind for you ? How did they make you feel ?


Would you like to be remembered in that way by someone. I for one would love to embody that ability to allow someone to feel accepted and loved for being themselves.

Castletownbere To Mallow On This Fabulous Sunday

Here is Sarah Walker's Gallery where we practise T'ai Chi. I love this space There is a new exibition hanging, working amidst the Art inspires and enhances the whole experience.
This is our second year working here and we  just began the second section ot the Short Form with the group who joined last year. It is great too to have some interested new commers. It is beginning to feel that  T'ai Chi is forming roots in Castletownbere.

And then there is the Sea .     .         .

And the journey home,

Wonderful views across tho the mountains on the road to Kinmare. 

I couldn't resist their lure.

 And was rewarded,

With meeting this ' tame ' fawn.

 A perfect ending,

To my T'ai Chi trip West.