Essay on Idealist

Photo: PETER CHIN KEAN CHOY PRACTISES T'AI CHI NEAR HOLNE BRIDGE ON DARTMOOR THIS PAGE: PETER AND HIS PUPILS FOCUS ON HOME-GROWN POTIMARRONS AT THE RAINBOW T'AI CHI SCHOOL.

Kirstie Newton visits the Rainbow T'ai Chi School near Ashburton, and discovers a new philosophy for life.

It was a gloriously sunny day when I visited the Rainbow School of T'ai Chi in Woodland near Ashburton. The location is pure Devon - a converted farmhouse down a green flowery lane with a panoramic view across the valley to Dartmoor. And although the activity is distinctly Eastern in flavour, there could hardly be a place on earth more suitably natural and calming.

Many people have turned to T'ai Chi for an alternative approach to life. It is renowned for its qualities of spiritual relaxation and is often recommended as a means of physiotherapy.

I first witnessed the hypnotic movements while on holiday in Hong Kong, where office workers regularly set themselves up for the morning or wind down in the evening with a session in a group or in private in the park.

Closer to home, the Rainbow T'ai Chi school is 30 minutes away from either Exeter or Plymouth just off the A38, and is run by Peter Chin Kean Choy. Born in Malaysia, he has lived in England for 12 years and has been practising T'ai Chi for over 30 years.

T'ai Chi is a philosophy of balance. If Yin is the earth and Yang is heaven, T'ai Chi is moving between the two towards a state of oneness known as the Tao.

Peter's father was a Chinese medical practitioner and passed his interest in the healing arts onto his son. Peter was thus encouraged to learn T'ai Chi at an early age, and took great interest in healing his schoolfriends' minor ailments by focussing their Chi - their "intrinsic energy" - onto their aches.

Peter started work as a copy writer, and knowing he practised T'ai Chi, his boss asked him to pass on his skills. That casual favour saw the end of his office job and the beginning of a life career teaching T'ai Chi.

T'ai Chi is often considered a soft form of martial arts, but Peter disagrees. "The phrase literally means River of Energy, and it is the art of flowing in harmony with everything around you, be it nature or the computer.

"People lead such stressful lives, whether they live in Devon or London. We are trying to slow people down. If our kidneys could protest in Trafalgar Square, they would. Our livers would protest in front of all the pubs in Britain. They would say, we want respect and justice and honour. That is what T'ai Chi has to offer."

On the day I attended, Peter was training the class outside. He explained how T'ai Chi would help us to assist the forces of nature rather than resist, and to find a different way of receiving the blows of life - physically, mentally and emotionally.

We began by listening to our own heartbeats with stethoscopes, tuning into the rhythm. "This is important, because by listening to your heartbeat you can harmonise with your breathing your emotions and your body - and with nature. It's wonderful to have had T'ai Chi over 8,000 years to remind us that nature is not just there. If you can relax, you will be true to your body and also in harmony with the flower, the wind and the earth."

We then carried out a breathi exercise, moving gently forward and back, focusing on the rhythm of our breathing.Next, we rooted ourselves to the ground through our feet and tried to flow with the gentle pushes of a partner - a tap on the left shoulder should make us bend to the right through the knees. Not easy for a novice with no co-ordination.

A mild breeze reminded us of our aim -to be at one with nature and to flow with it. Many of our exercises involved focusing on a plant - one of Peter's home-grown potimarrons in his warm poly tunnel or an iris gently swaying round a small pond.

The recurrence of the word "gentle" isan indication of how soothing an activity T'ai Chi really is. While yoga offers a more static form of meditation Peter describes T'ai Chi as "meditation in motion and emotion". ►

► Movements have beautiful names such as Stork Spreads Wings; Playing the Lute; Holding Your Inner Baby; Grasp the Sparrow's Tail. According to Peter, T'ai Chi can be incorporated into many aspects of daily life: painting, gardening, art, even household chores.

"I had one pupil who hated ironing. His wife used to complain that she always did it. I showed him how to incorporate T'ai Chi movements into the act of ironing; now he and his wife argue over who will do it."

For Peter, being able to flow with the force proved vital for self-defence on occasions. "A man appeared from the bushes in a park and started punching me. I felt my body flowing with the punches and none found its target. I asked if he needed money for food and said if he did I would treat him to a restaurant. He simply walked away sulking to himself.

"T'ai Chi teachers call this the Boomerang Principle. It is like when you try and bend a thick branch on a tree - the tree absorbs and throws your force back at you."

Over the years, Peter has found more effective ways of connecting to Chi. The School has a heated pool which is used extensively for Aqua T'ai Chi during the summer school. "Just as water is a perfect conductor for electricity, so fluidic movements are perfect conductors for Chi."

T'ai Chi followers come from all walks of life and all ages - men and women, old and young. Anthony and Siria, a young couple from Exeter, treat the class as a refuge from the stresses of work and family.

"It's a huge responsibility. Whenever I feel myself getting stressed, I go out into the garden for 10 minutes and practise some movements. It really works," said Siria.

Douglas is a pensioner who was recommended T'ai Chi 12 months ago in response to back problems. At first he was sceptical. "I was happy to do it for the physical benefits, but I wasn't interested in the philosophy at all. I saw myself very much as a patriotic Christian. But since then I've come to find it fascinating."

Peter recognises that some may find it daunting. "It is challenging for Westerners to learn T'ai Chi, but the Soil Association was once considered marginal. Now lots of people support organic principles.

"T'ai Chi is very inclusive. We canaccommodate everyone, be they Christian, Hindu or atheist. This is more an education of life, not a religion. The word education comes from the Greek Educare, which meant to find true self knowledge and wisdom according to Aristotle, not about accumulated facts but about discovering yourself in relation to the world. That's what we are doing, and we are very serious about our work." ■

YOUR CHANCE TO WIN A FREE PAIR OF PLACES AT RAINBOW T'AI CHI SUMMER SCHOOL, INCLUDING AQUA T'AI CHI, WORTH £720

Devon Today is pleased to offer two places (each worth £360) at the Rainbow T'ai Chi Summer School, Part 1, which starts at 7pm, Friday 26th July through to 12 noon Tuesday 6th August 2002. Daily schedule is normally 10am to 6pm.

NB: Although accommodation is not included, the School is situated near Ashburton, South Devon so participants should be able to commute.

PLUS: The school is also offering a 10% discount to The Summer School for ten runners up.

TO ENTER: Simply explain, in 40 words or less, your motivation to attend The Rainbow T'ai Chi Summer School.

Send your answer on a postcard to: Rainbow T'ai Chi Competition, Devon Today, Westcountry Publications, Heron Road, Sowton Industrial Estate, Exeter, Devon EX2 7NF.

Winners will be informed by telephone by Wednesday 17th July. The editor's decision is final. Employees, and their families, of Westcountry Publications may not enter this competition.

There is an infinite number of versions of the definitions of the words Idealist and Realist. After reflecting some time on what they mean, I realise we can only sense what the words mean to us as individuals. This is because a cognition of what reality is, is specific to the individual. So, my ‘reality’ is different to that of my daughters, of Wendy, of Choy, of my colleagues….. Our reality is the set of a huge range of life circumstances within which we operate on a daily basis, created by an accumulation of experience, conditioning, and decisions based on those. Therefore, my geographical location, my home, my job, my family circumstances, the colours I choose to wear, my daily tai chi practice….. these form part of my personal reality. So, when I am being a realist, this personal reality is my starting point.

It follows that when I try to judge external ‘realities’, i.e. be a ‘realist’ about the world around me – eg about the behaviour of others being ‘good’ or ‘bad’, or how challenging it is to develop a project, or whether Labour govern better than the Tories – my views can only be mediated through my own personal reality.

Also, my own reality, what I am a realist about, changes as I journey through my life, is not consistent, fixed. Sometimes it is external influences which accumulate without my being aware – like the input of well-meaning parents and teachers, or cruel bullies at school in childhood.

Whilst reflecting as I write, I cognise that most (all ?) of what I consider my reality is actually illusion. What’s ‘real’ now can change in the next minute, next week, we don’t really control, and in that sense when we think we’re being realistic, it’s really like we’re dreaming, fooling ourselves. It’s more elusive now than 4 paragraphs ago to define realistic! There comes a point where we have to let go the illusions, and ask ourselves “What is it that I really want ?” – create our own true reality, which requires commitment and practice.

Being a ‘realist’ seems to connect more to mental and physical levels than to emotional and spiritual.

As realists looking at our present circumstances, we judge the present based partly on random accumulations from the past, partly on what we believe we are wisely considering. As realists looking at what we can achieve in the future – eg what project - we too often limit ourselves, basing our projections on where we were and where we are now.

Being ‘idealist’, as I personally cognise it, means one has higher goals, dreams of being, doing achieving, for self and/or others/the environment etc, something better than one has hitherto achieved, or to do things in a different, ‘better’ way – taking us beyond our reality. This links to spiritual and emotional levels.

Viewed from this perspective, being an ‘idealist’ is a bit like being prepared to jump into the wu chi, to ‘let go’ of reality which is all too often constraining, and try something new, fresh, or do usual things in a new way.

It then matters much what the ‘better way’ ‘higher way’ is. For example, Islamic terrorists become ‘ídealists’ through adopting the rigid teachings of the Koran, and justify killing, as did the Christian knights fought the crusades in the name of Jesus.

I sense that to be an idealist, we turn inside, connect to our light being, from where we can see, live, be, do, interact, in fresh, ‘higher’ way. Connected to our light being, we are disconnected from the games and unrealities of the realist’s world.

So, how is it to be a realistic idealist ? That implies that as a starting point we function on a daily basis connected, for example, to our light beings, being in the energy. (Or, as a terroist, connecting to overzealous, extreme impulses.) And then, we sometimes bring in notions of our reality, balancing up. But this would be a difficult way to live – spiritually and emotionally first, then bringing in ‘reality’ at a physical and mental level to balance out.

To function in the world, it would seem we need to ground ourselves to some extent at the physical and mental levels, to start with realism (which I however cognise is partly illusory, and shifting). Then bring in idealism to find freshness, creativity, peace, which can help us to achieve projects. So, the preferred starting point should perhaps be as an idealistic realist.

But what is the balance - how much to be a realist, and how much idealism to bring in. How much do we share with others, how much do we hold for ourselves.

This can only be understood, cognised as an individual. We can’t decide for others, they can’t decide for us.

Balancing between idealism and realism is like finding the balance between yin and yang. It’s like a dance, like the tide flowing in and out, we need to learn to let go, accept the tensions, accept ourselves, connect to our light beings with love, touch our goals, “be” ourselves, feel gratitude, allow joy to blossom.. We can do this with fluidity, being prepared to flow with life, flow into the light, flow out, easily, cognising when more or less realism or idealism is appropriate, right now.

It’s up to us, we can choose, cognise, that’s our responsibility, that’s our freedom…………………

Essay on Idealist, Realist, Idealistic Realist and Realistic Idealist by Meng L Mok, 1st year FTT Trainee

The Oxford dictionary defines "ideal" as perfect; visionary; or existing only in idea. An "idealist" is someone following after or forming ideals; philosophy in which the object of external perception is held to consist of ideas. He is someone who aims to do things or achieve goals through the most perfect, extravagant and faultless ways. He is not prepared to make compromises in his endeavour. Hence, a realistic idealist puts idealism before realism.

On the other hand, a "realist" is the practice of regarding things in their true nature and dealing with them as they are. He aims to do things or achieve goals through the most practical means while taking into consideration that there are limitations and constraints to situations. He is prepared to make compromises to achieve his goals. Hence, an idealistic realist puts realism before idealism.

Linking these definitions to taoist philosophy, one can relate - by being realistic means being "focussed" and one follow the Yin Receptive Principle. Whereas, being idealistic is an "expanding" aspect which follows the Yang Emissive Principle.

A realistic idealist is said to have Yin supporting Yand and idealistic realist is having Yang supporting Yin. This seems to be the continuum of the dances of Yin and Yang seeking Tao at different times and changing circumstances for obtaining balance and resolutions in our everyday lives.