BAGUA MASTERY PROGRAM

MODULE 3
Circle Walking and
Taoist Meditati on:
Intermed iate Meditati on 2

BRUCE FRANTZIS
Copyright© 201 0 Bruce Frantzis

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 Table of Contents

Section 1: Meditation 2, Part 1 •••••••••••••.• 5

Recognizing the Subtlety of Your Mind ................. 5
Part 1: Adjust Your Alignments ................................ 6

Section 2: Meditation 2, Part 2 ••••••••••••••• 9

Recognize and Upgrade the
Quality of Your Intent·········································:····· 9

Section 3: Meditation 2, Part 3 •••••••••••••• 11

The Heart-Mind ......................................................... 11
Overview ..................................................................... 11
Instructions ................................................................. 12
Conclusion ................................................................. 13
 Section 1
Meditation 2, Part 1

Recognizing the Subtlety

of Your Mind
Can you be aware of thought as it is happening now? I don't mean the words
in your head, but the actual sensation of thought itself-that which although is
difficult to define precedes the thoughts and images forming in your head. What
does that feel like? Can you become aware of what inside you originally gener-
ates your conscious thoughts, also called the Heart-Mind?

Can you be aware of any emotions you're experiencing, the incipient, very subtle
inklings of moods which if energized sufficiently by external events can burst out
into full blown emotions that can't be denied? If you haven't until now, the time
has arrived to begin looking.

This may happen by strongly twisting your body, which causes you to release old
and often suppressed emotions. Or maybe a practice partner nearby generates

© 2010 Bruce Frantzis-AII Rights Reserved.

6 Bagua Mastery Program

emotions and you're unwittingly picking them up. Again, ask what is it that allows
the awareness within you to recognize all the subtle qualities of your thoughts,
physical body, chi and emotions? What is this awareness?

Part 1: Adjust Your Alignments

Now that you have Walked the Circle for awhile, you most likely have touched
upon this quality of the awareness of awareness itself. Given this, let's explore
a bit more. Ask yourself: How did I first recognize this quality? What inside me
enables me to yet more refine and stabilize this awareness effortlessly?

Next, use this awareness to check all of your body alignments to simultaneously
recognize if they are in or out of alignment. If they are, readjust while continuing
to walk and follow all the previous meditation instructions. For example, is your
back straight, knees and elbows bent and pelvis tucked under? Don't forget the
main point though, which is to be aware of the awareness that lets you simulta-
neously recognize all of these alignment scenarios in the first place.

Again, extend your breath. Go from your lower tantien all the way out to your five
extremities (tipsofthefingersand toes and crown of the head),and simultaneously
feel your body and the correctness of each of its alignments. With very little effort,
you can sense if your alignments are or not correct, just by using the breath that
penetrates them to give you instantaneous feedback. If correct, nothing is
broken, so there's nothing to fix. If misaligned, naturally correct them as best as
you can without strain and with the sense of ease. Initially, only check a single
alignment at a time before attempting to take on the next misalignment, if any.

Two strategies are best used to accomplish this task.

• Continue to walk in only one direction until you resolve the

misalignment and on the next change take on the next
alignment challenge.

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 Module 3: Circle Walking and Taoist Meditation-Meditation 2 7

• Do strategy #1 and then reverse direction and do it again.

This accomplishes to goals. First, the left and right sides of your
body will be evenly and physically balanced, something which
may not occur in strategy #1. Also, the awareness of your align-
ments and the continuous recognition of the awareness of
awareness itselfwill not intermittently turn on and off walking
clockwise or counter-clockwise.

Regardless of which strategy you use, after you've sorted out one alignment, go
to the next.

If you feel as though you're stuck and at the moment you can't deal with
correcting the alignment, change direction and focus on releasing your internal
inertia. During this time, slow down the movement of your center-to-periphery
breathing, awareness between the five extremities and possibly even your walk-
ing speed. This usually helps to resolve the stuck-in-a-rut, inertia issue. After you
intuitively sense this is accomplished, you can return and resolve the incorrect
alignment.

As with all of the meditation practices presented in the Bagua Mastery Program,
this practice might legitimately take someone several weeks, months or years to
stably embody inside themselves.

Bruce then silently transmitted for five minutes to empower the

methods within this second meditation (Part 1). He then gave
students time to embody the knowledge within themselves before
moving forward.

© 201 0 Bruce Frantzis-AII Rights Reserved.

 Section 2
Meditation 2, Part 2

Recognize and Upgrade the

Quality of Your Intent
Start by warming up and bringing online all of the internals described in Circle
Walking Meditation 1. If you can, you should bring your awareness into your body's
central energy channel. Those who cannot should not attempt it here. After the
warm up, the practice itself begins with self-observation and consideration of an
important point, which underlies all meditation: intention or intent.

While Walking the Circle and changing direction, start becoming aware of the
presence, absence and quality of your intention. As you continue walking, ask your-
self: What is this awareness that generates my intent to move? If you wish to do or
obtain something, you must first focus your mind in a certain direction to actualize
that intent-even if for only a brief moment.

© 201 0 Bruce Frantzis-AII Rights Reserved.

10 Bagua Mastery Program

As you walk, consider the origin of awareness that allows this or that to happen,
regardless of what it is.

• While moving your feet, what is the intent that allows you to
also move your hands or torso?

• Where or what is it inside you that generates this intention?

• How deeply does this intention penetrate inside your mind?

Is it surface-level, or does it go beyond the conscious mind?

© 201 0 Bruce Frantzis-AII Rights Reserved.

 Section 3
Meditation 2, Part 3

The Heart-Mind
Overview
Once again, make sure that all of the previous walking meditation internals are
online and functioning well. Then, look deeper. Find the place from which your
thoughts originate-that which creates your intent. Your intention comes from
a place that never changes, is always present and has an intelligence of its own.
This intelligence can somehow merge with yours, if you are receptive to it.

The Chinese call this place the "Heart-Mind," which is transliterated as hsin (also, shin
or xin, depending on the transliteration system).

Next, look for the Heart-Mind as the root of your intent, and while you do
lessen the interval between changing direction. Progressively shorter rotations
encourage a leap, which enables the Heart-Mind (often quite unexpectedly) to
show itself.

11

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12 Bagua Mastery Program

So as you change direction, try to be aware of what is behind the intention that
allows you to physically move. Ask yourself:

• Where and how do you feel the intent that allows you to
change?

• From where does the intent come from that allows you to
release your internal resistance?

• Where and what is this intent? How do you recognize it?

Does it have a feeling? Or is it absent of feeling?

Rather than only Walking the Circle while holding bagua energy postures or the
Single Palm Change, as you twist your arm and hands in or out (in the same or
opposite directions), again ask yourself: From where does this intent originate?
Where is the place in my awareness from which the intent to take any action
arises?

In this meditation teaching, Bruce silently transmitted for several

minutes to help the students recognize and access their ordinary
intent and the Heart-Mind. Bruce then offered the instructions
below, followed by two more minutes or so of a silent transmission.

Instructions
1. Become aware of the feelings in your body, your breath and the awareness
that allows you to know that something is occurring in the root of your
mind that allows you to generate intent.

2. Use this awareness and slow down your body and most especially your
mind. Wind yourself down using any arm circling you know (such as the
Single Palm Change warm-up) to help accomplish this task.

3. Bring your chi to your lower tantien and store it there. Keep this awareness
alive. After you reach the place where your chi stores in your lower tantien
for just a moment, then see if you can be aware of what doesn't change.
What is meant by the empty center of the I Ching?

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 Module 3: Circle Walking and Taoist Meditation-Meditation 2 13

4. If you can, continue to move. If you need to, stop, stand still and rest.
However, when you resume your practice, move forward with this
awareness, so that everything inside you, everything that changes
alongside that awareness, is also alive.

Bruce then silently transmitted for several minutes to install the

previous instructions in his students that beautiful evening with so
many stars.

Conclusion
After eating a giant meal, most people must take a break before eating again.
That is unless your desire is to get indigestion and not absorb the previous
meal's nutrients. Metaphorically, it is now time for you to swallow, digest and
rest to integrate your experience. Regardless of how long you can physically Walk
the Circle, wait before proceeding to the instructions in Walking Meditation 3
(included in Module 4).

You may need some days, weeks or even months to digest and integrate all of the
instructions. In time and with practice, you will be able to do them effortlessly,
and they will seem as only a single instruction.

Continue practicing until all the questions cease to exist, such as: What comes
next? Do I do this or that and in what sequence? What do I do if I forget and leave
some parts of the instructions out? If you can't easily answer these questions for
yourself, then you have not clearly absorbed, digested or smoothly integrated
the material inside yourself.

Take a break before progressing forward.

• Rest any way you'd like.

• Sit and meditate, attempting to resolve whatever came up

in your Circle Walking practice.

• Continue to walk and do your best to digest what has

transpired. This option should only be pursued by the most
experienced practitioners.
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