This captures something I find fascinating about consciousness work: how physical discomfort can become a gateway rather than an obstacle.
Your description of "embracing the horse" and melting into presence instead of fighting the burn hits different. I've experienced similar shifts in meditation where resistance dissolves and you discover this raw awareness beneath the mental chatter.
The Daoist insight that physical groundedness enhances mental clarity rather than distracting from it feels revolutionary in our comfort-obsessed culture. Most of us spend so much energy avoiding discomfort that we miss its potential as a teacher.
I'm curious about nei kung now. Never heard of it before, but that idea of using sustained physical challenge to alter consciousness is compelling.
Thanks for sharing this journey. The interplay between ancient wisdom and personal discovery is powerful.
Neil, that's a great reflection, thank you. Yes, that pivot from seeing discomfort as interference to realizing it can amplify presence was a big shift for me too. Nei kung cracked that open.
What struck me most was how physical stillness and intensity stripped away the usual mental strategies. There’s nowhere to go. No distraction. Just the body, the burn, the breath, and something else beneath it all that’s harder to name but undeniably real.
You nailed it: in a culture built around maximizing comfort, we often miss the quiet intelligence of the body under stress. Nei kung taught me that presence doesn’t always come wrapped in peace. Sometimes it arrives through fire.
If you ever try it, I’d love to hear what you discover. Appreciate you being here.
Ha! "Just redirected" - I love that you caught the deeper layer there. The universe has quite the sense of humor when it comes to teaching us what we actually need versus what we think we want.
Jim's fatherly intervention was probably the best cockblock of my life. 😄
With your 30+ years of storytelling mastery, I bet you've noticed how the best stories often hinge on these moments of redirection - when the plot we thought we were living suddenly veers into something far more interesting.
It's funny how LA can be like that. You go looking for trendy yoga and end up in a Times Square Daoist master's lineage. You chase a moment of chemistry and find yourself standing still for an hour, legs on fire, discovering a whole new relationship with discomfort.
This captures something I find fascinating about consciousness work: how physical discomfort can become a gateway rather than an obstacle.
Your description of "embracing the horse" and melting into presence instead of fighting the burn hits different. I've experienced similar shifts in meditation where resistance dissolves and you discover this raw awareness beneath the mental chatter.
The Daoist insight that physical groundedness enhances mental clarity rather than distracting from it feels revolutionary in our comfort-obsessed culture. Most of us spend so much energy avoiding discomfort that we miss its potential as a teacher.
I'm curious about nei kung now. Never heard of it before, but that idea of using sustained physical challenge to alter consciousness is compelling.
Thanks for sharing this journey. The interplay between ancient wisdom and personal discovery is powerful.
Neil, that's a great reflection, thank you. Yes, that pivot from seeing discomfort as interference to realizing it can amplify presence was a big shift for me too. Nei kung cracked that open.
What struck me most was how physical stillness and intensity stripped away the usual mental strategies. There’s nowhere to go. No distraction. Just the body, the burn, the breath, and something else beneath it all that’s harder to name but undeniably real.
You nailed it: in a culture built around maximizing comfort, we often miss the quiet intelligence of the body under stress. Nei kung taught me that presence doesn’t always come wrapped in peace. Sometimes it arrives through fire.
If you ever try it, I’d love to hear what you discover. Appreciate you being here.
Loved this story! Just redirected. LOL!! ?I felt like I was there w/ you during that time period, in my city.
Ha! "Just redirected" - I love that you caught the deeper layer there. The universe has quite the sense of humor when it comes to teaching us what we actually need versus what we think we want.
Jim's fatherly intervention was probably the best cockblock of my life. 😄
With your 30+ years of storytelling mastery, I bet you've noticed how the best stories often hinge on these moments of redirection - when the plot we thought we were living suddenly veers into something far more interesting.
It's funny how LA can be like that. You go looking for trendy yoga and end up in a Times Square Daoist master's lineage. You chase a moment of chemistry and find yourself standing still for an hour, legs on fire, discovering a whole new relationship with discomfort.
Thanks for reading and for the laugh!
You did a woderful job of storytelling! Including one of my fav techniques which is circling back to the beginning.