meditations on the 10, part three: Covenant 2.0

It all comes down to our agreements…

If you’ve been following this series on the 10 essential points of Yang Chengfu, you may have noticed I haven’t said much about them yet. As I pursue this series as an ongoing meditation, I keep finding compelling preparatory work bubbling up in my thoughts. For instance the concept of “covenants” has been strong with me of late.

A covenant is simply an honored agreement. They can be religious or secular, individual or collective, they can even be conscious or unconscious as we’ll see in a moment.

Perhaps the most important thing about covenants is that we participate in them for the benefits we hope to obtain as a result. They are essentially sets of principled actions and limitations we adhere to in our attempt to live a fulfilling, uplifting life. At their best, they help keep us focused and intent on our objectives. They form a supportive structure that guides our overall progress. At their worst, unconscious covenants are repressive and can impede even our best efforts in life. When this sort of agreement is discovered, it is our responsibility to create new and better ones.

The word covenant carries a quality of dedication and sincerity; they are not to be taken lightly. Nor do they imply slavery as a slave is in no position to agree or co-create. Rather, covenants should inspire participation, integrity, and strength of character – so long as one genuinely, even passionately, supports the spirit of the agreement. This is key.

I was recently listening to an interesting talk on the early principles of the American experiment and what the founding fathers were trying to accomplish. A point was made that in the “olden” days, there was a much stronger respect for agreements – and a heightened sensitivity to when agreements were broken. People had a sense of covenant with their neighbors through commonly held values, with their Source through religious or spiritual beliefs, and by extension with themselves as individuals. This is something we are seriously lacking in our modern mish-mash-anything-goes-grossly-inequitable culture. I believe there are multiple reasons for this, many of which are hidden from plain view. But for us to be successful as a nation – or a state – going forward, we will have to come together on a set of very basic, fundamental agreements. We will need to forge a new covenant with each other.

When we are born we inherit a collection of already established covenants. These are cultural, political, and sometimes religious in nature, and they are often enforced through very passive/aggressive means. We thus become committed to a status quo through pressure and constant exposure.  We are taught to “go along to get along” and that the systems in place, while not perfect, are there for our own good. We should trust and respect our public officials and their policies and do our patriotic part. In this scheme of things, there is very little room or encouragement for genuine personal development if such efforts take one into areas beyond mainstream viewpoints or interpretations of power. For instance, when was the last time what you or I thought about war actually mattered to the decision makers? When was the last time we could decide to opt out of some new law or program because it ran counter to our sense of ethics? And, honestly, what is “God” in the mainstream culture if not “money and political power”?

If one never thinks to seriously question the underlying philosophy of his or her culture, the unconscious covenants we inherit as children become prisons which restrict our ability to grow and reach our true potential. That said, questioning the national covenant, on many levels, is now very much at issue as they are breaking down left and right.

All this is leading me into a deep inner dialogue which I am calling Covenant 2.0. I am rethinking, reworking, and recreating a new foundational set of agreements and commitments I have with myself. Our world is in rapid and fascinating flux and its time to grow a new set of wings…

So, what does this have to do with Taiji? Pretty much everything. The principles of Taiji lead us to consider the quality of our lifestyle. How is our posture through the day? How present are we while working? What is the quality of our connection in relationships? Are we supporting our community? Are we supported by it? Where are we compromising our core values and what can we do about that?

The more we extend the principles of our practice, the more room we find for strengthening our integrity, our sensitivity, and our involvement in the larger world. This, of course, includes culture, economics, politics, etc. It’s all one thing and it begs our conscious participation, however we decide that will be. The trick is staying clear and focused in a world where distraction comes so easily.

To this end, I recommend writing a Covenant 2.0. The one we are born into is long outdated and inappropriate to the times, neither is it genuinely expressive of who we are as individuals. My process involves looking at the different areas of my life (purpose, relationships, home, work, health, etc.) and writing a short, concise statement of intent with added specific details where needed. After soulful consideration, we will have clarified a set of standards to which we can live up to as we endeavor to be our best. We will also have shaken off some of the detritus of past entanglements in favor of commitments that are more uplifting and empowering.

In addition, I believe that we can achieve a higher level of attainment and relevancy in our Taiji if we approach it as a covenant we have with ourselves and perhaps our training partners, teachers, and students as well. As practitioners, we all have a certain level of commitment and an unspoken energy that we bring to our art. For some of us it is sporadic and shallow, for others it runs very deeply, extending into something that is powerfully spiritual. Master Shouyu Liang was once asked how many hours a day he practiced and he answered with a quiet smile saying, “I think… 24 hours.” Such is the nature of his covenant with the art – and with himself.

Much of the power of Covenant is that it is conscious and purposeful. It is not a thing that is entered into by accident, but rather through thoughtful consideration and volition. It then grows with us as we grow, expanding as we expand, and evolving in ever more meaningful ways. For some this is a very natural process, for others it may be important to sit down with pen and paper and revisit the process on a regular basis. But, whatever approach we take, our agreements are powerfully important and surely it serves us well to “think on these things” as our lives unfold. If you find yourself drawn to such a process, drop me a line. I would love to hear of your insights along the way.

… Next time, we start on the 10.

- AB