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Hara – Beyond the Concept

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Viewing 9 posts - 1 through 9 (of 9 total)
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  • September 16, 2024 at 8:31 am #438146
    shinnen
    Participant

    Hi all,

    I’ m not quite sure where this belongs, spirituality or relaxation; but I ran across this site

    a couple of weeks ago, “Hara – Beyond the Concpt” by Tomas Nellisen and found it very intersting;

    both from the perspective of zen, and deep relaxation.

    Have a look at it. I think that zen advocates will be quite familiar with it; but also the technique

    which he describes at the bottom of the article is extremely calming.

    …. john

    September 16, 2024 at 10:56 am #438153
    anita
    Participant

    Dear shinnen/ John:

    Will you be kind enough to summarize the writing you are referring to, or any part of it, in a simple, easy to understand way?

    anita

    September 17, 2024 at 9:09 am #438176
    shinnen
    Participant

    Hi all,

    I’ m not quite sure where this belongs, spirituality or relaxation; but I ran across this site

    about a month ago, “Hara – Beyond the Concpt” by Tomas Nellisen and found it very intersting;

    both from the perspective of zen, and deep relaxation.

    The majourity of the page talks about how, for many moderners, the focus of one’s center has shifted from their hara to their brain, which he feels is counterproductive. At the bottom of the page is a short description of  a method aimed at correcting this problem by shifting one’s focus back to the hara, where it should be. I have performed this ‘exercise’ for about a month now, and find it to be extremely calming, and an excellent segue into meditation. As regards it’s spiritual effectiveness, i.e. shifting my focus from brain to hara, only time will tell.

    Do have a look at the page, as it contains a more comprehensive description than I’m providing. You can find it here

    https://www.tomasnelissen.com/downloads/TOMAS%20NELISSEN%20-%20HARA%20BEYOND%20THE%20CONCEPT.pdf

    ……. john

    September 17, 2024 at 9:38 am #438181
    anita
    Participant

    Dear John: thank you for the link. I will read and reply at a later time.

    anita

    September 17, 2024 at 12:14 pm #438192
    Roberta
    Participant

    Hi John

    Thanks for the link to the article. I too enjoyed the exercise at the end. I encountered the Hara when being taught Karate also I think it may also called dantien. In both Tai Chi & Karate I was taught to move from the hips rather than the head & shoulders, also Tai Chi helped to slow my breathing down.

    Regards Roberta

    September 18, 2024 at 10:31 am #438209
    shinnen
    Participant

    Hi Roberta,

    Same here, only in my case it was Judo, which resulted in life long devotion to Buddhism.

    …. john

    September 18, 2024 at 12:07 pm #438210
    anita
    Participant

    Dear John:

    “Every person has an inexhaustible creative and innovative energy. We can mobilize this energy in order to grow… Daoist saying: ‘When you are ‘sick’, do not seek a cure. Find your centre (Hara) and you will be healed.’…

    “Practicing Hara breathing… With your mouth closed, breathe in, only using the muscles of your lower abdomen, gently pushing and breathing out. With each inhalation feel your abdomen filling and expanding – like a balloon…  Gradually slow down your breathing, allowing an ever-longer interval of time after each exhalation and before the next inhalation”.

    (End of Quotes). The boldfaced above is very meaningful to me, and the Hara breathing- I will practice it. Thank you.

    anita

     

    September 18, 2024 at 8:36 pm #438223
    Helcat
    Participant

    Hi Shinnen

    Thank you for sharing! That was an interesting read.

    There are a lot of meditations focusing on the Hara out there and even practices designed to activate and improve its function, if you can find the right teacher. One thing that I have heard is that we lose our connection to it in puberty.

    The article had a lot of advice about health that is also present in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Something that is not mentioned in the article is that the food quality has severely dropped. Not too long ago people did not even have refrigerators. Processed food didn’t exist either. Everything has preservatives in it now. Sometimes it is even cheaper to buy takeout instead of cooking from scratch.

    Corporations are not concerned about health of customers, they are concerned with their bottom line and how much they can make you buy. In America, even the bread is artificially sweetened. You don’t notice until you visit another country how sweet everything is.

    Fascinating stuff! Thanks again.

    Love and best wishes! ❤️🙏

    September 19, 2024 at 8:46 am #438245
    shinnen
    Participant

    Hi Helcat,

    Well, I’m very fortunate to be married to an excellent cook, who makes her own bread, with the minimum of salt, to keep my blood pressure under control; so I imagine that the old ways of perserving food (with salt) would probably have killed me before now. So, if I’m not good to her, I will probably notice a marked increase in the saltiness of my food ;- )

    ……. john

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