Side Press Form

Shift your weight beneath the kettlebell by tilting your hip to that side. For example, if you lifted the kettlebell with your left side, shift your weight to the left. This adjustment of your hips position provides extra stability for the side press. Following the previous example, slowly straighten your left arm, looking up at the kettlebell, and lower your right arm to the floor. Keep your ba k and legs straight and ontinue the motion until your kettlebell arm is straight. !our torso should form a "#$%degree angle with your right thigh. Keep the kettlebell held over your left side and straighten your torso until your body forms a straight line. &ower the kettlebell in a slow, ontrolled motion ba k to the ' lean position' to omplete one repetition.

Bent Press Form

The bent press starts with an alteration of the ' lean stan e.' (otate the foot opposite the arm you ' leaned' the kettlebell with )$ degrees away from your body. For example, if the kettlebell is in your left hand, rotate your right foot. *end your right knee to about "+$ degrees and look toward the kettlebell. &ower your right hand toward the ground and bend your torso until it forms about a )$%degree angle with your right thigh, keeping your ba k straight. Straighten your left arm, raising the kettlebell, and take a moment to stabili,e yourself. Slowly hinge at your knees, pressing your hips out and ba k, into a s-uat as far as you an go. .old the s-uat position for one se ond. Straighten your legs and your torso in a ontrolled motion to a standing position. Slowly lower the kettlebell ba k to the ' lean position' to omplete one repetition.

Different Muscles Targeted

Their similar form allows the side press and the bent press to target roughly the same mus les. .owever, the bent presss s-uatting motion mid%movement provides additional strengthening benefits to your glutes and hamstrings, or the ba k of your legs and posterior. The motion also targets your -uadri eps, or thighs. The side press lightly strengthens the upper legs, but it does not build them with the intensity of the bent press. /n addition, the bent press re-uires more torso movement, whi h dire tly targets the abdominals and obli-ues with in reased intensity over the side press. *oth movements build strength in your lower and upper arms, shoulders and upper ba k.
Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/552097-the-differences-between-the-side-pressthe-bent-press/#i !!2"i#$%&'0

Lifting in the 5th Dimension

Lifting in the 5th Dimension, Part One - Thomas R. Foote

&ifting in the 5th (imension b) *om +oote ,%9-5.

Through my acquaintance with Tom Foote, I have come to realize that we share a common belief that athletic performance can be transcended through mind control techniques. Fortunately, this fundamental belief has motivated Tom to produce the first major comprehensive book on sports meditation. The book is thoroughly researched and creatively written. est yet, it provides an easily understood systematic approach to mastering meditative techniques. !lthough THE ART OF WEIGHTLIFTING IS USED AS A VEHICLE TO ILLUSTRATE THE

TECHNIQUES OF MEDITATION, this book can be successfully used by virtually anyone in any field of endeavor. In short, the book is not only enjoyable, but also informative. -- (r. /0dd 1iasiotto.

"R2+342 5ith e perience ever) weight lifter finds there is an el0sive mental edge that is necessar) in order to ma6e a good lift. 7anip0lating that edge is something we are 80st beginning to conscio0sl) do in 5estern sports. #owever9 in the 2ast it is something that st0dents of the martial arts9 )oga and meditation have done for tho0sands of )ears. :nstead of a vag0e bod) of 6nowledge on the fringe of what;s acceptable9 these ancient traditions represent detailed disciplines. *his boo6 applies that 6nowledge to weight lifting. <ome interpretations of meditation stress the goal of see6ing p0re conscio0sness. #owever9 the h0man e perience is both mental and ph)sical. 3n e perience of being =whole= m0st stri6e a balance between the two. 3s a lifter9 :;m also aware of an intimate cooperation between m) mind and bod). 3t times there is something more. *here is a sing0lar e perience dominated b) neither. *his is the 5th (imension where mind and bod) are b0t two dimensions of a larger happening. :n this 5th (imension )o0 live on that special edge9 where )o0 f0nction as a whole to form something more powerf0l than the simple s0m of )o0r parts. &ifters who have glimpsed this condition 6now it as being =ps)ched.= 5hat the) have seen is 80st the tip of an iceberg> in this boo6 we are going to vent0re below the s0rface. #ere;s how we are going to do it. 5e are going to ta6e a 8o0rne) be)ond *ime ? <pace. @o0 are going to enter the 5th (imension where gravit) is a bearded giant and pain is an illtempered dragon. @o0 are going on this trip with two friends of mine: a gri!!led old fart named "ath +inder9 who 6nows the wa)> and his rel0ctant apprentice9 6nown onl) as *he Aid. 5hat are the) doing there9 and more importantl)9 what are "#$ doing thereB *he Aid thin6s he;s loo6ing for the fabled cit) of <hambala. *his is a legendar) place which remained lost 0ntil "ath +inder came along. :t is still ver) hard to get there b0t it;s well worth the ard0o0s 8o0rne). Cnce there9 *he Aid e pects to be endowed with all sorts of special m)stic powers. @o0;re going there for the rideD 3long the wa) )o0 are going to learn to approach weight lifting from an entirel) different direction. *his is no small thing and will serve several p0rposes. +irst9 )o0 will learn s6ills to improve )o0r lifting. <econdl)9 lifting in 5( will in8ect new enth0siasm into )o0r wor6o0ts. *his

will ring )o0r chimes if )o0;ve ever wal6ed into the g)m to find that )o0r motivator has died. 3nd last b0t not least9 the 8o0rne) itself will be +EF.

*31&2 C+ 4CF*2F*< :. *#2 2<C*2R:4 2G"2R:2F42 -- *he &eap of +aith -- *he 7agic 4ompass -- *he Hateless 1arrier -- *he Eltimate *raining "artner -- *he 7ad "l0mber

::. *#2 #3R( 2G"2R:2F42 -- *he Rope *ric6 -- *he +orms -- +ree "la) -- &ow-*ech "0rist --*he +0g0e <teppes

:::. *#2 :FF2R 2G"2R:2F42 -- *rail 1lind -- *he *hird 2ar -- <hambala

4hapter % - 3 &eap of +aith 3 narrow gorge has obstr0cted o0r pilgrims; path. 4haos has cr0mbled an ancient bridge9 which once defiantl) spanned the chasm. ="0n) h0mans= the ragged roc6 lips seemed to ta0nt. =@o0 will not pass this wa)D= "ath +inder began to stretch o0t his m0scles li6e a r0nner before a race. *hen he too6 a calc0lating loo6 at the void9 which separated them from the other side of the bridge. *he Aid9 having crept on hands and 6nees to the cr0mbling edge9 noticed his companion;s activit). <0ddenl)9 it occ0rred to him that the old man act0all) meant to 80mp the bro6en distance. =@o0 can;t be serio0sD= *he Aid gasped. =#ave )o0 ever 80mped a streamB= "ath +inder

inI0ired. *he Aid nodded. #e;d 80mped ditches and swollen rain g0tters. =@o0 ma6e it9 or )o0 get )o0r feet wet9= "ath +inder contin0ed. 5ith that9 the g0ide tested his footing and too6 several deep9 slow breaths to compose himself. #e t0rned slowl) and graced his wild-e)ed )o0ng companion with a calm smile. =#ave faith9= the old man said with a win6. *hen he bro6e into a rapid r0n. =:n whatB= )elped *he Aid in panic as "ath +inder bo0nded past. *hen9 in one e plosive effort9 the old g0ide la0nched himself into the gaping space. 5ith the silent grace of a great cat he landed on the opposite side. *0rning bac6 to face *he Aid9 "ath +inder sho0ted9 =:n )o0rself9 of co0rse.= Fow *he Aid 6new he m0st follow. Remembering how he willingl) stepped o0t of his own front door to begin this strange 8o0rne)9 he felt li6e an idiot. =Ese )o0r fearD= "ath +inder )elled. =:t;s a so0rce of energ). /0st fasten it to that single instant when )o0 need it.= 3t least *he Aid 6new timing wo0ld be cr0cial. Cne chance was all he had. :n the ne t moment it wo0ld be done9 or he wo0ld be 0ndoneD =Het with itD= prodded "ath +inder. 3nd he did. +or a moment the 6id was a vision of 6nees and elbows9 as he sprang thro0gh the air li6e an 0ngainl) bird. +alling 80st short of the mar69 "ath +inder managed to grab one o0tstretched wrist in an iron grip. :t was over. #e;d made itD ,with a little help from his friend.. <miling9 "ath +inder p0lled the 0nstead) Aid 0p to safet). =5ell done9= congrat0lated the old g0ide. =5e had m) rep0tation to protect9 )o0 6now.=

*he 4hallenge :magine that a barbell has materiali!ed at )o0r feet. :t waits in moc6ing silence9 for )o0 to pic6 0p the challenge. 5ill )o0 acceptB +irst we;ll do a 4lean in the 0s0al wa). *here sits the bar and it;s time for )o0 to lift it. *he g)m is a little crowded. @o0 were ps)ched when )o0 arrived b0t that was 20 min0tes ago. @o0;ve waited to get on the lifting platform li6e a h0ngr) animal anticipating his dinner. Fow )o0;re cold. @o0r get 0p and go has got 0p and went. 10t )o0 are dedicated . . .

@o0r ro0tine calls for 5 sets of 59 p)ramiding the weight 0pward with each set. 1eca0se )o0;re probabl) thin6ing abo0t )o0r goal9 and not what )o0;re doing at this moment9 )o0 mash )o0r finger loading the barD *his isn;t going to be a record wor6o0t. @o0 chal6 0p and position )o0r grip. 3gain )o0 reali!e that )o0 don;t have the mental edge that a good lift reI0ires. @o0 also notice some lifters of the opposite se in designer o0tfits ,notice how cleverl) :;ve avoided gender.. :t;s now the moment that )o0 are s0pposed to e plode with that bar in )o0r iron fists and impress the rest of the g)m. 5hat happens is more li6e a fi!!le than a boom. *he weights go 0p> the weights come down. Rep after rep )o0 grind o0t each set. *his is wor6D $isions of an open road ride thro0gh )o0r wear) brain and )o0 long to follow them. 10t li6e : said9 )o0;re dedicated. <o )o0 stic6 to it 0ntil the bitter end. *he best thing abo0t a wor6o0t li6e this one is when it;s over. Fow let;s approach it in the 5th (imension. @o0 begin b) breathing slowl). 3s )o0r breathing deepens so does )o0r awareness. @o0 are beginning to sense a special moment approaching. @o0 feel the p0ll of the 2arth in )o0r lower abdomen as the force flows thro0gh the col0mns of )o0r lower legs and the soles of )o0r feet. <0ddenl) )o0 are connected to the 2arth. #er power streams thro0gh )o0. 3s )o0r mind has become foc0sed it has become I0iet9 the mental chatter which is 0s0all) distracting )o0 has ceased. (o0bt and 0ncertaint) abo0t )o0r abilit) has been p0shed aside li6e a wa6e before the silent bow of a relentless ship. @o0 want to board that vessel. *here can be no hesitation. @o0 close on the bar9 )o0r feet and hands 6now their positions. @o0 vis0ali!e the 2arth;s energ) streaming into )o0. :t is b0ilding press0re within )o0. 3t the perfect moment9 a moment of power9 the energ) is released to sweep thro0gh the ceiling into infinit). :n this moment the 4lean is wonD @o0 have given )o0rself to it completel) . . . and the bar has come to rest comfortabl) at sho0lder height. :t wor6edD 3 single coordinated event has transpired. 3n event in which )o0 were immersed9 onl) to become self-conscio0s after s0rfacing at its concl0sion. 2ach new repetition is an advent0re9 a pleas0re9 and a challenge. 2ach moment is inf0sed with necessit)D

*he &eap *o 4lean in the 5th (imension is li6e no other e perience. *o introd0ce it9 : needed an image that wo0ld ma6e real the testing moment when mind and m0scle m0st 8oin for a single effort. 7ost of 0s have had some e perience 80mping cree6s or rain-swollen g0tters. @o0 either ma6e it of get )o0r feet wet. 7) legs m0st have remembered s0ch an e perience9 beca0se s0ddenl) the cinemascope image of *he Aid and "ath +inder leaping a fearsome ab)ss flashed on the living screen between m) ears. /0st pict0re )o0rself peering over the edge of a cr0mbled old bridge. +or some insane reason9 )o0 have to 80mp to the other side. 3re )o0 tiredB : do0bt itD @o0r stomach feels li6e a gaping hole. @o0r co0rage has drained from )o0r legs9 leaving them

wea6 and sha6). <trangel)9 )o0r hearing is ver) ac0te. *he so0nd of gravel grating 0nder )o0r feet as )o0 test )o0r footing is the onl) so0nd in the world. *he old p0mp in )o0r chest feels li6e it;s going to b0rst the blood vessels in )o0r ears. 5hile )o0 are being overwhelmed with all this noise from )o0r bod)9 )o0r mind has become strangel) silent. @o0;re not calm. 10t there is a stillness to it. 2ver)thing fills it in a new wa). 3side from the sha6) legs9 this might be what a medieval sam0rai felt before doing battle. *hese Jen-trained warriors intentionall) entered an altered state of conscio0sness9 in which their senses were highl) t0ned9 in order to be more effective. 7) intention is to show )o0 how an ordinar) event9 a single repetition of an e ercise9 can ta6e on a warrior;s spirit. :f )o0 learn to lift in the 5th (imension )o0 need never be bored with )o0r wor6o0t. @o0 will learn to ma6e each rep co0nt. 5hen *he Aid had to face 80mping the fallen bridge9 )o0 can bet time slowed to a standstill. 5ith his heightened awareness he paid precise attention to ever) detail of his e perience. +0rthermore9 after the s0ccess of his 80mp he was changedD #e had learned a vital lesson. *hat big 80mp was a one shot effort. #ad he missed the far rim he wo0ld not have been able to rest a few moments and ma6e another attempt the wa) weight lifters can when the) miss a lift. *he whole point of the bridge episode was to bring home the wa) a sense of 0rgenc) can transform )o0r awareness. (0ring those intense few moments *he Aid was more alive ,and more aware of it. than at an) other time in his life. #e had9 0n6nowingl)9 glimpsed the 5th (imension where ever) e perience is raised above the ordinar) plane of e istence. 5eight lifting9 too9 can teach vital lessons. :t can be m0ch more than it appears to be. 10t how do we transform an e ercise li6e a 4lean into something so specialB *here are hints in the description of the second 4lean9 the one done in the 5th (imension. :t was a 4lean of "ower. :t was a protot)pe9 containing all the elements of the 5th (imension> bod) awareness9 the relationship to gravit)9 controlled breathing9 vis0ali!ation9 and other lessons from 3i6ido and #atha @oga. : decided to introd0ce the 4lean with man) 0ne plained elements9 as tho0gh it were an assembled p0!!le. &ater9 as we travel thro0gh the 5th (imension9 we will e plore each piece and learn to recombine the elements into a whole ro0tine of e ercise forms. Fe t -- more on the 4lean . . .

Lifting in the 5th Dimension, Part Two - Thomas Foote

The 0lean / hose the 0lean to introdu e +tth 1imension lifting for several reasons. For one thing, a lot of people don2t do 0leans regularly so they don2t have as many pre on eived ideas about them, as they do about other types of lifts. 3ext, the explosive nature of the 0lean makes it an intense exer ise whi h suits the general 2feel2 / want to ommuni ate to you. &ast, but not least, / wanted to find an exer ise that would mimi 'real work.' / wanted to be prepared to put in an a tive day of labor. For example, we heat our home with a wood%burning stove. after a day of olle ting firewood, / hoped to avoid feeling as though a tru k / had loaded the previous day had mysteriously driven over my body that night while / slept. 3aturally, / had to work my ba k, and isolated 'bodybuilding' exer ises were not the answer. / needed a oordinated exer ise that would integrate the entire dorsal surfa e of my body. 4y need was fun tional and pra ti al. /n the private laboratory of my experien e / worked on a solution. 5nter the 0lean. *e ause / worked in isolation, the extent to whi h my 0lean resembles the exer ise, as others know it, is a fun tion of onvergent evolution. That means it2s an a ident6 7n one o asion / had some oa hing. 8hile / worked out one day, / noti ed an older gentleman wat hing me. .e must have been pretty big on e. Taller than me, hair all white, arms and legs roped with mus le9 he was still formidable. 8ithout formality he offered some good advi e. ':et your hips in loser to the bar,' he said. ;ui k%witted as / am, / replied, '.uh<'

'3ever seen anyone doin2 0leans in here before,' he ontinued. 2=sed to do 2em myself, regular. 1amn good exer ise, but you got to get your hips in loser to the bar.' >nd / did. 8hat the old sage said fit my own se ret theoreti al system. / knew it was important to use my enter of gravity, though / wasn2t sure how. The old man2s feedba k helped. That was the extent of any oa hing /2ve re eived on 0leans. The ?roblem of S ale 1one a relatively low poundages, the 0lean is an unbeatable ba k exer ise. /t2s great for warming up. /n an be a gentle experien e whi h brings an awareness of all your pulling mus les@ the ere tors of the lower ba k, gluteus maximus Awhi h sounds like a (oman 5mperorB, the traps, the delts. 7n e, in an introdu tory design lass, we studied a problem of 's ale'. / onstru ted a ardboard free%form s ulpture whi h was only a few in hes high. Then / reprodu ed it several feet in si,e. /t retained the same form but was a different experien e. 1oing 0leans / dis overed a similar phenomenon@ by manipulating the weight, a -uantitative variable, the exer ise hanges -ualitatively. 1one at maximum poundages, the 0lean makes new demands. Slap more plates on the bar. ?ile them on until you stand before an iron Frankenstein, a monster of your own reation9 that whi h ould be your undoing. This is your maximum poundage, your personal best. /t2s a high wire a t. The ego bites its nails into stubs. '!ou made this one before . . . but not always6' your memory hides. From somewhere an anxious voi e reminds you that you aren2t getting any younger and the time is approa hing when all you will do is remember. This kind of advi e you don2t need6 The 0lean re-uires more than strength at these upper limits. 0on entration and oordination are e-ually important. The mind must ease its hatter and be leared of everything ex ept the infinite expe tation of an impending explosion. 1uring this single%minded fo us, the 8/&& to lift is transmuted into the >0T of lifting, as lead was turned to gold by al hemists. Through some ar ane sleight%of%hand, mus le and mind are mixed in a ru ible of intensity. The 0lean, be ause it is so well%suited for 'singles' is espe ially amenable to this sort of iron magi . The 0lean dramati,es the mind%body% onne tion so ne essary for a fo used lift. Te hni-ue The 0lean is a blast of dynamite6 !ou must drive the soles of your feet into the floor as you heave the bar in opposition. > tually, it is like a se-uen e of explosions mimi king Freeman 1yson2s atomi bomb drive for spa e travel, erupting in a smooth lift. A1yson -uote@ It is better to get mugged than to live a life of fear.) /t goes like this@

;uadri eps fire and the great dorsal mus les of the ba k grab the effort. &ike a baton, they pass it to the deltoids and trape,ius mus les of the shoulder region9 the bar2s upward momentum is given a final boost from the alf mus les %% just before the knees dip, dropping your weight under the bar2s verti al ve tor %% then you straighten triumphantly with the bar at shoulder height. The +th 1imension The 0lean is still more. There is a mystery of the 4eta%0lean, the 0lean of ?ower. '4eta' is used here to mean to go *eyond, to T(>3S0531, to GO HIGHER. The 4eta%0lean is the first su h higher exer ise you will meet. These meta%exer ises take normal movements to a higher level of development within the +th 1imension,where the mind and body are fused into an even greater for e than the sum of the two a ting separately. /n that moment of fusion and self% abandonment, when you are ompletely immersed in the experien e of 'exertion', the familiar limits of physi s and psy hology hange. This is a 4oment%of%?ower9 and like the vortex of a bla k hole it distorts timeCspa e and the observer. The 4oment of ?ower is the gateway to the +th 1imension. /t is during that moment that the glue whi h binds our minds into rigid patterns be omes loose and the fibers of ordinary reality stret h to let us through. To s-uee,e through into the +th 1imension, you will need to learn several skills. First, you must learn to enter the 4oment of ?ower, whi h you will learn in 0hapter #. !ou will need to learn about your 0enter and how to use it. This information is ontained in 0hapter D. The next major element on erns ontrol. !ou must learn to fo us and dire t the power that you will dis over flows through you. This ontrol is the subje t of 0hapter E. 8arp 1rive 3ow, just for fun, here is something interesting that /2ve noti ed. Time has always been of of the 'givens' of my normal environment whi h pu,,led me. / ouldn2t see it. / ouldn2t tou h it. !et everyone relied on 'it'. >s a kid, / would sit there in s hool agoni,ing over the last few minutes of the day, wat hing the hands of the big lo k haltingly advan e. Fust were, / would wonder, was the stuff this lo k measured. !ears later / stumbled on the well worn 'fishCwater' allegory. /t seems this little fish was swimming about in a vast sea. .e was very urious and asked a lot of lever -uestions, but there was one thing that ontinued to stump the little fellow. The older fish all spoke asually about something alled 'water'. 3ot only was this elusive substan e supposed to be everywhere, but it was said to be essential for life6 8ell, he looked everywhere for 'water'. .e sear hed under every ro k and behind every blade of seaweed to no avail. (umor has it he2s still looking. .ave you ever tried to find time< 7n e / asked my brother about 'time'. >s a physi ist, / figured he ould tell me what it was the mysti priests of sub%atomi s ien e figured into e-uations to represent it. .e spoiled my day by suggesting that there were two kinds of 'time'. 7ne was the mathemati al onstant, and the other was private experien e.

/f you are pra ti ing the te hni-ues of +th 1imension lifting your attention is fo used9 you are no longer sub%vo ally hattering to yourself, and you will ease to experien e a body 'inhabited' by a mind. /n this state, pausing over the barbell, you may ambush time. This is a moment like no other, when time2s interval no longer flows e-ually. The spa e between points > and * is not the same as that between * and 0. This is a moment so full, so weighty that it may seem to last forever. !ou reate a time warp9 and it seems that, as you manipulate the amount of weight, you ontrol the warp. /t2s a simple e-uation. >s you in rease the weight, you in rease the warp. 0leaning over my bodyweight is hard for me. &ifting "$ pounds under my bodyweight does not feel the same as lifting "$ pounds over it. 5a h is a different experien e. The bigger lift re-uires greater involvement. >s the level of involvement in reases, the fabri of time seems to be stret hed. 8arping time is as simple as that. This reminds me a lot of what2s alled the =n ertainty ?rin iple in physi s. *asi ally, this rule states that you an never pin down both the lo ation and velo ity of a given ele tron. !ou an get one or the other %% but not both, sin e the a t of determining one hanges the other. >s an observer the s ientist rea ts with his own experiment. So what< 8ell, this means you an2t be a passive observer of the =niverse. 'Truth' depends upon your parti ipation. /2m saying that time doesn2t passively flow around you. !ou parti ipate in time. Time is something you do. / think it2s outstanding that weight lifting, whi h looks so simple to an outsider, an lead to topi s like time warps. >s you dis over the +th 1imension you will dis over how infinitely fas inating our moment%by%moment experien e an be. 7ur awareness of time is just one su h wonder.

Lifting in the 5th Dimension, Part Three - Thomas Foote

The 4agi 0ompass *elieving himself to be unobserved, ?ath Finder did something very strange. 8ith his ba k to his resting ompanion, he began to move his hands in the air, des ribing a urious pattern. (epeating the design ever more -ui kly, his hands began to blur and the air to glow. Suddenly his hands were still, but no longer empty. ?ath Finder now held a strange looking devi e at whi h he peered, as if to onsult it in some manner. '8hat have you got there<' The Kid demanded. &ike a splash of old water, his words seemed to at h ?ath Finder off guard. '!ou2re hiding something from me, old man. &et me see it6' Sheepishly ?ath Finder turned around. '/2m not sure you2re ready for this,' he warned. /n his hands he held an instrument not unlike a ompass. !et neither was it like any ompass The Kid had ever seen. >nd were had it ome from< There was something strange here and The Kid was be oming un omfortable. Then, as he wat hed unblinkingly, ?ath Finder2s hands were empty. The ompass had vanished. '1amnation6' muttered ?ath Finder, 2!ou2ve broken my on entration. 8ell, no matter. / have our new bearing but /2ll have to draw you a pi ture.' 4outh agape, knees suddenly weak, The Kid sank to the ground. S-uatting next to him, ?ath Finder began to tra e a pi ture in the sand with his finger. '!ou2re not going to faint, are you<' ?ath Finder asked. .is finger had drawn two interse ting lines, like axes on a graph. /nterrupting, The Kid blurted, '8hat was that thing / saw you onjure out of the air<' '/ was trying to explain,' the exasperated guide sighed. '/t was a ompass. 1id you think we were wandering aimlessly about this land<' 8ith a sli e of his finger ?ath Finder drew an arrow a ross the grid. 3ow stabbing the sand he ontinued, 'This point at the extreme ends of the a tive%in lusive poles is our dire tion. 8ith that ompass / an keep our ourse set on Shambala. 3ow get on your feet. 8e have lots of ountry to over.' '8hat2s a shambala<' asked The Kid, no less pu,,led than before. '/t2s not a what,' said the guide. '/t2s a where.' The Kid just stared ba k blankly. '3ow you2ve got me sounding onfused6' growled ?ath Finder. 'Shambala is a pla e. That2s what / mean6' The Kid2s fa e relaxed a little. '?eople like you got to have a goal, don2t they<' the old man ontinued. The growing look of re ognition on The Kid2s fa e en ouraged him further. '!ou wouldn2t take these risks just for the fun of it, would you< .e k no,' he answered himself. 'That2s why we2re going to Shambala. /t2s

an an ient pla e, mostly forgotten these days, where you find everything you ever dreamed has ome true.' '8hy didn2t you tell me this earlier<' protested The Kid as he rose to his feet. ?ath Finder was already striding away, now onfident of the dire tion. Ki king the sand, The Kid answered himself, '*e ause you2re obviously ra,y and /2d have stayed safely at home.' >fter the first hapter it should be pretty lear that the +th 1imension isn2t the old neighborhood. There are a lot of unfamiliar things in the lands ape and darn few old landmarks to go by. For this reason we2re going to pull ba k and s ope out the big pi ture a little before getting on to spe ifi s. / hope this will make for a more omfortable journey. 4y Shadow 8hile exploring the +th 1imension / be ame a utely aware of 'something' %% my experience. / find it strangely embarrassing to dis uss this. /t2s kind of like / just dis overed my shadow and am going around showing it to everybody. '.ey, look at T./S6' / say, tugging at a stranger2s sleeve. Simultaneously / am wildly gesti ulating at the sidewalk, where nothing out of the ordinary asserts itself. '/f you2re trying to sell something,' the stranger warns, '/ don2t want any. 3ow let go of my arm6' '/2m not selling anything. / just want to show you my shadow,' / explain. The stranger starts to ba k away autiously, but / ontinue undaunted. '/sn2t it great<' / ex laim. '/ just dis overed it when / got up this morning and it2s been following me everywhere6' 3ow the stranger has slips ompletely away, but / ontinue addressing the shadow itself. 2!essirree6' !ou almost gave me the slip on e,' / tell the bare sidewalk. 'That time you didn2t follow me into the house. *ut /2m wise to your tri ks now.' 4editation 4any other people have stumbled over their experien e AshadowsB like / did. /nstead of running around jabbering about how spe ial their shadows were, they sat down and began to study them. They meditated. They be ame shadow experts. 8ith time they dis overed mu h about the relationship between light and dark. Some of them be ame very advan ed and dis overed the e-uivalen e of ele tromagneti propagation, et . . . and stuff / an2t relate to my 'shadow' any longer.

So what is meditation, anyhow< >mong other things, it is a -uest for raw, #$$ proof experien e. 4editative te hni-ues developed to distill what was happening to us all, on a gross level, down to its essen e. &ike everything else people do, this study of purified experiential%stuff resulted in a grand diversity. here were any number of ways to study experience !! weight lifting" as it turns out" is an excellent method. The 0ompass This is where ?ath Finder2s magi ompass omes into play. The ompass fa e has two axes between whi h all forms of meditation may be found. 8hile the +th 1imension stret hes out to the four points of the ompass, we are interested in a parti ular heading. So let2s take a loser look at this strange instrument, that we may more thoroughly understand where we are going. The ompass fa e is omposed from two ontinua@ A"B a tive%passive and A#B in lusive%ex lusive. These two lines riss ross to divide the ompass fa e into four pie%shaped -uadrants@ A"B a tiveCin lusive, A#B passiveCin lusive, ADB a tiveCex lusive, and AEB passiveCex lusive. /n order to find weight lifting you need look no further than pie sli e number A"B. !ou are going to learn how to approa h iron work as a form of a tiveCin lusive meditation. This might be easier done than said Ano, / didn2t say it ba kwardsB. 8e2ll start by examining the ompass more losely. ?hysi al /nvolvement The a tiveCpassive ontinuum is like a s ale you an use to measure the physi al side of meditation. >t one end of the s ale you have a very busy approa h to the job, while at the opposite end the approa h is more laid ba k. !ou might also label it the 'hard s hool' Aa tiveB and the 'soft s hool' ApassiveB. The soft s hool is the one / think most people think of when they hear the word meditation. /2m sure you an visuali,e a yogi seated in some preposterous position doing nothing very obvious Athere2s all kinds of jokes about spending years studying your navelB. This kind of meditation looks pretty silly, though what the yogi is doing may be serious.

Form and Fun tion &et2s remember that there is a differen e between the form of an a tivity and the function of an a tivity. 8hen we just look at some -uietly sitting, we are only seeing the form, whi h an be mighty misleading. /2ve always felt that the form of weight lifting, when onsidered without its fun tion, was a bit odd. /magine a 4artian tourist, just turning off at 5arth for a rest stop, and the first lo al he en ounters is a weight lifter. This first impression might be less than en ouraging. The poor 4artian would have to make sense out of some little two%legged reature who sweated and grunted just to pi k these big bla k obje ts up and return them again to their original position. /t probably looks real tidy, but not very effi ient. .e might suspe t that we were slaves performing a servi e for our dis %shaped iron masters. 8ell, you and / know the purpose and fun tion of weight lifting, so the strange looking a tivity makes sense to us. 3oise So why is the yogi just sitting around< 8ell, he might be studying his navel, but it2s more likely that hs is studying his experien e. .e2s one of those 'shadow' experts. *y sitting very still you might say his body is going to produ e less 'noise' whi h might interfere with his work. /t2s a little like being interested in rivers, but all you ever noti e is the stuff floating by instead of water. /f you ould sweep the water lean, you ould appre iate the river itself. So the yogi is sitting still to study his experien e wiped lean of 'doing things'. 3ow let2s look at the hard s hool. > tive meditation is a less familiar form to most 8esterners. .owever, a lot of athletes have re ently reali,ed that sports an be very similar to meditation. 1uring some forms of rythmi a tivity or at periods of peak performan e, people have begun to re ogni,e unusual hanges in their ons iousness, su h as 'runner2s high'. &ong before jogging aught on, several thousands of years ago, 'shadow' experts dis overed that the noise from the body ould be put to use in their study of experien e. These guys developed forms of meditation that involved walking, dan ing, and everyday a tivities like housekeeping and farming Ae.g., Karma !ogaB. 4ental /nvolvement /f the a tiveCpassive ontinuum is a s ale for des ribing the role of the body in meditation, then the in lusiveCex lusive ontinuum may be a s ale on whi h to measure the involvement of the mind. /n the same way that the body an reate noise, the mind an also re-uire muffling in order to study pure experien e. 5xperiment So let2s say you want to -uiet your mind. To get an idea of what /2m talking about / want you to try an experiment. /f you are sitting down, just lay this book down for a moment and relax. Take

a ouple of slow, deep breaths and lose your eyes Anot yetB. Try not to think about anything. 3o heating6 /f there is a little voi e hattering away between your ears tell it to shut up. 3ow go ahead and do it . . . .ow was it< 1id you hear your most hated advertising jingle< 1id you see pi tures of familiar fa es< 7r did you a tually experien e a resounding silen e< (elax if your head was filled with uninvited sights and sounds. That is the way it usually works. >n untrained mind normally makes all kinds of noise. The an ient .indus used to ompare an untrained mind to a tree full of drunk monkeys. / an relate to that des ription. So how do you get the monkeys sobered up and out of the tree< The in lusive way is to just a ept them. &et them hang out there as long as they want and wat h their ra,y anti s. They will eventually get bored and leave. The ex lusive way is to fo us your attention on something like the tree2s leaves and ignore the damn monkeys. 8hen they no longer an get a rea tion from you they2ll go bug someone else. Four Types of 4editaion &et2s put these two s ales, one physi al, the other mental, together and see what happens. /2ve already indi ated that you will get four ategories of meditationAremember that pie<B, one of whi h may ontain weight lifting if you know how to look for it. 8e2ll start with Type E, passiveCex lusive, and work forward. > student of Type E would sit -uietly under the tree full of drunken monkeys and on entrate on the patter in the tree2s bark, while he tried to ignore the fa t that they were throwing fruit and worse at him. The a tiveCex lusive, Type D approa h might look even more weird. This guy would begin to dan e around the tree in a ir le, while hanting his own name ba kwards. >s he ir led the tree he would dan e faster and faster, his hantin gvoi e drowning out the hoots and shrieks of the amused drunken monkeys. This sounds like it might work. 3ow Type #, the passiveCin lusive fellow. This guy really worries about the monkeys. .e sits ompletely still and stares at them. That2s all6 1ay in an day out he just sits there and passively observes them. >lways alert to their foolish, drunken behavior but never ruffled by it. This is very diffi ult, but it drives the monkeys ra,y and they split. Finally, we rea h the Type " meditation, or the a tiveCin lusive approa h. /2ve been saving this guy for last for a good reason. it2s the ra,iest method of all. This guy limbs up in the tree and joins the monkeys. .e2s a weight lifter6 8hy did the weight lifter limb up into the tree< The answer is very straight forward. .e got involved6 That is what meditation means when it is a tiveCin lusive. Fust look at those two words again. !ou an2t lift weights passively and you an2t ignore them. Frankly, the reason weight lifting is su h an ex ellent vehi le for meditation is that it demands involvement. Se retly, / think weight lifters have been meditating for years only no one told them.

So /2m saying that weight lifting fits into the physi ally a tive or hard s hool of meditation. That2s pretty obvious. This means you are going to sutdy experien e by parti ipating in life. 3ot only are you going to take an a tive part in life, but you are going to embrace it. This is the in lusive part. 8eight lifting be omes Type " meditation when you be ome fully involved, both mentally and physi ally, in every last detail of the whole brutal a tivity. 1isso iation@ 8hat Type " Isn#t Total involvement is a omplished through a pro ess known as 'asso iation'. To get a good idea of what this is let2s look at the opposite. 1isso iation is easy to illustrate. !ou want strength and bigger mus les. *e ause you are goal dire ted you hate weight lifting itself. The workout is just something to get through, a way to bring you loser to the strength and bigger mus les you want. So, you bring musi into the weight room and turn the volume up to the pain threshold. >lso, you an2t seem to lift onsistently when alone. 4isery loves ompany. /t2s not a real training partner you seek9 rather, you need ompany as a diversion. The workout be omes a so ial event. *etween the musi and ma ho talk you hope to forget the dis omfort of working out. >t last, when the whole horrible ordeal is finally over, there is the wel ome shower. There you will hear others mutter in sympathy, ':od, /2m glad T.>T is over for one more day.' 8hat2s odd is that it2s a tually a greater hore to distra t yourself from what is at hand, be ause you have to do something in addition to just 'being there' and doing what you set out to do in the first pla e. 1isso iation re-uires that you fall into the trap of just going through the motions. This attitude amounts to killing time, whi h Thoreau warned ould not be done without injuring eternity. 7r injuring yourself, / might add. The serious and a omplished lifters / know take every rep seriously, not be ause they have to but be ause they want to. /t is an unavoidable fun tion of the interest they invest in their workouts. 8hat /t /s /t2s pretty lear what asso iation isn#t. /t is also easy to say that it is nothing more than paying attention to what you are doing. That, however, would be a little de eptive of me. &earning to asso iate with what you are doing is a skill and like other skills, it takes time and pra ti e to master. >lso, like other skills, there are levels of ompeten e. ?aying attention to what you are doing an be like peeling layers off an onion@ you an keep going deeper and deeper toward the enter. &et2s take a look at some example. Fust as 'you an never step into the same river twi e', no two reps are the same. There is always something to learn. 7ne day / was s-uatting %% with a subtle differen e in my balan e, whi h / ould best dete t through the pressure differential on the soles of my feet. 1es ending, my weight was more over the heels. Then, as / pressed up to the standing position the pressure was more evenly distributed over the entire sole. >s a result, / didn2t totter forward or ba kward, but remained sure of my footing. / was learning to be ome attuned to the surfa e where my body interfa ed with the 5arth %% the soles of my feet. /t was a valuable lesson.

>nother time / re ogni,ed a differen e in the downward pressure of a standing press. 4y body seemed to a ept the bar onto my shoulders Avery in lusiveB. /nstead of just dropping the bar a ross my shoulders, my arms seemed to draw the bar to my shoulders with a sort of expe tation of omfort. This la k of resisting seemed to ontain a sense of ertainty that / ould again press the bar off my shoulders. / was learning to appre iate new fa tors in the negative rep aspe t of the movement. /n his novel $Island', >ldous .uxley populated the trees of his paradise with jungle birds trained to s ree h@ '>ttention, boys. >ttention6' 7f all the possible words .uxley might have pla ed in their beaks, why these< The answer is probably simple. .e thought they were important. .e knew that the simple admonition to pay attention ontained limitless possibilities. ?aying attention to life is the key to self%knowledge. ?aying attention is the key to the +th 1imension. The essen e of the +th 1imension is to be present in the present. 1on2t run away from the stress of weight lifting9 instead, experien e the pleasing agony of mus les working hard. &et go of the hassles of life prior to this workout. 1on2t worry where you will be five minutes from now. &et the evening await until it arrives. There should be nothing o upying your awareness other than the bar and your mus les. !ou need all the balan e, ontrol and willpower you an muster. >t the extreme of asso iation the distin tion between subje t and obje t disappears. !ou be ome weight lifting. '&ifting' is happening, as opposed to '/ am lifting weights.' !ou an be ome at one with the weights. T.5 &/FT/3: /S. /magine a lose%grip ben h press. !ou grasp the bar. !ou grab your resolve. &ift off6 *alan e it for a momentCeternity. 3ow it des ends. !ou guide the bar to your sternum and feel the *ig 1emand approa h Athe 4oment of ?owerB. &oading the hest, shoulders, upper ba k and tri eps, you blast off. The bar surges upward. The tri eps are tight . . . they2re going to burst . . . now the next rep6 >nd so it goes . . . There is no on lusion to defining 'asso iation'. It is a process and it is the sub%ect of the rest of this boo&. >s you read on, you will ontinue to peel off layers of the onion. !ou will also ontinue to be surprised at what you un over about weight lifting.

Lifting in the 5th Dimension, Part Four - Thomas Foote

http@CCwww. ons iouslivingfoundation.orgCebooksC"DC0&F%Gen%4umonHTheI#$:ateless I#$:ate.pdf

http@CCwww.mus lesofiron. omCsitemapC

The :ateless *arrier by Thomas Foote A")J+B The way to Shambala, as The Kid was oming to reali,e, was not without obsta les. First he was expe ted to leap fallen bridges, then his guide materiali,ed obje ts out of nowhere. Thus lost in thought, The Kid failed to noti e that he2d been trudging into a deepening gloom %% at midday6 Suddenly a great wall, whose shadow aptured light like a huge net, rose awesomely before

them. '8hat is this<' whispered The Kid. 'The :ateless *arrier,' answered ?ath Finder. Seemingly un on erned, he sat down in a omfortable ross%legged posture. /n the false night of the great barrier, The Kid advan ed to the wall and ran his hands over the rough, unyielding boulders. '8e2ll never get through this,' he whined. '8e2ll never see Shambala6' ?atiently ?ath Finder addressed him. '1on2t you re all / said to have faith in yourself< 3ow just sit down and do as / say.' (elu tantly, The Kid sank down in a s-uatting position beside the old guide. '/f we are going to ross this barrier,' ?ath Finder explained, 'we must observe our breathing.' '0ome again,' replied the un omprehending Kid. '/ need to s ale a wall and you want to sit and wat h your belly rise and fall.' '&isten6' hissed ?ath Finder with sudden urgen y, 'or be lost. This is the +th 1imension, not the 7uter%&ands with whi h you are familiar.' :rudgingly, The Kid admitted to himself that the old man had a point. '7kay,' he on eded 'show me your stuff.' 'Fust sit here almly,' instru ted ?ath Finder. '3ow as you breathe, observe the breath as it rushes past your nostrils. Try to inhale deeply, feeling the pull from the .ara . . .' 'The 8hat%a<' interrupted The Kid. '&ater,' ontinued ?ath Finder with ill% on ealed exasperation. '1on2t get tense,' replied The Kid. '/f you2ll just say what you mean and forget the fan y words, /2m sure /2ll get the hang of it.' (olling his eyes, ?ath Finder took several deep, slow breaths before ontinuing. '3ow, let2s see . . .' the guide said, 'where are we< 7h, yes, observe your breath as you inhale. Then wat h the tide reverse as your lungs empty. Try to breathe naturally. 8hen voi es hatter in your head %% don2t try to stop them. Fust let them in one door and out another. 1on2t hold on or follow them out the door. Fust return to the rhythm of your breathing.' 'Sounds easy,' on luded The Kid. '3ow was that anything to get upset about<'

'7f ourse you2re right,' murmured ?ath Finder. 'There2s one more thing. ?ay parti ular attention to the moment when the tide of your breathing hanges from in%rush to out%wash. This is a very spe ial moment . . .' ':ot it6' replied The Kid. '3ow let2s get with it and stop all this hatter.' ':ratefully,' grunted ?ath Finder, be oming as still as a stone. Together the two wanderers sank into a deep silen e. 7nly the slow, deep breathing of the two men disturbed the darkness below the great wall. Suddenly, The Kid was roused from his -uiet ontemplation by a stabbing light. '.ey, ?ath Finder6' he shouted. '&ook at the wall. There2s a big .7&5 in it. /s this more of your onjuring, like that s rewy ompass<' '3ot at all,' the old man observed. 'This time it was your own magi .' (iddles 8hat2s the stuff about a :ateless *arrier< >sk yourself, '8hat do barriers do<' They divide things. This parti ular barrier is very tri ky. /t divides your own experien e of simply being into two parts %% the experien e of 4ind and the experien e of *ody. This divided state is what we all 'normal'. The bad news is that to a ept being divided is like living with a hroni disease. 5veryone you know has the same disfiguring si kness and as far as you know, that2s the way it should be. The good news is that the :ateless *arrier is also a solution to the problem. /t2s a wonder to me how smoothly this image of a barrier an serve a dual purpose. /t is basi ally a riddle and when you find the solution you an pass to the other side. /n order to rea h the +th 1imension in your lifting, it is ne essary to get past this parti ular barrier. >t the beginning of this hapter, The Kid was fa ed with a seemingly impenetrable wall whi h la ked a gate. That2s the way it is for someone who has never been whole, but rather, has only known themselves as a separate mind and body whi h mysteriously manages to o upy the same spa e and time. The Kid was lu ky %% he had a guide. ?ath Finder showed him how to find the 4oment of ?ower, when spa eCtime is fro,en and you an pass through the barrier into the +th 1imension. The tri k is to enter the right state of ons iousness, something that an be done through meditation. The weird thing is, on e this is done, the barrier is never really brea hed, instead it redefines itself. 3ow you see it as it really is %% :>T5&5SS6 The way through is wide open, in fa t it always was. There never was a gate. The separation between mind and body was an illusion. The reason for getting beyond the :ateless *arrier is simple. 8eight lifting in the +th 1imension

is different. /n the normal world, where the mind and body are experien ed as separate, you an2t bring your total power to bear. !ou are divided. >t the best of times, the wall dissolves and the two halves ommuni ate. !our lifting improves. This an happen under stress, like when you are going for a new maximum in a lift. The experien e you have is of being very psy hed. !our mind is fo used on just one thing %% the lift. 3othing distra ts you and when the time omes you ram it home, and it was easier than you expe ted. Su h moments are great, but an you ount on them< That2s why you need to get beyond the wall. 7n e you rea h the other side, the journey isn2t over. There2s a lot to learn in the +th 1imension as you2ll see in later hapters. For now we need to take one step at a time and begin by learning to ross the barrier. /t is done during the 4oment of ?ower, whi h / stumbled on by a ident. 1is overy There / was doing dips. Slowly, / lowered my body between the parallel bars. (ea hing the bottom, the stret h in my shoulders ould definitely be felt. Then ame the de ision point, when / had to press myself ba k to the starting point. / ould feel the pe s taking the load, then the deltoids took hold and finally the tri eps fired and / was up. 7n that parti ular morning another guy was waiting his turn at the dipping bars. 8hile / worked, / ould hear him grumbling about the work to ome. 8e were lose a -uaintan es in the strange way of people who have the same workout s hedule get to be. That is, / didn2t know his name, but / knew enough about him to was philosophi ally about exer ise. 'Try fo using your attention,' / suggested, 'on the moment when you de ide to press up.' .e looked interested in anything that might redu e the pain. '/t2s kind of like meditation,' / ontinued. '/nstead of paying attention to the work you2re doing, going up and down, wat h for that moment where you make the transition between the two phases. The turnaround.' / don2t know if my a -uaintan e ever made mu h of my advi e. .e went on to run marathons and gave up weights. / had surprised myself, however, by voi ing the onne tion between 1ips and ?ranayama. / had, indeed, been meditating on the 4oment of ?ower for some time, without ons iously seeing the onne tion. *reath of &ife 2?rana%what<' you might ask. 'Sounds like a new flavor of yogurt.' 8rong. /t2s a form of meditation that was devised in an ient /ndia. /n Sanskrit 'prana' means something like 'breath' %% and more. /t refers to some kind of life energy that an be derived through breathing. The whole thing, 'pranayama,' refers to a 's ien e of breathing and

represents a whole s hool of yogi meditation. http@CCwww.shout.netCKjmhC lini Cs ien eHofHbreathC /t seems the an ient /ndian s holars made the spe ta ular dis overy. /f they suffo ated someone the vi tim died. >.%.>6 They reali,ed breath was ne essary for life. Thus, they reasoned, when one breathes, one inhales the vital energy whi h sustains life. They went on to dis over ways of 'breathing' oneself into immortality, but it was so long ago that everyone forgot how Aperhaps due to hyperventilationB. .owever, we are left with some neat breathing exer ises, one of whi h has spe ial signifi an e for weight lifting be ause it will lead us to the 4oment of ?ower. &et2s examine a spe ifi form of ?ranayama. 8e2ll all it simply 'following the breath,' whi h is a good operational definition. >ll one needs to do is follow these simple instru tions@ "B Sit down omfortably #B *reathe naturally DB 7bserve the pro ess >n alarm should have gone off in your head at the mention of 'simple instru tions.' .aven2t you en ountered those reassuring words in the dire tions for assembling 0hristmas presents and then spent frustrating hours getting it wrong< This form of meditation would fit into either Type # % passiveCin lusive, or Type E % passiveCex lusive, depending upon whether or not you do it with your eyes open. 5ither way it2s an exer ise in 'peeling the onion,' that is, asso iation. !ou will noti e that 'meditation' really just amounts to paying spe ial attention to what you are doing. !ou asso iate with the task at hand rather than disso iate from it. *reathing is one of the simplest and purest a tivities through whi h to study raw experien e. >sso iating very losely with it is often des ribed as 'observing' it. 8hat it means is that you pay very lose attention to all the sensations of breathing as they o ur. That is, you 'feel' the air rush past the nostrils, and you 'feel' the diaphragm drop while the abdomen expands. !ou may visuali,e the pranaCenergy rushing into your abdomen as you inhale. *efore the pro ess reverses, you will noti e a transition. >s ?ath Finder pointed out, between the phases of breathing there is a very spe ial moment. >n ient yogis learned to wat h for this moment be ause they believed it had spe ial properties. /n the +th 1imension it is alled the 4oment%of%?ower. The 0rossing (e ogni,ing the 4oment of ?ower re-uires great subtlety. To noti e it means you2re refining your te hni-ue and improving your powers of asso iation. This moment has 'spe ial properties.' >t this moment the dualism of mind and body is least apparent. /t is at this moment that mind and body are 'yoked' and a spe ial wholeness is experien ed. The :ateless *arrier is suddenly

'gateless' and you may freely enter the +th 1imension. >ttention 8e2ve been talking about 'following the breath' in order to be ome tuned into the 4oment of ?ower. /n one sense, you are using your ability to dire t your attention and pointing it at a spe ial event %% spa e between breaths. This is a basi exer ise in asso iation. The next step to lifting in the +th 1imension is a simple extension of the first step. !our fa ulty of 'attention' must be fo used in a spe ial way on ea h repetition as you exer ise. 5a h repetition onsists of two phases, one aggressive and one submissive. *etween the two there is a singular instant where transition from downward energy to upward energy transpires. 7ne simply fo uses the attention on the transitional point, without interfering with the flow of energy. This is not as easy as it sounds. There is a natural tenden y to interfere with the flow. 1uring ?ranayama it takes the form of slowing the breath and self% ons iously prolonging the pause between inhaling and exhaling. /t takes pra ti e to let the breath ome and go naturally, while remaining intent on observing the 4oment of ?ower. /n like manner, /2m not suggesting that sagging there at the bottom position of a 1ip is a spe ial event. 1on2t just hang there, waiting for enlightenment to arrive like a bolt of lightning. !ou have to keep the momentum and timing natural. There is a sense of rhythm to any set of good reps and you don2t want to lose it. *ut this doesn2t pre lude wat hing for the instant. /t takes pra ti e, just like ?ranayama, but on e you 'feel' it you2ll re ogni,e it. The pull of wholeness is very strong. >ltered States 3ow we2ve progressed from fo using on breathing to fo using on doing reps, where /2ve said that you2ll dis over something. Fust what does 'it' feel like< That2s a real tri ky issue, but a very important one. First off, reali,e we2re talking about something you will feel, rather than hear. 8ords are a little inade-uate at su h times. /magine trying to tell someone who has never eaten a banana exa tly what to expe t. (emember, you are expe ted to ommuni ate the experien e of eating a banana so well that this person will re ogni,e one by taste alone. The 4oment of ?ower isn2t a banana but it is an experien e. 8hen your attention is almly, yet sharply tra king your every move during a rep, there is a hange in your ons iousness. *y degrees, depending upon your skill, your mind and body be ome less separate. >s the barrier between mind and body dissolves, the experien e be omes more intense. !ou be ome the a tivity. /f you are ben h pressing, then *530./3: is all that is happening. There is no longer any 'you' doing the ben hing and thinking about how to ben h properly. There is no subje tCobje t split. !ou be ome the ben hing6 This sounds a little odd, right< /t should. The +th 1imension is an altered state of ons iousness. 8e are talking non%ordinary reality. /t should also sound effe tive. /n +th 1imension you are not distra ted. !ou are not doing two or three things at on e, like ben hing while listening to your partner dis uss last night2s a tivities at the tavern, or listening to the musi ranking out of the

gym speakers, or thinking about how you should use your lats when ben hing. /nstead, you have willed yourself into a natural high. !ou are truly psy hed and your lifting will show it. 5ntering the +th 1imension % Step L" ?ranayama ?hase / % 7bserving the *reath A"B Sit omfortably A#B *reathe naturally ADB Fo us attention on 'spa e' between breaths ?hase // % The 4oment of ?ower A"B 7bserve breath between sets. This is the indu tion into the altered state of ons iousness. A#B 8hile lifting, fo us attention on 'spa e' between reps.

LIfting in the 5th Dimension, Part Five - Thomas Foote

T.5 =&T/4>T5 T(>/3/3: ?>(T35( "What was that Hara-stuff ou mentione! "a#$ there," in%uire! The &i!. He ho'e! if he #ou(! get Path Fin!er ta($ing, he might ease the 'a#e. "For starters," Path Fin!er #a((e! over his shou(!er, "where !oes it fee( (i$e ou inha"it our "o! )" "We((, (et*s see," The &i! sta((e! as he warme! to the tas$. "+ feet hurt at the moment." ",es, es," en#ourage! Path Fin!er. ". . . "ut," sai! The &i! ta''ing his forehea!. "-ut," sai! the o(! gui!e. ". . . I*! have to sa it*s u' here in m hea!," he #on#(u!e!. "Right u' there "ehin! our e es, I su''ose," sai! Path Fin!er. ",eah." The &i! agree!. "+ust "e the same for ou, huh)" "We((, not e/a#t( ,* re'(ie! Path Fin!er. The o(! gui!e seeme! wi((ing to (et the #onversation !ie a natura( !eath an! "e#ame more #on#erne! a"out their 'ath. The surroun!ing terrain was "e#oming even more

"ro$en. The tum"(e! "ou(!ers (a a(( a"out them. The two #ontinue! to win! their wa among the growing 'i(es of stone in si(en#e. The &i! was #omforta"(e with the (a#$ of #onversation. 0t first he 1ust #hewe! the i!ea of "inha"iting his "o! ." He won!ere! what Path Fin!er wou(! have answere! to the %uestion, sin#e he im'(ie! that he !i!n*t 1ust (ive in his hea!. 2(ow( , he "e#ame aware of his surroun!ings an! (ost interest in 'hi(oso'hi3ing. The 'i(es of "ou(!ers were getting rea(( weir!. Huge ro#$s were "a(an#e! #ra3i( in #o(umns of var ing heights. 2ome were %uite ta(( an! 're#arious. In fa#t, the who(e (an!s#a'e was !ominate! " giant towers of sta#$e! "ou(!ers. Here an! there the groun! was (ittere! with 'i(es of smashe! an! 1um"(e! ro#$, whi#h seeme! to attest to the 'ro"a"(e (ife # #(e of these formations. It was whi(e s#ram"(ing over one of these tum"(e! ro#$ hea's that Path Fin!er e(e#te! to "rea$ the si(en#e. Pausing, the o(! gui!e as$e! him, "4ver won!er what ma$es things fa(()" "Oh, that*s eas ," sai! his #om'anion. "It*s 1ust gravit ." "0n! ou $now a(( a"out gravit , I su''ose)" #ontinue! Path Fin!er. "I $now it*s a (aw," The &i! sai! with #onfi!en#e. "Where I #ome from an s#hoo( $i! $nows that stuff." "0h, "ut this is the 5th Dimension" Path Fin!er remin!e! him, "an! it*s not where ou #ome from." "2o what)" he sai! a (itt(e !efensive( . "We((," sai! Path Fin!er 'ointing to a 'arti#u(ar( ta(( #o(umn #om'ose! from s%uare fa#ete! stones an! to''e! " a massive roun! "ou(!er, "what wou(! ou sa if I sai! these were s#u('tures)" "I*! sa ou nee! to get out of the sun," re'(ie! The &i!. "These are a natura( 'henomenon. The *re 'ro"a"( the resu(t of erosion of something (i$e that." "The *re natura( a(right," sai! Path Fin!er. "These are the 'ro!u#t of 5ravit an! I wou(!n*t mention 4rosion aroun! him if I were ou." "Him)" The &i! sai!, sha$ing his hea! with an e/aggerate! !is'(a of !ou"t. 6ust then their trai( (e! aroun! the "ase of one huge tower to revea( a sight whi#h fro3e The &i! in mi!stri!e. ",u',* sai! Path Fin!er, as he #a(m( 'ointe! at the gargantuan figure who !ominate! their 'ath - "HI+."

Looming "efore the trave(ers was a giant. 7ot 1ust a giant, "ut a giant hefting a 8o($swagen si3e! "ou(!er. The great "ear!e! figure, whose arms an! (egs riva(e! the trun$s of oa$ trees, was in the 'ro#ess of "s#u('ting." That is, the mammoth artist was !eft( a!!ing another huge stone to the growing tower. For a "rief moment The &i! ha! the f(eeting im'ression of a "ig #hi(! tota(( a"sor"e!, '(a ing with his "ui(!ing "(o#$s. -ut, 1ust at that moment the great shagg visage (ifte! from its #on#entration an! he(! him rivete! with a ga3e. 0"ru't( , the giant !ro''e! the "ou(!er. 0mong the towering s#u('tures the #rash of the huge stone e#hoe! (i$e #annon fire. The giant stro!e towar! them. The &i!*s "(oo! fro3e (i$e 6anuar i#e. Des'erate( he turne! to his gui!e for he('. The o(! man 1ust stoo! there #a(m( , his whis$er fa#e s'(it " a "roa! grin. In a !ee', s(ow voi#e whi#h ro((e! (i$e thun!er the giant s'o$e. "O(! frien!," the giant hai(e!, "what have ou "rought me)" Intense( re(ieve!, The &i! saw that the giant was smi(ing too. "5ravit ," the gui!e 'ro#ee!e! with intro!u#tions. "I*! (i$e ou to meet m new trave(ing 'artner." The sti(( sha$en &i! e/ten!e! his right han! whi#h 5ravit grave( a##e'te! in a giantish han!sha$e. "0n! &i!," #ontinue! Path Fin!er with the forma(ities, "I*! (i$e ou to meet 5ravit , our training 'artner. 5ravit for 5rante! 5ravit is another one of those 'ervasive e(ements of our !ai( e/'erien#e whi#h we re( u'on, "ut ta$e for grante!. What ma$es a "ar"e(( heav , an wa ) Further, the more '(ates ou s(a' on the "ar, the "heavier" it gets. There is something fun!amenta( going on here whi#h it#hes for attention. What is this stuff that ma$es our feet sti#$ to the groun!, ro#$s fa((, stoma#h sag an! "ig hun$s of iron smash our toes) When ou fu(( rea(i3e that there wou(! "e no 'oint to weight (ifting without resistan#e, then it "e#omes o"vious that gravit shou(! #on#ern (ifters a (ot. We are immerse! in something vita( to our interests, whi#h we #an*t see. What we can !o is F44L gravit . 0#tua(( , what we fee( is resistan#e as we intera#t with our e/terna( environment. 5ravit enters into our (ives as an e/'(anation for the resistan#e that we fee(. 0n! I*(( guarantee something -- most fo($s !on*t have even a vague i!ea of what gravit is.

The Law 9 The For#e First, (et*s e/'(ore the more o"vious :o"1e#tive; Western version of gravit . From m !aughter*s 1unior high s#hoo( s#ien#e "oo$ I (earne! the fo((owing< *5ravitation is a for#e whi#h #auses a(( things to "e attra#te! towar! the 4arth*s #enter." This might have "een #a((e! the -ig +agnet Theor . This Law of 5ravit seems to sa that gravit is a for#e, an attra#tive for#e, whi#h gets stronger the more stuff ou have !oing the 'u((ing. 7e/t, the further a'art the two things are, the wea$er the strength of the 'u(( "etween them. -a#$ in =>th ?entur 4uro'e this "Law" was hot stuff. 2in#e then at (east one other mo!e( has 'roven more usefu(. For some reason our s#hoo( s stem !e#i!e! m !aughter was too oung to hear a"out 4instein. I guess I #an un!erstan! the 1unior high s#hoo( tea#her*s 'osition that 4instein was a weir! gu . This %uiet $i! wou(! sit aroun! 'on!ering a (antern an! won!er whether or not the (ight wou(! "e visi"(e if he #ou(! trave( as fast as it !i!. He 'ro"a"( isn*t the sort of 'erson ou*! want our #hi(!ren stu! ing. 0t a"out the age of @5 4instein went ahea! an! !es#ri"e! how gravit might wor$ without resorting to the use of m sterious "for#es." 2'a#e -en!ing 4instein #ame u' with a #(eaner mo!e( an! #a((e! it "re(ativit ". When I was a $i! " "ig "rother e/'(aine! it to me (i$e this. "Loo$, stu'i!." he sai!, f(attering me. "There*s no for#e 'u((ing things !own. Different amounts of matter have !iffering !egrees of mass. 2ee)" ",eah, sure." I sai! %ui#$( , afrai! he*! otherwise $ee' the "ig se#ret to himse(f. "O$a ," he #ontinue!, "mass has this strange effe#t on s'a#e . . ." 0t this 'oint he 'ause! for theatri#a( effe#t, ". . . It BENDS it." Whi(e m "rain was ree(ing un!er the 'ros'e#t of imagining ""ent s'a#e" he went on. "7e/t," he sai!, "the s'a#e aroun! a "ig '(anet is war'e! more than the s'a#e aroun! a !irt #(o!. 2o, when an o"1e#t 'asses through this war'e! s'a#e, its #ourse "en!s, so that it a''ears to "e !rawn towar! the #enter of the mass. Right.)" "Right." I sai!. He was mu#h "igger than me an! ten!e! to twist m arm when I nee!e! 'ersuasion.

0"out @5 ears (ater when I resear#he! this #ha'ter, I rea!< ". . . the path of a free particle in space and time is determined by geometrical properties of space and that these properties are themselves determined by the masses of the bodies present." I en#ountere! that !es#ri'tion with a strong sense of !e1a vu. Wor(! 8iews 7ow we*ve e/'(ore! two Western notions of what ma$es weights fee( heav . The either emanate an invisi"(e for#e or war' the s'a#e-time whi#h surroun!s them. If "oth of these o'tions soun! wi(!, that*s goo!. I*! (i$e ou to (oosen our gri' a "it on some of the more fami(iar thoughts that we 'rett mu#h ta$e for grante! on a !a to-!a "asis. -a#$groun! assum'tions a"out what ma$es our wor(! ti#$ #an a(( "e (um'e! into something #a((e! our "wor(! view." Perha's the most interesting thing a"out a wor(! view is that ou !on*t genera(( $now ou have one. -ut it*s there, none the (ess, wor$ing a(( !a 'rovi!ing ou with a genera( "(ue'rint of rea(it . There are (ots of e/am'(es of wor(! views whi#h have "een s#ra''e! "e#ause the #ou(!n*t $ee' u' with the !eman!s ma!e on them " #hanging times. For e/am'(e, the 4arth use! to "e f(at an! was tru#$e! aroun! the Aniverse on the "a#$ of a giant turt(e. 5oo! i!eas (i$e that ha! to give wa , "ut ou #an "et our sweet "ar"e(( that su#h i!eas !i!n*t !ie easi( . There*s a goo! reason for going into this wor(! view stuff. ,ou wi(( nee! a 'ro'er sense of 'ers'e#tive "efore ou #an enter the 5th Dimension. ,ou a(so nee! to rea(i3e that there have "een man other views of the wa things wor$ an! that, even now, there e/ists aroun! this !irt "a(( #a((e! 4arth man mo!e(s of rea(it . 2tranger et, in some wa the are a(( va(i!. Insi!e 8iew 4ar(ier on I mentione! (essons (earne! from 0i$i!o, a 6a'anese martia( art. The first (esson wi(( "e to turn our vision inwar! rather than outwar!. ,ou wi(( nee! to (oo$ insi!e ourse(f at our 'rivate or su"1e#tive e/'erien#e. Western #u(ture !oesn*t train us to !o this ver we((, so !on*t "e sur'rise! if it seems a "it strange at first. 0i$i!o Lessons Let me te(( ou how I en#ountere! "2u"1e#t 5ravit ." When I was =5, m father

an! I !e#i!e! to stu! an unusua( martia( art name! 0i$i!o. I*m not sure what we e/'e#te!. We*! hear! rumors that it was "!ifferent." This strange !ifferen#e was (arge( attri"ute! to the instru#tor, who was 'ur'orte! to "e a man of unusua( #a'a"i(ities. 2o we were #urious. It*s a(so signifi#ant that at =5 I was uni%ue( im'ressiona"(e. Whi(e I ten!e! to re1e#t ever thing m 'arents "e(ieve! (arge( as a matter of teenage, I was ver o'en to new i!eas. In fa#t, I !on*t thin$ I ha! e/'erien#e! enough (ife to "egin thin$ing #riti#a(( . Instea!, I 1ust we(#ome! new i!eas han!-over-fist, with a $in! of thirst I wou(! (ater (earn to outgrow. Our first night at the !o1o - the s#hoo( - was "i3arre. Imagine this #ommon'(a#e s#ene. + !a! an! I !rove to the e!ge of town where an o(! mi(itar "arra#$s ha! "een re(o#ate! near the highwa . In this austere Wor(! War II re(i#, severa( men gathere!, a(( !resse! in what (oo$e! to me (i$e white 'a1amas. These men were "regu(ar fo($s" who (e! otherwise res'e#ta"(e an! 're!i#ta"(e (ives. 0t some #ue the a(( assem"(e! on the "ig #anvas mat whi#h fi((e! most of the f(oor s'a#e an! "owe! towar! the wa(( where a frame! 'ortrait of some o(! gent(eman hung. Outsi!e, on the " 'ass, #ars roare! as the #arrie! other 'eo'(e to fu(fi(( thorough( #om'rehensi"(e 'atterns. Insi!e we were 're'aring to enter the Twi(ight Bone. -efore the assem"(e! men in 'a1amas, the roshi :our tea#her; too$ a #omforta"(e stan#e. He (oo$e! most unremar$a"(e. The man fa#ing us was shorter than me, whi#h affor!e! a goo! view of his "a(!ing hea!. 2mi(ing aroun! an! un!er hornrim g(asses he 'resente! an a(together affa"(e a''earan#e. 0n! he was fat too. 2o there was this short, fat, "a(!ing man in g(asses - wearing white 'a1amas. This was not a #unning figure whose wor!s wou(! ins'ire !ou"t in the (istener*s ear. On the #ontrar , this "roshi" (oo$e! so essentia(( norma( that I was #om'(ete( un're'are! for what fo((owe!. Remem"er, I was e/'e#ting stuff a"out 'un#hes, "(o#$s an! $i#$s . . .

Lifting in the 5th Dimension, Part 2i/ - Thomas R. Foote

Finding the .ara

The ?ower :lide

'This is your .ara,' he said, pla ing his hands over his lower abdomen. '/t is your enter of gravity. /t is also the 053T5( 7F !7=( *5/3:6' the roshi ontinued. !ou might think that at this point / would have freaked out, but that2s not the way it was. The guy looked so harmless that it was entirely natural just to stand there and wonder why you hadn2t noti ed your own .ara sooner. '!ou will learn,' he said, 'to think from within the .ara. /t will be ome the enter of your ons iousness.' .e went on like that and / just a epted it as though he was des ribing the weather. Somehow it made just as mu h sense to me that ons iousness ould be lo ated in the stoma h as in the head. Furthermore, the instru tor started to demonstrate what he was talking about. >nybody with an inta t nervous system ould see that he knew something we didn2t. / remember how he stood there like a heron on one leg and invited me to push him over. .e didn2t budge6 /t was like pressing against a huge tree rooted in bedro k. There he was, balan ed on one foot, and / ouldn2t sway him. &ater he would do other things whi h my "+%year old brain seemed willing to a ept %% like throw me a ross the room and land be with pre ision %% without tou hing me. &ike / said, he knew something / didn2t and he was trying to tea h me what 'it' was. Standing loosely, he held out one arm at shoulder height and asked me to push against it. 3aturally / bun hed up my "+%year old shoulders, puffed up my narrow hest and ?=S.516 .e relaxed his arm and / plunged forward onto the mat. '3ow,' he said, 'keep your arms straight, but push with your hips.' This re-uired that / take a fairly wide stan e, flex my knees slightly, and 'push' by ro king smoothly forward with my hips. This time, when he relaxed his arm, / stood my ground. /t was my first pra ti al use of this thing alled the .ara. /n addition to being a more stable way to move, initiating the push from the .ara was more powerful6 The ?ower :lide /n >ikido lass we often began our sessions with a gliding exer ise. :ently we be ame familiar with our enter and learned to move from this strong posture. 5ventually we would learn to initiate a tion from the .ara. Take a look at the pi ture of ?ath Finder doing the :lide. 8ith both feet firmly planted, he simply shifts his enter of balan e Athe area en losed by the ir leB. .is weight is transferred first from one leg and then to the other, in a ro king motion, ba k and forth. The ru ial element of the ?ower :lide is to keep the .ara moving smoothly through a flat plain. 1on2t bob up and

down. Keep the hips moving hori'ontally. 3ow that you2ve been introdu ed to a pra ti al exer ise %% pra ti e it. Trying to be ome aware of the .ara should raise some -uestions. Some things you must F55&, rather than T./3K. The .ara must be felt6 /f you are sitting, feel the hair press against your body. Feel your feet interfa ing with the floor. ?reviously you2ve been told it was gravity you felt pulling or pressing against you. 8hat you feel is no more gravity than the printed word '8>T5(' will -uen h your thirst. 8hat you feel is a sensation, all it what you will, and foremost it is pure experien e. (efinements 3ow stand up. Feel the sensation on the soles of your feet. &et the sensation map out ea h toe, the ball of the foot, the ar h and tghe heel. Spread your feet to shoulder width and flex the knees slightly. >s you assume the stan e the first thing you2ll noti e will be the tightening of the mus les of your inner thigh. /f you have any dis omfort in your knees it should go away with pra ti e. This is a gentle exer ise but you may re-uire some warmup. 1on2t push it. /f you feel any dis omfort in your lower ba k it is probably an indi ation that your posture is in orre t. 8ere you leaning forward< 8as your ba k straight< The ba k should be straight, shoulders ba k, and hips thrust forward slightly. 8hen you get it right, it will feel right. 3ow try it again. &et your arms hang loosely at your sides. >gain imagine the hips drawing a straight line as you move without bobbing up and down. For all this verbal ho us%po us, the .ara is not an intelle tual on ept. /t is not an abstra tion. !ou will not be ome aware of the .ara by thinking about it. !ou must feel it, and there are many, many ways to find this feeling. /t is very physi al and on rete, but it represents a different way of relating to the world. That2s usually what happens when you borrow from another world.

Lifting in the 5th Dimension, Part 2even - Thomas Foote

R2&C43*:FH 353R2F2<<

:n the first part of this chapter "ath +inder as6ed *he Aid where it felt li6e he inhabited his bod). +or reasons )o0 probabl) consider obvio0s most people imagine the) sit somewhere in their own s60lls and direct the traffic. *o a large e tent this sensation of occ0p)ing )o0r bod) from an area behind )o0r e)es is an e ample of o0r world view at wor6. :t is also 0ndo0btedl) a res0lt of o0r heav) reliance on vision. :n contrast9 m) dog probabl) thin6s his nose is the obvio0s seat of his conscio0sness. Cne of the earl) comments the Roshi made in 3i6ido was that the #ara is the center of o0r being. :t was the center of conscio0sness from which all action radiated. *his so0nds prett) farfetched9 b0t all he meant was that we co0ld move o0r sense of self-awareness from behind o0r e)es down to o0r center of gravit). *his ta6es practice9 b0t there doesn;t seem to be an) reason wh) one bod) part sho0ld be more privileged than another. *he criterion sho0ld be f0nctional. 3i6ido convinced me that it was more f0nctional to emphasi!e the #ara instead of the head. <o0nds goodD 10t how do )o0 do itB &et;s go bac6 to the "ower Hlide. :;ve alread) said that )o0 have to feel the #ara9 rather than simpl) en8o) the idea. +eel it )o0 m0st9 b0t : believe that is too wea6 an interpretation. @o0 need to bring )o0r awareness to rest within )o0r center as tho0gh gravit) had p0lled it there. 3ss0me the "ower Hlide post0re and begin to swa). 4oncentrate )o0r awareness into the region of )o0r lower abdomen and hips. $is0ali!e the movement over a level plain. +eel the m0scles in )o0r hips and abdomen as the) s)nchroni!e the motion. +eel the t0g of gravit) against the mass of )o0r bod) that centers in )o0r abdomen as it pivots over )o0r feet. 5ith )o0r awareness9 follow the flow of resistance down thro0gh )o0r legs and9 finall)9 feel the even distrib0tion of press0re across the s0rfaces of )o0r feet where the) contact the floor. 5hile )o0 perform this e ercise9 breathe slowl) and deepl) from the diaphragm. :magine that )o0r breath is being drawn to the #ara and e pelled from it. :t is )o0r #ara that breathes. <ometimes : also vis0ali!e a bright9 incandescent light which glows and radiates in the #ara. 5hen : inhale9 it glows bl0e-white9 li6e coals in a fire when )o0 blow on them. 5hen : e hale9 it still b0rns strong b0t with a warm red-orange.

#ara "ower *he "ower Hlide is a basic e ercise. 5e practiced it at each class and were enco0raged to practice on o0r own time as well. 3nd what will this new-fo0nd awareness of )o0 #ara do for )o0B 5ell9 : remember one st0dent;s verbal acco0nt of spontaneo0sl) e periencing the #ara awa) from class. *his g0) was a ver) down-to-earth wor6ing man who had practiced 3i6ido for several )ears. Cne night9 when he came to class9 he was ver) e cited to share what had happened that afternoon. #e was downtown 80st ambling down the sidewal6 when -- 5#37D -his legs felt as powerf0l as tree tr0n6s rooted right there in the concrete slabs. 3long with this

sense of being deepl) rooted to the 2arth9 he felt he co0ld move with incredible strength. #e said he felt he co0ld have t0rned to the marble wall of the ban6 and he stood b) and p0shed it over. 1) this time we had witnessed eno0gh which was o0t of the ordinar) in that old shac6 of a do8o that : didn;t do0bt him. :n fact9 what he said abo0t s0per strength 80st seemed nat0ral in that conte t. <0per strengthD 5owD *hat so0nds good9 where do : send the mone)B :t;s not that simple. *he #ara is m0ch more than a gimmic6. :t is a prod0ct of that other world view which placed an emphasis on self-6nowledge. Cperating from the #ara combines the mind and bod). :n the sense that a =whole= represents something be)ond the mere s0mmation of its parts9 the strength of a f0ll) integrated mind and bod) represents a higher level of power.

*he "ower <tride &et;s adapt this techniI0e to wal6ing. Cnce )o0 have beg0n to develop an awareness of )o0r own #ara thro0gh the "ower Hlide it is an eas) step to carr) that awareness into more d)namic activit). 5e;ll start with the "ower <tride. #ave )o0 ever watched an infant become a toddler> that is9 have )o0 watched someone learn to wal6 for the first timeB :t;s reall) an e)e-opening e perience. :t ta6es a lot of practice and determination to motivate aro0nd the ho0se on two feet. :n the process of learning to do something that )o0 do now witho0t thin6ing )o0 probabl) too6 a lot of 6noc6s9 shed b0c6ets of tears9 and needed plent) of enco0ragement. : 6now : hadn;t paid an) attention to wal6ing since those forgotten da)s when : was two feet tall9 0ntil : st0died wal6ing as meditation. 5hat )o0 do is brea6 each step into three phases: - &ifting - <winging - "lacing each foot 3ll )o0 do is pa) attention to what )o0;re doing. :nstead of da)dreaming abo0t power and glor) as )o0 stroll along9 thin6 abo0t wal6ing while )o0 wal6. 3s )o0 lift )o0r foot9 thin6 =lifting=> as )o0 swing )o0r foot9 thin6 =swinging=> as )o0 place )o0r foot9 thin6 =placing=. *o begin this sort of e ercise 80st wal6 slowl)9 one step at a time if necessar). :n a little while )o0;ll be able to maintain awareness at )o0r reg0lar pace. *o begin with9 : noticed that : had onl) one foot off the gro0nd at a time and that one foot;s =place= corresponded to the other foot;s =lift=. Fow add the #ara. +ollowing the same ind0ction process which )o0 learned for the "ower Hlide9 maintain )o0r awareness in )o0r center as )o0 wal6. <ense the p0ll of gravit)9 the resistance9 which travels thro0gh )o0r legs. 3gain notice the s0rface of each foot as it is mapped o0t b) press0re. @o0 are connected to the 2arth and its power is flowing thro0gh )o0.

"ower R0nning Fat0rall)9 r0nning comes ne t. :magine that )o0 are floating down the road with more grace and energ) than )o0 have ever had before. *hat;s what it;s li6e when )o0r r0nning originates from )o0r center. *he "ower R0n differs from the "ower <tride in terms of where )o0 foc0s )o0r attention. Instead of following the placement of each foot, you follow your breath. 2ssentiall) we are combining the breath mediation - "rana)ama9 learned earlier - with the #ara. *his is easier than it might so0nd. Rh)thmic breathing tends to nat0rall) dominate m) awareness as : r0n. :t;s a matter of necessit)D :nstead of ignoring the obvio0s9 associate with the process. *his was also disc0ssed earlier. :f )o0 can;t get o0t of it . . . get into it. Fow )o0;re po0nding down the road and following )o0r breath. @o0 are dragging the air in deepl) to )o0r diaphragm and e pelling it 80st as completel). @o0 are breathing from )o0r #ara. &et )o0r awareness center in )o0r lower abdomen. Remember that )o0 do this b) feeling )o0r #ara and not by thinking abo0t it. +eel )o0r hips as )o0r legs swing. :magine all the bod);s movement pivoting on )o0r center> the motion of the arms9 the twisting tr0n69 the swinging legs. $is0ali!e the #ara floating over the road on a smooth9 hori!ontal plain. 5hen : practice the "ower R0n : immediatel) feel refreshed9 m) energ) s0rges and m) stride is less 8arring. @o0 need to practice the #ara before appl)ing it to weight lifting. *he bea0t) of these metae ercises is that the) can be wor6ed into )o0r dail) sched0le if )o0 can;t add a special training session in )o0r da). @o0 can practice #ara awareness getting o0t of a chair9 wal6ing down the hall9 climbing stairs or simpl) while waiting in line. 1efore integrating the #ara with weight lifting let me point o0t a co0ple of things which o0ght to be prett) straightforward. *here;s no s0ch thing as a free l0nch. &ifting in the 5th (imension isn;t s0pposed to be a short c0t9 it is an alternative. : thin6 that a lifter who has a f0nctional command of his #ara will be a more effective lifter.

*he "ower 4lean Ho bac6 to the earlier article and re-read the description of the 4lean. Fow )o0 sho0ld recogni!e the #ara. Remember when the old man told me : had to get m) hips in closer to the barB *hat;s the #ara. : d)namic lifts li6e the 4lean9 which involves the movement of the entire bod)9 the #ara is partic0larl) obvio0s. :n the 4lean )o0 co0nter pose )o0r bod) mass against that of the iron. Esing the #ara in the 4lean is more a process of t0ning the mind and bod) to the same channel so that the signal to lift travels efficientl) and powerf0ll) in a single direction. &ifting in this manner9 )o0 are calm9 alert and poised. @o0r mind does not wander o0t the window to what else )o0 might rather be doing. @o0r post0re and form are good beca0se )o0

are moving from the hips. :f )o0;ve ever seen g0)s 4lean from the sho0lders first )o0 6now what : mean. *he) ma6e two movements o0t of it instead of a single b0rst. &ifting from the #ara means )o0r feet are firml) planted and )o0 won;t wobble. 3s important as it is that )o0r bod) remains stable9 it is eI0all) important that )o0r mind doesn;t wobble. *his is what we are 80st beginning to 0nderstand in the 5est. &ifting from the #ara isn;t something )o0 will appreciate b) seeing it. @o0 will 0nderstand . . . when )o0 do itD *his of co0rse means that )o0 m0st first discover it. 4onseI0entl)9 the primar) p0rpose at this point is to become aware of )o0r 4enter.

2ntering the 5th (imension - <tep #2 :. *he "ower Hlide ,%. <low )o0r breathing ,"rana)ama.. :nhale and e hale deepl) from the #ara. ,2. &et )o0r awareness sin6 into the pelvis as if drawn b) gravit)> feel )o0r weight settle. ,K. +ollow the flow on thro0gh )o0r legs9 which are s0pporting )o0r center. ,L. 1e aware of the s0rface where )o0r feet and the 2arth connect. ,5. Fow glide9 while maintaining the #ara on an even plain.

::. *he "ower <tride ,%. 2nter calm state b) following the breath ,"rana)ama.. ,2. &et awareness sin6 into the #ara. ,K. 1egin to wal6 slowl). ,L. (issect each step into three phases: a. &ifting b. <winging c. "lacing ,5. +ollow each phase ,associate. with )o0r mind9 I0ietl) naming them as the) occ0r.

:::. *he "ower R0n ,%. 3s )o0 r0n bring )o0r awareness to the #ara. ,2. 1reathe rh)thmicall) and slowl). ,K. (raw each breath to the #ara and e pel it from the #ara.

Fo comments:

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Lifting in the 5th Dimension, Part 4ight - Thomas Foote

http://www.0rbandharma.org/pdf/mirrorMweb.pdf

http://www.fran6!ane.com/web/boo6sMco0rses/*heM5or6o0tsM (iar)/theMwor6o0ts.htm

3 short stor) ruce %ee 0sed often:

> highly edu ated man went to a ,en tea her to ask and a -uire knowledge about ,en. >s the ,en tea her began to explain his tea hings, the man would ontinuously interrupt with his own ideas or to agreeCdisagree. Finally the ,en tea her stopped talking, and offered the man some tea. .e poured tea into the up until it was full, and then kept pouring until the up overflowed onto the floor. The man shouted M5nough6 3o more an go into the up6N M!es, indeed / see,N said the ,en tea her. MFust like your up, you are full. Full of your own ideas and opinions. /f you do not first empty your up, how an you taste my up of tea<N

*he 7ad "l0mber

3fter a warm parting from Hravit)9 "ath +inder led *he Aid o0t of the forest of roc6 pillars. 3t first the land was level and "ath +inder set a vigoro0s pace. *he approaching hori!on was r0gged with 80tting cliffs9 tho0gh the intervening distance rose gentl). 3s the two of them hi6ed across the rising plane9 the) chatted amiabl). =5here are we going nowB= said *he Aid. =*oward that escarpment9= answered "ath +inder9 and he pointed with one gnarled old finger at the glowing cliffs. =: can see that for m)self9= replied *he Aid9 who was beginning to pant a little as the gro0nd rose. =5hat : meant was9 what have )o0 got in store for me nowB= =#ow s0spicio0s )o0 have become9= his g0ide answered9 feigning ins0lt. =: wo0ldn;t ta6e )o0 an)where )o0 didn;t need to go.= =*hat;s what : was afraid of9= he said 0nder his breath. Fow the cliffs were close eno0gh to reveal some 0ne plained detail. *he ro0gh roc6 s0rface9 which rose in red la)er 0pon red la)er9 li6e tiers of a great blood-drenched ca6e9 was crisscrossed with a spider) web of geometric lines. *he oddl) metallic lines seemed to have grown irreg0larl) from a single loc0s. *he) radiated from the sing0lar blac6 mo0th of a cave set high among the tiers of the red cliff;s face.

="ath +inder9= *he Aid said9 his voice revealing obvio0s concern9 =: thin6 : 6now where we;re headed.= 3t this the old g0ide loo6ed over his sho0lder and cast him an am0sing glance9 b0t didn;t stop wal6ing. =5e;re going to that cave 0p there9 aren;t weB= *he Aid demanded. =@o0 g0essed it9= "ath +inder shot bac6. =*hat;s the cave of the 7ad "l0mber9 the Aeeper of the *hird 2)e.= =*he 7ad "l0mberD= he gasped. =5hat co0ld someone with a name li6e that have to offerB= =3 6e)9= was all "ath +inder said. Fow that the) had arrived at the base of the cliffs9 *he Aid co0ld see what the strange crisscrossing lines were -- pl0mbingD Hreat irreg0lar comple es of piping twisted across the cliff;s face. <ome of the heav) cond0its pl0nged into the roc6) gro0nd at their feet9 tho0gh all of it seemed to terminate at the cave above them. :t was toward this point that the) began to climb. 1) 0sing the networ6 of pipe to gain gro0nd9 the ascent was s0rprisingl) eas). 2ven so9 *he Aid was sweat)9 sm0dged9 and p0ffing li6e a small steam engine as he p0lled himself onto the final ledge from which the piping fled. 1efore him the blac6 m)ster) of the cave;s entrance )awned aro0nd a mo0th f0ll of protr0ding iron pipes of all si!es. 3ro0nd the entrance was a carved roc6 which onl) served to increase *he Aid;s sense of discomfort. +or above the dar6 hole9 a strange piercing e)e held him in its ston) ga!e. :t resembled a hierogl)ph and had pres0mabl) been wro0ght b) the same hands which carved the oddl) tomb-li6e entrance to the cave. 3ll this so preocc0pied his attention that he was slow to see the even stranger hair) visage that sw0ng above him. 3bove one of the great pipes9 which e ited the cave to rise and bend o0t of sight over the r0gged cliff9 the 7ad "l0mber scampered toward he ledge with the s0reness of a spider in his own web. :n one hand he grasped a ver) b0siness-li6e pipe wrench. 3t first *he Aid was so shoc6ed b) the wild man;s s0dden appearance that he tho0ght three e)es stared bac6 at him from an ang0lar face9 framed b) a wir) halo of 0n6empt hair and beard. Epon closer inspection9 the third e)e9 which occ0pied the "l0mber;s forehead9 was a d0plicate of the hierogl)ph which stared from above the cave entrance. *his e)e was nothing b0t a s0btle design wor6ed into a headband9 which failed miserabl) to contain the wooll) main of hair. 1efore *he Aid co0ld gather his wits eno0gh to see6 "ath +inder;s aid9 the "l0mber spo6e. =5e have compan)9 : thin69= he said in an 0n0sed voice. =:t loo6s frightened9 doesn;t itB 5ell9 we m0st not frighten o0r compan)9 m0st weB= 3nd with that he began to polish the s0rface of a low l)ing pipe and indicate that his )o0ng g0est sho0ld sit down.

=:t loo6s tired9 poor compan)9= the "l0mber rasped in his d0st) old throat. =3nd it has bro0ght a friendD= 3t the point "ath +inder9 who had caref0ll) held bac69 loo6ed for a drin6. &ogicall) in a cave f0ll of pl0mbing there wo0ld be water. 5ith his ear to the nearest pipe he began rapping with his 6n0c6les to see6 some hint of the contents. #is ear met with onl) a hollow ring. <omewhat perple ed9 he wrin6led his brow and made for the ne t pipe. #e followed this one 80st inside the cave where he fo0nd a valve9 which he an io0sl) opened. Fothing came o0t. Fow his tong0e felt swollen and st0c6 to the roof of his mo0th. *he more he loo6ed 0ns0ccessf0ll) for water9 the greater his thirst became. +inall)9 in e asperation9 he b0rst from the cave and sho0ted at the two men9 who sat in I0iet conversation. =*hese pipes are empt)9= his dr) voice croa6ed. *he two men onl) stared bac6 in perple ed silence. =*he pipes9= he pleaded and pointed wildl) abo0t him. =*here;s no water.= 3 light seemed to go on behind the 7ad "l0mber;s face. =Cf co0rse there;s no water> do )o0 thin6 :;m a foolB= the old hermit said with relief. *hen he t0rned bac6 to "ath +inder. =@o0;re mad9= screamed *he Aid. =Cf co0rse9= said the "l0mber9 at which the old men ch0c6led. =*hese pipes are empt)9= said *he Aid. 3t which "ath +inder and the "l0mber positivel) whooped with la0ghter and slapped each other on the bac6. 5hat co0ld he doB #e was alone in the desert with two madmen who shrie6ed with la0ghter9 while he died of thirst. (isco0raged9 he san6 down on the floor of the roc6) ledge and let o0t a sigh of resignation. +inall) ta6ing pit) on his thoro0ghl) miserable g0est9 the "l0mber composed himself and went over to comfort him. =:;m d)ing9= said blea6-e)ed Aid stated simpl). =Fow9 now9= consoled the "l0mber9 =it;s going to be fine9 it will see.=

=@o0;re mad9= said *he Aid. =Cf co0rse9= said the "l0mber. =Fow9 b) compan) m0st foc0s its e)es on m) prett) headband. *he Aid complied. #e stared at the greas) old headband with its strange third e)e s)mbol. 3s he stared into the hierogl)ph9 the mad host;s voice too6 on a h)pnotic I0alit). *he "l0mber e plained that the pipes were far from empt)9 instead the) were I0ite f0ll to the b0rsting with vital energ). (reamli6e9 *he Aid began to hear the r0sh and flow of something streaming within the networ6 of piping which s0rro0nded them. *hese pipes9 the "l0mber e plained9 carried the ver) life force itself9 which was essential to the vitalit) of the entire 5th (imension. :t was his chosen life;s wor69 the "l0mber e plained in the same chanting tones9 to maintain the vast networ6 of pl0mbing which originated right here in his cave. 3s his head lolled forward on his chest9 *he Aid 8er6ed his e)es open with a start. :t was as if he had momentaril) fallen asleep and dreamed of water9 co0rsing o0t of h0ge pipes and spilling all aro0nd and over him. #e got to his feet slowl) and beat at some of the d0st and dirt that cl0ng to his shorts and shirt. #e was still standing on the same ledge in the same desert. "ath +inder and the "l0mber were still I0ietl) engrossed in conversation. 5hat wasn;t still the same was his thirst. :t was gone. #e felt refreshed and rather invigorated. =#e)9 "ath +inder9= he called. *he g0ide loo6ed 0p from his conversation9 with 80st a hint of the previo0s mirth still showing on his lips. =5hat was that abo0t coming here for a 6e)B= he as6ed. (0sting himself off9 "ath +inder got to his feet. =: thin6 we fo0nd what we were lac6ing9= he said. 5ith poorl) s0ppressed glee the 7ad "l0mber leaped to his feet and began sho0ting farewells. =:t has to go9 doesn;t itB= he ch0c6led. =:t got what it came for9 didn;t it9 and : have m) wor6 to do9 don;t :B 5ith that he grabbed the forgotten pipe wrench and began to scamper 0p the closest pipe. 1efore disappearing he t0rned and9 catching "ath +inder;s e)e9 arranged his face in an e aggerated stage win6. *hen he was gone. =*hat was abr0pt9= *he Aid stammered9 wondering if he sho0ld feel slighted . =:t;s o6a)9= "ath +inder consoled9 =he;s I0ite mad.= 5ith that the old g0ide began to slide over the edge of the cliff;s lip. *he Aid followed9 b0t with a strange rel0ctance. 1efore leaving9 he too6 one last loo6 in the direction the "l0mber had

vanished. *hen he loo6ed into the blac6 mo0th of the "l0mber;s cave with its protr0ding pipe wor6. Cddl)9 he tho0ght he co0ld feel the pipes silentl) p0lsing.

*he 7agic Ae) *his ne t step into the 5th (imension is diffic0lt to write abo0t. =5hat;s the problemB= )o0 might as6. =5ell . . . )o0 see . . .= stalling for time9 : stand before )o0 li6e a na0ght) child9 =it has to do with . . . magicD= =7agicD= )o0 gasp and roll )o0r e)es. =: was afraid that wo0ld be )o0r reaction9= : sa) apologeticall) while d0c6ing an imaginar) blow. Recall the 6e)s promised b) the 7ad "l0mber. Ae)s are great s)mbols. :n the absence of the loc6s for which the) are intended9 the) represent =potential.= 3 6e) promises access. 3ccess to the 5th (imension is limited to those few who possess the 6e). 2arl) in the /o0rne)9 "ath +inder fo0nd a h0ge 6e) with the c0rio0s proportions of an Cl)mpic barbell. 5itho0t that prodigio0s 6e) the 5th (imension wo0ld have remained loc6ed. 10t we both 6now9 with "ath +inder leading the wa)9 that )o0 vent0red inside. :f what )o0 have enco0ntered 0p to this point seemed =strange=9 we ma) have to invent a new word for what )o0 are abo0t to discover.

1ac6 in the (o8o =4ome9 : want to test )o09= the roshi anno0nced. #e stood with his feet well apart9 one hand on his hip9 and the other poised at sho0lder height with elbow coc6ed so that his fist pointed toward the s6). =*a6e hold of m) arm9= indicating a vantage point 80st below the sho0lder9 =and place )o0r other hand on the wrist. Fow9 vice-li6e9 tr) to close m) arm and : will resist with all m) m0scle.= Cbedientl)9 : began to appl) press0re9 forcing the arm to close as that the hand wo0ld to0ch the sho0lder. $isibl) the teacher;s face reflected effort. *he m0scles of his arm b0nched and 6notted while a light mist of perspiration appeared on his brow. : was becoming e ha0sted. *he sp0ttering so0nds of m) effort wo0ld have red0ced a lesser teacher to spasms of la0ghter. *o both o0r credit9 the roshi maintained a straight face. : did b0dge the loc6ed arm9 b0t 80st barel). =(id )o0 see thatB= : chortled. =@o0r arm movedD=

Hriml)9 the roshi said9 =3gain.= #e held o0t the other arm coc6ed in challenge. *his time : was eager to please. 5ith relish : too6 hold of tghe arm9 which seemed strangel) rela ed9 and began to battle it closed. <oon : began to tremble with the 0nacc0stomed effort9 )et he remained calm. =@o0 reall) m0st tr)9= enco0raged the roshi in an eas) voice. =5e can;t be passing too m0ch time in sill) contests.= 3s he contin0ed in conversational tones9 : was loc6ed in a f0tile str0ggle. *he arm of the roshi simpl) did not move. +0rthermore9 the rascal remained as calm as the mirror s0rface of a deep pond. Cf co0rse : I0it. =5hat;s 0p9= : panted9 sin6ing to m) 6nees. =@o0 simpl) lac6 the Ai9= he e plained. =5hat 6e)B= : said. =Fot 6e)9= he corrected. =Ai.= Fow we;re going to get down to b0siness. *he choice of the word =6e)= as a s)mbol was no accident. :t is a straightforward p0n on the /apanese term =Ai=. =*hat;s reall) enlightenting9= )o0 sa). =5hat;s AiB= Hood I0estionD +or now we;ll call it a form of energ). :n the 2astern world the 6nowledge of this energ) is ver) old. :n ancient 4hina it was 6nown as =4hi=. :t;s m) conviction that it is the same vital energ) which flows between the 2arth and )o0r #ara. &i6e the #ara it is a powerf0l tool. 3lso9 li6e the #ara9 : first enco0ntered Ai in m) st0d) of 3i6ido. 3s we proceed )o0 will 0nderstand wh) it is magic. *he roshi often violated m) commonsense notions of ph)sics with demonstrations of Ai. Cn one occasion : had a reall) weird ph)sical response to what : observed. : was sitting in the bac6 of the diml) lit do8o9 where : was being allowed to observe some of the more advanced st0dents wor6 o0t. :t was bending the r0les to let me watch what was going on that night. *ho0gh : was the )o0ngest member of the school9 : had s0ch 0nbo0nded c0riosit) that the roshi was ma6ing an e ception. /0st what : saw : can;t recall nearl) as well as : can how : felt. *here was something trance-li6e abo0t the e perience. 7) mind and bod) seemed to grow o0t of s)nchron) with each other. <itting calml) in the bac6 of that barre old room9 : began to sweat and grow di!!). <ensing m) condition9 the roshi approached me to as6 how : was feeling. : remember how : str0ggled to e plain the strangeness that had overcome me. : also remember how 0nderstanding he was as he helped me to m) feet and g0ided me o0tside to the fresh air. *o m) s0rprise9 m) reaction was not 0niI0e. *he roshi e plained that what : had been watching probabl) violated the wa) : tho0ght ph)sical laws wor6ed. Remember that st0ff abo0t world views in 4hapter :$ when when we first disc0ssed gravit) and the #ara. 7) teacher co0ld have said that the demonstration : witnessed had violated m) world view. Cnl) : wo0ldn;t have 6nown

what he was tal6ing abo0t. 5hat : hope )o0 can see is that shifting world views can be a ris6) proposition. 1eca0se : was 0nable to reconcile the realit) : had observed with m) ass0mptions of what was s0pposed to be possible9 m) mind and bod) were at odds. *he res0lt was a mild vertigo that wo0ld pass. :t did. *he memor) of that e perience didn;t.

<pec0lation 1ac6 in the do8o we 0sed to gather before class or at brea6s to spec0late on what was going on. 5hatever we were being ta0ght wor6ed9 b0t contin0ed to baffle 0s. 5e had onl) a few =facts= to wor6 with: %.. the 0se of Ai seemed to impart 0ne pected strength> and 2.. when it wor6ed9 the 0ser remained calm and rela ed. 1oth points were weird9 b0t the second point violated common sense. 5hen one s0ccessf0ll) performed a feat emplo)ing Ai9 the practitioner was mentall) and ph)sicall) rela ed. (idn;t greater effort reI0ire hard9 tense m0scles and a brow wrin6led b) effort and m0ch gr0ntingB <o we spec0lated. Cne theor) that we had ,man) of these men were engineers. was that o0r m0scle s)stems were being trained to operate more efficientl). 5hen one =normall)= tensed an arm to resist movement9 antagonistic m0scles also came into pla). :n the arm bending test the tricep wo0ld resist clos0re9 while the tense bicep wo0ld act0all) wor6 against )o0 b) fighting the tricep. 5e reasoned that9 with Ai9 the tricep m0scle operated in more efficient isolation. +0rther9 we fig0red that somehow greater n0mbers of m0scle fibers fired in 0nison. *hese engineers pla)ed with vario0s e planations. Cnce the) compared the arm to a cond0it filled with electrical wiring9 in which greater n0mbers of wires carried the c0rrent 0nder the infl0ence of Ai. 3lso9 as mentioned9 the wires carried their message with greater =specificit)= so that no 0nnecessar) wor6 was cond0cted. 5ell9 all that st0ff so0nded prett) good and to a %5-)ear old bo) it was convincing. "robabl) of greater importance to me was the simple fact t hat a b0nch of grown men wo0ld stand aro0nd and intelligentl) debate the s0b8ect at all. &oo6ing bac69 : can see several things which el0ded me then. +irst off9 : 6now that those g0)s were onl) b0ilding =models=. *he) were onl) tr)ing to describe what the) were e periencing in terms of familiar e perience. 1eing scientists and engineers the) came 0p with all this st0ff li6e wiring diagrams o0t of their own world views. <econdl)9 what we were doing with Ai strongl) resembled what we 5esterners call =h)pnosis=. <ince those da)s : have researched h)pnosis thoro0ghl)9 and : can tell )o0 one thing for s0re -it is controversialD <ome of the reall) logical-t)pe ps)chologists become almost rabid at the mention of it. 5hat;s their problemB #)pnosis9 li6e Ai9 isn;t something )o0 can see. 3lso9 li6e Ai9 it is diffic0lt to e plain. :t also wor6sD *here is something of a lesson for 0s here. :t is important to loo6 behind the big words and appearances. 5hen a =professional= confronts 0s in a white smoc6 and rattles on abo0t the

power of s0ggestion9 we tend to nod o0r heads in agreement as if what what he said e plained something. :n contrast9 if )o0 accidentall) met a ragged b0m 0nder a bridge and he whispered to )o0 of a magic Ai9 )o0 wo0ld probabl) ass0me he had cons0med too m0ch antifree!e. :n more wa)s than man) wo0ld li6e to admit9 there isn;t m0ch difference. :;m reminded or the children;s stor) abo0t the 2mperor;s new clothes. Cnl) the children co0ld see that he was na6ed and the) were I0ic6l) sh0shed if the) dared to mention it. :n man) cases we reall) don;t 6now what is going on. 10t the test of the p0dding sho0ld be in the tasting. :;ve seen Ai wor6D

*he *hird 2)e <o9 how does it wor6B *he 7ad "l0mber held the ,dare : sa) it. =Ae)=. Ai is mastered thro0gh the h)dra0lics of magic and the 0se of the *hird 2)e. 5eren;t )o0 wondering when that third e)e st0ff from the chapter lead-in wo0ld come into pla)B <ome people interpret the third e)e as a s)mbolic representation of ps)chic power. : thin6 the =third e)e= is a s)mbol9 b0t not for an)thing more s0pernat0ral or e trasensor) than )o0r imagination -- as if it weren;t fantastic eno0gh. : fig0re those old g0r0 d0des started carving third e)es into the roc6 foreheads of stat0es a a vis0al metaphor for =inner sight=. #ow better co0ld one portra) the capacit) to close )o0r e)es and vis0ali!e an)thing )o0 wantedB :f )o0;re li6e me9 )o0 have never seen a movie that compared to the novel. #oll)wood simpl) can;t compete with m) imagination. <o that;s what the =third e)e= was all abo0t -- vis0ali!ation. 3nd if )o0 don;t thin6 )o0r internal vision is magical9 perhaps )o0 sho0ld visit the 7ad "l0mber.

5ater "ower :n the do8o we learned to vis0ali!e Ai as water s0rging thro0gh o0r limbs9 as if the) were high press0re hoses. &et me show )o0 what : mean. &et;s go bac6 to the arm bending contest between the roshi and me9 onl) reverse the roles. =#old )o0 arm o0t to the side9 ro0ghl) at sho0lder height9= he instr0cted. =Fow rela and imagine that )o0r arm is a hollow cond0it thro0gh which water is streaming. *he water has s0ch force that it leaves the end of )o0r arm and diminishes into infinit) along that tra8ector).= @o0 have to 0nderstand how m0ch : tr0sted this man. 3gain the similarit) to clinical h)pnosis seems apparent. /0st as )o0 have learned to tr0st the dentist or doctor who ind0ces h)pnosis within the comfortable limits of his office9 : had grown to believe in m) roshi. 5ithin the comfortable limits of the do8o9 : had come to e pect the ine plicable. <o : rela ed9 as he had instr0cted. 1reathing deepl)9 : settled into the #ara and felt the familiar stabilit) of m) 4enter. *hen : e tended m) arm at sho0lder height with the elbow slightl) coc6ed so the arm formed a gentle c0rve. *he hand was open9 palm 0p9 the fingers rela ed. *hen : imagined water 0nder high press0re po0ring thro0gh m) arm9 b0rsting from the e tended hand

and diminishing thro0gh the wall into infinit). 5ith that h)dra0lic image in m) mind9 : was able to withstand the roshi;s efforts to close m) arm. 7oreover9 the feat seemed to reI0ire no effortD 3fter m0ch practice9 we learned to combine s0ch =vis0ali!ation e ercises= with movement. *he res0lts were asto0nding. <o9 how do )o0 appl) it to weightliftingB 5ell9 one of the reasons the 5th (imension is a frontier is that it has never been thoro0ghl) been e plored. &ifting in the 5th (imension is new9 tho0gh the concepts are ancient. : 6now that Ai can be adapted to an) activit) and : 6now it means great strength. <o9 :;ve tried to emplo) it as a lifter. *he techniI0es follow in the =7eta-movement instr0ctions= in 4hapter % of the #ard <t0ff.

&ifting 5ith Ai
:n an) given e ercise there are obvio0s lines along which effort m0st flow. 3 Aarate st0dent who disc0ssed this with me called them "ower &ines. +or e ample9 in an overhead press )o0r effort is e pended against the floor and toward the ceiling. *he "ower &ines travel the length of )o0r bod). <o : envision a stream of s0rging energ)9 which flows thro0gh the #ara from the floor9 to disappear thro0gh the ceiling on a flight into infinit). @o0 become a col0mn of energ). 5hile pressing the bar overhead9 6eep the d)namic pict0re of water flowing thro0gh )o0r limbs. *here is a clear contin0it) between this chapter and the last one on the #ara. *he energ) : spea6 of isn;t imaginar). "racticing the #ara )o0 have learned to feel it travel thro0gh )o0r legs. :t is onl) a matter of reinterpreting )o0r e perience in light of a new world view. *he sensation is there. @o0 m0st learn to pa) attention to it. Fow9 from the #ara9 we are going to direct the flow of energ) along o0r limbs. Cf co0rse learning to 0se Ai ta6es practice. <o do all new s6ills. 1egin with the static arm e ercise that the roshi showed me. #ave )o0r training partner attempt to bend )o0r arm as )o0 resist with m0scle alone. *hen follow the vis0ali!ation e ercises and appl) Ai. Cnce )o0 are comfortable with this e ercise9 tr) something more d)namic. Hrab a d0mbbell and perform a straight-arm forward lateral raise. *his time )o0 will perform it with a new twist. :magine water traveling the length of )o0r arm. Ender high press0re the water forces the arm to raise9 effortlessl). *he water e plodes from )o0r hand into the distance. *r) it. @o0;ll li6e itD 5e;ve alread) disc0ssed the need to pa) attention. @o0 m0st learn to disect )o0r own momentb)-moment e perience. @o0 m0st learn to ta6e each lift apart and discover its "ower &ines. *hen )o0 m0st ris6 e perimentation and learn to appl) Ai to each e ercise. :n the 7etamovement instr0ctions of the ne t section9 the #ard <cht0ff9 : have tried to provide directions.

Eltimatel)9 however9 the real laboratory where you will make the crucial discoveries is your own experience -- not mine. <o9 li6e #0 le);s birds said: =3ttention9 bo)s9 3ttentionD= ,=:sland= N%9'2O b) 3ldo0s #0 le).

+oc0s +or some lifts9 where )o0 perform 73G:7E7 <:FH&2<9 there is a variation on the 0se of Ai. 4all it +oc0s. &et;s loo6 at the "ower 4lean as it was described in an earlier chapter. *he s0ccessf0l performance of this e ercise reI0ires an 2G"&C<:$2 0se of Ai9 as opposed to its contin0o0s flow. *his is eas) to achieve9 tho0gh it again reI0ires the 0se of vis0ali!ation. :magination. *he *hird 2)e. 4onception. 4reativit). (o!en eggs. P0art of mil6. <crambled. &ighten 0p. *his is weight lifting9 eh. *he 7eta-techniI0es of the 5th (imension don;t involve the 0se of powers li6e Ai in isolation. "rana)ama9 the #ara9 Ai and +oc0s are all emplo)ed together. *his is beca0se the) are related phenomenon. +oc0s is another 0se of the mind that evades ever)da) e perience. 5ith foc0s )o0 stop time. 3 common stor) among the literat0re on meditation tells of sitting beside a babbling cree6 and stopping the so0nd. Fot stropping time in this case9 stopping time. &i6e most s0ch ill0strations in 2astern tho0ght9 this one has several applications. Cn one hand it ma) refer to the process of stilling a nois) mind which =babbles= li6e a broo6 ,remember the dr0n6en mon6e)s earlier.. *here is also a more concrete application. :t is possible with "rana)ama to bring the fac0lt) of attention to a single point temporaril). *his is when )o0 pass the Hateless 1arrier. 2ach moment becomes a distinct e perience. *his practice is a6in to what 5esterners refer to as concentration. 4oncentration9 li6e m0sc0lar effort9 0s0all) con80res visions of someone appl)ing great effort to a tas6. 3gain9 the brow f0rrows9 the e)es sI0ee!e sh0t9 perspiration beads the forehead and the s0b8ect forces his attention to sta) p0t -- at great cost. +oc0sing Ai isn;t li6e that. @o0 don;t have to get tense abo0t it. Cddl)9 in fact9 this form of concentration is onl) achieved b) a rela ed bod)/mind. &et;s 0se it: 1efore )o0 ma6e a lift9 )o0 bring all )o0r awareness into the present b) following )o0r breath. (on;t worr) abo0t whether or not )o0 will be s0ccessf0l9 and don;t thin6 abo0t what 80st happened in the g)m. 4alml) inhabit the onl) space in which an)thing is reall) happening9 the moment of "ower. :n this charged space )o0 can become aware of )o0r breathing9 the balance of the #ara9 and the flow of Ai. Fow9 instead of vis0ali!ing Ai flowing thro0gh )o0r arms9 feel it po0ring into the #ara where it is b0ilding 0p press0re. 2nerg) contin0es to po0r from the 2arth. +ollow its path. :t enters the soles of )o0r feet and is drawn thro0gh )o0r legs to )o0r center -- to the #ara. *he press0re mo0nts. :n this space )o0 have entered9 )o0 are alive one moment at a time. :n this space )o0 will +22& when it is right to let go and &:+*D 5hen the moment is perfect all the pent 0p press0re in the #ara is released in a single instant. 2nerg) e plodes thro0gh )o0. 5#37D @o0 80st cleaned )o0r ma . *hat;s foc0s.

2ntering the 5th (imension - <tep #K *he Krd 2)e:

:. Ai - consec0tive reps: %.. "rana)ama - ind0ce rela ation. 2.. #ara - bring )o0r awareness into )o0r center. K.. $is0ali!ation ,a. +eel energ) s0rge from the #ara li6e water thro0gh )o0r limbs9 along the necessar) power lines. ,b. <ee the water leave )o0r hands with s0ch force that it disappears into the infinite distance. ,c. Repeat this image d0ring the active phase of each repetition9 e.g.9 with each p0sh in a series of presses.

::. +oc0s - singles %. . "rana)ama - slow time and wait for the perfect moment. 2.. #ara - feel flow of energ) enter thro0gh )o0r legs. K.. $is0ali!ation: ,a. +eel the energ) b0ild press0re in the #ara. ,b. Release Ai thro0gh the power lines in a single 1ER<*.

#int: 3ppl) as m0ch imagination power as )o0 can to these e ercises. 5hen we sa) that Ai will flow li6e water thro0gh )o0r limbs9 see it9 feel it and hear itD :f )o0 are storing it in )o0r #ara for a big single9 feel the growing weight and press0re within )o0D H2* :F*C :*DDD +22& *#2 #23* HRC5 3F( <22 *#2 4C&CR H&C5 . . . Fo comments: Fe t "osts #ome <0bscribe to: "osts ,3tom.

Blog Archi e

20%K ,2. 20%2 ,%K0.

o

(ecember ,L.

o o o o o o o o o

Fovember ,K. Cctober ,7. <eptember ,%'. 30g0st ,%0. /0l) ,%0. /0ne ,5. 7a) ,%2. 3pril ,%%. 7arch ,%9.

Rotation for Rec0peration - <teve #olman &ifting in the 5th (imension9 "art <even - *homas ... "ost0ral (efects - (r. 5alter 4. &aberge ()namic 3bdominal #ealth9 "art *wo - 2.7. Crlic6 &ifting in the 5th (imension9 "art <i - *homas R.... /0st &ift the #QR# 5eightD - (enis Reno &:fting in the 5th (imension9 "art +ive - *homas +... &ow :ntensit) 3erobics +or Relief of 5or6o0t <oren... ()namic 3bdominal #ealth9 "art Cne - 2.7. Crlic6 &ifting in the 5th (imension9 "art +o0r - *homas +... #ow 70ch 4an @o0 1ent "ress9 "art *wo - <iegm0nd A... #ow 70ch 4an @o0 1ent "ress9 "art Cne - <iegm0nd A... *he 1ent "ress ... (evelop a <ense of *iming ? 1alance - /im (e4oste &ifting in the 5th (imension9 "art *hree - *homas ... *he (0mbbell <wing - /ohn Hrime6 &ifting in the 5th (imension9 "art *wo - *homas +o... 4alf (evelopment - Reg "ar6 &ifting in the 5th (imension9 "art Cne - *homas R....

o o

+ebr0ar) ,%2. /an0ar) ,2%.

20%% ,%5'. 20%0 ,%L9. 2009 ,%99. 200- ,255.

The purpose of strength training is not to find out how much volume can be tolerated& nor should it be to find out how much intensity can be tolerated. The purpose of strength training is to become stronger.

Lifting in the 5th Dimension, Part 4ight - Thomas Foote

http@CCwww.urbandharma.orgCpdfCmirrorHweb.pdf

http@CCwww.frank,ane. omCwebCbooksH oursesCTheH8orkoutsH 1iaryCtheHworkouts.htm

> short story (ruce )ee used often@ > highly edu ated man went to a ,en tea her to ask and a -uire knowledge about ,en. >s the ,en tea her began to explain his tea hings, the man would ontinuously interrupt with his own ideas or to agreeCdisagree.

Finally the ,en tea her stopped talking, and offered the man some tea. .e poured tea into the up until it was full, and then kept pouring until the up overflowed onto the floor. The man shouted M5nough6 3o more an go into the up6N M!es, indeed / see,N said the ,en tea her. MFust like your up, you are full. Full of your own ideas and opinions. /f you do not first empty your up, how an you taste my up of tea<N

The 4ad ?lumber

>fter a warm parting from :ravity, ?ath Finder led The Kid out of the forest of ro k pillars. >t first the land was level and ?ath Finder set a vigorous pa e. The approa hing hori,on was rugged with jutting liffs, though the intervening distan e rose gently. >s the two of them hiked a ross the rising plane, they hatted amiably. '8here are we going now<' said The Kid. 'Toward that es arpment,' answered ?ath Finder, and he pointed with one gnarled old finger at the glowing liffs. '/ an see that for myself,' replied The Kid, who was beginning to pant a little as the ground rose. '8hat / meant was, what have you got in store for me now<' '.ow suspi ious you have be ome,' his guide answered, feigning insult. '/ wouldn2t take you anywhere you didn2t need to go.' 'That2s what / was afraid of,' he said under his breath. 3ow the liffs were lose enough to reveal some unexplained detail. The rough ro k surfa e, whi h rose in red layer upon red layer, like tiers of a great blood%dren hed ake, was riss% rossed with a spidery web of geometri lines. The oddly metalli lines seemed to have grown irregularly from a single lo us. They radiated from the singular bla k mouth of a ave set high among the tiers of the red liff2s fa e. '?ath Finder,' The Kid said, his voi e revealing obvious on ern, '/ think / know where we2re headed.' >t this the old guide looked over his shoulder and ast him an amusing glan e, but didn2t stop walking.

'8e2re going to that ave up there, aren2t we<' The Kid demanded. '!ou guessed it,' ?ath Finder shot ba k. 'That2s the ave of the 4ad ?lumber, the Keeper of the Third 5ye.' 'The 4ad ?lumber6' he gasped. '8hat ould someone with a name like that have to offer<' '> key,' was all ?ath Finder said. 3ow that they had arrived at the base of the liffs, The Kid ould see what the strange riss% rossing lines were %% plumbing6 :reat irregular omplexes of piping twisted a ross the liff2s fa e. Some of the heavy onduits plunged into the ro ky ground at their feet, though all of it seemed to terminate at the ave above them. /t was toward this point that they began to limb. *y using the network of pipe to gain ground, the as ent was surprisingly easy. 5ven so, The Kid was sweaty, smudged, and puffing like a small steam engine as he pulled himself onto the final ledge from whi h the piping fled. *efore him the bla k mystery of the ave2s entran e yawned around a mouth full of protruding iron pipes of all si,es. >round the entran e was a arved ro k whi h only served to in rease The Kid2s sense of dis omfort. For above the dark hole, a strange pier ing eye held him in its stony ga,e. /t resembled a hieroglyph and had presumably been wrought by the same hands whi h arved the oddly tomb%like entran e to the ave. >ll this so preo upied his attention that he was slow to see the even stranger hairy visage that swung above him. >bove one of the great pipes, whi h exited the ave to rise and bend out of sight over the rugged liff, the 4ad ?lumber s ampered toward he ledge with the sureness of a spider in his own web. /n one hand he grasped a very business%like pipe wren h. >t first The Kid was so sho ked by the wild man2s sudden appearan e that he thought three eyes stared ba k at him from an angular fa e, framed by a wiry halo of unkempt hair and beard. =pon loser inspe tion, the third eye, whi h o upied the ?lumber2s forehead, was a dupli ate of the hieroglyph whi h stared from above the ave entran e. This eye was nothing but a subtle design worked into a headband, whi h failed miserably to ontain the woolly main of hair. *efore The Kid ould gather his wits enough to seek ?ath Finder2s aid, the ?lumber spoke. '8e have ompany, / think,' he said in an unused voi e. '/t looks frightened, doesn2t it< 8ell, we must not frighten our ompany, must we<' >nd with that he began to polish the surfa e of a low lying pipe and indi ate that his young guest should sit down. '/t looks tired, poor ompany,' the ?lumber rasped in his dusty old throat. '>nd it has brought a friend6' >t the point ?ath Finder, who had arefully held ba k, looked for a drink. &ogi ally in a ave full of plumbing there would be water. 8ith his ear to the nearest pipe he began rapping with his knu kles to seek some hint of the ontents. .is ear met with only a hollow ring. Somewhat perplexed, he wrinkled his brow and made for the next pipe. .e followed this one just inside the

ave where he found a valve, whi h he anxiously opened. 3othing ame out. 3ow his tongue felt swollen and stu k to the roof of his mouth. The more he looked unsu essfully for water, the greater his thirst be ame. Finally, in exasperation, he burst from the ave and shouted at the two men, who sat in -uiet onversation. 'These pipes are empty,' his dry voi e roaked. The two men only stared ba k in perplexed silen e. 'The pipes,' he pleaded and pointed wildly about him. 'There2s no water.' > light seemed to go on behind the 4ad ?lumber2s fa e. '7f ourse there2s no water9 do you think /2m a fool<' the old hermit said with relief. Then he turned ba k to ?ath Finder. '!ou2re mad,' s reamed The Kid. '7f ourse,' said the ?lumber, at whi h the old men hu kled. 'These pipes are empty,' said The Kid. >t whi h ?ath Finder and the ?lumber positively whooped with laughter and slapped ea h other on the ba k. 8hat ould he do< .e was alone in the desert with two madmen who shrieked with laughter, while he died of thirst. 1is ouraged, he sank down on the floor of the ro ky ledge and let out a sigh of resignation. Finally taking pity on his thoroughly miserable guest, the ?lumber omposed himself and went over to omfort him. '/2m dying,' said bleak%eyed Kid stated simply. '3ow, now,' onsoled the ?lumber, 'it2s going to be fine, it will see.' '!ou2re mad,' said The Kid. '7f ourse,' said the ?lumber. '3ow, by ompany must fo us its eyes on my pretty headband. The Kid omplied. .e stared at the greasy old headband with its strange third eye symbol. >s he stared into the hieroglyph, the mad host2s voi e took on a hypnoti -uality. The ?lumber explained that the pipes were far from empty, instead they were -uite full to the bursting with vital energy. 1reamlike, The Kid began to hear the rush and flow of something streaming within the network of piping whi h surrounded them. These pipes, the ?lumber explained, arried the very life for e itself, whi h was essential to the vitality of the entire +th 1imension. /t was his

hosen life2s work, the ?lumber explained in the same hanting tones, to maintain the vast network of plumbing whi h originated right here in his ave. >s his head lolled forward on his hest, The Kid jerked his eyes open with a start. /t was as if he had momentarily fallen asleep and dreamed of water, oursing out of huge pipes and spilling all around and over him. .e got to his feet slowly and beat at some of the dust and dirt that lung to his shorts and shirt. .e was still standing on the same ledge in the same desert. ?ath Finder and the ?lumber were still -uietly engrossed in onversation. 8hat wasn2t still the same was his thirst. /t was gone. .e felt refreshed and rather invigorated. '.ey, ?ath Finder,' he alled. The guide looked up from his onversation, with just a hint of the previous mirth still showing on his lips. '8hat was that about oming here for a key<' he asked. 1usting himself off, ?ath Finder got to his feet. '/ think we found what we were la king,' he said. 8ith poorly suppressed glee the 4ad ?lumber leaped to his feet and began shouting farewells. '/t has to go, doesn2t it<' he hu kled. '/t got what it ame for, didn2t it, and / have my work to do, don2t /< 8ith that he grabbed the forgotten pipe wren h and began to s amper up the losest pipe. *efore disappearing he turned and, at hing ?ath Finder2s eye, arranged his fa e in an exaggerated stage wink. Then he was gone. 'That was abrupt,' The Kid stammered, wondering if he should feel slighted . '/t2s okay,' ?ath Finder onsoled, 'he2s -uite mad.' 8ith that the old guide began to slide over the edge of the liff2s lip. The Kid followed, but with a strange relu tan e. *efore leaving, he took one last look in the dire tion the ?lumber had vanished. Then he looked into the bla k mouth of the ?lumber2s ave with its protruding pipe work. 7ddly, he thought he ould feel the pipes silently pulsing. The 4agi Key This next step into the +th 1imension is diffi ult to write about. '8hat2s the problem<' you might ask. '8ell . . . you see . . .' stalling for time, / stand before you like a naughty hild, 'it has to do with

. . . magi 6' '4agi 6' you gasp and roll your eyes. '/ was afraid that would be your rea tion,' / say apologeti ally while du king an imaginary blow. (e all the keys promised by the 4ad ?lumber. Keys are great symbols. /n the absen e of the lo ks for whi h they are intended, they represent 'potential.' > key promises a ess. > ess to the +th 1imension is limited to those few who possess the key. 5arly in the Fourney, ?ath Finder found a huge key with the urious proportions of an 7lympi barbell. 8ithout that prodigious key the +th 1imension would have remained lo ked. *ut we both know, with ?ath Finder leading the way, that you ventured inside. /f what you have en ountered up to this point seemed 'strange', we may have to invent a new word for what you are about to dis over. *a k in the 1ojo '0ome, / want to test you,' the roshi announ ed. .e stood with his feet well apart, one hand on his hip, and the other poised at shoulder height with elbow o ked so that his fist pointed toward the sky. 'Take hold of my arm,' indi ating a vantage point just below the shoulder, 'and pla e your other hand on the wrist. 3ow, vi e%like, try to lose my arm and / will resist with all my mus le.' 7bediently, / began to apply pressure, for ing the arm to lose as that the hand would tou h the shoulder. Oisibly the tea her2s fa e refle ted effort. The mus les of his arm bun hed and knotted while a light mist of perspiration appeared on his brow. / was be oming exhausted. The sputtering sounds of my effort would have redu ed a lesser tea her to spasms of laughter. To both our redit, the roshi maintained a straight fa e. / did budge the lo ked arm, but just barely. '1id you see that<' / hortled. '!our arm moved6' :rimly, the roshi said, '>gain.' .e held out the other arm o ked in hallenge. This time / was eager to please. 8ith relish / took hold of tghe arm, whi h seemed strangely relaxed, and began to battle it losed. Soon / began to tremble with the una ustomed effort, yet he remained alm. '!ou really must try,' en ouraged the roshi in an easy voi e. '8e an2t be passing too mu h time in silly ontests.' >s he ontinued in onversational tones, / was lo ked in a futile struggle. The arm of the roshi simply did not move. Furthermore, the ras al remained as alm as the mirror surfa e of a deep pond. 7f ourse / -uit. '8hat2s up,' / panted, sinking to my knees.

'!ou simply la k the Ki,' he explained. '8hat key<' / said. '3ot key,' he orre ted. 'Ki.' 3ow we2re going to get down to business. The hoi e of the word 'key' as a symbol was no a ident. /t is a straightforward pun on the Fapanese term 'Ki'. 'That2s really enlightenting,' you say. '8hat2s Ki<' :ood -uestion6 For now we2ll all it a form of energy. /n the 5astern world the knowledge of this energy is very old. /n an ient 0hina it was known as '0hi'. /t2s my onvi tion that it is the same vital energy whi h flows between the 5arth and your .ara. &ike the .ara it is a powerful tool. >lso, like the .ara, / first en ountered Ki in my study of >ikido. >s we pro eed you will understand why it is magi . The roshi often violated my ommonsense notions of physi s with demonstrations of Ki. 7n one o asion / had a really weird physi al response to what / observed. / was sitting in the ba k of the dimly lit dojo, where / was being allowed to observe some of the more advan ed students work out. /t was bending the rules to let me wat h what was going on that night. Though / was the youngest member of the s hool, / had su h unbounded uriosity that the roshi was making an ex eption. Fust what / saw / an2t re all nearly as well as / an how / felt. There was something tran e%like about the experien e. 4y mind and body seemed to grow out of syn hrony with ea h other. Sitting almly in the ba k of that barre old room, / began to sweat and grow di,,y. Sensing my ondition, the roshi approa hed me to ask how / was feeling. / remember how / struggled to explain the strangeness that had over ome me. / also remember how understanding he was as he helped me to my feet and guided me outside to the fresh air. To my surprise, my rea tion was not uni-ue. The roshi explained that what / had been wat hing probably violated the way / thought physi al laws worked. (emember that stuff about world views in 0hapter /O when when we first dis ussed gravity and the .ara. 4y tea her ould have said that the demonstration / witnessed had violated my world view. 7nly / wouldn2t have known what he was talking about. 8hat / hope you an see is that shifting world views an be a risky proposition. *e ause / was unable to re on ile the reality / had observed with my assumptions of what was supposed to be possible, my mind and body were at odds. The result was a mild vertigo that would pass. /t did. The memory of that experien e didn2t. Spe ulation *a k in the dojo we used to gather before lass or at breaks to spe ulate on what was going on. 8hatever we were being taught worked, but ontinued to baffle us. 8e had only a few 'fa ts' to work with@ ".B the use of Ki seemed to impart unexpe ted strength9 and #.B when it worked, the user remained alm and relaxed.

*oth points were weird, but the se ond point violated ommon sense. 8hen one su essfully performed a feat employing Ki, the pra titioner was mentally and physi ally relaxed. 1idn2t greater effort re-uire hard, tense mus les and a brow wrinkled by effort and mu h grunting< So we spe ulated. 7ne theory that we had Amany of these men were engineersB was that our mus le systems were being trained to operate more effi iently. 8hen one 'normally' tensed an arm to resist movement, antagonisti mus les also ame into play. /n the arm bending test the tri ep would resist losure, while the tense bi ep would a tually work against you by fighting the tri ep. 8e reasoned that, with Ki, the tri ep mus le operated in more effi ient isolation. Further, we figured that somehow greater numbers of mus le fibers fired in unison. These engineers played with various explanations. 7n e they ompared the arm to a onduit filled with ele tri al wiring, in whi h greater numbers of wires arried the urrent under the influen e of Ki. >lso, as mentioned, the wires arried their message with greater 'spe ifi ity' so that no unne essary work was ondu ted. 8ell, all that stuff sounded pretty good and to a "+%year old boy it was onvin ing. ?robably of greater importan e to me was the simple fa t t hat a bun h of grown men would stand around and intelligently debate the subje t at all. &ooking ba k, / an see several things whi h eluded me then. First off, / know that those guys were only building 'models'. They were only trying to des ribe what they were experien ing in terms of familiar experien e. *eing s ientists and engineers they ame up with all this stuff like wiring diagrams out of their own world views. Se ondly, what we were doing with Ki strongly resembled what we 8esterners all 'hypnosis'. Sin e those days / have resear hed hypnosis thoroughly, and / an tell you one thing for sure %% it is ontroversial6 Some of the really logi al%type psy hologists be ome almost rabid at the mention of it. 8hat2s their problem< .ypnosis, like Ki, isn2t something you an see. >lso, like Ki, it is diffi ult to explain. /t also works6 There is something of a lesson for us here. /t is important to look behind the big words and appearan es. 8hen a 'professional' onfronts us in a white smo k and rattles on about the power of suggestion, we tend to nod our heads in agreement as if what what he said explained something. /n ontrast, if you a identally met a ragged bum under a bridge and he whispered to you of a magi Ki, you would probably assume he had onsumed too mu h antifree,e. /n more ways than many would like to admit, there isn2t mu h differen e. /2m reminded or the hildren2s story about the 5mperor2s new lothes. 7nly the hildren ould see that he was naked and they were -ui kly shushed if they dared to mention it. /n many ases we really don2t know what is going on. *ut the test of the pudding should be in the tasting. /2ve seen Ki work6 The Third 5ye So, how does it work< The 4ad ?lumber held the Adare / say itB 'Key'. Ki is mastered through the hydrauli s of magi and the use of the Third 5ye. 8eren2t you wondering when that third eye stuff from the hapter lead%in would ome into play< Some people interpret the third eye as a symboli representation of psy hi power. / think the 'third eye' is a symbol, but not for anything more supernatural or extrasensory than your imagination %% as if it weren2t fantasti enough. / figure those old guru dudes started arving third eyes into the ro k foreheads of statues

a a visual metaphor for 'inner sight'. .ow better ould one portray the apa ity to lose your eyes and visuali,e anything you wanted< /f you2re like me, you have never seen a movie that ompared to the novel. .ollywood simply an2t ompete with my imagination. So that2s what the 'third eye' was all about %% visuali,ation. >nd if you don2t think your internal vision is magi al, perhaps you should visit the 4ad ?lumber. 8ater ?ower /n the dojo we learned to visuali,e Ki as water surging through our limbs, as if they were high pressure hoses. &et me show you what / mean. &et2s go ba k to the arm bending ontest between the roshi and me, only reverse the roles. '.old you arm out to the side, roughly at shoulder height,' he instru ted. '3ow relax and imagine that your arm is a hollow onduit through whi h water is streaming. The water has su h for e that it leaves the end of your arm and diminishes into infinity along that traje tory.' !ou have to understand how mu h / trusted this man. >gain the similarity to lini al hypnosis seems apparent. Fust as you have learned to trust the dentist or do tor who indu es hypnosis within the omfortable limits of his offi e, / had grown to believe in my roshi. 8ithin the omfortable limits of the dojo, / had ome to expe t the inexpli able. So / relaxed, as he had instru ted. *reathing deeply, / settled into the .ara and felt the familiar stability of my 0enter. Then / extended my arm at shoulder height with the elbow slightly o ked so the arm formed a gentle urve. The hand was open, palm up, the fingers relaxed. Then / imagined water under high pressure pouring through my arm, bursting from the extended hand and diminishing through the wall into infinity. 8ith that hydrauli image in my mind, / was able to withstand the roshi2s efforts to lose my arm. 4oreover, the feat seemed to re-uire no effort6 >fter mu h pra ti e, we learned to ombine su h 'visuali,ation exer ises' with movement. The results were astounding. So, how do you apply it to weightlifting< 8ell, one of the reasons the +th 1imension is a frontier is that it has never been thoroughly been explored. &ifting in the +th 1imension is new, though the on epts are an ient. / know that Ki an be adapted to any a tivity and / know it means great strength. So, /2ve tried to employ it as a lifter. The te hni-ues follow in the '4eta%movement instru tions' in 0hapter " of the .ard Stuff.

&ifting 8ith Ki
/n any given exer ise there are obvious lines along whi h effort must flow. > Karate student who dis ussed this with me alled them ?ower &ines. For example, in an overhead press your effort is

expended against the floor and toward the eiling. The ?ower &ines travel the length of your body. So / envision a stream of surging energy, whi h flows through the .ara from the floor, to disappear through the eiling on a flight into infinity. !ou be ome a olumn of energy. 8hile pressing the bar overhead, keep the dynami pi ture of water flowing through your limbs. There is a lear ontinuity between this hapter and the last one on the .ara. The energy / speak of isn2t imaginary. ?ra ti ing the .ara you have learned to feel it travel through your legs. /t is only a matter of reinterpreting your experien e in light of a new world view. The sensation is there. !ou must learn to pay attention to it. 3ow, from the .ara, we are going to dire t the flow of energy along our limbs. 7f ourse learning to use Ki takes pra ti e. So do all new skills. *egin with the stati arm exer ise that the roshi showed me. .ave your training partner attempt to bend your arm as you resist with mus le alone. Then follow the visuali,ation exer ises and apply Ki. 7n e you are omfortable with this exer ise, try something more dynami . :rab a dumbbell and perform a straight%arm forward lateral raise. This time you will perform it with a new twist. /magine water traveling the length of your arm. =nder high pressure the water for es the arm to raise, effortlessly. The water explodes from your hand into the distan e. Try it. !ou2ll like it6 8e2ve already dis ussed the need to pay attention. !ou must learn to dise t your own moment% by%moment experien e. !ou must learn to take ea h lift apart and dis over its ?ower &ines. Then you must risk experimentation and learn to apply Ki to ea h exer ise. /n the 4eta%movement instru tions of the next se tion, the .ard S htuff, / have tried to provide dire tions. =ltimately, however, the rea( (a"orator where ou wi(( ma$e the #ru#ia( !is#overies is our own e/'erien#e -- not mine. So, like .uxley2s birds said@ '>ttention, boys, >ttention6' A'/sland' P")Q#R by >ldous .uxleyB Fo us For some lifts, where you perform 4>S/4=4 S/3:&5S, there is a variation on the use of Ki. 0all it Fo us. &et2s look at the ?ower 0lean as it was des ribed in an earlier hapter. The su essful performan e of this exer ise re-uires an 5S?&7S/O5 use of Ki, as opposed to its ontinuous flow. This is easy to a hieve, though it again re-uires the use of visuali,ation. /magination. The Third 5ye. 0on eption. 0reativity. 1o,en eggs. ;uart of milk. S rambled. &ighten up. This is weight lifting, eh. The 4eta%te hni-ues of the +th 1imension don2t involve the use of powers like Ki in isolation. ?ranayama, the .ara, Ki and Fo us are all employed together. This is be ause they are related phenomenon. Fo us is another use of the mind that evades everyday experien e. 8ith fo us you stop time. > ommon story among the literature on meditation tells of sitting beside a babbling reek and stopping the sound. 3ot stropping time in this ase, stopping time. &ike most su h illustrations in 5astern thought, this one has several appli ations. 7n one hand it may refer to the pro ess of stilling a noisy mind whi h 'babbles' like a brook Aremember the

drunken monkeys earlierB. There is also a more on rete appli ation. /t is possible with ?ranayama to bring the fa ulty of attention to a single point temporarily. This is when you pass the :ateless *arrier. 5a h moment be omes a distin t experien e. This pra ti e is akin to what 8esterners refer to as on entration. 0on entration, like mus ular effort, usually onjures visions of someone applying great effort to a task. >gain, the brow furrows, the eyes s-uee,e shut, perspiration beads the forehead and the subje t for es his attention to stay put %% at great ost. Fo using Ki isn2t like that. !ou don2t have to get tense about it. 7ddly, in fa t, this form of on entration is only a hieved by a relaxed bodyCmind. &et2s use it@ *efore you make a lift, you bring all your awareness into the present by following your breath. 1on2t worry about whether or not you will be su essful, and don2t think about what just happened in the gym. 0almly inhabit the only spa e in whi h anything is really happening, the moment of ?ower. /n this harged spa e you an be ome aware of your breathing, the balan e of the .ara, and the flow of Ki. 3ow, instead of visuali,ing Ki flowing through your arms, feel it pouring into the .ara where it is building up pressure. 5nergy ontinues to pour from the 5arth. Follow its path. /t enters the soles of your feet and is drawn through your legs to your enter %% to the .ara. The pressure mounts. /n this spa e you have entered, you are alive one moment at a time. /n this spa e you will F55& when it is right to let go and &/FT6 8hen the moment is perfe t all the pent up pressure in the .ara is released in a single instant. 5nergy explodes through you. 8.>46 !ou just leaned your max. That2s fo us. 5ntering the +th 1imension % Step LD The Drd 5ye@ /. Ki % onse utive reps@ ".B ?ranayama % indu e relaxation. #.B .ara % bring your awareness into your enter. D.B Oisuali,ation % AaB Feel energy surge from the .ara like water through your limbs, along the ne essary power lines. AbB See the water leave your hands with su h for e that it disappears into the infinite distan e. A B (epeat this image during the a tive phase of ea h repetition, e.g., with ea h push in a series of presses. //. Fo us % singles ". B ?ranayama % slow time and wait for the perfe t moment. #.B .ara % feel flow of energy enter through your legs. D.B Oisuali,ation@

AaB Feel the energy build pressure in the .ara. AbB (elease Ki through the power lines in a single *=(ST. .int@ >pply as mu h imagination power as you an to these exer ises. 8hen we say that Ki will flow like water through your limbs, see it, feel it and hear it6 /f you are storing it in your .ara for a big single, feel the growing weight and pressure within you6 :5T /3T7 /T666 F55& T.5 .5>T :(78 >31 S55 T.5 07&7( :&78 . . .