(yawn) The Great Qi Mystery Continues

I TOLD YOU TO THINK FAST....

This iz a quickie though, cuz, amidst all that was going on this week... I LOST A LOT OF SLEEP, lol. But sleeping put me back on the trail. Ya see, I have a hunch...

Why do you yawn when you get sleepy? Why do you yawn when you see other people yawn? I admit I haven't done my research; there may be a practical reason. Here's MY unrefined, unsupported theory...

They say that qi is a combination of energy ingested from the food we eat and from the air we breathe. Yawning is a strange type of breathing that happens when we're tired right? I wouldn't be surprised if yawning was actually a process of discarding energy in exhalations. Or maybe not discarding energy, but inhaling a rush of new energy?

So what's the next step? Let's see if I can find any research on yawning to see what the listed purpose is SUPPOSED to be, lol. Brb

Jesus Peace

Totally Unrelated, But I Love the Implications...

O...kay... I wouldn't call this a blog, but when it's over with you will, so heyB-P.

It's been quite a week. Nevertheless I should warn you, right after I recapture the events of the week, I'm gonna overlap this post with a Qi Mystery update, lol.

...WEll, I planned on writing a blog on Monday; procrastinated, lol. But it paid off cuz now you get to spend a week with Jigabod. My homeboy Doc frum BlackLoveOneGrowth came thru Tuesday and I decided to take him to my fav Mom and Pop's shop, La Casa Latina, to get... THA DGGJGB!!! So we get there, and make friendly with the shopkeeper. As I'm purchasing my DGGJGB!!! the shopkeeper and I chatted a little. And he told me the funniest thing. He told me that there's a preacher who comes by and buys caseloads of DGGJGB to drink after his sermons; it helps his throat recover. HMMMM... ISN'T THAT SOMETHING? DGGJGB, the drink of preachers??? ...I love the implications, lol.

Then, on a totally unrelated subject, somewhere between Tues and Wednesday the unthinkable happened. A rap forum I had been sharpening my skills on, Rapn4FX, was taken down due to personal difficulties. Now, ordinarily this would be a terrible thing... Did I ever tell you about the first site I was ever on, "Stankonia.com"? Well... GUESS WHO'S COMING HOME... WITH COMPANY...B-J

I love the implications.

So, on a totally unrelated topic, the plan was to give a speech at an Honor's Day ceremony dedicated to my mother on Thursday. Couldn't go up there lookin harsh right? So I decides to shtop by the Barbershop and get my all natural shaped up. I've known my barber, Kel, for SOOO LONG. He was my barber as early as 4th or 5th grade; I just lost the pick I got from him back when I had a flat top a few weeks ago, lol. Anywasy, how blessed is this: I get there and no one's in the chair or waiting on it! I was up as soon as I was in. As we caught up and talked work and business, he told me something that really hit me: "Matt, I don't see you as the type of cat to work under other people. You're like the type of cat to run your own business." WAS THAT A HEAVEN SENT?! I REALLY NEEDED THAT.

I LOVE the implications.

The next day (it's Thursday now) I'm at the Honor's Ceremony. All I could think about on my way was, "You don't wanna give a second eulogy Matt, lol". My suit didn't look right to me when I left the house; when I can afford it, I'm gonna get some custom made ones. Anywasy, I arrived (my aunt was there too, the Hillsinger one, lol) As I sat, I was nervous about the whole thing; not that I mind speaking at all, but nobody told me exactly how long I had, or how I was to present the award. By the way, the award was a scholarship named in honor of my mother; in case I never told you, she was a teacher for 25 years. I'm getting ahead of myself... the bottom line was this. Before things got too far under way, singers from the school blessed the audience with accappella rendition of "Take My Hand Precious Lord". Didn't think I'd be shedding any tears when I got there, but I couldn't help myself... Remember me telling you how gospel messes me up since mom passed? That was real slick ya'll :'-( But... the thing is, I didn't think I'd be doing anymore crying after the funeral phase. Looks like my tear glands are definitely back online after all these years.

I'm not used to crying, but I love the implications.

But heeeere was the clencher (totally unrelated). The old guy that watches out for me at my job; one of my closest coworkers. At each other's throats?! I'm tambout, I heard a " we can take this out in the parking lot!!!" in the midst of all this. I tried to calm my homeboy down, but it wasn't happening: might be an NY thing. Anywasy, he ended up leaving, and a few hours later the old guy left too. So methinks... them boyz ain comin back tonight. And word has it, we've got a BIG job to do. "I don't like the look of it..." Not to mention the tension when they finally do come back. Still, it was all surrounding a weak link in the chain of command. And one thing I admire about my homeboy iz he's so bluntly honest and unafraid to be vocal with it; even if sometimes he does it the wrong way.

Or IS IT the wrong way? Who knows; but I love the implications. In a department store with a shady chain of command, it's nice that there are cats who aren't afraid to make a little ruckus if necessary.

Dag... this turned out to be a pretty good one I guess. Too bad I gotta follow it up so quickly.

THINK FAST...B-J

The Face of Grace

Grace... one of those words people use and don't even know the definition of, lol. When people say "graceful", they can't give you an exact definition; they just know it's a good thing. When people sit down to eat, they always ask somebody to "say grace"; another vague usage.

Then you got my fellow Christians, who get creative and try to fit our belief into the word with an acrostic: God's Riches At Christ's Expense. It's true, but I don't think it really captures grace sufficiently. Believe it or not, there's a simpler way to put it. My pastor said it best:

"Mercy is when you spare someone what they deserve; grace is when you give someone what they don't deserve."

Get it? Grace is the extra in ordinary. Grace is when you put a little bit more umph into whatever you do. Grace is like Michael Jordan; he doesn't just dunk on you, but he has to stick his tongue out as he does it. Grace is a signature; there's no need for the curls and loops, but it's that little extra that sets the signature apart. Grace is that part on Luther Vandross's "A House is Not a Home" when the music stops, but he pauses before he adds the final words to close the song out.

Grace is a very soulful thing actually. See, there's completing a task, and then there's completing a task with your trademark on it. Putting a little piece of yourself into what you do beyond what's required. Unfortunately, grace is often frowned upon in our society. Like when you're happy and you feel like dancing down the street, but you choose not to because of what people might say. Or how some places won't hire you if you wear certain hairstyles; it's not professional to have personality.

But I think grace is to be embraced. After all, the Bible says we're made in God's image and He's a gracious God. So the grace that resides in us is a trace of His essence, isn't it? Maybe. Maybe that's why there are artists in the world huh? Maybe everything isn't meant to be so practical, methodical, mathematic. Logic has it's place, but grace is one of those things that defies logic. After all, where in the NBA rulebook does it say tongues are in any way relevant to the game? And yet, we love those pictures with him making that graceful face, lol.

B-J

Somehow I Ended Up With Lucy...

Dag, 'less I'm crazy already, I feel like I saw a bunch of dope movies over the last few days... or did I?

Hm... I saw Sole Survivor a few minutes ago. I was diggin it like a live-action anime, but it kinda left me hanging. Looking for a sequel to that one, even tho I hate sequels.

I saw Die Hard (2?). Always like to watch a Bruce Willis flick. "Yippie-kayae-muhf...." (I couldn't resist. I'm ashamed of how cliche that was. My apologies.)

......OHHHH, CONAN O'BRIEN had me DYING the other night. Maybe that's what feels so much like a movie. Special guests Lucy Liu and some obnoxious cat that Conan can't stand... or pretends he can't stand ya know. But the best guest was this cat named... MICHAELJACKSON! (yeah, he said it big and fast just like that, and it was a TOTALLY different MJ from the one you know; that's what had me laughing at first). Turns out he's this old guy who tastes beers for a living... You see the recipe right?

Lemme tell ya, he was easily already drunk when he came out there, and it just got worse and worse. His hair was all over the place and he was holding these delicate glasses like they just wouldn't dare fall out of his hand. I mean, he was GONE... And Conan was jiving and the obnoxious guy was jiving and Lucy was laughing her heart out... and the obnoxious dude was all over Lucy Liu. But that leads me to an interesting topic: Lucy Liu... Hmmm....

Don't get me wrong, Lucy Liu is a very beautiful woman. But until the other night, I've had a hard time swallowing her. I think I've found the one thing about a woman that frightens me: I don't like when a woman hides her emotions. A lot of the roles that I've seen Lucy play have all hinged on that: the poker face. On Ally McBeal, she was the unbreakable woman who could seduce a man and sleep with him and feel nothing. On Kill Bill, she was the samurai, scarred by the murder of her parents, that could be businesslike one second and cut ur head off the next. I've always seen her as beautiful, but I was never attracted to her because the poker face turned me off. I feel like I need to know what's going on inside a woman so I know how to behave with her, ya know?

But you know what? When she was on the show the other night and she was just being natural, for the first time I was REALLY feeling her! Like, "Man, she's SO ATTRACTIVE when she smiles and laughs and plays and fights obnoxious people off of her!" So now, I'm feeling obnoxious: That kimono you wore in Kill Bill was very... lovely on you, Ms. Liu. Sincerely.

B-J

Ladies... Ugly Iz Never In Season

Nah, I'm not tam'bout facial ugliness. Just gotta get something off my chest that's been in the back of my mind...

Ladies, I got a tip for ya: If you wanna look real insecure and unattractive, diss another female just because a brotha digs her. It happens ALL THE TIME, like it's not even funny anymore, it's clockwork. If we give another girl a compliment, (and it doesn't matter who it is, it could be a celeb or a regular girl), the first thing so many ladies do is downplay it. "I don't know why you guys make such a big deal about her... She's not all that pretty... She's not that talented... She's not womp-wa-womp-womp..."

Straight up, that's ugly to me; it says to me that you're insecure of yourself if you hafta downplay somebody else's shine like that. The classy thing to do would be to compliment her as well or inquire about the speaker's taste or just say nothing, not smash the bystander. I mean, I could even see disagreeing respectfully: "Hm... I'm not sure I see it the same... She's okay but..." or something like that.

I might catch a little flack for this, but I just had to get it off my chest cuz it really irks me. I don't care what time of year it is, ugly iz never in season. Have some class please; you lose points yourself if you try to belittle someone else.

The Great Qi Mystery: Sumo?

So I began eating more bread and noodles and such; I actually went out to Golden Corral the other night and splurged on pasta, rice, and rolls (veggies and fruits too, lol). As I was munching and admiring the waitress though, something hit me: sumo.

If my theory is right and eating is such a big part of building qi, then sumo wrestlers must have a LOT to work with. Which actually made me think: with sumo wrestling being such a professional, well-known sport, shouldn't qi be an obvious attribute? I've only heard it partially mentioned in the sport, which leads me to believe that simply loading up on food won't lead me to what I'm looking for.

So what might have been a bogus lead in eating breadstuffs may have been just a clue revealing that I need a change of direction. Perhaps the mystery of qi lies somewhere between bread and body mass. Hopefully body mass has nothing to do with it, cuz I can't gain weight to save my life; I'm like a buck-thrity wet.

Sumo it is then. A sport that has much to do with eating should reveal SOMETHING for me to work with.

Until next time...

The Great Qi Mystery: Tangents to Evidence

Ha... So I'm still on the trail to discover the truth about Qi. I came across a website, www.qi-journal.com if I'm not mistaken, and there was a lot of helpful tips and hints. I have yet to read the entire site, but the little I did read seemed very interesting.

I have already determined that in order to understand Qi, I will more than likely have to participate at least in part in some of the Qi-related activities I read about. One instructor had a list of exercises that supposedly build qi by building nei, or internal strength. He trains his students by having them visualize and slowly count backward from 300 in their minds. I tried it at work tonight; I was able to do it successfully, but I admit it was a bit stressful. Supposedly such an exercise strengthens one internally as push-ups, etc. strengthen one externally; I can believe this because my mind was exhausted once I completed the count. I'll keep you posted as I continue to repeat the exercise...

Now to my actual subject, lol. As I said in my last post, when you're attempting to understand something that none of the five senses can help with, it's good to leave no stone unturned. And so, I find myself digging in odd places to piece the puzzle together. The two unlikely candidates for clues are as follows: cartoons and the Bible??

Let's start with more Qi-theory. I came across a theory that stated qi-energy is produced inside of human beings as the result of combining energies taken from the food we eat and the air we breathe. Seems possible to me... Nothing too crazy about it. But it reminded me of this popular anime, Dragonball Z.

If you have kids, if you know kids, you should know something about this show. It's a testosterone fest of big blasts and martial arts. Well, as it's a Japanese anime, it's steeped in Eastern culture. And supposedly, the big bright lasers you see are actually "ki blasts". Of course it's GREATLY exaggerated... I know good and well that none of us are gonna be shooting big-arse lasers, even if I do figure out the ki mystery. However... there was something else on the show that caught my attention.

The strongest character on the show, Goku, supposedly has the greatest ki level. One of the run-on gags on the show is that his appetite is freakishly huge. But wait a minute... According to the theory, food is a big part of where we get the ingredients to make ki energy. CONNECTION...

I dug a little deeper... What does Goku eat specifically? Not surprisingly, a lot of rice and noodles, as you often see from Asian culture. Hm... Well, I know from basic health studies that breads and related foods are highest in carbohydrates and the best sources of energy. I know this is true also from experience: at my job, if I know it's going to be a hard night, I usually load up on noodles and other bread foods, and when the night is done, I have so much energy that it doesn't even seem that I worked for 8 hours. So for a culture where rice is a staple food, I could see the potential for a diet that, according to the theory, cultivates great qi energy.

Still, this is predominantly theory derived only in Eastern culture with slight support from Western science. I needed something else to validate the theory. I thought, "bread... bread..." I stepped out of logic for a minute and just meditated on the word "bread". Then it hit me: I live by the Word of God, so why not search for the word "bread" in the Bible? Immediately a few scriptures came to mind: "man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" and "give us this day our daily bread".

I thought back to an important piece of advice someone once gave me: "a good author writes what he writes the way that he writes it for a reason." I thought to myself, "Why in these scriptures does God say 'bread' instead of say 'vegetables' or 'food'?" And don't get me wrong, I know very well that the word 'bread' could easily be a metonym/synecdoche for 'food'. But it could just as easily have deeper relevance than that; the Bible is a much better written book than people give it credit for being. I mean, if you know biblical stories, it could be an allusion to
the manna in the wilderness; basically, God saying, "Man doesn't live by miracles and blessings alone, but by the Word of God itself." Or something of that nature...

But oftentimes biblical passages have multi-level meanings, and in my attempt to make sense of this qi business, I began to wonder, "Maybe the word 'bread' is used because God is insinuating that 'bread' is a particularly potent food; so potent that it makes a perfect parallel to illustrate the power of the Word of God."

...Yup, seems plausible to me.

So now I have another reason to change to a bread-based diet; to keep me strong at work and to discover if I can foster some qi of my own to study, lol. Can you believe I went from qi to cartoons to the Bible and it all comes together at 'bread'? All this deduction still doesn't quite prove anything though. But I'm a person that gives more credit to hunches than most; especially when it comes to sensing the unsensible.

I'm going to go count backward from 500 now to exercise my mind a bit. If I don't find myself unconscious, I'll follow this post up soon.

Jesus Peace

The Great Qi Mystery: "Qi Excel"

Girl, Interrupted... Pretty hot movie, I must say... I think I'm chyna go "Downtown" maself; maybe not.

Got on my detective hat (yeah right... I got my fro back now playah!). I think I wanna break something down to elementary if ya don't mind; I haven't solved a decent puzzle in a long time. There's this thing I got a hankering to understand; some say it's mystical but I've got a hunch that there's nothing mystical about it. I think it's just a dimension of the human body that our smart behinds haven't grown to understand yet. Let's start with a flashback. Peep:

If you'll recall, I wrote a blog a while back called Eastern Customs, or something like that. Nah, it was Eastern Character, that's it. It was about my affinity for the culture of the Far East. Well, there's an Eastern stowaway running loose in my mind, and 'Bod is on the trail in hopes of locking it down in the archives.

It's a little thing that they call Qi in China, Ki in Japan, Chi in America. It's an energy, something that has no taste, no form, no odor, no image, and no sound. ("Principle"... the word "principle" comes to me. Hold on to that...) A search for something the 5 senses can't fathom. And what's so tricky about it: since the five senses can't detect it, how will I be able to tell it from nothingness itself? Now that's the kinda challenge I like.

But it gets better. Qi, Ki, Chi... all different cultures. And there's more names for this energy. Along with the names, there is an equal number of claims as to what it is, what its nature is, what its origin is, etc. This is intriguing because I don't know what I'm dealing with. Some cultures say it's a mystical/religious thing. Others say it's a natural part of the universe that we simply don't recognize. A friend of mine drew an interesting conclusion that made me raise an eyebrow: "Qi has no form, sound, odor, image, or taste. It's unobservable, just like God. So it must be spiritual."

Good point, but I'm not convinced Bro. I'm gonna keep digging.

Here is a glimpse into the way that I do things. Here is this Qi enigma before me, seemingly impossible to understand. Where do I start?... From scratch. When you're chasing an invisible, possibly non-existent force that permeates the universe, you leave no stone unturned. I started by collecting data from all the Qi theories I could find, bogus or not. (thumbing through 'papers') Here's one that jumped out at me...

To paraphrase: a person's Qi is highest when they're engaged in an activity at which they excel.

Hm... As I looked at it and stepped back, I said to myself, "That doesn't match up with the rest of the theories. Prolly bogus." But just because it's bogus doesn't mean it's worthless. I looked a little harder and realized something: In order to uncover what Qi is, I need to distinguish between these theories. Why? Because there's always the possibility that the distorted theories of Qi actually point to SEVERAL DIFFERENT TYPES of invisible energies. Don't ever get so fixated on the missing diamond that you overlook the gems along the way, gumshoes.

This isn't the Qi I'm looking for, but it's something. Fast forward...

I've been thinking about this "Qi Excel" for a few months now. This is my first time writing anything down about it. Here's what I came up with in my pondering:

This "Qi Excel" could simply be a form of potential energy that is actually more of a principle than an energy. It is the potential of each individual to perform a certain task. For example, a tall person has more "Qi Excel" to perform a dunk on a basketball court than a short person. A person with long legs and a small torso has more "Qi Excel" to jump hurdles than a person with a large torso and small legs. Basically, "Qi Excel" is the summation of what a person is naturally endowed with toward performing a specific task. The task in question is the determinant of how great a subject's "Qi Excel" is.

Jeet Kune Do, the martial art started by Bruce Lee, is an example of an art that hinges on the principles of "Qi Excel" I think. For each student of the art, Jeet Kune Do takes a different form suited uniquely to that person. Kareem Abdul Jabbar studied under Lee. The two have totally different body types; thus, when they fight they fight differently. However, by recognizing their unique biological makeups and taking advantage of their respective properties--- Jabbar's reach and power and Lee's small size and quickness, each is able to be an efficient fighter.

Interesting huh? I'm sorry if I made ya head hurt; it's gonna get worse though. If it makes u feel better, it's all theory really. I'm just giving a name to some of my thoughts so I can put them aside for later reference and get back to the real search. Once I do some more isolating of theories, I can get a better image of my invisible enigma.

...And I still don't think it's mystical.

B-J

Runaway Slave Complex

I should've written about this a LOOOOOOOOOOOONG time ago. Runaway slave complex. Picture this:

You're an African slave in the Americas during the slavery era. You've been a slave you're whole life and the fear of punishment and the teaching of your inferiority is deeply entrenched in the fibers of your being. Then one day, all of a sudden, an act is passed in Congress: boom, you're a free man. "Oh happy day!" right?

Then comes the business of actually living out your freedom. You've never been free before; neither has anyone around you. You don't know what to do. But you're free now; you've got to do something. So you're left with two options: return to the "security" of servitude falling victim to your fear of the unknown, or venture into the wilderness of freedom in the balance between success and failure with neither guaranteed to you. Hm...

So why does Jigabod bring this up in 2006, centuries after the emancipation of his ancestors? You should know me by now--- I brought it up because it's relevant. I'm 22 years old and I'm in a stage of life where I feel like I can either lower my head and settle for what I'm given, or take charge and venture into an unknown world for a better chance at fulfilment. I want to show you something; I'm going to return to my slave illustration to keep the imagery vivid.

So you're a newly freed slave. It's an uncertain world. But you know that returning to massa, while it may give you security, will surely limit your growth as a human being; more than likely you'll never reach your full potential, and you'll spend your life hoping for better things for your children. On the other hand, venturing into the unknown forfeits all security and simultaneously offers limitless possibilities. And when you think about it, the White man (no offense to my White readers) conquered this unknown; what's to stop you from doing the same?

Your slave brothers and sisters are afraid; they'd rather return to servitude, and they encourage you to do the same because they fear for you. Is the fear of the unknown great enough to make you sacrifice your newly gained freedom? Hm...


Well... I don't know about anybody else; it's not enough for me. I don't like being herded into situations; I don't do functional fixedness. I don't think convenience is a sign of making the right choice; after all, most of the time in life they tell you shortcuts are no good right? So why all of a sudden is it any different regarding lifestyle choices? Just because a way is convenient and commonly accepted as the "thing to do", we assume it's right and expected of everyone. That's a bit much if you ask me.

So suppose I'm that runaway who ventures into the unknown... Suppose I fall flat on my face. Does that mean I made a bad choice in pursuing the unknown? Uh... I can't see that being the case at all. Picture this: the unknown is unknown, meaning you go in blind. The outcome can't be predicted, true enough. But imagine if the runaway goes into the unknown with the support of all his kindred... See how his chances of success all of a sudden become more plausible? But if his kindred offer nothing but fears and discouragement, the situation becomes more dire and difficult for him.

(to be continued...)

(...pardon the interruption. I told you about the brontophobia before, correct? If not, I will eventually...)

Don't answer out loud, but do you spend more time planning and pressing to succeed, or preparing in case of failure? I think I've been taught to do the latter. And don't get me wrong, it's wise to be prepared. But there must be a balance, and too much preparation impairs mobility. I think it was an episode of the Cosby Show or something I saw a few years ago where a kid was going to play football, and he/she was wearing football gear AND had pillows strapped to him/her for extra protection. Needless to say, you're not going to be a great player with so much protection on...

I may have said this before, but someone told me something that really made a lot of sense: a good lawyer doesn't tell you what you can't do; a good lawyer tells you what you need to do to get it done. Again, don't answer out loud, but do you spend more time helping people find ways to make things happen or giving them reasons to abort their goals?

Even for my fellow Christians out there, it's easy for us to say we trust God when we live safe, comfortable lives. But, I think, if you want to see someone who has a truly unique relationship with God, find someone who's life is a life of risk and exploration.

So now I sit here, a free-thinker, contemplating how I want to spend my life. The thought of retracing the path of a million others doesn't appetize me. I keep thinking about the proverb, "If you always do what you've always done, then you'll always get what you've always got." Frankly, I don't like what we always get; I'm not impressed at all by it. I'm determined to try something different, and hopefully, even though it's foggy right now, I can muster enough support to help me master this unknown country.

Jesus Peace