The Stages of Standing Like a Pine The first stage: Relax from top to bottom – water flowing down the tall mountain clears and purifies the heart/mind Dear chi-mates, now examine yourself, is every part of your body relaxed? We will go over the stages of Standing Like a Pine once more. The first stage is, after you have adjusted your posture, to relax from the top to the bottom. This dharma is “water flowing from the tall mountain, the heart of purity and clarity”. Dissolve all the energy of rush, haste and hurry that is in your heart. The water flow changes from rapid to slow, from coarse to fine, from shallow to deep. There are infinite layers to be discovered as you go deeper and deeper. The direction is from top to bottom, and it repeats again and again, continuously. Feedback regarding your energy As the water flows to a certain area, it feels obstructed and blocked; this means that you have found a blockage in the energy. These blockages are created by certain emotions and certain beliefs. These blockages allow you to realize that you have these conditions in your life, and they have given rise to obstructions within your energy system. The more it accumulates, the greater the problem will become, and you are the one who will sustain the damage; the only way to clear the blockage is to “let go”. It allows you to realize that you must let go, it can only unblock when you let go. When the water can flow through, then your life problem will clear up. Water flowing from the tall mountain will give you the feedback with regard to your whole energy; how smoothly, how thoroughly, how evenly it is flowing and circulating. It is an energy checkup, and it also performs a complete clean up of your whole energy body from top to bottom. At the same time, as the water flows, each area becomes relaxed.