The 5th Harmony is Combine  Shen and Movement (Action)

shen he yu dong神合于动

Have you ever had the hairs on the back of your neck stand-up?  Did you feel uncomfortable or anxious.  It’s a reflex within the body that few can explain.  One explanation Daoist like to use is its an experience with Shen or spirit.  You perceive something or feel something is bad or good yet there are no verbal or visual stimuli to truly backup this feeling.  Now if one can develop this action and harmonize with it, it can truly expand your mindfulness of the world.

You have re-ignited that fire and have raised your spirit to your upper dan tian.  The Shen follows the qi and spreads throughout your body, raising awareness and vitality.  You become…different.

What does one do with this? They must begin to focus back outward.  This whole time your have closed your senses inward and felt what was going on inside your body.  Your spirit radiates through you and shows through your eyes.  This is where internal martial arts becomes something even greater.  You send your spirit to every fiber of your body.  You combine it with every movement, every thought; coordinating action with detail with awareness.  The movements will become your own and become instantaneous.    You will begin to perceive things differently.  Your form will be look powerful as your movements begin to radiate feelings and energy yet be soft and have the ability to adapt at will.  It becomes instant and instinctive.

Li Nengran, the famous Xing Yi master, was called “Magic Fist Li” was able to develop his Shen to this level.  He defeated all challengers and his opponents often said they could not see when his hands struck outward.  Li had developed his Gong Fu to a level where he perceived on a different level.  He could instantaneously feel his opponents intention and move his hands to counter or strike, overcoming the will of his opponents every time.  It was said he could close his eyes and understand exactly where people and things were at.  He was truly gifted and his gong fu was special amongst even the greatest.  Why?  Because he systematically built to this level, not skipping or rushing anything.  He had constant dedication and focused effort and a true understanding of the Dao and his body.   He dedicated every effort, every thought, and every move to get to this level–something few can truly fathom and achieve in this day and age.