Lifting in the 5th Dimension

by Tom Foote (1985)

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. Best yet, it provides an easily
understood systematic approach to mastering meditative
techniques.

Although 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.

-- Dr. Judd Biasiotto.

PREFACE

With experience every weight lifter finds there is an elusive mental

edge that is necessary in order to make a good lift. Manipulating
that edge is something we are just beginning to consciously do in
Western sports. However, in the East it is something that students
of the martial arts, yoga and meditation have done for thousands of
years. Instead of a vague body of knowledge on the fringe of what's
acceptable, these ancient traditions represent detailed disciplines.
This book applies that knowledge to weight lifting.

Some interpretations of meditation stress the goal of seeking pure

consciousness. However, the human experience is both mental and
physical. An experience of being "whole" must strike a balance
between the two. As a lifter, I'm also aware of an intimate
cooperation between my mind and body. At times there is
something more. There is a singular experience dominated by
neither. This is the 5th Dimension where mind and body are but two
dimensions of a larger happening.

In this 5th Dimension you live on that special edge, where you
function as a whole to form something more powerful than the
simple sum of your parts. Lifters who have glimpsed this condition
know it as being "psyched." What they have seen is just the tip of
an iceberg; in this book we are going to venture below the surface.

Here's how we are going to do it. We are going to take a journey

beyond Time & Space. You are going to enter the 5th Dimension
where gravity is a bearded giant and pain is an ill-tempered dragon.
You are going on this trip with two friends of mine: a grizzled old fart
named Path Finder, who knows the way; and his reluctant
apprentice, known only as The Kid.

What are they doing there, and more importantly, what are YOU
doing there?

The Kid thinks he's looking for the fabled city of Shambala. This is a
legendary place which remained lost until Path Finder came along.
It is still very hard to get there but it's well worth the arduous
journey. Once there, The Kid expects to be endowed with all sorts
of special mystic powers.

You're going there for the ride!

Along the way you are going to learn to approach weight lifting from
an entirely different direction. This is no small thing and will serve
several purposes. First, you will learn skills to improve your lifting.
Secondly, lifting in 5D will inject new enthusiasm into your workouts.
This will ring your chimes if you've ever walked into the gym to find
that your motivator has died. And last but not least, the journey
itself will be FUN.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. THE ESOTERIC EXPERIENCE

-- The Leap of Faith

-- The Magic Compass
-- The Gateless Barrier
-- The Ultimate Training Partner
-- The Mad Plumber

II. THE HARD EXPERIENCE

-- The Rope Trick

-- The Forms
-- Free Play
-- Low-Tech Purist
--The Fugue Steppes

III. THE INNER EXPERIENCE

-- Trail Blind
-- The Third Ear
-- Shambala

Chapter 1 - A Leap of Faith

A narrow gorge has obstructed our pilgrims' path. Chaos has

crumbled an ancient bridge, which once defiantly spanned the
chasm.

"Puny humans" the ragged rock lips seemed to taunt. "You will not
pass this way!"

Path Finder began to stretch out his muscles like a runner before a
race. Then he took a calculating look at the void, which separated
them from the other side of the bridge. The Kid, having crept on
hands and knees to the crumbling edge, noticed his companion's
activity. Suddenly, it occurred to him that the old man actually
meant to jump the broken distance.

"You can't be serious!" The Kid gasped. "Have you ever jumped a
stream?" Path Finder inquired. The Kid nodded. He'd jumped
ditches and swollen rain gutters. "You make it, or you get your feet
wet," Path Finder continued.

With that, the guide tested his footing and took several deep, slow
breaths to compose himself. He turned slowly and graced his wild-
eyed young companion with a calm smile.

"Have faith," the old man said with a wink. Then he broke into a
rapid run.

"In what?" yelped The Kid in panic as Path Finder bounded past.

Then, in one explosive effort, the old guide launched himself into
the gaping space. With the silent grace of a great cat he landed on
the opposite side.

Turning back to face The Kid, Path Finder shouted, "In yourself, of
course."

Now The Kid knew he must follow. Remembering how he willingly

stepped out of his own front door to begin this strange journey, he
felt like an idiot.

"Use your fear!" Path Finder yelled. "It's a source of energy. Just
fasten it to that single instant when you need it."

At least The Kid knew timing would be crucial. One chance was all
he had. In the next moment it would be done, or he would be
undone!

"Get with it!" prodded Path Finder.

And he did. For a moment the kid was a vision of knees and
elbows, as he sprang through the air like an ungainly bird. Falling
just short of the mark, Path Finder managed to grab one
outstretched wrist in an iron grip. It was over. He'd made it! (with a
little help from his friend).

Smiling, Path Finder pulled the unsteady Kid up to safety.

"Well done," congratulated the old guide. "We had my reputation to

protect, you know."

The Challenge

Imagine that a barbell has materialized at your feet. It waits in

mocking silence, for you to pick up the challenge. Will you accept?

First we'll do a Clean in the usual way. There sits the bar and it's
time for you to lift it. The gym is a little crowded. You were psyched
when you arrived but that was 20 minutes ago. You've waited to get
on the lifting platform like a hungry animal anticipating his dinner.
Now you're cold. Your get up and go has got up and went. But you
are dedicated . . .

Your routine calls for 5 sets of 5, pyramiding the weight upward with
each set. Because you're probably thinking about your goal, and
not what you're doing at this moment, you mash your finger loading
the bar! This isn't going to be a record workout.

You chalk up and position your grip. Again you realize that you don't
have the mental edge that a good lift requires. You also notice
some lifters of the opposite sex in designer outfits (notice how
cleverly I've avoided gender). It's now the moment that you are
supposed to explode with that bar in your iron fists and impress the
rest of the gym. What happens is more like a fizzle than a boom.

The weights go up; the weights come down. Rep after rep you grind
out each set. This is work! Visions of an open road ride through
your weary brain and you long to follow them. But like I said, you're
dedicated. So you stick to it until the bitter end. The best thing
about a workout like this one is when it's over.

Now let's approach it in the 5th Dimension. You begin by breathing

slowly. As your breathing deepens so does your awareness. You
are beginning to sense a special moment approaching. You feel the
pull of the Earth in your lower abdomen as the force flows through
the columns of your lower legs and the soles of your feet. Suddenly
you are connected to the Earth. Her power streams through you. As
your mind has become focused it has become quiet, the mental
chatter which is usually distracting you has ceased. Doubt and
uncertainty about your ability has been pushed aside like a wake
before the silent bow of a relentless ship. You want to board that
vessel. There can be no hesitation. You close on the bar, your feet
and hands know their positions. You visualize the Earth's energy
streaming into you. It is building pressure within you. At the perfect
moment, a moment of power, the energy is released to sweep
through the ceiling into infinity. In this moment the Clean is won!
You have given yourself to it completely . . . and the bar has come
to rest comfortably at shoulder height.

It worked! A single coordinated event has transpired. An event in

which you were immersed, only to become self-conscious after
surfacing at its conclusion. Each new repetition is an adventure, a
pleasure, and a challenge. Each moment is infused with necessity!

The Leap

To Clean in the 5th Dimension is like no other experience. To

introduce it, I needed an image that would make real the testing
moment when mind and muscle must join for a single effort. Most of
us have had some experience jumping creeks or rain-swollen
gutters. You either make it of get your feet wet. My legs must have
remembered such an experience, because suddenly the
cinemascope image of The Kid and Path Finder leaping a fearsome
abyss flashed on the living screen between my ears. Just picture
yourself peering over the edge of a crumbled old bridge. For some
insane reason, you have to jump to the other side. Are you tired? I
doubt it! Your stomach feels like a gaping hole. Your courage has
drained from your legs, leaving them weak and shaky. Strangely,
your hearing is very acute. The sound of gravel grating under your
feet as you test your footing is the only sound in the world. The old
pump in your chest feels like it's going to burst the blood vessels in
your ears. While you are being overwhelmed with all this noise from
your body, your mind has become strangely silent. You're not calm.
But there is a stillness to it. Everything fills it in a new way. Aside
from the shaky legs, this might be what a medieval samurai felt
before doing battle. These Zen-trained warriors intentionally
entered an altered state of consciousness, in which their senses
were highly tuned, in order to be more effective.

My intention is to show you how an ordinary event, a single

repetition of an exercise, can take on a warrior's spirit. If you learn
to lift in the 5th Dimension you need never be bored with your
workout. You will learn to make each rep count. When The Kid had
to face jumping the fallen bridge, you can bet time slowed to a
standstill. With his heightened awareness he paid precise attention
to every detail of his experience. Furthermore, after the success of
his jump he was changed! He had learned a vital lesson.

That big jump was a one shot effort. Had he missed the far rim he
would not have been able to rest a few moments and make another
attempt the way weight lifters can when they miss a lift. The whole
point of the bridge episode was to bring home the way a sense of
urgency can transform your awareness. During those intense few
moments The Kid was more alive (and more aware of it) than at
any other time in his life. He had, unknowingly, glimpsed the 5th
Dimension where every experience is raised above the ordinary
plane of existence.

Weight lifting, too, can teach vital lessons. It can be much more
than it appears to be. But how do we transform an exercise like a
Clean into something so special? There are hints in the description
of the second Clean, the one done in the 5th Dimension. It was a
Clean of Power. It was a prototype, containing all the elements of
the 5th Dimension; body awareness, the relationship to gravity,
controlled breathing, visualization, and other lessons from Aikido
and Hatha Yoga. I decided to introduce the Clean with many
unexplained elements, as though it were an assembled puzzle.
Later, as we travel through the 5th Dimension, we will explore each
piece and learn to recombine the elements into a whole routine of
exercise forms.

Next -- more on the Clean . . .

The Clean

I chose the Clean to introduce 5tth Dimension lifting for several

reasons. For one thing, a lot of people don't do Cleans regularly so
they don't have as many preconceived ideas about them, as they
do about other types of lifts. Next, the explosive nature of the Clean
makes it an intense exercise which suits the general 'feel' I want to
communicate to you. Last, but not least, I wanted to find an
exercise that would mimic "real work." I wanted to be prepared to
put in an active day of labor. For example, we heat our home with a
wood-burning stove. after a day of collecting firewood, I hoped to
avoid feeling as though a truck I had loaded the previous day had
mysteriously driven over my body that night while I slept.

Naturally, I had to work my back, and isolated "bodybuilding"

exercises were not the answer. I needed a coordinated exercise
that would integrate the entire dorsal surface of my body. My need
was functional and practical. In the private laboratory of my
experience I worked on a solution. Enter the Clean. Because I
worked in isolation, the extent to which my Clean resembles the
exercise, as others know it, is a function of convergent evolution.
That means it's an accident!

On one occasion I had some coaching. While I worked out one day,
I noticed an older gentleman watching me. He must have been
pretty big once. Taller than me, hair all white, arms and legs roped
with muscle; he was still formidable. Without formality he offered
some good advice.

"Get your hips in closer to the bar," he said.

Quick-witted as I am, I replied, "Huh?"

"Never seen anyone doin' Cleans in here before," he continued.

'Used to do 'em myself, regular. Damn good exercise, but you got to
get your hips in closer to the bar."

And I did. What the old sage said fit my own secret theoretical
system. I knew it was important to use my center of gravity, though I
wasn't sure how. The old man's feedback helped. That was the
extent of any coaching I've received on Cleans.

The Problem of Scale

Done a relatively low poundages, the Clean is an unbeatable back
exercise. It's great for warming up. In can be a gentle experience
which brings an awareness of all your pulling muscles: the erectors
of the lower back, gluteus maximus (which sounds like a Roman
Emperor), the traps, the delts.

Once, in an introductory design class, we studied a problem of

"scale". I constructed a cardboard free-form sculpture which was
only a few inches high. Then I reproduced it several feet in size. It
retained the same form but was a different experience. Doing
Cleans I discovered a similar phenomenon:

by manipulating the weight, a quantitative variable, the exercise

changes qualitatively.

Done at maximum poundages, the Clean makes new demands.

Slap more plates on the bar. Pile them on until you stand before an
iron Frankenstein, a monster of your own creation; that which could
be your undoing. This is your maximum poundage, your personal
best. It's a high wire act. The ego bites its nails into stubs. "You
made this one before . . . but not always!" your memory chides.
From somewhere an anxious voice reminds you that you aren't
getting any younger and the time is approaching when all you will
do is remember. This kind of advice you don't need!

The Clean requires more than strength at these upper limits.

Concentration and coordination are equally important. The mind
must cease its chatter and be cleared of everything except the
infinite expectation of an impending explosion. During this single-
minded focus, the WILL to lift is transmuted into the ACT of lifting,
as lead was turned to gold by alchemists. Through some arcane
sleight-of-hand, muscle and mind are mixed in a crucible of
intensity. The Clean, because it is so well-suited for "singles" is
especially amenable to this sort of iron magic. The Clean
dramatizes the mind-body-connection so necessary for a focused
lift.

Technique

The Clean is a blast of dynamite! You must drive the soles of your
feet into the floor as you heave the bar in opposition. Actually, it is
like a sequence of explosions mimicking Freeman Dyson's atomic
bomb drive for space travel, erupting in a smooth lift. (Dyson quote:
It is better to get mugged than to live a life of fear.) It goes like this:

Quadriceps fire and the great dorsal muscles of the back grab the
effort. Like a baton, they pass it to the deltoids and trapezius
muscles of the shoulder region; the bar's upward momentum is
given a final boost from the calf muscles -- just before the knees
dip, dropping your weight under the bar's vertical vector -- then you
straighten triumphantly with the bar at shoulder height.

The 5th Dimension

The Clean is still more. There is a mystery of the Meta-Clean, the

Clean of Power. "Meta" is used here to mean to go Beyond, to
TRANSCEND, to GO HIGHER. The Meta-Clean is the first such
higher exercise you will meet. These meta-exercises take normal
movements to a higher level of development within the 5th
Dimension,where the mind and body are fused into an even greater
force than the sum of the two acting separately. In that moment of
fusion and self-abandonment, when you are completely immersed
in the experience of "exertion", the familiar limits of physics and
psychology change. This is a Moment-of-Power; and like the vortex
of a black hole it distorts time/space and the observer. The Moment
of Power is the gateway to the 5th Dimension. It is during that
moment that the glue which binds our minds into rigid patterns
becomes loose and the fibers of ordinary reality stretch to let us
through. To squeeze through into the 5th Dimension, you will need
to learn several skills. First, you must learn to enter the Moment of
Power, which you will learn in Chapter 2. You will need to learn
about your Center and how to use it. This information is contained
in Chapter 3. The next major element concerns control. You must
learn to focus and direct the power that you will discover flows
through you. This control is the subject of Chapter 4.

Warp Drive

Now, just for fun, here is something interesting that I've noticed.
Time has always been of of the "givens" of my normal environment
which puzzled me. I couldn't see it. I couldn't touch it. Yet everyone
relied on "it". As a kid, I would sit there in school agonizing over the
last few minutes of the day, watching the hands of the big clock
haltingly advance. Just were, I would wonder, was the stuff this
clock measured.

Years later I stumbled on the well worn "fish/water" allegory. It

seems this little fish was swimming about in a vast sea. He was
very curious and asked a lot of clever questions, but there was one
thing that continued to stump the little fellow. The older fish all
spoke casually about something called "water". Not only was this
elusive substance supposed to be everywhere, but it was said to be
essential for life! Well, he looked everywhere for "water". He
searched under every rock and behind every blade of seaweed to
no avail. Rumor has it he's still looking. Have you ever tried to find
time?
Once I asked my brother about "time". As a physicist, I figured he
could tell me what it was the mystic priests of sub-atomic science
figured into equations to represent it. He spoiled my day by
suggesting that there were two kinds of "time". One was the
mathematical constant, and the other was private experience.

If you are practicing the techniques of 5th Dimension lifting your

attention is focused; you are no longer sub-vocally chattering to
yourself, and you will cease to experience a body "inhabited" by a
mind. In this state, pausing over the barbell, you may ambush time.
This is a moment like no other, when time's interval no longer flows
equally. The space between points A and B is not the same as that
between B and C. This is a moment so full, so weighty that it may
seem to last forever. You create a time warp; and it seems that, as
you manipulate the amount of weight, you control the warp. It's a
simple equation. As you increase the weight, you increase the
warp.

Cleaning over my bodyweight is hard for me. Lifting 10 pounds

under my bodyweight does not feel the same as lifting 10 pounds
over it. Each is a different experience. The bigger lift requires
greater involvement. As the level of involvement increases, the
fabric of time seems to be stretched. Warping time is as simple as
that.

This reminds me a lot of what's called the Uncertainty Principle in

physics. Basically, this rule states that you can never pin down both
the location and velocity of a given electron. You can get one or the
other -- but not both, since the act of determining one changes the
other. As an observer the scientist reacts with his own experiment.
So what? Well, this means you can't be a passive observer of the
Universe. "Truth" depends upon your participation. I'm saying that
time doesn't passively flow around you. You participate in time.
Time is something you do.

I think it's outstanding that weight lifting, which looks so simple to

an outsider, can lead to topics like time warps. As you discover the
5th Dimension you will discover how infinitely fascinating our
moment-by-moment experience can be. Our awareness of time is
just one such wonder.
The Magic Compass

Believing himself to be unobserved, Path Finder did something very

strange. With his back to his resting companion, he began to move
his hands in the air, describing a curious pattern. Repeating the
design ever more quickly, his hands began to blur and the air to
glow. Suddenly his hands were still, but no longer empty. Path
Finder now held a strange looking device at which he peered, as if
to consult it in some manner.

"What have you got there?" The Kid demanded. Like a splash of
cold water, his words seemed to catch Path Finder off guard.
"You're hiding something from me, old man. Let me see it!"

Sheepishly Path Finder turned around. "I'm not sure you're ready
for this," he warned. In his hands he held an instrument not unlike a
compass. Yet neither was it like any compass The Kid had ever
seen. And were had it come from? There was something strange
here and The Kid was becoming uncomfortable. Then, as he
watched unblinkingly, Path Finder's hands were empty. The
compass had vanished.

"Damnation!" muttered Path Finder, 'You've broken my

concentration. Well, no matter. I have our new bearing but I'll have
to draw you a picture."

Mouth agape, knees suddenly weak, The Kid sank to the ground.
Squatting next to him, Path Finder began to trace a picture in the
sand with his finger. "You're not going to faint, are you?" Path
Finder asked. His finger had drawn two intersecting lines, like axes
on a graph. Interrupting, The Kid blurted, "What was that thing I
saw you conjure out of the air?"

"I was trying to explain," the exasperated guide sighed. "It was a
compass. Did you think we were wandering aimlessly about this
land?" With a slice of his finger Path Finder drew an arrow across
the grid. Now stabbing the sand he continued, "This point at the
extreme ends of the active-inclusive poles is our direction. With that
compass I can keep our course set on Shambala. Now get on your
feet. We have lots of country to cover."

"What's a shambala?" asked The Kid, no less puzzled than before.

"It's not a what," said the guide. "It's a where."

The Kid just stared back blankly.

"Now you've got me sounding confused!" growled Path Finder.
"Shambala is a place. That's what I mean!"

The Kid's face relaxed a little.

"People like you got to have a goal, don't they?" the old man
continued. The growing look of recognition on The Kid's face
encouraged him further. "You wouldn't take these risks just for the
fun of it, would you? Heck no," he answered himself. "That's why
we're going to Shambala. It's an ancient place, mostly forgotten
these days, where you find everything you ever dreamed has come
true."

"Why didn't you tell me this earlier?" protested The Kid as he rose
to his feet. Path Finder was already striding away, now confident of
the direction. Kicking the sand, The Kid answered himself,
"Because you're obviously crazy and I'd have stayed safely at
home."

After the first chapter it should be pretty clear that the 5th
Dimension isn't the old neighborhood. There are a lot of unfamiliar
things in the landscape and darn few old landmarks to go by. For
this reason we're going to pull back and scope out the big picture a
little before getting on to specifics. I hope this will make for a more
comfortable journey.

My Shadow

While exploring the 5th Dimension I became acutely aware of

"something" -- my experience. I find it strangely embarrassing to
discuss this. It's kind of like I just discovered my shadow and am
going around showing it to everybody.

"Hey, look at THIS!" I say, tugging at a stranger's sleeve.

Simultaneously I am wildly gesticulating at the sidewalk, where
nothing out of the ordinary asserts itself.

"If you're trying to sell something," the stranger warns, "I don't want
any. Now let go of my arm!"

"I'm not selling anything. I just want to show you my shadow," I

explain.

The stranger starts to back away cautiously, but I continue

undaunted.

"Isn't it great?" I exclaim. "I just discovered it when I got up this

morning and it's been following me everywhere!"

Now the stranger has slips completely away, but I continue

addressing the shadow itself.

'Yessirree!" You almost gave me the slip once," I tell the bare
sidewalk. "That time you didn't follow me into the house. But I'm
wise to your tricks now."

Meditation

Many other people have stumbled over their experience (shadows)

like I did. Instead of running around jabbering about how special
their shadows were, they sat down and began to study them. They
meditated. They became shadow experts. With time they
discovered much about the relationship between light and dark.
Some of them became very advanced and discovered the
equivalence of electromagnetic propagation, etc . . . and stuff I can't
relate to my "shadow" any longer.

So what is meditation, anyhow? Among other things, it is a quest

for raw, 200 proof experience. Meditative techniques developed to
distill what was happening to us all, on a gross level, down to its
essence. Like everything else people do, this study of purified
experiential-stuff resulted in a grand diversity. There were any
number of ways to study experience -- weight lifting, as it turns out,
is an excellent method.

The Compass

This is where Path Finder's magic compass comes into play. The
compass face has two axes between which all forms of meditation
may be found. While the 5th Dimension stretches out to the four
points of the compass, we are interested in a particular heading. So
let's take a closer look at this strange instrument, that we may more
thoroughly understand where we are going.

The compass face is composed from two continua:

(1) active-passive and

(2) inclusive-exclusive.

These two lines crisscross to divide the compass face into four pie-
shaped quadrants:

(1) active/inclusive,
(2) passive/inclusive,
(3) active/exclusive, and
(4) passive/exclusive.

In order to find weight lifting you need look no further than pie slice
number (1). You are going to learn how to approach iron work as a
form of active/inclusive meditation. This might be easier done than
said (no, I didn't say it backwards). We'll start by examining the
compass more closely.

Physical Involvement

The active/passive continuum is like a scale you can use to

measure the physical side of meditation. At one end of the scale
you have a very busy approach to the job, while at the opposite end
the approach is more laid back. You might also label it the "hard
school" (active) and the "soft school" (passive).

The soft school is the one I think most people think of when they
hear the word meditation. I'm sure you can visualize a yogi seated
in some preposterous position doing nothing very obvious (there's
all kinds of jokes about spending years studying your navel). This
kind of meditation looks pretty silly, though what the yogi is doing
may be serious.

Form and Function

Let's remember that there is a difference between the form of an

activity and the function of an activity. When we just look at some
quietly sitting, we are only seeing the form, which can be mighty
misleading. I've always felt that the form of weight lifting, when
considered without its function, was a bit odd. Imagine a Martian
tourist, just turning off at Earth for a rest stop, and the first local he
encounters is a weight lifter. This first impression might be less than
encouraging. The poor Martian would have to make sense out of
some little two-legged creature who sweated and grunted just to
pick these big black objects up and return them again to their
original position. It probably looks real tidy, but not very efficient. He
might suspect that we were slaves performing a service for our
disc-shaped iron masters. Well, you and I know the purpose and
function of weight lifting, so the strange looking activity makes
sense to us.

Noise

So why is the yogi just sitting around? Well, he might be studying

.

his navel, but it's more likely that hs is studying his experience. He's
one of those "shadow" experts. By sitting very still you might say his
body is going to produce less "noise" which might interfere with his
work. It's a little like being interested in rivers, but all you ever
notice is the stuff floating by instead of water. If you could sweep
the water clean, you could appreciate the river itself. So the yogi is
sitting still to study his experience wiped clean of "doing things".

Now let's look at the hard school. Active meditation is a less familiar
form to most Westerners. However, a lot of athletes have recently
realized that sports can be very similar to meditation. During some
forms of rythmic activity or at periods of peak performance, people
have begun to recognize unusual changes in their consciousness,
such as "runner's high".

Long before jogging caught on, several thousands of years ago,

"shadow" experts discovered that the noise from the body could be
put to use in their study of experience. These guys developed
forms of meditation that involved walking, dancing, and everyday
activities like housekeeping and farming (e.g., Karma Yoga).

Mental Involvement

If the active/passive continuum is a scale for describing the role of

the body in meditation, then the inclusive/exclusive continuum may
be a scale on which to measure the involvement of the mind. In the
same way that the body can create noise, the mind can also require
muffling in order to study pure experience.

Experiment

So let's say you want to quiet your mind. To get an idea of what I'm
talking about I want you to try an experiment. If you are sitting
down, just lay this book down for a moment and relax. Take a
couple of slow, deep breaths and close your eyes (not yet). Try not
to think about anything. No cheating! If there is a little voice
chattering away between your ears tell it to shut up. Now go ahead
and do it . . .

How was it? Did you hear your most hated advertising jingle? Did
you see pictures of familiar faces? Or did you actually experience a
resounding silence? Relax if your head was filled with uninvited
sights and sounds. That is the way it usually works. An untrained
mind normally makes all kinds of noise. The ancient Hindus used to
compare an untrained mind to a tree full of drunk monkeys. I can
relate to that description.

So how do you get the monkeys sobered up and out of the tree?
The inclusive way is to just accept them. Let them hang out there
as long as they want and watch their crazy antics. They will
eventually get bored and leave. The exclusive way is to focus your
attention on something like the tree's leaves and ignore the damn
monkeys. When they no longer can get a reaction from you they'll
go bug someone else.

Four Types of Meditaion

Let's put these two scales, one physical, the other mental, together
and see what happens. I've already indicated that you will get four
categories of meditation(remember that pie?), one of which may
contain weight lifting if you know how to look for it. We'll start with
Type 4, passive/exclusive, and work forward. A student of Type 4
would sit quietly under the tree full of drunken monkeys and
concentrate on the patter in the tree's bark, while he tried to ignore
the fact that they were throwing fruit and worse at him.

The active/exclusive, Type 3 approach might look even more weird.

This guy would begin to dance around the tree in a circle, while
chanting his own name backwards. As he circled the tree he would
dance faster and faster, his chantin gvoice drowning out the hoots
and shrieks of the amused drunken monkeys. This sounds like it
might work.

Now Type 2, the passive/inclusive fellow. This guy really worries

about the monkeys. He sits completely still and stares at them.
That's all! Day in an day out he just sits there and passively
observes them. Always alert to their foolish, drunken behavior but
never ruffled by it. This is very difficult, but it drives the monkeys
crazy and they split.

Finally, we reach the Type 1 meditation, or the active/inclusive

approach. I've been saving this guy for last for a good reason. it's
the craziest method of all. This guy climbs up in the tree and joins
the monkeys. He's a weight lifter!

Why did the weight lifter climb up into the tree? The answer is very
straight forward. He got involved! That is what meditation means
when it is active/inclusive. Just look at those two words again. You
can't lift weights passively and you can't ignore them. Frankly, the
reason weight lifting is such an excellent vehicle for meditation is
that it demands involvement. Secretly, I think weight lifters have
been meditating for years only no one told them.

So I'm saying that weight lifting fits into the physically active or hard
school of meditation. That's pretty obvious. This means you are
going to sutdy experience by participating in life. Not only are you
going to take an active part in life, but you are going to embrace it.
This is the inclusive part. Weight lifting becomes Type 1 meditation
when you become fully involved, both mentally and physically, in
every last detail of the whole brutal activity.

Dissociation: What Type 1 Isn't

Total involvement is accomplished through a process known as

"association". To get a good idea of what this is let's look at the
opposite. Dissociation is easy to illustrate. You want strength and
bigger muscles. Because you are goal directed you hate weight
lifting itself. The workout is just something to get through, a way to
bring you closer to the strength and bigger muscles you want. So,
you bring music into the weight room and turn the volume up to the
pain threshold. Also, you can't seem to lift consistently when alone.
Misery loves company. It's not a real training partner you seek;
rather, you need company as a diversion. The workout becomes a
social event. Between the music and macho talk you hope to forget
the discomfort of working out. At last, when the whole horrible
ordeal is finally over, there is the welcome shower. There you will
hear others mutter in sympathy, "God, I'm glad THAT is over for one
more day." What's odd is that it's actually a greater chore to distract
yourself from what is at hand, because you have to do something in
addition to just "being there" and doing what you set out to do in the
first place.

Dissociation requires that you fall into the trap of just going through
the motions. This attitude amounts to killing time, which Thoreau
warned could not be done without injuring eternity. Or injuring
yourself, I might add. The serious and accomplished lifters I know
take every rep seriously, not because they have to but because
they want to. It is an unavoidable function of the interest they invest
in their workouts.

What It Is
It's pretty clear what association isn't. It is also easy to say that it is
nothing more than paying attention to what you are doing. That,
however, would be a little deceptive of me. Learning to associate
with what you are doing is a skill and like other skills, it takes time
and practice to master. Also, like other skills, there are levels of
competence. Paying attention to what you are doing can be like
peeling layers off an onion: you can keep going deeper and deeper
toward the center. Let's take a look at some example.

Just as "you can never step into the same river twice", no two reps
are the same. There is always something to learn. One day I was
squatting -- with a subtle difference in my balance, which I could
best detect through the pressure differential on the soles of my feet.
Descending, my weight was more over the heels. Then, as I
pressed up to the standing position the pressure was more evenly
distributed over the entire sole. As a result, I didn't totter forward or
backward, but remained sure of my footing. I was learning to
become attuned to the surface where my body interfaced with the
Earth -- the soles of my feet. It was a valuable lesson.

Another time I recognized a difference in the downward pressure of

a standing press. My body seemed to accept the bar onto my
shoulders (very inclusive). Instead of just dropping the bar across
my shoulders, my arms seemed to draw the bar to my shoulders
with a sort of expectation of comfort. This lack of resisting seemed
to contain a sense of certainty that I could again press the bar off
my shoulders. I was learning to appreciate new factors in the
negative rep aspect of the movement.

In his novel "Island", Aldous Huxley populated the trees of his

paradise with jungle birds trained to screech: "Attention, boys.
Attention!" Of all the possible words Huxley might have placed in
.

their beaks, why these? The answer is probably simple. He thought

they were important. He knew that the simple admonition to pay
attention contained limitless possibilities. Paying attention to life is
the key to self-knowledge. Paying attention is the key to the 5th
Dimension. The essence of the 5th Dimension is to be present in
the present. Don't run away from the stress of weight lifting;
instead, experience the pleasing agony of muscles working hard.
Let go of the hassles of life prior to this workout. Don't worry where
you will be five minutes from now. Let the evening await until it
arrives. There should be nothing occupying your awareness other
than the bar and your muscles. You need all the balance, control
and willpower you can muster. At the extreme of association the
distinction between subject and object disappears. You become
weight lifting. "Lifting" is happening, as opposed to "I am lifting
weights." You can become at one with the weights. THE LIFTING
IS.

Imagine a close-grip bench press. You grasp the bar. You grab your
resolve. Lift off! Balance it for a moment/eternity. Now it descends.
You guide the bar to your sternum and feel the Big Demand
approach (the Moment of Power). Loading the chest, shoulders,
upper back and triceps, you blast off. The bar surges upward. The
triceps are tight . . . they're going to burst . . . now the next rep! And
so it goes . . .

There is no conclusion to defining "association". It is a process and

it is the subject of the rest of this book. As you read on, you will
continue to peel off layers of the onion. You will also continue to be
surprised at what you uncover about weight lifting.
.

The Gateless Barrier

by Thomas Foote (1985)

The way to Shambala, as The Kid was coming to realize, was not
without obstacles. First he was expected to leap fallen bridges, then
his guide materialized objects out of nowhere. Thus lost in thought,
The Kid failed to notice that he'd been trudging into a deepening
gloom -- at midday! Suddenly a great wall, whose shadow captured
light like a huge net, rose awesomely before them.

"What is this?" whispered The Kid.

"The Gateless Barrier," answered Path Finder. Seemingly

unconcerned, he sat down in a comfortable cross-legged posture.

In the false night of the great barrier, The Kid advanced to the wall
and ran his hands over the rough, unyielding boulders.

"We'll never get through this," he whined. "We'll never see

Shambala!"

Patiently Path Finder addressed him. "Don't you recall I said to

have faith in yourself? Now just sit down and do as I say."
Reluctantly, The Kid sank down in a squatting position beside the
old guide.

"If we are going to cross this barrier," Path Finder explained, "we
must observe our breathing."

"Come again," replied the uncomprehending Kid. "I need to scale a

wall and you want to sit and watch your belly rise and fall."

"Listen!" hissed Path Finder with sudden urgency, "or be lost. This
is the 5th Dimension, not the Outer-Lands with which you are
familiar."

Grudgingly, The Kid admitted to himself that the old man had a
point.

"Okay," he conceded "show me your stuff."

"Just sit here calmly," instructed Path Finder. "Now as you breathe,
observe the breath as it rushes past your nostrils. Try to inhale
deeply, feeling the pull from the Hara . . ."

"The What-a?" interrupted The Kid.

"Later," continued Path Finder with ill-concealed exasperation.

"Don't get tense," replied The Kid. "If you'll just say what you mean
and forget the fancy words, I'm sure I'll get the hang of it."

Rolling his eyes, Path Finder took several deep, slow breaths
before continuing.

"Now, let's see . . ." the guide said, "where are we? Oh, yes,
observe your breath as you inhale. Then watch the tide reverse as
your lungs empty. Try to breathe naturally. When voices chatter in
your head -- don't try to stop them. Just let them in one door and
out another. Don't hold on or follow them out the door. Just return to
the rhythm of your breathing."

"Sounds easy," concluded The Kid. "Now was that anything to get
upset about?"

"Of course you're right," murmured Path Finder. "There's one more
thing. Pay particular attention to the moment when the tide of your
breathing changes from in-rush to out-wash. This is a very special
moment . . ."

"Got it!" replied The Kid. "Now let's get with it and stop all this
chatter."

"Gratefully," grunted Path Finder, becoming as still as a stone.

Together the two wanderers sank into a deep silence. Only the
slow, deep breathing of the two men disturbed the darkness below
the great wall.

Suddenly, The Kid was roused from his quiet contemplation by a

stabbing light.
"Hey, Path Finder!" he shouted. "Look at the wall. There's a big
HOLE in it. Is this more of your conjuring, like that screwy
compass?"

"Not at all," the old man observed. "This time it was your own
magic."

Riddles

What's the stuff about a Gateless Barrier? Ask yourself, "What do

barriers do?" They divide things. This particular barrier is very
tricky. It divides your own experience of simply being into two parts
-- the experience of Mind and the experience of Body. This divided
state is what we call "normal". The bad news is that to accept being
divided is like living with a chronic disease. Everyone you know has
the same disfiguring sickness and as far as you know, that's the
way it should be. The good news is that the Gateless Barrier is also
a solution to the problem.

It's a wonder to me how smoothly this image of a barrier can serve

a dual purpose. It is basically a riddle and when you find the
solution you can pass to the other side. In order to reach the 5th
Dimension in your lifting, it is necessary to get past this particular
barrier.

At the beginning of this chapter, The Kid was faced with a

seemingly impenetrable wall which lacked a gate. That's the way it
is for someone who has never been whole, but rather, has only
known themselves as a separate mind and body which
mysteriously manages to occupy the same space and time. The Kid
was lucky -- he had a guide. Path Finder showed him how to find
the Moment of Power, when space/time is frozen and you can pass
through the barrier into the 5th Dimension.
The trick is to enter the right state of consciousness, something that
can be done through meditation. The weird thing is, once this is
done, the barrier is never really breached, instead it redefines itself.
Now you see it as it really is -- GATELESS! The way through is
wide open, in fact it always was. There never was a gate. The
separation between mind and body was an illusion.

The reason for getting beyond the Gateless Barrier is simple.

Weight lifting in the 5th Dimension is different. In the normal world,
where the mind and body are experienced as separate, you can't
bring your total power to bear. You are divided. At the best of times,
the wall dissolves and the two halves communicate. Your lifting
improves. This can happen under stress, like when you are going
for a new maximum in a lift. The experience you have is of being
very psyched. Your mind is focused on just one thing -- the lift.
Nothing distracts you and when the time comes you ram it home,
and it was easier than you expected. Such moments are great, but
can you count on them? That's why you need to get beyond the
wall.

Once you reach the other side, the journey isn't over. There's a lot
to learn in the 5th Dimension as you'll see in later chapters. For
now we need to take one step at a time and begin by learning to
cross the barrier. It is done during the Moment of Power, which I
stumbled on by accident.

Discovery

There I was doing dips. Slowly, I lowered my body between the

parallel bars. Reaching the bottom, the stretch in my shoulders
could definitely be felt. Then came the decision point, when I had to
press myself back to the starting point. I could feel the pecs taking
the load, then the deltoids took hold and finally the triceps fired and
I was up.

On that particular morning another guy was waiting his turn at the
dipping bars. While I worked, I could hear him grumbling about the
work to come. We were close acquaintances in the strange way of
people who have the same workout schedule get to be. That is, I
didn't know his name, but I knew enough about him to was
philosophically about exercise.

"Try focusing your attention," I suggested, "on the moment when

you decide to press up."

He looked interested in anything that might reduce the pain.

"It's kind of like meditation," I continued. "Instead of paying attention

to the work you're doing, going up and down, watch for that
moment where you make the transition between the two phases.
The turnaround."

I don't know if my acquaintance ever made much of my advice. He

went on to run marathons and gave up weights. I had surprised
myself, however, by voicing the connection between Dips and
Pranayama. I had, indeed, been meditating on the Moment of
Power for some time, without consciously seeing the connection.

Breath of Life

'Prana-what?" you might ask. "Sounds like a new flavor of yogurt."

Wrong. It's a form of meditation that was devised in ancient India. In

Sanskrit "prana" means something like "breath" -- and more. It
refers to some kind of life energy that can be derived through
breathing. The whole thing, "pranayama," refers to a "science of
breathing and represents a whole school of yogic meditation.
It seems the ancient Indian scholars made the spectacular
discovery. If they suffocated someone the victim died. AH-HA! They
realized breath was necessary for life. Thus, they reasoned, when
one breathes, one inhales the vital energy which sustains life. They
went on to discover ways of "breathing" oneself into immortality, but
it was so long ago that everyone forgot how (perhaps due to
hyperventilation). However, we are left with some neat breathing
exercises, one of which has special significance for weight lifting
because it will lead us to the Moment of Power.

Let's examine a specific form of Pranayama. We'll call it simply

"following the breath," which is a good operational definition. All one
needs to do is follow these simple instructions:

1) Sit down comfortably

2) Breathe naturally
3) Observe the process

An alarm should have gone off in your head at the mention of

"simple instructions." Haven't you encountered those reassuring
words in the directions for assembling Christmas presents and then
spent frustrating hours getting it wrong?

This form of meditation would fit into either Type 2 -

passive/inclusive, or Type 4 - passive/exclusive, depending upon
whether or not you do it with your eyes open. Either way it's an
exercise in "peeling the onion," that is, association.

You will notice that "meditation" really just amounts to paying

special attention to what you are doing. You associate with the task
at hand rather than dissociate from it. Breathing is one of the
simplest and purest activities through which to study raw
experience. Associating very closely with it is often described as
"observing" it. What it means is that you pay very close attention to
all the sensations of breathing as they occur. That is, you "feel" the
air rush past the nostrils, and you "feel" the diaphragm drop while
the abdomen expands. You may visualize the prana/energy rushing
into your abdomen as you inhale. Before the process reverses, you
will notice a transition.

As Path Finder pointed out, between the phases of breathing there

is a very special moment. Ancient yogis learned to watch for this
moment because they believed it had special properties. In the 5th
Dimension it is called the Moment-of-Power.

The Crossing

Recognizing the Moment of Power requires great subtlety. To notice

it means you're refining your technique and improving your powers
of association. This moment has "special properties." At this
moment the dualism of mind and body is least apparent. It is at this
moment that mind and body are "yoked" and a special wholeness is
experienced. The Gateless Barrier is suddenly "gateless" and you
may freely enter the 5th Dimension.

Attention

We've been talking about "following the breath" in order to become

tuned into the Moment of Power. In one sense, you are using your
ability to direct your attention and pointing it at a special event --
space between breaths. This is a basic exercise in association.

The next step to lifting in the 5th Dimension is a simple extension of

the first step. Your faculty of "attention" must be focused in a
special way on each repetition as you exercise.
Each repetition consists of two phases, one aggressive and one
submissive. Between the two there is a singular instant where
transition from downward energy to upward energy transpires. One
simply focuses 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 tendency to interfere with the flow. During
Pranayama it takes the form of slowing the breath and self-
consciously prolonging the pause between inhaling and exhaling. It
takes practice to let the breath come and go naturally, while
remaining intent on observing the Moment of Power. In like manner,
I'm not suggesting that sagging there at the bottom position of a Dip
is a special event. Don't just hang there, waiting for enlightenment
to arrive like a bolt of lightning. You have to keep the momentum
and timing natural. There is a sense of rhythm to any set of good
reps and you don't want to lose it. But this doesn't preclude
watching for the instant. It takes practice, just like Pranayama, but
once you "feel" it you'll recognize it. The pull of wholeness is very
strong.

Altered States

Now we've progressed from focusing on breathing to focusing on

doing reps, where I've said that you'll discover something. Just what
does "it" feel like? That's a real tricky issue, but a very important
one. First off, realize we're talking about something you will feel,
rather than hear. Words are a little inadequate at such times.
Imagine trying to tell someone who has never eaten a banana
exactly what to expect. Remember, you are expected to
communicate the experience of eating a banana so well that this
person will recognize one by taste alone. The Moment of Power
isn't a banana but it is an experience. When your attention is
calmly, yet sharply tracking your every move during a rep, there is a
change in your consciousness. By degrees, depending upon your
skill, your mind and body become less separate. As the barrier
between mind and body dissolves, the experience becomes more
intense. You become the activity. If you are bench pressing, then
BENCHING is all that is happening. There is no longer any "you"
doing the benching and thinking about how to bench properly.
There is no subject/object split. You become the benching!

This sounds a little odd, right? It should. The 5th Dimension is an

altered state of consciousness. We are talking non-ordinary reality.
It should also sound effective. In 5th Dimension you are not
distracted. You are not doing two or three things at once, like
benching while listening to your partner discuss last night's
activities at the tavern, or listening to the music cranking out of the
gym speakers, or thinking about how you should use your lats
when benching. Instead, you have willed yourself into a natural
high. You are truly psyched and your lifting will show it.

Entering the 5th Dimension - Step #1

Pranayama
Phase I - Observing the Breath
(1) Sit comfortably
(2) Breathe naturally
(3) Focus attention on "space" between breaths

Phase II - The Moment of Power

(1) Observe breath between sets. This is the induction into the
altered state of consciousness.
(2) While lifting, focus attention on "space" between reps.
"What was that Hara-stuff you mentioned back there," inquired The
Kid. He hoped if he could get Path Finder talking, he might ease the
pace.

"For starters," Path Finder called over his shoulder, "where does it
feel like you inhabit your body?"

"Well, let's see," The Kid stalled as he warmed to the task. "My feet
hurt at the moment."

"Yes, yes," encouraged Path Finder.

". . . but," said The Kid tapping his forehead.

"But," said the old guide.

". . . I'd have to say it's up here in my head," he concluded.

"Right up there behind your eyes, I suppose," said Path Finder.

"Yeah!" The Kid agreed. "Must be the same for you, huh?"

"Well, not exactly,' replied Path Finder.

The old guide seemed willing to let the conversation die a natural
death and became more concerned about their path. The
surrounding terrain was becoming even more broken. The tumbled
boulders lay all about them. The two continued to wind their way
among the growing piles of stone in silence.

The Kid was comfortable with the lack of conversation. At first he

just chewed the idea of "inhabiting his body." He wondered what
Path Finder would have answered to the question, since he implied
that he didn't just live in his head. Slowly, he became aware of his
surroundings and lost interest in philosophizing. The piles of
boulders were getting really weird. Huge rocks were balanced
crazily in columns of varying heights. Some were quite tall and
precarious. In fact, the whole landscape was dominated by giant
towers of stacked boulders. Here and there the ground was littered
with piles of smashed and jumbled rock, which seemed to attest to
the probable life cycle of these formations. It was while scrambling
over one of these tumbled rock heaps that Path Finder elected to
break the silence.

Pausing, the old guide asked him, "Ever wonder what makes things
fall?"

"Oh, that's easy," said his companion. "It's just gravity."

"And you know all about gravity, I suppose?" continued Path Finder.

"I know it's a law," The Kid said with confidence. "Where I come
from any school kid knows that stuff."

"Ah, but this is the 5th Dimension" Path Finder reminded him, "and
it's not where you come from."

"So what?" he said a little defensively.

"Well," said Path Finder pointing to a particularly tall column

composed from square faceted stones and topped by a massive
round boulder, "what would you say if I said these were
sculptures?"
"I'd say you need to get out of the sun," replied The Kid. "These are
a natural phenomenon. They're probably the result of erosion of
something like that."

"They're natural alright," said Path Finder. "These are the product of
Gravity and I wouldn't mention Erosion around him if I were you."

"Him?" The Kid said, shaking his head with an exaggerated display
of doubt.

Just then their trail led around the base of one huge tower to reveal
a sight which froze The Kid in midstride.

"Yup,' said Path Finder, as he calmly pointed at the gargantuan

figure who dominated their path - "HIM!"

Looming before the travelers was a giant! Not just a giant, but a
giant hefting a Volkswagen sized boulder. The great bearded figure,
whose arms and legs rivaled the trunks of oak trees, was in the
process of "sculpting." That is, the mammoth artist was deftly
adding another huge stone to the growing tower.

For a brief moment The Kid had the fleeting impression of a big
child totally absorbed, playing with his building blocks. But, just at
that moment the great shaggy visage lifted from its concentration
and held him riveted with a gaze. Abruptly, the giant dropped the
boulder. Among the towering sculptures the crash of the huge stone
echoed like cannon fire. The giant strode toward them. The Kid's
blood froze like January ice. Desperately he turned to his guide for
help. The old man just stood there calmly, his whiskery face split by
a broad grin.

In a deep, slow voice which rolled like thunder the giant spoke.

"Old friend," the giant hailed, "what have you brought me?"
Intensely relieved, The Kid saw that the giant was smiling too.

"Gravity," the guide proceeded with introductions. "I'd like you to

meet my new traveling partner."

The still shaken Kid extended his right hand which Gravity gravely
accepted in a giantish handshake.

"And Kid," continued Path Finder with the formalities, "I'd like you to
meet Gravity, our training partner.

Gravity for Granted

Gravity is another one of those pervasive elements of our daily

experience which we rely upon, but take for granted. What makes a
barbell heavy, anyway? Further, the more plates you slap on the
bar, the "heavier" it gets. There is something fundamental going on
here which itches for attention. What is this stuff that makes your
feet stick to the ground, rocks fall, stomach sag and big hunks of
iron smash your toes? When you fully realize that there would be
no point to weight lifting without resistance, then it becomes
obvious that gravity should concern lifters a lot.

We are immersed in something vital to our interests, which we can't

see. What we can do is FEEL gravity. Actually, what we feel is
resistance as we interact with our external environment. Gravity
enters into our lives as an explanation for the resistance that we
feel. And I'll guarantee something -- most folks don't have even a
vague idea of what gravity is.

The Law & The Force

First, let's explore the more obvious (objective) Western version of

gravity. From my daughter's junior high school science book I
learned the following: 'Gravitation is a force which causes all things
.

to be attracted toward the Earth's center." This might have been

called the Big Magnet Theory.

This Law of Gravity seems to say that gravity is a force, an

attractive force, which gets stronger the more stuff you have doing
the pulling. Next, the further apart the two things are, the weaker
the strength of the pull between them.

Back in 17th Century Europe this "Law" was hot stuff. Since then at
least one other model has proven more useful. For some reason
our school system decided my daughter was too young to hear
about Einstein.

I guess I can understand the junior high school teacher's position

that Einstein was a weird guy. This quiet kid would sit around
pondering a lantern and wonder whether or not the light would be
visible if he could travel as fast as it did. He probably isn't the sort of
person you'd want your children studying. At about the age of 25
Einstein went ahead and described how gravity might work without
resorting to the use of mysterious "forces."

Space Bending

Einstein came up with a cleaner model and called it "relativity".

When I was a kid by big brother explained it to me like this.

"Look, stupid!" he said, flattering me. "There's no force pulling

things down. Different amounts of matter have differing degrees of
mass. See?"

"Yeah, sure!" I said quickly, afraid he'd otherwise keep the big
secret to himself.

"Okay," he continued, "mass has this strange effect on space . . ."

At this point he paused for theatrical effect, ". . . It BENDS it!"

While my brain was reeling under the prospect of imagining "bent
space" he went on.

"Next," he said, "the space around a big planet is warped more than
the space around a dirt clod. So, when an object passes through
this warped space, its course bends, so that it appears to be drawn
toward the center of the mass. Right!?"

"Right!" I said. He was much bigger than me and tended to twist my

arm when I needed persuasion.

About 25 years later when I researched this chapter, I read:

". . . 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 encountered that description with a strong sense of deja vu.

World Views

Now we've explored two Western notions of what makes weights

feel heavy. They either emanate an invisible force or warp the
space-time which surrounds them. If both of these options sound
wild, that's good. I'd like you to loosen your grip a bit on some of the
more familiar thoughts that we pretty much take for granted on a
day-to-day basis. Background assumptions about what makes our
world tick can all be lumped into something called our "world view."
Perhaps the most interesting thing about a world view is that you
don't generally know you have one. But it's there, none the less,
working all day providing you with a general blueprint of reality.

There are lots of examples of world views which have been

scrapped because they couldn't keep up with the demands made
on them by changing times. For example, the Earth used to be flat
and was trucked around the Universe on the back of a giant turtle.
Good ideas like that had to give way, but you can bet your sweet
barbell that such ideas didn't die easily.

There's a good reason for going into this world view stuff. You will
need a proper sense of perspective before you can enter the 5th
Dimension. You also need to realize that there have been many
other views of the way things work and that, even now, there exists
around this dirt ball called Earth many models of reality. Stranger
yet, in some way they are all valid.

Inside View

Earlier on I mentioned lessons learned from Aikido, a Japanese

martial art. The first lesson will be to turn your vision inward rather
than outward. You will need to look inside yourself at your private or
subjective experience. Western culture doesn't train us to do this
very well, so don't be surprised if it seems a bit strange at first.

Aikido Lessons

Let me tell you how I encountered "Subject Gravity." When I was

15, my father and I decided to study an unusual martial art named
Aikido. I'm not sure what we expected. We'd heard rumors that it
was "different." This strange difference was largely attributed to the
instructor, who was purported to be a man of unusual capabilities.
So we were curious. It's also significant that at 15 I was uniquely
impressionable. While I tended to reject everything my parents
believed largely as a matter of teenage, I was very open to new
ideas. In fact, I don't think I had experienced enough life to begin
thinking critically. Instead, I just welcomed new ideas hand-over-fist,
with a kind of thirst I would later learn to outgrow.

Our first night at the dojo - the school - was bizarre. Imagine this
commonplace scene. My dad and I drove to the edge of town
where an old military barracks had been relocated near the
highway. In this austere World War II relic, several men gathered,
all dressed in what looked to me like white pajamas. These men
were "regular folks" who led otherwise respectable and predictable
lives.

At some cue they all assembled on the big canvas mat which filled
most of the floor space and bowed toward the wall where a framed
portrait of some old gentleman hung.

Outside, on the bypass, cars roared as they carried other people to

fulfill thoroughly comprehensible patterns. Inside we were preparing
to enter the Twilight Zone. Before the assembled men in pajamas,
the roshi (our teacher) took a comfortable stance. He looked most
unremarkable. The man facing us was shorter than me, which
afforded a good view of his balding head. Smiling around and under
horn-rim glasses he presented an altogether affable appearance.
And he was fat too. So there was this short, fat, balding man in
glasses - wearing white pajamas. This was not a cunning figure
whose words would inspire doubt in the listener's ear. On the
contrary, this "roshi" looked so essentially normal that I was
completely unprepared for what followed. Remember, I was
expecting stuff about punches, blocks and kicks . . .
Finding the Hara
 The Power Glide

"This is your Hara," he said, placing his hands over his lower
abdomen. "It is your center of gravity. It is also the CENTER OF
YOUR BEING!" the roshi continued.

You might think that at this point I would have freaked out, but that's
not the way it was. The guy looked so harmless that it was entirely
natural just to stand there and wonder why you hadn't noticed your
own Hara sooner.

"You will learn," he said, "to think from within the Hara. It will
become the center of your consciousness."

He went on like that and I just accepted it as though he was

describing the weather. Somehow it made just as much sense to
me that consciousness could be located in the stomach as in the
head.

Furthermore, the instructor started to demonstrate what he was

talking about. Anybody with an intact nervous system could see
that he knew something we didn't. I remember how he stood there
like a heron on one leg and invited me to push him over. He didn't
budge! It was like pressing against a huge tree rooted in bedrock.
There he was, balanced on one foot, and I couldn't sway him. Later
he would do other things which my 15-year old brain seemed willing
to accept -- like throw me across the room and land be with
precision -- without touching me.

Like I said, he knew something I didn't and he was trying to teach

me what "it" was.

Standing loosely, he held out one arm at shoulder height and asked
me to push against it. Naturally I bunched up my 15-year old
shoulders, puffed up my narrow chest and PUSHED! He relaxed his
arm and I plunged forward onto the mat.

"Now," he said, "keep your arms straight, but push with your hips."

This required that I take a fairly wide stance, flex my knees slightly,
and "push" by rocking smoothly forward with my hips. This time,
when he relaxed his arm, I stood my ground. It was my first
practical use of this thing called the Hara. In addition to being a
more stable way to move, initiating the push from the Hara was
more powerful!

The Power Glide

In Aikido class we often began our sessions with a gliding exercise.

Gently we became familiar with our center and learned to move
from this strong posture. Eventually we would learn to initiate action
from the Hara.

Take a look at the picture of Path Finder doing the Glide. With both
feet firmly planted, he simply shifts his center of balance (the area
enclosed by the circle). His weight is transferred first from one leg
and then to the other, in a rocking motion, back and forth. The
crucial element of the Power Glide is to keep the Hara moving
smoothly through a flat plain. Don't bob up and down. Keep the hips
moving horizontally.

Now that you've been introduced to a practical exercise -- practice

it. Trying to become aware of the Hara should raise some
questions. Some things you must FEEL, rather than THINK. The
Hara must be felt! If you are sitting, feel the chair press against your
body. Feel your feet interfacing with the floor. Previously you've
been told it was gravity you felt pulling or pressing against you.
What you feel is no more gravity than the printed word "WATER"
will quench your thirst. What you feel is a sensation, call it what you
will, and foremost it is pure experience.

Refinements

Now stand up. Feel the sensation on the soles of your feet. Let the
sensation map out each toe, the ball of the foot, the arch and tghe
heel. Spread your feet to shoulder width and flex the knees slightly.

As you assume the stance the first thing you'll notice will be the
tightening of the muscles of your inner thigh. If you have any
discomfort in your knees it should go away with practice. This is a
gentle exercise but you may require some warmup. Don't push it. If
you feel any discomfort in your lower back it is probably an
indication that your posture is incorrect. Were you leaning forward?
Was your back straight? The back should be straight, shoulders
back, and hips thrust forward slightly. When you get it right, it will
feel right. Now try it again. Let your arms hang loosely at your
sides. Again imagine the hips drawing a straight line as you move
without bobbing up and down.

For all this verbal hocus-pocus,

the Hara is not an intellectual concept.
It is not an abstraction.
You will not become aware of the Hara by thinking about it.
You must feel it, and
there are many, many ways to find this feeling.

It is very physical and concrete, but it represents a different way of

relating to the world. That's usually what happens when you borrow
from another world.

Next: Relocating Awareness . . .

In the first part of this chapter Path Finder asked The Kid where it
felt like he inhabited his body. For reasons you probably consider
obvious most people imagine they sit somewhere in their own
skulls and direct the traffic. To a large extent this sensation of
occupying your body from an area behind your eyes is an example
of our world view at work. It is also undoubtedly a result of our
heavy reliance on vision. In contrast, my dog probably thinks his
nose is the obvious seat of his consciousness.

One of the early comments the Roshi made in Aikido was that the
Hara is the center of our being. It was the center of consciousness
from which all action radiated. This sounds pretty far-fetched, but all
he meant was that we could move our sense of self-awareness
from behind our eyes down to our center of gravity. This takes
practice, but there doesn't seem to be any reason why one body
part should be more privileged than another. The criterion should
be functional. Aikido convinced me that it was more functional to
emphasize the Hara instead of the head.

Sounds good!

But how do you do it?

Let's go back to the Power Glide. I've already said that you have to
feel the Hara, rather than simply enjoy the idea. Feel it you must,
but I believe that is too weak an interpretation. You need to bring
your awareness to rest within your center as though gravity had
pulled it there. Assume the Power Glide posture and begin to sway.
Concentrate your awareness into the region of your lower abdomen
and hips. Visualize the movement over a level plain. Feel the
muscles in your hips and abdomen as they synchronize the motion.
Feel the tug of gravity against the mass of your body that centers in
your abdomen as it pivots over your feet. With your awareness,
follow the flow of resistance down through your legs and, finally,
feel the even distribution of pressure across the surfaces of your
feet where they contact the floor. While you perform this exercise,
breathe slowly and deeply from the diaphragm. Imagine that your
breath is being drawn to the Hara and expelled from it. It is your
Hara that breathes.

Sometimes I also visualize a bright, incandescent light which glows

and radiates in the Hara. When I inhale, it glows blue-white, like
coals in a fire when you blow on them. When I exhale, it still burns
strong but with a warm red-orange.

Hara Power

The Power Glide is a basic exercise. We practiced it at each class

and were encouraged to practice on our own time as well. And
what will this new-found awareness of you Hara do for you? Well, I
remember one student's verbal account of spontaneously
experiencing the Hara away from class. This guy was a very down-
to-earth working man who had practiced Aikido for several years.
One night, when he came to class, he was very excited to share
what had happened that afternoon. He was downtown just ambling
down the sidewalk when -- WHAM! -- his legs felt as powerful as
tree trunks rooted right there in the concrete slabs. Along with this
sense of being deeply rooted to the Earth, he felt he could move
with incredible strength. He said he felt he could have turned to the
marble wall of the bank and he stood by and pushed it over. By this
time we had witnessed enough which was out of the ordinary in that
old shack of a dojo that I didn't doubt him. In fact, what he said
about super strength just seemed natural in that context.

Super strength! Wow! That sounds good, where do I send the

money?

It's not that simple. The Hara is much more than a gimmick. It is a
product of that other world view which placed an emphasis on self-
knowledge. Operating from the Hara combines the mind and body.
In the sense that a "whole" represents something beyond the mere
summation of its parts, the strength of a fully integrated mind and
body represents a higher level of power.

The Power Stride

Let's adapt this technique to walking. Once you have begun to

develop an awareness of your own Hara through the Power Glide it
is an easy step to carry that awareness into more dynamic activity.
We'll start with the Power Stride.

Have you ever watched an infant become a toddler; that is, have
you watched someone learn to walk for the first time? It's really an
eye-opening experience. It takes a lot of practice and determination
to motivate around the house on two feet. In the process of learning
to do something that you do now without thinking you probably took
a lot of knocks, shed buckets of tears, and needed plenty of
encouragement. I know I hadn't paid any attention to walking since
those forgotten days when I was two feet tall, until I studied walking
as meditation.

What you do is break each step into three phases:

- Lifting
- Swinging
- Placing each foot

All you do is pay attention to what you're doing. Instead of

daydreaming about power and glory as you stroll along, think about
walking while you walk. As you lift your foot, think "lifting"; as you
swing your foot, think "swinging"; as you place your foot, think
"placing". To begin this sort of exercise just walk slowly, one step at
a time if necessary. In a little while you'll be able to maintain
awareness at your regular pace.

To begin with, I noticed that I had only one foot off the ground at a
time and that one foot's "place" corresponded to the other foot's
"lift". Now add the Hara. Following the same induction process
which you learned for the Power Glide, maintain your awareness in
your center as you walk. Sense the pull of gravity, the resistance,
which travels through your legs. Again notice the surface of each
foot as it is mapped out by pressure. You are connected to the
Earth and its power is flowing through you.

Power Running

Naturally, running comes next. Imagine that you are floating down
the road with more grace and energy than you have ever had
before. That's what it's like when your running originates from your
center. The Power Run differs from the Power Stride in terms of
where you focus your attention. Instead of following the placement
of each foot, you follow your breath.

Essentially we are combining the breath mediation - Pranayama,

learned earlier - with the Hara. This is easier than it might sound.
Rhythmic breathing tends to naturally dominate my awareness as I
run. It's a matter of necessity! Instead of ignoring the obvious,
associate with the process. This was also discussed earlier. If you
can't get out of it . . . get into it.

Now you're pounding down the road and following your breath. You
are dragging the air in deeply to your diaphragm and expelling it
just as completely. You are breathing from your Hara. Let your
awareness center in your lower abdomen. Remember that you do
this by feeling your Hara and not by thinking about it. Feel your hips
as your legs swing. Imagine all the body's movement pivoting on
your center; the motion of the arms, the twisting trunk, the swinging
legs. Visualize the Hara floating over the road on a smooth,
horizontal plain. When I practice the Power Run I immediately feel
refreshed, my energy surges and my stride is less jarring.

You need to practice the Hara before applying it to weight lifting.

The beauty of these meta-exercises is that they can be worked into
your daily schedule if you can't add a special training session in
your day. You can practice Hara awareness getting out of a chair,
walking down the hall, climbing stairs or simply while waiting in line.

Before integrating the Hara with weight lifting let me point out a
couple of things which ought to be pretty straightforward. There's
no such thing as a free lunch. Lifting in the 5th Dimension isn't
supposed to be a short cut, it is an alternative. I think that a lifter
who has a functional command of his Hara will be a more effective
lifter.

The Power Clean

Go back to the earlier article and re-read the description of the

Clean. Now you should recognize the Hara. Remember when the
old man told me I had to get my hips in closer to the bar? That's the
Hara. I dynamic lifts like the Clean, which involves the movement of
the entire body, the Hara is particularly obvious. In the Clean you
counter pose your body mass against that of the iron. Using the
Hara in the Clean is more a process of tuning the mind and body to
the same channel so that the signal to lift travels efficiently and
powerfully in a single direction.

Lifting in this manner, you are calm, alert and poised. Your mind
does not wander out the window to what else you might rather be
doing. Your posture and form are good because you are moving
from the hips. If you've ever seen guys Clean from the shoulders
first you know what I mean. They make two movements out of it
instead of a single burst. Lifting from the Hara means your feet are
firmly planted and you won't wobble. As important as it is that your
body remains stable, it is equally important that your mind doesn't
wobble. This is what we are just beginning to understand in the
West.

Lifting from the Hara isn't something you will appreciate by seeing
it. You will understand . . . when you do it! This of course means
that you must first discover it. Consequently, the primary purpose at
this point is to become aware of your Center.

Entering the 5th Dimension - Step #2

I. The Power Glide

(1) Slow your breathing (Pranayama). Inhale and exhale deeply

from the Hara.
(2) Let your awareness sink into the pelvis as if drawn by gravity;
feel your weight settle.
(3) Follow the flow on through your legs, which are supporting your
center.
(4) Be aware of the surface where your feet and the Earth connect.
(5) Now glide, while maintaining the Hara on an even plain.

II. The Power Stride

(1) Enter calm state by following the breath (Pranayama).
(2) Let awareness sink into the Hara.
(3) Begin to walk slowly.
(4) Dissect each step into three phases:
a. Lifting
b. Swinging
c. Placing
(5) Follow each phase (associate) with your mind, quietly naming
them as they occur.

III. The Power Run

(1) As you run bring your awareness to the Hara.
(2) Breathe rhythmically and slowly.
(3) Draw each breath to the Hara and expel it from the Hara.
.

A short story Bruce Lee used often:

A highly educated man went to a zen teacher to ask and acquire
knowledge about zen. As the zen teacher began to explain his
teachings, the man would continuously interrupt with his own ideas
or to agree/disagree.

Finally the zen teacher stopped talking, and offered the man some
tea. He poured tea into the cup until it was full, and then kept
pouring until the cup overflowed onto the floor. The man shouted
“Enough! No more can go into the cup!”

“Yes, indeed I see,” said the zen teacher. “Just like your cup, you
are full. Full of your own ideas and opinions. If you do not first
empty your cup, how can you taste my cup of tea?”

The Mad Plumber

After a warm parting from Gravity, Path Finder led The Kid out of
the forest of rock pillars. At first the land was level and Path Finder
set a vigorous pace. The approaching horizon was rugged with
jutting cliffs, though the intervening distance rose gently. As the two
of them hiked across the rising plane, they chatted amiably.

"Where are we going now?" said The Kid.

"Toward that escarpment," answered Path Finder, and he pointed

with one gnarled old finger at the glowing cliffs.

"I can see that for myself," replied The Kid, who was beginning to
pant a little as the ground rose. "What I meant was, what have you
got in store for me now?"

"How suspicious you have become," his guide answered, feigning

insult. "I wouldn't take you anywhere you didn't need to go."

"That's what I was afraid of," he said under his breath.

Now the cliffs were close enough to reveal some unexplained

detail. The rough rock surface, which rose in red layer upon red
layer, like tiers of a great blood-drenched cake, was criss-crossed
with a spidery web of geometric lines. The oddly metallic lines
seemed to have grown irregularly from a single locus. They
radiated from the singular black mouth of a cave set high among
the tiers of the red cliff's face.

"Path Finder," The Kid said, his voice revealing obvious concern, "I
think I know where we're headed."

At this the old guide looked over his shoulder and cast him an
amusing glance, but didn't stop walking.

"We're going to that cave up there, aren't we?" The Kid demanded.

"You guessed it," Path Finder shot back. "That's the cave of the
Mad Plumber, the Keeper of the Third Eye."

"The Mad Plumber!" he gasped. "What could someone with a name

like that have to offer?"

"A key," was all Path Finder said.

Now that they had arrived at the base of the cliffs, The Kid could
see what the strange criss-crossing lines were -- plumbing! Great
irregular complexes of piping twisted across the cliff's face. Some of
the heavy conduits plunged into the rocky ground at their feet,
though all of it seemed to terminate at the cave above them. It was
toward this point that they began to climb. By using the network of
pipe to gain ground, the ascent was surprisingly easy. Even so, The
Kid was sweaty, smudged, and puffing like a small steam engine as
he pulled himself onto the final ledge from which the piping fled.

Before him the black mystery of the cave's entrance yawned

around a mouth full of protruding iron pipes of all sizes. Around the
entrance was a carved rock which only served to increase The
Kid's sense of discomfort. For above the dark hole, a strange
piercing eye held him in its stony gaze. It resembled a hieroglyph
and had presumably been wrought by the same hands which
carved the oddly tomb-like entrance to the cave.

All this so preoccupied his attention that he was slow to see the
even stranger hairy visage that swung above him. Above one of the
great pipes, which exited the cave to rise and bend out of sight over
the rugged cliff, the Mad Plumber scampered toward he ledge with
the sureness of a spider in his own web. In one hand he grasped a
very business-like pipe wrench.

At first The Kid was so shocked by the wild man's sudden

appearance that he thought three eyes stared back at him from an
angular face, framed by a wiry halo of unkempt hair and beard.
Upon closer inspection, the third eye, which occupied the Plumber's
forehead, was a duplicate of the hieroglyph which stared from
above the cave entrance. This eye was nothing but a subtle design
worked into a headband, which failed miserably to contain the
woolly main of hair. Before The Kid could gather his wits enough to
seek Path Finder's aid, the Plumber spoke.

"We have company, I think," he said in an unused voice. "It looks

frightened, doesn't it? Well, we must not frighten our company, must
we?" And with that he began to polish the surface of a low lying
pipe and indicate that his young guest should sit down.

"It looks tired, poor company," the Plumber rasped in his dusty old
throat. "And it has brought a friend!"

At the point Path Finder, who had carefully held back, looked for a
drink. Logically in a cave full of plumbing there would be water. With
his ear to the nearest pipe he began rapping with his knuckles to
seek some hint of the contents. His ear met with only a hollow ring.
Somewhat perplexed, he wrinkled his brow and made for the next
pipe. He followed this one just inside the cave where he found a
valve, which he anxiously opened. Nothing came out. Now his
tongue felt swollen and stuck to the roof of his mouth. The more he
looked unsuccessfully for water, the greater his thirst became.
Finally, in exasperation, he burst from the cave and shouted at the
two men, who sat in quiet conversation.

"These pipes are empty," his dry voice croaked.

The two men only stared back in perplexed silence.

"The pipes," he pleaded and pointed wildly about him. "There's no

water."

A light seemed to go on behind the Mad Plumber's face.

"Of course there's no water; do you think I'm a fool?" the old hermit
said with relief. Then he turned back to Path Finder.

"You're mad," screamed The Kid.

"Of course," said the Plumber, at which the old men chuckled.

"These pipes are empty," said The Kid.

At which Path Finder and the Plumber positively whooped with

laughter and slapped each other on the back.

What could he do? He was alone in the desert with two madmen
who shrieked with laughter, while he died of thirst. Discouraged, he
sank down on the floor of the rocky ledge and let out a sigh of
resignation.

Finally taking pity on his thoroughly miserable guest, the Plumber

composed himself and went over to comfort him.

"I'm dying," said bleak-eyed Kid stated simply.

"Now, now," consoled the Plumber, "it's going to be fine, it will see."

"You're mad," said The Kid.

"Of course," said the Plumber. "Now, by company must focus its
eyes on my pretty headband.

The Kid complied. He stared at the greasy old headband with its
strange third eye symbol. As he stared into the hieroglyph, the mad
host's voice took on a hypnotic quality. The Plumber explained that
the pipes were far from empty, instead they were quite full to the
bursting with vital energy. Dreamlike, The Kid began to hear the
rush and flow of something streaming within the network of piping
which surrounded them. These pipes, the Plumber explained,
carried the very life force itself, which was essential to the vitality of
the entire 5th Dimension. It was his chosen life's work, the Plumber
explained in the same chanting tones, to maintain the vast network
of plumbing which originated right here in his cave.

As his head lolled forward on his chest, The Kid jerked his eyes
open with a start. It was as if he had momentarily fallen asleep and
dreamed of water, coursing out of huge pipes and spilling all around
and over him. He got to his feet slowly and beat at some of the dust
and dirt that clung to his shorts and shirt. He was still standing on
the same ledge in the same desert. Path Finder and the Plumber
were still quietly engrossed in conversation. What wasn't still the
same was his thirst. It was gone. He felt refreshed and rather
invigorated.

"Hey, Path Finder," he called.

The guide looked up from his conversation, with just a hint of the
previous mirth still showing on his lips.

"What was that about coming here for a key?" he asked.

Dusting himself off, Path Finder got to his feet. "I think we found
what we were lacking," he said.

With poorly suppressed glee the Mad Plumber leaped to his feet
and began shouting farewells.

"It has to go, doesn't it?" he chuckled. "It got what it came for, didn't
it, and I have my work to do, don't I?

With that he grabbed the forgotten pipe wrench and began to

scamper up the closest pipe. Before disappearing he turned and,
catching Path Finder's eye, arranged his face in an exaggerated
stage wink. Then he was gone.

"That was abrupt," The Kid stammered, wondering if he should feel

slighted .

"It's okay," Path Finder consoled, "he's quite mad."

With that the old guide began to slide over the edge of the cliff's lip.
The Kid followed, but with a strange reluctance. Before leaving, he
took one last look in the direction the Plumber had vanished. Then
he looked into the black mouth of the Plumber's cave with its
protruding pipe work. Oddly, he thought he could feel the pipes
silently pulsing.

The Magic Key

This next step into the 5th Dimension is difficult to write about.

"What's the problem?" you might ask.

"Well . . . you see . . ." stalling for time, I stand before you like a
naughty child, "it has to do with . . . magic!"

"Magic!" you gasp and roll your eyes.

"I was afraid that would be your reaction," I say apologetically while
ducking an imaginary blow.

Recall the keys promised by the Mad Plumber. Keys are great
symbols. In the absence of the locks for which they are intended,
they represent "potential." A key promises access. Access to the
5th Dimension is limited to those few who possess the key. Early in
the Journey, Path Finder found a huge key with the curious
proportions of an Olympic barbell. Without that prodigious key the
5th Dimension would have remained locked. But we both know,
with Path Finder leading the way, that you ventured inside. If what
you have encountered up to this point seemed "strange", we may
have to invent a new word for what you are about to discover.

Back in the Dojo

"Come, I want to test you," the roshi announced. He stood with his
feet well apart, one hand on his hip, and the other poised at
shoulder height with elbow cocked so that his fist pointed toward
the sky.

"Take hold of my arm," indicating a vantage point just below the

shoulder, "and place your other hand on the wrist. Now, vice-like,
try to close my arm and I will resist with all my muscle."

Obediently, I began to apply pressure, forcing the arm to close as

that the hand would touch the shoulder. Visibly the teacher's face
reflected effort. The muscles of his arm bunched and knotted while
a light mist of perspiration appeared on his brow.

I was becoming exhausted. The sputtering sounds of my effort

would have reduced a lesser teacher to spasms of laughter. To both
our credit, the roshi maintained a straight face. I did budge the
locked arm, but just barely.

"Did you see that?" I chortled. "Your arm moved!"

Grimly, the roshi said, "Again." He held out the other arm cocked in
challenge. This time I was eager to please. With relish I took hold of
tghe arm, which seemed strangely relaxed, and began to battle it
closed. Soon I began to tremble with the unaccustomed effort, yet
he remained calm.

"You really must try," encouraged the roshi in an easy voice. "We
can't be passing too much time in silly contests." As he continued in
conversational tones, I was locked in a futile struggle. The arm of
the roshi simply did not move. Furthermore, the rascal remained as
calm as the mirror surface of a deep pond. Of course I quit.

"What's up," I panted, sinking to my knees.

"You simply lack the Ki," he explained.

"What key?" I said.

"Not key," he corrected. "Ki."

Now we're going to get down to business. The choice of the word
"key" as a symbol was no accident. It is a straightforward pun on
the Japanese term "Ki".

"That's really enlightenting," you say. "What's Ki?"

Good question! For now we'll call it a form of energy. In the Eastern
world the knowledge of this energy is very old. In ancient China it
was known as "Chi". It's my conviction that it is the same vital
energy which flows between the Earth and your Hara. Like the Hara
it is a powerful tool. Also, like the Hara, I first encountered Ki in my
study of Aikido. As we proceed you will understand why it is magic.
The roshi often violated my commonsense notions of physics with
demonstrations of Ki. On one occasion I had a really weird physical
response to what I observed. I was sitting in the back of the dimly lit
dojo, where I was being allowed to observe some of the more
advanced students work out. It was bending the rules to let me
watch what was going on that night. Though I was the youngest
member of the school, I had such unbounded curiosity that the
roshi was making an exception. Just what I saw I can't recall nearly
as well as I can how I felt. There was something trance-like about
the experience. My mind and body seemed to grow out of
synchrony with each other. Sitting calmly in the back of that barre
old room, I began to sweat and grow dizzy. Sensing my condition,
the roshi approached me to ask how I was feeling. I remember how
I struggled to explain the strangeness that had overcome me. I 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 reaction was not unique. The roshi explained

that what I had been watching probably violated the way I thought
physical laws worked. Remember that stuff about world views in
Chapter IV when when we first discussed gravity and the Hara. My
teacher could have said that the demonstration I witnessed had
violated my world view. Only I wouldn't have known what he was
talking about. What I hope you can see is that shifting world views
can be a risky proposition. Because I was unable to reconcile the
reality I 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. It did. The memory of that experience
didn't.
Speculation

Back in the dojo we used to gather before class or at breaks to

speculate on what was going on. Whatever we were being taught
worked, but continued to baffle us. We had only a few "facts" to
work with:

1.) the use of Ki seemed to impart unexpected strength; and

2.) when it worked, the user remained calm and relaxed.

Both points were weird, but the second point violated common
sense. When one successfully performed a feat employing Ki, the
practitioner was mentally and physically relaxed. Didn't greater
effort require hard, tense muscles and a brow wrinkled by effort and
much grunting?

So we speculated. One theory that we had (many of these men

were engineers) was that our muscle systems were being trained to
operate more efficiently. When one "normally" tensed an arm to
resist movement, antagonistic muscles also came into play. In the
arm bending test the tricep would resist closure, while the tense
bicep would actually work against you by fighting the tricep. We
reasoned that, with Ki, the tricep muscle operated in more efficient
isolation. Further, we figured that somehow greater numbers of
muscle fibers fired in unison. These engineers played with various
explanations. Once they compared the arm to a conduit filled with
electrical wiring, in which greater numbers of wires carried the
current under the influence of Ki. Also, as mentioned, the wires
carried their message with greater "specificity" so that no
unnecessary work was conducted.

Well, all that stuff sounded pretty good and to a 15-year old boy it
was convincing. Probably of greater importance to me was the
simple fact t hat a bunch of grown men would stand around and
intelligently debate the subject at all. Looking back, I can see
several things which eluded me then. First off, I know that those
guys were only building "models". They were only trying to describe
what they were experiencing in terms of familiar experience. Being
scientists and engineers they came up with all this stuff like wiring
diagrams out of their own world views. Secondly, what we were
doing with Ki strongly resembled what we Westerners call
"hypnosis". Since those days I have researched hypnosis
thoroughly, and I can tell you one thing for sure -- it is controversial!
Some of the really logical-type psychologists become almost rabid
at the mention of it. What's their problem? Hypnosis, like Ki, isn't
something you can see. Also, like Ki, it is difficult to explain. It also
works!

There is something of a lesson for us here. It is important to look

behind the big words and appearances. When a "professional"
confronts us in a white smock and rattles on about the power of
suggestion, we tend to nod our heads in agreement as if what what
he said explained something. In contrast, if you accidentally met a
ragged bum under a bridge and he whispered to you of a magic Ki,
you would probably assume he had consumed too much antifreeze.
In more ways than many would like to admit, there isn't much
difference. I'm reminded or the children's story about the Emperor's
new clothes. Only the children could see that he was naked and
they were quickly shushed if they dared to mention it. In many
cases we really don't know what is going on. But the test of the
pudding should be in the tasting. I've seen Ki work!

The Third Eye

So, how does it work? The Mad Plumber held the (dare I say it)
"Key". Ki is mastered through the hydraulics of magic and the use
of the Third Eye. Weren't you wondering when that third eye stuff
from the chapter lead-in would come into play? Some people
interpret the third eye as a symbolic representation of psychic
power. I think the "third eye" is a symbol, but not for anything more
supernatural or extrasensory than your imagination -- as if it weren't
fantastic enough. I figure those old guru dudes started carving third
eyes into the rock foreheads of statues a a visual metaphor for
"inner sight". How better could one portray the capacity to close
your eyes and visualize anything you wanted? If you're like me, you
have never seen a movie that compared to the novel. Hollywood
simply can't compete with my imagination.

So that's what the "third eye" was all about -- visualization. And if
you don't think your internal vision is magical, perhaps you should
visit the Mad Plumber.

Water Power

In the dojo we learned to visualize Ki as water surging through our

limbs, as if they were high pressure hoses. Let me show you what I
mean. Let's go back to the arm bending contest between the roshi
and me, only reverse the roles.

"Hold you arm out to the side, roughly at shoulder height," he

instructed. "Now relax and imagine that your arm is a hollow
conduit through which water is streaming. The water has such force
that it leaves the end of your arm and diminishes into infinity along
that trajectory."

You have to understand how much I trusted this man. Again the
similarity to clinical hypnosis seems apparent. Just as you have
learned to trust the dentist or doctor who induces hypnosis within
the comfortable limits of his office, I had grown to believe in my
roshi. Within the comfortable limits of the dojo, I had come to
expect the inexplicable.

So I relaxed, as he had instructed. Breathing deeply, I settled into

the Hara and felt the familiar stability of my Center. Then I extended
my arm at shoulder height with the elbow slightly cocked so the arm
formed a gentle curve. The hand was open, palm up, the fingers
relaxed. Then I imagined water under high pressure pouring
through my arm, bursting from the extended hand and diminishing
through the wall into infinity.

With that hydraulic image in my mind, I was able to withstand the

roshi's efforts to close my arm. Moreover, the feat seemed to
require no effort! After much practice, we learned to combine such
"visualization exercises" with movement. The results were
astounding.

So, how do you apply it to weightlifting?

Well, one of the reasons the 5th Dimension is a frontier is that it has
never been thoroughly been explored. Lifting in the 5th Dimension
is new, though the concepts are ancient. I know that Ki can be
adapted to any activity and I know it means great strength. So, I've
tried to employ it as a lifter. The techniques follow in the "Meta-
movement instructions" in Chapter 1 of the Hard Stuff.

Lifting With Ki

In any given exercise there are obvious lines along which effort
must flow. A Karate student who discussed this with me called them
Power Lines. For example, in an overhead press your effort is
expended against the floor and toward the ceiling. The Power Lines
travel the length of your body. So I envision a stream of surging
energy, which flows through the Hara from the floor, to disappear
through the ceiling on a flight into infinity. You become a column of
energy. While pressing the bar overhead, keep the dynamic picture
of water flowing through your limbs.

There is a clear continuity between this chapter and the last one on
the Hara. The energy I speak of isn't imaginary. Practicing the Hara
you have learned to feel it travel through your legs. It is only a
matter of reinterpreting your experience in light of a new world view.
The sensation is there. You must learn to pay attention to it.

Now, from the Hara, we are going to direct the flow of energy along
our limbs.

Of course learning to use Ki takes practice. So do all new skills.

Begin with the static arm exercise that the roshi showed me. Have
your training partner attempt to bend your arm as you resist with
muscle alone. Then follow the visualization exercises and apply Ki.
Once you are comfortable with this exercise, try something more
dynamic. Grab a dumbbell and perform a straight-arm forward
lateral raise. This time you will perform it with a new twist. Imagine
water traveling the length of your arm. Under high pressure the
water forces the arm to raise, effortlessly. The water explodes from
your hand into the distance. Try it. You'll like it!

We've already discussed the need to pay attention. You must learn
to disect your own moment-by-moment experience. You must learn
to take each lift apart and discover its Power Lines. Then you must
risk experimentation and learn to apply Ki to each exercise. In the
Meta-movement instructions of the next section, the Hard Schtuff, I
have tried to provide directions. Ultimately, however, the real
laboratory where you will make the crucial discoveries is your own
experience -- not mine. So, like Huxley's birds said: "Attention,
boys, Attention!" ("Island" [1962] by Aldous Huxley)

Focus

For some lifts, where you perform MAXIMUM SINGLES, there is a

variation on the use of Ki. Call it Focus. Let's look at the Power
Clean as it was described in an earlier chapter. The successful
performance of this exercise requires an EXPLOSIVE use of Ki, as
opposed to its continuous flow. This is easy to achieve, though it
again requires the use of visualization. Imagination. The Third Eye.
Conception. Creativity. Dozen eggs. Quart of milk. Scrambled.
Lighten up. This is weight lifting, eh.

The Meta-techniques of the 5th Dimension don't involve the use of

powers like Ki in isolation. Pranayama, the Hara, Ki and Focus are
all employed together. This is because they are related
phenomenon. Focus is another use of the mind that evades
everyday experience.

With focus you stop time. A common story among the literature on
meditation tells of sitting beside a babbling creek and stopping the
sound. Not stropping time in this case, stopping time. Like most
such illustrations in Eastern thought, this one has several
applications. On one hand it may refer to the process of stilling a
noisy mind which "babbles" like a brook (remember the drunken
monkeys earlier). There is also a more concrete application. It is
possible with Pranayama to bring the faculty of attention to a single
point temporarily. This is when you pass the Gateless Barrier. Each
moment becomes a distinct experience. This practice is akin to
what Westerners refer to as concentration. Concentration, like
muscular effort, usually conjures visions of someone applying great
.

effort to a task. Again, the brow furrows, the eyes squeeze shut,
perspiration beads the forehead and the subject forces his attention
to stay put -- at great cost. Focusing Ki isn't like that. You don't have
to get tense about it. Oddly, in fact, this form of concentration is only
achieved by a relaxed body/mind. Let's use it:

Before you make a lift, you bring all your awareness into the
present by following your breath. Don't worry about whether or not
you will be successful, and don't think about what just happened in
the gym. Calmly inhabit the only space in which anything is really
happening, the moment of Power. In this charged space you can
become aware of your breathing, the balance of the Hara, and the
flow of Ki. Now, instead of visualizing Ki flowing through your arms,
feel it pouring into the Hara where it is building up pressure. Energy
continues to pour from the Earth. Follow its path. It enters the soles
of your feet and is drawn through your legs to your center -- to the
Hara. The pressure mounts. In this space you have entered, you
are alive one moment at a time. In this space you will FEEL when it
is right to let go and LIFT! When the moment is perfect all the pent
up pressure in the Hara is released in a single instant. Energy
explodes through you. WHAM! You just cleaned your max.

That's focus.

Entering the 5th Dimension - Step #3

The 3rd Eye:

I. Ki - consecutive reps:

1.) Pranayama - induce relaxation.

2.) Hara - bring your awareness into your center.
3.) Visualization -
(a) Feel energy surge from the Hara like water through your limbs,
a

along the necessary power lines.

(b) See the water leave your hands with such force that it
disappears into the infinite distance.
(c) Repeat this image during the active phase of each repetition,
e.g., with each push in a series of presses.

II. Focus - singles

1. ) Pranayama - slow time and wait for the perfect moment.

2.) Hara - feel flow of energy enter through your legs.
3.) Visualization:
(a) Feel the energy build pressure in the Hara.
(b) Release Ki through the power lines in a single BURST.

Hint: Apply as much imagination power as you can to these

exercises. When we say that Ki will flow like water through your
limbs, see it, feel it and hear it! If you are storing it in your Hara for
a big single, feel the growing weight and pressure within you! GET
INTO IT!!! FEEL THE HEAT GROW AND SEE THE COLOR GLOW
...
The Rope Trick

"In the 5th Dimension," Path Finder lectured, "time and space are
non-linear."

The old dude was in an unusually talkative mood. Having survived

the journey this far, The Kid was becoming seasoned enough to
trust his instincts a little. At present he was suspicious.

"Because time/space is more subjective here," Path Finder

continued, "travelers tend not to be where they logically expect.
Rather, one tends to be where one 'ought' to be."

"Rudimentary," The Kid commented. He didn't like the direction his

guide's monologue seemed to be traveling. Neither did he like the
direction he had been traveling physically. They had entered a
region increasingly rugged and eroded. Long ago "the path" had
become an extension of his guide's memory rather than a tangible
trail. Presently, the going consisted of winding in and around rough
gullies. While the horizon, when visible, was essentially level, the
surface was a torturous maze.

"As I was saying, in the 5th Dimension a traveler seems to

encounter what he needs," spoke Path Finder as he deftly picked
his way. "One might almost expect a conspiracy the way lessons
present themselves. That is, if one were paranoid."

Path Finder added some private emphasis to his last statement by

pausing just long enough to give The Kid a curious stare from
under his heavy brows.

With this last comment, The Kid was no longer suspicious. He was
sure! Even paranoids have enemies. Trouble lay ahead. The land
had become ominous in itself, as if to match his guide's mood. The
gullies had progressively grown into larger and deeper courses until
a yawning canyon fell away just before them.

What The Kid saw made the pit of his stomach go cold. Some
desperate fool had strung a rope from his side of the canyon to the
far, opposite side. Each end seemed to be guarded at its base by
huge beasts. On one side reared a mighty bull with a crescent
moon suspended between its spreading horns. On the opposing
bank crouched the figure of a great lion.

After an initial shock, The Kid could see that the beasts anchored
the rope rather than guarded it. They were monumental statues, left
by the ancients.

Now Path Finder's voice intruded.

"I hope you're ready for this," the guide conveyed with more than a
hint of a doubt. Pressing on, he said, "What we are about to do
requires strict attention. In the 5th Dimension balance is crucial."

In the shadow of the great bull, Path Finder seemingly stepped off
into space. Actually, with his first step, he tested the rope's tension.
Finding it acceptable, he proceeded . . .

"Whoa," called the distressed Kid. "Please!"

The old guide paused, one foot resting on the rope, and turned with
a practiced calm. "Yes"" he inquired, raising one eyebrow.

"Do these," as The Kid spoke he indicated himself, "do these," he

repeated, "look like the feet of a circus performer?"

Path Finder closed his eyes. He fought back a smile. Finally he

spoke, measuring each word. "Have you paid no notice? Am I
mistaken, or have we had several recent lessons?"

Tilting his head and squinting one eye, The Kid urged his memory
into action.

"Well," he whined, "we have had some odd encounters. I'll grant
you that much."

"Splendid," intoned Path Finder gravely, "now that your life depends
upon it, please pay attention."

With this last comment, Path Finder continued to step onto the
rope.

"To begin with you must compose yourself," he called over his
shoulder. "To do this, take several deep, slow breaths," which he
proceeded to demonstrate with elaborate, flourishing gestures.
"Now," he said and flexed his knees several times, causing the rope
to oscillate up and down slightly, "place your awareness here," and
he patted his lower abdomen, "in the Hara." Turning to face The Kid
he asked, "is this clear so far?"
Dumbly, The Kid nodded. It took all this strength.

"Excellent! Now, you must focus your attention on your feet. The
soles, to be precise. Feel the even distribution of rope along the
bottom surface. Now, visualize the flow of Ki originating in the Hara
and streaming down, through your legs and along this rope." He
emphasized the last word, "rope," with another bounce.
"Considering the pressing nature of the circumstances, I suggest
you remember the Power Glide." Again Path Finder glanced back
to assure himself that his student was listening. The old guide took
The Kid's fixed stare as confirmation. "Good, then let's proceed."

As The Kid watched the old man glide, one foot sliding in front of
the other, he was reminded of a proverb. "While the boys throw
stones at frogs in jest, the frogs die in earnest." This rope looked
very earnest!

Now, on the far rim, Path Finder stood at the lion's feet and
gestured for him to follow.

"Trapped!" he thought. With that in mind, he stepped to the

canyon's rim and began to breathe deeply, from the diaphragm, as
Path Finder had advised. Next, he placed his hands on his belly
and tried to feel the pull of gravity against his center.

"So far so good," he allowed himself.

Slowly, he eased one foot out on the rope, which was thicker and
more solid than he expected. Reluctantly, his other foot followed.

"Trapped and committed!" he stewed. With all his might The Kid
focused his attention of the soles of his feet and tried to experience
the pull of Ki energy. Again, as with the incident at the crumbled
bridge, urgency worked its special magic on The Kid's
consciousness.

"That cunning old fox," he thought with sudden insight, "he knew
what he was talking about, after all."

The "balancing act" of The Kid works on two levels. First, the
physical act of walking the rope required the esoteric skills
previously encountered. The Hara, pranayama and the flow of Ki.
Each of these skills are essential to performing exercises in the 5th
Dimension. Secondly, the tight rope image acts as a metaphor for
the more abstract concept of balance itself, which directed my
thinking as I formulated my exercise routine.

The Path

My understanding of Taoism and its emphasis on harmony led me

to create a split routine for lifting weights on consecutive days. The
ancient Chinese mystics identified a fundamental principle form
which the Universe could never deviate. They called it the Tao.
After what I've said about world views, it shouldn't be too hard to
grasp why translating words from ancient Chinese into English can
give scholars headaches. For our purposes we'll say that the Tao is
the Path of Nature (the Natural Way). The Taoist philosophers
observed that the Path always seemed to be expressed as a
combination of two properties.

These properties are known as Yin and Yang. The original imagery
for Yin and Yang was "the dark and sunny side of the hill." The
following list explores some of the attributes of each principle:

Yin/Yang
Female/Male
Earth/Heaven
Valley/Mountain
Stream/Rock
Night/Day
Yielding/Forcing
Absorbing/Penetrating
Rest/Movement
Autumn/Spring
Winter/Summer

In a very simplified form, Taoism is a search for balance between

these two principles of Yin and Yang.

A Split Routine

I wondered if I couldn't construct a lifting routine founded on this

ancient concept of balance. Most experienced lifters are familiar
with the idea of antagonistic muscle groups. In this scheme, the
muscles are categorized as either flexors or extensors and operate
in antagonistic pairs, such and the biceps and triceps muscles of
the upper arm. In this example, the triceps extend the forearm as it
contracts, while the biceps draws the forearm forward, as it
contracts. Thus, a grouping exists such that two muscles with
opposing functions work to complement one another's action.

The Yin/Yang model seemed a natural for this balancing activity of

opposing muscle groups. The two actions could be characterized
as pushing (extension) and pulling (flexion). The act of pushing
seemed to fit naturally among the attributes of the Yang principle,
while the pulling seemed to have the receptive qualities of the Yin
principle. Thus was born a balanced routine based upon the
principles of Yin/Yang.

An experienced lifter knows he doesn't regularly want to hit the

same bodypart two days in a row. Consequently, some people find
it expedient to work their whole body three non-consecutive days a
week. If you're really an iron-head, however, three days a week is
just not enough, hence, split routines - - for example, chest, back,
shoulders/arms legs; or upper body/lower body. I decided to try and
differentiate between pushing and pulling movements, with the
following results:

Pulling *Yin*/ Pushing *Yang*

1.) Clean/Bench Press
2) Deadlift/Centers
3) Bent Rowing/Squat
4) Upright Rowing/Press Behind Neck
5) Shrug/Dip
6) Curl/Calf Raise

Curiously, the routine almost made a distinction between the dorsal

(back) and the ventral (front) processes of the body.

The principles of Yin and Yang apply to each repetition of each

exercise, so that the concept of balance is central to each form. In
any given exercise there is an active (yang) and passive (yin)
phase. For example, in the bench press when one draws the bar to
the chest the movement is receptive and accepting. This Yin phase
is followed by the explosive, thrusting movement or Yang phase, as
the bar is pressed off the chest and the arms extended. Dips,
squats, rowing or whatever, it is easy to analyze the two phases of
each form and see the intrinsic balance. In recent years negative
reps (Yin phase) have received considerable attention. Given a
basic feel for he Tao of lifting, such a "discovery" seems self-
evident. Of course both phases are important, otherwise there
would be an imbalance, a lack of harmony between Yin and Yang.
The Forms

The Yin Routine (Pulling)

1.) Cleans: This whole routine flows, and it begins with my favorite
lift. The Clean will get your blood going, sweat flowing and heart
pounding. You are going to get the bar to shoulder height, where
you and it can rest. Don't accomplish this with a long, slow pull.
Once you finish the first pull Blast It Up There! Timing is crucial,
each movement critical (though of no great import), each muscle
group must do its part in turn. If at first you feel clumsy and
awkward, don't quit and don't give up. Over time you'll improve, and
at some point in the near future there will come a workout where
everything clicks in the correct order. Once this happens you'll get
it, and will never forget it.

How to:

- Plant your feet about shoulder width apart, toes out slightly.

- Grip the bar a little wider than your shoulders.

- Head up, back straight and flat, HIPS DOWN and close to the bar.

- Take up the slack and begin to accelerate slowly. I like to rock my

weight back and forth a bit and wiggle my toes, feeling the pressure
of the large part of my feet on the ground before I begin.

- Once you complete the initial pull, accelerate, increase speed, get
up on your toes shrugging and just before you reach peak of the
upward vector give a final pull before diving under the bar and
snapping your forearms.

There are so many in depth tutorials on how to physically perform

these movements. We'll just stick to what they don't deal with too
much from here on in.
.

Meta-Movements (Clean):

- Standing before the bar, bring your attention to your breathing.

Feel the source and destination of breath as the Hara.

- With feet planted; become aware of the pressure against the

soles. This is your interface with gravity. Feel the solidarity of your
center, the Hara.

- Dropping the Hara in close to the bar, visualize Ki energy flowing

into the Hara.

- Wait for the pressure of Ki to grow. Feel the pressure mount.

- Focus: Bring your awareness to a single point in time/space. This

is a moment of incredible intensity. When you FEEL it, let go!
Always remember to exhale when you exert effort during the active
(yang) phase, and inhale on the more passive (yin) phase.

2.) Deadlift: This one can kill you! Then resurrect you from the
dead. In many ways it is the embodiment of the Clean's antithesis.
Where the Clean is a coordinated explosion, the Deadlift is a
primal, slow simmer, bulging and brimming with energy filled
bubbles most scintillating. A limit dead is slow poetry, seen from the
inside by who but the few? Horton, that's who. Not Nick, but the
beloved character of Theodor Geisel, a.k.a. Rosetta Stone, co-
creator of wartime's Private Snafu and known to those who knew
and loved him as Dr. Seuss.

Meta-Movements

- Pranayama: begin deep breathing from the diaphragm.

- Feel your connectedness with the Earth through the soles of your
feet. This sense of connectedness is felt in the Hara as the Earth's
pull on your center. Drop the Hara as you grasp the bar.
- Ki energy, surging through your legs, originates in the Hara. Feel it
press against the soles of your feet.

- Focus your attention on the equal distribution of power over the

soles of the feet and slowly flow upwards with the Ki.

3.) Bent Rowing: Each time you bent row you'll explore new
territory. You learn new limits. You discover that you're not the same
each day . . . each moment. You see that you are not alone, oh no,
not you and the bar that becomes you, more and more with each
and every rep. Sure, you can never step into the same exercise
twice, Bra. Go get 'em and go with Christ. Buddha. All belief in the
betterment of mankind that was, will be, and is at this very moment
waiting to join your energy.

Meta-Movements

- Begin Pranayama before gripping the bar.

- Balance is very important, so focus special attention on the soles

of the feet. Inhabit them!

- In this movement Ki flows to the Hara along natural lines of power.

You should be able to feel the side by side positioning of your body
mass (Hara) and that of the iron. In the Yin phase you will feel a
continuous pull from the heels, though the hamstrings, across the
bridge of your back and down to the bar.

- Rows can be performed dynamically with great power, or slowly

with great control. Varying is not a no-no, isn't a negative thing,
don't be afraid to be unafraid of being playful with the style you
perform any given exercise in. Enjoy the pleasures of choice. There
is more to what you are doing than simply succeeding in lifting the
bar. Certainly, any child can ingest dirt from the Earth; it takes a
man to understand the metaphor.

- Visualize Ki surging through your limbs during the active phase of

each repetition. Since this is a pulling motion, feel the energy as it
is drawn to the Hara. The key isn't whether or not energy pulses
from the Hara, but that it pulses TO the Hara. Moving from your
center is what counts.

4.) Upright Rowing: Slowly we are moving the emphasis in this

routine, from the broadest, most inclusive forms, we have become
more specialized and specific with this exercise. It is particularly
suited to fantasy . . . the Viking ship you now row across uncharted
waters . . . a moment in time repeating as the Sword is removed
from that grip of the icy-fingered Stone . . . lifting those long-passed
friends below from the darkness of death and the other side . . .

Meta-Movements
- Begin with Pranayama
- Focus on the soles of the feet, sensing the stability of your pose.
Feel the Hara's pull against the Earth.
- Visualize the vertical flow of Ki, streaming upward through your
body into the unimaginable distance. You will enter that flow as you
exhale.
- As you raise the bar feel the Hara contract. Actually tense the
abdominals. When the bar descends, let the Hara relax.
- Again, visualize Ki sweeping upwards through your limbs with the
active phase of each rep.

5.) Shrugs: Shrugs are simple. A basic pulling move. And like all
basic pulling moves they have the power to do so much in so many
ways. Squeezing tension right out of the body and very soul are
only two of the not-few this many-headed beast of pain and
pleasure delivery can bring. Consider the 'bar-distance-
traveled'/'feeling of extreme well being and vital aliveness' ratio with
shrugs. That bar is only moving a few inches, remember. Yet those
few inches, if the move is performed properly, can give and take so
much. Quite simply put, shrugs are a miracle, a gift given only to
lifters, to men and women all growed up enough to realize gifts
given and welcome them. Long time no see, my good friend.
Please do come on in, and by all means feel free to give your pal
Trap Bar a call.

Meta-Movements
- This form is so pure it's a good opportunity for deep concentration.
But then, what's not? You will breathe deeply through the
movement.
- Pay particular attention to the power line which seems to extend
from the bar to the center of the Earth. The bar and the Hara
occupy the same time/space. Feel the pull through the soles of the
feet as gravity draws your center toward the Earth's center.
- Visualize the vertical flow of Ki, rising above and beyond you with
each contraction.
- As you exhale, feel the bar rising from the center of the Earth, not
just from your hands. Realize from time to time just how hard you
strive to believe your energy is not intimately interconnected with all
things past, present and future. Ouch. I'm not just deluded, I'm a
delusion of my own off-center making.

6.) Curl: This exercise seems to enjoy great popularity with

everyone but me. Are you familiar with putting calf raises or ab
work last in a workout, then deciding you've run out of steam by
then and completely neglecting them? That's what curls are to me.
A necessary evil tacked on at day's end much like brushing teeth
before bed and the sweetness of dreams in other worlds. A tiny
muscle group overwhelmed and bloated with its own popularity
among the young and near-uninitiated. Great hidden areas of big-
muscle-group involvement most certainly bring more satisfying
rewards than any curl ever could. Chicks dig guys on the cusp of
ascendance. Not biceps. Really. The scene is tragic, a blue day in
our most favorite bestest woman's world following the sudden and
unexpected death of a close friend. Do you make a muscle, flex
your swollen biceps . . . or do you translate the flow, the striving,
and the overcoming of pain only big movement lifting can bring to
this situation? I rest my alienated and primal-naive case. And
apologize to the original author of this work of genius for being so
silly and intrusive.

Meta-Movements
- Breathe deeply and quiet your mind.
- Locate the Hara and its union with the Earth, through the soles of
your feet.
- Visualize the rising flow of Ki.
- Focus on the instant.
- Let it go. As you exhale, contract the Hara.
- Visualize the roar of Ki energy coursing through your arms. It
bursts from your fists on a flight into infinity. The streaming "water"
causes your arms to raise and the bar travels unnoticed. (Get the
idea?)
- Repeat the image with each rep. Try to bring as many senses to
bear as possible, hear the roar, feel the surge, see the bursting
stream.
- Apply what you learn through doing curls to your real exercise
movements.
Frank Zane
Norbert Schemansky

????
The Yang Routine (Pushing)

by Thomas Foote (1985)

A bench press is immediate! When the bar is descending toward

your ribcage you have to do something about it . . . NOW! The
bench seems to be the mainstay of novice lifters everywhere. The
first question you're likely to encounter around young lifters is, "How
much do you bench?" And so here we are, as it is. With good
reason but little long-game importance. The bench press is a nice,
holistic upper body developer. Just don't get too serious about it.

Meta-Movements:
1. Lying on your back, compose yourself through deep breathing.
2. Locate your center of power in the Hara. Don't lift the bar before
you're ready!
3. As the bar descends inhale and visualize energy flowing into the
Hara. Feel it expanding.
4. As you exhale, visualize the flow of Ki traveling through your
arms and continuing through the ceiling. Contract the Hara, and
sense the energy streaming from it.

Focus:
The bench is a natural for big singles. Use the Focus technique we
talked about earlier for concentrating power:
(a) Visualize the pressure of Ki expanding in the Hara as potential
energy builds.
(b) Observe your breathing closely. Watch for the Moment of Power
which waits between breaths.
(c) When the Moment arrives - EXPLODE! Release all your Ki in a
mighty burst.
(d) Check the weight on the bar and determine, duh, how much
does you bench, Bra.

2.) Centers (also known as the Close Grip Bench Press):

That is what it is. Bench pressing with a close grip. Bra, how much
do you Center? It also answers why it follows just now, in this
particular routine. You're already in position, you are already there.

Meta-Movements:
1. Basically, repeat the procedure in the bench press, i.e.
Pranayama.
2. Center on the Hara.
3. Visualize the ebb and flow of Ki.
(a) with each extension see the Ki fly from your hands through the
ceiling. Let the bar be buoy-oh-buoyed to the top by the flow of
"water" from your center.
(b) during the down-stroke of each rep sense new energy pouring
into your center through your feet. With the down-phase Ki is
pumped from the earth into your Hara readying you for the next
surge, sailor.

3.) Squats:
Form. It does matter. When I perform a heavy squat I am propelled
to the edges of my knowledge in a hurry. My physical, mental and
spiritual knowledge.

In the squat you become immersed in effort. Imagine that you are
standing, chest deep, in a placid lake. On your shoulders further
imagine a heavy barbell. You are about to squat. Your breathing is
measured and deep. You check your footing in the soft bottom mud
and begin your descent. As your head goes below the surface the
situation becomes very urgent. The placid pool holds death. You
hold your breath. Driving for the surface and air, the effort is primal,
raw, beyond intellect and visceral. You burst free of the surface and
an expended breath explodes from your lungs. Are you willing to
test yourself again? Is this particular effort really necessary? Of
course not! It's irrational. But you feel so alive and vital when under
the water, buried in the stress of this one intense moment. Of
course you'll try again.

Meta-Movements:
1. Pranayama - slow your breathing.
2. Hara - locate your center.
3. Pay special attention where the soles of your feet interface with
the Earth.
4. Visualize the flow of Ki into the Hara.
5. As you descend feel the pressure mount.
6. Focus your total being on that meta-movement when you will
know it is time to explode upward.

Weightlifters often grunt and yell when they blast the big weights
upward. Martial artists yell, even scream at moments of intense
effort (Kiai). This use of the voice is an art in itself. Suffice it to say
that the noise you make is a measure of your spirit. Not volume.
INTENSITY. From some place within you that existed long ago as it
still exists now, although politely hidden. Boy, you're gonna carry
that weight!

4. Press:
Descriptive? The world of the Overhead Press needs no words.

Meta-Movements:
1. Slow, deep breathing (Pranayama).
2. Sense the Hara and feel the soles of the feet. Turn the key, lock
your position.
3. Visualize the vertical flow of Ki rising through you from your
buttocks up through your shoulders. One muscle from feet to face.
Let it loose and the bar rises as "water" roars through your arms.

5. Triceps Extension:
Although this is an isolation exercise, to gain the most from it you
must put all of yourself into it. Swinging the bar lamely up and down
while your mind lopes about the land of fantasy babes won't cut it.

Meta-Movements:
1. Pranayama.
2. Sense the Hara, note the soles of the feet.
3. Visualize the flow of Ki into the Hara.
(a) Let the Ki rush through your arms. The power of "water"
straightens the arms and the weight rises with them. The Ki blasts
through the ceiling.
(b) As the weight descends Ki surges through your legs into the
Hara. The pressure builds for the next rep.

6. Calf Raises:
Don't neglect balance. It's all so common for lifters to neglect their
calves and look ridiculous. Weak in the bottom is silly. Really. One
way or another, we want to achieve a balanced workout, balanced
strength, and a balanced physique. One way or another this
Darkness has got to give.

You might notice that, as with the Yin/Pulling routine, we proceeded

from the general to the specific. After concentrating on pushing
forms such as the Press and Squat, which were very general, we
arrived at isolation moves for assistance exercises. Several of the
preceding forms have stretched and involved the calves, but now
we will seek to exploit them personally. Yes. This time . . . it's
personal.

Meta-Movements:
1. Pranayama.
2. Hara - feel your center as the center of being.
3. Ki - visualize and experience the rushing, vertical stream of
energy with each exertion.
4. As you sink down feel the pull of the Earth as it tugs at the Hara.
5. Feel the tension in your feet and legs. Energy seeks your center.
6. Visualize Ki rushing upwards through you as you do another
successful rep. The weight rises like a cork burst from a damn's
wall on a geyser of high pressure water!

Next: Free-weight Play and the Price of Machines.

I have a perplexing fondness for routine. Just now I remembered an
early professor who took the care to label me "dogmatic".
Unfortunately, he was right. It strikes me as one of many facets of a
need for security and predictability. That's not so strange. But it is a
tendency which can take a lot of the fun out of working out.

I find I get very "either/or". For example, take a look at this note I
once wrote myself:

Today I watched rigidity do its dogmatic walk across my mind. I

decided to run rather than lift and felt it necessary to envision a
whole career of jogging. Finally, I realized that I just felt like running
TODAY.

It sounds silly, but once I had decided to jog rather than lift, I felt a
compulsion to redefine my identity as a "runner" rather than as a
"lifter". I get like that.

As a treatment for this strange affliction (rigor mortis of the

imagination), I have self-prescribed periods of "free play" with
weights. To some extent, there is a parallel with dancing "just for
fun". Being no dancer, I must accept on good faith that a lot of
dancers have no destination on the floor. Rather, their "purpose" is
to enjoy the dancing experience. Play is like that. As a kid, I was a
marathon play freak. I mean, I played incessantly without goals,
objectives or routines. The very idea of structure seems antithetic to
play. I'm sure that statement will offend someone with good
intentions to mold the clay of young minds, etc. . . but I can just
imagine my utter lack of enthusiasm for "structured play activities".

Free play with weights is specifically the antidote for the Dogmatic
Blues. for this purpose Path Finder chose to do a one-handed lift
called a Snatch. I first saw this move demonstrated by a couple of
guys who said they usually worked out at home. It seems
appropriate that people who were outside the mainstream did
something fresh. There's probably a tendency, around gyms, for a
certain homogeneity of routines to set in. Well, the One Hand
Snatch looked like fun. So I tried it.

It was!

The Snatch

Basically, the Snatch is much like the Clean; that is, it is a

coordinated, explosive movement. It takes balance and
concentration. For these reasons it is specifically suited to our 5th
Dimension. It is crucial to calm and clear the mind before a snatch
so that you can focus on the moment. It must be something like a
shot-put as opposed to a tug-of-war. Instead of a long, slow pull you
must bring everything to bear on/in an instant. Once you get the
general idea, teach yourself the move, and don't over-complicate
things. There are plenty of how-to and technical materials available
for you later on. But for now, don't worry about doing it "right" with a
bar or a dumbbell or turns with both if you so choose. That kind of
thinking just defeats the notion of play.

Before Powerlifting became an organized sport in the late '60's,

strong men used to do what they called Odd Lifts. To my mind they
probably had much more fun than do competitors at modern meets.
These guys would see who could do the heaviest or the most one-
arm presses with a bar or dumbbell, or heaviest bent-press, or see
who could fold the most beer caps in a limited time. There was no
real set routine of odd lifts and some of the strength or endurance
feats were both awesome and creative.

I don't really have a "routine" of free exercises. (Hey kids, you want
some structured play!) You have to discover free play for yourself.
So remember, next time you enter the weight room feeling burned
out, give yourself some slack. Try fooling around a little with some
odd lifts. See if it doesn't rekindle the fun you once knew. Simply
suggestions here, not the dictates of some taskmaster bent on
directly increasing your P.R's as rapidly as humanly possible.

Low-Tech Purist

Here we talk about sweat. Much maligned and misunderstood,

sweat is the bane of the polished armpit and the odor profiteers.
Once I read about a Zen master whose personal recipe for
enlightenment was to work up a daily sweat. Sweat - the baptismal
water of the weight lifter. It's messy. It stings my eyes. It wrecks my
grip and IT FEELS GOOD.

Machine Masters

At the gym where I usually work out, they recently installed about
14 hi-tech contraptions. Hi-tech is the current buzz word that has
been added to the training vernacular, as a prefix, much like new-
improved was once tacked onto laundry detergent. First we had
James Bond level sports watches and running shoes described in
quasi-medical jargon, and now "hi-tech" weight training equipment.
Soon we'll be reading about the new-improved hi-tech training
equipment, because once the prefix qualifiers begin they gain the
capacity to reproduce like cancer cells, as with new-improved,
extra-strength, heavy-duty, cutting-edge laundry soap.

Hi-tech people don't know how to work up a clean sweat. They

don't appreciate it. I went my gym's free hi-tech training clinic. From
there I saw a lot of nice folks, dressed in designer sports wear who
did not sweat. Nor did they toil, and not at all did they smile. Absent
was the familiar huff-puff, grunt-groan, and clash-crash of people
happy to lift weights. The machines whispered on the bearings as
their gliding parts guided solemn-faced exercisers through their
paces.

At the threshold of this converted weight room I was greeted by the

attendant. Before I could know the joy these machines held for the
faithful, I had to be indoctrinated. I would have to see an orientation
film and relearn a proper training approach. Water bottle and clip
board mandatory. "Station" is what the anointed call each of these
exercise machines. And the rules! Thou shalt not get in front of thy
brother at his next station, thou shalt not perform more than one set
per station, thou shalt not . . .

I never made it through the whole orientation. I never even made it

past the door where the attendant stopped me. I must've smelled of
low-tech and they picked up the scent.

Free Weights

My favorite workouts were in my college field house before it was

"improved". The old field house was poorly lit and had a dirt floor. It
also had a smell all of its own. The part of our brain which responds
to smells is very, very old, and the responses from it can be
powerful. The smell from the old field house used to escape into the
hallway and rise up to greet you when you left the locker room, so
your juices were already on their way to pumping before you saw
the weights.

In that dimly lit and steamy field house both the weights and our
spirits were free. On that grungy and dusty old dirt floor you could
let the weights drop or dig in your shoes for a good hold. You could
spit and drip sweat on that floor in a primal rut that might disgust
some people's sanitary preferences and I loved it.

Then hi-tech hit my personal heaven! The old dirt floor was
replaced by some rubberized half-plastic composition that was
poured in seamless beauty and hardened to form the anonymity of
sameness. The free weights were safely enclosed within wire mesh
like rabid, disease-carrying animals. Now, the once proud plates
and bars sat under bright indoor lighting, on a shiny artificial
surface, surrounded on all sides (and overhead) by a cage. But the
improvements and humiliation weren't over yet. Once the
machines arrived the free weights were moved into a store room
and the bright new creations invaded the cage. I abandoned the
sorry place for my back yard and old iron plates.

The Price

I knew there was no free lunch. Those machines didn't come to us

like a fabled warrior, extending an open hand to show he carried no
weapon. There was a price. One hand of hi-tech was ready to grab
you like a puppet-master, while the other fastened a long train of
baggage to your neck. Hi-tech demands that you consider your
relationship with it. To be thorough, one must recognize that a thing
includes what you "think" about it. Hence your relationship to a
thing cannot be separated from the thing itself. I say tree and what
do you see in your mind? Think Christmas and do you see the
same tree? Your memory of 'tree' is not a singular thing. Go ahead.
Sit still for a few minutes and think 'tree' and be sure to add yourself
to these thought pictures . . . how many different scenes do you see
while thinking of you and 'tree' . . .

They're not just 'weights'. Your mind carries every relationship

you've ever had with them along for the ride. You might say the
weights 'contain' a piece of you, a very integral part of your being, if
you're bent that way, and I can only hope you are. If not, feel free to
move along now. Antiseptic hand rinse and overly-scientific data
available at the exits.

A given weight plate appears to be an indifferent hunk of iron to

those still uninitiated. Drop it on your toe if that's what it takes to
wake up. No longer do you feel indifferent about either your toe or
the weight plate. It's a start. You have become involved in an
intimate relationship with free weights. My own relationship with
free weights is very special to me. They are predictable yet
unpredictable. They are challenging to no limit, yet give the
impression to some that they are inanimate. They are a means to
an experience I cherish. They are intensely beautiful in their
combination of simplicity and functional cleverness. Eleiko, will you
marry me?

Iron, Transcendence, Lines & Design.

Man is an ancient toolmaker and his best tools are his simplest.
Long before we ever heard hi-tech jargon, like ergonomics or
bioengineering, the graceful curves of a scythe handle had evolved
to transfer a man's energy into effective work. Some tools, such as
the scythe, transcend their function with an enduring beauty which
grew from necessity. Its lines are an analysis of need. Its form holds
the secret of its maker's form, who bent it to his need.

Free weights with their interchangeable plates are such a tool.

Their parsimony of form reflects their elemental purpose. One
enters into a relationship of ancient simplicity with these weights
that are so aptly called "free". You pit yourself against the bar with
direct and single-minded aggression. When a man met his foe in
single-handed combat, he also met the current measure of himself.
In the same way, you have a measure of yourself each and every
time you lift real weights, dependent on that combination of mental,
physical and spiritual energy levels you rise or fall to on that
particular occasion. Again, you can't put your foot in the same river
or lift the same weights twice. But how does I get my biseps to
groe?

I just don't see this kind of relationship being possible with

machines or any other guided movement contraption. When you
strap your body into a device that literally wraps around you and/or
allows only a single isolated range of motion you lose the control.
You have entered into a relationship which demands freedom of
movement and choice as its price. If you love something, strap it
into a machine and wait for its soul to die? And these machines
don't come with a dowry and in-laws either.

As I discovered at the gym where I used to work out, the machines

and guided devices bring their rules, regulations and only one road
of motion. No style, please, we're orderly. And like I said before, this
new breed of 'lifters' don't know how to sweat properly. They have
trouble even making noises from the gut. Their machines eventually
rob them of a lifting soul, of all sense of play, and in an efficient 30
short minutes, just two times a week, you too can lose your training
humanity.

As I discovered in the summer back yard and winter garage where I

now work out, I can still grunt and sweat with my weight friends of
choice to my heart's content. And what do I do with these friends of
mine while we are both intensely alive?

Why, we scale mountains and slay dragons, of course.

"The There in The Here"

The Fugue Steppes

Again the old man paused to scan the frustrating sameness of the
plain. "How did we become separated?" Path Finder asked himself
as he shielded his eyes against the glare. "But then," he thought,
"that's how it always happens in these parts."

Crossing the Wastes of the Fugue could be treacherous, he had

told his companion. An ancient spell clung to the area. It resulted in
a recurrent pattern of events for hapless travelers. Even those, like
himself, who were familiar with the Wastes could become
mysteriously disoriented and wander dangerously away from their
intended course. Though the source of the spell was now forgotten,
its consequences were the stuff of legends.

'There are worse things than being lost," Path Finder had reminded
The Kid before their separation.

"Like what?" the younger man asked.

"Like being found," Path Finder answered in an ominous tone," by

someone, or something, other than a friend."

And now as the old guide stopped to recall that last conversation,
he saw what he had hoped he wouldn't see. But the huge tracks
were inevitable. They were part of the recurring fugue pattern.

Not fifty yards across the flat, baked plain lay the first print. It was
huge! As big as a child's swimming pool, the print's depth spoke of
the immense weight of its maker. Like a signature, the three
splayed toes, which ended in the trailing marks of heavy claws,
announced the saurian presence of the steppe of Pain.

Path Finder now realized that they must have awakened the terrible
lizard when The Kid stumbled upon his den. It had happened just
before the travelers reached the great Inner Door. The
unsuspecting pilgrim had nearly stepped on the sleeping beast,
who had become the self-appointed guardian of the 5th Dimension.
While Path Finder had acted quickly to silence his clumsy charge,
he now knew he had acted too late. And he remembered
something else. Like when you're halfway to work and remember
that you left your lunch on the table by the front door so you
wouldn't forget it, in his mind's eye Path Finder could see that great
door, gaping at him wide open.

"I'm gettin' too old for this sort of thing," the guide muttered to
himself, shaking his head.

Pain, the sly old dragon that he was, must have been following
them all along, just biding his time. The lizard's patience was as
cool as his blood. Now Pain had them were he wanted them - out in
the open, separated and lost. Path Finder would have to act fast.

Following the beast's trail was easy (if unpleasant). Quickly Path
Finder found the faint, shuffling tracks of The Kid as they
intersected those of Pain.

"Well," thought the old guide with a sigh, "I did my best to protect
the young fool. Now I had better hurry and pick up the pieces."

Path Finder heard The Kid before he saw him. The quiet moans
seeped from the depths of a dragon print. Stopping again, Path
Finder held his breath as he squinted his eyes and reconnoitered
the trail. A disheveled head and shoulders slowly rose above the lip
of a near print. Dirt fell from the face, where it had left an imprint,
under the weight of Pain's touch.

"Path Finder," the dirty apparition croaked, "is that you?"

"None other," the guide said. "Do you need assistance?"

"Yes," The Kid answered flatly. "Did you get the number?"

"Number?" said Path Finder.

"Yeah," said The Kid, "the license number of the semi that ran me
down."

"That was no truck," said Path Finder. "That was Pain."

"You're telling me," he said, reaching for the old man's hand.

Standing on the edge of the print, The Kid slapped more dirt from
his worn clothing. Path Finder seemed distracted and nervous as
he cast his gaze about for further signs of company.

"One last thing, Path Finder?" he asked with a curious edge to his
voice.

The young man's tone of voice caught the guide's attention and he
paused to regard him more closely.

"Just one little thing," he reiterated, "is Pain supposed to be good

for me, too?"

"He's real," said Path Finder. And with that he turned and strode off.

Ignorance is Bliss

Let's imagine The Kid after dragging himself from under Pain's
mighty taloned feet.

"Somewhere," the young pilgrim ponders, "There are people - fat

and soft - who don't hurt."

While he remembers what Path Finder said about "Pain" becoming

a companion, rather than an adversary, he is skeptical.

"If ignorance is bliss," he reasons, "there must be a lot of happy fat

people."

I can sympathized with him. Understanding pain was a task

unknown in his previous existence. As a weight lifter, however,
ignorance of pain is not an affordable luxury. Pain and injury are
real and must be dealt with.

Many an unsuspecting pilgrim has awakened the beast and found it

so alarming an experience to feed him that their journey came to an
abrupt end - they quit. It is understandable, that people who don't
exercise regularly have misconceptions about pain.

Types of Pain

One of the first distinctions they must learn is the "acute/chronic

lesson". Acute pain might be described as your first encounter with
the dragon. You awaken that first morning, after beginning the long
awaited crusade to reshape your sagging flesh, and know suddenly
that you can't sit up in bed without assistance. Pain, himself, has
stepped on you while you were minding your own business and
dreaming of your new body. It's not fair, is it? Unfortunately, ethics
are beyond the capacity of Pain's cold, lizard brain. He steps on the
just and the unjust equally hard.

Chronic pain is next. This task requires learning to ride the dragon.
It is special knowledge, held by an elite few. Recently a guy at the
gym asked me how I was doing. I replied, "Great . . . between
injuries." To my surprise he nodded with a knowing smile. I found I
wasn't alone. My wife put it a little differently. "You don't get over the
'owies', she said, "you just get used to them."

Like right now. My left shoulder is being visited by the dragon.

Injury's great and urgent need for my company has become
increasingly apparent. Maybe it's only a house call and he won't
settle in for the duration. Injuries seem anxious to visit, but reluctant
to take leave.

I've see "P.T.A." scrawled and scratched into weight room walls.
The graffiti of sweat. To the initiate, the acronym announces "Pain,
Torture and Agony". There have been mornings when my body was
a map of pain. Lying still like an accident victim who fearfully and
silently surveys himself seeking the as yet unknown extent of
damage, I have transversed an inner map from dull aching left
knee, to biting lumbar spine, to crippling shoulders, to . . .

Warning

I don't mean to be discouraging, only honest. Not to discuss pain

would be like sending you into dangerous territory, while
withholding a key to survival. Pain is multifaceted. It can warn you
to safety and generate new thinking.

As Path Finder once pointed out, "Pain is a four letter word".

Usually I hate pain. It seems like a foretaste of what getting old is
saving for me. It discourages and demoralizes.

There is another side to it. A painful injury has often motivated me

to re-evaluate my goals and methods. This is a useful function.
Pain becomes a harsh, impartial coach. When lifting weights, it
usually signals one of two errors: (1) bad form, or (2) ego-intrusion.
Of course the two can be combined. Squats represent a perfect
opportunity for both errors and much pain -- lumbar, spinal, acute
and extreme. Just put 50 pounds more than you can handle on the
bar. Now lean a little too far forward when beginning the upward
drive, and overbalance just a bit on one foot. Voila! Did you
feel/hear that small, dull "thuck" in your lower back? What follows
varies. For me it's much pain, crabbiness and reciprocal crabbiness
at home, many dollars at the chiropractor, the loss of my training
regime and (last-but-not-least) soul searching reevaluation of goals
and means-end relationships.

Case Studies
I've seen a lot of victims upon whom pain has visited. Recently I
was "working in" with a guy on the bench press. Spotting for him I
noticed what looked like hesitation in his fingers as he went through
that very familiar process of setting up his grip. His fingers kind of
danced along the bar a little too long before the hands took hold.
Then he raised the bar off the standards and, taking a deep breath
eased the bar down to his chest. Just before the bar touched,
during those last couple of inches when the shoulders -- still cold,
were stretched for the first time -- well, his eyes squinched shut and
his whole face paled a little.

It hurt! He did the warmup repetitions and then sat up shaking his
head. He was mumbling more to himself than to me. "Got cortisone
in both shoulders after that injury, don't wanna do it again.' He'd
already laid off to two months hoping the pain in his shoulders
would go away. It hadn't. With the pain still there and some strength
missing, he was discouraged.

There are many others: the guy I could always smell coming
because of the liniment, or the one I haven't seen recently with the
ruptured lumbar disc.

Pain is real. It's natural. Usually it is a warning signal and you need
to pay heed. If you listen to its hateful voice, you can learn valuable
lessons. If you don't listen, you get some advanced lessons
anyway.

It's Natural

I'm reminded of an event rather far removed from weight lifting.

Working on a pasture fence, I was carrying a future corner post on
my shoulder. The post happened to be a railroad tie, whose weight
increased with every step. When I reached the final resting place I
.

was anxious to be rid of the post. So, easing one end to the ground
I pushed the tie off my shoulder just in time to see Rusty, our cocker
spaniel, dashing nose down into the arching path of 100 plus
pounds of descending, pressure treated, creosoted, scrub-oak
railroad tie.

Lucky for Rusty his face got squashed into the mud. With more of a
scream than a bark, he lay still. Well, we rushed him to the vet who
found no major signs for concern. He even sent us home with no
medication for what we presumed to be the canine equivalent of a
massive hangover. The pain, the vet explained, would be nature's
way of ensuring that Rusty would remain still and rest. Recovery
could have been hampered by drugs, which would have masked
the pain, and allowed him to move about prematurely. Pain is
natural. It serves a purpose.

Ego Traps

One lesson, as I've said, is good form. Many if not all books on
weight lifting stress this point. Less discussed is the pride problem.
It's sad, but true, that the mind can go into overdrive and literally
tear you apart. This is another symptom of the tyranny of the mind
over the body. Because you are not sufficiently tuned into your
body, your judgement is faulty. You're not listening!

Injuries which result from body-deafness are the most tragic. They
shouldn't occur. In most of us the body and mind are neither
balanced nor integrated and it is for this reason that we are taking
the journey with The Kid and Path Finder. I'll have more to say
about Ego-overdrive when we discuss getting lost and regaining
perspective in a later chapter.

Semantics of Pain
..

Let's go back to the statement, "Pain is a four-letter word". It is also

esoteric if Path Finder's dictionary is to be trusted. For the moment,
we are going to delve into the psycho-linguistics of pain. Pain, like
cancer, schizophrenia and intelligence, is a categorical term. That
is, it represents a class of presumably related phenomena. We now
know that it doesn't mean much, treatment-wise, to say you are
suffering from cancer.

Similarly, being schizophrenic means you're messed up mentally in

some serious and complex manner -- but not to what degree.
Having words like schizophrenia around has been marvelous for
the clinician who must mask his ignorance from the lay public.
Intelligence is equally guilty as a word which lacks information. You
try to pin a psychologist down sometime on a definition and the
best you get is "Intelligence is what an intelligence test measures."
It's enough to make you crazy.

Pain, unfortunately, is another term which has avoided specificity.

Sometimes I hear people attempt to amend the paucity of
terminology by qualifiers. "It hurts good or it hurts bad." There is
supposed to be some sort of relationship between familiarity or
necessity to describe the environment and the subsequent ability of
the language to make distinctions. Hence the Eskimos are said to
have something like a hundred words for snow. Probably stuff like
"morning snow, evening snow, good tracking snow, stay-at-home
snow". The Arabs probably have few words for snow, but are said
to have in excess of 1000 words for "sword". I don't even want to
pursue why this would be the case, but it might give some insight
into their politics. I also heard about an African tribe which had 600
words for "cattle". They were nomadic herdsmen. Meanwhile,
academicians argue whether language shapes reality or just
reflects it. Not being a specialist I'll suggest it does both.

Now, back to pain. I checked our Webster's New World Thesaurus

(1974):

pain, n.
1. (suffering, physical or mental) hurt, anguish, distress, discomfort,
disorder, agony, misery, martyrdom, wretchedness, shock, torture,
torment, passion.

2. (suffering, usually physical) ache, twinge, catch, throe, spasm,

cramp, torture, malaise, sickness, laceration, soreness, fever,
burning, torment, distress, agony, affliction, discomfort, hurt, wound,
strain, sting, burn, crick.

pain, v.
distress, grieve, trouble; see hurt.

What about that "good-hurt soreness" you feel in your pecs the day
after a really fine session of benching? Can you imagine saying, "I
got a real laceration from those benches yesterday." It does have a
sort of a colorful ring to it, but I don't think it conveys the real
message very clearly. Aside from the questionable fits like
"soreness" and "burn", the Thesaurus contained scant help for a
lifter who wants to differentiate between "bad-hurt" (injury) or "good-
hurt" (progress). I, for one, am not about to stroll into a weight room
and announce that I have a "wretched martyrdom in my
quadriceps."

Many of us lack the terminology to deal with the subjective states

associated with exercise. It follows that our culture has become
sedentary and avoids introspection. By now it has become clear
that "self-knowledge" is far more than just a head game. It should
also be clear that the word "pain" is a categorical fruit basket,
containing many treats -- some good and some not so good. It also
is clear why Pain is a dragon. Basically, I've always been fond of
dragons, but you have to respect them. They can crush you under
foot, as The Kid learned, or become a training partner.

Next: The Far Shore.

The Third Ear

Since leaving the forest Path Finder had been leading a way which
grew steadily higher and more demanding. Though he was tired,
The Kid maintained the older man's pace. He was becoming
tougher.

Aware of his improved endurance, a new question crossed The

Kid's mind. Just how long had he been struggling through this
outlandish 5th Dimension? Had it been hours, days, weeks . . . ?
There was something dreamlike about the whole experience. He
could certainly feel that time had passed. It wasn't his imagination
which hurt just now; it was his feet! Something else he noted,
trudging those aching mountain miles: his shadow didn't jiggle
around the edges the way it used to.

"My gut," he thought and gave himself a critical pinch, "is more firm.
And my arms and legs are tighter. Holy dumbbells!" he gasped. "I
might even learn to enjoy this self-abuse."

Rounding a corner revealed the trail leading toward a distant, high

pass. Presumably the fabled Shambala lay in-wait just beyond that
very pass.

Previously, when pressed for their journey's goal, Path Finder had
answered "Shambala." But the guide had remained vague about
details of the destination. This is a large land, he would say, and not
well charted. Like the stories about The Garden of Eden, Path
Finder said mankind had turned its back on the fertile promise of
Shambala. Instead they had wandered a long downward path into
fragmentation and ignorance. Now that once might city waited, its
towers and walls abandoned to wasting ruin. The path forgotten.

When Path Finder talked about Shambala he was always very

solemn. The Kid had to admit that what the old man said didn't
always seem to "compute". He couldn't tell whether the old man
was retelling a fable or recalling an actual memory. However, he
trusted the guide and could feel his serenity. At such times The Kid
was persuaded by a physical sensation of trust.

As the trail rose it squeezed into a narrow defile. Rough rock walls
tried to swallow it. This narrow pass had resulted from the gluttony
of two glaciers! While making slow meals of the mountain, they had
passed back-to-back up opposite sides of the crest. Now a sharp,
saddle-shaped summit offered only one route, and it was blocked!
A great tree had relaxed its ancient grasp on the mountain and
plunged into the narrow mouth of the pass.

With Path Finder, The Kid approached the blocked passage in

silence. Frustration and hope swirled within him like a storm.
Shambala was so close. He could FEEL it! Like a childhood
memory of endless summers, he could recall the glowing silhouette
of the prized city.

Suddenly, The Kid grabbed the snag and heaved it out of the way!
The tree tumbled and smashed down the slope, kicking up rocks
and showering splinters. "You're out of your mind," gasped Path
Finder. "Finally!"

"What'd I do?" The Kid said, shaking his head as if just coming
awake. He continued in a whisper, "I know it doesn't make logical
sense. I mean, I know - er, think -- I can't lift trees. But I just felt this
urge to do it -- and did it!"

"It's okay," the old man smiled. "You just let your body make the
decision. You'll get used to it from here on."

. . . With that they passed the mountains crest and started the
homeward trek. The Kid, still shaking his head in consternation,
seemed not to notice that he, not Path Finder, led the way down the
trail. The old guide had subtly given ground to the younger man.

Even with the swelling certainty that their long journey's goal lay
within reach, The Kid felt overwhelmed with the need for a rest.

"Path Finder," he called over his shoulder, "let's take a break.

Tossing trees around seems to have caught up with me."

"Fine," replied Path Finder agreeably. "You've earned it. In fact this
looks like a remarkably fine spot to rest. Very peaceful."
His guide's voice seemed to have taken on a hypnotic quality. It
was all The Kid could do to relax his aching frame. "Peaceful"
seemed to echo within his head as he eased back against a large
tree and stretched his legs out before him. His head sagged
forward in a long journey, until his chin rested upon his chest.
Peacefully.

Shambala!

The Kid had stumbled upon a profound truth. The body can
participate in decision making. Now don't jump to any premature
conclusions about my sanity by pointing out that you know when to
eat because your stomach "growls". Certainly the physical cues
signaling appetite exist, but they are like a voice crying in the
wilderness. If culturally, we are not deaf to this voice, how can you
explain the remarkable success of diets?

There was a zen master whose measure of enlightenment

consisted of how to "eat when hungry and rest when tired". Were
such simple harmony of need and action commonplace, it would
never have become preserved in parable form as a measure of
"spiritual" awakening.

Presumably an integrated self which experienced the body's

participation in decisions would know when to eat, and how much,
and what. Certainly the body would not ask to be poisoned with
alcohol, processed food and preservatives. So, you see, there is
really much more to this than listening to your stomach growl, then
proceeding to grab some beer and potato chips while you sink
down in front of your TV and watch two teams of other men
exercise.

Physical I.Q.
It took The Kid a long time to reach the "pass", and let his body
choose. He had to undergo some tuning before he could hear the
body's voice. The first time I heard that voice I recorded the
experience in a journal:

There are undoubtedly other ways to describe what I experienced

last night, but subjectively there is no other description I can offer.
Walking past a homemade barbell (bought for five bucks at a yard
sale) I had the urge to deadlift it. This barbell, which had been
spray-painted an outlandish gold, was a fixed weight of about 265
pounds.

After a millisecond's delay my head said, "Don't bother you fool,

who needs it?"

From somewhere a different voice urged, "Follow that first feeling; it

has hidden integrity."

Well, I stopped and hoisted it a few times. The result was weird! I
felt a little euphoric, calm, maybe smug, but definitely good! I had
let my body make a decision. It was a different experience and it
was the beginning of the end of the absolute tyranny of the brain.

That close encounter with the homemade barbell was a pivotal

experience. Afterward, other things started to fall into place. A new
"way of knowing" was beginning to emerge.

Take a look at his entry, which was written before that close
encounter:

Many have been times when the firm, familiar feel of resistance
translating up the bar through muscle and bone has unmistakably
said, "Welcome home." Here is something you can understand, an
inner voice would reassure me. With each movement of my body, a
calm spread to encompass limits beyond the flesh.

When that was written I didn't recognize the body speaking. I was
getting there, like The Kid nearing the pass, but the noise in my
mind was still too loud. My balance had been disrupted. Before that
five dollar barbell encounter I didn't realize that the body could
"know" something better than the mind. I didn't know the body could
have its own reasons. But once you've heard the body speak, you
will never be the same.

Slowly, I became aware of a Body-self in addition to my Verbal-self.

The pronoun "I" developed two points of reference. There was the
Verbal-I and the Body-I. Previously, "I" had only referred to a
verbally dominated identity which thought it could own the body,
hence, the phrase "my body". With increased awareness, the
possessive structure in our language seemed inaccurate. I needed
a way to refer to the body-identity that would place it on equal
footing with the more common, verbal self. I finally settled on the
term "Bodi".

Lose Your Mind

And just how does one learn to hear the voice of the Bodi? To begin
with it helps to lose your mind. Do you remember the expression,
"lose your mind and come to your senses"? I first read it on a button
in the Sixties before personal philosophies were written on T-shirts.
That button said it all. Something must have been missing though,
because it didn't change the world. For one thing, slogans are a
distinctly "verbal" experience, while coming to your senses and
hearing the Bodi speak is a "transverbal" experience. It transcends
the verbal. One must physically come to terms with the Bodi. Life is
not an abstraction and the journey of understanding is not a head
game. Learning to hear the Bodi and allowing it to participate in
decisions is part of the larger task of becoming a whole and well
being.

Once I walked out of a restaurant restroom and saw "THE

ANSWER" written in letters two feet high. Above the service
entrance to a gas station across the street, big, shiny, red-plastic
letters read "SELF REPAIR". Back inside the restaurant (it was
small and had an outside restroom), I wrote those words on a paper
napkin. Portents and signs from the gods, I figured. Those plastic
words were an omen.

Regain Your Body

To begin "self-repair" you need to recognize the civil rights of the

Bodi. For bizarre reasons we subject the Bodi to vast and creative
abuse. Like an office worker I overheard saying, "It was so beautiful
this morning I thought about riding my bike to work the whole time I
was driving my car here." I figure it's about time for a Bodi Bill of
Rights:

We, the cells of the human body, in order to form a more perfect
union, establish justice, insure somatic tranquility, provide for
common defense against the brain's tyranny, and promote general
well-being do ordain and establish this Bodi Bill of Rights.

Article One.

The heinous brain shall make no law which prohibits the bodi from
full and equal participation in all decisions.

Article Two . . .

I have often wondered if there were a kind of background hum that

one might experience at such times which would indicate life simply
coursing through us. Mystics write about something similar when
they rant about "pure consciousness". Shouldn't the bodi have an
equivalent expression? Of course it should, and it is that elusive
background hum of our great plasma engine.

Primal Listening

Through your lifting you can communicate with the Bodi which is
essential to balance in our verbally dominated culture. In a way, the
Bodi is equivalent to a "physical mind". The sense it makes is very
primitive. Earlier I used the term "transverbal" to describe
communication with the Bodi. Perhaps a more accurate description
would be "preverbal", which means "before words". This is a
process of getting back to basics. The funny thing is, you cannot
expect to listen for the voice of the Bodi the way that you hear
thoughts from your verbal mind. The Bodi's roots predate the verbal
mind. You must learn to "feel" the Bodi speak.

Practice makes perfect. At first the Bodi's voice is weak. You must
become alert and pay attention to fine details. I am not referring to
simplistic feedback from the viscera and muscles. I am suggesting
a primal sense for the right action which should participate in
decision making.

Weeds

The Bodi speaks, though we have tried to suppress it. I am

reminded of an image from my childhood. I remember a new
asphalt parking lot that was added to a grocery store near my
home. Paving over a venerable old orchard was considered
"growth". My bare feet remember that black expanse. It was so hot!
One day, when I was catching grasshoppers, I witnessed a miracle.
Pushing up through the hard, sticky surface of that parking lot was
the bent and twisted head of a plant. Deformed by pressure, yet
green and full of life's juices, an irrepressible weed had thrust its
way to sunlight. Down on my hands and knees exploring that
wondrous sight, I was seduced by ancient forces. Forever after I
was to remember that event as a triumph of the old gods, of
shamans and druids, over progress and technological advance. I
have resisted labor-saving devices and am suspicious of "high-
tech". Like that weed, the voice of the Bodi may be suppressed but
it is there straining for recognition. Though we surround ourselves
with air conditioners, elevators, cars and pills, the Bodi persists. Its
voice is action. Use it or lose it.

Holistic Certainty

Once you sense the reality of the Bodi, allow it to participate in

decision making. It will grow. After years of being devalued, the
Bodi will become more bold. As this new voice grows louder, you
will benefit.

The voice of the Bodi conveys a special sense of "certainty". It is

common in esoteric literature to see a distinction between
"Thinking" and "Knowing". The former reflects the tunnel-blindness
of the mind operating alone, while the latter is meant to distinguish
a special holistic experience. The holism of some mystics seems to
be a joining of their limited consciousness with a more universal
mind. To me, this sounds like more of the same. Wholeness is not
more mind, it is the integration of body and mind. Reliance on the
mind alone leads to absurd blind alleys.

Day Dream

I have a fantasy which demonstrates what I mean. Imagine a

classroom filled with eager, open faces. It is an introductory
philosophy course. The professor feeds the students a common
paradox.

"When an arrow shot at a tree," he says, "has traveled half the

distance to its target, the remaining distance may again be halved.
And so it goes, ad infinitum. The arrow never reaches the tree
because it always has one half of the remaining distance to travel."

Triumphantly the professor concludes. He scans the audience for

faces showing signs of sudden conflict. He spots me! I've read that
all paradoxes are apparent rather than actual. That is, they can
only have a problematical existence. In the real world of experience
there are no paradoxes. The Bodi knows everything works out.

As my fantasy continues, I rise from my seat and approach the

professor. Grasping the startled man by the throat with one hand, I
draw the other hand back in a fist.

"Professor," I say quietly, "I want to put your story to a test. Let us
wager that my fist will never encounter your nose."

This fantasy probably tells you a lot about me, but it also
demonstrates a much overlooked source of knowledge, that is, the
direct knowing of concrete experience. Life is not just a head game
and I'll bet that professor would agree! I also bet he would decline
to test my hypothesis.

Self-Help

For years I was a self-help junkie. I thought "the answer" would be

contained in some book or books of wisdom. So I read. And read . .
. and read. Eventually I discovered some bits of truth, but I found
them in the weight room rather than between the covers of a book.
The answer I sought turned out to be a body trip, rather than a
head game.

LIFE IS AN ANSWER TO BE LIVED.