Q & A with Dr. B.

Dr. Larry Berkelhammer and his teacher, Grandmaster William C.C. Chen in May 2015

The purpose of this blog and the entire website is to provide evidence-based information on how to live a vibrant, meaningful life while living with chronic health challenges or other life challenges.

Every Tuesday I post a new, very brief video from my presentations or interviews. Every Friday this Q&A column appears.

Here is this week’s question:

THIS WEEK’S QUESTION: Please explain how tai chi adds meaning and purpose to one’s life.

ANSWER: Ideally, your tai chi practice will become a way of life. This means practicing the form every day as a moving meditation. It also means learning about Taoism. Tai chi evolved from Taoist principles. Taoism is a philosophy of life that involves non-resistance. This is not the same as pacifism. In fact, tai chi chuan is interpreted as Supreme Ultimate Fist. It means not meeting force or aggression with force or aggression. Rather, it means acknowledgement that we are in a dance with the aggression that comes our way. There is a letting go of a need to win and a need to be right. It is about living in harmony with nature. Taoism is about non-attachment. Unlike religion, there is no attachment to any symbol or dogma. Taoists who preach Taoism fail to understand it. There is an ancient saying: The Tao that can be spoken is not the true Tao. The real Tao is a way of life that honors and gives meaning and purpose to life.

This website is offered as a free public service, supplying information that has been found helpful to certain people living with chronic health challenges or issues related to wellbeing. No treatment is offered on this website. The advice is general, and may or may not apply to your individual situation, and is not a substitute for psychotherapy or medical treatment.

What questions do you have about living a life of mindfulness-based mastery or about the relationship between the mind and health or wellbeing?

Just scroll down and type your question in the comment box below. An answer to your specific question may not appear in this column. The reason for that is I wait until I get a certain number of related questions, then I pick one that covers them all and I answer that one. People attending my presentations asked most of the questions appearing in this column, and I repeat them here so you may benefit.