The RDTC Tree of Learning

by Richard Farmer

When I was at School I had a kind of mentor teacher by the name of Peter Hill. He was a very wise man and keen on Yoga. In his own way he was a yogi and for those who would listen he guided, sometimes very subtly, to things which could have a deep effect. When I was twelve he introduced me to a doctor who helped me with my asthma by teaching me what they called ‘Self Hypnosis’. It was really meditation. It showed me I could have some effect in my life, I was not just a victim. When I was sixteen he introduced me to a man called Douglas Harding, a spiritual teacher and author of a book and method called “The Headless Way”. Again a very profound meeting, which over the course of an evening once a week opened my mind to a greater understanding of Being and true nature. The seeds that were planted blossomed when I began Tai Chi.

I have written a lot about my meeting of Tai Chi in other articles and newsletters so no need for me to go into detail here. But having met my spiritual path in the method of Tai Chi it was very important to connect with my first teacher’s teacher. It was always a matter of time before I began the journey of returning to the source. I needed to do that for myself and to be clear about the essence of the path.

To be with Dr Chi, to connect with him physically, changed my life and gave it another turn towards the essence I seek.

I also had a Tibetan meditation teacher for a while named Geshe Damcho. It was he who gave me the “Cup of Tea” teaching which I write about in the Short Form book. The lineage of transmission is passed on from teacher to pupil to teacher to pupil and so he encouraged me to connect with his teachers. When I was living at the Buddhist Centre, a number of teachers came through giving of their knowledge, but a profound change happened when I connected to Geshe’s teacher – that too changed my life forever.

Richard Moss, another friend and guide along the way, dearly would have loved for me to meet his teacher, Franklyn Merrell Wolff, but he was no longer alive. He did the next best thing which was to take me into the terrain that his teacher lived in, the wilderness of the High Sierras. There, in that great expanse of nature, something happened to my Being and it too left me changed forever.

Another very important influence, Ram Dass, who was to open my heart, also opened my heart to his teacher through stories, as he too had passed on.

And so on and so on. Each teacher invites those who walk the path with them back to their source. This is a time-honoured tradition and allows the student to come and find their own way and deepen the bond between the student, the teacher and their teacher. The whole thing is a weave.

Ultimately the path to the source is a journey made within oneself, for the source does not rest somewhere outside us, or in someone else, but within us.

So, as Founder of this School, how can you connect with me? What structures are there for you to understand deeper in yourself the extraordinary gifts that you are? The School of RDTC has had numerous ways of allowing you to do this, and this is the current framework.

RISING DRAGON JOURNEY

One of the main developments over recent years is the ability for anyone to connect with the essence of Rising Dragon through Soul Moves. Instead of the Form of Tai Chi, I use some simple movements called Shibashi and teach them in the style of RDTC thus allowing anyone to explore the living principles of Rising Dragon, whether they are studying the Form or not.

During the weekend of 20th – 22nd March I am giving a weekend open to anyone, exploring and introducing the simple truths and principles of Rising Dragon. It is a great opportunity for you, your friends or your partners to join in the adventure. In some ways, because we are not using the Form of Tai Chi as the basis of exploration, it is an accurate finger that points to the essence, and as such will inform your practice of Tai Chi and life.

Further on in the year, on the weekend June 26th – 28th, Alec Jones and I are holding a Summer Gathering weekend for RDTC students only. A wonderful chance to come together as a School, to play the Form and take the practice deeper.

In terms of connecting with me personally, I have opportunities for people to come and simply have sessions with me. These can take the form of coaching you to have a deeper relationship to life. We can do that through a discussion, or through looking at your practice (whatever that may be), exploring what needs healing, and focussing you towards your heart’s dream and your essence. I offer sessions to help Tai Chi students take their practice to the next level as well as teaching the Form to people for whom one-to-one sessions are more suitable.

If you are studying with the School of RDTC, or have connected through a Soul Moves course, or through one-to-one sessions, you can then take the next step, which is to come on the Deepening Course. Currently there are 3 Deepening Courses with a total of eighty students participating. The course consists of 4 weekends over 20 months, with each weekend exploring one of the four essential principles of RDTC. Its focus is to invite you to experience these principles directly and to feel where and how you can explore them in your life. There is no teaching of the Tai Chi Form, instead, in order to be inclusive as possible, Shibashi and Meditation are the two main Forms used. For those students who do study the Tai Chi Form you are encouraged to have some extra time with your teacher to explore what each principle means in the Form. Thus the three of us, the student, the teacher and the Founder are united in the journey.

Once this has been completed, you can then, at some point, go on to a course called Deeper whose title is self-explanatory. This is another chance to take a step further inwards. The third Deeper course is beginning at the end of January 2009.

Somewhere in all of this I shall be exploring a course to help students of this path share the Principles with others. The prerequisite for this will be to attend and complete a Deepening Course at least once.

I hope you can find your way to joining me on this wonderful path. If you have any questions please contact me.

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newsletters index page: Winter 2009