s h u i   l o n g
——
FIELD NOTES
 
first experiences

October 1999—Ashland, Oregon, USA

Found a new site on the Applegate river . . . .

As I accustomed myself to the water temperature by bringing the breath to the lower dantien, I noticed the dissolving feeling that I had had after previous dives, but much milder. Just before I finally dove a warm breeze came in from the north, which was quite balmy; I dove three times, coming down to the bottom each time, on one breath; walking myself along the river with my hands as I dove to keep from being swept too far by the current. When I finished, I sat facing the current on the bottom and the current began to pick me up which made me laugh; the river was quite exuberant, and the energy was infectious; I waded out and a chirping cricket greeted me.

I stood facing the river for as long as I could; unfortunately there was no sun due to the lateness and shivering prompted me to change clothes and go back up the hill where there was still some sun; so I didn't linger by the river as long as I would have liked. I found a beautiful bright sunny spot on the dry grass beneath a spectacular pine tree. I sat for a while in the sun, continuing to breathe into the dantien while the shivering stopped.

As I looked around I was surprised at how brightly colored everything looked. . .  I could see the qi streams swirling in the sky, the different shades of blue, the different depths, just as if it was water.

June 2002—Calgary, Alberta, Canada

I went to Fish Creek park yesterday evening. There are tons of mosquitos this year (there were hardly any last year). I visited my tree friend but couldn't hang around, someone actually asked me why I was looking around the tree. I found a really nice spot to do the shui long exercises! There is a change in the energy of the land and a small stand of evergreens has taken hold there. A nice winding path through the trees is just big enough for mountain bikes to snake around. At this point the water is deeper and swift, full of flotsam, dead trees and branches but I did see some tiny fish a few inches long playing there. Really a beautiful spot for excercises, although there is no place to really go into the water. I did wade in the creek earlier, up to my ankles (next time I'll bring a change of shoes though). The way the creek bed is oriented and widens there, it catches the wind and I was able to practise in a good breeze which kept the mosquitos at bay, i think I only had one try to bite, pretty amazing considering the number. I tried to sit with my tree friend, it took a few minutes for them to find me there and I was forced to leave, Mosquitos-5/Dagmar-10.

Fish Creek park is the largest urban park in Canada (it's really nice that it's kept natural too) and it turns out to be archaeologically important as well. They have established human settlement at 6,000 BC and there are a number of buffalo jumps. (One of our most famous is Head Smashed In buffalo jump - about 2 hours south of here).

September 2002—Ashford, Kent, England

I just want to thank you for the beautiful and inspiring Shui Long website. It's helped me to discover the benign presence of the nearby River Stour. After about twelve years in a monastery as a zen monk, I'm now reconnecting with "the world". I'm working as a writer and pretty much every day I manage to slip away from my computer and go meet the River. Fires are out of the question here, so I just work with inner fire and the sun, and I've been amazed at how quickly a complete newcomer can find a way into another dimension, or perhaps it's back into this dimension in a more authentic way.