Consultation
For any basic information or consultation on internal energy, for long distance healing or for information on the use of different stones or other tools for increasing your Tenaga Dallam feel free to contact Guru Penglima at guruderek@hotmail.com
Internal Arts
At Raja Naga Academy we teach a true warrior art and a warrior must develop internally as well as externally, therefore we also focus on Meditation, Healing and Tenaga Dallam or Internal Energy studies. Ancient breathing techniques and Indonesian Yoga, relaxation meditation and healing techniques, Guided Meditation and Chakra awareness are utilized to help keep yourself and those you love at the highest levels of mental and physical health.
For any basic information or consultation on internal energy, for long distance healing or for information on the use of different stones or other tools for increasing your Tenaga Dallam feel free to contact Guru Penglima at guruderek@hotmail.com
Internal Arts
At Raja Naga Academy we teach a true warrior art and a warrior must develop internally as well as externally, therefore we also focus on Meditation, Healing and Tenaga Dallam or Internal Energy studies. Ancient breathing techniques and Indonesian Yoga, relaxation meditation and healing techniques, Guided Meditation and Chakra awareness are utilized to help keep yourself and those you love at the highest levels of mental and physical health.
Tenaga Dallam
Tenaga Dallam is a term we use to refer to internal energy, Prana or Chi. Tenaga Dallam is not just electricity or bio-energy. It is energy with intelligence. Every move you make, every thought and every second of your life you are working with and giving and recieving this energy at all times. It is my goal to make you aware of these energies so that you may fulfill your God given right to be in conscious control of all aspects of your existence so that you may live a full, enriched life that brings a lightness and sense of peace to your spirit and benefits all you come into contact with.
Meditation Categories
We have four general categories of Meditation excersizes but as you progress the lines tend to blur. Below is a very brief introduction into each aspect:
(1) Dynamic Tenaga Dallam Excersizes: These are moving, dynamic excersizes, designed to awaken and begin to give you an awareness of the energies of the body and how to manipulate them. These practices are not very difficult and help to build energy and are very beneficial for your health.
(2) Seated Tenaga Dallam Excersizes: Excersizes for accumulating, redirecting, and conserving Tenaga Dallam, and awareness and control of the Coiling Center in the lower abdomen. More attention to details are emphisized here. Some excersizes are even done on the purely mental plane. These practices focus mostly on holding on to the energy collected and using it consciously.
(3) Expanding Awareness and Sensitivity: Excersizes ranging from physical and energy sensitivity to fighting awareness. Some Shamanic excersizes and Trance-like states are used to help you to have a deeper connection to the subconscious, and a greater level of awareness in all aspects of your life, however our main focus is put into fighting, healing, and knowing and feeling the connection between ourselves and our environment.
(4) Samadi: These excersizes are simple ways to experience a glimpse of Samadhi or Meditative Absorbtion. These excersizes may have a more spiritual feel yet they do not involve or require the practice of any one Religion. For those interested in making themeself a better person by establishing a deeper sense of well being and sense of equilibrium that is unconditional.
Breathing
Breathing is is an intrinsic aspect of Meditaion and has many aspects and techniques within
its range however lets start somewhere more simple.
Our breath is something that happens automatically. It is controlled by the posterior brain when you breath unconsciously. The part of your brain that drives you to do the things that are instinctual. The animal aspect. When you breathe in this way your breath and energies are being controlled and distributed as if by a computer system. Even something as simple as paying attention to your breath can have a profound effect on your meditation. When we breathe and we consciously control the breath, we use the frontal part of the brain. We take something that is usually unconscious and bring it into conscious control. This practice of witnessing the breath in and of itself creates changes in the brain and is a key that can by itself lead you to deeper meditation. This gives you consious control over all aspects of breathing: how much air is breathed in or out, how long the breath is held at each end, and most importantly gives you conscious control over your Tenaga Dallam which is the inner energy of the body also known as Prana or Chi.
Think about your in breath as a means of drawing in energy and "fanning the flames". The hold or locks (covered later) are like a pump in a well that draws the energy up through the Chakras which are like transformers, and allows the energy to be distributed amongst the organs and some to the brain. As you breath out you can simply let out the air (later we can focus on more advanced ideas). By consiously breathing out you can let more air out. This is very important seeing that a large amount of the toxins in your body are expelled through the breath. Deep breathing is not enough to move the subtle energies of the body. The respritory,lymphatic and circullatory systems are important as a generator and distributor, as the blood vessles and lymphatic channels become charged and polarized as the flow moves through them and throughout the whole body. But we must enlist a few tools to make our breathing move to a new level.
This level is a level where this system and this energy pump are utilized to produce excess voltage. We consciously generate an excess or surplus beyond what is needed to nourish the body. By consiously controlling the breath we have a key to unlocking this potential and the potential to heal, perform self defense on a higher level or evolve and transform our consciousness. By that I mean we can take some of this excess energy up and into the energy centers associated with the frontal portions of the brain. This can unlock many latent abilities and by itself can lift you into higher and deeper states of meditation. I will now list a few basic rules to follow while you practice:
(1) Breath on purpose. Breath consiously at all times unless an excersize requires that you do not.
(2) Keep your spine straight. Imagine a hose with kinks in it and how it impedes the flow of water. Also keep your tounge touching the roof of your mouth. Unless the excersize specifies otherwise.
(3) Destroy your desire for results. Do not wait or look for anything, just become absorbed in the path and you will become the goal.
(4) Do not try to force yourself to stop thinking by fighting your thoughts. It makes no sense to try to stop thinking by thinking about not thinking!
(5) Your posture is important but not at the expense of your concentration. Use your discrimination to decide if you able to use a posture or not, do not try to force anything.
(6) If you find your posture has to be changed due to discomfort, do so with very gentle and mindfull corrections so as not to disturb your meditative state. This can even apply to standing excersizes if you have to change in some way or if you feel pain.
(7) Always consult your Physician before beginning any new excersize programs. Guru Penglima Derek Owings and PCK International do not accept any responsibility for injuries or any negative results associated with these practices, if for some reason you should experience any. Please just use discrimination and commom sense and you will be fine.
Breathing is is an intrinsic aspect of Meditaion and has many aspects and techniques within
its range however lets start somewhere more simple.
Our breath is something that happens automatically. It is controlled by the posterior brain when you breath unconsciously. The part of your brain that drives you to do the things that are instinctual. The animal aspect. When you breathe in this way your breath and energies are being controlled and distributed as if by a computer system. Even something as simple as paying attention to your breath can have a profound effect on your meditation. When we breathe and we consciously control the breath, we use the frontal part of the brain. We take something that is usually unconscious and bring it into conscious control. This practice of witnessing the breath in and of itself creates changes in the brain and is a key that can by itself lead you to deeper meditation. This gives you consious control over all aspects of breathing: how much air is breathed in or out, how long the breath is held at each end, and most importantly gives you conscious control over your Tenaga Dallam which is the inner energy of the body also known as Prana or Chi.
Think about your in breath as a means of drawing in energy and "fanning the flames". The hold or locks (covered later) are like a pump in a well that draws the energy up through the Chakras which are like transformers, and allows the energy to be distributed amongst the organs and some to the brain. As you breath out you can simply let out the air (later we can focus on more advanced ideas). By consiously breathing out you can let more air out. This is very important seeing that a large amount of the toxins in your body are expelled through the breath. Deep breathing is not enough to move the subtle energies of the body. The respritory,lymphatic and circullatory systems are important as a generator and distributor, as the blood vessles and lymphatic channels become charged and polarized as the flow moves through them and throughout the whole body. But we must enlist a few tools to make our breathing move to a new level.
This level is a level where this system and this energy pump are utilized to produce excess voltage. We consciously generate an excess or surplus beyond what is needed to nourish the body. By consiously controlling the breath we have a key to unlocking this potential and the potential to heal, perform self defense on a higher level or evolve and transform our consciousness. By that I mean we can take some of this excess energy up and into the energy centers associated with the frontal portions of the brain. This can unlock many latent abilities and by itself can lift you into higher and deeper states of meditation. I will now list a few basic rules to follow while you practice:
(1) Breath on purpose. Breath consiously at all times unless an excersize requires that you do not.
(2) Keep your spine straight. Imagine a hose with kinks in it and how it impedes the flow of water. Also keep your tounge touching the roof of your mouth. Unless the excersize specifies otherwise.
(3) Destroy your desire for results. Do not wait or look for anything, just become absorbed in the path and you will become the goal.
(4) Do not try to force yourself to stop thinking by fighting your thoughts. It makes no sense to try to stop thinking by thinking about not thinking!
(5) Your posture is important but not at the expense of your concentration. Use your discrimination to decide if you able to use a posture or not, do not try to force anything.
(6) If you find your posture has to be changed due to discomfort, do so with very gentle and mindfull corrections so as not to disturb your meditative state. This can even apply to standing excersizes if you have to change in some way or if you feel pain.
(7) Always consult your Physician before beginning any new excersize programs. Guru Penglima Derek Owings and PCK International do not accept any responsibility for injuries or any negative results associated with these practices, if for some reason you should experience any. Please just use discrimination and commom sense and you will be fine.
Meditation tips
This is a collection of Meditation tips that I wrote for the PCK Newsletter
- When practicing our Tenaga Dallam excersizes it often becomes difficult to stop thinking. Do not force yourself to stop thinking by fighting your thoughts. You can not stop your thoughts by thinking about not thinking! Try to absorb your thoughts into the excersize or visualize them as more energy to be breathed in. By integrating them rather than fighting them they will go away on their own.
- Healing is something that Cimande is very well known for. Healing others and ourselves after fighting or even just after a hard day. One way that this can be done is simply through a glass of water. It can be charged with Tenaga Dallam or healing energy, to be consumed immediately, later or even given to someone you wish to heal before a healing session to make it more effective.
- Breathing is something that is automatic. We do it all day long and don't think twice. Making meditation a part of your day has a profound effect on every aspect of your life and conscious breathing can be a step that brings meditation into your day. Focus for one day on taking deeper breaths and see for yourself. There are beneficial psychological as well as physiological effects. You can also try to take a deep breath before you speak, giving you a moment to think .
- Rasa or sensitivity/ intuition is something that is helpful in both halves of the art and could even be considered the bridge that connects the two. In meditation the mind can wander sometimes causing you to become frustrated and even make you give up. Try to put your awareness into your energy body and focus on your body as a whole, rather than just dwelling in the head. This simple gesture can be helpful in loosening the grip of your thoughts on your awareness.
- You can not build sensitivity to energy or for combat unless you rely on it. Give yourself the opportunity to feel, intuit and sense as much as possible so as to build up your sensitivity to energy.
Indonesian Philosophy
Kebatinan
Kebatinan translates as the study of inner man, the hidden, or mysticism. Its root, Batin, is an Arabic word meaning hidden or hidden in the heart. So while the lahir would be life's outer or everyday type experiences the batin or kebatinan would be the deeper inner experience of an individual underneath and at the heart of everthing that they do.
Kebatininan is the cultivation of the inner self, the Rasa or inner feeling. The 5 senses are able to go only so far, as if their were a line that they can not cross. The the cultivation of ones batin is to expand the awareness beyond the normal scope of existence to encompass a far greater spectrum of phenomenon then is normally felt or experienced by the average person. So we can feel and experience life on a much deeper level rather than live in the superficial realm of the 5 senses.
Training the inner self through Kebatinan will make a person much less irritated by the everyday happenings of the world, more patient and more in tune and balanced in everything that they do. It is a training in sensing and feeling which will lead to a sense of knowing the appropriate action to take at a given time. To attune to something greater than oneself, so as to reach your full potential in the mental, physical and spiritual aspects of your life.
While Silat trains your body to be able to handle any situation physically, Kebatinan teaches you to be able to deal with everything internal as well as external, by helping you to experience first hand the energy that you and everything else is made of and therefore the connection between everthing that exists. It can strengthen your experience of your personal religion or help you to be better at fighting or even just help you to feel a little more relaxed all the time. It is as personal as anything can be and is definitely what you make of it. It is the study of "your" inner self and is a very personal journey.
You could not call Kebatinan a religious practice, because it deals in experience not belief. When thoughts are left behind and you are in a state of direct experience there are no beliefs or religion, just you and whatever you consider to be that higher power or energy that connects all things. Call it energy, life, God, or even just an Ideal of Perfection. But for it to be a religious experience it entails some sort of belief or thought process that holds that belief in place. Kebatinan deals in feeling and sensing, where thoughts fall away, and without thoughts all you have is experience. It may feel like a religious experience to a religious person or like the most amazing or relaxed state you have ever been in to a non religious person. Put simply it is reaching a sense of interconnectedness and unity with that power or life or energy that is greater than yourself and is a part of everything that exists.
Everything in the universe has its function and its place. Know what your goals are in life, get a clear idea of what you want and then use that to decide the criteria by which you will decide what is taking you closer or farther away from that goal. Learn by exploring your inner self, what your purpose is here, and watch how everything you do starts to flow. It is better to try and fail on a path that is undoubtedly the right one then to succeed on someone elses. Everything has its place even you. Find what that place is and watch how no matter what you do everything flows.
Being on the wrong path is like walking upstream in a river. Everything is a stuggle. We live in an age of perfection of means, but with no clear direction or goal. Find out what you are meant to do by exploring yourself through Kebatinan and watch how you seem to turn around and walk with the river. Everything that is right will feel like it picks up momentum because it goes "with" that flow, while things that go against it feel like they drag you down. Rasa is the sense or feeling that lets you know which way to go. But before you can decide what criteria by which you decide whether or not something is helping or hurting you, you must have crystal clear goals and a warriors courage about sticking to them.
Kebatinan is a path that can lead you to inner peace. To a state of being attuned with life. You bring the tools with you that you will work with, and your teacher helps you to see how best to use them according to your chosen path. Silat is a way of life. It is a way of life that holds the one living it personally accountable for every step and therefore can be as amazing or as horrible of a life as you make it. My favorite quote sums it up. " The difference between the average man and a warrior is that the warrior accepts every situation as a challenge, while the average man see everything as either a blessing or a curse".
The path of a warrior can not be only external. To do so would be deluding yourself. It is a path of self mastery and can only be tread by those who are willing to go all the way. Each step we take is an opportunity to live this. To walk the path of a warrior only to train for the handful physical confrontations you may encounter in your lifetime, while ignoring the other 99 percent of your life is to waste the gift that the ancestors of your art have given you. You will only be forced to use this part of your art in a few instances in your life. However if your art does not develop you as a person, for the other 99 percent of your life, then your life will remain a struggle and a series of ups and downs. Learn to apply the very principals that make up your physical training to your daily life and make the ancestors proud by giving their art the life and energy that it deserves.
The Tri Tangtu
Kebatininan is the cultivation of the inner self, the Rasa or inner feeling. The 5 senses are able to go only so far, as if their were a line that they can not cross. The the cultivation of ones batin is to expand the awareness beyond the normal scope of existence to encompass a far greater spectrum of phenomenon then is normally felt or experienced by the average person. So we can feel and experience life on a much deeper level rather than live in the superficial realm of the 5 senses.
Training the inner self through Kebatinan will make a person much less irritated by the everyday happenings of the world, more patient and more in tune and balanced in everything that they do. It is a training in sensing and feeling which will lead to a sense of knowing the appropriate action to take at a given time. To attune to something greater than oneself, so as to reach your full potential in the mental, physical and spiritual aspects of your life.
While Silat trains your body to be able to handle any situation physically, Kebatinan teaches you to be able to deal with everything internal as well as external, by helping you to experience first hand the energy that you and everything else is made of and therefore the connection between everthing that exists. It can strengthen your experience of your personal religion or help you to be better at fighting or even just help you to feel a little more relaxed all the time. It is as personal as anything can be and is definitely what you make of it. It is the study of "your" inner self and is a very personal journey.
You could not call Kebatinan a religious practice, because it deals in experience not belief. When thoughts are left behind and you are in a state of direct experience there are no beliefs or religion, just you and whatever you consider to be that higher power or energy that connects all things. Call it energy, life, God, or even just an Ideal of Perfection. But for it to be a religious experience it entails some sort of belief or thought process that holds that belief in place. Kebatinan deals in feeling and sensing, where thoughts fall away, and without thoughts all you have is experience. It may feel like a religious experience to a religious person or like the most amazing or relaxed state you have ever been in to a non religious person. Put simply it is reaching a sense of interconnectedness and unity with that power or life or energy that is greater than yourself and is a part of everything that exists.
Everything in the universe has its function and its place. Know what your goals are in life, get a clear idea of what you want and then use that to decide the criteria by which you will decide what is taking you closer or farther away from that goal. Learn by exploring your inner self, what your purpose is here, and watch how everything you do starts to flow. It is better to try and fail on a path that is undoubtedly the right one then to succeed on someone elses. Everything has its place even you. Find what that place is and watch how no matter what you do everything flows.
Being on the wrong path is like walking upstream in a river. Everything is a stuggle. We live in an age of perfection of means, but with no clear direction or goal. Find out what you are meant to do by exploring yourself through Kebatinan and watch how you seem to turn around and walk with the river. Everything that is right will feel like it picks up momentum because it goes "with" that flow, while things that go against it feel like they drag you down. Rasa is the sense or feeling that lets you know which way to go. But before you can decide what criteria by which you decide whether or not something is helping or hurting you, you must have crystal clear goals and a warriors courage about sticking to them.
Kebatinan is a path that can lead you to inner peace. To a state of being attuned with life. You bring the tools with you that you will work with, and your teacher helps you to see how best to use them according to your chosen path. Silat is a way of life. It is a way of life that holds the one living it personally accountable for every step and therefore can be as amazing or as horrible of a life as you make it. My favorite quote sums it up. " The difference between the average man and a warrior is that the warrior accepts every situation as a challenge, while the average man see everything as either a blessing or a curse".
The path of a warrior can not be only external. To do so would be deluding yourself. It is a path of self mastery and can only be tread by those who are willing to go all the way. Each step we take is an opportunity to live this. To walk the path of a warrior only to train for the handful physical confrontations you may encounter in your lifetime, while ignoring the other 99 percent of your life is to waste the gift that the ancestors of your art have given you. You will only be forced to use this part of your art in a few instances in your life. However if your art does not develop you as a person, for the other 99 percent of your life, then your life will remain a struggle and a series of ups and downs. Learn to apply the very principals that make up your physical training to your daily life and make the ancestors proud by giving their art the life and energy that it deserves.
The Tri Tangtu
The Tri Tangtu is an ancient Sundanese ideology based on the exitence and balance of the three energies of the Sekala, Niskala and Gusti. Sekala refers to everything that is percievable with the five senses. Niskala refers to all unseen forces or everything not percieveable with the five senses. Gusti is the name given to the creative force, in the form of a persons personal God of choice or whatever they see as being the higher power. The balance or equilibrium of these three forces, in relation to a person, will detirmine the course of their life and the sense of well being that is possible for them to achieve. This is not to imply any force of destiny but simply three forces, that when balanced can help an individual reach their fullest potential in every avenue of their life.
SEKALA
Sekala again, refers to all of the seen forces in existence. Your car, your dog, everything you can see, hear, smell, taste and touch. The material world. This is a very easy idea to grasp because of the close relationship that we have to these things at all times. Every move we make is an interaction with the inhabitants and forces at work in the world of the Sekala.
Sekala again, refers to all of the seen forces in existence. Your car, your dog, everything you can see, hear, smell, taste and touch. The material world. This is a very easy idea to grasp because of the close relationship that we have to these things at all times. Every move we make is an interaction with the inhabitants and forces at work in the world of the Sekala.
NISKALA
Niskala refers to all of the aspects of existence which can not be percieved with the five senses. Some would call this the metaphysical plane of existence. These forces can only be felt within a practitioner and can not be percieved directly by any of the five senses. One of the goals of meditation or even Cimande for that matter, is for these practices to help a practitioner to percieve and permanently tune in to these forces so as to create a balanced awareness of the seen and unseen forces at work, in relation to themself, and how to keep one foot in both worlds. By this I mean to show respect and appreciation as well as utilizing, the many benificial aspects of these forces to help a practitioner achieve the highest potential possible within their chosen path.
Niskala refers to all of the aspects of existence which can not be percieved with the five senses. Some would call this the metaphysical plane of existence. These forces can only be felt within a practitioner and can not be percieved directly by any of the five senses. One of the goals of meditation or even Cimande for that matter, is for these practices to help a practitioner to percieve and permanently tune in to these forces so as to create a balanced awareness of the seen and unseen forces at work, in relation to themself, and how to keep one foot in both worlds. By this I mean to show respect and appreciation as well as utilizing, the many benificial aspects of these forces to help a practitioner achieve the highest potential possible within their chosen path.
THE COMMON GROUND
Tenaga Dallam is the bridge between these two forces. It is the vehicle thorough which we can reach our fullest potential on the physical plane, by making our body, mind and spirit, a recepticle and antenna for the higher forms of energy in the universe, giving us the ability to percieve them thorough a new set of senses known as the energy body.
GUSTI
Gusti is a word given to the higer power. Whether a practitioner sees this as a God or some force or energy makes no difference. Just to see something as higher than yourself. This is a concept and not a practice and so is void of any religious affiliation, which would be an addition that a practitioner may add, to deepen their personal experience of their practices.
Gusti is a word given to the higer power. Whether a practitioner sees this as a God or some force or energy makes no difference. Just to see something as higher than yourself. This is a concept and not a practice and so is void of any religious affiliation, which would be an addition that a practitioner may add, to deepen their personal experience of their practices.
