Author Archives: Gu Shen Yu

About Gu Shen Yu

Jacob Newell (Gu Shen Yu Daoshi) teaches Ruyu-style Taijiquan in Sonoma County, California through Old Oak Taiji School. His instruction emphasizes Laozi's approach to meditation and qi-cultivation: wuwei-ziran. Jacob has been practicing Taijiquan and related arts since the early 1990's and is an ordained Daoist priest. His book of poetry, These Daoist Bones, is available from his website, www.oldoakdao.org.

Echoes of Emptiness (虚之響) – Gongfu

Posted on March 15, 2012 by Gu Shen Yu

Echoes of Emptiness (虚之響) Gongfu by Jacob Newell (Gu Shen Yu Daoshi) Gongfu (功夫) is a Chinese term which refers to special skill acquired by long, hard practice.  While often equated with martial art, it actually applies equally to any … Continue reading →

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Echoes of Emptiness (虚之響)-Taiji

Posted on November 15, 2011 by Gu Shen Yu

Echoes of Emptiness (虚之響) Taiji by Jacob Newell (Daoshi Gu Shen Yu) Taiji (太極) is a Chinese fitness system based on relaxed body alignment and smooth flow of energy. It is also a moving meditation based on the philosophy of … Continue reading →

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Echoes of Emptiness (虚之響)-Unknowing

Posted on September 16, 2011 by Gu Shen Yu

Unknowing by © Jacob Newell (Daoshi Gu Shen Yu) When we are born, nature gives us the wonderful gift of unknowing.  But human beings tend to overlook the value of this gift and treat it as an affliction.  And so … Continue reading →

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Echoes of Emptiness (虚之響)-Happiness

Posted on July 15, 2011 by Gu Shen Yu

Happiness   by © Jacob Newell (Daoshi Gu Shen Yu) In a sense we can consider the goal of meditation to be achieving happiness.  But this view is self-limiting in that it relegates meditation to being a cure for a … Continue reading →

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Echoes of Emptiness (虚之響)-Gradual and Sudden

Posted on May 19, 2011 by Gu Shen Yu

Gradual and Sudden by © Jacob Newell (Daoshi Gu Shen Yu) When it comes to cultivating qi, there is no question that Laozi suggests we take a gradual approach.  “A tree too large to embrace starts as a tiny shoot; … Continue reading →

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The Natural Process of Internal Alchemy (内丹自然)

Posted on May 15, 2011 by Gu Shen Yu

© Jacob Newell (Daoshi Gu Shen Yu) Introduction Daoist cultivation is a process of internal transformation or alchemy which works with the subtle energies of the body in a gradual process of refinement.  This process is natural, however, and should … Continue reading →

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Echoes of Emptiness (虚之響)-Original Paradise

Posted on May 15, 2011 by Gu Shen Yu

Original Paradise by© Jacob Newell (Daoshi Gu Shen Yu) For me Daoist practice means looking inside and going back to the original beginning.  One of Laozi’s primary principles is “return” (fu, 复).  For Westerners who tend to view our existential … Continue reading →

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Echoes of Emptiness (虚之響)-Selected Poetry

Posted on April 16, 2011 by Gu Shen Yu

Selected Poetry by© Jacob Newell (Daoshi Gu Shen Yu) Since ancient times, Daoists have used poetry and other art forms to express mystical experience, convey teaching, and transmit energy. A Daoist poem arises naturally out of the stillness of an … Continue reading →

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Echoes of Emptiness (虚之響)-Cultivate Strength

Posted on March 14, 2011 by Gu Shen Yu

Since ancient times, Daoists have used poetry and other art forms to express mystical experience, convey teaching, and transmit energy. A Daoist poem arises naturally out of the stillness of an empty mind, like fresh grasses in the springtime. Embracing… Continue reading →

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