The 2016 Fall Equinox is September 22.  On the Equinox, day and night will be of equal lengths.  There is a place on the Tai Chi where rising Yin and descending Yang are of equal fullness.  The transition of energy will now move toward the Yin, as we move toward winter in the Northern hemisphere.

It is said that during the two weeks surrounding the Equinox,  the veil between the two worlds is thinner.  It is considered an auspicious time for practicing awareness exercises like Tai Chi Chu’an and Qigong.  What are the “two worlds”, and of what are we trying to become aware?

One concept of two worlds is duality and reality.  Duality is the “dueling” of opposites which happens as  we classify and define things as particle or wave (physics), point or plane (geometry), good or bad (sensations), right or wrong (beliefs).  Reality transcends all that.  It just is.

Our perception of reality is filtered through the veil of duality.  Modern quantum physics states that the observer affects the observed.  Therefore, how we perceive and filter what we observe can define our reality.  Can we be both the observer and the observed?  Can we just “be” for a few moments, and free ourselves of the dueling?  Can we become aware of the duality we have formed for ourselves, and step through it, stepping like a stalking cat with unwavering attention?  Can we slip through the veil, and then, step back again?

As we enter the season of Autumn, we complete the Harvest of Summer’s labors.  How was the Harvest for you this year?  We can assess our successes and our failures, storing the good and releasing the bad.  Feed the rotten apples to the hogs.  Keep the good ones to nourish yourself, your family and community.  Autumn is associated with reward and integrity, but also with loss and grief.  At Northern latitudes, the trees will be losing their leaves gracefully and gloriously, with no grief.  Autumn is the time for letting go.  Let go of passing concerns and considerations, step through the veil of duality, and experience the reality of the ever-changing universe.