Rec and Sports

How to Put Out a Candle

[I:http://www.uniquearticlewizard.com/extras/pics/bowzerimage14.jpg]One of the less spectacular feats in the martial arts, and yet one of the most important, is candle extinguishing. Interestingly, almost anyone can put out a candle with just a little bit of practice, it is that simple. Unfortunately, most people stop with the simple accomplishment being able to do it once, but that is where they should begin their study, for doors are about to be opened.

The basic principle of putting out a candle is to stop your fist an inch from the candle and let the woosh of air drain oxygen from the candle, and thus extinguish it. This is a very low level of ability, however, though, if pursued it can lead to higher ability. It is possible to put out a candle from across the room.

To stop the fist is to use muscles, and this confines your technique to a physical level. To attain higher ability through this trick you must not concentrate on relaxing, using the muscles less, and letting the mind go. Intention is what you are trying to build, and that is the key to real higher ability.

Try focusing your punch a few inches from the candle. The flame is not bothered because there is too much distance involved. Now, relax and intend the flame to go out, this is the intention that you must build.

Actually, it is better to start this second stage of training at about a foot, although you may have to experiment, even up to a dozen feet or more, to find the distance that is best for developing your intention. When you flick the fist you must watch the candle. Do not watch it hard, but rather increase your relaxation. Relaxation is the key to making this trick work.

Your real body is the bubble of world that you perceive, it is not the fleshy envelope you are wearing. Thus, you must learn to desire to effect what is outside your body. And, just like a light in a bulb, perceptions work best through space.

Through nothingness, space, a vacuum, emptiness. Not air, nor wood, nor even brick, nor other things which are merely ideas held in place to support the idea of your real body.

What I have said here is alien concept to most people, and it even frightens some, for it strikes to the heart of the matter of our existence in the cosmos. The heart of the matter of our existence in the cosmos aside, space, that nothingness in which we place the universe, is the most important thing…behind the structure of the universe. So place the candle across the room, still the mind until it is as peaceful as a coal mine at midnight, and practice launching your relaxed and certain intention, and a few dozen hours practice will enable you to see what I am talking about.