Voodoo Dummy

Everything is dependent on intention and focus. To accomplish something you need WILL.

What you do often will change you a lot. Change your movements - change your world.

The Wooden Dummy - A great chunk of wood, carved out according to Wing Tsun practice. Not unlike those alleged center poles used in ritual practice since time immemorial. The Center Pole represented the center of the universe. The World Tree, the Pole Star, the Cross, the Axis Mundi are some of many other names given to this representation.

It is at these symbolic points that all worlds, spiritual and physical, are aligned and attuned. Within this “sacred space” a portal through the dimensions was accessible, allowing glimpses of the mysteries of existence, and the spiritual world. Through this center axis, all worlds could be experienced. The fortunate individuals who found these portals were called Rishis, Gurus, Prophets, Buddhas, Sages and Shamans. And Sifus?

I think of my Wooden Dummy practice. I move around this center pole, also seeking out mysteries. And maybe, what I do with my hands will change my world.

This is my ritual now, this is my cult. Wooden Dummy. Voodoo Dummy.

My arms reach out to touch the wood, to communicate with this dead yet living substance... like I sometimes lose myself in chi-sao, so the mind goes blank, and I become all body, blood and flesh. And when I return from this timeless sphere of existence, something is changed in my body forever.

What I do with my body will change my world.

(This photograph by Louis C. Faron nicely illustrates the ascent, the World Tree, drumming, and out of body or supernatural experience. Joan Halifax writes of this picture: "A female machi (shaman) has ascended her rewe or notched pole. The pole has steps, and the machi climbs to the seventh level to complete her skyward journey. She plays a frame drum that assists her in her climb up the World Tree. ")