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Articles in the Halo Halo Review

Posted on by renejnavarro

Here are links to three articles in the latest issue of the Halo Halo Review by or about Rene :

AT AGE 85, RENE J. NAVARRO LOOKS BACK AT HIS POETRY:
https://halohaloreview.blogspot.com/2025/11/at-age-84-rene-j-navarro-looks-back-
at.html

RENE J. NAVARRO CREATES A NEW FUTURE FOR HIS EXTENSIVE LIBRARY
https://halohaloreview.blogspot.com/2025/11/rene-j-navarro-creates-new-future-for.html

“EARLY CHILDHOOD IN BAMBAN” 
https://halohaloreview.blogspot.com/2025/11/early-childhood-in-bamban-by-rene-j.html

Diary 1/10/26: A De-Colonized Taijiquan?

Posted on by renejnavarro

A quote from the preface of my book “Of Fire and Water: Alchemy and Transformation”
(Tambuli Media: 2023):

A last cautionary tale. The Western Procrustean Bed. The Eastern paradigm of the human being and the world includes not just the physical and material but also the energetic, mystical, intellectual, emotional as well as the spiritual. But much of Eastern culture is often perceived and practiced through the framework of the materialistic West. Yoga has been reduced to an exercise for physical fitness and flexibility, meditation as a mode of relaxation, and nothing more. Martial art, a temple discipline among monks, has become just a system of fighting, sans philosophy, compassion, and virtues. Sunzi’s Art of War, the classic of warfare, is just a manual for capitalist business and gamesmanship. Eastern disciplines often pass through the procrustean bed of the West. We have a long way to go to reach the heart of authentic Eastern culture. 

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Book Launch at Marble in NYC

Posted on by renejnavarro

It was a lovely weekend in New York City.

It was a wonderful birthday celebration for my wife Lolit (now 84, the Year of the Snake)) and me (85, the year of the Dragon). We spent the weekend in NYC. Ace, the hotel on 29th Street where we stayed, is a historic landmark. Albert made a great choice of hotel and restaurants (one traditional Sichuan for lunch, another a fusion cuisine (both oh Saturday), and the last  Middle Eastern (on Sunday afternoon).  He also volunteered to sell my books at the door of the chapel at Marble Collegiate Church: we made a good income, but I won’t abandon everything to become a full-time writer yet. Lovely company: Laura, Ava, Charl, Isabel, Jay and on Sunday Carlos Esguerra, the famous photographer, and Romy Dorotan, the famous chef, both brothers from the Alpha Phi Fraternity of the University of the Philippines. Lola Lolit told me that she had the most wonderful time of her life! Which is definitely the truest compliment she could say for all the loving fellowship we had over the weekend. Not to mention the food, the steamed fish with fermented beans, the Su Dong Po Pork, Peking Duck and for Lola, the pineapple beer. As she would often say, PRICELESS!!! I share her sentiments. It was a great time. I thought the Book Launch organized by Mario Sprouse and Karla Hendrick at the Mable Collegiate Church chapel was incomparable.

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Diary 9/13/25: Classical Yang Family Tai Chi Chuan Solo Fist 108

Posted on by renejnavarro

CAVEAT: Sadly, the video starts when my hands are already up to the level of my shoulders. In the process of transferring the film to VHS and later to DVD, a short strip got deleted.  The actual opening movement starts with the hands down beside my thighs facing the back; then they turn slowly until the palms are facing the front before they are raised with the palms up.  When the hands reach shoulder level, they stop and turn over, palms down. 

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9/11: E-Mail In Memoriam

Posted on by renejnavarro

When 9/11 happened, I was in Brooklyn. I had an appointment for lunch with a Healing Tao colleague in mid-Manhattan. I took the subway and as it emerged onto the bridge over the East River, the odor of smoke and burning debris and bodies overwhelmed the air. Smoke was still rising from downtown. It was a weird hour in a Japanese restaurant. I received an e-mail from one of my students, a Jungian psychotherapist and author. Here below is our exchange.

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Diary 6/11/25: Instructor’s  Training in the Healing Tao (now Universal Healing Tao)

Posted on by renejnavarro

July of 2026 would be the 40th anniversary of my certification as a Healing Tao (now Universal Healing Tao) instructor. I was authorized to teach the 4 basic courses: Microcosmic Orbit (with Inner Smile and 6 Healing Sounds), Iron Shirt Chikung 1 (Zhan Zhuang), Healing Love and Tai Chi Chi Kung 1. The training was held at Rudi’s in Big Indian, Catskills, New York. There were, if I remember, about 10 of us who took the Instructor Training but I remember only a few: aside from me, there were Marie Favorito, John Loupos, Mackenzie Stewart.  There were at the time 5 Senior instructors: Juan Li, Ron Diana, Rylin Malone, Michael Winn and Gunther Weill. I do not know how they were trained and selected as senior instructors. Juan Li, Gunther Weil and Rylin Malone were there to assist in the seminar and testing  but the trainees were taught directly by Mantak Chia. If anyone remembers more details, please tell me.

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