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You are making progress, just continue with what you are doing. Your breathing will be much deeper and deeper. It will become your natural breathing habit. Just breathe like that normally, then, you won't have to be concerned with breathing as you would have before you practiced qigong. Best of all, your body will carry out all the biological functions to keep your body in tune. FYI The metabolism is the healing system. It will repair any damage to the body cells to keep your body in tip top shape. That is progress from the long time practice of qigong. Progress is not accomplished by the hours practice per day. Rather it is by the diligent practice every day for many years to come.

Hello everyone, my name is Jesse Howard and I’ve been practicing Qigong for some time now, mainly focused on breathing, body awareness, and cultivating calm and stability in daily life. I come from a background of personal discipline, physical training, and meditation, and over the years I’ve grown increasingly interested in the internal aspects of practice rather than external performance or theory alone. My current interest is to deepen my understanding of internal cultivation, especially how different traditions approach energy, mind, and body integration, especially in Tibetan Buddhism. While Qigong has been my main entry point, I’m very open to learning about Daoist practices, Nei Gong, meditation methods, and internal alchemy, always with a grounded and practical perspective. I value experiences shared by long-term practitioners and enjoy reading thoughtful discussions rather than quick answers. I’m interested in joining this community because it seems to be a place where people take practice seriously, question deeply, and share knowledge with honesty. I’m here mainly to learn, listen, and gradually participate in discussions when I feel I can contribute in a meaningful way. Thank you for having me, and I’m looking forward to learning from the collective experience here. Thanks!

woah! what? Most of these things are probably helpful but the true answer is to 'sung' the body.

Hi everyone! I allways read about Taichi, Budhism, Hindu, i meditate, i have practice Kung-fu North Shaolin long ago. I want to learn more about deep meditation, chackras, and share experiencies to evolve togheter! I read a lot about energetic Fields, etc. Thank you

Beautifully written, @stirling. It made me think about the garden of Eden and the subsequent fall. Until man ate from the fruit of knowledge of good and evil, we excisted in a state of harmony and oneness. But with knowledge came the fall. The fall from oneness to seperation, from unity to shame. Best wishes.

A complicated question without some definitions. When I think about a "higher will" I think of the "will" (if such a thing were choreographed or planned) of the unity - the Dao, or the dharmakaya, or Crowley's "Do As Thou Wilt Shall Be the Whole of the Law". The "lower" will is perhaps the will we all believe we have as separate beings in a world of separate things - our thoughts and choice. As it happens, these are a delusion, whether you look at it from a non-dual perspective (Buddhism, Sufism, Daoism, etc.) or, for example, a scientific perspective. Example: Science has actually proven that your hand starts motion BEFORE you decide to pick up a glass, and that, for MOST people we actually perceive reality as much as 1/3rd of a second behind what is actually happening, INCLUDING the seemingly personally directed movement of our own bodies. (The exception is of those who are not continually pre-occupied by their thoughts). Further, no source for our thoughts has ever been discovered - there is only a correlation with thoughts arising and certain kinds of brain activity. Are they even really "our" thoughts? Most dedicated meditators have skills and experience to throw serious shade on this idea. Add to the fact that some function of the mind (or something) actually fills in the center of our vision, and you can be sure that we are likely fabricating a reality that doesn't exist in the way that we think it does. Yes there is science for all of this. As for "higher" or "divine will", this is the idea that there is some "thing" (god or whatever) has a "plan" of some sort and acts through us. This is equally flawed. Who is this we are talking about? Where are they? My suggestion is that one sticks with what can be perceived, since the reality of these ideas is actually perceptible by most with a little effort. Again, meditation is the tool of choice. To see the reality of this is a fairly simple endeavor. The cultivation of seeing from enlightened mind is actually possible when there is identification as simple awareness. You can see, moment to moment, how you construct your relative reality from your thinking process, and how, when it is arrested, that relative story of doing and thinking and subject/object relationships drops away when you stop putting effort into them. What is left is simply things as they are. That "things as they are" is in constant flux. It is change, happening in this moment. This is what your Dao, dharmakaya, or Crowley's "Do As Thou Wilt Shall Be the Whole of the Law" ARE. What does enlightenment reveal? Astonishingly, it reveals what what you can see is reality, when you look at it without your thinking mind. It reveals that there is the moment, here, now. There is what is happening now. There is an awareness of that, a simple, joyful being. It has never been hidden from you, and isn't even that hard to see, really. All of your thinking, brooding, and conceptualizing has never gotten you closer to seeing it.

Hi everyone, I’ve been practicing Spring Forest Qigong for over two years now, and overall it has helped me a lot., I feel calmer, more regulated, and in many ways it has really supported my healing process. So I’m genuinely grateful for that. At the same time, there’s this question that keeps coming up for me: Is this really the Qigong form that fits me best? What has been bothering me is that in the courses I attended, certain topics were never really addressed — especially things like Qi deviation or how to deal with intense or unusual experiences (including what some people might call “paranormal” phenomena). I’ve had some experiences during practice — seeing or feeling things that were quite strong — and I honestly felt a bit scared at times because I didn’t have any framework for understanding them. I had to research everything on my own. There was nothing in the books or teachings I received that openly talked about potential side effects, energetic imbalances, or how to handle them. That felt too superficial for me. Almost like only the positive, healing aspects were emphasized, but not the possible challenges. I also want to say that I find Chunyi Lin, the founder of Spring Forest Qigong, very inspiring. His story, his presence, and what he has built are impressive to me. I genuinely respect him and what he represents. So this is not about criticizing him as a person or teacher. But even with that respect and inspiration, I still notice that the form itself — the way Spring Forest Qigong is structured and taught — doesn’t fully give me the feeling that this is 100% what I need. Something in me still feels uncertain or not completely aligned. Recently, I’ve looked into other forms like Zhineng Qigong, and there it seems that these kinds of intense or unusual experiences are at least acknowledged and sometimes even described as part of the path that can be integrated consciously. That made me reflect even more on what I’m actually looking for in a practice. So now I’m really asking myself: What are the markers that tell you a Qigong form truly fits you? Is it about physical results? Emotional stability? Feeling grounded and safe? ( maybe the most important?) How transparent the teachers are about risks and intense experiences? An inner sense of alignment? And in what way could my own viewpoint be the problem? What can i expect from a good qigong form? I’m considering committing to one form for 100 days straight to really test it — and then honestly evaluate how my nervous system feels, whether I feel more stable and clear, or whether something feels off. I’d really appreciate hearing from long-term practitioners: How did you know your form was right for you? What are healthy signs — and what are red flags? Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences.

I don’t know if I’m imagining it, but your message felt so happy—like a teacher proud of a student’s progress, haha! It made me want to say thank you for your kindness and generous support. I feel so lucky to learn and grow with the help of people like you. truly inspiring!

i thought i share this here... i hope it helps you as much as me. I found it here:https://www.daohearts.com/qi-reactions/ Of course share your opinion, your three cents on this Qi reactions What is a qi reaction? The term “qi reaction” refers to a common aspect of the healing process in Qi Science, known in some Western medical paradigms as a healing crisis. Qi reactions are symptoms or sensations that occur when qi (energy), stuck in our bodies in certain patterns over a long period of time, begins to transform and release as part of the healing process. These changes are beneficial but can often feel uncomfortable. A qi reaction is also called a “qi purification.” While your health can improve without necessarily experiencing any uncomfortable side-effects, most people encounter qi reactions at some point along their healing journey. Because Qi Science has very powerful healing effects, qi reactions can occur more frequently than in other forms of healing. Therefore, it is especially important for the practitioners of Qi Science to understand these reactions and how to handle them. A qi reaction can express as a fever, flu-like symptoms, sweats, cough, rashes, headaches, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea, or discharges from any part of the body. Beyond physical symptoms, qi reactions can also be emotional or mental reactions, like depression, anger, anxiety, or sadness. In fact, qi reactions can take almost any form. They can make pre-existing symptoms and health problems seem worse. Take heart! Qi reactions differ from real illnesses. They are an effect of unhealthy qi being expelled from the body, whereas illnesses occur as unhealthy qi enters into the body or manifests within it. Sometimes, it may seem that a previous illness is recurring. This is because that illness, or perhaps it is a past trauma, has not been completely healed, even though the symptoms are gone. You thought the problem had been alleviated, but in actuality, the unhealthy qi remained suppressed in your body. So as you practice qi science and the qi mobilizes this suppressed qi, it emerges as it transforms and releases, evoking the old symptoms. This applies to illnesses or traumas across your whole lifetime, even congenital ones. Qi reactions can happen on all levels. A change on a deeper level is more difficult to handle. When the change involves the reference framework, you can experience qi reactions at the level of consciousness. Qi reactions also reveal to us where we need to improve our reference framework. Wherever our reference frameworks are fixed, not flexible and free, these reactions will reveal them. This is when we can practice universal love and compassion for ourselves. Qi reactions also occur among healthy practitioners. As their qi level goes up, old or unhealthy qi transforms and releases as they move toward higher levels of practice and health. At times, you may experience very strong effects from your practice and you cannot find a logical reason. You may feel alone. You may also wonder if qi science is a good method for strengthening your body or healing other aspects of your life. Know that qi reactions are a common experience. They are part of the process of deeper healing. Three important steps when facing qi reactions: 1. Stay calm and relaxed. 2. Recognize these qi reactions as temporary phenomena. 3. Practice the methods of qi science as much as possible, to help clear the body and form a higher level balance. Two very effective exercises are (1) Wall Squats and (2) Bow Body. Q&A with Teacher Wei on qi reactions Q: Why do qi reactions happen? What can we do? Teacher Wei: First, it is important to build a good understanding of Qi Science— it is not just a practice to feel better or improve your energy or strength. At its essence, Qi Science involves the transformation of the Life Entirety, or your life as a whole. This means that, when you practice the methods of Qi Science for the longer term, your consciousness changes and your life changes, too, beyond the immediate illness or emotions you want to heal. If you only practice on the level of the physical body and qi, you may feel more energy, and your symptoms may improve, too. At this level, however, consciousness has not yet evolved to see beyond the old reference framework. So if you experience a strong change in qi, your consciousness may not like it, because it only recognizes the old balance of qi in the body. If the changes in qi are too strong or too fast, leading to many qi reactions, for example, your consciousness may not have enough power or stability to see through these phenomena. Once you experience a few qi reactions, your consciousness will come to know these new reactions as part of the new energy state of your body. At that point, qi reactions form a new reference framework, meaning you can understand the role of qi reactions without struggling against them; you can reclaim a sense of agency in your healing process, and you can also see how qi reactions strengthen your willpower and uncover suppressed imbalances. With this new reference framework in play, qi reactions can pass more quickly, too. Take for example a child who has a cough. His parents give him modern medicine and the symptoms of the cough disappear. He grows into an adult and starts to practice the methods of Qi Science. His internal qi begins to transform and purify, improving the body, at which point, the qi reaction comes in the form of a cough. This is because the information and blocked qi are still in his body. So this qi reaction happens to clean and open up the blocked energy. At first, his consciousness may feel the coughing is uncomfortable, and he may worry that it’s a bad sign that something old is recurring. This is when the practice guides us in keeping the mind stable and the heart open, and in accepting all reactions. In fact, the practices guides us to love the reactions and send good information to guide the transformation process. This is how a good consciousness state can support your continued practice. Q: If we are upset and depressed because of qi reactions, how can we go beyond our emotions and into a more positive mindset? Teacher Wei: First, come to understand the laws of life and the laws of healing. Observe the reaction in a neutral state. This means to release any labels of it being a problem. You can think: “It’s no problem! The reaction is cleaning my body on the inside.” Know this and keep your mind stable. Naturally, from deep within, good information will arise. Secondly, practice your willpower in your daily life. Approach your life as a continuous qi science practice. If your willpower, however, is not strong enough, continue to practice the qi science methods. To gather more qi, nourish the mind. Practice LaQi (Open and Close), or gather qi into your body (Push-Pull, Bow Body), or immediately observe the qi body and observe the universe. All of these can be very helpful. I also had some strong qi reactions. Once, I had a very intense headache. When the headache started, I knew this was a qi reaction and that the qi would open the flow within my head. So my mind could accept it. Even though the feeling was difficult and didn’t feel good, I knew, “My inside is transforming.” I kept my mind concentrated in the aware, centered, and empty mingjue state. I started to do Great Horse Stance. I knew it could mobilize qi quickly and open me inside. I kept on standing even though I felt pain in various places. I stood there for an hour, perhaps even longer, like two hours. I practiced the stability of my mind. I kept relaxing my mind. “Relax…stable…relax…stable….” I connected with the universe. I gave the following information to my head inside, gently, without force: “Open the qi head, merge with the universe.” Then I felt my head inside was empty and merged into the universe. Eventually, the intensity stopped. I knew it was a phenomenon of deeper healing. So if you experience pain or discomfort, know that it will gradually become less and less. Continue to relax your consciousness. Relax and connect with the universe. Gradually, gradually, the pain will disappear. If instead, you begin to think, “Oh, there is a pain and I cannot control it,” and you talk with others because you want some external answers or you seek external validation for your challenges, it is easy to lose yourself. You are not yet trusting in your own potential or the power of your own consciousness. In this state, your inner power isn’t strong enough to go into, then through and beyond the pain. To handle changes, training the stability of your awareness is necessary. Train to simply observe, and not judge this or that. In observation, you can release attachments to feelings and thoughts, thereby moving beyond a fixed reference framework. Q: So we must cultivate faith and confidence in our own potential? Teacher Wei: Yes! Trust in your own powerful consciousness, because you are your own master teacher! Your consciousness has the potential to adjust your body and adjust your energy. So many people have multiple problems these days because they do not believe in themselves. They attach too much importance to the material world, believing a lot of things from external sources. This is helpful to a certain level, but it cannot really resolve our life problems. For most, arriving at this trust will be a process. Without qi reactions, it is difficult to improve your life because you cannot see the deeper blockages. Qi reactions, especially the more difficult ones, are like angels. These angels come to help us to understand ourselves better and to transform our blockages. Q: If friends share with us their worries about a qi reaction, how can we best support them? Teacher Wei: Practice universal love and compassion. From a confident and clear mind, send good information to them. “No problem, this good reaction changes and cleans your inner state.” Qi reaction? Oh, good, your life is improving. Next, share something helpful with them. Like, “Keep your inner state stable, trust your inner potential, open your potential!” This can help guide their heart to “grow up,” and help their problems to disappear quickly. Q: How can strong pain help us improve our lives? Teacher Wei: Pain can help you practice your will power. It can also give you more experience, which can help your consciousness “grow up.” Intense experiences can also help train you to see through and beyond the pain itself. In this way, this translates into helping you see through the challenging events of your life, too. You will come to know, “Oh, this pain is just a phenomenon in my body!” From this, you can come to your True Self. “My True Self is here, observing the pain.” When you find your True Self, it is much easier to observe the pain, not get attached to it, and therefore not become enslaved by it. If you really understand this, then you can see how pain becomes an angel who assists you in waking up. Also know that you are not the pain. The pain is a phenomenon, a reaction. The more you practice and experience yourself as the inner observer — this is a process — you can discover that you have previously been very attached to the body and its sensations. After practicing to concentrate and clarify your consciousness, you can arrive at a state of being that is independent from the pain or any other sensations, emotions, or thoughts. Q: What are some deep-level changes? Teacher Wei: At a certain level of change, all attachments are given up, whether to external triggers and events or people, or to internal thoughts, emotions, and sensations. At this level, you can keep your consciousness autonomous and stable, clarifying and cleaning all the old fixations. Your reference framework becomes free. You still use the reference framework to relate to daily life, but the attachments are gone. This is a deep-level change toward the enlightened mind. This is not an easy process, but it is possible for everyone and anyone. Today, people are starting to wake up more and more. The consciousness field is stronger now than several decades earlier. As we continue to support each other, more people can become free and enlightened with greater efficiency. We can all learn to stabilize our consciousness. After cultivating a good foundation, your consciousness will naturally stabilize. Focus on the present moment, on your inner observer, instead of the goal. Observe, concentrate, relax. Enjoy the mind and cultivate the purity of your consciousness. Gradually, gradually, you can arrive there. Before enlightenment, before releasing and cleansing all your attachments, you have to start with a positive mindset. A “positive mindset” in this sense actually means a neutral mindset, one without judgment — there is no positive, no negative, that everything is equal, everything is oneness in the Hun Yuan Entirety. The simple practice of observation can help you cultivate this. Q: Is there anything we can do to get there, or do we simply have to wait? Teacher Wei: In mingjue practice, waiting is a kind of doing; it is not doing nothing. This is different from the social life state of waiting, which is passive. In mingjue practice, when you wait, you practice staying aware and forgetting everything else. You come to the infinite and merge with the qi universe. This is the state of being — very even, very pure, very quiet, very peaceful. Nothing can influence it.

Today, I wasnt worried, and I am kinda happy with my own personal life. Simple as it is. As far as the larger, darker global forecast, that is another thing altogether. Which of these two do I have no control over? A billionaire recently suggested there are only three options: Pick a side and fight, hunker down and hope for survival, or flee. I say we quit listening to billionaires.

I was aiming for three messages (although a longer post could aim for more.) 1) Any practice falls on the foundation of who you are. If you are a person with a sense of responsibility to yourself, aka self discipline, you are likely to transfer this attitude onto how you go about practicing qigong. That's the message I derive from Person A's experience. 2) You don't have to "believe" in it -- just give it a fair trial period and your results (or lack thereof) will speak louder than any pre-conceived ideas. Positive ones are likely to keep you coming back. Like Person B. 3) Different strokes. Some like rock, some can't stand it and only want opera, which rock aficionados might find extremely annoying. Many people have to watch their diet because they want to lose weight -- but I, for instance, have to watch my diet so as to avoid losing weight. Qigong can be "metabolized" (or not) in a similar vein -- individual preferences (ideally reasonable and sensible rather than whimsical) are allowed a say in what we seek and what we avoid. Person C in my example practices taiji neigong, which makes qigong very optional, and not wanting to practice it, quite reasonable.

Greetings! I'm Long! Very happy to found this community! I'm in a journey within myself and i need your help! i'm in a serious deep meditation road, i believe i can reach Very deep states, levels of energy, but i don't know which way to follow. I've read many articles about Nei Gong, Tai Chi, Kundalini, "Everywhere meditation" (Open Eyes). etc. I think, do i have to choose a Path? Or can i be Pathless and find my own Path inside myself? Anyway i have a LOT to learn yet, explore and discover and i Will really appreciate to be part of this community! Best Regards and blessings for us!

Be frank, nothing in this world fits you perfectly. Even if you find something best fit today, the environment or yourself will change tomorrow. The easiest way is just enroll into different courses and find the suitable one. And you practise the one in your arsenal which helps you most at that very moment in time.

Here is something I found on the red Phoenix a few years back. Unknown - Red Phoenix Meditation.pdf

It means try to relax with no tension on the muscles.

https://www.sofiatopia.org/maat/heavenly_cow.htm https://henadology.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/celestial-cow.pdf

You don't visualise anything, it is physical, if you visualise then you use the mind and you don't achieve song. The body should be put in the correct position then constantly released within that position. That is what song is.

**"Sung the body"** (often just "sung") refers to a core principle in Tai Chi and Qigong, where "sung" (鬆, sōng) means a deep, controlled release of tension throughout the body.[1][3] ## Core Meaning Sung goes beyond surface-level relaxation; it's about loosening joints from within, stretching tissues like rubber for elasticity without limpness or stiffness. This creates space for qi (energy) to flow freely, maintaining upright posture while feeling energized and alert.[2][5][1] ## In Practice Visualize elongating your spine, opening elbows, wrists, hips, and knees outward to release bound tension down to the bones. Practitioners describe it as yielding to gravity and heaven, mentally and physically, like a baby's natural softness.[3][1][2] ## Benefits Achieving sung improves flexibility, balance, and internal power (like "peng jing"), while reducing stress that blocks qi. It's foundational, practiced in stages from limbs to full-body-and-mind integration.

Back in the beginnings of TDBs, @Stigweard did a tremendous amount of work with foundational organization. He has recently been producing some insightful, wise, hilariously dark art, "Stuart Shaw Creations". on facebook https://www.facebook.com/stuartshawcreations and his own website https://stuartshawcreations.com/

Don't allow the energy flow to your head - brain, as that has severe risks of making one smarter, making one realize their destiny and spiritual path, leading them away from scamgong teachings and worthless practices. You don't want that. Stay grounded.

I've practiced qigong for about 20 years. One thing I've learned is that my expectations need to be realistic. Certainly there are benefits from the forms I practice but qigong has not proven to be a comprehensive and complete system for me. I practice both Shiba Luohangong and Ba Duan Jin and derive valuable and different benefits from each. I have also continued to practice internal Chinese martial arts over that period of time - taijiquan, xingyiquan, and baguazhang. While I no longer compete or train martially with others, these have found a valuable role in my physical, energetic, and mental health. Finally, perhaps most important to me is my meditation practice from a Tibetan tradition. While I do think it's important to stick with a practice for a long time to really probe its depth and potential, I don't know that each one of us can expect to find a single practice or system that does everything we are looking for. Some do and that is wonderful but it hasn't been that way for me. I also think that we need to listen to our body and mind and maintain some openness and flexibility as our needs can change over time.

Your meaning about grounding seems of out of sync with the true definition. The true meaning of grounding to be keep your body in a stable condition to maintain balance. The most effective grounding position is the keep both feet flat on the floor or ground. Nowadays, any exercise with the knee passed the toes is considered to be a bad practice. It is because it puts lots of stresses on the knee cap that might cause problems. As far as I know, there were many Taiji practitioners had made this mistake and caused permanent damage at the knee joint. The correct movement is always to point the knee at the same direction of the toes and do not go beyond the toes. If the knee was not properly align with the toes will cause permanent damage to the knee joint.

Eh? Aye!

I´m a guy but I did like this quote. It actually doesn´t take much to be considered a difficult woman, that´s why there are so many of us. - Jane Goodall

🙏

Friends, After 7 long years, I have finally completed the 2nd book of my trilogy. Please read and support. Best, Dwai https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GLT43ZF8

Definitely not to much to ask, and I have given it five stars, but for some reason I am not qaulitified by Amazon to leave a written review.

I asked ChatGPT about the differences in effects between the two sets and this was the answer it gave. Is this true? Does it fit your experience or what you have learnt about the forms? 🌿 Eight Brocades (Ba Duan Jin) Nature: Regulating, harmonizing, stabilizing Movement: Symmetrical, predictable, gentle Effects: Calms nervous system Improves circulation (esp. lower body) Opens chest, strengthens legs, aligns posture Builds foundational Qi flow and grounding Best for: Rebalancing after chronic stress or fatigue, building stability before activation 🐅 Five Animals (Wu Qin Xi) Nature: Stimulating, activating, expressive Movement: Archetypal, dynamic, playful Effects: Strengthens tendons and spine Awakens instinctual and emotional energy Improves coordination and flexibility Can slightly energize or excite the nervous system Best for: Developmental practice, mobilizing energy once regulation is established ⚖️ Practical Takeaway If your nervous system is dysregulated or fatigued: do Eight Brocades twice daily before adding Five Animals. Once stability, warmth, and circulation improve, you can add the Five Animals gradually. Think of it like this: Brocades = calm the river Five Animals = increase the current

this is interesting . thank you fir asking about the breath. i have some blockages in my lungs. they slowly sart to dissolve since i do zhing qigong. and with that i sense that my breathing is a bit deeper. it will take some time to heal this

@dwai I have now finished it. It was a very interresting experience that managed bypass my "logic mind" and a very good read, with a great ending and moral. It also fills me with a sense of wonder. If youd like to tell about your inspirations and such, id love to hear.

Hi Long, I have had similar thoughts to yours regarding paths, i would say it's best to observe yourself, see what you like, see what you dislike, ask yourself why this is the case for anything and try to keep to an ethical code so you are guided along a virtuous path. I like buddha's teachings and orthodox christian stuff as good examples of a moral code. Try not to get stuck in dogmatic thinking (this is a reminder to myself too)

With no tension you would collapse onto the floor.

I tried this based on your suggestion and it seemed to mostly work but could somehow still agitate my knees somewhat. It didn't get the energy down as well as standing but seemed like it may do the job long term. I stopped all practices for a while and cut this too. Now I have restarted with the standing vs as I had a hunch all my work with exercise and treatments working on correcting my legs had paid off and turns out it had. I seem to be able to do deep earth pusling for a while without too much issues for the knees or ankle joint. The grounding effect has so far been very good. I have been burnt too many times to be super confident this will work long term. So many grounding exercises work for me initially but eventually makes things worse. But so far this seems to be working. I am on day 8 now. I haven't been this hopeful in many years:). Thanks for the advice!

ok thanks!

That was from AI I confess. Yes I agree no visualization.

Let's think about what it actually means to be in perfect balance with your environment. Picture a rock floating through deep space. Eventually, that rock will cool down until its temperature is close to absolute zero. At that point, the rock is perfectly balanced with its freezing surroundings, but it certainly is not alive. To be alive is to constantly fight against being in balance with your environment. Think about how energy flows to make this happen. Plants harvest sunlight and store it as chemical energy. Then, we eat those plants to borrow that stored energy for ourselves. We put that energy to work in all sorts of active ways: To repair old cells and build new ones. To keep our bodies warm. To fuel our brains and muscles so we can think and move. If we ever reached perfect balance with our environment, all of that active work would stop. Just like the rock in space, we would have no energy left to keep going. Imagine pushing this idea even further and pulling in vastly more energy than a normal organism ever could.

I think he is referring to mental massage, letting the tension from every muscle and joint go, and completely relaxing the mind and body.

YES ! I often tell people a dream is full of their own personal symbols interpreted in light of everything about themselves including 'intimate / inside ' knowledge ... how is someone else going to add that into the interpretive mix ? Tarot especially , I read publicly for years and did not use a 'prediction aspect' of it , I would look at and discuss the reading and if the person themselves felt to relate to anything in it to themselves , then we would talk about that . One classic example turns up here ... on the old now defunct Tarotfurum one person insisted ( and it caused rather a bother for some time - controversy ) that this card 6 of Cups 'happiness' - this persons interpretation ... obvious ! ; Child molesting ! ... everyone else was ... '' Its so obvious ; the evil little dwarf is offering the little girl some flowers , like they do ; flowers . sweets ... etc . and the man in the background is walking away allowing it to happen . '' Everyone was .... ummmmmm .... perhaps that is a highly personal interpretation from some personal experience ?'' No No she angrily insisted and went through all the parts of the image to back it up . people insisted it can not mean that . My contribution was ... well, it can ... for her ! In a reading I would give a general description ( that nearly all seem to agree on ) ; a ( badly drawn ) man offers the shorter woman some flowers - happiness . Now IF the querent starts saying .... that looks like a child molester (or whatever ) then that conversation can be had . The danger ( especially with a suggestively vulnerable querent ) is when crazies like that person do someone a reading ... the 6 of cups turns up and the reader goes ; '' OH-O ... its the child molesting card ! do you where your kids are that the moment ?'' Psycho analysis ? I spent about 4 hrs doing something like that with a fiend yesterday .. she has mammoth issues ( actually being a child abuse victim ) at one stage when she got cheeky and evasive and asked me what I was going 'to do about it ' ( jokingly ... it was a 'light ' session ) I said ''I am going to hammer the shit out of you with Socratic dialectic ! '' ''What's that ! ? '' '' I am going to keep asking you questions about what you say and your own answers are going to give you your own solutions . '' It probably should not be more than that . people who do not intend things lack a quantum leap of perennial healing . https://sebpearce.com/bullshit/ That seems the consensus here .

I think the general answer to this kind of thing would be 'doesn't matter, carry on'. This is for two reasons. One is that most of these kinds of things are just the result of qi balancing or moving in a certain way. You are clearly quite sensitive so many people would not notice anything much but for you there are 'paranormal experiences'. So the usual answer is - just keep on with the practice. Qigong relies on not just the body and breathing working together but also the mind. If the mind gets drawn into diverting experiences the qigong won't work properly. So in 99% of strange experiences it is best to just let them be and carry on. Now obviously there is also significant stuff which may happen and which should not be ignored. It is best to consult your teacher on this so they can give you a detailed and specific answer - or suggest some practice etc. If this is not available then you will have to address the issues yourself - along the lines of don't be obsessed by the experiences but just note what they are and try to interpret them. This is exactly what you should do. There is no rush to accept or reject a system or practice. You need to make a full evaluation and this should be based on results. So do it with full concentration for 100 days and then review. Do the same for any other system you come across which interests you. Bear in mind while doing this that it is not necessarily that which meets our immediate needs which we seek ... not a kind of window shopping ... but something deeper about what is right for us.

That did make me laugh. But imo all Chinese stuff is about the balancing of the two. E.g. DDJ ch. 42: Everyone turns their back on the yin and embraces the yang, But it’s the blending of yin and yang that creates harmony. 萬 物 負 陰|(wan4 wu4 fu4 yin1) 而 抱 陽 也 (er2 bao4 yang2 ye3) 中 氣 為 和 (zhong1 qi4 wei2 he2)

Take it from a drifter, if you´ve been practicing the same system for two years and feel the benefits, you´re doing pretty darn great!

«If you see the Buddha, kill the Buddha»

I am no longer practicing, but actualizing enlightenment. One can actualize enlightenment by dropping all contrived thoughts, ideas, and practices. From the viewpoint of awareness it can be seen that all appearances in consciousness, including the "self", thoughts, and other worldly phenomena arise and When you practice in this way even the walled-in concept of enlightenment drops away.

I can’t either

Judging by the humility, honesty and philosophy of that comment, I’m tempted to say it has been a great success

FINALLY ! Got someone new to train with ... that actually turns up ! he mostly wants to do Arnis and not other weapons at this stage ... thats ok, I wanted to get into that myself . So far we got a reasonable 'Sinawali' going ( weaving 6 count standard pattern Heaven / Earth ) starting ; Then there are the masters ! ;