zen-bear

Hello a5a5a9, In what country do you reside? My company has been shipping all the programs in my catalog (see www.taichimania.com) since 1985 in VHS cassettes --before internet when I used to advertise in Yoga Journal, Inside Kung Fu Magazine- and Karate Kung Fu Illustrated. I didn't go to DVDs until about 2001. Today we can ship to practically any country in the world, except we couldn't get product delivered to China, ironically enough. As I explained earlier on this thread: after consulting with media consultants, top executives in the entertainment industry, lawyers, and a lot of other friends in the media business, I decided in the early part of last year that the risk of piracy and counterfeiting in this digital age was just too great to have do digital downloads of mp4 copies of my programs. The cost to ship my CKFH DVDs to any part of the world is not prohibitive--given the immeasurable if not comparable health benefits that FP Qigong practice provides. And a new DVD player with USB input costs $19 to $30 on Amazon. I plan to produce and distribute more advanced levels of FP Qigong on DVD format. These future DVD programs that teach more advanced and dangerous levels will only teach the movements and choreography. For the all-essential breath-control formulas in advanced meditations can only be taught safely once the student has demonstrated proficiency in the forms--PLUS has demonstrated an aptitude in using the FP Qi for healing others. That's how the Bok Fu Pai tradition works --as well as other complete Chinese systems of hygienics. Sifu Terry Dunn http://www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html Zoom classes: terencedunn.substack.com

Hi Jonathan, Congratulations. With this side effect, you've discovered how powerful a meditation "Wind Above the Clouds" is and that it lives up to its name! All kinds of unexpected energy phenomena can manifest outside of your body when you're practicing FP Qigong moving meditations, especially when you've established the cultivation and a reserve of the FP Healing Qi is starting to build...or in other words, when deep healing is taking place. As within, so outside. In your case, you've already established the practice of the Monk Gazing At Moon, Monk Holding Peach, and Monk Holding Pearl stationary meditations. At the end when my arms are raised forward in front of me and I push them down I heard the wall mounted tv in front of me make a sound as if gently hit by something, like a small breeze or burst of energy. Is this an intended side effect? • Only you know for certain. If you've never heard any sound like that come from your tv (I assume it was turned off), then it was real. But first, on the final movement after you extend the arms forward to shoulder height, you should let the arms float downward very, very slowly and passively--and not "press" them down with any intention. If you "pressed" your extended arms downward, as you described, that extra focus and intentionality--that is not normally applied on that last movement--could have caused the small breeze that hit the tv. If you had clear visualization with your eyes closed of that slow arms-extending-to-shoulder level movement (from square horse stance holding the ball [left forearm above the heart, right hand at the tan tien]), if you were adequately relaxed, that total-body movement alone will normally cause the energy around you to "shift." As within, so outside. Let us know if your FP practice brings on more sounds and vision. Best. Sifu Terry

Hi Lauren, Sorry for the delay in this reply. I'm glad you found my answers to your questions of Dec. 23 were helpful. Here are my answers to your questions above: Should I practice and get acquainted with the DVD's before I start out with zoom classes or can I start the beginner zoom classes with no prior experience? Practically everyone who takes the Zoom classes started learning from the DVDs either beforehand or at the same time. The DVDs teach each of the FP meditations very methodically, slowly and in great detail...and It's much easier to learn and memorize the moving meditations of the FP Qigong system using the DVDs rather than through a group Zoom class. In Zoom classes, I lead students through the breath control formulas of each FP meditation and then we do 8-10 minutes of practice of each, and we flow through the moving meditations 2 to 3 times. Unless one has photographic memory or just superb physical suggestibility (what great dancers have), one might find it tough to follow the zoom practice of the more complex moving meditations such as "Wind Above the Clouds", "Wind through Treetops", "Moonbeam Splashes on Water" (Vol.3) , and the Long Form Capstone Meditation (Vol.4). Thus it's more efficient to use the DVDs to some extent and get familiar with the choreography before doing the Zoom classes--especially because the practice involves doing all the FP meditations with the eyes closed--except for "Monk Gazing At Moon." But in terms of getting a good bang for the buck, one gets a great energy workout from the solid first hour of Tao Tan Pai 31 practice. And then the following hour of FP Qigong is paced for beginners so that you the tangible restorative effects of the system within 40-60 minutes or sooner. Also the sense of yogic and spiritual community from seeing other practitioners from all parts of the world is a pleasant and motivating quality of the class. I admit I'm interested in both the Tao Tan Pai and FP Qigong combination. If one is particularly good at learning and memorizing forms and choreographies, one can start the Sunday combination class because it's for beginners. Also I am in the Los Angeles area--do you ever do person classes there or are you mostly on zoom for now? Unfortunately, I'm no longer living in L.A. I've been living in New England since Sept. 2017, when I moved to Lenox, MA to be the master-in-residence at a holistic health resort. But I do come back to LA for occasional short visits and when I do, i teach Tai Chi and Qigong classes at the same spot in Palisades Park in Sa Monica that i used from 1992 to 2017. When you say Advanced Flying Phoenix--do you mean the DVD's that have advanced exercises? I think one advanced DVD is also still in process of coming out based on what I saw on the site. No. I'm referring to entire levels of more advanced FP Qigong arts that have not been published and that are different in the "flavors" of Qi that each advanced level cultivates. Beyond the first level of FP qigong that is sufficient to empower one to become a very potent and effective energy healer--i.e., that comes when one has mastered the capstone Meditation taught on Vol. 4), there are several other levels. The next level is 9 standing moving meditations that "crosses the line" from healing art into martial art--in that they cultivate a "second tier energy" of general vitality that empowers athletics and martial arts. Beyond the 9 Advanced FP Meditations, another advanced FP system is called Red Lotus Flying Phoenix, which are all seated meditations. As my classmate Sifu Garry Hearfield had explained in the first months of this thread, FP Qigong is a vast system. Also a little random question but if one wants to do psychedelics like ayahuasca how much break should one take before doing qigong? I can only speak in reference to the Qigong arts that I teach: Ehrmei Bok Fu Pai Kung Fu's energy arts (that includes Flying Phoenix) and the Taoist Elixir Method system, both of which are vast. I strongly advise that one learn the FP Qigong system (meaning, become proficient in all the material taught in Volumes 1 through 4) completely free and clear of all drugs--from pot, to opiates, to psychedelics and to any type of psychotropics. For safety and best results, take a break from your normal usage of any substance that affects your nervous system and alters perception, mood, consciousness, cognitive function, or behavior.) FP Qigong is a pure and powerful healing art that restores pristine health and cultivates a structural sensitivity to the mundane and supramundane. You want don't want anything physical or chemical in your body to distort the initial experience of how FP Qigong yogic methodology works. For example let's say I have been doing qigong for awhile but I want to do an aya ceremony--should I take a break before and after and how long should I do that for? I ask because I've heard that psychedelics can mess with energy a little bit and I want to avoid potential qi deviations. Once one has learned the FP Qigong system and has become intimately familiar and become "saturated" with the effects of each one of the meditations (standing and seated), and can feel the tangible reserve of FP Healing Qi in their body, one doesn't have to break from FP Qigong before you do ayahuasca. But I would say come down from all the effects of the aya, or the peyote, or acid, or whatever you've ingested before giving yourself a FP Qigong healing. Think of every practice session of FP Qigong as going into a Lakota sweat lodge ceremony (Within Amerindian healing methods, I only have experience with the Lakota tradition): It's a place and time of healing and prayer. Similar question for breathwork--if I do a daily 10-15 minute breathwork practice should I leave a few hours between that and qigong practice? It depends on the type of breathwork. I would need you to explain what the breathwork that you're practicing entails. The Tao Tan Pai Basic 31 Meditations, all the TTP Animal Kung Fu forms, and all the advanced Yogas of TTP (5 levels above the TTP-31) are all integrated with breathwork. So if you were to gain proficiency in the Basic TTP-31, then you wouldn't have to wait one second before you followed that practice with FP Qigong practice--because the two arts are complementary and TTP enhances and prolongs the effects of the FP Qigong, as I've stated many times. Thanks for your good questions. Happy New Year! Sifu Terry Dunn P.S. I return to SoCal a couple of times each year for short visits. So I will post notices here of any classes scheduled during these visits. http://www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

Hello Here and Now: The first thought that came to me in answer to your question is: do Monk Holding Pearl (50 40 30 20 10) in the supine position. Depending on the severity of the blockage of the root chakra and the physical symptoms, and one's understanding of the etiology, curing the blockage might call for anything from good chiropractic work to good psychotherapy to direct energy healing from a high- level master. Sifu Terry Dunn http://www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

Hello Lo2022, FP Qigong does indeed increase one's level of consciousness in that it makes on more aware of the subtle energy flows of the body that maintain health through homeostasis by making them tangible--and with some practitioners even visible--and if the human organism is stressed--i.e., injured--restores homeostasis by the process of through allostasis." FP Qigong naturally improves intuition because it so effectively integrates mind and body. Like any effective system of meditation, FP Qigong clears the mind of inappropriate semantic responses--i.e., lies and delusions that we tell ourselves to uphold our version of reality in order to survive comfortably and avoid feeling time-bound past pain . FP Qigong practice as a matter of course increases self-awareness and improves intuition about the health and normal functioning of one's body. "Flying Phoenix Qigong activates the body's powerful self-healing faculties by bringing all the organ systems of the body under the regulation of the subconscious mind." -- Grandmaster Doo Wai However, when it comes making better decisions in life, what some call "executive function", the first level of FP Qigong only helps you make better decisions to first maintain and then, with diligent practice, master one's health. Then, when one has strong vibrant health, peak immunity and higher energy levels, one is so comfortable and feeling great in simply being alive that one naturally has a more self-confidence and a positive attitude towards life. One thus attracts better things into one's life--i.e., more success, more prosperity, and more personal happiness. But as far as Yogas and Qigong arts go that further develop and enhance executive function, decision-making, mental focus and acuity, and responsibility--defined as ability to respond--one would need to practice the Advanced Flying Phoenix Qigong levels (the next level being 9 moving meditations) and/or the Bok Fu Pai Kung Fu system with its numerous martial qigong systems--or any complete Chinese martial art system--Tai Chi, Bagua, Xing-I, LHBF, Shaolin, etc.-- under a bona fide master instructor, of course. Another Taoist system of Kung Fu and Nei Kung that I teach, Tao Tan Pai (Taoist Elixir Method), is completely different yogic methodology than FP Qigong that is heavily shen-driven, where every exercise coordinates eyes, mind, movement and breathe cycle. The TTP Qigong with its ultra-strong visualization methods just happens to be a rather perfect complement to FP Qigong to enable one to "claim the totality of oneself"--i.e., develop one's fullest potential as a human being. In fact, Tao Tan Pai although complete and powerful in and of itself, just happens to work a foundational catalyst for FP Qigong that increases and intensifies its health benefits. But again, there are other Qigong and martial arts within the vast Bok Fu Pai Kung Fu umbrella that would profoundly increase executive function, mental focus and acuity, athletic ability, and personal power. To make better life decisions, of course, also depends on one's genetics and IQ, one's family upbringing, education, social milieu, cultural influences, the role models that one chooses or is given, and also one's karma in the broadest sense of the word. These are all factors that determine a person's self-awareness, self-control, self-discipline and ecological awareness, as well as one's ability to learn from life in the present and also to learn from history. Contemporaneous with one's Qigong or yogic practice, there also lies one's intelligence and intuition and ability to use oracles such as the I Ching, Tarot, astrology, or numerology to extend one's understanding of cause and effect (karma) far beyond the ordinary in order adapt to the natural forces at one's disposal in order to attain one's goals. What is the I Ching? Here's a good primer and introduction: https://www.thecollector.com/i-ching-hexagrams/ Each of the 64 hexagrams of the I Ching are represents the natural forces at work in a specific situation in human affairs on earth. Think of flipping a coin, only the coin has 64 sides. and as one of the 64 sides of the coin lands face up, each of six lines on that hexagram changes to its opposite (turns Yang (solid) to Yin (broken) or vice versa)--if that line is uniquely constructed in terms of statistics and probability. That is how I Ching is used to tap into “the living stream of deep human wisdom” --by taking a snapshot of one's own mind to get the answer to a question that one clearly poses that one's higher self, or genius, already knows. Information about my ongoing Zoom classes in FP Qigong, Tao Tan Pai Basic 31 Meditations (the first of 6 levels of the TTP Nei Kung), and Yang Tai Chi Chuan are found in my free weekly Newsletter: terencedunn,substack.com The 2023 schedule of workshops has not yet been made yet. But will be posted in January. Enjoy your practice, Lo2022 Sifu Terry Dunn http://www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

Hello EFreethought, Although Earl Grey answered your question about learning the Tao Tan Pai Kung Fu system in general--and its first level of Nei Kung called the TTP 31 Basic Meditations, I wanted to let you know that one can learn Tao Tan Pai by taking my weekly Sunday class called "Qigong For Health For First Responders" that consists of one hour of Tao Tan Pai 31 Meditations practice and one hour of FP Qigong practice. I began this weekly class in Jan. 2020 at the start of the Covid pandemic lockdown to offer to the public the proven synergistic benefits that occur when FP Qigong practice is preceded by TTP-31 practice. The course became very popular on Zoom. Details for this class are on my free monthly Newsletter: terencedunn.substack.com I just finished teaching a make-up Sunday class this afternoon from 3-5pm EST because I had canceled yesterday's class in advance because it fell on Christmas Day. In today's class, I taught the prerequisite TTP Cane Form for a solid hour, did the TTP Short Form Power Yoga (a powerful 5-exercise distillation of the TTP-31) for 20 minutes. Then spent the remaining 40 minutes doing the following FP Qigong exercises: Monk Gazing At Moon, Monk Holding Peach, Bending the Bows (9 rounds), and then a full set of 7 repetitions of the second MSW Meditation on Volume 2 (50 40 30 10 and approx. 10 movements). You and all FP Qigong practitioners interested in learning this powerful combination of two ultra-rare Qigong systems are welcome to join the Sunday class via Zoom. Sifu Terry Dunn terencedunn.substack.com http://www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

I had an unusually stressful week and kept my body strong, mind sharp-but-at-ease, and soul happy with this practice sequence this morning: a. FPHHCM - Long Form Meditation 2x back to back b. Wind Above the Clouds 1x c. Wind Through Treetops 1x d. Monk Holding Peach for 8 minutes. e. A third round of FPHHCM - Long Form Meditation ** I strongly recommend making the time to practice the Long Form Med. 2 or 3 times in a row. You will find --as I'm sure all who've done this will agree--with each successive round of the Form, you will be doing it much more smoothly, more relaxedly, more comfortably, and more slowly--as you steadily attain towards moving at the speed of a shifting sand dune. Doing consecutive rounds of the Long From will enable you to experience the cumulative nature of the energizing and rejuvenating effects of each round of FP Long Form practice. Get down to it! Sifu Terry http://www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

To Flying Phoenix Qigong practitioners and followers of this thread: On November 16, 17, and 18, I will be conducting a 14-hour immersive workshop in Ehrmei Mountain Flying Phoenix Celestial Healing Qigong that's very suitable for beginners but will be focussed on the intermediate practices of our art. This will be my first FPCK workshop of this year and fifth workshop at the beautiful "Tao Retreat" (Han Chinese Culture Assoc.) at 33 Tao Road in Catskill, NY. The seven 2-hour sessions of this workshop are Zoom-able. There's qigong and there's qigong. Then there's Flying Phoenix Qigong that differs from all other Yogic arts created in China or India or anywhere else in the world in the way that it so remarkably fulfills the 5 essential functional criteria of any authentic Qigong system--as defined by the late great Master R.K. Shih (elaborations by me are in italics): (1) prevents disease by elevating immune levels; \ (2) cures disease and disease symptoms by inducing allostasis without adding stress to the system; (3) strengthens the body--by, in the words of GM Doo Wai, "bringing all the organ functions under the regulation of the subconscious mind"; (4) improves intelligence and thereby increases longevity (for starters, by developing the mental function of visualization like no other Qigong art); and (5) develops latent powers (e.g., clairvoyance, clairaudience, remote viewing, remote healing, psychokinesis, kung fu, seeing all forms of energy that go unseen by the consensus reality, etc.) --i.e. If a so-called "qigong" does not develop latent powers, then it is NOT qigong!!!) Astonishing and revelatory for most beginners is the common Flying Phoenix Qi phenomenon where the tangibly energizing and rejuvenating effects experienced during a practice session set on again several hours later in an unexpected total-body Qi-envelopment of the most pleasant and sublimely healing nature, thus further corroborating this professional medical assessment: "Flying Phoenix Qigong practice significantly elevates parasympathetic tone. 90 minutes of practice of this Qigong is restorative in real time and over time afterwards." - Yetsa A. Tuakli-Wosornu, M.D., M.P.H., IOC Dip. Sp. Med. Assistant Clinical Professor, Yale School of Public Health Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology. June, 2020 WORKSHOP SCHEDULE The 3-day immersive workshop, November 16 through 18, consists of 7 two-hour sessions with 2 sessions on Wednesday, 3 on Thursday, and 2 on Friday at these times (EST): Wednesday: 3pm - 5pm; 7:30pm - 9:30pm EST Thursday: 10am - noon; 2:30pm - 4:30pm; 7:30pm - 9:30pm EST Friday: 10am - noon; 2:00pm - 4:00pm EST WORKSHOP AGENDA The goal of this workshop is to help beginning and intermediate FP practitioners reach proficiency in the Long Form Standing Meditation and to introduce them to some of the Advanced Flying Phoenix Meditations—a set of 9 standing moving meditations…as well as to some of 16 advanced seated “Monk Serves Wine” meditations that I have not yet published. A. Thus each session will review of the Flying Phoenix Qigong meditations presented in the Chi Kung For Health DVD series, with special focus on perfecting the "Moonbeam Splashes On Water" in Volume 3 and the Capstone Long Form Standing Meditation (Vol.4), mastering the five powerful 90-second meditations on Volume 5, and all memorizing the 5 advanced seated meditations on Volume 7 of the DVD series. • All participants are encouraged to practice to the Volumes 3, 4, 5, and 7 of the DVD series prior to the workshop. B. In addition to reviewing the basic level of the FP Qigong system, I will also teach: 1. Excerpts from Advanced Flying Phoenix Qigong Meditations 2. Excerpts from Advanced Long Form Seated (Monk Serves Wine) Meditation — consisting of 22 postures. 3. Selections from the 10,000 Buddhas Ascend To Heaven Meditations System — an esoteric system of martial and healing Qigong consisting of 54 meditations organized into 3 sets of 18. 4. Advanced “Monk Serves Wine” seated Meditations not taught in the DVD series, such as this self-applied acupressure facial massage, repeated 7 times: https://www.facebook.com/1584272222/videos/a.10217921381417870/10217924324531446 C. A 15-minute warm-up module at the start of every class will include: The Silkweaver’s Exercise (valuable for all-levels) and excerpts from Qing Dynasty Imperial Guard Exercises and Taoist Elixir Method Basic 31 Meditations--the latter of which has catalyzing and accelerating effects on Flying Phoenix Qigong cultivation. TUITION $350 early registration $385 day of workshop $55 for each of the seven 2-hour sessions ZOOM PARTICIPATION: $40 per 2-hour session or $250 / all 7 sessions [Zoom log-on links will be emailed to registrants the day before the workshop begins] •• Please send payment via Paypal (to [email protected]) or via Zelle (to [email protected] •• ROOMS & MEAL PLAN: See postscript below or my Newsletter: terencedunn.substack.com If you have any questions about the workshop, please post here or write to me at: [email protected] ** Also see recent reviews of my last workshop (Sept. 30) posted on this thread by David Lloyd Hastings on October 8 and by Tao Now on October 16. ** I hope to see many of you at this Pre-Thanksgiving trim-down Flying Phoenix Workshop, which will, as a nice benefit on the side, also teach you how to use FP Qigong to literally vibrate off the lbs. of excess adipose tissue that you might layer on over Thanksgiving! mitakuye oyasin, Sifu Terry Dunn P.S.: ROOMS AT TAO RETREAT A. There are 3 rentable rooms at the main event hall at Tao Retreat: One room with bathroom: $350 / day* Two rooms with a shared bathroom: $248 / day* B. Ten floor beds in the main tea house / event hall: $60 / night* C. 4 new comfortable trailer rooms with sofa-beds for up to 4 people: $250/night*; $50 for additional person.* *Room or floor bed rent includes each day’s meals. MEALS: 2 excellent meals each day (authentic Xichuan cuisine for lunch and dinner) plus one smoothie or light soup before sleep. • Meals are included with room or floor bed rentals • Meal plan for non-residents: $50 per day. TO MAKE ROOM AND/OR MEAL PLAN RESERVATIONS, PLEASE CONTACT Yurong 豫容 Julia Li 李 at: [email protected] or [email protected] Tel: (917) 828-0731 PLEASE NOTE: The town of Catskill is convenient 14 minutes away by car (8.5 miles) has plenty of comfortable bed & breakfast inns, motels and resorts in and around the nearby town of Catskill such as Wolff's Maple Breeze Resort: https://www.greatnortherncatskills.com/.../wolffs-maple... https://wolffs-maple-breeze-resort.new-york-state.net/en/

Hi -_sometimes, If you don't have time to practice the 5 standing FP Meditations in sequence, then just do what time affords. While I have presented the exercises in the order in which GM Doo Wai taught all of us in the group I formed in L.A in the early 1990's, the key is to practice each exercise thoroughly (10-15 minutes each; longer to do 18 rounds of Bending the Bows). Once you've practiced Vol.1 meditations in order for a month or two, and feel that you've become "saturated" with the effects of each exercise, then you change the order in which you practice them. As long as you do each one correctly, no harm will come if you change the order. But, as an annual reminder: DO NOT EVER switch the breath-control sequences from meditation to another!!!!! Enjoy your practice. Sifu Terry Dunn http://www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

14-HOUR IMMERSIVE FLYING PHOENIX QIGONG WORKSHOP, NOVEMBER 16-18, >> ZOOMABLE << To Flying Phoenix Qigong practitioners and followers of this thread: On November 16, 17, and 18, I will be conducting a 14-hour intensive workshop in Ehrmei Mountain Flying Phoenix Celestial Healing Qigong that's very suitable for beginners but will be focussed on the intermediate practices of our art. This will be my first FPCK workshop of this year and fifth workshop at the beautiful "Tao Retreat" (Han Chinese Culture Assoc.) at 33 Tao Road in Catskill, NY. The seven 2-hour sessions of this workshop are Zoom-able. [The information below is also available on my free monthly Newsletter: terencedunn.substack.com] There's qigong and there's qigong. Then there's Flying Phoenix Qigong that differs from all other Yogic arts created in China or India or anywhere else in the world in the way that it so remarkably fulfills the 5 essential functional criteria of any authentic Qigong system--as defined by the late great Master R.K. Shih (italic elaborations are by me): (1) prevents disease by elevating immune levels; \ (2) cures disease and disease symptoms by inducing allostasis without adding stress to the system; (3) strengthens the body--by, in the words of GM Doo Wai, "bringing all the organ functions under the regulation of the subconscious mind"; (4) improves intelligence and thereby increases longevity (for starters, by developing the mental function of visualization like no other Qigong art); and (5) develops latent powers (e.g., clairvoyance, clairaudience, remote viewing, distance healing, psychokinesis, kung fu, perception of all forms of energy that are invisible to the consensus reality, etc.) --i.e. If a so-called "qigong" does not develop latent powers, then it is NOT qigong. Period.) Astonishing and revelatory for most beginners is the common Flying Phoenix Qi phenomenon where the tangibly energizing and rejuvenating effects experienced during a practice session set on again several hours later in an unexpected total-body Qi-envelopment of the most pleasant and sublimely healing nature, thus further corroborating this professional medical assessment: "Flying Phoenix Qigong practice significantly elevates parasympathetic tone. 90 minutes of practice of this Qigong is restorative in real time and over time afterwards." - Yetsa A. Tuakli-Wosornu, M.D., M.P.H., IOC Dip. Sp. Med. Assistant Clinical Professor, Yale School of Public Health Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology. June, 2020 WORKSHOP SCHEDULE The 3-day immersive workshop, November 16 through 18, consists of 7 two-hour sessions with 2 sessions on Wednesday, 3 on Thursday, and 2 on Friday at these times (EST): Wednesday: 3pm - 5pm; 7:30pm - 9:30pm EST Thursday: 10am - noon; 2:30pm - 4:30pm; 7:30pm - 9:30pm EST Friday: 10am - noon; 2:00pm - 4:00pm EST WORKSHOP AGENDA The goal of this workshop is to help beginning and intermediate FP practitioners reach proficiency in the Long Form Standing Meditation and to introduce them to some of the Advanced Flying Phoenix Meditations—a set of 9 standing moving meditations…as well as to some of 16 advanced seated “Monk Serves Wine” meditations that I have not yet published. A. Thus each session will review of the Flying Phoenix Qigong meditations presented in the Chi Kung For Health DVD series, with special focus on perfecting the "Moonbeam Splashes On Water" in Volume 3 and the Capstone Long Form Standing Meditation (Vol.4), mastering the five powerful 90-second meditations on Volume 5, and all memorizing the 5 advanced seated meditations on Volume 7 of the DVD series. • All participants are encouraged to practice to the Volumes 3, 4, 5, and 7 of the DVD series prior to the workshop. B. In addition to reviewing the basic level of the FP Qigong system, I will also teach: 1. Excerpts from Advanced Flying Phoenix Qigong Meditations 2. Excerpts from Advanced Long Form Seated (Monk Serves Wine) Meditation — consisting of 22 postures. 3. Selections from the 10,000 Buddhas Ascend To Heaven Meditations System — an esoteric system of martial and healing Qigong consisting of 54 meditations organized into 3 sets of 18. 4. Advanced “Monk Serves Wine” seated Meditations not taught in the DVD series, such as this self-applied acupressure facial massage, repeated 7 times: https://www.facebook.com/1584272222/videos/a.10217921381417870/10217924324531446 C. A 15-minute warm-up module at the start of every class will include: The Silkweaver’s Exercise (valuable for all-levels) and excerpts from Qing Dynasty Imperial Guard Exercises and Taoist Elixir Method Basic 31 Meditations--the latter of which has catalyzing and accelerating effects on Flying Phoenix Qigong cultivation. TUITION $350 early registration $385 day of workshop $55 for each of the seven 2-hour sessions ZOOM PARTICIPATION: $40 per 2-hour session or $250 for all 7 sessions [Zoom log-on links will be emailed to registrants the day before the workshop begins] •• Please send payment via Paypal (to [email protected]) or via Zelle (to [email protected] •• ROOMS & MEAL PLAN: See postscript below or my Newsletter: terencedunn.substack.com If you have any questions about the workshop, please post here or write to me at: [email protected] ** Also see recent reviews of my last workshop (Sept. 30) posted on this thread by David Lloyd Hastings on October 8 and by Tao Now on October 16. ** I hope to see many of you at this Pre-Thanksgiving trim-down Flying Phoenix Workshop, which will, as a nice benefit on the side, also teach you how to use FP Qigong to literally vibrate off the lbs. of excess adipose tissue that you might layer on over Thanksgiving! mitakuye oyasin, Sifu Terry Dunn "The vitalities of heaven and earth, sun and moon, Are fundamentally inherent in our bodies. If reality and consciousness do not stray from each other, Creation is always in the palm of your hand." — Chang Po-Tuan, 11th Century P.S.: ROOMS AT TAO RETREAT A. There are 3 rentable rooms at the main event hall at Tao Retreat: One room with bathroom: $350 / day* Two rooms with a shared bathroom: $248 / day* B. Ten floor beds in the main tea house / event hall: $60 / night* C. 4 new comfortable trailer rooms with sofa-beds for up to 4 people: $250/night*; $50 for additional person.* *Room or floor bed rent includes each day’s meals. MEALS: 2 excellent meals each day (authentic Xichuan cuisine for lunch and dinner) plus one smoothie or light soup before sleep. • Meals are included with room or floor bed rentals • Meal plan for non-residents: $50 per day. TO MAKE ROOM AND/OR MEAL PLAN RESERVATIONS, PLEASE CONTACT Yurong 豫容 Julia Li 李 at: [email protected] or [email protected] Tel: (917) 828-0731 PLEASE NOTE: The town of Catskill is convenient 14 minutes away by car (8.5 miles) has plenty of comfortable bed & breakfast inns, motels and resorts in and around the nearby town of Catskill such as Wolff's Maple Breeze Resort: https://www.greatnortherncatskills.com/.../wolffs-maple... https://wolffs-maple-breeze-resort.new-york-state.net/en/

Hi EfreeThought, Answers to your question: 1. As Earl Grey pointed out, one does not need to be a first responder to take the weekly Sunday class. I named the class "CKFH for First Responders" because each class combines one hour Taoist Elixir Method Qigong with a second hour of FP Qigong, which creates extraordinary catalysis of the FP Qigong cultivation, enhancing and prolonging its healing effects. The Zoom links are published on the monthly Newsletter: terencedunn.substack.com (October issue is late in coming and will be out on Monday announcing a 3-day (zoomable) workshop in November) 2. There is no Volume 6 of the CKFH series because when it was on VHS in the late 90's, Volume 6 contained 5 very powerful standing Bok Fui Pai Kung Fu moving meditations that were/are not FP Qigong meditations. They cultivate both general vitality and power for kung fu. I was inspired to demonstrate them during a trip to Stonehenge in the U.K. when I had my good friend and renowned director Michael Wadleigh film me do various Bat Dim Gum forms and Bok fu Pai meditations. A few weeks after I released the Vol. 6 program consisting of 5 Bok Fu Pai meditations, I realized that the material was too advanced and powerful to make available without any sort of prerequisite basic Bok Fu Pai Kung Fu training. So I pulled the video (VHS) off the market. To keep the program on the market would have been dangerous for the consumer and negligent/unethical on my part. But there was no FP Qigong material on Volume 6. In order to avoid similar confusion, wondering, and the same question being asked by others in the future, I should renumber and retitle the current Volume 7 DVD program (5 Advanced Monk Serves Wine Meditations) as Volume 6. I hope that this clarifies. Sifu Terry Dunn http://www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

Happy Autumn Solstice minus 3 days, everyone! I recently received this email containing questions about practicing Flying Phoenix Qigong, Tai Chi Chuan and Tao Tan Pai (Taoist Elixir Method) Qigong...and I thought it and my reply is wroth posting here as I gave answers to questions that have never been raised before on this thread (to the best of my memory): Austin Sep 16, 2022, 5:37 PM (3 days ago) Greetings Sifu Terry, How are you doing? Wonderful, I hope! I am reaching out because I have a few questions related to the retreat starting on September 30th. I want to attend and will have to do so virtually. I am not a first responder but am very interested in the healing arts and qigong. I have been doing FPCK for a couple months now and stopped doing all other qigong practices since it's been so powerful and tangible in the benefits. I have been wanting to learn TTP after reading the thread on Dao Bums. I trust it is ok but wanted to confirm with you that it is alright to join although I am not a first responder? Second question is whether the sessions will be recorded and sent to attendees? This would be a welcome bonus to be able to reference these zoom meetings but definitely not a deal breaker. Thirdly, will the zoom attendees be able to ask questions and do you give posture correction cues if you notice them through the screen? Again, this is not a deal breaker as I know it can be difficult through a screen and that there will be people physically with you so the focus will be primarily be there but was curious about this. Is Tao Tan Pai a martial qigong? I don't recall from the thread. I have some training in Tai Chi (~1 year) when I started on the Taoist internal arts path 6 years ago in San Diego from master Henry Cheng in the Claremont area (maybe you heard of him). I no longer live in SD but If I would have known about the Taoist Sanctuary and your work when I was living there I probably would started there. Master Henry was great for introducing me to the Tai Chi and the arts and is a highly compassionate teacher that I enjoyed learning from so its all good. I recently got your Tai Chi for Health DVD because I want to learn a martial style along with the FPCK as you mentioned they work synergistically together so my thought was to train and learn Tai Chi while also mastering FP but I sense doing the TTP and mastering Flying Phoenix before learning the Tai Chi will be most beneficial. Any thoughts on this? Thanks for your time and for sharing these amazing arts! I plan to train with you in person in the future when the timing is right when I have more experience under my belt. I look forward to hearing back from you. Thanks you dearly Sifu! In Gratitude, Austin •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Hi Austin, I'm glad to hear that FPCK is providing you with tangible health and wellness benefits--with so much more to come. There's nothing more gratifying for me than to what from a beginning FP practitioner who's enjoying the profound and sublime healing effects of this most remarkable art. Answers to your questions: 1.) No, you do NOT have to be a 1st Responder to take the workshop! I gave the workshop and my Sunday class in Lenox that name because great public health value embodied in that regimen, as I explained in the email. 2.) Second question is whether the sessions will be recorded and sent to attendees? This would be a welcome bonus to be able to reference these zoom meetings but definitely not a deal breaker. Yes, the Zoom recordings of the workshop will be viewable to workshop attendees on my Vimeo platform but not downloadable in digital file format. The environment is just too treacherous to have my teachings floating around and copyable. That is why, after careful consideration over 4-5 months, I finally decided not to sell the CKFH DVD programs in mp4 format. 3. Thirdly, will the zoom attendees be able to ask questions and do you give posture correction cues if you notice them through the screen? Yes, in past workshops, I can and did take questions from the Zoom audience. You are just as welcome to ask questions and receive the same attention and quality of reply as my in-person students during the upcoming and all future workshops that are simulcasted on Zoom. 4. Is Tao Tan Pai a martial qigong? The energy cultivated by the TTP Nei Kung is not a purely martial energy (in contrast to the ultra-rare Bat Din Gum / 8 Sections of Energy Combined art that I also preserve. There are very few Qigong arts that are strictly, 100% martial in nature. Those that exist--such as those that can authentically qualify as dim muk or dian xue are all top secret esoteric components most jealously guarded within a martial art. TTP energy is a general vital energy that empowers work of any kind: martial, healing, yogic, spiritual. But in general, the Tao Tan Pai Qi supports any type of physical work, athletic activity, or Chinese martial arts. It develops structural sensitivity to all encompassing Nature...makine one aware of what Alfred J. Korzybsky called the "structural differential" by energizing and fine-tuning the human process. 5. I have some training in Tai Chi (~1 year) when I started on the Taoist internal arts path 6 years ago in San Diego from master Henry Cheng in the Claremont area (maybe you heard of him). I no longer live in SD but If I would have known about the Taoist Sanctuary and your work when I was living there I probably would started there. Master Henry was great for introducing me to the Tai Chi and the arts and is a highly compassionate teacher that I enjoyed learning from so its all good. Any amount of Tai Chi background (or in any of the major Chinese internal arts) will make learning FP Qigong more easy. The more experience, the more easily the FP is learned. As you may have read in the first year or two of FPCK thread on www.thedaobums.com, a very experienced Tai Chi practitioner and teacher, "ridingtheox" in Arizona, was able to skip volumes 1,2, and 3 and effectively learn the Vol.4 Long Form capstone meditation and enjoy excellent results. I have not heard of Master Henry Cheng in Claremont. I'm glad you found him to be a great teacher. I only knew the masters who were affiliated with the Taoist Sanctuary of L.A. and of San Diego--and their peers. 6. I recently got your Tai Chi for Health DVD because I want to learn a martial style along with the FPCK as you mentioned they work synergistically together so my thought was to train and learn Tai Chi while also mastering FP but I sense doing the TTP and mastering Flying Phoenix before learning the Tai Chi will be most beneficial. Any thoughts on this? a. Tai Chi Chuan and FP Qigong are very different arts but are quite compatible. Once you have correctly learned the standing FP moving meditations--"Bending the Bows," " Wind Through Treetops," "Wind Above the Clouds," "Moonbeam Splashes on Water" (Vol.3) and the capstone exercise, "Flying Phoenix Heavenly Healing Chi Meditations" (Vol.4)--and put in the time to master them (which is the meaning of kung fu), your Tai Chi form--i.e., internal body mechanics--will greatly improved. As I mentioned in past post, after I first learned "Bending the Bows" in 1991, my Tai Chi Chuan completely changed in terms of form and martial function...plus a deeper command of my intrinsic energy. (When that happened, I had been studying Tai Chi Chuan for 11 years with Master Abraham Liu.) b. Tao Tan Pai is a kung fu system and its 6 levels of nei kung are completely different from both Tai Chi Chuan and FP Qigong in terms of yogic methodology and mechanism. While it is best to learn the 2 systems separately, the regimen I have created exploits the catalyzing effect that TTP-31 has on FP Qigong--and produces profound and remarkable health benefits. My general rules of thumb for practicing Tai Chi, TTP and FPCK are as follows: A. Practice Tai Chi Chuan and the TTP Qigong and Kung Fu forms (or any other kung fu system you do) on different days. B. FP Qigong and be practiced on the same day that one practices Tai Chi Chuan. It does not really matter if one practices Tai Chi first and then Qigong or vice versa. Although doing Tai Chi first would thoroughly warm one up to be able to do FP Qigong more comfortably and relaxedly. C. Practicing Tai Chi soon after practicing FP Qigong might possibly shorten the duration of "lingering" or residual or recurring healing effects of the FP Qigong. Even though Tai Chi has body mechanics similar in many ways to FP Qigong, it is first and foremost a martial art and, as I have stated regularly on the FPCK thread over the years, the FP Healing Qi cultivated by FP Qigong does not--and cannot be used to--empower any martial art nor can it be directed (to flow) with any martial intent. I hope this helps. These are good questions to ask ahead of the Sept. 30 workshop. See you then on Zoom. Enjoy your practice, Sifu Terry Dunn

Hello to all FP Qigong practitioners: Those of you who follow the news no doubt have seen or heard the news today that Britain's Queen Elizabeth's doctors are concerned about her health. She is 96 years old and has sat on the England throne or almost 70 years. The way the news is being presented, "are concerned about the Queen's health" may be the English understated manner of saying that her health is failing and that she may soon pass away. Thus I want to take a moment to share with you all this one milestone event in Grandmaster Doo Wai's life that brought him to meet and treat Queen Elizabeth--that I might have shared on this thread long ago: within the first 3 months of commencing training with GM Doo Wai in Los Angeles in 1991, after I had organized the learning circle/class comprised of friends and colleagues in martial arts who were all instructor level), GM Doo Wai showed me his personal scrapbook. On 2 facing pages, pages were 6 Thank You notes to him from the Ladies in Waiting in Queen Elizabeth's court. Then GM told me that after he had made his harrowing escape from Guangdong to Hong Kong (during which he escaped being murdered by the Red Guards in his home village), he had set up shop in Hong Kong as an herbalist and energy healer, and that his powerful healing work was so effective and profound that he quickly became renowned. So renowned that he came to the attention of the English cognoscenti in the Hong Kong government, who then reported GM Doo Wai's reputation to Buckingham Palace. That resulted in English officials seeking out GM Doo Wai and inviting him to London and Buckingham Palace to minister to Queen Elizabeth's health. (This engagement of GM's services, btw, also reflects the fact that there are [or were then] alchemists in the English court who could discern and recognize who's who and who can do what in the alternative medicine and traditional systems of hygienics of the indigenous cultures throughout the English colonies.) As it was just at the start of my training with GM Doo Wai when he showed me his scrapbook, I didn't ask him what type of treatments or methods he had rendered for the Queen. But you can be absolutely certain that Flying Phoenix Heavenly Healing Chi Meditations ("Fei Feng San Gung" = "Flying Phoenix Spiritual Power") was the currency or cultivated Healing Life Force--that has its own Intelligence-- that he administered to Queen Elizabeth and presume others in her court. I also don't recall in what year this engagement took place, but I believe it was in the late 1960's. But I do attest that I saw the six Thank You notes addressed to him from the Queen's ladies in waiting. "HEALING IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING." --Grandmaster Doo Wai, 1991 Enjoy--and redouble--your constant efforts to become a channel for the Flying Phoenix Healing Qi. Sifu Terry Dunn http://www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

Thanks, Pak_Satrio, for providing good guidance in answering Karlos' s question. Here is further refinement in answer to Karlos's question: Beginners should aim towards holding the basic standing meditations in Volume 1 for 5 minutes as a first goal. (We're talking about Monk Gazing At the Moon, Monk Holding Peach, and Monk Holding the Pearl.) Then work up to 10 minutes. Then incrementally increase the duration of practice for each one up to 15 and then 20 minutes. Plan your practice so that you cover all 3 of these stationary standing meditations in one practice. *For optimal health benefits, practice the FP meditations in the order that they're presented in Volume 1: 1. Monk Gazing At Moon 2. Bending the Bows 3. Monk Holding the Peach 4. Monk Holding the Pearl 5. Wind Above the Clouds. Once you've practiced all 5 of the above FP meditations regularly for 2 to 3 months and feel the smooth energization brought on by each., and have experienced the cumulative effect of doing all 5 meditations in one session, you can "experiment "and vary your practice in these ways without any ill effects: A. Practice the Volume 1 exercises in reverse order--i.e., go Meds #5, 4, 3, 2, 1: from #5 Wind Above the Clouds to #1 Monk Gazing At Moon. B. Do all 5 Meditations where you do the 3 stationary meditations together in this order: MGM, Monk Holding Peach, Monk Holding Pear. That means you're doing the 2 moving meditations (Bending the Bows, Wind Above the Clouds) one following the other. You can practice the 2 moving meditations first and then do the 3 stationary meditations or you can practice to the 3 stationary meditations and then follow with the 2 moving meditations. (When you do the 2 moving meditations back to back, it doesn't matter if you do Bending the Bows first or Wind Above the Clouds first.) C. Bending the Bows is all important and essential: But for best results no matter what order you do the 5 standing FP meditations of Volume 1, you MUST work yourselves up to doing Bending the Bows in a set of 18 repetitions. And as you slow down your practice of each round of Bending the Bows to approach the optimal speed of "moving like a shifting sand dune", your practice of 18 rounds of BTB will increase from 8 minutes to 16 minutes to 32 minutes... and even much longer. Budget your time accordingly. But start with a time allotment equal to the time it takes for you to practice Volume One from start to finish. Then increase your practice time as you do each of the 3 stationery exercises for up to 10, 15, and 20 minutes, and as you increase the duration that you do the 18 rounds of Bending the Bows. D. If you're just starting Flying Phoenix Qigong and have not done other Qigong, Tai Chi or Chinese martial arts before, make sure that you do the Warm-up Exercises that I present at the beginning. They come from different traditions but are valuable and worth doing. The point is to not strain or to make your self too sore. E. Involuntary vibratory states induced by FP Qigong. As Pak Satrio, advised, don't worry about the involuntary vibratory states ("the jerking") that may be induced by any of the FP meditations. The vibrations in all their forms in all directions--shaking, buckling, swaying, twisting at waist, light bouncing up and down through the soles of the feet, even tossings--are all part of the relaxation response that vary from person to person. As I've described throughout this discussion since it started in 2009, the vibrations--if they come-- will always subside as you practice longer. In general, as your entire human process relaxes more with the greater circulation of the FP Healing Chi, the vibratory states will become subtle. Enjoy our exploration of the FP Qigong standing meds., Karlos. Sifu Terry Dunn

Hello Growant, Nice to hear from you again after so long. Sorry for the long delay in this response...but I just today saw your post and question. Reason: when I returned in late Feb. from 6-week working vacation in SoCal, I had to scramble to find a new abode in an extremely tight housing market here in the Berkshires of western MA after I decided to end my 4.5 year teaching-residency at a bucolic holistic health resort. But now I'm resettled after 2 weeks of moving like a sherpa and 3 weeks of unpacking and setting up new home and office. Answer: YES. When you do the 50-10-50 meditation in Volume 2 (2nd exercise), you can rest your hands on the inside of your knees when you're in the half-lotus position or on top of the knees if you seated in a chair (with feet flat on floor and legs uncrossed). Glad to know that you're sharing the FP Qigong art with the elderly. **BTW, although I refer to the first 3 seated meditations on Volume 2 as "preparatory" exercises, because each has an esoteric breath control sequence integral to it, relative to the world of Qigong as it's evolved here in the U.S. since 1973 (when China opened up), they are just as powerful as the most effective Qigong methods that have made it to western shores. So thanks for your post. Best, Sifu Terry

Hi Chainikas, 1. You float the arms up to shoulder level and then lower to the thighs two times. (This is the movement that's similar to the opening movement in all Tai Chi forms but is done in the wide horse-riding stance [ma bu]). * I said "2.5" times on the DVD because I counted the preceding movement of the arms lowering movement from shoulder level as the first ".5". And in the Death Valley intro footage on that Youtube video, I abbreviated to one round so the montage wouldn't seem monotonous. But do 2 rounds as per the DVD instruction. 2. You can face the right hand at the end of that posture that I call a prototype of "Fan Through the the Back" in Tai Chi (just before the tilt towards the left rear corner) or you can look straight ahead as in the DVD (as per Earl Grey's correct advice). But either way, you want to have your mind (closed eyes visualization) on the right palm when the arm extended down the right normal at shoulder level. • Here is another video reference for you to use, in which I do the two "Moonbeam" at an optimally slow speed. 'Shot this in Feb. 2019, which is 15+ years after I produced the CKFH DVD series: Enjoy your practice of "Moonbeam Splashes On Water." Sifu Terry Dunn http://www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

Hi Centertime, I'm sorry to take so long--2 months--to reply to your post; I was in Los Angeles for 6 weeks of business unrelated to FPCK and Chinese arts. I am still forming my teaching schedule for 2022 and will try to work in a morning Zoom classes so you and other Europeans can take them. Thanks for your interest. Happy New Year of the Tiger. Sifu Terry Dunn http://www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

Hello Aaron, I'm very sorry to take so long--2 months--to reply to your post. But I had to go to my hometown of L.A. for 6 weeks to take care of long neglected work there that turned out to be extremely laborious. I didn't teach much during those 6 weeks either. At any rate, thank you for you kind holiday wishes. I hope this new Year of the Tiger is going well for you. Here are my answers to your questions (in bold colored italics): Would it be okay to use the circling blocks warm-up in DVD Vol. 3 as a beginner (to FPCK)? I ask because it incorporates shifting weight back and forth, which seems to have a healing effect on me. Answer: Yes, you can use those exercises on Vol.3 as a warm-up for a beginner to FPCK. One can use virtually any Tai Chi movement repeated as a warm-up to FPCK practice. Such as the 3 warm-up conditioning exercises taught in the first 40 min. of my (all-time best-selling Tai Chi For Health Short Form or TCFH Long Form DVDs. How can I approach Flying Phoenix Chi Kung when it is difficult and sometimes impossible to do the breathing sequences? I can do them some days, but other days my will-power and awareness completely disappears, and its impossible for me to control my breathing. On those days sometimes I can only do the warm-ups in Vol. 1 for a minute or two at a time before I have to lie down. Just do what you can when you can. To get the full benefits of FPCK, you must do the breath-control sequences correctly. But if you experience a "lack will-power and awareness" on certain days, just let the FP practice go on those days until you get your mental focus back. The breath controls require mental concentration and thereby exercise your nervous system. And if you happen to be so agitated, depressed or just so distracted so that you cant do the breath controls, don't practice FPCK on those days. *Instead, you might want to learn and practice Taoist Elixir Method (Tao Tan Pai) Basic 31 Meditations, the first-level practice of the Tao Tan Pai Kung Fu and Nei Kung traditiion, which is an even other Taoist monastic Qigong system is based on a totally different cosmology compared to Flying Phoenix and does not involve the unique "percentage breath controls" found in FPCK. Tao Tan Pai is almost as rare is Flying Phoenix and is much older. I am one of about a dozen instructors in TTP. You can learn it from me through my ongoing Sunday 2-hour Qigong class 4pm-6pm EST, which will resume next Sunday (after I took a 6 week business trip to west coast). Good luck with your FPCK practice. And I hope it has gotten easier for you since you posted your questions. Sifu Terry Dunn http://www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

Greetings to all FP Qigong practitioners. And HAPPY NEW YEAR OF THE WATER TIGER! I am extending this celebration I did on New Year's Day last Tuesday after I gave a private lesson I gave to my friend and student Dr. Roy Page at my usual teaching spot in Santa Monica (I'm back in SoCal for a working vacation): This form is called the Bok Fu Pai Ten Hook Eagle Claw Attack Form. And it is a basic form in the Bok Fu Pai Kung Fu system that GM Doo Wai had all of us (in the 1991 to 1997 class that I formed around him). This is the first time that I ever committed this form to any visual medium. I was inspired to dust off my muscle memory's cobwebs and demonstrate this authentic White Tiger Kung Fu form because it's the Year of the Tiger...and there aren't any Tiger or Tiger-Crane kung fu practitioners these days. I'm sharing it here to provide all FP Qigong practitioners with the cultural context of the FP Qigong art. Although FP Qigong can stand on its on in comparison with any system of Chinese Qigong and any system of Yoga in the world, historically, It's not a stand alone system, but one of the health "safety nets" of the Bok Fu Pai Kung Fu system. Sun Yi Gung, which my Sihing Garry Hearfield preserves, is another health safety net (and more). At any rate... Best Wishes to All for Help and Health in the New Year. and may your year be charged with all the primal attributes of the Tiger: raw power, strength, determination, and uncommon courage. mitakuye oyasin, Sifu Terry Dunn www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

Hi Jonathan, Thank you for your holiday greetings. You are most welcome to the benefits from refining your FP Qigong practice in the Sunday afternoon classes and the Wed. night (EST) intermediate classes on Zoom. I'm glad to hear that after getting a few corrections through the Zoom lessons that your Long Form meditation practice has been improved--by your own diligent efforts. Starting January 2 of the new year, the combined Tao Tan Pai 31 + Flying Phoenix Qigong course continues on Sundays from 4pm to 6pm EST on Zoom, and the Wed. night Intermediate class continues at 6pm to 8pm EST. As a teacher, I'm always trying to make my experience and knowledge of Qigong relatable to people through all cultural and historical contexts...and the carol about the Good King Wenceslas is a good example. For its telling of warming Qi left in footprints in the snow is typical of the residual energy or aura of a saint or Boddhisatva, whose bed if one were to sleep in after he/she slept, would imbue one with a healing- enlightening energy. Thus I do not doubt that the authentic relics of saints preserved by their disciples and later religions established upon them are indeed holy and imbued with spiritual power-- "power objects", as dubbed by Carlos Castaneda. My story: in 1994, after I used the futon that my best friend and mentor (a non-Chinese spiritualist and master healer) had slept in while staying with me in L.A., I experienced five days of nothing but multiple lucid dreams every single night. (e.g., dreams in which I had "pre-programmed" to visit friends in different parts of the country, dreams in which I met a close friend in the dreamstate after agreeing to do so beforehand, dreams in which I chose to halt at a certain point and then re-enter my physical body with my dream body, a dream in which I saw the illustrated artwork that I had commissioned a close friend of mine in San Francisco to do for a book cover, etc.) At any rate, in Buddhism, which heavily influenced the Tao Tan Pai tradition, heavy emphasis is placed on teaching others the Dharma, as reflected in the "vows of the Bodhisattva": The second set of vows is original to Zhiyi's corpus:[6] Sentient beings, limitless in number, I vow to ferry over. Passions (klesa) which are numberless, I vow to extinguish. The Dharma-gates without end (in number), I vow to know. The supreme Buddha Way, I vow to actualize. The first translation I read decades ago goes like this: No matter how innumerable the sentient beings, I vow to liberate them all. No matter how innumerable, I vow to extinguish all obscuring passions. I vow to find a thousand gates to the Law. I vow to actualize supreme Buddhahood. I look forward to working with you in the new year, so that you get closer mastering the Long Form Meditation and then start experiencing more of the FPCK's unique and wonderful healing Qi. Have a happy and safe new year celebration in Chile! Cheers, Sifu Terry www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html terencedunn.substack.com (for schedule of weekly 2-hour Zoom classes)

Happy fifth day of Christmas for those who celebrate the birth of the Great Syrian Sage. Here's a very beautiful performance of a favorite carol. Besides its inspirational message about charity and helping the poor, it's a favorite because the last verse gives an alchemic account of the latent power of healing Qi abiding in the saintly. I've had the great fortune and good karma of training with four high-level Chinese masters of internal energy arts over the past 49 years , each of whom could (without moving a hand) envelope-imbue a person at a short distance with a restorative and blissful healing Qi that elevates one's physiological function to an entirely higher level of wellness. [My friend, author and martial arts historian, the late Robert W. Smith, wrote in one of his fine books on Tai Chi Chuan of how, upon their first meeting, Prof. Cheng Man-Ching "lit up" Bob's wife Alice with a touch, infusing her with a rejuvenating Qi that made Alice's eyes widen in wonder and delight.] Similarly, King Wenceslas of old did this with his footprints in the snow. This isn't Christian myth. It's a reverent, Christmas-time celebration of real yogic and spiritual power. Sire, the night is darker now, And the wind blows stronger. Fails my heart, I know not how. I can go no longer. Ark my footsteps my good page, Tread thou in them boldly: Thou shalt find the winter's rage Freeze thy blood less coldly. In his master's step he trod, Where the snow lay dented. Heat was in the very sod Which the saint had printed. Therefore, Christian men, be sure, Wealth or rank possessing, Ye who now will bless the poor Shall yourselves find blessing Happy Holidays. Sifu Terry www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html terencedunn.substack.com (for schedule of weekly 2-hour Zoom classes)

Hi BluePhoenix, Again, my apologies for taking so long to see your post and to reply. In Moonbeam Splashes on Water, you do 3 presses (left palm on right) and the 2 rolling pushes (with the hands in light fists with rolled back and hands opening when shifted forward with right knee over the vertical line of the toes.) Yes, I might have said "left palm on right palm." That's a mistake--carried over from my then 24 years of Tai Chi instruction in Cheng Man-Ching 37-posture Yang style Short Form, where he presses palm on palm instead of left palm on right wrist done by everyone else in the Yang Cheng Fu lineage. I'm glad your this perspicacious about this meditation. And I'm glad you love it. So do I. And in my opinion, not enough FP people are practicing it because over all these years, there have not been enough questions posted about it. The name of the meditation is more accurately translated as "Moonbeam Reflects On The Water". But "Moonbeam Splashes On Water" is the name that GM Doo Wai always used for it. So that's the name my peers from that era and I used. As Sifu Hearfield had indicated years earlier on the thread and I've confirmed, FP Qigong and all the Ehrmei Mtn. Bok Fu Pai internal arts are NOT based on the principles or the "map" of TCM but are based on a different cosmology. And in that applied cosmology, the positions of the sun and the moon are most important to the practices. Not to get off-topic too far here: but how one positions oneself and onto what, when, and where the moonbeam is allowed to "splash" (illuminate)--if not water--is relevant to high level occult practices in different magickal-spiritual traditions--the dark side of which, would literally scare the bejeesus / shit entirely out of the unitiated. But to stay on the Light side, practice Monk Gazing At Moon and "Moonbeam" and the other standing FP Meditations while gazing at or facing (with eyes closed) the moon--the fuller the better! Happy New Year. Sifu Terry www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html terencedunn.substack.com (for info on my weekly 2-hour Zoom classes)

Felecula, Congratulations!--hearing sound(s) that one isn't certain of their source(s). That is one of the sure signs of correct meditation and that the body is truly relaxing. All meditation / yoga traditions have side-effects of telepathy and clairvoyance. My experience in Taoist and Buddhist monastic Qigong systems is that clairaudience is also an occuring and most interesting side-effect. I believe that you are the first to report this phenomenon. So congrats! Not only does FP Qigong facilitated clairaudience enable one to hear sounds and human conversations that are at a great distance and tnat are normally not audible, but it may also open the channel to auditory dreams--i.e. dreamstates where information channels in only through sounds. I myself have had only one auditory dream in my lifetime so far; it came in 1980 and was extremely prophetic, to say the least. About your experience of "carbonation" and the bubbling feeling: that bubbling feeling that's like a churning or roiling is normally first felt in the tan tien, which is a great and mighty milestone to achieve in any system of Qigong. But if you are feeling "bubbling" in other parts of your body or throughout your body in general, that's a phenomenon I have not experienced. And that is not to question nor invalidate your experience of the FP Qi cultivation one iota. Everybody responds to the FP Qigong in their own unique way--on top of the common phenomena that FP practitioners have experienced and reported on this thread. Continue to enjoy your carbonation and let us know your FP practice evolves especially as you practice the Vol.4 Long Form Standing Meditation ("FPHHCM")--auditory channeling and all! Happy New Year! Sifu Terry http://www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

Hi Everyone, I just answered a question posted by someone in a forum about Carlos Castaneda's teachings on Reddit (which I most recently joined) about whether "mirror gazing" was dangerous or hazardous. This is the expansive min-dissertation I posted in reply, which also contains some esoteric info about "seeing" that I may not have yet shared on this thread: Question: I am being pushed to introduce mirror gazing into my practices. My memory is vague, and I cannot find the comment since I delete my posts after the discussion is over. But I think dan (or someone else) said it was avoided for some reason. I really can't remember. Are there any dangers I should be cautious about when it comes to mirror gazing? Answer: No, in my experience, there is no serious hazard or danger in doing mirror meditative gazing (as described in the Castaneda books...during those hours that he or don Juan described as the "crack between two worlds")--unless: (a) one is abusing drugs or alcohol and/or (b) one has a severe personality disorder or borderline psychosis or worse, to begin with.I have been practicing Chinese martial, yogic, and healing arts for 49 years and teaching them since 1983. My 3 specialties are Yang style Tai Chi Chuan and 2 authentic and complete Taoist monastic systems of martial, yogic and healing arts. In one of them, called Tao Tan Pai (Taoist Elixir Method), after one has learned all the 5 animal kung fu forms (different from Shaolin 5 animals) and have mastered 4 increasingly powerful systems of Taoist Yoga, the 5th level meditations called the "9 Flowers" permanently relaxes and transforms the way that the person has been conditioned to see and uphold the consensus reality. I will give a partial spoiler: in the midst of this Taoist Yoga, while doing 9 exercises in front of a mirror, sooner or later, one suddenly sees one's karmic past lives change on one's face with every breath. One also begins to see any person's karmic past lives (and sometimes even progressive lives ) change on their face with every breath. One also is able to "see" the psychology of a person, and also his/her spirit. In high-level Chinese and Indian yogas preserved in warrior and priestly traditions, one also regularly sees discorporated entities. Yes, there are entities and there are possessions. This 9 Flowers Yoga is so power that if one were to practice it between the hours of 5 to 7pm standard time, one will die. Simple as that. The part of the "shift" into "seeing" that I'm not spoiling is describing how the colors that normally sees day to day transforms when one is in the mode of "seeing." Also, btw, should one's vision ever shift to soft, gray-pink spongy finely black mottled cloud with no depth-of-field whatsoever, you are in serious trouble with organ failure having begun and will die if not treated by a great and saintly healer. Hong Kong kung fu films since the 60's ACCURATELY depict the hero's POV as he is dying in the scene defending his cause or protecting innocents or whatever. I can attest that that special effect in the 60's and 70's Run Run Shaw movies from Hong Kong accurate depict one's vision when one is in systemic alarm during one's death throes. Complete and authentic Chinese martial arts traditions will initiate an advanced student to the next level of Power by letting the student slowly experience his very own process of dying--brought on by an internal energy blow (using pure Qi and not physical force or "li") that gravely unbalances the energy system of the body, normally by infusing an organ or orb with a quanta of externally cultivated energy. That is how, in Chinese martial arts, a striving student is subtly compassionately bush-whacked into "using Death as an advisor." Like any near-death experiencer, once one feels one organ system shut down after another...and see the lights literally slowly go out--but then is brought back by a true master's Qi and Shen, one's island of the tonal is significantly cleaned, to say the least. The other system of Taoist hygienics I preserve (solely, btw) is called Ehrmei mountain Flying Phoenix Qigong and it is a completely different system of hygienics with different yogic methodology. it also induces "seeing" at higher levels of practice. But the shift in seeing is not as dramatic as that brought on by the TTP 9 Flowers. http://www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html This is a very long-winded way of telling you that, based on my experience, there is absolutely nothing dangerous about mirror gazing as described by Castaneda. We in Taoist traditions do it in a seated meditation position (half lotus normally) with a white candle placed between us and the mirror. Enjoy using Castaneda's methods of the polishing of your doors of perception. Once one's will or psychic focus ("Shen" in Chinese) is developed, one can hold a karmic past self in focus and commune with it, or one can talk to the spirit that stands behind another person--whether that person knows he/she has one or not. Happy Holidays to all. Sifu Terry Dunn http://www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

Hi Felecula! "Carbonated" sounds good to me! --i.e., you experiencing good results from the capstone Long Form Standing Meditation. You're the first practitioner in all the years I've been doing and teaching FP Qigong (since 1991) to use the word "carbonated" to describe the allostatic energization. Thank you for that contribution! Keep on practicing the Long Form capstone (eventually, no pressure, try doing 2 rounds back to back with any duration of a break in between). That will accelerate your cultivation so that you'll eventually feel carbonated form head to toe. He carbonation of the ALL the matter inside the skull, as described in previous posts over the years, is absolutely sublime and blissful. GM Doo Wai accurately described it as a "washing" sensation. I can attest that it's a deep, gentle cycle. Happy Holidays. Sifu Terry Dunn http://www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html