zen-bear

Hi Earl Grey, Thank you for your good answers to Zouina's question about wearing earphones while practicing FP Qigong. In general, it's best to practice in silence when one is learning the FP Qigong meditations. Once one has memorized the breath control sequences and can perform the postures or choreographies of the moving meditations with eyes closed and has become "saturated" and familiar with the specific energizing and rejuvenating effects of each FP meditation, then it's fine to have ambient noise or music in the background or coming in through earphones. However, it's not optimal to be wearing earphones and filling your auditory channel with info while learning FP Qigong and feeling its effects at the onset. One of the effects of any form of meditation is to "clean the doors of perception" as per Aldous Huxley (which, btw, is how the 60's rock group The Doors got its name), and FP Qigong is one helluva cleanser that you don't want to obstruct. Another reminder of the warning that I've posted throughout the years of this thread: be sure to practice in a quiet and secluded space free of any forms of interruption in any form. But by all means, do not ever practice in a space and time where you can be bumped, knocked, physically impinged upon in any way, for being jolted while in the deeply relaxed allostatic state induced by the FP qigong where every organ system is sensitized will damage your body's internal energy system and cause serious internal injury and disabilities. Also, while we're on the topic of earphones filling the human auditory channel--and as a basic healthcare tip: remember NOT to have an active smartphone next to your head or on your body for any extended period. While there has been no definitive science that has proven any trends of increased head and neck injuries due to cell phone use over the past 20+ years, I believe, based the science I've read to date, that smartphones today emit more low-frequency non-ionizing radiation than ever before because they are transmitting and receiving more complex data than ever before. So to be safe, always turn on the speaker mode of your smartphone when conversing or use wired or Bluetooth earphones or headsets instead of putting the phone next to your ear. If you have to talk directly into a smartphone, tilt the phone away when you speak and bring it closer when you listen. That's because a phone emits more radiation when its transmitting data than receiving date. And every millimeter counts; the emitted radiation decreases logarithmically the farther away you hold the phone. [Flashback: moreover, my accidental research in a Las Vegas hotel casino back in the early 1990's had me observing hundreds of people coming out of a huge cellphone manufacturers' convention put on by Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, Apple, etc....and practically every single person with a visible phone was wearing wired headphones. I figured then that that industry knew something about dangers of cellphones that we consumers didn't. ] I still feel the same way today. At any rate, to play it safe, make sure that you practice FP Qigong free of any radiation-emitting electronic devices. Also, do not practice FP Qigong in any location that is spiritually active--unless you know with absolute certainty that the place is sacred! HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL! Sifu Terry http://www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

Hello Centertime, My apologies for taking one year and 2 months to respond positively to your excellent idea. But I've been far out of pocket due to my overwhelming work on a massive business project compounded by having to adapt to the "new abnormal" lifestyle brought on late last year by Covid. I have been slowly catching up on the backlog of good postings and suggestions that have gone unanswered by me or Earl Grey. Taking a survey of all FP Qigong practitioners' healing experiences and mapping what health problems FP Qigong has helped would be a most interesting and valuable record to create for the growth and preservation of the art. The type of survey I'm thinking of would be professionally designed--as by some one with a Master's in Public Health (MPH) who is good at survey-taking and biostatistics. I will bring this up with Earl Gray and Dr. Emil Mondoa, one of my workshop students since 2017 who's an emergency room physician in Bear, Delaware. To anyone else who is in medicine or public health, your ideas and suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks. Sifu Terry Dunn http://www.taichimania.com/taichi_catalog.html

HAPPY 81st BIRTHDAY IN ADVANCE, CHARLIE!!! Sifu Terry

Hello LumenOfTime, Miffymog, although he started practicing FP Qigong recently, is correct in stating that it's okay to experiment with music and a low level of background white noise when one is practicing FP Qigong. He also shared his experience of being extra sensitive to background noises when he first started FP Qigong practice. FP Qigong not only sensitizes hearing, but it does the same in not only restoring, but enhancing the function of all the sensory apparatus: eyesight, taste, smell, tactility, and the totality of brain function. All this structural sensitivity is imparted by the process of allostasis that FP Qigong induces in a big way. That is why I constantly warn and admonish all FP practitioners--at all levels of experience--to always practice is a safe, secluded, quiet environment where there is absolutely no potential or threat of being subjected to loud noise, extreme temperature, or any type external physical contact or impingement. If you get knocked hard while doing any of the FP meditations, because FP Qigong is so sensitizing and deeply restorative, that impact could seriously damage your internal energy and damage the nervous system and organs. That is why I haven't certified any instructors in FP Qigong, for any instructor in FP Qigong must be able to heal serious energy sickness---and that requires years of training. When I teach first-time beginners in my classes and workshops or in the first class of my FPCK courses for Emperor's College of TCM, it's always taught indoors and with no music or any other type of sensory stimulation...because I want each student to clearly experience--on a cellular level--how each FP meditation effects his/her mind and energy body. Again, the unique feature of FP Qigong is that it requires no visualization(s) whatsoever to impart its wonderful health benefits. Once the practitioner is in the correct posture of a particular meditation and has correctly done the breath-control sequence, one can mentally go anywhere and engage in any form of mentation. One will derive the same restorative, healing effects as anybody else who as done the same FP exercise correctly. Very, very few Qigong arts--if any-- outside of the Ehrmeishan Bok Fu Pai tradition work this way. Bottom line: background music is fine to play any time one practices FP Qigong, once you've become very familiar with the effects of each FP meditation (become "saturated" in it). But it is best to practice in silence when one is learning each FP Qigong exercise for the first time. Of course, if your home /abode has uncontrollable street noise coming in, then you just have adapt to it and find the quietest place in your dwelling to practice. I will add this recommendation, which, to the best of my memory, I have never made before on this thread nor during my long history of teaching FP Qigong since 1992: Learn and memorize every exercise in the entire FP Qigong system in silence and without sensory stimulation--including Moonbeam Splashes on Water (Vol.3) and the capstone Long Form standing meditation (on Volume 4 that bears the name of the system, the "FPHHCM")--in silence. ( For that is how GM Doo Wai trained me and my classmates in the early 1990's.) Be able to do every sedentary and moving FP meditation with eyes closed before you start practicing with music or other sounds in the background...so you can feel the full sensitization and parasympathetic tone. Good discussion. Wishing all excellent continuing FP practice. Sifu Terry Dunn http://www.taichimania.com/taichi_catalog.html

Hello Vajra Fist, Sorry to take 8 months to reply to you comment, but my life and workload has been that extremely heavy. "But yes, definitely feels more like a practice session in itself, than a quick and easy warm up." In my classes (but not on the DVD volume), I always tell my students in live classes that the 3 "warm-up" meditations (at the start of Vol.2) are not really "warm-ups" per se, but very powerful conditioning exercises. GM Doo Wai did not refer to them as "warm-ups"; so it was my fault for categorizing them as such for the purposes of the DVD program. They are different, of course, because they do not involve pre-choreographed sets of movements that are repeated 7x. But because each one has an esoteric breath-control sequence, especially the 5 60 80 40 30 Med., each is a powerful Qigong practice in and of itself. I hope you are continuing to practice this particular meditation along with the other 2 "warm-ups". Sifu Terry http://www.taichimania.com/taichi_catalog.html

Asavakkhaya, So sorry to take a year and one month to answer your question...but here it is: It's quite alright to wear gloves while practicing for several reasons: 1. For the vast majority of FP Qigong practitioners, covering on the hands will not reduce the neuro-physiological and energy effects of the various mudras one is assuming. 2. If there is any diminishment of the yogic effects of particular exercise, that is a nominal price to pay to void exposing oneself to cold wind, cold rain or freezing elements while one is in the highly sensitive and vulnerable allostatic condition induced by the FP meditations. 3. The circulatory benefits of FP Qigong will warm up cold hands under normal circumstances over time or, for many, instantaneously. Again exposing oneself to extreme cold is not advised under an circumstances, especially while doing FP Qigong. btw, there are certain Qigong exercises in other systems such as in Tao Tan Pai Basic 31 Meditations, in which one uses shen Qi to direct energy to specific parts of the body such as the spine, the head, or (most frequently) the hands. FP Qigong warms or cools the entire body uniformly as needed to bring it back to homeostasis. Let us know how you are doing with FP Qigong during this next cold season. Sifu Terry Dunn http://www.taichimania.com/taichi_catalog.html

Hello again to all Flying Phoenix Qigong practitioners: Next Friday through Sunday, October 1 through 3, I will be teaching my first 3-day FP Qigong workshop since October of 2019. This first workshop of 2021 will be on Flying Phoenix Qigong and will cover all the FP meditations on Volumes 1 through 7 of the Chi Kung For Health DVD series. Zoom participation: Although the vast majority of FPCK subscribers live outside of New England--and the U.S., for that matter, I want you all to be aware of this workshop because all eight of its 2-hour sessions can be accessed via Zoom at the lowest tuition ever. This workshop will be an excellent opportunity to give yourself the immersive experience of FP Qigong practice--6 hours on Friday, 6 hours on Saturday and 4 hours of training on Sunday. All joining us via Zoom can ask all the questions they want to ask about FP Qigong training, plus all participants will receive feedback on their Qigong form throughout the workshop by yours truly. As participants in my 3 weekly Zoom classes (FP Qigong, Tao Tan Pai Basic 31 Meditations, and Yang Tai Chi Chuan) since Feb. 2020 know, the normal class fees for a single 2-hour class is $40; an 8-class series costs $280; the 16-class series is $500. But for this coming weekend's workshop, as indicated below in purple text, the entire training of 8 two-hour sessions can be taken for $210, or any individual class can be accessed for $30. Below is the information pasted from my Newsletter, terencedunn.substack.com I hope to see many of you there online next Friday. If you questions about the workshop training, feel free to post questions here. mitakuye oyasin ("Lakota prayer that means "To all my relations" or "All are related" or "Help and health to all my brothers and sisters") Sifu Terry Dunn ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• A. OCT. 1 - 3: FLYING PHOENIX HEALING QIGONG (“Fei Feng San Gung”) is a rare and powerful medical Qigong system that was created more than 400 years ago by renowned Taost monk Feng Dao Deh of Ehrmeishan that normally imparts tangibly energizing and rejuvenating effects and deep meditative states of consciousness with remarkable swiftness--within 40 to 60 minutes of practice. In this workshop, you will learn 80% of this authentic Taoist monastic system of hygienics –comprised of 8 standing and 24 seated, stationary and moving meditations that imparts a wide range of salient health benefits: improved respiration, circulation, metabolism, neuro-muscular function, balance, flexibility; higher energy levels, increased bone strength, stronger immunity, and the allostatic reversal of many signs of aging. (Time limitation of a weekend workshop permits only 7 of the 8 Standing meditations and only 8 or 9 of the 24 “Monk Serves Wine” seated meditations to be taught.) Flying Phoenix Qigong imparts its remarkable health benefits through a yogic mechanism that brings all the organ functions of the body under the regulation of the subconscious mind. In each Flying Phoenix Meditation, this super-regulating process and energy cultivation is brought on by (A) an easy-to-do breath-control formula followed by (B) a meditation in repose or a serene moving meditation using repetitive natural movements that are done three times slower than typical Tai Chi form speed. The esoteric breathing formula that precedes each Flying Phoenix meditation ignites a specific flow of Qi in the body; the concomitant posture and movements circulate this Qi through specific orbs of the body. A unique feature of this yogic mechanism is that it requires no visualization whatsoever. Flying Phoenix Qigong is easier to learn and practice than Tai Chi and its health benefits are tangible, visible, profound, and more immediate. Practitioners have found that the most remarkable quality of Flying Phoenix Qigong is that it s allostatic (restorative) effects continue long after one’s practice has ceased. "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 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Workshop schedule: This weekend workshop consists of 8 two-hour sessions with 3 sessions on Friday, 3 on Saturday, and 2 on Sunday at these times: Friday: 11am - 1pm; 3pm - 5pm; 7pm - 9pm Saturday: 10am - noon; 3pm - 5pm; 7pm - 9pm Sunday: 10am - noon; 2pm - 4pm Tuition: $295 early registration $330 day of workshop $45 for each of the eight 2-hour sessions ($40 / session prepaid) ** Zoom participation: $30 per 2-hour session or $210 / all 8 sessions • Please send payment via Paypal (to [email protected]) or via Zelle (to [email protected]) • Rooms: There are only 3 rentable rooms at Tao Retreat: One room with bathroom: $350 / day Two rooms with a shared. bathroom: $248 / day Ten floor beds in the main tea house / event hall: $60 / night [Room or floor bed rent includes each day’s meals] •• However, there are plenty of comfortable bed & breakfast inns and resorts in and around the town of Catskill. For example, Wolff's Maple Breeze Resort: https://www.greatnortherncatskills.com/resorts-lodging/wolffs-maple-breeze-resort Meals: 2 excellent meals 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] ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• BTW, the chef at Tao Retreat cooks authentic Xichuan cuisine that I consider the best I've had in America (and I've had a lot of great Chinese food in my lifetime). No exaggeration. Imho, the food alone is worth going to Tao Retreat! :0) And for those not partial to excellent Chinese food, there are many restaurants nearby, ranging from nice Italian and seafood restaurants to fast food. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< "The vitalities of heaven and earth, of sun and moon, are inherent in our bodies. If consciousness and reality do not stray, creation is always in the palm of your hand." ---Chang Po-Tuan, The Inner Teachings of Taoism Long term Flying Phoenix practice activates man’s latent healing potential and cultivates a tangible superabundance—a reserve—in the body of the distinctive Flying Phoenix Healing Qi (Energy) that has extraordinary healing properties and behavior unlike the energy generated by any other form of Yoga. In the course of providing a wide range of splendid health benefits, Flying Phoenix Qigong’s yogic methodology integrates mind and body so swiftly and deeply that it develops a high degree of structural sensitivity that imbues the practitioner with access to deeper levels of jhanic absorption (i.e., supramundane consciousness often described as “At-One-ment” and what in Hinduism yoga practitioners call “Samadhi”, as described in Patanjali’s ancient ashtanga yoga texts). This access to samadhic states provided by Flying Phoenix Qigong naturally carries over and can enhance other methods of meditation. In 1997, after a workshop I gave in St. Paul, MN, Prof. Fred Underwood, who had recently retired as chairman of Indo-Tibetan Studies in the Department of Religion at Columbia University and an expert in meditation and yogas, commented that Flying Phoenix Qigong imparts the “physiological or kinetic component of bliss or enlightenment,” and that the Flying Phoenix Qigong experience gave him understanding of what the early Buddhist scriptures mean by “touching Nirvana with your body.” Scenes from past FP qigong workshop sessions: A. "Bending the Bows" – a cornerstone basic moving meditation in the Flying Phoenix Qigong system: B. Monk Gazing At the Moon – the keystone meditation of the FP Qigong system: https://www.facebook.com/terence.dunn/videos/10217924053044659 C. Monk Holding Peach--an extremely easy to do FP Qigong meditation that opens all the energy channels of the body after 10 minutes of practice. https://www.facebook.com/236579434951/videos/907977532737639 https://www.facebook.com/236579434951/videos/303496763708076 D. And Advanced "Monk Serves Wine" seated meditation (not taught in the CKFH DVD series): https://www.facebook.com/terence.dunn/videos/10217921403938433 E. An advanced Flying Phoenix Qigong meditation, taught after the Long Form capstone meditation has been well established: F. A moving meditation from the extremely rare and powerful "10,000 Buddhas Ascend to Heaven" Qigong system, consisting of 54 exercises, organized in 3 sets of 18 meditations. Unlike Flying Phoenix Qigong, the energy cultivated in this meditation is not a purely healing energy, but one that can also empower martial arts: https://www.facebook.com/terence.dunn/videos/10217924083405418 •••Subscribe to Sifu Terry Dunn's free monthly Newsletter to stay abreast of all future workshops in FP Qigong, Tao Tan Pai, Neigung, and Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan (in the lineage of Prof. Cheng Man-ching and William C.C. Chen): terencedunn.substack.com Art by Hilma af Klint

Greetings Flying Phoenix Qigong practitioners and enthusiasts, This was the order of practice of last Wednesday night's Intermediate Qigong & Kung fu Class, livingstreaming from 6pm EST, which ran 2 hours and 40 minutes (with Flying Phoenix form corrections for each individual participant): 1. Tao Tan Pai Cane Form -- 3 rounds 2. Tao Tan Pai Short Form Power Yoga (5 parts) 3. Instruction in Yang style Tai Chi broadsword form -- 70 min. 4. Moonbeam Splashes on Water -- 2 rounds 5. "Flying Phoenix Heavenly Healing Chi Meditation" (Long Form standing meditation, Vol.4) -- 2 rounds 6. Advanced Flying Phoenix Qigong -- Meditations #1, #2, and #3. Prerequisite for this class is proficiency in the (memorized) practice of all the first 7 FP Qigong standing meditations (as presented on Volumes 1 and 3 of the Chi Kung For Health DVD series and all of the 6 seated Monk Serves Wine Meditations as taught on the Volume 2 DVD. Course content and registration info. for this class is on my Newsletter, terencedunn.substack.com mitakuye oyasin ("Lakota prayer that means "To all my relations" or "All are related" or "Help and health to all my brothers and sisters") Sifu Terry www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

Dear Charlie, I'm so glad to hear that you're doing well and have been keeping holistically fit with a variety of practices that you've begun another gung of (you hope) 108 days of doing the Flying Phoenix Long Form Meditation. I remember back around 2011 when you discovered FP Qigong and first starting posting to this thread. You shared that you had retired to ranching in northeast Arizona and I recall that because of your extensive background in Tai Chi, you went straight to teaching yourself the Long Form standing meditation using Volume 4 of the DVD series... and that doing the Long Form twice a day was all that you needed to fuel your day-to-day ranching activities. Your enthusiasm and compelling reports of the initial fruits of your FP Qigong practice were most gratifying for me to hear as a teacher and very inspiring of others, who would delve into the FP Qigong system at least as far as the Volume 4 Long Form meditation, which is the capstone exercise of the Flying Phoenix system. Your early testimonial was one of several that at that time caused this thread to take off in terms of interesting and high quality contributions, and caused, I believe, hundreds--if not thousands-- of people to explore the Flying Phoenix. Likewise, I believe that your present encouragement of FPCK subscribers to keep up their Flying Phoenix practice will be well heeded! I wish I was back in SoCal so that you could visit my classes when you were in the region as in the past, but I will continue to teach in New England due to new opportunities opening up here for me--after long efforts-- to get FP Qigong (and also Tao Tan Pai Qigong) researched and studied by hard science. More on these developments later as this research gets established. Meanwhile, I continue to teach Flying Phoenix Qigong in a weekly 2-hour Zoom class on Sundays from 4pm-6pm EST, which I started in March 2020 at the start of the first pandemic lockdown. This class combines a 30-min. practice of the Tao Tan Pai Short Form Power Yoga (5 qigong exercises) as a foundational catalyst (and warmup) that enhances and prolongs the healing and rejuvenating effects of the following 90 minutes of FP Qigong. The powerful synergies have been attested to by all practitioners who've taken the course. More details and sign-on info for this class (and for my 2 other classes and upcoming 3-day workshops) is on my Newsletter: terencedunn.substack.com Peace is indeed the way. All the best. Sifu Terry www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

HI ASTRAL B. (ADHI), Sorry to take 7 months to read your posting and to finally reply. Wonderful that your FP Qigong practice facilitates deep meditative states in which you can extend your consciousness far beyond the limits or boundaries imposed by the consensus reality. "SPA" CONGRATULATIONS! Your experience of "chi bubbling like a small spa in my LDT" is a sign proper cultivation in Qigong--both in Tao Tan Pai Qigong and Flying Phoenix Qigong. I experienced the "full bubbly spa" in the early 1980's when I was practicing only Tao Tan Pai Nei Kung and Yang Tai Chi Chuan. So I knew then that it was due to the TTP pracice. And yes, the warm roiling action of chi in the "cauldron" of the tan tien can also occur spontaneously when you're not practicing the Qigong. Keep up the good practice. See you in Zoom class soon. Sifu Terry

Note to all FP practitioners: Just a reminder that MSW#3 on Vol.2--the seated Meditation 90 80 50 20, aa the "Waker Upper"--should NOT be done at night time--especially by beginners--if they intend to go to sleep at their usual, regular time. It is best done by everyone in the morning for an alert and productive. Otherwise, they will be in for a rude insomnia. Last night, during class #7 of the 11-week FP Qigong elective course (EL-258) that I teach for Emperor's College of TCM, I developed this agenda on the fly and taught it: 1. Warm-ups: toe-circling walk 2. Bending the Bows 9x very slowly 3. Wind Above the Clouds (2 rounds) 4. instruction for the first time in "Wind Through Treetops": 2 demo "dry runs" and then two rounds with the breath formula (80 50 30) 5. 5 min. break 6. MSW #3 (90 80 50 20) - "The Waker-Upper" - one set of 7 rounds. 7. Monk Gazing At Moon - 8 min. 8. Monk Holding Peach - 10 min. 9. MSW #2 (50 40 30 10) - one set of 7 rounds to ensure restful sleep and avoid insomnia caused by #6 above. Good practicing. Sifu Terry www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html terencedunn.substack.com

One year and 190+ days after this post, I finally read for the first time that little discussion following Virtue's reposting here of my answer to his question on PM regarding holding the tongue on the roof of the mouth during FP Qigong practice...and I just want to say that I at first reading, I certainly did not take the slightest offense to Virtue's referring to me as "Lord of the manor" or as anything but fun jocular and horsing around, which I kinda enjoy. Not only was it fun and harmless, but I recall that Virtue's postings of questions were always good ones that furthered the discussion of better FP Qigong practice. So if you'll want to have a contest blogsite-wide to come up with new jocular monikers for me, each time I answer a post, knock yourselves out!!! Sifu Terry P.S. btw, Virtue, FYI, I am NOT actually "the great 'Zen-Bear'"--even though I picked that as my screenname when i was asked to join this thread in 2009 by "Fu_doggy." Remember what Alfred J. Korzypski taught all sane people to maintain their sanity: "WORDS ARE NOT THINGS; ONLY THE THING IS THE THING." The name "Zen-Bear" was there, as I created it in 1991, but the actual personage by the name of Zen-Bear has yet to enter into our culture or zeitgeist and therefore has not begun to transform consciousness to any significant--or even the slightest-- extent. But if you want to see the actual Zen-Bear v1.0, v2.0 , v3.0 and v.4.0 , you can find each one at various points along this Timeline Exhibit that I created around 2013 and updated in 2016. But Zen-Bear v?.0 will finally make a full-fleshed entrance onto the earth plane, possibly later this year. Definitely by next year. So in the meantime and for all time, you and all Daobums doing FP Qigong, may refer to me as the "Progenitor of the great Zen-Bear." Here is the proof of Zen-Bear's, the original Kung Fu Panda's, pedigree: http://www.kungfupandalawsuit.com/Timeline_Hotspots_New.html www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html terencedunn.substack.com

Hi CGP, Sorry to take so long to reply, but's been a rough winter and spring filled with many obstacles to my teaching coming from weird quarters. But I'm glad to hear that you've been experiencing profound channel-opening effects from the FP Qigong and Monk Gazing At Moon in particular--AND from MGAM while gazing at the moon. There is a saying in the Chinese arts, especially in kung fu: "The secret is always found in the beginning." Good that you have BFSYG practice to compare FP Qigong to. Keep up the good practice and get deeply into "Moonbeam Splashes on Water" and then capstone Long Form standing Meditation taught on Vol.4 o the dvd series. Regards, Sifu Terry Dunn http://www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html terencedunn.substack.com

Hello Eduardo, It's good that you exposed yourself to the 10 San Gong Meditations of Feng Do Duk that features GM Doo Wai demonstrating them. Know that the 10 San Gung Meds are an advanced practiced and are much more easier learned and memorized and also have greater effect once you have learned the more basic sister arts like FP Qigong or Sunn Yi Gung that Sifu Garry Hearfield teaches. Also, FP Qigong has 24 seated "Monk Serves Wine Meditations" that are all powerful and profound and of which more thjan 1/2 have beautiful complex choreography. I have only published 8 of the 24 MSW meditations on my CKFH DVD series. Serious students have to study with me in person to learn the rest of the sytem and to have their "Moonbeam" meditation and their capstone "Long Form Standing Meditation" (taught on Vol.4) corrected. Or in some rare cases, I will teach an intermediate or advanced student via Skype or Zoom. All that is to say that once one learn the entire FP System, the 10 San Gung Meditations are much easier to learn and memorize. But if you have the drive and discipline to practice each one 18X per set on a regular basis as GM Doo Wai prescribes on the video, then you can effectively learn the 10 SG Meditations that way and derive great benefits. As long as you do sets of 18 reps, you cannot go wrong. But anyway you look at it, the effects of the 10 SG Meds are much more powerful, profound, and transformative once you have FP Qigong or/and Sunn Yi Gung under your belt. And yes, I am thinking of doing a video teaching the 10 SG Meditations. Over the past year, I've reviewing and refining my practice of SG Meds. 1 through 9. I'm now just starting to review and wipe the cob webs off of the tenth one, the Eight Goddesses Heavenly Form, which is the doozey. What I know as one of most complex meditations i have eve seen in my career in Chinese martial and yogic arts. [The only thing that rivals it are a few of the Golden Flying Phoenix meditations, which I know with pretty good certainty that NO ONE is ready for it at this time....because practicing Golden Flying Phoenix is still a breath-taking, mind-bending stretch for me!] To be honest, I have to practice the Heavenly Goddess Form for about 6 more months before I feel it will be ready for public demonstration. Because it's been so long--25 years since learned it in 1996 from GMDW, and i've developed so much in the Bok Fu Pai arts, in Tao Tan Pai Nei Kung, and in Cheng Man-Ching's Tai Chi, my practice of 8 Goddesses Heavenly Form now barely resembles how I practiced it when I first learned it. Back then, my practice looked "wooden"--and nothing like GM Doo Wai's demo. Now it looks fluid and substantially similar to GM Doo Wai's level of nuanced GUNG. Enjoy your practice. Sifu Terry Dunn www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html terencedunn.substack.com (for info on my weekly 2-hour Zoom classes)

Hello BP, But make sure you continue top practice the standing meditations, especially the longer moving meditations, Moonbeam Splashes On Water" and the Long Form standing Meditation (Vol.4). As I've stated many times in this thread, altough the seated "Monk Serves Wine" meditations seem more affective--i.e., one feels more tangible energization in the torso, hands and especially the head, the standing FP Meditations are MORE POWERFUL. GM Doo Wai always reminded us of this fact. So as you continue to explore the lovely seated MSW meditations, empower them further by doing the more advanced standing moving meditations. Sifu Terry Dunn www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

Hi CGP73, Thanks for your post and suggesting that others practice--as I have often suggested--Monk Gazing At the Moon while actually gazing at the moon. that is not a contemporary or variant practice. But rather that is a classical, orthodox practice of this exercise and of this Bok Fu Pai tradition. I have posted in earlier years and want to re-emphasize here that FP Qigong and other Bok Fu Pai meditation systems do NOT utilize or operate according to the cosmology or energy roadmaps of Trad. Chinese Medicine. We only consider the position of the sun or the moon./ No visualization and no mental imaging of anything is necessary for attaining optimum health and spiritual benefits. Continue to enjoy your practice! Sifu Terry www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

Hello Centertime, I'm so sorry to have been away from the thread for so long a time. But I'm very glad to hear that you've experienced and are seeing the neon blue Flying Phoenix Healing Qi. That is a clear sign of the FP Qigong having its fine transformative effect on your health and conciousness. Great that you are also seeing purple energy while doing the Monk Serving wine seated meditation(s). Purple is a common experience because with the concentration of Qi circulating through the upper body in the seated meds.--through what in TCM would be called the microcosmic orbit--activates the higher chakras such as the throat, brow, and crown chakras. The color of the petals spinning at the crown chakra is, of course, purple. The other more advanced seated meditation sets int eh Bok Fu Pai tradition--e.g., Feng Dao Teh's 10 San Gung Meditations and The Golden Flying Phoenix Meditations--also bring on the purple energy and does so more deeply. The position of hands seems to affect the area nearby the hands. Monk Looking at Moon... - head,eyes....neck... It is possible that in the long run, they will flow... Yes, normally pretty soon after doing the FP standing meds. for a few weeks--and sometimes for just a few days of regular practice--one experiences this kind of energy "unification": anytime the practitioner moves the arms and hands through different heights during an FP meditation--from below the hips to the above the head-- he/she will feel the energy in the body mass and in the head at the same level of the hands being moved or intensified. Yes, that is why Monk Holding the Peach (90 50 40 20 10) is done with the tips of the thumb and first 3 fingers of one hand are touching those of the other hand on the centerline of the body. When hands touch, in those positions, there is a loop made from hands that seems to have an extra stabilising effect. In more advanced levels of FP and Bok Fu Pai seated meditations, the hands are held touch each other while holding identical mudras. And there are highly refined upper body postures where each hand is holding a different mudra--e.g., in Red Lotus Flying Phoenix seated Meds., there is a posture where on hand is vertical in the "Willow Leaf Palm" position, while the other is underneath it holding what the Indians call the "Gyana" mudra. Thanks for sharing your observations during practice. Regards, Sifu Terry Dunn www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

Hi Astral Butterfly, Thanks for sharing your experience with your revitalized hair and increased new hair growth. This is a commonly reported side effect and wonderful benefit of FP Qigong practice. Just as frequently reported is smoother skin and the accelerated growth of toe nails and fingernails, with the increase in the speed of toenail growth greater than the increase in the speed of fingernail growth. I started experiencing the disappearance of gray hairs and the growth of new, firm strands of jet black hair in my late 50's each time I practiced FP Qigong for more than an hour. And as I described in the early years of this thread, every time I practiced 2 seated Monk Serves Wine meditations back to back in the same practice, I would feal my hair follicles recharge in mass and also fee; tje entire surface of the scalp become sublimely charged in a way that felt electro-chemical. Thanks again for posting this very real and pleasant side-effect of correctly practicing FP Qigong. Sifu Terry Dunn www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

Hi Shunka, Thanks for your observation about how in other styles, one separates the fingers at times and closes the fingers while slightly cupping the palms at other times. The slight spreading of the fingers occurs with a Yang expansive movement; cupping the palms occurs with Yin movements. As an example that demonstrates this coordination of the fingers is found in other Chinese internal energy arts: I will describe this total body coordination involving spreading the fingers that is done in Yang Tai Chi Chuan forms that I practice: when doing "Wave Hands Like Clouds" stepping sideways to the left 3 times, after one places the left foot down, one shifts one's weight to it (and "sinks his ribs into the left arch" to relax and plug into the earth) while "holding the ball" on the right side with left forearm on top. Then, while keeping the left arch "sucking" the earth, you crunch your left toes downward as you turn the waist to the left. As you turn the waist left and float the ball from your right side to your left side, your left palm expands with Qi and the fingers separate. Walk on! Sifu Terry Dunn www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

BluePhoenix, I movements you describedm are in the last moving meditation on Vol.3 called "Moonbeam Splashes On Water". After holding the "Willow Leaf" palm with the left hand at the heart while shifted back on the right leg and facing the front right corner, you turn right 45 degrees and press your left palm on the right palm forming an "X"--exactly like the "Press" posture in Yang style Tai Chi. When you press, you shift forward bringing weight to the right leg and right knee lines up with the vertical up of the toes. The you shift to the left leg, looking down the right normal and the palms face each other as your shiftihg back pulls them towards the heart. Then you shift to the right and repeat the press. This Press (left palm on the right) is done a total of 3 times. As you press, you keep the back upright; don't lean. Then they are followed by two Pushes --where the hands push from the shoulders with the hands at shoulders' width and the forearms parall. This "Push" is done two times. Each time you sit back on the left leg before you push, you curl the fingers into light fists with the fingernails facing downward. As the right knee shifts over the toes, you open the hands to the Push position--just as in Yang style Tai Chi Chuan forms. In "Moonbeam" on Vol.3 you do 3 Presses followed by 2 Pushes. That's the classical choreography created in 1644. In the Vol.4 Long From standing meditation called "Flying Phoenix Heavenly Healing Chi Meditation", one does two Presses and one rolling Push. Hope this clarifies. Sifu Terry Dunn www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

Hello TakingCharge, I'm sorry for the long absence from the FPCK thread. But I am finally back and steadily catching up on all postings. Dunn If you want to post an question regarding FP Qigong and the entity issue, go head. Or you can send me an email to my Daobums mailbox. Sifu Terry Dunn

Hello Vajra Fist, I'm sorry that you've had to wait almost 5.5 months to get an answer to your question...but I have been most preoccupied since September with an intensely busy teaching schedule (3 weekly accredited courses for a top acupuncture college in L.A. plus 4 weekly classes on my own account, every class 2-hours long...in addition to running 2 primary businesses). All slowed down by a freezing snowy re Answer to your and Blue Phoenix's question: There are herbal formulas for linaments (jiaos) that are specific to Bok Fu Pai energy arts such as Sunn Yi Gung and Tibetan Burning Palm, which Sifu Hearfield teaches, a specific jiao with a very distinctive aroma that is used for general Bok Fu Pai kung fu training, as well as well as a very strong Jiao the 8 Sections of Energy Combined kung fu system that is quite expensive because its key ingredient is bear gall bladder. However, there is NOT a specific herbal formula for a linament that goes with FP Qigong, nor is there any herbal formula to ingest specifically for FP Qigong. GM Doo Wai gave us a vast Bok Fu Pai pharmacopeia to treat various injuries and even flus and colds. And there are a number of jiaos that can be used to enhance the effects of FP Qigong practice, but which are not specifically dedicated to FP Qigong. We also have herbal formulas that are rolled into pellets using honey as a base and then ingested prior to commencing training in the more advanced Bok Fu Pai meditations. My apologies to you, Blue Phoenix and all subscribers to this thread for being away from it this long. Sifu Terry Dunn www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

Thank you, Charlie, for your very kind words and acknowledgement of my efforts to preserve Flying Phoenix Qigong and to disseminate its practice. I hope all is well with you in NE Arizona and that the FP Long Form is keeping your immunity at peak levels...as that is its purpose as the capstone of the FP Qigong system. I recall years ago when you first posted to this thread that the Long Form (Vol.4) was all that you needed to go about your day to day activities as a rancher. I hope the pandemic subsides sooner (end of this year. according to very wishful unrealistic thinking) rather than later (summer 2022, according to all medical experts)...so that we can all gather and practice FP Qigong in person and experience the very palpable and transformative group energy that manifests anytime a number of experienced FP practitioners get together and practice. Happy New Year! Sifu Terry ••••••••••••••••••••••••••• mitakuye oyasin (Lakota Sioux prayer that means “To all my relations” or “All are related”, or “Help and Health to all my Brothers and Sisters”)

My apologies to all FPCK subscribers for being away for the past 4 weeks. But pressing teaching obligations--six 2-hour livestream courses every week (3 accredited courses for Emperor's College of TOM in Santa Monica plus 3 different ongoing weekly courses on my own account)-- have not given me a moment to breathe, let alone keep up with this thread. Starting this evening, I will catch up on all posted questions and issues since the last time that I responded to an individual post. Best of health and wellness to all. Sifu Terence Dunn P.S. Tonight at 6pm is my Tai Chi For Health (beginner's) Class No.12 Livestream fro Eastover Estate in Lenox, MA. Berkshirites are welcome to take it live with physical distancing and mask-wearing, of course. When: Oct 20, 2020 06:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Register in advance for this meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/.../tZUpcuqrqz4sGNVv7Pf4UoF1hAWfp... After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. Fee is $40/ class; $280 for series of 8 classes. You are invited to a Zoom meeting. When: Jul 12, 2020 04:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Register in advance for this meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAtceGvqTsuHNGEagRTpc5NuS1X5YxSN50y After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. • Information on the content and schedule of my Livestream courses are on my free Newsletter: terencedunn.substack.com (issue #19 currently)

To RidingtheOx, Part 2: The long form includes a section which repeats 5 times, i refer to it as 'cradling', this move develops into a very solid root and spiral flow up the leg; turning the hips/pelvis and continues up the spine in a spiral, leading to the exchange of the cradling palms. This twisting motion helps to realign and strengthen the spine and the hand exchange is reminiscent of the circling palms. Interesting these movements have an unsuspected relation to the TTP, opening exercise. • "Cradling" is also the exact term that I use when teaching that section of the FP Long Form where the forearm traverses 5 times, leading with the thumb edge of the forearm. (I also use "cradling" to describe a movement in the first Advanced FP Standing Meditation--the first of 9, which I teach in my Wednesday Intermed. Qigong class 7pm-9pm EST, info on my Newsletter.) "Cradling 5X is related "Wave Hands Like Clouds" in Tai Chi forms. What is remotely related to Tao Tan Pai Circling Palms are those 2 inward circles in a vertical plane immediately following the 5 “cradlings”. Circling Palms, in contrast, are done on a horizontal plane at shoulders’ height and with eyes open and constantly focused on the fingertips of the sweeping extended arm. And each sweep is sync’d to a long exhalation. Each extension of the arm down the normal (left or right) is sync'd to an inhalation. As we all know, there is NO SYNC’ing of breath cycle to any movement in FP Qigong. None whatsoever throughout the entire FP system. That’s how TTP and FP Qigong are as different as night and day. As I mentioned Embryonic Breath work has also been a recent focus of my practice. The reverse breathing technique has finally begun to feel comfortable and reliable. During this period my breath has settled into a 3 breath per minute rhythm and my heart rate has fallen into the mid-fifties, resting. • The "backward peddling walk" in the “Silkweaver’s Exrecise” is a very basic preparation for reverse breathing. (At 3:20) https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=10154646379024952&external_log_id=6966ab2d7c39619231d5487eca01d6d7&q=terry dunn's tai chi for health Read the tao te ching regularly, at present I find the online version at Taoistic.com 'inspiring.' The commentary is helpful and informative. • I’ve always enjoyed the Penguin Classics translation of Tao Te Ching since college days. *Also, past 3 years I’ve read all translations of Tao Te Ching cited at this interesting website, Feminine Tao. A few the contributors are eminent scholars on Tao Te Ching; most of their citations and translations are quality ones: http://www.earlywomenmasters.net/tao.html Sometimes the tender persuasion shows us a little of the universal truths expressed and celebrated by the ancients. Best always, Charlie Sifu Terry www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html