tao stillness

Inserting our own twists to an ancient energy alchemical method that has passed the test of time does not make any sense to me given the history of how this method was passed down for generations. I have added my own feelings about this in a prior post about the value of preserving the purity of the teaching in order to be assured we will gain full benefits. I fail to see any room for personal experimentation. I was trained in ancient tradition from India of respecting the master - disciple relationship. On the other hand, I can see how easily this personal experimenting can happen when we are learning from a dvd instead of a qigong master in our presence to correct our faulty thinking and movements. This is such a rare gift to be able to learn a chi kung method in the pure form that has been taught for several generations. That's my take on it. I own some advanced meditation dvds made by GM Doo Wai and I can assure you that he does not provide anything close to the teaching skills that we get from Sifu Terry. GM demonstrates the meditations, Sifu Terry teaches how to actually do the meditations. For me, this is the difference between knowing how to do the movements versus guessing at how to perform them. We all owe a debt of gratitude to Sifu Terry for the amount of skill in teaching that he has provided us on the dvds and on this blog. If you want to learn how to appreciate this series of dvds, just shell out $299 or more for one dvd from someone else's Flying Phoenix dvds and then you will see for yourself the gifts that we have been blessed with by Sifu Terry who is practically giving these dvds away for free at his chosen prices. I would think that I am insulting Sifu Terry if I changed his teaching. Instead, I humbly bow down to this authentic chi kung master in gratitude for taking the guess work out of learning this art. Who else out there has done so much for us? Steve

Hello Sifu Terry, I have 2 questions. Does each one of these flash meds on vol. 5 have a different breathing sequence like the other volumes? You called them ancillary meditations which suggests they might be different in some way than the ones on vol. 1-4. I am ordering vol. 5 today. What more can you reveal about the ways in which the meditations on volume 5 are different than the other Flying Phoenix meditations? The other question is about this unexplainable enjoyment of wanting to do Flying Phoenix Chi Kung and I get that feeling even just thinking about doing the meditations. What is the magic behind this system that accounts for this infatuation with this particular style of chi kung. I have worked with probably 10 other styles of chi kung in the past but none of them resulted in this strong desire to want to do the movements like I have when I do Flying Phoenix Chi Kung. I just don't get it. There is this compelling attraction to this particular type of chi kung. Steve

Hello Andy, I am impressed by your desire to safeguard what my meditation guru called, "the purity of the teaching". When an effective, ancient tradition is passed down it keeps its power if the methods are taught exactly as they were by the original teachers. When subsequent teachers decide to make changes they risk ruining the results that will follow since it is now no longer the same exact method. When I was trained as a teacher of Transcendental Meditation over a one year rigorous period not even one word that was taught was allowed to be changed in order to make sure that no mistakes could be made during the teaching. We served as the mouthpiece for the guru since it was his teaching and his lineage that we were preserving, thus we kept the effectiveness of the teaching. And this is how I approach my practice of FP. If Sifu Terry suggests do it this way, then that is how I strive to learn it. Who am I to think otherwise? Chi Kung is a treasure and we are blessed to have a Sifu who is willing to share this with us in the same manner as he was given this Celestial gift from his Grandmaster. I put my ego aside when I approach this practice so that my rice bowl will fill with the chi from the lineage of Flying Phoenix masters. And just when I think I really have "mastered" a movement, I know it is then time to go back and review the dvd so I can then spot my mistakes. I love not having to do any thinking with this method. Steve

Hi Sifu Terry, The above is certainly an inspiring message to all. Based on what you Rx, when I enter my second year of FP with vol. 1 and 2 and doing the Sleeper on vol. 7 for some months now, should I skip to the long form on vol. 4 and omit doing vol.3? I own vol. 3 but was waiting to start it in feb. after completing my one yr with vol. one and two. But if it is better to just start doing vol. 4 that would be OK with me. I found out from personal experience that there is no benefit to rushing ahead with this method since the nervous system has to be gradually cultivated to best use this energy. I had obtained one of GM Doo Wai's FP advanced dvds which my medical intuitive had tested for me before I ordered it and he told me I was not ready for the energy it would produce. It was such a simple exercise to learn so I tried it anyway and discovered that I could not fall asleep for quite awhile even though I only tried the exercise for 2 days. The energy was just too strong for me. Since then I am taking my time and sticking to your Rx schedule. Steve

Hi Lloyd, Your report of experience is another reason why I always look forward to your posts. For what it's worth, I have had my medical clairvoyant check out my energy cultivation tools, whether they be chi kung, neigong or actual subtle energy devices that claim to emit healing energy. The ones that he has tested for me that really amaze him all have had one thing in common. He has seen me filling up with this golden color liquid like energy from the most powerful tools or methods. Also, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi who brought Transcendental Meditation out from India taught us that a person who is in a higher state of consciouness, which he called at times either God Consciousness or Glorifed Cosmic Consciousness, sees everything with a gold color edge to it. From this I speculate that Divine energy is a vibration that we can see with refined perception when we raise our subtle energy levels and it vibrates at the frequency of the color gold. So if that were to be true, then congratulations on yet another of your Divine experiences in consciousness! And now I know which hotel chain I will be staying at whenever I travel! Steve

Hello Sifu Terry, I was wondering if you could please tell us what is happening when we do the seated meditation 50-10-50 of the basics on vol. 2? It is a most interesting and powerful experience as I hold the arms in place and whenever I slowly breathe from the diaphragm I feel the energy simultaneously in the palms of my hands. I would like to know the connection there and which part of the body and energy centers are being worked on, and what the specific purpose is for this meditation if such specifics are known. Steve

Hi Lloyd, I think the qualities of Sifu Terry that we get a glimpse of reflect a major attribute of the art of teaching which touches the student, that of passion. That is what came to mind when I read your last post. I still can't figure out why I felt such passion for Flying Phoenix right from the beginning of learning it, and why I still feel it several months later. Maybe one reason could be that I had tried several other styles of chi kung in the past and had to make myself continue with them. Whereas with Flying Phoenix I cannot wait to do the movements and then I regret having other duties in life which prohibit me from doing even more of the movements. Reminds me of the infatuation stage of a new relationship where the only thing that you really want to do is spend time with that other person. Maybe I should buy a tv set??? Steve

Thank you Sifu Terry for all of your replies to people today as you clarified so much. I can hardly wait till tomorrow morning to follow your suggestion of doing one of the basics on vol. 2 after MSW instead of before in order to prolong the meditative state. Also, your reply about the different parts of us that FP energy works on helped me to understand a recent similar finding from both my medical intuitive and my general intuitive. They had both told me that FP is helping me on many levels but they did not specify what those levels are. But you did when you described the effect on the cellular level, unconscious level, level of organs, spiritual level, psychic channels, etc. One of the intuitives also found that FP is opening my heart in a different way. I envy that you do not need any second party to inform you of exactly how FP is working as you seem to have direct awareness of this, as do the intuitives. And I also am indebted to you for reminding us of the major reasons why different people have different experiences from subtle energy. During my pity parties when I wonder why I am not having such cosmic experiences as my friends, I do have to remind myself of all the factors that can go into the quality of one's nervous system and hence the differences in experiences. We have missed you but are so glad you are back once again. You have such a gentle way of redirecting thinking about FP that gets a little bit off course at times due to lack of experience. The gift of a natural teacher. I look forward to the publishing of your book. And I hope the day comes when you have the time and desire to offer webinars for those of us who wish to have personal instruction but cannot make it to Los Angeles. Steve

To Sifu Terry and all others who enjoy the wisdom of the Tao Te Ching, Immediately following the completion of my morning FP practice I read one verse of the Tao Te Ching. Today was chapter 35 and I only use Jonathan Star's translation since it resonates with both of the teachings of my spiritual teachers and my own experience from TM. Verse 35 summed up why we seekers seek and what we find. A perfect distillation of the benefits of directly experiencing Tao summed up in one verse. One of my teachers calls this state the vacuum state as described in quantum physics. The home of all the laws of Nature. I consider that to be Tao. Another teacher calls it Oneness/Divine Presence. I now call it Tao. This verse describes the enlightened state of consciousness vs the unenlightened state. Pretty amazing and absolutely verifiable via direct experience. That's the best part! Steve

Hi Bubbles! Hard to not laugh when I type Bubbles. I started doing the FP just as you did and then after a few months added the Monk Serving Wine meditations and that is when spiritual experiences started to be noticed. But as far as feeling the effects of chi, the most powerful meditation so far is the third basic sitting meditation on vol. 2, 50-10-50. I enjoy staying in that postition for a prolonged time way beyond the minimum of 5 minutes since it is such a tangible sensation of chi building in the hands. After about 5-6 months I added vol. 7. I just do the first meditation on that vol. since it is for deepening sleep. I was curious about it as I had no sleep problems but I wanted to experience it anyway. The slower it is performed, the stronger the chi can be felt as the hands and arms move around. I fall asleep faster after doing it. When I first began doing it I was dozing off during the meditation but the hands were still moving anyway it seemed. More fun than a barrel of monkeys, LOL! Steve

Hello Bubbles, I enjoyed your findings about a spiritual component to Flying Phoenix. One day I just sat there with my eyes open after finishing my Flying Phoenix routine and the thoughts were much less noticeable so I realized this feels similar to some of my meditation experiences so I then closed my eyes to stay in that meditative state and since then I do this regularly when time permits. I like doing this quiet sitting after chi kung even if I only have time to do it for 2 minutes. I'm impressed that you sensed this so quickly.

Hi Ronko, I too wondered about that Taoist the first time I saw him so I Googled and one image of him was labled, "The Blue Magician." I ordered a chi dvd from a company and they sent me several 2"x3" business cards with that image on the front of the card. I put one in a small frame on my bookcase. But I have not been able to locate any information about the image. When the full image is visible you can see that it represents the triple burner or main energy centers, chakras. I assume that Sifu Terry has some info about this.

Jorge, If you want to convert your girlfriend over to FP just tell her it makes one youthful. And it really does.

Hello Sifu Terry, My intuitive, not the medical intuitive, the other one, a few weeks ago described my head as having all of this wonderful energy which she attributed to Flying Phoenix Chi Kung but she said it would be good to be able to move it down the body instead of so much of it in the head. Is there a method that you can Rx which would accomplish this?

Tao Traceur, Welcome to the club. I can't answer for Sifu Terry but I have seen the answer to your practical and common question in the thread here. Many questions will most likely pop up for you as you continue the meditations and I found that while reading the now 90 page thread that almost all of my questions were answered. It really has become the users manual for the dvd series. I then read the thread for the second time and found a deeper understanding of FPCK from doing that since I then had much more experience with the FPCK. I just got volume 3 after doing vol. one and two for 6 months but I'm not sure if I am ready for vol. 3 yet.

Hi Sifu Terry, I recently have been told by a trusted source that using Om Mani Padme Hum would be good for the heart chakra. I was wondering if that chant playing in the background while I do Flying Phoenix would be OK or if the vibration of that mantra would interfere with the energy from FP? I have mainly been using the soundtrack from your FP when I do FP but due to only so much time in the day it would be nice to kill 2 birds with one stone if I could use the chant while doing chi kung. Steve

saying hello so I can post

Hello, I am AKA Tao Mist. Had to change it after having problems with the password so it was easier just to register under a new name. Steve