An Internal, External & Energetics Program for Health & Awareness

I am often asked what I do as practice in order to be a healer. If anyone has read my writing they find I am always emphasizing the Stillness-Movement energetics. Of course the reason for this is that it is a practice that transforms the energy body, raising the energy body vibrationals in a way that carries over from lifetime to lifetime. Either we evolve in this time and then have a choice or we "get it right" in the next, next, next lifetime. The practice itself has the potential for helping to "get it right" this lifetime but indeed this depends on several factors, the main ones are "who you are" and how much gongfu - time & effort you are willing to do. I have explained the "who you are" part before but briefly we will revisit this. "Who you are" translates to your own Higher Level Self's spiritual growth through many lifetimes. I refer to "Destiny" as that which YOUR Higher-Level self has chosen to learn and do in any particular lifetime. So in a sense it is the overcoming of the great amnesia that we bring with us to the Earth, then finding and fulfilling one's Destiny. I explain this to stress the importance of the energetic practice. The Stillness-Movement energetic practice, in addition to being an amazing contributor to health, can bring about calmness and peace; this is something desperately needed by all NOW. The health aspects means that a person who practices misses less sick days, recovers faster if they do get ill, and has a great overall sense of well-being. The awareness aspect means we awaken to who we really are with all the privileges & responsibilities this brings.

However, in the act of being a healer, we find tremendous stress on the body. This comes not only from the physical act of the particular modalities we use but also from the accumulation of sick qi that we get from doing so many healings.

But wait, wouldn't this apply to just about everyone as well? Don't we have stress whether we are a child in kindergarten or a lawyer in court? Of course the answer is yes. Not as much chance of sick qi accumulation as a healer, but indeed the stresses to the body are there.

And there is the matter of general health. If we wish to utilize the body throughout it's full lifetime then we need to care for it. You know, maintenance; change the oil, put on new tires, keep it clean and operating at peak efficiency.

How do we do that?
A number of different approaches are valid. However, I see some approaches that actually adds stress instead of helping to alleviate it. Sometimes the keep-it-simple-approach is best.

Of course we need to consider our diet. There are many resources available for this so I will not go into it in detail. I will say this: If one practices Stillness-Movement then they could sit down at the exact same buffet everyday (providing that buffet had a good wide choice of foods) and through the process of what I call "Listening" choose the correct food for their body at that particular NOW. In other words Monday our body says it need yellow vegetables, Tuesday it says it needs protein, Wednesday... of course you see what I mean here. Also, I am a fan of concentrated greens products and whey protein. This is what I have in a shake (made with organic soymilk) for breakfast every morning. I add a multivitamin powder product to that shake.  I am a believer of supplementation and personally take resveratrol and a product called MaxGxl which enhances the bodies glutathione production as we lose approximately 10% of the body's capacity to produce glutathione for every decade of aging. In fact, studies show that ALL sick people, regardless of the type of illness, have low levels of glutathione.
In general, I think it is best to eat less meat and more fruits and vegetables. The meat is best if raised locally and pastured versus grain fed and the vegetables are best if locally and naturally raised.
I will  add to this to drink plenty of clean water. It seems that so many folks do not drink enough water.

I would suggest first thing in the morning to do some Stillness-Movement qigong before anything else. Either in the wee hours or around 5 in the morning. Then I suggest a minimum of 20 minutes on the rebounder, 10- 20 minutes with weights being sure to do add squats in the program, and 20 minutes running qigong. The rebounding needn't be "jump as high as you can" but a simple health bounce where your feet just clear the surface. Nasa's studies show the rebounding to be the single most efficient exercise one can do. So, if one is unable to run, the rebounding can substitute quite nicely. If a person is just starting a workout the key is to start slow then build. Something like 5 minutes of rebounding initially. Start using light weights. The object is NOT to bulk up but to do weight bearing exercise to strengthen the bones and muscles. Another thing that would be good to do is qigong walking. Running is not for everyone, so a combination of rebounding and qigong walking is very good.

Then during the day or evening, I would suggest at least an hour of concentrated sitting Stillness-Movement and at least 30 minutes of Gift of the Tao movement qigong. I personally prefer to do the movement qigong and standing Stillness-Movement in outside nature.

If a person is a healer then this changes. I then suggest at least 3 hours of Stillness-Movement and Gift of the Tao combined. And also, in between clients, do a few moves from Gift of the Tao. This will help keep your energy strong.

If a person is a teacher of qigong, that is, a real Teacher that does energy manipulation, this changes. I then suggest a minimum of 5 hours of combined Stillness-Movement and Gift of the Tao movement.

During the day I suggest adding Dr Graef's isotonal qigong exercises. These can be done in a few minutes and, in the event that on some days one can't get the physical exercise in, will help maintain the physical to a remarkable degree.

There you go. A full energetics, physical, and internal workout program.

Since I have now done my finger exercises typing this article, I now will do Stillness-Movement qigong.

3rd Eye Obsession

WOW! Can't tell you how many times I have had students, potential students, FOLKS IN A PUBLIC PLACE THAT DIDN'T KNOW ME, and on forums ask  "How can I open my 3rd eye?" OR a variation  that usually goes "My 3rd eye is opening and I need help with it."

OR "Can you open my 3rd eye with qi projection?"

OR  "I am ready to open my 3rd eye and have been 1) straring at pigs, 2) focusing on the 3rd eye for 1 hr at a time 3) doing any number of things that I have read in books".
All of these things seem to make as much sense as the other one.

It seems that folks are obsessed with this and I have to wonder why. Is it just that is seems SEXY?  Or are so many striving for that edge of Power so they can amaze their friends at parties? Or are they a genuine seeker that is just a little confused and  actually think this is the way it works? Well, although I know this is actually seldom the case, I will address this point of view.

People have read so much on "chakras" that everyone is absolutely certain they know exactly what they are, exactly where they are located, and exactly what each means usually expressed emotionally.

However, when one reads the books they find about 100 -1000 of what I think are direct plagarisms and then 100 more that all say different things. Who is right?

 I will tell you absolutely and without any question who is right. YOU are.

Now what the heck do I mean by this?

The truth is that there ARE NO SHORT CUTS. One can't be running around practicing skating one day and the next "be ready to open the 3rd eye".

So some potential questions and answers:

" I don't want  philosophizing . I want directions."

OK. SO you don't want to hear about the client that came to me who had been "focusing on the 3rd eye" and any time this person tried to read a book, watch tv, or DRIVE they would completely pass out? And of course you don't want to hear about the dozens of severe headache and mental instability clients that I have had to attempt to re-balance energetically because they read they needed to open the 3rd eye?

Of course you don't. No one does.

This is the new world. Pull up to McDonalds. Burger and a 3rd eye opening please.

And I want it NOW!

But what about the dimensionality of these "chakras"?

Huh? Chakra's don't have dimensionality, they are physical locations.

BZZZZZZT! Wrong!

 Of course they have dimensionality and it is only through a legitimate time honored consistent practice that anyone can know this. One certainly can not EVER experience this reading about them.

But this subject is about 3rd eye and here you are talking about dimensionality of "chakras". I just want to skip the dimensionality part and go direct to the opening part.

You can't. The only way to safely open these "chakras" is a step by step process that requires time & effort. Sorry, no McDonalds 3rd eye specials. We have to open and balance the energy centers first. We have to "grow up" spiritually first. We have to learn to live in the Heart center first in order for "opening the 3rd eye" to have any real meaning.


Hey, your getting ahead of yourself, you haven't mentioned "energy centers".

Oh, that is the physical location in the body most people call "chakras". They are energy centers.

So, keeping us in suspense and not gonna tell us anything technical about this, are you?

OH, I will tell you EXACTLY one way to open the 3rd eye. This is what you wanted isn't it?

Yeah!

OK, practice Stillness-Movement and it will happen.

No! I want you to tell me "how, now".

Ah, thought you really didn't want to know. If you are not willing to learn a genuine system and practice it daily it is not going to happen.
If one attempts to open these energy centers before they are ready, each in its own time, naturally, there WILL be imbalances created.

OK, How long will it take me?

Everyone is different. It takes as long as it takes. At the hospital where I was trained, there were 2 "x-ray vision" girls who could see inside people's body. They came into their talent after one year of practicing Stillness-Movement. I have seen similar results here in the USA. More typically? Extremely difficult to say. As I said, everyone is different. Anywhere from 3 months to several lifetimes is my estimate. Better get to practicing. And I do believe before it happens (3rd eye opening), you will find that it is not so important as you once thought.

In fact, I do believe what you will find is that this subject is all about growing up spiritually, from children to adults. Asking the question of  "How do I open my 3rd eye?" is similar to a child asking a question of  "What will it be like when I grow up?"
We can tell the child about our experiences but the child has to experience and practice being an adult before he knows the answer.

Qigong: Breath Control Versus Natural Breathing

There are many ways and approaches to what we call qigong. In this post I wish to make a case for NOT utilizing breath control inside of qigong practice. 

But Wait! Isn't qigong inherently a breath control practice?
The answer is no. Some of this confusion stems from the current Chinese character for Qi from which a literal translation can be "air". But if we look at older translations Qi is seen as the vapor rising up from cooking a bowl of rice. Personally and as a Teacher I have found the 2nd translation to be much more accurate. Yes, qi is in the air that we breathe, but air is not the ultimate source of energy.

If qigong isn't a breath control practice, what is it?
This is not complicated. Qigong is the study and practice of energetics that requires time & effort; Energy Kung Fu .

So why would utilizing breath control during the actual practice be "bad"?
I don't say it is bad. I say it is limiting. My approach is to learn how to breathe naturally without limitations before practicing real qigong exercises. One of the problems with breath is that most people do not realize they are missing the top portion of their breath. The best way I know to solve this is to do running or rebounding. When these exercises are done we will find that missing top portion of breath and, through the exercise itself re-gain natural use of it. I would say anything over 3 miles a day will definitely both show the missing portion to a person and allow the person to re-gain this missing top portion of breath. If rebounding, a minimum of 30 minutes will do the same thing.

Ok, we have taken care of the top portion of breath, what about the bottom portion?
One of the missing keys in proper natural breathing is to expel all the air. One can simply utilize the diaphragm and push all the air out at the end of the breath.

All of this is fine, but what does it have to do with qigong?
We have learned to breathe better naturally through re-gaining both the top portion and the bottom portion of the breath. The breathing now becomes a natural NON-MIND, NO-BRAIN  process. So now on to the qigong.

One of the keys to having a non-limited qigong practice is to go to the energy directly instead of indirectly. If we access the energy indirectly by utilizing body/mind then the energy process will always be limited by the body/mind. Brain waves are measurable and anytime anyone utilizes the brain/mind to access or manipulate the energy the outcome is always finite as is the case when breath control is added to a practice. But if we give up that brain/mind input and access energy direct we have transcended these brain/mind limitations and have access to that which potentially is instantaneous and  has no limitation on amplitude.

This is why Stillness-Movement is such a powerful practice. We let go of the brain/mind energy manipulation, stop the world by shutting off all internal dialogue, breathe naturally, set up an awareness of the energetics, set INTENT on accessing and pulling in the energy, and then just BE. This allows the energy to naturally do what needs to be done without any brain/mind limitations.

And thus the Tao, doing nothing and letting nothing be not done.

Preconceived Notions Versus Tao

I could have titled this post as "The Power of Preconceived Notions", a title which leads one to believe that these notions are indeed true and good. The facts, however, usually demonstrate an entirely different conclusion. I would say the majority of the time these notions have no basis in fact.

One may read this and say to themselves, "But I have no preconceived notions. I take life one step at a time." 

Possibly you are correct. But most people DO have these and it shapes every thought and action we make. Sometimes these pre-conceived notions give us an incorrectly smug feeling of righteous indignation. Sometimes they give us the satisfaction of knowing we are right, even when we are wrong. Sometimes they give us the false justification to look down on others. And sometimes they help us to make totally incorrect and not so fruitful decisions in our life.

So what is available to us to help burn through these preconceived notions and perceive the truth?

I won't, in this post, get into the subject of  energetics, Wu Wei and synchronicity. We will save that for a later post. So let us refer to something that just IS, the Tao. Hence my title "Preconceived Notions Versus Tao".

Many folks interpret what Tao means somewhat differently. This interpretation differential certainly doesn't change what Tao is, only one's personal understanding of what it means. And this personal understanding can lead to what? You got it, those dreaded preconceived notions.

So let us not get bogged down with the definition of Tao. If one has never heard the word,  a lifetime of research can be done on the subject. For now, let us just say that the Tao IS.

So without further rambling we will get deeper into the actual subject of this post. To do so I will describe an event that hit home with me.

Recently I have had several elderly people in clinic. Some of them have been really sick and tough to work on! So a few weeks ago I get a call from someone in their later 80's that wants a session. And of course I make an appointment for him.

The morning of the session I was slightly bitchin to my wife that I would have a rough day as I had several tough older clients to work on. And here, of course, is the preconceived notion that I latched onto, which indeed had nothing whatsoever to do with the truth.

So I get this gentleman on the table and start working energy. His eyes get big around as saucers and he says that he has read about this but never experienced it. He felt the qi run through each limb. He felt his body getting lighter. He felt the sick qi as it left his body. He felt the utter joy, peace, and calmness of being bathed with pure Light.

How wondrous the session turned out! He was extremely sensitive to qi and the session was really easy. One of the easiest sessions I have done all year. All the pain gone and I didn't have to do much more than blink!

So as for preconceived notions, the score is:
Preconceived notions - zero, Tao - one.