zen-bear

Hello to all FP Qigong practitioners and thread subscribers: I just a good part of Easter weekend revamping the Chi Kung For Health DVD catalog page on my website to include short demonstration video clips of Volumes 1 through 5 of the DVD series. The page also includes a new and expanded summary description of the Flying Phoenix Qigong art. The last descriptive text was posted on this page in 2010. Through continuous practice and teaching of FP Qigong--including answering questions posted here on this thread, my understanding and appreciation of this wondrous art is not only deeper, but rounder and smoother...more organic, yet more supramundane. Please share this link and spread the healing and good karma: www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html Thank you to all for your interest in FP Qigong and your perseverance (ren) on your respective Paths! And may the BLUE HEALING FORCE be with you. Sifu Terry Dunn

Yesterday evening's practice in one 3.5 hour session: Hour One: Moonbeam Splashes on Water The last 90-second FP Meditation (on Vol.5) GM William Chen's 60-part Yang Tai Chi Form -- 2 times GM Chen's punching drills (body mechanics) -- 15 min. The 8th Form of Eight Sections of Energy Combined -- two times. second 90 minutes: Advanced Flying Phoenix Qigong Mediations Nos. 1, 5, and 9-- one round each Tao Tan Pai Five Dragons Meditation (1 hour). Eight Sections Combined 10-minute seated Meditation in dragon drop position -- 3 times Last 60 min.: 5th Form of Eight Sections of Energy Combined -- once. 108 Yang Long Form. GM William Chen's Yang TC sword form -- 2 times Wudang Tan Jian (Elixir Sword) -- 2 times

In case you haven't noticed--and you shouldn't have unless you're a night-owl who watches a lot of cable tv (I have TV on in the background as I write my books on Tai Chi and Qigong)--the producer and distributor of the "Tai Cheng" DVD programs, Beach Bodies, has doubled down on the marketing of their product and now have a 30-minute infomercial on various cable-TV channels late at night, hosted by Regis Philbin, who listens to all kinds of testimonials making the usual specious claims of higher energy, more relaxation, higher sex drive, better golf swing, etc. Bottom Line: to use my friend Debbie Shayne's apt description of the Tai Cheng instructional program, Cheez Whiz: CHEEZ WHIZ is still CHEEZ WHIZ and always will be CHEEZ WHIZ. zzzzzzzzzzzzzeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Sifu Terence Dunn http://www.thedaobums.com/topic/12639-flying-phoenix-chi-kung/page-226?hl=+flying%20+phoenix%20+chi%20+kung and www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

To All: Opening today at the USC Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena, CA is a rare and excellent exhibition called, "Royal Taste: the Art of Princely Courts in Fifteenth Century China" that features paintings, religious statuary, jewelry, porcelains, and lifestyle accouterments created during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) that are utterly exquisite and in many cases breath-taking. http://pacificasiamuseum.usc.edu/…/exh…/2016/RoyalTaste.aspx http://www.latimes.com/…/la-ca-cm-royal-taste-usc-pacific-a… Last Monday--all made possible by my friend Catherine Young, I gave a fun lecture to 30 docents at the museum about "the significance of "Chi" (Qi) in Chinese culture and art." My talk began with discussion of ancient Chinese astronomy mapping the heavens, astrology, the mythological Four Symbols plus the central Yellow Dragon correlating to Wuxing--5 elements (or 5 phase changes), and Yin Yang Theory. Then I discussed the wide range of Taoist spiritual and lay practices that flowed from this cosmology: fengshui, I Ching divination, traditional Chinese medicine, meditative arts like Qigong, and martial arts such as Tai Chi, which was created at Wudangshan in the 13th century, and Taoist spiritualism and exorcistic rites. Because the 3rd Ming Emperor, Yongle, patronized and endowed Wudangshan Taoism in spectacular manner, building the most prominent palaces and highest temples on Wudangshan (for he believed that Zhenwu (the Perfected Warrior), aka Xuan Wu (Mysterious or Dark Warrior) aka Beidi (god of the northern sky) had ordained his political and military successes, the art of his imperial court in Beijing that was naturally reflected by the princely courts located throughout the empire was replete with Taoist symbolism and motifs--and Wudangshan icons in particular. In popular and esoteric Taoism, Beidi is worshiped as the 7 Stars of the Big Dipper and his pre-anthropomorphic or post-anthropomorphic (spiritual) form is the black tortoise and snake, which, of course, are associated with the water element. As a matter of course, I gave a short demonstration of Tai Chi, then in contrast demo'd the Third Section of Eight Sections of Energy Combined (because GM Doo Wai says that 8 Sections is a Wudang art), and then led the docents in a 15-minute practice of "Flying Phoenix Celestial Healing Qigong", which as we here all know, hails from the far western relative of Wudang Taoism, Ehrmeishan's White Tiger sect. We practiced these 3 FP Meditations: Guardian Standing At Temple Gate Monk Gazing At Moon Monk Holding Peach. btw, the Four Symbols of Chinese mythology and cosmology are: the Vermillion Bird of the South (Fire), Green Dragon of the East (Wood), White Tiger of the West (Metal), and Black Tortoise of the North (Water). Plus the fifth is the Yellow Dragon in the center associated with Earth. These five "symbols" of course correlate to the Five Elements and this cosmology--with its "big picture"--is helpful in understanding the place that Bok Fu Pai arts hold in Chinese alchemy and why its Qigong arts like Flying Phoenix are so powerful. In preparing for this lecture and boning up on Wudang Taoism, I will intimate here semi-publicly that I had a spontaneous and quite unexpected encounter with Bei Di. You may all take this statement with several shakers of salt. But it was quite an uplift in my day, to say the least. And I find myself slipping into a calm but high-running current of humbling martial bliss unexpectedly at odd times. This week's spiritual convergence and encounter was foreshadowed about 4 years ago when mysterious Taoist talisman came to me that showed some martial deity seated with 2 attendants flanking him and 28 Taoist constellations behind them and a pair of oppositely colored orbs inside cloud trails at the top corners. I didn't know who the subject was or what the symbols exactly represented. After the lecture Monday afternoon, I came back home and noticed/realized that the face of the diety in the talisman is the face of Zhenwu and that the constellation right above his head is seven stars of the Big Dipper. Btw, according to Taoist spiritualism--both esoteric and popular, one of the visitation dates on which Zhenwu descends to the earth plane to intervene in human matters of justice and war is coming up soon. So do your research, mark your lunar calendars, and get your dragon's blood incense ready, folks. Carry On. Sifu Terry Dunn www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

Hello Steve, Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and the interesting supporting experiences about this absolutely absurd theory by a degreed academic who by every indication simply pulled it out his behind (where his severely compromised brain seems to reside). I didn't know that you had observed a daily program of Mindfulness meditation at your place of work for 9 years. That, in my arrogant opinion, represents far more reliable data from observation than whatever statistical research this Ph.D. from Oxford conveniently massaged and mislabeled to come up with his farcical theory. Yes, it goes without saying from my scree--but I'll also say it here since you and ridingtheox make the point: any symptoms of psychosis that surface while a person is doing meditation such as mindfulness only indicate that the person was psychotic prior to doing mindfulness. Just like psychotics reveal themselves while under hypnosis with the wide and slow rolling of the head and neck (that can be quite eerie and unnerving to the layman). Your story about the professor at Northwestern who wrote a book denying the Holocaust is even worse than my experience of an academic fool and idiot, a Japanese "scholar", who was teaching a course in ancient Chinese philosophy at Yale. During the very first class I attended, he got up and expounded his belief that all the mystical writings and visionary art created by the ancient Taoists and early Buddhists resulted from practicing meditation with abnormal breathing methods that caused oxygen depletion and an excess of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the blood, which impaired their brain functions, which caused them all to hallucinate. That was an example of sheer ignorance and pride in stupidity acting under the guise and protection of "scholarship". For his mind--like that of many spiritually blind and earthbound spirits in his race--could not fathom or make any sense out of the staggeringly precise organic and naturalistic observations of the Taoists and early Buddhists. So CO2 poisoning was this jackass's contribution to the study of ancient Chinese philosophy, entirely missing the point that ancient Taoist and Buddhist philosophy and religion are systems of applied yoga, as my favorite heroic scholar of the past, W.Y. Evans-Wentz, elucidated. But some nitwit heading up the Philosophy Department at Yale actually gave him a visiting teaching post. I had just been introduced to Kung Fu during my first year at Yale and had begun learning it from my good friend and classmate who was an adept and from Sifu Douglas Wong in Los Angeles who I had sought out during my summer break--but I had bare minimum experience in Qigong and meditation at that time. Nevertheless, something in me became incensed by this Japanese professor's arid and totally unfounded theory about CO2-induced hallucinations that I instantly got up and walked out of the class, trying to spit the taste of his stupidity out of my mouth, and obviously never to return. Looking back, I see that instance of witnessing "the blind leading the innocent" at that tender age caused me mark the first calibration on my "Wierd-Shit-O-Meter" to "proud and blind." I have never gone out of my way to belittle or mock stupid people's ideas and chicanery--unless it rises to the level of a public menace--because fools and dolts can't help themselves and don't know any better, and the Zen view is that they are "perfect in their ignorance." But when it comes to an over-educated fool like this Oxford-trained Ph.D. to publish such an absolutely ridiculous and preposterous idea with no clinical proof whatsoever, and style it as a warning to all meditators and mental health professionals worldwide, and then talk vague nonsense about it in the interview using gobbledygook new age homilies as justification--simply caused my Wierd-O-Meter to register off its scale and me to go incendiary. Thanks again for your views. Best, Sifu Terry Dunn

Hello to all: This morning I started a new discussion thread in GROUP STUDIES titled, "Meditation can lead people into possible psychosis," according by Dr. Miguel Farias, author of "The Buddha Pill: Can Meditation Change You?" by posting the above scree (#3606) there. If there any FP practitioners or followers of this thread who want to comment on the article about Farias's research on meditation, please post them on this new thread. It's already gotten off to a good start with lots of interesting responders. Thanks. Sifu Terry Dunn

Hello Earl Grey, Similary, my father used to tell me when I was very young to not be that frog at the bottom of the well, who is able to see only this small round circle of the sky. I was utterly astounded that a person with such the academic credentials that Farias has could possibly publish a theory so unsubstantiated and talk so vacuously about it in the article. Great screen name, by the way!

Good discussion by Joolian, Cihan and Aeran about the tangible energization of the arms while practicing FP Qigong. FP Qigong is a complete Qigong system that will cultivate the superabundance of FP Healing Energy to perfect good health in oneself and that will heal others in the practitioner's environment, and it will develop the same kind of frictionless body mechanics as the Chinese internal martial arts (Tai Chi Chuan, Ba Gua, Xing-I, Liu He Ba Fa, etc.). Those FP Practitioners who are already advanced in these internal energy martial arts will find that their body mechanics will accelerate their progress in FP Qi cultivation and make their experience of the FP Healing Energy all the more profound. Reminder to all who are presently focussed on the energy sensations experienced through the arms: The goal of the FP Qigong system is to develop proficiency in the Long From Standing Meditation (FLHHCM) taught on Volume 4, which is the capstone exercise of the system. For that moving meditation, along with all the standing moving meditations--Bending the Bows, Wind through Treetops, Wind Above the Clouds, and an d Moonbeam Splashes on Water, facilitates the internal energy flows and develops the "external" body mechanics to make the internal energy connection between the lower body and the upper body --through the Gua. In all internal martial arts systems, practitioners normally first have tangible experience of the chi in the upper body, head arms. Then in the legs. And then finally after years of persevering training, the connection between energy flow in the milestone physical achievement of total body integration is realized. The sign that total body integration is achieved in the Flying Phoenix system: Whenever one moves a hand or foot in an FP Meditation--or even in normal every day waking life--one feels the energy move or change inside the body mass at the exact same height in perfect correspondence to the movement of the limb(s). All this is to say: enjoy all the sublime sensations of the wonderful Monk Serves Wine seated meditations. But remember that the standing FP meditations are more powerful (stated many times in the past), and both standing and seated FP Meds are to be practiced thoroughly to derive the full benefits of the system. Good practicing. Sifu Terry Dunn www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

During my recent review of past postings, I came cross this post by "Shiva Shakti" on March 20, 2013, which contains his nice Flying Phoenix-specific meaning of physical "bliss"...that I think beginners will find inspiring. I will paraphrase Shiva Shakti's description as the feeling that your energy tangibly and undoubtedly extends beyond your physical body while moving the body and its limbs effortlessly. Sifu Terry Dunn Posted 20 March 2013 - 06:39 AM cached-Sun, 07 Feb 2016 12:13:09 +0000 Hey Eugene, So you want to experience bliss... Here's a tip that maybe you can follow. This is the way, I do it BTW. Do Vol 2 in the morning, 5,60,80,40,30 and 90,50,40,30,10 take a good nutritious lunch, on the afternoon, 5,60,80,40,30 and 90,50,40,30,10, and 90,80,50,20 eat nutritious at dinner. Evening 5,60,80,40,30 and 50,40,30,10 Do all these meds, everyday. You may experience some bliss/feel good/good mood on the third day. even in the first day if you've done them correctly/properly. Now do these meds real slow, meaning be so mindfully engage in your hand movements. pay very close attention to your every movements. Now if you do this correctly/properly, you should notice that your awareness is expanded! if not, your not really paying much attention. Now what is expanded consciousness like, or feel like? in this mind state, you perceive more "space", and so when you extend your arms, you can sense that your arms seems much "longer" (also when you raise your arms, they seems much higher). you don't need to visualize it, that your limbs are longer, you will perceive it automatically when you really become that fully engage in your hands movements and body sensations. It this expanded state, you will also tend to enjoy your practice more, so longer hours tend to be enjoyable rather than to bore you to death This is my usual time periods 5,60,80,40,30 = 7 to 10 minutes 90,50,40,30,10 = 30 min 50,40,30,10 = 50 min to 1 hour (this meds have lots of movements, so it is taking longer) 90,80,50,20 = 30 min All of what I have said, is also the key to having penetrating eyes and having to experience a powerful personality change. also you can have insights. Good luck to your FP practice and enjoy it! Edited by ShivaShakti, 20 March 2013 - 08:41 AM.

Yesterday morning, before Tai Chi form practice, and after a sequence of 8 Qing Dynasty Imperial Guard Exercises, I taught the following sequence of standing FP Meditations to my class over the course of 40 minutes: 1. Bending the Bows (18 slow repetitions) 2. Wind Above the Clouds (2 rounds) 3. Wind Through Treetops (one round) 4. Moonbeam Splashes on Water (one round) 5. Monk Holding Peach (5 minutes) Then after a 10 minute break, we proceeded to practice the 60-part Yang Tai Chi form twice and and straight sword form three times. Hard to describe, but now as I write this post, I feel that the FP Qigong Meditation session had "reset" my circadian rhythms. For the day went very smoothly and was most productive due to having a noticeably very high energy level regulated by a highly "polished" internal clock. As I've recently been reviewing many Daobums' comments for the Q&A section of my forthcoming book on FP Qigong (with their approval), I chanced upon this very nice description by JustBHappy from March 27, 2013 (Post #1731) of what I experience as the very reliable and constant "cooling, smoothing, rounding" effects of the FP Qigong Healing Energy: "...What I do know though, is that the FP has made an impact on my overall feeling. It's like it has put me in the "I don't mind" zone where I don't feel a need to react as strongly as before. For me, it has very cooling effect. I can train hard and long doing the FP meditations and not over heat like I do with other practices. I think the energy is still there, but the edges are rounded and softer, if that make any sense." Sifu Terry Dunn www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

Hello Jeff, Given that Tai Chi is a nice complement to FP Qigong practice and will make the practice of the latter more effective--although it is a totally different tradition and holistic art-- I thought I would answer your question directly. The TCFH Long Form DVD teaches the classical 108 posture Yang Family Long form that was created by Yang Lu Chan and refined by three generations of Yang masters, ending with Yang Cheng Fu who passed in 1935. There are Yang relatives and descendants alive day. Yang Cheng Fu's 108 Form spread far and wide and was disseminated to the west first through the Tung Ying-Jie and his 3 generations of descendants and by Cheng Man Ching, who was one of the last students taught by Yang Cheng Fu. The Short Form DVD teaches the 37-posture Short Form that Cheng Man-Ching created by distilling the 108 posture Long Form that he had learned--in order to codify and convey his very unique and valuable secret contributions to Tai Chi and to make the art easier to learn by western students. Cheng Man-Ching's evolution of Yang Tai Chi Chuan is so unique that many in the Chinese martial arts world don't consider it Tai Chi anymore, but a different martial art altogether because of it's initial and prolonged emphasis on the Yin aspect, softness and yielding. Enjoy the practice. Sifu Terry Dunn

Hi Jeff, All the FP Exercises are to be done with eyes closed--except for "Monk Gazing At Moon" (60 40 20) on Vol.1. This is most important discipline to observe. Other practitioners can give share our their experiences to explain why eyes-closed is essential. Enjoy the practice! Sifu Terry www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

Hi Aeran, I'll answer your compound question in two parts: When you say they teach poorly, do you mean purely from a martial perspective (ie. what they teach won't result in any martial prowess)? I meant that the quality of Tai Chi instruction that I've seen given for health purposes only by teachers who are not well-trained by bona fide Tai Chi masters is generally poor. This is because if one does not understand the martial focus and applications of each Tai Chi posture and technique and the internal body mechanics--which is NOT obvious from watching the external movements--then one cannot teach or impart the maximum health benefits of Tai Chi FORM practice. It goes without saying that those who teach Tai Chi for health only but do not understand the martial art applications cannot teach anyone the martial applications. They cannot teach what they do not know. ...or that their training not only does not offer martial prowess, but also won't result in any health benefits? Again, their training cannot possibly develop martial prowess. But some health benefits can be derived from practicing Tai Chi Form even if it's imperfectly taught or if it's taught without any of the martial focus. Just relaxed slow-motion movement for one hour can accidentally become moving meditation and thereby impart health benefits through mind-body integration. I am saying that this is sub-optimal, that's all. I speak from experience because I actually learned from one Tai Chi instructor who did not know the martial applications of the art but who taught Tai Chi Form beautifully. He was a successful Chinese character actor on American television named Chao Li Chi and he was affiliated with the Taoist Sanctuary of Los Angeles. Besides being an actor, he was a trained dancer from New York City who had learned the 24-part Yang Tai Chi form from his mother when he was young and had practiced it for most of his life. I learned my very first Tai Chi form from him around 1976 when Chao Li was in his mid-50's. I practiced the 24 Form only sketchily--for I devoted 95% of the time to learning Tao Tan Pai and Sil Lum Kung Fu throughout the 1970's--until 1980 when I met Master Abraham Liu, a senior student of Cheng Man-Ching. Then everything changed. Then I discovered how profound Tai Chi Chuan was and how it's martial application was like no other martial art I had ever experienced in the preceding 6 years of intensive kung fu training. Sifu Terry Dunn www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

BP, Tao Tan Pai is a complete martial art that has a powerful Nei kung (internal system). To be able to learn the internal system beyond the basic level (called the Tao Tan Pai 31), one has to learn and master the martial art forms. One does not have to have background in a martial art to learn Flying Phoenix Qigong, but it is an integral health component of the Bok Fu Pai system and subsequent training in Bok Fu Pai Kung Fu would synergistically enhance the FP Qigong's health and meditative benefits. Sifu Terry Dunn

Blue Phoenix, Common sense dictates that one should not try to teach to others anything what one does not know or has not mastered. And if one tries to set oneself up as a teacher when one isn't qualified, that's a case of the blind leading the blind and is a recipe for disaster, which both the Buddha and the Great Syrian Sage have warned against. But there's certainly no harm in sharing the DVD's or what you know of the FP Qigong with a few people who meditate at the Buddhist center to see if you can get them to practice with you. I don't quite understand your 2nd paragraph. I'll guess at its meaning and say that: if you can't find a Chinese internal martial arts teacher in your area, you can still do FP Qigong to very good effect. It just helps if you already know some Tai Chi or kung fu. all i know is that there is a tai chi centre that i might start going to but i dont think they teach anything martial there. If what they're teaching at the Tai Chi centre isn't anything martial , then it's not the complete art of Tai Chi. Tai Chi Chuan is first and foremost a martial art. A Tai Chi master knows the complete art as a martial art. But there are a lot of health club and spa instructors and even hard style martial arts instructors who teach Tai Chi just for health because they can attract elderly students and fill classes. And they teach poorly at that, based on what I've seen of those situations over many years. Sifu Terry Dunn

Hi Joolian, Sorry to take so long to reply--but I just chanced upon this posting on page 214 that I had missed when you had posted it. Right off the top of my head, there is a tome on western hermetic philosophy called "The Golden Dawn" by Israel Regardie, who was a peer and collaborative of Aleister Crowley that contains comprehensive primers on most of the practices of the Society of the Golden Dawn. It has several chapters on numerology related to Enochian tablets, Tarot, etc. because numerology permeates every sophisticated oracle. In terms of eastern numerology, I would simply suggest that you start using the I Ching, if you haven't already. That's the numerology that steadily crept into my subconscious from using the I Ching since the mid 70's --when I first learned about it in a Chinese philosophy course in college. From just using the I Ching, it's numerology (that entails Ba Gua, Five Elements, Yin Yang, the celestial stems, etc.) just evolved in my mind over the course of a few years. Once acquainted with the I Ching, numerical patterns in nature and in human affairs reveal themselves most readily. Because I am East-West in my alchemic nature, I also use the western hermetic numerology that is integral to the Tarot. Good luck in your explorations! Sifu Terry P.S. Here's a musical salute to the most basic aspect of Tarot numerology written 23 years ago:

Hi Steve, Yes, the Tao Tan Pai system takes a lot of time to practice. And I understand time constraints. While one can derive excellent benefits from the Cloud Hands short version of the Tao Tan Pai 31 basic Qigong exercises (aka the "Power Yoga"), one needs the to learn the complete TTP-31 in order to become initiated in the very "meaty" basic level of the TTP art. The Short Version contains 4 of the 31 Basic TTP Exercises; another version that we practiced back in the 70's at the Taoist Sanctuary involved 5 of the 31 (the first 4 standing exercises in the 31 sequence plus one seated exercise) . There are exercises in the rest of the 31 that are NOT in the Short Version that involve the swallowing of saliva coordinated with a chain of other muscular movements. This swallowing is a feature of several schools of Taoist Yogas as explained in Henri Maspero's epic tome of translation, Taoism and Chinese Religion--a most valuable roadmap for anyone on the Taoist path, for it provides comprehensive history and exploration of the vast array of Taoist traditions, and includes translations of oral teachings and the ancients' descriptions of the wide range of effects of many forms of Taoist Yoga and Meditation. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/208331.Taoism_and_Chinese_Religion Another very excellent book on Taoism religion and practices is "Taoist Body" by Kristofer Schipper. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1412804.The_Taoist_Body In conclusion, the Tao Tan Pai short version or "Power Yoga" is very powerful and valuable practice that's well worth doing. I strongly recommend practicing it. If you're really short on time, you can leave out the 10-minute Shen candle meditation and the 20-minute meditation that is the "sealer" at the end. Just do the short form sequence every day until you understand what it does. It will also make your FP Qigong experience more powerful. As I stated early, early on in this thread, GM Doo Wai and GM Share Lew were neighbors and knew about each other's systems well, and GM Doo Wai told me that I could practice both TTP Yogas and the FP Qigong (all the Bok Fu Pai internal exercises, actually) because he said the two energies could be mixed. Sifu Terry P.S. ​btw, and not to go off track on this Flying Phoenix thread, but besides giving private online tutorials (via Skype) on all levels of FP Qigong practice, I am also teaching the Tao Tan Pai 31 and TTP Kung Fu forms to several FP practitioners. One student is Daobum "yuyumonk", an American ex-pat from Southern California living in Taiwan who had learned the TTP-31, Six Stars, and Shen exercises directly from Share Lew when he was alive and two of the five animal forms (Monkey and Dragon) from an old classmate of mine. This Taiwan student learned the entire TTP Crane form from me in three one-hour sessions(!) I was quite blown away by his exceptional prowess in learning forms, for I taught a classmate and peer of mine from the Taoist Sanctuary days (with 35 yrs of TTP training) the same crane form over the course of 3 months about 2 years ago.) After yuyumonk establishes the Crane form a little more, I will be teaching him the rest of the TTP animal forms--Snake and Tiger--in preparation for teaching him the higher Tao Tan Pai Yogas--the Nine Flowers, and, if it is the will of the Universe, the Five Dragons. (I still marvel at the fact that this technological age allows someone like me to teach some advanced materials--a 98-movement crane kung fu form-- to advanced student in real time who is living on the other side of the world.) www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

Catalyst posting to slingshot everyone forward back into practice when Mercury goes Direct in three more days. A friend on my Facebook product page and also fellow member of the Zhuangzi Group on Facebook asked this question that I've been asked many times every year: "What dilineates chi gung from taiji? Intention and application?" Like · Reply · January 20 at 1:48pm Terence Dunn answered: The difference betw Tai Chi and Qigong is most often asked about. People not initiated in Chinese martial arts are often confused because the terms are not actually comparable. It's like comparing "apples" to "carbohydrates"-- for Tai Chi is a school or style of Chinese martial art emphasizing generation and application of a specific type of internal energy (chi) called jing for self-defense, while Qigong (Chi Kung) is a generic term that refers to a vast body of esoteric Chinese yogas that cultivate either martial or healing energies that empower either martial arts or healing arts, respectively, to super-normal levels. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS GENERIC QIGONG. As I explained on this thread around the second year, Qigong became a generic brand of meditative exercise because western entrepreneurs starting in the 1970's started translating many of the Tai Chi, wushu and qigong pamphlets illustrated with line drawings that the central government had published in the tens of millions just to placate and pre-occupy the masses. Just as there are scores of classical styles of Kung Fu, there are almost just as many different authentic styles of Qigong integral to them--plus dozens of medical Qigong systems that are not affiliated with any particular martial tradition, but are just a part of Chinese physical culture. And who knows how many Qigong traditions kept secret within family lineages--such as Bok Fu Pai until GM Doo Wai started teaching it in America. Every complete internal martial art has a secret Qigong engine at its core--that is always taught towards the end of the apprenticeship with the master after the student has proven himself worthy and responsible enough to handle the power of life and death. Such is Tai Chi Qigong. Within all the dozens of styles descended from Shaolin Five Animals Kung Fu, each has an esoteric Qigong discipline. All the Taoist martial traditions from Wudang, Huashan, Ehrmeishan, Maoshan, etc., have secret and profound Qigong arts completely unique to themselves. e.g., along with other powerful yogic arts, the venerable Huashan sage Chen Tuan created the Tai Chi Ruler during the Sung Dynasty, which is a complete Qigong system for health and martial empowerment consisting of 8 exercises using a 11-inch wand or "ruler" (based on the design of an ancient Chinese sword handle). Within the Tao Tan Pai (Taoist Elixir) tradition that I teach, there is a vast, five-level Qigong system, where on the top two levels, the practitioner takes his life into his hands with the very first breath. The constant irritation that I've learned to live with for past 20+ years is the fact that Qigong has been MacDonaldized and diluted in the West by quacks, dilettantes, and fast-buck artists who I won't get into here--but including that "modern qigong" crap that went on PBS (public television in America) a few years ago, which is nothing but pedestrian calisthenics. As a result, Qigong is going down the same path of dilution and MacDonaldization as Indian Yoga went starting in the 70's. The fact is, there is no form of "modern qigong" that's worth anyone's toenail clippings. For while I hope that a Taoist immortal like Lu Deng Bin, Chang San Feng, Chen Tuan, or even a great alchemic scholar like Ge Hong will reincarnate as a prodigy sage and give the world an effective distillation or re-synthesis of classical Qigong systems that he/she for some reason chooses to label as "Modern Qigong", there has not been any sign of such an avatar for the past 10 decades a according to my research. So find an authentic Qigong art from a verifiable lineage that's been proven to work and master it. If not Flying Phoenix, some other system. But master it. Do it in six years; do it in sixty years. But keep your eyes on the goal of Taoism: immortality within one lifetime. Sifu Terry Dunn www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

Looking forward to hearing about your experiences with this meditation, Charlie! Sifu Terry www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

This particular animation franchise so far consists of three very expensive two-hour commercials designed to sell ancillary products. (Six films were announced.) That is why dreamworks struck a deal with amazon to let amazon give kf panda 3 away free with any customer purchase. The goal is to sell more toys, t-shirts, coffee mugs, mousepads, and other paraphernalia. The money, as George Lucas proved after he kept the merchandising rights revenues in his initial production/distribution agreement with 20th C. Fox and then sold Star Wars to Disney for $4 billion, is made in merchandising rights revenues--not theater ticket sales or dvd sales. And that is why the Hollywood studios NEVER disclose how much they make on the merchandising rights. So if you want to side with justice, follow this simple advice: Boycott that dreamworks shit--along with everything done by david dorian ross!!! Sifu Terry Dunn http://www.kungfupandalawsuit.com/Danica%20to%20test/timeline-hotspots.htm

Hi Raven's Fire, That's a great affect. Can you discern whether your hair standing on end was due to the crystal cave itself, or the FP Qigong you practiced, or both? Next time you meditate for 5 days in a crystal cave, or do any concentrated FP Qigong practice of any duration, you should very carefully sense-out (or "shen" out) the first persons you come in contact with before touching them. If you aren't mentally focussed on retaining and conserving the cultivated FP energy from your practice, any excess or reserve FP energy can very easily transfer to people that you touch. But it sounds like that person transferred an unwanted energy to you through that handshake. How were your hands "feeling kind of funny" after you shook hands with the person? Did it feel like a vacuum of energy in your hands? Or an outside/alien energy had entered through the handshake? I assume it was the latter because you transferred it to the friendly looking rock you found. I'm glad to know you have good instincts and facility with expelling energy from the body. You may think you don't understand why you picked up that rock...but your body simply did what it needed to do. Be glad for that, trust such instincts, and be confident that you can find the remedy to any injury incurred in a nature within 10 feet in any direction. There are many means of expelling unwanted energy from one's system, as you know. As I described in the early years of this thread, all around my teacher GM Doo Wai's village in South China, there are black hand prints burned into boulders and rock walls by the energy healers in that region. Best, Sifu Terry www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

zen-bear, on 14 Jan 2016 - 05:08, said: Hello Raven's Fire, I'm glad to hear that you had your extended week-long stay in the crystal cave was most positive and the you passed the time with plenty of FP Meditation practice. My answers to your questions and replies to your comments are in blue below: It was a great experience, passing the time like that. My hair was standing on end. Is that normal? :-) To answer this first question, I need to ask you 3 questions: (1) Do you think it was the crystal cave environment that caused your and others' hair to stand on end? (2) what hair of yours was standing on end? Was it body hair or the hair on your head? (3) If it was the hair on your head, how long is your head of hair? I am serious in asking this because I have experienced body hair (covering arms, legs and back) stand on end in meditation. And I've also experienced, as stated earlier in this thread (when people were discussion 2 advanced seated MSW meditations in Vol.7), the hair follicles in the scalp actually get electrically stimulated and charged from doing FP Meditation. I kept my eyes closed in meditation, and no one else doing those FP meditations with me had their eyes open. But it felt like my hair was standing on end due to the electrical charging felt in the follicle.s **I don't know what the term "normal" means. It depends on the context, the environment, and one's meditative/yogic experience. I guess hair standing on end would be considered "normal" in terms of FP Qigong practice. But not necessarily normal to just plain quiet sitting meditation. I thought earlier on about your note/remark about me feeling some benefits so early on. I've always been able to "sense" the energy of people, given that I'm legally blind and have only about 10% vision. I knew it was there but just never really knew what to make of it. In general, I do have to depend upon my other senses, given the limited amount of sight which I have. That fact that you're 90% blind naturally forces you to rely more on your ability to feel and sense the energy of people and your sense of hearing, of course. In Tao Tan Pai parlance, feeling or sensing the energy of others called using our "shen" (psychic awareness), or in Castaneda's terms that is simply called "seeing". I think that you will be pleasantly surprised a few months down the road when you feel the FP Qigong intensifying and and deeply calibrating your sensitivity to other people's energies. It is most gratifying to recognize and then to possess that constant energy connection to all life. Besides using a Qigong art like Flying Phoenix or some form of meditation and yoga to expand consciousness and to experience constant At-Onement, there are many, many mental exercises used by clairvoyants and psychics to develop their natural-born "seeing" and scrying abilities. As I posted long ago on the thread, this is an important principle to remember in order to develop one's latent powers with FP Qigong: "There is no such thing as 'the unconscious'; there is only blocked consciousness." I started feeling the warmth and tingling early on with my practice of FPHHCK shortly after practicing along with the DVDs and practicing with my friend who helps me with form. After starting the seated meditations of volume two, I know that the energy even more so. It may sound silly but I "welcomed the energy/sensation". I don't really have a good word or term and English except for having welcomed it. The moment I "welcomed it", I felt the energy sort of swell or intensify. A warrant went through my body. The tangible FP Healing Energy is naturally "welcomed" by the body because this energy promotes/activates the body's self-healing faculties in an optimal manner. There are so many positive message units going from the body to the brain as the FP Qigong develops perfect mind-body integration, that the mind naturally welcomes it. It is spontaneous and involuntary "embrace" by the soul of the energy sensation. The FP Healing Energy feels so good that it adds its own meaning to the term "bliss". With continued regular practice of use 25-40 minutes a day, the "welcomed energy sensation" will become more familiar, more intensified , feel more constant, and feel more blissful as you experience a reserve of this energy cultivating in the body.. Each day of practice early on, the warmth and tingling sensations lasted longer and longer. The second week of practice, I woke up and thought somebody had turned up the heat. I was feeling incredibly warm. I asked my friend if he had turned up the heat. He said no. The heat has always been the same, which always was incredibly warm to everybody else except me. Yes, feeling the FP Healing Energy heat up the body is quite a revelation. It's a different energizing sensation than that resulting from other types of meditation and other Qigong methods. The tangible energization and rejuvenation lasts longer and longer with practice because--as I've explained throughout this thread since it started--the FP Mediations are all synergistic with one another and all the FP Meditations' energizing effects are cumulative from one day's practice to the next day's practice. The cumulative and lasting experience of the body heating up is a very normal allostatic side-effect of FP Qigong. As I explained on Post # , I recently experienced the heating effects of the FP Qigong go into my bedding when i was doing seated Monk Serves Wine, for when I lied down after completing 2 MSW exercises (7 rounds each), I felt the energy IN THE BEDDING transfer back to me and warm my body's backside profoundly. I felt the energy that hat "seeped" into the bedding and sheets when I was seated in half-lotus, flow into the entire surface of my back and permeate and soothe every muscle and fiber in my torso down to the butt. That was my recent personal experience with FP energy and it was sublime and exciting revelation. My one remaining great uncle, commented that he said my energy feels like that one of the healers/shamans. The healers/shamans of our tribe have since gone out of existence in this modern day and age. I do know that both grandparents on each side of my family or healers/shamans. My great uncle on my mothers side saw them in action. He commented that my energy felt much like theirs is quite telling to me. Excellent to get such feedback from those who know what shamanic energy feels like. I have not used there term "shamanic" much to describe the FP Qigong or Bok Fu Pai tradition, but that is exactly what type of energy it is. It has that quality or "flavor" and Sifu Garry Hearfield uses the phrase "shamanic tradition" quite a bit in describing the wide range of Ehrmeishan Bok Fu Pai arts that he preserves. It will be most interesting to hear about your great uncle's observations of and feeling about your energy six months down the road and one year down the road. Then we'll know for certain whether you indeed have a predilection for empowering yourself with FP Qigong to match and probably surpass the abilities of your ancestors who were shamanic healers. The hospital here which caters to native Alaskans, as a prayer/meditation room where many go to practice various forms of tai chi and qigong. I do believe I will be going there from time to time to practice as well. The journey to this point, I am feeling incredibly happy about my practice. Having a friend to practice with and help me correct my form helps very much. As soon as you get a 5-6 months of training FP Qigong under your belt, you might try to recruit, proselytize or force others into practicing FP Qigong with you in a small group in order to fill up that hospital prayer/meditation room with FP energy. FP Practice in a group is very profound and you will learn much more about how FP Qigong works in a group than through your individual practice. In the meantime, it's great that you have someone to practice with who can help you with the forms. I love that I have started my new year with FPHHCK. Congratulations on making the best new year's resolution that anyone can possibly make to attain strong health, rejuvenation, long life and the ultimate in ecological awareness. Best, Sifu Terry www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

To encourage better practice of Flying Phoenix Qigong, here is my disclosure of one of the interesting effects of continuous and proper Flying Phoenix Qigong practice: Often times, I practice 10 minutes of quiet sitting in half-lotus and then one full set (7 rounds) of one or two of the Advanced Monk Serves Wine meditation meditations as taught on Vol. 7 of the DVD series--plus a longer 22-movment Monk Serves Wine meditation that I teach to students privately--on my bed before sleeping. Usually, the two MSW meditations that I practice are (80 70 50 30) and (70 50 20 10). Typically, after completing the FP Meditation and lying back onto the bed, I find that the bedding is deeply heated not just on the spot where I was sitting in meditation, but along the length of the mattress such that when I lie down, I am heated up by the energy in the mattress. This is a very distinctive feeling different from that of getting back into a bed that one has just slept in or that one's mate or spouse has kept warm. The energy that permeates the mattress and bedding is distinctly Flying Phoenix Healing Energy and it penetrates my body continuously the moment I lie down, as if someone with high cultivation was doing an energy healing on me. The heating by the bed lasts many minutes--the exact duration unknown because I always fall asleep before I feel it dampen. I hope other FP practitioners have experienced this most pleasant effect, or will eventually attain it through continued practice. When one first feels the FP energy this way, it's quite a revelation. Sifu Terry Dunn www.taichimania.com/chikug_catalog.html