Review Stillness Movement Worshop June 20 and 21, 2009

[NorthWide]

Wow just got back from the June seminar in West Planes Missouri.

I was very impressed and so was my wife.

 

The cost of gas in an oldsmobile cutlass supreme there and back was about $190(with the tires over inflated by 5 lbs/Tuned up/ Oil Change). The hotel stays total about $334 with hotel stays along the way included. We stayed at the ridgecrest hotel in westplaines which was around $47 per night (we stayed three nights, and sometimes the rates change so check beforehand) I think with tax.

We traveled the 860 some miles from Aberdeen, South Dakota to West Plaines Missouri.

 

Around Sioux City Iowa we found the A/c went out but that did not stop us, we kept going.

 

Originally the itinernary was we were going to go through Kansas City however as the last moment my wife told me she would rather not do that. So I punched in a few other cities to go around it - Chilicothe Missouri being one of them from there we headed down 65 to springfield then to west plaines into the GPS.

 

For those traveling by road, I recommend buying a GPS. There are so many economically priced and decent ones now in the 120-190 dollar range. It takes the stress out of driving if you can focus on multiple things at once. If you have a hard time concentrating on your surrounding dont buy one. For me, it is much more valueable as something not to just tell you what road necessarily to turn on, but if you want to find gas stations, restaurants, shopping et cetera. This is something that comes with most of these GPS devices and helped plan periodic stops along the way reducing the hassle of where to eat, stop for gas and so on. Even more valueable in cases where we made a few wrong turns, and it recalculated a new path.

 

Personally most of the food we ate we bought before hand and kept in a large cooler along with lots of water. Most food we bought was not highly perishable.

 

It took roughly two days travel to cover the distance, being that I had to work an entire night shift before heading out in the morning on thursday. You can drive and trade off drivers but suggest you drive with someone who has done it before and be prepared to stay the night someplace if you both get too tired.

 

For those who are sensitive and able to recognize very high level vibrational energies, you will not be disappointed. If you have not been exposed to such strong energy very often you will have a similar experience as I did, where you will sleep very hard each night at the end of the seminar. This is because the physical body much adjust and "catch up" with the energy body.

 

The system was covered in entirety within the two days. I did not have certification to enable me to touch people, so I did not stay the third day however I will in the future.

 

The entire system was covered in the two days along with some miscellaneous chikung and gift of the tao chikung.

 

The system seems comprised of:

• Stillness Movement Chikung(s) [and the important closings]
  
• Gift of the Tao ChiKung
  
• Miscellaneous chikung (ill be ambiguous so you can be suprised by what you get to learn)
  
• Developing Multiple Intention
  
• Modalities that have implications in the system.
  
• Understanding the continuity and dynamics of the system
  

I took notes after the fact to congeal what I had learned during the workshop, and was very satisfied with what was taught. Some parts of the second day covered things that can stifle energy development. What was taught seemed very fluid and based upon what the group was ready for.

 

I could give a synopsis of everything that was covered, but somehow feel I might not be able to do it justice as I would eventually have to explain each thing. Not something I am qualified to do. However it seems much more profound than any of the other hundered books I have read on chikung.

 

I was able to join the group for lunch the second day which was a real treat, and enjoyed conversing with everyone.

 

When the time came to leave I was very sad to go, and for me I get really attached to people. I did not like saying goodbye.

 

That is all for now, I hope my review does the workshop justice. I and my wife thoroughly enjoyed it and talked about it on the way back and even the past few days. In fact it sounds like now my wife's mother may even go, which I am happy to hear about. We have nothing but good things to say about the workshop and without any doubt will be making more trips to west plaines or to other places the workshops will be held. Hoping each year I can learn more through these experiences as I continue practicing.

 

In hindsight, some of these teachings that are taught are very high level teachings. If I had not met my wife who was already intuitively accustomed to a few of these teachings, they might not have resonated with me and my mind would have been fighting some of these teachings. However now as I have experienced many of these things first hand... seems to make me more open and my understanding more profound. It seems that each step of the way I find that if you listen to the universe -it talks.

Edited June 26, 2009 by TheWhiteRabbit

[Creation]

Welcome back to the forum TWR. It was great meeting you. I'm glad you had such a great time at the seminar. I did too. The people there were all wonderful.

 

Perhaps I can add a bit to your review.

 

About the system Michael Lomax (Ya Mu here on the forum) teaches:

 

Everything hinges on the practice of sitting Stillness Movement. You sit crossed-legged with a certain hand position, but the details are not so important. The real issue is stopping mental chatter and putting the awareness on the lower field. Michael projects qi to get you started pulling in higher level energy into the lower field. Moreover, it is a spontaneous motion practice, so like "Kunlun" you do not initiate movements but if your body wants to move you let it. FYI he teaches a shielding/cloaking method to protect you from negative crap, which is much needed for that type of practice (Kunluners take note). He says to practice sitting for an hour stretch every day, so that the lower field can reach a "saturation point", and that is key to really getting results. It is still tough for me, but it is getting easier.

 

Something that impresses me about the system is that from my wide readings I have concluded that sitting in stillness, stopping the mind, and pulling high grade energy into the lower field is the foundation for a great deal of authentic Taoist lineages. I am convinced Michael's practice is an authentic Taoist method with a powerful lineage behind it.

 

Michael teaches how to do Stillness Movement while standing, walking, and sleeping(!) so in theory, with a whole lot of practice, you can be meditating 24 hours per day. WOW! I had to remind him to talk about the sleeping practice though, so if you go to a seminar take note: If you want to learn something from him that you heard he teaches speak up, because things are easy to forget when there is so much he teaches and so many questions to be asked about all of it.

 

Another impressive thing about the teaching is that Michael emphasizes learning how to be in the wu wei state as an outgrowth of the meditation, so you can start working on it right away! He calls it "listening".

 

Michael taught adjunct exercises (spiraling qigong, Gift of the Tao movement forms), and had an extra day of medical applications, but I don't want to go on and on. It was all great. He has talked about all this on the forum so you can find descriptions if you look.

 

 

About Michael:

 

Michael is very knowledgeable and experienced, and has an INCREDIBLE power of qi projection and a very strong connection to the Higher Levels (as he calls them). I found him to be a very compassionate and helpful teacher. He was very open to let us pick his brain about whatever, which was immensely helpful to me. In particular, I was having a lot of trouble with all my emotional garbage coming up, and he took extra time to help me understand mentally and experimentally what I should do. That was really helpful and meaningful to me. Thanks

 

And anyone who was in a band that could nail a Zeppelin song is cool by me.

 

 

Of course, I can't talk about results yet; all of this is just impression. Take it or leave it.

 

Best,

Tyler

Edited June 26, 2009 by Creation

[topflight]

I took the Stillness Movement Workshop June 20-22, 2009 in West Plains, MO taught by Michael Lomax (Ya Mu on TTB). Overall it was an incredible long weekend.

 

I had an 8 hour drive to get there and stayed at the Ridge Crest Motel for $47/night. It is an older motel which has been remodeled last year. A full breakfast is included in the price. The motel was fine and the bed was good. Several others stayed at the Super 8 which was a little cheaper, but no full breakfast I believe. The nice thing about small Midwestern towns is that is that you can find a decent motel for not a lot of money. There were a few decent restaurants, but mostly I enjoyed visiting with Michael and the other students.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed having Michael as a teacher. He knows his stuff and I believe he has practiced it for over 25 years. He can definitely project qi with various vibrations. He can relate on both a more esoteric level and a practical level. I think practical would be a good word to describe his approach to teaching. He displayed a concern for his students throughout the entire process. He gave thorough answers to questions and there was plenty of time for them.

 

It was a fairly small class with 8 students about half new and half returning. We started out Saturday morning going over some background via some PowerPoint slides. Next we did some qigong movements from the Gift of the Tao set. Next we learned the Stillness Movement meditation. The key to this is the qi projection from Michael to get you started. I think this lasted about 1.5 hours, although I lost track of time. I felt it very strongly in lower Tan Tien. We then learned how to close. In the afternoon we did more Stillness Movement and qigong movements. I found out that Michael changes the classes up a little bit every time.

 

On Sunday we started out with some more slides and discussion. Next we did "walking in the wu wei" and "tree qigong". It was really cool to feel a definite energy layer around a tree. In the afternoon, we learned spiral qigong and sleeping qigong. We practiced more Gift of the Tao and more Stillness Movement. There were some other things that you should experience yourself.

 

Michael with the help of his teachers has put together a fairly comprehensive system which apparently works synergistically. It was all really good stuff and I plan on practicing it exclusively for a few months. After I get used to it, I plan on adding back in Kunlun and Red Phoenix methods. One of the things I felt was lacking from the Kunlun system was a quieting the mind meditation, or "stopping the world" as Michael calls it. From my reading in AYP, this seems to be an important component.

 

I was very satisfied with what I had learned up to this point, but what I saw and experienced Monday just blew me away. Michael taught the basics of what he calls qigong medicine and qi projection type medicine. I had done Reiki in the past, but this was on a whole other level (for me anyway). If you have any interest in healing applications, then you owe it to yourself to take this class.

Edited June 26, 2009 by topflight

[NorthWide]

Thank you Creation, and great posts guys.

I cant wait to go back again hes a good teacher.

[David Yeh]

This is good to hear. I'm signed up for the Indianapolis class in July.

[Ya Mu]

It was really great having all of you in the workshop. Thanks for taking the time and effort to attend. You all will do well with this system.

 

The only comments I am disappointed in are Creation's. He said "nailed" the Zeppelin tune when I hoped to hear "was better than the original".

[Creation]

The only comments I am disappointed in are Creation's. He said "nailed" the Zeppelin tune when I hoped to hear "was better than the original".

Better than the original? I think that would be a defiance of the laws of physics. OTOH, what are the laws of physics against the power of high level qigong?

 

Maybe you will like the joke I thought of first better, but changed for obvious reasons:

 

"And anyone who thinks Fourier-Bessel expansions are cool is fine by me."

[Ya Mu]

Better than the original? I think that would be a defiance of the laws of physics. OTOH, what are the laws of physics against the power of high level qigong?

 

Maybe you will like the joke I thought of first better, but changed for obvious reasons:

 

"And anyone who thinks Fourier-Bessel expansions are cool is fine by me."

 

The wild thing is that I think there were 4 people there who actually knew what this means.

[mgd]

Thank you Creation, and great posts guys.

I cant wait to go back again hes a good teacher.

 

Agreed!

 

Thanks so much everyone for the detailed reviews, I enjoyed reading them.

 

There's a definite feeling that came through for me with all of them...

a now familiar peaceful calm.

 

Edited June 30, 2009 by mgd

[mgd]

Did any bums attend the July 18,19,20 workshop in Indianapolis, Indiana?

[gendao]

Did any bums attend the July 18,19,20 workshop in Indianapolis, Indiana?

Yes, I did.

 

I will write a full review later...but have been on an insane schedule of lengthy daily cultivation practice and working overtime lately...so it may be a while before I can find the free time to.

 

In the meantime, I'll just say that 'twas a great workshop and Michael is a really cool chap! Reminds me of Santiago - spiritually-accomplished but very down-to-earth and the opposite of anal. And most importantly, is in it with his heart, not for the money... So, he's definitely "making a difference" in this world.

[mgd]

Yes, I did.

 

I will write a full review later...but have been on an insane schedule of lengthy daily cultivation practice and working overtime lately...so it may be a while before I can find the free time to.

 

In the meantime, I'll just say that 'twas a great workshop and Michael is a really cool chap! Reminds me of Santiago - spiritually-accomplished but very down-to-earth and the opposite of anal. And most importantly, is in it with his heart, not for the money... So, he's definitely "making a difference" in this world.

 

Good stuff!

 

[Creation]

Reminds me of Santiago - spiritually-accomplished but very down-to-earth and the opposite of anal. And most importantly, is in it with his heart, not for the money... So, he's definitely "making a difference" in this world.

There are quite a few similarities between those two. But their lineages and practices seem quite a bit different. (EDIT: don't get me wrong, there are many interesting and unexpected similarities, but overall they seem pretty different) It would be fun to get them together and see where the conversation went. Then again, one of their similarities is the emphasis on "just do" and dislike of mental masturbation.

 

BTW Gloria, I attended but don't feel the need to add anything to my previous review.

Edited August 3, 2009 by Creation

[mgd]

Does everyone hear that?

 

No?

 

Listen harder.

 

Now do you hear it?

 

The silence.

 

The blessed silence

of students quietly practicing.

[Brian]

Thank you, TWR, for resurrecting this thread! I had somehow overlooked it until now.

[dawei]

And any thread you want moved to your PPD can be done

[NorthWide]

And any thread you want moved to your PPD can be done

I would like this, if possible