Flying Phoenix Chi Kung

[Joolian]

Hi Julian,

I had similar experience posted at:

http://thedaobums.com/topic/12639-flying-phoenix-chi-kung/page-200#entry604088

which is still going on, and as time matured, they started bringing certain visual forms and feelings, which are awesomely beautiful (and can also be a great sidetrack) 

I am not sure they are specific to FPCK as you are the only person other than me on this forum mentioning them. 

But these sounds are apparently tied to hallucinating stuff  in my experience, which is documented to be DMT molecules, so if it is not tinnitus, you might be on early stages of activating your pineal gland, congratulations. 

Hi Cihan,

 

thank you very much for your answer! I would like that to be an early stage of my pineal gland activating At the moment of my practice I have not yet had any visuals but one or two flashes of light (maybe not related).

 

Which meds do you practice at the moment?

 

Best,

Julian

[cihan]

Hi Julian,

I am on my own, studying MSW series, BTB, and the long form of FPCK as well as some other still and moving meditations all involving hand mudras.

All meditations are said to be passing through Jhanic states of the Dreaming Land, but the road does not end there, and you might want to move on.

To pass beyond the mind machine, you need to observe, respect and understand, but not cling on, pursue or be afraid of any extra sensual stuff.

Any practice can be a meditation, and FPCK is helpful to me as its flames do mend the cracks in the mind stuff as well as physical frame.

Wish you the best on your practicing.

Edited January 19, 2016 by cihan

[tao stillness]

Would anyone like to comment in detail about their experiences doing meditation 4 on Volume 7 of FP?

60 70 40 5

[zen-bear]

Would anyone like to comment in detail about their experiences doing meditation 4 on Volume 7 of FP?

60 70 40 5

 

Looking forward to hearing about your experiences with this meditation, Charlie!

 

Sifu Terry

 

_{www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html}

Edited January 22, 2016 by zen-bear

[zen-bear]

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

Edited February 14, 2016 by zen-bear

[tao stillness]

In addition to wanting to hear about experiences with Volume 7, I think that Volume 5 of the Flying Phoenix Chi Kung series is overlooked in terms of being discussed on this blog and I would welcome hearing about experiences. I recently have gone back to doing Flying Phoenix and my time constraints have resulted in just being able to focus on a few that I previously learned such as meditation 4 on volume seven, and the entire volume 5 of 90 second meditations. I chose those ones based on rereading years of test results from Eric on different qigong methods. I recently obtained a dvd that includes the Cloud Hands short form from the Taoist Elixir Method but it is too time consuming because it includes a 10 minute Shen candle meditation followed by a 20 minute Zen type meditation that are to be done after the movements are done.

[tao stillness]

Having reached the age of 68 today I asked myself, what's it all about, as I shoveled snow last night at 2am during a blizzard that has Baltimore paralyzed.

The answer to my existential question came to me yesterday and confirms what I have been seeking since age 25 when I was initiated on the path:

 

“Golden Elixir is another name for one’s fundamental nature. There is no other Golden Elixir outside one's fundamental nature. All human beings have this Golden Elixir complete in themselves: it is entirely realized in everybody. It is neither more in a sage, nor less in an ordinary person. It is the seed of the Immortals and the Buddhas, the root of the worthies and the sages.”

Liu Yiming (1734-1821)

I find the above to be of personal interest for various reasons. One of which is that in 1977 when I was initiated in the correct way to perform Patanjali's yoga sutras which resulted in an immediate experience of Cosmic Consciousness/Awakening, I did experience brilliant, golden yellow light inside of myself from Kundalini exploding in my brain. Also, when Eric has tested qigong methods, some of them, including a few Flying Phoenix volumes, and Doo Wai advanced methods, were seen by him to be filling me with golden light, and for some other FP or Doo Wai meditations he has seen me filling with a beautiful white light that he described as blessing me and making changes in my brain. So therefore, I have to conclude that Flying Phoenix and other profound methods of chi kung involve the Light, whether we can see this ourselves, or not, it still is there working for us.

And of all the gifts that I have been given during this sojourn on this planet, I consider chi kung to be the greatest gift of all.

Edited January 23, 2016 by tao stillness

[BluePhoenix133]

Hi, i saw earlier in the thread that it was encouraged to practice FP with others but i also saw that one is not allowed to teach if one is not qualified. I wanted to show others some of the meditations even go regulary to my local buddhist centre and see if anyone would turn up to join me but i was put off by the fact i am not qualified.

Also you mentioned that if one wants to learn the dual elixir, i forget its acutally name tai tan pao, then one should also know a chinese martial art. I was wondering if you could suggest any, im not aware of any in my local area 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.

Thanks

[zen-bear]

In addition to wanting to hear about experiences with Volume 7, I think that Volume 5 of the Flying Phoenix Chi Kung series is overlooked in terms of being discussed on this blog and I would welcome hearing about experiences. I recently have gone back to doing Flying Phoenix and my time constraints have resulted in just being able to focus on a few that I previously learned such as meditation 4 on volume seven, and the entire volume 5 of 90 second meditations. I chose those ones based on rereading years of test results from Eric on different qigong methods. I recently obtained a dvd that includes the Cloud Hands short form from the Taoist Elixir Method but it is too time consuming because it includes a 10 minute Shen candle meditation followed by a 20 minute Zen type meditation that are to be done after the movements are done.

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}

Edited January 29, 2016 by zen-bear

[zen-bear]

Hi Sifu Terry and to all other FP practitioners,

 

since it just came up here: Does anyone have a good recommendation for a numerology resource/book? For the last months I seem to recognize a lot of number patterns... like 1111, 2222, 333, a lot of 7s and so on... I don't know if this is just a coincidence.

 

Greetings!

Julian

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:

 

Edited January 29, 2016 by zen-bear

[zen-bear]

Hi, i saw earlier in the thread that it was encouraged to practice FP with others but i also saw that one is not allowed to teach if one is not qualified. I wanted to show others some of the meditations even go regulary to my local buddhist centre and see if anyone would turn up to join me but i was put off by the fact i am not qualified.

 

Also you mentioned that if one wants to learn the dual elixir, i forget its acutally name tai tan pao, then one should also know a chinese martial art. I was wondering if you could suggest any, im not aware of any in my local area 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.

 

Thanks

 

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

[Aeran]

 

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,

 

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) or that their training not only does not offer martial prowess, but also won't result in any health benefits?

[BluePhoenix133]

Thank you, i was asking about chinese martial arts because i recall you stating that if you were to teach any one Tao Tan Pai then you would like them to have practiced a chinese martial art.

[zen-bear]

Thank you, i was asking about chinese martial arts because i recall you stating that if you were to teach any one Tao Tan Pai then you would like them to have practiced a chinese martial art.

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

Edited January 30, 2016 by zen-bear

[BluePhoenix133]

Oh ok, is there a martial art component to the flying phoenix? I take it there isn't, but i remember you vaguely mentioning something sorry my memory is hazy and mind is a bit of a mess thanks to this ibs lol

Also are there any other flying phoenix mediations apart from the DVDs?

Thank you

[zen-bear]

Sifu Terry,

 

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) or that their training not only does not offer martial prowess, but also won't result in any health benefits?

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}

[John Reinhard]

I think many students just copy movements. They relaxed in the movements and think: This is it. The origin of the movements from within energetically but also physically, you can't see. So they don't integrate this in their training. To learn using the body as a 3 D pump is in my opinion that what makes it a healing and martial art. The movements (internal) are often very small but essential to make it powerful to heal and to fight. The wonderful DVD from grandmaster William CC Chen Body Mechanics of Tai Chi Chuan is all about this and in gratitude and respect for the lesson's of my own Sifu.

John

[Joolian]

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 Sifu Terry,

 

thank you very much for your answer. I may be looking into "The Golden Dawn" - I don't know much about western mysticism yet, other than a youtube documentary about Aleister Crowley.

I got the german version of the I Ching 4 weeks ago, but haven't yet begun to read So I don't know how to use it...

 

Can you also recommend a good primer into astrology?

 

Best greetings

Julian

[Jeff495Caldwell]

Hello to everyone!

 

I am new to the Flying Phoenix.   Just started my journey yesterday.    I am excited to grow with it.   It  certainly feels different to that of the usual Qi sensation I have felt through different QiGong routines.   I like the post effect it elicits.   A very strong energy and one not to be taken lightly.  I can understand why a practice order is recommended.   Can't rush into this one.   

 

Anyway, a couple of quick questions.   I am sorry if these have been answered already.  I am slowly moving through the hundreds of posts LOL.   Crazy how long the thread is.   

 

Does it matter if I have my eyes open or close during DVD 1 exercises?   

 

Is the breathing pattern like an initiation to the energy to get the engine started so to speak?

 

I am sure I will be asking more and discovering more along the way.

 

Thank you.

 

Jeff C

[BluePhoenix133]

Hi, yes i believe it is better to close ones eyes once you know how to do the specific meditation and also yes it activates the energy...sometimes you will notice this.

I have done the breath sequences thinking i had mucked it up only to get a sudden build up of energy reassuring me i had indeed done the sequence properly.

[cihan]

Does it matter if I have my eyes open or close during DVD 1 exercises?   

 

Hi Jeff, welcome to the forum.

All exercises except Monk gazing at the moon are made with eyes closed.

 

[Jeff495Caldwell]

Thanks guys!

 

Jeff

[Jeff495Caldwell]

Update on using Flying Phoenix.   

 

I just wanted to communicate the experiencesI have had with Flying Phoenix so far.   

 

I have currently worked up to the first 2 exercises on DVD #1.   Even going beyond this I can sense I need to take it slow and steady before climbing further.   When I did exercise 1 and a sample of exercise 2 this morning, I felt sick and had to back off.  Strong.  

 

Its a very subtle light effect from the energy.   Like its enveloping me and continues to work throughout myself during the day. Like mentioned previously, not a normal wake up the median feeling or dredging them etc.   Its like you are surrounded in a field or aura.      

 

Detoxification symptoms have been occurring. Noticing a soapy taste on my tongue certain times of the day.     My knees were also in pain the other day as I feel I am being shifted to a more neutral alignment.   

 

Defiantly lives up to the hype.   

 

Jeff

[tao stillness]

Thank you Sifu Terry for all that you shared about TTP. A few years ago or last year when I learned just the first movement from TTP it was immediately obvious that it resulted in feeling the strongest chi sensations in my hands when I would do my other qigong forms. So I thought, if just doing one exercise from that method increases the sensation of chi flow that much, how much more chi would be felt by doing the rest of that short form?

I am finding that I am no longer feeling so much of that cloud of energy that I reported earlier when doing 60-70-40-5 from volume 5 of Flying Phoenix. I believe this is the case because I have been having to stay awake until 2-3am most nights and then when I do FP the next morning, it is just sort of flat instead of that cloud of energy that used to be felt. Same thing happens when I do my daily  meditation, if I went to bed very late the night before, I just do not go very deep in relaxation the next morning. Makes sense, lack of sufficient sleep is stressful to the nervous system.

[tao stillness]

Sifu Terry said he is in awe of the technology allowing him to teach someone on the other side of this world. What I too am in awe of is his student in Taiwan who was able to learn a 94 movement set in just 3 lessons! I marvel at that because I have a short term visual memory learning disability so I have to look at something over and over again in order to recall what it looks like. I suppose that student must have a photographic memory. Such people are at the opposite end of the spectrum from me.