Good visual analogies for Qi and resistance

[73543_1494798777]

What are some good analogies for understanding Qi and energy in relation to your body? Ive found visual analogies to be very helpful in working with Qi, but some are more effective for certain applications than others.

 

When thinking of resistance I visualize a loop of energy being coiled up; its not that the resistance actually does anything (it doesnt break the loop) it just coils it up unecessarily. This makes a nice way of thinking of mental resistance/ego - like a knot which forgot it was made out of string. Its not that the knot doesnt exist, its true in a relative sense, just not in an absolute sense (its really made out of string).

 

But I find that this analogy isnt that helpful when Im trying to remove myself of toxic energies. I recently was in a central american country and drank the water and came down with a nasty case of dysentery. My mind was used to using the loop-coil analogy and it was difficult to imagine sending the toxic energy out from my body using that analogy.

 

What are some good analogies you use for working with qi? What about for thinking about the ego? Lots of spiritual teachers talk about resistance causing pollution and such, but how does that actually occur? What about the resistance is "bad"? What does it do? How to visualize it?

Edited March 28, 2012 by Guest

[de_paradise]

For sending qi through an area, you can imagine the area empty like a seive, and the qi pours straight through, like playing with a garden hose spout spraying straight though, or a sandblast air blaster, in and to the other side and continuing.

 

The other part of the question, the ego, is a big can of worms, where feeling-states, not visualizations are more effective, like gratitude, loving. Theres a whole boatloat of those feeling states that allow qi to go through blockages easier.

[doc benway]

[spiraltao]

For the resitance, I can offer what i visualize. I visualize my self feeling the wieght of the air around me as water, making it heavy. After a bit in the stance I can visualize resistance from all directions. I can't recommend wuji enough for feeling one's Qi. No visualtions are used during wuji for me, the only thing in mind is breath, then eventually that goes away. After you are completely relaxed/dissolved in wuji, (or in my experience) one can feel the chi much easier.

 

 

 

One visualization prior to wuji is to imagine water pouring over the body starting at the top of the head and then poruing all the way down to the feet, as the water goes over you, relax each part of the body, as I had said, start from the crown.

[de_paradise]

Just a quick analysis of Steve's response on "resistance". In my mind, what he's communicating is a feeling-state. Like when you have made up your mind to be accepting, non-responsive. You can recognize the people who are like that right away, their eyes are not darting around, scared at noises, and calculating in their minds how they can benefit from each and every situation. These people, calm, maybe we know them as tolerant, good self esteem as they are not so reactive to small negative incidents, but perhaps vibe out on positive incidents like children and dogs, just for the fun of it. If you are not used to acting like this, you can find a model and wear the behavior like a suit of clothing.

 

Can you see that this is a more developed and complete visualization, because it includes kinasthetics of body and inner feelings, bouncing the behavior out in the world. Then other people's mirror nuerons get engaged, and so on.

Edited March 30, 2012 by de_paradise