Heavenly Streams

[JustARandomPanda]

Has anyone had any experience with the following book by Damo Mitchell?

 

Heavenly Streams: Meridian Theory in Nei Gong

 

 

The blurb reads as follows:

 

 

The art of connecting with, feeling and adjusting the energy body using the consciousness is a key aspect of Nei Gong and Qi Gong. It sits somewhere between Qi Gong, meditation and the lesser-known art of Shen Gong, and although it is known in China it has never before been written about in an accessible way in the West. Damo Mitchell provides step-by-step instructions on how to experience the various elements which make up the energy body, explaining how to identify and feel these, and how to diagnose imbalances and restore harmony. He describes the nature of the five elements, the meridians and the meridian points, inviting the reader to experience them through guided internal exercises using the body, breath and mind. Instructional drawings and photographs are included throughout the book. Connecting the fundamentals of Chinese medicine with the lesser-known spiritual and esoteric aspects of practice, this book will be of great interest to intermediate and advanced practitioners of Qi Gong, Nei Gong, Taijiquan and Chinese medicine.

[cheya]

Hi JustARandomPanda,

 

I just posted something on Heavenly Streams yesterday in another thread:

http://thetaobums.com/topic/28303-training-the-energy-body-books/

 

I've only just finished reading this through the very first time. The purpose of the book is to learn to balance your own energy system using 5 element theory and activating the appropriate meridians internally. He starts with a very useful overview of Daoist theory, placing the human energy system within it. Then he offers a graduated progam of exercises and illustrations designed to develop the foundation skills needed to succeed in the advanced meridian work. After teaching enough 5 element theory that you know which elements and meridians you need to work on, he gives a series of training exercises to develop the ability to feel and evaluate your meridians. You memorize the pathways of all the meridians both by the book and by internal feel. Then he presents a simple sensation-based technique combining breath and intent, first to observe the activity on the meridian and then later, to activate it. Lastly he covers the most-used points on each meridian for self-treatment of many different conditions as defined by a five element/TCM perspective.

 

This is a very easy book to read through. But, depending on the skills you have when you start, it's describing a 1-4 year program! It's entirely about application, and that means a LOT of focused work! He's an excellent teacher, he's done an amazing presentation job, and it's all doable. But making this real is going to take a lot of work!

 

I'm very taken with the book. I've already learned internal point activation on myself and I can activate the points on others with my hands, laser pointers, tuning forks, etc. But I've been wondering for years now if there wasn't a more organized way to select points than just clearing out gummed-up meridians, or the formula approach, "use these points for a headahche." I didn't want to go to acupuncture school, and so Damo's Heavenly Streams seems a course of study perfectly designed for my situation! And I really like the way he trains you right up to the internal meridian and point activation.

 

This one's a keeper.

 

PS: I LOVE your new name! Makes me smile every time!

[liminal_luke]

Hi Cheya,

 

Just got this book on my kindle on the strength of your recommendation,and I'm glad I did. For me, all the background on chinese medicine is a little dense to slog through-- although I'm sure it's super important for serious study. What I find new and fascinating are the experiential exercises for getting to know your meridians, and the idea that you can basically give yourself an acupuncture treatment with your mind by focusing awareness and breath on the points. Pretty cool.

 

Liminal

[cheya]

Hi Liminal,

I guess I did kind of skip over the wonder of being able to mentally activate points and meridians. Thank you for bringing that up. I learned mental activation of points a few years ago with Robert Bruce's Tactile Imaging method. Damo's method is different, but the two are similar enough that when I read Damo's method, I said to myself "Yep, that'll work!"

 

Now all I have to do is DO IT!

 

Glad you like the book, and I'll be real interested to hear how you do with it.

[Mudfoot]

I also found it useful.

[Aetherous]

Didn't realize this book existed until tonight...seems pretty cool.

 

edit: actually, after practicing this I got some pretty bad results! It seems like it can be very unbalancing to open acupoints with the mind or yi. It will seem like something is happening, but it's powerful in a negative sense.

People who like this book might suggest that it's an advanced method and needs to be done after having done other preliminary work, or that you need to pick the correct points...well I did that. So I'm of the conclusion that the method itself is not a good one for anyone to use.

I read the Ling Shu recently, which states that sick qi will descend deep into the channels, instead of leaving the body, if the acupoints aren't stimulated properly. You can also drain yuan qi by stimulating the points for too long, after the point when the qi arrives. In addition, some qigong masters have also stated that using the mind to open the points drains yuan qi directly. Just bad all around.

Edited October 9, 2013 by turtle shell

[Dainin]

Here's another forthcoming book on this subject:

 

Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches - Tiangian Dizhi: The Keys to the Sublime by Wu Zhongxian.

 

 

Also, in some schools of Bagua and Xingyi there seems to be training exercises based on this concept:

 

Tien Kan: Heavenly Stem Exercises