Dr. Jerry Alan Johnson and Taoist Magic.

[Dao Shi Zi Ran]

I have not met Dr. Johnson but I know several of his students and have many of his books. He created the Medical Qigong Program for Five Branches University of TCM in Santa Cruz. I have completed all the classwork and am finishing up the clinic requirements to become certified in the program.

 

That being said, from what I have seen, and based on my experiences in China, Dr. Johnson is the real deal. His accomplishments and lineage are all legitimate and certifiable. I have the utmost respect for Dr. Johnson and his teachings.

 

The term "Daoist Magic" simply refers to what many might call "ritual" or "religious" Daoism. During Daoist rituals, the Daoist Masters (or Daoshi) attempt to contact or influence one or more of the pantheon of Daoist deities. Daoist rituals are magic rituals that use chanting, mudras (mystical hand signs), offerings, "dance" (star stepping), music, ritual objects and, of course, Qi, posture, and intention, to influence the celestial powers that affect our daily lives. These rituals, including the morning and evening ceremonies that are held every day at every Daoist temple are used to show respect for the deities and to request their help in achieving health, peace, and immortality.

 

Dr. Johnson's books are well researched and provide the details necessary for someone who is seeking to practice Daoism. In fact, I was reading one of his books last year during my visit to the Daoist monasteries of Qingcheng Mountain and could see the Daoist monks practicing the very things Dr. Johnson was writing about.

 

I believe his books are self published and his website is pretty much a one man operation. I have had no problem getting any of the materials but I am nearby. I would counsel patience and communication when ordering from his.

 

Best of luck on your search.

[mwight]

I am really looking forward to the neigong book, anyone heard of an ETA on it?

[fiveelementtao]

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Edited December 28, 2011 by fiveelementtao

[mantis]

I just finished reading Franklin's post and was about to respond in kind. The Gnostics believed that man could experience God directly. Many assert that it was through entheogens like the fly agaric mushroom *. In fact John Allegro (highly respected scholar who helped translate the dead sea scrolls) wrote a book called "The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross". In this book he asserts that "Jesus Christ" is just an allegorical code for the the fly agaric mushroom. Obviously direct mystical experience of the divine was not a popular idea for those who would use organized religion to control the masses. The gnostic "heresy" was stamped out and the true meaning of the divine host was lost.

 

By far one of the best books I have read on the subject was Clark Heinrich's "Strange Fruit: Alchemy and Religion the Hidden Truth" (since renamed to Magic Mushrooms in Religion and Alchemy) . He makes a very strong case that the fly agaric mushroom is the universal key which is veiled by many religions: The red and white powders of the philosopher's stone, the vedic soma, the Holy Grail (he has interesting pictures where the caps bend upwards and look very much like the grail). He also cites a very long history of "crucified" gods and notes that the fly agaric grows (is crucified to) at the root of trees. Truly a fascinating study and I highly recommend it.

 

*In my opinion the modern "gnostics" take the sexual imagery a little too literally. The "phallic" symbollism is the mushroom stem, and the "vaginal" is the cap. When the mushrooms are extremely ripe, the stem penetrates the cap often symbolised as sexual union by the old alchemists.

 

wow

 

 

amanita muscaria isn't illegal, care to test the gnostics theory?

[orb]

In fact John Allegro (highly respected scholar who helped translate the dead sea scrolls) wrote a book called "The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross". In this book he asserts that "Jesus Christ" is just an allegorical code for the the fly agaric mushroom.

 

so let me make sure I get this right: so..... Jesus Christ was just a mushroom ?

[三江源]

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Edited March 17, 2015 by 三江源

[fiveelementtao]

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Edited December 28, 2011 by fiveelementtao

[Spirit Ape]

5elements,

 

He isnt much of a Taoist if he saw all these things happening to you and never wanted to help you!?

 

You showed Tao Ga set? If so what ive seen of Andy Lums Tao Gar forms theyare like southern kung fu a mixture of CLF, Hung Gar, choy, Bak Mei with its own distinct flavour of course. They are nice and interesting forms also!

 

I have his medical chi kung books and what is in them are found in any decent internal kung fu system ( the movements i mean) i do think he has heaps of knowledge from his studies of TCM and his books are easy reading.

 

Ape

[Oolong Rabbit]

so let me make sure I get this right: so..... Jesus Christ was just a mushroom ?

 

 

 

 

What we now consider christianity was originally centered around a gonstic cult that literally ate " the body of christ"... the mushroom. Get Clark Heinrich's book. I guaranty it will blow you away. Worth every penny.

[fiveelementtao]

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Edited December 28, 2011 by fiveelementtao

[Spirit Ape]

I think most people that think they are Taoist think that the only type of arts are soft internal or meditative systems. So he is jumping the gun when saying your art is shaoli,! LOL even shaolin use yinyang, 5 element principles etc from Taoism.

 

Hmm makes me think if i will buy his Nei Gung book when its released now!!! Thanks for sharing...

[三江源]

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Edited March 17, 2015 by 三江源

[YMWong]

So, he can definitely say that he is a "Mao Shan Disciple" because he learned on Mao Shan Mountain, but IMO the modern "Communist approved" Mao Shan Daoism has little or no connection to the original Shang Ching lineage. This isn't to say the "Mao Shan magic" that Dr. Johnson is teaching isn't real or powerful or even Daoist. I'm sure it is. I suspect, however, that it may be a compilation of popular daoist folk magic ( which is frequently mislabeled as Mao Shan) and various "Mao Shan" teachings integrated from other daoist temples. It may also be that his teachers ARE Shang Ching but aren't teaching him everything. Or that only some of the Shang Ching knowledge survived....But, IMO it probably is some of all the above.[...]

 

LOL

 

The pot calling the kettle black

 

In chinese we say 五十步笑百步 'the soldier who had retreated by fifty steps and was laughing at the one who had retreated a hundred".

 

 

YM

[rain]

I met with Dr. Johnson a couple years ago.

 

I sought Dr. Johnson out to learn Shang Ching meditations. I saw on his website that that he was "80'th generation disciple of Mao Shan Shang Ching Daoism". I had sought him out because I had trained in Shang Ching Martial Arts and wanted to supplement my training with Shang Ching meditations (which my teacher did not know. My grandmaster knows them, but he rarely teaches them anymore because he claims they are too powerful).

 

I had originally offered to pay Dr. Johnson for his time, but he was interested in the Shang Ching martial arts I had learned and wanted to meet with me and "trade" knowledge. (his normal fee was $400 an hour) . That sounded like a great deal to me. So, I got in my truck and drove two days and met him at his house.

 

I arrived at his home and he said, "I won't teach you and you won't teach me. We'll just share what we have learned with each other." I happily agreed. I was extremely excited to finally learn the Shang Ching meditations I had heard so much about...After he gave me a very long lecture on Daoist history, it was my turn to "share". I began by demonstrating the Shang Ching salute hand mudra I was taught. (any Shang Ching initiate would recognize this hand salute). At one point, I said "This hand (the right) signifies Yang...", he immediately interrupted me and said (with absolute authority) that "The right hand is Yin." I said, "I see.. Well, in my tradition, we are taught that the Right hand is yang and.." He interrupted me again and quoted some passage he had memorized from a book (which said nothing about right or left). Now, I know that there is a minority of daoists , mainly medical chi gung people, who believe that Right hand is yin and left is yang. So, I let it go...

 

As I continued my demonstration, he became increasingly more confused and visibly upset, and said that it was not what he expected. He said he was expecting more of a ritual or Tai Chi type of exercise. (Even though I had told him numerous times that it was a fast-moving martial art.) He, then accused me and my teachers of fraud saying that my teachers "had lied and made this stuff up". He said that the forms I was showing him were probably a modified style of Southern Shaolin and then continued to personally judge and humiliate me. (some of you know who my teachers are and their reputations). He, by the way, had never heard of my grandmaster, who is very respected around the world and in China for martial arts and Tai Chi.) He also told me that the techniques I was doing were "dangerous" and "evil" and if I continued to do them, I would "Become a demon."

 

Before our meeting was concluded, Dr. Johnson finally admitted that he didn't know how to help me. He also admitted to me that much of his daoist education was in a university in Beijing under the supervision of the Communists. He also admitted that every taoist priest in China was also educated in beijing and "approved" by the Chinese gov't.

 

I asked him to ask his teachers on Mao Shan about the well documented Shang Ching practices of "Holding the Three Ones" and "Dong Fang" meditations. When he returned from a retreat on Mao Shan some weeks later, his short, cryptic email answer of "Will ask a different set of priests next time I return," indicated to me that they knew nothing about these well documented Shang Ching techniques. (He has not contacted me since then with any updates, so I can only assume any subsequent answers were of a similar nature.)

 

So, he can definitely say that he is a "Mao Shan Disciple" because he learned on Mao Shan Mountain, but IMO the modern "Communist approved" Mao Shan Daoism has little or no connection to the original Shang Ching lineage. This isn't to say the "Mao Shan magic" that Dr. Johnson is teaching isn't real or powerful or even Daoist. I'm sure it is. I suspect, however, that it may be a compilation of popular daoist folk magic ( which is frequently mislabeled as Mao Shan) and various "Mao Shan" teachings integrated from other daoist temples. It may also be that his teachers ARE Shang Ching but aren't teaching him everything. Or that only some of the Shang Ching knowledge survived....But, IMO it probably is some of all the above.

 

Having said that, my experience with him was probably unique. I'm sure that most of his students and patients have had good experiences with him. He has clearly learned a great deal and is definitely a Master and scholar in his own right. He was very nice to me at first until (IMHO) I inadvertently threatened his ego. In his defense, after insulting me and my teachers and assaulting my character, he saw how disappointed I was. He then made a noble attempt to help me create a new Chi Kung exercise from the mudra I showed him. As I was leaving he said, "Y'know... all the real masters fled China before WWII ended. I'm sorry I couldn't help you."

 

gosh. hair on END! are you sure he referred to deamons and not just heavenly pathogene perverse energies?

Edited October 23, 2008 by rain

[fiveelementtao]

[.

Edited December 28, 2011 by fiveelementtao

[fiveelementtao]

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Edited December 28, 2011 by fiveelementtao

[rain]

seems like more than half the times I thought I was being attacked I just misunderstood.

 

So who needs the compassion?

Edited October 23, 2008 by rain

[mantis]

 

 

What we now consider christianity was originally centered around a gonstic cult that literally ate " the body of christ"... the mushroom. Get Clark Heinrich's book. I guaranty it will blow you away. Worth every penny.

 

not only is amanita muscaria extremely toxic, it's not really a hallucinogen either it's more of a deliriant, which would make consuming it highly unpleasant; this makes me speculative as to why a cult would want to consume them for any purpose. also,

 

John Marco Allegro argues in The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross that the Roman Theology is derived from a sex and psychedelic mushroom cult,[89], although his theory has found little support by scholars outside the field of ethnomycology.

[寒月 Hanyue]

In his medical qigong textbooks he states;

 

"After procuring several out-of-print texts written in the 1800's by Jesuit priests on the subject of ancient Chinese metaphysical sorcery and Daoist mysticism, my understanding of Chinese energetic medicine broadened enormously." pgxxv

 

My reading of his explanations of Daoist and Chinese magic in these medical texts at least, read much more in line with Western ceremonial magic or the 'Hermetic' traditions, ala Crowley, Golden Dawn etc. His descriptions of black and white magic is most certainly in line with those given in the Western ceremonial and Hermetic traditions. Given my own previous reading i found this odd as my feelings were that the underlying belief systems were different. Within anthropology it is often hard to not reinterpret such beliefs through the filter of those within our own culture. This has happened a lot with 'religious' practices, where very Christian influenced concepts of good/bad black and white are superimposed over similar looking concepts found elsewhere that do not in fact contain these sentiments.

 

Taking a look at the bibliography things became clearer;

 

Occult philosophy or magic: Agrippa, H C

The structure of magic: Bandler, R Grinder, J

Initiation into Hermetics: Path of the true adept: Bardon, F

The practice of Magical evocation: A complete course in instruction in plantetary spheric magic: Bardon, F

Creating magickal entities: Cunningham, D M

Summoning spirits: Konstantinos

The magicians companion: Whitcomb, B

 

While i admire Johnson for his thorough approach to his work, and his extensive knowledge in many areas, my feelings regarding his Daoist magic is that regardless of what he has been taught his explanations are too close to Western ceremonial magic to not have been influenced by his involvement/research into them. I'll leave it for others with far more knowledge about religious daoist magic to comment further, as i cannot say for sure that they are not closer to western magic than i have understood. Given all the back and forth influences between religions it is often hard to say where one has influenced the other at different times.

[h.uriahr]

 

 

What we now consider christianity was originally centered around a gonstic cult that literally ate " the body of christ"... the mushroom. Get Clark Heinrich's book. I guaranty it will blow you away. Worth every penny.

You have to go farther than attacking christianity. You have to attack and pick apart the other religions that back up Jesus Christ aswell.

[Jakara]

The amanita muscaria mushrooms grow near me around this time of year. They are very hallucinogenic and have little harmful toxin if prepared properly. Saying that, although it is not illegal to own or grow these mushrooms in their natural form, it is illegal here to prepare them for consumption. Its considered a Class A drug.

 

Lewis Carroll knew of their effects when he wrote "Alice in Wonderland", she eats the mushroom and hallucinates her size is changing, which is one of the effects.

 

Ive seen another man talk about how he could see sounds, hear light and smell colours whilst under their influence. It isnt unthinkable, given the brain could simply see lights and register them as sounds etc.

 

It seem these mushrooms have been used extensively throughout history in organised religion and by shamans. In the old days, the rich or powerful used to consume them, the poor would then drink the urine of the rich to get the hallucinogenic effects, since the hallucinogen passes through the urine... Nice

[guangping]

Hello,

 

I spent a few years way back when studying with Jerry learning the internal aspects to my tai chi set, introduced people who knew yiquan to him, and made him use a professional editor because his writing was horrible. He has good knowledge, overcharges for his books, and has bad communication skills.

 

But he was the best teacher I ever had and I learned a lot from him.

 

Now this was all before he got caught up teaching seminars all over the world in medical qigong and then this Taoist crap. His books are good if you are studying with him, then they would make a lot of sense. But if you just buy them for reference, they may be confusing.

 

He was a famous bagua teacher (one of the tests he had to graduate from being a beginning student, was to be blindfolded in the center of 6 senior students, and defend against their bagua attacks), had teachers come to him to learn the internal aspect to their arts, got into medical qigong when he found out that the healing qigongs actually worked. He was able to get rid of certain cancer tumors in folks, became associated with a medical teaching college in Beijing, and was the first white guy they allowed as a teacher. His book on medical qigong was used as their English language textbook.

 

In China, since the 1950's, qigong and martial arts were discouraged. Teachers were sent for re-education. It wasn't until after Nixon went to China and they began to develop a tourist trade that the martial arts and traditional Chinese medicine were welcomed back. Still, most jobs in China until the 1990's, were selected for you by the government. If they thought you could be a Shaolin monk for the tourists, you were sent to Henan and had no choice in the matter. Same goes for all Buddhist and Taoist temples that survived, most monks and abbots were appointed. So much information was lost despite the government's recent attempts to gather together the old information.

 

You might say that Jerry has become a government approved Taoist. The rituals are real enough and the information that he puts into books are as authentic as far as current knowledge can go. If anyone can divine whether a practice or ritual has value and works or not, I would trust his judgement though I would trust mine more if I practiced it. As for knowing if a practice can produce bad or demonic results, after dealing intimately with the results of supercharging the energetic pathways from martial arts and meditations for over 30 years you kinda get a handle on these kind of things, and I would pay attention to what he has to say.

[WudangAlienAlchemist]

.......

Edited September 30, 2010 by WudangAlienAlchemist

[Vajrasattva]

I have a student & close friend who is studying with Dr. Jerry. He has nothing but great things to say about his courses & training.

 

Peace

 

Santiago

[Neijia]

5-e-tao, my teacher had a similar experience with Dr. J. He learned a portion of the Sun style Bagua that Johnson was teaching, and attended his 5 Branches. He said that he had incredible knowledge, but that his ego got in the way.