Does Qi cultivation supercharge human traits?

[Sanity Check]

I remember reading qi cultivation boosts a person's natural traits and drives.

 

While they did not elaborate or go in depth on this topic.

 

Is it fair to say personality traits & emotional conditions like curiosity, envy, optimism, depression, compassion & hatred would naturally be boosted by qi cultivation?

 

The author of Jurassic Park also might have touched on this in "Travels" where they wrote about personal experiences with psychics, healers and energy work. 

 

 

[Forestgreen]

Cultivation should imply not only more, but also a change of quality. 

 

Strengthening envy, depression and hate, that doesn't sound like cultivation, more like fertilizing. 

[ChiDragon]

7 hours ago, Sanity Check said:

Is it fair to say personality traits & emotional conditions like curiosity, envy, optimism, depression, compassion & hatred would naturally be boosted by qi cultivation?

No, it does the opposite. It enhance the personal quality in real life to become a better person. However, it could make a person look younger.

Edited May 17 by ChiDragon

[silent thunder]

Amp up surely.  Qi brings higher energy and power.  So short answer is yes.

 

I like forest's use of fertilizer vs cultivation.  Fertilizing is carte blanc fuel for whatever is in the soil fruits and weeds alike it all amps up.  Whereas cultivation is a process of preparing the soil to grow certain things, aspects of i am.  There is regular tending, occasional pruning and selective fertilizing. 

 

Don't agree that greater Qi always betters or improves folks.  While I appreciate the optimism, I've witnessed (as I'm sure most have) students turned away by teachers in martial settings out of concern that their character does not support the responsibility associated with learning some techniques.

 

More commonly, folks walk away from training willingly when the work brings up unexpected emotional structures and it all seems to just be making life worse, not better.  "I didn't come here for this. This is all just worse."  One woman shared tearfully before packing up and leaving the retreat.

 

Only once have I seen a teacher refuse to continue teaching due to concern of the risk of further exacerbating an existing mental/emotional instability.  Not all folks can safely engage some work at certain points in their life.

 

Qi is power after all.  But increased Qi predisposes the opening of channels and that involves the breaking up of emotional structures and mental blockages and supressed issues... which is far from pleasant and in some cases and times, not entirely safe to engage in.  One of the great challenges of teaching, i imagine, is knowing when to withhold.  

 

Qi cultivation has been far from a blissful process for me at times through the decades.  During some phases it comes with a relentless, disorienting and uncomfortable unveiling of my illusory assumptions, projections and storytelling; as well as the revealing of long held regrets, shame, guilt, anger.  Were there not a stable foundation from which to operate, it can be detrimental when high level energy is involved.  So timing in training seems essential and why there is such a focus on proper foundation from which to engage the higher work.  Know when to take a break and allow the waters to settle.

 

When the mind and body quiet down... at some point long held emotional and mental structures, dormant traumas that lay beneath the threshhold of notice, will arise in the space and silence.  To me, that's when the actual cultivation begins.

 

[Sanity Check]

 

 

Tai Chi Zero & Tai Chi Hero

 

There is a series of 2 kung fu steampunk films that do a decent job highlighting the topic.

 

The main character has some type of disability or handicap which they gradually overcome through martial arts & qi cultivation.

 

It is a feel good story.

 

But at the same time I feel reality demands acknowledgment of many fearing change more than death.

 

Even if it is possible for a persons shortcomings & flaws to be reversed through training & cultivation.

 

It may be necessary to assume many would choose not to do so. Simply due to them resisting change & clinging on to negative conditions they're familiar with.

 

In which case cultivation might only enhance negative conditions rather than reversing them.

 

I feel like I'm missing some important aspects but at the same time it seems that at least some recent trends might be explained by this?

Edited May 18 by Sanity Check

[-ꦥꦏ꧀ ꦱꦠꦿꦶꦪꦺꦴ-]

Having a lot more qi in the right place will make you a more relaxed, grounded person. Having a lot more qi in the wrong place will make you more angry, irritable, less emotionally stable. 

[Neirong]

22 hours ago, Sanity Check said:

I remember reading qi cultivation boosts a person's natural traits and drives.

 

While they did not elaborate or go in depth on this topic.

 

Is it fair to say personality traits & emotional conditions like curiosity, envy, optimism, depression, compassion & hatred would naturally be boosted by qi cultivation?

 

The author of Jurassic Park also might have touched on this in "Travels" where they wrote about personal experiences with psychics, healers and energy work. 

 

In Magic, there is a commonly used model to describe internal dynamics called Rider on a horse. Horse is your body. Rider is spirit. The thing connecting the Rider to the horse is energy. In proper development, Energy cultivation should make horse more controllable. If it becomes less, then you have problems. Then you are doing reverse-cultivation practices, i.e., instead of alleviating yourself upwards and becoming more of a spiritual being - less of a monkey, you are degrading yourself downwards and becoming more of an Ape.

 

A lot of teachings are about degradation practices. Just because you are practicing with Qi does not mean you are evolving self. While your horse becomes more active in the process, you can actually start losing control over it. Then you find these people doing all kinds of stupid drugs while preaching about cultivation wisdom. Horse's way to alter its "state" is via substances, but if a spirit wants to modify the state of mind, it can do it directly via meditation or visualization.

 

The problem with materialistic approach and degradation practices, is that it does not matter how much you invest into them, how much you cling to life and longevity practices, the body will eventually die. Changing the body is like changing worn-out clothes for the spirit. But for the body it is final destination, the end.

[doc benway]

On 5/17/2024 at 9:40 AM, Sanity Check said:

Is it fair to say personality traits & emotional conditions like curiosity, envy, optimism, depression, compassion & hatred would naturally be boosted by qi cultivation?

 

I can't say whether or not "qi cultivation" boosts existing or latent traits and emotional conditions. In my own personal experience I would say it did not. As I advanced in my practices of taiji, bagua, xingyi, qigong, and Dao meditation, I found my life was heading in a direction of fewer extremes, less reactivity and stress. My ability to focus improved but with that came a sense of balance and seeing through the things that previously led to emotional reactivity and psychological distress. I can say that I often see here evidence that people engaging in practices they consider to be qi cultivation (whatever they actually may be), particularly those practicing without expert guidance, manifest what appear to be exaggerated traits and emotional conditions that frequently lead to conflict and negative interaction with other members. So I think the answer to your question is yes but with the caveat that I have no idea what many people who claim to cultivate qi are actually cultivating or whether their methods are sound. I suspect their methods and ideas are largely misguided or lacking in balance and experienced guidance so what they are cultivating often seems to be lust for power. 

[johndoe2012]

Depression, anger, restlessness etc is a sign mind looks outward, to seek something that can satisfy an apparent need. 

 

Qi can push this tendency rather than dissolve it, resulting in a worse state than doing nothing. 

 

I don't think we actually need tons of qi to realize the truth. It is a very misguided approach but apparently very popular in some communities. 

[Forestgreen]

Cultivation imply not only more Qi, but that the practitioner improves the quality of it. It should be a component of improving the connectivity between as many bodymind aspects as possibly, and with a spiritual goal. 

When that is the case,  having more Qi  is definetly more useful than having less of it. 

 

That said,  when moving beyond the initial stages of an alchemical process,  post heaven Qi should no longer be a central aspect of ones practice. It continues to evolve, but as a side effect to proper practice. 

[ChiDragon]

Speaking of Qi cultivation, I think that there is a difference between western and eastern thinking. In western thinking, qi cultivation is the cultivation of energy. As oppose to eastern, it is the cultivation of breathing. The cultivation of breathing results the increase of energy in the body. That is what leads to the western thinking of qi cultivation is the cultivation of energy. Eventually, we are talking about the same thing but just one step ahead in the western thinking.

It says all in the biochemical formula:
Oxygen + glucose => CO 2 + H2O + heat + energy.

Please read about cell respiration for clarity. This is something has to be discovered on your own!

Edited May 19 by ChiDragon

[silent thunder]

I find the pure mechanical view of cultivation to be a holdover of the 19th century Cartesian model of Materialism.  

 

It is untenable, oversimplifying and lacks depth of understanding and engaging the process and the layering of reality that is awareness based.

 

So much more going on than the body's process and breathing.  Breath, while intimately related to an inroad to one form of cultivation tool, should not be conflated as 'the process in full'.

 

One tool is not the kit.

[exorcist_1699]

The " Yin Fu jing " « 陰符經 »  says: " 宇宙在乎手，萬化生乎身 "  ( " All things come from the body ⁕ , grasp the cosmic in your own hands " ). Since the cosmic is full of qi , and our bodies are the embodiment of it , so capable of initializing qi from our bodies , manipulating it and expanding  it beyond the body boundaries  implies the control of the basic force of the cosmic  in our own hands something possible .

 

With the fundamental force in our hands, basic / fatal troubles of life : To live ( and to reproduce), to age , to get sick , to die (生老病死)   can be solved .

 

Of course, if you can only initialize qi and circulate it  in your own body , incapable of  of expanding it beyond, then there is no way of talking about  the cosmic stuff ;  yet talk about curing some diseases  in it  is still  feasible .
 

⁕ Notice that Taoist view of the body as a mini cosmic.

Edited May 30 by exorcist_1699

[CozySpace]

Cultivation is a pursuit of reduction, and thus your personal traits would be attenuated, rather than emphasized. Another way to look at it is that if you were a bottle and your traits were water, then cultivation makes the bottle bigger. Naturally, your personal tendencies that you perceive would seem more insignificant, and they would no longer affect you as strongly as before.

[forestofclarity]

19 hours ago, CozySpace said:

Cultivation is a pursuit of reduction, and thus your personal traits would be attenuated, rather than emphasized.

 

I think this is the theory and appears how many of the classics have put it. However, in my experience it rarely if ever happens in real life, at least for me over the past few decades. 

 

Typically, I've seen both positive and negative qualities enhanced in energy based systems. Many of these teachers appear to develop very strong views and become incensed at any challenge to their views or their egos. Others are very money motivated, and turn their students into cheap labor for their business and/or into a spiritual cult in which dogmas may not be questioned. Some offer promises that come with higher and more exorbitant fees. Usually, the body/energy practices are presented as preliminary, with a future promise for spiritual teachings that either never come or fail to express any basic understanding of how the mind works. 

 

Of course, this issue is not necessarily uncommon even with teachers who begin with morality and wisdom, either. I think the bottom line is that as energy increases, the negative traits tend to manifest more strongly, and as boundaries dissolve, there is less holding them back. And few people jump directly to full enlightenment, so inevitably one is going to encounter issues even with people who have some degree of awakening. 

 

Just my views. 

 

[Gerard]

More than that, more than egotistic goals:

 

IT REVEALS YOUR TRUE NATURE

 

What we really all are.