My connections to Qigong (8)

I continued with Taoist Light Qigong after Master Zhou corrected me from my off-track practice. Things flowed smoothly again. In the college dorm, I shared a bunk bed with a classmate who slept on the top, and her score kept getting better even though I hardly ever saw her study. Years later, we met again in the U.S. and looked back over our experience in college. I joked that she got my good Qi since she was above me, and that's why she did so well with her studying. She joked that she held an awful lot of responsibility for my Qigong practice, because if she moved in her bed, it would have disturbed my practice, and my Qi would go off-track again. We all laughed about how things eventually worked out for both of us. 

Then one day my mom called me and shared with me that Master Zhou was going to formally train healers, and asked if I was interested. Over the years, mom had learned acupuncture, herbal medicine, acupressure, and ear diagnosis; and none of these really sparked my interest, but to learn external Qi healing for others resonated with my heart, especially after I had amazing personal healing experiences with the sessions I received from Master Zhou, my mom, and dad over the years and knowing how exceptional and effective such sessions could be.

I quickly bought a train ticket from Nanjing to Lanzhou, but because time was short, I could not get a seat on the train. So I stood for hours next to a stinky bathroom rolling away to the West till finally someone got off and I had a seat. I sat on an old hard seat for a total of 36 hours to finally arrive in Lanzhou, Gansu province. That certainly was a tedious and hard trip, but it was worthwhile.

The Taoist Light retreat center was newly built. It followed the Fengshui eight-trigram principle to maintain the energy flow and balance. My brother arrived there too with his new girlfriend, and we could all live in the center. In the daytime, Master Zhou gave public lectures on Qigong and Zuchang healing (created group Qi/Energy field for healing). They rented the auditorium of Lanzhou University which could hold thousands of people. I was so grateful that Master always kept a seat front and center for me, so a young female college student was sitting with all the VIP men. Afterwards, when Master Zhou and his wife introduced me to one of them, who was the vice governor of Lanzhou, I saw his energy was so warm, clear yet powerful, and I was confident to say he was a good man as well as a good politician. It is amazing how open and supportive he was of Qigong. Over the years, he helped Taoist Light Qigong to spread and grow in Lanzhou.

In the evening, Master Zhou gave us (his disciples) short talks and teachings. There were about a dozen people including mom, dad, my brother, and myself. Some teachings took me years to understand fully. Master Zhou saw me for a private session too, and he said with a smile: "You are falling in love." My face blushed: At that time in China, dating was a very serious thing, usually a young couple would have dated for long time before they were ready to announce it to their family/friends. He also taught me how to protect my own Qi when entering into a serious, intimate relationship.

In the retreat center, I experienced again how powerful Taoist Light Qigong was. Mom healed blind people, dad healed women with breast cysts, all in a few sessions. Master Zhou organized eight groups to go to remote villages to help heal people who did not have enough food to eat, much less be able to afford any medical expenses. My father was the leader of these groups, and he went to various places with no public transportation and helped people to heal themselves. He deeply bounded with these people who were so grateful after they regained their health.

We often heard people talking about the placebo healing effect. But what happened in Taoist Light Qigong retreat center was natural and real. Qi is just like air, we cannot see it, but we know it exists and it is essential for keeping us alive. I truly believe there are natural powers we need to learn how to use well, for healing of ourselves and others. Most of all, master Zhou's voice always whispers my ears: Remember, the level of your healing power goes with your virtues...