11/15/2014 1:30-4:30 pm at Summerland cottage
Class content:
1.) Healing: What is the meaning of the different colors of Qi?
2.) Instructor training: What kind of people are more suitable for Taoist Light Qigong
3.) Support: Where are you on your healing/spiritual journey?
Thank you for your patience and persistence to the practice!
The next group practice is coming up on 11/16 Sunday 10:30 am-12:00 noon at Summerland Cottage.
In this class we are going to reinitiate the Taoist Light Level-1, so you can reestablish the practice again and continue your journey of inner healing.
Based on my family and thousands of students' experience, Taoist Light Qigong has been proved to be an authentic, effective, and safe practice under correct guidance, which is also confirmed by various resources and Masters. So we hope you can carry on the Taoist Light that follows the naturalness.
Please bring a blanket/mat to stand on and a jacket to keep warm:-)
Look forward to seeing you again and again!
I have received many benefits from practicing Taoist Light Qigong though I also experienced going off-track. Energy practice is like a tool, and when a tool is more efficient and sharp, it needs to be handled with more care.
I left my hometown Xi'an and went to a university on the East coast in China at the age of eighteen. There were eight girls sharing a dorm room, so it was challenging to find a quiet and private space to practice Taoist Light Qigong. I got up earlier than everybody else and found a secluded spot outside surrounded with tall evergreen bushes. I had a few great practices there until one day when I was deep into the Qi State with my eyes closed, I heard someone talking to me. At the beginning, I tried to ignore it, then I felt that the breathing was getting too close, so I opened my eyes: a man was looking at me with the strangest laugh on his face. This man was not a student, but a mentally retarded son of a mechanic on campus. His voice, face, and laugh scared the daylights out of me. My heart was racing and I felt disoriented, and for the next a few weeks I felt irritable, sensitive, scared, and unsettled.
At that time, the library on campus had just been rebuilt and so many newly published Qigong books became available. The mistake for me was trying to calm myself down by reading a bunch of Qigong books written by other masters in different modalities. I read about a sitting visualization, and felt a lot of energy. So I decided to work with this new meditation plus visualization on myself after all my roommates had gone to asleep. In the beginning, I had some amazing experiences when doing it, such as seeing my own energy in my body and light filling in the dorm room. But soon in the daytime, I felt sleepy and sluggish, and I was suffering from a severe headache I could not get rid of, which made me depressed. My academic scores that first semester were awful, and studying became tedious work, more so than any other time during my school years.
When the first winter break began, I went back home and visited Master Zhou right away. I shared with him that my head was hurting so badly, and I almost could not study. Actually at that time, I was still "hoping" that it was just a detoxing process like most Qigong books said, and my brain was just rewiring itself.... Master Zhou looked at my energy with his eyes closed and said, "What have you been doing? Your practice has gone off-track." Then he held my head with his big hands, and I felt so much pressure but was comforted as well. When his hands let go, my headache was gone!
He re-initiated me into Taoist Light Qigong, and asked me not to mix it with any other energy practice. I definitely wanted to follow that advice after my personal experience of going off-track. And I am forever grateful for Master Zhou's help, support, and wisdom.
When I was ready to go back to school again, everything was back to my normal self. I was happy, centered, and my brain worked pretty well. I even started to receive some small scholarships because of my improved scores.
Because of this personal experience of going off-track, it is easy for me to spot the student who like me is starting to deviate from the practice. It has been always challenging to tell people to please stay in on track and not to mix in other practices when they cannot understand, or ignore the consequences of doing so. Usually, the detoxification process only takes a short period of time, such as a few days in a row, and then it gets better. It will not be like what I have experienced during the months of irritation and headaches.
When we are startled or scared during practice, we need to restart from the beginning of the practice. It is like rebooting the computer to make sure the data in our brain and the Qi in a different circuit will come back in order. When you practice correctly, you will feel happier, healthier, and calmer; If you feel scattered, unsettled, unsure about the benefits, and so on, it is time to have your practice checked.
11/1/2014 Class 1 Content:
1. Healing: How to use the physical eyes and open the third eye to see/read the energy/Qi for accurate diagnosis?
2. Instrutor training: What do we need to be aware of when teach Taoist Light Qigong?
3. Support: Fensghui principles - Is your living space supportive to you, your health, your work, and your overall energy flow?
When I started to practice Taoist Light Qigong as a teenager, I found things quickly went very smoothly and effortlessly, and many people had similar experiences. They shared with me how easy things became and how everything they wanted to accomplish could be easily manifested.
There were some other changes I had noticed after I practiced Taoist LIght Qigong:
1.) Self-Healing: I was in pretty good health before I started practicing Taoist Light Qigong, except that I had chronic stomach pain. I saw a Doctor who worked for the school, and he said that I had gastritis and needed to be on meds. But in those days the medicine had much more severe side effects, so I decided to heal myself with Qigong. I actually felt nausea at the time when I practiced, but when I was done, I felt better.Thus I knew it was just a cleansing process. I kept practicing and forgot I even had gastritis until I realized I had no pain at all for a long time. Then when we had the annual physical check-up, everything was back to normal, and it has been fine ever since.
2.) Change of interests: Before I practiced Qigong, I was sluggish and did not like any P.E. classes or sports. Afterwards, I suddenly really enjoyed P.E. classes, and joined many sports like volleyball, soccer, and running. Middle school and high school then became the best time of my life.
3.) Study and memory: Qigong helps people to think better and clearer, while improving memory. My score was getting better and better during those middle and high school years, and I knew that I studied much less time than others did. Actually before I had an iPhone, I memorized everyone's phone numbers. Once I was required to give out personal numbers, I did not need to check, and could tell all the numbers right away. After I graduated from high school, I was accepted by a great university as I wished for.
4.) Read other's energy: One day I was at school and I noticed a classmate who sat in a back corner had energy that was very muddy and cloudy, then it became very dark and heavy. Finally, I walked over and talked to her and she confessed that she had taken a bunch of sleeping pills and she was ready to leave earth. Immediately, I found a tall male classmate to help: We got a two-wheel wooden cart (after talking to adults we could found), put her flat on it, and towed her to the nearest, local hospital. Her eyes were rolling up and she could not talk anymore. The doctor cleaned out her stomach through the night and got her back to life. They said that if we had been a little late, she would have gone to another world. She regretted for what she did to herself and she is doing really well now.
I have also seen the changes for my dad after he practiced Taoist Light Qigong.
One day, my dad came to my school to visit me and stayed in at a relative's home. After he left, my very athletic uncle was really impressed. He shared with me that he, his wife, and my dad went hiking when I was in school, and it was so easy and effortless for my dad to get up to the top of the mountain. He said, "We all knew your dad had a very bad leg; Qigong is really helping him!" Our family knew my dad's history about how he had fallen from upper floor at the age of thirteen and broke a bunch of his teeth, one of his leg, and his nose, as well as damaged his brain. He lost his sense of smell and had to ask others to give him their seat on the bus because of his leg problems. His injured leg could not develop after the severe injury, so it stayed very thin and weak in the muscles. One could easily see the difference from the two legs. Dad could not stand for more than 15 minutes before he practiced Taoist Light Qigong. But later after practicing for a period of time, he showed me his two legs, I was so surprised that I could not tell which one was the previous thinner and weaker one, they both looked the same. From then on he has given his seat on the bus to others who looked much older than him but actually younger in age. He also told me he could really smell things: either bad or good... I guess Qigong cannot change the bad smell to good smell for now.
Qigong practice is for self-healing and self-realization, so most importantly one needs to be honest to self. It is like having lunch, if we skip our lunch, we will feel it ourselves, though others might not be able to see that. The more we practice it, the more we will gain from it. We shall not let other things outside of ourselves become a hinderance to our own progress in building up Qi especially when join group class or practice.
There was a participant at taoist Light Qigong workshop long time ago who was practicing so well and made a lot progress quickly. She suddenly disappeared and lost contact with me, and only months later did she call me very excitedly to say that she had found a magical Qigong style which did not require students to spend any time on practice. I knew I could not get her on the right track, since she was already in it, so I wished her well and good luck. A Qigong without practice which means Qigong without "gong" (gong means practice), so it cannot be called Qigong. It must be something else.... Soon after that, she called me again saying that she fainted at the magical Qigong event and ended up in the hospital emergency room, and still felt sick ever since. I am sorry to hear these stories, though some people are drawn to quickies rather than an honest, real deal which often requires more work.
Recently, I also received a phone call from a person who everyone knows as someone who lies and cheats. Surprisingly, he asked me if I could train him to become a Qigong master so he can make a living with it. I had no words. I know some people might think a master just needs to have a quick technique without a good character because they have not worked on themselves to become a wholesome being. The "master" is not just being passed on esoteric/practical teachings by other masters, but has also cultivated themselves to become a at least honest and responsible person.
For Qigong, there is no magic, no tricks, and no bargains. It is all about a correct practice that fits the individual's body and follows the natural and universal laws; students then just practice and practice. We say it takes ten years to sharpen a perfect sword. How long will it take you to become the master of Qi? Only you and time can tell.
Taoist Light Qigong is already the simplest, yet one of the most profound and efficient Qigong styles. If the keys (initiation words) have been handed to you, it is up to you now to open up the ultimate potentiality and infinite possibilities.
It is easy to see that some current diligent, humble and respectful Taoist Light Qigong students will become Masters soon, because the master's qualities are already in them. In another words, they are masters in life, then just become the Masters of Qigong.
The first person I knew personally who lived in this house was M. She often walked with her little dog down the hill to get to the beach. She was a spiritual teacher for many people. At one point there were about 50 people crowded in the living room and kitchen seeking something more meaningful in their lives. But eventually, there were about 20 people who worked consistently on finding Self and sitting in silence. I was one of them, so this house was like our home. The whole group people were bound to it. What I learned most from M was unconditional love, and how to make choices to lead a happier life. Later on, M moved to a bigger house by the beach as a divine payoff for her kindness as I can think of. I believe when a person gives to the universe and universe gives back, just like air flows freely in and out of a house. The group started to meet at M’s new home. That was our spiritual family in Santa Barbara. But now and then, new comers would still meet at the Summerland cottage.
After M moved out, B moved into the Summerland cottage as M’s guest. Then people in Summerland started to see B walking her dog on the hill. B was a nun since the age of eighteen. She painted the house with her favorite color and bought a turquoise-colored car. Little did she know, her life as a nun which she had pursued most of her life was about to change. In her 70’s, she had made a shocking shift in her life, that was to leave the nunnery. A long process was required by the church and then a priest had come to see her and eventually released her from her vows. B started to have an ordinary life like other people living in Summerland, such as going to see movies, and walking dog on the beach, as well as tasting the delicious apple pie in a small restaurant down the hill. One day, she told me she had met an older gentleman when she picked me up from airport. She turned on the radio in her car and there was his voice explaining classic music. He worked for a local radio station in Santa Barbara. With rosy cheeks, she said: “I did not know he is so famous!” The gentleman and B shared their life values.They had tea together at the Summerland cottage and walked together on the hill. B eventually took her last breath not long after the gentleman passed away. She had enjoyed Summerland cottage and the Summerland cottage had given her nurturing from the Divine heart and the human heart.
E moved into the Summerland cottage after B, then people in Summerland started to see her walking on the hill with her little dog. In her 70’s, she had dyed her hair in red. She also became a spiritual guide for beginners. People started to gather regularly at the Summerland cottage again for spiritual teachings. She had a wonderful mothering and nurturing energy, and she had a talent for gardening. She created a vegetable garden beside the house and spent many hours there. One day, I came to visit her. She shared with me that her health was not good due to a defective medical device that the doctor had put in her body many years ago. In her voice, I could not hear the slightest complaint or resentment. She finally decided to move to where she was closer to her children. On the day when she moved away, I saw her off outside the Summerland cottage. She loaded all her belongings in her little blue truck including her little dog, and waved good-bye to me.
After E moved away, that was when M called me. I was very excited to be the new owner of the Summerland cottage. After I moved in, I set up new fence panels to define the boundaries of the property, and planted bamboos to give the backyard more privacy. I put in a spa where I could watch the starry sky when I immersed myself in the warm bubbling water and felt the cool air on my face.
Soon, people in Summerland started to see me pushing a twin stroller up the hill-- I had given birth to twin boys; and years passed by, we were walking up the hill together. The children scamper and play about the whole backyard in daytime, and make wishes to the stars at night. I often tell them to be careful about what they wish for, because the place we live in is magical. Whatever we wish for can be manifested very soon. My proof is moving into the Summerland cottage, I wished very hard to have one child, and I was blessed with two of them.
No doubt about it, the Summerland cottage is a special house; it always helps people to find their truth and create changes in their lives. In the Summerland cottage, M started to follow her calling to teach the teachers of spirituality, she shared her teachings to benefit many and created a spiritual family; In the Summerland cottage, B found her deepest love not only for God but also for another human being. In the Summerland cottage, E discovered the truth of who she was, and lived as a example of a diving being as well as an earthy gardener. In the Summerland cottage, I find the new part of myself, with growing wings of motherhood as I raise my two boys. I enjoy singing and dancing with them at home. I thank the three incredible women who had previously lived in the same house, for they had manifested the loving energy that pervades the Summerland cottage, the miraculous place and our loving home.
Now we have groups here all the time, and many thanks to this nurturing healing place.
The Summerland Cottage
Along the West Coast of America, between Los Angeles and San Francisco, there is a beautiful place called Santa Barbara. Because of its natural beauty and pleasant living environment, it is also called “Paradise.” Driving north on Highway 101, after entering Santa Barbara County but before getting to Santa Barbara downtown, there is a quiet, picturesque little town called Summerland that is built on a hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It is a surfers’ heaven, because on the other side of freeway, there is a park which accesses the beach. There is one commercial street in Summerland, it is famous for its antique shops, spas, and small restaurants.
A few years ago, I received a phone call from a dear friend M. Over the phone, she asked me straightaway if I would be interested in buying her house which was on the top of the hill in Summerland. It did not take me long to say “yes.” I knew M very well, I knew that house, I knew the people who had lived there, and I knew its location held the best fengshui and investment value. The cottage was small and a bit old, but it had its own charm, mostly it had a great ocean view from the front and wonderful mountain view in the back. Each time I drive there, it feels like the waves of Mother Ocean always give me a nice welcome, and then I enter into a big hug from Father Mountain who opens his strong arms. The weather is almost always perfect, flowers blossom all year long.
When I got the key to the Summerland cottage, a peacock was standing on the roof making funny sounds. I opened the front door and sat quietly inside the house. When I closed my eyes, stories of this house started to present themselves to me. It felt like a movie was playing on its white walls… I saw how a group of spiritual people set up sacred fire and shared enlightenment ideas in the 1950’s; I saw how the Hippies who pounded their drums and enjoyed a free lifestyle in the 1960’s. I saw the transformation of this house and the transformation of the people who lived here, and how this house held its own sense of integrity. It seemed to me that whoever lived here, her life was about to change into something more meaningful to her heart.