Day 24 - Saturday 24th January 2015 - Endings and Beginnings

Lao Tzu said: "Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like."

The universe is in a constant state of flux. One of the key fears a human experiences, though, is the fear of loss, of change, of letting go, of things, people and experiences passing by. Yet, when we observe the macro and micro cycles of nature, we see that is the natural order of things. we are drawn, inevitably, to changes of state; therefore, it makes such good sense to learn and practice acceptance of the natural order of things. With that, it also makes sense to learn how to maximise the finite time we have on this earthly plane by studying and mastering the forces available to us both within our bodies and without. If you were opened up to a world of knowledge which, when applied, would increase your physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual health, your vitality and your longevity, then why wouldn't you? That is what Qi Gong is. 

Today, many of the lovely people I have met here left after completing two weeks of the program. I say farewell with love in my heart, and wish them health, wealth, longevity, love joy and happiness wherever they may be and whatever they are doing. I am grateful that we were brought together for this time! 

 Flowers bloom and fade

Leaves flourish and fall

See the great great grand master to the left of the teacher?!

See you again, lovely Marian. Thanks for your bubbliness and generosity!

The two English roses, both called Sarah!

Thanks for all the friendship and dancing!

Beautiful Stephanie. Thanks for your joyful spirit and relishing of desserts!

Before the dawn; arriving for Tai Chi. The sun will come, and the sun will go.

Tai Chi - the Supreme Force

Day 22 & 23 - Thur/Fri 22nd/23rd January 2015 - Healing Love

There is a form of Qi Gong called Healing Love, which is essentially the practice of sexual gong fu/kung fu: getting in touch with the body's sexual energy and multiplying it, transforming it and storing it, to increase health and vitality. This can be done in both solo and dual cultivation. In actual fact, all of the qi gong practices Master Chia teaches involve both love and its healing qualities, as the practitioner transforms him or herself through cultivating virtue and thus placing him/herself in a more favourable position to expand and multiply his/her connection with the universal life force and the abundant source of unconditional love from the supreme creator. In turn, the practitioner becomes more balanced, and more fully present in his/her heart centre, taming the human heart and connecting to the true heart.

This evening at the Tao Garden, the course participants celebrated two weeks of intensive, rich and rewarding training as well as passing the first stage of instructor certification, thanks to a beautiful lady called Marian, who took the time and trouble to organise everything. We came together with such richness of heart, and such playful expression that it was an absolute joy to be amongst everyone as we sang and danced, in all manner of creative ways. Dancing til 10:30 was late for us, as we have to be on the Tai Chi Field at 6:30am, but it was so worth it! Look at some of these beautiful people I have the privilege to be here with!

Day 21 – Wed 21st January 2015 – Moving through a healing ‘crisis’ or ‘transformation’

This morning I was full of emotion, feeling a great deal of sadness and grief, which had been dislodged from stored muscle memory. There were several other people in the group dealing with released emotions at the same time. I pushed through, continued with the practices, and had various realisations about what situation the particular emotions had been generated from. Part of letting go, healing, transmuting and moving forward is allowing a healing ‘crisis’ or healing ‘transformation’ to take its course. If you try to suppress it with self-talk or specific behaviours, then you have no chance to weed it out at the roots and move beyond it. 

Day 20 - Tue 20th January 2015 - Compassion, Mercy & Loving Kindness

In our Qi Gong practices, we are continually guided to be receptive to and practise loving kindness and compassion. The deity Kwan Yin (Guanyin) is the Goddess of Compassion and Mercy. We eat in her dining hall every day.

She watches over us, and we are reminded of her great compassion. People pray to her for comfort, healing, guidance, compassion, mercy and forgiveness. The energy of her space is warm and welcoming. Today,  I am thankful for kindness compassion, mercy and forgiveness.

Day 19  Mon  19th January - A Peaceful Environment

Here, everything has been carefully planned - in accordance with Taoist traditions - to reflect, nurture, stimulate, intensify, or soften energy, depending on the location and the activities done there. The architecture, the decorations, the furnishings, flora, paths, practice spaces, areas for relaxation and so on, all support an ideal environment for cultivating qi. Of course, when one is outside of a retreat centre, then things are usually a bit different! So, what do you do when you return to the hustle and bustle, the less ordered, the confusing or chaotic, which may exist around you in the place where you live?

 Of course if at all possible, you can choose when and where to be exposed to such energies, but sometimes it seems there is no choice. So, one’s recourse is to keep up consistent qi cultivation practices, as the stronger you are in these, the better able you are to navigate yourself through all manner of situations and environments without being overly depleted. In fact, many of the techniques we are learning here can be applied  fairly quickly when one needs to fortify oneself, or protect one’s energy from leaking out.

 

Days 17 and 18 - 17th/18th January 2015 - Wonderland

The first part of Wonderland is cultivating one's sexual energy. What Master Chia showed us on Saturday is so exciting, and makes so much sense. We talked about sexual gong fu/kung fu in great detail, which is essentially a series of techniques for transforming the procreative sexual energy we are all born with, but which depletes our bodies over time, to creative energy which provides strength to our organs, bones, marrow, tendons, joints and muscles. It may seem unbelievable, crazy or complex, but once one is given instruction, it is actually quite simple, just requires diligence, patience and practice.

This is a picture of the kind of medicine ancient Taoist physicians would prescribe.

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The second part of Wonderland was having some time off on Saturday afternoon and Sunday. I went to the night market, and today I met up with my Chinese/Australian friend Crystal, who was passing through on her way from Adelaide to visit her family in China. We had a lovely, relaxing day looking around temples, trying out some great vegetarian food, and catching up!

Day 16 - 16th January 2015 - A rich day

This photo speaks for itself. Today, I summoned up the courage to ask for a picture! :-)  Master Chia had just worked on a student directly in front of me, and the Qi emanating from him was immensely powerful. That is why I have such a wide grin on my face standing next to him, as I am being supercharged!!! 

We did a review today of the Inner Smile the Six Healing Sounds, and the Microcosmic Orbit, plus Taoist philosophy of creation. We also worked on transferring energy, which was really exciting. Later on, there was some more jade egg work, and this evening we practised Iron Shirt Qi Gong, developing strength in our basic standing pose while a partner pushed on us to give counterforce. When it worked well, it felt like we were two tree trunks leaning against one another, growing and adjusting. 

After that we did some Dao Yin which is similar to yoga. There are some great names to the poses, such as 'the monkey clasps its knees', and 'the bamboo bends with the wind'. Our final practice for the day was the six healing sounds. 

This is one of the monkey poses!