A sample of our writing -- Chinese Qigong

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Why Should Meditation Practitioners Learn about Chinese Qigong?

February 18, 2009


PART ONE: ENCOURAGEMENT
            We spiritual seekers have heard stories about monks with supernatural abilities, shamans who could heal, witches who could cast magic spells, and saints who could perform miracles.  Is this the stuff of fairy tales, or is there truth that underlies the lore?  Digging deeper, the spiritual seeker discovers that “magic” is very real: physicists are telling us that the material world is not so solid after all; healers like Dr. Paul Cho and the late Anthony DeMello have made a science out of petitionary prayer; spiritual leaders like Deepak Chopra, Wayne Dyer, and Rhonda Byrne teach about a universe that tends to meet our expectations.  It seems that many brilliant minds accept the idea of cultivating spiritual power.  How is it done?
Meditation. Living energy surrounds us, and we breathe it into our bodies.  Regardless of whether the practitioner is a Daoist sage, Buddhist priest, Christian healer, Native American medicine woman, or a Pagan mystic performing a ritual of magic, the principles remain the same.  If the student learns how to store and circulate natural life energy inside the body, he or she begins to learn the secrets of cultivating spiritual power.  Among the various spiritual traditions, techniques vary, but they all involve the practice of meditation.  It is crucial that spiritual seekers choose a meditation discipline to pursue.  This paper is intended to provide meditation practitioners with encouragement, guidance, and good study habits for learning the Daoist science of Qigong as it is taught through the publications of Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming. 
Chinese Qigong for Cultivating Spiritual Power
In Daoist Qigong, which is the basis for the methods of classical Chinese medicine that have so impressed the western world in recent decades, the exercises and meditation methods are divided into four categories: Martial Arts, Medical, Scholar, and Religious Qigong.[1] This purposeful organization is the first clue telling us that, among the world’s many spiritual disciplines, the Daoist tradition offers especially clear, comprehensive, and sophisticated instructions for modern students to follow.  Daoist spiritual cultivation is made particularly useful by the teachers who have carefully preserved and translated the teachings from one generation to the next.  We are fortunate to have access to Daoist meditation techniques as they are explained by Dr. Yang and other modern scientists who have reconciled the ancient teachings with modern scientific understanding. 
What about the students who have doubts about Qigong and believe that ancient practices cannot still be of practical use in modern times?  Even technology from ten years ago is becoming obsolete, so how can ancient teachings still be useful?  Sure, some people claim to have experienced euphoria and strange phenomena during meditation, but everyone knows that our minds can play tricks on us, so why should we believe those who claim to have experienced verifications of their practice? Why should we believe that it is possible to store energy, to increase longevity, or to experience an “enlightenment” that solves the mystery of life?  In order to encourage doubtful student, one only needs to point out the fact that energy follows the attention.  Reflecting on this principle, it is easy to understand the immense value of practicing to lead the Qi with the attention during meditation.
Energy Follows Attention
After reading about the principles of Chinese medicine, one understands that Qi can be increased or decreased in the body.  Qi can be drawn into the body through food and air, or it can be emitted/consumed through various activities.  Qi goes where it is needed, depending on our attention.  This is why, for example, the legs are so much thicker than the arms on humans: Energy builds up the mass of legs as it constantly passes through them to be emitted from the “bubbling well” cavity on each foot as we walk around in the world.[2]  Likewise, tingling can be felt in either hand when one “attaches”[3] the attention to either palm.  Energy follows the attention.
Anyone who studies Chinese medicine and still feels doubtful about the nature of Qi should refer to Dr. Robert Becker’s book The Body Electric.[4]  When people start to think of Qi as electricity, they have no trouble believing in it, because everyone knows that the body uses electricity.  People know that the nervous system consists of pathways for electrical impulses.  Furthermore, everyone knows that we send impulses from the brain – like the impulse to wiggle a finger – by thinking, and that we send impulses from the skin to the brain by feeling.  When one considers the facts that all bodily movement originates with thinking and that action is made possible through the use of bioelectricity, it is no longer difficult to believe in the principle that energy follows the attention.  Energy follows thoughts.  Thoughts manifest physically in the physical world. 
What are the implications of this important truth? Energy goes where the attention goes, and with this insight comes a great realization, realization of the reason why meditation is the key to cultivating spiritual power: Meditation is the only activity that keeps the attention inside the body.  In the moment a person wakes up in the morning and opens the eyes, energy begins leaking away.  All day long, the attention is on various things outside the body, but seldom one’s attention inside the body.  Energy is given out all day long through the five gates, the pores, and the eyes, and at the end of the day the person has become fatigued, so the attention naturally turns within for sleep.[5]  Meditation can be thought of here as any activity during which energy is drawn into the body instead of leaking away: Fixing the attention on one of the Dan Tians (“elixir fields,” where the longevity elixir is grown), following the breathing, and even receiving a massage can all be meditations, because they involve keeping the attention inside the body for a period of time – something people rarely think to do.  Why do people usually pay attention to things outside the body? It is because they do not know that energy follows the attention. Understanding this simple principle, the practitioner becomes very confident in Qigong for bringing about an extraordinary result. 
Potential for Extraordinary Results from Qigong
Meditation practitioners, Taoist meditation is worth the time it takes to attain proficiency in its practice.  It is a spiritual science that takes the mystery out of pursuing the benefits of meditation.  The mysticism often associated with meditation can lead practitioners to become complacent in their practice as they hope for some sudden, spontaneous, miraculous experience of “enlightenment.”  Especially after reading texts about Zen Buddhism that emphasize the importance of meditating without trying to achieve anything,[6] with no purpose other than to keep the proper zazen posture – meditation practitioners faithfully remain passive in their practice.  Likewise, people who use prayer as their form of meditation can fall into the trap of passivity by waiting for God to provide salvation – approaching salvation as something that happens to the practitioner, when they should be approaching it as something to be achieved by the practitioner. 
This passivity is not necessarily the best way.  A passive approach is taught in many schools of Buddhism,[7] and a comparatively proactive approach taken by Daoism.[8]  Daoist exercises are closely associated with Chinese medicine’s meridian system, so it is no surprise that a more methodical, scientific approach has been taken by the Daoists.  Daoism enhances practice by applying the principles of Chinese medicine to enlightenment meditation and taking a systematic approach. However, an important truth is hidden in the teaching about passivity in meditation; meditation can be disturbed by the notion of trying to achieve a result.  Even though Daoist meditation is more proactive than Buddhist meditation, Dr. Yang warns us not try to force the practice of Qigong into a rigid schedule. He writes, “If you force it, it will not happen naturally.”[9]
Thus, in Daoist Qigong it is understood that the mind must not be fixed on a notion of enlightenment while in meditation, but it is also understood that certain tasks must be completed by the practitioner.  The practitioner does not have to simply sit in meditation and wait for enlightenment to happen by itself.  One who studies the energy pathways, which have been mapped out by acupuncturists and sages, will begin to see meditation in a whole new way. 
Extraordinary results can be achieved by practitioners who begin to think of meditation in terms of the meridian system. For example, meditation practitioners all know that they must silence the mind and be free of emotional disturbance in order to experience deep meditation, but they may not know why it is necessary to silence the mind.  They may have never even wondered about it. 
Observing or stopping thought is only the first step toward achieving the benefits of meditation.  Anyone who learns about acupuncture, for example, knows that the needles are used to affect the electrical energy of the body; it is not difficult to understand, then, that Qigong practitioners can maintain their health by using their meditative intention (Yi, “wisdom mind”) in the way that the physician uses needles.  Maintaining health is a matter of balancing internal energy, and that, in general, is not so hard to understand.  What meditation practitioners do not always realize, though, is that the profound experience called “enlightenment” is also a matter of balancing and manipulating internal energy.
According to Chinese medicine, the various emotions all come from different internal organs, so emotional disturbances come from imbalanced energy flow to the internal organs.  This is a big hint about the fact that meditation practice involves the electrical energy of the body; most meditation practitioners calm the mind without even thinking about how they are affecting the electricity of the body.  It is no wonder that extraordinary results can be achieved by practitioners who begin to get a clear understanding of the nature of Qi.

Qi and Enlightenment
How is Qi involved with enlightenment?  Bioelectricity is involved with all illnesses, emotions, thoughts, ambitions, and desires during life, so people who want to know what “enlightenment” is should theorize that it probably has something to do with bioelectricity.  The sudden experience of subjective transformation that has been called “enlightenment” is a change that can be achieved through the use of Qi after the body has been conditioned to store a high electrical charge.  The meridian system and energy centers are important for enlightenment in the same way that they are important for health and longevity.  As we shift into a higher gear of practice, like the spiritually ambitious Daoists of times past, let’s see if we can make a drastic change in the way we relate to reality. 
PART TWO: LEARNING FROM DR. YANG
Daoist meditation takes us deeper than meditation practices that do not explain bioelectricity or the meridian system.  Practitioners of meditation will find great encouragement in the aforementioned principle, energy follows the attention, so it will be described again here for emphasis:
Meditation practice seems mystical at first, until Dr. Yang reminds us that the electricity follows the attention (Qi follows yi).  The body runs on electricity like any other battery, and we all know that the electrical activity of the central and peripheral nervous systems is directed by the brain – so it is easy to understand how Qigong practitioners can use meditation to make specific, physiological changes. 

Whatever your reason for practicing meditation, Daoist methods provide the systematic approach that must be used if we are to achieve our goals.   
Dr. Yang has published many books and DVDs, but new students should start by learning fundamental principles, such as the “Five Regulatings.”[10] In the next part of this paper, I will describe the “five regulatings” according to my own understanding of Dr. Yang’s explanations, so that when you study chapters eight through thirteen of that book the concepts will already be familiar to you.  If you are already a meditation practitioner, you will find that your skill and experience will be very useful to you as you enter the practice of Chinese Qigong. 
The information contained within Dr. Yang’s books is so profuse and profound that it can be difficult for readers to put it all together in their minds.  In order to make a meaningful contribution to the study of this subject that has already been so thoroughly expounded by Dr. Yang, my best option is to write about what he has already written.  I hope this section will prepare new students for making the most of Dr. Yang’s explanations of the “Five Regulatings”:
  1. Regulate the body by passing through three stages of relaxation, starting with mental relaxation. 
  2. Regulate the breath by using eight key words and six stages.
  3. Regulate the emotional mind in three stages.
  4. Regulate the Qi (energy) by keeping an abundant supply in the lower abdomen.
  5. Regulate the Spirit.

Regulating the Body
The first challenge in Qigong practice is to regulate the body, and this requires the ability to relax deeply.  Dr. Yang explains that what most people think of as “relaxation” is actually relaxation’s most superficial level.  Assuming a posture that is balanced and consciously relaxing, you have reached only the first stage of relaxation.  Deeper relaxation is possible, and it is deep relaxation that enables Qi channels to stay open. 
Relaxing the mind must come first, in order to regulate the body.  This makes sense, because letting go of tension in the body requires concentration, and in order to concentrate the practitioner must be able to focus the mind.  What does it mean for the mind to be “relaxed”? If the mind is not relaxed, it must be being disturbed by persistent thoughts, discomfort, or some other vexation.  Even before the body is relaxed, it is possible to relax and focus the mind.  That seems to be why relaxing the mind is the first step to regulating the body.  Ancient Daoist masters saw the body as a microcosm of the universe.  The body can be considered an expression of the consciousness of the person.  Modern spiritual teachers claim that we are “it.”  Jesus taught that the Kingdom of heaven is within you, the Buddha taught that we all have Buddha-nature, and, accordingly, James Broughton writes:
This is It
And I am It
And you are It
And so is That
And he is It
And she is It
And it is It
And that is That.[11]
How can we relax so deeply that we will intuit our true nature (i.e. “We are It”)?  Dr. Yang’s explanation of the three levels of relaxation[12] makes students realize that in order to release tension we must energize the area we are trying to relax. Abundant energy is conducive to deep relaxation, but people with deficient energy cannot relax. 
Everyone thinks of relaxation is a process of stopping something – stop holding tension! However, the body and its organs hold tension automatically as a way of conserving energy.  Therefore, we must send energy to the places we wish to relax.  For example, when someone squeezes your shoulders to help you relax, they are adding energy to that area.  Likewise, when a good leader has a great amount of energy to contribute to the group’s process, all group members feel more relaxed. Now that I understand this principle, I pierce my muscles and internal organs with energy in order to relax them during meditation. Perhaps one day I will be able to relax even into my bone marrow.   
Regulating the Breath
            Beginners should memorize the eight key words for regulating the breath.[13]  Many people think of reading as a leisure activity, so they tend not to work hard and memorize lists when necessary.  With these eight key words, it is impossible to apply them unless one takes the time to commit them to memory.
            I remember them on my fingers.  Looking at my index finger, I think of how people sometimes raise the index finger to the lips to tell people to be “calm and silent,” and this helps me to remember that the first key word for regulating the breathing means “calm and silent.” Next, I look at my middle finger, which seems slender because it is taller than my other fingers, and it helps me to remember “slender.” After that, I look at my ring finger, which is associated with marriage, and marriage is a “deep” relationship.  After the ring finger, I look at my little finger, and it is easy to remember “long” because it is ironic to remember “long” on the finger that is shortest. 
I look at the four fingers of my other hand to continue with key words #5 through #8, and it reminds me of “continuous” when I look again at the index finger.  I move to the middle finger, and, because I have only switched hands the fingers I am looking at seem “uniform” with the other hand.  I look at my ring finger and little finger, and somehow I am reminded of the words “soft” and “slow,” but I could not think of any more interesting associations to make for aiding the memory. The point is that this method of remembering items “on our fingers” (i.e. with the help of mental associations made with each finger) is useful for memorizing the lists that need to be learned for the practice of qigong.   
Regulating the Mind
The “Stop and Look” method of stopping thought is explained by Dr. Yang as a matter of watching for thoughts to arise and stopping them.  Thoughts that are not stopped will grow, so the practitioner must watch carefully.  This brings to mind a section of Eckhart Tolle’s popular book The Power of Now, where he advises meditation practitioners to assume a watchful attitude, as if to ask, “I wonder what my next thought will be,” and this watchful, wondering attitude often pacifies the mind so well that the next thought does not come for a long time.  Thus, even the act of watching is enough to calm the mind.[14]
            Dr. Yang goes on to explain the method of Xi Yuan Zhi (Tie to the Origin and Stop), [15] and this is the kind of meditation technique that uses a focal point.  Dr. Yang suggests that both the tip of the nose and the lower Dan Tian are good focal points for the attention.  To me, it seems like the Lower Dan Tian is a better focal point to use, because the energy will be stored, but Dr. Yang must have a good reason for giving the tip of the nose as an option.  I suspect that the tip of the nose is a good option for beginners because the stimulation at the tip of the nose – cool air on inhalations and warm air on exhalations – helps the beginner to keep the mind “attached” to it. 
            The method of using a focal point is familiar to many meditation styles, but Dr. Yang’s instructions go further: “Once you have [restrained the monkey mind], you still have to calm it down.” This is called Restrain the Xin and Stop (Zhi Xin Zhi). [16]  What a great insight for meditation practitioners! Attaching the mind to a focal point is only the first step; while staying attached to one spot, you must also stop the generation of thoughts.  This is restraining the monkey, and then trying to get it to calm down – two different things!
            The third step is called Comprehend the Real and Stop Method (Ti Zhen Zhi).[17]  Now that the ape has been not only restrained but also pacified, the student can investigate the origin of thoughts that arise.  If thoughts are distractions from what is real, resistance to what is real, then the idea of “freeing the mind” must involve this process of going beyond thought.  Thought is superficial, so it must be overcome in order to “comprehend the real.”
            The above three steps are explained on pages 153-154 of The Root of Chinese Qigong, and they are followed by explanations of several other techniques, but those cannot all be covered here.  The scope of this paper focuses on helping meditation practitioners make a strong start as they learn Qigong from Dr. Yang’s publications, and these methods of restraining the mind, pacifying the mind, and observing the source from which thoughts are generated – are included because they are particularly fascinating and helpful. 
Regulating the Qi and Shen
            If the practitioner is able to regulate the body, breath, and mind, it becomes possible to regulate the Qi and Shen.  These profound subjects are still beyond my understanding, so this section is brief. 
            Regulating the Qi starts with understanding that the body is a battery composed of billions of batteries (each cell is like a battery, with two polarities and the capacity to store a charge), and that the Lower Dan Tian is the place where the Qi must be gathered.  Pure, original Qi (Water Qi) comes from below the Lower Dan Tian, and Fire Qi comes from above with every breath and swallow.  These are Yin and Yang respectively, and they can come together to create new life. 
            Regulating the Qi is first a matter of drawing Qi into the Lower Dan Tian from various places: breath, internal and external kidneys, the False Lower Dan Tian at the skin’s surface, the large vessels of the legs, and so on.  Practitioners must gather enough Qi in the center of the Lower Dan Tian so that they can circulate it in order to widen the Governing and Conception Vessel in small circulation (sometimes called “microcosmic orbit”).  When practitioners seek enlightenment, they must gather enough Qi in the Lower Dan Tian to heat up the Huang Ting cavity that is located above it (small tripod and furnace)  After this, the practitioner can use this Qi to heat up the Upper Dan Tian for enlightenment (large tripod and furnace).
            The above explanations are incomplete, and perhaps not entirely accurate, but they should suffice to fascinate meditation practitioners and compel them to spend time practicing Qigong.  Anyone who has ever practiced breathing exercises, self-hypnosis, Yoga, Zazen, or any other kind of meditation is already off to a good start for learning the enlightenment science of Chinese Qigong.  If one becomes excited about the possibilities, the great potential that is available when meditation involves storing up a high electrical charge, it is important to use good study habits in order to make the most of the teachings.      

Good Study Habits: Reading Meditation
What if someone wants to learn Qigong from Dr. Yang's books, but s/he does not have good study habits? Many people do not have good study habits, but that is alright, because in the Tao Te Ching it says, “Much knowledge means little wisdom.” Nevertheless, if someone wants to gain the benefits of Qigong from the ancient, abstract writings translated by Dr. Yang, it is necessary to use good study habits and ponder all day long.  Some people think of reading as a leisure activity, and it may not occur to them that these teachings cannot be transmitted to a casual reader. 
When studying the ancient meditation techniques preserved in translations and commentaries by Dr. Yang, meditation is the only appropriate state-of-mind.  Some students approach reading as a leisure activity, so they barely scratch the surface of the truth that is available in Dr. Yang’s translations of ancient Qigong (Chi Kung) literature.  Other students are more scholarly in their approach; through note-taking and reflection, they are able to understand the principles.  Even a scholarly analysis is insufficient, though, for getting to know Dr. Yang’s Qigong through literature.  Those of us who hope to learn and apply the teachings – with deep understanding – must join him in meditation.
How can we read in a meditative way?  Jon Kabat-Zin explains meditation as a nonjudgmental kind of looking.  To do something in a meditative way is to do it without letting judgments arise in the mind.  This seems like a good definition of “meditation” for students to consider.  Dr. Yang explains methods of stopping or looking at thought,[18] and to whatever extent the thoughts that arise in the mind can be considered “judgments,” Kabat-Zin’s definition applies.  In fact, one could even argue that all the thoughts that arise in the mind have something to do with “judgment.”  All meditation involves observing or stopping thought, in the sense that looking deeply at something requires us to silence the internal stream of judgments, that ongoing rant of the mind.
It is difficult to read in a meditative way, though, because a constant stream of thoughts must pass through the mind as one reads.  Reading is done with the conscious mind.  How can one read Dr. Yang’s Taijiquan and Qigong literature while keeping a meditative mind?  I use periods.  The little dot at the end of each sentence signifies a pause, the completion of a thought.  When reading a novel, it is okay to float past each period in a breezy way as the story unfolds, but when studying complex principles we need to stop at each period and let the information from the preceding sentence sink deep into the mind. 
I stare at each period until ideas and questions spontaneously arise: What does Dr. Yang mean by this, and why does he choose to say it here?  I stare at each period until the truth of a principle comes into focus in the mind’s eye.  The little dot at the end of each sentence can be like a portal to profound understanding.
By stopping at the end of each sentence and staring at the period, that perfect focal point for meditation, we students can interact with the principles being taught by Dr. Yang.  The need for this pause is obvious, but it is often overlooked.  As an example, close consideration can be given to Dr. Yang’s commentary on the “Song of Eight Words,” an ancient lesson from Taijiquan that can be enlightening to martial artists of every style.  Part of the song reads: “Wardoff, Rollback, Press, and Push are rare in this world. Ten martial artists, ten don’t know”[19] For our benefit as students, Dr. Yang explains this part of the Song by writing:
Wardoff, Rollback, Press, and Push are the four basic movements of Taijiquan.  Few people understand them properly.  The movements are done with Qi-supported Jin which allows the power to be either soft or hard.[20] 

Now comes the moment of truth.  Some readers will continue reading without pausing for contemplation, and they will miss the opportunity to understand.  Other readers will take this opportunity to know what Dr. Yang means by asking themselves: I know that Qi is bioelectricity, but how does Qi “support” Jin (martial power), and why does Dr. Yang choose the word “support” in order to explain the relationship of Qi to Jin?  We can stare at each period until questions like these arise in our minds. I ask myself, What is it about these four special movements that makes them ideal for applying Qi-supported Jin?
Serious martial artists strive to understand.  In that passage above, it is also mentioned that, “Few people understand [the movements] properly.” How is it that few people understand when the principles have been so thoroughly expounded in the writings of the ancient masters? Why do people fail to understand?  Surely, it is because they do not practice reading meditation.  We can know Dr. Yang Jwing-Ming and the other great masters through literature if we meet them at their profound states of mind.     
Conclusion
We can’t talk about it.  To talk about it is to mess it up; that’s what the first verse of the Book says about the DaoIt’s true, too, because what’s going on here cannot be codified into symbols.  Words are just symbols, subject to various interpretations, but the reality to which the Dao De Jing alludes is like something subtle that underlies every moment.  It is the fundamental formula, the natural way in which things unfold, and when we try to talk about it we cannot do it justice.  We cannot talk about it, but we can follow it.  We can say “Yes,” to it, and we learn from the trial and error of the great Qigong writers, ancient and modern. 
Yes, those who seek enlightenment should study the principles that have been uncovered by Daoists – the meridian system that has been mapped out by Chinese medicine, the best ways to reach profound relaxation, the pitfalls to avoid, and so on.  Daoism gives us an active approach.  Why be passive about something so important?  Practitioners may have inadvertently achieved enlightenment without learning Qigong, in the same way that practitioners have inadvertently maintained health through meditation without learning Qigong, but with Qigong we can use a systematic approach.  We can use the maps and path notes that have been left by previous masters as we meditate to “reach the other shore.” 
Meditation is such a powerful practice that we can think we are doing it right even before we learn the important principles taught by Dr. Yang.  For years, I did not know what I was missing by overlooking Daoist longevity and enlightenment literature.  Now that I have started to benefit from these teachings, I am compelled to write this paper for the benefit of practitioners who, like me, practiced for a long time without knowing what they were missing! 

Works Cited
Becker, Robert. The Body Electric: Electromagnetism and the Foundation of Life. New York: Harper, 1999.
Broughton, James. Zen to Go. John Winokur, ed. Penguin: New York, 1990.
Deshimaru, Taisen. Questions to a Zen Master. Political and Spiritual Answers from the Great Japanese Master. Penguin, 1991.
Suzuki, Shunryu. Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind. Weatherhill, 1973.
Tolle, Eckhart. The Power of Now. A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment. New World Library, 2004.
Yang, Jwing-Ming. The Root of Chinese Qigong: Secrets for Health, Longevity, & Enlightenment. Boston:YMAA Publication Center, 1997.
Yang, Jwing-Ming. Tai Chi Secrets of the Ancient Masters: Selected Readings with Commentary. Boston:YMAA Publication Center, 1999.
Yang, Jwing-Ming. “Understanding Qigong: Embryonic Breathing.” DVD. YMAA Publicaton Center, 2007.
Yang, Jwing-Ming. “Understanding Qigong: Small Circulation.” DVD. YMAA Publicaton Center, 2007.







[1] Dr. Yang’s The Root of Chinese Qigong, p. 63.
[2] Dr. Yang explains this principle in the video entitled “Qigong Meditation: Small Circulation.” It gave me a great insight about the Yogic practice of standing on one’s head: if the weight of the body being supported by the feet causes energy to constantly be emitted through the “bubbling well” on each foot, then it stands to reason that we can develop a bubbling well at Bai Hui (GV #1) by doing headstand meditation!

[3] At a winter seminar in 2008, Dr. Yang asked us, “Can you attach your attention to an object?”

[4] Recommended by Dr. Yang in many of his publications. 
[5] Dr. Yang points out that in sleep is similar to embryonic breathing in the sense that both activities emphasize the inhalation – because they involve storing up the Qi. 
[6] See, for example, Shunryu Suzuki’s Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind or the translations of Taisen Deshimaru’s teachings in Questions to a Zen Master. 
[7] Ibid. 

[8] See Dr. Yang’s DVD entitled “Understanding Qigong: Embryonic Breathing,” 2007.

[9] Root of Chinese Qigong, p. 202.
[10] The Five Regulatings are explained in the book The Root of Chinese Qigong: Secrets of Health, Longevity, and EnlightenmentThere is actually a sixth “regulating”, too, and it is regulation of the essence.  This involves the internal and external kidneys.  On pages 161-169 of Dr. Yang’s Root of Chinese Qigong, he discusses stretching and twisting to massage the kidneys, practicing moderation in sexual activity, and dietary concerns for regulating the essence. 
[11] Broughton, James in Zen To Go. John Winokur, ed. Penguin: New York, 1990.

[12] See Dr. Yang’s Root of Chinese Qigong, p. 108-114.

[13] Root of Chinese Qigong, p. 143. 
[14] I remember reading somewhere that a meditation teacher compared this watchfulness to a cat watching a mouse hole. 

[15] Root of Chinese Qigong, p. 153.

[16] Root of Chinese Qigong, p. 153.
[17] Root of Chinese Qigong, p. 154.
[18] The Root of Chinese Qigong, p. 153-156.
[19] In Dr. Yang’s Tai Chi Secrets of the Ancient Masters: Selected Readings with Commentary. Boston, YMAA, 1999.

[20] ibid.

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Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche

My familiarity with Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche comes from his books, especially Shambhala: Sacred Path of the Warrior, which I discovered as a teenager. This book taught me that gentleness and precision were the prerequisites for magic, and that the "ordinary" world is sacred. Trungpa turned the world into a magical place for me, and it has remained that way. Now I know the importance of sitting upright and open in meditation, surrendering to everything and opening my chest. Now I know the relationship of courage to gentleness, and the relationship of sacredness to ordinary things.

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The Gift Biography


Please try a custom-written biography... For your parents, perhaps? It's the perfect gift. More importantly, the process of telling one's story is therapeutic! If you have a story that needs to be told, explore our site, and see if our writing style is right for you.
You might want to preview the service with a $49 trial. In order to create something spectacular, we prefer that you send us three different perspectives on the person whose story we are writing. That way, we can acquire real insight into the person and muster the necessary inspiration. A literary “portrait” such as this tends to engage the attention of a few important people, all of whom will be credited in the finished product, and the recipient of the biography will also receive all that love.
A gourmet meal is good because of all the attention poured into it by the chef. Likewise, my grandmother always gave lots of attention to her cooking. When lots of time and attention are put into a thing, it is infused with energy. This is true of gourmet food, Grandma’s food, artwork, parenting, gardening, and certainly writing. So, we write biographies slowly over a period of time, consulting important people in the life of the subject.
Every biography has a single unifying theme; what would be the theme of your subject’s biography?

Contact: kevin.matteson@gmail.com

A Unique Gift for Mom or Dad...

Examples of the “1,000 Word Bio” ($102.20)

EXAMPLE 1
A Perspective on Stanley Davis:
Stanley’s Stepson Expresses Appreciation & Understanding

Stanley Davis of North Brookfield, Massachusetts
A man who has played the role of provider in the lives of many people

The life of a person cannot be summed up in a few pages.  We can have a glimpse, though, from a single perspective.  In this biographical sketch, Matthew Reynolds shares his perspective on Stanley Davis, his stepfather.

Seven years have passed since the day Matthew heard the news that Stanley had proposed to his mother.  As an honest man who has experienced hard work, ranging from the military to entrepreneurship, Stanley is a stepfather of whom any stepson would feel proud.  Matthew had also felt relieved, because his mother needed a source of strength and inspiration at that time. Her own parents had recently passed away, and she had also been going through a messy divorce.  

Matthew’s first impression of Stanley was that he was a man with the sort of wisdom that can make a person both serious and joyful.  Stanley grew up in the years following World War II, and his parents had lived through the Great Depression, so he learned to appreciate honest work and family values.  Stanley found great success in business, but he also found disappointment and misfortune.  The material wealth that comes and goes is not so important, but the struggle to make ends meet through trying times is a forging process that refines the personality.  Stanley impressed Matthew as a person with well-developed wisdom and the ability to generate joy even under difficult circumstances.

Circumstances have indeed been difficult.  In the years since Matthew met Stanley and became his stepson, Stanley has made tremendous sacrifices to take care of three young grandchildren.  When Stanley married Matthew’s mother, he did not know that they would be taking custody of three children who had suffered abuse and neglect.  For five years, Stanley and Matthew’s mother put aside their own needs to help the children heal.  These grandparents even saw their marriage suffer at times because of unavoidable stress associated with raising young children.

When relationships are strained by difficult life circumstances, good intentions and actions are sometimes misunderstood. From Matthew’s perspective it is clear that some of Stanley’s effort goes unnoticed because of the chaotic environment at home.  How can the self-sacrificing hero end up playing the role of the villain?  How can a foster parent, who has depleted his own energy through acts of selfless dedication, be viewed like a “strict” or “stubborn” tyrant?

Sometimes upholding family values seems old fashioned.
Sometimes teaching good behavior seems overbearing.
Sometimes being practical seems like being pushy.
Sometimes having high standards seems like being stubborn.

Sometimes wisdom is left unrecognized.

Sometimes the person who provides for everyone seems like he is overbearing when he actually just knows the importance of discipline and responsibility. Matthew’s perspective on Stanley is like the perspective of a student on a teacher.  Matthew is a good student, and he is able to recognize the virtues of his stepfather even when other people are not able to recognize them.  Stanley obviously is doing what he knows how to do in order to make ends meet and ensure that everyone is provided for… but the difficulty faced by people inside and outside Stanley’s household can become a source of conflict; when life is overwhelming people in the household, all the self-sacrifice in the world is not good enough to please everyone.

Difficult times and hectic days have drained a lot of energy from Stanley and his wife, and it is a shame that their great accomplishments as foster parents can be drowned out sometimes by their stress and nervous tension.  Matthew’s perspective enables him to see the situation as it really is; some people really do understand the need for practicality, for proactive effort, and a man who can teach others by his example – even when they do not understand his reasons.

Stanley is a man who has an entire lifetime of experience behind him, a skilled craftsman who has lived powerfully and honestly.  Before Matthew met Stanley, Stanley had already accomplished much and contributed to the lives of many people.  Now, after seven years as a husband to Matthew’s mother and a guardian of Matthew’s nieces and nephew, “appreciation” is not a strong enough word to express what Matthew feels toward Stanley.  Tremendous respect is sometimes called “reverence,” and tremendous gratitude is sometimes expressed in poetic ways – but Stanley already knows that lots of people feel respect and gratitude toward him.  Instead, Matthew wants to express understanding:

Matthew knows that Stanley is a misunderstood hero.  Events never unfold quite as we intend them, but we find meaning for our struggle when we reflect on the good that it does for others.  Heroes don’t need to be understood; they just need opportunities to give of themselves.  When the work is done, they rest. 



EXAMPLE 2
A Biographical Sketch of Mary Arnold:
Powerful Living, No Regrets

Mary Arnold is a retired customer service representative who is enjoying the freedom that comes with life mastery after 72 years.

Mary heard that we were doing a biographical sketch of her, and she responded with sideways humor: “You’re not going to find any dirt on me, and if you do, you can’t prove anything!” she wrote.  She was right; as hard as we tried, we could not find any dirt. Digging into the life of Mary Arnold, we found only good news about great accomplishments and contributions to the people and places she has touched, in central Massachusetts and beyond. 
Mary is notorious for sticking to her personal principles even when other people have tried to compel her to abandon them.  From 1993 to 1997 she worked as a customer service representative for an auto parts company, her boss tried to compel her to lie to a customer about some motor oil.  Mary refused, and her boss threatened to fire her.  Mary told him that he could fire her if that was his decision, but she would not lie to the customer.  She did lose her job because of this incident.

We asked Mary about the incident at the auto parts business, and Mary told us it had a funny conclusion. “They wanted me to teach a new girl how to use my computer and do my job,” she said.  “I turned the power off and told my boss to figure it out himself!”  

From the perspectives of her children, Mary is source of pride and encouragement.  According to Mary’s daughters, her example leaves them no excuse to ever become overwhelmed with life.  “Whenever anyone is having a rough time with work or relationships,” says her daughter Tanya, “Our mom is an example of stability and steadiness.  We all use her as a reference point.” Perhaps that reflects Mary’s personality, or perhaps it reflects the leadership role that she has played for her children.  

From the perspective of Barbra Faucet, Mary’s friend of fourteen years, Mary has an uplifting personality-type – “the kind that makes people feel better after spending time with her.”  One of Mary’s co-workers at the hospice, Anthony, is starting med school, and he knows that as a physician he will be coming back to the hospice to play a leadership role.  He says Mary will continue to be among his most important teachers no matter how far he goes with his education in medicine.    
Mary says she wants to use this mini-biography as an opportunity to remind her family to enjoy the simple things in life, because “life can be dangerous,” and, “it’s just not worth taking chances.”  This is the kind of admonition that comes from a person who has seen much of the good and bad that life has to offer.  “Appreciating the most meaningful things, we don’t have to take chances,” Mary says. “We can just enjoy one another and take it easy.” 




EXAMPLE 3

A Perspective on Martin Denesha:
Success Varies According to One’s Values

Until recently, Martin Denesha was a furniture salesman with a large chain of furniture retailers.  Now he has moved on to try his hand at cooking. “My heart was never really in it,” he says about furniture sales. 

Before changing jobs, Martin made one of his most interesting personal accomplishments – the kind of accomplishment that makes life meaningful.  The story took place when Martin was trying to sell a “Lift-Chair” to an elderly lady.

A Lift-Chair is a mechanical chair that helps a person to stand up by raising up and lifting the person onto her feet.  Four months ago, before Martin quit his job, he received a phone call from a prospective customer who needed a ride to the furniture store.  When Martin arrived at her house, she told him that she had a strict budget of seven hundred dollars to spend on a lift chair, which she badly needed. 

Martin knew that his store only sold lift chairs for a thousand dollars or more, but he took her to the store hoping to work out a way to make the sale. Without making enough sales, he would not make very much money, and he could even lose his job.  After being shown around the store, the woman told Martin that the expensive lift chairs were just not within her budget and that she was sorry for wasting his time. 

Martin knew he could not make the sale.  To make matters worse, he knew that a different furniture store a few miles away did offer the “lift” chair within this customer’s budget. Part of Martin’s job was to know what deals were being offered by the competitors, so he was aware that this woman could buy a lift chair with massage, heat, and a lifetime warrantee with her seven hundred dollars. 

While driving this customer home, Martin was thinking about this, and about how he probably would never be a very good salesman.  Resolving himself to the situation, Martin asked the woman if she wanted to visit a store where she might have better luck.  She agreed, and Martin took her to the competition to help her find the perfect chair. 

Martin spent a large part of his work day helping this customer when he could have been helping customers that could generate a commission for him and a profit for the store.  He knew he was breaking various rules by spending so much time with her, but he did it anyway.  Refusing to pressure customers, Martin proved to be less valuable to his employer, and he ultimately lost his job in furniture sales.  He sure did help that lady find her “lift” chair, though!

Martin’s children are proud of their father, and they take example from his strong integrity.  Other salesmen might have made more sales, and they might have even made six-figure salaries, but Martin made something even better. He made an elderly lady happy, he made his family proud, and he made his work meaningful.













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The 12 Month Biography

Many people intend to get their stories written down, but few ever get around to it. Let us create a 30,000 word family treasure to be printed and bound a year from today. That is more than 100 pages of text, and with the additions of photographs and other content the final product will be quite substantial.

The 12 Month Biography costs $199/month, and the finished product is approximately 100 pages (30,000 words or more). If your story requires more pages, we can continue, but it is nice to know that you can have a professionally written, 30,000 word biography finished in a year for only $199/month.

A biography does not have to be hundreds of pages long. For powerful writing, and especially for powerful storytelling, less truly is more. Tell us your story via email, at a leisurely pace, and let us commit it to print. You can preview the service with a $39 trial (500 words).

Click here to read more,

Or send your question to: kevin.matteson@gmail.com

“What is a citation style, anyway?"


“Styles of documentation... When I write my research paper, I know I need to give credit to the sources from which I take information, but why are there so many stupid rules about documentation?”

Because people overcomplicate everything, that’s why. When I was in college, I mostly only needed to use APA, and I hated it. After I graduated, I wanted to be able to write for a living, so I had to learn ALL the documentation styles! As an adult, out of school, I had a different attitude toward it. I had suffered through so many stupid jobs, I really appreciated the chance to type instead of work!

So, I help people with the documentation styles. Every student must expend so much mental and emotional energy in order to accommodate these stupid, trivial particularities of documentation -- while they are supposed to be learning important things! The thing I hate about it, the thing I hate on behalf of the students whom I help, is that totally different parts of your brain need to be activated in order to attend to the pointless details of any given style.

People in psych and business programs often are required to learn APA;

People studying philosophy or theology often need to use either Chicago or Turabian, which are very similar;

People in general college programs, like liberal arts, often are required to use MLA. The details of documentation interrupt the process of learning and stunt creativity.

Documentation, itself, is necessary. For sure. It should be simplified, that’s all. Until it is, though, we are here to help. Sue, Justin, and Sarah all know the different styles, too. Incidentally, we often need to double check everything with a particular school’s documentation guidelines, because the styles even differ from one institution to the next! So, send us your project (along with any submission guidelines from your school), tell us the style that is required, and we’ll help you twist it into shape.

Even if you just have a simple question and don’t need any writing/editing done, run it by us, and we’ll be glad to help.

Kevin Matteson

kevin.matteson@gmail.com

Chi Kung to Stay Young



Dr. Robert O. Becker’s The Body Electric begins with discussions of miraculous healings that take place when a patient or devotee is in high spirits.  Sometimes, a sick person is touched by a healer whose influence raises his or her spirit.  Other times, Dr. Becker writes, 

"[Spontaneous healings] don’t even require a healer.  The spontaneous healings at Lourdes and other religious shrines require only a vision, a fervent prayer, perhaps a momentary connection with a holy relic, and intense concentration on the diseased organ or limb."

What Dr. Becker is saying is that the sick person must enter an enhanced state of mind somehow, and it is easy to understand how a healer’s laying on of hands often causes that enhancement in the same way as does some contact with a holy relic.  Even a great piece of music or writing can make that feeling happen – that feeling that sometimes feels like an energized chill in the spine.  That must be what “raising the spirit” means.  

Raising the spirit is also one of the important concepts from Chi Kung as taught by Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming

I always saw “Raising the Spirit” as a confusing teaching. I never realized that “raising the spirit” is about what I think of as the feeling of inspiration, and I wanted to write this little note in case other people had misconceptions about it, too.  In my practice, I knew how to “firm” the spirit by keeping my mind at Ni Wan (I feel cool air hit the center of my brain when I inhale, and it helps me get my attention fixed in the brain), but I never understood raising the spirit.  This realization that I had today – that raising the spirit is the same as “inspiration” – may dramatically change my practice! 

When Dr. Yang writes about raising the spirit, he seems to be talking about something that I think of as “inspiration.”  I had never realized that was the feeling he was talking about, but now I am pretty sure it’s the one.  “Raising the spirit” can mean so many different things to different people, so it can be confusing!  This phrase is commonly used to mean “making someone who is sad feel better.”  Dr. Becker goes on to write about soldiers in battle who were able to perform incredible feats despite having injuries that should have incapacitated them.

This is what Dr. Yang meant when he explained that it is easy to raise the Shen, but if you raise the Shen by getting all worked up, the mind is scattered.  Soldiers, and other people who are about to fight, deliberately fire up their sympathetic nervous systems by breathing fast and moving around – getting “pumped up.”  But Dr. Yang explains that this leaves the mind “scattered.”  

What is the opposite of “scattered?” The answer is “centered,” of course!  Your mind is all over the place if you get all worked up in order to raise the spirit.  The way to feel fired up without getting all worked up is… inspiration!  What an excellent realization.  I studied Qigong for three years without realizing that “raising the Shen” meant “feeling inspiration.”  So, the next question is this: Now that I understand that the familiar feeling of inspiration is the key to circulating Qi, how can I apply it in my practice? Dr. Yang explains that the Qi and the breathing are supposed to be “mutually Dependant” and that the Shen and the breathing are supposed to be “mutually combined.” More info is available through Dr. Yang's publications at www.YMAA.com       

For our clients who are still young, and for our older clients who can GET YOUNG by using Chi Kung exercises, here is a quick explanation:
-
Some people are able to maintain their youthful vitality throughout much of life. If you learn about longevity from the perspective of Traditional Chinese Medicine, you can practice the way of collecting energy and storing it in the lower abdomen, the biobattery at your physical center.

***For any kind of writing and editing help, contact:

DoctorMyDocument.com

The Academic Ninja Program

Writing Consultants for Kids?
Strategic Writing Correspondence Lessons Ages 11+

We teach strategic writing, because it is a skill that will help students in every subject and for the rest of their lives.     
Let us pour our attention over your child's essay or some other writing sample.  By discussing the composition with us, s/he can gain deep insight into the art of communication. Please consider investing in a $25 trial:
Academic Ninja Training Session ($25)
  1. The student sends one essay for our review.
  2. We send it back with corrections and a strategic writing lesson based on the essay.
  3. If the student has questions, we answer them.
  4. If the student sends an improved version of the essay, we’ll provide a final round of feedback.
Save 20% by paying for 5 lessons in advance ($20 per lesson)
 
CLICK HERE to arrange for a your child to send any essay, term paper, or any other creative writing project to an Academic Ninja training instructor for feedback about grammar and style of composition as well as other secrets of excellent writing. We hope use your child's writing projects as opportunities to convey important principles so that s/he becomes a master of language. "We impart the knowledge that leads to real mastery of language." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   

Dissertation and Thesis Editing in all Citation Styles


Academic Editing Projects
$59.00
Per
1,000 words of Editing
We can help you write with perfect English and correct MLA, APA, Chicago, or Harvard documentation. Let us edit and format your research paper, dissertation, or thesis and in compliance with the submission guidelines for your school.  


Free Reference List!
MLA, APA, Harvard, Chicago, Turabian.

We are fluent in all major citation styles, and all four of us share a passion for helping people achieve their professional and academic goals. We write because it can be meaningful work, but the meaning is drained away if our client is left dissatisfied.

Discounts are available for large projects!


contact email address: kevin.matteson@gmail.com




About Us:
Pain Management Café

Writing Editing Advertising

· Professional Editing for Any Writing Project
· Business Owners, Ask about the “Guerilla Press Release”
· Grad students, we can help with dissertations and thesis papers in all Citation Styles (MLA, APA, Chicago, Harvard, Turabian, etc.)


Pain Management Cafe is not really a cafe. We do drink coffee, though. Your projects enable us to continue doing what we love—writing, editing, making our own schedules and meeting great people.

All four of us live in the Boston area, and we are available to correspond with you as often as necessary during our completion of your project. We do not try to exaggerate our capabilities or mislead our clients in any way. Ordinary people with specialized skills, Justin, Sarah, Sue and I enjoy the spaciousness and freedom of freelance work. It's from that spaciousness and freedom that inspiration can be summoned for your project.

Sue is self-employed, selling her crafts online and at her shop. Justin works for a day-habilitation facility for developmentally challenged adults. Sarah is a vegetarian who practices Tai Chi Chuan and is studying Chinese Medicine. I (Kevin) make freelance writing my livelihood, even if it leaves me frazzled from time to time.

We use a great system that provides you with three stages of editing for every project, and the flexibility from our collaboration enables us to work efficiently, inexpensively.

Advertising, Ghostwriting, Biography Writing, Web Research, Copywriting, Editing, Brochures & Publications, Articles & Web Content... We write press releases for businesses, resume & cover letters for professionals, and research proposals for grad students.

We are ordinary people with good intentions. Please allow us to work for you—we strive for excellence, so you can think of us with confidence whenever you need something written or edited.

Thank you!
Kevin Matteson
Please send us a message! Let us know how we can modify our service to meet your communication needs!
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Thank you for your interest in our writing service. We won't let you down!








contact email address: kevin.matteson@gmail.com




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