Status Updates From Daoist Nei Gong: The Philos...

He who can free his mind eternally of desire and attachment
will perceive the very essence of Dao.
He who is not free of desire and attachment
will only encounter the outer forms of this world.

The sage does not attain things for himself,
He helps others and so in return he gains much,
Heavens way is to give and not to harm,
The sages way is to act in accord with Heaven.

The human mind is very different from human consciousness. The human mind only processes information which is taken in; it does not generate thought or awareness. you can think of the human mind as being like a computer. A computer does not do anything that it is not programmed to do by its user. The user of the computer is human consciousness.

This is the same as any other physical sensation which you experience during the course of your life. Physical sensation is not an external entity; it is generated by your own consciousness. This is the root of the Buddhist and Daoist concept of the physical world being false.

The feeling of ‘inflation’ which comes with the movement of yang Qi is only the body’s way of experiencing the information contained within the vibrational wave which circulates through the ‘small water wheels of Qi’.

A more advanced way to circulate Qi is to bypass the external movement altogether and direct the flow of internal energy using your mind. This is an advanced technique that requires a great deal of practice and preparatory work. This skill goes above and beyond the normal level of ability which can be gained from standard Qi gong practice alone.

This is because of the energy gates which sit in the joints; these important areas of the meridians system work like energetic pumps throughout the course of your daily life. The efficiency of this Qi movement is increased during practice of Qi gong exercises.

Qi is primarily directed around the body by the movement of your breath and the lower Dan Tien. It is also affected by the movement of your limbs. As you open, close and rotate the various joints of your body, the movement of Qi is increased.

our mind will tend to have a preoccupation with one or more of the three bodies of man as well as tuning in to the wants and needs of the physical sense functions. This preoccupation creates an imbalance within our awareness which creates one of the following problems.

Emotions are like waves on an ocean; our consciousness is like the wind. As the wind of our consciousness blows, waves are created within the energy body which move across the ocean of our mind. These waves are transitory and constantly changing according to the direction and intensity of the wind.

All of us can already feel the movements of Qi and Shen to varying degrees. The changes and fluctuations of energy within the three bodies of man create external manifestations which are clear for us to feel. The movements of Qi and Shen create the emotions which we look at in more detail later in this chapter

The human mind can, like a radio, tune in to the frequencies of the energy body and consciousness body if it is trained enough through a practice such as Nei gong. This is when we start to develop an internal awareness of the movement of Qi and eventually Shen.

Through Nei gong practice this is where we begin to reverse the natural course and so head back towards the source. We use our practice to convert Jing back to Qi, Shen and finally the energy of Dao. This enables us to attain a spiritual awakening.

In the Daoist process of creation, the energy of Dao is gradually taken down through the various steps which create the physical realm. In this way Dao changes to Shen, Qi, Jing and finally physical matter. This process continues until all of our energy is spent, our Jing begins to deplete and then finally we die.

At an advanced level, our Nei gong practice is a method of going back through this process. According to Daoist thought, only the realm of consciousness was everlasting and so if we can return to here then we would become immortal. our spirit would live on whilst our physical shell ceased to exist.

This keeps the elements in balance and makes sure that one does not become too strong. one slight alteration and this delicate relationship is thrown out of balance.

The generation cycle shows the perfect transition from one elemental process to another whereas the controlling cycle (black arrows in the centre of the diagram) shows how one element can inhibit and manage the growth of another. For example, Water generates Wood but it is controlled by Earth and at the same time it controls Fire.

In Daoist philosophy there can be no stillness without movement and vice versa. If a state of complete tranquillity and stillness is achieved then a spontaneous and natural movement will come into being. This is the force of Taiji.

Whenever there is any energetic shift within the universe it is due to the power of Taiji which acts as a catalyst for the processes of change, development and progress. It is for this reason that we know Taiji as the ‘motive force of creation’.