I forgot to mention something that my teacher told me:
>>>I remember treating a "Kundalini burnout" patient very early in my Qigong training - this guy had lost all of his left brain functions and couldn't do any linear functions at all. He was really miserable and was living a life that he described as "just existing."
It's hard to say in such an instance whether the person started out so imbalanced and the Kundalini Yoga just amplified it to the point of collapse, or if he was not taught correctly.
The stories of this sort are way too common to be dismissed. I can think of several more just off the top of my head.
Personally, I think you have to be a little 'nuts' to explore something as weird as Qigong in the first place. This is why, as an instructor, I am extremely particular about who I will teach. At this point I only teach privately to a very select few.
I think a good argument can be made for the idea that people drawn to such disciplines have innate abilities that need to be developed and carefully cultivated.
As to where to draw the line? A left-brained answer would take at least a medium-sized book. The right-brained answer is that a competant instructor must be able to see the student (in the Castaneda/Don Juan sense) to determine if he/she is ready to pursue the discipline.
I suppose my favorite analogy is that of a stick in the ground. A small stick placed just a bit off of perfectly vertical will be just fine. If you take a Sequoia tree sized stick with the same degree of off-centeredness, it's very much more likely to fall over.
In this analogy, it is the Qigong, and particularly the Nei Gong practice that converts the little stick into a Sequoia. A good teacher will make sure the stick is centered, balanced and has a good solid root before applying the "fertilizer" of advanced disciplines>>>
These words impacted me because almost a year ago I wanted everything. I was just a fool, full of passion, determination, etc. (full of emotions). Today most of that stuff is gone. I mean I have learned that life is simple, but we make it too complicated with our egos. Definitively chi gung has helped me to calm down, relax and adopt a different attitude towards life:
"Be simple,
Desire little
Put others first... (Tao Teh Ching).
And I also was the opposite of the following:
"By retaining his humility,
the talented person who is also wise,
reduces rivalry.
The person who possesses many things,
but does not boast of his possessions,
reduces temptation, and reduces stealing.
Those who are jealous of the skills or things
possessed by others,
most easily themselves become possessed by envy..." (TTC)
And for the non-believers of my post:
"Like the sheltered, fertile valley,
the meditative mind is still,
yet retains its energy.
Since both energy and stillness,
of themselves, do not have form,
it is not through the senses
that they may be found,
nor understood by intellect alone,
although, in nature, both abound.
In the meditative state,
the mind ceases to differentiate
between existences,
and that which may or may not be.
It leaves them well alone,
for they exist,
not differentiated, but as one,
within the meditative mind".
Or:
"All things are microcosms of the Tao;
the world a microcosmic universe,
the nation a microcosm of the world,
the village a microcosmic nation;
the family a village in microcosmic view,
and the body a microcosm of one's own family;
from single cell to galaxy. "
And these words were written around 3000 years ago well before Einsten decided to formulate E=mC^2. So nothing has been discovered in the West that the East hasn't already proven.
I had enough of computer writing. No good. Enough for now...
Love, gerard.
>>>I remember treating a "Kundalini burnout" patient very early in my Qigong training - this guy had lost all of his left brain functions and couldn't do any linear functions at all. He was really miserable and was living a life that he described as "just existing."
It's hard to say in such an instance whether the person started out so imbalanced and the Kundalini Yoga just amplified it to the point of collapse, or if he was not taught correctly.
The stories of this sort are way too common to be dismissed. I can think of several more just off the top of my head.
Personally, I think you have to be a little 'nuts' to explore something as weird as Qigong in the first place. This is why, as an instructor, I am extremely particular about who I will teach. At this point I only teach privately to a very select few.
I think a good argument can be made for the idea that people drawn to such disciplines have innate abilities that need to be developed and carefully cultivated.
As to where to draw the line? A left-brained answer would take at least a medium-sized book. The right-brained answer is that a competant instructor must be able to see the student (in the Castaneda/Don Juan sense) to determine if he/she is ready to pursue the discipline.
I suppose my favorite analogy is that of a stick in the ground. A small stick placed just a bit off of perfectly vertical will be just fine. If you take a Sequoia tree sized stick with the same degree of off-centeredness, it's very much more likely to fall over.
In this analogy, it is the Qigong, and particularly the Nei Gong practice that converts the little stick into a Sequoia. A good teacher will make sure the stick is centered, balanced and has a good solid root before applying the "fertilizer" of advanced disciplines>>>
These words impacted me because almost a year ago I wanted everything. I was just a fool, full of passion, determination, etc. (full of emotions). Today most of that stuff is gone. I mean I have learned that life is simple, but we make it too complicated with our egos. Definitively chi gung has helped me to calm down, relax and adopt a different attitude towards life:
"Be simple,
Desire little
Put others first... (Tao Teh Ching).
And I also was the opposite of the following:
"By retaining his humility,
the talented person who is also wise,
reduces rivalry.
The person who possesses many things,
but does not boast of his possessions,
reduces temptation, and reduces stealing.
Those who are jealous of the skills or things
possessed by others,
most easily themselves become possessed by envy..." (TTC)
And for the non-believers of my post:
"Like the sheltered, fertile valley,
the meditative mind is still,
yet retains its energy.
Since both energy and stillness,
of themselves, do not have form,
it is not through the senses
that they may be found,
nor understood by intellect alone,
although, in nature, both abound.
In the meditative state,
the mind ceases to differentiate
between existences,
and that which may or may not be.
It leaves them well alone,
for they exist,
not differentiated, but as one,
within the meditative mind".
Or:
"All things are microcosms of the Tao;
the world a microcosmic universe,
the nation a microcosm of the world,
the village a microcosmic nation;
the family a village in microcosmic view,
and the body a microcosm of one's own family;
from single cell to galaxy. "
And these words were written around 3000 years ago well before Einsten decided to formulate E=mC^2. So nothing has been discovered in the West that the East hasn't already proven.
I had enough of computer writing. No good. Enough for now...
Love, gerard.