Hi, Gallen
I think you are over-reacting. I didn't say you had to be present at the beginning.
I certainly have no intent to be disrespectful to Master Chu Lin--quite the opposite!I think he has done a mountain of work simplifying the Qi Gong exercises while retaining their effectiveness.
By "spirituality" I refer to one's deepest, most sacred values. Religion and mysticism has generally preempted that term so it seems to only fit their paradigms, but this is simply not the truth. One need not be a mystic to be spiritual.
I do not equate religion with mysticism, and certainly not with Qi Gong. Parts of the metaphysics put forth by Master Chu Lin do indeed seem mystical and are, in my opinion, open to correction, on that ground. I strongly believe in evaluating each philosophy and practice for its bad and its good.
I'm sorry, Gallen, that you have said you no longer wish to continue this conversation, but I understand it. Gallen, once long ago I believed in God with a deep desperation. I was going to UCLA, where I was exposed to those heretics who told me there was no God. I got so angry at them. I promised myself I would dedicate my life to proving there was a God. Years later I became an atheist
While religion should not automatically be equated with mysticism, much of religion and of the mystical path (not "all" of it, please note!!!) is founded on using faith to gain knowledge, not a process of reasoned integration.
When I talk about religious wars, that is simple historical fact. Even nowadays, if you read the daily papers regularly, you will see reports of Christians versus Moslems versus Jews versus Buddhists. Each religion talks peace at some level, yet selfrighteousness seems part and parcel of any philosophy that is grounded in faith.
Where Qi Gong is about people actually being cured of their physical or mental problems, clearly it is part of reality--the reality that I know! When Qi Gong says there are Male and Female principles expressed in energy movements, without any physical instruments to show this, we are talking about faith, or what I would call the "bad" side of mysticism.
I realize full well that you could get angry from what I have said, Gallen. It's how I felt so long long ago. If you have spent years in a certain tradition of knowing, and then are exposed to serious philosophical arguments, it can be more than a little unsettling. But that is what reason is all about, amigo. Being open to being unsettled by new ideas that, however ornery they may seem, still make some kind of sense!
I am fully open to what makes sense in Qi Gong, Gallen. I hope that eventually you will see the truth in my philosophy.
best wishes always,
Mike
moochy_hope@yahoo.com
