Forums IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ Spring Forest Qigong This is so hard!

I would like to point out a few of the issues I've been having since I started practicing Qigong level 1. The most important one to me is actually an issue I also had when I wanted to practice photoreading a few years ago, and that is visualization & imagination!

In both SFQ and PR, I feel stupid any time I am asked to "visualize energy moving through your body/ imagine pain turning into smoke and leaving the body / imagine energy collecting through the lower dan tien and using the whole body to breathe, etc..". I always feel like there is a missing step needed to reach that state, after all if I had known how to do that before listening to the tapes I wouldn't need too much practice, don't you think? ('^_^).

Like I said this is what I belive to be the biggest hinderance to my practice. So I would appreciate some pointers that would give some ideas on how to achive that (anything besides what's mentioned on the tapes would be more welcomed).

Visualization has always been difficult for me. How do I imagine something like energy moving through the channels in my body? Do I close my eyes and "look" at myself as if I am looking at myself through a camera? Or do I try to "realize" specific limbs, for example, as I try to move energy through them? (like I would move my eyes while they are closed along the path that I think the energy should reach). So so difficult!! (^_^)

Now to the other minor but relevant issues:

1. Do you feel tired/exhausted when you are doing the exercises? The suggested position to stand in isn't that comfortable to me, and bending the knees makes it a little more tiresome!! Is this natural? Yesterday I did the 8 active exercises and you could see some sweat on my forehead at the end (which is not that bad to be honest, makes me feel better), but is it natural to feel tired throughout the exercises?

2. Sitting exercises: I HATE THEM!! I just can't stand doing any of the 2 sitting exercises! I will be honest and say I am still new to Qigong and haven't had many sessions, but of the several sessions I had I only did the sitting exercises twice (once for small universe and another for the self concentration). Small universe was VERY annoying because he would move between "Ohm" and "Mho" a little faster than I would like and makes my breathig not so comfortable. Of course there is the visualization issue here too since there is no hand movements or anything so it's all visualization and breathing. The reason I like most of the active exercises is that there are hand/body movements which are easier to do for me than visualization.

The self concentration was also not very fun because there was nothing to do, just sit and listen. Again, this was mainly due to my inability to visualize. Hopefully they should become more bearable when I manage to visualize stuff better ('^_^).

3. Too many things to do at the same time!! Let's look at the breathing of the univ. for example: It says to feel the energy expand with inhaling, compress with exhaling. At the same time we are told to breath using the whole body, collect the energy into the lower dan tien, and expel any unwanted energy. How do we do that?? Should I inhale-expand, exhale-compress once, then do the energy collecting-expulsion? And how do I collect energy in the lower dantien anyways? Another visualization problem I see ('^_^).

So to review, we have the main visualization problem and then 3 sub points as described above. I would REALLY appreciate any help here since I would like to benefit more from the practice.

Also the idea of group healing sounds nice, but I don't know if I am ready for it yet ('^_^). I have a relative who was just diagnosed with cancer , and one of his kidneys had failed already. And I have a sister who was just diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, and our family is going through a lot of stress and sadness and we are trying all we can to help her. And finally a friend just had a baby who was born sick because of some medicine the mother was taking I think . I hope he recovers as well.

Sorry for the long post, and I appreciate all the help you are giving here. Thanks all and keep up the good work.

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Originally posted by Dabdoob:

In both SFQ and PR, I feel stupid any time I am asked to "visualize energy moving through your body/ imagine pain turning into smoke and leaving the body / imagine energy collecting through the lower dan tien and using the whole body to breathe, etc..". I always feel like there is a missing step needed to reach that state, after all if I had known how to do that before listening to the tapes I wouldn't need too much practice, don't you think? ('^_^).

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I always liked Ken Cohen's approach to QiGong visualization. On the first tape of his I ever listened to, he said to take one hand, make a fist, let go, repeat, etc., a number of times, then to notice how that hand felt. Then he said, "Now, transfer that feeling to your other hand." Just as I was feeling a little puzzled ("whaaa??"), he said, "You know how to do it." And zap, my other hand felt that tingling and warmth. Some part of me DID in fact know how to do it, and did it.

I am not sure you need to see technicolor pictures (although those are nice)--just "imagine" the energy flowing through your body. Tell yourself you "know how to do it," and permit it to be.

Maybe this will help?

Dabdoob, Jeanne's advice is a very specific and practical example of what can be done by each of us. I feel it is very relevent to you, even though it doesn't give you the visualization answer you want.

My primary advices is to relax and stop judging you performance. Relaxing is key and worrying about whether you are getting the best results in the fastest manner just slows you down.

Remember it is a matter of good, better, best. Don't worry where you are on the scale of performance, and you automatically move up the scale. Whatever you experience is, it is the best experience for you, in your current state of need. Having thoughts about not visualizing well enough is important to you, but do not cling to the negative energy. Have faith that your SFQ practice, however you are experiencing it, is moving you in the direction you need to travel. Trust in the universal energy. Smile as you start you practice and keep smiling everytime you realize the universe is supporting you. Show gratitude for the gifts you recieve.

Enough for the right brain, now maybe something for your left brain. A book I'm currently reading (a nod to Agent B) comments that people have five senses but most have one or two dominate ones. Stealing from the book, "imaging a rain storm as fully as you can".... take a minute to do this.

Did you?

Okay, did you see the storm? did you hear the thunder and wind? Did you feel the wind, rain, temperature change? Did you smell the freshness of the air, or the electrical charge? Did you taste it?

The book indicates that most people will have imagine (a sensory neutral term) as one or two of the senses. It also says that as you progress you gain greater awareness, more intuition, and you incorporate more and more of your senses as you imagine.

So Dabdoob, if visual imagination is not a currently a strength for you then maybe you have some additional and unexpected benefits to come from following a regular SFQ practice.

My recommendation is to review the 6 keys to success. Practice patients, acceptance, releasing judgement, and you will be more relaxed and progress more readily.

You are perfection.
Iam2

P.S. If it helps, that's the kind of advice I received when I was starting. My logical mind didn't much appreciate it, but it was what I needed.

Hello Dabdoob - You have received some great advice from Jeanne and Iam2 and they are both much more experienced than myself, but thought maybe I could add a couple of other suggestions that have helped me move along in my journey. To me that's what SFQ is all about - a journey, not so much a destination - and there may be apprehension about getting started and many bumps along the road, but I remind myself to take my time, keep it simple and enjoy the experiences along the way. If you believe, the journey will continue regardless of your questions and you will move forward. When I feel discouraged (which still happens frequently) somehow the support and encouragement that I need eventually appear for me. Frequently this comes from a posting that I read here - I often go back and re-read Iam2 and gallen's postings many times over, each time finding something else of importance for me - thanks so much guys. Other times I just "happen" to come across a book that changes my whole perspective - most recently I found "You Can Heal Your Life" by Louise Hay - it has given me so much to ponder! This book had been sitting on my shelf unread for weeks, but suddenly after putting myself on the weekly healing list, I felt the need to open it - and it has had such an impact on me -just fate, I wonder?? Thank you to all those who participate in the weekly healing. If you are open-minded, this is a book that I think would really help you get started. If you check a previous posting of gallen's on "mindfulness" you'll find that this book fits very well with what gallen recommends. I've never used affirmations in the past, but I've found that combining affirmations such as "I approve of myself" with the SFQ is very powerful. In this way you can give yourself permission to just "be" and not expect too much or judge yourself or your results.
As for the actual techniques described in the SFQ manual, I agree it's a lot to handle all at once. I decided to start with the breathing and as it became more automatic, I would choose another area to focus on - just one step at a time - I still have many more steps ahead of me. In short, I think what I'm trying to say is try to stop questionning yourself and the method so much and just believe in yourself and the SFQ. I've chosen just a couple of active exercises that feel right for me and do only those every morning. Each evening I do a sitting meditation - if my mind won't stay still, then I just repeat "I approve of myself" over and over and give myself permission to feel whatever. After months of practice I still don't see the energy move the way the manual and others describe it, but I have my own experiences, I believe what's right for me at the moment.

I hope this helps some - Not the practical suggestions that you're looking for, just some hopeful experiences from someone who has found many bumps along the journey, but is beginning to recognize the beautiful colours along the way.

Love
Etoile

Relax. It will all happen if you keep at it. Consider that this is all new to your body and it will take time to make it through some 'layers' and 'realignment'. Think of it as an onion ... one layer at a time.
I also read something that may help, your brain doesn't know the difference between real and imagination (the mind does but not the brain) The suggestion to show this is to sit quietly and close your eyes. Now think of a lemon, slice it in half, hold it in your hand and feel the texture, smell it, notice the juices. Now take a big bite! Did you notice that your mouth produced saliva waiting for that sour taste? This is a well know study done at Ohio State university. Your mind knew that there was no lemon but your brain didn't. We live so much based on what we can see and touch, especially as adults, we have tuned out imagination (or turned it down would be more accurate), the responsibilities of being an adult I think. Wouldn't the world be a better place if we could balance the brain and mind, imagination and reality? Would we be happier people? More content? I for one want to find out.

Hi Dabdoob,
Let me add to the wealth of support here.

-Don't feel stupid. What you refer to has nothing to do with the truth to the situation. Simple exercise: Hold your hands over your eyes so you can't see. You will find that you don't lose intelligence! You don't become stupid, just because you can't literally see something. It can take time to see things, the way one sees things. The way 'you' see things, or that, in relation to a specfic 'seeing' technique. Trying to see, like someone else sees, can also be frustrating. There is a self discovery to this, which is best supported by simply practicing in the way this course is given, and the way the other replies suggest and encourage.

Regarding your specific questions:
1) It is normal, or natural to feel tired doing the exercises, or afterwards. It is also normal not to feel tired, and feel energized within the exercises, or at cyclic times relative to one's exercise sessions. Often when deeper work is being done, or if one is simply out of physical shape, one can experience being tired or exhausted.

2) Hate is one word I personally have no use for. I haven't used it for many years. Words are energy, and have a charge to them. Even used lightly, it still holds a charge and potential. You don't want to let this take seed , and come up if and/or when you approach meditation. If it is that negative of an experience, don't do it. Focus on your active exercises. If you are saying this with humor, fine, but be aware of the energy pattern you create with these words.

Also, you can learn the technique of the meditation, and then work without a CD, and at your own pace. You can just breath into an area, you don't have to see it to do that. Learn from the CD, it doesn't have to be a permanent part of your meditation. You can still connect to Master Lin's energy if you like.
3) You may be experiencing a collective, overwhelmingness to remembering all the details to a number of new exercises, in a new experience. Try taking one, just one, and focusing on that. Once it makes sense, add another. Practice different aspects within a single exercise. Move around the exercise, focusing on one specific aspect. Move to another singular part within the exercise. Maybe at some point step back abit and see if you can observe or generate a few aspects at once. 'A singular focus on one possible aspect of an exercise, is fine and enough'. It works on many levels, many ways. If you are engaged with it, you are engaged with it, and 'it' is.
Regarding your comment about Self concentration being no fun, because there is nothing to do,,,, just sit and listen... and you can't visualize, so it is even less fun! I don't think 'fun' was ever a reason for me to start meditating. I think, 'sandbox', or movie theater, or a good game of scrabble, when I look for fun. Joy yes, fun,,,,,I don't know!! Meditation is a way to experience reality in an eternal sense. What is reality, what continues past this circle of life. Who am I?...Specific meditations, are specific meditations within that larger backdrop. Some ring a bell, some don't. It can be personal preference, interests , or requirements. That backdrop is there, with or without the specific meditation, lights, bells, and whistles.
Any specific meditation, can bring one to 'emptiness'.
In my youth, I moved from Minnesota to New Mexico to attend school. It took me some months, before I could actually see the desert. I missed water and green grass, the sun was too hot, my lips were chapped, and everything seemed knee height and insignificant! I missed my girlfriend back home. One day I was out in the desert, and I saw something move. It turned out to be this really colorful lizard. Pretty soon, I was seeing all this incredible life and color, in what I thought and saw, as dry and barren. I still missed my girlfriend, but, the desert came alive for me! (I did come home, and eventually married the girl!)
If you have ever been out in nature, you will find that if you sit very still and quietly, you will start to see things that you didn't see when you were just passing through, or not 'really' stopping to look. The longer you sit, the better it gets.
love,
gallen

Thanks for the support everyone (^_^). I admit they were not the answers I was expecting but since it worked for you all I trust you and trust in the universal energy .

The "fist" exercize didn't really work for me unfortunately, and in the rainstorm one I didn't visualize everything bit it was ok. It shows I am still weak at visualization, but hopefully I am getting better. The other day I tried the sword fingers on myself and finally was able to feel something, but wasn't able to reproduce it many other times.

Anyways, thanks again and keep up the good work. I welcome any other suggestions, and will ask more here if I have other inquiries.

Later all,

A couple of thoughts.

One I think that might help is saying, "It's really quite easy when I thin about it." Or, "I'm sure I'll find the easy solution"

As for imagining pain turning into smoke and leaving the body. Consider this.

Have you ever had a problem and thought "wouldn't it be nice if I could just rub a magic lamp, a genie pops will pop our and make my wish come true"? Or something like that. To image that you didn't really see a genie, or a magic lamp that you rubbed (and there might have been smoke in your imagination). What you did was remember images that you saw and created that image for a split second.

Now don't think of a polar bear wearing a pink and lime green polka dotted bathing trunks (not bikini). Did you smile, some might snicker but guess what! You imagined it. I don't think I've ever seen a picture of a real polar bear in swimmers, have you?

So when you look for an image of pain turning into smoke. You allow your mind to create it. It lasts for a split second but that's enough. Like Chunyi Lin says, "imagine" And then forget because ultimately you're heading into the emptiness. So when Chunyi suggests that you imagine, he has offered something useful to think about if you're going to be thinking on your way to the emptiness.

Whatever the mind happens to focus on for that split second is fine, when you hit the emptiness another part of your mind is looking after that anyway.

Alex