Forums IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ Spring Forest Qigong Time and Space

In enlightened philosophy, one moment in time is the same as every other moment, and one point in space is the same as every other point. (After all, that's the basis for doing distance/group healing sessions, which do not depend on time and space.)

If this is true, that time and space are merely illusions, then why do we need to practice things like Qigong "every day"? Why are we encouraged to practice Qigong "as long and as often as possible?" "The more, the better?"

It seems to me that to be completely congruent with the philosophy that all time is the same, then we only need to practice Qigong (or any other meta-physical activity, such as meditation) ONCE, and that instance will apply ALWAYS.

Of course, one answer to this (assuming the premise about the nature of time is true) is that we need to continue to practice daily and often because we are not yet enlightened, still tied to the Earth-plane, and just like we need to eat food and drink water on a temporal basis, we need to practice Qigong and meditate regularly.

I can accept that answer, but then, as we mature and gain more depth and mastery in the metaphysical, that is, as we become enlightened, then the time and frequency of practice of Qigong and meditation should decrease, not increase, since as enlightened beings, we realize an instant of Qigong and meditation is the same as an eternity.

Yet, the popular image of the enlighted being is someone who sits for hours, days, weeks, etc., just meditating and doing nothing else. It just seems incongruent to me, since it fundamentally contradicts the premise that time is an illusion. If it is true, one instant of meditation is the same as an eternity.

I see 3 possibilities to resolve this conundrum:

1. The premise regarding the universality of time is false, that is, one instant in time is not the same as every other, at least for physical beings such as ourselves. So, the more the better, no matter how enlightened we are.

2. The premise regarding the universality of time is true, and as we become enlightened, we need to practice Qigong and meditation less and less, not more and more, and those who say or do otherwise really don't comprehend the universality of time.

3. I'm missing something and need your help.

Thanks for any insights you might be able to offer to help me make this concept about time and space more congruent.

I won't comment on whether you are missing something or not, or even on your (or whomever's) "enlightened philosophy" statements.

However, I'll offer you a number 4 for your list.

Supposed I'm searching for this place (state) of enlightenment. When I start my journey all I know is that it is out there and not here. I start walking and searching. I'm walking all over the place and sometimes getting closer and other times not.

I come across information that gives me some ideas about where it is and where it is not. I now find that on average I am moving closer more often.

As I get more and more signs, I move with greater certainty and directness and move even faster towards the destination.

Finally, when it is sight I break into a run and don't stop until I am there.

I know, it's a poor story but maybe when we start moving towards enlightenment with greater and greater certainty, then maybe we want to spend more time on the road?

As don't want to ramble too much, but can't help but doing a little... I like to believe that enlightened can happen in an instant. I unfortunately I also end up believing, it just doesn't happen that way very often (if ever).

You are perfection,
Iam2

Thanks for your insight, Iam2.

What you offered appears consistent with the first resolution I proposed, namely, that the premise regarding the universality of time is false, that is, one instant in time is not the same as every other, at least for physical beings such as ourselves. That is, after all, why we have invented the notion of "time" anyway.

Oh well, I guess why this issue is important to me is because sometimes I feel guilty when I don't have time to do Qigong, or if I simply would rather do other meditations or exercises instead, or if I simply don't feel like doing it. This guilt-trip is augmented by statements by the masters as "practice Qigong every day, even if you don't feel like it."

But then I realized that if I am truly eternal, if time truly is non-distinct and universal, then it makes absolutely no difference whether I practice Qigong once in my life-time or once every day, or just whenever I felt like it. If it does make a difference, then time is not as the master's describe it. It seems that perhaps the nature of time is not as they proclaim, which is why one should practice Qigong and meditation "every day."

Then I saw a documentary about Buddhism the other day, and how it teaches that the only way to break the cycle of reincarnation is to spend one's life in meditation and achieve a state of nothingness. At the same time, they teach that time is meaningless and one moment is the same as every other. When I thought about those two concepts together, they were simply not congruent! If one moment is the same as every other, why would one need to spend a life-time meditating to achieve perfection? Meditate once, be done with it, apply that moment to all of time, and get on with your life!

Anyway, thanks again for your thoughts. Best to your own journey toward enlightenment.

Hi there, I can fully understand your confusion about the supposed contradiction between the concept of timelessness on the one hand and the requirement that practice be constant - along a timeline that is surely meant to be illusory if we hold the first statement to be true. Many eastern philosophies are abundant with paradoxes!
I do think that this can be reconciled in a quite simple concept - that of the present moment. If we are being fully present in everything we are doing and in every individual moment (which in a way would equate with complete and constant "meditation practice") then we are only really doing meditation "once" - we are only ever doing it "now". I know this sounds like a pretty strange concept itself, but I am convinced that a profound experience of the now, or the present actually renders our sense of sequential time illusory in the end. The past and future don't really exist in the now other than in our thoughts and mental preoccupations - only a full experience of the now is fundamentally "reality". In my experience so far, Qi Gong seems to help bring focus and presence to the mind, in a sense freeing it from the restrictions and constraints of the preoccupied mind. Is this not what is meant by becoming "lost in the moment?". Obviously concepts of enlightenment differ widely also - but for me true enlightenment would mean to be fully alive with total awareness in the present moment at all times - this would not be some abstract state to only be achieved at some vague time in the future when I'm "good enough" at meditating, for example - it would mean living a full active life in meditation - or rather in awareness.

Hi Hartreefoch,

I tend to agree with Ingrid - the only time that truly exists is NOW. Yesterday or even a second ago no longer exists and a second ahead and tomorrow are in the future and do not exist, therefore the only legitimate time is here and now.
If you could ask an animal the time they could only reply that the time is - now.

One must do what one can to raise the level of consciousness and practicing SFQ and meditating are one path to enlightenment. The Buddha said that it could take many eons of pain and suffering to reach enlightenment or you can get there by submitting totally to God. Since few of us are able to do that we can only spend our time in the NOW doing our best to raise our consciousness. So do your Qigong in the now and ----yes that does mean daily.
Love and light
Faune

Thank you, Ingid and Faune, for offering your valuable insights. You have given me more to meditate upon.

Are you familiar with the book; A Course In Miracles? It just might answer some of your questions. It is not for everyone--

Ingrid,

I like your comments about experiencing the "now".
_____________________
"The past and future don't really exist in the now other than in our thoughts and mental preoccupations - only a full experience of the now is fundamentally "reality". In my experience so far, Qi Gong seems to help bring focus and presence to the mind, in a sense freeing it from the restrictions and constraints of the preoccupied mind."
______________________
One of the reasons I was interested in Qigong was the help it gives me in getting in the "zone" where peak golf performance exists. As a tournament player I have been in the "zone" frequently and have been able to use my subconscious brain to play better.

Hi joangolfing,
Thanks so much for your message.
I think with me, I got to the point where I realised that most of my life has actually been struggling outside of the "zone". I've been lucky enough to have what many would regard as "success" in my field of work, but funnily enough I found that I wasn't really "there" to fully enjoy it the majority of the time. In my mind, I would always be onto the next challenge or the next task or worry - I suppose very much like the so-called rat race everyone talks about. The simple principle of focusing in on the now, brought me out of my ever-striving and relentlessly over-ambitious mindset and made me much more aware of the simplicity and I suppose freedom of letting go, even if only for a moment.
I've just entered my thirties and (surprise, surprise!) have begun to experience the debilitating physical effects of relentless stress (e.g. the sudden onslaught of severe upper back pain, chronic throat infections etc) - the causes and symptoms of which have no doubt been building throughout my "busy" twenties. I have found that Reiki and now also SFQ, quite remarkably in only the last two weeks since I read Chunyi Lin's book and started doing his exercises, have helped me to begin getting off the relentless hamster wheel and to open up to a life that is full, honest and totally aware. Of course, I spend most of the time at the moment bearing witness to lots of different types of resistance which I seem to be very good at throwing in my path, but isn't that what I've diligently taught myself to do for thirty years? What I love most about Chunyi's book is the gentle, kind, loving spirit in which it is written. When I find myself becoming over-judgemental or critical (both of myself and others), I remind myself to flick through the chapter on Love, Kindness and Forgiveness. After all, it was when I was in the throes of back pain only two weeks ago, that I picked up the Born a Healer book by chance for the first time at my mother's house. My mum was in hospital (she has Lupus - SLE) and I was minding the house in her absence. I was feeling particularly worried and scared and my back was particularly sore. I have to say (without sounding overly-dramatic) that I felt an immediate softening of the pain in my back when I read through the chapter on forgiveness and love. I even felt a warmth growing in the area where the pain was particularly acute. Unsurprisingly I had been in the middle of "busying" around the house, cleaning out fridges etc (not really something you should do with a bad back to begin with!). This book helped me to stop, breathe and let go. It really made all the difference. (no wonder I've just ordered the Level 1 course materials!) :0)

Hi Claire,
I've heard of A Course in Miracles - I remember my mother went to a seminar series on it a number of years ago at Queens University in Belfast (extra-mural department) when she was still teaching Philosophy of Mind before she retired. I could probably get a copy of it off her. How have you found it?

There are incidentally two recent books that I would recommend myself, particularly for anyone particularly interested in the concept of cultivating presence in the "now". The first is "Practising the Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle. The second is "Awareness" by Anthony de Mello.