Forums IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ Spring Forest Qigong I hope this doesn't sound presumptuous

I stumbled on a technique for raising energy a long, long time ago (it was in the mid 70's, if memory serves) that works very well for me. I've been doing Reiki for a little while but I heard about this technique before I knew anything about Reiki.

I hope it isn't presumptuous of me to post it here.

While I know absolutely nothing whatsoever about Qigong, what I have been reading about it seems to resonate somewhat with what I'm already doing, and I wouldn't mind getting a little feedback on it.

The technique involves forgetting about your physical body and concentrating on your "energy body". Your energy body resides within your physical body, but is not subject to physical limitations such as gravity, space,time, etc. It's what gets out and walks around during astral projection and lucid dreams, for instance.

What I do is to focus my attention on the infinite amount of energy that exists in the universe, specifically that which is below my feet. Using my "energy hands", I reach down and "massage" the soles of my feet. This is all imaginary, really, but you have to really intend it and visualize yourself doing it.

I also massage the chakra that is floating between my ankles. I envision my chakras as being about as large as softballs, maybe a little bigger. I rub that thing like it's a magic lantern. This attention causes the chakra to open.

Then I reach into that pool of milky white, golden energy and grab two big handfuls; like grabbing a hold of a very heavy, very large quilt or blanket. Then, as I inhale, I "pull" that energy up through the soles of my feet and into that lowest chakra. I envision the energy pouring into that chakra like it's a big empty bucket and the golden white energy filling it up and energizing it.

As soon as I start doing that, the tingling begins.
Then I open my root chakra by using my energy hands to rub it. I reach down between my feet again with my energy hands and grab another batch of energy. I inhale and pull that energy up through my bottom chakra and into the root chakra. I also envision a beam of light, like a lit flourescent tube that connects the chakras. It glows when I pull energy through it.
I repeat this with each chakra in turn, being careful to remember the beam of light that connects the chakras, pulling on the inhalations and relaxing on the exhalations.

When I get to my crown chakra, I reverse the flow and direct the excess down through my arms and out through my fingertips. I actually point my fingertips down towards the earth. I imagine any and all negative emotions (weakness, fear, dis-ease, anger, etc) flowing out of my body and being replaced by positives (strength, courage, health, serenity). I do that until I feel "flushed out".

After that I direct the excess chi energy down towards my tan tien. That's the only chakra that can really store chi energy long-term, from what I understand. That's where I leave off. Every inhalation I'm grabbing another batch of energy, and pulling it up through each chakra in turn, and then pouring it down into my tan tien. As I inhale, I mentally picture each chakra being flushed with energy in turn, the energy doing a u-turn through my crown chakra and then pouring down into my tan tien.

It's a very peaceful routine. Plus, I get very relaxed because I'm concentrating so hard on what I'm doing that my internal dialogue shuts right off. This causes my heart rate and breathing to slow down. If I'm doing this at bedtime, I drop right off to sleep.

What I am curious to know is if this practice is in any way related to Qigong exercises?
________________________
I also have a story that I'd like to share about healing and my path to Reiki and now Qigong.

This is another thing that I hope doesn't sound presumptuous.

It's about an event that I witnessed years ago. I wasn't involved. I was just a witness. This was back in 1980 in St Mary's, Idaho. I had dropped my car off to have its engine rebuilt after Mt. St. Helen's erupted and spewed ash everywhere. I was driving a VW van and the ash had destroyed the engine. Ironically enough, the date of the eruption was 5/18 - rather close to today's date, but the day this happened was about a week or two later.

At any rate, I was standing in the garage talking to the mechanic when another VW van pulled up out front. He excused himself and hurried outside. I took a few steps over towards the bay door to see where he was going. The big sliding door on the side of the van opened up and there was a girl lying on her back on the floor in the back.

This was the early 80's and we were all hippies back then. She was accompanied by three or four other people (all hippies!) and I remember being able to sense how much everyone cared for this girl. It made me feel good to be around these people.

She was wearing a long, loose dress and some sort of blouse and had long hair. But what I really noticed was how thin and pale she was. I could tell she was very ill; so sick she couldn't even sit up. I could sense that she was very frightened, and her friends were all extremely concerned.

I never found out what was wrong with her, what her name was or what her relationship was to my friend the mechanic. All I knew was that whatever was wrong with her, it was pretty serious. I was thinking it was probably cancer or something similar.

I have never been able to put her out of my mind. But something in my head keeps telling me that what she thought was wrong with her (cancer?) was really only the symptom of something else that was wrong (energy blockage?). I have also managed to convince myself that the thing that was wrong with her (blockage) was actually not a very difficult thing to rectify. I have managed to convince myself (wishful thinking?) that fixing the energy blockage was actually a lot easier to do than removing the tumor surgically or administering chemo-therapy or radiation treatments.

I don't know if that is my ego talking or what. Probably is, a little, I don't know. I try and keep it on a short leash.

Anyway, I have dreamed of that poor girl. I have also wished very hard, for 28 years! that I would have been able to help her somehow. Not long after that event happened, I started having daydreams or visions of myself manipulating her chi energy somehow to help her clear that blockage. I struggle with my ego a bit in that scenario, but honestly, what is most important of all to me is the wish and the desire to have been able to have done something, anything, to have helped that young woman.

A quarter of a century later, without my knowing anything about it or seeking it out it any way, somehow, the discipline of Reiki falls into my lap. I finish the classes for all the Reiki levels, and almost immediately afterwards Qigong comes into my life.

I had never even HEARD of Qigong until a few months ago, and I do a lot of reading and I like to think I'm aware of what's out there.

Now, the years between 1980 and about 2005, I was definitely not ready for Reiki or Qigong. I was busy doing Tae Kwon Do and Tai Chi and what-not.

So I wasn't ready for them and so I didn't notice them.
But then, apparently I became ready for them and they show up.

So here I am. And here you guys are. And here is Reiki and Qigong.

What to make of all this? I have no idea. But I'm here and I'm open to new stuff.

/stream-of-consciousness