For all those who could not make it to the retreat, I wanted to share some tips on Qigong exercises that could be done in 5 minutes.

The first is bouncing. We did this after an hour of sitting, just bounce from the knees, no need to lift the heels. This helps balance the energy. When at work, I set my MS Outlook with a reminder in the morning, and when I get the popup reminders I do a few minutes of bouncing, and end with patting the tailbone. this is also good to help open up the lower body. Feels refreshing, too, after sitting all day.

The ending exercises can also be done separate from the 1/2 hour session. The head circles are good for opening up the C7 area, and can be done any time, even at a stop light.

Cupping arms is good for a cold. Patting the tail bone helps open up the lower body and can help with weight loss. Rubbing the stomach massages the internal organs.

Love and gratitude,
rj

Many thanks RJ for thinking of those of us who weren't able to attend (but would have loved to have been there)!

I, for one would greatly appreciate any other tips or insights that retreatants would like to share.

A retreat is a very personal experience, but there may be little particular things that stand out for you that would really help others' understanding. I know from my own practice that sometimes just a few words can allow me to experience a whole new dimension.

Thanks again,
Mick

I also want to thank you RJ for sharing those tips. I love to hear about the retreats - they sound like such an amazing experience! I find the stories from the retreats fascinating and very encouraging.

Love
Etoile

Hello,

- When people have cancer, a big % of energy from food goes to feed cancer cell energy. Fasting helps in keeping the energy low for cancer cells
- Fasting helps tremendously with tumors
- For colon cancer, eat very little in the evening
- Fresh apples help stop diarrhea and constipation
- Anger hurts liver, which in turn hurts the digestive system (so stop getting mad at everyone)
- Putting hands over heart while sleeping creates dreams
- Computer related or sitting jobs where we bend forward create problems for pancreas
- Press finger tips with your nails to help people sufferred from a stroke. It shoots energy to heart and to brain. Start with middle finger, then index, ring, thumb and small fingers

[This message has been edited by DesertSphinx (edited October 24, 2005).]

During the Retreat I always had a question as to what it meant to 'Always wear a smile on your face' during healing/meditation.

That question was answered by one of the guest assistants.

As we know, smiling helps especially when sending energy to the heart.

Guest assistant put it this way. Imagine or picture yourself smiling. Sense and feel how that make you feel inside. Now hold that feeling whenever you meditation/do healings.

It's not so much the mechanics of smiling but the feeling evoked as a result of smiling.

Another was this, when doing Sword fingers imagine energy shooting out your fingers, through the blockage and reaching the end of the universe. It's sort of like the energy carries the blockage from the body and gently releases it to the end of the universe.

Oh, this was fasinating as well. Regarding fasting. Two tid bits to help. Ya know how sometimes one can get hungry/thirsty during the fast? Well, to alleviate hunger, you would open your mouth, collect energy, close mouth, chew and swallow making a noise in your throat. Making noise was crutial to moving the energy to your stomach as opposed to it going to the lungs. For those that tend to get thirsty ... imaging drinking plenty of water. I believe this works as energy is engery ... whether it originates from phsical matter of thought ... matters not.

Certain active exercises were greatly simplifies. Especially the seven steps. You could now just keep your feet planted. This aids immensly with balance.

For those that experience discomfort during mediation when you have your legs crossed when sitting, heres what I learned. At some point your legs will go extremely numb, your mind will be screaming for relieve and them wham, the energy channel opens and the discomfort disappears and you go real deep. I only experienced this with the right leg, the left leg was holding out. Point is, with patience and persistance, you can surmount the discomfort and eventually go to a higher level.

Regarding time. When begining meditations early into the Retreat, in the beginning it seemed like 30 minutes was an eternity. It can be when you are not in the emptiness. However, when in or close to the emptiness ... there is no concept of time.
Hours seem like seconds ... toward the end of Retreat it would be like "Oh this is good, want to stay here" then you would hear "And we are coming to the closing" and I would say "Ya gotta be kidding, not now!" Then you find out that you were meditating for 1:40 minutes ... and it all seemed like seconds! Amazing how the concept of time differs when in consciousness and when in the emptiness.

Addictions. I have learned that those that suffer from addictions can experience 'shifts' to the point whereby these addictions and their urges ... can subside or disappear altogether.

I will share more, these were some of the things that really stuck out for me.

Michael

Thank you folks - it's good to have these insights.

Michael you said

Certain active exercises were greatly simplifies. Especially the seven steps. You could now just keep your feet planted. This aids immensly with balance.

Does this mean you keep still and imagine the exercise - I can't get a sense of what you mean from what you've written.

Love

Kev

As you breathe in & out, you move the energy ball to different points (navel, heart, ...) and push it down to your toes. You do everything without adding the movement of your legs. That is a simplified version.

Of course, if you want to lift up your leg as you bring the energy ball up, and push your heel down to earth as you push the energy ball down is perfectly okay. It was simplified by Master Jim as lots of people have problems with this movement.

DS said it perfectly.

It was to aid those who were having balance issues during the lifting and lowering of the leg.

You are still using your hands, moving of energy to the points and pumping out ... just no leg movement.

Guess it's to help one stay in the emptiness and not be distracted by one loosing their balance during the leg movement.

Love and Light

Michael

Got it!

Thank you both.

Love

Kev

These 'tidbits' help tremendously in a practical sense as well as passing on some of the energy of the retreat. Thanks all!

Does anyone have any particulars they'd like to share about the Harmony of Universal Energy exercise?

In appreciation,
Mick

Thanks everyone for sharing your retreat experience!

Michael,
"At some point your legs will go extremely numb, ...." After the mediation, do you have any problem standing up?
"The energy channel opens and the discomfort disappears" ; I wonder how different is "energy channel opens " while you still crossing your legs than getting the feeling back after feeling numb. Maybe hard to describe the difference but sure like to hear it if you have any thought on that.

Sometime when we sit with a leg cross in a position for a long time, the leg will get numb and lost feeling. We are unable to have the balance to stand up until the circulation is back. I would be concern about the sitting position at that instance. It seems like that is some form we would want to go through during deep meditation.
Any insights/comments from anyone with experience in that area?

Aloha Bluebird,

I'm not understanding your question, but I'll put my initial response out there.

There are many things one can do when finishing the sitting meditation and their leg/s are numb.

One is to do the breathing through all the cells of your body, feeling the energy come in, especially in that leg, and the numbing will subside faster.

Another is massaging the big toe of that leg.

I don't know if this answers your question. If not, someone else will either "get it" and chime in, or you could clarify it for me.

P.S. Everyone: Be sure to take advantage of the search function of this Forum when you have questions. The non-use of feet during the 7 Steps of New Life has been addressed earlier.

Check out Harmony of the Universe, MickT, and if you don't get what your needed. Post you specific question and we'll handle it.

Much Love, Shawn

Aloha Shawn,

I was thinking; normally, we would not want to have numbness in legs or arms.
I saw one colleague almost fell down because he stood up without realizing his leg has lost "feelings"/numb because he sat in one position and crossed his leg for a long time. It took him longer than a few minutes to get back to a normal walking pattern. Maybe it would help if he had massage his leg then.

From Michael's experience, it just seems like a "good" thing to have and then to experience the energy channel opened.
Guess I might have just answer my own point, not everyone will experience numbness in the legs while sitting in full lotus. We might just feel other channel open.

Happy to find out the power of those BIG toes!

During the Retreat, the only leg whose energy channel opened was the right leg. The left leg was still numb.

I could easily stand on the right leg whose energy channel had opened. The left leg posed more of a problem.

So imagine this, trying to lift yourself upright with only one leg!

Once both leg channel open, no matter how long you meditate, you can easily stand up.

Love and Light

Michael