Forums IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ Spring Forest Qigong Best Way to do SFQ Meditation?

Hi everyone,

I am wondering what would be the best way to do Small Universe and Self Concentration meditations while listening to Master Lin on the CD?

I transferred the SU and Self Concentration into mp3 format which was saved on the PC, then listen to this using the speaker. Since I am new to meditation, this has been sufficient for the past few months as I have tried to become gradually acquainted to the activity. However, as I have meditated for a while and became familiar to it, I am starting to think what would be the best way to do the meditation? Would it better to use headphones? Do you need to purchase high quality headphones or anything would do? I have found having the headphones attached to the ears quite distracting and making it harder to concentrate? Has anyone used an Ipod which is convenient and compact?

Thank you for reading this and for your response.

LFK

I have all my SFQ material on my mp3 player. I listen to the meditations through speaker, headset, or even use and FM transmitter with my stereo so I have the controls right before me and don't have to get up.

To me they are all good. I also do the meditations in silence.

For the Small Universe meditation I prefer silence or the background meditation music, so I can proceed at my own pace. If I'm not in the quietest of places (office at lunch time or in the park) I use the earbuds to help wash out distracting noise.


You are perfection.
Iam2

Thank you, Iam2, for the quick response. Your kindness and prompt reply are always so helpful and truely appreciated.

How's your injured knee? I trust that you are now totally recovered from the pain and discomfort.

While doing the SU, I still feel very much the need to rely on the sounds of Master Lin's voice for the "Oom's" and "Moo's" to guide the moving of energy from one spot to another. Eventually I hope I can hear those sounds in silence and in my mind, but for now, I don't think I am ready.

LFK

Not a hundred percent. I can still not some weakness and the occaisional lack of stability. I've notice improvement every day. It's been quite interesting and encouraging to witness. Thing have developed just as I predict. This week will be pain free walks of longer and longer distances, for the first level of strenghtening. I expect that next week will be the start of light short jogs. Which is how I saw it developing. (Not quite the healed in minutes and not days mentality, but I'm still learning )

I want to make sure that I get back into running slowly. It was mainly a rushing of things that injured it in the first place. So coming back from the injury I'm taking it ever more consciously.

I suspect that there was more that one injured area of the knee. One I believe can be helped with stretching. I'm being careful to do everything pain free. No grit the teeth an bare it as I might have in the past. Which I think it helping the healing greatly.


As for hearing the ohm and mwa in my head I will confess I don't always do that myself. I still prefer the setting my own pace.


You are perfection.
Iam2

Hi Iam2,

Glad to hear you're getting better. I hope you can start jogging soon.

I also love jogging. I ran a couple of 5K events for various charity orgs. Running can be addictive because it makes you feel so happy. Running produces various happy chemicals -- serotonins, endorphins, etc. -- in the brain to alter your mood and maximize state of well being. It feels nice to run with the sound of the wind in your ears and your mind is so clear of thoughts! I haven't run for a while and opted for walking instead. Being in Southern California, with the good weather almost year around and not too far from the ocean, doing daily (almost) walks while breathing in the fresh air the Qigong way is a real treat. Unlike biking, when one stop doing it for years and can resume the activity without any difficulty, running is not like that, once you stop doing it on a regular basis, it's hard to get back to the same pace.

I thought that hearing the sounds "Ooom" "Mooo" and others while meditating helps to go into the emptiness quicker and stay there longer. I must confess that I have not been able to go into the emptiness, except a few times when instead of going into the emptiness, I think I fell asleep. It's hard to sit as the beginner in Level I to go into the emptiness.

I received the Level II package, listened to a few CDs, watched the DVD. Now I started to do the sitting meditations in the easiest pose of lotus. My legs continually get numb after 10-15' and I kept on moving around. So, I have a lot to go before being able to get into the real meditated stage. Too many challenges! I don't think I am ready for Level II due to the fact that I can't feel anything with my hands/palms. I can feel (or should I say "imagine," "visualize") the "Qi" in my mind, however, my hands can't feel anything during active exercises. For me, I conceptualize "Qi" as something like a rush of air, therefore, to be able to feel "Qi" with my palms/hands meaning my hands/palms must feel something physical and tangible like that. Because of this, how can I feel anything such as blockages, let alone trying to help heal anyone? Meanwhile, I need to keep on practicing, and hope that one day, I will actually be able to feel strongly the "Qi" with my hands?

Master Lin says have faith, confidence, and keep on practicing. I know SFQ works as my physical health is better with Qigong practice, I have more energy, I have become kinder, much more considerate, more patient than before.

Thanks again for all the kind guidance in your posts.

LFK

Ahhhhh LFK when it comes to running, I envy your weather. Winter is definitely making it's coming known, up here. Luckily, we invested in a treadmill last year. It was less than a years memberships for myself and my wife and it and it ours for many years. It is great for those winter months, or when you're doing single parent duty.

One word popped out at me from your post above. You said I can't feel anything with my hands/palms. If I catch myself saying "I can't", I quickly correct it to "I haven't". I'll say that I've experienced phenominal changes in beliefs, driven by experiencing things I hadn't up until about 4 years ago.

You also mentioned about going into the emptiness. The questions comes up "What is emptiness? How do I know when I've entered it?" The answer that I found most settling was given to me at my level III retreat, by a person I believe was the then president of the SFQ association, he said the emptiness is like an onion and you experience it in layers. He said the first level was like darkness, and the next was a lightness. I had had a couple of experiences I could label that way so I thought I'm doing it right. I don't remember what he may have said were the next layers; if he said anything more.

I think that it's not important to know what it is. Expecting, or more appropriately "Looking for: or trying to "Create" the experience of going into the emptiness is a hindress to the process. It gets in the way of going into the emptiness. Paul Scheele once said you can't both have the experience and analyze it at the same time. It's been good advice for me. Because when I first heard it, I immediately recognized when I had started to analyze (think about) my experience it always immediately ended the experience. This also fits well with what I've recently read about Buddhist meditation. (I think the Buddhist tradition has a true wealth of understanding of the evolution of one's meditation experience.) However, when it comes down to "What do I do?", it boils down to the knowledge not helping you progress it's about the doing the meditation as directed. The meditation when wholely and solely experienced will provide the evolution.

I think that some of the Buddhist teaching are structure in the way they are to help you get past analyzing or observing you practice. They're designed to help you progress even with your new and growing knowledge. Master Lin's approach truely is simple and powerful. It is practice focussed. It has a sense that any knowledge is artificial, or at least incomplete, if it makes you feel better. His advice directs you away of trying to understand (my experience) and to trusting in the universe and the practice (Faith). Which is good because you don't feed your analyst with the energy of your attention, so it becomes quiet and you can become more solely involved in the practice.

I obviously still analyze, but it's time is after the meditation. Much of it just comes out as I sit here and type.


You are perfection.
Iam2

You are right, Iam2. Thanks for correcting me. It's best to replace "I can't" with "I haven't."

Talking about focusing and Buddhism. I've read many books written by Thich Nhat Hanh, whose teaching focuses on the Practice of Mindfulness, on how to cultivate mindfulness in all activities, breathing, walking... One should always be in the presence and be mindful of every single moment: mindful walking, eating, breathing, working.

You might enjoy reading some of the transcripts of his lectures at:

http://www.plumvillage.org/teachings/DharmaTalkTranscripts/TranscriptsOfSelectedDT.htm

These Dharma talks offer very interesting thoughts on meditation and the mindfulness of living. I particularly enjoy the talks entitled "The Mindfulness of Breathing." and "The Practice of Mindfulness."

LFK