Forums IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ Spring Forest Qigong Several questions.....

Hello all,
As I move through these meditations, I have several questions.
1)I'm confused by the chanting. In SU it is on the inhale, yet as I start the Level 2 exercises the chant is on the exhale. Any insights? Then may be I won't find it confusing....
2) In the Healing Our World meditation, we start out with 3 gentle, deep breaths, but are instructed to exhale through the mouth. Is this an exception, or are there times/reasons to exhale through the mouth?
3) While doing SU, I get "lost". I find Iam often, briefly, unaware of the meditation, when I "come back", I'm never sure where I should be. My question is due to the alternating chants. I realize good, better, best..... but I am concerned I'm at the wrong energy center for the chant I'm hearing. It's really distracting to be thinking of which energy center gets which chant. (I often can't detect which sound is being made either..)
4) This has to do with how to handle my visualizing other people joining me in my meditations, and the active excercises. Do I just direct my attention to them at the start, as I invite them to join me? Currently I watch them change from one movement to the next as I do, or just change my focus from the meditation to acknowledge their "presence". I rarely remember to thank them and "see" them leave.
5) I have read that while I'm doing the Joining of Yin and Yang, I can also have someone elses' energy ball that I work with. Any good, better, best ways to handle getting and returning the energy balls?
Thank you for an insights.

Growing Peace
Jamie

Hi,
1) The sound ohm or variations of that sound is good coming and going, in or out, visualized, breathed, felt or spoken. The effect of engaging with the sound, in the sense of it as spiritual energy, is present in both the in and out of a cycle of breath,even if you are specifically expressing it, on just one or the other. Whether it is expressed out loud, or felt as a physical vibration, or visualized, the common denominator is you, engaging with spiritual energy, that energy being present, and you working with it.
2) Starting with the three breaths is a cleansing, relaxing, and release technique, as well as bringing you into a more focused or meditative state. It's good anytime you start your qigong, active or inactive. The mouth is an opening. Extra energy, tension, can go out with the breath. You then close the mouth, or that opening, and begin a different work, and keep the opening closed. Your eyes gaze downward, and are also an opening.
I utilize that too. You can intend, deeper release in these beginning breaths. In the end of an exercise or meditation, it is more about coming back into the physical body, and sort of makes a bridge, to then harvest qi.
3) Don't be concerned about losing your place in SU. Bottom line, you can start again anywhere, with either sound in any place. The only important thing relative to this is finishing your meditation in the lower dan tien. Don't judge your performance of SU. You get into the flow, you can come and go,,,,no harm. The sound, as I said in another post, is spiritual energy. It is more or less one word, one sound, one energy, expressed two ways. Again, there is not right or wrong. If you are listening to the CD, just relax and go with wherever you are at. If Master Lin finishes before you, just move forward to the lower dan tien to close at the end. You can do that finishing out at your own pace, or just fast forward to the lower dan tien and close. Try to keep the whole of your session relaxed, with no self judgement on how you do with it.
4) There is no set way. I usually do as you do. See them periodically during the time period. You don't have to, but that is fine to do so. It is best, to invite them in, and , make a point to send them off. See if you notice a difference in how you saw them come in, and how they looked when they leave. It is good to see them off and have that separation at the end. If you recall them later, after forgeting, proceed at that point to see them off. Again, no harm. You will get better about that.
5) No comments here on my part! Be creative. Whatever comes to mind.
love,
gallen

Hi,
I just wanted to clarify a small piece regarding the exhales with the open mouth. It is done prior to meditations, as these three gentle exhales, and at the end of meditation, as I said, a way to come back into the physical body, or back to more physical body awareness, followed by harvesting qi. In active exercise, open mouth breathing is done during bouncing. Again, it primarily allows you to release, relax, come to a general focus, let go of some extra energy, before beginning your initial alignments and active exercise. -g

Hi Gallen,
So much good information! Thank you so much! I again can see that fretting about details, gets in the way of the experience! Nice having the clarification on the open mouth exhales, makes perfect sense. All my concerns and questions seem to keep coming back to answers like: just letting go, trusting, and being in the experience instead of questioning and judging what I'm doing or "should" be doing. I know it says that repeatedly in the CDs and written material, but somehow I keep slipping back into the judging and questioning. I guess I want to be a "Master tomorrow", if you understand what I mean.
Thank you for your patience and sharing.
Growing peace,
Jamie