Forums IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ Spring Forest Qigong Question about SFQ

Hello,

I am very new to Qigong but have been following the exercises (and discussions on this forum)with much interest.

I would like to ask the group a question, if I may...
Can anyone tell me how a person gets from the point of being a skeptic (that this "energy" actually *is real and will do what the material says it does) to the belief that it has a physical effect on one's own body -- or that one can help others who are in pain, via proxy, so to speak?

In other words, how do I know that all this is not just another sham? How does a person become convinced that Qigong is not merely wishful thinking?

Please don't think I'm putting anyone down because of this question; that's not my intention at all.

Will appreciate any thoughts or responses you have to my question -- even if I have to put on a flame suit to read them.

Thanks,
Lynn-Marie

Well person I've met, but say it happened for them when a heart condition they'd had for decades was healed and doctors could find not sign of it. Another might say they believed it was real after their cancer dimished then was gone.

Some are convinced by the sword fingers and growing finger demonstrations.

A part of me would still say, well that's just the power of the mind..... and what's wrong with that, but does that mean there really is a qi?

Well for me, I was sitting in the audience while Master Lin worked on a group of people on stage. I had wanted to go up there and experience his energy, but well there was a stampede and I had no real illness. So I just sat quietly in the audience, close to the stage.

I didn't know SFQ at the time. I spent much of the healing with my eyes closed and relaxing. I don't know why, it just seem the next best thing to do if I wasn't on stage. While I had my eyes closed I saw the flash of a camera and thought how rude and inconsiderate. Later one of the people on stage asked if the person who had taken the picture could send them a copy. The person was informed that no picture had been taken. Master Lin said it had been the qi.

My experience, without a pre-loaded suggestion and confirmed by a other person convinced me, a person with a science background, that qi is more than just positive thinking.

At the time I didn't recognize the significance of this experience for myself.

If you travel the path of SFQ you will have the experience(s) that will solidify your belief.

You are perfection.
Iam2

Hi Lynn-Marie:

As Iam2 pointed out people are convinced by different things. QiGong is a gentle art that has been around for a long time and is practiced today in many different ways by about 20% of the people on the planet. Just the length of time and number of people doing QiGong is a strong indicator that something helpful and positive is going on.

The best book which tries to document scientific evidence of QiGong is Ken Cohen's book, "QiGong". Most libraries have it. It is several years old now but gives the best overview introduction to QiGong including the history and has extensive footnotes throughout the text.

For me I felt better after practicing SFQ level 1 on my own for a year. Then I attended a level I & II workshop with Master Lin. I met a lady who had serious cancer problems and was at a point of almost no hope from traditional medical doctors. She never practiced SFQ nor even met Master Lin. Instead she several healings over the phone with Master Lin and had been healed in months. We became good friends and keep in touch and have progressed together sharing our experiences. It was indeed a miracle for her. For me there has never been a big lightening bolt but just a steady and healthy progression of progress. People respond differently and your experience will be all yours. It only takes regular practice and discipline and an honest effort to follow the simple exercises and meditations.

Ultimately you will experience QiGong over time. If you seriously try SFQ for several years and go to the SFQ events you will meet people and experience mystical things which will convince you and you will like the person that you are discovering.

There is nothing wrong with being a skeptic as there are a lot of promises being made and in this iformation world it is hard to sort out the truth of things. It is best to go into your QiGong practice with a detached observer role. Don't look for miracle cures and don't try to shoot QiGong down. Just do the exercises and meditations and experience the flow of energy. Take it a day at a time and bring more love, kindness and forgiveness into your life.

Love,
Agent B

Hi Lynn-marie,
I was delighted to see your occupation. My educational bkgrnd was sculpture. I have been a practicing artist for 30 yrs. Different medium though, than my beginnings.
Now,,,talk about a sham!! Art certainly shot itself in the foot with conceptual art. When Marcel Duchamp signed that urinal, and put it in a museum, art started going downhill, in my book. I understand why that 'is' art, but I chose a more traditional set of values in my own work. I like the object, and I also like craftmanship and technique. It is a visual medium, and sometimes, with conceptual art, the words(conceptual statement) are more than the image. Much more!! Qigong, did not shoot itself in the foot. It exists today, as it did in the beginning. Some place the practice, some 4000-5000 years ago. Some place it as concept, at the time of creation.
Don't get hung up on the part that seems unbelievable. You are new to this old practice. You can engage with qigong on a very practical level, and experience concrete truth in its benefits. You will learn how to relax, slow down, experience stillness, perhaps, and also, how to quiet the mind. Start there,,,that's alot. There is great benefit, to you, and your artmaking, bringing these qualities into your life.
When you get your 'ideas', or have your visions of work to make, they will be uncluttered, and you may start to see greater purpose , within the creative process. This isn't just about healing, although one can put that template on just about anything, as a way to describe improvement and positive growth.
Think of the artistic process... I love the Chinese concept of one's thoughts being 'yin'. They exist in your mind's eye, but are intangible. At some point, if you choose to, or have the 'intention', you manifest this 'idea'. It then exists in three dimensional space. A mini version, (very mini(!)), of how the universe was created. I love the Hopi creation story, speaking of the Creator, having a 'thought', of the physical universe, then manifesting it. Quite a piece of sculpture! So, you have this sequence, in creation, or creating as an artist, of an idea or thought, then , seeing it in this dimension as an existing object. Qigong selfhealing, or healing others, employs the same process. Inner vision, and manifesting that inner vision. There are techniques and method to employ, that make this possible, just as you make art.
Qigong , is very new to the west. Currently, things like accupuncture, or yoga, are quite readily accepted, and have made great strides in mainstream acceptance. I would hope you agree, that these two things are useful, and beneficial. Qigong, is like a grandparent to accupuncture. Same concepts, without the needles, regarding the physical part. The term is not as familiar as these other two I mention. Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM), is one of a few contributors, to qigong method. Other sources are Buddhist, Taoist, and also, martial arts. There is a spiritual aspect too. You don't have to engage with that part, if you aren't comfortable with it. Tai Chi, that slow moving martial art form, is a form of qigong. Very good for your health, and also, a martial art. Spring Forest is a form of qigong that focus's on self healing and healing others. The physical benefits are similar to practicing, say, Tai Chi, although much more simple to attain physical benefit through. The healing focus, elevates the practice, as this is a very high intention.
Approach this as a physical practice. Start there. Stay there if you like,,,whatever. Don't look at the part that seems an unlikely possibility. Start at the beginning, and learn more about what it is, through experience with it.
By the way, my favorite sculptor is Gian Lorenzo Bernini. When I see his work, I see and experience a direct connection to heaven, and heaven's support of creativity.
I saw a verse the other day, that really drew me in. " Bessed is creation, and blessed is the love that sustains it." As an artist, I slipped into the void with that one...
I hope you engage with qigong, and experience the concrete physical benefits. If you do, the other aspects that may seem more improbable, will seem less so. Who better to discern its value than you? It sounds like you are trying it out. Stop thinking about the part that seems questionable to you, and just do the practice. This is how you experience what it is, and can make your own decisions.
love,
gallen

Aloha Lynn-marie,

Just checking... are you doing Spring Forest Qigong, or another form?

The reason Master Lin put the finger growing game into the level I experience was to help with what you've just asked.

Check it out in the lecture CDs/tapes.

Much Love, Shawn

Thank you all for replying to my question.
I really appreciate you taking to time to do this.

Iam2, I certainly honor your experience with this energy which changed your life. Hopefully after a time of pracing Qigong I'll experience some changes as well. I guess I won't know unless I give it a chance!

Agent B (I love these names! <g> ), thank you also for your thoughts. I will check the library to see if they have the book that you mentioned. Btw, one special thing about this forum that I've noticed is that people seem to be very concerned about
each other here...it has the "feel" of a caring community. Not that everyone always agrees totally, but that there is a great tolerance to questioning as well as supporting each other's stage of growth.

gallen, what a delight to "meet" another visual artist here! What medium do you sculpt in? Mine have mostly been stone but also wood and some clay works.

Yes, there has been a trend in some art toward more "ridiculous" the past few years but maybe this is only reflecting much of society, and the world, as it is today? It's definitely not my preference either but I feel strongly that the freedom to express oneself in this manner, without official censor, is crucial.

Bernini's pieces are indeed beautiful, intricate and at the same time powerful...I can understand why you would like his work!

I have just started doing the exercises of SFQ (a friend loaned me her video and some of the exercise parts of the manual). I'll continue to practice, as everyone has suggested, to see what happens.

Shawn, yes, it's the Spring Forest Qigong that I was referring to. With regard to the "finger lengthing" example... my fingers obstinately persisted in staying the same length as they are, no matter how long or hard I tried to make them longer. Lol

Thanks again to you all for answering my
questions!

Lynn-Marie

Hi L-m,
This is a supportive group.
I work with metal, wood, earth, fire , and water. I attended the Five Element School of Conceptual Art.
ahhh,,,my first 'art' post. Lucky you! I will be selling signed print outs of this post. You can email me for details and preferred methods of payment.
love,
gallen

Hi gallen,

Lol, okay. Do you take time payments? Haha!
(But you know, don't you, that the next one to call me "L-M" may have to fight off a hit man someday!! <g>

Lynn-Marie