March 2011 Issue

Page 1

VOLUME 1 • ISSUE 3

March 2011

Mastery Journal

The International Ezine on Mastery in Qigong, Internal Arts, and Life

Harmonious Culture of Movement Lama Tantrapa

Think With the Heart

Healing Yourself....Healing the Planet

John Weston

Dr. Effie Chow

Qi Dao and Mindfulness

The Ins and Outs of Breathing

Kali Tara

Gary Giamboi

Emotional Liposuction

The Greatest Epidemic Known to Man Part II

Gary Clyman

Paul Levy


March 2011

Volume 1

Letter from the Editor

Issue 3

Articles

Harmonious Culture of Movement Lama Tantrapa

Healing Yourself....Healing the Planet Dr. Effie Chow

The Ins and Outs of Breathing Gary Giamboi

Emotional Liposuction Gary Clyman

Think With the Heart John Weston

Qi Dao and Mindfulness Kali Tara

The Greatest Epidemic Known to Man Part II Paul Levy Click Here to Subscribe and Receive a Bonus Brought to You by

Dear Mastery Journal Readers, This month, a tragedy of biblical proportions has changed the way many of us value the lives of those living on the other side of the globe. The horrendous earthquake in Japan followed by a tsunami shook many of us out of slumber and awakened us to the realities of human suffering on a massive scale. As was the case after the devastating tsunami in the Indian Ocean in 2004, a number of Qigong practitioners have been inspired to volunteer their help with healing the wounded and shocked or to contribute money, clothes or blankets to the Red Cross and other disaster relief funds. For example, Dr. Effie Chow, the organizer of the 13th World Congress on Qigong (scheduled to convene in San Francisco from April 29th to May 2nd), has decided to donate all the profits from this year’s congress to the relief of the disaster in Japan. As the proud cosponsor of the congress, Mastery Journal invites you, the reader, to make a modest contribution to this noble cause by attending the congress or by donating to help the people affected by this disaster, who are struggling with malnutrition, cold and radiation from the damaged nuclear plants, to successfully survive. In affiliate partnership with Dr. Roger Jahnke, we are also dedicated to providing help to the survivors in Japan by donating to the relief fund 100% of our profits from the joint venture promoting his upcoming Tai Chi and Qigong teacher training programs. Please go to jahnketeleseminar.eventbrite.com to register for a free teleseminar with Dr. Jahnke. So, you have the freedom of choice whether to go to the World Congress on Qigong in San Francisco or to spend that week learning from one of the most remarkable Qigong teachers in America. Namaste,

Publisher: Lama Tantrapa Production Designer: Thomas Pamelia The Cover Composite: Lama Tantrapa “Guam Sunsets” by Thomas Pamelia Copy Editor: Lucas Meyer Information is correct at press time. Mastery Journal is published monthly by the Academy of Qi Dao in Portland, Oregon. Signed articles do not necessarily reflect the official company policy © 2011. All rights reserved. Reproduction in part or whole without permission is prohibited.

Lama Tantrapa


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As the host of this enlightening talk show, Lama Tantrapa interviews prominent experts in the fields of Oriental Medicine, Energy Healing, Meditation, and Internal Arts. He also shares his unique perspectives on the principles and applications of energy awareness. Join us every Monday at 6:00 pm PST (9:00 pm EST) for a friendly and mindful exchange of ideas and “secrets of the trade.� Call in during the show with your most burning questions for our guests at 347-327-9635 or email us at qigongmasters@gmail.com.


Harmonious Culture of Movement Lama Tantr apa If you live in a modern society, you are likely to be exposed to so much stress and artificial stimulatin that you may feel disconnected from your body, a condition often referred to as “being stuck in the head.” This can restrict the free flow of life force and limit your availability to life. Being out of synch with the flow of things in your life may manifest as depression, disease, or chronic pain. The more disconnected you are, the more discomfort you may experience. This book will teach you to switch from living through one misadventure after another, which are usually perceived as problems causing suffering, to living a dream life filled with genuine adventures that you start perceiving as awesome learning opportunities. To reconnect with the flow of life, begin by taking small steps, which are always easier to take than large leaps. It is like learning a foreign language. First, you learn the alphabet; then, using the letters as building blocks, you learn to form words. Subsequently, you learn grammar that will enable you to put words together to create sentences. With practice, you will develop an ability to communicate more eloquently with others who know this language. The language you will learn with the help of this book is the language of Harmonious Culture of Movement. Of course, you can and are encouraged to practice it on your own whenever you have a chance. It is more fun and challenging though to test rigorously all the practices you learn, which is much easier to do with another person. Now, you may be wondering, “Do I have to have a partner to practice Qi Dao with?” That does not have to be the same person all the time although some continuity helps. Besides, when a person gets to experience just a few applications of even the most basic principles of Qi Dao, he or she will likely become curious to find out more. This is where you will be able to launch your coaching career by encouraging that brave soul to become your regular adventure partner. Can anyone practice Qi Dao together with you? Ideally,

I recommend finding a practice partner who shares your enthusiasm about venturing outside the box, as they say. In other words, your prospective partner must be eager to explore things that are on the edge of his or her comfort zone. On the other hand, this practice can be very beneficial to anyone looking for ways to improve the quality of life in general, or one’s mobility, flexibility, wellness, and attitude, in particular. Hundreds of people from all walks of life went through Qi Dao Coaching programs at Portland Qigong Clinic, which assisted them in self-healing and advice regarding healthier ways to deal with the challenges on their life journeys. One of the reasons why I recommend practicing with a partner is a much greater efficacy of semi-private sessions attended by two of my students or a client and an apprentice that I empirically discovered throughout the years. This usually creates an atmosphere of mutual empowerment and encouragement, which is often lacking in a traditional clinical setting. The effectiveness of the Qi Dao approach to dealing with health, relationship, financial, environmental, and other issues has been proven time and time again. On a personal note, as the holder of the lineage of Qi Dao, I wish to congratulate you with taking the first steps on this path of developing your Harmonious Culture of Movement. Once you have mastered these skills through regular practice, you will be able to apply them in every aspect of your life. As pieces of a puzzle, they will come together to give you a vision of the greater picture of the flow of energy in your world. I have no doubt that once you have experienced the changes that Qi Dao can bring into your life, you will want to explore more advanced applications of this art and join the international tribe of fellow spiritual adventurers. I welcome you to enjoy every step on your journey along the path of living your dreams. If you spend some time observing people unaware of their cultures of movement, you may notice that they often move with linear, start-stop and jerky motions that require a lot of energy. Constantly stopping and restarting your movements can certainly consume more energy than continuous circular motion, because it usually takes just as much energy to stop a movement as it takes to initiate it. Any formalized exercises that involve disharmonious movements can easily deplete your energy resources and leave you exhausted and sore. Just imagine trying to get to work constantly starting and stalling your car!


them into your new identity. You will learn to transcend the limitations imposed by pain and discomfort through shifting your attitude towards those edges – shifting from perceiving them as obstacles to perceiving it as learning opportunities. With practice, you will find yourself enjoying more and more freedom each time you view your edges as steps leading you to manifesting your dreams.

In contrast to that, I would like to invite you to develop a culture of movement that integrates your entire organism. This is what I call Harmonious Culture of Movement; it is based on smooth, flowing, non-stop motions. Fluid and graceful, these motions are free of rigidity. Instead of exercises using isolation of certain muscles or parts of the body, it suggests to synergize the movements of the whole system in order to animate any particular part of the body. On the basic level of practice, you can begin by learning to send waves of energy throughout the body radiating from the center to the periphery of the system – your limbs – in order to explore and enjoy your range of motion. Begin these explorations slowly and gently. First, find the center of your comfort zone, the most comfortable and neutral state of alignment. Second, explore the extent of the comfort zone by experimenting with your range of motion, degrees of tension or amount of pressure. Third, explore the edges of your comfort zone. There is no need to push yourself over the edge of the comfort zone by forcing your body beyond what it is currently capable of. Just being present at the edge of your comfort zone for a while will allow you to expand it. Finally, find your authentic ways to manifest your dreams and aspirations that are usually beyond the edges of your comfort zone. You can develop a tension-free culture of movement by letting the flow of Qi guide you to the places formerly beyond your old comfort zone and learning to integrate

Harmonious Culture of Movement is dedicated to creating new, more natural energy dynamics in your body empowering you to experience fluidity of movement and freedom of expression associated with being in the flow. When you are in the flow, you can be balanced and relaxed, all life challenges notwithstanding. Since this is not an exercise routine but a whole new culture, it systematically approaches every aspect of life, facilitating being in the flow not just once in a lifetime but daily: working, healing, fighting, making love, meditating, walking in the park, or sleeping and dreaming. Natural Stance, as the name implies, is the simplest way to stand naturally. A naturally balanced human body responds to the challenge of gravity by bringing itself to a stable position using its bone structure to support its weight and prevent falling. The vertical alignment of the spine allows the body to spend the least amount of energy to maintain a stable, upright stance. If you are one of the many people leading a sedentary lifestyle you may not know how to keep your body naturally balanced and aligned. If you deviate from your natural alignments, the weight of your body will not be supported by its bone structure, and you will have to engage your muscles to keep yourself from falling. Although muscular tension may prevent you from falling, muscles are never as strong as bones; muscles spend energy while the bones do their work effortlessly. Not only will this make you tired but it will also restrict your mobility and cause discomfort. Eventually, chronically tense muscles will begin to ache from the effort required to keep the misaligned body from falling. You can experience Natural Stance by jumping up in the air and landing on both feet as softly as possible with your feet about shoulder-width apart. Notice that the easiest way to do this is to land with you knees bent, letting your quadriceps (thigh muscles) absorb the shock of landing. They are, after all, the largest muscles in the human body, which are most suitable for being shock absorbers. Natural Stance allows you to maintain natural body alignment, distributing most of your weight on the bone structure of


your body, rather than the muscles. Notice how bent your knees are. Naturally, the deeper you squat, the further the toes tend to turn outwards away from your centerline with the knees following suit. Experiment with bending your knees enough to cover your feet when you look at them. If the body is misaligned, it may try various compensation strategies (e.g., shifting the weight between the hips, tilting the pelvis, bending the spine, raising one shoulder or the other, etc.), all of which will eventually contribute to the muscular tension and pain. Learning Natural Stance and addressing the issue of balance between the feet can often help resolve such common conditions as headache, backache, shoulder pain, sciatica, and even scoliosis. In Natural Stance, the weight of the body is distributed evenly between both legs while the torso and head are resting on the bone structure of the spine. The natural curve of the spine is neither exaggerated nor diminished. This allows the free flow of energy throughout the organism. If you could visualize the energy field of such an aligned person, their energy field would appear symmetrical and centered. Taking a Natural Stance is an excellent way to begin exploring your culture of movement and a test of body awareness.

Lama Somananda Tantrapa is the 27th lineage holder of Qi Dao, also known as Tibetan Shamanic Qigong. He has been practicing Qigong, Dream Yoga, Meditation, and Internal Martial Arts for over thirty five years, primarily trained by his Grandfather who was the paragon of the Russian Martial Arts and Qi Dao Grand Master. His background is complex enough to include serving in the Soviet Army’s Special Forces, being kidnapped in the Ukraine and surviving several near-death experiences. Lama Tantrapa was ordained as a Buddhist monk in three different orders and initiated into Subud spiritual brotherhood. In addition to being a Tibetan Bon Lama, he studied with a number of Qigong and kung-fu masters, great teachers of Yoga and meditation, as well as Native American, Hawaiian and Siberian Shamans. He is also trained in Cultural Anthropology, Meta-coaching, Hypnosis and NLP. When living for two years on a small tropical island in the Pacific, 7000 miles away from the majority of his students and clients, he pioneered a novel method of conducting Qi Dao sessions over the Internet called Qigong Coaching. In the last decade, he has provided wellness, peak performance and life coaching to thousands of people of all ages and from various walks of life. He is also a bestselling author of several Qi Dao books, executive producer of the film Qi Dao – Tibetan Shamanic Qigong, creator of CD albums Qi Dao Initiation and The Art of Being in the Flow, publisher of the Basic Qi Dao Home Study Course and other multimedia learning materials available at www.qidao.org. In addition to being the publisher of Mastery Journal, Lama Tantrapa is also the host of the Internet Radio talk show The Secrets of Qigong Masters that you can enjoy at www.blogtalkradio.com/qigongmasters.


Healing Yourself… Healing the Planet Dr. Effie Chow

The Chow Integrated Healing System or Chow Medical Qigong is a systematic approach that I developed through much experimentation. It is a pragmatic system that combines modern Western health practices, ancient Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Qigong, and my own original concepts of a total integrated approach to health of the body, mind, and spirit along with nature. In this integrated approach, a person’s body, mind, and spirit are one, interacting with people, the immediate environment, and the Universe. Clients play a central role in their therapy. Fitness and health are emphasized and stress and tension often are seen as common precursors to disease. Another concept is that all true healing originates from a higher power, and that effective healing occurs only when a healer or practitioner has facilitated the flow of Qi from this higher source. Throughout the years I have had the privilege to work with many clients and students who have been helped with Chow Qigong when all else has failed. The phenomenal results achieved with Chow Medical Qigong and requests from clients and students inspired me to create an educational package of book/DVD/CD in order to put these tools into the hands of the individual and carry out my mission:

“Giving individuals the power to determine and manage their own health and destinies is the secret of true healing.” Aligned with this purpose, The World Congress on Qigong/TCM is convened yearly in order to bring together masters, scientists, practitioners and educate the public about the powerful tools available to them through Qigong and TCM. As Chair of the World Congress, my aim is to provide access to an exciting array of styles and practitioners so that people can decide for themselves what works for them. In 2011, the Thirteenth World Congress on Qigong/TCM will be held in San Francisco April 29-May 2. During the past week (Oct 24, 2010), as usual, I have received testimony from people I have never met who have been helped by Chow Qigong. It is a powerful reminder and very humbling revelation that each of us touches and, in turn, is touched by countless people that we will never meet. Here is one email that showed up in my inbox: Hi my name is George B. III, born with severe scoliosis. I found Dr. Chow’s book titled QI GONG, MIRACLE HEALING FROM CHINA. I began to read and practice this, with really no understanding; however, I began to benefit. My level of stress dropped. I could not only manage my discomfort but other areas of my condition began to be corrected… posture spine pains I could breath better my emotional outlook on myself improved. I brought vol. 1 of Dr Chow Qigong movements plus silver thread 5 elements meditation CD. i have found an answer to my condition. My eternal gratitude will always be to/with grandmaster Dr Chow and this Qi gong. Thank you. This gentleman used the book/DVDs to heal himself. It is reminiscent of another such instance in Honolulu. I was a speaker at a Rotary breakfast meeting and one participant bought the book/DVDs for his wife who has suffered with lifelong conditions. Within two weeks I received an ecstatic 3-page letter from the woman telling of her success using the Chow Qigong educational package. Another email received this week, same day in fact: If you remember in February 2000 I called you in crisis (at the time I was living in Spokane) and I was going through an unexpected eruption of kundalini. For


three weeks I went to chiropractors, looked to cranial sacral therapists and others and no one could help me… I had never met you but had been practicing your qigong having learned it from Dr. Linda a few years earlier. By some amazing Divine guidance I thought to call you. I was astonished when you yourself picked up the phone. I explained my situation and you said that you would be having a healing meditation at 8:00pm on Thursday not to worry and your group would send me a healing blessing. At 8:00 pm that next night my kundalini turned off like water turning off by a faucet. It was incredible. That whole experience changed my life forever. I have never been able to thank you in person over all these years but some day I hope to. I hope you receive a 1,000 blessings back in your life of equal measure.

environmental exposures, or any number of factors, a person becomes susceptible to disease. When this disruption of energy is rebalanced, health is restored.

Just last weekend, I was introduced to a young man who told me this:

9) Live the Qi energy concept

Dr. Effie Chow, I’m so happy to meet you. I have a friend who says you accelerated his miraculous recovery from a terrible car accident while he was at the New York Mt. Sinai Hospital and you were teaching a Qigong class there. He never met you but he felt the strong healing energy and is sure that it was you that immediately helped him out of his crisis condition, which was in a dubious state. I can’t wait to tell him that I met you. The above examples are typical of the hundreds of cases I have in a year including conditions of heart, cancer, respiratory, arthritis, cerebral palsy, fibromyalgia, the eye, hearing and ringing in the ears, bursitis, “frozen shoulders,” pain of all sorts, symptoms manifested by stress, and more. Qigong in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is the basic underlying component of The Chow System based on the classic Chinese theory that a powerful energy system exists in the body, and that energy (Qi) flows through known energy pathways. The pathways are referred to as channels, or meridians. The Qi system is as direct as the respiratory and nervous systems. If Qi patterns are disrupted by emotional distress,

The Concepts of the Chow Integrated Healing System is comprised of many important components, theories, and principles. As a summary, ten of the most important basic concepts for initial practice are: 1) Get at least eight hugs a day, and be “in touch” 2) Get at least three Belly-Aching-Laughs-A-Day 3) Maintain a positive mental attitude 4) Maintain proper posture and breathe with the diaphragm (not the chest) 5) Meditate daily 6) Good nutrition, supplements, and perhaps herbs 7) Practice the right type of exercise – Chow Qigong exercises 8) Be at peace with yourself and others

10) Give and receive lots of love To learn more about Dr. Chow’s teachings and her comprehensive educational package, please go to www. eastwestqi. com.


Master of the Month

Dr. Effie Chow

Recipient of the “Visionary of the Year 1997,” “The Humanitarian of the Year 1999” and “The Visionary of the Decade 2000” Awards, Dr. Effie Chow has for over 40 years been working to integrate Qigong and Traditional Chinese Medicine with Western Medicine. Toward this goal, she founded the East West Academy of Healing Arts in 1973 in San Francisco. In 1988 an arm of that organization was established within the Academy to promote research and clinical work in medical Qigong. In 2003 she was appointed by the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago to their National Task Force on The 21st Century Initiative on Life and Health. In 2004 she was invited to join the 15 member international Advisory Board of the CAM Health Expo, and in 2005 - the 20 member Advisory Board of the National Library of Medicine - Asian American Health Website Users Group. In 2006, Dr. Chow became an Associate of AHA! Ventures Int’l. In 2007, the Editorial Board of the Boardroom Inc., Bottom Line Women’s Health Publications, and Editorial Board of the prestigious new “super peer-reviewed publication, “The Journal of the Science of Healing Outcomes”. In October of the same year, American Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine honored her as one of the “Pioneers and Leaders of Oriental Medicine in the USA”.

As an internationally renowned expert in Qigong and Taoist arts with over 30 years of experience in teaching subtle energy methods internationally, she is one of the most recognized leaders in the field of Qigong in America today.


The Ins and Outs of Breathing Part I Gary Giamboi The Three Forms of Chest Breathing Breathing is perhaps the most important physical action we do in order to stay alive. Most of us can do without food for a month or longer (depending on how much our body has already stored), water for about a week, sleep for about 4 days and breathing for about 4 minutes. Yet, of these four items, breathing is the one most taken for granted. Perhaps that is because it is the only one we do not have to consciously set out to do. It is so important to our immediate survival that we are wired to perform it automatically. Well, that is not completely true. Although we are hardwired to perform the function of breathing automatically, the circuit we use is not fixed in stone. It is adaptable. The problem with this is that since our circuits were wired correctly to begin with, the only changes to it that can be made easily are the ones which will make it less correct than the original pattern. Babies (all the time) and all people when they are asleep breathe correctly. Somehow, as we mature into childhood from infancy our breathing pattern changes from diaphragmatic breathing to chest breathing as adults. This then poses a problem for all of us who are lucky enough to learn of this change: we must learn how to return to diaphragmatic breathing. There are three kinds of chest breathing. Let’s call them upper chest breathing, middle chest breathing and lower chest breathing. The following is a list of all the negative responses upper chest breathing produces in our bodies: 1. Upper chest breathing requires the greatest expenditure of energy to perform since it involves raising the height of the upper chest and moving the

shoulders. This can result in chronic tension in the neck and shoulder muscles which can produce stiffness and soreness in those areas; as well as, headaches. It may also cause your Lumbar spine (lower back) to make a small arch every time your shoulders rise. This could lead to fatigue in that area and eventual chronic low back pain. 2. It is the least efficient method and results in the least amount of gaseous exchange between the lungs and the outside. Thus, one needs to breathe more rapidly to maintain the proper ratio of gases in our blood supply. It can also signal the brain that you are anxious (even if there is no other reason to be) and the brain will respond to it as it would to any other cause of anxiety. 3. It involves the least smooth physical action and is the mostly likely to result in gaps between one’s inhalations and exhalations. 4.

It is associated with Fear.

Middle chest breathing is what most people do. This method uses the intercostal muscles (those located between the ribs) to expand and contract the rib cage. It is also a shallow way of breathing and not very efficient. This method has the following effects: 1. Middle chest breathing is associated with the fight or flight syndrome. Our body’s defenses work like a two-way street. Psychological changes will produce physiological changes and physiological changes will produce psychological changes. In other words, whether your body changes your mind or your mind changes your body, you will end up in the same state of being: Stressed Out (even if it is only low level stress). Chest breathing keeps us in a chronic state of low level stress. As we know, higher levels of stress are associated with higher levels of mortality from many causes. I do not think anyone knows all of the effects of chronic low levels of stress. But what they do know and what they surmise is definitely not good. 2. The intercostal muscles become fatigued and eventually lose their elasticity which then makes the rib cage less elastic. This makes our upper body less flexible and our breathing even less efficient. 3. This brings us to the last form of chest breathing: low chest breathing. This form of chest breathing utilizes


the lower portion of the chest to breath. This method occurs when the lower abdomen expands with the inhalations and contracts on the exhalations. Most breath work instructors say that this is diaphragmatic breathing. I say that this way may or may not be fully diaphragmatic breathing. This is because most “experts” say that belly breathing and diaphragmatic breathing are one and the same. I say they are definitely not the same. Inhalation using Belly Breathing is accomplished by moving the belly outward using the abdominal muscles. This expansion of the abdomen causes a vacuum to develop which causes the diaphragm to drop and the lungs to expand. On the other hand, true diaphragmatic breathing is initiated by contracting the diaphragmatic muscle to which pushes this dome shaped sheet of muscle downwards. This downward motion of the diaphragm pushes the wall of the abdomen outwards and creates the vacuum which causes the lungs to expand. To fill this void the lungs expand. Then air rushes into the lungs to fill the void which that creates in the lungs themselves. Exhalation is activated in both cases by relaxing diaphragm which causes it to rise back up to its original position. Although this sounds simple, there was really a lot of “thought” that went into making it happen. For example, the diaphragm actually has two sections: the outer muscle section and a central section composed of a thick central tendon. The outer section actually has cutouts in it for the aorta, inferior vena cava and the esophagus, as well as many other smaller ones. These cutouts enable the up and down action of this tough sheet of muscle not to interfere with other important physiological functions such as eating, drinking and the flow of blood to and from the lungs. To repeat this important point: True Diaphragmatic Breathing only occurs when the Diaphragm itself initiates the action of inhalation and exhalation. There is another form of breathing which is actually composed of all three kinds of chest breathing which are performed in a specific order and which will be discussed in part II of this article.

Gary Giamboi founded The Institute of Asian Arts in 1994 in order to continue the tradition of discovering, nurturing and passing on the wisdom of the ancients. He began his Eastern journey in 1969 and has had the unbelievable good fortune to have become a disciple and personal student of four World Class Masters He has achieved the Rank of Master Level Instructor in Qigong, Taijiquan, Ninpo, Jujutsu, Asayama Ichiden Ryu, Kenjutsu and Yoga in world recognized organizations. He is also certified as a Personal Trainer, as a Pilates instructor, in Ohashiatsu, in Thai Yoga and has several other lower rank Black Belts in various martial arts. He specializes in finding the common thread of Truth in All of these Arts, because at the end of the day “Things Can Only Work One Way.” Even though they use different systems of Internal Energy, Yoga works in China and Acupuncture works in India. Each contains a piece of The Truth or The Way Things Are. It is up to each of us to find as much of That Truth, That Way and live by it as closely as possible. Gary has taught and demonstrated Martial Arts, Qigong, Yoga and Fitness Training in the USA, Japan, China, Canada, UK, Belgium, Germany, and Ireland. He has several articles published a total of over 64 times on various web sites and blogs, produced 2 DVDs on Qigong, 1 on Taijiquan, 2 on Yoga, 1 on Balance and a Point by Point Relaxation CD. He also has two books nearing publication and several new DVDs coming soon. His web sites are www.Genbukan.biz and the new www.Secrets-of-Yoga-Qigong.com


Emotional Liposuction Gary Clyman

The scream, Gary J. Clyman recalls, sent a chill through everyone in the room. Clyman was holding a personal power training workshop in Portland, Oregon, in the late 1980s, when a Vietnam veteran volunteered for a treatment Clyman would later dub “emotional liposuction.” Lying on a table, the veteran allowed Clyman to touch various spots on his body. Using his energy, or jing, to reach out to the man’s stored emotions, Clyman touched an area right by the hip, even with his pubic bone. “I put pressure. It wasn’t a lot of pressure. But he was able to pop,” Clyman recalls. “He was a captain who lost his entire platoon and blamed himself for their deaths. He let out one guilt screech. It shot a chill through everybody in the room. He felt different on the spot. ” During the past 20 years, Clyman has perfected this art of “emotional liposuction” out of his Chicago offices, extracting emotions of rage, anger, bitterness, grief, sorrow and others from thousands of patients from all walks of life. His clients have included children, grandmothers, stock brokers, geniuses, rape victims and drug smugglers. Some have come from as far away as Europe for his help. “The most common treatment is anger or rage. One hundred percent of our population has anger or rage,” Clyman says. “Next is abandonment at 50 percent. Next is bitterness at 25 percent. Guilt and sorrow is 10 percent.” Clyman’s “emotional liposuction” technique uses chi kung combined with a knowledge of several spots in our body that store emotional pain. Using his jing, or internal power, to create healing vibrations, Clyman says he can suck out the emotional cause of illness, disease, pain, depression and other ailments into his arms, which he then washes off with cold water. “My chi kung practice creates an internal vacuum,” Clyman says. “When I touch somebody, the emotional point is activated and then I suck it out until it’s empty and does not hurt anymore.”

Before he met Clyman, Chicago developer Terry Harb was suffering from sciatic pain so intense that three different doctors recommended surgery. “I had a back brace when I came into his office,” Harb, 42, recalls. ” Gary touched a bunch of points on my body. Each one of those points he touched where I felt severe pain, he said it was an issue point. The points held anger, rage, abandonment. He told me it was all related to stress. The stress was related to my developing business going under. Each point that he touched that was painful, he would jab at it and I would make a different type of scream or yell until the pain went away. ” And the result? “I kid you not, when I stood up, I was able to kick over my head, which I was not able to do in more than a year and a half,” Harb says. “I put the back brace in the back of the car and never used it again. I asked him about a follow-up and he laughed at me. He said I did not have to come back. ” While Clyman discovered his own brand of “emotional liposuction” on his own, energy healing and touch therapy have been around for centuries, if not millennia. “It has its roots in Chinese Shamanism, as well. You can read old books where they suck emotions out of people and they put it into rocks,” says William Goit, a licensed acupuncturist in Laguna Hills, California, who learned emotional liposuction from Clyman. “To be able to change or affect the emotions is common in Chinese medicine. Internal organs are thought to store emotions. The liver is anger. The heart is joy. Abandonment is right over the heart, in the sternum. Bitterness is in the pit of the gut. People talk about feeling bitterness in the gut all the time. But on the other hand, nobody else is doing this but Gary. He’s repackaged it and made it accessible to Western minds. Emotional liposuction is his baby. ” At first, Goit admits, he could not envision himself performing emotional liposuction. “It’s a seemingly brutal procedure,” he says. “The release of this internal emotional turmoil, it hurts. They are hanging onto their pain. You’re overpowering the patient’s will to hold onto the past, their negative emotions, and free them to go into the present. You project your jing or vitality into the body, activating and exciting that latent emotion, and sucking it out. ” “It’s not the most comfortable procedure,” agrees


Stephanie, 39, of Orange County, California, who received emotional liposuction from Goit for depression, insomnia and grief over the loss of her mother. “It’s painful. It’s like someone giving you a super deep tissue pressure in your abdomen and ribs. My eyes were tearing. ” Despite the pain, Stephanie says she felt “a sense of relief or letting go” during her emotional liposuction. Combined with acupuncture, Chinese herbs, the treatment allowed her to stop taking antidepressants and sleeping pills. “It’s not like I walked out and I was a new person,” she says. “But I think it helped.” “It’s like having a truck rolling off of them,” Goit says. “It’s an amazing treatment.” Although Goit has only treated some 200 patients with emotional liposuction, compared to the thousands treated by Clyman, he has seem some amazing changes, including a visit from a male nurse from El Salvador who was gay. “I was removing his sorrow, located just to the left of the nipple, below the armpit,” Goit recalls. “I asked if he had a tough relationship with his father. He really broke down. He got real quiet and he suddenly was in the place where he told his parents he was gay. His parents reacted badly. But he’s way more comfortable with being gay now. That was very gratifying.” While Goit says emotional liposuction is potentially for every one who can handle the pain, he is careful not to call it a permanent solution. “It’s like getting your teeth cleaned. It’s not like you never have to brush your teeth again,” Goit says. “In many ways it’s a starting point, not an ending point. Then they learn how to be without those feelings from the past. Not to bring them back. I can tell you people whose lives have changed dramatically. On the other hand, I’ve treated people who did not change at all. It’s like that with every therapy.” Goit also notes that he does not have as much experience in emotional liposuction as Clyman, who touts single treatments of emotional liposuction. “They feel better and it lasts a long, long, long, long time,” Clyman says. For her part, one dose of emotional liposuction was enough, Stephanie says. “I think you only have to do it once,” she says. “It’s not like you’re going to suffer

forever.” Then she laughs and adds, “It’s not like chiropractic work. ” Gary Clyman began his Tai Chi career in 1974 in Chicago. He studied Temple Style Tai Chi Ch’uan as taught by Master Waysun Liao. Gary took his studies very seriously from the beginning. In 1977, his Tai Chi practice developed into a full time job, requiring between 6-10 hours per day of personal practice. Temple Style Tai Chi Ch’uan as passed from master to disciple is a real Tai Chi system. It includes all aspects of the highly revered and famous art. It includes forms, standing and sitting meditations, martial art applications and fighting, two person sensitivity training and high performance endurance training. Rarely will you find a Tai Chi system like this. A number of other masters have come to study with Gary Clyman on an ongoing basis. As he explains, “Chi Kung was originally taught as “the icing on the cake” to augment his Tai Chi training.” His techniques, Tidal Wave(tm) Chi Kung, Mind Light(tm) Nei Kung and most of Temple Style Tai Chi Ch’uan, are available on video and in special workshops to those interested in learning these powerful, internal techniques to quickly and permanently change their lives for the better. Gary’s website can be found at: www.chikung.com


Think With The Heart Jon Weston

As your consciousness or your monkey mind enters the void it connects with nothingness, which is infinity, which is the Tao or what the Taoists call the Wu Chi. It then starts to communicate back and forth ever so subtly and eventually the inner voice will start to direct you. Now, it does not talk to you verbally; it is a feeling that the mind picks up as the inner voice directs you. When you are in a situation where you are asked to make a decision and you have no idea what to do, then suddenly you get a feeling: I have got to do it this way. For some reason you are prone to do it this way and it turns out to be right. Then someone asks you why you did it that way, and you just say it felt right. Well, that feeling is the direction from the inner voice. Now you are probably asking yourself how the physical heart can actually think. Why? We go back to western science and explain how the physical heart does have consciousness. Because doctors have worked with heart transplants, they have actually transplanted someone else’s heart into somebody else’s body. There have been various situations where somebody else’s heart has carried their consciousness

heart is this consciousness and when you start to open up the heart, you connect with your true self. This inner voice within will start to direct you and actually function as your thinking process. This is universal consciousness or the compassionate heart because you really cannot think with your upper mind. The upper mind thinks like you read, which is point to point in a sentence. You start the sentence and you finish the sentence with a period. It reads from left to right in English, and right to left in Hebrew. This is how we think and that is called linear thinking, which is fine except that the universe is not only linear or horizontal but also vertical and omniscient. The upper mind can only think of one point at a time and it really cannot give you the correct answer because there are too many points involved. So, your superior or supreme consciousness in the heart center which is the all-knowing consciousness of the universe can think for you. You have all the different angles, not only horizontal, but vertical and horizontal to consider, so you are going to get the correct answer to your question or situation. All you have to do is learn how to connect or tune in to that compassionate heart, the sacred heart or that heart center in the universal consciousness. In other words, we can learn to think with the heart. Use the upper mind just to observe whatever is going on throughout your whole body, especially in the heart center. This is how you pick up this internal or inner voice. It does not talk to you verbally, but the upper mind, as an observatory, picks up the feeling. The sensation it gives directs you and motivates you to do a certain (what the Taoists call) correct action.

into the receiver of the heart after the transplant. There are documented experiences about people who had a heart transplant and picked up energies and situations of the other person that actually affected their lives. There have been some criminal cases where a person was killed and his or her heart was transplanted in another person, who then had consciousness of who actually killed the donor. These have been documented. Thus, the physical heart does have consciousness in that respect. Various religions or religious systems have always talked about the sacred heart or the compassionate heart. This compassionate heart or sacred

Now, it can get a little confusing because this heart center is also your emotional center. Many people pick up an emotional imbalance in the body and mistake that for their true feeling, true sense, the compassionate heart or their consciousness. Basically, the emotions are an imbalance or an expression of one of the individual organs. The heart itself gives you cruelty and hatred and joy and happiness (negative and positive). Those are the emotions, and in the West the emotions have been separated from the organs. In the Taoist understanding, emotion is a word explaining an expression of a particular organ, either positive or negative. When you have an extreme positive or negative condition, this is what


will come as an emotion through the body from the organ.

In the West the focus is primarily on the emotions, separating them from the organs and the body. What Taoists do is focus with a Taoist formula to balance the organ, which will balance the emotion or the expression of the organ – not too negative or not too positive. For the kidneys it is fear. “I was so afraid I wet my pants” is an expression in the West because it deals with the kidneys’ feeling of fear and their positive emotion of gentleness. If somebody is afraid, you transform the fear by calming the person, as when a child becomes afraid you calm the child, rebalancing the kidney energy. For the liver it is anger and aggressiveness and the positive aspect is kindness, forgiveness and generosity. So, when somebody comes at you with great anger, just use kindness and it completely neutralizes or balances the anger that the other person is sending you or that you have within yourself. Now with the lungs it is sadness, depression and grief and the positive emotion is courage and righteousness. Again, if somebody has an imbalanced lung he or she is expressing sadness, so use courage to balance that energy, giving some positive energy to the lungs. For the spleen and pancreas worry and anxiety are the negative emotions and fairness, openness and balance are the positive emotions.

These are the five vital organs of the body. The reason they are called vital is because if you do not have one you are dead. This explains why many times many people confuse the inner voice with an emotional imbalance. There is too much emotional energy in one of the organs and it comes through the heart center, but it is

not the true feeling or the inner voice speaking out to them. So you have to be very careful. By using the Taoist Formulas as a magnifying glass you begin to start to focus and transform this energy by balancing the energy in the organs of the body.

Now you are probably asking yourself, “How can I pick up this inner voice with all these emotions speaking out?” With all the activities in your life you probably say, “Well, with emotions and everything else, how can I really pick up this inner voice?” This brings in another aspect you must try to consider, because you have too much attachment and unfulfilled desire. You are searching outside yourself to fulfill these desires or things that you think you need. This clogs your ability to focus within to pick up this inner voice or this feeling inside. As you become detached from your desires, they will not draw out your emotions or create imbalances in the organs, which clog the heart center and prevent the pickup of this inner voice.

Jon Weston is the true “international man of mystery,” who contributed to the massive success of master Mantak Chia and his organization. In addition to W. U. Wei, Jon Weston wrote under the pen name Wei Tzu and co-authored Living in the Tao, the twelve Taoist poetry books of over 1,200 poems Emerald River expressing the feeling, essence and stillness of the Tao. He also co-created with Mantak Chia the Universal Tao formula cards, “Chi Cards” (6 sets of over 240 formulas) under the pen name The Professor – Master of Nothingness. www.the-professor-mon.com


CALENDAR OF EVENTS TEACHER TRAINING WITH AN AMERICAN QIGONG MASTER Academy of Qi Dao is proud to co-promote the program with a renowned Qigong expert Dr. Roger Jahnke, who is among the most credible voices for Qigong, Energy Medicine, MindBody Energetics, and Integrative Medicine in the Western world. Please join us for a complimentary invitation-only teleseminar this Tuesdays, March 22, from 6:00 to 7:00 pm PST (9:00 to 10:00 pm EST). To register, go to www.jahnketeleseminar.eventbrite.com right away, as this free event is limited to the first 100 registrants. At this highly informative and thought-provoking teleseminar, you will be inspired to: -Understand that the most profound medicine is produced within the human body for free and can heal virtually any pain, stress or disease; -Reverse aging, re-program your DNA and harmonize your energy field, and then spread the message about this to others; -Hear about the successes of nearly one thousand Qigong teachers and practice leaders that graduated from IIQTC over the last ten years; -Find out that you live in 13 dimensions, even though you may only be conscious of four; -Realize how your aspiration to become a Teacher or Practice Leader can be realized credibly after a relatively brief period of training; -Discover that mastery is not about mastering any forms, rather it is all about the capacity to pay attention and penetrate to the true nature of things. If you can learn Qigong, you can teach it, too! Should you have any questions or requests, please call 503-501-8116 or email academy@qidao.org.Â

MEDITATION WORKSHOP AT ACADEMY OF QI DAO You are welcome to join us for the Open House and attend the free meditation workshop dedicated to getting familiar with an original type of meditation practiced by Tibetan Lamas in the tradition of Tibetan Shamanic Qigong based on the tradition of Tibetan Dream Yoga. The quintessential principle of Dream Yoga is that you can awaken in your dreams, while continuing to dream. This is what we call lucid dreaming, which most people experience from time to time spontaneously. By attending this workshop, you will begin your journey of becoming more awake not only in your night dreams, but also in the big dream called daily life. Where: 3516 NW Skyline Blvd, Portland, OR 97229 When: Sunday, April 20 from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm with a potluck lunch afterwards How much: Donation, bring food for the potluck lunch following the workshop.

BASIC QI DAO CERTIFICATION PROGRAM STARTS ON APRIL 20, 2011 Basic Practitioner program offers a unique training that will help you develop greater physical and mental fitness, wellness and self-healing, as well as the first level of Qi Dao Initiation. Skills: ~ Basic body, energy and kinesthetic awareness ~ Exploration of flexibility and range of motion ~ Six Directional Movements with elbows ~ Basic Element of Earth kicks ~ Foundational principles of Qi Dao ~ Identification of Holding Patterns. Benefits: ~ Developing a reasonable level of energy and body awareness ~ Learning the alphabet of Harmonious Culture of Movement ~ Gaining a basic knowledge of Qigong and Internal


Martial Arts ~ Receiving the first Qi Dao initiation ~ Discovering the sense of being in the flow. Please contact academy@qidao.org for more information or to register. The deadline for early bird $150.00 discount has been extended through March 31, 2011.

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Our publication accepts unsolicited contributions from professional and amateur writers. We are looking for articles and interviews that fall under the broad concept of mastery in Qigong, Kung fu and related disciplines. Please send us your stories on the best practices, masters’ profiles, as well as product and service reviews. Additionally, you are welcome to submit anecdotal stories about personal breakthroughs, discoveries, inventions, new approaches and applications. We will be glad to publish well written stories about Qigong, Kung fu and other masters from any place in the world capable of boosting health, well-being, and prosperity with specific approaches or methods that can be explained in writing. If you who would like to contribute to our future issues, you may submit articles, columns, profiles, stories and reviews electronically by emailing us at masteryjournal@gmail.com. Please provide your brief bio (a couple of paragraphs) and color head shot along with your piece of writing. Once you have been accepted as a contributor, you will be able to submit further contributions online by using our content management system.

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Mindfulness: A Path to Taking Charge of Your Life Kali Samaya Tara Many people in today’s modern world operate under the constant pressure of deadlines, demanding clients or customers, ridiculous schedules, family pressures, and seemingly never a moment to themselves. Perhaps you don’t eat right, grabbing fast food because of the convenience. Maybe you even forgo some much needed sleep in an effort to keep up, and what about exercise, hobbies, or a little time for yourself? If you feel helpless, a slave to your obligations, your bills, and maybe even the lifestyle to which you and your family have become accustomed, then the following tips should help get you started on the path to taking charge of your life. The Path to Mindfulness 1. Recognize where you are in relation to where you want to be. Where do you focus your attention? Is it on the past, or maybe on worries about the future? Do you ever find yourself imagining the possibilities and often the worst case scenarios before the event even actually happens? If we spend our lives focusing on what we do not want to happen, we may find ourselves fighting against our own dreams. Anytime you think about the future, it is a pure dream. Why not recognize the possibilities, and then spend your energy on manifesting what you want to happen, rather than struggling with your own nightmare? 2. Ask yourself how you would need to be in order to live your dreams. Now that you are focusing on what you want, imagine yourself manifesting the outcome

you would like to achieve. How would you need to be in order to manifest that goal? If you feel like you are constantly playing catchup with your schedule and think there are many things in your day that are just not under your control, try this simple step. Rather than rushing around, you may want to have more time to accomplish things and feel more in charge of your day. Simply imagine yourself doing all of the things you want to do and focus on how you would need to be in order to live this dream. You may be amazed how this subtle shift in perspective can greatly change the outcome of your day. 3. Recognize that the energy is within you. If you have a vision of how you want to be, then some part of you must already have the energy it takes to be that way. If you didn’t, you simply would not have that vision. Imagine yourself being in charge of your day. What do you see when your day goes according to plan? By simply paying attention to and focusing on what you want, you already knows what needs to be done to have more control over your day. You just need to start doing it. 4. Tap into that state of consciousness and focus on your dream. Now that you know what you want, you know how you need to be in order to achieve it, and you know that the energy is within you, all you have to do is focus on that dream and allow it to manifest naturally. After all, focusing on what you do not want (your nightmares) has seemed to manifest just that quite often, so why not try focusing on what you do want for a change? Take some time to prioritize your projects and plan your schedule each day. Get up early, practice qigong, enjoy your breakfast or time with the family before heading off to tackle your day. Block out time for getting projects done. 5. Let whatever happens be okay. Finally, we will likely experience some disappointments even when we focus on what we want. Just remember, that life is about the journey, not about the destination. While focusing on our dreams, we can remain detached from the outcome, and appreciate the joy of living and learning along the way. No one is perfect, and no one gets what they want all of the time. Besides, if we did life would


likely be rather boring. So let whatever happens be okay, get creative with your dreams, and enjoy the ride! Conclusion By simply practicing mindfulness and changing your point of focus, you can dramatically change your experience of life. Whenever you find yourself feeling like a victim to circumstance, remember to ask yourself how your life would go without any barriers to your success. Act as if you are in charge and take steps toward what you want to manifest. Eventually, focusing on what you want will become easier with practice. The more you practice, the more you will find yourself changing not only your day, but your life.

Kali Samaya Tara is a Mindfulness Coach and Founder of Center for Conscious Living in Portland, Oregon, and a graduate of the Qi Dao Coach program at the Academy of Qi Dao. She can be reached via email at kali@ livingdao.com. Also, you may learn more about the Academy of Qi Dao and their Coach training programs at www.livingdao.com.


The Greatest Epidemic Known to Man Part II VAMPIRE SQUID ECONOMICS: A CASE STUDY IN FULLBLOWN WETIKO DISEASE By Paul Levy In part one of this article, I contemplate a psycho-spiritual disease of the soul that I call malignant egophrenia and indigenous people call wetiko which is undermining the evolutionary development of our species. Wetiko/ malignant egophrenia (heretofore referred to as wetiko) is nonlocal, in that it is an inner disease of the spirit, soul and psyche that explicates itself through the canvas of the outside world. Certain people, groups of people, corporate bodies, or nation-states embody and act out this psychological malady in the world. Specific situations in the world, such as the destruction of the Amazon rainforest by myriad multinational corporations, or Monsanto instituting terminator seeds as it tries to gain control of the production of the food supply, are real-life enactments, both literally and symbolically, of this self-destructive, inner process. Certain potent symbols in our shared waking dream are literally showing us this inner, vampiric dynamic, a stupefying process in which we get bled dry of what really counts.

Seen as a symbolic entity, the global financial system, for example, is the revelation of wetiko disease displayed graphically and schematically in its architecture, operations and overall design, so that anyone with a trained eye can discern the telltale signs and spore prints of this maleficent psychopathology getting down to business. The global economy (which can appropriately be referred to as the “wetikonomy”), displays the fear-based, linear logic of wetiko disease as it reduces everything to the bottom line of dollars and cents. We are living inside of a horrifying, abstract economic structure that itself is a living symbol and representation of the out-of-control insanity of the wetiko

virus. The global financial system is one of the most rapid vectors and pathways through which the virus of wetiko is going pandemic in our world.

The economy as an entity is a projection of the collective human psyche, but particularly of the “Big Wetikos,” who hold a disproportionate power in crafting its operating system and in running its day-to-day operations in the world. In the wetikonomy, money has become indispensable for our biological survival, as well as our psychological well being and need for social prestige. This results in the drive for acquiring money becoming hardwired into the most primal centers of our lower, animal nature. This can generate a dependency that can easily lead to a treadmill that spirals downwards towards degeneracy, a true “rat race” in which we become addicted to chasing after “the buck,” as we increasingly worship Mammon (the God of the love of money; interestingly, the esteemed economist John Maynard Keynes considered the love of money a form of mental illness). Our need for money becomes the “hook” by which the Big Wetikos, who control the supply and value of money, can “yank our leash” and manipulate humanity. To say it differently, the economy is engineered by a few, the “Big Wetikos,” who then utilize their creation to manipulate the collective human psyche and in so doing influence and warp it in a wetiko-like way.

Using the global financial and monetary system as our case study, we can see and understand how the wetiko virus operates in the psyche and in the world, which are both interactive and co-creative reflections of each other. The invention of money was a breakthrough in human affairs, an innovation in which real wealth is allowed to be symbolically represented by something else. Money is a construct, something made up, which adds convenience in the trading of goods and services that have value. The wetiko-created fiat money system, however, is the doorway through which a deviant distortion in this cooperative process of exchanging value amongst ourselves emerges. The wetikonomy’s fiat currency is not backed by real value, but rather, is a system in which, as if by magic, money is created out of thin air. Having fallen through the rabbit hole, we now live in a world where money materializes simply by decree (fiat) of an elite cabal of Big Wetikos, who can exchange the tokens of value they have conjured up for the time and natural resources of everyone else. The wetiko-economy is basically a legitimized counterfeiting operation. The Big Wetikos use their military and police state “enforcement” resources to ensure that others cannot accumulate and circulate capital outside of their system. As if that isn’t bad enough, in a further diabolic sleight of hand, this virtual fiat currency, backed by nothing real and having no intrinsic value in and of itself, is then equated with debt, thus making it worse than nothing. This total inversion of our concept of value itself is a glaring symbol in our midst primal screaming that there is


something terribly amiss with our financial system. There is indeed something wrong with a virtual, bubble economy that is decoupled from the real economy and is dictated and manipulated by the few at the expense of the many.

The over-leveraged wetiko economy is a “phantom menace,” in that there is hardly any real substantial value changing hands except in appearance. Unlike a real economy that is based on, backed by and generates genuine wealth, the wetikonomy, because it has no conventional solid, objective, substantial reality, has only a phantom-like, apparent existence. It is as if authors of a fantasy novel or a fairy tale are trying to “market” and “sell” their creation as nonfiction, and we, as consumers, are “buying” it, believing it to be true. Collectively pretending the fiction is real, we have forgotten that we are playing a mass game of “make believe.” The bubble economy of wetiko is a con-fidence game (a “con” game), a con-struct of our mind maintained in each moment by the belief that the system is real, solvent and legitimate.

A virtual, synthetic economy such as ours is a product cooked up by the fevered imagination of the wetiko financiers. Like a collective dream, or a mass spell, it is a concoction based upon mutually shared agreements among its participating members. The wetikonomy in which we live, unlike a free market economy, is subject to the intervention of and manipulation by the central bank, an entity which has interposed itself between us and the market. The agency of the central bank, in its attempts to interfere with and control a natural, self-regulating marketplace, is a living symbol of the wetiko pathogen and how it disrupts a living system.

Just as a vampire can’t stand to be seen and thus avoids the light of day at all costs, as it is only able to operate by the deceptive cover of darkness, so the very nature of the institutions and operations by which the phantom wetikonomy functions must be kept hidden from the light of public awareness. The financial instruments of the wetikonomy are purposely crafted to be incredibly complex and hard to understand so as to hide and obfuscate the theft that is happening. Hiding the reality of what they are doing is one of the “chief features” of wetiko finance. Replacing transparency with opacity, it has become standard accounting practice in the wetikonomy to “cook the books” so as to avoid being held accountable. If clearly illuminated and exposed to the light of collective disclosure and transparency, the shell game and Ponzi scheme that IS the global financial system will be revealed to be the staggering and unlawful deception that it is. In a vast computerized web of electronic transfers and accounting shenanigans, the global economic system has become an insanely desperate pyramid scheme, a high-tech casino-like scam. A monstrous,

planetwide Madoff-like ripoff done with smoke and mirrors, the wetikonomy is like a massive optical illusion that is projected by the Big Wetikos, a cadre of master spellcasting wizards who have nearly infinite resources at their disposal to make their illusion seem real. The wetikonomy, like apparitions of majestic castles in the sky, is a magical display that captivates and holds spellbound the credulous, semiconscious masses, who are more than willing, based on their childlike need to hope and believe in an authority outside of themselves, to give away their power so as to quell their fear. This is a regressed form of magical thinking writ large on the world stage.

At first glance, an optical illusion looks one way, but when we investigate further, we can see the illusion for what it really is. If this grand financial illusion were to be unmasked and collectively seen through, the underlying and pervasive “fraud as a business model” approach to running the global economy would reveal itself to be the spectral phantasm that it is. Once the seemingly rocksolid, concrete skyscrapers of the wetikonomy reveal themselves to be a stage set with nothing behind it, built on ever-shifting sand, it is not enough just to realize this and do nothing. It is then our responsibility to re-create and re-dream a different set of agreements regarding how to be in relationship with each other. This sets the stage to re-engineer the system of wetiko-ized control mechanisms that, through locked-in contractual relationships, freezes the economy in a corporate, and wetiko-ized trajectory. The power structure in a wetiko-ized society is inherently fiscal instead of political, which is why political change doesn’t result in economic change. It is the banks that control the government, not the other way around. As our collective realization gathers momentum, however, such a process of waking up en masse could dissolve the wetikonomy to its empty core, bursting the bubble economy and collapsing the whole artificial edifice – the artifice – of fake finance, like the house of cards that it is. This realization lays the groundwork for a more enlightened financial and investment system grounded in real economics, a healthy environment and the cultivation of a humane human civilization.

The unsustainable illusion that is the wetikonomy, however, is based on and supported by violence or the threat of violence, from a personal level up to the capacity to collectively wage war, both visible and invisible. The ability and willingness to kill is not an illusion. This is why many people collude in supporting and perpetuating the illusion, for to not do so inevitably leads to some form of coercion, which is a subtle (or not so subtle) form of violence. In the highly uncivilized world of the wetikonomy, “might makes right. “ The nature of the beast that we are dealing with needs to be factored into the equation of how we creatively and strategically respond.


The wetikonomy, to use journalist Matt Taibbi’s infamous phrase describing the major global investment bank Goldman Sachs, is a “vampire squid” that is sucking, draining off and redistributing more and more wealth from the poor, and the formerly middle class, into the hands of the already unthinkably wealthy. This “great vampire squid,” to quote Taibbi, is “wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money.” Unlike a real economy that creates wealth, the vampire squid wetikonomy, a global, organized crime syndicate, extracts and extorts wealth from the real economy and from real people like you and me. There is an actual creature called Vampyroteuthis infernalis, which literally translates as Vampire Squid from Hell, a living symbol and perfect description of wetikonomics.

The Big Wetikos, are debt “pushers,” in that they inject credit into the would-be victim, artificially enlarging, pumping up and ultimately poisoning the recipient. The more money owed the better, as the bigger the meal of debt off of which the predators will be able to cannibalistically feed. The bigger the debt, the deeper the pockets they can pick, and the more blood there is for the vampires to drink. They create VSID – “Vampire Squid Induced Debt,” whose victims become its slaves and indentured servants. As it says in Proverbs (22:7), “The borrower is servant to the lender.” The modern-day, debt-based wetikonomy is designed to have an exponentially, ever-increasing debt that in principle can never be paid off, analogous to how in wetiko disease there exists an insatiable hunger that can never be satisfied. The economic system imposed on humanity by the rapacious Big Wetikos is a perversion of the original, wholesome meaning of the word “eco-nomy,” which has the same root as the word “eco-logy,” and refers to the harmonious management of a household. The wetikonomy, instead of creating value and wealth that can be shared by all, impoverishes and enslaves the vast majority of humanity while simultaneously enriching the Big Wetiko predators. Big Wetikos are the “anti-Robin Hoods,” as they rob from the poor to give to the rich (themselves). The Big Wetikos buy up all of the assets that have tangible, real world value, like land for example, in exchange for their made-up fiat currency. Once the exchange is made, and they are in possession of the stuff of real value, they then devalue and debase the currency, which becomes “worth less” as time passes. The people are left holding an empty bag, while the Big Wetikos are increasingly in possession of everything else of value. The Big Wetikos are financial terrorists, actively engaged in warfare against humanity, using weapons of financial mass destruction (WFMDs).

In a wetikonomy, a perverse synergy occurs in the revolving door between government and high finance. The political

system becomes a front for and extension of the banks. The United States Treasury is bankrupt, which is to say that it is owned by the banks. Having the upper hand, an international clique of banking elites are the ones who give the orders and, appearances to the contrary, choose the politicians who will occupy the positions of power to do their bidding. This is clearly evidenced by President Obama stacking his cabinet with the very same people who created the economic crisis in the first place, all of whom have intimate insider connections with and allegiance to a corrupt cabal of high financiers.

In a wetikonomy such as ours, the Big Wetikos who create economic crises get rewarded for their actions, gaining untold riches. Think of the bank bailouts, a criminal heist of historical proportions, where the banks blackmailed our nation, putting a metaphorical gun to our government’s head, threatening that if we didn’t give them what they asked for, they would crash the global economy and we would have martial law. We acquiesced at the expense of our national sovereignty. True to form, there was very little accountability regarding how the banks used this money, and much of what happened to it is still a mystery. In the total opposite of what happens in a “real” economy, in the bailout, money was invested and sucked into the least productive aspect of the economy – the financial system – all at the expense of the taxpayers. The Big Wetikos get the booty, and the risks and liabilities are then dumped onto the general population, increasing our nation’s debt, and turning almost everyone else into “serfs.” The inevitable austerity measures, e.g., cuts in retirement benefits and social services, will then be put squarely on the backs of the working people. Taxpaying citizens will be forced to pay off the debt over decades of hard work and toil, as they become indentured servants to the bank. As it is said, “Crime that pays, stays.” We live in a “klepto-plutocracy”: a rulership by really wealthy thieves. We need to “wake up” to the fact that we are being taken for all that we are worth.

The result is the largest gap in the distribution of wealth between the rich and poor since right before the 1929 Great Depression, which creates enormous economic instability, a situation that the Big Wetikos can then use to their own advantage. This transferring of assets from the broad class of working people and entrepreneurs to the super-rich is no accident, but is purposefully being implemented by the cold-blooded, Big Wetiko banksters and power brokers, who operate as a global banking cartel so as to continually centralize their power and control. Unfortunately, this isn’t some sort of wacky conspiracy theory. The evidence is all around us, fully visible to anyone who has the eyes to see. A global robbery is in progress; the Big Wetikos are enacting a financial coup d’etat of staggering proportions right in front of our eyes. It is quite symbolic that the one time in the New Testament that Jesus got really pissed was towards


the money-changers. Big Wetikos in positions of power in high finance, manipulating the markets so as to loot the planet’s treasuries and precious resources, have become the modern-day pirates, ransacking and pillaging humanity and all living things. This real world process is an externalized reflection of the psychic coup d’etat being perpetrated by the wetiko bug within our own psyche. This is to say that we can recognize a deep process within ourselves as it is revealed to us in the seemingly outside world. Seeing this is to begin to spiritually awaken, as we aren’t just “waking up” to the fact that we are being robbed, but are “waking up” to the deeper, dreamlike nature of our overall situation.

The Big Wetikos are not just draining the resources of individuals, but are sucking up the real assets of and taking down the economies of entire nations around the world (Think of what is happening in Europe now, e.g., Greece and Ireland, and ever more so in the U. S. ). One striking symbol of this process is the IMF (International Money Fund), a vampire squid-like entity if there ever was one. The IMF is essentially a bankrupt institution backed by a cadre of banks that are themselves mostly insolvent. The IMF is constantly on the lookout for real assets to scarf up so as to sate its voracious debt-driven hunger. When a country finds itself in financial dire straits (a crisis oftentimes created by a coordinated, criminal cabal of financial terrorists that are in league with the IMF), the IMF swoops in, and offers a seemingly beneficent, helping hand in the form of bailouts to the ailing country in their time of need. The IMF, however, effectively loots and pillages the country that it is purportedly aiding, for once the country accepts the IMF’s “help,” the IMF winds up taking over the country’s real assets to pay back the loan, thus turning it into an economic hostage. Each country that the IMF subjects to its “economic shock therapy” becomes a laboratory experiment by which it continually refines and perfects its financial weaponry. The crisis in Greece is a recent example of this sinister experiment in how to financially take down and extract the wealth from an entire country. The resulting austerity measures imposed upon the now enfeebled and hobbled country are akin to a modern form of feudalism. Subsequent to Greece, Ireland was taken down using the same tactics, and other nations (Portugal, Spain and Italy to name but a few) are in the crosshairs of this internationally organized form of financial warfare.

As the wetiko infection progresses in the global body politic, the global economic system becomes gradually redesigned to exert more and more effective top-down control by the few over the many, to the benefit of the elite few. These very hard economic times we live in, unbelievably, are the times of the greatest profits for certain select corporate conglomerates in all of history. Are people aware of this eye-opening and mind-blowing fact? It is revealing that the very phrases used to describe the grand larceny

occurring daily in and as the global financial system are terms that specifically apply to the psychopathology of wetiko disease, such as “predatory lending,” “liar loans,” “zombie banks,” “disaster capitalism,” “financial terrorism,” “monster capitalism” “voodoo economics,” and “tapeworm economics,” to name but a few.

The one thing the Big Wetikos are most afraid of, however, is large numbers of people seeing through their charade and realizing that the emperor has no clothes. If enough people clearly see what the Big Wetikos are doing – committing unconscionable crimes against humanity on a grand scale while they play roulette with our planetary inheritance – their gig will be up. This is an externalized reflection of how the wetiko virus within us is terrified of being seen, for once the bug is seen, it is “out of business.” The global financial system is a symbolic reflection openly revealing the psychospiritual disease of wetiko “in business. “

The wetiko economic system is a bribery system. The Big Wetikos give us a tiny, overflow trickle of the over-the-top profits they unjustly reap, in which we gladly share. We then pretend that we are “clean,” that we are not complicit in the systemic evil that is playing out. We fall under the self-inflicted illusion that we are not responsible and are merely victims of the system, and yet, we are simultaneously feeding off and supporting the very evil of the system as it kills us. Energetically, on the level of the deeper, underlying field, we pay a steep price if we are buying into this Faustian pact with the Devil. We receive what appear to be benefits, wetiko “frequent flyer miles,” so to speak, but at the ultimate cost of our own genocide. Similar to accepting candy from a predator, the rush of immediate gratification provides an apparent short-term benefit at the cost of our integrity, our freedom and ultimately, our lives. Our true power comes when we see our culpability and complicity in this process and accept our responsibility, thus enabling our ability to respond, which gives us the power to choose differently and change things.

The wetikonomy is both a symbol of and a portal through which we can see the bug of wetiko as it informs a living, yet diseased system emerging from the human mind. When we see the workings of the wetiko virus in any system, be it the financial system, the family system, or within our own selves, we are at the same time generating a living antibody of awareness which neutralizes the virulence of wetiko. Seeing how the global financial system is literally being animated and driven by the wetiko virus is to pop into a heightened state of awareness in which we are seeing a wetiko-ized system from outside of itself. We could only do this if we are beginning to see with healthy, wetiko-free eyes, and are thus separating and freeing ourselves from the toxic system.


As we increasingly illumine the workings of wetiko, we more and more “distinguish ourselves” from it.

Our real debt is to ourselves; we owe it to ourselves to take a closer look and inform ourselves and see through the business of wetiko. We can discover how money can be used as a tool that helps us cultivate and share true abundance. The return on our investment of attention will truly stimulate the neglected real economy and further inspire deeper heights of lucidity. This allows us to tap into the place within ourselves that is untainted by wetiko, through which we can consciously leverage and redesign the system to our collective advantage, which is to say, for the benefit of all. Herein lies our power to overcome the plague of wetiko, and in so doing, to build a world that works for everyone.

The next and final part of this series exploring wetiko disease wraps up this inquiry of ours into the nature of our apparent problem. Finding the cure for something like wetiko is an interesting idea… to be continued in part 3.

A long-time practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism, Paul Levy has intimately studied with some of the greatest masters from Tibet and Burma and serves as the coordinator of a Buddhist center in Portland, Oregon. Deeply steeped in and inspired by the work of C. G. Jung, he is an innovator in the field of dreaming (both night dreams as well as waking dreams). He has had innumerable articles published on consciousness, dreaming and spirituality, and has lectured about his work at various universities. Paul is also the founder of the “Awakening in the Dream Community,” a group of people who mutually help each other to wake up to the dreamlike nature of the universe. His work is the inspiration for the “Awakening in the Dream Center,” a psycho-spiritual healing center in Mexico. As visionary artist, he helps create an “Art-Happening Called Global Awakening,” a work of living art in which we, as a species, collaboratively help each other to become lucid in the dream of life. Paul has developed a unique and creative vehicle to introduce people to the dream-like nature of reality that he calls “The Dreaming Up Process,” which is based on the realization that the same dreaming mind that dreams our dreams at night is dreaming our life. He teaches this dreaming up process in “Awakening in the Dream Groups” where people who are awakening to the dream-like nature of reality come together and collaboratively help each other to wake up in the dream together. Paul is also a visionary artist and a spiritually-informed political activist. He is the author of The Madness of George Bush: A Reflection of Our Collective Psychosis. Feel free to pass this article along to a friend if you feel so inspired. Please visit Paul’s website www.awakeninthedream.com. You can contact him at paul@awakeninthedream.com


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