VOLUME 1 • ISSUE 5
May 2011
Mastery Journal
The International Ezine on Mastery in Qigong, Internal Arts, and Life
Master of The Month
Mantak Chia
Alignment of the Arms and Legs
Resonance and Co-Creation
Lama Tantrapa
Julia Griffin
Inner Alchemy
Down the River
Mantak Chia
Jon Weston
What Are The Powers of the Universe?
The Greatest Epidemic Known to Man Part IV
Timothy Booth
Paul Levy
May 2011
Volume 1
Issue 5
Dear Mastery Journal Reader,
Letter from the Editor Articles
Alignment of the Arms Lama Tantrapa
Inner Alchemy Mantak Chia
What Are The Powers of the Universe?
Please enjoy the fifth issue of Mastery Journal featuring an exciting Master of the Month – someone, who hardly needs introduction – Mantak Chia. With his numerous books published on the subjects of Internal Alchemy, Meditation, and Holistic Health, Mantak Chia often offers the first introduction to Qigong that many westerners receive, when perusing through the web pages on amazon.com or at their local bookstore. This was the case for me and I think is one of the main reasons I found such benefit and progress in my own dreams of increased wellness by using Qigong.
Timothy Booth
Resonance and Co-Creation Julia Griffin
Down the River Jon Weston
The Greatest Epidemic Known to Man Part IV Paul Levy Click Here to Subscribe and Receive a Bonus
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Last month, I was very fortunate to attend the 13th World Congress on Qigong in San Francisco, California. The Congress offered a tremendous opportunity to come in contact with other Qigong practitioners and teachers, experience many classes, workshops and demonstrations, as well as to broaden the horizons around the many subjects of Oriental Medicine, healing and spiritual transformation. For me, it was eye-opening to see people attending from all over the globe. Tai Chi, Qigong and Traditional Chinese Medicine are truly being embraced by the western world. Many of the masters also traveled from such places as the UK, Canada and even Italy!
As you flip through the pages of this issue of Mastery Journal and our future issues, closer to the back of the publication, you will find some candid shots from many of the various exhibitions, classes and demonstrations from this year’s Congress. I had a wonderful time traveling to San Francisco with Lama Tantrapa, who presented two workshops at that event, and I think you’ll find that the Qigong images from the Congress will inspire you to practice ever more diligently!
Best Regards,
Thomas Pamelia Publisher: Lama Tantrapa Production Designer: Thomas Pamelia The Cover Composite: 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.
Mastery Journal Production Designer
The Secrets of Qigong Masters Talk Show
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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.
Alignment of the Arms and Legs
neck will have to work overtime. The chronic tension of the trapezius and other shoulder muscles is mainly a product of this misalignment.
Lama Tantr apa
Supination (turning the hand forward) can be experienced without contracting the shoulder muscles, allowing your shoulders to relax. After performing this experiment, notice which alignment of the arms feels more natural for you and allow your body to follow your insight.
Before exploring alignment of the arms, ask your partner to pull your arms down by the wrists as you stand upright. Notice the difference in the amount of tension in your shoulders and upper back when the palms are facing forward versus when they are facing backwards. Since the palm is the front of the hand (the back of the hand is obviously its back), it makes a difference whether it faces forward or backwards. In Qi Dao, we say that when the backs of your hands are facing forward, you are wearing your arms backwards, which may be almost as uncomfortable as wearing your legs backwards.
Most people experience more tension in the shoulders and upper back when they turn their palms backwards. This tension is often habitual and not within your conscious awareness. To test whether it takes tension to wear the arms backwards, ask your partner to apply gentle pressure on your deltoids (shoulder muscles) while you turn your palms all the way back and forth.
Pronation (turning the hand backwards) requires contracting the anterior deltoid and shifts the shoulder joint forward from its naturally aligned position. As a result, you may slouch, rounding the shoulders and projecting the head forward. With the weight of the head no longer supported by the bone structure of the neck, the muscles of the back of the
If you attempt to force your palms to face forward while maintaining your habitual tension, you will have to counter it by tensing up your teres major (the muscle connecting the scapula and humerus bones of the upper arm). This will only give you twice the amount of tension as before. Alignment of your arms requires non-doing – no longer holding tension in your deltoids.
People often complain about pain in the feet, knees, or hips. Such pain is usually a result of the misalignment of their legs. To find out about the natural alignment of your legs, ask your partner to gently push into your kneecap from the direction in which your toes are pointing while you are standing in the Natural Stance. Notice whether it is easier to push you off balance when the knee is pointing in the same direction as the toes or when it is pointing elsewhere.
Generally speaking, an aligned leg has the toes and knee pointing in the same direction. If you are standing with your knees locked, however, this alignment will not be so apparent and you will be easy to push over whichever way you turn your toes. To learn about your leg alignment, you can use a simple rule of thumb: glance down and see whether your knees cover your toes from sight when in the Natural Stance.
If you are one of the curious folks who really want to find out which of the five toes needs to be in alignment with the knee, I invite you to experiment with some subtle shifting side-toside in order to figure this our for yourself. Since everyone’s body is unique and different, I see no reason to establish any uniform rules for body alignments. Besides, exploration is what provides you with opportunities for developing your own authentic body awareness, rather than blindly following someone else’s rules.
Alignment of the legs will make an immediate difference in the way the weight is distributed on the feet. The balance of the whole body will change if you shift the weight side-to-side or
back and forth on each foot. Your partner can easily test your overall balance by pushing you in the stomach. The results of such a test will depend significantly upon the alignment of your legs. If your knees do not cover your toes from sight, your foot, lower and upper leg will not be in the same plane. This will weaken your balance making you easy to push over.
To assure your balance, experiment with distribution of your weight between the inner and outer edges of each foot as well as between the toes and heels. When the weight is on the outer edge of the foot, the knee is likely to be everted (turned outwards); and when the weight is on the inner edge of the foot, the knee is likely to be inverted (turned inwards). With practice, you will learn to maintain a natural alignment of the legs and feel Grounded even without looking at your feet. Just feel the way your feet touch the ground paying attention to your weight distribution while standing or moving. Awareness gained through this exploration will surely improve your balance and overall wellness.
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.
Inner Alchemy Mantak Chia Physical Explanation Each one of the cells that our body is composed of is directly related to the first original cell located right behind the navel. This cell was born of the meeting of the Ovum and sperm of our parents. As long as this cell sends a message of perfection to the DNA of each cell in the body, we are virtually immortal. When we work with inner alchemy, we can recombine the 64 Amino Acids of DNA by following the 64 eternal laws of change (I Ching), and our cells are able to get in better touch with more subtle forces (Higher energy). We do this until we reach the divine spark in the original cell. This process can change our atomic structure. Developmental Process of Melatonin The history of melatonin starts around the pre-Cambrian age, when the anaerobic cells started to evolve into a more efficient form of life, called the aerobic state. Aerobic cells make use of the 02 (oxygen, yang, fire), and H20 (water, yin). In this way the cells assimilate the organic molecules (mostly composed of C06, Carbon) much more easily. In the process of assimilation, oxidation occurs, creating free radicals. Some free radicals deform molecules by penetrating the cellular membrane and “bombing” the DNA, causing a great amount of damage, including mutations. The process of oxidation weakens DNA. When a cell reproduces the new cell’s DNA is also weaker. Taoists were aware of this process many thousands of years ago, and said that it was not good to reproduce when one was old, or if one drank, or was in a weak condition, as this would cause the offspring to be weak. To avoid this undesirable process cells started to develop melatonin. Yin Yang Harmony in the Body The first action of melatonin is anti-oxidant, which is a yang process. Another basic effect of melatonin is a reactive energy we call hormones, and this is yin. This antioxidant is more efficient and versatile than Vitamin E or Glutathion, and is five hundred times more powerful than DMSO against radiation. They speak as well about Pi Gu, or the nearly complete cessation of food intake. In fact, when you get to the higher level, and not before, you don’t want to disperse your refined energy to counter-act the oxidation process, especially when eating carbohydrates which are rich in C06. Everything in the universe including our glands have yin and yang. We spoke about the yang aspect of melatonin, and we assert
that the yin side of melatonin is as a hormone. The hormone function of melatonin is related with the whole endocrine system, especially the adrenal glands. The yin aspect of the adrenal gland is cortisone, while the yang aspect is adrenaline. To have an ideal situation we need to balance the yin hormone melatonin with the yang adrenaline, and the yang antioxidant in melatonin with the cortisone that is yin. The pineal gland that produces melatonin works more during the yin period of our day, i.e. at night. The adrenal works more during the yang part of the day, i.e. daytime. If during the daytime we move adrenaline through Tai Chi, Qigong, meditation, etc., then at night we will have a stronger production of melatonin and cortisone. From 9 to 11 pm, our bodies produce more cortisone. From 11 pm to 3 am, the sexual energy rises, producing more melatonin, (yin). This process is connected with the pituitary gland and the thyroid growing process. From 3 to 6 am we produce more melatonin, or yang antioxidant, and this matches perfectly with what Taoists say - that 3 to 6 am is the best time for meditation. At this time the pineal and sexual glands are connecting, straightening and rejuvenating the DNA, bone, and marrow. From 6 to 12 am, the body produces more adrenaline and it connects with the pancreas in helping the process of the construction of the tendon and muscle fiber. That is why Taoists say that this is the best time for physical practice. The Taoists speak about nine gems that distill essence. In fact, westerners discovered that the process of generating ovum and sperm starts in the pineal gland. A hormonal message, sent to the pituitary and other glands, eventually results in the production of the egg and sperm in the sexual glands. By bringing up this essence, we reconnect the circuit, enhancing and strengthening a more refined production of hormone that slowly starts a transformation, slowing the aging process and enabling the great masters to achieve their remarkable attainments. Life Style Awareness Most people do not follow the above-mentioned timetable. They use the upper gland energy during the day, getting stressed and emotional, and the lower gland energy at night, by eating late, staying in artificial light, and especially having sexual intercourse at nighttime. They make the body too fiery and this increases it’s tendency to burn out over time. To reverse this aging process through inner transformation,
we depend on the ability of our body to produce melatonin to protect and recreate the stem cells located in the spinal marrow. If we can do this the body is able to reproduce brain cells and other body cells which are free of any of the signs of aging. As a result of the increased and refined flow of melatonin and other hormones in the glands, the immune system is activated 200% more than in the normal state. This especially increases the piastrims, phagocytes and lymphocytes.
Meditation High dosages of melatonin shut down the conscious processes of the mind and create a space for deep, altered states of consciousness to arise. This means that we can dream and at the same lime have Delta waves. We can also have Delta waves while awake, which was considered impossible by western medicine before this experiment. Taoists speak about the ecstatic or inner journey and this refers to the same process that western medicine is now discovering. This is nothing but a deep state of meditation. Food, Drugs and Melatonin Ansiolitic medications such as valium, zanax, aspirin and novalgin decrease the production of melatonin. Some mild anti-depressant drugs induce relaxation by causing a slight rise in the production of melatonin. Stronger antidepressants, such as prozac, tend to decrease the melatonin production and stimulate the adrenal and other glands. Vitamin B-12, caffeine steroids, tobacco, and in a very special way, refined sugar all tend to decrease melatonin production. Alcohol consumed before 10:30 at night tends to reduce melatonin production, whereas, when it is consumed
after 10:30 pm, it tends to increase melatonin production. At 11 pm energy flows into the liver, which is a basic organ in regulating hormonal secretion. Other foods rich in melatonin are: oats, corn, brown rice, ginger, ripe tomatoes, bananas, parsley, algae, dates, oysters, soya, cottage cheese, chicken liver, pumpkin and pumpkin seeds, turkey, tofu, watermelon and apple seeds, almonds, peanuts, yeast, vitamin B-3, (which is found in dried fruit), parsley, liver, sunflower seeds, salmon and swordfish, vitamin B-6 (found in carrots, lentils, avocado, and prawns). Tryptophan, seratonin, calcium and magnesium, and marijuana increase melatonin production by more than 2000 times, if taken in the right quantities and at the right time of day. However, after such high production of hormone the result can be a down, or feeling of depression. When beginning this exploration, we need to be careful. Our bodies become more subtle, precise, refined, and sensitive, so we need to avoid excesses of any kind, especially external stimulation. Such stimulation tends to disharmonize the subtle body mechanics, and this is true for drugs, medicine, food supplements, herbs, etc. If a food or an herb is medically perfect, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it is good for your body. It could be the opposite. What we are learning is to look for our inner medicine.
Master of the Month Mantak Chia
Mantak Chia is the creator of the Universal Healing Tao System and is the director of the Universal Healing Tao Center and Tao Garden Health Resort and Training Center in the beautiful northern countryside of Thailand. Since childhood he has been studying the Taoist approach to life. His mastery of this ancient knowledge, enhanced by his study of other disciplines, has resulted in the development of the Universal Healing Tao System, which is now being taught throughout the world.
Mantak Chia was born in Thailand to Chinese parents in 1944. When he was six years old, Buddhist monks taught him how to sit and “still the mind.” While still a grammar school student, he learned traditional Thai boxing. He was then taught Tai Chi Chuan by Master Lu, who soon introduced him to Aikido, Yoga and broader levels of Tai Chi. Years later, when he was a student in Hong Kong excelling in track and field events, a senior classmate named Cheng Sue-Sue introduced him to his first esoteric teacher and Taoist Master, Master Yi Eng (I Yun). At this point, Master Chia began his studies of the Taoist way of life in earnest. He learned how to circulate energy through the Microcosmic Orbit and, through the practice of Fusion of the Five Elements, how to open the other Six Special Channels. As he studied Inner Alchemy further, he learned the Enlightenment of the Kan and Li, Sealing of the Five Senses, Congress of Heaven and Earth and Reunion of Heaven and Man. It was Master Yi Eng who authorized Mantak Chia to teach and heal.
the exercise known as Strengthening and Renewal of the Tendons. Master Cheng Yao-Lun’s system combined Thai boxing and Kung Fu. Master Chia also studied at this time with Master Pan Yu, whose system combined Taoist, Buddhist and Zen teachings. Master Pan Yu also taught him about the exchange of Yin and Yang power between men and women, and how to develop the Steel Body.
To understand the mechanisms behind healing energy better, Master Chia studied Western anatomy and medical science for two years. While pursuing his studies, he managed the Westetner Company. Using his knowledge of Taoism, combined with the other disciplines, Mantak Chia began teaching the Universal Healing Tao System. He eventually trained other Instructors to communicate this knowledge and he established the Natural Healing Center in Thailand. Five years later, he decided to move to New York, where in 1979, he opened the Universal Healing Tao Center. During his life in America, Mantak Chia continued his When Mantak Chia was in his early twenties, he studies in the Wu system of Tai Chi with Edward Yee in studied with Master Meugi in Singapore, who taught New York. him Kundalini, Taoist Yoga and the Buddha Palm. He was soon able to clear blockages to the flow of energy Since then, Mantak Chia has taught tens of thousands within his own body. He learned to pass the life force of students throughout the world. He has trained energy through his hands also, so that he could heal and certified over 1,500 instructors and practitioners Master Meugi’s patients. He then learned Chi Nei Tsang from all over the world. Universal Tao Centers, Chi Nei from Dr. Mui Yimwattana in Thailand. A while later, he Tsang Institutes, Cosmic Healing Forums and Immortal studied with Master Cheng Yao-Lun who taught him Mountain Sanctuaries have opened in many locations the Shao-Lin Method of Internal Power. He learned the in North America, Europe, South America, Asia, Africa closely guarded secret of the organs, glands and bone and Australia. marrow exercise known as Bone Marrow Nei Kung and
In June 1990, Master Chia was honored by the World Congress on Qigong and Chinese Medicine as the Qigong Master of the Year. In 1994, Mantak Chia moved back to Thailand, where he had begun construction of Tao Garden, the Universal Tao Training Center in Chiang Mai. Master Chia is a warm, friendly and helpful man who views himself primarily as a teacher. He presents the Universal Tao System in a straightforward and practical manner, while always expanding his knowledge and approach to teaching. He uses a word processor for writing and is totally at ease with the latest computer technology. In December of 2000, the Tao Garden Health Resort and Universal Tao Training Center was completed with two Meditation Halls, two open air Simple Chi Kung Pavilions, indoor Tai Chi, Tao Yin and Chi Nei Tsang Hall, Tai Chi Natural Swimming Pool, Pakua Center, Internal World Class Weight Lifting Hall and complete Eight Court Recreational Facilities. In February of 2002, the Immortal Tao practices were held at Tao Garden for the first time using the Dark Room technology creating a complete environment for the higher level Taoist practices. In September of 2003, Mantak Chia opened the Tao Garden Holistic Medical Spa using Western and Eastern Technology with Traditional Thai Massage, India Arvada Therapies and Chinese Chi Nei Tsang Massage. The Spa is supervised by trained and certificated Holistic Doctors, with Medical Degrees providing Colonic Therapy, Stem Cell Cancer Prevention and Natural Cancer Cure Treatments. In July 2009, Master Chia introduced the Five Star Eight Forces Detox Spa with Saunas, Therapy Color Heated Pool, Jacuzzi, and Internal Massage Treatments. This was also introduced with Raw Food and Fasting Program with Organic Juice Bar. In September 2010, the Universal Healing Tao Instructors celebrated thirty years of Mantak Chia’s teaching with the Tao Congress at Tao Garden having over 200 instructors present for the celebration. Mantak Chia has written and published over forty Universal Healing Tao books. Many of his books are available in foreign languages editions at www.universal-tao.com/publishers/index.html.
What are the Powers of the Universe - How does this relate to Qigong? Timothy Booth What are the Powers of the Universe according to the latest research and how do they relate to our practice of Qigong? This is based on an article that I recently read by Brian Swimme, in which he identifies some of the widely accepted scientific knowledge in physics, astronomy, biology, geology, paleontology and thermodynamics. This article will be in the form of musings that are not intended to be definitive but the basis of discussion, further investigation and inquiry. It is my firm belief that if the practice of Qigong is to evolve along with us it must keep up to the latest scientific research for it to be relevant.
First and foremost is the idea of the Ground or Source of all Being: what Brian Swimme calls Seamlessness, the realm of pure potentiality. In my view this would be equivalent to the Daoist idea in their cosmology known as Wuji (literally “without ridgepole”) originally meant “ultimateless; boundless; infinite” but came to mean the “primordial universe” prior to the Taiji “Supreme Ultimate”. We pay tribute to this as our origin in the cosmos and is the starting position for almost all internal arts including Qigong, Tai Chi Chuan, Xingyi Chuan, Baguazhang and others. To me it is a meditative posture that should always be the starting point and ending point of any quality Qigong practice
symbolizing our beginning from nothing or the Void and our return to it as the ultimate goal.
Next we have Centration which is the universe centering upon itself to give birth to a new being, a new animal, a new molecule. This may be what the Daoists meant by the ten thousand things that were created when Yin and Yang were created, or Primordial Qi, what you inherited from your parents. That genetic information compressed into molecular form in each of your cells. This may also be related to our power to act. It is my theory that this is one of the forms of energy that we are working with in the practice of Qigong. One form could be the Sun’s energy which is created by hydrogen atoms created by the birth of the universe. What the Daoists called heaven energy. This is what we are working with when we start moving from the stillness of Wuji posture branching out into the Yin and Yang polarities of movement, up and down, left and right, in and out etc. With movement all energy systems in the body respond, we begin to circulate all of the body’s energy and fluids, blood and lymph, etc.
Allurement is what Brian considers to be what holds all of the universe together at the level of galaxies we call this gravitational interaction. At the level of molecules, Allurement is what holds the body together, electromagnetic interaction and points to all forms of attraction. This is what holds all of the galaxies together as well as our bodies and what I feel is one of the myriad forms of what the Chinese called Qi, which I think is more of a process rather than a thing or a noun. It is one of the many forms of Qi that we work with within the body to create health, food Qi, water Qi, air Qi, etc. When we move that movement creates an electrical potential through gravity, etc., and is balanced by slow meditative movement and consciousness.
We’ve discovered that the universe is not really a place but a story, a story of an irreversible sequence of emergent events what Brian Swimme calls Emergence: an ongoing creative event. Life bursts into existence! How does this relate to Qigong? I think the very act of wanting to create a vibrant and healthy body is in itself a creative emergent event and falls directly in line with this. Creative imaginative consciousness creates good health, what we now know of as the Mind Body Connection. I agree with Brian that this may be the greatest discovery in the history of the human sciences.
Homeostasis more generally means how the universe maintains it’s great achievements but within the body is one of the main effects of proper Qigong practice. It is all of the body’s processes in relative working order and balance and how we as mammals maintain our structure. The interactions
of the planet as a whole enable all of these processes to take place. The oxygen around the planet the sunshine we enjoy all sustain life in this dynamic interaction just as the movement of Qigong stretches the body to circulate fluids and nutrients to their required places.
Cataclysm or the destructive process by which new emergence is established is in nature and is a necessary process. I think related to Qigong this is what is going on when we don’t feel well. The body is letting us know that there is a necessary state of imbalance that needs to be addressed and allows for the reestablishment of health by way of vibrant creativity. In more advanced Qigong practice we find ways of being highly attuned to this process in order to adjust what is necessary to stay in a state of balance.
What is Synergy? In biology it is all collaborative associations that arrive together to create more success. A great example of this is how protons and neutrons when brought into collaboration support each other and can survive for billions of years, whereas they would quickly disintegrate without this relationship. To me in Qigong this is like our community in which there is our teacher student relationship in which collaboration and mutual respect is honored as well as student to student relationships, which should operate along the same lines. This would represent outward relationship and synergy but also we are promoting internally synergy and relationship between the different systems in the body cooperating and working as a whole.
Transmutation is the next power and to me represents one of the ultimate goals of Qigong, It is closely related to the next power Transformation, an interconnected and self amplifying dynamic of self transcendence. This is what the Daoists would call becoming an immortal and union with the Dao or ultimate Ground of Pure Awareness.
The power of Integrity an connectivity Is the power of Interrelatedness or could be called Wholeness. In my own practice this is one of the realizations that has struck me the most and is one of the results of diligence of practice. Realizing that each being in the universe is connected in some mysterious or not so mysterious way. Our existence
is dependent for example on tiny organisms in the Oceans of this great planet. From the inside this could be viewed as compassion!
And finally we come to Radiance. Even the coldest and tiniest hydrogen atoms are happily giving birth to and releasing photons of light every instant. The universe cannot contain the magnificence it houses. This may be the final goal of all meditative practice the ability to radiate the light and joy of life through our practice of the Art and Science of Qigong!
Finally in my opinion Qigong is really all about blending and using the Powers of the Universe to become more whole as humans!
Timothy Booth is a Freelance Musician and Composer in Toronto Canada. Timothy Booth has been practicing Qigong for over 15 yrs., is a member of the National Qigong Association and is the Director of Integral Qigong. He currently instructs private and group Qigong classes in Toronto. He has studied with some of the greatest western Masters of Qigong such as Ken Cohen, and Eric Reynolds, direct student of Dr. John Painter. 1998 Certificate of Attainment- Senior Level in Baguazhang-from Emerge Internal Arts Tai Chi and Meditation Centre Student of Jiulong Baguazhang (Martial Art related to Tai Chi) 1999-2011 with Eric Reynolds and Jan Carstoniu MD, FRCPC – Instructors of Jiulong Baguazhang He can be reached through his blog at
http://integral96.wordpress.com
Resonance and Co-Creation
The recognition of resonance is one of the challenges in co-creation, as we often fall into a state of selfforgetfulness. Life appears as it does because of our resonance on subconscious, consciousness and collective levels -- it doesn’t just happen.
We are all co-creators. The difficulty lies in gaining consciousness of our abilities. Our fields open when we view a flower, child or star, and our energy contributes to the configuration of that field of beauty. Part of its beauty is imbued by our vision, through the sensory reflection of the object at hand. Unknowingly, we create in each moment through our resonance, through the meshing of the fields of material objects meeting in ethereal form. A brief impression is formed as an electromagnetic memory, forgotten until once again revisited in later time.
We resonate or vibrate with the image of our bedroom, create images of the room, interact with the bed or closet, then wake up day after day in the same room. It happens because we are good at co-creation, particularly when it involves repetition and agreement from a large group of people. (For example, the bed is usually in the same place in the morning, unless you are dreaming.) Another agreement concerns small materializations, such as keys or checkbooks, which are acceptable, if not mentionable. We may have noticed that materializations, healings and quantum change often appear around people with high frequency fields or at indigenous power points.
Julia Griffin
Every material object on the earth is composed of light that vibrates at a lower frequency so that it has a recognizable shape, appearance and dimension. Its vibration is known as resonance. Resonance is the vibration rate of a crystal, a plant, a television broadcast or a person. We interact with resonance by amplifying or diminishing a frequency.
When we vibrate emotionally with a disharmonious broadcast or argue with an angry person, then we amplify the disharmonic resonance. By intentionally sending love or detachment to the broadcast or person, a disharmonic resonance can be altered or weakened. The same is true with a harmonic resonance. Resonance is strengthened through identification and interaction.
It’s helpful to remember our role as a co-creator when life is flowing easily by noticing our sensory data (the happy, pleasurable response that we have in life), expressing gratitude, and sharing our harmony with simple kindnesses with other people. Service through our soul’s work is also important. It is a way of sharing light. These simple acts amplify the “flow.” Through self-observation, we can become more aware of positive co-creation.
The main point about resonance is that it matters. The objects, scenes, people and beliefs involved in resonance affect our energy and ability to access the quantum field. Energy is needed to shift our attention or the way that we assemble our “reality.” Resonance can lower our energy by creating karma or heighten our awareness into greater consciousness. Resonance can be altered by detaching from inner dialogue, becoming present in the body or meditation. Meditation can also shift it. Our energy level is usually a good gauge of the result of our activities and thoughts.
Energy is needed to move on the time/space continuum line. The particles in our field move into new frequencies and patterns during the act of conscious co-creation. For example, imagine moving to a different location but also taking a perennial garden (plants that live for years) with you. You are ready to change locations but want to keep a portion of the garden. It takes time and energy to dig the plants and move them into the new space. Usually, you would take the most valuable and loved plants and leave the rest. Part of the old garden travels with you, but you find additional plants for the new garden – in time, it becomes an entity, a composite without a line of distinction between
the old and new plants. The same motion occurs with conscious co-creation; time and energy are necessary to move a scene of life so that it more closely represents the garden of the soul.
One path to the soul’s garden is co-creation, which is actively creating the blueprint as the mainstay of our practice in material reality. Whatever we choose or wherever we go, it eventually becomes clear that the path of heart and dedication to balance bring more satisfaction. Manifestation or co-creation begins with a single desire – it can be a physical desire but the act of co-creation, if practiced correctly, leads to a higher frequency and connection with Divine.
Nothing changes in physical reality – I mean really changes – without that alteration in frequency. The “attractor factor” and the movie, The Secret, were marvelous attention-getters for the mind, but the part about the heart was omitted. My theory is that the folks in the movies and book found their higher frequency state—whether they share it for money or love. (This is easily seen in all of the new manifestation and money programs. I think that this e-zine is about heart so I write for it.)
This is the point that is most misunderstood. The connection, the resonance and the infinite love are the real gifts, and the changes in the appearance of matter are street signs or indicators that we are traveling in the right direction.
By resonating with a material object while in a higher frequency, it generally materializes. Yes, manifestation can be used to create a car or house or relationship, but the big shift is the heightened frequency that accompanies divine connection. Resonance, energy and frequency are important parts of manifestation. A heartfelt desire can change our resonance and increase our energy level. A true desire often gifts greater alignment with our divine blueprint.
It is our birthright to experience health, love or
abundance, but it is through use of our free will that we choose resonance with any of these states. Karma or memories of the past usually offer a set of lower vibrations that serve to conceal any other possibility, at least initially.
Any state or action is preceded by a hologram, which is a living visual image accompanied by feelings. (Imagine taking a glass from the cabinet, then filling it with water. Imagine the phone ringing and answering a call. In both cases, you must visualize and integrate sensory data.) The present is altered by the data of new holograms. Often, we have to repeat the image of a desire many times before the alteration of “reality” happens because it takes time to create resonance with it, as well as releasing images, thoughts and beliefs that created the present life.
There are also patterns of the ego that comprise part of the new visualization. In every manifestation, there is always a small part of us that is concerned with appearance, social position or power and also lacks alignment with the heart. In alchemy, this part of manifestation is known as nigredo or “black night.” Selfobservation allows the understanding that the lack of manifestation comes from within the self. It is time to change old patterns, beliefs and actions.
The fascinating part is the shift from nigredo to albedo or “whitening” -- the purification stage, which involves alignment with universal principles. The nigredo and albedo blend in the marriage of opposites, of the soul and the ego. Vulnerabilities, beliefs and fears are exposed and comprehended. A new purity of purpose and self is distilled from the darkness of old reality.
Awareness and vibration increase with movement toward the alchemical rubredo or “red,” which is the new maturity and rebirth of the new self within the creation of the “new reality.” It encompasses the opposites and is a resolution of conflicting behavior and beliefs. The word “eureka” would apply to this state of gestalt realization.
Rubredo is like Dorothy’s red slippers and The Wizard of Oz. The journey is cool, and there are lessons about fear, power, and finally love and unity. We understand that Oz is wonderful and magical and anything can happen. But it doesn’t have the ring of the love like home does – and with a click of the red slippers, we quickly see the real importance of the journey was the recognition of the value of the heart and love. In a single phrase, cocreation is about finding evolution through love.
Julia Griffin is an intuitive healer who has successfully transformed the lives of thousands of people through her manifestation and meditative techniques. She teaches these techniques in her group classes, one-on-one sessions, and now e-courses. Julia has a deep understanding of energetics based on extensive studies and her own successful practice. She is an alchemist, astrologer, herbalist and Reiki master, and is able to communicate with plants and animals. She lived with wolves for nine years, while developing her intuitive abilities. Julia has been a contributing writer for Spirit of Ma’at and Aquarius, and she publishes a bi-weekly newsletter called One True Self.
Down the River Jon Weston
The best way to explain natural flow is to consider how a river flows. A river flows in one direction. What we are doing is learning how its current flows. We are learning how to feel that inner current, that inner message. Now, you can either learn to flow with the river like a Taoist or you can swim against the river, which causes pain, hardship, disease or death. But no matter what you do, you are always going to go down that river. So the ancient Taoist says that if you are really smart you will put your feet up and enjoy the ride. What you are doing is letting go of your will and turning everything over to God’s will, the natural flow of the universe. So the key to life is to really just enjoy the ride. Now, how are you going to enjoy the ride going down that river? The Taoists say the key is the middle path. So, if you are always hitting the right and the left banks, it is a pretty rough ride. You always try to balance yourself, not too far right and not too far left.
That is the path, the effortless path down the river, and that is how you start to connect with the flow of the universe, centering yourself and then watching the right and the left, never too far right and never too far left. It is the middle path, never hitting one side of the riverbank and never hitting the other side of the riverbank. You always keep your eyes open for the big rocks in the river too. Now, the Taoists have commented that there is only an individual path, and this is the individual path. It is a path and you are alone on it. If you look at the word “alone” and separate the “l” and the “o,” it says “all one.” It is just you and your nature or you and the universe. You are all one. You are flowing down the middle path as being one with the universe. Now, you also have some aids, or what you might call “river guides.”
This is where you have other Taoists with whom you can connect as in a Taoist System in which there are thousands of instructors and practitioners who can help you on your way. As instructors or practitioners, they present to you these magnifying glasses or formulas to help you focus and transform your energy in the internal alchemy process. These are guidelines to work with, the formulas to help you follow that middle path, and this is what the instructors and practitioners give you. Most importantly, they give you their personal feedback based on their experiences.
In other words, they have worked with the formulas for years and have experienced certain aspects in their own lives, and they share this with you. They show you how to pick up certain energies that they have experienced and how to find your own internal guide as they have found theirs while going down that river.
So in one respect you are alone, all one with the universe, but in another respect with your river guides, you are not alone. In other words, you can connect in workshops, seminars or just a simple email and ask for some feedback as you start to work with the formulas from the books or take individual instruction or group instruction and get this important feedback on your journey. It will help you when you make your own assessments and when you center yourself on that middle path. And this is how you enjoy your ride down through the universe.
With this personal feedback you get from the instructor or practitioner, you can get some enlightenment or understanding from his or her personal experiences, but you can also get some encouragement. They are saying to you, “Hey, I did this and I had this happen and I did that and that happened, so do not worry about it, it is just part of the whole process.” So this is really a process and that is the key.
There is not really only one place to go through this Spontaneous Continuum. You start working with your energy, working with the continuum, going from one place to the next; it is all a process of becoming. And in true reality there is nothing to become because you are always becoming, so there is not one “becoming.” As you start to connect with this energy you start to realize that other people have gone through the same process and they will share with you their experiences as they progressed with it, which will give you the incentive and encouragement to proceed with smiling down five to ten minutes everyday. This will help you on your way and will help you find your middle path. You will connect with the true meaning of the Tao and begin to enjoy the ride.
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 THE SECRETS OF MEDITATION WITH LAMA TANTRAPA When: Tuesday, May 31, 4:00 PM PST, 7:00 pm EST Webcast: http://instantteleseminar. com/?eventid=19930458 Bridgeline: (617) 4497724 X 740558# Backup number: (614) 384-5247 or click here for the list of local dial-in numbers
During this teleseminar, Lama Tantrapa will share the three main reasons so many people feel like they cannot meditate, or fail in their meditation practices. Learn how to overcome these challenges. Do not miss this unique opportunity… By staying through the end of the call, you will receive a special offer on a coaching session with Lama Tantrapa!
HOLISTIC FITNESS AND WELLNESS PROGRAM Academy of Qi Dao is pleased to announce a new program starting on June 1, 2011. The Holistic Fitness and Wellness Program is an extension and expansion of the Qi Dao Basic Home Study Course with the inclusion of a very important and useful aspect of the Qi Dao previously reserved for the Intermediate Program – Strengthening Exercises. Similar to what is known as Dao Yin in China, this Holistic Fitness and Wellness Program is designed to take you step by step through a basic fitness program integrates the best aspects of Chinese Qi Gong and Indian Yoga without having to memorize any forms or hold any poses. If practiced on a daily basis, it will naturally expand your range of motion, flexibility, strength, and agility. This program will also include a series of 12 short exercise videos for you to follow that progressively add new movements and strengthening exercises week by week.
will empower you to achieve more tangible results faster. To further encourage your development of self-discipline, we will assist you in identifying your fitness and wellness goals at the beginning of the course, and help you consistently track and assess your progress throughout the three-month program. Basic Qi Dao Home Study Course Including the Basic Qi Dao Book, Workbook, Instructional DVD, Audiobook, and Meditation CD. Complementary Coaching Session (30min) Offered at the beginning of the course so you can assess where you are currently and what areas of your life you’d like to see improvements in Six Bi-weekly Group Coaching Sessions (via phone) - Go deeper into the nuances of Holistic Fitness and Wellness - Ask questions regarding the material and how to apply the principles in life - Track and assess your progress with your level of fitness and wellness - Have the support of a Master, and the Qi Dao community in achieving your goals Six Bi-weekly Pre-recoded Teleseminars - Review the finer points of each chapter of the Basic Qi Dao Home Study Course - Learn how to apply the principles of Harmonious Culture of Movement in your daily life 12 Weekly Holistic Fitness Videos In just 15 minutes a day you’ll be able to: - Increase your range of motion
- Decrease pain
We recently surveyed over a thousand Qigong enthusiasts regarding their greatest challenges in learning Qigong or Tai Chi. Our new program serves to address those challenges by providing a more clear structure to your exploration of the Harmonious Culture of Movement found in Qi Dao. It also offers clear, simple and easy-to-do series of exercises that
- Improve flexibility - Gain more strength (without any soreness) - Lose weight - Have more energy
Regular tuition is $497. Register by May 30 to receive a $100 early bird discount and reduce your tuition to $397. If you have already purchased the Basic Qi Dao Home Study Course, its price - $150 - will be deducted from your tuition as well. Please contact academyofqidao@gmail.com for more information.
WORKSHOP ON PEAK PERFORMANCE IN PUSH HANDS The main reason to attend this workshop is for developing formidable skills in and for exploration of the most misunderstood practice in Internal Martial Arts. Although many arts tend to offer some techniques of Push Hands, but Qi Dao provides the most in-depth principles empowering you to stand, move and breathe naturally, free of selfimposed limitations and energy blockages. Once you have learned to apply these simple principles, you will be more than ready to delve into more challenging and exciting aspects of our art of being in the flow.
Program that our students pay $1497 for. The second prize is the ticket to the Qi Dao Wilderness Retreat this summer - $397 value.
CONTRIBUTIONS 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.
Where: Academy of Qi Dao, 3516 NW Skyline Blvd, Portland, OR 97229 When: Monday, June 12 from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm with a potluck lunch afterwards How much: $99.
WIN A TICKET TO THE QI DAO WORKSHOP AND INITIATION By enrolling in the Holistic Fitness & Wellness program, you will be eligible to enter into the exciting contest to win a ticket to the workshop concluding the Basic Qi Dao Certification Program and receive an initiation into the Practice of Empowerment. All you need to do is set a clear goal that you would like to achieve in three months and share it during your orientation session with Lama Tantrapa. You will need to take two photos or videos of yourself: before and after the contest in order to provide the proof of your transformation. Three months later, you achievements will be compared to those of other participants, and the winner will be invited to attend the workshop concluding the Basic Qi Dao Practitioner Certification
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The Greatest Epidemic Known to Man Part IV Paul Levy Stepping Out of Separation The “in-spirit-ed” organism of wetiko is a field phenomenon, and can only be seen when we snap out of the illusion of imagining we exist as a separate self and recognize and become conversant with the deeper, underlying and more fundamental nonlocal field in which we are all indissolubly inter-connected. “The field,” as Einstein once succinctly put it, “is the only reality.” In modern physics, the field – the invisible organizing principle of the universe – has become more fundamental than matter. Instead of relating to any part of the field as an isolated entity, it’s important to contemplate the entire interdependent field as the “medium” through which wetiko manifests itself. The Native American concept of wetiko disease is a social phenomenon, a relational dynamic of the field itself that can not be understood, and does not exist in isolated individuals apart from the social milieu in which they move, interact and have their being. Seeing the nonlocal field drives a stake into the very heart of the prevailing scientific, materialistic perspective, which ironically enough, still attempts to see the world as “machine.”
Seeing the field and stepping out of the perspective that we are separate from each other converges into being the same experience. Seeing “through” the illusion of the separate self, rather than seeing “through the separate self” as a lens through which we view the world, entails recognizing that even the fullblown wetikos, the master predators themselves, are not separate from us. The Big Wetikos are fully embodying, in personified form, a pathological tendency that exists in potential within us. It is as if they are the externalized materialization of this potential within ourselves that we’ve projected outside of ourselves and literally collectively dreamed up into manifestation. Recognizing this generates compassion for this part of us. It is only through compassion that we immunize ourselves from the virus.
Paradoxically, although wetiko disease doesn’t exist in isolated individuals separate from the field, someone taken over by the wetiko bug, though merely its instrument and not, in the ultimate sense “who they are,” literally can be said to be “the incarnation” of the disease in human form. The person so possessed (think of, like I did in my book, George W. Bush, as one example) is the “revelation” of the pathology in living flesh and blood. The person so stricken is showing us, in fully embodied, personified form, the underlying infrastructure and dynamics of this trans-human disease. When someone is so possessed, they are the local crystallization “in form” of a nonlocal, and ultimately “formless” phenomenon. The person taken over has been dreamed up into materialization to be a living, breathing “symbol” of the nonlocal disease, an embodied reflection of an archetypal, and yet pathological, part of ourselves. Recognizing this is to realize that this person doesn’t exist as an isolated, discrete entity, a skin-encapsulated ego, separate from the surrounding field. Seeing the person so possessed in their true context – as literally inseparable from all of us – becomes a portal through which we can refine our inner vision and see through the transparent illusion of the separate self. Seeing that the person so taken over is not separate from the field is a reflection of our own condition. Seeing the other’s transpersonal nature enables us to not person-alize ourselves.
Holographically enfolded within the psyche of every human being, the wetiko virus pervades and underlies the entire field of consciousness, and can therefore potentially manifest through any one of us at any moment if we are not mindful. The wetiko bug is something that we all have unconsciously acted out in our lives at one time or another. We’ve all had our wetiko “moments”; that’s just the way it works. Recognizing this cultivates humility, which helps to psychically immunize us from the pernicious effects of the disease. This realization ultimately collapses the boundary between those who have the disease and those who don’t. Wetiko’s nonlocal nature ultimately makes the question of who has the disease irrelevant, as we all have it to varying degrees, or rather, it has us. We are all in the soup together. This realization engenders both compassion and forgiveness. This does not mean, however, that the Big Wetikos are not ethically, spiritually, and legally responsible for the unimaginable carnage they have caused.
The primary line of distorted code through which the wetiko virus deludes our mind is the presumption of the separate self. The unreflected-upon acceptance of the axiom of separation is what makes all of the other delusions that make up wetiko possible. Seeing the diabolical nature of the disease entails realizing that it is the bifurcating “us” vs. “them” mind of duality which splits the world into opposites; that is itself the generative root of the wetiko germ.
This series of articles began by invoking the spirit of wetiko through our shared act of inquiry. As we shed light on wetiko, we become sensitive to its movements within ourselves. At this point the cat is out of the bag, so to speak, for there is no place for the spirit to hide. We are then in a position of having access in our lucid, self-reflective awareness to a sacred vessel which can nourish the very spirit which is to be venerated. To come full circle and successfully accomplish the original, healing intent of our magic ritual, the hidden, powerful spirit of wetiko needs to be “contained”; this is the archetypal point behind the sacred alchemical idea of a mystical vessel which transforms the entire universe.
As people who are becoming wise to the wiles of wetiko help each other to step out of the illusion of separation together, a psychic alchemical container that is greater than the sum of its parts gets created. This Holy Grail-like vessel of collectively shared lucidity is reciprocally conjured up through our shared realization. This higher-dimensional mystic container is forever stimulating, stabilizing and strengthening itself in a positive feedback loop which literally gives birth to and inspires the creative spirit. This jewellike higher-dimensional entity composed of consciousness itself is a lucidity generator that is tapping into the zero point energy of the mind, a form of higher-mind technology that attracts the rest of the universe into itself. When we recognize that we exist not apart from, but relative to each other, our connection with each other is “hermetically sealed” with the stamp of Hermes. We then relate with each other in such a way so that none of our projections unconsciously leak out into the world, for the simple reason that the world is recognized to be our projection. This is the very realization which bonds us together and through which we are united with the world, each other and ourselves. Becoming “tight” in this way, we are “blessed” by the master magician “Hermes/Mercury,” the God of the sacred art of alchemy (please see my article The Sacred Art of Alchemy). “The Force” is then with us. Empowered, we are able to trans-fix, trans-mute, trans-form and liberate the vampiric spirit of wetiko, while simultaneously snapping out of our en-trance-ment of ourselves.
EMPTINESS
Supposedly the greatest ruse of the devil is to convince us that he doesn’t exist. Or on the other hand, is the suggestion that the devil does exist that is implicit in the previous statement a deception of the devil (who is, after all, considered a liar), and as such, is a disguised form in which the devil has insinuated himself into not only our conversation, but into the world at large? It is important to shed light on this murky area: an evil, archetypal figure like the devil doesn’t exist in the way we have been imagining he does if we have been imagining that he exists objectively, as something apart from ourselves.
The devilish wetiko virus, like a vampire, if left to its own devices, would die, as it is only able to exist if there is someone outside of itself on whom it can feast. A vampire has no intrinsic, independent, substantial existence in its own right; it only exists relative to us. The pathogenic, vampiric, mind-parasite called wetiko is nothing in itself, yet it has a “reality” such that it can destroy our species. The fact that something that only exists as a function of ourselves can destroy us is pointing at the incredibly vast invisible power that is inherent within our being. Ultimately speaking, in wetiko disease we are not being infected by a physical, objectively existing virus outside of ourselves, but rather, the origin of the wetiko psychosis is within us. The fact that a vampire is not reflected by a mirror can also mean that what we need to see is that there’s nothing, no-thing to see, other than ourselves. The fact that wetiko is the expression of something inside of us means that the cure for wetiko is within us as well.
In the Gnostic Dialogue of the Savior, it says, “Whoever does not know the root of evil is no stranger to it.” Wetiko forces upon us the evolutionary responsibility to come to terms with the evil within our own hearts. To the extent we have not rooted out the wetiko bug within ourselves we are complicit in the co-creation of the evil playing out in the world. The part of us that is colluding in the creation of a collective psychosis like wetiko is the part of us that is mad, for why else would we be doing this? To the extent we’re not fully awake, we each have a part of us that’s mad, which gets acted out in our life. How can we not have a part of us that’s mad, living in a world gone mad, a world that is not separate
from, but rather, a reflection of ourselves? It is only by confronting what is insane and inhuman in ourselves that we become truly human. It is important to face how we have been deviated by wetiko, for if we cannot see how we have been set off course, we can’t orient ourselves to find our true path in life. Seeing how we’ve been led astray is a form of illumination. To see how wetiko operates with our cooperation is to gain critical insight into the elusive workings of our own mind.
We capture within ourselves and truly “see” the nature of wetiko disease “Vampire/Cannibal Psychosis” when we realize that, just like a dream, its full-bodied manifestation in the world theater is a reflection of a process going on deep within our very soul. We are all dreaming up the wetiko epidemic together. Seeing through our experience in this way gives world events a certain transparency, as well as rendering us transparent to ourselves. Seeing through ourselves makes it unlikely that we would fall prey to and be seduced by any wetiko inspired impulses that pulsate through us. This intimacy with ourselves enables us to step into and embody a role in the field of being like a “psychic T-cell” that helps to heal the malignant cancer in the collective body politic of the world soul. Seeing the dreamlike nature of the world and ourselves helps to generate a culture of compassion, which is a “wetiko dissolver” par excellence. Compassion can, however, when necessary, set a fierce boundary, displaying itself in the most fearsome of ways.
THE SOLUTION
Just as a vampire can’t stand the light of day, a bug like wetiko can’t stand to be seen. Flooding light on wetiko’s machinations takes away its seeming autonomy and alleged power over us such that it can no longer compel us to act it out unconsciously. Paradoxically, “seeing” this vampiric parasite is to relate to it as other than ourselves, while at the same time recognizing it within ourselves. Though the vampire is a figure within us, it is not us. In differentiating ourselves from the vampire, we recognize the difference between ourselves and it. Seeing the vampire, we don’t identify with our subjective experience of the vampire within. This is to say that in seeing the vampire, we free ourselves from our unconscious identification with and possession by it, and step back into ourselves.
Forbes laments, “One of the tragic characteristics of the wetiko psychosis is that it spreads partly by resistance to it. That is, those who try to fight wetikos sometimes, in order to survive, adopt wetiko values. Thus, when they ‘win,’ they lose, or at least, the people lose.” When we see people who are taken over by wetiko and we feel superior to them, our feeling of superiority is itself a symptom of the disease. If we unconsciously react against wetiko, having judgment, anger, or hatred, we are then acting out, however well-intentioned, the same process of shadow projection that underlies the wetiko disease in the first place – which is to dissociate from, project outside of ourselves, and react to our own evil. We are then unconsciously reacting to the unconscious part of ourselves which the wetikos embody. This re-action is an unconscious ritualistic invocation and re-enactment of the initial impulse within us of turning away from and contracting against a part of ourselves. This is the timeless, primal act which called forth and spawned the spirit of wetiko in the first place. To the extent we are unaware of what we are doing, we, as “representatives” for wetiko, are compulsively re-enacting our trauma, participating in re-creating the wetiko virus in this very moment. We are then playing out our unresolved internal affairs in the outside world by, in and through our reaction, unwittingly becoming a vector that is carrying the wetiko bug out into the world (please see my article, Triggered by Evil). Instead of unconsciously reacting and projecting the shadow outside of ourselves, when we consciously relate to and take responsibility for the evil within ourselves, we are energetically withdrawing and dis-investing from our complicity in the continual re-animation of evil in the world.
The way to engage with wetiko disease is to attend to what it triggers within us (please see The Lion’s Gaze). Just as the way to cut off the head of the mythic Medusa is to look at her reflections in the mirror-shield, the way to stalk the vampiric entity of wetiko is to track and sense its fingerprints within ourselves by looking into the mirror of our own mind. However, the evil of wetiko can be too much to stare at directly, just as looking at the snake-haired Medusa straight-on turns us to stone. Vampires are “petrifying,” which means both “terrifying,” as well as “paralyzing” and “turning to stone.” They petrify their victim, just like a mouse becomes immobilized by the transfixing gaze of the serpent. Vampires are not a creature to be messed with by the frivolous. Mapping wetikos nonlocal footprints, both out in the world and in the corresponding places within ourselves that are being touched, is to discover the nonlocal multidimensional “anatomy” of wetiko. It is impossible to encounter wetiko and not be activated, as wetiko’s nonlocal force-field is activating by its very nature, in that it is coextensive and interwoven with our own. Our unconscious, knee-jerk reactivity is the primary way that the wetiko psychosis regenerates and propagates itself in the field. Like a pathogen invading a body, this virulent psychic bug strikes and hooks us through our weakest point in the unconscious, the tenderest and most vulnerable spot within ourselves through which we are most likely to re-act.
Wetiko is like a psychic Nautilus machine that is continually “working” us. Humanity’s highest virtues are called upon when we are confronted by evil. Encoded within the evil of the wetiko virus is its own psychic vaccine, a potential inoculation against our own ignorance and laziness, which if not overcome, will overcome us. The wetiko bug’s existence requires us to strengthen our muscle of discernment.
The virus demands that we cultivate impeccability within ourselves, or we don’t stand a chance. Wetiko literally demands that we step into our power and become resistant to its oppression such that we discover how to step out of bondage and become free, or else! Instead of a typical virus mutating so as to become resistant to our attempts at healing it, the wetiko virus forces us to mutate relative to it. It is as though the evil of wetiko is itself the instrument of a higher intelligence. This higher power, through the revelation and understanding of wetiko, connects us to a sacred, creative source within ourselves. The wetiko bug is the greatest catalytic force of evolution ever known, as well as not known, to humanity.
Naming is a magical act, typically done when something new is born into our life. Like Adam naming the animals in the Garden, we have to name something before it can be formally “discovered” and brought into our shared collective cartography. It was only by naming these creatures that Adam could differentiate and distinguish himself from them and realize who he was. Finding the name for this higherdimensional, malignant virus of the psyche helps us to more easily recognize it and get a “handle” on it, which is the first step in taking away its destructive power over us. Seeing wetiko and calling it by its rightful name initiates a process that resigns it to the ranks of the unemployed, leading to the wetikonomy that it animates being put out of business. The energy that was being invested and bound up in feeding the wetiko pathogen then returns to nourish and be nourished by the creative wholeness of the psyche. Naming something creates “currency” in the economy of the psyche. To name something is to evoke it, to call it out, which is an expression of an intrinsic, magical power that we all have within us. This is related to the Australian Aboriginal belief that we “sing” the world into being – that we are creating as we name things.
Understanding the meaning of the name “wetiko” is a form of exorcism. Jung says, “For mankind it was always like a deliverance from a nightmare when the new name was found.” It will serve us greatly as we introduce the word “wetiko” into our planetary dialogue, making wetiko part of our day to day vocabulary. In “spell”-ing a word, we are casting a spell, calling forth a spirit, and creating a universe, all while discovering our ability to name. In divining the true name we are de-“literal”-izing language, as we create language to “symbol”-ize our experience. The word wetiko, being a sacred name, is like a mantra, a word of power, in that the speaking of it empowers the idea. Let us therefore “spread the word.” We are only able to name “wetiko” when we see, and register, its nonlocal nature, both throughout the world and within ourselves. This can only be done when we ourselves become acquainted with our nonlocal nature, to the part of us that is woven into both the evil of wetiko and the wholeness of the
divine. Like that great maxim of medicine states, “Do not attempt to cure what you do not understand.” The famous Greek philosopher Socrates reminds us that if we want to understand something, we first must name it. Naming something means to find our experience of its nature within ourselves. Indigenous, wisdom-based cultures understand the exorcistic power of finding the right name of a “demon,” which is precisely what they would understand the wetiko pathogen to be (please see The Daemonic).
Its simultaneously diabolical and mercurial energy makes the Native American idea of wetiko disease incredibly hard to describe in words. Whether we refer to this tricksterlike entity as a virus, parasite, tapeworm, vampire or a demon, or call it wetiko disease or malignant egophrenia doesn’t matter. These various names are interchangeable, as they are naming one and the same thing. There is no one definitive model for this disease, however, as each model has both its utility as well as its limits. When all of these models are combined and looked at together, it gives us a greater resolution and capacity to see what no one particular model by itself can reveal.
THE IDEA OF A CURE
Finding the right name(s) invokes the sacred, creative and transformative power of the “Word.” Wetiko is the word made flesh in its most depraved form. In finding the name, however, we are accessing the divinely sponsored power of the word to create an idea, which is a living psychic organism of real value and merit with intrinsic power. Ideas are ways of regarding things, the means by which we see, as well as perspectives through which we view the world. The word “idea,” etymologically speaking, has to do with both “to see” as well as “to know.” In other words, a novel idea opens our inner eye and helps us know by giving us in-sight into something previously unconscious. What Plato called the “eyes of the soul,” ideas are the modes of consciousness through which we envision and create our life. In finding the right name(s), we are impregnating and incubating a novel idea. We can then spread and give birth to our meme by sharing it, as we create our own mind anti-virus, a living antigen to the heretofore unrecognized mind-virus of wetiko. As Communist China’s Chairman Mao openly confessed, the one thing he was most afraid of was a new idea. For nothing is more powerful than a magical idea whose time has come.
Let’s spread the word. May these words be of benefit for all beings.
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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