I recently completed another 10 days of training with my qigong grandmaster, Mingtang Xu (许明堂 – Xu Mingtang in Chinese 🙂 Last name is said first), who is the lineage holder and Grandmaster of ZY Qigong. (You can see pictures of our retreat at this link). While I met and studied with him in 2005 at Shaolin Monastery in China and then traveled with him in Europe that fall and have continued teaching and studying since, I feel I’m just starting to ‘get it,’ to understand and see and experience the tipity top of a gigantic iceberg (which is Mingtang and this whole lineage of this over 7,000 years steeped in Buddhism, Daoism and Shamanism)! And what Mingtang is offering and teaching is truly awesome! – I’m soooooooo excited to share with you some of what I’m receiving….(And receiving is a big word here. From my studies with one of my other teachers, Robert Tennyson Stevens, (founder of Conscious Language™ and Mastery Systems), I’ve remembered how receiving is a state of consciousness/a state of being; this state is essential for receiving the Great Blessings which are continually being offered to us.
Well this time I received so much and big part of that is because I was open to receive.)
Grandmaster Xu Mingtang began teaching ZY Qigong over 20 years ago, teaching mostly outside of China. The Chinese government and people weren’t open to receive what he had to teach so he went to Russia, Ukraine, Latvia, many eastern European countries, and later western Europe and the U.S. Just recently has Mingtang returned to China to set up his Kundawell Institute, which is an international qigong training, teaching, healing and research center. While teaching abroad he also continued to offer healings using Image Medicine, a technique developed through his own qigong practice and lineage of teachers as well as teachings from his grandmother, who was a powerful shaman (wuyi –巫医). An Image medicine diagnosis scans all our ‘anatomies’ – physical, energetic and spiritual or informational and the scanning is done with images. (I’ll explain more about Image medicine a bit later)… Well, when Grandmaster Xu returned to China and began teaching, he made a big discovery – that the Image Medicine he practices and has been teaching to others the past 20 years is actually a part of Traditional Chinese Medicine, yet a part that had been taken out of the texts, schools, teachings in the last 60 years. Most of TCM that is taught today is based on the theory and knowledge from Huang Di Neijing 黄帝内经, The Yellow Emperor’s Book of Internal Medicine. Yet there were also other famous schools of theory and teachers, one of whom is Bian Que and he taught the use of Image.
In the ancient texts, for example, pulse-taking was described in 2 ways. One is 脉感 ‘maigan’ (meaning ‘pulse feeling’) and the other is 脉象 ‘maixiang’ (meaning ‘pulse image’). ‘Maigan’ is the term that remains and ‘maixiang’ (pulse image) was taken out. Grandmaster Xu Mingtang explained that doctors who learned both methods, especially pulse image, were extremely effective in their diagnosis and treatment – so effective that the government became concerned of their power, as some people began viewing such doctors as ‘gods.’ Therefore, this method and Bian Que’s teachings were effectively ‘erased’ by removing all such texts and schools of theory from the teaching and universities of TCM.
Well recently, as Grandmaster Xu Mingtang has successfully healed many high level government officials and, as I had mentioned in my writings while with Dr. Zhao that the government is at the same time starting actively re-embrace the treasures of TCM and the still living masters, the Chinese government is now actively supporting and endorsing Image Medicine. As I mentioned in February when announcing Xu Mingtang’s visit to Seattle, the Chinese government recently concluded that Image Medicine is the top medicine. Here is a recent article on Mingtang and Image Medicine recently published in one of China’s most-read magazines.
The Chinese National Science and Technology Association (STA) (which is equivalent to the National Institute on Health (NIH) in the States except it’s much bigger, covering many fields) has recently given large grants to the Traditional Chinese Medicine Association (TCMA) to use some of these funds to organize teaching and training forums with Kundawell Institute. The government is even inviting and paying for the country’s top scientists and doctors to attend. These doctors and professionals are thrilled!
Another exciting aspect of Image Medicine is that Grandmaster Xu can teach it! Yes he is a Grandmaster and has developed abilities many people would consider extraordinary or ‘god-like’, yet he teaches that all humans have the same potential – it’s just that much of people’s vital energy often is dispersed, drained, lost through stress, worry, lack of sleep, etc. Qigong practice (and other energetic practices) can: 1) restore our health; 2) gather, store and generate Qi – vital life energy; and 3) build and develop our energy and energy channels to awaken other senses/abilities that are a part of our potential as human beings.
Most people, myself included, first come to qigong to rebuild their health. Our bodies are extraordinarily resilient and wise and they know how to heal if we give them a chance. Qigong practice (and dance! :)) is one way to give our body this chance, and strengthen this ‘muscle’ of trusting our bodies and regaining vital, vibrant health.
A Simple Life Science…
Oh this brings me to a point I’m so excited and passionate about – that health, sustaining and maintaining our health can be simple! I love that from the beginning of his teaching, Mingtang has referred to ZY Qigong as a “simple life science” – the more I learn and experience, the more I understand the depth of this truth. What Mingtang teaches is simple; his healing techniques are simple; the qigong exercises in this lineage form are simple and easy to learn; and it is all also so very powerful. For example, we are all our best health keepers. All problems, that can eventually turn into a major serious health condition or crisis, first show symptoms – often times symptoms that most doctors won’t be able to detect, but that we can feel/sense in our own body. These are important to listen to. These signs/symptoms will come as either: 1) external signs (such as skin problems, change in tongue color, our behavior, movement, looking tired or fatigued, etc); or 2) internal feelings – such as a change in mood, energy, or emotions. Two main ways to give our bodies a chance for self healing if such a symptom arises is: 1) deep sleep (Mingtang is a big proponent of sleep, as are many other of my qigong teachers! Yay for sleep!! – it’s amazing how much better I feel and how much brighter the world feels when I’ve slept deeply and well!); and 2) dynamic movement – this can be dance (again YAY!), and/or self-healing qigong – movement that is spontaneous – not head-directed, but body-directed.
Also, people are increasingly paying more attention to the quality of food they eat and drink in our society – eating organic, low-processed foods, and lots of fresh veggies and fruits. Yet, sometimes, although on the outside what someone is eating ‘seems healthy,’ a person may still not feel well, or be chronically cold, weak, low-energy, etc. This can be a sign that, although the foods are whole and healthy, they may not be the right combination for one’s body type, the season of year, etc. For example, I find in my intention to eat healthy, sometimes I eat too many ‘yin’ or cold and cooling foods (which is most fruits and raw veggies) and have an imbalance of too much yin and not enough yang. This brings up another thing I LOVE about the Chinese diet and eating Chinese food (besides it tasting so delicious!) – is that most people have the common knowledge of how – energetically- to balance the foods they eat in a way that promotes health and well-being and ease of digestion. For example, lamb is a very warming, yang food. Eating too much or eating it by itself can easily ‘shang huo’ 上火increase internal fire, especially in the intestines. Yet, the Chinese often eat ‘bailuobo’ 白萝卜-daikon radish with lamb which is naturally cooling. This balances the food out and promotes balance in our bodies.
Another example is when I was studying abroad in Taiwan and living in the Chinese women’s dormitory. It was my birthday (which is in December so the weather was turning cooler) and one of my friends gave me a cake and ice cream (as it’s known that that’s what Americans do :)). Well, my roommates (who were often looking after me – similar to JunLing, Li Zhun, and Ayi when I was in Zhengzhou) had already noticed I had the sniffles and was fighting a cold. When they saw the ice cream, they immediately took it saying, “Kailun, ni bu neng chi. Tai liang! Ni yijing youyidian gan mao.” (凯伦，你不能吃。这个太凉。你已经有一点感冒.) “Karen, no – you can’t eat this – it’s too cold! You already have a bit of a cold.”
Another measure to see if what we’re eating/drinking is right for our bodies, is to (some may find this gross, but having studied much about TCM and seen many TCM doctors, I’m pretty comfortable talking about poop and pee!) check the size, smell and color of one’s bowel movements and urine. Any changes can signify it’s time to give our bodies a chance to do more self-healing, and to examine/make some shifts in our diet.
Image is another Big key to our health, our life, our success, happiness and thriving. On to image…
Image – the Basis and Foundation of Our Life and All Life
Image medicine is something I’ve heard Grandmaster Xu talk about numerous times, learned with him in his Image medicine seminars, observed in Mingtang’s healings with numerous patients when traveling with him in eastern and western Europe, and received from him myself while traveling with him, yet this year is the first time I feel I’m understanding/’getting it’. And, as I’ve mentioned, it’s so simple, and at the same time powerful. Remember that saying, “truth is simple; falsity ever complex”? Well, I believe this goes with healing modalities as well.
We see images through our eyes, for those of us who can see. Yet, the images in our mind’s eye control our health, our life, and how we develop in the future. They are powerful – just as, if not more powerful than our own genes and DNA.
If we have a ‘right’ image, our lives become easier, happier and increasingly in harmony. If a person always has a ‘bad’ image, the opposite is true. Mingtang sees these images. For example, all life forms have images – trees, frogs, dogs, butterflies, flowers, etc. (and in fact, images are our ‘universal’ language and how we can communicate with all life forms – Mingtang teaches this in more depth in level 4). A newly budding leaf, when it’s only a little spritely green bud, already has its image of its fully mature healthy-leaf self. Mingtang can see this with his 3rd eye. He can also see a similar spritely green bud that has a distorted, or diseased mature leaf-self image. Catching this while still in image form, and not yet physical form is even easier to change – in this case, Grandmaster Xu, or an Image medicine practitioner would simply change the image to be that of a healthy mature leaf.
Grandmaster Xu Mingtang diagnoses through ‘maixiang’ or pulse image. He uses his 3rd eye to see inside one’s body and scans. While western medicine focuses on the physical body, psychology focuses on the emotional/spiritual/ informational body, and various energy modalities focus on the energetic body, image diagnosis scans all 3 anatomies. When scanning, the images Xu Mingtang receives points to which anatomy or anatomies have a ‘bad’ or distorted image. The most simple explanation of the basis of his treatment, is he changes a ‘wrong’ image into a ‘right’ image and therefore health is restored.
While it may sound too simple to be true, I have witnessed this countless times, seen the what seem to be miraculous results, and have received such treatments myself. Also, Grandmaster Xu Mingtang and his team at Kundawell are now documenting the results of his and other practitioners’ image medicine treatments. His results are drawing international attention, including from our top educational and research institutes in the States. This past March (2010), Dr. David Eisenberg, Director of the Harvard Medical School Osher Research Center, invited Grandmaster Xu Mingtang to come share some of his findings. Dr. Eisenberg may also visit Kundawell Institute in Beijing, China. In addition, the other week while we were all on retreat, the NIH contacted Xu Mingtang about his research…so the seeds have now been planted here…
What is health?
“So what is health?” asked Grandmaster Xu at our retreat 2 weeks ago. An image can tell us at once if something/someone is healthy or in disharmony. Also, he mentioned that we all recognize at once a healthy image versus a sick image. Our bodies/minds/spirits know health; it’s our most fundamental and natural blueprint. Yet how many images are there for disease or disharmony? Infinite! For example there are infinite images/varieties of conditions of an unhealthy heart, but one image for a healthy one – and we, even if we have never seen a live beating heart, would recognize the healthy image at once.
In a simple diagram, Mingtang drew this point:
Health (1 image) Disease (infinite images)
Treatment (go back to healthy image)
(opps! This image didn’t copy out of my word doc very well — it’s supposed to be 2 arrows – the top arrow points to disease and the bottom arrow (describing treatment) point to health.)
If we can keep a ‘right’ healthy image in our mind/body/spirit (our informational, energetic and physical anatomies), we can keep good health. If there is a wrong image, we can change it! And if we perceive a wrong image in someone else, we can change it too (in our own experience, and if one is giving treatment to another, s/he can change it in the client as well).
The Power of Seeing Perfection
This brings up another point from my studies with Robert Stevens – the power of “seeing Perfection.” If I have a friend who is down on himself, or is depressed and sees his life as ‘hopeless’ – if I at all sympathize with him, I’m in a sense agreeing with and strengthening his ‘image’ of something being wrong or bad. Yet, if, on the other hand, I chose to see my friend’s ‘Victory’ in my mind’s eye – hold the image of him happy and loving his life, I am strengthening this positive and healthy image. The more I and people around him also strengthen this image, the stronger it gets. This is a practice of ‘seeing Perfection,’ and is a practice for me to do in my own world and with people around me in my life. If in an image medicine session, a practitioner can directly change the image in such a person to be a healthy one.
Xu Mingtang gave an example of working with a woman who had cancer. When she came to him, Xu Mingtang did his scan, and then asked her, “Why do you keep holding the image and thinking ‘I have a 4 cm long tumor! It’s 4 cm long. My tumor is 4 cm long’?” He could ‘hear’ her thoughts and see this strong image she kept feeding much of the time. This woman was surprised! How did he know she was thinking exactly that?! She realized she had been and was often fixated on this image of her ‘4 cm long tumor.’ In cases like this, Xu Mingtang changes the image – he wipes it out and returns a healthy image. This gives people’s bodies a chance to recover. And he’s found again and again, that without the image, the cancer stops growing and eventually disappears. But, he advises his patients NOT to get another test right away – those that do, still see a tumor and then voila! That ‘4 cm long tumor’ image is back! Patients that wait and then get retested find their tumors have decreased or disappeared which reinforces their ‘healthy image’.
In some cases, Grandmaster Xu Mingtang doesn’t even put in an image – instead he leaves emptiness and, he said, lets our bodies ‘reboot’ like we do with our computers! He’ll remove the ‘bad’ image, and let one’s body ‘reboot perfection’ (or it’s natural healthy blueprint) in its place.
Image influences all our anatomies (mind/spirit, physical body and our energetic body) and our success and ultimate happiness in life. For example, if I have a happy, fulfilled, curious and confident image in my spirit, this affects my energetic body and actually increases my energy, motivation and desire to create in my world. This increased energy also feeds and strengthens my physical body’s health which again supports my service in the world. Images can also direct the choices we make and what we do in our lives. Mingtang advises that if one has a strong desire to do something (meaning one has a strong image), to “just do it, do it!” 🙂 Similarly, if one’s desire to do something is not strong, but one is doing it to please someone else, not to do it – because the image is weak and not supportive of one’s ultimate health and happiness.
A Bit on Informational Diseases
While our allopathic medicine has some effective methods to address physical disease, and many modalities exist to address energetic diseases/disharmony, not much exists to address informational disease. Often times if a problem is rooted in one’s informational anatomy, no medical xrays, MRIs, blood tests will show any signs of abnormality. Energy may be flowing well too. Image medicine is one system that can address such issues. For example, one woman came to Mingtang because of a chronic urination problem. Each night she had to get up numerous times to urinate, yet none of her medical tests showed any abnormalities. While this symptom is common among men with enlarged prostates, she is a woman and of course has no prostate. Well, Xu Mingtang scanned her with his 3rd eye and saw no physical or energetic problem. It was informational. Her kidneys and bladder weren’t communicating and just required having their lines of communication connected. After doing that, she was all better; her problem was solved.
This is a large portion of image medicine and whole seminars just on our Informational system are now being taught in China and Russia.
A Bit on Qigong Practice
My first inspiration to write all this and share with you came when I made the (what seems rather obvious but took me until now) link between what Mingtang teaches on image medicine and our own qigong practice. In our meditations we often hold images –( ha! You see? There’s that word, yet I’m just now connecting the dots! :)) And the stronger the image is in our mind’s eye, the more they influence our spirit, energy and even change our physical body! Oh this is so cool! One of our most fundamental meditations in ZY Qigong, that we teach in Level 1 is Refine Qi. This cultivates our own and gathered Qi in our lower abdomen (or dan tian) – it changes ‘jing’ or hormone into ‘qi’. Well in our meditation we visualize having a red hot ball in our lower dantian. No one is born with this energy center in our body – but through practice, through the use of image, we actually create it! And we create a red hot ball that actually gets burning hot and causes physical, energetic, and informational transformation. So there you go – I’ve been practicing the basics of image medicine all this time and am just now getting it! 🙂
Thanks for those of you who have made it to the end of this blog!
Much Warmth, Good Qi and Vibrant Health to you all.
Love,
KarenJoy
