Last Wednesday, we had the privilege of hosting Awakin Call with Master Mingtong Gu. Several hundred of us connected from all around the world. Whether you're a beginner or a veteran practitioner, we can all connect, as Master Mingtong said, with the inner child, to bring forth renewal, creativity, and an unfettered openness to healing and awakening. This is a time of great challenge, personally and globally. It is a time ripe for transformation. What might happen if we learned to tap into the 96% of what remains unknown in the universe?    

We are so grateful for the qi field with Master Mingtong Gu. The master and his life force energy took us far beyond the expected time frame--a powerful 2 1/2 hours, even as time stood still. We have posted the complete recording of the workshop. For reference:

• the live demonstration begins at 31:10 and ends at around 47:30, with a bit of commentary afterward until 50:00 (we hope to post a separate link to just that segment on the same web page containing the complete recording).
• before the demo (uptil 31:10) is a beautiful conversation between Cynthia and Master Mingtong about the power of qi gong in his life – including
  • how  “healing is a side effect” (16:00);
  • how his learning of qi gong in his thirties had the side of effect of helping heal his chronic conditions of asthma, scoliosis (arising from an incident of childhood trauma, the memory of which only came back as he began to connect to his energy);
  • the pervasive disconnection of mind from body and how that leads to contracted energy patterns in body;
  • how we alone have access to our energy systems; and
  • how “healing and awakening is inseparable” and “personal healing and collective healing is inseparable” (via the chi field).
• after the live demo is the Master’s powerpoint explanation of the principles underlying qi gong practice (starting at 52:10).
• the sound healing demo is at 1:37:45 to 1:50:45 (for continued engagement with this, he offered some gifts at the following link:  chicenter.com/journal, and additional resources are included below).
• Q&A begins at 1:53:45.

For those who want to continue the journey into Wisdom Healing Qigong with Master Mingtong, here are additional resources:

The 3 A's: Accept, Activate, Appreciate (Gifts Freely Offered)

• 5-Organ sound healing chart + ebook (referenced by Master Mingtong in his talk)
• Chi-TV: every Tues and Sat at 8:30 am MT, join a live practice led by certified teachers from the Chi Center community, followed by a meditation by Master Mingtong
• An introductory 20-minute practice with both movements and sounds
• There are many more videos on Master Mingtong's channel, from short teachings to hourlong practices

"We Cannot Heal by Thinking. We must Go Into the Body and the Heart."

• Qigong for Life Mastery Program, a comprehensive, systematized, self-paced online program that provides structure and guidance for more serious students. There are movement forms and sound healing, accompanied by teachings, healing meditations, and live office hours with Master Mintong. *This is offered as a monthly subscription. 

Cynthia’s Journey: Can't Make This Stuff Up

• The Daily Good: What Qigong Taught One Doctor About Healing
• Awakin Call: Brave New Medicine

There's No Language for "I Can't." 
In Wisdom Healing Qigong, the basic guideline is "comfortably challenging." Comfortable because you don't want to overexert or cause harm to yourself, and challenging because if it's too easy, there's not a lot of energy moving. The idea of "I can't" arises from the mind when trauma or illness causes a contracted state. But the body is willing. And the heart is wanting. Are they both waiting?

• Start slow, start small. Like this 5-minute video for mental clarity.
• If health challenges limit your ability to stand, sit down or rest as needed during the practice. 
• If sitting is a challenge, lie down and visualize the movements. 
• If pain becomes intense, give a gentle inner smile to the area. 
• Try sound healing.  
• Take a qi nap. Listen to this 30-minute healing session and receive it as an energetic transmission. Good to do this before sleep, too, when you're generally more open. 
• Sometimes the movement of qi can cause a "purification" reaction. This is similar to a "detox" reaction, in which symptoms can worsen, or you might feel fatigued or achy. This means old patterns are releasing. Get plenty of rest. Drink lots of water. And know that it will pass. You can choose a gentler practice or listen to a healing session until it passes, usually within a couple of days. 

"Where the Mind Goes, Qi Flows." 
Learning qigong is like learning a new language. The more regularly you study and practice, the faster you will gain mastery. If you immerse yourself in it, the language can become subconscious: you'll "speak qigong" throughout all your daily activities.

• Find a qi buddy. A friend, partner, or colleague. If you sign up for a subscription at the Chi Center (per above), they can help pair or group you with others.
• Commit to a 100-day gong. After your first 100 days, commit to another 100, until this becomes a daily habit. Free printable worksheet.
• Schedule yourself as the first agenda of the day. Sometimes this means waking up 30-60 minutes earlier.
• One of the biggest hurdles is trying to squeeze qigong into your life as it is. Change in our bodies (or in our societies) demands change in our lives. Review daily routines and commitments. See what you can let go of. Fill the new spaciousness with qigong and connection to yourself. 

We’ve received tremendous feedback from the call. Here's a sampling: This call brought seismic shifts for me. I feel myself opening again. Don't analyze, just practice, take responsibility. A remarkable embodiment of deep, pure spirit. I cried at the beginning of the call, and again at the end.  

Some Excerpts from the Transcript:

• All sentient beings are looking for happiness. So when I realized that, it was an important insight, because now I can really make choices based on this deeper search, deeper value, deeper meaning. But at the same time noticing that most of the time, we are searching for happiness in the wrong place.
• the summary of my own journey is continuously discovering the deeper capacity of my heart, especially right now in this time of pandemic. Simply put, it is the capacity for compassion, for love, for wisdom, for joy, for creativity. For deeper wisdom beyond mental thinking, but for everyday living.
• The secret to your mortality, same secret to longevity, same secret to happiness, is to be child-like.  It means deeply energetically, you are returning to that energy state of openness, playfulness, creativity, and joyfulness, spontaneity, and that is the Taoist way of cultivating, not only longevity, but also spiritual enlightenment.
• Recognizing that you came from the same source energy [the universal energy of the star] and the same source energy is still with you. 
• You can cultivate the full potential of this creative energy inside of you as a human being and connect it around you with the earth, with the universe, and even the next step further, you have the responsibility, we all have this responsibility to cultivate this energy.
• We all have this responsibility to cultivate the full potential of this creative energy. I think of that as one of the big quantum leaps we're making. because we're now forced to recognize that responsibility.
• So, keeping the energy moving is the key. I can give you all the reasons. But the most important reason is when the energy is contracted all life is limited. When the energy is open, flowing again, life comes back -- as a result your health comes back, as a result your heart is more open, as a result your creative mind starts awakening, as a result your spirit is open, is free. So that is one most important understanding from Qigong tradition in general, especially Wisdom Healing Qigong and that's what we focus on.
• So you'll realize, you can access the energy. You can make the change. You can embody the change, as Gandhi says, "be the change you want to see in the world." And sometimes, you think this change has to be big in some way, social structure, political structure. But deeply it's coming from energy patterns we're experiencing every day.
• If we can change the patterns, it has to start with ourselves. Then collectively, we can change the pattern in humanity, totally shifting energy on the planet Earth, before we can solve any problems.
• But the embodiment practice is bringing this peace, bringing this awareness, bringing this connection of oneness into the physical body, into everyday life.
• Wisdom Healing Qigong is focused on the spiritual dimension, the wisdom dimension, the oneness of energy. Then as a result, is healing, including physical healing, emotional healing, mental, spiritual awakening. And in this case, healing and awakening are inseparable. You start awakening your energy. Awakening your heart. Awakening your mind, at the same time. So that is healing, an awakening process. Awakening is deeper healing.
• The secret to immortality, to longevity, to happiness, to health, is to be childlike energetically and realize the true nature we are: the lotus-nature, the Buddha-nature, the baby-nature.  And together, when we do it together, as the energy field around the planet Earth, we can accelerate this process. We can realize not only personal healing and awakening but also collective healing and awakening, which is inseparable. 

In the spirit of Haole (all is well and getting better), lots of gratitude to all the behind-the-scenes volunteers that made this call happen!