CHI KUNG STATE OF MIND AND CHI FLOW
Chi Kung State of Mind
Question
Is a chi kung state of mind the same as chi flow?
— Andrea, Sultanate of Oman
Answer
No, they are not the same. Entering into a chi kung state of mind is essential for chi flow, or practicing chi kung. But one may not necessary have a chi flow or practice chi kung when he is in a chi kung state of mind.
Not many people realize that entering into a chi kung state of mind is a required condition for chi kung training. In other words, even when they perform chi kung techniques and regulate their breathing correctly, if they are not in a chi kung state of mind, they are only performing gentle physical exercise co-ordinated with breathing, but they are not practicing chi kung. The failure to realize this fact causes more than 80% of chi kung practitioners all over the world not getting any chi kung benefits like good health and vitality even when they have practiced for many years.
A chi kung state of mind is a modern term. In the past it was known as entering silence, entering Tao or entering Zen. In Western terms it is attaining a higher state of consciousness.
Hence, one may enter into a chi kung state of mind, or attain a higher state of consciousness, like in meditation or a scientist, an artist or a sportsman totally and relaxingly focused on what he is doing at the moment, but he may not be practicing chi kung.
Question
If we can generate a chi flow from a chi kung state of mind, is it necessary to perform chi kung patterns to generate a chi flow?
Answer
The answer, as often the case in chi kung matters, is yes and no.
If your purpose is to generate a chi flow and nothing else, it is not necessary to perform any chi kung patterns if you already can go into chi flow from a chi kung state of mind.
This is considered a master's skill. Only masters who have practiced chi kung for many years may have this advanced skill. Yet, ridiculous it may seem, now even our students can do this.
There may be other purposes in your chi kung practice, like correcting your posture or loosening your joints and muscles. Perform some relevant chi kung patterns, like Lifting the Sky and Carrying the Moon, would be very useful.
You may like to look and feel youthful besides generating a chi flow for health, vitality and longevity. Performing Carrying the Moon is excellent.
Although by entering a chi kung state of mind, you can generate a chi flow, performing some relevant exercises will make your chi flow more vigorous. This also applies to the number of repetitions for performing chi kung patterns.
Suppose you have decided to perform 15 repetitions of Lifting the Sky. But by the sixth or seventh repetition, you already have generated a chi flow. The chi flow is not very powerful yet. So you can "tame" the flow and continue performing Lifting the Sky to generate a more powerful flow.
Question
You emphasize that entering into a chi kung state of mind is a very important thing in chi kung. What other benefits we can get from entering into a chi kung state of mind besides generating a chi flow?
Answer
Entering into a chi kung state of mind is very important in chi kung because without it one cannot perform chi kung; he only performs the patterns and also the breathing. Without entering into a chi kung state of mind, one cannot generate a chi flow. Chi flow is the essence of chi kung. It is chi flow, not the exercise and not the breathing, that gives chi kung benefits like overcoming pain and illness, attaining good health, vitality and longevity, and attaining mental clarity and spiritual joys.
Even if we leave aside chi kung, being able to enter into a chi kung state of mind or attaining a higher level of consciousness is a wonderful skill that brings tremendous benefits. When you are in a chi kung state of mind, you can perform better no matter what you do. Isn't that fantastic? No matter what you do, whether you read your newspaper or have breakfast, plan a marketing project or give a public talk, help your children with their homework or play games, you will have better results if you are in a chi kung state of mind!
How is this possible? It is because when you are in a chi kung state of mind you are both focused and relaxed at the same time. No matter what you do, when you are focused you will have better result than if you had been distracted. When you are relaxed you will have better result than if you had been tensed. When you are both focused and relaxed at the same time, your result will be better exponentially.
When you started chi kung, it took you about 10 minutes to enter into a chi kung state of mind. In many situations, 10 minutes is too long to be useful. You don't, for example, ask your client or a tennis opponent to wait for 10 minutes while you prepare yourself to enter into a chi kung state of mind.
But now, after the chi kung course, you can enter into a chi kung state of mind within a minute. That is extremely useful. Before your client sits down comfortably or your tennis opponent walks into the court, entering into a chi kung state of mind within a minute enables you to enhance your performance.
The above is taken from Questions 6, 7 and 8 August 2013 Part 3 of the Selection of Questions and Answers.
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