Zhineng Qigong In The New World
Chi-Lel™ Qigong
Under the name of Chi-Lel™, and with the blessing of Professor Pang, Zhineng Qigong has begun to take firm root in American soil, due to the pioneering work of Luke Chan and his brother Frank, two individuals who have been creating a cross-continental network of practitioners through their ongoing one-, three- and six-day workshops and seminars. Dedicated, like Johnny Appleseed, to implanting the American landscape with seeds which will bear much wonderful fruit, these two committed teachers have, with integrity, humor and humanity, nurtured American Zhineng Qigong through its infancy, and are now guiding it into its first years of harvest.
Galvanized almost solely by Luke Chan's bold, moving translation of documented healing testimonies from the Huaxia Center, 101 Miracles of Natural Healing, Zhineng Qigong, under the trade name of Chi-Lel™' succeeded in capturing the imagination of many American students and inspiring them with the faith to undertake practice.
Starting without benefit of a national awareness of chigong, such as exists in China, and having had to educate many of those who came in such subtle matters as chi, while at the same time bolstering their sometimes flagging efforts with encouraging words and ideas, Luke and Frank Chan have succeeded in an often alien territory, due largely to their passion for sharing the gift of Zhineng Qigong with others, as well as the genuine hunger of Western people for such knowledge.
Luke's approach to this task is refreshingly honest and direct:
. . . After finishing my manuscript, I gave it to my editor for review and later received a call.
"I like your stories, but. . .," my editor hesitated.
"They are truly incredible."
"You don't believe them, do you?"
"Of course I do, but it's the average American I'm thinking about. They might be turned off by these miracles. You want to sell books, don't you?"
"Well, what's your advice?"
"You might want to tone them down."
As our conversation ended I felt unsure. Should I alter these interviews to make them seem more reasonable?
Then I recalled the emotion of a cancer patient who had been waiting three years to die because there wasn't any cure for his bladder cancer, and who finally, with the help of Chi-Lel™ was given a fighting chance to recover and live. And I thought of a woman who, when being told by doctors that she was just too old for any treatment, refused to give up and fought her deadly disease with Chi-Lel™ and finally survived to tell her story. Then there was the lady who had secretly practiced Chi-Lel™ at home for two years because she was afraid of being ridiculed for believing in miracles, and who, when she finally went to a group practice, was embraced and "welcomed home." How could I deny these stories of human triumph over suffering?
To change these accounts to suit average beliefs would be a denial of encouragement and hope to those who truly need it. So the stories in this book remain exactly as they were told to me. Furthermore, I will endeavor to compile a sequel - of miracles involving Americans who've had the courage to try and triumph with the help of Chi-Lel™.
Attempting in various ways to stem the Western student's penchant for theorizing and speculation, Luke and Frank have consistently concentrated on imparting the fundamentals of practice in a very personable, pragmatic manner. Their working strategy is simple: Do the practice correctly and faithfully, experience the benefits, and you will understand. But forever understanding and never practicing is only a recipe for frustration and failure.
In this light, one understands their decision to steer clear of the more esoteric aspects of practice, such as dramatic, difficult or controversial techniques and ideas which might threaten to distract new students from the task at hand - establishing a firm foundation of basic practice. It is an amusing and enlightening experience to watch Luke re-route an overly intellectual questioner's complicated queries, pointing his nose instead in the direction of simple, sustained practice - the avenue to all answers.
Their Chi-Lel™ workshops introduce participants to such core practices as Gathering Chi, Three Centers Merge Standing, Lift Chi Up and Pour Chi Down, Wall Squatting and the Level Two Body and Mind Form. The preparation is careful and the practice is closely monitored, so that each student comes into possession of a clear understanding of the forms, postures and movements, as well as a sense of the inner subtleties of relaxation, balance, body-tone and visualization techniques involved. A strong atmosphere of support, synergy and interconnectedness is created in the culminating activity of these workshops and seminars - the creation of chi field, followed by a group healing session in which all participate, well or ill, young and old, beginner and initiate. Thus has Professor Pang's vision begun to become a global reality.
Likewise, through their umbrella organization, Benefactor Press, they have made available both audiotapes and videotapes comprising an invaluable series of instructional materials covering all aspects of their teaching; these are to be highly recommended for both the novice and the initiate. Having the virtue of visual continuity and clarity, the videotapes offer immense benefit to those students who have yet to receive personal instruction, or those who wish to refine and perfect their technique through repeated exposure to Luke Chan's clearly articulated demonstration of the practices. In addition to these handsomely produced instructional videos, there is also available a series of audiotapes which feature Luke Chan's guided instruction in English, simultaneously layered over a recording of Professor Pang's resonant voice leading the same practice in Chinese. It is not possible to describe the electric effect of Ming Pang's potent voice in empowering one's own private practice; at times it sounds like the living expression of an ancient tree, or the deep vibration of an ocean wave, penetrating one's being. The sense of connection with Professor Pang becomes immediate and palpable, and one senses a renewed strength and faith.
In addition, Luke and Frank Chan are to be admired for their creation of a series of networking systems which bond together the Chi-Lel™ community and provide information, enlightenment and encouragement; 1) a quarterly newsletter, Chi-Lel™, Qigong News, which features articles by and about Americans who have been practicing Chi-Lel™ and experiencing recovery from illness and healing of many different disease conditions - and 2) an internet web site, complete with testimonials, workshop calendars and an online forum where students and practitioners share encouragement and information. Singlehandedly, these two guides have brought Zhineng Qigong into the front lines of the American healing scene, where it deserves to be, and have enhanced it with modern communication technologies.
The following is but a sampling of excerpts from the most recent of their many newsletters:
Good News From Santa Fe (GW):
It is time for another wonderful six-day retreat. I learned so much at the Sedona Retreat.
Sante Fe is really responding to Chi-Lel™, like mad. There are more than 150 at this point and at least five to ten new people come a day! We are practicing at a local fitness center that donated the space, since I am doing this free as a community service. My vision is that by summer every neighborhood park will have a group doing Chi-Lel™ there! It would be a lot like China, yes? We are already getting many testimonials. I am encouraging people to use the web site forum to spread the news. Here are some for you:
1. Jay: severe diabetes with sugar level at 400 when he started Chi-Lel™. Now, 35 days later, his blood sugar level is down to 150! He comes to the group daily and also is doing La Chi and Chi Massage and 30 wall squats a day.
2. Nina: with environmental illness, one of the first to start at my house, is now, four months later, no longer experiencing sensitivities to chemicals, smoke and fragrances. She is losing weight without changing her eating habits and she is happier than she has ever been.
3. Robin: dealing with bladder and kidney problems for seven years. Now the pain is gone and she can feel in her abdomen and she is roller-blading! She does wall squats and La Chi and Lift Chi Up and Pour Chi Down with the group.
4. Nicole came the first day depressed and suicidal. After we did the Lift Chi Up and Three Centers Combo tape, she said she felt a lot of pain in her nose and then heard a crack and her septum adjusted itself! She hasn't been able to breathe through her nose for 30 years! She also is no longer depressed and is joyful daily.
We did the Full Moon with 35 people last night! We send you love, chi and joy.
Hao-La!
As an inspiration of the depth of human endeavor possible, Luke Chan includes a cover article documenting the history - and updating the present status - of one Teacher Zhang: "As I read a recent letter from Teacher Zhang, I was filled with awe and respect. Her faith in Chi-Lel™ has rekindled my spirit to spread this wonderful art to the world. I hope you too, will find her letter uplifting. To give you some background, here is an excerpt of what Teacher Zhang told me in 1995." (Miracle #66 of 101 Miracles of Natural Healing):
I stared at Teacher Zhang's youthful face in disbelief as she told me that she was sixty years old. Furthermore, she asserted that she had recovered from more than twenty illnesses. Seeing my amazement, Teacher Zhang showed me a faded photograph of herself taken almost thirty years ago. The picture showed her dark brown eyes resting in a hollow skull, staring into the camera. Her neatly combed hair and pretty dress couldn't cover the emptiness and suffering of a sick person.
"During the Cultural Revolution, my husband was branded as a 'poison weed' and our lives were turned upside down. Under such tremendous stress, I started to develop severe headaches, ringing in my ears, a running nose, and toothaches; I also had difficulty swallowing food. As time went on, my illnesses became more and more severe. I had kidney infections, and ulcers, spleen problems, arthritis, paralysis on the left side of my body, and an irregular heart rate."
"Were you very weak as a child?"
"No, I was a healthy child. Indeed, in school I was the envy of the other girls as I was an excellent sportswoman and a good singer. But in just a few years my illnesses turned me into an old woman who couldn't sing or walk. Wearing winter clothes year-round, I endured pain every day and I moved as if I were walking on a layer of water. Indeed my life was poisoned, and I was slowly choking to death."
"It must have been a very difficult time for you."
"Yes, it was and it became harder. Just as I thought I had seen the worst, my lungs contracted tuberculosis. Where before people hadn't cared about my illnesses because they were busy in their revolutionary activities, now I was despised and isolated because of my contagious disease. I stayed in the hospital for two and a half years.
"Then the good news came that the Gang of Four had fallen into disgrace and my family was resurrected as being innocent.
I was joyful as my mental pressure was released. However, my physical illnesses continued to plague me for another ten years."
"It was not until 1989 that I was introduced to Chi-Lel™ and I have loved it ever since my first week of practicing it."
"What do you mean?"
"After the first week of practicing my stomachache disappeared. With that encouragement, I began to take seriously by practicing the movements every day for long hours. It took me two years to conquer all my illnesses. Ultimately, four years ago, I became a teacher in the Center."
Dear Luke,
As you requested in your last letter, I am sharing with you my daily routine in the Center as a teacher.
I get up at 4:00 a.m. and practice Wall Squatting or Bend Body Arch Back (level two) until 5:30 a.m. before everyone gets up. Then I join the teachers' group practice from 5:40 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. We alternately practice different levels of Chi-Lel™.
After having breakfast, I lead our class to practice and F a Chi to our students for three and a half hours. (Teacher Zhang teaches a class of students facing the challenge of deafness.)
From 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. I have a two-hour nap time -these are the most treasured hours of the day! Then I will continue to teach class until 6 p.m.
After dinner, I practice with the same teachers' group from 7:20 to 8:30 p.m. For another hour, I will visit our students at their dorm to make sure everyone is okay. After all the students and other teachers go to bed at 10 p.m., I will practice Wall Squatting or Bend Body Arch Back for another hour and a half.
So I practice about 16 hours a day with only six hours sleep. I love it. The more I practice, the more energy I get. I'm 65 years old and I feel younger and younger. I don't need any medicine or needles. Every year I have one or two chi-reactions and I overcome them with more practice. Each time after the chi-reaction, my practice has reached another level.
Please tell my story to your Chi-Lel™ friends. I am a living proof that Chi-Lel™ works. I had suffered with more than twenty illnesses for decades but now I am free. I know I can live to more than a hundred. I believe Chi-Lel™ will bring health and happiness to the whole humankind.
Luke Chan concludes: "Teacher Zhang, we, too, believe Chi-Lel™ will bring much joy to the world. Thank you for being a guiding light. We love you."
Without the groundbreaking efforts and continuing support provided by Luke and Frank Chan, Benefactor Press, and a fast-growing core of instructors and practitioners throughout the United States and Canada, the reality of Chi-Lel™ - North American Zhineng Qigong - would still be only a dream.
Further reading:
Chan, Luke, 101 Miracles of Natural Healing, Benefactor Press,
Cincinnati, Ohio, 1996. The Chi-Lel ™ Qigong News, Quarterly Journal, Benefactor Press,
Cincinnati, Ohio. Jahnke, Roger, The Healer Within, Harper San Francisco, 1997.
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