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technique is required or preferred, nor are we attempting to change the body or the energy in
any way according to a pre-determined goal. It is possible to use any Qigong posture for this
purpose. A degree of familiarity and comfort with any specific standing, sitting or moving
form may be helpful if it is approached as a vehicle for deepening awareness. It is, however,
essential to suspend or release any particular expectations, images, reference to past
experiences of energy, or expectations of results.
Initially one's attention may be gently directed to the surface of the body, or various
parts such as the palms of the hands, the limbs, or, for those with more Qigong experience,
the lower Dantian. As the awareness is sustained, different types of sensation and feeling
may arise. No effort is involved in this. There is no sense of doing or activity directed
towards an anticipated result. Rather, the experience is one of deep receptivity, stillness or
"listening."
Gradually, attention moves toward the subtle energy field of the body, the Qi or life
force. This may be felt in any area of the body or over the entire body. The classical
indicators of Qi - tingling, warmth, numbness, etc. may arise and these are simply employed
as objects for attention.
With sustained "listening," a more global sensation of energy arises involving the
whole body. The "practice" here is one of effortlessly allowing the attention to rest within
the Inner Body8, the field of Qi that is manifesting within and perhaps extending beyond the
body. Breathing may be experienced over the entire body, as if the cells themselves were
inhaling and exhaling. Yet, there is no imaging, description, labeling or conceptualizing
involved in any of this. Gradually, the body itself becomes more transparent and the
distinction between the doer, the observer, and the object of observation begins to dissolve.
Directed attention itself begins to dissolve and what remains is Wu Chi - simple pure,
awareness.
As we practice this ancient art with this intent and understanding, utilizing the
body/senses/mind and Qi as objects or forms arising in awareness, we embody the essential
principles of Wu Wei. Working with the forms of Qigong in this simple, direct manner, as a
Portal to Presence, we enter the natural state of being that is at the heart of the Taoist way.
©2003 Gunther M. Weil, Ph.D.
_________________________
1 Jean Klein, Who Am I? The Sacred Quest (Rockport, Massachusetts, Element Books, 1992)
2 Shou-Yu Liang & W.C. Wu,Qigong Empowerment (E. Providence, R.I. Way of the Dragon, 1997)
3 Richard Wilhelm, The Secret of the Golden Flower (New York, Harcourt Brace, Inc. 1962)
4 Lu K¹uan Yu, Taoist Yoga: Alchemy & Immortality (York Beach Maine, Samuel Weiser, 1973)
5 Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching (London, Penguin Classics, 1963, D.C. Lau translation)
6 Jean Klein, The Ease of Being (Durhan, N.C., The Acorn Press, 1984)
7 Lam Kam Chuen, The Way of Energy (New York, Fireside Simon & Schuster, 1991)
8 Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now (Novato, CA. New World Library, 1999)
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