health, pediatric, human health, Public health, medical, hospital

SOCIOPOLITICAL CONTEXT AND DISCOURSE

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To the narrative therapist, context is everything. Therapeutic inquiry seeks

to deconstruct discourses and the institutions that promote them. These

discourses create social realities that often keep problematic relational patterns

alive (White, 1991).

Terry and Shawn enter therapy with a very thin description of their relationship

(Geertz, 1973; White, 1991). Terry is “too emotional” and Shawn is

“distanced and shut down.” This relationship-restraining story has the couple

caught in a repetitive cycle of blaming each other for what’s wrong in

their relationship. By eliciting the messages that Shawn received in his training

as a young adult, he identifies the following discourse: “If a woman cries,

it ’s my fault.” Instead of locating the problem within Shawn, we turn an evaluative

eye on this discourse and how it shapes Shawn’s understanding of

gender relationships. In so doing, space is opened for Shawn to evaluate the

real effects of this discourse on his life, and he’s invited to choose whether or

not these beliefs serve his own preferences for his relationship. At the same

time, Terry is invited to consider renegotiating other discourses that may be

constraining to the couple, and she identifies this one: “Emotion equals weakness.”

Through this process of expanding the couple’s options, Terry and

Shawn begin exploring alternative descriptions of themselves as a couple

and find themselves on the path to relationship-promoting practices.

The First Years of Marital Commitment

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MARITAL COMMITMENT AND the treatment of couples who are in their

first marriage are the focus of this chapter. In American society,

this refers mainly to couples who are in their twenties, or in some

instances, in their early thirties, who have not been married previously.

Couples in later stages of marriage and gay or lesbian couples are the subject

matter of subsequent chapters.

What do we need to know to work therapeutically with couples in their

early years of committed relationships? We need to understand, in the

broadest terms, the nature of marriage, cohabitation, and commitment in

such relationships.

The next section delineates the nature of marriage, cohabitation, and

commitment. Following that is a brief review of family development and

the concepts of individual and marital life cycles—with some reference to

family life cycles and the central tasks of those cycles as they pertain to first

marriage—and the commitment process; and integrative marital therapy,

involving object relations, system theory, and cognitive behavioral constructs.

Clinical illustrations of how interventions are made with couples

and individuals requesting marital therapy are then presented. Because not

all couples have difficulties with all parts of early marital adjustment, illustrations

are taken from a variety of cases. Next, reference is made to

some issues typically found in therapy with mainstream White American

couples and couples from other ethnic, racial, and religious backgrounds.

The majority of extant research literature deals with differences between

White Americans and African American or Hispanic couples. A brief summary

is provided in the final section.

SUMMARY

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PAIRS premarital counseling and training offers premarital couples rich

resources that will enhance not only their intimate relationship but also enrich

and emotionally deepen their personal and family lives. Research documents

that the PAIRS experience results in achieving far higher levels of

self-worth, emotional literacy, emotional maturity, and relationship satisfaction.

Love and community are well documented to be potent healing

powers that create longer, healthier, more joyful lives (Ornish, 1990). This

chapter presented premarital assessment, counseling, training sequences,

and preventive support from the PAIRS perspective, as applications of a

powerful technology for healing, building, strengthening, and sustaining

healthy marital and family relationships.

The PAIRS technology is available to train counselors and through them

their clients in how to build lasting, satisfying, healthy, successful relationships.

With successful lifelong marriages, there will be healthier children

and reduced suffering in successive generations. It is the profound hope of

the PAIRS network of leaders and trained professionals that PAIRS, as an

educational and counseling resource, will become an essential part of the

training for all those who provide therapy, counsel, assist, and train couples,

particularly premarital couples. This knowledge base needs to be culturally

incorporated as a universally expected foundation for every new

couple considering a permanent commitment to building a lasting, stable

marriage and healthy family life together.

PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE PROGRAMS

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At the close of the semester program, participants often wish to continue

their group learning and practice in a preventive maintenance format.

They often request monthly meetings with the support of their PAIRS instructor

or the PTP. Requests from class groups often include a desire for

periodic weekend workshops, usually once or twice a year. Repeating the

Bonding Weekend Workshop is most often requested because it helps to

maintain access to the core emotional openness needed for bonding and

intimacy.

A PAIRS Three-Year Preventive Maintenance Program is under development

for graduates to sustain their strong foundation for loving, healthy

marriage and family relationships. This program provides opportunities

for those who have had PAIRS experiences (including premarital assessment

and OFFICE PAIRS) to refresh and practice a wide range of skills,

such as the Fair Fight for Change with Peer Coaches, PARTS Parties, Dialogue

Guides, Daily Temperature Readings, and Genograms. Options in

this program include continuing monthly three-hour classes, periodic sixmonth

one-session check-ups, and twice-yearly day-long seminars. Fees for

this program vary by the options chosen by each couple. Based on years of

experience conducting PAIRS programs, relationships clearly benefit from

a psychoeducational program in knowledge and skills in building and sustaining

intimacy in relationships and this benefit can be sustained with

regular preventive support.

CONTRACTING—CLARIFYING EXPECTATIONS

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Based on Clifford Sager’s work (1976), the PAIRS curriculum culminates in

an integration and application of all the tools and concepts learned in the

proceeding months toward a revised relationship contract. To prepare for the

Contracting Weekend, the Powergram (Stuart, 1980) is examined as a model

for understanding how power is shared and decisions are made in each relationship.

Using this model, couples address where and how to change the

division of power and responsibilities so that both are satisfied with their

degree of input, influence, and responsibility, and areas of autonomy in decision

making. Couples use the Museum Tour of Past Decisions, to review and

learn from past decisions about which there may remain a residue of resentment

or hurt.

Participants extensively journal to clarify expectations and needs in their

relationship. They examine all areas of life—work and career, leisure time,

money, housework, children, in-laws, religious observances, sexuality—and

rank areas of importance or dissatisfaction in order of urgency. Couples

also identify their core expectations or Walking Issues—the ones that are

nonnegotiable. Couples work together to make a priority list of those issues

they agree need adjustment through negotiation. They are coached in Contracting

Sessions by other couples using the Fair Fight for Change as the basic

structure for contracting. They also use any of the other tools they have

learned in PAIRS.

Through contracting, couples discover that seemingly impossible differences

can be bridged with goodwill, hard work, and support. They now possess

the self-awareness and necessary skills to continue this recontracting

work after the course on an on-going basis at home using the full range of

skills in their PAIRS Tool Kit. Issues that have not yet been resolved are identified

and prioritized for homework, and couples have a network of peer

coaches on whom they can draw if they need assistance. Lifetime friendships

are commonly forged in the group, and there is a profound sense of trust and

community that group members enjoy. It is typical for class groups to continue

to meet on a regular basis and continue to provide a network of support

to one another. They form a caring community. Some groups have met for

many years following the Relationship Mastery Course.

In contrast to individual growth activities, such as individual counseling

or therapy, PAIRS highlights the importance of the couple as a crucible from

which healing, personal growth, and the development of higher capacities

can emerge. Thus, sustained intimacy and pleasure are assured and the relationship

becomes a lasting source of authentic love, mutual respect, and

trust between two growing and evolving partners. Premarital couples in

PAIRS courses find enormous support from veteran couples. They acquire

mentors, role models, support figures, and (for the younger premarital couples)

new surrogate mothers and fathers to support them and reparent

them toward successful marriage. Couples considering a second marriage

find opportunities to explore what went wrong for each earlier and take responsibility

for their part so that the old maladaptive patterns do not

reemerge in their new relationship. Many divorced individuals who take

PAIRS as singles have vowed never to reenter another relationship until

they understand what happened and acquire the skills to assure a different

outcome the next time around. PAIRS training provides the strongest opportunity

for the newly committing couple to acquire the skills, concepts,

understandings, self-knowledge, and strategies for building deep intimacy

and assuring a lasting, healthy marriage.

PLEASURE—SENSUALITY AND SEXUALITY

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Couples explore how they can expand the range of pleasure that they share

together. PAIRS recognizes three special biological needs (sources of pleasure)

that require physical touch met by the married couple: Sensuality, Sexuality,

and Bonding. The Pleasure Weekend Workshop is devoted to removing

barriers to pleasure and enhancing skills and understandings that enable

couples greater pleasure, joy, and fun through stimulation of the senses,

touch, and physical closeness. Same gender groups explore: (1) early experiences

and messages that have impacted one’s development as a sensual and

sexual being; (2) playful exploration of gender differences in romantic turn

ons and turn offs; and (3) sexual saboteurs and stereotypes, myths, and fallacies

about sex. Cross-gender conversations and guided visualizations

about early experiences with sex development help generate more empathic understanding between partners and more acceptance for their biologically

based differences.

Sprinkled throughout the weekend are exercises designed to open the five

senses, as well as guided massages where couples practice giving and receiving

pleasuring touch with feedback. The Guided Face Caress and Foot Massage

are among the most enjoyable moments of the entire PAIRS program.

Along with these sensual exercises, an explicit film on lovemaking is

shown that re-focuses the couple on intimacy and pleasure, and helps to relieve

performance anxieties. Participants fill out detailed and explicit inventories

to help identify romantic, sensual, and sexual preferences,

dissatisfactions, and wishes for change. Couples are guided through a safe

process in which they share their pleasure inventories with each other and

discuss their reactions and feedback. Often, a lack of communication or a

buildup of resentment or fear of hurting or embarrassing one another has

blocked giving and receiving pleasure freely. Sensual and sexual pleasure

dates (McCarthy & McCarthy, 1990), which are assigned for homework,

give couples permission to experiment in new and creative ways with both

giving and receiving pleasure. Couples usually leave the weekend with a

renewed sense of hope and excitement about their sex life, and frequently

describe breakthroughs in the following weeks from having been able to

enjoy each other based on leveling about their physical and sexual needs

and preferences.

The roots of jealousy—the downside of natural sexual possessivness—are

examined. Participants are shown how the Web of Jealousy, comprised of

fear, shame, pain, guilt, and rage, negatively affects self-esteem and trust.

Jealous reactive behaviors to stem the pain and control outcomes often

make matters worse, creating a Jealousy Infinity Loop. Through a Jealousy

Journaling Exercise with guided discussions with partner, couples come to

understand one another’s jealous reactions and vulnerabilities to jealous

reactions. Betrayal and love triangles are discussed. The essential steps to

prevent jealousy are presented using guidelines developed by Shirley Glass

(2003).

EMOTIONAL REEDUCATION, EMOTIONAL LITERACY, AND BONDING

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PAIRS dives even more deeply into emotion via the PAIRS Bonding Weekend

Workshop. PAIRS adapted the New Identity Process (Casriel, 1972) to

the couple orientation of PAIRS, calling it Bonding Work. Casriel, a

renowned specialist in the treatment of drug and alcohol addiction in

therapeutic communities, originally developed this expressive process to

treat character disorders. Paul MacLean’s (1973) A Triune Concept of the Brain and Behavior is presented as a model to understand emotional memory

that, when activated, does not know time and place and is experienced

as reoccurring now. Participants learn several different positions for holding

their partner while he or she is expressing intense emotions. Participants

learn how to progress from less intense emotions to more intense

expression, to the reexperiencing of emotions in full measure. In this intense

emotionally open state, emotional reeducation can occur. Once individuals

have emptied old pain, they become open to receive positive,

comforting, and affirming messages about themselves from their partners

and the group. When ready, they are assisted in construction affirmations

of their own value, rights, and entitlements. They replace old or toxic

choices with new, healthy attitudes and decisions.

During this process, couples develop deep empathy and compassion for

one another. They discover that, not only can they handle their partners’ intense

emotions, but they can also offer their partner comfort through holding

and touch when they are in pain. Over the course of this weekend,

participants commonly lose their fear of both their own and their partners’

emotional intensity. They experience directly and observe in others how an

intimate relationship generates intense emotions about bonding, belonging,

needing one another, never leaving, and being loved for oneself. They learn

that the expression of these powerfully intense emotions cements their

bond at the deepest of levels and can restore passion to their relationship.

The culmination of this workshop is the Death and Loss experience in

which participants enact saying goodbye to their deceased loved one. They

are led to speak what would need to be expressed to say goodbye. Music

and the use of carefully chosen sentence stems make this an emotionally

charged and deeply meaningful exercise for partners. They experience the

depth of their bond in the “experience” of losing one another through

death. This exercise also allows communication about the meaning of their

lives together. Rest-of-life wish-baskets are shared between partners.

MY HISTORY AND UNIQUE SELF

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A study of family systems, through psychodramas enacting Family Systems

Factories and what happens with the addition of children (Dyad-Triad) leads

into the study of each person’s own family of origin. Genograms, a threegeneration

family map, allows exploration of influences in the family of

origin and reveals the invisible rules, scripts, and loyalties that may be affecting

current relationship. Participants also revisit their personal history through Guided Visualizations and Intensive Journaling to discover the impact

of early messages and past decisions, especially regarding love, adequacy,

and worth. They uncover their Revolving Ledgers, the emotional bills of

debts owed from the past that, as they walk through the revolving door of

life, they hand to whomever is there. Participants identify intense overreactions

to relatively minor behaviors of their partner that indicate the

presence of Emotional Allergies (another concept unique to PAIRS). These allergies

are acute sensitivities to whatever now reminds a person of pain or

threats from the past. Allergic responses are accompanied in the present by

protective reactions (ideas and emotions) and protective behaviors that

were used to manage the pain long ago.

Tools for healing allergies and past painful experience include the Healing

the Ledger Exercise and the Museum Tour of Past Hurts and Disappointments.

Here, partners confide previous painful or frightening experiences

to one another. This confiding helps the listener to understand and have

more compassion for the partner, and it helps the speaker to express pain

safely to a comforting, validating, and supportive partner. Partners are

shown how to hold each other in a nurturing way, while they are expressing

and releasing old pain. Participants may use the Letting Go of Grudges

Letter as a journaling and/or confiding tool, for finding relief and freedom

in working through grudges (hurts held in angry resentment to protect

from risking being hurt again). Through these experiences, participants

clear up misunderstandings of one another by reclaiming their personal

history rather than continuing to project and blame their partner. They reconnect

with suppressed early experiences and decisions that have been

interfering with their ability to trust or be intimate with their partner. Partners

also learn they can help to heal instead of hurt one another.

Couples also find that Emotional Allergy Infinity Loops underlie many of

their unresolved conflicts. Such a loop occurs when a person’s behavior

triggers an emotionally allergic reaction in his or her partner. The partner’s

allergic reaction then triggers an allergic reaction in the first partner,

whose reactive behavior then retriggers the second, and so on, ad infinitum.

In the throes of an Emotional Allergy Infinity Loop, each partner

often re-experiences the worst pains of childhood and the helpless reactions

of a small child. Typically each feels, “if it is like this, then I cannot be

here!” Each forgets to see his or her partner as a friend and experiences

the partner instead as the enemy. Each becomes lost in a reactive state of

believing the worst about self and partner and of using primitive protective

actions. Devastating distance can grow.

Couples now develop concepts and a language to understand and explain

what they are experiencing when they are conjointly in the grip of such

emotional intensity. As participants begin to understand and discuss their

Love Knots, Early Scripts and Decisions, Ledgers, Grudges, Emotional Allergies,

and Emotional Allergy Infinity Loops, they become capable of taking

responsibility for their own reactions, rather than blaming the other.

Couples are helped to strategize together to devise “emergency exit ramps”

from their loops and to work together to escape those slippery slopes.

Through empathy for the partner’s “child responses” and revision of beliefs

about the meaning of the partner’s behavior, the Emotional Allergy Infinity

Loop can be transformed into a Loop of Vulnerability and Empathy (LOVE).

To help see their unique self and inherent personality differences, participants

rate themselves on the Meyers-Briggs type indicator (Kiersey-Bates).

Through the use of exercises to illuminate the differences between the poles

of the four basic personality preference scales, couples begin to see how

many of their disagreements and conflicts are better understood as differing

styles of decision making, problem solving, information gathering, and

style of interaction. Differences, which had appeared to be threatening and

perceived as personal attacks, can now be reframed as temperament differences.

This often allows individuals to accept their own preferences and

styles, and helps couples approach their personality differences with a

sense of humor and even with compassion, instead of frustration, resentment,

or fear. Additionally, couples begin to appreciate how their differences

can be complementary in accomplishing life tasks together.

Participants also learn the “PARTS of Self,” a system of classifying and

understanding the various aspects of their own unique personality. Drawn

from the work of Virginia Satir, participants learn to identify and give meaningful

names to their subpersonalities, usually names of renowned figures

in culture, history, or literature. Disowned or suppressed PARTS of a person’s

psyche tend to act outside of a person’s control. Coming to know and

discover the positive value in each PART of Self allows each person to better

coordinate, utilize, and, if necessary, transform these PARTS so that they are

acting in harmony with personal goals and life choices. Their PARTS can be

perceived as resources. In a series of PARTS parties, classmates act out the

PARTS of one individual, and later the PARTS of a couple. The PARTS party

players help individuals or couples discover new and more creative combinations

of PARTS that the couple can use in conflict and stress or even romance.

Following these PARTS parties, individuals and couples explore their own

inner cast of characters and experiment with ways to rearrange the PARTS

they tend to use the most. In doing so, they discover how to better use all

their resources and uncover new possibilities for interactions with their partners

that are more harmonious and productive.

CLARIFYING ASSUMPTIONS

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Partners’ expectations of one another, conscious or unconscious, are largely

formed by long-past experiences. Unspoken assumptions and hidden expectations

lead to great misunderstanding. A Mind Reading tool is taught for

respectfully checking out assumptions rather than proceeding without

knowing what is true for the partner or with mind reading without permission.

To help couples become more aware of their hidden assumptions,

Gordon catalogued the common Love Knots, or unexamined beliefs, that sabotage

intimate relationships. (See If You Really Loved Me . . . , Gordon, 1996.)

Couples learn to recognize knots and to untangle them so that they lose their

power to sabotage the relationship.

COMMUNICATION AND PROBLEM SOLVING

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PAIRS begins with a presentation of the Relationship Roadmap, the basic PAIRS

model of how relationships succeed or become stuck and fail. Couples learn of

the essential role of confiding in intimacy and then how to listen and speak in

ways that deepen their level of confiding. They are taught the Daily Temperature

Reading, in which they are expected to confide in one another each day

sharing Appreciations, New Information, Puzzles, Complaints with Request

for Change, and Wishes, Hopes, and Dreams. Participants then read and

practice Virginia Satir’s (1988) The New Peoplemaking and discover how the

style one uses can be a far greater problem than the actual issue under discussion.

When stressed and communicating in stress styles (Blaming, Placating,

Computing, and Distracting), the underlying problem goes unresolved.

Couples are then taught the Leveling Style of Communication practiced in the

congruent position (face to face, hands in hands), which is a foundation for

the subsequent confiding work in the course. They cultivate the skill to slow

down communication using Empathic Shared Meaning, taking turns being the

speaker and the listener with feedback to assure understanding. They next

learn how to confide a negative reaction to their partner’s behavior all the

way through in safety using the PAIRS Dialogue Guide. The Dialogue Guide

leads the speaker through a sequence of 18 “I-Statement” sentence stems regarding

this negative reaction. Maintaining eye contact, holding hands while

they speak, giving verbatim feedback, and not answering the complaint or

introjecting defensiveness helps couples to stay connected to one another

and avoid misunderstandings. They discover how to speak so that the other

person really wants to listen, and how to listen with empathy so that the

other feels deeply heard and understood.

One of the many paradoxes of PAIRS is how direct and skillful engagement

of conflict builds greater closeness, trust, and confidence in the relationship.

Couples are taught safe and structured ways to move into the

intense emotion regarding a conflict as a first step toward resolving an issue.

The Emotional Jug is one of the core metaphors of PAIRS. When emotions are

cut off or suppressed, it is as if they are poured into a jug and stopped up

with a cork—a cork that becomes the “stiff upper lip” of indifference. Partners

are taught how to safely remove the cork and “blow their lid.” An initial

expression of anger quickly gives way to more vulnerable feelings like fear,

pain, or grief, which is followed by relief and then gratitude for their partners’

listening and acceptance. This process can occur relatively quickly

when couples master the tools and are not fearful of each other’s emotions.

By learning how to express fully one’s fear, pain, and anger in safe and nondestructive

ways, and to do so in the arms of their beloved, and/or with the

support of peers, the bond between intimate partners powerfully deepens.

The Emptying the Jug Exercise is also taught as a prenegotiation release and as

an emotional confiding tool that may be used like the Daily Temperature

Reading.

The PAIRS anger and conflict management tools were adapted largely

from the work of George Bach (Bach & Wyden, 1969). They include the Anger

Rituals (the Haircut, and the Vesuvius) in which one partner asks permission

of the other to vent in a time-limited fashion with as much intensity as is

present. The Anger Rituals help to contain anger in those who explode or

speak caustically and to give permission to be angry and assertive to those

who rarely allow themselves to do this. Once suppressed emotions around

an issue are released, couples can then productively engage the Fair Fight for

Change, another Bach ritual adapted by PAIRS for use as a structured negotiation.

Here, couples learn to fight for the relationship, rather than against

their partner. Peer couple coaches guide the partners through the fight format,

prohibit dirty fighting, and enable reflective evaluation of the partners’

emerging healthy fight styles. Peer coaches learn as much about the Fair

Fight process when coaching as they do when negotiating their own issues.

Through a Shared Art Exercise in class and Follow-the-Leader Dates as homework,

issues related to power and control, leadership and followership, flexibility

versus rigidity of power roles, as well as the impact of unspoken

assumptions are all brought to the surface and examined. Couples discover

that they can remain connected while disagreeing and that they can grow

closer through successfully addressing their differences. A potent sense of

“we,” a sense of shared competence, higher self-esteem, and greater generosity

and goodwill ensue from safely and successfully finding a real, mutually

satisfying, win-win solution to conflict.

THE PAIRS RELATIONSHIP MASTERY COURSE

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The full PAIRS curriculum is divided into six main sections:

1. Communication and problem solving;

2. Clarifying assumptions;

3. My history and unique self;

4. Emotional reeducation, emotional literacy, and bonding;

5. Pleasure—sensuality and sexuality; and

6. Contracting—clarifying expectations.

The following summary highlights specific PAIRS exercises and key concepts

in italic.

MORE ABOUT RECOMMENDATIONS

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Very often PTPs recommend and encourage premarital couples to participate

in the four-month PAIRS Relationship Mastery Course developed for

the specific purpose of practicing, improving, and sustaining healthy marriage

relationships. This semester-long course is recommended because it

not only fully addresses relationship fundamentals, it also addresses emotional

literacy, understanding one’s history and oneself, as well as advanced

topics such as pleasure (sensuality and sexuality) and relationship

reconstruction.

Alternatively, when appropriate and available, the PTP may recommend

that the premarital couple attend one of the shorter PAIRS programs. These

include the one-day PAIRS JumpStart, If You Really Love Me . . . , and the

Jewish, Catholic, or Christian PrePAIRS programs; the two-day Passage to

Intimacy Workshop; or the three-day Christian PAIRS or PAIRS First programs.

The PAIRS website, www.pairs.com, provides descriptions, schedules,

and location information about these programs. The short programs

contain a careful selection of pieces from the full PAIRS curriculum tailored

to specific target groups. Most of the short courses begin with understanding

the PAIRS Relationship Road Map, learning basic communication and

confiding skills as well as how to complain constructively to effect helpful

change. Each program adds further PAIRS pieces that are appropriate for its

purpose. The PrePAIRS and PAIRS First programs were originally designed

for couples in the early years of relationship commitment. These courses are

highly appropriate for premarital couples seeking to strengthen their relationship

through learning intimate relationship fundamentals.

The premarital couple with moderately high ego strengths, emotional

literacy, and openness to learning often finds that the 6- to 10-hour assessment,

by itself with the new insights and brief but specific skills and

concepts offered, is sufficient to gain renewed confidence in the relationship

and in plans to marry. The PTP may also recommend one of the

shorter PAIRS workshops to provide elaboration, practice, and consolidation

of the new concepts, skills, and strategies that have been developed in

the assessment. An invitation is issued for them to return when need

arises in the future, indicating the PTP’s interest and availability as well as the normal inevitability of the need for continuing attention to the

work of a relationship.

For the majority of premarital couples (considering that about half of all

marriages end in divorce) and especially for those who are emotionally illiterate,

ignorant about successful relationships, and unskilled at intimacy,

PTPs routinely recommend the 120-hour Relationship Mastery Course. This

program affords the breadth, depth, time, and practice needed to change destructive

attitudes and behaviors. This Mastery Course is recommended for

those who already have complex issues, are possibly in mutual allergy, may

be embarking on a second or third marriage, or are on the verge of breakup

but not ready to give up. Typically, the PTP will remain available to the assessment

couple for evening 90-minute office sessions to oversee extra practice

with the PAIRS skills during their participation in the course, and then

again after the course for any “RePAIRS” that may be needed to refresh the

concepts, practice the tools, or help the couple get quickly unstuck should

they again become negatively entangled.

When a course or workshop is not immediately available, the PTP may

counsel premarital couples in need of more training via OFFICE PAIRS until

they can participate in a PAIRS program. The PTP selects concepts, exercises,

and experiences thought to be most cogent to their missing competencies

and then teaches these in a series of 90-minute sessions. In locations where

there are no available PAIRS courses or workshops and when a couple cannot

travel to one in another location, the PTP may contract to lead the couple

through the content of one of the shorter PAIRS curriculums in a defined series

of 90-minute sessions. When engaging a PAIRS curriculum, each purchases

a participant’s handbook for the selected course and a copy of The

Passage to Intimacy book, which provides a deeper presentation of the ideas,

skills, or attitudes under study. In such OFFICE PAIRS activities, couples receive

homework assignments and are expected to practice daily the skills

they are learning. OFFICE PAIRS is not undertaken lightly. Teaching these

skills is usually easier and more natural in a group setting than in the office.

THE PAIRS PREMARITAL ASSESSMENT

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The format Gordon developed for the PAIRS premarital assessment begins

with a two-hour joint interview with couples to explore their history together,

establish the context of their relationship, and set initial goals and

plans for the assessment. It involves questions such as:

• How did you meet?

• What drew you together?

• What made you decide to commit to this relationship?

• What are family responses and reactions to this relationship and your

reactions to each other’s families?

• What are you seeking from this counseling?

• What are your questions of the counselor?

• What are your vocations and how does your work and work communication

styles affect your relationship particularly during times of stress.

This longer session is needed to grasp the fabric and playing field of the

relationship. The 50-minute hour simply cannot build the trust, connectedness,

and collaboration needed for this initial inquiry.

Next schedule two-hour individual interviews with each partner: This

time provides an opportunity to discuss what might be uncomfortable to

share in a joint session. These sessions gather the individual social and

emotional histories—family conditioning, early beginnings, models from

the parental marriage, sibling relationships, decisions and experiences regarding

love, trust, caring, criticism, competition, power, communication

styles, and marital role expectations, including their hopes for the future

as well as fears. Beliefs, expectations, experiences, and life decisions that

might affect the couple’s relationship are tracked, including invisible loyalties,

changes through time in previous relationships, a history of previous

marriages or engagements and what led to their dissolution, children,

job changes, communication and power impasses, disappointments and

how they were handled, and personal hopes and dreams. The individual

sessions generate an attitude of openness and growing curiosity on the

part of each participant about unique histories, and the conditioning each

has brought to the relationship including how differing styles and expectations

may mesh or clash. These individual sessions open windows to

new understandings that have not previously been realized or considered.

Next, a two-hour joint interview for feedback is scheduled. The PTP inquires

about and carefully listens to new thoughts or questions that may

have arisen from their exploration of issues. The PTP then reviews pertinent

data that has been collected and offers specific significant relationship

concepts and skills as applicable, such as the PAIRS Dialogue Guide, a

communication tool for complaining without blaming. Or a listening skill.

Or an exercise designed to uncover mind reading. Or hidden expectations

that in PAIRS are called Love Knots, such as, “If you loved me, you would

know . . .” A nonblaming attitude is maintained throughout. Humor, as

appropriate, is often included along with pertinent wisdom and insights.

The PTP relabels and reframes many past behaviors and intentions, pointing

out how blame is often not the issue. The PTP demonstrates how enormous

misunderstandings have often arisen from a lack of information,

which if asked for and then given, would clarify misperceptions and hidden

assumptions.

In this joint session and, if needed, in one additional joint session, the PTP

provides possible explanations of issues that have become tangled or difficult

in the relationship. The PTP then discusses formats for acquiring specific

relationship knowledge, relationship skills, or specific competencies for

emotional literacy. These formats might include PAIRS courses and/or OFFICE

PAIRS counseling sessions. These suggestions may also include books

to read, specific exercises to practice, and brief workshops to attend that

have proven to be effective.

PAIRS Competencies: Attitudes and Strategies for Successful Long-Term Relationships

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1. Affirm the essential role of regular bonding with an abundance of physical closeness

and emotional openness to sustain intimacy. Satisfactorily blend sensuality, sexuality,

and bonding in marriage.

2. Choose play, pleasure, recreation, creativity, and humor for the relationship to balance

the necessary duties and hard work required to maintain the relationship,

home, family, and economic security.

3. Express important hurt, fear, or irritation directly to each other in words, asking to be

heard and understood with empathy. Recognize that what is left unsaid in a relationship

is of ten more harmful than what is said.

4. Seek forgiveness for hurts inflicted in the relationship by taking responsibility for

transgressions, repairing and restoring damages, and expressing regret for pain experienced

by partner. Partner, in believing the pain is understood, feels assured that

transgressions will not easily reoccur, restores trust and forgives. Let go of grudges

and choose to forgive.

5. Give up being right. Invite and express diversity. Welcome differences as sources of

vigor, perspective, and healthy growth of a relationship. Choose to learn from each

other.

6. Choose trust, truth, mutual respect, and fidelity as the foundation of a lasting, loving

relationship.

7. Extend goodwill and positive intent. Do what is pleasing and satisfying to partner.

Choose to engage in caring behaviors. Be a good leader or a good follower as

each fits.

8. Know each other ’s pleasure and pain buttons. Refrain from triggering negative

reactions.

9. Develop a strong sense of “we.” Have intentional rituals, customs, and styles that

create a unique relationship and family identity.

10. Encourage connecting to friends and community to assure each has adequate autonomy,

independence, and breathing room. Balance the intense closeness and needful

interdependence that is at the center of a permanent passionate relationship.

11. Maintain active connections with extended family and other couples and families to

provide community, perspective, and support for the relationship and family.

12. Regularly express gratitude, appreciations, blessings, wishes, hopes, and dreams.

Positive expressions focus couple and family on desire, fulfillment, and happiness,

rather than on victimization, deprivation, scarcity, outrage, or despair.

PAIRS Competencies: Conjoint Couple Skills to Create and Maintain Intimacy

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1. Confide in one another regularly with emotional openness and empathic listening.

2. Complain to one another regularly (without attacking) including requests for change.

Can listen to complaints without defensiveness.

3. Resolve differences and conflicts by seeking to learn rather than to prevail. Use fair

fighting that involves confiding, empathic listening, complaining with requests for

change, and contracting, effective win-win solutions, all without manipulation and dirty

fighting.

4. Agree on areas of autonomy, areas of consultation, and areas of mutually shared ownership

and decision making.

5. Clarify hidden assumptions and unspoken expectations to minimize misperception

and misunderstanding.

6. Help one another heal pains and disappointments, resolve emotional allergies, and

clarify hidden assumptions. Conjointly heal and resolve emotional allergy infinity loops.

7. Meet basic needs for sensuality, appropriate sexuality, physical closeness, bonding,

and intellectual and emotional sharing with one another.

8. Follow clear, equal, negotiated boundaries regarding what is private and not shared

with others outside the relationship.

9. Initiate change when the status quo (division of roles, responsibilities, and privileges)

is not satisfactory. Follow through on negotiated changes.

PAIRS Competencies: Emotional Literacy

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1. Comfortable with the names and manifestations of the five basic emotions, i.e., pain,

fear, anger, love, and joy. Identifies and expresses these emotions and can listen empathically

to them.

2. Recognizes defensive overreactions as emotional allergies based on painful memories.

Takes responsibility to reduce, control, and change inappropriate responses.

3. Recognizes being emotionally open vs. emotionally closed. When feeling attacked,

threatened, or denied, evaluates reality by checking out speaker ’s meaning and intent,

rather than assuming and reacting defensively via rationalizing-explainingjustifying,

withdrawing, avoiding, or fighting back.

4. Expresses pain, fear, and anger without attacking or blaming.

5. Listens without interjecting self-concerns. Creates and maintains emotional safety for

others.

6. Uses anger constructively to assert self, set limits, define boundaries, and effectively

solve problems. Expresses anger appropriately and safely to release suppressed

emotions.

7. Believes in one’s own value. Feels lovable and good enough without having to be perfect.

Accepts having healthy needs and actively pursues getting them met, including

the biological needs for physical closeness and emotional openness in an intimate

relationship.

8. Experiences and expresses emotions of a type and at an intensity that appropriately

fits and that sustains action in accord with one’s purpose, intention, and circumstances

(emotional efficacy).

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF PREMARITAL COUNSELING FROM THE PAIRS PERSPECTIVE

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The PAIRS trained professional (PTP) translates the PAIRS concepts and

tools found in the 120-hour experiential PAIRS Relationship Mastery

Course into an effective counseling approach that is titled OFFICE PAIRS.

A PTP is a licensed mental health professional who has been trained in the

PAIRS professional training program. PTPs have had more than 100 hours

of direct experience with the PAIRS concepts and training exercises. During

their training, PTPs personally experience the full range of PAIRS exercises,

usually with their partners. After training, most PTPs teach, practice,

and internalize the PAIRS concepts and tools. In OFFICE PAIRS, the PTP

personally and directly helps the couple learn PAIRS competencies, practice

them under an experienced eye, and apply them outside the office and

obtain feedback on their “homework.”

When working with a premarital couple, the PTP holds in heart and

mind an awareness of what is necessary to be an effective partner as well as

those skills, attitudes, and strategies couples need to assure an ongoing satisfying

relationship, conducive to family permanence. These competencies

focus on three areas: (1) emotional literacy; (2) conjoint partner skills for

building and maintaining intimacy; and (3) practical knowledge, strategies,

and attitudes for sustaining positive marriage and family life. Tables 2.1,

2.2, and 2.3 list these competencies.

The PTP holds these competencies in heart and mind as a standard for

what is needed to sustain couple satisfaction. When couples seek counseling,

the PTP notes which of these competencies are missing and develops

priorities and strategies for offering knowledge and training in what is

needed. Effectively addressing what is missing with interventions, new understandings,

and the teaching of new skills, especially for the premarital

couple, can prevent years of confusion, misery, and probable later family

disintegration. Without training in new competencies, the couple cannot

advance far. During the early romantic “illusion” stage of a relationship,

moments of hurt, misunderstanding, noting differences, or use of power

often trigger doubts and fears about the relationship. Those couples in

early relationships coming for counseling are typically experiencing challenges

to illusions of perfect fit and unconditional love. This is the optimal

time to develop the knowledge, skills, and strategies needed to build a solid

relationship rather than an illusory one.

ABOUT PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP SKILLS

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Practical Application of Intimate Relationship Skills (PAIRS) is a curriculum

for intimate relationship skills training. PAIRS grew from the ashes

of marital disaster. The creator and developer of PAIRS (co-author

Lori Gordon), on the demise of her own 17-year marriage, set out to find

missing answers. PAIRS is drawn from many emerging humanizing interpersonal

therapies of the second half of the twentieth century (Satir,

Casriel, Bach, Sager, Brandon, Framo, Bowen, Wynne, Perls, Guerney,

Brandon, Zilbergeld, etc.). PAIRS has evolved over 30 years. Gordon has

refined the keys to intimacy and shaped and polished the training exercises

needed to create deep personal transformative learning by relationship

partners.

PAIRS has been experienced by tens of thousands of couples, many

who were on the brink of divorce (DeMaria, 1998); and by tens of thousands

of individuals, wanting to develop skills to prevent a repeat of the

devastation of relationship breakup. Gordon’s self-help book for couples

and individuals, Passage to Intimacy (1993), presents the main ideas and exercises

of PAIRS that can be learned at home and practiced outside the

classroom. Incisive descriptions and thoughtful discussions by PAIRS

Master Teachers, a review of research about PAIRS, and critical issues

such as the PAIRS Ethics Code for teachers are brought together in Building

Intimate Relationships: Bridging Treatment, Education and Enrichment

through the PAIRS Program (DeMaria & Hannah, 2003). The PAIRS experience

significantly increases relationship satisfaction, sustainable love,

and commitment.

A central tenet of PAIRS is that sustained intimacy is required to maintain a

lasting marriage. When intimacy, the deep emotional experience of loving

connection, is lost, the ground the marriage is built on becomes shaky.

Good will is then lost and the desire (and ability) to solve problems, overcome

obstacles, and persist in the face of fear and uncertainty, quickly

erodes. With its emphasis on intimacy, PAIRS goes to the heart and the

heat of the matter. Once couples learn to create, re-create, and sustain

intimacy, many premarital and marital issues, such as commitment, cooperation,

fidelity, and creative management of differences, are much more

quickly resolved.

PAIRS is designed to (1) realign attitudes and beliefs about love and relationships

and about marriage and family life; (2) train and evolve each

partner’s self-knowledge, emotional literacy, and emotional efficacy; and

(3) change ineffective behaviors that diminish intimacy by teaching those

behaviors and skills that increase intimacy and relationship enhancement.

The PAIRS curriculum is a theory-based, cohesive, orchestrated

body of concepts and practical activities that is a powerful technology

for change. PAIRS has, thus far, proven effective in every population, including disadvantaged youth, middle and high schools, foreign cultures,

entire families, business groups, faith-based adult education, separated

and divorcing couples, premarital couples, and devitalized couples

in marital doldrums.

Premarital Counseling from the PAIRS Perspective

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THE PREMARITAL COUPLE treads a challenging path between falling in

love and solidifying a commitment. Premarital couples seek professional

help to prevent or to understand and resolve relationship difficulties

that may have arisen even before marriage. The status and

circumstances of premarital couples seeking help vary from the youngand-

inexperienced to the previously married (with or without children) to

long-term cohabiters who have not committed to marriage. The premarital

couple is wise to be cautious. Statistics tell us that the likelihood they will

find happiness and longevity in marriage is despairingly low whereas 90%

of couples married during the years 1945 to 1949 made it to their 10-year

anniversary. Forty years later, barely 70% of those married during the

years 1985 to 1989 celebrated a decade of wedded bliss—and the statistics

continue to decrease (Fleming, 2003).

Premarital couples seek assurance that they can create a lifelong intimate

partnership. Each partner needs accurate concepts, conducive attitudes,

technical knowledge and skills, and practiced competencies to

sustain a loving relationship. As in ballroom dancing, the couple relationship

gains best through co-learning, by acquiring and practicing these intimate

relationship skills together. The couple needs to acquire high levels

of skill to continue dancing lovingly in the face of changing family life

with its unrelenting and often discouraging economic, domestic, and

parental responsibilities. The counselor, who wishes to effectively offer

such knowledge and skills to couples, needs to undertake relevant professional

training. Such training is not yet established in most graduate clinical

programs.

Pineal Gland (Human Compass)

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The pineal gland is a cone-shaped body, reddish in color, about

half an inch in length, and not much larger than a grain of wheat. It

is attached to, and situated over, the third ventricle of the brain,

weighing about two grains. It is composed, in part, of nerve cells

containing a pigment similar to that present in the cells of the retina.

This strengthens the argument for its function as an eye in earlier

animal species.

In the Taoist terminology, the Niwan-Kung corresponds to this

gland. In the cauldron, it is considered to cultivate the highest level

of the spirit in the practice: Congress of Heaven. When the gland is

fully developed it will tell us where our destination is.

Tongue touches the Palate

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Embryologically, the pituitary begins by manifesting as an outgrowth

of the mouth cavity. This outgrowth takes the form of a

pouch, which gradually extends toward the brain. By the end of the

fourth week this protrusion contacts a downgrowth from the brain

called the infundibulum. The pouch then develops into the anterior

lobe of the pituitary, whereas the infundibulum, representing an

outgrowth of the oldest part of the nervous system, develops into

the posterior lobe of the gland. There is a space between the walls

of the anterior and posterior parts of the gland, which persists

throughout life as the cleft of the gland. The pituitary gland is divided

into an anterior or front portion, which is composed of glandular

tissue and a posterior or back portion, which is composed of

nerve-like tissue. The anterior portion produces several hormones

which stimulate distant structures such as: a growth hormone, a

hormone which stimulates the adrenal cortex, a thyroid stimulating

hormone and also a hormone which stimulates breast milk production

and another which influences pigment production by certain

cells of the skin.

The posterior part of the gland is an extension of the hypothalamus,

that portion of the brain to which the pituitary is attached.

The posterior lobe of the pituitary body secretes several important

hormones, two of which deserve special attention. One of them,

called pitocin, has a powerful stimulating effect on the pregnant uterus and is frequently used in cases where labor is slow and

ineffective. The other, called antidiuretic hormone, controls the salt

and water content of the blood.

In animal studies, an active pituitary produces alertness. A tired

or dull pituitary produces sleepiness and general dullness. During

hibernation or winter sleep, an animal in cold weather passes into

a cataleptic state in which it continues to breathe, more deeply but

more slowly than when awake. The internal secretions of all of the

glands of hibernating animals show changes during this period but

the most marked effect is found in the pituitary in which the cells

shrink as if they too were asleep or resting. When the spring comes,

the pituitary gland cells again become normally active.

In the Taoist System, special attention is given to properly stimulate

and harmonize the energy center related to this gland. Attempts

have been made to mix pituitary gland energy with sources

of cooler energy such as sperm and earth power. This constitutes

a cauldron for cultivating the spirit in the practice called the sealing

of the five sense organs.

Pituitary Gland

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The pituitary gland is about the size of a pea, situated almost exactly

in the center of the head at the base of the brain and just

behind the root of the nose. It hangs suspended from the underside

of the brain like a cherry from the limb of a tree. It is grayish

yellow in color. In the adult it weighs about five grains, or 1/1400 of

a pound.

Its name is derived from the Latin word, “pituita”, because it

was supposed to secret a fluid which lubricated the throat. It was

believed that the secretion filtered through the porous ethnoid bone

that intervenes between the pituitary body and the nasal cavity.

Thyroid Gland: Gland of Energy

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The thyroid gland is located in the throat and lies in front of and

on either side of the windpipe and just beneath the larynx (voice

box) and is connected just below the Adam’s apple. This gland

arises from the same tissue and almost from the same spot as

the anterior lobe of the pituitary body. It weighs about an ounce.

Each lobe of the thyroid is about two inches in length, and from an

inch to an inch and a quarter in width.

The thyroid gland is highly vascularized and receives many times

more blood in proportion to its size. It is noted for its high degree of

functional activity. It is heavier in the female than in the male and

becomes enlarged during sexual excitement, menstruation, and

pregnancy.

The thyroid gland’s secretion is called thyroxin, which contains

iodine.

The thyroid is an energy gland and its secretion is the controller

of the speed of living. It affects the metabolism of practically all the

tissues of the body. The principal function of the hormone is to

regulate the rate of oxygen consumption, which is tantamount to

the body’s metabolic rate, which can be thought of as one’s “rate

of living”. This hormone is required for normal growth and development

of the brian, muscle and bones and it indirectly affects the

activity of other glands of internal secretion as well. Too little thyroid

hormone produces a condition of sluggishness. With too much,

there will be marked apprehension, alertness, nervousness, loss

of weight, increased thirst, frequent urination, profuse perspiration,

intolerance of heat, insomnia, frequent stools, rapid heartbeat and

palpitations.

In the Taoist Approach, the energy center at the thyroid is considered

to be one of the most important centers in the body because

it controls the growth of the dense vehicle and mental development

and it is very closely related to all of the other six energy

centers under consideration. It is the great link between the brain

and the organs of generation (reproductive organs). In the Taoist

Esoteric System, the thyroid energy center is called Hsuan-Chi

(the twelve story) and is used as an energy Center only to draw in

power. It is not ordinarily included in alchemy because when it is

open it is hard to protect. However, in the greater and the greatest

enlightenment of the Kan & Li, we draw enormous stores of power

from this energy center to alchemically mix with the power of other

energy centers in order to produce an ever greater source of power.

Hypothalamus

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The hypothalamus is part of the forebrain, the same part of the

brain from which the cerebral hemispheres develop. The hypothalamus

provides a connecting link between the cerebral cortex

and the pituitary gland. Though the pituitary gland is considered the

master gland, nevertheless, there are stimulatory and inhibitory

agents originating in the hypothalamus, which regulate pituitary functions.

This ancient area in our brain is also intimately concerned

with the regulation of energy balance through the control of appetite,

sleep, body temperature, the regulation of sexual function and

control of water balance.

Disturbances in the hypothalamus may cause such endocrine

disorders as sexual precocity, absence of appetite with extreme

loss of weight, diabetes insipidus and disorganization of the sleep

pattern.

Indeed, the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland are both functionally

and anatomically related. Our thoughts, our hopes and joys,

our worries and our sorrows, our very nervous constitution all profoundly

influence the hypothalamus-pituitary complex. In the Taoist

Esoteric System, the energy center of Tien-Ting (in the mid-point

of the forehead) corresponds to the hypothalamus.

Thymus Gland

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This is the gland of child development. It is situated in the chest

between the lungs and behind the upper part of the sternum (breast

bone). It descends and covers the upper portion of the heart, overlapping

the great vessels at the top of the latter. It reaches its greatest

size at the beginning of puberty, gradually disappearing thereafter

at which time it is marked by a loss of glandular structure. It

does persist, however, and some of the secreting cells remain

throughout life.

In Taoist Yoga, when properly and proportionally activated the

energy center at the thymus alchemically harmonizing with the

energy from the pituitary gland energy center and the generative

force residing in the sperm and testicles, can reverse the aging

process. This occurs in the practice of the Greatest Enlightenment

of the Kan and Li, in which white hair becomes black, teeth

grow back again, and a youthful appearance develops.

Ovaries

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The ovaries, like the testes, have two functions: first, to provide

ova or egg cells and secondly, to secrete sex hormones. The hormones

of the ovaries are estrogens and progesterone and unusual

conditions androgens may be produced.

The ovaries are awakened to activity when a young girl reaches

11 to 13 years of age. The “female” hormones serve to develop the

secondary feminine sex characteristics of breast growth, pubic

and auxiliary hair, maturation of the genital tract and also the contours

of the female figure, and many contribute to the psychological

characteristics of the woman. Inadequate or absent ovarian

stimulation by the pituitary gonadotrophic hormones, failure of the

ovary to respond, or an abnormal response to the stimulation, results

in many disorders ranging from inborn failure to menstruate,

subsequent cessation of menses and development of male characteristics.

In the Taoist system, we regard the ovaries as one of the great

energy centers of the female. The female can awaken and transform

the great energy from the ovaries to the higher center.

Spleen

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The spleen is located beyond the left end of the stomach, between

it and the diaphragm. It is bean-shaped and has a deep blue-red

color. It weighs from five to six ounces and is soft, spongy, and

fragile. The spleen controls blood destruction.

In the Taoist Esoteric system we regard the spleen as the entrance

for solar force, which vitalizes the dense body. Without this

vital elixir no being can live. From the spleen this sun force is sent

to the solar plexus and from the solar plexus this fluid-like energy

flows along the filaments composing the nervous system. In this

way it permeates every part of the physical body. energizing each

and every cell with its life force.

According to Chinese medicinal theories, when a person is

healthy, life energy is stored by the spleen and extracted from the

blood in such large quantities that it cannot be used inside the body.

Therefore, the life energy radiates outward through the pores of

the skin in straight lines, drives out poisonous gases, inimical bacteria

and viruses and assists in preserving a healthy condition of

the physical organism. It also prevents armies of disease germs

which swarm about in the atmosphere from entering the dense

vehicle.

According to the Taoist system, after eating, the vital solar force

attracted by the spleen is consumed by the body in great quantities.

When the meal is heavy, the outflow of the vital fluid from the

body is perceptibly diminished and does not then cleanse the dense

vehicle as thoroughly as it does when the food has been digested,

nor is it as potent in keeping out inimical germs.

Therefore, overeating renders a person more likely to catch cold

or succumb to disease. During ill health the spleen furnishes the

vital body with very little solar energy, and at this time the dense

body seems to feed on the vital body. In the Taoist system it is said

that we have to repair the vital body, which can then help the dense

body to get stronger.

In Taoist Esoterica, the “solar plexus” is regarded as the largest

cauldron of the vital body which can alchemically mix or harmonize

the generative force with the life energy from the energy center

corresponding to the pituitary gland, during the practice of Greater

Enlightenment of the Kan and Li. The spleen, as mentioned before,

corresponds to a part of the “solar plexus.”

Ovaries

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The ovaries, like the testes, have two functions: first, to provide

ova or egg cells and secondly, to secrete sex hormones. The hormones

of the ovaries are estrogens and progesterone and unusual

conditions androgens may be produced.

The ovaries are awakened to activity when a young girl reaches

11 to 13 years of age. The “female” hormones serve to develop the

secondary feminine sex characteristics of breast growth, pubic

and auxiliary hair, maturation of the genital tract and also the contours

of the female figure, and many contribute to the psychological

characteristics of the woman. Inadequate or absent ovarian

stimulation by the pituitary gonadotrophic hormones, failure of the

ovary to respond, or an abnormal response to the stimulation, results

in many disorders ranging from inborn failure to menstruate,

subsequent cessation of menses and development of male characteristics.

In the Taoist system, we regard the ovaries as one of the great

energy centers of the female. The female can awaken and transform

the great energy from the ovaries to the higher center.

Testes

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The male gonads or testes lie in the scrotal sac and the normal

size varies from that of a walnut to that of a pigeon egg. There are

two parts to the testes, the tubules, which produce the sperm, and

the Leydig cells, which produce the principal masculinizing hormone,

testosterone. Leydig cells also produce small amounts of

estrogens, the female sex hormones.

The testicle is under the control of gonad-stimulating hormones

or Gonadotrophins. Just before the onset of puberty, gonadotrophins

are released, causing the testes to mature and to secrete

increasing amounts of testosterone. This induces development of

the secondary sex characteristics such as development of the penis,

pubic and auxiliary hair growth, increased muscle mass, voice

changes, beard growth and all the signs of manliness in vigor and

perhaps even influencing deportment and behavior.

With adequate gonadotrophins and androgen production, the

tubular germ cells ripen into sperm cells. In the case of disorders

of the testes, secondary sexual characteristics will not develop if

there is an androgen deficiency during puberty. If this occurs after

maturity, a partial regression occurs. A pituitary disease may be the cause of this deficiency also. In the Taoist Esoteric System, we

believe that there is tremendous potential in the energy of the sperm

and sex hormones. We awaken and transform this energy to the

higher centers.

Kidney

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The human kidney is a bean-shaped organ weighing about half a

pound. We have two kidneys located within the abdominal cavity

and protected at the rear by the spinal column and the big muscles

of the back. The tops of the kidneys are just beneath the ribcage.

The right kidney, above which lies the liver, is usually a little lower

than the left. About 1,700 quarts of blood flow through the

kidneys each day.

Among the kidney cells are certain glands of endocrine secretion.

The kidneys produce blood pressure-elevating substances

causing hypertension at times. Erythropoietin is a substance pro

duced by some kidney cells, that stimulates the production of red

blood cells.

In the Taoist Esoteric System, the Ming-men (the Door of Life) is

the energy center corresponding to the activity of the kidneys.

Adrenals

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The adrenals are a pair of glands capping the upper ends of the

kidneys. When they are removed, death ensues rapidly. The gland

is composed of a cortex (outer portion) and a medulla (inner portion).

The outer portion produces the sex steroids, the glucocorticoids

(corticosterone, hydrocortisone) which are involved in the

control of carbohydrate, lipid and protein metabolism and the mineralocorticoids

(aldosterone, deoxycorti-kidney tubules), affecting blood volume and blood pressure control. The adrenals are flat

triangular structures. The size and weight is somewhat variable.

Each is about 5 cm long and weighs between 3 and 6 grams

and is slightly heavier in the male than in the female.

The inner portion of the adrenals is developed from the ectoderm,

the outer layer of cells of the embryo. This is the same tissue

that produces the sympathetic nervous system. The inner

portion secretes adrenalin and noradrenalin. Adrenalin is involved

in the “fight or flight” response, whereas noradrenalin causes more

vasoconstriction resulting in marked elevation in blood pressure.

The amount of adrenaline and noradrenalin that circulates in

the blood is minute in quantity but its action is powerful and

farreaching.

Its release is triggered by impulses from the sympathetic nervous

system in times of mental or physical stress, the entry of

adrenalin into the blood causes a tremendous heightening of vigor.

The brain and the sympathetic nervous system become activated.

Concentration of blood glucose is raised by conversion from glycogen,

which is stored in the liver. More blood cells are poured into

circulation from the blood pools of the liver and spleen. The heart

beats more strongly and faster, the pupils of the eyes are dilated,

enabling the person to see more clearly, breathing is more rapid,

the body temperature rises and the basal metabolism is increased.

There is an opposing effect on the digestive system, however,

wherein there is a loss of appetite and reduced motility.

Adrenalin adds strength and alertness to both physical and

mental activity. It gives force in combat and swiftness in flight. As

the activity of adrenalin is regulated by the sympathetic nervous

system, the secretion of it can be increased by the stimulation of

these nerves alongside the spinal column.

Some doctors believe that there is a condition called “low

adrenals”. A person with a deficiency of adrenalin will appear weary

and sensitive to cold, have cold hands and feet, loss of appetite, a

tendency to worry, will weep easily and will sometimes even have

a nervous breakdown. In children, learning problems develop,

growth is slowed, and they cannot be driven or hurried. If we inject

someone with adrenalin, his heart will contract more violently and

beat faster, he will feel anxious, and will get frightened easily and, if

subjected to it for some time, will become a very nervous person.

It is obvious, then, that an intricate, delicate balance of various

factors is involved in maintaining a proper harmony of the activities

of the various organ systems. In the Tao Esoteric System,

the center for adrenal activity is to be found in the Chi-Chung. This

is a very powerful energy center and is located in the area that is

called the “solar plexus”, which corresponds anatomically to the

location of the adrenals, the spleen, the pancreas and the kidneys.

Endocrine Glands and Taoist Energy Centers

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The hormones are chemical messengers produced by the endocrine

glands in minute quantities but eventually affecting every single

cell of your body. The secretions of the endocrine glands empty

directly into the blood where they find their way to various organs,

stimulating or suppressing them, or in some way influencing their

activity.

In the Taoist Esoteric System the energy centers do not belong

to the physical body at all but are regarded as adjuncts of the “vital

body”, which are set apart and crystallized to the necessary density

in order that it may perform certain special manifestations of

this vital body. Each gland has a specific work to perform. When in

good health they all work together in perfect harmony. The endocrine

glands are of special interest to the students of Taoism in

relation to the circulation of the Microcosmic Orbit. In order to explain

some of the energy centers in terms of modern anatomy, one

has to look to the endocrine glands for correlation. The correlations

may or may not be right, but that is the best that one can

hypothesize at this stage of the art.

Transmitting the Power to help Open the Channels

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a. Gathering the power to the palm and finger.

b. Restoring the power.

c. Transmitting the wet sickness and the cold energy away.

Healing Hand

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a. Buddha Palm

b. PaKua Palm

c. Checking the aura and weak energy field.

d. Correct and harmonize the circulation system, lymph system,

nervous system, Chi flow system.

e. Point to stop pain and stress.

Iron Shirt Chi Kung

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Before guns were used, the Chinese depended very much upon

Kung Fu. It is at that time, about one-tenth of the Chinese nation

was involved in such practice, which they engaged in from what is

found at the present. At first one had to develop internal power - to

get the warm current (energy), to open the Microcosmic Circulation,

complete another six special channels (routes) and an additional

24 normal channels (routes) so that the internal power could

be circulated freely. One then learned how to strengthen one’s vital

organs and to protect them with internal power or “Iron Shirt”. Only

then did one go on to practice fighting styles because without internal

power the styles were not effective in combat.

It is written that internal power took many years to develop. One

had to throw a straight punch up to 2,000 times a day for from

three to five years or strike the top of a water well 1,000 times a

day for as much as ten years or until the water was thrown out by

the force of the blow.

The main purpose of the Iron Shirt is not for fighting, but to perfect

the body, to win great health, to fight disease and to protect the vital

organs from injuries. Most important in Iron Shirt training is Changing

the Tendons & Cleansing the Marrow, and the Self-Regenerative

Hormone.

Level I:

· Iron Shirt Chi Kung breathing.

· Awakening and circulating of internal (chi) and rooting power

through exercise.

· Directing the internal power to strengthen the organs. Filling

the 12 tendon channels with Chi.

· Training and opening the fascia and filling them with chi.

Level II:

· Cleansing the marrow.

· Changing the tendons and cleansing the marrow.

· Training and opening the fascia and filling them with Chi.

· Self-stimulation of the vital organs.

· Strengthening the tendon and uniting the fascia, tendons, bones

and muscles in one piece.

Level III:

· Regenerating sexual hormones.

· Storing sexual hormones in the fascia and tendons.

· Directing the internal power to the higher energy centers.

After these three levels of Iron Shirt Chi Kung are mastered, the

powerful application of the resulting energy is taught in “Healing

Hand.”

Seminal Kung Fu: Taoist Secret of Energy

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For more than 5,000 years of Chinese history, “the no outlet method”

of retaining the seminal fluid during the act of love has remained a

deep secret. At first it was practiced exclusively by the Emperor

and his innermost circle. Then it passed from father to chosen son

alone, excluding wives, daughters and other family members. The

method permits a man to retain bodily secretions which are an invaluable source of energy when stored and recirculated to the

vital centers.

Sages of all time and places have found that conservation of

the precious energies of the seminal fluid and ovarian energy deeply

affects a human’s life. Whoever holds his vital seed finds that he

spontaneously seeks to preserve living things from waste, decay

and harm. On the other hand, those who excessively spend the

fluid and its vital force crave outer stimulation at any price, for they

desperately need to replace their own lost energies.

One prevents loss of this biochemical energy by not ejaculating.

Stopping ejaculation is not to be confused with stopping orgasm.

The No Outlet Method provides an altogether unique and

superior type of orgasm.

Every vital function is invigorated because one no longer discharges

life energy through the genitals. Real sexual fulfillment lies

not in feeling the life go out of you but in increasing awareness of

the vital current that flows through the loins. The body is further

replenished by a method of “Steaming” the vital energy up from the

sexual centers to the brain and higher organs. The life enhancing

process is completed by exchanging with one’s partner energy

released during moments of excitation.

The sages have considered one drop of semen equal in vital

power to one hundred drops of blood. The Indians refer repeatedly

to “Amrito”, the elixir of life, a rejuvenating substance from sexual

energy. The production of this elixir, which Westerners would call

a higher hormonal secretion, allows the body to enter higher and

higher states of energy.

Most people in our consumer society spend more than they

earn. They borrow themselves deep into debt. Through poor habits

they also spend more vital power than they earn.

Let us say that people earn 100 units of life force through breathing,

eating and resting but spend 125 units of life force through

gluttony, overwork, anxiety, constitutional weakness, and frequent

loss of the vital fluid. They must continuously borrow vitality from

the brain and other vital organs. This theft of vital energy from one’s

own reserves induces mental and physical sickness and premature

aging. We teach you how to overcome worldly sex desire and

a way to earn 125 units and to spend 100 or less. The imbalance

of one’s personal energy economy is first corrected by reducing

the disastrously wasteful expenditure called ejaculation, while experiencing a nourishing balanced energy exchange with one’s partner.

Tai Chi Chuan - Long and Short Forms

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In order to benefit from the still, slow and soft movements of the Tai

Chi Chuan form, it is necessary for one to have cultivated an awareness

of Chi and internal power through the Opening of the Microcosmic

Orbit and Tai Chi Chi Kung. The Tai Chi Chuan form further

educates the body to serve the mind through relaxing and

strengthening. In addition, Tai Chi Chuan can be used as a selfdefense

technique, but only if one is able to properly circulate and

utilize the intrinsic energy called Chi so that every movement of

the body is guided by internal power.

Before beginning to study the Tai Chi Chuan form, the student

must have completed:

1) Opening of the Microcosmic Orbit;

2) Tai Chi Chi Kung ( 13 movements);

3) Iron Shirt Chi Kung Level I;

4) Seminal and Ovarian Kung Fu Level l.

(Course Nos. 11 and 12)

The staff includes western M.D.s, nutritionists etc. Master Chia

regularly visits each center to lecture and individually counsel Taoist

practitioners. He also aides all students in increasing their circulation

of Chi by “passing energy”, especially to those who for

whatever reason feel blocked. This is not “instant enlightenment”,

only an experience of higher Chi flow so that the student may better

learn to create it on his own.

Future volumes of the Esoteric Taoist Yoga Encyclopedia will

explore in depth these other ancient disciplines whose methods

have largely been kept secret from westerners.

Seminal and Ovarian Kung Fu

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This ancient Taoist yoga practice sublimates and transforms

sexual energy through its circulation in the Microcosmic Orbit. The

conservation of this precious, biochemical force has been recognized

by sages of various esoteric traditions as a major revitalizing

factor in the physical health and spiritual development of both men

and women. The turning back and circulation of this generative

force from the sexual energy centers to the higher centers invigorates

and rejuvenates all the body’s vital functions. Real sexual

fulfillment lies in preventing the indisscriminate loss of this vital

current and in experiencing a deeper level of orgasm. These techniques

can be used for personal transformation — both physical

and spiritual. Prerequisite: Course No. 1— Opening the Microcosmic

Orbit (Course No. 7)

Dah Uh Gong Nei Kung Five Finger Kung Fu

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The Dah Uh Gong Nei Kung stytem integrates both static and

dynamic exercise forms in order to cultivate and nourish Chi which

accumulates in the organs, penetrates the fascia, tendons and

muscles, finally reaches the hands and fingers. Practitioners of

body-centered therapies and various Healing Arts such as chiropractic

medicine, polarity therapy, shiatsu and Swedish massage

will benefit from this technique. Practiced sequentially, it functions

to expand and relax the breath, calm the mind and adjust posture.

The approach is simpler to learn than Tai Chi Chuan and easier to

execute than yoga. Through the practice of Dah Uh Gong the student

will learn:

· To expand your breathing capacity

· To strengthen your internal organs

· To tone and stretch your muscles

· To strengthen your lower back and abdominal muscles

· To normalize your weight

· To develop your ability to concentrate for self-healing

Prerequisite: Course No. 1— Opening the Microcosmic Orbit

(Curse No.5)

Tai Chi Chi Kung: Foundation of Tai Chi Chuan

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Without the circulation of chi through the channels, muscles and

tendons of the body the Tai Chi Chuan movements are only physical

exercises. The practice of Tai Chi Chi Kung awakens and circulates

Chi energy and is therefore the foundation for the mastery

of Tai Chi Chuan. The potential to develop our self-healing capabilities

begins with the discovery of the flow of this vital energy through

the Microcosmmic Orbit. This circulation is enhanced and sustained

through the practice of Tai Chi Chi Kung which assists in

improving health through correct posture, movements and calming

of the mind. This particular form is comprised of 13 movements.

Prerequisite: Course No. 1 — Opening the Microcosmic

Orbit. Course No. 6)

Iron Shirt Chi Kung Highest Form of Chi Kung

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The physical integrity of the body is sustained and protected through

the accumulation and circulation of internal power (chi) in the vital

organs. This energy is stored in the fascia which is a layer of connective

tissue covering, supporting or connecting the muscles or

inner organs. Over time, the Iron Shirt Chi Kung practice strengthens

one’s vital organs as well as the tendons, muscles, marrow

and bones.

Historically, the practice of Iron Shirt Chi Kung was a prerequisite

to the effective study and eventual mastery of the various

Kung Fu fighting styles. However, the main purpose of Iron Shirt

Chi Kung is not for fighting; it is to achieve excellent health by increasing

stamina and the body’s ability to fight disease and defend

its vital organs from unexpected injury. Prerequisite: Course No. 1

- opening the Microcosmic Orbit. (Course No. 4)

Iron Shirt Chi Kung is divided into three levels of instruction, I, II,

and III. (See detailed description later this chapter.)

Chi Massage — Taoist Rejuvenation

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Using internal power chi and gentle external stimulation, this

simple yet highly effective self-massage technique enables one to

collect, and then direct Chi to the sense organs and other parts of

the body for self-healing purposes.

Taoist Rejuvenation dates back 5,000 years to the Yellow

Emperor’s classic text on Taoist, internal medicine.(Course No. 3)

Six Healing Sounds

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This self-healing method uses simple arm movements and vocalizations

to produce a cooling effect upon the internal organs. The

Six Healing Sounds quickly eliminate stress, improve digestion,

reduce insomnia and headaches and relieve fatigue. This method

is useful to meditators as well as runners, practitioners of martial

arts, and other intense exercise systems that tend to buildup excessive

heat in the body. (Course No. 2)

Taoist Esoteric Yoga Course Offerings

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There were original nine Taoist Esoteric Yoga Centers in the U.S.

offering personal instruction in various practices ranging from the

Microcosmic Orbit to Tai Chi Chuan, Pakua, Hsing I.

Taoist Esoteric Warm Current Meditation as these practices are

also known, awakens, circulates, directs and preserves the generative

life force called chi through the major acupuncture meridians

of the body. At progressive stages, dedicated practice of this

ancient esoteric system eliminates stress and nervous tension,

massages the internal organs, and restores health to damaged

tissue.

This practice is of particular use to practioners of polarity therapy,

shiatsu, Kundalini yoga, Swedish massage and other healing arts

in which the exchange and cirulation of life force — energy ki, prana

or Chi — must be maintained while working with clients or students.

The first two formulas are described below. The remaining

5 formulas will be described when offered.

Opening of the Microcosmic Orbit is the first level in the Taoist

Esoteric Warm Current Meditation. Through unique relaxation and

concentration techniques, it provides for purification of the first two

major acupuncture channels of the body, the Functional and Governor

meridians. Master Chia will assist students in the mastery of

this technique by passing energy through his hands into their energy

channels. (Course No.1)

Completion of the Microcosmic Orbit is a prerequisite for any

student who intends to study the higher levels of Taoist yoga which

includes various forms of Chi Kung, Seminal and Ovarian Kung

Fu, and the long and short forms of Tai Chi Chuan.

Fusion of the Five Elements and Cleansing of the Organs is the

second level of the Taoist Esoteric Warm Current Meditation. At

this level one Iearns how the five elements (earth, metal, fire, wood,

water) and their corresponding organs (spleen, lungs, heart, liver, kidneys) interact with one another in three distinct ways: producing,

combining and threatening. This formula combines the disparate

energies of the five principle elements — and their corresponding

emotions (sympathy, sadness, joy, anger, fear) — one

harmonious whole. The filtering effect upon the entire psycho/physical

system is particularly powerful as these combined energies

circulate throughout the Microcosmic Orbit and the Six Special

Channels.

(Course No. 9)

The second formula is taught in three parts.

Part I: The 12 steps for collecting, fusing, harmonizing and

cleansing of the organs;

Part II: The opening of the three Chung-Ma (Thrusting Routes)

and the nine Tai-Ma (Belt Routes);

Part III: The opening of the Positive and Negative Legs and Positive

and Negative Arms.

Seventh Formula: Reunion of Man and Heaven - True Immortal Man.

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We compare the body to a ship and the soul to the engine and

propeller of a ship. This ship carries a very precious and very large

diamond, which it is assigned to transport to a very distant shore. If

your ship is damaged (a sick and ill body), no matter how good the

engine is, you are not going to get very far and may even sink.

Thus we advise against spiritual training unless all of the channels

in the body have been properly opened and have been made ready

to receive the 10,000 or 100,000 volts of super power, which will pour down into them. The Taoist approach, which has been passed

down to us for over 5,000 years, consists of many thousands of

methods. The formulae and practices we describe in these books

is based on such secret knowledge and the author's own experience

in over ten years of study and of successfully teaching hundreds of

students.

The main goal of Taoists:

1. This level - overcoming reincarnation.

2. Higher level - the immortal spirit.

3. Highest level - the immortal spirit and immortal body, like a

mobile house to the spirit and soul.

Sixth Formula: Congress of Heaven and Earth Immortality

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The sixth, most advanced, formula is difficult to describe in words.

It involves the incarnation of a male and a female entity within the

body of the adept (this might correspond to the Crown Chakra,

Sahasrara). These two entities have sexual intercourse within the

body. It involves the mixing of the Yin and Yang powers on and

about the crown of the head and being totally open to receive energy

from above and regrowth of the pineal gland to its fullest use. When

the pineal gland is at its fullest, it will serve as a compass to tell us

in which direction our aspirations can be found. Taoist Esotericism

is a method of mastering the spirit, as described in Taoist Yoga.

Without the body, The Tao cannot be attained, But with the body,

truth can never be realized. The practitioner of Taoism should

preserve his physical body with the same care as he would a

precious diamond because it can be used as a medium to achieve

immortality. If, however, you do not abandon it when you reach

your destination you will not realize the truth.

The sixth formula consists of:

(a) Mingling (uniting) the body, soul, spirit and the universe

(Cosmic Orbit).

(b) Full development of the positive to eradicate the negative

completely.

Fifth Formula: Sealing of the Five Sense Organs

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This very high formula effects a literal transmutation of the warm

current or Chi into mental energy or energy of the soul. To do this

we must seal the five senses, for each one is an open gate of

energy loss. In other words, power flows out from each of the sense

organs unless there is an esoteric sealing of these doors of energy

movement. They must release energy only when specifically called

upon to convey information. This might correspond to the Brow

(Ajna) and Throat Chakra (Vissuddha).

Abuse of the senses leads to far more energy loss and

degradation than people ordinarily realize. Examples of misuse of

the senses are as follows: If you look too much, the seminal fluid is

harmed; listen too much and the mind is harmed; speak too much

and the salivary glands are harmed; cry too much and the blood is

harmed; have sexual intercourse too often and the marrow is

harmed, etc.

Each of the elements has its corresponding sense through which

its elemental force may be gathered or spent. The eye corresponds

to fire; the tongue to water; the left ear to metal; the right ear to

wood; the nose to earth.

The Fifth formula consists of:

(a) Sealing the five thieves: ears, eyes, nose, tongue and body

(b) Controlling the heart, and seven emotions (pleasure,anger,

sorrow, joy, love, hate, and desire)

preserving true vitality.

(d) Purifying the spirit.

(e) Raising and educating the spirit, stopping the spirit from

wandering outside in quest of sense data.

(f) Do away with decayed food, depending on the un-decayed

food, the universal energy is the True Breatharian.

Fourth Formula: Greatest Englightenment of Kan and Li

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Greatest Yin And Yang Mixed II

This formula is Yin and Yang power mixed at a higher bodily center.

This is to reverse the aging process, to re-establish the thymus

glands to increase natural immunity. This means that the radiation

of healing energy stems from a more powerful point in the body

and provides vast benefits to the physical and etheric organism.

The Fourth Formula consists of:

a. Moving the stove and changing the Cauldron to the higher

center.

b. Absorbing the Solar and Lunar power.

c. Greatest mixing, transforming, steaming and purification of

sperm power (Generative Force), soul, Mother Earth,

FatherHeaven, Solar and Lunar Power for gathering the Microcosmic

inner alchemical agent.

d. Mixing the Visual power with the Vital power.

e. Mixing (sublimating) the body, soul and spirit, (True

Breatherian).

This might correspond to the heart Chakra (Anathata).

Third Formula: Greater Enlightenment of Kan and Li

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Greater Yin And Yang Mixed I

This formula comprises the Taoist Dah Kan Li (Ta K'an Li) practice.

It uses the same energy relations of Yin and Yang inversion but

increases to an extraordinary degree the amount of energy that

may be drawn up into the body. At this stage, the mixing,

transforming and harmonizing of the energy in the Solar Plexus (it

might correspond to the Manipura Chakra) takes place. The

increasing amplitude of power is due to the fact that the third formula

draws Yin and Yang energy from within the body, whereas, the

third formula draws the power directly from Heaven (above) and

Earth (ground wire - Yang and Yin, respectively) and adds the

elemental powers to those of one's own body. In fact, power can

be drawn from any energy source, such as the moon, wood, earth,

light, etc.

The Third formula consists of:

a. Moving the stove and changing the Cauldron.

b. Greater Water and Fire mixed (male & female intercourse).

c. Greater transformation of sperm power into the higher level.

d. Gathering the outer and inner alchemical agents to restore

the generative force and invigorate the brain.

e. Cultivating the body and soul.

f. Beginning the refining of the sperm power (generative force,

vital force, Ching Chi).

g. Absorbing Mother Earth (Yin) power and Father Heaven (Yang)

power. Mixing with sperm power (body) and soul.

h. Raising the soul.

i. Retaining the positive generative force (seminal) force and

keeping it from draining away.

j. Gradually do away with food and depend on self sufficiency

and Universal energy (Breatherian).

1. Second Formula: Lesser Enlightenment of Kan and Li

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This formula is called Siaow K'an Li in Chinese and involves a

literal steaming of the sperm (Ching) into life force energy (Chi).

One might otherwise say that this begins the transfer of the power

of the sexual hormones into the whole body and brain. The crucial

secret of this formula is to reverse the usual sites of Yin and Yang

power, thereby provoking liberation of the sperm's energy.

The first and second books are the preparation of the paths for

the greater energy flow of the sperm so that the body will be able to

handle the great influx of energy (power which might correspond to

the awakening of the Kundalini). This formula includes the cultivation

of the root (the Hui-Yin) and the heart chakras and the transformation

of the sperm energy to sperm power at the navel.

This inversion places the heat of the bodily fire beneath the

coolness of the bodily water. Unless this inversion takes place, the

fire simply moves up and burns the body out. The water (the sperm

and seminal fluid) has the tendency to flow downward and out.

When it dries out that is the end. This formula reverses the normal,

energy-wasting relations by the highly advanced method of placing

the water in a closed vessel (cauldron) in the body and then cooking

the sperm with the fire beneath. If the water (sperm power) is not

sealed, it will flow directly into the fire and extinguish it or itself be

consumed. This formula preserves the integrity of both elements,

thus allowing the steaming to go on for great periods of time. The

essential formula is to never let the fire rise without having water to

heat above it and to never allow the water to spill into the fire. Thus

is produced a warm, moist steam containing tremendous energy

and health benefits.

The second formula consists of:

(a) Mixing of the water (Yin) and fire (Yang) (or male and female)

to give birth

(b) Transforming the sperm power (generative force) into vital

energy (Chi), gathering and purifying the Microcosmic outer

alchemical agent.

(d) Beginning of the half immortal (joining and sublimation of the

body & soul)

(e) Circulate the power in the solar orbit (cosmic orbit)

(f) Turn back the flow of generative force to fortify the body and

the brain and restore it to its original condition before puberty

(g) Gradually reduce food intake and depend on inner self, sun,

moon and water, a beginning of the cosmic energy. (beginning of

the Half Immortal).

First Formula: Fusion of the Five Elements

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This formula literally combines the separate energies of the five

principal elements into one harmonious whole. The meditation has

a particularly powerful filtering and purifying effect upon the human

nervous system.

The Earth is the Mother of all the elements. All life springs from

her generative womb. This reunites the other four elements of

Chinese cosmogeny with the mothering Earth. Thus, metal, wood,

water and fire are drawn back into the earth and are simmered

gently at this point. Each element is purified but is not so hotly

fused that it loses its integrity and dissolves into ashes.

This formula is regarded as a highly secret method of Taoist

meditation. In Chinese Philosophy each element corresponds to a

particular organ. The Earth corresponds to the spleen, metal to the

lungs, water to the kidneys, wood to the liver, and fire to the heart.

The five elements interact with each other in three distinct ways:

producing, overcoming, and threatening. The producing or creating

cycle runs thusly: wood burns to make fire, the ashes decompose

and seep into the earth, where are born and mined metals, which

when melted become water (liquid), which nourishes trees and

plants. The overcoming or destruction cycle runs thusly: wood is

cut down by metal, fire is extinguished by water, earth is penetrated

by wood, metal is melted by fire, and water is interrupted and cut

off by earth.

The life cycle also has its relative elements thus: birth

corresponds to wood, growth to fire, maturity to earth, harvest to

metal and storage to water. In climatic types, wind corresponds to

wood, heat to fire, dampness to earth, dryness to metal, and cold to water. Their corresponding emotions (sympathy, sadness, joy,

anger, fear) blend one harmonious whole, raising the morale and

encouraging kindness, gentleness, rightousness, respectfulness

and humor. The formula of the five elements combined into one

involves the mixing of the Yin and Yang to attain a higher state of

bodily harmony and beauty. The ancient alchemical formula Solve

Et Coagula corresponds to the second stage in the meditational

forms.

In this stage you will realize the great use of the Five Elements

which already exists in your body and which you may have studied

but not understood experientially. The fusion of the elements, will

provide you with such an experience. In this stage a cleansing of

the whole body takes place. There may be much gas and bowel

movements with very black, foul smelling stools.

Another six special routes must be opened, making eight routes

in all. The first two are the Governor and Functional Channels. Next

to be cultivated is the Chung-Ma.

The Chung-Ma, or Thrusting Route, which originates in the lower

abdomen in the Hui-Yin and moves upward along two lines to the

midpoint between the nipples where it spreads out to the shoulders

and then joins at the collar bone. From there, it proceeds up to the

face, crosses at the mouth and moves up to the point between the

eyes and then up to the top of the head.

Another pathway of the Thrusting Route is started at the Yun-

Chuan (the ground to earth), goes up the inside of the leg to the

thigh and joins in the Hui-Yin. Starting at the Hui-Yin and running up

through the center of the body, it passes through the large and

small intestines, kidney, pancreas, liver, stomach, heart, lung,

trachea, and up into the brain (pituitary, pineal and the middle brain

up to the top of the head, Pai-Hui).

The second special route is the Tai-Ma. This energy channel

originates at the ribs and circles the waist in ribbon-like bands. For

this reason it is called the Belt Route. It is considered as a belt

binding up the Yin and the Yang channels. This channel, when

properly open, will spiral around the whole body. Looking down at

the floor, the ribbon, as it were, would be seen to unwind going

counter clockwise or right to left and proceeding up the length of

the entire body, and joining all the body channels together. The

spiraling is in a clockwise direction for women.

The third special route is the Yang-Chiao-Ma, the Positive Leg

Route. It starts at the outer aspects of the two ankles and rises up

the outside of the legs along the outer thighs. From the thighs it

goes up to the hips, a strong absorbing energy center, the outer

sides of the back and winds over the left and right shoulder, which

are strong absorbing energy centers, whence it ascends along the

neck to the corners of the mouth and enters into the eye-sockets

and then over the forehead and skull to terminate in the medullar

region.

The fourth special route is the Yin-Chao-Ma or Negative Leg

Route. This channel originates at the center of the soles and turns

along the inner sides of the ankles, rising up the inside of the legs.

It passes from the inner thigh past the external genitalia and

continues up to the chest, clavicle, throat and up to the face to the

inner corners of the eyes. These routes are composed of two

routes, one on each side and can be worked separately, also.

The fifth special route is the Yang-Wei-Ma. This starts at the

front of the outer ankle and moves straight up the outside of the leg

continues up the side, circles over the shoulder and proceeds up

the side of the neck and face, over the forehead and skull, where it

terminates in the medulla.

The sixth special route is the Yin-Wei-Ma. It starts on the inner

shin and moves straight up the front of the body, over the knee, up

the thigh, the side of the abdomen and chest and up to the nipples.

From there it veers inwards towards the throat where it joins the

Functional Meridian.

Thus, all of the energy passageways of the body are linked

together in a network of the two Channels, the six special routes,

and the twenty-four regular routes corresponding to the organs on

each side. These passage ways are the superhighways, highways,

and roads, respectively, of energy flow across the body.

Tongue is a Switch of the Circuit

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The circuit may be closed when the tongue end of the Functional

Channel is raised to contact the palate terminus of the Governor.

Thus, during practice, we must keep the tongue in contact with the

palate. Placing the tongue against the palate has a calming effect

for those who practice the Warm Current Method. It also generates

saliva, which is regarded as the water of life in Taoist practice.

Saliva is said to be the chief lubricant of all bodily functioning. In the

Taoist view the soft palate is regarded as a direct link to the pituitary

gland.

As a man grows older he suffers increasingly from an imbalance

of Yin (female) and Yang (male) energies in the body. As these

disharmonies multiply, the bodily organs begin to suffer from the

receipt of too much or too little energy. How different is the vital

power of the infant! He grows nearly an ounce a day. This

represents an astounding accomplishment in the assimilation of

energy by the material body. The baby's body can do this heroic

job of cell building because its routes of energy are thoroughly open

and the flow of power is, consequently, very strong.

The Governor Channel controls the Yang organs of the body.

These are the lungs, spleen, heart, kidneys, circulation-sex, and

liver. The Functional Channel controls the Yin organs, which are

the colon, stomach, small intestine, bladder, triple warmer, and

gall bladder. The tissues are Yang in tendency and the blood is Yin.

Small Heavenly Cycle (Microcosmic Orbit)

2010-09-06T00:03:00.000-07:00

The introduction to the seven higher formulas of Taoist Esoteric

practice is the Opening of the Microcosmic Orbit, or the rebirth

process of return to the mother's womb. This route is composed

of the Functional and Governor Channels, which must be purified

and linked to form a free-flowing circuit.

The life of a human being begins with the piercing of an egg by

a sperm cell. From this original act of Kung Fu, an enormously

complex human being develops, which is capable of real genius.

The fetus develops around that point, which is called the navel. It is

from this point that nutrients are absorbed and wastes expelled

from the developing creature. Therefore, in the Warm Current

Practice the navel is a point of overriding importance. While in the

womb the human being doesn't breathe air (the lungs do not function

at all). Energy and oxygen are passed to the fetus through the

umbilical chord. When the energy flows into the fetus' body, it enters

at that point at which the navel will later be after the umbilical cord

is severed. Then it proceeds downwards to the bottom of the trunk

flows all the way up the spine to the crown of the head and from

there flows down the middle of the face continuing on to the navel,

again to complete the circuit.

The fetus, it is said, automatically touches its tongue to its palate.

This serves to link the two energy channels and allows the power

to flow. The crown of the baby's head is open and moves up and

down. This is due to the waxing and waning of the flow of power

through this particular part of the body.

Thus, the tongue is the terminus of the Functional Channel. This

energy pathway begins at the bottom of the trunk at the point midway

between the anus and the testes, called, the "Hui-Yin". From there it flows up the front of the body through the KuanYuan and the Chihai

and then through the Chi-chung (the navel). Then it passes

through the Chung-wan (solar plexus) and proceeds to the Shanchung

(the heart center). Thereafter, it passes through the Hsuanchi

(throat) center and up to the tongue terminus. When connected

with the Governor Channel the energy path reverses direction and

flows down from the tongue, navel, to the Hui-Yin.

The Governor (or control) Channel also starts at the Hui-Yin.

From this point it moves up the posterior of the body. In doing so it

passes through the Chang-chiang (the base of the spine) and goes

up to the Ming-men (L2 and L3) or Door of Life where it continues

up to the Chi-chung (Tl1) between the adrenal glands and then

proceeds upwards to the Yu-chen or the Emerald Pillow of the

medulla. From there it rises to the crown of the head or Pai-hui (the

crown) and then goes to the Shen-ting and down to the Yin-T'ang

between the eyebrows. Here it passes to the San Ken (the tip of

the nose) and finally travels down to the palate, which is the terminus

of the Governor Channel.

Taoist Yoga and the Kundalini By Michael Winn

2010-09-06T00:01:00.000-07:00

Although Hatha Yoga became known in America in the 1930’s, it

was not until the late 1960’s and 70’s that attention began to focus

on the higher stages of yogic development in which a phenomenon

occurs known as “awakening of the kundalini”. The kundalini

is the sudden release of vast untapped reservoirs of creative energy

that transports an ordinary human being into states of higher

consciousness and bestows upon him or her unique creative powers. A person who has attained full command of this cosmic energy

is said by the Hindus to have attained a state of “samadhi”.

The Buddhists call it “nirvana”, while the Chinese refer to it as the

“Tao”. In the west it might correspond with what Freud alluded to

as an “oceanic feeling”, but among the prophets of the New Age it

is known as “superconsciousness”. None, of course, agree as to

the best path to achieve this awakening, but the parallel among

them is distinct.

In India, the kundalini is symbolized by a serpent awakening from

a deep slumber and rising up from the base of the human spine in

a spiralling motion through the seven energy centers (chakras) of

the body, purifying and unblocking the powers of each center as it

rises. For millenium this same serpent has been a universal symbol

for wisdom and healing. Nearly every Egyptian pharoah is depicted

in statues with a serpent emerging from the third eye in the

forehead.

Today, modern western doctors wear on their white laboratory

coats the Greek symbol of healing energy, two serpents spiralling

up a staff. The Taoists in China revered the snake as a wise animal,

but symbolized the Tao more abstractly, with the yin and yang

symbols spiralling into each other. It is important to note the Taoist

yin and yang spiral was contained within a circle, while the traditional

Hindu kundalini serpent spiralled vertically up to the crown

chakra atop the head.

The Taoists referred to in this essay, are the masters of Taoist

Esoteric practices, whose traditionally secret methods were studied

by Master Mantak Chia. This is not to be confused with the

Taoist religions, whose priests combined elements of Buddhism,

Esoteric Taoism, and Chinese culture (folk beliefs, confucianism)

in order to maintain a popular base.

The symbolic difference translates into a real difference in terms

of the meditational approach aimed at awakening the release of

this cosmic energy. The Hindu yogis emphasized raising the

kundalini energy up to a higher transcendant level, while the Taoist

masters emphasized harmonious circulation of this energy between

chakras. The Taoist emphasis was on achieving perfect balance

between yin and yang forces within the body rather than on leaping

beyond human form into divine states.

It was not enough for the Taoist masters to simply know that the

Tao, the highest state of oneness existed; the problem was how to gain experience of it in a safe, systematic, verifiable, and useful

fashion. Chinese pragmatism worked its way into Chinese metaphysics.

One did not raise up one’s consciousness toward Heaven

without rooting it equally deep in the Earth. This need for “grounding”

defined the development of Taoist yoga. Tai Chi Chuan is nothing

more than a walking yoga with self-defense and healing applications.

Unlike Indian yoga, one’s feet never leave the ground, increasing

one’s “rootedness” in the earth energy and safeguarding

against excessive kundalini energy in the head.

It is this excessive energy in the head that often leads to illusions

of spiritual advancement, also known as spiritual egotism. It

is not unlike an intellectual who spends all his energy arriving at

conceptual solutions to the world’s problems, but ignores the messages

from his own body about its poor health or finances. In a

similar vein, Wilhelm Reich once complained that yogis would often

drive energies into their head chakras without removing the

“body armor”, or tension, plated about the lower body. He argued

their heads would pulsate with higher energy, giving the illusion of

cosmic serenity, but progress to full circulation of the cosmic energy

would remain blocked.

The Esoteric Taoist system guards against this danger by beginning

with the very lowest chakra energy, the survival needs, and

constantly reintegrating it with the higher energies that are developed.

The Microcosmic Orbit is a perfect example, as it circulates

past all seven chakras in the body. Likewise, the Taoists don’t advocate

sudden abandonment of all one’s ego. Depending on the

individual, a secure job and loving family may supply the best

grounding for spiritual growth.

The Taoists advocate moderation, not asceticism. They teach

that if a desire is destructive, it will drop away naturally as the body’s

chi flow comes into balance. The goal is to bring the body, mind,

and spirit into harmony with the world, not to escape from it. Tradition

has it many Tao masters would spend decades moving among

the common people. Only after teaching them how to balance their

anger with love, how to live more harmoniously, would they disappear

up into the mountains to work on a very high level of meditation

that required deep absorption in nature.

This harmonizing of the forces that fuse man, society, and nature

together is evident in Chinese classics such as the I Ching.

Written by esoteric Taoist masters, it simply expresses in poetic form the subtle changes in the balance of chi energies they observed

in themselves, others, and nature. The proper approach to understanding

the I Ching at its deepest level is to train oneself using

Taoist esoteric yoga to read the changing elements within oneself.

In the higher levels of Taoist meditation the practitioner grounds

him/herself in the body by channeling higher energies into the acupuncture

meridian system, and circulating them throughout the

entire body after refining the energies into a digestible form. The

practitioner has a detailed map of the body’s subtle nerve system

into which he guides the released energy. He also is given precise

methods for transforming his physical, emotional, and mental makeup

at different stages of growth using this new energy. Each individual

must tailor this “internal technology” to his specific needs

and problems. Esoteric Taoism doesn’t solve ego-created problems

by demanding the surrendering of one’s individuality to a larger

group of guru.

The only devotion it demands is a disciplined committment to

leading a healthy and harmonious life. Taoist Esoteric yoga is compatible

with any religious belief. The language of Taoism is not defined

by any set of mental “beliefs”, but by the “experience” of increasingly

subtle and powerful forms of chi energy. No mythological

entities or divine symbols are evoked. But if someone chooses

to identify this chi with the Christian notion of the Holy Spirit, it will

not adversely affect the Taoist method of chi transformation. This

holds true at the very highest levels of practice. This same Christian

could draw accurate parallels between the Biblical ascent of

Elijah on a flaming chariot into Heaven with the Taoist formula for

the seventh stage meditation, “Reunion of Man and Heaven”. Similar

parallels could be drawn with Buddhist Hindu, or Qabalist symbols

of spiritual advancement. The point the Taoist masters were

making is that the pattern of chi flow and balance is similar in all

men, regardless of interpretive belief about their religious experiences.

Taoist yoga is a theologically neutral method for preparing the

dense physical and mental body to consciously receive a more

powerful dose of cosmic yin and yang energies. Imagine the average

human being is accustomed to functioning on 110 volts. He

cannot suddenly absorb into his conscious mind the kundalini energy,

which is powered by the subatomic nuclear energy that binds

the universe together and is made visible in the radiant heat and light of the sun. To even double the received voltage to 220 re quires

considerable conditioning of the body. The more accessible form

of Kundalini power is human sexual energy. But to absorb anything

above your accustomed voltage is dangerous, like being struck by

lightning without a ground wire to the earth. The Taoist system of

circulating chi, from the Microcosmic Orbit up to the level “reunite

Man and Heaven”, is a grounding rod for Kundalini energy.

Modern researchers into spiritual phenomena see the Kundilini

as a possible mechanism to describe radical leaps in the evolution

of human consciousness. The form in which it spontaneously occurs

(i.e., without special yogic training) in nature would produce,

in successful cases of evolution, creative genius and in the unsuccessful,

madness. The classic account is Gopi Krishna’s autobiographical

“Awakening of the Kundalini’ (Shambhala Press).

Gopi Krishna was an Indian railroad official who in 1937 experienced

abrupt, dramatic physical and psychic changes as a result

of his yoga practice. Energy began dancing and coursing powerfully

through his body, but his initial wonderment and bliss soon

faded. He was nearly incapacitated by it as the energy would not

stop, sometimes leaving him tormented and sleepless for day on

end. Only after twelve years of this nightmare existence was he

able to learn how to balance the energy within his body and use it in

a newly discovered creative life as a poet and author of a dozen

books.

The Kundalini Research Institute in New York City reports worldwide

over a hundred cases each year of individuals who cannot

explain the uncontrollable release of energies in their body, often

accompanied by days of sleeplessness, ringing and hissing noises

in the ears and flashes of light inside the body. Some are students

of yoga or meditation whose teachers abandon them after seeing

they are powerless to diagnose or help the condition.

For this reason kundalini-oriented practices have earned a reputation

as dangerous, radical, and unsafe for most westerners seeking

what they falsely perceive as the fastest path to enlightenment.

A number of students suffering from kundalini-like side effects

of different meditational practices have come to Mantak Chia for

advice. Usually after doing the Microcosmic Orbit or simply putting

the tongue to the palate and thinking down, these unpleasant symptoms

disappear.

But the Chinese esoteric system is not limited to therapeutic

uses. Practitioners of other techniques, sitting, mantra, pranayama,

can achieve a high level of awareness and a balanced experience

of kundalini-like energies. But several have come to Master Chia

and privately complained that they don’t know what to do with all

their energy, or how to transform it to an even higher level. One

yogi wrote Master Chia that even after doing yoga for 18 years, 12

of them in an advanced practice of kundalini yoga, he had never

felt such a “pure and distilled energy” as he experienced in the

Microcosmic Orbit and first level of Fusion of Five Elements. He

plans to integrate the Taoist yoga into his daily sadhana.

Another high level Zen meditator told Master Chia he felt alienated

from the masses of unawakened human beings and depressed

by the mechanicalness of their living only to eat, work, drink, and

sleep. Master Chia taught him how Taoists harmonize with larger

forces outside of the self.

At the very highest level Esoteric Taoist yoga has techniques to

awaken the kundalini energy to such a level that consciousness is

thrust beyond the body for the purpose of doing spiritual work in

subtle realms of consciousness. According to Master Chia, the

Taoist masters modified a crucial aspect of the kundalini yoga techniques

learned from Indian masters who travelled to China. The

Taoists detected a practical problem with the Indian method, which

unites the human mind with its higher spirit by literally ascending

out the crown chakra above the head.

If one ascended out the crown chakra prematurely, there were

grave physical and psychic dangers. But if one took too long there

was also the danger of physical death before one had completed

the process of transforming mind and body energy into spiritual

energy. The Taoist masters resolved this problem by incorporating

their knowledge of subtle anatomy of chi flow. The result is that in

Taoist esoteric yoga one does not focus energy on a single chakra,

such as the heart, third eye, or crown chakra, with the intention of

using that energy center as the gateway to higher consciousness.

It is possible to open one or several higher chakras and still have

their power undermined by physical or moral weakness in the lower

energy centers. This can block progress to the highest levels if the

practitioner denies or ignores this imbalance.

The Taoists avoided these problems by absorbing higher energy,

whether from outside sources or sexual resources and circulating it continuously through all the centers. The goal was to

build a solid and powerful energy base, self-contained within the

human form, before the final transormation of the mind (or “soul”)

into spirit was effected. They would so thoroughly master their chi

flow within the body that they could consciously circulate this chi

outside the body as preparation for a safe pathway on which this

soul could follow.

Master Chia thus describes the Taoist approach to kundalini

awakening as the body and mind “parenting” the rebirth of its own

soul into the next dimension of consciousness. One does not expect

a human infant to fend for itself immediately after birth; that is

the parent’s responsibility. The reborn soul, ascending out the crown

chakra and arriving as an infant in a confusing new world, would

have “adult” guidance in the form of a powerful field of balanced chi

energy protecting it from malevolent astral forces.

Because the full transformation of all physical and mental chi

into spiritual chi energy normally takes many years, there is a danger

of premature physical death before the process is finished.

This danger becomes more acute with practices that accelerate

the inrush of kundalini energy, as the body and glands must adjust

to radical changes in metabolism. The Taoist masters circumvented

this by mastering the act of physical longevity, chronicled widely in

Taoist literature as the quest for physical immortality. The collective

genius of the Taoist masters evolved an esoteric spiritual system

designed to simultaneously awaken the kundalini and function

as a healing system applicable to the whole gamut of daily stresses

and illnesses.

The attraction of the Taoist yoga system is that it is as safe and

methodical as climbing a ladder. You climb only as high as you can

safely maintain balance and still keep the ladder rooted. The Taoist

masters emphasized staying in harmonious balance on each step

was more important than getting to the top of the ladder; trying to

jump ahead increased the risk of falling. The goal was not to leap

into some transcendent pie-in-the-sky, but to arrive with the graceful

surefootedness of a Tai Chi dancer.

Awakening of the kundalini energy does produce a transcendent

state of consciousness, but with Taoist Esoteric methods it is

only achieved when the ever changing and opposing forces of yin

and yang are first identified and then continuously, even automatically,

brought into harmonious balance by the individual. It is a process available to anyone anywhere with a functioning mind, whether

he/she is rich or poor, a cripple or an athlete, a housewife or an

executive, a criminal in prison, or a sailor alone at sea.

This internal feeling of expanding harmony is the highest freedom

available to human beings, but unfortunately is rarely sought

for lack of vision or discipline. Taoist Esoteric Yoga is an ancient

system that has proven its worth over many thousands of years in

aiding seekers to awaken awareness of that highest harmony.

Observations on Higher Taoist Practices

2010-09-05T23:59:00.000-07:00

The following is a discussion by Mantak Chia on the higher levels

of Taoist Esoteric Yoga, tape recorded at the annual retreat in North

Andover, Mass. August 1982.

You endeavor in your practice here to open channels so that

your soul has some place to go. The Microcosmic Orbit provides a

crib for you, when you are a ‘baby’ so that your soul and spirit can

run on it. As you grow up a separate room is made ready to provide

you with privacy.

This room represents the 8 psychic channels. When you get a

bit older you are provided with yet a larger room, the 24 channels.

It is then that you are taught what is good and what is dangerous in

the lesser enlightenment, the greater enlightenment, the greatest

enlightenment, the sealing of the 5 senses and the congress of

heaven and earth. You are ‘six years old’ now and in school. It is

during this time that you acquire the ability to extend the spirit outside

of you. At first you may be able to let it go out about one foot

and then withdraw it. Gradually you can let it out more and more

until after some time you can let it roam about freely outside of your

body. This education of the soul and spirit is a tedious and time

consuming process, taking 30-35 years.

There may be some geniuses who can become adept at astral

projection in as little as 20 years, but there is always the risk that

madness can ensue with premature exposure to forces that one is

not yet ready for, madness of a sort that masters are afflicted with

and must keep secret. I know, because I have met many troubled

practitioners. In fact, M.D.s refer just such problems to me.

There are teachers who have had ill effects using their own particular

methods, but still continue to teach because they adamantly

maintain faith in those methods that they espouse in spite of how

they have suffered by them. The methods should serve the practitioners.

In this light, there is no Taoist method, but rather practioners

who make of Taoist Yoga their own individual methods. Tao is a word that signifies the natural way of life. Each of you must find

your Tao, open your channels and essentially make your system.

When you are the least bit successful in this endeavor you will

realize how truely priceless such knowledge is. You will learn how

to pity the very people who might have caused you great anguish,

as much by your own interpretation of their action as by their unwritten

display of their own troubled minds.

In first level work we learn how to relax to a much deeper degree

than we are ordinarily able to. Here we learn to ‘smile’ to the

heart and to fill the heart with ‘love’ and then let that ‘love’ radiate

throughout our whole system. You have to know how to love yourself.

You have to know how to love your organs. If you can’t love

your organs or yourself, how can you be able to love others?

It is best that everyone in a household practice. Then they can

all improve. If there is just one practitioner, he or she would probably

find energy drained by others that one lives with. It is as though

there were just one breadwinner in the house and everyone else is

living off of him. Were they all to work, they would all share equally

and all prosper equally.

The foundation for all subsequent practice is the Microcosmic

Orbit, Seminal Ovarian Kung Fu, Iron Shirt Chi Kung and Tai Chi

Chi Kung. Seminal Ovarian Kung Fu is important in sealing the

lower centers as the front door and the back door, the reproductive

organs and the anus, to prevent a leakage of energy. The Fusion of

Five Elements prevents further leakage through the five sense organs.

Iron Shirt Chi Kung is important in storing energy and Tai Chi

Chi Kung helps bring energy to your hands and legs. You can see

that what I teach is an entire system.

A Doctor’s Search for the Taoist Healing Energy by Lawrence Young, M.D.

2010-09-05T23:58:00.000-07:00

When I was twelve and had just begun my grammar school education

in Hong Kong under the British system, I was at an age of

fantasies and hero worship. I was crazy about physics, mathematics,

atomic bombs, hydrogen bombs and nuclear reactors. Albert

Einstein was my hero and I wanted to be a physicist, discovering

the smallest particles of energy and matter, while exploring the

galaxies and the ever expanding universe.

Oddly enough, it was during the same time period that I read

about the esoteric experience of Master Yun. It was written in Chinese,

and I had the good fortune of having been taught how to read

classical, modern and simplified versions of the chinese language.

I did a lot of reading, staying in school and public libraries in Hong

Kong several hours a day after school was over. There I read about

Master Yun’s strange experience.

Master Yun was 28 in the year 1900. Pulmonary tuberculosis

was rampant in his village. Many villagers had died, including his

cousin. Then he came down with a cough which lingered for several

months. One day he coughed up a large amount of red blood

and went into a panic. He checked with his village elders, as well

as the traditional herbal doctors. They all confirmed that there was no treatment for pulmonary tuberculosis in 1900. Sunlight, fresh

air and adequate rest were the only hope.

However, they did come up with an idea — the last chapter of

the book: Annotated Chinese Medicinal Formulae recommended

Taoist Meditation as the best form of adequate rest. It suggested

that completing the Small Heavenly Cycle through the practice of

Taoist Meditation might activate the bodily defenses powerful enough

to overcome disease. Master Yun had practiced Taoist Meditation

since his teens but without any significent effect, except that he

always felt stronger when he practiced it regularly. Threatened by

death, he read the methodology in the Annotated Chinese Medicinal

Formulae carefully and consulted the village elders for clarification

of certain details. Then he commenced practicing four times

a day for two hours at a time, isolating himself in a small cottage.

On the eighty-fifth day, a sudden vibrating in his navel area caused

heat to rush up his spine to the back of his skull. The same sort of

vibration occurred on six consecutive nights with heat traveling up

through his spine to the top of his head each time that he practiced.

When it was all over, he seemed to have a new body. All

symptoms of his illness were gone and he felt light and bright like

never before.

One night, two years later, the vibration started up again in his

navel. This happened on three consecutive nights. The vibration

and heat rushed up his spine on its own, hitting the back of his

head (at the occiput) and causing considerable pain. One night his

‘skull suddenly felt as though it had cracked open and a sensation

of heat swirled round and round in the top of his head. This began

‘to happen every time he sat down to practice.

After another six months, a vibration again started suddenly in

his navel and the heat again rushed up to the top of his head, swirled

around in the vertex, came down his face, continued down to his

chest and went on to again reach his navel. Thereafter, during every

practice period, the heat went up his spine to the top of his

head, then came down his face and chest and returned to his navel,

after which, the heat circulated round and round without stopping.

Master Yun remained healthy until his passing in his nineties,

living a normal secular life.

I recount Master Yun’s personal experience because his autobiography,

first published in 1914, is an important landmark in Taoist

Meditation. Before him, no one had written about the actual methodology,

personal experience, benefits or side effects in simple,

explicit language. There are volumes and volumes of Taoist Esoteric

writing in Classical Chinese but the methodologies and accounts

of experiences are hidden in a cryptic language. The benefits

are written more explicitly, but the side effects are frequently

clouded.

At age twelve, fascinated by the personal experience of Master

Yun, I started to go through all the available Taoist classics that I

could lay my hands on. But I was disappointed because I simply

could not break what seemed to be a code, although I could understand

every single Chinese word literally. It was then that I started

an unending pilgramage to Taoist and Buddhist temples. I went to

temple after temple but found that there was a lot of ritual, philosophy

and religious data built into the meditation programs. Because

I refused to do the rituals. I could not be initiated into Taoist practice.

I was concerned by the fact that Master Yun had no teacher,

he learned from a Chinese medicine book and was never initiated

into Taoist practice via rituals. Never the less, I managed to talk to

several Taoist teachers and many of their students, whom are now

scholars and successful businessmen in Hong Kong, and was

able to learn of their personal experiences in terms of energy flow

and improvements in health similar to Master Yun’s.

Initiated Taoists spoke of step by step guidance into the experiences

that Master Yun had described and then higher levels beyond

that. Master Yun had no such step by step methodology. He

had only one step and one method that carried him through the

experience described above.

Unfortunately, university life was demanding, and there were so

many new attractions and distractions, that I stopped researching

Taoist and Buddhist meditations after I entered medical school.

The busy internship and residency years carried me even farther

away from my investigations. My resurgence of interest began several

years after my residency when I was in private practice. Although

I was using every means available to modern medical science,

many of my patients were still suffering and some of them

continued to die, perhaps needlessly.

The memory of Master Yun’s experience came up one day, along

with the advice the many Taoist and Buddhist initiates and teachers

I had seen. I had the thought, “If a patient has exhausted all

forms of available medical care, he should at least have the right to

try some safe mental techniques like meditation.” I set out on a

new pilgrimage to Yoga, Taoist and Buddhist meditation teachers,

biofeedback and stress reduction programs.

Mantak Chia is one of the teachers I have met in my new quest.

He is able to reproduce what Master Yun was able to do and goes

beyond that, doing what the Taoist initiates can do as well. He is a

Taoist initiate himself, but he does not include any of the Taoist

rituals, religion, or philosophies in his program. A Christian by conversion,

he is a doer, not a talker. He teaches his students solid

steps without any high-sounding philosophy.

I have interviewed many of his students and I estimate that over

50% of his students who put a reasonable effort into their practice,

open up the energy channels with vivid sensations and with noticeable

improvements in health. The rest of them open the channels,

without the vivid sensations, but with improvements in health. A

very small number drop out. I have observed no side effects in his

students, although all of them were prepared to meet all sorts of

unusual bodily sensations. His students come from practically all

walks of life, and many different races.

All in all, Mantak Chia is one of the few living heirs to the great

Taoist tradition. He has access to the codes in the Taoist Classics.

He is writing the Taoist Esoteric Encyclopedia in simple English for

everyone, dispensing what had been secrets for centuries in simple,

solid, easy-to-follow steps. Many other Taoist Masters and initiates

may not agree with him for giving this esoteric knowledge so freely.

If used for the improvement of health and the treatment of illness,

it is morally justified to disseminate this knowledge far and

wide. Fortunately, Chia refuses to teach higher levels of achievement

that might lead to paranormal abilities, unless the student

can prove himself to be a law-abiding and trustworthy citizen, willing

to serve mankind and use his or her esoteric knowledge to help

the needy in a selfless and generous manner.

I wish Mantak Chia every success in his ambitious endeavor.

Lawrence Young M.D. is an internist in private practice in New York City. He is the Director of the National Clearinghouse for Meditation

Relaxation and Related Therapies and publisher of its National

Report.

A Brief History of Taoism and Healing Arts By Stephen Pan, Ph.D.

2010-09-05T23:57:00.000-07:00

For many centuries, meditation and special exercises forms have

been used by the Ancient Chinese, Hindus, Arabs, Jews and Christians

as a means of improving the human mind and body. In China,

the Taoists called it “Chi Kung,” or “Cultivation of Energies.” According

to Taoist classics, Tu Hse, who lived about 8,000 years

ago, was the successor to many great pre-historical sages. He

was the great Taoist sage who began the use of the eight kua of

the I Ching such as the great power of observation and the power

of simplifying obscure masses of material. This resulted in a most

perfect yogic and meditational form, which incorporated the insights

of Tao philosophy.

Perhaps it is more than a coincidence that the Indian practice

today of Kundalini Yoga is somewhat similar to the Taoist “Chi Kung.”

More than 2,000 years ago, the Indian Master Bodhidharma traveled

to China. There he meditated for nine years facing a wall at

Shao Lin Temple. He established a school, which incorporated the

Indian practice in a new manner. From the time of the founding of

this school, many Chinese men of great ability practiced meditation

as taught by this Indian Master and gradually applied to it the

perticular qualities of the Chinese culture.

These esoteric practices were an integral part of the development

of Chinese medicine, where acupuncture, herbology and other

aspects of what would now be called “holistic” medicine reached a

state of high refinement unsurpassed by any other early civilization.

But by the end of the fourteenth century in China, these arts

were in decline for various political reasons, causing many of the

teachers to be scattered from their schools and forced to go under

ground.

The various approaches have been compiled in a Chinese Taoist

encyclopedia that fills hundreds of volumes. The Taoist approaches

have been divided into more than ten branches of study,

some of which have very different methods of practice ranging

from breathing techniques to alchemical secrets.

Western medical researchers are just beginning to realize the

ancient masters understood profound aspects of the human mind

and body without the aid of sophisticated diagnostic machines.

The difficulty is in penetrating the veil of secrecy drawn across

these Chinese practices which prevents their open examination

by the modern medical community.

Mantak Chia is one of the first Chinese masters to arrive in the

west with a comprehensive mastery of both the traditional chinese

healing arts, diet, Five Elements nutrition, herbs, Tai Chi Chuan,

massage, moxibustion - as well as the esoteric arts of Chi Kung,

Healing palm, Five Finger Kung Fu, Seminal and Ovarian Kung-

Fu, and the meditative aspects of Taoist yoga.

Chia is heir to a secret method which has been passed down

by word of mouth only. Unlike his forebears, he feels that it is time

that what he has learned should be made public. In the book he

has attempted to simplify what he has learned by way of his own

experience and those of his students into a system in which traditional

and modern medicine are fully integrated.

The medical applications of the chinese esoteric system are

traditionally said to be extensive, and include remedies for a side

range of illnesses:

1. Asthma and Chronic Bronchitis

2. Rheumatism and Arthritis

3. Hypertension

4. Insomnia

5. Cirrhosis of the Liver

6. Pulmonary Tuberculosis

7. Recurrent Headaches

8. Frequency of the common cold and other Episodic

diseases

9.Tumors

Long-term diligent practice beyond two years and, most effectively,

if practiced life-long, reportedly could retard the various degenerative

changes associated with old age e.g. skin changes,

senility, slowed reaction time, impaired memory, ambulatory impairment

and the frequency of various diseases common at old

age.

A diligent practioner often lives to ninety years of age and remains

healthy and alert, is able to jog, run and climb mountains

with ease, and continues to enjoy life more fully than most people.

Many reportedly could forecast their own time of death and pass

on peacefully and gracefully in the posture of meditation.

However, it should be noted that in old China your doctor was

considered a failure if you became sick. The best doctors trained

their “patients” to prevent illness by maintaining a high level of health.

The promise of Esoteric Taoist Yoga is to reveal the methods bringing

your various bodily energy systems into harmony.

A Medical Opinion on the Benefit of Taoist Chi Circulation by C. Y. Hsu, M.D.

2010-09-05T06:50:00.004-07:00

For over two thousand years the theory of Chi has been the basis

of classical Chinese medical practice. Chi is said to flow through a

system of channels in the body; when the flow of Chi is disturbed

for whatever reason, illness results. Medical treatment aims to reestablish

the normal flow of Chi and thus restore one’s health.

Unlike the circulation of blood, the flow of Chi is difficult to document

objectively. For several decades many scientists throughout

the world attempted to demonstrate the existence of such a system

of Chi-channels with no success.

When I heard about Master Chia’s method of Chi development

I was fascinated and decided to try it. After four months practice, I

began to sense a consistent feeling of warmth developing inside

my abdomen. Soon after, under Master Chia’s guidance, I was

able to direct the flow of this energy through the major channels of

my body at will. Not only did this curious form of energy travel along

pathways as described in classical Chinese medical literature but

the energy would dwell at sites corresponding precisely to the major

classical acupuncture points.

If there is a system of energy flowing through the body, then it is

logical to assume that the maintenance of such a flow in a normal

and efficient state is important. In Master Chia’s method of. developing

Chi-flow, there is a tremendous possibility for development

of one’s physical and mental well being.

C.Y. Hsu, M.D. ,Clinical Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology

Physician-in-charge of Acupuncture and Nerve Block Clinic Albert

Einstein College of Medicine Bronx, New York; attending Anethesiologist Flushing Hospital & Medical Center Flushing, New

York.

Healing Applications of Tao Energy

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The Microcosmic helps the body resist sickness by keeping the

energy in harmony. The inner smile is the model of loving yourself

with pure, unconditional love. By practicing the inner smile and circulating

chi in the Microcosmic Orbit we come to understand our

body on a deeper level and learn to create love, respect and selfesteem

within ourselves. Our body is potentially a perfect machine

to serve our mind and spirit. But we can have a perfect machine

only if each part functions harmoniously with the others.

The Microcosmic enables you to put an 8,000 year old discovery

by Chinese Masters into use in your daily life. Its applications

are endless. Continued practice can bring greater calmness, clarity,

and energy to every aspect of your current life. By circulating

chi in the orbit, you also open the door to discovering priceless

higher knowledge of the Tao, he harmonious way of nature.

What is the Benefit of Completing the Microcosmic Orbit?

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The Microcosmic is the basic tool of the Taoist system. By circulating

chi in this simple orbit you are generating energy to be stored

in the navel. The body knows which organs are in need of extra

energy. When circulating the warm current the organs, glands, and

blood automatically receive this energy.

Why do I feel tired after Meditating?

2010-09-05T06:49:00.004-07:00

The warm current concentration is an exercise of the mind, which

directs the current and burns large quantities of energy in the course

of purifying the nervous systems of the organism. During the early

stages of practice you will be doing a great deal of repair work on

your body. After concentrating you may feel tired or experience

some soreness in your back. The Taoist rebirth process explains

itself. It is a means whereby the sick and damaged body recreates

the life process to that of a baby. To accomplish this, one needs a

lot of material and energy. Those who are strong and healthy will

find that after practice they feel refreshed. Those who are ill or

unhealthy, or who think they are healthy but in fact are not, will feel

sleepy or tired in the beginning when such energy is expended in a

virtual repair and rebuilding process. One gradually changes into a

stronger, more vigorous and yet peaceful person. Remember that

this method calls for gradual change and a restructuring of the entire individual. As toxins are flushed out and tissues are replaced,

you may find that eating a handful of grapes or other sweet, juicy

fruit will help disperse fatigue. The longer you practice the better

you will feel. After the period of tissue repair is completed, you will

feel strengthened by your practice sessions.

Are there any Side Effects with your Method?

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In China, Taoists have been studying, experiencing, passing all of

their lifetime experiences down to us for 8,000 years. We know the

route and so it is very easy to guide one along. The nature of the

warm current or Chi is that it tends to flow up to the head, which is

the most important part of the nervous system. If it gets stuck there,

and you don’t know how to bring it down, it can damage the brain.

By gradually exposing yourself to increasingly larger amounts of

energy, however, it is possible to adjust to it. The price for not allowing

enough time to adjust and of affording enough safeguards

is an overload, which can result in pain, fear, outright injury and

insanity. There are those who succeed quickly by pushing power

into the head without side effects, but they are the exceptions.

The Microcosmic is a safe system because once the two main

channels are open, the energy will circulate automatically in a loop.

Energy flowing in a circle will never build up enough energy at any

single point to cause serious discomfort or pain. But if you try to

force the energy to flow in one direction only, such as to the higher

centers in the head, it may burst like a water hose with a kink in it.

The water pressure has no where to go but explode.

Additional safety routes are available in this Taoist practice. If

too much energy gets stuck in the head, just reverse the flow and

send the energy down the back to the feet and then up the front to

the tongue/palate. Putting the tongue up to the palate completes

the circuit, joining the energy of the Governor and Functional channel.

It is like building a tunnel through a mountain; it will shorten the

time if you dig from both ends and meet at the middle. This is what

we are doing when we join the two routes into a single loop.

Does Master Chia Pass Energy to his Students to help open the Routes?

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When someone first comes to me, I may give them energy. Upon

being touched some people experience the warm current in a few

minutes. The body may feel as though affected by an electric shock

and start to vibrate and go into deep concentration. By merely describing

the route of the energy flow to them and without my touching

them, they go into deep concentration, feel energy running

through their body and have an irregular and sometimes rapid and

shallow breathing pattern. Someone came to me just one time and

completed the route, experiencing great inner beauty, peace, and

a deep knowledge of his innermost self. That happens, too.

Does Rhythmic Breathing or Chanting help to circulate the Microcosmic Orbit?

2010-09-05T06:48:00.003-07:00

Generally, it does not. I may advise some students to do it in the

very beginning to help them calm down, but urge them to get along

without it as soon as possible. All that is called for is that you concentrate

on the energy center or centers that you are working on. If

you pay attention to your breathing, the power or the warm current

will not concentrate itself at the center but will scatter.

I have many students who had been practicing for many years

(some for as much as twenty or thirty years) who told me that they

had never felt any unusual energy in all their years of practice.

When they came to me I told them to just concentrate on the points

and not to pay attention to breathing. Many of them, in their first

session, often after just a few minutes of concentration, experienced

bliss and power, and found themselves deep in concentration.

All of these students were well prepared and had a lot of energy

in reserve, but didn’t know how to turn it on and have it flow in

the proper channels.

There are countless methods of breathing and they all make it

very hard to feel the “warm currents”. If you can concentrate on the

point assigned to you and do not pay attention to the breath. If you

can put everything out of your mind and just concentrate on that

point, the power will flow freely. When you concentrate, you casually

watch the point. There is no straining, no great act of will power,

but just passive watching. In this situation of just watching you will

feel very calm. So don’t pay any attention to the breathing, just

watch the energy center.

How does Practicing the Microcosmic Affect your Emotions?Should you Practice when Angry, Sad or Disappointed?

2010-09-05T06:48:00.001-07:00

All these feelings will affect your practice. Because we live in a

stressful world, no one is able to live a really happy or satisfactory

life. Try to be content and satisfied with what you have. When you

become discouraged, do some exercise, take a long walk, or find

some other way to calm down and then have a good sleep and in

time you will feel better. There are many methods that are helpful.

You can chant or count your breaths or repeat mantras.

All of these divert your attention from your trouble and set you at

ease. But remember always to smile and relax. There are added

benefits to this practice. You will find that you will become calmer

and more stable and may no longer lose your temper as readily.

So it is safe to say that as you become healthier you will be less

angry. This has happened to many of my students. No matter how

much psychology you have studied or theories you have understood

or lectures you have attended about how to control your anger and your mind, if you do not actually practice, you will make no

progress.

Many of my students have told me that they have had philosophy

up to their necks but that it does not really help them. What we

are trying to tell you is that you will find out you have completed the

route and have harmonized the Yin and Yang in your body, you will

feel happier, less angry and will be able to take more stress. You

will see the world as beautiful and see all people as saints. By

contrast, if you are sick and frightened as a mouse, when you see

people, even good, kind people who want to help you, you will believe

that they want to harm you.

Your main aim now should be to make your body, your nervous

system, soul, spirit, your whole being — healthy, by means of this

training. Try to remind yourself to smile and do one good thing each

day. That is all you need. You do not have to depend on a higher

master to guide your spirit; your spirit is yours. No one else can

guide your spirit. If your spirit has to depend on others for guidance,

then you are in trouble.

Can Relaxation and Concentration cut down on the Number of hours you Sleep?

2010-09-05T06:47:00.006-07:00

Sleep is most important. Through sleep you are able to recover

energy, allowing the body to refuel and repair itself. So it would be

wrong, especially at the start, to substitute meditation for sleep.

In the beginning, practice is practice and sleep is sleep. Some

people think that sitting in meditation is just the same as sleep. It is

true that meditation will calm down your nervous system and brain

but your body still needs the rest and sleep is the best way of providing

it. If you sleep less and then tend to fall asleep during practice,

that is not good at all. Not being able to concentrate during

practice you will simply defeat your own purpose.

Try to have regular hours of sleep. The average adult needs

about eight hours. It is said, traditionally, that when Chi fills all of

your organs and you fulfill the rebirth process, your body will need

less sleep. Yet, we must recognize that living in these times, subjected

as we are to different kinds of stress, new rules must apply.

I have some Friends who, after learning these Methods, do not seem interested in Social Activity. Will you comment on this?

2010-09-05T06:47:00.005-07:00

This is not the point of practice, although there are some people

who, after having begun training, would rather live away from people.

The main purpose is to make yourself stronger and happier and

not to run away from things. The Taoist approach is concerned

with harmony and so we suggest that people marry and lead a

happy family life, so that they can practice more effectively and

achieve their goals more quickly. There is no need to run away

from the world or from your family. If you can’t control your heart in

the city, you will never control yourself in the jungle either. Remember,

if you can practice well at home, you can practice anywhere.

Do People who Practice this Method have to watch their Diet?

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You should eat whatever your body tells you to eat. It is not necessary

to be strictly vegetarian. If you can become vegetarian, however,

and your body feels good with it, then that is the best thing for

you. If you eat too much meat, garlic or onions, it will arouse you

sexually, which will interfere with your practice. I would advise you

to abstain or at least to greatly curb your sexual activity until you

have gathered sufficient power and have opened enough Chi routes.

Until that time, remember that the most important thing for you to

do is to retain your sperm and ovary energy because it is a great

source of energy.

If you lose much sperm or seminal fluid, your energy reserve

will be very low and it is hard to produce Chi otherwise. As soon as

you begin to conserve energy through this practice, you will have

more erections at night or during practice.

It is very important to try to curb them. To do this, try to breathe

and draw in energy from the Hui-Yin and from the tip of the penis,

directing it up through the back to your head.

What is the Proper Time to Practice and must you do it regularly?

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The Taoists divide the time for practice into four periods. At six

o’clock in the morning, less Yin, more Yang; at 12:00 noon, strong

Yang, at six o’clock in the evening, less Yang, more Yin; and at

midnight, strong Yin. The length of time should be fifteen to thirty

minutes at the beginning. As you make progress you can then extend

it to one hour. Most importantly, find your own time and practice

regularly every day. It is of no use, if you practice one day for

three hours and then stop for two or three months. Ideally, begin

your practice regularly, for fifteen to twenty minutes each day and

expand as you make progress.

How do you Remedy Blockage in the Chest?

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In order to avoid the unpleasant side-effects that occur when the

power is blocked in the chest, redirect it down to Ming-men and

concentrate there, instead. If that doesn’t seem to help, shift your

attention to another power center, perhaps the Hsuan-Chi, and

concentrate there for a while until you feel the power move

I have had a number of students who, for one reason or another,

did not respond well in their practice and so I advised that

they concentrate on their navel. After a period of weeks or months,

I’d received various distress calls from them as the power developed

sufficiently to make itself known. One young lady kept saying

that nothing was happening, until, after about three months, she

called in great distress to report that she was having pain in her

chest and difficulty in breathing. I knew immediately what had happened.

She had continued to concentrate on her navel, even though

I had advised her to switch to her Ming-men in her lower back. The

pain and symptoms she now had were simply due to the energy

having risen up the front meridian into her chest. Had she been

concentrating on her Ming-men, the channel that would have been

available there would have been in her back and she wouldn’t have

had the trouble she described.

How does Chi affect the Sick Body?

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When the energy reaches a diseased organ it circles the area. For

example, if you have a kidney condition, you should be able to feel

the energy moving for a set number of times to the left and the right

around the two kidneys. If you have stomach or intestinal problems,

the energy will move in the direction of the stomach and your

body will shake. Those who have a heart problem will find that the

energy lodges around the heart. When people who have a heart or

liver problem engage in this practice and suddenly have difficulty in

breathing and a feeling of distress and congestion in the chest,

they may think that the system itself is not good and want to stop

practicing.

I have had a few students who have had just this problem arise.

They went to see doctors who were not familiar with Chikung or

the Microcosmic Circulation and who assumed the trouble came

from practicing “meditation”. In fact, the energy had been opening

blockages, which had been there for some time. Long before they

began practicing, they had sometimes felt their heart beat very

quickly and had become short of breath but had never attached

any importance to it.

It was only because they had ventured into something new and

different when they started to practice that they grew alarmed because

the symptoms remained too long. It may help to know that it

is the nature of this practice to have such things happen until health

is restored. If they break off with their practice they simply continue

to suffer, growing steadily worse. If the power is able to get through

the blockage in the chest, there may be vomiting or diarrhea but

after that is done with, a level of wellbeing will be achieved never

previously known.

Why is it that, After Practicing for a while, some People Jerk about Spasmodically, assume Yoga Positions or Elicit Various Sounds?

2010-09-04T12:21:00.003-07:00

Shaking is not an unusual effect and is, in fact, beneficial, serving

as an internal exercise. Concentrating on just one thought has

been known to stop it and if it becomes really violent you can end it simply by ordering it to stop. However, I encourage everyone to

shake for the benefits they can derive from it. To do this, they can

either pretend that they are shaking or concentrate on the navel,

exhaling as though into the stomach and through the back. If they

continue to exhale until they no longer can, they will begin to shake.

To stop this shaking, just order it to stop and breathe normally.

Shaking and jerking about during practice is caused by nervousness

or psychological problems hidden within the mind. Some practitioners

who are very suggestable may have read about what happens

and it happens to them. Others seem to shake in a logical

way, which means that if they move the left hand in a circle thirty

six times, then they will move the right hand thirty-six times too.

There are those who are very frightened when this happens.

As the Chi, or the energy of the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, kidneys,

fills the organs, there are specific reactions expressed as

various “shakings”.

1. The heart controls the veins and arteries. The Chi of the heart

causes the body to jump up and down like a monkey at play. (This

shows that the Heart Meridian is full of Chi).

2. The liver controls the tendons. When it fills with Chi, the big

toes and legs may cramp as the Chi swims joyfully in the ocean of

divine ecstasy, like a fish.

3. The spleen controls the muscles and when they fill with Chi,

they jump like a bird hopping from one branch to another. The place

where it rests feels like fire. This is because the vital Chi of the

spleen is moving around.

4. The lungs control the skin. When they fill with Chi you will feel

prickly itching and heat all over the body, as though ants were crawling

over you, especially on your face. This is because the vital Chi

of the lung is moving around.

5. The kidneys control the bones. When they fill with Chi you will

hear the sound of the moving bone. Moving up the spine like a

snake, it sometimes causes sexual arousal.

If you shake too much, the power will scatter and not run in the

Microcosmic Orbit. Shaking sends the power into the tendons,

muscles, limbs and organs, and is good for those who want to

strengthen those parts. I recommend that students sit for half an

hour, shake for five or ten minutes and then stop and concentrate on the power flow. The shaking can be both intentional and unintentional.

Doing this often limbers one up, thereby aiding concentration

and clearing Chi channels.

When one begins practice and has not yet completed the Microcosmic

Orbit, however, I usually advise that he not allow shaking

to occur. When you let the power flow by itself, all sorts of

seemingly automatic things happen if you just go with whatever

seems to be happening. This is a very good exercise for releasing

tension and stress.

What should One do when, after Practicing for some Time, One loses One’s Appetite?

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After concentrating on the navel and then the Ming-men in the back,

some people report having their appetite improve. They then eat

well and find their bowel function improved. After the power travels

up to the back of the head and then goes to the Pai-hui, they might

report having difficulty in breathing, losing their appetite and developing

trouble with their bowel movement. This happens when the

power has been blocked and has not been properly or sufficiently

directed back to the navel. Be patient and circle it down, as has

just been described above, drink more water and eat more fruit

and all of the symptoms will fade away. Remember, then, that if

you direct the power back down to the navel at the end of each

practice period, this problem will not occur.

Why do some People experience Ringing in the Ears during Practice?

2010-09-04T12:20:00.005-07:00

This will happen when the power ascends into the brain and it is

sometimes the result of energy vibrating in the ear (the bony inner

ear). Practitioners respond differently to it. Some like it and think

that it means that they are making progress, while others are convinced that something has gone wrong and are frightened. If they

can calm down and practice swallowing saliva, it will help to keep

the eustachean tube open which equalizes pressure on the ear

drums and can facilitate hearing.

They should then try to relax the head and back and bring their

attention to the Ming-men, allowing the power to flow down to it

from the head. Furthermore, after they have felt some relief, they

can finish by bringing their attention to the navel for a while before

rotating around it mentally or by using one hand first clockwise 36

times and then counter-clockwise 24 times (the direction is opposite

for women). It might also help to feel all the power being gathered

to this point as one is doing this. Bear in mind that the energy

goes where the mind directs it.

Can People that have had Surgery Practice?

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Taoist training will help those who have had major or minor surgery

to recover faster. After they practice for a while they may, however,

feel pain at the site of the incision. This effect is actually a good

sign, which indicates that the power is healing the cut from the

inside. When the pain disappears, it means that the wound has

been thoroughly healed. You might even have had an operation a

long time ago and no longer have any pain, but once the power

begins to flow, it will alert you exactly to where the pain was.

Back Pain for Older and Weaker People

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When sick or elderly people who are burdened by weak lungs,

stomach, liver, heart or other internal ailments, concentrate

for some time, they may have much pain in the back and

shoulders. There might even be sensations of heat and cold

in the affected areas. One must keep in mind that concentration

activates a natural process of healing. Those who have

illneses that are hidden ailments will come out of hiding, so

that they are once again afflicted as they had been in the past.

Why do some Practitioners develop pains in the Back or Shoulders during Practice?

2010-09-04T12:19:00.005-07:00

I have many students who experience pain or tightness and pressure

in the back after concentrating for some time. This depends

upon one’s body condition. Most young people and healthy adults

who exercise regularly will often find that when they sit and the

power goes into the back, pushing up through the spinal column,

needle-like sensations develop because that route had been obstructed

for so long. If you simply relax and concentrate, let us say,

on the Ming-men and do not pay attention to how it is going, the

power will push up by itself.

If you try to assist in this process by pushing or in any way forcing,

you will begin to feel nervous and uncomfortable and the power

will get stuck in the back, producing pain. When the power reaches

the Ja-chi, just concentrate there. Thereafter, allow the power to

continue ascending from the upper back to the neck and then to the Yu-chen, No. 7, or the small brain, which includes the cerebrum

and the cerebellum.

Try to concentrate on this energy center and when the power

finally pushes up to the Bei-huei, you will feel free and very comfortable

and the pain, tightness and discomfort in your back will

disappear. Sometimes, the power may seem to push outward from

the spinal column, not into it, at which time there will be no such

tightness and discomfort.

Should I concentrate on the “Third Eye” between the Eyebrows?

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One must be careful when concentrating on this point. The power

tends to flow upward and if it is obstructed, possibly because the

palate is too thick, and it is harder for the Chi to penetrate it then to

rise up and push open the Pai-hui in the crown of the head. This

forces it to flow out of the body for some time, and may cause

pressure to build in the head. Therefore, young people, strong virile

types, those with high blood pressure and those with mental problems

should not concentrate on this point.

Can Women Practice durng Menstruation?

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Women who have trouble with menstruation should discontinue

practice for the duration. Those who have irregular bleeding should

not concentrate on the Kuan-yuan, which is three inches down

from the navel, as this is the energy center of the ovary. They should

concentrate, instead, on the point between the eyebrows and on

the Door of Life (Ming-men).

Is Taoist Practice suitable for Everyone?

2010-09-04T12:18:00.004-07:00

Generally speaking, it should be good for everyone. But those who

have physical problems or who suffer from mental or emotional

problems, should be careful in their practice. In the Taoist system,

we start by training the body and then the soul and finally venture

into spiritual development. Taoism describes the body as a boat or

ship. A perfect ship is a perfect body and a good engine is a good

soul. The spirit is described as a diamond which we want to send

to its destination. But if you do not have a good ship and a good

engine you cannot deliver the diamond to its goal. Some people do

not pay attention to the body and seek just to protect the diamond

and the diamond sinks into the sea before they can reach their

goal.

In the Taoist System and in others as well, one begins by

strengthening the body. Thus, it is very unlikely that you will allow a

young, childish spirit to wander in dangerous and unknown lands.

When you open the thirty-two routes, the soul and spirit have room

to travel within the body. As you progress you have to learn how to

train the soul, how to mingle the body with the soul. Join and train

this combination with the spirit, so that it, too, is included in a new

mix and gradually the dangers of the practice are reduced.

Will circulating the Microcosmic help my Sexual Problems?

2010-09-04T12:18:00.003-07:00

For those who are impotent, ejaculate too quickly or who have

emissions; when they concentrate a while, they may feel pain or

expansion in the back. This may cause an erection and may result

in night emissions or a loss of sperm while urinating.

When you concentrate you are in fact preserving and storing

life force, which is then first drawn to the reproductive organs and

it is this which increases your sex urge. If you can retain these life forces, however, your overall health will be greatly benefitted. It is

safe to say that those who are weaker have been driven by lust.

Those who are impotent should stop all sexual activity for from 3 to

6 months, consult a doctor and practice until they find themselves

getting stronger. To practice and acquire some energy and then

have an erection and go right back to sexual activity is simply to

have lost what you have worked so hard to gain in your practice.

When you have collected energy and fully completed the route,

your body will become stronger and only then will you be able to

enjoy your sexual life.

During Practice, What should Men do when they get an Erection and What should Women do when the Vagina swells?

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When this happens in men, the testes may feel as though they

were vibrating, there might be a slight discharge of semen along

with a sensation of pressure in the prostate gland, and the Hui-Yin

may also seem to vibrate, whereas women may feel their vagina

and nipples distending.

When you are able to practice and collect power, it will naturally

flow down to your reproductive organs and stimulate sexual anxiety.

To overcome this, shift your concentration back to the Mingmen

and then bring it up to your head to the mid-point between

your eyebrows. In the book, Healing Love on Seminal Kung Fu, we

demonstrated very clearly (in the large drawing of the sexual force

rising up to the crown) how one can make an erection subside. I

have many male students who, after practicing, experience erection

and have to find relief in sexual intercourse. Some of those

students stopped practicing because their sexual urge was too

overpowering. However, if you can control or stop your sexual

activity for a while, or get your spouse to understand or practice

together with you, you will achieve success in this practice much

more quickly.

Do you have to Sit in a Chair?

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We recommend sitting in a chair. This is the most comfortable

position for most and is especially good for those people who have

back and leg problems. It also allows chi to flow freely through the

legs. Many people believe that if you assume the lotus position you

will feel more rooted and will gradually limber, or already have very

open energy routes in your legs, sitting in the lotus or quarter lotus

can only interfere with energy flow and hamper your progress.

If we compare the head to root of a tree, through which we can

absorb power from the heavens then we can compare the legs to

the branches and leaves and so they are also very important in

practice. When you attain a higher level of practice, you will find

that the soles of your feet absorb Yin power from the Earth. Sitting

in a chair facilitates directing the power down to the feet. When Chi

is circulated in just the upper part of the body and not directed

down to the feet, it is like having the leaves whither and fall off the

tree. No matter how well you practice in the upper body, if the power

has not flowed down to the legs, there is a very significant lack of

energy and you simply cannot function properly. When Chi circulates

in your legs you will feel lighter, will walk more erectly and will

be able to walk longer distances without fatigue.

Using a chair is important for another reason, too. A man must

let his testes hang freely so as to be able to properly absorb energy.

As your practice progresses, you have to open six special

routes and the flow has to run down to your feet. Sitting crosslegged

makes it very difficult to direct the power, although some

people claim that when you have been successful in collecting

energy you can direct the power in any position.

I have known many monks who had leg problems, which might

or might not have been caused by sitting cross-legged for too long.

If you can direct power to your legs, there will be fewer problems,

but since cross-legged sitting calls for more effort, it is not a wise

practice nor an efficient one. Since at one stage of your development,

you absorb energy from the earth through the soles of your

Commonly Asked Questions feet, which necessitates having your feet flat on the ground, the

position of choice, then, is sitting in a chair.

What is Chi or Electro-Magnetic Life Force?

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Chi, otherwise called the Warm Current, Kundalini Power or electromagnetic

life force, is very difficult to describe because this energy,

or life force, cannot be seen. However, we can feel the life

force in the body. In the early days of Tao, chi was expressed as

nothing in the top portion of the Chinese pictogram and as fire in

the lower part, so that no fire might be conceived of as defining

Chi. More contemporary Taoist sources classify many kinds of Chi.

There is pre-nature Chi, the kind you breathe, as well as the Chi

that is transmuted in our bodies and the kind that has been awakened

from sperm or ovary called Ching-chi.

Ching-Chi, the main energy source of our practice, is ultimately

transformed into spiritual energy. We all have Chi from the time we

are conceived. The Taoist teaches us that life force or Chi begins

as the energy you derive from the food you eat and the air you

breathe. In Taoist practice, you draw on many different sources of

energy, which reside in different energy centers in the body, such

as the heart, adrenals, prostate, pineal and the pituitary. There is

yet another kind of energy that we absorb from the solar system,

mix and transform in our body, which produces still another kind of

Chi in a process called Alchemy.

Taoism stresses practice and theory; philosophy and discussion

are discouraged as futile. By a simple method of relaxation

and concentratiing on your navel, you can experience for yourself

what the flow of Chi is.

Several of my students had spent as many as five to twenty

years trying to develop Chi and complete the Microcosmic Orbit,

but to no avail. After a short time with me they completed their

objectives in one to four months. They all found this method easy

and natural. Spending just thirty to sixty minutes a day, many who developed power quickly thought that they were dreaming or that it

was an act of imagination. Yet, when they practiced they felt warm

and soon reported how much healthier they seemed to be getting.

Proper Practice will prevent Side Effects

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In awakening the life force energy of Taoist Esoteric practice each

person is required in the first stage to open the Microcosmic Orbit.

The Governor Channel corresponds to the route that is followed by

awakened sperm energy rising from the coccyx to the crown of

the head. The Tao System differs from the Indian in that a return

route is provided for: from the palate to the tongue to the throat, to

the navel and back to the coccyx to begin a new circuit. In this way,

power is evenly distributed throughout the seven glands. There is

far less pain in the head than one would have in Kundalini practice

because a safety valve is afforded as a provision for distributing

the pressure.

The seven glands act like a series of containers, within each of

which the same level of fluid must be maintained. When this is

done, all of the seven will function properly with none of them being

stimulated more than it should be. This is exquisitely accomplished

in the completion of the Microcosmic Orbit. With only one direction

of flow through the containers, the lower or the upper one can be

over expanded, which can result in malfunction and damage. With

a return set of connections running to each container, however,

the overflow can be taken up by the circuit and the other glands

that it is connected to, resulting in reduced stress and a return to

balance.

At higher levels of Taoist Chi circulation more routes are opened

allowing more energy to flow but also creeating additional “safety

valves”. After the Microcosmic Orbit is completed an additional 30 routes in the whole body must be opened. When they have all been

opened, the life force energy chi can freely flow through the organism,

eliminating the side effects which might otherwise be caused

by the over-stimulation of one gland or another. For example, if the

adrenals are overstimulated you cannot sleep, because your pulse

rate is alarmingly increased and you feel anxious and alert. If the

power flows into the heart energy center and there is no means for

it to flow out, the heart rate goes up drastically. The pericardium is

supposed to function as a cooling system but is unable to do so

under such circumstances. Something akin to this can also occur

if the energy is not properly guided down along the front portion of

the Microcosmic Orbit.

Finally, prevention is the safest approach to avoid ill side effects.

As mentioned elsewhere, the singlemost important safeguard

is to end your chi circulation practice at the navel point where it is

circled in both directions from 3 to 36 times. In the beginning you

should try to circle it the full 36 times; eventually you will discover

the energy spins more quickly and this “closing off” will take only

seconds.

When to see a Doctor

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If you have definite physical problems you should follow your

doctor’s advice as well. You are not to think of this method as some

sort of magical cure-all, and should seek to obtain whatever you need to improve your health, with whatever resources may be available.

Problems most often arise in practice with those who are ill

or in a weakened physical condition. If they want to progress rapidly,

they would be well-advised to use a physician. A number of

practitioners have had misgivings for thinking that they could depend

solely upon their esoteric practice and never see a doctor

again and have ended up with sad stories to tell. To help solve your

health problems you should use what modern medicine offers and

the Taoist practices you have learned, as well as anything else that

you might have found to be effective, being careful to be open to

the best choice for you.

Illusions and Mental Illness

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Those who tend to have illusions or mental illness must make sure

that they direct the power back to the navel at the end of each

practice session. This will help to prevent such afflictions and many

other side effects. In fact, everyone should end his practice in this

way on the off chance that some stress or weakness has been incurred somewhere that he may not know about. When practitioners

who are in a weakened condition have more power made

available to them, they may experience such effects as ringing of

the ears, muffled hearing, or smarting eyes.

Once the power is activated, you will find that if you have ever

had a toothache you may again experience it and if you have a

latent virus or cold in your system it may be activated. Various

other pains out of the past may suddenly assail you. It may seem

as though the “power” is the cause of your trouble and it is, in a

way, and you would be correct in thinking so.

Your problems and illnesses have remained hidden in your body,

unknown to you. There are various ways to understand this. Perhaps

it might make more sense to say that most of our ills stem

from the mind. The mind is a storehouse of everything we have

been exposed to and when we use it, opened and cleaned, the

sickness will be overcome.

Initially, as you are suddenly confronted anew with painful memories

relived as though they were real, you feel that your practice

has caused this and it has. As you continue to practice, however,

and as these mind contents are emptied and replaced by a harmoniously

functioning system, you come to realize the wisdom of

just how you personally have harbored and been affected by these

“memory-illnesses”.

That is not to say that the illness you experience was just in

your imagination. The mind is complex and, in fact, are inseparable

from the body. Perhaps, “body” is just another way to describe

a complex set of processes that might, with another view,

be called “mind” comes closer to it. Again, as the various energy

routes are cleared of obstructions, it is conceivable that some of

those obstructions might have been due to past illnesses or injuries.

Then, as resistance to the flow of energy is met along a route,

the memory that is associated with it is evoked.

Cleansing of the Esophagus, Stomach and Intestines

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The cleansing of the esophagus, the stomach and the intestines is

very important, because food passes down this way and there are

many places where it can lodge, causing some blockage. The Six

Healing Sounds describes how during that phase of training, there

is belching as well as the passing of gas and yawning, marking

another very important aspect of the cleansing process. It is advised

that you drink one or two glasses of clear settled water in the

morning one hour before breakfast to clean out your digestive system.

After drinking the water it will also help to rub your stomach

with both palms 9 times in both a clockwise and counter clockwise

direction.

Throat Center: Coughing

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When you concentrate on the mid-point between your nipples, the

power pushes up to the throat chakra. Many practitioners develop

a cough when the power gets stuck, as it were, in pushing up from

the chest and into the throat chakra. Some may even cough up

dark sticky mucous at this time. Cleansing this point can help the

power flow considerably. By the time it pushes up from the throat

to the tongue you will feel calm and less worried. This does not

mean that you will never have any worries or anxiety but it does

indicate that you will feel more calm and will be able to sit and

meditate more easily.

Some Taoist books may seem to exaggerate the importance of

the chakras as power centers but what we are talking about here

is based on the actual experiences of many hundreds of students.

Appetite and Stomach Ailments

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The most important thing to us is the stomach (the element of

earth). Concentrating on the navel you may feel the area expand,

as though with air. This sensation often extends up to the stomach,

at which time you may be assailed by fits of belching and

yawning . . . especially if you have some stomach disorder.

Raisng your tongue to your palate will increase the flow of saliva.

When you have totally cleansed your stomach and intestines,

the saliva will become much more sweet and fragrant.

Safety Valves

Sexual Life during Practice

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When one has just begun to train, sexual intercourse should be

curbed considerably, if not altogether. Abstention will enable you to

have the necessary energy to complete the routes. Opening the

microcosmic orbit will eventually improve your sexual relations as

you gain mastery over your body’s energy system. Sex is a natural

human act and if you can properly control and use it, you will enjoy

it all the more. You will find more details on this in the book, Healing

Love on Seminal Kung Fu, which demonstrates clearly how to have

a more nourishing sex life.

Those who are weak and sick should abstain from sex for two

to six months or until some degree of vitality has been regained.

Cleansing Process: Belching and Diarrhea

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People who, develop belching and diarrhea during practice might

think that it is due to something that they have eaten. This is not the

case, however. When the power starts to flow, it acts as a cleansing

and filtering agent for the body and the organs. The diarrhea

that ensues is not the usual kind. After it is over you will feel very

energetic and internally light and clean. You may feel a little weaker

but you will feel much better than you can recall. Your stool may be

very dark and sticky. This is classically explained as being due to the poisons that had accumulated in your esophagus, stomach,

intestines and other organs over the years that are being cleaned

out.

When this cleansing is completed, the diarrhea ceases and you

reach another stage where you feel much calmer and cleaner. After

this cleansing, you are advised to watch what you eat, curbing

your intake of oily and spicy foods, fermented foods and meat.

Essentially, you should eat less at a time and eat food that is fresh

and of good quality. As you progress in your practice you will develop

an intuitive awareness os what food is best for you at the

time. An organ awareness will have been awakened, which will

enable the needs of the body to be satisfied.

Safety Valves: How to prevent Side Effects

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You may find circulating chi to the navel point is quite comfortable,

but when the power moves up to the head you may discover that

you are easily irritated and sometimes have headaches. Concentrating

on the heart chakra, you may develop congestion and pain

in the chest and heart area. Be assured, however, that though you

may initially suffer some untoward effects, your continued practice

will set you free of all such symptoms. However, it must be stressed

that you keep your instructor alerted to whatever you might experience

so that he will be able to help you. Make sure to finish each

session by returning the energy to the navel and circling it 3 to 36

times clockwise and 3 to 24 times counter clockwise for a man,

and the reverse for a woman.

The following centers can act as safety valves, thus helping to

avoid side effects: 1 ) the navel can store energy, 2) the Ming-men

on the back of the spine helps guide the energy downward, 3) the

Wei-Chung (the back of the knee) can store up energy, 4) the Yung-

Chuan in the feet acts as a grounding wire. The Hung Chaun energy

center can also be used as a safety valve to draw off energy

that builds in the head. When too much energy surges up to the

heart and seems to have no place to go, you can redirect it downward

to the feet and then up to the navel.

Final Goal is: Automatic Circulation of Chi

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Many have found that when they have completed the orbit and practiced

for a while that concentration on the navel causes the energy

to flow through the Microcosmic Orbit instantly. They feel the power

in the head (the crown), and the mideyebrow area, instantly upon

feeling the navel get warm. This is because the energy flows as a

complete stream. The tongue might feel warm or numb, as though

from an electrical shock. The flow can actually be felt to descend

down to the navel and go into the legs. A feeling of numbness may

be experienced in the arms and legs, when the big circuit of the

Microcosmic Orbit of the Large Heavenly Cycle has been completed.

Eventually the warm current will flow through your body automatically

if you’re creating a positive, permanent habit of circulating

chi around the microcosmic orbit. Once your body/mind has

internally absorbed the new pattern of chi flow, it will seek to maintain

the dynamic equilibrium and circulate the chi automatically.

Your weeks or months of self-discipline will begin bearing the fruit

of a lifetime of delightful good health.

Circulate Chi Power Continuously in the Orbit

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When you have completed the route point by point you are ready to

continuously circulate the “chi” power in the Microcosmic Orbit. It

is the steady flow of this warm energy current that offers the most

powerful results in the self-healing process.

1.To do this, when you concentrate, begin at the navel. When

you feel the power, bring it down to the Hui-yin, the coccyx. Then

up into the spinal cord, stopping at the Ming-men and then going

on to the pineal gland, on top of the head, where you concentrate

for about ten minutes.

2. After you feel the power flowing into the forehead, at the midbrow

region concentrate on the pituitary gland, (Yin-Tang) for another

ten minutes. After that, bring the power down to the navel.

Concentrate here for a short while until you sense some energy

and then bring it down to the Hui-Yin again.

3. Then start the Microcosmic Orbit Small Heavenly Cycle

around the trunk of your body, circulating it thirty six rounds, bringing

the power to the coccyx and letting it flow up the spinal cord, to

the Chi Chung or the mid-point of the adrenal glands.

4. Count from one to ten repeatedly for one half hour for its

calming, purifying and cleansing effect. When you are more advanced

all you need do is concentrate on the point. You no long

need to count. Then bring your attention up to your head and stop

at the Niwan-Kung, the pineal gland where you can again count

from 1-10 for resting, purifying and cleansing.

5. Thereafter, bring it down to the Hui-Yin again. This is one

round of the Microcosmic Orbit and it is to be done thirty-six times.

If you can do this every day, it will greatly improve your health. When

you’re through, you must remember to collect the power mentally

and circle the navel 3 to 36 times clockwise, and then 3 to24 times

in a counter clock-wise direction.

Review: Major Points of Microcosmic Orbit

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1. Sit easily and erectly on a chair with your right hand clasped

over your left. Your chest should not be held up but be allowed to

collapse slightly, while the head is tilted a bit forward. Count your

breath, now, either from 1 to 10 or 10 to 1, doing this 10 times. This

is done for its calming effect. When you have practiced in this way

for some time you can dispense with counting. More advanced

practitioners are immediately calmed upon assuming their seats.

2. Next on the agenda is abdominal breathing. This is done to

stimulate the internal organs. In this method, exhale your breath by

contracting the abdomen, compressing and massaging the organs

therein and acting as an adjunct to the function of the diaphragm

as it rises to compress the chest cavity. When you inhale, the diaphragm

descends and again there is a compression and massage

of the abdominal organs. This helps bring the Chi (or life force

energy) into the abdomen where it can be collected and utilized

more effectively.

3. Breathe in this way for 36 cycles. After you feel calmed and

concentrated and the energy is experienced in the abdomen you

can practice progressive relaxation. This is accomplished by the

method of “smiling” in the eyes and extending the feeling to the

rest of the body, as has already been described. When you have

completed this, down to “smiling” in your toes and fingers, use the

index finger of your right hand to point at your navel. This is to be

your point of concentration, unless you have high blood pressure.

In the latter case you are advised to concentrate, instead, on

the soles of your feet. If you have heart burn or an extended chest,

you should concentrate on the Ming-men, the point in back, opposite

your navel. If you have low blood pressure, bring your index

finger to the area between your eyebrows and bear down on it,

maintaining the pressure for a few moments, so that when you’ve

taken your finger away, the residual sensation helps in keeping

your mind on the selected point.

4. If you practice using the navel area in the prescribed manner

to develop Chi, it usually takes two weeks to a month before you

feel anything. Once you do feel the energy there, you should shift

your attention down to the sperm palace, which is near the pubic

bone and represents the prostate gland. Young people who do this

may be too sexually aroused, in which case they should instead

focus on the coccyx or Ming-men. Women are to concentrate 3

inches down from the navel, which is where the ovaries are to be

found. However, those who have menstrual problems are referred

to the Ming-men or coccyx, instead of the navel. After that you can

switch to concentrating on the Hui-yin (or perineum).

5. Some people may feel power very rapidly rise up the back

when they place attention on the perineum and so they ought to

concentrate, instead, on the coccyx. Before actually concentrating

on either of these places, however, it helps to sit and rock back

and forth on them. The coccyx has an opening called the hiatus.

Rocking on that and focusing your attention on it can sometimes

lead a very rapid channeling of chi or your back. When it does

happen concentrate on the navel.

6. After you have practiced for two months or so you can concentrate

directly on the navel. That is, you don’t have to count your

breath or do the deep abdominal breathing — though you can do it,

if you like. From the navel, the Chi should go to the ovary or sperm

palace, the Hui-Yin, coccyx and up to the Ming: men on the back.

Remain here until the power pushes up to the adrenal gland. Always

remember to follow the energy flow and not force It.

7. The power ascends, thereafter, to the level of the shoulder

blades and then the neck. Do not concentrate on the adrenals too

long as this can cause insomnia. If you find this happening, concentrate

on the coccyx. This will again send power up the back

and into the small brain. When this is concentrated on you may feel your back get warm and you may find yourself unintentionally

doing yoga-style breathing.

8. In time you may feel something in the top of your head in the

pineal gland area. The energy, when encountered here, feels warm

or numb and as though something were pressing from inside. From

there, the Chi flows down to the mideyebrow region, making it feel

very tight. Once you’ve reached this point, the Chi has completed

the “Governor Route”. Thereafter, the power must be directed downward,

no matter what your level of development.

9. When you’ve reached the head, reverse it and direct it to the

Ming-men, directing it from there to the inner sides of the thighs

and ending in the soles. Concentrate there for a while and then

bring your attention to your toes, knees, Hui-yin and then navel

again. Stay there for a while and then go up one center to the solar

plexus and concentrate there. Since you’ve opened the functional

route, as soon as you concentrate on the solar plexus, you should

feel energy there and in the area between the eyebrows as: well.

The energy that is developed at this time flows in both the Governor

and Functional routes. Doing it this way is much safer and

spares you side effects.

10. When you’ve developed more power, it will push up from

the solar plexus into the heart chakra. This should be your next

point of concentration, then, but if you spend too much time here

you will develop heart burn and find difficulty in breathing.

11. If you’ve concentrated for one or two weeks and the power

has not yet risen to the throat energy center, you can either direct

your attention to that center during your practice sessions or concentrate

on your solar plexus and allow the energy to push its own

way up to the throat center. When the power does get to the tip of

your nose. This is a crucial point. Think the energy up to the tongue

from the throat area and bring the energy in the brow area or nose

down to the palate. When the energy descends along the nose,

this causes some practitioners to sniffle (so that you can have

some guide as to what might be happening).

Your tongue may seem to grow warm. When the proper place

on the palate has been touched, you will feel as though you had a

small electric shock in your tongue. When this happens, it marks

the completion of the Microcosmic Orbit by the fusion of the Functional

and Governor routes, known as the Small Heavenly Cycle.

This can later include your arms and legs, at which time you are

said to have completed the full Microcosmic Orbit within the Large

Heavenly Cycle.

12. Everyone, regardless of age, must conclude their practice

by directing the energy downward. Collect it in the navel and circulate

it from 3 to 36 times in either direction. This is absolutely essential

as a precaution against energy getting “stuck” in some other

parts of the body.

Set a Training Schedule

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A normal, healthy student should practice a half hour in the morning

and a half hour in the evening. Someone who is sickly or weak

should practice an hour in the morning, in the afternoon, and in the

evening. Those who do not have back trouble, high blood pressure

or gastric ulcers should do the “stretching the tendons” exercise.

This is done in nine sets of nine repetititions or three sets in the

morning, afternoon and evening, making a total count of 81 for the

day.

Do not worry if you miss a session. Just stay relaxed and if you

can find a few odd minutes at home or in the office, try to meditate

in those spare moments.

When first beginning it takes a little bit of time and discipline to

achieve rapid progress. Remember that later on it will occur with

no effort.

The exact amount of training and practice required to develop

the Microcosmic Circulation varies from individual to individual. For

best results one should practice at least twice a day at home, for

ten to thirty minutes at a time, even if one has attained a higher

level of accomplishment. Students with previous discipline in yoga

or other meditation techniques are frequently able to open the microcosmic

orbit immediately by redirecting their power of concentration

away from the “third eye” (brow point) and into the warm

current flow.

It is possible that some individuals might not succeed at all and

never be able to grasp the essentials. Many report completion of

the circulation within the first one hundred days of diligent practice.

Most students report success within three months to a year. Improvement

of illness may occur quite early in the practice. Many

who worked hard on it, were reported to have achieved relief of

their medical problems despite the seeming absence of dramatic

feeling of the “warm current” flow.

The Esoteric Taoist system of meditation ultimately leads to

mastery of the “Third Eye” center, the crown of the head and those

centers beyond. But it stresses the necessity of mastering all the lower energy centers first to insure a solid foundation for spiritual

growth and self-healing.

There are spiritual “geniuses” on earth who can quickly transcend

and stabilize themselves in higher energy centers. But most

people cannot safely absorb this higher energy without first purifying

the body and its lower energy centers. This may be a long and

arduous process for some. The microcosmic orbit circulation is a

safe and systematic approach to quickly achieve this transformation

within the body. But only practice makes perfect, the greater

your self-discipline the faster you will be rewarded with a marked

increase in energy available to you.

Open the Arm and Leg Routes: the Large Heavenly Cycle

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Once you have completed the microcosmic orbit, and feel competent

circulating the energy, you are ready to direct the power to the

arms and legs in addition to the main body trunk.

1. Begin with the basic orbit, concentrating on the navel until

you feel warmth or energy, directing the chi down to the Hui-yin

(perineum), up the spine to the Pai-hui (crown of head), and through

the tongue and palate back to the navel. Stop at the navel to collect

more energy, then direct the power once more to the Hui-yin

(perineum).

2. From the Hui-yin divide the energy into two routes, directing

the chi down the outer back portion of the left and right thigh to the

l4th energy center, the back of the knee (Wei-Chung).

3. Next, move the energy down the outer calf to the l5th energy

center, the Yin-chuan at the soles of the feet.

This is the first point of the kidney channel, and concentrating at

this center will strengthen the kidney, lower blood pressure, and

help relieve fatigue as more energy is brought to the feet.

Yung-chaun is often referred to as the “Bubbling Spring”, or the

point where the yin energy bubbles up from the earth and enters

the soles of the feet. Many people who concentrate on the navel

feel warmth in the feet instead, because the Yung-chuan is the

origin of the energy that collects in the navel.

Concentrate at the soles until you feel energy there, then direct

the chi to the 16th energy center which is located in the big toes.

Both the liver and spleen (Ta-Tun and Yin Pai) meridians flow through

the big toes and concentrating here will strengthen those organs. If

you feel numbness or a pain like an ant bite, move the energy to

the l7th energy center, the front of the knees (Heding).

4. To reach the 17th energy center, the chi travels up along the

shin bone to the front of the knees. The stomach and spleen channels pass through this region, and opening this center will

strengthen these organs as well as the knee, and prepare the passage

for energy to go through at a later time. Be sure to draw the

energy up from the earth through the soles of the feet to the knees.

5. When you sense warmth or tingling, shift your attention back

to the Hui-yin (perineum), by directing the energy along the insides

of the thighs.

6. Now send the energy to the Chang-chiang (coccyx), the Mingmen

(opposite the navel), the Chi-chung (opposite the solar plexus),

up to the mid-point of the scapulae.

7. Here the energy divides into the left and right arms and descends

to the inside of the upper arms, down to the forearms, and

passes along the middle of the palm, the Lao-kun. Concentrate

here for a while and then feel the energy run along to the middle

finger. Then go up the outside of the forearm along the outside of

the middle of the upper arms, reaching the shoulder region. Here

the energy rejoins on the spine between the shoulder blades.

8. Continuing on to the neck and up into the crown, allow the chi

to descend to the tongue, where its way back to the, navel again,

thereby completing the Microcosmic Orbit.

The Large Heavenly Orbit is part of the Fusion of the Five Elements.

The second level of the Taoist Esoteric Yoga, Fusion of the

Five elements, opens the other 6 psychic channels plus the Microcosmic

(2 channels) which equals 8 channels.

Rubbing the Face

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During meditation, the hands will become very warm because of

the Warm Current passing through them. Immediately after practice,

rub your hands together briefly and then rub them briskly over

your face for one or two minutes. This will serve, literally as a rejuvenating

cosmetic substance. Rub your eyes gently and rotate

them. Then rub your ears. Beat your teeth together lightly thirty-six times and finally rub your waist, legs, hands and soles of the feet.

We will deal with this extensively in the book , Chi Self Massage.

Collect the Energy when finished

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No matter where you end your practice, if you only concentrate on

the navel, if you get as far as the Ming Men, or if you complete the

route, at the conclusion of your practice you must always bring the

energy back to your navel and collect it. Collecting the energy gathers

up the excess chi in the body and stores it in the navel. It protects

your body organs from accumulating too much energy.

To do this, concentrate on your navel as you place your right fist there. Then rotate your fist thirty-six times clockwise, allowing the

circle to grow larger until it is no more than six inches in diameter

(not higher than the heart nor lower than the pelvis). Then reverse

the direction of rotation and rotate twenty-four times in a counterclockwise

direction, gradually shrinking the circle until it returns to

the navel. A woman reverses the order of rotation, first rotating

counterclockwise thirty-six times and reversing the direction and

shrinking the circle while rotating clockwise twenty-four times back

to the navel. To determine direction imagine a clock at your navel.

Eventually you will learn to direct the chi with your mind and will

not need your fist to help you guide it.

Also, if you are short on time you can collect the energy three or

nine times, reversing it the same number of times.