Who is practising the heart or habit mind?
We only have four days to learn the basics of Zhineng Qigong, so this is just an introduction.
The main rule for practising is to be calm and relaxed. This is what we are taught and what we all remember. If I can stay calm and relaxed, I can practice.
But before we can practice, we need to know how to do it properly. This is the fundamental requirement of Zhineng Qigong.
Our habitual mind tells us that we must be quiet in order to practice; otherwise, it won’t work. This is often the most ingrained impression from our learning.
But what does it really mean to be relaxed and connected at the bai hui and hui yin points?
We tend to focus on remembering the correct posture, but where is our qi field? We put a lot of effort into trying to locate it – up, down, all around, and inside. But this is simply using our imagination and logical mind to try and find it.
In reality, every step of our practice becomes a mental exercise.
Therefore, we need to keep practising and refining our understanding of level 1.
Usually, in the first 1-3 years of practice, our mind and ego drive our efforts. In the first year, we might start with an open mind or “beginner’s mind” as we follow others. In the second year, we follow the teacher’s instructions to try and feel quiet and relaxed. But even then, we still hold onto something (the form). It isn’t until the third year that we allow our ego to join in with Lift Qi Up Pour Qi Down. We start practising from the ego and judging whether others are doing or teaching it correctly according to our ego and habits.
Where can you truly find relaxation and calmness? Where is the natural way of practising?
It’s not just about following your teacher’s directions to be quiet and relaxed.
Typically, we go through the motions based on our physical impulses. Different teachers may lead practices at various speeds – some slower or quicker than others. Some may only push and pull three times, while others do it thirty times. Then we start to compare and judge – “Oh, this is different from what my other teacher taught me,” or “This isn’t how I usually do it.” This is our ego joining in with our practice.
Our mind goes on forever when we push, but when we come to a boundary, we naturally stop pushing. When we pull, our mind has no boundary but then we come to a boundary and stop. We are pushing and pulling within the boundary of form. We must not simply follow the automatic boundaries of form; instead, we must push and pull without hesitation and boundary.
Instead of relying on our minds, we must learn to do everything with our hearts. This leads to true flourishing within ourselves. Society often puts emphasis on outward appearances and material possessions, but this can cause us to lose sight of the most important aspect of life: our inner world. To truly thrive, we must first focus on cultivating a flourishing world within our hearts before attempting to build or acquire anything else.
One way we practised connecting with our hearts was by using our hands. Instead of relying on logic and reasoning, we used our hearts as our guide.
We also did an exercise where we moved both hands in small circles, first clockwise and then slowly counterclockwise. In Lift Qi Up Pour Qi Down, the heart is responsible for both pushing and pulling.
Our minds have a tendency to interfere and overthink during practice. The key is to quiet the mind and relax in order to truly connect with the heart. We can do this through high-frequency grounding. We can ground into the sky.
If we can understand the foundation of practice, it can save us 10 or even 20 years of misunderstanding. Many people who have been practising for years still struggle with this concept.
The first step is to discover your true identity and essence. For example, I am a father. Instead of actively thinking about being a father, I am simply a father. Whether we are good or bad at it is irrelevant; I am just a father. It’s similar to identifying as the universe or as a practitioner. This understanding brings a completely different benefit and understanding to our practice and lives.
Lift Qi Up Pour Qi Down is just our heart, not our hands. Usually, people only use their hands to do Lift Qi Up and Pour Qi Down.
The heart is the whole qi field. The qi field means the essence of you.
To find out more about upcoming online and in-person workshops with teacher Xie click here: https://heartsqi.com/xiechuan/