I have just completed my journey through the Southern Hemisphere and am now in Asia. I will be in Hong Kong and Mainland China from March 14 to April 5. I am now opening up slots for in-person private consultations in Hong Kong and China (southern area). If you have been waiting for my return to Asia to refine your practice, please reply to this email directly to coordinate.
I will also be available in Europe for limited sessions of private consultation:
- April 18 – 5pm: Murcia, Spain (one session only)
- April 19 – 5pm: Murcia, Spain (one session only)
- April 25 – 5pm: Hastings, UK (one session only)
- April 26 – 5pm: Hastings, UK (one session only)
- April 27 – 10am-5pm: Hastings, UK (three sessions)
Visit this blog again for the fees and details about the private sessions:
This trip was more than just a teaching tour; it was a revelation in how we integrate practice with travel. Usually, travel from the East Coast of North America to Australia involves a brutal 20+ (often 30) hour flight. This time, I opted for the “slow path”: I went to the West Coast and spent a couple of days there to adjust to the time and climate differences, then took a 10-day cruise from Tahiti to New Zealand, where 8 out of the 10 days were “Sea Days.” I have always wanted to do a transoceanic cruise because two of my masters had mentioned that the energy field at sea—especially during those quiet Sea Days with nothing but the horizon in sight—is exceptionally potent for internal work. Practicing Neigong on my balcony, meditating with the sound of the waves, or doing Solar Qigong as the sun emerged from the horizon was truly an incredible experience. A fellow cruiser I met on this trip, who is also into energy work, said the same thing. Once the cruise departed from the port, the energy became so pure.
This cruise sparked an idea: every year from late March to mid-April, many transatlantic cruise ships reposition from America back to Europe at incredibly low rates (sometimes $40–50/night for a balcony room). These journeys often involve 9–10 sea days. Thus, I am considering organizing a “Qigong Retreat on the Ocean” in the future—spending those sea days in deep, focused practice. This would provide a comfortable, relaxing, yet focused environment for internal work. If this sounds like something you’d want to be a part of, click the link below or reply to this email.
http://youtube.com/post/UgkxhxhgjwhypsVlWVQmf6XC8aT7uAQ4r0gC?si=PiCbUjtZVWLpGy2s
During the first half of this journey, a student and friend of mine joined me. Once the cruise arrived in New Zealand, we stayed for a few days for sightseeing. During the second-to-last day of our New Zealand trip, we went to a National Park for a short hike. She severely sprained her ankle just three minutes into the hike. It was an old injury that occurs almost yearly and usually takes more than a month to heal. I took her back to the car and asked her to rest there and do some Qi circulation while I continued the one-hour hike myself.
This felt “cold” to her compared to a previous, similar experience in Hangzhou, where her sound healing teacher had physically supported her and rubbed her feet to help her complete a walk around West Lake. However, despite all that emotional sentiment in Hangzhou, her ankle back then still took over a month to heal once she returned to Toronto. Also, West Lake is a flat walk on cement, while that hike involved many stairs and loose gravel.
That evening, after six hours of driving, I sat for my nightly meditation. Despite my exhaustion, I found myself spontaneously chanting the Bhaiṣajyaguru (Medicine Buddha) Mantra. There was no forced intent; it was a natural flow of energy.
By morning, we witnessed a series of synchronistic events:
- Immediate Recovery: She was unable to walk downstairs the night before, and the ankle was swollen. Now, the swelling was gone; she was able to move and even jump without any pain.
- Logistical Harmony: Her original return flight to Canada (a grueling three-flight itinerary with two long layovers) was canceled. She was rebooked onto a much more efficient two-flight journey with only one short stopover.
- The “Flat-Bed” Miracle: Upon boarding, she found her entire row empty, occupying 4 empty seats, allowing her to lie flat for the duration of the long-haul flight—providing the perfect environment for her ankle to fully recover.
Though my friend kept calling these “miracles,” I didn’t mention about the chanting at all.
The Distinction Between Sentiment and the Path (Dao) In our lineage, we move away from performative “Chi Healing.” My Master emphasized that at a certain level of cultivation, compassion becomes a radiant frequency rather than a physical effort. When we stop trying to “fix” things through the ego or even emotional sentiment and instead align with the Path (Dao), healing occurs as a natural byproduct.
We can reflect on this through the lens of a classic Zen verse:
Human sentiment is dense, while the sentiment of the Path (Dao) is thin. But if there is only sentiment without the power of the Path (Dao), how long can that sentiment truly last?
In our practice, and in the Dao De Jing, we often discuss the difference between “Wu Wei” and “You Wei.” This incident provided a perfect illustration of this principle.
After my short trip concluded in New Zealand, I finally flew to Australia to teach. Due to flight delays, I didn’t arrive until 10:00 PM. My student picked me up and drove for another hour, and finally stopped at a pier! We were speeding across the water on a motorboat in the middle of the night. A thought flashed through my mind: if this were Thailand, I might have already jumped the boat, fearing I was being taken to Northern Myanmar to have my kidneys harvested!
My student was living in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, and her house was only accessible by boat. By the time I settled down, it was already midnight—which meant 2:00 AM New Zealand time. But I still performed my routine to meditate before I slept. During that session, my consciousness quickly expanded outward and encountered three very old, weathered headstones in the forest. I wondered why I was attracted to that spot, but I didn’t think much of it because I was quite sleepy already.
This National Park has very good spiritual energy; during my week-long stay, I quickly entered a deep samadhi state in my meditations. Days later, after I finished my teaching, I did a solitary day hike through the park and came across the exact site from my vision on the first night. Though there were only two headstones there, in my vision there was supposed to be a smaller one behind the bigger one on the left-hand side.
My student later confirmed these were the resting places of the area’s first pioneer family. In our tradition, such figures often become the “Land Gods” (Tu Di Gong) of the area—the spiritual guardians who remain connected to the soil they once nurtured, provided they loved and made a great contribution to that area and were willing to accept this post after they died. Then I finally understood why I was called to that area upon my first night of arrival: just to say “hi.”
Spiritual Etiquette: Seeking Permission This experience reinforces a vital lesson for all serious Neigong and meditation practitioners: the importance of acknowledging local spirits. Whether you are in the mountains of China or the national parks of Australia, “Mountain Gods” (Shan Shen) and local guardians exist. If you intend to perform deep internal work or tap into the local energy field in a foreign place (espeically in the mountain or forest), it is respectful to “introduce” yourself and seek permission.
I have seen practitioners—and experienced it myself—being “chased away” by sudden, localized storms or heavy winds because they practiced without acknowledging the local spiritual authority. A couple who followed some Tibetan traditions, and later invented some of their own, practiced at Mount Shasta once; both simultaneously saw a Native American through their “third eye” telling them to get out. They later sought advice from my Master, who told them they were not “clean” enough to do the practice there because they were still eating meat. I also had an interesting experience at Mount Shasta, but that’s another story. I believe with my current level, I should be accepted to do a personal retreat there. It is a very interesting place that I would definitely like to return to.
Talking about this reminded me that my Master told me there were three Native Americans who have been constantly meditating at Niagara Falls (on the USA side) for at least a few hundred years. He once asked me and a fellow student, who also has the third eye open, to find them, but we couldn’t. Perhaps our levels were still too low for them to want to reveal themselves.
By the way, doing Qigong like Shibashi or Yi Jin Jing is perfectly fine in most places even without saying “hi.”
Do you find this newsletter boring, or do you want to hear more about my previous travel and spiritual experiences? Before my retreat in 2019, my Master asked me to write a book based on my travel and path-seeking experiences because I had traveled to more than 60 countries at that time and visited many unusual places. You see, just one month of travel this year has already allowed me to write four pages in this newsletter. As a seeker, I have also followed many different energetic and spiritual traditions before being initiated into my current lineage. My experience might be able to provide some people with shortcuts and help them avoid running into too many “winding roads.”
I didn’t start the project before because I have very poor writing skills, but now with AI, I can tell my story verbally in Chinese and it helps me turn it into English writing. Though it often changed my meaning, and believe it or not I still had to spend 6 hours editing this newsletter. I believe I could really start this project if there is enough interest.
Cast your vote here if you are interested: http://youtube.com/post/Ugkxyym0yAkz8iC_EzbUXjdLY8NPVl1lp48K?si=zegb_t9SGOZmB3nv