On February 24, Sifu Gardner taught another Master Qigong class in-person. Below are some of the insights we received. This is written with his words from the recording that night, and from my understanding. My personal notes are in (brackets).

He took us on a journey with a stream of consciousness…
He began with the question for all of us, “Why did we come this evening?” He reminded us that we are in a crucial point in the transition, the exploration, and the evolution of consciousness. This is his qigong, his practice and what he came to share.

He went on to explain that qigong is more than exercises and connecting with breath. Yes, this is good and we can feel the benefits, giving us better health as it helps us relax. True qigong is about being kind and compassionate, maybe even aspiring to the height of what it means to be a human BEing in this universe.

He believes (and so do I) that we do not meet this lifetime unless we have already met. In Sifu’s words, “The causality produces a result, and the result brings about the affect which the causality is the continuation of the moment.” (Reminding us, that we are infinite, we are space, not these bodies that are carrying us around.)

Each one of us has a responsibility to be vigilant—to evolve at a conscious level. To be open within our hearts and our minds. 

Qigong is connecting with space. When we walk to and from our cars, expand, be aware, see the clouds, feel the wind … this is qigong.

We all came that night for different reasons: resolving issues, seeking peace, harmony, happiness, joy, love, and contentment. He suggested one way to practice qigong at night, is when we approach our pillow at night, to repeat 3x, “I am content. I am content. I am content.”

We are the crucible of change.
Some people who follow esoteric practices, do them for a while, and then they’re off to the next thing. He used the analogy of facial cream.

We keep changing our facial cream to find something that will be effective, not realizing that we are the cream that is effective. 

We must change and evolve our consciousness—this is qigong. Pronounced, chi-kung. Kung is work, and to work is change. (That is what is meant by the quote I posted on Instagram, “Qigong is the development of energy through work.”)

Letting go of preconceived ideas.
The top circle represents space, and where we exist. We cannot grab space… or clouds… we cannot grab water. The hand may be wet, but the water goes. 

We can refer to this space as emptiness (wu-chi), but it is not the void or nothingness. Because without emptiness nothing can exist because without it, everything would always exist.

Space is the potentiality of things coming into being.
From wu-chi there is yin life-force and yang life-force. But, like yin and yang, until we have a unity within—do we have actual life force. And, what is this unity called? Tai Chi.

Chi is a compound of yin and yang. Ying and yang come from wu-chi, emptiness. From the place of wu-chi engage in qigong. From the place of emptiness, create yin and yang in the form of qigong or tai chi.

Tai chi means the grand supreme ultimate. What is the grand supreme ultimate of all of life? Space. Because without space where would life exist? And, how do we capture the dynamic quality of space itself? We don’t know. Because we can’t, and we don’t have to… we are life… we are space. 

We may be minuscule when compared to the trillions of galaxies that are among us, but we have the capacity to know of our existence—consciousness.

(Sifu’s Gardner’s work is to inform us of the existence of our life force (consciousness), and how we might expand past the limited perceptions we have—with self and others. Also the relationship to the universe in which we exist.)

Stay tuned for the next installment…