Comments on: Should Your Mind Be Totally Empty While Meditating?

By: Norman Roach

Norman Roach — Wed, 26 Feb 2025 17:54:45 +0000

Sifu, thank you! An easy, peaceful discussion, to which I can relate.

By: Norm Roach

Norm Roach — Fri, 07 Oct 2022 17:34:55 +0000

In reply to Erika. Great post, Sufu. Thank you.

By: Cindy

Cindy — Wed, 03 Feb 2021 16:09:04 +0000

I really needed to hear that! Thank you Sifu Anthony and everyone who added their thoughts.

By: Francois Leblanc

Francois Leblanc — Sat, 11 Aug 2018 00:45:23 +0000

Thank you, very kindly for explaining, I have a much better understanding about reducing, thinking. Now I can explore meditation much better.

By: Sifu Anthony Korahais

Sifu Anthony Korahais — Sat, 03 Feb 2018 15:39:51 +0000

In reply to Richard Abbott.

Hi Richard. Yes and no. You can see all of my current courses here: https://flowingzen.mykajabi.com/

I’m working on some new courses to hold people over as they wait for Qigong 101 enrollment to open. Get on my email list for details. (You can get on the list by taking the free class in the link above.)

By: Richard Abbott

Richard Abbott — Thu, 01 Feb 2018 06:17:51 +0000

In reply to Sifu Anthony Korahais. Do you have any products for those who want to learn gi gong this year without having to wait for the online school to open again to get started?

By: Ishan das

Ishan das — Wed, 31 Jan 2018 22:57:01 +0000

Here is a quote from the book HEALING LIGHT OF THE TAO, by Mantak Chia, who is very highly regarded in the world of qigong as a teacher and master of the art/science:
“The true goal of all meditation is pure awareness or enlightenment, which produces a higher vibration, light, or frequency in our life force. The Universal Tao approach accumulates, circulates, and refines life-force energy to enhance all bodily functions, including the production of spiritual energies that derive from our organs and glands. Instead of silencing the mind, this system uses it to increase the flow of chi throughout the body, enhancing our health and our spiritual growth. ”
So once again, silencing the mind is for those who don’t know what to do with it in a productive way. This idea of silencing the mind has been introduced by Eastern teachers who view all conceptuality as illusion.
If we have a large negative balance on our credit card, that is a liability. And it is undoubtedly good to bring it up to a zero balance. However, having a positive or “credit” balance on our card is even better, because that is an asset. So zero is a relief from a suffering condition. But it is not on the platform of a positive interaction with life. In the same way, “no thought” is a refuge from psychological discomfort; but it is not the basis of healthful, wholesome social interaction that all of us aspire for every day of our lives. Flowing Zen abides in the context of unconditional love which is inherently a relational context; as opposed to the negation of selfhood, or no mind.

By: Ishan das

Ishan das — Sat, 27 Jan 2018 10:34:05 +0000

There seems to be a consensus of opinion that having no thoughts is a positive value. Of course a stone has no thoughts. But we are not stones; we are human beings. People are attracted to the idea of becoming “zero” because their consciousness is filled with pain. When pure consciousness is gradually uncovered, it is a source of spiritual bliss. At that point thought is not a problem; it becomes the servant of pure consciousness. Thought is only a problem when it tries to find fulfillment in its own processes. That is the groping of the monkey mind. Fulfillment comes from a deeper level. Fulfillment is the inherent nature of being that is omnipresent. The Sanskrit word is “atmarama”. “Atma” refers to the deepest aspect of our being. And “rama” means self-satisfaction, or pleasure of being. Yoga actually means making a connection between the self and all that is. There are several yogic paths to this realization. Hatha yoga is the path that begins with great physical and mental restraint. It is for the least intelligent. A mother working in the kitchen may place her child in a crib to restrict its movements. But as the child matures, the restriction can be removed and the child can be given positive engagement. The more we grow, the less restriction is required. Similarly, the more we advance in any spiritual discipline, the more our thoughts are meaningful, productive and a source of harmony and pleasure, both to the thinker and those he interacts with. The qigong tradition has never been about stopping thought, but is about the cultivation of wholesome thinking, based on the ability to soften the heart and dwell in a state of unconditional love of self and others. This is the prerequisite to the ability to sense and work with the universal chi. Restraint is not about softening, but about hardening. It is counter- productive. A prisoner is restrained because he is unwholesome. As we soften, we gradually become more wholesome. And as we become more wholesome, restraint is less necessary. We can think all day and become instruments of love, harmony and beauty for making this a better world. There are other perspectives that are still deeper. But some would say that making distinctions between spirit and matter pertains to the subject of religious cosmology and the domain of blind faith. However, western technological advancement cannot provide empirical evidence that chi exists; but we are all after it. Like religious cosmology, it appears to be a matter of personal realization. The beginner is in the blind faith category. By practice, everything comes into focus.
Hare Krishna! Ishan das

By: Sifu Anthony Korahais

Sifu Anthony Korahais — Wed, 24 Jan 2018 16:33:57 +0000

In reply to Beverly. You're not a failure!

By: Beverly

Beverly — Wed, 24 Jan 2018 16:31:54 +0000

Thank goodness! I thought (no pun intended!) that it was just me! I might be able to relax now I know I’m not a failure!