Don’t try to be smarter than the master!

Respect the master!

Do as the master says!

Hopefully, you would tell me to get lost if I said those things.  If not, if you would blindly follow me no matter what — well then I’m probably not the teacher for you.

Faith is important when learning Qigong (I’ll explain why later).  But it’s certainly not blind faith.  Here’s a quote that sums up my philosophy on faith: “Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.” – Buddha

This is my approach to teaching. It’s the only piece of dogma that you’ll find in my school. In other words, if anything I say doesn’t agree with you, then go find something that does.  I mean it.  I just want people to be happy and healthy. Although I’m a passionate believer in the effectiveness of Flowing Zen, maybe it’s not for you.

But maybe what I say resonates with you.  Maybe you’re ready to give Qigong a shot.  Maybe you even want to learn from me.

If so,  then you should follow my instructions.   Follow because you consider me an expert in the field.  Follow because I’ve gotten great results for myself, and because I’m able to reproduce those results in my students.  Most importantly, follow because you believe that I can help you to do the same.

That’s the kind of faith that is important for learning Qigong.

Healthy Skepticism

Maybe you want to learn Qigong, but you’re still a bit skeptical. You don’t know if you believe in this stuff.  To the skeptics out there, I have this to say:

Good for you! 

I was skeptical in the beginning, and believe it or not (see what I did there?), I want you to be skeptical too!   Just make sure that you’re what is known as a “healthy skeptic”.

If you’re a healthy skeptic, then you are filled with curiosity.  You want to know about things.  You are willing to explore, and experiment.  And you enjoy getting clear answers about whether or not something works.

But if you’ve already made up your mind without doing any investigating, then you’re not a healthy skeptic.  You’re dogmatic. It’s your choice, but please don’t pretend that this  scientific. It’s not.

“Condemnation without investigation is the height of ignorance.” – Albert Einstein

Bad Science

Science should be about inquiry, investigation, and experimentation.  That’s exactly what the ancient Chinese masters have been doing for thousands of years – investigating and experimenting with the art of energy cultivation for health, vitality, and spirituality. And that’s what I’ve done since 1992.

So let’s agree to something:  If you don’t follow my instructions, and if you don’t practice daily for about 15 minutes, then you aren’t allowed to say that this stuff doesn’t work.  Okay?

Years ago, I was talking with a woman about Qigong.   “Oh, that stuff doesn’t work,” she said to me (not knowing who I was).  When I inquired further, I found out that she had never tried the art, hadn’t done any research, and didn’t know anyone who had done it.  And yet, somehow, she was able to conclude that the art doesn’t work!

In other words,  a woman with zero experience in Qigong was trying to tell me (of all people) that the art she has no experience in doesn’t work.

That is not healthy skepticism.  That is not science.  That’s dogma.

The Qigong Experiment

At this point in my teaching career, I’ve got a reputation for getting powerful results in students.  So it may be tempting to just follow me based on my reputation.  But I’m specifically asking you to resist that temptation.

My reputation may be deserved, but you don’t know that yet.  And you won’t know it until you run the Qigong experiment on yourself.  Only then will you know based on your own, direct experience.

If you want to run the Qigong experiment on yourself, then it makes sense to follow an expert’s instructions.  It’s really that simple.  Follow his or her instructions sincerely, and find out whether or not this stuff works.  (Just make sure it’s a good teacher because that is a critical part of the experiment.)

My upcoming ebook will be a great chance for people to put Flowing Zen to the test.  Does it work?  Well, if you follow my instructions, you’ll find out!

Drop me a comment below if you have questions. And if you’re interested in my upcoming book, then make sure to get on my mailing list.  You’ll get a bunch of free stuff in the process too.  Sign up here.

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