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Hi All,
I am diagnosed with bipolar one disorder and PTSD, and I’ve had three separate occurances of psychosis (each one getting successively easier)…at least, that’s the interpretation from a western viewpoint.
A transpersonal psychologist would have said I’ve had three spiritual emergencies.
A kundalini Yoga instructor told me it was a textbook irregular Kundalini experience. My qigong teacher calls it qi overload.
At this point, I want to know if I will ever clear this and be stable again without psyche medications, which carry their own health risks and side effects of which are often as bad as the condition itself.
Can someone tell me where I should begin in terms of books/dvds? Should I begin with the longevity breathing set, then energy gates DVD and move onto the first Tao of letting go book?
Any info would be gratefully received…
Hi Jason,
Thank you for your post.
Concerning whether meditation/qigong is a useful practice to remedy and reduce mental illness, there is considerable anecdotal evidence from many meditation traditions to support this position.
That said it is our experience that using meditation/qigong alone is not enough to “cure” clinically diagnosed mental illness. The traditional approach to mental illness would include some meditative practices for the affected individual with the additional guidance and close (daily) monitoring from a qualified teacher/therapist/doctor and a community of people supporting the affected individual each step along the healing process.
Some people have claimed that they have cured clinically diagnosed mental illness through meditation alone, without the support and care of others (professional and laypeople). Energy Arts does not stand by anyone making this claim.
So using meditation as a part of the healing process may prove quite valuable, as long as it is a complimentary rather than exclusive treatment modality.
We hope this is clear and helpful.
Kind regards,
Energy Arts Team
Hi Jason,
Bruce has a bunch of different ways that you can find out about the meditation tradition – you can see a list here – http://www.energyarts.com/store/category/meditation
I can highly recommend the Sexual Meditation, Relaxing into your Being and Great Stillness books. They all have material about Taoist meditation but it’s not something you can learn from a book.
The Tao of Letting Go CD set is a recording of Bruce teaching Taoist meditation and that will give you a stronger sense of the practice. There is also an inexpensive 16 month meditation program that I found very beneficial – http://www.energyarts.com/taoist-meditation-circle-online-group.
A few years ago Bruce certified the first batch of Taoist Presence Practice instructors. There is a list of them here – http://www.energyarts.com/instructors/taichi-qigong/certification/taoist-meditation-presence-practices. If you live near one of them I would get in touch to see if they are teaching. Live instruction is always the best way to learn these subjects.
Finally, if you can, get to one of Bruce’s live events! Direct study with Bruce can save you months or years of wasted practice time.
Good luck
Trevor
Thanks so much for the replies so far, I realise the chances of me being cured are slim, but I’m certainly interested in trying and its something to aspire to…
Jason, the topic you raise is very interesting and I will like to offer some comments. I neither a professional or an expert in any of the topics but I think some general knowledge can be used. Please take it in that light and be cautious and safe, be free and be relaxed.
If medical doctor have diagnosed your condition as such, than it should have been so. If you think your condition is different than you should have a reason. Maybe you are engaged in some special exercise and experienced some unpleasant result which makes you think the doctor don’t understand your condition. Try not to be confused.
Kundalini Yoga is a very intense or powerful spiritual practice and the experience you have out of that should be an experience and sensation that is out of these world that cannot be easily describe. Normal mental disturbances will still be rooted in worldly experiences and sensation. It may be intense, chaotic, illogical but generally not out of this world. I hope this will help you see you mental state. By the way, I guess from your above writing that your mind is clear, calm or is a very healthy state of mind, unlike bipolar mind which is a bit disturbed. I think you write more clearly than me!
Qi is part of the body, in breathing we take in qi, in eating we load up the body with qi especially in the kidney area, and in all activities like physical movement or thinking we are using or or also can be loading up qi as in qi exercise.Qi is thus a very natural part of us.
Then why is it that qi exercise can be dangerous. Why is it that mentally unstable persons are advised not to practice qigong? It is because qi is a potent energy that we are not familiar with. We don’t get it and when we get it we might not known how to use it. Qi is a fuel for any activities as even in mental activities but adding more fuel intentionally can worsen an agitated mind. That is the simple answer and we don,t want to play a fool with the brain–modern science is still lacking in brain knowledge.The breathing exercise is just breathing and I think there is no harm in breathing. The breathing is done slow and relaxed and actually the aim is to slowly lengthen the time for the in and out breathe. Breathing slowly calm the mind and good breathing increase the qi intake.Remember not to be tense when breathing and not to breath too intensely as that will be hyperventilating.
Energy gate qigong is generally very safe. That is if we are more or less following it and not deviate too much from the instructions.The DVD is good for following practice but get the book to understand everything in more details. The most important element in this and every qigong is to be relaxed in each and every movement. Letting go or being free is the gist of Taoism while a very alive and relaxed action is the gist of qigong. Being relax cannot be a problem isn’t it?
A person should do the energy gates in slow progression. The standing dissolving should be done with no concentration on the brain when the mind is passing through it, just stay on the eye,ear nose and every parts downward.This is to prevent inadvertently buiding qi in the brain.Concentration in qigong is to be focused and alive and not tension or energy built up. The 3 swings should be done progressively,in order to get the hang of it so that the third swing may then be effectively carried out. The hand swing up with relaxed internal qi energy and not conscious muscular force. The spine stretch should be done cautiously and very slowly during the exercise and in the numbers of times. Doing too fast causes physical energy rush with tension and headache. Once you are used to it after a few months then it won’t bother how you do it. Just don’t do too many at a time.
If you do the energy gate mindlessly, it is no difference from simple callisthenic exercise. If do with full attention and well relaxed it is a very effective qi energy exercise. I understand there are few level of skills or attainment in this one set of exercise and BKF recently personally has offered a special course in this set. BKF spend a few years on this set to built a foundation to taiji martial art when he was training full-time in his youth.
Tao of letting go is mental work and is good for the mind. Very importantly is to relax and free the mind but while doing it there is the risk of getting work up and building unnecessary tension instead from being too eager to get results and also when a person start to do it with a mind that is more or less already lock up in a tense state. In my mind, I think it is good but you have to pay particular attention to see that you feel good about it. It is all about relaxation and letting go and so you have to see that you are relax and free and stop or rest if you don’t feel good.
Maybe some of my comments are not accurate and I hope someone else will join in to give a better picture. This is a core set in the energyarts circle and there must be lots of experience to be share.
Daniel.
From what I asked of Bruce in the Old Yang style energy arts training circle, he advised Wu style tai chi because of its meditative background.
It’s not a direct answer to your question but I’ve found the books of Alexander Lowen to be pretty helpful in understanding mental illness and psychological issues from an energetic point of view. “The Language of the Body” and “Bioenergetics” are especially good, but they’re all worth reading.
Good luck with it…
And, in terms of Wu style offered by Bruce, there’s the Tai Chi Mastery Program
http://www.energyarts.com/offer/tai-chi-mastery-programas well as Tai Chi for Beginners under the Product section of Tai Chi (3rd from the bottom)
http://www.energyarts.com/store/category/tai-chi
Jason
Understandably, I do have a different view on the problems you told of to the community. What should be offered first? Not another Qi-related technique, I think, regarding the answers from your teachers. If you where my brother, I would advice you to get to the PTSD first (give EMDR a real chance to change your mindset). Integrate what you learn with the EMDR in the exercises Bruce offers. Then, if you don’t want to take western medicine for BP I, you will have to learn to accept the disorder “as is”, with days flying (too) high, and days flying (damn) low. The psychosis-part is a risk you take, and till now, I didn’t find evidence of Qi healing that aspect of the disorder. But I did find articles of Qi- and Kundaline-overload, so perhaps you go for too much in too short a time? Is it worth it? Then dig deeper in the Tao-esoteric teachings: enlightenment and immortality is not “flying away from your head” but “fraternizing with your immortal child” – at the lower Dantien regio. This change of perspective could help you more than you might think.
Hello Jason, I hope you are still following this thread, and I am sorry I am so late to it.
I admire your open and candid post. I can identify with your problems, and I understand them. I understand that you are not your mental illness, but that this is something that assaults you.
It is my firm conviction that the ultimate solution to your problems lie within these meditative practices. Your success will depend on your perseverance and the depth of your fortitude.
That said, it is not easy. As previous posts have illustrated, in the old way, a whole community – almost monastic in nature one could say – was required to deal with such things.
This shows the strength and weakness. Strength, because these meditation practices such as taught by Energyarts (and you must attend closely to the preparatory practices) are the ultimate solution. The weakness is that we lack the wider cultural context in which such practices were developed.
Given such novel and peculiar circumstances, it is necessary to take a more creative approach. Chemical interventions can have side effects certainly, but can make you more stable. Some approaches of modern psychotherapy, either individually or in a group, I have found immensely helpful. Pursue every avenue.
Do I believe that you can be clear one day? Of course. That is the meaning of the virtue of Hope. Easy, no. But persevere. Have fortitude.
I hope this helps in some way,
Sincerely…
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