Qi

[Guest guest]

All,

 

Talking about qi...

 

Qi means a lot of things.

As we've seen over the past couple

of days, lots of people have lots

of ideas about what qi is and what

it means.

 

I'm certainly in no position to

say who is right and who is wrong.

 

I can repeat my oft-repeated cry

that qi is not energy. Period.

 

That is a truly dangerous misunderstanding.

 

The approach I've always taken is

not to try and say what it is to

me, but to try and understand what

it is to others. What it is to me

is always changing. And I presume

that this is true for others who

pursue it as a focus of study and

practice.

 

But the point I was trying to make

when I suggested we start talking

about it was that we really owe it

to ourselves to inspect both our

individual as well as our mutual

understanding of this basic term.

 

You might see how anyone looking in

on a discussion such as the one we've

been having, and which constitutes

to some extent an illustrative example

if not a cross section of popularly

held opinions and beliefs on the subject

of qi.

 

My main critique is that so little

of the contemporary opinion is actually

pegged to the Chinese, and that is a

shame as so much is lost, as we tried

to point out in A Brief History of Qi.

 

So the question I'd like to put on the

floor now, in order to focus the discussion

back in the direction from which it came

is, if you were telling a member of

Congress...let's say you're called to

testify before a committe hearing in

Washington D.C., or you're meeting with

one of these suits inside the beltway

and you're having lunch or playing tennis

and the question comes up, What is qi, anyhow?

 

What's your answer?

 

Anybody?

 

Ken

[Guest guest]

I say, Congressman Ken.

 

Have you noticed the old saying that only the busiest people are able to take on more work and actually get it done?

 

For some reason when I'm truly engaged, disciplined, with each moment carefully planned and in full flight through my work, I can actually take on a lot more work. Being in a state of intense accomplishment appears to open the doors for more accomplishment.

 

Also when I take those "tonic" herbal formulas they don't do a darn thing ... unless I'm doing something. If I go running while taking one of those formulas, I can run further without fatiguing so much. A woman marketer called me one day after my company sent her a powerful kidney tonic herbal formula to support sexual function. She said to me that she was sitting there at her kitchen table one hour after having drunk the formula and didn't feel a darn thing. I asked her if her husband (or lover) might be nearby and if so, I suggested she try engaging in some romantic activities. I suggested she might discover something energetically profound ... or at least interesting. Some people mistakenly treat Chinese medicine as they would the chemical medicines of WM. This woman was apparently expecting an aphrodisiac effect replete with "side effects" of narcotics. She needed to employ her Qi in order to experience it's magnification.

 

Thus, Congressman, it appears Qi is something we already have. It seems to expand and contract based on the activity of the individual and the support they might receive from appropriate herbal formulas ... among other things.

 

In gratitude and with respect,

Emmanuel Segmen

 

 

-

kenrose2008

Chinese Medicine

Sunday, January 18, 2004 4:05 PM

Qi

All,Talking about qi...Qi means a lot of things.As we've seen over the past coupleof days, lots of people have lotsof ideas about what qi is and whatit means.I'm certainly in no position tosay who is right and who is wrong.I can repeat my oft-repeated crythat qi is not energy. Period.That is a truly dangerous misunderstanding.The approach I've always taken isnot to try and say what it is tome, but to try and understand whatit is to others. What it is to meis always changing. And I presumethat this is true for others whopursue it as a focus of study andpractice.But the point I was trying to makewhen I suggested we start talkingabout it was that we really owe itto ourselves to inspect both ourindividual as well as our mutualunderstanding of this basic term.You might see how anyone looking inon a discussion such as the one we'vebeen having, and which constitutesto some extent an illustrative exampleif not a cross section of popularlyheld opinions and beliefs on the subjectof qi.My main critique is that so littleof the contemporary opinion is actuallypegged to the Chinese, and that is ashame as so much is lost, as we triedto point out in A Brief History of Qi.So the question I'd like to put on thefloor now, in order to focus the discussionback in the direction from which it cameis, if you were telling a member ofCongress...let's say you're called totestify before a committe hearing inWashington D.C., or you're meeting withone of these suits inside the beltwayand you're having lunch or playing tennisand the question comes up, What is qi, anyhow?What's your answer?Anybody?KenMembership requires that you do not post any commerical, swear, religious, spam messages,flame another member or swear. To change your email settings, i.e. individually, daily digest or none, visit the groups’ homepage: Chinese Medicine/ click ‘edit my membership' on the right hand side and adjust accordingly. To send an email to<Chinese Medicine- > from the email account you joined with. You will be removed automatically but will still recieve messages for a few days.