About Intention?

[Guest guest]

Hello One and All

I wonder, does anyone wish to contribute any relevant experience, thought or

idea to this fascinating (well, at least to me) subject that is much talked

about in our circles? The subject of " Intention " .

 

I would be very interested to hear what you have to say.

Respectively

Persis

[Guest guest]

Hi Persis,

 

The concept of Intention, is fundamental to my understanding of Qi -

which in turn is fundamental to my understanding of all aspects of

Asian health practices.

 

Specifically, in my own personal health practices, I use intention to

guide my flow of qi during qigong and taiji practice. My own personal

inner feeling is one of " waves " that flow from the energy centers in

my body which would include (but are not limited to) the lower, middle

and upper dantiens. The waves flow in an " energetic substance " that

feels lighter than water but heaver than air - and I connect these

waves to the feeling of water that I feel around me.

 

In regards to my training in tuina and shiatsu, I use the " energetic

waves " to move stagnated energy within my client's body. Sometimes I

do this on my own, and sometimes my client does it with me. This

" intention " directs the energy along a chosen path - usually one of

the channels. The feeling that the client and I normally feel can

manifest itself in various ways including a heat sensation, a buzzing

kind of electrical sensation, a gentle flowing or pulsating sensation,

etc. Interestingly, the client will automatically " shut off " any

energy flow (qigong) sensation when the client has had enough.

 

In regards to acupuncture, my Chinese doctor demonstrated to me, how

he uses qigong intention alone - without needles - to direct energy in

a " needle-like " manner through an acupuncture point at various levels.

Since I have never taken an acupuncture class, I imagine some

acupuncturists use Intention to direct their own energy through the

needles to feel the level of energy in the patient's body and to

remove stagnation or to give the energy a " boost " so that it can move

again more freely. This is what I do during my tuina treatments.

 

I seem to recollect reading in the the Yellow Emperor's Canon of

different techiques to use intention to " draw out " or infuse energy

using Intention. This would be very much in line with my

understanding. My abilities in this area stem from many years of taiji

and qigong practice. I know that my Chinese doctor has been studying

gigong for 30 years. I would be interested in how others cultivate

Intention skills in their practice.

 

I hope this information is of some interest to you,

 

Regards,

Rich

 

Chinese Medicine , " Persis "

<pointedneedle> wrote:

>

> Hello One and All

> I wonder, does anyone wish to contribute any relevant experience,

thought or

> idea to this fascinating (well, at least to me) subject that is much

talked

> about in our circles? The subject of " Intention " .

>

> I would be very interested to hear what you have to say.

> Respectively

> Persis

[Guest guest]

On Tue, 4 May 2004 20:12:21, : " Persis " <pointedneedle wrote:

 

>Hello One and All

>I wonder, does anyone wish to contribute any relevant experience, thought or

>idea to this fascinating (well, at least to me) subject that is much talked

>about in our circles? The subject of " Intention " .

 

See this article (which was pointed-out by someone a while ago in this forum):

 

" MEDICINE IS SIGNIFICATION " - MOVING TOWARDS HEALING POWER IN THE CHINESE

MEDICAL TRADITION "

by Volker Scheid Ph.D. and Dan Bensky D.O.

(reprinted by permission of the European Journal of Oriental Medicine)

 

The authors focus on " intention " in a wide-ranging normative theory of CM,

and end up translating " intention " as " signification " . IMHO a watershed

contribution to the theoretical discussion of CM today.

 

Currently the text can be found at:

http://www.siom.com/resources/texts/articles.html