"Breathe Deep" - The Qigong Newsletter
Issue V.14.0 January/February/March 2002
Welcome. The hope of this free e-zine is to inform
you about what is happening in the Qigong (Chi Kung)
community. We are in fact a community... one composed
of different styles and different personalities, yet
one sharing a common goal. To sincerely practice
Qigong, it is our responsibility to support each other
and remember that an infinite and pure Qi ties us together
as one. To understand Qigong, it must be our focus
to inspire others to become responsible for their own
health and spiritual well being. May this newsletter
become the forum for your words and energy... and a
place to learn and grow together. Peace. Francesco
Garri Garripoli, Editor
Editorial: Ruminations and
Celebrations
Greetings!
Welcome to this issue of Breathe Deep...
We are days away from entering a new year on the Chinese
calendar... they seem to come so quickly... This will
be the Year of the Horse, beginning on the New Moon,
February 12, 2002, and it is the 4699th year on this
ancient calendar. Does this antiquity put things
into a certain perspective for you as it does for me? This
is a Black Water Horse Year, which, according to Chinese
astrology, will present us with the challenge of both
Water and Fire elements vying for balance. This
represents the most obvious of Yin and Yang conflicts
and know this can alert us to the potential of this
imbalance arising over the course of this year. This
is not necessarily a "bad" situation... it
actually can help us move through stagnation in our
lives, energize us, or even inspire us to achieve great
things. The key is to be aware of this potential
and remain conscious and proactive. When we are
"present," we are moving with the forces around
us. When we move with the forces, we are empowered by
that energy and can consciously guide situations rather
than be shaken by them.
Qigong is all about learning to become sensitive to
subtle energies such as this. It is also about
learning how to move with those energies. Can you
visualize the Water and Fire elements within you during
your Qigong practice? I regularly incorporate this
awareness into my work whenever I can. This technique
has the potential of making things very clear in our
life... heightening our senses and bringing us in touch
with how we are moving through this life. If this
Horse Year brings us more in touch with this, then we
are truly fortunate... it will be for you to choose
to remember this during your Qigong practice... letting
the thought simply ride upon your breath... and then
gently letting it go. Remember the "wu wei"
aspect of Qigong... effortlessness...
...the practical and obvious aspect of the ancient
Chinese philosophy is so poetic and lovely... It points
out that a good suggestion during this year would be
to incorporate the element Wood into your life... as
Wood is the natural mediator between Water and Fire. Makes
sense... The ancients simply recommend to do your Qigong
practice and meditation under a tree whenever you can! Good
advice, for the Horse Year and beyond...
In this issue of "Breathe Deep," we send
thanks to Solala Towler for kicking off this issue's
lead article with his wonderful Taoist insight into
Winter Qi cultivation... Paul Gunser shares an
interesting clinical Qigong experience in our "Applications"
section. This issue's "Written Word"
is an excerpt from Sandy Breckenridge and Kirk VandenBerghe
s inspiring new book. Master Michiko Iwao from
Kyoto, Japan paints a beautiful picture for us
in "Voices."
This issue's "Yin-Qi" takes us to China on
an inner Qigong experience with Daisy Lee Garripoli. Thanks
for helping to make this newsletter a reflection of
the WHOLE Qigong community... this requires joyful participation,
so please let your voice be heard and contribute something. We
have nearly 3,500 people sharing together as subscribers
to this newsletter now... and it feels great!... let
a friend or coworker know who may be interested in learning
more about our free service and please help them to
subscribe.
If you are interested in our Qigong Study Trip
to China or Japan, please let us know as soon as possible
so we can make sure that you have a place on these limited
adventures of personal healing and study... Master Wan
and his student/Masters are amazing.
We hope this newsletter will inspire you to learn more
about Qigong and keep the concepts of Qi and energy
healing interwoven in your daily life. Sometimes we
need reminders, outward expressions of community. This
is the hope my wife Daisy and I have in sustaining ""Breathe
Deep" - The Qigong Newsletter.
Help us make this free online newsletter a tool to
create community among Qigong practitioners who practice
a myriad of different styles. The outward form may be
different, but the essence remains the same. In this
we share a single heart. Contribute to this newsletter
however you can and help it to become a tool to reflect
our growing community around the planet. Share it with
those who will benefit.
Thank you for your support and for keeping joy an important
part of the healing process.
Peace.
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of Contentments
By Solala Towler
For many people in the Qigong world, movement forms
are emphasized over stillness practices, yet stillness
practices such as zuowanglun (sitting in oblivion) have
always been a big part of Daoist cultivation. Indeed,
for many traditional Daoists, practices like zuowanglun are
considered to represent a higher level of spiritual
cultivation practice.
Many of the forms of Qigong that are practiced today
are clearly health practices, though some have cosmological
aspects. We can also take into account the psychological
and spiritual make-up of the practitioner as well. Some
people can take a health practice and make it a spiritual
practice, or at least introduce spiritual components
into it.
But originally most of what we know of today as Qigong
practices were developed as aids to meditation. The
earliest form of Qigong that we know of is dao-in, based
on the Five Animal Movements, which were, in turn, based
on actual animal movements. Daoists have always been
greatly involved with observing and learning from nature.
These dao-in practices, which date back to the
Han Dynasty, were created in order to lead the Qi into
its proper channels by utilizing various stretching,
twisting, and self-massage movements. This was done
in order to help the practitioner be as healthy as possible
in order to practice deep meditation.
While dao-in was an important part of Daoist and Chinese
health and longevity practices (also known as yangsheng
or nourishing life practices), it was all done in service
to the meditation practice, which was itself considered
an "immortal practice."
Various methods of meditation were used at different
times and by different Daoist sects, such as the Tanshi,
the Quanzhen and the Shangqing. Some involved visualizing
and meditation on the various divinities who were thought
to dwell in each organ of the body. By clearly
imagining each divinity, complete with the proper color,
clothing, and energetic aspect, the practitioner was
able to sanctify and re-energize each organ.
Other meditation practices involved guiding Qi through
various pathways in the body, including the well-known
smaller heavenly orbit, or what is often referred to
as the microcosmic orbit. The chong mo or central channel
was also used to clear and strengthen the energy body.
All of these practices were aimed at preparing the practitioner
for the higher immortality or spiritual practices.
While energy and spirit have always been linked together
in Daoism the so-called internal alchemy practices were
designed to transmute or transform the energy or Qi
state to a spiritual or shen state. Then, to take
the alchemical process a step further, the spiritual
or shen state is then transferred into Dao, or universal
consciousness.
Of course Daoists, being Chinese, were also very practical
about their practice. If one is sick, unbalanced, ungrounded
or emotionally confused it is very difficult to enter
the deep spiritual realms of the immortality practices.
Thus, they developed their health practices in Qigong
forms to help the student of the Way stay as strong,
healthy and clear as possible. In this way they were
better able to keep up with life s demands as well as
delve deeply into the meditation practices that were
necessary for the Daoist adept.
But if one is interested in spiritually evolving or
"attaining Dao," one must pay attention to
the internal cultivation practices as well as the movement
forms. We must remember that the Qigong or movement
forms are there to support our spiritual practice, much
of which consists of stillness or meditation practice. As
the Daoist poet Shih-Shu puts it:
Study the Way and never grow old
Distrust emotions; truth will emerge
Sweep away your worries
Set even your body aside
Autumn drives off the yellow leaves
Yet spring renews each green bud
Quietly contemplate the pattern of things
Nothing here to make us sad
Winter, the season of quiet contemplation, is an excellent
time to strengthen our meditation practice. By being
still, by being quiet, by closing down the outside influences
in our lives, we can open doors to vast inner worlds.
An ancient Daoist text, the Daoshu, says: "First
one must concentrate one's mind, then illuminating wisdom
will radiate within, the myriad projections appear empty
and are utterly forgotten, the mind is serene and tranquil."
It is in this serene and tranquil mind that we can discover
the Dao, our source as well as our destination.
The other Daoist terms for meditation are found in
the Tianyinzi, translated by Livia Kohn as, first, cun,
"concentration of the mind by which one can see
one's own mind" and secondly, xiang, "closing
one's eyes to see one's eyes." Lastly, the Neiguan
Jing tells us that if we can keep our mind empty and
abide in non-action (wu wei), even if we do not wish
for Dao, yet the Dao will come to us, naturally.
The ancient Daoist sages described the body as the
storehouse of our inner nature. They taught that we
must take care of the body in order for us to have a
place for our spirit to dwell. In this way, our Qigong
practice provides a foundation for our spiritual cultivation.
It is important not to neglect our stillness practice
if we are to fully enjoy the benefits of our movement
practice. Like yin and yang, both movement and stillness
are important to our overall cultivation.
Daoists believe that it is important to keep a balance
between movement and stillness. Too much movement will
exhaust one's Qi, while excessive sitting will cause
stagnation in the body. The key here is to not abandon
one for the other and to experiment and see what is
the proper balance for your own cultivation.
Like yin within yang, or stillness within movement,
that place of serene stillness within our movement gives
birth to that subtle and mysterious movement within
the stillness of our meditation. That movement brings
us into greater harmony, greater awareness, and greater
experience of the eternal and ever-evolving Dao.
Last days of the Year of the Serpent Copyright
(c) 2002 Solala Towler
Solala Towler is a true modern Taoist, teacher, writer,
musician, President of the National
Qigong Association, and editor of the "Empty
Vessel," a quarterly magazine on Taoism. solala@abodetao.com
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Applications: Case Study
Of A Fibromyalgia Patient
By Paul Gunser, Psy.D. D.A.A.P.M.
We shall name the patient F.P. to protect her confidentiality.
Her onset of chronic pain symptoms dates back two years
when she suffered emotional trauma at her job. The result
of the psychological stress was the development of severe
pain throughout her skeletal-muscular system.
She is under the treatment of a rheumatologist, internist
and receives physical therapy as well. Psychological
treatment provided by the author offered some improvement
in stress reduction, pain diminishment and overall sense
of hopefulness compared to pretreatment levels. However,
as often happens, one modality does not usually suffice.
I decided to employ auricular acupressure after having
trained in Qi Gong with several teachers including Francesco
and Daisy Garripoli. The simplistic method and ease
of application made this intervention quite suitable.
After having had the opportunity to practice in session,
she stated that she felt more energized and less pain.
The patient identified a pain rating of 10 for her headache
before auricular acupressure. After treating both ears,
she reported a reduction of headache pain to 6. Home
practice likewise has resulted in significant progress
when compared to the previous methods of analgesia.
Although this is a subjective case report, and no empirical
data is available (i.e., we still don't have objective
measures of the pain experience), the inclusion of auricular
acupressure appears to hold promise as an analgesic
intervention for fibromyalgia.
I intend to further my investigation of the effect
of auricular acupressure on chronic pain and fatigue
patients (often there is an overlap in symptoms of both
diagnostic categories) employing physiological measures
such as EMG, Thermography and Galvanic Skin Response.
Paul Gunser, Psy.D. D.A.A.P.M bio is as follows: Adjunct
Professor, CW Post Campus, Long Island University, Co-Director,
Health Training Seminars of Div. of American Biotec
Corporation, Board of Directors, Diabetes Center at
St. John s Riverside Hospital, Member of the Palliative
Care Committee and Ethics Committee at St. John s Riverside
Hospital, Licensed Psychologist in Private Practice
in Yonkers, New York, Diplomate, American Board of Medical
Psychotherapists; Diplomate, American Academy of Pain
Management. His e-mail is: iecconsults@earthlink.net
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of Contentments
Kirk: Alana, from a
practical standpoint, if someone wants to do an exercise
of their own for developing a deeper sense of self-love,
what would you recommend?
Alana: Okay, let us
all think about our feet. Think of your feet as
helpers that assist you on a journey. You take
one’step, and another, and another, and…you
are grounded upon this planet and your feet will take
you through baby steps towards love; towards self-love.
With each step that you take, acknowledge an aspect
of your being for which you are grateful. For example,
"I am grateful because I can speak." Step. "I
am grateful because I can feel." Step. "I
am grateful because I can express." Step. "I
am grateful because I like color." Step. "I
am grateful because I can know." Step. "I
am grateful because I have love." Step. "I
am grateful because I have friends." Step. "I
am grateful because I have good food." Step. I
am grateful because I can breathe." Step. "I
am grateful because I enjoy walking with nature."
As you begin to know yourself, you become more and
more grounded in your step, in your walk, and in knowing
of who you truly are. Visualize this. How
you can love another if you have no self to love? Do
you see? How can you love another and how can another
love you, if you do not know yourself? So practice
your walk, and walk your talk. Ground into your
feet…into the planet.
Mother Earth is here to assist you. Earth is an
incredible vibration that wishes to co-create with you
and bring manifestation of joy. Ground gratefulness
into your being so when another person mirrors lack
of scarcity to you, the steps you have taken on your
journey will lead you to know that lack is only placed
in front of you so that you can turn towards what is
true. Know that you are a significant, beautiful
being full of benevolence. Know that you are full
of your own individual light essence. Know that
lack came before your eyes so that you can know yourself
in an even grander way.
Can you walk and with each step acknowledge something
you are grateful for? As you are taking your steps,
you might say to yourself, "I feel pain." When
taking the next step you may say, "I feel sorrow." And
in the next you might say, "I feel sad." Then
you could say, "Thank you, step. Because of
you I can feel." Can you imagine if you were
created without the gift of feeling? It would be
a pretty dull, boring life, you know. Have gratefulness
for your feelings because this is part of your formula
that allows you to manifest. Thank your feelings.
Kirk: Many psychologists
have stated that much of our self-image comes from our
early years. At a deep level, we decided "who
we were" by school tests and grades, how fast we
ran, how quickly and accurately we remembered facts,
what kinds of clothes we wore, what color our skin was,
how well we could stay on key musically, what kind of
neighborhood we lived in, etc. It seems that most
of these evaluations were derived from our external
performance compared to others. Many of us grew
up in a system of rewards and punishments based in winning
or losing.
Alana: Yes, that is
part of a collective belief system. That is very
much so. We have planned who we are from measuring
ourselves from the external.
Kirk: As you were offering
ways for us to develop self-love, I noticed that the
suggestions you were giving were not about my grade
point average, or whom I socialize with, or what my
income level is, or how much I weigh.
Alana: Yes. It
is very foreign culturally to consciously create our
self-image by practicing self-love through internal
referencing. We have strayed far from knowing and
loving ourselves from the inside out. And this
is why it is so tricky, you know. However, it has
always been our intention to express ourselves externally
by knowing who we are internally. This is why when
Alana speaks of self-love, the mind goes blank to some
degree. Loving yourself is a great quest.
Think about it this way. You are all adventurers
and all of you desire to do something very profound. Guess
what that could be? Through self-love, you are
all here today to begin creating a new vibration upon
this planet. I am not saying that this will be
easy. However, I am saying for you to say that
it could be easy. There is a possibility that it
could come without effort. And guess what? Once
you feel it, once you ignite that spark, you will begin
to ignite a magnificent bonfire.
Sandy Breckenridge is a gifted artist,
Intuitive, Numerologist and Channel. Since 1980
she has provided over 22,000 personal readings. Kirk
VandenBerghe is a writer, trainer, speaker and skilled
counselor. They are cofounders of HeartCore Corporation
based on the Garden Isle of Kauai, Hawaii. http://HeartCore.org
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News: Reader submissions and press
admissions
WORLD HEALING DAY, 2002 - JOIN A WORLD ALTERING EVENT.
An event of such historic proportions that will change
us all forever. Please help spread the world to
everyone and every group you know: worldhealingday.org
WHAT IS IT? On Saturday, April 6th, 2002, at 10
am local time worldwide mass healing events will begin
to unfold in cities throughout the earliest time zones
beginning in Australia s parks, town squares, public
centers, etc. THEN THE WORLD, as these events will
unfold a healing wave across the globe with the turning
earth to be held in hundreds of cities across Asia,
Africa, the Middle East, Europe, North & South Americas,
and ending with the final events in the last time zones
of Hawaii.
Qigong Documentary Availability!
The documentary "Qigong - Ancient Chinese Healing
for the 21st Century" has just celebrated it's
second season of airing on the PBS Television network. Countless
millions of people have seen this program to date (PBS's
figure is 88 million!) Pretty cool... Stations
can still air the program, although PBS s contract as
now been fulfilled. If anyone would like to work
to air it on stations in their area that are NOT PBS,
we are now able to negotiate this free airing. Please
contact Daisy to
find out how to proceed.
The Healing Wave
The "Healing Wave" is a new and wonderful
project started by the National Qigong Association (NQA)--an
idea that emerged from the recent successful annual
gathering of the NQA at the Omega Center in Upstate
New York. Keep checking this newsletter or visit
nqa.org
to find out more as this outreach program begins to
take shape. Wave away!
The Qigong Institute's Public Access Pages
The Qigong Institute (QI) is now offering a free service
to it's members that will help to build the Qigong community
in a positive way. Check out their web site at
Qigonginstitute.org and
click on "Join Directory." Here you ll
get instructions on how teachers and therapists can
have their services listed and made available to students
and interested seekers, effectively providing a unique
web site for each person. QI is a nonprofit organization
dedicated to providing sound scientific information
on Qigong and its applications in healthcare.
The Hunger Site
The Hunger Site at the U.N. is a great web site. All
you do is go to the site, click a button and somewhere
in the world some hungry person gets a meal to eat at
no cost to you. The food is paid for by corporate
sponsors. But, you're only allowed one click per
day so spread the word to others. Please visit the site
and pass the word: thehungersite.com
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Voices: Reader submitted testimonials
and inspirations
A Dream from Japan
By Michiko Iwao
A dream, materialized and then caused a new dream...
Love is included from friend Michiko of Japan. Mr.
Garripoli who is the friend of Qigong visited in Kyoto
on April 7, 2001. The flower of the cherry tree
in full bloom added brilliance to historic temple
and shrine and was the view like a picture. Mr.
Garripoli and I got acquainted with the school of the
Qigong in Beijing of China 6 years ago·when I
attended "the world diabetes convention" that
was held in the time Beijing and did to announce the
paper of "the effect of the Qigong walking to diabetics." Qigong
Walking is being studied the Qigong that I am the heritage
of the tradition medicine of China, because be the pharmacist
I want to ask the physician does the evaluation of the
effect with the method of contemporary West medicine
and recommend the Qigong to a patient. It
is not possible to forget even now that Mr. Garripoli
got on the motorbike for 8 hours and listen to, when
I announced the paper called "the effect of the
feeling merit walking to the diabetes patient"
in San Francisco in 1996 especially. Actual, Michiko
Iwao Qigong Walking is that instructs to the patient
for 7 years in a Kyoto City hospital and the blood sugar
level drop the method that is demonstrating. Even the
person who has the aged, heavy complication feels relieved
because he has usual walking an equal effect, without
the pulse remains and going up and can advance. Moreover,
it is possible even if it is indoor, is good with the
exercise for 30 minutes from 15 minutes. There
is the person who settles to psychological by the relaxation
effect and become a bright character.
In Kyoto this year, Francesco Garri Garripoli gave
the lecture of Qigong at the exercise hall of Michiko
Iwao, and visited the Heian Shinto shrine with us. It
slips a time and swim go returning slowly and when flowed
such that the large river of history. The air is
clean and the petal was shining. We have dinner
at a Japanese cuisine in the restaurant after the mansion
of the wealthy merchant of 100 years ago and enjoyed
the sound of the tone of a Japanese Koto. On
the next early morning, we have Qigong exercise around
a big pond seeing a full-blown cherry tree near the
hotel. After it, because April 8th is the
Buddha s birthday, so we did religious meditation with
the special guidance of Zen in the Buddhism temple.
There is the breathing law of Zen. Francesco said
that he had some traffic accident in youth and was wounded. An
old teacher of Zen who studied in Kyoto taught him the
breathing law and he was cured by it. Now
he understand that breathing of Zen and Qigong has deep
relationship each other. He had the dream to go to Kyoto
someday. His dream suddenly came true this year.
I was very glad when it was said the impression that
he became awfully to part Kyoto. And it was planned
that he will came back to Kyoto taking the group of
a Qigong from Canada and America in April, 2002 to share
his wonderful experience. There are the headquarters
of Zen, Buddhism, Shinto in Kyoto and they have the
model that was refined individually. Also, the
garden where adopts nature and abstracted the teaching
of Buddhism is globally famous. Please try to feel
Qi that comes to Kyoto and was preserved. All of my
students of Japan also say that you are welcome. We
could be able to understand Western and Japanese culture
each other. I am praying the happiness of all of
you.
Master Michiko Iwao iwao@mtf.biglobe.ne.jp is
a 4th-generation Kyoto, Japan resident who has studied
Zen Buddhism and Qigong for all her life. She has
studied Chinese Qigong under Master Wan Su Jian of Beijing
and will be one of the featured teachers on this year's
Qigong Study Trip to Japan.
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of Contentments
PhotoQi: Reader submitted photo
of the month
This month's Qi-inspired image, composited by
Francesco, is of trip participants practicing Qigong
during our recent study tour to China.
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of Contentments
Yin Qi: Qi-inspired thoughts
on women's issues
Connecting with Yin Qi in China
There is a great Dragon Pine by the Jie Tai Temple
that I always visit on our September China Qigong Study
trips. It is about 80 feet high, noble, majestic
and unspeakably beautiful. Its mottled, gray-green
bark sheds like the scales of a dragon every fall, thus
its name. Last year, I collected some of the soft,
flat, fur-like pieces to take home with me to remind
me of the gift I was given there this last trip.
Though we pay homage to more elaborate temples such
as the ones at the Forbidden City, it is the Jie Tai
that has always drawn me back to stay longer, to kneel
at its doors and walk its incredible grounds in thoughtful
introspection. Perhaps it is the Yin quality of
the temple that seems to prevail over the misty, consciously-cared
for grounds. It feels loved, as if every root,
branch, and bud has made a conscious decision to be
here and to offer itself up for sustenance for those
seeking refuge.
You will likely not see the caretakers of these magnificent
gardens, the abbots who live and protect this sanctuary. Like
the incense wafting in the gentle breeze, they are present,
but never obtrusive. I asked Francesco to schedule
more time there next year, rather than the rich austerity
of the Forbidden City, which, though golden and fascinating
in appearance, has a forbidding energy around it--when
I did some energy work around an urn, my hands actually
felt arthritic and pained. I was later to learn
that it was a sacrificial urn that much blood had been
spilled into in the name of ceremony--both animal and
human.
In stark contrast to the Jie Tai Temple, there were
no trees on the Forbidden City grounds. The Emperor
feared that a sniper might find it an easy hiding place
to take a shot at his golden robes and ordered any and
all trees within and around the Forbidden City to be
cut down. Little did he know that the eunuchs within
his own domicile would be the ones to betray him. Though
some people might consider these temples grand and opulent
as they imagine themselves walking down the same expansive
path that the Emperor himself walked less than a century
ago, I cannot help but think of the fear and distrust
he felt to create such a joyless environment. With
all that, it is still worthy of a trip, if for nothing
else but to feel the contrast of the very Yang nature
of this place, to the very Yin of the Jie Tai.
At the Jie Tai Temple, the energy is so pure and nurturing,
you feel as if Mother Nature began her work on this
very mountaintop. When you do Qigong here, you
feel the heartbeat of every tree, the dance of the wind
pulsing between your hands, the scent of the rose garden
soaking into every pore of your being. It is, thus
far, my favorite place in China. Last year, on
my third visit, I felt a deeper connection than usual
to this place. When I did Qigong in front of the
Dragon Pine, I closed my eyes for the first time. In
the past, I had been overly-conscious of having to take
care of our guests, which meant keeping my eyes open
and alert; this once, I allowed myself to be lulled
into the arms of the great pine. I allowed myself
to be still, to listen and be silent, trusting that
somehow, everyone would be cared for without my watchful
gaze. In a few moments, my whole body was swaying
with the tree. While my feet were firmly rooted
to the ground, my hands coiled in a figure eight infinity
pattern, moving and swaying me as if I wasn't me anymore,
but the tree. "This is who I am," it
said. "When you are still, you will feel me. In
this way, you can connect with all things." I
was so excited that I opened my eyes in disbelief. "Did
you see that?" I asked Francesco. "Did
you feel it too? The Dragon Pine was dancing with
me!"
I used to wonder if going all the way to China made
any difference to my practice. It was a joy to
be able to introduce people to Master Wan and his students,
to show them the Chinese culture through their trained
eyes and their diligent practice, to enjoy daily massages
and feast on great food, to see the brilliance of an
ancient culture in its many colored robes…but deep
in my heart, I was still waiting for something more,
something to take me to the next step in my practice. I
had never felt a strong connection with the meditative
aspects of Qigong, always preferring the movements to
the stillness. Perhaps it was because I was always
anticipating the phone ringing, or thinking of the work
I had to complete, or the meal I was going to make. In
China, all these things were taken care of for me, though
I was still conscious of looking after our group. In
those few moments of connection with an ancient pine
tree, I realized what people meant when they used the
term "being one" with something. I had
been looking for a profound teacher, and finally found
it--in the form of the Dragon Pine of Jie Tai Temple.
Daisy Lee Garripoli is a script writer and film director
who has practiced Qigong and martial arts for many years.
"I am in no way interested in immortality, but
only in the taste of tea."
-- The 400 year-old Lu T'ung, (b. 755 A.D.)
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