In our blog series, Qi for Today, we call on our Qi community to share solutions to modern-day challenges.
Over the past few years, we have collectively experienced many societal ups and downs. In March of 2020, at the onset of Covid, fears ran rampant. Masks, gloves, and quarantine notices forced people into isolation, away from human contact. As the world re-emerged two years later, and people began to re-engage with one another, many proceeded cautiously. Kids had to relearn how to learn and engage with friends. Stores and restaurants that had shuttered their doors struggled to reopen. Many were hesitant to ride the subway or take part in their usual everyday activities. This, paired with political upheavals, natural disasters, and various social movements, brought an onslaught of emotions to the forefront.
Still, life continued. The quiet during Covid gave Nature a chance to recover and provided us the perfect window—a fresh perspective—from which to see the world anew. With less human activity, Mumbai, India, a densely populated city, received flocks of over 100,000 migrating flamingos—25% more than pre-pandemic numbers. In addition, pollution, caused by factory and vehicle emissions, dropped steeply in the world’s busiest cities. Through this lens, we were given a clear example of the impact humans have on their surroundings. If time, patience, and harmony can heal Nature, what can it do to human hearts?
The world in December 2022 looks very different than it did in March of 2020. Still, Covid has made a permanent impression on our world, impacting the way we communicate, educate, conduct business, and worship. And while Covid will likely remain for the foreseeable future, we’ve learned to adapt—societally, economically, and otherwise. Our Qi community has gathered multiple times per week to practice Qigong with Grand Master Lu. As we practiced, we held tightly to the energy community we formed to build our Qi and strengthen our spirits. As we woke up our Qi, many of us began to see changes on the physical level. And together, we emerged with the wisdom that the answer to any challenge, fear, or perceived impossibility is always found within.
As we close out 2022 and ready ourselves to begin a brand new adventure in 2023, we open a door to bountiful new horizons. The new year provides us with an opportunity to step foot on a different path. New journeys often conjure up worry and fear—emotions that hold us back from truly experiencing what’s around the next bend. We can choose to hold onto what is familiar or we can let go of fear and confidently walk into 2023 with pure excitement and a renewed sense of hope and purpose.
So, Qi community, tell us…
How do you step onto a new path without dragging the weight of worry and fear with you?
Share your comments below!
The quiet of the last couple of years allowed me to reassess my life and make changes that were necessary for my growth. It’s been a period of letting go and focusing on loving and honoring myself. As we’ve been taught everything happens for a good reason and within challenging times there is always a seed of opportunity. Can we see it?
Comment *@Marcylscott you’ve put it beautifully – and asked another good question. I try to hold both the challenge and opportunity while knowing that today’s challenge is tomorrow’s opportunity, just like something is useful and then useless and always changing. It’s my mind that wants to judge these as good or bad, and that’s my trap.
The gift of the pandemic and COVID is to discover more ways to be alive while allowing the big emotional waves to sweep through. Qigong opens paths to these discoveries so beautifully. I can embrace the most serious events with faith and allow true excitement, luck and gratitude to be part of each moment and the year ahead!
Comment *Yes! Living each moment, whatever the moment may bring. Over the last almost two years, The Answers Lie Within series and Tao of Morning Qigong weekly classes with Grand Master Lu provided a counterbalance to Covid anxiety and highlighted (for me) that I have one moment (at a time) to make a decision, take a chance, test my faith, etc. A simple concept that’s not always easy to practice because without vigilant awareness (thank the universe for this practice!), my mind has the ability to lure me back to the past or launch me into the future. And I only have the information I need for that moment. I don’t know what I don’t know.
2022 still has many moments left to be savored. 2023 will usher in many possibilities, and the only one I need to be concerned about is the one right before me at any given time, without fear or anxiety about what’s passed or what may lie ahead. Wishing us all step by step health and happiness!
I was struck by this sentence:
“New journeys often conjure up worry and fear—emotions that hold us back from truly experiencing what’s around the next bend.” The new year really shows us that there is always an opportunity for a “new journey” and that many times, if we can go beyond the fear and worry that holds us back, there is always a new landscape, a new way of seeing, a new beginning. It’s always there for us.
I know a simple answer to the question of how to move forward without the weight of worry and fear. Take the experience of my daily Qigong practice and apply it to every moment in my life. I know it is doable. And I’ve experienced moments without fear and worry. And yet, I’m not doing this consistently. Why is that? Is it the momentum of habits of thought and belief? Is it a lack of courage? Of faith? I observe myself when I repeat old patterns despite wanting to drop them. And I observe these with compassion and kindness towards myself. I also continue to dedicate myself to letting go of everything that blocks me from enjoying life, serving others, and discovering the beauty of this moment.
For me, a big “Corona Bonus” was the increase in creativity. All around. We found so many new ways of doing so many things. New paths can certainly feel scary. They can also be exciting! It’s important to give ourselves grace. It’s okay to feel worried or scared. We want to honor these emotional messengers — like greeting a guest in our home. They come in and visit for awhile and eventually they leave. They always come with purpose. They want to show us something. Often what they want to show us is it’s time for a new path! We can transform these messengers from worry and fear into security and confidence by trusting our Hearts and our Guts. Trust yourself. You know the way.
How do you step onto a new path without dragging the weight of worry and fear with you?
We all have the choice to experience more worry and fear in our lives or we can choose to move forward, step by step, in any direction we choose. It depends on what you want more of in your life. Do you want more love? More adventure? More sense of community? More peace? Make your choice and focus your attention on what you want more of. Like attracts like after all.
In contrast, what goes around, comes around. The past couples years have given us an amazing opportunity to see what we have been putting into the world as individuals, thus affecting the whole. Want more love? More compassion? More creativity? Put more of that into the world around you.
We can shift our actions to be part of the global problem or part of the solution. We have a duty to care for ourselves, each other, and nature.
Being grounded and active in our Qi community the past couple years has impacted us in ways we may not even have fully realized yet.
Ultimately, if we realize events are all part of natural law in efforts to maintain balance within, then we can journey forward with ease and a new sense of wonder.
How do I step onto a new path without dragging the weight of worry and fear with me?
I consider the feelings of fear and worry our bodies’ way to speak to our consciousness. They are thus useful and necessary feelings. I try to listen to these feelings and their messages that my body is constantly sending to my consciousness, and act accordingly. In that way I do not need to drag their weight with me.
My go to every day is connecting with my Qi. Every morning when I open my eyes I connect with my lifeforce and meridians. I give my Qi a boost with different practices that we have learned from GM Nan Lu. They have completely changed me from inside out. I reconnect with my Qi again during the day and in the evening.
Carole King’s song ” You’ve got a friend” comes to my mind. Wu Ming Qigong is like this invisible friend that comes running to see you again….
”When you are down and troubled
And you need some loving care
And nothing, nothing is going right
Close your eyes and think of me
And soon I will be there
To brighten up even your darkest night”
Comment * Newness can be challenging, but it carries inherent (even infinite!) possibilities, and that promise helps balance out any accompanying fear for me.
Fear for me would be staying stuck in the past instead of moving forward. That, I do not handle well.
Sometimes the results of what happens in forward movement are not what I expected or hoped, but each time I learn something new and gain new skills.
Then those experiences lead on to more newness, growth, and causes for gratitude.
There are no accidents. It is all working for my ultimate good!
We have 12 primary meridians, and they are constantly communicating with each other and the everything in the universe. I do my best to remind myself of the Factorial equation. It is defined as the number of possibilities or ways that things can be combined (for example, how many different ways can a deck of cards be shuffled).
So, in using the Factorial of our 12 meridians, i.e., the Factorial of 12 (12!) which is 12×11×10×9×8×7×6×5×4×3×2×1 ; you will have the number 479, 001, 600.
Our meridians can interact/communicate in OVER 479 million different ways, therefore, there can be that many possible outcomes. Sure, fear can be one outcome, AND why would I chose that outcome when there are 479 million others.
This is not always easy, and I strive to remember this during any challenges.