Please, let’s return this thread to comments on Zhou.

The Amazing Randi offers a $1M prize to anyone who can demonstrate a supernatural ability. Moving a compass needle with chi qualifies. The first link below is an article by Randi that describes his experiences with the challenge, and the second is a link to the challenge page.

http://www.csicop.org/si/show/fakers_and_innocents_the_one_million_dollar_challenge_and_those_who_try_for

http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/1m-challenge.html

So, $1,000,000 just to make a compass needle spin. Zhou, take the challenge or stop making claims that prestidigitation is “real magic”. Let’s see you try to fool the Amazing Randi with your cheezy tricks. What other bogus claims are you making? You give tai chi a bad name.

If you understand Subliminal Distraction and how to avoid it you can then successfully use Qi Gong. Your total exposure will probably never cause you a problem.

Millions have done so for centuries. In our computer world view screen devices have become common. They require enough mental investment to allow minor SD exposure.

I provide a research project to show where these mental events happen.

There have been 60 suicides or attempts at France Telecom over several years and 18 suicides at Foxconn in China since January 2010. In both cases pictures used to illustrate the stories show the failure to provide effective Cubicle Level Protection.

Medical and psychiatric symptoms at 14 Ontario, Canada elementary schools show what low level SD exposure can do for a very small number of people. Wi-Fi was installed in the schools so laptop computers could be used anywhere in classrooms. That allowed Subliminal Distraction exposure.

There have been three psychotic mental break suicides connected to a self help seminar in Australia. The seminar, called an LGATS, holds participants in a huge classroom like situation for ten hours daily and three consecutive days. It has been known that this seminar produces an episode that resembles a single Bipolar manic event since the 1970′s. When participants sit for that long they begin to dissociate knowledge of movement around them. That allows Subliminal Distraction exposure.

There may be a genetic predisposition for this problem. Work investigating schizophrenics and their blood relatives found hyperactivity of the M-Channel for vision in the brain. The triggering signal for the startle reflex is movement and position only and would be carried in the M-Channel.

Anyone with a computer at home, a child in high school, or college should have that information.

What does all this mean? If you understand the phenomenon you can control your SD exposure and enjoy your Qi Gong experience without a mental event.

Chi is not a psychic energy and it cannot move a compass needle. Zhou’s skills as a tai chi practitioner may be top notch, yet he also engages in fraud. Why? Because that is what Westerners generally want to see and what attracts their $. Zhou came to my town and a friend who is native Chinese went to see him. I refused to go because I’d heard of his act and knew he was performing stage magic and calling it “real”. My friend ended up having dinner with him and called him out on his tricks. He admitted that he did use prestidigitation, because Westerners are generally too stupid to see the real magic (which is not magic, but the spiritual aspects of tai chi).

I have no respect for Zhou, because he has chosen $ over honor and truth. He clouds the water for the many who believe what he is doing represents tai chi and qigong. Regardless of his tai chi skills he is a con-man.

Delusions are common among tai chi practioners because we spend a great amount of time imagining energies and events that are not really there (feeling resistance that does not exist and fighting opponents that are not there; I do this every day). These imaginings are basic requirement of the practice. After a time the sub-conscious automatically puts the energy there. That does not make the energy real. However, the energy does assist and guide the body to use its full potential of form, muscle, bone, ligament, tendon, and attention, in self-defense. I have done this and while it is magical, it is not magic (i.e. beyond the known laws of physics).

Chi as it is sensed in the body is pretty weird. It is most likely oscillations of the tendons and/or fascia. It is a physical manifestation that does not originate in the muscles. This is not a psychic energy and you cannot kill someone without touching them. However, you can do some pretty weird things if you can manipulate your tendons and fascia.

People want to find “real” magic. That is why religion is so popular; gods with magic powers supposedly guide us and protect us. Those who give up religion still need the magic, so they find it in chi or elsewhere. Yet like the gods, chi is a lower-case word, and not magic.

The people who are most adamant that their cherished art (tai chi, qigong, religion, astrology, etc) is “real” magic strike me as incredibly pathetic, because they are missing the real magic, which is the whole of nature and man. And this real magic is free, ever-present, and incredibly amazing.

Grow up, people. Quit grasping at straws. If you can’t do it on your own, find a Zen master. If you don’t get it right they will continue to whack you on the head until you do.

And a brief argument on Tucker’s behalf: science is not perfect, yet it is dedicated to ferreting out the real magic: nature, truth. People who’s cup is full of “real” magic (which is an illusion) cannot see this. Tai chi contains real magic because at its best it utilizes the oddities of our minds (those weird energies and delusions) to enhance the strengths of our bodies. Let’s leave the levitation and spinning compass needles to the con men.

Too much qigong can be bad for you.

There IS such a thing as qigong deviation (氣功偏差), and people CAN hurt themselves physically, or go crazy. A qualified qigong teacher will explain this to you and teach you how to avoid this uncommon problem.

Usually it results in someone feeling like the Qi is circulating out of control in their body. This results when someone trains physical qigong exercises and increases the quantity of their energy, without also training the mental discipline of conserving the energy in their center.

To be clear, the center in Chinese is called the dan tians. The lower center is in the middle of the abdomen – the enteric nervous system.

The upper center is in the middle of the head – the limbic system.

So, there IS a risk with qigong, and that is always discussed openly by a qualified teacher.

But, most of us don’t build up abundant energy enough to cause any damage, so its not much of a concern until someone is training hard and often.

electro-motive force, voltage/current IS energy IS Qi.

Energy travels through our body in ion channels. This is Qi.

They are the same thing. It is not supernatural.

Energy travels through the body, not only in the nerves but intercellularly, in bones, tendons, muscles, fascia…every cell.

There is nothing more magical about it than that. Anyone who does not understand this, does not understand qigong theory.

You will read many claims of magic Qi power, but these are not based in reality. Wild claims are not made by intelligent, qualified practitioners of qigong. Only by loonies and liars. Do not allow those loonies to confuse you. If you read a text book on the subject of qigong theory from a qualified source, you will see it is very down to earth and not magical.

Of course, Im sure you have already done this research, or you wouldn’t be ranting and raving about a topic you don’t understand. Would you?

The electromotive force in the body is the same energy that benefits you when circulating. Not some different magic energy. Energy is energy, there are not two types of energy.

Qi is not a special type of energy.

Of course, energy manifests in various ways: heat, light, magnetism… but it is all the same energy.

Every time we inhale, we breathe in a gas made of molecules, which are made of atoms, which are made of energy. We inhale either positive ions, or negative ions.

An ion is a unit of measure of energy.

I am amazed you still don’t understand my point.

Can human emit energy into others like Master Zhou? This is a new area of study in the West. Don’t be too quick to be a naysayer. Wait for data.

Anything to excess can be harmful, I agree. What is the amount of qigong that you would recommend people avoid doing so they don’t have a “mental break”?

A typical qigong practitioner waves his arms in the air a few times a week, for 30-60 minutes. Some practice every day.

Do I have bizarre beliefs? Or are they just different than yours?

George Dilman is a very bad example of a fake Master who is using trickery and he is clearly ridiculous. He should not be used as an example of the average qigong practitioner. His claims are silly. This is quite obvious.

I hope you can see that this topic has been very much misunderstood in general on the internet, which has led to a lot of confusion. Many “Masters” also have this misunderstanding.

I am happy to explain these things, if it can be helpful to anyone. I hope you have read this completely and understood the fundamental point:

the metabolic energy in the body is what is commonly referred to as Qi in Qigong practice.

Anything else you have read about magic powers is from the fringe, not from the mainstream qigong community.

I just can’t resist trying to help you to see.