Taoist meditation

Taoist meditation forms part of a Chinese energy art which goes back over 5000 years. This deals with everything which can, in any way, affect the life force known as 'Chi' and thus influence the length and quality of human life itself. Thousands of years before the Christian calendar people in China were trying to discover all the factors which contributed to optimum human health. At first they explored their immediate material environment to find those elements which were known to increase longevity.

This era and tradition was known as 'external alchemy'.

After a time, it became clear that the search for life-prolonging potions, elixirs and miracle drugs was an extremely costly, time-consuming and lengthy process which was not always successful. The results of years of effort could all too easily be lost, stolen or destroyed. Increasingly, people turned away from this material path and began to search the immaterial realm and within man himself for the keys to happiness, contentment and spiritual growth as well as for all those factors which could make human life healthier, longer and more positive.

This was the move towards the tradition known as 'internal alchemy'.

The internal flow of energy known as 'chi' (Chinese word for life force) was discovered. In humans, this energy moves along 12 major energy channels (Chinese: Jing Lo = meridians) at varying levels of intensity throughout their lifetime. When chi flows easily through the meridians and spreads harmoniously through the body, a person remains healthy and happy. If, for any reason, the flow of chi is blocked, hindered or if there is a build up of too much chi in certain parts of the body, then there will be a gradual reduction in 'joie de vivre' and a person is then open to all kinds of illness. Centuries of continual observation, as well as the early written recording of meditation experiences in monasteries lead in time to the accumulation of a unbelievably comprehensive body of knowledge about man himself, his place in and relationship with his environment, nature and with the universe as a whole.

All this knowledge is contained in an encyclopaedia known as the Taoist Canon, which consists of well over 5800 volumes (scrolls). Here you will find all manner of facts about human life, ranging from the conceivable to the frankly incredible. Nowadays, Feng Shui is becoming increasingly well-known. This is a discipline which investigates, describes and offers solutions to the influences of nature, the cosmos and the immediate urban or domestic environment on the the human energy system.

Above all, Taoist meditation is a form of energy meditation. The object of most, if not all Taoist meditation techniques is always a certain quality of chi. In Tai Chi there are at least 38 individual inner energies (internal or intrinsic energies). In meditation there are at least 64 – the same as the number of trigrams in the I Ching, the Book of Changes.

One by one, the individual energy forms and their variations within humans are learned. This is achieved through various individual exercises and series of exercises which build up systematically one upon the other. First you learn to recognize these energy forms within yourself and gradually you learn to influence them directly.

The aim of this intentional influencing is to attain as long, healthy and contented a life as possible. To this end, we are presented with an endless array of exercises and energy concepts. You simply start by taking a first step, like a child learning to walk, and go on from there. The first exercises are called the "inner smile" and they enable us to contact directly the emotional energies within our bodies. Following on from this, more complex exercises are taught, step by step, along with increasingly demanding meditation techniques. Each level of expertise releases more energy and lets it flow through our system more quickly, or enables us to store more reserve energy in our energy centres more quickly. Gradually, the body is relieved of all existing inhibiting factors which hinder the optimum flow of energy in mind and body. And so each progressive meditation technique makes us stronger and more effective.

In today’s stressful and hectic world with all its inner unrest and violence, the study of the ancient and yet highly topical issues of Taoist energy mediation can be a real blessing. It is not only the fact that we can improve our mental and physical condition whenever we choose, but equally the positive effects on our immediate surroundings which must be seen as beneficial and positive.

When will you take your first steps along the path to a healthier, more peaceful life which is more successful and virtually inexhaustible? We are waiting to welcome you with a wide variety of highly interesting courses which will teach you to drastically improve and more easily control your flow of chi.