The Three Stages of Zhineng Qigong Practice
The practice of Zhineng Qigong will raise human life functions from a normal to a paranormal state. Based on the laws of life activity, we developed three stages of practice with corresponding methods.
External Hunyuan Stage
This stage is a beginner’s practice to improve normal functions.
What is external hunyuan?
External hunyuan occurs when our mind (yishi) mingles and transforms (hun hua) with the hunyuan qi of the natural world so that we draw in and utilise that hunyuan qi in our body. This hun hua process occurs outside the body, so is called external hunyuan.
There are three aspects
- The mind merges with the void (the mind and original hunyuan qi mingle together); it merges human information with original hunyuan qi so that the original hunyuan qi incorporates that human mind information and can be readily utilised by humans.
- The mind merges with external hunyuan qi that surrounds the body, and intensifies it. This can enlarge the hunyuan qi field around one, which will bring more natural hunyuan qi into the body.
- The mind connects with the permeable body surface. This intensifies the function of qi movement in and out through the skin.
Benefits of the External Hunyuan Stage Practice
- It increases connections between the human body and the natural world.
- One absorbs external hunyuan qi to improve and strengthen internal hunyuan qi.
- One develops from normal to paranormal abilities. For instance, through practicing external hunyuan one can feel and experience the existence of external hunyuan qi .
Why can we benefit so much from the practice of external hunyuan?
Modern science believes that normal human life processes, from a small cell to the complexity of an entire body, must all retain a physio-biochemical balance. To maintain this balance the body must exchange matter, energy and information with the external world. The metabolic process occurs through internal qi opening out, external qi gathering in and the two inter-changing. These changes and the process of exchange take place mainly on the membranous level. The change of qi at this membranous level can directly influence one’s life state. Change beyond a certain level will lead to illness, although usually the body’s functions will themselves adjust to bring about recovery. If these body functions cease, the body will die. These life processes occur naturally as part of the laws of life.
Qigong science discovered this process of life and that the mind can lead and control this process of change. So Zhineng Qigong developed certain methods that intensify the process by which internal qi goes out of and external qi comes into the body to transform each other, thereby increasing vitality. This process changes natural life activity to become conscious life activity.
Internal Hunyuan Stage
Conscious life activity is guided to a deeper level in this stage.
What is internal hunyuan?
The mind merges with internal hunyuan qi and makes internal hunyuan qi penetrate deeper into different parts of the body tissues, merging skin, muscles, tendons, blood vessels, bones, channels and the inner organs into a unity. This practice is based on the benefits gained from external hunyuan practice, which makes internal body qi plentiful. The practice of the internal hunyuan stage requires the mind to be totally concentrated within.
Benefits of the internal hunyuan stage
- It improves the ability of the mind to direct and control qi. It can bring qi directly to different parts of the body.
- It increases the practitioner’s control over their mind. The emotions become more stable.
- Yiyuanti’s functions can be developed so one can experience the exchange of internal and external qi.
- Practitioners achieve the first level of an ideal healthy state in body and mind.
- It increases the process of hun hua of body hunyuan qi and inner organs hunyuan qi.
- Concentrate the mind on the middle channel and form a qi column inside the middle channel, connecting the top of the head and huiyin. Then make body qi merge and transform (hun hua) with middle channel qi. [This is Level Four practice. If the mind can concentrate into the Central Channel so it becomes very fine, then this is the Central Line, and one’s practice differs only in degree.]
- Concentrate the mind on the middle point of one’s being; the term middle point is a special appellation to describe a particular state that is very even, very pure, feeling no distinctions, corresponding to the characteristics of yiyuanti. The mind (yishi) concentrates on this particular point, and in fact returns to yiyuanti itself. [This is Level Six.]
- Practitioners achieve a state of paranormal ability
Middle Hunyuan Stage
Middle hunyuan practice begins when Hunyuan Palace has been opened.