Asking for help/advice on what steps to take

[George]

Very happy to read this update!

[Jinkaku]

Dear family,
thank you for your kind messages.

As I said earlier, I am practicing according to Sifu's advice and every day brings some healing. It is really wonderful to feel and see the benefits!

I just wanted to thank all of you for helping me with this.
After losing contact with Sifu and Sifu Andrew, I felt really fearful because my life had changed. I also carried the guilt of knowing that I might have caused myself all this for a long time.

I asked for advice because I wanted to feel like I was still being supervised and even taken care of by a master.
I received plenty of advice, usually it meant to practice at a lower level.


Anyway, I don't want to make this too long.
I just wish to say thank you to you all.

Warm wishes

[Bernhard]

Hello Alonso!

Nice to hear from you. I think I can understand partly what you mean. I am pretty cautious sometimes and I often had uncertainy.

Do you feel better now?

I could reduce the neuroleptics at the beginning of this week. Now I have had a few ups and downs this week but all accompanied with cleansing.

Althought we both were diagnosed with schizophrenia I think it is not comparable. I never had a psychosis. Maybe I prevented that.

I still have work to do to reach my goal of good health.

Greetings
Bernhard

[Jinkaku]

Thank you for your message, Bernhard.

You are lucky! I had a psychotic episode in 2017. My first. I thought that I was being attacked for a long time after that.

I am feeling much better now. As I said, every day I present some really nice cleansing!
I think that before, I used to overtrain too much. I remember Sifu's advice at the course I attended. He said to practice only at 30%. I think that I practiced at a higher level.

[Damian Kissey]

Thank you to Alonso and Bernhard for sharing their inspiring journey in life.

Many years ago , i heard a sermon by a sage who said that all human beings, being imperfect, are crazy but in varying degrees , some more & some less ; craziness is just another word to describe imperfection ; that only God the Absolute , being Perfect, is not crazy ; that teachers give us the tools but students have to do their own walking ; that all human beings contain a spark of divine perfection.

Thank you to Grandmaster Wong Kiew Kit , all Sifus and past Masters for giving us tools for our journey to perfect health & happiness.

[Bernhard]

Thank you Damian Sipak for your words.

To be honest for me it is not always easy to go this journey to good health because from time to time there was and is a fear I have to walk or cleanse through but the fear says no don't walk through stick with the old things. But when I stick with the old things there is no change there is no health there is no improvement.

[Damian Kissey]

From mundane to supramundane : a true story for all of us including all sentient beings

Change is natural : a baby metamorphosise into an adult whether it is fearful or not of the biological change.

Change is cyclical : planets circle round the sun and the 4 season cycles whether we like it or not.

Cyclical change happens miraculously and continuously ...ranging from the microscopic level of subatomic quarks to the astronomical level of stars in vast galaxies !

The only difference is whether one flows harmoniously with the natural cyclical changes or not : if yes, its Yin Yang balance ; if not , its Yin Yang imbalance ; or somewhere in between.

To go beyond change , ie to attain changelessness is to attain the perfect Tao or Zen which is beyond the duality of Yin-Yang .

For most of us , to be happy and healthy in this world is good enough.

For those who are ready , they become God , which is actually everyone's birthright .

https://shaolin.org/general-2/cleansing/cleansing05.html

[Jinkaku]

Dear family,

Thank you for all your input and help. I am deeply grateful and feel much love for my brothers and sisters.

It's been a while, and everything's been fine so far. I feel healing experiences day by day, even when confronted to more difficult (stressful) experiences. This, I thank you all for.

I know that I used not to listen to advice (not only in regards to Shaolin Wahnam), but things have changed.
I practice what my Sifu taught me, and things go well. I might be over-training easily, but the remedy for this is to practice less.

Now I see that the advice given was for my best benefit and that no one was scolding me.

I want to congratulate my brother Bernhard, who I might share a diagnose with, but who has avoided the mistakes that I did.
In my case, it is easy for me to worry about bad karma, since I probably caused this illness to myself in the first place. But hey, when that arises, I can forgive myself.

The only doubt I still have concerns physical exercise:

I have developed a big belly (chi kung?) and everyone wants me to exercise for that.
I have tried to explain my family and doctors that it might be the chi kung, but it's likely that they don't believe me. So I have started exercising.
I do it lightly, I do not tense muscles and I stay mindful of the exercise. I hope this is okay! I asked here because I don't want to start more topics.

Anyway!

Thank you from the heart,
Jinkaku

[Bernhard]

Hello Alonso!

Thank you for your positiv words. But there are surely issues I have to work at. For example recently I noticed how rigid my thinking has been.

You mentioned overtraining. I have that problem too. It has somehow to do with the medication. When I reduce antidepressants overtraining suddenly hits me hard from one day to the other after about 3 weeks with the new reduced dose. When I reduce antipsychotics my body can handle energy and overtraining better and the chance to overtraining is less. I wonder what happens after I reduce all medication. I will see that this or next year. I just wanted to tell you and other future students. I nowhere found in the forum effects from medication on energy and overtraining. But different medication might have different effects. Be cautious with reducing.

You also mentioned that you gained weight. I gained 25 kilos due to the psychiatric drugs. Last year was the first year I lost a few kilos. Maybe it was because I practiced more than 8 months Hula Hoop. I once learnt an exercise from my Sifu which is called Drawing the Moon which is said to reduce belly fat. I had the experience that I need to be quite skillful in relaxing. I practiced it for 4 weeks and lost 3 centimetre waist circumference but I gained one kilo. I stopped practicing it because I thought I have more important issues to clear. But I want to practice it after I have reduced all the medications and I am quite healthy.

all the best
Bernhard

[Jinkaku]

Dear Bernhard,

Thank you so much for your reply!

You seem very knowledgeable. In my case, I hardly notice if/when I am overtraining. It is also difficult for me to know if my symptoms are due to the illness, or medication.
I usually just relay on the fact that I should practice lightly and apply the 3 golden rules.

Just yesterday, after reading Sifu's Q&A, I noticed that this practice was about improving one's life instead of worrying about it.

Many thanks,
Jinkaku

[Jinkaku]

Dear family,

Thank you for your replies to this topic. As I said in an earlier post, I felt a little scolded at times, but I know that the advice given and the comments were for my well-being.

Since 2022, I am practicing as my Sifu told me. Lifting the Sky in the morning and Carrying the Moon (my favorite by far) in the evening.

In 2019, I created this topic because I wanted to take my practice to the next step. You were all kind to me and pointed out that it wasn't time.

5 years later, I come to ask the same question: is it time for me to take a course?
A lot of things have happened in the last few years, and my posts in this forum serve as testimony of all the states of mind that I have gone through.

I will be sincere. I want to take my practice to the next level, so I can, for example, show my family that these arts work. My parents do not believe in chi kung, and I would love for them to see in real life what these arts can do. The other thing is my grandparents' health. I want to be more efficient in helping them and being beneficial.

The last reason, is that many years have passed since my last course, and I would like to have a refresh of my techniques and skills. And we'll, I also want to take a course for the fun of it!

Sifu told me that he had no problem with me taking a new course. But given all the feedback, I choose to ask here too. Any recommendation or further advise is appreciated.

Much love,
Jinkaku

[Bernhard]

Hello Alonso

My opinion is when Sigung says he has no problem with you taking a new course I think nobody would go against that.

I think there are few factors to consider for example time and place. If I am right you live in Switzerland. You can ask the swiss instructors if they have suitable courses.

I do not know what languages you speak. If you speak german and your german is good you could for example ask my Sifu for the sunday classes via zoom. (https://www.shaolin-wahnam-wien.at/s...inare.html.php)
Or you can take an online class in the Shaolin Treasure House. (https://www.shaolintreasurehouse.com/) The courses in the Shaolin Treasure House are in both english or german.

Greetings
Bernhard

[George]

Dear Alonso,

It's good to hear that your practice is going well.

If you want to go on a course I think it's fine. Not sure what you have learned before but something like an 18 Lohan Hands course might be interesting and useful.


Best wishes,

George

[Jinkaku]

Dear family,

Thank you for your responses and sorry for my late reply!


As soon as I read Bernhard's answer, I contacted an instructor asking for future courses. It wasn't Sifu Leo (I know, I know), but an instructor I had really wanted to train with.
Her answer was clear: due to the difficulty of my illness, I should look for courses in person instead of online.
So I have been following that advice.

I have had some difficult days, but I always remember to let go, stop intellectualizing and smile from the Heart. It is sometimes difficult, but I congratulate myself each time I succeed.

I just have one question I have been wanting to ask someone:

My family does not believe in chi kung, and due to my many decompensations, they equate it with schizophrenia.
My mother wants to pay for a gym membership, notably related to my belly (chi kung?).
I have tried to convince my family, but I receive comments about it everyday.
In case I go to the gym, what should I practice in terms of chi kung?

Thank you dear family.

[Damian Kissey]

General advice for any physical activity (including gym exercises):

1) when done in relatively physically relaxed manner and gently focused mind , it becomes chi kung practise and gives more wholesome benefits...but you don't have to inform others or label it as chi kung, especially if it offends others' feelings.

2) whether it's calisthenics or weight-bearing , gradual progression is key.

Chi Kung Fu enhances our life but should not enslave us