Absorbing Energy From Trees

[Darryl]

Originally posted by lordcunni
One student I trained with was even thrown off a tree, when he was absorbing energy from it.

This is not an approach I am familiar with, but overall I certainly do not agree with such practices. A student recently asked me regarding stories of Chi Kung practitioners killing vegetation with such practices and I will give the same answer I gave him.

Drawing energy from any other living creature for any reason other than the immediate betterment of that living creature is not what I would expect of any noble Chi Kung practitioner. In this case and from what you have written, if he was knocked away by the energies he was taking, then he should not have been taking them. Giving energies back into the cosmos in whatever form is part and parcel of existance. Deliberately taking something from another being without permission is theft.

I would also describe it as low to mid level Chi Kung, as the cosmos supplies an endless source of pure, clean energy that is free to all - why take from another?

As I say, I am not familiar with this as a specific technique or practice so if anyone would care to explain to me exactly why someone would use such a practice I look forward to hearing their views.

[snowcelt]

Absorbing chi............

Hi Darryl,

just to agree with your viewpoint on "stealing" energy from trees. There has been some discussion previously on chi kung and plants, although I believe that had more to do with plants absorbing bad chi exhaled by people practising indoors.
I am no expert, being at best book-taught from Sifu's books, but he has written both in his books and on the Q & A forum of the unethical and immoral pracice of taking energy from other organisms, be they animal, plant or human, especially when cosmic energy is all around and, free.
I have noticed that my house plants are doing very well, growing strongly and are definitely more verdant and happier looking since I began practicing chi kung indoors during the colder months. Maybe they are absorbing MY chi, but this makes them produce oxygen and improves the atmosphere of my flat. I think as well that the extra verdancy creates a more relaxing living space. So, rather than creating imbalance and a sence of disharmony by actively stealing chi, a more symbiotic, harmonius relationship can be achieved.
I have heard of people in China who sit with their backs in contact with trees after practising chi kung or tai chi, in order to avail of the tree's chi, but I got the impression that it was more a passive thing, like with my house plants but in reverse. I read a post in the Q & A section where Sifu talks about practicing chi kung close to certain types of trees each of which have different beneficial effects. However, he reiterated the point that the chi being absorbed wasn't stolen from the trees, but came from the cosmos. I just had a flick back through the sections but I couldn't find it again.

respectfully,

kevin.

[Darryl]

Energy Flow

Hi Kevin,

Yes, I agree with the practice as you describe it, the natural interchange of energies in a sympathetic and complementary way.

The plants in your room benefit from the chi you give off - to you it is negative, to them it is positive. In return, they grow more abundantly, thus increasing your enjoyment and interaction with your immediate environment.

I train near vegetation when outside, yet the vegetation flourishes and blossoms, benifiting from my practice. As to leaning on trees, walking under and through the trees, again I have no problem with this.

What I do not agree with is the deliberate intent to take what can be freely given.

[cnholmes]

Once when visiting America, I went to a forest of giant redwood, and had the most wonderful feeling of energy flowing through me. Afterwards I was incredibly relaxed, even though we were almost late for our flight. This was not something I invoked (I wouldn't know how), but just happened on its own. I don't seem to get the same thing in other sorts of forest.

Please remember not to lean against trees in a thunderstorm or you might absorb more energy than you bargained for

Chris.

[DarkCosmoz]

Do animals benefit from the qi we give off during qigong?

Also, do family members share energy with each other? If I practice qigong, does my family benefit?

[Darryl]

Joyous Chi

Hi Stephen,

Everything benefits during chi flow, animals, friends, plants, spirits, family, endless lists.

As to sharing energy, everyone does on a constant basis, regardless if they practice Chi Kung or not.

Everything is connected and constantly in motion - this is a cosmic truth.

If just 'you' do your chi flow and you walk into a room with other people and you keep all your chi to yourself, then you are causing yourself problems.

If just 'you' do you chi flow and when walking into the room, you throw your chi around, directing it at everyone nearby because you think they need it, then you are causing yourself problems.

If you just do your chi flow and you enjoy your chi flow, then when you walk through a room of people you will naturally keep your chi and transmit your chi. No doubt you have heard, read, maybe even experienced the fact that chi will always flow where it is needed most. The more that 'you' fade away in your training then the more benefit you will be to everything around you.

If what is around you is not to your benefit, then you will protect yourself naturally, without wondering, noticing or even believing.

If what is around you is in need of your help, then you will help.

The 'deadly do-gooder' is not a Chi Kung practitioner, even though they may feel that they are helping others, they are more in need of help themselves. And a Chi Kung practitioner is not somone who just practices Chi Kung.

[DarkCosmoz]

Thank you Darryl,

So basically, we transmit chi unconciously?

Also, do people with magnetic personalities transmit alot of chi to other people, making them feel good?

Sorry about the intellectual questions!

Regards,
Stephen

[Darryl]

intellectual questions

Originally posted by DarkCosmoz
So basically, we transmit chi unconciously?

With respect, I do not answer questions like these.

"So if an elephant was balancing on an egg, and the egg was called Gerald, would it be Wednesday or Friday?" is how I would explain asking such a question. My not answering such questions is a personal choice, not representative of everyone in Shaolin Wahnam.

Regarding your second question, people who transmit a lot of chi are people who transmit a lot of chi. Many students have commented how they seem to attract a 'better' class of person after training. This is not egotistical or arrogant, like attracts like. As you clear out more and more, your will contain more and more cosmic energy.

People feel good when they are in good place. People feel bad when they are in a bad place.

[lordcunni]

Absorbing Energy from Trees

When I was a chi kung student with Dr Lam, we were told not to absorb energy from trees (or any other living thing). We were told to ensure that energy was moved in a circular fashion, so that if energy was taken from something into our bodies, it was returned to the earth and then back into the original source.

The student who was thrown from the the tree was not doing this. He was absorbing energy from the tree. One of the other students who was with him, and saw it happen, is a psychic, and warned him not to go near that particular tree, as it contained negative energy.

Part of the training for spiritual healers envolves checking the energy levels and balance of people, plants and animals. When we do that, we do not steal their energy. We check for imbalance and weakness. If we find that the subject is already balanced we do not do anything else. If it is imbalanced, we channel universal energy, and try to balance the chakras and clear energy blockages.

[cnholmes]

Air

We breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide.

Trees absorb carbon dioxide and give out oxygen.

Isn't that an exchange of energy?

Chris.

[Antonius]

Hey Chris.

We breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide. Trees absorb carbon dioxide and give out oxygen. Isn't that an exchange of energy?

Yes. This is a natural exchange of energy. However, if I stand near one of the plants in my practice room and actively tap its energy, this would be unnatural.

In the natural exchange, the plant and I are in a symbiotic relationship. We both benefit. In the unnatural exchange, the relationship is unbalanced. If I continue to tap energy from the plant, it will die within a few weeks. The same goes for a tree. It would take longer, but if I continued to tap from the same tree, it would eventually die.

[Lotus]

I believe that most people know this: scientifically, plants don't always give out oxygen all day long; it's only during the day time that they breathe in CO2 and give out oxygen. So to a first approximation, (and different plant groups have significantly different variations) during the day, plants focus mostly on capturing sunlight and string the energy as new sugar/wood and in other high energy chemicals. At night, they mostly reverse, and start absorbing oxygen to burn the sugar they made during the day time photosynthesis, and the energy releases powers that all the plants activities need in order to grow during the night. So mostly, plants do have main day/night differences. In the night, they're just like human beings, absorbing oxygen and releasing CO2. Besides, the oxygen that plants put out during the day compared to the oxygen already in the atmosphere is so little it's insignificant. Think of how much heavier we are compared to the house plants. We would have to be in the Amazons in order to get sufficient oxygen solely from the plants. So, the mere act of "stealing" of oxygen from the plants is simply futile.

However, from a psychological point of view, the beautiful colors of plants do help us relax and meditate. Also, in Buddhism, our mind/thought matters the most. If we think plants will help, then they probably will, and vice versa. But if one thinks of "stealing" energy from the plants, the mind is already evil, and thus the stealing wouldn't succeed anyways. There is a school of high level Dantian Breathing called "Huitong Dantian Gong" (created by a master called Zhang Yulei) that teaches people to practice near different kinds of trees in order to stregthen different areas in our bodies. I do not know the details of their practice. However, I believe that if a person practices near plants/trees with a kind smile from his heart (like Sifu so often tells us) without any evil thoughts, both the plants and the person will benefit from each other.

[Andrew]

Lotus,

Thanks for the reminder of school-time biology class. It clarifies the scientific part of this well. I also agree with your closing comment:

that if a person practices near plants/trees with a kind smile from his heart (like Sifu so often tells us) without any evil thoughts, both the plants and the person will benefit from each other.

Nice post!