Finding the Way
In part one, I laid out the premise for “energy based” meditation techniques that are the basis of Taoist praxis.
While training with my Sifu, Master Dong, I would notice a certain smile upon his face while doing Qigong. I can only describe the smile as the curious look of someone that has a secret; kind of a “I know something you don’t” grin. The reality is, that his smile is a truthful expression of just that, he does know something most people will never know.
Energy is the treasure we all can obtain, wealth beyond comprehension is always available to you. To the Taoist sages the definition of a rich man is “One who knows when he has enough.” Conversely it might be true to say that a poor man is “One that needs (or simply wants) more.”
Basic human needs not withstanding, the “Realized man” of antiquity was often a hermit living off the land, happy to live in a cave and forage for food, living close to nature. In this light, we can see, that beyond food and shelter, “wealth” is a relative thing. Taoists have no problems with having physical wealth, the defining thing is they don’t need any to be content.
A wise person makes themselves rich with the currency of Heaven and Earth. Gathering that treasure that flows from the Tao; accumulating virtues along the Way is the Taoist Way. Lao Tzu says, “Tao gives and gives and yet it is never depleted.” When you have the Way you, you too will find “The more you give, the more you have.”
Our goal in learning Taoist meditation is to connect directly to energy. Like a pile of gold coins we can sit with our energy or we can “spend” it. Every thought, image, fantasy, illusion, emotion and movement we make takes energy. To the Taoists, purifying this energy was like refining gold. They even called the practice “Spiritual Alchemy.” In meditation then, finding this energy and aligning with it, was and is a divine enterprise.
To the untrained, would be meditator, most attempts end in failure. Even with advanced students it is a difficult skill to master without following certain guidelines. For the beginner, sitting still and attempting to “align with your energy” will guarantee that you cannot. This is akin to a light bulb, that when turned on shines out incoherent light, millions of photons shooting out all willy-nilly, colliding with each other and heading off in random directions dissipating quickly into the surrounding darkness.
You need to train your energy system to focus the energy so it can flow on it’s own. A laser beam is a wave of coherent light that has all the photons aligned with each other, all flowing in the same direction remaining focused and able to travel an almost infinite number of miles without dissipating.
In Part 3 I will describe in detail how we can train our energy to be focused like a laser beam instead of wasting most of it with “incoherent emissions” of Qi.
Taiji on Maui 
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