BENEFITS OF PRACTICING COSMIC SHOWER
Using Taijiquan for combat
Question
I think that I have attended a Cosmic Shower Course 2 or 3 times since I joined Shaolin Wahnam. I remember that I felt extremely calm, blessed and with a very sharp mental clarity. The funny thing is that, though I have taken this course several times, I don't remember the main hallmarks of this fantastic art.
We are very lucky to have in our school such a wide variety of arts. As the arts that we practice are holistic, it is very hard for me to separate the benefits into different categories. For example, practicing stances makes me feel very happy, I can also feel an extreme mental clarity and, at the end, I feel stronger at all levels.
In Bone Marrow Cleansing, at the bone marrow level, I also feel very cleansed and stronger at all levels. From my experience, Sinew Metamorphosis has also been very spiritual, makes me feel very strong and with an extreme mental clarity that connects me with everything that is. I also experience these same wonderful benefits with my Taijiquan solo practice.
Maybe my ignorance is caused by my level of development and I cannot see or appreciate yet the main differences between these arts.
May you explain the main benefits/hallmarks of practicing Cosmic Shower? How does this art differ from other arts like Sinew Metamorphosis, Bone Marrow Cleansing, Stance Training and Small and Big Universe?
Santiago
Answer
Like many other students in our school, it is very modest of you to attribute your ignorance to your low level of development. But the fact is that like most students in our school, you are neither ignorance nor low in your developmental level.
We must, of course, not let this fact make us arrogant. While realizing this fact, we still remain humble.
I do not make a statement, especially a statement of fact, wildly. I always substantiate my statement.
Compared to most chi kung and kungfu practitioners, including some masters, you are very knowledgeable. Your level of development is also high.
You know many essential aspects of chi kung and kungfu that many practitioners do not. You know, for example, that the essence of chi kung is energy flow, that a practitioner must be in a chi kung state of mind to practice chi kung, and why practicing chi kung contributes to health, vitality and longevity.
In kungfu, you know the most fundamental purpose of kungfu is combat, that good kungfu contributes to good health, and great kungfu contributes to spiritual development. You know that while actual fighting is rare in our modern law-abiding society, practicing a martial art is beneficial as it enriches our daily life.
These aspects are not only important, they are essential. This means that if a chi kung or a kungfu practitioner, irrespective of whether he is a student or a master, does not know these facts, his practice becomes meaningless or deviated. This is a main reason why today much of chi kung is meaningless, as it is no longer an art of energy, and much of kungfu is meaningless as it is no longer an art of combat. Chi kung has deviated to become gentle physical exercise, and kungfu has deviated to a demonstration to please spectators or a generous exchange of blows.
More important than theoretical knowledge is practical attainment. In chi kung you can generate an energy flow, tap energy from the cosmos, direct energy to wherever you want in your body, and even expand beyond your physical body. You have cleansed off a lot of negative emotions, have become grateful and caring, peaceful and happy.
In kungfu you can apply your kungfu techniques for combat, and develop internal force. You use tactics and strategies in sparring. You apply kungfu principles to enrich your daily life.
With such knowledge and attainment, would you call yourself ignorant and your development level low, especially considering that even many chi kung masters today cannot generate an energy flow and do not believe that chi kung can overcome illness, and many kungfu masters cannot use their kungfu techniques for combat and do not believe in internal force? You may, out of modesty or in comparison with genuine great masters, but certainly not when compared with most chi kung and kungfu practitioners today. But we must not allow this fact make us arrogant.
We are indeed very lucky to have an incredible range of arts in our school. Our arts are both holistic and thematic. Any chi kung exercise can give us good health, vitality and longevity. Any kungfu set enables us to defend ourselves. This is the holistic aspect. On the other hand, some chi kung exercises are good at cleansing, whereas others are good at building. Some kungfu sets focus on striking, others focus on chin-na. This is the thematic aspect.
Your own examples show that you have benefitted both from the thematic and holistic aspects of various arts. Thematically, Bone Marrow Cleansing enables energy to flow at five different levels, but you also feel cleansed and stronger holistically. Thematically Sinew Metamorphosis generated a lot of internal force, but you also feel connected with everything holistically. Thematically Taijiquan is for combat, but you have spiritual experience holistically.
The hallmark of practicing Cosmic Shower is to experience a cascade of energy flowing down from the head through the body to the feet.
Its main benefits are to cleanse and to strengthen – physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. The energy which you tap from the cosmos clears your physical, emotional, mental and spiritual blockage.
For example, if you have an illness, clearing away your physical blockage will restore your good health. If you feel angry, clearing away your emotional blockage will make you peaceful. If you are confused, clearing away your mental blockage will enable you to think clearly. If you are afraid, clearing away your spiritual blockage will give you confidence.
The cosmic energy also strengthens you physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. You will feel physically stronger than before. You have better control over your emotions. Your mind is focus and fresh. You feel free and happy.
Developing internal force for peak performance
The differences between Cosmic Shower and other arts may be classified under the following headings -- form, methodology, benefit and philosophy.
Cosmic Shower is a skill, and this skill of experiencing a shower of cosmic energy down our body can be induced by using different techniques, which have different form. The prototype exercise from which we draw inspiration for this art is called “Opening of Five Flowers”. This was a very advanced Taoist art performed while sitting in a lotus position.
In our case, we usually use “Lifting the Sky” or “Carrying the Moon” to induce a cosmic shower. The form of the techniques are very different. While the form of “Lifting the Sky” and “Carrying the Moon” are not the same, they are both basically dynamic patterns while standing at the same spot, raising and lowering both hands, which are very different from sitting quietly with eyes closed or half-closed in a lotus position.
The methodology to induce the cosmic shower is also different. In our case we use physical movement and breathing, whereas in the Taoist exercise practitioners in the past let energy accumulate at the lowest energy field, then brought up the accumulated energy to higher and higher energy fields, and eventually at the top-most energy field at the crown of the head, to be open and let the energy flow down in a shower. It was a long and often tedious process.
It is simply ridiculous that now our students can attain Cosmic Shower in a matter of hours. In both the prototype, “Opening of Five Flowers”, and our method of Cosmic Shower, operating at the mind level is very important.
Operating at the mind level applies to advanced arts, like Cosmic Shower, Cosmic Breathing, and Bone Marrow Cleansing. Middle-level arts like Abdominal Breathing and Lifting Water operates at the energy level. Elementary arts like Self-Manifested Chi Movement and Dynamic Patterns operate at the form level.
However, in our school, because we are able to go into a deep chi kung state of mind, even elementary arts are operated at mind level. This is a main reason why we can have powerful results, even for otherwise low-level arts, in a relative short time.
Thematically the benefits of the various arts are different, although holistically all arts of chi kung give good health, vitality and longevity. The main benefit of Self-Manifested Chi Movement is to overcome illness, that of Dynamic Patterns to promote well-being and vitality, and that of Zhan Zhuang or stance training to develop internal force.
The main benefit of Cosmic Shower is cleansing for spiritual cultivation. The main benefit of Self-Manifested Chi Movement is also cleansing, but it is more at a physical level to overcome illness.
However, because of my spread and depth in chi kung, I was able to extend spiritual cleansing in Cosmic Shower to prepare practitioners to merge into Cosmic Reality, or in Western terms to return to God the Holy Spirit. I also enabled students, who are not ready to leave the phenomenal for the transcendental, to cleanse at the physical, emotional and mental levels. Further, I was also able to extend the benefit of cleansing to the benefit of strengthening in all our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual levels.
The philosophy of Cosmic Shower is profound. Cosmic energy is employed to cleanse practitioners so thoroughly that not even a spec of dust remains so that they can merge with Cosmic Reality. As our students are not ready to leave the phenomenal world yet, I operate Cosmic Shower at a relatively lower level, which is still very high compared to most other arts of chi kung. Cosmic energy is employed to cleanse practitioners physically, emotionally and mentally so that they excel in all aspects in the phenomenal world, and to cleanse them spiritual so that they have a glimpse of Cosmic Reality.
This profound philosophy is different from other types of chi kung. At the lowest level of chi kung, Self-Manifested Chi Movement, which is also the most useful because it fulfills the need of most people today, the philosophy is to generate an energy flow powerful enough to clear blockage to restore good health. At the middle level, the philosophy of Zhan Zhuang is to accumulate a lot of energy for peak performance.
We are very lucky in our school. Our spread and depth not only enables us to practice a great variety of chi kung arts quite deeply, but also to employ just one art of chi kung for different purposes according to our needs and aspiration. Hence, although Cosmic Shower is basically for spiritual cleansing, we may use it at a low level to clear blockage for overcoming illness, at a middle level to develop internal force for peak performance, or at a high level to strengthen our spirit to enjoy a glimpse of Cosmic Reality.
Santiago in standing meditation for spiritual cultivation
The above discussion is reproduced from the thread 10 Questions on Cosmic Shower in the Shaolin Wahnam Discussion Forum.
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