This is a testament of how the power and intense ability of energy such as Qi Gong, Tai Chi, Chakra therapy and meditation can be applied to get a miraculous result.

About 3 years ago I became very ill, thinking my hepatitis C was the culprit, I underwent extensive testing and ultimately found out that I had a cancerous lesion on my liver. (I should note here that I contracted hepatitis C from a needle stick while working in the medical field.) For the next 16 months I would be in treatment. At first my reaction was fear, regret and sorrow, but after a few weeks something inside me just snapped. That inner voice was screaming for me to take immediate action to change my health.

From that point on I started meditating and doing creative visualization to see myself healthy and happy. At the same time I created a regime of meditation, breathing, Qi Gong, Tai Chi and a diet with very little red meat and full of vegetables, fruit, grains and chicken or fish. For several months I worked daily as much as I could on changing the way I saw myself, inside and out and then little by little I worked on seeing bright energy flowing through my entire body.

I gathered energy from the movements and breathing in Qi Gong and used many acupressure techniques. After many months of conventional cancer treatment and my own regime I had new testing. This time the results were nothing short of a miracle. Nothing showed up on my MRI and my Doctor said, “I need you to come in again because we aren’t finding anything.” The next MRI was even more extensive and in fact, I was cancer free. There was no more tumor and according to my doctor this was indeed an amazing recovery. (According to the American Cancer Society only about 10% of all liver cancer patients survive or overcome their cancer.)

I have been truly blessed. My mind overcame this enemy with power from energy and intent. So to the great teachers and masters of all the different forms of Qi Gong, Tai Chi and numerous healing arts, I owe you my thanks and life. I saw myself as “a warrior” during this time and I am happy, vibrant and enjoyed with life and energy. My family and friends were my inspiration and helped to keep me going.

Ultimately I discovered and cultivated my inner strength strength and and awoke the spirituality within myself. Life is beautiful and I will never forget how powerful energy, mind, body and spirit can be. Thank you to everyone who sent positive energy and love to me over the years it does make a huge difference. Thank you all

Mr. Jim Apelian, Master Peter Hill, Master Richard Hurtado, Master. Ray Fisher and Master Craig Palm.

Many books were instrumental in forming the ideas I used to heal myself. I hope you will be inspired to read some or all of these books. Their collective knowledge made it possible for me to beat the odds and continue my quest for higher knowledge and spiritual enlightenment.

• The Magus of Strovolos by Kyracos C. Markides
• Evolution in this lifetime Kundalini and the Chakras by Genevieve Lewis Paulson
• Meditation and Human Growth A practical Manuel for Higher Consciousness by Genevieve Lewis Paulson
• Touch for Helath by John T. Thie D.C.
• The Touch of Healing Energizing Body Mind and Spirit with the Art of Jin Shin Jyutsu by Alice Barmeister with Tom Monte
• A Handbook of Chakra Healing Spiritual Practice for Helath, Harmony and Inner Peace by Kalashatra Govinda
• Qi Gong Chinese Movements Meditation for Helath by Danny Connor featuring MasterMichaelTse
• The Acupuncture Treatment of Internal Disease by George T. Lewith M.A.,M.R.C.C.P.,M.R.C.P.
• Iron Shirt Chi Kung I by Mantak Chia
• Get It Together by Peter Hill

I would like to specifically give recognition to those teachers that inspired me and helped me become more connected with my mind, body and soul.

Animals are amazing. Each species has its own characteristics and its own way of harmonizing with the world around it. They sense activity and energy all around them and act or react according to their needs. The Five Animal Set is a wonderful introduction into the essence of the Dragon, Tiger, Crane, Snake and Leopard. I have been teaching and rotating through the Five Animal forms in my Tai Chi class pretty consistently for a couple years. I always ask my students how they feel after performing each animal form. Did they feel, for instance, the yin and yang and the powerful swaying of a dragon’s tail in the Dragon form? Or did they feel the openness and balance of the Crane or the coiling and precision of the Snake? I like to repeat the comment Master Hill relates from when he learned the Tiger Form. “In doing the Tiger form, should we be angry like a tiger?” his instructor laughed and replied, “Tigers aren’t angry…they’re just tigers!” Then he went on to explain that tigers are naturally strong and full of charged up, powerful energy. Animals don’t have human emotions and we should not characterize them into emotional categories. Instead, dig down to the primitive state of your chi and think about how it might feel to be that animal. I think I am a Crane.

I also ask my students which animal they feel closest in tune to. Most of them relate to the Dragon pretty well. That makes sense since it is the first form and works to open the meridians in the body. The form itself is very symmetrical and uses a lot of strong back and forth movements—like water or the ocean. I taught the Tiger form to some karate students. They related to that form very well, I think because of the harder, more explosive movements, like the pouncing. The Crane, I think is my favorite. I love the balance and grace of that form. It is just what I need after slumping over a computer keyboard all day. It gently stretches my spine, straightens my shoulders and frees up my tense muscles so energy can flow through my body and out my fingertips. The Snake is very similar to the Crane in some ways. They are both lighter energy forms. The Snake has large, open, circular movements like the Crane, but also has sharp, precise strikes. I also have a few students who related most to the Leopard. One student commented that it made the most sense. Both of them have had other martial arts experience, so I think they could relate to the powerful martial aspects of the form. Movements in the Leopard form are very connected—much like in boxing. There is lots of pivoting and using the entire body to connect to your opponent with powerful strikes.

Sometimes I think it’s fun to watch people and fit them into an animal category. I was watching some people in a sparring class and I was taking notes and noticed one teenage girl throw a round kick that was very quick yet powerful and connected perfectly to her opponent. Her fast punches packed the same kind of power and connectivity. “Definitely a Leopard”, I thought. Another student moved fluidly and threw rapid punches one after the other. A Snake. We can truly learn a lot from watching animals, each other and even more from practicing their essence through the Five Animal Set.

1. Take a deep breath and look inward, open your awareness to everything going on within you and rate your current stress level between 1 – 10, 10 being high (I have had students say ’20′ on this scale), 4-6 being moderate and 1-3 being low.
2. Next rate your happiness level on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the highest and 1 being the lowest. If you don’t have a feeling of your happiness level, then rate your current level of contentment with your life and present state (how you feel here and now)
3. Take another deep breath and repeat this mantra: “For me all things are permissible but not all things are beneficial and I WILL NOT BE MASTERED BY ANYTHING!
4. Take 3 harmonizing breaths, do swaying swaying tree 10-20 times.
5. Do either the 5 Organ/Element Set or the 5 Centering Set (generally 3-12 repetitions of each exercise based on your current health state)
6. Do some more swaying tree to cool down, take 1-3 harmonizing breaths and recheck in with your current state.
7. Rate your stress level now and compare to earlier state and do the same with your happiness state.

The norm for this little amount of low impact aerobic exercise (qi gung/chi gung) is to have stress levels go from high to none (0) and for the feelings of happiness, inner serenity and contentment go from the low spectrum to the high.

Take the challenge yourself and comment back. You can get the two recommended sets in either a dvd or download format. Avoid doing too much, too fast or too soon based on your situation. Invest in yourself and you will find you can be more productive, happy and able to serve those you love and enjoy more everything you do!

The word ‘meditation’ means to ‘be in the middle’. Another word that is often used is the term, ‘centered’ and a person who is centered can be said to “be in the zone’.

People do many things to clear their mind, gain new perspectives from different vantage points, reset their thinking patterns or “check out” for awhile. Growing up in the Midwest, I used to wonder how a women of the area could sit around knitting all day, or weaving quilts, canning, baking, or sit in a Church reciting a prayer book for hours on end, essentially meditating on the verses, letting them flow through their being and then, later, at lunch or dinner, share some insights that everyone could contemplate. Looking back at that time, it is clear that this was their form of retreating from the challenges of the world, re-establishing their values and then jumping back in.

One of the things people tend to neglect though was getting enough exercise – taking long walks in the country was great when the weather permitted but that wasn’t always available. A great low impact aerobic exercise like Tai Chi or Qi Gung would have been great for all family members to share in and away for everyone to regain their center.

Tai Chi is considered “moving meditation” because as soon as you aren’t present, your mind drifts, you hold your breath, your mental tension stiffens your body – you lose your balance, your center, and you are reminded to be here, now, in this moment.

Here are a few tools to use regardless of what you do to center yourself:

1. Affirm that you are “letting go” for awhile. You might do something like this.
Take a deep breath and as you breathe out say, “I’m relaxing and letting go of my ego. I am connecting to the energy within and around me and I ask (God, the Spirit, my higher self, my guides) to give me new insight into the changing situations swirling around me.”

2. As you start whatever form you choose to use, remember to “relax and sink”. Periodically take a deep breath and let it lift
you up high as you breathe in and connect you to the earth as you breath out.

3. If you are doing movement as your meditation, periodically stretch up and out, roll your shoulders, bend your waist or squat. Stay within the comforts of your body and ability.

4. Remind yourself that you are here, the time is now and you are this moment, this action, this breath, this willful conscious intentional choice. As you do this more often, you will gain a broader perspective of your life, your energy and what you are painting on the canvas of forever.

5. As a fun video meditation/perspective, Google, “The Pale Blue Dot” featuring Carl Sagan’s commentary. It puts the Earth, time, space and your challenges all into a bigger perspective.

6. And when you are ready to try Tai Chi as a moving meditation, download any of the online Tai Chi video courses that jump out or speak to you – you will be drawn to what resonates with you.

Enjoy the journey and bliss of centering with movement, meditation and breath.

One of the key components of the program is that exercise may be uncomfortable but it should never be painful and if it is painful then you are doing too much. Another key component that differentiates it from traditional programs is that you let your breath do the work for you. I have had numerous physical and occupational therapists wonder why they didn’t learn this technique in their vast array of training. It is both common sense and it doesn’t promote muscle tearing or injury. It is one of the best techniques when dealing with opening the space anywhere in the spine and especially in the neck region where compressed vertebrae can cause tingling in the arms and hands and make raising one’s arm above shoulder level near impossible. I have one student who is 82 and after being in a car accident where his rotator cuff was torn, the surgeon and therapist told him his goal would be to eventually raise his arm to shoulder height. He can now, after doing the S.T.A.R. Program daily, raise his arm well above his head. “It’s amazing”, he says while enjoying an ROM he thought he might have lost forever.

Another common effect is that arthritis pain often goes away with the increase in circulation, oxygenation and nervous system enhancement. I am always amazed by how many people are in pain and they DON’T NEED TO BE! I am also amazed by how amazed they are when they are pain free after doing some of these basic exercises. It goes to show how we tend to look ‘out there’ for answers rather than ‘looking with’. The S.T.A.R. Program can help to wean people off a variety of medications (you should only do this under a Doctors care) and revitalize one’s life, level of energy and spirit for living and serving.

Studies have shown that people who live vitally into their 90′s and 100′s have some simple common attributes:

• They eat a diet low in fat, high in fiber, fish oils and consume at least 60 or more ounces of water a day
• They have a good social network where they feel they contribute, are appreciated and loved
• They maintain a healthy sense of humor about the challenges they face
• They exercise daily to keep their system flexible and fluid
• They have a strong sense of a spiritual connection to something beyond themselves and that connects them to all of life

You may have other values that you can insert in this list but if you would like to increase your ROM and your awareness of how a great program can impact your overall quality of life, then I encourage you to order the S.T.A.R. Program today. Learn it, do aspects of it daily and encourage others to do the same. Your vitality, energy and spirit will love you for it!

Damo, an Indian Prince, brought the yoga style exercises to the Shaolin Temple in 500AD and used them to help the monks develop a body mind discipline that would help them transcend their harsh and challenging environment. When you study 18 Hands of Lohan, you can see a variety of sets that have been handed down from that point in time and space and you can see some poses that are very distinctively Yoga core postures.

The Sun Salutation, one of Yoga’s most popular and recognized sets, is a “moving meditation” and may have been the inspiration for moving from the original static postures that were the basis for Tai Chi into it’s flowing movements and graceful exercises utilizing muscle, tendon, ligament, bone and all the body system’s in harmony , synced with the mind.

If you would like to explore the connection between Tai Chi and Yoga, I recommend starting with the 5 Centering Set or the 8 Verses of Brocade – 2 great sets that are easy to learn and the yoga – tai chi posture connection with the added flow can be easily seen and experienced.

Whether you are currently doing yoga, tai chi sets or other fitness regimes, these sets will add to your appreciation, awareness and understanding of the connection we all share within the magic of movement and breath.

First step: Do your best!

Second step: Help others!

Third step: Have fun!

Each of these steps build momentum from each other and work synergistically.

Step one is the easiest concept but the hardest to practice. Doing your best! Discipline is the core of being the best you can be. Knowing your goals will help keep you focused. Practicing your techniques helps make them a part of your instinctual behavior. Persevere through the difficult and challenging times on your journey of self- discovery and physical development.

Step two: Help others! We should all remember the golden rule “Treat others as you would have them treat you.” In order to do that we must remain open to hear challenges. Stay respectful of the way others do things but help show and share infinite possibilities. Understand that others are responsible for their own thoughts, feelings, and actions; everybody must be loyal to themselves.

Finally, always remember to have fun on this wonderful journey called life. The most effective way to do that is to make sure what we do is as safe as nature can permit. Activities should be invigorating, challenging, and help test your limits. Once the effort is put forth one should feel uplifted, more alert, and centered.

By following this basic guide you should have a clearer sense of direction.

Hopefully, this will assist you as you continue to expand your knowledge.

Before he knew it, there was a right arm coming through the driver side window grabbing his left shoulder along with the words, “You son of a ……”!

Mark’s adrenaline kicked into high gear along with his training and he instinctively grabbed the guy’s wrist, leaned away, twisted and pulled down trying to pop the aggressors elbow down on to the door sill. (variation of play guitar) The attacker realizing what was happening jerked away with so much force that he went flying back and fell onto the asphalt.

Mark quickly got out of his car and as he faced his assailant he realized the surface had very recently been washed down and was a bit slippery. The guy got up and came at Mark grabbing at him with both hands. Mark brought up his hands in front of him while simultaneously delivering a front snap kick to his opponents l groin. His opponent buckled forward but in throwing the kick, Mark also slipped and fell forward himself. With his assailants face directly to his right, he drove a side elbow into his mouth knocking him back into the building where he crumpled down onto the ground.

The girl inside was visibly shaken up and shouted, “I called the police. They are on their way!” Mark thought, “Oh great, just what i need…..”

The police arrived quickly and went first to the assailant who was still seated on the ground. they then came to Mark and said, “We’re going to have to arrest you for assault. He wants to press charges.”

Mark retorted, “Hey! I was the one who got attacked! Did you ask the girl inside what happened?”

“Stay here.” one officer replied “while I check it out.”

He came back after speaking to the girl and asked Mark, “Sorry sir. Do you want to press charges against him?”

“No, I just want to get back to my studies. But you might want to tell him to not be a jerk next time.”

Mark returned to his car and left. When he told me the story at his next class I told him he was lucky and if the rookie officers had known the law better or had called for a supervisor then he and the other guy probably would have gotten cited for public disorder or mutual combat. “How do you figure that?” he replied.

“When you flipped off the guy behind you, that was a provocative gesture and the law explicitly states that “you cannot claim self defence if you provoked the other’s use of force unless you clearly communicate your intention to withdraw and they nevertheless continue the assault. You literally threw away your self defence rights in regards to averting a disorderly conduct/mutual combat charge. You just got lucky with the officer’s onsite. It would have been better to ignore him and just let him vent rather than adding fuel to the fire, but it was a great lesson and luckily it didn’t turn out to be an expensive one. It just reiterates how important it is to learn the rules of the game i.e the laws regarding justifying the use of force, self defence etc. and NOT just martial skills. So be sure to keep building your knowledge along with your power by reading up on these areas in the recommended reading guides. Now let’s get back to work on these new techniques!”

After driving across the border, they spent the day in outdoor bazaars, little shops and finally stopped at a local bar to enjoy the cerveza (beer). Shortly thereafter, Dave said to his friends, “I’m going to go get the van, get it cooled down (it was 112 degrees in the shade) so meet me out front in about 5-10 minutes.”

He left the bar and walked a short ways up the street where he could see the van along with a “local” kneeling down by one of tires. He yelled out, “Hey! What are you doing?” The guy stood up, a startled expression on his face, and took off running down an alley. Dave followed him with his eyes and then he felt something to his right. As he started to turn, a large six foot plus local was coming from his side and shoving him with both arms toward the wall to his left.

Dave twisted to his right while bringing up his right arm and catching his aggressors right arm and pulling him into the same wall destined for him while using his left hand now to assist. The momentum of the push along with Dave’s evasion and pull was enough to slam him head first so hard into the brick wall that he went unconscious. (Great example of “rollback” and “when they push you pull”) As he involuntarily bounced off the wall, Dave slid his left hand down to the right wrist and reversed the grab to a wrist throw directing him to the ground where he lay out cold.

Dave said, “I could feel something snap in his wrist but i wasn’t sure if it was a break since sometimes when we work wrist throws the bones will make that cracking noise but are just going into place or out of place.” As he turned to survey the area, there was a third attacker, lunging at him from his left with a big right hand. He evaded left, parrying the hand and delivered a high right palm hand (like high pat on horse in tai chi) to his forehead. His forward momentum was such that his feet left the ground and he carreened unconscious to the ground. (Dave reported later that things seemed to go really slow and that he saw three different choices of targets before deciding on the forehead – the extra adrenaline that goes to the eyes creates that effect)

The third man was nowhere to be seen. Dave got in the van, went back to the bar, picked up his friends and as they were leaving his friends remarked, “Who are those guys laying down up there in the street?”. Dave replied, “This is Mexico, people sleep everywhere.” He said at the time he didn’t want to freak them out but as they got to the border, he reported the incident to the border guards. They had him come in, fill out a report and explain the situation while they contacted the local police who went to search the area.

The border guards had him recreate and show them the techniques he had used and they were quite impressed. “They had me show them about six or seven times what I did. But we had quite abit of time.” Three hours went by while they waited to hear back from the local police who were also checking hospitals. One of the border guards asked Dave, “Were you wearing a fanny pack?” “I was”, he replied. “The border guard went on, “It’s a common technique down here for one guy to distract you, another shoves you into something and a third runs up, unsnaps the pack and off they all go.” Dave responded, “You know, it would be nice if you would tell us that kind of stuff when we are crossing over!”

The call finally came after another half hour went by. The local police had found no one. The border guard released Dave while his friends had sat and waited. Right before he left, one of the guards said, “Let me give you some advice. if something like that ever happens again, just get back across the border cause there is nothing they can do once you are across. If they had found those guys, you could have been here alot longer depending on how they felt they wanted to handle it and who your attackers were and what they said. Why did you even report it?” Dave replied, “I didn’t think it was safe to hang around but if they needed medical attention, I didn’t want to leave them there. I thought you would be the best ones to notify since the border was so close.”

The guard responded, “They got what they deserved and you just needed to get the hell out of Dodge as we say in bad situations. Good luck and drive safe back to Phoenix.”

When Dave told me the story, he asked, “What do you think would have been best?’ “That’s a great question,” I responded. “and it is a gray zone that I would like to discuss in the next instructors class so let’s share it with them and apply some principles like “cost versus gain”, “legal intent”, “personal intent”, “battlefield ethics or ethics relating to the situation” and any other ideas we come up with.”

In the gray zone there aren’t always clear cut answers. That is why we have legislators, judges, juries, prosecutors, defense attorneys and police. At each level are human beings making judgments and decisions. The legal system is designed to be adversarial while it moves people through an evidential process that in the end will hopefully be utilitarian or good for the society.

Musashi Thomas was a stoic individual who epitomized the Chinese martial adage that “a warrior is known not by how much he can give but how much he can take.”

In sparring classes, he could stand toe to toe with the hardest hitters and not be unbalanced emotionally; a great skill that often takes many martial artists quite a while to cultivate. In the Shaolin Arts, there is also the concept that one should build one’s energy field to the point that most blows cannot disrupt one’s center or stir one’s fear which tends to escalate situations rather than defusing them. Thus it came as no surprise to me when Thomas came in one Thursday evening with a story that captured all the above ideas.

He had stopped by a local bar after he had gotten off work. Thomas was a salesman so he tended to explore new places and he used it for networking opportunities. Sitting at the bar, talking with the bartender, an attractive young woman sat down next to him and joined in the conversation. Now, Thomas is a charming guy and before much time had passed, this young woman was leaning in, touching him gently, laughing and talking about anything and everything. WHAM!

Thomas shrugged off the blow that had struck him in the backside of his head and turned to face where the blow had come. “Don’t be whispering in my wife’s ear!” Came the tart words from the medium built guy standing inn front of him. “Thomas looked into his eyes, laughed and said, “If you can’t hit any harder then that, you better not go around hitting people and for your information, she was flirting with me!” The young man’s eyes got big and he turned and left.

Thomas turned to the woman, laughed and said, “Thanks a lot!” He then proceeded, before she could even respond (she was still in a state of shock), got up and left. “I didn’t want to stick around and see if he was going to come back in with a weapon and I wanted to be proactive but when I went outside he was nowhere to be seen.” “I also didn’t feel any pressure or threat from him which is why I didn’t thump on him. I’ve been hit a lot harder in sparring and those guys wear padded gloves!”

“That’s a great story!” I responded. It captures a few great martial principles: “The more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in combat”. “Don’t take things personally.” “Distinguish between cost and gain on all levels.” “I am really proud of how you handled the situation”.

He learned a valuable lesson without having to get beaten up, his wife maybe gained some insight into her relationship and situation and you exemplified composure under fire – it’s one thing to utilize it in the ring and yet it can be completely different in the battlefield outside the dojo.” “I’m sure a lot of people will gain some valuable insights from your experience!”