ARTICLES                     

Qigong

GRID OF HISTORY:

Qigong is as old as Ayurveda. It is one of the approaches employed in treating disease in Traditional Chinese Medicine. It can be traced back to the time of Huang di, the Yellow Emperor who is said to have obtained knowledge through contact with the dead. For two thousand years BC this information was passed down by word of mouth. Around 200 BC the texts were compiled in the - Huang di Nei Jing. Spirits, rather than man controlled the affairs of man during this time. It is rooted in Taoist philosophy which traditionally was associated with secret societies, magic and divination.
 

GRID OF FAITH: (Encyclopaedia Britannica - volume 21, page 680)

"While the philosophy of Taoism was unfolding, a religious current in progress as old as time immemorial was developed by priest-magicians who offered divination and magic as a means to inward power."
Man was said to be in the image of the universe, and 'Qi' was the life force energy that pervaded everything in the universe. This energy was responsible for health and vitality. It moved through the body through channels or meridians that have a network of connections between the body surface and the internal organs. A disruption of this Qi energy or a blockage of its free flow is the cause of disease.
It considers the universe as the macrocosm and man the microcosm, so accordingly, the human body represents the macrocosm and the individual organs the microcosm that can manifest the whole body. By employing this reasoning, various medical practices such as iridology - examining the eye, reflexology - examining the feet, etc developed to evaluate the condition or the sickness to be treated. One of the chief methods engaged for the treatment of disease was qigong.


EVALUATING THROUGH THE WHOLISTIC GRID:

Qigong attempts to balance 'qi energy' through an inner force using techniques in mental and breathing exercises.

Qigong can be practiced in the following two ways:
By an individual who has learnt the art of deep breathing and relaxation to balance his own qi energy
By a qigong master who has built up reserves of qi energy so as to treat others with it.

Some of the success stories published are of a 36 year old man who suffered a fractured skull and spine and was able to walk after 2 months of undergoing treatment from a qigong master who was 10 miles away.
Another one is that of a 21 year old lung cancer patient who was cured by practicing a form of walking (guo lin gong fa) for 10 -14 hours a day.


EVALUATING FROM THE GRID OF SCIENCE:

Qigong along with all its other counterparts practiced in Taoist philosophy are based on religion and not on science. Hence the need to validate these practices scientifically did not arise in China as they were presumed trustworthy.

Under the scrutiny of the grid of science, it has been demonstrated that the breathing techniques of qigong made a definite contribution in the increase of oxygenation in body tissues and it was relaxing. However it has been observed that once the practices are terminated the patients slip back to their former states.

In the physic realm - it has been documented that there are significant changes in the brain waves of the qigong master when he is in the 'qigong state'.

In laboratory testing - emitted 'qi' on rats had their heart rates and induced cancer growths slowed down. In agricultural experiments the germination of rice and wheat seeds responded according to the corresponding increase or decrease of emitted qi energy on the grains.


EVALUATING THROUGH THE SPIRITUAL GRID:

As already mentioned in the Grid of history, Taoism with all its accompanying practices have their roots in the occult. It has been verified that a patient was healed receiving qi energy that was transmitted to him by a qigong master who was 1200 miles away.

In China where qigong is most practiced, qigong masters are known to eventually succumb to various mental disorders, schizophrenia, and neurosis. So wide spread it is among qigong masters, that in China they have termed their condition as 'Qigong deviation syndrome'.

Taoism proclaims to be 'The Way'. In John 14:6 - Jesus said that He was the way and the truth and the life. And in John 3:6 we have the assurance that who ever believes in Him will not be condemned.