Chi (Qi) Energy Expercises, Tai Chi, Qigong

More than 20 years ago I was working full time, living in a rural area of Ohio, and trying to learn yoga on my own.  I was purchasing DVD's to learn, but hadn't found "just the right one".  One day I ordered a DVD on line, but what I received was the Discovering Chi DVD.  I had heard about tai chi, but not about qigong.  Ordering online and shipping was a big hassle back then, so I kept it.  And I loved it.  I fell into the practice so naturally.  I had never experienced the kind of bliss you get from doing qi (chi) energy exercise.

Then came my China experience, and I learned qi healing, qigong and tai chi, and disovered jade and its qi energy.  But my basic routine continued to be, and still is, this form. This is a form you can learn, and continue to do without getting formal training.

Each episode of Discovering Chi introduces viewers to a facet of the ancient Chinese art of chi-gong, a form of exercise designed to regulate and focus the flow of chi energy through their bodies. In this particular episode, viewers discover how chi concepts can help the very old and very young, and learn the basic exercises of the discipline. Instructor Linda Modaro leads viewers

Discovering Chi Energy Exercises only $5 on Ying Yu Jade

Cleansing and Blessing a Home or Room with Sage Smudging

We moved into our new home about three weeks ago. It took almost two weeks to unpack boxes, find new places for things, get settled.  I was happy to have a new home, and actually be able to live in it, but I didn't feel "at home".   I think the process of moving out and going through all our belongings, donating or discarding what we didn't use or want to keep any more helped with my "attachment" issues.  Attachment is one of the of the causes of suffering in Buddhist teachings, and although I'm not Buddhist, the teachings have been very helpful to me.

After two weeks on a morning when my husband left early to golf with his group, I decided it was time to sage smudge the home.  I had purchased three 6" sage smudging sticks.  It's sage leafs tied together but not too tightly so that when you light the end with fire, the stick will smolder.

I didn't have a plan of how I would proceed.  I started in my home office, my most personal room.  The classic Reiki symbol came to mind, and I made the symbol with the smoldering sage in each corner, and verbally stated my hopes and wishes for the room and each corner.  Then I continued to all the other rooms, with the same blessing.  I was feeling quite blissful when I finished, and went through some spaces that are challenging to me, like the kitchen, my office and repeated with extra blessing.  I left the windows closed, and sat and meditated for awhile.  Then I went out to shop for home window treatments for an hour.

When I returned home, there was surprisingly no odor or smoke from the smudging.

I didn't mention the smudging blessing to my husband.  But later in the evening, he mentioned that this house was really feeling like a home to him and we both agreed that we were happy with our decision to have the old home torn down and a new one built after the storm damage.  It's been easier and more intuitive now to finish the little details in each room.

I learned about sage smudging at a Wicca retreat I accidently wandered into about 30 years ago.  I didn't even know what Wicca was, but it opened a new world to me.  My work as a psychologist and counselor opened my spirit more, and I was able to combine my cognitive-behavior techniques with more humanity and spirituality.  I have saged homes for other people, and taught them to do it themselves.   And I have some sage sticks saved for blessing the exterior: the porch, lanai, carport, storage shed when they are finished.