HI,

I been reading the messages on this forum for a while now, but today I felt I had to share this with you!
(it starts out a bit boring but keep reading it! If you can't be bothered then skip to the conclusions)

quoted from:
http://www.reachouttrust.org/regulars/news/news40.htm

"News

Tai Chi instead of School Assembly

It has been reported from a number of areas of the country that Primary Schools are taking part in a pilot scheme to allow Tai Chi lessons to take place in schools at the beginning of the day.

Although schools by law must have a collective act of worship it is hard to see how they will fit everything in and something must give way.

The idea comes from toy company Bandai who are the force behind "Power Rangers".

If this comes to your school please be aware of the following concerning Tai Chi.

ORIGINS


According to Chinese legend Tai chi or to give it its full title Tai-chi Chuan can be traced back to the 11th century and Chang San-feng. Chang was a deep Taoist thinker and therefore it is no wonder that Tai chi is rooted, as he was, in Taoism. Over the centuries, further developments have taken place and today millions of Chinese practise it in parks and other open spaces.


BASIC PRINCIPLES


Tai Chi is a soft martial art where the aim is to tune into the 'ch'i' energy. Overall Tai Chi is physically non-violent but is designed to produce a self-defence mechanism so that one's inner responses are controlled and the outer movements are evasive and defensive when necessary. The concept of yielding to opposition is emphasised in order to overthrow the momentum of the opponent.


Tai Chi is a Chinese mystical meditation or mind-control technique requiring complete concentration and an empty mind. It incorporates physical movement in slow motion and rhythmical breathing. Certain sequences are learnt and the performance or display is highly disciplined. Tai Chi is considered the way to achieve perfect health and immortality if practised enough. There is encouragement therefore, to practice regularly and frequently.


OUTWORKING


The Tai Chi technique is based on the channelling of hidden energies and focuses on the area of the reproductive organs as the bodily centre.


There is emphasis on sexuality and a promise of increased fertility. In order to bring about a more complete experience it is complemented with sedentary meditation.


Tai Chi is based on the philosophy of Yin and Yang, the balance of opposites and claims to bring about not only the harmony of the body, mind, and spirit but also and harmony with the forces of nature.


The body is said to have an intrinsic energy, ch'i, which can be developed by special techniques. Faith in this ch'i soon comes to those who participate. To the onlooker Tai Chi looks like a spiritual dance but to the practitioner it is viewed as a way of understanding the inner nature. However, it is obvious from its roots that the understanding that results is of the Tao philosophy and religion.


Tai Chi is designed to integrate the personality with the spirit by alignments of energies and the opening up of what are seen as higher faculties. It purports to be a process towards peace, healing and eventual enlightenment.


Tai Chi might be represented by its full name, Tai Chi Chuan, or it might be represented by descriptions such as relaxation technique, stress management activity, focusing exercise, the means to empower yourself, self-awareness method. There are also on offer Tai Chi-type exercises. In most cases the full description and definition of Tai Chi is not given and the impression is one of a slow motion keep fit exercise. There is no such thing as a diluted version of Tai Chi, nor are warnings given as to the effects, which Tai Chi can have.


Tai Chi works on opening the psychic centres of the body and is designed to bring about a passionless state. There are said to be a number of psychic centres called 'chakras' through which the hidden energies and spiritual forces are channelled. This in turn affects the subconscious, the part of the mind we know least about, and the practising of the exercises can root out psychological aspects of ourselves in a disturbing way.


This disturbance usually happens in uncontrolled conditions and can produce emotional upsets, hysteria, hostility and the like. The practising of the exercises brings about a change of personality in the form of an emotional detachment. This is the result of what is known as an altered state of consciousness. Sometimes a glazed look in the eye or dilated pupils result.


The practitioner can be vulnerable to effects such as initial elation followed by symptoms or ailments varying in intensity in each individual such as unhappiness, panic, moodiness, depression (mild or serious), nervous breakdown, suicidal tendencies, oppression and in some cases demonic possession. It can also bring about a cycle of cause and effect in that the more depressed one becomes the more one practises it in the hope that it will lift the depression. Once in the cycle, the practitioner's reasoning will be disoriented so that the depression is not attributed to the Tai Chi, rather to the insufficient practice of it.


Various physical ailments can manifest themselves also, sometimes of the kind, which the person has not experienced before, or more intense versions of familiar ailments. This is born out by the following testimony, which is the summary of a letter, held on file at Reachout Trust.


Gradually the Tai Chi took over and some exercises made me feel very odd, Chi Kung exercises. I saw others also having bad experiences and feeling ill. It seemed to have power but the teacher always got us to carry on. It was not making me better in hindsight in fact after a year it took over my life. I stopped seeing friends, was very inward and moody, not sociable, felt very anxious, lost touch with reality, addicted to feeling Chi, even though it made me feel odd, and put me into a trance state. I did not know what was doing me good, I thought it was just my illness so I gradually did more practice because I thought that was why I was feeling ill. This was a viscous circle and I gradually self-destructed.


The teacher told me to carry on but I was vulnerable and at the same time, I was critical of Christians. While meditating, I had throbbings in my spine and a ball of Chi shot up spine. I got totally possessed by Chi or kundalini as it is called. I totally opened myself up and could not close down. The teacher simply kept telling me to carry on but after many telephone calls he did not want to know me any more. I was very scared and burning all over all day. I could not sleep and became very ill, my body and mind went haywire.


I was not given the help I needed even though I went to a Chinese Doctor for acupuncture. Then I realised what I had done and went to Church for over a year. I was baptised and had deliverance. - PS, Leics.


CONCLUSIONS


1. Tai Chi like so many of these practices is an integral exercise in that it is not possible to separate the physical movements from the psychological and spiritual elements, nor is there any intention to do so.


2. Whereas the outward motivation for being involved might be relaxation or relief from stress, the practitioner is steered away from Christianity and becomes bound to the inherent spirituality of Taoism; the world of the impersonal force that seeks to control our lives.


3. There is no question that this force does not come from God and that participating in Tai Chi is requesting the power of a hidden occult force to be involved in one's life. The effects as such can be similar to playing with a ouija board or taking part in a seance, with all the inherent dangers of these occultic practices."

I make no comment about this article or the organisation behind it in anyway I just thought people may like to read it.
lol!!!