insanity from qigong

[taai gihk yahn]

I don't have any experience with "qigong insanity" directly, though I would say that there is a significant percentage of "new age" types that are attracted to qigong that seem to come already bundled with lots of personal issues. This applies to both Chinese and Western students.

absolutely - many in the "alternative" or "new age" sphere are contrarian or fringe types to begin with, the other big group are people who have lived norma lives but have been "let down", "burned out" etc by that path and want to reinvent themselves; in general, they all go for the "bells and whistles' aspect; I would note that I include myself in this, as I was a "seeker" for many years looking for extraordinary experiences; indeed, I had a few; but, for whatever reason, that never seemed quite right either...I'd like to think that I came away from all that and now have an understanding about life as such - probably reading Krishnamurti was one very helpful stepping stone on that path; dealing with other people of like-minded disposition seems to have been of help as well;

what it boils down to, is that people want an audience; some just want a bigger one than others; of course, nothing wrong with having an audience, but some people are attached to it (as are the audience members attached to being the audience); I suppose that the trick is doing your thing without regard for the audience, if it comes, that's fine (I think Krishnamurti was like that); but many (most?) so-called "spiritual" teachers I find need the audience with a vengeance...

There is a general misunderstanding about meditation.

All it is, is a method of training, or exercising the mind. That is, using it in unfamiliar ways. There is nothing inherently special about it. Learning to use your mind more efficiently is just as valuable as learning to use your body more efficiently.

People go crazy because they are crazy to begin with.

yup; and when you couple the sort of autonomic nervous system experiences that go along with meditation and the like, you have people thinking that they have tapped into something magical, extraordinary, something "other"; they swear up and down that this experience validates their metaphysics; what's worse, is people who claim that their experiences are unique, based, for example, on cultural conditionality - so the qigong dilettantes claim that a given set of experiences is possible ONLY via qigong practice; of curse, if they conceded that in fact it wasn't than not only are they no longer special, they might have to concede that all the complex machinations that they go through, all their rules, caveats, warnings, etc. are not even necessary

I believe some people "go crazy" from meditation because they simply don't follow the instructions. They start to feel or experience something, get excited about it, and start trying to recreate it or strengthen it. At the same time they build up delusory ideation around the experience.

Most important things in meditation training: lengthen attention span, reduce the yappy ego, reduce attachment.

Least important things: experiencing energy flows, sensations of being charged with power, all that.

yes; again, this is all "normal" autonomic activity - although it may not be that common! And because this is the case, people think it comes from "outside" or whatever;

and while the borderline personality types may be more susceptible to strange ideas than others there is a not insignificant number of "normals" who get caught up in the hype as well;

the funny thing, when you try to explain it using contemporary anatomical / physiological etc. concepts, you get reviled as closed minded, and reminded that "science" can't possibly begin to encompass the vast wholeness of whatever soup du jour they are potating; (of course, as soon as some "scientist" somewhere comes up w a study supporting their belief system, they runn around waving it in the air as proof of how what they do is real, lol...)

I agree.

Less fantasy, more reality.

If you believe whatever you are experiencing is magical or special in anyway you are starting out in a state of non-reality, so it's no wonder some people go off the deep end.

Scott, I think that you are very magical and special...does that mean I'm off the deep end?!