Links

To ensure that you're viewing the latest version, please click REFRESH.

Qi - The Journal of Traditional Eastern Health and Fitness

Journal of Asian Martial Arts

The International Magazine of Tai Chi (USA)

Interview with Grandmaster Feng Zhi Qiang, founder of the Hun Yuan Tai Chi system

Tai Chi Improves Knee Strength

Tai Chi Bolsters Shingles Immunity

“What the Bleep do We Know!?” – let the scientists (physicists, neurologists, anesthesiologists, physicians and molecular biologists) take you on an amazing journey of discovery!

The Spiritual Cinema Circle brings you movies such as, comedies, dramas and documentaries each month that will warm your heart, expand your mind and stir your soul.  Unfortunately, these movies are not screened in cinemas.

Radio for the Soul – you’ll be able to listen to popular authors talking about their works and teachings.  Included are authors such as, Dr Wayne Dyer, Caroline Myss, Cheryl Richardson, Dharma Singh Khalsa (M.D.), Gordon Smith, Doreen Virtue (Ph.D.), Marianne Williamson and many more.

Meditation made Effortless with the Holosync CD

Talks on Nutrition offered by Dr. Andrew Morris

Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) for the Treatment of Cancer

Jewellery and Watches of Distinction, including Yin Yang pieces

---

Suggested Reading & Links

Winnie-The-Pooh on Success : in which you, Pooh and Friends Learn about the Most Important Subject of All – Roger E. Allen and Stephen D. Allen
Do you want to be successful?  Do you want to achieve your goals?  Everyone has different ideas about success and how to be successful.  The authors of this little book will give you the tools necessary to attain your dreams.  They will help you to know your own abilities and build goals around them.  This new approach will help make your path to the top of your mountain easier and faster to follow.  Endearing and informative!

The Journey – Brandon Bays
This is a story of courage, insight and self-healing.  Despite doing everything right with good mental attitude, exercise and healthy diet, Brandon Bays was diagnosed with a football-sized tumour in her stomach.  After much soul searching, she uncovered past emotional hurts which had contributed to her condition.  Without drugs or surgery, she cured herself in six and a half weeks.  In this book, she shares her transforming techniques with the readers.
More about Brandon Bays

The Relaxation Response – Herbert Benson, M.D.
Dr. Benson, a Harvard physician, has conducted scientific research for 30 years. Dr. Benson writes about the physical benefits derived from practising relaxation techniques, such as meditation. They range from lowering blood pressure to minimising heart disease.
The "Relaxation Response" Technique

Timeless Healing : the Power and Biology of Belief – Herbert Benson, M.D.
Dr. Benson explores the junction of objective science and the mystifying power of the human spirit. He explains how affirming beliefs makes a critical contribution to our physical health. Detailing the scientific evidence, Dr. Benson shows how anyone, along with a caring physician or healer, can tap into a reservoir of remembered wellness to affect and cure up to 90% of medical complaints.

Fearless Living – Rhonda Britten
In this book, Rhonda shows you how to get off the "Wheel of Fear" and on to the "Wheel of Freedom" where one can take risks, seize opportunities and nurture self confidence. You will be shocked by Rhonda's own tragedy during her teenage years and inspired by her journey of self development. Most of all, this book is about self empowerment.
Free fearless tip of the week

The Spiritual Tourist : a personal odyssey through the outer reaches of belief – Mick Brown
This is an entertaining, informative and easy-to-read book.  In Mick Brown, you will find a blend of the healthy skepticism of a journalist and the longing of a spiritual seeker.  He went in search of the Messiah in London suburbs, travelled the ashram trail in India, met His Holiness the Dalai Lama in the foothills of the Himalayas and knelt in front of Mother Meera in Germany.  Mick fills you in on the history of well-known gurus, such as, Sai Baba, Madame Blavatsky of the Theosophical Society, Krishnamurti, etc.  He also shares his inner experiences of these encounters with the readers.  There is also a good bibliography at the end of the book.

Can't Lose Weight? You could have Syndrome X – Dr. Sandra Cabot
Whether you want to lose weight or gain better health, you will find this book informative.  If your diet is high in carbohydrates, this book is a must read!  The important relationship between the healthy functioning of the liver and weight control is explained in the book.  Traditional Chinese medicine always takes into account how liver functioning and digestion affect each other.  There are also recipes for you to follow.
Dr. Sandra Cabot’s Health Advisory Service

Tai Chi Ch’uan Ta Wen : Questions and Answers on T’ai Chi Ch’uan
– Chen Wei Ming; translated by Benjamin Lo & Robert W. Smith
In this book, Professor Chen Wei Ming writes about the instructions he learned in class as a student of Yang Cheng Fu.

Bones of the Master : a journey into secret Mongolia (biography)
– George Crane
The odd yet endearing, warm relationship between the author and the previously unknown Zen master, Tsung Tsai, will leave a lasting impression on the reader's mind. The incredible journey began with Tsung Tsai walking three thousand miles to flee from China in 1959. Almost forty years later, Tsung Tsai and his American friend, George Crane, went back to his hometown with a mission in mind. Crane writes with sincerity, without political or moral overtone. A beautifully written book that reaffirms the triumph of human spirit!

Evolve Your Brain : the Science of Changing Your Mind – Joe Dispenza, D.C.
In “What the Bleep do We Know!?”, Joe Dispenza talks about how he consciously creates his day mentally each morning.  In this book, he explains how each thought affects the wiring of the brain.  If you keep thinking the same negative thoughts, chemical reactions that keep you addicted to the same patterns and feelings are created, even though these thoughts bring unhappiness and discomfort.  Joe describes the brain functions which show that neural circuits can be rewired at any time.  He also shows you how to use the brain for your happiness and well being.  What and where you focus your attention is the key.  Only you have the power to change your mind!
Joe Dispenza's site

Encounters with Qi – David Eisenberg, M.D., with Thomas Lee Wright
David Eisenberg was the first U.S. medical exchange student to the People’s Republic of China. He has continued to investigate Chinese medicine as a clinical research fellow at the Harvard Medical School and in collaboration with Chinese medical authorities. This fascinating, easy-to-read book is for anyone who ever wanted to know how - and if – acupuncture and herbal remedies actually work effectively as medical treatments. Taking a forthright look at Qi [chi], the "vital force" of Chinese medicine, an American doctor probes the mysteries of ancient Chinese skills with both a healthy scepticism and an open-mindedness that make for invigorating reading.

The Hidden Messages in Water – Masaru Emoto
Dr. Emoto’s work on our interconnection with water became more widely known with the release of the movie, “What the Bleep do We Know!?”.  His realisation of the fact – “No two snow crystals are exactly the same” – inspired him to begin his research on water crystals.  His high speed photography of water crystals demonstrates that molecules of water are affected by our thoughts, words and feelings.  The book is full of photographs of beautiful water crystals which have been affected by music and words of love and gratitude.  There are also photographs of water which has been subject to negative words.
View a water crystal

Authentic Yang Family Tai Chi – Grandmaster Fu Sheng Yuan
ISBN 0 646 23258 4. PO Box 657, Victoria Park WA 6100, Australia
For the first time in English, Grandmaster Fu Sheng Yuan, fifth generation authority of the Yang Style Tai Chi, offers his experience and insight on the training methods of his family’s art. Following in his famous father, Fu Zhong Wen’s footsteps, Grandmaster Fu Sheng Yuan started his training at the age of nine. This book contains invaluable information on the training methods of Yang Style Tai Chi. With over 500 photographs, the essence of the entire 85 form is captured on record. Each photo is accompanied by detailed instructions, making this volume a priceless addition to your library.
History of Yang Style Tai Chi

Mastering Yang Style Taijiquan – Fu Zhongwen; translated by Louis Swaim
Fu Zhong Wen, father of Grandmaster Fu Sheng Yuan, was one of the most well known and respected tuti (disciples) of Yang Cheng Fu. This book consists of drawings and detailed instructions of the Yang Style Tai Chi form. It also contains new translations of some of the Tai Chi classics. There are succinct descriptions of Fixed Step, Moving Step Push Hands and Da Lu. This book is recommended for advanced Tai Chi students.
Interview with Louis Swaim

Finding Serenity in the Age of Anxiety – Robert Gerzon
For the millions who think that feeling "stressed out" is an unavoidable fact of life, here is a groundbreaking approach for finding true serenity in this age of anxiety. We find serenity when anxiety works for us instead of against us. In a brilliant analysis, Gerzon unravels three distinct strands from anxiety’s tangled knot and then shows us how to respond to each effectively: toxic anxiety, natural anxiety and sacred anxiety.
Conscious and Creative Living - Robert Gerzon

Emotional Intelligence : Why It Can Matter More Than IQ – Daniel Goleman
Drawing on groundbreaking brain and behavioural research, Goleman shows the factors at work when people of high IQ flounder and those of modest IQ do surprisingly well. These factors add up to a different way of being smart – one he terms "emotional intelligence". Emotional intelligence includes self awareness and impulse control, persistence, zeal and self motivation, empathy and social deftness. These are the qualities that mark people who excel in real life: whose intimate relationships flourish, who are stars in the workplace. These are also the hallmarks of character and self discipline, of altruism and compassion – basic capacities needed if our society is to thrive.
Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations

Mind Body Medicine : How to Use your Mind for Better Health
– edited by Daniel Goleman and Joel Gurin
written by leading international authorities
This book discusses the connection between stress and disease, examines such mind/body approaches as biofeedback, hypnosis, meditation and psychotherapy, and explores the mind’s role in pain, heart disease, cancer, the immune system, diabetes, skin problems, arthritis, asthma, gastrointestinal disease and infertility.
Interview with Daniel Goleman

The Tao of Pooh – Benjamin Hoff
A book that explains the principles of Taoism through Winnie-the-Pooh, and explains Winnie-the-Pooh through the principles of Taoism.

“While Eeyore frets … and Piglet hesitates … and Owl pontificates … Pooh just is.”

The Te of Piglet – Benjamin Hoff
"The Te of Piglet" is the sequel to "The Tao of Pooh". Benjamin Hoff introduces more traditional Taoist stories through dialogues between himself and some of the charming characters from the Pooh books, such as Pooh, Eeyore, Owl, Kanga, Baby Roo and of course, Piglet himself. A delightful read for those who enjoyed "The Tao of Pooh"!

Roots of Wisdom – Hong Yingming
edited and illustrated by Tsai Chih Chung; translated by Koh Kok Kiang
Tsai Chih Chung is a pioneer in the art of visualising Chinese literature and philosophy by way of comics. Comics are not only fun and entertaining, they can also be a form of satire. They make classical literature and philosophy available to us in a light-hearted manner.

The "Roots of Wisdom" advocates a life of simplicity, goodness, quiet joy and harmony with one’s fellow beings and the world at large. Hence, it has a great relevance to our modern and rapidly changing society.

Uncovering the Wisdom of the Heartmind : "Shaking Down Seed" and Other Stories of Ordinary Goodness – Lin Jensen
These simple tales speak straight to the heart – an intuitive knowing which transcends intellectual understanding.  Some of these events are so simple that one would easily have not taken notice, if not for Jensen’s skilful and beautiful writing.  In these stories, readers will uncover qualities and wisdom in simple everyday acts that make us human.

Loving What Is : Four Questions that Can Change Your Life (book and CD set) – Byron Katie
Byron Katie was a business woman and a mother of three before she began feeling the blues.  She suffered depression for almost a decade, until she experienced a life-changing realisation one morning lying on the floor in a halfway house in 1986.  From this “waking up to reality” experience, the Work (which is a method of self inquiry) was born.  By asking four simple questions to shake up the false beliefs, you stop tormenting yourself continuously with bad thinking.  Once these beliefs are seen for what they are, you don’t have to try to let go of them, rather “the thoughts let go of you”, as Katie herself said.  Suffering becomes optional.  You rediscover the freedom and joy within one.
Who is Byron Katie?

Flowers in Winter : Defeating Cancer - A Westerner’s Chinese Journey
– Sir William Keys
"Flowers in Winter" is the re-creation of four weeks of herbal treatment, of diet, of meditation and of "qi" – those life forces so vital to any healing process. It is an account of one man’s successful battle with a life-threatening illness; a story that uncovers some of the mysteries of an ancient culture and its customs; and above all, it is a story of determination, of poignancy, of humour and of love.

T’ai Chi Ch’uan for Health and Self-Defense – Master T.T. Liang
This book is for people who would like to find out just what Tai Chi is and why it has become so popular. It explains the philosophy behind the system of movements and the variations that are possible, once one has learnt the fundamentals

The Biology of Belief (book) – Bruce Lipton, Ph.D.
The New Biology : where Mind and Matter Meet (DVD) -- previously released under the title, "The Biology of Belief" – Highly recommended!
Biology has finally caught up with quantum physics!  Dr. Bruce Lipton states that it usually takes ten years or more for scientific findings to infiltrate the consciousness of everyday culture.  Most people, including the media, have been operating on outdated scientific assumptions, such as, the Darwinian view of the survival of the fittest, the control that genes have over an individual, etc.  The findings of Dr. Lipton’s study on cells astonished even himself.  We are not victims of genetic hereditary.  One’s perception of the environment (belief) “controls” behaviour.  It also “controls” genes and rewrites the genes to adapt when necessary.  Consciousness is more powerful than nature and nurture.  Human beings are creators of their realities – mind and matter meet!
Dr. Bruce Lipton's site
Dr. Bruce Lipton's DVDs are available in Australia

When Listening Comes Alive : A Guide to Effective Learning and Communication – Paul Madaule
Paul Madaule was born in France and suffered from a learning disability, dyslexia, as a child.  School was a nightmare.  Finally, Dr Alfred Tomatis, an ear, nose and throat specialist, discovered that Paul had a listening problem.  Dr Tomatis took Paul through his sound stimulation listening program.  This enabled Paul to finish school and he graduated in Psychology from the University of Paris-Sorbonne.  It is amazing that it was that same young dyslexic Frenchman who wrote this book in English!

In this very interesting book, Paul Madaule explains that the ear is more than a microphone.  Hearing is not the same as listening.  Listening involves the brain processing the sound and making sense of the sounds received from the ear.  According to Dr Tomatis, autism is the purest form of non-listening.  Besides messages, sound carries vital energy to the brain and nourishes the nervous system.  The ears affect how well we function, such as, balance, body movements, coordination, our energy level and sense of well being, our moods and behaviour, the expressiveness of our voice, the ease of speaking, etc.  The ears serve as a link between our inner world and the outside world, receiving messages from the body and the environment.  There are also 10 practical exercises, earobics, in the book to help you to improve your voice.

The book is available at Sound Learning Systems, 51 Learmonth Drive, Kambah ACT 2902.  Phone (02) 6231 9111.  

Follow Your Heart : finding purpose in your life and work – Andrew Matthews
Universal truths and insights are treated with humour in this book.  It is easy to read but the ten concepts offer plenty of food for thought.  The book is about doing what you love, dealing with bills and broken legs, discovering your own power, finding peace of mind, dealing with disasters and not blaming your mother.

The Field – Lynne McTaggart
The discovery by a group of frontier scientists – the Zero Point Field – is told in this book.  This energy field connects everything in the universe, an ocean of subatomic vibrations in the space between things.  The human mind and body, a packet of pulsating energy, is constantly interacting with this vast energy sea, which made many mysteries, such as spiritual healing, extra-sensory perception, the collective unconscious, possible.
More on The Field

The Intention Experiment – Lynne McTaggart
This book builds on the discovery of the energy field that connects everything in the universe as detailed in the author’s first book, “The Field”.  It shows you how to incorporate the information made available in “The Field” into your life.  Lynne McTaggart teamed up with leading scientists from University of Arizona and other renowned institutes to test the effects of focused group intention on scientifically observable targets, such as animal, plant and human.  Practical exercises are included in the book so that you individually or as a group can harness the power of intention for desired results.  Readers are reminded of the difference in focus between intention and attention.
Participate in the largest Mind over Matter Experiment in History

Organizing from the Inside Out – Julie Morgenstern
Do you wish you have more time for your practice, do the things that you enjoy, reduce the clutter in your house and office and locate the items you want easily?  Julie teaches you to work with your personality to achieve the outcomes that you desire.   Psychological obstacles, which cause people to stay disorganised, are also looked into.  Common pitfalls to avoid and the secrets of a professional organiser are highlighted throughout the chapters.  This book revolutionized the way individuals and companies think about “getting organised”.  You will experience a sense of liberation and power once you understand how simple the organising process can be!
Getting organised with Julie Morgenstern

The Divine Code of Life – Kazuo Murakami, Ph. D.
Dr. Murakami is one of the top geneticists in the world.  After a lifetime of research, he came to the conclusion that how we think can activate good dormant genes and switch off those that are negative.  The genes are more fluid than scientists had previously believed.  No cloned human beings will be identical when growing up in different environments.  This is because each environment will have its own influence on the mind.  To enrich one’s life and positively affect one’s genes, he suggests that we cultivate noble intentions, live with gratitude and think positively.

Intuitive Healing – Judith Orloff, M.D.
Dr Judith Orloff is a practising psychiatrist and an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at UCLA.  According to Dr Orloff, intuition plays a powerful role in self diagnosis, pain control, immune response, recovery from illness and healing from anxiety and depression.   In this practical and unusual book, Dr Orloff shows us five powerful tools with step-by-step guidance to enable us to get in touch with our intuitive intelligence to heal our bodies and minds
A Conversation with Dr Judith Orloff, author of "Intuitive Healing"

The Heart's Code – Paul Pearsall, Ph.D.
Is the heart merely a mechanical device that pumps over a hundred gallons of blood per hour?  Or does the heart also love, feel, think, remember, communicate, regulate immunity, store information that continually pulses through the body and have its own independent nervous system?  What does qi (internal energy) have to do with this?  Scientists still cannot fathom what triggers the beating of the heart.  All they know is that the beating is self initiated from within the heart.  In the unborn fetus, the heart starts beating before the brain has even been formed.  The author, a psychoneuroimmunologist, will take you through his own journey of re-connecting with his heart through his cancer ordeal.  One cannot help but be touched by reading this book.
Dr. Paul Pearsall's site

Wishing Well – Paul Pearsall, Ph.D.
The author presents his study of more than two thousand well wishers from around the world.  In this book, you will find the recipe for making wise wishes.  The five domains of the wish star – serenity, delight, purpose, meaning and compassion – are explained in details.  The author also expounds on the pitfalls of unwise wishing which results in turmoil, disillusionment, stagnation, despair and loneliness.  A fascinating and engaging book!

Road to Heaven : Encounters with Chinese Hermits – Bill Porter
To find out whether hermits still exist in the China of today, Bill Porter undertook an incredible and, at times, arduous journey amongst the Chungnan Mountains. Here, he discovered that this ancient form of religious asceticism does indeed continue to exist, and was able to listen to the life histories and wisdom of its practitioners. The result is a fascinating blend of eastern philosophy, Chinese current affairs and superb photographs, as well as personal observations of these isolated people who can "talk to heaven".

Zen and the Art of Happiness – Chris Prentiss
This book is simple, direct and profound.  What would life be like if you have the attitude that whatever you encounter will bring the best outcome that could occur for you?  No other event could give you a greater degree of benefit.  Chris’s own life demonstrates the amazing transformative effects of this attitude of non-resistance and joyousness.  He rose from being a liar and a thief to a real estate developer, an author and founder of an alcohol and drug rehab centre which has the highest success rate in the world. 

Chris’s interpretations of “I Ching”  (under the pseudonym, Wu Wei) are well known and allow a deeper understanding and more useful application of this ancient text.
Passages Malibu Addiction Cure Centre

Time Shifting – Stephan Rechtschaffen
Have you ever felt so rushed that you can’t even stop to think – and that you never seem to have time to do anything properly? This is because most of us are constantly speeding forward mentally to the future or thinking back over the last few minutes or hours, without really concentrating on living in the present moment. We all have the capacity to consider time itself – to step into a new awareness of time freedom. But to do this we must experience time with all the facets of our being: with our perceptions, our feelings, all our senses and our heart. "Time Shifting" shows us how this can be done – and why it is so beneficial.
Book Review

Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers : the Acclaimed Guide to Stress, Stress-Related Diseases, and Coping, 3^rd edition  – Robert M. Sapolsky
For 25 years, Dr. Robert Sapolsky divided his time between field work with baboons and neurological research in laboratory.  Not unlike humans, stressed baboons who live in large, complex social groups also suffer from high cholesterol, hardening of the arteries and high blood pressure.

In this book, Dr. Sapolsky, a professor of biology and neurology at Stanford University, explains how prolonged stress gives rise to or intensifies many physical and mental afflictions, for example, heart disease, colitis, depression, cancer, autoimmune diseases, etc.  Dr. Sapolsky illustrates the point that the classic fight-or-flight stress response – the secretion of glucocorticoids, adrenaline, etc. – is important for animals in the wild as they flee from predators.  However, in the case of humans who worry about jobs, finance, relationships, etc., the stress response is triggered and maintained over long periods of time, without necessarily any resolution.  High quantities of glucocorticoids or prolonged saturation of this steroid hormone suppress the immune system, the body’s own mechanism to fight diseases.

Practical advice on stress management is given at the end of the book.

Learned Optimism – Martin Seligman, Ph.D.
Martin Seligman will help you to find a more positive approach to life's challenges and uncertainties. We can learn how to overcome our sense of helplessness in the face of defeat and misfortune. Test your own optimism by answering the questions in the quiz.

Tao : the Watercourse Way – Alan Watts (1915-1973)
Alan Watts is one of the early philosophers to bring to the West an understanding of the Eastern way of seeing nature and the importance of this kind of thinking in the modern world.  In this last work of his, Watts writes about that which cannot be explained, the Tao (the course of nature), wu wei (not forcing things) and te (the power which comes from this).
The Alan Watts Story

8 Weeks to Optimum Health – Andrew Weil, M.D.
An eight-week program for improving your health and taking full advantage of your body’s natural healing power. Each week, Dr. Weil recommends nutritional foods, supplements, exercise and activities for mental wellness. There are also customised plans for those over age seventy, considering pregnancy, who travel frequently, who are overweight, who are at risk of cardiovascular disease, who are at risk of cancer, etc.
Ask Dr. Weil a Question!

Tai-Chi Touchstones : Yang Family Secret Transmissions
– compiled & translated by Douglas Wile
Three generations of Yang family masters lifted the art of Tai Chi Chuan from a closed courtyard in Honan Province to the status of a national treasure and presented it to the world. Yang Lu Chan in the nineteenth century, followed by his sons and their sons, have given Tai Chi Chuan the theoretical and practical standard which still defines and shapes the art for a majority of practitioners today. This book draws together the written and photographic record of their teachings, a legacy spanning more that fifty years of published material. The contents include oral instructions, mnemonic verses and training songs, commentaries to the Tai Chi classics, essays, autobiography and family legends, much of which has not been previously translated.

The Sir Jason Winters Story – Sir Jason Winters and Benjamin Roth Smythe
Read about Sir Jason Winters’s remarkable recovery from cancer of the throat, tonsils and tongue.  In 1977, his physician informed him that he had only 3 months to live.  At that time, he was 47 years of age.  His search in 3 different countries for the herbs which finally became the ingredients of his healing tea is documented in the book.
Sir Jason Winters Healing Tea & Xian Energy Booster

Healing Relationships : Buddhist Insights for Enduring Happiness – Lama Choedak Yuthok
In 1980, Lama Choedak Rinpoche completed a three and a half year solitary meditation retreat sponsored by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.  Lama Choedak has certainly gained invaluable insight into the mind – how it can be the creator of one’s happiness and one’s miseries.  In this book, Lama helps one to see the role that one plays in the nurturing or failing of relationships.  Meditation practices are included to help one transform old habits, resolve past hurts and strengthen bonds with loved ones.
Articles and talks by Lama Choedak Rinpoche

Tranquil Sitting – Yin Shih Tzu
translated by Shi Fu Hwang and Cheney Crow, Ph.D.
Yin Shih Tzu suffered ill health in his teens.  He took up Taoist meditation to develop his innate energies in order to heal himself.  When he wrote the “Tranquil Sitting” in 1954, he was eighty-two years of age.  In this book, you will read about the physical and metal phenomena that he encountered during his meditation.  There are also practical exercises which aim to induce these above experiences.  Yin Shih Tzu has also mastered both Buddhist and Tibetan meditation practices.  His training in physiology made his explanation easy to understand.  This book is both inspirational and practical!

TOP