JU L Y 22,1998
Page A6
Hiv ^ o rtlan h (ßbörrtier
Body# M i n d &Q$ f i r it
Qi
G o n g : u s i n g a n a n c ie n t C h i n e s e F o r m o f e x c e r c is e to
D e a l W i t h t h e S t r e s s o f M o d e r n L i f e
R ushing to w ork. Fighting traffic.
Putting in long hours. Feeling p res
sured, stressed, w om out.
S ound like y o u r life? If so, y o u are
not alone. For m any o f us, life to d ay
is hectic and frenetic. W e m ay not be
able to chang e the w orld w e live in,
but in the ancient C h in ese practice o f
Qi G o n g (pronounced chee-gong),
w e can find a w ay to red u ce the
stress- and w ear and tear - o f m o d em
life.
“Q i G ong can bring a sense o f
peace and happiness to you, and help
you feel m ore en erg etic," exp lain ed
Holly A nn A lsw el, a licensed ac u
puncturist in N orth Portland.
For thousands o f years, Q i G o n g
has been a part o f traditional O riental
m edicine. Qi G o n g consists o f a rep
etition o f sim ple, g en tle exercises
and m ay also include co rrect p o s
ture, controlled breath in g and m ed i
tation.
“ In C hinese, Q i can m ean b reath
or air as well as vital energy, and
G ong refers to d iscipline and hard
w ork," M s A lsw el explained. "S o Qi
G ong is a w ay to draw vital life force
into ourselves. It also is used in h eal
ing, and in m y practice, I often use it
to com plem ent acu p u n ctu re treat
m ents."
She w ent on to explain that there
are m any styles o f O riental exercise
based on the co ncept o f vital energy
and disciplined m ovem ent. M any o f
us are fam iliar w ith Tai C hi and other
form s o f the m artial arts, in w hich an
individual fights an im aginary o p p o
nent in slow m otion.
’T h e re is grow ing aw areness ot Qi
G ong, th e so fter type o f O riental ex er
cise, and how it can calm the brain and
settle the heart, how it can prom ote
relaxation as well as im p ro v e stam ina
and give one m ore energy and vital
ity," M s A lsw el said. T think o f it as
personal physical m edicine."
T h e beauty o f Q i G ong is that any
o n e can learn an d p ractice it, reg ard
less o f age or physical ability. I n China,
peo p le d o th eir Q i G ong exercises on
b usy sid ew alk s and in parks often be
fore b eginning th eir w ork day.
In Portland, th e O regon C ollege o f
O riental M edicine offers classes and
has a special serv ice for answ ering
questions ab o u t Q i G ong. T he num ber
to call is 2 9 1-9570.
A s a p ractitio n er o f O riental m edi
cine, M s. A lsw el sees th e value o f Qi
G o n g in m any w ays. “1 think Qi G ong
is g o o d for oldei people, o r those w ith
d isabilities, becau se they can go at
th eir o w n pace. F or addictions involv
ing alcohol, eatin g or o verw ork, Qi
G o n g c a n e a se th e c o m p u lsio n s people
'Paul 'Von 'W ari: A u th o r of
a ru m
I nterv iew bv J oy R amos
Paul V on W ard is a multidisciplined
and multi! ingual researcher and writer in
the fields o f new science and m etaphys
ics, with degrees from Florida State U ni
versity and Harvard. Paul uses the three-
faceted m odel o f the hum an (conscious
ness, subtle energy, and physical). He
shows how the subtle senses and inner
pow ers shape thenatureofrelationships,
from die most intimate to the political.
Q :W hat is the “s tu ff' that the Uni
verse is m ade of?
P aul V on W a rd : T he w hole Uni
verse com es out o f the Universal Mind.
It is also know n as our Universal Con-
sciousness(ortheG randC ouple).rhatis
from w hich everything else com es from.
A nything w e see, feel, hear and touch in
the physical universe is only concentra
tions o f that second thing w e call subtle
energy. T here are a lot o f w ords people
use to describe the subtle energy fields.
It's from the subtle energy field that you
have this concentration o f energy that
gives us matter. Thequestion isthen.what
shapes that subtle energy field to give us
a physical object? M ind does the shap
ing. C onsciousness does the shaping.
C onsciousnessactually shapes the subtle
energy field.
Q: H ow do you explain the phenom
enon o f Firewalking?
P aul V on W a rd : In m y mind, I want
to feel m y physical body o ff from being
burned by fire. H ow d o I do that? I have
m y subtle energy body and I have my
physical body. In order to walk on fire, I
have to do som ething to m y physical
body to m ake m e im pervious to those hot
coals. I w ant to create m y physical body
in a w ay that do esn ’t get burned. A nd 1
im agine the soles o f my feet as having an
extra layer ofenergy protection, The first
thing that happens then is that my subtle
energy body forms a layer around my
feet like the aura. It’s what physicists call
‘virtual reality'. It’s just there...just be
tween nothingand something. And,then
the subtle energy form is what is called
the morphogenic field. This is best de
scribed in a study called “The Hundreth
M onkey”.
Q: Please explain “The Hundreth
Monkey.”
P aul V on W a rd : On an island in the
South Pacific, scientists were studying
monkeys. They observed that on one
island, the monkeys started washing their
yam s in the ocean. They did it to wash
sand off. It made the yam s taste better.
A nyhow, they I iked them . Then m ore o f
them started doing that. W hen about a
hundred m onkeys were practicing that,
the scientists noticed that monkeys on a
nearby island started doing the same
thing. There was no communication be
tween the m onkeys on the different is
lands.
How then did they learn to do that?
T he m onkeys had an idea they all
saw in th eir m inds (w ashing the yam s
in the ocean). W hen enough m onkeys
did it, it b ecam e a m orphogenic field. It
becam e a subtle energy im age that
traveled throughout tim e and space.
It’s not lim ited by the physical senses
so that the m orphogenic field can be
percei ved by the m onkey s on the nearby
islands. T hey learned through the subtle
energies a new behavior. T his is how
conscious im ages get passed on to
o th er people through the subtle energy
fields.
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hav e, because th a t's not their inherent
nature, it's not th eir tru e h u m an ity.”
In h er practice and in her ro le as a
teacher, she has observ ed that there
are obstacles to p ersuading p eople to
incorporate Q i G ong in their ow n lives,
even w hen they reco g n ize its value.
Ms. A lsw el is sym pathetic to those
w h o find excuses not to try. S h e is
pragm atic enough, how ever, to help
h er patients and students b alance the
ideal w ith the practical. “ Ideally, if a
person could do a h a lf an hour o f Qi
G o n g and 15 m in u tes o f m editation
every day for six w eeks, 1 'd find it hard
to believe they w o u ld n ’t find som e
pretty significant differences in their
life.”
In recent years, there has been a
dram atic increase in the n u m b er o f
peo p le seeking treatm ent from practi
tioners o f traditional O riental m ed i
cine. People h av e b ecom e aw are o f
acupuncture and herbal rem edies, the
m ain m odalities o f traditional O rien
tal m edicine. N ow , m o re and m ore
people are turning to Qi G ong, and
using the graceful, calm ing m ovem ents
and healthful benefits o f this ancient
form o f excercise to increase th eir
vitality and find a sense o f p eace and
b alance in a fast-paced and stresslul
w orld.
Holly Ann Alswel, a Licensed Acupuncturist in North Portland, practicing Qi gong, a traditional form of
Chinese exercise which promotes health and vitality.
Chronic Pain and Magnesium Levels
O n e o f the prin cip les o f n atu ro
p athic m ed icin e is to treat th e causes
o f disease rather th an to su p p ress the
sy m p to m s, alth o u g h som etim es it is
n ecessary to d o both at the sam e
tim e.
T o a n aturopathic doctor, th e d a n
g er o f su p p ressin g sy m p to m s is that
th e un d erly in g cau se m ay be ignored
an d m ay result in even g reater sick
ness.
H ere is an ex am p le from research
literature (1) o n how low m agnesium
levels in the red b lo o d cells can have
an im pact o n ch ro n ic pain levels
from d iseases su ch as fibrom yalgia,
ch ro n ic fatigue an d m yofacial pain.
R esearchers n o w think this m ay be
tru e fo r lu p u s p atien ts, as w ell.
by J oy
R amos
C hronic pain and fatigue are key c o m
ponents in all th ese conditions. Inves
tigators hav e p ro p o sed that low m ag
nesium levels m ay m ak e patients even
m ore likely to experience chronic pain,
and even cau se a low pain threshold in
m ent for pain in lupus patients is the
use o f im m une-system suppressants
such as cortisone, w hich m ay ex acer
bate the low m agnesium levels in the
these disorders.
(M agnesium is found in green leafy
v egetables such as spinach and kale,
although th erap eu tic d osages o f m a g
nesium m ay req u ire dietary supple
m ents, as instructed b y a qualified
out the ten d en cy am ong clinicians to
ignore m agnesium levels and treat
m yalgia sym ptom s w ith cortisone and
other im m une-system suppressants,
even though the risks o f this type o f
red blood cells.
T he stu d y ’s au th o r fu rth er points
health practitioner.)
Ironically, the therapies used to
su ppress chronic pain in these d is
therapy in clude loss o f b o n e tissue,
bone m arrow suppression, o steoporo
sis, liver toxicity, and adv an ced d e
velopm ent o f cataracts, additionally,
eases can create even further m ag n e
sium deficiencies, w hich in turn leaves
th e patien ts vu ln erab le to m ore pain.
F o r ex am p le, th e co n ventional tre a t
several studies in the literature su g
gest that corticosteroid treatm ent m ay
intensify a m agnesium deficiency in
these patients. T his is not to say that
the u se o f m edication for controlling
the inflam m ation associated w ith lu
p u s is not necessary, but it w ould be
ap p ro p riate to investigate m ag n e
sium levels as part o f th e treatm ent
plan.
T h is research dem onstrates how
supp ressio n o f sym ptom s not only
leaves the cause untouched but actu
ally can create m ore disease.
T o learn m ore about how to treat
chronic pain and the diseases that
cause it, contact a licensed naturo
pathic physician listed in the Y ellow
Pages, or m ake an appointm ent at the
clinic at M t. O livet Baptist C hurch,
8501 N. C hatauqua, operated by the
N ational C ollege o f N aturopathic
M edicine. C all 255-7355.
Firewalking for Personal Transformation
W hen I w as pregnant with m y first
child, 1 was encouraged by a friend to try
Firewalking. Shehad recom m ended itso
that I may get over my fear o f labor and
delivery pains. I declined her offer. The
thought o f crossing over a bed o f hot
coals was daringly outrageous, but allur
ing for the extremist in me.
Fouryears later, I decided to try it. My
present life circumstances are different,
but the intentions for doing a Firewalk
haven’t changed: to break through self-
imposed limitations and get beyond my
fears.
ITiere w ere a group o f us gathered at
Sauvie Island for the Firewalk session. I
sensed anticipation from others and my
own growing. A lot o f us understood the
mom ent as a "potential” for personal
transformation like a rite ofpassage. The
debate still raged within m e to go ahead
with this or back out t suddenly.
Preparation by the instructors helped.
They readied us to align our body, mind
and spirit for the moment.
W e headed outdoors to build the fire
with cedar logs, stacking them high and
including our notes detailing our per
sonal fears. W e threw them in as a sym
bolic gesture o f inner release from bel iefs
that bind us.
It took several hours for the logs to
bum dow n into coals. T hey were care
fully raked out to form a searingly hot
pathway burning at 1200 degrees Fahr
enheit. T heheat’s intensity was toom uch
for m y face or hands to be near it for m ore
than a minute. Crossing the fiery path
required several steps on the red-hot
coals.
The night was clear and the m oon
loomed large above us. W e drum m ed
together, tribally connected like Native
Feei your best with
Naturopathic Medicine
Americans
Americans preparing
preparing fo 1 ra sacred ritual.
All 1 can see ahead o f m e were the
glowing red em bers em anating waves o f
heat and our instructor waiting on the
other side with outstretched arms, ready
to receive us with a warm embrace.
I asked how w e w ould know when
w e're ready. F orsom eofus.therew ould
be a sign or just a “know ingness" to go
forward.
I stood outside the fiery pathway,
feeling m y fears grip me. There were
times like this w here I’ve placet! m yself
"on the edge” and forced to decide: give
in to the fear or m ove beyond it.
An inner conflict raged. I closed my
eyes and gently focused. There was a
clearing in m y consciousness I ike a peace
fulness settling in. An unspoken voice
w ithinm esaid,“It’sT im e.” T hatw asm y
sign to begin the Firewalk.
With each step, there w as little feel
ing. M y feet felt the rough contours ofthe
coals, but not much else. I met my in
structor on the other end in loving em
brace. My m ind was reeling in disbelief.
I D ID N ’T BU R N ! I w as compelled to
walk again
; again just
just to see if it w as all real.
The courage to cross felt solid this
time. Again, I closed my eyes and waited.
T he sam e calm confirm ation cam e
through and I went with it. This time, 1
sensed som e heat, but not too noticeable.
This must be w hat’s known as "M ind
over Matter".
A cooling energy circulated around
my feet which kept me aw ake for many
hours till daylight. I inwardly accepted
the F irewalk as phenomenal even though
my mind tries to reduce it to a subtle
dream. From that experience, I've learned
to allow m yself to be as powerful as I
want to be and disengage fears that com e
up. I deal better with inhibitions and
insecurity with a detachment that’s like
observing a movie and know ing that it’s
just a grand illusion. For that lesson in
Fear Management alone, the Firewalk
experience w as worth going through.
For your ow n Firewalking experi
ence, contact Daniel Pharr and Ariel o f
“W ings o f Fire” at (503) 224-3868 or
v ie w
th e ir
w e b s ite
at
www.firewalking.org.
Bringing low-cost naturopathic medicine to you for:
Asthma
Diabetes
High blood pressure
Menopause / PMS
Allergies
Headaches
Colds & flu
Fatigue
Paul Von
W and
A o C h o rt
op
" □ o la rc ia n
L egacy/"
NCNM
Natural Health Centers at
Mt. Olivet Baptist Church
8725 N. Chautauqua
For in fo r m a tio n & schedule,
c a ll 254-3566
1054 1 SE C h e rry B lossom Dr., P o rtla n d
(by M ail 205)
■\ S ervice o f th e O re g o n C ollege o f O rie n to i M ed icin e
OF V ,
1 - 5 p.m. Mondays and Fridays
Metascience & A N cyy Renaissance
Talk and Booksigning
Call for appointment; walk-ins welcome
255-7355
P ow ell’s Books on Burnside, 7:30 PM
Thursday, July 30th.
A teaching clinic o f the National College o f Naturopathic Medicine
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