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Qì Fields Part 3 – for personal practice

What you want you get!

This was an oft repeated phrase from one of my teachers, but it really should come with a warning:

Be careful what you wish for…

Building on the ideas presented in part 1 and part 2 of this blog series; the idea of qi needing direction in order for it to create change asks the questions: what information are you working with? Or we could put it another way; What information is in your qi field?

Intention within the Qi Field

The intention that you hold for your personal practice is hugely important. If you go into the practice wanting to fight off that illness, or that problem, by definition you invite the illness or the problem into the practice space with you so that you can fight with it. Even if you win the fight on that particular day, in all likelihood you will invite the problem back in again the next time you practise in order to have the fight with it all over again and, in so doing, you actually bring the problem back into your life. 

You could say that this approach to practising has an eye on the past and therefore keeps you rooted in your past.

From here we could then surmise that the best way to practise is with an eye on the future. Surely it has to be better to look forward instead of backwards, but how do you define your future? What do you actually wish for and why?

The Lottery Win

A common theme when you ask this is along the lines of I’d like to win the lottery. This is an interesting narrative as it appears to be very forward looking, but in reality, it is probably based on past experience. Perhaps you long for a future without the restrictions or problems of the past and you consider financial freedom to be the key that unlocks that door. Perhaps you have come up with a solution to a problem, without understanding the nature of the problems that exist, or the problems that could arise as a result. Perhaps this is jumping from the frying pan into the fire.

So what information should we bring into the qi field for our personal practice?

At this point I need to refer back to a previous blog that spoke about the 8 phrases.  In many ways the idea of simply practising with the intention of relaxing both body and mind in order to become more aware of ourselves, our surroundings and our potential is the perfect intention. It is a call for wisdom and understanding which, in turn, can help us to let go of the things that hold us back.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting that we should ignore the past or the future, it’s okay for them to come up in your practice. It’s actually very natural and helpful to allow your problems to arise within the qi field so that we can address them, but allowing them to arise in the state of awareness, is a very different prospect to dragging them in with the intention of beating them or overcoming them. 

Conclusion

The qi field for your personal practice should be a space in which new possibilities and new potential are free to appear. When your qi field lacks the judgements, prejudices and narratives of your past, anything is possible.

Maybe right now is the most important moment, the most inspiring space to focus your time and energy.

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