Multiple Retreat Attendants

James Robinson, NZ artist

When I first met Yuan Tze I was a very troubled and hurt angry and self loathing man, having a lot of troubles mentally and emotionally and not looking after myself very well.

Because of a lot of grief and pain around my own family dysfunction (mental illness - addiction issues -broken home, violence early life) and my patterns internally as a result. My relationships and over-riding body problems self consciousness and anxiety low self worth.

Although aware and knowing a lot in efforts at healing myself in a lot of other modalities, I still couldn’t practise a way to help my over all state of mind body and soul. Depression, anger and fatigue and manias ruled my life as well as hiding and dependencies and fear.

Since working with Sonny Chin in Dunedin…and attending his classes ...I was learning the principles of energy work and self care. Sonny guided us into the Yuan Tze practice forms, and I instantly knew and recognized there was authentic knowledge and transmission of a higher awareness that corresponded to my own latent abilities that I had been trying to activate sincerely in my professional art practice.

Yuan Tze and Melissa were a strange pair for me then...not at all western " touchy feely " healer type hippies. This was not a soft option and also incredibly compassionate and understanding. The qifield in the first group healing I think made connections go off in my mind that said this was a way to work on myself. It corresponded with all of the knowledge I had about wisdom and working on oneself. Yuan Tze even came to one of my studios and took the time to look and see my work... and still does when I show in Wellington.

Zhineng Qigong is not Yuan Tze. It is a tool for working on the energy centres and over all body, mind and Qi. But Yuan Tze is a genuine high level teacher of profound practical experience and special abilities who has guided me into a process I was really looking for. Training and purpose to help myself and others. It’s been difficult to walk the path…confront patterns. It’s a daily struggle. But I can genuinely say that I am happier; I have a lot more love; I know my "self" more and can see others more too. I have insight, awareness and compassion and humility more.

Without Yuan Tze and Melissa and their dedication and service to Aotearoa New Zealand..and the effort of lifting our energy to a higher place...by our own effort...we would be like wasted potential.

I am in love with human potential…always have believed in what we are as spirit...and been horrified by the state of the industrial material age. Yuan Tze and all the people that contribute to the qifield and the genuine effort at helping themselves thru self-accountability and working with Qi and mind and body.

Thru these modern adaptations of ancient practices we work with...he skilfully meets us where we are at...most of the time…seems to baby us into things we were not aware we could do for ourselves. In between the lines there is subtle direction of strict training if we are aware and open to it. There is a high and guiding purpose of mastery involved at every point of this genuine and lovely human being, one I am very very lucky and grateful to have met and worked with.

The treasure of his country...the authority of experience and the kindness of universal compassion…all admirable and good qualities of this true teacher. I am very very blessed for all he has helped me with and I am trying to be true to the information and potential of this work for myself and future people.

Isla Griffin-Wilson, Australia

I have written an 'easy extractable" testimony below and the poem I wrote in the final teaching class on the day we left. Really it is aimed at all the attendees on the retreat because each one taught me something....

Teacher

I'll guide you through the darkened wood I'll be there where your nightmares stood I'll open up the gates of life I'll hold you through the stress and strife

.....and when your dark night starts to fade, your path is open, your first step made ......and when your light begins to shine, your body calm, your mind sublime

I'll be there still to hold your hand and guide you through the wonderland.

Kaiapoi Retreat New Zealand

To withdraw from "normal" 21st Century life was physically and mentally a struggle until I stepped into the qifield. A qifield full of support and understanding that instilled a sense of security and warmth from the beginning.

The steady gentle (but firm) hand of Yuan Tze guided us with clear potent information that seemed to resonate to my core. A full integrated timetable catering to the ebbs and flows of our inner renovation commenced its effects immediately. The teaching of Ren Xue, wisdom culture gave me profound leaps in understanding of the 'false self', negative patterns and habits and generally the true meaning/workings of life. Qigong practice gave me the true meaning of what it is to be unified in mind body and Qi........the true feeling to be opened up and connected with the universe from the heart. Health has started to be a vibrancy rather than a blockage.

I have emerged with a new level of confidence for teaching, a new determination and trust in my ability to heal and a deep connection with not only every person at the retreat but every human, tree, plant, rock, star, ant....... I cherish my time there. I feel fresh, alive, resilient, strong, courageous, calm, steady, open and best of all full of joy.

So thank you Yuan Tze and thank you Melissa from the bottom to the top of my being. Much Love and Qi Isla

Arne Nordgren, Sweden

Summing up: To participate during a 14 days retreat with Yuan Tze and you Melissa is a great benefit. After this retreat I actually feel like I have left some of my old myself behind - parts that don't want to see again. As you already know - some days before leaving for Christchurch I got pain attacks from my left kidney, which showed to be small kidney stones. Thinking about it, I have had a little difficult to urinate in the toilette during the last year. During the last months before the retreat I practiced Five Qi Hunyuan forms more intensively. During this time I have felt some pain from the left kidney. My guess is that the stones started to move due to the training as I specially practiced the hollow lower back arch lower back. Now when the stones are gone, I have no problems at the toilette.

About the retreat. As you know I have practiced qigong in Sweden some time and even done some teaching. However my teacher did not teach much theory so his students did not know much about what they practiced. This silence started a lot of speculations and discussions and guesses. By reading your book 'Voyage to the shore' I suddenly got a much better understanding about Qigong. Many questions got their answers.

Then my first retreat last year was like a big awakening. Besides the training I also got some understanding about the law of life, law of Qi, law of universe and some initial understanding of how to live a good life for myself and also to the benefit of others. By participating in the 2010 retreat this understanding has deepened a lot. Actually, I don't feel quite like the same person when coming home. And I think it is for the better.

Also my body has changed. My shirts feel tight over the shoulders. My hips were somewhat relaxed before but now they are even more relaxed. And I am decisive not to go back to the state like Yuan Tze describes when the bear walks around picking up sticks but then lose them again and sometimes lose more that he picks up.

I feel also very happy when I see your assistant teachers. They work together and many of them actually like to spend their pauses trying to teach the movements to those who needs. Also the admonitions from Yuan Tze when something should be changed are good. They are long, but long enough some we don't forget.

The place: Very relaxed, exactly what is needed and the food is quite good too. So, these two retreats are the best Qigong retreats I have participated in. I come from Sweden and have to travel between 30 - 40 hours to come to Christchurch and Kaiapoi. But it is worth every moment. Many Qi greetings to you all.

Dr Jackie Blunt, NZ

This year was a different kind of retreat for me. Normally I look forward to my two weeks away from the busy state of my life so much. It gives me a chance to be quiet and relaxed in a way which previously I often find very challenging in normal life. A chance to review my life, to strengthen my Qi, to learn and be inspired by Yuan Tze, his wisdom, compassion, and ability to work with life in human form.

This year, the work of the previous retreats I have attended was much clearer to me in the lead up to the retreat. I could tune in to and help build the qifield for the retreat beforehand. I could tune into the teachings that were part of the fabric of the retreat. I wasn’t looking forward to the retreat, anywhere near as much, because I was enjoying my normal everyday life so much more! The difference that the work on myself in retreat, in learning, teaching, and healing using Ren Xue and Zhineng Qiong has made is immense.

My life is more simple, less cluttered, and I am so much more healthy. Along the way my family has become happier, more fun, and more respectful towards each other. Our animals benefit from healings done with them, our friends and families too. Instead of our previous sense of hopelessness and anger towards the imbalance of mankind and nature, resources and consumerism, and the effect on the planet, our lives are now laced with true respect for nature, strengthened by determination to act in each moment to help the natural world. We work to heal nature in ourselves, our families, the environment and the whole planet, to bring all elements of the microcosm and macrocosm into harmony and balance.

We use these values to discuss and deepen our understanding of many areas of life. Today’s discussion might be centered around what is good to buy, or how to spend our time, the direction of our lives, how to cook, or how to care for our house and garden.

Yesterday we were discussing food Qi and Shen (energy and consciousness). One of my children and I were discussing the more complicated laws of food balance and healing, the nature of hot v. cold foods, the balance of flavours etc. The youngest in our family then piped up with his contribution. “I think”, he said, “that the laws of good eating are 1. You cook in a good state with love 2. You eat in the same state and appreciate everything that is on your plate.” That seemed to sum it up. And it made us laugh too, because like all of us, he is still learning to walk the talk, to practice the wisdom that he knows… and to eat his greens!

And so in all the different “foods” of life experience that come to me I am learning more and more to appreciate whatever it is, and to eat and digest it, rather than running from it, becoming anxious about it, or tying myself up in knots about it. I still have a long way to go between knowing what is a good way to be, and being it, as do my children, but to know is the beginning.

So, I ask myself, how was the retreat for me this year? It was absolutely amazing. More than I could have imagined and deeper than I knew was possible. To see how life can be, the beauty and simplicity of life becoming calm, relaxed and natural. To see that life, my life, that of other human beings, can be as beautiful and natural as a flower opening to the sun. To see that what gets in the way is me, not others, not the people who are in my life or the problems that come up.

The problems, the illnesses, the tensions, are the plants and flowers of who I am in the world. They are created by my patterns interacting with the mesh of the universe. There will always be a garden, there will always be weeds and flowers, there will always be a gardener. The way the garden of my life works depends on me, on the wisdom, and the skill with which I garden, with which I realise that this is MY garden, that what I do here is MY practice, to clear and work this piece of land, this life. And then from there to help, teach, and sustain others. Not to move out of my own patch into theirs and start gardening it for them. But to share what I have learnt and grown without discrimination, with true respect to any that wish to learn.

What does this mean for me on a concrete level? It means I am sleeping well now. It means my joints, in years past stiff and sore, are well and move freely now, and that at this retreat I learnt to sit cross legged for good periods of time. I have only been trying to do this for 5 years… It means I feel energized. It means I learnt to ‘push the mountain’. It means that I learnt to smile with my heart first. This morning I shared with my family how much tension I had found in my face during practice, because I smile when my head tells me I should. Today out in the world our family are practicing smiling first in our chests, and then letting our face follow.

How is this a Qigong practice? Well, we have the knowledge that our internal Qi is activated by joy. And unified with the knowledge is the practice of true respect for our Qi by constantly bringing ourselves into a state of quiet joy and staying in that state as well as we can. A smile comes from joy, but Qi is not activated by a smile that is placed on the face because we have told ourselves we SHOULD be feeling joyful! I became even more familiar with my reference system directed smile on this retreat. It appears in response to thought patterns like “SMILE NOW you want that person to think good things about you/to think you are happy/to look nice for the photo/to pretend that Yuan Tze has not seen that you have let that reaction get a hold of you...”

So, if there is a smile in the heart, the Qi of the chest is activated, flowing more freely through the whole body. The body is healthier. The Shen is heart- mind as one, so the smile strengthens Shen too, bringing calm and stability to the consciousness. The internal and the external are the same. When we make a connection then with the external and we are already smiling all over, joy can arise externally also by induction or resonance into your surroundings, be they human, animal or anything else. Jealousy and judgment, I have been finding, destroy the smile far more effectively than missing teeth.

For me this retreat was a huge challenge. I had some reactions, yes, some earthquakes which I didn’t handle as well as I wanted to, some very strong emotional patterns clearing. At the time they felt quite overwhelming, even after all this time knowing intellectually what they are. I am very thankful for the methods of Zhineng Qigong for getting me through, out to a clearer brighter place. When I came home after the retreat and saw my patterns at work with regard to the people around me whom I love, and the damaging effect of them, I became very upset. Then I became more upset about being upset. It doesn’t help to know how stupid you are when you are doing this does it?

But I went away and did my practice, this helped a lot, I talked to one of the other teachers, and this also helped a lot too. And now, I feel like a different person. The patterns are still there but I have made some progress with seeing them and changing them on point of activation, before they gallop away with my Jing-Qi-Shen. A pattern, I am learning, is any way of thinking and the associated behavior, which goes against the laws of life. What are these laws then? If I am in any doubt, I look at how I am feeling and what my Qi is doing when I am thinking or acting in a certain way. I have learnt on this retreat a little about what Qi can feel like when it is in a good state. If I don’t feel like that, I know my current thinking, and reacting, is not in accordance with the laws of life. I do my best, to correct it straight away, by focusing on Qi. And practicing. And practicing. And practicing.

So in summary, what did I learn? I learnt about being a student and feeling true respect for my teachers. I learnt about being a teacher and feeling true respect and compassion for students. I learnt that it is a law of life that I am at the heart and centre of my life. It is no ones’ responsibility but my own. So now I am learning how to put myself into life and practice, with everything I’ve got, and everything I am.

I brought my mind to a higher level of function and clarity. My memory is improving even though I am getting older. My compassion has deepened and my respiratory system is functioning much more clearly. I learnt about having true respect for all forms of life. It is with great joy that I see the effects of putting this teaching into place within my own family.

I learnt about healing on a new level. Those healings which I have given and received since the retreat feel as if they reach into a much more profound level of change than my previous experiences. I learnt an immense gratitude for those who have worked so hard on themselves and on life that they have been able to bring forth this wisdom to humanity. In humble gratitude I give my thanks to Yuan Tze, Melissa, the sages of the past, and the work of every single one of us, for the way it has helped my life, and the beauty and wisdom it has given me to help others.

Andrea Harris, NZ

My personal “Confusion of Real and Unreal” (many of you would certainly recall this headline of one chapter of Voyage to the Shore Part 1)

Since two years and three retreats now, I am “fighting” with my Self to break through the boundaries within my world of what I believed to be true or real and unreal - and what seems to be real around Yuan Tze and his world of Qi and Consciousness. Besides asking all of us to do our regular practice – for OUR OWN benefit - I have never before heard Yuan Tze ask for something except at the end of this retreat – he would like us to write a testimonial – not for himself but so others can read about our experiences and be inspired to join in REN XUE. He must think we can help others with it – otherwise he wouldn’t ask.

So I am more than happy to do my best to share mine and hopefully inspire you to be able to open yourself up, and to grab the opportunity to empower yourself and become understanding of the responsibility you have for yourself! Mostly with hard work, slowly and often painful, but – for my part - with consistently improving RESULTS!

Here we go: What is reality for us? And where does it come from? What is “real”? Do we need … …to eat otherwise we starve? …a place to live? …someone to talk to and someone who talks to us to receive information or not be alone? …to sit in school and sit exams so we get a good job and are someone? …a car, snowboard, bike, holidays, movies, books, ect.? …to work because we need money for phone and electricity bills? … coffee, sugar and all the other drugs? …someone who makes us healthy when we are sick? … to know who or what makes us sick!?!? DO WE EVEN NEED TO BE SICK? Do the answers to those questions all sound like banal reality to you? Does your reality look like that as well? Or is it just mine? So: IS it reality?

Through Yuan Tze or better, his teachings and Ren Xue Qigong practice I found out that a lot of what I thought to be my reality was actually unreal: My love of fast and lots of food made me feel heavy, slow and unhappy - inside. My excitement about challenging myself in big waves windsurfing actually scared me – inside. The exhilaration of jumping high cliffs and race boys on snowboards and mountain bikes made me extremely tired inside instead of extremely “cool” outside. Watching movies so I wouldn’t have to be in the “stupid and evil” world out there turned me into a lazy and bored person inside instead of a common modern woman. Working with Energy Medicine, which brings amazing results made it possible, so I could charge a lot and have a lot of time at the beach “just being” inside but didn’t particularly define me as a compassionate being. Not having the perfect relationship with my partner turned out to be my patterns of victim hood: “ why do you do this or that to me “…when he was tired and grumpy, or: “can’t you be a little bit more like this or that!?” … when I could have been a little bit more like this or that myself! As a child I was wondering why the kids living next door or in school would be cruel to each other. Later on why my boss must be such a ….! Or why the doctor couldn’t help this and that person or the politicians just wouldn’t do the right thing! Having access to Yuan Tze’s gathered knowledge and wisdom AND to see it applied by himself year after year has turned my real into unreal - Living in the 21st Century makes it easy to believe, that we are living without an authority regarding the Self, Spirit or Soul – choose the term you prefer for yourself.

Living with Ren Xue, the whole thing looks a tiny little bit different: My reality is: I am answerable at any given moment to my personal “master” - My own consciousness and its possible expansion. Therefore I am creating a healthier next minute, day, week, month, year, century, life . . . for myself. Nontheless, it seems to be unreal how calm I can feel like since I have broken through fighting with my Self and JUST do my Qigong practice regularly. It seems to be unreal how fantastically natural my marriage can run. Not to say we have no conflicts, but we can resolve them together and they are rare. It seems to be unreal how relaxed I can be around the theme of my future (job, money, death, health issues and so on) It seems to be unreal how happy I can be, finally being able to be inside. It seems to be unreal how joy is the main emotion day in, day out. It seems unreal simply being happy most of the time – I am far away of being always in the present moment and be calm, relaxed, natural and joyous but to me it is unreal how much I am. There is so much work to be done still but at least I know there is a possibility to obtain real calm, relaxed and natural happiness.

Because of how I felt at the retreat during 3 Centers Merge Standing Form for the time span of 105 min. if I can feel like that during Standing Form, than I will be able to feel like this day in day out - one day! And because of the little episode that happened to me at the 10th morning of this years retreat: After morning practice, I wandered back from the practicing room to have breakfast. This short walk leads you through a lot of trees. When I turned around the corner of the last trees, the morning sun shone on me quite suddenly. Just close your eyes for one moment yourself – can you imagine and feel this special kind of “morning sun feeling” – bright, soft and golden – it is so incredible. Can you truly feel it? The moment this sun hit me, some strange feeling overcame me – something wasn’t quite right! But what was it? Clueless I looked inside to find out what was going on… The next thought literally dumfounded me! And it was really almost like a shock – this glorious morning sun didn’t as usual brighten up my whole being – because already the sun was shining INSIDE me and in this moment it was so bright and still and calm in me that I suddenly understood what Yuan Tze means with having the sun shining inside you at all times! So take it from someone who struggled through two year against regular Qigong practice! It is so well worth it! Don’t give up! Enjoy it.

Johnny Harris, NZ

Yuan Tze, I would to borrow to some of your time, if I may. I am writing this review/ testimonial to cover the various retreats that I have attended with you over the last 4 years.

Having just completed this latest one Nov 2010, I am completely sure that Ren Xue is now number one in my life and that it will remain so for the rest of my days. My earliest connection with Qigong and Ren Xue was through my brother, friend, and teacher of Ren Xue Manfred Raunigg. Manfred and I have been best friends for over 20 years now. We know each other very well, for my part I was sure I would recognize Manfred’s energy anywhere, this proved not to be true. Manfred had been attending the teachers training courses with Yuan Tze and having not seen him for a while we arranged to meet in Auckland. We met at a mutual friend’s apartment. When the lift door opened, there was Manfred standing about 1 metre in front of me. For a moment I didn’t recognize him simply because his energy had made such a fundamental shift. It was somehow finer and purer. He was more of his potential self. I was sure that the change had come about from his connection to Qigong and Ren Xue. Although wary I wasn’t looking for a teacher I was intrigued and really was curious as to what this stuff was that could have such an impact on my brother.

Fast forward to the first retreat held on Mt Cheeseman (2007) when I arrived I had practiced Basic Exercises for a while, having been shown them by a person who had learnt from one of your teachers. She showed me the physical movements but with none of the mind activities. Within hours of arriving I was in awe of what I had come to and within a few days it was utterly clear to me that this (Ren Xue) was what I had been searching for during the last 30 years, although if I had come across it 30 years beforehand, I would have walked right past it because I would have been no where near ready for it.

Everything comes in its right time. Straight on the tail of this first realization came the next major one. It became totally apparent to me that the seeker who in many respects was me was finished with. It had done its job and now was time to let it go. Easier said than done! It caused me a great deal of grief and suffering to allow the attachment to this old friend to go. I loved searching, finding new books to read, movies to watch, CDs to listen to and I was very caught in reading, watching, and listening to other peoples’ journeys, never quite realizing that in some way by constantly being the seeker, I was delaying my own journey. A few years into the journey now I can definitely see that the false master was fully in control and that more than anything else I was afraid to face my own stuff, far easier to read about others than to do the hard yards oneself. In fact the job of separating me from the seeker was not completed for many months after the retreat had finished.

At the next retreat the message came via a very deep and profound dream, in the dream I was in an art gallery viewing a large painting. It was a landscape scene featuring a road or a path that disappeared away in to the hills and ultimately the mountains in the distance. On the bottom of the picture mounted on the frame was a small brass plaque with the title engraved in to it ‘The Way Home or The Road Home’ I can’t recall which. Although I sometimes remember my dreams I seldom recall them with the clarity that this dream came back to me. In the dream I was so happy to have found that painting and was so in love with the idea that I could now find my way home. Although the promise did not necessarily say that it was going to be an easy path, it was and is the way home for me. That path of course is Ren Xue.

November 2008 the retreat was back in the mountains so good to be back in this utterly beautiful wild and isolated place. By now I was starting to get a grasp of just how big Ren Xue is and how it can do all of the things Yuan Tze promises. All that’s required is some application.

The message of this retreat was even more shocking than the earlier lesson of letting go of the seeker. Probably 5 or 6 days into the retreat from out of the nowhere it occurred to me that I had to let go of the mask of the healer. WHAT!? Where the hell did this come from? I am the healer; this is what I do. For God’s sake it’s the only thing I ever done that made any sense. What do you mean let it go? Maybe I could pretend that I didn’t get this flash .............. I know it wasn’t really for me; maybe it was for some other burnt out healer in the room. After all I had been a healer practitioner for many years. A large part of my identity was caught up with being really good at what I was doing, helping people to improve their health and wellness, physical, mental, and to some degree spiritual aspects all taken care of. I was important in their lives. I was making a real difference. In fact if you had asked me then, I would have said that I had found my calling and that I would be doing this for the rest of my days. Now I was being asked to release the mask. Every time I looked to Yuan Tze he just seemed to confirm that the insight was real and that there could be no running away from it. As the days of the retreat rolled by and the panic lessened, I kept hearing Yuan Tze emphasising the importance of remaining calm, relaxed and natural no matter what the circumstances. Some clarity started to come and I began to see that things weren’t quite as good as I was making myself believe. I was in a position where I couldn’t say no to people. No matter what they asked I would be there. I was doing little else apart from working. Life was my work and somewhere deep down I knew that if I kept on doing what I was doing, I was going to burn out. I was running out of Qi. Yuan Tze even told a story of a Qigong healer who gave away to much of his Qi and had died. Not that he was talking to me. After all I’m on my mission and I’m bullet proof anyway, yeah right. To this day I wonder if he told that story, if not especially for me, at least for partially for me.

Again it took time for this realization to really take hold. In fact for sometime after the retreat I continued on at my old pace then I began to develop some reasonably serious health symptoms which led me to have to look seriously at what I was doing. The other thing that really anchored Qigong practice into my life was that, in spite of all my knowledge and my beautiful wife’s wonderful treatments, the only thing that really made any permanent change to my condition was my Qigong practice. To this day I continue to work as the healer practitioner. My fear was that I had to give it all away. In fact all I had to do was ease the mask and let go of my identification with it.

Retreat for 2009 moved to Christchurch. Of all the retreats I’ve done this was the most difficult, mostly because for the 6 weeks before the retreat I had let my practice slip and hadn’t done any qigong before I arrived. On that level it took the whole retreat time to get my practice back to where it should have been when the retreat started. The overwhelming clear message during this retreat was simply just get on with it. Throughout the end of 2009 and through 2010 I have been doing just that. It has not been easy. On more than one level and without Yuan Tze’s help, I may well have not been able to shift some of my patterns and may of flagged the whole thing away.

Retreat 2010 just completed 2 or 3 weeks ago. A major step up for me personally and I suspect for everyone involved. Yuan Tze had asked us to bring to the retreat patterns that we wanted to work on. For me it was clear the thing I really wanted to shift was my addiction to sex. This issue was really in my face by retreat time because a few weeks earlier my wife/lover had suddenly (at least from my perspective) decided to not be sexually active for 100 days. For many years I had believed that I was totally comfortable with my sexuality and that they were no issues there, one of the places where I had done lots of work and to a large degree had succeeded in achieving my goals. Was I deluding myself or what? Up came the sex monster in all his glory and power, it took all of my inside strength and most of the retreat time to tame him. I couldn’t believe his strength and power over me. Again a major letting go. This time the lover, the sexual one. The roots of this pattern were/are very deep. No doubt I will be working on this one for a while. It’s going to take some effort to flow against the tide of sexuality that is our western culture. However I can see the prison it holds the people in. For me I prefer the possibility of freedom.

Letting go again, will this never end? Maybe; maybe not. At this point I really don’t know. However if freedom means not being too attached, I guess there are a few more patterns to go. This much I do know the freedom/s I have won from who I thought I was have so far been worth every bit of effort it has taken to release the pattern surrounding them. I am many things and can be many things as are required by life. I am not the seeker although I can seek and inquire when I need to. I am not the healer although when I’m working sliding on the healer mask is very helpful to me and my clients just as long as I slip it off when work is finished. I can be the lover when my wife and I want to make love. I just don’t carry the lover any further than there.

Apart from letting the lover fade, the very clear message of this retreat was and is that I shall make Ren Xue the number one thing in my life. When I contemplate that thought, I can only see that Ren Xue is the most important thing. It is after all my path home and home is where I’m going. To that end in 2011 I will be taking a sabbatical year, cutting my work back to 2 or at the most 3 days per week and devoting the rest of my time to practice and doing as many levels of the teachers training as I possibly can, the goal being to complete all 8 levels this year.

Yuan Tze can I please say thank you for all that you are and from that all that you do. With Love Johnny Harris

Dr Jeanette Spencer, NZ

This was my second retreat, and again, it was beyond expectation. I had a detailed plan this year, which helped me enormously to achieve my goals. Also I'm very grateful to my Three Centres Merge practice which I did every night since last years retreat. That made a profound difference to my life over the last year, providing a very solid base to reach my goals. What did I learn? So much. And what did I let go of? Things that I've struggling to change since childhood. Bang, gone in two weeks. Here are some things that stand out for me. Knowing that every positive thought, no matter how small or 'unseen', really does make a significant difference. That even though I've always known deep inside that the future of humanity in this lifetime could be filled with the most loving goodness for everyone, I never dared to really let myself hope it to be true. Now I know for sure that it is. Being shocked to realise that I didn't smile with my whole heart any more and wondering how I could have lost that. The Qi healing sessions from the teachers, providing healing at the most fundamental level. I gained more understanding about how my consciousness works, and some of the more unusual ways I use it, and how to use them in a healthier way. But standing out most of all, was the work breaking the patterns. When I met a moment of absolute fear I was held with the most loving support. And as a pattern of shame transformed, the tenderness I was held with was from such a true heart, I cannot even begin to describe the feeling of it. The example that I was guided by was only ever encouraging and filled with the deepest compassion. I am truly a different person now and I know for sure that we can all achieve positive change together. This time when we left the retreat, instead of finding the airport chaotic, I noticed where there was harmony, and felt myself actually helping hold it and even build it further. All the possibilities of every moment do lie within us, we really can choose our future. All you have to do is give it a go!

With much gratitude to Yuan Tze, Melissa and all of you who were there, helping each other achieve our goals.

Kim Knight, NZ

I feel like after nearly 50 years of searching, I have finally found my place on the earth and purpose in life. And my family. At last my future seems bright and hopeful. I am totally committed to Yuan Tze's vision and want to be involved, boots and all.

Ngaire Jehle, NZ

This retreat was my fourth and best. Every year, I think it was the definitely the best and yet every year it gets better; the grows and develops and with it the opportunities for learning and making progress on every conceivable level and a few others besides. So wonderfully, does the heart of the Ren Xue family, even in silence. With half as many people again competing for resources this year; the shower at 6:00 am, leg room in the hall, the fruit at afternoon tea, the atmosphere remained one of support, caring and understanding. It was also singularly lacking in the judgement and associated condemnation that surrounds us at every turn in the 'real' world.

As requested, I came to the retreat armed with a list of negative life patterns to work on. However, with nothing to focus on except the workings of my mind (punctuated by attention to the pain in my arms, the shake in my leg, and the occasional thought about what might be on the menu for the next meal) my original list mushroomed with PTO's proliferating until the list is now literally almost as long as my arm. And it's far from complete. It didn't take much to realise that I personified Yuan Tze's bear -- picking up one Qi stick and dropping one, two or more. Fortunately, and gratefully, I have the tools to reverse that relationship. My gratitude Melissa, teachers, my fellow practitioners, the power of Qi and to the Universe. Above all, my gratitude goes to Yuan Tze who gives us access to a new and more hopeful reality.

Greg Kendrick, NZ

The Retreat of 2010 has taken me to a new level of active participation in the way my life manifests both internally and externally. The shift to owning life and life experiences the empowering and also the responsibility for ones life to date and the present moment and the future to come in all ways from health and well being to life development and personality, the jump to taking responsibility on this fundamental level for everything was a big step. I had grappled with all year on a subconcious level and manifested on the retreat so that I am no longer disempowered by things externally but am responsible for these things and also having the true respect and understanding to love myself and accept and then take right action. The power is in my hands to create change in my life not anyone else’s, and the master is inside waiting and getting closer as the patterns are dispersed and deeper levels of unification occur. It’s all inside ourselves. It’s just a matter of how willing we are to make the right effort and to open the heart in true respect.

Natalie Pollock, NZ

4 weeks tomorrow since I returned from Kaiapoi, a great time to remind myself of some of the important things I discovered and to reflect on where I am now put that nail the wall.

Things have been moving fast and quite intensely since my return to life- all in the right direction however I need to remind myself. The path becomes brighter and more beautiful as my faith in myself and life grows. My true self shines brighter and it is painfully obvious when my false master is at work. However I feel much more joy in dealing with life’s problems, patterns because I know now that with perseverance, endurance (ren) our consciousness/mind/Shen can strengthen and stabilize.

The retreat was quite easeful even though the challenges and issues I needed to deal with were far from easy. However I really need to celebrate and I feel so grateful and joyful that after many years, 35 to be exact I can finally let go of the past and move on. It is such a relief as there are enough things to work on in the present.

One particular evening in a deep Qigong state while sleeping this happened that I caught that flash, the information bubble that kept on haunting me and my consciousness choose not to register the information, it was just an empty bubble and it dissolved. I continue to try and catch that flash in daily life which is quite a task but well worth it as it is the only way to change one's destiny. Thank you Melissa and Yuan Tze for being the perfect "hosts" for the 2010 retreat as the main builders of the qifield. It was so nurturing to return to ones essence and merge into oneness. The qifield of Ren Xue is definitely growing stronger, brighter and more pure everyday. We do this together as we continue to know ourselves better and heal ourselves we see and know humanity better. We are all eternally connected no matter which side of the planet we live on.

Vanessa Lukes, NZ

Ok, I have to admit it. I’ve been doing Qigong a few years now, but there’s one practice I’ve managed to avoid – Push the Mountain. My mind had happily created all kinds of excuses not to do it, and then there I was at the retreat, and there IT was on the programme…twice everyday.

The first day when we had the choice of Squats and Stretching Qi or 30 minutes Push the Mountain, my weak mind joyfully opted for the easier option. “Great! I love squats!”. So it was to my surprise when my arms automatically rose up to the sides “…no!!! I want to do Squats! I can’t do 30 minutes PTM!!!” my mind protested. Then I imagined Yuan Tze saying ‘I’ll help you!” Ok then. Halfway through the Qi clearing (aka: pain) kicked in, and I thought “wee, you said you’d help me!” and suddenly there was a little golden caricature of Yuan Tze under each arm, straining and struggling to push my arms up. I laughed to myself, all tension disappeared and I floated through to the end. Needless to say, I love Push the Mountain now! Thanks, Yuan Tze, Melissa and everyone at the retreat for a wonderful pattern breaking time.

Rachel Gila, USA

I had an interaction with a friend who later acknowledged he was projecting some of his beliefs on me. It resulted in our being disconnected. This was difficult yet it helped me to look at my own reactions and patterning. I was able to let go of expecting anything to be different than the way it was.

Ultimately I was able to make a shift in feeling an acceptance of myself and my friend as well. We had previously planned on traveling together after the retreat but the plans changed. I felt excited about being on my own and was curious regarding what life would present. I had an opportunity to let-go and trust that all was perfect, even if “I “ didn’t like the outcome, I could see it was exactly what I needed to move to my next step. My travels turned out to be wonderful. All went well. It turned out to be quite a freeing experience.

Testimonials from Retreat November 2009, Kaiapoi, NZ

First time attendants

C Waters, NZ

I attribute a transformation of my life to attending the 2009 Yuan Tze Ren Xue and Qigong Retreat in Christchurch. I had been in a "stuck" and increasingly negative place for a number of years. In my yearning for my family and myself to be free from the conflict and dysfunction that only worsened with time, I sought the help of counselors, psychologists and psychiatrists and well meaning friends in addition to practicing yoga and attempting various styles of meditation. Despite this effort, my life continued to slip into a deepening abyss from which I just could not find a route.

I was physically and emotionally exhausted but still searching for a way forward when I became aware of a public healing and lecture from Yuan Tze in my home town a month or so before the retreat. I attended and was immediately impressed by the intellectual depth and calibre of Yuan Tze. I was new to the concept of Qi and had never participated in a group healing before. There was no doubt, however, in my mind at the end of the evening of the very real impact and benefits of the qi field Yuan Tze generated. Convinced and intrigued, I purchased a CD of the Four Basic Exercises and started practicing these daily. Although, excruciatingly painful at first, I was encouraged to persevere by Voyage to the Shore and within a few weeks I sensed a stirring of energy that I had lacked for so long.

These few weeks practice of the Four Basic Exercises and a second reading of Voyage to the Shore were just enough to equip me for the retreat. Every day of the two weeks was vital: the silence was essential. Yuan Tze’s daily lectures were riveting - packed with essential learning (that seemed to be directed to my needs alone) beautifully balanced with humour, extracts from ancient Chinese philosophy and discourses on the contemporary human condition and environmental state. The qi gong practices although at times gruelling were, ultimately, so very energising and uplifting. The qi field established at the retreat had a mysterious power that seemed to go beyond our selves and our location in Christchurch – it appeared to be realigning conditions back home and for my work before I even returned. I emerged to transformed opportunities that I now had the strength to respond to. After years of battling against the tide, I returned to a world where I could flow with life and it’s potential.

I am so very grateful to have come across this marvelous package of philosophies and methods and feel particularly privileged to have been able to attend this retreat designed and conducted by an individual with such rare and advanced skills as those of Yuan Tze.

Dr Jeanette Spencer, NZ

When I was a child I clearly remember sitting on the floor playing one morning, watching my parents argue about something, and thinking, if only they just chose not to worry about it, then they'd be happy. At that moment I vowed I'd never be like that.

Fast forward a few decades and I was! I had retired from a successful medical career, with much respect to it, but knowing in my heart it wasn't for me, nor healthy for me. I've spent much time searching for the highest quality methods to help calm my mind, tame my emotions and bring that love of life back into my heart. I just wanted to help people but I couldn't even help myself. I found things that seemed very good, but they didn't really work.

Then I came across Ren Xue and Zhineng Qigong. I started just over one year ago. First I read Voyage to the Shore, awed to finally find something that answered the philosophical musings I had all my life. Then I began the exercises. I wasn't really sure what I was getting into, so I tried it, watching carefully in case it was some sort of 'hocus pocus'. But everyday after I did the exercises, I felt better, calmer and more and more myself. In a year things were very different.

Then came the retreat. It was a privilege to be there, supported by everyone, while I cleared out negative patterns from my mind. One day I was walking across the grass when all of a sudden I realised that I believed in the inside of me. And I was so surprised to think that I hadn't been. I came home with more realisations coming thick and fast. Most profound, was to finally know again that I completely accept and respect myself, and think that I am a truly beautiful human being. And to realise that the beauty inside me is just perfect for helping others, and humbling to know that there have been many others out there helping me all the time, I just didn't realise they were. I now know that all I need to do is to remember to have deep respect and gratitude for everyone and everything, as they are all my teachers. Finally I feel that there is nothing to fear and, the world is not going to overwhelm me any more. It is a joy to be able to take responsibility for myself.

In only a year my life couldn't be more profoundly different. There is joy and peace in my heart again. I recommend Ren Xue and Zhineng Qigong, and attending the retreat without reservation.

G.A, NZ

The 09' retreat provided a safe space in which to encounter my true self, see clearer the negative patterns holding me back and gain strength to consciously change my destiny. The strong Qifield and Master Yuan Tze's teaching and guidance has enabled me to heal old injuries and spark a renewed vigour into my daily life and Qigong practice. A truly humbling and gratifying experience I am eager to build on in 2010.

Diana L., USA

I cannot write enough good things about my experience with Yuan Tze, Melissa, and the Ren Xue/Zhineng Qigong taught at their retreats. I had been the director of a non-profit Buddhist organization in the United States, and taught meditation in prisons nationally, as well as communication, conflict resolution, and chaplaincy skills. Then my health collapsed completely and I was eventually diagnosed with severe chronic Lyme disease, heavy metal toxicity, multiple chemical sensitivities, and chronic migraines. I spent several years largely in bed with a lot of pain. Western medicine had nothing much to offer. My beloved alternative practitioners helped, but my health plateaued at a point that was far below functional.

I encountered Zhineng Qigong through a Chinese master in California (USA), and practicing it made an immediate difference in my health. Then about a year later I heard about Yuan Tze. Although his translator Melissa did not know me, she responded to all my email questions about practice, and encouraged my deepening involvement. She became my mentor, to the point that I made a huge leap of faith to take the daunting flight to New Zealand and do the annual 2-week retreat. My friends and family were amazed that someone who had been as sick as I’d been could now do this.

The retreat vaulted me forward by many levels in my practice. The silence was delicious, the teaching was inspiring, and the quality of people’s presence all practicing in the same room together created an atmosphere I can still taste. Each day I could feel layers peeling off; mental habits were flaking away. I have been a meditation student for decades, and this accelerated that process because it added the elements of embodiment and qi. Yuan Tze seemed to teach directly to me, and my mind in his daily lectures, although I later found out many people in the room felt that way. I have never been around another human being like him – he could read my mind, and be simultaneously like a mountain and flowing water.

As someone who has had severe energy deficiency problems, I was amazed that I was up at 6 AM daily, never late for sessions, and did all the exercises enthusiastically along with the others. If I needed to lie down I could have, but I simply didn’t. I was drinking in the qi, as if my body had been thirsty for a long time. I went to bed each night at 9:30 and slept well and peacefully – another miracle for me, after many years of insomnia.

Toward the end of the retreat I encountered my greatest fear: a strong migraine qi reaction, which was very painful, and lasted more than a couple of days. With Melissa’s support, and Yuan Tze’s instructions, I took no medication, and simply kept staying calm and relaxed, meeting each moment of sensation in the supportive atmosphere of the qi field. I was completely focused, as I knew that some important measure of freedom for me lay in this “battle”. Could I transform it from being a battle into an encounter? I noticed that it was less the pain than the fear that the pain might become unmanageable that was triggering the intense suffering. I kept noticing what was true, moment after moment, and although I got very tired, I was also completely interested.

After a long night I asked Melissa if I could lie down in my room to take a nap. She brought back a message from Yuan Tze: bring your sleeping bag to nap in the main hall with everyone as the qi field is stronger there, and will be more healing for you. This contradicted many of my patterns. When a migraine comes on, I like to be alone, and certainly away from light, smells, noise, etc when feeling that fragile. However I did what he asked despite my vulnerability. Long time feelings of shame and isolation melted away. I was exhausted, but in good company.

Since I’ve been back home in California, USA the last few months, I’ve had only a few mild migraines, and the fear is virtually gone. I might feel some sensation, notice what’s happening, and usually address it with my qigong practice. My whole relationship to the migraines has shifted. They used to rule my life, and they no longer do.

I also have a disabled (shattered) ankle from a skydiving accident over 25 years ago. Apparently the surgery to insert the screw wasn’t done very well, so the main ankle joint wore out, and some doctors many years ago told me I’d never walk again due to this weight-bearing joint having become bone-on-bone. I did not accept their verdict as final, so have improved my ankle on my own non-surgically, but still wear a brace to walk. At the retreat, my ankle/foot had a qi reaction and swelled up in the qi field. It seemed to be saying: finally I can clear what I’ve been dying to clear for many years now. I have done lots of healing practice with it (in and out of the retreat), and it is getting better! For the first time in a decade I have been able to walk around wearing shoes without a brace for partial days. I am continuing this healing work on the ankle, and delighted in its progress.

Finally and perhaps most important: I’ve always been an emotional and sensitive person. I have fought against these tendencies, and done various therapies and types of meditation to work with these aspects of myself. I notice that the Ren Xue/Zhineng qigong allows the sensitivity to be channeled in useful ways, so I feel at peace finally with this part of myself. It seems to me that this is a foundation that can serve to help others as I deepen my learning of Ren Xue. In terms of the emotionality, I feel far less imprisoned by emotions. I’d been fortunate to have found other useful skilful means to help me emotionally before. However I can now see how the emotions sap my body of its precious qi. Ren Xue gives me tools to integrate the other learning I’d already accumulated in an embodied way.

I feel tremendously grateful to Yuan Tze, Melissa Kung, and this system, and find it very harmonious with my other spiritual practice, my deep wish to serve all beings, and everything else in my life.

Dorenn S, NZ

I arrived at the retreat exhausted, but felt safe and comfortable with the people and surroundings. I remember as a group we were asked to do squats and my mind appeared empty and unable to focus. I squatted and preferred to stay there and was surprised when Yuan Tze asked if I was alright. I automatically said yes and he moved away. I really don`t remember some things that first day. Each day I improved and on the fourth day I began to feel more like myself. I became familiar with the routine and most of the time was able to complete the practice. Most mornings when Yuan Tze spoke, I unfortunately dozed due to my exhaustion. By day 10 I was feeling a lot better and did not wish the retreat to finish. However, after Melissa talked about the retreat ending, I started to look forward to going home.

I am not so anxious now, and am physically more relaxed, but part of me feels missing, empty, and numb. My goal at present is to daily practice Basic Exercises and The first Method alternate mornings, and The 3 Centres Merge in the evening.

Liliana Santirso, NZ

AS A WAY OF A TESTIMONIAL I'LL LIKE TO SHARE THE LETTER WRITTEN TO MY FAMILY. WITH LOVE AND RESPECT, LILIANA

Dear all: Sorry that I was not available in November, but the experience was worth. "Wings will only arrive when we are ready to fly... Qi Gong was a journey to the depth, the past, myself, this unknown entity I have been for myself for so long... Just a start...a discipline I need so much to approach the mirror. An amazing Chinese teacher with a complete Epoch B full consciousness...an exceptional translation, an incredible environment of more than a hundred colleagues. I am lucky to have this experience at my age. Now, trying to put together this chaotic universe I have been living in with the new eyes, will be a task of work and patience. I feel myself still in a transition, but with more energy and moments of already forgotten happiness. I thought of you when my mind was putting together people that are part of my extended self, family and friends that have a strong blueprint in my soul. Eventually, the planetary call for a change is so urgent that we should be becoming one in consciousness to make a world shift possible...And I see the future through your eyes. I have the intuition that we are getting closer at that level. We don't stop growing and this new awareness allows me to feel you with my fingertips and this is a real gift in helping me to face the challenges. - All my love, Mum /Nai nai (grand mother), L. Santirso

Nicole Sharp, NZ

Beauty, Beauty everywhere I look! It seems as though I'm looking through different eyes! Everyone and Everything from a spec of dust to a cloud, a tree, a plane, a shoe!! Everything is Beautiful! Amazing! The trees seem even more beautiful to me every time I look at them, somehow surreal but real at the same time! Then I realised that they are only beautiful if I make them look beautiful, or I guess if I want them to be! You totally do create your own reality! I prepared myself for a REALLY big challenge! I was amazed It wasn't as challenging as I expected. Of course I had the support of a great Qi field though! Stretching Qi is not challenging anymore, it is now enjoyable to me!

I identified many problems that I did not previously regard as problems, and found the answers inside myself! I realised I am creating my own reality and only I can change it! Realising is just the start! Now it takes perseverance and real effort to change unhealthy patterns on all levels!

I also learnt... How important working on my consciousness is, How important it is not to have negative emotions, and How important it is to stay calm, relaxed, natural and joyful in every moment no matter what the situation is The funny thing is I already knew all these things and have been working on them for a while.... But now I realise them on a much deeper level, which makes me realise something else went deeper.... NOTHING IS ABSOLUTE!! There’s always more and more and more to learn! I guess I expected Miracles to happen at the retreat, But I am the one who needs to make the miracles happen! The realisation that I have the ability to make miracles happen myself, is the biggest miracle!! Thank you very much Yuan Tze and Melissa, for the enjoyable experience!”

L.C, NZ

Thank you both so much for such an amazing experience, I had been doing Qigong for about 3 months before the retreat. I was not sure whether the retreat was going to be for me or not, but decided due to the reasons I started qigong, I would do anything to help... so I signed on (but only for 1 week (remember :), I was nervous, and unsure if I would "survive" 2 weeks, but I knew I could manage 1 week, (I also had some other commitments), anyway once I started reading the book, only the first few chapters, I thought there is no way I can only go for 1 week, this person (Yuan Tze) is such an amazing teacher, I have to go for the full 2 weeks and maximize my time and learn as much as I can from him. So I re-schedule commitments and confirmed myself on the 2 weeks. I was so excited; I couldn't believe I was going to spend 2 weeks learning from Yuan Tze, I couldn't wait :)

Well when I arrived day 1 of the retreat, I found out that it was a "silent" retreat.... I first thought Vlado was having me on... but soon realised it was true. I couldn't believe it, I didn't know if I would manage, I was glad I didn't know before hand as I am not sure if I would have been so excited about the 2 weeks... well I tell you what, I thoroughly enjoyed it, it really forces you inside (where you belong), and was one of the things I really needed to work on.

I use to live outside (of my body), always have and now I know I don't have too and that inside is better (actually a balance is better). I use to not be able to be in the quite (I would always have to put on some music) as my mind would always be racing around, it was my way of calming the mind (or maybe I should say "allowing my mind not to think anything"), now I enjoy it, I hardly put music on now, I like the quite, allows me to calm the mind properly. I still work on being inside, but at least I am working on it, along with many, many other things. I enjoyed my 2 weeks very much, practice was great, lectures/Q&A with Yuan Tze were brilliant (I had so many "yeah" moments, where light bulbs would go on, lots and lots of little realisations :), I also really enjoyed the learning of new methods (I love learning new things). There were a few tough moments, but only towards the end with my "best friend" (aka 3CM), but I talked myself through it and felt like I achieved alot from it.

Anyways, all in all awesome. An opportunity I am so pleased I did not pass up, and one I will never forget. You are both very amazing people (very "beautiful" people), and I feel privileged and honoured to have been able to share those 2 weeks with you both. Thank you so much for all I have learnt and experienced.

Multi-retreat attendants

Vanessa Lukes, NZ

Over the last 3 years, the two week Qigong retreat in November has become a highlight and this year was no exception, with 100 people gathering from across NZ, USA and Europe.

Encouraged to set a goal of what we wanted to achieve, I aimed to go deeper than ever before. Half an hour after the start, and when Yuan Tze said this was intention too, I began to wonder…had it really been my thought or had I just absorbed the information in the Qifield that always connects us? As the retreat progressed, this depth became apparent in everything we did, especially in the Ren Xue discussions. During one talk about the value and meaning of a human life, Yuan Tze urged us to step up and take responsibility for not only our lives, but the very future of humanity. I felt a spear of light pierce my head and heart, and I was filled with an overwhelming sense of both the enormity of the task and huge hope. And I knew I was not alone. Together we will do it.

Tricia Spence, NZ

I just wanted to send a big Texas size THANK YOU to Yuan Tze and Melissa for a wonderful retreat.

I had a much deeper experience this time on the consciousness level. I don't think I really knew what 'relaxed' was until this retreat. I have seen the importance and experienced first hand the connection between Shen and the body. It is amazing when you allow yourself to let go of trying to 'control' the physical movement and truly relax so that Shen and body are unified, how different the experience is. I think I will begin to apply that to all areas of my life!

This retreat has confirmed once again the benefits Zhineng Qigong and Ren Xue have brought to my life and how others are naturally drawn to wanting to know more about what has made such an incredible impact on my life. Instead of struggling to explain what this all about, or trying to 'control' and force the words, I find that the words are coming more easily as my understanding has gone to a much deeper level.

I had some self doubt about starting the teacher training course last year as I was a bit nervous about teaching when I had not been doing it for long. However, this time it is different, I can still experience my journey of growth and learning while helping others on theirs.

I am also more at ease with being 'one with time' and not trying to race against it. It makes the day seem much longer and more fulfilling. Every moment counts! Life and this journey are wonderful! Thank you both for your dedication to sharing this wisdom with the world!

Ans Wilkin, NZ

This year was my third retreat, I was now able to go much deeper into myself. I started to get some understanding of the saying: "coming home into yourself.' What a wonderful place to be.

In this deeper state my thoughts were amplified, which allowed me to look at the problems, which I intended to clear at the retreat. To my astonishment, I came to the realisation 'I have been such a fool". Indeed I clearly saw the source of my problems: me. I realised why things in this specific area of my life had the developed the way it had throughout my life, back down to my first thought. It was almost like being the director of an interactive video, starting the video at the end 'the now' and working backwards to the 'beginning'. I kept asking myself questions whilst watching how things evolved the way they did and why. I was able to see why this first thought had come about allowing myself to take on the role of victim for most of my adult life. This was of course not without an inner struggle; Yuan Tze's teachings helped me to cut through this struggle as I managed to used Ren Xue to help me navigate the way out of this particular struggle. The use of the Zhineng Qigong exercises helped me to refocus, to remain calm when my false self was making a lot of fuss through this process.

What Yuan Tze had taught all along; thoughts are qi, it has form and contains information has now taken on real meaning. I understand its significance in relation to my old problems and patterns. I am deeply grateful for this opportunity. With increasing clarity I can see my path ahead and know it will continue to require hard and consistent work. To me this is most gratifying and making my life truly worthwhile. Seeing all the practitioners at the retreat, from all walks of life provided me with much inspiration and admiration.

Natalie Pullock, NZ

I have found the past retreat full of deep and profound experiences that are changing my life for the better (turning it all around like a Lotus flower blooming out of the muddy waters). I woke this morning in a state of free fall a feeling of dying but being completely at peace and suspended in mid air so actually not falling. I know this is just the beginning of an amazing journey ahead and the jewels and treasures inside are slowly being found, dusted off and placed in a very sacred place for my life. I am moving more and more inwards and the outside values seem to be fading away. I feel stronger in myself and feel a very deep sense of gratitude that I was able to attend this last retreat. I know I will attend the next retreat and am moving towards this now. Every moment is precious, everything is precious.

Dr Anna Harvey, NZ

The retreat was a most wonderful experience. I felt nurtured & rejuvenated on every level of my being. I noticed big improvements in my physical body with increased strength, flexibility & relaxation. What really amazed me was how much better I felt emotionally, mentally & spiritually. I came away with my consciousness lifted & with a beautiful glimpse of human potential if nurtured under more optimal group conditions. I feel blessed to have been a part of such a unified & powerfully healing qi field. I will definitely be back next year.

Jay Baker, NZ

Thanks' so much for the effort and work that was put into our last retreat. I feel a deep change has taken place inside of me. Also when I meet friends who were there as well often I can see a real change in them too. During the retreat there were stages where my body felt as though it was filled with clear bright light. When negative thought patterns came up I could just move this light over them and they'd be cleared. My ability to deal with the challenges in everyday life has improved so much and keeps improving. I truly wish that we will have to share Ren Xue, Yuan Tze and Melissa with more and more people. May the future be bright and clear.

Lydia Kowaleff, NZ

The 2009 retreat was a wonderful combination of qigong practice and discussion on Ren Xue.The structured programme of qigong practice enabled me to build my qi quickly and discussions on Ren Xue allowed my consciousness to absorb information and open to possibilities. The one thing that was very noticeable was how when Shen is disturbed, it can effect the chi and body so quickly almost in an instant. It is now my job to look at the emotional and mental triggers which so often can begin to pull the three treasures of Jing, qi and Shen out of balance. Only then can Shen be the master of life and a natural, calm, joyful state be experienced.

Miriam Kauders, Registered Psychologist, Registered Teacher, NZ

Thanks so much for the retreat. It was an amazing experience for me: profound, challenging and deeply rewarding. It was a privilege to be there. The opportunity to examine my inner life, my thoughts and patterns while learning qigong and hearing about the potential to have a joyful existence was remarkable. Thanks again.

Ngaire Jehle, NZ

This was my third retreat and the best yet. It was hard work but I feel I made a lot of progress on all levels -- physically, mentally and spiritually. The teaching has also equipped me to manage my life more wisely and adopt some healthier patterns of behaviour and thinking. I wish everyone had this opportunity.

Tim Stevenson, NZ

I've been on all of the Qigong retreats run by Yuan Tze and Melissa. The experience just keeps getting better and better, and the horizons of our learning keep on expanding. We learn and practice in a fantastic qi field created by Yuan Tze that has to be experienced to be believed - it is such a rich and bountiful source of unspoken information ("heart to heart" learning) and safe, positive, supportive energy. I unreservedly recommend these retreats for anyone even remotely interested in Qigong.

Richie Knight, NZ

Thank you Yuan Tze and Melissa for once again conducting an amazing retreat. If one really makes an effort to learn and put into practice what is taught - amazing transformations begin to take place. I believe that the information imparted by Yuan Tze for working on life, Qi and the consciousness could not be obtained in a lifetime of reading books. In other words, the information is invaluable.

M.W., NZ

My experience of this retreat has been very different from the previous retreats. I felt the intention of the qifield to "quicken" and that has definitely happened for me. The effort was cranked-up. The buttons were pushed and some habits that I had been processing for 2 years now have cleared, finally, phew!

The way of it has definitely deepened my understanding to the infinite self. This is in regard to our connectedness to all living things, depth of knowing and instant access to information at a thought. I feel smooth, empty yet full of qi and more-so timely, calm and relaxed with my own surroundings. With this new state I strongly reccommend any student who might hesitate with practice to persevere and just, (the bottom line) "do it".

There are no words for how touched I am for having met a friend like Yuan Tze. I have been practicing Zhineng Qigong and Ren Xue for over 5 years now and still believe Im only at the beginning of the true journey. Thank you Melissa for all your patience and effort to help all of us.

Testimonials from Mt Cheeseman November 2008

First time retreat attendants

Aiyanna Leenheer, NZ

Dear Yuan Tze and Melissa, thank you so much for the 2 week retreat up in Mount Cheeseman. It was a wonderful 2 weeks packed full of precious learning. It was a real treat being in the strong qifield for all that time. I found it was much easier to do the practices and even the Standing Form. Everything seemed orchestrated to enhance my learning, even the weather! I learnt to recognize my Shen and how to control negative feelings and emotions better. I thoroughly enjoyed doing the practices together in this beautiful qifield and I am sincerely grateful for the understanding I gained.

Darryl Walker, NZ

I came to the 2008 Mt Cheeseman retreat a beginner, just a few weeks after being introduced to Qigong. To be honest I did not even understand the concept of Qi. The instruction the teachers gave was wonderful. Thank you, each one of you. And special thanks to Yuan Tze for building such a powerful Qi field, for your pertinent comments and the 'heart to heart' learning that extended the limits of my physical and mental capacities - way beyond what I ever dreamed was possible. Again thanks and Qi for you both.

Rudolf Jarosewitsch, NZ

High above the clouds, I can see far into the distance. The blue sky above me seems limitless. This is how the retreat ends for me. At times, the weather was different, and I found myself fogged out, in the clouds with no perspective at all. At other times, the wind howled and it felt unsafe to even go out. Then it rained or hailed. One day, all was covered under a blanket of blending white snow. On another day, I saw a rainbow, which evoked a sense of awe. Like the weather, my experience of the Qigong retreat was varied and multi-faceted. I went through a range of experiences that provided a deep ground for personal growth. The fact that we did not talk helped my introspection and self-reflection. A vast array of different emotions were evoked, and I could witness how my thinking influenced them.

I was reminded of a life-changing experience that I had in my twenties, when I spent some time in a Buddhist monastery in Sri Lanka. It was the time that I was most confronted with myself, a great opportunity for increased awareness of my own internal processes, where I could not run away from myself, where I stayed in silence.

Yuan Tze kindly created a qi-field that would soften any qi-reactions. It worked and, as far as I know, no one got really sick. However, I welcomed my qi-reactions in a similar way as I welcomed my pain, which, as I learned, only indicated blocked energy. I stayed with it, relaxed into it, until it disappeared. “Everything is very good”, the motto of the retreat provided the ground for an overall growthful experience. “Good and bad are relative.” In choosing to focus on good, the experience can only be positive.

Maybe reality is what it is. The only thing we can influence is our perception of reality, the way we see the world. In the end, it is our perception that influences our experience, that impacts on our reality.

It seems that overall, I grew in health not only on a physical level, but also emotionally and mentally. Especially the third method, which was new to me, had a major impact. It brought up all sort of feelings on a subtle level, like fear, sadness, irritation, doubt. They were not very strong, just mildly surfacing from the background of my unconsciousness.

Consciousness is a big word in Qigong. With our consciousness, we can move energy, qi, which then in turn impacts on our physical body. It is important to learn to manage our feelings rather than express them vehemently. This is quite different to my previous training in Gestalt therapy. Back then, it was encouraged to express feelings freely, as a proof of one's liberation.

Overall, at this retreat, I felt like I was engaging in a process of personal therapy in a different form. The extensive Qigong practice also provided ample opportunities to increase my mind power. The two weeks in the mountains was a pro-active health activity on all levels. Overall, I feel very blessed and happy to have been part of this unique growth opportunity. Now is the time to integrate what I learned into my daily life. Practising the Three Centres Merge Standing Form regularly each night is a good start. Thank you Yuan Tze, thank you Melissa.

Multi-retreat attendants

Greg Kendrick, NZ

The qigong retreat, the third event, this November just been was a success. Of course different people had different level of success but all who attended will agree, and the proof was in the pudding as many people left the mountain feeling very good and filled with Qi. There were people who had been doing Qigong and learning Human Life Science since Yuan Tze first arrived in New Zealand and there were others who had just begun and yet somehow Yuan Tze was able to cover enough ground for the beginners and go deep enough for the older students. The teaching reached a new level of depth and the importance on working on ones patterns was truly brought very clearly into the reference system. I did notice the importance of having those attend read the book so that the teaching can manifest even deeper next time. I had an amazing journey and very few reactions which is great! I have been doing Qigong and studying Ren Xue (Human Life Science) for about a year and a half and been to the 3 retreats and I can truly say it has transformed my life or it has given me the knowledge and abilities to be my own saviour and one day the master of my life. Thank you.

Didier Le Guen, NZ

Many thanks to Yuan Tze and Melissa for running this latest Qigong retreat. It was a great opportunity to improve in all the different Qigong methods and techniques, and also to further my own personal development and knowledge on many levels. The powerful Qi field was very supporting of the whole process.

Vanessa Lukes, NZ

I do my best to make Qigong a 24 hour practice, but everyday distractions – work, commitments, business - seem to demand my attention, pulling my mind away from going deeper inside. Rarely in life do we take the opportunity to turn the other way and invest in ourselves.

November 2008, 2 weeks at Mt Cheeseman. “Every second counts”, Yuan Tze reminds us. I totally agree. Here's my chance to really focus and go deeper, and I settle in to the routine of Qigong, eat, sleep, Qigong...

Like the mountain mist dissolving in the sun, I melt into the powerful Qifield and absorb the positive, healing information. I wake one night with one clear sentence in my head: “I'm getting healthier and healthier from the inside out”. My body and mind feel like they go through a washing machine as old information and Qi reactions are shaken up, spun around and washed away.

The beauty of the mountain environment surrounding me paled in comparison with what I saw when I closed my eyes. I would never have believed that from inside the blue sky could be clearer, the light more radiant. The whole universe really IS inside you. Take the time to discover it for yourself and all humanity. Thank you Melissa and Yuan Tze.

Vlado Rashev, NZ

When people hear the phrase “life cultivation” usually they think about something complicated and not so relevant to the everyday life. Something that is reserved for selected people only. After listening to Yuan Tze’s talks, one can clearly see that life cultivation is something relevant to everyone. Even more, it is must do if we want to make our life more meaningful and enjoyable. There are simple steps that can change the life we live for better. They can bring more awareness and satisfaction to it. Thank you Yuan Tze, thank you Melissa.

Manfredd Raunigg, NZ

The third retreat with Yuan Tze was yet another major step on my "Journey Towards Optimum Well-Being". After 8 levels of Teachers Training and 3 Retreats the Qifield is getting very dense as soon as we get together and we all start to add to the Qifield Yuan Tze built specifically for the event. My own personal Journey has reached a deeper level of realization and I am continuing to work on further cultivation. I am amazed at the ability of the very new people who have come into this Qifield and seem to progress at such a fast pace that would have been unthinkable when we got started...

I did have a strong picture come up again and again while doing the 3 centres merge standing form and I would like to share it here: 3 Centres - I - Myself - Me I says: there is only one Master in the Universe and I am that - ...I know that! MYSELF - which after thousands of years of rebellion against I has become the 'self destructive Self' - says... "Yeah Right!" ME - which is pure Love and Joy underneath it all... - says... "What about ME ?" Well.... 3 Centres Merge is ALL ABOUT ME ... It's the way back INSIDE to true Love and Joy !!! , which is always there underneath it all ... O:-)

Testimonials from Cambridge Retreat, July 2008

Greg Kendrick, NZ

Yuan Tze Human Life Science is amazing beyond words. It is a voyage and can only be understood through personal experience. It starts off as a way to heal yourself and become healthy, and then you do become healthy, more than you have ever been before and then it goes from being a way to heal to a lifestyle and your whole life morphs from ignorance to understanding, and your perception of life and your self are radically transformed. It’s not easy but the benefits are greater than anything else you could have ever. The Qigong retreats are a particularly fast period of transformation to becoming a true human. Cambridge was my second retreat and I absolutely loved it! I have been doing Qigong for 1 year now, and I am a very different person! The hardest part is after the retreat when all the integration and purification happens and you reach a whole new level of health and understanding. Thank you Yuan Tze!

Violetta Pertova, NZ

I attended the two retreats organised by Yuan Tze up to now. I’d like to say that the weeks spent there were some of the most important experiences in terms of life cultivation I have had recently.

The places for retreat have been carefully chosen to make us shift the focus from the external to the internal. They were magnificent places, yet in a different way, each facing us with the primary and raw beauty of nature and its fundamentals. The rule of silence applied strictly during the retreats increases the intensity of the internal orientation and helps us identify our physical, mental and emotional problems on a deeper level.

Life during the retreats is reduced to basic things: eating, sleeping, practice…Doing Qigong exercises all day long is a challenge even for people who have practised for years. Yet, this is a rewarding effort. Very soon one can experience the positive changes in the body and mind. The practice takes place in a collectively built, very strong and powerful Qifield charged with positive information about health and progress in life cultivation. The purifying and revitalising effect of the Qifield and the intense practice transform everyone’s body and mind.

How about the reactions? Usually after each retreat I have the strongest and the longest series of reaction ever since I have started doing Qigong. There are all sorts of reactions: physical, emotional and on mental level. It seems already like a pattern to have them after the retreat and usually they last as long as the days of the retreat. I do not worry about this because I know this is the darkness before dawn…The strong reactions mean that I have touched a deep-seated problem and my body and mind ‘rebel’ against this intervention. We have lived for so long with our problems that our bodies are used to them and they react furiously to any attempt to change the status quo (old habits). To clear the reactions I try to do as much practice as possible, usually long series of each basic exercise. Soon all reactions are cleared and this is the moment I recognise the progress I have made during the retreat. I feel like a snake that has just thrown away the old skin. All my body feels recharged and revitalised; the mind is clearer and more powerful; emotional life - more stable and manageable. The internal focus is more persistent, the state of internal calmness moves to a higher level, the mind knows better what’s going on in the body in every single moment…Even my perception of time has changed: it goes slower and more peacefully; my internal sense of it is as if it moves in slow motion in a film…

Now, after the second retreat, I do know that each of them has been a breakthrough in terms of health and life cultivation. After each of them I emerge as a different person. This is why my primary goal now is to keep the level I have reached there and to use it as starting point to move forward. We all want to be healthy, yet the Qigong practitioners know that wonderful health is just the primary and necessary step along the road of life cultivation. The most important things are ahead; they begin after you get healthy…I look forward to these things to come and meanwhile I’m getting healthier, more and more, with each retreat. I do believe this applies to everyone: the beginners have already taken the first steps on this path, the old students experience miracles every day since they have started serious Qigong practice. (P.S. Yuan Tze: The perception of slowing down of time is normal in the process of deepening the state of calmness.)

Vlado Rashev, NZ

Again my experience was special and different from the previous time. It seems I continue to discover new depths of something that appears to be very simple at first sight... This retreat was my 10th two week training with Yuan Tze and I would like to mention one of the new elements that have been introduced not long ago. The no-talking rule. This single thing was able to amplify the results of my practice quite a lot. I manage to experience its direct connection to the state of being relaxed, calm and natural. I understand the rule not only as a no-talking policy but policy that has to eliminate any unnecessary communication with the external. The opportunity to be in a powerful Qi-field with my Qigong fellows and at the same time enjoying the luxury of using my qi primary for my internal needs is something very precious to have. This exercise gave me a new level of stability during the retreat and it made a big difference to my practise as well. The no-talking rule makes the practice easy and enjoyable. And it can help the good relationships to get to an even higher level – what a good way to learn how to feel the state your friends and other people are in, to sense their thoughts and feelings, and all this without the need of using verbal communication!! Thank you Yuan Tze.

Richie Knight, NZ

My heart felt thanks and appreciation to Yuan Tze and Melissa for organising such a wonderful retreat. Truly one the best (but also challenging) things I have done. The talks Yuan Tze gave were (as always) extremely interesting, thought provoking and multifaceted. I felt like I was able to deepen my practice, and the teachers of the methods did an excellent job at imparting their knowledge. I still feel like I am feeling the benefits and changes going on in my body since the retreat has ended. The shared sense of purpose and like mindedness of all those who were there was an added bonus.

Jan Nash, NZ

Thank you for the wonderful opportunity to attend the recent retreat in Cambridge. This was my first retreat and I was not sure what to expect, but any concerns were short-lived. I would like to thank you both for the warmness of your welcome and the provision of facilities and a programme which ensured we could all benefit from this unique experience.

Working in the chi field was a new and amazing experience for me and the chi felt strong and tangible. Both my health and my practice improved in this environment. I was humbled by the courage and commitment of the people around me, all facing their own challenges. Thank you Yuan Tze for sharing your immense wisdom during the morning lectures which were presented with wonderful humour and respect. I found them enlightening, thought-provoking and uncomplicated. Everything made such good sense and I found it exciting to have my mind opened to new perspectives and ways of dealing with life.

I returned home with a strong sense of commitment to my practice which has become regular and meaningful. In particular I believe “stretching chi” has been of great benefit to me. In recent days I have experienced reaction on an emotional level which felt like I was re-living pain and disturbances of the past. Normally I would have felt that this was a backward step in my life but my new understanding of reactions has meant that I am able to recognise that I am clearing and letting go of negative emotions from the past.

Since my stay at the retreat I feel healthier, wiser and more respectful towards others and myself. Thank you so much for showing us the way, I now feel more empowered to carry on improving my own life as well as that of others.

I think of this journey as the hardest I have ever taken but probably the most rewarding and a turning point in my life. I was prepared for hard work, different routine, different food & living conditions and not being able to talk but I was not prepared for the emotional reactions at all.

I know Yuan Tze was aware of my distress and I know he helped me find a way out the other end of the black hole I found myself in. I do not think I have ever told Yuan Tze that I spent some time in a mental institution in my 20s – I imagined I had dealt with all the related problems years ago. I had not! I also imagined that I had dealt with the problems I had with my mother growing up- wrong again!

My perception of the Qi field at this time was very dark in colour and lots of sharp things were in it. It felt like in my mind picking the scabs off sores! I think I was scared by it.

I was also horrified to hear Yuan Tze talking about all the woeful problems of the world as I have a policy of not listening or reading any world news as I feel powerless to help and it does upset me. How wonderful to have my question relating to this chosen from the bowl on the last day, I was very comforted by the answer. The second day I could not believe a question about people deliberately changing the weather could be discussed – this really caused me to fall down the black hole, I could not control my tears and always mindful that Yuan Tze told me not to cry I searched the book for comfort and answers in my free time. I also found comfort in the surroundings, the animals and my lovely Qigong family. After the 2nd group healing I had the strangest dreams - I realized on waking that I had a lot of anger – I was even angry at Yuan Tze for ‘hurting’ me with his talks. I tried very hard at my practice to keep control of my mind and consciousness focused – this did help and the next morning after a feverish night Yuan Tze seemed to be talking right to me about reactions and the Flu Phenomenon so I decided I was healing myself by drawing all the healing Qi I knew was being put into the Qi field so I breathed in and drew Qi to my respiratory system and sinus with as much concentration and strength as I could- in a very short while I realized everything was cleared and the sun came out in my mind again. I now have some idea of the root problems that I have that need work and need to be cleared. The Qi field was a lot different after this, much lighter in color and many less sharp pieces.

With the moving practice I was then able to concentrate and move Shen and body much more evenly and consistently, even managing to complete the long version of 3 Centres Merge Standing Form, a practice that I like many others dread! The trick short one was even a pleasure! I do not think it will ever be my favorite practice but I have been wrong about a lot of things so I keep an open mind.

I am so grateful to Yuan Tze for so many things, for deciding to come to New Zealand and give us these opportunities and for wanting to make this world a better place and showing us some tools to work towards this. I am going to try and make every minute count and my big dream is for the Qi Gong community to become a reality. I have some ideas of how we could raise money to go towards it but I am just going to put them out into the Qi Field for now. We are so lucky in Riwaka as we have our Centre at Edith’s and all our wonderful teachers to help us. We also have a growing Qi Gong family and a lot of people who may not actively practice Qi Gong but they have very similar beliefs and ideas.

Manfredd Raunigg, NZ

After 8 levels of Teachers Training this was the second Retreat and in my experience every time I spend 2 weeks in the Qifield (which first of all Yuan Tze creates/initiates and then we all participate and contribute) I experience some mayor changes in my Focus - Commitment and (self)Discipline! This time I experienced the Qifield as we drove in quite challenging... We had a long journey as all the main roads were closed due to snow and the weather was rather rough...so was the hall that we were going to spend the next 10 days in together and I was practicing staying Calm, Relaxed and Natural all the way through while being exhausted from the 2 day trip to get there....

The first couple of mornings the frost and the temperature in the hall was severe! Yuan Tze put out the "Theme" for the retreat - "Every Day Is A Good Day - Every Place Is A Good Place - Everything Is A Good Thing" and this, NO doubt IS the Truth! So, after the talking stopped I started the inner work with focus, commitment and discipline and it was faster and easier then ever before to progress.

The Qi-field was stronger and more powerful then ever before and also the group, even though there was a lot of new people, was stronger... The Qi reactions were deep and subtle this time and I feel a strong shift to the next level has happened. I am also very happy to be one of the people who did not get that flu like virus/qi-reaction/cold!!! I feel very privileged and grateful for the opportunity to spend this quality time together with everyone! Looking forward to "Mount Qi-man" Retreat in November.

Ana Raunigg, NZ

Thank you for the Winter Retreat. I sincerely hope it happens again. I love the winter weather and subdued nature, because it’s much easier for me as a gardener, and "She - who - must - follow - the - Seasons" to go inside and focus on my inner life. When Nature starts gushing forth my role as caregiver/midwife arises and it takes a lot of energy to disengage.

In 5 years of practicing Qigong daily, I was pleased that the "Flu Phenomenon Qi reaction" has gone away and I am now down from 5 or 6 major infections per year to 2 times of 24 hours duration...

There is a power in these Qi Fields that Yuan Tze builds, that I don't have any concept of. I just experience it, my whole system makes use of it and it gives power to my life health-wise emotionally, mentally, spiritually and financially! Thank you.

Sue Gardiner, NZ

Thank you so much for the wonderful healing and teaching at Cambridge Qigong retreat. I feel I am in a clam and relaxed state most of the time now and have more confidence and feel more joy in whatever I am doing. I can now see clearly all the old patterns I need to work on. I recommend Yuan Tze’s Qigong retreat to everyone!! “‘Everyday is a good day. Every place is a good place. Everything is a good thing.’☺”

Testimonialsfrom Mt Cheeseman Retreat, November 2007

Linda Duff, NZ

Since the retreat I have found I am in a calm state most of the time and am much more aware when I become anxious and/or reactive. I am practising qigong most days and am finding I am getting stronger and the practise more powerful. The retreat was a very special time for me and I am very grateful for the opportunity to learn the practices with a Master. It is only now that I am back with life's busy-ness and demands that I can appreciate the rare environment you created for us up on the mountain. It was also extremely powerful being in silence. I worked through very many patterns and reactions during the retreat and the safe and supported atmosphere helped me resolve them. Your wisdom and high standards set the bar at a new level for me to work towards in life. This work is an important tool for life and is now part of my life's routine for self care, self discovery and healing. Once again, I am most grateful for all you did for us and for bringing this beautiful work to New Zealand.

Shona Page, NZ

I found the qigong retreat both challenging and hugely rewarding. To be in a situation where all I did was eat the meals provided, have a shower, brush my teeth, get to bed on time and turn up to class with an open mind and heart, gave me the opportunity to dump everything else out of my mind and come to a place of deep stillness within. The mountainous surroundings and seemingly stark landscape were an ideal setting. Not speaking during the retreat seemed entirely appropriate and the more I went internally and stilled my mind the less I wanted or needed to speak to others. I felt alone and separate but fully supported and part of those around me.

The retreat enabled me to go deeper within, to identify and work on my bad habits, negative thoughts, judgments etc. The teachings reinforced the concept of dealing with problems on a fundamental level and many everyday occurrences were used as examples. It all seems so logical and simple when explained this way but putting the teachings into practice to uplift my own life is now the challenge.

During and since the retreat I find myself more calm and relaxed, better able to still my mind, more accepting of/respectful of myself and others, more aware of and connected with the universal qifield, more independent - less reliant on others, better able to help others, more confident as a teacher, and now I almost enjoy doing 3 Centres Merge Standing Form regularly.

Richard Tran, USA

It was a dream come true for me to be able to attend the retreat. All of the sacrifices (work & family) and efforts to come all the way from the America to New Zealand just to attend Yuan Tze's retreat were well paid off. I have gained so much from the retreat. Both of my Qigong level and consciousness have advanced to a much higher level than before. I have learned so much from Yuan Tze during the 2 weeks retreat that I would not think I could have learned from any other sources for years. My practice of Qigong methods are at a higher level than before. I feel so much positive changes in both Qi and virtue. Last but not the least, my practice of static form, 3CM, has been going from 30min or less to 60min/80min daily. I am honored to be treated as a member of the Yuan Tze HLS family.

Jane Newman, NZ

I am writing to express my deepest gratitude to you both for the life-changing experience of attending the Qigong retreat at Mt Cheeseman. I learnt so much more about Qigong and the care you both extended to everyone was profound. The teachings Liu laoshi shared continued to inspire me. They are so full of information, wisdom, humour and guidance that I know they will continue to inspire me for the rest of my life.

So now, as you expressed in your email to us, I am facing the challenge of implementing so much information and learning into my daily life. Having begun to experience a Qigong state in the qifield at Mt Cheeseman, along with the intense focus of being in retreat there, I now strive to sustain that state of being fully present in every moment and in everything I do and think.

It is such a joy to feel this new awareness of Qi moving through my actions and thoughts when I am in the nurturing, peaceful and relaxing Qigong state. This consciousness helps me to quickly notice the effects of old patterns that distract from simple ease and happiness, with anxiety, fears and disappointments (to name only a few).

Having the long practises of 3 Centres Merge Standing form, I at last felt the mind and Qi connection and felt Qi flowing in the channels that I had held as blocked in my mind. All the beautiful, affirming messages for the mind preparation in the Qigong practices finally started to click into place. When Liu laoshi talked about gratitude, the truths he expressed opened my heart to deeper and deeper levels of realisation and gratitude for this precious opportunity of learning, sharing and growth. So, with humility and respect for your immense generosity and compassion, I extend my deepening levels of gratitude to you Liu laoshi and Melissa. Arohanui

Barbara Simsch, NZ

Those two intense weeks of structured practice and teaching have brought my understanding of the true reality of life a step further. But this does not stop here. Applying this insight into my daily life is influencing my actions and decision making in a very positive way. The direction has become clearer, the meaning has become deeper.

On another level I am experiencing changes to my life in form of health improvements. My health conditions which I have been trying to fix since quite a while are clearing up, as my mind has gained some ability to influence fundamental life processes I highly recommend Yuan Tze's Qigong retreat to everyone.

Vlado Rashev, NZ

The Qigong retreat 2007 was a very unique and special experience. I would highly recommend it to both absolute beginners and advanced Qigong practitioners. Combination of theory, practice and Qi therapy, 24 hours a day and not a minute wasted! I saw how the new students got to the level of 2 year practitioners just in 2 weeks. I witnessed how old students got deeper and deeper in their practice working on their old habits and unhealthy patterns. The programme of the retreat was done in such a way that one can practise Qigong all the time. Actually, all our daily activities were turned into a Qigong practice and the benefit was enormous. Not to mention the powerful Qi-field – it works doesn’t matter whether you are practising the methods or sitting somewhere quiet and open to it! I learned a lot of new things that have not been mentioned even at the 8 level teacher’s training. Also I was able to see many of the things I already knew from a different perspective. My practice improved and so did the degree of my energy and health. But the most important of all, my understanding about life and what I can do with it got to a different level. Thank you Yuan Tze, thank you Melissa.

Greg Kendrick, NZ

Thank you so much for all the teaching and healing at the chi gong retreat, it was amazing and I feel I have changed on a deep level somewhere inside my being. I have had eczema for the past five years and haven’t been able to find anything to fix it, but the two weeks of intense Qigong has cleared to the point of almost non existent and the continual Qigong I do everyday will clear up the last tiny part of it.

Jill Dyett, NZ

Where to start! The retreat for me was the most rewarding yet. ‘I’ prove that you don’t have to ‘be a good person’ to do Qigong. Qigong transforms you, over a period of practice into a ‘good person’. Whilst doing my first two ‘gongs’ earlier on in 3 CM, I used to stand there, fighting myself and my real or imagined ‘pain’ until the form finished. My body would go into burnups of heat, with sweat dripping from my tailbone. It was never pleasurable or relaxed, but it did transform me.

At this retreat I must have finally let it all go. I had enough strong and pure Qi from the qifield to become ‘light’. It took till the last day, in about the 70th minute for my body and mind to ‘give up’ so the body could finally just suspend, weightless. My left shoulder was the last to succumb to painlessness, because my mind knew the ligament holding the shoulder in was torn from the bone.

Only now can I observe back to the real causes of anger, impatience and mental and physical foolhardiness and stubbornness that made it like that in the first place, likewise, carrying an injured hip and previously ruptured lumbar disc, plus other old injuries. Now the causes of pushing myself to the limit at sports, because I couldn’t cope with my emotions and the life I had structured for myself are clear, and it’s not too late. Qigong has pushed Qi through these blocks in my mind, body and spirit, to a much happier place.

So keep up your daily practice, as subtle shifts and transformations are the easiest. After pain comes painlessness After fear comes calm After hate comes pure love After despair comes hope and faith. Yes, through the practice of Qigong and the comprehending of Human Life Science, why we are who and what we are becomes clearer and clearer. It sure beats ‘beating yourself up’. With all my love and respect

Matt de Boer, Australia

My heartfelt gratitude to you both for hosting the qigong retreat. Together we all created a powerful experience which deepened each of our lives immeasurably. Thank you to you both and all the helpers who did the background work to allow it to happen so smoothly.

I know I mentioned this to you already Melissa, but the retreat really has changed my life. I feel like a great opening has occurred, and I stand at the brink of a new phase in my life. My practice to this point has been, as you know, at the beginners level. With the excellent tuition provided by the old students, I have learnt new methods which will help me reach new depths in my practice. I am now committed to 100 days of at least 1hr of 3 Centres Merge Standing Form and also the Second Method. I am confident that this practice will go on indefinitely! I had a number of significant experiences at the retreat, many feelings of opening in my head, especially at Yintang and Baihui. I also experienced an incredible improvement in my ability to do the practice. Now I do 3CM for an hour very easily, I just need to keep my mind from wandering!

It is interesting coming back to everyday life. I am very sensitive to the fluctuations of qi, and am noticing previous patterns of behaviour which are very qi depleting. I am working on approaching them in new ways which will be more beneficial.

One thing that was significant for me at the retreat was a saying that Yuan Tze mentioned: "full belly looking for something to do". In some ways I could see that some aspects of my life were exactly that. And it was in those areas that I always have felt some kind of emptiness and feeling that there must be more to life. So I am making sure that I keep a good state whenever I am doing those things and am looking at building on those parts of my life which are having real benefits for myself and other people. Again many thanks for a very deep and rewarding retreat. I look forward to seeing you both at the next one, and perhaps sooner.

Tim Stevenson, NZ

I was lucky enough to be able to go on the 2-week Qigong retreat that Yuan Tze held in Mount Cheeseman in November 2007. It was an extraordinary experience – a chance to focus on my Qigong practice, surrounded by like-minded students, in beautiful natural surroundings, and all this under the guidance and tuition of a master teacher and practitioner. A month later, I’m still absorbing the lessons and experience I gained from the retreat, but I can say with certainty that it has deepened and strengthened my practice and put me on a path to further progress. I recommend an experience like this to anyone interested in developing their knowledge and experience of Qigong.

Angel Neshama, NZ

Firstly I want to sincerely Thank Yuan Tze, our living Teacher and also Melissa, the voice and pathway of such valuable teachings. It is a deep relief, knowing Ren Xue will continue to thrive for people with an affinity to this wisdom.

Before arriving to the retreat I was quite anxious with the state of my life and unsure about my ability to keep up with the intensive Qigong practice as well as the high level of the teachings during the retreat. It was difficult for me to leave my 2 beautiful daughters for 2 whole weeks but Yuan Tze had assured me that it would be well worth it for all of us. And I was able to call them regularly which softened the challenge - at least on that level…

When I arrived I felt quite depleted from the life I had been creating for myself. I had allowed myself to be ruled by the stress of everything that needed to be done. I enjoyed life to a certain level but knew I was not really satisfying some important part of me. At times I would quietly admit to myself that I was a little dissatisfied with my life. I just couldn’t see it clearly enough to change. My emotional world was also growing more intensity but I didn’t think that I was completely accountable for that.

The retreat was an amazing opportunity on so many levels. On a physical level I feel very nourished and strengthened and lengthened by the regular practice of Qigong. The rigorous time table gave me a chance to replenish a much healthier rhythm which included 3 most delicious meals a day and good amount of sleep.

From the outside, it may have appeared that each day was fairly similar at the retreat, and yet my internal world was an epic and vivid adventure. Over the 2 weeks I had several experiences both during and outside of practices which were expansive beyond the realm of physicality. This reaffirmed for me in a tangible way – Qi, matter and consciousness.

These 2 weeks have given me a moment to gaze through wider eyes at my life and a moment to glimpse back at those wider eyes… To briefly encounter the true master of life that I have been so busy ignoring to the point that I didn’t even know I’d lost one… It gave me an opportunity to see the potential for growing a forest deep inside myself so that there is more abundance for a true master to reside.

I came with my loving partner who thought we were going on a romantic retreat together while also doing a little Qigong. It was an awakening for us both… Some difficult relationship patterns emerged and I encountered the challenge of feeling deeply emotional at times during the retreat. Although there may have been some reactions going on from being in to the powerful Qifield and receiving Qi healings, I was still faced with these emotional responses.

I failed to catch my reactions a couple of times and suddenly the reactivity between my partner and I would escalate. I would very quickly feel completely depleted, more so than when I had experienced these patterns before the retreat. I began to see a bit more clearly that my emotions are ultimately symptomatic of deeper patterns inside myself and in the meantime I’m causing damage. So I began digging deep to see if I could find the patterns of behaviour informing my emotional responses instead of blaming my partner for what he’d said or done. Although I only scratched the surface in my digging, this was still enough to give me a good example of the progress possible with the incidents that followed.

There was a few times during the retreat that arose, where I would normally have engaged in an emotional battle with my partner, but instead, with a bit more awareness of a particular pattern, I managed effortlessly to maintain a warm loving smile, deep on the inside. These were such noteworthy moments for me personally even though they were seemingly insignificant every day challenges. This was because the joy I felt was widely enhanced and my sense of wellness was markedly more voluminous. And the situation in those moments resolved stunningly and did not escalate in ways I could usually predict. Like water off a ducks back and thus no traction for our usual emotion driven patterns of engagement.

So I return to my life with some hope. I know I’m not cured of myself and that the journey of self awareness, self development and working on life can be arduous and challenging. I want to accept the gift being offered here with all I’ve got but know I have many hills to climb. My prayer is that I will have the strength of spirit to keep getting back up even when I fall down. I don’t even know if I’ve made any real progress in wiping the mirror on my life and the few small breakthroughs I experienced are overshadowed by the work I know I need to do. But… I have hope and that’s a lot more than what I went in with! It is a precious thing, this hope… With Gratitude, Respect and Hope, Angel Neshama

Manfred Raunigg