Meditation
Meditation is the highest level of training in Wu Gong. Therefore, it is actually best to begin early on in the training so that practitioners have more years to fine-tune their practice and achieve higher levels in meditation. You can start very simply, but even the simple can be the most challenging training in Wu Gong. So start early! As I described previously, there are three parts to Wu Gong training: the fast (martial arts), the slow (Qi Gong and Tai Ji Quan), and the stillness (meditation). Stillness allows for diving deep into one’s mind, and since the mind is very complex, it needs more time to ‘experience’.
There are standing and sitting meditations. Each kind of meditation has a specific goal. Standing meditation is ¼ physical and ¾ mental. For all martial arts and some Qi Gong, this training is basic, and you must practice for great progress. Sitting meditation can be the simplest, yet the most difficult and complex because you are learning to quiet the active mind. In Wei Tuo Gong, sitting mediation is taught to students only after they learned the beginning Wei Tuo Qi Gong. The reason is that first a basic background in experiencing and understanding Qi is needed. Qi Gong provides that experience and offers a base for your meditation to build upon. Moreover, the movement of Qi starts to open the meridians so the meditation already has a ‘jumpstart’.
One of the important teachings of meditation is self-reflection. A reflecting pool is a popular image many masters use in teaching meditation. Imagine sitting in front of a calm reflecting pool. See the moon or an object reflecting on the water. When your mind is calm like the water, there is a perfect reflection. When your mind is over active there will be ripples making the reflection unclear. This is only one of tens of thousands of different kinds of meditations. It is important to calm the mind to find internal peace.
Some people like to use meditation as a stress reducing exercise. This is a short term goal that prevents further self reflection which may help us understand why we become stressed in the first place. If we can find and understand ourselves, we can learn how to control our actions.
These are some of the first steps to meditation. Meditation although simple, can become very difficult. Our minds are random because we have many thoughts, memories, stresses, and emotions all fighting for attention. There is also the information coming into the brain from the five senses. Lastly, there is the information coming into your brain about the internal workings of the body that we usually ignore. Generally speaking, there are about 300 to 1000 words of thought per minute. This is very frustrating. Also, standing or sitting in one position can become extraordinarily exhausting, another frustrating barrier. With time, patience, and diligence these obstacles fade away. Start slowly and build up with time. If you can go to a half hour, you are doing very well.
Sitting Meditation is the most popular way to meditate. It is the time when a practitioner can focus on calming the mind and discovering the self.
Standing Meditation is training the body to strengthen the body and to calm the mind. It develops a strong foundation and teaches good grounding techniques.