What’s New: 2010

Dear Friends, Students, and Colleagues,
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PUBLICATIONS AND MEDIA

The October 2009 Mayo Clinic Health Letter was titled: “October Special Report on Tai Chi and
Yoga.” Written by a Mayo physician who has attended my seminars and classes, it draws on my
qigong work as well as the Tai Chi teachings of my colleague, Master Yang Yang. To sign up for
a free trial issue of the Health Letter or to subscribe, go to
https://healthletter.mayoclinic.com/NL/print/landing.cfm?trkid=20909S893

Oprah has clips from my audios on her site.
http://www.oprah.com/search.jsp?query=Qigong&x=24&y=6

A brief interview about how to develop and enhance intuition was published in “Owning Your
Sixth Sense” by Debra Bokur in Healing Lifestyles & Spas Magazine, November 2009
http://www.healinglifestyles.com/index.php/owning6thsense

An interview with Ken Cohen on Native American Spirituality and The Teachings of Edgar Cayce
aired on CBS Radio Network (“Reflections: The Wisdom of Edgar Cayce” with host Art Ray) on
Sunday November 29.

The Way of Qigong: Health, Energy, and Wisdom” by Kenneth Cohen in Connections Fall 2009,
magazine of the Natural Health Practitioners of Canada. To read the magazine and article, visit
the following website and then click on Connections Fall 2009
http://www.nhpcanada.org/pages/Links/Publications.aspx

“ The Qigong Getaway: Sequences for Life” by Susan Dawson-Cook in American Fitness
Magazine Sept/Oct 2009, based on an interview with Kenneth Cohen

“ Buddha In A Cup of Tea” listen to the free podcast interview with Kenneth Cohen and read a
transcription at http://personallifemedia.com/podcasts/236-buddhist-geeks/episodes/52961-
buddha-cup

Read my article "The Tribe I Wouldn't Join", published in May 2009 in News from Indian Country,
the national American Indian newspaper, archived at
http://indiancountrynews.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6539&Itemid=74 I
discuss what it means to be a member of an indigenous tribe/Nation and why I am critical of
people who claim membership neither recognized nor earned.

My review of David A. Palmer’s exceptional book Qigong Fever was published in American
Ethnologist 36:1 (2009).

My major work of the past two years was the publication of “At the Canyon’s Edge: Depression in
American Indian Culture” in the peer-reviewed journal: Explore: The Journal of Science and
Healing 4:2, March, 2008, and “Taiji Ruler: Legacy of the Sleeping Immortal” the first scholarly
work on the Taiji Ruler qigong system, including philosophy, history, lineages, and techniques in
The Journal of Asian Martial Arts 17:1 (2008).

Chinese New Year and Other Ancient Calendars

Here is a summary of astrological details for the Chinese Lunar New Year, which begins February
14. Now, don't get fanatic about this. So-called "predictions" are only tendencies. You become
free and less bound by the stars to the extent that you know who you are.

Every year is ruled by an element and an animal. 2010 is a Metal Tiger (Geng Yin) year.
However, each animal is also associated with an element. Because Tiger is Wood, this is a Metal
Wood year.

(A bit of trivia: China and Mexico are the only ancient cultures in the world that have this two part
calendrical system. In China, each day, like each year, is associated with an element and an
animal: earth ox, fire monkey, wood dragon, etc. In the ancient Mayan and Aztec calendars,
each day is identified by a number and a day name, generally taken from a natural phenomenon.
For example, in the Mayan Tzolk'in Calendar one might be born on a 3 Waterlily day. Or in the
Aztec Tonalpohualli Calendar, an event occurring on the day 4 Water might have special
significance. Both cultures, Chinese and Mexican, also have prophetic traditions. For example,
according to the 4th Century Chinese classic Hou Sheng Dao Jun Jing, The Annals of the Sage
Who Is To Come, the world will end in 2012 AD, and only those living in the mountains in
harmony with the Tao will survive. Sound familiar? The current cycle of the Mayan calendar also
comes to a close/new beginning in 2012!)

Metal Tiger Year Prediction: Metal chops Wood (Tiger). This means that there is a tendency
towards misfortune or conflict this year. In reaction to the economic hardships of 2009, people will
tend to think too much about money (symbolized by metal). Heaven (the spiritual side of life) and
Earth (economy and environment) will not be in harmony. The economy will be subject to up and
down swings, driven by greed (so what else is new!). Metal also symbolizes weapons and,
among countries, the United States. This suggests new or continued military conflict. In terms of
health, metal is the lungs; wood is the liver. These organs will need extra attention, especially if
you have respiratory problems such as allergies and asthma. Healthy breathing, a clean pollutionfree
environment, and a good diet are essential to maintain good health in 2010.

San Sha-- "Three Killing Forces" For every year, there is a direction of bad luck (San Sha)--
including disasters, accidents, and financial loss. This year the killing forces are in the North. That
means it is best not to travel north, buy a house this year with a main door facing north, build a
northern addition to your house, etc. In general, be careful regarding any phenomena associated
with the north. You can neutralize the san sha by placing 3 bamboo plants or representations of
bamboo plants (paintings or sculptures) in the northern part of your home. Three statues of the
Chinese unicorn may also work.

Wu Huang "The Five Yellow Sick Forces" This year illness is associated with the Southwest.
Again, don't travel southwest, buy home with a southwest-facing main door, add a new southwest
section to your home, etc. Neutralize the wu huang with a small altar in the southwest. Place
symbols of your spirituality-- a statue, a holy book, candles, flowers—on the altar and offer
prayers for peace and health.

Tai Sui-- a star that exists in a spiritual dimension, invisible to the eye or to the telescope. Tai Sui
moves opposite to Jupiter and is sometimes considered Jupiter’s shadow. Each year this star
oppresses the fate of certain natal signs. In 2010, Tai Sui may cause difficulties for people born in the years of the Tiger, Monkey, Snake, and Boar. You may wish to burn a Tai Sui talisman on
Chinese New Years Day-- yes there is such a thing—or go outside and offer incense and prayers
for a harmonious and lucky year.

Auspicious Directions (for travel, education, romance, and general good luck): the East and the
West.

EXCERPTS FROM 2009 E-NEWSLETTERS BY KENNETH COHEN

The Power of Love
A Native American elder once shared with me, "There is no power stronger than Creator's Love."
His phrasing was deliberately fluid: love for Creator, love from Creator, love for Creation, love for
our friends and family. Isn't the Lakota phrase Mitakuye Oyasin "We are all related." an
expression of the unity and harmony so often associated with love? I have been in Native
American sweat lodges where people with serious diseases were healed when, through prayer
and song, a caring community invoked the healing power of Love. Every culture recognizes this
power. The Troubadours of ancient Europe, influenced by both Muslim Sufi mysticism and
Christianity, praised the unity of agape (divine love), amor (personal love), and eros (sexual love).
The Chinese celebrate Lover's Day on the 7th day of the 7th month, when two stars-- once mortal
lovers on earth-- cross the sky on a bridge of bird feathers. It is always cloudy that night, so we
cannot see what is happening in the heavens. And it always rains early the next morning-- the
tears of the departing lovers.

The Learning Journey
Aunty Lani, a hula teacher, once said to me, “All wisdom is not to be found in one school.” A ohe
pau ko ike I kou halau. This means not only humility—the realization that what we know is tiny
compared to what we don’t know, but also acknowledging the importance of broad, open-minded
learning. Yet we must also keep in mind that it is better to dig a few deep wells than many shallow
wells.

I was reminded of these truths during winter and early spring pilgrimages. My wife Grace and I
visited sacred sites in the Yucatan—Chichen Itza, Tulum, Cozumel—met with Mayan healers and
had the good fortune of being in the right place at the right time. Imagine being invited to the
home of an Aztec gentleman to view and enjoy his collection of more than 800 pre-Hispanic
musical instruments! Or spending hours with a Mayan cultural historian, who we met by “chance”
on a trail in San Gervasio, home of Ix-Chel, Mayan Moon Goddess/Spirit. These beautiful people
spoke the universal language of kindness, insight, and generosity. They had dug “wells” deep
enough to tap the common water of spirit.

A month later, during the Equinox Celebration on an Indian reservation in northern Mexico, we
met a group of Yaqui Indian youth, elders, and wisdom-keepers. Poor by material standards, but
rich in culture—they had traveled a great distance, including many miles by foot, boat, and bus, to
share their heritage. As they played traditional instruments, sang, and danced to honor the Deer
and the Coyote, they seemed to become these animals. I was reminded of a teaching I received
in the early 70s while studying the 12 Animals of the martial art Xingyi Quan with B.P. Chan. One
day, in a private class, after practicing the Chicken technique, Master Chan frowned and said,
“ Your movement is correct but all wrong!” Seeing my puzzled look he explained, “Don’t imitate the
chicken; become the chicken!” at which point, without even bending his knees, he suddenly
jumped on a nearby chair. He landed balanced on one leg, folded his elbows near his body,
raised them up and down as though flapping a pair of wings, and exclaimed, “You see. I am a
chicken!”

Healing Sounds
The great Lakota holy man, Fools Crow once said, “Everything that exists has a sound, and when
things pass close by one another there is even a sound between them. This is how sound comes
into being. Wakan-Tanka, Grandmother Earth, and other Helpers use sounds to communicate to
us-- sometimes in words, but more often to stir up our minds and hearts to think of spiritual
things.” (Fools Crow: Wisdom and Power by Thomas Mails, p. 81)

Reverence for sound is universal. Ancient texts from India emphasize that Sabda is Brahman,
“ Sound is Divine.” In Genesis, “God said, “Let there be light, and then there was light.” Thus,
sound or vibration creates light, which precedes the creation of the world. African drums are more
than a method of communication across jungle and savannah; their complex rhythms remind us
that life is rhythm. Archaeologists have discovered that many Upper Paleolithic (10,000 to 40,000
year old) art and ceremonial sites, such as the famous Lascaux caves in France, were picked for
their acoustic properties. The most densely painted European rock art sites have the best
acoustics. To hum near a bend or crack in a wall produces the sound of the animal portrayed
there. I am reminded of the Great Pyramid of Kukulkan in Chichen Itza, Mexico. If you clap your
hands near the base, you hear, clearly and loudly, the sound of a macaw bird. “It’s not an echo,”
our guide explained, “it’s acoustics.”

In China, sound and music were considered keys to social harmony, spiritual cultivation, and
inner health. From very ancient times, at the beginning of each season, particular notes were
played on musical instruments. The sound of Spring puts one in touch with the qi, the energies of
spring, and preserves well-being. Chimes and gongs were already ancient by the time of
Confucius. Taoists loved the great qing, stone chime—the most sacred consisting of stalactites
from sacred caves. To create harmony in oneself or in the world, one might strike the instruments
of yang, yin, and taiji (harmony of yin and yang). The yang instrument is the metal gong. The yin
instrument is a hollow piece of wood, called the mu yu, wooden fish, commonly used by
Buddhists and Taoists to set a beat while chanting. The instrument of Taiji is the drum. During the
festive Lion and Dragon dances, the sound of the drum brings health and good fortune.

Not surprisingly, one of the central principles of qigong is called “tuning” (tiao), the same word
used in the phrase “tune the piano.” One tunes the body, breath, and mind with correct posture,
slow breathing, and equanimity. Sound is also used directly as a healing tool. There are mantralike
chants to stimulate the three dan tian energy centers at the third eye, heart, and lower
abdomen or to invoke deities and the qualities they represent, such as the beloved Guan Yin
chant to inspire compassion. Through the practice of nei guan, inner looking, ancient Taoists saw
and heard the qualities of the internal organs, and by visualizing their respective colors and toning
their sounds, one restores metabolic health. This “Healing Sounds” exercise, called Liu Qi Fa
(Six Qi Method) in Chinese, is associated with some of the greatest figures in ancient qigong
history. First mentioned by the alchemist Tao Hongjing (456-536), it is also described in the
writings of Buddhist monk Zhiyi (538-597), and in the classic works of the great Chinese medical
doctor Sun Simiao (581-682). In modern times, the late Dr. Ma Litang created the Liu Zi Jue (Six
Word Secret) by combining the Healing Sounds set he learned during the 1930s with elements of
Chinese medicine. Dr. Ma’s qigong is one of the most clinically effective and tested methods of
modern qigong. His set is one of the four styles officially endorsed by the Chinese government:
Six Word Secret, Five Animal Frolics, Eight Brocades, and Muscle/tendon Transforming.

I have a strong personal interest in this area, as it was my love of music that first brought me to
study the Chinese language. In 1968 my friend Alan Watts recommended a book on music theory
that contained a philosophy very close to Zen Buddhism. By mistake, I bought a book of the same
title, but by the wrong author. I was looking for a book about music, but ended up with a very rare
introduction to the Chinese language. By the time I read the first chapter, I was hooked! That was
in 1968. In the 1970s I had the opportunity to learn the Healing Sounds set from a Taoist friend
and from three other colleagues, one of whom was a student of Dr. Ma Litang. All through this period, I continued listening to music. I am convinced that music conditioned my brain to make
me a better learner, a kind of Mozart-effect, as people call it today (the term coined by another
friend and colleague, Don Campbell).

Appreciation for Life
Below are some haiku I wrote during the cool, rainy spring season in the Colorado Rocky
Mountains. Both reading and writing haiku are wonderful ways to tune in to what poet William
Wordsworth called “the poetic moment,” a moment of passing beauty expressed in words. Or as
the Chinese Poetry Classic put it, more than 2,000 years ago, Shi yan zhi, “Poetry speaks the
wishes of the heart.”

Japanese haiku poetry, like other arts, owes much to China. Japanese artists refined and
simplified Chinese landscape paintings into the minimalist art of sumi—a few suggestive brush
strokes on a canvas with enough empty space for the imagination. Similarly, Chinese poems that
describe mountains and water with exquisite detail-- paintings made of words— inspired the
distilled poetic experience of haiku.

Thoughts disappear
As the world becomes one sound
In the rain.
How refreshing!
Bright rain pearls
On the spring aspen.
In spring mist
Mountain’s granite face
Is softer.
When the mist blows in
An entire herd of elk
Disappears!
How sad, the modern world;
On the mountain slope
Not a single campfire.
Yes spring has come;
The air is criss-crossed
By trails of hummingbird sound!
A single songbird
Makes the pre-dawn silence
More mysterious.

Most of us associate the Chinese art/science of qigong with health, martial arts, and spiritual
cultivation. Indeed, these are the three classic categories of qigong: yi gong (health qigong), wu
gong (martial/sports qigong), and dao/fo gong (Daoist/ Buddhist qigong). However, I feel that
there is a much more basic, much more essential reason to train qigong, and that is appreciation
of life. Health is certainly important. Without it, we can enjoy little else. But there are limits to
health cultivation, set by our genetics, life circumstances, or the sometimes unpleasant
consequences of aging. To quote the famous Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, “Life is a disease with a very poor prognosis. It lingers on for years and invariably ends in death!” Like health qigong,
martial and sports qigong can help us maintain strength, flexibility, coordination, and energy--
important at every stage of our lives. Spiritual qigong includes practices that unfold inner peace,
contentment, and awareness of the great realm of being (The Tao) in which we live and may,
indeed, continue to live in after death of the body. Yet, ultimately, it is appreciation and joy of life
that creates meaning and fulfillment. To grimly or obsessively watch every calorie, sweat at the
gym, or train our qigong, is to miss the flowers! Both haiku and qigong can teach us how to live
more fully.

I remember a fine lesson I received from my first qigong teacher, B. P. Chan. It must have been
1974 or 5. I was at his studio one day for a private class in Bagua Zhang, a Chinese martial art
that includes extensive qigong energy building practices. Before starting our usual warm-ups,
Master Chan asked me, “Gao Han [my Chinese name], why do we practice these exercises?” I
knew he wanted to answer his own question, so I just repeated, “Why?” He stated, matter-offactly,
but with a penetrating gaze, “to find out, is this arm my arm, is this leg my leg, to master
the 4 Virtues of the Human Being. What are these 4 Virtues? How to lie down, how to sit, how to
stand, how to walk. If your arm were really your arm, if your leg were really your leg, you would
have no problem doing this…” At which point, Master Chan demonstrated a beautiful Bagua
movement in which his body seemed to twist, turn, and roll like a dragon playing in the clouds.
His point was well made; most of us are so disconnected from our bodies, so conditioned by poor
habits learned from others, and so distracted in our thoughts, that our bodies seem not our own.
At that point, Master Chan paid me one of the greatest compliments I have ever received, “Gao
Han, I can’t share this secret with most of my students. I can tell you because you are crazy like
me!” To appreciate life is to break from conditioning and convention. I was thrilled that Master
Chan saw me as a kindred unconventional character!

Tea Time: Cha Cha Cha
Flowers and songbirds in spring, tall grasses and full rivers in summer, colored leaves and crisp
moonlight in autumn, snow and silence in winter. And through all of these seasonal changes, we
celebrate with poetry, music, art, Tai Chi, and Tea. Tea harmonizes us with the seasonal
changes. All of the elements are present. Fire to boil the Water, Wood element in the green tea
leaves, Earth in the pottery teapot, and Metal representing the misty mountains where the tea
grows.

Of course, many people today are interested in tea because of its health benefits. Experimental
evidence suggests that tea may prevent or be a powerful adjunct in the treatment of cancer, heart
disease (lowering bad cholesterol), diabetes (increasing insulin sensitivity), osteoporosis, viruses
(such as the flu virus), and bacterial infection (including dental cavities). It has 200X the antioxidant
(anti-aging) power of vitamin E. Tea has always been the favorite beverage of qigong
practitioners, meditators, and acupuncturists. Of course, I am speaking only about true Tea (cha
in Chinese), an infusion of the leaves of camellia sinensis. Whether green, oolong, or black, it’s
the same plant. Please do not confuse tea, in this sense, with herbal beverages such as
chamomile or peppermint “tea.”

Tea is good for the heart, in both the Chinese and Western sense. In Chinese medicine, tea is
classified as bitter flavor—the flavor that directly influences heart function. The green color of the
leaves is associated with the liver, the source of heart-qi (energy) and the organ associated with
flow and adaptability. According to western science tea contains L-theanine, a mood-regulating
amino acid that creates a state of tranquil awareness. But there are qualities that cannot be easily
explained, the way the aroma of the brew expands the senses, the way time stops in the tearoom
and how mystery and beauty are found in the everyday.

I have been involved in the culture of tea for most of my life. The following original poem may help
you appreciate the spirit of Chinese tea:

Visiting Tea Master Li On An Autumn Evening
© 2009 Kenneth S. Cohen

Climbing the narrow trail
That winds along the edge of the mountain,
Blowing fog hides and reveals
The storied landscape.
Small cascades make trails
Along the granite face;
Majestic pines fill my
Senses with peace.
From somewhere, the cry
Of a hawk pierces the void.
I wander all day,
Stopping occasionally,
Leaning on my aspen branch
Walking stick to enjoy the scene,
Until as shadows lengthen
I see your hut, hiding among
The wood and grasses.
Your door is open
And already the coals
Are glowing in the brazier.
How touching, an old friend’s kindness.
After exchanging pleasantries,
You pour water into the peach-shaped pot
Of purple sand, surely Shou Lao,
The God of Immortality, is smiling.
The fragrance of
Monkey-picked Tie Guanyin,
Is autumnal and refreshing.
(I wonder at the risk you take
As you, the monkey, clamber up
The steep slopes to gather the wild leaves.)
One taste and all knowledge is forgotten;
Flavor returns, sweet burgundy
Coats the sides of my tongue,
Fills the palate and spreads
Until my whole being is
Taste and scent. More steepings,
Autumn deepens. Each cup
Brings me closer to the cliffs,
Until I am the earth, the leaves,
The mist, the mountain itself.
Did I walk the mountains,
Or were the mountains walking?
The next morning, awakening to a clear dawn,
You accompany me to the edge
Of your mountain paradise.
Now I can see how your home is a dragon’s
Lair resting among the twisting
Folds of gray peaks under a jade sky.
No need to mention the frost at our temples--
Who knows how many years will pass,
Or if we will ever meet again?
But hasn’t this always been
The Way of Tea—to experience
Each moment as complete in itself.
We pour the same tea.