Benefits of the Small Universe Course

[Mark A]

Dear Family Members,
As you can see, by the recent post on the courses section. Sifu has graciously agreed to teach another Small Universe Course.

I have heard how powerful it is.

But I was wondering if those Family members who were lucky enough to attend the previous ones could tell us about their direct experiences and benefits from practising such a high level art.

Some of the topics that I think could relevant is How has affected you chi kung practise?

You daily living?

Spiritual development?

Has it changed you Kung Fu/Tai Chi Chuan practise/experience.

Many Thanks

Mark

[Martin Do]

Wonderful news

Dear Mark Sisook,

Thank your for your efforts which has resulted in this course being available again, especially for students who have not had the opportunity to learn the Small Universe which Sigung and past Masters refer to as "The" Chi kung exercise.

Mark Sisook, I read your announcement a few minutes ago and am still overwhlemed with joy for students who will be able to attend. I am so happy and exited for you all. Its brilliant news .

I myself was very forynate to have been able to attend the course back in April. It was simply one of the best week of my life for many many reasons. Some of the main reasons that comes to my mind is:

1) The wonderful sea of chi I found myself basking in throughout the week during the course and outside of the course. I believe this is not only due to the being in the company of Sigung, but also many seniors who were there at the course.

2) The precious gift we were given, being taught the Small Universe as well as the Big Universe by Sigung.

3) How "The" Chi Kung exercise has helped me so far in the little time I have practiced it and what it could help me to achieve in the future.

4) The wonderful company I had from my Wahnam Uncles, aunts, brother and sisters.

5) The priceless spiritual experiences I had during the course which myself and many others have shared on another thread regarding the Small Universe in April 2009.

With regards to how my practice of the Small Universe has helped me since April, I would like to share this next week if I get the chance. In summary, it has helped me in areas of health and vitality, kungfu, spiritual cultivation and Golden Bridge .

My heart is still overwhelmed with warmth at this wonderful news. I sincerely hope many of you are ready and able to attend the course.

Kindest regards

Martin

[Mark A]

Just what I was wanting

Dear Martin,
I just wanted to say thank you for that post. It is this type of content that I was after.

Many thanks

Mark

[Mark Blohm]

Mind Level

Dear Mark Siheng,

What stands out most for me about the Small Universe Course was not the power of the energy flow, although this was powerful, but the shen level skills we learned. More than Chi flowing, it seemed to me that it was more toward shen that was flowing. Sifu mentioned that our attainment was a higher level than other practitioners that may learn the Small Universe.

My favorite skill learned at the course? Bone marrow cleansing

[Grimlock]

After only 6 months of practicing the Small Universe now, I have a few observations. It's impossible for me to isolate the Small Universe as the only factor, but I'm confident it has had at least a significant role in the following:

- It turbo-charges other aspects of my practice. Sigung mentioned this as a benefit during the course, and I can confirm that the quality of my practice has deepened significantly. Force training is more powerful and enjoyable, standing meditation deeper and more peaceful, and pattern practice feels more alive. I would even go so far as to say that some of my results from the recent Sinew Metamorphosis course can be attributed to my Small Universe practice.

- The improved peacefulness deserves its own bullet I feel a deeper sense of peace in everything I do. I feel quieter internally, if that makes sense, thus enhancing my decision-making and overall mental clarity.

- The improved Zhan Zhuang comment deserves its own bullet, too I've (almost) always enjoyed my stance training, but I've never consistently had the feeling that I'd like to do more but need to stop. More often, I've felt, "That was great, but I'm done!" Same with standing meditation. Small Universe is the first art where I've consistently felt a little disappointment that I need to stop and move on to other parts of my practice, regardless of how much time I'm in it. That has started carrying over to my stance training as well.

I'm better able to relax and really enjoy the stance for dramatically longer periods of time, although my overall time in the stance hasn't increased. Rather, it's the difference between doing 15 minutes of high quality horse stance and 15 minutes of blissful horse stance. And I'm even having the occasional, "I'd really like to enjoy this stance longer, but I have to move on."

- It pushes through blockages more forcefully. This is a benefit or a warning (or both) depending on your viewpoint. The Small Universe doesn't mess around. I'll compare it with Lifting the Sky. Lifting the Sky gives me a lot of control to uncover and gently chip away at a blockage over time and control the rate of my cleansing. The Small Universe sometimes feels almost ruthless in how it forces through blockages. I still have some control over the pace, but ultimately, the trade off I make is that I push through the blockage faster in exchange for a much more intense cleansing.

In fact, I committed to practicing the Small Universe everyday after the course, even though I was already getting into some serious cleansing during the course itself. The result was a month of not much kung fu at all, and a Small Universe practice that I had to take days off of initially before I could handle doing it everyday. Once I got there, though, I was able to add my regular kung fu practice back in quite easily. Fast forward to now, and for the past week, I've enjoyed a 1.5 hour morning kung fu practice that includes Small Universe and Zhan Zhuang, as well as a Sinew Metamorphosis session in the evening. In the past, this would have definitely been too much for me. Even reading it now, it seems a little ridiculous!

(I didn't have to take the approach I did after the course, and I'm certainly not going to recommend everyone do the same, but I feel it was worthwhile and the right choice for me at the time.)

I hope that's helpful, if a little long-winded.

[Martin Do]

Benefits of the Small Universe after seven months

Dear Chris Sihing,

Thank you for your post above. I really enjoyed reading it and am very happy for you with your progress. its awesome. Reading your post brought back some happy memories of when we had tea together at Penang Hill and dinner together at the hawker stalls with Jas Sihing and his brother during the Small Universe course back in April .

I hope that's helpful, if a little long-winded.

I wouldn't worry too much about the post being long winded Sihing, especially when compared to mine here . I do appreciate you taking the time to share your experiences with us. For readers who does not like reading long winded posts, they should stop reading mine now .

I would also like to share the benefits which I feel the Small Universe has given me so far and I would like to do this in the areas of health and vitality, Kungfu and spiritual cultivation as I have mentioned in my post above.

I will start off with health and vitality but before doing so, I want to point out the obvious which is that I have not been practicing the Small Universe for a significant length of time. Therefore the benefits I have recieved from the course and my subsequent practice of it for the past seven months, is "NOT" all that there is to achieve with what is known to be "THE" chi kung exercise.

My health and vitality have improved very much since the course. Firstly, my ability to recover from injuries has impressed me very much. I suffered two nasty injuries a couple of weeks ago on the same evening whilst helping my sister in law to move home. The first injury was caused by a really nasty pain that shot up my arm and through my collar bone when I pushed a whole load of stuff to the back of the car to create more space. The second injury was caused by a plank of wood falling on to my other shoulder. Both my shoulders was so soar that movements in either arm caused pain for the whole evening.

Immediately after each accident, I did something I would not have been able to do as well, before the Small Universe course. For a couple of minutes I went into an internal chi flow without manifesting the external physical movement because there was people around me. This is not something I have been taught but it felt right to do. I also did not feel restricted at all by containing the outward physical movement.

The pain was still there afterwards and I remember thinking oh dear, this is going to effect my daily kungfu practice in the coming week. However, by the next morning I was able to practice as normal and by the evening, it was almost completely cleared. I was amazed by the swift recovery which I attribute to the internal chi flow I initiated after each incident and to a better general chi flow at all times from the Small Universe practice.

Furthermore, because of the inclusion of the Small Universe to my daily practice along with longer duration in Golden Bridge, I am now getting up earlier than before (5.10 am every morning). I thought this may be an issue when I thought about my training schedule during the flight back to London because I have sometimes struggled to get up early in the past for my training. However, it has not a problem at all and I feel very grateful for being able to do this.

I feel my other chi kung practices have been pushed to a higher level too since the course. I am able to relax more deeply, more easily and more quickly into anything that I do be it chi kung, sparring, work, play or having difficult conversations, thereforeby contributing more towards my daily happiness.

With regards to Kungfu. One obvious benefit from the Small Universe course is my Golden Bridge. I was able to sit in the stance for the same duration as the past with much less effort. My progress in terms of duration and the ability to relax throughout the stance increased significantly. I remember commenting to some classmates that even though my duration in Golden Bridge is longer than it was in the past, I found it much easier and more enjoyable now than when I very first started practicing Golden Bridge with just two or three minutes duration.

Furthermore, the fact that I am able to relax more deeply, more easily and more quickly into anything that I do has helped me much in sparring. It has enable me to progress another stage - learning to spar with no thoughts, no minds.....and much more....but I realise the progress will be gradual.

Like Chris Sihing said above, I too now feel the presence of chi much more than before in and around my body when practicing the patterns - particularly when practicing in solo where I can apply much more force in my strikes. This is likely to be from an increased accumulation of internal force as well as a better flow of it as a result of the Small Universe practice. This is not only a great confirmation but it makes practicing Kungfu patterns even more enjoyable than before for me because the sensation and presence of internal force is more tangibly felt in every pattern.

My next observation since the Small Universe course is an interesting one. Since the course, I feel like I have been getting much help and guidance with my Kungfu in a phenomenal way.

My ability to see applications in both armed and unarmed combat is so much deeper since the course and for me this is such a great priviledge. It makes my Kungfu training so alive and so interesting. Furthermore, it helps me to realise even more now, how beautiful and powerful Kungfu is.

If I had a question on my mind on how to deal with a certain technique or scenario the answer almost always come to my mind very shortly afterward or within a few days. I then just have to practice diligently to attain the skills.

I don't see or feel tangibly any devine being in a misty way guiding me. I just noticed that my Kungfu has improved much over the last seven months or so since the course. I did not have the priviledge to see applications in this way before. I don't know if this is directly attributable to the course or if it is just my natural development stage. Either way, I am very grateful.

With regards to how the course has bennefitted my spiritual cultivation. Upon arriving back in London, for a period of about a month and the half I felt very connected to everything around me. My presence seems to be way beyond my physical self. I seemed to feel in a strange way connected to things around me like I have ner felt before. I don't know if this was my chi spreading tangibly way beyond my physical self which enabled me to feel this way or if it was my ability to sense the chi around me very profoundly.

Also, since the Small Universe course I am able to just merge deeply into the Cosmos after any chi kung excercise I had previously been doing be it Sinew Metamorphasis or leg stretching. This expereince however is more profound after the practice of the Small Universe.

Since the course, I also feel a strong urge from within to do good and only cultivate good thoughts of others, even for certain groups of people whom in the past I would have had some negative thoughts off ( but not hatred). This has not been a result of reading something inspiring (as I hardly read anything) or seeing anything in particular. Its just something I have come to feel more strongly about since the course. I now seem to understand the justification and the importance of this much more, not just for the benefit of others, but also for myself. I feel so very priviledged and grateful for this particular guidance.

So, these are the main benefits I feel I have gained from the wonderful gift of being taught the Small Universe course by Sigung. I feel what students will get from the course could be more, or it could be less, or it could be similar to me - depending on their own current developmental stages. What I do believe generally is that whatever your aims are, with diligent practice of the Small Universe you will get there quicker than otherwise.

Much joy and happiness to everyone

Best wishes

Martin

[MaxP]

Dear Martin Siheng,

What a beautiful post, and what an inspiration you are. Thankyou!

And what an unmissable opportunity the Small Universe course is!

Shaolin Salute,

Max

Namo Amitabha Buddha, Namo Amitabha Buddha, Namo Amitabha Buddha

[Martin Do]

Thank you

Dear Max,

I am surprised you read it all . Thank you for the kind words brother but like you, I am just trying to be a good student of the Shaolin Arts.

I sincerely do hope you would be able to attend the course.

Best wishes

Martin

[Zach]

Thank you, my brothers, for this thread. Excellent posts that make me want to book my flight immediately!

May I ask again, now that a greater amount of time has passed, how you've incorporated the Small Universe into your practice and what it means to you?

Thanks in advance...

My best to everyone,

Zach

[parrapiti]

May I respectfully ask who is planning to come to the Small Universe course in September?

Some particpants from this part of the world are:

Dr Juan Varela
Mariandrea Corcuera
Tony Colarusso
Thomas Heller
Pablo Medina
Lina Agudelo
Bernardo
Yours truly

I think Jose Antonio and Carmen are also coming - right?

Who else

Piti

[Martin Do]

Wonderful

Dear Piti Sisook,

That's wonderful news . May I wish all course participants a wonderful week, and may this wonderful course help you to succeed in all your righteous endeavours….instantaneously at the course, or through practice over time .

With my very best wishes

Martin

[Mark A]

Scotland the Brave

Hey Piti,
I am going, to the wedding and the Course. So look forward to seeing you there brother


Mark

[parrapiti]

Yeeey Scotland!

Looking forward to seeing you again, dear Brother!

Piti

[barrys]

Dear Piti and Mark,

I will definitely be there for the course from 4th Oct to 8th. Trying to sort out the dates for wedding as well.

Not long to go .

Barry

[AColarusso]

Dear family,

From The North of The South we need to include Tomas Alonso. It looks like a wonderful course will teke place, but also a great opportunity to see family members and to be able to connect through the magic of our school.