Unity is the cornerstone of Alfred’s philosophy and life’s work. Unification begins within oneself, as he discovered on his journey to becoming a “unifier.” Self-awareness became the key to unlocking his potential and aligning his thoughts, emotions, and actions. Gratitude emerged as a powerful practice, transforming his outlook and relationships.

Life intention, Alfred learned, is crucial to finding one’s purpose and path towards joy. Bringing people together became his mission, but he first had to unite the fragmented parts of himself. Inner alignment proved to be the foundation for creating harmony in the external world. Thought patterns, once recognized, could be reshaped to support growth and positive change.

Emotional acceptance opened doors to self-compassion and deeper understanding. Self-compassion allowed Alfred to embrace his imperfections and continue evolving. Connection with nature reinforced the idea that we are all part of a greater whole. Qigong mindset provided a framework for integrating these concepts into daily life.

Present moment living became the ultimate goal, allowing for full engagement with life’s experiences. Holistic wellbeing emerged as the natural result of this unified approach. Consciousness, when cultivated, illuminates the path to personal and collective transformation. Transformation, Alfred discovered, is an ongoing process of unification, awareness, and growth.

Welcome to the Zhineng Qigong Community Podcast. My name is Torsten Lueddecke, and this is today’s story. When was the last time a Qigong master asked for your life intention? Well, that is exactly what happened to Alfred Lerma. So he had to dig deep to discover that he has always been about bringing people together, unifying us with nature. And that was when the idea of being a unifier was

born. Only to notice that he wasn’t even unified within himself. And how often are your thoughts not aligned with where you want to be? Finding yourself disconnected from who you are, realizing you’re not even on your own team. This is where his fascinating journey began, and we invite you to travel with us. The Chief Gratitude Officer of Present Moment Living, a Zhineng Qigong teacher, and a Hunyuan Qi

therapist. His personal vision or his personal title is that of unifier. And that is something that we’re going to address today. But obviously, first of all, I want to hear a little bit about this Chief Gratitude Officer because I don’t think many corporations have that position to offer. So please tell me a little about that, Alfred. Yeah, absolutely. Thank you. It’s great to see you, Torsten, and it’s

great to be here to be able to share with the community. Yeah, I’m excited. I’ve had a recent change within my profession, and I’ve moved out of a corporate environment. Now I’m working with Present Moment Living, which is the company that my wife and I have co-founded and co-own together. And, you know, I came here, and I always had a calling to have a title like Chief Happiness

Officer, but I’ve heard that before. So I was like, well, I don’t want to do the same thing that other people have done, even though that’s kind of the path I’m looking to take—something toward joy and happiness. And I said, well, you know, why don’t I bring gratitude into the mix and create a role? If I can create any role that I want, well then, and I can

put myself in that role—as long as, of course, I have my partner’s approval—then I would like to be a Chief Gratitude Officer. And so, I’m now the CGO of Present Moment Living. And, you know, part of that is still learning for myself what it’s going to mean to play that role. And if other companies in the future pursue something like that, well, they’re going to come to me

and say, “Well, what do you do? Who are you? And how do you bring gratitude to yourself and to your corporation or your organization?” And I’ve always found that one of the sayings I’ve heard is that gratefulness brings joyfulness. And so, therefore, the more that I can come into relation with gratitude, the more I can appreciate what I have, and what it is to be alive, and to

be able to share that gratitude with others in support of other people finding joy within their life. But I have to do that within first, and then I do that with those around me—from the company and the organization to my family—and then share that out with others. And so, I’m a practicing Chief Gratitude Officer, but I’m excited to step into the new role. That sounds wonderful, Alfred. And

I think it is something that we might want to explore in a year’s time to see how it went and what your experiences were, so that other corporations or people can learn from that, and you can share your experiences maybe then, in a year’s time again. Now, today, we also want to talk about something that actually came to my mind when I was thinking, “Okay, who to invite.”

And that is something that you’ve got a reputation in the community, that unity is something very close to your heart. Maybe let’s explore a little bit about that. What does that actually mean to you, and how did you get to that point? I guess it’s nice that I’m known in that respect, being that it’s something I’m passionate about. And I think that it’s always been something that’s called

to me from a very early age, that I cared about bringing people together. And I was very much thinking that, well, the way for us to move forward as humanity or as a society was to practice unification so that we can work together. So, I’ve seen what division does, and I don’t gravitate much toward division, thinking that it’s an actual solution for the future. And so, from a

young age, I always thought in that way. But I didn’t quite know that’s what it was that I was longing for or looking for until I got older. And what really became clear for me was when I joined the Hunyuan Qi Therapy program. In the first year, in 2015, we were on Paros Island in Greece, and Master Liu was asking us what our life intention was. And he

says, “Well, if you don’t know it, think about it. Let’s really hone this in. This is part of this training. To be able to find out what your purpose is and what your service is for the world, and how does that show up for you?” And so, as I’m reflecting over there in a beautiful landscape and thinking about it, the thing that keeps coming up for me is

unity. And I thought, well, you know, what I want to be in life, I want to be a unifier. I want to help unify people, I want to bring people together, I want to bring us together with nature and our surroundings, with Mother Earth. And so, there was this calling to do so. But what I found in that understanding of wanting to be a unifier is that I

was realizing that a part of this practice of Zhineng Qigong and Hunyuan Qi Therapy is to learn how to unify with yourself. And many other people in the world are very disconnected internally. And we’re not unified with ourselves. We’re not even on our own team. You know, we’re trying to go to a goal and get to an intention, but we don’t believe in ourselves. Sometimes, we don’t even

believe in the intention itself. And so, we have to take a look at that. I found that there was a lack of unity internally. There was a lack of unity within the relationship to my thoughts. What I thought were good or positive thoughts, and what were negative thoughts that hindered me from progressing. I also looked at how I was in relation to my feelings and emotions. Whether I

felt good or bad about how I felt, and how I received that. And then also, just in relation to my own physical body and self-image, I didn’t necessarily love myself. I didn’t appreciate myself for who I was or what I carried. I needed to come into unity with myself, which is still a practice. If I can unify with myself, then I can start showing up in that presence

and talk to other people about my experiences and what it’s like to unite and unify. And the simple definition to me for unification is working internally. That’s inner and outer unity. Knowing that, there really isn’t a separation, at least within my belief. It’s just different versions, different forms of each other. But as we come into harmony with one another, it becomes so much more powerful, and we amplify

our potential. It’s been a journey of self-unification through understanding my life intention and then practicing as an outward form of service and support for other people finding unity within themselves. I’d like to explore a little bit the journey you took for self-unification, because that’s something a lot of us are dealing with. I’d like to get a little more in practical terms. What did you do exactly? What is

your approach? How did you achieve that, or how are you working on it? Because it might be a process that is still ongoing. What does that mean for you in practical terms? Yeah, I would say that for myself, it’s looking at my thoughts and my thought language as one. So, it’s really about awareness. You know, I have an intention to unify, and then I say, “Okay, well, now

I need awareness of what that looks like.” Within that awareness, I need to be aware of my thought patterns and my thought language. I need to be aware of my verbal language, and I need to be aware of my body language. And so, I can see what my habitual patterns are. We all have these habitual response patterns. As something happens, we think in a certain way, we feel

in a certain way, we act in a certain way. It’s like the three A’s—awareness, attitude, and action—much like the three levels of matter or substance. As I’m looking at thought language, I’m saying, “Well, are my thoughts in alignment and encouraging toward self, or am I telling old stories about who I am, how I am, and what I’m becoming?” And are these thoughts in alignment with where I’m trying

to go? If they’re not, then I’m not unified with myself and where I’m trying to go. I need to update that language in my mind and shift over. This would be the idea of shifting over to positive polarity in the new point of life and thought transformation. The other part is then coming into seeing. As emotions come up, instead of greeting them as if they’re bad emotions—something I

want to push away as negative—I actually greet them with kind of almost like a warm hello, or as a friend, even if it doesn’t feel like a friend. So if I get anxious, I’m like, “Oh, hey, anxiety, what are you here to show me right now?” It really means I just care, and I care a lot. So, it creates these feelings. I’m able to reframe the relationship to

the emotion as well, and then take that energy and transform it into something that is positive or in alignment with who I am, or who I want to be. And then the other part is the physical body—being able to say, “Well, if my thought language isn’t supportive of who I am or what I look like, then I’ve got to look at the love and compassion I have for

myself.” If I’ve made mistakes, or if I make wrong actions, it’s okay, because I’m not perfect, but I’m learning to be better. So, having compassion for the realization of the mistakes and then saying, “Okay, I’m grateful for what I realized.” What can I apply next? Then practice that moving forward. Knowing that it’s a continuous practice to be better, not perfect, that compassion and gratitude come in as essential

practices. I increase my cultivation by integrating Qigong, not just within the movement and practices of the methods, but as a mindset of how I continuously live. Additionally, I bring in the culture I’ve gained from being in so many Native American ceremonies and learning these ways, which helps me bring together Western and Eastern philosophy to unite into who I am. This aids my perspective and helps with my practice,

deepening that relationship and love for self. And then, you know, continue to refine as I go. So, let me see whether I understand everything correctly here. You’re not saying you’re looking at your thoughts and feelings and then resisting them, saying, “Oh, I shouldn’t think that,” or “I shouldn’t be like that,” or “Stupid me, I’m thinking the wrong thing again”—nothing like that. You’re just taking that as it is

because that is the reality. That’s what’s going on. But with your awareness, you are looking at, “Okay, what other meaning could I put to that? How can I move from that thought into something that is aligned with who I am?” So really, it becomes a congruent one, where everything you do, feel, think, and act is congruent with who you are, rather than just, you know, some scattered thoughts

or feelings that you can’t integrate into who you really are. I’m just trying to put it in my own words. Correct me where I’m wrong, please, so that we’ve got the right idea here. What you’re doing, or what your thought is around that, is exactly right. It’s not resistance; it’s an acceptance of what is coming through. And it’s not an identification that that thought is going to identify

who I am as a person, because I have good thoughts and I have bad thoughts. And that’s just in a dualistic explanation of good and bad, you know, in a neutral sense, that it just is what it is. It’s the relationship we give to that that then determines whether or not we classify it as good or bad, or how it shows up in our life—whether it feels good

or not. But in this idea, yes, it’s just a receiving of the information and then the perceiving of that. And that’s always one of the teachings I’ve taken away—that receiving time is healing time, and perceiving time is healing time. And if I say, “Oh, I have a bad thought, that makes me a bad person,” and I dwell or build upon that, I’m just watering that seed for it

to grow more. And I’m not trying to water that seed. I’m looking to say, “Well, that’s an interesting seed that lives within me.” It gives me awareness of what might be in my subconscious pattern of thinking—those storylines that just come out. I say, “Oh, I didn’t even know I thought that way. I didn’t catch that before,” but now I have more awareness. I can now see a pattern

running within me that I didn’t have the conscious depth for before, but now I have that level of depth. Now I can look to update the program and the code of that particular story and say, “I am not telling that story anymore.” About how I can’t do this, or how I can’t do that, or how I’m not good enough. I’m going to say, “Well, what’s the opposite of

that story?” and then figure out the language of that. And that will be my antidote. That will be my new medicine, my new prescription for my well-being. So anytime that old story pops up, awareness sees it and says, “Ha, I see you.” I’m not telling that story anymore, and I’m not feeling these emotions. And that could be a long, you could feel that way for a long time

and not realize it. But now I use consciousness to apply the solution, to be able to say, “Oh, here’s what I tell myself.” When that old story comes up, I’m going to give myself that other frame, that other thought, and the perspective, and adjust the storyline. But I’m leaving the story at the same time. Right, I understand. Now, here’s something I would like to add from my experience,

if you don’t mind, because I also think that a lot of the thoughts that just pop up aren’t even my original thoughts. It’s just something that, you know, society, my upbringing, my history, what has put into my head. So I think there’s also an important exercise through awareness to see, okay, is this really who I am? Is this really my thought? Or did I just copy something, you

know, from my past or from what other people have told me? So I think there’s a lot of awareness that can do a lot here to get clarity, to get clarity in your thoughts. And the same is probably true for emotions. I mean, a lot of emotions are just something that’s triggered by whatever impulse from the outside world. And it doesn’t really have to be who I am

deep inside. So I think awareness, and it’s like a very exciting thing to do because you discover so much, you’re really on the path of discovery. And I’m sure it must be fun as well and very productive, producing a lot of gratitude to do, to be on this journey and to see all these things about yourself, to learn about it, and then to share it with others. Yeah,

I love that. It’s very exploratory. It’s very curious, and it’s, you know, very open in that understanding. But you’re so spot on in the thought that it is a filtration, where we’re filtering these thoughts and these feelings, or they’re coming up automatically based upon the programming, the experiences, and the influence that has come in through so many external sources that then we believe it’s just ours and us,

but it’s really us in combination with all the external things from our life experiences. And then we, you know, have these lenses of perception, and then it filters our thoughts and our experiences. It’s an outdated prescription, it’s an outdated filter, it’s an outdated program. And so we presently look to view this world with also that future wisdom and awareness that we’re becoming. But we’re already bringing that awareness

in as we already have it. And so, well, let me adjust my lens to be that of what I’m becoming and being, but not necessarily just of who I’ve been or what I’ve experienced. Because if that’s always filtered through that, then we’re always going to be viewing things from an outdated sense. We still bring the wisdom and the experience, and we give thanks for that, but we don’t

get caught up in thinking that that’s always how we have to view things. We have to do some updating of our filtration system. So, as we translate the information, we also have a better interpretation of that information. Now, this part of unifying yourself within, how has that changed your daily experience, your daily life? Is there anything that you could share from your life about how that has had

an impact on you and helped you move forward? Yeah, I would say that it has helped me have more sense of personal appreciation for my life. And so like we kind of all go through these challenges of like being who we are and really accepting ourselves for who we are. We’re in this constant state of comparison. We’re in comparison to people outside of us, we’re in comparison to

older versions of ourselves. We’re in comparison to our future version of self and we’re not there yet. And between all these comparisons, comparison is the thief of joy. And we’re trying to bring that joy back in and we’re trying to realize how do I not use self-criticism and self-judgment as a fuel source to move forward? He says, well, get up and go. You’re not good enough. And you

kind of beat yourself up for failure and use that as a fuel source to move forward. While self-criticism is good as a temporary fuel source when you’ve got to give yourself a boost and say, stop being lazy, it doesn’t give you that long-term sustained fuel. To be able to get me to where it is that I need to be without feeling drained and beat up because I’m attacking

myself internally for what I feel I’m not doing well. And therefore, I give love, compassion, grace, and patience to other people for them to go through their journey. But yet, the expectation upon myself is so much greater and more demanding that it isn’t the same reflection of compassion. So, self-compassion in this journey allows me to really meet myself for who I am now and be able to say,

okay, I can actually still right now feel joy, feel peace, and feel love. Even though my life isn’t perfect and the things around me aren’t perfect, they’re not ideal. There are a lot of struggles going on, but I can actually still feel, well, even though there may be some illness or disease happening throughout the body, I can still feel the sense of wellness within. So, that has really

allowed me to open up my heart to myself and open up my mind to possibilities so that I can actually be able to say, okay, right now here, everything is okay. It is okay. And so the appreciation throughout the day and my surroundings is just so. There’s so much more depth. I feel a greater sense of reverence and sacredness in regards to the day, and it helps me

feel whole as a person. That improves my presence, and I think that’s really impacted the health of my well-being holistically, on a day-to-day basis, in a moment-to-moment or point-to-point basis. My name is Leila Cupido, and I’m the project manager of the Students Hub. Our team is constantly adding events, teachers, videos, and other resources to take your practice to the next level, improving the quality of your life and

the life of the people around you. We do this work for you, so please use it. Hunyuan Ling Dong, I absolutely get that. And you were saying earlier, this process is not just within yourself. We’re talking about unity here with the outside world, with other people, with nature. So maybe let’s go to that level now and talk a little bit about how you see that and how you

actually put this into practice. I’ve had a deep relationship, longing, and love for the Earth and the universe, again from a young age, and then through different practices and ceremonies that deepen that appreciation. And so when I’m going out into a sense of like, I thought, well, I hear a lot that we’re going to go out into nature, you know, I need to go be in nature. And

in some respects, it’s almost like we’re believing internally that we are not nature. Like we, because I believe that we are universal nature as human beings. But it’s almost like conceptually, in language, we say nature is outside, and then human beings are separate, and then we are going to go put ourselves into nature, which is a separate entity. And it is, it is separate in the sense that

you’re going and experiencing a world of many different forms and beings, and vibrational frequencies. And it has much healing. And so that relationship to the concept of nature really resonates with people. But I think linguistically it gives the feeling of being separate and therefore, kind of underneath the surface, I believe, some disconnection. So we’re like, oh, we’re going to go connect to nature. So I think in the

unification of this, I want to unify with myself in other forms, and that being nature or other people, and that everything is going through a similar evolutionary cycle of growth. And that in that relationship of reunifying with other aspects of life, if I saw everything as a different version of me, it makes me feel like I’m helping me, not necessarily in a selfish way, but in a loving

way that we’re kind of helping different versions of ourselves. And this is all a part of that, like a family web, this web that we’re all connected but still coming from the central source, which we all have within us. And so this idea or belief of a philosophy of oneness and us all being different versions of that oneness, when I come back into relation, it makes me feel

that there’s a different sense of connection, so that I’m not a stranger to this thing. It is actually a part of me, and I’m a part of it. And so how I think and how I feel in relation to it is going to determine, a lot of times, the health of the relationship between me and it. And so it’s like a giving and receiving. In that giving and

receiving, there’s just a beauty of blessing that comes in both directions. That integration and that thought process really helps me stay in a different respect for life and for everything that’s happening around me in that way. Can you see that people react to that? Do they pick up on it on an unconscious level? Or, when you’re with others, does this show in your relationship somehow? I believe so.

I believe that people will. If it’s not spoken, your presence speaks, and your energy speaks. The vibration, it’s, you know, it’s an imprint. It’s like an energetic imprint or fingerprint. The state of vibration where I’m at is going to determine the energetic fingerprint that I’m impressing upon someone else. And as they receive that, my prayer is that they will be able to receive that feeling I represent, that

sense of connectedness and togetherness, and that it makes them feel safe and supported. So they may feel more open to sharing something with me that they wouldn’t share with someone else because of that presence. And that it helps them, you know, come into a different realization within themselves. That I’m actually doing my best to meet the person in the moment for who they are then. And even if

I knew the person from before, I’m not trying to talk to the story of who I think they are based on who I knew them to be before. Because when we see someone again, and we saw them five years ago, in our mind, it’s like we saw them five years ago. And there’s a picture of them. It’s like a picture that we put on the wall and place

in the wall of our mind. Then we come to see them again, and they saw us five years ago, so they have their own picture. And now, when we come to talk to each other, we’re actually talking to each other’s pictures or each other’s stories. We’re filtering through the old version. And over the past five years, so much has changed within each individual person. So when we come

back to talk, are we talking presently to who we are, or are we talking to each other’s stories of who we think we are or who we’re affiliated with in regards to different organizations that we say, “Oh, you’re this person, you believe in that”? Well, you start talking to the story and not talking to the person anymore. So I want to be present to communicate and talk to

you for who you are in the present moment and appreciate that, and try to remove some of my judgments of who I think you are based upon who you were or what you’re doing or who you’re affiliated with. And I think that helps with the relationship and the dynamic of how we come together and have a relationship in that moment. I do feel that it is felt and

received, and sometimes if I’m not in the best of places or not most organized within myself, I do believe that that is also felt and received as well. Because there are times that I’m not as unified as an individual or with another person, and then I have to look at that and reflect on it. How you go through life is obviously very much in tune with, you know,

what Zhineng Qigong is about Because the healing work, for example, that we do would not be possible if there wasn’t unity, if things weren’t connected, if we couldn’t tap into the Qi Field, if I couldn’t, with my work, have an effect on your body when I’m doing the healing work. So, that works perfectly within Zhineng Qigong. And, you know, I believe that if you are working as a

wounded therapist, you cannot do that work without going through life having this fundamental understanding. And I guess the challenge for us is that we might be aware of that unity the moment we do healing work for each other, for example, or the moment we share Qi together and practice together. But on a day-to-day level, where we go about doing our daily lives, yeah, it’s often not so present.

So again, it becomes a thing of staying aware, fully utilizing that, immersing in that, and being grateful for that. I think so. I think there is a fundamental understanding of that within the community, but very few people actually go through life on a daily basis with an awareness of this unity. Yeah, and that’s what calls me so much to the practice — it’s a unity practice. To me,

you know, it is a unifying practice, and it shows people the ways to do so. Using ancient wisdom that’s been passed down for so long and then presenting it in a modern way, and then seeing how we’re evolving together as we move forward and understanding that, is really a great unifying aspect of past, present, and future into the now. And that then becomes the oneness of this present

moment. And so that resonates with me, to know that I’m doing a practice of unity. And then, yes, that shows up at different times where you go, you move into a practice and you’re like, okay, I’m concentrated, I’m aligning with my intention, I’m doing the movements, I understand how I’m applying consciousness in this way for the betterment of self. And so those practices come in, and then you

work with a client, you focus, and you put your intention on the needs of the client and you merge together into one field, bringing the heart and mind together, heart to heart and mind to mind. And this unifies together. But as a person who’s providing a service of care, that’s where separation happens, and you say, okay, my service of care is to provide this love and concentrated focus

of attention to this individual’s intention, really just focusing on improving their well-being based on their needs at this particular time. To unify with someone in that way is a beautiful thing. And that gives me a sense of fulfillment and meaning in that. And you’re right that as you step out of these concentrated times, where you know where your focus is, and move into daily life with all this

information coming in from all these different directions, shooting your thoughts and feelings in all these different ways, it can be easy to lose yourself in the midst of the fog of this information. We’re just kind of trying to stay afloat in all the information, and so to stay grounded, stay connected, and move through this life with all the interactions we have, maintaining that peace and that practice of

the state of being, it’s important then to carry that awareness of what our intention is consistently, to be able to realize that connection we’re having throughout all times of the day. And then when we get off-center, we’ll course-correct and come back. But, you know, maintaining that state consistently is where we’re just trying to prolong the sense of unity, gratitude, and joy throughout the day and be like, “Oh,

as I reflect, how long was I joyful? How long was I grateful?” And usually, we’ll find they’re just pockets of time. Yes. And then it goes away, and then it comes back, and maybe it’s a little longer or maybe it’s shorter. And at the end of the day, you just kind of see, like, “Okay, how well did I do today?” And then meet that reflection, start again, try

again tomorrow. And I think that is one of the reasons why most Qigong masters that you and I are working with always emphasize the Qigong mindset. This is a basic setting that you have in your mind that you, when you go through your… Your day, this is the mindset that is so important. And it’s not just the physical exercises, which are obviously very important. But if the mindset

is there, then we see. And we see this with some of the masters, I think that’s why we find them so attractive, because we observe them in that daily life. And no matter what life brings up, the basic mindset doesn’t change. They’re always in the same state of being. And I think, without necessarily being able to give it a name at that moment, we feel like, okay, there’s

something special about that person, which isn’t really about the person. It’s just that they probably have a learning that we are only just working towards, which makes it so attractive and fascinating. Because it’s another thing that they teach us when they talk to us: that we are masters as well. We can do the same thing that they can. And I find that very attractive. So, we don’t have

to look up to them and say, well, they’re a master, and I’ll never get there. No, we can get there. And it’s actually the mindset that will make all the difference for us to have a similar quality of life and a similar way of gratitude in going through life. Is that fair to say? Yeah, that’s the thought process I was having in relation to that mindset—this Qigong mindset.

And it’s just how you carry yourself. And yes, the masters, as they’ve gone through this experience and deepened their relationship with themselves, help to express that out. People are attracted to the magnetic aspect of what it is to resonate at a particular frequency and to be able to give that light out. And so, you know, they become, you know, we are. We are attracted to light that helps

give us a sense of clarity on where to go in our path. As we’re working through the darkness and trying to remember who we are, it’s like I feel like this time is called the Age of Remembrance, because we’re in a remembering process of what it is that we already carry within us. And as different people move through their cultivation and reach different states of enlightenment, they’re then

able to share what they’ve remembered, helping you to remember. It continues to move down to each person, each generation. So, we’re remembering and going through this process. I think the other thing that I really like about the beauty of this idea is that we’re all masters, or the reassurance and encouragement is that there’s also a very equal thought process between a student and a teacher, or a master

and a practicing master. It says we’re all the same, we’re all on the same level in a way, we’re all in the same field. We’re not necessarily better than one another, we’re learning from one another. Even if you look up to someone and say, “Wow, you’re so cultivated,” you want to give gratitude and thanks. But it’s not idolization; it’s a respect thing. You give respect to those who

have passed out wisdom and show reverence to that. However, it isn’t about idolization, nor does it create a hierarchical sense. It’s really a matter of respect, and I appreciate that. It’s very empowering and encouraging for the individual to then be able to say, “Man, I am special, I am great.” For so long, we think we’re not, but it’s just like, “No, you have a unique gift to give.”

What is that? Let’s use practice to give you clarity to find your purpose. Then do what you do well, so that you can now tell other people how you got there and how you’re providing that service to help people rise together. So we all kind of grab each other by the hand and move together. And so that’s another beautiful thing I find within the practice, and within the

relationship to everyone involved. It makes the community so supportive, and that’s a very encouraging community. A lot of times we lack inner encouragement, so we get it from the external to fuel our fire. And while we practice building our own internal encouragement to be able to tend our own fire and fuel our own fire, it works well when it comes both ways. You know, it comes internally, it

comes externally, we give externally, and then everyone benefits in that way. And that’s what I find very beautiful within it. Wonderful, thank you very much, Alfred. But I don’t want to let you go before asking a little bit about Present Moment Living. That is, it sounds like the obvious name for your organization. This is the company that you and your wife are running. And the workshops you’re doing,

would you say that they are similar to other workshops, or is there something that differentiates your offer, other than who you are? Obviously, which is a great drawing point for people who want to work with you. But is there any particular approach that you have that you would like to share with us here? Yeah. Thank you for asking about Present Moment Living. Yes, the name reflects the thought

that we want to help people live in the present moment, knowing that that’s the only moment we have. And each new moment is the birthing of the next new moment. It’s just a continuous process of, you know, the moment that’s passed and the moment that’s coming. And we keep moving through this process. And as we take this journey as human beings, whether it’s from birth to earth, we

want to provide a service of care that supports you in that journey, regardless of the stage you’re at. Some people might be looking to have a newborn come into life and be blessed with good Qi, good energy, and really supported to help create a good field for the family as this baby comes into life or has just been born. Or maybe someone is going through an illness and

they want support to help them in the transformation of that illness. Maybe someone’s looking for life coaching or consciousness coaching to help them work through or navigate a particular stage within their life, find a sense of purpose, and have meaning. Or you’re in a state where you know you need couples support with a relationship, or my wife is certified as an end-of-life doula. So you’re at the transitioning

phase of your life in this physical body, and you need some support and care, or the family needs that and you need perspective. We want to provide a service of care and love that supports you regardless of the phase you’re at presently. We do that with Qigong classes. We do that with Hunyuan Qi Therapy. I will also give talks at different places. Whether, you know, it’s a company,

an organization, or maybe it’s a community, the thought that I can provide perspective and also practice to support the application of that knowledge, that could then help people understand it logically and conceptually, but also give them the ability to understand how to put that feeling and care into it and put that heart into what they’re doing, and then give a practice that helps people get there and deepen

the relationship to who they’re becoming and help them practice that. So our services will continue to evolve, but they will be focused within that idea that we want to provide a service of care, love, and support for people’s wellbeing. What that looks like is tailored to the individual, and we find out what they need and do the best we can to support them. And if we’re not the

ones able to do that, then hopefully someone in our network can connect them to provide that level of care. And that’s essentially what we do at Present Moment Living. I love that it’s not just an isolated Qigong exercise you are teaching. It really is a holistic approach. We bring all of who you are, all your knowledge, and all your empathy to move to the next level. Qigong obviously

is the core in many of your trainings, but you are taking a very holistic approach and not just using it as a tool. And I love that about what you guys are doing. And obviously, for all the listeners, the information is in the show notes as usual if anybody would like to get in touch. And yeah, I just want to thank you very much for taking the time

today, Alfred. It was a pleasure to have you here on the show, and give my regards to your beautiful wife. I hope to see you and her somewhere in the world very, very soon. Absolutely. Thank you, my friend. Thank you, my brother. All the best to you and your loved ones, and I look forward to connecting with you soon in the future. We trust you enjoyed this conversation,

and we invite you to subscribe to our podcast so we can stay in touch and notify you of future episodes. We will end today’s episode with the Eight Verses Meditation performed by Zhineng Qigong teacher Katrien Hendrickx. Enjoy. To get your free eBook on the eight Verses Meditation, please check the show notes below.