Welcome to the Zhineng Qigong Community Podcast. My name is Torsten Lueddecke and this is today’s story. For many of us, the benefits of Zhineng Qigong are those of healing. And even though my guest today, Federico Anguiano, healed himself from MS, multiple sclerosis, a disease where Western medicine knows no cure, for him this was not enough. He has gone further, taking Zhineng Qigong beyond healing and into the realm of consciousness.
Few people have studied Dr. Pang in depth like Federico. Let’s hear what he has to share today. My guest is Federico Anguiano, and Federico is a very experienced Zhineng Qigong teacher and also a somatic trauma counselor. And we are tackling an issue today that is close to his heart, and that is going beyond healing. So what does that mean for you, Federico? You said that Qigong can be more than just, you know, healing your illnesses.
Yes, I would like to clarify that, you know, as individual entities, like persons. My experience is that it is correct that what our actual true nature is, is consciousness, intelligence, which includes the person, includes the being, the personality, all of that. But, so this is an important distinction because healing does not need to take place at the level of intelligence. It takes place at the level of where the body and the mind are interacting with each other.
So the Qi and the consciousness are confused. And this is what, in the theory of Zhineng Qigong, causes disease. The cause of disease in Zhineng Qigong is simply a lack of equilibrium between consciousness, the spirit, Qi, and the body. Where they meet, they are out of order. Zhineng Qigong incorporates classical Chinese medicine, beyond, you know, acupuncture or herbs. The main theory of classical Chinese medicine is a spiritual approach to healing.
So the foundation of Zhineng Qigong is what causes disease. The human being is the meeting of heaven and earth. They need to meet Yang Qi coming in from the heavens, Yin Qi coming in from the earth. They need to meet, but if this meeting is not according to the laws of nature, then we have disease. And this disease means that Yang Qi is not descending enough and Yin Qi is ascending too much.
So they need to meet in the middle. And in Zhineng Qigong theory, the middle is the Middle Dantian. For those of us who have practiced methods that connect to the Middle Dantian, like the Yuan method, you can understand that the origin of disease in our experience is an imbalance of our emotions, usually the emotion of fear. Fear causes all kinds of things—grief, hatred—and the organ systems become imbalanced, and then we have disease, with different symptoms before we move on to taking it beyond healing.
I would love to have you share, because you have a very personal story as well where you use Zhineng Qigong and the wisdom of Zhineng Qigong to create healing for yourself. Maybe we can start with that. Because a lot of people that come to Zhineng Qigong are not so much coming there for the consciousness and the wisdom, they come for concrete healing. So let’s start with that and then branch out to what you—why you think Qigong can be more. So what I discovered, Zhineng Qigong, I was sharing with you before, I was terribly sick.
I was diagnosed with brain cancer. It turned out to be incorrect in a way. It was a worse disease, multiple sclerosis, that has no cure. So I didn’t know what to do. I was lost. I was very afraid. I was—you can imagine, I don’t know anyone who has experienced any serious illness and been given that diagnosis knows how it feels to experience that. So it just so happened that at that time, I was going to this cancer center here where I live in Southern California, and there happened to be a Qigong teacher from Huaxia Center giving a demonstration.
And so the people there said, “Oh yeah, come, we’re going to do this,” and I went there. So there was this fellow there doing some kind of chanting, some movement, and some kind of meditation. And even though I was so disturbed by my illness, I could hear in my own—you could say mind or consciousness, “Oh, I will follow this.” It was not a choice, like to say, “Oh yeah, this is—thinking about it.”
I just, I just knew. So, I followed that from there. Eventually, I went to China to study and become a teacher, and kept, you know, I came back, I went to different parts, I went to New Zealand, I went to different places in the world to study with different teachers. But the main thing is, I learned how to practice Zhineng Qigong correctly. So, I was always drawn to how in Zhineng Qigong Dr.
Dr. Pang created it so that the theory and the practice are one. So the theory, talking about how Qigong works, why it works, what it does, is just as effective to listen to, to read about, just as effective as practicing. And this is my experience. If someone is truly touched by the potential, the information, the essence of the practice, and you really want to follow it, then your success is guaranteed.
It’s guaranteed. All you have to do is just actually follow how it is meant to be practiced. So, of course, I was very concerned. I always had setbacks. I became afraid. Maybe it doesn’t work. You know, years went by, “Oh, I did. I’m not better,” but I just somehow— I have a feeling. I think maybe everybody, everyone has this capacity to become obedient to something that, you know, maybe is more clear, more intelligent than.
And so I did. And so I just practiced it all. I practiced the methods according to the best of my ability, finding the best teachers who knew what they were talking about. Okay, I will do this. And I would practice sometimes for eight hours a day. Just the same way as the people who recovered in Huaxia. That’s what they were doing. Say, “Oh, they were doing that. They got better.”
I will do the same. I knew I didn’t have the benefit of being in such an environment, surrounded by people who were doing it all the time. I could only enjoy that when there was some kind of retreat or a class. And this is something you mentioned before, which I really would amplify now, is that Zhineng Qigong is not meant to be—by its design—not meant to be practiced solo, individually.
It is meant to be practiced together in a group, because that is where the Qi Field becomes more powerful. The Qi Field is—you form a Qi Field by changing the information in your body and mind to become more open. Become more open to: Yes, I can heal this. I will practice this, I will experience this, and this will result in healing. So when we get together, because it’s not really a mind, it’s really consciousness.
Actually, that is the secret of Zhineng Qigong: consciousness guiding, as Dr. Pang speaks. The essence of Zhineng Qigong is to uncover one’s spirit. To do that, you have to learn to use your mind consciously. So that implies that your mind is not exactly the same as consciousness. It is a tool of consciousness. And when we get together and create a strong Qi Field with the right attitude, the right reverence—because it’s about reverence with it—then healing is guaranteed.
But you need to see that the group is what amplifies consciousness. This is the main thing: when we try it by ourselves individually. This is obviously from experience. It is very good because you are verifying the information for yourself. But you need to get together with others who have a similar intent. And then you can help each other. Then we can help each other to create a much stronger Qi Field.
And then it can seem like it is a miracle, the things that can happen. It can seem like now you didn’t have the possibility or the opportunity to practice in the group, and yet you managed to heal yourself. Is that correct? Well, I did. I mean, I did practice a lot in groups, especially in China. And I went to different healing retreats in New Zealand and Europe. So then I got, I kind of like.
It’s almost like when you soak a piece of paper in tea or coffee or a cookie, you know, it gets soaked, and then you take it and you eat it. It’s very delicious. So you, we need to have the experience of the group to discover that the Qi Field is real, that the healing effect, the Qi Field, is real. It’s true. It is not imaginary. You’re not making it up with your mind.
And so then, with this group practice, that is when the individual practice can be effective. So yes, I did have a lot of experience with group practice, incredible experiences. And then, let’s call it the, day-to-day of Zhineng Qigong practice is you’re usually going to be by yourself. You’re going to be learning from the group experience. You’re going to remember it.
You could say, “Oh, this is what worked. I will. I like to do this. I like to practice Lift Qi Up, I like to practice La Qi, I like to practice Chen Qi.” Whatever it is that you enjoy, then you practice it, and you gain a different level, a different capacity to practice and guide your mind. And that is what is healing. And then you, you develop. It is not belief.
You develop confidence—confidence, oh, I can heal. I was feeling very bad, then I’m practicing this, and somehow my disease is gone. I didn’t feel like I was sick anymore. Maybe later your disease, the experience, comes back. But then you keep doing it. I have to emphasize, this is at least my experience. I practiced daily for almost 10 years. 10 years. So I imagine that if I had been at Huaxia, maybe I would have.
In two years, I would have achieved what I experienced in 10 years. Right? So this is a very big distinction, because we do not have Huaxia anymore. I know that there are several teachers who have tried in the past to create their own experience of a center so that people will come and experience this group healing. So this is very good. You know, it cannot— it is not sustainable unless you have a community where you live in, living there forever.
But, at least there is the opportunity to replicate some of the aspects of Qigong. So now, let’s just, you know, wrap up your personal healing story. If I understand correctly, you totally healed yourself from multiple sclerosis. Is that correct? The diagnosis went away, or what is your situation these days? Yes, I haven’t gone to the doctor in years now, but I believe that I meet the requirements.
As they said at Huaxia, if somebody had cancer or some disease after they left Huaxia and they had been healed for seven years—no symptoms, no recurrence, no nothing. So this is my experience. I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2006. Now, it is 18 years later. I have not had any experience of what they call MS, because it’s just a name, you know, it is information.
And it’s important to get to that, also, that the name of a disease is just information. This is the key to healing, actually. So it’s been many, many years. Of course, my body still maybe gets sick. Like, if I fall and break a leg, then I will get sick. Or if I eat something that is not good for my body, I will get sick. That is, that happens to anyone.
But my experience with disease is like, you know, what is that? I have never felt better in my life than I do now, in my body. Now, given, you know, what you have achieved and what serious diseases you’ve overcome here, most people would get very enthusiastic and focus on the healing properties of Zhineng Qigong. Yet you, yeah, when we started speaking before I actually pressed the recording button, you said that Zhineng Qigong is more.
We can go beyond the healing. So let’s dive into this now. What do you mean by that? Yes, well, as you probably know, healing can mean many different things. There are many different levels or layers of healing. Even in Zhineng Qigong, there is a… You know, for people who are interested, they can discover in a book called The Essence of Qigong by Dr. Pang. I think there’s a translation.
They speak about the different levels of healing. It’s too long to go into it, but you can heal your body, and you can heal it temporarily, let’s say for a year or two. Then that’s one level. You heal it permanently from the condition—that’s the second level. Then you realize, oh, I am actually consciousness. I am not my body. That is another level. And there is more.
The original design of Zhineng Qigong was that there are six methods. We only know three. So Dr. Pang said, “The reason why I will not show you the other three methods is because humanity is not ready for the other methods. Humanity is still believing that they are a body, that you’re just… I’m just an animal. You are an animal. This is incorrect.” So healing, ultimately, in my experience, has meant to understand that our nature is consciousness.
So healing means to be whole, right? To be whole. That’s what healing means. So it means, in a way, to be impartial. Impartial means that I have no preference. Nothing is— not like, “Oh, it is raining.” “Oh, it is sunny.” “Oh, she doesn’t like me.” “Oh, she likes me.” I don’t care. It doesn’t mean that I don’t, I’m not, you know, open to enjoyment and joy.
It’s very much actually about being alive. But it’s like, “Oh, this is not going to happen. I’m not going to get that. I would have liked to have it.” I’m not going to be creating a negative experience that will disturb my physical health. Because physical health is just a reflection of the encounter of Yang Qi and Ni Qi. They need to be together. So if I have a big reaction, if I get angry, then something in my liver or gallbladder will be off balance, and that is going to affect my lungs. You know, grief will happen.
So attachment, attachment to an outcome. Now, I’m just making this reference to Buddhism because Zhineng Qigong is an integration of different kinds of Buddhism, including Tibetan Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. That is what Zhineng Qigong is made of, actually, integrating all of the traditional qigongs into one system. Dr. Pang knew it. He was not a person. He’s not a person that likes to show off about anything.
But he did hint, you know, Zhineng Qigong is on the same level as any of the classical traditions of the world. It is, in my experience. 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. On a practical note, what do you do? How do you practice, or what is your path to go beyond healing and go on this consciousness level? So healing never ends, because as long as our body and mind are interacting, there’s an interaction of Yang Qi and Jing Qi. They are interacting, so I can discover a new situation.
Maybe, let’s say somebody from my family is doing something I don’t like. Maybe that will trigger a reaction—I don’t like it, I hate them, or whatever. And so then I will be shown, “Oh, there’s an opportunity for healing,” you see. So healing never ends. But the fundamental, I would say, the fundamental aim of any Zhineng Qigong practitioner potentially could be beyond healing their physical illness—to heal their consciousness, their body-mind experience of consciousness, to know, “Oh, actually, I don’t need to worry or be afraid or be anxious about anything.”
Why? Because I am one with everything. Because everything is I. I am. I am Torsten. Torsten is I. There’s no distinction. We are the same. We need to experience this in one’s heart, you know. We can be open to each other in this way, potentially. And as I share this with you, you have your own experience of what that might mean. What—how would it be if actually there is no you and there is no me?
There is just intelligence, you know, intelligence, experience. From a different perspective, there is the perspective of personal Torsten, the experience of personal Federico. They have consciousness experiencing the world through that individual, through this individual. But it’s the one consciousness, see? So, that I would say is the ultimate aspiration of Zhineng Qigong practice. That level of healing will ensure that the healing at the level of the body will remain.
That’s why there’s the test in Zhineng Qigong. Oh, after she had cancer or whatever, a terrible illness for all these years, but she practiced, she healed. And after seven years of leaving, she’s still good. That means that the level of consciousness has reached a new level. You see, it is similar to—I mean, everyone will be different. But it is similar to what I was just saying. Oh, I am.
That is the whole aim of classical Chinese culture. Man and nature are one. Man and nature are one. That is the foundation of Zhineng Qigong. And if I am one, it means that there is nothing that is not I. Therefore, I do not need to be afraid. Oh, I have a symptom. Oh, I have this, whatever. Oh, no worries. It is who I am. And then, because it is who I am, I can bring it to another form of describing it towards them, which is the X-rays of consciousness—to perceive.
We perceive. I can perceive the experience of the body of Torsten. I can perceive the outside of this body here, the place. I can see, listen, smell, taste, whatever. These are perceptual objects, and if any of them is troubling me, all I need to do is to investigate. Oh, I don’t like that it is raining. Then I can see who is not liking that it is raining. Then that one doesn’t like that it is raining.
Does it know that I know that it is there? Does it know that I know that it is there? Then we ask this question. It is a question, consciousness asking itself. Oh, it is raining, someone. Me in my body doesn’t like it. And then that one is knowing that I know that it is there. I’ll put it in a simple way right now. Torsten, are you aware that I’m aware that you exist?
Are you aware in your heart, in your body, not in your mind, in your experience? Are you aware? I’m definitely aware in my mind, but you’ve got a point there. I mean, this is just, yeah, an intellectual exercise for me at the moment now. Yeah. And that is where, you know, the growth path would probably be, right? To have this awareness, not through the mind. Right. So I don’t, you know, it is up to you how you want to conduct it, you know. But I’m offering the…
This is how I tried to communicate Zhineng Qigong in a way that does not even mention Qigong, because people are very confused about what it is. They are afraid, you know, oh, no, there’s something. So it took me a long time to come up with this insight. To be one means that, for instance, you… You could ask me, hey, Federico, are you aware that I’m aware that you exist?
If you ask me that—when I ask that right now, I’m pretending that you’re asking me. And then what that means is that in my heart, not in my mind, in my heart, I can receive your question. I can see, wow, he is really me. He is really I. And we are one. We are one. It is this—to dissolve the subject-object perspective is to make it one.
We are one. So Zhineng Qigong is about opening one’s heart, actually, yet to open your heart, but not in any sentimental way, not in any romantic way, in a very clear, intelligent way. I am consciousness, you also are consciousness. We are one. To let that in our body, mind, and you know, the connection between heaven and earth can go into the heart. I don’t know if what I’m saying makes any sense to you in your experience, but I’m doing my best to try to communicate the possibilities of Zhineng.
Qigong is endless. It is endless. But the foundation for that is our discovery, the realization that my reality is consciousness. That does not mean that I need to understand this to benefit from Zhineng. No, because if anybody actually practices it, according to the directions, how it was written by a qualified teacher, you can heal any disease, you can have a new level of happiness that was absent from life.
And maybe not everybody wants to or is interested in actually receiving this information. In this one. But, you know, oh, I had some terrible illness or let’s say someone I knew had terrible back pain for decades. They were getting operations and all that. They healed it. How did they do it? They practiced Wall Squatting for six or seven years. That’s it. And then it’s gone. And then they are not interested in consciousness.
They are not interested in anything like that, but their disease is gone. You see how well practicing now, would you say, Federico? Because, yeah, what you’re talking about is for a lot of people, me included, not so easy to grasp, to grasp fully. Yeah, I might have an understanding intellectually, but to fully grasp it is quite something. And at the same time, you’re explaining how Dr. Pang has developed various levels and he’s only taken us as his students so far to level three, basically.
Yet there’s so much wisdom in what he has done, what he has developed. My question is really, is there an implicit learning experience just when I practice the exercises? So just by doing the lift Qi Up, because I can see a lot of people that just by practicing, you know, their state of happiness rises up. So that cannot just be because I do movements. So there must be something already, you know, that is evoked, that takes me to the stage that you’re talking about or towards that stage without me even knowing it, without even, you know, realizing what you mean.
What I’m doing, is that fair to say? Or am I on the wrong track? I really appreciate your question. When you were saying it, I was recalling the exact same experience that you are sharing. This is the incredible beauty in the design of Zhineng Qigong. It is a masterpiece. Dr. Pan created all the levels and he put his consciousness. It’s just not his—it’s universal consciousness, not personal—into each method, each practice.
So what that means is that whoever is accessing the practice information on Zhineng Qigong is connected to consciousness. While you are doing it, practicing the method correctly, with the correct attitude, and establishing a strong Qi field, in the design of Zhineng Qigong, no matter which method you practice, it doesn’t matter which one you can be doing. You could be doing Chi Nei Tsang, wall squats, watching the mountains, or Dantian breathing—it doesn’t matter. You can be doing that.
And the information of Zhineng Qigong, which is “I am consciousness,” is going to be that—it is the essence. No matter what you practice, the information is “I am consciousness.” This is the incredible genius and mastery of the design of Zhineng Qigong. Not everybody will relate to it in the same way, and it doesn’t matter. While they may think, “Oh, I will practice this for the rest of my life,” that is fine.
There is a progression in the methods of Zhineng Qigong. It is very clearly established in the document that Dr. Pang wrote, called Nine Aspects of Zhineng Qigong. It’s simple, just three or four pages. But in that document, it makes it very clear that all the methods in Qigong progress from standing, to moving, to sitting methods. So basically, the ultimate practice of Zhineng Qigong is sitting meditation. In sitting meditation, you can use the activities of consciousness to guide the movement of energy through the channels and collaterals in a way that does not…
For instance, anybody— you, me, anyone— can sit and practice Lifting Qi Up, Pouring Qi Down with their mind. You don’t need to move your hands. You can practice it with your mind. That is one level. There’s another level beyond that, which is dynamic, spontaneous Qigong. When you’re sitting, you simply open your consciousness to the openness, the endlessness. That is different. So the possibilities in Zhineng Qigong are…
They are indescribable. I wish I could meet Dr. Pang so I could bow to him and say, “Wow, there’s nothing more than that.” I’ve met many spiritual teachers in my life in person, but from what I understand of Dr. Pang, none of them have this understanding. I always get a little bit emotional about it. Yes, yes. Now I can sense the work of Dr. Pang…
Dr. Pang means a lot to you. It’s all very, very fascinating. I just think this is. You’re kind of. You also have. Although it’s complex, right. But you have a talent of putting these very difficult theories into relatively easy words, simple words. Because if you look at the books that Dr. Pang has written, very few people are able to read it and understand it. And you kind of have condensed this, the information and the knowledge in a.
In a beautiful way, this tonight here. So I’m very, very grateful for that, and I feel like I could listen to you forever. I know that there is so much more to say, and I think that’s just a great opportunity for us to say, okay, let’s schedule another session soon where we can go a little deeper into some of the aspects we’ve just discussed.
Because that is so unique, to have the possibility to pick a Western brain like yours and explain some of the essence in such beautiful words. Right? What I am listening to right now, because the activity of consciousness is to listen to what is. And so, as I listen in our interaction, I am very touched in my heart and wish to reach out to you, not because of a belief that you understand worse or better.
No, that is not it. The motivation to reach out is to communicate that right here and right now, consciousness is a reality that can touch my heart and move me. It can move me beyond the limitations of my belief that I am limited. I can be touched. I can be moved. The Qi Field has many different aspects, but primarily, we can experience it in our heart.
This is a very basic concept of healing, which is to be touched in one’s heart. In the Buddhist scriptures, one of the foundations of Zen teachings is to be touched in one’s heart. If your words, your being, your presence—consciousness itself—touches me, then in a way, it is independent of your understanding of what I am saying. It is you.
Everyone is consciousness. Everyone. So when I am listening, I say, this is important to mention right now—our reality is consciousness. Can I be touched by this? Dr. Pang expressed this in a very clear way: humanity’s greatest need is to develop the capacity for consciousness. In other words, he meant it is urgent. It is urgent to develop our capacity to have a conscientious existence.
What does that mean? It means to be knowing that I’m, I’m really conscious as I am a spirit. And in human beings, we reach to that through the experience of our heart, the opening. Kaixin. Kaixin means open heart, also means happiness. Actually, that’s what it is. So happiness is the healing agent in Zhineng Qigong. It’s openness, Kaixin, opening our heart. So what I can do is to.
Because I wish for the love of consciousness to mention this to you. This is, this is what we all need. I need it, you need it, everybody needs it. This is the healing that everyone needs, to be moved beyond the limitations of our mind, our mind which is not actually the real mind. The real mind is intelligence, this Yi Yuan Ti, the original mind.
I think this is a great message that you’re giving us here. I’d like to thank you very, very much, Federico, and let’s talk a little bit about how we can make this knowledge of yours and all your studying of Zhineng Qigong more accessible to a broader audience here. Because I think the way you have approached it is quite unique. So without making any comparisons to other teachers, because we just said that just by doing the exercise, you are already opening up towards that path.
Yet there are so many things that you said today that I haven’t really heard in that clarity before. So I think there’s more to look into together, but for tonight, I’d like to thank you very much because we’ve come to the end of our little format here, of our podcast. Thank you very much, Federico. It was a pleasure to have you here tonight, and I look forward to another conversation.
Thank you, Torsten. I very much appreciate meeting you and getting to know you as a person. And like I mentioned originally, the message I’m listening to is so clear and so pure. If I am given any opportunity to put any movement towards that realization, I will do it. I will speak with you or anybody who is interested because, as Dr. Pang said, this is humanity’s greatest need.
It’s not necessarily that. That’s not what he meant. It is to develop a conscious attitude, to realize that we are one. We trust you enjoyed this conversation and 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.
We need your consent to load the content of YouTube.
