The Zhineng Qigong practice is more than just movement, it goes beyond the physical aspect and has the intention of mindful creation. In today’s Qigong podcast, Oliver Rijcken discusses how visualisation plays a critical role in manifesting our inner desires.

Manifestation is a natural consequence of our intentions being aligned with the Qi Field. In Qigong the Qi field is the foundation whereby information is fed. This information could be about health and wellbeing or about dreams and goals. It’s important when practicing Qigong is to use visualization techniques. This will set an intention and an outcome of your inner hopes.

Once you reach a particular goal, it’s important to acknowledge and celebrate your achievements. However big or small, Olivier says they are all significant. Adopting a mindset of gratitude in Qigong is also very important. Being grateful for the achievement and for help you might’ve received along the way. It’s not a moment to inflate ego, as ego is quite the opposite mindset in Qigong, but more to have a positive feedback loop between intention and outcome – similarly to that of the “opening” and “closing” metaphor in the La Qi method. Thankfulness extends to Qigong practitioners, Qigong and fellow Qigong students (sometimes even our true selves) acknowledging the collective vital life force energy that fuels progress within Qigong or in many cases the Qi field.

Along with celebrating the wins in Qigong, stillness is also important. It’s a moment to reflect on what has been achieved and what new creative ideas can emerge. It’s also a moment to rest as it seems like life today is always about the chase and “the next big thing”. In Qigong it’s a reminder that personal development is a marathon not a sprint, it fosters a balance between thing that have been achieved and things to come – oneness: a key aspect of Zhineng Qigong.

 

Qigong is more than just a physical practice, and even the physical practice itself goes beyond the movements. So Olivier Rijcken asked himself, what do I actually use my practice for? With the help of the Creation Spiral, he turns his vision into creation and goes further by adding what we often forget to celebrate. Let us learn from his experience. My name is Torsten Lueddecke, and this is the Wisdom

Qigong podcast. So, hello everyone. Welcome to our podcast episode. Today I’ve got Olivier Rijcken with me, and to all the Dutch listeners, please excuse my lousy Dutch pronunciation. Olivier contacted me some time ago because he’s an illustrator, and he contacted me and said, look, I’ve done some illustrations which actually showcase all the positions and the movements of the Lift Qi Up. And I’m working on more exercises, and

I thought, wow, this is interesting. And Olivier, maybe you can show us quickly the latest you are working on so people get an idea of what we are doing here. And apologies to the podcast listeners who are not on YouTube, you will just have to meditate for a second while we show you guys the picture here. So this is kind of what to expect. And I think what

you’ve produced so far is the Lift Qi Up, and you’re now working on the Three Centers Merge. Right? Yeah, that was the Three Centers Merge, which I showed, which was just in sketch form. And the Lift Qi Up is like a whole A3 thing that you can print out. Right. And we are, you know, I’m mentioning it because we are putting your link in the show notes. So

anyone who’s interested in getting this drawing can get in touch through the link. And yeah, I think you share a little bit of my. How much, how much are you charging for that? Yeah, so there are two options, but we can—it’s €6. And if you go through Gumroad, then American VAT comes on top of that, another €1.30 or something like this. So it’s not breaking the bank. But

it’s something fun to have and something very helpful because we all know that visualization helps, not just when it comes to doing the exercise correctly, but in other aspects as well when it comes to Zhineng Qigong, because we do visualize our health, we do visualize our goals. And that takes me to something that we are going to start off the conversation with today. Now, you mentioned that in

your training, you often focus on something which you call the Creation Spiral, right? Yeah, we, we, we sometimes do this. It’s, it’s something which I—it’s a book that I read a long time ago, and it’s called The Creation Spiral, and it’s written by a Dutch author. He was a physician, I think, or a physics person, how you call it. Yeah, he wrote this in the 80s or something,

and I’ve been using it in different times of my life, basically for you to wish for something and how you can make it come true. And he describes the process, how it usually goes from a wish into it becoming reality, and he uses this process also to help you to maybe realize your own wishes or at least to be aware of these steps. Yeah. And how does it

feed into Zhineng Qigong? How do you use it in your trainings and when you give workshops? Yeah, so we, we did this in our Beyond Practice workshop with John Miller and Ankarua Camp. We did it, and at that time it was very much also—yeah, it’s, it’s, it’s basically this awareness, and we use it in such a way that’s why it’s also called Beyond Practice. We were saying, like,

it’s, it’s more than practice. You also be—what does your practice, you, what do you use your practice for? And so you can also have the idea of something you really want and how can you get there? It could also be like your health or it could also be feeling independent, or you know, like that could be like personal development wishes. So I always have in my practice, I

have the short-term wishes or the short-term vision, but also the long-term vision. So, like, I might be working on developing myself for the next five years, and then I have a vision of what I could achieve. And then you visualize yourself already in this situation, that you’ve already got there, and you try and feel what this does for you when you really say, hey, I’m already there, how

does it feel? What is it? And this information you take in, like you make it your good information which goes to all your cells together with the Qi. So the Qi is like your boat. And you pack things to it to make it, to give it extra information which you want, which you want for your body, for your life. Yeah, yeah. Now this is something that we, that

we know from Zhineng Qigong, obviously, because we are working with the level of information in order to, you know, feed the Qi field with the right information of health, of well-being, of, you know, organs working normally, and all of that. So, is there anything in this Creation Spiral that is adding to it? Or are you basically using the same ideas, the same mechanism there? Or did your—, you

know, I forgot his name now—did he discover something to add to it? Well, there is one mistake which we tend to make, and for some people it’s maybe very obvious, but—and maybe it’s actually for us all very obvious, but we don’t do it. And this is when we achieve our situation, when we actually get there, we get our result, and we, we then forget to celebrate. We are

already in our next wish or we’re in our, the other project which is going, or—no, but this is the, the, the celebration, you know, the full acceptance and enjoyment of that. You’ve got what you, what you are wishing for. This is a part we forget, and we forget the part that we then go into relaxation. So, like, we do nothing for a while and just let it become

quiet again. And then maybe when you’re in the shower sometime, the next wish might come. But, so we tend to rush, and I think this is the West, and also the pressure which is on people. And we’re always moving, and if things go down slow, we get a little bit nervous maybe, and we forget to enjoy that. Yeah, this. So they, they call this basically the last quarter

of your circle, and we tend to skip it, which is a shame. So that’s really, that’s really something which we could do more. Yeah, I think it’s not only a shame. I think it also, you know, might sabotage your efforts eventually. And I’d like to take both steps here. You know, when you talk celebration, as such, is wonderful, but for me, that includes also acknowledgement. So that I

acknowledge, actually, what I have done here has worked. I’ve visualized something, I’ve put the right information into the Qi field, and I do get the result. Now, if I don’t acknowledge that, it means I’m taking away my power for the next time. I’m doing the same thing. Now, I’ve got many people in Zhineng Qigong world that had incredible successes. You know, they healed this, they healed that, and

then when something serious comes up, they kind of tend to forget. They forget that it has already worked for them in the past. And they’re looking at the new challenge. And they, for whatever reason, they think, oh well, Qigong can’t help. And then you look at them and say, but you, but you know, for yourself, you have your own experience of how the Qi field has worked before

you. You have your own results that you have created. So how come you now stop practicing? How come you now don’t implement what you already know? So I think for me, the celebration has the celebration aspect, but it also has a reminder for me to say, yes, it worked. And let me remember that for all of my life, because when the next challenge comes up or the next

goal comes up, I can use it again. And I know it works. How do I know it? Because it’s worked for me in the past. So I think this is an important thing because it’s actually crazy, and maybe many of our listeners have people in their environment or it’s them themselves, that when they look back at their Qigong history, they have many examples where it has worked perfectly

well, and now they might face a challenge and they don’t, they don’t draw the right conclusion and say, well, if it has worked, then it should work now as well. So I think this is why for me, this is so important to acknowledge when it works and to remember it and store it in your mind. Yeah, and, and, and part of this celebration is of course also thanking,

thanking the people who supported you. Thanking yourself. Yeah. Maybe is your thankfulness, is maybe the, the idea that you. Yeah. This was an interesting point I once discussed with somebody, one of the Chinese teachers. I said, why do you not think after your practice? And he said, well, I don’t need to think something. What I am, when I’m connected, I’m so much part of everything. I don’t need

to say. Thinking is like showing that you’re not part of something. Right. You’re still. It’s like another part. But if you are all connected, it’s basically one. So you can’t think. Yeah, it’s like there’s no transfer because you’re all one. But also this awareness can still be, it can still be good to have. Here we have a way you can discover Qigong. So at the Zhineng Qigong Students

Hub, we know that understanding Qigong is very important. And also that Zhineng Qigong in itself has various nuances that people can’t easily comprehend. So we’ve approached it in the style of a video game. On this page, discover Qigong, you can select your character. So you can either be a beginner, a practitioner, or a holistic healer or self healer. And you click on your character and it takes you

to these different sections. In these sections, you can explore the nuances. And when you click on a card, all of the resources pop up and we’ve made it really fun and not many people know about it. So if you are interested, have a look and discover Qigong. Yes. The mindset of gratitude here I think is important because even though we are one, we know that in everyday life

we don’t go through life with that mindset. So I think that there are many people that have contributed to that success. Your teachers, fellow students, your family, so. And yourself. So I think the appreciation is, makes total sense and it doesn’t necessarily mean, you know, we are discarding the idea of oneness. I get what your, your teacher was telling, telling you there, but then again, you know, we

are also living as three-dimensional beings here on this earth, trying to make our way and being grateful is part of that. So I think it’s perfectly fine to go into that, into that gratefulness as well. Yeah. And it’s also something which we, speaking personally, I find it a difficult theme, thankfulness, being grateful or so it, because it’s many things you take for granted. And, and for me like

it also feels like if, if 10 people have already thanked somebody for something, then why should I also make this effort once more? You know, like it’s, it doesn’t really, doesn’t really kick in properly or something. So I find it sometimes, but still it’s, I’m very much aware that it’s important and find a way to, to go about this is part of the, of the cycle or of

life, whatever. Yeah. Thinking can happen internally. I also know these WhatsApp group, when you’re 50 students, somebody says something intelligent and 49 sent another message to thank them. That’s not what I mean. I mean, yeah, we can be grateful and thankful internally and express it internally without necessarily having to type another, another message and a smiley. So yeah, it’s more the, the mindset that you’re bringing and not

so much the, the action that follows on, you know, on a tool like WhatsApp for example. Yeah, yeah. And then, and then you come back to the teacher again, also says yeah, okay, you can be thankful from your, from your inside. Yeah. Now the other aspect you brought in next to when I asked you what does this creation spiral basically add to our way of thinking and doing

Zhineng Qigong? As you said, celebration is one aspect and the other one you brought up is to take a break and to just, you know, go, go back a little, take yourself back a little bit and enjoy what you have achieved without necessarily going straight into the next vision, straight into the next goal. And I think this is something also very important because we tend to forget that

the whole idea of Zhineng Qigong is the concept of opening, closing. So it’s not just one movement. So, and if I, if I take this literally, if I do one vision after another, I’m basically opening, opening, opening, and I’m never taking the time to sit back and to close, so the flow of energy can’t work properly. If I, if once I have achieved one thing, I’m automatically going

to the next one. So the time of, of resting and of enjoying and of just staying still and, and acknowledging what I have achieved now before I move into the next vision, I think makes total sense in terms of Zhineng Qigong. Now your author might express that a little different, but I think it’s a basic concept of what we are doing here. Yeah. Oh yeah, nice. Yeah. It’s

also, if you look at the creation, you know, like sometimes you will be forced to make up something and get new ideas or something and you find that they are not really very good or something. And then, you know, you may notice also that when you are quiet again or when you try not to think or then maybe the best ideas come, you can also say it’s an

essential step for the beginning of a new creation. Like if you’re running all the time, it’s going to be more difficult to get a good idea. Yeah, yeah, absolutely, I get that. And only in the stillness there is an opportunity for new things to develop. If, if I’m loud and busy and running, as you say, the chances that I come up with something of value are obviously very

low. Right, yeah. Or you have to be in a real flow and then things just go one into the other. But that usually doesn’t also last forever. So with regards to your, how you approach Zhineng Qigong, so I can see you put quite a bit of emphasis on the visualizations and at the same time you’re making an effort to make all these drawings and which are the physical

movements and the physical postures. So how would you best describe. How do these two things come together and how would you describe your style of training then? Yeah, that’s quite a hard one because if I would say, yeah, well, the posture is everything. That’s not true. And if you say the visualization is everything, then you’d sort of not respect the precise movement so much. The people who train

with me or. Yeah, the way I train them is, is more like first get the feeling of, of relaxation. And being able to come along. We do the Lift Qi Up straight away after warming up and Qi field, of course, but we do the Lift Qi Up and then we notice that the first time it’s hard because they are looking at me and they’re trying to see, trying

to see what happening. But actually the second time they do it, they’re already, they’re already having this experience of being connected or being in a sort of flow. And this is the first experience that I share also of course Ma Qi or La Qi. But so to give them these first experiences and then furthermore, we can, we then go into trying to get more out of the movement,

right? Yeah, but for some people it’s just not, not so relevant if you practice one time in the week to, to get the movement correct because they, they, they use it as a relaxation practice one time in the week and it works for them. So they go, they go chilled out, they go, they leave the room. But of course, you can. We’re always trying to give a little

bit more than that. There’s a bit more than that. Try this, try this, or try a daily practice. And some people might do it for two years just doing one, one, one practice a week. And then all of a sudden, they say, okay, but now I need to make my next step. I’m ready for my next step. For some people, it can be, they can go straight away

into, oh, I want to learn to Lift Qi Up by heart. Let’s do 10 days. In 10 days, I can learn Lift Qi Up by heart. I don’t need your posture anymore, but it could be nice, you know. So that’s, that’s my, the first sort of little. It’s a sort of discrepancy or how you call it. Like there’s a bit of tension between the one, like it’s not

just visualization and it’s not just movement. Yeah. And the other aspect of visualization, which I find sometimes difficult is that you see that if you give too much, like I call it color, like if you make the visualizations too descriptive or you are talking all the time, or I find it myself very difficult to take part in such a session because I’m forced to go along into somebody

else’s visualization. And it doesn’t work for me because I say, oh, what should, what should I do? And then I’m busy. Am I doing it correct instead of focusing on myself? So I find the visualization is more like a suggestion. And sometimes the suggestions are very powerful. Like, I really love the. The. You are. You know, you’re like one water drop in an ocean. You know, like you

merge. And like this. This is. And at the right. Is when you say it in the. At the right moment when people are relaxing, I think it can really help them to. Okay. Wow, that’s. Well, that’s nice. But also, these examples for myself, they would also maybe lose their intensity if I use them every week. Then it wouldn’t work anymore. For myself, not. And I think for my

students, also not. So these visualizations you’re always looking for, what comes up. Sometimes something comes up from yourself. And this way, I find that the verbalization of what you are experiencing yourself as a suggestion to others to help them, maybe this works for you as well. So it’s like always an invitation to see, oh, this is. But if you have to work, you have to always say, you

could maybe do this or you could maybe do that. Yeah. Then that’s also too tedious. So. Yeah, but. But indeed, it’s always an invitation to go along. Some people might just say, okay, I’m doing my own thing, and I have my own visualizations, and they work for me. And. Yeah, that’s also prime. Yeah. Yeah. From my experience, a good meditation is basically taking me into a particular state,

and from there on, I might just listen to what is being said kind of in the background, but I’m on my own journey while I’m doing it. And I think that is kind of what you’re suggesting, because one metaphor might work perfectly well for one person and not so well for another. And if I have to start with my mind kicking on, kicking in, trying to visualize a

certain situation, then the purpose of the whole visualization is already. Is already gone. So I like that. And I think we need to encourage the practitioners when they do these visualizations and these meditations to give themselves complete freedom. Because it’s. Whatever comes up for them is what is important. And it’s not so much, you know, the ideas or the. The. The script of the. Of the teacher or

whoever reads the. Reads the. But it comes. But it’s like I can say to you, okay, imagine your. Your favorite landscape. I can say that, yes. Done a lot. But you can also say, what do you need right now to relax? What landscape do you need? It’s. It’s a different. It’s a different. It’s the same more or less the same words, but it’s like, it’s. It’s. First of

all, it’s in a question. And you. They ask you straight away. And then you say, okay, I’d really love now to have this. And it’s in buff. You are straight. You’re there straight away. So I find this fascinating. And I’m not saying that I have total control or. But I find it fascinating. And I’m not always using the right words, but I know it’s important. So the suggestions

to help you into the visualization. Yes. And if you’re asking questions like this, it obviously opens up very different doors for every person. And whatever door they open up is fine and works well. Right? Yeah. Yeah. So if I summarize the Creation Spiral, because that’s where we started, it is these three aspects. You’ve got the visualization where you put yourself into the situation as if you were already

there. And you do this with all your senses and in the most relaxed state. And then once you have achieved it, you go into the celebration. And after the celebration, you go into the pause or I don’t know whether what the word is the correct versus here. Yeah. The pause or the relaxation. Yeah, but it’s. There’s 12 steps altogether. So we did. We just focused on the last

three because that’s where it often goes wrong. And the other steps are, you know, it’s like you have a wish. You let it strengthen with you. Like, it recurs and it comes back all the time. Then at one stage you start. You start talking about it to people and people might offset you because they say, well, that can’t be done. You know, that’s ridiculous or something. So then

you’re talking to the right, not talking to the right people, or sometimes you are talking to the right people because it can sharpen your idea. But if it kills the idea straight away, that would be a shame. So you’re always looking for the right moment to come out with your idea and to be encouraged. And sometimes instead of being discouraged, it should sharpen your idea further. Yeah. And

then at one stage, you start really researching. So, okay, people find it good. I get some good feedback. But now I need to get very selective feedback or, yeah, and networking. And then at one stage, you decide, okay, go, no go. And then comes the active part, where your part would be, maybe, okay, I have to practice this daily, daily, keep at it. And there’s very nice crossovers.

Like, you know, like you believe in your idea and the persistence needed to carry it out. You know, like, there would be opposition. And so there’s many opposites which are very strong. So, yeah, it’s well thought through, basically. Yeah. We could also maybe put a link in if I can find an English session or, yeah. Yes, please. I think that would, that would be helpful. Yeah. Because it’s

nice to, you know, to read up on it after our conversation for those that feel, okay, that could be something for me. Yeah. And I think it’s great how you, you know, how you integrate that because everything you’re saying here works perfectly with Zhineng Qigong and it’s another angle that people can take. Because one of the things that I’ve learned over the years is that each of us

has their very own angle, how to get access to the wisdom of Zhineng Qigong. And there’s just so many ways to get, you know, in Germany, in Germany we have an expression that says when the Groschen fell. So, which means something like the moment you get it right, you want to totally get something. And that might be a different path for everyone. So I think it’s a great

way, how you’re introducing this concept into your training. Yeah, and I’m glad we had this conversation, and I’m also very happy to put the link in the show notes. And, and I think that one brings me to the end where I would like to thank you for your time here. Let me just try with my pronunciation one more time, Olivier. And getting better. And, and good luck with

the drawings. I think it looks beautiful what you’ve done there for the lift. She’s up and working on for the Three Centers Merge. And yeah, hopefully it will help many people to understand the movements, to understand the postures, and if nothing else, it’s a beautiful piece of art that would fit beautifully in your bedroom so that you can be constantly reminded of how beautiful the practice is and

that maybe it’s time to do another Lift Up today. And so thank you very much for your time. Olivier and I hope to chat again very soon. Yeah, thank you so much. 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. J sh. To get your free eBook on the Eight Verses Meditation, please check the show notes below.