The concept of chi (or “qi”) is often misunderstood. Known as “ki” and “prana” in other traditions, chi is an important underlying philosophy behind chi kung, tai chi, and Traditional Chinese Medicine.

In this short video, Master Sbarge offers more insight in answering the question “What is chi?”

See the video here: What is qi?

For years, I chose not to travel to distant cities and countries unless I had to.  While I’ve always believed in the value of broadening my horizons and experiencing new things and places, the horizons I was most interested in exploring were those within my own mind.  For that, my vehicle of choice was meditation, and my destinations were any new clear and quiet places.

I have hardly been to every clear and quiet place, and even the ones I’ve been to have occasionally been smoggy and noisy.   But at least I’ve reached a point where I better understand inner clarity and quiet when I see it.

With that said, now I do enjoy traveling in the conventional sense:   Seeing other cultures, meeting people whose habits are surprising, being surprised at both the inadequacies and superior qualities of my own culture and habits.

As one who has practiced meditation, kung fu and yoga all of my adult life I particularly enjoy visiting the countries and places where these practiced originated and evolved.  This October, I’m looking forward to training in the Wudang Mountains, where Tai Chi came from; Dharma Drum Mountain in Taipei, founded by Ch’an (Zen) Master Sheng-Yen; and other sites in Hong Kong and China.  I welcome any students and friends of The Peaceful Dragon to join me, and look forward to the comraderie.

On a daily basis we explore our thoughts and inner habits — a kind of intranotional travel if you will.  But once in a while, when the budget can be stretched, good to stretch our minds with some memorable international travel.