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It’s not all bad news – love heals, both inside and out

March 20, 2020 by Andrew Marshall Leave a Comment

Understandably, there is a great deal of anxiety about the effects of the coronavirus, socially and economically as well as in a health sense. Fear is spread far and wide, and this increased stress tends to weaken the immune system. So, instead of mulling over the negative and fearful stuff, let’s talk about love for a minute.

The miraculous antidote

Love is quite extraordinary. We take it for granted as part of life but we often mess it up, don’t we? Part of the trouble is that we are conditioned to associate love with relationships from quite an early age and that, as we know, is fraught with difficulty. Expectations invariably lead to disappointments and little hurts build up. These restrict the flow of energy through our body. Over time, our vitality suffers and life is less joyful and healthy than it might otherwise be. The antidote to this is love. It is amazingly powerful – we just need to learn to let it out of the box.

Love strengthens the immune system

Just as fear weakens our defences, love can help strengthen them. The immune system is a fairly simple name for a rather complex collection of defence mechanisms within and on the body. Informing and underlying our physical body is an equally sophisticated system through which the energy of vitality, Qi, flows. The better the flow of Qi, the more effective our immune system generally is. This somewhat subtle field of energy not only permeates the whole body but also extends beyond the skin.

Wei Qi

The Qi that runs close to the surface and surrounds our body is sometimes known as Wei Qi – the outer, protective layer of Qi. There are many Qigong exercises and techniques to strengthen Wei Qi. Those are really good to do and very relevant in the current climate. But what is not often appreciated is that Love expands this energy field. So when we love, we build up positive energy in and around us. When we retreat inside ourselves through fear or anger, the Wei Qi retreats, too.

Don’t panic, but for heaven’s sake don’t just sit there

Life and the world are rather upside down at the moment. As a race, we have neglected and abused our beloved planet for far too long. She is giving us a very loud wake-up call because, let’s face it, we have ignored all the warnings so far. Perhaps when the immediate urgency of the current situation has passed, a new world view may emerge. In the meantime, let’s stay positive and remember there is a very effective healing power within all of us.


Energy circulation meditation for vitality

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  1. Home: four reasons why love in the home is crucial to your health
  2. Love: why cosmic glue stops us falling apart
  3. Stale energy: how to stop it killing you
  4. Something to smile about

Filed Under: Awakening Heart, Health Tagged With: ageing, body, cause and effect, collective consciousness, earth, energy, fear, healing, health, joy, karma, love, qi, qigong, relationships, subtle bodies, tai chi, wellbeing, wisdom

Habits – when and how to manage them

January 5, 2020 by Andrew Marshall Leave a Comment

Forming habits, now there’s a thing. Someone told me once that it takes three weeks to form or break a habit. I’m not sure where that came from or whether there is any evidence to support it. Nevertheless, the turn of each new year has features editors of newspapers and magazines publishing articles on the new habits we urgently need to acquire or lose. Is that a habit of theirs they could safely shed, I wonder?

Habits don’t like awareness

We all know that new year resolutions generally fail before the end of January. Except the one not to make any, which I find works well and lasts all year! Old habits die hard, so the adage runs, and in any event it would be silly to suggest that we should have no habits all. Many are very useful, like washing our hands after we have been to the bathroom. If only everyone did. The problem comes when our repetitive thinking and behaviour (which is what habits are) have a negative impact on ourselves and on others. Then there is something we can, and should, do.

Just observe and break the chain

The key to change for the better is not self-flagellation, dieting, running up mountains or taking ice baths, interesting and challenging though such activities may be. Rather it is to become aware of what we are doing and why we are doing it. Simple awareness can work wonders because it is the portal for our innate intelligence. Try it sometimes; better still, often. Before doing anything, pause and observe. Break the chain of one automatic response after another. Starve the habit of oxygen. Those few moments of comparative silence allow something rather good to happen. What it is, though, you must discover for yourself.


Do less to accomplish more – read my book The Art of Not Doing – How to Achieve Inner Peace and a Clear Mind

Free guided meditations

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  1. Motivation: how using Nature’s power can change your life
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Filed Under: The Art of Not Doing Tagged With: attachment, bliss, cause and effect, consciousness, detox, energy, fulfilment, happiness, health, letting go, peace, self-realisation, tranquillity, well-being, wellbeing, zen

Being happy: why we should choose to flick the switch

November 29, 2019 by Andrew Marshall 2 Comments

HappinessBeing happy is really rather good. Have you noticed (well, of course you have) that when we are happy, life seems so much lighter? It is also really rather good to be in the company of people who are lighter in spirit. Lightness can be catching. Unlike winter lurgies, happiness is a wonderful infection to pass on. Feel free to pass on your lightness! Indeed, let’s lift the cloak of gravitas that hangs heavily over so much of life today! We need inspiration, not gloom; but what can we do about it?

Being happy: is it a matter of choice or fortune?

We cannot solve the problems of the world, nor can we necessarily change many of the things that affect us, such as health and living conditions. What we do have control over is how we respond internally . When we are feeling down or serious about life, our internal energy takes a bit of a nosedive. Our emotions are very much affected by our energy or Qi; in turn, our Qi is influenced by our state of mind and our consciousness. This is where choice comes in.

Choose to look on the bright side and sow seeds of happiness

Looking on the bright side is not to be unrealistically optimistic but to realise that good can come out of anything. It really is like turning the light on. I sometimes imagine that there is a switch in the heart energy centre. To throw it from dark mode to light relies simply on intention. The significance of this little mental step is that our energy immediately becomes lighter. Energy follows intent. There is a very deep truth in this. We don’t need to analyse, though; just do it. And who knows? Make it a habit and we could well start off an epidemic.


The Great Little Book of Happiness is filled with tips on what we can do to improve our happiness and sense of wellbeing.

Energy circulation meditation 

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Filed Under: Happiness Tagged With: blame, bliss, cause and effect, chi, consciousness, happiness, health, heart, inner peace, joy, love, loving kindness, qi, truth, unconditional love, wellbeing

Stale energy: how to stop it killing you

August 24, 2019 by Andrew Marshall Leave a Comment

Stale energy in our bodies is probably something we don’t like to think about very much. It has connotations of something old, smelly and going off. There’s more than a hint of decay in the expression “stale energy” that’s far worse than a mouldy piece of bread, say, or a biscuit that’s gone a bit soft. Yet we all have it in us and it can be responsible for aches, pains, illnesses and even an early death.

Stale energy is pathogenic

Xie Qi, or Pathogenic Qi, is energy that is stagnant or even stuck. For good health, our Qi needs to circulate easily and freely through the body. It does this mainly through energy channels, informing the body as it circulates. Energy patterns that are poor or out of  balance have a corresponding effect on the body. A major influence on the internal flow is consciousness – the way we think, feel and experience impacts on our energy enormously. If we resent something, for instance, or are frustrated, the flow of energy will suffer.

Move it to lose it

Stale energy can be the result of experiences from long ago, from our current lifestyle or from a mixture of causes. Fortunately, we don’t need to analyse the reasons. However, we do need to learn how to shift the Pathogenic Qi and expel it from our system. Usually this requires a combination of movement and specific intent, something we shall be learning at our next workshop. We can also learn a practice such as Dao Yin or seek advice from a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine or some other discipline of our choice. Whatever we do, though, it is imperative to keep moving.


Our next Staffordshire workshop, Healing with Qi is on Monday 16th September 2019. Details here.

Books available here.

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Filed Under: Health Tagged With: ageing, body, breath, detox, energy, happiness, healing, health, mindfulness, qi, qigong, rejuvenation, wellbeing, yoga

Taste with your ears? It makes sense

May 18, 2019 by Andrew Marshall 2 Comments

Taste an apple, a strawberry or a piece of Wensleydale cheese – or indeed anything you fancy – and a magical process is set in motion. Our whole being engages in the initial assessment, quickly transforming it into appreciation or otherwise. The array of flavours can trigger all manner of reactions in the brain. Taste consciousness absorbs us in the food, and it in us. For a few glorious moments, taster and tasted become one. Unity through food – wonderful!

Taste asparagusMore than a matter of taste

The all-too-brief asparagus season is upon us in the UK. Ah, the noble green spears! Smooth and strong, yet delicate. Mysteriously, not everyone likes it but for those who do, there is nothing quite like fresh, locally grown asparagus. The health values of this culinary vegetable are renowned. According to Ayurveda, asparagus balances all three doshas. What does it taste like? No-one can really tell you – just try describing the taste of a strawberry – but there is more to this than flavour. Sight, smell and touch play their full part in the appreciation of food, too. Even hearing sometimes joins in – the crunch of an apple, the sizzling of food cooked at the table, for instance.

One taste or one sense?

Scientists have recently discovered that the tongue can detect odours. Have you have ever accidentally opened your mouth in the vicinity of slurry-spreading on farmland? Or fetid toilets or garbage? If so, you will already have known this for yourself. More enlightening research will no doubt come. Tasting with the ears may well be possible. Perhaps it will help us to reach a new conclusion – that there are not five senses but one. After all, are the senses not just the pathways of information that, with our mind, give us our picture of the world? There is a perspective in Tibetan Buddhism that invites us, in the quest for unity, to perceive everything in the universe “with one taste”. It frees the mind. That sounds good to me.


Improving our energy and balancing it with the environment is the subject of our next workshop Managing Life on 10th June 2019. A few spaces are still available. More information

Books

Free meditations

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Related posts:

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  2. Rest: how to get what you really need
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  4. Rest or be busy? 5 essential tips for restoring balance

Filed Under: The Art of Not Doing Tagged With: bliss, cause and effect, consciousness, desire, diet, emptiness, energy, happiness, health, mindfulness, ojas, vitality, wellbeing, zen

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