Empty Vessel magazine
Spring 2001
By Mark Johnson

In the early 80's, American acupuncturist Ralph Alan Dale took acupuncture to Cuba and in only 20 years, it has spread like wildfire. It now rivals Western medical practices in popularity. This is due to the fact that it costs less and because of the indomitable spirit of the Cuban people. They have suffered so much for so long, they seemingly act as one organism in order to survive. Dr. Dale cited a typical example of that admirable trait in his opening remarks at a recent international conference in Havana on Alternative Medicine. "Twenty days after I introduced my material on acupuncture, every Doctor in Havana had copies of it. Twenty days after that, every doctor on the island had the material, and twenty days after that, every health care practitioner was busily studying and practicing acupuncture". The Cuban spirit of bearing the burden together and sharing what little they have, deeply touched me and I intend to return many times even at my own expense to help those long suffering people.

Dr. Dale, as you may know, is one of the foremost and long time practicing acupuncturists in the USA and it was from him that I initially got the invitation to present Qigong at the above mentioned conference. Because of the widespread poverty in Cuba, everyone is starved for any system of inexpensive "self help" that they can utilize and my Taoist Qigong/Tai Ji was exactly what they were looking for. Everywhere I went, I was asked to return and teach in their hospitals, clinics and universities.

Metaphorically speaking, my method of healing for the past 25 years has amounted to "handing out fish" to hungry people one at a time. Recently, I decided to hand out "fishing poles" instead. I have since learned that the most truly effective health care practitioner is the one that most successfully empowers the client. With that in mind, my personal practice and workshops have centered around dispensing techniques and a daily regimen that puts the majority of the responsibility (respond-ability) back into the hands of the client. Having been trained by Taoist Master Hua Ching Ni for many years in many disciplines, and by many other Tai Ji Masters, I Ching Masters and Feng Shui Masters, I had many different kinds of "fishing poles" to offer the Cubans.

My plan was to offer them ways to harmonize and refine their internal energy through Qigong/Taiji, then how to harmonize with their environment with Feng Shui, and finally how to connect with the subtle nature of the universe with I Ching studies. As a result, the first day's Qigong session at the conference which was scheduled from 9 am to 5 pm went through dinner and into the night. The next day's 2 hour workshop on Feng Shui lasted 4 hours because the guest speaker after me from Russia said he wanted to hear what I was saying more than presenting this own stuff! The same thing happened the next day with my introduction to the I Ching. Not only that, the first morning of my stay at the famous Copacabana, a doctor called me at 6 am from the lobby wanting further practice. The next morning there were 3 of them. The next day there were 12 etc. Where can you find students in the USA willing to walk miles for their 6 am class? No wonder I am anxious to get back there.

We then traveled to other cities to visit their alternative healing centers and hospitals and it was the same scene there. The doctors especially were starved for qigong practices to give patients because they often found themselves in the painful position of watching people suffer and die due to a lack of medicine brought about by the damned embargo imposed by the good ole USA. Can you imagine a 40 year embargo imposed upon a people who are no threat to anyone?

After the formal conference and planned trips to hospitals was over, I rented a car and drove the length of the island to visit friends in other cities. The response was the same. By the way, I took my 12 year old daughter with me for her education, and being a gorgeous blonde, she was also a smash hit wherever she went. Neither one of us spoke a word of Spanish but when our rental cars had flat tires and overheated engines, the Cuban people knocked themselves out taking care of us. No wonder I want to return.

The Qigong warmups I taught were taken from my Qigong Healing Video, which consisted of oxygenating the body with a Taoist 5-in-one breath, stimulating every cell and acupuncture point on the body with percussion and loosening every joint starting with the head and neck and finishing with the ankles and toes. After these physical exercises, we worked mostly with the bioelectrical body with a "bone marrow washing" technique and by sending Chi in the form of fire & water into every gland. We then went into the major organs with the healing sounds and colors and finished with quiet standing where we ran the microcosmic orbit for 5 minutes. We then did Wu Chi standing where we emptied ourselves of all volition and simply allowed our beings to do what was necessary to correct any imbalances.

In other words, I work from the gross to the subtle. The gross percussion along the meridians puts an emphasis on the lymphatic system because I am convinced that good Qigong stimulates lymphatic drainage. Since the percussion squeezes the lactic acid, uric acid and carbon dioxide out of the cells into the intercostal fluid, it is really important the lymph system is flowing smoothly to eliminate the toxins. In loosening the joints, I have discovered the importance of doing it in an organized way. Start with stretching and opening the head and neck joints, then do the shoulders, elbows, wrist and fingers. Then do each vertebrae of the spine working down to hip rotations, knee rotations and ankle/toe rotations. This way, the body seems to anticipate and prepare the areas to come when you are systematic about it.

From the physical, we move to the bioelectrical body with bone marrow washing and sending chi to every gland and organ in the body. We do the healing sounds and colors in the 5 element creative cycle starting with the wood element in the Liver.

From the bioelectrical body we influence the very subtle and extended "soul" body with chakra stimulations and quiet standing. This is all preliminary to learning the 5 minute "8 Extra Meridian" Qigong/Tai Ji style. This style creates an energy ball and runs it through each of the 8 Extra Meridians. For most of the students, it was the first time they actually felt and saw their "electric body". They were like kids at a science center, running around comparing experiences and taking notes.

Having studied and practiced Feng Shui for 25 years, I taught an introduction to all the schools: the Tibetan Black Sect, 8 Direction or East West Compass School and Flying Star Compass School. I then encouraged them to get involved with whatever school appeals to them to whatever degree of complication they can handle. I personally feel that while all schools are true, they are also partial so I have created a compass school that is a synthesis of all three. They kept asking me about hexes and evil spirits in an area. I suspect some voodoo is still secretly practiced on that island.

Since I studied the I Ching with such renown masters as Khigh Dhiegh and Master Ni, my I Ching seminars are also a synthesis of everything I have learned. I went into the history and evolution of the I and how and why it works. That necessitated going into synchronicity, linear and analog phenomena, chaos theory and the mystery of emergence and novelty. I also showed them the seed, stick and coin methods of divination. For the most part, this book and its perspective on the nature of change, was completely unknown to them. They sat in stunned silence at the enormity and profundity of it all.

The Cubans are starved for this kind of training and knowledge. While they are one of the more literate countries in the world, their knowledge does not extend into these areas of life, so I want to encourage all of you to go there and contribute to their education. They love Americans but hate our policy toward them. Travel in the fall and winter (watch out for the September hurricane season) because it is really hot there and there is no air conditioning except in a few hotels. It is easiest to enter their country through Jamaica because the restrictions our government imposes on us can be exasperating, especially if you want to bring family members. It was a little too austere for my daughter in the countryside where we spent most of our time. Since Russia collapsed, Cuba now has no industrial or financial base. I met many internationally renown surgeons who only make $20 a month! (the same as everyone else) Although they have no money, once you are there, you are treated like royalty and how long has it been since you drove down the street in a 1952 Oldsmobile convertible? You will never find more intelligent, hard working, and eager students in your life.