The Mysterious Pass

A message in a bottle from outside the algorithm.

Imagine for a moment that the wind has completely died down. The sun streams through the clouds. The waves even begin to die down. It’s eerie. You find yourself standing in the eye of the storm.

Looking out from the beach, you notice something has been stirred up. There’s a tiny glint of light shining back at you from the water.

You wade out to get a closer look.

Bobbing around in the still-choppy water is a small clear bottle. The cork is decrepit but still intact, and inside is a small piece of paper.

Where the hell did this even come from?

You pull it out.

On one side are four words:

Come home to yourself.

Now you’re curious, so you turn the paper over. Barely legible on the other side is another message:

The Way that can be named is not the Way.

Something in you is sure this is important, but now you’re also a little annoyed.

Welcome to The Mysterious Pass.

This is a message from Life Force Guidance about Qigong, presence, and this business of briefly being human on a small living rock in vast outer space.

Come home to yourself.

Because I think most of us know something about wandering away.

I certainly do.

There was a point in my own life where I began realizing that, ever so slowly, I had lost contact. There were things in my life that weren’t particularly healthy and ways I was living that, while comfortable, didn’t feel truly authentic.

During this season of upheaval, someone introduced me to Qigong as a way of coming back into felt contact with my body and myself.

Something about it drew me in.

I enjoyed it just enough to keep doing it, and because I kept doing it, it had time to start working on me.

Today I can’t imagine my life without it, and that’s not hyperbole.

But before we get too far into Qigong, there’s an even more basic place I’d like to start.

Have you ever looked up from scrolling on your phone, or noticed you’ve simply been lost in thought for who knows how long, and wondered where you’ve been?

The mind can be like one of those funhouses at the fair. You walk in and suddenly you’re surrounded by mirrors, each one reflecting something compelling back at you: something you want, something you’re worried about, something you hate, something you really need to figure out. Like right now.

Add a smartphone to the equation, and we’ve built ourselves a pretty impressive house of mirrors, each mirror now showing us the perfect piece of mind candy to get our attention. And the candy keeps changing flavors to keep us endlessly entranced.

But we all know that story already, so let’s try something different for a moment.

Close your eyes and allow your awareness to come to your breath for just a few slow, steady breaths.

When you’re ready, ask yourself:

Where do I go when I’m lost in thought?

If I were lost right now, where would I be?

Sit with this last question.

The moment we recognize we’ve been lost, something has already shifted. We have a chance to become aware of this breath again, and to feel our feet on the ground.

This is one of the things I love about Qigong.

Qigong (roughly pronounced “chee-gong”) is an ancient practice of working with the body, awareness, and life force energy. Almost immediately, it can help regulate the nervous system, allowing us to relax more easily when we want to.

Over time, the practice begins to develop our sensitivity and skill with the energy inside and around the body. We learn to feel it and cultivate it.

For me, that has meant feeling more grounded, while also feeling more empowered to make changes in my life that I already knew I wanted to make.

And most importantly, it has given me a sense of presence I can return to.

Again and again.

Not because I’ve figured out how to perfectly stay home.

I still often wander.

The practice is remembering.

The door is always open.

I teach a Qigong class Tuesday nights in Gloucester. For more information about the class, as well as private instruction, please visit LifeForceGuidance.com.

Until next time,

your fellow shipwrecked friend,

Chris

P.S. I’ve included a free, commercial-free 28-minute Qigong practice that’s perfect for beginners. You’re welcome to practice along with me if you’d like.

P.P.S. If someone comes to mind who might enjoy The Mysterious Pass, please pass it along.