The final main components of qigong are awareness and intent. These two different aspects of mental focus are the most important factors in developing internal arts skills. That’s actually kind of a bold statement, because it puts mental training ahead of the physical training aspects. My experience however, has been that the only way to optimize the physical aspects is by utilizing awareness and intent. They are the keys to unlocking the all other training – healing or hurting, it makes no difference, awareness and intent are kings.
Imagine a pyramid where awareness is the foundation layer that supports intent, and the mental components of awareness and intent, then work together to form the foundation for efficient physical development.
It is the combination of awareness and intent that fully engage the body-mind system to stimulate both neuro-muscular and neuro-sensory development. This creates a coordinated unit where the body’s entire living matrix engages in each application.
If you can train with an increased level of intent and awareness, you will find new doors opening on your technique. Again, these could be healing or hurting techniques – both benefit from intent and awareness.
As a practical matter, intent and awareness guide whatever training you are doing. For example, what does it feel like when you exhale and extend your arm on the qigong movement Draw the Bow? Can you feel/sense the qi flowing out your arm? What about the movement of your legs and torso? Is energy flowing there? Can you feel the joints opening and closing with the energy flow? Is your body tense (inhibited) or relaxed (free to move)? Can you sense the alignment of your posture?
All of this awareness, intent, feeling and sensing engages the intuitive brain. It is the intuitive subconscious part of our brain that is responsible for integrating the millions of instantaneous measurements that are taken with our every action. If we want to train ourselves to act instantaneously and intuitively then we must engage the intuitive mind.
This unified training begins with being aware of and controlling what is happening in the living matrix of our own body-mind. Once you can feel and control what happens in your body, the training can move into feeling and controlling what happens in your opponent’s (or patient’s) body.
