In Part 1, I reviewed some of my background with Qigong training, a letter of concern I got from a Soaring Crane Qigong instructor, and my path towards writing about difficult Chinese medicine issues from a perspective of consumer protection and skeptical inquiry.  In this part, I’m looking at the Soaring Crane Qigong book by Zhao, Jin Xiang and Chen, Hui Xian (my teacher from the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine who brought Soaring Crane to the West).  My intent is to identify claims, underlying beliefs, and other recommendations which should by now have supporting research if they are true or useful.  Since the question raised by my previous posts about Professor Chen, Hui Xian’s repeated claims that her teacher received this system from “Bird People from the Blue Star Planet” (later identified as Arcturus) was “Is Soaring Crane Qigong a cult?” I hope to help my readers come to their own conclusion by accurately presenting as much relevant source info as possible.  This is mostly an academic and historic issue, as it appears Soaring Crane isn’t practiced very widely anymore.  I’m certainly not concerned that Soaring Crane is an active or coercive “cult” as generally envisioned in popular culture.  However, some of the belief systems as put forth in the book and teaching appear “cultish” and “superstitious” to me, and I wouldn’t encourage anyone to take them seriously.

Gentle exercise, basic meditation, hypnotic suggestion, and self-hypnosis are all known to be effective techniques for causing physical and mental changes.  Many people, myself included, have had very powerful experiences while meditating.  I’m not suggesting that Qigong practitioners haven’t had any health benefits, states of blissful expanded consciousness, or novel body awareness sensations with these techniques.  However, most of the research I’ve reviewed (linked to in Part 1) has found that internal Qigong exercises have no special benefit over other types of exercise, and external Qigong energy healing simply does not exist outside of suggestion and placebo.

“Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.”

Claims of Qigong healers have been repeatedly tested in China and other countries mainly showing expected results based on exercise and suggestion (though some have exposed fraud and trickery).  It is very reasonable to point out implausible claims which could cause psychological, financial, or physical harm through giving false hope (which may delay access to proven treatments for diseases for serious diseases such as cancer), implanting superstitious beliefs (which can needlessly increase anxiety and cause neurosis), and generally wasting time and money if a student is led to believe they can develop super powers which don’t exist.  That being said, I realize there are happy students of many systems of martial arts, Tai Ji (T’ai Chi) and Qi Gong (Chi Kung) who don’t expect to cure cancers or develop telepathy, but simply enjoy the cultural experience of an Asian exercise system.  I am one of these people, and yet find the social and political history of fringe movements an important and fascinating study.  As a “skeptical acupuncturist” I’ve encountered many people with belief systems I consider to be unproductive and not conducive to a simple, natural, healthy life.  I certainly went through an era of seeking paranormal experiences, which is part of what drew me to study Taoism and Chinese Medicine.

For this post, I will alternate between direct quotes from the book _Chinese Soaring Crane Qigong_ (1993, Qigong Association of America) and my comments about them.

In the Forward, Zhao writes that there are more than 10 million Soaring Crane practitioners.    He states that he is the originator of this style, but is indebted to the older generation of Qigong masters who taught him.  (I’ll write more about those 2 issues in post 3 of this series.)  There are some references to Communist policies from the Cultural Revolution, such as “let a hundred flowers bloom” which frames Soaring Crane as part of the modern Chinese Qigong phenomenon.

Qigong can not only cure diseases and improve health, but also develop wisdom and bring out the latent powers of the brain.  It can raise intelligence and cultivate the innate abilities of the individual.  It can be a very efficient tool in the transformative process.  This will have a profound influence on the well-being of the nation and the world.  Therefore it is worthy of our greatest efforts. (Zhao, page i)

From the beginning, it is clear that Soaring Crane is promoted as more than a form of exercise.  It is said to not only cure diseases, but unlock special latent abilities.  All decent research I have reviewed shows Qigong to have no special benefits over similar levels of physical exercise.  However, Qigong deviation syndrome, also called Qi Gong psychosis, can develop due to the taking superstitious beliefs too seriously or practicing to the point of hallucinations.

Modern day qigong should make use of modern research methods and equipment.  Although qigong is much older than present day scientific thought, it is suitable for modern scientific research.  We should throw away any old ideas of a superstitious nature and bring qigong into its rightful place in the world of modern science.

(Zhao, page i)

Based on this statement, I don’t feel bad about my approach.  I would very much like the world to be a healthier, happier place.  By identifying superstitious delusions which may distract otherwise intelligent people from more useful application of their limited time on Earth, we can more productively put our energies to beneficial use.

Zhao reports that as a young man he had pleurisy and tuberculosis.  ”Through several years of practice of qigong plus medical treatment I slowly recovered from the illness (Zhao, ii).”  There is a common pattern of Qigong proponents using both standard medical treatment and Qigong, then later only giving the credit to Qigong.  This is very evident in the lineage of Soaring Crane.  For example, here is an example from a current “lineage holder”:

Lineage of Soaring Crane Qigong

GRANDMASTER ZHAO, JIN XIANG

Originator of the Chinese Soaring Crane Qigong system, Master Zhao Jin-xiang recovered from pleurisy at the age of 16 through a meditative qigong practice. All of the routines and forms came to him, but he had to study the theories of Chinese medicine and gain insights from various qigong masters in order to complete the forms.

Note that references to other medical treatment has been dropped out, and now all the credit goes to Qigong.  This happens even more clearly with Professor Chen’s cancer, as we’ll see in part 3.

Using what I had experienced in my own qigong practice and combining it with what I had learned in my studies, I invented a form of qigong that imitated the nature and movement of a crane in flight.  It is organized into five ‘routines’ which combine mental and physical work.

From the earliest Chinese exercises (from the Ma Wang Dui tomb and Dr. Hua Tuo’s “Five Animal Frolics”), imitating animal movements has been a fun and sensible teaching.  However, as with the development of most religions, the founding becomes shrouded in myth and mystery over time.  We see Zhao’s invention of Soaring Crane later described by Prof. Chen as being given to him in a dream, then later (particularly in the oral transmission) as being taught to him by Bird People from the Blue Star Planet.

The modern history of Qigong in China shows that it became a fad in the 1980s.  Several very charismatic Qigong teachers developed large followings, made millions of dollars, and worked to get political influence.  As their claims failed to be confirmed by research and troubles developed with cultism and delusion (such as the Falun Gong sect), the Chinese authorities who had originally promoted Qigong as an inexpensive health treatment began to crack down on charismatic Qigong masters who gave large public classes in a manner like a religious “revival.”  Chinese history has more than one rebellion/revolution which was started by a fanatical religious sect, which partly explains the government’s concern about Falun Gong.  This is the social context Soaring Crane comes from.

The experience of those who have practiced Soaring Crane Qigong since 1980 shows that the harmonious relationship between the movements and the mental aspect is very effective.  It enables people to both get rid of disease and build up their general health at the same time.  It also serves to remold a person’s temperament.  People accumulated qi (vital energy–bioenergy) at the same time they exercise their whole bodies.  The movements are clear-cut and easy to learn; it is easy to practice and qi comes quickly, cleaning out the channels (meridians).  Therefore it has quick results in curing disease.  (Zhao, ii)

The basic theory of Qigong belief is that disease is caused by energy blockage in the meridians and that restoring this flow with movements and mental visualization will cure disease.  Research has failed to confirm this hypothesis, though all decent exercise increases fitness and energy, especially in previously sedentary people.

People with “neurosis” and family histories of mental illness are repeatedly advised to not study Qigong.  There have been many problems in China with Qigong psychosis, especially in the group forms of spontaneous movement.  Morality is said to be important for Qigong development:

Why this emphasis on morality while we practice qigong?  Because qigong practice is governed by a very special law. To receive the full benefits of qigong, which include health, increased intelligence and psychic power, you need to be able to let go of the concerns, problems and self involvement that have been building since your birth, so that your pre-birth consciousness can reappear.  (Zhao, iii)

Next there are notes for practicing the routines.  These instructions build on the suggestions that Soaring Crane will treat disease, but begin to add in hints of warnings which could be taken as superstitious.

All the instructions in this book must be adhered to strictly.  None of the movements of either body or mind are accidental; all have been carefully designed for specific functions…  Wrong movement and wrong mind will cause blockages in the channels…  Always do your qigong practice facing South. (Zhao, v)

It is indirectly but clearly suggested that if you vary from the teaching (including facing the wrong direction) that disease will develop or worsen through “blockage of channels.”  One of the main problems I have with paranormal beliefs is that for every positive belief (healing disease, talking with angels), there is a negative possibility opened up (causing disease, being possessed by demons).  Later the student is essentially warned to make Soaring Crane Qigong a lifetime practice to the exclusion of other Qigong systems for fear of having diseases return or worsen.  New students are encouraged to not have sex/orgasm for 100 days.  This is later tied into the ancient Taoist beliefs of semen conservation as a prerequisite for spiritual development.

I’m not going to talk much about the specific routines or movement instructions, though there are some interesting pieces in the ‘Remedy Routines’ section.  The first one is called ‘Discharging Turbid Substances from the Liver.’  Here you point your right big toe at “a tree, some wood, or wooden furniture (Zhao, 47).”  Visualizing light entering your forehead, it is guided down through the liver, where it pushes out sick/negative Qi down the right leg.

Discharge it out of your body from da dun [an acupoint on the big toe] at the inner side of your right big toe to the tree, wood, or wooden furniture.  When your hands have descended and become straight, turn your palms facing the tree, wood or wooden furniture thinking the spent qi has been pushed into it.

In researching the history of Taoist healing and particularly external energy transmission techniques, I’ve been reading about exorcisms and demonology from about 200 BCE.  Early Taoist healers would “send” a sore or disease to a tree.  From what I can tell, external energy healing is a direct development from demonic exorcisms.  The Communist party, in an effort to reduce superstition, changed the terminology from demons to “spent qi” or “turbid qi.”  This routine is “designed for those who have hepatitis or liver cancer. (Zhao, 48)”  Since wood is the traditional element associated with the liver in Chinese correlative cosmology, it is used in symbolic magic to treat liver diseases.  Prof. Chen had us do this exercise quite a bit.  I enjoyed it at the time, as I’m not against using my imagination.  Encouraging someone with a serious liver disease to believe this has special curative properties is another matter.  It’s suitable for good quality research, but in the lack of supporting evidence, it is an implausible folk belief.

Another Remedy Routine is a “Method of Lowering High Blood Pressure.”  The beginning of this book said there were 10 million Soaring Crane practitioners.  Online I saw a claim of 20 million, then one of 30 million.  Yet there are no research abstracts on Pubmed.com or other sites I could find when looking for Soaring Crane and related terms.  One would think with 10 to 30 million practitioners since the 1980s, there would be ample data regarding this type of claim.  A problem arises when a student believes in the system but does not produce the results.  They can begin to blame and doubt themselves instead of seeing that the system’s claims are baseless or exaggerated.  Again, in extreme situations this can lead to neurosis or delay of effective treatment.

Starting on page 67, the section is “Basic Knowledge About Qigong” where we learn more about the underlying beliefs of Zhao and the modern Qigong movement, such as “Qigong will undoubtedly develop into a school of science with the characteristics of the Chinese nation that will benefit mankind. (Zhao, 67)”  This approach of treating Qigong and Traditional Chinese Medicine as a point of cultural pride and product for export are part of why Chinese researchers have tremendous pressure to publish only positive results.  The book _Qigong Fever_, which I review in later posts, shows this belief in “Chinese super-science” was part of the national fervor in the 1980′s.

External Qi projection is called “Qigong information therapy” here:

Qigong information therapy was developed by qigong masters to treat patients by giving out qi from their bodies.  From testing with instruments, the qi given out consists of infrared electromagnetic waves, magnetic waves, particle flow, etc.  This method of treating patients by a qigong master is called “Information Therapy.”  Some instruments, called “information imitation healing devices,” that imitate the emitted qi from a master have come out in recent years. (Zhao, 68)

Naturally I was interested in this claim, and Professor Chen taught us several techniques of External Qi Healing, such as “combing out” bad energy from patients with our fingers.  We were warned not to walk in front of the soles of patient’s feet, as she said we could absorb the sick energy that way.  I’ve looked extensively at research on this topic, and have found many cases of outright fraud, several cases of poor methodology, and no good verification of these claims.  External Qi transmission is, until proven otherwise with verified research, a fantasy phenomenon based solely on suggestion.  As with Mesmerism, the dramatic experiences people have with energy healing are proof only of the power of one’s own mind.  Unfortunately, this mainly produces subjective improvement on perception of pain, but no actual changes in any disease process related to things such as bacteria, viruses, or cancers.  Some external Qi healers have good intentions and are truly deluded believers.  Others know that they don’t have these powers yet still seek to gain attention and money through claiming they do.

When one practices qigong and reaches a high level, they will have three satisfactions.  Not being thirsty so no need of drinking; no need to sleep; and satisfaction of sex but no urge for sex. (Zhao, 69)

It is not recommended to go without water or sleep, or to believe that this is possible.  The bait of sexual superpowers is used in many forms of Qigong.

In order to obtain better results and avoid deviation, beginners must not practice more than one form of qigong. Of course, physical exercise like running, playing ball and gymnastics etc. are not included. (Zhao, 72)

Here we see more suggestions (which can create a self-fulfilling belief system) that not following this one system carefully can lead to deviations (psychosis).  As opposed to the extensive research showing Qigong exercises are not much different in effects than other forms of exercise, here they are given mystical importance, which carries positive and negative implications.

The success of qigong practice depends on regular practice and on your perseverance.  Qigong is an exercise that transforms energy into Qi, which stores spirit, and spirit again nourishes Qi.  (Zhao, 72)

Here we have more suggestion that if diseases are not cured or psychic abilities are not developed, it is not due to the claims being exaggerated, but due to the student not practicing correctly.  This pushes the student towards fanatical belief and poor self-esteem.

Be moderate in your sexual life and avoid all sexual activity during the period of receiving healing treatment from Soaring Crane Qigong, over consumption of semen may produce no vital energy, and without which, you will not get healed, because the first stage of Soaring Crane Qigong is to accumulate semen for producing energy.  (Zhao, 72)

This links Soaring Crane directly to ancient Taoist sexual alchemy beliefs.  The belief is that retaining sexual fluids and energy literally nourishes the brain and leads to longevity, immortality, and spiritual powers.  This can easily become sexual neurosis and create a fear of orgasm.  The suggestion that after orgasm one will feel weak, depleted, and ill is most likely a self-fulfilling belief (the belief creates a nocebo effect).  Many healthy people enjoy regular orgasms with no ill effects.

The important thing is to persevere in carrying on qigong practice.  Do not change your mind and stop qigong practice half way to success, or break off qigong exercise when you just start feeling healed.  What should be kept in mind is this, if you stop in the middle of practice, then what you have gained before might be all lost, and the initiated genuine qi in its normal circulation will come to a halt, resulting in channel blockage and illness that will come to fetch you again.  (Zhao, 73)

Again, we have the suggestion implanted that if we stop doing Qigong practice we will get sick.  Qigong exercises are said to have special powers, Soaring Crane shouldn’t be combined with other forms of Qigong, and if it is stopped the illness will come back.  The only evidence for harm through Qigong is neurosis created by this sort of indoctrinated belief system.

“The Curative Mechanism and Effect” is discussed next.

When the energy has gained a certain momentum, it is capable of killing bacteria and malignant cells in the body and increases resistance to disease.  (Zhao, 77)

I would very much like to see good research confirming this as well as the following list of diseases which Soaring Crane Qigong is specifically said to cure:

According to the reports on qigong practice from different provinces, after 2-3 months of Soaring Crane Qigong exercise, about 90% of patients with chronic diseases receive different curative effects, the evident effect rate is around 74.3.  The disease with the more noticeable curative effects are as follows:  chronic gastritis, gastric ulcers, duodenal ulcers, chronic colon inflammation, chronic enteritis, gastroenteritis disorder, habitual constipation, and other diseases of the digestive system; bronchitis, bronchial asthma, bronchiectasis, pulmonary emphysema, allergic asthma, and other diseases of the respiratory system; rheumatoid arthritis, sciatica, lumbago, and leg aches caused by lumbar vertebral spurs and kidney deficiency; diseases of the nervous system such as nervous headache; prostatitis, unliquefied semen and other disease concerning urology and reproductive system; heart diseases, pulmonary tuberculosis, high blood pressure, low blood pressure, sequela of hemplegia and other diseases or the heart blood vessel system; silicon poisoning, poisoning by gas, diabetes and other diseases in the internal system.  Soaring Crane Qigong can also produce a noticeable effect on hepatitis and cancer.  (Zhao, 77)

Quite a list!  Soaring Crane has purportedly had over 30 years with 10-30 million practitioners.  There is no decent published research showing that it (or any other Qigong system) is more effective than taking a walk or doing other light forms of exercise for any of these diseases.  Again, any exercise is better than being sedentary, and is well-established for having positive effects on mental and physical health.  It is when special powers in treating serious disease such as cancers are claimed that the red flags go up.  The next question is specifically about Soaring Crane and cancer:

[Improvement] was shown with such cancers as liver, intestinal, blood, breast, uterine, ovarian, throat, nasal pharynx, esophageal and bladder.  Some tumors became smaller, some people fully recovered with the help of medicines, others recovered and were able to returned to work without resorting to pills by working hard on their qigong exercises.  (Zhao, 77)

As I’ve discussed before in detail regarding Wong Kiew Kit’s claims to be able to cure cancer with Qigong, many cancer patients are desperate for hope and easily defrauded by claims like this.  I have personally seen cancer patients fly around the world spending valuable time and money pursuing Qigong treatment for cancers, only to be let down by unethical frauds.  This is partly why I am writing about this in detail–to help people be more informed about their important healthcare decisions which involve Qigong and Chinese medicine.  I have seen no research supporting any special abilities of Qigong meditations or exercises for treating cancers.  I’m always willing to review research abstracts and articles, so if you know of any, you may send them my way, ideally via the comments section below.

How does qigong differ from hypnotism?

Qigong differs from hypnotism.  Qigong is part of the traditional Chinese medical heritage with a history of several thousand years.  It is an active therapy capable of tapping man’s natural potential, and curing disease with one’s own power.  With persistent exercise and correct postures, practitioners can expect to clean out channels, open acupoints, exercise muscle, bone and skin externally, and refine energy, qi and mind internally.  This is done through the exercise of spirit and breathing, with the purpose of freeing one from disease, keeping healthy and prolonging life.

Hypnotism is conducted through language or other communicating means.  It is done by experienced persons or people with some gong fu.  The purpose is to hint, induce and provoke someone to be hypnotized, and a certain curative effect can be produced correspondingly.  Since the action is launched from a doer to a receiver, it is a passive process in which the person is put completely under the control of a hypnotist.  This is quite different from the active qigong exercise.  (Zhao, 79)

Here Zhao shows poor understanding of hypnotic suggestion.  Qigong has many aspects of both self-hypnosis and external hypnosis.  The spontaneous movements of the Soaring Crane standing meditation are particularly hypnotic in nature.  Virtually all of the suggestions and hints of Soaring Crane are hypnotic suggestions, and go towards creating a belief indoctrination that following the system will cure disease and not following it correctly will cause disease.  If Qigong could actually cure serious diseases like cancer, this would be acceptable to most students.  However, since Qigong has been found lacking at actually treating diseases that aren’t subjective in nature, the implanted beliefs that failure is the student’s fault and stopping the practice can cause illness are not productive.

Why would you sometimes fail to get the expected curative effect even if you had practiced hard?

How do you know that you have been practicing hard?  Even if you have spent much time on qigong exercise, this doesn’t mean you are taking qigong seriously.  The most serious attitude we should adopt is to comply with the requirements and rules of qigong techniques.  (Zhao, 79)

Zhao continues this by blaming failure on not following the rules, being morally debased, exposure to bad weather, and having sex.  ”As a result, their old illness may return to them, even after they have fully recovered.”  Never is it said that Qigong isn’t capable of treating some types of disease.  Blame for failure is always put on the student (or the teacher for not teaching correctly).  Credit for success is taken by the system.  Clearly if someone believes this and has a serious disease they will become afraid of sex, weather, and having strong emotions.  They may develop low self-esteem if their disease (such as cancer) doesn’t improve, blaming themselves for being “morally debased” or not serious enough about facing south during Qigong, etc.  Again, if good quality research supported this, it would be a different story.

The next section talks about “Common Sense on Qigong Exercises” and has more about the dangers of practicing two types of Qigong at the same time:

If you do more than one type of qigong at the same time, this may often change the way and routes the qi flows and may affect the result of qigong exercise.  Sometimes, it might lead to deviation or bring harm to your health…

However, for a lifelong practice, one should stick to only one form of practice suitable to one’s own way and keep doing it for all one’s life.  (Zhao, 81)

Next it is said that some trees are good for doing Qigong and some aren’t good for health. This removes the use of wood as a purely symbolic object and introduces more energetic superstition.  Shock is advised to be avoided during practice, and there is an interesting perspective on hallucinations that new students may like to know:

Hallucination comes up during qigong exercise.  Such things are very common phenomena for qigong practice.  However, some people who are timid and superstitious or lack of scientific common sense tend to let their imagination run away with them when meeting hallucinations, and in the end they would often get themselves shocked.  (Zhao, 83)

Later, it is advised that if a student has bad hallucinations in a particular spot, that location should be avoided in the future (Zhao, 94).

At the end of the book is a section on “Reaching a Higher Level.”  This lines up with the traditional Taoist inner alchemy model of turning Jing/Semen into Qi/Energy and then Shen/Spirit, before returning consciousness to the Void.  This is very clearly an esoteric religious tradition, and has a strong component of paranormal abilities, as Zhao clearly states:

What are the results of the different levels of qigong?

Here we are not talking about the treatment.  The different levels show different results.  The lower level shows transforming jing into qi.  It is mainly the body self adjusting and healing itself.  This includes dredging the channels, opening points, strengthening health and preventing disease, but no potential power appears.  Someone may have a beautiful spontaneous movement, and think that this is a higher level of qigong, but it is not so.

The middle level mainly means refine the qi into shen [spirit].  Some potential power may appear, like being able to see through things.  They may receive some information but it will not be clear or stable.  They may be able to look into the future, or have remote sensing but these will be inconsistent and unclear.  They may be able to diagnose disease, speak strange languages, sing songs they were not able to before, dance new dances, do martial arts and have premonitions.  However the power of this level is not stable and they may lose it.  They will be right sometimes and other times they will make mistakes, and they will not be able to control the power.  They know not where the power comes from nor how to use it, nor what those reactions have to do with the power.  They do not understand the transformation from the “have” to the “have not”, and the cause and effect of the past, present and future.

The high level usually means to “refine shen (spirit) and return it to the void/emptiness”.  Entering this period, they have the ability to see through themselves and others bodies clearly, like looking into a mirror.  They will be able to see things far away or in the future, have remote sensing, be able to exam and treat patients from far away, as well as have other super powers far beyond the ordinary people.  This level of power is usually stable and powerful, they have perfect command of their power, and their own way of using it.  They also understand questions they had while at the middle level.  (Zhao, 102)

Thus ends the instructional manual for Chinese Soaring Crane Qigong.  It is a fabulous example of modern Chinese syncretistic religiosity.  There is a clear foundation of Taoist inner alchemy promising psychic powers (but not the traditional physical immortality), plus warnings about harm from incorrect practice or stopping the practice.  Repeated claims of scientifically removing superstitions are complicated by superstitious warnings to always face south, avoid certain trees, and avoid locations where bad hallucinations occur.  We are in the end given not just a series of simple bird-like exercises, but an esoteric practice which can on one hand cure serious diseases and develop superpowers but on the other hand lead to hallucinations, deviations, and disease if done incorrectly.  If diseases such as cancer are not cured or psychic abilities are not developed, the fault is the student’s for lack of effort, belief, or morals.

Professor Chen, Hui Xian added more New Age and religious beliefs to this collection of exaggerations.  From “relics of the Buddha” which were said to physically get bigger, to stories of meeting aliens at parties, Chen’s credulity complicated what should be simple breathing exercises with layers of religious superstition.  Cats were said to steal one’s Qi, so they shouldn’t be in the room during practice.  Touching the third eye or talking about spiritual powers could reduce them.  Negative energy from doing Qi healing needed to be carefully shook off lest the practitioner get ill.  Tuning in to the Blue Star with special chanting of ’911′ numbers during meditation would help Soaring Crane students raise their vibrations along with the coming Earth Changes.  The words I recall Prof. Chen saying most frequently were “This is true.”  I enjoyed most of my Soaring Crane training and practice, as I was a dedicated student with “willing suspension of disbelief.”  However, I didn’t have cancer, another religion I was attached to, or as much awareness about how unproductive beliefs cause anxiety and neurosis in suggestible people.

As I grew and reflected on my training, I became less comfortable introducing others to this system.  Hiding the attached beliefs about extraterrestrials, downplaying the claims of curing cancer, and avoiding encouraging superstitious beliefs eventually made it clear that this system wasn’t worth promoting, as too much of it had to be downplayed or hidden to be consistent with my sense of ethics and morality.  I never felt like it was a coercive cult, however, I’m far more comfortable with occult history and maintaining a healthy skepticism than most people.  I can’t say that other modern Qigong systems are better or worse than Soaring Crane when it comes to superstitious beliefs and implausible claims.

Next in this series I’ll look at an interview with Chen, Hui Xian from the book _A Gathering of Cranes_ and see how some of her stories have changed and left trails through the lineage as being promoted online today.

Continue with Part 3:  Is Soaring Crane a cult?  What about Falun Gong?