Michael Bolus shares about ChiGong(photo by K. Urner)
Tuesday night's guest relayed a fascinating personal journey focusing on the theme of physical health.
Michael, now age 53, was hit by a truck while riding a bicycle in his early 20s, and spent the next 16 years visiting specialist after specialist, as his health and pain just continued to get worse. He had some vertabrae twisted out of alignment, resulting in continual back pain and spasms, plus other problems and symptoms.
Then he read about ChiGong, a Chinese healing art, in some airline magazine and a few days later drove the 300 miles to Chicago (ouch!) for an introductory lecture. Given the low quality of life he was experiencing, he was at this point willing to try anything.
He went in a skeptic, and would have left early in disillusionment if he hadn't already plunked down the money. But after the lunch break, he experienced a breakthrough in his meditation. For the first time in 16 years, he felt bliss and temporary freedom from pain.
The Chinese teacher didn't believe him (beginners aren't supposed to attain such dramatic results in so short a time) and didn't want a continuing relationship, so Michael practiced on his own, overdoing it (a common pitfall among beginners), plunging into fear, anxiety and sleeplessness.
However, he had the gift, and under proper tutelage and after years of study was able to master many elements of this Chinese healing art, resulting in a healed body. He even remedied a congenital heart condition and overcame his crippling allergic reaction to second hand smoke, both of which had played a major role in his childhood.
Now he practices ChiGong for a living and claims some dramatic successes in alleviating the pain of others. He doesn't need to touch his patients. He mostly works over the phone.
Wanderers, those present being Occidentals, were quite properly skeptical and looked for holes in this story. Don offered up a shoulder pain for self-healing and thought it felt better after the demo, but wasn't entirely persuaded he'd been helped. I don't know if anyone was convinced.
Michael emphasized that leaps of faith were not required for ChiGong to be effective. Given the results in his own life, he was clearly confidant in his abilities, plus had an Oriental belief system which explained these abilities to his own personal satisfaction.
