Ep. 17: Deeper Questions on Meditation & Cultivation

One of the first points of confusion in cultivation is the difference between concentration and insight. Concentration is something you actively develop. It is trained by repeatedly applying attention to a single focus and learning how to keep it there. Insight, however, does not arise through effort in the same way. Insight appears when the senses stop being pulled outward and the mind becomes clear. Concentration is cultivated, insight is revealed. Understanding this distinction early prevents a great deal of frustration and misunderstanding in practice.

This same confusion often shows up around ideas like the dantian or chakras. You do not open dantians, just as you do not open chakras. They already exist. In all my years of practice, I have never encountered a closed dantian or a closed chakra. What actually changes is what moves through them. Energy can be excessive, deficient, balanced, or chaotic, and those conditions influence both mind and body. The work is not about opening anything, but about placing attention correctly and maintaining it within the method being practiced.

People also frequently ask what energy is supposed to feel like. The honest answer is that there is no single answer. We experience everything through the six senses, sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, and mind, so whatever we label as “energy” is already filtered through perception. At times, internal movement or transmission may be felt as warmth, pressure, tingling, pulsing, waves, or even something electrical. But sensations are not the point. We transmit and receive energy constantly without noticing it. It only becomes a fixation once it is labeled as something special. Feeling energy or not feeling energy does not determine the quality of one’s cultivation.

Progress is another area where practitioners often become uncertain. Progress depends entirely on what you are practicing and why. If your method is oriented toward unmoving senses and mental stillness, such as single-minded concentration, Chan, Zen, or Wu Zong, progress appears as a reduced impulse to react. You stop jumping at every stimulation. You stop chasing every thought, emotion, or desire. This is not suppression. It is clarity developing naturally.

When it comes to deeper states, there is an important principle to understand. If you recognize signs while you are practicing, you are not in a deeper state. Any so-called signs only become apparent afterward, when reflecting back. If someone is told what to look for ahead of time, the mind will simply recreate it through imagination. This is how fantasy is mistaken for attainment. The instruction is simple: practice sincerely, and you will know without needing confirmation.

Qi is another term that is often misunderstood. Generally, Qi refers to the energy present in all forms. It is commonly described as life force or breath, which is not incorrect, but incomplete. Qi appears in many expressions, breath Qi, food Qi, environmental Qi, hot Qi, cold Qi, rising and sinking Qi. These are manifestations of Qi after it has taken form. Prior to all of this is what is often referred to as primordial Qi, the undifferentiated state before characteristics arise.

A related concern is distinguishing imagination from real internal experience. When something is imagined, there is a specific internal quality of thinking combined with emotional engagement. Naturally arising states from proper cultivation feel entirely different. The way to know this difference is not by chasing experiences, but by cultivating stillness through single-minded focus. When the senses settle, it becomes obvious what engagement feels like and what non-engagement feels like. At that point, imagination reveals itself clearly.

Breathwork is another area that tends to get overcomplicated.

At its core, breathwork oxygenates the body and provides a method for cultivating focus. Physically, it strengthens the diaphragm and rib muscles. Neurologically, it allows you to influence the nervous system and stimulate neurochemical responses that support concentration. We breathe all the time, so the idea that people do not know how to breathe is misleading. Breathwork is simply the intentional use of breathing mechanics, diaphragm movement, abdominal engagement, and muscular compression within a cultivation method. There is nothing mystical about it.

As for cultivating internal stillness, the answer is direct. Cultivate Wu Zong, specifically its foundational aspect. Stillness is not something you chase. It is what remains when the mind stops scattering itself.

People also like to divide Daoist and Buddhist meditation, but that separation is largely conceptual. While the methods may differ, the process is the same. Both work through the senses toward stillness and awakening to true nature. Daoist and Buddhist are cultural and historical labels. When dogma is stripped away, what remains is method, training, and realization. If a teaching resonates, study it. If it works, practice it.

Can meditation be dangerous? It can be, but not in the way people usually imagine. The real danger comes from methods that do not point toward clarity and true nature. Those reinforce imagination, sensory cycles, and confusion. Otherwise, the greatest risk is often financial, investing in promises that deliver nothing.

Finally, visualization. If your practice involves visualization, the correct way to do it is exactly as the method instructs. If instructions are unclear, consult someone experienced. Visualization is not special. We do it constantly. Confusion arises only when it is wrapped in spiritual language and separated from ordinary experience. We label experiences, forget that we labeled them, and then assume they are extraordinary.

That is cultivation. Clear, grounded, and without performance.