Wendy's Blog

Discovering Truth Through Experience

July 27, 2026

Human beings have always searched for truth. Across cultures and throughout history, people have looked for answers through religion, spiritual practice, philosophy, science, nature, and direct observation. We have used whatever tools were available to us, and now we have access to more information than ever before. We can listen to lectures, read books, watch documentaries, attend workshops, follow teachers online, and ask AI any questions we can imagine.

This abundance of information can be valuable, but it can also become overwhelming, leading us once again into the search for truth. An online search offers a screen filled with multiple perspectives and often opposing ideas. Every day, we are asked to discern:

“What is true, and what is trying to persuade me to buy something?”
“What is real, and what has been created by AI?”
“Which teachers or teachings can we trust?”
“What is the actual truth?”

In our lives, looking for truth is almost always an activity of the mind. Ideas can spin, sometimes almost beyond our control. Thoughts weave convincing stories and then persuade us that those stories must be reality. We develop strong beliefs about ourselves, other people, spirituality, health, society, and the world around us.

Some of these beliefs may be helpful. Others may simply support the ego and reinforce the identity we have created. They can become like the walls of a fortress, seemingly built to protect us from harm, while actually separating us from the deeper experience of being alive.

We may become deeply invested in being right, even when what we believe has never been personally examined or experienced. We can inherit ideas from our families, cultures, religions, communities, schools, and social environments without realizing how deeply they have shaped us. This is sometimes called the cultural trance: the beliefs and assumptions we absorb about what life is, who we are, and the nature of the world around us.

So how do we begin to recognize what is real and what is simply a story? We begin by returning to our direct experience. What is real is your experience of your body in this moment, before you put words to it. What is real is the movement of your breath, the beating of your heart, the sensations within your body, and even the feeling of being supported by the earth beneath you.

What is real is also the world around you before you name it. There may be light coming through a window, sounds beyond your room, the temperature and movement of the air on your skin, or the presence of another person. Before the mind labels these things, there is the experience itself. Direct experience brings us into contact with reality as it is happening in the present moment.

Language, of course, is important. It allows us to communicate, teach, learn, share stories, and describe our experiences to one another. Hearing about another person’s journey can be inspiring and illuminating, yet language is not the experience itself. Words are tools we use to point toward something that may exist beyond words. A description of water is not the same as drinking it. Reading about meditation is not the same as quieting the mind. Listening to someone speak about Qi is not the same as feeling energy move through your own body.

Direct Experience Is at the Heart of Everything We Teach at Empty Mountain

Our courses do not ask students to accept or memorize a set of beliefs. Instead, we offer practices and experiences that allow each person to discover the reality within and beyond the teachings. Through Qigong exercises, meditation, energy emission, intuitive readings, Medical Qigong, channeling, mediumship, and other forms of energetic and spiritual development, students learn through direct experience.

Sometimes truth reveals itself as a physical sensation, a moment of stillness, or a knowing that comes from within. You may feel Qi moving through your body. Your hands may become warm, magnetic, or alive with sensation. You may receive intuitive information that proves to be accurate and helpful. You may connect with a high and loving guide and feel the power of that presence within your heart. You may enter meditation and experience expanded consciousness or oneness in a way you did not know was possible for you. These experiences are real, and they can bring you into a deeper recognition of who you really are.

You are encouraged to notice how a practice affects your body, emotions, mind, and ultimately your life. Observe whether our work together brings greater mental clarity, emotional balance, peace, and well-being. Let your understanding become an embodiment through experience rather than through ideas or beliefs. We always encourage students to ask questions about what they are learning and experiencing.

The mind will always have questions, and questions are valuable. Yet beneath the thoughts, beliefs, explanations, and stories, there is a more immediate way of knowing. Pause for a moment and feel your breath. Feel your body and listen within. Bring your awareness into your Heart. Let yourself become quiet and peaceful. The Heart is where consciousness arises from and where truth lives within the body. It is the seat of the Soul, a place where the mind can come to rest, finding wisdom, compassion and peace.

This is where the search for truth begins, not somewhere far away, but right here, in this moment, being present in your own experience and opening the doorway of the Heart.

From Yoga to Qigong: The Enduring Power of Ancient Practices

July 17, 2026

Here is the beginning of a magazine article from an interview that the author had with me on this subject. 

The conversation around health is changing. Around 37% of U.S. adults use complementary or integrative health approaches and spend more than $30.2 billion annually on these interventions, much of it paid out of pocket rather than covered by health insurance. Those figures suggest that whole-person health has become an increasingly important part of the national conversation as more people explore approaches that complement conventional care.

See link on Homepage here for full article

I remember being a child in the 1950s and 1960s and watching my mother follow a wonderful yoga program on television in the afternoons. I thought it was pretty fascinating, and my mother loved the practice.

At that time, very few people I knew had heard much about yoga. Occasionally, someone might make a joke about it, but it certainly was not mainstream. There were no yoga studios on every corner, online classes, or shelves filled with yoga clothing and equipment. Unless you found a particular teacher or read books written by yogis, there were very few opportunities to learn about it.

Yoga gradually gained recognition, and I would emphasize gradually. It was not until this millennium that yoga truly became a household word and a practice available almost everywhere.

It is interesting to consider how yoga has continued to grow while so many other health and fitness practices have appeared, become fashionable for a brief time, and then disappeared. There is something to be said for the staying power of an ancient practice that has supported human health and spiritual development for thousands of years.

The same can be said for Qigong.

Discovering Qigong

It was many years ago, in the late 1980s, when I first encountered Qigong. It was new to me, but several dear friends were deeply involved in the practice, so I decided to discover what it was all about.

Qigong soon became much more than a form of exercise. It became a true life path for me.

The word Qigong is made up of two Chinese words. Qi means energy or life force, while gong refers to skill, study, or dedicated practice. Qigong, therefore, is the study and practice of working with energy.

This is an enormous field because, in the broadest sense, everything is energy. Qigong teaches us how to become more aware of that energy and how to cultivate, strengthen, balance, and direct it to support our health and well-being.

A Gentle and Adaptable Practice

Qigong offers many of the physical, emotional, and meditative benefits associated with yoga, while generally placing less strain on the body. Because the movements are gentle and flowing, there is less temptation to overstretch, force the body, or struggle to make a particular posture look perfect.

This makes Qigong especially valuable for older adults and for people recovering from illness, injury, or periods of inactivity. The movements can be adapted to nearly every level of mobility, and many exercises can even be practiced while sitting in a chair.

Gentle, however, does not mean ineffective. Qigong can improve balance, coordination, flexibility, strength, breathing, circulation, relaxation, and awareness of the body. It can also help calm the mind, release emotional tension, and create a greater sense of inner harmony.

Qigong and Chinese Medicine

Qigong goes hand in hand with Chinese medicine. The movements can be selected to support particular organs, energy pathways, physical conditions, or emotional patterns.

The practice can be especially powerful when guided by a knowledgeable practitioner who understands which movements and breathing practices may be most beneficial for an individual’s needs. Rather than following a single routine for everyone, Qigong can be personalized to support a person’s unique constitution and health concerns.

Going Deeper at Empty Mountain

At Empty Mountain Institute, students have the opportunity to explore Qigong as both a personal healing practice and a professional path. They learn how to practice and teach Qigong, developing the confidence and skill to guide others through movements that support greater balance, vitality, relaxation, and energetic awareness.

Students also train in Medical Qigong Therapy, a powerful healing modality that arises from the same ancient roots. Medical Qigong practitioners learn to work directly with the body’s energetic system, using movement, breath, meditation, energetic assessment, and therapeutic techniques to support healing on physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual levels.

This training offers much more than a collection of exercises. It is an opportunity to deepen your relationship with your own energy, cultivate greater sensitivity and intuition, and learn how to support the healing and transformation of others.

Both yoga and Qigong are profound ancient traditions with much to offer. For those seeking a gentle, adaptable, and deeply effective way to care for the body, calm the mind, and cultivate life-force energy, Qigong may be especially worth exploring.

Whether you are drawn to Qigong for your own health and spiritual development or feel called to share its benefits with others, Empty Mountain offers a path for learning, growth, and professional training.

Take a closer look, and perhaps give Qigong a try.