A nice retreat has been set up and for several years groups from Taiwan have been coming over for meditation and other healthy activities. Malaysians have only begun to discover this hidden treasure, and since my exposure of this gem in this column three months ago, more locals have gone there and it is slowly but surely becoming a favourite place for those seeking solace from the stress of work and city life, and those wanting to recharge their spiritual batteries.
The retreat is based on the 5 elements of Chinese Philosophy – Earth, Metal, Water, Wood and Fire. Amidst the jungle, fruits, vegetables and herbs are grown and some animals, including the deer, are reared. The man-made ponds and lakes are home to many varieties of fish that provide the visitors with among the best fish meals they can ever taste, complemented with fresh veggies and fruits, of course.
The structures that were built to represent the different elements include the Cosmic Pyramid, the Pagoda ( which has a parabolic dome ), the lakeside bungalow with a meditation deck over the water, the wooden hut nestled among the tall trees, the integrated health clinic, and the main administrative and residential complex. I had described in some detail about these in the previous article, including how I spun like a helicopter in the pyramid.
Recently about 20 of us had a 3-day holistic health program there, and the impact on most of us was unforgettable.
The journey from KL was so smooth and took 1 hour less than before ( about 3 hours journey using the new Karak-Kuantan Highway ). As it was a Friday morning, the highway traffic was still sparse.
Our first day was therefore less tiring, and after the introductions and briefing, we were able to get right into the Healing Tao exercises and meditation in the Pyramid that night.
The briefing about Lucky Valley (LV) was given by the ever-smiling and helpful Mr Yong, assisted by the charming Ms Junely Yap ( whose father is overall in charge of the place ). Mr Yong is a volunteer from Shah Alam who goes there 2 or 3 times a month to help around. He fell in love with LV because of the tremendous health improvement he achieved by practising meditation and Tai Chi there. He had had a spinal operation many years back, and a heart by-pass surgery more recently. He describes himself as being “double-zippered” after those operations. Since going to LV, he feels very healthy and obviously enjoys doing the energy-enhancing exercises there, especially during sunrise at the Pagoda.
Dr K S Lee, the resident medical doctor and herbalist then explained to us the Tao philosophy, and on energy ( in particular, about our chakras, the 5 elements, and the energy in LV itself ). Dr Lee also uses the MEAD ( Meridien Energy Analysis Device ) instrument to measure the energy levels.
Also on hand was Dr Jannie Chew, the “Mother” of natural holistic therapy and Healing Tao in Malaysia. She was a student of the late Dr Bernard Jensen ( the “Grandfather” of natural holistic healing ) and of Grandmaster Mantak Chia, the founder of Healing Tao. She pioneered the practice of colon hydrotherapy in KL and was also a founding member of the Malaysian Aids Foundation. She had kept me abreast of the progress of LV over the years, and is also actively involved in the setting up of the Global Herb Valley (GHV), a 1500-acres herbal plantation, nearby. During this retreat, she told me that Master Chuang, the founder of LV, had told her that I have “a great mission and destiny to the future of LV and GHV” ( in his own words ). After this retreat, I can confirm my feeling of attachment to the place.
At the Cosmic Pyramid, we were led through the “Six Healing Sounds” exercises by Dr Jannie. Everyone enjoyed the hissing and hooing, but Dr Jannie was also burping endlessly, much to the amusement of the rest of us. She told us that we were expected to burp while doing these exercises. In the end only one or two had small burps, though the rest tried very hard.
Then Dr Lee explained about the correct posture of meditation to receive the maximum of the energy permeating the Cosmic Pyramid. The participants then took turns meditating at the centre of the Pyramid, where the energy is highest ( if you were to put a glass or bottle of water at the centre, you can actually see the water vibrating ). Each of them had varying experiences during this short meditation, and only one of them did not report anything unusual.
Mark, a 60-year old American who has been a follower of The Dalai Lama for the last 20 years, perhaps had the most profound experience. He was almost in tears when he related to me that he had a vision of “the Meaning of Life” while meditating in the centre. I shall not describe what he said for fear of not relating it accurately, but it was truly fascinating.
Others saw or felt the energy. My wife saw the different colours of energy as we were doing the Healing Sounds exercise. She also saw and felt the spinning energy vortex starting from the centre of the Pyramid swirling around her when she was meditating while on it. She described the energy vortex as being magenta in colour, which is also the colour of my healing energy, which was revealed to her over 10 years ago in the presence of my Sufi Master. She now understands what I told her after I spun like a helicopter when I allowed my body to be moved by the spinning vortex during our previous trip.
Early the next morning ( Saturday ), we went on our 7 km jungle hike, which was the highlight of any stay at LV. This time the path was dry and much easier to navigate compared to the last time I trekked on it. There were also no fresh elephant or wild-boar dung that made the whole hike a major obstacle course then, but only a few dried ones this time. The first half-hour into the walk, we were greeted by the magnificent fiery red sun that had just climbed over the hills in the distant.
As usual, the guide dogs efficiently guarded our group from possible dangers. They were always policing in front and investigated every unusual noise along the way that could have meant trouble. At one point, there were indeed wild-boars very close by, and the dogs went out to chase them away. However, only a few of us knew what was happening, and we did not tell the others so as not to scare them. The hike took us about 2 hours, after which everyone had a well-deserved breakfast.
For Harold Read and Puan Zaharah, a couple from Sabah, the hike was nostalgic as it reminded them of their childhood days, climbing up and down ( chasing each other? ) the undulating terrains of Kundasang, at the foothills of Mt Kinabalu.
After a good rest, I shared with them on the importance of eating sufficient raw foods, green foods, fiber, and colloidal minerals. During the stay, I had put them on a regimen of supplements that included all these healthy foods, so that they could actually feel the benefits that I had taught them about.
After teatime, we went to the lakeside bungalow and the scenery and ambience were just impeccable. The bungalow is perched at the edge of the calm lake, facing the hills that rose all around us as we appreciated the view. We sat down for a quiet meditation, savouring the fresh breeze on our faces. It was the perfect place to thank the Creator for giving us Life and Mother Earth, and to fully be in touch with the different elements.
I taught them the 5 Elements Qigong exercises, after which we had an interesting discussion on healing and the qualities of a good healer.
At night we paid a second visit to the Pyramid. After some sharing of the previous night’s experience, we revised the Six Healing Sounds exercises, ably guided by Dr Jannie. Again she was incessantly burping loudly, but the rest only responded with a few weak ones.
I then briefed them on the philosophy of Kundalini Yoga, and led them on a short Kundalini Meditation. As mentioned before, Kundalini is about raising your spiritual energy from its basal station to greater heights. The Yoga practice is only to remind you about the need to be quiet, to contemplate and be in contact with God, and to be disciplined to emulate all the Godly attributes – being Compassionate, Merciful, Peaceful, Just, Forgiving, etc. The aim is to evolve to become as close as possible in attitude and character as The Most Loving God. The real training and progress, however, occurs in your daily life as you live out these attributes in your interactions with your family, friends, and everyone else.
During both occasions that we visited the Pyramid, I felt the strong urge to spin ( like a helicopter as I did previously ), but I resisted so as not to distract the others. I actually went to the edges of the Pyramid to see how far the energy vortex exerted its influence, and found out that it was still very strong there.
While leading the Kundalini Yoga, I sat in a half-lotus posture at the centre of the Pyramid. As soon as I started the meditation, I felt vibrations and then my body started jerking and I was bobbing up and down on my buttocks. Then I was zapped with a strong burst of energy that flattened me down, and I was lying on the floor for a few minutes. When I was able to sit up again, I was overcome with bliss and cried silently ( so as not to disturb the others, otherwise I would have cried out loudly as the feeling of joy was so great ). Fortunately, I had asked everyone to meditate with their eyes closed, anticipating something to happen, as I had told them that when you try to connect with God, He will respond. When the exercise was over, I noticed my wife was sobbing ( she told me later that hers was a cry of sadness as she had received strong vibes of one of the participants being very sad ), and Ms Rie Teramoto ( a teacher of several Japanese methods of turning children into geniuses ) also had tears in her eyes. I am sure several others must have also cried silently or managed to just refrain from doing so.
According to Dr Jannie, many people have cried when they meditated at the centre of the Pyramid. She herself had once cried uncontrollably.
The next morning ( Sunday ), we did the Qigong walk to the Pagoda. There, while waiting for sunrise, Dr Lee explained the philosophy of the Tao Pakua that is drawn on the floor of the Pagoda. He also demonstrated the powerful reverberations of the universal sound “aum” when vocalized at the centre of the parabolic dome.
Then we witnessed the most amazing sunrise ever, as the awe-inspiring and life-sustaining star revealed itself majestically after hiding behind the distant hills and clouds. We did the Sunrise Qigong exercises while watching the sun slowly but surely rising up to re-establish its dominance over the Earth. Doing Qigong at sunrise is a totally different experience. Since the sun is the source of the energy that sustains plants, and these in turn become food for animals, therefore all depend on the sun for their energy. However, you should do Qigong only facing the reddish rising ( or setting ) sun, but not the hot, dangerous sun in between those times. Cancer patients, especially, should avoid doing Qigong from late morning to afternoon.
Our last session was a workshop on Happiness. We had a lively discussion on what happiness means, and what it takes to be happy. Everyone had his/her own ideas, but most generally agreed that happiness means peace within, and that to achieve happiness requires peace without and everything necessary to achieve that – including being connected to God, good health ( body, mind and spirit ), having harmonious relationships with everyone, and respect and care for Nature.
Overall, the holistic retreat was life-changing for some, and at least enjoyable for the others. Mark found the meaning of life. Another lady came just to get away from the problems currently entangling her life. She not only found most of the answers to her imbroglio, she also found God. All said that they would certainly come back to LV. Some requested for longer retreats. Mark plans to return for an extended stay.
All of us were deeply touched by the discipline and servitude of the dogs. They taught us what unconditional service and teamwork mean. They were always there to protect us, or just keep company. There were four of them, including one which was in advanced pregnancy ( yet she worked as hard as the others ). Truly, dogs are man’s best friends.
Finally, a tribute to the cooks – a loving husband and wife team who served the best fish dishes you can find. Mrs Wong left a lucrative hairdressing salon business to help her husband serve in LV. The meals were certainly prepared with lots of sincerity and love. No wonder they tasted so good!
The weather was excellent throughout our stay – neither too hot, nor too humid at night as others had complained when they went there. It had been raining for three consecutive evenings before we arrived, and both Dr Lee and Ms Junely was expecting it to rain anytime during our stay.
I had remarked to the participants that this pioneer group was special ( this was the first group that I led to LV ), and that God had even kept the rain away from us. I even told them that rain would come as soon as we leave. Exactly when the last of us left at about 2pm on the last day ( Sunday ), it started to drizzle. This developed into a heavy downpour two hours later!
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