Claire Valentine is a native of France and works as a language teacher.

"My first memory of witnessing energy around Sifu, I remember Sifu’s eyes seemed to embrace energy around him and I could see a bluish light expanding about 10 to 15 centimetres around his head. Since then I have experienced on many occasions when the mere presence of Sifu initiated a total change of atmosphere which softens the minds of all the people around, allowing the feeling of peace reaching beyond conflict.

During one weekend study block, Sifu illustrated the power of prayer before we were about to share lunch in a private dining room. Through the window we could hear the noises of children playing outside. Sifu offered to take us through a prayer on how to dedicate offering as an action of reverence in taking refuge. As Sifu took us through the prayer, the atmosphere of the room seemed to quieten and soften and we were actually feeling as if the noise outside had stopped and life had suspended its course.

Since starting on the Classical Qigong Study, I noticed that my body, particularly upper back and front of the body including shoulders and arms are no longer so much affected by skin problems as they have been for the last 15 years. This is also true for my face. My hair is far less greasy than it used to be and my skin all over the body is much softer than at the beginning of the course. Physically, I experience a more general feeling of unity in my body. I have also experienced a sort of simultaneous auto-cleansing of mind and body. I also discovered the practical value in taking refuge in Sifu. Whenever I was thinking about Sifu, I experienced a sort of release of dormant energy in both the mind and the body, as if a different type of energy flow was running down my body, leaving the mind clearer and calmer as well as the body more relaxed.

This helped me to develop increased general awareness of people and things around me in my every day environment as well as on how to proceed in performing a task in relation to being more attentive to details when putting it into action. The result is an overall improvement in the quality of everything I do. Thanks to the teaching and guidance of Sifu, I have learnt to appreciate the nature of illusions. This allowed me to put them to rest and move on to discover in life the true nature of the pathway to harmony."