Ep269: When Qigong Goes Wrong - Damo Mitchell
Damo Mitchell is an author, teacher, and student of the internal arts of Asia including Tai Chi and Daoist Inner Alchemy.
Available on Youtube, iTunes, SoundCloud & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.
Damo draws on his background in the qi arts, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Western psychology to reveal the causes and symptoms of various types of qi and meditation related problems, including dragon sickness, nihilism and depression, scorched nervous system, entity possession, and more.
Damo explains the two most common triggers for qi illnesses, expresses warnings about working with spirits and reservations about tantric practices of deity and guru yoga, and differentiates true meditation from mere mental cultivation.
Damo shares his own spiritual encounters, considers whether or not it is wise to explain mystical experiences to students, and offers recommendations for those facing energetic or existential upset.
00:00 - Intro
01:03 - Damo comments on Dr Willoughby Britton’s work
03:04 - Is meditation dangerous?
04:31 - Mediation vs qigong illnesses
06:15 - The illness threshold
07:06 - Why qigong illnesses are common
07:38 - Hunting sensation and hyper-stimulation of the nervous system
11:12 - Releasing the nerves
11:45 - Teachers who disclose vs those who withhold
1534 - Making progress or losing ground?
19:19 - Combining Eastern and Western psychological methods
23:00 - Meditation vs mere mental work
26:27 - Fascination with one’s own psychology
27:12 - Damo’s definition of mental illness
28:07 - Is mental work a preliminary to or distraction from meditation?
30:39 - Chinese terms for meditation vs mental work
32:23 - Comparisons with Patanjali’s 8 limbs of yoga
34:10 - Identity attachment
34:55 - Why teaching hurts your training
35:55 - Freedom vs negligence as a teacher
38:01 - Psychiatry vs traditional medical and religious models
41:03 - Two common triggers for qi deviations
42:34 - The dangers of going inside
43:32 - Qi side effects
44:14 - Advice for qigong teachers
45:19 - Scorching the nervous system
46:37 - Dragon sickness
47:43 - A case of dragon sickness that ended in suicide
50:04 - 5 types of qigong illness
51:38 - Entering into fire to encourage demons
52:39 - Nihilism from meditation
53:05 - Poison fire infecting the heart
54:19 - Criticism of sexual practice
58:06 - Contamination of the heart mind
01:00:25 - Love in the spiritual arts
01:01:49 - Demon possession or psychological disorder?
01:03:51 - How entity possession happens
01:06:27 - Lighting up the body
01:07:22 - A story about possession
01:08:58 - Seeking contact with entities through Falun Gong and tantra
01:11:56 - Don’t trust spirits
01:15:07 - Evolution away from shamanism
01:17:15 - Tulkus, dead gurus, and terma
01:20:05 - The cult of Avalokiteśvara and the Dalai Lama
01:21:07 - Risks associated with contacting ascended masters
01:23:42 - Reflections on deity yoga
01:25:15 - Quan Yin worship and personification of deities
01:27:52 - Premature ejaculation and sexual imbalances
01:31:36 - Damo’s mystical experience in a Bhutanese temple
01:35:19 - Questioning one’s own position
01:36:39 - Kundalini syndrome vs qi sickness
01:38:40 - What is kundalini syndrome?
01:39:55 - Commenting on Gopi Krishna’s kundalini account
01:41:26 - Karmic illnesses
01:43:39 - Pilgrimage and confession
01:44:30 - How to fix qi deviations
01:46:28 - Complicated cases and overpowering the incorrect patterns
01:47:22 - How extreme cases develop
01:48:43 - Scaremongering and the value of lineage
01:52:02 - Combining psychedelics with qigong practices
01:55:24 - Potency and risk
Previous episode with Damo Mitchell:
To find out more about Damo Mitchell, visit:
Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James