A wealthy person with a reading panel

Chapter 80: Emptiness and Flow (Seeking Follow-up Reading)
"Other people who enjoy this kind of essential oil massage can only relax their body and mind and fall into a comfortable sleep, but for me, I really enter that state of emptiness and clarity."

Zhou Qing thought that this must be the state he was pursuing, and he had made various preparations for it in the early stages, including adjusting physical fatigue and mental concentration.

But if you succeed the first time, it is mostly luck.

He has looked up a lot of information about the "empty and clear state" in the past two days and knows how difficult it is to enter this state in reality.

"My luck has been good since I got the panel."

However, in the process just now, it seemed that I didn't stay in that state for very long.

Zhou Qing recalled and found that he could clearly remember all the details except for falling asleep, but his perception of time was a little hazy due to the influence of the empty state.

After a while, when the female technician's hands began to massage her toes, he asked softly, "Have you guys gone through special training for this service procedure?"

The female technician Wan'er has a high level of professionalism. If the customer doesn't talk, she won't say anything except for necessary guidance. She just does things slowly at her own service pace.

When a customer asks this, I try to reply in the softest voice possible: "Yes, sir, we all go through rigorous skills training before taking up our posts."

Zhou Qing asked again, "So how long did it usually take you to finish massaging my left chest today, move to the right, and add the essential oil for the second time until you finish massaging my abdomen?"

Wan'er was stunned when she heard this. In the past, there would occasionally be customers chatting with her while serving her, but no one had ever asked such a strange question.

However, according to the service code, we should try our best to answer whatever the guests ask.

She thought for a moment and replied, "Usually about three minutes, but everyone's situation is different. For example, sir, your muscles are stronger, so I spent a little longer when massaging you. It should be about three and a half minutes...Sir, is there anything I didn't do well?"

"No, you have good skills."

Zhou Qing comforted the female technician, but in his heart he was thinking: Sure enough, the perception of the passage of time is my talent, but in that state, this perception is vague.

In fact, I fell asleep in about three minutes.

This time may not be short for this special situation.

But not enough.

The dantian was "empty" and no energy was generated in such a short time.

Zhou Qing was not disappointed at all, because he immediately thought of the "one certificate, permanent certificate" added by the panel.

He immediately called out the panel and transformed his thoughts into doubtful thoughts.

He soon received feedback: he had already obtained and sensed the state of "emptiness and clarity". With the blessing of permanent realization, he could indeed regain that state, but he needed to recover his body and then repeat today's steps as the "key" to unlock the previous brief state of emptiness and clarity.

"That is to say, I go back to sleep at night, and tomorrow I repeat what I did today, adjusting my body and mind to the state I was in before the massage. Then, I relax and massage in this way, and this once-and-for-all experience will ensure that I can briefly enter a state of emptiness and clarity again... It's a bit like how 'flow masters' touch their noses or ears, or listen to a certain kind of music to get into the flow state before entering it."

“It’s just that flow masters often need to fix their ‘switch’ through constant and repeated practice.”

"As for me, I have the panel's blessing, so I only need to enter once by chance!"

Flow is a term in experiential psychology, which refers to the state of concentration and selflessness that people experience when doing something.

In fact, many people have experienced this state unintentionally.

For example, Zhou Qing, in his senior year of high school, focused all his attention on studying in order to get into a top university. Occasionally, he would immerse himself in doing exercises, but it seemed that not much time had passed when the bell suddenly rang. When he looked at the time, he found that forty-five minutes had passed.

But after the third year of high school, that state was gone forever.

“There are similarities between the clairvoyant state and the flow state, such as a change in ‘sense of time,’ but the two are more different.”

Thinking of this, Zhou Qing thought that he could explore the flow state in the future, but the most important thing now was to study how to actively and stably enter the "clear state".

"Who made me win such a high-end book like the Nine Yang Manual?" In Jin Yong's novels, there are actually ordinary exercises that do not care about one's character. As long as one practices according to the instructions, over time, one will also be able to develop internal strength.
But the internal power secrets at the level of "Nine Yang Manual" are different.

The requirement of "Shen Zhao Gong" is [no false thoughts in the mind]; "Yi Jin Jing" requires [seeing through the "self-image" and "other-image"]; and "Luohan Fu Mo Shengong" requires [concentrating the mind and returning to the origin, and eliminating all distracting thoughts].

After all, if you want to get started, you have to enter a "state of emptiness and clarity".

It seems easy to practice the roles in novels, but it is extremely difficult to practice them in reality.

After a while, the essential oil massage came to an end.

Zhou Qing asked the female technician to go out first. He stood up and sat on the massage bed, and tried it again according to the "empty and clear" feeling he had experienced.

After eight or nine minutes, open your eyes.

"Or not."

He pondered for a moment and realized that if he wanted to actively and stably enter the state of emptiness and clarity, there were only two ways:
First, try to enter passively more often. The more you passively enter the state of emptiness and clarity, the more familiar and accustomed you will become to it, which will definitely help you to actively enter it in the future.
2. Gather more information on the "clear and lucid" state of mind and continue your research. You can also seek professional advice and learn from them.

……

Before Zhou Qing left the spa, he made another reservation for the same package for tomorrow afternoon, and specifically requested the female technician named "Wan'er".

After coming out, return to the car.

He didn't rush to drive, but was thinking about finding a professional.

"Those spiritual practices that are popular nowadays are basically scams that know nothing about anything. A serious one needs to have a background in psychology, or be a Taoist or Buddhist practitioner."

"In fact, the martial arts in Jin Yong's novels originally have Taoist and Buddhist attributes."

After thinking for a while, he used his mobile phone to search online and sent private messages to several Taoist priests and monks who had opened accounts on Douyin and Bilibili and who seemed to have some knowledge.

After finishing all this, I realized that it was getting dark outside again.

"I've been focusing on one thing these past two days, and time has flown by so quickly."

He was suddenly stunned and thought that his current state was quite like having one foot in the "flow state".

It’s quite similar to the most “crazy” time in study class during my senior year of high school.

He smiled and drove back to Rongdonghai.

I ordered takeout and checked Bilibili and the TikTok app while waiting. No one has replied to the private message I sent in the background.

He wasn't in a hurry either.

He took out the "Nine Yang Manual" from the pile of books on the coffee table and recited the text twice. After confirming that it was correct, he picked up the tablet and began to collect all the information related to the "empty and clear" state of mind on the Internet.

Busy until the early morning.

When he woke up the next day, Zhou Qing felt particularly good and refreshed.

I sat up and stretched, then reached for my phone and checked the time. It was already past ten o'clock.

I remembered the private message I sent yesterday evening, and opened Douyin and Bilibili to take a look.

"Still no one has replied."

　(besides)

　　
　
(End of this chapter)