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.
Discovering truth through experience Is at the Heart of Everything We Teach at Empty Mountain.
Our online 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.