Books by Shifu Michael
Shifu Michael’s first book on Daoist cultivation, 2013
Shifu Michael’s second book on Daoist cultivation, 2016
Shifu Michael’s third book on Daoist cultivation, 2019
A Daoist Grows In The Heart, 2020
A Daoist Grows In The Heart: Journals Of A Modern-Day Western Daoist Priest. This journal series started in 2013 when I put together my first journal. My original intentions were to offer practical advice on what it means to be a modern-day western Daoist priest. One book led to another, and now this 600-page book which is a composite of my first three books (topics include qigong, circle walking, food cures, Daoist meditation, mysticism, solitude, and silence, and more.) Plus a 4th book on Bigu fasting, Daoist longevity practices, Catholic mystical prayer, including the meaning of how a Daoist grows in the heart.
A new 7th book by shifu Michael is Qigong & Daoist Deep Squats is available on amazon.com.
This book is a revision of his earlier book on Qigong. It covers theory and practice for the beginner and experienced Qigong practitioner. The new material in this book goes into a complete coverage of deep squats, often called Asian squats. It provide ample reasoning on the immense value of this simple practice. Accompanying the physical aspects of the deep squats is a thorough exploration of the energetics around strengthening the Kidney essences in the context of the winter season and norishing kidney energies. For a short book, it covers a wide range of practices for staying healthy with qigong.
A Daoist Practice Journal
Breaking News: Finalist in the 2023 AmericanBookFest national book contest in category of Eastern Religion. A revised Second Edition was published November 2023.
A Daoist Practice Journal: Interreligious Dialogue: Daoism & Christianity, Extraordinary Vessels and Daoist Cultivation is a modern-day western Daoist priest’s practice-oriented guidelines for being a Daoist. Its primary focus stems from the three core practices of the American Dragon Gate Lineage, of which Abbot Rinaldini (Lichangdao) has been the founder since 2003. These three core practices are scripture reciting, quiet sitting in the zuowang method of sitting and forgetting, and solitary or group intensive retreats. A Daoist Journal: Interreligious Dialogue: Daoism & Christianity, Extraordinary Vessels & Daoist Cultivation is available from amazon.com.
Overall, the Daoist orientation that shifu Michael resides in is the Longmen Quanzhen tradition, as a 22nd ordained Longmen priest. Most of shifu Michael’s references to Daoist practice come from the Quanzhen movement starting (in the 12th century) with Wang Chongyang and his first-generation disciples like Qiu Chuji, Ma Danyang, or female disciple Sun Buer.
This book also investigates two other areas: the application of the extraordinary vessels in the internal cultivation tradition and the interreligious studies of Daoism and Christianity from the apophatic mystical traditions.
Shifu Michael writes from his practical experiences of living a contemplative life for most of his adult years. His quest for spiritual wisdom originates in his youth as a seeker in the contemplative Catholic monasteries throughout the United States, as well in Vedanta and Buddhist practices. In his 40s, he became interested in qigong and Traditional Chinese Medicine, eventually becoming a highly qualified qigong teacher. Eventually, he was ordained as a Daoist priest, and presently he lives and works full-time as a professional qigong teacher and Daoist priest living in Sebastopol, California.