Student's Corner: What is Tong Ren?
A place for Questions, Comments, or Feedback March 2009
Question:
I have heard about a new form of Qigong
healing called Tong Ren. What is it?
Tong Ren Therapy was developed by Tom Tam in 1998. In Chinese, Tong means bronze; Ren means person. Tong and Ren together mean a bronze doll. The first Tong Ren was built about 500 years ago by a Chinese Medicine doctor Wang, Wei Yi for the purpose of acupuncture education and training. Tom Tam, a licensed acupuncturist in Massachusetts, has practiced acupuncture in Boston for over 25 years.
Rather than using needles, Tom Tam employs an acupuncture doll and a magnetic hammer, and leads his students to tab on different acupuncture points along certain meridian system. People take turns to be the “Guinea Pig”, sitting in the middle of the group to receive Qi energy. They can also join the group in tabbing the points. Some patients are not even physically present, but lying in an intensive care unit in a hospital. Recently, Tom even make Tong Ren healing available via long distance phone calls.
When first heard it, American people showed skepticism over this very unconventional method. But after Tong Ren Therapy successfully helped many difficult cases, including cancer, M.S, hepatitis C, diabetes, A.L.S, H.I.V, lupus, depression, and many other diseases, people started flocking to Tom’s clinic now expanded to three locations in Manhasset.
The Tong Ren therapy is now used by more than 1,000 practitioners world wide. This healing method even attracted attention from the Harvard Medical School and its Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and their researchers requested an evaluation study of the Tong Ren Therapy.
When asked how to explain this extraordinary healing phenomena, Tom explained that Tong Ren doll represents the human energy system, while tabbing activate the Qi energy in humans. This healing Qi is directed by the collective mind for healing. Because the healing is guided by consciousness, it can be sent long distance to someone not even present in the group.
The foundation of the Tong Ren healing is based on Chinese medicine’s meridian system and Qigong healing, as well as Karl Jung’s concept of collective unconsciousness. During the healing, the Qi traverses through the patient’s meridians system and removes obstructions or blockages. As Qi is an intelligent life force, it automatically regulates body functions and makes corrections to restore the body’s balance. Up to date, Tom has trained thousands of Tong Ren healers all over the world.
Who are the “guinea pigs”?
In the beginning of Tong Ren healing, new
methods were tried for healing the most difficult cases. So the
participants were told that they would be part of a “guinea pig” class.
After the patients in the class received the “Qi” energy healing, many
success stories and positive results surfaced week by week. The name
“guinea pig” became a lucky symbol to Tom and his students. The Chinese
used to say, when you have a lucky name, don’t ever change it!
That is why the name “Guinea Pig Class” remained until this day!
These classes typically consisted of 60 people, and each receives Qi energy healing for about one minute or so. The participants are seated and face Tom and a group of assistants. Tom carries on an interactive dialog with each person to determine appropriate acupuncture points to be used for each individual. Tom and his assistants direct their activity to accessing the collective unconscious and applying energy to the treatment points. Personal contact or even close proximity to the person are not required. When each individual takes turns to be the receiver of this Qi energy, Tom typically asks for the current condition and any sensations he or she might feel. Tom determines the length of time that healing is directed to each person, and it varies depending on the conditions.
In the “guinea pig” class, Tom does not believe that the healing energy comes from him alone. In addition to the group’s intention, Tom believes that Qi energy, which is permeated in the universe and all living beings, can be used to create healing. This universal Qi is accessed through the collective unconscious. Tom’s experience shows that the practitioner’s trust and confidence in Tong Ren healing system is a key element enabling better access by the practitioner to the collective unconscious