Podcast Summary

New Thinking Allowed Audio Podcast

Episode: The Nature of Chi Energy with Peter Meech
Date: October 18, 2025
Host: Jeffrey Mishlove
Guest: Peter Meech, author, screenwriter, and long-time apprentice to Qigong master Dr. Xu Chow

Episode Overview

This fascinating episode centers on the lived experience of Peter Meech, who apprenticed for many years under Dr. Xu Chow, an enigmatic Qigong master in Toronto. The discussion illuminates the reality and mysteries of Qi (Chi) energy, its tangible and paranormal roles in healing and consciousness, and the synchronicities and psychic phenomena tied to deep teacher-student resonance. Meech’s memoir, Mysteries of the Life: My Apprenticeship with the Qigong Master, serves as the backdrop as he recounts decades of teaching, learning, and exploring the energetic undercurrents of life.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Discovering Dr. Chow and the Beginning of Apprenticeship

• Chance Encounters and Synchronicity:

  • Meech’s first awareness of Dr. Chow comes from a chance viewing of Ripley’s Believe it or Not, where Dr. Chow appears to manipulate energy across a room (05:20).
  • Unable to find Chow through mainstream channels, Meech’s persistent search through Chinatown shops (and a final tip from an herbalist) leads him to the master (07:58).

• Psychic Forewarnings:

  • A psychic named Jerry prophesies Meech’s coming trip to India (“you're going to end up in jail for a while”)—which unexpectedly comes true due to a visa mishap (10:08).
  • Meech recognizes synchronicity as a central theme of his path: “What came later was just filled with synchronicities of every kind imaginable.” (11:43)

2. Early Healing and Skepticism

• Healing Chronic Asthma:

  • Dr. Chow treats Meech’s lifelong asthma using acupuncture and herbs, which catalyzes his shift from skeptical curiosity to engaged apprenticeship (13:17).
  • “He did [cure my asthma] over probably two to three months… with acupuncture and herbs. And then he said, ‘if you want to be asthma free, you gotta do Qigong.’” (13:17)

• Fate and Resonance:

  • Chow believed some things are fated, including their meeting: “It was fated… there's a Chinese word for that.” (13:17)
  • Both men explore the concept of “resonance” as a state where energy and thoughts are more freely shared—a theme revisited with both practical and philosophical implications (01:22, 36:08, 39:00).

3. Observable "Qi" Phenomena and Science Skepticism

• Throwing Qi (“Flicking Energy”):

  • Meech describes witnessing Dr. Chow “throwing chi” at his sister, causing physical reactions—sensations also experienced personally by Meech, his family, and other students (15:38, 20:36).

• Skepticism and Empirical Experience:

  • Meech critiques materialist science for dismissing Qi, acupuncture, and psychic abilities (“no journal would... look at their results.”) (20:36)
  • “Every single person felt the throwing of chi at every single session you had. So this was like kindergarten stuff.” (21:03)

• Physical Sensation and Energy Circuits:

  • Meech and most students experience the 'microcosmic orbit'—a sensation of Qi moving up the spine, over the head, and down the front, following the classic meridian system (30:23, 34:28).
  • Some students felt the energy moving in reverse—a phenomenon recognized in some yogic/occult manuals (35:08).

4. Telepathy, Dream Communication, and The "Big Test"

• Long-Distance Qi & Telepathy:

  • After years of training, Meech and Chow engage in distant energy transmission and telepathy. Dreams become a means of instruction and feedback.
  • “Once someone has their chakras open… energy transmission and energy receiving are no big deal. And that includes telepathy.” (36:08)

• The Big Test (Telepathic Challenge):

  • Dr. Chow imposes the "big test" on Meech: to detect, without prior notice, a remote energy transmission at a specific time (40:31).
  • Meech describes success: “I got it a few minutes, I think I got it at 1:23 and immediately wrote it down… So he was absolutely making sure that if I was sensitive enough, there was no way I would miss this.” (47:18)
  • “It has its own intelligence. And that's why you don't want to try and control chi… You want to let chi go where it wants to go.” (48:49)

• Dream Communication:

  • Dr. Chow uses dreams for teaching: “Peter, remember your dream last night?… I stop visiting Peter in dream if he no remember dream.” (43:47)
  • Meech reflects on the implications of psychic transparency: “If criminals only realized that everything they do can be read by a great psychic detective, there truly is no privacy…” (45:32)

5. Humility, Ego, and the Limits of Qigong

• Not a Path to Enlightenment:

  • Meech cautions against conflating Qi mastery with spiritual enlightenment:
    • “It is not necessary to have any of these experiences I had… to be happy or to be healthy or to be creative. And it is certainly not a path to enlightenment or illumination.” (48:49)
    • “People that pursue Qigong for reasons other than health, for the acquisition of Paranormal powers, they, they frequently strengthen the ego.” (49:51)

• The Teacher’s Reluctance and Style:

  • Dr. Chow is humble, rarely speaking directly of his abilities. He dislikes attention on the paranormal aspect, preferring to be known as a healer (57:03, 57:41).

6. Qi Infusion of Space, Talismans, and Energy Residue

• Putting Qi into Spaces:
  • Dr. Chow “throws Qi” into the walls of Meech’s Los Angeles home, creating an enduring source of energy that persists until disrupted (like by painting) (51:18, 53:31).
  • Meech compares this experience to visiting Krishnamurti’s preserved room, which felt charged—until the energy was diminished by painting (53:34).

7. Social Circle, Influences, and Cultural Context

• Connection with Ted Mann and Others:
  • The episode begins and ends with references to Ted Mann, a pioneering sociologist and Reichian energy expert who was also Dr. Chow’s student (03:01, 26:46).
  • Discussions of other practitioners, traditions, and comparisons to figures like Carlos Castaneda, Gopi Krishna, and Frederick Myers surface throughout as Meech and Mishlove contextualize their experiences within the wider domain of consciousness and the paranormal.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “What came later was just filled with synchronicities of every kind imaginable.” — Peter Meech (11:43)
• “Every single person felt the throwing of chi at every single session you had. So this was like kindergarten stuff.” — Peter Meech (21:03)
• “If criminals only realized that everything they do can be read by a great psychic detective, there truly is no privacy… it can radically shift… how you view your life in terms of interconnectedness.” — Peter Meech (45:32)
• “It truly does. [Qi] has its own intelligence. And that's why you don't want to try and control chi. That's why you don't want to force chi. You want to let chi go where it wants to go.” — Peter Meech (48:49)
• “Qigong is not a path to enlightenment or illumination… it can lead to better health… but it’s not necessary for happiness, creativity, or wisdom.” — Peter Meech (49:51)
• “He [Dr. Chow] was extraordinarily gifted… and never advertised that aspect at all.” — Peter Meech (57:03)
• “I would like to expand the definition of resonance because I think when there is resonance, true resonance, then it's much easier to share energy and thoughts.” — Peter Meech (00:00, 36:08)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• The Ripley’s Encounter and Search for Dr. Chow: 05:20 – 09:56
• Prediction and Indian Detention (Psychic Jerry): 10:08 – 11:43
• Dr. Chow’s Healing of Asthma: 13:17 – 15:20
• Demonstration of Remote Qi/”Flicking" Energy: 15:38 – 21:03
• Analysis of Qi, Skepticism, and Energy Circuit: 21:03 – 35:08
• Long-Distance Qi and Telepathy: 36:08 – 40:18
• The "Big Test," Receiving Qi Over Distance: 40:18 – 48:49
• Cautions on Egocentric Qigong, Humility: 48:49 – 51:18
• Qi Infusion of Spaces, Krishnamurti’s Room: 51:18 – 56:48
• Legacy, Teacher’s Privacy, and Book’s Impact: 57:03 – 58:36

Tone and Style

The episode is distinguished by an atmosphere of candid humility, wonder, and respectful skepticism. Mishlove’s curiosity meets Meech’s earnest (and often self-effacing) storytelling, with both men bringing a sense of reverence and grounding to extraordinary subject matter. Anecdotes are related with sincere wonder, and philosophical reflections mingle with practical details from decades of personal apprenticeship.

Conclusion

This episode offers an intimate, grounded, and sometimes whimsical glimpse into the lived mysteries at the frontiers of energy practice, parapsychology, and teacher-student communion. Through Peter Meech’s nuanced accounts, listeners are invited to reconsider the boundaries between science, healing, consciousness, and the interwoven “resonance” that may underpin connection itself.

For further exploration:

• Mysteries of the Life: My Apprenticeship with the Qigong Master by Peter Meech
• New Thinking Allowed YouTube channel