Ray Blue was not a stranger to the extraordinary power of Shaolin martial arts. He first came to know Grand Master Shi DeRu (Shawn Liu) when he was seeking something to help his teenage son, Josh, develop the focus, self-confidence, self-discipline, and passion to do something constructive with his life. Josh began taking martial arts lessons at Shaolin Institute and within two years he became one of the most successful international competitors on the World Wide Kung Fu circuit, going on to attend a prestigious college, and unveiling the very talented artist within him.
Like most of us, Ray Blue never thought of martial arts as a powerful healing, medicinal alternative to Western medicine; that is, not until he was diagnosed in July, 2012 with stage four Prostate cancer, which had already metastasized to his bones. With a PSA of over 77,000 (normal being 0-4 nanograms/ml), skeletal from a 70lb weight loss over 3 weeks, in excruciating, untamable pain, and unable to stand or walk without assistance because he was so frail and so weak, “specialists” told him there was nothing more to be done. They sent him home to die. Ray was terrified.
But Ray and his family had already witnessed the extraordinary things the mind can do during the remarkable transformation of Josh over a two year period at Shaolin Institute. Ray believed something the doctor’s did not, “that our life path and our death from disease are completely within our control. Ray recognized that a “death sentence” is simply conventional medicine giving up on a patient because they don’t know what else to do. That sentence can be stayed by only one thing, the patient’s indomitable belief that the mind has the capacity to heal the body completely if we only know how to restore the mind/body connection that feeds that healing mechanism.
When Ray’s family physically carried him into Shaolin Institute, Grand Master Shi DeRu told Ray it was not “too late”; he could help him. The ancient Shaolin art of Qi-Gong/Tai-Gong has over 1500 years of testimony to the fact that training the mind to harness the body’s natural energy, “QI”, restores order to the autoimmune system and results in total mind/body health regardless of disease circumstances. Ray believed.
Ray, who was already seeing Grand Master DeRu for acupuncture and other oriental therapies to treat excruciating back pain he now knew was from bone cancer, began training with the Shaolin Master. Ray took Tai Gong lessons with him, learned and followed the lessons of Chan nutrition Master DeRu taught him, and committedly practiced the Tai Gong/Qi Gong exercises Master DeRu promised would revive and stimulate Ray’s autoimmune system to heal his body, without conventional prescription medication, radiation, or the poisonous effects of chemo-therapy, all of which had already failed Ray.
After just one month Ray was able to walk without assistance and could sleep without pain. By December he was walking one hour a day (unassisted), swimming an hour a day, and was pain free. December 29th Ray had a follow-up appointment with his Oncologist who was astounded by Ray’s “miraculous” recovery. Ray’s PSA was 17; he is living and embracing life with the attitude and mindset of a true “survivor”. For all intent and purpose, Ray Blue has beat the odds. He’s been given a “second chance”, and Ray, like the many patients Grand Master DeRu has treated over the years, is eternally grateful to the Master who showed him the path.
