I should add that what I really like about this method is that chi kung (awareness of energy) really supercharges the practice. If you can learn to feel, use and channel your energy you can enter different states much more easily - such as the state of having a very quiet mind.

A quiet mind - or the state Zen practictioners call 'no-mind' - can be experienced by energising an area in the centre of the head. Many different techniques will do this as a by-product, but cutting out the middle man and charging it directly (along with several other places) can lead to a much more consistent and beneficial practice.

There are many different methods and techniques regarding meditation, but a lot of them are secret and not taught openly. These techniques are however found even in the major religions, and once you know what you're looking for you see parallels everywhere. The major failing of the main religions to my mind is that I believe they know practices that could help ordinary people experience transcendental states, but they keep them hidden and only share them with high ranking clergy, etc.

I find this despicable, maintaining and enhancing the wedge we feel between ourselves and the "something greater" we can experience.