Bill's Initiated Disciples

These are the Initiated Disciples of Uncle Bill's Qigong Club. Over the years, they have taken on official functions at workshops and weekly gatherings, and through their dedication and perseverance, are now sworn lineage disciples of the JinJingGong system. They have very diverse backgrounds and skills that have all contributed to the atmosphere of Bill's life.

Martha Morgan

Martha's artistic talents surfaced the moment that she could express herself. Her first known work consisted of drawings done inside the lamp shades throughout our house. To this day, we do not know when or how this was accomplished. Her formal education began at Northwestern University where she received an undergraduate degree in film studies. She then traveled across the pond, began to explore and was accepted into the L'Academie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels. She studied there for three years before returning to the States to complete a master's degree in fine arts at Bennington College. Since then, Martha has continued to express herself and practice her art in many ways.

Jimmy Essien

As a child, Jimmy Essien realized he was a musician, and as he grew up, became proficient with many instruments. At 17, he became interested in the universal laws underlying music and it's effect on the psyche, and after experimenting with many meditation and psychic development techniques, he found a resonance in the teachings of G.I. Gurdjieff. In 1999, he joined Two Rivers Farm, a Gurdjieff study group, and with the carpentry skills he acquired there, began to approach his interest in sound from a new angle; that of sacred and intentional design. These questions led him to Europe where he studied the Gothic cathedrals, as well as the Harmonic Chant of David Hykes. Jimmy currently resides in Portland, Oregon where he divides his time between working on a co-housing project, studying North Indian Classical singing, and practicing qigong with Uncle Bill.

Dendra Kale

For someone who grew up surrounded by intentional suffering, Dendra had an rather idyllic childhood. She grew up on a southern plantation-turned-new-age-community based on the work of G.I. Gurdjieff. At Claymont Court, between getting her cheeks pinched by Buddhist monk and healer, Bhante Dharmawara and watching her mom whirl with Mevlevi dervish, Suleyman Hayati Dede, she waged algae wars in the local pond and learned how to dowse. Her father taught her Esperanto at a young age, probably whetting her appetite for languages such as classical Latin and Chinese. She continued Chinese language studies in college, eventually living in China for several years. The study of qigong , Classical Chinese medicine, and an ancient instrument called the qin, were the natural marriage of her unusual childhood influences and her sinophilia. Currently she studies the first two of these subjects at the National College of Natural Medicine. When not at school she enjoys dancing to hip hop (or anything with a rhythm), sleeping in, and shouting from mountain tops.

Monica Rudestam

Monica's life has been inspired by the joy and inspiration she experiences through physical and energetic movement. With an intricate history of intense spiritual and physical discipline, from month-long vipassana retreats to a dedicated practice of qigong, dance and yoga (having taught since 1996), she has come to possess a unique insight into the inherently flawed nature of the human condition, as well as an intense desire to discover what can be attained through this form. She is also a licensed acupuncturist, has a passion for edible and drinkable alchemy, and was a mythical creature in a past life.

Mitesh Master

I met Bill my first year at NCNM. An odd sight to say the least, but unlike so many others, a refreshingly honest-no bullshit kinda guy. You really could ask him anything about anything as long as you weren't disrespectful. It also helped that he laughed at my jokes. He taught qigong to my small class. Any case, it wasn't too much later that I showed up for qigong at his house. Everyone there, for the most part, was interesting and doing something as beautifully and perhaps as clumsily as I was. So you know, matches and heaven and all. So it has been about ten years now since I've known Bill and a part of the club. My attendance has waxed and waned with my time (see look at me, I've got a baby now!), but I always find that the club is a nice home away from home. I do things with varying degrees of interest and commitment, but it boils down to three areas of interest: inner peace, family and Chinese Medicine. These three are interwoven in a flawed and delicate tapestry.