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Thanks - actually I think that's very good. You've clearly thrown out a lot of dross and misconceptions. I agree about demonstrations of so called qi and power generally - it is mostly stage magic and tricks to impress the impressionable. If you are interested in philosophy though you might find that the essential idea of qi is not some mysterious force at all. It is part of an ancient cosmological view rather like yinyang theory and wuxing. You could say if you like that it is a way of looking at the world, a view. So don't throw the baby out with the bathwater just because of some charlatans, I would suggest. For myself awareness of qi came through meditation and had a profound affect on me - and leaves me in no doubt - although I accept that there is a lot of crap spoken as well. But I think we each need to find our own way based on our own genuine experiences - looking to others or the consensus is not very useful. Thanks for sharing your experiences. A.
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What are all the benifits of wall squats ?
thelerner replied to waterdrop's topic in Systems and Teachers of
squats are healthy. They stimulate and tone many muscles particularly the big ones in the legs and glutes. Doing a large number of them helps the heart due to aerobic action. On the other hand, they're not magic and won't cure everything. I doubt any help for eye sight. I've found doing squats and pushups are great whole body exercises. These days I do goblet squats holding a medium weight 35 to 50# dumb bell or equivalent kettlebell, squat deep and after straightening do a press, ie lift the weight above my head. A little more compounding exercise. In my eyes doing it with weights means I don't have to do as many reps, which is easier on my joints. Which can be a problem with high rep bodyweight exercises. Particularly as one gets older. Joint health matters. -
The most important part of a box is inner space...
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Hello, I have a simple question - How can you deal with insect bites in a qigong way? I read/heard that it's more favorable to practice qigong while surrounded by nature, therefore, I tried it out at my local park, however, I couldn't get in the zone because the mosquitoes kept harassing me. Is there a qigong art which would help keep the biting or stinging bugs off. Iron Shirt, Golden Bell, what about the Guardian Qi I hear about, how do the advanced practitioners deal with this? If Iron Shirt can stop blades, it could stop insect bites too, right? I could put some bug repellent, but... is there another nonviolent and self-sufficient way. It would be ideal if the method is tested and safe. Thanks for any leads.
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Well the full version of the album the following snippet is from, but it is by far the best song ...
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these two, concurrently, looped...
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I have dug up an old topic that might be relevant to this topic also: Don't know where the horse comes from?!
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I regularly remind folks that Orwell's prophetic vision of 1984 was meant as a warning... not a how to manual.
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In the 1944's Big Screen TV of the Future Wasn't Much Bigger Than a MacBook. Now we are watching stuff on Iphones In 1957 Sputnik 1 scared us. Now we have drones to play with or use as "recon."
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This is the problem. At 1 you have Polarity, not 2. This is the problem from assuming numbers and things are the same. Any "One" thing has and exhibits polarity already. Adding another thing to have "2" doesn't introduce "polarity". That already happened at "1". It introduces "two things" that EACH have and exhibit their own polarities, their own Top/Bottom, Inside/Outside, etc. Once you lose track of polarity and think that polarity means two physical things, then your "math" forward from there is bunk. -VonKrankenhaus
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TaiJi is two poles. There is a YinYang of these, which you show. This is showing further also the YinYang of the 4 Emblems too - the Bagua: YiJing is basically derived from the YinYang of those to produce the 64 Hexagrams. Polarity itself is function the same through all the "divisions" (polarities). -VonKrankenhaus
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Daoism as a Practical Philosophy
Cloudwalking Owl replied to Cloudwalking Owl's topic in Daoist Discussion
I spent years doing various things and believed in the idea of qi. I felt it flow through my body, I studied the esoteric map of the human body that was found at the White Cloud Temple. I even chanted the Jade Emperor sutra and regularly offered incense to an altar. At the same time that I did all of this I was an avid reader of popular science and more (I have a Master's in Philosophy.) I came to the conclusion that most of the experiences that I was having could be explained in better ways using modern scientific theory. The feelings that I had of "qi" going through my body and the various abilities that was able to manifest could be explained better through neuroplasticity than through some mysterious substance. At the same time, I enjoyed watching the feats of various "qi" masters both in person and through video. In most cases it was obvious that what was being done had nothing at all to do with Qi and were just demonstrations of basic physical principles. Others looked to me to be not much more than stage magic (and often not very good stage magic.) At the same time, I played around a bit with the ability to project the image of being a "wise and groovy master", and found out that it is profoundly easy to convince some people that you are some sort of wizard simply be knowing a few things that they do not. I also learned how seductive it is to cultivate this persona as it gives you a degree of unhealthy control over other people. (This is why I cultivate an persona of being "punk and plain", I never want anyone to put me on a pedestal again!) I have had a few experiences that are hard to explain given modern theory. But I don't believe that Daoist energetics are any better than they at explaining them. So I choose to leave them as "mysteries" instead of trying to explain them. One thing I will say, however, is that none of them had any real value to my or anyone else's life. And one thing that I have decided is that the only thing worth spending your time cultivating is wisdom. Don't assume that because I'm not a fan of qi, it's because I dismissed it out of hand---.- 31 replies
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What are all the benifits of wall squats ?
waterdrop replied to waterdrop's topic in Systems and Teachers of
I did in the past in a course for two months 6 days a week not seven and not sure i did 100 (at least a month a did them for 1 hour in morning but did with big breaks between squats) maybe i felt better from it not sure there wasnt something exceptional i noticed from it specifically though i think there might have been but not sure - i started doing it for half an hour a day now but not sure how much i will persist in this would be nice to get motivation or to know maybe it dosnt have much benefit above 100 times a day or maybe there is but better to add other excericses instead like LCUPCD and other qigong exercises - maybe it heals a lot but not all maybe its better to add stuff like "pushing mountains" as well or instead and do little wall squats little pushing mountains . and actual experience of people or what people heard about this , would be nice to get explanations about this exercises - if i will do 100 a day and it wont do anything and i would expect it too it will cause frustration and reduce chances i put effort in future too - maybe you need to do a 100 but do it at least 3 months or maybe you need to do it for 7 days a week and if you do just 6 days it has no effect - maybe im wasting my time on this when there are better stuff - so answers can be not only to motivate me but to say that the expectations from this are too high (healing all physical illneses etc) - i think the vast majority of questions here can be answered that its better to expirence them instaed of asking which is true but still ... would like to hear about this exercise benefits and explanations about why it happens if possible too from experience of people or from theory they ran into - there are a million reasons (some more important than others) why i am asking this that dont come to my head right now as well If i do 100 a day srpead around and someone writes here that its important to do them all at 100 time and if so than it really can make your qi flow very well unlike 100 in a day spread through than thats a great benefit i can get from a reply I dont base my practice fully on what people write here but its added to my decision making - For example if i do wall squats 1 hour a day and i think that my not so good eye sight is something i need to take care of so i decided to do eye sight exercise and so instead of doing 1 hour a day of wall squats i do just 30 minutes and the other 30 minutes i do exercises for the eyes or send qi to eyes etc ... but if someone says it can help heal the eyes and imrpove eyesight than i would stay with wall squats and maybe even heal other stuff on the way maybe stuff i dont even know about - and will get motivated by that reply to do more even 5 hours a day on the other hand if it dosnt heal eyesight and i expect it too and after 3 months my eyesight didnt get better i would feel cheated cause it says it can cure all physical illness ! if you do a 100 at a time each day - than i would stop doing them out of frustration instead of keeping to do them for all my life and get benifts from it a good answer can be "yes it says it can heal eyeseight" and even better ones can be : "i healed my eyesight with wallsquats" or also a great one : "wall squats can heal your eyes cause when you do them it pushes qi up into your head and spesificly thorugh the qoogsdfjjjcsg channel and the eye is connected to your sdfgjkhsdl and thats how its really effective for eyesight" or as i eited my answer now to make it even more clear - if this exercise can help correct posture by itself than great i just do more of it and try to do it with good forum - but if its not enough than i might look for other ways to correct posture and other stuff BUT i dont want to get to a discussion about this though cause it really derails a topic so instead of geting a lot of info about wall squats i just get assessed instead -this just to get answeres and more info people know/heared about this exercise -
Excerpt from "The Pineal Gland" by Damo Mitchell
yuuichi replied to Bindi's topic in Daoist Discussion
@voidisyinyang what do you mean by left eye and right eye? From my perspective? Or looking at a diagram? You also said that the left vagus nerve is mainly afferent (and so the right is mainly efferent?), that’s the left vagus nerve on the same side as looking at my left hand? -
Daoism as a Practical Philosophy
Cloudwalking Owl replied to Cloudwalking Owl's topic in Daoist Discussion
Yes, but what if someone has studied all the esoteric stuff for decades, have most---if not all---of the experiences that people talk about, and, come to the conclusion that it's "mostly all bosh"? The problem with energetics isn't the experiences that people have, it's the theoretical overlay that has built-up around them. -
Hi, Thanks for your story. I'm not, by the way going to go into the 'provocative' thing ... except to say it's ok in my view to provoke ... why not? However, as a person who does regularly practice with what might be termed 'energetics and qi' I'm very interested in why you came to the conclusion that most of it is nonsense. I don't have a problem with this - but perhaps I would say that a lot of nonsense is spoken about it rather than it itself being nonsense - which is slightly different. I think it is possible to apply Daoist principles to anything - with or without qi, hand waving and so on. So each to his own. I hope you will fill out a little your experiences and conclusions around this subject. Cheers. A.
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What are all the benifits of wall squats ?
ilumairen replied to waterdrop's topic in Systems and Teachers of
Before halving or doubling the "recommended dose," why not simply do the recommended amount and see what benefits you experience? -
Is it possible to feel the chi of other person?
moment replied to Scholar's topic in Daoist Discussion
Yes, much depends upon a particular/subjective education and training, up to a point. Wellness, always. -
What are all the benefits of wall squats In zhineng qigong they say if you do 100 everyday you can heal every physical health problem - is it true ? can it heal stuff like my dust allergy ? can it improve eyesight ? can this exercise alone help give a person a perfect posture without doing anything else ? what about 50 wall-squats a day ? what about 200 a day ? what are the effect of those ? and how did they reach 100 squats *at a time* (in the book "methods of zhineng qigong) as the recommended amount ? how different in benefits a 100 at a time is than 100 a day ( i know of people who do a 100 a day not a time are they missing out - in case they can do it all a single time ?) ? and for those who did/do it - how do you keep track to do a 100 ? wondering about doing this for as much as i can so extending it to maybe 2 hours a day maybe even 4 or 5 etc - and i wonder if this excerice can stand by its own as a "practice" or its just supplementary does it help in sexual transmutation ? would love to get all the benefits this exercise can have --- would like also above what you know in thoery or heared about this exercise benefits to hear about personal benefits people experienced with this exercise ? also even though its not the main question if someone wants to add tips about best way to do it that can be good too (though main question is about the benefits of it)
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"Who can wait quietly while the mud settles?" (Feng/English) I love this quote, and have found it's applicability to everyday life (and in particular interpersonal relationships) invaluable. However, this too (upon further contemplation) seems dependent upon the development of certain skills - namely an ability to recognize "mud" and the ability to "wait." I was writing this when a notification arrived regarding the above post, and decided to share anyway - although this isn't in response to the above..
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@ Ilumairen Yes! Such is the natural way as proposed in the Chuang tse. I think that philosophical Taoism is close to Zen in its appreciation of the wonders of everyday life. And by wonders I don' t mean flying in the air, walking on water, or seeing through walls, but more simple things like unlocking a door or preparing an avocado. I sometimes realize this blissful state of appreciation, and than I'm completely satisfied and happy. But this state soon slips away as the hassles of life drag away my attention.
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what you want is the Klein Bottle: So just as with the Dao, you inherently can not see a Klein Bottle in 3 dimensions - so it is the 4th dimension of space as a torus. It's also what the full lotus energy does in meditation. So that is the Torus version of the Klein Bottle. 3D pinched torus / 4D Möbius tube https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klein_bottle So a black hole is also a klein bottle. Psychologist Steven M. Rosen has studied this as well. https://philarchive.org/archive/ROSQGA-2v5 Quantum Gravity and Taoist Cosmology - PhilArchive https://philarchive.org › archive by SM Rosen - ‎Cited by 2 - ‎Related articles Steven M. Rosen ... KEYWORDS: quantum gravity; Taoism; yin and yang; topology; ..... (whereas the sphere, torus, and Moebius strip are relatively concrete ...
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if we could see inside if the TAIJITU or the YIN YIN symbol below it would have all the colors and polarities of colors. The colors have the figure eight motion of CW and CCW. The black and white circles of the TAIJI symbol are the SAME is the black and white centers of the color spectrum., Yes ? no ? Its something you may like to know but if you prefer to not understand , it's your choice. Its ok .
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IS the Torus the same representation as the TAIJITU ? does is say the same in different terms ? I hear a lot of complaints that i'm a "new ager" of " the way " Not on this forum . some others. I'm just trying to o the best I can and learn like everyone else. Teach too from what I've learned along the WAY. Im new to the forum and im an old man , Much life experience to reflect back on. I think it's a great no matter what language it is even if sometimes we are mistaken . I make them and so does everyone else. its all ok . Mistakes or not.
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To return to the intended subject of this thread I present the humble avocado, and my experience with the same. When I first encountered a whole avocado, it actually proved to be a tough little adversary. There was no simply cutting it straight through due to the pit, and by the time I had separated the tasty goodness from the inedible rind and pit I was left with mush only suitable for guacamole. With patience and practice technique arose, and over time the technique became more natural and fluid. How incredibly mundane, and incredibly useful... a culinary skill without need of contemplation which first required much contemplation on my part.
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