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I would question whether what you describe is liberation, at least in the Buddhist sense. Liberation is the end of ignorance of our true nature. Even a small taste of that true nature gives birth to empathy and compassion of an indescribable degree.

Freewillies and anti-freewillies are both stuck in a false dichotomy. The correct question was offered by @thelerner : just how powerful is my free will? It's a quantitative question. Free will is a spectrum, not an either-or choice. Taoist answer (I'm repeating myself but the topic repeats itself, so here goes): 40% of your overall destiny is up to your free will, on average. (Another 40% is written in the stars and is outside your personal choices -- e.g. whether you have an older brother, a living grandparent or four of them or none, whether you're born in Zimbabwe or Lithuania, with brown eyes or blue eyes, etc.. And the remaining 20% is up to chance -- neither you nor your stars play a part, it's the throw of the dice... Einstein thought that "god doesn't play dice" -- but tao does. 20% of the time. When she does, we call the outcome "yi." The most taoist of books, the Yi Jing aka I Ching, is all about that. Yi in the title means irregular changes. 20% of destiny is that, and it is what it concerns itself with. What do we do about irregular changes? Count the yarrow sticks, throw the coins, or use the app -- and then apply your free will to decide which of the probabilistic possible outcomes to bet on. However, since the most significant part or your free will shen, aka yang zhi, resides in your kidneys, which can be weak or strong, balanced or imbalanced, and in constant interaction with your other shens that can weaken or strengthen it (physically, intellectually, morally, whimsically, or erroneously), you may wind up exercising less of it than 40% -- even much less -- though never down to 0%. Zero free will is incompatible with being a live human being. (Sheesh, even AI is not down to 0% these days -- e.g. it is able to lie, which I've seen many times, and lying willfully (sic) can only be the outcome of some kind of free will. It is not free to just say "I don't know," but it's free to make things up to cover up the fact. Not 40% free, not even 4%... but "something" is definitely there... Who knows what happens when this "something" grows...)

Dr. Wu Dhi always wears this massive bead bracelet while working in the clinic. He said it absorbs some of the pathogenic qi that inevitably tries to enter his meridians while handling it for the patient. The daily cleansing ritual then includes putting the beads in water, which is later dumped out on the ground.

Oh yes, free willy still exists, though not its star: Keiko (c. 1976 – 12 December 2003) was a male orca captured in the Atlantic Ocean near Iceland in 1979, and widely known for his portrayal of Willy in the 1993 film Free Willy. In 1996, Warner Bros. and the International Marine Mammal Project collaborated to return Keiko to the wild. After years of being prepared for reintegration, Keiko was flown to Iceland in 1998 and in 2002, became the first captive orca to be fully released back into the ocean. On 12 December 2003, he died of pneumonia in a bay in Norway at the age of 27.

As a person begins to retract from wanting, one of the first things to go is lust. In order for this to subside, one must be free from the draw of beauty. When beauty dies, so too does the preference for it over things that are not beautiful to a person. This can lead in all sorts of directions. For myself, I find that I am no longer compassionate, I do not have the empathy I once did. It takes a lot for me to be moved by either beauty or suffering. I find that life plays out like a movie that I have no attachment to: I'm just viewing it and not moved by it. This liberation can lead to negative behavior.

According to some Sinologists, most Chinese lost the ability to read Warring States period Classical Chinese around c.the time of Wang Bi (3rd century AD).

I've always thought Dharma speeches are the third 'leg' of practice. They can be about any aspect of practice and life but many are about compassion. Cultivation can easily, perhaps at times necessarily fall into isolation and selfishness. Listening to a great teacher talk about compassion helps break us out of it. In Shamanic cultures when there is sickness the Shaman might tell the person a story. In listening they improve.. at least their spirit does. Tech makes it easy to collect great dharma speeches, to have them on hand just as we would pills in a medicine cabinet. Maybe one day I'll make some. They'd begin- 'If this is emergency, call 911. Otherwise, shut up and listen..'

That's cool and I don't want to name mine for various reasons . The reason I asked is it read like you had tried doing banishing rituals for the (supposed ) effects you where criticizing and I wanted to say ... that ain't it and people should not teach you that - but now, it seems you understand . Try reading the clinical paper from Dr VanDusen I linked to above . You might find it , at least, interesting . Also the Doctors research and clinical trials support our theory about 'light' / 'higher' beings / even 'higher order of hallucinations ' ( as the research was on medical clinical level .... the patients might call them demons , the doctor calls them hallucinations ) YET as they observed a 'higher' order ( helpful ) 'hallucination' can dispel a 'lower order' (and harmful ) 'hallucination' . People have even done this with 'incurable disease ' ; meditate on ( imagine ) inside you the disease is an army of dark warriors, your anti bodies are powerful white knights on white horses, they go into battle and you watch the good guys defeat and vanquish the bad .... and in some cases , the patient gets over the disease.

That means, sir, you practice under legit traditions and/or organizations. But don’t underestimate the truly schizophrenic tendencies of (as you called) the “Post Victorian Occultists”. There is much nonsense in this field, that’s why I lost faith in a big part of it. The thing is, Nungali, there is a difference between what should be and what is being done out there. I’d say, without a doubt, that the vast majority of banishing rituals overlook the invocation of Light. Naive mystics really do thing that the ultimate resource to “repairing a disturbance” is through removing “demons” instead of doing what really matters: elevating the Light within! I’m on the same page as you regarding what SHOULD be done. And if you are experienced enough to have chosen to practice productive banishing rituals, that’s great and I’m happy to hear that.

I must still be confused as now it seems like you are saying a banishing ritual is ... sort of like..... an exorcism ... a 'casting out' or removal of something or energy and not a process where light is bought in to illuminate ? After studying the process more its not the case ... and few well known people in magic have affirmed that . Thin of what you are doing at the very first stage of an LBR . However there can be a 'cleaning process ' which is based on BALANCING the energies . That is not what is supposed to be happening in a banishing ritual .... unless its at the end of a larger ritual and is part of the ' license to depart ' . As I said above , a banishing ritual SHOULD BE about invoking light ... again look at how it starts . The rest of it is balancing energy . However in people that feel and act like they are demon possessed ( and don't think exorcist .... think professional and ' clinical trials ' evidence * ) attracting / invoking a higher 'light' / presence / force / dirty will dispel the 'demon ' . Its basic 101 in magical and Theistic Psychology * https://www.theisticpsychology.org/books/w.vandusen/presence_spirits.htm Well, I am more in the modern 'magical psychology' camp and I have actually been abused here for that and not affirming that it IS outside forces . I work more of an 'internal system' . But, like most things, both possibilities might be possible . We get 'invaded' by cold and flu bugs all the time but we don't always get sick .... unless the get a hold on us . I know a few very vital healthy people , every time a bug comes along , they got it. . That is why I do not study Hermetics but study Neo-hermetics ... that is why any 'banishing ritual' I do has been changed and updated to suit me and my environs ( but don't do that unless you actually know what the original is for and how it works and you have experience with the original ). yes, I often put down those 'Post Victorian Occultists ' even the tradition , some of it is rife with racism and sexism , and some of their theories are based on that . It also contradicts what an LBR is supposed to be doing ... even according to Crowley . What banishing rituals did you practice that where supposed to be doing that ? It's all become very mystical ... originally darkness was an issue as there where things in it that might harm you , either nocturnal animals but mostly because you cant see very good and identify danger . It's a carry over . Nah , I would not use that as any reference either . I would use a Bible based one if I was going to "and then ask '' ..... something like hmmmmm ... lets see now ... Matt 8: 28 -34 , Mark 5 : 1 - 17 .

And the response I am supposed to give to that is ; Love is the Law, Love under Will I knew a woman that absolutely hated that saying , I had to ask why . Her; " Because after years of putting up with my boy friend I finally woke up to myself and got rid of that arsehole ! " Me ; " ... what's that got to do with it ? " Her ; " His name is Will. "

That's my opinion, and it's very true popular!

When cats do that rolling thing -- which a healthy cat does often -- it means they are pleased (with themselves and their circumstances, or with you and being in your company), or else pleading -- for praise, acknowledgement (just look how cute I am!), or company (see how friendly I am!) I don't know why dogs do that... Maybe it means "I am glad you are dead, you rascal you!"

This is just my 2 cents. A lack of compassion and empathy is a sign of directionless practice. It's a kind of practice sickness that, as the OP noted, can lead to negative behavior. This is actually something I struggle with personally sometimes. With just a wave of hand and "it's all samsara", it becomes easy to not give shit. After practice last night, while reciting the Four Great Vows, I noticed I paid a little more attention to it than usual. Not sure why. It's a good reminder for what and for whom we practice. Anyway, ymmv. _/}\_

I used to earn $1,000 to $3,000 per week. With my earning potential set to rise over time. I was cheated out of what was mine. Now I will reinvent myself. What are any of you doing with your own life that makes you think its your role to look down on anyone?

Yes, we have free will.

FWIW: If you're going to be getting in-person classes in Yang, I'd stick with that for a while before branching out into Chen. I'd focus on the basics (which are shared in all styles) -- if you learn alignments/centeredness, weight transfer, rooting/stable connection to the ground, silk reeling, yao/kua engagement, sung, yi (intent) and eventually some qi management, you'll be ready for Chen and able to compare which works better for you personally. But if you choose to give it a try from a video (which I usually don't find useful for beginners... but who am I to blow against the wind), my advice No.1 is, make sure you know exactly what you're doing with your knees before you do!

The problem with this question is defining "will" and defining "free". Both of these words are infinitely equivocable, making it possible to come up with nearly any logical proposition as to their philosophical existence, with the latter modifying the former. My thinking is that when we talk about "will," we really just asserting existence--that I am real and that my movements, and actions, impact the ether in which I exist. When we talk about "free" we are really just asserting that our existence is meaningful, and not arbitrary. That it means something when I get an idea in my head and pursue it to the fullest extent possible. I know existence is meaningful, because if it weren't, what's the point. In my view, the concept of free will, however, can not be confuted through the demonstration of incapability or lack of self control. As involuntary and animal-like that an action may be, all of us have within us the capability to cultivate the ability to act in accordance with our authentic being, and the fact that anyone (but not necessarily me) has realized that enlightenment is proof that there is a free will, so to speak. Isn't that the whole point of cultivation, and really, existence---to develop the capacity to be authentic and to preside equanimously over the full limits of the realm of phenomena.

Quotes aside, all kinds of "the tao of..." thingies constitute yet another cultural appropriation (much as I dislike the glaring overuse of the concept in vogue of late, it does occasionally hit the right target), westernization, and oversimplification of the deepest insight of another civilization. Tons of books with this cute title -- The Tao of Pooh, the Tao of Meow, etc. -- created an illusion that such a thing as the tao of something not only exists but is approachable by the same cute methods as those outlined in self-help books or "get rich fast" investment plans. A fascination with sand you describe -- you can call it contemplation, introspection, study, observation... all fascinating to be sure, but none amount to "the tao of sand." Tao is not a property of sand. Rather, sand is one of the manifestations of tao, out of many. As for the sword, a sword practice is one inroad into "attaining" tao -- out of many -- and it can't be attained via contemplation, only through practice itself, but even at the highest level you would call what you attain "the gong of sword" first, mastery through dedicated practice -- and you might attain tao through that, some 50+ years down the road... or not. Also sprach Taomeow.

My favourites would be the ZhuangZi and the DDJ threads... Which makes me think that there are absent members of this forum that I don't miss much because I often make them very alive and present by reading them. And didn't those blabbermouths leave a lot to read, to consult, to learn from?