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I am English but I live in Portugal. Oak is Portuguese but lives in England. It’s a kind of yin yang non duality thing.

Hello! I just joined this forum and am so happy I found you all! I've been learning more about following the Tao since 2019 when I first read the Tao of Pooh, and then began reading the Tao Te Ching and listening to a podcast called What's This Tao All About?. I recently started doing Tai Chi and am interested in learning more about cultivating chi, and always want to discuss and learn more about living in harmony with the Tao

Without good physical, energetics, mental, Spiritual health, longevity would be more a curse than a benefit.

@PestiferMundi "-!Answer!-" 1.1. Name of the qigong training method that allowed you to feel qi energy for the first time (really important that it's the first time, as doing something comes a lot easier once you've experienced it once, and practicing other things after that first time may have only been effective because of that first time)? Flying Phoenix 1.2. If it wasn't exactly qigong (Chinese origin) but of some other origin (e.g. Korean "Sundo" or Japanese "Kiko"), what is it and where does it originate (answer all of the following questions as you would if it was a qigong method)? N/A 1.3. State the source of the qigong training method (book, course, etc. - include the author/creator name) - Not quite sure about the forum rules, but if you aren't allowed to directly link to it because it's seen as "advertising" or something else unacceptable, I'm sure you can at least just state the name of it and the name of the author/creator. DVDs and zoom lessons with Sifu Terry 2. What was the qi energy experience and what made it "undeniable" to you that it was qi energy (what distinguishes it from all the other body sensations or energetic experiences you've already had, that made you believe it was qi)? Felt like a cool menthol heat moving around my body. Not a feeling that occurs naturally. 3. What should one avoid doing during practice that may unintentionally get in the way of generating that energetic experience (if the source you stated already goes into detail about this then you can just say to refer to the source material)? Don’t overthink or be too tense, just relax 4. Were you using any herbs, drugs, or hallucinogenic substances within a week of that experience, or on the very day of that experience? No 5. How long did you practice before you first had that experience? (e.g. around 1 month)? About a week 6. How often did you practice (e.g. every day or only on weekends), how long was the practice session (e.g. 20 minutes), and how many sessions (e.g. two 20 minute sessions per day or one session)? Every day for 2 hours 7.1. Did you practice any martial arts prior to that qigong training method or did you practice it along-side the method, if yes then name it/them (if there is a book/course/etc. source, please state it too)? No 7.2. If yes to Question 7.1, is the martial art you practiced directly related to the qigong method (e.g. The Yiquan martial art from my observation basically has a hardwired qigong training method - Zhan Zhuang)? N/A 8. Did you practice any kind of occult/meditative exercises prior to that qigong training method or did you practice it along-side the method, if yes then name it/them (if there is a book/course/etc. source, please state it too)? No 9. If you are willing, include any other details you think would be relevant to the training and the goal of experiencing qi energy for the first time? Practice every day 10. What are the possible risks of the method if overdone, if not done properly, or even if done properly as the method is "extreme" (assuming the practice bears such risks)? Zero 11. Does the method have advanced levels/goals after the first bare minimum goal of experiencing qi energy for the first time and what are they? (e.g. Flying Phoenix Qigong has multiple volume dvds, never tried it but if the volume 1 standing exercises allowed me to feel qi energy, the next obvious step would be to continue training it and then move onto the volume 2 seated meditations, but not all qigong methods have such a clear and outlined path so that's why I'm asking this question)? Yes, progress to the next dvds and then have lessons with Sifu Terry for the advanced practices ——————————————————— If you want to try what Flying Phoenix feels like before getting the DVDs or starting lessons with Sifu Terry, check out this video of GM Doo Wai doing the “Monk Holds Pearl” exercise: You can do it standing, seated or lying down. You can ignore the part about the ginger. Try it out and let me know how it feels!

Either one is the product of the cognitive processes of half-brainers. Half-brainers, who constitute the majority of our contemporaries, use both hemispheres of their brain of course (at least most do), but in sequence, not together. As one insightful half-brainer put it, "I can solve a complex math problem and I can sing a deeply touching song, but I can't sing a deeply touching complex math problem." Well, a whole-brainer can (metaphorically speaking) and does. That's what using both the left and the right hemispheres simultaneously rather than in sequence is like. And that's what the study and use of the I Ching is like. It's both designed for a whole-brainer and helps develop the ability to use one's whole brain.

Its a slog through it . I did a speed read about and am about half way through , the evidence seems thin . Some things did spread west to east 'across the top' like some types of original metal working . But I have not found evidence of the claims yet . Yeah , they both have horses ... wheeled carts * etc . if these sorts of studies had great merit , others would be blowing a trumpet about it ... ie, they would not be such isolated articles and attention would be bought to them more ....... usually . There are some exceptions though .... BMAC / STAC / 'Oxus' civilization was touted to be the 4th major developing civilization ( along with China Middle east Indus Egypt .... and only entered western knowledge in the 70s ... but that has not really made a 'big noise ' 'people' ( history buffs , etc ) seem more interested in war battles and 'great' military men * not that wheeled carts thing again ! Many an argument about that ! Usually to do with IE influence into IVC ..... IE bought wheeled carts to India ! sigh .... IE were known for horse and development of chariots , which are different to wheeled carts ... just about everyone had wheeled carts , and IE were responsible (or their ancestors were ) for horse domestication .... ( which happened long before people started using them to pull carts or chariots ) ... its all complex and too far off topic for this thread though . In sort , I am yet to be convinced by that article

No, I just looked at the intro, and a bit of the beginning. It’s all a bit outside my knowledge area. I was hoping someone else would comment. Looking forward to your analysis. I remember Awaken claiming Xia China was in the Nile delta. There’s a Dutch guy (van Praag) suggesting Daoism was started by teachings from Jews living in China. I really don’t have the knowedge to comment, but feel rather sceptical.

I am older. Hindu. Not reactionary or fundamentalist. I wish to share 'Soul lessons from the Goddess'. Maha Shakti. And now from Maha Sundari, the soul. These lessons helped me rediscover my life purpose. Not my material purposes in life. My soul. Not my material mind. A true path. Not dogmas, religions. Not fundamentalist. I wish to share these lessons which I have posted on substack after Facebook showed its privacy gaps. I have explored the 3 Indic traditions, Hindu, Buddhist, Jain. The Chinese ones, Confucian, Tao and Buddhist, even a Tao which is popular in Asia but is more Confucian. A few Indian gurus. And others. Like the 3 middle eastern ones. Life is cultivation. So that one can be fit to be liberated. The mind controls many material paths, even 'spiritual ones'! Only the soul can walk the true path. The mind can't. Be blessed. I can't seem to create the post in your newcomer page. I use librewolf privacy Firefox] browser and some links may be missing for me. (seem fixed now). I have allowed cookies. Tracking is strict. some images missing.

The correct term is 'creating energetic imbalances'.

Hi everyone, I’m glad to be here. I’ve been training and reflecting on Chen style Taijiquan for many years, both as a martial art and as Taoist internal practice. It's a path that has gradually and deeply reorganised my body-mind into a more neutral and flowing way of being. I’m hoping to participate in the conversations here, learn from others, and occasionally share some of the writing I’ve been doing on these themes. Looking forward to connecting with people who are exploring similar territory.

If directions have an inflated ego it's their problem.

‘North’ 😃

I attended a seminar with YaMu about 15 years ago. S-M is mostly about the transmission, and it's strong: while I don't practice it these days the internal LDT spiralling he initiated still occurs regularly when I sit. The Gift of the Tao movements look like the messiest form you've ever seen, but they are potent particularly when performed in nature. Energetically different, more shamanic if I were to grab a word for it than Tai Chi. I note @SodaChanh's experience and can well believe that S-M has the ability to jump a few levels of balanced development. I haven't practiced any Max or Jenny Lamb stuff. Everyone charges a lot these days. I imagine the pov that says he wants serious practitioners, but also recognise everyone needs to make a living and it's tough at the moment.

Couldn't agree more. I work in an hospital in the north of the UK where there are many 90 and even 100 year olds surprisingly very fit...physically. Besides genetics I think it must be the oats consumed daily for many decades. Unfortunately most of these people have been demented since their 70's. Dementia is a terrible disease which I would compare to drug addiction, it destroys everything in its surroundings. I would blame mostly a culture of heavy alcohol consumption.

Dr John Dee : John Dee's most accurate prediction was Elizabeth I's coronation date of January 15, 1559. Tiresais : Tiresias's most accurate prediction is likely his prophecy to Oedipus that he would "see" the truth of his life, which would lead him to scream in agony. This is considered his most accurate because it was so precise about the tragic events in Oedipus Rex that came to pass. He accurately foresaw the horrifying truth of Oedipus's identity as a murderer of his father and husband to his mother, a discovery that drove Oedipus to blind himself. The Oracle of Amun ( at Siwa Oasis ) : Considered accurate enough that Alexander the Great sought advice there. Also King Cambyses of Persia consulted about his African campaign .... seeking the same confirmation of 'divine right and kingship' that Alexander got ... but Oracle said no . No one wants to hear a 'fake prediction like that ! Also it undermined his 'legitimacy' to rule Egypt , so .... Cambyses dispatched an army of 50,000 soldiers from Thebes with orders to attack the Siwa Oasis, enslave the Ammonians (priests and inhabitants), and burn the temple of the Oracle. The army, however, famously disappeared in the desert, a fate often attributed to a massive sandstorm. Intuition ; figures like Srinivasa Ramanujan are frequently cited for their exceptional intuitive grasp of mathematics, while Albert Einstein is noted for his intuitive leaps in physics, which sometimes contradicted a more rational approach favored by contemporaries like John von Neumann .

In the early 2000s, when many youth on the internet were interested in learning computer programming. There was an unusual trend many of us noticed. Those who were very good at programming were utterly terrible at making graphics. While those who were very good at graphics were utterly terrible at programming. I tried to improve @ both. For the past 20'ish years. Maybe I'm already on something resembling that path, although I never realized it.

Yes, it does translate to metaphysics. 玄: dark, deep, hidden, or mysterious. 学: study, learning, or a field of knowledge. Historically, 玄学 also refers to a Chinese school of thought from the Wei–Jin period, and a scholastic approach to earlier Daoist texts. So our ability to determine whether all discussions of the Dao are "xuanxue" depends on which definition we use. Metaphysics is the study of the unseen, unknown, the mysterious. It is the study of the underlying fabric of reality. So all study of the Dao is literal 玄学. But the idea that the Dao is emptiness and ziran is the expression of this emptiness (the original inquiry of the thread), is strongly developed from the historical, scholastic 玄学 movement. This view influences much of how we discuss the Dao in modern context. Before the Wei–Jin 玄学 movement, Daoist discussion was framed less as an exact, comprehensively designed system, and more like guidance for living, governing, and cultivating life. As you know, in early texts like the Daodejing and Zhuangzi, the Dao is usually pointed to through images, paradox, and lived examples. You get lines like “the Dao that can be spoken is not the constant Dao,” or stories that show how forced control backfires. The focus stays on how to move through life: wuwei (not forcing), softness, timing, simplicity, protecting your vitality, and letting patterns unfold. Even when they use words like 无 (wu), it often works like “the generative absence that makes functions possible” (like the empty hub of a wheel, or the empty space in a bowl), rather than “emptiness” as a full metaphysical theory. And 自然 (ziran) reads more like “so-of-itself” or “things unfolding on their own,” not “the expression of emptiness." But the Wei–Jin 玄学 approach shifts the focus. It takes those earlier Daoist lines and tries to make them philosophically exact and defensible, which are later blended with Buddhist concepts: debates about 有/无 (being/non-being), what is “root” (本) and what is “branch” (末), and how a deeper “source” relates to the visible world. Commentarial reading becomes a major method, and the Dao starts getting discussed in more systematic, abstract terms–often as the underlying “non-being” that grounds “being,” with ziran framed as how that ground shows up in the world. That scholastic style is a big reason modern discussions of Dao define it as emptiness. So 玄学 describes the study of the unknown, and it also describes a historical movement that sought to define the unknown in exact, and yet paradoxically more abstract terms.

A lot of real world decisions aren’t just data problems. They’re value conflicts, timing, overconfidence, fear, distraction, mixed motives, and blind spots. On the surface, an oracle can be useful as a structured mirror: it forces a clear question and provides a framework, and then you have to do the work of mapping that frame onto your actual situation, working through internal and external factors. Personally, I believe a variety of divinatory systems to be more "divine communication" than a simple trigger for reflection, but the two acts are in relationship with one another. Especially if one believes that the source of all is within each of us. But anyway, observation and measurement can also be applied to divination outcomes, so the two aren't mutually separate.

The doorway most people use today is books, translations, and philosophy classes, and xuanxue is the style that treats the Daodejing (and the Yijing and Zhuangzi) as high metaphysics. Xuanxue (Dark/Profound Learning) was a Wei–Jin era way of reading the classics, especially through big commentaries like Wang Bi’s Laozi. Those commentaries became hugely influential, got copied and taught for centuries, and shaped what later readers thought the text "really" means. So when people discover Daoism through reading, they often meet it through a lens already polished by xuanxue. Later Daoist traditions, especially internal alchemy and the Quanzhen world, developed emptiness / stillness / nonbeing language while in relation to Buddhism and Confucianism. Modern presentations tend to pull from that shared vocabulary. Not only that, but ritual Daoism requires extensive training, community, ordination networks, temples, and lots of context. Online spaces and modern education reward what’s easier to share quickly, like Dao = emptiness, ziran = expression of Dao, wu = the root, and other simple abstract statements. So modern Daoism looks like xuanxue because the most visible vehicle for Daoism is textual, and xuanxue is the most established, widely inherited framework for reading those texts that way.

This class is being offered by the Sanctuary of Tao (the late Stuart Alve Olson's school) today. FREE LIVE PRACTICE OPPORTUNITY: We are excited to announce the Eight Brocades Seated Qigong Review Session! Taught by Patrick Gross, this is an opportunity for us all to come together to practice as a community, and for those who haven't learned it yet, to try it out. This upcoming two-hour workshop will take place on Sunday, November 30, at 11:00 AM Central Time and is open to everyone—members and non-members alike. It's designed for both beginners and advanced students. These are gentle movements suitable for all fitness levels and can be practiced from a chair. Even if you've never done it before, you'll be able to follow along during the group session. While the movements are easy to learn, there are many nuances and details to practice as you continue, and this deepening work is what makes Eight Brocades a foundation for Internal Alchemy. If you can't make it live, we'll send the replay out afterwards. If You’re New to the Practice: If you'd like to familiarize yourself with Eight Brocades beforehand, you can find simplified guidance and follow-along videos in the membership practice area. (If you aren't a member yet, you can learn more about membership here.) That said, no preparation required—you're welcome to join us live and get acquainted with the practice through the workshop itself. If You'd Like to Go Deeper: Whether you’d like to prepare for the review session or continue your practice afterwards, we're offering the Five-Week Eight Brocades Program at a special price of $200 (regularly $300) for a limited time. This comprehensive course guides you through the practice in detail, so that you can use it to the greatest effect—whether that's to support your health, clarity, and tranquility or to prepare for Internal Alchemy. Learn more about the program here. Sunday, November 30, Zoom Meeting Info, 11am Central TimeMeeting ID: 858 6291 5477Passcode: 347499 --- One tap mobile +13052241968,,85862915477#,,,,*347499# US +13092053325,,85862915477#,,,,*347499# US Join instructionshttps://us02web.zoom.us/meetings/85862915477/invitations?signature=mw2VQN-AgNNXJ7RKQD-QWpdMUektuvVOJ4GptkNCGQw

Because the coronavirus epidemic that originated in Wuhan continues to spread, I wish to share a simple immunity-promoting technique with members and visitors here. Coincidentally, I learned this incredibly simple and easy method from a student of Andrew Nugent Head while visiting Hubei province, the origin of the current coronavirus epidemic, in 2016. Andrew Nugent Head learned it from Dr. Xie Peiqi (解佩啓), a master of Yin style baguazhang. The Yin bagua practitioners were in close contact with Forbidden City doctors during the late Qing dynasty, and a great many wonderful medical and health promoting techniques were absorbed into their teachings. This is one of them, and it is something that apparently Dr. Xie would make some new baguazhang students do for an hour a day before training anything else. Andrew Nugent Head said he sometimes used to do it for two hours a day. The fellow who taught it to me practiced it while living in a very polluted Chinese city with bitterly cold winters. He and his wife did this method for an hour each morning and neither of them caught a single cold in two years. After learning this method 3.5 years ago I have not gotten a single cold or fallen ill in any other way. I do not think you need to do it an hour every day to get results, and in fact I almost never do it any more. After doing it for 20-40 minutes a day most days of the week for about two to three months, I could feel that my body had reaped the effects of this method, and I was able to feel that I no longer needed do it with regularity. I now only occasionally use it if I feel that I have been affected by pernicious wind-cold qi and need to, in the words of Chinese medicine, "clear the exterior." I would estimate I have done it only three of four times in the last year. Here is how to do it: 1. Stand with approximately feet shoulder width apart in a stance that you find comfortable. Relax your body. Your knees should be straight but relaxed. This is not a horse stance, going low will not help. 2. "As though" there were a ping-pong ball inside of your belly button bouncing constantly up and down at a fast pace and guiding the shaking of the rest of your body at its pace, shake your whole body. I say "as though" because this is not a visualization; the ping-pong ball image is just a suggestion to the body. Do not think of this as "filling the dantian with qi" or anything like that; do not strive to imagine a clear image of a ball. It's just a feeling. You can also think of shaking a big sack of rice to get the grains to settle. The most important thing is relaxing and letting yourself get a chance to know what feels right. 3. If you wish and your environment permits, after you have done this for 20 or more minutes, you can let out a few loud "ha" sounds emanating from your lower abdomen. Three to five is of these sufficient; do not do more than that. 4. Close practice as you please. Best to stand in stillness for some time after you stop moving, until your body feels settled and normal. Then go about your day. Important notes: -If you have time, I recommend doing this 30-40 minutes per day when you begin learning. This will give you enough time to get accustomed to the method and get the desired result. What is the desired effect? After about 20 or 30 or 40 minutes you will clearly feel your whole body has become relatively "open and unobstructed" (通). This is an unmistakable sensation. For me it feels like a shock wave that emanates from my lower abdomen region and then hits the entire surface of my body at once; making the "ha" sound with your belly after 20 minutes can help to trigger such a reaction, but the sound is not necessary. When you shake unto the point of "open and unobstructed" you will feel subtly blissful and get a sense of "that's good, I'm finished now." Important: For the purposes of strengthening the immune system against external pathogenic wind-cold qi (and "breaking" pathogenic qi if you have already succumbed to a small amount of it but are not yet sick with a cold or worse), it is crucial that the wave of "opening" reaches the exterior of the body. This will happen naturally, though, and you must not try to force or guide it. -Your shaking frequency can and will naturally adjust as you practice. That's great, let it happen. It's vigor and up-down range may also naturally change, also great. However: do not sway left and right. Do not wobble or roll your head. Your body and head should basically stay upright, and your posture should be pretty straight. There should be no twisting or spontaneous movements except for small, subtle ones. This is not zifagong and if you trigger zifagong you will get different results. -If parts of your body feel sore during the shaking, try to let them naturally "connect" to the origin of the shaking in your lower abdomen. Feel the connection and observe it. Do not force anything. -Always keep your feet entirely flat on the floor. No jumping, tiptoes, no spontaneous qigong. You need to keep rooted. -Again, try to do 30 to 40 minutes the first many times until you are totally clear about what the "open and unobstructed" feeling entails. Once you understand this feeling, you can just stop when you get that, which might only take you 15 or 20 minutes. -This method is especially good to do if you feel you were exposed to wind-cold and you have the sort of feeling that you get right before you succumb to a flu or cold. If you use this method at this moment, you have a high chance of preventing the onset of a full-blown cold. Unfortunately, if you already have a full-blown cold, I have no idea whether or not this method will help at all (again, I haven't gotten one cold since learning this). -Going overboard past the feeling of "open and unobstructed" resulted in dry stool for me. No need to do this to excess. I think I saw a video where Andrew Nugent Head said that old men in the parks in Beijing in his day would do this until they got "that feeling" and then they'd stop and as, "ah, great, 'open and unobstructed,'" and then start training other things. -Never do this method right before lying down to sleep or rest. Only do it when you will remain upright and reasonably active afterwards. This is because doing this method stirs up a lot of "gunk" in the body, which then needs to naturally mobilize to the places the body will put it to help it leave the body (remember, for example, that lymph fluid only moves if your body moves, and cartilage only gets nourished and cleaned by intercellular fluid if you move). My friend said he once ignored this warning and did this for an hour one morning before deciding to go back to bed. He got back up an hour later feeling awful. -A very influential qigong master in China in the 80s and 90s included this method in his foundation practices required for all beginners. His idea about why it is so useful is very interesting, so I'll share it here. He pointed out that if you put iron filings on a flat surface and then cause that surface to vibrate at a steady rate, the iron filings will spontaneously organize into regulated patterns. He theorized that the various qi, electrical, and magnetic fields of the human body react in a similar way to shaking/vibrating. In other words, doing this practice takes a chaotic, disturbed "pattern" of qi and then "reorganizes" it. This, he postulated, makes it much easier for the body's natural defenses to operate, and has the effect of strengthening the factors that taken together are what Chinese medicine calls "defensive qi" (衛氣/weiqi). Given that I have not succumbed to wind-cold in several years and this method protected my friends in a very polluted and densely populated city in the same way, I think there is a lot of wisdom in this statement, even if it is just a hypothesis. If anybody has any practical questions please let me know and I will try to answer. Best if you try it a few times and then ask questions if any arise. Let us avoid theoretical and speculative discussion if possible, in order to keep this thread simple and accessible for people hoping to improve their immune systems. 祝 身體健康

No, it isn't easy. I agree with that. To be honest altough I'm aware that language is a living thing and evolves and surely can't be locked I am like you very conservative with it but just got tired of trying to win that war.

Please read the question carefully. This is a pure study of the hexagram before the application of divination. The first step is to understand the fundamental concept of some basic hexagrams. Please keep in mind that the invention of Yijing was not intended for the purpose of divination.

Well, if you try to save others, you might realize they don't want to be saved. Not without a long list of impossible pre conditions they require to be met. So in a sense, better to focus on thyself. I never gave up on anyone. But many appear to have given up on themselves.