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I've told this story elsewhere here, I am sure, but I'll post it again. My Taiji master, an acupuncturist, asked me to fill in to his first day of Taiji class at a TCM school. So I first engaged in conversation to ask their motivation and desires and future goals, etc. But the telling part was most of them just finished the Qigong 'requirement' but most said they felt no energy and hopped around like animals and don't see WTF it was all about. I asked them if there was a large tree outside and they said a few. So I said we would go 'hug a tree' to understand. There were about 10 of us and we circled the tree. I told them to breath a few times slowly and deep... like their mind was not there except their heart knew the universe was there... and then asked them to put their hands upwards and continue the slow breathing in the way I said... and said, feel the tree... note the feeling. We did that for about 5-10 seconds and then stepped 3 feet to the right. We repeated till everyone had gone around the tree. I asked them. What part of the tree most talked to them. 100% of them said the same spot. And they described their palms as flowing with energy...

Okay but make sure you don't sacrifice enjoyment for discipline... The state of mind you do your practices with is significant, because they will amplify whatever 'input' you bring to them. If you do your practices in a calm and enjoying mood, then the result will be most agreeable to you. If you do them as a performer or in a rushed way, then the result will be more of that energy. Wanting "provable results" can come from the performer's perspective. It can lead to doing practices with expectation and attaching to outcomes. Your Qi will start to float. Spirit is the beginner's mind, it doesn't need tight control or validation along the way, it needs you to repeatedly offer your innocent mind and trust to whatever you are doing, ideally something greater than yourself. Can you reconcile the too ? Use your mind to find efficiencies, I think that's good. But when your practices are set-up, allow and don't perform. When the practice is done, forget the outcome. Forgive yourself for wanting to attach to outcomes. Don't judge yourself for not living up to your expectations. If you can practice like that, you will slowly harmonize your three entities of body, mind and spirit. Softening the mind is a good first step in this regard. This includes softening your perspectives to become more curious and allowing. It includes trading hard thoughts for gentle thoughts. Soft thoughts is like when you take a step back and see everything in your experience as a day-dream. Thoughts come in as a breeze and you don't apply strong force or direction to them. Remember that when you hold on to your practices too tightly, this tightness will reflect in your energetic body. Hope it helps

Just expanding on Dawei's question to you.... When you view everything in your life or practices as an equation to solve, like a math problem, that's what we call "hard thoughts" in my tradition. When you take a step back, sigh, decide to just go with the flow, and remedy all your doubt, that's "opening the heart". Practically, this is an 18 inch journey from your head to the heart. Where are you right now ? Which direction do you want to go ? Personally, I wouldn't say that only classical Taoism is safe, or efficient. I'm also not sure if I would equate Damo with classical Taoism. It's common knowledge that he pieced his system from various, sometimes opposing lineages. He is also quite candid about it. We exchanged about this subject once or twice together, I remember he said something about the body energetics or technologies being the most important things to him, because they are the fruit of the traditions. And the outer coating wasn't that important as long as the body technologies worked or something like that. I'm certainly not criticizing him or his approach, he's a good guy and very friendly, just saying that what Welkin is doing isn't all that different. But even if you don't follow Damo's system, can you really say that the classical Taoist "boot camp" approach is the safest ? Who is to say what is really safest ? What matters most is your naturalness, in my opinion, during and especially outside practice. When you are natural, you are safe. How to be natural then ? When you run, just run. When you meditate, just meditate like you were taught. Don't try to do something extra to be natural. Don't over-think things and start changing the way you run or meditate to make things more natural, especially from advice you receive in a forum, that's how you deviate. Use your routines as way to maintain mind/body integration during the day. Don't use them to get "high" or make yourself feel safe. If you want to reflect on what you are doing, view your routine from the perspective of naturalness and common sense. You don't need to have your practices be 'vetted' by different lineages. Each lineage will have a different recommendation or emphasis, and you will start to question everything. With so much information, you won't know how to run anymore, or even walk. When you decide to be eclectic with your routine, why force yourself to follow the perspective of a traditional and strenuous path ? When you want to be spiritual, why force yourself to follow a perspective that places spirituality at the very last rung of the ladder ? Why not be integrated now, mind/body and spirit, and do everything from this unity of being. You don't need to make this the reward of standing 8 hours a day if you don't want too. Can you quiet your mind and come back to the heart, while remaining subtly aware of the body ? This is a gift that was given to humanity, not just to classical Taoists. The truth is that your sincerity, common sense and subjective effort can take you far, even without a Teacher. This sincerity will start to call out for a Teacher and he will find you at the right time. Nothing you will have done before will be in vain, if it was done naturally. It was the impetus that drew the Master to you. And from your spirit's perspective, it doesn't matter how much of practice A or practice B you do.... what matters is "how' you do your practices, what kind of a person you are, and how peaceful and loving you are. Spirit really doesn't care about taking sides about practice and lineages. It doesn't ripen based on repetition of movement, strength, or power. Truthfully you can have all these things and never develop your soul in a lifetime. Just wanted to provide another perspective.... and good luck on whatever path you decide to take.

Hey! And I meant "Plum Ditch", not "Plum Valley" Yes, I've been up the mountain once and seen Nanyan Palace (I especially love the Dragon Incense - How on earth did they build that?!) Purple Heaven, Carefree Valley (with all the Monkeys) and Taizi Po. We only get Mondays off so I hope to go again next Monday to see Golden Palace and back to Nanyan again, because it was very cloudy and misty last week. I would like to see some more views if the weather will be clearer. Still, it was very cool looking around with all the clouds and mist. Life at Dragongate is nice with a good community. Training is tough though, my legs have struggled and I've even pulled a muscle in my left calf. 5am start with a 9pm finish, it isn't what I expected at all. BUT, I should have learnt all of the Taiji 32 Form before I have left and a qigong sequence. Being here, in answer to the OP, no, I don't think being a Taoist is for the well off. In fact, my stay here is very cheap and I am fed 3 meals a day. I believe the school (and all others in Wudangshan) have all lost popularity over the years, yet they make do with what they have. They look after about 20 kids here, like a boarding school, and they have some incredible skills. It's difficult to keep up with their energy but they are keeping me going. They're fantastic people, and very courteous

刑 has some overlap to law 法 (fa), which 'standard' makes sense. And maybe we need to see 形 (xing) in a different light too.

In one of my older articles, I had discussed the topic of the four levels/categories of knowledge. https://www.medhajournal.com/close-encounters-of-the-fourth-kind/ and also presented a model that maps Zen and Advaita Vedanta alonf those lines. https://www.medhajournal.com/consciousness-according-to-zen-buddhism-and-how-it-relates-to-advaita-vedanta/ Also there was an associated TDB post around the topic — The four levels of knowledge, map to the four levels in which awareness seems to exist (waking/dreaming/deep sleep and Turiya). They also map to the “four bodies” ie physical, subtle, causal and nondual. The following should apply for spiritual as well as creative works — I posit that written words (or typed for that matter) fall under the category of knowledge that maps to the subtle body. In other words, the written word rises from the astral plane. In my experience I found that “reading” seems to work at the astral level as well. These are “closer” to nondual silence than the spoken words are. That is the reason why ideas as presented in books etc take on a far more powerful force than when spoken. There are exceptions of course. For instance in ancient times, the words were spoken words, but empowered by masters who operated from the causal and/or nondual levels. Just some preliminary thoughts. Please avoid tangential ramblings in your responses.

Hello, I have been trying during my mid-twenties to my almost fourties (I'll be 38 next week!) some eastern / shamanic practices. From all insight gained, I am in the process of doing some changes in my life right now as well as in the process of finding a way for deepening. I have had some experiences I wish to share with you in order to put them in a context, but this I suppose should go in another forum, General Discussion I guess. Thanks for this space seito

Cross traditions . Do ju-jitsu ? Go and do some boxing, that sort of stuff. In the park by the river - a great spot for training - where I have been doing some most Saturdays for about the last 8 years, now other people are venturing out to do it too ... Yay! We joined in with a guy that was practising a Chinese style long staff form and we compared our long staff forms with his. The aikido instructor usually turns up . My 'instructor' was not coming ( he will not cross train, point blank, nope, wont do it. And it shows ! ... if you know what I mean ). Some of the best sword workshops I ever went to, the guy giving them ( Dave Brown, now passed on unfortunately ) constantly cross trained and put his hand and sword up against all other types, schools and traditions ... man was he good! And it was because of that. You know what Bruce said about that .. about getting rid of things and adopting things .....

Some kind of crucifix conga line?

In no-time no-space - Awareness can be in varying degrees of time and space - it is no longer one or the other. Patience and Compassion are not taught - in the receding of resistance this unfolds. Grace will emerge as willfulness no longer deflects it. The deep resonance of Mantra and Mandala - the Logos unfolds - the Gods come forth - intelligent Objectless emotion - Devotion. In no-time no-space Patience and Compassion are without constraint. In deep grace and devotion the expanse resonates through the subtle bodies of which there are many. Devotion is not too some thing or some one - it is residence of Presence in Creation - dancing in archetype - becoming archetype. Devotion may be localized and constricted and identified and personified - but underneath it is resonance with that far beyond the localizations. It is beyond beliefs. True Devotion settles within - in Grace it comes - unfolds. It finds abidance and gives comfort in the vast ever changing stillness. (Perhaps this was an example of tangential ramblings - it’s what the finger pecked out)

This is a curious state, which I share with you. My brain is pretty much shot now, but there is a wellspring of information that dwells within; and at the appropriate time the words just come out, unplanned - but always right on. It's not the 'egoic' me, it's the indweller.

Astral Projection IS a tool and technique, IT IS CONDITIONAL in nature. And ALL tools and techniques are merely permission slips to allow yourself to be more of all that it is that you truely are. And meditation is the most universal tool for that. You have to understand, that you ARE UNCONDITIONAL in your true and primary nature. Your true primary nature is non-physical primarily. This entire universe and your physical body, only a small portion of your greater non-physical consciousness is flowing through you here. So dreaming consciously is just one of way of allowing yourself to expand back into all that you are without needing to die. And allowing all of that of your true nature to flow more fully through you HERE IN YOUR PHYSICAL BEING. You had that experience of joy with the squirrell. And you have to understand this emotion is always gonna be your primary indication in your physical life here of wether or not you are fully allowing your full connection to your own greater non-physical consciousness to flow through you in the moment or not. Then it will be easy to simply meditate, untill you feel good, and then you can approach this subject of conscious dreaming, or ANY SUBJECT in your life, while being fully tapped into your greater non-physical consciousness, unconditional nature, of infinite intelligence, and simply have the best time of your life with conscious dreaming, or any subject you approach in full connection and allowed alignment to your own unconditional nature. You will have the impulses, of an aligned being, a blended being, one harmonized physical and non-physical blended together, indicated by bliss and joy or whatever you call those good feelings of blending with your own true unconditional nature. And with those impulses comes effortless realisation, always fully along the path of least resistance towards YOUR VERY OWN full blown realisation of achieving absolutely anything you can ever want. Wether conscious dreaming, or whatever. So just enjoy the journey. Cause again, you're eternal. If you seperate your physical being from "dream lala land" non-physical being. Then you are offering a contradictory thought. Because this entire universe IS THE DREAM from the non-physical point of view. You came here to enjoy this eternal dream. Now there are levels to it, so yes, there is a "dream" land where you can lay down the foundations of what you wanna experience in your physical life, more easily, effortlessly, effectively, more interdimensionally. But that's not gonna happen if you try to reach for it as an escape. Because you are in that dream right now. You are living the physical conditions of what your very own consciousness created in the dream world. You just don't remember it clearly, because you are offering energetic resistant / contradictory thought patterns which lessen your fully allowed connection to your own unconditional nature, which will naturally and effortlessly allow you integrate YOUR ENTIRE CONSCIOUSNESS ON ALL LEVELS physical and non-physical, in your here and now, indicated by the energy motional feeling of emotional positive good feeling emotions of joy bliss or whatever you wanna call it. Without that, you're simply thinking you're doing something which you're not actually doing. And that is termed "trying" So do you get it then, that you are dreaming right now? And how is your dreaming going for you? Well? How do you know? Are you being the true all that you are? Your unconditional nature is ever expanding aswell. You're always gonna become more. Your alignment is indicated by how you feel, and the better you feel, the greater the alignment with your own greater all that is. And that is called conscious dreaming. Being a conscious deliberate creator. Being in alignment with the dream itself. Allowing the essence which is the source of the dream itself, the creator of the dream itself, to flow FULLY THROUGH YOU. Which is indicated by your feelings of joy and bliss and freedom, and evermore inspiration, effortlessly guided along the path of least resistance towards the full blown realisation of whatever you want. So you need to exit this life in order to create a better life? No... A simple meditation will do. Because again, you are unconditional. You release thought, your unconditional nature fully flows back through you again. And you allow effortless and natural evolvement of your life which you came here to live, in utter freedom bliss and extacy and succes and empowerment, etc, etc. You just flow your unconditional nature towards whatever you want. But you don't do it for the conditions. You do it for the joy. Which is your primary indicator of your here and now alignment. So the emotion is the only conditional guidance you need of wether or not you are on your path of least resistance towards the full blown realisation and manifestation of all that you want evermore. Why? You do it for the joy of the journey. For the joy of being and expressing ALL OF YOUR unconditional nature fully through the conditional events of your life. But your unconditional nature will always be far and beyond greater than whatever this consciously created dream can or will ever be allowed to be. So there is 0 vulnerability and 100% conviction. And if you're feeling any vulnerability whatsoever, there is some re-aligning to do for you. And meditation is always the most universal tool for that. As it's the easiest, and most effective, universally. But the allowing is the point. Not the tool or technique which is just a permission slip to allow yourself to allow your own unconditional nature to flow more fully through you, in whatever conditional life you may be experiencing yourself as to be in any given moment in time. And your imagination is always the path of least resistance for you to develop your own tool and technique that is most in alignment with your own believe systems so as to allow allong the path of least resistance the development of a tool or technique to use as a permission slip for yourself that works best for yourself, as your imagination is unique to you, to guide you back along the path of least resistance towards your very own allowing of yourself to awaken back fully into ALL that you are, as your true unconditional nature, is allowed to flow more fully here and now through your physical being and this life you experience right here and now. And you don't need to die to do that. Whatever feels better is the path of least resistance. And often, meditation is simply the best tool or technique, most universal, effective, practical, easy, etc. But once you flow all of that you truely are fully through you, yeah then you wanna live, and do all the things you came here to do. Wether conscious dreaming, astral projection, or whatever. You're free to explore absolutely any all aspects of creations, whatsoever, for the sole purpose of your very own personal satisfaction evermore.

This brought to mind passages from DDJ that reference the newborn child. Not only a reference to unspoiled innocence but also reference to state of the newborn heart-mind. From DDJ 10 ... In embracing the One with your soul, Can you never forsake the Tao? In controlling your vital force to achieve gentleness, Can you become like the new-born child? I like the notion of this relating to the common people. It suggests there is a level that is attainable by all through maintaining this state of natural calmness. So, standard in the sense of naturally attainable by all rather than something imposed. Beginning to see the Neiye a little bit differently.

NY... I assume you mean New York people

First learned Tree-gong form Michael Lomax and it's still one of my favorite practices. There are many ways of working with trees. The basic method is that you approach the tree with respect and ask permission to cultivate with them. Then you get into your form.....be it Wu Chi Posture, Holding the Ball or simply LDT Meditation. All of these are valid IMO. The whole point is to allow a cycle of energy to form between both parties so that a mutual exchange will occur. You don't need to do this yourself....the Tree will facilitate the transaction as Freeform mentioned.

Just connect to the tree. You don’t actually absorb energy from the tree (if anything it usually ‘absorbs’ energy ‘from’ you)... just harmonise with the quality of the tree... It will help to ‘tune’ your own energy to a certain quality. Different trees will have different qualities. You generally can’t go wrong with a nice straight pine tree. Some individual trees won’t like you and ‘push’ you away 😄

Hey Have any of you read the book the kybalion? It is a book on hermetic philosophy, and I think it is a good book. But I don't think there are occult teachings within, just general philosophy. It is a good book anyway

Hey all , just wondering if anyone here stills practices s-m ? seemed to be a lot of people a few years back but not so much now ? if so , how has the system progressed for you ?

Section 2: The nature of the heart Eno: The form of the heart [xin] is Spontaneously full and replete, Spontaneously born and complete. It loses this form through care and joy, pleasure and anger, desire and profit-seeking. If are able to rid itself of care and joy, pleasure and anger, desire and profit-seeking, the heart [xin] returns to completion. The natural feelings of the heart [xin] cleave to rest and calm; Don’t trouble them, don’t derange them, and harmony will spontaneously be perfect. So gleaming! As though just beside. So dim! As though ungraspable. So remote! As though exhausting the far limit [Wuji]. Its basis is near at hand; daily we draw its force of virtue [De]. Linnell: 凡 心 之 形 Always : the form of the heart/mind [xin] is 自 充 自 盈 Naturally full, naturally overflowing, 自 生 自 成 Naturally born, naturally complete. 其 所 以 失 之 The reason that you lose it 必 以 憂 樂 喜 怒 欲 利 Is certainly due to worries and happiness, love and anger, desire for profit. 能 去 憂 樂 喜 怒 欲 利 If you can leave behind worries and happiness, love and anger, desire for profit, 心 乃 反 濟 Your heart/mind [xin] then returns [to its original nature] successfully. 彼 心 之 情 The nature of that heart/mind [xin] 利 安 以 寧 Benefits from calmness and the tranquility that comes from it. 勿 煩 勿 亂 Do not be troubled, do not be confused, 和 乃 自 成 And harmony is then naturally achieved. 晢 晢 乎 Is it very bright? 如 在 於 側 As though located right by your side. 忽 忽 乎 Is it very easy to overlook? 如 將 不 得 As though it will never be attained. 渺 渺 乎 Is it very remote and indistinct? 如 窮 無 極 As though utterly without boundaries [Wuji]. 此 稽 不 遠 To examine this, you need not go far : 日 用 其 德 You use De daily. Roth: -- Section 3 -- 1. All the forms of the mind [xin] 2. Are naturally infused and filled with it [the vital essence], 3. Are naturally generated and developed [because of] it. 4. It is lost 5. Inevitably because of sorrow, happiness, joy, anger, desire, and profit-seeking. 6. If you are able to cast off sorrow, happiness, joy, anger, desire and profit-seeking, 7. Your mind [xin] will just revert to equanimity. 8. The true condition of the mind [xin] 9. Is that it finds calmness beneficial and, by it, attains repose. 10. Do not disturb it, do not disrupt it 11. And harmony will naturally develop. -- Section 4 -- 1. Clear! as though right by your side. 2. Vague! as though it will not be attained. 3. Indescribable! as though beyond the limitless [wuji]. 4. The test of this is not far off: 5. Daily we make use of its inner power [De]. Shazi Daoren: -- Section 3 -- All forms of the Heart [xin] are naturally infused, naturally filled, naturally generated, naturally completed. They can become lost, out of place Due to sorrow, happiness, joy, anger, desire, or profit-seeking. If you are able to cast off sorrow, happiness, joy, anger, desire and profit-seeking, your Heart [xin] will return to its natural flow. The natural emotion of the Heart [xin] is beneficial calmness and tranquility. Do not vex it, do not disturb it, and harmony will naturally develop. -- Section 4 -- Clear! As though right by your side. Vague! As though it will not be attained. Indescribable! As though beyond the limitless. The proof of this is not far off [Wuji]: daily we make use of its inner power [De] Yueya: -- Section 3 -- All the forms of the heart-mind [xin] Are naturally replete and nourished by it [vital essence], Are naturally generated and grow to completion [because of] it. It is lost because of sorrow, happiness, joy, anger, and desire for profit. If you can cast off sorrow, happiness, joy, anger, and desire for profit, Your heart-mind [xin] will return to equanimity. The disposition of such a heart-mind [xin] Is that it benefits from calmness to attain repose. Do not disturb it; do not disrupt it Then harmony will naturally develop. -- Section 4 -- Clear! as though right by your side; Vague! as though it will not be attained; Indiscernible! as though beyond the limitless [Wuji] The investigation of this is not remote – Daily we make use of its inner power [De] Reid: 23 凡心之刑, Invariably, the heart-mind’s decisions {4} 24 自充自盈, Naturally occupy it, naturally fill it. 25 自生自成。 They spontaneously arise, and spontaneously ripen. 26 其所以失之, They can become wayward 27 必以憂樂喜怒欲利。 As a result of sorrow, pleasure, euphoria,{5} anger, desire, and avarice. 28 能去憂樂喜怒欲利, If you can abandon sorrow, pleasure, euphoria, anger, desire, and avarice, 29 心乃反濟。 The heart will return back to the shore (of calm and stability) {6} 30 彼心之情, It is the nature of the heart and mind 31 利安以寧, To benefit from tranquility and relaxation. 32 勿煩勿亂, Do not agitate it, do not disturb it, 33 和乃自成。 And harmony will naturally perfect it. 34 折折乎如在於側, At rest! {7} As though right at your side; 35 忽忽乎如將不得, Fleeting! Trying to snatch it, it is not obtained; 36 渺渺乎如窮無極。 Vast and Distant! It is void of all limits. 37 此稽不 遠, This investigation does not take place far off 38 日用其德。 But in the daily application of this Virtue. {4} “Xing 刑 punishment/decision” is often replaced here with “xing 形 forms” in accordance with line 103 of the Nei Ye, believing 刑 to be the typo. However, 刑 appears more consistently in related lines of the Nei Ye and Xin Shu Xia. See also, line 115-120 of the Xin Shu Xia. It could be further argued that NY103 should be changed to “xing 刑 decision” in light of this consistency and the Legalist environment in which these texts appear, where it would seem natural to impute the concept of regulations when discussing mental faculties. See Introduction: Will, Intention and Thought. {5} I have translated xi (喜) as euporia, following the lead of Elisa Rossi in “Shen: Psycho-Emotional Aspects of Chinese Medicine (2002).” I have also translated le (樂) as pleasure based on Rossi’s suggestion that the “joy” of this character is a harmonious and peaceful one related to rituals and ceremonies (the same character also means music). {6} “濟 aid; ferry across” is often replaced with “齊 evenness” by removing the radical for water {7} Zhe Zhe 折折 (at rest) is usually replaced here with zhe zhe 晢晢, meaning “bright.” The meaning of 折折, and thereby also the subsequent line (where 忽忽 fleeting/quick is usually translated as “vague,” also meaning “overlooked,” to contrast with “bright”), is revealed when 折折 is understood as “leisurely” through the following example in the Liji, Tan Gong I: 吉事，欲其折折爾... 吉事雖止，不怠... 鼎鼎爾則小人 “It is desirable that festive affairs be carried out in a leisurely way... Though festive affairs may be delayed, they should not be transacted negligently… too much ease shows a small man” (trans. Legge).

Well, I dont set the rules. As I said, numerous studies have shown one's intuition works best in areas one has the most experience in. To understand this, one has to know what intuition actually is and how it works . A nurse may have a brilliant intuitive diagnosis of a condition that stumps a team of doctors .... but would anyone listen to the intuitive medical advice of the cleaner that was cleaning the patient's floor ? If one thinks it through and eliminates fantasies about intuition, its rather common sense Now to the second part, about knowing who to trust without using intuition ( and I am not advocating NOT using it , just ... well, what I already wrote all that . ) That is rather common sense too . Surely you yourself have some ways of knowing who to trust for help guidance and assistance as well as your intuition ?

" Hey guys! What's this button for ? "

:giggling: This just came up on my YouTube feed:

I get it quite often when I do a reading so I was looking for a more general application of it, but I will check to see what the latest one is.

Umm ... Duuhhh .. what is cross training?

It's your unconditional being. Your degrees of alignment with it, determines the primary manifestation of degrees of emotion, energy in motion. And the secondary manifestations? Well... They are all and everything else, and they are secondary. Including the everlasting flow of relentless inspiration and evermore allowed flow of evermore allowed higher knowledge, OR NOT. Simply in the moment, OR NOT. And the most universal, effective, practical and easy tool or technique or permission slip, to align with your own unconditional nature is meditation. This is literally the greatest text I've ever written. You've now graduated. Congratulations.

This sounds right on to me. Not the most intrepid of Daoist adventurers, I´m happy to allow much of the unseen to remain invisible. Or, at the very least, to open my eyes very, very slowly. That stuff is no joke.

Do you feel disproportionately powerful or disproportionately despondent or weak?

another reason for not only brexit, but perhaps something a little more https://larouchepac.com/20190110/part-i-british-role-coup-against-president-now-exposed-will-you-act-now-save-nation

"In the night, a rodent scratches and digs holes. It's as if it sees gold very close by and keeps digging, deeper and deeper. But as soon as the sun rises, it keeps quiet!"

This is spot on advice. What Steve mentioned is also important. What you’re ‘doing’ in these arts is setting up conditions or qualities in yourself... These conditions then give rise to the ‘fruit’ of the practice. Each lineage will have its own roadmap of inner conditions... each teacher will have their own methods of generating these conditions. All these practices are tools to generate qualities/conditions. Only a teacher that has achieved these conditions and received the fruit will be able to see if you have the qualities fully created or not. So of course Damo has a mixture of practices. My very traditional teachers do too... as well as other ‘skilful means’ to help you embody the correct qualities. A Buddhist line I’ve trained in achieved the transformation of the ‘inner body’ that I described through a completely different means - they used a combination alchemical pills and full mental absorption into the tissues for 12hrs a day - instead of qigong. From the top of a mountain you can see new approaches to the top. From the bottom you best stay on the path you’re being shown or you’ll die. You can’t really innovate or make anything more efficient as a student because you don’t know what’s ahead of you or even what you’re aiming for... In my experience high level teachers tend to turn away prospective students that are oriented this way. For them it just spells trouble. So just relax. Take one thing at a time. Humour, irreverence and humility are major qualities to embody for Daoist practice. Training will be difficult and uncomfortable. Uncomfortable often means psychologically uncomfortable too. Your ideas about yourself will be challenged. At that stage you can choose ‘no I’m right, I know what I’m doing’ or remember humility, humour and irreverence for yourself... Meaning you either step off the path or you make an internal change and clear the hurdle and proceed on the path.

Agreed @escott. I've had my rough share of weightlifitng injuries and experiences. I am in love with fitness all together, so no way i'd ever give up these things in my life. However, i've slightly changed my perspective of what progress is, and i've over the last couple of years have learned to tone down ego, and look at the subtleties of every movement. As in find the imperfections, make things harder in the subtleties. Went from doing 225+ bench for reps with explosion, to feeling every part of the movement, understanding the breathing, recruiting as the correct muscles, understanding body mechanics, etc. Which in turn i believe can build better quality muscle, reduce injury, and actually look stronger. And i believe heavy lifting can be used every so often, to test ones ability to focus and recruit muscles when stressed. So i will be experimenting of course. I really enjoy feeling healthy, mobile, flexible, "strong" in a different way. So i won't be sacrificing those comforts for looks, but i also won't be looking like Buddha as i have been looking recently lol. We'll see though. as mentioned by some. i don't want to neutralize certain practices to gain certain muscle look.

@welkin It sounds like you subscribe to the Dragon Door school of fitness. Good stuff, but you ask about safe Daoist methods. The worst injury I ever sustained in my life was doing snatches with a 1 pood kettlebell. That was 14 years ago and my back has never been the same since. Don't get me wrong, I love kettlebells. I still use them. I was using kettlebells before they were cool and the only place you could get them was from Pavel and Dragon Door. Weight training is awesome, don't let anyone discourage you from doing it. Study after study has proven it to be a superior, life extending form of exercise. Look at Pavel Tsatsouline, he is not a big man, but very strong. His methods are very much about building internal strength, too. I also tried Scott Sonnon clubbells. Didn't get into them too much, but I do like doing Turkish Get Ups with a club. Really gets the forearms burning. My favorite implement now is a sandbag. Check these out - https://www.repfitness.com/conditioning/strength-equipment/sand-bags/rep-sandbags-v1 Add in some dumbbells and a balance ball and you have everything you need. As for the other stuff... I am have dabbled in many things over the past 30+ years. Tried Kundalini Yoga - the Yogi Bhajan people weren't my peeps. Neither were the Qaballah or Hermetic folks. I found my home with Qigong. I now practice Zhineng Qigong. I also do Zhan Zhuang. Yesterday I just got the book 'The Mind Illuminated' so that I can add sitting meditation to my regimen. Too me it all fits together perfectly. It's OK to experiment. You've been given some good advice by other people here, too. I think the important thing is to find what you like then stick with it. For me the main thing has always been weight lifting. I've been doing it for 37 years (since I was 12). It changed me and is a big part of who I am today. It transformed me from a kid that always got picked on to being someone who could stand up to anyone. Today peoples' jaws drop when I tell them how old I am. They think I'm 15 years younger.

yeah - that's a cool Fourier vid. thanks. https://phys.org/news/2014-01-discovery-quantum-vibrations-microtubules-corroborates.html So I did correspond with this scientist - he is very nice. Anirban Bandyopadhyay 5:54 PM (4 hours ago) https://www.elsevier.com/about/press-releases/research-and-journals/discovery-of-quantum-vibrations-in-microtubules-inside-brain-neurons-corroborates-controversial-20-year-old-theory-of-consciousness

Thanks @Nungali, I have been looking for a cool name for what I have been calling my domain bubble. I Ching orical: 399. The One who Forms = Not kneel before the gods, acting is the way to victory. Take your destiny in your hands. “My way of forming my life is...” Proceed with strength and perseverance. The power is with you. Success.

A word of warning... make sure there are no fire ants colonizing around the tree. I once found a colony , against my plan

If you have developed your subtle senses, then you will be able to feel these things immediately. If you haven't....it's a bit more difficult and may take more time to feel the energy. Know that these techniques do work......people have been doing them for a long long long long time. Your not reinventing the wheel in any capacity. How to validate something is happening without subtle sensitivity? Trust your intuition and take notes on your experiences. Over time you'll collect data, experience shifts and your understanding will increase. Cultivation is a long term endeavor.....think decades.

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Yes, you are right, which is why i can't say too much, but something else is guiding me. I believe i do have a pure heart, and have a guardian. I have done bad things in my life and so have others. That doesn't mean they don't have pure hearts. Quick question about guides or guardians. How do we know it's not just a bad spirit trying to manipulate us, showing us things that benefit us, but then ultimately we're being used for their own evil plots? My intuition says otherwise. but based on knowledge and experience what would be indicators of good vs. no bueno.

On the other hand, it is true that just being out in nature in a pure place is very healing for the soul, but that is not tree chi kung.

In my experience the something somewhere that cannot be seen generally correlates to something hidden within yourself that your "subconscious" or "higher self" is prodding your conscious mind to recognize and/or remember. Best wishes.

Something else led me here. Too many details to get into it. Though i wouldn't say i'm necessarily on any path. I'm just trying to understand things, and this seems to be a purposeful place to explore. I find several commonalities with my ideas. These are great questions. I don't have anything against teachers. But I always hated being taught by someone else because i feel like it puts you in a box. And also, my whole life i've liked experimenting on my own, because i think that's where infinite intelligence comes in and one can create new advances. But i do realize the risks, hence this thread. Edit: i'm a hermit currently. I don't see this as bad. I am perhaps more at peace than i have been in a long time. But now i need to start acting upon my life, and do what i know i can do. So gonna build myself up, and then show my face again.

here the keyword is 形 which is an external form, but in ctext it is 刑 (both xing, interchangable) which is normally punishment, but in this case it has a rarer meaning of a (moral) standard. In verse 1 it was jing animating the world, in verse 2 it is xing providing a moral compass. Translators misunderstand this verse as an instruction to reach a personal harmony (your heart), but it is the moral standard of the nation meant here.

How to absorb energy from trees ;

You could start with the pore breathing practice, this is how WLP starts with new students. The chapter to begin with is 'Attracting Immortality' which has 12 methods. It starts from the very basics and unfolds into whatever depth you can manage.

always the better option! then you can just hand wave away garbage like what disney did with star wars and say "that's not canon," and completely ignore it (7 was so bad that I refused to watch 8, and reaffirmed this when half my friends said they left the theater while the movie was still going....niiiiiiiiiiine, is right out!)

Do you actually have a volunteer that finds you all the movies you want to see?

in some ways its all his fault. He can 'warg' into other people and animals, take them over. Thus he could potentially have 'warged' in Danerys (or her Dragon) and kept her from murdering 10,000s. With great power comes great blame. Heck if he knew as much as Varys he could have caused some sort of intervention, even along the lines of simply telling Jon to have sex with her, thus saving a city and keeping her off Arya's death list.

I'm finding that out. My editor is now telling me the end of the month. His mom is coming to visit from Australia and his business partner just returned from Peru. Just a heads up to Welkin and others who are waiting.