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I miss him also. The "messy" time was extraordinarily valuable for anyone willing to see. We have the ability to convince ourselves, and others, that we are progressing on the path. The conceptual mind is expert at convincing us that we "understand." Then something happens that smacks us in the face and shows us a glimpse of some ugly truth. Perhaps we are not quite as far along the path as we have come to believe and it can be painful and difficult to accept. That is precisely our opportunity to make some real and meaningful progress. I hope TI did just that and I send him my love, support, and best wishes.

Agreed. I have no idea what happens to someone after a death from suicide. Perhaps it is as terrible as some here have portrayed but I hope not. How cruel that someone should suffer so in this life only to suffer to an even greater degree in the next. My dad committed suicide and I always wonder why he didn´t go to New Zealand instead. He used to talk about going to New Zealand and raising sheep, and he could have done it too, why not. I hope he´s not burning in some terrible hell realm. That wouldn´t seem fair. We didn´t get along very well when I was a kid and I could tell lots of bad stories about him -- and yet he was also a good person. He was a person who did the best he knew how under difficult circumstances. My dad and others like him, people dealing with great emotional pain, deserve our compassion not our condemnation.

If you do want to experiment with living again, one of the best things you can do is volunteer to help others. Whether it’s volunteering at a shelter, a needle exchange or a soup kitchen - it doesn’t matter. Its pointless to explain why this has an almost immediate effect in bringing vibrancy back to life. You just have to try. Find the closest volunteering opportunity near you and give them a call.

Supreme ultimate boxing or Tai Chi Chuan is a martial art. Energy work or Chi Gung is the ammunition. Tai chi chuan is how to fire the weapon. Both should be practiced together. Entry level is chi gung advanced level is Tai Chi Chaun or other internal martial arts. All of the same energetics, moving with proper body mechanics, removing the stinky chi of post heaven energy are practiced and applied with chi gung and Tai Chi. Chi Gung are short sets or single semi static postures Beginners do well with chi gung to get the right muscle memory and way of proper moving. Repetition is used to train the subconscious mind so we do not need to think about the movements then we get to the energetic level. Once we reach this level performing one movement or a short set is no longer sufficient to advance to higher levels of intuitive knowledge of chi and how to direct it.

This is an article I wrote many years ago (11) during my early days of meditation. https://www.medhajournal.com/the-i-of-the-storm/ I strongly recommend for anyone who is struggling currently to persevere and do more studying of nondual texts, along with their regular meditation practice. It might help you resolve these sort of “issues” sooner.

I just liked putting these two verses (in blue) from the New Testament side by side: "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” - John 20:23 It's interesting to consider that we might have an actual effect on liberating a person, versus charging them with what they've done wrong...perhaps especially if we've reached a certain level of spiritual development, or grace. These days, it seems for me, the number of people doing things which are hard to forgive has increased. Or maybe I just need to practice more loving-kindness and compassion every day. "For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you." - Matthew 7:2 When we charge them with their wrongdoings, with the real effect it has on them receiving punishment from heaven...we are liable to be held to our same standard. No hypocrites!

The problem with the question here is that it does not look at the depth of the options you have. Asking for "qigong or tai chi" is silly because one, what kind of Tai Chi instructors do you have around you? What is your goal--health or martial skills? Are the instructors good or just parks and recreation level for health? With qigong, what systems do you have access to now? There's a huge difference between a free YouTube video of someone doing Eight Brocades versus learning from Terry Dunn his Flying Phoenix on DVD, a local class that teaches some basics, or learning something grand like Spontaneous Five Animals from John Dolic. If you have bad Tai Chi teachers around you, but you have a couple of good online qigong options, the answer to me is go with quality, and the reverse is true as well. Too broad a question; needs more details on things to consider, beginning with some of what I have mentioned above.

I read Hancock's 'America Before' which was quite a good read. It is part ancient history, part travelogue, part rather wild theorising. What is clear is that there are anomalies in the current understanding to history of the Americas/ human history in general which need to be explained. And when they are explained the standard model of human history will probably need a major reevaluation. Things that seem clear to me at any rate so far from reading what is available: 1. Human (and def. hominid) history is a lot older than previously thought. 2. Ancient humans far from being ignorant savages were capable of sophisticated thought, trade, stone working and some form of social organisation. 3. More advanced stone working techniques seem to be universal at earlier times - followed by decline into historical period. 4. The similarities of the stone working across the world may suggest very early sea-going maritime culture. 5. The evidence for a Younger Dryas catastrophe (comet impact) seems to be growing and becoming more certain. 6. There are a number of anomalies in human history which need to be explained - e.g. Australasian DNA in Amazon tribes. 7. American history seems particularly obscured - possibly as result of catastrophic devastation. As per Atlantis as an 'advanced' civilisation - apart from tubular drills, circular saws and some kind of liquid polishing techniques in ancient stones, where is the evidence for advanced technology?

I’m sure about the fact that the practice of YJJ creates yang Qi to a high enough level to create ‘electric-like’ effects. I’ve met many practitioners able to project Yang Qi (as ‘electric’ shocks) just as Peng is reported to do - and I’ve built this sort of Yang Qi in my own body through the application of YJJ principles (though I haven’t learned to project). I don’t know what ‘small death’ means, but that seems to be more of a timing thing than a cause and effect thing. Circus tricks - YJJ and Brain and Marrow Washing (BMW) are designed to prepare one for the extremes of deep meditation... These are preparatory arts for spiritual work, and they go very deep indeed... this electric shock emission is just one side effect... strength, health, vitality and the building of extreme amounts of Qi is also a bunch of side effects - but all necessary for later work on the spiritual level. The YJJ And BMW are thought to be Buddhist in origin, but they’ve clearly been readily adopted by Daoists. YJJ forms the backbone of most classical Qi Gong and Nei Gong systems (rarely admitted)... and the BMW forms much of the later level Nei Gong and Alchemical work. The YJJ basically starts with a way of transitioning away from using the major muscles as the primary ‘engine’ of movement - and instead moving to using the ‘tendons and sinews’... or rather several different layers of fascia-like tissue as well as strands of ‘deep muscle’... These tissues are able to conduct Qi (and later actually build Qi) while the majors muscles cannot. This work takes a long time... many years. It’s very uncomfortable, painful and difficult. It’s literally like bodybuilding - but building something very different to the muscles. You must have the correct methods otherwise it’s just stretching and breathing Once the YJJ body (or Qigong body as I normally call it) is built, your channels are largely clear (and in many cases fused together) - your muscles are soft and relaxed, but there’s this thick steel cable-like structure of connective tissue around the bone. Steel wrapped in cotton The body looks vibrant, slightly ‘expanded’ like a baby’s (Peng in taiji) and becomes very strong (so yes taking blows and feats of strength are possible - although most of the circus acts just build these things directly (eg. calluses and ordinary muscle strength) - not through YJJ) BMW goes further and works with the bones and marrow (the brain was considered marrow) and clears blockages and then builds further Qi generation engine and storage. This moves onto the alchemical work of ‘burning the channels’ - which burns away Karmic roots in the channels.

I'm thinking of starting 3 more threads on Atlantis. I like the affect they have on Nuns.

I´m taking the course (starting today!) so I guess I´ll find out. Robert Peng says that what differentiates his form from others shown on Youtube is an emphasis on specific breathing methods. I don´t know all of the breathing (it´s the topic of week one) but part of it is reverse abdominal breathing. From reading posts in his forum, I gather there are some visualizations connected with the different organs/meridians. Personally, I´m not convinced such visualizations are always a bad thing. The "inner smile" as taught by Michael Winn involves imagining smiling energy and it seems inocuous enough. I do appreciate your point of view however: a few weeks ago you explained, quite convincingly, why it doesn´t work to imagine qi sinking. Thanks for that. I´m thinking of keeping a journal of my experience of the course in my PPD in case any other Bums might be interested in the practice.

... and here I was ( after just reading the title of this thread ) thinking it was a religious guilt complex about masturbation .

The one set free in the action of forgiveness is not the perpetrator, but The Forgiver. My Mother condemned my Father's behaviors for decades after their divorce. I would see her spin over his abhorrent actions. It ruined perfectly fine afternoons for her and affected him not a whit. He was on his boat enjoying life, while she labored in the painful abhorrence of judgement and condemnation. When she forgave him, her demeanor shifted, weights were schluffed off and she was the one set free. The condemning mind, the mind that condemns 'the world's failings', condemns all... (self included, though not often consciously). In my experience condemning mind is the dissociative condemning of self via projection onto others what we loathe in self but won't face openly. A selective acknowledgement of loathed aspects of self through the safety of dissociative projected judgement of other's behavior that is not yet acknowledgable as self generated. What is loathed in self draws keen focus in the actions of others. Most vehement condemnation reserved for those aspects of others that mirror what is truly loathed within, though rarely, if ever, acknowledged consciously as arising within as present in experienced self. Condemning others is a manner to engage what i loathe within... without admitting to it and engaging this acknowledgement of self directly. It offers a degree of separation that is as comforting as it is damaging to self in my experience. For in the inability to forgive and let go in others, i create an energetic transaction of non-forgiveness within. Working with forgiveness of others and cessation of condemnation is a manner of opening a way to acknowledge and eventually forgive self in the process of unfolding and exploring true nature. The conginitive dissonance of this non=acknowledgement resonates for me, most often below the threshold of conscious awareness and thus seems to exist and is perceived only in others. Very unpleasant to engage, so easily it renders itself to projective dissociation and the cycle of self abuse begins and is maintained in perpetuity unless an interrupt signal presents and we do not flee the acknowledgement. Cessation of condemning 'others' for me, is the beginning of cessation of condemning one's own failings and loathed aspects. The crack that lets the forgiveness in. By first intending to release judgement of others, a signal is generated that forgiveness is possible. Forgiveness releases the forgiver, not the forgiven, in my experience. Condemnation, judgement, resentment, abhorrence all arise within and this is what dissolves when forgiveness arises... freeing the forgiver.

Potentially interesting to note that the angel in the story was playing the role of The Shaitan... "The Adversary, The Opposer, or one who terrifies and opposes you to shy you away from a dark and destructive path. Any angel could play this role when required. As the stories developed, this role played by many angels morphed into the modern notion of the one devil adversary of god. One angel who opposes god and is an adversary of god and righteousness, instead of any angel appearing in terrifying form to serve god and shy one away from an undesired path.

Brilliant point. The condemnation we hold does hurt us, whereas the guilty party probably doesn't even notice a thing, and is just on their merry way. I just had a thought... There may be a difference between being appointed as a judge over others (literally a job as a judge...or perhaps spiritually that position exists, as well), versus simply being offended at things. A judge has a duty to make or oversee a decision, and is generally dispassionate and not personally affected. They consider the entire community's wellbeing, while at the same time being fair and not overly punishing a person for disliking who they are or what they did. Whereas being offended at things, it's not really our place to decide whether a person is innocent or guilty and what their punishment should be (that's up to God, or karma, or whatever happens to them). We are passionate and took something personally, and are personally affected in some way, and so unable to see the big picture. We're considering our own standards of conduct, which someone neglected and offended us by, rather than primarily thinking of the wellbeing of others whom we're responsible for. And we often wish the worst on people for the slightest wrongs (such as cutting us off in traffic, stopping suddenly when walking in front of us down a street without being aware of who's behind them, being rude or inconsiderate, etc). While I often consider the state of our world and society, and think of the community, when it comes to people committing wrongs...to be honest I'm often just personally offended, and not in an actual position of being a judge. Not easy is right! LOL. I'm super bad at even attempting to forgive most people I come across, much less everyone. Who can be perfect? "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" - Romans 3:23 "Who is like God?" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quis_ut_Deus%3F “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” - John 8:7 But I don't think being an imperfect human is a good excuse for not attempting. Perhaps I should try harder, by setting aside time to practice. I really have had great results sometimes with the Tibetan Buddhist teachings of loving-kindness and compassion. It's often just easier to hate and condemn someone for an obvious wrong they did, than it is to practice and improve the situation, and forgive and forget the wrong.

Great topic and well put! This, in my opinion, is one the highest teachings of Jesus... the forgiveness of everyone for everything. I’ve found not an easy thing to practice...but definitely worth continued contemplation. Another thing that comes to mind: when I condemn or blame someone for something... it usually weighs heavy on my heart afterwards - even if they were “in the wrong.” I carry it with me. Perhaps this is one small example of the measure coming back to me.

In taiji it becomes the natural state (to remain in the present all the time). Taiji automatically puts us into sākshi bhāva, and from there slowly all modifications of the mind can be released. But as with anything else, we get back what we put into it. Most important is to have a good teacher, and a committed personal daily practice. Not complicated at all. People’s minds are complicated, that’s all I think it’s a case of a system that works best for an individual at a given time (based on various conditions, such as karmaphala, etc).

You really don't want to know

Now do this effortlessly while working at your occupation, cutting the grass, doing the dishes, cooking the meal, grocery shopping, and dealing with a blow out on the highway, maintaining a none contrived equipoise that surprises even you for its genuine nature then you will begin to comprehend the Paravastha state of Kriya. I suspect the many ways of both Tai Chi and Qi Gong lead here as well but my goodness so very complicated. This is not to say it is inferior, no far from it! Having known many Kriya practitioners (Kriyabans), who do not get this, it is very fortunate other systems exist that do a better job of facilitating this and that in and of itself makes them superior. _/|\_

Qi gong if ones focused on qi gong,. Qigong doesn't pretend to be anything else. Taiji is a type of Chinese martial art, that is packaged in many packages in order to make it more public.... If in fact its taught as a type of qi gong. it would be batter to just drop the subterfuge and approach it directly.

They are not mutually exclusive. Tai chi is a type of qigong, and you get to meditate while moving, which may or may not be part of a qigong set.

Pay attention to the wind, the sky and the behavior of animals around you. Their senses are much keener then ours. Who's to say they don't stretch into other dimensional realms. On the other hand I take ye olde biblical stories with a dash of salt and tequila. One Sunday school teaching postulated that the donkey in the story was a singular beast created just for thatstory.?! That has some problems beyond the logic to it. And then there's Balaam, in the 5 Books, a very powerful non-Jewish prophet. Lots of apocryphal/legendary writings to explain that. On the third hand, It may be the more outrageous, illogical stories are the real ones, the remains of 3,000 years of 'pass it on'.

Hey Bums I have a question about Taiji levels of progression. I've been practice taiji form everyday sinking qi to my dantian for couple of years and still practicing stillness moving meditation (dantian). Couple days ago, My dantian and Meridian Channels transform my being. Now my Meridian channels feels like STEEL. I feel my Yin Channels powerful steel like feeling. I easy ward off or push any opponents easily its not every funny. Every times I practice taiji (yang), This Steel like meridian channels getting stronger and this why I'm here. Can anyone tell me the stages of my progression with my Taiji Tai chi? I'm going to reach out to Master Clear tai chi and Master Jesse tsao about it b/c I've been in the past train with them. Will update about they say about it. I hope this will HELP others in the future. Thank you

It takes a long time to paddle across the Atlantic.

These things can be quite mechanistic in some ways. For example the Japanese Samurai’s ritual suicide - seppuku - was designed to free one from the possibility of a bad rebirth or existence in a hell realm... The one committing seppuku would cut open their Dantien (as is their duty) and enter a well practiced meditative state (Jhanna) while a friend would stand over them and watch for the signs of Jhanna arising and would cut off their head at that precise moment - so that they die in the Jhanna state - guaranteeing a fortunate rebirth. Much of the spiritual work is preparation for death...

amen. people are judgemental, religions are judgmental (&controlling) I don't think the universe is. I assume pettiness and punishment to be human constructs, not the Universes. On my first job I sold computers at a small family run store. The big boss was loud and not the nicest, his son who worked under him always seemed nice. After a year and a half, I saved up money, my apartment contract was over, I was just under 25 and could get a cheap Eurail pass, so I quit and went backpacking through Europe. Lived cheaply stayed for a long time, months. When I got back I found out, sadly, that the son had killed himself. He was a little older then me. I wish instead of taking his life, he'd changed locations. Given up on the old life and started one anew. Had gone w/ me to Europe, lived in $10 hostels and pensiones. Traveled, met people.. lived. When there's so much pressure you feel like breaking, move out of the way, start fresh, regain perspective, if you can.

While the pain experienced by those who remain when one silences their own process is real based on my own experience; the stories about what occurs to the awareness of the life consciously passed, the ramifications, the judgements, the scare tactics are just that... stories built from assumptions and hear/say. They reflect to me, the assumptions of the minds that share them, not the absolute reality of what arises. My life, my awareness is within my conscious ability to cease voluntarily. Is this not so? Tao has no mind, no judgement, is no thing, no process. Cessation of form is as natural as arising of form. Sun shines in all directions from a star. No direction is more appropriate. No leaf falls in the wrong spot, nor does rain ever settle in the incorrect place. Life arises and continues to arise. Forms rise and fall. Truthfully for me, there is no pounding judgement awaiting those who silence themselves at the point of their choosing. Judgement is for living minds and is the realm of those continue to hold a form, generating localized mind/awareness.

Hi folks I'm signed up for the RP Yi jin jing course. So far at times we're using strong fire methods with reverse ab breathing. The activation of tissues/ sinews happens strongly on the exhale, the soft tissue activation reminds me of some of the practices in Yi chuan where there is stretching and pushing. Seems like an effective practice so far. Robert Peng makes the point that it is being taught correctly and a large part of that is correct use of breathing and lower dantian. He presents it well and seems very genuine. I'll report back further down the line.

That's definitely not of value.

I, too, have practiced loving-kindness and find it helps in empathizing with others. Empathy to me, is recognizing what is in you, is the same as that which is within me. I think empathy has a lot to do with forgiveness... the ability to put yourself into another person's shoes, and realize we "all have sinned and fall short"... that their situation maybe is not so different from ours at one time or another. I've heard it said that "If you hate others for the evil they do, you are bitten by the same venomous snake as them." Something about that sticks with me... Or as my mom used to say, "Two wrongs don't make a right"

From the Daoist perspective, it depends how exactly you plan to kill yourself. Certain ways of dying guarantee an immediate entry into ‘the hell realms’. Being in the hell realms means you will not reincarnate into human form, but will suffer in (almost) perpetual torment. The torment is usually related to the torment that brought you to kill yourself in the first place. If you kill yourself in a way that allows your Po spirit to be released upon death, then your Hun spirit won’t (necessarily) be dragged down to the hell realms, but would have the chance of reincarnation... although there are many Ming - based issues created if you kill yourself to end suffering, and your rebirth is likely to be a much less fortunate one. I guess you may think ‘how much less fortunate could things really be?’... but you’re prosperous enough to be writing this message on a digital device. Meaning you can read and write, you can afford a device, or have access to one, and you probably live in a first world country. Being able to type means you have fingers and no major mental disability. Visiting a spiritual website suggests you have intellect and some insight even. So at least materially, you’re incredibly lucky... all indications are that if you kill yourself while in this very fortunate life, your next life will be much less materially fortunate. Here’s just one example of a materially less fortunate existence From the Buddhist perspective the outlook is not much better (worse actually). Willingness to harm yourself or others - particularly in the last moments before death creates karma that results in unlimited suffering (dying without this karma limits the amount of suffering). On the other hand - if you’re able to enter Jhanna meditation at the moment of suicide, you’re almost guaranteed a pretty fortunate rebirth

The same.

I don't think that we can consider duration as an indicator of the relative importance of single steps to the efficacy of the entire method. By actually trying the WHM breathing pattern, you could understand that "something" happens during this brief retention after the inhale that doesn't occur otherwise. I can't say what it is because I don't know, but it feels good and sort of spiritual. The video that I posted have Master Nan teaching to hold after inhalation, but basically to focus attention on every pauses in the breathing process. He taught not to use force, but to use a little force at the beginning. One doesn't need some special skill. Play the video, activate English subtitles and go to minute 2,23 and pause when needed. "Don't force it. [...] In between the IN and OUT breath. OUT, IN, CEASE. As soon as you fix your awareness on that moment, your CHI will feel like that it flows freely [...[ I'm not that good at implying things. In my personal experience of the practice of breathing meditation with breath retention, I noticed that at times it was very easy to get angry for insignificant matters.

Ofcourse, it is the greater and deeper intention of both, that just indicate that their being, in greater allowed evermore becoming of all that they truely are being the evermore becoming of, means, that at some point, they meet at a junction point of inter-related, inter-changeable, being and becoming, for the purpose of their own greater more fully allowed realisation of growth, of all that they truely are being the evermore being and becoming of evermore, in all directions of evermore greater allowed being and becoming of the evermore fully allowed realisation of their true nature of being and becoming in evermore greater allowed realisations of all the moreness of their ever expanding freedom and joy, evermore. So often, when you truely realise something for what it truely is, the celebration is great. Their identity always expands into more fully allowed realisation, within and without. And that which it is not, is fully supportive of this greater allowed realisation of being and becoming the moreness of their evermore unique being and becoming of evermore greater allowed freedom and joy of their greater allowed being and becoming. You see, when qigong and taichi form a relationship, they don't become less, they become more fully all that they truely are their evermore being and becoming of evermore. And even if you try to make them less, well, they just become more anyway. When you focus on one aspect of your preference, that is wonderful and great, that is the entire point of who you are. To be more fully realised of all that you truely are being and becoming evermore aswell. Of all the things that you enjoy the moreness of. As that is always the path of least resistance to your own evermore fully allowed realisation of your own evermore greater allowed being and becoming the moreness of all that you truely are being and becoming evermore of all the things you truely do want to be your very own evermore allowed and ever expanding unique enjoying of all the moreness of all that you do enjoy the moreness of of your own evermore becoming, which is also why you are also becoming the ever moreness of all of it. And when other people do something else, than you also can also be more fully who you truely are aswell, when you recognize your difference and cherrish it and value it and love it. As you need the other to know the self. Who you truely want to be. As who they truely want to be, being different, is actually what gives you both more freedom to your own unique difference of preference aswell. So often even absolute difference, of absolute opposites, have an absolute exact commanality with one another, that they are both the exact same and exact equal opposite of and to eachother to the exact same equal degree of opposition, which means that they are perfect harmony and co-harmonized blending, of their mutual true union of greater allowed being and becoming of their commonality of absolute equal opposition, and greater allowed power, of fully allowed equality of opposition, of their true being, united and coming thus ever so more fully to their own evermore greater and fully allowed realisation of all that they truely are being and becoming ever much so more fully allowed in and through their greater allowed realisation of self and other and even with and through the self and other. And there is great joy and realisation and empowerment and freedom and knowledge in this allowed realisation of this union of opposites allowing their mutual expansion, through their co-fusing, and becoming the evermoreness of all that they truely are being and becoming evermore so fully and freely and enjoyably. In evermore allowed expansion of extacy and bliss, rapturous bliss, of ever more allowed expanding being and becoming, evermore.

Humans can't destroy the planet. Whenever you try to do something, you are creating the illusion that you are doing something, which you are not actually doing. And in like manner, you also do not gain any freedom, by trying to control what the people around you are doing. Because whenever you limit the freedom of the people around you, you also limit your own freedom. So rather, see this as a service, that people insist upon. You don't really have to take it so seriously. Because in the end, everyone just wants to be free. And whatever they do, that intention is always there, for everyone. The structures of limitation also only exist to secure your freedom, but they are not designed, nor capable of limitting your freedom in any way whatsoever, no matter how hard you insist upon it, it will never work that way, because it simply can't, does not know how. So holding on to that idea, is like, not gonna do anything, except make sure that you remain free, in a way that is not necessarily always relevant to you, because you choose to hold on to something that has got nothing to do with you. Any less than you can gain freedom by trying to control what the people around you are doing. So when you let go of trying, and just let everyone be who they are, then in turn you also gain more ability to be who it is you truely are more fully aswell. The world really is not dying in any way. And worrying about arrogant perspectives of humans, is like being angry at a pigeon who is doing a mating dance. "Why are you trying so hard to be sexy damnit! stop it!" So just let people be. And enjoy the greater and deeper truth of that which they truely are, which you can always recognize, because you also contain that greater and deeper truth of who you truely are aswell. So the best way to realise it for everyone, is to realise it for yourself first. You see, the greatest arrogance is to believe that you are not worthy or deserving to be who it is you truely are, as this also sets an example for the people around you, to do the same, which in turn means, that people ignore their true nature of who they truely are, and then they start acting in disharmony and discord with who it is they truely are, and yes, then they can do such things as destroy, under the misguided assumption that that is how they can be more fully who it is they truely are. When you true nature is that of an eternal and free creator. You cannot destroy anything, any more than you can simply create the experience for yourself, that you are destroying something. That doesn't make it real or true, or in harmony with the greater truth and nature of all reality of who you truely are and who everyone and everything also already always truely is their evermore being and becoming the moreness of all of that which they truely are aswell. When your true nature, is simply everything more than peaceful at the very least. Don't people make war in order to be free of war? For peace? So how much more easy is it, to simply let yourself already be the peace that you seek, and allow the fact that your seeking of it, only exists, because you think that you do not already contain it. But if you did not contain it, then you would not even be capable of seeking it, you would infact have no idea whatsoever about the concept of peace. Just like trying to do something, means you are doing something, which you are not allowing yourself to accept, for whatever limitting believe you are holding on to, which blocks your awareness unintentionally, because you believe that it serves you to hold on to it, and when you realise that it doesn't, you will simply naturally and effortlessly let go of it. So you create unconsciousness in this way, due to the nature of flowing your true being through self contradictory energetic thought patterns, which yield negative energy in motion, that can be felt as negative emotion. And when you stop doing that, by letting go of it, by finding a way to release resistance, guided by your emotional guidance system, the nature of your true being is way more easily capable of being realised by you. But you have to understand, that whenever you are trying very hard to feel good, energy motionally, emotionally, this is not a bad thing, it does benefit you to do so, because it is in harmony with your true nature, but also understand, that the reason that it is in harmony with your true nature, is because your true nature already knows, that it is suppose to feel good all of the time. So if you can simply just understand that, then you can simply ALLOW your true nature to already naturally be the evermore becoming of it, without blocking it, by thinking ideas which don't harmonize with your greater knowing, for when you let go of them, your greater knowing naturally is allowed to come forth again. Hence the idea of meditation. Which is also why people feel better by simply meditating, doing nothing and leaving nothing undone, as that is truely the power of your infinite intelligence and eternal wisdom, to create absolutely everything with the least effort possible, of infinite freedom. By allowing your true nature, and then you will realise you are already it. Simple, not? You simply focus, untill your mind quiets, because you let go of thought, when you focus on something like a sound or sight, a mantra or breath. As you are only experiencing it, and so the thoughts quiet down, and so the thoughts which create the self contradiction within themselves, also simply quiet down, and your greater knowing and realisation is naturally and effortlessly automatically more fully allowed by you. You don't need to try hard EVER to allow that to be more fully realised by you. But what your effort should be focused upon, is to AVOID BLOCKING your own true being by being aware of how you feel, and wanting to feel good unconditionally, meaning under any and all conditions, because you simply deserve to be that, as that is who it is you truely already are, and allow full realisation from naturally occuring, by letting go of every thought so you also let go of all the thoughts which block it, which are self contradictory in nature, which causes you to feel bad, and then naturally your greater intelligence is allowed to come forth again as you let go of those thoughts, and then you can think more freely in harmony with your ever expanding freedom and bliss of infinite intelligence and eternal wisdom. By focusing on something that doesn't encourage thought, so you let go of thought, like meditation, not because you are not free to think. But because you want to think thoughts which actually harmonize with your true nature of all that you truely are to be more fully free to be who it is you truely are and always deserve to be the evermore becoming of it, evermore in freedom, of infinite intelligence and eternal wisdom. Always more fully enjoying the here and now, effortlessly and enjoyably. Then when you feel good, allow those thoughts, to bring you to your very own evermore allowed greater full blown realisation of all that you true are being and becoming evermore. Then that will be effortless, and very enjoyable and natural! Because that is who you truely are. Hence why meditation is so easy and universal. Because we all already contain our own greater truth of being, you just gotta find a way to allow it, and simply letting go of all those thoughts which don't allow it, which are thus not relevant to all that you truely are, and thus they also don't feel good and never will feel good, because they TRUELY ARE incompatible with your true nature, then you will always be SO FREE TO LET THEM GO, so EASILY, by simply focusing on something else, anything at all, like any sound you can make, like Oooooooohhhmmmmmmmm, and even just focusing your awareness on the memory of the sound you made, just like when you read something internally, you don't even have to make the sound in order to focus on the sound, that's literally how easy and effortless it is to focus on anything that doesn't encourage thought. and just let go of thought and just completely experience the sound of the OOOooooooohhhhmmmmmm, even the imagination of the sound, the sound you create within yourself, if you want. Or just focusing on your breathing. And the more you focus on any of these things, of whatever sense of your preference, it doesn't matter, the more consistently you focus, the more fully you let go of all thought, and thus also all thoughts of resistance, and thus you feel that much more relief and better, and you thus then have that much more acces to your own true nature of all that you truely are. And then you can simply allow your true good feeling nature more easily. And you then also have the ability to focus it more fully into being, for whatever you wanna enjoy your evermore freedom of enjoyment upon the achieving or being or doing or having whatever you want, for the simply joy of all the freedom of your evermore enjoyment of all the moreness of your evermore being and becoming evermore. And then your limitting thoughts will just fade away, because you let go of them, by focusing on something else. So simple and easy, and you naturally allow your greater nature of greater intelligence to come forth, more fully, however you want to enjoy the moreness of it, always free to do it whatever way you want for whatever good feeling reason you can ever come to realise the moreness of for yourself evermore, and thus more freedom and more joy to you evermore. As that is who you truely are, and thus always will want to be the evermore becoming of evermore. And thus will always be fully supported and capable of being and becoming it evermore. It's like the deservingness to breath. OFcourse you deserve to be who you truely are. And the more you enjoy the greater truth of all that you truely are, the more you are thus then more fully capable of enjoying the moreness of all that you truely are being and becoming evermore. Of all that you truely are, that feels like joy, and bliss and oh so free. That is something that is very easy and can be allowed, as it also is very attractive and irresistable. And very enjoyable. Hence it is so easy. But to realise how easy it truely is, you do need to trust in your true nature, by simply letting go and letting be and letting god. Trusting everything is truely always working out for you, and becoming better evermore. Because this is always happening, wether you are consciously aware of it or not. And the entire point of creation is to be free to expand your awareness of all the better that is in becoming evermore. You just gotta allow that for yourself, for your own selfish desire to feel good, and thereby benefit yourself with all of your greater nature of all that you truely are, and thereby also benefit everyone around you aswell. So when you say "people are ignorant" well... You can't really change that, except become less ignorant yourself, of who you truely are. Then the people around you will also naturally express their greater realisation of all that exists in harmony with all that they truely are. Does that require you to change who you are? Or to allow the change to naturally happen as it is always attempting to do so as it is designed to do so, in absolute bliss and harmony with all that you truely are being and becoming evermore. So never say that people are ignorant, because they never do so on purpose. Doesn't the ignorant, mean that they are ignorant of the fact that they are ignorant? So why invest your time and money, in people who are ignorant, when if you just let their ignorant be, that ignorance will always simply naturally and effortlessly cancel itself out. The bad things you believe are going to happen, they never will happen, not in the way you think they will happen. You can always still have bad experiences, and you will. But the reason those experiences are experienced as bad, is not because the conditions of your life are actually bad. That is not the actual truth of the reality. You simply are experiencing something that you don't understand fully yet. Which you may call ignorance, or you can call it an opportunity to come to know all that you truely are, in an ever more expanding fashion of evermore allowed joy and bliss. Because that is what is actually happening. You cannot avoid that, and when you try, you simply create the experience to be one of struggle. When if you let go and allow, you will naturally come to know yourself in evermore greater enjoyment of the joy of all that you truely are being and becoming evermore. And sometimes that means, to stop resisting, being who you truely are. Which is one who always wants to feel better. And expects your unconditional freedom to do so evermore. For that is who you truely are. And I am not suggesting ever to denie your emotions, rather let them guide you, for they truely exist to support you in allowing yourself to feel better. And if you trust that they do, then they simply always yield to you the natural evermore path of least resistance to your evermore greater allowed realisation of all that you truely are being and becoming evermore. But again, there are many ways you can allow your path of least resistance to widen. By letting go of resistance, deliberately, and consciously. For the purpose of feeling better. As that is also an accurate energy motional indication of releasing resistant energy within your physical being. As that also is the path of lesser resistance to the path of lesser resistance, which is the path of least resistance to the path of least resistance. So whenever you achieve a slightly better feeling or energy motional feeling of relief, you are free to simply always celebrate that with the full joy of all that you truely are being and becoming evermore, because that is who you truely already are. And when you feel like you cannot control your emotions, then all you gotta understand, is that you are also not required to control them. You just gotta let them be the accurate indicators that they are. That "now I am feeling bad because I am flowing my own greater truth, through thought patterns which are in contradiction to my own greater nature, and so I feel bad. Wow... Great, wonderful to know that! Then I can simply let go of doing that, by simply doing something else instead, which feels better, ongoingly, untill I do feel good. Because that is who I truely am, and I do intend to be who I truely am, because not only I deserve that, but more importantly, everyone around me aswell. And so, I am going to be selfish, as best as I can, when it comes to my own ability to feel better, unconditionally, meaning under any and all conditions, why? Because that is the only way, I can ever be of any value to anyone else aswell. How can I give, if I don't allow myself to have something to give? What better thing to give, than all of your true nature of infinite intelligence and eternal wisdom, that is of all true nature of all and everything. You can never get sick enough to help sick people become better. Which is also why you also don't have to do that. So you can be free to let it go, and be who it is you truely are being and becoming evermore. You want to live in a world where everyone is simply healthy and free? And free to be who it is they truely are? Then simply be free to be who it is you truely are. Who ever you wanna be, you will always allow yourself to simply already enjoy the being and becoming of it evermore, and thereby allow the evermore greater realisation of all that you truely are being and becoming evermore, in evermore allowed greater freedom of joy and all those good feeling positive emotions. Of all the things that you truely do enjoy. Your very own evermore greater allowed becoming of all that you truely are being and becoming evermore, as that is always something that you enjoy and do want, evermore, not not want, simple, obvious. So even the things who are not of who you truely are, they're just there, so you can remind yourself, hey, this feels bad, guess that will feel better. Hmmm, awesome, delicious yes I know I am free to be who I truely am. Because my true nature is one of peace and joy and freedom, evermore. As an eternal consciousness of infinite intelligence you already know this. Always naturally easily and effortlessly, along the path of least resistance, that is every single way that all of existance has of coming to know itself from all the different points of view that existance is of itself. Simply for the purpose of evermore greater allowed freedom and joy to be all that you wanna be do or have, simply because you wanna feel good. And so, you just gotta allow yourself to feel good. Because that is already who you truely are being and becoming evermore. And it is so much more easy, when you feel good. Because that is who you truely already are. And the good feeling positive emotion is thus just an indication that you are allowing your true self to be your true self. How simple and easy! And wonderful, amazing. So much freedom, so much ability, and capability, and understanding and knowing, so effortless allowed realisation of all things you truely know to be true for you. Evermore. Ongoingly. Evermore.

Are you also getting real exercise? If so, then it doesn't really matter because both are usually really similar. If not, then exercise is better.

Hello, I'm from down under . Twenty-six years of age . I'm a horrible Dzogchen practitioner , no good indeed. What am I here for ? - A good dose of shit talking - A place to do said shit talking that isn't steeped in scientific materialism - To learn from any and all traditions - To learn from any and all individuals - To post obscure synth records.

I'm real close to getting this joke, but it hasn't come through the mist yet.

~ MAITREYA ~ If what appears to be apprehended by the senses does not exist by its very own essence apart from that which apprehends it, then what appears to be the apprehender does not self-exist either. The reason, here, is that the apprehender exists or arises as one who apprehends, only in relation to the apprehended, not in isolation. Therefore, pristine awareness is devoid of both apprehender and apprehended, in all their various forms. Free from subject and object, by its very own nature awareness is a mere indescribable luminosity.

Hi lightbody09, Your thread begs ~ What is Enlightenment in Taoism and the "goal" of Taoism concretely? Endless cultivation? There are three '?' here ~ which can be problematic for me to answer without me questioning myself thus... (a) Is there a paradox ~ 'actual' and 'general'? (b) When Taoism is 'The Way' ~ how can there be a "goal"? (c) If Taoism pertains to Nature ~ what/how can I perceived it 'concretely'? (d) When my life has a beginning/end ~ what can I cultivate 'endlessly'... unless I regard Taoism thus...? - Anand

Taiji is much more fun. Qi Gong has more scope for spiritual development. But the biggest deciding factor should be your access to a good teacher...

That's a tough question. But what Everything points out is really true. Taiji is really a qigong ... But not exclusively a qigong. After practicing taiji for a number of years, I took up a qigong practice and it greatly helped my taiji. And I suppose the reverse is true ... taiji can really benefit qigong. As a general recommendation, I would suggest taiji over qigong for a couple of reasons. First, taiji is not only about developing energy, which it does very well, but also about maintaining energy connection while moving. In addition, taiji also develops your ability to sense/receive energy, as well as direct energy. It involves developing intent. These things are true iff you can find a good traditional instructor. A side affect of a good taiji class can be a social one. Many taiji groups are little communities with a family like composition. They are usually a mixed group with practitioners of different levels of ability. Cooperation and support from the group can be a very happy and health encouraging thing. Of course, I am clearly speaking from a taiji bias. So, take it with a grain of salt. That said, you are probably more likely to find a taiji group than a qigong group. Either way, it is really important to have hands on instruction to guide and correct your gongfu.

Well, I know it may sound cheesy. But whenever a question contains the word "or" just replace the word "or" with the word "and". Then when you have done that, consider it. And then replace the word "and" with the word "is". And there you got your answer. Always works for me. Maybe it's some kind of universal permission slip by which we more fully allow ourselves to be our own evermore greater realisation of all that we truely are being and becoming of evermore. So take the best of both worlds, which work for you, and then you will improve your relationship to both, as you will become the greater relationship to both and also of both. Kind of like a triad. Where on top you have Toni. Bottom left qigong and bottom right taichi. Then take the relationship between the three as a line between the three. And you got yourself a triangle. Then consider that these relationship lines, can also develop a relationship with eachother. Which is an inverted triangle, within the greater triangle. So now you got yourself a tri-force. And this is how you allow yourself as a consciousness to allow your very own evermore greater realisation of all that you truely are the evermore greater being and becoming of evermore. I'm now gonna attempt to make a tri-force. And I hope I will succeed. But most often, I always fail. So here goes nothing. I hope it looks like something at the very least, on your screen. Toni /\ /__\ /\ /\ / \/ \ Qigong ----------------- Taichi It is way to elongated and out of shape, but it will do for now. There's always room for improvement. Right? So your relationship with both, will relate to one another, and thereby create a third relationship, between qigon and taichi itself, by virtue of its ability to reflects it's relationship of the relationship between your relationship with both... If that makes sense... Kind of sounds like inception...

since you asked. ": "Show me your original face before you were born." When one can understand this then one can talk about death.... most spiritual disciplines / studies address this by preparing for death one understands how to live life. With this understanding its always about choice, and choices made.

some might say different

It is called "civilization". Animal husbandry and agriculture being used to create large synthetic populations of abstracted domesticated humanoid slaves. This allows concentration of power and physical technology development. It is not "sustainable". It's just to accomplish a purpose, and then will be folded back up. -VonKrankenhaus

@alchemystical I saw your post some while back and it’s been knockin’round my head since and I’m here to make the voices stop!!! I guess what resonates with me is that - especially now - human beings are a mess (really from any angle, from where ever you’re standing), and surprisingly so. I’ve been kicking around the internal arts scene for some decades and you’d think I’d understand people enough so I wouldn’t be surprised over and over and over. And I’ve a few friends (from various orientations of serious internal looking) who are older than me and better students that I am, and *they*’re surprised. And I guess my question is, “why are we so surprised, over n’ over?”. What false presumptions about the human condition do we hold, that get knocked over time and time again by actual events? What understandings are we lacking? One presumption I’ve found in my own psychology that, “generally, people are good”. Whether true or not (and certainly it is flawed, naive and true), it doesn’t prompt much ongoing discernment as “functionality”. And god knows we’re all flawed and improving at our core levels in the areas we’re not-so-good-at: veeeerrry long term slow work. A friend of mine had a hard knocks interpretation of Buddha’s first noble truth, “life is suffering”, saying that there’s not a solution to it, that’s the fact of it, and to just be able to get through it. Books come to mind: P.D.Ouspensky’s “The Fourth Way” Any of the non-fiction books of essays by Wendell Berry. Someone here on the board, a long time back, mentioned that when they were in college deciding on a major and considering psychology vs sociology and checked out all the professors from each discipline and found that the sociologists were all depressed. Anyway, those are some rambling thoughts, relevance questionable. cheers, Trunk

Do not do reverse abdominal breathing when lifting weights. Take air in at the beginning of a lift let it out at the end. Have you ever seen a power lifter let out a big yell at the end of a lift?

Words are difficult in this discussion as they are both inadequate and very much emotionally charged as well as misleading. Love is a tough word to use within a general conversation. Mind is so diminutive that using it in these expansive dialogs is almost childish. And then there is that fact that experience varies from the "thinking" that this is mostly rainbows to those thinking they understand something at a high level and yet they are far below the mark. We can also see conceptualizing taken out of context and translations from those that were quite well intended and did a great job but used words that are based on only a mild understanding. Channels and meridians are very specific until they are not - the channels specifically can be somewhat whispy to vibrant and well defined - but these are only in the bodies that have not transformed a great deal - though they may have been in many many years of practice. At some point the channels become quite large and tubular - very full and bright. This is an interim stage and does not last too long. Then they will fuse and become one energy field - this field still has within it the Channels but they are far different. This includes the former "Micro Cosmic Orbit" which rose to great prominence and then also becomes one with this greater field. While great structures may already have been both above the head and below - before this happened and after - a great deal of energetic growth is still to come forth. The head region must undergo a great deal of unfolding after the fusing of the fields - this supercedes any notion or experience of the "opening of the 3rd eye" and other previous openings in the head. The head will feel the unfolding taking place and the great powers of the unified field work with and upon this. As the head area - (and considerably beyond its physical "boundaries") is prepared for what is to come - considerable work/practice is required as residuals of willfulness and other held qualities must fall away. Then in the "final" progressions the Great Column of the back opens - and connects to the head - this is not a "massive" kundalini arising - it is far beyond that - it is the establishment of the full Kundalini energetic column - some 8-12" in circumference (though it does not have a clear boundary and is considerably larger in field than 12") and it is now "ON" all the time. This then expands "bifurcates" into the heart field filling it in a uniquely specific event. Not long after this the field drops down the front of the head and bodies. The new field is extraordinarily papable and sustained - it is very strong and calm and though it becomes a "common" element in one's overall energetics - this is now the sustained base awareness of the subtle bodies. The Great Center Pole is more vibrant than ever - it though is more of a center of energies surrounding it - it is gut, heart and head - seated in the astounding base, the magnificent base from which the others in chorus join above and below - the power of which is unimaginable and beyond time and space - yet fully in touch with every toe and hair. The Heart center's are many - they unfold so many times that a false acceptance of them is premature to the point of certainty. The word love is so far from the mark - it is so much more closely aligned with never-ending compassion and objectless gratitude and boundless spontaneous creativity. And this is not centered in the Heart - it is centered within the whole and its center is boundless. - As the Heart Center is filled - it is impregnated as though with blood - it actually feels like it is being inflated with blood that is only slightly warmer than the surroundings - it is large - fully from side of chest to side of chest and the size of a large family sized pizza. This is far different from earlier sensations of a warm heart center or the heart center to the slight right of center. It is entirely different from the full opening of the Heart Chakra and also the Opening of the heart center to the right of it. It is massive by comparison. The Center is only clarified as One with the base "supporting" like a great tree - the Head and Heart are not higher and they are lost without the base. Becoming lost in the Head or Heart is losing ones self to the delights they have in store. A circle cannot have a top without a bottom - our highest nature cannot be known without the bedrock of Being - concentration on head or heart is an interim step but it may become a dungeon - perhaps a saintly one or a sages courtyard - but a dungeon none the less. In full prominence it is hard to walk - it is difficult to "do" much more that BE in Presence. It is a disabling Grace grounded in a boundless vastness - extraordinarily physical and unlimited.