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Life is Alchemy. (seems to be to my local awareness/experience) Life is the ever shifting of one into another. Awareness (the experience of being) itself is Alchemy. My Son's body formed within my Wife's body. Forming within the womb tzujan, of itself, by transmuting food, air and water that she consumed while pregnant. My Son's body now alchemizes food/air/water into bones, organs, muscles, nerves, etc and sustains awareness of this for a time, before further decomposing (alchemizing) into ought else.. Sunlight stimulates seeds in soil that, which alchemize with water, minerals and light to grow into trees, bushes, wheat, moss etc... these forms further alchemize, transforming into new soil. Transmutation. Alchemy. Reality=Alchemy of Awareness. As awareness is always shifting and morphing, accomodating new sensation, interpreting, adapting, rejecting, believing, seeking etc... Indeed, is there any aspect of phenominological awareness that is not an alchemy of transitioning from one observed form/structure/makeup, into another? Is there ought which is not Alchemy?

from this: to this: note: the little pill bottles in the picture are great for keeping little screws and bolts in.

Yesterday I made these two lamps They were very old mismatched ones, both different colors and both colors ugly. I spray painted the base of each the same dark bronze color and used two Ikea stainless steel kitchen utensils holders to make lampshades, by flipping them upside down and installing hardware. One of my hobbies, finding a new (often unexpected) purpose for an old and tired object. I like simple projects that I can finish on a whim in a short time.

Yes, so many of my wife's family were among the people who defeated ISIS. Just imagine the strength and fighting spirit of Kurdish TEENAGE men and women in flip flops with no training defeated ISIS which was largely trained and equipped by CIA and America before they rose to prominence and was deemed an enemy of the West. Imagine you sitting at home, watching television of brigades of heavily armed ISIS fighters taking over huge modern cities in mile long convoys of pick ups with heavy machineguns, decapitating thousands live on twitter, you're a 15 year old girl, and your reaction is to grab your flipflops and your AK and go to fight them. That's a very special kind of inner strength and courage. It's truly tragic, as the kurds are some of the "most normal" in the Middle East, simply meaning reasonably European and sensible in many ways, compared to many of the more fanatical regimes. If a united Kurdistan was created, it could potentially be a kind of beacon of light, humaneness, sensibility and just "normal living" to help stabilise the whole region. An oasis in a sea of fanaticism. What they lack is a strong leader with this powerful vision of unity, as unfortunately due to millenia of wars, the mentality of "caring for yourself first" is extremely strong. Nationalism is also there, but it's a largely unguided force, intercepting militarily when things are grave and you need to defend (e.g. ISIS), but not with a vision of unity for all the kurds. And realistically every major power is against them in the region, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkey. They would lose land, power, ressources and influence if Kurdistan became a unified country. Actually Israel is one of the only powerful countries in the Middle East that tries to help Kurdistan - e.g. buy a lot of their oil, covertly sell them weapons, provide secret agents to help defeat fanatics that are trying to rise to power and so on. The Isreali story of being a persecuted nation without a homeland, with all major powers against them is so similar in spirit to the Kurdish story of being a persecuted people without your own country, and all major powers using you and your land as a plaything in their own games. That's why they help each other since modern Isreal was founded, even though ofc many modern Kurdish brainwashed by islamic fanatics are not aware of it, but the older generation remember when secret isreali agents brought them food, water, ressources, clothes etc in times of war and crisis, also weapons for self defense, and still financially today they support by buying oil in massive quantities at a fair price. Yes, Africa could almost be declared the black magic capital of the world, the magic there is very powerful

Hello Annnon, GM Doo Wai explained that for FP Qigong to be optimally effective, one needs to have regular restful sleep--i.e., for FP Qigong to work well, one cannot be sleep-deprived. He gave this answer in reply to my question if FP Qigong can replace lost sleep--citing the fact that the Tao Tan Pai ("Taoist Elixir Method"), which I learned from Taoist priest Share K. Lew (1975 to 1992), has high Yogas called "The Nine Flowers" and "The Five Dragons" that can replace lost sleep and thus enable one to function at full strength and high mental acuity without have regular restful sleep. GM Doo Wai and Taoist Priest/GM Share K. Lew were friends and peers since the moment they met in America, what GM Doo Wai described as "fellow kung fu men." Each was the senior lineage holder of a complete and intact Taoist monastic tradition of kung fu, nei kung, medicine, and spiritualism. Back to your question: "...why good quality sleep is needed or quote the original post?" Answer: It's just how the FP Qigong yogic methodology (utilizing the percentage breathing formulas) works . Tao Tan Pai Nei Kung, in contrast, works on a different yogic methodology that 's rooted in the cultivation of human sexual energy, what some Hindu Yogas and other Tantric systems call "the kundalini" energy ("coiled snake"). FP Qigong, in contrast, does not focus on the kundalini energy or on any other type or "flavor" of energy--for no visualization of any kind is required in the practice of FP Qigong. This great dissimilarity in yogic mechanism between FP Qigong and Tao Tan Pai Nei Kung is reflected/manifested in the fact that strict celibacy must be observed when learning the Advanced Tao Tan Pai Yogas, while no celibacy is required at all when learning and practicing any levels of Flying Phoenix Qigong--or any other Yogas under the Bok Fu Pai umbrella, for that matter. Thus, as I had posted in one of the early years of this thread: when I asked GM Doo Wai (with classmates present) whether we needed to observe any duration of celibacy when learning FP Qigong or any of the advanced Bok Fu Pai meditations (as I had to do when I was learning the advanced Tao Tan Pai Yogas), he answered, "Nah, you can knock yourselves out." However, to explain in any detail why and how FP Qigong requires regular restful sleep in order to work well would require rigorous testing and study by neuroscience, for starters. Sifu Terry Dunn P.S. This is a photo of GM at the grand opening of Sifu Dougla Wong's second kung fu school in Parthenia, Ca in 1981: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10227420095559787&set=a.10227420037518336

Of course! Ddecomposition is a leading source of the direction of Primal Alchemy! Have you not recognized the Alchemy of decomposition all around you? The rotting food in your colon and small intestine is the source of all your energy and sustaining of your bodily form. Every thing you consume is dead, or dying as it enters your body. Decomposition is the source of the Vigor and Vitality of Livingness in your bodily experience. The Awareness of Being. In your response, you seem to be looking at my finger... not what the finger indicates.

I've deleted my comments about Damo. I realised I was still pretty upset about a disagreement I had with him years ago and that may have coloured a lot of what I wrote about him. Damo is obviously a human being too, and I bet it can't be too nice as a public figure reading anonymous people writing horrible things about you online. I think this has been fairly cathartic for me though, to get it off my chest after keeping it quiet for so long. So perhaps time to move on, forgive and forget. Apologies for airing dirty laundry, fellow bums

When it comes to posting, I frequently choose to restore the space. I write long posts, revise them a few times, then think better of it and simply delete. Nothing beats the openness and unlimited potential of the empty space of my unposted posts. 😄

I should probably add for balance that Damo is a fantastic teacher. He's able to explain difficult concepts in a practical way, and his syllabus is very well organised. His taiji and bagua are also to a very high level and very well taught. His students report profound and significant changes as a result of their study of neigong, and I have no reason to doubt their accounts. My concern really is where it all leads, and I can only infer that based on my personal interactions with Damo online. It's also possible he just wasn't having a great day and he didn't handle it as well as he would have done normally. Nevertheless I was very affected by the whole incident.

Respectfully, I´d like to express my disagreement. Many good spiritual teachers charge -- not everything gold is free.

Hello everyone, I’ve recently started volunteer work in a center for elderly people, a large number of them are living with dementia. The experience has been powerful and unsettling. Part of me wants to meet them with compassion… but part of me feels sadness, even fear, watching how their minds slowly dissolve: Some cover up memory gaps with jokes. Many repeat the same conversation four or five times in a row. Others speak of places or activities they haven’t done in years, as if they were happening right now. Without constant repetition of simple topics, they quickly become lost. It often feels like meaningful, deep connection is impossible. And this shakes me: Where is Dao here? Where is Spirit? If the mind fades like this, is real connection still possible? So I’m reaching out to you: From a Daoist perspective, how can I understand dementia? Is there a way to flow with the repetition instead of resisting it? How can I find peace and Dao in this environment that feels so heavy and repetitive? Thank you deeply for any insights.

I don't sense it's an all or nothing choice. All paths lead up the mountain. Damo and Nathan approach Source and process from different paths. I've benefited from Freeform's sharings here, but his path is not necessarily yours, or anyone elses'. Explore and find your way. It's there. Why not give each method 180 days and see what arises within?

The Dao is just reality, as it is. Flowing "with" the Dao is being in alignment and not causing resistant eddies and currents with our attachment or aversion to what we think should happen, to what is happening, or what might happen. To an enlightened person, these changes in functionality are just reality as it is, nothing to worry about or cause confusion. My late teacher's teacher, the abbess of a well-known Zen institution died of Alzheimers related causes, but went through the process without struggle, in good humor, and in gratefulness that others were so willing to help her. This obviously won't be the experience of most people. Having worked with my late wife's grandparents, and my own parents as they age, I can recommend just meeting them where they are. Is the reality they believe they live in any more real than yours? If they think you are someone other than who you are, roll with it. If they think they just came back from the pub, let them tell you their story. If they can't find something see if you can get them to laugh with you about it, and let them know that you are sure it will turn up soon. Don't pity them, or try to explain over and over how YOU see the reality of things, or who you believe them to be. This won't improve their condition, or their quality of life. If they worry, tell them everything has been taken care of for now, and things are OK. Find joy with them. For an example of how to work with those who are effected give this a listen. It is really wonderful. https://www.thisamericanlife.org/532/magic-words/act-two-0

Time for a music break

Recently, something shifted within me. I’ve begun to live with the following belief: my life flows through the Dao, the Source. My existence belongs therefore to this infinite presence. I trust the wisdom of the Dao more than what my eyes can perceive, for the Dao sees farther than I ever could. Everything that unfolds is part of a greater plan, one beyond my understanding. The Dao, the Source, is my teacher. The purpose of my life is to stay connected to this presence. Even pain and suffering can serve as gateways to it. From this sacred space, miracles and possibilities emerge—things my mind alone could never imagine. Since leaning into this trust, I’ve been surprised by a new kind of quietness. It’s so calm inside that I can feel my heartbeat clearly, even when I’m not meditating in a formal way. Before, I could only sense it when I was sitting very still in formal practice. It also feels like the noise of the outside world doesn’t shake me as much as before. I wonder: Has anyone else felt this kind of natural quietness just from trust or surrender? Could this be something like what Daoists mean by aligning with the Dao, or “wu wei”? I’d love to hear your thoughts or experiences.

The hell with wu wei! I do what I want.

It's disgusting what happened to the Yazidi tribes. Melek Taus (The peacock god) is very interesting- embodying eternal light and considered the leader of the archangels, it's a very old religion with practices going back to ancient Mesopotamia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tawûsî_Melek.

Hi @Kaspar, Some years back Kunlun / yigong was all the rage on the board, and many people shared their experiences -- both positive and negative -- with the practice. If you search back, you should be able to read many of those accounts. I think of spontaneous movement as a process of purification; it releases blockages that get in the way of stillness and silence. In a sense, the specifics of our blockages are not "profound," but the underlying calm that remains when the blockages are removed is profound. That´s the way I see it. Like you, I love to read about other people´s experiences with practices I´m interested in. These stories are often inspiring, motivating. But what is ultimately important is the experience you will have if you commit to the practice. I¨m confident that your story will be uniquely your own. I think it´s a worthy undertaking. You may not do it forever, but it´s worth spending some time with as an experiment, seeing where it will take you. Just my two cents.

Black Magic: Peculiar things do exist. For normal people, it is better to follow the Confucian attitude - respect the ghosts and gods but keep a long distance. A Taiwan mystic has encountered a statue fallen from an abandoned temple. She set it up again but found something try to attach to her. Then she was angry and kicked it down slope. So even with "proper" religious setting, one should be careful. Karmic Debts: While other problems can be solved by ZhengYi magicians, Karmic Debt cannot. It could be an excuse when the Taoist cannot do anything. The normal solution is cultivation, following a proper Taoist/Buddhist religion, good deeds, good diet etc. Burning joss papers said to help too if it is not so serious. Local spirit kings: In Chinese community, every home or grave used to have a Shen of the Door, which is a red wood plate which says the dragon kings of 5 directions, Lords of the location, God of fortune. We could offer incenses and wine once a year, or even daily. It is mainly to avoid evil spirits coming in. They mainly act as a protection service. Conceal Blessings: It used to be common in Chinese traditions. You downplay everything, down dress. Spirits follow home: Going to casinos would said to dampen your 3 fires of powers. Going to hospitals/funerals would also be a problem. It is better to go to some noisy places, have food with others, get some sunshine, before directly go home. In short, similar to spy stuff.

How about a nice walk in a forest?

That may be but I bet I´m not the only Bum who´d love to read an anthologized compilation of the posts you wrote that didn´t make the cut. I bet it would be fascinating!

By "restorations" I suspect old3bob has physical objects in mind. I´m neither handy nor crafty and don´t have much to share in that department, but I wonder -- do posts count? I´m really into post restoration (otherwise known as editing). There have been times when I´ve edited a post twenty times before I finally let it be. It´s kind of a ridiculous hobby.

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https://a.co/d/3huK6kT

... and another thing I found , when they are able to , ask them questions about what they can remember , sometimes parts of their life are remembered and they can be entertaining fascinating and amazing , as well as enjoyable for them to have someone to listen to . https://www.thedaobums.com/topic/56258-wrtings/

I find martial arts training to be a wonderful way to cultivate self-discipline. Running and weightlifting are also good but nothing beats martial arts for me.

Give up the pharmaceuticals and take up gardening. Caring for plants will move your attention away from your own desires. Getting your hands in the soil will ground you The nature spirits (lesser devas) will help heal you. Effective meditation can follow later

it comes and goes. no biggie. no rhyme or reason or pattern that i have seen. people on this thread in general have noted the overall arc is that over time this decreases and goes away. in my experience bending the bows generates the "strongest" flow. To the point where i have had to limit how often i do it, and for how long, and during what part of the day. It at times has felt like "too much" for me (not from the shaking, just from the "power" that bending the bows generates internally) so i just scaled it back and that has worked. It is still my favorite part of Flying Phoenix Qi Gong

Max says that his system is not the same as his teachers, meaning, I think, that "kunlun" is not the same as "yi gong." Having received instructions for both practices, I can´t say I see the difference. But what is glaringly true is that Max (Kunlun) and Jenny Lamb (Yi Gong) have wildly different personalities and approaches. Max is flamboyant, a self-proclaimed "coyote" given to telling wild stories. Jenny is grounded, circumspect. I think it would be a mistake to dismiss Kunlun / yigong based on an appraisal of Max´s character. Those who don´t like Max will likely like Jenny, and vice versa. I´m positive that Yigong is grounded in a spiritual tradition, though not one that is easily accessed, especially now that Jenny is retired. My intuitive sense is that the tradition can best be accessed through committed practice. It´s possible that the best teachers are not presently embodied in human form, but nevertheless actively guide the diligent student. Just my guess.

My Taiji shifu who is from a Wu Tu Nan Wu lineage said that the Dantian is just the center of gravity. So if we’re talking about Taiji, a person with a Dantian is someone who is always rooted and has the ground. From doing Wuji standing for long periods, an opposing force starts to life up your body. Then yang qi from above starts to properly move and align down into the body and mixes with the yin qi. Then if you’re speaking about Neidan, a Dantian is when someone who has the elixir (golden pill or embryo) in their lower reservoir. This implies that the practitioner is at the stage of Di Xian or close to it. So an actual Dantian is not exceptionally rare and doubt anyone here has one. I certainly don’t have one(if we’re talking about the pre-Heaven).

IEDs

pfff, you better put on your dancing shoes bro.

Surrender seems to be a large part of it. It is not always clear what is being surrendered. Typically, it refers to the acquired mind (識神) or shi shen, the series of habits and ways of doings things that we've picked up over our lifetime or many lifetimes. Under it, the yuan shen (元神), is primordially free and connected to the larger whole. I often think of the TTC 48 on this (trans Derek Lin) Pursue knowledge, daily gain Pursue Tao, daily loss Loss and more loss Until one reaches non-action With non-action, there is nothing one cannot do Take the world by constantly applying non-interference The one who interferes is not qualified to take the world

I looked out my kitchen window on dawn as I was getting water and .... my bottle tree looks different .... that was not there yesterday . still in dark silhouette against the sky .... hmmmmm ... very suspicious , I know what's going on here . Two 'froggies' * cuddled up together against the cold ... pretending they are not there . * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tawny_frogmouth 'No , you are not a branch ... I can see your eye ! ' one can get very close ... and they freeze ...... 'No one here but some old gnarly wood .' front on view ; They usually hang around for a few days , but this time of year, they may have a nest nearby . I have seen them a few times here around the cabin ; once a mum with three little ones lined up along the branch . They have a nice night call too

Truly demonstrates that Vajrayana, Zen, and Daoism are all deeply intertwined.

Here's a quote from Hakuin. I knew I remembered it from somewhere

As far as I know, zen doesn't teach hand positions or the specific standing exercises that daoists use to construct a dantien. Yet the hara development is tangible, and comes through years and years of abdominal breathing. The hara has many of the properties associated with dantien, I.e. a magnetic quality on the mind, a reservoir of ki etc.

Practicing black magic causes many risks, even to the practitioner himself. For example, there was a famous magician in Egypt, a student of Al-Tawkhi, who was an experienced magician in black magic, and he was found dead while practicing black magic, His face showed signs of horror and fear, This story is very widespread in the middle east, but I honestly do not know whether it happened or not, but its content is true, which is that practicing black magic can be very dangerous, even for the practitioner himself, and not just for others, You can look at the pages of Shams al-Ma'arif al-Kubra, especially the older editions, and you will feel uneasy and intimidated.

The differences become crystal clear if you work at the tourism sector. You can almost predict how the guests are going to behave at your hotel from the second they are doing the check in. It has an uncanny accuracy. I have probably met tourists from over one hundred different countries.

Well... according to your own source: In fact, there is no record linking Zhang Sanfeng to Taijiquan. Consider the book called "Taijiquan Treatise: Attributed to the Song Dynasty Daoist Priest Zhang Sanfeng" by Staurt Alve Olson. So here we have an author(who practices Yang Style) who has every incentive and bias to WANT Zhang Sanfeng to be a real thing. He wrote an entire book dedicated to this topic. And guess what? He wrote: "No historical data can prove that assertion that he created what has become popularly known as Taijiquan, or that he ever wrote anything concerning Daoism or Taijiquan." The author has also tried to cite an original writing called "Zhang Sanfeng's Secret Arts for Refining the Elixir". According to him... that writing is from 1946.... Here's the thing... Wudang Taijiquan that we see today... It comes from the 1980s; it is a government-supported post-cultural revolution project aimed at reviving their culture. It is also around this time that they did the same for Shaolin; that is how Shaolin became very commercialized and corrupted - hence the abbot recently getting into big trouble and being replaced. Taiji, Xingyi, and Bagua are arts that had to be imported into Wudang because Wudang does not have anything of its own. Wudang Taijiquan is actually... performance-based, low-stanced Yang Style Taijiquan. If you take a look at the naming convention of Wudang... It's all Yang Style naming convention. We are supposed to believe that Yang Luchan deleted, added, and renamed EXACTLY from what he learned from the Chen Family to match a martial art from nearly 1000 years ago? And also... take Xingyiquan for example. It comes from Xinyi Liu He Quan. So... why doesn't Wudang brand themselves with Xingyiquan and not the older art? This whole "Taiji, Xingyi, and Bagua" trio was really made popular by Sun Lutang (founder of Sun Style Taijiquan) in the early 20th century because... he learned Xingyiquan in his 20's, Cheng Style Baguazhang in his 30's, and Wu (hao) Taijiquan in his 50's. He wrote books about it... He's pretty much the reason people are talking about "Internal martial arts". We cluster Taiji, Xingyi, and Bagua together because Sun Lutang specifically learned those three..

It cannot be defined.

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Yikes -- am I ready to show photographic evidence of my health restoration? Not yet and probably never but it´s (slowly) coming along.

What Ba Gua Zhang has deleted from my system in recent times: 1. Arguing with others ---> Who really cares, everyone has their own opinion. 2. Resentment. No time for that. If someone disrespects you, that's their problem. 3. Lust. I don't touch females, I don't want to sleep with them. Deleted but the Yin runs deep and in my dreams sometimes females approach me with interest which means it is still an issue that needs to be cleared completely. 4. Anger. Gone for good. It is a tough one to beat but not as difficult as no. 3 To be removed: #Material possession The magic of walking the circle which slowly deletes everything until nothing is left. The sky is the limit of what circle walking really is and does to the practitioner.

It depends on the school, as methods vary. There is the ancient northern school approach, which is quite authentic and includes dynamic meditations (I used to practice some of them for a while). However, there is also the modern northern approach, which is quite common now and is based on seated meditations. In general, authentic old school methods are based on dual xing ming cultivation, and they include dynamic standing and static meditations, as well as some seated ones. The modern Dragon Gate primarily teaches seated meditation, although they can also teach you some qigong in addition to it. If you want to nourish Yang, you need to move; however, if you mostly sit, it is hard to obtain True Yang. Timing is an important factor in neidan. This is akin to going through the seasons of the year: everything changes in nature, but sitting is like always abiding in winter. Over time, you will lose Yang and thus your Ming.

Praying for them to visit and making an offering, that might work. On a different subject I loved watching "Sea Hunt" with Lloyd Bridges when I was a kid. Great scuba diving episodes! Also like the work of his sons Jeff and Beau.

Hello! I'm Jaime from Benidorm, Spain. 38 years old that mainly did martial arts but in the last decade TCM, meditation, and qigong are drawing me more and more, so I started with acupuncture and have been trying several qigong methods. I have been lurking these forum several years but I still had to write something!

Thank you for your service ! I did similar work ( but paid ) for 10 years in a public hospital . It certainly brings this question up for contemplation ! I used to also tell a lot of jokes , if they get them, they appreciate it . By staying absolutely 'in the moment ' with them . I think our 'eternal spirit' may not be that connected to our mind brain and current 'awareness' ... the mind passes away like the body does . I found the only way to flow with it is to be in the moment with them , its an exercise in the full reality of that as if one is really doing it , the past moment (or the present ) never happened . To find peace concentrate on the aspect of 'doing service ' . Its one of the main branches of yoga and magick , to not practice it will lead to imbalance .

sir, explain this for me sounds interesting thank you for putting in the links. very kind of you! do you know about dr hew len and his amazing forgiveness practice , what you say reminds me of him. Dr. Hew Len became famous for applying this method in an unusual way: he reportedly helped heal a ward of severely mentally ill prisoners without directly interacting with them. Instead, he worked entirely on himself, taking 100% responsibility for his own thoughts, judgments, and energy connected to the ward. The practical steps are simple and inward-focused: mentally or softly repeat: “I am sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you. I love you.” – directed toward yourself or toward the energy you sense. In this way, the prayer of Ho’oponopono works like this: one opens the heart toward all beings, while you cleanse your own mind and energy, helping dissolve accumulated psychic residue and gently restoring inner harmony.

which is pretty funny considering that i am the one that started this thread (on" form is emptiness, emptiness is form"), invited the discussion, and participated in the conversation myself to a large extent. certainly i appreciate reading all the contributions and discussion and responses. People are sharing generously of their time and knowledge and subject matter expertise, and offering encouragement and recommendations. Thank you everyone for this. However it occurs to me (in observing myself), that if i am spending an inordinate amount of time trading out terms that don't fit for me for whatever reason, and substituting terms that do fit; and trying to"translate" in my head what is being talked about to a framework that i understand. Then that may not be an optimal approach. or a best fit. I will still continue to sit and practice (stillness silence spaciousness). But set aside for now the explanations. This gives me a sense of relief, room to breathe. yes, spaciousness.