Blackfinger

uh oh........

I can't see Taomeow's response above...

but my understanding of the 'stillness method' (though I haven't heard it called this before) is that in the course of one's practice(qigong/neigong, meditation, LDT awareness etc) qi will be drawn to the LDT and once this is sufficiently active, the qi will naturally want to leave the LDT into the perineum etc and enter the start of the MCO. In fact, it can be quite a struggle to prevent the qi from entering the MCO, when it wants to. Once started naturally, the MCO can be aided with breathing and posture etc, as well as 'song/releasing', especially through the clipping passes.

The other way of doing it (the movement method?), I understand, primarily employs the imagination. My understanding is that linking the movement of the MCO to the imagination increases the potential for qi deviation depending on how the imagination is employed, and delusion (phantom signs of progress etc.), and also creates what can become a negative dependence by tethering the activity of the MCO to the imagination.

Same principle, I understand, with the energetic level of merging kan and li (Which can be done by adjusting posture and centre of gravity so that the yi is, after time, free to reside elsewhere whilst kan and li are being merged independent of it.)

Thanks for that, I'll check it out.

 

I think his Daoist Acupuncture workshop would be an eye opener too...

 

Edit: Just checked out 'Heavenly Streams' - I'll get that one..

 

It sounds very similar to the point respiration and channel work I have been doing, feeling the elements and breathwork focus until the ego gets so tired it falls asleep and the inner vision of the channels opens up.

 

Nice tip, gracias!

Yeh, I had signed up for the 3-year Diploma in Daoist Medicine/Acupuncture. I think it'd be amazing. Sadly, I can't commit to the three year period of study, at the moment. A real shame, as the emphasis of the course is on traditional methods, rather than many of the modern acupuncture qualifications which try to align the practice with western medicine to make it more acceptable and palatable, at the cost of diluting the original teachings. From what I hear, there are not many courses like this out there at the moment. There is a strong focus on energy work aspects and connecting with the needle to allow out yi to enter the patient's meridians and thus alter the qi quality accordingly. 

AH well...

but yes, Heavenly Streams is a fantastic book, so hope you enjoy it.

Damo Mitchell's 'Heavenly Streams' book is all about the meridians and how to actively connect with them and 'feel' them...as well as changing the quality of the qi flow within to self-correct qi disorders (deficiency, stagnation, excess etc). It's hard work though, not a weekend's practice....more like months.

well, the chongmai fits the bill, but as far as I know that is on its own....

Could this not be the chongmai?

Or possibly the Du and Ren channels (governing and conception channels, activated during the MCO)?

To place your awareness there and casually observe what is taking place, as opposed to forcefully 'staring' or having laser-like focus on the dan tien. If you are a naturally tense or stressed person, then it is likely that your default level of attention will be too forceful. It should be almost passive, like watching TV

This is quite an advanced practice (in order to move the 'pill', the pill must be created which itself is a result of long months/years of correct training), so I would advise starting with a simple dantien meditation, as mentioned in one of your other threads.

If doing lower dantien meditation, remember to use a casual level of focus. If internally-directed focus is too strong, this will cause stagnation problems over time. I have experienced this myself

Damo teaches external as well as internal martial arts, though for the Nei gong practice, there is an emphasis on conditioning the body first via simple core work and mainly stretches. The foundtions of this system concentrate around standing forms (WuJi) and awakening the LDT via these (weight over K1, fold at kwa to bring centre of gravity into LDT, and control of breathing & yi), so the physical body is important.

However, the boot camp style external training is only for the external martial arts. That's not to say it would be detrimental to internal training, but certainly not necessary.

Sean - count me in. This is a generous and exciting offer.

cheers

 interesting in relation to the whole Mo Pai thing:

Damo Mitchell states that the LDT is tethered to its central axis by four yellow coloured lines extending from four yellow meridian points (which can be seen with 'inner vision') with time these can/will disappear and the LDT is then able to spin/move more freely....

.....

The first Bandha is breached which is akin to "cutting the cords" which shows that the LDT is not confined as many practitioners falsely believe

 

What we have is 'book mopai' versus real MoPai

 

......

Nice quote...but seems rather...verbose...for a Daoist!

Hey Thelerner

Just discovered this thread....have only read half of the first post so far (saving the rest for later) but it's a good read, very entertaining, informative...easy on the eye, crisp and solid prose. Kerouac meets Bukowski  Thanks for posting - look forward to reading my way through the pages

and if you have anything similar, i'd say: keep em coming!

all the best

...

If you're looking into books regarding Tao Yoga to help ground you in the basics look no further than the works of Eric Yudelove. .....

I would be very wary of taking instruction from someone who seems so fundamentally...ungrounded. I don't know anything of his work, but the drama of his life (and some rather unhinged posts on here from years back) have counselled me to steer clear. Just a caveat, all are free to make up their own mind

... Look at the world you live in and look at who you are and just explore and develop. Constantly. Look at what habits are sapping the most energy and just evade them, do something else, drink coffee and go to an art gallery. Commit to doing something wildly different......

excellent nugget of far-reaching advice there. kudos.

As interesting as Mo Pai is, the thread has gone somewhat off-topic - I am sure Ken's excellent forum is the ideal place for that discussion - maybe we can return to discussing Wang Liping. Has anyone read 'Ling Bao Tong Zhi Neng Nei Gong Shu' and have an opinion upon it?

Thanks for attempting to turn the thread to useful discussion. I know there are at least a couple of dedicated practitioners on here who could share their opinions and experience of ling bao tong zhineng neigong shu, but they are very wisely keeping their distance.... <sigh>

Yeah I haven't had much luck on that website. 

Luck with what?

PS - there are more details on the website: http://dragongate-academy.org

I think DragongateNYC is the lady known as Lotus there. Please correct me if I'm wrong

There is the possibility that Wang Liping is doing the December seminar in the US (West Coast). Still awaiting confirmation I believe.

Did anyone make any kind of progress with his niegong book ?

I worked with it for a while and did not find it very effective to be honest.

Yes, but to be honest it ojnly clicked for me once I attended a Foundations weekend course...covers the material in the first book but there is a lot that isn't in the book... (such as the stretching warmups, the correct wuji stance, the yi during the qigong exercises, using centre of gravity and breathing to locate the LDT etc)

Having said that, I got great results from the qigong exercises and the sung breathing even before the course... maybe it depends what you are after/looking for? One thing tp be aware of is that the book doesn't labour the point of how long it takes and how hard you should work to get results (although to be fair Damo does state it a few times in casual sentences which the reader tends to overlook.) These are practices (LDT awareness/ji ben qigong/sung breathing) you need to work daily with for months upon months to get to deeper levels, and then it would depend on your personal conditions (level of blockages, previous qigong/meditation work, stretching.) Sometimes the book reads too fast, as if these are practices that you can progress through in weeks. Maybe they are, if you have a solid enough foundation!

I can;t wait for the new book either. Damo is excellent and his teaching method and materials ring true. It's about self-empowerment, not so much about transmissions or healing. As far as I know, he doesn't offer healings (though does practice Acupuncture amongst other things - he is running a 2.5 year course in traditional Daoist acupunture/healing therapies starting next year.) His material is hard, and the neigong is long hard work. There are no quick fixes. There are indeed alot of similarities with the Longmen Pai methods, and one of the first goals of the school's neigong is to activiate the lower dantien. Though without a background of good solid qigong/dao yin practices, this will be hard. Hence the need for the hard hours doing standing and moving exercises.

You can see his neigong syllabus on the Lotus neigong website, to get an idea of what is involved.

Another thing is that Damo is honest and modest - he acknowledges that he is still a student, still learning. But he is much further ahead than most of us, which makes him an ideal teacher.

He is good at summarising and teaching the core truths of the practices from different schools, without the obfuscation and mysteries which are often present. RTead his books and you'll understand what I mean.

I like to cut up a bunch of vegetables and microwave it in a bowl with beans. I eat it with 15 grain bread so I don't have to cook rice all the time. You can add whatever healthy herb or oil or whatever to the bowl. You can finish cooking and eating in like 10 minutes

This sounds good Woodcarver - please could you elaborate?

What kind of veg? What kind of beans? Isn't it a bit dry?

thanks

Thanks all for the additional suggestions. I am proceeding with LKC's way of energy book exercises. They are perfect in time and (initial) simplicity and I am already enjoying them and feeling moderate benefits.

Feel free to keep any suggestions coming though, for the sake of the thread, which has turned out to be a real treasure trove, and fascinating to read

a few teachers have said, "you should never believe any spirit no matter what they say! they will always try to get something from you." what do you guys think?

If you replace the word 'spirit' with 'person' does it ring true then?

No difference, IMO.