Miffymog

There was this teacher I knew who would be outside the exam room while the students were waiting to sit the test. They were all nervous and there was nothing he could do so he would walk down the line and give them all a 'Telepathic Boost'. This involved going up to them and giving them each a double fist bump (this is where you gently punch each others fists) while saying 'Telepathic Boost'. I'm not exactly sure how this works - but Manitou I'd like to give you a 'Telepathic Boost'!

Happy to add to this thread to keep it alive. At the moment I do two 15 minute stands a day, with warm ups and warm downs . In order to keep a consistent practice I don't tend to change the duration, but having read what you've said, I may well do a longer one every-now-and-then. Curiously enough, I've recently found myself standing at a shallower angle (ie more upright). I feel its because I'm developing muscles down the sides of my legs which I did not really use before. Although I'm not too sure of this and whether this would lead to my naturally using a shallower angle or not I'm quite happy with this development. I've got a dodgy knee cap which can flare up if I go too low. Also, putting more weight down through the bones makes it easier on the muscles, which means I find I can mentally relax more. I'm heading towards a 'Silent Illumination' type meditation, so the less I worry about the muscle strain the better.

As a result of nothing more than gut feeling and no understanding of how the brain functions - I've often thought this might be how our consciousness works. Our 'mind' is a supposition of many different thoughts and feelings, all of which are simultaneous existent at any one time. This is analogous to how, in quantum mechanics, opposing states can exist (and interact) at the same time. The interpretation that our consciousness 'collapses' some of these states into one being, to me, makes sense. i.e. how to use gut feeling If I ask myself, 'What would I like to do tonight?', I sometimes don't get an answer. But, if I can reduce the question to a single, yes or no response, my gut reaction is easier to read. So, 'Do I want a curry tonight?', is far more effective. When I do this, my consciousness collapses all of the numerous feelings I have about it (such as can I afford it, can I be bothered to cook etc) into a single state - yes or no, which I can feel.

Shame he wan't this guy how do you get that level of confidence?

I also really enjoyed reading this link. I'm currently dealing with some challenges in my life and I loved the way this text gave me a new perspective. There was a beautiful gentile rhythm of; here's how to look at the issue, and this is why you look at it in this way. This approach has helped me this week and I'd like to thank you. However, I'm going to have to add that my stomach did turn a bit when it used this positive helpful language to then reason why you should use Buddhism. I'm afraid I had some uncomfortable experiences with 'The Friends of the Western Buddhist Order' which used similar trains of logic to entrap people. I would like to want to add that there was only a small element of FWBO that was unpleasant, but unfortunately it was a fairly core part of the organisation.

A slightly off topic quick question for Rudolf_safie - I was just wondering how you went about learning ZZ, were you self taught or did you get instruction?

Just thinking out loud. Maybe pm the terms and conditions so that the thread is just their intro and then Marblehead's response?

I'm so glad you've put that video up. I'm only on 1st and 2nd postures and will be for some time, but I've seen these advanced ones in books and so am at least familiar with them. Well, today I spent 5 hours doing conservation in thick wet mud and my feet kept getting stuck. I ended up doing that dragon stance loads of times trying to get my feet out with my arms and body twisted just like that picture. I found out that what you're doing is moving all your weight on to one foot, on a low stance, while trying to stay balanced so you don't fall further in the mud. I'm not sure that these stances were originally developed by ZZ masters getting stuck in mud, but they might have done!!!

I've been concentrating on my Zhan Zhuang practice quite a lot over the last half year. Unfortunately, for the last couple of months I've been working out how to get round quite bad pain in my right knee. After adjusting my posture in a number of ways, when I finally got round to just looking down at my knees, I found that my right one was about an inch in front of the left one. Trying to work out how to solve this I decided to just stand up against a wall, with some upright DVD boxes on the floor to get my feet in the right place. Result? Total transformation in my practice. I slipped my disc 20 years ago and got bad sciatica down the right leg. Ever since then, when ever I stand at a bus stop or any where, I put all my weight down my left leg. This had ended up with my pelvis all over the place and a cork screw down the spine. Standing up against the wall has sorted out the cork screw of the pelvis, aligned my knees, significantly improved the quality of the energy I feel and increased the time I can stand while removing all the pain – I am now a much happier man ! So, standing up against a wall with some spacers on the floor might be an idea

between heaven and earth but where will we find that place? it is here and now

The question is does it feel like a simulation? No. It does, of course, all depend on what you call 'The Matrix'. If you take 3bob's definition then I might say yes. But, if you take KenBrace's definition Then I say no. What I'm saying is that what I see and hear is pretty much what is out there, just my view.

The question is does it feel like a simulation?

Hi ya Janga - good to hear things are getting better, this means you're already on the path!

he lets the prune go but, where does it go once gone I follow the prune

done

ummm - what about her place??? (there are many girls who actually prefer this as its in an environment they're familiar with and so more comfortable) (there also seems to be more going on than what you say in the OP)

A number of years ago I went through a similar process as you are going through now. In the end I decided to get off the roller coaster and stop trying retention. I was completely unable to manage the increased energy levels and although I loved the high it gave me, I hated the low after release. Also it is sometimes suggested that using the PC muscle to retain is actually using too much force in this practice. It is great that it's given you lots more energy and motivation, so it's probably not something you should quit, but the thing is, retention is a small part of a much larger practice (if used at all). Just focusing on this in terms of your energy work can lead to great variations in both your over all mood and energy levels, when more balance is probably better. Look to take up some other spiritual practices and don't count the days for how long you retain for.

The other one is that R2D2, aka the 'Chess Master', is actually the supreme Jedi. Continually in the thick of the action saving the day. There was far more to his meeting with Yoda than first meets the eye

Interesting stuff. I always used to see the purpose of a koan was to put yourself into a questioning state of mind. This brings about an awareness and interest in what is going on. I changed my mind towards this a couple of years ago when I came up with an answer to my koan and decided that the answer was more important than the questioning state of mind it produced. But, right now, my current reflection is the state of mind it produces is more important than the answer. It all depends on what state you're in and what stage you are at, I guess.

2 years ago I did some work on the koan "What is this?". The idea is, of course, to generate great doubt which when bursts, leads to (great) insight. I actually managed, for the first time in my life, to access the koan and work with it intensely for 3 months. Being unemployed helped as my mind was not occupied with the daily stresses of life. The result? It led me back to my Daoist studies and I've haven't looked back since. They key with generating doubt is that it helps bring up answers that you would not normally come up with.

This topic doesn't come up much but by coincidence, if you look through the latter pages of the current Mopai thread you'll find some stuff that might interest you.

Yep. I can tell how much crap is in my mind when I start doing something like the washing up. Halfway through, I'll find myself thinking about something completely random and irrelevant, or having an augment with someone in my mind! But it's getting slightly better at the moment. My methods are trying to be aware when my mind goes off on one and trying to remain positive about things. Straight forward advice, but trying to turn things positive is helping me at the moment.

Who The best thing here is just to Google him

Just to add, there have been times when I've stood for up to 20 minutes, when you do feel the benefits, but currently I'm only standing for 5 mins. Initially I thought is it even worth it as the benefits are significantly less but they are there, it just takes much longer.

I had very good teachers at school – at a young age, they gave me mastery of the fraction, two numbers which have completely different conceptual meanings – which, at a higher level, led to an ability to understand/appreciate algebra and then penetrate calculus. I then became a Maths teacher myself, even teaching Further Maths and training Oxbridge candidates for university entrance exams who were much more capable than me... What was the purpose of Maths for me as a teacher for the vast majority of students (not the high fliers)? Simple – to give the students confidence in their abilities by getting them to do some thing they could not do before. How? Repeating the same procedure until they could repeat it them selves.... This is a different approach to the best students who I took a more Zen approach to. Put a problem on the board and wait for them to solve it. (If they had a solution, they only wanted to know if it was right, if not, they did not want to know why, as they wanted to work out why them selves). Off topic - just a chat with Brian