sketchbo0k

Peace, I began zazen recently and I'm currently having a very difficult time accepting the mental power of 'the now'. I am constantly stopping mental chatter and unawareness. I'm living in the now and it feels very different, as if I am in a dream. The concentration is very powerful. During my prayers I am more involved and not in thought like I previously was. this is great, but it is a bit scary. Is this an effect of 'waking up'? Edit: i am also getting very emotional about it. In some of my sittings I feel extremely angry, sad or even want to cry. And I currently feel like crying for some reason

Hello, I hope all is well. I have been suffering from Eczema for an incredibly long time. I have recently read more about it and have found that my liver doesn't work as it should. The toxins are coming out of the skin because it is the only way out, for me. It is causing me tremendous discomfort on my skin and scalp. is there any practice like Qi Gong that will help me and my internal organs to recover and function properly? any information will help. note: I am living somewhere where there are no Qi Gong teachers, unfortunately. I don't mind taking online 1 on 1 sessions if that is the best way for my case. peace and prosperity, your brother, Ali.

I recently started practicing Baguazhang. My Sifu is no joke, he's the real deal he demonstrated Baguazhang on 5 of his best students and none could even touch him, but there is a language barrier so it is very hard for him to explain everything in detail. He started me off with circle walking, which I found a but weird because I always read about straight line walking as a starting point, but I've seen it happen. I read a few threads on this section and pretty much he pointed out most of what has been said in Trunk's topics. My only concern is the prerequisites. What do people suggest I do as prerequisites to circle walking? I'm usually there an hour before to do Zhan Zhuang and San Ti. What else should I work on? Should I do straight line walking an hour before?

There is a ton of information everywhere. I want to start Qigong but I don't know where. I had an instructor teaching me Bagua but when I asked him to teach me Qigong he would always change the subject or say "later later" (this is probably because we don't have much time where we train because of area reservations). I have started reading "The root of chinese Qigong" by Dr.Yang but I want to also start practicing and cultivating energy. I have some health problems (eczema mainly and minor lumbar problems) and I wish to start the healing process. I do know that it takes time and I'm in no rush for results. But results won't come without actual practice. According to Dr.Yang, I must read AND understand TROCQ before I can move on to the other book that has the Yi Jin Jing and Xi Sui Jing. TROCQ is huge and has tons of information, but is it really necessary to go over that one before moving onto practical stuff? What would you guys recommend?

I am currently using my imagination whilst sparing (Bagua) because I currently know none whereI am residing. While imagining an attack and responding to it physically does help me, I am wondering if sparring whilst lucid dreaming would help at all. What do you guys think?

Yes, I am hoping to learn Yi Jin Jing. Xi Sui Jing is said to be dangerous and shouldn't be learned without a teacher. I am positive that if I can practice YJJ and be able to do it properly he will guide me through XSJ

He's actually incredibly knowledgeable. He's a Chinese muslim and have learned under well known masters. I live in a very small country so he's the only one known for teaching authentic Chinese martial arts. He takes some students to where he used to learn during the summer holidays. I actually found out he teaches Bagua by coincidence. I had went with a friend to learn Gong fu because I had given up on finding a XingYi teacher here. But then I asked him and showed him my PiChuan. He was surprised that I knew this martial art so he took me in as a student. Then he told me to practice XingYi at home and learn Bagua when I am at the training place with him. He just doesn't seem to want to teach me QiGong. We would have 10-15 minute Zhang Zhuang at the beginning of the sessions but then our time was shortened by the guys who own the place so we had to move on with our essential training. There aren't any other QiGong teachers here unfortunately.

His walking is very peaceful. To me, when I spar using Bagua I invite the person to dance with me instead of fight. I don't want to have to hurt anybody.

I think what the original poster meant is a sub-conscious avoiding. You avoid something consciously because you want to or must avoid. But on a sub-conscious level you avoid what you really want because of something only your sub-conscious knows (e.g, you fear failing while you're on the road of achieving what you want.)

A few questions I've been wondering about for a while now, 1) How do I go about training to sleep in a cross-legged position, half-lotus or full lotus position? 2) How do I start training to let my body sleep but my mind remain awake and aware.

Hey guys, What can I do to sink lower while mud stepping? My back heel seems to lift off the ground when I try to sink really low. And when I try to sink lower in San Ti the top of my foot begins to hurt (where it says anterior talo-fibular ligament) Am I inflexible in that part?

Yup, almost always.

Except I'm not western at all today he taught me the single palm change. At first it was a bit hard to follow but then he explained why to do it and showed the practical use of it and it suddenly became easier.

I understood your statement shortly after posting my first reply but didn't feel like editing it. And I never stated that I "don't want to sleep". Thanks either way.

Most of my theory are from B.K Frantzis and books (Yang Jwing-Ming, etc.) and the practical things my Sifu is teaching me. He corrects my posture, placements and generally all my errors but he doesn't tell me 'Why'. That's why I'm getting my theory from somewhere where there isn't a language barrier. So when he shows me something I'll be like "Ahhhhh I know why" Thanks everybody for your efforts and answers.

As I said, huge language barrier, even if I explain it to him it might not go through. So I just want some info on what other work some people here are doing/have done.

I'm sorry but that has nothing to do with my questions

Hello, For sometime I have always wanted to practice Qi Gong and other internal arts but I've procrastinated to the point where I started hating myself for it. I have just recently started implementing small changes in my life and I believe it is time to implement the internal arts. I know of arts like Xing Yi, Qi Gong, Baguazhang and Tai Chi. My knowledge of them are slim to none. Unfortunately, these arts are not taken seriously in the country I live in so there are no teachers. I cannot yet move to another country because I am still in University. What I am hoping to achieve are a few things: Discipline, Healthier mind and body (I have eczema and from what I have read it means a weak liver) and Self-Defence. I do not know if I need to add more information but this feels like it is the correct amount. Would you please recommend something that will help me begin my path? (Articles, books, DVDs, etc.) Peace be with you.

Hello, About 6-7 years ago, I do not know what I did exactly (maybe standing and pretending to hold a ball, I'm sorry I don't remember the name of this position) but I started to feel waves of energy or a ball of energy on my palms whenever I concentrate and breathe slowly. Some exercises say imagine you are siting on a ball or imagine you're breathing out the black negativity from your nose. How do I do that? Should it be in first person? Should I imagine myself breathing out the polluted air? or should I imagine polluted air coming out of me? Whenever I start to imagine anything it begins to take me to different places and ruining my meditative state.

Look at the sun. Oh, you can't? If you cannot even look at the creation, how do you expect yourself to look at its creator?

Which makes you think of the question you posted "why do masters die young?". If those masters did not sleep for perhaps 3 days or even more, they would have been living for 72 hours in 3 days while you have only lived for about 48 hours in those 3 days. In Islam, sleep is called the "Smaller death" or the "temporary death". To me it seems that God, or whatever the person believes in, is giving them more time to live through years because they've been in a temporary state of death for a lot of their lives. And that shows generosity. But I have read and seen pious people and scholars live till 90-100 while they barely get any sleep (3-4 hours at most). One scholar saw his son getting ready for bed and told him, "That isn't how the scholar sleeps." So his son asked him to show how a scholar sleeps. The scholar lifted the pen from the paper and closed his eyes. Once the pen touched the paper he woke up and said, "This is how a scholar sleeps". I would love to learn this. Could you perhaps write a bit about it in a new thread?

I've had eczema before university. I've had it since the age of 10 maybe? I'm 19 now. And I also had it at the age of 5 but it went away from the back of my knees. Few years later it appeared in my scalp and now it is working it's way around my head (beard, scalp, forehead.) I'm not sure if I completely believe if I can't learn Qigong on my own. I will give it ago for a few months, if no results are shown , which I doubt because I can feel waves of energy in/on my palms when I start thinking about it or "imagining" (not sure if this is the correct word for it) it, I'll probably have to find a scholarship outside of my country to study so that I'd be able to practice these arts because I honestly have them way up my priority list. I probably cannot learn Xingyi on my own, but as far as I know, Qigong can be learned by yourself. I have a hard time believing that this energy, which is in everything, must be accessed through a teacher. It may be easier to access it through a teacher but it is definitely not impossible to do it on your own.

There are very few authentic Sufi scriptures/books. And most of them don't really speak of techniques but rather inklings of enlightenment and trying to remove any misunderstandings about Allah so that you'd come closer to knowing Him. People like Al-Ghazali and Ibn-Arabi have books on thinking-meditation but nothing like Qi Gong.

I actually do believe in Qi Gong. I've known Qi Gong for more than 5 years and I don't find it strange. I simply did not practice because I am lazy, I delay what shouldn't be delayed. I've delayed uni projects till the day before the deadline, not because I don't believe in them, but simply because I am lazy. Kuwait.