Earl Grey

4 minutes ago, windwalker said:

 

 

And I wonder how it started with global warming to now climate change,

Climated does change, has changed and will change. 

 

As it changes some areas will benefit others will not as,

it's always been the 

case......

 

Clarification, please: are you making a statement, asking a question, or making a rhetorical musing? 

 

Whichever it is, what is the point you’re communicating?

 

Sincerely trying to understand because our first interaction was a  misunderstanding that I overreacted to before and am still apologetic over.

17 minutes ago, ralis said:

Antarctica Thwaites glacier’s collapse effect on sea level rise. AGW is increasing the movement/deterioration. 

 

https://www.alternet.org/2019/04/a-glacier-the-size-of-florida-is-on-track-to-change-the-course-of-human-civilization/

 

Whenever people say climate change doesn’t exist, I wonder if they have ever lived in countries that have environmental policies precisely because of climate change affecting things from agriculture to floods, droughts, and more, such as Indonesia or Philippines.

 

When I show my colleagues arguments that refer to “science” proving climate changes is a hoax, the first question they always ask is if the people referring to that data know any science at all.

 

Indonesia and the Philippines alone have hundreds of NGOs and local social entrepreneurs alongside government policies addressing climate change. If it’s still a fake, then I will move climate change skeptics to the same place that I designate anti-vaccinators and Flat Earthers. On the subject of Flat Earthers, apparently they believe Australia does not exist and they’re all actors paid by NASA since “no continent can cling to the bottom of a globe.”

Just now, Antares said:

 

Dear Earl Grey! (Nice nickname, just wonder is it cause you like this tea?   I like Puerh). 

 

By no any means I wish it is regarded as any sort of arguing or disrespect. I personally respect any genuine practitioner and have no intention to criticize anyone on this thread. I had previous background in FPQ practice and I enjoyed it at that time. Recently I felt like I am missing something in my practice and I do not know why I recalled FPQ!!! I began reading this thread again and I really enjoyed just reading it. I like warm atmosphere of this thread. One night I did 1st standing med Monk Gazing the Moon and then I did first warm up exercise on vol. 2. SoI did only 2 meds! That night I had a very vivid dream and it still continues to be very vivid and next day I felt that even at day time my perception was more vivid. So I can feel how powerful FPQ . But I am not sure whether I need to experience these vivid dreams at all. That' where my query comes from!     

 

Hi Antares,

 

Yes, I am a fan of Earl Grey and its many variants. There is a brand from Singapore, TWG, which is called "Earl Grey Gentleman" and is one of my favorites alongside French Earl Grey. From what I understand, there is also an Earl Grey Puerh tea from TWG too and popular. 

 

FPQ is fantastic and is my go-to for health. As students come and go on the site, this thread remains an oasis that is consistently monitored by Sifu Terry and me and other students still watch but don't post as much. Due to Sifu Terry's work, he isn't able to reply as much or as often as he would like either, so I've stepped in to help keep momentum here. 

 

In earlier posts, I mentioned how FPQ already enters my existing dreamwork to the point that I was already doing FPQ meditations while dreaming. Even recently, I have had dreams of doing FPQ meditations in dreams.

 

Flying Phoenix energy as often repeated here is unique, so it stays with you and is intelligent. There was a time I stopped for several months and came back. There are times I stop for a few days and feel a difference. The DVD series alone is great, but even if you never learn a new form after the initial volumes 1-5 and 7, a lesson or two with Sifu Terry to perfect your form and get some secrets about the forms really makes a difference. My Moonbeam and long form and flash meditations are a lot more refined from his adjustments.

 

To talk a little more about my own dream practice in relation to Flying Phoenix, we carry a lot of tension in our bodies and it shows when the heartbeat is rapidly pumping in our chests while waiting to lie down and relax. All the anxiety, stress, anger, and doubts pile up in the mind and in the physical body. This already made my earlier years of dream practice harder because I tried too hard to do dream practice. If I do Monk Holding Pearl while lying down, the body relaxes much more easily...but remember to do your closing breaths before going to sleep. 

 

I generally don't mix Shuigong with Flying Phoenix as the former is done at night and Flying Phoenix is my day practice, but the two seem to complement one another for me. For anyone who needs to check, as always, see Eric Isen to understand the impact of Qigong on you and what styles complement one another if you do more than just the Doo Wai systems here. 

 

One reason that vivid dreams from Flying Phoenix also is due to the fact that it is a very pure energy. I can share stories of how the long form MSW that Sifu Terry taught me invited a Buddhist being to come bless me and give what Eric Isen jokes as being a "psychic brain surgery" that opened up some channels of awareness and led to downloads. As recent as earlier this month, I dreamt I was doing the form again and saw my third eye in the mirror as a blue jewel in my forehead. 

45 minutes ago, Antares said:

A completely peaceful and restful heart experiences no emergence of karmic desires such as lust, greed, hate, pride, and fear. This is also why practicing and perfecting De is enough and absolutely mandatory for complete enlightenment as proven by Confucius and other sages throughout the world who encouraged moral perfection.

 

When the Heart-mind remains calm because of correct view or meditation, it experiences no outflows or attachments to the Desire Realm (i.e. manifesting karmic desires), hence it simply cannot lose any vitality. Loss of vitality is always and exclusively because of desiring that springs from an unsilent heart, and the Daoist tradition says this loss happens through the bodily orifices to satisfy various desires.

As such, the argument of Antares and Daode school can be an insidious half-truth: it lacks nuance. Lucid dreaming can be very beneficial if you are calm and ethical with it, and then it will work for karmic purification as any other conscious activity in "waking" life. Flying Phoenix should work extremely well towards this end because its energy is inherently calming and rejects unethical behavior.

 

There are two main approaches in TT - cultivation of Xing at fist and then Ming, or Ming following by Xing. But purification of Mind-heart (Xin) is very necessary in both cases. I can agree that losses  happen due to the our Mind-heart impurities. But it does not mean that when someone cleanses Heart-mind, this leakage stops happening. I would say that our desires, lust, greed, thoughts... only speed up this loss of vitality. That is why there are  special methods in TT (Neidan) that lead to the stopping of leakages. And this is the first basement in Alchemy. Ancient taoist schools had their own methodology how to do it. And there is only one way to stop these leakages - to replenish Yuan Jing which in it turn purifies the Heart Mind and stops outflow of vital energy through bodily orifices. In order to replenish this Yuan Jing a practitioner sholud avoid lucid dreaming otherwise it speeds up the outflow of this essence. As simple as that. In TT methods of lucid dreaming are not used at all and there is not even such a term in Chinese. As for INSIDIOUS HALF TRUTH "of Antares and DaoDe school" there is not my own opinion on that issue and all these statements are based on taoist scriptures. As for this BUCK will stop when Terry Dunn answers in this thread I personally will highly appreciate his answer but it would be nice and ethically right if Sifu Terry cites taoist scriptures in regard to this issue. I can only remind that Sifu Terry said a few times that all Bai Fu Pai methods are PURELY TAOIST ARTS. If there are such a method in taoism then it should be written down in taoist scriptures. Another issue is that FPQ has different origin (i.e. NOT taoist) and had a huge influence of Buddhism (Tibetan) then it should be regarded as buddhist method of Dharma. What I would like to say in general is that normally any authentic methodology of alchemical transformation is quite extensive and has different stages. I would highly appriciate if any of the FPQ practiotioners can give a broad reply on how one stops leakages in FPQ so that one can stop leakages and replenish the Ming (Yuan Jing and Qi).      

 

 

Antares, I assure you no disrespect came my way when replying to you, but I simply relayed what the other student wanted to convey and will also see what comes from Sifu Terry. 

 

The anonymous student will give his/her own reply (as may any others who prefer anonymity through me, Sifu Terry's thread assistant) and I will relay it here for you all. 

 

In the event of any conflict, I will see to it that respect is maintained. 

14 hours ago, Antares said:

 

Well, I have nothing to say against Sifu Terry's opinion and by no any means I oppose " my" theory to his theory on the mastery of sleeping but I only remind you what TT says on this issue. As I can recall it Sifu Terry said a few times that FPQ is based purely on taoist teaching, so this observation is made having regard to practical reasons from taoist perspective. I just want to add that retrograde Mercury forced me to re-read many pages in this thread and and I decided to chime in and share some of my observations. I have no any desire to post it for general discussion on the TTB as I am not inetersted in it. On this forum people say what they like and what they want how it should be, for me it will be idle loss of time

 

As for FPQ I have nothing to say against this practice and honestly I think that this is one of the best qigong that is available in the West. But I personally regard it as good form of tao yin which can give a lot of profound benefits to many practitioners all over the world.   

Best regards, Yauhen   

 

10 hours ago, Astral_butterfly said:

As far as I have learnt, we dream because all of our body "layers" do not live in the same place. The time when we stop dreaming, is when we are fully integrated into one body. This is not something that someone at my level of consciousness can achieve by merely willing it.

People like me still dream because we need to get to know ourselves through our different dimensional existences and our waking life doesn't reveal some of these useful facets of ourselves. 

 

I have learnt that these "bodies" keep doing what they are doing, regardless of where our frontal brain is active. In dreaming, like in any non-ordinary reality setting (like "astral projection"), the main consciousness simply shifts to get a glimpse of what the other selves are doing, which can be useful for growth. When we wake up, the self that is in the dream dimension continues to go about its life.  We can't stop that body from carrying on its business until we integrate it into our "main life".

 

So dreaming is not a verb as much as it is a condition/location/dimension/body. What stops us from dreaming is bringing every part of ourselves under the control of our frontal brain. It happens spontaneously as a natural by-product of spiritual evolution, this evolution being what we may have a degree of control over.

 

I'd like to give a couple points here shared by some students who messaged me anonymously with their views on dream work and questions too. Sifu Terry also gave a very specific clarification as well. 

 

Starting with Sifu Terry's point on dreaming and Flying Phoenix: "Consciously doing a dream practice while in FPCK practice AND CONSCIOUSLY BLENDING IN A DREAMSTATE INTO FP consciousness is not wise. FPCK is complete and sufficient." 

 

He will clarify this, but one takeaway I see from this statement is to not do dreaming practices while in the midst of FPCK meditations.

 

I keep my own Shuigong practice separate from FP and have been doing dream practice before learning FP, and find that it improves because of FPCK. 

 

How it has worked for me personally (and I do not endorse it for others) is that dreamwork, dreamwalking, lucid dreaming--all of it can tire you out a lot because of the mental strain associated with it. The more the mind tenses, the more exhausted we get. With FPCK, the mind expands and is relaxed, and in a more relaxed state, the flow of the dream state is easier to navigate. This is the difference between rowing your galleon ship on quicksand and on water. 

 

Another comment from an anonymous FPCK student who chimed in said the following:

 

The Chinese tradition calls mind Xin, which is often more literally translated as Heart-mind. Even though the mind itself is shapeless and unbound and the physical heart not, all the valid religious traditions in the world eventually aim for the _purification of the heart_ which they often explicitly spell out. Purifying the mind and heart are exactly the same things: the heart is the emperor organ that controls our emotional responses which in turn are our primitive thought patterns. Almost all of our thoughts are in response to emotional stirrings as you may well observe. Some are very subtle, which is why total karmic cleansing can be hard work depending on the spiritual methods utilized -- wrathful tantric practices are especially meant for provoking these subtle defilements to surface, hence transforming desires via tantra is a quick path.

 

A completely peaceful and restful heart experiences no emergence of karmic desires such as lust, greed, hate, pride, and fear. This is also why practicing and perfecting De is enough and absolutely mandatory for complete enlightenment as proven by Confucius and other sages throughout the world who encouraged moral perfection.

 

When the Heart-mind remains calm because of correct view or meditation, it experiences no outflows or attachments to the Desire Realm (i.e. manifesting karmic desires), hence it simply cannot lose any vitality. Loss of vitality is always and exclusively because of desiring that springs from an unsilent heart, and the Daoist tradition says this loss happens through the bodily orifices to satisfy various desires.

As such, the argument of Antares and Daode school can be an insidious half-truth: it lacks nuance. Lucid dreaming can be very beneficial if you are calm and ethical with it, and then it will work for karmic purification as any other conscious activity in "waking" life. Flying Phoenix should work extremely well towards this end because its energy is inherently calming and rejects unethical behavior.

 

I share this above quote with as much respect to Antares and the anonymous comment from the above student and remind everyone that with all of our experiences and personal journeys, ultimately, the buck stops here with Sifu Terry, who will reply shortly after this weekend. 

3 minutes ago, Antares said:

 

Earl Grey, I think that we have to realize where qigong came from and how it appeared in the West. Qigong is corrupt form of ancient alchemy which was invented not so long time ago. But the alchemy is an ancient sacred knowledge which dates back to the Yellow Emperor' period of ancinet China. Only a few Chinese taoist schools have preserved its teaching in purity having been not corrupted at a later time.  In order not to sound proofless I will cite a fragment from the Chen Tuan 華山十二睡功總訣 ( main explanations on the 12 steps of shuigong methods from the Huashan mountains ). 

 

 

It was discussed on the Saint Petersburg's traditional taoist center forum 

https://forum.daode.ru/f1461/dream-yoga-taoist-view-33609/

(you can read the whole thread if you wish. But sorry for somebody's bad translation from Russian  ) 

 

 

 

 

While this is interesting to share (but still doesn't seem to align with what Sifu Terry has taught us, his private students and my other teachers for that matter), I will have to remind you that we need to focus on this specific system of Flying Phoenix, which, I will add operates differently from most other styles of Qigong and from TCM. 

 

If you are so inclined to bring this up, please open another thread to split from this one. Sifu Terry will respond to this if he feels it is pertinent to the thread (I've just contacted him). 

16 minutes ago, Antares said:

Hello everyone. Let me chime in. As far as I know according to the authentic Taoist Tradition (TT) a practitioner should avoid any dreaming on the advanced level of practice. The reason for that is very simple - dreaming, especially vivid lucid dreaming, depletes one's jing and pactitioner must preserve it for converting it into Shen. But for that there must be a special alchemical method. 

 

In the beginnig of this thread I read that Feng Tao Te invented this system while sitting in deep meditation for 9 years. He seemed to do that on the last stage of the alchemical practice (converting  Shen into Emptiness).  It might mean that  he reached the very high level of the alchemical mastery and gained Immortality. By the way did anyone have channeling to Feng Tao Te? 

 

I am not sure why practitioners should avoid advanced dream practice as another style I practice, Sleeping Qigong from Nan Yun, is openly taught but rare. 

 

Sifu Terry himself says FP practitioners are known to have more lucid dreams and better sleep, so I am not sure I understand what you’re saying or what reasoning behind it is.

8 minutes ago, Zork said:

There are many ways to fight. Gandhi was one hell of a fighter and he couldn't hit a sack.

 

This is a fantastic point here. There's an entire book called "Blueprint for Revolution" which talks about fighting with nonviolence against oppressive regimes. The line there that correlates to this is that the conflict hasn't ended, the battlefield has changed. 

 

External styles I've found really reveal the nature of practitioners as much as internal styles reveal the mystique behind their adepts. Some MMA fighters I know are very friendly and respect my internal styles, another spends his days trying to recruit me as a student because he thinks internal styles are just fake and about mind training. The latter lad has never been in a fight outside the ring and was surprised that I know how to handle myself in conflict better than he had assumed. 

 

Liuehebafa, by the way, is a style that is meant to appear weak and compared to Tai Chi, appears to have no internal power. When you feel yourself hit by someone doing Liuhebafa though (even without Fa Jin)...

1 hour ago, Zork said:

Yes that is true sometimes but doesn't this also happen if you learn from dvds? I mean even if someone does have intention to teach you deeper aspects of the art how will he/she do that through a non interactive medium?

 

 

If you don't need fighting ability why do you care if pushing hands is a "game" or not?

 

How does one test skill without others? I practiced for a year away from my training group here and thought my skill got worse. I was relying on my own sense of self and had no one to compare to because I felt weaker. When they saw me at the Christmas gathering, they all noted I had appeared to gain levels of skill beyond what they expected. This was from one-on-one training only with the teacher and with my daily practice before seeing the group.

 

Conversely, another student didn't feel he needed our group and joined a different group who claimed to be better. His tension increased and his form looked sloppy from their "corrections" and his Zhan Zhuang looked like Jim Carrey as Ace Ventura attempting yoga postures, especially what appeared to be him doing downward dog (and he may as well have talked with his ass as well) and calling it ZZ. 

 

Practicing daily with a bad group affects your skill. Practicing on your own with the right instruction and teacher does improve your skill. A DVD is not enough, and this is from me, someone who first learned Flying Phoenix Qigong from the DVDs and then went to Sifu Terry later on to personally learn and improve beyond the skill level from those DVDs. 

43 minutes ago, rideforever said:

My interest is the Real, the existential, the immortal.   And practice is a means to that end, fighting is truth it is confrontation with reality, as a tool - it saves you from mentalising your learning.   Fighting is fighting, if you have been in a fight or a war, you see how things are.  There are no rules, there is the will to kill, to win, at any cost, using any method, using deceit.

I have many things to learn, and in the future will rejoin a Taiji group here.

My teacher is my teacher, he is a teacher of existence, not of following, but of entering, of becoming.   Of having the will to be.   That is the foundation of my practice and my life and enters into all activities, like Taiji.

Being taught is only a small beginning.   It is only when you do it yourself that you are suddenly woken up, and confronted with this.   What can I make of this ?   What shall I do with this ?   Suddenly life is alive, it tears something into you.  You have the choice, to do it, or not to do it.  There are no excuses.   There is just you, and the will to live, or not to.  "Lessons" are then seen as getting into a comfortable bed, break time, between encountering life itself.

It takes years of deep work to create yourself.   If you wish to.   But if you have that wish then 20 years of effort passes by almost unnoticed because when you are climbing a mountain you don't notice the "effort" any more.

This kind of mindset is fresh and alive.  

 

I can't make heads or tails of what you're saying. I also don't understand why you come to learn Liuhebafa and then appear to say fighting is useless and teachers and lineage aren't important but are trying to find someone who can instruct you or a good DVD it seems. 

 

What you're describing as "the real, existential, and immortal" doesn't seem to add up to some of the things you're saying in this thread and responses to what's been said on this page alone. It sounds more like you're still brainstorming or organizing your thoughts, and in my earlier days of training, the seated and standing practices brought all sorts of thoughts and experiences which my teachers helped correlate to the advancing of skill and depth of understanding...which, by the way, is something that is the beginning of awareness, just like awareness is the beginning of true martial skill, and true martial skill is what transforms fighting into healing and how traditionally they learned to heal before fighting.

 

Some people can learn one basic standing or seated meditation and from that the ten thousand things manifest after years and years of constant cultivation. But why spend decades wandering on your own when an opportunity to learn from someone presents itself and doesn't just shorten your journey, but gives you a roadmap and compass? If wandering is your thing, knock yourself out, but you seem to have an end goal and it doesn't appear to be clear with what you say you want versus what you actually want and how you're going about getting it/them. 

 

Anyway, the levels of fighting go beyond just sensing hands or combat for survival.

Yes, real teachers have terrifying power, but are wonderful beings because of their cultivation.

 

Push hands is not a game because it actually has energetic value to it. Few people on this forum talk about it let alone know about it or have quality training and it shows in the level of understanding of posts here, especially nowadays with many former members gone. Fighting itself is a game because it’s juvenile and is the expression of unaware and un-evolved beings.

 

A lad once thought he was tough because he competed in MMA. He met my teacher in Manila and my teacher played with him like a parent and a child throwing a tantrum, which was exactly that based off of that lad’s ego. I did the same to a drunk once two years ago and the drunk cried about how I “was so mean” for “hurting” him when I merely refused to allow him any chance to strike me with his limbs. Sensing hands came out naturally in that situation.

 

Sensing hands is an exchange in energy and great for both control and understanding your own energy projection. Wang Xiangzhai once shook hands with another challenger while walking into a stadium and they maintained their grip the whole time until the opponent fell suddenly. This was just before the match. They were already engaged in sensing hands in a way nobody else could see without that level of skill.

 

So if you have a real adept in your life, you may already be learning without realizing it.

On 3/21/2019 at 1:03 AM, joeblast said:

Regardless of what people's opinions are about the guy, it is a fact that when our dear ol pal Yoda got the visitors he kept wishing for and they would not stop bothering his entire family and would not go away when asked, Mak Tin Si's efforts saw Yoda's family have some peace from the now-unwanted visitors.

 

I'm not saying it was strong enough to turn goat piss into gasoline, but the fu's and such worked in an actual we-know-this-guy case.

 

Proof be in puddin' *shrugs*

 

On 3/21/2019 at 4:20 AM, Aetherous said:

It could've just been a kind of chaos magic, law of attraction, or placebo effect type thing, when Yoda's problems stopped after applying what appeared to be a solution to the problems.

Or maybe the talismans etc were legit. I mean, that's truly a possibility too. The source of them is silly, but sometimes silly people can have learned magic, too.

Either way, it was unfortunate that he felt like it was bad enough that he had to leave the forum and break contact with his fellow cultivators. Such a thing, in my mind, really looks like the beginnings of joining a dangerous cult. As such, I hope he's not associated with Mak Tin Si anymore, and is carefree and enjoying life.

 

Fu talismans are not hard to make honestly and with The Tao of Craft by Benebell Wen they are quite accessible to even the most uninitiated individual. There is a price to be paid for using them though... but that’s not for the subject at hand.

 

I am not a fan of MJS and Miss Wen and I both agree that he says funny things. The worst I saw was when he wrote in one of his many sites that Buddhism was demonic and what does he post to support it? A picture of a video game character, Gouki (Akuma in the US), and says that this is a Buddhist demon and to stay away from Buddhism. 

 

http://tantrismuskritik.blogspot.com/2013/05/taoism-vs-tibetan-buddhism.html

 

https://eldercraigblog2012.wordpress.com/2014/04/19/mak-jo-si-www-chiinanture-com-fake-daoist-god-aka-demon-worship-busted/

On 3/24/2019 at 7:06 PM, Astral_butterfly said:

Side note: I have always had spontaneous memories of long-forgotten dreams (sometimes after as much as 30+ years or even childhood), during my normal waking state.

 

Yesterday, I had such a recollection, but to my surprise, I went from one to another successively, finding myself in from 6 to 10 different dream scenes.

 

It was great to find again all these dream locations, that had escaped my waking memory. I really enjoyed the travelling and the scenery. Now I won't forget them anymore. Funny, they all had the same "feel" and "look". As if they happened in the same "dream world", even "dream province", I daresay the exact same location, but different parts, even though one was a block of flats, the other a market, yet another a shopping mall etc. I recognised the link by road because some shared the same routes.

 

I repeat, this was in normal consciousness.

 

I attribute this to FPCK. It never happened to me before.

 

I wrote about this in my own ppj about mapping out familiar locations in the dreaming and my own personal dreaming map. 

 

I can only attest that the expansion of the mind and soul are infinite compared to the body. The soul work and the mind expansion occur with the right practices. It is not unlikely that Flying Phoenix plays a role in this, but how it works is highly individualistic without proper guidance.

 

More reasons to seek one-on-one training with Sifu Terry.

Lineage is pedigree and power is one measure of skill.

 

People can generate many things that are theirs, but the value of it is highly subjective. The masters of old lineages generated things themselves and the pedigree is what keeps these teachings going. How one creates something and measures value is difficult to self-assess without others to test against.

 

Fighting, healing, and transcending are hardly seen in words alone, and never seen in arguments because the ones who know don’t need to argue. I learn from my lineage because while there’s definitely more to it than just the martial skill, there is the life transformation and health that comes with it and it complements my other lineages.

 

I find that on this site for many people who are in the camp of not needing masters because of modern technology and DVDs, if they were to meet people with actual skill and able to teach them then they would have a very different attitude as opposed to the “there is no need for teachers” battle cry. I also find if they can’t find teachers, or are rejected by said teachers, or find that their own teachers are frauds or unqualified that they seek to find ways to disqualify other teachers and those who are their students.

 

The easiest measure of skill happens in person when touching hands or making eye contact, or in their character and interaction with others and respect for them.

On 3/7/2019 at 11:36 PM, GreytoWhite said:

 

I think this is Wu Yihui's son-in-law demonstrating and his son doing the talking.

 

I really like Mok Kei Fai and Choi Wai Lun's demos. Don't forget about David Chan if you want to look into the unification of Yiquan and LHBF or the Han family Yiquan guys.

 

 

 

This is my teacher's home as this is his channel and this lineage is indeed legitimate. The video is of JR Rodriguez, his martial son, who is one of the two masters in the lineage because his biological sons weren't interested. JR is the only one teaching because Dylan is only teaching his own sons.

 

On 3/9/2019 at 7:48 PM, lifeforce said:

There may be more factors involved in his shortened life. However, I've noticed a few high profile internal master's who don't live long. I've suspected it may be related to the release of fajin on a regular basis. I can't be entirely sure though. I'll have to do some more research on it.

My goal, if you could call it that, is longevity. I want to grow old gracefully, in the best health I can.

I see the internal arts as crucial to this goal. Of course, diet, mental well being and genetics play a big part.

In the xingyi lineage I practice in, folks were living until 100 years of age, 90's were very common. Plus they didn't deterioate much as they aged. I'm talking good eyesight and hearing, flexibility and strength, virus resistance up until their last days. Dying peacefully when their time is up.

Some things that are emphasized in their training is NOT hitting bags, pads. Fajin is non-existent. All movements, striking, forms, standing are internalised to the maximum in a process which is constantly ongoing. Softness and relaxation. Far too many videos I see in xingyi look like karate.

That's why I like the look of LHBF. It takes the internalisation to beyond what I've ever seen, maybe yiquan is similar in this respect.

 

 

Likewise David Chan is my Shigong, the master of my teacher. He did a lot of Fa Jin and I posted some stories about him already. 

 

We do the Liuhebafa form and training, but also 1/3 of Yi Quan is incorporated for power. 

 

His death was attributed more to bone cancer which was derived from an older version of Iron Shirt/Golden Bell training he was doing that he forbade us from doing later on when he realized it does not mix with our practice. Publicly, he says to everyone do not put your knuckles on flesh when doing Iron Shirt--use your palms only. We have felt the differences in training significantly. 

 

As there are far more stories for training from strength trial and supernatural things from our school that relate to our training, I can't discuss too many of them aside from what has already been posted in the archives of the site years ago, but a PM to me depending on what you want to know might be more appropriate. 

 

Besides: the statement earlier that there seems to be no evidence of internal magnetic comprehension bears no weight on our school because what the eye can see in a video and what the body feels in person are totally separate things. It takes a skilled and properly trained eye to see these things in videos and it isn't even just energetics, it is particular movements and knowing the difference between rooting and grounding.

 

The videos, by the way, are from years ago and the skill by today's standards in our school are low as Master JR himself says that they were just learning Fa Jin when he posted himself and his contemporaries outside of Master David. Teaching in the school is very different now from when Master David was teaching, and skill development is different as he is teaching power, skill, and form simultaneously as opposed to form and skill before power like Master David used to teach. There's also an emphasis only on martial applications as supernatural skills are not of any interest to the lineage, but we have had them. It's my other lineages that embrace the supernatural, and those are for moving beyond martial applications. 

 

From the words of Master JR about an individual LHBF teacher who claimed the lineage of David Chan and JR has no power or legitimacy: “He's welcome to meet us anytime. 😎”

 

So there you have it. If you are in Australia, Philippines, or Thailand, schedule a meeting with JR and see if you want to do an initial test, train with him, or test power with him. He goes between those three countries often and as his primary student I can arrange meetings with people interested in meeting him. Anyone in Taiwan this year may or may not have a chance to see him too based on availability.

 

As a last message from Master JR: "We are still teaching but only to very VERY few select pupils. We claim direct lineage to both Liu He Ba Fa and Yi Quan through Chan Yik Yan and Lieu Peng Chi, who are our Great Grand Masters."

Dear Fellow Students,

 

Beware the Ides Idleness of March!

 

It is the third month of the year and for everyone's New Year resolutions to practice more, if life hasn't gotten in the way yet, it will. 

 

Here's a little something to remind you of: it is Mercury Retrograde now, and as posted before in the thread, Sifu Terry has recommended being vigilant with practice in order to help overcome the difficulties of this time with more frustrating communications from tech to contract signing to traveling and moving places, or just generally throwing your hands up in the air when talking with other people. One only needs to read YouTube comments or go to the Off-Grid section in this forum to see this. 

 

For most people, it's a challenge for our egos and our patience to deal with this astrological hurdle, but for Flying Phoenix students, we are more than prepared for it. Three seated and three standing forms daily are enough to put you in a state of awareness, psychic protection, calm, good health, and understanding to help you get through this and align with the cosmos. 

 

Today, I did the following forms, which includes some things that Sifu Terry taught me in our private lessons: 

 

MSW1 90 50 40 30 10,

AMSW3 70 50 20 10,

AMSW2 80 70 50 30,

MSW Long Form,

 

followed by

 

supine MHPearl,

Wind Above the Clouds,

Wind Through the Tree Tops, and

Capstone Long Form from Volume 4,

 

followed by an advanced seated form from San Gong,

a basic Bok Fu Pai form (Guardian Standing at Temple Gate),

 

Flash Meditation 5 for Bat Din Gum, and

 

Tao Tan Pai Cane form.

 

In the words of Depeche Mode, "I just can't get enough!"

 

For all newbies, don't worry if you're not there yet in your practice or you don't even know three seated and three standing forms yet. Even one meditation is enough to put you in a sublime state and ready for healing yourself (and eventually, others too)!

 

EG

45 minutes ago, StillWater said:

Sorry to ask again, if anyone would have a moment to just point me in the right direction I'd really appreciate it....  no response and I'll assume that would mean I'm being stupid and should look further elsewhere.

 

Thanks and my apologies for being pushy
 

 

 

It just takes time for Sifu Terry to respond, hang tight. Also, the forum is not as active as a lot of old members are not here as often as they used to be, so they are less responsive than they used to be in the past. 

 

Patience is a virtue.

2 hours ago, BluePhoenix133 said:

I am not sure where i read it but apprently the flying phoenix chi works best for those who are virtuous, i really like that idea like its almost impervious to being misused.

 

Yes, this has been mentioned here before on the thread. Many high level qigong styles also have this characteristic as good deeds will expand your virtue (“Te” or “De”, 德) and in turn bring in flow.

 

I will also add something GM Doo Wai said that Sifu Terry quoted long ago here:

 

”Cosmic consciousness is both totally ruthless and highly indifferent.”

 

The quote also synchronized with two volumes I was reading at the time and their appropriate quotes:

 

”You are precisely as big as what you love and precisely as small as what you allow to annoy you.” - Robert Anton Wilson

 

”Do not seek in your vitality what you do not find in your heart.” - Mencius

 

It is also worth noting from the Akashic Records that the Masters and Teachers state that cosmic morals and justice are viewed and defined very differently from how humans define them.

 

A few tropes you may find that is as oversimplified as it can be would be “Good is not nice”, “Dark is not evil”, “Light is not good”, refering to how those who are virtuous may not seem charming and sweet, that darkness does not have to always be evil as there is peace in the shade from the burning sun in the desert, and meditating in a cave in the dark helps us to see the those who deceive us by saying they serve the light and therefore must be good but in truth serve sinister motives (the Crusades come to mind).

 

Very good reminder. Thank you for sharing, Blue Phoenix.

On 2/16/2019 at 6:15 AM, flowing hands said:

Today Many school Children bunked off school in protest of not enough is being done about this ever approaching disaster. We are losing nearly 1000 species every month. There are currently 36% human population, 60% cattle and domesticated animals and 4% wild animals inhabit this earth. Yes its shocking. The sea has also lost massive amounts of species also. As Dao followers what do you think we can do to help this disaster? Give us some ideas to help solve this problem. I know what I have done, but I want to hear what others think. 

 

I am responding to this original post because I want to speak to the spirit of the intended dialogue here. But I will not hesitate to say that it is sad that speaking to the original intention of this thread would take it off topic from what this thread has broken down into, when perhaps the arguments on whether climate change is real or not really should split off into its own thread while the OP seriously could have been salvaged with a little moderation. 

 

What can we do to help this disaster? In my own work in the nonprofit/NGO/sustainability field, I've seen both bottom-up and top-bottom initiatives, and it's not just a trendy thing amongst the youth/"Millennials" and such, it's practical and diminishes the carbon footprint. 

 

I am online much less than the global average, and don't use my phone other than for calls and texts, which I can count how many calls and texts I get on one hand in a week because people know I don't like answering my phone or texting--charging the phone, computer, tablet--all of that is a drain. I get my news from broadsheets and because I like reading newspapers instead of off a screen, and they are much easier to recycle. 

 

Commuting is more practical than buying a car, whether it's an electric or hybrid, and cheaper in any case. I generally walk more.

 

When I lived in Tanzania, we generally tried to use the same bottles again and again as often as possible because in the rural countryside, the only way to rid ourselves of waste was to burn it, and nobody wanted to burn it and also risk bringing the entire village down during a dry season. 

 

When I lived in Indonesia and the Philippines, people were known to save bottles and fill them up with sand and create little ecological houses with them--sadly, a lot of that waste came from China, Canada, and Korea, as the Philippines in particular is treated as a dumping ground. Sri Lanka's project had us take some scrap and tires from the war and painted them to make into a children's playground.

 

During the day, in one apartment I lived in, I don't turn on the lights unless necessary, and I've been using candlelight more often when writing or reading at night. In another apartment that had no sunlight, I don't even need to turn on the lights because my qigong practices have my eyes closed often (Sleeping Qigong and Flying Phoenix), and mantra practice as well. I get all the light I need from the sun or candles. 

 

I don't eat a lot of meat, but I still enjoy it, and generally, I do my shopping once a week at the organic farmers market because I don't like the hormones or the diet and conditions most animals live in for conventional merchants. 

 

 

One of my organizations, Shumei, does a lot of natural agriculture, which has brought tasty and organic food with neither pesticides nor fertilizer or crop rotation. 

 

There are plenty more actions that I take to minimize my impact that are second nature because it just becomes practical and routine rather than an inconvenience to people's broken pedestal of convenience in the modern world of apps and service. I don't even use straws or lids anymore when getting a drink, bring my own metal straw and chopsticks and spork, and the list goes on. 

 

The earth is my home and I am a tenant and a roommate who is trying to make the place nice for me and for whomever moves in when I'm gone. Whether they appreciate it or listen to me is another story, but at least I do my part. 

 

4 hours ago, ridingtheox said:

day 56  having  completed more than half  my  108 day gong for the long form.    I discovered a youtube for moonbeam splashes on water by sifu Dunn;  left  a comment;  and  ...  realized i don't have the preparatory breathing sequence  and  would appreciate someone leaving a response so that i can incorporate MSW  in my 'exploratory'  practice regimen ...  

 

90-60-50-20

On 2/21/2019 at 11:43 AM, LightShadowDao18 said:

Has anybody practiced flying phoenix with a blindfold on? Would there be anything wrong with doing so? 

 

Ive been practicing FP for almost three years now and acouple weeks ago i finally learned the long form. I used a blind fold to help me get more confident with the moves. Particularly the step out and lift leg/step out. I found that using a blind fold allowed me to go even deeper in and move even slower with little to no tension. 

 

The only drawback i can see is you cant open your eyes immdiately after the third closing breath.

 

Appreciate any feedback

 

14 hours ago, Astral_butterfly said:

I think only Sifu Terry will be able to answer this.

FPCK has been regulating my hormones, that I am 10/10 certain of.

I have not menstruated since a long time since I take the progesterone pill.

But now all of a sudden I am menstruating today.

I don't know what to make of this. Could FPCK have made me ovulate?

Could it override the effects of the pill?

 

I will ask Sifu Terry to either send me his responses or to answer directly.

Terry's forum for his Flying Phoenix discussion is here, as will be in the future his posts on Tai Chi, Tao Tan Pai, and other forms he teaches: 

https://www.thedaobums.com/forum/548-zen-bear/

 

As he is very busy, I am moderating his personal forum on his behalf and relaying crucial messages his way. 

Just now, Astral_butterfly said:

 

Wow thanks for the reassurance. I hope whoever he is, that he can get something out of it too

 

He does.

2 minutes ago, Astral_butterfly said:

 

Thanks for your input. It is not a projection, nor an offshoot of energy. It is a definitely a separate entity, most likely the energy of somebody who lived there before. There are three of us who have experienced him and he does no harm. He seems happy to just live there and seems to like us. I was not too worried about him, but then I came across the post about hauntings from Sifu Terry, so I was just curious as to the energetic consequences. I would really like to continue practising at home, his presence does not scare me so I hope Sifu Terry says it is fine.

 

 

Then likely it's not a problem because FP is a very strong healing art and plants, animals, the environment, and others receive that healing energy. Flying Phoenix raises the vibrations of a place and those residing there, so you're good as far as I have seen in my own experiences. 

Responding to the above posts from my own experience and from conversations with Sifu Terry before he has a moment to respond personally, as he is VERY busy through March at the moment:

 

4 hours ago, Astral_butterfly said:

 

Hi Sifu Terry

 

I have a spirit living in my place. He does not do evil, he just lives with us, ever since we arrived in end 2012. He occasionally speaks to us and sometimes he acts playful. Is it bad for me to do FPCK at home? Should I only do it at work- unfortunately at work I can only do it in a room full of electronic equipment which stay idle but is switched on.

 

I think the guy at home likes to be near me when I do FPCK, because he comes into the same room where I am practicing.

I don't know how close he comes, but aside from the blue light that she sees clearly, my daughter saw a black shadow around me when I was practicing (I see him as a floating shadow-type figure, but at that moment my eyes are closed). She never sees a black shadow around me at other times - she is able to see this anytime while wide awake and she only saw it during my practice. I was wondering if he was trying to benefit from the chi kung.

 

It would make sense if you said not to do it at home, because I have a lot of difficulty doing it there, it just seems to be more awkward generally, either I get interrupted by my child, or I get distracted by sounds like someone being there, or whatever the obstacle may be on any given day. It may look like coincidence, but it may be because I should not? I mostly do it at work, but this is not possible on the week-end, and I don't want to go without doing it for two days. 

 

Thank you for any clarity, also from any other practioner if they feel qualified to answer.

A_B

 

In my experience and some earlier posts in this thread, as well as discussions with Sifu Terry and another practitioner before, even just one meditation from Flying Phoenix (hereafter abbreviated as FP) is more than enough for psychic protection. 

 

In general, the mind creates more entities than there are actual entities, which has two meanings here that are not contradictory but contextual: 1) what we perceive at times are not independent beings, but our psychic projections as some of us might confuse our thoughts for them, 2) our psychic projections can also create these beings if we have latent or strong emotions and thoughts at play. 

 

When it is an actual entity, then it's another story, which Sifu Terry has more qualifications for explaining with regards to FP and entities...but for me, I've found zero problems when encountering them due to my own background and the pure energy of FP. 

 

Malevolent beings usually aren't bothersome after FP, some silent meditation, mantra, and incense in my own practice, benevolent beings enjoy FP. 

 

1 hour ago, Astral_butterfly said:

Just a question for whomever: 

 

Today is day 12 of my getting back into FPCK.

 

I have taken a strong liking for Monk Holding Peach because it is with this meditation that I feel the vibration of the energy the most - I can literally feel deep-level trembling in my whole upper body, as well as a pulling in my upper nose, resulting in shedding of what I assume is sinus fluid, which falls into my throat. I feel vibration with Monk Holding Pearl, but not as strongly. It has the same rhythm as the regular stream of energy I see when I do Monk Gazing at the Moon, but instead of being visual it is tactile.

 

It is also the meditation where my daughter saw a big blue "ball" between my hands. Well today I was doing the meditation and I felt a pushing up onto my hands at regular intervals. I first thought it was because of my breathing but then I realised it had a rhythm of its own. Is this the start of feeling that the hands are resting on a cushion? It was really a nice feeling. I don't get very strong bobbing to and fro like other people, just a hardly perceptible slight bobbing at the most. But the pushing up of what is probably the ball of chi onto my hands is what intrigues me the most. I like it so much.

 

 

 

 

Feeling energy in qigong in general can be a variety of things as there are thousands of different sensations. Common ones in FP are a lot like that, and I myself feel tension like my hands are cramping or like a ball is between them. As Sifu Terry says, the meditations will come to a point that instead of doing them, they will do you. 

 

56 minutes ago, StillWater said:

Hi friends!   Not changing the subject but I just watched Sifu Terry's video above.   Did anyone else notice the very distinct white aura around his head and shoulders at the 2:30 / 2:32 mark?

 

FPCK is quite amazing!

 

Stillwater

 

If you observe even casually around any video of someone doing FP, an aura can be seen, often blue or even whiteish. I've seen some of the more common videos for public consumption and others that are not so common, so seeing energy around a practitioner is one sign of the fruits of consistent practice.