Desmonddf

The Mind doesn't manifest until WAY after the manifestation of the Yin and Yang. Remember the Taiji? Limitless, Limited, Four Phenomena, Trigrams ? Unless mind can exist without "existence", as this is one of the trigrams, then it is the product of something, not the origin of all. Professor Ian Stevenson has a very interesting approach to this. Reincarnation tales are way more common than most people believe - they are just shuned asside as children being overly-imaginative. However, do remind that Mind isn't the same as Brain. This is basic psychology. The Mind remembers all, but the Brain is formed during life. Our past experiences and lives are stored in the Mind. If you want to remember then, then you have to access your mind. Then the info can be "dumped" on your brain. That, or you just get an error on the process of reincarnation and ends up, indeed, with fragments of your past brain being imprinted on the present one.

The Mind doesn't manifest until WAY after the manifestation of the Yin and Yang. Remember the Taiji? Limitless, Limited, Four Phenomena, Trigrams ? Unless mind can exist without "existence", as this is one of the trigrams, then it is the product of something, not the origin of all. Professor Ian Stevenson has a very interesting approach to this. Reincarnation tales are way more common than most people believe - they are just shuned asside as children being overly-imaginative. However, do remind that Mind isn't the same as Brain. This is basic psychology. The Mind remembers all, but the Brain is formed during life. Our past experiences and lives are stored in the Mind. If you want to remember then, then you have to access your mind. Then the info can be "dumped" on your brain. That, or you just get an error on the process of reincarnation and ends up, indeed, with fragments of your past brain being imprinted on the present one.

Through some experiments I've discovered that, in watching porn, we connect with a species of "shared space" with our Ajna chakra. Porn is a mental construct. Even though we believe it to be the sex in it that makes us aroused, images of sex do not affect the lower chakras. They can't reach them, as those chakras have a very limited (space-wise) interaction with the world - the muladhara chakra only connects through touch and very close proximity, for instance. It is through our Ajna chakra that we connect with the arousal-generating mental constructs of porn. It usually fucks you up, but that isn't too important for the common person. You should worry about that only after having gotten some achievements on your practices. Denying a way of psychic/physical relief to repressed unconscious beliefs and obsessions is more harmful than being covered in the energetic equivalent to stinky shit

I suppose you don't want to become obese like people have been assuming, but simply get rid of having a WAY too low fat content under your skin. Being too skinny will make you prune to disease and can be as harmfull as being obese, so I understand were you're going eith this. Now, there are three kinds of fat ny TCM. There's humidity, phlegm and "meats". Humidy and phlegm are bad fats. The kind of thing which make you obese. The "meats", however, are the things which constitute your underskin fat and muscles. Now, to gain "meats" you'll need to tonify your spleen while also increasing your Yin and heat consumption. This need to be done concomitantly. If you do only one of them, then you'll end up sick. In order to do that, you would need a lot of exercise and lifestyle changes, so I suppose that would take too much time. I have a girlfriend who has the same problem as you, and I can say that most of this "poor absorption" problem comea actually from deeply-ingrained mental issues. Not like you're crazy, but common neurosys we all carry. They could origin from this life or others. In order to help you with your desire, henceforth, I would recomend to make a simplifyed tea cerimony for yourself everyday. Fifteen minutes should be enough, but it would give you the calm and feel needed to listen to what your body carves and desires. Once you do that, achieving a good weight with a healthy amount of fat should be enough. The objective is to reduce the mental restrains you unconsciously put on yourself and allow for you to listen to your "meat sack" (body). It will know what to eat

Not the complete process, but I've managed to progress a little bit, generating heat.

Well, the greater difference between the mystical and the phatologic is if you either experience and grow, being capable of taking things with a grain of salt (keeping a little bit of well-being and open-mindness), or if you defend that what you saw happened how you think it happened litteraly. As someone who uses enteogens with a certain frequency, I'm more than aware that many of the things I see there are a product of my mind. But as someone who also is a medium, I've frequent contact with other people who see things which are either exactly the same or very closely related to many things I've seen. So, am I "seeing the truth" when I'm under the effects of the enteogen? Maybe, maybe not. Am I "just tripping", even when others saw the same thing, some didn't even used it? Maybe, maybe not. I'm collecting data and, just as how brains were meant to act, taking belief decisions based on statistics.

The five "elements" are in reality the five movements. They do not describe what physical things are made of, but what kinds of transformations they generate and go through. For instance, the Spleen in TCM is considered to be of the earth movement. This means its energy, actions and existence all go through what happens with earth, as in the earth we have beneath us. The spleen refine things (as much as solid things put into the earth are refined into purer substances -sediments-), shots energy upwards (as much as steam rises from the earth), controls excess humidity in the body, and so on. Of course, as every kind of movement and transformation, the Wuxi is part of a greater cycle, and also explained by it - this is the cycle of the sixty (years, months, days, whatever), composed by the variations on the 12 earthly branches and 10 heavenly steams. Both (the 12 earthly branches and the 10 heavenly steams) are methods of organizing time. The 12 branches refeer to the orbit of Jupiter, and are used to understand the year and the zodiac. The 10 steams are based on the 10-days week chinese calendar, and were used for multiple purposes. Both systems appeared on the Shang Dynasty, which was a highly mystical dynasty, based on divination and contact with the Heavens. The 12 branches refeer to a solar year. They explain every aspect of every month, and also every hour of the day (and seconds of a minute and etc) in a fractal composition where we can see how the Yin and Yang of the Earth behave themselves. That is, the Yin and Yang of the Earth are in constant change, and the 12 branches tell us which combination of Yin and Yang are being emited by the Earth at any due time. The Earthly energies are like a vase, receiving and kindling every form of energy and life. Our own bodies are made of Earthly energy, and they receive those energies from the earth and emit them as well. This is why we must understand and observe nature in order to remain in good health. As for the 10 steams, they refeer to a Heavenly Cycle. Just like the Earth, the Heavens are also in constant change, and every steam tells us which energies are being emited by the Heavens at any moment. Our own bodies also have Heavenly energy, which comes from our five souls. Understanding the Heavenly Cycle allows us to perform cultivation. Of course, every single moment of both Cycles interact, so we have a big cycle with 60 interactions. Now, the Five Elements arise when we notice the 60 interactions and compare them with the sixty-four components of all things in the universe. Now, to understand what things are made of, you'll need to understand the sixty-four hexagrams. The basys of everything in the Universe (even the Heaven and Earth!) are the Yin and Yang. Yin and Yang, therefore, combine and form all means of existence. However, there is no existence before the Yin and Yang interact three times - for instance, the Heavens are composed of pure Yang energy stacked three times (yang yang yang). While the Earth is composed of pure Yin energy stacked three times (Yin Yin Yin). This pure energy from the Heavens is called Tian, while the pure energy of the Earth is called Kun. They shall not be confused with the other energies which are also called earth, like the Gen energy. Tian is the very act of thinking, all forms of ethereal thought. Kun is the very act of existing. So, before the thrigrams (which mark the begining of existence itself), there is no thought or existence. However, there is something that "exists before existence" - the four phenomena, which are the yin and yang stacked twice. Shaoyin (the lesser yin) is made of two yin stacked. Taiyin (greater yin) is made of yin with yang stacked above. Shaoyang (lesser yang) is made of yang with yin stacked on top. And Taiyang (greater yang) is made of two yang stacked. These things "exist before existence", that is, they exist independent of thought, matter or any thing our minds can perceive. Before the limitations of space and time, before the limitations of experiencing or not experiencing, and so on. They are spiritual, unbound by the limitations of the mind, even if still bound by the limitations of the yin and yang. The trigrams, by their time, are what constitute the mind - thought, existence, and sensations. These four phenomena interact with the eight trigrams. This way, there is a Shaoyin Heaven, a Taiyin Heaven, a Shaoyang Heaven, and a Taiyang heaven. This forms thirty-two pentagrams. Those thirty-two pentagrams refeer to the human being in its pentagonal existence - on its constitution as the one "connecting the Heaven and Earth". They tell us of the many ways Qi (force, energy) can exist. However, these thirty-two pentagrams (Qi) are still afterwards influenced by the yin and yang - forming then the sixty-four hexagrams. Those hexagrams are what represent all forms of physical phenomena. Now, what exactly "interact" means? When we say the four phenomena interact with the three trigrams, what that means? It means that they "mix" or "mingle" in them. So, the four phenomena (the four manifestations of Spirit) interact with the eight trigrams (the eight manifestations of mind) to create the thirty-two manifestation of movement (Qi). And the two manifestations of Primordial Energy stack (change) the thirty-two manifestations of movement (Qi) to generate the sixty-four manifestations of the physical phenomena. For instance, physical fire is an hexagram - the thirty-fifth hexagram (jin) which means "prospering". All forms of physical fire are created by the energy of Prosperity, that is, physical fire is manifested once the trigram of "sight" (perception of light) is influenced by the Shaoyin phenomena and the Yin primordial energy. With this knowledge it is possible to do "magic" - that is, to manifest physical fire with though, spirit and primordial energy. To do so, you need to see fire in front of you (visualize fire), then manifest the Spiritual phenomena of materialization (Shaoyin) and add to that the Primordial Energy of manifestation (yin). That is what the dao (limited) does. It manifests the primordial yin energy, this yin energy manifests two of the four phenomena, and then the four phenomena are affected by the Primordial Energy - giving rise to though, perception and etc. Once light/perception/etc (li) interacts with shaoyin, it generates a certain form of Qi which, when interacting with the Primordial Yin energy (manifestation) generates physical fire. Now we know what the things are made of, as well as which energies manifest at which time. That is, we know the Feng Shui and the Branches and Stems. How do they interact with each-other? Time comes into existence at the same time as Space (Earth trigram Gun). But it isn't Space itself. Rater, time is the existence of "mingling", that is, the very concept of "interaction" between things. That is why the four phenomena do not interact between themselves. There is no concept of "interaction" before the trigrams are manifested. Now, if time is interaction, do the trigrams interact between themselves? Yes, they do. They both generate the sixty-four hexagrams themselves, but in a mental level (that is, they create the "concepts" of things, as well as the "flow" of things), as they interact with the four phenomena to give birth to movement. They do not interact with the primordial energies, as those energies are the ones that come to the world, not the ones that are interacted with. That is, the energies stack on other things, but do not interact (mingle) with them, as they are Pure in their origin. Oh, well, and how does this interaction occurs? It happens once the trigrams affect each-other or affect/are affected by the four phenomena. So, if we are looking at a interaction of trigrams between themselves, we are looking at a interaction of very mild nature - of mental nature. It will create things like the concept of fire. But if we are looking at a interaction of trigrams with phenomena, we are looking at a interaction of very yin nature - of manifestation. It will create various forms of Qi. With this we have the very first two possible manifestations of time (interaction) between things - Between themselves or between them and something that will lead to a lower state of energy. This leads us to define two oposites forms of movement (not movement itself). The first is between one's equals. The other is with strangers, dangerous forces which cannot be comprehended. The trigram which correspond to moving between one's brethen is the Li (perception, light, fire) trigram. Therefore, it is the basys of this form of movement. It is composed of yang which stacks yin on top of itself, and then stacks another yang. It is a form of movement that means you're mingling with others (yang, then yin), but still between your equals (yang). The trigram which correspond to moving between strangers is the Kan (danger, hearing). Therefore, it is the basys of this form of movement. It is composed of yin which stacks yang on top of itself, and then stacks another yin. It is a form of movement that means you're mingling with strangers (yin, then yang), and far away from your home, alone with them (yin). Remember : The trigrams correspond to thought, perception and so on. On this level we aren't talking about perfect things anymore. The concepts here presented are the mean we have to try and pry on the concept of time and ways of interacting. There are interactions which are beyond logic, and the interaction of the trigrams with the phenomena is one of them. We are trying to comprehend something which is inherently non-mental with the mind. Faults are to be expected. Very well. Seen as these two forms of interaction exist and can be said to correspond (there again, said to correspond, this is not necessarily true) to the Li (fire) and Kan (water) trigrams, what other forms of interaction can we see? Well, between trigrams the interaction can be either easy to understand, as if one of the trigrams was very open and receptive to the other (like how a field with other field forms.... well, a field), or difficult to undestand, as if one of the trigrams had been bounded by the other in a unnatural manner (like how thunder on top of fire means "abundance"). Easy and receptive, or bound and hard. Those two characteristics are linked to the Kun and Gen trigrams, field and mountain, respectively. Both are born of the same kind of interaction (between trigrams) and are a consequence of looking at how the trigrams interact between each-other. Both are called Earth, and said to be born out of Fire. Now, we saw how the trigrams interact (either between themselves or with phenomena) and how they interact between themselves. But what happens when they interact between themselves? What's the product? Well, after interacting between themselves, the trigrams will generate concepts, which are a still thing which rarely mutates, but also ideas, which are a conjunction of many thoughts and concepts which form a whole. The concepts are like a lake, still and calm, while the ideas are like the heavens, limitless and all-encompassing. Both things we call metal, and they come from the earth. Then we have concepts and ideas, what else can happen? Well, at this point, the only thing that can happen is for those concepts and ideas to be throughly brought down, destroyed and reformed by the influence of the four phenomena. Therefore, we get out of the first interaction (between equals) and get into the second form of interaction (between strangers), and go through the cycle. Now, let's stop here the creation of the Five Movements cycle (as it has become quite clear were I'm headed), and look at other element of it. If we are talking about interactions between the trigrams, they do not disappear once they interact. They create new things, but those new things also interact with them. How ideas and concepts interact with the very foundation of their existence, the interaction between trigrams? If you take an idea and make it interact with all of the foundational blocks of knowledge which form it, or put new blocks there, what happens? Well, this idea is constricted by them. Fire is dominating (or controling) metal. There is a limitation on how your ideas can be organized if you're using only the interaction between trigrams. They cannot interact with other things. But then again, if you limit the trigrams you'll use too much, that is, if you make the interaction between the ideas limited to a very small number of trigrams, only those who are really close to each other on their constitution, your ideas will be little and small. They will be only very limited in number. This is overdomination of fire over metal. And what if you let your ideas go unrestrained? What if you let them grow limitless? They will start to escape the bounds of fire - of interacting only between those equals you have defined as the subject of your phylosophical analysis. They will insult fire - that is, will destroy its foundations, its very existence. They will be unruly ideas, which cannot be put to tame by limits. And so on. This is how we establish the Five Movements Cycle. It describes the many forms through which movement (interaction) between things happen, as well as what happens when something which is going through a certain movement interacts with something else which is going through another movement. However, as this happens on higher levels of existence, we see it happening on all other levels as well. Any kind of movement, of interaction between things, will recall this existence. Even the 12 branches and 10 steams are under the power of the five movements - as they are manifestations of energy from the physical sky and the physical earth. I guess that's the gist of it. At least as far as I have reached in my studies. Hope for the best and that I haven't made mistakes which may mislead everybody.

Psychosys is a state where the person blindly believe things which are created and put forth by their own mind. Need for external affection, for instance, can manifest as the person with psychosys seeing the image of a person in front of him and believing this person loves him unconditionaly. All kinds of rationalization are brought forth to protect this belief, as the person ignores all possible clues and evidence to keep believing on what it wants to believe. Once this need is removed, the "person" (projection) disappears. On another words, it is the inhability to control the skill of projecting desires and ideas in the "mind's eye". As people train their minds, this skill becomes stronger, so someone who wasn't able to project its desires with form and shape, suddenly becomes able to do it. The blind belief spreads and this person enters a psychotic state. So, yes, meditation can trigger psychosys. Anything that makes your mind more powerfull will bring forth your inner demons. Without proper care, and that means self-discovery and mental exploration of the ego, as well as its flexibilization and eventual dissolution, people who have very stiff egos will find themselves on the borders of meditation. The "dark night of the soul" is a consequence of empowering the mind to the point where it realizes its own emptyness without giving it the proper gidance to find the Void. Not that 5 minutes of daily meditation to "calm down" will get you there. But if you truly commit yourself to meditation, your mind will have to go through a transformative process. Having no guidance in this, you'll probably find these kinds of problems. A high level of intuition or a good guide are needed in order to avoid losing a few lives as a spirit with a inborn fragmented (psychotic) ego.

Let's see if I can make a diagnosys with what you told me. blenching - From shyness indicates a gall bladder disarmony. gas - How did it smell? If it wasn't smelly, then that indicates a Spleen-Qi deficiency. hear ringing (tinnitus) - Is it low or high? Do it worsen when you press your hands on your ears? Seen as it just popped out of nowere, it indicates Liver disarmonies (Liver Fire, Rising Liver Yang, Liver Wind). a comeback of reflux gastroesofagian - Stomach Qi Revolt. and the worst a feeling of tension/pressure/malaise in the lower abdomen - Feeling of distension on the lower abdomen points to Liver Fire and Fire-Mucosys in the Bladder. even a fasciculation of the left eye (eyelid and around) - Liver disarmonies, specially rising yang. I suppose you have also been very easily aggravated, choleric even? That your face has been showing signs of being quite red recently, and that you have been feeling like you're overreacting to everything ? If so, I would definetely point at a Rising Liver Yang condition, probably caused by a Liver Fire. The reflux comes from the Liver attacking the Stomach, and the blenching comes from the Gall Bladder Qi being deviated. That can be connected to the Standing Qi Gong by a lot of factors. Even the initial relaxation itself, if touching on old traumas and psychological barriers, can be the reason why your Liver has produced Inner Harmfull Fire. Going to a TCM doctor is a nice idea. I obviously cannot assure you this diagnosys has any meaning, as I have purely looked at the symptoms and not at your whole life history and other symptoms which you yourself might be unaware of. However, be mindful of how you're feeling during any Qi Gong practice. It affects your emotional and mental existences, as much as it affects your body. Emotional and mental disconfort during Qi Gong practice easily transform into physical disease, so go easy on yourself

All actions can lead to the Dao. A butcher butchering, a farmer farming, an emperor ruling... so why not a healer healing? Besides that, by having contact with some concepts and mechanisms to understand and change the body, mind and soul, one's Ego is completely transformed in the process. One's understandment of themselves increase as they understand others. That's one of the reasons why ortodox western medicine is stuck and can't progress beyond its current level of physically treating the body - the western doctors cannot deal with the needed knowledge and their egos are already pushed to the brim with just what they know. They seek refuge from this knowledge, and pride comes forth as a means of protecting their sense of "who I am". Healing is an inherently spiritual practice. To achieve high levels of healing, the healer must either cure or outright strip themselves from their own diseases and limitations. For instance, lets take one thing that most western doctors feel enraged by: Patients that do not follow the correct dietary prescriptions. I've seen my brother (who is one) complaining about this time and time again. "I have given her the dietary prescription, she didn't follow it, now, look, there she is, heart attack!". He will never be able to heal these kind of patients, because he is unable to let go of his own mental restrains in order to affect the patient where the root of the problem is: Their minds and behaviour. A good, obedient and well-behaved patient isn't something a doctor must expect. One's physical health being bad, their mental health will probably be bad as well. The healer must heal the person as a whole, and for that to happen, they need to go beyond the mind - THEIR own mind. So, yes, healing is a form of self cultivation. The carrot are things like money, fame, and, why not, simply the satisfaction of seeing a good person healed and well, free of pain and disease. The stick are things like people dying, their relatives crying and sometimes outright losing everything they had because you where unable to help them My own achievements in this field have come in the form of a way of thinking: I do not see any kind of bad behaviour and criminal action as something related to the essence of a person. To they being "bad" themselves. I see that as a disease which can be treated, be it a rapist or simply a shoplifter. Their very mental core can be changed as long as I achieve higher levels of being - the concept of "who they are". So why should I blame them? They just have faulty machines (Egos). All I need to do is to fix it, and no more problems shall arise. Of course, the practice is WAY harder than the ideals. Looking at the root of the problems is a fucking hard exercise of self-perception and shadow work. Especially since this root tend to be on the very basic constituions of human beings, such as desires, immaturity, attachments and so on. Dealing with this is doable. But still VERY difficult, since your own psyche will be affected by it.

TCM doesn't seek or produces enlightment. We are capable of affecting the whole structure of the being through TCM, but those are tools used for a means. True enlightment comes from somewere TCM cannot reach - the inner self. Of course, we can produce "pseudo-enlightment". Some herbs, enteogens and other substances, while also mixed with the right kinds of therapy and the such, can produce the "enlightment experience" in which one experiences and tastes enlightment. It is, however, usually forgotten in its entirety right after. With much practice and repetition it is then possible to change someone's Ego just enough so the person becomes capable of experiencing advanced states of being, with some of them being close to enlightment. It isn't, however, possible to experience enlightment without experiencing the dissolution of the Ego. And as much as this dissolution can be remembered once the Ego is put in its place as a tool (and accepts and even seeks for it), it isn't possible to recreate the feeling on one's mind or think about it. You'll just remember that you once "ceased to be you". So, to sumarize: TCM can produce "pseudo-enlightment" and this then can produce in the person's Ego the needed changes in order for them to seek and find the doors to enlightment. But that's all. We cannot push the person beyond the door, only open it to them.

So, you're treating free will as a spiritual influence over the physical plane. One's "spirit" doing things, so to say ?

Well, for those who "believe" in free will, I would like to ask : What is free will ? Where does it comes from ? Can it be manipulated ? How is one (ego) related to it ? And, finaly: How can you recognize when you're using your "free will" or acting purely out of reflex ?

There are two possibilities. One, the universe is regulated by inexcapable natural laws. Two, there is space for raw chaos to manifest. In the first, our own toughts and ideas are the result of such laws. Our brains, and even our egos, are what they are because of these laws. There is no "choice". Anything you choose has been chosen as so because you are you -and "you" yourself is a product of this universe and its laws. You think you're choosing, that it is you "will" that determines things. But your "will" itself is a product of the universal laws, so you're choosing as much as a hidrogen atom chooses to bond with oxigen to form water. Is all mathematics. Now, if the second is true, then chaos may sept in the universe, and your "will" itself can be changed by this chaos as well. On another words, there is no mythical "will" that will interfere with your destiny. "Because you are you, then you'll choose as you would choose". I love this phrase, as much as people rarely understand it. Now, about gods creating a destiny for you... that is as much true as society creating your destiny, or your parents. All of that only is what it is because it is destiny (a.k.a. the mathematical logic) that it would be as so. May you rebel against it or follow it passively, that is destiny as well. The mere consequence os things being what they are in their origin.

I smell some chaos magick here.