Aetherous

Big key here. I don't think pointing the forehead is as necessary as focusing on the hands is.

My personal opinion is that worshiping anything other than the creator is a "sin"...according to Christianity or Judaism. It all depends on your intention with what you're practicing. If you're doing sun gazing because it has some benefits, then that's fine...but if you're deifying the sun, that could be considered wrong.

I follow my spiritual path because it's necessary to follow through with what you start. It's who I am now, and I might as well finish it. Plus it can be very interesting...not many people experience these things, so it's kind of an honor to be able to be part of this. I don't have the same umph I once had about reaching enlightenment. I think there are more important things in life to take care of, before you take care of that. Like the dishes. Think about this: if everyone were born enlightened, what would we do? So I'm just doing that. I still pursue things intensely because that's how I've trained myself to be over the years...but on the inside there's this feeling of "who cares". I guess that could either be seen as sad, or somewhat of a blessing.

That's a seriously long walk.

I don't really believe in "qi". Qigong to me is more of a spiritual thing, where I call the purity (don't know a better word to call it) into my body...or I merge with it. I don't see meditation and qigong as separate things. Different practices achieve different effects, but we're always working with our nervous system and mind no matter what we're doing, so everything works towards the one goal in different ways. For health purposes, I don't think qigong is all that effective. At least not for me. It can highlight blockages rather than quickly get rid of them. Some people will get seemingly miraculous effects and some will not, depending on their condition. My condition is pretty poor, so I need healing and harmonizing a lot more than getting additional energy. I think running is the best thing for health. The end goal of qigong is too far away to say...I suppose realization of Tao is just one stage, and then becoming (or re-becoming) Tao is another. What goes up must come down.

Yes I have tons of Beanie's Mix and San Francisco Mix from sproutpeople.com which includes those.

I have tons of different varieties of seeds waiting to be sprouted, like 5 pounds or so haha...I'll stay tuned to your blog and follow along.

I've tried sprouting, and it turned out all slimey and I couldn't dry it quickly (took over a day). Do you suggest giving sprouts lots of sunlight?

That is not a good thing. However for those who have seen the movie Mongol, I think the wisest stance to take on issues such as these is this guy's:

Well if you destroy any opponent in less than 1 minute...pretty great. I agree. Lee was a good example. There are tons of good guys out there. And I have tons of respect for MMA guys...a lot of them actually do train internal stuff, too. The problem is where they start training internal stuff and think that's all they need to compete. I remember back when I was into RMAX stuff, Sonnon was training Andrei Arlovsky. I was all excited to watch the fight because Arlovsky was a heavyweight champ, and I had a lot of respect for Scott Sonnon's material. But then I saw the fight and it was SOOOOOOOOOOOOO disappointing. Arlovsky got his ass handed to him. So that's an example of beginning to learn something different and thinking that's all you need. To compete, you need to match the other guy's conditioning and skill, and THEN add in the special sauce (internal stuff). It's a very small part of actual fighting I think...in the ring or in the street or wherever. But when you add it in the right way, it can add a lot to your power and proprioception.

XLP8s50xSms So I just ordered one of these DiaDENS scenar devices...it should come in the mail in the next couple of weeks. I will try getting into lotus with it after a while, and report back. These devices are actually a pretty big deal right now. They have a sports medicine brand called Inter-X which costs about 4-5 grand, which is being used in a lot of clinics and by pro sports teams. The DiaDENS-t costs 400...about 10 times less. But it's pretty much the same thing! There's another Russian brand out there with RiTM models, which are around 3-4k too. What a ripoff. They say that the DiaDENS isn't as effective because the algorithms aren't the same as theirs. They call it a glorified TENS device....which is actually kind of a compliment because that's all it should be. Anyone who knows how these things actualy work with the body shouldn't be fooled into the more expensive brands (unless they are wanting to use it in a clinical setting, where they should probably use the Inter-X since it's regulated by the FDA and now has journal articles supporting its use). And the marketer for the expensive Russian models calls herself a Dr. I don't really respect doctors that spread misinformation like that. I agree that the pose shouldn't be painful in the knees, but more about having the flexibility in the hip. It should be comfortable...I mean, Patanjali says the the asanas should be comfy and stable. I don't think the idea of pushing through the pain is a good idea with lotus. So other poses should be done which help prepare you for lotus. A great one I know of is a piriformis stretch.

I agree. These guys (well at least Bruce..not Clyman ) may be great at qigong, but they could be that much greater if they were healthy first. And yeah a person can be fat and still be a great martial artist, but that doesn't mean it's a good thing. Anyway, I have a lot of respect for Bruce.

No.

My favorite is The Way of Qigong by Kenneth Cohen.

I worked a landscaping job this past summer, and it was the best way to ground out...to have dirt in your hands and be working with plants. Very relaxing...when you're not digging huge holes to plant trees. I can't wait to have a yard so that I can grow my own stuff. Nothing is better than eating fresh veggies from the garden.

If your cut is really deep, it's pretty essential that you go get stitches to prevent infection.

Yeah I tend to think that qi doesn't make you gain fat. On the contrary! Also, a lot of old time practitioners have also done some pretty hard belly breathing practices, which are known to make the abdominal organs protrude more...so it's not some huge qi ball lodged in there anywhere. It's just the body's adaptation to an unnatural way of breathing (yes belly breathing IS unnatural when you're doing it as a practice). I also think that the more lean (healthier) you are, the better every qigong exercise will work. It's a big key to longevity...Western science knows this. Obesity has been shown to cause diabetes and tons of other issues. Does Gary Clyman look like he has hypertension to you...looks so to me! A good thing to do when looking for someone who has a good practice is to see if they look healthy. In fact look at everyone and see who looks the healthiest...try to copy what they do. Try to avoid what the unhealthy looking ones suggest. Everyone is free to practice whatever method they want, though.

Sure Karen! I checked out the original today as well, and it has its own greatness about it.

I really like this idea. Also if you assemble your info in order to teach it to people, that really helps in learning it.

I got this new album from a friend, and this song truly sticks out. Good to listen to in the dark. gWay0TNYVmM

Can you try to email it to me? [email protected] I'm mostly interested for myself...but I can try to post it too, for you.

Being buried in the lotus position is an awesome idea.

Yes!

I study by becoming immensely interested in attaining my goals. I look at the long term goals that I have (one is finding the best way for the body to heal itself) and seek out ways to make it happen. Then I look at all of those ways, and they are short term goals. I want to (just a random example) learn how to sit in full lotus, so that I might be able to transmute lower energies...if I think that might help me reach my long term goal. So then I take my short term goals and make even shorter term goals. Then I reach every little goal, and if something doesn't help me reach my long term goals, I throw it out. It's not necessarily that I follow a really linear progression of steps like that though. It's just a natural occurrence of really wanting something. So the key is to follow your heart in what you want to learn about. I think this is the best way to study, because you're always interested in what you're doing. It's always for your great purpose. By testing everything out, you learn what works and what doesn't...you learn about tons of different things that you might not come across, by just keeping an open mind. Being at this forum helps because you can go look at everything that everyone else is interested in...the internet gives us access to information which can possibly help us reach our goals. Yeah!

I had one positive experience with it. I saw a hand and forearm come down through my crown and press in my ribcage somewhere. So it seems like the dream world of symbols, and the real world kind of combine with the practice. The key to getting into it is being in the state of mind between wakefulness and sleeping...the hypnagogic state. It's quite an advanced technique so you have to be pretty clear energetically for it to really work...unlike me. It seems like you need to have generated enough kunlun energy, to be able to "take off" too...if there's no "fuel", then no traveling. Just my experience...everyone's different.