Phoenix3

Please post on this topic again if you find something interesting regarding filling the upper or lower dantian, because I’m not really sure of the process either. Hopefully someone else can share some advice too.

I thought you first had to fix your Spirit in your niwan (upper dantian) before your lower dantian can be filled. Have you done that first?

Maybe i’m wrong though.

Maybe you should try to fix the Spirit (the Shen?) in the upper dantian first, and this will help your dreams, because I think you shouldn’t be having vivid dreams while you practice.

@Nungali didn’t the indo-europeans come from western Kazakhstan in 2000BC (the Andronovo culture, not the  Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex culture. These two cultures were found to have been two different cultures of different origins)? From there, they introduced the chariot to China, India and other civilisations within the next 500 years. So surely the western Kazakhstan area is the origin of that civilisation? 

If the Rigveda was composed in 1500BC in northern India, and the Indo-europeans originated from the Western Kazakhstan steppe in 2000BC, then why doesn’t the Rigveda and Zoroastrianism mention this area?

That research is based upon a single stimulation of a large group of nerves which is directed to many different areas of the lower body. This does not occur naturally in humans.

Sympathetic response (which activates the adrenal gland) inhibits sexual activity.

Can we keep the discussion scientific please, rather than using spiritual, buddhist or similar language? Thanks.

How did chinese people traditionally cook their food in a wok without oil? I don’t think they used ghee.

Personally I feel fine when I eat grains and gluten, so I don’t know if I’m allergic. I don’t know what the best option is (no starches, or no carbs, or no gluten, or no grains).

Thank you for your help

@Taomeow

Do you recommend eating rice, maize, rye, oats, or potato? 

What about herbs like basil or coriander?

What about flavourful things, like onion, chilli and garlic?

What about olive oil, or sesame oil when cooking chinese food?

What about honey? That comes from an animal.

Sorry for all the questions. Thank you

If your new vegan diet has improved your health, then that’s great. Yes, eating wild rice is enjoyable, more so than regular rice.

But what would be the point? Was the creation of a wheat-based diet just a way to increase population, or did someone likely know the side-effects of eating wheat?

And wheat just seemed to be cultivated in west asia. What about rice, maize, rye, oats, and so on?

Also I don’t know how true it is, but some say that the average human brain decreased in size 30,000 years ago. That’s tens of thousands of years before agriculture.

Is the creation of semen a leaking of the Qihai (the sea of Qi) because I thought it was the leaking of the kidney yin qi?

If the vagus nerve activation causes sex desire, then how come meditation reduces sex desire? 

You said the vagus nerve stimulates sex desire, but you also said that a signal from the brain travels down the spine to stimulate the production of prostate fluid, so which is it?

thanks

I’d prefer the discussion just focused on the scientific understanding of the central nervous system, rather than some unreliable spiritual ideas which would just complicate things.

I’m trying to understand what desire is, and how it arises.

From what I understand (which isn’t much at all. I don’t know anything about psychology), this is at least part of the process:

1. The sense organs receive a stimulus.

2. The stimulus travels to the brain via the nerves.

3. The nerves somehow transmit the stimulus to a particular group of neurones. (How does the stimulus, as it enters the spinal cord, know which neurones to excite?).

4. The neurones affected somehow store the memory of that nervous impulse within them. (How do the neurones store the memory of the stimulus?).

5. If the stimulus is intense enough, there is a release of dopamine from the neurones into that part of the brain.

6. When something absorbs the dopamine, pleasure is felt. (How does dopamine make someone feel pleasure?).

7. The brain quickly gets accustomed to the increased levels of dopamine.

8. The neurones quickly slow and stop their excretion of dopamine, as they become depolarised.

9. The reduction of dopamine being excreted results in a relative deficiency of dopamine levels (until the brain gets used to the new levels of dopamine).

10. The relative deficiency in dopamine causes tension in the brain.

I got up to here, and now I think i’m just guessing. 

15 minutes ago, Apech said:

I'm curious what peoples view on fruit is.  There's a lot a scare stories about fructose but I think that's mainly to do with corn starch being added to so many convenience foods.  I take the view that fruit especially in season and local is good for you.  But does it fit in any way with a low carb approach???

 

TM?  anyone?

Taomeow wrote previously that the fruit we know today is not natural. The fruits of ancient times would have been bitter or not very sweet, with a very small amount of juice, and not so much sugar in general, the fruit nowadays contains so much sugar that it can cause problems.

oh, I was misquoting her. My mistake. This is what she said:

Daoists are very much in favour of eating meat. Chinese culture and chinese medicine sees plenty of benefit of eating meat, and only due to famines did Chinese people stop eating meat temporarily. 

I originally wondered about the uric acid problem. I knew that blood is kept at a constant pH, but the thought of all these new acids circulating around the body may cause some problems. But Taomeow said not to worry about it, and since I don’t have any real evidence more than a concern, I will agree with her. I agree with her because on the subject of food, she knows what she is talking about (in my opinion).

16 minutes ago, Taomeow said:

I also eat raw fish only as sashimi, but find it very satisfying.

Aren’t you concerned of parasites? Lemon juice doesn’t get everything.

I think all places have their advantages and disadvantages. European food is good quality, but everything apart from the basics are so expensive, especially red meat.

One last concern on my mind is that it’s often said that when the body gets too acidic, the body gets sick easily. Well, doesn’t eating meat make the body more acidic, and eating vegetables make the body more alkaline?

2 hours ago, Taomeow said:

 

I think you could try to plan your food budget around what you can afford toward some more options, and I would favor (if you have access to it) some inexpensive fish over cheese as a staple.  Of course "inexpensive fish" is another item to hunt down.  Where do you shop?  Trader Joe's has inexpensive frozen fish, and for fresh, I'd try to discover an Asian supermarket if they exist in your area, they typically have a large choice.  Cheese I don't find particularly economical if it's good -- in fact, really good is quite unreasonably expensive, and really cheap may have stuff on the label you don't want in your body.  Also, you don't need huge portions of meat if you keep your saturated fat intake high (a prerequisite for success with low carb diets, otherwise you will be hungry and craving carbs).    And don't overlook organ meats if you can find them.  Chicken livers are very cheap, e.g., and could be a nice addition to your food plan.  Bones for broth -- a bone broth goes a long way.  And I make real Native American pemmican out of the marrow.  And then add it to my eggs.  It is a pain to prepare but then it lasts forever.   

 

I don’t live in North America. I just visit my local butcher or local grocery shop for food. Where I am, tinned tuna, kefir, free-range chicken and organic eggs are very reasonably priced, and cheese is very cheap, good quality and delicious (I live in Europe), with lots of protein and fat content. Also plain, unsweetened yogurt is cheap too. But chicken hasn’t got enough fat.

On the website you linked, many people said that cheese is not a good idea, but I think in north America the cheese most people buy is that strange orange cheese which has a bad reputation. So I don’t know if they are complaining about that particular cheese and think all cheese is like that.

I could eat fish, but the fish from the oceans has a lot of bad stuff in it, and farmed fish is expensive. And eating fish can get really boring. It’s the most bland and tasteless type of meat in my opinion (i’m sure others will disagree, but I just don’t like eating fish). It only tastes delicious when it’s like sushi, but I don’t intend to eat raw fish at all.

3 hours ago, Taomeow said:

May I suggest a self-education course.

Thanks, that is very interesting!

Would it be ok to mainly eat cheese, yogurt and eggs? I’m too poor to buy red meat every day.

I agree with your approach too. Eating some plants should be ok, like kimchi or chocolate.

@Taomeow

Are you saying you just eat meat and dairy, with no vegetables or carbohydrates? I’m not judging, just that seems to be what you’re saying?

If humans were supposed to eat just meat, wouldn’t man just have sharp, pointy teeth? Also a lot of carnivores don’t chew their food, but humans do chew their food. Carnivore’s saliva is acidic but human’s saliva is alkali. The physiology of humans doesn’t seem to align with being a carnivore.

@Gerard you said that ‘internal work’ will fix kidney yin deficiency (and I suppose therefore also the spleen), so does that mean all I need to do is:

1. Meditate a lot more,

2. Eat a diet mainly consisting of baked and steamed vegetables and fish, and not after 3pm.

And this will cause my yin deficiency to disappear?

@Aetherous

Last time I replied to you it was the daytime. During the night in the last two days, I have noticed the soles of my feet being much hotter than the rest of the body and my legs (they are really hot). But in the daytime, they are just warm, hence my last reply.

It is about 9 degrees celcius outside and I often can’t sleep because I feel so warm. 

I also get a lot of nosebleeds. It is always coming from the same nostril.

I have seen multiple qualified chinese medicine professionals and they have all said I have a yin deficiency and I’m experiencing ‘false fire’, which apparently means my yin levels are low.

I also have to say that this only happens when I’m practicing celibacy. When I’m not practicing celibacy, I don’t have these symptoms so much.

Another problem is that the chinese medicine professionals always say the same thing, that this can be treated by taking chinese medicine, but it takes a very long time. They don’t really talk about what diet or lifestyle changes I can make, even when I ask. But to take chinese medicine over a long period of time is very expensive.

9 hours ago, Aetherous said:

 

Are the soles of your feet hot, or cold?

They’re warm, but not as warm as my legs or other parts of the body.

@Fa Xin

I do prefer soups and foods with a lot of moisture. I really don’t like baked things, with the moisture all removed. But this is normal for me because I think I’ve always been Yin deficient.

I’m suffering from Yin deficiency so much that I have false fire symptoms almost every night, and my mouth is always dry every night, yet I always get recommended food which take away moisture! My body needs dampness, not to remove dampness from it!

@Gerard

15 hours ago, Gerard said:

1. Stay away from banana! Damp forming. Weakens the digestive system, makes it damp and weakens the Kidney, hence KD deficiency.

 

2. Stay away from milk, juice, fruit, raw vegetables and salads and other damp forming foods.

You always recommend no ‘damp forming’ foods! But not everyone is the same. As I said before, my constitution is dry, so I need moisture. 

15 hours ago, Gerard said:

Steamed green leafy vegetables, zucchini, broccoli or cauliflower

Aren’t leafy green vegetables mainly yang? 

Can I instead cook leafy green vegetables in a stir fry, instead of steaming them?

15 hours ago, Gerard said:

Use a bone/chicken or vegetable broth if desired to boil the rice and to add more root energy to the congee.

 

C. Various soups using bone or chicken broth and seasonal vegetables.

Isn’t chicken a yang meat? 

thank you

14 minutes ago, thelerner said:

It's sad but some of my bone broths after a day of cooking just aren't right.  Some because I got greedy and didn't put in enough bones.  Remember there is no salt in many recipes and you're expected to taste, which is usually quite a bit. 

 

Otherwise my secret ingredients tend to be a little bit of fish sauce (you shouldn't be able to taste it, just for umami) and at vinegar.  

Thank you. I think I added too much vinegar, and it had such a bad taste, like liquid vomit. In fact that is the perfect way of describing its taste.