shontonga

hi

alignment must be taught in detail from a good teacher who know about it, it is trained mainly if form practice. posture testing is not a reliable way to test it as one person pushing on another both with poor alignment will not show much at all, the result will be relative to the pushers alignment and root. taiji must be practiced in accordance with the taiji theory. if they principles are correct then the taiji will be as well.

 

metta

adam

 

Thank you Adam.

Yes. It come down again to correct practice.

Teacher is good but not seen as often as i wished !

and mmm, looking for conformation on my own, I guess.

Thank you for the sound advice, much appreciated.

 

Do know how the results are relative but didn't know another example to give : )

Still like that exercise alot and find it very informative

both about this self and the one/s that are worked with.

Princibles.

yup.

ok.

will do. yer right.

No escaping them is there, lol!

Thanks!

 

 

 

 

Shon, there's an interesting article in the current issue of Qi Journal entitled "The Role of Momentum in Tai Chi" by John Loupos that may be of use to you. It has some pictures illustrating correct and incorrect alignment. The article was taken the book "Tai Chi Connections" by the same author. Since you are practicing mostly on your own, maybe using a mirror or video camera might give you some useful feedback. Regards --Ken

 

Hi!

I hadn't seen that article? Will check it out!

Do need to get a mirror at some point ... Have taken videos!

And, Oh My Goodness. That is a Humbling experience, hahahaaa!

 

Thank You Dainin!

 

 

 

Start from the bottom up. Jump Feet First.

 

 

 

: )

Feet first. Yes.

Will make a meditation out of that!

Usually start Way Deep, Way below the feet!

Sometimes the best way to get this child to feel present in her body!

Find if i concentrate on the feet ... end up with burns from inside out .

But if attention moves not such an issue?

Am careful in standing (Hold post/treehugger's pose) because of that.

 

I think some good experiments will come from your words!

Thank you Spectrum!

a golden moment

we are together there as

one; then we return

 

One; then we return.

How many pieces of dust

make a single man?

Had posted a question in the personal practice section on tai ji

but it was suggested to throw it into the general discussion area ?

 

My questions are about alignments and how do you learn them?

Or improve them!

 

How do you test them on your own?

 

Have worked with others holding a "pose"

then having someone push from different angles,

different places, I like that.

Like push hands too.

Feel and see a lot with both of those

but am practicing mostly on my own these days

and not in any classes with other students.

 

So How can it be done? Self testing alignments?

 

Any experiences or stories of how you learned or are learning would be great!

Connections you feel as things "link"up,

what tricks did you find to help you feel them clearer?

(like tucking the tail or some such?)

 

Or just anything you'd like to share about taiji, Love to hear it!

 

Stay well,

Shon

 

Hey?

Thanks to you guys who replied to the other questions too!

I do appreciate it!

LOL!

 

 

Think I had seen some videos of these guys involving incredible leg strength?

And the ways they produce/practice such strength?

Not sure, would have been a few years back?

Think maybe there was some "free running" involved?

Not sure? Will have to look for them as time allows!

 

Stay well,

Shon

 

some of the typical hard qigong feats in there; makes you wonder if any of those abilities are really anything special or unique after all?

 

 

 

Sorry, Mantis,

 

but so not impressed.

 

Look like games kids play?

 

but then maybe we played a little wilder back then?

 

LOL

 

What do you think of it yourself Mantis ?

 

Have you learned to roll in your school?

 

Thanks for sharing it!

 

Shon

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remembrance_Day

 

Thanks to all of those souls who fight, and have fought, to make my world the beautiful place that it is.

 

Lest we forget

 

 

 

 

 

 

thank you all

 

*bow*

Funny how some posts make me dream of virtual stun guns

 

Nice how when folks have nothing nice to say they can't wait to say it

 

It's a good thing i don't have children

 

certain things really make me want to bang some heads together.

 

this is very good practice

 

thank you all

 

Shon

Just watched an episode of 'Northern Exposure' that was cool. I'll make this quick as I want to chill tonight so here's the idea. We could send a package, like an old shoe box, from one person to another and each person puts in a small item that carries their energy, like a ring, bracelet, key fob, you get the idea. The the last person would take it with them on a trip and bury it somewhere cool like Tibet, the Kunlun Mountains or the Andes.

 

So what do you all think? Of course some may not be 'in' because of the postal cost but perhaps there's a way we can work around that. Just thought it would create a good community feeling knowing that we are all joined and connected by something real.

 

 

Would be cool

Like to see something like that go down

would be fun.

 

Don't think folks would be so apt to share addresses over the web and all?

There should be some lind of virtual way to make it happen!

Have an ongoing post called "Box" or something?

Have folks put in things they love.

 

Could be quite a powerful little box I think.

 

Maybe have two boxes one for cherished "items"

The other for things we wouldn't mind so much to send on?

 

Like your idea Patrick.

If you are able to sit for 30-60 minutes with relaxed and comfortable, yet upright posture, the effect should be satisfactory. I don't use either, I use the Burmese posture and sit on a zabuton/zafu.

 

 

hayeah

That's my normal sitting position, too.

...anytime.

keeps my back and knees from hurting.

Lotus hasn't impressed me for any reason, yet?

No problem doing it just don't find a need.

Wish that second sitting pose was more comfortable

If I did that for a few hours though

Don't think the legs would work for a week or more!

 

Zafu? Pillow?

 

I don't use a pillow under the tail

but feel much better if i have a shawl or blanket!

Don't like the kidneys feeling cold?

 

Siddhasana ?

Is the difrence in the feet, is there more to it?

Am sure there is!

What?

So does this mean that some Taoist scriptures have been materialized by God just like the scriptures from Abrahamic religions and others before them? I remember seandenty said the same thing about Da Mo meditating in cave then coming out with materialized Taoist scriptures.

 

 

Yeah, think so?

Tradition of/in most "old"religions,

though not always something that was "written" ?

But still something that is the same substance "essence"

as the "god/s" or that "primordial energy"

Sorry, i don't have any references about such things to post though?

Wonder if someone else does?

Maybe someone on the bum's does? Don't know.

 

Thank you for posting that YMWong, very interesting.

Hard for this tired mind to read,

had a hard time with the writing style : )

Seems like it was a lot of little bits of stuff,

would have liked them to go into more details

on each part or thing that they spoke about?

...Always do though! LOL, oh well.

But then it would have been a book you where posting!

Would be far To long

 

Have enjoyed your posts thank you!

 

Do you yourself have any comments about this one?

What was it that caught your interest?

 

Thanks again!

Shon

 

Hey!

I REALLY Liked the Notes and References!

Great stuff!

 

Well if it's a choice between Darin leaving or me taking the video down then of course I'll take the video down. I would hope though that Darin can accept the general consensus that the video isn't pornographic. Yes some of the images are perhaps close to the bone but I did try my best not to offend anybody when making the video.

 

Be a great loss to this community if Darin left so I hope he stays.

 

thanks for that Patrick.

...would feel bad too, enjoy that kid!

 

Like the diversity found here at the Bum's

Hate to see folks disappear?

 

See you! Shon

 

 

Oh and being single is still frowned upon, lol.

I could go on a rant about that but need to go to work instead!

 

Peace kids!

If one were to observe a woman giving birth to a child, but there were screens covering the bottom half of her body, so all you could see was her upper half, and you had no previous awareness of what was happening here, would you not percieve this experience as 'bad', and against the womans wishes to be experiencing this torture and suffering?

 

When the screens are removed, understanding is no longer limited to perception, all makes sense, is this suffering still percieved as 'bad'?

 

Can you see the limits of perception?

 

To percieve is to interpret that which is, to filter it through knowledge, to gain a solid understanding of that which is un-solid and ever-changing.

A most interesting observation.

 

Jing

 

 

interesting.

yes, thanks.

 

to reach understanding?

to let the screens fall away?

 

Sitting alone enough?

 

what else is needed for folks?

Would these two be comparable in effects, you think?

 

 

 

For me the bottom one opens the hip qua differently?

Not sure if how i do anything is correct though.

When those qua are open the energetic connections are felt more clearly,

Can still feel them no matter what, at times more "open/closed"

but the cross legged one, it's better for establishing them, for me?

Also sitting on my knees sure doesn't make my knees happy???

Am sure there are adjustments one could make, if so inclined,

to gradually get a body used to it?

 

Others can probably word this better, I hope!

 

Like to hear some experiences folks have had with them too?

 

Thank You Froggie!

 

Shon

I kept seeing people saying "vote vote vote" and it was pretty annoying! Why? Well...

 

I didn't like either candidate. Writing someone in wouldn't have made any difference, besides the fact that I didn't have anyone that I liked to write in.

 

So sometimes there's a good reason for a person to not vote. If it were mandatory, I would've flipped a coin.

 

 

Hahaha, yup.

I tried the enie-minie-moe(sp?) thing .... just for kicks

but i didn't like the one i picked

Lol, didn't see the spot to write in a name until after the fact.

Would have wrote in Willie Nelson!

Hey? He already knows the white house well enough!

Right? and I Like Him.

And He is a Black belt in Aikido!

He's been exposed to the real working folks and to the big corporate world.

He Knows the issues facing out country

and facing our world?

 

He'd plant sunflowers around the white house

and have parties on the roof!

 

For better or worse, lol, I would have written him in.

Wouldn't have mattered anyway.

Still don't like the choices.

Like seeing folks so happy and relieved though

even if i don't share their elation!

 

For me the act was just for the act itself.

Voting for the sake of voting.

An act for the future generations

and for fear of my ancestors

knocking my head real hard if i didn't!!!

... U think I'm kidding!

 

Shon

 

 

do believe in voting

But the ways things are done ... : (

i just don't know.

Haha! That Is increadable.

Great video!

Wish there was a musical bone in this body!!!

 

11 years old???

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Flashbacks HURT. DARN IT.

LOL

 

I was um???

... Learning the art of invisibility

and climbing my neighbors chimneys and pine trees

Self defense skills sucked, LOL,

so hiding and out climbing worked well!!!

kept me (mostly?)alive, i think?

 

Was raising other peoples children and collecting tin cans

to try and raise every nickel i could,

was hard to earn a dime! Still can be

and dreaming about training a dog to go and get peoples wallets

out of their shoes on the beach, LOL,

don't worry never did ... was far to honest.

Sure coulda made a killing though!!!

 

Was raiding my neighbors garden

(raiding honestly though???)

and had a terribly incorrect view

that anything that grew could be eaten, ugh.

NEVER EAT JAPANESE LANTERNS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!NEVER.

(a bad flashback to about 7 years,lol)

It might kill you?

And learning to clean dear and many saltwater fish?

Any two legged or four legged is about the same

but fish still confuse the daylights out of me!

Was probably more of a vegetarian because of it

... might be a reason for having raided gardens?

 

Sitting at night in meditation and in contemplation.

Was sleeping under houses and in trees and in swamps!

and as weird as it might sound was loving every moment of it

(except for the ones that were chasing me, they sucked.)!

 

Over all guess not much has changed!

Still trying to earn a dime.

Still Loving the trees and swamps. Still sitting at night?

Still needing to learn self defense and get chased once in awhile.

...Not so into the neighbors gardens as much

And as for the dog I was going to train???

I wonder if my little mutts would be interested in learning

some new tricks through the winter,LOL?

... still to honest. ...kinda?...might be able to get over that though??

 

 

How about you ddilulo_06?

What were you up to?

Have things changed?

 

 

Shonton Ga

I'm sorry Stig, I didn't know.

 

Now I'm embarrassed, but at least I KNOW NOW. lol

Peace, gossamer

 

Hahaa! I liked it though Gossamer!

Jump on in ! very cool.

 

So what was that last line ???

Ahh? This was it, right?

"a spirit chaser.

 

Hifullutin name for beer!

 

Sparkling water..."

 

 

***************************

 

 

 

Sparkling water...

crown of the head, down to toes

drip,drip,drip,drip, dry!

 

I think that some of you might find this to be of interest:

http://zhouyi.sdu.edu.cn/english/yiology/sub2/aProbeInto.asp

 

hey?

looks interesting, i missed this post somehow!

Thanks for putting the link up here

bookmarked it so i can check it out better as time allows

 

Wanted to "bump" it up for others to check out too!

 

Stay well,

Shon

This definitely makes sense - truth falls into the wrong hands and becomes a tool for selfishness and ego, lust for power begets more lust for power and suddenly truth becomes lie to maintain order and rule based on personal worldview.

What do you mean by less light energy upon the planet? Are you saying the sun is weakening? I read recently that sunspots are no longer on the sun!

http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2008/...unspot-mys.html

 

the idea of 2012 is attractive, but in the past i kept it at arms length because it seemed to have nothing grounding it other than an ancient Mayan calender. But i must say, having been involved in finance as well as being an avid student of geopolitical events, for some reason or another, the world is gearing up for 2012. Be it the financial markets, the wars in the middle-east as well as politics and power plays among G nations, things are preparing for ... something.

 

 

 

Hi Hyok!

Just a quick question

come the last day of december

what typically happens with the calender ???

It's easy

We turn the page ...

not something that has to be traumatic?

Might get a paper cut or something but...

 

Folks have been worried about the world coming to an end

since it began.

 

They've been afraid of it happening all my life.

Some reasons do carry more weight than others, sure.

But.

Folks like to get caught up in stuff(myself included!)

 

Can't tell you how many folks came and told me in the past two months

about "the giant mother ship" that was coming last month.

(hmm,about 80 of them i'd say!) (they say it came by the way???)

They were all preparing for it in different ways?

I haven't seen it but haven't been looking either?

 

What I'm trying, so badly, to say is ~

 

Enjoy life.

 

It is precious. It is perfect.

Enjoy it while you are living it.

 

As for the sun... check this out!!!

Very cool for some folks maybe!

What does it mean?

Only that we are specks of dust that really don't know much of anything!

And as one already mentioned,

 

Secrets are only secrets if we don't know them.

 

We are all always learning!

 

Check this out though : )

 

http://www.livescience.com/space/081103-mm...ic-portals.html

 

Shon

If this were so there would be no growth, progress, evolution etc...

 

I believe we are an evolving species with a whole lot more to grow!!!

--

And yes-for once I have some national pride these days!-

 

If we can boot the corporations off of our backs -that IS the real win!

Peace-Pat

 

 

Have been told of some higher up's in corporations

walking around parking lots and "taking note"

of who's cars are stuck with Obamas stickers!

... just incase they need to make some cut backs!

 

Be a good thing to have one of those magnetic ones I think!

 

Am sure that's not true? Is It?

 

but i thought it was funny.

(My humor is a bit warped... and i don't work for such a place? yet? )

 

 

Oh!

And

 

I do want to thank you all for posting

and giving me some other points of view to think over.

Some very good points were made.

 

Appreciate it.

 

Hope there are many more!!!

Does anyone else think like me - that the human misery index is basically fixed and static?

 

Improve this and that becomes bad.

 

Fix the air and the water goes off.

 

Improve trade and unskilled labor gets unemployed.

 

Give people a microwave oven and they develop some sort of post-modern angst.

 

etc.

 

We live in a society of humans, not gods and bad things are necessarily part of that.

 

I don't think anybody is changing anything much, or for long.

 

 

... one person loses some weight???

and another one gains some! LOL

I think it is true???

I agree. President Elect Obama represents change, but is he change? This is why I couldn't vote for either candidate. Because it's politics, and politicians these days are all basically puppets for more powerful people. Maybe not all of them...but who knows.

 

Besides that: I just don't think the presidency is that big of a deal in the scheme of things. It's just one aspect of our country's government. Yeah, it's an important and influential part, but it's just that the presidency is so hyper focused on...when it shouldn't be so much...just my opinion.

 

All in all, it was fun to watch this all unfold, and it will be fun to see what happens in the next few years.

 

 

An Offer of hope for a lot of folks after the last few elections.

I wasn't able put much faith in what seems just illusion ... an offer of hope.

Hmm, guess i'm looking for honesty that may not exist in the world of politics?

This just seemed as ... something to pacify a child ...

like a shiny ballon.

Balloons fly away. Balloons pop. Or just shrivel up?

Neither of the 2 main candidates were much comfort!

Do either have the skills needed? I don't know that they do. Maybe?

 

Most folks that preached politics to me these past few months

(They didn't converse mind you, was like they were all ready "brain washed")

where going to vote for him.

You could tell which tv channels they were watching by what they had to say.

And basically it seemed to come down to, not the issues,

not the level of skills acquired by the candidates,

But who they had been told would win.

People are sheep. Easily influenced.

I like Obama's Charisma too, but is he skilled?

They had been convinced he was going to win and who wants to vote for a looser, lol?

It's rather sick and very disheartening to watch.

 

But maybe I'm wrong? LOL, Have been before!

It's just this old age and all these grey hairs

that have left me so extremely jaded and cynical!

Let's hope that's the case.

 

Would like to see the "depression"that folks have carried

since the last few elections(and sep 11) get lifted.

Would be a very good thing.

Just would like their decisions to be based on KNOWLEDGE

and not mere propaganda.

or on them just following the sheep to the slaoughter.

Do have hope that folks are intelligent and informed when making such a decision?

 

Also think "he" (president) is mostly just a figurehead.

And it's funny how upsetting this all is to me because of that.

It's made it easy to see where some of this child's attachments lay!

 

It's been fun to watch and I'm sure will continue to be interesting!

 

They all speak with forked tongues ...

LOL, Hey ?

Maybe they are all of the reptilian race after all!

 

Should be fun to watch!

 

Stay well,

Shon

Thanks for those so far.

 

Would like to get as extensive of a list as possible.

 

I have my own ideas about what I'm going to ask specifically on camera, and how the answers might lead to tangent questions but know that I will either forget or not think of some important things so I would like to build a big list.

 

I'll probably film movement and posture for a day (and then edit it with overlayed narration) and maybe try and capture at least several hours of questions and answers.

 

I am not going to be recording one of the commercial wushu monks, but rather a quite older gentleman who doesn't do any public teaching, but - who I felt some resonance and congruity with and who I feel has a pretty high level of understanding and some genuine attainment.

 

He also is quite knowledgeable about some of the old pre modern era Wudang magic, like the rain making magic, and so on.

 

If anyone thinks of more please post them here.

 

My Chinese is ok but not great and I may need to look up some words (especially religious/cultivation related words that may be out of general circulation) ahead of time if I don't know them.

 

What an intense project!

Would love to hear about your own experiences

when it's completed, if you have a chance?

someday down the road!

 

Thank you for taking the initiative to do such a thing,

so much of the old knowledge seems lost?

... it come round again, i suppose, but would be very interested to hear some of his stories?

What has had the most profound effect on his own cultivation and learning

what's brought him joy in this life? The beginning of his studies, how things progressed?

What is he learning now?

 

I myself have foolish questions of working with time but can't figure out how to word them!

but maybe he could touch upon the nature of "time" in doing the work that he does?

You mentioned Wudang magic and Sorcery, but also in other practices, "time" play a part in it or totally unconcerned about such a "thing", be it in his own or in working with the lives around him?

Not sure if this makes any sense at all,lol!

 

Any questions you ask, any conversations you can share will be a gift ... of a very precious kind.

Thank you for doing such work.

 

Sincerely,

Shon

 

Stay well!

hahahahaha

The non-effort comes when so much effort has been put forth in cultivation. Then, its as easy as pie

No hate for patience, no like for patience and no voice in the head to say just be patient, one has truly achieved patience...

 

A wonderful and perfect gongfu partner!

 

 

No, no hate, no like , no voice, lol,

... just a love for the drama of words

 

Thank you Lin,

much to practice, much to live.

 

"I" could ask for no better, when it comes to gongfu partners.

 

Wish you all a peaceful day

 

shon