Hi, I'm Skye (among many other names and handles).
My background is complicated, but I'm signing up here because my esoteric studies and magical practices have made it a bit of a requirement.
I'll probably keep most of that private, but what I can say is that due to interactions with a few of my guiding-spirits, I've been directed to pursue qi cultivation in service and learning dedicated to Jiutian Xuannu and less-directly Xiwangmu.
I have some superficial knowledge in these contexts, and since I was set on this path about a year ago I have read a few things, but to be honest the reason I never got into cultivation before this past year was due to the absolutely bonkers number of perspectives and traditions that are out there! Combined with seeming inaccessibility of a lot of these practices in the west, and how many arguments I've seen in a number of places online, whether academic or practical, regarding this type of path, the possibility of discerning my own way in finding signal through the noise is daunting.
Also, I'm 41 and a parent so the idea of starting some type of martial training is a bit overwhelming to say the least, but I've been doing some basic qi exercises for a year or so now, and being pretty far along in the process of setting my house in better energetic order, so it seems I've been nudged again. It's almost exactly a year after starting this whole process, so I'm joining here to start trying to engage more with community in pursuit of further training.
I am not well-off financially, so I'm hoping to start with some good free resources around three-dantian cultivation methods and maybe eventually finding a teacher, tho I am cautious about that, given that so far things my process has been spirit-directed and I have to get approval from them to proceed, which often takes some time to tease-out. I've learned this is important tho, because it's taken me a decade or so of magical practice to learn to take my time and not jump into practices like this too quickly or enthusiastically so I don't over-commit, get burnt out, or become quickly bored. I think the past year has been good preparation tho.
So hello from a nascent practitioner! I look forward to exploring this part of my path with some of you!
