Neijia

I can agree with that. Interesting thoughts.

To begin, creative visualization is mandatory. In fact, it's a moot point to even discuss it's neccessity. Lacking prior training, or the accumulation of enough energy to make those observations, a mental nudge is important, if for nothing else than guiding the energy. Which you would do in order to begin to fill the Dan Tien... effectively creating it. As an afterthought... HT is basic at best. And a group of plagurists at worst.

It's been my impression that... you have to create the Dan Tien, before you can feel it. Or does it exist before then? Chicken and the egg? Anyway. The harder you try, the more you'll hinder your progress. Concentrate on the doing of it, more than the paying attention to/generating the sensations, and the further you go with it. Of course... like anything, it'll a bit spotty at first, and takes a bit before you'll hit consistency... Where did you feel the spark?

Also - the Essence of Internal Martial Arts, by the same author (Dr. Jerry Alan Johnson) can be found at the author's website, http://www.qigongmedicine.com/ or at qi journal, http://wwww.qi-journal.com

I certinaly feel joyful... but not dissruptively so. I think it takes balance that is arrived at through dedicated practice, and the eventual absence of self-centered/narcistic ego based fear. Of course that requires more self-study and facing of hard facts than many people are willing to devote. Then again, some people are just born uncomplicated and never strive to be.

Dr. Jerry Alan Johnson - Chinese Medical Qigong Therapy Vol. I - V ... A little expensive, but absolutely worth it.

... hat trick on the ginger tea? I've read that ginger has tonification benefits on Yang chi, and is good for the digestion. You might like Green/Jasmine. I'm into the herbal tea, the Chinatown "semi exotic" stuff. Often mixed with Shou Wu Chih.

Yeah... supposedly, white skeleton is supposed to be good for diagnostics, not to thread jump. Though I haven't gotten anywhere that good with it to "see" into other people's bodies.

yeah Ego is the dividing gulf standing between any one person and another, a fence between the self and the rest of the world.. A person's small ideas about themself, and others, being something that has come together and formed for the purposes of survival. And besides that... not, to sound too Siddhartha (or Tyler Durden), you are not your car, bank account, the contents of your wallet, or even the configuration of prejudices and thoughts that make up your psyche. As for discarding the ego, I don't believe you can simply reach out for the universe, in any disciplined and genuine way, without first having changed - if, nothing else, just your mind.

He Shou Wu is the shit. And it's even better with Lycium...

Keep your eye on the prize, and it won't be so bad.

The actual goal is achieving awareness through harmony and self-perfection. These things being cultivated on physical, energetic, and spiritual levels. Arriving at any state of selflessness requires one to dismember and eventually discard the ego. Piece by bitter piece. The ego is the true obstacle to advancement... assuming that's what you mean by selfless. If you mean charity and good will, then that's something else, and open to interpretation. As far as teaching others... that's up to you, but I don't think you can avoid it if you're serious about your cultivation.

Taint lift = perineum? It's my understanding that the nausea is a result of channel blockages, and that by circulating chi to areas of underexposure creates that feeling. Practice eventually eliminates it. I've seen the same thing in people doing Zhan Zhaung, mostly in postures that relate to the emotional centers (ie. imbalanced emotions).

The demands of real Taiji are best met in youth (despite what Park Districts and those fucking Celebrex commercials might have you think). That's not to say that old people can't learn to play Taij - but they often have a much harder time learning due to accumulated mental and emotional patterns, and pure physical limitation. Inflexibility of both sorts being gifts of age. In my opinion, yes, external is a fast way to learning some self-defense, but internal is a much better investment.

Yeah, that's not uncommon. In fact, last week, we had some people getting sick doing microcosmic orbit after 45 minutes or so of standing practice, and chi packing. I don't know about the explosion feeling, but it's not surprising?

I've had some good experiences with white skeleton. Seen some pretty strange things too... faces, felt like I was being sucked through the floor, etc.

I'm from near Chicago, and am deeply interested in qigong, neigong, forms of meditation and practice. I've been fortunate enough to learn something about internal martial arts (Taiji/Xingyi/Bagua), and have a keen interest in Taoism.

Yeah I keep hoping it will keep the snow away.

I agree with that. Also - There seems to be some confusion about jing, chi, and shen. Anyway... (Funny enough that you mention Lam Kam Chuen) I've been taught that there ARE ways to increase your jing. Various forms of chikung, standing and moving I Ch'uan, herbs and diet. And of course, sexual practice.