freeform

Yeah - I guess it depends... there’s ‘self cultivation’... which is a path in itself. In self cultivation things like gratitude journals, ‘positive thinking’, and other personal development type stuff can be useful. For ‘spiritual cultivation’ that sort of stuff just adds more layers of Acquired Mind... not useful.

Like watching a comedy or a nice sunset... nothing wrong with that Wouldn't call that cultivation though.

There’s a post on how to use positive emotions to get into samadhi... Which reminded me of a number of new age Osho offshoots I’ve come across - where they use strong emotion for the purposes of ‘cultivation’. These actually tend to be groups with the largest number of casualties... when you dig deeper you discover that most people leave the groups after mental breakdowns, psychotic episodes, deep depression etc... there were also quite a few suicides. But the people who’re there, still in the group, swear to how profoundly amazing the work is... To me, most of the people on those groups were characterised by extremely scattered energy, a fluttering heart centre, burnt out kidneys and a dull, depleted shen... similar to long term MDMA users actually... full of beautiful poetic sayings and expressions though

I’m being clear and direct (as best as I can) - not trying to be poetic and fuzzy. I don’t follow what you’re saying to be honest - you seem to be inferring about some subtle flaw in the practice of the people I’m talking about... I doubt you’ve met them all though. Just to reiterate - there is no single magic practice that has both a real transformational effect and has no problems whatsoever. It just doesn’t exist. Meditation, however carefully done, is not exclusively safe... This is important for people to know. When you go surfing, the dangers are apparent. When you get into meditation seriously you also need to know that there are dangers and pitfalls... pretending that there aren’t is just irresponsible...

I think it’s important to clarify what you mean by ‘positive emotion cultivation’...

With meditation there are obviously many incorrect ways of practicing... spotless mentioned several. But I’ve also come across many people who’ve been practicing correctly but still had problems. The pattern was usually that they only did meditation. In every organisation that had any students with achievement and few problems, there was always some energy work involved. Whether that energy work was from the teachers making direct changes through transmission or with herbal preparations or even by meditating in specific areas with certain energetic qualities... It became clear to me over the years, that simply meditating, even if done correctly, is simply not enough - both for meaningful progress but also for safety and health. Now, again, the caveat is that what I’m talking about is ‘serious’ cultivation... an hour of meditation a day is usually just fine. I’m talking about dedicated cultivators doing long sits for 4 to 12 hrs a day, every day.

Sorry - didn’t quote the full sentence initially. You said the advice helped a bit but wasn’t the key to full recovery. Can you you share what was the key to recovery for you?

Can you share what was?

Can definitely relate to this. Particularly before I had regular contact with an exceptional teacher. Then things got much easier. I always recommend for people to find a good teacher. But most are too excited about ‘energetic engineering’ or they don’t quite understand how important a good teacher really is. Or they can’t find one immediately and just do ‘something’.

Ok so I think you’re warning people not to play ‘energetic engineer’ and there’s a difference between meditation and energy work - even when seated. (Completely agree) Then you seem to be saying that there’s a practice that unfolds all the developments ‘naturally’ without any specific action taken by the cultivator. You’re alluding to this practice being meditation (I guess?). And that in meditation there are no problems except for naturally occurring problems... I think playing around - whether with energy practices or with meditation is almost always a bad idea and can result in problems - particularly if done intensively over a long period of time.

Yeah I understand your distinction. But could you name some specific practices - just so it’s helpful for people reading. Or are you saying that the same practice (Qi Gong for example) can be practiced in a Rabbit or a Turtle approach?

Can you give specific examples of Rabbit practices and Turtle practices?

When fasting as a cultivator there are some tips to follow. Don't do any Qi Gong during the fast! Sitting practice is good. ‘Fasting the mind’ is important. Stillness, no over stimulation, no news etc. Mineral supplementing is important... even just unrefined (gray or pink) salt mixed with water will do. Gentle movement - stretching, jumping on a trampoline, taking walks or hikes etc. are required - particularly when you feel lethargic. Keep warm at all times! The period of re-introduction to food is very important. During a fast your organs actually shrink... your body will remove dead and damaged cells (autophagy). When you reintroduce food, your body will quickly re-build, and so it requires very high quality food. Lots of walnuts, high quality cod liver oil (most commercially available cod liver oil is rancid and therefore toxic). If eating meat then only the naturally pastured/ grass fed variety... focus on organ meats, bone broths, bone marrow, cuts with a lot of gelatin (eg tails, knuckles etc). Lots and lots of gently cooked organic veggies (leafy greens in particular). This should all be introduced slowly over several days... pay particular attention to the quality of food for at least a week, then you can go back to normal. Lots of people avoid meat at this stage, but it’s far more easily digested than any veggies and the nutrients are assimilated much better. Good luck! I will be doing a 5 day fast soon myself

Yup - the “delusions of reference” and general self centredness is often a sign of Zou Huo Ru Mo. Or even something more minor like too much Qi in the head (new age ‘third eye’ type practices). I’ve seen ‘depersonalisation’ type symptoms from new age practitioners and from ‘sectarian meditation’ practitioners. There are also many Kundalini Syndrome issues. These often happen when New Age practitioners do authentic practices to ignite the kundalini without any of the preparatory practices. There are many psychological and physiological issues related to this. Too many to list.

Before scaring everyone I need to point something out. Most people simply don’t train enough to get any of these problems. Secondly most people also don’t have the ‘energetic awakening’ necessary to develop any meaningful amount of Qi. Also most Qi Gong that’s available to the public is based on imagination... and mostly creates imaginary results. Of course imagination practice can cause its own host of issues - but again it takes several hours of intense practice every day - most people don’t do that much. If you’re serious about the internal arts, you’ve probably found a good teacher who should be able to help you navigate around any issues or pitfalls. Qi Gong Chu Pian - Qi Gong Deviation. Generally it’s the result of reversed flow in a channel. Generally not too serious. Can cause pain and tremors when not practicing (tremors and pain during practice is normal). Usually it’s because of incorrect practice... being too forceful with intention or too much contrived directing of energy. Zou Huo Ru Mo - Entering The Fire. Slightly more serious than the above. Basically the body gets too yang and starts burning up. It’s often because of some underlying condition. It can cause the surfacing of psychological conditions... usually mania. If it’s not tended to it can create long term psychotic episodes, mood swings, aggression etc. Gu Zheng - Steaming of the Bones This results from depleting the Yin of your body. Basically it feels like your bones are producing heat, you feel restless, can’t sleep and get night sweats. Caused by excessively leading energy with the mind... forcing the microcosmic orbit... too much visualisation... also during some Nei Dan processes. Common in dedicated Healing Tao practitioners. Du Huo Gong Xin - Poison Fire Tainting the Heart Another common one amongst HT practitioners, Guru types or anyone heavily focusing on sexual practices and ‘retention’. This one I believe is the most dangerous one. It’s one thing to mess yourself up, but this condition will often go unnoticed and start to affect other people around the practitioner. Basically it’s a ‘base desire deviation’. Results in an obsession with sex/money/power... Often creates sexual deviancy (desire to dominate sexually, ‘corrupt/destroy innocence’ etc) Also desire to dominate people (lust for power) and an obsession with wealth. There’s many other subtle ones. Too much Qi in the head (often results in increase of ‘intelligence’ but in a confused, manic way... Drew’s behaviour would be a classic example) Stagnation based issues... often from too much meditation or incorrect quality of focus in internal practices. Results in sluggish and dull mind and body. Often meditation feels very nice and peaceful, but it’s in fact just going into a dull sedated trance state. Very common in meditators. There’s so many other pitfalls. Often from useful openings happening at the wrong time in someone’s development. Results in the ‘dark night of the soul’... deep depression etc. Again this often happens in meditators without a teacher and without energetic inner transformations necessary to create the right conditions for the expanding consciousness.

I specifically said that TCM is not for cultivation - it’s for health and healing. You must’ve missed that. Energy work is the ‘tantric’ path to enlightenment... meaning you make specific internal changes (by working with your energetic makeup) that create the fertile ground for enlightenment to happen. Tell me about all these saints you know of that got enlightened with no effort. I know of none.

Why bother with practices to prepare you for enlightenment when you can just get enlightened directly eh?! If only it was that easy

I suggest learning mindfulness... it’s a way of using your awareness to stay centred and relaxed no matter what circumstances you’re in. If you want to take it further, then you can try Qi Gong or Taiji or other forms of meditation.

So vitality... as in more energy... Thats simple - just do intense exercise regularly, sleep consistently for 8hrs and eat freshly cooked, unprocessed food and you’ll have more energy than most people... For progress in the internal arts you must do the above plus 2 to 3hrs of correct training every day. If that doesn’t interest you then why bother?!

Thanks - you clearly went inside and considered the question deeply and came out with a good answer. What does feeling safe and protected give you that’s even more important than feeling safe? (there’s a point to these questions, I promise )

What does it mean to be full of jing? Using non-Daoist language.

What would being deeply relaxed give you that’s more important than the relaxation itself?

Medicine and cultivation are two completely different things (that come from the same root). Maybe you have a lot to learn about cultivation?

In my opinion and in the opinion of all the high level teachers that I’ve trained with, celibacy is not only counterproductive but also dangerous. Yes there are times when on retreat you would stop all sexual activity... but this is generally at intermediate to later stages and for specific periods of time and it always includes ‘fasting the mind’. My recommendation is to moderate your sexual activity - not sure how old you are, I’m assuming quite young - which means sexual activity once a week is healthy... Cultivating Jing is not about stopping ejaculation! It’s a terrible and rather unhealthy over simplification. The way to cultivate jing is to stop base desires. This is accomplished firstly through introspection (to see your base impulses in action) and then just like meditation - you recognise the impulse and then you don’t act on it. However introspection is tricky and subtle. Your ego is clever and will hide base desires in all sorts of ‘clothing’... Secondly your internal training will help stop base desires too... I know you’re following Drew’s new ‘system’ - which I wouldn’t recommend... but since you are then you need to ask him. Bare in mind Drew exhibits some of the symptoms of Qi Gong Deviation... so tread just carefully.

I had an interesting run-in with an aggressive drunk over the holiday period. What transpired surprised all of us involved. I was with a few friends having a drink in a pub. In the doorway, as we were leaving to go for dinner, this big chap aggressively put his hand on my shoulder to stop me. I turned around... everything went a little slow... I could feel adrenaline start to make its way through my system... He was saying stuff but I couldn’t really understand - it felt as if he was miles away. The next moment I found myself zooming in really close and looking deeply into the man, completely focused and silent inside, and I could touch this deep sadness in him (on the surface he was red and very angry) - I felt a tinge of it, but it was quickly replaced by this sudden, warm expansion starting at the mingmen and moving through the centre out to the heart. It felt as if it worked itself through my whole body, relaxing all tension and subduing the adrenaline spike... eventually squeezing its way out through my pores. My body felt fat, swollen and wet. This process felt like an eternity... apparently was just a few seconds. But what happened next surprised me even more. I open my mouth and say “Don’t worry... she’ll be alright... I promise”. This wasn’t connected to a thought or an intention that I had - it just came out. As the guy hears this, he stops in his tracks, his face drops and goes pale. He mumbles something, drops to the floor and starts sobbing. I go to pat him on the back, but as I touch him, all his muscles tense up and he lets out this pained gasp. A couple of men watching run over, I think they thought I was hurting him somehow... I let go and quickly leave with my friends. My friends were all buzzing with an adrenaline afterglow, asking wtf just happened... they don’t know the extent of my practice, so rather than complicate matters I just said that he was very pissed and I just said it to confuse him so that we could get out. They were happy with that explanation.