rsalazar

Hello Everyone,

Thank you Sifu Terry, Sifu Garry, Fu Dog and all the rest for keeping this thread spinning - I have been spotty with my practice lately, you all have inspired me to get off my **se and redouble my efforts, time flies by too quickly.

I also just wanted to chime in on a question Sifu Terry asked a while back on experiences with the FP flash meditations - when I first started my practice, I did the flash meds along with sets of the sitting exercises - I would also practice just the flash meds when I did not have a lot of time - In my experience, it seemed like I was feeling effects from the flash meditations despite just beginning my practice, I really noticed that I felt a lot less vulnerable to catching colds during the winters.

Best,

R

Hello Vortex,

They both read me under different conditions - Robert Peng read me while doing an initial body scan right before treatment, he made very specific statements about 2 meridians, I laughed because he was right on point - The tenaga dalam teacher that read me was Pak Pohan's teacher, she read me over the phone within minutes, she said "I don't want to startle you, but . . . " then went on to give me the very same specific comments on the 2 meridians, she was right on target as well. It was a great experience and quite inspiring.

PM me if you'd like more info.

Cheers,

R

Eating-and I think sex-have gone from being natural acts, to acts of recreation. In part because people are bored, and in part because other people see the opportunity to make money from this. The manipulation of people's natural drives looks like it has just led 'advanced' societies to the ruination of their health and their happiness.

 

Of course, this 'ideal' has been exported to the rest of the world as well. Young, 'educated', Chinese people aspire to the 'American' lifestyle, though I suspect not the obesity and health problems that come with it. Watching the grandparents take their infant grandchildren to McDonalds here is not a happy sight to behold.

Great discussion, so many great points

Mike, you hit the nail right on the head. In my perspective, our natural drives have been skewed by a lot of popular media (we're immersed in information, whereas ancient man was immersed in nature), so noise covers a lot of signal. I think it is helpful to approach from the EFT angle at times as an adjunct, you only invest minutes throughout the day and if the diagnostic is wrong, no harm done.

Here is an approach that, in my small experience, resulted in the dropping of this attachment over the course of about a week (it freed up gigabytes of memory BTW)- I did 3 rounds (about a minute) in the morning before practice, another 3 at night before practice

Just follow along at 5:15 in the clip - it costs nothing except a minute of time - mileage may vary, but certainly worth a go for a week to see what happens.

All the best luck in your practice.

R

Hi Seeker,

Too funny! I'm gonna get one of those facial rollers on the site Cat linked to, and then I will be "rolling my eyes" for real! Well, *around* my eyes anyway...

 

Nice to know some TaoBums are so close!

 

Adeha

Hey Guys,

Very cool observations, I see connections also with dry skin brushing, which some teachers also recommend as an adjunct to regular qigong practice. I may need to dust off my brush and hit the reset.

R

Joe Blast posted a picture of a pit where Mayans sacrificed there enemies. I wonder what it would be like to meditate in a place like that. How much of the darkness (if any) do you pick up? Would it be like a grave yard on steroids or something different?

 

Same with holy ground. What places have people connected with?

 

Thanks

In Robert Peng's book, he relates an interesting story of how his teacher encouraged him after a certain stage to meditate in graveyards and how these places have their own special energy that can be beneficial - his teacher gave him a mantra to concentrate on (it basically translates as "peace and calm", I paraphrase) and at one time he did encounter a negative energy which he described as trying to crawl up his back, but he kept concentrating on the mantra and focused heart-energy on it, after which it went away.

Coming from another angle, Robert Svoboda relates his experiences meditating in graveyards in his book Aghora, not for the faint of heart.

I have only attempted meditation once in an unusual place, a haunted restaurant after hours (I was curious about reports of odd sensations in this place). All was quiet at my end, I felt nothing. Other people with me would feel pressure, which I think was variable over time (they weren't meditating but walking around). Two other people nearby claimed to have seen a deck of cards moved (the only activity that night, the restaurant was the site of a brothel back in the 1800's).

Cheers,

R

Hello All,

I just came back from Michael's seminar in Terre Haute, and I have to say it was a great experience for me. Michael packed in a lot of information in the 2 days I was there. On day one, Michael lit me up like a campfire within a minute of illustrating a point during his lecture. This was the second time I've had the privilege of having a palpable experience of chi projection. The heat that I experienced was as overt as the electrical shocks I got from Robert Peng. I felt a ball of heat at the base of my torso, then it felt like a tube of heat going up the middle of my body and into my neck and head. The sensation was most intense around my neck and then was harder to localize as it went up into my head. I was sweating quite a bit. Michael has impressive abilities. We spent a bit over an hour doing the sitting practice as he worked on adjusting us. We also did static standing practice, the Gift of Tao forms, as well as other goodies.

It was also great meeting kenpomaster, snowmonki, and the rest of the group.

Many thanks to Michael and all his students for making good medicine.

Cheers,

Rene'

I've seen a few capoiera demonstrations and work outs. Its a fantastic art, fun to practice and watch, but it has a high physical requirement. If Aikido is about being centered, then capoiera is about dynamic imbalance.

 

I may be generalizing but you have to be quite athletic, flexible, thin to master it. Think cart wheels and handstands.

 

In the 70's there was a Kung Fu episode where Caine faces a capoeira master. A great movie with it is 'The Mighty Quinn' starring Denzel Washington; top cop using capoeira. Another one 'Only The Strong' had lots of capo in it, kind of a Karate Kid w/ Capo.

I like the description of dynamic imbalance, great way to put things

Here are two of my favorite capoeira videos:

A beautiful Angola game

Human helicopters in a Regional frenzy

I've been in the game for about 12 years now, haven't been training as much since moving to Texas, not much capoeira in my neck of the woods - it's been a great way to train agility and give your body a diet of movement variation - It can get as spiritual as you like or things can remain very physical - The art at its foundation is very connected to the Afro-Brazilian spiritual traditions such as candomble and santeria - my first mestre was an apprentice to a medium in Santos that channeled Dr. Fritz - once, he and another apprentice were chastized by the spirit for having relations with women without protection, they were given and warning about certain requirements that needed to be made to work with him, he said he couldn't keep any secrets from this particular spirit.

I would highly encourage you to seek out and visit schools - beware there are quite a few schools that are also quite violent, so take your time before deciding on one to attend.

Best,

R

I'm clearly going against the grain here but I think this guy is a douche bag. For whatever reason your teacher doesn't want to teach you anymore (it's not as if he was under obligation to do so) and you turn around and defy his wishes and publish a book?

 

Come on now. It makes it really difficult for us to say that not all Westerners are the same but the fact this guy is building rapport on this forum really confuses and irritates me .

Interesting read.

Disturbing that only Jim, despite acknowledging Pak John's far more extensive contact and experience with spirits, has the wisdom and discernment to say that Liao is really a "demon" Really? Despite Jim's neigong attainments, he seems to oversimplify the spirit world to a King James sunday school filter, everything not God is "the devil" - Jim seems quite intent on forcing his biblically interpreted viewpoint on different cultures, way out of context - power and spiritual knowledge are not mutually inclusive - this also comes out again when he dismisses the whole pursuit of nirvana in isolation, saying hermits are not serving mankind at all. How does he know that perhaps some of them are not having any impact on society? He's at least talking about them, no?

If Pak John is following the instructions of a "demon" and the specific path of power is from a "demon" then isn't Jim himself following a "demon" and doing black magic just by association? Interesting how he tries to reconcile this with his Christian beliefs.

R

22

Some wonderful person popped this link up a while back

 

http://www.westonaprice.org/food-features/broth-is-beautiful

Hey Joeblast,

Grrrrrreat link, broth is beautiful stuff - It's the ideal food for the sick and recovering since it's basically an animal "extract" and all the goodies are quickly and easily absorbed - I'd also like to put in the good word for avocado, which has been found to contain several phytochemicals which seem to promote the growth of chondrocytes, which are the cells that actually produce cartilage in the joints, here is an example.

Cheers,

R

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2008 Jun;5(2):191-7.

Metabolic effects of avocado/soy unsaponifiables on articular chondrocytes.

Lippiello L, Nardo JV, Harlan R, Chiou T.

Source

Nutramax Laboratories Inc, Edgewood, MD 21040, USA.

Abstract

Avocado/soy unsaponifiable (ASU) components are reported to have a chondroprotective effect by virtue of anti-inflammatory and proanabolic effects on articular chondrocytes. The identity of the active component(s) remains unknown. In general, sterols, the major component of unsaponifiable plant material have been demonstrated to be anti-inflammatory in vitro and in animal models. These studies were designed to clarify whether the sterol content of ASU preparations were the primary contributors to biological activity in articular chondrocytes. ASU samples were analyzed by high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) and GC mass spectrometry. The sterol content was normalized between diverse samples prior to in vitro testing on bovine chondrocytes. Anabolic activity was monitored by uptake of 35-sulfate into proteoglycans and quantitation of labeled hydroxyproline and proline content after incubation with labeled proline. Anti-inflammatory activity was assayed by measuring reduction of interleukin-1 (IL-1)-induced synthesis of PGE2 and metalloproteases and release of label from tissue prelabeled with S-35.All ASU samples exerted a similar time-dependent up-regulation of 35-sulfate uptake in bovine cells reaching a maximum of greater than 100% after 72 h at sterol doses of 1-10 mug/ml. Non-collagenous protein (NCP) and collagen synthesis were similarly up-regulated. All ASU were equally effective in dose dependently inhibiting IL-1-induced MMP-3 activity (23-37%), labeled sulfate release (15-23%) and PGE2 synthesis (45-58%). Up-regulation of glycosaminoglycan and collagen synthesis and reduction of IL-1 effects in cartilage are consistent with chondroprotective activity. The similarity of activity of ASU from diverse sources when tested at equal sterol levels suggests sterols are important for biologic effects in articular chondrocytes.

Hey, Informer,

Goosebumps are associated with endorphin release (maybe explaining the addictive nature of the experience!). Google those together for some interesting hits.

 

Here is one of the best I found: a whole thread about people who can create goosebumps at will, with scientific research papers to boot! (lots of it is in response to music, but others as well) indicating the physiology and brain changes involved! Here's the URL to get started:

 

http://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/index.php?topic=428.150

Hey Cheya,

Thanks for sharing your experience - I've been playing with baoding balls on and off over the years and they definitely have enhanced manual dexterity in general - have you noticed similar effects with solid steel balls? I personally love the solid ones, but I've never noticed sensations even when twirling them at high speeds, maybe I don't have enough juice

Cheers,

Rene'

First time I c taichi that doesn't get me sleepy.

Maybe there's a practical use for it after all.....

 

 

 

Wow, very cool - whole-body listening and power - love the shoulder strikes - you might find similar training associated with guys like Chen Xiao Wang or his student Ren Guan Yi.

Cheers,

R

Hi Rene,

 

Sorry I took a few days to answer...I just surfaced momentarily from my court battle. (I'm in the process of appealing to the higher court in Calif. an unfavorable ruling we got in the Kung Fu Panda case due to the judge keeping some of my evidence out of the case but more importantly refusing to give to the jury appropriate, on-point Calif. caselaw that we believe would have guided the jury to a different verdict. This is a matter of justice delayed--but not denied.)

 

Yes, what you did after the interruption of your breathing sequence is exactly the best thing to do. Take three deep breathes to exit and then start again a couple of minutes later. Once you practice the FPQ system enough, you will be able to gauge (and know instinctively by "feel") how much a sneeze or an external distraction or event interrupts the energy-cultivation process. But in the beginning, it's best to abide by the safety rule of counting oneself out of the mediation with three deep breathes and starting over should you ever do the breathing sequence incorrectly or do the movements incorrectly in any of FP the meditations.

 

Carry on!

 

Sifu Terry

Hello Sifu Terry,

Many thanks for the advice and I wish you all the best in your court case.

Rene'

Hello Sifu Terry,

I ended up sneezing right after completing the percentage breathing for one of the flash meditations - I figured I blew it (no pun intended) for that exercise, so I just did my 3 closing breaths to exit - I will rest a few minutes and resume the exercise again - Is this the correct way to go when there is a momentary interruption in any exercise?

Thanks and I hope all is well,

Rene'

I also met such a student, very unbalanced, who said JAJ had a lot of students not keeping up and suffering practice indigestion. Actually, for a very good student this could be a clue that it is a good practice, self selecting. Conversely it could be red flag signalling someone here who doesnt know how to pace his students. Possibly as ever, rather than one thing being true, likely both are true.

Hi Cat,

Yeah, it's a little scary whenever I hear stuff like this, but I have to remind myself that, as you said, both things are probably happening at the same time.

Cheers,

R

yes, this happens. it's one of the hazards of teaching high-level arts. not every student will graduate. that's just how it is. good teachers minimize the fall-out, but there are bound to be a few casualties if the work is really sensitive.

 

i agree that SOME of his books are not instructional, and actually, it's for the very reason you just highlighted. he doesn't make the mystical stuff totally instructional so that just anybody can grab the books and get themselves into trouble potentially. he writes moreso to preserve the information. but that's the zheng yi taoist mysticism stuff. his two internal martial arts books are QUITE good, and they helped me reach higher levels in my own development.

 

yeah, in case you didn't know, i got a crush on JAJ!

 

 

 

Waysun Liao is a real master, and if i remember correctly, he doesn't acknowledge Clyman as a disciple. i get that Clyman has some skill, but that doesn't win him very many points with me. Clyman is unbalanced in his practices, and he sells it like it's a virtue. i wouldn't put him in the same league as JAJ. and if you do your due diligence in your studies, you are bound to come across all the techniques that Clyman employs. shifting balance, breath pressures, visualizations/directing with intent, breathing in and out of specific parts of the body, tension/relaxation. whatever.

 

i applaud Clyman's work ethic for sure, but his scope is very, very limited, and he comes across as a jerk who drinks way too much coffee. there are people in this forum who impress me far more than Clyman. but i guess it's just a question of what you're looking for.

Hi Hundun,

Good point, it would be pretty dangerous to put too much into books with regards to mysticism, it can lead to a lot of trouble

Yep, JAJ's Essence of Internal Martial arts series is a treasure trove of info, a lot of good stuff.

Clyman's presentation is definitely not for everyone for sure - yeah, it does seem like a lot of coffee is involved with his neigung

Cheers,

R

I thought the whole "Temple Tai chi" thing along with Waysun Liao was all made up or at least questionable?? A quick google brings a up a few not so favorable posts on various forums. That's not to say that Clyman may or may not have skills, just a question as to how and where he got them...

Hey Robmix,

Yeah, good question, I really don't know the whole story behind his background - I'd love to visit Clyman at some point, I'd love to hear more from anyone that has visited him.

R

i own these books currently. JAJ has the best material, but it's not the easiest stuff to fully digest without a teacher or at least a highly competent partner to keep you on-task before jumping ahead too soon.

 

i own the Xing Yi Nei Gong book as well as the DVD that Miller produced. good disciplined training regimen, but nothing special that you can't get elsewhere.

 

B.K. Frantzis and Jerry Alan Johnson are your best bets, methinks.

 

you and i have such similar backgrounds in our spiritual pathwork that it's almost scary!

 

i really think you'll get the most mileage out of Frantzis and Johnson, but especially Johnson. Johnson's books aren't easy to find and might even be a little pricey, but i'm sure i could help you out if necessary.

 

 

i personally think that Kosta Danaos kinda ruined the definition of neigung, and now everyone who's teaching something that's on a higher level than health maintenance wants to appropriate the term. it's almost better to abandon the term when searching for the material you're looking for.

 

Clyman's a jerk. his techniques work, but they're nothing special unless you lack vision. his techniques can be found scattered across a dozen or so sources, few of which will be labeled as neigung. but if you can only recognize a technique's value by its label, well,... Clyman's overpriced and his techniques are unnecessarily fiery. i'll eventually own and catalog his videos too, but i refuse to pay his ridiculous prices.

 

we should totally talk.

JAJ seems to have a huge amount of knowledge, but some of his books, like the one on mudras, are *really* overpriced and totally devoid of overt instructional material- I ran into one of his students years ago who felt that JAJ was opening energetic doors with some students that they couldn't handle.

Clyman has abilities and power, but his stuff is fairly expensive - a fellow I know (fairly large, over 200lbs) went to visit Clyman a few years back and got rocked when he asked for a power demo, he said he actually got lifted off the floor when he got punched, wish I could have witnessed this - Since Clyman is a disciple of Waysun Liao, so you might get some basic info by checking Liao's material.

R

Oh! CNG is Celestial Nei Gung.... I didn't understand that before.... Yes. IME, it is very helpful for emptiness meditation. I do emptiness meditation during my closedown...

Hello Sifu Denney,

One more question: If I plan on doing a session of Celestial nei gung, then do a medical qigong after, I still need to do the closing at the end of the CNG session before starting the other qigong, is this correct?

Thanks,

Rene'

Hi Rene,

I am not familiar with practice you mention so I can't give educated advice. The celestial nei Gung is compatible with alot of qigong. So, give it a try and see how it feels. Usually when I am doing another practice in tandem with the Celestial Qigong, I will do the Celestial first. The reason being is that the Celestial usually will enhance the power of anything else you do. In my experience other forms of qigong (as long as they are not forced or fire types) will then help to absorb and circulate the Celestial energies deeper into the tissues. For example Tai Chi. I will sometimes do my celestial qigong and then do a Tai Chi form to help circulate the energies and absorb them into the tendons and organs.

 

If you are unsure, then separate the practices by at least 8 hours. If in doubt, do your other practices in the morning and do the Celestial in the evening. The Celestial Qigong is more powerful in the evening anyways. DO NOT do the celestial Qigong during the hours of 1 and 3 p.m. The power of the sun is too thick at that time.

 

The main types of energy work that will not mix well are strong fire types of qigong. Especially hard martial qigong. The Celestial is based on a specific type of spirit fighting energy that must be done very relaxedly and naturally. If it is forced, you can blow out a circuit! Other types of energy work that is not compatible is forced breathing like Yogic breath of fire.

 

It is always good to err on the side of caution.

 

The exceptions to this are the Heaven Earth Qigong Meditation, The energy balancing movement and the Earth Breath meditation. These are very safe and very grounding practices and should work well as a grounding practice for any other energy work. That's why I put those practices in there. If you are feeling any energetic imbalance for any reason, those two practices are very good at overall healing and balancing.

 

I hope that helps.

Mike

Hello Sifu Denney,

Very helpful, many thanks for the insights. I would guess it will also be beneficial to do quiet sitting/emptiness meditation after - Would CNG help clear the mind for this type of meditation?

Best,

Rene'

Seth asked...

 

 

Hi Seth, My answers are rather long and directed to everyone, so bear with me if it it does not apply to you in some instances...

 

1) The Shamanic element is not something I teach on the DVD as a specific technique as the teachers decide who they want to work with. The exercises are pretty straightforward. In fact, the exercises on the DVD are even simpler than many other styles of qigong. The difference is in the type of energy they produce. Depending on what disciplines you have practiced, the quality of the energy may feel different than some other forms of qigong. IME, after doing the exercises, I find that my energy is primed for deeper meditation and shamanic traveling. So, I guess I am saying that the frequency of the vibration produced by these techniques is such that it makes the energy body more able to connect with the ancestral teachers. So, if someone has inherent shamanic abilities, they will manifest more quickly through these practices. Now, I can't guarantee anything. This has been my experience and I have seen that it is the experience of my students.

 

When I first learned this style. I knew nothing about other Taoist lineages, nor did I know anything about Shamanism. It wasn't until after I had been training in this style for a while and had compared it with other more well known styles of qigong that I did some research on the Shang Ch'ing sect and discovered that it was more of a shamanic style of Taoism. Then it made sense to me why my experiences were so unique in comparison to the other styles I investigated. The energy will increase any healing or shamanic abilities of the practitioner, and it also has the quality of warrior shamanic energy. It is very good for battling and transforming negativity.

 

I was trained as a spirit warrior. I am sure that there are other styles of shamanism within the Shang Ch'ing sect. I was trained as a spirit warrior. At the higher levels as I teach it, the next level of shamanic work comes from learning the internal martial art forms. On one level, they are powerful internal martial arts forms, but the higher level of training is learning them as shamanic martial dances that call down the celestial powers for cleansing of negativity. In my experience, I have not experienced anything more powerful than the energy that is produced from these forms... IME, These forms will also exponentially increase any other energy practices and intensify any other spiritual gifts one has... The exercises on the DVD while very simple are derived from this warrior shaman practice and will give the aura a vibrational quality that will drive away ghosts and other nasties. So, it is a good practice for those who may have entity issues. But, as I have said to many others, entities are attracted to unresolved emotional issues, so the first thing that will happen is that the practices will produce emotional and psychological cleansing. This is often too uncomfortable and people will drop the practices. But, if one can survive the cleansing process, the root cause of the entity issue will change and the energy produced goes into the person's aura and then entities will run away just at the sight of the person...

 

It is my belief based on my experience that this style of energy work is best suited to those who have a calling to work with the ancestral masters and those who have been called to be spiritual protectors. It is also my experience in teaching this style that if someone is not destined for it, that while they may sense the power of it, they will be driven away. The energy is very powerful but it also tends to increase the intensity of personal transformation. So, one has to be willing to endure emotional and spiritual cleansing. I have also seen that if someone is able to harness the energy and they abuse it, the karmic backlash is swift and very unpleasant...

 

2) I assume you are referring to the "North Star Qigong Meditation" That is actually a very safe practice and IME is a very good all around practice. To answer your question, No it is not necessary to see the North Star. It can be done at any time of day or night.

 

Thanks for the interest, I hope that answers your questions...

Mike

Hello Sifu Denney,

Thanks for creating this discussion - One general question about Celestial Neigong practice: How long would you recommend separating this neigong from other energy practices? I am getting back into my regimen and I'm trying to practice CNG alongside with a purely medical qigong (nothing martial). Is it sufficient to do a session of CNG, go back to routine daily matters for an hour or two, then start with another qigong? I know some energies are incompatible and I respect all these differences, so any insight is greatly appreciated.

All the best,

Rene'

The Yucatec Mayan numerology is very simple to understand as is their method of dividing by zero. I am working on the assumption that everyone here has a basic understanding of high school geometry. The whole Mayan counting system is based on a 20 by 20 grid on an xy axis. Zero is a variable much like x as taught in basic algebra. Zero does not have its own space within this grid as the other numbers do. Zero is the central intersection of the two axes. In Mayan meditation one rotates this visual grid on that point. Working on the z axis or third dimension simply involves rotation of the grid. Visualization of other shapes is a matter of "opening" zero and manipulating the grid. One can add additional grids if needed to expand shapes but typically this is not necessary in order to create shapes as the grid is malleable and the size of the grid spaces is not concrete.

 

The Mayan philosophy I was taught is very simple. Do what you love, do it the most, do it first, do it right and the rest is easy. One must be able to fly with the mind before one can fly in life. The first sentence is talking about following one's passions. The second sentence mainly involves intense visualization practice in combination with sonic frequency on the note C. Typically this is accompanied by usage of entheogens such as xtabentun, cannabis incense, aged tobacco made into cigars of pre-Hispanic construction, and other native plants.

 

The physical side of this meditative practice is similar to natural and reverse breathing methods found in qigong. Longevity is not a focus of the culture as their diet, herbal intake, and lifestyles are very similar to high quality external alchemical practice. Dantian utilization is taught at a young age but is mainly applied to things such as manual labor and dance. Yucatecs are not much concerned with fighting. That said, my teacher is a high level practitioner of Shaolin external gong fu, Wing Chun under the lineage of Yip Chun, and Chen taiji under the lineage of Chen Xiaowang. One of his greatest passions of late has been observing the parallels between his culture's teachings and those of the Chinese.

 

If there is anything more I can expand for you please let me know. I myself have been practicing under these guidelines in combination with the other eclectic practices I have gained knowledge of over the years and find it quite easy to fit in with my neigong, spiritual practice, and Sufi chanting.

Hello MithShrike,

How has the diet you've seen with the Yucatecs compare with that of tribes like the Tarahumara? I imagine corn is a big focus, but what about other foods such as chia and spirulina? I've been impressed with chia and spirulina in particular and I've been using these as snacks when I don't have time to eat a meal. Do the Yucatec use tonic herbs on a long-term basis like in Chinese medicine?

Is dantian use taught with an emphasis on visualization?

Thanks in advance,

Rene'

The Yucatec Mayan numerology is very simple to understand as is their method of dividing by zero. I am working on the assumption that everyone here has a basic understanding of high school geometry. The whole Mayan counting system is based on a 20 by 20 grid on an xy axis. Zero is a variable much like x as taught in basic algebra. Zero does not have its own space within this grid as the other numbers do. Zero is the central intersection of the two axes. In Mayan meditation one rotates this visual grid on that point. Working on the z axis or third dimension simply involves rotation of the grid. Visualization of other shapes is a matter of "opening" zero and manipulating the grid. One can add additional grids if needed to expand shapes but typically this is not necessary in order to create shapes as the grid is malleable and the size of the grid spaces is not concrete.

 

The Mayan philosophy I was taught is very simple. Do what you love, do it the most, do it first, do it right and the rest is easy. One must be able to fly with the mind before one can fly in life. The first sentence is talking about following one's passions. The second sentence mainly involves intense visualization practice in combination with sonic frequency on the note C. Typically this is accompanied by usage of entheogens such as xtabentun, cannabis incense, aged tobacco made into cigars of pre-Hispanic construction, and other native plants.

 

The physical side of this meditative practice is similar to natural and reverse breathing methods found in qigong. Longevity is not a focus of the culture as their diet, herbal intake, and lifestyles are very similar to high quality external alchemical practice. Dantian utilization is taught at a young age but is mainly applied to things such as manual labor and dance. Yucatecs are not much concerned with fighting. That said, my teacher is a high level practitioner of Shaolin external gong fu, Wing Chun under the lineage of Yip Chun, and Chen taiji under the lineage of Chen Xiaowang. One of his greatest passions of late has been observing the parallels between his culture's teachings and those of the Chinese.

 

If there is anything more I can expand for you please let me know. I myself have been practicing under these guidelines in combination with the other eclectic practices I have gained knowledge of over the years and find it quite easy to fit in with my neigong, spiritual practice, and Sufi chanting.

Hello MithShrike,

Thanks for the article, *very* cool stuff - with regards to the intense viz practice, does this entail exercises such at trataka (candle gazing) or does this school emphasize pure concentration practices to perfect visualization?

Thanks in advance and all the best,

Rene'

I have a question, I read in a few places that high qigong entails high morals and vice versa, could you please explain a thing or two about what this means if you've heard anything about it Sifu Terry? Is it true?, or is it something the masters of old made up to ensure they only had good hearted students?

 

Warmest regards from the cold, cold north,

 

Shen

Hello Shen,

This is a really good question which I believe was already addressed by Sifu Terry very early in this thread - go back through this whole thread for the full reply, I'm sure Sifu Terry will fill in any extra points later.

Cheers,

Rene'