liminal_luke

I´ve bought and practiced from quite a few of Winn´s dvd´s and tapes, as well as gone to retreats. Nothing but good has come has come from the experience. In his retreats he gives a very intellectual framework for understanding the material which might not be right for everyone, but worked for me. I consider his primordial chi gung an underappreciated gem, and simple beginning practices like healing sounds and inner smile can take you far. Have you downloaded the free (I think you have to sign up for a newsletter) ebook on the inner smile? Good stuff. Liminal

To know when its time to stop posting here at TDB and be able to do so. Of course this is partially in jest but a person who can do this one action, when it´s difficult to do so, will also have all sorts of other interpersonal maturity and wisdom. You can´t stop posting unless you can also... (1) let go of the need to be seen as right (2) let go of concern about other people´s opinions (3) allow other people to have their own process, even when you know they are "wrong" (4) recognize the many times in life when the best course of action is no action at all Liminal

Another thought. Consider whether there might be something that your body wants to say that you aren´t allowing yourself to voice. It´s so common to have things to say that we don´t allow ourselves, for whatever reason, to express--especially at work. The anxiety could be your reaction to this inner conflict: part of you wants to get out some pent up emotion, part of you is scared as hell that you just might. Liminal

Neck circles and stretches. Yawning Talking aloud about your difficulties in a nonsensical made-up language. (from Julie Henderson) Self-massage of the jaw. Find a tender point somewhere on the neck, and a corresponding tender point on the opposite side. Alternately massage one point and then the other freeing up the energy in a line between the points. (from polarity therapy) Consider the "meta" level of the problem (ie. how you feel about having this issue) and release any judgement.

Begging is like kissing: there´s so many ways to do it. It can be a beautiful invitation to gain merit that fosters good feelings in both parties, or an aggressive shakedown. To answer a previous posters question about what young Mexican children might be doing if they weren´t begging, well, I suppose they might be playing. Play, after all, is the activity favored by the 5 to 10 year old set all over the world. Begging is a little bit like cold calling--you have to weather a lot of rejection--and young children just aren´t equipped, in my opinion, for the job. As a child, my mother-in-law was regularly locked out of the house until she had collected her quota of coins for the day. Good times.

Security personnel at the international airport in Phoenix weren´t pleased with my spontaneous movement practice. Can´t win em all I guess. Liminal

Where I live (Zacatecas, Mexico) children, often very young children, wander through downtown cafes and restaurants asking for money. I don´t have anything to say about this other than I think it´s sad.

I have no idea if quantum mechanics is bunk or not, but the word "quantum" is a useful marketing tool for those who want to give their stuff a super-duper aura of spiritual superiority. You got your quantum shiatsu, your quantum healing, quantum touch, and so forth. As opposed, I suppose, to the hopelessly outdated Newtonian versions of such things. People who understand physics might not be impressed, but they are likely not the intended market. Liminal

I figure The Dao Bums must really be doing something right. Otherwise why would anybody ever make a stink about being suspended or banned; they´d just shrug their shoulders and go. Liminal

Julie Henderson, pioneer of a style of wellness work she calls Zapchen, recommends humming. I haven´t done it enough to write about it here as a "favorite practice" exactly, but what little I´ve done has been quite interesting. It´s kind of a stripped down mantra practice. She recommends humming a few basic sounds: hum, ommm, and ahhh. Letting the vibration flow through the body. There´s a whole workbook on the practice, "The Hum Book," that goes into detail about all the different ways to hum. You can hum into any part of your body, you can hum into somebody else´s body, you can change your neurochemistry. Recommended. Liminal

Sometimes it makes sense to do what feels good, to follow our desires. At other times, not so much. Sometimes not feeling drawn to a particular activity is actually a good sign that we need it. I suspect that might be the case for me with prostrations. Basically, I have two objections: one physical, the other psychological. I don´t want to do prostrations because they´re hard work. Why take on such a physically demanding practice when I could instead lie down comfortably in my bed and breathe? My other objection has to do with the attitude of submission that seems to be kind of the point of the practice. I´m kind of an ornery fellow and not a fan of submission or surrender or even devotion. Bleck! On the other hand, it´s kind of hard to argue with the rightness of honoring my own potential for growth, or, as Trunk puts it, the "unmanifest." Hmmm.... Liminal

Satyaloka, I am not a medical person, but I also believe you can heal. In fact, many of the most acomplished people started out with very ominous sounding health difficulties. They overcame these problems and went on to reach great heights. Such problems can provide very powerful motivation. Standing is great, of course, but the process of internal development is not dependent on any one position. I do Yi Gong as taught by Sifu Jenny Lamb and would recommend that. I always practice sitting. But really, you could follow any of a number of paths, whatever you are drawn to. Many here find Stillness Movement practice helpful. (Contact the Tao Bum who goes by Yamu if this is of interest as he´s the teacher.of this system.) Whatever you decide, I am confident healing -- and more -- is possible. There is nothing you can´t do. Liminal

What´s interesting to me is how much resistance this idea stirs up. If someone wants to start a thread limited to people of more or less like minds, is that really such a big deal? Especially since most of TDB, and viritually everywhere else, would remain open for dissension, bickering, and all manner of verbal squabbling. I think a lot of people, myself included, are very enamored with their own point of view, and never more than when it conflicts with somebody else´s (clearly) less educated opinion. Sometimes I have something to say, something I´m very convinced of the rightness of...and yet saying it would only foster divisiveness rather than harmony or any other real good. It can be very hard to hold back. Liminal

I happen to think the E word (enlightenment or ego, take your pick) is overused in spiritual circles. In my view, there´s no need to get rid of photos in order to speed enlightenment or impede the ego. There are worse sins than keeping a beloved photos album or six. Still, there might have been some wisdom behind the impulse to let them go. I believe old photos can be bad feng shui, a kind of clutter that clogs up our lives. Keeping them can be a way of trying to hold onto a version of ourselves that no longer exists. Getting rid of them can be a way of keeping current with ourselves and allowing in new life. Growth happens in spirals. And sometimes, when we´re at the apex of a cycle, we´ll do wise things only to find out later on, at the nadir of that same cycle, that we weren´t quite ready to live with the consequences of our previous wisdom. Could this be, in part, I wonder, what happened here? Liminal

Do you like to write? I think a journal where you go back and ponder those memories might be a way to reclaim the past that you seemed to let go of when you got rid of the photos. There are so many ways to do this. I like lots of the ideas put forth in the Progoff Process Journal. You might first write down just the facts as you remember them, and then perhaps reflect on the meaning they have in your life. You can "dialog" with important people in your life alive and deceased, and even with events. This could become a very rich experience of identifying themes in your history and the trajectory of your life. Liminal

I´m intrigued that prostrations, of all things, would show up on a thread dedicated to "favorite" practices. During one fruitful but arduous week of SunDo practice years ago, the master had us doing prostrations and, let me tell you, that was far from the favorite part of my day. And yet, here I am, reading about them here and thinking they might be a good idea. I imagine I will need to "burn off" quite a bit of karma before I ever get to the point where I´m so thoroughly transformed that I look forward to such a spiritual workout. Who knows though...stranger things have happened. Liminal

Just throwing this out there...how about integrating this portion of the central channel with the MCO at this level. Starting at hui yin split the pearl into two. Both pearls go up, one following the front portion of the MCO to the navel, the other following the back portion of the MCO to ming men. At that point the pearls travel inward until they merge in the center and go down the center to arrive again at hui yin where they split and follow the circuit once again. Liminal

I haven´t specifically worked the lower part of the central channel in this way but it strikes me as a really great idea. There´s this general push people often have to go up too far too fast. To concentrate on the third eye etc. And I´m sure there´s a time and appropriate place for all that, but seems to me this lower area is potent and, all too often, neglected. Liminal

Dreambliss, They may appear to contradict each other, but I don't think you'll go wrong following either Louise Hay or Eckhart Tolle. Take your pick. Loving and accepting yourself, as recommended by Hay, would certainly be very helpful. Then again, nothing wrong with not having a relationship with yourself, just being yourself, relaxed and comfortable, as recommended by Tolle. They are simply speaking from different, although complementary, points of view. A Buddhist monk might see all of reality (correct me if I´m wrong) permeated by the bliss and wisdom of the dharma, but that doesn´t mean he wouldn´t bother to feed the hungry. Can you find a way to love yourself and not have a relationship with yourself at the same time? Can you see everything as already perfect and complete and still work to improve it? Your mind will tell you these things are impossible. So go ask some other part of your being. My two cents. Liminal

I´ve written things before that I later thought better of. Sometimes one or the other has to go, the post or the poster. I usually opt to delete the post. That said, it is slightly irksome when someone who usually says interesting things chooses to delete. I solve this problem by checking taobums every five minutes. Sure, it cuts into other things I might be doing with my life but we all gotta make choices.

Sounds like a wonderful idea Taomeow. Whether it can really be carried off is an open question, but I don´t think we lose anything by trying. Liminal

Oh, I know, I know. My post was partially tongue-in-cheek. But there´s lots to like about a big city in spite of everything: the sometimes amazing mix of cultures, varied and delicious food, flourishing microcommunities--everything from artists to people doing tai chi in the park. Liminal

I like visiting the natural world, but I wouldn´t want to live there. Liminal

Hundun, Love the shaking! Wondering about a few things. How long do you recommend shaking for a beginner? How long do you practice it yourself? Also wondering whether or not you see it as different from Sifu Jenny Lambs Yi Gong? I´d be grateful for any thoughts. Thanks, Liminal

It might sound weird, but I find bathroom breaks a wonderful opportunity for short snippets of practice. A great way of doing 30 seconds or so of something you want to engrain into your body memory. Perhaps some breathing, a discreet stretch, healing sounds, smile (secret or otherwise). Liminal