liminal_luke

Thanks @Cosmic Soldier for bringing this to my attention. Looks interesting. There´s an online course starting July 20 and I think I´m going to do it.

I had no idea 3bob was suspended. Did he do something out of the ordinary or just his usual? Given the general "looseness" of the off-grid area, I think he should of been able to speak his mind. (Unless there´s some new variety of post I don´t know about?) In my reckoning of offensive/destructive posters 3bob is nowhere near the top.

We can think of the breath as having four parts: the inhale, the pause at the top of the inhale, the exhale, and the pause at the bottom of the exhale. Although it´s possible (and a practice in it´s own right) to completely eliminate the pauses, most people will naturally have slight pauses at the end of an inhale and exhale. Already this is breath retention, albeit in a very minor form. The pauses are powerful because they are moments of neutrality, of balance, of silence. They are analogous to the solstices. The days get longer and longer (inhale) until finally there´s a moment of pause as we get to maximum yang at the summer solstice (pause of top of inhale). Then the days get shorter and shorter (exhale) until finally there´s a moment of pause as we get to to maximum yin at the winter solstice (pause at bottom of exhale).

@Walker All of us size up other people based, at least to some extent, on our own personal histories. As a gay man, I don´t take kindly to people saying that a particular martial art is for gays, implying that men like myself couldn´t possibly be serious and skilled fighters, that we just want to roll around on the floor with each other half-naked. I´d heard enough of that kind of put down to last me a life time by the time I´d reached the 8th grade. In a similar way, I´ll bet that your background as someone who has lived around violence makes you sensitive to macho dudes who brag about how they could hurt other people. We object to this kind of talk even in jest. I agree with you that it´s harmful. And yet I don´t share your passion for objecting to Starjumper´s teaching. My sense is that he knows a lot and genuinely wants to impart his knowledge to others. I think that beneath the bravado he´s a peaceful, maybe even loving, person. Is he perfect? No. Would I prefer if he dropped the aggressive posing? Absolutely. But teachers are human beings and even good ones come with a whole bevy of flaws. The truth is that Starjumper is going to teach. Some students might benefit from his instruction, others may not. You and I will likely not be among his pupils. Perhaps that´s our loss, perhaps it isn´t. In general, I´m not a fan of threads whose purpose is to say that a particular teacher or teachings is bad. There are bad teachers out there, but it mostly doesn´t help to say so. People are going to study with the folks they feel a connection with. Some people are going to study with Starjumper, even though we´re bothered by some of his verbiage. Rather than pointing out the bad, I find it´s much more useful to champion the good. Objecting to Starjumper won´t stop other people from studying with him. We just don´t have that power and I´m not convinced it would be a good thing if we did. I suggest focusing on the positive. What spiritual practices have made a difference in your life? How did you learn about them? Your answers to these questions will likely inspire others; attempting to takedown Starjumper won´t.

I´ll second this. I´ve learned a lot from teachers whose personal style I didn´t like much. One of my favorite practices came to me from of a flamboyant fellow with a way too high opinion of his own abilities. Still, what he taught was gold.

Hi Zero Inf, There are videos available here on the site, usually embedded from Youtube, some of which appear quite good. Also quite a few great practices posted by members available for free. A lot depends on what you are looking for, hoping to accomplish. Yes, it´s discouraging that live instruction isn´t available in your area and that paid materials are out of economic reach. Even so, what´s most important is your own dedication and determination. If you can log on here, help is available.

Darkness rocks! I´m on a mission to create a totally lightless sleeping environment. The blackout curtain material I bought on Amazon works as far as it goes but light is still seeping in here and there and I´m an all or nothing guy when it comes to darkness -- even a hint of light is too much. Your remark about light on the skin mirrors my own experience. Sleeping masks that cover the eyes do little good if I "know" that light is still hitting my skin. The beauty of darkness to induce relaxation is that it´s so easy. Well, finding/creating darkness isn´t always easy...but once the darkness is there the relaxation comes on it´s own -- no effort required. Relaxation ought to be easy and in the dark it is.

Quality of life what shall we do now honey, morphine overdose?

Far be it from me to tell anybody how to reply to anybody else, but since you ask...you might have started by rolling your eyes. Do you have beautiful, long hair? If so, I´d of flipped it insolently. Alternatively, you could of pursed your lips together and blown raspberries. Simply stomping off would of worked too. My point is that if you say you´re a Daoist nobody has any business telling you you aren´t. If someone is curious about what you mean by that statement they can ask. Do you mean you study the Daoist literature? Do you endeavor to live by a particular philosophy? Do you engage in Daoist spiritual practices? Telling someone who says they are a Daoist that they aren´t is bad form.

I think there´s a quality of ego surrender inherent in the feeling of gratitude. Gratitude is about recognizing something good in the outside world that exists outside our circle of control. When we´re grateful we step aside from preoccupation with ourselves and recognize the other. In some ways, gratitude is about recognizing that we aren´t in control, that good things can come to us unbidden. In working with gratitude, I´d emphasize the sense of surrender and letting go, the idea that it´s a big world out there and we can´t control everything and don´t need to. Maybe it´s not so much a matter of how to work with gratitude as how to let gratitude work with us.

There is so much I relate to here. Laura Lund, a Zapchen coach, once told me that my energy is very diffuse. Rather than remaining firmly grounded in my own body, I habitually reach out to other people energetically. In practical terms, this means that I can get overconcerned with other people, particularly in intimate relationships. I´m continually checking in with loved ones. While this might sound like a good thing, it´s not so good if I´m not also connected with myself. It can actually work against intimacy. It sounds to me that when you contained your action and remained in your inner silence, you reconnected with yourself energetically. Instead of being overconcerned with your girlfriend and what was going on for her and how she might be feeling about you, you just pulled back into yourself and allowed things to just be. Congratulations on your great evening!

Thanks for that insight RL -- it rings true for me. From the student perspective, I think it´s easy to get wigged out over the apparent differences between forms, to struggle with doubts over whether a given form is the authentic version. I think this handwringing is largely unnecessary. This is especially true perhaps with this form because much of the power comes from connecting with the lineage and that´s largely a matter of intent.

My own suspicion is that awareness is not easily pigeonholed into any particular shape. Awareness, at least at it´s most refined, cannot ultimately be said to be here and not there. Awareness isn´t exactly a thing, not in the sense that we usually think of things: it can´t be precisely located in space. Take Silent Thunder´s new avatar for example. ST might conceive of it differently, but to my mind it´s a picture of awareness. Put another way, it´s an awareness generating image, a meditation exercise disguised as an avatar. On it´s face it´s a small green dot on a black background. Although the dot has dimension on the page, I like to think that metaphorically it´s an infintisimal dot. And yet, contemplating that speck of infinite smallness, my own awareness expands. So what then is awareness -- something very small or something very big? I think both. The difficulty we have wrapping our minds around that contradiction is precisely the point. The seeming discrepancy in the above two quoted posts is much the same. Is awareness located at the center or does it take the form of a toroidal sphere? Again, I think both. What if an awareness of the center generates the energetic pattern of the toroidal sphere?

Michael Winn spoke about the spiritual significance of the toroidal sphere in a workshop I attended years ago. Fascinating stuff. In addition to all the cosmic applications you mention, it´s also the shape of one of my favorite foods. As above, so below.

Thanks for that video Phil. I´ve just recently started practicing again after a hiatus. The form shown in the video differs significantly from what I learned from Michael Winn. Seems like all the modern instructors teach slightly different variants. Not sure how much it matters in the end. Some people who´ve tried this form say it doesn´t do much. My take is that it´s a powerful form but often takes a period of dedicated practice before the benefits become apparent. Do you practice? Any impressions to share?

I haven´t used any yet but have high hopes for my latest Amazon purchase -- fermented shrimp paste. Even with the lid still on the stuff smells rotten, just as it´s supposed to. Any shrimp paste tips from the knowledgable cooks out there?

Everything´s stance may be more compatible with a functional life, but I´d like to like to live in a state of near perpetual wow. Admittedly, I´ve got a long way to go. At present I´m only gobsmacked by the most obvious of miracles -- double rainbows, a really good eggs benedict, the human ear. As I exercise my wow muscle, I hope to get that mindblown feeling in response to smaller stimuli. The world is wondrous aplenty; it´s my abilty to perceive wonder that could use some shoring up.

If it´s any consolation, you´re of help to me.

My experience is that judgment of others and judgment of self go hand in hand. When you find yourself feeling negative towards others, that can be a cue to look inside and see if you´re also being a little harsh with yourself. If you have a teacher whose guiding your cultivation practice, perhaps talk with your teacher about this? If you don´t have a teacher, I´d consider slowing down so that you can integrate your growing energy in a way that doesn´t negatively color the way you see others.

This sounds right on to me. Not the most intrepid of Daoist adventurers, I´m happy to allow much of the unseen to remain invisible. Or, at the very least, to open my eyes very, very slowly. That stuff is no joke.

@Spotless Well, better late than never -- I hope. I´d be interested to know what you think constitutes "the basics" and how a person might best go about practicing them. Freeform has put forth his understanding of the basics -- stretching and strengthening the body, getting into the "inner body" with standing and qigong movements. When you say basics is this also what you mean or are you referring to something different?

Three cheers for the sacred clown! (Great phrase, @Fa Xin) We fall so easily into judgment of seeming idiots but there´s a positive aspect to the fool archetype. You´ll know my spiritual practices have finally started to kick in when my posts exhibit less ironic sensibility and less cleverness, when I´m simple and innocent and without guile. Many will disagree, I know, but in my own estimation I´m not yet a fool. There´s still hope for me though.

I agree with Pilgrim´s cautions. Any kind of meditation or breathwork could do more harm than good. What could be good is simple movement. I´m thinking of warmups I used to do in tai chi class. Rotating all the joints in circles -- feet, knees, wrists, arms, etc. Bending down and stretching up. Light shaking. Self-massage of face, ears, etc. Keep things simple and easy, without asking anybody to focus on their internal experience. People with depression may not want or be able to move but this would be the best thing, imo.

After having read through some of the preview, I agree. In fact, the translator explicitly says that the book is no substitute for in-person instruction. There´s a lot of fascinating information but it´s not written in a manner that would allow a newcomer to actually start a practice. At least not this newcomer. That´s my preliminary thinking, anyway. Other readers may conclude differently.

Wow!