Trunk

Intense energy + kidney failure. I'd say "fairly concerned" would be an appropriate response. Honestly, you're in a serious situation and basically out of the league of anyone here. Giving / taking any advice in your situation is very tricky. I'd only say that with any of your practices go easy, be gentle on your system. Chinese herbs could be helpful in smoothing your energetics and nourishing you but, given your condition, you'd definately have to go to a good dr of chinese medicine. warm regards, Trunk

My recent explorations with the sacrum-squeeze (and on up the spine) has resolved some stagnation in my lower tan tien, which has prompted me to review the whole topic of "sexual energy massage". Like the stuff in Chapt 3 of the Bone Marrow Nei Kung book. That is, unaroused massage of any of the lower torso (& genitals, perineum, etc) area for the purpose of keeping good circulation, 'cause retention tends to jam things up. Or even some simple internal work that serves that basic purpose. Like, my "sacrum-squeeze" isn't external massage, but it basically massages a potent jing area: sacrum and spine. So, What are your favorite (unaroused) jing massages? Least favorite?, Are there some that you've tried that did nothing for you? Are there any that you do regularly? Did you do some once, three years ago, but none since? What areas do you think tend to jam up the most as a result of retention? curious and researching, Trunk btw, I'm reading Acupressure for Lovers and Bone Marrow Nei Kung (chapt 3). Any other good references?

Thanks Michael. I see that its also available through Amazon. It'll be on my next Amazon order. .. next .. I'm suddenly a big fan of John Du Cane's Bear frolic from his Power Qigong dvd. The position + movement massages the kidneys more effectively than any method I've tried. This relates directly to "sexual energy massage" in that the kidneys are a big part of the water element and are part of the endocrine ladder along with, obviously, the gonads. I'd gotten ways to activate the sperm palace, testicles, ducts & epidydimus, prostate, sacrum, lower lumbar, various acupoints along the way .. but not the kidneys themselves! The bear frolic really does it. I feel my kidneys being gently squeezed, and I feel them pulse with vitality - kind of like a second set of balls. I feel that I've really activated an important link in the jing~processing~chain. -- later edits -- Also, the classics say that its really important to refine at least up through ming men, that its a turning point. Of course, that's right between the kidneys. Cool. p.s. I've tried other things before: leaning over and hitting the kidneys w/backs of hands, various breathing into the k's, smiling, fusion, bridges, tao yin .. many useful in diff ways, but DuCane's bear frolic is the best for massage of the kidneys that I've experienced.

Fireblood, Hey! you stole my avatar. Is that legal??? (Sheesh, where are the cops when you need them? ) ?#1: imo, its not about making a little man (or woman) inside your belly, its about how light naturally integrates with your own body. ime, light is effectively helpful to the process of qigong, but you don't have to believe any particular theory about what the light is or isn't. ?#2: I think that the best any of us can do is be honest with ourselves, and keep integrity with our own experience, both as best we can. Just be true to your own experience, atheist~agnostic~theistic, where ever you are on the continuum. Looked at from another way, "calming the mind" isn't about believing anything. Trunk btw, welcome to the Tao Bums.

I looked for the title and couldn't find it.. maybe you mis-named it?Here's all the things at Amazon by Gay Hendricks, and here's The Hendrick's Institute. Would you dbl-check which item it is, maybe provide a link to it? (Obviously I'm interested by your results. .. not the throwing-up part.)

I haven't done the EFT point sequence, but I've borrowed the idea of "tapping" (with my finger/s) acupoints. I'd pretty much massaged them before, tapping is an interesting option.

Definately those are the top two. "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" got shut down some years ago, but I really liked it. And, when I was in grade school I went to DLand with the multi-sport YMCA team that I was part of - all my friends in grade school. We spent like 3 hours on Tom Sawyer's Island playing "ditch". That was it. --- later --- Oh, shit! Are we talking Disneyworld?!? Never been there.

I've been watching the Colbert Report videos on the web. Really clever send up of ultra right wing nonsense. Edgey style. At first the interviewees didn't know what to make of Steve's character - he basically attacks them with aggressive utterly absurd arguements. And he is so good at it that they sometimes get put off, or actually (sort of) shot down. Even though its clearly all a spoof, Steve's tone is aggressive and he is very smart; people get a little put off.. which is what the send-up is all about: its a mockery of ridiculously far right-wing bullshit. Its an opportunity to learn to laugh that stuff off and not be taken by it at all. Robert Greenwald did a good job in the recent interview.

Interesting to have people of an increasingly diverse background here. Welcome.

A couple of useful links kidney 1 several acupressure essays w/ links --- later edit --- oops, and this one

Here's a very simple version of EMDR. I've had some experience with doing this simple version ("Method 2" from the linked page).. I've done it both on myself, and had someone do it to me in therapy session. Very simple, very effective. Interesting read with the EFT, hadn't heard of it before. --- later edit --- Tao1776, I'd be curious to hear - after some while - how the EFT goes for you. Maybe you could post in this thread with results in a couple of weeks or so.

Happy-happy-happy!

Cheers, Sean!

h, Congrat's! t

I would suspect that his work overlaps the "sinew channels" considerably.

Wow. All three look interesting. Agreed that some small set of books like this is "must reading". Please let us know how you find the book/s.

Rightee-o! You remembered it better, and it does fit nicely in a year. And 3 months is enough time to soak in a practice, and probably about the time I'd get bored and want something different. I bet that you could match them up with the seasons. Here's my guess: winter - jnana spring - karma summer - bhakti fall - raja Those seasons probably don't match with those practices exactly, and I don't think that they were really meant to (or.., maybe.., they were...). Which brings up an interesting segue subject of aligning practices with the seasons. Giggity-giggity! Kick-ass.

Back in the 80's I heard of a spiritual group, that went through phases of spiritual practice on a 'semester' basis. For a few months they'd emphasize mysticism (power), another: bhakti (devotion), another: jhana (knowledge). Or something similar to that. There are the different yogas: karma, jhana (not sure if I'm spelling that right), bhakti, dhyana (meditation). The devotional part of it really moves things along. Devotional chanting, yearning for God. Basically anything that is part of, an expression of, the yearning. (ex, Could be washing the dishes. Not kidding.)

Beeayoutiful~!

Welcome aboard!

Michael's online article on Sexual Alchemy and the Neutral Space I'm only part way through this, and have to post the link here already. You guys gotta read this. Sean, especially, I know you're going to find this very interesting.

Glad you brought this up, , its one of my pet-peeves that this topic is under-appreciated. I've studied with several.. advanced meditators, in a western context. And I've done reading from various traditions. As far as mystical progression, the Guru-disciple relationship (or whatever you want to call it) is invaluable. The energy and states-of-mind transference that you get from sitting regularly with a genuinely advanced meditator saves you lifetimes of effort. And, imo, this is rather an understatement than an overstatement. That said, the modern western teachers that I've studied with encouraged (both by general tone and explicitly) that you're your own person, and they expected us to act as independent adults (make our own choices, etc.) in our own lives - as well as act as a adult with our own root in relation to the teacher. It is within the inner relationship with the Guru that 99.99% of the teachings occur: during meditation. During that time the teacher can expose you to states of mind, and make corrections & upgrades in your energetic configuration that save you immeasurable time and effort. The classic position on this is the real serious progress just does not happen without this sort of assistance, and - personally - I agree. There is skill that gets developed in receiving these sorts of transmissions, and it doesn't happen without blending your mind-stream with that of the teacher-Guru (during the interval of meditation), following his/her lead inwardly, and submitting to their corrections to your structure (again, during meditations, - which can, at times, be physically and energetically painful during the correction), while - at the same time - maintaining your own focus and integrity of being. All this happens silently, in meditation. All your warnings of, .. basically giving up your own root, are true: you shouldn't. And some teachers, and a lot of students, fall into that trap. Its counter-productive. But the inner dynamics of working with a genuinely advanced teacher .. don't throw the baby out with the bath-water on this one. Trunk

I'm starting to read more about acupoints, in the hope of developing a functional little understanding that I can apply to self-acupressure. There are 360 or so acupoints, which is overwhelming to me - but, there are Twelve Heavenly Star Points, which are considered to be the 12 most important points. That's an accessible number for me to start studying. While reading about St-36, "Zusanli", I read: (The page on Lung-7 has the location of Lung-9.)

Nope. Put plenty into it for now: I'm in rest-from-writing-and-take-care-of-other-things mode. However, if you have editorial comments about the essay/s, state your case and it could help when I'm ready to take another swing at them. The set of essays has a ways to go yet.