Trunk

Part of a writing project, I've gathered some quotes from Robert Henri's book, "The Art Spirit".

This is a catch-all thread for anything art related to the internal arts. Personal / spiritual / cultural development through art. Art therapy. Posting art, either that you've made or that you otherwise appreciated. Art as a medium for spiritual teaching transmission, such as items on an altar. Art as a journaling method. I’ve got several partially baked art explorations, more thoughts than I can keep in this ol’ head, so ... here we go.

OK! This will be a locked, 2-post thread! This 2nd post attempts to list, exclusively, the internal arts discussion sites started by TheDaoBums' members! Woohooo! Congratulations to any member who starts up a site: TDBs is in support. If you're a member, or know of one, who has an internal arts discussion site: please contact a staff member with that information and we'll edit this post to include it. (Also, if you have a site that's listed here and you'd rather not have it listed here: let us know and we'll remove it). @SonOfTheGods The Immortal Path https://theimmortalpath.com/ @virtue @Earl Grey Alchemical Garden Forum https://forum.alchemical.garden/ @effilang Xiao Yao Pai - Spiritual Taoism https://www.facebook.com/xiaoyaopaischool/ @Aetherous Original Dao https://originaldao.com/ @dwai The Dao's Net https://www.daosnet.com/ @Nathan Brine Cinnabar https://www.cinna.bar/ (paid site)

TheDaoBums supports the idea of a healthy number of Daoist discussion sites; we don't aim to be a monopoly. Here's a couple of threads on the board that list additional resources beyond TDBs. This second thread contains an offer (from way back) by Sean to email him... I doubt that he is still receiving/responding to such emails, but the thread as a whole is a valuable list of resources. This thread is maintained as locked and pinned. - Trunk

Ok. What occurs to me is that the art process is often "meditation on an object". Sustained focus on a certain object, whether it be an external object or even an internal feeling, or both: specific external object accompanied by 'inspiration' (whatever idea/feeling/motive/i-don't-know-what, whatever inspiration that *you* experience in conjunction with the external object). The thing is, for me, as a meditator (with not much of an art background), I haven't meditated on that many things: the breath, emptiness, enlightened support, mantra... that sort, what we all talk about here. And we know that that process (simply sustained calm focus) is one of ever deepening excavation; it's a rich experience. Painting/drawing has broadened my range of 'objects' (any object/s of interior & exterior) that I apply that same process to. (Duh: apply focus & meditation skills.) The specificity and sustained focus that painting requires just to put whatever it is on paper ... mostly better than just sloppy runnin' around town errand running mind, lol. I'm definitely seeing some increase in my internal clarity of discerning some various things, quicker, clearer, deeper ... significantly as a result of painting I'm sure. Glad I bumbled into art.

@Nungali Impressive, interesting. I've only recently 've been recognizing ~ exploring color as a means of refinement. Prompted a little by painting and more so from some Tibetan art that I have at my altar. It seems that the different colors naturally resonate with, refine, different densities of energy. Like "bright yellow" is very spacious and light and "deep blue" is very condensed, concentrated. And through the spectrum. The Tibetans inclusion of the spectrum of colors in their practices/art has more practical application than I'd realized in years past. Again, your exploration above: impressive. Which also brings up the topic of traditional sacred art. - Teachings that are embedded in traditional sacred art. - And the use of sacred art in altars. How that all works?, experiences?, ways to go about it?, all that. Rich territory appropriate for this thread. Jump in. - Trunk

Popped up in my attn. I'd written about it before, quoted here. Main points: laziness, brushes, and beauty.

This thread is for any topics/books/videos of Damo Mitchell's. Damo Mitchell's "Internal Arts Academy" website Damo Mitchell's Lotus Nei Gong youtube channel Books on Amazon by Damo Mitchell Couple of youtube videos of Damo Mitchell ... ... led me to a couple of yt channels with, it seems to me at first glance, to have Daoist discussion videos (a ton of them) at a pretty unusually deep clear and seriously progress level ... https://www.youtube.com/user/SingingDragonVideos/videos https://www.youtube.com/user/LotusNeiGong/videos I know that Damo Mitchell has been around for a while; I'm only just checkin' 'em out. n' so I thought I'd start a thread. - Keith

@RobB, I find the 1st & 3rd ones ... resonate, evoke some kind of experience. Especially the 3rd. Thanks for posting. another quote from Robert Henri’s “The Art Spirit”, pg 92 I can’t find the quote, but another, he said sthg like, “After all, it is not outward appearances that we enjoy about a person, it’s how they make us feel being around them”. And applies that basic idea to painting. Various statements like this, throughout the book, that *really* eloquently point to layers of reality... with the clarity, steady inquisitiveness ... trying to find the words ... there’s that profound humbleness when you’re present and mundane consciousness submits to simple consciousness... and yet there is staying present and focused and *really* identifying focusing in on ... whatever your radar picked up on as the inspiration to be excavated. This is a psychic exercise workbook in just the sweetest most natural unassuming way.

Robert Henri’s book, “The Art Spirit”, is a touch-stone of artistic insight and inspiration. Deeply life affirming; reminds me of Walt Whitman. https://www.amazon.com/Art-Spirit-Robert-Henri/dp/0465002633/ (inexpensive used) This book has become like a bible to me. Robert Henri, 1865-1929 brief bio: American painter, born in Ohio, art education initially in Pennsylvania, then at 23-26yrs in Paris, back to US art schools/movements (studied, taught in, and founded), lived mostly in PA (back & forth some to Paris), philosopher, *extremely* popular teacher, participated in art, poetic and social movements. In the spring of 1929, Robert Henri was named as one of the top three living American artists by the Arts Council of New York. He died of cancer that summer at the age of 64. Forbes Watson, editor of The Arts magazine wrote, "Henri, quite aside from his extraordinary personal charm, was an epoch-making man in the development of American art." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Henri So, Robert Henri was a painting instructor and he’d write notes (anywhere from 1 sentence to 3 pgs) to his students regarding their work. Some of the notes were compiled into “The Art Spirit” book. ... but, holy crap!, he wasn’t just a painter! ... or maybe rather his view of what a painter is is blowing my mind. Really convenient sized notes to read snippets, over coffee and a meal. Way too much and varied to cover in one post. Likely I’ll be posting bits in multiple posts as I’m going through processing coming to the end of my first pass reading this book. This book has not only (and continues to) opens my eyes to the art process and culture ... but I would say largely the book is a major psychic development text book with almost never using spiritual/esoteric words. And psychic development in the most benign appreciative way of one’s own process and of being aware of the deeper layers of life around us... that, in this context, is brought forth in painting... which takes sustained focus, quiet mind, skillfully soaking into life. I’m trying to find just a quote or two for this first post... hmmm... So, there is this clear direction and focus to stay with the subject and to stay with our inner life, to sense, locate, develop a sense for, locating in ourselves what has been evoked in our inner world ... with sustained focus. And/or, to stay with the subject and find/see what inner life is there that is being expressed outwardly in form. And *staying* with the inside while painting. This is a psychic development, self-development and life-appreciation course. And (at least some of) his paintings (in this style), are very much about character, atmosphere, inner life ... expressed on canvas, that is a result of that process. ... but, honestly, while I like his painting and see his process in his painting, reading about the *process* and his *view* is blowing my skirt up, lol. (I’ll add a painting of his later). These pictures have *atmosphere*. The backgrounds are clearly part of the picture and are part of the mood and life of the subject. And there is a deep appreciation and process, art process, meditative focused process, that the artist goes through to get to that, to stay with it, such that the inner continues to unveil itself. - Trunk p.s. And it's not just surface painting technique of "how do I paint a background?", but the inner process of how you get to the place where you feel, find the background, that you even have the idea of how to 'look' for that in your own perceptual field, that you can stay with it, and express it. Astounding.

Art is meditative. Either you’re focused on entirely internal inspiration, or a blend of external object + inspiration. There’s an identifying of inspiration, and the sustained quiet focus on that ‘object’ ... for sustained period. And that sustained quiet focus is meditative ... and so, by the magic of sustained quiet attention, layers of depth excavate, reveal themselves ... this inexhaustible layered depth ... that magnificence that we oh so slowly soak into over the years, repeatedly blows our minds and is never tapped out. That’s my main premise, I think. The art process certainly doesn’t always go that way, but I think that some aspects of meditative process are built into the art process and so can immerse one’s self in that magnificent layered soaking deeper into things... be it nature, an aspect of our own consciousness, etc. And so art just is such a natural fit for spiritual & personal growth, often without any of the lingo of spirituality. I think that artists are often hip to that process, and dig art often mainly for that reason ... but maybe don’t talk about it like ... a Buddhist would. On the other hand, the eastern arts (painting, etc) have been *much* more integrated into the internal arts within those cultures. Partly me projecting: What I can say for sure is that I’m enjoying integrating art & internal arts.

The Dragon Gate Santuary dvd collection is dizzying (over 100 dvds). They are relatively expensive ($108). There's not a rigid sequence of how they fit together. So the size of the collection is a formidable barrier for a beginner to start learning that system. Few students have the $-time-energy to wade through DGS's dvds trying to sort out "what's going on?". Yes you can e-mail Lao Xie and ask, "what should I get?", but also you can order whatever you want, whatever resonantly calls to you, in any sequence. There's a couple of views to balance: One, that to some extent, there is linear sequence (some things are requisite building blocks for the next thing/s) there is also the view of a web of interconnectedness (every practice enhances and contributes to every other practice). Someone might start anywhere and go anywhere from there, we are all different, hard to tell what will call to us when, and it's all interconnected in lots of ways. So, the premise of this thread is for students to share their own experience of the DGS dvds, so that other students might navigate more efficiently (more efficiently spend money time energy). That is, sharing some bit of what you got out of a specific DGS dvd and perhaps how that related to other DGS practices, which dvds worked efficiently together. Personal experience. Certainly traditional and "official" ideas of sequence (from any source) are welcome, but also I want to avoid wars of "what is the official hard-line sequence?". Let's keep some flexibility. Naming the dvds is also often confusing. Sometimes there are multiple names for a single dvd. Sometimes dvd titles are mentioned but aren't in quotes so you don't know if it's an actual title as printed on the dvd or it's casual reference to a practice/dvd title. So, when mentioning a dvd please (ideally) write the title in full as it is on the dvd, especially when mentioning it for the 1st time in this thread: - write the whole title of the dvd, as printed on the dvd, in quotes (later edit: please at least do that, list the real title, otherwise it makes discussing and ordering a confusing mess for everyone.) - if available, provide a link to an image of the dvd (probably from fb or ebay). With so many dvds and DGS's scattered web presence, it's helpful to include the link to the item so that all the rest of us are not searching & searching & mostly lost. Probably we'll get more concise from there (acronyms like KYMQ), but please be explicit at least for first mention. - Trunk This thread is in reference to the dvds available through Dragon Gate Sanctuary (DGS) by Lao Xie (Sifu Chris Matsuo). The more extensive listings of the dvds are on: - Lao Xie's facebook photoset entitled, "My DVD Collection" - DGS's ebay page Any of the dvds are available directly from Lao Xie (Sifu Matsuo) via PayPal to the e-mail address [email protected]. single dvd: $108 3-in-1 dvd: $200 Just include in the paypal message area which item you are ordering and make sure that your mailing address is correct. (Thank you! to Sifu Matsuo for making this material directly available.) Lao Xie's response re: the basic idea of starting this open discussion thread

~~~ ADMIN LOCKING THREAD ~~~ Back to our regularly scheduled nonsense!

Which anyone can already do either through unstructured conversation, or more extensively within their own "personal practice sections" that we set up for people already, or through an external website. I think that many points have already been covered... many people commenting on one person. Maybe it's time we just give RiverSnake some space to absorb, process, adjust. cheers, Trunk

~~~~~ OFFICIAL POST BY ADMIN ~~~~~~~~~~~ @RiverSnake, Hi, I'm Trunk, current admin. As you mentioned in your legit point, you didn't break any explicit TDBs rules. (Though we do reserve the right to deal with unusual situations ad hoc, and this is one of those). People promote here, various levels and ways. It's in the fabric here and couldn't be otherwise entirely ... though we do like to emphasize "just folks talking" as the basis. Yet your approach did cross a number of soft (unwritten) boundaries all at once: - a psychic reading, publicly, without invite. that's a significant faux pas. - in the welcoming section, someone who has just arrived in the community, not acquainted with the community - at all - nor with you - not an opportunity to get to know you or your services (unless there's a thread here in your personal practice section? or website of your's that I've missed? ... I've only looked quickly) - offer straight to pm, service, $. That's a lot all at once. Brusque. In my view (as official current Big Wig admin), the moderation team's radar rightly started beeping... as an unusual occurrence that needed attention. I'd say that your approach needs some thoughtful review & consideration. And then there's this: I agree with Zerostao on that, and I think you might find some theory based push-back dialog from the community ... and it might open up some interesting discussion. You're not breaking any board rule on that but, it needed mention. Accumulated with all the other, it's concerning. A fair point. I concede. Really appreciate that you're open to reasonable dialog and adjustment. That's huge. While we don't currently have any hard rules about the "welcoming section", we are more protective of it - and would appreciate not any more such approaches in that section. I'm not sure that any rule change is necessary at this point ... but if we come up with some well worded adjustment we'll post it somewhere. I don't think it's reasonable to ban all references to services, teachers, etc, in the welcoming area. ... at the same time we pick up instances there that we feel need attention. The points that've come up in discussion, and that might come up, with some consideration you might develop/modify/polish your approach. Seems to me that this is being worked out through a bit of moderation and through community dialog. Letting this roll and evolve. Thanks for the dialog, Trunk - current admin ~~~~~ ADMIN out ~~~~~~~~~~~

I recently had occasion to review the Qi Sphere: Beginning blog post I'd made in 2017. Brushed up a few things, including re-writing the paragraph description of Sifu Matsuo's full KYMQ video (I'd done a surprisingly poor job before). Also, I more explicitly described the "Most-Basic Guidelines, Maneuvers" which I'd meant to be clear about before ... but, as @Frederic mentioned above, I wasn't. https://johndaoproductions.wordpress.com/2017/08/11/qi-sphere-beginning/ So, now (I hope) the essay should provide an accessible clear basic qi sphere practice. ... which is what I intended in the beginning but, sometimes, as hard as I try - I only get so far in a single pass. (I was shocked when I discovered that I could learn to paint the internal arts, lol). Happens with other stuff, too. Guitar is notorious that way, lol. Bust ass for a modest plateau, let it rest, then it becomes base camp for the next climb.

(at the risk of posting old news, "yeah, everybody knows that". A couple of days ago I was in the mood to make some ox tail soup. I do, now and then, especially when I'm feeling that I want to go through a cycle of deep restoration - as it drives energy deeply into the tissues and bones. As well as circulating nourishing the lower abdomen the way the meaty part of the ox tail does. Making the soup is an all-day process in the crock pot: 8-9 hours of slow cooking, then cool and - the next morning - put in the refrigerator - and dole it out for various soups over the coming week +. It's a bit of work. ... but ... my local store has been out of ox tail for a month! And I notice that it's been harder to find in general these days. The butcher pointed to a freezer and said I could get some frozen bone broth there if I wanted. I've been aware of that option for years but've never tried it because I thought, "no comparison between fresh cooked vs. processed-premade-frozen bone broth". Boy, was I wrong. I got this "Signature sippable Bone Broth" made by "Osso Good Co.", $9 bucks. It's a mix of organic chicken, turkey, pork, & beef bone broth PLUS some seasoning. First try, I added some to a bowl of soup and *POW!*: it so strongly drew the energy deep that pretty much put me to sleep. Really. Since then I've cut the dose down. AND: it really is sippable! I can sip a little bit from the spout, straight from the bottle/package. With the seasoning, it tastes good. Super convenient, inexpensive. This is a strong herb. This sippable (seasoning + spout) bone broth is something I can easily have around all the time, and then just make ox tail soup when I'm in the mood for it. Always (eventually) learning. - Trunk

@Ghostexorcist 1. Can you log onto TDBs when you're not on your VPN? If that goes ok, then *bingo* to what everyone has been suggesting: the vpn is the sticking pt (maybe 'cause we banned someone before from it). 2. If it's convenient for you to log on regularly here outside of your vpn?, then *yippee*: all solved. If not, well... I'm not sure if we can go further than that. - Trunk

@steve, @Ghostexorcist I don't know the skinny on this. Following the thread to see what we learn.

"According to sutra the root of cyclic existence is our misconception that things have true existence. According to tantra this [mis]conception and the energy wind on which it rides are responsible. Since mind and energy are always together, tantric practice concentrates on halting the activity of the energy winds which serve as mounts for such [mis]conceptions. By gathering these coarser energies into the central channel of the subtle body and by causing them to remain and dissolve there, their activity ceases as does that of the coarser mental states allied to them. This allows subtle awareness to become active. One of the main purposes of tantric practice is to make manifest the actual clear light, namely subtle awareness in a blissful state experiencing reality." - The Three Principal Aspects of the Path, pg 42 This is in the intro of the above book (not the body of the book) and summarizes a key part of the vajrayana process.

Wow! Nice research & quotes! For a very long time, I only did meditation on stillness: just followed the breath & quieted the mind. No visualizations. In fact: let all images go. Allows subconscious material to arise and dissolve. Practices a kind of humility ... naturally diminishes “the mind of man” and increases “the mind of Tao” / emptiness. Tremendously helpful, important foundation. I was categorically against visualization. However, for a while now, I’ve been including minimal visualization, usually some variation of the pearl, and it includes light. Super helpful. More recently I’ve been a little more exploratory about visualizing light (not only a pearl in the central channel) and I continue to find it helpful. I feel that visualizing a little light assists in refining~healing my humanness, also helps me gradually connect to a deeper light. Nice topic! - Trunk

I'd like to extract & discuss this one part of method: developing the lower dan tien by repeatedly connecting hui yin up to the navel level (towards the center is how I interpret it), back and forth, fostering that connection, interaction. This is mentioned commonly in the yt videos (ex, ), seems a simple and major key, but if that part of the practice (people's experience with it) has been discussed much here I've missed it. - Trunk p.s. Please don't devolve this into some mo pai argument. And if it does become that, then I'd welcome moderators acting quickly and decisively, either towards specific posts or - if need be - pitting and locking the thread. If we could stay to method and personal experience, .

@Goku76 I didn't watch the video that you posted, but only saw the title. The pop-Tao knowledge that has been widely popularized in the west since the '80's is *loaded* with dangerous half truths. Authentic Taoism is quite different. I suggest that you read everything in the below link and, again, go study Damo's material thoroughly. I won't be responding to further inquiries along this line. No offense meant (and not meaning to shut down your expressiveness in general - I used to post here a lot and it can be a healthy outlet when you're in that phase, others might want to continue discussing); right now my focus is simply elsewhere and I've already provided plenty of quality material for you to study up on... which, if you read, will save you countless years of running around doing practices that either do nothing or, if done avidly, are injurious (typically gradually over years, then the resulting damage very stubborn to resolve both intellectually and physically). That's my 2 cents. cheers, Trunk

@Goku76 Apparently this HuiYin <~> navel meditation (and, for me, it's focus is entirely "yi" focus-of-attention based, not deliberate muscular this-n'-that) ... but apparently it is included as part of Damo Mitchell's extensive (and more authoratative than I) presentation of the microcosmic orbit. https://damomitchell.com/2020/03/23/microcosmic-orbit/ I might write some few notes re: my thoughts of it later, but might not. I'm pretty busy otherwise these days. Limited time/energy for here... and like I said, the above. ... here I go anyway ... I just focus on a 'pearl' of attention and move it, slowly, from huiyin up the center to the level of the navel, then back down again, repeatedly. The way I've done it, everything else (energetic, musculature etc) takes care of itself and is triggered by the simple what I just described.