Trunk

I think that you could make a poster out of that one.

Alchemical Taoism.com

latest article

Wow. Nice that you got an early start. I was atheist until my 2nd year in college, then had an experience and started looking. I see my friends with kids who are in jr high & high school and think, "wow, if they could just learn a simple kan & li, some sort of tan tien practice to help resolve pubescent anxiety, and a little rooting - early, as they're going through puberty", it'd pay off so huge. Of course I don't talk to any of my "civilian" friends about my website, etc. Too weird. Good thing there's yoga studios all over, at least. Gives people an in-road.

Its from bungling my own path, getting ow-ies, and compelled to sort it out. Initially buying the narrow "retention & mo" package for way way too long. When, actually, the path is much much broader than that, and the actual demands of my own situation were/are much more complex, much broader. I got a taste of a high clear place, of "advanced jing gong", and so focused on that rather narrowly, hard core, for a long time. Without even knowing the mechanics of advanced jing gong ! (nearly totally misguided), plus having very substantial aspects of psyche, physiology that would've been more appropriately viewed as simple "healthy jing gong" and some very serious "healing jing gong" (my health issues have been formidable). And various aspects of myself, my practice, quite often might be categorized as being in all three of those areas quite frequently. For instance, I need to be attentive to a stubborn channel blockage ("healing") of mine, need some time simply to be with others as a regular human and be nourished and participate in basic fun male~female interaction ("healthy") and cultivate higher states, integrate that as normal reality ("advanced"). And my body emphasizes those various aspects naturally at different times. Learning to groove well with my own cycle of changes, my own varied make-up. I've been serious about this stuff, and got more fixated than I should've - but, on the other hand, there were principles that I just had to clarify. The "R&D" work on this road has been personally expensive. And not just for me. Back somewhere prior to 2000 (98?) when we were just starting out on the HT board - looking back it was so pitiful and ridiculous how little we knew, how naive we were. Plato really was very progressive and prompted a number of very important avante-gard break throughs. Now there is this broader base of knowledge that the community knows in general (and, yes, a lot of it is preserved on my site - a group effort). When that recent thread, "loosing jing", recently started, I thought "oh, no, here's another lemming who read a HT book or three". Just sort of tragic cannon fodder, like most of the droves that read those books. But then a number of people piped up with broad-minded, well informed, experienced communique. Its like "wow, that guy is really getting some good help, early, - he doesn't have to go down that narrow ill-informed road". Its really genuinely difficult to sort it out on one's own. The cyber-community is really baring fruit. Our niche of culture is generating a wisdom-base. Its really really gratifying to see. This was the purpose of my website, to assist along those lines. As I started realizing how much critical information we were missing, and I knew what I'd gone through by mis-practicing.. partly as a sort of revenge, I wanted others to have the information, in a really clearly spoken way, that I'd missed for the first 15+ years of practice. Wow, did I really just type all that? I'm ranted out. cheers everybody, cheers.

That's very advanced, "advanced jing gong". And can be very progressive, if you're at that level of cultivation.If you don't have it all worked out right, long term retention causes trouble - jams up the works, at various levels. That's a more regular level. imo, someone should become very familiar with simple "healthy jing gong", promoting harmony and basic health, before they try retention. Make all of your tissues supple & free from obstruction, learn to blend and harmonize your energies, learn to stabalize into your centers. That should keep you busy for a few decades.

The main effect of the 6HS's are to allow the organs to blow off extra heat and stress by vibrating (sound) & breathing. So, if you tend towards some stress and heat then dropping the sounds is a problem. But if you're chilled anyway, no problem. Or, you can add them occasionally as you feel is appropriate. I'd say, do any practice routine you want, just conclude it in the still center.

You're probably working inside and have the usual work-stresses that create heat in the body. (Right?) If so, "The lungs like to be cool". The time when you get to rest, exercise, breathe, is all during the daytime. And during the cooler night you're at your job in stale air. Your lungs have no chance to "chill". I suggest that you take at least a couple of breaks during your night job, and go outside: do some slow deep breathing and some stretching, maybe Yi Swallows Qi once or twice (its really good for clearing heat). If its possible to do some aerobic exercise (jogging, swimming, biking) during your off time, that might help.

LOL! You've definately got an edge!

How's the book? Had a chance to read it some? Learn anything interesting?

Wow. Sounds good. There's a similar movie that came out in the 80's called The Big Blue, that is about that - and is excellent.

Partly I echo Yoda's comment. I don't know, and haven't heard any strict definition (or any definition, actually). However, the systems that I've heard of either: 1. Go through a bunch of positions while doing lower tan tien breathing, or 2. Stretch in ways that emphasize the fascia. But it might be something entirely different. Be interested to hear, if you are inclined to post after you take the class.

The taste of straight Noni juice is harsh; the effects are excellent - just buy the stuff that is blended with blueberry juice and its tastes good, too. imo, going too fast could be counter-productive. What I'm using pilates for is ltt development. So, the key to that is to keep my breath and attention steadied in the lower tan tien during the pilates exercises. If I go the exercises too fast, it puts my attention on the externals .. and I might clench up in the tan tien and just try to muscle through the exercises. Basically, pilates is a system of massaging the lower tan tien, through breath, movement, and concentration. If it gets reduced to external exercises, then its not productive towards what I'm there for. Could be that at a high level one could do all the exercises fast and still be centered from the tan tien (not from a clenched-power perspective, but from being able to steady smoothly inhale~exhale count of five for each and letting the massage of the exercise go as deeply through the ltt as it will). Cross-training suits me. At this point, I'm going to take an hour long pilates class once a week, do some minor but regular exploration of pilates during the week, and keep up with swimming, other qi gong, etc. I don't know that an hour every day of pilates is desirable. Certainly beyond my capability, at this point, anyway. I'd like to get to a place where I take the hour class 2 or three times a week. And have some shorter routine, and favorite exercises, nailed for home. I don't know what books/videos are good over all. Too green. Maybe we could provide reviews of what we each bought, compare notes. I have Brooke Siler's The Pilates Body and like it a lot. I also bought "Pilates for Men" and so far don't like it: its breathing method is not in line with what I want to accomplish. .. breathing should be steady and smooth. Also, I found that, after a couple of weeks of experimenting and reading, that a class was the bomb. Just being led through the exercises for an hour is so cool.

LOL, lol. It is. I think if the Taoist community really gets a taste of what pilates is, they'll be showing up to pilates classes in droves. Pilates just doesn't have the terminology... all of western exercise culture doesn't have the terminology, the conceptual framework, to appreciate what pilates is on to. Taoism has all this appreciation and focus on: "the tan tien", built into the Taoist system of knowledge. Those principles are so present in pilates, its unbelievable. Its what pilates is all about. And I can go just a few blocks away, pay the price of a regular yoga class, and have someone drill me through an hour of different poses-moves (which I probably don't have the discipline to put myself through ). Popularly available classes for Taoists!!!, I can't believe it I'm in heaven. Its just that pilates can't market it that way.. What are they gonna say, "develope your tan tien"? The closest they get is "powerhouse" or "core", and then they go on to say how it makes your stomach flat, makes you lean and strong. And there is some moderate muscular exercise in there, but its easy to see that that's not the main thing going on in the pilates system: its tan tien development.

I don't know anything about the new Tao Yin book. I do know that the video is really good, and a much better resource than the first book (which ain't a bad book) - if only that its much much easier to learn this stuff by watching someone actually do it while lecturing. The presentation is just easier and clearer. I had been experimenting with the pilates "the 100" exercise for several weeks, and I took my first pilates class on Monday (at a yoga studio that is a few blocks from my house). Amazing, amazing, amazing. Its the best lower tan tien workout that I've ever had. They don't use the word "tan tien", nor "Taoism", and its sort of marketed towards western women who want to tone up - but really what it is, is poised, steady lower tan tien breathing throughout the whole class, while you're led through unusual postures-exercises-movements that work the lower tan tien from every conceivable angle. This has the effect of opening up blood circulation, and the channels, and challenging your ability to stay centered in your lower tan tien while you do an hour of unusual shit. Let me repeat this: Its the best lower tan tien workout that I've ever had. Kicked my ass, actually. I'm going to prepare, and go back next week. And thanks for the compliment.

Here's a link, with a variety of specific techniques, from the usual.

I edited the original post a little to include a couple of link-references re: fwd and reverse. But yeah, right now its mostly a crib sheet. I do want to put it in an essay format and include it in my website .. after some feedback (I'm sure that you guys will have some useful things to say). It really could be the starter outline for 3 thick books , but I intend to have it in short-essay form with some related links - to help people (including myself) think about this area in a broader way. And, thanks, I like the term too. The three categories might help people assess where they're at better, and set more reasonable goals. At least begin to think along more reasonable, incremental, lines. -- later thoughts -- So, I don't think the purpose of the categories (healing, healthy, advanced jing gong) is to provide any sort of strict nor comprehensive set of answers, but to prompt practioners to ask better questions of themselves and their conditions. And, as a result, hopefully take up more appropriate goals and practices. I'll probably have to cut back on my "crib sheet" list, to just a short general description of each (several paragraphs, max) that can be understood by most any one who reads it. With a few related links. And note my previous point, above.

That's a big topic, that the community hasn't really talked about much. I know that, for me, social integration has definately been a challenge w/ my spiritual path.

http://www.hardlight.org/Death_QA.pdf

I don't like the idea of adding new forum section/s. It confuses me. The fewer places to look, the better, imo. In this case, the only difference between "Open Bar" and "Inner Cauldron" is the level of user that can see/post-in the areas. There's no real difference of meaning of the sort of posts I might look for in those areas... so it seems like duplicate areas in that sense, and would just confuse me. ("where do I look?, where do I look?.. gosh, one more place i gotta look") I think the intent of validating users is good, though. Maybe there are ways that you can do that without creating extra forums?

All this time I never liked the inner smile, but it now strikes me that its a form of kan & li. Suddenly I accept it and like it. Some people are so stubborn! Definately.

Definately crucial. The Sun Do approach keeps coming to mind. Their whole thing is LTT breathing, in different positions through a routine, every day. A quality that they work toward is "silk breathing" - that is, the breathing, tissues, fluids, (& blockages cleared) so that the lower tan tien breathing is as smooth as silk, steadily inhale~exhale, every part of it. Also related to the other topic you mentioned, I think. And to snip Cam's post in here - Really really good one.

Yoda, Basically it comes down to the trouble caused by storing tension. It creates blockages. Tissues tense up, circulation of fluids gets inhibited, accupuncture channels get blocked up. Without good circulation things can't blend well, and so can't produce that harmonized yummy feeling. And also can't express well. All of this can manifest in various ways. Emotional trouble (anger, depression). Erection trouble. Sexual compulsion, addiction. Physical cramping and pain. All of the things that loss of healthy circulation of vitality would imply (re: health, psyche, relationship, spiritual). Basically, all of the good things that're marketed as good results of the sexual cultivation (and that many of us work toward) - if you just take the opposite of those, that's what happens if you do this stuff wrong. But, what can anyone do? Can't avoid the issue; sexuality doesn't go away. Neither flat out denial nor hedonism really work (you've gotta sort of include both, rather, as well as good in-between roads). We're all trying to learn the best we can. Just try and be aware of the issues. You made some points earlier this thread (or maybe another) that sungazing opens and clears your channels. Sounds good. The above trouble really comes down to blockages, that tend to accumulate over time - particularly a risk as a result of aroused retention. And three broad categories that you might look at occuring in is: physical, energetic, consciousness. And whatever you find that works for you in resolving and smoothing the road, all good. (Wrote the above offline. To address your ?'s more directly...) Yes, there's real danger, as described above. Wet dreams don't even it out. Just blows off some juice, isn't a comprehensive working, exercising, circulating, resolving the body on lots of layers. Well rounded, varied, training (and an enjoyable life) is your best bet. Agreed. The difficulty with the sexual practices is that the real trouble often doesn't show up for some years, and by then bad habits have been trained into your chemistry, tissues, psyche. Sex is addictive, difficult to un-do. Then there's the work of sifting through correct/incorrect knowledge, and re-training correctly. Given how difficult all of that generally is, most people never sort it out - and this path (sexual cultivation) is littered with injured aspirants by the wayside who don't speak out much. The level of teaching and knowledge currently in print is.. sad. But sex is fun, and it sells, so everyone jumps on the bandwagon. The existence of these discussion boards is sorting out a lot. We all get together in a way that just didn't exist before, compare notes, and say, "hey!", and work on breakthrough after breakthrough for years & years until we've really made some headway. And likewise to you. Trunk

Quite the opposite. Its easiest to stabalize a balanced blend of energy, and "constantly rev'd" is clearly a very polarized situation. To me it indicates a difficulty. Somewhere, at some layer in your system (physical, subtle, psyche), it hasn't been harmonized. Possible solutions that come to my mind are: - improving the ability to exchange with one's partner during dual-cultivation, so that aroused jing is actually satisfied. - improving solo unaroused cultivation, in order to bring the agitation back to stillness. - Perhaps experimenting with spending more time away from one's partner between times of love-making, in order to fully come back to solo nuetral. - ejaculating more often, until your ability to harmonize rampant energy grows to be more in balance with your tendency to store rampant energy. Basically, taking on the challenge of learning to bring the "constant forward" back to "reverse". However that gets done. I don't think you guys appreciate that semen retention, done wrong, produces all of the results opposite to those it was intended. That is, erodes health, erodes spiritual basis, erodes sexual capacity. As Max (I think) once said, "Its like eating food; its not how much you can eat, its how much you can digest". By that philosophy, lighting one's self on fire, burning for a while, then taking a long bath in ice water would produce good health. I'll take the middle way, thank you.