Gerard

If I have to choose one this will be my friend: https://www.thesprucepets.com/abyssinian-cat-breed-profile-4797632 Cat or extraterrestrial?

Is this how much the Chinese Gov. is charging nowadays for that tourist trap? Unreal. Stay away from the mainland unless you go to the major cities and learn from a reputable teacher linked to one of the legit. IMA lineages. Beijing is the best place for that.

If you ever can load it on YT, the title is: Karate: The Heart of Propriety - Spiritual Explorers

Not much different than boxing. Real Martial Arts are about conquering yourself rather than hurting others. The greatest battle happens within you!

Yeah right: Far from that: Ba Gua Quan https://www.energyarts.com/bagua-why-practice-this-old-and-obscure-art-part-1-2/ Tai Chi Chuan https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095254613000999 Xingyi Quan https://www.internalartsinternational.com/xing-yi-quan/ Wonderful arts that will change your life entirely for good.

Please watch this documentary: https://youtu.be/yxaPxNWNzK0?si=Lsf6HTTeBxGwEiVj It will certainly answer your question. MMA are not martial arts. End of story.

And let me repeat again: To really learn circle walking CORRECTLY you need REAL LIFE INSTRUCTION. There are way too many things going on, subtleties that are impossible to pick up by reading or watching videos. Feel free to ask me for further advice.

Not a problem. You are starting to mix various teachings, which is a bad idea especially in the beginning stages. Stick to your original source (Tom Bisio) and nothing else. Check others only for reference purposes. You need to combine circle walking with Foundation work if you plan to go deep. Check He Jing Han's video collection on YT.

The problem with that instruction is the focus on the Palm. Let's see: 1. The Millstone Pushing Palm is advanced material. Only taught to students after at least one year of practice of the previous 7 Palms if the lineage contains this Palm as number 8; hence the name Eight Mother Palms. Other Ba Gua lineages start the set known as Ba Da Zhang (8 Old Palms) with the Millstone Pushing Palm. Their 8MP do not include this one. I prefer this methodology and it's the one I learnt. A better video to learn from is as follows: Liu Jingru (Cheng style Ba Gua) teaches the whole 8MP neigong set + mud walking stepping (one method of walking the circle). 2. As a beginning student do not start learning any of thd 8MZl until walking is done correctly. I spent an entire month under my teacher's guidance before he taught me the first Palm. DO NOT TAKE SHORTCUTS AS THE ENERGIES YOU ARR DEALING WITH ARE VERY POWERFUL. BE WARNED. Also grounding work must be implemented. Refer to He Jinghan's YT Channel has he has released a ton on instructional material. Start from the very bottom (year 2005) and work your way up. It's difficult to learn Ba Gua from a video so you know. Good luck.

Yes it is HEAT clearing from the Lung meridian. Go see a TCM herbalist to flush entirely your system from heat syndrome.

Many recipes here: Chinese congee (porridge): https://www.foodandwine.com/soup/porridge/9-recipes-congee-cozy-porridge-you-can-eat-any-time-day https://www.brit.co/living/healthy-eating/how-to-make-congee-dinner-recipes/ Japanese https://www.justonecookbook.com/recipe-index/ Winter warmers https://www.thespruceeats.com/winter-stews-and-casseroles-4157675 *https://cerijoneschef.com/welsh-cawl/ *Feel free to replace lamb with chickpeas & spicy tofu (see note) if you don't eat meat. The Welsh cawl is a bomb! It will awaken the dead. Note: here's how to make spicy tofu cubes. https://www.tasteasianfood.com/spicy-crispy-tofu-recipe/

TCM: https://vitalitymagazine.com/article/traditional-chinese-medicine-for-herpes/amp/ You need to clear both HEAT & DAMP from your system being the Liver organ (Wood element) the culprit. There are specific herbal formulas for this but you need to seek professional treatment. On top of that you need to follow a solid internal energy method. Seated meditation alone won't fix the problem. Good luck.

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Over time (if you practice well and have a healthy functioning Spleen/Earth Force) you'll end up eating only brunch as your daily meal. Around 10am or so. Before that try having breakfast as your strongest meal of the day where basically you only eat wholesome food. I used to eat ramen (with either braised pork belly or pan-fried + roasted skin-on chicken breast) and various traditional soup recipes but only in the colder months of the year. Ramen only up to mid-spring. Also Afghan and Pakistani curries with either lamb or beef but strictly in winter as you need that energy boost if you eat only 1or 2 meals per day. For lunch (before midday) it was only something very light like miso soup & some crepes or a sandwich made with toasted bread slices. Once you eat brunch only if that's the case, switch to your main meal of the day and you eat anything you like making sure is healthy and nutritious. Once a week I prepare Japanese dishes like okonomiyaki (you need a lot of practice to prepare this one as it's not easy to cook without a teppan/iron griddle), omurice, katsu chicken, hambagu, yakimeshi (fried rice), Japanese curry and stir-fry dishes like yaki udon. Meat can be easily omitted in Asian cuisine which makes it very versatile. Replace it with tofu or any of the wide range of Asian mushroom varieties.

This one + kimchi (spicy-pungent great for tonifying the Lung & Large Intestine): Ginger chicken congee with kimchi Feel free to replace chicken with "shiitake mushrooms." For 1 serving ---> Use 4 cups thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms. Enjoy!

I can feel already the strong effect of the first quarter...imagine the full one! In any case moving towards to full moon is more invigorating for me than during the 3-day period it lasts. With this current drough conditions on the Eastern coast of Australia, the Moon will indeed look like Mars.

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More info here: https://med.virginia.edu/perceptual-studies/who-we-are/history-of-dops/dr-ian-stevenson/

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11-1am is when the gallbladder meridian is activated. Also 11-midnight is the peak time for Lower Jiao. Lower Jiao involves the combined action of the Kidney & Urinary Bladder as well as the Small and Large Intestines. Also the legs. Midnight is when Yin peaks.

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Indeed, you have to move but without the essential nei gong skill Xingyi becomes just a form; a "tiger without its bones" as the old XGQ masters said. One of the keys to the practice of the art is to be found in its name: Body (xing) & Mind (yi) as one; integration of form (xing) and intent (yi) as a whole inseparable entity since Body emanates from the Mind. In line with Buddhist thought!

Same as many other topics: 1. Prove the Tao exists at all. 2. Prove that Qi/life force is a fact. 3. Prove that Yin & Yang is a fact and not a philosophical concept. You can detect the vibrations of the internal organs by using pulse diagnosis but this doesn't necessarily prove Qi exists or the physical existence of Y&Y. Same goes with past lives and past lives awareness. Buddhist perspective: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abhijñā https://www.suttas.com/chief-disciple-ven-moggallana.html Hypnotherapy perspective: https://healingsoulhypnosis.com/12-things-you-should-know-about-a-past-life-regression/ Prove any of it. You can't. Prove the nature of consciousness. You can't. Prove the location of consciousness. You can't. What on earth are we here for? What's the purpose of this forum if most of it can't be proven?

Pretty much Steve. This is what my teacher taught me. Good XGQ practice comes purely from STS, the root foundation of the art. He himself put a lot of effort into it and practising every day for years in front of the ocean certainly payed off. When I see him walking the circle I can detect the subtle and powerful influence of Xingyi in his form. I think his Xingyi is a lot better than his Ba Gua. He is a Water Ox so it makes sense as Ox is a very slow animal and STS training favours his personality a lot more than an active animal like a Dog, Horse or Tiger.