Gerard

There are things better kept personal and this is one of them. Find out for yourself.

This one is my favourite: https://youtu.be/QFTsIpU2lWk?si=-Si4LrkPRvTTb5pQ ...and the best of them all!

The Great Spirit. Beyond sex and religion. The fact that we live countless lives BOTH in male or female forms is a proof that gender means little. Self-realisation is what really counts whether you are male or female. Two of the greatest quotes ever written: You are not a drop in the ocean; you are the entire ocean in a drop (Rumi, a man). First of all, a soul is not something that you have. It is what you are (Jane Robert's-Seth, a woman).

From what I know, I have practised this standing method a bit with my teacher who also teaches Ba Gua Z/Q: 1. Don't get too carried away with it. Stick to the basic principles and you should be fine. 2. The mental aspect is the real deal. Uniting Mind, Form & Spirit and being aware of the Body-Mind connection and its inner workings. Once you realise there is really only one thing then you move on to the next stage: integrating those principles into movement ---> Pi Quan (splitting fist) from which the various forms of Xingyi arise, that is the rest of the Five Element Fists of which Pi Quan is the foundation (Metal Force), 12 Animal Fists, Spear training, etc. As an example, when you no longer feel the body and you merge it with the Mind then you know STS has bore fruit. It takes time and standing for many hours to attain that level. My teacher used to practice it while facing the ocean. It makes a big difference practicing in nature compared to standing indoors or in the urban environment. Hope this all helps.

Probably the best online written source of information about STS. It has been sitting there for many years: https://www.ycgf.org/Articles/XY_SanTiShi/XY_SanTiShi.html

Time to go when Kidneys stop working since then no more Yin & Yang is created. Kidney is the true source of both energies. You only refine post-natal jing that comes from food, air (breathing while meditating) and optimal environmental conditions (peaceful and relaxed vs busy and stressful life) The original jing you are born with is your life battery. Once exhausted is time to go as well. Basically nourishing the Kidney will promote good health and extend your life but it is not infinite. One day your physical life will cease to exist.

Try here: https://www.dhamma.org/en/locations/directory On your own you won't pull it off. A teacher is a must if you never attended a retreat before let alone a solitary one. You don't need to be a Buddhist to attend a Vipassana meditation retreat. To be honest they don't care they only care about the Mind, which like the Yin & Yang, is shared and common to all of us humans. I met Hindus, Hebrews and several Chinese citizens in the Vipassana retreat of Chiang Mai, Thailand. Good luck!

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Unfortunately there isn't. Remember you are dealing with layers and some only fully manifest during certain years when a particular energy is dominant during that year; eg. Water Rabbit (2023), ruled by Yin Wood (rabbit) and Water (2023-ends in 3, 2 & 3 are Water years). Manifested organs: Kidney & Liver. Emotions will be more active with their pairing organ/season and time of the day; eg. Anger & Lust/Desire (liver/wood and heart/fire are involved, spring & summer, 11am-2pm/Heart & 11pm to basically 9am in the morning is when Liver is at its strongest time. To peel off the layers one by one is a lengthy process. This game is about being patient and persistent: “Knowing trees, I understand the meaning of patience. Knowing grass, I can appreciate persistence.”

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A better wisdom product from ancient China: https://yunnansourcing.com/en-au/products/2022-yunnan-sourcing-bang-wai-mountain-raw-pu-erh-tea-cake?variant=42564241948871 Your Wood element/force will love it. Lots of good Qi.

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No bells and whistles, no books, no fancy esoteric names. 1. Seated + walking meditation: https://retreat-infos.de/Download/RFAE2010.pdf 2. Body and energy work (yin-yang & five elements/forces, removal of Qi blockages and stagnation): https://rumsoakedfist.org/viewforum.php?f=4&sid=510a7dafa424b6d8ad3e798cad7ee723 Wonderful teacher from whom I learnt a lot: https://baguaquanlessons.com/ His YouTube Channel has invaluable lessons. One of the few teachers that knows this complex art well and teaches it to a deep level. TAIPEI - Taiwan Also my teacher's uncle, a Xingyi master: http://www.internalintent.com/ PERTH - Australia. Also international. And of course my teacher, Geoff Sweeting: https://youtu.be/KxMWIW1W8rI?si=XF4jrbv5Un-9TJJg Ba Gua Double Palm Change. BRISBANE - Australia Good luck.

Praaaaaaaaaaaaa..(a + 1)...tice ----> One meal a day a = number of years. You can't suddenly take up a one meal a day regime, it is only recommended for full time practitioners of you'll burn out fast and won't last very long by eating so little. Also a great deal of weight loss is required to get to that level, if one is overweight. .

Simplistic it is. I tend to ignore it now after doing Ba Gua Zhang and living a life fully dedicated to internal work. Chasing someone's pastiche experience is nor the way to do things correctly. Taoism was/is always a science of the Yin & Yang so it isn't concerned about E. but how to LIVE A BETTER LIFE. FYI, you are enlightened already. That's the state we are all in. A different story is living all your physical reincarnations, hence learn ALL YOUR LESSONS. This is unavoidable. Now the question is: HOW DEEP DOES THE RABBIT HOLE GO? Ha! A: my view, endless, eternal, infinite...as we all are. Our Minds have no limits, only the ones imposed by this tiny physical experience of ours, which is only a small fraction of what we truly are. NIRVANA is a myth from the point of view of extinction, end of suffering. This view needs to be seriously updated as being incomplete. You never CEASE TO EXIST. “We can no longer rely on the external teachings of Buddha, Confucius, or Christ. The era of organized religion controlling every aspect of life is over. No single religion has all the answers.” (Morihei Ueshiba)

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Sorry Klinsly, my experience would be helpful: When I was dealing with it, I was treated by a CCM not TCM doctor from Hong Kong. 35 years of practice as a herbalist, nothing else. He was/is extremely good at his craft. He never gave me the same batch of herbs when he treated my condition (clear heat, dispel dampness and harmonise internal organs) since herbal prescription will change according to how my system progressed. Hence, you cannot self medicate. Herbal medicine is extremely intricate. I asked him how long it took him to learn it. A: 10 years in HK chinese medicine school + 5 years supervised by a herbal master.

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or even better (using Rumi's words): "You are not a drop in the ocean, you are the ocean in a drop." Pretty much what Taoism has acknowledged for the past 4,500 years! About this enlightenment thing. I like the down to Earth view by Aikido OSensei Morehei Ueshiba: “Those who are enlightened never stop forging themselves.” A.M.E.N. to that.

You just have heat overall; pretty simple. Heat in Liver, Heart, Lungs, Intestines and Lower Jiao. That needs to be removed with diet, lifestyle and sexual activity changes. Chinese herbs are very helpful in the initial stages.

Qi Gong. Work with the life force. Modern forms coming from the CCCP ---> buyer beware. Remember these people/new barbarians annihilated (tried to to some extent) a vast, ancient and wise civilisation. They removed anything traditional from their newly devised Qigong forms, including shortened versions of Tai Chi Chuan; eg. Beijing 24 simplified form Yang style.

Didn't see this thread. Even penis shrinks. You are reusing Jing for non-procreation or sexual enjoyment reasons. Jing makes Qi stronger which in turn opens blocks and multitude of subchannels of the main meridians. One meal a day helps the process but to get there one must clear the organs and channels to a great extent of you'll feel very hungry every day. Spleen becomes very efficient at food digestion and transportation hence more energy and the need for less food. There is no surplus of Jing as it gets recycled. Bear in mind full moon period an its huge effect on the system (kidneys are stronger, more Jing is produced). Much less food is needed or sexual lust will be triggered if one eats too much. Mini-fasts are recommended during this period.

Books? Please refer to my answer in the Recommend Taoist Alchemy books (Daoist subforum). Or as Thoreau put it into words: I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than the trees. Impossible. Quantum Mechanics is a good framework BUT it misses the whole of the Taoist scientific method. This can only be proven by inner work and TCM medical diagnosis in relation to understand un the causes of disease (yin-yang imbalance): pulse reading, tongue examination and see your overall physical complexion which is related to the birth date. Also how can you prove using rationalist science: Spirit gives rise to Form/Mind creates Reality In other words between the ultimate You and this physical you there is an entire reality governed by unseen/subtle forces. We all are the entire Reality.