Gerard

.

And birds too.

 

 

 

On 7/3/2024 at 9:06 PM, Chang dao ling said:

why he so obsessed with sitting in lotus posture?

Personally, you should be obsessed with "mastering the breathing process" according to Theravada Buddhism:

 

https://www.dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?t=21892

 

There is a further key link about "nimitta" in that link which is an excellent piece of information. 

 

That links with the meditation retreat link I sent you by pm after you asked about visualising deities (it will lead you nowhere).

 

This combined with IMA practices to remove deep blockages will set your practice up for life. You need to work with the Yin & Yang and the 5 Forces (elements) as in our world sitting meditation practice won't cut the mustard which is why moving the way structured according to Chinese IMA is so helpful. 

 

All the best

Curious is a good description:

 

 

 

Crab Nebula

 

3 hours ago, Iskote said:

 

In my understanding, the modern day term 'qigong' is a term adopted in Communist China when the Chinese government began to strongly control what would and would not be allowed in regards to traditional Chinese beliefs and practices, and in regards to how the Chinese communist government wanted to control how Chinese people think about those practices.
 

 

Yes correct and they banned internal martial arts, burned down monasteries and temples, killed monks, removed a lot of stuff from TCM and blended it with Western Medicine rendering it to almost being useless.

Second strike: practices like Taijiquan were stripped down into easier to perform forms (shorter), eg. Beijing 24 of the Yang style. 

Many of the old masters fled to neighbouring Taiwan and America so they could practice the old way peacefully without being harassed or murdered by the Red Guards.
 

Most modern Qigong forms were developed by the Communists. Go figure about their effectivity. 

 

3 hours ago, Iskote said:

In regards to neigong, my understanding is that, yes, this term does come from martial arts traditions in China, and was focused on developing internal power in martial arts. 

 

Yes, linked to the Neijia arts and their connection to Taoist science and TCM medical theory. Deep work.

 

When I first attended Ba Gua lessons with my teacher he told me very clearly: you'll find out what neigong really means with circle walking and the Eight Mother Palms practice. 
 

 

On 1/3/2024 at 9:34 PM, idiot_stimpy said:

What advice or tips would you give in order to help someone spot a fake master?

 

1. Claims 

2. Money (substantial quantities involved enough to fund a lavish lifestyle)

3. Promises

4. Goals

5. What his system will help you attain (linked to point 1)

6. Fancy names used instead of his real name; eg. Master of the Sacred Kunlun Order of the Sublime Bliss rather than Joe Citizen.

7. Hinduism. This tradition is often associate with charlatans. Same with Christianity.

 

Examples: 

 

1. Swami Nityananda

 

 

2. The Vatican

 

 

Not only that but bear in mind what WOOD entails:

 

The main function of the liver is to regulate the movement of Qi within the 'body.' This regulatory function is essential for the physiological actions of all organ systems.

 

If this is the case that only means one thing:

 

Practice should be 24/7

One must learn to be calm all the time

 

Remember the nick of one of the three Taoist elders depicted in the book "Opening the Dragon Gate: The making of a modern Taoist wizard?"

 

The Master of Absolute Serenity

 

I wonder why?

 

 

Yes but also take into a/c the Lower Jiao time (Wood-Liver is active too as it's one of the organs involved), 11pm-midnight (not pictured). Basically from 11pm till sunrise and a few hours past that time Wood is still strong (basically around 9am).

 

This explains why Theravada Buddhist monks don't eat any solid meals until 10am to be safe as they obviously practice retention due to celibacy. 

On 8/7/2016 at 11:31 PM, steve said:

I would suggest including a chapter or section on standing and sitting meditation.

For me they are an integral part of the practice. 

Hi Steve,

 

Yes but that would go beyond the scope of the art. It's just way too much stuff going on which is the main reason I'm not interested in writing any books. Best is finding a real life teacher which for some people is next to impossible hence my advice would be to travel and live where that teacher is until they get the basics right. 

Hello,

 

Thanks for your interest but I won't be writing a book about Ba Gua Zhang/Quan.

 

 

Yes good stuff. The dragon itself being an action and power orientated 'animal' will bring this year significant changes which will culminate with the Fire Horse in 2026, for good or for the worse as this animal can either bring disaster or complete regeneration. 

 

Buckle up for sure.

 

 

OK you are quiet during the Wood hours. But also check your:

 

1. Diet

2. Other Lifestyle factors: how much you think during the day as this indicates level of Wood activity and excess Wood leads to excessive Fire (Liver Yang rising); stress levels, living at full throttle which also lead to excessive Fire. 

3. Sexual activity 

 

 

Liver Yang rising caused by Kidney Yin deficiency. I suggest you seeing a TCM practitioner with herbal qualifications in order to flush your system from excess heat. If you regularly stay up late this will exacerbate the problem, which itself was caused by lifestyle habits like study, work, computer use, partying, etc. during the late night, wee hours and right up to sunrise.

 

 

 

 

.

I don't believe any of that especially coming from a major religion often associated with FUNDAMENTALISM which treats women like stray dogs. 

 

Sufi yes, they are a totally different bunch. Thumbs up!

 

"Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself." (Rumi)

 

 

But Islam in general don't think much of them and in some instances they are murdered and imprisoned.

 

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/how-many-sufis-in-world-i_b_902164

 

 

 

On 16/2/2024 at 7:27 AM, -ꦥꦏ꧀ ꦱꦠꦿꦶꦪꦺꦴ- said:

A lot of people seem to think books are the only way to learn, and forget about or completely disregard oral tradition.

 

You'll learn nothing useful from books as in gaining insight of what we really are, the subtle processes that take within all of us, and what is the real meaning of full realisation.

 

Btw, the Vipassana teacher was only concerned about one single thing:

 

How much are you thinking during your meditation practice?

 

Twice a day for the entire 3-week retreat.

 

He asked me nothing else.

 

At the end of the retreat he said: you are only a baby meditator but you'll go far on this path.

 

If took me roughly 10 to 14 years to find out what he said was 100% correct. I also knew the solely inner work path is not adequate for modern practitioners due to the sheer amount of blockages and state of imbalance we are all in when we first start this path. One must manipulate the body completely and bring the Yin & Yang to complete balance in order to fully understand and grasp the Mind.

 

 

 

I don't teach but I could and HAVE WRITTEN ZERO BOOKS. I will never write one because good teachings are passed on orally and this this the way I have learnt. 
 

I have learnt Ba Gua from a teacher, a Water Ox, who hasn't written any books and I doubt he'll ever write any as he also learnt the master-apprentice style. He learnt Xingyi from his uncle (he hasn't written any books, Roy Jenzen from Perth) and Ba Gua from a Beijing-based teacher: Wang Tong. No books either. 

 

I also learnt from He Jinghan. All his FOUNDATION work videos available on YouTube are priceless. A big thank you from here. He has written one book but tbh I reckon he did it to pay the bills, for all the free vids he released online. Nothing in that book is different from all his audiovisual material. 
 

The teacher I was assigned to in the Vipassana retreat I attended in northern Thailand hasn't written any books and you'll never find any info about him online. He is a Dutch guy, a Fire Rooster, with a very deep insight. Won't say much here but he was spot-on with many things about this 'spiritual' business (full of inflated BS and excessive talk and written material ). More hardcore practice and less talk that's his belief. He actually wasn't impressed at all about the stuff I experienced on retreat: siddhi phenomena? He said nothing about it and wasn't slightly interested and impressed at all. Today this stuff doesn't impress me at all either. There are far more important things to care about. 
 

Hope this info helps. 

To answer the main question and from personal experience:

 

1. Imperfect

2. Incomplete

 

You don't follow an individual but an entire refined and whole encompassing system. Taoism is probably the closest method.

 

No Yin & Yang? Forget about it. Move on to something else.

 

Btw,

 

"He says that in all the monasteries he’s lived in—and they range from the Southern Highlands of NSW to a Chan monastery in Taiwan to a remote Theravada forest monastery in Sri Lanka—he has never encountered any monks who are free, liberated and 

enlightened."

 

Quote from:

 

In search of a wandering Buddhist monk

 

I said nothing about the Squat Monkey or any other squats. In fact, you should do them daily.

 

The voodoo stuff is what you need to be very aware and careful with. 

12 hours ago, Siker said:

for half an hour to an hour a day to activate my Dan Tien.

 

Wrong practice.

 

12 hours ago, Siker said:

I have a burning need to open my chakras, especially the third eye, and I feel lost. Sometimes I feel tingling in the third eye area, but I don't do any work and I don't know what to do about the tingling, they are not too strong but appear from time to time. I have felt for years that I belong to these worlds and in practice I have no part in them and this gap hurts me. Seeing auras, telepathy, lucid dreaming, astral travel, energy work and other spiritual experiences are things that I feel knock on my door every once in a while, calling me to work.

 

 

More incorrect practices.

 

It shows a general state of being very ungrounded.

 

 

12 hours ago, Siker said:

 

 

 

Although I am relatively young (27), I am married with two daughters. I am a student and work at the same time, and so is my wife, so our routine is very busy and I don't have much time for long practices. Every practice costs me a huge sacrifice.

Do you have any advice for me?

Thank you very much!

-Student

-Work. Most likely intellectual/academic.

 

This explains why you need a lot of grounding work. 
 

You aren't alone though.

 

Spiritualism is rife with this kind of people who talk about nonsense rather than verifiable facts. Many end up "cuckoo" due to carrying on with wrong practices for far too long. 
 

MY ADVICE:

 

1. Read this information carefully:

 

http://www.internalintent.com/
 

2. Find a real life teacher, someone with a strong martial arts background. Chinese Kung Fu arts are very helpful.

 

Ask for help here:

 

https://rumsoakedfist.org/viewforum.php?f=4&sid=c463074708f393f03dedbebedba24829

 

Learn proper meditation from a real life teacher; eg. Buddhist Vipassana is very helpful. You can start here in the mean time:

 

https://www.skillshare.com/en/blog/guide-to-vipassana-meditation/
 

Keep meditation easy and simple so no chakras, no dantiens, no astral projection gibberish and all that jazz. 
 

Learning to meditate correctly is a very slow and long learning process.

 

Quietening the busy thinking mind (ego-mind) should be your main goal.

 

Always finish and start seated meditation with a period of walking meditation with bare feet to ground yourself nicely. 

 

Good luck!

 

 

 

Well technically the year of the Water Rabbit is still in place. The 10th of February is the start of the new Lunar year. I can see people are happy here to move on to the dragon asap. Indeed it has been a lethargic year, that's for sure but pure Yin is necessary.
 

 

 

A girl holds dragon-shaped dough models created by a folk artist named Dong Xiupeng ahead of the Chinese New Year, the Year of the Dragon, on Jan. 28, 2024 in Qingdao, Shandong Province 

 

 

 

 

3 hours ago, ChiDragon said:

TCM medicines might work but the effectiveness is very slow.
 

An skilled herbalist with many years of experience will correct the problem. They are usually trained the traditional way: master to apprentice. Finding one is a daunting task.

 

I do wish the OP the best here. He screwed up completely his energetic system by learning wrong practices from books. 

Go seek TCM treatment to resolve all the stagnation you have. There are very effective HERBAL formulas available to clear damp-heat. 
 

Use only herbs not PILLS as they aren't effective. The TCM doctor will give you instructions about how to decoct the fresh herbs. 
 

DO NOT SELF-MEDICATE or you'll further aggravate the problem.

 

 

Relax as much as you possibly can. I'm no Xingyi practitioner but my teacher is (Xingyi and Ba Gua). I learnt the latter from him. 
 

When I asked him about how he trained Santi Shi he said:

 

I had to ride my bike for 90 min to get to the park facing the ocean in Perth, Australia to learn Xingyi with my uncle; I was tired and tense but the practice helped me relaxed a lot. At one point I was able to stand and have no feeling of the body at all, that's how much relaxation and practice facing the ocean helped me to progress.

 

 

 

 

 

This is the only place I found online:

 

http://www.istanbultaichi.com/index.php?l=en

 

Sure you can try Facebook for more teachers and internal systems but I can't help you here since I'm not a member of that social network.

 

Anyway, best of luck!