sean

Hey Jessica, If you go to "My Controls" up at the top right, then go to "Your Album" on the left, then you can "Create Album" .. make sure you put a check next to "Public" so anyone can view it. Then when you go to "Your Album" again, on the dropdown to the right select "Upload Image" ... If you want to include images from the gallery, your own or anyone elses, in a post, go view the image you want to include, in IE right click on it and select "Properties", then copy the URL next to "Address: URL"... then in your post click the "IMG" button and paste in this direct URL to the image. Let me know if you need any more help. I should really create a friendly tutorial with screenshots because it's a little complicated. Sean.

Welcome to taobums, Min. I hear Norway is beautiful. Always wanted to travel there. I'll probably figure out nuclear physics before I can wrap my head around the Norwegian language though.. Where in Germany are you from? I lived in Hannover for a bit. Sean.

Awesome photos ... just used my lunch break at work checking them out. Mrs. Columbo looking beautiful as always. And nice to put a pic to your face as well ... other than a strange combination of peter falk and peter tork which is what I'd previously visualized.

One of the things I've been thinking about doing to cut back (and eventually stop) smoking cigarettes is to buy a hookah and just puff shisha every now and then. At least a little healthier being filtered through water and all ... [edit] Oooh.... I think I'm gonna order this one next paycheck: Pharoah (2 hose) "Genie" Hookah

You're the man Yoda! Happy Birthday! Hope you have a blast. Just don't get too drunk and lose your jing.

Great stuff Trunk. I've been playing with this pose on and off ever since you mentioned it on HT a ways back. Check out some variations by Ana, here and here. I actually refer to Ana Forrest's asana gallery frequently for fresh ideas. She has a whole section called "Hip Openers" you might dig.

Hadn't done much sungazing the last two weeks, which perhaps not coincidentally has corresponded with a linear increase in stress, emotional lows and volatility. Today the sun was beautiful and I did a full 15 minutes of intense gazing with some heart/ltt/sacrum alchemical visualizations. Later tonight I was looking in the mirror and my eyes are looking very intense and I noticed they are sparkling blue with just a trace of green hue. I called in Lezlie and she confirmed that my eyes are a much more intense blue this evening whereas they are usually very green with just a hint of blue. Who knows how long it will last, or if it was just a wierd lighting phenomenon .. but this is not an unheard of transformation according to Vinny Pinto's page Iris Color Change from Raw Diets, EM and Some Radical Healing Systems?. Anyway, I think it's cool as hell and I hope they start to glow and I can be like that guy from Dune. Then I will be able to explode rocks by vibrating the healing sounds correctly.

Interesting subject that I know nothing about, but here is an interesting thread on RMAX about cold water dowsing.

Well the description on Taobum was brief so I've just been exploring different variations creatively. Play with inhaling into the perineum and allowing it to "contract" or pull up of it's own volition, then on the exhale allow it to relax. You can also play with pulsing the muscles consciously. Another more subtle variation is to assume that it's already pulsing on some level (as everything is in fact) and aim to feel the pulsing and perhaps amplify it. Same goes for the the third eye, which is a bit harder (at least for me) to sense the pulsing of. After you get at least some sense of these points pulsing individually, after 10-15 minutes or so, then play with pulsing them together. Interesting technique. I've been doing a lot of work/exploration in my lower areas lately, body scanning my feet, legs, thighs, groin/anus/pubic area, abdomen and belly, psoas muscle, etc. My shen is guiding me to work through and process a ton of stuff in these regions and jing retention is giving me a feeling that I have a lot more "oomph" to work with. Much easier to get my whole lower region tingling and pulsing after two+ weeks of retention. On the topic of Jing retention, in my studies this evening I stumbled across the biography of an occultist from the 1800's named Paschal Beverly Randolph. Interestingly enough, the sex magick he taught seems to involve 49 day periods of retention in which an intention/wish is cultivated/intensified. Then a sexual act is performed where the intention is held firmly in mind and finally fully energized by a simultaneous orgasm with your partner. Seems like an interesting bridge between full-on "never-again" style Taoist/Hindu retention, and a "fuck it, I'm still a newbie I'll cum when I want" attitude. Also could relieve some of the guilt/discouragement that comes from losing your jing after a period of retention. At least it's been used to impregnate an important desire, preferably one that when manifested will strengthen your Work. Sean.

Not sure how deep any of you are studying the mathematical principles behind alchemy (I personally haven't delved to far into this arena yet myself) but this guy is doing some amazing and criminally neglected work over on http://www.abrahadabra.com Just thought I'd plug him because he deserves it. I've been trying to convince him to sell posters or meditation cards of his images as I think they'd make for fascinating meditations. He has actually developed an extraordinarly elaborate system for meditating on the images but hasn't yet found the time to explain it in laymens terms. Sean.

Great distinction. Thanks. Cutting insight. I think I instinctually feel this about most organizations and is why I typically put myself on the sidelines of groups. I am not into role-playing except as a tool to accomplish something, not as a blinder to pull over my life and community. Also I'm holistic in the sense that the magickians I look up to are people that are integrating in their whole life. They are not really cool and mysterious at the Black Mass but then bitter and cynical at their place of work ... (fuck I think I just described myself) .. they are great artists and musician and writers and real estate selling mystics (shout out to Yoda) that are aimed at living their life to the fullest. I'm exactly the same way although I've always felt a twinge of guilt about it and never said it with as much remorselessness as I sense you have done here. (Not a criticism). Can you elaborate on this more? It sounds like the beginnings of a really interesting point. But emptiness is form. ... Wild side tangent: Funny what the emphasis on is does to the meaning of that sentence now that I look at it. Because if you stop for a minute and say "Emptiness is Form" to yourself with the emphasis at first on "Emptiness" it comes across as "Emptiness" being the only form. Which is trippy. Then if you put it on "is" it comes across like Emptiness and Form literally are the same thing and there is no distinction except in our minds. Which is trippy. And if you put the emphasis on "Form" it makes it seem like Emptiness could be other things, like there are other possibilities for what it could be but you are emphasizing one of them "form" as the correct thing to think of it being. Which is trippy. Not at all, I think you are grazing some rich stuff here, I hope you take the time to flesh out your insights further.

FOO'Z! YOU BETTAH RECKANIZE!

Ron, be honest, did you vote "more than 12"? FYI - I'm 3-6. And probably just once and because I was coked up. Just kidding.

It's odd how frequently I'm feeling near synchronicity with your discoveries. Maybe it's the sungazing putting us on a similar current. Retention has just picked up priority for me again ... I'm going on about two weeks now (amidst frequent sexual activity) ... which is not impressive but is also not bad in light of my adundant laziness and lack of discipline.

Not true Ron, I've gleaned some really useful gems sifting through the good times over there. For example, I've been playing with that simultaneous perineum and third eye pulsing meditation someone wrote about all week and lovin' it. Sean.

Shaking first thing in the morning has proved to be a really beneficial practice for me. Also, a joint mobility workout like Sonnon's Warrior Wellness.

I have a private back and forth with Michael Winn through email recently, looking for advice on how to work his stuff into my three day jing-chi-shen spiral. He wasn't really feelin' all that, but he did suggest I work to develop a relationship with my shen and ask them how to proceed with my alchemy every day. Which is of course the approach our very own taobum genius Peter Falk has done with incredible results. So my question, to Peter Falk and anyone else who wants to chime in, is how do I cultivate this type of communicative relationship with my shen? What is the process you go through to develop this and how do you refine your intuition to distinguish between mental garbage and genuine messages from the shen. Thanks, Sean.

Thanks for these very useful tips! Thanks! This experience I posted in my blog effected me deeply. It has really changed and revitalized my attitude and approach towards my practice completely. I'm really happy about this. And you have been a gigantic inspiration for this. Thank you. Will do, dots. Yeah, that's a tough one. Perhaps we can never really be certain.

Jessica, here you go, I just made you a "virtual mix" ... belle and sebastian - expectations mum - we have a map of the piano deerhoof - dummy discards a heart fischerspooner - emerge cranes - are you gone? aphex twin - windowlicker radiohead - there there hope sandoval - down the steps deadboy and the elephantmen - graves beyond windows boards of canada - alpha and omega cat power - colors and the kids

I'm really diggin' track 6 on Gwen Stefani's new CD. It's called "Luxurious" ... check it out. You have to play it really loud. And in your car. Preferably when really high and on a Friday night while driving extraordinarily fast over the Bay Bridge into a horizon of city lights to go to a party with your hott girlfriend who happens to be wearing a mini skirt.

Cameron, I think this aspect is finally starting to click for me. The dialogue I had with Winn made me realize I was trying to hard to impose an intellectually-developed structure on this type of alchemical work, which like you said isn't what it's really designed for at all. I'm not abandoning my Jing-Chi-Shen spiral yet though, mainly because it's working great so far for my strength, flexibility and movement goals. But based on my very first attempt tonight (right after my post above actually) to work with the shen more spontaneously, I'm really excited about this approach and think I will play this way for a bit and see where it takes me.

Yes, thank you very much Tenguzake. I was unaware of Jan Fries. Really cool stuff, I'm going to pick up his "visual magick".

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