Iskote

A person who casts aspersions on another and disrespects them, when they really know nothing about that person, is displaying extreme ignorance. There is no point responding to such people. Nothing productive will ever come of it, and by responding to them, you invite more ignorant responses. A wise person steps over or around doo doo when they encounter it on the road, and they continue on their way unphased.  Doo doo can only get on you if you step in it.  

 

 

On 5/24/2020 at 8:03 AM, C T said:

 

Jazz up the flavour! 

Spice up that bowl of ramen!

Warm up the sa-ké!

 

Warm up the sa-ké!
But do not imbibe its warmth
A clear mind is truth 
 

I just saw this now. That is very sad news. He was a real living legend and an inspiration to many due to his amazing accomplishments and abilities in neigong and related. His age was listed as 85 years old. 

On 5/22/2020 at 10:17 PM, jmrout said:

Master Zhou teaches only about 40 minutes away from where I live, so I am considering learning from him & would be very much interested in hearing what any other students or former students have to say. Does anyone know what the usual cost of his Qigong classes is?

It seems people often have difficulty getting any response from his organization about classes.

 

With Covid-19, they may have shut down his studio in the last couple of months, like many other businesses. I visited LA several years ago and went to see Master Zhou once each day for about  5 days, to try his healing sessions and to learn his level 1 qigong. At that time he had a Chinese women who spoke English, who was there every day, who answered the phone and emails and made appointments for Master Zhou, and translated for him when necessary.  Master Zhou only speaks a little English. I don't remember the exact cost for the healing sessions and Level 1 qigong, but the costs were reasonable. Your best bet is to try the email address and contact phone number listed on their website: 

https://www.masterzhou.com/contact.html

Email: zhoutingjue (at) gmail.com

Phone: 310-478-1798

 

Master Zhou should be pretty old now however. He's probably in his 80's now. He was still very energetic 4 or 5 years ago when I was there however. Not sure if he is still actively offering the same services now, but he may be. I could really feel a lot of heat coming from that pad he uses in his healing sessions. I didn't notice any really major noticeable differences after trying his healing sessions, but I only tried about 5 sessions to see what it felt like. His Level 1 qigong is what you might expect from a Level 1 qigong course. Basic movements and stances.  He also teaches various tai chi and related martial arts sets, or at least he used to. 

Warm, glowing, peaceful
a crutch for the clinging mind
no start and no end
 

Lomistick, yes, there is a simple way to achieve this, with a caveat. If you are practicing sex that involves semen retention techniques such as Mantak Chia and others 'teach', then I don't know if this method will help. However, for a person who is interested in at least fairly serious qigong/neigong cultivation, and who will be entirely celibate or who will only have sex infrequently, then this method should help to completely prevent any nocturnal emissions. There are certain internal cultivation practices that require complete celibacy for an extended period of time, at least in the foundational stages, and in such cases for example you need to completely prevent nocturnal emissions. This is a simple way to achieve this.

 

Basically the method is just practicing zhan zhuang regularly, specifically the wu ji zhan zhuang stance. You do have to practice wu ji zhan zhuang correctly however. The knees should only be bent a little bit, so that you are not having to strain at all, and the breathing should be kept soft, deep, slow and natural, with the emphasis in the entire practice on being natural and relaxed. You do not need to do any special concentration with the mind. Just relax and practice the wu ji zhan zhuang stance every day, and preferably practice your main wu ji zhan zhuang session shortly before you go to bed for the night. You can add other sessions such as in the morning as well if you like, but the evening session will be important for the first six months or so. Later you will probably find that you can practice any time of the day and still get the same benefits. Also, later, once your practice is effective, you can add other zhan zhuang stances to your practice as well if you like. It may take a month or even a few months of regular practice to start seeing results, depending on various factors.

 

If you are not familiar with the wuji zhan zhuang stance, then it is demonstrated in this video.

 

 

There are variations of how the hands are held in the wu ji zhan zhuang stance, but the main thing is to keep the shoulders down and relaxed and to keep the armpits open a little bit. If you haven't practiced zhan zhuang before, then start from standing just a few minutes and slowly work yourself up to 20 to 30 minutes per session. If you are starting to strain, then you should end that particular session. Once you get really comfortable with it you can stand even longer if you like. It is a an excellect way to open and balance the meridians and to build up qi as well. IME, for preventing nocturnal emissions, besides balancing and strenghtening your system it seems to refine the jinq/qi such that it prevents nocturnal emissions. There may be other methods that can help in this area, but this is the simplest and most effective method I have come across. I have been completely celibate for a number of years now and do not ever have nocturnal emissions. It really does work. If you try this method, post back here after three to six months or so and let other people know if it worked for you. It being such a simple cultivation practice to do, all serious practitioners should be aware of its benefits, IMO

 

 

Notes:

Doing sitting practice in a similar way, is not the same as doing the wu ji zhan zhuang stance as described above. The stance itself seems to be important in the way this works. In my experience, practicing regular sitting meditation may not resolve nocturnal emission issues.

 

The above method was found based on a good many years of trial and error, with this particular method having proved very quick and effective to get results, and to prevent nocturnal emissions long term.

 

It would be hard to understand why this practice is so effective if a person is not celibate for an extended period of time. If a person is not celibate they may well not need to practice any such methods. The method I have described is meant for a person who plans to be celibate for an extended period of time, such as a year or several years or indefinitely. Generally this is only needed for people who are very seriously practicing internal cultivation methods which require celibacy.

 

Good luck with your practice.

Yes, it's actually quite a long haul to make that trip by train/road (Van, BC to Van, WA = 490km) and still have some time to stop and do something all in the same day, and then head back to Seattle in the evening.

In case you don't find anyone who can help you out with a ride,

you can maybe check out the train, if you haven't already. Good luck!

 

=======

Amtrak:

http://tickets.amtrak.com/itd/amtrak

=========

 

Friday, December 6, 2013

Seattle - King Street Station, WA (SEA)

to

Vancouver, WA (VAN)

 

7:30am - 10:30am --- 3 hr, 0 min --- 501 Amtrak Cascades

 

9:35am - 12:58pm --- 3 hr, 23 min --- 11 Coast Starlight

 

11:25am - 2:25pm --- 3 hr, 0 min --- 513 Amtrak Cascades

 

2:00pm - 5:00pm --- 3 hr, 0 min --- 507 Amtrak Cascades

 

5:30pm - 8:30pm --- 3 hr, 0 min --- 509 Amtrak Cascades

 

==============================================

 

Friday, December 6, 2013

Vancouver, WA (VAN)

to

Seattle - King Street Station, WA (SEA)

 

8:45am - 12:20pm --- 3 hr, 35 min --- 500 Amtrak Cascades

 

12:30pm - 4:05pm --- 3 hr, 35 min --- 506 Amtrak Cascades

 

3:00pm - 6:35pm --- 3 hr, 35 min --- 516 Amtrak Cascades

 

4:28pm - 8:37pm --- 4 hr, 9 min --- 14 Coast Starlight

 

6:30pm - 10:05pm --- 3 hr, 35 min --- 508 Amtrak Cascades

 

 

 

Here is some more info about Mr. Jia Dao Zhang (Jia Yong Xiang).

( from: http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/epaper/2011-05/19/content_12539897.htm )

This article would seem to put him around 78 years old now.

 

 

Simple life leads to health

 

SHIYAN, Hubei - A bee suddenly flies into Jia Yong-xiang's ear as he is cooking in his shabby kitchen.

 

The 76-year-old, wearing a well-worn Taoist hat and dark blue robe, laughs happily and uses a toothpick to help dislodge the bee, calmly saying "please come out".

 

The playful bee soon exits his ear and crawls into his big white beard without stinging him at all.

 

"The bees are my Taoist friends as well as my neighbors," Jia says in Hubei dialect with a big smile. "There is a basic Taoist idea: harmony between humans and nature."

 

Jia has been living with tens of thousands of bees in a natural cavern for about 14 years in the Wudang Mountains, Central China's Hubei province. They are among the most sacred mountains of Taoism, and were made a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site in 1994.

 

Following zigzagging flagstone steps more than 700 years old, one can find Crown Prince Cavern lurking half way up Zhanqi Peak.

 

Legend has it that Prince Zhenwu practiced in the cavern for decades before becoming immortal as the Great Emperor Zhenwu, one of the most influential gods in Taoism.

 

The cavern is about 15 square meters and floored with stone slabs, with a small exquisite stone palace around it built in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368).

 

The statue of the young Crown Prince is worshipped in the middle of the cavern, with Jia's bed and other simple furniture on the other side.

 

Outside the cavern is a balcony with stone balustrades, a place where he cooks, reads and talks with guests.

 

Jia plays Taoist music and gently opens his one-meter tall wooden cupboard. What catches one's eyes is a big honeycomb covered with bees, occupying a quarter of the cupboard. In the other areas of the cupboard are his bowls, plates and chopsticks.

 

In the spring of 1996, a swarm of bees flew in and made their home in the cavern. He drilled four small holes for the bees to fly in and out, but they prefer the cracks in the door.

 

At first, the uninvited guests stung him when he opened the cupboard. After that, he played Taoist music whenever he was going to open the door, and gradually the bees became his friends and never stung him.

 

"They love the music. I think they come here to practise Taoism with me," he says.

 

Jia was a farmer in Xiangyang, Hubei province, and was diagnosed with hepatitis, gastritis, pneumonia and an inflamed gall bladder more than 20 years ago.

 

At first he grew vegetables at the foot of the mountains and for a while lived in a small garden building.

 

"It's strange that I gradually recovered without any treatment, and I have never gone back home," he says.

 

He moved to the cavern in the 1990s, where he could practice Taoism alone, doing meditation and chanting.

 

Although he asks his family not to come to see him, his younger daughter and daughter-in-law visit him once a year.

 

He says he enjoys the beautiful view of mountains and trees, which makes him feel one with all things on earth.

 

Enjoying his simple life in the remote place, he has never left the area around the cavern for years. He gets up at 5 am, then does his daily morning prayer and meditation. After breakfast, he cleans the cavern, including the long stone path.

 

There is no electricity or tap water. He goes to sleep early after a regular evening prayer, and uses a candle or a flashlight. On the cliff outside the cavern is a long groove, where the rainwater drains into the ancient well on the balcony.

 

"The Crown Prince Cavern is cool in summer and warm in winter, " he says.

 

Although the cavern is not open to tourists, he receives dozens of visitors every day to share his understanding of Taoism and to see the bees in the cupboard.

 

They are mainly Taoist believers from all over the world, and bring him gifts such as fruits.

 

When people who can't speak Chinese arrive, he just smiles and gently flicks dust off their clothes.

 

Local Taoists also call on him regularly to offer necessities. He never accepts money, and always gives visitors protective talismans and snacks. Sometimes he invites them to share a meal.

 

Listening to the radio and reading are his only ways to keep in touch with the outside world.

 

"I subscribe to newspapers and magazines and read them every day, as I'm concerned about national affairs," he says.

 

He often writes his feelings about Taoism, which are mainly about filial piety, morality and values.

 

"To practice Taoism is very simple, just be yourself, with a clean conscience and justice. It is useless for those who have done something illegal to beg for the gods' forgiveness," he says.

 

"One can practice Taoism as long as one has heart and fulfills his duty. For example, a cleaner who cleans restrooms devotedly or an official who serves the people wholeheartedly," he says.

 

China Daily - 05/19/2011

 

 

This is a thread about Jia Dao Zhang.

Jia Dao Zhang tells people they should always treat

each other kindly and with respect. Something to think about...

 

Jia Dao Zhang seems like a very interesting man.

He is nicknamed the 'bee daoist' apparently because some wild bees moved into a cupboard outside his cave, and were/are often flying around him.

Here are a few videos in which he answers some questions on daoism:

 

Part 1:

 

 

Part 2:

 

 

Part 3: - Unfortunately no English translation for this one, I believe.

(Maybe someone here can provide a bit of a translation here for part 3 into English? This would be very much appreciated!)

 

 

 

That's sort of what I was looking for. A more clear, scientific explanation. I doubt that many people have this depth of understanding but I figured it was worth a try. Somebody might have at least a theory.

KenBrace, I think what you are essentially saying, whether you may realize it or not, is I really only want to hear answers which fit in with my preconceptions and beliefs. Don't think I am singling you out, because I am not. This is human nature. We all are very much inclined to do this with pretty much everything in life. However taking this approach in matters such as this is really about as unscientific as can be. Sure in physical science we may start with a certain hypothesis and then try to conduct experiments to try to establish if the hypothesis holds up or not to experimental results, but in the area of what I will term esoteric arts, starting with a hypothesis and preconceived ideas is actually starting out by placing limitations on yourself. In this area of exploration the connection between mind and energy and experience is very much more apparent and manifest, so any preconceived notions and beliefs you are starting out with are essentially placing blinders and limitations on yourself right out of the gate to a great degree.

 

A teacher of so called esoteric arts would traditionally carefully choose a student before teaching certain things, and they would only teach a particular student something when the student was capable and ready to learn what was being passed to them. There are many factors involved here. The teacher is actually only providing guidance and assistance in various ways to the student who actually really 'learns' through their own direct experience. A student who has many preconceived ideas and beliefs will not be capable of learning certain things, so the teacher may pass over such people completely, and this may mean that certain arts may not get passed on at all to most people because most people are just too full of preconceived ideas and beliefs. A teacher may choose to take a different approach in such a case and devise ways to try to get more promising students to start gaining more awareness about their preconceptions and beliefs, so that they can start working on reducing their influence and on dropping them where needed. The expression about needing to start with an empty cup is more than just a cute concept.

 

Many concepts in the esoteric arts are either not ever discussed or written about at all, or if they are written about it may often be done in very symbolic or very vague terms. In part this may have been done to keep certain things secret, but a lot of this is done out of necessity. Writing in a very vague way helps to ensure that potential students have less 'things' for the mind to latch onto to form preconceptions and beliefs. Also, many things just cannot be expressed in words in any real meaningful way. The science of esoteric arts is a science driven by direct personal experience, but all personal experience is also very much colored by our preconceptions and beliefs. Without first being able to recognize our many preconceptions and beliefs within our self so that we can then start to reduce their strong influence on our perception, we are only capable of exploring our own self created limitations and through very colored sunglasses at that.

 

There is also another important factor relating to this. If we try to practice esoteric arts without being aware of the above, we also increase the chance of causing problems and harm to our self by our own ignorance. Of course a teacher or anyone can't just simply point things out and people will just get it and understand it and be able to put it all into action. If it were really that easy we would all be buddhas by now. If certain teachers choose to only teach certain people or certain groups of people, it may be because cultural or other biases tend to make certain groups of people more open to certain things, and other groups of people much less open to certain things, amongst other factors. There are no hard and fast rules in such things however.

 

Certain things can be discussed and debated till the cows come home, but our ideas, preconceptions, and beliefs are walls and ceilings and hallways and TV screens which only limit us.

 

Of course, just my two cents' worth, as they say...

The only thing I've been able to find are abstract explanations.

Then you seem to be on the right track.

Literally:

丹 dan - red; pellet; powder; cinnabar

田 tian - field; farm

Often translated as field of cinnabar.

Dan is also sometimes used in the sense of pill or medicine, but typically more in a symbolic sense than in a literal sense, or at least with the connotation of something beyond the ordinary.

 

Cinnabar is one of those words which appear to have been used fairly widely in taoist internal and external alchemy and related practices, and which has both a symbolic meaning in internal alchemy as well as a literal meaning and useage in external alchemy and in traditional Chinese medicine use. In regards to the term dan tian, it would seem most likely that this term originated in relation to taoist internal alchemy practices. This being the case, you would probably be wise to realize that the true meaning of this term is probably not at all straightforward, and a true understanding of its deeper meaning can likely only be fully understood after many years of practice of authentic internal alchemy or similar practices, i.e., through direct personal experience. Beware of pat answers.

 

P.S. To try to clarify a little further, in internal alchemy you have the concept of developing a 'medicine' or 'elixir' for development and transformation purposes. So in this sense a dan tian would be an area where this 'medicine' or 'elixir' is formed and processed. So you could translate dan tian as 'elixir field' when viewed from this perspective.

 

 

Good for Meredith, he's selling stuff.. and, he's a good salesman.. but, from what is seen in the video, and as another skilled internal practitioner i can actually 'see' what is happening, it's like any other marketing video, staged.. and, even at that the evidence of internal skill is lacking.. I read the blog, why bother with theatrics.. show-up at an internationally sanctioned tournament win

fixed, restricted, and moving-step push-hands competitions at the advanced level and that's that.. keep it simple.

 

... i'm not disparaging Meredith, i'm relating what i observe to what i've experienced, and i've experienced internal skill that defies rational explanation by the casual observer, but..

...

I doubt that i would be disappointed by pushing with Meredith, it would likely be great fun.. i might get tossed around, too.. but, that's not my interest anymore, i'm interested in real internal skill..

...

How well i can push a person is little indication of my internal skill..

how well i can help another find their own way into the limitless wonders of Taijiquan, is an indication of my internal awareness..

...

 

Well it seems to me that implying someone is just 'staging' something for the purpose of 'selling stuff', and stating that 'the evidence of internal skill is lacking', would be considered pretty much disparaging a person.

 

Your statement that 'how well you can push a person is little indication of your internal skill', may well be true for people at lower levels in tai chi, since people at lower levels in tai chi tend to mainly rely on stiff muscular force when pushing, which has nothing much to do with tai chi chuan internal skill. However, you have referred to yourself above as 'another skilled internal practitioner', so it would seem you view yourself as someone who is a more advanced tai chi practitioner. Now it is common knowledge that at higher levels in tai chi in which internal ability is employed, it is the person with the higher internal skill who can push their push hands partner around. A person who has developed little internal ability should not be able to push a person with greater internal skill around, but the person with greater internal skill should be able to fairly easily keep their push hands partner off balance and should be able to push their less accomplished partner around with little effort. Your implication that whether you can push someone around has little to do with your internal skill appears quite at odds with commonly accepted principles of tai chi chuan, unless you are suggesting that you are still at a fairly low level in tai chi and still rely mainly on stiff muscular force, so your push hands skill has little to do with internal abilitity? Otherwise, what you have said seems to make little sense. Also, internal skill is by definition internal, so it is not obvious to most anyone. The only way to reliably judge internal skill in tai chi chuan is to push hands with a person. Most experienced tai chi practitioners recognize this, so they wouldn't likely publicly comment on another person's internal skill in tai chi chuan without first at least pushing hands with that person. This would be a basic courtesy.

 

You talk about how internal skill to you is helping others to gain more understanding in tai chi and that sort of thing, but then imply that Mr. Meredith must take part in tournaments to really establish that he is legitimate? However, Scott Meredith has stated that he often meets up with people for friendly push hands exchange, which seems like he does a lot more than just talk on forums and disparage other's skills and do 'staged demos'. Why not simply email Scott Meredith and ask him if he would be willing to meet up with you somewhere at some point so you can do some friendly push hands, rather than making disparaging statements on a forum about his internal skill? Then after you push him around all over the place you can come back here and explain to us based on actual experience how poor his internal skill is.

"The real question is not whether life exists or not after death, the question is whether you are alive or not before death"

Well, it can be six to one, and half a dozen to another. Anyway, I think everyone probably has there own particular ideas and questions that are important to them. Regarding finding a good guide or a teacher, IMO a good guide or teacher is someone who does not provide answers, or who at least does not expect a student to just blindly accept things as they are told, as it seems to me that accepting such ready answers still always involves some degree of faith unless you have experienced such things yourself, but instead a good teacher or guide to me is someone who mainly provides the means and guidance for a person to find their own answers.

 

Regarding direct experience, there is still always the matter of how much we can trust our own experiences and our subsequent interpretation of these experiences as being true, but various mystics and ascetics seem to have found ways to at least prove to themself what are apparently deeper truths, at least so they tell us. Those who have not had such experiences still have to take a leap of faith to some extent to decide to put in the effort and long hours in cultivation, with the hope that their cultivation efforts will eventualy lead to something very valuable. Typically however, after one has been cultivating for a while you will usually start to get some smaller results of one sort or another that can give you more reason to keep going, even if you still have to take it on faith that much deeper and more valuable experiences can at least potentially lie ahead.

More_Pie_Guy, I think a different way to look at matters such as this is for each person to take a few steps back and examine carefully about what they personally hold as 'true', or what they at least have a lot of faith as being true, to consider if they can really say for certain that such a thing is really necessarily true. You say you do not care what any master or guru might have said about virtue and moral behavior and karma in regards to becoming some sort of immortal (xian) or similar, and that is fine, but at the same time you also appear to be taking various things as definitely 'true' about mopai or master Liao and 'immortals' and karma, which it really seems you have only gathered from books or maybe through things other people have told you and your own persoanl opinions and views. You may want to consider this question, how can you be so sure that what you *believe* about mopai and master Liao and immortals and karma is any more true than the views others may have about immortality and spirituality based on what various masters or gurus have taught or whatever else? For example, I don't think it is very likely anyone here can say for absolute certain what this master Liao's current state really is after he passed away, unless they themself are some sort of immortal who has directly experienced such things and fully understands them.

 

I personally don't know one way or the other, but let's say for a moment that a person chooses to *believe* that John Chang really does communicate with master Liao from time to time using some special abilities, and that master Liao really is able to know what is going on here on Earth and give messages and directions to John Chang and that sort of thing. Does this necessarily mean that master Liao is some sort of actual 'immortal' or could it also be possible that master Liao has become some sort of Earth bound ghost or spirit or something like that, and is existing in some sort of 'ghost realms' or whatever else? There may be many other possibilities as well depending on what a person may believe or think is possible after a person dies. Who really knows for certain what Liao's actual state really is? Also how do you really know for certain that spirituality has nothing at all to do with becoming an 'immortal', that it is all just 'science', and anyone good or bad or no matter what they have done can achieve a state immortality if they practice certain practices and achieve certain results? Let's say this really is true and such people really can achieve some sort of 'immortal' state that is somehow different than the state your average person experiences after they die. What the actual dimensions this 'immortal' person is existing in would be the next thing to consider. It seems at least conceivable to me that although this person may really have achieved some special abilities, they may not necessarily be in really 'high' dimensions, if we make the assumption that there really can be various different dimensional states beyond our physical dimensions that people can 'go' to after they die, as various mystics have described.

 

From my point of view, unless I had personally achieved such an exact state and knew this from my own actual direct experience, I could not ever say for certain that such a thing was definitely true. If I haven't personally directly experienced it, I would have to admit that holding that such a thing is definitely true is really just based on beliefs and assumptions. It is easy to see assumptions and beliefs in others, but not always so easy to recognize the same things in our own views.

I think most people still experience various health benefits from taiji practice even though many people may not practice taiji everyday. Few people have the motivation or time to practice taiji for several hours everyday like many of the taiji masters of old did, so it is not surprising that many people do not achieve a high level in their taiji practice. People getting all sorts of health benefits from taiji is certainly a fair bit more than 'achieving nothing at best after years of taiji practice' however.

 

I am inclined to think that any people who cause harm to themself from taiji are probably actually for the most part people who mix in other qigong, breathing, neigong, meditation, and 'taoist sexual practices' and that sort of thing from stuff they have learned in books or elsewhere. They may say they were 'practicing taiji', but I would guess that it was mixing in other stuff or otherwise greatly diverging from taiji's basic and simple principles that caused the issues for them. Taiji practiced at all correctly is very natural and should not likely be harmful. In my experience most people who just mainly practice taiji itself get various real health benefits from it, and that is what most people seem to be mainly looking for in taiji practice these days anyway. It may seem to you that many people who practice taiji cause problems for themself because it is likely only people who have caused harm to themself (likely through other practices other than taiji) go to shifu Jiang for healing. The majority of people who practice taiji get good health benefits from taiji so do not need to seek out a healer in China or elsewhere unless they have other unrelated health issues. You are probably getting a fairly one sided view at shifu Jiang's clinic in China.

Even just yesterday morning I might well have been inclined to comment somewhat differently than I am choosing to comment right at this moment. One thing we can see from this thread is each person comments from their own current personal makeup and experience and perception and views; from where they are in that moment. One person's 'high level' can be another person's 'low level' or 'medium level', or whatever. It is for this reason that I now personally prefer to try to avoid these sort of conceptualizations. It seems to me that since our perceptions and views and experiences and conceptualization of self and our surroundings are constantly changing, whether we are aware of it or not, what really is high and low? Something which we might have thought was amazing or very important at one point in our life, we may later look back at and realize it was actually not so important or helpful or not to our benefit at all, but it really seemed so at the time. However, we hopefully learned something from that experience. Had we not gone through that experience and lived and experienced through that point of view, our change in views and understanding about certain things might never have occurred. We might still be stuck back with more limiting views and assumptions which we may have taken completely for granted at that prior time.

 

So, what am I trying to say? At this current 'moment' in time, my thinking is that we each may need to make our own way and make our own mistakes, and learn our own unique lessons in our own good time, and find what resonates with us personally at any given point in time. This doesn't mean we can't try to help others avoid making mistakes where we think we can be helpful, but in the end each person will still make their own decisions and go their own way. Some people at a given point may prefer to seek out an environment in which all is very much laid out and arranged for them, maybe even with promises of being the best and highest way and with many or all the answers, and they may go deeply into that role, and some may at some later point choose to move on from that, while others will not. Still others may choose completely different routes. Is one way 'better' than the other? What I am thinking is another possible way to look at all this is that each person will be drawn to what resonates for them to suit their own personal makeup and purposes. We all have to learn our own lessons our own way in the end. I don't know if this way of thinking is 'correct' or not, but it is how I am currently tending to view and consider things.

I'm getting my laptop fixed but I do have a video or two on there that I'd like to use, including an instructional on an energy-storage exercise I wrote and a demonstration of etherkinesis.

Welcome. The easiest way to post videos is to upload the video to youtube, and then you can post a link to the video in a post here. For the topics you mention above, the 'General Discussion' forum here would be a good place to post, and it is very active.

I don't want to pull this thread off topic, so I will try to keep this fairly brief. I personally think people are not incorrect when they say you must completely relax when practicing tai chi so as not to restrict the circulation of qi and blood, but always implicit in this relaxation is that we must also always maintain the structure of each form without being prone to collapsing too easily, i.e., we always have to maintain 'peng' throughout the body in each form. Also, going hand in hand with this, all parts of the body should remain connected as one whole through each form as well. I don't think this really differs with what Leandro said about tai chi above however. If there is any misunderstanding about this, it is probably mainly by people who are fairly new to tai chi or who do not practice tai chi at all.

I don't know what is high level and what is low level, but I have found the following to be effective for me. Helping others, calming emotions and desires, regular practice of practices such as quiet sitting, quiet standing, quiet reclining, and quiet and gentle movement sequences.

 

IMO, one should be able to do the above without incurring too much expense for the most part at all. The idea that some seem to hold that one must learn special 'advanced practices' which also may cost a lot of money and that sort of thing in order to have a chance of advancing far does not appear to be valid to me. You likely do need a sound system, but it shouldn't have to be complicated or expensive at all. The actual practices can be very simple.

 

Cultivation really seems to me to be a process of reducing and simplifying. As others have pointed out, regularly practicing diligently regardless of any ups and downs and apparent lulls in progress, would seem to be quite important. Having a good teacher as a guide is probably pretty essential as well, as although practices may be simple from the actual mechanics point of vew, many of us will likely still find all sorts of ways to get off track and to cause various problems for ourself. A skilled and accomplished teacher can help a lot to prevent or correct such problems, and to help keep us moving in the right direction. There seems to be a number of choices for teachers out there, so checking to see if what a teacher is teaching and emphasizing seems to be in line with much of the above might be a good start. Also, looking into a teacher's history and lineage can be helpful if you otherwise know very little about a teacher. Beware, as their certainly are people out there who seem to have no qualms about misrepresenting themself or what they teach in order to make money.

 

What I believe is likely to work against cultivation are things such as seeking of fame, fortune, and powers, being competitive, and holding oneself as more important than others, and that sort of thing.

 

That's my view anyway.

At least some quanzhen taoists are vegetarian and they practice internal cultivation (jing qi shen). Also shaolin monks are vegetarian, and traditionally besides external martial arts they also practiced internal cultivation. It would seem the that being vegan is not a barrier to internal cultivation.

 

 

 

 

It's a picture from 1939 of a look-alike to Jay-Z.

So some people are joking that Jay-Z may be an immortal or a vampire.

For example:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/14/1939-jay-z-look-alike_n_3271610.html

Jay-Z does appear to look a lot like the guy in the 1939 picture however.

 

 

 

I have visited a taoist temple (Hong Kong based) many times and participated in cermemonies and chanting, and I never saw anyone bowing to anyone else, whether to a taoist priest or anyone else, nor did I ever see anyone bring in fruit except in the case when it was time for the fruit on the alters to be changed, and one or more temple members would bring in the new fruit to replace the old fruit on the alters. Bowing was only done when people were offering incense at an alter or related. I am not saying that other temples wouldn't ever have such behavior as I have already mentioned that different temples may do things differently, or it may be specific to a certain regions. Just my own experience. At any rate, as long as a visitor is respectful you should be fine. In my experience taoists tend to be a lot more laid back and casual in general than you might find in some buddhist or other traditions.