RobB

Wonderful, Steve - thanks for this. All the best to everyone here (and those no longer here who we wish would come back) for 2022!

I saw this posted by a friend of mine a couple of days ago. It resonated with me on the theme of repetitive practices and not being diverted by the 'novel' or the 'colourful'. 'In the modern world repetition and naivety go hand in hand. Sophistication is the highest virtue - the search for endless variety, for ways to keep scattering our longing in entertainments and distractions, in different things to do and say. Even the attempts we make to improve ourselves, become wiser and more interesting or successful, are just methods of running from the hollowness we all feel inside. So we get everything upside down and back to front, mistaking sophistication for maturity and hardly noticing that there's nothing more repetitious than the desire for variety. It needs tremendous focus, and immense intensity, to break through the wall of appearances that surround us and that we think of as reality. Most people paint their wall in different colours and then imagine they're free.' - Peter Kingsley, 'In the Dark Places of Wisdom'.

Could also look at: https://www.daxuanschoolsydney.com/. It's quite an integrated practice and if it suits you - it suits you. Good luck with your search

Hej*! A type of Sitting and Forgetting forms part of the Shen Dan in Daxuan school. (https://sergeaugier.com/courses/daoist-cultivation/) There are some long term students in Oslo who might be able to discuss further (in Norwegian!) : [email protected] * Sorry - Swedish I know...

Serge Augier https://sergeaugier.com/

Initial Experiences with the Kabbalah: Bob Smith and Riordan Phobos https://www.amazon.co.uk/Initial-Experiences-Kabbalah-Rordan-Phobos-ebook/dp/B09J1WBPXC/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=Initial+Experiences+With+The+Kabbalah&qid=1634202134&qsid=258-1059690-1366666&sr=8-3&sres=B09HQ1TBD1%2CB07H93PKN1%2CB07ZVLSRSM%2CB08JVJMBFF%2CB08JVKR37T%2CB08V4BDXC1%2CB08DG49M7V%2CB07HRM7YTM%2CB08DG5PFDJ%2CB08DG496TT%2CB08DG48KH4%2CB08DG4SSVG%2CB08DG5VMWT%2CB08DG5YKPW%2CB08JGXRZG3%2CB0779CGJK4&srpt=ABIS_BOOK One of the authors posts as Peacedog on the Rumsoakedfist forum and has (also 'I think') occasionally posted here as @peacedog94. He always writes entertainingly whether you agree with him or not so likely to be well worth a read!

https://youtu.be/3q8nGnls1Ow

All the very best @Earl Grey - hope your experience is one of the shorter, smoother, ones.

Currently, it's about seeking stillness. Every session I set myself up, find the stillest bit of me and dive in. Let the stillness envelop me and await developments. Sometimes its a physical reaction - a realignment, release whatever. Sometimes it's my mind that starts to come up with stuff. I try to stay vigilent and sincere. When I realise my focus has drifted elsewhere, I seek out the stillest point -whether that be in my mind or my body, rinse and repeat. I'm really surprised this is turning out to be such a physical process. Sometimes it's about stting in the stillness and appreciating that my body and mind need to sort themselves out and find their way towards joining me.

I claim no expertise here but this all seems to exemplify the strong contractive (which can appear as divisive) dynamic of Metal. We're all disappearing into our own 'walled gardens' for whatever reason makes sense to us. If it is the current Wu Xing dynamic then so be it but I appreciate the efforts of @steve et al to try and reach across the walls and keep some balance in the face of the zeitgeist.

https://www.shambhala.com/remembering-thomas-cleary/?fbclid=IwAR1LnYnA1OdtNUA8A62Dkk54IbSkoXda3q6MylznoAGt_E6tDKSfgas5svs One of the constant names from my reading over the years. RIP.

William Blake Vs The World is a great read. The author, John Higgs, has also written books on Leary and the KLF. It has a lot about Blake's personal mythology and the nature and role of the divine imagination. The Moore book only arrived today but is bound to be an adventure!

In our school , we say that whatever your reason for starting practice, it's generally not a good reason. However, it's what got you practicing so... My teacher has referred to martial arts as the 'Royal road'. It develops and strengthens your physical body (yin) and gives you plenty of opportunities for exchange with others (which helps avoid some of the delusions which might arise from solitary practices). It gives you a chance to directly work with fear and other confronting emotions. It gives you the confidence to occupy your own space and to remain relaxed in complicated situations. It also enables you to crush your enemies, drive them before you and hear the lamentation of their women. 10/10 would recommend.

I couldn't state definitively that I have experienced anything like that from circle walking specifically. My practice has brought multiple changes but whether that has come from my Shen Gong/Shen Dan sitting practice or other exercises like Bagua is hard to delineate - they all seem to work together on the same qualities. At the moment both my sitting and moving practices seem to be drawing me towards a closer relationship to a central axis. This is not something that I have sought or had laid out for me - it is just something that seems to be happening. Currently, Bagua seems to be enabling greater relaxation in movement which in turn leads to greater awareness in general. This might make it a bit like qigong from your point of view. As I relax, I become increasingly aware of changes of heat, pressure etc in various areas of the body. The more the physical aspects get 'locked in' the further the attention can go inward.

I've been circle walking for roughly a year, most days, 30 mins per day. As you say, one advantage is you're doing the same thing over and over again and can concentrate on trying to get all of your internals to line up rather than what move comes next. Every step is a golf swing - with all the attendant frustrations! Benefits? You know how it is - I feel better for doing it but not a huge list of things I could put my finger on. It has balanced out some binding in my knees and lower legs - although there is still a long way to go. Better balance. The twisting in my arms has produced some visible development. Overall though I feel that I am working towards a unification of the body. Recently, the upper body seems to have settled into a focussed unit - just today I realised that the two steps are driven by the same inward twist in the legs. Some days it seems I can feel how far my sole is from the ground. I can be completely aware of my hand at the same time as trying to refine the movement of my legs. Every days is different. And the interesting stuff always happens in the last few circles...

This guy seems to have found contentment. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/apr/16/experience-ive-had-the-same-supper-for-10-years

Write to your local University? Or even a non-local one - many researchers are OK with unsolicited contact even if they can't always devote a huge amount of time. Really helps if you do your research and find someone who is already working in the same specific area that you are interested in.

@daojones - sounds rough. I've had 'no sugar' periods recommended to me but it sounds like your lifestyle already has that covered. Have you had a formal diagnosis? It looks like there are a number of varieties of candida - some fairly drug-resistant.

Cut out sugar. Like, properly. Including all of the things that contain sugar or turn directly into sugar i.e. grains, flour, pasta etc. Give it 100 days and see where that gets you. There is a good article (not candida-specific) on the no-sugar process here. Actually the proper 'good' article is linked from that one and you can go direct here.

<fx: consults Yi Jing> Could go either way...

Thanks @Apech, I shall gird my loins!

We don't use visualisation, at least at the beginning (*). Don't worry about your fingers either. People have cultivated in all sorts of situations for a very long time. * - maybe not at all - I'm only at the beginning!