GreytoWhite

This is well said. From personal experience I can tell you that the negative has great power. I sacrificed much of my health for material gain in the past few years and still have much ahead of me on my recovery path. When my grandfather died a few years ago I sacrificed the religious practice I found the most solace in to drink away my worries and depression. This choice only deepened my troubles, I suffered a minor heart attack shortly after yet I was "enjoying" my life much more. It was an incompatibility of belief and action with the negative being my main conduit for power. I again did something similar when I sacrificed my health for a job. I suffered a small stroke that led to many months of depression, aphasia, and much physical degeneration. The culture of the workplace was something I tried to emulate but when there was aggression against me and mine I came to see that I had made the wrong decision. Granted there were "external" factors involved in my health as well however in my practice I have found that the external alchemical is easier to control and the internal practice is much more effective for long term recovery. Now someone who is psychopathic in nature may have an entirely different outcome and may well thrive physically, emotionally, and energetically from cultivation of destruction. I have done much lately to counter such actions that were taken against those I love. It is much easier for me to fight within my moral spectrum and use what I know for protection and healing. The proper use of just anger and hatred for evil is almost as powerful in my experience as the application of love. Granted the energy drain is there but I have much to atone and fatigue is a companion I know well.

Pure concentration is preferable over focus on a material object. When it comes to material objects the Yucatec Mayans were scientists at heart and would observe the properties of such an item and its various methods of function. Visualization is typically set for mindful meditation. That said, there are varied items of focus such as crystals used by highly trained individuals for their purposes. Astral projection, telekinesis, and telepathy are considered very high level skills to be used by those who worked hard at the mental and physical aspects first. Using this perception too early can lead to something similar to "qigong illness" as I most recently experienced. My first experience with this mind practice led me to be privileged to speak with "gods" and discuss with them my viewpoints on the world. I had to go through further trials here in the lower planes but I was granted a mate and many new friends that I needed. This is not a typical experience. I had been practicing modified bigu for a little over a year, Inner Smile, Macrocosmic Orbit in my neigong practice, used various entheogens and supplements, as well as Baha'i/Sufi meditation to obtain that level of communication in the ethereal. I nearly lost my sanity as this was unexpected and very difficult to communicate to anyone unfamiliar with it. Without the assistance of Baha'u'llah himself I would have died because my brain was overheating. I am a stroke patient and this level of practice was not what I was trying to achieve, rather I was simply adopting the most efficient internal and external practices to heal myself. The numerical practice was not something I was taught. My teacher gave me the numerology and my mind intuitively used the practice once I understood how it could be applied to visualization. The levels of perception I encountered were enabled by my familiarity with the concepts of high level mathematics and physics as well as my understanding of evolutionary and human biology. The link below speaks of some of what I was able to visualize. This is a very powerful practice and much like anything else of high mind technology posted here I caution those that would use it to do so with the utmost care. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=milnor-abel-prize-2011

As a disabled individual from personal experience I can tell you that knowledge of self is more important to understanding than the physical state. That said, it's a hell of a lot easier when one's body is in good shape.

The Sea

As someone of various Native American descent from the United States as well as Mexico mixed with Caucasian I wonder if it has different effects on people of different genotypes. Almost all of the bad experiences I've heard first hand have been from people of Caucasian descent. It's an interesting thought but it's just my personal experience, nothing more.

I have not tried DMT but it is similar in description to some of my own deep spiritual meditative work. That said, I would try it. Salvia on the other hand was not pleasant or enlightening but it certainly expanded my view of my self. I smoked an 80x salvia batch along with tobacco and a JWH-018 blend from my local shop. After about two minutes a 3' square area around me was as it should have been and the rest of my bedroom turned into the cosmos. I watched black holes form, nebulas expand and coalesce into stars, I witnessed galactic collisions. It was too intense. I turned back around and looked into the mirror. My body split into pages of a book and my whole body opened up from the bottom of my book spine that originated in my feet. I then found myself naked and had an incredibly difficult time getting my underwear back on. I was still in book form and decided it would be best if I lie down. The book of my body opened from the cover side of my head and the pages flitted over as the rest of my body caught up to my dive into my bean bag. After coming together again I looked at the ceiling and it turned into jigsaw puzzle pieces that ticked loudly. I looked around my room and the furniture and fixtures were larger puzzle pieces like those found in a doctor's office for very young children. I then came back to normalcy in a puddle of sweat. There was no sense of euphoria, just the sheer intensity of what I had experienced. I do not recommend salvia to those who are simply looking to experiment. It can open perception to many things but my Mayan teacher has said it is for those who are well down their path. His grandfather kept a cud many times. I may try it again in the future but based on the first actual trip (smoked it many times before I hallucinated) it would definitely be something I would treat with much greater respect and ceremony.

I have been learning Chen chansigong for a while now. I've learned a little of the Wudang and recently had the chance to participate in a I Liq Chuan lesson. I've found that taiji is taiji just a shift of focus. That said I prefer Chen and Wudang most but it's up to you for what you want.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/25681429/Spiritual-Brain I've been reading this lately. Much of the information is not new to me but it is well compiled. It definitely caters to my interest in neuroscience and how my cultivation may work on a physical level.

It's a good line of inquiry for sure. I still have a case of burnout because when that started working again I gained certain Upper Dantian sensory abilities I was not expecting or any where close to trained to use. It was a combination of herbal medicine, diet, proper cultivation, taiji/bagua/xingyi practice, as well as a lower stress environment that contributed to my healing process. It was an incredible experience to say the least.

I have found Bagua to be rich in cultivation techniques. I recently was banned from EmptyFlower. I reached a point of epiphany and was told that my information was not wanted. Haha. I would recommend taking a look at Dr. Michael Guen's stuff on there it's pretty interesting to say the least. http://www.eztakes.com/ has a bunch of instructional videos you can stream freely.

Nothing overtly Christian in it so far. It has mentioned that Christianity as the predominant religion of Western culture has influenced certain paternal godhead assumptions in psychiatry. I think one of the studies involves nuns but I have yet to come across any sort of agenda other than attempting to have spirituality viewed as something more than just physical. RyanO brain damage is definitely something of interest to me. I've had multiple TIAs, a concussion, and much physical abuse throughout my life and my brain is definitely damaged. I recently had an experience in my cultivation practice that my teacher and I think was part of my brain healing or becoming reactivated. It was quite incredible and a daunting experience.

I don't like to sound as if I am pimping my blog. I recently came through some deep experiences that have left me fried. I have to rebuild my energy as I used much of it to heal myself and come to information that my Mayan teacher has deemed worth sharing with the world. http://internalpowersac.blogspot.com/ I am dedicating myself to learning the Yucatec Mayan language over the next year before making pilgrimage to the peninsula for winter solstice next year. I have been invited for some time but have not been fully aware of the impact such an invitation entails before now. I hope I can answer any questions you may have and I will always defer to my teacher for those questions beyond me. Matt

I have been using Chen taiji silk reeling neigong and various qigong exercises to rehabilitate after a minor heart attack and some small strokes. In conjunction with dietary change I have lost 50 lbs and I am regaining vitality, strength, balance, muscle control, hand eye coordination, and memory.