Red Pheonix

As I come to the end of this post, a question reveals itself. For those of you who have stood, who have established that relationship, how longterm has it been for you? Is there a law of diminishing returns at work here, ie does standing pay off big time at the beginning, and not so much later on? At which time, would one be advised to move into a practice like taichi or the like?

 

ben

Hey Ben! I think posting is an extremely important aspect, it sounds to me like you're learning from a great teacher. I believe that posting for years helped some things to open up because I had stored internal energy. It's not really something that gets old, but it does evolve. Some times sitting in lotus is just like posting, only you're not sending the energy down your legs. 'Sit as if you are standing, stand as if you are sitting'. I wouldn't say it's a diminished return at all, in fact quite the opposite. If you feel like you're hitting a ceiling with it then you most likely need to take a break from it; I do that at times and after a few weeks the energy is insanely stronger when I return to the practice. There are some series of posts (like maoshan 5E) that I can only do so many times due to the intensity of the energy, this happens in general though; there are some practices that you can only do so often.

As for what to practice, it's all quite subjective! I would say continue with the Tai chi, it's the perfect place to be. When you've learned enough of that and want to learn more I would suggest Ba Gua, make sure you're learning from someone who teaches the internal aspect. Your Tai chi is a perfect base for it and it will teach you more explicit degrees of energy direction and integration. Xing yi is nice too.

If anyones new to posting, heres some dork outlining good posture basics for posting;

The worlds greatest martial art!? As if there is any question, I've got the proof right here if you think you can stomach it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_C0_EVFyTAI

Heres a video clip with some sounds/techniques for helping your kidneys. It's not a complete video, but it shows the sounds and some of the hand postures. This is generally done after you build up some energy and are already hot. These sounds help you to develop back breathing as well as attract ducks (although I'm unsure as to where that's going to come in handy).

Tai Chi Dancing at the Dallas Drum Circle

Wednesday Feb 23rd, 2011

This is not a workshop, rather an open invitation to come exchange energy with your brothers, sisters and Master Zhang! The Dallas Drum Circle has been going for 20 years now, it's a source of inspiration and medicine for all who share their hearts there. Dancing to the drums is certainly encouraged and what better place to express your Tai Chi!

Energy Skills and Techniques to be Attained

• Primordial Thunder (makes your drum go boom boom)
  
• The Solar Stance (how immortals give hugs)
  
• Red Phoenix cuts the rug (ancient dance move)
  
• Golden Monkey plays the sphere (is levitation cheating?)
  
• Red Dragon opens the gate (should occur sometime during the fire performances)
  

For more information please check out the event posting at;

http://www.qigongmaster.com/events/2011/02/23/tai-chi-dancing-dallas-drum-circle/index.php

Yours truly will also be in attendance, just look for the only didgeridoo player in Wudang robes. Oh yea, kinda like my picture lol. This is also a great spot in Dallas to meet up with like minded persons... one of the few watering holes where you can find internal medicine and the energy there gets pretty thick

I've been really meditating on the dan-tien everyday and it just doesn't seem to be doing anything special. Going to meditating classes though it seems to work really well when the teacher first tells you to open up the crown and get qi from the heavens and then root and get qi from the earth. But just focusing on the dan-tien by itself does nothing but relax the belly...

I think you're best off to find a good practice and be patient. It's kinda like the old story of the master and the student. The master says 'practice this for 10 years and you'll attain it'! The student says 'but what if I practice twice as hard'... master replies 'it'll take 20 years'.

Developing your lower and upper dan tiens have different requirements, you don't need to open your crown or upper energy centers to develop the lower dan tien; imo it's best to work on that stuff after you've developed the lower dan tien. That's not to say you can't do them all at once or that you shouldn't, just referring to what worked better for my body. I think posting/qigong and learning to 'return tiger to mountain' (to return your chi to your lower dan tien) is an excellent practice. Learning to breathe into your dan tien is important too, eventually you can learn to breathe both into your lower dan tien as well as your back (kidneys). Mine kicks like a baby at times, heat can instantly be generated in the lower dan tien with little intention... it WILL develop for you!

As for practical suggestions; perhaps just work on your breathing and meditation. Forget the visualizations at this point and work on the simple things; you can develop your lower dan tien without the visualizations initially (as you advance you can learn other techniques like Hunglung Zhuang). Work on your posting and qi gong, get used to returning your qi to your lower dan tien; even if you cannot feel it you are still developing the dan tien! If you develop it you will feel it much more when certain energies start to activate in your body.

There's 1 perspective for ya

This techique appears simple, involving visualisation of chi in the mouth and then swallowing audibly. I havent done it much myself yet since I'm only doing short fasts for now.

Very cool, thanks for sharing! There is a Long Men Pai technique that sounds like it's the same, I use it at the end of qigong sessions when I'm all up in the chi cloud lol. Basically you gather your saliva and love it, smack your mouth a little and work it around as you fill it with chi and the love of the universe... then swallow! I find it to be fun and practical, a good ice breaker for practitioners that get too serious... helps me to remember not to be so serious cause I have a problem with that sometimes lol.

Red Phoenix, would this qi water that sustains fasting practitioners be different from qi water that heals ailments?

I would say there is somewhat of a distinction between the two although they are very similar. Using water for creating Fu's has been around for a long time and many Taoist sects/lineages have different techniques. The Maoshan have several interesting techniques as does Wudang. In the end it's simply a mechanism to transfer your intention and energy; if you look at it that way then you are free to use the technique in a multitude of applications. I use my didgeridoo in the same way, simply applying the same technique to a different mechanism.

I really liked Zecharia Sitchen's stuff, it's too bad he died and can't publish more material.

He did a lot of great work, but imo he could never stay away from conjecture. A lot of the Sumerian transcripts are available online via university sites so we can read for ourselves. There are also other ancient texts to cross reference with, I would consider the book of enoch to be one of them. Sitchen would have done himself a lot more justice if he could stop himself from filling in blanks with conjecture. People who do that make it hard to believe anything they say, that really sucks in his case because he had so much great information to impart. In the end we have to go read for ourselves to separate the facts from his opinions; luckily we live in an age where we have great access to information! One should never fall short at believing just because they want to, I think it's better to access the facts ourselves when it's possible. That's just my opinion though which could be false as well, the only way you'll know is to read and find the truth

Yeah I don't mean to compare.. The Chi swallowing technique I learned from Chunyi Lin who has also fasted in meditation for very long periods of time and this is a technique he teaches. It is far beyond my capacity to evaluate the efficiency of either of these techniques Respect.

Sounds interesting, I'm curious about the technique if you wanna share. Does it involve charging your saliva and swallowing? That's a stranger technique I've learned, it's grown on me some though

Yes you can charge the water or simply swallow chi

I wouldn't exactly call that a fair comparison. These techniques come from people who actually go out and fast for months at a time; surely there is some wisdom in their experience? Personally I've not fasted for more than 2 weeks so I've little experience to draw on, I have to defer to the advice of the pros, but that's just me

As many of you may have read and experientially intuited, the kidneys are the batteries of our bio-electrical/chemical/magnetic physical beings

 

they are the source and generators of our physical vitality and sexual energy.

 

Now modern society, with all its toxins, stressors and lack of serenity, its drift from the natural rhythms of the universe and consequently a profound and chronic lack of uninterrupted sleep

(as well as our own karmic burdens) may have impaired our kidney function to the point where it is less than optimal for our beings at this instant in each of our lives.

 

 

To my limited knowledge, I understand that there are ways to remedy this.

 

There are several foods, tonic herbs, 'superfoods', teas, supplements, several acupressure/puncture points, specific physical and breathing exercises (including ways to urinate), even some sound syllables that i've heard may 'help' the kidney organ system to regenerate and ultimately, thrive.

 

 

 

I'd like to know what has truly worked for you, the reader?

 

Putting aside as much esoteric jargon and passed on knowledge, what practices, dietary additions / subtractions, and lifestyle changes have tangibly benefited your kidney health? (which I would say is intimately linked to one's libido and felt sense of sexual potency)

One approach would be to use 5 Elements practice to direct energy to your kidneys. There are literally hundreds of ways to do this, pretty much all Taoist Kung Fu lineages have this sort of practice incorporated in it. Personally I'll use Bagua or Maoshan 5E to do this. I practice Bagua a lot so that helps in a more general sense; the Maoshan 5E really hammers it home though. If I practice that too often my kidneys will become overactive and I'll be peeing every 15 mins. It's the last of the 5 Elements in the order that I practice them, by the time I get to the kidneys the force is immense; it's like wearing a massive magnetic belt.

Red Pheonix; I took a quick look at your link It said water will be provided.

No mention of cost? Feel free to PM me. No pun intended

Yea, I just posted that this week, waiting for Master Zhang to get back in town so I can extract the rest of the details Cost will be reasonable, Master Zhang is a genuine person when it comes to that sort of thing; he's more into sharing his heritage than making money. I'll start a thread as soon as I get the rest of the info on there, in the mean time feel free to PM me with any questions or requests.

I know he plans on fasting and wants students to join him for what ever duration they choose. Easier for him to do that sort of thing, he frequently does it and sustains himself with chi. Heck they guy doesn't even sleep... in fact I've a feeling he's looking over my shoulder at this very moment *plays twilight theme* lol

I'm currently fasting every Tuesday for 36 hours. Nothing special bout Tuesday, it's just practical for me

 

This is my fourth week and it seems to get easier. Today there's been no headache nor nausea. Steady energy levels. The first couple of tuesday I experienced emotional sensitivity and something like a more open heart. Today it's not as pronounced but there's still a special feeling.

 

I fast with only water and herb teas. I recommend this approach as training for longer fasts and it's also detoxing if you do it longer than 24 hours since that is when the toxins start moving. Gives a nice perspective to food too. Today I'm baking cookies for the kids to make it a bit more challenging

There is a Longmen Pai technique for creating chi water; it's a method many have used to sustain themselves while fasting. I don't know if there is any public documentation of the method, but you may be able to find something. At the end of April we're doing a week long retreat in the high desert of California, this technique will be taught by Grandmaster Zhang, we'll have all week long to practice it

So when it comes to emotions and such there's two basic theories (that I'm aware of) that seem to be in contradiction of each-other.

 

The first is that if we don't allow ourselves to experience/express emotions then we end up repressing them where they stay "unprocessed" and usually some kind of "regurgitation" is needed to re-experience and express them in order to be "free" of them. This seems to be the consensus of most "shamanic" cultures and certain "spiritual" sects that are now appearing.

 

The second theory is that we simply lack discipline and that we should work at learning to controlling our minds as the mind is a tool that when out of control can cause us to suffer with excessive thoughts and emotions. From my observations it seems most yogic texts and even Buddhist texts support this and call for strict observation and eventually control over one's thoughts/emotions.

 

Perhaps these aren't in conflict, I'm not sure. From my current perspective they seem to be opposites and I'm not quite sure which one would be true. What are your thoughts on this matter. Do you think controlling our thoughts/emotions leads to enlightenment/mastery of mind or does it lead to repression?

 

-Astral

I think emotions reflect what's inside of us. Since it's just a reflection we shouldn't worry about them per say, but worry about the source that is reflecting them. I'm an emotionally intense being; my anger is intense, my love is intense and the way I feel others is intense. I wouldn't trade that for the world though and it's only an issue when I have the wrong things in my heart. Trying to control your emotions, to me, seems more like trying to control the smoke from a fire... why not just control the fire? It's not even so much a matter of control, as your heart changes so do your thoughts as well as your emotions. Your emotions are a beautiful thing so long as they're reflecting something true. In the end I think it's best to let them be and work on seeing the world in such a way that your heart reacts more in compassion... then you're going to emanate beautiful emotions!

Hello Red Phoenix,

 

I'm not particularly focused on experiencing the Golden Flower, but the basic meditation method was what I used to base my current technique off of. I was simply curious if my sensations had any relation to the "center" mentioned in the meditation, but after re-reading the method I don't think they do, unless indirectly.

 

 

 

 

That sounds like an interesting and practical progression. I'd have a hard time with the mental relaxation part though, my visualization abilities are almost nonexistent. I can only hold a steady visualization for a few seconds before it distorts, disappears, or gets crowded out with mental noise. Concentrated focus in general is a weak spot for me, which is why I'm pretty happy with the progress I'm making with my current practice. I seem to be starting to get a hang for focusing again, although I still can only do it for seconds at a time uninterrupted.

 

Actually, let me amend that...in certain cases my visualization abilities are better, like when daydreaming. But even then, things tend to occur in flashes of images, events becoming aggregated into "packages" of sorts, sort of like what I assume happens in the cases where people have dreams that seem to last an inordinately long amount of time.

 

Years of wasting hours upon hours every day playing video games has pretty much shot my ability to concentrate...I tend to go into a trance when gaming (or sometimes when reading) and my mind just kind of daydreams it's way through the experience, making up stories or details to add to the experience and chase after whatever emotional sensation is desired at that particular time (power, sex, admiration, etc...) Fortunately these days I'm much too busy to spend more than a few hours a week gaming.

 

Sort of unrelated...do you have experience using entheogens for inner journeys? I seem to recall you mentioning it in a post somewhere, but I'm not sure if it's a mistaken identity.

I don't know about the entheogens, someone else would have to answer that one. There are lot's of things that you can use meditation for, but getting a solid foundation is key and often times something that's skipped. I can relate to being non visual, that's not something I'm natively good at; this has it's benefits though... when I see something amazing in meditation I know it's not me because I don't visualize that way lol. Visualization is key for some things though, I find it gets easier as I'm able to get deeper.

At some time I'll record a session where I program the anchors for the 3 levels, it'll be something you can just sit down and follow along with. I've had people tell me that they've never been that deep after 1 session, people who thought they couldn't meditate. I think it's a solid technique that'll work for a lot of people, I'll post it here when I get around to recording it If you use the recording a few times you'll notice that your body will respond to the anchors as you recall them, you can get to your deepest state in 30 seconds or so... NLP is awesome!

I was meditating on less pride recently when a realization came to me that others truths are as important (sometimes even more important) to them as my own are to me. Like its one thing to just parrot those words. But to really understand that wars have been started because of others trying to force their own truths or beliefs onto others. Arguments and losses of friendships erupt when this lack of understanding occurs.

 

I've noticed recently, in little disagreements of my own that something as silly as music, I almost felt obliged to correct the person for saying "Dumbest thing I ever heard." Like the song deteriorated the meaning for myself because he disliked the song...lol all an ego-trip. On this occasion, I actually caught myself though and I replied with a simple(while a bit painful)"Okay."

 

Moved on. No argument and no hard feelings. We remained friends and there was no trouble.

 

What are your thoughts and experience?

You've certainly found a great thing to find resolution for (pride), it's an obstacle that every person reading this thread has to deal with. I recently went though a similar course of discovery so I'll share what I discovered with you. I believe that in the end, we can find a place where indifference doesn't bother us; it's all about your perspective though.

At first I thought that pride only stemmed from ego or the identity that we choose to associate ourselves with. For example, a guy has a great self image because he's a muscle bound man with money and a nice car. If you threaten his self image then pride pops up and causes him to act like an ass, or perhaps life threatens his self image; let's say he looses his car and money... now he's afraid to face the world because he can only accept himself as the perfect image that he decided he was. This is a true scenario and it illustrates the idea that we must be ok with being nothing... to know our true identity which is not a material one.

Last fall I was shown a new perspective which helped me with my pride. I realized that much of my pride stemmed from entitlement... and oh man is that a nasty sort of pride. We feel entitled to a thing we are unwilling to accept anything else. It's easy for our opinions to become something that we feel entitled to, then we become all to serious about enforcing our agenda and blind ourselves. In the end, all entitlement and pride stem from insecurity and not knowing ones self. In the end we can find our substance in love, it's the only thing that you can associate with yourself no matter what. No matter what you go through or what you loose, you always have love (if you choose to).

I also started to realize the connection between judgement and pride. Judgment is a nasty thing too, it will pile so much crap up on your heart that it can't even see the light of day. In my efforts to curve my judgement, I was also able to curve my pride. It's ok to observe a thing, but judgement is when you set your heart against that thing and it's easier to do than we might think. In the end, judgement just binds us and blinds us; it also incurs karma. It may take time to get to where we can stop judging things, but it's a beautiful way to be. When you're not worried about judging things, your pride doesn't rear it's ugly head so much. For myself, reading the book of proverbs (in the bible) was a major help in understanding the mechanics of judgement and pride. It has a lot of simple and straight forward observations which are born of wisdom herself, if you simply follow the advice there you'll learn soooo much and gain wisdom. Even still, we're humans and that's a great task in its self. King Solomon wrote most of proverbs, it's said that god gave him wisdom beyond that of any man... he did so because when he asked Solomon what he wanted, his reply was wisdom to rule people... a non selfish request. What happened to that guy in the end though? He went against his own rules and wisdom, he went out like any other fool although he did leave us with a great literary legacy. Just goes to show, being a human is hard!

You're walking in a great direction brother, I'm glad that you shared this with us... it's something we all wrestle with

Very interesting stuff Immortal4life.

 

Seems fairly well known to most the Jesus must have gone through the whole alchemical process at some stage.

 

As far as I can see all the traditions involving some form of cultivation/meditation have this at some stage. I doubt Jesus and the Essenes were any different.

To understand Jesus and his relationship to our species, one has to look back to The Book of Enoch and also cross reference that with the Summerian texts (not Zacheria Sitchin who is full of himself). To give you a short summation, 'The Son of Man' was first mentioned in this book which was written by Enoch (Noah's great grandfather). After the 'watchers' (or annunaki in the summerian) screwed up our species it was said that he had to be sent back to us to correct what happened. There are indications that he was the 1st cultivated 'earth' spirit (as distinguished from heaven spirits). Even in Revelations it says he was 'the 1st born of the dead'. Honestly, if you've not read 'The Book of Enoch' go give it a whirl, it lends a whole new perspective on not only our species, but also on the relationship between Christ and mankind. If nothing else it's a riveting story!

I had a very interesting meditation experience last night.

 

While focusing on the sensation of breath moving in and out of my nostrils, as I developed more focus I noticed that I began feeling more of my nose as a whole. There was also a new sensation, and it felt like something...solid, but not solid (don't know how to describe it) inside of my nose. In a way, it seemed like I could sense my awareness resting in that spot, almost like an anchor point of some kind was being developed that my awareness could hone in on. (Out of curiosity, could this be related to the "center" talked about the in Golden Flower Meditation method on J.J. Semple's site, for those who are familiar with it?)

 

However, more profound than that was what I noticed after the meditation. When walking over to my friends house, I continued to practice the deep breathing I use in my meditation, and I noticed that my sense of smell was much sharper...in addition, I felt very content and was able to enjoy just walking outside much more than I normally do...I noticed that none of the anxiety or stress thought patterns were actively running in my mind. Happily, this noticing and acknowledgment of their absence didn't trigger their return either. I noticed that just simply performing the deep breathing increased my presence in the moment, sharpening my focus on the now.

 

It's nice to see some more obvious effects of my practice coming out.

 

The rest of the night was very calm and enjoyable...I was not caught up in patterns of worry or stress.

I'll toss my hat in here... it's big n round so if you don't like the advice you can always grab some tequila and do the sombrero dance

Golden Flower: I can only speak from my experience and I'm quite certain that people experience the Golden Flower in different ways, but I'll share with you how it happened for me. 1st off, I never experienced it when trying to cultivate it. I pursued it's cultivation from a passive perspective not seeking any particular outcome (doing so will often times prevent cultivation in most all Taoist practices). When it did open there was no mistaking it, I experienced a large rotating light in my minds eye, it was quite consuming spiritually. There was nothing subtle about it, it was like a psychedelic experience only natural. It also opens when it needs to, it's nothing I can make happen, but when it does happen it's because it's supposed to.

As for meditation, there are many techniques that people try; a lot of them work because they distract your conscious mind, but that does NOT help you increase your meditation skill or help you emotionally, it only defers the inevitable. If you have 'chatter' then listen to the chatter, observe what is in your heart. Meditation is just the tool to help you to do this, another useful tool is watching the things that come out of your mouth when you're conscious because you will 'speak' your attachments. These are flags that will point the way to internal issues that you need to resolve, when you start to address the desires that bind your heart you will be able to get much deeper without using tricks. In doing this you will realize how selfish the human mind is, how long can you go without thinking about yourself? You can do all the fancy breathing and chanting you want, but that isn't going to resolve the things that are binding you... although it might make you popular in the Hindu community! That's not to say that breathing isn't important, it's very important, but if it's just used as a distraction then it's not doing the job it's intended to. In the end I find myself segregating my time, sometimes I practice mediation where I focus on breathing/posture and sometimes I do not. This allows me to develop good posture/breathing habits and at the same time allow myself room to experience the actual meditation; in time the two will merge.

When I teach meditation I start out with the very basics. 1st is physical relaxation (tell each part of your body to relax), then mental relaxation (mentally go to a beach or some place you enjoy and experience it) and lastly being at meditation level which I deepen further with things like counting backwards from 10 to 1 (self hypnosis/NLP for deepening). I'll also use NLP to help students associate anchors with these 3 states, once a student can get to a deep level using this technique then they're ready to start learning things like breathing and dealing with emotional issues.

It's kinda like little baby Jesus said... be still, shut the hell up and know that I am God! If you can sit and not think about yourself then everything will be shown to you If you're thinking about yourself then how can you see anything else?

It sounds like you're doing quite well with this though, the more time you spend 'listening', the more you'll start tapping into things like increased senses and intuition

No back breathing? Oh yea... that's still super Taoist secret *giggles*

Good advice, thanks! No, unfortunately there is no longer anyone who teaches either of those arts nearby. There was a Taiji Quan teacher in a town about 40 minutes away that I used to go to quite a bit but he has moved away. Thanks for the link!

Hey Buck! I think it's a lot more about how you do a thing than what you are doing. You can do Tai Chi forms and get little benefit from them because your mind isn't in the right place. On the other end of the spectrum you can forgo Qigong and gain the same benefit from a martial practice like Bagua because of 'how' you are doing it. It's all in how we choose to observe a thing.

I think Gerard makes an excellent point with the standing meditation; this is a fundamental of many Kung Fu lineages. Even something as simple as Wudangs shingle palm stance brings great benefit; it also forces your mind to over ride your body which may not be able to 'endure'. When you get to the spot to where you mind doesn't care about your body's pain then you are free to experience things in a new way. Personally I enjoy the Maoshan 5 elements, I do each element for 10 minutes a piece for a total of 50 minutes of standing meditation. I also choose this because it is a solid incorporation of 5 elements which you will also find in most all Taoist Kung fu. When I post I use the timer on my iphone, I set it and place it where I cannot see it; the last thing I want is to be 'counting' the time. In the end, the energy is so intense that I love it, to be sustained in an immense magnetic force is just incredible!

My workout starts with stretching and Daoyin, that let's me switch from a highly active 'alpha' state of mind to a more meditative state. Even in my stretching I consider the energy and take my time, I make sure I have good posture and also a smile within. I find that my days are also better when I take some time in the mornings to stretch; it kinda sets the pace for my day and gives me a moment to remind myself of who I am before the busy day takes over. And last but not least, each day is brighter when I remember to thank God for the day and for the love that's shown to me, for showing me that love which can teach me to love even myself! That love which lifts all things and reveals our true hearts when we are willing to forgo that pride which destroys us (my experience anyhow). How beautiful, how intense, how perfect is that law, that wisdom which is love

um... did i miss something? Chris is no longer affiliated? could someone explain, or at least give me a link?

Chris hasn't been affiliated for some time although he controls the Kunlunbliss.com website. Several years ago Max and Diana made a sort of split and Chris went on to manage Kan and set up events for him. At this time, Kan has moved on to representing himself which is a good thing. I've only met Chris once, but I could sense what I felt was great conflict within him; I would not have him manage my business or represent Taoist arts period. My senses could be absolutely be wrong, then again...

I do not have direct communication with Chris so I can only represent what I've been told (which is 1 side of things). I do talk to Max and Diana from time to time so this information was given to me directly from them. I've trained with both Max and Kan although I do not represent myself as a facilitator; I'm more into the martial lineages and since I want to train with high level masters I do my best not to muttle my martial history and connections (you know how scrutinizing some masters can be). I can say that both Max and Kan have lot of great things to share, Diana is a beautiful person who has shown only sweetness even under pressure. I was there 1st hand to witness some of the photos taken as well; I'm not about to enter a debate on these items, but it does make me shake my head when I read some of the posts in the other thread. In the end, when people get into that sort of discussion it's often best to just stay clear; even if I were to lend what I perceive to be clarity, it would only be met with more argument.

I'm sure that things won't be clear when you're looking for an answer on the Chris Tittle subject, I think people are trying to walk a balance between getting to a better place and not representing internal/organizational problems. I'm sure that anyone in this situation would want to handle it with a delicate hand.

Let me begin by apologizing for my ignorance.

 

I am new here and know next to nothing about Taoism aside from what I have read on the Internet and a couple of books (The Complete Idiot's Guide to Taoism and The Truth of Tao by Alex Anatole, the latter of which left me completely baffled). Since I registered here I have been reading through a lot of the posts and I have seen topics ranging from Tarot to Qabalah to Ritual Magic(k) to Martial Arts and so on. My confusion probably stems from a childhood of very fundamentalist Christian teachings, then as an adult to Jodo Shinshu Buddhism. Both have very firm "boundaries", for lack of a better term, basically meaning "you have to believe this---you cannot do that". But I do not like that sort of thing since it makes me feel fenced in.

 

I guess my main question would be along the line of "Is following Taoism akin to following your own tao (or Way)"? Or is there some set of guidelines that you "have to believe this--don't do that" sort of thing.

 

I ask because I honestly want to learn, and when I am honest with myself I found that I don't like the "fenced in" feeling of so many religions/belief systems (at least the ones I am familiar with). I find myself at a month away from being 45 yrs old not really knowing where to turn. I have a wonderful wife and 3 sons, I am a lucky man... but I feel something is missing spiritually if that makes any sense.

You'll end up with a few different responses to this sort of question which is a good thing; everyone experiences their path in their own way. 2 people can walk the exact same path and have 2 different experiences that may even seem to conflict with each other... that's our world though; experienced through a multitude of observers. I'll share some of my experience with you though.

With respect to the Tao; my path was through Internal Kung Fu. Most Kung Fu can be segregated into Buddhist or Taoist Kung Fu, many of the techniques are the same, however the philosophy is not. My experience in the Tao came mostly from shutting up and doing, that's how a lot of it happens. For me, it's a combination of mind, body and spiritual growth that's found by practicing both the external (kung fu) and the internal (meditation). I always thought of mind/body/spirit as something that was separate before, but now feel as if I am a more whole entity through their unification. I think that Tai Chi and meditation is an excellent place to start, it's a long journey. I can't really see a person understanding the Tao without practicing Kung Fu (to include meditation, qi gong and nei gong), but that is only my perspective.

With respect to spirituality; learn to meditate if you want to be closer to God; if you want to hear him speak then realize that you do not know and leave room inside of yourself so that you can receive. For myself, God is a living entity that is quite available if you are. God's energy is felt in everything, all I have to do is go outside, close my eyes and I'll instantly be sedated with the majesty that surrounds me. Through internal practices you can cultivate new spiritual gifts which are quite beautiful. For instance, I cultivated the Golden Flower through internal Taoist practices; it never turned on when I was practicing to cultivate it, but it turns on sometimes when I'm praying for someone. To me, this is a grand illustration of the divine law found in our universe. How beautiful and perfectly natural is it for this to activate when I am helping my brother/sister... a spinning light opens in the spirit world and I am consumed by the Tao. In my efforts to cultivate such things I've learned so much about myself, meditation is a tool that will help you to look inside and let go of those things which have bound you.

This place can be a little extra confusing because you'll ask a question then get a bunch of answers from people who follow Hindu or Buddhist religions. The people here are kind and accepting to large degrees and it's good to have such an open format, but in my opinion you cannot be mixing yoga and Taoist cultivation; in some cases it's dangerous to do so (energetically speaking). In each thread you'll constantly have to distinguish between the Taoists, Buddhists and Yogis, but in the end this is the place to get a lot of great information

I just received the email on this. Primordial Alchemist is now an LLC. Kunlun has been trademarked. Strange!

For those who do go out, I hope you have better things in your heart than were illustrated in the 'recent' thread which represents 3 years of dissention and bickering. It would be a shame to go out there and not have an open heart cause you'll not learn a thing and essentially waste your time right? Besides, if you want to be a Taoist you're going to have to learn to behave like one

Primordial Alchemist should be an LLC, if you're going to do events like this it might be good to have a legal entity to represent the organization. As for the trademarking, after all the mess with Chris Tittle representing them I can certainly understand their wanting to bring clarity to something they started. A lot of what was represented in the other thread was Mr Tittle's doing, but since many do not know what they're talking about, his deeds got thrown into the mix and used to discredit Max.

Long story short, if you have love in your heart and want to learn then go check it out for better or worse! If you are an accuser just looking for a place to point a finger then save yourself the trouble, close your account here and simply go outside where you can join the rest of your kind lol. Being a Taoist is beautiful... let your water flow!

Hi Red Pheonix. I'm looking for retreats with a rather long time period. From months up to years of duration. So it's the more exotic ones.

Ooooo luck you! If that's the case I'd try China if you can I believe that 2 months is about the max you can stay without an invitation from someone out there. You can get a sort of business invite to stay longer although I know very little about that.

Hello Taobums. I have been enjoying this site from afar.

Many taoist ideas resonnate with me. Many buddhist ideas resonnate with me.

In fact i am interested in all ancient beliefs.

I am a newbie , so please excuse my ignorance

What distinguishes tao from wuji?

I think Taomeow did a great job of explaining this!

I'll present a dumbed down version of one aspect.

We have Wuji, Tai Chi and Yin/Yang. This is the chain of events which is the essence of Tai Chi.

On one end we have Wuji, which is the stillness; to be aware of everything yet focused on nothing. On the other end we have Yin/Yang which is the physical expression of energy. Tai Chi is what happens in between Wuji and our energy expression. So to have Tai Chi you must attain Wuji.

One way of looking at it