theurgy

Greetings Bums, I have been enjoying the new Kunlun book and have been practicing the basic kunlun posture for an hour per day as indicated. I was wondering based on the experiences of those who have attended seminars, worked with Max via Skype, etc how one would sequence the other practices in the book? Would it be too much to do some of every practice 5 days a week? Based on the recommendations of the book, the basic posture is the most important and one must experiment with adding the others as is comfortable. Seems to me Balancing the 5 elements is just as critical as the basic posture IMHO. What do y'all Kunluners think?

Dear Taobums, (fyi: predominately sexually detailed post to follow) Recently a dear friend confided in me that she has never experienced an orgasm with another person--ever. She has no problem achieving orgasms by herself with or without a vibrator. Her sexual history is odd in that she has slept with a decent amount of guys, lots of one night stands, etc but she reported that she has never really liked any of them. She also self-identifies as bisexual but hasn't had nearly as much experience with women. She has even participated in group sex and attended sex parties. I also suspect she watches a fair amount of porn. Now I have some hunches as to what's going on psychologically but the odd thing is she comes from quite a good home despite parents divorcing at around age 8. Despite this, she is quite well-balanced and she also seems to be free of sexually traumatic events or abuse of any kind. What's interesting is the only other girl I know to have a similar condition (completely anorgasmic with vaginal stimulation even with clitoral stimulation at the same time), also did a lot of getting drunk and sleeping around. She on the other hand was most certainly sexually abused as a child. Yet she could still have orgasms from clitoral stimulation by either a man or woman. So that's the background to this issue. I'm wondering if there are ANY Taobums out there who have encountered this type of female anorgasmia and if there are some specific Taoist practices you would recommend? I've seen a lot of advice advocating the use of vibrators during intercourse but to me this doesn't address the underlying energy blockages. Note: this is not a question of this woman being more clitorally stimulated: she cannot have an orgasm no matter what if someone else (male or female) is involved in any way. I've never heard of this before. I suspect there are some specific practices that can help but am not experienced enough in Taoist methods. Thanks for reading.

Dear Taobums, Some great thoughts and advice on this thread. Knowing this individual as I do, I feel it is mostly a control issue. I'm going to suggest meditation to her as a means of letting go and surrendering to emptiness. I will also look into the books recommended. +theurgy+

Agreed. Natural is better. Sprinting has been shown to boost HGH levels naturally up to 500%. Perhaps that is why it hurts so good! This is a nice article on the importance of sprinting. +theurgy+

Interesting thread. Perhaps the most "viscous" dog (at least to our limited awareness) is this one: +theurgy+

Personally I don't see any need to turn this into a "Buddhism/Taoism versus Kabbalah" debate nor will I ever participate in such a baseless activity. Again for the sake of others reading this thread I must point out that your argument comes from a very cursory understanding of Kabbalah. All the points you made regarding Wisdom are quite valid and the letting go of Wisdom is PART of the kabbalistic path--one MUST do this to pass beyond the veil of the Abyss. Why do you suppose the worlds of manifestation are each formed below the three veils of Negative Existence (i.e. the Void)? It would seem to me that your dismissal of the Kabbalah is based on quite a limited understanding of it. I agree that the "trendy" version of the Kabbalah is quite watered down (i.e. Kabbalah Center) but I am not advocating studying with such groups. Quite simply, I am pointing out that there is just as much value in studying the Kabbalah as other paths and anyone who enters into it's study sincerely will surely profit therefrom. +theurgy+

You certainly don't owe me any apologies my friend. Rather make amends with your inner being and find a path to persist with. Perhaps Kabbalah isn't for you--so what? There are many paths. You must find one that resonates most strongly with YOU. As an old proverb goes, "if one is looking for water, it's better to dig one deep well than several shallow holes." It's the same with spiritual paths. Eclecticism has it's place for awhile but eventually one must be dedicated to learning a path as completely as possible before moving on in order to establish a strong link with one's Inner Master. Mixing too many systems together will result in preventing that delicate link from becoming established. I don't post too frequently on this forum but something about you has inspired me to write these words of advice. I was young once myself and the above was the single best piece of advice I was ever given regarding the esoteric path. Finally, please take a break from all the conspiracy nonsense--it will only serve to confuse you at this stage. Begin some sort of meditative practice while abstaining from these materials (conspiracy videos, blogs, etc) and note the difference! My feeling is that you will be more relaxed, less paranoid, nervous and confused and then you can get on with the Work of MAKING YOURSELF into what you want to be or BECOMING WHO YOU ALREADY ARE. My very best to you in these matters. +theurgy+

Good information here, Vmarco. One of the great joys of studying Kabbalah is through the Hebrew letters. It is interesting to note that as a hieroglyph, each letter's meaning contributes to the overall meaning/concept/energy matrix behind certain words. For instance, and without going into too much detail, I offer this only as a "brain-teaser" : "ELOHIM" begins with the prefix/suffix "EL." This is formed with the letters "Aleph" + "Lamed." Aleph refers to the primordial androgynous first energy of the Universe (sound familiar?) Lamed refers to a thing or a being which participates in the extension of the primary energy of the Universe. Thus EL is appended to the beginning of divine name as in "EL-OHIM" or to the end of an angelic name as in "RAPHA-EL" or "MICHA-EL." These "beings" perform the function of extending a particular reflection of Primordial Energy into a particular density of the Universe. All of that information is encoded into the name itself via the Hebrew letters! I hope that this resonates with someone out there. I find it rather foolish that otherwise intelligent adults would write off this sublime Art and Science as a "waste of time." Poppycock! The example above is just the barest decimal point of the iceberg in terms of the vast Wisdom contained in the Kabbalah. +theurgy+

Sounds like you chose the wrong text! I always wonder when people say "I read 3 pages and threw it away!" if that is just a figure of speech or if such individuals with such a profound a lack of persistence in the study of the mystical fields DO posses the wherewithal to at least commit to throwing books away and immediately at that. For those who may read this thread, I feel obliged to call BS on your rather shallow "bad energy" evaluation of the Kabbalah. Bad in what sense? Following what criteria? Compared with what? You see where I'm going. You speak of a field of study that contains much wisdom and there is a very great profit in it's study and use as is most certainly the case with Taoist, Tantric even Christian mystical teachings. One is not inherently more "bad" than another. As to danger, there are innumerable substances in your kitchen that can kill you in the proper context but can also leave your toilet bowl glistening like Orion's Belt. We must always let Wisdom be our guide in matters both mystic and domestic! +theurgy+ p.s. I'm quite sure you owe White Wolves everywhere an apology for bringing shame upon their namesake by posting such foolishness.

Sheesh, why so passive-aggressive Vmarco? I have noticed this tendency in your posts--you tend to react with hostility at the slightest hint of someone disagreeing with your views. The effect is often humorously ironic given the thread topics as is most certainly the case here. To this casual poster (mostly lurker), it gives the impression that you are perpetually reliving an argument you've had with a parent and your overly harsh responses come across as that of a petulant child trying to uphold a threatened sense of supposed identity. As if no one is quite grokking just how serious you are about Buddhism. "Actually Dad, it's called BUDDHISM AND YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT IT!!!!!!" It's ok, not everyone is a Buddhist. I'm sure you're really quite brilliant. Just providing feedback. Your presentation ruins the transmission of your message for me and most likely for 90% of the other readers who don't care to comment, as well.

As I was clicking on this, I thought "well, if we are posting book links, I might as well add Between the Gates." It's a very useful book and a must for anyone interested in western esotericism.

That is a great book and I believe it is also sadly going out of print. A Kabbalistic proverb that comes to mind is, "if one is looking for water, it is far better to dig a single deep well than several shallow ones." The same is true in choosing a path to cultivate Wisdom. In pursuing a path with unswerving devotion we stand a better chance at arriving at Wisdom than through "spiritual dilettantism." Qi gong masters always urge students to stick with one set of practices for a good length of time before switching to another for this very reason. We do not want to overload the subconscious mind with too many symbol sets, (each which works in its own context) but through mixing with other systems, the fragile link one is trying to establish with one's "Inner Master" becomes easily severed through an indiscriminate lack of focus. This offered in my humble opinion, of course.

Ahh what a day Can you look it in the heart Moment to moment?

Smile mellow fellow Green grass and corn so yellow Ego on the grill

One thing is certain All arises from the One Above so Below

your Geiger counters crackling in the garden green thumb?! not like this!

Wake up, look who's here! Guess who comes to your banquet? Blue skin and dreadlocks

Rhythmic timelessness Cadences of emptiness Spaces in between

Let sleeping dogs lie Snake tongues lick ears of silver Once bitten,cat eyes

Laughed until I cried Did someone shout "Hammer time!" ??? Master's turquoise pants

Greetings All! I read this forum all the time and decided to start posting albeit sporadically. I'm not really a Taoist per se: My background is in the Western Hermetic Tradition. My work mostly consists of studying Kabbalah and practicing laboratory Alchemy. Recently I have become interested in Taoist energy practices as a supplement to my laboratory work. As we say in our tradition "one cannot make progress in the laboratory unless one has accomplished the inner work." My current favorite study topic is Kundalini and the means to go about activating it permanently. In Western Alchemy this is done by working with plants and minerals but I feel energy work may be seen as an effective adjunct to the "Great" work. Much peace to All of You, theurgy