Green Tiger

Also, Tai Chi is probably good for COPD patients.

"Tai Chi enhances lung function, exercise capacity, and diaphragm strength. However, this is only preliminary research data and a larger trial is needed for more detailed results."

A recent study compared Tai Chi to walking, so far as their antioxidant effects are concerned.

"Our findings suggest that the practice of Tai Chi produces a more effective antioxidant effect than walking."

I personally don't put much stock in these kinds of studies, but I thought the community might be interested.

Hooray! Looks like a good set of questions. Very interested to see how he'll respond to them.

This (and what most of this forum talk about) seems to be some weird mixture of New Age, occult and folk superstition.

 

Demonic spirits?! Really? I thought people in the 21st century would be smarter than this. Laozi's teachings were more about common sense than chinese superstition.

 

I honestly won't be surprised if you lot start talking about UFO's and aliens next. Everything else has been covered.

 

P.S. Jesus can go fuck himself. Why are so many people quoting him? This is a taoist forum. (From the quote a few pages back, i wonder why he only wants 'little children' in heaven, LOL

The debate about Jesus in Taoism was moved to this thread: http://thetaobums.com/topic/34524-is-jesus-legit-in-taoist-practice-or-no-off-topic-derail-from-the-jaj-neigong-book-thread/

Book is now here: http://bookstore.qigongmedicine.com/product/daoist-alchemy-nei-gong-wai-gong-training-final-edition/

I once took 3000 dried psilocybin mushrooms in a single dose.

It was an interesting night.

I did a fair few mushrooms in my youth and had some memorable and miraculous experiences.

 

Not saying you should or not but if you do, take them with a pure honest loving heart and good intentions. If I did them now (probably never will) I would set my intentions: knowledge/truth, healing, releasing the past, enlightenment or whatever.

 

Using them recreationally as I did years ago is a little foolish, prepare yourself for the journey.

 

Once I took them with a little intention (can't remember what now) and the last thing I remember was walking down this golden path with beautiful trees. When I had returned from my journey I felt as if my whole aura had been cleaned completely like I had been washed through, I was light clean and pure, don't know where I had been though. When I came back I had to completely reintegrate my mind and for a little while that seemed like an age I was completely unhinged and insane, but came back eventually. Treat the whole thing with respect.

 

Relax, love and accept yourself.

 

Having said the above I have gone to energetic places without the use of drugs too. Our brains/bodies are drug factories. In my youth I lacked discipline and a path/intension.

 

I firmly believe that if you commit yourself to a path of knowledge and cultivation and save energy you can achieve similar and more and gain more self control too.

 

∞

Good advice! I'm officially anti-substance when it comes to cultivation, but that doesn't mean I always stick to that rule and I do feel like you can benefit from certain substances, but it is soooo unpredictable. It's too much of a crap shoot for me to recommend to anyone, but I will say that I've had some good experiences. Also some really unpleasant experiences. Your mileage may vary.

I have watched again. It was not just one kick. The first kick with the right leg on the lower dan tian to release the breath of his opponent which cutting off the oxygen supply to the brain. Then, the second kick with the left leg right on the head is very fatal.

Does he connect with the first kick? I couldn't really tell. It looked more like a feint to set him up, but he might have connected. Either way--vicious combo!

This one of the most brutal (and relatively beautiful) spinning back heels I've ever seen landed.

Notice the right-side feint he uses to set him up.

Are those deer antlers?

Another nice meditation infographic. . .

That is a most righteous shave. If this whole "corporate slave" thing doesn't work out for me, maybe I'll try my hand at barbering.

I like the description of healing by pleasure vs. healing by pain in the second interview, and also about the different sources of energy. I remember talking about the power of concerts before. It's really interesting to hear the "seeking energy experiences" description being spoken of so fundamentally (for lack of a better word choice).

 

[1] What might be some other hidden gems of high energy-experience? A fully savoured wulong tea, the presence of thoughtful people, helping others ..

 

[2] What about the interaction of people while playing music together, [3] working together at work together; [4] and how can we use these moments to cultivate the transformation of energy of everyone involved (musicians, colleagues, audiences, customers, etc.)?

 

(For people who think this might a violation of consent -- Do you want to have bad luck and low energy? or good luck and high energy? Sorry.)

 

[5] Also, is it possible to do this in internet communities like this one?

 

[6] Is it possible to transform the negative intentions of others in the same way that we transform our own negative energies into positive energies, for the benefit of all involved?

 

Thank youuu!

Good questions, thanks HE!

He's been clean for a long long time. That's his permanent conditions.

I have a cousin who's kind of like that. Did waaaay too many mushrooms back in the 70's and now he's super touchy feely and just a little bit off, but in kind of a good way. Like he gets too close to you when he's talking to you and the way he describes things can be hard to follow for someone who isn't used to him, but he's one of the most enthusiastic and selfless guys I know.

I definitely prefer my cousin who did too many mushrooms to my old college roommate who did too much ecstasy. One is maybe a little over excitable/emotional and the other is completely without emotion or reaction.

Lee Holden, author of 7 Minutes of Magic, has agreed to an interview. He's a longtime student of Mantak Chia. Mr. Holden has several qigong DVDs available, as well as a two CD sets called Your Body of Light and Taoist Sexual Secrets.

You can find more info about him at his website: http://www.leeholden.com/

What is the most remarkable recovery you have seen in a chi kung clinic?

From what I've read, your training began primarily with the internal martial arts and eventually gravitated more toward chi kung therapy. Do you think that training the internal martial arts is an efficient way to build chi for a chi kung therapist, or should a chi kung therapist spend most of their training time differently? What would you say is the most efficient practice for a chi kung therapist to maximize their healing ability?

EDIT: I just realized this is very similar to the question EFS White asked. While I think his is more concerned with avoiding harmful side effects, the part about 'what would be the best practice for a healer' is still there.

I do think the last line of his question should be "What would you say is the most efficient practice for a chi kung therapist to maximize their healing ability?"

I just like the wording better.

Do you think chi kung healing is becoming more accepted by the western medical community? How would you like to see chi kung therapy evolve over the next ten years?

This is a "trivial" question that may already be answered in some of his materials - but it's been hard to get a consistent answer on it. Which side of the human body is Yin & which is Yang?

Or may it also depend on gender? Or might Yang problems show up more on the Yin side and vice-versa?

 

Logically, it would seem as if the right side (left side of brain) should be Yang...but many actual Chinese qigong masters seems to disagree.

 

So, does anyone know for a fact, or based upon clinical experience, which is which?

Dr. Johnson covers this in his Chinese Medical Qigong Therapy texts. I'm not familiar with the new ones, but I have the original Chinese Medical Qigong Therapy text, which was one volume. I'll quote from that book, pages 55 and 56. The emphasis on the last paragraph is mine.

THE YIN AND YANG OF BODY ASPECTS

Comparable to Western anatomy, Traditional Chinese Medicine also divides the body into aspects or planes. In TCM, these classifications are divided into Yin and Yang physical planes and anatomical directions. These divisions assist the Qigong doctor in defining and categorizing the patient's external tissues, and in determining the collection and movement of Qi (i.e., energy moving into and coalescing in the patient's Yin or Yang areas of the body). The structural aspects are categorized

as follows.

 

• The cranial or superior aspect (towards the head) of the body's structure is considered Yang; the caudal or inferior portion of the body (towards the feet) is considered Yin.

• The posterior or dorsal portion (back side) of the body is Yang; the anterior or ventral portion (front side) is Yin.

• The superficial aspect (exterior) of the body is Yang;the deep portion (interior) of the body

is Yin.

• The left side of the body is Yang;the right side is Yin.

• The lateral aspect (further from the center) of the body is Yang; the medial portion (middle)

is Yin.

 

As Yin and Yang are in a constant state of change, always waxing and waning, two points of reference alone are not enough to aptly classify the many phases and stages of transformation; for example, day (Yang ) can be further split into dawn (waxing Yang),midday (peaking Yang), and late afternoon (waning Yang).

I can't beleive no one asked the Jesus in your heart question??!!!!

 

Dr. Johnson, you have created quite the ruckus on our board by stating that you have Jesus in your heart, during a radio interview . We were sort of wondering, how does a Daoist have Jesus in their heart, and does that interfere with Daoism at all? How do you see Jesus, and how do your beliefs work out between the two philosophies?

 

Though I'm very sure someone with more knowledge about Taoism could word this much better... I just wanted to throw the idea out there .

I'm hoping that means most folks, like me, don't actually think it really matters which deity JAJ crushes on.

Can I ask the yin qi question in this interview?

I would word it something like this, though:

Not long ago, I heard you tell a story in another interview about a martial arts instructor you encountered who wore rubber-soled shoes. You, at the time, felt that it was important to wear cotton-bottom shoes to increase your connection with the yin energy of the earth. In that story, you conceded to the instructor that there are far more impediments to perfect chi flow than just rubber-soled shoes (indoor plumbing and electricity and the like).

We've had several debates on the forum about topics similar to the cotton-bottom shoe issue. One poinient example being a member who vehmenently asserted that, unless the hui yin was physically touching the ground or some grounded conducting wire, no yin chi could be cultivated in one's meditation practice.

My question is: Do you think that our modern western lifestyle prevents us from levels of attainment that the ancient Chinese may have reached? Is our lifestyle/environment making it harder for us to become Daoist immortals, or do you think it is a relatively minor issue?

I would be interested to hear how the ancient training methods for development of the body differ from the modern? What exactly has been lost?

A follow-up to this question might be: Have you come across any schools where you felt the training methods were more like the ancient styles, as you perceive them?

Also: What characteristics would you look for in a good school? What sorts of exercises would they do?

My qualification- this:

I eat Ninja Hit Squads for breakfast.

For lunch I destroy the armies of evil empires

and stop alien invasions before dinner.

Ninja Hit Squads the breakfast cereal!

I haven't worn colours in years. I'm a bit goth really.

 

So sneaky, you never see me during the day. I black my windows out and stay in listening to The Cure.

 

Therefore, I have no references. But I did learn 7 years of fight skills from Buffy The Vampire Slayer.

 

Am I in?

I think you'll work for our Vampire Special Operations team.

Do you want to be a part of an elite martial arts attack squad?

Do you long to raid the samurai stronghold in the dead of night?

Are you super sneaky?

Do you look good in black?

Then the Ninja Hit Squad wants you!

Please apply by posting in this thread. Include your qualifications, previous ninja hit squad experience, and 3 references.

Wait . . . there's a ninja hit squad and I'm not on it?

Feeling a little under appreciated right now.

I bought some stuff at Whole Foods last year that worked pretty well. I think it was this stuff.

It didn't have any of the side effects of allergy medicine, but I did have to take it several times a day.

I've noticed that, if I get a good Tai Chi practice in first thing in the morning and before I go to bed at night, my allergies aren't quite as bad. And I feel that, in general, I haven't been affected quite as severely since I've started practicing.

There are still two or three weeks in the spring when I get really itchy and irritated, though.

EDIT: I just found the package and it was actually this stuff. Much cheaper. I'm surprised to see that it's homeopathic. I usually don't trust homeopathy, but it seemed to work.