Small Fur

Following in your line of reasoning: 1. The Nature of Qi gong, Intention in Practice and the Essence of Jing. 1A. Qi Gong. Qi gong is the facilitation of energetics to affect the wellbeing of the system. Most forms encompass a great variety of movements aimed at wellness- redirecting energy from all directions in the macrocosm to dynamically merge and facilitate the microcosmic conditions within an individual. These movements address not only organs and meridians, but also infinite conditions in an individual even beyond the energetics. 1B. Intention. If one is teaching or practicing Taoist cultivation from any form of obsession, then this is counter to the principles of method. I would examine in yourself what makes you think an entire system of holistic health and wisdom that has potential to heal any ill condition and tonify or cleanse the body, is somehow exclusively and myopically focused on only one essence, one organ, one source and thus is so limited in it’s scope and methods- because that is what you are (unknowingly) suggesting by saying this. 1C. Jing. It is unfortunate that anyone would perceive such a pure and powerful primordial essence capable of creating and sustaining life as the petty object of the genitals and sex. Jing is not sexual. People through their conditioning make things ‘sexual’; they ‘sexualize’. Though it is true that rejuvenation and consciousness can to be found through forms of intimate merging (eg. dual cultivation), Consciousness itself is not sex and neither are the purities of conscious essence. So jing is not ‘sexual jing’, it is the energy of the pre-heavens that imbue our life with generative force. It can occur through sex, but it is not sex itself. And in fact, jing is more simply gathered and stored without sexual practices, the methods of which can involve many risks when improperly conducted. (Side note: dual cultivation done from a state of sexual desire is one done in ignorance and from misperception of the intended practice.) 2. Conservation and the Lack Thereof. The Taoist principles of illness, health, and consciousness are rooted in the wisdoms of conservation- not just of jing, but also of qi and shen. That is, one should not waste what is essential in themselves. This forum is innundated with males driven by sexual ideations and so they fixate on a very limited recognition of jing, but this is largely a crude concern rooted in one’s own baseness and it limits the true potential prosperity. So much of these desires, fears and their resulting actions are misguided at a deep level by the orientation of one’s perception, maturity and ignorant intention. Rather than come to the depths of their foolery, they insist on it and rush to control what they are losing rather than simply abstain from what produces that loss in the first place. Desire leads to obscurity of essence, spirit and energy, and this in turn leads to death and cyclical rebirthing. In the common person- especially over the course of their lifetime, their very essence into form is increasingly deluded by such acquired consciousnesses (xi shen) to the degree that it forms turbidity, stagnation and ultimately results in waste of the Three Treasures: consciousness (shen), energy (qi), and generative force (jing). This waste is integral to why people age as they do. A person who feeds the Three Corpses (Sanshi 三尸: aka Three Worms, Three Demons) through the harmful wasting of their Three Treasures debilitates themself and dies just a little sooner in each moment. What are the Three Corpses? Thinking, emotionality and baseness. What are most people's desires and lives run by? Ideas, emotions, and baseness: people literally create their own demons. Does the process of expenditure and wasting need evidence when you look around at the human condition? If you throw it away you lose it. It’s really that simple. Can you continually re-acquire the things that you lose so readily and steadily? If you really care for it to begin with- why do you throw it away so continuously? If it could be recovered, would you know how to do so effectively? When does the process of lose and expenditure to regain that loss become futile? People say they fear death, yet they indulge desire to the point of their own demise repeatedly over lifetimes and it is not just through sexual desire exclusively. All forms of desire drive the Three Demons to rob the spiritual Treasures. To live in this manner, conscious or not, is a choice. What choice are you making in how to conduct each moment of your life? 3&4. Jing as Essence, Relationship of Quantities, Rejuvenation 3&4A. Essences and Substances. Jing isn’t a physiological term. When jing qi coalesces into form it becomes the substance of the semen and the egg, but even then jing is still the essence and those are technically the bodily fluids: those are the masses, this is the essence. They are inter-related but they are not the same. You can expend jing without ejaculating, and plenty do each day through innumerable means, because they don’t recognize the true value of it in themselves. We are not looking at the Western science of what your body’s refractory resources do or don’t do. We are looking at an alchemical process of creative force in the system before it even enters the body and as it continues to transmute through fields of form into any manner of vital condition from seed, to body, to energy, to consciousness and much more. 3 &4B. Mis-measurements. Sure, the physiology of the gross body can grab more generative essence (jing) and turn it into more bodily fluid (semen/egg) and so you have more semen to expell. It doesn’t mean you have more jing: it means you have used more essence and converted it into more mass (a process which requires tremendous sacred energy), so now you have more mass (semen) and less essence (jing). 3&4C. Potential Replenishment. And yes, jing can actually be replenished but not by wasting it through converting it to fluid and throwing it away, then trying to grab more so you can lose it again. There are actually many ways to absorb, increase, fortify and rejuvenate jing. But in most cases, the ordinary person is- for various reasons, largely incapable of effectively replenishing essence to greater sufficiency and instead more expedient in their unconsciousness to expend it through taxing the adrenals (adrenals are the glands of the kidneys and the kidneys are the portal of the jing) daily by doing such things like ingesting stimulants such as coffee, sexualizing each other, overworking, inordinately forcing existence, willfully engaging in unnecessary activity, etc.,. All these efforts use jing… and they didn’t even all require sex! When I look around me at what type of person has the highest concentration of jing in their system, it isn’t some big virile looking man, or some shapely woman… do you know who it is? It is babies. Babies are made almost entirely of jing at birth. Does that appear like sex to you? Far from it. 5. Understanding and Wisdom. Maybe it is not the teaching that is erroneous but the student who misunderstands the essence in the lesson.

This is actually a very broad and in-depth question you are asking; more than we can get into over a forum post. To give a concise introductory synopsis, the Yuan Shen “Original Spirit”, also known as the “Great Shen” (‘shen’ can be translated to mean consciousness, awareness, or spirit) manifests as five different aspects of consciousness through the yin organs of your body. It’s anatomical relationships are: -Liver houses the shen Hun -Heart houses the shen Shen -Spleen houses the shen Yi -Lung houses the shen Po -Kidney houses the shen Zhi Though you may prefer one meditative form over another, ultimately, when your meditation becomes realized, all living is a meditation through which effortless action will flow forth. The intercourse of consciousness to form is the totality of awareness pervading every level of your system, from the subtle to the coarse. The greater this penetration, the more realized the being. To strengthen a spirit, one does not add substance to it. Rather, one purifies it. This purification allows for it to connect to its origin of substance: physiologically, these are pools of energy that traverse throughout the body in the form of meridians and into the universe through what are known as ‘Source Points’ along those meridian channels. Pure consciousness, or pure spirit is powerful beyond the human mass: so to have greater consciousness is to have greater strength of spirit. At some point, through deep cultivation and meditation, it is possible to connect to the organ spirits directly and affect their processes consciously. This communication is not of mind or language, but rather facilitated through forms of energy, light and awareness- all of which are similarly interrelated dynamics of state. To note, the usage of the terms “energy, light and awareness” are not an unrooted, disembodied new-age-feel-good-idea, rather these are tangible substances of force that can be directed through intentful awareness at minor levels through such things a needling and acupuncture, to more substantive directed movements like in the external arts, to much deeper things such as the internal arts, medical qi gong, meditative transmission and more. Although there are many other things called ‘spirits’ in the universe (aka- disembodied beings), the term spirit here is meant as ‘shen’ of the physiological and meta-physiological body. More spirits of the system are not created in this particular case- as that moves away from Source, rather the existing ones are refined, cultivated and transmuted into their original nature as Yuan Shen, so they are rarified until they are unified… less is more. As for each of the “little shens”, each one has a different quality of emanation and function both physiologically in the corporeal body and spiritually in the essences of the universe. When one cultivates their spirit, they do so not only within form but beyond form. When this cultivation of insight and realization is deep enough, indeed, a new birth occurs: it is known as the Immortal Fetus and it is the beginning of a transformational journey of the human into the transcendent.

Let us clarify a few concepts and refine them a bit since they are often spoken of inter-changably in spiritual and ancient texts. They are discussed this way because when we are looking at energetic forms of consciousness so close to Source that their conditions are still pure and unified, relatively uncleaved and unformed; variations in their qualities appear very subtle, similar and seemingly indistinct, however their transformations are fundamentally interrelated. Understanding these omnipresent subtlities in our system more discretely might help to bring some greater definition to the matter and thus a little more clarity. Keep in mind, that although we objectify it by making it discrete through definition, the actuality of it is simultaneously unformed, amorphous, transitional and also formed… think of it as states of matter- like vapor into water into ice, in continuous inter-transformation coexisting across different strata of dimension and time and it will be a more accurate understanding. So, taking your quote by Liu Yiming, let’s look at some key terms: One’s Fundamental Nature (eg. we can call this a type of ‘essence’ for the matter of this discussion) is without form but also becomes all form (eg. the Golden Elixir, the human, existence itself). That is, this essence which moves through you and becomes you is also greater than just the form of ‘you’ or self: it is Consciousness itself. In its purity it is whole thus through you it remains unto itself whole, yet simultaneously in you it may not be complete in realization- both states of completion and incompletion comprise you at the same time (these are the energetics of the Tai Ji in daulisitc fragmentation as a part of Source in you). Artifically we can describe this by saying you are existentially complete but mundanely incomplete and the way to rectify that is to make your mundane self the same (e.g. cultivate) as your essential self: that is to exist from the awareness of your fundamental nature in all ways and at all times. This fundamental nature may express itself in the mundane ways of human conditions but it is essentially a transcendent state. So what is meant by ‘nature’ here is not the way your wind blows this week, but what even allows you and that wind to exist at all: that is your Original Nature (Yuan Shen) or your Fundamental Nature. The Golden Elixir is the pure substance of that Fundamental Nature and it is both formless and capable of becoming formed. It is essence that takes a quality of form in the purity of Fundamental Nature. While this essence of consciousness infuses all things- including our Being, when it is not yet realized in a person, it remains unsubstantive even though it is part of you. When the purity becomes substantive, it coalesces to form the Immortal Seed or Immortal Fetus. In many ways, this substance is the same as your fundamental nature, so it is you, but again, it is also its own, just as a child is of you and your making, yet it is also its own. Because the Consciousness that is the substance of the Golden Elixir is pervasive and omnipresent, it is ‘neither more in one thing than the next’, as it is this Consciousness that gives rise to all things. But in the Enlightened Ones, this awareness is so great, it forms to create a sacred seed from which the Being can co-create in transcendence. The Golden Seed from the purity of conscious essence is the opportunity for ‘rebirth’: a renewed, evolved existence of transcendent quality. This is not a metaphor, it is a reality experienced by a rare few, and it is sacred. In short, just because something exists- even in you or as a part of you, doesn’t mean it is realized or understood in its truth. To give a more tangible and simple example, we could say that you may have a beautiful whole heart, but that you may not understand how to nourish it, care for it, live from it, so you do not realize all that it is physiologically, energetically and spiritually. When the understanding is complete, then we can begin to work with it in ourselves (ie. advanced cultivation). We are complete in essence, but most are obscured from that realization. When that realization is great enough- not just in concept, but through the whole of experience in profundity, then that depth of tunderstanding starts to become you, and it will change you. That change manifests literary as the Golden Elixir, the substance of which is the essence of one’s Fundamental Nature. It is a not a metaphor; it part of the (meta)physics of how Consciousness becomes in the human physiology and its transmutation into Immorality and enlightenment; it is literal. What that Elixir is in the transcendence of the universe is pure and so it is whole, just as the xing (pure consciousness) that is the Unnamble is complete. But it only becomes of tangible value to you when you realize it. If you can think about it conceptually as one who can think of math or physics, it may be clearer, as we are looking at the real mechanics of energetics, its movement and states of formations. However, even if one can conceptualize of it, one cannot work with it unless their experience is profound enough to transmute it- think of which physicists live in theory and which actually can directly work with such principles of condition. I do not say this to convolute modern science with esoteric alchemy or to try to bring any form of legitimacy to either bodies of knowledge. Rather, I am just pointing out one potential method of intellectual process by which a person can mentally recognize this most clearly as it takes a distinct understanding of the abstract in states of formation to begin to cognize this practically outside of the seeming romantic artistry of prose, which I think sometimes the alchemical texts are misunderstand to be. Another way to begin to understand this is if you have the opportunity to learn the esoterics within Taoism and Chinese medicine and have both a very well formed and embodied understanding of the cosmological and onotological processes that create our being; at that point, all of these things have potential to make more cohesive, tangible as well as practical sense. Discussing it sporadically in partial threads on a forum, or through random bits of antiquated foreign languages can often cause these things to appear as partial, non-cohesive bits of information. Even here, I have had to leave out many of the specific inner workings and details of ontology to provide a generalized answer. Ironically though, in this case the more you can intellectually grasp this, the more you are at risk to obscure yourself from understanding it truly. So your origin of knowledge must ultimately come not from the mind, but from xing (the pure consciousness found in and through your fundamental nature). So my suggestion is to read this as a guide, as a pointer to your senses and/or take on concerted study if you are serious in your path of cultivation. Most importantly, rather than contemplating it, practice purifying yourself, including your mind of these ideas. Keep the body and psyche healthy, then through the purity of intention, stillness and silence these things may be realized. That is the method of the cultivated sages into Immortality and Buddhahood.

—Disclaimer— I am generally cautious about giving direction on the forum regarding bodily and health practices generically: this is because people are comprised in unique and specific ways, and it is important not to act concertedly and specifically upon generic understandings and thus become potentially reckless towards yourself through ignorance… too often I see people attesting on this forum and clients coming to me with mental and physical injury resulting from careless, unconscious and incomplete understanding of health and lifestyle practices. So this is a brief answer intended to give insight rather than provide direct instruction. Examples are given for reference, not as a form of medical advice. ——— As with all levels of Taoist practices- be this from the physical body to the spirit, appropriate purification and tonification are necessary in all areas and at all levels of existence. The more holistic your understanding and approach, the more healthfully complete and deep the effect. PURIFICATION of Blood To simplify, make sure you are cleansing your blood: at the most essential level through bringing shen into the blood, and at the most coarse end of that spectrum through dietary/ medicinal consumption and healthful movement. Examples*: Shen- through reconnecting with one’s yuan shen, to making connection with the little shen (hun) of the liver in meditation and guiding this consciousness in to the body. Dietary- some options could be organic dark leafy greens, algae, foods or medicines that act upon the liver as a detoxifier such as astragulus, milk thistle and dandelion root. From a Taoist perspective, foods which are green and bitter; so as to astringe the liver. (Note: if you run deficient and cold or have poor and weak digestion, then make sure the plants have been warmed and cooked before consumption, as green plants run etherically cold and can imbalance a system in states of xu [deficiency]. Also note that in this case, by medicinal, I mean any concentrated form of a natural substance, such as an extract.) Movement- breathing and physical practices which open up the flow of the body from energetically/ meridian-based to physically. This can be engaged practices like yoga and stretching, dry brushing; or passive things such as receiving meridian-based massages like tui na or shiatsu. Breath breath breath and learn to pair breath with movement. TONIFICATION of Blood To simplify, make sure you are building your blood: at the most essential level through harnessing qi and at the most coarse end of that spectrum through dietary/medicinal consumption and healthful movement. Examples*: Qi- harnessing this through internal or external alchemy will help to fortify the materiality of the blood. Again, principles of dietary, movement and consciousness apply to the methods of gathering qi. If you cannot identify or understand what you are doing in your qi gong or tai chi practice then you can begin having a better sense by focusing gathering practices (which usually involve grasping movements), and tonifying practices (which usually involve pumping movements). Practices along the Liver channel are particularly beneficial when dealing with issues of the blood. Dietary- any form of warm, pre-processed qi, particularly those metabolized by other large warm animals- including pig, sheep, and bovine. Dang Shen or cordynopsis root; ren shen or red ginseng; and gou ti zhi or wolfberries (goji) are all herbs listed in the canon of herbal Classics. (Be conscientious that if your dosha is imbalanced toward kapha or your system overweight heavy and sluggish, then these might be cloying and are not generally advised. To be safe, consult with a TCM herbalist to determine what herb is best for your issues. Be aware that most Chinese herbal medicine is not prescribed as a single herb, but in formulas to balance effects of the herbs themselves and so that they are also working in concert with your personal body composition and issues.) Movement- strength training- particularly to increase vessel tone, deep powerful breathing exercises, and rooted full movement can increase the quality of strength in purified blood. (Do not train in excess to where you are straining yourself and causing physical harm or simply building generic mass. Blood- in itself or as qi; needs strong, clear and healthful space to move and coarse; poor forms of body mass density and further injury will only hinder this process.) *At all times, make sure you are not eating, dosing, moving or doing deep cultivation practices based on generic ideas of what is healthful that you simplistically read from websites, books, or just because it works for someone else who isn’t you, etc.,. You must understand and be in connection to YOUR body and know how YOUR body works or doesn’t work. Do not just follow dietary, medicinal and lifestyle suggestions mindlessly (such as from faith only or incomplete information), from immature drives (such as for power, even ‘Taoist or martial' power) or based from fears (such as anger about your life condition, worry about your health, etc.,) Be clear Seek appropriate, specific and healthful guidance. And because this is an excellent fundamental question to what it is we are specifically addressing, and so that you realize what is blood and qi consciously and not as simply a theory or romantic notion and then proceed to try and affect it without realizing what it is, I have provided a basic answer to the following question to be paired with this post: Yes, the easiest most basic way to experience this is to do a concentrated amount of cardiovascular movement over a condensed period of time. When you heart is pounding a strong healthy and slightly quick pace: stop. Notice that the sensation of the physical pumping through your veins and arteries is blood. Notice that the heat and feeling of expansion arising from the pumping of blood is qi coarsing through your body. Experience this by being still and present in the body. Proceed by moving vigorously as suggested above. Then coming back into present, still awareness of your body in the invigorated state while bringing your consciousness in discernment. And of course yes, there are most subtle ways to experience the essentially of your system and its subtle functions and manifestations at rest, but this takes deeper body and meditative cultivative awareness, which can come through deep learning and practice. Happy Qi and Blood to All!

All forms of thought exist as part of a stream within the collective consciousness. That they manifest as positive or negative has to do with your particular orientation to conditions at various levels of your system. So that you react positively or negatively to most conditions is actually a choice, even those that seem more subtle to control like deep emotions, cellular memory, constitutional predisposition, or energy. ‘Ah-ha’ moments come when one transcends the unconscious habituation of reaction. What tends to obscure those moments from arising- and even one from realizing the answer to this question, has to do with one’s dependency and entrenchment to unconscious habituations of the system, including those of the xi shen or ‘acquired consciousness’. It is from learning to be deeply still and empty from within profound silence that you will better come to understand what you hear and experience what it is to truly listen.

When you change yourself, you do change the world. And while there are certainly gracious acts to done, the world doesn’t need you to change it. So, unconscious action is perpetuation. True resolve arises in essence. Resolved essence allows for harmony, creates Unity, and is peace. When you change yourself, you change Existence. When you resolve yourself, you return to the Tao.

AugustGrieg, these are excellent questions and yes, there is a difference between all of the conditions you named: Thought is an intellectual production of the mind and originates from the collective consciousness of the universe. Thought prior to form is energy. So part of learning to control thought, is learning how to direct energy. Intention is the product of Yi, the spirit of the spleen, and what one intends to beyond the intellect. At its lowest form of consciousness it is the psyche and its desires, but at the level of spirit, it is the conscious concentration of energetic movements into a specified form. Observation is the process of witness, which at its lowest form is intellectual-sensory cognition, but in higher meditative conditions is the process of awareness which is beyond self. Awareness at the mundane level is intellectual consciousness. As intellect dissolves and the system becomes an unobstructed vessel for transmission, then awareness becomes the action of one’s own shen or spirit; then as shen returns to its origin, awareness becomes the state of witness from the Yuan Shen or Original spirit. And finally, when one’s Original Spirit unites with Source, then it is your enlightened consciousness as the Unnamable Tao that bears witness to all. As to your question about whether your experience is part of a natural progression- yes, often it is. But coming into total quietude is not necessarily the same as being conscious in true silence. To come into the depth of silence where wisdom and consciousness resides, requires awareness, not just stillness. There is a difference between falling into a void and actually consciously entering through the passage that resides in the dark stillness of your system. Whether the chatter you experience has to do with supression, versus disassociation, versus a true refinement and discipline of the mind and its energies; depends a lot your method of practice, your ability to ground the whole of your system, and your level of consciousness through all its processes. As for breath, breath is merely a guide into body- albeit a foundational one, but is itself not the consciousness you are seeking, though it contains within it the capacity to refine your system to more subtle levels of awareness and does also contain within it a form of awareness itself. Breath then, is a form of shen (-and I am so glad that you had that beautiful experience of health and consciousness through the shen of your breath!). There are methods of meditation and self-cultivation that provide direct access to such profound awareness completely free of the residual murmurs you are experiencing in your system. If you should ever have sincere interest in such meditative cultivation, you are welcome to consider sessions with together with me. In session, I can help you clarify various forms of instruction you have received such as “how to meditate without thinking” and to go beyond the pondering into silent witness and experience. While there are some common generic answers to these kinds of questions, in session I can help you discern and recognize what are your unique patterns and habits that prevent you from recognizing complete stillness; teach you how to ground not only the body but root the mind and anchor the spirit; as well as how to further refine and hone your system for more advance forms of meditative cultivation and wisdom. My best to you and thank you for the dedication you have given to meditation, which is not only a path towards greater health and wisdom for yourself but ultimately a gift to all.

As you recognize it as a koan, realize that the answer resides outside of the discrete duality often present in intellect. Wei Wu Wei- also sometimes translated as “action non-action” or “effortless action”, is: -the movement originating before shi shen or acquired consciousness, and thus not decided upon through conditioning -the movement that is transcendent of mundane consciousness (such as concepts, projections, and emotional ideation), and therefore free of the common human conditioning of ignorance we often also call ‘human intelligence’ -the movement free of desire and thus occurs without karmic and egoic attachment So while the inspiration that moves through you will pass through the conditions of forms and therefore contain within them the knowledge of conditioning, it is not from mundane condition that this movement originates. The point of origination of movement is therefore inspired: -through purified sense that helps one be and live from what is profoundly essential -through clarity and insight which allows for great wisdom -through connection to Origin which transcends the baseness of all forms Thus, wei wu wei cannot be intellectually grasped because it is itself essentially non-defined from its origin to manifestation, you have to experience it as a being in unison with the Unnamable. On a fundamental level this may be implied through the feeling of grounded instinctual sense, simplicity in flow, and clarity of inspiration. And as one moves beyond the possible implications of feeling to complete consciousness, then there is realization of how stillness becomes movement, and thus actions can transform into ‘magic’.

The process of ‘turning the light’ is a reference to the methods of how we engage our awareness in consciousness. The application of such begins in how we apply our mundane awareness and eventually leads to how we become connected to our original consciousness (yuan shen). This in turn affects our literal visual perception of the world through the light of consciousness in the body. Thus, consciousness- which is perceived in the human as various qualities of light, changes as our state of awareness evolves. I do not provide methods here or talk about the details because until you come to each stage of awareness inside yourself, the conceptual knowledge of it can itself become an obscuration, in part because it becomes an object of desire; objectification and desire are obstacles to spiritual development. The specifics of what occur at later stages are not as important as your commitment in willingness to look inward and the development of capacity to witness profoundly (aka laying the foundation for the light to continuously emerge and turn). Encountering psychic phenomena, even seeing lights, etc., these are are in many ways just symptoms of various mundane experiences through the vessel and is itself not what is essential even when they are conditions of heightened psychic and spiritual phenomena. If you are sincere and commit each moment to living truthfully, then the purity of that engaged intent will naturally lead you the right teachers, the right experiences, and the place of integrity in yourself to actually know what it is to turn the light and become the expression of such virtue. So to answer your second question, once your conscious awareness deepens inside the system, opening the eyes does not prevent one from being conscious as it does for most people. Once your consciousness is substantively rooted in the pivot of the ‘turn’ and passes through it, the visual field is permanently altered and one becomes consciousness. One becomes light. (Oh.. .and to answer your question from a different post on “what is there to do after meditating on emptiness”- the answer is: begin to turn the light.

Because there are many forms or refinements of qi. And the qi you reference is a knowledge of mundane qi. Those who go into caves and can cultivate themselves to levels of increased vital energy through transmuting the treasures are doing alchemy utilizing essences, not necessarily coarse (unrefined) qi.

The direct process to detachment is not one of learning more skills from which to hone and thus ‘cultivate’ an understanding from per se, rather it is the stripping away of or continual loss of what was once thought to be known. Detachment happens not because we force, supress, reject or attempt to get rid of desire, rather it is through increasing insight and experiential embodiment of profound understandings that we come to realize the true impracticality and futility of desire. When the courage to know the truth becomes the actual experience of embodying those truths, then true understanding results in a profound harmonious indifference- one that recognizes the unity already inherent in all things and thus requires no desire to fulfill, as well as the simultaneous non-existence of things from which there is nothing to fulfill. The best practices are rooted in the foundation of a self-sincerity in courage to know truth. Mustering the strength to bear an idea or concept of what you think is truthful is not necessarily the condition I am pointing to. Real courage and real truth, is a resolved understanding in experience- it has no resistance, takes no effort, relinquishes striving and effort, and is afforded through absolute willingness in faith to witness. The best beginning practice that prepares us for this is meditation. Though meditation as a practice is foundationaly healthful for all in most any regard, not all meditations are the same. Thus, understanding and practicing a method of meditation that through diligence and focus can instill stillness in silence, this is the meditation best suited to realizing detachment. And one of the most useful lifestyle methods I could suggest to accompany this practice in still silence, is to strip yourself of all concepts, ideas and even things. Thus be mindful of all forms of consumption; reduce and remove as many as forms of consumption as possible. Purify your body, your mind, your heart, your home and environment; in short, leave little left to be pondered. Look, see, feel and experience without prior idea, without words, without concepts. When you can do this- when you can witness without even a sound of movement in your system, you will begin to know what belies form. You will begin to touch into what is formless. In the light of nothing, detachment becomes the vital state to profound peace.

Understand that death is only the physiological transmutation of a you and that the common denominator across all timelines you will ever encounter until ultimate transcendence is you. So the best way to literally switch timelines, is to change your own consciousness. When you change your orientation to one of health, then that wellness will radiate from you across all dimensions of self, effecting all subsequent manifestations- just as your illness does. This is true not only ‘metaphysically’, but also literally and spiritually. So choose now to commit to your own wellbeing from the perspective of health. Purify your consciousness so it is not clouded by the mundanities of the mind and body, and so that you may experience and recognize the essential radiance of Original Self.

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Ultimately, this is the same as asking if being Enlightened is only for the sacrificial poor, or the privileged wealthy; if it is for the home owner, or the temple dweller; if it is for one fragment of the ten thousand things versus a different fragment that is also one in the totality of what is the ten thousand things. Do not lose yourself in the mire of one million thoughts and their external representations. It is the quality of clarified depth in your virtue that provides the internal orientation to what is essential and leads to the consciousness of the system, not your unconscious actions and reactions in the mundane.

Yes, there is a truth to be known. But it is not singular, or an object, or even necessarily a movement. And one can purely and consciously experience it. The most simple way I can explain it is that you know truth by being truth. This happens when your system is purified, particularly of conditions that obscure the Yuan Shen- this being usually more ‘spirit’ related energetic patterns and states, and not necessarily as much physiologically mundane states (though one’s purified physiology can greatly help to support the process). The reason why you think perception is the main intermediary obstacle to truth is because you have not yet experienced from a grounded state of no-mind. When one’s conscious orientation is rooted in purity, the subtle vessel of the corporeal system becomes empty and this allows for direct, unobscured transmission and witness. “How would we know?” Because now you are the same as knowing, not apart from it- as in, you are unified with what is.

You touch upon many valuable qualities associated with the cultivation of emptiness that could use a more refined understanding through clarification, which I have specifically elaborated on in the following: About “Authentic Cultivation” Quote: "Any authentic cultivation must always return to this very moment,in the here ; (sounds crazy isnt it? for where else can it/attention go :-) , i guest what im trying to say is not being distracted by any thoughts,imagination,memories etc...being drifted into future or past)" Authentic cultivation has to do with one’s level of sincerity and willingness in truth. The capacity for presence allows for depth in one’s way of being. To note, one is not actually cultivating if they are not authentic in the process- meaning, if you are not in a state of sincerity and willingness for truth. Going through the decorum of ritual or process movements that are considered cultivative is not necessarily cultivation; in many ways, cultivation has less to do with what you are doing than how you are doing it. Truthfulness and one’s focus in diligence of being will ultimately take you further than prescribed methods. So then, when you are actually cultivating, there is, as a general, no ‘return’ to presence: You are present. That’s it. The cultivative state is the present state in which one exists in diligent focus. In this, there is no tension… one is not “trying to be” undistracted. One is simply, empty in themselves yet full in whatever practice they are engaged. ‘Effortful practice’ is not prescribed, because it is born of desire and striving which are obstacles to the process of nothingness. What is necessary, to reiterate, is your state of diligence in sincerity to willingness for truth and your depth of presence. About Awareness Quote: "And the awareness that is being here ,that is to say,in the present moment ( one should not fall into stupor/dull state),that awareness must be very alert , so that any insights can arise .Wisdom wont arise in dull ,'stupid' state." In your statement, I would be careful not to mistake hyper-viligence for awareness (which is a state driven by anxiety) or alertness for a state of mind. The awareness necessary for insight is a yang rooted in yin. This is to say, your conscience is engaged from stillness, these are energetic movements not psychological undertakings. And, by virtue of being present, one cannot be in a ‘dull stupor’. Presence is not about the physicality of space and just happening to be there. Presence is about consciousness. And, given the one’s depth of consciousness, a wisdom may arise. About Investigative Attitude Quote: Investigative attitude : this is the strong desire to know the nature of experience (in this case emptiness -groundlessness of experience/phenomena) “Investigation” suggests intellect and effortful striving from within the framework of an agenda. As soon as you desire to intellectually grasp an idea about something that you don’t even understand- you have in effect lost sight of ‘it’ before you’ve even started. This is not a scientific method of hypothesis. This is the experience of existential consciousness. So, its important not to conceptualize and objectify the ‘nature of experience’ or else you will not recognize it. And in this, one does not bring ‘attitude’ or ‘self’ to this process of still witness. The more you infuse emptiness and nothingness with ideas and feelings/attidues of ‘you’ the further away you move from true witness. In addition, emptiness is not a “groundless” state of being- that is a dangerous idea from which to move forth. It is an integral state of existence that you must be deeply rooted in yourself to fully recognize. About Emptiness and Clarity and when it arises Quote: "If alert seems to imply energetic,or effortful,and its better to relax,then perhaps the word 'alert' can be substituted with 'clarity'.(Very)CLEAR AWARENESS and yet, RELAX. " and "Is emptiness only arise when one has far advanced in the path? " Emptiness is not clarity. Clarity arises from insight within emptiness. And no, emptiness does not arise when one is far along the path. It is the foundational recognition to beginning one’s walk along the path. So in fact, it is the initial step… (and also the last step, depending on what ‘level’ of emptiness you have fully recognized). Quote: "How to give rise to emptiness?" As to answer your foundational question about how to give rise to emptiness, my statements above reflect some guided re-direction of your perspective towards ways of being that might allow for greater recognition of sunyata, but the depth of process in such requires more specific and personal instruction than can actually be of impactful substance via a generic message board. If you are sincerely interested in beginning the process of knowing ‘yourself’ through emptiness, you are welcome to message me.

Science mistakes the brain- which is simply a field or projector, to be the actual state of existence itself. And while our being can receive transmissions at many levels, it is not entirely a passive or irresponsible state. Consciousness exists in and beyond all physical forms, including the mind. Physical forms- including the mind, are just one field from which consciousness can be transmitted. Form in relationship to formlessness is part of a co-creative reciprocal process in mutual transmission- our brains being only one small facet in that process. When you are in this experiential realization, you are usually no longer in a state of direct or concerted practice, rather you are simply in a state of profound awareness of your integral being to the universe. In my life this is the condition of living in wei wu wei (effortless action) which again, is not a practice, but a state of living meditation.

First of all, lets clarify that human desire is contrary to enlightenment; so your question is inherently flawed in its origin of perspective, which as you know, will philosophically only lead you to (the) faulty conclusions (that you have already implied here. Realize that foundationally, your wish to intellectualize all these experiential states is what is obscuring your deeper sense). It is willingness and wisdom in natural sense before the conditioned psyche that leads to enlightened being- not the psychological attachments in desire. And yes, here I am speaking about the ultimate state, not merely seemingly ‘improved (mundane) realizations’. Second, what you describe in yourself is not a clear or realized state, even in the mundane. This malcontent in meaningless that you describe in yourself is a facet of apathy. Apathy by its nature is without the light of insight. Those who have found a measure of contentment through ‘meaning’ have fulfilled themselves to a certain level consistent with their current state of consciousness, and in your unique orientation to the world, you have not yet fulfilled your capacity to a level of contentment in understanding. Technically, you are both at the same level of realization, just on opposite ends of the spectrum in solution and satisfaction to addressing the same fundamental question: you feel enlightened because you realize something the other persons have not, but they too have realized something within an ‘enlightened’ condition that you have not. Those ‘common, ignorant folk living in meaning’ may one day come to unity in wisdom, just like those ‘uncommon, critical-minded intellectuals living in void’ may one day also become whole. There is nothing harmful, ill or depressing in meaningless itself. That you find it painful is a product of your own psychology, not an inherent quality of the ‘empty’ state in conditions. And there is no actual truthful “benefit” in the belief of meaning or meaningless, only the psychological overlay that acts as an adaptive mechanism to coping from which you derive some kind of value… maybe you feel better about yourself if you think you are on a moral high ground contributing to charities, or maybe you feel safe at a certain level to believe that things which seem random, chaotic and hurtful can’t really have an affect on you ultimately if they are inherently ‘meaningless’; thus the rationale- conscious or unconscious, is up to you, but either way has no direct bearing on the existential and essential truth. So, the only challenge to enlightenment is in the way you pave your own path and if you pave it with malcontent then you will be sad and disgruntled along the way, and if you pave it with feelings of esteem, then you will have felt happiness along the way. And finally, why do you assume “happiness” is the most valuable existential state, and if you have to “strive” for what may be fundamental and inherent, how happy, clear-minded, truthful, natural or pure are you really being? Do not delude yourself with mental elitisms. You think you want happiness but in the state that is striving you directly create and live in unhappiness to get to that ephemeral goal. Furthermore, perhaps it is not happiness you want so much as the fear of pain that motivates you to its counterpart that you call happiness, when what is necessary is to transcend both these ephemeral and mundane conditions and come to the ever present experience of Truth, a Truth that superceds this pain in desire that you have yet to realize.

Strictly speaking, the sensory orifice directly associated with the Po is the nose (other sensory orifices are related to other spirit organs- i.e. ears to kidney, mouth to spleen, etc.,) , but because all networks are in relationship, the health of one spirit affects the health of its paired organ, and the quality of health in that elementally paired organ (each organ exists in groups of pairs or quads associated to an element) then affects all other organ pairs that it is in relationship. So, if your breath is refined and its energy purified, then the essential energy of the spirit Po will be vitalized, thus nourishing your lung organ and every other organ thereafter. According to the Generating Cycle, the metal element that is the lung, is also mother to the kidneys and it will then nourish the water elements of the kidneys through this cycle. In addition, the Organ Clock network will convey this breath through chi flow of the channels via Exit and Entry Points in the meridian system. And yes, rate of breath does affect your senses in that it can purify and fortify your senses, it can heighten or dampen your perception of conditions around you, as well as affect your state of mind and physiology. The fact that you aren’t aware of it in the moment or over a course of time, has to do with your sensitivity in awareness to those aspects of your body and its subtle bodies. It is important to note that while the concrete sensory orifices will ultimately be affected at some point in the energetic process (hence resulting in physically concrete manifestations of health or illness), what the Daosists are referring to first and foremost are always movements of essences from which substances/ forms will arise. So, a base example coming from a more Western model that can be more commonly perceived would be that if your lung is healthy then you will breath well, and if you breath is well then eventually your digestive processes will be improved thereby affecting your ability to distinctly appreciate both smell and flavor in the mouth. Here the mouth is not the lung, but the health of the lung that regulates breath, still effects the stomach which is integral to the digestive track that begins in the mouth. And certainly your breathing rate will affect your digestive processes and thus how you perceive odors. The difference here is that Western medical systems have different correspondences and orientations, so this not a one-to-one example, but the basic principle remains the same; in order to understand more specifically what the Daoists were speaking of in terms of the body, studying the art and system of Chinese medicine may help make these correspondences more clear.

First of all, I would like to acknowledge the simplicity of what Fa Xin had to say; there can be many steps along the way to true self-knowledge and some self-accepting reflection in awareness is a very practical place to begin! I would also suggest among other things, Kholberg’s principles of Moral Development as a way to conceptualize one’s orientated perspective from a mundane psychological perspective. As for the completed state… Being “true to yourself” is a state of integrity that when deeply founded, has no doubt nor need to announce it self; like all Truth, it simply is. And from that source its flow is natural, easy and without the fear of self-consciousness. So if you are ‘fighting’ to maintain your integrity, then you are not fully rooted in it. If you are trying to rationalize how to be, then you are not coming from the core of integrity. And if you are taking the time to boast about it, then you aren’t just living it. To clarify, true Integrity does not originate from a psychological state; it is a full system state, that at its utmost level does not only involve the physiology of the body, but the complete alignment of the mind-heart to all subtle bodies, and ultimately the release of your human beliefs and concepts to move in unison with the harmonies of the entire universe (this is, to note, wei wu wei). How you come to this is not so much through the psychological reflection that is often born from a state of mental projection, but rather it is in recognizing the whole of your constitutional place in alignment with all else. It is a deep understanding and knowledge of self before mind. From here, your mind only acts as the servant-executor to the flowing depths of your truth. So the realizations of values and morals (often which in the absoluteness of integrity are not themselves absolute) are the fruits of this alignment, not the reverse, which is as most people live. It is that most people tend to “think” about what they ‘should’ do and create all sort of ‘beliefs’ around what they think could be right, and then mistake these rationalizations as the truth from which they define themselves. This often leads to rigid action, to imposing proclamations of dogma, to arrogance, to internal dissonance (much of which is sublimated in service of social convention and prevalent ideology), and ultimately a very deep seated and unconscious fear, because most know and can feel at some level with minimal reflection, their own fraudulence, their own confusion, and their own emptiness in insecurity. Integrity, like all other states of truth are of no-mind. You exist in an orientation that is fundamental from a principle transcendent of the man-made condition, though integral to it. And either one realizes this truthful inherency of place in being or they do not and therefore act from the confused, rationalized states of (self) belief, and thus live in perpetual psychological insecurity that they (falsely) construct to cope with the actuality that they don’t know… even the most fundamental innate things… like one’s own “true self”.

The existence of natural law that has been conceptualized into “karma” can be better understood when experienced: -without judgement but factually -non-linearly and through out time -and synergistically rather than discretely About Awareness First, it is important to say that it is possible to know, rather distinctly, facets of existence that have contributed to ‘your’ karma. Like any aspect of self that remains unconscious and unrecognized- whether these are the many paths in bloodline of your own ancestral history that came before you and have so integrally shaped the person you became; the complexity of internal bio-mechanisms of your own physiological body; the geographical or government systems that shape your society, culture and personal livelihood; or the nature of your own soul and transcendent self; the lack of recognition doesn’t change the fact that it is in perpetual affect. Just as you can trace your heritage, learn bio-anatomy, become an expert in governmental processes, learn the topography of your world and its ecological systems; so to can you become aware of your past lives, their conditions and how it has informed the person you now are. That you don’t recognize these things is about your own ignorance or unconsciousness- be this intellectually in knowledge and information, through emotional anger and fear, or lack of subtle and spiritually developed insight. It is all there to known and not even just by you yourself, but by all souls who are conscious. About Judgement and the Factual, Also What Comprises the Field of experience as ‘Self’ Imposing emotionally ladened and preconceived value judgements upon a natural phenomena of any kind (even the ‘artifical’ in the human condition) prevents true witness of all conditions. This is not to say one cannot discern, but to become psychologically deluded is not a direct path to clarity in insight. The nature of karma is as a fact. And as a natural way, it is without psychological bias. At its base, it is cause and effect. There may be proclivities to how those causes and effects occur, but as we know in any science, while A+B overwhelming tends to lead to C, there are always exceptions. Not only are there sometimes minor or unusual circumstances of exceptions, but when you expand your understanding and consciousness to recognize the broad, deep and complex system of intervening variables of ‘your’ existence that are so numerous, no one being alone can even begin to logically and systematically compute it in totally. Consider the working of small unseen forces- be these things like bacteria or energies; to more base things like the numerous working of cells, organs, and network of what informs the ‘mind’; to the simultaneous actions of individuals in proximity, let alone those who are at a distance; to the movement of societies, environmental forces, and then the universe… then now you have only even begun to consider very, very, very minutely a finite amount of factors in the infinite multitude of endless variables which converge to make a moment, let alone the idea of a single discrete individual- the individual who is a field of reception through which all these dimensions and forces pass through. About Non-Linearity and Synergy So now you have begun to have a sense of the field of experience that passes through the vessel to become integrated as part of ‘’you’, and numerous factors that existed in a single moment to create this experience. You are made of many parts, layers and dimensions, all which appear discrete but are actually both their own in addition to comprising the larger ‘you’. But then the picture gets even bigger. You think of time as linear, but in reality, past, present and future are all happening simultaneously. So what you were, what think you are, and what you will be, have will and are all occurring. Not only this, but there are many different variations of similar and different scenarios occurring concurrently. And this happening not just to ‘you’ but to everyone and everything around you. So then, what is karma? It is the simultaneous movement of all things that you recognize only finitely (usually due to the level of impact) as the predominate thread of your sense of discrete self in a given moment. All these things have gone to inform ‘you’ and become ‘you’. YOU are cause AND effect. In this condition, you are a karmic being. Resolving Karma So then how you do resolve karma? In this sea of infinite waves that you are, lies the ‘present moment’. Present moment is not dependent on time because it is itself not time. The present moment experientially is your transcendent state of witness. When in a given moment, you find love peace happiness or anger hate and rage, then in each moment you affect all things, in all time. Of course the degree that you do so depends on many factors, but in the actions of presence- all other conditions in ‘time', change. Which means you change or your ‘karma’ changes. Do you have to be aware of ALL things for that to happen? No. But it helps to be at least self-aware. And the more aware you are, as in the more conscious you are, then the deeper your resolve or impact across time, space, dimension, and in relation to all other spirits that compromise that soul that you are. So rather than making decisions and taking actions from what has been or what could be out of fear, be present with this moment: live in health, in loving-kindness and make this moment whole in wellness. That is all you really need to know and do. All other things will be and do as they are. But that doesn’t have to change the integrity in the fundamental truth of your own being.

Cobrien, Just to note, what is often referred to as the “little death” or a “minor death” in esoteric texts is the state of passage through the self in which what is commonly and mundanely known is no longer applicable or valid, and yet one’s essential and fundamental understanding is greater. This passage is both physical and psychic in manifestation. Generally it occurs through the body and there is a distinct sense of physical obliteration, and stemming forth the consciousness is existentially transformed. To note, drug induced experiences can actually lead the system to travel through a similar passage, but the difference is that this method is usually ephermal and while the consciousness is effected it is usually not deeply enough to gain enduring wisdom, just a limited (though sometimes impactful) transformative understanding. In addition, there are inherent risks to this and it is easier to become turbid from the passage (and thus becoming convoluted or ill following) than in learning how to access this passage through a purified consciousness. As for your experience of elevated but not entirely uprooted consciousness, this is a potentially a powerful gift that if properly cultivated could be further developed to enhance your personal practices and understandings.

The Three Treasures (San Bao 三寶) The Three Treasures refer to three fundamental and broad categories of energetic forces that help to manifest, sustain and transform life in the 人 ( ren / rén ) or human being. Each treasure is an essence that when in mass will manifest as states, movements and substances. Therefore, while one can recognize them through form, it is important to be able to ultimately recognize them and cultivate them from their formless state. The proper cultivation of these treasures allow for longevity, and when done at the utmost level in harmonization or unity of all three essences, it allows for immortality. Its transformative path is as follows: Jing into—> Qi into —> Shen = thus resulting in longevity or immortality (if fully harmonized) In the following synopsis I have given a general overview of their concepts, their locations, and some of their various types, as well as a few notes on their rudimentary categories for cultivation and damage. Jing 精 Definition: categorically an essence of the primoridal force in potential that forms the material basis for human life Location: stored in the kidneys Commonly Referenced Types: Pre-natal- the creative potential inherent before birth. (also referred to as congenital or reproductive jing) Post-natal- the continued creative potential acquired after birth (also referred to as acquired jing or jing of the organs) Cultivation Methods: conservation, internal and external alchemical practices Damaged: materially through seminal loss and menstruation, excessive use of will, usage of stimulants such as coffee Note: It is also damaged through essential loss by habitual objectification in lust, such as through watching poronography (which also damages shen) Qi 气 Definition: used as a stand alone word, it generically refers categorically to energy- specifically, ones vital or life force. However, qi is NOT one thing. There actually exists a variety of different forms of qi, so at higher levels of practice or cultivation, you are learning to discern and refine the various manifestations of qi. A few of the most commonly discussed ones are listed below in ‘types’. Commonly Referenced types: Wei qi- defensive qi location: exterior of skin surface surrounding the body Yuan qi- source qi location: accessed through the source point on a meridian Ying qi- nutritive qi location: often associated with blood and its travel through vessels Kong qi- air qi location: often association with lungs Gu qi- grain qi location: often associated with stomach and spleen Zhen qi- upright qi location: not a location but a quality of qi Cultivation Methods: dietary habits, life style, various forms of movement practices Damaged by: excessive exertion, exposure and penetration of what is known as the 6 evils or 6 pathogenic factors Note: There seems to be a habit among both laymen and practitioners alike to have bias and exalt the concept of qi as simply a positive force. In actuality, qi at its basis is simply energy, and energy improperly stored, moved or tainted becomes disease, perversion and illness. So to recognize and respect qi in its many manifestations while learning to properly discern their states of being and movement can help better refine one’s cultivitatve practices and movements beyond generic theory, prescription and practice. Shen Spirit 神 Definition: used as a stand alone term, it generally refers categorically to the spirit in its quality of consciousness as associated with the Little Shen that is found in the heart. However, shen is a much larger concept than this (see below in “Note” section). Location: generally associated with the heart organ Commonly Referenced Types: Yuan Shen- simplistically this refers to the soul (not necessarily the Western concept of ‘soul’). also known as ‘original spirit’ Little Shen- the smaller spirits that resides in the yin organs Cultivation Methods: purity of mind and heart, having a silent mind, embodying loving-kindness Damaged by: excessive or imbalanced emotions, turbid mindsets Note: The term shen, like the term qi, has a variety of references which are not clear unless you understand the context in which it is being used. For instance, shen is also used to refer to dieties, gods or the divine. As it relates to the body in Taoist medicine, it is spoken of as one Great Shen (the yuan shen) with its smaller manifestations through the five hollow or yin organs, known collectively as the Five Little Shen: they are the spirits of the five yin orangs- liver (hun), heart (also referred to as shen), spleen (yi), lung (po), kidney (zhi). It is the cultivation of shen that allows for enlightenment. I hope that is helpful!

Yes, Krishnamurti felt strongly about this matter and spoke out about it with consistency. And from a psychological and sociological stand point, his point is often made apparent and so well observed. You say we “have” to care and “should” care about “succeeding”. But when you feel that clinging, desperate, self-imposed imperative to “care” about this supposedly definable end point of ‘success’- do you actually feel liberated and well in this pre-conceived belief of striving and attainment? Why are you so adamant and possessive about the inherency your being? What do you fear will thwart the “you” that already is? Your self-identification with the ideas of how things must be and this self-possession fixates you in a myopic (if not un-intentionally petty) sense of boundary and stress and that keeps you from the very expansiveness of self-liberation that you are actually seeking. Is the self-concern good? Only in so far that it has nourished, guided and supported you this far. But here you are, at a small impasse in questioning your foundational habits of mind and behavior and I encourage you to delve deeper into your assumptions to create new ways of navigating through the flowing of life.

Lerner, that's beautiful- the hammocks and terrariums! Yes, do start. And remember to, that 'where there is a will, there is a way'. You could always reconfigure parts of your life to make this dream possible- be these increasing your skills as you mention, or moving your family to the island and continuing your steady job/profession while developing the connections and place for your hobbies. Be creative and resourceful- think outside of the box. You can be responsible while not being traditional. And you can be grounded while pursuing your dreams along together. Share this with your family, brain storm together, and support each other in making your best possible selves in life together.