Louie

This is a tough question to answer. There are literally thousands of different ways to meditate. Some are totally harmless and others can be very dangerous. It all depends on what you are doing and how much you are doing it. My preferred way of meditating is to listen to binaural audio and just watch my mind for a bit. I find that it is pretty hard to mess myself up doing this. I am not directing any energy, I am just giving the mind some space to clear whatever needs to be cleared. I will feel energy moving on its own, but I do not try to make it move in a particular way. Chi is like electricity. If you try to put too much of it through a channel that is not ready for that voltage, you can blow a fuse (Kundalini syndrome). It is true that the mind moves and chi follows. However, the mind does not need to guide the energy every step of the way. It can just set the intention for where the energy should go and then allow the energy to choose its own path to get there.

Here is my two cents on this subject ... In its most basic form, the entire observable universe consists of pure information (consciousness) and pure energy. The information tells the energy how to be oragnized. Every possible configuration of the universe co-exists in what Michael Talbot (The Holographic Universe) refers to as the implicate order. You can imagine it being a huge database of possible now moments that is infinite in size and scope. Anything you can possibly imagine already exists in the implicate order. You just have to perceive it. This is where the human mind comes in. The mind is the mechanism by which we filter the implicate order to create a particular now moment. That is to say that the mind filters the implicate order down to a particular now moment that we perceive as reality. Then it shifts the filters a bit to create the next now moment. I find that a good analogy for this is a video game. In its most basic form the game consists of pure information (ones and zeroes). When we are playing the game we see that information filtered to present a now moment experience of the game. Nothing can happen in the game that was not programmed in before you ever turned it on. However, you create your own game experience by how you choose to move through the game. We are the creators of our own world because we are the creators of our own filters. There are infinite possibilities, but we can only perceive those realities that can be displayed with the filters of our beliefs (both conscious and unconscious). This resolves the paradox of how each person can be the creators of their own world even though we share this human experience. It is no different than how two different people can play the same MMORPG game from their own unique perspective. The energy itself, and the information on how to organize it, is not created by any of us. It already existed. All we are doing is perceiving it through aparticular set of filters. Your filters might allow you to do things that other believe is not possible. The implicate order contains the information for any possible movement or configuration of energy. It is only your beliefs about what is possible that prevent you from accessing those fantastical realities. Here again, the MMORPG analogy works well. In a game you can level up and gain access to new abilities that other players do not have. They are possible for anyone, but not everyone will have them. My understanding of the law of attraction is that you can change your reality by changing the way that you use your own mind. In other words, you consciously change your own filters in order to experience a different reality. This would be like accessing your own player profile in a game and removing some of the limitations. IMO, all spiritual practice is about reprogramming yourself to remove limiting beliefs that prevent you from experiencing more joyful realities. No matter what, you are creating your own filters and thus your own life, the trick is to do more of this "creation" ina conscious way.

I have completely changed my entire world view at least twice in the past year so I guess that means that I am not too attached my ideas about life. There were several ideas that I dismissed as garbage the first time that I encountered them, and then later adopted into my personal beliefs. The first time that I saw these ideas I was not ready for them. They challenged what I held to be true. These ideas could not co-exist with my world view at that time, so I had to dismiss them. A few months later my world view had shifted enough that these same ideas could be incorporated without so much internal conflict. As for other people attacking my ideas, it does not bother me. No two people have the same truth. Even in close knit spiritual communities, no two people will agree completely on what the truth is. I am willing to hear other people out and I may even decide that some of their ideas are better than mine. My world view is a work in progress and I assume that it will always be that way. These days I am trying to stay open minded and remember that new wisdom can come from anywhere. It can come from a song on the radio, from a child, from a person that I do not even like. My soul will use any medium available to communicate truth to me. Somtimes it will communicate with me through a harsh critique from someone else. So be it. Wisdom is wisdom, regardless of how it was delivered.

I have already found some topics on semen retention that were good food for thought.

Hello everyone I am here because I am looking for a place to openly discuss issues surrounding awakening and energy practices. I started studying Zen about 2 years and since then have become a regular meditator. My once daily practice looks something like this: - 15 minutes of yoga asana - 15 minutes of healing sounds - 30-60 minutes of meditation (either Taoist or Zen style) Over the past year I have achieved tremendous growth through this routine. Since Christmas I have decided to add the conservation of sexual energy to my practice and that is mostly why I am here. I am looking for advice and tips on what to expect from this and how best to handle the energy. I do not have a teacher (and do not want one) so I am necessarily taking this slow. However, I am grateful for any info I can find here. Looking forward to gaining from the combined experience on these forums. Louie