jacklantegi

Parsley OIL is a fantastic remedy for bad breath. There is a popular mint (parsley oil geltab surrounded by mint) called "breath assure" or "mint assure", I can't remember exactly, but it really works.

I just purchased it. I'll give an update.

For those of you who include abdominal breathing as part of your routine, there's a surprisingly good iPhone app for this.

 

The app is simply called "Pranayama" Universal Breathing by saagara.

 

Basically this app consists of soothing tones to pace your in breath. There are four different tones, one each for the four cycles of breathing: in breath / hold / out breath / pause.

 

It starts very basic, called "Beginner"....with only in breath / out breath. There are multiple levels of Beginner, each with longer breath cycles.

 

Then there is an Intermediate level that includes three cycles of breath: in breath / hold / out breath. Again there multiple levels, each with longer breath cycles.

 

Then there is an Advanced level that includes the full in breath / hold / out breath / pause. Likewise with Advanced there are multiple levels each with longer breath cycles.

 

Since I have been doing a Taoist style of Tan Tien breathing for years, I started with one of the lower levels of advanced. That feels about right for me at this point.

 

I will say from my experience that the deep, paced breathing of pranayama nurtures the practioner on three levels....physical, energetic and spiritual.

 

Also, the tones that pace the breath are quite soothing, and there are several to choose from: Serenity, Vedic, Ambient, Classical and Nature. They are all very good as an aid to the practice....very relaxing, harmonic.

 

I can highly recommend this app to anyone into abdominal breathing.

 

If anyone else has experience with this Pranayama app, please chime in.

 

Good breathing....

 

Fu_dog

I'm fairly positive that they are not central channels- all three are located in the back. One going through the spinal column, and the two on either side of it..

As I understand, these 3 are central, not on the back...so just in case there is any clarification of terms needed Where's it slowed? There's of course different methods - waiting it out among the most passive, dissolving slightly less passive but with a bit of intent to it, herbs may be of use...analyze in a matrix fashion, look at it from different viewpoints and you may get some more in depth understandings of what's happening.

Well, as I developed a very tangible feel for the energy in the three back channels over the course of my practice, I started noticing that the energy flowing through the ida gets slowed down like as if there was a dam halfway through my back.

So I was just wondering if there was anything I could do to clear out the channel to help it flow smoothly and evenly.

But if the best course of action is to just wait it out, then that's what I'll do, I guess.

what's making you focus more on one as opposed to the other? need a measure of both if that is the case and you're "looking for balance"

Are there any safe ones that I can practice on my own?

Advanced techniques are best learnt from a suitable teacher, not in a chat room.

 

In the presence of a guide the chances of success is very much heightened.

Can someone recommend some specific exercises or meditations that focus specifically on activating, clearing and strengthening the ida channel?

All I know is that certain breathing techniques (alternating nostrils) is one way, but how does one go about doing this?

Thanks!

But what about when someone uses a pendulum to test your chakras?

Say you are lying down on your back, and the person testing you is on the right side of your body, facing your head, and holding the pendulum in his right hand over your chakras.

Doesn't that mean that the pendulum would have to spin counter-clockwise if your chakra is indeed spinning clockwise???!?

Yep, you got it, the first example, as when your facing the clock visually in front of you. If someone were to look at you from the front with your chakras spinning they would see them spinning counter-clockwise.

 

Here is an example:

 

Yes, this is the common knowledge however,

Is it clockwise, as in, from left to right like facing a clock or

clockwise as in, from right to left with the clock facing away from you?

When you think about it, the latter feels more "counterclockwisey" to me, but gives me smoother results...

I have no idea..

I've heard it mentioned that the chakras should be spinning clockwise and not counter-clockwise, my suspicions are that this movement works in a dual polarity sort of way, with clockwise being positive and counter clockwise being the negative movement of the chakra.

Found another interesting one:

http://www.aryabhatt.com/occult/kundalini/chakras7.htm

Although looking at that again more closely I just got confused....

The spinal vertebrae for the sacral chakra is located above the vertebrae for the navel chakra???? huh??

OR... it's the case of the sacral vs spleen chakra... and the sacral is actually where it says "sacral spinal ganglion".

Does anyone actually use the spleen chakra???

Thanks for the advice!

I focused on the chakras and located them on the sushumna instead of the central channel this time and holy cow! this was the most profound meditation I have ever done to date.

Why do people always advise using the central channel? I know they're located on a continuum in the body but still...

Anyway, what I did for my last meditation was simply take a look at the nerve ganglia locations in an imagine I found ( and imagined them swollen up and pulsating light and color for each respective chakra area. It worked fantastic and no need to spin!

for me they spin both ways at once, and you can tell them to spin one way or the other (counter clockwise or clockwise) faster if you like. They rotate around the axis of sushumna in the spinal column and as i get higher in the body, i visualize them spinning faster. I use phi ratio spins to sync them up with each other.

(root 8 counterclockwise, 5 clockwise... sacral 13 ccw, 8 cw... up to the sahasrara at the crown which spins 144 times ccw and 89 times cw) I don't actually count those rotations, just tell them to vibrate at that speed, so each one is spinning at the rate of the one above and below it. It generates a tremendous amount of power as they "synergize" and harmonize.

 

there are as many different ways to visualize chakras as there are mystics.. they all work. lotuses, vortices, wheels, mandalas, elemental, with or without deities living within them, etc. I advise you to keep experimenting and be open to change! see what works best for you.. blessings

Hey guys,

I've been practicing various methods of visualizing my chakras while meditating with varying results.

The general consensus is that for males, the chakras spin clockwise. What is never mentioned is whether it's clockwise from your actual position, or someone who would be facing you.

I like to keep things simple and simply focus on the general area, but I found my results to be more consistent while adding a spheric shape and color to that. I recently added the spinning which is a pain in the ass to focus on, but again, made the results a bit better.

I feeling like saying "screw it" and going back to just focusing on the area, but I tried it again recently and the difference is pretty substantial if I don't visualize at all...

Thoughts?

But... that's exactly what I said.. or are you paraphrasing me?

note: hormones are not "used up" to manufacture anything, in that they are not the building blocks themselves. They act as catolysts, triggering certain metabolic reactions.

1. Yes, ejaculation does not deplete nutrients, hormones or anything of that nature but it requires nutrients and hormones to remanufacture the sperms and semen and the tremendous energy was loss during the ecstatic blissful experience of ejaculating.

 

2. It requires energy to set off the receptors and neurotransmitters.

 

3. Again, it requires energy for sending out the hormones to tell the reproductive system to recharge the capacitor.

As much as I am fascinated by Tibetan Buddhism. Their idea of the "6 realms" has always struck me as a more primitive pre-buddhist shamanic construct. It never made any sense to me at all. I take it all with a grain of salt.

But then you are still desiring not to desire. How do you explain that ?

I have been reading up on the tibetan book of life and death.

 

The author states that upon death, a human being will encounter stages of bardo.

 

If your karma is good enough or if you have been doing enough spiritual work, your soul or consciousness would be attracted to the higher realms and even the buddhic or angelic realms if you have been doing enough spiritual work.

 

If your karma is bad or if you are too drawn to desires or hatred, then you will be drawn towards the lower realms where you will be reborn again.

 

The author states that if one does not wish to be reborn again in the lower realms including the human realms, then one should avoid any thoughts or feelings of desires and hatred/aversions after death and one should will his consciousness towards the extremely bright realms of angels and buddhas.

 

This is the main reason for renunciation and asceticism. To avoid being drawn again towards the lower realms after death.

 

How many of you wish to be reborn again in samsara? Again and again?

I have asked about this topic numerous times, and have done a lot of personal research. I am an infertile male (by choice through hormonal meins- I can resume being fertile if I wish).

From what I understand, from a scientific point of view, the liquid and sperm don't require much energy or nutrients (other than zinc) to be produced. Likewise, contrary to popular myth, ejaculation does not deplete nutrients, hormones or anything of that nature.

Instead, the ecstatic blissful experience of ejaculating sets off a massive neuronal earthquake that might temporarily deplete or desensitize certain receptors and neurotransmitters.

Kind of like the come-down phase after taking a stimulating psychotropic drug.

What triggers the orgasm, is the sexual energy, which acts as a sort of capacitor. It gets depleted when you have an orgasm, but charges up when you don't.

I'd be interested in seeing the results from guys simply ejaculating and ejaculating with an orgasm. I wouldn't be surprised if there were zero negative effects if the orgasm part is omitted entirely.

You go ahead and create whatever world you like, and please keep it to yourself.

I, will continue to live my natural human desires. Not exploit them, just experience them. They are my birthright.

I don't mean any offense to you, but you really come across as a sexually frustrated individual.

Thanks for the input.

Yes, I have read Bruce's "Energy Gates" book and many topics about fire and water methods, although there is much debate as to what practices are primarily water-based.

For instance, I would not be able to classify Qigong as either fire or water. Kundalini as fire, yes.

You got a lot of good advice Jack, i'll just give my 2 cents. I agree with de_paradise. When we switch to different practices we tend to get immediately results from the new practice exactly as when we first started the previous practice. However, IME its never good to make decisions when we are emotional. Find a place of clarity and peace and make one's decision.

 

Also my understanding is that there are "Fire Practices" and "Water Practices". Water practices flow into the deepest recesses of oneself and heal in subtle ways that we are not even aware of.

 

Fire Practices can often be more forceful and burn through blockages at a rapid pace and as a result we will get more "fireworks" and "experiences".

 

Both practices have a place and different people are drawn to different practices due to their different dispositions.

 

IMO fire practices can be very helpful if we need to burn through a stubborn nugget or block that we are having trouble with and that water practices would take a lot longer to dissolve. Fire practices can be very beneficial in the short term but to really go deep and heal the deepest depths of ourselves water methods are best.

 

Much of my thoughts and ideas on this topic come from reading Bruce Frantzis Water Method.

 

Ideally we want a practice that is balanced. Hope this helps.

 

-My 2 cents, Peace

First of all, I am 99.99% certain that these "symptoms" you are describing, are not due to your frequent masturbation/ejaculation.

I believe you are suffering from a psychosomatic illness and some form of hypochondria on one level or another.

The root physical cause of some of your symptoms may be hormonal imbalances such as hypothyrodism and hypogonadism.

Start eating well, working out, meditating and living a healthy lifestyle. Consult an endocrinologist.

You're clearly overfixating on an imaginary cause to all your suffering, and it is simply a waste of time.

This is the type of thing you don't want to hear and might disregard, but I urge you to take what I said into serious consideration.

FYI, I am speaking strictly from my own experience, as I was much like you when I was younger.

edit: To all the people that are prescribing this guy exercises to fix his "sexual exhaustion": STOP IT! You're just feeding his imagination and he'll just end up digging himself an even deeper hole due to frustration. It's no accident he posted this on this particular forum. He is looking for a particular kind of response.

UPDATE:

I have replaced most of my SFQ practice with Kundalini Yoga and I must say that I am still getting very impressive results.

If I had to compare the two, I would say that SFQ benefits the body more than the mind, and Kundalini is the exact opposite (in my experience, anyway).

However, now that I have some physical healing to do, I am going to put the majority of my effort back into SFQ, and I'll let you guys know how that goes...

Hey!

Sorry I didn't check back here earlier.... this is exactly the information I was looking for. Most informative... you certainly know your stuff!

I'm eternally grateful, my friend. Thank you!

Ok First thing... You are doing very well, i can tell you have spent a bit of time on it because you can explain what is happening very well and you have a good sense of what is happening.

 

Now.. The answer for your questions - First the easy answer and best one. "Yes, yes, very good... keep practicing". Doing this will work.

 

Now for the more detailed one. What happens when you go to a point and you don't feel much energy there is because that point needs energy. The energy goes into that point and through other meridians from that major point to the organs that need it. So when you get to a point and the energy dissapears or gets weaker its because the energy is needed there and it is used. If you try really hard and focus on the point and try to keep the energy brighter there you will prevent it from going through the point and to where it is needed inside, so don't do that.

 

Now as to the best way to do it, as with kinesthetic intensity level as you call it is depending on what you are trying to achieve. If you want to have more chi in your body, more energy to use it as you choose, well then you increase the intensity and keep on increasing it. It gets stronger and stronger till you can't bare it any more. It will force open blocked channels and then finally all your channels will be open but you will still be concentrating on the energy, and so some channels will be blocked. If you want to get the full 'no thought', enlightenment experience then you finally have to give up that intenseness and have faith in your body's own intelligence to direct the energy where it feels fit. After all your body knows where the energy should go better than where you 'think' it should go. But the more and more intese your energy becomes, the more troublesome it becomes to guide it through the MCO, and so finally you just give up because you just want a rest and can't be bothered anymore and woohoo there you are - no think!

 

And as to where to direct the energy, well when you begin it circulates at an outer level and flows smoothly and well, outside your body in the orbit. You can try to move it in more but it gets stuck, just keep it out where it goes smoothly. Slowly it will auto move in deeper and deeper. The thrusting channels will start opening up and moving with your MCO too automatically by themselves.

 

In my opinion MCO is all that is requered. The macrocosmic orbit where you go out of your head to the universe and down thru ur feet to the earth is just unecessary, all that energy will be pulled in by it's self, just let it flow it when it want to. Oh, but on your problem points where the energy dissapears or gets stuck you can pull more energy from other points or outside energy to force these places to open up. But it's just the 2 sides to the practice. Either grab more and more energy and force open blockages and get some bad side effects or relax more so the energy can just go through there. Doing both at the same time is best, so relaxation makes it easier for the energy to go through and more energy makes it easier to go through too

 

Just most important point i have to make is don't force it or try too hard, just let it happen. Don't try too hard doesn't mean dont' spend alot of time on it, you can spend lots of time just let it do it's self, not 'you' do it. After all you are trying to get rid of the 'you' so that then there can be the real you. Otherwise you are just reinforcing the ego you.

 

Keep at it and let us know how you get on.

 

So the general idea is to do the practices but dont try too hard to do anything like you've read it. Just do it and let it do it's own way and be patient.

Point taken... thanks!

But what is the purpose of intensifying the "brightness" or what have you by pulling in the universal and master's energy? If doing that without the intent to make it brighter or more intense or whatever, then what would be the point?

Just be relaxed, put the mind roughly on the next point when the audio says to. IMO, that is all. You don't have to wait for a feeling of energy or push it or shape it or anything.

 

Since qi follows the mind, pushing it doesn't make much sense. The mind must go first then the qi will follow, and be pulled...this is the natural and healthy way.

 

The following way of thinking might help: imagine for a second, that water (qi) can be attracted by a certain type of magnet (attention). Consider the pathways of the orbit...if you can feel energy move from one gate to another, then that area may be fairly clear of blockages. It's like a river through which the water is pulled towards the magnet.

 

Another path from gate to gate may not have any energy sensations...so maybe there are blockages like a beaver dam or big piles of rocks, logs, whatever in the way of the river. But the water will still be attracted to the magnet, so it will flow around those things and gradually wear them down.

 

If you stay at one gate too long, it will create a flood in one part and a drought in another, and cause the whole river system to become unbalanced. This may cause the beaver dams and fallen trees and whatever else to be forcefully pushed and gathered in one spot, creating a greater blockage than there was before.

 

The better way is to keep it even...each flood gate then can remain open at the right time...then as the water flows smoothly through the whole river-system, it increases momentum and will more easily and safely break apart any blockages in its path.

 

All of this is accomplished just by going from point to point with the mind.

 

At least this is my idea of it.

What would you say is the most important factor regarding qi in the he Small Universe/MCO?

From what I understood, the kinesthetic intensity level at any given area does not equate to better results, so what is optimal? Just getting in the most relaxed/empty state as possible and gently focusing on each area until you get some kind of a kinesthetic awareness response? On a similar note, if I simply visualize the energy, and make it as bright as I possibly can, then I lose all kinesthetic awareness. Mixing visualization and kinesthetic focus makes it a LOT harder for me, so I just leave the visualization part out of the picture completely.

Also, is it important to still feel the energy while moving between each point, or is simply shifting your focus to the next point sufficient? I have read that it is necessary to feel the energy move to the next area since it clears the "path" between the two points as it moves through...

I mean, it's not really clear the way it is described in the SFQ Level 1 program. Master Lin basically says to just "push the energy to the next location". That's about it.

I know it's a very individual thing, but I've been practicing for a pretty reasonable amount of time now and I'm still not able to just "go with the flow", so to speak....

The focus in the Small Universe audio is so quick that it's not really dangerous. In my opinion, it's not actually "focusing" with intensity so much as it is guiding the energy from point to point gently (qi follows your mind and will naturally end up flowing along the two channels that way). This type of 'focusing on the gates' is a beginning way of causing the orbit to flow smoothly and ensuring everything is balanced.

 

Keep watch of your signs and symptoms...if you notice anything that seems bad, you can always take a break from that practice.

 

 

 

It's better to let go. Focusing intensely creates disturbances in the qi. What the mind does is more important than what the qi wants to do...qi is always doing what your system requires for harmony, so it should be trusted. Sometimes it may be the exact opposite of what the mind is trying to do...that's ok. Just move the awareness of sensation, or the kinesthetic sense, from point to point without any extra effort...be totally serene. Also, the kinesthetic sense may be screwed up, for instance as you said sometimes it seems to jump out of the body or do other weird things...that's okay, having attention in the general area does the same thing that you want as intensely focusing does...it attracts the qi to that area. And most important is relaxing the mind, which is continually shaping the qi's result as it beckons it.

 

I think that will help, if it makes sense.

Thanks for the advice guys, it's helping me a ton! I will try to focus on the surface of the skin for my next question.

To answer your question, I feel the energy very, very strongly, and I can also adjust the intensity by changing focal area. For instance (the way I've been doing it anyway), if I focus on heart center point, in the middle of the chest, I can make it a very intense point the size of a golf ball, or I can expand it to the size of a grapefruit and cover more area, thereby distributing the intensity.

This is one of the things that I find makes the practice so cumbersome for me; I have to focus very hard on the size, location and intensity of the focal points, because otherwise the energy tends to get out of control, for instance, it will jump out of the body, move a few inches in any direction, change shape, get stuck, split in half, etc.

And that's also one of the main reasons for my question; depending on the intensity and location of my point of focus, I get different results, such as the energy getting harder to move to the next location, getting "stuck" more easily, etc.

I have tried just letting go and not trying too hard but then it doesn't really feel like I have done anything at all when I'm finished, and it also makes me doze away. I have to either concentrate on my breathing to stay focused, and lose track of the energy, or focus on the energy, and lose the "emptiness" or "not overdoing it" aspect.

On another tangent, is the energy supposed to feel 2 or 3-dimensional? In other words, should it feel like a ball, or should it feel like the surface of a circle (or whatever shape or area)?

In regards to my saying I'm not getting much results, I am talking about the actual outcome of the practice. Oftentimes, I don't feel very different after the meditation compared to before I started, and sometimes I actually feel worse afterwards. Only on a few occasions have I felt a true tangible short-term benefit, which is why I started questioning whether I was actually doing it right in the first place.

The active exercises (in SFQ) on the other hand, give me very positive tangible results both in the short and long term.

 

When you say you are not getting results, do you mean that you don't feel the energy? Or do you mean that you do feel the energy but are receiving no benefit from the exercise?

 

Thank you for the very kind and helpful words.

I understand what you are saying about there always being two sides on a coin. It's just a bit more worrisome for me when it involves rapid shifts in psychological states, especially anxiety (which also includes physical components such as heart rate and blood pressure).

But in any case, I now know that these kinds of things aren't permanent and usually don't last much more than a day.

Well I dont have any SF qigong experience, but I can offer my general point of view shaped from my experience. Bliss states come when you break through to some new level, sometimes its because you have changed you meditation a little or a lot. Nothing was holding you back per se, just a new way often yields immediate results, like breaking a dam from different places that finally allowed the water to flow. If you continue practising you may find that the new practice wasnt better, it was just different, and it later doesnt yield such amazing results consistantly. Secondly, you should no longer equate "feeling bad" with "doing something wrong" because in the world of energy detox and detox in general, the opposite can be true. Mood swings, feeling crap, feeling bliss. This is real progress. Wednesday morning here. And thirdly, theres time to pursue different things. My feeling is that you are sincere and basically a good person, and things will work out for you one way or another.