multiarms

Being in the "now", or keeping one's attention to the moment: not future, not past (and not on this forum, and what you would like to say in response to posts).

busted!

Good discussion. Sometimes I try to practice contemplation or cultivation "off the cushion" as it were, by calling attention to the Now as much as possible during work, routine daily life, etc. I usually have to try to force it with a simple mantra or reminder, unless I'm doing something that forces me into the flow (like really grooving at work, sex, intense video game, exercise, etc).

I typically try the "self-remembering" method described by Ouspensky and which is explained (a bit too elaborately) by Gurdjieff in his books. Just trying to stop the internal narrative and remember myself, notice that "I Am", etc.

Another method that I've screwed around with is the non-stop mantra/inquiry of HAIETMOBA ("how am I experiencing this moment of being alive?"), as described by Richard, the progenitor of Actual Freedom. This seems to be a super powerful technique, and I'm actually quite afraid of it. Stop over to the Dharma Overground forum and read some posts about AF, but prepare to be sucked down the rabbit-hole for at least hours if not days...

I've been following this story with some interest for awhile now, since Anusara is a huge national Yoga "brand" in the USA. There's been almost daily coverage on the Yoga Dork blog (good website), but here's a great summary article and interview from New York Times - http://nymag.com/news/features/john-friend-yoga-2012-4/

Always sobering to see someone, who was respected as an enlightened or spiritual person, revealed to be all too human.

Reminds me of Chogyam Trungpa and his whole successor-ship disaster, Zen Master Seung Sahn, Muktunanda, sex abuse by Catholic priests, recent revelations of the new Kalu Rinpoche, etc etc etc....

Makes you wonder - who's next?

Here's a funny article on this phenomenon - 7 'Ancient' Forms of Mysticism That Are Recent Inventions

http://www.cracked.com/article_19283_7-ancient-forms-mysticism-that-are-recent-inventions.html

Has anyone practised Gnosticism or know of anyone who have developed through practising it? I wonder if the full teachings are still alive today, or whether people are just filling in the blanks with what they would like to be there.

Unfortunately, I think you hit the nail on the head...

Similar to Wicca, Neo-Paganism/Asatru, Hatha Yoga, Ninjitsu, this list goes on and on. These things popped up in the late 19th and 20th centuries as attempts to "revive" ancient traditions, without a direct lineage so its all kind of "made up"...

Our friends in Rome made sure that no real Gnostics survived the dark ages. People forget that several Crusades were fought against Christian heretics, mostly in Southern France. All the believers were killed or forced to convert, books destroyed, etc. So all we really know about the Gnostics comes from the propaganda of the orthodox Catholic Church and is unreliable, or it comes from the Nag Hammadi tablets which are much much older and don't tell us a ton about actual "practices".

People who try to control the way others look is CRAZY. It's blaming someone else for the sexual thoughts that are IN YOUR OWN HEAD This is like radical Muslims who want to punish women because they (the Imams and other men) are horny. Sexual thoughts and feelings happen naturally and we have to deal with them (act on them, ignore them, laugh at them, whatever).

Also, for regular US Americans, remember what the PUA gurus teach us -- "Don't put the pussy on a pedestal". Just ignore that shit, cuz they're only doing it to get a rise out of you. People act all crazy, like hot girls got gold down there or something. Everybody needs to chill.

I agree that there is no point in trying to change the world with meditation. The world has been fucked up forever and will be so until we're all gone. Even if we could achieve peace and prosperity for all, end hunger, disease, etc... people would still be unhappy, because happiness does not come from an external source. So don't try. Paradise is right here every moment, or so I'm told

But, if you're really interested in trying to meditate to create a better world or something, maybe try "Transcendental Meditation" http://www.tm.org/ ... world peace is the stated goal of that method. I don't know anything about it really, other than its expensive and that it involves reciting mantras.

edited for spelling

Just to clarify, after a successful vasectomy, semen is still emitted with ejaculation, although there will be no sperm in it.

The procedure is to sever the vas deferens (which carries the sperm from their home in the testicles to merge with the seminal fluid in the seminal vesicles prior to ejaculation).

Anyway, regarding Jenny and Yi Gong, I think she said somewhere on her webpage that Yi Gong will disappear with her as the last teacher of the lineage.

No way, I'm "stealing" it!

I got the kunlun book, and practiced the first posture for about 3 years for an hour a day. I heard that Max got it from Jenny, and bought her dvd. I enjoy her teaching style and she seems very grounded and down to earth.

 

As a practice it's been very powerful for me, and I've moved into deeper and deeper awareness about conciousness, connection with self, and just in general developed a ton of awareness. Like that the thoughts are just a by product of the emotion, let go of the emotion, and the questions and issues clear. That all suffering is by choice. To be more present at all times. That knowledge is great, but doesn't matter so much as your connection to your self, like it's just something to placate your self so you feel comfy in doing what your about to, wisdom being the key, etc etc. And when I hold it my eyes naturally look to that inner spot in the mind or whatever... the pineal gland I guess.

 

Like all those things the meditators talk about I've come to through the practice of it.

 

It seems like vipasssana super powered.

 

Regardless, if I'm hurting emotionally, or hung up about stuff emotionally, I practice and it clears up.

 

Currently my main practice is stillness movement, but I have extremely high regard for yi gong and continue to practice it. SM develops the dantien and seems to develop a ton of energy inside of you quickly, while yi gong specifically develops awareness.

 

John

Awesome. Thank you.

I think it works both ways. You put off a vibe that like-minded people can sense, just like you can sense it in them.

Here's an experiment I thought of, I may try it. Try walking down a busy city street with everyone bustling around on their business, but do it in a more contemplative state, not so distracted or "on a mission" like normal people. Then try to make eye contact with people and see who engages you back...

A final word I think for myself it's good to take a break from Tao Bums to distance myself from the drama.

 

For example, here I am having a great day, I check out Tao Bums and read someone writing that Max supposedly "stole" methods from Sifu Jenny.

 

Doesn't do much to help my practice one iota.

 

Talk to you in 2013.

OK, seriously dude, every single post is your "last post", and not just on this thread...

The world is full of concidence.... I would say maybe since I owned the book from Max before I would say : maybe.

 

I got the hands on the DVD by Sifu Lamb by a good friend for a week now.

I would like to give different comments but I want to point out the good points.

 

Thanks, Friend, for the breakdown! I actually also do joint mobility prior to any type of qigong, meditation or exercise. I find it helps alot and if I am short on time and can do only ONE practice for a few minutes, I will do joint mobility exercises. I use a modified version of Pavel Tsatsouline's Russian methods. Highly recommended --

http://www.amazon.com/Super-Joints-Longevity-Pain-Free-Movement/dp/0938045369/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334263719&sr=8-1

I'm interested to learn about the "strike wall with back" thing, sounds cool

From what I've also heard kunlun posture lvl 2 and 3 are parts of the same system.

 

 

Sounds like how they look. But she says she hasn't taught lvl 2 and 3.

 

All rumors and the like, but supposedly Max stole them? I don't know.

 

 

John

Interesting. John, did you learn the Yi Gong practice from the DVD, from Sifu Jenny, or from another teacher? How long have you been doing it? Is it your main practice?

 

I remember reading that there was a physicist who came to similar conclusions, that the world doesn't actually exist and never has (I'm looking around for the citation now).

 

OK, an astronomer, not a physicist, but here it is --

http://quanta-gaia.org/dobson/origins.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dobson_%28amateur_astronomer%29

http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Space-Time-Lowry-Dobson/dp/0972805192/ref=cm_lmf_tit_4

The most radical answer, and in some ways a most convincing one, to the question of "why does anything exist?" is that it doesn't. The Vedanta sub-school of Ajativada posits that "nothing ever happened"...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajativada

I remember reading that there was a physicist who came to similar conclusions, that the world doesn't actually exist and never has (I'm looking around for the citation now).

I find it hilarious that this argument is quite logical and maybe irrefutable, depending on whether or not you accept the premises. Meanwhile, CLEARLY SOMETHING EXISTS (kicks rock)

Craziness...

For a modern Western take on non-duality (Advaita Vedanta), check out Leo Hartong - "Awakening to the Dream". You could read it in one day, but its quite nice --

http://www.amazon.com/Awakening-Dream-Leo-Hartong/dp/0954779215/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334258087&sr=8-1

For more traditional take on Advaita, check out Dennis Waite. This book took a while for me to digest, lots of sanskrit involved and large passages from scripture or quoted from Indian sages, but very thorough --

http://www.amazon.com/Back-Truth-5000-years-Advaita/dp/1905047614/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1334258141&sr=1-2

He also has a website with free stuff and excellent "links" section --

http://www.advaita.org.uk/

Hope that helps. I don't know much of anything about the other schools of Vedanta, sorry.

Question, Sifu Lamb's DVD Qi Gong for Self Healing I ($45 http://www.easterninternalarts.org/), does she teach her version of Kunlun in it?

 

I've heard she's a great teacher, does anyone have a review of this DVD?

 

 

Thanks

Michael

The DVD does include what she calls "spontaneous adjustment qigong" (Yigong Level 1), which from what I've heard is the same posture as Kunlun 1.

I'd be interested to hear more from her students and to see a review of the DVD, too.

 

As an aside I was doing yi gong, the first posture in kunlun, and was on day 30 is of no masturbation. I started to masturbate, and when I got close to orgasm it felt like all the energy was suddenly pulled to the back of my spine and shot up to my head.

To clarify, you started jerking it during the yi gong practice? Now that's what I call spontaneous adjustment!

Hello multiarms,

 

i wanted to know how hard it was for you to set up the one-on-one seminar and if you thought it was quite worth it to go to the retreat? (clearly it was due to the goal of continuing your kunlun practice). Was it hard to find an apprentices?

It was not hard to set up a Skype session at all. Don't be shy. The great thing about our current state of "spiritual counterculture" is that advanced practitioners and teachers are more accessible than ever, if you introduce yourself. I just contacted the teacher via email and expressed interest in some one-on-one time to help me prepare for the seminar. I sent some PayPal and had the whole thing set up in a few days.

There's a link to all the official apprentices and facilitators somewhere on Max's website - http://www.primordialalchemist.com

Sifu Jenny Lamb who teaches practices similar to Max's Kunlun also does "online consultation" - http://www.easterninternalarts.org/

 

If you fill your dan tein to the brim, and continue to pack it full and compress it, it will detonate if weakened by ejaculation if you keep pushing it. This isn't a concern because most people will never get that far, but the warning is absolutely true from my understanding.

 

..............

b100 days of building the foundation

What is that?

Here is a free book on Astral Projection. Its methods are supposed to be very effective. http://obe4u.com/files/SOBT.pdf

Thanks for the link OG, looks interesting and I may try these techniques this weekend. I've also been thumbing thru the Robert Bruce stuff recently. Will post back if I have success.

Hey, cool! I also started Kunlun about a week ago! I went to Max's seminar in Austin to learn it. I've got a personal practice journal too, which I just started. Might be fun to share notes from time to time, since we started pretty much at the same time!

Cat, sounds cool! I'll sign up to follow your journal. Let me know if you don't want me to post comments in the journal itself...