Dzogchen

Update: Just decided to go for a walk to see how I did. I ended up doing 7 miles and felt so good I ran the last 4! My hip isn't even acting up anymore. Now if I try lotus again, I still feel the pain! I can't feel it during 7 miles but when trying lotus or when I do this type of exercise I feel it sharp: @4:49

Songtsan, thanks for the wealth of information! It does not appear to be ACL or MCL. I can take a photo but it would be hard to do with me in lotus because it is basically on the outside of my knee. It seems to be coming from right where the fibula connects at the top, shooting down almost 1/2 way along the fibula. Thanks. I do not take pharmacy drugs for this but I have been using a lot of turmeric/curcumin and milk thistle/sylimarin. And I am allergic to aspirin. I do not know if you read all my post, but I have been doing this for a long time and I stretch before and after, basically all the time. Great resource. I actually did notice that a couple nights ago my hip just all of the sudden started hurting, feeling out of place. I did not think it had anything to do with this pain because it didn't start hurting at the same time, it was rather spontaneous, but now I think they might be correlated. Checked many times for a slip. While I could not detect a definite slip at the head, this is exactly where the pain is coming from. The heat of the fibula where it connects to the knee, striking down only the fibula just less than 1/2 way down. I'm going to take this all in, take it slowly for the next week or two and take some time off. It actually is not that bad when I am doing anything else. I feel like I could go play a pick up game of basketball right now, it only hurts when in 1/2 or full lotus. Thanks again, I will report back here with my findings!

Ok thanks for all the info, it has been so long since I have been injured like this and even just a few weeks seems like forever. I do a lot of different lotus stretching, that is actually how I notice if it feels better or not every day. I will just wait this one out and hope for the best! Might even go drink some alcohol since I mainly abstain from alcohol because of my different daily, practices. Treat it like a vacation from a vacation!

Nothing else seems to be wrong with my knee, and in most day-to-day actions I do not have any problems. I am usually very careful getting into and out of full lotus when just meditating or when doing specific yoga poses/asanas/postures. Always stretch before and after, no matter if I just was sitting full lotus hours ago. Didn't feel anything that would have caused this, the only thing I can think of is that I was sore for a couple days after I went a few days in a row on some pretty gnarly hikes, and then this started. The thing that worries me is that it isn't better at all, it feels just as painful as it did almost 3 weeks ago. I have tried healing myself and different healing meditations. It hurts even when in half lotus but what are the thoughts on me switching to full lotus with opposite leg on top that I have always been doing?

I have seen many masters smoke. I would have to agree, I have seen many different types of master practitioners smoke. I actually just saw a video playing where I think it was John Chang smoking. In many of the Kung Fu movies you will also see a lot of smoking.

I got into Qigong many years ago, but when for a long period where it was sporadic. I fairly recently started back into an everyday type of practice, but have been taking notice of sneezing and how it effects energy. Tried to search online but did not get many results. Can anyone share their experiences, opinions, or links on how internal alchemy is affected when sneezing? Sneezes seem to be quite powerful IMO!

Was hanging out with a friend last night who is a special guy that is basically a Daoist but doesn't know it, if that makes sense. A very gifted individual. We were talking about things we have gone through and he was telling me how he is able to see energy. He sees it floating around, but also in the form of auras. I read an exercise recently on how to "see" chi, by staring at points just in front of you, but not focusing in on the background. I was wondering if any of you wonderful bums would be able to give me some tips or links on things that I can give him to do that will open him up or fine tune his senses for viewing chi and other energy? I do it fine just by practicing Qigong regularly, but I don't think he has the time or determination to do 1-2 hours of Qigong each day for months on end. Thanks!

As someone who has been interested in and studied many different aspects of quantum physics for over a decade, I would have to caution other bums of taking anything this guy says very seriously. To someone who is not familiar with quantum physics you may not catch a lot of why his theories are bogus, but he is well known for being a "crack pot" and has been debunked time after time. Even though you claim he is a physicist, I do not think he has ever received any education on the matter, or earned any accreditation.

Haha yeah. I told him how I became able to actively and easily see and feel energy, but I don't think he is able to dedicate enough time and effort into these practices yet. I am slowly working with him, he is at a point I have seen people who have practice for 6+ months be at and he had never even heard of Qigong. He does read some Tolle and Buddhism thought based books though. If this is what you are seeking, I would just recommend the 100 days of Spring Forest Qigong. http://www.springforestqigong.com/index.php/100-days-of-qigong As Chunyi states, you do not have to do the full exercises everyday. If you are able to do 2 hours worth one day, great! Even if you are only able to do 15 min worth of small universe in one day that will work too. If you can, around the same time of day.

FokusFyre: While not technically wrong, this is a bit misleading. Yes, our bodies do need sugars. Do we need to actually consume sugars, or any carbohydrate for that matter? No, not at all. Fats and proteins are essential to our bodies, carbohydrates are not. Our bodies can convert proteins into what we need, and even fat as well. Actually our bodies preferred fuel: http://goo.gl/myAxD One thing that I think is extremely important that is often overlooked is the fact that every human being is different. What works for one person may be of no benefit or actually harm another person. I don't think this is very good advice. The best thing to do is to vary your diet and see what works for you best personally! If you feel sharp, health and happy, that is the best macro for you, there is no perfect or best macronutrient ratio for everyone. Even for average carb eaters, 50% is a little bit high. This can also change depending on your personal goals (lose fat, gain muscle, gain weight, go into keto). If the above ratio works for you, good stick with it. I think that would be a very low percentage of this population. I personally do usually only 10% carbs daily and I feel very sharp/on point, healthy (can't even remember last time I was sick), and very happy. Do what works for YOU! One of the main things I do not like about HFCS is that it has recently been found/thought to cause brain changes that can make you not feel full, so it can cause one to overeat.

The Ultimate List of Keto Foods Green = The Absolute Best: No/Low Sugars, High Polyunsaturated Fats Blue = Very Good: No/Low Sugars, High Saturated Fats Orange = Good: No/Low Sugars, Low-Moderate Fats Purple = Acceptable: Moderate Sugars/Glycemic, High Polyunsaturated Fats Grey = Barely Acceptable: Moderate Sugars/Glycemic, High Saturated Fats Red = Unacceptable (use sparingly): Moderate Sugars/Glycemic, Low-Moderate Fats (the foods are linked to nutritional data) Cheeses American Cheese Blue Cheese Cheddar Cheese Cottage Cheese Cream Cheese Feta Cheese Gouda Cheese Mozzarella Cheese Provolone Cheese Ricotta Cheese Swiss Cheese Dairy Almond Milk (unsweetened) Coconut Cream Coconut Milk (unsweetened) Egg Heavy Cream Ice Cream (unsweetened) Soy Milk (unsweetened) Whipped Cream (unsweetened) Dressings Balsamic Vinegar Blue Cheese Creamy Caesar Ranch Fats & Oils Almond Butter Almond Oil Butter Canola Oil Cocoa Butter Coconut Oil Fish Oil (cod liver) Flax Seed Oil Grape Seed Oil Hemp Seed Oil Mayonnaise Olive Oil Peanut Butter Safflower Oil Sesame Oil Soybean Oil Sunflower Oil Vegetable Oil Fish Anchovies Flounder Herring Salmon Sardines Sole Trout Tuna Tuna (canned) Flours/Meals/Powders Acorn Flour Almond Flour Almond Meal Cocoa Powder (unsweetened) Flax Seed Meal Protein Powder Psyllium Husk Sesame Seed Flour Splenda Fowl Chicken Breast Chicken Legs Chicken Wings Duck Goose Quail Turkey, breast Turkey, ground Turkey, bacon Fruits, low sugar/glycemic Avocado Blackberry Cranberry Lemon Lime Olive, black Raspberry Rhubarb Fruits, moderate sugar/glycemic Apple Strawberry Watermelon Meats Beef, ground Beef, ribs Beef, sausage Beef, steak Lamb, chops Pepperoni, pork/beef Pork, bacon Pork, chops Pork, ham Pork, sausage Veal Venison, steak Nuts/Legumes Almonds Cashews Coconut Hazelnuts Macadamias Peanuts Pecans Pistachios Walnuts Seeds Chia Seeds Flax Seeds Hemp Seeds Pumpkin Seeds Safflower Seeds Sesame Seeds Sunflower Seeds Shell Fish Clams Crabmeat Lobster Mussels Oysters Shrimp Squid Vegetables, low sugar/glycemic Arugula Asparagus Bok Choy Broccoli Broccoli Rabe Cabbage Cauliflower Celery Chard Chicory Greens Cucumber Eggplant Endive Fennel Garlic Green Bean Jalapeno Lettuce, Green Leaf Lettuce, Romaine Parsley Radish Spinach Soy Bean Zucchini Vegetables, moderate sugar/glycemic Artichoke Brussel Sprouts Carrots Celeriac Kale Kohlrabi Mushrooms Okra Onion Pepper, sweet, green Pepper, sweet, red Pepper, hot, red Pepper, sweet, yellow Pumpkin Snow Pea Spaghetti Squash Tomato Turnips Tons more great info here and very in-depth: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=132598293

That's great to hear! I actually was battling with hunger as well and tried many different things. I had done local sourced food for a while and then was on and off Paleo. I have been strict Paleo for 4 months now and been in Ketosis for over 2 months straight. The most important thing to remember with any type of diet is that everyone is different. With that being said, most Ketogenic dieters calculate what they eat by figuring out their macros. Basically this means that they figure out the exact % of what to eat for each day. No matter what, to begin you will want to stay under 30g/day as far as carbs, under 20g if you can. The most common macro % is: 65% fat 30% protein 5% carbohydrates. Some do 45/45/10 (and everything in between), again it will all depend on what works best for you! Now this is just a general rule, but seems to work well for most, even if you don't hit every % perfectly. If you do mostly protein, that is called a Protein Sparred Modified Fast and even though it will rip the fat off your body it is hard to do and some say it can be a little unhealthy. You can do a weekly, or once every two week "reefeed" or carb load where you take in as many carbs as you want for 12-24 hours. This is to replenish glycogen, but there are always debates on what is best, and many debate this aspect as well. As I said above there are people that do zero carbs and even entire cultures that have gone 1000 years low-to-no carbs, so just play around and see what works for you! When reefeding, it is known as a Cyclical Ketogenic Diet or CKD. There is also doing a small carb load just before and after a long or hardcore workout. Some do this for energy boost to gain muscle/mass, I just workout without the carbs and do fine, it all depends on what works for you. This is called Targeted Ketogenic Diet or TKD. Honestly, I personally don't count calories and I just ballpark figure out daily fats and proteins now. Just make sure carbs are very low. No matter what you choose, fruit will add up quick, it is full of carbs. Usually a few days of meat, leafy vegetables and under 30g of carbs will put you into Ketosis. 36 hour fast with only Coconut oil will probably do it. Medium Chain Triglycerides or MCTs help out a lot. I recommend Cold Pressed Virgin Coconut Oil, it is great for your entire body (I eat it, put it on my skin/hair and cook with it) but it is awesome for Ketosis! Also gives an awesome amount of energy. Many different things can knock you out of Ketosis, mainly carbohydrates. Some can go into Ketosis in a day, others may take a few days to a week. I would also stay away from the nuts, they usually have a lot of carbs. No nuts, or fruit, and I would stay away from milk/yogurt or most dairy. Cheese is usually low carb, a lot of Keto dieters eat plenty of cheese. I am strictly Paleo so no refined sugars, gluten, grains, legumes, dairy. Nothing with hormones, antibiotics, GMO-free, free range preferably frass fed. Nuts are fine on Paleo, just that when you want to go Keto they will add carbs fast. I usually make my own homeade almond milk and it is delicious, but if you do nuts keep them to a minimum. Yogurt is actually a very hard thing for most peolpe to give up, but no dairy is best (besides cheese). If you adhere to these rules, you will find that over time your cravings for these foods goes down. Everything else starts to taste better as well when you aren't on the SAD (Standard American Diet). When you go into Ketosis, you start getting less hungry as often and have less cravings, that's a huge benefit of Keto. Check everything you eat online. Just google things like "almond nutrition" and there will be charts that show how many carbs are in a cup of almonds. Use this to keep carbs low. Once you get into Ketosis, I would buy Ketostix. These are tabs you urinate on that will tell you when you are in Ketosis and how moderate your levels are. This will help you find a good balance of things you can eat. Some people can eat 80g+ of carbs each day and stay in Ketosis, once you are there for a while it gets much easier and you will have a lot more leeway. While in Ketosis, don't forget to drink a lot of water. Here is a good Keto calculator if you want to try: http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/ There is also plenty of good info and friendly people on www.paleohacks.com There are a lot of different things that can come up or can be confusing. I will message you my email and if you are in the US my number to so you can text/call if needed. I have been studying these types of things 4-20 hours a day for the past 16 weeks, so I am definitely interested and ready to help. Last thing I will say here is that even just being Paleo has greatly helped out my Qigong. I think that Paleo/Qigong-Taiji combination can turn anyone's life around. Also doing Qigong, Keto and Taiji I notice I am much healthier, happier, and have got very lean lately. I haven't been sick in a very long time. Feel free for anyone to PM me for any advice!

I am a strict Paleo dieter(local, no GMO, pesticides, antibiotics, hormones, grass fed free range) doing Keto for almost a year, that has been in Ketosis now for 2 months straight. I started because of severe GI problems I was having, and have never felt better in my life. Plus, it doesn't hurt that I am losing a lot of body fat without muscle and becoming very lean! Technically speaking we do not even need carbohydrates at all to survive. There are many people who live very happy, healthy lives with zero carbs. Fats and proteins are where it's at! If anyone is interested in the Paleo or Ketogenic diet please let me know if you would like any advice!

Here you go: http://web.archive.org/web/20090318105226/http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/dp5/bernard2.htm

I have been taking Rhodiola for quite a while. I will use it 2x per day, once a day, once every few days, or once a week depending on if I "need" it. Whenever I do I notice a definite rise in energy, great for cardio/yoga. No noticeable side effects and no real "come down" feeling. I prefer NOW brand but I also use Herb Pharm liquid extract.

That's all part of the "fun" (many physicists have driven themselves mad trying to solve these types of answers). There is a very deep correlation between physics, philosophy, consciousness, ect. Learn, come to your own opinion, learn more, think more, experience more, adapt beliefs and come to another opinion then keep that pattern going. Ironically this is the only way you may ever truly "know" the answer to the question that was proposed, is it a bit of a paradox? Are there multiple different answers that could equally be as satisfying? Another though experiment that I have been using to come to my own opinion has really given me great insight on something relate to this. Now we know that everything in the universe is made up of atoms, and atoms are made of sub atomic particles, then strings perhaps. Your body, but most importantly your brain is just a 3 dimensional configuration of particles aligned in a specific pattern. Now if there were a machine that were able to perfectly duplicate you down to the exact position of every last particle in your body at a given moment, and that machine made a perfect replica of you at that certain moment, what would happen?

After reading some of your other posts in this thread it is clear that what you are referring to has to do with what is called quantum causality. http://medienportal.univie.ac.at/presse/aktuelle-pressemeldungen/detailansicht/artikel/quantum-causal-relations-a-causes-b-causes-a/ That with a little research on parallel universes and you should have a better answer.

From my experience they are all very similar, but still each with their own special unique magick. Due to sharing many of the same undertones, it is safe to say that each of these states results more than likely from pronounced pineal activity. After my last post it is odd using this analogy, but to me they are like taking LSD, 4-ho-DMT(psilocybin), and mescaline. All three feel very much alike, but are still exquisitely different. I would have to agree here; I have seen this first hand. One of the most amazing people I know was a girl met in elementary school. She could do things at 12 years old that I have never seen since (although she really did not like it when I asked her to do them, and she would very seldom show me these powers). Things that are what the scientific community would call impossible. Simply amazing. She was 100% Native American, her family lineage were composed of chiefs/spiritual leaders and her father is a very well known Native American spiritual leader, so there might have been something aiding her but I have yet to figure out what. I am sure she was being "assisted" by somethings I could not see at the time. Personal acquaintances often tell me how they think I am amazing, on another level, ect. but this girl is just profound, just astounding. He is spirit guide. He is also not only your guide, but he watches out for many. Very very wise, old soul. He was also manifested as David from the bible (King David, the one who fought Goliath). I am mostly an extreme empath, I have never bent anything or made anything move (well I have fried electronics/lighbulbs that have blown up but that's it). When I first started "using" my powers I would get very tired and have headaches. If anyone is starting to develop powers and going to use them to benefit others I would caution you to take preventative measures to ensure nothing happens to you mentally or physically. There is plenty of info in these forums about how to do that (trust me, I have been a lurker for years ) Another side note: ​ Since it has come up a few times, know that a lot of those who are very familiar with astral projection actually discourage it for many reasons. You can go really far out, and some say your body can attract negative entities. I personally seem to usually ward off negative entities, they do not like me much, but I remember hearing recommendations of building a strong "tether" and starting off slow/close. I don't have any resources, just google "Astral Projection Tethering" or something similar, I have heard that is a very safe way to practice AP for beginners.

From someone with a lot of knowledge with this, be careful what you put into your body. With Salvia and DMT you can experience some pretty crazy problems with your Merkaba field, some that may have a huge impact on other sets of meditations you wish to do or are currently practicing. You will not likely posses the same "progression" and understanding you did before taking these substances, and it can take a while before you will be back where you started. Now, this may sound contradictory, but I believe that many humans have at least been aided in their awakening by taking different substances like these. If you ever do take these "mind altering" substances and have an "enlightening" experience, then once you are able to start meditating again sit on the way you truly felt during those experiences. If you really take a lot of time and meditate on the way you felt, you may be able to achieve the same feeling you had while on substances (they are really just drug induced states of mind that are achievable without taking the drug), and you may be able to manipulate the feeling as well. There is actually info out there on other people besides me who are able to provoke DMT(psilocybin, dxm, ketamine, mescaline, ect.) like mind states through pure meditation/thought. Astral projection alone may take 90-180+ days to properly accomplish. If you are interested in what I am describing above, giving you a heads up, it's not what I would describe as easy. It may sound cool to naturally be able to feel under the influence of any substance you want at any time, but it will probably take 5-10 years of dedicated practice to really become proficient at this and I would agree with most everyone else here when saying that no matter how you go about it, make sure you prepare yourself for it, it can all be very dangerous. Now I will tell you that some frown upon this type of practice, it can distract you from other "realizations" and "reaching other goals" (for lack of more detailed illustration). I remember when I had my first intense guided meditation where I just left and went off on my own. It was very akin and felt like a bit of a combination of lucid dreaming, astral projection, psychoactive drug use and deep meditation, almost like playing the ultimate 4d Playstation with my mind (I would call it virtual reality but some parts of it felt realer that my awake life). While explaining my experience to my guide, I was informed that this is not "what it's all about" and learned that a lot of Buddhists actually encourage you not to seek this type of state.

Hello everyone. Please allow me to say this is my first real post. I have been "practicing" a unique lifestyle ever since I had a Kundalini awakening over 10 years ago that is a combination of many different aspects of Buddhism, Taoism, Kundalini, Tantra, ect. Basically I have taken a bit from here, a bit from there as I have seen work best for me and I seldom have any problems, hence me never posting. I am now currently having intense food cravings that just come out of nowhere and looking for a little advice. I have fasted many times during the past decade, specifically the past 5 years and I have had no problems with doing any detox or fasts. I have gone for over 7 days easily before after one experience I went through that was water only nothing else, and I felt great. I am usually on a familiar diet of mostly Superfood smoothies containing sprouted quinoa, raw cacao, spirulina, flax seeds, maca root, with whole raw (not blended) almonds and goji berries for snacks, plus fresh sashimi grade tuna from local store (I'm very close to the ocean) about once a week. About ten weeks ago I started eating more and more meat, food from "regular" (not fast food) restaurants and some junkfood. I didn't think much of it, I will go through times where I am not 100% consistent with my regular diet, but things have progressively got worse and I now find myself with intense cravings for food almost all day long. I have not really been like this before and there is nothing I can recall that has changed in my life that would cause this. It is becoming a problem because these cravings are very intense and I usually have a lot of self-control. I find myself at all hours of the day with very vivid cravings for food. I know my body well and this isn't some protein deficiency or anything, it seems more mental than anything. When I do not eat it is constantly on my mind driving me crazy until I eat something, and even then I only curb my appetite for a short period of time before I start slowly going crazy for food again. I don't know what is happening, it is very odd for me to want anything, especially food. I have tried many natural appetite suppressants with no luck and looking for any meditation practices or any advice at all on how to make these super intense cravings go away. Thanks

I have been an outside observer for many years. I really it here, many very knowledgeable folks here that are happy to help out. Been having a few problems lately and I am in need of some help so I just joined today. Can't wait to start posting!