fizix

Hello Fellow Bums, I've been noticing more and more people recently registered 2009/2010 who are posting quite frequently, I think it would be help to all newcomers and who else to the forums/spiritual practice to contribute some of the TB's many gems of wisdom to a single collective thread. Let's not let all the spoken wisdom of last year be lost to time! I hope a few people follow suit in their nomination or endorsement for the best TB post of 2009, I'll start off the ceremony with a very humorous, not-so-spiritually-disciplined-related post, but valuable as laughter is the best medicine, and TTB is often in much needed support for some comic relief to balance out much of the stoic seriousness we're all privy of. Let's bypass the semantics and 'egotism' of 'best' and simply paste a favorite, insightful post from 2009, and no, there's no formal 'winner', unless someone is so inclined to attempt to establish unanimity. I know I'm not the only one who can remember an old post that really helped them out with their practice or life, might be a hassle finding it (not really, advanced search engine) but by helping others, one helps himself. http://www.thetaobums.com/index.php?/topic/12933-john-chang-versus-mike-tyson/ "Ok I SAW IT HAPPEN.....I was asked to keep it secret but I think you should know.... So JC was minding his own business, just happily playing poker in Vegas, by chance Tyson was on the same table. JC obviously was winning, REAL BAD too, poor tyson had lost 1Million in this game. Tyson had noticed how well JC chose his moves, too well that is, as if he could read the other players cards. Tyson got up to leave the table, but couldn't help but ask with his funny voice "You psychic or something man?!" JC defensively snapped back at him with lightning in his eyes "You accuse me of cheating!?". Tyson was scared, knew something was different about this man, but the whole table was looking at them, and theres no way tyson can lose face like this, so he told JC "lets take it outside little man, I ll eat you alive". JC slowly got up, looked tyson in the eyes and said "you dont knw who you mess with, bitch" zapping tysons ass with some chi, causing tyson to jump up. Tysons sudden movement sent his bodyguard into fight mode. They jumped him all at once, all 3 of them, but before they could get close to him they were repelled right back. Now tyson was spooked, his fear sent him into fight or flight mode, he should ve have chosen flight. JC played with him like a cat plays with a mouse, Tyson didnt know what to do so he charged jaw wide open right for JCs ear. He bit it, and bit down hard, you could hear the sound of his teeth braking as JC used his Iron Ear technique. Tyson now exhausted and with more broken teeth than hes had through a lifetime of boxing decided to cut his losses, he looked at JC and asked "what are you?" Jc picked up his winnings from the table and slowly raised his head to look at Tyson "I am John Chang, level 52 master of Mo Pai, and your dantian is 2% full". He then simply picked up and left, leaving Tyson to wonder what all his training had been for, if he cannot even scratch a short little man half his size. Thats it, That is what happened. I know it sounds unbelievable, but thats the truth." -That Guy

He knows not to do that; karma is a mysterious force. "First ask him if he want's to answer a bunch of clueless questions from people that don't practice his system. " I don't think Chunyi Li would have a problem answering sincere questions from spiritual practitioners, regardless of whether or not they practice his system....

I'd like to know his stance on the concept of fusing together the yin and yang energies: "yin yang gong"; the possible ramifications. Awesome opportunity!

Nostalgia fest? Sounds like a negative connotation in this context, but a nostalgia fest is not what I was going for; knowledge fest more like; I suspected my 'nominated post' would be a bad idea since it gives a certain implication as to the expected posts, nostalgia, I can't blame you for misunderstanding. Why not just be in the now, and create some good posts? Why not both?

Yes, you're just about right and I agree with you in a sense in your view, but people need to think for themselves, and more importantly... "Seriously though, you ought to be concerned when your peers are labeled as criminally insane grifters." This is in general, a Taoist/Spiritual discipline forum, I'm sorry if I don't have much sympathy for anyone whose life or fate or attentiveness in his spiritual practice is swayed or heavily influenced by Penn and Teller's show. Spiritual practice is about taming the rampant emotions borne of the ego, clearing and instilling peace in the mind, hearing the Tao hear you; by fixating on ultimately irrelevant 'conflict', one acquires a habit of doing so repeatedly. Thoughts attract like thoughts. You must have some trust that people know what is best for them. Spiritual attainment is not about lashing out at the 'other side', defending your side, that is a mechanism of the ego, we want to cultivate the Tao, not the ego, or in Biblical metaphor, cultivate God not the devil. They are comedian magicians, they are blatant 'entertainers', satirists, not self-proclaimed authorities, not an ego-maniacal tv personality like Glenn Beck who have actual, sinister agendas, just funny voices. Hell, Teller doesn't even talk. "one day you may be judged guilty by association." A wise man once told me, "People who judge never matter, people who matter never judge." If anyone in martial arts or spiritual practice is excessively offended by a show like that, they are merely not in proper understanding of the nature of their own practice. Excellent quote island

haha epic. the two ultimate paths:(?) [insert reverse abdominal breathing] or [insert McDonald's addict] truly, feed the belly and empty the mind!

lmaoo. John Who? Never heard of him on any qi gong forums. Perhaps this video is a great blessing unto him as surely he will gain popularity and enlarge his school and pupil base! new age shamanistic tools galore! Be creative! We are the One living spirit, we are evolving love-life, and love life! Know no boundaries! CowTao speaks great truth as well, folks. As I mentioned the "mountain" in my previous post, CowTao is speaking of the peak. Quite high and afar from the typical folk, almost unfathomable, conceptually discouraging to some, but true enlightenment in that one forgets all silly ideas, enlightenment/ignorance doesn't exist, there is only the Tao. When one reaches the top, he is detached, forgotten of, ever forgetting, ever detaching from being detached, forgetting of being forgotten of, forgetting to forget, forgetting to forgetting..... emptiness. But oh, the folly of language, and our ego-self! Forget about who I am, it is true that "I am." but who am I? A creator! And many create and embrace the comfortable illusion, a dream in a dream, living in the shadows of reality! Who am I not! Everything and Nothing! And you can't take your new car with you, only your chi! You yourself are nothing but a vehicle! Woe to worship material deities. Oh, this monkey has been fun! A very fun ride, what a grand experience, life on our mother earth! Complicated at times, but fun! Oh, the things people do with their time! Regret is only real when it's regret of missed life-love. Soon I'll dream of a butterfly, and the sleeping monkey man will think I'm in his dream, but he's in mine! But I'll love not knowing if I am the butterfly, the monkey man, or the celestial light refracting on a drop of morning dew on a fresh, beautiful blade of grass! Or it all! Or Nothing! Is there a difference?! 1. How I wish I could comprehend the infinite vastness of One! Speaking of one, the fathomability of zero before One is even more elusive! But Zero and One co-exist as Absolution! YIN AND YANG! LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (^ awesome show too btw!) Evince the plainness of undyed silk, Embrace the simplicity of the unhewn log; Lessen selfishness, Diminish desires; Abolish learning The Light, the Truth grows inside you, it only get's stronger! The ego only gets stronger to battle the truth! Shamans use powerful tools; the sacred mushroom beholds many timeless secrets, purist Taoists see no rush! Let us see no reason to ever deny a smile. Now float down the river! NOW! Don't clutch onto anything, don't be afraid, there's nothing to be afraid of, there is only the great Tao and infinite love! Float down the river, it's beauty is forever, and you will know it! Everything else is illusion rooted from the ego-self! Love life! Love attracts love! All the energy you send out eventually comes back to you! Negative or positive; live in love! Do not be afraid of the seeming challenges, do not think that enlightened beings are above reminiscing on the love-nostalgia of life! Early life vacations, relationships, Feel the love of the memories! You can literally feel the love manifested from the time because consciousness, love, the Taoist transcends the concepts of space and time! Peace and love all!

epic post, should be stickied. Don't miss out on these gems, folks. Although I am on a different path of training than that described in Charles Luk's fantastic book or Spring Forest qi gong, I can verify all of this information as accurate and well articulated. The top of the mountain is generally the same, regardless of the path one takes. One should carefully read and research Drew's descriptions; skeptical? Put in the flight time and see for yourself, skeptics generally don't invest much effort into the other side of their skepticism, oh confirmation bias what a great thing. I can tell you, personally, other than it being a straight, awesome mind f*** the first time you accidentally tap into the energy, flexing the pineal is useful in more ways than one =)

Great sometimes, but not great all the time. One, particularly someone like Drew Hempel, could probably get very in-depth into the many benefits and infinitesimal micro/macro/energetic/pineal/vagus reations that follows a practice accompanied with certain Tao-patible music, yin yang harmonics, etc. All I have to say is that if you only listen to music when you practice, it will be hard to hear the purest form of the most beautiful music of all, of the Tao.

I was in a deep state of consciousness, thoughtless, borderline sleep, however, still self-aware; I felt as if I were sinking into my couch, quite literally so. I assume my consciousness had transferred from my physical body to my energy body, as I was literally slipping downward out of my body down my couch. This unexpected sensation alarmed me and I awoke in sleep paralysis, probably one of the most unexpectedly terrifying events of my life. I was gasping for breath but could not breathe, my entire body was numb but at the same time I could sense every square cm of it full of a piercing energy. The entirety of the sleep paralysis lasted what seemed only 5-8 seconds. I don't want to go into detail as to what I saw, believe it or don't, makes no difference to me; but for some reason during my sleep paralysis I saw the large, dark black form of a winged demon, with an eerie, ominous ringing noise/pitch associated with it. After not more than 10 seconds, I fainted back asleep. Sleep paralysis is a peculiar state, possibly an entrapment between waking consciousness and the subtle, shadowy realm of the spiritual world. In contrast, I have seen and felt beings full of light, their unconditional love is unfathomable. Beware energy vampires! Your karma can render you vulnerable to these beings, most especially if you are not cultivating love energy and evolving consciousness.

The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown: Spiritual/esoteric focus story base, great read, couldn't put down. I, Jedi - Michael A. Stackpole: A spiritual story of cultivation and training in the Star Wars universe. Awesome book, if you like it, try the Jedi Academy Trilogy.

Oh heard this story before. . . It is so: The Great Magnet sweeps the tides of all things black and blue.

I hope you're not thanking him for posting that arbitrary garbage, following that 'recipe' is no real path of training, will lead to damage.

Yes, born and raised. The mountains have tremendous energy. So does the strip.

For the record my post was not referring to you =)

Ah, and yet again Penn and Teller pissed off another person I live in Las Vegas and have met them both personally, seen their amorphous, world class show many times; they are by far NOT "morons". Comedic/magic/showman geniuses perhaps, but not morons. There is a reason they are in giant portrayal fixed on The Rio. Penn Jillette and Teller are characters within the real people, this people do not understand; look for the hidden reasons of their doings, they are truly the most open-minded and friendly people you could meet in person, despite their apparent inflated sense of self-esteem on cable tv.

Thank you very much for this post, I suggest everyone read the aforementioned.

Level 1? If there is a level 1 I presume there is a level 2? (A level 1 of what?) Please elaborate. Thank you.

The OP posted information from a completely arbitrary source; some single, random guy who tried to guesswork the Mo Pai system and failed miserable. Fail thread. "the Anti-Christ Training Manual" is already on search engine.

Well, 100 years is at least a pretty modest improvement from 1.5.

Me too, just last night coincidentally. Any footholds appreciated.

Ah, yes, your child-aged concept of 'devil', perhaps you should look more into things.... Your ego is heavy, it is you who needs go outside, and literally sit down and shut up, then ask how yourself how you got there. Sure, free will runs the world, but who runs free will? You are too attached to your ideas, when in reality, all ideas are the same single entity, the same energy. Those without the treasure will never enjoy the great paradoxical mystery. 4,480 in such a short time Marblehead, it is amusing and unsurprising that those tactical theorists with so much egotistic ideas invested into a community happen to think so highly of themselves, I can refer to you as King Marblehead if you'd prefer; I beg, I urge you to sit down and shut up, for it seems you are incapable of doing so with all of your talk and no practice. Go, go outside and do real practice in the sunlight and fresh air and perhaps engage a female for once. 5,000000 posts on a message board is not the route to liberation, you are in your own ego imposed bondage.

Mo Pai because I saw a video of a guy igniting a newspaper with his hands thus that is the only working system, only practice worth pursuing. Oh I heard you can jump over houses too. I want to be Goku!

Free will is the devil's greatest trick.