BaguaKicksAss

This poll barely defines what I do for income. Self employed doesn't explain it very well.

I make magick/occult supplies and jewelry, as well as some spellwork .

I sort of figured that on this particular forum, there would be far more people liking what they do than not.

I'm curious now, Vmarco, how do you get rent paid (or free) and food on the table? I think sharing non-standard modes of living is a good thing, gives others ideas.

Cool, do you mean original source material, or Husons own private material? - Or both? lol

I really like Schulke, and I love the whole vibe/flavour of Cultus Sabbati. It still has the TW elements, but with big influences from A.O.Spare and others...

Pre-Huson.

I prefer to see it more as "bad for me" or "not good/healthy for me". I have found that things and beings which are really bad for me, are not necessarily that way for others, and vice versa.

I edited my first post to add the text from the site, in case others are running into problems with the ads.

Works fine for me (on firefox)

Hahhaaa Bagua you left pawed rascal. Yes I'm familiar with Huson but have yet to had the pleasure of reading his work. Has quite the diabolical reputation. First heard of the book through several articles on each chapter over at the Used Key.

 

*Innocent look* LOL. With Huson, he left some stuff out.... but still an interesting read to get an idea of how some things, and some paths work. I was fortunate enough to see the original version of some of the rituals in his book.

My faves though are the Grimoirum Verum and the Grand Grimoire. Mostly the Verum though. Not traditional witchcraft some would say? I would say give it a re-read .

I'm curious what do folks think of Daniel Schulke? Is his stuff more traditional, or more past 50 years created?

http://anniepecheva.blogspot.ca/

 

Liu Yiming 刘一明(1734–1821) is a prominent Daoist master and doctor from Qing dynasty. In Scripture of Passing through the Barriers 《通关文》 Tong Guan Wen he points out 50 obstacles - barriers in the way of Daoist cultivation and explains how to pass through them.

Here is the list:

<>1. spoiled... Since the antiquity the great sages stress the importance on cultivating Dao and don't pay attention to fame."

4. Barrier of wealth and gain 财利关

Keep apart from greed for money and profit.

5. Barrier of destitution 穷困关

One can cultivate in all kind of conditions, despite destitution and all difficulties.

6. Barrier of the physical body 色身关

Paying too much attention on the physical body and forgetting about the spiritual body (the real body 真身). Zhuang Zi says: "Alas, the humans of the world think that to nourish the body is sufficient to preserve life; and when such nourishment is not sufficient to preserve the life, what can be done in the world that will be sufficient?" 悲夫！世之人以为养形足以存生，而养形果不足以存生，则世奚足为哉. ("Zhuang Zi: the Full Undestanding of Life").

7. Barrier of arrogance 傲气关

"Therefore the wise embrace the one and set an example to all.
Not putting on a display, they shine forth.
Not justifying themselves, they are distinguished.
Not boasting, they receive recognition.
Not bragging, they never falter."
(Dao De Jing, chapter 22; English translation: Gia-fu Feng)

8. Barrier of jealousy and envy 嫉妒关
Keep the heart away from jealousy and fill it with loving kindness to the others, as is the heart of the sages; do as the sages do. 存圣贤之心，行圣贤之行

9. Barrier of irascibility and haste 暴躁关

"Before cultivating the inner elixir, first cultivate your character." 未炼还丹先炼性
Irascibility, haste, scholding and swearing are harmful much more than one may think: "the orignial spirit leaves its residence in the body, but heat burns in the body, the essence jing and the genuine qi scatter, the three treasures jing, qi, shen are depleted.


10. Barrier of speech and disputes 口舌关

Think before you talk. Talk with respect and kindness. Cultivate your speech.
The tongue is the extention of the heart. The way one speaks and writes reveals one's heart. If the speech (tongue) is not kind and right, then it means that the heart/mind is also not kind and right. And if so, then how can one achieve cultivation? One of the 10 Daoist precepts is about speech: "Don’t utter bad words or use flowery language! Be straightforward within and without! Don’t talk excessively!"


11. Barrier of hate 瞋恨关

Egoism, envy, anger, the shortage of money, insecurity, intolerance, rivalry - they all can create hatred. "The confused people don't know how damaging the hatred can be for their life." One of the main Daoist precepts says: “ Never harbor hatred in your heart!... The hatred diminishes your spirit and energy.”

12. Barrier of others and oneself 人我关

Putting others first and forgetting about one's ego, having awareness of the world outside one's head is a powerful aspect of cultivation. Look at the myriard things as one whole, look at the world as one family. "Seeing the others are happy, I feel happy too."


13. Barrier of climate 冷热关
Literally “barrier of cold and heat”. Weather is not an obstacle for cultivation.

14. Barrier of laziness 懒惰关

If one is indolent and afraid of hard work, only seeks pleasures and comfort, then cultivation stops. "One has to be active not only for oneself, but also for the others - to actively do good to others... To build bridges and roads, collect herbs and tea, open schools, help the old and support the needed and thus day after day, hour after hour accumulate inner merits."


15. Barrier of skills and intelligence 才智关

Wasting energy and life to accumulating useless and fake knowledge and skills just to gain profit for oneself, show off, do intrigues, participate in useless contests to please the ego. That's not the genuine knowledge that leads to cultivation.

16. Barrier of willfulness and the individual character 任性关

When considering oneself infalliable and not tolerating and respecting the others, one easily falls in the trap of willfulness. One of the main Daoist precepts is to be retiring and modest in all things: "Put yourself behind to serve the others".
"I have three precious things - kindness, thrift, and never preferring myself over others." (Dao De Jing, chapter 67, translation: Michael Saso)

17. Barrier of diseases and difficulties 患难关

When one is worried and afraid of diseases and difficulties, one's mind and will become unstable, which leads to even more problems. "When confined [with difficulties], one must maintain smooth progress. Persistence will be auspicious for the great lord and with no calamity." (Yi Jing, hexagram 47 "Confined")

18. Barrier of craftiness and lies 诡诈关
Lying to others and oneself has nothing good for cultivation. Sincerity can move heaven and earth, it can reach the spirits and deities, it can touch the heart of everyone. Sincerity is the way of cultivation.

19. Barrier of pretense and guessing 猜议关

Pseudo-intelligence, being smart aleck and pretending to know everything and think that oneself is always right - this is an obstacle for cultivation. "There are confused people in the world, who want, by using the dim light of fireflies to break through the heavenly net. They don't realise that there is infinite depth of wisdom". "To find a clear-minded teacher is true happiness."


20. Barrier of mysticism 悬虚关

The insufficient understanding and practice create mystique. The beginners in the study of Dao tend to feel overly fascinated and look for mystic occurrences, which may sometimes hinder the cultivation.

21. Barrier of chimeras 妄想关
Those who pretend to cultivate and follow Dao, but in reality don't make any efforts and only look for good food, beautiful clothes, comfortable sleep and life, they easily fall in the trap of chimeras. If always postponing the genuine practice; just listening and reading about cultivation, but not practicing it - these are chimeras.

22. Barrier of life and death 生死关

As the Chinese saying goes: "They have not understood the meaning of life yet, but are afraid of death." Free the mind completely from all worries about death. Better focus on cultivation and actively do your work in life. Always keep at one with the Dao.

23. Barrier of complacency 自满关
When falling into the trap of complacency, one accrues no interests, loses an objective attitude toward oneself and the world, and the spiritual cultivation stops. Having a low estimate on one's own importance 低心下气 leads to success. Yi Jing hexagram Xun (57) is about humbleness and submissiveness: "Kneeling before the platform... Auspicious without misfortune." 巽在牀下。用史巫紛若。吉无咎。

24. Barrier of fear of difficulties 畏难关
Nothing in the world is difficult for one who sets his mind to it. 天下无难事，_只怕有心人

25. Barrier of slow action 轻慢关
Cultivation is like climbing a high mountain, it takes a long time and one has to watch one's steps constantly. Those who want to follow Dao, first have to learn to respect Dao and its values.

26. Barrier of feebleness 懦弱关

If there is no determination, courage and will, one can fall into the trap of feebleness, which is also related to constant hesitation, insensitivity, self-pity, despondency, laziness and inertia.

<>27. 28. 自暴者，不可与有言也；自弃者，不可与有为也。
"I am not a saint. Attained it through studying." (Scripture of Inner Observation Nei Guan Jing) 吾非圣人，学而得之。《内观经》

29. Barrier of debt accumulation 累债关

This barrier includes any debts, even unresolved relationship problems, corruption and always relying on others for money and other things.

<>30.external forms and ornaments are not a bad thing, but when they are given too much attention, one might lose a notion of what is most valuable in cultivation.

32. Barrier of false understanding 假知关

"There are confused people in the world who don't know how to cultivate, but intentionally or unintentionally lie and mislead the others."

33. Barrier of hidden evil 阴恶关

Peacefully accept that the others are different and may disagree with you or talk in unpleasant for you manners. If you remember the little resentments of others and hide evil thoughts in your heart, then how can you cultivate and follow Dao? Kindness toward all is the key of passing through this barrier.

34. The barrier of excessive drinking 贪酒关

One of the main 5 precepts in Daoism says: "One should not take any alcoholic drinks, unless one has to take a little bit to cure an illness."

35. Barrier of fear of hardship 怕苦关

No matter how difficult a situation can be, one still has the power to overcome it. The fear of hardship can not eliminate the problems. In the process of cultivation and unleashing of the mind, all problems can be reduced and solved.

36. Barrier of disbelief 不信关
The sincere faith has a great power. "When a superior man hears of Dao, he cultivates himself diligently. When an average man hears of Dao, he is doubtful and doesn't believe it. When an inferior man hears of Dao, he laughs and thinks it is foolish." (Dao De Jing, chapter 41).

37. Barrier of lack of definite views 无主关

- when one doesn’t have a clear understanding and definite views on cultivation,

one is “looking at cultivation superficially, vaguely changing the mind all the time,

without a stable point. Today one studies this, tomorrow - that; in the morning one goes to worship to Mr. Li, in the evening - to worship to Mr. Wang.”

38. Barrier of search for quick results 速效关

The cultivation takes a long time, diligent practice and perseverence. "The great vessel is late in completion," (Dao De Jing, chapter 41).

39. Barrier of negligence and carelessness 粗心关

Negligence, carelessness and lack of concentration are obsacle for cultivation.


40. Barrier of waste of time 虚度关

If one wastes the time on different things and forgets the importance of cultivation, then how can one achieve Dao?

41. Barrier of weak will 退志关
"The strong-willed, even if of old age, will attain Dao. The weak-willed, even if of young age, will not attain Dao."

<>42.43. 44.be solid as a mountain and deep as the great sea", i.e. to be able to accept and tolererate everything.

45. Barrier of karma 因果关

As you sow, so shall you reap. To harm the others to benefit oneself, to do things offensive to Heaven and reason, to stop at nothing and do evil,... then one cannot attain Dao. “Happiness or misfortune are all created by the human himself. " (Zuo Zhuan Chronicle of Zuo) 祸福无门，惟人自招《左传》

46. Barrier of bookishness 书魔关

One cannot achieve Dao only by reading books. There are books, which can confuse the mind and mislead the reader. If not asking for advice and learning from a master with real experience, clear understanding and secret oral instructions 口诀, then one will fall in the trap of bookishness and will miss the great work of cultivation. 由执书为道，不求明师，中了书魔，误了大事。

47. Barrier of emptiness 着空关

If seeking only to achieve emptiness in a secluded place in deep mountains, far away from society and people, abandoning family and children, and thinking that oneself is higher than the others, then one can easily fall in the trap of emptiness. Real emptiness is not empty.

48. Barrier of attachment to temporary tendency 执相关

Blindly following the temporary tendency in every new fashion that appears, including the different methods of Daoist exercises.

<>49.http://www.daoism.cc/dandao/fdjd/znz/tgw.htm

With Taoists, as well as Buddhists, there are different levels of the practice as well as cultivation. Not every Taoist is a master (yet). Even masters though end up angry once in a blue moon. There are also levels of anger. Also important to note is that all the inner peace which comes about from the practices really does lessen negative thoughts and emotions naturally.

Paul Huson has some neat stuff, and even left some good things in .

Did some circle walking and some standing today.

Carried around some boxes of lodestones on Fri and today lol.

Also did some practice not related to this thread, a lot this weekend .

does moving 25 bales of hay while breathing consciously count?

 

not bad for 74 yr old dude ..

For this particular contest... well since you have some catching up to do to get into one of the first few places, sure . Probably no more or less than my carrying around boxes of rocks a lot lately...

As for the reductionist black and white thinking behind the "good/positive/divine vs bad/negative/demonic" mindset, well its extremely inaccurate and does Nature herself no justice.

 

Are Mosquitos 'Evil'? They are parasitic! If we destroyed them as christians suggest we do with evil, it will in turn destroy the populations of frogs they feed.

 

What about Wolves? Well they sometimes attack and kill things or even people {oh the horror!} but what about how they nurture and raise their little wolflings? Are they Evil, or Good, or part evil part good, or is it about time we do away with such stupid descriptions?

 

Are all parasitic spirits always bad? Are they always 'taking energy' from you in a forceful way?

How do you know your not walking around generating/pumping out certain flavours, and they may just happen to like those flavours?

If you do go with always bad for that one, then what about your friends? Humans who like and are nourished by the energy flavours you give off?

Vampirising {forcefully} life force is another tricky issue. There are times when that skill can be used for healing, or to calm someone down who is in a state of excess...

 

What about the worse ones? Spirits of breakdown and decay? Isn't decay and rot a very important function in nature? what would happen if all the bodies would no longer break down?

 

 

Have you seen my posts, lamenting about how with the Buddhist teachings, I can no longer squish mosquitoes? They are quite evil!

Check facebook. These folks also list protests in each area, even when not related to their main thing: http://www.march-against-monsanto.com/

True ... but I believe they can start to manifest due to a socio-cultural degeneration ... in one form or another ... the subtler and harder to identify, the more dangerous IMO .

 

But also I suppose any such degeneration is going to effect the individual = unresolved crap to work through.

 

So maybe it is a knack of maintaining balance and finding cause, reason and expression while living in a fractured society as well ?

 

The path of initiation and individuation is all about dealing with these issues ... but it has to be a manifestation of that path that is relevant to the times and socio-cultural conditions we are in ... sadly, we seem to have lost that in our society generally - hence all the shit that's going around.

 

Morepie might have been such a situation, for the people that developed that then, for the time and place they lived, and their socio-cultural background. But is it right for you ?

 

I am wary of such ... like advising you to take up Aztec practices, or sending a tribal desert Aboriginal, who is feeling spiritually lost to partake of the sacrament of Holy Communion in a cathedral in a city.

True, some very very very nasty spirits around strip mines for example, or certain parts of town in the city.. .

I am more than ready to show my earnst interest in being taught to a teacher, I am not looking for an easy way out but simply a better way in. I am not looking for an online teacher (well not entirely) as I would never know who is influencing me or what their motives are. Either way the reason I posted on here too was that I am interested heavily in meditation due to some experience I had with it that turned me onto the whole thing and being an eastern site I thought some people on here would have experience in what I want to study.

Thanks for the responses everyone and the sites 'Old Chi'

You posted in the western esoteric section, so the replies you have been receiving are based on someone wanting to learn those particular traditions. I recommend asking on the more eastern sections, as they are far superior for meditation in particular (IMO).

I practiced eastern inner alchemical exercises for many years and found that they contributed nothing from a spiritual perspective (though there are mental and physical health benefits, of course). It did seem to me at the time that they did... but now I know better.

 

I'm not sure why you believe that the western tradition is lacking in vibratory attunement or purification exercises either. My experience has been that the west is far in advance of the east in this regard.

 

Best,

Fr UFA

Perhaps it depends on which eastern inner alchemical exercises one does.

Now personally I wouldn't say the western system is lacking necessarily, but I have seen far more eastern practitioners get somewhere than western ones, for whatever reason. (I mean people practicing each system, irrelevant to birthplace or geographical location).

If you get sore, that´s true practice

My Bagua is most definitely a very true practice in that case .

It is my experience, understanding, and opinion that there are no such things.

 

If you feel there is a problem you need search for the true cause(s) and deal with them.

 

(You cannot fight or destroy imaginary things.)

 

I will likely not post to this thread again as I'm sure I would only upset other members and I really don't like doing that.

In my experience there are such things. Just because one is not able to perceive something doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

To the OP; However, they can only mess with you if you have unresolved crap to work through, and the more unresolved crap, the easier you are to mess with.

Your homework is laid out for you .

PS I don't recommend mopai practice for you if you already have these troubles.

Wow so many different views/opinions. I appreciate.

 

Regarding to me or my problem I did struggle for 1-2 years because I didn't believe myself entities could harass people, and it creeped me out actually to even consider.

 

I don't have any belief systems or religions about this stuff, it's just what I experienced so far.

 

Some people say it's in your head but it's not really, you hear a voice clearly what it says (if you pay attention) and also physical voices can be heard ( cracking scrathching on walls for example) and other people hear it too.

 

What John Chang said in the book Magus of Java by Kosta Danaos is the entities wanna drain your yin, and it vibes with my experience perfectly.

 

They masquerade as angels or divine beings lol, and just try to get attention, if you don't give them attention they induce negative thoughts/emotions. But it's so absurd you are relaxed and some kind of horny thought or rage emotion comes in, and it's so obvious that it's not myself, but if you do pay attention it will be a vehicle from which to drain energy.

 

So far it has been these with a coldish "piercing energy", only once that I sensed a being with warm energy, but it's most likely was a "living" being (out of body?), and entities, discarnate ghosts/spiritis all have yin (cold energy) that is so far I know.

 

So any ideas how to identify the positive ones. Nungali, Clarity, Jeff you seem to be in the know, share some experiences please !

After reading your description above, who cares what they are, get rid of them. You have obviously attracted some entities which are hindering instead of helping.

It's hard to distinguish whether it's one or the other.

 

Aliens / reptilians or other "demonic" entities use same telepathic communication but content is usually manipulative.

 

I looked up Mo Pai and John Chang and basically he says that human sipirits do such things as well, as in drain Yin energy.

 

So is there really no way to distinguish the two, like energetically or behaviourouly, from physical external influence in environment ?

 

What is YOUR experience, Tao practitioners and experienced cultivators ?

Human spirits tend to look... human. Non human spirits most often tend to look not human.

Human spirits tend to talk in familiar terms and biases as humans. Non-human spirits not so much; they really don't see things the same way we do.

You could always ask them . (most folks seem to forget this trick).

Since this seems to be the alchemy thread, I thought I would ask here. So I have acquired a box of realgar/orpiment. They are the prettiest rocks ever! I seem to have a couple of different grades of the realgar. I only have a few pieces left of the top grade, but an entire box full of the not quite as awesome sort.

Any suggestions what I can do with this alchemically, magically, or? I have to say they have the most amazing energy ever that I have come across in a rock .

I also have a large chunk of antimony, which I'm not entirely sure what to do with either.

Ideas?

Why yes, I did happen upon a private lapidary sale of the collection of a geologer/rockhound!

I did create the most amazing magical circle for a couple of workings, with some giant lodestones, copper ore, silver ore, realgar, etc. etc. etc. .

Did some circle walking, and some ZZ today .

well the last 3 days have been productive. did horse stance for 15 minutes straight last night!!!! my record, so far

 

Night before, i found the school on S st. empty, so i did some circle walking for about 10 minutes on my way home from the library, and this morning, i did 50 pushups all at once, though that hardly counts as DOING bagua but it's auxiliary, right?

Awesome you found a good circle walking location . Yeah schools are handy for that.

My first (and probably last) post in this thread but just wanted to say that I am currently at, oh, somewhere over 600 days and counting. I quite honestly practice my qigong every day. I don't visit TTB that often, though...

Seems to be a correlation there .

Well, I missed another practice day since my last post due to a severe migraine, but otherwise, I've kept up my practice. I started working on "Moonbeam Splashes on the Water" which has been fun to learn and a nice change of pace since I've been concentrating on the standing post meditations.

In case this helps, I have found that either focusing the energy into the feet, or breathing every single breath into the ldt, helps to get rid of migraines. I used to get them a lot, nasty things. Of course also 100% relaxation your entire body, helps heaps too.