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Found 260 results

  1. Hi there, I had the realisation of having aphantasia about 2 years ago, ever since then my mind became fixated on curing myself and redeveloping the skill possesed by 99% of the population. Through my fixation i learned obsessively about everything i could relate to it: digestion, diet, nutrition, leaky gut, chakras, energy, reiki, ibogaine, ayahuasca, god In part i am very grateful to it, because only through the realisation of having aphantasia did i become spiritual, reiki level 2, meditation initiated and fundementally a happier human being through my reconnection with the devine. Every free moment that i have i like to read about ayurveda, yoga, hinduism, energies etc and super interested in alternative medicines considering that i have tried most of them and on my way to study them on my new life path of becoming a natural healer So happy for my new life path, but still there is the aphantasia hanging around almost like a curse. I have considered many causes including stuff like carmic debts and i am almost out of ideas... I am begging anyone that might have tools to help me understand and overcome the affliction known as aphantasia. Thank you in advance, Human
  2. Greetings and Love to 1 and all

    Hi everybody!!! Longtime lay-omni spiritualist here! I'm a working percussionist, drum maker, music producer and DJ in NYC. My family consists of the 3 of us - my common-law wife & an 8 year-old 3rd grader called "Love". We live comfortably in the Bronx near Yankee Stadium. All 3 of us do a damn good traditional Okinawa Goju-Ryu class in Harlem 3x/week. Our teacher turned us on to the standing and sitting 8 pieces of brocade forms. It's reignited my personal quest for this old school knowledge from Asia I started when I was a kid - 1st from my father ranting about Taoism & physics then stumbling onto Mantak Chia's books in the early 90s. We're 2 years into this Goju discipline next week & as I turn 44, my thoughts turn to my end game: I want to live long & need ALL my systems functioning strongly into old age to achieve my goals. IMO the Taoists and Buddhists figured all that out 1000s of years ago & I thought this'd be a great forum to discuss. Looking forward to listening to/sharing with all of you. 1 perfect love, Ceiba aka Brotha Sean
  3. I have been practicing the microcosmic orbit meditation for a few months and find it generates a lot of positive energy within my body. I hear again and again the value of meditation. Given the pleasurable sensations this particular meditation generates I wonder if this practice could ultimately be just another form of attachment, one that is best to release. Curious the groups take on this.
  4. Huge topic. But I get asked this all the time from patients, students, etc. What system should I study for personal growth? Here is my two cents from 30 plus years of professional practice and personal study. This will be a thread that I attend to in between patient load at work. Pardon if my reply is slow at times. Sol
  5. I just tried this today and was finally able to duplicate results I'd had in the past naturally. I had to go against some useful meditation suggestions I'd been given, which I suppose is why some say this shouldn't be introduced to people as meditation or they will get the wrong idea. Anyway, I just want to check with my favorite community to make sure I'm on the right track, as I have no teacher, and the problem with looking something up online, especially something as esoteric and hidden as Taoism still manages to be is that you get a lot of different sources from a lot of different perspectives, difficult to discern. So I fall back on you guys. All I did differently from regular meditation was clear my breath out of my lungs first, and start stoking my belly like a bellows, first shallow and fast, but then longer and still fast, focusing on pushing out and letting it draw in naturally. Then after I felt some heat there, I settled into stillness and observed for a moment. Once I was able to focus on the LDT and let the thoughts drift away, I began to observe how the breath in expanded the perineum and the breath out let it contract. Building from this, I started to squeeze it in with the exhale and let it expand with the inhale. This was extremely clumsy at first, but I have practiced squeezing the perineum quite a bit in my life for sexual reasons, so it came quite easily to me I think. Anyway, basically this: fire, pull water in, steam fills the body,keep pumping, more heat, more steam, fire grows. When it got to the heart I panicked and stopped, but continued back on for a bit before sitting back and just observing how I felt, which was warm, pain free without medication (a miracle) happy and...whole I guess, like I was my whole body and not my thoughts, and at moments the sound of falling rain became indestinguishable from the "sound" of my own body buzzing, both in distance and as an object apart from my self. TL;DR- pumped my LDT and squeezed my perineum, felt with everywhere. Just looking for guidance and thoughts, or encouragement if it's due. Practical advice basically.
  6. I keep reading about the importance of the six yangs, or six dragons, as represented by the hexagrams. What does this mean? It is mentioned in many of the texts I am cross referencing as I study "The Secret of the Golden Flower." At the very least, what is the beginning? My understanding is that it means practicing spiritual principles in all of my affairs.
  7. I'm on day 50 of a dedicated routine, 30-60 minutes twice a day. My question is in the title. But more specifically, how am I too follow the instructions suggested to me during meditation without thinking? For example, observing the nature of thoughts, pondering, "Where do they come from?Where do they go?" Also, once Im, "In the zone," as I like to call it,I still have these vague thoughts which are just observations of what is happening. All thoughts of past or future melt away, except for the occasional thought of how I can try to describe the experience to someone else, but I'm working on that. Is this okay and a natural part of progression? They are not constant, and sometimes appear as chatter I can't even hear that sounds very far away. Thank you. It's very difficult to even form these inquiries into coherent questions.
  8. Like the name says...

    I chose the name seeker of truth not just for the good book series but also because I am seeking truth. I have ever since I first read the magus of java. I was heart broken when I found out that the subject of the book was no longer taking students from non- Oriental heritage. Since then, my search has yealded little in the way of truth, clues or people willing to help. I turn here in the hope that someone knows something that could help.
  9. A Shamatha Meditation Based on Symbolism, Visualization, Mnemonics and Classical Conditioning. This 3-level meditation method is based on pure psychology and a completely rational method to develop focus, objectivity, discipline, inner purification, a desire for liberation, inner stillness, understanding ‘destructive normality’, and a preparedness to walk on the path of spirituality. You can read the disclaimers given at the top to understand the objective of the meditation: https://nellaishanmugam.wordpress.com/a-shamatha-meditation-based-on-symbolism-visualization-mnemonics-and-classical-conditioning/
  10. I wondered whether the Kuji-In practice has ever been combined with a moving form such as the circle walking from Bagua Neigong? Would this cause problems, or would these two practices be compatible? After all, Bagua makes a considerable amount of use of mudras, as do most of the martial arts, but very few actually use double hand interlocking mudras such as those found in the Kuji-In practice. I usually practice Kuji-In in a static posture, either sitting down cross-legged or standing in some sort of horse stance, but I wondered what effect a moving form in combination with these mudras might have. Thank you.
  11. Hello Bums!

    Greetings. I've read the forums from time to time & found good information here in the past so decided to join proper. Have taken many ideologies from different places throughout my life and have constructed a belief system that is again in transition. Been practicing Yoga and Qigong regularly, many years of different Yoga styles, Qigong is new. Have been practicing the Spring Forest method and would like to learn more traditional methodology to have the option of weaving the two together or practicing another form. I am interested in a spiritual wellness as well as mind-body wellness. I've begun meditation over the past 2 years which really isn't a lot of time. Focusing on breath work. Have worked with TCM practitioners quite a bit over the years though my knowledge feels limited. I wish to more fully participate from a more informed mind. Am happy to read on different modalities a roots of said practices. Am interested in learning how things are connected from Taoist perspectives as have found some of my beliefs and practices here in the past. I feel the need to look deeper. Pleased to be here. Moon Yin
  12. New member, hello to all !

    Hello from Germany / Europe, thank you for granting me access to this forum ! My main intention is learning and asking questions, plus being able to learn from other experienced practitioners. I am coming from the Yang Style Tai Chi form and started out with basic health improvement goals. Nowadays I focus more on topics such as Nei Kung, safe ways to open energy channels and in general similarities and differences in meditation practice ( Taoist / Chan / Zen / Shamatha practice ). I welcome all guidance and once again thank you and my best wishes to all here in the forum.
  13. https://www.arshabodha.org/adiShankara/DrigDrishya-9.pdf
  14. Methods of Inner Silence

    Hello again, While studying, I came across quite a few different methods of achieving inner silence, quieting the mind, a prerequisite to most all practices, whether East or West, and crossing many cultural boundaries. The two basics I have reduced to pinpointing and flooding. An example of pinpointing is to focus on one mantra, a single sound, reducing everything in your concentration to a single point. An example of flooding would be the form of walking while holding a particular hand gesture that is not normal, and not focusing on anything in particular, but keeping the eyes open and using peripherial vision to let all sights and sounds around you flood your senses. As you can imagine, you can certainly come up with many variations of this same thing, and probably new ones that I have not logged. What I can say about it, is that when you have silence, sound can easily let you know, because it changes radically and in my opinion, faster than any other sense factor for me. What forms of silence for meditation have you used? How well do they work for you? How many use the form of rolling the eyes up in the head? Particular ways of sitting? Holding the hands in a particular fashion?
  15. The start to meditation is in all literature vague at best, long-winded, and so non-productive that many people bail on it before reaching any positive results except for a nap. Part of that is the funky descriptions, expectations, and sometimes thinking it is some kind of special condition to be reached or held onto with a mental deathgrip. Looking at this from another point of view, I looked at the practices of SW Native American tribes. From the old Celtic view. From other avenues of relgion and practices. The common ground is very interesting, from prayer to ritual and back again. And it points to some basics that don't require lotus positions or other difficult practices. We pass through a brain condition daily. It is not a foreign place. It is not something special. Holding it for a period of time longer than the short passage between being awake and being asleep is special, and the point of most practices. The "charge" point that people pass through while falling asleep appears to be enough to keep life going. One short spark is all it takes. So you would think that falling asleep over and over should increase the storage of energy. Dipping in and out of that state, if you will. Meditation is made even more difficult by special breathing techniques and body positions. Without which, the claims are, you will never make it. I disagree totally. I think that certain methods and techniques help move the mind and expectations into certain directions, but those are not for everyone, and are not the alpha and omega of accomplishing anything. They are simply, one way of many. And pursuit of them should be kept relative to the desire to keep traditions alive, but not held as the only way to reach Nirvana. Making special promises to not do this, or not share that, has become a tragic way of screwing people by many charlatans. But now we can measure them, and no chirp wave means they are full of crap and have no power, and should not be teaching anyone. One of the basic ideas is that you have to "store" energy, fill up your center or Dan Tien... This can supposedly take years, and if you don't graduate from this or that, you should give up and stop trying. Looking at masters, however, at their mental and emotional condition, whether they smoke, fight, drink, or have some serious moral and ethical issues, it appears that ethics and morals do not seem to matter one bit. Living clean and healthy doesn't seem to matter. They still get sick, they still die. Most of them at least. So accomplishing the things we see on YouTube or read about has nothing to do with how you think and feel, how good or bad a person you are, and probably many of the other things that typical religions try to force you into doing to become a master. There are forms of standing or sitting that do evoke a more extreme awareness of gravity, lowering your center of gravity is extremely important. More than likely, this is the awareness of the pull of gravity, like feeling sunshine, which is also moving at about the same speed as gravity. And now science can see that gravity also stimulates forms of photons, yet they seem unaware how they got there. Breathing is mentioned, as the "force" is contained in the air we breath. When in fact, breathing from the diaphragm actually stimulates the flow of spinal fluid. Anything that hurts the nervous system or causes nerve damage can block the flow. Insulators block the flow. Metals are good and solid conduits that can retain this energy. They are also dense, heavy, gravity attractive. So there is much more behind the scenes that science might still uncover about these practices. And that would make sense to the Western scientific mind, and make it easier to produce feedback equipment and create a means to better measure progress and better help us non-esoterics along the way. So what do we know about meditation and science? Brainwaves for one. Alphawaves are the basic strong measure when we observe meditation. Rolling your eyes upward and holding it produces almost immediate alpha waves. So add the eye roll to your practices. To stop yourself from falling asleep, there is a simple technique. Simply hold up one hand. If you become so relaxed that you might drift past the point where you should be, your hand will drop, and this motion can usually catch you before you drift into sleep. A sign that I have noticed, is the change in sound. Everything suddenly becomes louder, or sometimes an echo is generated. I have not found any science behind this yet. Of importance is also emotional energy, and interesting wordplay is E-motion. Without it, the energy does not seem to flow or focus. Also of importance are the visual techniques used by different cultures. The mind is capable of focusing attention on different points of the body, like moving your "attention" to different parts of the body, and visualizing light, expansion, contraction... feeling something tangible. Feeling the energy ball between the hands in Tai Chi is one of these, and after practice it does produce measurable "chirp" waves, which are the same waves detected when science measures gravity. So the assumption is that not only are we becoming more aware of gravity, and the flow of it, we are capable of snatching some form of energy from it, or it is the energy, or the photons are the energy. Regardless, we are capable of manipulating gravity, changing how it interacts with us, and thus producing chirp waves, which in turn stimulate CD34 stem cells, which in turn can heal almost instantaneously. What we can measure, is that the magnetic fields change, the stem cells change, temperatures change, visual sparks fly, people jerk like an electric shock when in contact with it, etc. So if ever there was a reason to practice meditation and awareness of gravity waves, there it is. Alone the stimulation of CD34 stem cells should be number one on the list. The other list, the one with iron skin, starting fires, defending yourself, may also be variations of these same sciences. Science is coming in fast. Please add your own science or experiments that have helped to improve practices, of any kind, since I am very sure the energy is the same, no matter what background or cultural ethnic origin.
  16. Hey guys, A truly beautiful experience happened to me yesterday. I was with a friend. And as we were talking and getting to know each other, I let the idea that I wanted to meditate slide into the conversation. The reason bringing that up wasn't weird was because we were discussing spiritual subjets, and one of those happened to be meditation. So it wasn't outside the theme of the converstation. Anyway, I can drive energy from my head to my toes, I told her. She looked at me puzzled and curious at the same time. I interpreted the silence as an invitation to show her what I was talking about so I reduced the distance between the two of us and sat in front of her, a few centimetres away. I extended my hand. She grabbed it And I said, "I'm going to send you my energy now. You're going to feel electricity (That's the best way I could describe it)." The technique I use to meditate, without going into how I'm able to do it, is to squeeze a part of my brain using my willpower. The effect of this is the same as when you squeeze a sponge and water comes out. Obviously instead of water energy would come out. The way you percieve it is like a rain of white energy that massages your whole body and relaxes you. So I began meditating and she started having all kinds of sensations: crawling sensations on the skin, strange visions about birds and lakes, etc. Another person, on another day, in a whole diferent set of circumstances, told me that she saw a white aura around me and felt electric-like sensations on her face after I had meditated. I have to mentionne that both these individuals are extremely sensitive to energies around them. I doubt "normal" people would've noticed anything. Do any of you have any explanation for all of this? Truly apreciated Regards
  17. Hello and greetings

    Hi there My name is Alex, 27 years old. I really enjoy reading taoist literature and after discovering Mantak Chias books I aim to take the written knowledge and create some experiential understanding. Hoping along the way that can find some junior bums on this forum to start up on the path with and make use of the experience already gained by those who have kept up the practice for a long time. I have experience with meditation and completed a 10 day vipassana course with S.N. Goenka,.. I had known about Mantak for some time after a friend of mine had explained how he had been to Tao Garden 20 years ago and loved it, a few months after I went to vipassana and then on my first day back into normal life Mantak Chia had done an interview with on my favourite youtube channels called 'London real', it was literally one of the first things I saw when booting back up my phone. Tao Garden have given me contact details for one of Mantaks instructors who is sometimes in Bangkok (my current place) and willl start some work with her when possible. I am focusing for now on the inner smile which I find to be a relaxing and rejuvenating exercise and with the teachers guidance I hope to open the micro cosmic orbit. During that time I have started to do some of the exercises in multi orgasmic man. Mainly just the PC pull ups as am using the time to calm my mind away from quite strong sexual urges. It's been 23 days since that started and have been quite strong is resisting the urge and thoughts. This is welcoming and surprising as have had previous attempts in life which never seemed to go past 10 days, this process seems to be much more about the ease and think that this will help the Qi Gong journey. Not directly linked Taoism/Daoism? but am also doing breathing exercises from a book called 'The oxygen advantage' which is about retraining the body and mind to breathe calmer, slower and deeper through the nose at all times even when sleeping and even though he goes about things in a much more western scientific approach he quotes Lao Tzu and Taoist literature once or twice. He has also attended vipassana retreats so I believe he is well into this kind of stuff but for marketing purposes has chosen to position his books in a certain way. However anybody who is interested and would like to try the exercises please send me a message and I look forward to assisting where I can. Thank you for taking the time to read and look forward to this journey.
  18. Emotional Basket Case

    I make time to meditate every day. I don't always make a lot of time, but that's a different issue. Sitting in silence is a strange thing. Sitting. Breathing. Observing. Sleeping? The sudden fall of my head that wakes me before I realize I'm beginning to sleep. Dreaming? My emotions run in cycles. I'll be fine for weeks. More than fine, I'll be content, maybe a little bored, feeling like I'm going through the motions, like it's just a silly game. Then BAM! I dread meditation - hate it - , start looking for excuses to not do it. I'll wake up in the morning, chest heavy, and start crying. Or I'll be driving my car, think of a deceased loved one and start laughing. I can smell their cigarettes, right next to me! Sitting in silence is a strange thing. I don't know where this road leads. In my youth I wanted "enlightenment". He he. Young people want a lot of things. Now I just want truth. Peace is always appreciated. Happiness is good, too.
  19. Taoist GrandMaster Wang Li Ping will be teaching a ten day intensive in China, starting on the afternoon of Dec. 21st and ending at noon on the 31st. Mr. Richard Liao will be translating. Please email [email protected] for complete details. www.dragongate-academy.org Our goal is to build a bridge between Master Wang Liping and everyone interested in Taoism. We wish to benefit all to communicate their experiences during their practice to learn the Taoist Golden Elixir system. We hope the heritage of Dragon Gate shall live on in the new era to enrich lives everywhere.
  20. Beautiful

    The food we consume - is the all that we take in We bring in through the eyes vast cubic miles every day The ears hear a thousand vibrations we never notice The nose speaks directly to our ancestry in each breath Our skin sinks to the marrow Please share here beauty that you have found so that it might be a well of delight and wonder
  21. Taoist Meditation

    What are some of the main techniques in classic Taoist meditation? It would be very helpful to hear some simple explanations on some of the fundamental techniques. There are many different techniques that have been developed such as the Inner Smile and Micro Cosmic Orbit, but as I understand these are just thought forms given to processes that occur during meditation and the movement of energy through the body, and are just different ways to achieve the same goal. Going back to the origins of Taoism, and man's essential nature, there are no words or techniques, just feelings. How did these masters meditate and achieve immortality? It is doubtful that they were practicing a wide variety of techniques and visualizations, each with their own catch phrases and number of repetitions. It is more likely that the early Taoists practiced a simple form of meditation, with little technique, just basic guidelines from experience masters, such as collecting the mind and breath in the lower dantian. What is the classic form of Taoist meditation? It would be great to hear some opinions on the basic steps. Thanks.
  22. Zen Meditation

    Does anyone practice Zazen and in particular the style closely resembling Shikantaza ("nothing but precisely sitting")? This is a method of practice that lineages like the famous Soto Zen tradition of Kōdō Sawaki & Kōshō Uchiyama are famous for. Famous monasteries and training locations like Antai-ji, Gyobutsuji Zen Monastery, and Sanshin Zen Community all belong to this school. I would be interested to know how Daoists approach and view this practice in their own words. Then if some are interested I`d love to dialogue a bit about on it
  23. I've progressed in my spiritual development and meditative practices and discovered myself to possess Astral Blindness that is a rather persistent problem over the years. Does anyone have any recommendations or practices to begin working on this?
  24. new or returning

    My name is Jolanda, I think I was here before . Studying Daoism: learning from texts, reading books and scriptures, teaching and doing Tai Chi and Qigong, recitation, meditation, zhan zhuang, circle walk, letting go, returning ... In this moment my Daoist name is Xìn Rù, disciple of Liu De MIng. Living in the Netherlands, wanting to manifest a Dutch Daoist Center in the future, but then again, letting go of desires: just starting with welcoming people to learn, read, recitate and meditate with me, for recognizing the Dao, in a very simple Way ... through email, skype or facebook. Maybe starting a community - group on facebook, if there is interest.