Search the Community

Showing results for tags 'meditation'.



More search options

  • Search By Tags

    Type tags separated by commas.
  • Search By Author

Content Type


Forums

  • Courtyard
    • Welcome
    • Daoist Discussion
    • General Discussion
    • The Rabbit Hole
    • Forum and Tech Support
  • Gender Gardens
    • Grotto
    • Women
    • Men
    • Non-binary
  • The Tent

Found 260 results

  1. what is next?

    after meditating, healing, doing qigong and etc of other practices... what is next? after reaching that state of presence, stillness, mindfulness, awareness, observing the body, thoughts,.. what is next after all that? how to measure the progress? and what are the levels or stages how to know where are you at? what is the goal you are working toward?
  2. Chanting

    Hey guys, I have recently picked up "The Little Book of Meditation" by William Bodri. I found out about this book from the energy cultivators handbook thread. And honestly, a lot of the ideas resonate with me at this stage. Anyone read his material? It's repetitive so I have to skim slme of it, but I'm liking what I'm reading. He goes over different aspects of life like gaining merit/karma, dieting, and sexuallity. If you have any input on his thoughts please elaborate. He starts off with talking about meditation and all of its benefits. He says that you can open up chi channels with meditation and so fourth. Then he dives into a subject I am spending a lot of time trying to implement into my life and that is the subject of chanting. He says it's good to chant all day when you aren't busy (which is literally all day for me being a lifeguard this summer). He gives numerous chants from different religions. The are also numerous websites discussing chanting and the different benefits they can bring depending on the chant. So I took to chanting and for the last few days I chant out loud when I'm alone and in my head when in the presence of others. It kind of makes sense because in the very least, it forces me to breath deeply in and out. I've been chanting on the out-breath and taking deep in-breaths afterwards, all through my abdomen. I've also been chanting in my daily meditation. The chant I have been using is "Om Mani Padme Hum" prounounced "Aum Ma nee Pie me Hoom". I've been liking the way it sounds and feels so far, but I've only chanted it maybe a few thousand times and compared with most monks that chant, that is supposedly next to nothing. Anyone have experience with chanting? What chants do you use? Anyone have opinions or input on this practice? Best Regards, Chi Boy
  3. Going Vipassana

    I finally got accepted into my Vipassana retreat in early August!!! For those of you that don't know what Vipassana is it's basically an ancient Buddhist ritual where you meditate for ten or more hours a day, for ten days straight. I was just wondering if anyone in the forum has done this before or done anything similar so I know what to expect. Btw, I got the idea for this from an old post on Mantak Chia's stuff. The person reccomended this as a way to start a spiritual path.
  4. I was visiting my home town Mysuru (or Mysore in it's anglicized spelling) recently and stayed at my mom's place. She lives in an apartment building with a clear line of site to the Chamundeshwari temple from the terrace. My practice was on that terrace, twice a day, as is my routine. For the first time (and I've lived in Mysuru since 1980 - 2000), I understood why it is called a shakti peetham. Adi Shankara named it (used to be called Krouncha Puri in ancient times) as the third Maha shakti peetham. There are 18 which are indisputably the same place as has been referred to in the Hindu history (puranas, etc). And Mysuru is one of them. I had many interesting experiences, but the fact that my tai chi and meditation took on an intensity I had not readily experienced without my Master's presence before. I live in the chicago suburbs and the energy there is, to use a lame analogy, 110V. In Mysuru, the energy was 440V, in comparison! The entire time I was there, I was in a more or less connected state, my upper and lower dan tiens were swollen with energy and when I practiced, it felt like I was several meters underwater, as the energy was so dense and intense. The lao gong on my right palm felt like it was on fire and the skin started peeling off the right palm. I had plans of visiting the Ramana Maharishi ashram in Thiruvanamali (Arunachalam), but due to unfortunate circumstances it was not possible. Yet, the Universe arranged it so, that several spiritual seekers, including two Kriya Yogis who are students of the direct student of Paramhamsa Yogananda's guru brother (batch mate if you may). One of them also was learning Tai chi and daoist meditation from me and we had an amazing time meditating together, practicing push hands and playing with other energetic techniques! I think I somewhat understand now, why India is so important in the Spiritual world...
  5. Beginner Meditation

    Well, I have begun my meditation journey and I love the effects. I am registered for 10 day Vipassana in August (praying I get in) and they told me I have a good chance of getting in. However, Ill be going back to college after that so if I won't there will be some time before my next chance. I am realizing meditation is my path. I like how it feels and relaxes for my mind and body. I meditated in the sauna and got tk the point of barely breathing (didnt feel like I was breathing). I try to concentrate on my nose, but I was wondering: is that the best spot to focus on? I got back to the room and continued the meditation and I came across another question: is it okay for my breathing to be in sort of a 1,2 rhythm as opposed to say a 6,12 count rhythm? What does this mean? Should I nudge my breath toward being slower? I am buying "The Little Book of Meditation" tomarrow thanks to The Energy Cultivator's Handbook thread. One last question: I have a pinching pain inches under my right (and sometimes left) shoulder blade that wont seem to dissipate. Any advice or should I just continue meditating the way I have been?
  6. Hi all, First off is there any way to delete a topic on the mobile version of this site? All I see are options to edit posts. So I have started my journey of meditation, but I was wondering if it should be coupled with some form of weight training, or cardio. In Chia's Awaken Healing Light of the Tao, he says exercise is important, but that you lose chi when you get out of breath. Should I just get into the sauna as exercise and do some Zhan Zhaung in there? I dont know if Im ready for Chi Gong or how I would practice it because I dont have wifi so I can't watch youtube really. Any good books that teach Chi Gong? Also I enjoy running on the beach by my house. Should I do that or would it mess up my energy to be out of breath? I used to go to the gym a lot, but I am a small guy so I have to eat a ton to gain any weight. I really don't think I need to be gaining weight, I just liked the effects of the gym (increased testosterone, increased vascularity). What are you guys' opinion on these topics. I know theres already a post about weightlifting which I have read. P.S. Does anyone find Mantak Chia's 6 healing sounds or Inner Smile meditations useful?
  7. hey, I have been noticing a lot of people i know who have done healings through different meditations or practices always had the issues come back when they are down or something. It is like the pain from the past is still there but when u do healing you become more optimistic and present and in the moment and so u are less likely to feel or worry about that issue. After time, this pain gets triggered and u are back into the same situation of feeling the same pain of the same issue coming back. I had this problem.. even tho i know the issue, what happened and reasons and everything. when i m not in total focus and present and mindful.. this issue can be triggered back. for example: if it is a pain related to confidence.. if i focus on it and heal it (myself or an important healer), it makes me feel more confident. but later on few months later it get triggered back. healing and inner work seems like a pill to not feel the emotional pain and be happy but when this is gone all the pain is back. it is something noticeable among different people that participate in different practices meditations or qigongs and even with known important healers in their domains. My question would be, how the problem/pain/issue or could be a craving, can be radically removed.. i know the memory of the past is still there, but the trigger of emotional string to stop and see it as it is ? Thank you!
  8. Healing vs Medicine.

    I was wondering lately about when to use healing through energy and when to go and take meds and such. Many views on healing claiming that everything from sickness and different kind of symptoms is related to energy stagnation happening due to a karmic or psychological/past issue. and that can be healed through working with energy and healing those stagnations and such. and not healing the wounds on energetic levels means that they will appear in another way in form of sickness or other materialization in the physical reality. Other views sees limitations to the healings in terms that stuff can be healed and other can't, and it is left to the medicine. Also, i m asking this question because lately i was having this throat/adam's apple uncomfortable sensation of like there is a stagnation with a little pain sometimes and some hardness in swallowing in my throat/adam's apple. and these sensation increase if i focus (during meditation/vipassana) and when an emotional / drama scene appear on tv or in real life. sometimes when i scan the body and find a pain or an energy sensation on a body part, with a lot of focus of allowing, letting go, accepting it as it is, the pain disappears... but this one is growing and links up sometimes to ear and eyes. So currently not sure if it is root is malfunctioning of an organ maybe the thyroid or other physical thing, or an energetical problem, or an energy issue (related to something of past/psycho) causing the malfunctioning of an organ or something ? and i don't want to treat it through med without solving the actual issue if accepting the view that all is energy related. So how to know whether it can be solved through energy or medicine (taking meds)? Thanks.
  9. Hey, I was lately investigating the existence of other dimensions and such and how much true they are. I have never experienced any dimensional or anything similar, just the now and being mindful of the now. and I find that traveling through dimension and such, seems to contradict with being in the now, mindful and aware of the reality as it is. The state of awareness and mindfulness means that the mind is still and with no thoughts, no visualization and no imagination and just with the reality as it is and what exist in the now. on the other hand, the buddha, who is the teacher of mindfulness and concentration of the mind, went through different dimensions and saw his past lives and such, but how far are these stuff real? Couldn't it just be the mind trying to induce thoughts but this time on another level of mind, that are too real to make you dwell and forget about being mindful and focused in the now? Seems like an escapism tool that the mind is using but this time based on your beliefs, images, and holographic representation. if not, then what is the link between between mindfulness, awareness and such with dimensions, astral, light work? maybe the dimensions are just sub-nows of the now? Thanks
  10. new Burgs blog on concentration, thought some meditation bums might find this insightful http://theartofmeditation.org/learning-to-play-the-instrument-of-the-mind/ goes along with what i've been saying about having a practice that restrains the mind vs letting it do its own thing as crucial. concentration seems to be the faculty people are lacking nowadays, with all the stimulation and gratification of technology etc. and also learning in a live environment for the best chance of making smooth progress.
  11. What is the book that lead to a change into your perspective of life and taught you lessons or practices that helped you in your journey? For me, it was: The power of now and practicing the power of now by Eckhart tolle. It taught me about mindfulness and the present moment and how to be aware in my life.
  12. hey ! hope you are having a nice day! As me being spiritual and believing in energy chi, meditating, and all the package that come with it, about life perspective and such, kinda causing me troubles in dating and finding a life partner. The thing is where i live, it is less likely to find spiritual people that have such beliefs as me. Many times while chatting or having a conversation with someone... once i open up about my beliefs and practices, that person either freaks out or start arguing and such about it and trying to prove things scientifically. It is happening a lot, even tho. we had a good conversation and interests in each others, when this subject arises, kinda makes the connection and interest decrease. and to be honest, i don't think i can be with someone who is going to fill me with doubts about my beliefs and experience with energy or with someone that makes me feel weird about what i do or at least not understand what i have interest in. I m not sure if i m asking a lot, or i maybe i should limit my search to people who are spiritual only you ever had this issue ? if you have a partner, is he/she spiritual too?
  13. Alternate Realities

    Do you believe that parallel universes or alternate realities exist? what i m saying that, some spiritual people say that all the possible action that could have happened are happening at the same time, but based on our energy/vibration/frequency we move among these realities. for example: someone who is poor in a reality, maybe rich in another one and all of these reality exist but we are moving among them. Maybe it is similar to those who can know their past lives, can see and maybe relive a past life? it is like moving the consciousness into another stream of reality and living it and going out of this reality that the consciousness is experiencing. What do you think?
  14. The Last Thought.

    Recently, i have noticed the importance of the last Thought (activities, mind state) that a person has before sleeping, in affecting the next day in terms of the energy and mind state the person wakes up with and the quality of the whole new day. For example: watching Tv, drama series or something violent before sleeping, will make the person wakes up in a bad mood or feeling tired, Also this is similar to masturbation, thinking of negative thoughts or eating unhealthy food before sleeping. A lot of teachers recommend doing meditation at night before sleeping and ending it with metta of love and compassion allowing the mind to become calm and have positive thoughts. also it is recommend to meditate in the morning to empower your day. (usually if you meditate at night you are more likely to meditate in the morning and be holding that energy during the day) Also meditating at night allow to improve lucidity in the dream, which can be used in solving life problems that arises in the dream state or realize fantaisies. also, if someone try to solve homework or maybe do their work at night before sleeping.. you are more likely to find yourself more motivated to work on them the next day. So, What do you think?
  15. Hi everyone! Been a while

    Hi Everyone It has been some time since I was here last. It was Tao Bums when last here. I am based in SE Asia and follow a daily practice of Hermetics and Yoga. I am here to share and learn as have been a bit of a hermit for last few years. Thanks Simon = Dawn Of Truth
  16. Baby Cheetah lost in Basics!

    Greetings. I need help. I am not very sure what to start and what to quit doing, but I've got to change something in my life. It's been about 6 months since I stopped trying hard, and tried to go back to basics. A short background: I've got very ill at the age of 19, after just about 2 months of living by myself in a new city. I hated the university, ate terribly, slept for 4-5 hours and practiced guitar for 10-12. Pretty soon I got stressed and depressed. Next I got carpal tunnel syndrome, inflammation of wrists and all the joints and muscles/tendons in my hands. Got more depressed. Few months later I ended up in hospital, because of severe stiffness of lower middle and upper back. Not able to sleep, not able to focus, had blurry vision, and was just awfully miserable. Shallow breath. Barely functioning. Oh I forgot. I had acute hyperacusis and tinnitus even prior to that. Nothing helped much, time healed some of the issues, to a certain degree. OK so 2 years later I did a 14 day water fast, followed by a 30 day water fast. Cured the inflammation, ears and back problems and CTS to about 70%. I'm finally able to use computer keyboard and even play guitar a little, which is nice. Cool but now I have some digestive issues(very fragile stomach) and have some trouble gaining weight( I'm 5'9'' and 118lbs). During the fast I felt a lot of tension around and below my navel. My stomach now is very sensitive and when I'm frightened or even surprised it hurts as if electrically shocked(previously I felt neck tension and head pain when under stress). I'm glad I'm so much more emotionally and mentally stable and don't have panic attacks and paranoia tendencies as I used to. I'm not depressed anymore. The downside is I'm still regaining strength 3 months after the fast and it's kinda slow. Still have a shallow breath and get exhausted pretty easily. I Think I need some sort of plan guys! If anybody could take time to address any of the following points, I would be most grateful. I feel somewhat stuck. No.1 Diet, sleep and basic activities. I've been following raw vegan fruit based diet since the fast and it was great for a number of reasons, but recently I started to see some limitations. Main problem is I guess lack of enough ripe fruit available here in Europe. So I started introducing cooked millet, potatoes, lentils and diary. Diary is fine, but over all I just feel week, lazy and lethargic. I tend to overeat on these things, since non of them is as satisfying as ripe fruit. It's really a pita. Will this last until I regain all my weight? I used to weigh about 75kg. I use cronometer.com and try to get about 3500-4000 calories daily now. I started following ayurveda for my dosha(vata) and it's amazing! Different foods like peppers, mushrooms eggplants, beans and other things always gave me problems, and now as I follow the guidelines I don't have to fear the food I'm eating lol. I try to get a litre of water before each meal, I can then eat normal sized portions. I try to sleep... as much as possible lol. In a few days I'm coming back to work. Walking around a warehouse picking up items for shipping( luckily not very strenuous). Anything to change here? Is the Chinese method of eating worth exploring?(Don't know anything about it, heard it's kinda complicated). Would it be a good idea to go to a Tibetan Medicine centre? I'm open. No.2 Meditation, Martial Arts and Qigong. I'll give you my goals: -fix my body posture( I have very weak back, slouch, my shoulders are tight and high. Shoulder blades stick out like crazy and it's hard to relax sitting or standing. -improve circulation(it used to be terrible before the fast, but still could be better), -spontaneity(you know in life, in guitar improvisation, even in conversation I feel the lack of flow) -Calm the fucking Dan Tien(lower, and perhaps middle I'm not sure my whole stomach is a mess recently) I'm trying Zhan Zhuang. Have the book The Way of Energy and watched the YT channel. I find it exhausting, even ust the1st position. I tried it a dozen of times over past few months and couldn't hold it for more than 3 minutes. It's appealing, I see the potential and acknowledge it is a foundation, but it's harder than this Anyway, the second I heard about Baguazhang, I didn't want to look back anymore. At anything, even Taiji. I'm sold for life. I don't know why, I'm totally mesmerised. Something about the spinning circle flowing motion... and I see myself as somebody who's trapped in cycles anyway so why not lol? Do you think it could be appropriate for someone like me? Right now? How can I find a teacher? Do you know anybody who does it in the Netherlands/Germany/Sweden? OR should I already start learning Chinese ? I understand it's even less popular then real Taiji. Is it really so rare? And before I find a teacher, would it be ok to learn from books/dvds or I'd be better off joining Taiji classes? One Taiji instructor I met even suggested I should go back to Karate and do that for some time, before I get into the internal styles and qigong... I'm confused. As for meditation, I always did like a simple body scan relaxation, or progressive muscle relaxation, and rarely got satisfying results. Only recently I had some success with BK Frantzis Taoist Meditation CD's. I'm sort of used now to breathing from the belly and the back and focusing on the Lower Dan Tien is kinda effective. I feel it. Still it's hard for me to stick to the practice. If I do it one day properly for few minutes, the next day don't even feel the interest and get bored easily if I try. It's like it stirs my body energy, and then I lose the drive to repeat the exercise. Same with Qigong massage I tried few days ago. I yawned like crazy, and didn't feel too good afterwords... I know I have a tendency to overdo everything, but for Dao's sake- is there anything I can practice for more than a minute and not feel totally exhausted??? I would really love to get into all the energy meditations, organ massages, moving and manipulating chi inside the body... you know, the fun stuff. How can I get there? What should I read? Most Importantly: what I SHOULDN'T be doing? What could hurt me? And again, how can I look for a teacher of meditation and qigong? I also occasionally do Trauma Releasing Exercises, which are awesome: Has anybody heard of this? And I'm also interested in the Alexander Technique... No.3 Would something like Initiation Into Hermetics by Francis Bardon or other such curriculum contribute in any way to my vitality? I'm still kind of clueless about all the occult stuff. Would appreciate some feedback on that as well. I'm interested in inducing trance on the fly. Why? I'm not sure. But you've got to be able to in order to play like Jimi Hendrix, am I wrong? I would also appreciate any magick and spiritual inspired fiction and "fiction" books. Novels perhaps. I really dug Carlos Castaneda a while ago. Finally, and this is minute but can you share with me what type of shoes and clothing do you use for walking, and practicing martial arts? I recently realized it also matters. What type of materials? I'd like to get some loose(traditional/modern Chinese perhaps) clothes that would be socially acceptable lol. Any good sites? Kinda love shopping To end this huge lament of a noob I'll just throw some titles on you and if you want share your thoughts on them( just your general opinion): Book of Five rings - Musashi Baguazhang - Hidden Knowledge in the Taoist Internal Martial Art Ywing-Ming-Yang-PHDThe-Root-of-Chinese-Chi-Kung The Complete System of Self-Healing by Dr. Stephen T. Chang Way of the inner smile by Michael Winn Daoist Body Cultivation by Livia Kohn Taoist Meditation by Thomas Cleary Becoming Te Iceman. Any recommendations? Peace. PS. Please excuse my English, I know it got a little rusty recently.
  17. Where should I start ?

    So for someone who wants to start somewhere with all of this energy cultivating and manipulation.. and start feeling the energy more and cultivate and heal later on... where i should start ? I do Vipassana.. can feel energy on my hands up to arms... feets up to legs... other sensation everywhere... I did Qi gong by myself.. one finger zen.. and felt the beam of chi using the finger... also I can feel the energy pulses with my hand (like a magnetic field) if i move my awareness to there. Where do you suggest i should continue.. what practices do you suggest? something maybe without visualization.. something with mindfulness and awareness if possible? If you have a link to a video or suggest a book that provides a map of energy practices.. and their levels and their use ..etc knowing there is no place here in my country that teaches anything like that...so i can only to practice by myself.. Thank you ! With metta of love and Compassion <3
  18. I don't know if this is normal but within a few minutes into a meditation I sometimes get a strange expanding cold feeling in the inner sides of my head. It feels like sinus sensation in my brain. Is this normal?
  19. here you can find a partial translation of a previously untranslated text called da cheng jie yao (essentials of the shortcut to the great achievement), the ite features more information about wudang and daoism, as well as offering a schoalrship for people who are less well-off. http://fiveimmortals.com/the-essentials-of-the-shortcut-to-the-great-achievement/
  20. I would like to know which considerations should be taken to choose a meditation technique or a cultivation practice among the various ones that exists. Things like their requirements or in what they consists in very general terms. Or if they would require the presence of a teacher, or, at least, his/her/its instructions. Or if they can likely cause problem to the health, physically or psychically, even if they are not too badly practiced. Or if they are in part oath-bound. Etc... Also, Daoism is not an unified movement (neither is Buddhism, neither is Hinduism, neither is Christianity, etc... for what is matters), but are there some practices or rituals which are more prevalent among schools?
  21. Walking

    Does anyone simply walk for exercise and to meditate or reflect while doing so? I am 21 but started moving more when I noticed myself starting to age, youth fading and my body deteriorating. I now try to walk 10,000 steps a day and while doing so I reflect on life. I am a runner as well, but don't do it as much (only about 18 miles a week) because it is more "yang" to me and seems to degenerate the body in excess. The rest of my health practices and body / weight management are via yoga, healthy diet and fasting. But I like walking
  22. The Neverland

    β€ͺWhat does it mean to be in a land that never ends? This question seeped into my thoughts when I was writing an anthology of poetry, Evolutionary Nothingness Vol.1. I tried to understand the nothingness as something that does not exist, or a place in the mind that never ends. β€ͺAn extension of thoughts that are so strong, they become pieces of you, resembling vivid emotions. Read more here: https://medium.com/@leonbasin/the-neverland-9fd31a6e4921#.ijo804lzy
  23. Floating through meditation is something you hear about in India, but I feel like you don't hear about it much in China. Does anyone know of any references to floating in Daoist mythology or folklore? If not, I am curious about what "outward" effects are referenced in regards to high levels of meditation refinement (I'm NOT so curious about what modern science can prove, but more of what exists in the mythology and folklore of Daoism). For this sort of stuff I usually reference all the Eva Wong books with folklore stories, but I'm not finding much in there about floating. And before anyone asks, I am in no way claiming I floated. I am just curious about filling the holes in my knowledge of Daoist mythology.
  24. Re-opened Cultivation Center

    Greetings Every One! I have been off the forum for quite a while now. Lecturing in China for a few years has come to an end, and now I am back in the states. Starting over in Pennsylvania, Milford. This January I have re-opened my cultivation school, and have classes in full force. Last year I have placed all my practices into two systems White Canopy Platform Cultivation, and Imperial Zong Huan. For a description of both, please visit Gui Zhen Society I hope every one is doing well. Peace and Blessings, Lin