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Hallo there, my name is Jeremy I'm British but live in Germany. I did a course in Qi Gong a year or so ago. I took it up again lately and every single morning I indulge in "Eight Pieces of Brocade" thanks to Dr Yan Jwing Ming's books/site. I follow the sequence the best I can, I love that it is 1500 years old. I can imagine myself doing it at 70. Hope I've come to the right site.

Hi all, Those that have read my posts before may be aware that I began meditating due to chronic anxiety and insomnia. Although overall my condition has improved, I notice it comes back in waves. I am going through a change right now with promising yet risky career prospects on the horizon. With this, and Christmas coming up (my parents and siblings are totally disbanded which is sad and difficult for me as I'm therefore responsible for keeping three different branches happy) I know this will be causing it. The interesting thing is, when I shut my eyes at night, I am not conscious of what is causing my anxiety and insomnia. I can be relaxed, and mindful of my breathing, yet my mind is screaming all sorts of things and being very disruptive. Like I say, all sorts of things...nothing particularly related to something I am consciously worried about. That is the background anyway. I don't expect any answers but the context might help people understand where I'm coming from with the next part...my question: ------ So anyway, I am practicing breathing into the Dan Tien. I find that anything else is too advanced for me and I need to return to basic breathing practice. I have noticed that I am doing this successfully, and can gain peace from my motor-mind. However, I also notice accelerating heart-rate. Again, no idea what is causing it, something completely subconscious. But I will sit, and feel good about being sat in meditation, but slightly weirded out by my heart panicking by itself. Is anybody able to give me an insight into what is going on? Thanks in advance.

First credit to Trunk for writing a concise outline of the spiritual path called the "Jade Sutra." I have been struck by the simplicity and usefulness of this model. There are three pillars in this outline. As a beginner I would like suggestions/input on the efficacy of what I am doing. I am 52 I don't have time to waste 20 years figuring out what works. 1 st Pilliar "Opening the Channels" I have been trying to use the "Great Sky or Macrocosmic Orbit" after six months to one year of the "Microcosmic Orbit." to open my chi channels. (Reference "Dantian Qigong"-I Dudukchan. I have also been doing in Wuji Gong as in the DVD by Cheng Bingsong twice a day. 2 nd Pilliar "Centering" Meditating by just keeping my attention on the lower dan tian. 3 rd Pillar "Integrating heaven and Earth" Sung breathing while doing Zhan Zhuang. Any pointers would be welcome. Thanks---Dan

I lift competitively in the 165 lb class. I am very tight and I started qi gong and zhan zhuang to become more flexible. By accident I felt some small amount of chi discharge down my spine and through my legs while doing squats. I can't replicate this situation. Would one of you that has enough experience with anything similar (possibly an internal martial artist,) suggest some qi gong to boost and direct chi while lifting? I would be very grateful for any help. Just as the internal martial arts are a spiritual path I feel I could turn powerlifting into an internal path if I went about it properly. Thanks ---Dan

The practice: Mo Pai nei gong. 2 and a half years. A year and a half into level 2. The problem: Horrible itching all over my body. I've experienced a lot of unpleasant chi-related problems, but this one takes the cake. At the moment, I don't have a teacher I can turn to for help, so I consider Tao bums, a forum which I know a lot of serious practitioners to use, the next best thing. Without limiting my meditation, what can I do to reduce the itching? My doctor has tried treating it as a bacterial infection, fungal, and so on, without any results. No medicine seems to be working. If I had the cash to fly out to Indonesia, I could go and see The Man, but I don't. What must I do to stop the pain???

If you were scheduling a retreat, how would you lay it out on a timeline and what would you put in the slots?

Hello, friends. I suppose I'm here because I feel like self-improvement is to be found in TCM, Qi Gong, and/or Tai Chi. The only problem is that I'm a complete virgin on all three subjects, with virtually no knowledge of even their basics. I'd appreicate any sort of advice and pointers you guys might have for me, and am totally open to answering any questions. Thanks!

Hello all, This book is a very good one and could be a good starting point for beginners, as well as excellent supplemental material for the seasoned practitioner. http://www.amazon.com/Restoring-Your-Life-Energy-Well-Being/dp/1590309960 Enjoy. It would be interesting to find out from any Bum who has practiced these what their experiences have been. Dwai

Hello! One question that's been on my mind recently... What is the significance of the number 9 in Taoism? I have heard it referenced so much in texts and in meditation tutorials, breath cycles appear to go around in 9s (rather than 10s that I've been familiar with in other traditions i.e Zen)

Hello Taobums, I feel honoured to have joined such an interesting community of likeminded individuals. I''ve been reading different topics for some time now and I thought it was about time I joined and shared in the discussions with some of my Taoist experiences...

Falun Dafa- Turning the Great Law Wheel Introduction Video- The Nature of the Universe is Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yfY6YlBJBAhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qoXgKjMguE It is totally free. Everything to get started can be got free off the internet. You can start learning this practice right here and right now! Detailed Video Instructions of the Falun Gong Exercises- Instruction on the Falun Gong Meditation- Video of the lectures and teachings of Falun Dafa Falun Dafa - 9-Day Lectures in Guangzhou Here are the main study books of Falun Dafa Falun Dafa - The Falun Dafa Books Turning the Law wheel, Great Law book ZHUAN FALUN-INDEX Mr. Li Hongzhi on Buddha Law-

It has recently been brought to my attention (thanks cat, and others) that there might be a Qi Gong practice that could assist with my hearing loss or even repair the damage that has been done. My hearing loss has become a part of my life weather or not I wanted it to be, and I've been growing accustomed to the issues associated with being unable to hear fluidly and consistently in conversation only recently. I lost my (good) hearing when I was about 11 years old when I fell and hit my head and got a concussion. It's been a few short of 20 years now, I can read lips pretty well, but I don't know much sign and I have never known a practice I could implement into my personal cultivation that might assist or even repair my hearing loss. I can hear quite well mind you, but as if someone transposed the frequencies up a few hundred thousand hertz; I cannot hear low frequency sounds such as, but not limited to, my own voice lawn mowers, bass guitar, and Dart Vader, but high frequencies are crystal clear, so much so that the sound of crystals themselves gives the phrase a whole new meaning. I would love to be able to function more normally in conversation and social situations, however, I would miss the frequency gain if I had to sacrifice it to retrieve the frequency loss...

My name is Aziz. I've been practicing qi gong more than 15 years. I started them with Mantak Chia's inner smile. Today I'm practicing 3 different Daoist Sect's Nei Gong practices. On lvl 1. I learned Xing Shen Zhuang Fa from David Verdesi on 2002. And in last 2 years I began to practice Da Mo Pai's Nei Gong step 1 and Mo Pai's Nei Gong Step 1. Pai as you know means "school". Also I'm practicin and teaching Yi Jin Jing. The formal method of Da Mo Pai which the school of Bodhidharma or DaMo. I mostly practiced traditional forms of qi gong. I met with an "immortal", "sage" on these years. Yes I saw with my eyes he got really exciting powers. After all these years spending on qi gong I started to realize a different path. I'm mostly practicing ZaZen meditations now. All the qi gongs are helping my meditations. I'm here to learn different stages of meditations and traditional paths. Practices that I learned and still using: Xing Shen Zhuang Fa Xİng Gong Ba Gua Yi Jin Jing Stillness Meditation Shen Zhen Gong Nei Gong - Part 1, Step 1. Fullfilling the lower dantien with yang qi. Regards Aziz

Hello Everyone -- This looks like a great website and I'm looking forward to being part of it. Just this year I discovered Mantak Chia's book about Cultivating Male Sexuality, and it is something that I'm trying to do. Started in August and have had mixed results. Part of this is I think that I am trying to do this all on my own, and it would be great to talk to some experienced people that could maybe help guide me along the way. I also have started w Qi Gong, 8 pieces of brocade, and enjoy that as well. I think the benefits of semen retention are obvious, but again, being new to this, have questions

OK here is part of the list of the DVDs I can currently access: Qi Gong for Beginners and Qi Gong for Stress Relief By: Garripoli Tai Chi for Fitness By: David Chang AM Chi, Lower Body Chi, PM Chi, Tai Chi Beginning Practice, Tai Chi Daily Practice By: David-Dorian Ross Energy Exercises for Emotional Vitality, Energy Exercises for The Beginner, Energy Exercieses for The Intermediate By: Discovering Chi (series) Tai Chi for Beginners By: Samual Barnes Tai Chi Inner-Wave By: Joey Bond Tai Chi Fundamentals By Tricia Wu Which of these, if any, should I use? If any of these are not something you would recommend, why exactly? For example, in another thread I started on another subject. Matthew Cohen's Fire and Water Qi Gong came up. The person that said the exercises were bad gave a couple of reasons, among them things like Mr. Cohen is flexing his muscles when they are supposed to be relaxed. What I am looking for are energy gathering/purifying exercises, preferably in Qi Gong (AKA Chi Kung). I like the side effects of good muscle flexibility among other things. I always liked Cohen's workout because I could use that after a really hard day of work where I was stiff and sore and I always felt better. I could also use it after a draining day and feel energized. Furthermore I can "see" the flame at my center, even meditating on this now, and I know when it is blinding bright and full of energy or when it is dim with little energy. The amount of energy I see there is directly releated to what I experience in my body. So I am looking to, in essence, recharge myself. I should also mention that it appears I am linked in some way to the earth or earth energy. I now see vines that come up and either connect to roots I put down from my feet or the vines just enter my body. This is all in my minds eye of course. Be kinda freaky to have vines come out of the ground into your physical body Anyhow this is symbolic, to me, of energy from the earth, while a sort of system or web or whatever of light rays or shoots - whatever you want to call them, connect to the energy of the sun/sky. Anyhow there is shamanic, magician and other energtic stuff going on here, and this should be considered in any DVD you recommend. Yeah I know I'm weird OK, as for length 10 minutes is awesome, 20 is OK, 30 is bearable, 40+ is "YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!!!" So somewhere between 10-40 minutes is best for me. Also the exercises/moves should be very well narrated, as in Cohen's DVD, so I can easily see and feel how my body should be placed, and know I have it in the right position. Whatever else you can say about Cohen, you can certainly easily follow the audio of his DVD most of the time. Any DVD that depends on the video to explain everything is not as useful to me. Because I can carry around and use an audio file with me. But I can't work that way with a video file. Free is awesome, if any such creature exists. You give me the names of good teachers I'll gladly hunt around YouTube. Otherwise I will see what I can dig up at the library. Have a bunch of material there, something in it has to be of good quality. As always your help is appreciated. I would really like to get it right this time, hope I don't have to unlearn anything Cohen taught wrongly. - DreamBliss P.S. PLEASE NOTE! DO NOT RECOMMEND A CLASS OR ANYTHING THAT COSTS MONEY TO ME! I have no money to buy anything, so I have YouTube and the library. Of course I also have a birthday coming up on the 11th... Hint... Hint... Right now on my birthday/Christmas list are Josephine McCarthy's "The Excorsit's Handbook" and Magical Knowledge books II and III, Shalia Catherine's "Focused and Fearless" and "Wisdom Wide and Deep." Prentice Mulford's "Thought AreThings," Franz Bardon's "Initiation Into Hermetics" and, last but not least, the "Kybalion" by the Three Initiates.