Hi everyone. I found this space some time back, but bookmarked it to come back to it... and finally I have. I've been practicing Tai Ji and Qigong for almost 19 years, and also was a professional Chinese medicine practitioner, but have retired (maybe temporarily, maybe not) from clinical practice a little over a year ago. I used to teach Qigong and Tai Ji also, but am not doing that at present either, as well as lecture TCM students in History & Philosophy. I'm currently working on a translation of the Yi Jing, and for some reason the Dao De Jing. I'm hoping to be able to share ideas and assistance with translations, happy to also share my experience with medical and qigong related topics too, if anyone needs it. One of the things I'm looking for is access to texts in original chinese, as well as translations of the more 'obscure' Daoist texts. I have a fascination with the Quanzhen school, mainly because I'm equally interested in Confucian and Buddhist philosophy also, and love the x-over there. Looking forward to reading your posts. 😊🙏🏽☯️

Hi Folks, I keep finding myself returning to this forum so I finally decided that I might as well become a member. I'm not much of a "joiner" of things and I'm a little wary of belief systems in general. I think that's what attracts me to Taoism, at least the philosophical aspect, it seems to encourage finding one's own way rather than simply falling in line. In fact, that's why the forum interests me, there's a lot of intelligent (well, usually) discussion from people of diverse backgrounds, knowledge, and traditions/non-traditions. And...it seems to be fairly active, which is getting to be a rarity in the age of facebook and twitter. So, I'm reluctant to say very much in my very first post. I'm well on in years and a little disappointed in the haphazard way I spent (I musn't say wasted) most of my formative years. I'm pretty sure I know a lot less now than I did 30 years ago, but more importantly, these days I see beauty in simplest things. One thing I have learned is that a good sense of humor can take you far . Thanks for being here TDB, looks like a great place to stop in from time to time.

Hello, I'm from down under . Twenty-six years of age . I'm a horrible Dzogchen practitioner , no good indeed. What am I here for ? - A good dose of shit talking - A place to do said shit talking that isn't steeped in scientific materialism - To learn from any and all traditions - To learn from any and all individuals - To post obscure synth records.

Hello, I am a middle-age fart with 3 Kids and a Wife and I am doing my best to bring myself back into a state of balance and good health. I am somewhat new to Qigong (I started practicing through Ken Cohens CD/DVD's some 7 or 8 years ago, but didn't stick with it long, and renewed my interest a few months ago after stumbling upon Sifu Anthony Korahais online instructional for Lifting the Sky (thanks Anthony!)), though I have been practicing various types of meditation and shadow-work throughout the last few decades. I also found interest in Dao through the Tao Te Ching as a youngster, and I am always working to apply its wisdom to my life. I've been on this site a few times over the years while searching for various things, and I'm happy to finally join the site and get to know some of you better!

Hi everyone, Happy to have registered. I have been reading on and practicing qi gong on-and-off for few years now but have only seriously got into Zhan Zhuang for the last year and a half or so for health and spirituality aspects. I look forward to reading from and exchanging with much more seasoned practitioners on the forum. Best, gatsu

Folks This is a new and exciting journey for me . Looking forward to joining your community learning from others and helping ,too where I can. Just knowing there are people who can relate helps already

Hi All I'll do my best to explain what brought me here. I began having energetic experiences about 3 years ago through the practice of the Wim Hof Method. His method (for those who don't know) combines breath work with progressive cold exposure. During this practice I would experience sensations best described as "magnetic" in my hands, belly and head during the breath holds. I also began to experience light behind my forehead when I had my eyes closed. I continued this practice for a while but at a certain point I felt that it was a little too frenetic and jarring to my system. I kind of modified the breath practices by slowing down the breathing and limited the cold exposure. A year later I went on a 5 day silent meditation retreat in the Insight tradition. My experience on this retreat was profound and afterwards I began to take meditation very seriously. After about 4 or 5 months of diligent practice I began to have extremely intense bouts of crying and emotional release. These experiences were often accompanied by an intense magnetic sensation in my chest. I had a history of trauma and had battled depression for most of my life... steady meditation practice was essentially releasing the valve on my emotional pressure cooker. I was very overwhelmed by these experiences, but I eventually found a buddhist teacher and a therapist that practiced western psychology within a buddhist framework who I am still working with. These experiences really threw a huge curveball into my life, and the last couple of years have been full of really intense transition and emotional release. As I began to gain some confidence with all the energetic experiences I had been having, I wanted to learn a way to work with them, so I started learning to practice Donna Eden's Energy Medicine, and eventually I enrolled at an Eastern Medicine school to learn Massage Therapy. My most recent experience with the subtle energy happened a few months ago during a moment of intimacy with my partner. My body began convulsing, I started sobbing and I was thrown into intense flashbacks from childhood as well as "memories" that I could not recall from this lifetime. This went on for about 4 hours and was accompanied by many intense visual experiences. Since this has happened, my body has continued tremoring and I've felt a build up of energy in my pelvic floor that is sometimes incredibly difficult to manage - either causing a "hemorrhoid" feeling or intense and difficult to manage sexual energy. A few times, I've been able to draw the energy up to my crown and back down through breathing, resulting in some pretty blissful experiences, but I haven't been able to do it consistently and for the most part this energy has been very difficult to manage. So I'm here looking for some recommendations for practice - While I do have a background in the Martial Arts (Kenpo) I don't have a ton of experience with Qi Gong... I've taken a few classes and read some Mantak Chia but I've never dove into the practice, I find it difficult to learn these things through books. I live in the NY area and am definitely interested in meeting teachers or other practitioners who my experiences resonate with. I'm also happy to have a place to share these experiences where people will have more understanding and experience with what I'm going through.

Long time lurker, first time poster. love the site, love the info, main goal is to improve retention and work towards the ultimate goal of MCO. I know that it is not an easy or quick process, but i am willing to put in the work. thanks so much and looking forward to the path!

Hello Everyone, I've stumbled across this site while looking for somewhere to discuss the uncertainty I feel after reading differing translations of the DDJ. Many of you have taken the same route, I imagine! I can't wait to pick the minds of the many folks here who are no doubt more studied than I. Your Friend, Amigo

Hi From time to time, the last years, I sometimes land upon this forum after a google search. Many questions dwell in me but none in particular bubble up at current moment. It's more that I'm wandering and this seems to be a nice place to do so. The nice thing about wandering is that you always end up where you need to be at the right time.

You have requested a welcome post, here it is. I have practiced martial arts and qi gong for many years and am interested in what other people have to say about it.

Hi Y'all, My name is Amy, and I have been studying the Tao for about 3 months. I was drifting aimlessly since leaving Christianity 4 years ago. I did a lot of YouTube with Chakras, Meditating, Astral Planes, etc. One day (as I was playing Star Wars, SWTOR), I decided to look more into Taoism. I have known for some time that "The Force" was based on Tao. I read it all the way through in one sitting the first time. I am currently comparing 2 different translations as I read through again. I live in a very conservative town that it is in a very conservative state. It is probably 3 hours to the nearest town that might have a Tao temple. So, I started looking for an online community - and here I am. Thanks!

Hello everyone, my name is Andrew and I've only recently found The Way. I feel like I've always followed it without knowing growing up which is probably why I couldn't find a name for it. "The name that can be named, is not the universal name." I'm hoping to learn more about Taoism and everything that goes with it to help deepen myself as a human being so if anyone wants to talk I'm more than open for it. Hopefully you'll accept me for who I am, because it's all I can be

Hello Dao Bums, I’m not much of a talker so I’ll be brief. I’ve read some forum posts here, over the years, and thought it time to sow some seeds. By joining this community, I hope to profit some insights from those whom have either traveled longer and/or more wisely than I have. As far as giving back I doubt my shallow experiences can help but I’m willing whenever I can. My interests broadly lay in meditation and inner alchemy. Meditation being my central routine practice. I’ve been interested in Qabala and Hermeticism for about 20 years. For the last few years though I’ve been reading more on Daoism and eastern internal alchemy. The philosophy and overall insights toward inner cultivation have been very insightful. My current mindset is to stay present seek balance and reap chances of understanding when they come. To the DB team thanks for welcoming me and providing this community to share. Best wishes - Jurgen My active reading list of 2016: The Primordial Breath Vol.1 – Jane Huang The Little Book of Meditation - William Bodri The Little Book of Hercules – William Bodri The Secrets of Chinese Meditation – Charles Luk Tao & Longevity – Huai Chin Han Tao Te Ching (Audible) – Jane English, Jacob Needleman Practicing the Tao Te Ching – Solala Towler

Hello all: I'm pleased to discover this forum! It's hard to find someone who knows much of anythig about Taoism, let alone who wants to talk about it!

My name is Joshua Smith. I am learning qigong. I started only a couple of weeks ago. I ordered the Dragon and Tiger Medical Qigong set from Bruce Frantzis and EnergyArts. I have only learned the first 4 movements but am excited about what I am learning and how I am feeling. I went through The Practice of Qigong by Ken Cohen and am well into The Great Courses', Great Minds of the Eastern Intellectual Tradition. I am considering learning Flying Phoenix with Terry Dunn's DVD set next. (I like to plan things.) As I was looking into Flying Phoenix I ran across this forum and found that Dunn and Franztis are both here. I look forward to learning more and the discussions I may be a part of as I continue my journey. May many of us walk beside one another, if only for a little while.

Hi, I'm joining this forum because I've been exploring celibacy. I'm a 37-year-old male Catholic, and have had a bit of accupuncture and qigong therapy, and have done a bit of reading about Taoism and qigong. I look forward to corresponding with you!

Hello everyone, I am a practicing Tibetan Buddhist, Taoist and Western Magician. I am always eager to learn and add new things to my toolbox. Hope to help and be helped. Yours in the path, magi777

Hello, I am new to this Forums. I am the editor at Kundalini-Meditation website and would like to know more about various spiritual practices and to share the experiences of different people.

Hello everybody, As already have noticed, I'm new to the forums. I'm 39 years old software engineer from Argentina. I've being practicing Tai-Chi for about 2 years. I started mostly by accident, without knowing really what it was about. My master he introduced me to the concept of the Microcosmic Orbit, and after I asked himabout more resources in the topic, he suggested me to look for some of the books of Mantak Chia. There has been a couple of months that I been out from the Tai-Chi classes because of problems with schedule and work, but I started to practice at home the basics of Mantak Chia system, basically the Self-Massage, Cosmic-Smile, Inner-Sounds and the Microcosmic Orbit. I've also been in contact and read the Sexual-Alchemy books, and came across this forum when searching for potential problems and warnings with the techniques. I was eager to start practicing them and even started for a few days until I found some not so nice side effects that might come if practicing them wrong... I hope to find more information here and people to discuss and share my experiences as I practice and try to progress. Thanks and see you around!

Hi folks! I'm a 24 year young male from Sweden. I was at a Vipassana retreat last year and that got me hooked. Now I want to explore as many different meditation and cultivation practices as possible to find if something else fits me even better and that's why I'm here! If you have any questions just ask! Thanks for letting me be here and absorb your wisdom!

I only wish to say hi to you guys... I am going to give some translation of Tao Te Ching on Serbian language, and it is my priviledge that I can talk and share ideas over here...

Hi everyone! My name is Zetta and I've just stumbled upon the beauty of Taoism. Even though I'm new to this path, it already feels like home. I think this philosophy will pair beautifully with my Tarot practice, and I also can't wait to learn about the I-Ching system of reflection/divination. Maybe I'll write a few posts about my comparisons on here. Are there any other psychics on this forum? Thanks to whomever may be reading this post, and I hope we can learn from each other soon!

I came upon this discussion board while seeking information on teachers. I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered it and the nice informative and analytical way topics are treated by members. I practise Tai Chi, meditation, and like reading about masters. I currently am without a teacher.

Hello bums. I am a female bum, have been on various paths of inner cultivation for 45 years. Taught a 7-level mystery school for 20+ years, and am currently only working one-on-one. Was called motherwave, now the Infinite Wave or iWave, as in http://www.iwavenow.org I'm signing in so that I can respond to a post I just read. Today I'm exploring the journey between the crystal palace cubic inch in my alleged brain and an integrated experience of fluid, moving Oneness. Love seems to help the whole process of course xx