Baldwin Posted May 19, 2009 Hi guys, I'm new to Taoism, only becoming interested in it in the past month or two, and I'm struggling to get a foothold on meditational techniques etc. When I've looked into it there's so much information and unfamiliar terminology that I've got a bit lost! I did some meditation from the Barefoot Doctor CDs but then heard there's rumours of him being a fraud, so am disinclined to continue in that endeavour. Â Could anyone please point me in the right direction? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ian Posted May 19, 2009 Hi guys, I'm new to Taoism, only becoming interested in it in the past month or two, and I'm struggling to get a foothold on meditational techniques etc. When I've looked into it there's so much information and unfamiliar terminology that I've got a bit lost! I did some meditation from the Barefoot Doctor CDs but then heard there's rumours of him being a fraud, so am disinclined to continue in that endeavour. Â Could anyone please point me in the right direction? Â I would suggest starting with very relaxed belly breathing, some stillness meditation and some very simple qigong with a downwards flavour. And a certain amount of time considering exactly what you hope to achieve, as that will likely be your main basis for further decisions. Â Good luck. As a general rule, see if you want to be like someone or not before you do what they're doing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fire Dragon Posted May 19, 2009 Hi guys, I'm new to Taoism, only becoming interested in it in the past month or two, and I'm struggling to get a foothold on meditational techniques etc. When I've looked into it there's so much information and unfamiliar terminology that I've got a bit lost! I did some meditation from the Barefoot Doctor CDs but then heard there's rumours of him being a fraud, so am disinclined to continue in that endeavour. Â Could anyone please point me in the right direction? Â Â Â Hello welcome to taobums! Â The terminology and the theory in taoism is not at all clear and are not easy to understund if you not are an expert. To learn theory is one thing and to learn practises is another. They can possible go hand in hand also . Â Try to find a basic book of taoism to begin with. It will most sertainly not be enough to understund many of the practising books in taoim out there, but there is easir ones also. I will recomend you one book with good practise to start with. "100 days to better health, good sed and long life" by Eric Steven Yudelove. It is in the universal tao or healing tao tradition and is developed by one of Mantak Chias best studenst. Â But if you want to find a teacher that there is no bad rumors going on, I know none You have to learn by your own judgement if the practise are good for you or if it isn't. I have a yoga group consisting of me, male, and four girls that have been practisisn from the mentioned book and have continued to hes next book. All of us liked it wery much. Well all of us that are left practising it any way! I myself have been practising Mantak Chia stuff since the year 2000 and it have been wery beneficial and interesting for me! Â You willl hear bad voices about both Mantak Chia and Yudelove out there also. It up to you to decide though if the practises are good or not. There is alot bad written only at this forum on Chia, you can search for hem if you want to see for yourself. And I realy not know if there is any substance for the critisism or not, I can only say for myself that I like hes practises and they have helped me to a quite large ensted with my health problem also. On Yudelove there is quite serious rumors going on. He is not any more a public person as far as I know. But the exercises are good and the book is a wery good introduction to taoist yoga and qigong according to me and my groups experiences. Â But I strongly recomend you to find a teacher in the subject also. If interested in the book I recomend you can find any universal tao instructor near by and go some introductory courses. It is especially important regarding the sexual practises in the system, but strongly recomended for all of them. Michael Winn is also an alternative in the same system you can check this web site up http://www.healingdao.com/ . Â Read some easy books in acupuncture. Read tao the ching. Find an easy book in taoism. Look things up in the book I recomended on the internet. By the way if you start the practises from the book you can if you want to slow down and do one chapter at each month or something, thats the temp we do anyway. Â Most important is to find a good teacher that you feel comfortable with! Important is to practise regularly and to start and progress slowly and at ease at the beginning. Start with 3 minutes a day and increase if it feels good to you to five minutes, that is a wery good starting advise. Try out some different methods after a while and stick with them that you like the most and you will be alright. Be careful not to force anything that happens. Find a way to keep your interest in the practises alive owery time and you will be succesful! Â Â Â F D Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Encephalon Posted May 30, 2009 Greetings - I'm fairly new to Taoism as well. I've studied Buddhism for 25 years, but Taoism brings the physical body front and center. My favorite author is Deng Ming-Dao; he is both prolific and comprehensible. He says that perfection of the body/mind is as essential for the Taoist as the redemption of the soul is for a Christian. Â i got started with a Nei Kung technique which is very simple, or, uncomplicated. check out www.neikungla.com. It is a very well written and informational website. I bought the book and dvd and have been doing the practice for 20 months. The electrical impulse that we sense as our nervous system starts to wake up is the most exquisite sensation imaginable, but the psychological effects are just as pronounced. Your latent talents come out, while your "lesser habits" begin to slough off. Â I was a critical thinking junkie in college (still am), and the beauty of Taoism is that it makes no demands on your rationalism. There seem to be as many lineages of Taoism as there are styles of music, and finding the right one that jives with the rest of your mental universe will happen, one way or another. "Scholar Warrior" by Deng Ming-Dao is also a great introduction, although I don't eat frogs! Â Happy journeys! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
forestofemptiness Posted May 30, 2009 What are you looking to do? Â Luckily, it is almost impossible to go in the wrong direction! Â Hi guys, I'm new to Taoism, only becoming interested in it in the past month or two, and I'm struggling to get a foothold on meditational techniques etc. When I've looked into it there's so much information and unfamiliar terminology that I've got a bit lost! I did some meditation from the Barefoot Doctor CDs but then heard there's rumours of him being a fraud, so am disinclined to continue in that endeavour. Â Could anyone please point me in the right direction? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
