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blinded by meditation?

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I had an intense experience last night. I decided to do one of the sitting meditation on Spring Forest QiGong's Level 1 Sitting meditation CD. I think it was called Small Universe. It had music playing in the background, someone going "ommmmmm", and the exercise was:

 

Breathe in on the "ommm", breathe out during the silence. When you breathe in, focus energy on the current point. When you breathe out, move it to the next point. The points on the body were:

 

Behind the navel, the bladder, the bottom of the torso, the tip of the tailbone, the lower back, the kidney area, the spine, the base of the head, the top of the head, the 3rd eye, the throat, the heart, and back to the navel, repeated again and again.

 

I was doing this sitting in a chair. Partway through the first round I started feeling something at each of the points. Then, after doing the second one, going into the third, I got a really really intense.. headrush. At least, that's the closest thing I can link it to. I didn't stand or anything, though, I was sitting down mostly unmoving the whole time. My eyes were closed, but my vision filled up with white. I tried to stay with it, but it was too intense, so I opened my eyes, but still couldn't see anything. I stopped focusing and got up. Slowly my vision came back to me, but at first everything I saw was in tints of yellow and orange.

 

It was quite unpleasant. Afterwards I tried to do it again, thinking that this time I know what's coming so maybe I can control it, but it didn't get to that point anymore.

 

Has this happened to anyone / does anyone know what happened?

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The first and only time i had a similar 'occurrence' was back in '96. I remember the year clearly because it was during a one-year retreat that it decided to show up. I was doing some rather intense visualizations then.

 

It baffled me. I thought it was some kind of a breakthrough, and was feeling quite pleased with myself. All thru that evening, and during the early part of the next day, i was wearing a smug look on my face. Did not think it was that obvious until the Retreat Guide pulled me to one side and hinted that he knew something had appeared to me by saying, "Whatever you think it is, its not...".

That got me curious, so i related the drama to him, and he then told me that its something that is frequently perceptible during those times when we make a conscious, concerted effort to move the consciousness/awareness around. Its a sign of adjustment, because the awareness is also like a muscle. Alas, my joy was short-lived...

 

I do not practice Taoist energetic works, so i cannot ascertain if its an identical thing. It did sound similar though when i read your query.

 

Wish you the very best in your practice. :)

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I was doing this sitting in a chair. Partway through the first round I started feeling something at each of the points. Then, after doing the second one, going into the third, I got a really really intense.. headrush. At least, that's the closest thing I can link it to. I didn't stand or anything, though, I was sitting down mostly unmoving the whole time. My eyes were closed, but my vision filled up with white. I tried to stay with it, but it was too intense, so I opened my eyes, but still couldn't see anything. I stopped focusing and got up. Slowly my vision came back to me, but at first everything I saw was in tints of yellow and orange.

 

It was quite unpleasant. Afterwards I tried to do it again, thinking that this time I know what's coming so maybe I can control it, but it didn't get to that point anymore.

If you can see white light with your eyes OPEN...that should be a VERY good textbook sign of progress.

 

From Taoist Yoga:

After the immortal seed has returned to its source in the lower abdomen, a pointed concentration on it will, in time, cause a golden light to appear in the white light between the eyebrows. - xvii

 

This is the lower dantian cavity (under the navel) full of the alchemical agent which reveals to the eyes the beauty of yang qi breath. Wherever the practiser walks, stays, sits or reclines, he will see a white light in front of him, and, as time passes, this white light changes into a golden one. - p 60

 

It is that circle (of light) appearing before the eyes, which is true nature exposed by the sublimation of nature and life.

This circle manifests through the faithful cultivation of (essential) nature and (eternal) life. A diligent trainee is bound to realize the light of qi which is red and reveals the blood-colored (spurious) Mysterious Gate and when white shows the genuine gate - p 75

 

The old master Tan Zhi Ming said: 'After gathering the alchemical agent to make good the loss of jing, a fascinating white light will appear in both eyes' which means the joining up of the sun (the left eye or yang principle) with the moon (the right eye or yin principle) ; only then can both eyes be concentrated on the lower abdomen in which a white light is imagined as manifesting. After looking into the lower dantian for several tens of days suddenly a sound will be heard, followed by the ascent of real qi from the lower belly to the heart (house of fire) where it stays still, thence going down to return to the lower dantian. - p 90

 

When the spiritual fetus is formed by the ball of fire

A white light from the heart illuminates all

Things and a great blaze of golden light appears;

When all channels have been cleared the macrocosmic agent's made.

 

The bright pearl illuminates the brain

Making in nine turns the elixir.

Only when a drop sinks down to the belly

Does one realize immortals live on earth. - p 114

 

Then a white light appears constantly in front of him and his body cannot be found anywhere. This is the preliminary stage of serenity - p 119

 

if he then closes them and sees a great white light surrounded by lightning-like sparks, the immortal seed is mature. If he sees a dark circle surrounded by sparks, the immortal seed is immature

A white light will first appear in front of the eyebrows and, as time passes, will fill the space between them and the lower dantian (under the navel); this reveals the maturity of the immortal seed. - p 120

 

The jing which is still immature cannot produce the white light of qi and the immortal seed which is immature cannot produce the golden light - p 122

 

The white light of qi reveals the imperfect body containing the yin principle which can produce earthly states while the golden light reveals the fullness of jing, qi and shen which unite into a whole. - p 123

 

When the jing rises to unite with (essential) nature (xin), the (white) light of qi manifests; it is like moonlight

When qi descends to unite with (eternal) life (ming), the golden light will manifest; it is reddish yellow and its fullness is equivalent to the other half. The union of these two lights will produce that whole which is the immortal seed.

These white and golden lights are like the positive and negative ends of an electric wire; and the union of jing, qi and shen is like the current without which there is no light. - p 130

 

The Hui Ming Jing Ji Shuo says: 'When the light, whether white or golden, manifests to reveal (essential) nature, the practiser should call on a competent master - p 135

 

white light of qi which has manifested after the intermingling of jing, qi and shen. - p 184

Now, it would be rare for a beginner to see the white light...but I have heard of this too. Happens spontaneously or with very little effort (in this lifetime, at least) in a few cases. Also, Chunyi Lin's material may be empowered..

 

But time will tell if your progress continues from that point...or if you may have just had a momentary flash or "glimpse" ahead..

Edited by vortex

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Thanks for the answers! Yes I'll keep practicing and see where I go from there. It might have been a glimpse of what's ahead, as it really overwhelmed me and I wasn't prepared for it at all.

 

I wanted to mention that I also heard intense static in my ears during the event, and it took a few minutes to fade away. I wasn't sure what was happening.. I'll have to read more about this white light. I'm not sure if it was that, though - it felt more like my vision was being obscured, but I suppose a very intense white light would do that too!

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I wanted to mention that I also heard intense static in my ears during the event, and it took a few minutes to fade away. I wasn't sure what was happening.. I'll have to read more about this white light. I'm not sure if it was that, though - it felt more like my vision was being obscured, but I suppose a very intense white light would do that too!
That could be a great sign too.
The union of shen and qi produces the immortal seed as revealed by the white light in the heart, lights flashing in the head, the dragon's hum and the tiger's roar in the ears.

The tiger's roar heard in the left ear reveals the fullness of qi, and the dragon's hum in the right ear reveals the fullness of jing. - p 115

But who knows? Interesting to keep this stuff in mind, but just focus on your actual meditation during meditation. Don't start chasing these signs...which may or may not even be valid. I would read up beforehand and know what to do in case they are, though..

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Hm I've had this happen quite a few times.. Especially the "rush" you mentioned.

 

Sorta've an overwhelming feeling uncertainty with it aswell eh?

 

I've had it happen around times of practice and meditation, but also times I've had breaks, or even BEFORE my training.

 

I Don't know if its from progression or sickness really. So I can't preach about it, or even convince myself to sit through it all the way.

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I think it can be because your 'third eye' is strongly activated, and your physical eyes are drawn back as if sleeping. It's normal and good for this type of practice.

 

The strong static sounds are also because of this. After a while they stop happening so much, or possibly go away forever...

 

If you ever feel dizzy or nauseous, go for a walk and make sure your energy goes to your lower dantien. You can put your hands on your belly to help. Dizziness would mean there's way too much energy in your brain and it can cause problems. That shouldn't happen with small universe, because your attention should be all over the body...

 

But otherwise, just take your time when finishing the practice and you should be okay.

 

At the same time, trust your instincts on this...it's hard to tell what's happening with someone from words on the internet. If something feels wrong, take it slow and easy!

 

You can also do the exercise "beating the heavenly drum" which can be found on google, to help the energy flow better.

 

Peace.

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...My eyes were closed, but my vision filled up with white. I tried to stay with it, but it was too intense, so I opened my eyes, but still couldn't see anything. I stopped focusing and got up. Slowly my vision came back to me, but at first everything I saw was in tints of yellow and orange.

 

It was quite unpleasant. Afterwards I tried to do it again, thinking that this time I know what's coming so maybe I can control it, but it didn't get to that point anymore.

 

Has this happened to anyone / does anyone know what happened?

 

You just awoke a lack of Kidney Yin as there is a strong relationship between Kidney and Liver (Water generates Wood), so when kidney yin fails to nourish liver yin it causes the liver to become excited (blurred-loss of vision...remember that liver manifests in the eyes; headaches, irritability and dizziness).

 

How old are you and how long have you been involved with internal work for, anyway?

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How old are you and how long have you been involved with internal work for, anyway?

I'm 21. I'm pretty new at this. I just started meditating a little before New Year's this year. I've mostly been meditating by focusing on my breath, or external sounds, or internal sounds (my ears can ring in very intricate ways...). Sometimes I will feel like I can notice balls of energy in my body, so I'll focus on those too.

 

I got some Spring Forest QiGong CDs a short while ago, but didn't try starting the exercises yet. This was actually the first time I tried Small Universe meditation, and it happened about 7 minutes in!

 

Mostly I'm worried about whether it could be damaging in some way. If I knew that I wouldn't be hurt, I could brave through the uncomfortable feelings and see what happens. Since I wasn't expecting it, though, I felt that I was going to faint or that my eyes were going to start bleeding or something like that, so I got panicky. I'm still not sure what can happen.. but if it happens again I'll try to stay with it a little longer and see what happens.

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Hm I've had this happen quite a few times.. Especially the "rush" you mentioned.

 

Sorta've an overwhelming feeling uncertainty with it aswell eh?

 

Yes, very much so. The major feeling was "hey what is going on??" And afterwards - "what just happened??"

 

Probably best not to get caught up over it =).

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Yes, very much so. The major feeling was "hey what is going on??" And afterwards - "what just happened??"

 

Probably best not to get caught up over it =).

 

Hm yeah I find thinking about it makes it more likely to happen again.

 

I don't know if its best to just say its kidney yin either, no offence.

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I had an intense experience last night. I decided to do one of the sitting meditation on Spring Forest QiGong's Level 1 Sitting meditation CD. I think it was called Small Universe. It had music playing in the background, someone going "ommmmmm", and the exercise was:

 

Breathe in on the "ommm", breathe out during the silence. When you breathe in, focus energy on the current point. When you breathe out, move it to the next point. The points on the body were:

 

Behind the navel, the bladder, the bottom of the torso, the tip of the tailbone, the lower back, the kidney area, the spine, the base of the head, the top of the head, the 3rd eye, the throat, the heart, and back to the navel, repeated again and again.

 

I was doing this sitting in a chair. Partway through the first round I started feeling something at each of the points. Then, after doing the second one, going into the third, I got a really really intense.. headrush. At least, that's the closest thing I can link it to. I didn't stand or anything, though, I was sitting down mostly unmoving the whole time. My eyes were closed, but my vision filled up with white. I tried to stay with it, but it was too intense, so I opened my eyes, but still couldn't see anything. I stopped focusing and got up. Slowly my vision came back to me, but at first everything I saw was in tints of yellow and orange.

 

It was quite unpleasant. Afterwards I tried to do it again, thinking that this time I know what's coming so maybe I can control it, but it didn't get to that point anymore.

 

Has this happened to anyone / does anyone know what happened?

 

This exact thing hasn't happened to me. But other strange things have. The way I explain it is that when you first meditate, you remove some of the boundaries usually present in the mind and allow a freer expression. So you don't know what's up and you don't know what to expect, but at the same time, you do expect that meditation is new and different and is not "business as usual." And guess what? More open + "not business as usual" and the mind is only happy to oblige.

 

This can be considered a breakthrough. In that I disagree with CowTao's teacher, who I think is an idiot for just parroting a standard Buddhist thing "it will pass," which is also stupid.

 

When you see a vision like this for the first time, it's a sign that your mind has experienced a new degree of flexibility. And when it's new, it is a breakthrough. You are opening up. However, when this is not the first time, it is no longer a breakthrough.

 

The content of the vision is not as important as how it happened and what you felt when it was happening. For example, if you weren't scared, that's very good. If you were scared, that's not so good. The exact content is not that important but it's also important.

 

First, why it's not important. It's not important because the mind is like canvas and things that appear in it are like a painting. So here you're learning how to paint something new. So what exactly you end up painting is not important in that sense. What's important is that your painting technique is changing and growing.

 

And now why it is important. Painting would be irrelevant if you didn't care about the subjects of your paintings. So when you are learning how to paint, what you paint is not as important as how well you paint. However, when you are a decent painter, there comes a time when you want to actually express yourself. When that happens, what you paint is every bit as important as how you paint it.

 

So when you first begin, the content of visions is not important. What's important is how you relate to them, whether or not you can accept them with equanimity, whether or not you have preconceived ideas about them and so on. At the same time, eventually you'll want to envision something not for training, but for the purpose of experiencing it and enjoying it. Then the content of your vision will be as important as every other attendant quality of the vision process.

 

So when you are just learning about new ways of seeing, if you focus on the content too early, you may miss the boat. You may get addicted to visions well before learning all there is to know about the vision process, which would be a tragedy. At the same time, there is no denial that visions are important. This life is a vision. Even the very idea of "unimportant" is itself a kind of vision.

 

Breakthroughs come in many flavors. Having a breakthrough simply means you've tasted something for the first time. It doesn't mean more than that, but it's still important, at least at the time of it occurring.

Edited by goldisheavy

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I'm 21. I'm pretty new at this. I just started meditating a little before New Year's this year. I've mostly been meditating by focusing on my breath, or external sounds, or internal sounds (my ears can ring in very intricate ways...). Sometimes I will feel like I can notice balls of energy in my body, so I'll focus on those too.

 

I got some Spring Forest QiGong CDs a short while ago, but didn't try starting the exercises yet. This was actually the first time I tried Small Universe meditation, and it happened about 7 minutes in!

 

Mostly I'm worried about whether it could be damaging in some way. If I knew that I wouldn't be hurt, I could brave through the uncomfortable feelings and see what happens. Since I wasn't expecting it, though, I felt that I was going to faint or that my eyes were going to start bleeding or something like that, so I got panicky. I'm still not sure what can happen.. but if it happens again I'll try to stay with it a little longer and see what happens.

 

Thanks for sharing this little info in here. Make sure you regulate your ejaculations and stress as well which is conducive to excessive sexual activity. However I might be totally wrong, so disregard this last piece of advice. You know it's Internet thing, not perfect; so, for a better diagnosis I would suggest you seeing a TCM doc.

 

Good luck anyway.

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This exact thing hasn't happened to me. But other strange things have. The way I explain it is that when you first meditate, you remove some of the boundaries usually present in the mind and allow a freer expression. So you don't know what's up and you don't know what to expect, but at the same time, you do expect that meditation is new and different and is not "business as usual." And guess what? More open + "not business as usual" and the mind is only happy to oblige.

 

...

 

Thanks for these words! You have a very sober approach, and I appreciate it. My immediate reaction to the vision was fear, unfortunately, so that just means I have to keep working =).

 

I want to mention one other "event" I had, in March. This was only when I had just started meditating, maybe 3 weeks before. I was lying down in bed in the afternoon in a semi-lit room. I wasn't sleepy or anything, and I was listening to music with my eyes closed (the song was Dedicated, by Linkin Park).

 

Suddenly I observed as if my closed vision "expanded". I was still seeing blackness, as when your eyes are closed, but it somehow grew much more voluminous. I could "see" that there was a huge dimension to this blackness. Later I described it as being in the presence of a void. A friend suggested it was a hypnogogic hallucination, which I get before I go to sleep, but it seemed quite different than that. I wasn't sure what it was. I wasn't afraid, but I did get excited, so my pulse rate increased. I stayed in the void for a minute or so. I opened my eyes, and didn't notice anything different. I closed them, I was still in the void. I sat up to see what that felt like, and my body was very heavy. A minute or so after that, the sensation disappeared.

 

The void experience was pretty different than the latest one. They almost seem like opposites. I have foolishly tried to recreate the experience by trying to picture it with my eyes closed but I know that won't work really =P. Has anyone felt anything like that?

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Thanks for these words! You have a very sober approach, and I appreciate it. My immediate reaction to the vision was fear, unfortunately, so that just means I have to keep working =).

 

I want to mention one other "event" I had, in March. This was only when I had just started meditating, maybe 3 weeks before. I was lying down in bed in the afternoon in a semi-lit room. I wasn't sleepy or anything, and I was listening to music with my eyes closed (the song was Dedicated, by Linkin Park).

 

Suddenly I observed as if my closed vision "expanded". I was still seeing blackness, as when your eyes are closed, but it somehow grew much more voluminous. I could "see" that there was a huge dimension to this blackness. Later I described it as being in the presence of a void. A friend suggested it was a hypnogogic hallucination, which I get before I go to sleep, but it seemed quite different than that. I wasn't sure what it was. I wasn't afraid, but I did get excited, so my pulse rate increased. I stayed in the void for a minute or so. I opened my eyes, and didn't notice anything different. I closed them, I was still in the void. I sat up to see what that felt like, and my body was very heavy. A minute or so after that, the sensation disappeared.

 

The void experience was pretty different than the latest one. They almost seem like opposites. I have foolishly tried to recreate the experience by trying to picture it with my eyes closed but I know that won't work really =P. Has anyone felt anything like that?

 

I've experienced the void in my own way. Your experience is very special and unique to you. I really doubt anyone anywhere has duplicated it. If you are content with some degree of similarity, rather than a perfectly exact duplicate, I think you can find people with somewhat similar experiences.

 

These experiences are interesting. For example, prior to this experience, did you know that blackness could have a dimension to it? Maybe not, right? But this experience showed you that it could. As I see it, it's telling you that awareness allows for more things than what we normally allow ourselves to experience.

 

When you report experiences like this to other people who are unfamiliar with them, they will usually dismiss them as hallucinations. This is normal behavior, because people have a worldview that they like, and want to maintain, and they have a mechanism in their mind to automatically invalidate and discard unwanted and contradictory information and experiences. This mechanism is what is known as "validation framework." Most of us have it. For example, if you were walking down the street, and someone flew up into the air, what would you think? You'd probably immediately dismiss it as unreal. Why is that? Because you know what real is. Why do you know it? No one taught you! You just know. In school you learn how to add and subtract and the ABC's, but you don't learn what's real. You come to school already knowing intuitively what is according to laws of physics and what isn't. This means the laws of physics exist in your mind before they exist anywhere else. How do you know what is real or not if no one taught you? Think about it. That kind of knowledge is not exactly unintentional, but don't take my word for it. Maybe I am wrong. So when people challenge our understanding of reality, that challenge is discarded and if we can't discard it, we at least try to disempower it by invaliding it, or by smearing the character of the person who is reporting challenging things and so on.

 

Visions we consider hallucinations and visions we consider real occur in the same mind. What does this mean?

 

Because the beliefs and expectations we have so powerfully shape our experience, these are very important in meditation. I'm not saying which ones are right or wrong, only that they are important. The mind is very very powerful. The mind is not some small ghost in the brain. It's way beyond that. The brain is in the mind. The entire universe is in the mind. What is everything you've ever experienced other than knowledge?

 

If you reflect like this and then meditate, you will experience different "things" from someone who doesn't reflect like this and also meditates.

Edited by goldisheavy

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This can be considered a breakthrough. In that I disagree with CowTao's teacher, who I think is an idiot for just parroting a standard Buddhist thing "it will pass," which is also stupid.

 

When you see a vision like this for the first time, it's a sign that your mind has experienced a new degree of flexibility. And when it's new, it is a breakthrough. You are opening up. However, when this is not the first time, it is no longer a breakthrough.

 

 

Breakthroughs come in many flavors. Having a breakthrough simply means you've tasted something for the first time. It doesn't mean more than that, but it's still important, at least at the time of it occurring.

He could well be an idiot - i did not know him that well then, and still do not him too well, so you may be correct in your assumption. He was not a Teacher though, just a 'senior' practitioner who had the misfortune of being selected (he could have volunteered, idk - in that case, he could well be an idiot :lol: ) to be encamped for a year to look after a group of novice one-year retreatants/nutcases by virtue of him having completed one prior.

 

"It will pass" is not a standard Buddhist thing. Everyone says this, all over the world, in different cultures but all in the same meaning. Doctors say this all the time. So do priests from all the different faiths. It just points to the simple process of watching something fade, change, transform and mutate. What do you say when something in your environment feels as though its a little stubborn, where you get the sense that its just about to shift, but not as quickly as you wish it would?

 

Its no big deal. It does not point to idiocy.

 

A breakthrough encompasses the onset of new experiences, but does not constitute the totality of the term. It would be quite foolish to view all new experiences as breakthroughs. Negative experiences are not considered to be breakthroughs - overcoming them would be though. Generally speaking, breakthroughs denote some form of realization, or achievement, or having moved from stuckness to a freer state. Having said this, realizations, achievements, and freer states do tend to give rise to a sense of elation. These states in themselves mean nothing; left alone, they will dissipate, like all other things. Its the feelings of elation which attach themselves to these states that create the illusion of needing and wanting to add more to the states than what they are intrinsically. And this generally led to the creation of the word "breakthrough" - as a convenient and polite way to tell others of one's experience without appearing to be overly clever or something to that effect.

 

But you would already know all this Mr Gold.. :D

 

... ... ...

 

Off topic - apologies to the OP.

Edited by CowTao

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I had an intense experience last night. I decided to do one of the sitting meditation on Spring Forest QiGong's Level 1 Sitting meditation CD. I think it was called Small Universe. It had music playing in the background, someone going "ommmmmm", and the exercise was:

 

Breathe in on the "ommm", breathe out during the silence. When you breathe in, focus energy on the current point. When you breathe out, move it to the next point. The points on the body were:

 

Behind the navel, the bladder, the bottom of the torso, the tip of the tailbone, the lower back, the kidney area, the spine, the base of the head, the top of the head, the 3rd eye, the throat, the heart, and back to the navel, repeated again and again.

 

I was doing this sitting in a chair. Partway through the first round I started feeling something at each of the points. Then, after doing the second one, going into the third, I got a really really intense.. headrush. At least, that's the closest thing I can link it to. I didn't stand or anything, though, I was sitting down mostly unmoving the whole time. My eyes were closed, but my vision filled up with white. I tried to stay with it, but it was too intense, so I opened my eyes, but still couldn't see anything. I stopped focusing and got up. Slowly my vision came back to me, but at first everything I saw was in tints of yellow and orange.

 

It was quite unpleasant. Afterwards I tried to do it again, thinking that this time I know what's coming so maybe I can control it, but it didn't get to that point anymore.

 

Has this happened to anyone / does anyone know what happened?

 

 

Yeah I trained with the SFQ Small Universe c.d. and I also used the "Taoist Yoga: Alchemy and Immortality" book.

 

Since you're young then you have stronger jing energy so that's why you had a strong reaction right away to the practice. Congratulations!

 

The Small Universe practice is the foundation for the qigong training and can take you to the most advanced levels -- but the more you practice the more formless the practice becomes.

 

If you just keep circulating the energy and storing it in the lower tan tien then that will ground the energy.

 

The light is part of the training -- your jing energy is being activated and then as it purifies through the brain and down the front it then creates the chi energy which is electromagnetic and this will create light.

 

Chunyi Lin said that a man in a wheelchair in the U.K. started the small universe practice -- and after just ONE session he was able to get out of his wheelchair.

 

So it is true the c.d.s are empowered through Chunyi Lin's energy and everyone has different results depending on the various karmic circumstances, etc.

 

But if you just keep up the practice then the energy will increase. Of course just go as slow as you want as well!

 

Just enjoy the energy! haha. You can start healing other people as well.

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He could well be an idiot

 

On the flip side, being an idiot is not nearly as damning as it may sound. Still, it's not exactly something to be proud of either.

 

"It will pass" is not a standard Buddhist thing. Everyone says this, all over the world, in different cultures but all in the same meaning. Doctors say this all the time. So do priests from all the different faiths. It just points to the simple process of watching something fade, change, transform and mutate. What do you say when something in your environment feels as though its a little stubborn, where you get the sense that its just about to shift, but not as quickly as you wish it would?

 

Everything is an attachment of some kind. This is why viewing things in terms of attachment and non-attachment is only helpful in a limited manner. Being steadfast in Nirvana is an attachment. This is why Bodhisattvas vow not to enter the extreme peace, which is what Nirvana is.

 

It's natural to want to enjoy things and there is nothing wrong with it. Having an interesting experience and enjoying it is perfectly OK. Buddhists have a disease whereby they can't seem to enjoy anything without obsessing over getting attached. At some point worrying about non-attachment becomes an obsessive compulsive attachment in its own right. The medicine becomes the basis for the disease. That's the disease of fundamentalism and Buddhism is not exempt from the danger of fundamentalism.

 

Its no big deal. It does not point to idiocy.

 

Or maybe it does point to idiocy, but being an idiot is not a big deal.

 

A breakthrough encompasses the onset of new experiences, but does not constitute the totality of the term.

 

If we wait for the totality of the term "breakthrough" to be fulfilled before we feel free using that term, then we may never use it under any circumstances.

 

It would be quite foolish to view all new experiences as breakthroughs.

 

It would be foolish to imagine that breakthroughs have to be special and rare. That's one way to create a self-fulfilling prophecy for oneself and to stunt one's inner development.

 

Negative experiences are not considered to be breakthroughs - overcoming them would be though.

 

It depends. I consider some negative experiences to be breakthroughs, even if the person is not yet able to overcome them.

 

As a metaphor, imagine I tell you that to get somewhere you first have to travel through a big wide plane, and then you'll find yourself at the foot of the mountain. When you reach the foot of the mountain, you are close. Once you climb over the mountain, you are there. Let's say it takes about 1 year to cross the plane and only 2 months to cross the mountain. So the upward climb on the mountain symbolizes a difficulty that hasn't been overcome yet. Going over the tip of the mountain symbolizes overcoming the difficulty. So in this setup, even just reaching the mountain is a breakthrough.

 

So someone experiencing a correct kind of difficulty for the first time is much much closer to freedom than someone else who doesn't experience any difficulty whatsoever and lives in the bliss of ignorance.

 

Generally speaking, breakthroughs denote some form of realization, or achievement, or having moved from stuckness to a freer state. Having said this, realizations, achievements, and freer states do tend to give rise to a sense of elation. These states in themselves mean nothing;

 

If freedom doesn't cause elation, there is no point in seeking it. Why would you seek something that you are indifferent toward? At the same time, if you consider yourself unfree now, why aren't you indifferent to it now? If you are bothered by feeling unfree, surely you'll be happy when that feeling of unfreedom vanishes. There is no need to lie to oneself. Buddhism is full of liars who pretend to have no feelings. I have feelings along with reason. I value both. That's why I am not a Buddhist and never will be. I find some things in Buddhism valuable, but it is too much of a shoe-sized box for me to take refuge in.

 

left alone, they will dissipate, like all other things.

 

If you leave the feeling of indifference alone, it will dissipate and only elation will remain.

Edited by goldisheavy

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You just awoke a lack of Kidney Yin as there is a strong relationship between Kidney and Liver (Water generates Wood), so when kidney yin fails to nourish liver yin it causes the liver to become excited (blurred-loss of vision...remember that liver manifests in the eyes; headaches, irritability and dizziness).
Actually, you may be right.

 

My bad, I had misread the OP as seeing white light with his eyes open - when he actually got blurry vision when he opened his eyes. Big difference there.

 

This would be a less auspicious indicator. Interestingly enough, the first page I randomly flipped to in Taoist Yoga this morning was p 97 - which said:

There are also meditators who (inadvertently) arouse the evil fire in the liver and kidneys which blurs their vision, and causes them to see double, their eyes to become astigmatic, the pupils to enlarge and the white to redden.

If the practiser wants to avoid stirring this evil fire which can drain away the 'precious thing' at night, he should know that the trouble is caused by unwholesome food and intoxiacating drink, by perverse thoughts and desires, by hot baths which scatter the heat of elixir and by (uncontrolled) fire that scorches the body. - p 97

So, it does sound more like liver/kidney dysfunction or detoxing. Organ detoxing would also be a far more common phase for beginners..(often a necessary "evil" even)
The eyes represent the orifices of the liver. When a person closes his/her eyes and falls asleep, the blood returns to the liver. From there it is transmitted to the eyes, and the ability to see results from this.

 

Excess heat in the liver will typically cause a person to sleep too much

 

This is what you should do: do not get angry, do not lay down during the day, and always retire your body but not your shen. The essence of sleep, after all, is the soul of the body. If you can manage to sleep little, then the master mind will be bright and alert. Not only will your shen qi be flowing freely and purely, but you will also not be disturbed by dreams. Every time you are overcome by a craving for sleep, blood rushes to the heart and the original shen is forced to leave its abode. The clouds then cast a gloomy shadow over the heavenly realm of spirit, and the shen itself will grow dim and unconscious just like its domicile.

 

The Daoist master Zhang Sanfeng once said: 'Grasp the dream in the dream; behold the darkness within the darkness.

 

The liver is the root of prenatal energy in women

 

According to traditional concepts, male physiology is mostly based on qi (yang), while female physiology is primarily based on blood (yin). Males tend to have an abundance of qi that they can afford to spend freely, while females have an abundance of blood that they can give away freely (as becomes evident from the menstrual bleeding). Liver function, therefore, has great influence over an important part of female physiology-menstruation.

 

Dry and brittle hair can be an indication of liver blood deficiency, while hair that suddenly falls out (alopecia) is usually because of both deficiency of blood and impeded flow of liver blood to the head

 

The eyes as a whole, however, represent the opening of the liver, and are thus considered to be more closely linked to the liver than to any of the other organ networks. "Liver qi communicates with the eyes," states the Neijing, "and if the liver functions harmoniously, the eyes can differentiate the five essential colors....If the liver receives blood, we can see. The liver channel branches out to the eyes. Both liver qi and liver blood flood the eyes to maintain proper eyesight. A person's eyesight may therefore also serve as an indicator for liver function.

 

Damp heat in the gallbladder needs to be addressed not only by clearing liver heat, but also by disinhibiting gallbladder damp (e.g., with capillaris; yinchen). In situations where gallbladder qi deficiency impacts the smooth circulation of liver qi, general qi tonification needs to be supported by herbs that pacify the shen and nourish kidney yin.

Lots of interesting TCM liver info there...

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Is this exercise basically the microcosmic orbit? I had a unique experience doing the MCO. I was doing some sort of taoist sexual exercise that focuses on the tailbone (i can't remember exactly what it is). I started to get a heavy pulse of red energy in the tailbone region, so instead of visualizing the MCO or using breath, I was just circulating this quick pulse of energy around and around. It was a pretty awesome feeling, but I haven't been able to do it since that day.

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