I'm not a taoist

[neimad]

http://www.circularstrengthmag.com/27/sunshine.html

[Cameron]

Wow. I suppose I should be grateful that rmax stuff is more "user friendly" to my clueless western mind. Actually, he is probably right about that for many people. My guess is most people on this forum are more than able to grasp weird Asian concepts without needing it explained in western science.

 

I think Scott's system looks very cool and will explore it more deeply in a few weeks with my training experiments but can we give the rmax stuff is better than yoga and qigong bit a rest already? To call it a turnoff would be an understatement.

Edited April 27, 2006 by Cameron

[neimad]

haha... sorry cameron.

 

only posted it because it could have been brought up a while ago with what was going on.

 

rmax aint better than anything else out there, thats not the point i realised because it's all the same and it's not what i was trying to show.

 

 

honestly i thought i was able to grasp weird asian concepts too, but i realised after more than a year of dabbling in taoist esoteric practices.... i didn't honestly know what i was doing haha.

but now as i look deeper into western culture (and no, not only science) i find the parallels easily and can actually go back and understand what it was i was missing before.

 

ahhhh.... forget it hahaha. i'll leave it alone.

 

whatever you are doing (everyone!), if it provides a happier, healthier life to you.... continue and feel comfortable that what you are doing is great.

[hajii]

I think we're in a very intersting time now. I look at my small collection of books on spirituality, and I have a collection of esoteric knowledge, and teaching, that would be unheard of for a common person to have in the past. This has lead to others being able to distill some of these works, and traditions, and condense them, or put them in a format that is easier for beginners to understand. Others have added their own study to elements of traditional practice. I think these new methods allow us to move ahead more quickly. Whether this is truly beneficial or not, remains to be seen. Perhaps the old way of a lifetime of study was better. I find that noticeable progress encourages me, especially thru the difficult times. I think we are all trying to return to our true nature, so Taoism is not a goal, just a way to get there. As Sean said, I think we are "syncretic Taoists" anyway

[RedFox]

Whether this is truly beneficial or not, remains to be seen. Perhaps the old way of a lifetime of study was better.

 

I think the problem with the new way rests a lot in the way Westerners tend to be educated, stuffing our heads full of facts, rather than our bodies full of experience. I LOVE having all this information available, because it just flings open the doors of possibility that my ancestors just didn't have. But its problematic if you haven't built up the discipline to actually practice (substituting head knowledge for experience.. my weakness), but not so much that you don't stop to consider the feedback that doing practices has for you, if you're doing too much or going too far too fast.

 

If you have access to good study material, and can pursue a balanced path with it, that's an excellent way to go in my book.

[thelerner]

I think you have to marry one system. Thats not saying you can't flirt on the side, or even get divorced after 5 or so years. But without dedicating yourself, you just scratch the surface and the system never becomes a part of you.

 

Michael

[三江源]

what michael said.

[GrandTrinity]

The author of that article lives 5 minutes from me and we met before. He was a nice guy but spiritualy he seemed lost to me.

 

I gave up on that rmax stuff mostly. It is okay, but the shamanic tiger qigong and 4d meridian qi gong seem to open my body flow a billion times more than all that rmax stuff. I am also enjoying yin yoga.

 

To say your not a taoist is like saying your not a human. We are conceived as taoists, although that is not the proper word for it.

[neimad]

The author of that article lives 5 minutes from me and we met before. He was a nice guy but spiritualy he seemed lost to me.

 

I gave up on that rmax stuff mostly. It is okay, but the shamanic tiger qigong and 4d meridian qi gong seem to open my body flow a billion times more than all that rmax stuff. I am also enjoying yin yoga.

 

To say your not a taoist is like saying your not a human. We are conceived as taoists, although that is not the proper word for it.

 

you stopped playing with your clubs?

 

man you change styles/systems as often as i change shirts.

[GrandTrinity]

Yeah the clubs were too yang for my taste. I should have got 5lbs not 10, if at all. I dont regret getting them, it was a learning experience. I still enjoy and use some rmax wisdom, like to use WW type joint opening with some friends before I teach them the basic motions of meridian chi kung the other day. I do change styles a lot, always looking for the hottest thing. I think that Dirk's Chi kung and the Shamanic Tiger Chi Kung are the best movements I have seen.

 

Yes the meridian qigong is steching, it is very very deep. Not only does it activate and open the meridians, it also have movements for strengthening them, the muscles/tendons and conenctive tissue, deep. Then there is movements for integration, too. This is a very challenging qi kung at first, take it slow! It took me a year to have a decent grasp on it all and be able to do it all. Still I have yet to master it and memorize all the moves.

 

I will add about the "im not a taoist" issue that this is an important point. The tao really is not called the tao. This is why the rmax concept is very helpful for getting past this concept is "isms" in general and opening this stuff more to the western mind of course.

[neimad]

i like your reply, bro.

 

you could have easily taken my comment as being negative, but chose not too.

very good.

 

i got myself a pair of 15lb clubs. i love them. i am finding that they are really helping me balance my earth element (by ayurveda) as i tend to be very airy/yin so it's a real fantastic practice for me to be working with something so solid and grounding.

 

the reason i am so enamoured with RMAX is the whole "YOU create your OWN style" concept. i love that i am learning my style, not someone elses.

and i really am learning a lot about myself.

 

i feel over time i could easily invent my own chi kung or anything else..... that's what mastery is, IMHO.

 

and you highlighted one of the points i was trying to make with that article.

by identifying with a religion/style/whatever you are no longer pursuing yourself, you are not being wu wei. you are conforming to someone else's ideology.

 

another article i stumbled upon yesterday:

 

http://www.wisefoolpress.com/a-bb.htm

 

highlights exactly how i feel about buddhism, and about my parents with regards to this.

i feel like despite how nice it is, it's a dead end path and anyone who succeeds will do so in spite of it. i feel the same way about taoist alchemy too.....

 

anyways i hold by my statement

"if you enjoy it. if it enriches your life. if it brings you what you seek. then stick with it and have fun!" :)