BananaMonkey

Hey folks! I figured there have to be many people with an interesting taste in music here and since I'm always looking for new sounds, I'm starting this thread. My own tastes are very diverse, my first passion was rock and metal (thrash, death and progressive). Then I started listening to jazz (mostly modern), jazz fusion, electronic music (especially DnB and progressve psytrance), classical and folk/world music. So I'm pretty much open to any suggestions of what you guys enjoy. Since I have a lot more fast-paced and intense music than slower stuff in my collection, I'm mostly looking for relaxing sounds, though. And I listen to a lot of instrumental music because I find it stimulates my mind differently from the verbal input that's everywhere nowadays. Looking forward to your input!

Hey folks, I enjoy dancing to Drum'n'Bass which obviously is very fast-paced and intense. At a party a few weeks ago I had a feeling of energy concentrating in my upper dantian/centre of my head while I was dancing ecstatically. This was accompanied by an intense feeling of joy. I was completely sober at the time. My question is, what sort of energy do you guys think this would be within the Daoist system? Is it Qi or maybe Qi being refined into Shen energy? Looking forward to your input!

This made my day!

I'm currently writings my BA thesis on a 13th century Zhuangzi commentary written by someone who seems strongly influenced by Buddhism to me. Since I also practice Zen and study Buddhism in general, some parallels between Buddhist and Taoist philosophy caught my eye recently. I also heard a Zen master say something like "keeping one's mind focused on one's body helps with enlightenment as opposed to letting one's thoughts wander about elsewhere".

Although I'm a relative newcomer here, your posts made me laugh more than once. Plus your straightforwardness really adds to this place

The Catholic church contributes this to the nofap discussion:

I'd like to send my best wishes as well. Never give up on yourself! Is going to some kind of a retreat where you don't have access to the substances an option? Can't speak from experience, but I hear cold turkey works best for most people. It surely is hard, but it's effective, too. Do you have something else to do instead of giving in to the urge? As Socrates said: "The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new." Peace!

Welcome! This is a great place, you'll enjoy your stay

Gotta love the link that says: Meet People for Semen Swallowing Semen Therapy Contacts As Flolfolil said, LOL

The spam flood seems to be over for now, welcome on board! Lots to learn in here and many helpful bums

One of the funniest guided meditations ever: Has anybody been to workshops like this in person? Sure looks fun

So you both think that ultimately, it doesn't really matter. That's interesting because when I started practising consistently a few months ago, at first I closed my eyes completely because it felt easier. Then, maybe two weeks ago, I started keeping them half-open and I felt like I had to start almost from zero again. I guess I'll just return to eyes closed, then. Another question: I also started practising Qi Gong breathing exercises a few weeks ago. So as first thing in the morning, I do some breathing exercises. Because it's great to get me going and because traditionally, deep breathing is said to be more beneficial energetically when done before noon. I'm in the process of learning the Microcosmic Orbit and will do this after the breathing. So far I always did Zazen in the evening, when things are quieter and I feel like calming my mind is in order. Occasionally, if time permits and I feel like it, I'll also do additional Zazen during the day. So when do you think is the best time to sit?

Hey fellow disciples of sitting and staring at the floor Now, this semi-serious line already brings me to the point of this thread: Do you all practice with you eyes half-lidded or does anybody close them completely during zazen? My teacher and pretty much everything I've read about it advocates keeping the eyes open. While I understand that the practice is designed this way for a reason, I'd like to hear if anybody here did zazen with eyes closed long-term and what their experiences are with it. Peace!

Very interesting discussion. I think Ken Wilber makes a valuable contribution in this 7 min video explaining fundamental differences between practices designed by men and the things some highly advanced women do:

The other day I found this ridiculously epic photo taken in the mountains of Taiwan, it's available in 4000x2666 resolution on flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/humantheme/7796149202/sizes/o/in/photostream/