Aeran

After reading bits of this thread earlier I read parts of a copy of The Game ( http://www.amazon.com/The-Game-Penetrating-Society-Artists/dp/0060554738 ) I downloaded ages back while talking to a thread, and apparently a lot of those guys used to go out on groups excursions where they'd work together to try pick up women and improve their technique - maybe that's what you encountered?

"Pick Up Artists"

I'm not looking for training, just asking whether he thinks those levels are safe to learn without a teacher, but thanks

Most of them don't, a huge number operate within systems which only enable ritual magic, evocation and the like (which is fine if that's all they want), and then of course there's the frauds, the deluded, the 'spiritual role players' as you like to call them. That said, there are some who are capable of some pretty amazing things, but like any other system, they're a minority. Although it's worth noting that more or less everyone who develops such abilities does keep it (relatively) quite: John Chang is the exception that proves the rule. The parallels are interesting either way, and in this case they're particularly strong.

So you're saying there's absolutely no risk in doing so?

And level 2? 3?

Which makes them (Jim at least, I'm fairly sure Kosta blew the whole thing off) teachers. I'm talking about people following guides online with absolutely no personal guidance.

You aren't going to ever become someone who 'knows' inherently if you just rely on fake personas and scripts like the PUA crowd does though. That isn't an expression of your own confidence and ability to interact with women, just an imitation of someone elses.

But that's exactly my point, without a teacher, you have no way of knowing whether your instructions come from someone who's being honest and has good intentions. Wow. The Magus of Java is 'scripture' now?

Oh shit, MPG found out people were discussing yin chi! Abort! Abort! I've no idea whether the Magnetic Fluid is or isn't the same energy as MP's Yin Chi (although I have speculated before), but it's described as having the same subjective experience: v.

There's a huge difference between giving a bit of situational advice and the total reconstruction of behavior that PUA types do. Obviously guys talk about that stuff between eachother and give advice on situations, but they don't obsess over it, turn it into a hobby or an identity, spend hours scouring the internet, doing that shit, by definition, isn't 'alpha.' If you have to force yourself to be something, you aren't really that thing.

And that's all awesome stuff. I'm not disagreeing with any of that, changing posture, becoming fit, dressing better, etc. isn't fake, it's just an enhancement of the self. I'm 100% behind that stuff. It's when you start trying to use technical lingo to break down the way people act in an attempt to mimic what you think will get you sex that I take an issue, because guys who get laid a lot naturally don't do it through technique, they do it because they have that inner self confidence, that belief in themselves that reflects off them onto the people around them. That's what needs to be cultivated, not figuring out when is the right time to insult a girl in a conversation or what to pretend to like to seem interesting. Be the best version of yourself, not a low quality imitation of someone else. When you become that, you won't need the lingo or the fakery or the props because you'll draw the things you want in life to you by merit of knowing that you deserve them. I heard being rich works :/

The problem with 'nice guy' is it's often used as a euphemism for 'shy. no self-confidence, passive aggressive' This guy doesn't sound like any of that, just a genuinely nice person. Which ties back into what was being discussed earlier: PUA don't understand that it isn't asshole-ish behavior that attracts women (necessarily, some women will be drawn to men who treat them badly due to their own emotional issues) but the confidence behind it. If you can attain that deep seated confidence you can have the benefits without acting like an asshole, but instead they just adopt the superficial asshole-ish behavior, which will fool enough people to get them laid in the short term (which is fine if thats all they want i guess) but isn't going to lead to any kind of long term satisfaction because you can't maintain a facade forever.

Basically. I mean there's some stuff they stress which is universal (everyone should have good hygiene, try to be physically fit, etc), but a lot more of it, from what I've seen, is basically external imitation of the guys who seem to be getting the most of what they want (random sex), which isn't only (I would imagine) partially effective in the short term, but seem to me to be the very definition of 'beta' behavior - mimicking those they perceive as above them (which makes that perception a reality) and allowing them to dictate their behavior instead of genuinely coming to terms with who they are, where they fit into the world and how to optimize that.

Is it false pretenses if they're genuinely trying to adjust their behavior? Isn't that just them changing themselves to become more like the person they feel they have to be to get what they want out of life? I will say this though: every guy I've known who qualifies as an 'alpha male' doesn't think of himself as such, in fact trying to break down and analyze peoples behavior is the furthest thing from their mind, they just act the way they act as naturally as breathing. It seems to me that the conscious striving to try and mimic the external behavior of such men, Copying the external markers of confidence instead of developing the internal balance that allows you to become confident in yourself, is in itself inherently the most 'beta' behavior of all.

I'm 24, so I guess relatively speaking still quite young, but after 2 years of practice (the first one barely qualifying, for various reasons), I still find myself wishing I had started earlier, thinking about how much more progressed I could be if I'd started at 16 or 18 or even 20, even if it had just been 20 or 30 minutes a day. Logically, I know it makes no sense, that I still have a ton of time to dedicate to spiritual/energetic stuff and that the personal development I went through in those years is what enables me to dedicate myself to study and practice now, but it doesn't stop me daydreaming about it occasionally

Longmen Pai is taught in person isn't it? I'm not necessarily talking about level 1, I'm thinking more in terms of 2 - 3, but even level 1, you just don't know. I'm far from an expert in nei kung or TCM or the energetic anatomy, but what I do know is that there are plenty of ways for things to go wrong, and without a teacher, no way to check, understand or account for them. Maybe I overstated things a bit in my first post, but the risk 'is' there. If the individual wants to take it, that's fine, but it should at least be an informed decision. This is doubly important when you consider that on the internet, there's no way of knowing where your information is ultimately coming from. For example I read that level 1 instruction you linked, which makes absolutely no mention of the 'grounding issue.' Someone who only read those instructions could practice for years before realizing that they're supposed to be doing it differently, and who knows how many other such examples exist in levels 2 or 3 or however many are floating around online. And my grapes are just fine

Obviously there's always a risk, I'm just pointing out that said risk is significantly heightened by the lack of a teacher. I guess it's up to the individual if they want to take that risk, but it's there either way.

Sorry, didn't see your reply. I would have been asleep at the time and I haven't noticed anything too overt since, I did have a pretty good day though, my back has been a bit less sore than usual though, no way to say if that's your effort or just the continuing effect of the stretching and meditation I do. Thanks for the effort either way

Basic in technique, sure (at least, the first level, which is the only one I've read), but that doesn't mean there isn't the potential for something to go wrong, especially if there are pre-existing problems, or issues from previous improper practice, or if someone tries to practice alongside another system.

Sometimes I envy people who live in these cultures. I know a lot of bullshit happens with arranged marriages, but I can see the appeal in skipping the drain and the drama and the fuckaround whole dating/courting process and just having a wife assigned to you. Can't be any worse than the mess that results when I choose my own partners

But wouldn't you be pretty insane to try to learn something like that without a teacher? You have no idea whether the guide is complete, no one to gauge your process, or help you if you mangle it horribly.

Love that it's a comfortable 23*Celsius here, this summer has been amazing for temperature. The icing on the cake is the non-stop whining from friends back in Brisbane about practically melting in the 44+ heat.

There's almost as much I don't know about Qabalah as there is about Taoism, so I might be completely off base, but wouldnt the lower dantien match up better with Yesod? You could even line the three dantien up with the spheres of the Middle Pillar, Yesod - Lower, Tiphareth - Middle, Kether - Upper..

what