Sebastian

This was very very helpful. As a result of this post, I used "inner vision" almost like I am the energy ball moving around in my body from point to point. It has made the practice much deeper almost immediately. I feel like the mind and qi are moving more or less together now. Before the mind and qi were doing different things, the mind was visualizing and getting drowsy. Seriously cool. Almost as exciting as the Magic School Bus, haha.

Perhaps one could view the SFQ MCO practice as "laying the foundation" stage as proposed in Wang Mu's interpretation of the different stages of alchemy. From my understanding, he is saying that circulating Yin Qi and Blood across these pathways has some solid medical benefit, even before the Jing is full and the alchemy starts. He also takes an even higher level look and discusses simple heat / cold. It feels like we are circulating a feeling of heat evenly throughout the body, so maybe it harmonizes Yin and Yang that way, and cleans the channels of gross blockages in preparation for the arrival of Yang Qi. The MCO exists naturally as a way to sublimate sexual energy as TheTaoIsEasy stated, that's why it's there. But perhaps it can used in a variety of ways, and it can react differently depending on the input. An image that comes to me is a dysfunctional merry-go-round that needs energy to start. The potential for the ride to be automated is there. But we're free to play around on it before the repair man comes in. We're having fun, laughing and enjoying the ride and the health benefits. That seems to be what Wang Mu is saying, and what the SFQ is doing, is it not ?

Eye-opening TIE, Thanks. I think that deep down, what I was trying to do is reverse engineer the SFQ MCO and see how it could lead to the numerous health claims. I'm not quite sure what sexual energy is full means (?), but I would have made the assumption that most folks playing the CD aren't at that threshold. I understand now that it varies from individual to individual , and that other factors can over-ride this requirement. What you said in your post could easily apply in this case as well, because the Master's energy is embedded throughout the entire process. We call for and feel the Master's love shining in our heart center, and then proceed to guide the qi to his voice. He pronounces some mantras (OMM and MWHAA) which resonate very deeply throughout the meditation. We vibrate with him. I can actually feel a circulation when I do this. It feels like gooey warmth moving more of less in a line, but I think it's probably my imagination of friction from pushing air. I have a kyphosis from childhood traumas that is slowly healing, so probably have a long way to go before the real thing activates. Anyways, with that, I'll go do this meditation for one hour now and check this thread later. Thanks TIE for helping a random dude on the internet, Talk to you later my spiritual buddies, Sebby

Understood, however, isn't it a process that recycles excess sexual energy ? That's where I get confused. The real MCO seems like an in-built safety mechanism in the human body. If you have so much Jing energy, it has nowhere else to go but shoot up the spine and fall back down refining itself into qi. That's the alchemical Jing to Qi conversion. However, all of us folks who don't practice retention wouldn't ever trigger this process, at least not easily. So in the guided style, don't we choose to take the route a little prematurely and push what ever amount of Jing we each have ? Or am I off here ? Does the MCO happen (naturally) to people who aren't full of Jing, maybe in lesser amounts ? Thanks all, Seb

Tottorro saves the day again !

Thanks. So then perhaps we are putting ourselves in an optimal state to "spark" the natural MCO through the guided work ? Or at least make it more likely to occur. And still reaping the health benefits in the meantime if we do it naturally. We put our minds aside, fall into the emptiness, and there is just energy moving. We prime ourselves by clearing obstructions in the two tubes (and three gates) and building energy in the Dan-Tian. The guided MCO is then more likely to bloom into the alchemical one. And the raccoon gets fed. Sebby eats.

Update: Against all odds, my conceptual mind finally *solved* this.... The MCO is actually just like the internet (with a few teaks). See my Paint mock up attached.

Hey All, After your individual closing exercises, do you do certain things to settle the qi ? Like going for a walk, stretch, go gardening or whatever ? I find that walking in place and swinging the arms gently for a few minutes settles the qi for me and makes me feel more full of energy. Thanks, Sebby PS: Note that I mean after "active" (moving) qigong sessions here. I know meditation is a good follow-up, but I mean when you transition from qigong to every day life.

Many thanks for the deeper context on this TheTaoIsEasy.

Hey Buddy, Great idea to keep it simple. Hotels have complex architectures, I wouldn't ask for a particular room location unless there are obvious advantages (facing natural scenery, etc..). Just choose the size of room that you want and then use common sense Fengshui. You don't want your feet pointing to the door entrance. You don't want a big mirror staring at you during your sleep, you can cover it up with a towel. Orient yourself in a direction that is good for your type. You can always switch the pillow location and just invert yourself in the bed which usually give you a least one decent sleeping direction. My tip would be to do some physical activity before going to sleep, like a late evening walk. Keep your room well oxygenated and look at your thought process before going to bed. Stay a watcher and notice everything, I know nothing better than that to fall asleep. Optional: Recite the Raccoon Mantra 108 times (PM for details). EDIT: I'll research your question regarding which is most important, bedroom location or type, from my level 1 class material, and get back to you. Thanks.

Thanks a lot, I'll check this one out, looks interesting. One book I seriously loved is Nan Huai Chin's commentary of this sacred text http://www.amazon.com/Diamond-Sutra-Explained-Nan-Huai-Chin/dp/0971656126

Thanks, based on the birth information you gave me, you are a Kun trigram. Here are your top 4 directions for your type (always sitting directions) A: NE B: W C: NW D: SW (source, American Fengshui Institute trigram wheels, can't post for copyright reasons) Here is what they loosely correspond too: A: Best location for productivity (orient your desk based on this) B: Best bedroom location for older people, seniors C: Best direction for good health, healing disease D: Best direction for a good night's sleep You can view the front of your body as the facing direction, and the back the sitting for this.. So when you orient your chair / desk in the A direction, you place your back to NE for your type. Sleeping: For sleeping, directions A,B,C,D are all good, D is the absolute best. However, sleeping in A might make you restless as you think too much about work, so B, C, and D would be better. Also note that when you sleep, your head should point in the D direction. You view it like this.... When you sit up in your bed, your back should be to the D direction. You are sleeping on your back, so imagine standing up in the bed, and then make sure your back is positioned properly. The worst sleeping directions for you are (from worst to absolute worst) E; East F: South G: South East H: North Hope this helps.

Hey Buddies, At first glance, it seems like a sketchy thing to rely on, but I've seen some results with this. Do any of you use these kinds of affirmations with some results like : "all my meridians are open", "all channels are open" etc... Have any you want to share ? Chunyi Lin was saying that when some sensitive people come see him and he just says "you are now healed, your channels are all open" maybe 30% of their meridians open then and there, without doing anything further. I'd have to check on that statistic again, but it was significant. I was following one of his meditations online where he guides you through the body top to bottom and keeps repeating that every channel is open. I was surprised to get that ethereal / weightless feeling that comes after a really good qigong session. I guess this shows that our mind is the most important factor regulating our energy body. That would explain why Zen people like Nan Huai Chin said not to rely only qigong to open meridians, but just emptiness of the mind. It looks like affirmations could also help in this regard. What do you think ? Thanks Sebby

Yeah, I like the holistic approach too, food, working out etc... That's a good idea.

Very interesting Spotless... However here, he's not referring to chakras or energy centers - he is talking about the 12 meridians most likely, and maybe the front and back channels. Is there still a danger here ? Should we use your nuance when we self suggest this information ? I appreciate it Seb

Actually a bad example, because my grandma is enlightened... hehe.

Thanks, any routines in particular for you ?

Thanks buddies. I'll listen to hypnosis tapes while reading "The Secret" then, hope things will open up Sebby

If you have spinal problems, or nerval spinal issues more specifically ,Chunyi Lin recommends not to eat to too sweet late in the afternoon and before going to bed. I can't explain why, as he didn't elaborate, but I just heard this from today's healing connection call where he answers questions from people. Also, he said not to eat too much for dinner, as this clogs up the energy system during sleep and impairs natural detoxing function. I guess the spine is central in all of that as well.

PM me your b-day, and I'll calculate your Trigram for you... I'll then post here your top 4 directions for sleeping. Note that these will be for your type only, and independent of the House type. Of course the House type plays and where you are located in the house will also play, but you might be in the worst bed direction for your type without knowing it ! So wouldn't hurt. Sebby

I'd recommend traditional FengShui if you're going to implement some of these ancient principles. I don't know much yet, but I'm enrolled at the American Fengshui Institute, which teaches a legitimate, bare bones, Fengshui. Basically East West and 5 Elements Theory which are based on the I-Ching and central to Daoism as well. They caution against popular (new age) Fengshui and always break problems down to the I-Ching and 5 elements. I'm taking class 1 and it's solid as heck.... I can see it improving my health when I will know how to optimize chi flow in my house. About the initial post: You state you are in a Kun house, but what trigram are you ? That will determine the best orientation for your bed, and could over-ride the poor location of the bedroom, at least in part.

You love people unconditionally by accepting them as they are. You can only do this when you accept yourself as you are.

Here's a few other ones : 1) roots come out your soles, go deep into the ground and root you. 2) Dantian as a shining ball of light 3) central meridian as a column of light 4) soaring crane as a giant mushroom

They do, and they teach even more powerful things.