Sebastian

To answer that last question, here are some words I wrote from a while ago while I was taking Master Jim Nance's guiding Qi class. I found writing things down clarifies understanding for me. In any case, I hope me sharing this stuff helps some people, or sparks some helpful discussion. Expert vs Beginner's Mind In the Beginner's Mind, there are many possibilities. In the Expert's Mind, there are few. A beginner's mind is innocent, curious, and flexible. Only such a mind can be open and receptive to the gift of the Divine. When you learn something, your intent might be to accumulate. But to the beginner, the intent is simply to offer his innocent mind to the Divine. You may have read hundreds of books, but do you know that all their knowledge comes from somewhere ? Every author draws inspiration from the same Source, which is the Source of the knowledge, from the Divine. If you want to learn from the Source, offer your beginner's mind to the Divine. For one Moment, become the full expression of the Divine in you. You will experience learning in a new literacy. No matter how advanced you become, always remember to maintain this innocence. Forgetting your innocence is the source of conflict misunderstanding, and judgment. Remember that the intent of the expert, is to become more expert. The expert is like a hungry consciousness, that never gets enough because it has to constantly keep proving himself. When you truly understand your relationship to the Divine, then you understand the relationship to the true expert. In that relationship, you are always the beginner. The Divine is always the expert.

(continued) When we react intellectually or label things we stiffen our minds. You could even say the difference between a child and an adult is how many conclusions we have drawn over our lifetimes. Compare the energy of a scholar to that of a child for example. Every conclusion progressively deadens us until we are just a huge container of perspectives. It's interesting that reacting intellectually also stiffens the energy of other people and situations, denying them of change. For example even if you have thoughts or emotions towards a certain thing or person, I think it's wise to put them aside and come back to the zero point. The neutral point places you in a posture where you can wait for change to happen. You've erased the blackboard (mostly of yourself and the past) and are ready for something new. A stiffened attitude would prevent change or improvement from happening. But an attitude of neutral or zero will provide the flexibility of mind to flow with a situation differently and naturally. That is the most compassionate posture you can be in, in my opinion. The question is .... Can we return to the curiosity of childhood ?

Thanks. The way I see it, Tao is the orchestra chief. He provides order and harmony for his musicians. If they don't align with the conductor, then the result would be chaotic musically. They might start comparing themselves to other musicians, to other instruments, etc... and completely lose the rhythm or the point of the whole thing. It's like the subtle intent of nature's Qi, there is a design and intelligence there. Why do the trees pattern a certain way, why do sunflowers follow the Sun, why do flowers bloom the way they do, and why is there human evolution ? Because the Qi is intelligent, and this intelligence comes from the creator in the form of (informational) messages. Is it a fixed intelligence ? No, otherwise there would be no growth. The intelligence is beyond our intellectual grasp, and it is constantly in flux too. The orchestra chief adapts, learns from his musicians and even collaborates with his students. By collaborate I mean, you can align with the conductor for one moment, and ask him to subtly change his intent about something. This is prayer, or "shen" driving the Qi. It's true that Qi has physical characteristics left to itself, like the 8 movements of Chinese Medicine, and it can contract/expand, etc... But I also think that Qi can mold itself around intent, and this intent can be sent to the ends of the Universe. Qi + intent is information change, to me. It is prayer.

What drives this information change through Qi ? Would you say it's Tao ? Would you say your intent can subjectively influence this information exchange ?

You mean like when information is changing in the body ?

I guess these "likes" on my post express the same sentiment

TheTaoIsEasy..... I can't believe no one brought him up. He did so much for this forum, and influenced, even changed the lives of many members here. He had such a beautiful energy and I miss him dearly every time I use the forums. For a while the forums were really just a way for me to connect to his teachings. Of course that doesn't mean I don't appreciate the contributions of other members, but he was just so special and transformative. He definitely deserves his name on this list.

Hi Michael, Sorry my delayed response on this. I was told it would roughly coincide with when the funding will be received. This makes sense because they are currently at 1/3rd of the funding, and 1/3rd through the book. But in terms of actual date, I would refer you to the GoFundMe page where you can directly ask questions. And also, just to confirm, 1/3rd of the book is already out to people backing the project. So you can get immediate access to chapters 1,2, and 3 depending on if you make a tier 1,2 or 3 donation. This is a little bit like Kickstarter perks. These chapters specifically have already been written. Unsurpassed Destiny - a discussion of how one comes to have an affinity with Daoist practice and the implications of such a life destiny Illuminating the Mind to See Its True Nature - an exploration of the mind training common to and central to all Daoist inner alchemy schools, as well as that which links these traditions to Chan/Zen Buddhism (the title of this chapter is a well-known Chan Buddhist concept) The Portal of the Mysterious Pass - a further exploration of mind training with an emphasis on explaining the uniquely Daoist concept of “the mysterious pass” When the book is finished for everyone to peruse, I will update this thread. Hope it helps, Seb

I highly disagree with the line of thinking of this quote. In fact, it may just be the other way around. Natural law is virtue in action. Master Ni Hua Ching even refers to Tao as the "Universal Moral Force". What is it ? It's the silent force that nurtures us day in, day out, never asks for anything in return, and always works for the common good. It's the invisible agent that grows your hair, regulates all the processes in your body, and heals your wounds. When a child eats an apple for example, somehow this energy is capable of taking the nutrition from the apple and making his bones grow, all the while making him look more and more like his parents, and all their ancestors before. This energy is so vital to us, so intrinsic that we take it for granted all the time. It can even respond to us through prayer, move our body if we wish, and think our thoughts for us. It's on call for us 24/7. You could all it the Universal Mother, and we are all its children. It's easy to live with the perspective that Tao or Nature doesn't give a shit about morality or what we do, and use that as a cop out to do whatever one wants. But you are a child of the Universal Mother, and every child is valuable to its parents. Do you think the Universal Mother would encourage you to go against her, start destroying things, killing her other children, or breaking her natural rules of harmony ? Of course many people do that, I'm just saying maybe it's not the original intent. When you reconnect to Nature, then you do things more gently, you become more grounded, balanced. You refresh yourself and align yourself with morality again. The Sun for example, is naturally virtuous. It shines its Light on everyone, it gives life to everyone and it doesn't make distinctions between good people and bad people. And the Earth lets us trample her, blast huge holes in her, never without complaint. Nature is naturally virtuous and constructive through the energy of Tao. Even if we flatted out the earth through nuclear power, the subtle law would work immediately to rebuild. But we're free to think it doesn't give a shit about us, and even then, it will still support us and nurture us in the same way. Social interests impose some morality on you that furthers their own interests, but this is different from your inner morality, the Light of your good conscience that you carry with you every step of the way. When you are aligned with Tao, you are naturally moral, things flow well in your experience and that of your close ones. When you are immoral, you go against the subtle law and will reap whatever you sow. We might think there is no spiritual police, but we forget we are made of the subtle law. So when you go against it by committing immoral acts, you hurt yourself, in a very real and tangible way. We might also think Tao doesn't give a shit because we all die in the end, but this is a very incomplete perspective, at least in my opinion.

Maybe this for the last chapter "How to count cards at Blackjack using Qi - A wizard's gotta make some money !" Otherwise "Message to Seekers" sounds sincere and good yup, favorite from that list for me. Hope it helps.

By the way, here is a podcast interview where the author is explaining this translation project. The Poetry of Quanzhen Daoism and the Mysterious Female

I don't know Starjumper.... You're a cool dude with a loose mood but isn't this taking it a bit too far ? I mean, I don't want to give anybody the wrong impression. Also the smiley face you added at the end is a bit ambiguous. I think you should add a disclaimer on your video :"only do the leg shaking / rattling in public at your own risk", or at least provide some excuses they could use. In the West, when they are about to call the manager on you: "Oh, this is restless leg syndrome, I wasn't looking at the waitress". In the East: "This is actually a very advanced Qigong move from a secret lineage of dragons, to vibrate my bones and cleanse my aura". Both are believable imo, and could easily get you out of trouble.

Thank you Shubin, that was nice of you.

Maybe you should try the black dragon sitting Qigong... I heard that stuff will whip you out into top shape, without the need of a drill sergeant yelling at you. Seriously though, it's great for breaks from the PC.

Hey Zoose, Happy to hear you're doing better, and that you recovered so fast. Your dedication to practice is something to be admired. I remember finding your posts on the small universe very helpful here... Anyways, just some random thoughts on this I think wanting to filter is still creating a dam yeah... Because you're afraid that some bad things might come to you from upstream, so you erect a structure like a dam or a filter to protect yourself. It's the same thing. IMHO, you don't have to refine water to become gold... you refine yourself. Because ultimately we have no control over what the water brings. That's what you learned when you were recovering. Refining the water / your life circumstances or erecting defenses like perfect Qigong practices, all of this just creates the illusion that you are in control. You are to some extent, until you are not. The thing is, even if you have the best Qigong practices the world has ever seen, your level of health is still held together by the grace of the Divine. We might think we create our health through weekly workouts or certain practices, but it's really the grace of God that is maintaining our health at its present level. And it's the same Divine grace that made you recover so fast. Refining yourself is just becoming a conduit for the universal watery energy to flow through. You become a a canal, you ask for guidance, peace and healing. I'll leave it with the prayer from my Master... Maybe you can use it too. Know me to know you, See me being completely happy, completely successful in what I do, completely healthy, see me being a complete empty vessel, allowing your intelligence to flow through me, completely trusting, completely content, completely loving, completely grateful, completely full of extraordinary joy, and unavailable to energy that can stop me from being all of these things, if I am blocked in any of these areas I ask that you see me as unblocked.

This office chair Qigong has to be the most energizing and least boring chair workout I have ever seen. Try this for 9 minutes after spending an hour or so seated typing on the computer, you'll be like the Duracell bunny. Thanks for putting it together Steve, the end result is great and the commentary was solid. Only costs 4 bucks too. I'd recommend this to other Dao Bums, it's a definitely a fun and exciting way to take pauses off from your computer.

I thought the trailer was great..... catchy music, quick succession of impressive looking movements, and looks spiritual and powerful. It looks like a spiritual dance actually, nothing like a usual boring Qigong video, much more flowing. Great job on the trailer, can't think of making it any better. Watching it with headset on I entered a sort of trance watching it lol.

Anyways, I don't want this to be all theory and want to be helpful.... So let's turn the image above into a meditation. Imagine yourself in the meadow, watching your flower, next to the tree. Now, call on the Divine. Imagine a Divine Light in front of you. Not a vulgar light, because this isn't a visualization exercise. So let's say, you call on the Light of Jesus or Buddha, depending on which one speaks to you most. See all the qualities of the Divine in that Light. It doesn't matter if you don't physically see it, just know it's there for you. If you need to see Light, it will be shown to you during the meditation. Then you can say these words: "I am in Light, Light is in me, the Light and I are One". See your flower and the ones next to you emanating light, even the watcher looking at your flower is releasing into the Light. Surrender your expert's mind to that Light, just for one moment, to see what happens.... Offer your innocence to that Light, just for one moment, to see what happens. See if you are starting to feel lighter, if your body feels like it is becoming transparent. What do the sensations of Light feel like to you ? Rest in this vibration. Then ask the Light to create a new perspective for you, so you can see your flower in a more balanced way about something. Then meditate with that Light for 5 to 10 minutes or more as needed, relaxing into it, not actively doing anything anymore. Just trust that it's there, with you during the meditation. And you'll feel energy shifting very strongly. But even if you felt nothing felt nothing, you might not realize that everything about your day will be different. Something is always listening and if you cast a prayer like this a dozen, a hundred times, you can break through any dam you've built for yourself. It's the power of intent and prayer. In this case you're praying to yourself, so you can directly experience how prayer affects someone energetically.

These China walls live within our energetic system, in the acquired 12 meridians of course, but also in the deeper 8 vessels, that's why they are chronic and harder to remove. Just practicing Qigong alone it's hard to change perspectives, but you might regulate your emotions and feel healthier in general. So how can you open a dam like that ? Looking at the picture it looks almost helpless. But really, no matter how big or small the wall you've built, the answer is to simply release the dam to the Universe. You're the beaver that created it in the first place. And how do you do this ? The power of Light. In the physical world we use dynamite, but in the spiritual world, Light does the heavy lifting. Light, and you blow a wish towards the Light, like you do on your birthday cake. The wish is to release the dam. Intent and Light is the definition of prayer. Sincerity is dynamite in the spiritual world. You'll see yourself and your flower in a new Light. But first, you have to ask yourself - do I really want to let go of my perspective ? It might not be the time, but just remember that you aren't forever bound to them, there is always a way out.

Energetically, perspectives look like this. The left is what the Universe is offering you, the right is what you receive. The dam is the wall you've built from perspective and/or fear. Example: "I am unlovable and will never find a partner" If you hold on to this perspective, no matter how many potential partners the Divine brings you from upstream, you will barely collect anything at all.

"Perspective" is an umbrella term and also includes spiritual perspectives. What you wrote about not being OK unless you meditate or pray 24/7 is a spiritual perspective. You can shift it the same way. Don't be so hard on yourself for holding onto your perspectives my friend. They are hard on every one. Forgive yourself for holding onto them, that can also open the same door. Personally I don't think I would make prayer and meditation more holy than everyday life. That's another perspective. Realize instead that your mundane life is already divine. Otherwise it creates the perspective that you are only OK when you do a certain amount of daily practice, or when you can turn the mundane into the supra-mundane. If you can stay calm and balanced and lead an ordinary life not causing trouble for people, that is already sacred in my book. If you can also face your perspectives with forgiveness and keep an open heart, meaning staying aware of your spiritual nature during daily activities, then you will live in sacredness 24/7. But you can't manufacture it. You can't manufacture what is already yours. You are already sacred and the Divine knows your value, even if you struggle with some limitations. Living like this 24/7 is a matter of spiritual sincerity. You sincerity is the key that can open the door to living an experience like this, without the pull of perspectives.

Perspective shifting is an important subject that doesn't get much air time on Dao Bums, but they really have a major impact on us energetically. For example, if you have no faith or spiritual understanding in your life, then your perspectives will become your Gods. Think about that. Everything you do will be within the confines of these perspectives. Energetically, you will carry them like an article of clothing. What you wrote about is more like shifting perspectives through intellectual reasoning, but you can shift them energetically too. My Master teaches "perspective shifting" like this.... the image is his, but the words are mine. Imagine a beautiful flower in a meadow, the flower is you. There is a camera pointing at your flower, which represents your mind, in time lapse mode. Sometimes the camera is positioned in such a way/angle that you only see the ugly parts of your flower. This is your perspective. You forget the meadow, the forest, all sense of separation from the camera. But when you remember your inner self, or true nature, you remember that you are free to position the camera a different way. You can take a step back, have a more panoramic view and focus on the beauty emanating from your flower. This isn't just poetry, it opens a door for further understanding. Perspectives are not a brick wall that you are doomed to keep driving into. Perspectives become malleable when you remember that they are held together by Light and energy. Energy and Light respond to intent. If you wish, you can release these perspectives to their Light, there is really no one to stop you. Light will help you shift and create new perspectives. Practically, this is as easy as making prayer to release a given perspective to a higher spiritual energy. If you are Buddhist, release them to the Buddha of infinite Light. If you are Christian release them to Jesus Light. Remember that it's not about Jesus or Buddha, it's about the Divine, and the fact that the Divine understands the language of intent perfectly well. So if you just take that meadow metaphor above, and ask the Divine to think of a new perspective for you to see your flower in a new way, the energy will shift almost immediately. Remember to keep you heart open and be sincere to the energy you are releasing your perspective too. The Divine responds to your sincerity. Going through this process with an intellectual mind for example, or being full of doubt would negate the value of this exercise. You need to be curious as a child, and you need to offer your innocent mind to the Divine. Then when your perspective is no longer in your hands, the divine sculptor can work on it again, and the energy can shift. Most people are not willing to try something like this because it's not scientific, but energetically this is how works. In our tradition we say ... you want to heal yourself ? First heal the Divide. Because how can you be healthy if your perspective is not healthy ? The Divide is your separation from your spiritual center or source. When the Divide is healed, then it will trickle down to your physical body, then you can work on your blockages in a more efficient way. In contrast it can be very hard to heal someone if they choose to attach to unhealthy perspectives about themselves or the world.

Also, I was taught exercise 4 of the set I shared differently than the Master on the video, to further open the Thrusting. Basically the palms still rotate around the belt channel, but the waist and chest stay facing forward. This is a major difference from the way it's shown in the video. Basically only the head moves as a result, right to left, and left to right. The result is it feels like you are pivoting from the central pole, and the rotation is not physical. The horizontal motion of the palms contrasts nicely with the vertical pivot from the central channel, and this symmetry really makes you feel the thrusting better. Practically I feel like an energetic knocking on the crown almost immediately after doing this. What do you think ? Wimpy or valid, from your experience, haha ?

Thanks for explaining the principles V I learned a physical MCO from the same Master that uses this principle too. What do you think about it ? It's easy, so I'll share it here, no need for a video. 1) Step out with right foot to twice the width of your shoulders 2) The hands rest on your ankles which you grasp slightly (so your body is bending, forming a shape that looks like this => ^ (triangle shape, the lines are your arms holding the ankles, the head is hanging in-between the legs - you look like a bat hanging on a wall basically, looking through your legs). 3) Straighten your spine, look ahead of you as you breathe in, while you hold the ankles. You basically raise your head progressively from its low position until the body is horizontal and you have no move give from the arms.This is the equivalent to your 90 degrees position at 55 sec, with a different arm posture. The back is horizontal or mostly horizontal. 4) Bend back down to look back through the legs as you breathe out (at this point your head dangling between your legs again, which was the starting position, in the bat position). So yours was the "mad cow" MCO. This one is the "bat" MCO. Do you think this is a superior approach to the first move I shared ? I think I also prefer the "bat" MCO to the 55 seconds one because it's gentler and creates spinal mobility, as it ripples the spine. But in terms of effect, I tried the 55 seconds one too, and the energy was much stronger. I think to learn the mad cow MCO you would need some safety measures, have a Master around you or something like that, because there is a strong rush of energy to the brain. But yours is definitely the most to the point, no-fluff, only Qi going up the back. Nice engineering for sure. This was interesting to me.... can you explain more what this means. Is it because the back is horizontal and you're looking forwards or upwards, somehow these two meridians are "closer" ? It feels that way at least, but I don't understand why, maybe gravity related ? And the benefit I assume is to get more flow in the Governing by squeezing the Thrusting towards it.

Yeah agreed. We're working the external to affect the internal, so it's not easy. When you asked for the inner energetics, I provided what I felt energetically when going through the movements. But I think you mean something else by 'principles' ? For example, stuff like relaxation, posture ? If so, could you please share your perspective on the principles required to get motion in these congenital meridians ? Your experience and perspective is valued.