Unbound

Hello Everyone! I thought I'd introduce myself, give some background, and explain my goals for utilizing these forums. Hopefully someone might be able to point me in an appropriate direction after reading. Soon I will be leaving on a sustainable agriculture initiative to work with some tribal peoples in South America. I will essentially be spending two years in a very remote place without running water or electricity with a decent amount of free time. This to me seems like the perfect opportunity to get some real work/practice done in qigong/yoga/neigong/neidan/weidan/etc and/or the other techniques discussed in these forums without the usual distractions of daily life. So, I've been digging around in the forums for a few weeks, as I wanted to do my due diligence before posting. After hours reading through with seemingly hundreds of tabs open on my browser, I feel I haven't made much progress in finding truth. Threads tend to devolve into arguments and heresay. So I'm hoping those with a little more experience can help me discern the Dragons from the Snakes. Who is legitimate? Who are the frauds? Wang Liping, Dr. Jiang Feng, and John Chang appear to be authentic in achieving a high level of mastery in their various lineages. David Verdesi is a controversial figure to say the least. Can anyone say with confidence who has real attainment and is worth pursuing as a teacher and mentor? I would love to hear your recommendations about where to start my journey. I hear one can injure themselves pretty severely if they train incorrectly. I'd like to eliminate that option from the get-go. Here are the books I own so far: -Opening the Dragon Gate - The Making of an Authentic Taoist Immortal trans by Thomas Cleary -Ling Boa tong Zhi Neng Nei gong Shu - Wang Liping and Richard Liao -Daoist Neigong - The Philosophical Art of Change by Damo Mitchell -Both of Kostas Dervenis books The Magus of Java and Nei Kung: The Secret Teachings of the Warrior Sages -2 of Bruce Frantzis' books on the water method of Meditation: Relaxing Into Your Being and The Great Stillness I would certainly also appreciate your recommendations as far as resources and books. So far all of the complex metaphors and translation issues has been fairly confusing to me. Does anyone have a preference for a translation of the Dao De Ching? I'm also beginning work with a yoga instructor so that hopefully I will be able to sit in Full lotus position by the time I leave for South America. Lastly, I wanted to share my motivations for pursuing this path. Obviously they are multifactorial, but ultimately it boils down to simply a yearning to understand the nature of existence itself. Who and what am I? Why do I or any of us exist? How much potential do I have, and how can maximize my ability to make a positive impact on the world? Don't get me wrong, of course I'm psyched about the abilities that supposedly come along with that understanding, but to me those are just awesome side effects and great tools for helping people. Anyway, I wish everyone the best and look forward to hopefully hearing from some of you soon!

Yes Thank you both! For anyone who is interested I decided to eat some "mushrooms" and meditate, and I thought I would talk about my experience for the record: I did not experience any visions or anything that seemed different from my experience of reality as normal. It seemed simply to sharpen my senses significantly, and put me in a profound state of relaxation. Colors seemed more vivid, sounds easier to hear, and things that I normally would overlook (like tiny animals and birds in the trees, dust flowing through the air, ants crawling around me) seem glaringly obvious and impossible to miss. I was actually kind of disappointed because I was hoping for some more obvious guidance or direction. I did fall asleep and dream about a group of mesoamericans trying to talk to me in a language I did not understand (didn't appear to be spanish). They seemed amused that I was there and eventually gave up, laughed to each other and left. I was not lucid enough to ask them if they were connected to mushrooms and did not make that connection until later. My meditation went well, although nothing particularly exciting occurred. I feel like it simply put me in a state of meditation and relaxation automatically that experienced meditators probably can reach fairly easily. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Truth Seeker, would you mind clarifying/expounding upon this statement? I'm not sure I fully understand. Thanks!

Wow thanks everyone for all of the input! I very much appreciate it. Anyone have any thoughts/resources on South American mystic traditions?

I would be incredibly excited to get into South American practices. i am desperately hoping the opportunity arises while I am down there. I hear amazing things about ayahuasca and psilocybin. I'm hoping to read Carlos Castaneda's stuff, but I've already gone way over on my book budget for the month haha! Any other must have books? Preferably ones that can be read on an e-reader like a Kindle? I won't be able to take many books with me on my trip. Thanks again!

Wow thanks for the advice! I will definitely have to check out those books. I have been meditating for a few weeks now and I am really enjoying the journey. 2 quick questions: - Any recommended materials on flexibility? I am have a lot of trouble getting into a position to meditate where I am not in serious pain after a while. Unfortunately i'm no where close to full lotus. - What are y'alls thoughts on psychodelics/entheogens? Sorry for the long delay in reply. Thanks again!

Thank you guys very much! I very much appreciate y'alls advice. Thelerner I will definitely check out those resources. I look forward to hopefully speaking more with y'all in the future! Best wishes