Michael Sternbach

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Everything posted by Michael Sternbach

  1. A practitioner's responsibility

    I have actually come across this view in spiritual systems other than Dzogchen. It is not a domain just of the latter: Either it is universal or it is BS. Although it is true that certain traditions highlight particular universal truths above others. Challenging, mind boggling and controversial as the topic may be, I, for one, look forward to an interesting discussion.
  2. A practitioner's responsibility

    Well, this is a challenging topic. It probably defies purely intellectual understanding. For most of us, taking baby steps will be great.
  3. A practitioner's responsibility

    Yes, these are natural emotional reactions, which we have for a reason, yet the purpose of many spiritual teachings is to guide us beyond the limitations of such instinctive reactions as we transcend them in the light of wisdom. We are indeed raised to act motivated by guilt and blame. This is seen as a necessity, even though underlying our emotional experiences are dualistic attitudes designed to take us away from our true nature. Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu (amongst others) talk about this in their way, and about returning to our original "innocence". A full acceptance and understanding of the principle of personal responsibility should cause us to go beyond and let go of both blame as well as guilt (which is blaming yourself).
  4. A practitioner's responsibility

    The philosophy of personal responsibility for whatever happens in your life is a powerful one. It can be found in various spiritual teachings across cultures. It implies that (on some level), we "choose" whatever happens to us. But since other individuals make choices too, it means that we "choose" their choices, insofar they affect us. And by the same token, they "choose" our choices as well. That's one of the difficulties I have with this perspective, although I intuitively recognize its validity. Thoughts?
  5. Temple style Taiji Quan

    I once watched that entire video. I recall how the "attacker" neglected to try and break Mizner's balance before applying the lock. Anyway, I agree, it's difficult to get a good Taiji fighter - or an MMA fighter, for that matter - into an arm lock. Applying them on mere mortals, there are many situations in which such techniques come in handy though - especially if you need to control an individual without seriously hurting them. They're just ideal for family meetings on Christmas! Yes, I did that on some occasions. I just brought it up to illustrate that the application of jins isn't necessarily something different from using Chin'na. I am still not sure what you meant by "the application of the jins only." Striking? Pushing? Transforming the opponent into a toad? Of course. I am not talking about action based on fear. I just think you should have all kinds of different tools at your disposal. Even if you can do without the sledge hammer in most situations, it's better to have it and not to need it, than to need it and not to have it.
  6. Temple style Taiji Quan

    Weary of playing 'Push Hands' with me, Dwai? But if you don't mind another round, let me ask you: To what end does Temply style Taiji 'apply the jins only'? Some jins are clearly linked to Chin'na in other styles, e.g. 'coiling jin'. Even fa-jin ('explosive force' for you non-iniates out there) is frequently used in Chin'na, especially if the intention is to quickly incapacitate an enemy by ripping a joint or a neck apart... Something I guess you guys would never do, though, as you climb up the ladder to lofty spiritual realms.
  7. Using Shen to change negative thought patterns

    The discerning conscious mind plays such a crucial role in the transformative process because it is here where we make choices.
  8. Hi Alchemical Walrus, Perhaps a more worthwhile text to study in regards to actual alchemical knowledge would be the Liber de compositione alchimiae, the very first alchemical text translated from Arabic to Latin, thus marking the beginnings of this science in Europe in the late 12th century. This book comes to mind because - not unlike the text you mentioned - it revolves around a dialogue between an alchemically educated hermit and a king (Morienus and the Umayyad king Khalid, a Muslim too). http://www.alchemywebsite.com/Compressed_archive/HRS10/HRS10_Book_of_Composition.html#p=6 Not sure, if this is relevant to you, though. If not - ignore!
  9. Hypothetically

    You could try the Mirror of the Mind technique from the Silva Mind Control system:
  10. Using Shen to change negative thought patterns

    Yes, you could liken the dantians to the different phases of matter, which also correspond with the classical elements. And any particular issue may have special affinity with one of them, while still finding resonance on the other levels as well.
  11. Paradoxes in Chapter 41

    The average individual will evaluate things by how good, beautiful, efficient etc. they seem to be, but the sage understands that something that is too perfect is essentially unbalanced and can only deteriorate. He (or she) will therefore allow for some darkness to remain in the brightness (thus dimming the latter), and other kinds of imperfections... Making things balanced and last.
  12. Using Shen to change negative thought patterns

    The issue is not the mind, but how its abilities are being applied. A one-sidedly rationalistic approach tends to be problematic, to be sure. The mind guided by intuition can indeed untie many of its own knots, however, especially when in a state of deep relaxation. Basically what Bindi refers to as the application of shen.
  13. Temple style Taiji Quan

    Okay. Chin'na is also applying the jins. That sounds like it's more of a method of meditation than a real martial art. Usually, folks who try to operate from a non-physical level against an experienced MMA fighter (or someone like that) have their ass handed to them. Not to say that it isn't possible in principle, though. That makes sense to me. You mean it goes back to the 'thirteen pillars' exercise?
  14. The absurd Truth, hiding in plain sight...

    The thing is, however, that you will look at your experiences through whatever filters your philosophy provides you with. Therefore, to a significant degree, you will always find your philosophy 'confirmed' by your experiences, that is, by how you evaluate them. - You know, half a glass being either half full or half empty, just depending on your outlook. However, beyond determining your subjective evaluation of a situation - which by itself has a lot to do with how happy you are - your personal philosophy will even play a major role in what you 'objectively' attract. As a simple example, if you assume that, reasonably speaking, you have little chance to actually get that job you would desire, you may not seriously try to get it in the first place. Whereas you may have actually gotten it, would you have believed in the possibility - and in yourself! - more. So the optimist and the pessimist will both tend to find their attitude confirmed - only, the optimist will be happier, overall. Don't underestimate the power of belief. Belief is key!
  15. Temple style Taiji Quan

    No, I am not familiar with your particular style of Taiji. But I don't think it could be totally different from, say, Yang style methods. Furthermore, it is apparent to me that different South Chinese styles (including Wing Chun, White Crane and Five Ancestors Fist) are related not only to each other, but also to the Wudang arts such as Taiji. Regardless of historical details in any particular case. Talking about the latter, it just amazes me how often even very advanced practitioners and masters of a particular art lack knowledge of its true history, while accepting fanciful fables at face value. Sure enough, there are plenty of cases in which it is next to impossible to really ascertain the facts. And I don't mean this personally in any way. As I said, I don't know anything about Temple style Taiji and its history. It's just a general observation. That sounds weird. Virtually all Chinese arts contain Chin'na techniques, at the very least codified in their forms. Would you mind sharing your style's history, as it has been passed down to you? Including its relations to other styles, if possible.
  16. Temple style Taiji Quan

    It's probably more accurate to say that his Chin'na books contain a mixture of both White Crane and Taiji techs. In practice, telling them apart may be difficult anyway, because there are only so many ways that the human body can move, notwithstanding the fact that aforementioned two arts are fairly closely related to each other. To illustrate, when I first watched a demonstration of Chin'na in a Chinese Kung Fu movie so many years ago, I was amazed by its similarity to Aikido, which I was studying at the time.So Essentially the same holds true for the methods of power generation employed in different 'soft' styles, and Jwing Ming Yang emphasizes this somewhere in regards to Taiji and White Crane (the latter being considered a 'hard-soft' style).
  17. AllĂĄh-u-AbhĂĄ!!

    Yes, indeed. Not just the elixir and its action, but also the way to obtain it (paralleling natural processes said to happen in the earth's interior) are described in rather similar ways in both Hermetic and Daoist Alchemy. A dissemination of Alchemical knowledge along the Silk Road seems likely and was not least suggested by the great scholar of Chinese science history Joseph Needham. To those who wish an introduction to Chinese Alchemy, I recommend reading this treatise: https://www.sas.upenn.edu/~nsivin/from_ccat//alch.html Numerous similarities to Hermetic Alchemy will be evident to anybody who has some familiarity with the latter. Although there are certain differences too.
  18. How to discuss on this forum?

    Well, I simply post whatever comes to mind.
  19. How to discuss on this forum?

    Es lÀge mir aber fern, dich von einer Diskussion fernhalten zu wollen, Marmorkopf.
  20. How to discuss on this forum?

    Not sure what you mean...
  21. How to discuss on this forum?

    In English?
  22. Thanks, Like, Haha, Sad, Confused.

    đŸ±
  23. AllĂĄh-u-AbhĂĄ!!

    Hi Alchemical Walrus Your research sounds rather interesting to me, as I am a student of both Hermetism and Daoism myself (I look at them as equivalents in many ways), with a special interest in Alchemy - and comparative studies. I hope that you are actually going to post some of your insights, so we can compare notes! Talk later Michael
  24. What do you want from this?

    For me, it's the excitement to go beyond my limitations and become more of what I can be.
  25. The absurd Truth, hiding in plain sight...

    Matter (i.e. every atom) can be seen as a manifestation of consciousness and has a degree of consciousness of its own in my book. I agree that there are plenty of followers of Eastern religions, New Agers etc. out there with a one-sided "spirit only" kind of view.