Bindi

So to wildly speculate just a bit further, wò 楃 could conceivably mean something along the lines of 'simple room/house/tent', and the need to return to this.

For us to eat from the second tree in the garden? For us to become like the Gods? Perhaps we're just unfinished projects, high in mental abilities but under-developed in the emotional/sensory side which is limiting further evolution.

A very good article on the psychology of 'wholeness' - Unlocking the Secrets of the Wounded Psyche.

My mistake, it looks like we disagree then. True, even when perfectly cleared there is still darkness, and light is still needed. For various reasons though I am convinced that perfectly cleared is necessary for the lower dantians before looking for a source of light. What sources of light are available in your opinion? Do you think you are ‘enlightened' by following your method?

The Daoists do with their initial focus on the lower dantian, I don’t know if Jungians do. I agree though, the LDT focus is primary and vital. Yes agreed CBT is psychologically unhealthy. The Jungian approach is a lifetimes work, it works towards engagement with the deepest and darkest layers of ourselves, the aspects that are most split off, and ultimately the true self that lies beneath the layers. Even shamans who were not isolated like modern societies tend to be had to undergo journeys into their own psyches, so it’s not just our society that keeps us away from our true selves.

What sort of therapy was it? Not all therapies are created equal IMO.Though I didn't take this article as advertising a therapy so much as describing the workings of the subconscious, some of it's images perfectly capture the fundamental human problem IMO, my favourite being the 'spark of the divine cloistered in an autistic enclave, desperate to escape its prison.' This is psychological truth as I see it, not just a fanciful notion.

Not knowing anything about qi or Daoism I found this as well, lying down totally relaxed I 'noticed' a sensation near my navel and kept my attention there, just feeling it, and I repeated this noticing regularly for a long time. Far less confusing than postures or reading.

I’d like to look at the Awakening to Reality Poem #10 which according to Pregadio’s commentary is about “True Yin and True Yang that control one another and join together to generate the elixir.” I’m hoping that others might have some thoughts on this. Poem 10 Hold True Lead firmly and seek with intention; do not let time easily slip by. Just let the earthly po-soul seize the Mercury in the Vermilion, and you will have the celestial hun-soul by itself controlling the Metal in the Water. One can say that when the Way is lofty, Dragon and Tiger are subdued, and it may be said that when Virtue is hefty, gods and demons are restrained. Once you know that your longevity equals that of Heaven and Earth, troubles and vexations have no way to rise to your heart.

"The stream of knowledge is heading towards a non-mechanical reality; the Universe begins to look more like a great thought than like a great machine. Mind no longer appears to be an accidental intruder into the realm of matter... we ought rather hail it as the creator and governor of the realm of matter." - Sir James Jeans

In the nei jing tu it appears the water constantly cycles upwards, and the 'fire' must then surely constantly descend in its specific channel, or are they considered 'merged' while remaining distinct from each other? Or, is the merging just at the top and the bottom where they merge into each other briefly to change from water to fire and fire to water?

Water should ascend and fire descend, do they merge at some point? Or do they endlessly cycle?

What is "the light stage"??

Did you read the attached essay?

I am thinking how close this concept (above) seems to be to the neidan concept that the physical body proceeds from Original Essence and the thinking mind proceeds from Original Spirit.

Yin is definitely dark though.

Fair enough.

My apologies for assuming this. What do you envisage the end result in your process being?

Perhaps qi and light are synonymous in the final analysis, but a lot has to happen before that point. Perhaps qi that has undergone an alchemical process might be equivalent to light. Yes I agree to an extent the energetic aspects are a natural byproduct of spiritual progress, which can be measured by a person's freedom from attachments, but your end result is that "there is nothing left to see for awareness other than itself," and I don't think this is the aim of the alchemical process. Ultimately, essence should be able to be projected, not as an ego accomplishment, but as the natural end result of Original Essence and Spirit conjoining. (I may be wrong about my use of words here, as I am not fully conversant with neidan terminology.)

The synonyms I have for yin are chaotic, darkness, innocence, and ultimately and esoterically I suspect the ability to manipulate matter. I don't see yin as basically the opposite of activity, though of course I recognise that your interpretation is likely the standard one. This makes my sense of a return as being to a condition that needs to be brought into order via the input from yang.

I think seeking true lead with diligence is turning qi around, not light, reversing the natural downward flow of qi, as is shown in the Nei Jing Tu. Pregadio explains this reversal here.

One can say that when the Way is lofty, Dragon and Tiger are subdued, and it may be said that when Virtue is hefty, gods and demons are restrained. Once you know that your longevity equals that of Heaven and Earth, troubles and vexations have no way to rise to your heart. Subduing Dragon and Tiger, this refers to Yin and Yang, but is the meaning Yin and Yang or True Yin and True Yang? I feel both levels have to conjoin anyway in the end, ie. Yin and Yang and then True Yin and True Yang, but it would be interesting to know which Dragon and Tiger refer to. And why subduing?? Pregadio states "True Yin and True Yang join together to generate the elixir." If this is true then the elixir is a very late achievement, because True Yin and True Yang joining together is the goal of neidan, not the process. The process then is seeking True Yang with diligence, and not wasting any time in doing it. edit: I found Pregadio's answer "The Dragon stands for True Yin within Yang, also symbolised by the trigram Li, and the Tiger stands for True Yang within Yin, also symbolised by the inner line of Kan.

Okay, I'm more than happy to use this translation, 'you better seek true lead (which is within yin) with diligence, not wasting any time.' Assuming we agree that True Yang is what must be sought, how should it be sought? My suggestion was by first seeking Yin because that seems more reachable initially than True Yang, is it Yin and Yang conjoining that lead to True Yin and True Yang? I think that is the order, True Yin and True Yang are unavailable to our conscious mind, hidden in Yin (matter) and Yang (mind), and must be revealed via a process which first comprehends Yin and Yang, and when Yin and Yang conjoin a mechanism is created due to that conjoining that allows True Yin and True Yang to be revealed and thus to conjoin.

Good question, is it a problem with the translation, or an internal inconsistency? Do you have access to the original Chinese?

Pregadio's interpretation of the next four lines: The “earthly po-soul” is True Yang found within Yin; it is the precelestial Original Essence of which the physical body is a Yin manifestation. Analogously, the “celestial hun-soul” is True Yin found within Yang. It is the precelestial Original Spirit of which the thinking mind is a Yang manifestation. The “Mercury in the Vermillion” is True Mercury, or True Yin within Yang. It is found within Fire, which is represented in alchemy by native cinnabar. The “Metal in the Water” is True Lead, or True Yang within Yin. In the system of the five agents, Metal is found within Water. In the post-celestial world, the Yang principle tends to rise to Heaven and vanish above, causing the loss of True Yin; the Yin principle tends to descend into the Earth and be wasted below, causing the loss of True Yang. To avoid this, the pre-celestial po-soul (True Yang) should control the Yin principle (the Mercury in the Vermillion), and the pre-celestial hun-soul (True Yin) should restrain the Yang principle (the Metal in the Water). And my simplification from this of Zhang Boduan's lines: Just let the (True Yang found within Yin/original essence) seize the (True Yin within Yang/pre-celestial Original Spirit), and you will have the (True Yin within Yang/pre-celestial Original Spirit), controlling the (Yang principle/?). Original Spirit should control original essence, True Yin should control True Yang. One line of Pregadio's commentary I found particularly interesting was that "It is the pre-celestial Original Spirit of which the thinking mind is a Yang manifestation." True Yin controls the thinking mind. What does True Yang control? According to Pregadio, True Yang created the physical body, so True Yang controls matter?

Would you prefer 'seek True Yang with intention', or do you dislike the concept of intention in general?