Japhy Ryder

No. I received my attunements from Suzy Wienchowski in Ann Arbor.

If you're referring to the blessing that begins "Today I will feel no anger, have no worries, be gentle in all undertakings...," then my understanding is no. The Reiki Blessing is a cool centering prayer. The Reiki Blessing is different from the Reiki attunements; the attunements are used to open the person's system to the reiki energies.

This is a wonderful thread! Lately I've been cultivating my standing and sitting posture, with help from this website: http://www.drbookspan.com. Thanks to the Bums who posted this link a few months ago. My back feels much better, and I'm feeling healthier generally (and I was feeling pretty healthy before). Namaste.

What a blessing this is! How do the breath cycles work? Do I inhale as I bring the energy up from my toes, then exhale as it goes down to my belly before swallowing it? Or do I just inhale and exhale as necessary? Thanks, Santi

Hi rodgerj: Bless all who love you and your father, and all you love. Be well.

Hey Bums: Recently I've become conscious that the abdominal exercises I've been doing for years to build strength (and keep a slim, six-pack waist) may not be so good for me anymore. I'm starting to feel that what works for me aesthetically isn't necessarily healthy energetically. The abdominal contraction exercise I used to do (video here: http://www.transformetrics.com/exercises) involves pulling in the abdomen, but I'm realizing now this process is a physical manifestation of how I've habitually drawn in my emotions rather than feel and expand into them. Thanks to the Alchemical Taoism site, I've started doing the Pilates Hundred daily instead of the ab contraction. The Hundred feels much healthier to me, but I'm looking for other tools, too. What do you folks do to work your abdominal area in ways that strengthen the muscles and support healthy expansion? Is it possible to have both a healthy dan tian and a six pack, or are these goals mutually exclusive?

mjjbecker, what are these "better ways"? Take care.

You're very welcome. I felt moved to share my story because, reading yours, I felt strengthened and validated. It's apparent that lots and lots of people are doing (or at least have the opportunity to do) huge work on their emotional and sexual selves these days. I find that studying astrology is helping me to put my own situation into a universal context, that learning more about how the universe expresses its intelligence through the movements and energies of astral bodies helps me see myself as part of their expression. Here's an astrology blog that's blowing my mind: http://planetwaves.net/pagetwo/. The synchronicities continue for me. My parents gave me the itemized receipt sent to them after my birth by the hospital in which I was born. I learned that my circumcision--a procedure I have no memory of but realized several years ago that I grieve--cost $3. Later in the week, I began reading and practicing exercises from Mantak Chia's book The Multi-Orgasmic Man. And the other night I dreamed that a red hooded sweatshirt I have had for 20 years was swept out to sea during a hurricane. I almost dove in after it before I realized it was time to let it go, so I let it drift away. After I woke up, I put that sweatshirt in the wash and will be giving it away. Be well, Christopher.

I quite agree. Dis-ease is a lot for anyone to handle. But Christopher, your courage, willingness to grow, and mindfulness are obvious. And insiring. May your healing journey honor and grow those qualities, whichever healing modalities you pursue. I hope that sharing your music with the world is one of those modalities! Your story resonates with me because, like you, I also realized recently a deep truth about myself. In my case, I realized that I don't know, and have never loved myself, sexually. My great grandfather, my father, my uncle, and an older cousin have all had bladder or prostate cancer, and I've realized that it's part of my work in this life to address the energetic issues surrounding that, to heal them for myself and for my ancestors. I'm turning 44 next month and have felt all my life that I was incomplete. I feel blessed to know why--finally--and to have begun to heal and grow into a self I've never known. I don't know where my journey will lead me, but that's okay. Mostly I'm just glad to know and feel what my journey is. How fortunate you are, Christopher, to have begun your work so young! Thanks for sharing your story with us. I hope you'll check in from time to time and let folks know how you're doing. May your healing be blessed.

Hi, DanC: Looks like you've gotten some great advice. I second Starjumper7's recommendation of Master Lam's The Way of Energy. If visualization-intensive qigong has left a bad taste in your mouth, you might enjoy Master Lam's stripped-to-essentials approach: "just" standing. Several years ago, my approach to qigong changed after participating in a workshop with the Garripolis. The movements we learned felt wonderful, and I bought their Qigong Beginning Practice DVD. I guess I'd gained enough from standing meditation to have a basis for practicing those moving forms, which are now the foundation of my qigong practice. Another option, book-wise, is Roger Jahnke's The Healing Promise of Qi. It documents and teaches a dozen or so very simple forms, including moving ones, that can be used in combination or singly. I don't own any of Ken Cohen's DVDs, but everything I've read about them has been very positive. Take care and have fun!

Satyagraha: You've received some excellent advice here, and while I'm definitely no expert, I agree with freeform that your situation calls for grounding. Here's a link to an excellent free e-book on kundalini with plenty of advice on grounding: http://biologyofkundalini.com. I hope this helps. Take care.

Great reminder indeed! It inspired me to tweak my own sigline, with props to the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Thanks for posting this link, Yoda. I've been doing nothing but half-squats for years, mostly because I lack the flexibility to squat deep with my feet flat on the floor. Full squats while balancing on my toes hurt my knees, but the exercise described in the article doesn't bother them at all. Would this exercise be a good one for developing the flexibility to sit in full lotus? If you want to enjoy the benefits of squat-style pooping but lack hip/thigh flexibility (or the desire to perch atop a toilet seat), just sit on the toilet with your feet resting on a low stool. Works great.

If we're asking whether astrology (Vedic or otherwise) "works," it's essential to ask "Works for what?" Personal experience hasn't yet shown me whether astrology works for predicting specific circumstances in the future. But based on the work of cultural historial Richard Tarnas, astrology does seem an incredibly elegant tool for understanding past historical events and personal experiences. I read Tarnas' latest book on this subject, Cosmos and Psyche: Intimations of a New World View awhile back. It freakin' blew me away.

Thanks, Spectrum. It's good to be back. I completely agree with you that one's intention (and any quantification of sets, repetitions, duration, etc.) distinguishes exercise from movement.