alchemystical

The cats know whats up. Pussy.

After reading this I don't have to assume you're an asshat because you've just proved it with your solipsistic reasoning. Don't bother replying, no need to explain yourself to me. You're done here. Good day. Indeed. Thats the gist of what I'm saying as aside from those who remember the old days without such digital devices we now have entire generations that were raised via screens and we're seeing adaptations and shifts in the kids neurochemistry and processing methods. A teacher told me the other day that kids attention spans are so fragmented these days that she had to switch up her entire teaching style into bitesize "memeable" bits of info as they couldn't process entire long chain concepts as they'd forget half way through. The implications of this are absolutely stunning and thats before we get into how such a large percentage of adults are under the thrall of their smartphones day and night. I truly view it as an addiction as it stimulates the same pleasure centers by design, much like people were happily doing morphine and cocaine back in the days because people didn't see the sides - that's where we are at with tech except by the time people realize that they'll already have implants that will internally censor that thought from coming to awareness...

https://www.ekhartyoga.com/articles/practice/why-savasana-is-so-important Recapitulation - reporting out loud what you're feeling/sensing as you lie there. This helps to strengthen the mindbody connection from the practice as you ease back into regular consciousness so you may say things like "A wave of energy has just gone through my body" "I'm aware of a tingling sensation in my left hand" "There is sweat on my brow" etc... Saying it out loud make its "real" and creates more of a real world resource as opposed to a temporary dalliance that occurs strictly on the mat and as such you compound your progress with each session. This is the "awareness walking around the vehicle" I mentioned, sans the metaphor.

All good. As you feel (as opposed to think) into the flow you'll notice the "correct" transitions from pose to pose just occur naturally. When I say correct I mean you'll realize that "Oh, thats why this asna lead to that one because this energy was primed here to be used here" and it adds greatly to not only the whole experience but knowledge of self that comes along with it. I think of it like this, in the practice my awareness is a passenger of my energy which runs the show and unfolds as it wishes. After when I'm reflecting my awareness is walking around my vehicle, thinking about the ride its just been on, the sights its seen, what it learned about the machine and how best to use it. Then I get up off the mat, my awareness is behind the wheel and off we roll into the big wide world for another adventure, until the next.

Care to share some of these grounding techniques of which you speak? Thanks Yes. The whole point of yoga is letting the pose get into you ie let your body/energy lead and the mind follows instead of the inverse you see in so many studios. The most important part of this is your awareness and the recapitulation that occurs at the end so a prolonged Shiv Asna is essential to absorb the practice and reconfigure the mind body from the nervous system upwards. One thing I do wonder is how do you know its a Kunadalini awakening? What led you to that conclusion because that experience is life changing to say the least and I feel you wouldn't be asking such an elementary question had you already crossed the threshold as you'd be guided from within. I'd be willing to wager you've just taken a tentative step toward awakening your energetic aspects (ie are on the path to Kundalini but not there yet) based on what you've said as it sounds like prana moving its way around the nadis.

Great stuff, thanks for the suggestions guys as that appears to have covered every aspect. I really like the sound of these titles.

Nothing specific please, no need to get bogged down in semantics and preferably more of the popular side rather than a weighty tome written in dusty tone but still wish it to have factual substance. The ones that got my attention were: Buddhism Plain and Simple - Hagen No-Nonsense Buddhism for Beginners - Rasheta But they seemed a bit thin and I'm seeking depth from someone impartial that knows and call it how s/he sees.

How does one do that? According to TCM each organ carries its own emotion and suppression causes impingement of its function yet no one seems to address exactly how one clears/releases these emotions effectively? Anyone know and have any practical, solutions please? Thanks

Interesting perspective but I do get the feeling that some folks contributing simply don't have a grasp of the way emotions work in relation to traumatic experience as its a whole different ball game. Regular cognition occurs via the PFC with the Limbic System adding in the splash of colour and emotion with the R Complex ticking away silently in the background. What is interesting is that the inter connectivity of these three aspects goes R Complex>Limbic>PFC meaning the most primitive part (Which senses danger in the environment and controls the blood flow/action potential of the rest in anticipation) trumps the rest when push comes to shove in the case of traumatic activation which is why people feel overwhelmed by the sudden onslaught of a flashback. This is far, far different from just having some minor irritation floating around in the back of your awareness and makes up a vast portion of what is termed PTSD. Regular therapeutic approaches offer very little in the way of cure as all they do is symptom manage at best but what I want to do is release the unprocessed emotions that are causing this in the first place, which is why I researched the aetiology of it all and came here to find alternate perspectives, as this should - in theory - defuse the traumatic recollection. Literally anything is a worth a try. Its not a simple case of "stop feeding it" as "it" feeds on you when the memories are triggered and your higher awareness centers all go offline as you are in the throes of a flashback and the dis-regulation that comes with it as you are in fight/flight/freeze mode. Even worse is if none of these options were viable at the time of the event which is what caused the emotions to be suppressed in the first place so the conscious mind could slowly attempt to "recreate" reality and make sense of what happened until the suppressed emotions surface again trying to seek resolution and once again overwhelm whilst retraumatizing in the process, rinse and repeat. Hopefully this helps everyone to grasp the situation as it is and not as you think it is as this field in and of itself is very, very misunderstood by everyone from lay people to most mental health professionals as they truly don't comprehend its implications and methods of action, latest research and insights who then try to then treat it via ineffective methods which is why I've taken this approach to wellness as the onus is on me to heal. I do appreciate all of worth that everyone contributes and hope this clarifies your knowledge of the state of the play.

I haven't, what difference would it make? Fully agree that the Jarrow one is the best in terms of quality, price and effectiveness.

Mucho food for thought which is great as I have an appetite!

Thank you very much, that is most useful and a great guidance for me to look into myself. Another tip I can share is that sublingual B12 (Jarrow Formulas Methyl B-12 2500 mcg in my experience) really helps if you any issues with the Vagus Nerve. Simple, cheap and effective.

You really do talk a load of bollocks and the fact that I clearly stated: "Rather than swinging by with paragraphs of meaninglessness that presumably make sense to you or attempting to engage me in further commentary that potentially derails this thread please take this as "Thanks but no thanks" for your contributions on this topic" shows that either a ) you don't comprehend b ) you do but don't respect others wishes as you're keen to force your drivel on them even when they specifically request you don't which shows quite a high level of immaturity, entitlement, narcissism and ego which belies your "I'm so evolved" spiel as a load of BS because if it were real this contradiction would not exist. Being polite I even gave you an out by saying: "if you wish to start another thread... I would gladly listen to the practical, actionable guidance you have to offer on how to achieve said state" That would've allowed you a path to discreetly exit whilst saving face but nope, not for you so here we are. Thanks for showing all the rest of the Bums your true character beneath the facade because if your other three thousand posts are anything like this then you've done a lot of BSing to perpetrate a false image online because if you truly were on the level you profess you simply wouldn't act like this. Sad. Feel free to spew more verbal diarrhea into this thread as a way to massage your own vast ego (thats evidently deluded you into believing you are spiritually progressing) whilst offering precisely zero in terms of help and simultaneously proving exactly what I've just observed about your character.

@welkin could you please speak more about the fixing process you went through and a before/after snapshot? Also the neuro pathways, face relaxing, body breathing resources would be much appreciated. Thanks

Just "letting it go" is like telling an alcoholic to "just stop drinking". As wonderfully easy as it may sound in theory it isn't in practice as traumatic emotions/memories are held below conscious awareness due to their very nature of being unpalatable to the regular mind therefore it simply cannot access them to let them go that easily. This is before we get into things like the nervous system activation, fight/flight/freeze response, triune brain structure and all the rest. Without wishing to sound disrespectful you've written a load of navel gazing waffle with very little helpful content. Example: "Under any and all conditions, regardless of any and all conditions, unconditionally, emotionally, naturally, effortlessly, in full allowed harmony and alignment and realisation, with and of and as and through yourself, with and of and as your greater non physical consciousness, being more fully allowed by you, to be more fully realised by you, feeling better thus then, emotionally." Really? Did you even read that back before posting to see how inane it all sounds? Rather than swinging by with paragraphs of meaninglessness that presumably make sense to you or attempting to engage me in further commentary that potentially derails this thread please take this as "Thanks but no thanks" for your contributions on this topic because waffling away is one thing and I let it slide but then coming in and downtalking someone who makes an actionable, practical solution (Zhan Zhuang) is unconscionable. Now, that said if you wish to start another thread in how a mere traumatized pleb like myself may allow my greater non physical consciousness to be more fully realised by me under any and all conditions, regardless of any and all conditions, unconditionally, emotionally, naturally, effortlessly, in full allowed harmony and alignment and realisation, with and of and as and through myself then I would gladly listen to the practical, actionable guidance you have to offer on how to achieve said state with all three ears. Yeah, I said three ears because its like the third eye. Its a special kind of ear that only those with the ear to hear have as the other two don't

I'd be interested and grateful for the instruction.

Great contributions so far, many thanks to you all as you have provided much to consider. This all sounds absolutely perfect and was just the trajectory/style I'm seeking. Thank you. Its exactly all about clearing out the accumulated crap from the subconscious, releasing the old patterns to allow new flow, that is my primary focus here because I've come to realize that just observation/doing forms/making shapes has allowed to progress so far but now I wish to delve deeper into myself and remove that which does not serve my highest interests and that involves a different approach all together. There is so much fluff out there and its got to feel real/practical to me and what you've outlined does just that so thank you. Mainly I wish to cleanse accumulated trauma and its effects on the systems both physical and energetic due to incomplete processing/overwhelming experience as these energies feel "stuck" inside so any insight from those who have walked his path before would be most welcome and thank you all for contributing.

I'd prefer a direct link to a PDF copy of the book if you can hook that up please. As for religion, its a tool used to divide and blind under the guise of uniting and illuminating.

Great stuff, thanks for the swift reply. Now back to mining the thread! Cheers

Thank you @Earl Grey I'm busy reading through the thread as we speak as its packed with great info for the finders who wish to seek but wished to clarify this contradiction which you have nicely. So in a nutshell, just do it! When you speak of the 45 minute a day approach I take it that refers to doing one meditation from disc one along with one from two as suggested in the online instructions as opposed to just following the 1st DVD as that is also about its running time? I did read that post you mentioned about ox and his approach which worked well for him given his prior knowledge but I wish to build it from the ground up and master the form, hence the basic questions. Cheers

@zen-bear First of all thank you making these teaching public and taking the time to share wisdom in this thread. Could you please clarify the training schedule for FP? Earlier in the thread you said that one should work their way through the whole of DVD 1 in 1 sitting whilst aiming to increase the time for each pose to 15 minutes with eyes closed and then start the seated meditations in volume 2 but the online training schedule says different? http://taichimania.com/trainingschedule.html I'm just wondering what the best way to start practicing this form is if one has ample dedication and time in order to gain the optimal results? Also I saw you mention a FP book a few years back, that would be really handy to accompany the DVDs as there is so much to learn and lots of info is spread throughout this thread. How is it progressing and when will it be available please? Cheers

"Some not-so-proficient practitioners sometimes do it because they can... or because they don't have enough schooling (or patience) under their belt to become proficient in a classical form, so they "invent" their own that goes as far as they can go, usually bypassing all the fundamental principles, occasionally putting together a convincing (to an inexperienced eye) imitation, and so on. Sometimes they are ego driven and want to be seen as "masters."" Yes, that is exactly it @taomeow I don't profess to be deeply experienced in the whole qi gong game but I know what feels/looks right when I see it and what doesn't, hence this thread as I'm a a firm believer that one who understands thoroughly can create with simplicity as they know all aspects of what is at play. Ultimately there are but so many ways in which one can move the body but much like the relationship of a dictionary to a book it is the skill of the creator in placing the pieces together which makes the difference between Shakespeare and a hack.

If you stop for a moment and consider the fact that you, right now, are embodied on this planet you could then deduce there is a 50/50 chance you could once again find yourself in a similar predicament. In previous times stretching back far beyond history it appeared that the knowledge (not belief) of reincarnation was widespread and self evident which is in sharp contrast to todays scientific materialist times that believe you spin the wheel once and thats it so get all you can get with no thought for the consequence. First I'm wondering your thoughts on all of this in terms of the wheel of life and what it means to be and second the oh so interesting question of karma for if one subscribes to the principle that life is a dream within a dream and we keep living and dying in a cycle until we wise up then you can't help but wonder: Is it really fair to be "punished" via the circumstances of this life, into which you are born with ignorance, if you have no awareness of what you did the last time round? In a sense thats like compounding and its easy to see how the fools become more foolish with each step because its not like you get a guide book which says "Here's what not to do this time round" as you're thrust into circumstance which ostensibly is engineered to balance the scales which you yourself imbalanced in the first place. Kind of a crooked deal, n'cest pas? Like going into a casino. Getting $100 worth of free chips, hitting the jackpot and then being told you can't withdraw it until you've gambled again for a certain period of time and then finding yourself in debt and having to wash the dishes for the other patrons instead. At least that would be fairer because you'd know the reasoning behind it all and could've very easily said "Keep your free chips and the winnings I generated, I'm out" as you strolled out of the establishment but in the game of life there is no such option. Obviously this is a very wide reaching topic so if I've inspired you to jump off on a tangent feel free to share it so we can all explore it as all paths lead to the same place anyway and this way we might see some delightful sights we otherwise would not have.

@taomeow very interesting response about the creation of a form, would you care to share more about that as its my first time hearing about that and I find it interesting. The form I practice starts with lung/metal because “without breath the rest doesn’t even matter” as it is the primal basis of life and the next move flows straight into kidney/water and so on. As my background is more yoga which has a very heavy emphasis on prana this all resonated very well. Reversing the elements is new to me, thanks for the insight. Also as for the three elements, once again in the yogi path it is seen as trifold energies that run “underneath” every manifestation that are responsible for the creation, preservation and destruction cycles that everything goes through. The overlap and differences between the TCM/Vedic viewpoints really is quite fascinating as it goes some way toward proving the empirical nature of what the sages of yore were experiencing and interpreting. @vonkrankenhaus thank you for that lucid, clear insight. Its precisely the balancing abilities that drew me to this form and I fully agree about the nutritional aspects and how important they are. @freeform thank you for creating clarity in the complication. My instruction is grounded mainly in the fascial/meridian aspect with the intent to foster a stronger mindbody connection. Fully agree about the questions bit as well, the whole “Master say. Do!” was not in reference to my instructor but the way I see a lot of sacred cows being herded around in so many physiospiritual fields where questions themselves are seen as insulting for what is considered sacrosanct and that has never been my way, far to curious to hold back and not ask the why behind the how and there have been many flustered teachers who just can’t provide that insight as they never wondered/asked themselves and instead just act like robots.

See it all the time, bunch of fake ass bliss ninnies trying their hardest to wear their fake happy happy joy joy masks yapping all of this "love and light and we're all one" bullshit in this world of duality in the hour of chaos. Everyone has a plan till they get punched in the face. One of the most powerful and sacred tools in your armory is your anger and laying down like a little bitch whilst someone disrespects you is in no way form elevated, advanced or spiritual. It just means you're afraid of owning your own power and slapping the taste out o their mouth for even daring to address you like that. Can't pick and choose what you like and what you leave behind cos ultimately its all you. The trick is knowing when to express what to whom and why and for the optimal duration and intensity.