Fate

The foundations for his Nei Gong seems to be stabilizing the awareness of the body, watching the breath, then opening Lao Gong point to help create the Lower dan tian

I hope one of his more dedicated and longer term students will give you a fuller answer Antares. Damo constantly references daoist scriptures and his teachings are very much rooted in the stages of the alchemical process. One of his videos is about the Nei Jing Tu wall imagery in the White Cloud temple and how it reflects the alchemical process. He also elaborates on the Huang Di Yin Fu Jing – Yellow Emperors Hidden Talisman Classic and deciphers the symbolic languages of "Combining Water and Fire" among other things. I suppose to elaborate on linear, it's like Damo teaches first simply aligning the body correctly and being able to focus the mind. A solid foundation-no transmissions or qi projections or enchancements-you simply must learn how to change your body from within through time and effort. After that you can begin awaken the energy body and to sensitivities to Qi, and then you can begin the Nei Gong process of building the Dan Tian foundation, etc. etc. (don't quote me literally here this is just my off the cuff example of stages). He's studied with many teachers but I believe his Daoist practices come from the Northern (Immortality?) schools of Daoist practice, I think I saw it called Sheng Yi somewhere. What I was referring to in my last post is his school is called Lotus Nei Gong, which has these lineages behind it.

In Buddhism there is much talk of flying needing both the wing of compassion and the wing of wisdom. Damo has studied the Buddhist and Hindu (Yogic) traditions quite extensively from what I've seen of him. His teachings are pretty clean and "horribly linear" to use his words-but that appeals to many a person and it is nice to have clear goals and stages. I'm either too crazy or too lazy to fully submit to such a path, but I do recommend his lineage

So is this thread only for martial systems? I was curious because Gift of the Tao Qi gong was developed mainly for efficiency, bypassing the moving of energy through channels that most qi gongs have to focus on cultivating the Dan tian to move energy through the whole system

This one captures my current struggle, but freedom- the untrammeled freedom of Zhuangzi-is something I am committing my life too

A lot of what your posts resonate as "real" and Truth, Starjumper, and naturally I've been considering becoming a student of yours because the flow is taking me near Ecuador. The main concern I have is, what are the implications of practicing different systems and lineages? I have been cautious and shadowing your posts for months because of this concern, not wanting to be drawn in and feeling almost as if it as a "temptation" when I am still a beginner in another "real" lineage that goes direct to the energy itself and is a Warrior path etc. Then I see posts like "the true path to mastery is to get to the formless, feel how all techniques do for the energy" and I once again can't notice where the flowing is taking me. I do take loyalty and lineages seriously, despite being a Gypsy of sorts up until now and trying out many different paths-I know enough to realize there's a lot of "behind the scenes" work going on when it comes to Nei Kung practice and I don't want to offend any spirits or higher level beings of my lineage by going to learn yours. Nor do I want to get ahead of myself for where I'm in my practice and show impatience in progress. That's just to give some context to my question which should be a good addition to the topic at hand: What do you think of practitioners moving from system to system, or moving through systems as called on vs. the benefits of staying with the system you are learning? Especially of systems that are both rooted in the emptiness, in truth. You've answered this a little bit already with the (you can master a system of moves but this is not the same as energetic mastery itself), and also the fact that you have over a dozen or so teachers on your website.

Great thread, I also am priveleged to be one of Michael's students and he's said almost word for word the quote about "with practice, the entire body becomes like a Dan Tian" Great affirmation to keep on the path I have chosen, and stop being enticed by other paths and side tracks (which this forum can be full of, so many valid paths to center!)

Welcome! I am excited to see someone taking their spiritual growth to heart! My wish for you is that you gain some non-serious ground as well spiritually so that you can love your wife and future children and nourish them on their path as well. I'm also a fan of "all in one paths" because in the end they all converge at the center. It may be tempting at first to have a practice for each thing, aka "I do Taiji for my external body, meditate for my mind, chanting practice for emotions" etc etc. but at some point these will begin to converge as specially as your space for practice may be taken up by responsibilities. Then your practice may become a refuge for fun and relaxation than a 'serious' cultivation exercise.

Let us know how your defense goes I would also add to that practice going out into woods or some natural spot, far from any thoughtforms so you can be alone with what is yours and be clearer about what is going on. (e.g. sometimes people live in apartments with portals where entities come in etc.) I don't know if you can go "back" and the route of "oh that was just a psychotic episode dont thinka bout it too much" can lead to drugging yourself in various ways to stay numb. That is not to say that now that you have opened up to these experiences they need be your entire reality. Through cultivation of a proper system of Qi Gong, you can become more balanced and grounded so that these experiences do not overwhelm. A strong core is needed always. So if you need to block things off until that core is developed, by all means that is a good recommendation.

@azuce: I don't know about outright deception as in a malicious way (the trickster is an important archetype and teacher), but I have to offer the alternate viewpoint to Tarot cards being merely "tools." Energy can have no personality and only qualities, and be manipulated as such. However the other view is that there are personalities and archetypes with their own flavors and intent at play here. This raises a thread in its own right that might already exist on this forum though, whether through mysticism we interact with personalities or we are just applying traits to mindless energy. So of the former camp, each Tarot deck has its own "spirit" and personality. I have decks that will often be extraordinarily clear and accurate, decks that show me the hard truth, decks that are more uplifting and positive regardless of circumstances, etc. I also have a friend whose interaction with cards lead often to confusing or muddled readings. We both have the same deck but each has its own "personality" and energetic feel to it. Going back to the earlier dichotomy it probably is a mixture of both our own personalities and energies interacted with the spirit of the cards that produce unique experiences. I do think the deck matters, and I also know that Son of the Gods thinks anything but the most esoteric of decks (those that show nothing but the bare minimum suit/number) are trivial and a waste of time (not quoting exactly but I do know he didnt look fondly at such decks with personalities and colorful pictures).

Thank you all. I noticed that and were I not pressed for time would spend a day catching up on and reflecting solely on Zhunagzi, Marblehead. I resonate much more with the Zhuangi than Laozi, and am less concerned with how to rule the state or gain power than free and easy wandering. The style of Zhuangzi alone continues to draw me back to him, and I will definitely revisit this forum and dive deeper into the Zhunagzi

Naturally, thanks for the suggestion. However I do not remember the exact phrasing and ctrl+f for "beyond words" yields little and narrower searches like "words" or "have a word" hit nothing or too many

Doing an academic paper on Daoism (living the dream!) I'm looking for the passage where Zhuangzi says roughly the following: "[Even the useless has its use]. Words too have their use. Where can I find me a man who has gone beyond words so that I may have a word with him!?" http://terebess.hu/english/chuangtzu.html Using this site, which section can I find this story?

Ah nice hehe. I forgot to other important lessons that I never grasped as a child playing with one: 1. The reality of the cube appears all jumbled and random, but the centers never move. 2. Each square of the cube has its own place where it fits in with the whole

Rubik's cube are awesome with their parallels to practice... (not that anything isn't a microcosm but) The layers of solving a rubik's cube how it gets progressively more difficult How I stopped trying to learn after the second level, waiting for the right timing XD