Earl Grey

I will forward your message to him so that he can answer you sooner. Personally, I've seen many high level teachers in systems like Sleeping Qigong and Fragrant Qigong leave their energy signature in things from letters they write to videos of them, photographs of them, and even the pen they hold or water they are pouring. With that, it's not hard to imagine this is true for Flying Phoenix as well, even digitally imprinting one's energy.

Totally true. Some of them were on this forum and have been banned for scamming members. Blame it on one brilliant author who claimed he hid techniques in his book and now has disavowed himself of the system he supposedly represented before. I wouldn't say overheating of upper meridians--I'll leave that to either of the doctors above mentioned to assess that even if I can comment but I don't want others to read that and assume the same for themselves! I have zero opinion of Cohen, but I also teach Zhan Zhuang from a Yi Quan perspective and plenty of members here could use adjustments, even those who read Lam Kam Chuen's book. Even one picture or video tells me a dozen things that will lead to problems down the line and what actually won't help in their practice. I do not recommend learning from books and YouTube, and even then I'm cautious when someone has learned Zhan Zhuang from Healing Tao's DVDs. This might be true, but when done while someone practices Zhan Zhuang, it can be fatal. The influence of even marijuana while affecting the flow of qi (and if you manage to activate a small body orbit especially) will eventually block oxygen flow to the brain. We do not recommend any of the substances for people who stand and especially for those who do spontaneous movements.

play will do the work of an errant gambler too. don't work--seize the day!

You can read this in detail on the Flying Phoenix thread. https://www.thedaobums.com/topic/12639-flying-phoenix-chi-kung

I'll miss Chang too. He had an eloquence for insults that made it feel like one was being given a shot of Scotch on the rocks to wash down the bitter taste of their own speechless outrage. Even if his politics are opposite mine, I found him to be more enjoyable compared to other members, some of whom I abhor. One of those lines disappeared as Hun Dun was hidden, but it will forever be remembered because it was just so full of audacity and wit that few could withhold any laughter aside from its target who ended up banned.

Strictly speaking from a perspective of duality rather than polarity, this is still not related to the actual opinion I have criticizing this, which is that simply put, we don't do multi-level attunement back-to-back or by distance. In my Reiki lineage, this is true, and in my martial lineage, I still need to travel in person across the ocean to get that from Flying Phoenix or my Taijiquan and Xin Yi Liuhebafa teachers. You can learn some things and some can be transmitted, but in person is often the limitation unless someone is high level enough to do so (often through dreams like Nan Yun or some Tibetans written about by Alexandra David-Neel), and those are rare individuals in rare conditions required of both the student and the teacher. Never heard of it and I've heard many people claiming to come from prestigious lineage--one person PM'ed me and said he was attuned from the True Source of Reiki (his emphasis on capitalization, not mine). I do come from Usui lineage too and William Lee Rand was my teacher's sensei, but I couldn't care less about Rand the businessman---I stick to the foundation I was taught distance is not permitted or possible. Here's the link: https://www.reikiwebstore.com/ProductPage.cfm?ProductID=296&CategoryID=2 Sounds like you respect your teachers and their lineage. Fair enough. I don't agree with some things you do, but at least you're out to heal, and the world could always use more healers.

You are referring to Sifu Terry Dunn. You are better off asking on the thread itself or e-mailing him directly.

In the Flying Phoenix system however this is a common indicator of advanced level of practice.

At no point in my response did I indicate the timing to do it immediately or wait a moment after--that is what the practitioner determines how long is "too soon" or "soon enough" and Sifu Terry will clarify as necessary. I simply gave the order of actions, not the timing. As for negative effects for ending a meditation too early: as said on DVD Volume 1, if you end too early, it isn't effective, but there isn't any damage. As far as I have seen, it's like doing five pushups in a day as opposed to a minimum of 25--you will see little or no impact, but you have done something.

Welcome. You sound like a fellow TCK (look up the term). I'm one too. Happy to have you here.

Yes the above is an opinion, but not a qualified opinion as you admit you are inexperienced. I am an instructor and that is where my own opinion is derived from. Also, the masters received transmission--the OP is NOT receiving transmission. BIG DIFFERENCE. Let's also recall the OP said it came from shrooms. The masters were in a totally different state--they were in deep meditative flow--this is NOT what comes from taking shrooms or ANY substance. And yes, ABSOLUTELY you can be damaged from self-taught internal arts. You don't realize how often my teachers and I deal with idiots who have qi deviation from this and you probably haven't seen how many people tried to teach themselves from random information on the net and this forum. One person injured himself from pressing his thumb into his perineum after masturbating but not ejaculating, and it led to permanent constant pain while having no access to masters or TCM doctors, and western physicians can't do anything for him.

On the one hand, discussing China and capitalism has its merits because people from what I gather are assuming mass shootings are seemingly unique to the US, but this is not true at all, even before the New Zealand attacks. On the other hand, trying to connect it with all sorts of reasons outside of what's been studied while scapegoating everything from video games to history and then tying them to alien colonization conspiracies aren't helping resolve the main issue. The main issue is why these continue to happen and how people still seem to think that they are effective as a message, for they are are form of domestic terrorism as an op-ed in the NYT said. The same op-ed claimed that if the gunmen are treated the same way as ISIS fighters are, then perhaps there might be different prevention measures and results.

Not arguing, but I did want to share Death from Neil Gaiman's The Sandman, who was a breakout character for being a personification of death as a beautiful and natural thing rather than the ugly thing people fear in many cultures. Quote: “Death has a body like a model, the clothes of a poet and the smile of your best friend. She wears a top hat for fun, her ankh necklace for power, and carries a big black umbrella for travelling to the 'sunless lands.' I wonder what she smells like? I'm sure it's fresh and clean and her laugh must be wrinkly or maybe it's warm and chuckly, but whatever it is, Death laughs a lot. We talk about the 'miracle of birth' but what about the 'miracle of death'? We have the science of death pretty much figured out, but death's magic and inevitability have been feared and ignored for a long time now." The funny thing is in that story, the Endless, Death being one of them, actually represent their opposites--without her, there is no life and life is ephemeral and therefore precious. She's a reminder of people who are alive but seldom choose to live. Quote 2: “That’s what you were trying to say, isn’t it? I mean, I think … mostly we’re too busy living to stop and notice we’re alive. But that sometimes we do. And that that makes the rest of it matter.” Dialogue: Hazel: “Can I ask a stupid question?" Death: "Sure. Ask away." Hazel: "It's sort of more than one question. But... Look, um... Why do we hurt? Why do we die? Why isn't life good all the time? Why isn't it fair?" Death: "Those aren't stupid questions, Hazel. For some people they're the only questions that matter." Hazel: "Does that mean you won't answer them?" Death: "Sure, I'll answer. But it's kind of a big subject, and it's got lots of answers, and the answers don't really mean anything-- They aren't stupid questions but they could just as well be 'When is purple?' or 'Why does Thursday?', if you see what I mean..." Hazel: "Not really." Death: "Well, I think some of it is probably contrasts. Light and Shadow. If you never had the bad times, how would you know you had the good times? But some of it is just: If you're going to be Human, then there are a whole load of things that come with it. Eyes, a Heart, Days and Life. It's the moments that illuminate it, though. The times you don't see when you're having them... They make the rest of it matter.”

Oh like you respected me while insulting me when I mentioned I was in the Peace Corps or worked for NGOs while showing you have ZERO LIFE EXPERIENCE with the things you go on endless diatribes about in every thread you plague? Once again demonstrating the inability to think outside your paradigm and no originality. Seems like you’ve never been educated or left your hometown, let alone done anything but read tabloids and shout at the television. I wonder how you’d survive if you were ever dumped in the middle of another country and preached your morbid drivel because you sound like a guy who thinks he knows more about a country than locals from watching National Geographic on your friend’s couch and insists the locals know nothing because they’re colonized.

The blue light is common in Flying Phoenix and the best person to get information for that is from Terry himself from the Flying Phoenix thread at or a reading from Eric Isen at www.ayurvedicintuitive.com

Eric Isen and his skill/gift are beyond the value he asks for people to pay frankly speaking. The good teachers I've encountered look for sincerity more than cash and people who don't want to pay usually don't value the art or the skill or the knowledge of an instructor. So if it's not worth it to you, a teacher won't do much until you change, but if it is worth it (and by default you say you are worth it), you'll work out a deal with them and they respond to dedication and sincerity. For your health conditions, see your GP; for spontaneous, my recommendations are Eric Isen and John Dolic and a couple other teachers or a different qigong system all together like Flying Phoenix. Just PM me at this point after this message if you're really serious.

Contact Isen now because you may be screwing yourself over by self-diagnosing rather than going to a trained professional. Dolic is also a TCM doctor on top of his many qigong practices, so they both know what they are talking about and can save you potential trauma or permanent damage. Right now you seem to think that these are simple problems and in the absence of esoteric practice, a physician can give you some insight, but once you start messing with qigong or kundalini, you're seriously increasing the risk of harm. There will be some spontaneous movements that are okay such as when you sit or stand in Zhan Zhuang because of involuntary tension and the nerves "rewiring themselves" from ZZ. This continues based on the quality of your practice, but it goes away fast with a good teacher. It lasted a few months for me after I got to about an hour each session. Another friend got it after years of ZZ and he developed his own spontaneous practice from doing all the postures for hours daily. From a martial perspective it is not good because if you can't control it in a battle you will die. From a healing perspective, if you don't know what you're doing, it's like taking rat poison because the color looks the same as aspirin. I hope this third message makes things clear and if you're still set on doing things your way, you're free to do what you will because as I've said, I don't like to go beyond three messages, especially if someone is not interested in heeding these cautions or in an argument where the same things are said and repeated too many times.

I do not recommend getting the free instruction that is available because the price is that you do not have guidance. Good instruction comes from my two teachers I mentioned. It is bad if self-taught because you as a total beginner do not know how to recognize your own body and what is a good amount of movement. In spontaneous five animals for example, beginners are advised not to do too much movement in the beginning because their eyes are closed and can harm themselves and bump into things--the body is exercising and developing its energetic and physical bodies simultaneously. There are no "right books" because most are written as marketing for more students or by disgruntled "teachers" who are giving the finger to their lineage--otherwise, they are unqualified or come from questionable imaginary lineage. Doing everything in your power to not be the one controlling the movements is actually worse because you do not know how to control the "on and off" and "reset" buttons so to speak that are either in the system or given as foundation LONG BEFORE you learn spontaneous practice from qualified teachers. You can make a deal with Dolic as he is very open to helping people out if they are sincere. There are people who offer free variations, but if you lack the guidance of someone who can answer questions and oversee your progress or deficiencies, then that's all on you. I've also tried Inner Dance--a Philippine variation that has proven psychotic issues for many practitioners and serious ego problems. Take it from an experienced practitioner or dismiss it because it isn't convenient for you whether financially or because you're determined to have something very powerful so easily--I've had this argument with too many people to prolong these conversations more than three messages. Eric Isen as mentioned above can also give his insight in spontaneous practice.

In my experience, yes they are not good without formal instruction. Bad for people with mental health and emotional health issues, very bad for people on shrooms and other influences, extremely bad for self-taught. I studied two spontaneous practices before with John Dolic and Eric Randolph. EDIT: I am no longer associated with Eric Randolph. A European shaolin tradition uses spontaneous as their foundational training but it has very polarizing opinions from former students and tends towards the negative. Avoid them unless you have good instruction. One teacher who does a DVD is Michael Lomax and it’s there too but has some instructions. I don’t recommend it highly though and only know one individual who did okay on his own in Germany and even then he is cautious about it as he did a lot of study.

Welcome Mai. We look forward to having you on the thread. - EG, FP "ambassador" on behalf of Sifu Terry Dunn

Oh boy, self-initiation with Reiki. Reiki is itself already a very loaded practice to me due to the politics of Reiki schools that show the ugly nature of capitalism with spiritual practice and healing. On the one hand, I love Reiki and am thankful for my teacher whom I met in Cambodia, who had dedicated his life to teaching it. On the other hand, I do not like what Reiki has become in many places with a few examples of what I disdain from the practice and many of its practitioners. I'll share some stories that color some of my criticism. In one example, a friend of mine in Nevada told me how it was part of a yoga package where they'd offer her extra Reiki attunement for their special skill called "Reiki for prosperity and yogic blessings" to the tune of $8,000 (eight thousand) US Dollars. This alone should already raise some eyebrows, but people did sign up for this. Another example was someone who did Reiki levels 1 and 2 simultaneously on the same day over Skype because he liked the energy of level 1 [note: I was taught that it's best to let six months pass between the first two levels and ideally 2 years or more from level 2 before going to level 3]. And then there's someone who became a Reiki "master" (level 3) after a month of starting her Reiki practice. Or, someone who started making up their own symbols and combining it with chaos magick. I disdain the idea of attuning yourself via a video, a DVD, or a book. I also disdain the idea of people promoting prestige that they do not have, and thus encourage my own students to discern the possibilities of teachers whom they can learn from. Oh yes, I do teach and attune too, but I don't do it via distance and I don't make anyone beholden to me. I also give them a thick manual for a couple weeks of training that drills in ethics and how to avoid the McDonaldsization of energetic healing systems. I've only attuned one or two people though and don't really care to do it unless someone is already a student of mine in internal arts and really wants to do it. A classmate of mine after Level 3 started calling herself a master and had no prior teaching experience before attuning people to level 1, but in this part of town where I'm from, she's going against the formal group guidelines of what is required to teach (at least a year of apprenticeship overseeing another qualified teacher attune others and healing a certain number of people as well and that can take up to a year). What I will say is that I appreciate the sincerity to heal others even if the manner in how people seek to become qualified and trained to heal is something I don't totally agree with, such as by a YouTube video or self-initiation. Depth of understanding and guiding plus lineage transmission--all very important, plus a good teacher to guide your own development are hammered into me, even if we are trying to "democratize" the playing field.

Fantastic, good sir, bravo in your rebuttal. I would like to add something here from the NYT that I only read yesterday since I get the international edition, not the domestic edition, so many articles for my print edition are later by a few days. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/08/opinion/mass-shootings-mental-health.html Mental health isn't the issue, it's hate and access to arms, as well as an enabling community, which, in this case, are the weirdoes from 8chan and other sites that really make you question what bowels they spawned from to inspire such tempestuous children of Hate and Bigotry. By saying it's mental health, it worsens the mental health stigma and ignores how societal factors come into play affecting someone and influencing them. No care and a "sweep it under the rug" approach that means nobody is interested in paying attention to someone when many signs are there. You don't do it by locking people up or saying they're retarded--you can do it by asking them, "Are you okay?" and being persistent without being a pest. And it's not just one person, it's a community effort. But the communities we have these days are more often virtual communities that cause us to search for like-minded individuals instead of the kind that correct behaviors. If there's any correcting done now, it's naming and shaming, which actually reinforces bad behavior since it dehumanizes someone rather than calling them in to have a friendly chat. Anyway, Gendao can project all he wants, but if he does, he is no better than the colonialists who projected their view that they knew what was best for the countries they entered, as an old anthropological joke where a group of researches were told by the subjects they were studying, "Enough about you, let's talk about me" in reference to how most analysis of cultural groups speaks more about the observer than the observed. Expanding upon that, having all sorts of weird pseudoscience conspiracies and projecting them as the answer to all the world's problems shows a serious problem with listening because people who have all the answers don't need and don't want to hear anything but the sound of their own voice and their own perceived brilliance. Now to make sure the above paragraph doesn't convey that this whole post is purely an attack in Gendao (it's not, but he does sound rather absurd with the nonsense he keeps posting), one thing I will convey is that the people who need help are the ones who don't realize that they do, and this is the importance of communities. Like in a martial lineage, I was told that the pillars of a good tradition are 1) good lineage, 2) good system, 3) good teacher, 4) good community, 5) good student. If we translate this, we can say in non-martial terms for an individual to be okay with themselves and the universe that they need 1) a good family, 2) a good set of values and principles, 3) good teachers in the form of mentors who can be big brothers and sisters, parents, cool uncles, and counselors, 4) a supportive community that doesn't just acknowledge their presence but actively participates in their life, and 5) their own effort to better themselves. Where did I see this? Believe it or not, in Tanzania where I lived, in the remote villages. I saw it in social enterprise projects in Sri Lanka as women created their own ad hoc groups to steer children away from hate and conflict while teaching them values and life skills such as weaving and agriculture. I saw it in the Philippines. These were not top-down instructions from some NGO or the Peace Corps, but community-led by people who were given a little inspiration and some money to think outside of the box, and the respective groups from UNICEF to WorldVision simply had an advisory role. The fact that a former First World country like the US still can't get its act together and maintain the community essence as people wall themselves off in their conspiracies and consumerism is why I choose not to live there due to how people in the Global South I've worked with and worked for in the rural areas show that they want to succeed together. It has nothing to do with colonialism and David Icke theories. This is because people have forgotten how to connect with one another, and the most passionate feelings that come fast are anger and hate rather than the ones that take time to build. If we took the time to watch out and stand by others, who knows? We might not have the bullshit of mass shootings, but this is just my guess from my work.

Let's get this straight: Breath control sequence -> Exercise -> Closing Breaths. You do each exercise as one sequence and then close. If you want to do more, you repeat the above. It will look like this: 1: Breath control sequence (3 breaths, 70 40 30 20) 2: Exercise 3: Closing breaths 4: Breath control sequence (3 breaths, 70 40 30 20) 5: Exercise 6: Closing breaths 7: Breath control sequence (3 breaths, 70 40 30 20) 8: Exercise 9: Closing breaths It is as though you were doing multiple repetitions of Wind Above the Clouds, NOT multiple repetitions of Bending the Bows.

What I hope to communicate is that moving forward after the bullshit the past couple years that people can be welcomed here if certain boundaries are both elaborated and respected. The problem before was those boundaries were not elaborated but rather interpreted and enforced in a manner that showed not only was the admin exhausted, but so was the forum itself, hence exodus for many people, either permanently or temporarily, myself included.

Couldn't agree more about using traditional given that the simplified characters are a lazy effort considering that they decided after just a few hundred characters they decided not to do anything else for the rest instead of the plan to simplify everything.