Wilhelm

I'm about halfway through this book. So far it is a plain-language breakdown of principles for practitioners of Daoist arts that could also be enjoyed by an interested non-practitioner. It started with a chapter on comprehensive definitions of all the pinyin terms you see most commonly on boards like these, then moved to principles of aligning the body and regulating the breath and mind. It's called comprehensive because those four chapters took up over 200 pages! Right now I'm on the chapter about the nature of jing, and the later chapters seem to be talking about the middle and later stages of Nei Gong. I am enjoying the book very much.

https://m.soundcloud.com/user-931790889/this-daoist-life-1 This Daoist Life Podcast.

-What is jing, really? -How do we regulate it (Yang Shen Fa) -What is jing's relationship to the mingmen and lower dan tien (basics)

Hello, I had come across, and thoroughly enjoyed, an interview with Alan Chapman who had talked about using magick/occult practices not only as a path to enlightenment, but as a potential complement to other paths. I have purchased his book 'Advanced Magick for beginners' and by chapter 3 he is introducing a simple sigil exercise to manifest a desire. My intention at the moment is to use the tools found here purely for my own spiritual development, for example my first attempt may be something like 'I will become aware of an impediment to my spiritual growth and the means of its removal' Before going any further with this I had done some looking into the implications of using the occult and found several references from Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev (as I do have some level of trust in him previously) and although I can give detailed sources if requested one quote which stands out from him is "Of all kinds of karma, using occult forces for one's own benefit or to the harm of others has the worst consequences for oneself". Yet there exists entire traditions which use these forces, such as the author of the previously mentioned book, who supposedly used occult methods right up to achieving enlightenment (or as he calls it, the 'great work' of magick). Elsewhere, Sadhguru talks about how karma is created by intent, not content of an action - so I am having a difficult time reconciling these two ideas. Am I being foolish for using such tools for my own development? Is the greatest danger coming from my overthinking the matter? I just want to use every method at my disposal to progress spiritually, and this is the first time I have become so conflicted over whether or not to go forward with a tool. I am thankful for the opportunity to post this question to a group that contains such a diverse group of practitioners. Thank you for any assistance you are able to offer in this matter, Wilhelm

I remember this one. On the retreat that inspired his Fire Kasina website (I think), he fixed his concentration on a candle to the point where he could control it's movements (among other things). He made it sound like pure concentration as opposed to a siddhi (unless I'm remembering it wrong, or concentration to that degree IS a siddhi). In any event, way cool guy.

Same reason anyone does, I suppose. Was looking for an answer to a question and wasn't willing to dig deep enough to find out for myself at the time. To be honest I might've associated an intellectual curiosity (karma and the occult) to my problem (being uncertain about what felt right at the time I was writing that post). In any event, the good bums on this site seemed to know better than indulge in unproductive intellectual speculation, and I got over the problem the old-fashioned way.

Well, that about settles it. I'm comfortable with my intentions here, so I'm going forward with it. Not sure where the second guessing came from a couple days ago, but I don't feel it now. Thank you for indulging me with your responses.

So awesome - thanks! What I want to see next. My pick; Dhamma brothers (documentary): Vipassana is introduced into Donaldson maximum security prison in Alabama, and the ~1 hour doc looks at the inmates' experiences and a bit about how they ended up in prison.

Hmmm, I read something about this in Bruce Frantzis's 2016 new years letter (source). I'll see if I can find something more detailed.

Like a small engine is turning over in first gear in my belly (jerky). Like a mild geyser is shooting up the back of my torso and putting me off balance in different directions. Like my legs are live wires that would conduct more if they weren't so tense. The experience changes with my intention, but that's the best I can describe what my standing practice is like (i don't feel the energy body so much otherwise) As you might have guessed, I'm rather new to the process.

Woah, dat youtube video! I had it on during lunch break and suddenly its like 'Oh I guess I'm supposed to stare at this symbol for a while'. I don't know the first thing about Dzogchen or Bon, but that was a particularly 'interesting' symbol to concentrate on. Without asking for anything more than a basic answer, is it useful/acceptable for a non-Dzogchen practitioner to use the 'Ah' syllable (what he called it) as a means of practicing concentration? Meaning, if I were to print this out and stare at it, following the instructions given in the video for longer periods of time, would this be unsafe or an unproductive use of concentration practice? (If it is I can continue to use candles, which are great, but not always accessible ) The other video... I couldn't figure out how it relates to the Zhine practice but that's probably just my inexperience/ignorance

Huh! Thanks for the link. I've only heard stories of Ramakrishna and never read him directly. Does someone have a favourite passage/anecdote/chapter? I'll start at the beginning myself, but there sure is a lot here! Note sure whether it really happened or not, but I like this story of Vivekenanda and Ramakrishna:

Hello, Tonight I got tired of re-reading old threads as a lurker and finally made an account mostly to have greater access to the material on this site, but thank you anyways for reading my introduction and here's a little about myself in relation to some of the themes of this forum. I am a novice practitioner (several years of half-assed self-guided practice, a little over a year under qualified teachers) of Nei Gong and Classical Yoga living in Ontario, Canada. I am beginning to appreciate how early I am in the processes that come out of both of these traditions, and I'm glad I waited until now to make an account because when I used to read far more than I practiced I likely would've come across sounding very ignorant! In any event, thank you for having me on your forum. In regards to my practices I have a daily regiment of asanas and kriyas before sunrise and I am spending most of my time after work and on weekends beginning the firing process of Nei Gong (I think that's what you call awakening the LDT and refining jing + converting to qi? I'm sure someone will correct me if I mucked that one up) through a basic standing posture and a few moving exercises. I am young and naive and will likely take on more forms and practices than I need to (for example, I am very excited about starting Jason Miller's Strategic Sorcery course soon after reading about it on a subsection of this forum, and I can't wait to buy Ya Mu/Michael Lomax's Gifts of the Tao II when I have the money) and since I am already here I am hoping to start a personal practice journal now that I can access that subforum (I think - maybe I have to post a few more times?). My hope is that someone may have the generosity to tell me if my habit of practicing several traditions is likely to cause me trouble (I continue to check with my Nei Gong teacher about this, but he is only in the country a couple times per year - and I have to drive across the continent to see my yoga teacher! But I love him and his system more than anything I've seen locally). If you have read this far then you are already in my good books, I don't get to share this with many people. I'm glad I joined up, this should be fun! Best Wishes, 'Wilhelm'

I think I'd do well to follow that advice. I remember reading in an interview here an hour minimum in between different systems, but more might be better... Thanks for the tip!