Wilhelm

Anybody signed up for your $3000 discord channel yet?

Ok. I appreciate that I phrased my statement in a way that many implications could be drawn, but as I don't have firm knowledge of the matter (though I will say I have the opposite opinion of yours) my point was that the point of view you're sharing seems to only exist through pro-CCP media. If you've taken the requisite steps to weigh this against alternative sources of information as well as your own bias then at least your opinion is informed. Considering the sensitivity of the topic I don't think I have anything else to say about it.

I'm going to guess that this particular point of view can only be found on Chinese internet/pro-CCP media

That's a good way to put it. Some people seem to be in-built with the sort of meditative qualities that I'm drilling daily, and I'm sure there's parts easy for me that others struggle with. And I agree on the unnaturalness of the pursuit. On the one hand you're trying to strip away layers between you and the uncontaminated mind (which happens initially through the energy work in Daoism but later more meditatively) and on the other trying to build in the ideal qualities to be able to rest in a meditative state - all the while resisting the tendency of your mind to take you the opposite direction. For me the energy work has been invaluable in leading towards these goals, but the meditative practice is slowly taking up more space as it becomes more efficient. That's just the only way I know though. How do the Buddhist guys do it? That actually makes more sense! (Not that I have a clean definition of Spirit either) I just wasn't sure how you were differentiating it from psychology before - but what you put definitely implies something that goes beyond mind!

With that framework, how would you differentiate spirit from 'power' (or Qi, if you prefer)

Fair enough sir 🙏

Great convo Edit: aha took me a second to catch your implication. Yeah they're both run successful schools and are good at their respective arts, and a lot of people find that controversial for some reason 😅

To all our cultivators - what do you see as the relevance of the common ethical teachings of Daoism i.e. the Ten Precepts or Shíjiè jīng 十戒經 and to some degree Wang Chongyang's Fifteen Essays to Establish a Teaching Is this pointless dogma, a critical tool in shaping our mind, or something in between? Are the guidances given still valid, or hopelessly outdated? Are there other sources for ethical guidance in your tradition? And for non-Daoist practitioners reading - what's the importance of the ethical teachings of your own tradition?

Some guys I like - freeform, Damo, Adam Mizner. Some guys I don't align with so well like Bruce Frantzis, Jerry Alan Johnson, etc. Like em or not, these guys worked their butts off (understatement) to find the heart of these arts from the successors to the traditions we all study. Edit: and I should mention as a follow up to my first post - freeform doesn't sell seminars 😂 but if he changes his mind on this I hope he hits me up

This is a great post and I'm just pointing out a couple things from my point of view Spiritual is a funny word, cause as far as I can tell most people use it to mean the positive aspects of psychology i.e. improving relations with yourself, your community, and Universe. I think it depends on your definition of Spirit, but that could probably all check out. Yeah that's a real thing and I'm one of those guys - mo energy mo emotions I think so too. I'm just shit at meditation so I'm building up the body/mind interface as kind of a backdoor route to get into that. Meditation before energy work started out as this dull pursuit of subtle sensations in the body where my mind would slip between being too lethargic and too lost in mundane thoughts. Nowadays, especially when it's tuned up from the energy work, it stabilizes into the object for a little while, and stays calm and focused. Is that what Nei Gong is? 😅 Maybe for some people. I often find the training a lot less pleasant than that (though it's kind of like the unpleasantness of doing a good workout - you come out the other end grateful you pushed it) I think volunteering at a local homeless shelter will help build the sorts of mental qualities that would be useful in meditation, and Id be interested in hearing your definition of Spirit to comment more! The guy who's system I study is becoming a big name 😅 so I wanna know who you're talking about so I don't get defensive over something you didn't intend

Some of these Westerners did their training in Asia though, often from lines that had to leave China or to underground mid-20th century when their practice became a political target. I can't think of a more classical way to study the art, personally. Edit: not me, btw, I study with Western seminar sellers 😅

Hi guys, I was hoping the folks who had studied or practiced the initial stage of Nei Dan could help me understand it better For those with theoretical knowledge of the process - what are the necessary preconditions for Jing to convert to Qi? For those who've completed this stage - I assume that if your vitality hasn't decreased substantially from this process that it can't be said to be a 'conversion' of Jing to Qi, or else you'd be radically shortening your lifespan by converting Jing at such a rapid rate. What do you think 'Jing to Qi' means then? For those who either trained with a group or had friends go through the process - what are some of the errors you saw people make when practicing the stage of Jing to Qi? And for the scholars - where did you find the best textual references for this stage? Are there any classics where you saw it elucidated particularly well? Thanks in advance. I know it's a lot of questions 😬

I don't quite understand the aversion to successful teachers as a rule in and of itself, but I can appreciate a very many have better marketing than they have skill, and I very much enjoyed the rest of your post. Thanks

I think this is something worth considering for the super long-long-long-term, but I don't think its a good idea for most people to begin with stripping away the self - considering the amount of mental and physical health issues alone, the average person is probably more likely to damage themselves in the process. This is how I understand DDJ 36, anyways: If you're gonna let go of something you've got to build it up first. (paraphrasing - comparative translation below. The implication being something you're averse to such as your own weaknesses will be impossible to be let go of due to the aversion you feel towards them) Edit: thinking about it some more, I suppose it would be better to be releasing things holding you back as you build up positive qualities in the self. I think I'd maintain that the building up is necessary, but not that it need to go build->release so linearly, as my message implied at first

Maybe the same thing that'll become of my (much less substantial) chest, friend

Yeah, you're right. Not the night for this sort of business. Thanks man

Well... I hope you don't, anyways. It won't matter to Damo, or me, or anyone here but you - so if that's the hill you want to die on 🤷 gl with immortality

So your plan to get back at the man who called you childish and entitled is to steal his content while knowingly harming your own development because you've got some vague ideal of martyrdom? I take it back Not to you, it seems!

I'm not talking about legal consequences. Do you really think this would be a net-positive for your development?

You, dummy.

Mindpath 2.0?

I agree, and I do think anonymous forums in particular have a tendency to raise up certain people without thinking about it too much. For me - a yellow flag (ceteris paribus).

Ah shit, I'll add it to 2050s goals then 😂

TMI 👀🤣🥷

Definitely not a high quality endorsement, being liked on Daobums 😁