Vajra Fist

It's worth mentioning on the last point that when Eric tested its effects on me the result was very different, saying it would create imbalances. It really depends on the person.

How was KAP 1? Did you get a kundalini awakening?

I went down this road before with Wu's stuff. I think a lot of us bums, myself included, tend to spend a lot of energy thinking about what is the authentic form not wanting to waste our time on something that won't give us long term results. However because of this we end up changing systems and wasting time anyway. The choice between Yuanming Zhang and Wu Zhongxian DVDs is less important in the long term than how accessible the teachers are, the responsibility they feel toward their students and their willingness to teach openly. In that sense you can't beat Wu, he has always been willing to answer my questions on email. He has international teaching retreats for more esoteric subjects when your practice reaches a certain level. From his videos on YouTube he seems kind and humble which is rare in this day and age.

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I saw these a while back and was certainly tempted. He has his own DVD of shamanic tiger which is slightly different than Wu Zhongxian's, however I don't think it is available anymore. There are quite a few threads on here about him and he certainly sounds like a high level practitioner.

I was somewhat inspired by this so I've been doing prostrations for a few days now. Feel a deep inner peace afterwards. I haven't received ngondro transmission but I have been doing the long vajrasattva mantra 21 times before bed for a few months. The prostrations are a nice complement. So much so I've decided to do it with the 35 Buddha confession as outlined here: https://shop.fpmt.org/The-Preliminary-Practice-of-Prostrations_p_506.html (Main section of text here) https://www.lamayeshe.com/article/chapter/appendix-3-confession-downfalls-thirty-five-buddhas

Without wanting to pry, what was the dream?

I recently finished reading a book called 'Peaceful Death, Joyful Rebirth' by Tulku Thondup. Both the content of the book and the guided meditation that comes with it have radically changed the focus of my practice and will likely influence me the remainder of my life. The first half of the book is filled with accounts from delogs, people who have returned from the world after death, the bardo. The tales are all remarkably similar despite being written centuries apart. It paints a pretty bleak picture of the chances of a rebirth outside of the six realms, even for experienced meditators. It includes guidance on how to use the death process to attain Buddhahood or else rebirth in one of a Buddha's pure lands. It also comes with a visualisation meditation on Amitabha and his pure land. The first time I did it, when it comes to receiving blessings from the Buddha, I felt waves of powerful blissful energy flowing through my body and I was in tears. The second time it felt like a sun had risen inside my body. I have continued to do the meditation and each time the experience is both moving and intense. I was curious about its effect so I requested a medical clairvoyant, Eric Isen, to test its energetic effects. He wrote: Excellent. Very good. This practice really gets the Qi moving throughout the body and the brain. Purifying and opening meridians and chakras. Should deliver many benefits. I came from a Japanese Pure Land background and this was my first experience of vajrayana. It's opened my eyes not only to the reality of the bardo, but the effort that is required in this life to purify the seeds of rebirth in the six realms: hatred, the seed of rebirth in the hell realms; greed for rebirth in the hungry ghost realm; ignorance for rebirth in the animal realm; jealously for rebirth in the demi-god realm; desire for rebirth in the human realm; and arrogance for rebirth in the god realm. It is my wish that all beings have the opportunity to escape the suffering of the six realms. Om Amitabha Hrih.

Simply put, a mantra - especially one from the vajrayana tradition - is a prayer. In reality it's more like an invocation. To chant without proper respect toward the deity associated with the practice would be somewhat disrespectful and you might not get an ideal result. At the very least, read the related sutras to know what a mantra is doing for you. Perhaps later you might want to perform prostrations, or dedication of merit produced from the practice to all sentient beings. I have had a medical clairvoyant test many, many mantras and they all work on the body in different ways. By far the most powerful is Om Amitabha Hrih. You can also find an amazingly beautiful guided meditation in the book 'Peaceful Death, Joyful Rebirth' by Tulku Thondup. Best of luck with your journey

Apologies, the author is Tsultrim Allione

Just posted this elsewhere in the forum but you might find a useful technique for dealing with this sort of thing in the book 'Feeding your Demons' by Lama Tsultrim Allione. It's a modified form of Chod, but the essence is the same. The gist is that what you're experiencing is a threat from a shadow part of yourself, rather than an external being. Therefore the more you try to escape or eliminate that part of yourself the more power you give it. You might find as you go through the method in the book the sleep paralysis transforms or becomes less frequent. Definitely worth a read.

Recently finished a book on modified Chod (Vajrayana wisdom tradition), called 'Feeding your Demons', which is about integrating the shadow part of ourselves personified as demons. Fascinating reading and a very powerful method.

Couple of questions, what is the difference between chanting the full mantra and the short mantra, 'om cale culi cundi soha'. With the longer mantra what rhythm or melody do you use for the chant? I find the shorter mantra easier to find a natural rhythm with.

Yes, if you're discussing the digestive system. But obviously it depends on your body and how you feel. You'll need at least four to five days if you want to overhaul and reboot the entire immune system.

I would differ. The best digestive aid is just to fast. 32 hours is probably the minimum as a restorative. If you're constipated and your intestines are full you're not going to gain much benefit from piling extra food and expensive supplements on top of all that. Just fast, it's free.

Nice choice! I have also been listening to some guqin music while practicing recently. I find the silence points in between notes is utterly magical.

Thanks for the music recommendations, I've tracked down BJ Cole on spotify and I'll give him a listen for my practice tonight. I actually have a lap steel, very similar to a pedal steel guitar, at my parents house. It's gone unplayed for quite some time, but after listening to those tracks I feel inspired to give it another shot. Also fascinating insight into Stonehenge. I'll do a bit of reading about the Crowley tarot, but I can see from the five of discs card image the similarity with how I imagine the energy vortex around Stonehenge to be. Thanks again!

Just got back from Stonehenge. I know Sifu Terry has filmed there before. I could sense a unique 'turning qi' of the place. It was like the vibration you get from turning one of those large prayer wheels in Nepal. It was somewhat faint, but I imagine in the past the turning would have been a roar. The impression I got from it was that it is some sort of energy mechanism that still serves a purpose in the world even today. Perhaps when it one day fails, there will be changes to our society or even natural disasters. Back on the topic of flying phoenix, I have been practicing to music for the first time in a long time. Specifically 'Weightless' by Marconi Union, which was designed with sound scientists to be one of the most relaxing pieces of music in the world. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/8830066/Band-creates-the-most-relaxing-tune-ever.html It's definitely helped me to become more relaxed and slower in my movements of the long form. The piece is part of a wider album called 'Weightless' that you can get on spotify.

Best of luck brother. I've struggled with my weight for a few years and one thing I've found that works more than anything else is fasting. It's the simplest, most effective and best for your health. In the past week I've dropped a handful of kilograms just from 42 hour fasts. Fast a whole day. Wake up the next day, skip breakfast and eat a healthy lunch and dinner. Then dive back into the fast again. Plan to repeat this over and over until I reach goal weight. Maybe even throw in a few longer fasts if I'm feeling good. Wim Hot Method helps with inner strength and will power. As does pine pollen tincture. Don't give any money to Trump

I think the key question is what type of meditation you are practicing. I come from the Pure Land tradition, so meditation for me is a supplementary practice. I mostly practice anapana, which is a very gentle, forgiving practice that can develop quiessence. I haven't practice vipassana as taught by Goenka, but it strikes me as a very demanding method, which should be reserved for those more advanced on their path. Of course, forgive my ignorance and feel free to correct me.

Yes, I get extremely vivid dreams after evening practice. It's actually reignited my interest in lucid dreaming. I have also seen a deepening in my daily mindfulness meditation. Similarly, my other practices enhance the FP energy, particularly the medicine buddha mantra, which Eric Isen said in a recent reading would have a synergistic healing effect with FP for me.

I recently met a lady on the internet who shares similar interests. I decided to say hi, psychically, which led to a very joyful psychic connection. We both later conferred as having shared the connection at the same time. Is this sort of thing inevitable at a certain level? Is it unusual to be able to acknowledge someone when they visit you and vice versa? I guess what I'm asking is, does this mean we have a special connection or are we just two people walking in the same direction?

Thanks, this is very helpful advice and a I'm grateful indeed to this forum.

Ok, I'd rather sifu replied though as it was he that wrote the formula as 90 60 5 40 30 on page 6 of this thread and page 127. On page 127 sifu confirms it as 90 60 5 50 40 as per the DVD and then corrects himself the following post as it being 90 60 5 40 30. It would be nice to clarify it as it's been bothering me for a while.

This is something I've been meaning to ask for a long time as well. I think it was asked previously on the thread but wasn't answered afaik.