azucenaalev

It's a tricky topic, but it seems to relate more to sex than other aspects of the relationship. Individuals may be more inclined to have yin/yang energies based on gender, but as unique people, it depends on the person. Plus, like Miffymog said, balancing your internal energy is what's important. Sexually though, it has to do with transference of energy. But I wouldn't say that the issue is restricted to homosexual relationships. At a basic level, men lose jing during sex and females lose jing as well, just less. Hypothetically, the amount of jing lost increases with homosexual couples. There are ways to not lose energy, or to give energy when you don't normally based on your sex, etc. That's what Taoist sexual magic is for. So the solution then is if you're genuinely concerned with this energy thing, both partners train in Taoist sexual practices. But honestly, it's something all couples should (ideally) do, homosexual or heterosexual. If you're interested in the Taoist sex practices, one good place to look is Matak Chia's books.

No problem! I hope your meeting goes well!

Gerard has a good point which I agree with. Reality is clouded by experiences (esp. those related to society) and once removed you can "see clearly" in a way

That's a good question And a tough one that I don't have the answer to. I'll let you know the answer when I become enlightened As for my thoughts now, how do we ever know that what we're seeing is the truth? I think in many ways, reality is fluid and doesn't ever exist how we think it does. My favorite example is history. Everyone treats history like it's set in stone and indisputable, and then historians dig up some rock that proves that what they believed for the past three hundred years was wrong. So, I think part of "seeing the reality" is understanding that we can't ever fully comprehend what reality is, since we have such a lack of facts and perspective. And when we see something "as it is," it's merely a way of acknowledging that we're one layer closer to this unreachable truth. Or something like that I guess I think it's not possible to see things as they are, and that's the beauty of it. That truth comes when you accept that you know nothing. The Dao that can be known is not the true Dao, or something along those lines. What do you think?

(I just saw this because I forgot to mess with my notification settings) But I've trained with them for a long time. There's Tai Chi + the external martial stuff, and a great deal of internal stuff as well, but you'll be more exposed to that as you advance. We practice kata, applications, and sparing, with the Austin class putting heavier emphasis on the former two of the three.

Oh yeah and I should mention that I read purely based on what cards you picked, not the deck. I know to some people the deck matters, so my apologies if that's the case.

Okay let's see. My interpretation would be: Right now your focus (The Lovers) needs to be internal. Too much external focus on cause and effect vs. how you can improve your life is leading to a feeling of having to constantly fight against the world (Seven of Wands). This matches up with the negative experiences you are facing. Deal with them by turning the situations into lessons for yourself, and reasons to feel like you are bettering your life by your own hand. Before this troubling time, you were influenced by childhood dreams - the return to the peace and hope that you once had, or dreams and ambitions that you had when you were younger (Six of Cups). In general, that card is a message that motivation came from nostalgia. However, there's a sign that you'll find a lack of motivation in the future (Four of Cups) despite having many resources and options available to you. This pairs with the Seven of Wands because it reinforces the idea that facing the world by challenging yourself to improve vs. giving in to these negative circumstances will help you greatly. Additionally, it's interesting that your motivations are both cups - that's a suggestion that your emotions have a big hand in how you make decisions/motivate yourself. Let's see. And then the future is the Hanged Man - a sign of patience and suspense. You won't see quick results but you can expect good ones after A LOT of hard work. (Back to the Lovers again!) The King of Pentacles is an excellent sign of work, but it also is a huge indication that it's going to be a struggle to get there as far as self-motivation. So don't stop fighting. For the rest of the cards, you have a balanced affect on the world - both giving and taking and doing neither more than the other (Two of Pentacles). That's a decent sign, but it's time to take that affect and grow it into something more. Take from the world what you need to grow and give back something beautiful to turn it into a King of Pentacles. The Four of Swords indicates that the world is wearing you down and it's a good idea to meditate right now And the last card that you have, the Four of Wands, is a sign that you desire a feeling of content with your life. Okay that was a lot, does any of it resonate with you? Overall I do see a positive message, but there's a strong sign of "push yourself!!!!" in the cards. Things will change slowly, but they will change well.

I don't think the Tarot tricks anyone (I'm a big student of the Tarot btw). It's a tool, just like a spoon or a fork. Tools don't trick people. However, in a lot of cases the cards can be misinterpreted. Less often, they can also be ambiguous. I'd be interested in what cards you drew and what the question was in order to offer a better analysis of what's going on. My advice, without knowing that information, would be to draw an extra card to get some insight. But it depends on what the reading is.

No I wouldn't say that the energy has to pass through the chakras first. I think of Chakras and Dan tiens as two different systems within the body. Just like your bone structure and organs are two systems that both exist, but are different. And the Dan Tiens automatically store energy (it's not something you have to focus on), but part of cultivation is increasing the amount they store and using them for more than what they'd normally do. Like when you get strong, you train your muscles to go beyond their normal limits and use. That's is why we do things to work with and utilize the dan tiens. But like your muscles, they still function without that training, they just aren't being used for an optimal function. There are things you can do to deplete the energy stored in the dan tiens, but like how being an alcoholic destroys your liver, it's not something that happens without reason.

I see enlightenment as a bit more than that. It's the process of removing desires, like C T said, but it's still more. I suppose I view enlightenment as the refinement of the self to the point where you're no longer blocked by the obstacles that we all face. Things like ego, the congenital emotions, etc. Essentially, it's the point in which you can do anything but you chose to do only that which fits in with the "way" of things. I think your circle idea is interesting but not a complete representation. You could say that life is a rotating circle (I prefer sphere), and the center is the place of peace. But to get there isn't just to remove concepts of extreme duality, it's what I described above. Although I like the bit about the more distorted your view of the universe becomes. Anyway, when you're at the center, you're able to see everything rotating around you and you can go in and out as you please - you aren't stuck. And like you said, you can then take in reality (or the nonexistence of such). That's how I'd extend the metaphor.

Chakras aren't necessarily part of traditional systems of Daoism, but they are different things. Chakras are like gate points to the Tai Chi pole, while the dan tien are like vessels where qi is gathered and cultivated. They have different functions, although a few of them are in the same place. Dan tiens are also larger, if you're to think of the physical space they're supposed to occupy. So you can access the Tai Chi pole via the chakras, which is why opening them is kind of dangerous if you're not ready. But you don't really "open" the dan tien because they aren't gates, they're vessels. You expand them so they can store more qi though, and you use them to cultivate qi.

In general, everything is an exchange. To request something that creates an imbalance requires a sacrifice of some sort. So, theoretically, you'd have to do something to counterbalance the natural upset that the rain would cause, like an offering.

If you're looking for something that focuses on External and Internal martial arts, I'd recommend HDMA. If you want to keep with your style, it isn't the place to go, but the teacher is great and it's in Austin. I will say in general, since this came up in the discussion, that internal martial work becomes more viable the more you practice externally. It's the simple concept of jing transforms to qi which transforms to shen. Without decent focus on jing (that is, developing the external stuff), you don't form the basis to do internal work. So I suppose I'm of the opposite mindset of several people here, and definitely advocate starting externally.

Hi there, I live in Texas and I study Daoism, among other things. I look forward to discussing Daoism here