Aetherous

...because if his opinions were different, he wouldn't be paid to say them.

Buddhism is meant to be practiced, not understood. If you just understand it intellectually, I think you don't really understand it at all. So, true Buddhism is the opposite of rational atheism, imo. Or if you already have a solid grasp of the definitions of God from the Bible for instance, learn about the six qualities of the Buddha jewel and see how it compares.

I don't think that's what the practice does.

Weak sauce.

Some of this can be related to your own personal energy and mind. I personally just ignore any strange noises in the house. It can help people to have some sort of background noise when they're going to bed. Also, if you're doing "energy work" without improving your character and focusing on higher things, it can cause the dark stuff to surface in your mind which attracts the same from the outside of you. So lets say you find yourself getting more angry than usual at something your mom does...which can be a common result of practices at times...and a common experience with moms... ...well that anger will attract those kind of dark shadow or "black mist spirit" things. For the sake of yourself and your family, you will want to focus on positive all of the time. If you see something dark, turn on brighter lights, say prayers, intend for it to leave. None of this is to alarm you...you're already aware of this stuff. You see that it's not actually scary. It's just not good to attract the negative. In some ways, the best prevention is to remain ignorant. Just ignore all weird phenomena.

Can't go wrong with breathing practice.

Amazon web services is free for a year, I think, or else really cheap and only based on usage.

Is that an aversion I sense?

Some think that the Sphinx was originally Anubis. Cool thread. However, some of this stuff is really impossible to know either way with certainty. Unless you want to play

I'm self medicating on some Guinness right now.

The Norwegians (Vikings) were doing some impressive things at the time, and perhaps even before. Also, I view reverse racism as being just as bad as regular old racism. The thread itself seems to cross the line from interesting historical tidbits, to black supremacy and white inferiority.

I'm not a practitioner but... This book contains info on how to palpate (feel the skin and underlying tissue) of the channels in order to diagnose. It's a unique perspective since barely anyone does palpation diagnosis for Chinese medicine. They do pulse and other symptoms...but not direct channel palpation. So that is one way to include the crossover between anatomy and energy. Looking at plain old symptoms can also be interesting and anatomical...for instance, one person can have bloodshot eyes, another has dull eyes, and a third person has bright looking clear eyes. Chinese medicine claims there are reasons and strives to treat the abnormal types with their theories. For instance, bloodshot eyes might mean excess heat in the lung. Also, I don't know about the legitimacy of this site, but apparently they actually found the acupuncture points with a type of CT scan. So that is another way that actual anatomy meets energy.

Nothing against Africans, but nope.

Please do...

Your talent is that you're awake? So is everyone for like 16 hours a day. You probably mean awakened in a metaphorical way...then what have you "awakened" to? What did you realize which you hadn't known before? The content of that realization is more important than having realized it. What is your scriptural proof that you're pretty high up there as a holy person? Are you being sarcastic and kind of trolling everyone with this? It seems so to me. I ask these things honestly...not to prove you wrong, but to help you find your answers, and also get to know you more.

What are your natural talents? What is the transmission you've gotten from your own mind?

The challenge is not to pass away before this happens. They love to study dead guys.

You could just practice Kunlun...that does it.

be

When a superior man hears of the Tao, he immediately begins to embody it. When an average man hears of the Tao, he half believes it, half doubts it. When a foolish man hears of the Tao, he laughs out loud. If he didn't laugh, it wouldn't be the Tao. Thus it is said: The path into the light seems dark, the path forward seems to go back, the direct path seems long, true power seems weak, true purity seems tarnished, true steadfastness seems changeable, true clarity seems obscure, the greatest are seems unsophisticated, the greatest love seems indifferent, the greatest wisdom seems childish. The Tao is nowhere to be found. Yet it nourishes and completes all things. - 41

You sense correctly...that when you have cultivated your qi, what your mind does moves the qi and this impacts your being. If you have a teacher, they will stress thinking about higher things and not being taken by stuff like hatred. Easier said than done. What you think and feel will have an effect on you and your life...more so after doing spiritual practices. Most people don't practice anything, and thus don't feel the effects of what they do and think. Also, if you're worried about losing control of your actions, just slow down in your life. Don't rush through doing things. It's important to be able to control yourself.

Only softcore Taoists!

Totally unofficial idea zone: I think the notion of vampires comes in part from these traditions where you have died and yet are still alive. There are differences between a ghost immortal (someone who has transmogrified through neigung or similar type methods, yet not in an ideal way, or in the true way of the immortals) and a spirit immortal (someone who did it right, and has virtue and is natural)...but not everyone recognizes these differences, so you have people walking around like the undead rather than living without death. Not all roads lead to Rome...some just lead to Naples and you get stuck there...and others might take an excursion through Naples on the way to Rome. The book Opening the Dragon Gate describes a pretty amazing experience of Wang Liping's...what I recall is that he actually lived in a world of the afterlife with his ancestors for years, but then later was told he had to return to the real world. Once back, he had a hard time adjusting for a while.

Well you saw it in the movie. He got recognized by someone who could recognize it. Honestly, the first step is to find a teacher that seems legitimate. The second step is to strive to be the best student you can be. If that doesn't get you a diploma, you can at least say you trained for years with them. The work you put in will be recognized. The work you don't put in will be recognized as well, and no one will think anything of you because of that. Strive.