Aetherous

We'll leave that job to you, mrtiger.

No, that's too challenging for us tao bums.

I didn't mean to imply that I was guessing we might experience shadow beings. I have personally, partly as a result of years of practice. YMMV, is what I meant. It's a good policy to only speak of what you know.

Definitely. I would love to try cannabis oil. I was told that smoking pot closes the mingmen (shortens your life in addition to other bad effects), but if you boil it in high fat milk and steep some green tea in there, it's a very medicinal way to take it. Haven't tried it myself...but if people here are doing it already, they might want to consider safer ways. Or just quitting.

Ronko, sorry to hear. I hope you're able to maybe go live somewhere that's better, if that would help. Being stripped of what you thought was your life...it becomes clear that it's important to have a life of your own independent of any significant others. Stand in love, don't fall. Wish you the best.

This topic does relate to spiritual practice. When you progress spiritually, you become capable of being aware of many things you weren't previously. One of those things might include seeing shadow beings, at times.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-F4Gfj2jeLM

I'm with you. Every one to two weeks is a good idea. I personally aim for one due to the study that was done on testosterone levels. If you're in a relationship and have a normal sex life, nothing too excessive or repressive, then you probably don't even have to worry about it. Sex can be rejuvenating rather than draining sometimes. Go by your symptoms...if you're tired or disturbed somehow, cut back, if you feel awesome, keep doing what you're doing. Actually I don't know what happens after the 100 days, I suppose the same thing that happened before and during...I think it's just a period of time to train which is pretty meaningless. You could also say 90 days, or 200 days. It's an attempt to explain why the Taoist alchemists recommended the time period of 'building the foundation', and what the foundation actually is...explaining that it's not simply keeping semen inside of the body while you masturbate and have excessive thoughts and disturbed feelings. It's meditating to refill the jing, qi and shen...to not leak your energy in any way. To cultivate essential nature, in Taoist lingo.

It's nice to have you on this forum, taoiseasy...really good guidance overall!

You were asking someone else, but I'll throw in my two cents as well, in case you'd be interested. Some sources say that the 100 days really means no leaking energy (awareness), not just no ejaculation...so you're sitting in emptiness for 100 days. No thoughts, no sense distractions, just resting in a wakeful state. Of course, during this you are not masturbating, either. They say that as a result of this, if you have no desire for sex, food, and sleep, then you're doing well. This info comes from Nan Huai Chin. Another approach is to go for periods of time without being attracted by women. If you have a single sexual thought, it automatically starts to create the sexual impulse physiologically. As a yogic source says, even the most holy man upon seeing an attractive woman, his "seed jumps". You try to minimize that as much as you can, by focusing on other things and basically avoiding women. You definitely avoid (for instance) attractive pictures of them on the internet...you might think, "it's okay if I look but not touch myself". I guarantee it will not work. The moment you look, or think or feel it, you have already lost. Some say that you can masturbate and hold off on ejaculation, maybe forgoing it altogether during masturbation or sex, and that will benefit you. Some say that you should simultaneously draw the 'energies' up the spine to the crown. I do not say those things! I think they're dangerous practices with little real benefit. If you are sexually aroused, the energy produced is dirty in comparison to if you're not aroused at the time...you want to use the non-aroused. The spiritual benefits of temporarily avoiding sexuality come from other spiritual practices you do...what was previously physical sexuality transmutes into emotional positivity. Opening the heart, having the 'inner smile', causes the transformation of sexuality into spirituality naturally...eventually you will notice this. Some yogis say that retention really means retention of the bindu, or maybe chemicals produced by the brain through specific meditation, not keeping the sexual fluids within the body necessarily. This idea is in the book Kundalini Tantra by Swami Satyananda Saraswati. That book also says that some use sexuality to achieve higher spiritual states, in a legitimate way (not just masturbating without ejaculating which does next to nothing). Just some ideas for you to experiment with.

It takes time. For me it took a few years to really get over one of my serious girlfriends. But then just 10 years after the fact (or about 5 years after getting over her), the other night I found myself having a dream about being with her. lol, wtf, get out of my head! At least now I don't feel suicidal about not being able to be with her, as I did right after she broke it off with me. Breaking someone's heart is bad karma! Giving your heart completely to someone who will probably break it, is worse karma. It gets easier as time goes by. The first months are supremely hard, but then it's not as bad. Really. Be with friends...it won't make the memories and feelings go away completely like some magical solution, but it helps a lot. Most important is that you've got to move on completely, and have no desire for her to take you back. If she did, you need to be in a place where you would never accept her back. As long as you have such low self esteem which causes you to possibly want to be with her (which is where the bad feelings come from), you're going to not be "over her". I mean, look at her behavior...she actually does not deserve you. You might want to talk to a counselor until you get normal again. I wish you the best of luck.

Starting last year I began to get this same thing (I think). Could be a shen disturbance that TCM might be able to help. Cultivating heartfulness helps me with it.

Dang, I looked up the shaman and recognized him from .

Does anyone know a total number people who have died from taking ayahuasca? This is the first I've heard of it happening.

Being concerned with an unrealistic future is the opposite of what we should practice. Edit: A Seeker, sorry to hear about your father. Wishing you well.

What meditation are you doing exactly?

I also recommend this. It's different from the Tao Te Ching...much more practical. This Tao Te Ching is really beautiful to look at, and the translation is just as good as any I've seen. If I were to buy a version, it would be this one.

I recently got that and think it's pretty good to begin with. It's a lot to learn...but learning is good. So is patience, and slow progress.

From what I understand, it will drain your qi. Just use it to warm up and get a little sweat going on, in moderation. If you notice a change in your state of consciousness at all, that means you've been in the heat too long (at least in regard to qigong). The best thing for your qi is normal or comfortable room temperature, normal humidity, real breeze coming through a window (not a strong wind) instead of air conditioning drafts, wearing clothing that covers most of your skin but allows air circulation inside (isn't tight)...and having a mind resting in its natural state without a bunch of distractions. Extremes tend to be draining.

Of course the thug had like no skill...but he did put up a fight. Where is a master of internal power? So far, no offense, but you have just been talking and not showing anything to prove the point you're trying to make. You may as well be speaking of unicorns. Furthermore, why talk...if you know about this stuff, are you training and can you demonstrate what you're talking about yet? If you don't have personal experience in doing it, then how can you say it's real? By the way, how long have you been interested in and trained in your qi development?

You might want to look into doing the Gayatri mudras with it as well. Here are two different versions...

What I saw was that he was in almost complete control of the thug during the fight, and the thug ended up getting arrested rather than getting away. A knockout is never guaranteed by throwing a punch...you're "lucky" if that happens. They both put up a good fight for their skill levels. If you're trying to say that qi development adds power to a punch that will help knock someone out...well, maybe you're right. I tend to doubt it. Iron palm type training might help...but the real foundation is the external development and skill (taking boxing lessons). Just my view. Edit: For fun...

Signed. "All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent." - Thomas Jefferson "I have sworn upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." - Thomas Jefferson

About the Lord's prayer...Jesus himself (who came up with it of course) made it clear that what's important is the meaning behind the words, and that it's not meant to be like a mantra. If further instruction were necessary, it would have been included. So the prayer is like training to cultivate a state of forgiveness, humility, simplicity, acknowledgement of God, asking for protection...and for communing with God. It does not depend on a certain tone, upon using the breath a certain way, upon a certain way of repetition, etc. "Vibrations" are meaningless in comparison to the real change of heart that occurs through simple contemplation of its meaning.

Actually that is how the bottom vertebrae are supposed to stack naturally...the weight is supposed to go primarily on your sits bones (ischial tuberosity). If you're using too much muscle to hold up the back they will fatigue and cause further postural abnormality...the real posture muscles of the back are the erector spinae and ones around that area...most of the body should be completely relaxed. It should not be work to sit like a normal human being...lol.