Aetherous

The movement of the breath should only occur in the abdomen...if it happens in the heart area, then just focus on expanding the abdomen in all directions (belly moves out slightly, sides expand out to the sides, back of spine moves backwards....like a beachball expanding inside of the belly). It can take a while to get used to only moving the abdomen during the breathing, so it's okay if the heart has a little motion in the beginning...practice makes perfect. Eventually you will only have the breath movement in the belly area...then it's really healing, and the heart can relax open rather than being squeezed tight.

Shea, Taoist types of breathing is the best thing, IMO. Bruce Frantzis teaches it as "longevity breathing". Dr Yang Jwing Ming has a book on it called "embryonic breathing". Buddhists practice something similar called "anapanasati". It's really simple...just expand the belly and keep the heart still on inhales, then on the exhale let it come back to normal. The breath should be quiet and calm so that you don't hear it. It should be even and continuous, so that the inhale is the same speed and length as the exhale, and so that there is no pause inbetween the inhale and exhale. This can open all of the chakras, and basically do everything. There are tons of different practices and systems of study on this site, if you stick around you'll find what you like.

Funny, just yesterday I was feeling pretty raw as well, all day. Just one of those days... I think sitting with the negativity is a good thing to practice. Like Bruce Frantzis' dissolving methods. Develops acceptance rather than aversion; love rather than hatred. In terms of who we are, action is more important than reaction. So action would be accepting and loving something that is hard to accept...just sitting with it...the action makes you more accepting and loving, rather than making you more negative as we assume. Reaction would be just reflecting the negativity, and it doesn't make you more accepting and loving at all. Running away from things is not virtue...then those things chase you and you're weakened. If you can stand in the middle of hell, and be worthy of heaven...that means you have taken action within. You have absolutely gone against the current, and have changed through willpower. The lotus blooms in the swamp. When it's 'just one of those days'...it doesn't mean that the day has to affect who you are. Anyway, seems to me that spiritual people tend to be really hard on themselves and like to micromanage things that don't ultimately matter. If you're having a bad day, that's normal. Don't beat yourself up over it, saying that your path isn't good enough, that you MUST balance your feelings or else all hell will break loose. Everyone has bad feelings sometimes. In fact, if you just let it go and forgot about it, I bet the feelings would resolve much quicker than if you're "dealing with" them through various means. So maybe having an attitude of, "Oh yeah, just having bad feelings, fuck it" is much better than "I must make myself pure and good and feel positive always". Accept and love yourself. I don't think that we should try to maintain balance between light and dark. Things balance of their own accord. Cultivate good. If you react badly to the bad, it just creates more bad. Oh yeah, also...some say that the nature of awareness itself is pure love and acceptance. So if you can't feel those things while being aware of overwhelming negativity, at least know that shining your light on it has a positive effect. Breathing can also help.

Agree about zhan zhuang. Oh I forgot to mention about the Jewish guys' sideburns...they keep em looooong. Pretty ugly look, but there are mystical reasons for it as well. I don't know the Jewish explanations, but from what I know, that area is the sphenoid bone, which is related to the atlas vertebrae...keeping it energized keeps it balanced, and will benefit that area of the back of the head which helps energy come in and out of the body...also related to the front and center of the brain. Seems like it'd be balancing, grounding and would help increase intelligence and clear thinking...compared to the other areas.

I once read that tying hair in a spiral knot on the crown causes a connection between micro and macrocosm, a connection with the Tao, and the beard causes something like an emanation of the Tao to the world...you could say that the top is like heaven and the beard is like earth; making that connection. Like how Wudang priests look. Cutting hair is a way of letting go of the past... There are Jewish people as well as Shugendo people who put a black box on the front top of the forehead where the hair starts, some traditions tie a knot at this area. Brahmins when shaving the head keep a piece of hair in the top back (like 4 fingerwidths behind the crown, or 8 fingerwidths above the hair start on the back of the neck) where the bindu is. Tibetan Buddhists have a piece of silver that they keep in their hair knot on top of the crown, which does something. If I recall, Taoist black hats have a piece of jade that does something with the energies of the head. My Native American language teacher simply kept his hair long and loose, nothing special. It is true that when you have hair in an area, that brings your attention and qi to the area even though it's outside of the body. That is exactly how it works. The hair is especially conductive to qi, so having a beard kind of makes a big difference. Also heard of a few traditions saying that people can mess with you if they take your hair clippings, or even if they touch your hats and belts...so there are ways of disposing of your hair, like burying it or burning it. At first glance it may seem like micromanaging things, but I think there may be something to these ideas. About negative energies attacking the neck....Sufis say that negative energies swarm the head, and to close off your energy by crossing the legs and crossing your hands on your belly. They also use their white hats and do a bunch of other little things, based on their tradition...they emphasize beards as a sign of holiness. Basically all of these ways to make themselves feel pure. Other traditions say that crossing the legs is bad (Riding Windhorses book)...there seems to be truth to everything even if it seems contradictory. I personally feel like focusing on virtue like compassion, dropping the thinking mind by noticing the beauty of the world around you, and paying attention to the breath, are perfectly fine ways of avoiding negative energy.

I don't think it's about "concentration" (like how cherry juice is the concentrated essence of cherries) as much as it is about releasing the mind through bringing attention back to something (so it's more like having a small taste of a fresh cherry, smellling its fragrance, seeing its deep red juicy color, feeling the soft texture on the tongue, etc). The word concentration reminds me of a student with intensely stressed brows, gritting their teeth over endless math equations. You don't want to stagnate or condense the mind by forcefully focusing...but you do want to calm it. With a calm mind, you can pay attention in a healthy way...then you can "concentrate" on something rather than be scattered, because you're quiet. The wind tries to concentrate the lake waters, and it becomes turbulent...the lake actually spills over onto the beach and rises in the air with its waves, becoming scattered...but when the wind turns into a healthy breeze, the waters become still and can reflect the clouds in the sky. Or throw a closed plastic bottle into a campfire...fire tries to concentrate the air within the container...then you get an explosion of the container. Whereas if you just have a container left open, the air is naturally all within the empty space. I think paying attention to something external, like a flower, while letting thoughts and feelings go...just noticing all of the intricacies of such a small thing...is the way to go. Do you realize how little we notice when we label something, like a purple flower? The words leave out so much of what it actually is. We get an overall picture but, do you realize that a "flower" is made up of so many things? Almost an infinite amount of parts...how many can you count? I bet there are more parts contained within each part that you categorize! Notice...look closer...the whole world is like this. It's important to get out of the head and take note...then you are someone who is aware. Good to have a dedicated session of this for at least 10 minutes a day to calm the mind. The candle method is similar. The candle is a flame rising upward, so you're cultivating the central channel and fire element at the same time of calming the mind. Or if you look at a steaming cup of tea, that is also somewhat similar (one of the few times that you will see water rising, which is interesting). Anything that you use can be good...as long as you're using the key of letting go of thoughts that arise, and noticing the details of your external object in a very relaxed and open way...like you are a healthy calm breeze barely touching the waters....like you're slowly savoring the essence of a single cherry...like you're an open container.

Dogs are a man's best friend. In Baolin Wu's feng shui book, he speaks of having dog statues as a way of keeping good qi. I don't know about the technicality of owning a dog versus having a statue, but I feel that it's better to have the real thing! They are protectors and very loyal to us. He says something about how cats have a connection to the underworld, and that they aren't the best for being around humans...but they are good for locating evil spirits if you're an exorcist. Or something like that. He also speaks of having pictures of fish of different colors based on the season you were born...or something. It was a pretty cool book, although I can't seem to find it lately. I suggest not getting caught up in philosophical morality. How do you really feel about things? Who cares if one person on earth would find fault with owning a dog (for instance). It's an excellent point that bringing one into a loving home is preferable to it staying in a shelter or pet store. To say that owning a pet is "interfering" is way too uptight, IMO...it is not real virtue, but just mental masturbation. Unless it was like a rare animal that thrived in the wild, and bringing it into the home would make it suffer...oh crap, now I'm philosophising.

http://www.sott.net/articles/show/234783-The-Truth-About-Hair-and-Why-Indians-Would-Keep-Their-Hair-Long

I am bro. No patience for your theories on this matter.

I'm with you that there shouldn't be shame and regret when it comes to our sexuality. Unless of course, it takes a form that is shameful and regretful. I don't think in many cases, in regard to masturbation, the shame and regret has to do with religious indoctrination. It seems to me that when we take up any goal and continually fail miserably at it, it leads to feeling bad about it. Who likes to have absolutely no control over themselves and succumb to addiction? Having will power feels much better. It's also the case that after masturbation, most of us really do feel weaker, in many ways. So that leads to the realization, "I just did something that does nothing good for me, AGAIN." For myself, it takes a couple of days til I feel back to normal, then it takes about a week to feel fully charged. Something interesting I have noticed is that women are a lot more attracted to me after a week of abstinence, than the day after jerking it. Not that I conserve for that reason, but just saying, there are other subtle confirmatory signs that you can notice which reveal the truth about this issue. It's up to the individual what they will believe about this. Personally, I go off of my own experience. I used to believe that masturbation was fine, and did it all the time. Now, I think it's okay to do on the rare occasion but not so often, especially for spiritual people. I don't post things to make beginners feel bad about their sexuality...I posted what I consider to be very helpful for those who are trying to not be so controlled by their useless impulses, and who are on the spiritual path. Thanks for the welcome, Aaron.

My view is that if you practice Taoist breathing properly, it really helps to transform that addiction seeking mentality, which leads to jerking it, into your natural care-free state of mind...so that it becomes a more of a choice what you will do in each moment, rather than being stuck on the 'give in to impulse then feel regret and shame' roller coaster ride. You feel fine without doing it. But it's still a choice to go against your habitual nature, which can be tough; Taoist breathing just makes it so much easier to say 'no'. Of course, avoiding seeing women, and having a lot of stuff to occupy your time and thinking are also helpful. It's so easy to get into sexual mode when you see a hot girl...this is probably one of the reasons why zen monks stare at a wall rather than at Kim Kardashian. If you're busy, you won't have the extra time when you typically say "well, might as well jerk it and produce some feel good chemicals". If you're thinking about everything except sex and your need to stop masturbating, you will naturally not do it. You won't be in that state of mind...whereas if you're concentrated on "today I will do all that I can to ensure that I don't jerk off at all!" you will probably end up doing it. If you have extraordinary will power, you will last one day, and then go crazy on the next and give in. Just human nature. So be preoccupied. Jerking it all the time while doing spiritual practices is a lot like driving a car with no oil. Fact. I spent years in hopeful denial, and have finally come to terms with the NEED to cut it down. Thank God for Taoist breathing.

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Edit: scratch that response. Look forward to the book, that's all.

I am leaving too, effective immediately...the sole reason being that many people here suck my ass. Honestly, no sarcasm whatsoever and this was not directed at any individual.

Yep, using Indian terminology, there is the front point (kshteram I think it's called) which activates the adjacent chakra...dantiens are usually central between the front (kshteram) and back (chakra) of the body. Of course, it can be made into something way complex...

"Do not go where the path might lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

I've read Hawaiian descriptions where they connect the three selves (roughly: aumakua/crown, uhane/brow, unihipili/heart) through the Ha breath. In particular, there is a "gratitude point" which they open up and activate, over the location of the thymus gland. I've noticed in doing this type of breath work, that the vibrations and light from the heart center will start to emanate at the front of the heart level at first, and then as the vibrating bliss/mana rises more it will open up the entire sternum/clavicle/shoulder area. Light from above (aumakua connecting with unihipili I guess) is bouncing back and forth through the entire front part of the chest and center of the head...as is poetically described in the hyperlinked book: "thundering grace". ...On another note, I like what's said in "Daoist Nei Gong" regarding work with the heart center.

http://foundationtraining.com/store

True. I'm pretty sure that only made sense to you. Seriously.

Finally picked up their DVD as well (they have a downloadable option! wu hu!). More information and workouts...worth getting IMO.

I think it doesn't do nearly as much as a human being, and I don't think it's as complex as a human being, despite it having a much longer genome. With ayahuasca type experiences, it could be that the plant really has a great intelligence and capability, or it could be that the plant causes us to access our own greater intelligence and capability. It is a subjective experience.