Aetherous

Spirit of the Tiger, This is the first time I've heard of someone recommending to be more on the heels. Something to be aware of is that it may cause long term problems, where you develop heel pain. There is a bursa right under the heel that can be inflamed, and it may develop subtle muscular abnormalities that cause your posture to favor excess heel pressure...which if you develop heel pain isn't good at all. If the posture is changed, you might get excessive heel striking during activity and may bruise the calcaneus which will be even more painful. Here is an excerpt from a book I just picked up which makes sense: bubbles, I also like his book. My feeling is that the more centered, relaxed and effortless your zhan zhuang is, the better the qi will circulate.

How does circle walking fast track spiritual development?

Actually, your insistence on continuing to speak about this is "sucking off" of my energy, and pestering me. I take that as another insult and you're being reported, Drew.

I don't know but I like to read this website: taken from http://www.itmonline.org/5organs/heart.htm

Hi cat.

Wow, that's annoying. I contributed to that new thread because it was about "global spiritual revolution"...it was a topic perfectly fit for general discussion, and didn't contain the needless political bickering that this enormous thread has. It was small and thoughtful. Why do the mods here always have to pick a fight and "stand their ground"? You just help spread hatred and ignorance in this forum. When someone is arguing with you about how you're doing your job, it's a sure sign that you're doing something wrong.

I'm only going to be happy if both happens, otherwise I will remain grumpy.

Spirit of the Tiger, Apparently the notion of Liberty was actually a big part of the Illuminati (the link isn't an historical branch of the Order, of course). That single idea of Liberty sparked the French Revolution, and led to the creation of the United States of America. To live in a country where liberty is the law would not be anything devious...in fact, just the opposite. This is what America was supposed to be about...your freedom! (On an immediately practical note, it's what presidential candidate Ron Paul stands for) It's our duty to fight for that ideal, so long as we value it for ourselves and others. If we value our freedom, yet don't fight for it out of laziness or whatever else, then it will be snatched away from us. Kind of like what recently happened with the National Defense Authorization Act being signed into effect on New Year's Eve, by the current administration. Living "off the grid" physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually...that has its place. But there's a word for it: escapism. Coming back into the world and making positive changes is the other half of the equation, and is equally important. Don't worry about what others do (like the supposed Illuminati)...do what you know in your heart to be most right!

I was taught by two teachers to look beyond the nose, not crossing the eyes. Just look downward with the eyelids partly closed, and your attention drawn within. Be cautious with learning about this book from fulllotus, he isn't a teacher, nor has he been taught this path...since he has only learned from a qigong teacher, Chunyi Lin. His assertions on the book and practice in general are usually completely false.

Is what you see in yoga classes today even related to the true hindu roots? When did people in India historically begin practicing these postures in sequence?

I will probably not be practicing these two forms much anymore. It actually stresses me out to practice them! I like the footwork aspect...it's slightly more involved than with other qigong forms. It's inspiring me to create my own forms, based on what I know of the five elements (not much but enough, and I always have deadman's manual to fall back on). I disagree with how the book presents the reasoning behind certain moves (it attempts to describe the effect of each movement near the back of the book). I felt that it was pretty inaccurate! The idea that it presents of liver stagnation and fire, heart fire and phlegm can cause stress...that might be worth looking into. It is nice to see someone explaining why certain movements are being used...gives a lot of good ideas. A person who practices this stuff will gain some benefit for sure, but it's not for me. I don't recommend the book, due to how incredibly challenging it is to learn from.

The bigger the better. Cathedrals are pretty sweet to be in. Our energy likes to have a lot of space...the consciousness takes up the shape of the room we are in. Being in nature is of course the most natural.

Just pondering... An inner alchemy teacher charges $3600 for a seminar. You spend it, since the teacher is a great master, and you learn how to benefit yourself alchemically. You feel energy moving and experience some transformations of body mind and spirit. Awesome. So you're walking downtown and see an emaciated homeless man sitting on the street. You give him $5, because you're a spiritual person. That's pretty generous and it will get him some supplies to survive or else a warm meal. It's a very nice gesture. But you've spent $3600 on yourself...on the ability to feel energy! To make this cost equal, you'd have to give $5 to 720 other homeless people! Not saying charity is a spiritual thing...but just thinking, what the hell is the point of what we're doing? To experience energy flowing through our MCO? That's the pinnacle of your achievement?! It's good to keep this stuff in perspective. What's important in your life? Bowing before some supposed master, who causes you to waste your money fruitlessly? Where is the heart...where is the humanity in this? Inner alchemy is cool and has its place, but...yeah.

Interesting concept, although it's not accurate. I wish you would stop knowingly misleading people here.

Massaging or otherwise activating all the yuan source points Also...hegu, neiguan, and zusanli acupressure Kidney massage Maoshan 5 element standing generative cycle, and I-jong Experimenting with daoyin Strengthening apana vayu by activating the lower body through random movement "Attention and Interpretation therapy" Foundation, core exercises

It helps if you don't supplement your own flawed ideas onto it.

Well, if you're charitable out of guilt, you're still doing good for others! So, no matter what, it's good to keep giving, like the "self-interested" Christians. Anyway, it was just an example to illustrate the point...that there's a bit too much "spiritual materialism" when it comes to energy work methods.

Sounds like a great teacher and friend.

Oh man, I was totally misunderstanding things!!!! My bad. Yes, this cost is actually reasonable.

Thanks Informer...but that's not exact at all. It should not cost him more than $3600 to fly and stay at a hotel for 10 days. Lets say that's exactly what it costs for his trip. If there are only two students, then he's earning $3600 for his 10 days. $360 a day of pure profit...I'd love to earn that much. However, what is a normal attendance for him? Lets say just 11 people attend. For this one seminar, he has earned $36,000. That's how much I will earn in a year starting out in my career.

I can't find this information...how is it distributed exactly?

What happened, Evre?

So I just got the book Microchakras: InnerTuning for Psychological Well-being by Sri Shyamji Bhatnagar. Really nice book, for those interested in Indian systems. What's especially interesting are his views on the spiritual/energetic path. They are totally different than anything I've seen before. What it says summed up is: Apana rising in the sun channel gives your blockages (which were mostly formed in the first 3 years of life) more juice, keeping you stuck in lower psychological states. Energy naturally descends in the sun channel, and rises in the moon channel...apana naturally descends. Bad results come from apana rising in the sun channel. Opening your chakras in the moon channel negates the blockages in the sun channel, so that kundalini can rise effortlessly. He uses specific mantras for each chakra. Waking up 2 hours before dawn, to eliminate, is the best way to keep apana from rising. What we actually want to cultivate in meditation is "surya akasha"...which is the finest of the fine of the elements. Not qi, shen, sex energy, etc. Keeping the tongue to the roof of the mouth is a good way to keep the surya akasha in the head. Maybe there's more that I forgot. I may add it later. Basically the protocol used in the book is to: wake up early, go to the bathroom, work on a chakra (psychological state) through mantra, sit upright in meditation during the time that both nostrils are open, then regulate the flow in the nostril according to the patterns of the moon.

Recently purchased this book. I like the "stress relief" routine...haven't tried the "stress reduction" one yet. REALLY challenging to learn from the book. As reviewers on Amazon have said, having a DVD would be ideal. This is the first qigong I've seen that specifically covers the controlling cycle of the 5 elements (in the stress reduction routine). I'm excited to try that out, and notice the effects of each exercise.

Yup totally agree.