Aetherous

Thank you...I've obviously never done that.

When you put it that way, I see more of what you mean! Tahiti? Totally beats midwest USA this time of year. Oh well, I love the snow.

Interesting. I'm not familiar with any Indian techniques which are similar in theory or result. There are so many variations of Indian yoga, many of them secret, so who knows. I personally prefer the Tibetan/Bon version of things, such as in the book Healing with Form Energy and Light...and see that the complete methods of tummo (I've only seen them in books, and practiced similar things) are great and fairly unique.

What lineage teaches only that as their tummo practice? ... Your supposed lineage method of tummo has gotten you nothing? Milarepa was the only master? Hmmm... Then what's the point?

Alwayson, What have you achieved with your simple way of practicing "tummo"? You know that it's not just for inner warmth, right? The devil is in the details.

Bundle up really good. Make sure that the back of your ears/neck is covered really well. If it's really windy out, better to stay inside. Welcome to the forum, taofish!

Seth Ananda, Your experience mirrors my own exactly, and I'm gradually extending my conservation times in between. Not to scare people...but I wonder if the extra energy we get during sex is good to be using (for those who are more open)? Maybe we can only know by how many years we live, and by then it will be too late. It seems like it's less of a big deal since we're so charged up and energy is flowing so easily, but maybe it's actually worse for our kidneys and inherited life force? Normal people have tons of sex into old age, but many energy workers die young... I'm not sure of the idea that different cultures have naturally open channels, so the sexual energy can rise to the brain. Everyone goes through training or initiations and does different spiritual practices, which further enables this...so I think it's just that people need more appropriate training, to reach that foundational stage.

This is a very interesting idea! Thanks for that.

I read this book once when I was extremely bored, and although it's mostly fiction, there was a strange and similar technique described for activating the third eye. If I remember correctly they went through the eye socket.

One thing that's a little off is the family picture above the fireplace, especially with (fake?) candles right below and in front of it. Not good feng shui, from what I've read and also what I feel of it. You should put the picture somewhere else in order to protect and strengthen your family. I think symbolically putting things (or people) within fire is like sending them to heaven. Not good...you want your family to stay on Earth and be strong. That's just an idea, I barely know anything about the subject.

Totally agree with Aaron. Would you please answer this? It may assist us in helping you.

Badogue, Do you practice meditation? That's a good way to redirect the focus of your thoughts. Many people find breath meditation to be helpful in releasing unwanted thoughts. Also, in my opinion lust is just unrefined or misdirected love. If you focus more on the qualities of the heart, you can gradually change your lust into love. You could try practicing inner smile. The more you push away the lustful thoughts that come, the more you choose to keep them under the surface of your mind. But if you observe them, and then practice breathing and inner smile in that moment, you can change your mind. Just another suggestion for you!

Oh I see what you mean now. My bad.

This thread sucks.

It's a very interesting passage, though...

Stay mentally and physically busy constantly. This gives you no time to indulge in sexual thoughts. The best place I experienced for training in celibacy was basic training for the military. The less women where you are, the better. The less free time, the better. However, if you're purposely training to be celibate, you're already focusing too much on the goal and it will ruin your plans. It's like reverse psychology. If I say "don't think about a red fire hydrant" guess what? You just did. So your focus should be on other things...taking one day at a time. If you think about sex, you're already going down the wrong path, and it will quickly snowball into failure. Other than being celibate for 100 days training, etc, I don't see much of a purpose in decreasing your sex drive. Guys are supposed to get horny! Unless you have a serious problem, like you compulsively masturbate every hour or something, maybe you should just chill out about it?

Don't worry about this. Keep on peeing. You lose 1000% more qi by thinking about losing your qi.

Edited this because I take back what I said...it wasn't very helpful. For a beginner I think they should focus on: Embryonic Breathing by Yang Jwing Ming Way of Energy by Kam Chuen Lam Those are good methods, and should be practiced very often. Reading the Hua Hu Ching is good for understanding. A beginner should know that they're severely limiting themselves by not finding a teacher, and choosing to remain at a beginner's level. They should also understand that many books out there are rehashed second-hand methods, which have absolutely nothing to do with the Tao. They are just ways of messing with your nervous system, to make it seem like you're getting an effect, when really no progress is being made.

Precisely. As always, we'll see what happens.

Lots of people hand change back that way...like 1/3rd of all cashiers in my experience. It's so prevalent that I stopped caring a few years ago.

VCraigP, Not saying you're wrong, but who says this? Why? What's imbalanced?

I saw this post a while back, and was hoping someone knowledgeable would respond. Understanding this stuff is quite a challenge. I have yet to see someone make a decent clarification on these Taoist distinctions (like how do I discern what yin shen is compared to yang shen )... My personal view is that studying the first chapter of Taoist Yoga is very important for understanding/experiencing the majority of Taoist alchemy. Fixing spirit in its original cavity. Basically nothing else really works without that first step. It may seem to, but it's mostly just placebo effect. I guess you could say that cultivating "essential nature" first is like super-powering the rest of the internal processes. I suggest for those who are interested to find a Taoist school which teaches such a practice. I personally don't trust any information of Mo Pai, or the opinions of Ni Hua Chin. But that's just me.

I think that's very helpful advice, even if it was part of a joke.

Seems like risky territory to me. But you never know! Keep us updated on it.

Thanks for sharing...I plan on watching this sometime soon!