Aetherous

Breathing into the belly can stimulate the adrenal glands, so perhaps that is part of the problem. The source of anxiety is literally just the mind not being able to release (if it did, that extra balled up energy would simply unravel and evaporate), so it's good to do calm abiding meditation. No wonder why they call it that.

Yes, but on the other hand, what's more important...to do something great in the world and help people, or to never have goals just for the sake of being happy? And perhaps this goal-less way of being represents a fear of failure, rather than actual contentment. Perhaps it's the opposite of all that is spiritual... The way I see things, people these days strive far too hard to elicit good feelings from life (when really, they come and go)...and they strive far too little to do anything of value. At least personally, I know that doing something useful is more important than micromanaging my feelings while amounting to nothing...and for all that micromanaging, the feelings do what they will anyway. But there is something to be said for not setting yourself up for disappointment, and for taking it easy on yourself. ... This all kind of reminds me of Arjuna on the battlefield, in the Bhagavad Gita. It's just overthinking things, and not being true to your own nature. I think, to be true to your own nature, as human beings we want to play our part well. It's actually going against Nature to dull ourselves for the sake of feeling nothing.

He's speaking from an informed perspective of Chinese herbalism.

It definitely can seem like other people are delusional, and that there is some black magick happening to you, when you're open like this. That's because there is some truth to those things...but not as much truth as you think. Yes, people are delusional in general about various things. Yes, the world is made up of magick and not all of it is good...and the way normal people act can basically be influenced by that, or they can create it. For instance, if you are all of a sudden in a bad mood for no reason, which can be a common experience in life...well, there is a reason. Maybe it's not that someone sent a curse intentionally, but there was something in the air. The world is not completely material and sensible as people pretend it is. Basically what I'm trying to say is...you are just noticing things about the world which aren't right, because the world isn't perfect. But I suggest that you don't take these ideas too far, and think that delusional people are sending tantric black magick your way or something. I'm sure most people that you know are just trying to get by in their lives. And I'm sure that your parents wish the best for you, although they aren't perfect. The fact that you are feeling potentially possessed, that your spirit is up and about, that things seem surreal...of course this means that all is not right with your own mind. Calling it mental illness has a stigma, and I know from experience it's not easy to call it that. But it's important to recognize when your beliefs about various things are getting out of hand, and when you need to let go of the mind and let go of fantastic experiences (like story lines about black magick affecting you) in order to rest and heal. To get your spirit back in your body, it's important to walk every day (but not to excess) and to go to sleep by 10pm. These things heal the Liver, and the spirit seeming to be up and out of the body is the ethereal soul not being rooted into the body by the blood...so walking and sleeping early helps with that. I suggest that you try your best to remember that these erratic storylines are not worth exploring. What's better, and truly more advanced spiritually, is to chill out in the present moment, in the physical world. Then your mind will calm. It's best to let go of all thoughts and just notice details about your surroundings, and to just relax by watching comedies for instance, and losing yourself in the story and in the light hearted humor. Don't read into things, like you're tending to do...take everything at face value. These things helped me get over this condition. Best of luck.

"The Brain (one of the 6 curious fu) is the palace of the Original Shen/yuanshen." - Li Shi Zhen Just a cool quote I saw in Maciocia's Foundations of CM book.

For those who want to pronounce the words as they were originally, wikipedia shares that as: lín bīng dǒu zhě jiē zhèn liè qián háng. Here is a website that can help with pronounciation of the pinyin. At least personally, it helps me to write it out as: "leen beeng doh juh jeh jenn leh cheeaan haang".

There is a sense of oneself, and of being "at home", that exists when everything else fades away. It's how things always are and were. Look up at the stars on a clear night, and you feel something like this. It's not that death is this blackness which overcomes everything and then you are no more. Perhaps who you thought you were, will change and be no more...for instance, your body might be in the grave. Your ideas of yourself will be long gone. But who you truly are, remains, and always will no matter what, and all is right with the universe. The sense of the blackness or oblivion of death passes, and this deathless existence remains.

Another type of practice: place your attention within the lower dantian. Keep your focus very light, and make sure that your body's energies are free flowing (so, relax and remain open)...otherwise if you try too hard, it easily causes qi deviation. You can do a visualization/feeling within the area. You can also do it with even breathing, but that isn't necessary. I view this as a direct building method...similar to stillness-movement that others have mentioned, but of course it's not the same thing. An indirect building method would be completely releasing the mind, as in shikantaza, which then causes the energies of the entire body to flow appropriately...in my experience, the mind will drop from the brain into the heart, then if you're really able to release, the heart will drop into the lower dantian through the taiji pole (central line of energy through the body)...it's as if you're an upright beam of light and the most dense part of the light sinks naturally to the bottom. This way is probably the healthiest, since all of the qi will flow as it should and nothing is being contrived. I personally like to do calm abiding meditation with an external support in order to release the mind, rather than doing it intentionally as in "sitting and forgetting"/shikantaza.

In old texts, not sure which ones but perhaps the Neijing Suwen, it says that standing benefits the kidneys, but standing too much harms them. Listen to your body, listen to your intuition, listen to your results.

Unfortunate that so many guys are being taught ways of living that bring the opposite of success. What type of person actually chooses unfulfilling sex over the fulfilling variety? Dominating or manipulating another sexually out of spite (truly unfulfilling) versus making love. Of course anyone with half a brain and a quarter of a heart chooses the latter...but with seminar leaders such as this guy, all of the students are completely unaware of a better way. That's the problem. How unfulfilling to con someone into rubbing genitals with you, when it could have happened because they actually admire you and wanted to express that. How to get someone to actually admire you? I wish guys would ask themselves this, instead...despite it being more challenging. Our society is unhealthy though, as it has pretty much always been...so this guy is just an overcompensation for the way women are and how men react to that (or vice versa) (if our society were healthy, there wouldn't be more than a few men paying money to see the guy speak). And what opposes him must also be an overcompensation (for instance, suggesting that he be killed).

I'd love to hear more about your experiences, rainbowwarrior. Welcome!

If we can fall short of our highest ideals at times, then it's true that we are all inherently evil. If we can rise above our destructive tendencies at times, for the greater good/our ideals, and if we take pleasure in this transmutation, then it's true that we all have an inherent goodness/Buddha nature. How can it be true that we're both inherently good and inherently evil? This contemplation reminds me of a passage from James in the Bible: The popular Native American idea of the "two wolves" put it in a way that's less koan-like, and perhaps easier to put into practice: Evidence abounds in our world of either extreme point of view being equally true...that we're evil, or that we're good. Which one do we feed? That is our "cultivation".

Kevin will hopefully comment more (he is a professor of this stuff!), but in my understanding as a beginning student, they are not the same thing. The primary meridians have "branches" that are not luos, some of which connect to the next meridian in the cycle...for instance the Stomach meridian has 5 branches, if I remember correctly; this doesn't mean it has 5 luo collaterals. Branches are just five extra parts of the Stomach meridian which branch off. It has only one luo point, and that connects it to its yin-yang paired organ, the Spleen...that one connection is called the transverse luo collateral. One of the Stomach meridian branches connects to the Spleen, from the top of the foot at ST-42 to the big toe at SP-1...so it's still the Stomach meridian connecting directly to the Spleen meridian. And here's kind of a confusing concept, but apparently the luo collaterals don't even exist, unless there is pathology. And the transverse luo simply pass the pathology from the luo point, to the source point of the yin-yang paired organ...it's not that a pathway is there to hold the pathology. It's only with longitudinal luos that there is a pathway created for holding (and these longitudinal luos do not connect the yin-yang pair). So the ying qi is definitely not continuously flowing from Stomach to Spleen via the stomach transverse luo collateral...it's Stomach meridian to Spleen meridian via a branch of the Stomach meridian. Specifically, in Deadman's book, it is from ST-42 to SP-1. Whereas the Stomach luo is ST-40, and it doesn't travel down to SP-1, but simply connects over to the Spleen meridian. Some would say, connecting to the Spleen's source point, in which case it would travel down to the foot. So, in simply reading Deadman's manual, it becomes clear that the luos are not how the meridians connect to one another, in terms of the primary cycle. The article you provided mentions LU-7 going to LI-1...but this is actually a branch of the Lung meridian, and is not the transverse luo. It just happens to begin at the luo point of the Lung (which is what confuses people). The luo collateral actually goes from LU-7 to LI-4 (if you're talking about it going to the yin-yang paired organ's source-point)...Deadman's book says it goes to the thenar eminence and palm, and then connects to the Large Intestine meridian in general. So it's not a clear pathway, and is not the same as the branch of the Lung. So basically, the meridian flow (LU->LI->ST->SP->HT->SI->BL->KD->PC->SJ->GB->LR) is not continuous because of luo collateral connections...but is continuous because the meridians connect to each other.

Zhan zhuang will cause the body to become more immovable than others. So if someone tries to throw you in judo, it will be more challenging...but you will throw them even easier due to having more of a root. Your body will be more integrated. The only time this is bad in martial arts, is when it would be better to deflect something...it's not good to be completely immovable when a punch is coming your way for instance, because all of that force will enter and damage you. So it's good to train both ways...to be light as a feather, and also to be heavy as a mountain, and to know how and when to switch between the two. Even just for qigong, though (without consideration of martial arts), zhan zhuang is good. It increases your qi and health.

True. I also meant to say, but didn't, that we're all completely capable of altering the course of our destiny. So not only are all things changeable (in time, as you point out), but also our karma is absolutely not ever fixed in stone. It's simply a different choice you make in a moment that alters it. Cause and effect. We are not robots...we can alter things, and create causes. This is, in fact, spiritual cultivation, when what's being altered are our thoughts, actions, etc...if actually practiced well, it completely changes our karma/fate/destiny. Are there hopeless cases? Only in the eye of the beholder, but not in reality.

There is no such thing as "unchangeable".

From what I understand, please correct me if I'm wrong..."collateral" channels are the luo collaterals (these are the only type of channel called collaterals)...and the transverse luo do connect the yin and yang primary meridians (or actually, there is not a distinct vessel there, but pathology flows through the sanjiao (interstitial space) from one luo point toward the yin-yang paired channel, where some say it goes to that source point...so for instance from Kidney luo point to Bladder source point). But this is not the pathway through which the qi flows from primary to primary in the meridian clock. For instance, you have the spleen channel ending and then the heart channel beginning in the primary circuit: there's not a luo that connects those two. So apparently there is actually a continuous pathway, from where one ends to where the next one begins. It's just not discussed clearly. Actually we can think of it like, there was always just this continuous circuit, and then people chose to divide it up into 12 meridians, points, etc. There are also sometimes branches which form the circuit...for instance, in the Lung meridian, a branch goes from LU7 to LI-1 (which forms the circuit), and then the Lung meridian continues to end near the thumb nail as well. In that case, it's not that the qi goes from LU-11 and travels all the way over from the thumb through the webbing to the index then to its tip...although maybe it does, who knows...but there is actually a branch which creates a more direct pathway. I don't recall the GB to LR thing...but it could very well be that it just travels across the toe area to reach the other point. So basically...the connection is just not discussed, but one is there somehow.

It's good to speak about this and try to figure out how it can be helped. I have two suggestions: prayer (about everything in your life, a lot of the time)...because this is mostly a spiritual matter. And practicing what's in this book, which can definitely help clear the mind and emotions. Peace and best of luck.

I'm talking Western, Ayurvedic, Greek, Chinese....etc...any type of herbal practice; it's all good... What are the best of the best books that you know of on the subject? ... Side note: I'm particularly interested in finding a Chinese Herbalism book that goes into explanations of why the herb has its particular effects. For instance, some say that the taste and temperature of an herb primarily determine its main effects. But this isn't always the case. Sometimes what has a stronger effect is the law of similars...such as a leaf (the outer and upper part of a plant) treating the outer and upper part of the body, or something that's the color red having an effect on the blood, or something that looks like the kidneys treating them. It would be very cool if there was an herb book out there that clarified the logic behind herbs. Not simply listing the qualities, and listing the actions...but consistently going into WHY those qualities and actions are there (and why they aren't there...for instance why is the taste the dominant quality in one herb, while the form the dominant quality in another? Is there a way to predict what quality will dominate?). To really help you understand the herb, and lead toward being able to understand herbs that aren't in any materia medica yet, such as (safe ones) that you find in the wild. Also interested in books that take Western herbs and put them into Chinese medicine terminology. But yeah...any recommendations will be appreciated!

Also, the ben cao gang mu would be really interesting to have, as an additional reference to Bensky.

This appears to be along the lines of what I was talking about. Can't vouch for it yet, though.

As bad as overpowering scents can be sometimes, not I. BO is pretty terrible.

Thanks guys. I have those as well. At times they are really good, when referencing various older texts which discuss why the herbs work, in the commentary. That's not the focus of the books though, and it doesn't consistently do that. Here's something to think about...in Greek herbal medicine, they rate the flavor and nature on a scale of 1-4 (Galenic degrees). Whereas in Chinese Medicine, it's just listed out as "bitter" or whatever with no rating. It might even be "bitter, sweet, warm" and we don't even know which aspect is predominant in the effects. So we don't know how bitter in relation to other herbs, and because we don't know that (also in relation to ratings of other qualities, such as color or shape, signature, or whether it's heavy or light), it doesn't inform us of why that taste contributes to that herb's therapeutic effect...if it even does at all. Sometimes it seems that it doesn't, based on the actions and indications. We have to taste it ourselves to see if it's more or less bitter or sweet...and then what if what we taste is different from Bensky's materia medica? Maybe it's predominantly sweet and we can't tell that it's bitter at all. What does that mean in regard to its true effects? Basically...I am studying herbs from these two texts, but it's not the easiest subject to grasp, and I'm wishing there was something more logical and consistent out there. Even the actions and indications in Bensky are apparently just things that physicians found to happen in general, and they might not even be effective for the individual patient (you can take a headache herb for a headache, but will it work 100% of the time?)...but a more thorough understanding of each herb and how or why they work, could help make the choosing of herbs more effective for that individual. ... Also...we can think back to the Shen Nong Ben Cao. The person or people who wrote that...how did they come up with what they did? They must have tasted, felt the effects, looked at the plant's characteristics or signatures, recorded the effects when taken in many people, etc...maybe. There is a logic behind coming up with a listing for an herb in a materia medica that's based in reality, besides just copying previous listings (which often disagree with one another). Basically...I'm looking for a book that teaches you how to be Shen Nong.

Nothing is effectively tantric without a consort, as far as I understand it.