senseless virtue

In my opinion, there's nothing wrong with the inner smile concept even if there are no traditional sources to give credence to it. If you use gentle means in order to gain modest satisfaction and equanimity, then it's an innocent affair.

You are completely mistaken. Dzogchen is about resting in the ordinary awareness without any contrived effort. It's even called non-meditation for that reason.

Hello and welcome! You might like the following thread: It's never wrong to develop more wisdom and insight as far as any meditation and cultivation practice goes.

@Apech A wrathful wisdom teacher.

Hi DrSomnibus! Traditional martial arts are cool. What do you exactly practice? @Zhongyongdaoist is very proficient with European hermetic tradition and its Neoplatonist past. Maybe you should look up what he has written around on TDB in case his approach resonates much more than Wicca. This forum section could interest you: https://www.thedaobums.com/forum/407-agrippa-textual-study/

Actually, you didn't specify anywhere that there should be personal experience or material possession of the videos. Good that you brought up your desire now afterwards. If you don't trust the I Ching oracle and its interpretation for a good general indication that can pass for a very brief review, then it's your choice and completely ok.

What are the most important things TDB members should understand about this video series for the purpose of seal-learning and gaining some actual internal skill due to practicing according to its instructions? (887978) 31 Influence: moving line 4 => 39 Obstruction My interpretation of the I Ching: It's okay for learning external forms, but you would need to learn the internal skill through some other means.

Can you name the style or the instructor? This could be a problem. Spontaneous qigong as a group means that each of you are creating a field of energy that occasionally interacts, which can lead to experiencing karma and emotional layers of others. There should be some mechanism in the style that shields from excess karmic entanglement. Psychological grounding is especially important also, more so than with other qigong methods. Group healings and qi transmissions have the same issue, so you would have to trust that you don't receive any unpleasant karma from the other person in exchange. 1) There are different types of spontaneous practice. If you can't trust the process, then it's not good to practice. In any case, spontaneous practice is supposed to be a minor phase in balancing the energy-body: Spontaneous moving lasts few years at most and becomes completely inactive when your energetic balance is settled. You could ask your instructor how long he has been doing it and ask his opinion whether continuing 5+ years of spontaneous practice is alright in his opinion. 2) It depends on the style and its principles of the spontaneous practice. The basic tenet of all qigong is that the peacefulness and stillness of the heart-mind leads to good health and progress. If you don't have peace because of the spontaneous work, then you should reconsider what you are doing. I myself have experience with a spontaneous style that was corrupt, so I know very well that there can be bad consequences with flawed teachings. 3) If there are gestures and esoteric components in the practice, then it's pretty difficult to guess what is the intended working mechanism. Nevertheless, I find the possibility of getting into spirit possession or entity attachment in one's aura, which is easier to get, to be negligible. The threshold for actual possession is high and even entity attachments require that your aura is weak due to ethical breaches or substance consumption. The danger in flawed qigong practice does exist and spontaneous styles are especially susceptible: emotional trance states are bad in this regard. I'm paging @freeform because his teacher has much experience in treating deviations in spiritual practice. In the meanwhile, listen to your own heart. What do you want to do really? Long walks in lush nature and charitable activities among people could really nourish your inner harmony and help you ground better.

Thanks a lot! I realized an essential issue though: The symbol that you used for my name's apostrophe is not the same I had intended, and as such there may be technical highlighting issues in the future if users have automatic curly quotation marks input enabled. Let's make the user name entirely another one thus: senseless virtue Thanks in advance.

Apparently it wasn't quite alright! Do I really have to settle this with @idiot_stimpy on the Thunderdome, or would you require another renaming suggestion?

Apt quote to identify one of the greatest schemers in the world history: Otto von Bismarck made a highly successful political career out of using people as pawns and he was in no way shy in making use of the flaws of others.

Gone.

Search my posts with the word "isen". I recall I had shared some experiences or even given advice about consulting him in the past. EDIT: There actually wasn't much record I had said in the past. Eric is a friendly and professional guy, but I would caution about consulting any psychic and divination readings without cross-examination. I Ching would be my primary tool for most purposes. Please see the following thread: No. It's a minor siddhi and pure psychic clairvoyance as far as I understand. The relevant image forms in his mind simply through the intent of wanting to see the specified future outcome.

Gone.

I also really want to emphasize to everyone that the oracle should be cross-examined with more questions especially if something feels out of place or puzzling. Now you understand why I had the caveat earlier!

@freeform The hexagram #2 actually makes sense: Being receptive and lead around. It seems that the oracle was making a humorous insight this time.

There rarely are any free meals in gaining wisdom and spiritual maturity. The confronting and bringing into light of our unwelcome aspects is what nourishes and grows us the most. You have already professed a type of prejudice against martial training, which is one particular thing holding you back regardless of the reason. Martial training often is a quick door to showing the truth about ourselves, in particular our core vulnerabilities and the lack or want of power. It's good to remember that the oracle always gives a limited perspective with its answer, and there might be a lot of room for free will and further discovery if you choose to explore what else is included in the prospect you had inquired about.

What should StillWater learn about internal martial arts for his progress (health and spirituality) in long term? (777798) 43 Resoluteness: moving line 5 => 34 Great Power Each martial art has its own philosophy, and you would need to find the resolve and dedication to adapt to its framework. Perhaps it could be taken as suggestion that your gentle Taijiquan is already serving you well enough? What should StillWater learn about his long-term progress (health and spirituality) if he studied under this teacher/school? (689879) 53 Gradual Progress: ml 1,3,6 => 3 Difficulty at the Beginning A mixed bag. There is something in the training that would feel difficult or off-putting at the beginning, but it would eventually turn good under assistance. What should StillWater learn about his long-term progress (health and spirituality) if he studied under this teacher/school? (788767) 21 Discernment: ml 5 => 25 Innocence Sometimes life or training offers uneasy choices. It's important to stay true to oneself and persist in what accords with the highest standards of training and ethics. What should StillWater learn about his long-term progress (health and spirituality) if he studied under this teacher/school? (879879) 57 Penetration: ml 3,6 => 29 Danger You would struggle and find no success. What should StillWater learn about his long-term progress (health and spirituality) if he studied under this teacher/school? (888888) 2 The Receptive Ego subdued and one's true heart uncovered. What should StillWater learn about his long-term progress (health and spirituality) if he studied under this teacher/school? (887967) 56 Transition: ml 4,5, => 53 Gradual Progress Initially you might feel impatient or dissatisfied with the training, but enduring it would bring you gradual results. What should StillWater learn about his long-term progress (health and spirituality) if he studied under this teacher/school? (788897) 42 Increase: ml 5 => 27 Nourishment It's what you really want to do and the practice is good for you. What should StillWater learn about his long-term progress (health and spirituality) if he studied under this teacher/school? (799787) 14 Wealth: ml 2,3 => 21 Discernment A truly excellent indication overall, but there seems to be a question in the air: How long can you continue learning and progressing from a simple DVD? (Note that there are online Taijiquan classes with masters such as Grandmaster William C.C. Chen and Sifu Terry Dunn.) What should StillWater learn about his long-term progress (health and spirituality) if he studied under this teacher/school? (798798) 58 Joy: ml 2,5 => 51 Shock You would enjoy the book, but your self-confidence might not endure nor lead to as good results as you would like. What should StillWater learn about his long-term progress (health and spirituality) if he studied under this teacher/school? (989777)13 Fellowship with Men: ml 1,3 => 12 Standstill Everything is set to go, but you might find something problematic or unmotivating. What should StillWater learn about his long-term progress (health and spirituality) if he studied under this teacher/school? (967878) 63 Completion: ml 1,2 => 48 The Well Your expectations could be challenged and this might lead you to introspection about why you train. What should StillWater learn about his desire to follow a teacher who is accessible face-to-face? (986777) 25 Innocence: ml 1,3 => 33 Retreat There's nothing wrong with wanting close contact with a teacher, but if a great opportunity comes by for other ways of learning, then you shouldn't let yourself be bound by a limiting attitude. What should StillWater learn about his concerns about mixing systems? (778877) 61 Inner Truth Examine and study all information well before you commit to a teaching or teacher. Are you really feeling into this opportunity? What should StillWater learn about his long-term progress (health and spirituality) if he studied under this teacher/school? (989797) 13 Fellowship with Men: ml 1,3,5 => 35 Progress If you persist in the Flying Phoenix training, then you will realize your set goals. Don't expect immediate or easy gains though.

@Earl Grey Is training to become a coach teaching the series, so he should be able to give some useful pointers. I would suggest to start simple, try something, and just keep on doing what you enjoy. If you like it, then you will confidence to progress with more structure. Not exactly. It's more that you have a restful and relaxed quality in your mind, so that you stay grounded and rooted whether energetically, emotionally, or physically. . Teachers have an energetic presence (or field), but this comes from their still minds instead of any active measure. You will connect to teacher's presence even through video chat.

I'm not much of an expert, but I'll page two senior Bums for you. @freeform @Taomeow They are good and experienced people who are known for giving all-around wise advice. What I usually do when having a choice of practices is that I use I Ching to divine what are the most important consequences of the different training tracks. If you want, I can cast a series of divinations for your options and chief concerns that you brought up, plus give brief interpretations of the results. Please note that I'm not a professional diviner, so you should take my interpretations with prudent caution even more than with professionals. Not necessarily. It is so if both the style and the teacher are of superior quality or the teaching requires supervision for correct learning. Flying Phoenix is a very good Qigong style that can be learned through DVD, which is Perfect for self-paced learning, IMO. Learning genuine Neigong with Damo Mitchell is a great opportunity even if he teaches online. It's good to be aware of potential problems, but it's not likely you would face problems unless you had some type of specialist or esoteric practices. In general, practicing many styles in a daily routine would be another occasion I would consult the I Ching in advance just to be sure that there are no conflicts. The most important concern as a beginner is that you should focus on mastering the peacefulness of your heart-mind first of all. It's the priority skill that determines the trajectory of your training. For this purpose it's often better to keep practice simple and remember that the formal practices are means towards this end. Taijiquan is an example of something that can be practiced along with pretty much everything. Why are you expecting the instructor to transfer energy to you? To be honest, this sounds like a complete misconception.

Some of those non-cooperative mysteries can be solved easily these days.

Which Sadhana? Is it online somewhere we could examine it? Have you contacted your Sadhana teacher and asked for help? @freeform can provide some help, I would figure. In the meanwhile stop all internal practice and enjoy ordinary life with long walks in nature and helping other people whenever possible. You can seek opinions on Dharmawheel.net also, but I'm not sure how well they know and may give help about yogic sickness.

You will love the following essay and may have already read it somewhere else: Preconquest Consciousness by E. Richard Sorenson from the book Tribal Epistemologies: Essays in the Philosophy of Anthropology A highly relevant excerpt, taken from https://ranprieur.com/readings/preconquest.html Collapse of Preconquest Consciousness The time-of-troubles in New Guinea was regional. In smaller preconquest isolates such disorders were sometimes confined to single tiny islands, even villages, even segments of the village population (e.g., teenagers often seemed particularly susceptible). Nonetheless in all cases the subtlest affect exchanges faded first with intuitive rapport going into irreversible collapse much later. After loss of intuitive rapport, the sensually empathetic instincts governing sociosensual nurture became cruder and were less often on-the-mark. In large regions a grand cultural amnesia sometimes accompanied this collapse. Whole populations would forget even recent past events and make gross factual errors in reporting them. In some cases they even forgot what type and style of garments they had worn a few years earlier or (in New Guinea) that they had been using stone axes and eating their dead close relatives a few years back. Initially I thought they were dissimulating in an effort to ingratiate or appear up-to-date, but rejected this thought almost immediately. They were simply too unassuming and open in other respects for such a theory to hold up. And when I showed photographs I'd taken a few years earlier, they would brighten up, laugh, and eagerly call their friends as they excitedly began relating their reviving recollections. The periods of anomie sometimes alternated with spates of wild excitement leading to a strange mixture of excess and restraint. It was during such disorders that abstract concepts of rights, property, and possession began emerging. So did formal names for people, groups, and places. These were then used argumentatively in defense of rights, property, and possessions. Negative emotions were applied to strengthen argument. Eventually they became structural aspects of society. As the art of political manipulation emerged, the selfless unity that seemed so firm and self-repairing in their isolated enclaves vanished like a summer breeze as a truth-based type of consciousness gave way to one that lied to live. A similar type of turmoil and transformation began occurring on small islands in the eastern Sea of Andaman somewhat after the Vietnam War. South East Asia was then rapidly developing economically, and the dazzling scenery, fine beaches, and crystal waters of many of those islands attracted an explosively abrupt tourism trade. As it gathered pace, the intuitive rapport that was still extant on many islands first began to waver, then to oscillate. In some cases a half-way house adjustment would occur, and then another, both without serious psychological disability. However, in cases of accelerated change, a whirlwind psychological debility would sometimes suddenly break loose. The following, abstracted from my field notes, is a firsthand description of one such case: I'm out, back from the Andaman where I've just been through an experience I'll not soon forget. Only by pure chance did I happen to be there when their extraordinary intuitive mentality gave up the ghost right in front of me, in an inconceivable overwhelming week. I'm almost wrecked myself, in a strange anomie from having gone through that at too close a range, and from staying up all night too many times to try to understand just what was going on. I never was much good at keeping research distance, always feeling more could be learned close in. And I'd come straight into the Andaman from two months of tantric philosophical inquiry in a Tibetan monastery. Perhaps that tuned awareness up a notch too much. There really was no way to have predicted that, just after I arrived, the acute phase of their ancient culture's death would start. To speak abstractly of the death of a way-of-life is a simple thing to do. To experience it is quite another thing. I've seen nothing in the lore of anthropology that might prepare one for the speed by which it can occur, or for the overwhelming psychic onslaughts it throws out. Nor does my profession forewarn of those communicable paroxysms that hover in the air which, without warning, strike down with overwhelming force, when a culture's mind gives way. Yet this is just what happened when the traditional rapport of those islands was undone, when the subtle sensibility of each to one another was abruptly seared away in a sudden unpredicted, unprecedented, uncognated whirlwind. In a single crucial week a spirit that all the world would want, not just for themselves but for all others, was lost, one that had taken millennia to create. It was suddenly just gone. Epidemic sleeplessness, frenzied dance throughout the night, reddening burned-out eyes getting narrower and more vacant as the days and nights wore on, dysphasias of various sorts, sudden mini-epidemics of spontaneous estrangement, lacunae in perception, hyperkinesis, loss of sensuality, collapse of love, impotence, bewildered frantic looks like those on buffalo in India just as they're clubbed to death; 14 year olds (and others) collapsing on the beach, under houses, on the pier, in beached boats as well as those tied up at the dock, here and there,into wee hours of the morn, even on through dawn, in acute inebriation or exhaustion. Such was the general scene that week, a week that no imagination could have forewarned, the week in which the subtle sociosensual glue of the island's traditional way-of-life became unstuck. To pass through the disintegrating social enclaves was to undergo a rain of psychic blows, a pelting shower of harrowing awarenesses that raised goose flesh of unexpected types on different epidermal sites along with other kinds of crawlings of flesh and skin. There were sudden rushes, both cold and hot, down the head and chest and across the neck, even in the legs and feet. And deep inside, often near the solar plexus, or around heart, or in the head or throat, new indescribable sensations would spontaneously arise, leave one at a loss or deeply disconcerted. Such came and then diffused away as one passed by different people. Sensations would abruptly wash in across the consciousness, trigger moods of awe, or of sinking, sometimes of extraordinary love, sometimes utter horror. From time-to-time nonspecific elemental impulses arose just to run or dance, to throw oneself about, to move. All these could be induced and made to fade and then come back, just by passing through some specific group, departing, and then returning, or by coming near a single friend, moving off and coming back. That this was possible so astonished me that I checked and checked and checked again. Such awarenesses, repeatedly experienced, heap up within the brain. Eventually the accumulation left me almost as sleepless and night-kinetic as they had become. I did discover that with body motion, mind becomes less preoccupied within itself, therefore less distressed. With kinetic frenzy mind-honor lessens very much. But it left them exhausted during the day, somnambulant, somewhat zombie-like. When night returned, the cycle would re-begin, as if those nocturnal hours, when they would otherwise be sleeping, were the time of greatest stress. Though the overt frenzied movements could be observed by anyone, the psychic states that so powerfully impelled them were not easily detectable to outsiders. It seemed as if one had to have some personal rapport within the lifeway before the mental anguish could be sensed. Then it would loom, sometimes overwhelm. One Westerner looking casually on said, 'How exotic to see these uneducated types staying up throughout the night, dancing strangely, relating to each other in nonproductive ways.' This place must be an anthropological paradise: Tourists happening on the scene thought it a fillip to their holiday. Intimacy and affection seem prerequisite to connecting with these inner surges of human psyche, even overwhelming ones. Eventually I retreated, mentally exhausted, cognitively benumbed, emotionally wrung out. I tried to thwart that siege (when I finally recognized it for what it really was) by getting key people out. A useless foolish gambit; for no one would leave the spot, as if they were welded to it, as if it held some precious thing they very greatly loved, which they neither would nor could abandon. When the mental death had run its course, when what had been was gone, the people (physically still quite alive) no longer had their memory of the intuitive rapport that held them rapturously together just the week before, could no longer link along those subtle mental pathways. What had filled their lives had vanished. The teensters started playing at (and then adopting) the rude, antagonistic, ego-grasping styles of the encroaching modern world, modeled after films and then TV. Oldsters retreated into houses, lost their affinity to youngsters, who then turned more to one another, sometimes squabbling (which did not occur before). It seems astonishing that the inner energy of such passings is so undetectable to minds not some way linked to the inner harmonies and ardors of the place. Research-distance yields abstractions like 'going amok', which could have been easily applied that week, or 'revitalizing movement', which also could have been (in a perverse kind of way). It seems that only by some mental coalescence with the local lifeway can one access its deeper psychic passions, not just those of adolescence, but graver ones like those which for a time were released in inconceivable profusion, when the collective subtle mind of the islands, built up over eons, was snuffed out. Similar processes, perhaps not always so dramatic, seem to occur when any domineering or abstractly focused alien culture (whether Western, Sinic, Indic, or Islamic) impacts on a preconquest people. To the degree that the in-depth readjustment requires new relationships between the awareness and manipulation centers in the cerebral cortex and the centers of emotion in the mid and lower brains, they represent physiological as well as psychological change and therefore raise important questions about the promise and condition of the state of humankind.

I don't understand your vaguely rationalized interventions, but maybe you have a really big urge of getting involved with others. My dietary peculiarities reflect my individual constitutional needs and I only gave a list of foodstuff as a good reference point to start with. My lunch and dinner outlines were just to show the simplicity of its application in the end. Giving more detailed advice would be unethical for reasons that should be obvious by now. And sure, eating one meal before noon could be the ideal for some purposes and there really are ideal eating hours for the most economical use of digestive energy, but I feel you are exaggerating a lot to the point of coming off as a dietary fundamentalist.