Zork

There is no way one can find evidence to support this. It is a claim that cannot be verified or negated.

There is no such thing as voice of reason in politics. Unless someone is part of the system he/she has limited perspective of what is going on and thus a skidded opinion. No it doesn't. It is common for someone to hold a "correct" opinion and not have the eloquence, the mental awareness or the time and effort required to support his/her opinion.

On the contrary, in my experience, talking about politics in fora is more akin to a shouting contest. People are too entrenched in their own views to make anything constructive out of these arguments. Your experience may vary but i have NEVER seen an exception in the 16+ years i have been frequenting fora.

What he is saying is that depending on circumstances on the political scene of the US, the same people could be either encouraged payed legal workers or unwanted illegal immigrants while doing virtualy the same jobs.

Did you implement changes on anonymous logging or is it just me?

I had a lot of friends 20 years ago that fell into this category. I can assure you this is not the case. I love the debates we had but IMHO most of these people either follow communism/anarchy/socialism in theory only or they identify too much with the ideology and lose themselves in the process. BTW hate in these cases is a two way street. I ve seen them talk very negatively for people that spread opposing ideologies. Hate isn't the way. And an ideology that actively encourages a bloody revolution or coup shouldn't be striven. PS all three groups you mention in reality are very different. Why do you put anarchists in left wing? The dissolving of the social structure isn't part of the left wing or right wing categorization but in truth opposes both!

Well let me put it this way, people that follow an ideology to the letter are fanatics or conformists that either lack the courage or the ethics to diversify. Exactly and this is why it can NEVER happen by force as communists propose.

Do they? They are just labels that mean different things in different countries. Most people have opinions that mix ideologies, and come to think of it, why shouldn't they? I don't care about left and right, I oppose corrupt and stupid wherever that leads me. By the way, what should a taoist believe politically? True taoists aren't right or left. Sure, taoist utopia looks like a communist ideal society but the only sure way to fail reaching it is through a communist revolution.

The world is a reflection of the individuals that live in it. People have no respect for anything other than the many faces of power and satisfaction. So if they don't respect the world they are given, it won't go well. ;-)

IMHO suicide will only lead to a worse rebirth. One needs to have accumulated a lot of good karma or stepped away from the karmic circle before he/she can even fathom it. Otherwise it looks like trying to escape a labyrinth by restarting from the beginning instead of continuing. There is no reason to do it. Fight on, get a better rebirth. You deserve it!

The above is wrong, not because the video is ok but because the observations on fragrant are based in misconceptions. I want to resolve these issues in case someone is looking for correct info on the system. First of all fragrant qigong doesn't use TCM principles. So talk about laugong points and LDT, MDT etc is based on lack of this knowledge. Second, the speed of the movements matters little. Too fast isn't ok but just fast is fine. The way fragrant works even a general alignment or approximation of the moves will bring some results. Third, the eyes should be open or half open in the prayer mudra. The last point is clearly mentioned in the dvd. If anyone is really interested in the system, please don't rely on the PDF! It has many small mistakes and it lacks some important details like the cleansing form and some of the times that one should not practice! This is not meant as a challenge to the member posting above.

I have neither the knowledge nor the authority to answer your question. Sorry.

Please tell me that you are joking! Even if i had texts, by what authority am i to hand them over to you? You are asking me to override and circumvent my teacher breaching his trust and thus risking my training!

My teacher relayed the following. I agreed to post this message because i hope that it would prove useful to you or other people searching for yi quan and dispel the confusion around the system.

I am not sure if you are testing me so i will answer: 40 minutes unlock the sensitivity to energy and 60 minutes help you stay more in zhan zhuang in a more relaxed state. No it isn't debatable. You are basing your opinion on a book about zhan zhuang not yiquan. Yiquan is NOT the equivalent of zhan zhuang. Zhan Zhuang comprises the major part of yiquan training but they are not the same. Pre existing health is irrelevant to standing times. Can you please tell me where do you get the info that you are relaying here? Has your teacher told you the above? My comments are based on actual experience with a reliable teacher. I am not relaying random stuff that i thought i read somewhere.

Then do Zhan Zhuang as it was suggested above. Try to stand as much as you can in one stance. Your end goal is to go for a full hour.

How often do you stand for one hour in one go? You need to get past 40 minutes of standing in one go, to see actual benefits.

Nowhere. At least not free on the internet without guidance from a teacher. The only book i know which supposedly does that is Franz Bardon's Initiation to the Hermetics but i don't think that it is what you are looking for. Plus you are not telling us what you are aiming for! Do you want health? Martial Power? Electric qi? Summoning entities? Astral projection? Psychic abilities? These are not goals that go together most of the time. Material on Zhan Zhuang is free on the internet. Most of the basics at least, which can get you far. There are also many free systems on the internet. Just pick one and practice. Once again you need to tell us what you want. There is no system that does everything.

https://www.amazon.com/Chi-Kung-Lam-Kam-Chuen/dp/0736044809 https://www.amazon.com/Way-Energy-Mastering-Internal-Strength/dp/0671736450/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=the+way+of+energy&qid=1562005297&s=gateway&sprefix=the+way+of+en&sr=8-1 There are also many youtube vids on the system. You will need someone to correct your posture in person at some point though.

Since you haven't made up your mind about what system to follow, i would suggest Zhan Zhuang. It is the basis of many other qigong systems and will help you build up a foundation to work your way up to other paths. Just don't visualise when doing zhan zhuang. You might get qi deviations. The answer depends on the system you follow. It would be better to find a system first.

If you don't believe it is real then what prompted you to start researching it? Yes they do but each system serves a different purpose. I.e. iron shirt is mainly for combat purposes. Spring forest that @shadow suggested is for healing. You do not mention why you want qigong for. Is it Health? To compliment your martial abilities? What does "real stuff" even mean? If you refer to some strong and rare techniques, the answer is yes they require a teacher and thus money. If you want to just dabble, there are a few systems that are free online. Some others are available in DVD form. There is a a lot to choose from. Tell us what you need and we will try to steer you towards a list of suitable systems or teachers. As for the ancient texts being available for free online. They were meant as reference for people already acquainted with the system, not as a teaching course for novices. You can go ahead and try to learn from them but success isn't guaranteed at all.

No teachers in Pittsburgh? Oh boy you are in for a big surprise.

I mean seriously? Inner alchemy is just a fragment of taoist doctrines. Why do people care so much? Are they ready? Most people don't know what they are talking about and very few even practice it. The way I see it only 1 in a million are ready for that. So really, why there is so much talk about this practice?

You are fine. You provide much needed amusement.

Thank you for pinpointing the real problem: no one knows wtf they are talking about but still participate.