ben kaf

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Everything posted by ben kaf

  1. Thank you! you exactly answered my question. I was trying to compare that book with the one you mentioned.
  2. anybody read this? What's your opinion..Is it practical and valuable for it's price?
  3. I was talking to a friend and I thought it's good to post this question here too: If you have tips or personal experiences from your early stages of your practice I'm very eager to hear...
  4. I remember first time I did a 10-day vipassana course I felt like really bad and I was not sure if it did good to me or not. But I kept practicing and after 3-4 months it started working but I really trusted Goenkaji and that system and I knew it's gonna work so I kept pushing. But with so many different systems and philosophies of chinese martial art, chi gong, bagua... it's hard to be sure
  5. nah! I'm not going to say don't judge blah blah! it's free hug day p.s. I'm traveling and I can't have internet everyday but I read all the comments and I REALLY appreciate each and everyone of them
  6. great hints. they remind me of what Damo Mitchell says in his last book. so your reflex to sharp noise and other signs appear when you are practicing or you feel them generally in your everyday life?
  7. I actually like your idea but I have some questions about it. You know I am psychologist and Jungian psychoanalyst. and I don't want to analyze my unconscious. Do you think you can feel you energies and subtle body energies with this method? and what is the relationship between these and mind/unconscious? I'll also read your weblogs tomorrow. thanks a lot
  8. That make sense and I guess I kinda have this. maybe over this, I'm searching for something more tangible like sensation or something else to guide me on some more sophisticated aspects of my practice like that building or waking up the dan tian (which actually I'm not working on right now and I know it's too soon for me. I just used it as an example. I read somewhere that masters can say to a student if he had filled his dan tian correctly or not.so I thought is it possible for someone to find out by himself)
  9. I believe such entities exist but I guess the very nature of such connection is very vague sometimes and your own mind get in the way so it is not really the best way to just base your whole system on that. At least I know it doesn't wokr for me. becaue I am very logical (skeptic?) by nature and I just can't trust whatever come to my mind.. But that's good to know this works for you
  10. Do you want a free hug? I'm not sure if I made it clear or not. But as I might agree practicing chi qong is not like entering a door and you don't know immeditaly if your in the right place or not. so an effective feedback system can actually be very useful. Does it make any sense?
  11. I tried it before but it didn't work and it's not possible right now. But I'm happy that it worked for you.. Ok, I'll read it possibly tomorrow then I'll comment. I am serious and I'm not expecting any of the above. I'm ready to do my part. I just expect some ideas or hints to improve my practice. I guess internet is just another mean of connecting with like minded people and based on the nature of relationship and the person you're connecting with, it could be deep or shallow just as any real life human interaction..maybe just on the internet fake masters are much more than real life because it is easier to make fake IDs and fool around.
  12. If you must know please sent me a private message but let us not go into it here. Because it's a complicated matter and I think it needs another topic. just trust me in this. In my country tai chi is taught very limited and as a sport. no talk of energy, tao philosophy, etc. is allowed.
  13. I don't agree with this point. I know what I'm doing and I'm not just haphazardly trying to do some stuff. I think energy work is like the soul while form is the body. But I guess that's another topic. What if someone cannot have access to a competent &intelligent teacher? I know when somebody says that here, everybody automatically will think oh! how lazy and ignorant you are, You are not even ready to go and find a true master. But there are countries in the world, my country included. that you cannot find masters like this. so you have to find your way until you find better options. so thanks anyway but honestly your answer didn't help.

  14. Year of the Pig

    ben kaf replied to dawei's topic in The Rabbit Hole

    here's one for you! . p.s sorry sean for messing around with your beautiful header!

  15. Year of the Pig

    ben kaf replied to dawei's topic in The Rabbit Hole

    since some members had problem sleeping, may I be so bold to suggest a slightly edited banner, with a pink pig (or boar?) instead of this one Hope you like it!

  17. Which books sit on your nightstand?

    ben kaf replied to manitou's topic in General Discussion

    "The secret of golden flower, a kundalini meditation method" by JJ Semple. It's an interesting book about a man who experienced a strong kundalini waking by meditating using golden flower book. Of course, it's better to read his previous book Deciphering the Golden Flower One Secret at a Time before this one.
  18. Damo mitchell has written two books on the subject of internal alchemy, namely, White Moon on the Mountain Peak and A Comprehensive Guide to Daoist Nei Gong. So my question is for someone interested in chi gong/nei dan practical and theoretical aspects which one of these books is necessary? or maybe both of them are complimentary and should be read together?
  19. Thanks for the advice. But where I live I cannot have access to him or his teachers..so my best shot is his books and maybe other resources or teachers..

  20. What is wrong about being judgemental?

    ben kaf replied to wandelaar's topic in General Discussion

    If it is necessary to is ok to judge for example when you want to but a new house or a car you need to judge and find out what works for you and what doesn't. What is troublesome is actually when you judge someone unnecessarily, for example you don't need to judge guy next door or a strange on the street or even a fellow dao bum! And if you do so, you will lose focus on what is important, which is Yourself!

  21. Internal Alchemy - Where and How to start?

    ben kaf replied to ben kaf's topic in Welcome

    Thanks for mentioning them but there is not much on their website. maybe someone from NL who attended their classes can clarifies it a little bit more
  22. Hi, I am Ben. I'm in my early 30s and I have been practicing various spiritual paths (mostly kundalini yoga and vipassana) for more than a decade and I would like to switch to Taoism from now on. I really like to learn and practice Nei dan or inner alchemy. I know it is not an easy path and I need a solid base for start. So how should I start? consider me a slow learner with a very basic knowledge of Taoism. What is the easiest and shortest path to internal alchemy? I mean I just want to learn and practice things which are absolutely necessary, because too much information confuse and dishearten me. So do I need to learn tai chi/chi kong? Which Masters or books do you recommend.. Mantak chia, Master Yang, Master wu dang chen,...? Thanks for your help and I hope I learn a lot from you guys. Kind Regards

  23. Hello Everyone

    ben kaf replied to AdrianD's topic in Welcome

    welcome! what does your name mean?

  24. What is spirituality

    ben kaf replied to thelerner's topic in General Discussion

    I think spirituality refers to meaning behind every appearance. A spiritual person strive to find the deep meaning behind every event of life and eventually to become one with this mystery of life. By this definition a spiritual person is not necessarily practice tai chi and yoga or does not use crystals, orb, manta, etc. but he is living a meaningful life. p.s. In person language spirituality is equal to "Manaviat" which roughly translate a meaningfulness. And there is a bunch of peoms that talks about in in their poems like this beautiful verse from Rumi: ای برادر قصه چون پیمانه است معنی اندر وی مثال دانه است دانه معنی بگیرد مرد عقل ننگرد پیمانه را گر گشت نقل which roughly translates as: Every story (philosophy, tradition, teaching, etc.) is like a plate Meaning is like the food inside the plate Wise man takes the food But leaves the plate behind, no matter it's an ordinary plate or a majestic one So if one can reach to that ultimate meaning he can leave everything else behind

  25. Welcome

    ben kaf replied to greatsaiyaman's topic in Welcome

    Welcome to the forum. I also joined recently. there is actually lots of stuff to read and discuss here