Cleansox

I prefer Pregadio. Being a practicing buddhist doesn’t qualify Cleary to translate classics from the southern lineage, and sometimes that shines through.

Thomas Cleary says no. He has a bitchy footnote or so about Jung in his translation of the Golden Flower, if anyone is interested in that subject.

Good one, thanks for sharing it!

A person with secure attachment and a person with messed-up life experiences will react totally different, on all levels, in a stressful social situation. They might be placed side by side and therefore objectively should have close to the same sensory input, but on an interpretive level they might be way separated. This includes peripersonal space and the ability to interpersonal synchronisation, interpersonal space as the sensed (but not understood, since most people have no idea that the brain do not consider that "I" do not end with the skin) need for protective distance. (Yes, I'm a total science nerd, and I have trained myself to be aware of different levels of energetics.)

I think that as western model science developes, it will fill in blanks that at the moment are blind spots. I would disagree about the objective part, most seems to agree that it is the subjective experience of phenomena that affects us, including sensory information that we cannot readily relate to any specific objective situation.

So, with that feedback, have you looked at your questions again? If one gets the same kind of feedback from different persons, situated at different places (triangulating), they might have a point. We might never know since you are hesitant in popping any of those questions here. Now, the present mod team has a relatively low level of acceptance of rudeness, so it is not likely someone will call you an idiot here. But still, if you feel that any feedback that is not in line with your view is painful, you are probably following the right strategy.

Guess: Cultural.

There is a difference between East and West that psychology research often confirm: In the west there is a focus on Me, as an individual. In the east, there is a greater identification with We. This changes how the brain works, and probably how we interpret things in the peripersonal space, the later being relevant to meditation practice.

I mentioned Paul Lam taichi for arthritis in a thread a couple of days ago. The reason I know about it is that a person I did some clinical research with a couple of years ago was trained in that method. But she also has 40 years of experience with psychiatric health care, as a physiotherapeut, so she understood how to use it for different patient groups.

Clinically, really basic simplified short form taiji without any focus on qi has been used for decades to aid people suffering from psychotic episodes. Working with balance, gently correcting breathing patterns, using centered movement patterns and developing body awareness are key points. Avoiding sexual exercises and heavy visualisation is a good advice, as is avoiding methods where the primary objective is to activate a lot of energy. @RiverSnakeexplained why in your first thread.

Not likely. Go to the Grotto section, read up on posts made by Desmonddf. Yes. Finding a teacher willing to guide you through that might be difficult though, most teachers prefer cost-efficient students. Probably not, here, where diversity is the norm. There are wonderful practices that grounds the mind in the body and in reality, just avoid the "powerful" stuff.

Bradford Keeney: Shaking medicine. If one is interested in shaking rather than qigong.

Paul Lam taichi for arthritis is on example.

There are quite a lot of research on simplified short taiji forms for seniors. Try Google Scholar for references.

Muscle stretching, slow weight shifting, basic abdominal breathing. That will work on your immune system, as well as have a positive effect on some of the trauma reactions. If the breathing bothers you, do less of that, although if you have any dysregulated breathing pattern this should be attended.

Actually, dude, I am attentive. But for every round of this we do, something is added, so it gets more complicated to follow 😊 The classic texts I have read do not mention position, not as I recall at least. They tend to focus on hiding the true method in as complex language as possible, while still leaving enough that the student who has the Keys to the code get guidance. Some of them dance between layers like butterflies around flowers; now here, now there, and now using one layer as a code for the other. Rather magnificent, actually. See below, some of that might fit here. This is a good point! Although the author doesn't think it is about the preparatory stage only, he thinks it goes further than that. He doesn't say, does he? And the curriculum at large is a amalgation of methods from different lineages, based on principles that should lead to proper foundations (a guess from my side!) But the entire curriculum mentioned in his books should cover the xin and the clearing of the channels. Or do you disagree on that, and why? Your problem here seems partially be about nomenclature, which can be a mess. Where does "Nei Dan practice" start? Can it differ between lineages? Isn't it likely that it changes between lineages? According to Wang Mu, Nei Dan proper is after clearing the channels (unsure if it includes replenishing or not). For the rest: If we use Wang Mus book as a source for the process (since it is publicly available), he discuss xin methods followed by clearing the channels and then replenishing. The replenishing is the final part of laying the foundation. Unless one does not teach replenishing.... Cannot one do xin methods seated, or does those not count? Or, depending on how my poor unattentive mind is reading your post, are you saying that a person practicing Nei Dan is forbidden to practice qigong/daoyin/IMA anymore, unless one is calling it Moving Nei Dan which makes it ok? Or are you just miffed because Damo teaches differently that the school you adheres to, and you have an innate need to nag on that instead of talking about your own practice?

Yes, but the question is if you comprehend them. I'll give you a hint: If the text you quote combine the term "seated" or "sitting" with another term, the meaning change and might not be about just the fact that the ass is on the ground. If you can find a quote that just speak about the seated position, without adding terms that might be used for meditations related to Emptiness, but specifically is about this stage of Nei Dan, then you have support for your point.

Ah, but it is you who are voicing a specific claim, so the burden of proof is on you. Me, on the other hand, is open for the idea that there are more ways to do a practice than I know of. No, but before doing Nei Dan (if that starts with the reversal) one should go through the process of tong guan, which according to Wang Mu is a houtian practice. Wouldn't the curriculum in Lotus Neigong be sufficient for this? Wasn't this what you were referring to earlier? Or am I missing where in the process this discussion were? See above, you are the one claiming that this stage cannot be practiced seated, so it is you that should provide support. I haven't had the time to check up the development of this thread, I will do that and see if you or anyone else have provided that support or if the thread at large has moved in another direction.

No. Until you have a quote from another source not directly dependent on that lineage, it is just the opinion of one lineage, stated to provide support for that lineages methods. I am asking if you have any independent, preferably classic, sources that validates that view, so it can be seen as a generalised principle/truth. I haven't disagreed with this. But you have not shown any support (see my point above) that the "doing" cannot be performed while seated. Ah, now you are referring to a text 😁. Please, quote and a reference please. That would be really helpful! But, opening the channels are not the only aspect of the stage we are discussing, there is also the replenishing. Are you also saying that the replenishing cannot be done seated, or can it be done seated and this discussion has really only have been about the clearing the channels stage (which Damo Mitchell is discussing, using moving, standing, and seated methods) ? Since I have no relation to this school, I do not know what they have on their curriculum. I cannot see these methods in Damo's public material, compared to what I do there is a gap in his method at about the stage I believe we are discussing, but that is not because he teaches seated methods (and he mentions moving and standing practices in his curriculum as well, so he should have his base covered). Ah, this is the hard one. Who has the right to define what is Nei Dan" when traditions have branched out over more than a millennia? But if you refer to the reversal process coming from Zhan Boduans legacy, sure, you seems to be right. Question: Is there a universal agreement in daoist circles in China that this is the only true Nei Dan practice? I haven't read up on that so I would accept you knowledge of that subject. There seems to be a few teachers with lineages and stuff that use the term differently, but they might all be scammers and frauds.

And the skeleton? Post-dinner Christ, when mama bear prioritizes her cubs dinner before her own salvation?

Because "nei dan" is an umbrella term, in reality "anything goes". The Zhong-Lu tradition isn't the only one. Since some Nei Dan practitioners have had immortal teachers, do you consider them "beings from the Daoist panthenon"? And, which tradition would be considered the pinnacle? Except, by all means, mine.... 😁

A lot of these questions are gone through in detail in Damo Mitchell's books, his A comprehensive guide to Daoist Nei Gong is a good way to get started. But enhancing @RiverSnake, flexibility is useful, body building is not. At least in this context. Having a strong body on the other hand is useful. The book mentioned above will also give you an idea of how to start, and what you might find useful to be proficient in before going into Nei Dan. There is an answer to your question about horse stance there as well, so...

Then why pop the question on a forum like this, when an hour of Google fu centered on major universities would give you these names, and the research areas they have delved in? Google Project Muse, there you will find journals where many of the major players publish their stuff. Expensive, but priceless when you hit the right article. On the other hand, if you write about your questions and specifically ask for academic references, you might get what you want. Quite a few persons here actually read books. Spending some time here formulating your questions and doing some litterature studies before asking those scholars would also be a way of showing respect. A world class academic rarely think that answering a question one could find out for one self is time well spent.

Just like the academic world then.

It's funny how we interpret texts in different ways. When looking at the vignettes corresponding to this conclusion, I see the following: 1) Liu gets instructions, but only grasps the first part. 2) Liu seeks out another teacher, doesn't understand his verbal teaching but after studying a text finally get the point. 3) Liu, at last, get clear verbal instructions on methods that teachers usually are reluctant to teach. This relates nicely to the discussions between Taoist Texts and the WLP crew a few years back, where the idea of whether a teacher was mandatory or not.