-ꦥꦏ꧀ ꦱꦠꦿꦶꦪꦺꦴ-

Thank you so much! Will check out those links!

Nothing wrong with single player video games that spark your creativity though. I will never be a mayor and build my perfect utopia but I can do it in video games. But on the other hand if you are just playing games that bombard you with mindless violence and play that 24/7 it probably won’t be good for you. It’s just like music, some songs will open up your mind to beautiful experiences, others won’t. You can’t paint the whole gaming industry with the same brush. It’s up to you what you do with what’s provided.

Hi @Nuralshamal, where did you learn about Islamic/Sufi healing and is there any more information I can read about it?

Just to add to this, it's specifically Monk Serves Wine 2, the fifth sitting meditation exercise from the second DVD and the first exercise from the seventh DVD (which is nicknamed "The Sleeper") that are the best Flying Phoenix Chi Kung exercises for good sleep. More info can be found here: https://forum.alchemical.garden/threads/18/

@Casy please search for "semen retention" in the search bar and see all the stories of practitioners who have seriously messed themselves up due to semen retention. You can become a good mystic by avoiding the mistakes that others make. It's not worth the time wasted from harmful practices and then the time wasted reversing the damage of those harmful practices. Many long term posters here have learned from a lot of different teachers and lineages, or just tried things by themselves to see the results so when you see a lot of them telling you that you shouldn't do something, it's not because they are trying to hide some big secret from you, but they don't want you to hurt yourself unnecessarily like they did. You will eventually come to the conclusion that practices with a specific emphasis on semen retention (such as Mantak Chia's books) can do a lot of harm to practitioners. But please do the research yourself, don't just take my word for it.

Ok, I hope it works out for you. Give special attention to your prostate.

What I want to know is what did the bushmen call full lotus position since the lotus doesn’t grow in the Kalahari desert

Out of interest, what lineage or teachings do you follow?

Use the search bar to look up specific questions or styles. I recommend that you try Flying Phoenix Chi Kung, you can find more info here:

In the last year I've been getting into amapiano music from South Africa. A bit like house music but with their own rhythm and styles blended in. Really futuristic stuff! Make sure you listen with a subwoofer or a speaker with good bass.

Welcome! First of all ignore this, do more research and learn from members with higher post counts. Developing an obsession that semen retention leads to magical powers is a good way to mess up your body and mind, maybe even lead to prostate cancer. On the other hand it doesn’t mean you can ejaculate every day. Moderation in everything is key. Some advice I’ve seen on this site is that a good way to keep in check is by age, in your teens you can ejaculate every other day, in your 20’s every 2 days, in your 30’s every 3 days and so on. For other lineages you have to be celibate for 100 days when starting. I might be wrong but either way don’t obsess over it. There’s more to cultivation than this. Look at the different lineages and teachers, talk to practitioners of them to find out the results that they bring and see which one is the best for you. Personally I’m learning Flying Phoenix Chi Kung and will take the next Authentic Neigong seminar from Rudi at the end of the month. You can read more about them here:

@silent thunder Bannerlord is worth it too. It’s still not completely finished yet but you can have good fun with it. The cities are beautiful too.

Did you end up finding any?

I did a reverse image search on it and it seems to be a baobab tree from Madagascar source:

In Bali (and other parts of Indonesia) they believe the banyan tree is home to spirits: "Banyan Trees and the Cult of Ancestors Cultural Observer June 8, 2019 by Jean Couteau Indonesia is home to one of the most fantastic trees in the world, the banyan tree, locally known as waringin, a kind of ficus. Apart from its size and surface, the most extraordinary aspect of the banyan is its resilience. When its vines touch the ground, they grow into new roots and trunks, spreading out in a tormented encounter of trunks and leaves. The banyan has become a favourite symbol of Indonesian political lore. On account of its multitudinous roots growing into a single trunk, it symbolises the unity of the Indonesian nation. As a shady and cool shelter, it also symbolises the protection of the state. In Bali, keen-eyed visitors will no doubt notice the cloth wrapped around its lower trunk as well, sometimes, as the altars scattered among its branches. What does it mean? Why do banyans warrant such attention? Banyans can indeed grow naturally, but most of them are planted for religious purposes in the vicinity of the main village temples, in particular near the temple of the dead, thus in the lowest part of any village. These banyans are the custodians of powerful gods “installed” there after the planting of the tree, through a pangurip-urip (bringing to life) ceremony. In some villages, I was told, the tree has a female “dweller”. But in other places it is said to host no other than the fanged monster Jero Gede Mecaling and his mate, Jero Nyoman. The checkered black and white cloth around the trunk account for the famous deity, while the white and yellow for his mate. Jero Gede Mecaling is the principal cause of grubug, or diseases that used to sweep through Bali at the end of the dry season . But Jero Nyoman, the monster’s mate, is no less dangerous. She is said to hold sway over the gamangs, human-like monsters that make their dwelling in remote trees and bushes. Since they look human, in spite of a harelip and deformed feet, these gamangs like to goad humans into their realm beyond the trees. Stories abound of seduced men and especially women who have children by these lovers from the trees. It is used to explain the weird behaviour of some children. There are ways indeed to avoid both the trouble and the scare: that is to propitiate or placate the banyan dwellers. Here lies the function of the altars and small temple found near the trees. The higher shrine is addressed to the gods, while the lower one for the gamangs, although there might be additional shrines for visiting gods and for some unknown deity who asked for attention in a recent temple trance. Lest a mishap happens, the local people are indeed wary not to forget any of the tree residents, known and unknown, including of course the demonic bhuta at the ground level. Illustration by Wayan Sadha The rites above can be construed as corresponding to the animistic side of Balinese culture. There is also a more noble, and more “Hindu” interpretation. The banyan is construed symbolising the junction between the chthonian (earthly) world, the bhurloka world of Hindu lore, where reside the bhuta, and the upper world where reside the heavenly forces, the swahloka, passing through the world of humans, the bhwahloka. Therefore it binds and at once separates the tangible sekala world and the intangible niskala world. Going back to the pre-Hindu indigenous tradition, this junction role might well account for the role played by the banyan in the post-cremation ceremony called “ngangget don bingin” (the collection of the banyan leaves). It takes place as part of the nyekah post-cremation ceremony, a few weeks after the corpse has been burned and its ashes dispersed into the sea. The purpose of the nyekah ceremony is to send the soul ‘back home’, to the ‘Old Country’ of the origin, above the mountains. For this ceremony, effigies are needed, which are made from banyan leaves. Using a long pole, the leaves are made to fall on a spread-out white sheet. If a leaf fall on its ‘back’, it must be used for a woman’s effigy; if it falls on its ‘belly’, it is for a man’s effigy. The leaves are then sewed together into a sekah effigy, male or female according to the need. This effigy will then be symbolically ‘brought to life’, thus reawakening the soul of the dead, meaning that the cremation has not fully eradicated all signs of life. In the following nyekah ceremony, the effigy will be burned in a simile cremation, complete with a mini cremation tower, and its ashes dispersed into the sea. At the end of the rites, the soul will have become a deified ancestor (dewahyang) residing above the mountain, and also ritually seated in the ancestral family shrine, where its descendants will address it through their daily prayers. Yet, the leaves of the banyan do have another function. They are also used to make an offering presented to the Goddess of knowledge Saraswati on the last day of 210 day Pawukon calendar. The resilience of the rites held around the banyan tree clearly show that Balinese are much more than simply Hindu. The envelope may be Hindu, but to this day the content remains indigenous, with dominance of the cult of ancestors and of the forces of nature." From: https://www.nowbali.co.id/banyan-trees-and-the-cult-of-ancestors/

Welcome @Lairg Could you please share some more info about the Jewish inner practices? That sounds interesting!

It's an amazing mod. If you want a challenge play as the Johor Sultanate. You will have a tough time against the Portuguese colonists. Have you got Mount and Blade: Bannerlord?

I have many favourites: Open world games/RPG - Saint's Row, GTA, Watch Dogs: Legion, Cyberpunk 2077, Far Cry, Fallout, Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, Mount and Blade City Building - Cities Skylines, Sim City Strategy/4X - Civilization, Crusader Kings, Humankind RTS - Age of Empires, Total War Survival - Conan Exiles I much prefer single player than multiplayer, and love games where you can customise everything. Skyrim especially is a magical game, there's something crazy about it. If you have the chance to play it in VR I highly recommend it. If anyone here is from South East Asia and likes medieval sword fighting games, check out the Suvarnabhumi Mahayuth mod for Mount and Blade: Warband. The graphics suck because it's an old game but it's amazing to have a game set in mainland South East Asia for once (only the island countries are not in the game, unfortunately for Indonesians and Filipinos). The gameplay is fun too, you start off as a peasant and can eventually work your way up to leading a kingdom, either by joining an existing one and marrying a princess or you can start your own! Check it out here:

Some observations I’ve made in my second week of FPCK dog sometimes sits next to me during practice, waits in my meditation spot for me to start, likes to lick my fingers and palms while meditating Constant high pitched noise heard all the time, sometimes cicada/cricket sounds as if I’m in rainforest Stronger effects after meditation, I have to rest more Starting to see some bluish mist/smoke above hands in MGM, feels like energy building up in between hands, when I try to push my fingers it’s like pushing two of the same sides of a magnet together (15 mins) Feeling of pulsing of fingers and thumb in MHPeach (15 mins) Bubbly feeling in LDT during MHPearl (15 mins) BTB takes around 20 mins Calves are very tense and tight during MHPearl (15 mins) Tension in upper back moved down to lower back and then right thigh in one SMWU 1 session (20 mins) Sometimes tension, tightness and shaking in upper arms, feeling of wind and pressure in ears SMWU (7 sets) Tension and tightness in lower back, moves up to left thigh and sometimes legs shake in SMWU 3 session (15 mins) constant feedback caused in nearby subwoofer Tried switching up my practice and did MSW 1,2,3 before the standing exercises. When I did BTB I didn’t break a sweat until the end, normally my face and back are drenched early on Starting to see more blue colours when eyes are closed, sometimes sky blue but mostly darker shades EDIT: SMWU is the seated meditation warm ups from DVD 2!

Just like everything, video games should be enjoyed in moderation.

I’ve taken mushrooms twice in my life with no bad results, although I do believe it’s possible that it can be detrimental when abused in large doses or if someone is unlucky enough to have a bad reaction to it. I don’t think taking psychedelics by themselves is bad but doing at the same time as meditating/energy work would probably not be a good idea.

Found the answer to my question here:

Hi all and Sifu Terry, I have a question specifically related to Monk Holds Peach (90 50 40 20 10). Today while I was doing it I didn't have the shaky legs as much as I did in previous days, it was mostly calm and my body was swaying back and forth (Western Wall style as Shifu Terry said before) but I would also have times where my torso would contort to the right and left, sometimes so much that I would be facing 90 degrees to the left instead of facing forward. In this case should I force my body to move back to face forward or just let my body go where it wants? Jonathon

Hi all and Sifu Terry! It's my first week doing FPCK and I'm loving it so far! I was fortunate enough to have plenty of free time to spend around 3 hours a day on every set from Volume 1 and 2. In the morning I do MSW 3 (90 80 50 20) then in the afternoon do all the rest in the evening. Might change it up a bit soon. The DVDs and this thread (which I'm still reading through) provide so much information to learn from. So far I have made a few observations: -Every set feels like it affects a different part of the body, for example the first seated warm up meditation (5 60 80 40 30) affects my upper back and neck, the first time I did it my back and neck ached that day, but as I kept on going the ache seems to move higher and disappear. The third seated meditation (50 10 50) affects my lower back, that ache is slowly going away too. MHP (90 50 40 20 10) makes my legs feel like they are bubbling and they sometimes shake a lot. The second seated warm up meditation (50 30 10) is the one that has the most noticeable affect of feeling qi (or what I think is qi, I may be wrong), I can do it very slowly and it feels like my arms are floating up and down, like my hands are on a giant balloon being inflated and then deflated. MGM (60 40 20) is interesting because after a while it seems like there is a faint smoke between my hands and my vision starts to feel like the beginning of a mushroom trip. The others have an effect but these are the most noticeable so far. Hopefully these results are consistent with everyone else! In terms of my health there is nothing really noticeable yet, however last night I looked in the mirror and my face was full of blackheads and whiteheads and they were all sticking out! I've never had anything like that in my life. Then this morning after a shower they were all gone. I didn't use any face soap or exfoliation, just rinsed my face with water and when I remembered to check if the blackheads or whiteheads were still there the ones sticking were all gone and my face was smooth. I still have some left which are deeper so I'll keep an eye on those to see if they all come out like yesterday. Has anyone experience this? I would like to thank Sifu Terry for making the DVDs and giving the world an easily accessible way to learn FPCK and also thank Earl Grey for recommending FPCK to me! Happy Lunar New Year to everyone celebrating! EDIT 1: Some other effects I’ve noticed since starting FPCK: 1) I sometimes get night terrors where I have really intense feelings of fear in a nightmare and start talking/crying in my sleep. In the week that I’ve started FPCK I have more vivid dreams (nothing scary) and I’ve been laughing myself myself awake twice already 2) for the last year I’ve had a problem with hair follicle infections in my nose, I would have painful pus filled spots. Since starting FPCK I’ve had one extremely painful and big spot but this time it’s appearing on both the inside and outside of the nose, I’m hoping my body is finally purging it, let’s see how it plays out EDIT 2: The most visible effect of FPCK so far has been my vision. Everything is much clearer and I can see longer distances. Any light seems to be more vibrant as well

Hi all, I have only recently started getting interested in qi gong, (more specifically neigong). My curiosity was first sparked after my father in law received the books “The Magus of Java” and “Opening the Dragon’s Gate” a few weeks ago from one of his doctors. After reading Magus I was fascinated by the healing properties of John Chang (and of course watched the video of him lighting the newspaper on fire) and I’m currently reading about Wang Liping. I didn’t believe everything in the books 100% and wanted to do more research online that led me to this site. I’ve found very clear and informative data and personal experiences from many members and have enjoyed my time reading through the forum. I want to learn properly and eventually want to take the lessons from a certain member when I’m in a comfortable financial position to do so. Until then I will continue to learn from everyone and hopefully can get started on my neigong journey the correct way, I’m aware it will take many years or decades to activate and fill the LDT with enough qi to be able to fa qi, but I want to start while I’m still young to become healthier in body, mind and spirit from now until well into old age. It’s nice to meet you all and I look forward to learning more! Jonathon