soaring crane

+1

Philosophical Taoism i.e. pondering what it all means and applying some of your understanding to your daily life, is a Western construct. Possibly started with Benjamin Hoff, but I don't know for certain. There's no judgment in that observation, btw. If it feels good, do it. Qigong = Daoism

swencan?

I don't have anything to add that would be in keeping with your wishes, CH, but I wanted to mention that my neighbors have Ostriches - I've seen them up close, THOSE guys are dinosaurs, wow!

Hi DR - I enjoyed your introduction, thanks! And welcome

Yes, but it's just more useful to refer to it as elixir. The real thing is toxic.

Log in anonymously to an Internet site and ask a bunch of strangers for an answer.

Funny things going on here in Central Europe, due to the warm winter, trees are budding before the leaves appear. It's like we've skipped the wood phase and gone straight to fire; a destination achieved without a plan, and without journey. That's the thing I like about flowers in the most part - they're the culmination of a lot of preparatory work. I think, the more beautiful the flower, the more adventurous the journey was that resulted in it :-)

Well, 'finding out' is exactly what Daoist methods are about, in my experience and understanding. There's more research and experimentation, it's more evidence-based and less philosophical than (western) Buddhist practices. There's a basic, physical, model of the the creation process, not all that dissimilar to western physics, and an attempt to understand our place in that model. The body plays a crucial role in the process and I think this is the major point of separation of the two paths. You won't find a Daoist who doesn't practice some form of physical expression of that model. This goes back to the deepest roots of the belief system, back to the pre-historic shamanic age. The practices were geared toward physical immortality; there was no sense of spiritual immortality. The reality proved otherwise of course, and, over time, and with the influence of the Buddhists who eventually brought their spirituality to China, the spiritual practices (nirwana, karma, reincarnation et al) began to take hold. But the early methods of cultivation continued, and proved incredibly effective in extending the physical life, and with it the experience and appreciation of physical life, to a maximum. What I see happening with the Buddhist approach is a lot of discussion and debate, a lot of thinking, a lot of brain-work. And this, in the Daoist approach, is harmful. It leaves you top-heavy. We're supposed to reflect the natural world, where the heavy is at the bottom, but so much thinking leaves us light at the bottom an bloated on top. And then we run into difficulties. This is the basic problem with western-societies in general. Hence, the fully-realized man starves the head and feeds the belly :-)

What about the highest level of spirit that comes to a South American or 'Native' North American spiritualist? An African? A European? Is it the same energy, in a form made understandable to the recipient?

ebb and flow, ebb and flow. There's no definitive answer to the poll.

The writing style seems familiar ... Sock puppet?

sub-50s here but who's counting? It's a side effect of ultra-long distance running, and I'm not 100% convinced that it's a healthy condition. To all, once again, ChiD's original post isn't about holding the breath to see how long you can hold it, or about pushing anything to its limit, or monitoring O2 utilization or whatever. He simply described a breath technique that someone (presumably someone else) has been practicing for 30 years and feels has benefited him greatly. If you hold your breath for two minutes, can you then exhale very softly and silently? That'd take some years of dedicated practice. And if you can't, then don't (The Capt is describing some pretty advanced stuff up there, too, I'm impressed ). Breath holding is a standard qigong breathing technique - which can be practiced by anyone. There's a system that calls very simply for four heartbeats i.e. inhale for four, hold for four, exhale for four, hold for four. If you become short of breathe, take a break, breath naturally for a few seconds and try again. If it's impossible to do it comfortably for four heartbeats, try three.... This isn't anything revolutionary. But it is quite effective.

oh, lol. I was on my mobile when I saw your first post and wanted to preface my reply with something like, 'I think you already know this and are probably asking something completely unrelated, but ... ". But, I was on my phone and was truncating my response. Um, I don't know if somewhere in China the term Dantien is used to mean belly, but I srsly doubt it. The word for belly or abdomen is, I think, Duzi or similar. I only know this because I looked it up once. You would need a native Chinese speaker to answer your question fully.

Short answer: Dan = elixir Tien = field There are three major ones, two of which aren't in the gut. It gets more complex than this, of course.

PS - I should probably mention that I've only seen the 'show' once, when visiting my parents in NY. I was shocked.

The nocebo effect is even stronger than the placebo effect, and he and his demons use it to make people sick.

I forgot to reply to this part. It's not a problem for me to hold the breath for maybe five to ten seconds. I can still enjoy a smooth and relaxing exhale. But only if I'm being still. Doing this in combination with movements isn't realistic for me except as a kind of power movement.

Year of the horse, Baby! I pick the horse with the most Wood in his/her pillars chart

The frenetic pace of his show, with the commercial interruptions, makes viewers nervous and sick

Doesn't mean I Kant, perhaps that's why I never, got good Marx at school.

He's got a possession

oooooo .... I bet that's an excellent read. Livia Kohn is a treasure.

That rings reminiscent of something I just posted in the other thread. So, I guess I like your rendition, ChiD :-)