soaring crane

Yeah, a lot of that was in the documentary, too, but it does seem to get crazier the you look into it and I guess it does boil down to a sect in the end, oh well. They also talked to residents and the mayor of the real town, and the only one's who had any grievance were the very strict catholics.

FAQ regarding the three-month citizenship: http://www.damanhur.org/en/share-experiences/new-life-faq

Hop on a plane :-) I just watched a documentary about them. That's why I looked them up on the internet. Anyone can join, anytime. But no smoking.

you're online too much

Oh, I understood that completely, sorry if I was unclear. I just wanted to jump in early to help you out because new members sometimes get caught up in the their intro posts without realizing that not all that many members actually read this forum.

Hi Rara - what does "transmutating" mean? Are you asking if experimenting with converting one metal to another is good for the development of the mind?

Thank you very much for your contributions thus far. You're free to post anywhere (and anything) you wish, but I would urge you to move your discussion out of the Welcome area and into the more popular forums, to make sure everyone sees your posts. I would suggest posting something of interest to yourself and simply asking if anyone else shares that interest. I expect you to attract a lot of attention :-)

Hello Aithrobates, and welcome to the forums! Glad you found your way to us and thank you for the very intriguing intro :-) Please take the time to read the two posts pinned at the top of this Welcome page and take a look at the forum terms and rules. This covers all you need to know when getting started. For the first week you will be restricted to ten posts per day but after that you can post as much as you like. Also, until you’ve posted fifteen times in the forums, you’ll be a “Junior Bum” with somewhat restricted access and will be allowed only two private messages per day. Good luck in your pursuits and best wishes to you, SC and the TDB team

Hello Mike, and welcome to the forums! Glad you found your way to us and thank you for the interesting intro :-) Please take the time to read the two posts pinned at the top of this Welcome page and take a look at the forum terms and rules. This covers all you need to know when getting started. For the first week you will be restricted to ten posts per day but after that you can post as much as you like. Also, until you’ve posted fifteen times in the forums, you’ll be a “Junior Bum” with somewhat restricted access and will be allowed only two private messages per day. Good luck in your pursuits and best wishes to you, SC and the TDB team

Hello slimboy, and welcome to the forums! Glad you found your way to us, don't worry about the English, you do fine :-) Please take the time to read the two posts pinned at the top of this Welcome page and take a look at the forum terms and rules. This covers all you need to know when getting started. For the first week you will be restricted to ten posts per day but after that you can post as much as you like. Also, until you’ve posted fifteen times in the forums, you’ll be a “Junior Bum” with somewhat restricted access and will be allowed only two private messages per day. Good luck in your pursuits and best wishes to you, SC and the TDB team

I wasn't presenting an analogy of your spiritualism. I was showing, through analogy, how I think your email may have come across to the person who received it, that's all. A spiritual career as you describe would involve starting at the bottom of an institution and working your way up, no?

Dear Church of Microsoft, I would like to apply for a position in your firm, preferably something managerial. I have been a Church of Apple devotee for many years now and feel they have the better products and better understanding of customers' needs. I look forward to preaching to your employees and customers about the virtues of Apple from the pulpit which I am confident you will provide. Please contact me at my first convenience so we can discuss how much you're going to pay me for this service. Your welcome, An enlightened being, which you will clearly never be. That's what that email probably sounded like to the CoE chappie/chappette who received it. N'est-ce pas?

well, what did you expect as reply?

I've come across this kind of claim often, in connection with my gong/singing bowl work and the kind of people I tend to attract with it. I've never seen any credible evidence or heard an argument that would convince me to believe any of it.

I improved my eyesight over about a two year period exclusively with qigong from about -5 to -2 dioptrin (not sure what this translates to in the 20/20 scale). Then I Lasic'd the rest, lol.

Driving home from my place of business earlier today, a dumb fucker was tailgating me all along the twisty road through the woods, then, at the first possible chance, blasted past me and almost caused a head-on collision with another car.

Well, I only meant that your OP seems stereotypical of what I see in the forums (not only here) from people who read a lot of Buddhist books. Something like, feeling insecure about feeling insecure, questioning the natural state of things and wondering if that's a natural thing to do. And then hoping to find the answers by analysing the personalities of beings who have transcended personality. Chillax, it's all good. Tao :-)

Ditto the Baolin Wu book, it's a good basis for gaining solid foundational knowledge, and the exercises are described pretty well. But there's no video material available to provide a visual, that I know of. Ditto also the Shibashi, 18-Taiji Figures. That's a form that can take you a long way, and is very prevelant, very popular. For more general info on Qigong I'd suggest Roger Jahnke's "The Healing Power of Qi" along with Yang Jwing-Ming's "The Root of Chinese Qigong". People also rave about Ken Cohen's systems, but I don't have any direct experience with them. Supposed to be quite excellent for self-study.

Buddhists ...

They get what is called an "Umschulung" - translates to occupational retraining. A typical Umschulung involves two years of full-time schooling. I think there has to be a better reason for it than simply wanting to try a new career, though. If demand for your profession is dying out, which has happened a lot lately due to the digitized world - who needs professional image scanners today? - or if your health is suffering from your job - hair stylists who develop allergies to the chemicals, for example - you can easily qualify for an Umschuling. But I'm pretty sure it's a one-time deal. I actually went to school, paid for by the labor department, for two years to learn "Mediengestalter" (Media Designer), after living here three years and being married to a German woman. I was given that opportunity because my American job training wasn't recognized here. However, when I finished school, it turned out that the market was absolutely flooded with Mediengestalter, there were far too many of us, and too few jobs available. So I complained and actually got 70% of Qigong teacher's certificate course paid out by the labor department. Should note that as far as actually working in a particular job, there are no restrictions. An employer can hire whoever s/he wants for any position. You aren't strictly bound to what you learned.

I disagree to a pretty large extent, but can appreciate the idea. If your teacher isn´t preparing you for solo practice, then s/he's possibly more dependent on you than you are on him/her. I'd be careful around that kind of instruction.

??? Which chapter is that in? Since this thread popped up again, I want to again amend my previous statement and liken it more to learning a foreign language. That's probably a closer analogy. Although when I used the word "gymnastics", I was thinking of it as "body language" which boils down to the same thing, I guess.

... they would encourage people to turn off their mind-killing computers and experience life. Maybe they're simply setting a good example?

This isn't really "walking qigong"; it's Buddhust meditation in walking form. Not that there's anything wrong with that but one major difference for example would be the way the head hís held. Walking Qigong is powerful medicine. Keep the eye to the front, stay wide awake and aware of your surroundings; the breath plays the key role in the various exersises, together with pecific arm movements and stepping patterns. Xi Xi Hu