soaring crane

Well... Yes, even then :-) Also whilst posting quippy rhetorical questions on an internet message board ;-)

I really have to reiterate ya mu's post and want to stress that pedantry is more hindrance than benefit in all things qigong related. Breaking Qi flow down to a minute or 30 minute timeslot is counter to the nature of gradual change. Time of year and your positioning on planet earth affect the clock in a big way, but also our individual situations all vary. We all have blockages and these interrupt the flow. So, a one size fits all formula is a blind alley for most of us. My summary: Meditate when it best fits your schedule and produces the best results. And don't be afraid to think out of the box, experiment now and then.

Hello Ground, and welcome to the forums! 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 http://thetaobums.co...um-terms-rules/ This covers all you need to know when getting started. For the first week you will be restricted to five posts per day but after that you can post as much as you like. Thank you for the interesting and humble introduction. I think it bodes well for your future enjoyment at TTB :-) Good luck in your pursuits and best wishes to you, SC and the TTB team

I disagee when it comes to standing flatfooted. When standing, direct a little of your weight to the outside of your legs, stand a little bit bowlegged (o-beinig), like you're holding a balloon between the knees, and feel a little of your weight settle on the outer edges of the feet. Not so much that the big toes are elevated, not even so much that a casual observer would notice, but enough so that you feel it and can feel the effect on the arches/inside of the feet. This not only strengthens and re-shapes the muscles/tendons of the foot; it also creates the best possible atmosphere for the Yongchuans to operate in. They'll feel more like suction cups on the floor/ground. Orthotics won't do anything but weaken your arches further, and podiatrists aren't interest in or knowledgable about truly strong, natural healthy feet. They're initiated into an extremly conservative and pessimistic circle of snake-oil salesmen (in my opinion, of course. But I'm right haha). The arch of the human foot is a functional, active element in the biomechanical equation. Healthy arches resonate throughout the entire organism. And as I stated above, a little, intelligent, barefoot running is the quickest, safest and most natural way to bring them into form.

Think about sex and how it works. Who's active, who's receptive? Project that onto other situations.

Eating all my hay, Metabolizing all day. Fertilizer, yay! *haha, can't believe I wrote that

Barefoot running.

Space, the final frontier? :-)

@GMP - there's Bagugazhang and then there's the Bagua :-) Tom Bisio's book 'Decoding the Dao' does a commendable job with the latter.

yes, it's hugely important. The be all and end all. Very nice post and super links, thanks! :-)

yes, of course. That's precisely what the Bagua is - Nature. Study the Wuxing, think about the relationships between and progressions through the phases (don't think of them as 'elements'). Consider the psychological side. I started a thread a little while ago that went into it a bit. Basically -- you make your plans and head out on a journey, you arrive at the destination, you store the experiences, you sort the experiences, the experiences that you keep affect your decision when you make your next plan and head out on your next journey. A journey can be as miniscule as a single quick thought; or as small going to the kitchen for a glass of water; or as complex as being born and living a long life. Micro and macro cycles are all intertwined and bound to the same progression, the Wuxing. There's no real start or end point and you can't possibly reach one of these stages without going through the preceding stages. You can't make plans if you don't have an objective but you can't travel forever; when your journey is over, you're going to have memories of it, but you can't have memories of a journey you didn't make; you can't store everything that you collect along the way, so you have to sort through the things that benefit you and the things that damage you, but you can't sort if you haven't collected anything; the things you save and keep are only useful when they're applied to the next cycle ...

quite probably something that doesn't involve internet forums ...

very lovely :-) (I'm assuming you meant to write 'no' absolutes)

It's a geological term

>bows< Very impressive! I've got a good half-dozen first chapters (and about 4 second chapters) up for sale, cheap! PS -- don't take humorous replies too seriously, k? Your post was a short anecdote and you didnt go into the profundity in detail. I honestly found it interesting, but also entertaining, and didn't realize it meant so much to you. If you write more about it, and make it clear how seriously you view it, you'll attract a different class of replies. But I'd suggest doing that in a more appropriate forum than the welcome wagon

Hello Tao of Buttercup, and welcome to the forums! 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 http://thetaobums.co...um-terms-rules/ This covers all you need to know when getting started. For the first week you will be restricted to five posts per day but after that you can post as much as you like. Nice intro -- what do you write, if I may ask? Good luck in your pursuits and best wishes to you, SC and the TTB team

a tiger's tail tip, tentatively atwitter, the terrific trounce.

This has been happening for a while now: The 'like' works normally, but that error pops up. Using Win 8.1

Win 7 now, and it didn't happen when I liked Dawei's post (I didn't like Flofolil's )

ahhhh .... very sweet, and now very sad

haha, I had to google it. Expected to find more than this But I am curious now. Was was she?

I see it as you're talking with your self, and answering your self, and getting an aswer that fits your current situtation, fits another piece of the puzzle, and that's OK. Just be open for further conversation.

Hello cuppa, and welcome to the forums! 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 http://thetaobums.co...um-terms-rules/ This covers all you need to know when getting started. For the first week you will be restricted to five posts per day but after that you can post as much as you like. Good luck in your pursuits and best wishes to you, SC and the TTB team

Hello TaoMaster, and welcome to the forums! 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 http://thetaobums.co...um-terms-rules/ This covers all you need to know when getting started. For the first week you will be restricted to five posts per day but after that you can post as much as you like. Good luck in your pursuits and best wishes to you, SC and the TTB team

Hello FraterUFA, and welcome to the forums! 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 http://thetaobums.co...um-terms-rules/ This covers all you need to know when getting started. For the first week you will be restricted to five posts per day but after that you can post as much as you like. That was a very impressive introductory post, thank you so much Good luck in your pursuits and best wishes to you, SC and the TTB team