寒月 Hanyue

Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more.... Academic(ish) hat on. The word I know is 蓄 xu. And this term has been translated in various ways that mean quite different things in English, and can shift a practice considerably in my experience. A basic dictionary provides; store up hoard save gather grow It carries the idea of creating more space, to enable more in. It is not about 'filling' per se, which in English has the connotation of an end, a point when it becomes 'full'. Practical(ish) hat on. I can only speak of my own experience from what I have been taught and practiced. Should go without saying, but still. In this post, in this thread I am commenting from my experiences and teachings in the Yin style Bagua Daoist lineage of medicine and dao yin, the Stillness-Movement Daoist neigong lineage, and a little known Himalyan yogic lineage. The 'breath' or pulsation of the energy body is related to dantian gong, this is why you can simultaneously feel an inward flux and an outward expansion. Everything going out or coming in is not good, balance and harmony always. The outward expansion is the yangqi, the weiqi, due to TCM people think weiqi only runs superficially under the skin, which is absolute nonsense. I am going to make two points; 1) I feel it should be kept in mind, before confusion arises, that there are in fact two broad yet inter-related aspects of dan-dao or dantian gong. Yes you guessed it... Hou-tian (post-"heaven") Xian-tian (pre-"heaven") The former (hou-tian) is largely about breathing, the breath and its refinement, and the subsequent physiological and psychological shifts (dao yin) that occur from breath-work. Yes this is where Lui Guizhen's definition of "qigong" comes from and why most understand qigong as 'breathing'. Additionally, the physical/structural development of "dantian" in wugong (martial work) from the IMA, is post-heaven work and related, but different again to the breath work. The latter (xian-tian) is not about breathing. It is about something else, and the gateway for this is genuine 'stillness''. And yes this is more what others such as Hu Yaozhen refer to as "qigong" and why anyone who has experienced this knows "qigong" is not about breathing. It is concerned with something not easily put into words, xian-tian qi. While some teach that you have to work with one to progress to the other, this is not so. A teacher is needed with both methods, but needed less with the post-heaven methods. Working with the dantian, the method, the why, and the what, for the above two are different. End of story. They may look the same, and may even use the same language, but they are not the same thing in any stretch of the imagination. 2) That the methods of both hou-tian and xian-tian dantiangong in the different lineages mentioned above, are more similar than they are not. This includes the Himalayan yoga which in and of itself does not recognise nor intentionally develop "dantian", and no, chakras and dantian are not the same thing. Best,

You're absolutely right, my comment is only based on the preview amazon allows. As mentioned, in numerous places in that preview he equates terms. Maybe the book as a whole paints a different picture, which is good to know. My post is not or was not intended to be review, it is a comment only. Maybe I should have kept it to myself. Given that everyone and their dog has their own way of viewing such terms, it isn't important in the big picture. As mentioned, it is not to comment that doing so is wrong or incorrect, it is simply something I find odd myself. I've posted the stages and volumes of books, since this provides insight into the relationships of what Tom is publishing and I found it insightful to see the bigger picture he is presenting. I have short intros to most of the Daoyin neigong in the tuina book, but it is nice to see that such sets will be presented more thoroughly and stand alone for people. My curiosity sometimes gets the better of me, so I may get Decoding the Daoat some point, probably more to see more of his interpretation of cosmology rather than meditation. If I do, ill post a review. I look forward to hearing more of your thoughts and insights after youve had a chance to digest the book. If you have the time and feel inclined. Happy practising, and reading. Best,

"Embedded within the martial art Ba Gua Zhang is a complete system of internal exercises that promote self-healing and longevity and transform consciousness. Ba Gua Nei Gong consists of nine powerful and profound methods of internal exercise and self-cultivation." The Nine levels, or methods are; Ba Gua yin & yang patting neigong Ba Gua dao yin (guiding leading) neigong Ba Gua qi cultivation and standing neigong Ba Gua 12 posture standing neigong Ba Gua ji ben neigong Ba Gua Circle walking meridian opening neigong Ba Gua tian gan (heavenly stem) neigong Ba Gua marrow washing neigong Ba Gua golden fluid returning to dantian neigong & Daoist Meditation Which are being released in the 8 volume series; Ba Gua Neigong Vol 1: yin & yang patting & dao yin exercises Ba Gua Neigong Vol 2: qi cultivation exercises and standing meditation Ba Gua Neigong Vol 3: 12 posture standing neigong Ba Gua Neigong Vol 4: foundational body training Ba Gua Neigong Vol 5: tian gan neigong Ba Gua Neigong Vol 6: marrow washing neigong Ba Gua Circle walking neigong: Decoding the Dao So that's how the titles relate to each other. It is interesting to see how someone from a different line (Gao primarily) of Bagua relates these dao yin practices together and so forth.

I went and took a look on Amazon to see just what is in this book in comparisons to the blog posts I read. It looks like a very comprehensive book, and covers a lot of important stuff. It certainly looks more complete than the blog posts, which is a good thing. The only thing that bothered me a little was his blending of terms. He states Daoist meditation is also called neigong, which is also neidan, and later also yangsheng. Whatever teachings Bisio has had access to shows through in his biases within the book. When he quotes a wonderful passage that contains a very important insight in Daoist practice, he misses, or prefer not to mention the higher level perspective that it is referring to and explains it as a reference to 'breath', and then discusses the importance of breathing. Which I felt was a shame. For a book laying out the foundational hou-tian (post-heaven) aspects of Dao yin as they pertain to "meditation" I think this book will go a long way to help. As far as actual Dao gong and a higher level or xian-tian (pre-heaven) perspective goes, you will have to look elsewhere. This is not a criticism, it is simply pointing out what is and is not in the book. It will be going on my wishlist, as I'm a sucker for books. Best,

Currently reading.. The Psychopath Inside by James Fallon http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=omItGbELVNAC&dq=the+psychopath+inside&hl=en&sa=X&ei=4py0UvHJLI6U7QaHsYGADQ&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA "“The last scan in the pile was strikingly odd. In fact it looked exactly like the most abnormal of the scans I had just been writing about, suggesting that the poor individual it belonged to was a psychopath—or at least shared an uncomfortable amount of traits with one....When I found out who the scan belonged to, I had to believe there was a mistake....But there had been no mistake. The scan was mine.” For the first fifty-eight years of his life James Fallon was by all appearances a normal guy. A successful neuroscientist and medical school professor, he’d been raised in a loving, supportive family, married his high school sweetheart, and had three kids and lots of friends. Then he learned a shocking truth that would not only disrupt his personal and professional life, but would lead him to question the very nature of his own identity. The Psychopath Inside tells the fascinating story of Fallon’s reaction to the discovery that he has the brain of a psychopath. While researching serial murderers, he uncovered a distinct neurological pattern in their brain scans that helped explain their cold and violent behavior. A few months later he learned that he was descended from a family with a long line of murderers which confirmed that Fallon’s own brain pattern wasn’t a fluke."

Interesting question. A medium in the sense that you are describing, and that I have seen in SE Asia, as you say does not practice anything. They simply allow their body to be used by whichever god/deity the invoke. During this state they go through and perform rituals. Which can take on many flavours. A "qigong" (don't like that term) Master can open and allow a lineage that stands behind him to flow through him. This can be in support of what they are doing, and can take over more or less. The difference is that the latter cultivates, they take responsibility and are not simply a vehicle or form for something else to make use of. If you were a lawyer and had the 'weight' of a big and powerful firm behind you, when you walk in a room you bring that with you. There are people that support you, that can provide help or additional information. You may even bring one in and they periodically 'take over' the case. But you are still a lawyer, and still part of the firm, with your own skills and background. A trance medium who only 'empties their vessel', often retains none of what they do. They may be very could at being able to channel the appropriate deity/god for what needs to be done, but it is not the same as the above. That is how I understand it. However they are blurry lines, and you will get differences of opinion. And yes there are people in both camps that look down upon the other and call what the others do pointless or even dangerous. Best,

Well, I did a search for the title, and it came back with nothing, I did one for Serge Augier and it also came back with nothing, so I did one for Alex , and it gave only two hits, one being my own post from the other day. I'm a little surprised, So... Warrior Guards the Mountain http://www.singingdragon.com/catalogue/9781848191242 Quite simply, this book from Alex Kozma is awesome! It takes a smiliar 'interview' format to Jess O'Brien's great book Neijia Quan, although the editing in WGM means the feel of an interview is often more subtle. It is kind of a sequal to Alex's early 1990's book 'Esoteric Warriors' Alex has trained with most of the practitioners in WGM for sometime and as such they speak very openly. There is a mixed bag though it is primarily Chinese martial arts, there are also Indonesian and Japanese esoteric arts. Some of the sections are bigger than others, but each has its own charm. The section on Ziranmen with Dr Serge Augier is worth way more than price of the book, as is the section on Bagua with Master He Jing Han. If you missed Alex's now out of print book on Ziranmen, the section on the history and the interview with Serge appears in WGM with only some slight editing. I have had the pleasure of meeting a couple of teachers from the book, albeit briefly. Though their depth of knowledge and skill was clear. If that wasn't enough, Alex has taken the project further and filmed interviews with many of the practitioners and these films should be becoming available soon. http://www.warriorguardsthemountain.com/#!films/c1yvt For the record I am not a student of Alex's. I have spoken with him numerous times over the years, and he has always been very open, kind and cordial. I simply appreciate all that he does in regards to getting these teachers and practitioners to go more public and present often obscure and 'esoteric' aspects of these arts. There is often much bullshit espoused regarding these things, and it is refreshing when the real deal is willing to speak up. All the best,

For those interested, more info and book excerpts here. http://www.10methods.com/ I have to say they had nothing to do with me getting the book. I got it out of curiosity after knowing about it from the time of its initial release. Please note that the links to the original publisher 'Line of Intent' are dead. The book has been re-published by Singing Dragon. Best,

Not at all, there's a reason I know. Correct Chinese pronouciation is hardly important, except when you talk to Chinese people regularly Learning Mandarin still doesn't help when your inlaws gossip round the dinner table in Cantonese though! Best,

The zoning out is an expansion of the shen, it is part and partial of shifting and dimension expansion, you aren't doing anything wrong. Follow Brian's advice, allow but don't indulge. There is a reason it can be hard to speak, let alone interact with others after practice. I'm sorry folks, but I'm going to be pernickity.... its 單目 dan mu, not dan mo It is a most interesting term, and after Hilton I understood its relationship to Hawks and some other things. Best,

Maybe I should say something about what is in it heh... It's about a guy living in Taiwan who simply feels that there is something more but isn't sure what. Through what the Chinese call yuan fen, he meets people and slowly a new world emerges for him. A world where he is drawn into learning from an adept, and as it turns out this adept is part of an old esoteric Buddhist order that was heavily influenced by Daoism. The adept also practices bagua. And so the author begins learning bagua and meditation. The feel of the writing is very calm, open, and funny. It was, as I mentioned, a joy to read. I hope there will be more. Best,

Hey JB, yeah I saw your post in another thread about it when browsing this morning. All I can say is different strokes for different folks?? As I said in my post, if I hadn't read all the books Bisio has taken from to compile that one, then I'd probably have been more impressed. So if anyone wants to cut down on costs and reading time, then sure his book maybe a good primer. But the info is still naturally filtered through the authors perspective (as with all authors), and I don't always agree with what I see in what he says. I'm being as diplomatic as possible, because in all fairness what we hear or read from someone isn't always what they are intent or are trying to say. BKA, I'm not a fan of any martial art book that tries to teach you. I'm not really a fan of a lot of qigong books that attempt it either. It's not that I think much of it can't be expresses in a book, but for some reason most authors either don't really go there, or simply fail. By comparison I've read some great Western books on various body-somatic modalities that explain many of the wugong neigong concepts that some feel cannot be expressed in a book. [i separate wugong neigong (martial inner work) from Dao neigong (Daoist inner work), though the two are often blended.] I am a fan of He Jing Han, and his interview in Alex's book further down the post, is worth the price of that book regardless of all the other stuff in it. However, this book on 'Bagua Daoyin' was also a massive disappointment and I really don't like it. Yes it has a few bits in it, but I think it really misses its potential in its attempts to portray a moving dao yin set. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bagua-Daoyin-Unique-Branch-Learning/dp/1848190093/ref=pd_sim_b_2 I recall enjoying Park Bok Nam's books when I read them years ago, but have no idea if i'd feel the same these days. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fundamentals-Pa-Kua-Chang-v/dp/1883175011/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1387326864&sr=8-2&keywords=park+bok+nam The old Bagua Journal by Park's student Miller and Dr Fish is still treasure trove of info on Bagua, neigong etc I like reading Sun Lu Tang's works, which are Daoist rather than martial. But given the views I've seen expressed of them, they appear to cause more confusion than not with people. I also liked 'Combat Techniques' when I read it many years ago, not as a directly practical step by step book. But in much of its discussions of qi and jin and li, and in understanding how many layers of practice weave together. Again, if I read it today I don't know if i'd feel the same. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Combat-Techniques-Tai-Xing-Gua/dp/1583941452/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1387326752&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=combat+strategies+xing+yi+bagua Bruce's 2nd book in his Daoist meditation series lays out the foundation of his bagua stepping/walking. It is similar in certain ways to Yiquan walking, but then Yiquan stepping comes from Bagua. I never got around to reading Bruce book on Bagua and Tai chi and so can't comment upon that. http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Great-Stillness-Method-Meditation/dp/1556434081/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1387327478&sr=8-7&keywords=bruce+frantzis I read Allen's 'Whirling Circles' simply for the info on Liu Hong Jie and Bruce's Bagua. The practical side of the book regarding bagua is largely crap. But the info on the Water method Bagua neigong is short but nice. If you look for Allen's views on Bruce, he has in more recent years come out against Bruce and his system, make of that what you will. http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Whirling-Circles-Gua-Zhang/dp/1583941894/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1387326886&sr=8-1&keywords=whirling+circles If you take the Dao neigong out of the physical form of the 'Energy Gates' set, ie the outer dissolving process, and work with the 'pumping' stepping Bruce lays out, then expand on that with Allen's methods, then I think it would do a hell of a lot for people, without much of the apparent other fancy things. And that is without adding the bamuzhang to the top half. These days I prefer books that discuss other aspects, rather than try to teach or convey a form in a book. To this end I love the works by Alex Kozma; http://www.amazon.co.uk/Warrior-Guards-Mountain-Internal-Traditions/dp/1848191243 Is fantastic... http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1874250952/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_2?pf_rd_p=103612307&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=1848191243&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=0Q7DYTM23NEXYWRYEZC3 Is a classic... http://www.amazon.co.uk/Beyond-Mysterious-Gate-Hidden-Fighting/dp/0954837703/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1387328849&sr=1-6 Is also fantastic.... There is also now this from Alex.. http://www.warriorguardsthemountain.com/#!films/c1yvt As well as his friend Robert Sheaffer, whose book I started a new thread on; http://www.amazon.co.uk/Methods-Heavenly-Dragon-Robert-Sheaffer/dp/1848191278/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1387327259&sr=8-1&keywords=ten+methods+of+the+heavenly+dragon Or O'Brien's collection; http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nei-Jia-Quan-Internal-Martial/dp/1583941991/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1387327814&sr=8-1&keywords=nei+jia+quan The best, and free!, resource on Bagua is Andrew's youtube channel. But it depends on whether Yin shi rocks your boat or not. I don't do bagua zhang. And just as Bisio's movement has never appealed, the movement of Yin shi Bagua doesn't appeal to me either. Besides, these days I don't have time to practice martial arts. Hardly comprehensive, but then for someone who doesn't do bagua?? It just keeps turning up when I'm interesting in neigong Best,

Mmm, people in glass houses.... Tom is far better at what he does than I am (he's been at it far longer too, does that count? ). However I'm not sure why, but I have never liked his movement. I see that there is something there, certainly far more than many people out there. But I also see something lacking but can't put my finger on it. He knows a lot, but I would not learn from him or seek him out for study even if he lived in my town. Best,

I'm probably going to get slammed for my view and opinion again But I feel that this is what a forum is for, and if someone is asking for others views then they should hear what others have to say. I have several of Bisio's books. I know people who studied some of his tuina too. I will try to provide my view and some of my reasons for those views, so people know I'm not simply hating on the guy. Tooth from the Tigers Mouth: Is an excellent book. I love this book, if you are interested in good legit Chinese dieda medicine this book is simply awesome. I cannot recommend this book enough. Given that oddly enough I have had broken bones etc come into my clinic, I have found this book helpful. Zheng Gu Tuina: I went to much trouble to get this book, lets leave it at that. All I can say, is I was highly disappointed and I'm not a fan. Maybe I've been spoilt by what I've been taught in person by my own teachers, but I just don't like this book. It is however intended as a textbook for those studying the Zheng Gu courses with Tom etc, and so as a study aid for hands on instruction I think it would be awesome. But as a stand alone book, I don't recommend it. Circle Walking Bagua Again, highly disappointed. This is material taken from his blog, and the whole book was put together in 6 month after interviewing the Bagua master that inspired it. Meaning it is not written from direct experience so much as crafted around the salient points made by the Master. I personally found the whole interview, rather than the cherry picked aspects that Tom runs with, far more interesting and insightful, and FREE on Tom's blog. The format of the book also put me off, it was clear that many parts of the book were cut and past jobs re-edited from other articles posted on his blog. As a book it simply felt messy. I have also spent time consuming most of the works that Tom cites and uses to expound upon the Masters insights. As such I found reading it was not as insightful as it could have been had I not read all that other material. There are interesting things in the book, and Tom does cover material not often discussed which is nice. So depending upon your familiarity on these things, this book may be a simple way to get an overview of many sources. I do however recommend reading his blog first. Nei Gong Zhen Chuan (a translation) I like the text he translates, I like the fact that the Chinese is included. I do not however like or agree with many of the choices made in translating or explaining it. I feel there are some very great leaps in speculation that will lead to mis-understanding made in this book. These same speculations are often then also quoted to support views in Tom's other books, such as the one above on circle walking. Translating is hard, but when I look at the Chinese I just don't see what they end up with in English, they add A LOT that simply isn't there. Everyone sees through the filter of their own experience and training when reading old texts (or even modern books). This is unavoidable and inevitable. Decoding the Dao: I don't have this book. But given the above trend to rehash blog articles as published books, and given that I have and did read the entire blog article series called Decoding the Dao, which were lessons in Daoist meditation. I can only assume that those articles have become this book. I did not agree, based on my own experiences and teachers teachings, with the view Tom gave. And it shifted my view of his understanding of these matters greatly. Rightly or wrongly. It simply wasn't compatible in a direct sense to what I am doing, and so was not helpful. That does not of course it cannot be helpful to others. Overall, I'm glad people like Tom are putting out these books. And If I didn't have the teachers I do, then I would probably find them far more helpful and better than I do.

Other; It isn't that I 'don't know', but at the same time I do it because it is who I am. I started young with dream and shamanic work (not that I called it that or understood it as that at the time). Then I spent years ignoring it all. But somethings just don't leave you alone. It doesn't matter how many different directions you go in, its like a maze that keeps leading you to the same place despite the routes taken. My first esoteric teacher looked at me when we first met, and smiled, when I enquired they told me what they saw of a past life/lives of mine. So on the one hand I don't feel I have a choice. It is, er inevitable Best,

http://cattanga.typepad.com/tabby_cat_gamespace/2013/12/index.html Thank you all SF People! I want to thank all the super cool 22 or so people who made it to the San Francisco Chinatown workshop venue. SUCH GREAT PEOPLE! So nice, highly skilled, incredibly perceptive questions, sharp and sweet all-and-only the kind of people one would like to be around always. I for one at least had a great time on the scene and I thank everybody who came out for it. This seminar was a recapitulation of the already-filmed forthcoming DVD: Tai Chi PENG Surfing the Soft Wave. Everything identical except that I also did some pushing in the workshop, which is not covered on the DVD. The DVD is strictly and purely the Tai Chi version of Zhan Zhuang energy cultivation method, which occupied about 80% of the seminar. I wonder if I overdid the energy stuff at the expense of the pushing? I think i advertised more pushing and we did some but didn't real get as down and dirty as the workshop notice might have hinted. I wonder if anybody felt shortchanged? But they all seemed to be very happy with the workshop day ... hmm but one never knows. Well, anyway just like everything else it is all water under the bridge and dust in the wind. In fact, I think maybe I am done with giving workshops. Because there's no need for it anymore, once the DVD is out. The DVD tells all. That's my whole message in a nutshell (if I may). Nothing really needs to be added to that. Sure a few bells and whistles but let's not get ourselves distracted by the dreaded feature creep syndrome. Stick to the core message! That's the DVD. Once the DVD appears people can make up their own minds and do their own work on it (or not) depending on how they think. Everybody can just make one of two choices, either: 1. That guy Meredith is an asshole and a nutcase. or: 2. That guy Meredith is an asshole and a nutcase, but he's pointing at something real. If it is Option 2 then the DVD gives you everything you need to work it alone. Why gild the lily with this in-person stuff? That said though, I am tempted to do one more event, just to correct the overdose of standing, posture, and energy work in the great just-past SF Chinatown event. This final workshop would be a push-only thing. No talk about solo culitivation stuff at all. The attendess would ve strictly vetted to be people who have minimum over 1 year (hopefully much more) of solid work in a contact discipline, be it Tai Chi, Judo, Aikdo, Jiu Jitsu of any kind, wrestling and so on. The topic would still be Tai Chi, but focused on push hands with the idea of broadening the practice and principles, finding safe ways to practice free-style energy-based kuzushi. That could be really fun, given the right venue and right people. I will call that workship: SOFT-OVER-STRONG: Tai Chi Cool Touch Training That event would truly be the last one, my absolute final swan song on the subject.

Thanks for the report, I hope you enjoyed yourself I thought the above was worth repeating.

Thanks for sharing. I have been dense about this, and a similar realisation took a while for me. I am still learning about this. I have felt how working with, mixing, and balancing Heaven & Earth can mean so many things, and I know I haven't even scratched the surface yet. Indeed, when I first learned GoT I all too easily approached the practice from past experiences. Older habits/conditioning/teaching need time to fade. I am still learning new layers to what Ya Mu told me the first time I met him when he took the time to explain aspects of the system. I understood what he was saying at the time, and today I understand what he said, and yet the two are worlds apart! Even with the martial training, I started at age 8, I never developed strong intent. Though I have experienced and used strong intent in life, it was something I never really learned to bring forth into my martial art. And don't think I didn't try. At one point I went a little far, and with lets say an approach where I was becoming someone I didn't want to be. Some doors once open never fully close again. I realised I had been lucky enough to have a life where I hadn't needed to open those doors, so why do so for the sake of it. Soon after I was introduced to fighting without intent, and I found this made a world of difference. But I digress... I appreciate more and more why the GoT movements are "simple" physically. Though I was talking with a fellow student the other day and saying how I can practice taiji walking and do one leg stepping exercises fine (not perfectly), but when it comes to the ones in GoT there is something else going on and finding 'balance' is a whole other thing! hahah I have been feeling and to an extent pondering upon this recently as well. The relationship between your own state, how you feel and how much you can help others. There is the discernment which is in Ya Mu's book about being honest with yourself. I had made a decision regarding this over the weekend. Come Monday, due to what I had on that day, I prayed and put it out that I was more prepared to help those that needed it. Yes, it felt like assuming responsibility. The result? Three enquiries in 24 hours from as far away as India, all of a nature that was quite a leap for me! Talk about saying something and getting a response, I looked at this and thought, "right, what is the best way forward, how can I help, how can I help them BE helped". Discernment is right. I contacted Ya Mu, since I wasn't sure if I'd be biting off more than I could chew. Happy to help, to do (there is no try right ?) to listen, but as he says above and reminded me, you can't help everyone. The e-mail about that also came at an auspicious time for me, I received it shortly after getting back from clinic with a tough patient. It was like receiving an indirect confirmation. Sometimes there is more that needs to be learned for them. Will of the Light/Dao indeed. I have dipped into it, but not re-read the book since Hilton Head. I KNOW I will understand things quite differently. Curiouser and curiouser, just how deep does the rabbit hole go?... Best,

I've been there....mmm

Yup, Andrew will be putting everything he has up on youtube, including all the old stuff with Dr Xie! If you like it please subscribe to his youtube channel, and click on the ads the proceeds generated go back to his teachers families. http://www.youtube.com/user/traditionalstudies/videos

Dwai, Even though Ya Mu has answered already I'm going to throw in my coupla penneth. The 'subtitle' of GoT 1 is "vibratory acts of power". I personally view the practice as a shamanic qigong. 1. The 'jins' of taiji (that are also in many regards present in bagua, xingyi etc) such as peng, liu, an etc are in my understanding movements of qi that manfest as physical power, qi to jin. To develop this the focus is primarily upon the neiqi (inner qi) and on the xing (form/shape). Though of course one may develop and later work with an awareness of the qi immediately surrounding yourself. In GoT, the emphasis is on aligning with patterns and movement or vibrations of qi, as heaven and earth qi interact around and through us. The 'inner' aspect, is stillness-movement neigong so there is no yunqi (directing/moving qi) about along channels etc. I couldn't at this stage say GoT alone does not lead to developing peng, liu, an etc, however if it does I would say it is a happy side effect. In that it isn't what it is about. On the other hand, if you have learned taijiquan and have developed this 'jin', then GoT will certainly amp up the energetics and that will of course support the taijiquan practice. 2. Ya Mu says anyone can begin even with just the dvd. 3. Yes GoT works with heaven and earth qi, but it is not so specific as other qigong in pulling heaven into baihui or earth into yongquan. The weird thing is that really, you get out of the way (harder than you think (or I think anyhow)) and much of this happens on its own. You simply become aware of the fact the qi was moving through you all the time, and so on. 4. Kinda answered this already. For me I made the mistake initially of treating it as a 'feel the neiqi' practice. To deal with that I had to emphasis the awareness of the waiqi (external qi), however thesedays I consider it to be a 'blurr the lines of neiqi-waiqi' practice, and becomes aware of the patterns/movements between heaven and earth. It's like the currents and eddies and swells of the ocean. I mean Ya Mu said it all along, 'sea of light' All the best,

Chidragon?

Thats just effin scary!!

And I'll repeat it again, because it is sagely advice too often ignored by many who think things don't apply to them, until they find themselves posting on a forum asking for help from people they don't know. This is not a comment upon any posts in this thread in particular, it is a comment on a general situation as viewed by myself and others who understand neigong much better than I do. Apologies if this is a derail.....

Depends who is talking.... And who is listening