cheya

Welcome, Michel! Even though you say you're more a quiet reader than an active poster, I hope you'll be inspired to jump in. Looking forward to hearing from you!

Going to the extremes undermines your intent because too far in any direction heads back the other way. Waste of life energy.

Hi HoldorFold, Not sure I understand why this is so, but I can tell you what I have been told. The yin energy rises from the earth. The yang energy descends from heaven. It is hard to reconcile that with yang fire rising, and yin water sinking.... and I can't explain that part.. But, setting that aside for the moment, the part about the MCO is maybe easier to understand. The Ren and Du channels differ from the twelve regular meridians. They belong to the Eight Extraordinary Channels, and are the only two of those which have their own points. (The other EEVs use points from the twelve meridians.) The Ren and the Du are both numbered in Chinese medicine as going up. But the eight extraordinary channels are described more as reservoirs, not the same as the meridians (which are more like rivers) But to experience Ren and Du in a circuit, they have to flow, and one will have to return down. Sometimes the orbit is run the opposite direction. Sometimes they are described as running in both directions simultaneously. (Never experienced that myself!) So maybe one way to look at the MCO is that the energy usually is run up the yang side of the body and down the yin, but perhaps the energy itself is neither yang nor yin. Hopefully someone more versed in this will chime in and clear the rest of it up for us! (sillybearhappyhoneyeater ?.... Gerard?) Curious... How are you going about studying the 12 primary meridians?

I remember a class with Michael Winn where he said something that really stuck with me. (Paraphrasing here ) "Your energy body wants to do what you want it to do, but you have to keep giving it the directions until it becomes a habit. You (mostly) can't just tell it once." Sure it will bounce back up, but your job is to direct it again (and again), keep working to teach it this new path, create a new river route. Down. There are some acupressure points that help move energy down, if you're interested. (Also, do consider taking Jeff up on his chat offer. He does some cool stuff!)

Hi grabmywrist4, Nothing permanently fixed the problem... sounds like some things might have worked a little. What have you tried (specifically) and what helped a little but not permanently? Also, curious if you've consulted an acupuncturist...

Yes, I got to meet you and your friend last night in chat... I'm really glad you've joined, and look forward to some new and interesting explorations here.

Welcome to the Bums! Actually lots of hermits around here... I find it a very good place to hermitize...

Hello HorizonLight! Welcome to the bums! Maybe you'll tell us a bit about what interests you, what drew you here...

Just what I need. Another TTC translation. But I just caved. Reading his quotes on Twitter did me in. Thank you for bringing this forward.

Just want to comment to you, Daeluin, that, while I "thanked" your post, IN NO WAY do I agree that you should "just leave things be"! I appreciate the depth of your thoughts, your analysis of what can go awry in these online forums, and all the work you do to keep DB up and running. Thank you!

Yueya, Dust's comment on Heshang Gong interested me, and I tried to follow up on it, but got nowhere... so very pleased to see your post! Thank you!

Actually, I lived off grid-for five years. And that was without solar! Talk about primitive! The house was not "tiny".. but pretty small by modern standards. Spotless lived on a sailboat. That definitely qualifies as off grid and tiny. I have friends in a nearby ecovillage living in mostly small houses, totally off grid. This is in North Carolina, not California, but doesn't seem necessary to limit the discussion to CA drought conditions... People ARE doing it!

Actually, you can run a well pump on solar... certainly enough for household use. Might need a lot of solar to pump enough water to grow crops... but people living in tiny houses don't necessarily grow their own food. Some do, many don't. Have a look at Lehman's Hardware Store (USA)... Amish non-electric equipment of all kinds. Was a major Wish Book for me back in the day. Not so much tiny house, but gives you an idea what's available to support off-grid life. https://www.lehmans.com

And here from an old thread on living off-grid: "... "tiny houses" are great for off-the-grid, but not so much for "self-sufficient: if you're going to really be self-sufficient, you need a lot of equipment to raise and process food, care for animals, build and repair stuff. So you need space to store it. A lot of space. That, and all the kids (or friends) necessary to do the work, is the reason those old farmhouses were pretty big! That said, a great site for tiny house dreaming is http://tinyhouseblog.com Some of my current favorites: This handmade trailer even has a sleeping porch! http://catstinyhome.wordpress.com/ Wonderful design details on this one: http://tinyhouseblog...rid-tiny-house/ And this adobe house is one of my all time favorites! http://tinyhouseblog...ns-adobe-house/ " That old thread here: http://www.thedaobums.com/topic/32777-living-off-grid/?hl=+tiny%20+house

Too funny Qicat! Just last night I was admiring some tiny houses, and looking at the inside views I said to myself, "All good, but where do I keep the books?"

If you do qi practices, you may stumble upon another interpretation of this, as you notice the palpable qi flow coming up from your feet. Qi is a kind of breath too. Rainbow Vein has a somewhat other view on this, maybe she will chime in.

TT... do you avoid grains?

Hey Bruce Qi A neighbor friend of mine has MS, so I try to keep my eyes out for things that might help him... and I have noticed a couple books on Amazon that look potentially helpful. Unfortunately my neighbor isn't open to the qigong stuff... but two books (from a number on MS mentioning qigong and/or tai chi) that look interesting are Rising UP! by Anna York, and Qigong for Multiple Sclerosis: Finding Your Feet Again, by Nigel Mills. Wondering if you're familiar with either of these books, or any others that have helped the condition.

What a great avatar! Welcome to the Bums, magick&joy! (I get goosebumps here a lot too )

"Yawning cools the brain" is a fun google search. Check it out. They also say the bigger the brain the longer the yawn...

I don't pray, but I get the yawning thing a lot when I'm focusing on energy. I'm not tired, not at all sleepy, but yawning like crazy! The more intense the energy, the more yawning. It does tend to pull me out of the energy awareness, although I'm slowly getting better at staying with the awareness through the yawn. People have always said the body needs oxygen, so makes me breathe... but I read somewhere else an explanation I actually like better. Yawning cools the brain! All that energy and connection heats up the brain, so you yawn to cool it down. The way I experience energy, that explanation makes lots more sense!

Hi Danielsholl, Goosebumps (I call them chills) were one of the first signs of chi I came across and identified. I was telling a meditation teacher how I had goosebumps the whole meditation. He laughed and replied "That's qi!" and held out his forearm, suddenly covered with gooseflesh, as you call it. For years that's been one of my major indicators, happens pretty much whenever the qi is running. You probably know that it's caused by a tiny muscle that makes each hair stand on end. Pretty much anytime I do qigong it happens, and often when I'm getting body work. Once the therapist working commented on the HUGE goosebumps on my leg, and asked if I knew how big they were, which I didn't. (I never bother looking at them, as I can feel them from the inside. ) But I thought it was funny, and told her "Of course they're big! Those little muscles are pumped! And they oughta be, they work out every day!" When we first start getting the qi signs, we can get rather enamored of them. I have called myself a chills junkie for years. It feels really good... Actually, you didn't mention that. Does it feel really good to you when it happens?

Yes, a Handsome Fellow indeed! Thanks, Sean!

The original link doesn't work. Here's one that does. http://www.leveragingideas.com/2008/07/16/turning-girl-yale-iq-tes/

Probably make more sense as "Fire" ... And thanks, Brian... I couldn't get that to post either.