cheya

@manitou Check out Chapter 2 in Journey to Ixtlan. "Erasing Personal History", p 9-17. This aspect of Don Juan's teaching has always intrigued me. Perhaps Luxin's boarder follows the Nagual tradition...

In Carlos Castaneda's tradition, erasing your personal history was very important. That involved not revealing the historical details of your life to anybody, and perhaps even forgetting them yourself! I think that was covered in his third book, Journey to Ixtlan. Maybe ask your friend about the function of erasing personal history.. Who knows, you may take it up as a practice yourself! @manitou @Wizz

And swallowing to add to the spin? Or is that about a different practice?

That's so cool! You're the first person to mention the rotating quality! Maybe I just lucked into that because I was working with Robert Bruce's rotating energy sensing technique. Doing this practice really improved my lower dantian energetics, as that's one of the strong "destinations" the energy chooses. I also get strong flows in arms and legs in addition to the "gooey parts", lol. Maybe I've preferentially opened those flows with all the Taichi Ruler and chinese balls practice which do circulate all over, not just centrally. The energy does not stick to your legs, but more like a single column/pillar to the ground? Swallowing to add to the spin? So many questions!

You can feel the pulse there? Like you mean heart beat? Do you get the whole body flow thing too?

Very interesting thread. My experience with the Upper Dantian area isn't from any particular lineage, and not derived from a particular Taoist practice or understanding AFAIK, but I'm interested in any comments. I've followed Scott Meredith's work for some years, and he has a very interesting rap on activating Niwan (basically the upper Dantian) before doing energy work. He says that although Niwan is located near the pineal gland, it is an energetic structure, not actually a physical place. It is the receptacle for the cosmic energies flowing in from above. It's a different structure from the Third Eye, which is more to the front. He says Niwan acts as an ignition switch for energetic circulation in the body. It's sort of a "grand central station" for directing the energy, and he said getting it activated is an amazing full body experience. He said just to touch in there before practice to get it activated. I didn't feel anything energetic from "just touching in there", so I had to work on how to activate it, which took me a couple weeks. One day while working there, my whole body lit up with energy flows! I was astonished. My way of "working there" involves holding and rotating my sensating attention in the general area of the pineal. It is not imagining or visualizing. It is feeling. Activating Niwan has never given me a headache (and I would not do it if it did). The full body energy flows are very pleasant. Once activated I don't direct the energy, as it seems to have its own agenda, and I let it do its thing. This isn't a spiritual practice, but more a way to clear the energy circulation, washing out stagnation in the whole body. I feel upbeat and energized for hours afterwards. I usually end by doing some abdominal circling in both directions, which does serve to bring the energy down to the lower dantian area.

The way I understand it so far, the vaccine has not been shown to stop you from getting the virus or from spreading it. It does apparently help you not to get severe symptoms or to die from it. That's definitely a plus. However, this doesn't sound like the vaccine protects those around you. So if you want to save lives, optional strategy does seem to be to give it to those most likely to die from it. Vaccinated spreaders can still spread. Reminder: vitamins D, A and C, and minerals magnesium and zinc are profoundly protective, as is melatonin. I add iodine supplementation to that list. You can take these right now AND get the vaccine when it comes available... if you so choose.

Low carb diets are good because one of the problems with cognitive disfunction is that the brain needs an energy supply, and glucose has become ineffective (Type 3 diabetes). But the brain can switch fuels to running on fat metabolism, and do very well. It's just a matter of training your body to use a different fuel, which can take some doing, especially if you've been running on carbs for a long time. That's just one of the approaches covered in Bredesen's book mentioned above. He has a new book out, a workbook for doing his protocol at home. Clinical studies show his methods can stop and even improve cognitive deterioration, and he has doctors across the country trained in implementing the protocols. The End of Alzheimer's Program: The First Protocol to Enhance Cognition and Reverse Decline at Any Age Illustrated Edition by Dale Bredesen MD (Author) https://www.amazon.com/End-Alzheimers-Program-Protocol-Cognition/dp/0525538496/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1AATA78VPYVTP&dchild=1&keywords=bredesen+protocol&qid=1610291123&s=books&sprefix=Bredesen%2Caps%2C1553&sr=1-2

Welcome from a fellow Ashevillian! Curious to know what particularly has drawn your interest here.

It's my understanding that, even after getting the vaccine, you still need to wear a mask and socially distance. Why? Because the vaccine protects against developing serious symptoms, and may thus save your life... but it does NOT protect you from becoming infected and passing it to others. That could make you an asymptomatic carrier. People with serious co-morbidities who are unwilling or unable to get free of them, are probably better off getting the vaccine, so they won't die of the virus. But it doesn't sound like getting the vaccine will protect other members of your family from getting the virus from you. They'll need to be vaccinated themselves. There are many more natural ways to protect yourself, if you are so inclined. That route seems to me to offer better odds, and less risk. But for all of us, we'll make our choices, and we'll have to deal with any consequences. Pretty much a crap shoot at this point.

Nungali, is that how you experience chi? As a set of visualizations?

For chronic constipation, consider getting your thyroid levels checked. If thyroid levels are low, liver will be sluggish and digestion will be slow. If you try more fiber with low thyroid, it may not help, as your digestion just doesn't have the oomph to push stuff through. You might find iodine/seaweed supplementation is helpful to boost thyroid function. I have used the 3 ingredient Trifala, and it was helpful. Getting my thyroid up to speed was the critical component for me.

Maybe a chisel?

Best thing I know for good posture and keeping back pain at bay is Eric Goodman's Foundation Training. He's a chiropractor that had to solve his own serious posture problems, under threat of surgery. The method reengages the posterior chain, the muscle/fascial chain that maintains our erect posture, and antidotes our modern life of hunching over computers, cell phones, and steering wheels. It's very simple, you can learn enough of it off Goodman's YouTube vids to correct your posture. His original formulation had 8 postures. You do them 3 times a day or so, hold them for 15 seconds each. Hard to believe it can be that simple, but it was for me. And I only did the first posture! There are two positions for that one, and still do it when I need to for back pain. What I noticed is that it retrained my muscles to hold good posture effortlessly, without thought. I would be driving and notice my shoulders were happily pinned back against the car seat all by themselves. Astonishing! For an intro to the method, look for Goodman's 15 minute TedX on YouTube. He has two books, and lots of free info online.

Fluoride is poison! It calcifies the pineal! What made you think fluoride would help?

If you call Dragon Herbs, you can talk to an advisor, who can... advise you.

This isn't quite what you seem to be asking for, but i have found it very helpful for healing self and others. Look at Meridian Massage with Cindy Black. It is an in-depth course in oriental healing developed by a massage therapist who became an acupuncturist and then decided she liked hands-on work better... She developed a 3 month course that teaches energy development, meridian study, 5 element, Organ, and acupoint work in a layered approach. She is an excellent teacher.

For using acupuncture points and theory on your own body, or as an adjunct to a massage practice, I recommend Cindy Black's Meridian Massage Approach. Cindy is a massage therapist who decided to go to acupuncture school. After she became an acupuncturist, she ended up deciding she liked hands work better than needles, so she integrated the two. IMO, her biggest talent is teaching! She has a three month online course that will get you familiar with the concepts and strategies, covering yin and yang, 5 element theory, the Organ systems, the twelve meridians, 60 useful points, and practices for developing qi. The subject is very complex, but she layers the information and integrates it in ways that help you absorb it. And you can repeat the course for free, which lots of us do! The course is offered the first 3 months of each year. If you take that course, you will know what to do for your own liver and kidneys. Here's a link: https://www.bigtreehealing.com

Curious if the board has a way to keep track of how many people have decided to ignore a given member.

Sanity Check, that is a TON of great information! Thank you!

I read it that Song threatened to leave if he didn't get his way, and Steve was just waving bye... My sympathies to our new mods!

Song, what I find amusing is that you appear to think that threatening to leave the board is going to make the mods jump to meet your demands...

I've ignored that book for years, because the author just looks so unhealthy to me. Who knows, he might look even less healthy if he was not eating that way... but it simply does not appeal.

Bulletproof coffee (with butter whipped into it) is really good. I've had butter in my tea when I'm out of milk, and it's just a grease slick. So, next time, I'm gonna whip the butter into the tea just like I do with coffee. I know that's not the Tibetan way, but I wasn't impressed with my version of their version.

@silent thunder That was a GREAT post! Thank you!