gendao

Wow, that's a powerful imagery. Thanks!

Cool, I'm definitely going to this one. Is there a nearby hotel there that everyone will be staying at?

Actually, a woman's cervix these days doesn't really mature until her early 20s. So, 23 is about the optimum time to pop one out. Although, I agree that earlier is probably better than later for the baby. Risk of birth defects definitely goes up with the age of the mom. This is why I say in a Taoist government, these types of things would be well-studied and publicized. When it comes to family planning, the populace should be educated on optimal biological ages to bear children, etc.

What is SKF, btw?

"A fish cannot comprehend the existence of water. He is too deeply immersed in it." - Sir Oliver Lodge

Interesting. Here's another cool site. A lot of these exercises revolve around using stereoscopic imaging.

What about Dennis Adams in Mt. Shasta, CA? Anybody ever heard of or got feedback on this guy? I'm not sure exactly what his lineage is - but his seemed pretty impressive... Someone should check this guy out if they don't live too far.

I think a Taoist government would recognize and work in accordance with the true nature of humans and natural process of the environment. And far from being passive - the government would be very scientific in studying the operating principles of Nature so they can best be worked with. In human relations, it would recognize and understand natural Darwinian diversity. The novel concept that people are not all born "tabula rasa" clones - but come pre-packaged with various innate strengths and tendencies through the process of evolution. And there is nothing wrong with this - so it does not need to be fixed! Unlevelling the playing field to enforce some idealistic "unfair equality" is actually wrong. People are combinations of Nature and nurture...not just nurture. Therefore, ignoring the Nature part is a fundamental error that can only result in a similarly-flawed outcome. Which is why PUAs have reverted to an evo-psych-based methodology now - because the new feminist-approved codes were only heavily backfiring! Ecologically, all construction projects would be built carefully in accordance with the environment (feng shui). The city of New Orleans and its complex levee system would NEVER HAVE BEEN BUILT where it was at...due to its natural vulnerability to catastrophic flooding. Crops would not be genetically modified and superbugs wouldn't be bred due to overusage of antibiotics. Etc, etc. Always better to work with Nature than against it... Man playing God is like a baby playing doctor and that's usually not a good thing...

I totally agree with this - which is why mileage varies for different people... However, sometimes less is more and not telling us that forces us to empty our cups and approach the practice with an open mind. As opposed to having too many preconceptions that could possibly be false and hinder us.

True, Cam is basically a "Kunlun prodigy" quite far from the norm... I think with very limited time, Max chose to give us more meat than gravy and I personally liked that. He did touch upon all the main points without overloading us with too many details, that would have been premature for most of us noobs. And in China, you were simply expected to deal with and figure out a lot of this stuff on your own afterwards by "facing the wall" anyways... So sure, a few laggards or prodigies might fall outside of this bell curve and need some additional instruction, but I think it was a good pace for most of us. For those extreme data points, a support group like here is useful to share some extra info. Also, I personally don't think anything "bad" is happening to Cam...just a lot of good things that are just happening very fast.

- First off, only male homosexuality is regarded as a "sin" in the Bible. And btw, "sin" is usually translated from the Greek word hamartia (ἁμαρτία) - which means "to miss the mark" or "to miss the target" (also used in Old English archery). Now, I'm sure you can think of several pragmatic reasons why male homosexuality would be "bad," but unfortunately, the Bible does not give any reasoning behind its decrees so it's anybody's guess. - Well, only people can change themselves and empty their own cups first...true. Debate is usually wasted breath, although it can still be an enjoyable waste. - My friend says there is a difference between following your heart and just following your emotional body. Your heart has wisdom, your volatile emotional body essentially doesn't. Wu-wei is allowing our deepest inner nature to guide us...which is a lot more difficult for most of us to access than we might think.

Yea, I wanna get some more personal practice time under my belt before I attend another one. I think I will shoot for one in November, in Phoenix or wherever.. But will also be interested in hearing some feedback from SF.

Yea, Cameron's reaction was definitely not typical. Although others had some pretty intense reactions at the workshop too - I don't know what their follow-up has been like. However, I have a hunch that Cameron's may be one of the most extreme data points out there from the last seminar. Certainly, about half the class experienced relatively little. Thing is, we are all starting at different points, so "mileage will vary." Anyhow, this is a great question. If one wants to achieve the really high results, might one have to sacrifice the lay lifestyle for more of a quasi-monastic lifestyle? Simply put, if you're tied down to a 40-hr/week gig...how would you have time everyday to practice a lot and have enough time off every year to see masters and go to retreats, etc? Maybe that is simply unrealistic? Personally, I would like to become financially-independent somehow so get off the grid and have much more freedom of time & money. Practically speaking, my progress is severely hampered by my daily job commitments...

Wow, I think that was GENIUS! It really explains why people are told to meditate with their eyes half-closed staring down their nose... But really, it's to stare down at their hands then to complete the circuit. Ah-ha! KUDOS for this insight!

So, back to basics here...but what is everyone's interpretation of the opening line: 道可道, 非常道 dao ke dao, fei chang dao Full comprehension and translation can be a very tricky task, indeed...

I've seen some of the more ancient depictions of Chinese dragons and they look simpler and more simply snake-like. I find the cross-cultural spiritual significance given to serpents very interesting: Kundalini is envisioned as a serpent coiled at the base of the spine. The caduceus is a pair of coiled serpents. The serpent told Adam & Eve the truth about the gods in Genesis.. Perhaps..these symbolize our reptilian past...hisssss!

Well, I guess weight gain would literally be grounding...lol, if that's what you wanna call it. Hey thanks for the feedback Cam, you are a pioneer amongst our group here and any things to watch out for are certainly helpful.

Well, Bruce Frantzis believes Aikido may have at least been partly based upon Baguazhang anyways...as it does use some circular movements too and Ueshiba did spend some time in Manchurian China.

Yea, I was wondering about that. Can it basically just be any "electrical" insulator? Like, if your floor is carpeted, would that suffice? Because, I remember something about "John Chang" levitating in a hotel room but saying he could only get like 2' off the ground because the synthetic carpet was sort of "insulating" him from the Yin Earth.

The CIMAs essentially teach how to increase power & structure through energy usage and skeletal alignment. These are advanced refinements that require very mindful training - not just mindless repetition or collecting techniques. I've dabbled in many external martial arts...but none of them come close to teaching these deeper core principles. It's just not in their curriculums. With that said, you will get far faster, concrete results in "reality-based" MMA-style systems. The CIMAs have a far steeper, stepped learning curve that requires "getting" a lot of subtle things...or not. As far as CIMAs though, you might also consider Baguazhang & Yiquan. Yiquan is supposed to be the core training for Taijiquan - composed primarily of zhan zhuang. In fact, it sounds suspiciously like: I don't know exactly what the arm positions are for Mao Shan 5 - but in Yiquan - you have ~8 (I think) arm positions where they are held at various angles in front of your body. I think a lot of life is about proper positioning. You position yourself in the right way at the right time in the right place - and let the universe do the rest. It's like catching a wave. Or assuming the Kunlun meditation posture and then letting go. Or in BJJ, you always seek superior positioning - which makes the finishing move a formality after that.

Well, Max said that qigongers who leave energy in their head are the ones who can go funny.. That's why this meditation (and many others) is concluded by returning all energy to your dantien area. I also feel this practice is inherently on the safer side since it's about letting things happen, not forcing them to. It is a Yin water path. So worst case, I figure simply basically nothing happens. I mean, how dangerous is sitting in a chair doing nothing?

This is purely intellectual speculation since I haven't experienced the bliss myself yet... But, I believe we seek the Source. The root of the grapevine. The fountainhead of the stream. The empty mother of all forms. When you want the purest, truest, unadulterated reality, we always seek the source. Behind the masks. Behind the manifestations. Before the degeneration. I think when you find the ultimate truth, everything else suddenly becomes trivial. As does all the drama, attached importance and suffering to them. Finally, you get the "Cosmic Joke." Ignorance is not bliss. Finding the light creating all the shadow play is naturally blissful. And not just intellectually, but in reality. Only when you feel it, have you actually found and done it. That's why alchemical meditation works on opening the energetic body as well as the mind. Because simply knowing is not enough. Knowing is not doing. Feeling is doing (in the metaphysical world). As Cameron said - I think keys to this practice are letting go and feeling. This makes it a particularly good challenge for me - who fears giving up control and am often stuck in my head. Whereas, I have to learn to trust the universe (more than my own limited ego) and feel. Women do tend to have a big natural advantage here. But again, perhaps I have over-thought and said too much. As Bruce Lee said:

I guess I don't necessarily see the conflict here? Simply claiming to have studied in someone's line is different than claiming to have gained teacher status there...or even having studied directly under that lineage holder himself. I've studied Yang-style Taijiquan. Doesn't mean I studied it directly under Yang Luchan or was permitted to teach it from him. Also, Max taught Kunlun in the workshop, not Phurba. Sooo...if there's a smoking gun somewhere...I don't think this is it.

I agree with this. Which makes it harder for any skeptic to write him off. He did do many demos with his assistants too (similar to what you saw in his vids) - which the diehard skeptic could always say were "faked" by them. Although watching them in real life, I personally doubt that. The displays were very convincing to me. Which is not to say you'd see the same visible effects on just anyone. Max himself even said that they had a "mind agreement" between them since any effects were ultimately therapeutic. And so they happily cooperated - even if that meant physically resisting at times. Now, if he did the same thing on a truly unwilling person with closed channels - I don't know what would happen. Perhaps that person's reactions might not be as visibly severe or he might risk internal energetic injury. Who knows. But the fact that he can get open, willing "ukes" to react so strongly is still a testament in itself. And to get half or more of us nooby students to really feel something - often something really intense - is even more difficult. I cannot speak firsthand here yet because I did not feel anything strong yet, but I did see Cameron and others reacting quite violently and seemingly rather involuntarily. So in my opinion, the guy has some real power and is of a very high level. Probably extremely. I seriously doubt he is just some "Lobsang Rampa" paperback hack. At the very very very least - he is an extraordinarily-talented group hypnotist with an encyclopedic scholarly knowledge of Eastern (and some other) mystery schools. Or...he is basically what he says he is. As far as his lineages and teaching credentials, etc - I personally can't give an informed opinion since I am not familiar with all those specifics. He does seem rather knowledgeable about many different schools, lineages and practices, though. Personally, I think he is like a free mind that may not enjoy dealing with messy politics. And is also caught in a precarious balance where the old safeguards that were used to preserve traditions...now also threaten to destroy them. In a modernizing world where sincere students and authentic masters are both rapidly becoming extinct. A similar bind that "John Chang" struggled with. Where he wants to leave this world or just enjoy a simple life, but is bound to stay and help us. Then wants to teach things but may be bound by previous oaths not to. Wants to disseminate power but must also take safe responsibility for that. The whole Prometheus complex, in a nutshell. It's probably a very thin tightrope to walk and if he wobbles a bit, I don't think that simply discredits him as a whole. It's hard to find a perfect solution to such a complex problem. I don't get the sense that he is arrogant or intentionally disrespectful. Just irreverent and playful. Perhaps that is his strength, and at times, his weakness. He is human, after all. The guy loves pizza & sweets, for god's sakes! Well, this was all just my humble opinion and initial impression. I probably said too much, at the risk of possibly eating some words later. Or more likely not. Time will always tell more. And if I unintentionally misrepresented Max, I apologize and will gladly stand corrected. But overall, it was probably the most amazing weekend of my life yet - not just due to Max "The Main Event," but also some of the other incredible people I met there. Thanks to Max & everybody involved for making it happen!