Trunk

I don't know if you've groked your own triple entendra (sp?). "Light bulb" could refer to "enlightenment", "sex" (at least if you're talking to this group), and "getting our heads in order" ... and the number, is, what?: 53 million and counting? I just printed out the symbol for my website on iron-on tshirt photo paper that I got at Staples. It turned out pretty good. The shortest explanation of it that I just made up:

I like both of those. Yoda's works on levels, inside jokes, two tads and a smidgen to sink in.

I've had a private discussion with Chris along those lines and there is some degree of agreement. I said that they have an over-emphasis of showy stuff & Max, and that they should balance it out with things about really basic 'health & happiness' benefits of the practice. I had a practical suggestion along those lines that could be used in the workshop setting, also Chris said that there were plans already in the works to emphasize the method more at the website. They haven't been doing the seminars for very long, are learning and making adjustments, and have openness to practical constructive feedback.

I lift 'em pretty high. I was corrected to that at the seminar. I'm careful not to clench my feet though; I keep the sole relaxed and 'open' through the occasional feeling of gently spreading my toes. I feel like it focuses the connection through Kidney-1 acupoint, which activates the whole Kidney channel as well as the specific things that K1 does. So, vitality is harmonized with the heart center across the hara, arms & legs activated, especially K1 earth connection... several fundamental essence (jing) angles on this. It's a really clever posture. Really good for health over the long term, I bet. I'm looking forward to see how this goes in the following months, etc.

From the youtube link, take the string of characters following the "v=". From the Heat clip you posted, it's "cYSzx_zy-98". Hit the "reply" button for this post and see how I inserted cYSzx_zy-98 in: bracketed "youtube" + cYSzx_zy-98 + bracketed "/youtube", like this: cYSzx_zy-98

The basic kunlun is an unusually effective method; it's more likely than most to generate good results with or without transmission, imo. As far as learning the mechanics of it, you might get some finesse instruction in person, but the basic practice is clear in the book - and you can learn it in about 30 seconds (it's that simple). If you can't (or don't want to) go to a seminar I certainly wouldn't let that hinder you from taking it up solely from the book (link). This practice easily makes it into the category of "most effective practices I've ever tried". Harmonizing, nourishing. * wow, can't believe I just said that *

uh, a related topic is the "triune brain". again, google or wiki it.

* waves *

Re: the diet thing... An internal martial arts teacher that I studied with for a while had dietary habits that would ruin most people, but he just kept getting stronger.. and stronger. That system produced a strong heaven~body~earth integration ... uniting those major forces through the body produced profound changes, over time, .. he just didn't dissipate like other people but was at the center of a very powerful triad. I'm not implying anything about justifying one way or the other, but just a related note - maybe something about the mechanics of it. ~ later edit ~ ... and certainly not recommending it.

Uh, are you saying that you got all of that from your first try at the posture?

I'm getting similar benefits as Max, Cat, and others have already posted. As far as complementary practices... - some sort of gentle spine work seems helpful to me, as I find the kunlun practice a bit 'front loaded'. As I posted before (link), or take your pick (link). - The kunlun posture activates the hara, which is loaded with fascia layers, so other fascia related practices such as: Sonnon's Intu-flow, any joint rotations, or other more traditional tendon-changing practices would seem appropriate. It's in the book Pillars of Bliss (link).

Happy Birthday!

google "naga", "nagas", "kunlun nagas" look at the pictures, read the articles.

Related story. A friend was recently telling a story - his caucasian friend was talking to an esteemed asian Teacher who said, "just be natural" about sex frequency - and as you do the practices things will naturally change. White guy responded, "natural, like, two-three times / week?" and the asian teacher !?! "are you crazy?!?!!: once a month - no ejaculation." !! My friend's pt of view was that in the asian culture, sex is normally a lot less than what we westerners experience as natural ... due to various cultural factors... maybe wisdom-cultivation flowing through the culture for 1000's of years and people developing 'root' through tai chi, etc, since they were children. All that could be true. My response, at the time of the story, is that there is an over-looked genetic~ethnic factor at work. I doubted that the eastern-european genetics, in general, for example, could possibly go for so long (30 days, much less 100!) - even under great imperative, focus, etc. And I think that the genetic factor hasn't been taken into account in east-to-west transposed blanket statements of how long to abstain, or assumptions about how long one can abstain with any sort of harmony. .. uh,,.. anyway .. still boils down to minding the harmony of your own body, however that works out.

I'm finding it to be deeply harmonizing, nourishing.

Have fun boys and girls! Some of the best parts were hangin' out with folks, and Max creates a really fun group vibe that sets the tone for happy fun social stuff afterwards. Just make sure that the restaurant you choose has a high chair for any short green comrades!

I tend to agree.Historically, humans have lived much shorter lives - and have been much more intensively involved with responsible physical labor (farming, gardening, ranching) from an earlier age. I think that if I'd grown up on a farm/ranch, I would've been helping from somewhere in grade school, and by the time I was in my mid-teens I'd be running the place... and perhaps starting to shift towards starting a place of my own, clearing trees, plowing fields, building my own place, starting a family, with all that youthful teen-to-mid-twenties energy. ~ later ~ Also, I think that community structure has been different historically. Smaller more isolated villages, so that you actually knew and looked out for everyone in your village as a process of growing up, helped take care of each other's kids (even while growing up), etc. Living with the extended family was more common. Modern community tends to be very fragmented. People live alone, with one or two people, or with just their immediate family, - and often don't know nor hang out with even their immediate neighbors. There's a lot of resultant isolation, both psychologically and practically, including the increased burden of raising kids alone vs. the more traditional structure of "it takes a village to raise a child". I think that (at least some of) the Amish social model is very appealing. Also the modern movement of Intentional Communities (link).

Ok. Here's something I'm just tinkering with. The kunlun method feels somewhat too "in front" for me - too much in the front part of the body, belly, nerve plexuses - so here is something I'm doing afterward in order to balance out. Front~Back Points meditation I just choose a pair of points, at the front and back of my body, same height, not necesarily acupoints, and hold my attention on that pair of points for a minute or so. Starting somewhere on the sacrum + front, and then next pair up 2-3 inches, and so on up the front~back up through the height of around the solar plexus or there-abouts (at least past the kidneys, ie: ming men). What this prompts if for the energy to play back and forth between the front~back points. Whatever way it wants to play, no specific direction intended, just hold the points and whatever happens or doesn't happen is ok. For me, so far, it balances out the kunlun front emphasis with some spine integration. This is not a "recomendation", only reporting what I've recently tried that felt good to me. I find it more stabalizing which makes sense because the nerve plexuses are more up front and there is more sensation, active psychology, etc, and the back is less so and has more of the stability of bone.

A stick of incense.

There was that saying that popped up here quite some while ago... - or something like that. I like it.

I suggest a statement that, while M & helpers are doing everything they can to assist empower and smooth the ride, that everyone has layers of stuff to get through and everyone is ultimately responsible for themselves - and students need to exercise that responsibility by pacing themselves. Some will need to more be willing open up, some need to back off a bit - and only each of us can judge that best. When I was young and strong I went at this sort of stuff as with all I had, all the time - and I think that that's typical, especially for young males. We think that we're invincible, plus most of us have never really been exposed to "fast track" practices. (Partly, obviously, I'm talking about Cam. But, really, I did the exact same thing when I first got a-hold of practices that produced results. ) There's a medium place of pressure and speed, where you go fast enough so that it's progressive, but not so fast that you hurt yourself. It's the student's responsibility to monitor that place. And, yup, the teacher helps out as best he/she can. Of course, the learning curve is not entirely avoidable. "Live & learn", and all that. A big part of it is just the very pedestrian process of getting in there and experiencing what happens, then learning in retrospect, adjusting. Like learning anything else.

Not sure what the "mei channel" is, and what you mean by "shen". But below is some explanation of what I'm talking about. References: - The several Core Vessel essays (link), especially - The Deep Center (link), and - Jing-to-Light Transformation (link) It is the latter process, especially, that I don't think is being acknowledged or addressed, here. (Really, though, even the specifics of any of the approaches in those essays.) A center can be activated in a mundane ("forward") fashion, and a return-to-the-Light-Source fashion ("reverse"). There is a difference between sort of "spontaneously resolving into transcendent states", and actually becoming proficient at activating the centers in reverse. It becomes a big deal as you're exposed to increasingly powerful states of consciousness; it allows you to - illuminate the centers, integrate them with the Big Light, with each other, and illuminate the Human Egg. It ties all that together through the bindu-Big Light connection. This grants you the esoteric strength to stay coherent and integral in the face of increasingly powerful states of consciousness. It's a big deal that lets you increasingly maintain your integral coherency, your integral center. It's sort of a "Big Light version" of rooting. Again, it's not that I think the kunlun method is bad. I've acknowledged all down the line many benefits, wonderfully simple, does-a-lot-with-a-little. I can even see that some people could be devoted to it as their sole practice, and benefit a great deal over time. And, I even freely admit that the stuff I'm referring to is too esoteric for many, and would just be confusing and hindering for them and (for some) they'd really be better off just relaxing their mind and taking up the simple effective kunlun approach. But also that the details of the central channel teachings are key to getting off the wheel. Like I said, I'm genuinely supportive - but also not without some honest criticism. Sort of a double-agent, but in a good way. ~ later edit ~ And I reserve the right to change my opinions on all of this stuff... I'm just beginning to explore it also.

The abdominal area is a resevoir (sp?! ) of jing. Sort of like a gas tank. Lots of Taoist methods that we've seen focus on getting this area smooth, kink-free, and filled. The hands tap the tank, activate it, and potentially blend the lower and middle centers - starting at a surface level (in front, near the nerve plexuses). Sort of a kan & li thing simply through posture. Because you're tapin' the tank, people feel things soon (yippeee), but that doesn't necesarily mean that that's a good thing, that you're using or resolving that energy skillfully (even though the position does have a lot going for it). People are easily hooked by getting some kind, any kind of sensational results. This method is very salable to the masses on this basis, and is also potentially very beneficial. (Are you starting to get the idea that I have mixed feelings? ) Also, the palms and soles are engaged, so you're kickin' in the arm & leg routes. That's important not only for staying connected to the earth, but there are plenty of important meridians along arms and legs, so that helps harmonize things... again, just from holding the position. If you harmonize your (jing) energy with this posture, it's possible that you'll fill your belly and that the harmonized energy will gradually open your other channels. Cautions, as far as I can see so far (and it's early, so I'm shooting from the hip): 1. "Pedal to the metal". Your channels need time to open, and you need time to learn the effects of the technique. Jump in and immediately drive as fast as you can and you're likely to spin out around some turn, or flip your car, or throw a piston, or use up your gas. So, yeah, practice hard enough that it's progressive, but not so fast that it's crazy. Back to basics that we've heard a million times: Harmony, Gradual progress. 2. Emptiness. This is not primarily a central channel method. This starts in the front (nerve plexuses) where there is lots of sensation, and power (stored jing). Many Taoist systems pay attention to this area (the hara) early in their system. The hara provides a basis of healthy energy, and is also where we store a lot of emotional trauma. Potentially, as the energies harmonize, it will open and fill other channels and other development will happen spontaneously. It's also possible that people will put too much attention into experiencing sensational stuff for too long, for ever, and think that it's everything, and it's actually not. I don't see an explicit central-channel based center development in this method, nor in the teachings so far, nor from what LM's student/s have said. But then again, force stillness too early, and people will suppress what they need to process actively in order to resolve. There are some passages in the book about the central channel and resolution into stillness - but the path there is tangential at best, and there's also misleading rather sensational statements ("Bliss is the fundamental nature of man.") that distract from having stillness in its fundamental place (even if you're not there right now). Beginners can also get into too much of flailing about and miss the basic of developing integrated, stabalized centeredness. I assume that, with practice, this naturally sorts out - but it wasn't emphasized in presentation - and if you've got some people with serious tangles under the surface (and eventually you'll bump into some student/s like that) they could get into serious loop-tee-loops and not really know the way to resolution. Real resolution has to do with the stillness aspect; it's harder to teach, not as sensational, but is absolutely crucial to getting off of the wheel. ~ later edit (sheesh, you guys are responding before I get to make even minor changes) ~ So, I have mixed reactions. I'm appreciative, supportive, but also have reservations and am a little miffed. All of that, genuinely.

A couple of thoughts. 1) I think that the MantraProductions team ought to consider having their own online forum. Not because it's getting too crowded here, but because - if you're going to be presenting widely (book, seminars, movie) - then it's important to provide an avenue of broad feedback. No system, teacher, presentation, method is perfect nor danger-free. People will get injured, guarunteed. An avenue for feedback allows you to note the common patterns where people could be taught better, where your presentation could use improvement - so that your students will have fewer bumps on the road (knowing that "perfectly smooth" simply doesn't exist). Something like that, if not a discussion forum, is just common sense responsible. 2) It's dangerous for us, as students, to idealize teachers or methods. Appreciate, learn from, even be devoted to (if that's your genuine relationship with a teacher). But part of learning is being willing to, interested in, seeing what something is and isn't - at whatever pace things reveal themselves. That's part of curiosity, patience, genuinely productive learning.