dwai

Self-knowledge does intensely dissolve desire. More apparent the Self becomes, the more meaningless desires become.

Huh?!?

The Human intellect/mind is a double-edged sword. When used just right, it cuts through ignorance and illuminates the True Self, which doesn't cling to anything, is pure love and wisdom. When used too much, it creates an artificial construct that it moves heaven and earth to maintain - that is the state of our modern society - also leading to ignorance. When used too little, well, we stay mired in the muck of ignorance. It's best to drop the mind...and stop the clinging.

If you're afraid of losing your mind, be prepared to remain trapped in a prison of your own making

Interesting. I've had this happen to me a lot a few years into practicing Tai chi. I asked my teacher about it and he said "its okay...better to fly under the radar than draw attention". But the ego doesn't like to be ignored. And if this happens unbeknownst to someone (like with me, though I felt intuitively it had something to do with my tai chi practice), it was bewildering and aggravating (to keep getting ignored at restaurants, stores, etc). Another thing I wonder about is the "ward off" energy (Peng). When we develop some cultivation, a Peng force-field builds around us (I don't know whether I have it as I can't feel it myself, but my practice partners claim it feels like a hard-to-penetrate wall). I do know what that feels like on others though - I was pushing hands with one of Master's senior-most students and he had that quality. I felt like my confidence was just draining into a void and he bounced me a few times like I was a unstable drunk I wonder if this Peng energy can be applied to ward off unwanted attention?

Haha if only that was the case. Mind is empty and still at that time. Only in memory is the mind making a statement that there were no objects. However, the mind is just a tool. It is the surface of the surface of Pure Consciousness... The biggest fallacy is to consider the mind to be anything more than a mere tool...a sensory apparatus that is used to process objects. What is in the mind when it's not processing external objects, it is processing internal objects born from memory. We struggle with simply being because we pay too much importance to the "mind". When you still the mind, you will know your Self.

Of course it is possible to be conscious of No-thing....that is what we do when we meditate. Rest in Pure consciousness...there is no thing. You can do it too...just turn your mind around to observe the observer. You do it in deep sleep too... If we identify with our mind-stuff, we feel this is not possible. When we identify with that which does the identification, we know it is very possible. Too many words. Cut the words out. Can you sit in stillness and silence for 5 minutes with absolutely no movement of your mind?

Jing is the lowest frequency vibration of energy before it becomes matter. Qi is a refinement of Jing. And Shen a refinement of Qi. One cannot live without any one of these three and depleting one will necessarily take its toll on the other. But these (per my understanding) work at different levels. Jing works at the level of biological processes (excretion, procreation, etc). Qi works at the level of energetic processes (how the organs function, whether they are in balance or not). Shen works at the level of spiritual processes (how strong is your heart-mind intent (Yi), how scattered or unscattered is your intellectual mind, etc). The analogy I draw with the hindu system - jing is Ojas, Prana is Qi, Tejas is Shen. There are minor variations and the details of course, but at a high level this analogy seems to fit. But then we get into the Xian-Tian vs Hou-Tian and that's another finer level of detail to consider...

Without qi the organism cannot be alive. So obviously prior to cultivation there is qi. After cultivation the qi is tuned to progressively higher frequencies. And as it does so, the Dan tiens become more coherent. we are all entitled to our opinions.

In my experience it is a matter of bringing the LDT into "focus". Like taking a light and focusing it into a point like a laser. And of course I'm being reductionist...

Of course the Dan tiens exist. How else does qi circulate in one's meridians? I don't consider kundalini to be an "energy" that is different from qi per se. It is a phenomenon. Shaktipat is basically transfer of shakti (energy/power). It may or may not trigger a kundalini phenomenon... Before being transmitted by my teacher I did taiji for close to 14 years. I felt the Dan tiens, qi and cultivated just fine. However after, everything was far more amplified and in focus. Someone had said that qi, Shen,jing,Jin are "information". When I got the transmission, I recieved information. But not the kind of information that is intellectually comprehensible. Of course I could be totally wrong with the story my intellect has created to try to explain the inexplicable...

Hmm...wonder how your consciousness was able to conceptualize no-thing? You have to have an idea of what it is before articulating it right? Your logic is flawed because existence depends on consciousness. Without consciousness what is the mechanism to confirm existence (or non-existence) of something?

Objects depend on a subject... Without a subject there would be no objects or need for objects...it's a hard concept for folks to grasp

And yet, fajin can clean the gunk out of our systems. My teacher used to bounce students against the wall from time to time, to clean them up. But there is a clear agreement between a teacher and a student around this. however, he will never try to help anyone if they don't give consent or explicitly ask for his help...

When my teacher energetically opened me up, he initiated the connection through the upper dan tien and opened up the lower dan tien. Is that a kind of Shaktipat? I think so. He told me that he gave me a little bit of his energy to help light the dan tien. Then it is up to me to ensure that i "feed and stoke the flames" with regular practice. My teacher connects using his spiritual mind (heart-mind), so that is Shen imho. My teacher doesn't label...he just teaches with direct transmission. Kundalini imho is a phenomenon and not a different energy. It is said to be activated when prana rises from the mooladhara to the sahasrara via the central channel (or sushumna).

By saying Energy is Energy, it doesn't mean that it can't exist in different vibrational frequencies. Jing is a lower vibration form of energy, Qi higher and Shen even higher. In that sense, Jing is more gross and Shen more refined. If you project jing, you are literally draining yourself, so no one *should project* jing. Shen is more likely to be projectable. The norm is that we want to replace the 'heavy' stuff with the 'light' stuff (energy-wise). Yet, we must not force it, but let is fill up naturally. More we learn to empty out, more the good stuff comes in. But that doesn't mean "heavy" is bad and "light" is good (as in good vs evil). It however is, that light is better for us than heavy. But is it always the case? Maybe not... Depending on their level, some are unable to apply energies onto themselves effectively. For instance, I can heal others and myself to a certain degree, yet I can heal others much better than I can myself. Why? I don't know...I do know I have a long way to go before I can help others remotely. My teacher says that he freely shares his energy with people, and that the more he shares, the more the Dao replenishes him. He blesses and prays for anyone who asks for his help (and all his students always). And he is one of the most spiritually (and martially) powerful people I have ever met.

In my experience, the shielding has been in my dream state. I was given a Mantra by a Yogi in my dream many years ago. I used that Mantra to "evaporate" negative elements (again in my dream state) several times. I have also used it to generate a shield (a force field like you see in a sci-fi movie) around myself, my home, my neighborhood, etc. A technique used in India even till date is using a conch (called Shankha in indian languages) at regular times of the day. http://bharathkidilse.blogspot.com/2009/10/shankham-conch.html Another I've seen done as a kid is the burning of what we call dhunachi (coconut husk burned and sprinkled with some sort fragrant resins like frankincense etc).

Energy is energy. If you get how much and when you need, it's good. If You get it when you don't need it or more than you need, it's bad. Another point my teacher had made to me when he accepted me as his student was that sometimes working with masters and energy in general can feel real bad. But that's because energy when introduced into our body, can amplify some traumas and blockages as they are released. As they come out, you feel the effects. But then it leaves the body and you don't feel bad anymore!

Whi While I don't personally chat, in another lifetime, on another board I used to frequent (Nagual.com), there used to be a provision to do 1x1 or group chats (been close to 2 decades now so my memory is hazy)...or what is some other board. In any case, it might not be such a bad idea where people can create group chats and members can drop off the chat activities as they please.

I had a strange dream a couple nights back. I was walking normally and then my steps started getting lighter like I was floating. And soon I was swimming in the air. It felt like how the floating Jin feels... Anyone had similar experiences/dreams?

I've had many flying dreams (lucid as well as non-lucid) but this was different. Flying dreams are when I take-off from a dead stop and and whizzing around at high speeds. Sometimes in the middle of the flight I used to get scared and start free-falling until I was able to muster up enough presence of mind to resume my flight again. Those are as you described. This one is weird because it reminds me of something my first teacher would tell us about Prof Cheng Man Ching having said. First we fight with gravity to stay upright and move. Then with time taiji feels like swimming in water. Eventually it feels like swimming in air... Half lion half wolf? Chimera? Wow...wish there was an easy way for us to tap into and understand what the dream states actually mean...though I know it's moot in many cases. Like Taomeow said...with me too, some have been just dreams, some lucid (where I was in control but unable to break out of the dream matrix) and in others some teachers would visit and their teachings made lasting effect in my life...

Yes

You would be better off finding a Traditional Chinese Medicine Doctor and getting treated imho.

Have you checked to see if you have some sort of sugar absorption related issues? Along with your fatigue and depression, do you get aches in your bones/muscles from time to time? That can be indicative of low Vitamin D levels. I'd recommend that you get physiological issues out of the way. Depression can happen during meditation if we are not clear about what our objective is...also when we come face to face with the not so pleasant contents of our mind during meditation. Give yourself sufficient rest to restore your energies after having intercourse. Learning and practicing standing meditation will increase your energy levels...I'd recommend starting with 5 minutes a day in the tree hugging stance and then increasing every week or every other week by 5 minutes.