dwai

Hi, just curious....do you have partial hearing loss in your left ear? Maybe deaf to certain frequency ranges?

Yes. Imho this will happen when it needs to hapen. Also, in that state i dont exist...only streams of everflowing thoughts, interrupted with perfect stillness...an impersonal awareness...

The problem i see repeatedly is a case of misunderstanding. People who come to dharmic traditions from an abrahamic (whether theistic or atheistic) background assume that words like "ishwara" or "bhagavan" translate to god. Unfortunately the answer is both yes and no. So someone who has "shunned" the dogma of a jealous god will conditionally abhor a tradition that might focus on such an ishwara. However the fact (aside from some abrahamesque sects like hare krshnas) is that the native practitioner is quite free to choose his/her deity and transcend the deity by doing atma vicara. While in one hand i get extremely irritated by semi-literate diatribes such that on this thread, i also feel compassion for such individuals because they have not been able to give up that which they have shunned. They are caught between two worlds, but never fully in either (trishanku)...

Er...like the Taliban?

Or it could bind into blind faith with no bearing towards really letting go and living through...only thing binding you is the fear of divine retribution (as is the case with the specific sect of a religion being referred to here). What freedom? From what? At what cost? There is no freedom in that! Only eternal incarceration in a prison of ignorance.

Seth, I think VMarco knows exactly what you are trying to say. But he loves the idea of his version of Brahman that can be used as a straw man to beat up, crap on, etc intellectually to show how "GREAT" VMarco's Undefined Light is... I didn't bother commenting on his useless diatribe beyond telling him exactly what I thought about his "knowledge" in one post. He is worse than Mikz and VH in his emptiness... :rofl: Also surprisingly, Brahma is the one deity who is "NOT" worshipped by 99.99% of Hindus. There are no temples in his honor, there are no murtis of his. So, even as Saguna Brahman, "Brahma" is mostly neglected as the object of ritualistic reverence. NOTE: I was admonished in a PM (by a moderator) that my post was an ad-hominem against some members of this board. I wasn't really criticizing the individuals...only their understanding of a specific topic. So, even though I was asked to retract my statement, I refuse to do so. I am not trying to be difficult here. I only want to make a point. For that "affront", if I'm "banished" from TTB, then I will be happy to disappear...

The techniques I mentioned are intended to raise Kundalini through the central channel. Other peripheral techniques are used as meridian purification techniques or general health maintenance techniques.

Was it here on TTB, that Bruce Frantzis talks about digging one well that is 200 feet deep than 200 wells that are one foot deep?

traditional practice is like farming. You prepare the soil, plant the seeds, patiently and meticulously water the seeds till the crop grows, after which you can "reap fruits of the crop". What happens in the West (most cases I have seen) is like shopping in the supermarket. You have a variety of choices...and you don't have to put in the effort to pick from various "crops". So you go and buy this..when you are bored, you buy that...and then there's yet another and so on and so forth. It is nothing but a reflection of the society we live in, if you ask me. We are just so far removed from the actual process of doing anything from scratch, that we tend to think that same holds good in the non-material realm. When these same "consumers" go to places like India or China, I think they often times suffer "ego-bruising" because the teacher tells them to drill the same thing, over and over till they can really understand what it is they are really learning. I was watching the Empty Mind movie titled "Chen Village" where Chen Bing makes the same observation you have made about teaching Chen Taiji Quan in the West vs back in the Chen Jia Gou.. How many Masters of Martial Arts have you known that haven't put in their life into their art? My Aikido sensei spent several decades in Aikido. My Tai Chi teacher spent decades in Tai Chi. Interestingly enough, they are both also highly accomplished artists (one is painter and the other a jazz musician)...I would venture to say either of them would not have reached their level of accomplishment without having "cultivated" their crop like a farmer would grow his crop?

How about forced and natural? Or unforced and unnatural? Just kidding of course. In classical pranayama, there are many "forced" techniques, example kapalbhati, bhastrika etc. Does this mean they are bad? I think we have to keep in mind that these techniques have worked for over 5000 years. So the important thing is to practice something that is tried and true...quit these new-age type hodgepodges and stick to a "real" tradition (whatever that might be). Moreover, countless practitioners over the ages (my unworthy self included) have used a combination of forced and natural breathing patterns to raise their energies (kundalini) in traditional yogic methods. These aren't techniques just anyone can use. My teacher doesn't teach them to just anyone. There has to be considerable period of time one has to "prepare" to be initiated into these techniques. The body has to be purified with adherence to special dietary regimen, physical "kriyas" need to be performed so certain channels can open up before the techniques are applied. Even in these techniques the ramp up time is long and arduous. One doesn't simply start these "forced" breathing techniques. The pre-requisites are to be able to first breath "soft" cyclically (1:2 breath ratio of inhale-exhale) and the inhalation times are expanded. The glottis has to be effortlessly controlled. Then we start retention. Then again after a long while the retention periods are expanded. Then the student is initiated into techniques like bhastrika and kapalbhati...

You misunderstood. I was implying to the fact that after a certain point, using the Breath to move the Qi is "dropped". It is just another prop, a beginning level prop from what I gather...

Well experience shows that Chi is its own form of energy and is that which animates us. It can be felt, cultivated and expressed. I don't think it can be measured effectively...because we mistakenly look for something "else" that fits into one of our nice "scientific" categories. it is up to the individual whether they want to waste time trying to help "science" progress or develop their own self. I fall in the category of "Science and Chi don't' go together" (they aren't mutually exclusive but they are in different domains).

<br><br><br>5. People who have reached a level of practice that they realize that the breath is not that important...it is the energy that moves on its own <img src="http://www.thetaobums.com/public/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif" class="bbc_emoticon" alt="">. They also realize that obsessing with phenomenal things such as "science" through qi-gong is a waste of time. They'd rather focus on being in the Way...<br><br>

Obviously you and your cohorts have no fsking idea what you are talking about. Why dont you stick to indrajal?

I found out today that Adam Mizner is doing a workshop on Push Hands in Chicago, around June this year. Any one else know about it? Are any Bums in the Midwest planning to attend? here's the URL --

I have had a blockage in my left neck/shoulder too...exacerbated by TMJ of the left jaw. I recently managed to reduce it by 70-80% by reviewing how I do my Taiji practice. I was going through my teacher's notes where he mentions that in the forms, the front-teeth should lightly touch. I noticed that I was letting my jaw drop a bit, even though I had the tongue on the ridge behind the front-teeth. Over the past few couple of months, I started consciousness focussing on touching my teeth together during the forms. Surprisingly, that simple adjustment reduced the pain in my back/neck and jaws and also opened up blocked channels around my MDT as well as my left arm.

Sarvangasan should be with weight distributed between shoulder and arms, not on the neck. if you are putting pressure on your neck you are doing it wrong. I would recommend getting BKS Iyengar's "Light on Yoga" book for details on various asanas you would do. Also, after Sarvangasan, are you doing Matsyasana as a counter? Always these inversions and backbends should be countered. Sri Iyengar's book will cover the combinations.

Similia similibus curantur -- samuel hahnemann

actually I didn't. I don't think I want to learn 10 dirty tricks to become enlightened or a 30-second meditation.

Aw c'mon now...Give the poor guy a break. It's definitely something...appreciate that he posted his experience and accept that he did it out of non-selfish reasons!

Unfortunately i dont have time to go through all the links etc. would it be possible for you to summarize what is being said? Thanks.

Interesting thoughts no doubt. However, Sanatana Dharma has never been officially designated (there is no central body, no committee to ratify or certify anything). However, that which is Sanatana, is by definition without a beginning or an end. Also, the very nature of the transmissions in the Vedic tradition ensures complete integrity of the material. Why? If I have time, I will elucidate (not trying to be snarky, it really is a long topic). So why a claim such as this is made? Because Sanatana Dharma (Vedas) predate the Buddha. The transmissions thereof predate the Buddha (therefore Buddhism as well). I have the greatest respect for the Mahayana/Madhyamika tradition so in my books, it is a very good thing to have happened. So, no disrespect meant towards Buddhism (and I hope this doesn't end up becoming a flame-war between the two sister traditions here). Also, the cross-pollination indeed could have been bi-directional, each helping the other strengthen the other's philosophical premise (great debates through history between adepts of each tradition). But the fact of the matter is that in Mantras, the technical details matter a lot (should someone want to counter this, please do so).

From an old post of mine here --

Understood perfectly. I hope my response can be understood based on my prior post. You have a valid point in this regard, since many of the mantras have specific philosophical underpinnings that get undone (especially when Buddhism and Vedic traditions are concerned) due to the narrow interpretations (of the appropriator). Unlike you however, I think the effectiveness of the mantra will actually decrease (or it won't work on the level it is meant to work). In my experience, not all mantras are suited for all individuals. So, the effectiveness of one will depend on who is practicing it. For eg, despite being a brahmin initiate, I find the Narayan mahamantra more effective than the Gayatri (which is meant to be the staple of every Brahmin in the world). Does that mean that Gayatri is less effective than the Narayan mahamantra? No, it only tells me that based on my psycho-spiritual constitution, the latter is better suited for me than the former. It must also be brought to bearing that the latter was "given" to me by an unknown yogi in my dream while the former was given to me in a formal ritual in a temple. I might have been more ready for the latter than the former, so on and so forth.