Sloppy Zhang

This part has been the hardest for me (thanks to my bad posture ) sinking internally without enough awareness and I find my neck and shoulders start to sink, but trying to lift my structure too much and I tend to pull everything else up with it. Been checking myself in a mirror, and trying to make sure I have a sunk feeling while maintaining my correct posture.... feels kinda weird sometimes Hope you enjoyed the sunset, thanks for everything you've contributed so far, can't wait to hear more And thanks to everyone else for contributing. Eagleshen, I'm definitely going to have to try the "cat watching mouse" mindset I agree that curiosity can really help go a long way, not only in being able to stay conscious during thoughts, but figuring out where a thought is coming from, why it's showing up when it does, how it affects you, and how you respond.

On the topic of lineages in general, he says this in the thread: And I actually find it really interesting because, once you inherit a lineage and become the head teacher for that generation, you can pretty much do what you want with it- teach the old stuff, teach other stuff you found helpful, scrap it all and teach it in new ways however you want. But there is also this idea that if you are part of a lineage you must be teaching the stuff you were taught how you were taught, even though the whole reason that lineage existed and came about is because someone had the idea to do things differently. So in that case, by NOT changing it up, you aren't contributing to the survivability of the lineage (going for both spirituality and martial arts I guess). But of course when it comes to marketing (and charging money), it makes the whole thing sound very suspicious. It means that you can do pretty much whatever you want but just be like, "oh well since I'm the lineage inheritor I can fit it to whatever I want." So.... I dunno, it's a complicated issue Is he a real Lama? Does he consider himself to be of equal standing to a Lama? Was it given to him by someone else, or did he just create it himself? Is it real, or a marketing ploy? Many questions.

I'm also looking to your quote Also, don't worry too much about advice not being applicable to you- it's hard to tell without having known someone for a long time 1) what their practice experiences have been, and 2) what their life experiences have been. We learn differently and from different things, so not knowing that it's easy to see general advice as not feeling applicable.

Yup I hope so too

Yes, I'm leaning towards Hundun over this matter (and Freeform's quote really changed the way I looked at a lot of practices, and it's helpful even to the present, so thanks for re-posting ) Every time I try to build something, every time I try to make something, something always comes along and messes it up, ruins the foundation, then I gotta knock it all down and start over from scratch. That's a whole lot of energy I am putting into making something that is so fragile and so hard to maintain, and wears down after time and needs to be built up again. Whenever I let go, things seem to work out. But I have found that I have a very powerful need to make stuff, an impulse to try to build, but every time I try to build something comes along and messes it up.... It's a vicious cycle that keeps trying to pull me in. Even though I know I just gotta let go and get out, it's very hard to do But still, that seems to be the direction I feel most comfortable in going.

Those rocks are awesome. But also kind of scary.

So what happens when Mr. Miyagi signs you up for a black belt level tournament even though Mr. Miyagi doesn't do a belt ranking system? Yeah, that's too bad. For anyone willing to give it a look, Vagabond, though a comic book series featuring a fictionalized version of the life of Miyamoto Musashi, has a lot of good points of wisdom in it, and has served as a great source of inspiration and insight, in an entertaining format to boot

Funny you say that, sometimes I feel like I'm going crazy And Vagabond is great.

Eviander exists because I say so. So I'm enlightened too now? BA-BOOM! Ah, but now that I'm enlightened I know that Eviander doesn't really exist And neither do I And neither does this post Oh, but since I'm enlightened, I now see that Eviander really DOES exist. And so do I And so does this post Ah, but existing, not existing, such a dualistic concept.... so I'm not enlightened after all But now I see how stupid that thought process is, and transcend it. BA-BOOM!

Cool theory. I'm a bit skeptical about the first video..... guess I'll have to meet him myself one day.

So I should cancel the surgery I'm scheduled to perform tomorrow??? But I've played hundreds of hours of operation!

There's also a picture of a pregnant woman doing Kunlun, I wonder how the baby will turn out (snake baby???) For the overall topic at hand.... hmm, interesting points on both sides. Mikaelz made an interesting point about maybe Kunlun was awakening stuff that was already there due to previous practices. So in that sense, would Kunlun even be necessary? Or perhaps, if it weren't for the previous practices, would Kunlun have been as helpful? I've come to think that everything that has ever happened in our lives has lead to the moment where we are right now. You might say "duh". But really, think about it. Someone can do Vipassana practice and not get much from it, do Kunlun, and feel great. But if it weren't for the previous practice, they wouldn't have all the results to see. Then someone can do Kunlun, not think it was that great, move on to a Vipassana practice and find it to be the single greatest thing they've ever found in their lives- but if it weren't for Kunlun, they wouldn't have known what they were looking for. So maybe each event was necessary for each person.....

I browsed through a thread we had a while ago on him, and in one of his posts he said he had the book for free on google books. I read it, and it really vibed with me. So I went out and bought the book, and I read it over from time to time. I find a lot of what he says is stuff I personally have come to believe, or things that I have easily been able to integrate into my practice (I've always enjoyed lucid dreaming, so the parallels he makes with dream states really appealed to me). He teaches some exercises in the book, including some arm swings which reminds me of some stuff that B.K. Frantzis teaches (so is there validity in similarity?) As for the names and stuff.... eh, when I was younger (early teens) I was conned by some martial arts mcdojos, people who said they could teach me how to fight when really they were just luring me in with the name of a certain style. After that I became really adamant about finding out a verifiable lineage and only studying with or from people who could prove that they learned from a legitimate branch of something. But after a while I started to find more and more stuff that either didn't have a verifiable lineage, or was *gasp* something someone had come up with on their own! Some of it vibed with me, some of it didn't. The stuff that did I started to incorporate. So.... for me, personally, I'm caring less and less about someone's name or where it came from, so long as it fits me.

I really like the bullshido guys. There is nothing wrong with someone asking you to back up a claim that you make. If you go around making a claim, but then don't decide to back it up, in my opinion that's highly suspicious activity. You don't go around saying, "I know the best way to learn to shoot 3 point shots in basketball. I can make 3 point shots all day long. No, I won't show you all, but I will teach it to you for a fee." But for some reason, in martial arts and spirituality that kind of behavior is allowed to go on. Now that's not to say that martial and spiritual teachers don't have the goods, or can't do what they say they can do. It's just highly suspicious. The bullshido guys have their hearts in the right place.

First off: don't watch porn. Ever. Second off: don't worry about it. What porn does, and what thinking about it does, is it creates this sort of mental routine in your mind. Everyone has natural sexual cycles. Some times they are feeling it, some times they aren't. Some feel it more than others. Some feel it less than others. Some have sexual activity more than they need to. some have sexual activity less than they need to. When you watch porn, or get into some habit, you run the risk of doing things when your body is not ready. If your body is thinking, "not into sex right now." and you're thinking, "I've got some alone time and I'm bored, let's watch porn", you are pretty much forcing your body into an action it doesn't want to do. If you keep this up for long enough, you are probably going to run into some bad things. Then, when your body is into sex mode, well you don't have porn or you don't have the time and everything is just thrown off schedule. Then if you start thinking about how many times you did what, what you watched, what you need to watch to get going, the problems you had the last time you got going- it is going to create this constant cycle. So lay off. If you are an older fellow, head to a doctor and see what's what with your body. In general, try to lead a more healthy lifestyle. Lots of fruits and vegetables, you know. Regular exercise. Fresh air. Plenty of water. Try some light qigong exercises. If you are a younger fellow, well, pretty much the same as above, but you may not necessarily need a doctor. The body, especially when young, has an amazing ability to heal- but you have to LET it. If you are constantly in this cycle of worrying about it, it's never going to heal and you will still have problems. Don't watch porn, don't masturbate, and try not to think of it for at least a week, most likely two, and if you are younger, keep up a healthy lifestyle, things should be fine. If you are older, go see your doctor, again, try a healthy lifestyle, and again, let your body do its thing.

My post, like heat, was not directed at someone, rather, it radiated out to the forum But look, no insult to you or any of the other wonderful people on this forum, but sharing personal experience is not enough to convince someone to change their goals. I had certain goals in my life, and as I grew up, those goals changed, for very specific reasons, ranging from something as small as thinking over it in the shower, to as large as experiencing an event involving multiple people. So if I see someone who is at a place I used to be, I will tell them, hey, you know, there is a bigger world out there, don't get so caught up in this stuff. But by the same token, I remember how I was at that stage. I know that just telling someone isn't enough to get them to "see the light". Then again, my truth derived from my own experiences might not be the same truth that someone else gets from their experiences. Perhaps my experiences say that pursuing certain things are stupid, while other people find that pursuing things are necessary, even after years. Or maybe we all need to go through that stage to get to the next one. Or maybe there is no set progression of stages. So again, while I appreciate all of the personal anecdotes of the story (and especially yours, Ya Mu, I know it might seem like I'm always calling you out on your posts, but I have actually purchased your book and thoroughly enjoy it, and am thinking about looking more into your stillness-movement qigong), I still feel that in many cases the undercurrent of the comment is still very ego driven. "I have been where you are for longer, and now I am even further down the road. You should believe what I have said because I know what's what and you don't. If you ignore me that is you being stupid and selfish." In some cases that is WORSE because you are older and should know better. But in any case, I have said more than my peace on the subject. I'm sorry if it seems like my posts have been directed at you, Ya Mu, because I especially like your posts, your blog, your book, and all of the experiences that you share- they inspire me to keep going on my journey. My previous post was just something I have noticed here and there. So, again, more than my peace on the subject, be good everyone

There are 10x more threads on masturbation than there are on jedi stuff If anything there should be MORE about jedi powers. I'm tired of how everyone feels the need to make a new thread about jacking off even though there are already 2 or 3 on the front page

If you don't think that qi projection or moving stuff using telekinesis or some other method is worth the time, then say your peace and get out. I find it funny how so many people are like, "haha, your ego wants to do this stuff, get over your ego." Then they keep responding and trying to prove why their opinion is right. Say your peace and move on. If all you do is repeat yourself trying to prove how/why your opinion is right, through whatever supposed logic or some kind of personal anecdotes, well, that seems pretty ego driven. While it is always interesting to take part in a debate involving constructed arguments, and while it's great to hear the stories and personal experiences of those who have gone before, the ways in which they are said and why they are said seem not so separated from someone who wants to move a psi wheel. On top of that, there are MANY practical reasons for why you would want to project qi. If you want to make a sandwich, but are busy working on the computer, you can make a sandwich by psychically moving the ingredients. How is that not practical? If you are in a wreck and there is a car that has pinned someone and you need to get them out, psychically being able to move the car seems like a very practical thing to do. seriously, if you can't think of any practical reasons for being able to move something without physically touching something, read a good sci-fi book or watch some movies. Expand your imagination

I in no way intend to speak on behalf of Master Yudelove or his teachings, but it has always been my understanding that "looking at the nose" was a way of signifying that your eyes are not closed (so as not to wander off into dreamland), but also not too open (so as not to be distracted by the outside world). Your gaze extends about as far out as your nose. It's not that you are looking directly at your nose (to be cross eyed), it's more like your nose is most of what you wind up seeing when your eyes are like that. Then again, I could have a mistaken understanding. Hope that helped

On somewhat of a metaphorical/psychological level, for a fighter, this position is a very strong one... When you do a push up, don't think of pushing yourself up, think of pushing the earth down. Suddenly, one person can move the entire world. (yes, this thought really does make it easier )

You gotta feel it out. This takes a bit of experience, some intuition, and familiarity with the practices. Some practices involve moving energy in certain ways, other practices move it in different ways. You just gotta feel it out. Some practices, like falun gong seems to do, create specific energy formations and do things in specific ways, so it's probably best to not mix one of those.

Featured on AOL news today was this article here. To sum it all up, a college student goes off and beings exploring alternative lifestyles and spiritual seeking, writing stuff such as: But then: Then she disappeared. Seems like there has only been negative stories dealing with spiritual seeking self help gurus getting people killed, people experimenting with drugs and losing their minds. It's really hard to find some positive coverage these days about spiritual seeking. What can we do to help spread healthy, safe spiritual seeking?

Well, redefining meditation is good, but it's also important to look at how people actually use it. You can define meditation as a better way to open a can of green beans but that won't necessarily change the way people use it People like to attach meaning to stuff. And meditation, I don't think, is any exception. So, I dunno, maybe trying to change a definition of meditation, or trying to tell people what it is, isn't as important as examining why people attach meaning to stuff in the first place.

Nah, you didn't sound like a jerk! It's okay if you don't agree. It's just that, you would be surprised how impressionable people are (of course, you'd also be surprised at how resilient people are.... guess it goes both ways ) But it's not surprising, when you tell people you'd like to go on, say, a meditation retreat, that they respond by talking about the sweat lodge guy. And I wouldn't be surprised if someone reading this article responded negatively to someone they knew expressing interest in alternative lifestyles and stuff like that. So maybe not bad all across the board.... but certainly it doesn't help

Dao Yin has actually recently caught my interest, and I was wondering if you could share a little bit more on thhe stuff you are doing, where did you learn it from, other resources? Sorry I can't add more to your thread.