Trixter Streetcat

ok, this is an offshootof the "female creativity" thread. I am actually VERY interested in what our lady posters have to say about the "Way" of women. As a male in my early twenties, I have no clue of what the female "power" or "magic" is all about. I simply know it exists. I have often heard a few wise men, many wise women, and many girlfriends of mine refer to the "mysterious power" (mysterious to me, that is) that women "have" (be it over males or just in general). My mom once simply stated "you have no idea the power women have. women GIVE LIFE". For instance, I am interested in what 5elementtao (i think it was him) said about women sensing and seeking "yang" power. What do women want? what do women seek? what (if anything) do they seek in return? I will share some personal stories to start this thread. I love women (i do -i find them much better company than males for a myriad of reasons). I am also very interested in gender differences, independently of whether it makes one or the other superior or inferior. I have never had a problem getting (usually long term) girlfriends, and they were always AWESOME women. often, women come to me when i am in a certain state of mind that I would simply describe as "happy" or "joyous" or something of the sort. I am not a PUA and would actually qualify myself as completely worthless in terms of "picking up" or "chatting up" chicks. My observation is that women seek affection (because it's the only thing I know how to give them, and it seems to work so far). But that doesn't get me very far because, who doesn't? As a very androgynous male (so i'm told), I don't think women especially seek "masculinity", although I get the feeling that they do seek a certain "strength" (i've gotten dumped most of the times after awesome displays of character weakness). I am thinking particularly of my last ex, who in my opinion was a pretty high voltage woman. I'd say she was the yang of the relationship, although I'm quite clueless on yin-yang relations. The relationship went sour at some point, as I felt overcome and asphyxiated by this woman who was literally taking over my life. somewhere in that interplay of yin and yang, i wasn't "strong" enough. i think the alchemy works better when the voltages match, whatever that means loool. I don't know. I actullally don't really know what I'm asking :-). I guess what I'd like to know (from female perspectives) is: what do you think makes the essence of a woman (tough question, I know)? the unresolved freud question, "what do women want?". How do you perceive your own power (over males or otherwise)? what do you think that power consists of? ("power" for lack of a better word that is). in a more "dark side of the moon" note, what power DO you feel you have over males? I don't know, just ramble on ladies... but please spare us stuff about "self confidence", because like Ferraris, I wish it was simple as that. or is it? thanks for replies, I know my question isn't very clear, but I am hoping to get interesting insights into the "other side", because as a male, I am completely in the dark about it.

leave mexico, return to london and finish my BA in English lit and creative writing (2 years) and maybe MA (+1 year). during this 2 to 3 year period, learn and work in horticulture, indigenous arts & crafts and energy healing, while keeping forward with martial arts training (tai chi kung fu I call it, tai chi-chikung-kung fu, but I would also like to delve into bujinkan ninjitsu) and of course hardcore, daily meditation practice. during this time I would also like to travel across europe on bike, and would love to learn how to sail a ship (a ship with sails lool). my goal by the end of this 2 to 3 year period is saving enough money to buy land somewhere in the mountains of mexico (initial number is at 3000 pounds, but the more the better). after that, it all becomes less clear (not that any of this is set in stone), but I'd surely love to sail around the mediterranean, maybe go for a while to a retreat or monastery in india or tibet, and there's also a pilgrimage from Paris to Jerusalem planned with my girlfriend. all the while cultivating mind, body and spirit, becoming a better, more aware and perfected human being, at one with the harmony of the universe and versed in many diverse esoteric sciences. if all goes well, have my first fiction-poetry book published before the end of the first or second year, and my great psychedelic fiction saga coming up when I'm done with school. it also wouldn't hurt to quit smoking. I know this seems like an awful lot of work and activity, but after spending the last two years on partial vacation, nothing could seem more enticing than going back to serious work, serious roadtripping and never forget to have lotsa fun. I'll be 22 next month. those are my current plans. nothing is set in stone but I plan to squeeze the juice completely out of (at least) the couple of years to come. so there.

seen as it's pretty impressive, done in front of hundreds, and, in my opinion seemingly legit, i don't see what else people need to simply realize there are indeed (it makes all the sense in the world) advanced science in some places in the world, of which most people don't know about (just like people didn't, except for few exceptions, know real medical science in the dark ages), which you can study and learn and practice until you can actually do it with tangible results. you need to be pretty close minded (or a severe skeptic) in order to keep doubting after seeing stuff like this. what else would you need? are we really going to start finding possible "scientific" ways in which this guy could have gone out of his way to "create the illusion" of levitation? in a sense, he did. that's what makes it so impressive. he could be an awesome illusionist. but it seems more far fetched than the other option.

hey, i know kunlun has become taboo over time. i was just wondering to what extent are the basic postures of the five elements representative of five element alchemy in taoist internal cultivation. is this a good place to start five element cultivation practice? is there anything else/more I should know, or somewhere else I could learn about balancing/using the energy of the five elements in internal practice? thank you for your replies, trixter.

well actually, I'm wondering myself. number 5 keeps coming up. i've gone through all the numbers before that, i have to understand 5 now. i thought the standing postures were supposed to "balance" the five elements within you. my first introduction to the elements was kabbalah, where fire was dynamics, water was emotion, air was thought, and earth was material (roughly). there is now a fifth element, void/ether. I'm just kind of delving into all of this. i know there are five elements to taoist alchemy, and I roughly know the pathways, thought some clarification would be greatly appreciated. i feel the five elements balance/transformation is a very elemental cycle in the make-up of things. I'm trying to get this clearer. i thought maybe oing the standing postures would bring some clarification. what DO you know about five element alchemy?

thanks a lot for that info, i'd been recently looking for ways to "cleanse" that "dirt". actually the whole kap thing sounds interesting, i've been meditating and doing microcosmic orbit glenn morris style for a few months but I am really interested in all that can be learned there. guess i'll have to wait till september... working secret smile till then. thank you trixter

anyone here ever tried DMT and care to share his experience and possible transcendental insights?

I once had something similar. my throat was sore but only when I swallowed, and not because it was irritated or because of inflammation. chewing gum sorted it out for me. since then I've read chewing gum is good for sore throats in certain cases. it's not guaranteed but it certainly won't hurt you. 5th chakra issues?

I agree. a place created to talk about the Tao when " the tao that can be spoken is not the true tao." ironic, as you say. amusing, perhaps. but as good a reason as any other to get together.

Meditation is truly and surely the ultimate, supreme tool for consciousness expansion. To get in tune with nature, creation and the whole, it is useful to tune to the lunar calendar. Your basic duty is to do what you're supposed to do in the best possible way. Work hard, follow your dharma, always for the advancement of the soul, yours and others, and without ever harming anything or anyone. Learn about the world around you. Eat well. Keep mind and body in activity. Work to purify you nervous system. Pass on the knowledge.

definitely "electromagnetic", however limited our current understanding of that phenomenon. A midwife friend who got into energetic healing after long scientific study once explained to me that the aura or energetic field (probably what "chi" is made of) was "the electromagnetic field released by the chemical reactions in your body". makes sense. breathing and other related practices are probably catalysts for those chemical reactions, hence why they can enhance energy fields that can eventually be manipulated. also, i believe the human body is a magnet. that might also influence "chi" manipulation. definitely "electromagnetic", however limited our current understanding of that phenomenon. A midwife friend who got into energetic healing after long scientific study once explained to me that the aura or energetic field (probably what "chi" is made of) was "the electromagnetic field released by the chemical reactions in your body". makes sense. breathing and other related practices are probably catalysts for those chemical reactions, hence why they can enhance energy fields that can eventually be manipulated. also, i believe the human body is a magnet. that might also influence "chi" manipulation.

yes, there is... NOT trying to get a girlfriend.

I recommend you read plato's protagoras. it's a short dialogue that addresses these EXACT questions: what is the definition of a morally good person, and can virtue be taught? it's quite short and I'm sure you can get it for free online.

some of you are very accurately describing what in Mexico is called "having the dead jump on you" (que "se te suba el muerto"). I don't know if it's meant as a literal thing. it is very common and I have heard of several people experiencing, including myself once at my mother's house when I "woke up" (though I could have been sleeping) to the sensation that I was being held down by an entity, evidently dark, but perhaps, only perhaps a "double" of myself. it held me by the head so i couldn't turn it to look at it. it held me down and breathed violently on my neck, it was scary and threatening. i believe that might be the sort of phenomenon where vampires an incubi/succubi come from. later on, I learnt from a wise man that I highly regard that this was common and that the essential self-defense tactic is managing to (remember to) turn the palms of your hands toward it. towards the energy, being, spirit, whatever it is that is "jumping on you". the hands of human beings, he said, have a power that no other entity can fight. it's like our natural birthright weapon :-). it's supposed to stop once you run your palms towards it, maybe channel a little energy. i believe these entities come on to us when we're in a transition stage (such as half asleep) where it's hard to defend yourself and you might more easily come into their "turf". there's always a clear feeling that the body is paralized, or that even if you're awake enough to move, the "signal" doesn't come through. i believe all they do is feed on energy, and they might have something to do with those nights in which you can't sleep well and keep falling in and out and having strange dreams. it makes sense that a "jolt", if consciously managed, would probably shake them off. two cents on something maybe unrelated, but which seemed interesting and related to the subject at the time :-) trixter

you use reverse breathing in spring forest chi kung, correct? what's the reason for it? what is thee xact use of reverse breathing? thank you for replies.

I'd like to ask the opposite question: can feeling bad be good karma? couldn't it be a sort of cleansing, karma unloading process? i sure hope it is...

alright, so I have been reading a book, "Mind Control" by Dr Haha Lung and Christopher Prowant, which got me thinking on the relationship between energy use and mind control. I want to make it clear that I do not question the existence of a Universal Energy. I personally do believe in Reiki or "Universal Energy", a sort of energetic expression of the Godhead. This is of course a personal belief. However, I do wonder at times how "real" the use of that energy may be. Is it possible that Reiki could be an (essentially benevolent) way to "trick" someone else into believing that a series of gestures will tackle EXACTLY the problem to which you seek a solution? I have always closely linked that "Universal Energy" with "Universal Conscience", often to the point in which I think they are basically interchangeable. Is it possible that Reiki could simply be a "consciousness transfer", in which i transfer into you, recipient, my belief in the fact that this "Universal Energy" (however "real" it may be) will cure you of whatever you need curing? I see how, even if this were the case, this "consciousness transfer" would still be in all practical terms an "energetic transfer". I was wondering what other healers and martial artists thought about this. how closely related is energy use and mind control? In reiki, we say you do not need to believe in order to benefit from a treatment, yet that may also be a form of mind control. how do you see energy? is it a truly, purely "material" "STUFF"? or is it a purely mental construct that manifests (or can manifest) itself physically? are these essentially the same things? does energy actually "shoot out" of your hands when you're channeling, or is it a purely mental reaction, within yourself, your recipient or opponent and the universe itself? I think I'v answered my own question. I don't know if this is clear. I'll still put this forward to see what you people think. thanks for replies!

totally beside the point. besides the fact that since we're talking (on the one hand) about mind control, being quack is about the highest credential you can give me about him. i'm not particularly into mind controlling people, I just bought the book in an essentially self-defense mindset. most of the information makes sense and checks out. i have a friend who's a hardcore hypnotist, NLP, mind controller etc... that's his thing and it interests me as part of the vast plethora of subjects that do, both the positive AND negative aspects, the latter mostly in reasons of self defense, since i'm not out to hurt or manipulate anyone (basically it comes down to the mentally driven martial art). like most things, such as chi, mind control can be used for attack/self defense, AS WELL as healing and empowerment. animals, as well as plants and objects do, in my opinion, react to reiki, basically in the same way that if you, for instance, treat a plant with love (or a child or relationship for that matter), it'll certainly develop much better than if you treat it with lack of affection and even negative attitude. this still doesn't answer my question. to what extent could this be related to the interconnectedness of everything in the universe, the consciousness of the inanimate (i can confirm that a wooden table is still alive, even if the tree's cut up. i am also under the impression that even stones are alive, plastic and other synthetic materials being the exception to the rule)? I'm not trying to divide the concepts, i'm trying to make them meet. "mental" is also perhaps, sadly, a word with many connotations to it, not necessarily equivalent to "consciousness", or even "conscience". i can see why a stone wouldn't have a "mental" aspect. it is though, i believe, somehow "aware" (?) that it is being treated with universal love (??) i dunno, i guess I see your point. honestly i kind of answered myself this question a while ago. where does the mind end? my girlfriend always tells me the mind is just a "plane" or a "level". i say it depends on WHAT you call the mind. i tend to think the body is inside the mind (as well the rest of the universe), and not the other way around. but it's probably much more middle-ground than that. thank you everyone for your replies. this is an interesting, thought provoking thread.

yes, but reiki (as well as some chi kung) also works with positive thinking, visualization, and an inevitable trance from relaxation. mind you, it wouldn't be me "mind controlling" my patient, it would essentially be the recipient positively mind controlling himself, with the help of a ritualized series of gestures that would perhaps empower his own (positive) mind control. mind you, that would be exactly the same thing as an "energy" exchange. i'm just waiting for someone to tell me it's essentially the same thing. doesn't "energy go where consciousness flows"? even mind control is energy exchange, in my opinion! of course, the energy can be tainted by bad intention just as mind control can be wrongly used with bad intention. in the case of healing you are only facilitating an exchange between the recipient's and the universal mind (=energy). that would be the reason someone will only heal if he himself AND the universe is willing. it would also be a reason why, in reiki (i don't know about qigong healing), a healer could not take credit for healing. the merit is much more the recipient's, and the universe's. all that the healer can do is facilitate the exchange. then it's up to the universe and the patient. energy and thought seem strangely interchangeable in these situations. i'm not so much into intellectually delving into all of this. all I know is it works, and it's beyond my comprehension, perhaps only for now. also i'd like everything to fit and make sense with everything else. so that's what I'm trying to do. i might be wrong of course. i would love people to keep giving their opinions on the nature of energy, consciousness, reality, mental process and reality. cheerio!

maybe the real thing is just not something that you can "do". i mean i can sit and close my eyes and breathe and meditate, so to speak. sometimes it'll be great and others it'll be crappy. sometimes i'll be satisfied, others not. maybe that's the real thing. just being aware of that, of things being like that. like the real thing isn't something that you do, it's something that does you. like life, or love. it happens. whether it's in or out of your control is of little importance. also, i think looking at time in a larger frame is useful. "now" can be a very tiny moment in "time", but "now" can also be, "these times". "now" could be all the time (it is if you think of it). sometimes, looking back, i can see something was the real thing and i didn't even notice when it happened. it was normal. from the outside it would have seemed miraculous. it was normal at the moment. then i remember it and say, "wow, now that was the real thing". so maybe you can't know the real thing now but you can know that you knew it. that also means that you're living the real thing RIGHT NOW, but it's possible that you won't realize it until you're looking back on it. that's something that happens to me. wow, these kinds of things are really difficult to write about...

sorry, double posted

i think i know what you mean. i have the same doubts some time. like there are things that I know deep down inside myself, that I have learnt from my own experience. then there are also things that i've read and researched and gotten into and "explored", thus found useful and kept and eventually somewhat "felt". but it's like they're not really the "real thing". the "real thing" is felt deep down and irrefutably as part of the truth. i might say that the "real thing" comes before the interpretation of it as energy, chakras, etc..., it gives all those things a new meaning. however, when it's not the real thing, you're always wondering if you're doing it right. you're always wondering if you'll get the right result. whereas the real thing IS in itself the impression, the practice and the result. or something like that... i'd say go with it. don't believe in any system, leave all taboos and judgement behind. don't think it's an "unhealthy" attitude. on the contrary, keep pushing keep enquiring, forget about right or wrong and see where it leads. don't believe anything anyone says, not even me. see what you can find out for yourself truly and really without fearing if it'll be right or wrong. even if it contradicts the great guru's system. you're probably on to something. lately i have been wondering if chi is "energy" at all in the way we imagine it to be, like a white-golden, ethereal light-fluid that enters the crown and courses meridians and "shoots" out of hands, and we just can't see it because we haven't developed our eyes... i don't know, maybe, who knows? maybe people would like to pitch in on this one... i just have the feeling sometimes too that "chi" or "energy" is much more akin to that "will force" you spoke about, something shapeless and formless but very real like love or something. and so for instance healing systems are just another way to "love" except that no one can explain to you how to love, you just do. so instead they say "well, you place your hands on the person, you think of nothing, and sense a light coming to you from the universe, coursing you and going into the person, which is the most powerful light in the universe and what the universe is made of and it heals and makes everything better." I mean, can you think of a better way of explaining to someone how to love? in the end, it won't be all the explanation which will make you love, you just will. but since you ask and that's a silly question, that's the best (and silliest) answer i can give you. chi, like love, is much more spontaneous that we think. if you have to love, you'll love, if you have to heal, you'll heal, if you have to sneeze, you'll sneeze. you can't do it on command. doesn't mean you don't have the capacity to do it, if necessity called for it. you can also pretend to sneeze, or pretend to love the table. there's absolutely no use for that, and if you try hard enough you'll probably manage to do it. but when you truly love someone you'll know it right away and you'll remember how easy and obvious and spontaneous and god-given and all those other divine adjectives it really was. simpler than you thought all along. and what you had been doing all along was really just a poor copy. don't worry about the real thing. it'll come just by itself. keep doing what you like, practicing, meditating. life, i think, is the best practice. i like meditation and martial arts, but i think that's a tao bums contagion. i like writing too. awareness is probably very useful, since you can actually "notice" yourself doing the real thing. the real thing is all around us, we're just too busy all the time trying to feel the "other" thing. don't be afraid, we've been afraid too long. there's nothing wrong with you, you're on the right path. hope this makes sense. ("sense"! that's a "chi" i'd like to wield!) trixter.

I have seen salt baths being recommended on this board. anyone care to explain the specific uses and effects of salt baths? what are they good for? in folk magic, salt baths are used to undo "tricks", i.e. spells done unto you, particularly through the skin. it's also widely used in protection against evil influence and ritual purification. would it be something similar to this? also, why do you think salt would be used for this? any particular reason? thanks for your replies. streetcat.

it was daddy long legs (so i wasn't really threatened), but i couldn't sleep because of it, besides am starting to get sick so irritation levels were high... tried everything to make it leave my room, but it wouldn't, it would just keep buzzing all night long... finally swatted it with a book and went to sleep. i usually refrain from harming any living being in any way and sorely regret it each time that I do, but i just cracked up last night. did a little prayer for the thing. anything else i can do to compensate? and just how bad for the Self and one's karma do you think such momentary and seemingly petty acts of violence really are? may it rest in peace.

I have seen salt baths being recommended on this board. anyone care to explain the specific uses and effects of salt baths? what are they good for? in folk magic, salt baths are used to undo "tricks", i.e. spells done unto you, particularly through the skin. it's also widely used in protection against evil influence and ritual purification. would it be something similar to this? also, why do you think salt would be used for this? any particular reason? thanks for your replies. streetcat.