宁

mwell... i just said that most times you only need yourself to check something up that really affects you... and, if you still fall for the mythbusters, at least take into consideration whose payroll are they into... trululu

@Michael, maybe you think that if you keep looking for debunking information it will help you to preserve your critical and skeptical attitude. If that is the reason, I admire it, but the method isn't that great... IMO Practice and personal experimentation can give you enough tools to check out on what is real and what is not. @Vortex, every kind of natural foods contains natural sexual hormones and enzymes. They succeed in doing what they do, by gradualy breaking down all these natural stimulus of the human fertile tissues....

Yes that's the one Mal, thank you. And as a disclaimer i'm sure it doesn't apply to enlightened beings such as Guy But for the rest of us unenlightened beings it may have some points to ponder... edit: Re the initial question, the only reason i responded to this thread was the fine intuition captured in the words 'getting back', or returning the energy... Pity the idea was overlooked. L1, over and out

Appreciate your humour really! Since you don't have an avatar yourself, why don't you try it on for size eh? Now gents, let's not turn this into a long off-topic. I admit that you don't agree with me, is that ok? Guy, did you hear about the kittens and the powder milk experiment?

why, because i would hurt their feelings? i thought we were past kindergarden. the only negative consequences i can think of are gettin' of their ass and start practicing... we may have been raised in differend environments, some of us were pampered, some of us were at the edge of surviving, that's why we may have different views. so don't take it so personal. sheesh you guys are more sensitive than damsels i still stand by what i said.

'Journey to the West is a book of immortals not a book of intelectuals. The books of intellectuals talk about the ways of the world, appearing real but actually false; The books of immortals talk about the celestial Way, appearing false but actually real' Liu Yiming, 1734-1821, Taoist master 'The book known as Journey to the West is about the universal Way that has been handed on by word to mouth from sage to sage, and verified by each of them. Ch'ang-ch'un, the originator of the Journey to the West cycle, dared to say what the ancients did not dare to say, revealing the celestial mechanism. In Journey to the West is to be found the method of transforming life and death, the way to escape nature. This is the most extraordinary Taoist book of all time.' PS: 'Authorship of Journey to the West is still disputed between Wu Cheng-en and Qiu Chu Ji, the founder of the Dragon Gate Sect, a Taoist School. Many of the poems in the book are taken from Taoist scriptures.' Comments? PPS: It seems there are two novels with that name, one of them indeed written by Qiu Changchun, yet the content and the subject are entirely different.... Wiki, the darn thing...

Liu Yiming, 1734-1821, Taoist master 'The book known as Journey to the West is about the universal Way that has been handed on by word to mouth from sage to sage, and verified by each of them. Ch'ang-ch'un, the originator of the Journey to the West cycle, dared to say what the ancients did not dare to say, revealing the celestial mechanism. In Journey to the West is to be found the method of transforming life and death, the way to escape nature. This is the most extraordinary Taoist book of all time.' PS: 'Authorship of Journey to the West is still disputed between Wu Cheng-en and Qiu Chu Ji, the founder of the Dragon Gate Sect, a Taoist School. Many of the poems in the book are taken from Taoist scriptures.' Comments?

Guy, you took it on a too personal note. Like i said, i don't know any of you, i have nothing against you. FYI,at least in my country, nowadays pharmacies are not places where sick people go. It's very trendy to go there for young people, because there are alot of cosmetic products and various others, that don't necessarely belong to the industry. It's turning more and more into a money-making cynical business - this is upsetting to me. So take it as an outburst, it's not adressed to someone in particular... but to a line of thinking that i'm tired of seen repeating... AND - i didn't ignore your statements, i considered them way too vague... BTW, when did i say it was my problem eh? Regarding athletes, i'll be happy to listen to your version of the truth...

Answering to all of those that i upset with my previous post: - I'm sorry, it's called first phase, denial. Wishful thinking will get us nowhere... - If you want some facts, go and speak with physicians, with doctors. For example, I see it myself, as I work in a pharmacy. Many old men seem to have alot more vitality that many young men. It's a sad thing to see. And it gets worse, as time goes by. - Many young men resort to Viagra and other pills to get a decent erection. In young men today you can see alot of meat, and a tiny spark of energy... You want numbers? Age? Look up the internet. Check up the high rate in onchological (cancer) type diseases. It's just the tip of the iceberg. Still,I have no intention to prove anything, just know some facts, from what I see everyday, that's all... - I remember my uncles, aunts, as I was little... they had a physical consistency that I don't see it today anymore. The food is much less nutricious now, we move our bodies alot less, the electomagnetic smog is at an unprecedented rate. Do you really believe these go without consequences to our biology? The most sensitive part of our biology is our fertility... There are many factors that need be respected if you still want to keep this healthy. It's not just erections. It's also the consistency of the sperm, and these have a direct influence on your mental health, your emotional health, your social health, and your sense of well being. So no, i don't think talking about it is overrated. I'm not interested in opinions either... Facts, they save time. And, Guy, anybody ever tell you what happens to athletes after their career is over? Just met a handball national player yesterday at the hospital: she was replacing her knee with a metal one. Oh she had no problems whatsoever when she played... But with age, the abuses tend to come out. Don't get me started on martial artists, the story is even more sad... What world are you living in? And, I don't care if I sound harsh, I have nothing against you, I don't know you. I admit I have a really big personal problem: little tolerance for stupidity... L1 @Michael, so i was only half-joking. ...Emphasizing now, as a reaction to the reaction

Michael, somehow yesterday's 16 year olds are not nowadays 16 year olds they don't make them how they used to hehe they have to work hard to achieve the same level you had at the same age (without doing anything) it's called de-generation, and it's the current plague of humanity every son is half his father's strength, and a quarter of his grandfather's same goes for girls Stais, at your age you have three open directions to work with if you combine them, you have even more than three - education - directing your attention towards school and intelectual performance will naturally TRANSFER your energy to the higher centers - arts - expressing yourself thru art: music, dance, painting, poetry, literature ETC! it's another way of EXPRESSING your sexual energy in a REFINED way - sport performance - even martial arts - are a great way to refine your sexual impulses i know it doesn't sound fancy, it's still true good luck L1

alcohol turns the aura into swiss cheese the subtle and the physical immunity are kinda turned off and the suble and physical parasites are very happy why do you think it's called 'spirits' if you want to know what a taoist does/doesn't need, search for the list of prohibitions that a taoist monk has to follow then do the math

cat, here's what i listen to in my metal moments, Therion, my metal weakness of course there is a touch of magick in it. the Therion band in involved in the higher structures of this society or, if you prefer, here it is, an ABBA cover, fun(K)y http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPqVFfT4Kck

its really nice, i just would not call it metal, thou' the thing with (genuine)metal, maybe it's just what it does, it adds metal to your element table i didn't listen to much led zepp before, it's quite new to me

i have my metal moments, of course i just don't mix this with cultivation nothing new, just look at the effect metal music has on water crystals - masaru emoto chaos energy... you need a really strong mind and a strong sense of purpose to work with it not there yet, and by my experience most of us may think they are, but they aren't you know, it's like the threads about vices such as alcohol, pot and masturbation. better call them by name than disguising them as 'spiritual practice' eveyone has a cross to carry, better use it than being used by it... and i know when i'm right, i do

don't fool yourself

in the quoted discussion above, i forgot to ask the 'guest', what is Benwo? anybody has any idea? durchrod? Taomeow? Song Yongdao? YaMu? Exorcist? Anybody?

As far as I know, Nietzche died a madman... to me, the only point in which his philosophy touches with taoism is that he was interested in naturalism, which meant going beyond good and evil, and i think not per se, but as an instrument to de-construct christianity... he used it as an argument, started from there, and all the rest are his bursts of creativity... yes, he was an intelligent person, with enough guts and arrogance to revenge against the christian education that he received when he was a child... he took things a little too far... hitting the beliefs of your parents, and your respect for them, is hitting your own kidneys, the root. When kidneys/water are weak, the upper/fire mind is most active, also arrogance is produced... Fire consumes the water, and the person is heading towards alot of difficult situations,heart and mental problems being a few of them... Taoism differentiates from this all by a simple thing: it has a restless urge to adapt, and mate, mediate...

and a good contribution it is. as you see, it's not that we're not aware of these subtileties, but our training is to express them and create a structure of thought... which in turn structures the mind - like the structuring of water crystals - and further enhances the practice itself...

I missed your post. To me, it's like this: think about making love. When we make love, we make love with everything that we are, we know and we can. It should be the same with practice. I say should, because it's not what it happens... one big error is the 'mind over matter' attitude of most of the cultivators, which gives them all the necessary arguments for keeping things mostly intelectual. What i mean by that, is that having understanding is different than having information. Understanding - you embody knowledge, it's not limited to your brain and mind. It's body knowledge, and this definition is, i think, mostly related to cultivators of a certain (refined if you wish) quality. So, this (presence or lack of) understanding is what you bring into play when cultivating. And it makes a huge difference. @Taomeow, thank you for your kind words. Intelligence respects intelligence, this is a common fact in life. Let me take a stab at my own question: Qi is neutral Personal power is directional Qi is senses-related Personal power is spirit-sense related Qi is the mother Personal power is the offspring? L1

I'll add another set of questions: - what is the difference between Qi and personal power for now, L1

Hi SF Jane, i'd like to add my 2 c if i may: - don't worry about power, there are so few people that have it, that is mostly a myth - second: we won't find them here, that's for sure. power means alot of discipline, which is contrary to all that WE have been taught since we were kids - people hardly grow up, and psychic power is about growing up - an additional effect of it, you can't avoid it, much like a tree cannot avoid growing and making flowers and fruits

hey, it's no secret that the Cleary translation pretty much sucks, but you sir are turning picky-ness into an art... i wouldn't ever think to calculate that! that being said, the book is not IT. it's just a mise en scene, what's important really comes after, in the books that followed - which the longmenpai people on the forum said are in the process of translation into ingles, so hold on to your nickers...

Well said... it is a way people grow their own reputation by destroying the reputation of others... prooving them 'con artists', 'liars', you name it. I think that, apart from closest friends and family, we are don't have the right to 'help' anyone in this regard. Everyone has his life exams to pass. We can tell them our opinnion, but if it's too enthusiastic or passionate, we mix in their karma. Is that good, is that bad?

'STOPPING' THE WORLD - is 'stopping' yourself

There is another book that you may have missed, it may answer some of your questions: http://www.thetaobums.com/index.php?/topic/5348-encounters-with-the-nagual/