portcraig

Joeblast mentioned that he thought that "Kunlun is a simpler practice with less lofty goals/achievements." Max told me in a private session that this practice will take you back to the source, your own divine self, and you will become an Immortal. He also told me that if you combine Kunlun with the Red Phoenix exercise you can build the Golden Dragon body which he said is the highest state a Taoist can attain. According to Max then this practice has some very high goals one can achieve. Craig

Hundun, I think you basically trashed the whole seminar. Sorry you had such a bad time. I don't think I ever heard Max ever refer to himself as a Master, or Guru. He just said that he likes to be called Max. I definitely think his transmission is effective if you are open to it. Obviously you don't need to study with Max as you are too advanced for what he has to offer. I do think that they should change the video and take the martial arts out of it as it just causes too much controversy. Craig

I like practicing Kunlun and the other things I have learned from Max. I definitely feel a change in my energy since I started practicing. I have attended two seminars and will be attending my third in San Diego in a week. For me it really feels like the right path to follow and I enjoy learning from Max. I guess I have an affinity in what he is teaching. I hope that the others who did not have a good experience will find the teaching or practice that is best for them. Craig

I thought I would add a little about my last two months of practicing what I have learned at Max's seminars. I attended my first seminar in August and the second one in September. You know I have not had any problems in dealing with my life since I started the practice. In fact it has only helped me. I have noticed good luck coming into my life regarding my work and also it has helped my wife's work. I mentioned this to Max and he told me that things start to manifest quicker for you when you start this practice. I came to the seminar with Max at a good time in my life as I was ready to start a new practice. I had reached a point where my previous path was not working for me anymore . I came to the first seminar I had an "empty" cup. I decided to just devote myself to this practice and drop everything else. I think this is important in any type of practice. If you want to do well just focus on one thing. I think some people may be having some problems when they try to mix practices. I don't think Kunlun mixes well with other energy practices. The energy is too strong. It is also a downward flow and a lot of other practices out there deal with the upward flow. Regarding Kunlun, I have started to practice it in the morning and also the evening. For me it doesn't last usually more than 20 minutes at a time. My arms usually go out like I am flower opening its petals to the sun. I usually feel "frozen" in this position. It is quite a nice feeling just soaking up the energy from above. When I am doing the Maoshan 5 elements standing practice in the morning I have started to shake and bounce while I am doing the exercise. I have done a lot of standing Nei Kung practices over the years and have never had that happen. We recently started a Men's Kunlun practice group in Los Angeles. The women have also formed a practice group. We are supposed to join up together in a few months once our practice is stabilized. Listening to the men talk about their experiences it was just all positive. I didn't hear any negative experiences. One man said that he is an accountant and the Kunlun has really helped him deal with the stress. Another man talked about being in a yoga class and another person walked up to him and told him that his aura was really big and wanted to know what kind of practice he was partaking in. I had a coworker walk up to me recently at work and she told me that I had been smiling a lot lately. I think therefore that Kunlun will work for you if you devote yourself to the practice and make it a part of your life. Craig

Hey Cameron, I just went through a few days of being a little overbalanced from the seminars and practicing too much of what I learned from Max. When I learned the Maoshan 5 elements standing exercise in August Max told me to practice each one 5 - 7 minutes a day so I started with 5 minutes each for twenty five minutes total and that was fine for me. I always felt a lot of energy afterwards . The energy was also more intense than from my usual standing practices. Well last week I decided to double it to 10 minutes each for 50 minutes a day and that was too much and add to that all the energy I received from the seminars and I got pretty sick and had to balance out a few days. I even ate hamburgers which is rare for me in order to try and get back to normal. Now I am feeling better and back to the prescribed 5 minutes each a day. So there is definitely a different energy to this practice and you have to watch how you are doing so you don't overdo it and also so you can stay balanced. Craig

I asked Max about martial arts and he suggested that I study Bagua because it is a circular energy which would be compatible with Kunlun since it is also a circular energy. Craig

Mark, I don't know the answer to that question. Perhaps Chris can answer that or you can ask Max at the seminar. Craig

Mark, Regarding your questions on the Red Phoenix and the Mao Shan 5 elements. Max told me that Kunlun and Red Phoenix were two of the original schools. He said that ordinarily Red Phoenix took 20 years to learn but by practicing it with Kunlun it can be very quick. Red Phoenix is used to develop "abilities" like he has. When you combine it with Kunlun you can achieve the Golden Dragon Body which he said is the highest state a Daoist can attain. The Daoists that have done this have basically tansmuted their body into a higher or finer state of energy. Max told me that he learned Red Phoenix 29 years ago and that all of his grandmsters practice it. He found out how powerful it was once he gave up all of his other practices. Max taught the Mao Shan 5 elements at the first seminar in August. He didn't teach them at the second seminar I guess because of the time factor and also he decided to teach Red Phoenix instead at that one. If you want him to teach them I would just let them know before the seminar. Perhaps he can fit them in. The Mao Shan 5 elements are like zhang zhaung. There is a standing posture for each of the five elements which are wood - liver, fire - heart, earth - spleen, metal - lungs, water - kidney and they are practiced in that order. I have practiced a lot of zhang zhaung before but these have more of an impact on myself in regards to energy level afterwards. I don't know if it is the order or posture or what. Anyway in the beginning each posture is held for 5 to 7 minutes. The last two days I tried 10 minutes each and I think I may have overdid it because I feel like too much energy came into my body. I hope my explanation helped. Max will give you a much better description of Red Phoenix and the five elements at the Australian seminar. Craig

I might add that Max told me that combining Kunlun with the Red Phoenix practice creates the golden dragon body which he said is the highest state a Daoist can attain. So it isn't just a Kunlun practice. I am also practicing the Maoshan 5 elements standing exercise everyday. I have practiced a lot of standing nei kung exercises previously however they never seemed to effect me like these one do. I definitely feel much more energy since I started the practice. Craig

I am glad that a lot of the "logical" people do want to attend the seminars with Max because they are getting pretty crowded. The first one had about 20 people and the next one about 60 people. Lots of people are telling their friends of their good experiences and the seminars are getting larger each time. Perhaps the next one will have over 100 people. My wife is never interested in spiritual things but after attending the lecture with Max she told me that she wanted to attend the next workshop. It is interesting to me how the real intellectual people have a problem with Max. They need to have everything fit into a nice box so it fits their expectations. The teacher has to belong to this lineage or that lineage and teach in a certain way. Don't they always say you need to have a child like mind to enter the kingdom of heaven? The real intellectual people have a problem with this. All I know is that it works for me, and it seems to be also working for a lot of other persons. Of course it is not going to be right for everyone because we all need to find the path which is right for ourselves. Craig

The two seminars that I have attended Max hasn't taught anything related to Tibetan Buddhism. He did tell a few stories of his experiences. Max seems to be just focusing mainly on the Kunlun practice. I suppose he could share some of his practices from Tibetan Budhism in private if you were interested.

Hey Cameron, I am glad you took a chance and went to the seminar and had a good experience. Yes it looked like you were having an intense experience this afternoon. Nice meeting you and some of the other guys from the forum. It was my second seminar and I felt like I am progressing in my Kunlun practice. It is great that Max wants to share it with us! Craig

When I practice lately, my head has been tilting back but it happens when I am in the practice and not closing down. I also notice my back arching and my arms extending out to the side a bit. I seem to start yawning a lot at this point so my mouth is wide open. Then I focus on the third eye and the energy gets strong for me at that point. Craig

I just checked and the trailer is working again. http://www.lamathunderbolt.com/

Here are the driving instructions from Mapquest.com on getting from the seminar hotel to the bookstore. Start:5250 W El Segundo Blvd Hawthorne, CA 90250-4142, US End:8585 Melrose Ave W Hollywood, CA 90069-5105, US Directions Distance Total Est. Time: 22 minutes Total Est. Distance: 16.16 miles 1: Start out going EAST on W EL SEGUNDO BLVD toward S LA CIENEGA BLVD. 0.2 miles 2: Turn LEFT onto ramp. 0.3 miles 3: Merge onto I-405 N. 8.5 miles 4: Merge onto I-10 E / ROSA PARKS FWY toward LOS ANGELES. 3.1 miles 5: Take the LA CIENEGA BLVD exit- EXIT 7A. 0.1 miles 6: Take the LA CIENEGA BLVD NORTH ramp. 0.2 miles 7: Take the LA CIENEGA BLVD-NORTH ramp. 0.1 miles 8: Turn SLIGHT RIGHT onto S LA CIENEGA BLVD. 3.1 miles 9: Turn LEFT onto MELROSE AVE. 0.1 miles 10: End at 8585 Melrose Ave W Hollywood, CA 90069-5105, US Total Est. Time: 22 minutesTotal Est. Distance: 16.16 miles

The trailer doesn't seem to be working anymore. I guess it caused too much controversy and took away from the teachings Max was trying to present to those interested. Craig

For anyone going to the Bodhi Tree bookstore for the free Friday evening lecture it is sometimes hard to find parking in that area. There is no parking on the side streets during the evening (unless you have a permit) and they do issue a lot of parking tickets in that area. In the evening I look for a parking meter to park at. I believe after 6 pm they are free (look at the signs to be sure.) The Bodhi Tree is on Melrose about two blocks west of La Cienga. I usually look for a parking meter on Melrose a couple blocks east of La Cienga or on La Cienga south of Melrose. Of course if you are lucky you could find one closer. Perhaps there is a parking lot somewhere over there but I am not aware of any. Last month the lecture room was pretty full so if you want a seat you might want to get there early. Craig

Cameron, I will be at the Friday night lecture and the seminar on Saturday and Sunday. I have a private session scheduled on Friday. I think there will be a couple of other people going that you haven't listed. Craig

Max told me that I could start Level 2 after 3 months of practice. I don't know if that was just for me or everybody. I do think you would need to see Max for the transmission for the meditation to really work for you. When you get the transmission you are hooked up to his lineage. The only ill effects I heard mentioned were that if you start mixing it up with other things. I wish Mantra68 (Chris) would post some more because I am just a beginner in this stuff and have only attended the Level 1 workshop. Craig

Cameron, I bought the book before I took the seminar in August. I received it about 2 weeks before the seminar. I started practicing the Level 1 exercise so I could be more prepared for the seminar. I felt stuff happening right away. Mostly a lot of the body shaking and moving in a circular fashion. There is a lot more stuff going on for me after the seminar. I think every person will have different experiences depending on what they need to work through. The seminar really helps if you want to learn the practice. Max gives you a transmission and he goes around correcting the students if they are doing something wrong. Also Max's energy, and the group energy really gave me a boost with this practice. I noticed there was a mistake in the book for the Level 1 exercise. In the book, on page 39 point #5, it says to put your left hand above at the throat level with the palm facing down. I noticed that the photo on page 42 actually had the right hand on top. The correct way I learned at the seminar is with the right hand above as pictured in the photo on page 42. Regarding the time limit, the hour is just a guideline. Your body will tell when to stop. Max said eventually you reach a point where you will be done with the Level 1 part in 5 minutes. Craig

When I first saw the video I was skeptical but I was willing to at least go to the free lecture and give him a chance. I am glad I did because I enjoyed the lecture and liked what he had to teach at the seminar and it seems to be working for me. Judging from the experiences that other people were having at the seminar it seemed to be also working for them. If it really upsets you that much you don't have to go. There are plenty of paths out there so people can chose the one that is right for them.

No. I am just practicing what I learned from Max right now.

Yes I guess you are right. Most of the people there are probably okay. It is just a few who are really rude and loud and want to jump on someone who is presenting a view that they don't understand or agree with. When I posted about my experience about meeting Sifu John Chang's students and meeting Sifu Luo who is Master with similar abilities in Thailand I thought that they might be interested but they really jumped on me. I guess it is just not the appropriate place to post something esoteric and nonconventional.

Several of the people on the Empty Flower Forum act like they know everything. I did receive a few personal messages from people who supported what I had to say and apologized for the others who didn't act very nice. Craig

Once I posted something on the Empty Flower forum supporting Sifu John Chang (the Magus of Java) and all they did there was shout me down and call me names. I have quit posting on the Empty Flower forum because of that. They don't seem very open to learning anything esoteric or different. Craig