Oolong Rabbit

Hey Dan, I was actually going to email you about this, so I am glad you chimed in. I was also looking at the very same picture of the diaphragm you posted when I was typing my post out. Too funny. Anyhow, I played with what I think you are saying, but the flow feels a bit broken to me. At least in terms of using it for the backward flowing method of the golden flower JJ describes. It could be that I am misinterpreting you as I find it difficult to interpret physiology at times. A 3d model would help. I was also very curious if there are any taoist references to coupling reverse breathing to the backward flowing method, even though JJ just used post natal breathing. I know you have been digging into Charles Luk's book. Have you come across anything like this? I think this would work too, but then again it may be too yang and maybe stoke the fires too fast.

I think the key to the backward flowimg breathing JJ describes is to let the front muscles of the diaphragm guide the inhalation, and then let the rear muscles drive the exhalation. I feel a slight pumping/massaging of the kidneys, and something very subtle going on with the spine. To wax poetic it is like the wind blowing up the side of a tree trunk. This in turn seems to stimulate an energetic response inside the spine itself. There is definitely something to JJ's method. Is anyone else using the Golden Flower system? Are your experiences similar? I just started this a couple days ago, but have been doing a ton of breath regulation qigong lately which no doubt helps. P.S. Please stick to the topic of Golden Flower. There are plenty of other threads on kabbalah and tibetan buddhism etc...

From my perspective, those who despise the siddhis are just as misguided as those who love the siddhis.

I think he was refering more to what's going on internally rather than saying the female squatting to urinate is a solid kung fu stance. At least that's my take .

You mean you haven't heard? I thought everyone knew "The answer lies in the India/Nepal/Tibet Himalaya Regions afterall.. and definitely NOT in china/taiwan.. " In any event, do you consider creating karmic conditions with hungry ghosts and demons qigong? That appears to be what many of these Dalam masters do.

Has anyone read Livia Kohn's "Daoist Dietetics: Food for Immortality". The book contains 4 translated texts on bigu. I may pick it up, but I am wondering if her approach is more academic than practical.

I was reluctant to post this because I am not quite sure if Happeh is a genius or a madman. I think he raises an interesting point though. What happens when you urinate? Kidneys tense slightly, muscles in the kua tense slightly, and your body expels toxins outward/downward. I suspect the crane stance is tensing the same muscles, sealing the jing and redirecting it upwards.

The stance is in some of the crane wudang animal qigong forms I learned. The crane symbolizes longevity, and I think the way the stance works the kua may be related to that but I can't remember the details.

Maybe, if they didn't accidentally "fall" out the window of their highrise first. Energy Invention Suppression Cases Call me a conspiracy theorist, and I will call you naive. If people think the powers that be will murder millions in the middle east to protect "their" oil, what do you think they would do to an inventor that threatened the status quo? Unfortunately, the world is run by demonic beings.

I have been trying to find a brass statue of Immortal Li for almost year now. I have combed every store in Toronto's china town, looked at all the online feng shui sites, and have a search filter on ebay. So far... nothing. What I have noticed is that most Chinese seem more interested in wealth gods and deified heroes like Guan Gong and Zhong Kui than the eight immortals. Does anyone understand why this is so? Beings like Zhong Kui strike me more as a hungry ghost than an immortal.

Hey friend, I understand the perceived "negative" side of immortal li, but I have some affinities with him. I don't need anything fancy, or antique. I am looking for a lost wax brass casting, or possibly a decent ceramic. Unfortunately there are no taoist temples near me.

Would Lao Tzu have had the blockages that we do? Taichi/qigong are just a vehicle. Once you cross the river, there is really no need to walk around carrying your boat. At the level of a Xian, Energy would circulate unimpeded. The wise sage would be doing energetics more powerful than any taichi/qigong in the act of sipping his tea.

Wow you bought that line?

I have rarely regretted going to a retreat, workshop etc.. Many times that little inner voice will come up with 101 reasons why it's not a good idea. That little voice plays on our fears and primitive drives for safety, stability and security. This is the lower self, stagnation... the reptilian brain stem. Don't listen to it. These experiences will transform you, and you can begin to disempower your lower self. For what it's worth, I have never been to rainbow, but have heard many raving about it similar to your gf. Perhaps meditate on why you do not want to go. Go to the root. Brgds!

Sigh... people would do well to turn of the brainwashing/propagandha tel-lie-vision and cultivate a discriminating mind. Few people seem to recall the half-dozen previous lies that contradict this one. I guess the old adage holds true that the bigger the lie, the less apt people will be to question it. Required reading: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Lie

I heard a Russian mathematician developed an elegant formula to quantify it. It was later disproven when somebody pointed out that he forgot to carry the '1'.

Exercises to open the hips and spine.

Admittedly, there are times and places where secrecy was necessary such as the inquisition etc... In this day and age however, secrecy does little more than empower the ego and perpetuate systems that are no longer relevant. I love Dr, Jerry Alan Johnson's anecdote about the taichi instructor asking him to teach the Yang family taichi warmup. Dr. Johnson said he could not, because the instructor was not from his lineage. The instructor turned his back on Dr. Johnson and walked away saying why must all the great things be for the chosen few. Ask yourself what the point of that secrecy was. Would anything but good have come from a free exchange of that knowledge?

Well at least 3 people liked them. It sounds like you only had a very superficial understanding of what he was transmitting, but I am not really interested in wasting my time arguing about whether coke or pepsi tastes better. I didn't say he was a good cuktivator since that's pretty relative. I said he has a lot of cultivation, which I can sense. Can I prove it to you in a way that will satisfy your rational mind, no. If there's better material out there please find it and share with us. I am not being sarcastic either. Kind Regards!

They are a pleasure to share. It's pretty amazing to watch his earlier clips and see this young man's spiritual evolution. Well said Steve. It is ironic isn't it.

A couple more videos from Doloma. Please watch them Bodyoflight: Does this sound familiar? It sounds almost identical to what you have been stating.

BodyofLight, Here's a few clips you should really watch: This guy has lots of cultivation, and speaks openly about his mistaken desires to go to the Himalayas. I think he has achieved much more on his own, than holed up in a cave reciting mantras with that hermit. That having been said however, I think he needed to make the journey to shatter his illusions. Om the other hand, maybe you will find what you are looking for. Would you be content to spend the rest of your life sitting in a cave reciting mantras? Or are you looking for a guru that will teach you how to develop siddhis?

Thank you for elaborating. I would dare say everyone needs to move beyond the conventional understanding on the path of enlightenment. :-)