Creation

I think that karmic connections can be generated by both where a soul has been and where it is going. The latter being related to the whole notion of intention and manifestation.

It seems to me that the idea of siddhasana is to plug the energy of the feet into the central channel through the first two chakras, creating a sort of feedback loop. Also, if your perineum is erogenously sensitive, it can provide a sexual stimulation that, assuming that it doesn't distract you, has a supercharging effect on energy flow. So it's a very good posture. Quite a different feel than padmasana, though, and less stable. Padmasana does something completely different, which I can't put my finger on. I like both. I have heard of using headstands for sexual sublimation in the more hatha oriented yoga lineages. There are specialized methods and precautions for doing this. Tao Semko teaches that kind of stuff, if you are interested.

What can I say? If you can't get your ankles onto your mid-thighs, your feet will slide off. Here is a post I made about what helped me get into a more full lotus: http://www.thetaobums.com/index.php?/topic/4549-full-lotus/page__view__findpost__p__214815

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Hi Oweldge. I have experienced both of these things, and have even had mornings when I was cycling between them. So I see them as different manifestations of the same phenomena, probably something to do with shen.

Hi Encephalon. To what extent do you think you would have been successful at inner dissolving if you did not already have a strong feeling of qi developed through other practices?

Owledge, What you describe sounds similar to many of my sleep paralysis experiences.

Hi mantis. I also had this problem, and what worked for me was getting my ankles more squarely on the thighs, so the feet are locked in place, rather than on the edge of the thighs, where they tend to slip off. This does require more flexibility though. -- I had decided that padmasana was more trouble than it was worth for meditation purposes, but this thread has prompted me to give it another shot. It certainly has its benefits, but it seems to me that no posture can really be the engine powering a high level practice. At best it can be a supercharger. At worst, it can be a distraction preventing you from getting any actual cultivation done at all.

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/28619645/ONE-THROUGH-TEN-MEDITATION-GOLDEN-BALL-EXERCISE

Hmmm... The times I am referring to, the more I let go of mental control, the more violent and agitated the movements become, and the more icky I begin to feel. I am not in any way consciously encouraging the movements. So I'm kind of confused about the whole letting go thing. Could you speak to how your concept of "following yourself" is different than letting go and letting your body move however it wants to? I think all the negative stuff in my system is trying to rush out all at once and there is a traffic jam. What to do about this? Let go less? So much for reckless abandon . When you say slow pulsing, what should I be pulsing? I don't think my energy system is particularly strong or balanced. I have major emotional trauma stored in my trauma from infancy, childhood, and most likely birth and pre birth. No kundalini activity that I know of. Should I be worried that if I do awaken kundalini it would be a hellish nightmare, given how quickly shaking can turn bad?

About shaking, how to know when it's getting too heavy and that you should take a rest and calm down? I get nauseated, disoriented, tense, and agitated very easily when the movements start taking off in spontaneous practice.

Let me tell you about a dream I had. In the dream I realized I was dreaming, and got excited, like "Ooo, I wonder what I can do now that I know I'm dreaming." But before I could try anything, the entire dream dissolved into nothingness, everything went black and I began feeling a wave of bliss. Consciously, I was ready to jump right in, but I felt myself tensing up, completely involuntarily and unconsciously, and in an instant I was awake. So your advice, however good, does not speak to the issue I was referring to. It is an automatic reflex. If anyone knows how to deal with that, please let me know. EDIT: Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate you posting what you did. It's really something that I need to be meditating on. Actually, those kinds of ideas have been on my mind a lot since I began studying with Mark, alternatively haunting and exhilarating me. Which it is is a good litmus test for me to use on myself... Now this, is something I would love if you would speak more about. I'm sorry, but I really can't relate to this statement. Perhaps it is a life experience thing?

Similarly, I am very resistant to allowing myself to go into any kind of trance/altered state.

I am having a really tough time understanding you -K-. Have you had a major energetic shift recently? I mean that is quite a varied group of authors (did you mean Ken Wilber, by the way?). Which works would I want to read, and why those authors? As for your second paragraph, I seriously have no idea what you are talking about. Independent of any talk of energetic release, or orgasm, my experience has been that when things start feeling good, I clamp down on it. I think it is a control issue.

Yes, for such a beautiful soul as Sifu Jenny to open up about things so close to her heart was absolutely enthralling to watch. I was filled with love and gratitude toward her.

Thank you for sharing your story Jetsun, especially the quoted portion. Something for me to contemplate indeed.

Care to elaborate? I'm not sure what you are talking about. Mark's catchphrase "Shaktipat on sight" perhaps? -- Re-reading Hundun's report on his experience with Mark had a strong effect on my energy body. I have been studying with Mark for ~6 months now, and have not had any kind of fireworks happen yet. A handful of times I started to get a taste of extreme (by my standards) bliss, but I tensed up and resisted it, and it faded before it even got going. I've heard that there are women who can't have orgasms for that reason. Maybe I should look into what they do about it.

Very nice, YM, thanks! Here is a more detailed article on the same subject, which was quoted by the piece you posted: http://acupuncturetoday.com/mpacms/at/article.php?id=31918 I have heard a couple theories about the anatomical correlates of acupuncture meridians, but this one looks particularly promising. And meridians having fiber optic properties, wow! But that is still a far cry from a scientific explanation of astral body, spirit apparition, rainbow body, etc. phenomena. I'm hoping that scientific research will be able to shed some light on the relationship between the Indian and Chinese models of the energy body. The Indian model is very strongly correlated to the nervous system, whereas the anatomical correlates of the Chinese model are more mysterious (until now?). The article I posted has some interesting things to say about the relative importance of the nervous system and the Bonghan channels, in regards to embryology and plant life. But I think it would be wrong to under-emphasize the importance of the nervous system in researching the energy body. The difficulty is that that healing modalities working directly with the energies of the nerves are not widespread. In fact, the only such method I know of is Michael Lomax's Neuro Energetic bodywork, which is practiced by very few people.

Props for posting this anamatva. There is a major lesson to be learned from the Kunlun drama that I can't put my finger on... In the meantime, some ironic humor: Note the date on that post... And from that same thread, some words of wisdom:

AWESOME!

Friend, Thank you for the very thorough advice. I really wouldn't know where to look for an authentic exorcist. The picture and mantra in my signature are because of the intense connection and devotion to Guru Rinpoche and his consorts that I feel, rather than a formal religious affiliation.

Hey C T. This brings up some interesting things for me. At one point in my practice, I was intensely conscious of the sufferings of demonic entities, and I felt great compassion for the misfortunate forms of ghosts, demons and hell beings. In this state, I came across some demonic activity. I gathered up all my good will and intention to help ease the sufferings of others and projected it to the situation. The demonic forces took note of me, and I soon began to feel overwhelmed by their power. A very powerful being showed up and saved me from getting devoured, but not before they had "traced" me. That night, I woke up around 3 in the morning with a feeling of terror and a pressure on my heart. This time I felt definitively that there was an external being in my room presiding over this attack. Since trying to be compassionate got me into that situation, I took more of a warrior stance, and I was able to banish it and set up shields, but for several nights afterward I would feel the pressure on my chest come about 11 at night, and had to re-banish and set up the shields. No good deed goes unpunished, right? Now I try to cultivate loving kindness within myself, but I will only extend it to "entities" already attached to my energy field, "Feeding Your Demons" style. After all, there is still quite a lot of hatred, anger, etc. in my system, that probably give demons a pretty easy "in", however compassionate some other parts of me may be. Like the Biblical metaphor of iron mixed with clay. That actually makes it quite hard for me to cultivate loving-kindness. It can be very hard lock onto this feeling, because it is often so obscured by afflictive emotions, and attempting to find it and cultivate it brings up the whole issue of what am I, what is intention, who is "doing"? Do you have any advice to share on this matter?

I had also assumed that KYMQ came from Max, seeing as Max had a Wu Dang teacher and no separate Wu Dang teacher is listed on Sifu Chris' website.

Kwan Yin Magnetic Qigong as taught by Sifu Chris Matsuo.