Creation

Lucky7Strikes, Interesting info, thank you for sharing. One of the first things I noticed when Trunk started promoting Magnetic Qigong was that Sifu Matsuo said it came from Wudang, not Maoshan. Hmmmm... fiveelementtao, As always, your considerable experience on these matters is very helpful. Thank you for sharing.

No, but I will say that I have some major darkness in my soul.... I don' think so, but I have only noticed it since I have become more sensitive to energy, so I wonder if they would know if it happened to them. I wonder if it happens to me every night when I am sleeping, but I only happen to notice it the times when I am awake in the night, seeing as I often go to sleep feeling positive and and wake up feeling quite negative. Yes, but your remarks about maintianing intentionality apply here.

Please elaborate.

Here is a better link: http://www.thetaobums.com/index.php?/topic/7127-another-one-on-magicalspiritual-warfare/ I am increasingly convinced that I am attacked on a regular basis, possibly every night, and that there are negative forces in my house. The only color of energy I have ever seen is black. And it's stuff around my house. Sometimes I'll see black stuff out of the corner of my eye, just hanging out. Once I saw it dead on though: I was minding my own business and a ball of black energy just came out of nowhere and flew right into my heart. WTF? Well, it's always possible that it is an eye issue. Often, when I am having trouble sleeping and so am awake lying in my bed late at night, I well feel negative forces pressing on me, like it is trying to get inside me, usually around my heart area. I don't always feel it as a being, just a force. But I have occasionally felt a being behind it. I have banished stuff before, but I don't know how to keep it away. I think it would go a long way if I could just keep my vibration consistently raised, and I am working on this, but that's not easy to do when you are bombarded by negative forces on a regular basis.

I would very much like to hear a compare and contrast between Red Phoenix and Magnetic Qigong from someone who has studied both. Trunk mentioned that RP is a part of Magnetic Qigong. But is it exactly the same or just similar? Does Magnetic Qigong contain RP1 and RP2 or just RP1? And now, this thread makes me wonder, is it actually the reverse that is taught in Magnetic Qigong, or is it done both ways? Anyone with experience, please chime in!

I definitely agree that balance is good, but there is another distinction that I think needs to be made here. There are the normal currents of energy in the body, related to ordinary processes of maintaining the function of the human form, and there are the more profound flows related to deep spiritual transformation. I don't think you can really deal with these two in the same way.

Yes, it is a very interesting to see that connection made by the Bushmen. That connection is also a major theme and driving force (one might say the major theme and driving force) in bhakti yoga. Much emphasis is placed on the sense of longing for God, as the beloved for the lover.

Hey Cam. I remember hearing about the downward flow / water path of Kunlun energy and wondering, "Is this something that comes from Red Phoenix? Because the spontaneous practice alone doesn't seem to be a downward flow practice." I always wondered about that. Oooo! I would love it it if you elaborate on the Kunlun method of moving through blocks!

Ahh, talk about fire and water paths and immortality vs. enlightenment. All the old discussions of stuff like that is what attracted me to this place to begin with. I'm happy to see it being brought up again. Reading through all those discussion, I realized that people were categorizing things as fire and water for quite different reasons, but did not make the distinction within the discussion between the different methods of classification that were being used. Here is my offering of six different ways people have labeled a system fire or water, grouped in pairs that I have seen conflated with each other. 1.a. Emphasizing the use of fiery energy vs. the use of watery energy 1.b. Emphasizing blasting through blocks by amping up the energy vs. dissolving blocks with awareness 2.a. Intending things to happen vs. allowing things to happen 2.b. Building, constructing, or adding to one's self vs. breaking down and letting go of one's self 3.a. Emphasizing the use of an upward flow of energy vs. a downward flow of energy 3.b. Emphasizing the cultivation of energy centers from lowest to the highest vs. highest to lowest 2.a. and 2.b. don't have to go hand in hand. There are many systems that build a dan tian by letting go and just residing in the lower field. Also, I wanted to point out that, IMHO, all complete systems lead to more letting go and allowing at the higher levels, so 2.a. is really only something that comes into play at the beginning levels. 3.a. and 3.b. aren't necessarily the same, because humans are not one dimensional. A system might emphasize the downward flow of heavenly energy, but work with the lower dan tian first, or emphasize the upward flow of kundalini to open the third eye, skipping everything in between. Really, I think a practice can be any combination of these, and it can be both or neither on several counts as well. Moreover, the way you use a practice or combine it with other practices can make the overall system more or less "fire" or "water", or more "fire" by one definition and more "water" by another. Also, there are things that are both and other that are neither. And a system might change emphasis as a practitioner progresses, or it might have a certain flexibility to meet the needs of different types of practitioner. I don't like to speak of fire and water methods anymore, because with all these distinctions it seems contrived. So the next time you want to classify something as fire or water, those are some things to think about.

That Kenneth Folk Dharma thread has some really great info! sun, You may be interested to know that Shou-Yu Liang's book Qigong Empowerment has description of a tummo practice in the Buddhist Qigong section, presented as a qigong method rather than as completion stage Vajrayana practice.

Thank you for sharing. This all sounds very similar to my experience.

Thanks suninmyeyes. I know enough to know that there are is a lot of suffering in the world a being can experience that I have been spared. I also have a sense of being denied joy. This is what causes me so much anguish. I get jealous and resentful of the "haves", inasmuch as I perceive my self as a "have not". I also know that just because someone shares their pain with you does not mean you can do anything for them, or that they could receive any help you could give. And that this remains true if you replace third person with first. Human beings can be so pitiful. What can I offer to a suffering world? What can I do for my suffering self? Who is this "I" anyway?

Nice to see you, cat. The synchronicity of you posting this is mindblowing. (Please imagine a grimace on my face as you read this.) You would think that about Michael's system wouldn't you? I must be a total freak. Michael more or less told me that the issues I'm having would come up from practicing any neigong. If you have whatever problem I have (I wish I knew what), no system will be a smooth ride.

Oh well, the forum seems to be moving in the direction of segmentation, and I'm curious how that will effect the overall dynamic of this place. It's not like I contribute here much anyway. On the most basic level (not to be underestimated...), it's more forums for me to click on to find new content. Is there some trick to getting around that?

Well, the forum has already been created, but I want to give a counterpoint anyway. I am emphatically not in favor of segmenting this fourm more. I didn't like the idea of a Buddhist discussion forum, but I can see the value, in that there is a large group of members that generate an enormous amount of content on Buddhism that many other users just skip over because they are uninterested. Now, there is no such Vedanta community on this forum, despite there being members interested in Vedanta. So my initial though was, "Dwai, if you want more Vedanta discussion here, start some Vedanta threads in the General Discussion forum! Why in the world would you want a walled off space anyway? Isn't that against the spirit of this place?" But then I realized that you have not done this because every time you tried to discuss Vedanta some Buddha Bum would shout you down talking about Emptiness and Dependent Origination. I recall you being frustrated about this, and I understand that. So my question is, were you hoping that a Vedanta subforum would serve as a clubhouse with a "No Buddhists allowed" sign on it? Secondly, why does everyone else who voted "Yes" think that having a separate subforum for Vedanta would be a better idea than just discussing it in the General Discussion forum?

Bones of the Master by George Crane. I give this book my highest recommendation.

Hi witch. I'm not sure how generally you are using the term "inner alchemy", but as far as Taoist nei dan is concerned, here is some reading that you may find very interesting: http://taijidandao.blogspot.com/2011/04/musings-on-longmen-dandao-part-2.html Here is a teaser:

Hi Ms. Golden Flower. Welcome to the forum. There is a long tradition of "Taoist" sexual methods which involve older men and younger women. It relates to the whole issue of jing. So I can imagine running into that even more in self-identified Taoist men than in other cultivating men. What is your source of info on Taoist sexual cultivation? I imagine the Taoist methods you are interested in are more qi and shen level practices, rather than solely jing level practices? I wonder, why specifically seek a Taoist man? Perhaps widendening the search for a serious cultivator of any tradition, yet having the willingness to try Taoist style dual cultivation? And if I may say, your description of yourself has me quite interested in you. Though I certainly don't fit your qualifications.

The impression I get is that BKF is not teaching the meditation aspects of the Wu style at his seminars.

Hey Mal. Do you remember in the Bruce Frantzis interview when he talked about the jing, qi, and shen levels? In particular, that practices having to do with manipulating the energy channels of the body, etc. are on the jing level. And that the qi level is much more of a psychological thing? When Frantzis talks about meditation, he is talking about the qi and shen levels. So any of the considerable range of martial qigong practices, moving standing or sitting, that develop things like the dan tian, microsomic orbit, etc., which many Westerners would consider to "meditation" or "spiritual" are actually, by Frantzis definition, not. So the thing about the various styles of Taiji not having meditation, was, put in a different way, saying that they did not deal with the qi and shen levels. (Even thought Taiji does deal with qi, another one of those terminological bugaboos) Also, you may be interested reading this: http://longmenpai.blogspot.com/2009/01/2005-meridian-taijiquan.html

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[inspiring quote award]

Hi Mrs. Diamond Heart. I am pleased to see you starting a legitimate thread, rather than a trolling thread. Welcome aboard! They say that humans actually have multiple bodies, all bundled together, the physical body being the most dense. And that in death the subtle bodies are untethered from the physical body. So I don't think you can call the physical body the "hardware" and everything else the "software". I would say that all the bodies are the hardware, and the software is all the programs we are running: our habits and tendencies and ideas. Some of these are physical, some mental, some emotional, etc. These are stored in the "hardware" of the various bodies like programs on a hard drive. Buddhists call them samskaras. When you shed the physical body, you lose the samskaras associated solely with the physical body. Sort of like unplugging an external hard drive from the USB port. But you might have software stored in the other bodies saying "Hey, I needed something on an external hard drive, get me another one", and so you find yourself plugging into a new body, one that fits the bill for what the programs in the subtle bodies are clamoring for. Hence karma and reincarnation. Perhaps a more extended computer analogy was not what you were looking for, but I thought it was a neat idea. As far as proof, I wonder something. What would it mean to you to have proof that some part of you will live on after death? What is it that you are really longing for? It seems to me that what you are feeling is something goes beyond the idea of your body dying, and into your very sense of identity. And therein lies a lot of potential to grow beyond your current sense of identity. Nice to meet you and wishing you the best.

Also, What a refreshing take on unselfishness Odin has! He didn't sacrifice himself for anyone but himself, and yet what he gained he did not consider to be his, but shared it freely. I will be meditating on this.

Hi fiveelementtao. The impression I got was not that an individual cannot practice both, or that they are mutually exclusive, but that there is a lot of enmity floating around. I don't perceive it very clearly, but I perceive there to be lineage "spaces" where spirits of the same lineage congregate, where things like collective karma are operating. And that within the lineage space of the Old Germanic path, I felt enmity toward Christianity. My perception is not nearly refined enough to pinpoint the source of it. If you perceive that the deities do not hold this enmity, then perhaps it is just the collective karmic imprints of murdered shamans. My sadness was a reaction to this collective enmity. My reaction to the sadness was a desire for the enmity to be healed. At any rate, as long as this enmity is there, it will have affect people on Earth. But about Odin. I've been thinking about what he said to you. It really seems that the message of Jesus to "Take up your cross" and "He who wishes to find his life must lose it" is not at all incompatible with Odin's view. And that many of Odin's criticisms of Jesus were applicable to Christians rather than Jesus himself ("...making people feel sorry for him and then forces them to believe in him"). Lurking underneath any discussion here is the complication that Jesus and Odin are doing triple duty as immortals, archetypes, and lineage deities.