thelerner

I'd recommend unpasting the Rescue the Moon Woman thread. I liked it but its served its purpose, time to let it slide, imo. Unhappily, my creation the 30 Day Mentorship thread is also languishing without much action. Maybe that should be unpasted too.

The two are pinned next to each in the General Forum. I'd like to see more interest in 30 Day mentorship. Its got potential and somethings have been inspired behinds the scenes.

Out of interest and as an attempt to get the thread back on track. Vitalli, are there any particularly unique aspects of Quanzhen you can tell us about? What does it do particularly well?

Very nice. Sorry we haven't heard from Jane in a while .

Hmnn, yet like a bitter elixir he would (sometimes) stimulate good conversation despite his grandiose apocalyptic beliefs.

Do you think I'm protected by Divine Realms? Are you being sarcastic? Insulting or kinda stupid? I honestly can't tell. Stop derailing threads.

Again you didn't read the initial post, so now you're coming back off subject and on attack. Please don't post on this thread. There's a thread 'IB Derails Saving The World' in The Pit. It was created just for you. Please write your criticisms and time tables for the worlds end there. We don't need a second IB Derails thread on the exact same subject. Don't waste your time on these fantasy threads. Spend it in The Pit. You'll be happier there and so will we. You can't help yourself. You have to write here. You crave attention. Sad.

You know what does apply in this case? I wrote (egotistically) I could do his retreat w/ 6 months of training. A con 'swami' would say 'Yes, you're right. You could do it, why don't you sign up', because they want bodies and the money they bring to the retreat. They don't care who's qualified, its irrelevant since they 'know' everyone will fail. Vitalli didn't respond that way. He said it takes a year after initial training. He didn't push the art at all, no claims its the Best, just showing what an intense retreat was like. What I get out of this is, he's honest. His standards are high and he's wants only qualified people to do the retreat. I think this thread has reflected well on him. And IB should be a little more open to the possibilities of higher practices and training out there. '

Is there any consensus on a better word then 'fill' the dan tien? I agree its not the best. Concisely, what is the best/better paradigm?

I picked one 'fact' at random, the one that said no problem with inflation before the fed was founded. Not true by my research. (http://www.minneapolisfed.org/community_education/teacher/calc/hist1800.cfm) Though at times the problem was deflation which can be just as crippling. Between 1815 and 1821 52% deflation! The average person loses hugely during deflationary times (http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/flowchart/2010/07/16/why-deflation-is-worse-than-inflation). And during wars there was skyrocketing inflation. From 1862 to 1864 it was 11.1%, 23%, 27%! That makes the stagflation of the 70's look tame. We had high inflation during WWII, but not That bad. (Thank you Fed) You see many 0 years, but 4 to 9% isn't rare. I think the FED shoots for 3% inflation and its achieved unusually well the last 30 years. I could check out some of the other quotes, but don't think I will. I subscribe Phils stock world, so I get my fill of the consistently apocalyptic advice from Snyder and Tyler Durden.

I love doing this. I use sobakawa pillows (filled w/ beans), two of them and wish they were even heavier. My ideal position is 2 pillows to gradually raise my head (one length wise, the other normal), two sobakawa pillows on my stomach and a third pillow under my knees. A kind of zero gravity position. Great for relaxing, listening to dharma talks or meditations. The additional weight feels really good. My wife threw out a third pillow after it was leaky.

Please read the whole post, before you create additional comments. In this case read #6 in the post your commenting on. It talks about his work w/ the Rain Forest. If you are interested in it you could google it for more information. So you don't have to go back and read, it says: No, I won't repost it, go back and read it. There are 2 or 3 pictures then lots of words. Read them, particularly #6. If this forum was on paper, you'd make a tree cry.

That is my explanation. A normal person, not a chance; but a uniquely dedicated person, committed heart and soul, can do seemingly superhuman things. Vitalii's course is no Marathon Monk death fast or even as hard as normal week out of the year for a monks of mount Hiei. No comparison, the seminar has little sleep and lots of meditation, an unusually long special training. I'd expect there are a number of trainings across the whole range of arts that have similar super arduous training. I think <later edit this is overly presumptuous of me given that I don't know the system and its rigors> given 6 or 8 months of semi-intense (3ish hour a day) training I could do it. Course I've been accused of living in fantasy world before. The more I look at it, it's not really that intense. Its little sleep, but 14 hours of meditation a day. Not easy, but I've seen harder. You catch the right wave length and you float on it. If someone gets up in the middle to stretch they're probably not beaten up either. Here's a question for Vitalii. If someone was dedicated and a middling practitioner (years of practice but not hardcore), how long would it take to be ready for your seminar? How many hours a day would you say the training would require? If you want to go further, what would the practice be like?

When talking about the MDT, are we considering its location heart or solar plexus? Both are important, I think Taoism is more heart centered, in some writings putting the location centered between the nipples.

A man in power preaching tolerance, thrift, equality, ecological conservation (saving rain forest).. seems like good Saving the World stuff to me. Usually I'm for bottom up solutions. What the individual can do, but when people with influence come onto the scene they can act as powerful 'pivot' points in history and do wonders. Not that I expect miracles, but its nice to see a leading religious figure acting to save the world and not just souls. Though often the 2 acts will be the same.

How; with training. Lots of training. And as pointed out earlier, long meditation can fill in for sleep. In some way you are right, no one in there normal state of mind can do such training. But you're not in a normal state. Such training is about putting your mind and body somewhere else. Such training is nothing compared to extremes Hindu holy men or some extreme monk traditions go through. Look up the Marathon Monks of Mount Hiei. Aikdioist John Stevens wrote a fascinating book about them. After daily running an almost triple marathon for 2 years, they do the 7 day death fast; no food, no water, no sleep SEVEN DAYS. Impossible ofcourse but they do it. http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/mt-hiei "Following the 700th day of running, the monk engages in a seven-day fast, known as the doiri, in which he must abstain from food, water, and sleep, while sitting upright and constantly reciting Buddhist chants. Two monks remain next to him to ensure he doesn't doze off even once. The purpose of the doiri is to bring the monk face-to-face with death." How? Extreme training. What I find interesting is the few monks that have made it through don't seem like stiff ascetics, they seem pretty open about life.

I'd be worried about there safety trying against grandparents and children on tricycles. I could be wrong, but I assume despite the mighty bowel moving kiai and outstretched hands most would be able to hit them pretty easily.

Its a time consuming, thankless job, but you've all shown wisdom, kept the peace, made the hard decisions and helped make a forum into a community. Thank you for making the board possible. Most have no idea how much work, time and aggravation is required. Special thanks to BKA for helping out NAJA and showing that we can go beyond electronic comments and make a difference in another members life. My appreciation to all the members who contribute and share their thoughts, great and small. Happy New Year everyone. I notice it's occurring during a full moon. So maybe there's a little extra energy out there to start the new year with.

Its too bad, they could have come on simply and more honestly and struck up similar interest without the spammy frontage.

In Ki Aikido one of the breathing exercises was a one minute breath cycle. We'd time it to the instructors clap. He'd start relatively normally and get a little longer with each breath. Very slow and even belly breathing. We were told to sip the air as if we were gourmets. It took me years to get it down. Not having done it lately it'd take some time before I could achieve such a long cycle nowadays. Still I'm good for 35 or 40 seconds I think. Its a very calming practice. And once you're there you can let it go and your 'natural' breathing will be much longer and deeper. I like every audio CD I've ever gotten from SilentGrounds.com. Most are guided meditations based on Healing Tao style meditations. One that I purchased was very disappointing at first. It was just tones. 50 different tones. Half were a tones getting louder then softer for an equal amount of time. Starting at 8 - 8 cycles moving up to 45 - 45, a 90 second breath cycle. The other were 3 part breathing, starting w/ 8-8-8 and going up to 14-56-28 a nearly 2 minute breath cycle. Needless to say I can't close to those last tones, but those who can are amazing. I've ended up really valuing the CD. Once put onto an mp3 player set to loop, you can get comfortable with a breath cycle then click it one higher.

I don't know. Books can be kind of expensive. Maybe just a cup of coffee and witty line. Done w/ a Cary Grant Mid-Atlantic accent: 'I really dig you intellec-tual chicks, here's a cuppa Joe. By the way, I like my woman like I like my coffee. With cream, Cinnamon and on top.'

anapanasati, is that a real word? or made up by someone losing at Scrabble. Its back to basics, following the breath cycle attentively, right.

People save the world. Jobs was always the hip icon, but Bill Gates has been improving the world and leading the way for others for quite a while. I'm not saying he's a saint, but he's been doing great work thats effecting and improving the lives of millions. Also a call out to the new Pope. Good Job. http://distractify.com/people/reasons-why-pope-francis-is-the-person-of-the-year/ some of the points: 1. He spoke out against frivolous spending by the Church The average set of cardinal’s clothes costs as much as $20,000. In October, Pope Francis urged officials to dress more modestly and to not squander such money. In the same month, he ordered a German bishop to explain how he had spent $3 million on a marble courtyard. Source: globalpost.com 2. He invited a boy with Down's Syndrome for a ride in the Popemobile During a general audience, Pope Francis invited Alberto di Tullio, a 17-year-old boy with Downs Syndrome, to ride in his Popemobile while thousands watched. The boy and his father were said to be "choked up" when he was embraced by the Pope. Source: cbsnews.com 3. He embraced and kissed Vinicio Riva Source: huffpost.com November saw Pope Francis embrace Vinicio Riva, a man scarred by a genetic disease. Fighting agonising pain on a daily basis, such an act restored the faith of a man who says he is often mocked in public. Source: cnn.com 4. He denounced the judgment of homosexuals Source: cnn.com Pope Francis has stated several times that the Church has no right to interfere spiritually in the lives of gays and lesbians. Though Francis maintained the right of the Church to express opinions on homosexuality, he believed that Christians should not judge or ridicule. This led to The Advocate, a gay rights magazine, naming Francis the 'single most influential person of 2013 on the lives of LGBT people.' Source: cnn.com 5. He held a major ceremony at the chapel of a youth prison Source: incarnationparish.org In March, the Pope held a major Holy Week service at Casal del Marmo jail for minors, rather than the Vatican. During the service, the pope washed and kissed the feet of 12 young offenders to commemorate Jesus' gesture of humility towards his apostles on the night before he died. During the service, he broke tradition by washing the feet of women and Muslims. Source: reuters.com 6. He urged the protection of the Amazon Rainforest Source: nationalpost.com During his visit to Brazil, Pope Francis met with natives who have been fighting ranchers and farmers attempting to invade their land. He encouraged that the Amazon be treated as a garden and protected, along with it's native people. Source: nationalpost.com 7. He personally called and consoled a victim of rape A 44-year old Argentinian woman, raped by a local policeman, was one of thousands to write a letter to Pope Francis in 2013. The woman was surprised when she later received a phone call from Francis himself--who consoled the woman and told her, “You are not alone.” Source: catholicvirtue.org 8. He snuck out of the Vatican to feed the homeless Source: newsfirst.lk More recently, it has been discovered that Pope Francis regularly leaves the Vatican at night to feed the homeless. Dressed as an ordinary priest, he joins Archbishop Konrad Krajewski to feed the poor of Rome. Source: huffingtonpost.com 9. He auctioned his motorcycle to benefit the homeless In October, Francis donated his own Harley Davidson motorcycle to fund a hostel and soup kitchen in Rome. Source: ncregister.com 1 10 He acknowledged that atheists can be good peopleSource: mercopress.com Earlier in 2013, Pope Francis spoke out against the common interpretation within the Church that atheists, by nature, are bad people. He stated that, “Atheists should be seen as good people if they do good.” After meeting the Pope, the openly atheist president of Uruguay, Jose Mujica, compared Francis to a friendly neighbor. <add on Just the fact he had a Harley says he's cool, thinks outside of the box and not going to be your average Pope.

There's a sun/moon movement in Michael Winn's gi gung Fundamental II DVD. I don't know if I can describe it too well, but it activates single nostril breathing. Feet are shoulder width apart, hands low and infront of the body, facing each other a few inches apart. The hands stay the same relative to each other but slowly swing up naturally to one shoulder. As it moves up you feel energy coming up the leg and that side of the body. Hands (still facing each other a few inches apart) stop shoulder high, turn head to look at it. Then hands move down along the side, as its done you feel energy moving down. At bottom of motions hands swing up to the other side. As they swing up, you feel energy moving up that leg. Again stopping shoulder high. Head turns and looks to hands on that side. Big smooth U shaped pendulum motion is repeated. Feeling the energy moving up and down the right and left side. Breath moves with the pendulum and after a while the nostril of the side moving up and down clears and is the only one doing the breathing. Alternating nicely as you do each side. A nice chi gung version of yogic single nostril breathing.

Its unfortunate but the tao bums has chased away a couple of very talented teachers. The very people who have the most experience and knowledge. They get hounded by theorists with only a fraction of their time in the art, or insulted by people with little first hand knowledge of the actual practice the teacher is writing about. Its a shame. I don't like the TB policy of 'equality', granting no preference between a teacher with decades of experience and arm chair theorist. I think teachers should have more leeway, though I understand such things can be a difficult balancing act for mods.