thelerner

Breath circulating - good. Blood circulating - good. Chi circulating - probably good So the question is whether it should be mentally pushed or left alone to do what it wants. Sometimes I push it, doing the microcosmic orbit feels like an inner mantra. Mostly I leave it alone to do what it wants. Michael

I second JoeBlast and raise him 3. Don't forget the basics. Before searching out the wonder herb and super chi gung routine, be sure you're getting good long restful sleep. Clean your system with veggies, juices and a sane diet. Move your body and bowels regularly. Then look for a good practice thats close to you. Having a live teacher who gives feedback is so important. Michael

We run into the paradoxical situation, where one person has given time, effort and heart into a system and another comes by and says, well thats pure shit and by the way so is the teacher. It happens all the time here, whether its Healing Tao, Kunlun, Qigong styles, Buddhism , even the way people sit when meditating. The detractor is sincere in trying to save the practitioner and warn others of the futility, madness, time/money wasting and death. It comes off as an attack and if you've put your heart into a method its hard not to take it personally. Particularly when you've been getting good results and see others the system is helping. I don't think there's a solution, other then politeness. Stating your piece and moving on; thats what I've noticed the most experienced and deepest practitioners here do(IMHO). Its a level to maturity to be able to state your piece and move on. Being a crusader takes too much energy and crosses the line into self righteousness very easily. Michael

I don't know if anyone mentioned studying Chinese, say Mandarin I like Prince's suggestion. Alternative medicine sounds great, but its very hard to establish yourself and make a good living from. Moving towards what will get you a nursing degree will make you much more employable. It will give you a way to slip into alternative medicine through Western medicines front door. Michael

How can we miss you if you never leave check in every now and then Michael

Maybe I'm more Confucius (or Confused) then Taoist, but I don't think the concept 'I'm the Most Important Person' is good Karma. I think there's good and evil, certainly at my unenlightened level there is and pretty damn easy to see it, at least as it separates out of the grey areas. You help people when you can. Not out of gain or ego, we're in the world and being nice makes it a little better. Be nice, help others, it sounds childish, but isn't that also an aspect of Tao. 'Take once, give back twice' makes a lot of sense. Michael Janus If you're living with your parents you owe them respect and rent. Otherwise you should leave. Make a list, I bet you'll find that your parental 'enemies' are doing a whole lot more for you then any of your friends.

Secret Squirrel stuff indeed . I have no experience with it, but the advertising hits every sleazy quick sell cliche out there. Sometimes a good local tai chi (or chi gung) teacher who sees you and practices with you is worth 3 super double supreme ultimate masters in the bush. Michael

I second JoeBob. For Franz Bardon's style of Hermetic Magic relies heavily on knowing yourself first. Step by step specific exercises on knowing and controlling the psyche. Rawn Clark makes him very accessible. There are places on the internet where Bardons original work is available. Rawn has a number of great guided meditations on his page. Very well worth a download and listen. Whats so nice is they come as progressive series. Michael

Very impressive Lin. The site reflects quality and sincerity. Yours Michael

On the HTUSA site there are some articles from Michael Winn about spending time in taoist caves. They're a good read. Michael

Here's how I chew on it; If I quiet my mind and look out I see the world, its just the world without labels wants or desires. Without the filters and conditioning of my mind- what going on is awareness. The bug, the bird looking out is also experiencing this awareness. When you look out quietly, without thought- awareness. Time is inconsequential, no thoughts of past or future. You, me, bug and bird sharing in Nowness until wants, desires, goals and fears shatter now into pieces and plans. Michael

Yes and I fatten them up incase I have to sell them by the pound . Its not just a retirement package, its the whole package, love, security and support. Living with someone is hard. We date many people before we take the leap into marriage. Without the legal & religious stuff it's easier to treat your partner as another step along the way. Nothing wrong with that when you're young. But when you get older and there are dependencies and when there are kids you need more then 'as long as it feels good'. Cause it don't always feel good. You create the risk because you've found someone special, too special to let go of when 'things don't feel good'. Feeling change, situations change, but ..beyond change there is the sacred. Thats what you aim for. Maybe its not native to the human condition but its a worth while goal. Michael

Marriage good, kids good, family good. I'm in a sandwiched generation. My parents are in there 70's. They have me and my sisters to be there for them. Whatever happens, whatever illness or problem we're there for them, with love and support. They have 4 people watching out for them. Thats a powerful thing you may or may not get in your 70's and 80's from surviving friends. You learn about love and sacrifice from your kids. You're constantly reminded about simple pleasures of play and unconditioned awareness. They give you a chance to re-experience pieces of your childhood, fly the kites again, play video games, catch, see a ball game. They're a test of sanity but you wouldn't trade them for anything. They give meaning to life and are a reason for hope in the world. Wives similarly. You learn love and intimacy; fight for it, surrender to it. Its nice to wake up to a warm body in your bed, too trust someone with everything. Its not for everyone, its a hard brave choice, but the rewards are certainly there. Michael

When you get down to it, thats probably the answer to about two thirds of all the problems out there, personal and energetic. Michael

Hit the library or book store. Check out some of Robert Bruce's books on Energy Works and Out of Body Travel. Better yet start on the internet, he has a nice mp3 for downloading somewhere. He has some good programs and explanations for sleep paralysis. Instead of a phenomenon to be feared sleep paralysis offers a door way, or so they say Michael

Nothing worse then a Ditto head..but Darin said it best I love that site and use it everytime I hear of something new in the New Age world because, nothing real can be threatened. They're right in that those of us in the qi gong community need to use more rigorous testing of qi abilities. Its not going to be guru,swami or master who blows the lid off the easier pickings of parapsychology such as OBE's; it will be a scientist, reporter or sceptic who comes with hard easily reproducable evidence. Michael

Glad you were here. glad I'm on your email list. Hope to study with you one day. Michael

I spent 14 years studying martial arts. The ability to meditate deeply and sustain a quiet mind is whats going to save and prolong your life. The MMA fighter who beats every Tai Chi fighter might well end up forced to quit his art in his 30's, arthritic in his 40's and dead by 70. Whereas the defeated Tai Chi player is still at the top of his game in 70's and 80's. One michaels opinion

Hi Heidi, With young children (6ish) and martial arts I feel the best classes are: Heavy on play Light on discipline (save it for later) Heavy on rolling, movement and evasion Light on actual fighting Watch a class, ask if you can try a free one (many schools will). (IMHO) The key is finding the best teacher, not the best martial artist, not the best system, but a teacher who really connects with the kids. They'll have a lifetime to learn fighting, as a young kid, let them play, learn to move well and develop confidence and following instructions. My two bits, I taught kids Aikido for many years. Michael

11:03 to be exact. I'll hit live chat for a few minutes. Michael by the way, there's new stuff there.

I didn't like that article because it didn't say how much time a day the rats were exposed to radiation. 30 minutes? 2 hours, 6 hours? I suspect they might have been exposed 24 hours a day for the whole experiment. If so, it bias's the information since 24/7 of anything is going to create bad effects as does mega amounts of any substance. I think cell phone use is best limited, particularly for kids. But, people are suspicious to the point of paranoia. If they cooked an egg in 45 minutes, they'd be killing people off daily . I'd like to see a better science on the effects. I'm sure good science is out there. In the meantime I'll try to keep mine out of my pocket and limit my time on it, but not worry to worry too much when I dont'. Michael

While I'm also in the dark about them. Minke De Vos went on one and did a nice article on it. Its on her website silentgrounds.com. You can probably google it with 'Minke Dark room retreat ' or some such. In the past there were a few threads on it on the HTusa discussion board, maybe you can also search for it there. Michael

http://www.do-not-zzz.com

I was a poster on the HT board during its drama days. Fun times, good information, interesting people, your odd death threat and loud personal crashes. I liked it too much, took things too personally. I didn't mind when a person I annoyed said they were sending me a voodoo curse, on the contrary I said bring it on. But when people would over post (what I considered) nonsense, I got stupidly possessive and tried to police it. Silly. I've found myself moving in that direction here a few times, usually I see what I'm doing and put on the breaks. Not as a practice but as a philosophy I realize the importance of my own peace, how precious and fragile it is. I strive to see my actions and the emotions that spawn them and say down boy. Whethers it driving, getting groceries or responding to the kids. I'm not doing as much. I'm not doing so many of the Healing Tao energy practices. I like sealing my senses. One thing I'm doing lately is meditating to dharma talks, particularly Michael McAllistairs at Infinitesmile.org. I'm also meditating to hemisync rain sound tracks. Must pick people up at airport, bye. Michael