Apech

It depends on which school of self spanking you belong to.

They had protests in different countries this week - Spain and Portugal for instance - and the issues from country to country vary - but the common theme is that working people are struggling and have been through austerity since 2008/9 and no one is listening to them or doing anything to make their lives better. This emerges through different issues like the fuel price hike in France and general cost of living issues - add to that more local stuff like Catalonian independence - and you get a lot of unhappy people.

Fingers crossed

I think we need to be precise about this. It is true that we are all composed if you like of spirit which is immortal (i.e. eternal) it is not true that we are inherently immortal spirits in the sense of the result of alchemical work. If this were true there would be no alchemical work - which is not in itself proof of the point but simply a pointer to the inadequacy of the simplistic view that we are all immortal anyway. Our natural beings are composed of an 'assembly' of entities most notably the hun and po souls which return to heaven and earth respectively at death. If we rely on nature then there is another risk - which in another system is called 'the second death' which is the dissolution of the heavenly energies back to their root and thus the being dissolves back into eternity - ceasing to have any manifest existence at any level at all. If the work is complete and the golden foetus is created and developed then the second death is avoided. There are degrees to which this is true. Some very accomplished beings may achieve this at a spiritual level but still physically die. Some achieve such a high level of integration that their physical bodies transform to one degree or another. And so on. This is by the way independent of which system is practiced - although some systems may be more 'living' than others. Becoming spiritually immortal is not to become a god, if gods are understood to be the personified aspects of the eternal field of spiritual energy - they are naturally occurring in a sense - whereas the alchemical immortal is something else.

makes sense - thanks.

Oh mon dieu nous avons une émeute!

'for a while' doesn't sound very 'immortal' - but in any case if it is a stepping stone to the ultimate spiritual immortality then it is not the goal after all I presume.

If one got to the level of the possibility of physical immortality (as distinct to some kind of spiritual immortality) then would one actually choose it and why?

I think it is largely a question of world-view. The cultures from which Daoism and Buddhism emerged readily accepted that the world was inhabited by not only animals and humans but also various kinds of spiritual entity. Gods, demi-gods, demons (good and bad), spirits of all kinds. We on the other hand from our Enlightenment influenced Judeo- Christian background doubt the existence of anything that is not empirically demonstrated. So, unless we are still mono-theists believing in a transcendent single deity - we tend to dismiss anything else as either complete fiction or perhaps some kind of psychological 'effect' or archetype. This leads to the aberrations of secular Buddhism and a kind of rationalist reading of Daoism. If we back project to Lao Tse for instance, we want him to think like us - in fact we twist the text to make him think like us - because of course, thinking like us is the only sensible thing! When I say 'we' - I do not include myself

How many masks wear we, and undermasks, Upon our countenance of soul, and when, If for self-sport the soul itself unmasks, Knows it the last mask off and the face plain? The true mask feels no inside to the mask But looks out of the mask by co-masked eyes. Whatever consciousness begins the task The task's accepted use to sleep-ness ties. Like a child frighted by its mirrored faces, Our souls, that children are, being thought-losing, Foist otherness upon their seen grimaces And get a whole world on their forgot causing; And, when a thought would unmask our soul's masking, Itself goes not unmasked to the unmasking.

Welcome, No idea about your question - but I'm sure you'll find someone on here who knows. A.

Hello! and welcome to the rabbit hole. That's an interesting story! At 50 years you may qualify for the youth wing of DaoBums Your teacher sounds quite intriguing really. Dark and unethical! Well I think you've come to the right place to talk about your experiences - and about qi gong/ nei gong. Hope you enjoy your stay here, A.

Thanks King Jade

i suppose Corbyn is going to say that those Tories who voted against May in the Conservative vote of confidence should vote with him now. But I doubt if they will. I still predict a referendum on 'May's Deal vs. No deal'.

how about some cheese?

The moon is hollow - the earth is flat. FACTS.

If you are in pain see a doctor. Otherwise you could try this if you like. Lie on your back in bed. Breath naturally. Focus your attention lightly on each part of your body in turn as follows: scalp, face, neck, shoulders, upper arms, lower arms, hands, upper back, middle back, lower back, chest, abdomen, upper legs, lower legs, feet - in each case for at least three breaths say to yourself on out-breath tension is being released. Don't worry if specific tension isn't released at first as tension often arises from a different place from where it is felt. Then focus lightly on energy body like a cocoon around physical body - don't worry if you can't feel it, you will after a while. On out-breath imagine energy body expanding and then releasing on in-breath - as if you are gently blowing up a giant balloon around you. Do this for a few minutes. Then try to feel that physical tension is being taken up by energy body and eased/balanced by it. Don't focus too much but just let yourself float in this feeling for as long as feels comfortable. Hope this makes sense

Will these groups be far right of you, Chang? Should we worry

Cheap cuckoo clocks and chocolate

So its on then : https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/dec/16/no-10-denies-making-plans-for-second-brexit-referendum

Ah ok must be in B then.

It was always going to be like this. Brexit was such a shock to the system of the establishment, they still haven't recovered. It's odd that the only places that seem secure are the hard right and hard left. The centre is just shifting sand with everyone positioning themselves for a win - though I'm not sure becoming PM any time soon would be much of a win.

But he said wo doesn't appear as meaning pu.

... and simple means 'one fold' or possibly 'no folds' ... does this tie in somehow?

Interesting that it's wood - when I read 'uncarved block' I always, in my ignorance thought of stone.