UTI

And I think we men need to be conscious of, and keep in mind, how it IS of interest for us to work in favour of the gender-equality politics that goes under the name of feminism. We need to stop making silly excuses about how feminism is only for women, educate ourselves on the history of and need for gender enlightenment, and act for change. It's a bit silly, really, to talk about on a forum about taoism. Considering that harmony within requires harmony without, and harmony within is a balanced femininity and masculinity (taiji), both in temper and in physique. I think it could be said that this is the venture point for all endeavours -physical, spiritual, governmental and intellectual -within taoism.

Yes, absolutely! As adults we're free to be free, so to speak, but a child can only try to follow the behaviour of adults. Also, they're so good at picking up the subtle hints of society. The stuff no-one says, but everyone acts after. It needs to be consciously changed, for everyone's sake.

Ok, interesting subject, and I'm sorry for not reading the whole thread. I think you can all empathize with me. Sweden is an interesting place, since it actually has a political party that brings up politics from a feminist point of view. There are many debates over equality going on everywhere, and we recently had the introduction of a gender-neutral word to use in stead of "him" or "her" in contexts where gender isn't a necessary part of the information being relayed. Now, as to what feminism can do for men, there was a really funny and pointive blog article about this just the other day. I will translate it for y'all to share the goodness. It is called "how to respond to the five most common "men are also sexually discriminated" arguments. It is written by a blogger called Hejj Blekk. ____________________________________________________________________ 1. Fathers more often loose custody of their children after divorce. Why? Sadly, this is true, which has to do with the traditional idea that men are responsible for bringing in money for the family, in contrast to spending time with them. solution: This laconic rate of contact can be changed, ex. by shared parenting insurance, or as a father choosing to take responsibility for raising and building a relationship to the children. 2. Men are judged more harshly for the same crimes as women. Why? This is true, studies have shown that this sadly is caused by men generally being viewed as perpetrators of crime. This may not be too odd, since men commit 80& of all crime, 95% of all violent crime, and 98% of all rape. Solution: Through working with gender equality we can in the long run get rid of macho idealism and violent male gender norms. 3. Men are often focus for unprovoced violence. why? yes, men attract more violence. In common for most violence, as mentioned in 2, is that men commit it. solution: That a large ammount of men are prone to violence is caused by the fact that men in a patriarchal society are expected to live up to a hegemonic male norm. Patriarchy fosters men to be "real" men, feminism sees men as more than that. 4. Men are expected to pay, not women. why? This is partially founded in the fact that men generally have higher wages than women, even when performing the same task, ergo they have larger opportunities to pay. It is also partially founded in that a man is expected to "spoil" a woman with gifts, flowers and chocolates in a heteromonogamous relationship. This phenomenon, existing because we have a patriarchal structure, is damaging because it implies that a man can buy (ownership of) a woman. solution: If you have similar income, share the tab. Or take turns paying. 5. Boys are performing worse and worse in school. Why? Sadly there is an anti-study culture among young boys, which causes them to fall behind in studies. Many mean that this has to do with boys being expected to be smart without studying, forcing them to try and live up to a stereotype that is smart, cocky and hard. solution? By working with the attitude among young boys, this can be solved. Feminism can explain the situation where men are discriminated. This si because men are discriminated for the same reasons as women, the patriarchy. The difference is that this discrimination expresses itself differently. As you see my answers are fueled by a critique of the atypical male stereotype, which isn't degenerative to women but also to men. Through working with gender equality, and analysis of gender and power in society, the binary and dual gender-types will be questioned and eventually dissolved. Together we can bring down the patriarchy, and then you will be free! ____________________________________end of text from blog. I think this text helps bring focus to the initial question asked, namely what feminism can do for men. I agree with it on all points. link to the whole article (in swedish) :http://nojesguiden.se/artiklar/sa-bemoter-du-de-5-vanligaste-man-diskrimineras-ocksa-argumenten

Yeah, most neidan texts put a lot of emphasis on the importance of timing when practicing to have the proper results. I find it makes a really big difference depending on when it is during the day, month, or year.

This seems to be a key, to have a balance of emotion (love is very balancing, as we know). I have noticed clearly that I practice much more effeiciently when I am around my children. A few years ago I still had the idea that if I had a week to myself I could meditate all I wanted. But, with them not there, I could hardly find a beginning to my practice. Now, though, I've realized, that when I have them around me I am always in "love". This opens up my energy and lets it flow. The shaking for me comes after the emptiness, though. But I wouldn't get there as fast if I didn't have love through and around me. Yes, There was more activity around the solstice. I felt it quite a bit. Also, since tonight is the new moon, I will have a late meditation session. Extra interesting since it's also close to the solstice. Having thoughts of drawing the water down from fire. Lifting the fire out of water. And such things. Tonight should be a good night for it.

I can hardly wait!

Yes, there is definitely a correlation between degree of intention and rate of shaking. If I put too much qi in, it shakes more. Or if I contract the dantian too much when "mixing, adding and subtracting". Perhaps the shaking itself is an indication that the qi being formed is trying to integrate itself, to find balance, and letting it seep out would stop that process.

I talked to my shifu about this today. He says that it is a sign that "medicine" is forming. After yin and yang start mending in the dantian, in the post-natal form of kan and li, and after they repeatedly meet and give off qi, they become balanced. when they reach a balance and there is equal part kan and li, the "medicine" forms. A sign of this is the shaking -it is a form of qi being produced that has not existed in the body before. When the dantian starts shaking it is important to keep practicing, and to not let the qi go anywhere but through the xiao zhou tian (MCO). That is what my shifu has to say about it. I am still very interested to hear about historical sources for this stage of neidan, if anyone has one up their sleeve. I haven't read up too much on old texts of neidan, but I will look through what I have again, and post back here if I find some interesting passages. There's quite a lot of descriptions about various terms for "medicine" being formed, i think.

Ah, I see what you mean. This is a shake/vibrating that persists, usually at the end of my practice, for 5-10 minutes. It's mainly in the dantian, but sometimes I can feel it in my whole body.

I'm not so much speaking of my experiences of it, as much as inquiring about if anyone has any reference to neidan literature where the occurance of shaking in the dantian is mentioned, or symbolically indicated. As to my experience, the shaking occurs after warm/soft and cold/hard qi mixes in equal proportions in the dantian. Don't know what you refer to as "it". I move the qi in various ways, yes, but the dantian stays put.

Hey! So, from what i've understood most systems of inner alchemy have similar stages of development. Also, most of them have elements of accumulating inner fire, pairing yin and yang/water and fire/lead and mercury/hun and po. The theory of it can be understood in many different terms, and is in most cases described clearly. I've been wondering about something that doesn't take much space in literature though: vibrations in the dantian. I've been able to find cross-cultural references to most stages of inner development and alchemy, but have a hard time finding references to the stage of development where the dantian starts shaking/vibrating. Do any of you have any thoughts on this? How is it mentioned symbolically in literature about neidan (or other systems). What are your experiences? Is it a theoretical part of a system you practice? One thought I've had as an explanation is that many of the signs of development are purposefully not described, as to avoid that a student focuses on a result in stead of the method, and ends up distorting the process and bringing about an incomplete elixir, or harming the body. Thus the teacher will know for sure when the sign develops that the student is ready, and not just "willing" forth an effect in the body. I'm going to ask my shifu about this on thursday, until then I hope I can pass the subject back and forth with you bums a bit

Google The neijing tu, On the top left, slightly below and left of where the du and ren mai meet, there's a text which says something like: FaZang said: the purple eye makes clear the four great oceans, White beams spiral about, reaching up to Sumaru. The boddhisattva said: A white light spirals out from between the eyebrows, able to liberate all beings from the pain of reincarnation In my experience, what we see when yang fills the du mai is the opening of the tianmu, the heavenly eye. It can be seen as if it is a circle with a slit in it. The slit is the dumai passing through the point. It can also be seen as if there are multiple cirlces, and as if there is an x behind it. This is because there are multiple qi orifices behind the heavenly eye, and when qi gathers at it initially we are looking into the brain, seeing the structures of qi holes and meridians behind it. Let go of any ideas of what this is, and over time it will accumulate energy which leads inside. When essence has been raised to the brain and what you see is pure light radiating out, then it can open. For me, when the time is right, it feels like there is a straw stuck from between my eyebrows into the center of my brain. When it is like this I can focus on my tianmu and see out of it. It's slower to navigate by than the "normal" eyes, but it works. But that's just a parlor trick. The best is to let go of everything, and when the energy accumulates and you see the "eye", simply let go and follow it, don't focus there. release the energy and complete the circuit. Focusing on a sensation is how you bring about adverse results: go into nothingness and strive for completion.

Gladly Emptiness is emptiness. There is no beginning or end to me, there is no individuality, no colour or perception, no now or later, there are no feelings for my family and friends however at the same time no rejection of them, there is no longing or desire, there is no achievement and no will, I don't strive to stay and I don't fear leaving, I have no direction or purpose while there. I am not confined and not endless, I do not know if I am there an hour or a minute. It is nowhere and everywhere. It is a state beyond definition, yet a defining characteristic for everything when you're there. Everything is open, yet nothing can enter or leave. Everything is sealed, still there is nothing being contained. These are all ideas of what happens when I enter and when I leave, something measured off the difference in the volume of my mind: what happens within emptiness is simply emptiness, since nothing happens but the cessation of everything that doesn't follow emptiness. The experience with communication between two minds: I started becoming aware of the passing between normal and empty, and started using that awareness as a focus to aim at to move into emptiness. In stead of going through various processes, like forgetting or dissolving, I simply aim at that experience or awareness and move towards it singlemindedly, and invariably end up in emptiness. As an extension of this, I found myself very close to that vantagepoint between emptiness and non-emptiness, and started having a stronger recollection of what happens when emptiness is followed: because it is a process (imo), just that it's beyond our 3-dimensional means of perception. Within this I stood on the threshold, so to say, passing a process of emptiness between mind and non-mind. So, there is no communication in emptiness. Just a translation into mind of what mind sees in non-mind. A reflection in a window -you see what's beyond blended with a reflection of yourself, always limited by the frame. Have you ever counted how many thoughts you can think at once? I once got up to 10. Nowadays I can manage about 4, mainly because I'm slightly abhorred at the prospect of multitasking. I think it's the same thing, our mind has many little holes that can work paralell to one another, as long as we grant them independence and let them handle it. what is emptiness to you? How do you come there?

Nice! Do you have any special thought behind why you eat certain herbs? Any special situations you eat this and that, or any particular time you'd only eat a certain herb?