rex

Over the years I've got myself into various trouble with inappropriate use of solo cultivation techniques. Thankfully I've always managed to get out of trouble more or less intact. In seeking solutions I Ching divinations often led to hexagram 61 Faithfulness in the Centre - 'Avoidance of both obsession and negligence, seeking fulfillment by becoming empty'. The Lover Within: Openning to Energy in Sexual Practice by Julie Henderson (I'll do a review of this this later) has an appendix which to me outlines a safe and sane way to practice jing retention in the light of hexagram 61. It also acknowledges many of the issues and concerns articulated by the term 'Jing Gong'. Here it is (with slight format rearrangement): "To experience satisfying sexual union with yourself or with a partner, you need: - high charge (relative to your normal base line) - a relaxed, toned, flexible system capable of: containment; pulsation; reflexive re-distributon of energy - contact (whether physical, emotional, energetic, or spiritual) that allows you to feel touched: by self; with another; with/by life Why: - High charge in a rigid system creates displeasure. The person will ether avoid touch or move towards rapid, frequent release. - Low charge (usually in a contracted or collapsed energetic system) means that the systemic energy never reaches the point of reflexive release. - Lacking the kind(s) of contact you value, touch will feel flat, mechanical, or hollow: so will sex. And life. The more toned and flexible you are energetically and muscularly, emotionally and mentally, the more charge and the more life you can contain and the more pleasure you can experience. This is true of your being at all, as well as in the release and re-distribution of "extra" energy in sex (and in other experiences of union). " The Healing Tao system aims among other things to get practitoners more toned and flexible energetically, emotionally and mentally and when jing retention is practiced within this wider context the term "Healing Love" is bang on. All my self created problems in jing retention have been due to practicing outside this context. Re-aligning and reframing jing practice and linking the energy to love, compassion and joy is, well ... healing. Love is a loaded term but ultimately isn't that what jing is all about? For me Jing Gong has too much of a martial connotation and hints at soulless efficency. The caveats are there in Healing Love and the Healing Tao - it's just that they don't seem as well systematised as they are in your presentation of Jing Gong. Can't Jing Gong just be a collection of useful advice from someone who has travelled a bit further down the road of jing retention than most? If a phrase must be used how about 'Path notes of a Jing Retentionist'?

British Kung Fu

Your post got my synapsis working overtime freeform - thanks! This is especially so with ineffable states beyond language. Charles Tart argues that even though spiritual states are incommunicable to those who haven't experienced them they are objective and readily communicable to others who have experienced them. He calls this state dependent communication where in a sense spiritual traditions become state dependent sciences just as objective and communicable as conventionally recognised sciences. How's this for "Life's a bitch and then you marry one" in E-Prime? 'Life appears to me to exhibit qualities that I experience in females who on many occasions seem to treat others with contempt. I am also married to a female who on many occasions seems to treats me with contempt'. Right according to the Tibetan calender today is the 25th day of the lunar month, the day when the divine feminine energies are honoured and celebrated so I'm off to do just that (thought I'd better throw that one in in case I'm mistaken for a misogynist!).

I'm with Spyrelx and Pietro on this too. There's a telling scene in Road Trip where this guy doesn't want to go on a date with a woman who like hims and his mate says something alone the lines of 'Don't be a plonker! By the time you're forty you'd have to pay to go out with a women like that.' Also didn't Lao Tzu fall for an 'ordinary' woman?

I have drowsy moments but I'm a morning person anyway Sean. Kicking off withnine-round breathing introduces a bit of clarity and the brain is still in alpha so time passes subjectively more quickly. Rex

It's also available for a scandalous $940 at Amazon UK via a Market Place seller. What a rip off! It's available for 27 Canadian dollars at Amazon UK and Abe Books. Shipping may bump it up though.

6 am Wake up and plonk down on the meditation cushion. 7 am Kids wake up and we play tug of war with the mala. 7.30 am Get kids ready for school. 8 00 am Walk to work doing walking qigong (30 mins). 10 am Breakfast at work during tea break.

No experiences to share but came across rasayna and chudlen pills recently. Taken from here.This practice is taught by Namkai Norbu and his Dzogchen Community.

I hesitate to recommend anything unreservedly just in case it doesn't resonnate. 'Try before you buy' with your local library/inter library loan service Openness Clarity Sensitivity by Rigdzin Shikpo. Blurb from the back says: "Buddhist practice is not about will-power, control, manipulated calm, stopping thoughts, making the mind blank ... Instead it is about developing stability of mind through appreciating the three qualities of openess, clarity and sensitivity - not just in meditation but also in daily life." Best to you in your practice, Rex

'The road to truth is long and lined the entire way with annoying bastards.' From a chanced upon e-mail signature Got some American Indian ones to add later ...

Something may be pleasurable but it doesn't necessarily make you happy.

I think emptiness meditation and the inner smile along with all the other Healing Tao formulas are eminently complementary. Here's a nice exposition lifted from here. "In the vajrayana, there are two paths drol lam and thap lam that are generally followed simultaneously or alternately by the practitioner. Drol lam, the path of liberation, is what sometimes we refer to as formless meditation and includes mahamudra. In this approach to meditation one relates to the mind in terms of the awareness aspect of mind. Thap lam, the path of means or method, includes all tantric practices Dharmas of Naropa or the Six Dharmas of Niguma, etc. [include all HT stuff here]. These practices relate to mind in terms of the energy aspect of mind. By properly integrating the distorted karmic energies of one's mind, one brings about the same enlightened awareness that is reached as the fruition of the formless meditation approach of the path of liberation. The virtue of the path of liberation is that it tends to be smoother, while the virtue of the path of means is that it tends to be faster [ but also more risky ] ; therefore, they make a good complement to each other." Page 4 Comments in square brackets are mine.

Exit Mundi - A collection of End-Of-World Scenarios "Captivating text and appropriate images... delivered with unremitting good cheer. But still, you are gonna die." - New Scientist

You're welcome Bob BTW Sogyal Rinpoche and Mingyur Rinpoche are giving Mahamudra and Dzogchen meditation instruction in London next month (venue is right next to Euston Station so is really easy to find). Here's the link: Natural freedom Of Mind

Michael, Prehaps you're getting caught up in meditation as technique as opposed to meditation as a way of being? Rex P.S. Would have just posted the link to this but it was down:- ESSENTIAL ADVICE ON MEDITATION Excerpts from Teachings by Sogyal Rinpoche When you read books about meditation, or often when meditation is presented by different groups, much of the emphasis falls on the techniques. In the West, people tend to be very interested in the "technology" of meditation. However, by far the most important feature of meditation is not technique, but the way of being, the spirit, which is called the "posture", a posture which is not so much physical, but more to do with spirit or attitude. It is well to recognize that when you start on a meditation practice, you are entering a totally different dimension of reality. Normally in life we put a great deal of effort into achieving things, and there is a lot of struggle involved, whereas meditation is just the opposite, it is a break from how we normally operate. Meditation is simply a question of being, of melting, like a piece of butter left in the sun. It has nothing to do with whether or not you "know" anything about it, in fact, each time you practice meditation it should be fresh, as if it were happening for the very first time. You just quietly sit, your body still, your speech silent, your mind at ease, and allow thoughts to come and go, without letting them play havoc on you. If you need something to do, then watch the breathing. This is a very simple process. When you are breathing out, know that you are breathing out. When you breath in, know that you are breathing in, without supplying any kind of extra commentary or internalized mental gossip, but just identifying with the breath. That very simple process of mindfulness processes your thoughts and emotions, and then, like an old skin being shed, something is peeled off and freed. Usually people tend to relax the body by concentrating on different parts. Real relaxation comes when you relax from within, for then everything else will ease itself out quite naturally. When you begin to practice, you center yourself, in touch with your "soft spot", and just remain there. You need not focus on anything in particular to begin with. Just be spacious, and allow thoughts and emotions to settle. If you do so, then later, when you use a method such as watching the breath, your attention will more easily be on your breathing. There is no particular point on the breath on which you need to focus, it is simply the process of breathing. Twenty-five percent of your attention is on the breath, and seventy-five percent is relaxed. Try to actually identify with the breathing, rather than just watching it. You may choose an object, like a flower, for example, to focus upon. Sometimes you are taught to visualize a light on the forehead, or in the heart. Sometimes a sound or a mantra can be used. But at the beginning it is best to simply be spacious, like the sky. Think of yourself as the sky, holding the whole universe. When you sit, let things settle and allow all your discordant self with its un-genuineness and un-naturalness to dissolve, out of that rises your real being. You experience an aspect of yourself which is more genuine and more authentic-the "real" you. As you go deeper, you begin to discover and connect with your fundamental goodness. The whole point of meditation is to get used to the that aspect which you have forgotten. In Tibetan "meditation" means "getting used to". Getting used to what? to your true nature, your Buddha nature. This is why, in the highest teaching of Buddhism, Dzogchen, you are told to "rest in the nature of mind". You just quietly sit and let all thoughts and concepts dissolve. It is like when the clouds dissolve or the mist evaporates, to reveal the clear sky and the sun shining down. When everything dissolves like this, you begin to experience your true nature, to "live". Then you know it, and at that moment, you feel really good. It is unlike any other feeling of well being that you might have experienced. This is a real and genuine goodness, in which you feel a deep sense of peace, contentment and confidence about yourself. It is good to meditate when you feel inspired. Early mornings can bring that inspiration, as the best moments of the mind are early in the day, when the mind is calmer and fresher (the time traditionally recommended is before dawn). It is more appropriate to sit when you are inspired, for not only is it easier then as you are in a better frame of mind for meditation, but you will also be more encouraged by the very practice that you do. This in turn will bring more confidence in the practice, and later on you will be able to practice when you are not inspired. There is no need to meditate for a long time: just remain quietly until you are a little open and able to connect with your heart essence. That is the main point. After that, some integration, or meditation in action. Once your mindfulness has been awakened by your meditation, your mind is calm and your perception a little more coherent. Then, whatever you do, you are present, right there. As in the famous Zen master's saying: "When I eat, I eat; when I sleep, I sleep". Whatever you do, you are fully present in the act. Even washing dishes, if it is done one-pointedly, can be very energizing, freeing, cleansing. You are more peaceful, so you are more "you". You assume the "Universal You". One of the fundamental points of the spiritual journey is to persevere along the path. Though one's meditation may be good one day and not so good the next, like changes in scenery, essentially it is not the experiences, good or bad which count so much, but rather that when you persevere, the real practice rubs off on you and comes through both good and bad. Good and bad are simply apparitions, just as there may be good or bad weather, yet the sky is always unchanging. If you persevere and have that sky like attitude of spaciousness, without being perturbed by emotions and experiences, you will develop stability and the real profoundness of meditation will take effect. You will find that gradually and almost unnoticed, your attitude begins to change. You do not hold on to things as solidly as before, or grasp at them so strongly, and though crisis will still happen, you can handle them a bit better with more humor and ease. You will even be able to laugh at difficulties a little, since there is more space between you and them, and you are freer of yourself. Things become less solid, slightly ridiculous, and you become more light-hearted.

Trunk, Interesting that you mention the Six Yogas. The central channel plays a major role in chod. Chod is known as the totality of all the teachings as it has components of or alludes to elements of the larger body of Tibetan buddhist teachings: phowa (how to leave the body at death); identification with sacred energy fields (to help transform ordinary consciousness into an enlightened state); cutting attachment to the body (by chopping it up in an alchemical cauldron); tummo where the solar and lunar energies melt into one another in the cauldron and transform the body into a nectar with the capcity to feed and relax beings into the state of innate wisdom /clear light; generosity, compassion and equanimity (by offering the body transformed into nectar to anything that wants it). Apparently when done properly it's more than just imaginative play acting. Historically chod practitoners were known to assist in areas of high contagion where other advanced buddhist practitioners who weren't chodpas couldn't venture. Machik's Complete Explanation is an excellent read and among other things has a decent chapters on the body's energy system and the origin of evil (from a buddhist perspective). Rex

Trunk, Just some observations and thoughts though they may be based on wrong assumptions. I notice you use the phrase aroused jing as opposed to unaroused jing or just jing. In my experience aroused jing by it's nature is outward seeking and connected to desire and form. Now depending on what colour cat is used to catch the rat (to paraphase Mantak Chia) the element within oneself that gets off on aroused jing may after a time feel that a fraud is taking place and that some sort of innate contract is being abused. This element is bound to announce it's displeasure overtly through strong desire. So the colour of the cat is important in single/dual cultivation in terms of the images and motivations employed etc. Unaroused jing can still 'cause trouble' by seeking it's natural expression. As it builds up the part of you that likes to get off can work covertly step by step taking advantage of moments of weakness - High Hopes by Pink Floyd has an apt line here: 'steps taken forward and sleep walking back again, drawn by the force of some inner tide'. Working with the bindu point in the heart centre (not necessarily deliberatly , more usually as a by product of other heart centred spiritual practices) and practicing presence of awareness through quiet sitting can help in two ways. First by giving an insight into how the unfulfilled jing manifests itself in oneself. Secondly by causing lucid moments of experience where the nature of the desire (or any emotion/impulse for that matter) is seen as a modality of one Vast Light (to use the phrase from your excellent article). This is where you start getting into non-duality. This is all well and good but there still remains that elusive powerful directing force which seeks to control the jing. It can't be fobbed off or tricked and is immune to direct attack. Paradoxically give it what it wants, only skillfully. Tsultrim Allione in her tape set 'Cutting through fear' explains a Chod practice suitable for everyone (i.e. you don't have to be buddhist) where one's inner demons and gods (hopes and fears) are are fed to satisfaction. Using a method similar the Dialogue Method mentioned by Sean one goes through a step by step process of identifying and communicating with the sensations in the body where issues are expressed. Letting them appear to in a form of their own choosing communication can take place. The only difference I see is that the buddhist slant comes in from giving the demons and gods an experience of the wish fullfilling nectar of the Vast Light as all desires stem from a desire for peace and fulfillment. A possible weakness here is that if one hasn't had much experience of inner peace through meditaton than it may not be so good. Who knows it may be worth a try anyway. Tsultrim Allione has methods have been used sucessfully with psychotherapists and the treatment of compulsion etc. I've had some postive experiences with these three approaches (heart centre, awareness and Chod) though haven't done Kan & Li which I understand is supposed to address issues with sexual desire - is this right? Rex

Anyone fancy being a bit morbid/forward thinking (delete as applicable according to sensibility) and check this out? Death Dissolution Meditation

I'll be offline for a few days but will have a go on my return - that is unless GrandTrinity or someone else beats me to it!

Joint pain can sometimes be the result of excess cold energy in the body and apparently unrelated to what one would think is the cause. This happened to me with joint pain in my left knee. I've cut out refridgerated soya milk (renowned in TCM for a chilling effect on the body) and the pain is now going away. Good luck. Rex

First pic from Sealing of the Five Senses booklet Second pic from Lesser Kan & Li e-book V cheap and good value! There's also a good articles page.