DaoChild

It looked like pressure point stimulation. Inner forearm, brachial plexus -- no? You guys make a lot of valid points though - thanks for clarification. I think, as others have said, that flexibility is the key here. Softness, rather than meaning always yielding, is more of an indicator of adaptation. Non-resistance to whatever is happening can permit softness and flexbility (even hardness when the time is right).

Sounds like what happens when I do a cat stretch in the morning. Or, if I lay down for a nap, my whole body tingles because it is relieving pressure that has been on the feet all day. You can feel circulation going to other body parts as they relax. Purely physical.

I would love to see that. Have any videos?

Just some food for thought today I went for a walk outside, and was thinking about how the Sage is unwaverable - he can neither be given to or taken away from. So, no doubt things go and come for him. But does this still mean you can have *opinions* ? Can we still be participating members of society (who need opinions), while at the same time get rid of assumptions, judgments, and other limiting forms of thought like that? Can you say: "Wow I really like that dog, it's very pretty! " That is my opinion, but it is also a judgement, since nothing is in fact beautiful or ugly, it is just our perception that shapes that. What I'm saying is, how do you stay unwaverable, while at the same time avoid being Wishy-washy. Being like a mountain and avoiding both Joy & Sadness seem like a pretty alone life if you ask me. And although you may be unshakable and stoic, it seems like you'd miss out on a big part of what is being part of society.

Ooh thanks. This is one of my top favorite martial arts books.

The Alchemist. Got me from the stage of wanting, to doing.

Because I have to. If I don't I can't feel complete, and I am haunted in my dreams and my life until I return to being a spiritual human being.

Uhhh.. sun worship as a satanic practice? Maybe your sources are confusing satanic with pagan. Pagan meaning outside of christianity -- it literally means country dweller in Latin. To Christians, Jesus is considered the SON of God. (Son, like daughter son, not SUN).

I love that the Dao is all around us - we are but fish in the sea as the saying goes. It is an experiential / embracing Way, rather than transcendent. This has been said a lot, but that is what attracts me to it. Fully experiencing the five senses, to see the butterfly, smell the flower, taste the pure water, feel the wind, hear the thunder that transforms. It gives me chills of contentment just pondering it

Every day for me, I get up a half hour before the sun rises so I can have that time to do a stillness meditation. After having begun meditation about 8 years ago, when I was 13, and always falling into that "almost every day" group, I realized discipline and consistency are extremely important. Only in recent years have I actually been able to do it every single day, as necessary as brushing my teeth. Stillness meditation is actually good for another mundane task for me - gauging how much sleep I need. if I've gotten enough rest, my mind wanders very little, and the meditation seems like it takes forever - but I am so content, I feel so full but empty at the same time. If I haven't gotten enough rest, my mind will wander often, and the time will pass quickly.

Ask why they are there. That has been the most rewarding advice I've been given, after primarily practicing Shamanism for the past few years. It's closely tied in with Taoism too, and one of the origins of Taoism is in Shamanism. (Semi-mythical shaman Yu I think?) You don't necessarily need to ask in dreaming - learn trance techniques (deep breathing so you become very still, drumbeat, etc.), visualization, and practice.

Obviously you don't respond to a boxer by "responding to one punch and doing three moves". You train that to show the body ways that it can manipulate the opponen'ts, but when you full speed sparr you shouldn't be responding that way. If you are training IMA for combat, and don't know how to respond to someone coming full-force with multiple full-power punches, you are training wrong.

Being overweight can CAUSE thyroid problems? Never heard of that, always thought it was the other way around. I agree with you though - I think that for a martial arts practitioner to gain credibility they should demonstrate they are both skilled and in good physical health. Good health often times (to me) indicates dedication, discipline, and regularity of practice.

Is there any part of taiji that says you need to be running 6 miles a day and do tons of external rigid exercise for health? Do you have to have ripped muscles and trim body fat? How does a strong body = a strong mind? I always thought the purpose of a spiritual practice was that internal leads to external, not the other way around. I don't quite follow you here

The important thing to remember about these two (MMA v TMA) is the training involved. I don't care if you practice any martial art for 10 years, if you don't use STRESS in training, and full contact training sparring at some point - any mma/combat trained fighter will have his way with you. And this is coming from someone who is full 100% for traditional martial arts. If you don't train for combat, it will be a sore awakening the day when you get punched in the face. That's why you hear about all these 'black belts' getting the crap kicked out of them. They have no sparring, contact, and high-stress experience. The closer you can train to full-speed combat, the better you will be. There is no MMA Vs TMA which is better - it's how you train. The silly argument originated over the fact that most MMA practitioners train for the ring - where you need conditioning, and you need full contact sparring. Both those were originally included in 'true' gongfu schools that trained practitioners to fight. You seldom see that in traditional martial arts schools nowadays.

Also note that these studies were in MICE, RABBITS, and RATS. There may or may not be a correlation to humans. Don't forget the other side of the argument

I think th at's a little bit unfair for you guys to bash both of them. I don't know or have affiliations with either of them, and regardless of their quackiness I've heard Bruce Frantzis is very well respected in the internal martial arts community. Genetics is as powerful a factor as "Chi" -- isn't it? How many of you here have tried diets, or are overweight? Do we really have a right to talk? So Because I have less than 5% body fat, does that give me the right to talk or criticize? Scares me how quickly people are willing to criticize others. Have you seen Bruce Frantzis move? He has stunning Bagua footwork for a large man, and I believe he has also broken his back (or had a serious injury like that from a car crash). Food for thought

Friend are family are Always the most difficult to keep your cool around. They know how to push your buttons, and often times do it for fun. Additionally, growing up with family sometimes means that even if you really change, once you go back to family it's easy to settle into old patterns. For me, returning home from college every summer and winter is always a big test - have I trained myself sufficiently so I can keep my cool around my family? It's always the biggest trial for me, since they know me so well.

Hahahha, Correspondence black-belt course! Good one.

Actually I believe the reason they associate religion and spirituality to longevity is because of community and hope, and faith that there is something out there besides just you. Additionally, beliefs in the afterlife probably play a huge role. Knowing that someone hears your prayers, and knowing that there is a special quality to life makes it more worth living. For those of you who are interested, google "blue zones". It speaks all about this.

Adam and Iskote, I really like what both of you said. They bring up very very valid points, especially for those of us (All of us?) who practice Taoism or other faiths in the modern world. Rather than requiring long periods of seclusion and solitude, we can find that inner stillness in the movement of daily life.

Oh yeah, wildcrafting is so much fun. Unfortunately I'm still not too familiar with the wild edibles here at school ( South Carolina). But soon we should be seeing Redbud flowers, violets, I saw some chickweed today, dandelions.. those all make a pretty good salad. At home there are plenty of nettles and wild leeks, whole fields in the forest - it's pretty cool.

Hi thelerner, I live in Connecticut with my family when I'm not at college, and I think it's so much fun to grow food. We live in the Southwest, so we don't have a huge amount of property -- maybe 1/2 acre, an acre, so it's definitely enough for a nice backyard to grow food in. Typically my parents grow the food stuff - Broccoli, eggplant, sugar snap peas, swiss chard, tomatoes, peppers, lots of lettuce. That garden is about 6 feet wide by 15 feet long - not a huge garden, but it gives us enough to add an extra amount every night from June -- October of homegrown veggies. My garden is the herb garden (being the wee little herbalist I was / am ), and so if we want to make pesto or anything of that nature I grow the Basil, Mint, Lemon Balm, Calendula, Comfrey, Sage, Lavender, etc. I like making my own remedies this way, because it's great going from planting the seed to harvesting it and cooking (concocting??) it up! One of the most fun and purest routes to connecting with the Way if you ask me .

DaoChild here -- my name says about everything. Young martial artist, aspiring N.D., Taoist. Realizing that after years and years of practice in the martial arts, herbs, and spirituality -- I know nothing. Always a pleasure,

Getting away from humanity for days at a time is a great feeling for me. The solitude is, in my opinion, one of the easiest and truest sources of inspiration, healing, and realization. I agree that anyone who seriously searches on their spiritual path should at least spend some portion of their time in solitude. The simple life is something that is very inspirational.