DaoChild

I think that aloneness and solitude are merely catalysts for spiritual change. Sometimes a material person can quickly be convinced of the impersonal underlying existence beyond form. Usually an intense moment of fear, awakening, or just awe produces feelings like this... Coming from someone who has been sky diving and bungee jumping . Fun stuff . Neither, however, felt remotely spiritual to me -- just fun. Sitting in the forest alone in the middle of winter makes me feel true solitude, and pure life.

Intuition IS Logic -- it's just much, much faster. Gut feelings = you can react before thinking, which may equal life vs. death. Trying to think when something pounces at you is sure to get you killed.

This could be because you are increasing the amount of blood flow in the area, which stimulates growth/repair/movement. Smart stuff either way!

Aww SHIT! I already got syphilis from all the loose women I've been dancin' with! Good thing the world actually ISN'T ending.. Didn't we already hear about Y2K?

I've personally never done a regression, but people always tell me that I appear to have been born in the wrong century or that I'm an "old soul". The only person I've met who could remember past lives actually remembered about 5 of them -- and she knew almost the whole life of the person, and how they died. Once they died in her visions, and she felt the physical pain, etc. the vision / dreams disappeared. But she can recall them quite easily.. pretty cool stuff. I don't know about reincarnation -- nature goes in cycles, and man follows nature, so I'm inclined to believe that (more than just physically) I will follow some cycle.

Then show me a video of you doing it. All Talk = 0 points. Walk = +1 point. Anxiously awaiting!

Why was it a mistake, and why is it stupid? They are classified that way for a reason.. to make it easier to understand and classify nature into broken down categories. Dolphins and whales don't fit into the same category as sharks or certain types of fish. They breathe air, are warm blooded, and nurse their young.

Did you just say supreme martial art?

Truthfully I don't have one. I find them fascinating though.. and wonder whether it's due to there actually being something to the Taoist energetic theory, or something else I was reading the book "Road to Heaven: Encounters with Chinese Hermits" since I'm moving to China next summer, and at one point the guys were interviewing this 70 something year old hermit. He used to be an avid reader, and then he said one day he went blind. They asked how it happened and his response was something along the lines of : "Taoist cultivation can be dangerous; I did something wrong and they just went out like a candle" Scary.. but at least it makes me feel a bit closer to the possibility of there being "concrete" results that come from energetic cultivation. PLEASE share any stories you've heard I find them interesting.

Hi TheSongsofDistantEarth, I actually never got a hold of it , sorry !

How would you know if dreaming makes you personally require more sleep? You dream every night regardless of whether or not you remember it

I'm not sure which cultivators you're referring to. "A lot" is definitely an overstatement. Maybe < 5 people on this board are "serious" cultivators who can actually shorten their sleeping hours and maintain a level of health and vitality. Personally, I work on a prime 7.5 hours. I've timed my sleeping schedule so that once I'm in a light sleep my gentle alarm goes off. Going to bed early, and waking up early, for me, definitely is more well-resting than the contrary. E.g. if I go to bed at 2, wake up at 10, I feel awful. But if I go to bed at 10, wake up at 6 I feel great. 10:30 - 5:45 is about prime for me, so that I can do any morning exercises.

And his diet?

Happiness is right here, right now. Nowhere else. If you can't find it where you're sitting, you won't find it anywhere. Sorry to tell you what you already knew

Once you do zhan zhaung daily you'll naturally notice where your body is most comfortable and uncomfortable. Generally what I've read is to keep your weight centered between the balls of the feet (Yongqian point), and the heels. Additionally, posture is often self-correcting too. If your butt is too far out, after 20 minutes you'll notice aches in your lower back. If it's properly centered, and you feel the crown being lifted up, you'll feel a solid straight presence in your spine.

Yes absolutely. Tai Chi (done properly ) Is great for your health. T T Liang went in for an inspection in his 80s and was said to have the organs of a 40 year old.

You can adapt it to be moderate.

Don't listen to spiritual mumbo jumbo and neglect your physical body. Those people died young (Cough, like MONKS, cough) because they don't maintain their physical flesh! Is the story of Bodhidharma and the sickly monks familiar? You need exercise and a proper diet to live long, end of story. You can add Qigong from there.

Meditation is just a vehicle to bring self-awareness into daily life. If you can do it another way, works just as well.

Teddy, I'm sure you've heard of the correlation does not mean causation. For example, Yang Chengfu had a severe over eating problem. He was notorious for being a martial artist who had tons of gongfu, and was exceptionally compassionate when fighting, but had issues outside of his training. This is not uncommon among martial artists. Yu Yong Nian (For example) student of Wang Xiangzhai is currently teaching Zhan Zhuang daily in Beijing and is 90 years old. I have recently (The past week) spoken with someone to confirm this. He is alive and well, practicing and teaching Zhan Zhuang daily. Number 2 Many people who study energy work think that "I've got all this energy , I'll live long! " WRONG. You need to maintain the physical body as well as the energetic one. Glenn Morris and others (Choa Kok Sui) as far as I know had physical health ailments due to periods of inactivity or neglect. You CANNOT ignore the physical demands of the body. Longevity is based first on solid biology and second on metaphysical knowledge. I am extremely surprised that no one has mentioned your DIET and lifestyle ! Forget Qigong; if you are living a sedentary lifestyle and have a terrible diet, you WILL die younger than you should. Most people would do better using their free time to experience some moderate exercise (walking, hiking, Bagua) to enhance their longevity than sit and do MCO for 30 minutes. It astounds me how simple this is, but how confused people seem to be. I hope that helps.

Yep, key questions. Answer those and we can give some pieces of advice. I too have improper bodily alignment issues, and my right knee gets strained way more than my left when i do Zhan Zhuang. If you know it's alignment, fix that. But you can also fix a lot of other issues like making sure the knee and foot track properly, not going so low, stretching, and so on.

Tai Chi if you want a martial art + health benefits. Qigong if you just want health benefits.

I beg to differ - Bagua is very difficult! To understand all the complexities of the art takes many, many years (e.g. thousands of hours of practice time with and without partners). Not trying to discourage anyone.. but it's definitely *not* an easy martial art. The footwork alone has a dozen different variations.

Biggest tip? Learn Bagua from a teacher. I guarantee you can't learn it properly from a book or video.

In your experience - how do Tai Chi and Qigong compare, in relation to improving the flow of "Qi" in the body? Do they both do it equally? Is Qigong better since it's based only on manipulating energy? What are your thoughts? Thanks