DaoChild

www.paperbackswap.com I'm not sure if you're allowed to advertise on this sight, so please remove the link if that's the case. Anyway, it's a great book swap service, and if we post books on Taoism, etc. then we can share. It's free, and you just pay shipping costs. Obviously you have to sit in line for books that have been 'wish listed' but it's a great way to get rid of old books too!

Personally, I think faith is naive, and comes from insecurity. I don't think it's necessary. Following the Tao works; just like that. At some points I guess faith is important, but the principles of the Tao work, which is why people continue to employ them 4,000 years later! My 2 cents, not trying to offend anyone

So It seems I've come across two schools of thought. 1) That full lotus has some sort of esoteric spiritual benefit. 2) There is NO esoteric benefit, it is merely a structurally very strong position that (once trained) you can meditate in for a while, and is convenient when you have no material to sit on (e.g. how people have done it for 2000 years). Which one have you heard?

Hi Sereneblue, Truthfully, some days are much easier than others. I'm a long-time meditator too. Some days you may be unusually relaxed, you may have a posture that doesn't require much physical attention etc. and then you fall into an amazing state of emptiness and stillness. Some days, only meditating 30 minutes for me seems like forever. I'll tell you the one great secret of meditation: consistency. Do it every single day without fail, because it is a cumulative effect that it has upon your mental state. Good luck -- it's frustrating at the start, but stick with it.

I really like some of the things you listed -- I hope you don't mind if I steal some . Aside from my 'formal' sessions, there are only a few things I try to do in daily life. A) I naturally have poor circulation, I think due to shallow breathing. So I have a "built-in" reminder to breathe deeply and with my whole body as much as possible Whenever I put something down I mentally state in my head where I put it -- I noticed that it makes me remember 100% of the time where I last put down that watch, book, glass of water, etc. C) I use doorways as a trigger to be mindful. Everytime I walk through I feel the inside of my body, and then pay close attention to the surrounding area. If i'm inside, I notice the room, wall colors, major features, I do a general headcount of people D) When I park my car I briefly glance back and take a mental note of the Color/Model/License plate of the 2 cars that may be on either side. Many of mine at external awarness exercises, ironically enough. They come from my days as a naturalist

Hi Fox, There's a story about a man that goes to his teacher for guidance. HE says he is having a hard time controlling his anger. He sees people criticize others while remaining totally unaware of their own faults. The sage asks him, "Aren't you the villager who narrowly escaped death last year?" He says yes; it was a terrible experience that occurred when he ventured too far into the forest and was cornered by a pack of hungry wolves. "So what did you do?" the sage asked. "I climbed up a tree just in time before they converged on me. These wolves were big and I had no doubt they could tear me to pieces." "So you were trapped?" "Yes. I knew I wouldn't last long without water and food, so I waited for them to relax their guard. When I thought it was safe enough, I would jump down, make a mad dash for the next tree, and then climb up before they converged again." "This sounds like quite an ordeal." "Yes--altogether it lasted two days. I thought I would surely die. Luckily a group of hunters approached when I got close enough to the village. The wolves scatterd and I was saved." "I'm curious about one thing," said the sage. "During the experience, were you ever offended by the wolves?" "What? Offended?" "Yes. Did you feel offended, or insulted by the wolves?" "Of course not, Master. That thought never crossed my mind." "Why not? They wanted nothing more than to bite into you, did they not? They wanted to kill you, did they not?" "Yes, but that is what wolves do! They were just being themselves. It would be absurd for me to take offense." From Derek Lyn's book, The Tao of Daily Life. Good luck

Chen style... Sounds exactly like what you want. It's soft, but had parts in the forms with strong Fajin and seemingly external movements. Check it out on youtube, it's a beautiful form.

Generally, not always.

Hi Sereneblue, According to Bruce Frantzis - there's a reason for this type of training. E.g. doing the vast majority pulling downwards instead of upwards through the soles of the feet. If I remember correctly, he claims that the upward flow of energy is a very strong current which is often credited with awakening psychic abilities and such, and if the body's energetic system isn't capable of holding it you'll get all kinds of Qi imbalances, psychosis, etc. He says it's very easy to get a very , very strong flow of energy from the bottom with little training. Results will be rapid, but so will side effects. That's why he says you do static Qigong and focus on sinking the Qi, and dissolving downwards for a long time before doing any exercises that draw Qi upwards. Hope that helps!

Is it not simply due to postural stiffness? E.g. sitting crosslegged daily for years puts certain parts of the body to sleep...

Ryan, I whole heartedly agree. Personally I am not an ovolactovegan for ANY spiritual or ethical reasons. My body started having digestive problems (after going on a very high protein diet for weight lifting), and I never liked dairy products since I was born. I don't denounce those who want to do it for spiritual or ethical reasons, I just want people to question if whether or not it's the right reason. Exactly like what you said "we all have different needs" -- and I stray away from any sort of supplement (creatine and the like). You don't need multivitamins and all those supplements. The body will more easily assimilate nutrients in a nutrient-rich and varied diet, much more readily than adding a pill which is somewhat foreign to the body. Anyway, for hard training the recipe is quite simple: A) Eat right -- give your body the resources to repair itself. Get enough rest -- this is when the body repairs itself. If you do want extra protein, like others have said, consume plenty of nuts, beans, and lentils. I would stay away from soy, like Andrew said, which is not fermented.

Yep, I like your thinking.

If you're looking to put on pounds and muscle -- simply eat more. It doesn't have to be protein. If you're looking for maximum health overall, eat many different foods, changing the types of vegetables and fruits you eat every few days. Simple as that.

Yeah, cell phones use radio waves. Many other devices use them too.

A) Find a practice that promotes inner stillness B ) Find a practice that involves outer movement C) Practice every single day, without exception. Even if it means only 5 or 10 minutes per. You will live long Edit: Why does B keep coming out as a smiley face!!?

Wow, thanks Karen!

Despite what anyone will tell you, the recipe for Qing Gong has been lost. We do not know the Qigong exercises they did, and we only know they strapped weights to their ankles & jumped out of pits, and walked around the edge of a bowl filled with sand, while emptying more and more. There's even a video on youtube of the bowl. But again, we don't know the whole recipe. Possible? Of course - many of the famous Shaolin "supernatural" feats were merely things that people spent YEARS developing. They weren't supernatural, but they also weren't natural. Many of the results of these so-called special skills didn't result in practitioners living too long.

Is there any evidence that cell phone radiation actually does damage to the body? E.g. I've heard all the anecdotal evidence, but have studies been done? Just curious -- I personally don't like cell phones much and rarely use mine or carry it around, but I'm wondering if this is more than just a new-agey fling.

E.g. even without directing Qi -- if you do a Qigong exercise, will it automatically go where there's a problem? Say you have multiple problems, will it divide up and go equally to both? Or does direction the Qi with your intent make the best method of fixing a specific problem?

http://en.epochtimes.com/news/7-9-9/59524.html Video of him doing Bagua and such:

Hi Buscon, Let me clarify something about that book. It is akin to many eastern texts being published now adays. They are reference books -- they technically aren't *DESIGNED* to show you how to learn techniques. Masters of all traditions are dying, so videos are being filmed and books are being written. Intermediate steps are being left out. Many books leave out introductory techniques, precautions, and everything necessary to perform techniques. A perfect example is reverse breathing, as you have noticed. It isn't supposed to be done without a teacher, just like most of these Qigong techniques. Find a safe Qigong program to do, like Spring Forest, Ken cohen, or Bruce Frantzis' system. Why would the energy body of an asian person be different than my own? Doesn't seem to make much sense to me. Do we have different meridians?

It's called reverse breathing. Truthfully I can't tell you why it's done, but a google search should provide you with some answers. Edit: Some Links: http://formosaneijia.com/2007/dangers-of-r...eathing-qigong/ http://www.worldofmartialart.com/martial_a...g-exercise.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_breathing

Above All, Two things: (You will see these mentioned ad nauseum throughout Taoist texts): Truthfully "all" you need to do is A) Cultivate Your Mind -- Make your thoughts tranquil, e.g. you see objectively, you don't react to thing, you come from a perspective of stillness B ) Promote Virtuous Actions Many of the texts will mention one of those two in every passage.. the Nei yeh for example. In MY life, I believed the magical formula for longevity is as follows: Stillness & Movement. That's my motto.

Zhang, Your post reminded me of the famous story of the businessman who meets the poor native. Are you familiar with it?

Rather than worrying about the science behind it, why not speak to people in the community, online, and to TCM practitioners (And MDs!) to see what they have experienced? If they have said "yeah it worked great for me.." then maybe you'll have the impetus you need. I'm also considering school for an O.M.D. -- 5 years year round is a lot of training to go through. It would be incredible and fascinating, but obviously not if I didn't realize it didn't fix things.