DaoChild

I second that.

Qigong master in Beijing: I love seeing his youth and vitality http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sw-aDENlHWA

Do children often get bored? If you ask me, children are some of the wisest sages in existence.

Orb, that's just a demo - it doesn't necessarily reflect how well he'd do in the heat of combat. But it's the best Taiji application video I have seen too. He has great listening skills.

I apologize, I guess my questions weren't very clear. In your opinion, who are people that impressed you with their healing abilities? And regarding medical / martial Qigong, I was wondering if you could mention specific styles or exercises that are particularly good at healing. I am equally interested in the martial as I am medical. If there is a thread that would perhaps spare you a lot of needless typing, feel free to redirect me

And for millions of years before that we weren't eating meat . Regardless, I think that it seems to be more chance concerning how long Taoists live. It really seems to be as much chance as is inherent in a normal population of people.. genetics, lifestyle choices, diet, and so on. Taoists are famous for their longevity, but I still don't even hear too many stories of people living to 100. On the other hand, shaolin monks must be aching with arthritis by 60 after taking so many blows to the body

Uh.. big brains because we started eating meat? Few adaptations to vegetation? How about the length of our digestive tract, which is much more furrowed and long (for increased surface area for absorption) than the normally short digestive tracts of carnivores. How about the fact that we have no "carnassial" teeth , which distinguish an animal as an actual carnivore. We most certainly are omnivores, I think we can agree on that.

Is there actually a specific system? I always thought it was naturally what you focus on when doing stillness/emptiness/void meditation. Those little moments of silence make us realize the sounds.

How do you mean his ability as a doctor was disappointing? Could you please elaborate? Also, I know that some Qigong exercises are geared towards Martial power vs. healing -- but if there's an obvious rift, why isn't there a "best" (A touchy word) form of Qigong for strengthening health and healing?

And is there anything about whether or not the rats died of cancer, or lived long at all? I've gone from eating over 200g of protein a day (bodybuilder diet for weight lifting), to now COMPLETELY vegetarian (technically vegan, since I don't like dairy or eat eggs). I haven't had any weight declines or strength declines.. Of course, this is only anecdotal.

Imho, I believe that longevity is mostly genetic. The big difference here is HOW you age, and how gracefully you decline until you die. It is very common to hear people that take care of themselves are functioning like they are in their 20s, 30s, well into their 80s. Suddenly they grow ill and die. I'm more inclined to believe that these keep you young and strong, until your "predestined" time to die (determined by mostly genetics & diet). So , in my opinion it is based on keeping strong to death, not dramatically adding decades of life (though through proper health and exercise you can easily add 10 years to your life). Taoist ways of life merely incorporate a healthy diet, exercise and stretching, and a relaxed, happy mindset.

Is there any actual scientific evidence to show that the colds associated with fasting are actually "detox" symptoms? I never experienced anything of the sort when I went without food for 4.5 days.

It's not BS at all. It's ancient wisdom marketed well to seem like a .. you got it.. "secret". And she made tons of money off it. What do you mean, goldisheavy? You can use the 'secret' for material goods if you want.. it's just based on "as ye sow so shall ye reap", and positive visualization. If you want to be the boss of your own company just because you love money, you can use it equally towards that goal. The same can be said if you want to use it to attain enlightenment.

Oh god, not ashida kim! And yes, you can tell by many of robert's videos the titles are designed to catch unsuspecting victims. "Chi fireballs" ? Are you kidding? It doesn't take a wise man to read the Tao Te Ching and seem like a sage. He talks much too much about super powers, and I'd be willing to bet that at the office he laughs about this with his friends.

What powers?

Why? It just makes sense. You know how sometimes you are attracted to something for no good reason? It just feels.. like home? Right? That's the only way I can describe it. I've never even been remotely attracted to Buddhism, but I feel the calling to Daoism in my bones.

You can find those "Induced Qi Flow and Spontaneous QiGong exercises" In Wong Kiew Kit's books too.

Has anyone read this? Thoughts on the accuracy of data, the effectiveness of the exercises? DaoChild Edit: Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/Qigong-Meditation-Em..._pr_product_top

A recent one is Grandmaster Choa Kok Sui, who founded "Pranic Healing" and was considered a miracle worker by some. He died at age 53, yet (anecdotally) was curing people of serious chronic and other fatal illnesses. I actually use lots of his training methods since they produce stronger sensations of Qi than I've felt in most Qigong. Also, no most monks do not practice martial arts. It depends on the region where you go. I guess it's rather Ironic that even many of the martial artists and taoist cultivators don't live all that long. Most of the famous ones die between 65 and 80. So I'm not quite sure where their longevity goes, considering that that's right around our average life expectancy eating hot dogs and drinking soda.

A lot of enzymes or not: our modern human body isn't designed to gnaw on raw meat. Good luck with digesting that and dealing with plenty of upset tummies!

Lots of Bagua and Xingyi training is by nature very exhausting, and you will certainly sweat and be tired. The reason why these exist? Taoists were always after health and longevity. You can't cultivate just the spiritual/energetic and expect to live a long life. The physical body has different practices that require it to be maintained, and I'm sure you've heard of tons of famous energy healers (especially recently) that die young -- Before 70. You can't cultivate the spirit and expect the physical body (subject to the laws of nature) to live long as well. You need exercise to keep the physical body strong, remember the Buddhist monks when Bodidharma showed up at the shaolin temple.

Of course it's true, but only with proper practice. Concentrated and focused practice, not practice that simply wastes time. I guarantee you'll be respected in whatever art it is you do, after 10,000 hours. That's somewhere around 2.5 hours a day for 10 years.

It really depends -- some of the longest lived people in the world almost never eat meat, maybe once in a long while consuming fish. I personally consume no dairy, no meat, and I haven't noticed any muscle declines while lifting weight (shifting from high protein diet, to no animal protein diet). Plants have more than enough protein.. the body only needs protein - it doesn't have to be animal protein. The biggest issue is B12, but by and large you can be vastly more healthy than most of the population by eating vegetarian. Edit: The overall reason is essentially because the diet is much higher in fiber, phytonutrients and antioxidants, and much lower in cholesterol and saturated fat. Vegetarians almost completely curb their chances of the 5 largest killers in the USA.

So if you are looking for a healthier diet.. why don't you just eat vegetarian and only drink tea & water? Why are you necessarily striving for a "Diet like a monk" ?

Be a good conversationalist, dress well, smile a lot and be interested in her.