DaoChild

I do 30 minutes standing immediately upon waking(Zhan Zhuang) , following by 30 minutes seated stillness meditation. Around sunset I do about 1.5 hours of QiGong. Edit: Spelling :/

Hi everyone, I'm just curious who has done KAP and has experienced something from it. Have a good week, DaoChild

Why would it damage Shen? It's merely keeping your mind sharp while your senses become dulled by sleep, permitting your consciousness to go elsewhere.

I agree with Ryan - a fascinating article, but not completely true. I recently read this article, and in the process of ordering "Talent is Overrated". It's inspiring (And partially true) that genius is made, not born. But at the same time, genetics DOES take a larger part than we think. What type of family we are born into makes a difference, genetically your body make up makes a difference. E.g. if you are born 5 ft tall, 130 pound male, you will probably never play professional football - no matter how hard you train. So there are some constraints, but overall an inspiring article.

I was wondering the exact same...

It sounds like a childish question, but if weren't childish I guess it wouldn't be like the Tao Anyway, unfortunately I have to give a little bit of background information here. When I was a young boy ( guess I still am..), around the age of 12 I would pray every single morning and night to find union with God; this went on for about 5 years. What child on earth strives for that at such a young age? My life was perfect -- I was born into a very materially wealthy family, with an ideal life, and several siblings. I was born a spiritual child and never knew why. After some time, about 10 years later (which was this past January), I did something I wanted to for a long time: I went on a retreat for myself to meditate to find myself closer to Tao. I went to the sahara desert with a band of nomads for 3 weeks, and they dropped me off on a sandy plateau for 4 days with some water. What scared me was how simple the answer was.. As a kid I always wanted to be a hermit, or a monk. I never knew why, but I was born a spiritual seeker. My answer was rather simple: that after all of my cultivation, my future experiences, retreats, travels -- that I was supposed to return to humanity. I was to share what I learned, and the solitary ascetic path was not for me. And now I'm stuck in a bind. I no longer want enlightenment; it doesn't attract me at all. All those pieces seem to have fallen away, and I've been given a new puzzle. It seems like all I want from my cultivation is a deep energetic ability that I can use to heal myself and others. So what now? I feel a bit stunted What are your reasons for striving for enlightenment? What are your reasons for not striving for it? What are you striving for? Do you just want enhanced health and recovery, peace of mind, objectivity? Maybe it's just one of those mini Dark Nights of the Soul.. Anyway, I'd be interested to hear your responses, DaoChild

It's probably to a certain degree real. You can attain a lot of that simply by body conditioning. Hit one part of the body everyday, and over a period of months the skin will thicken, bones will increase in density, muscle tissue will get larger. It's pure science.. certainly is cool stuff though. This stuff worries me - e.g. internal damage, or how terrible your arthritis will be once you hit 80 . I personally would rather invest the time training to not be hit. Shaolin monks were famous for their iron skills, not their longevity.

In my body, chi is always felt by an intense warmth (literally like I put my hands on a heating pad, when I do self-healings). Sometimes I feel tingle or buzzing too.

Actually, what you guys have said makes a lot of sense. I think this feeling arises from the fact that I'm more than content with my current life. I'm going to be taking a big step next year, and like every big step, will be confronted by many more problems. It's easy to feel secure in my own little bubble, without having entered the 9-5 life quite yet. Perhaps I'm just content where I am, relative to my life. Once I start getting into the hectic flow of the "real" world, I'm inclined to believe that things will change and I will have to seriously improve my ability to remain tranquil.

Are you sure he wasn't talking about hard QIGONG and soft QIGONG?

Looks like a good chuckle to me. But you could always pick it up, test it, and give us a report

Nature is not good or bad.. that is only our perception of it.

It comes from Shamanism, which is where Taoism itself came from. Shamanism has originated independently all over the world, it's quite fascinating and and unbelievable experience if you 'try it'. Hope that helps.

Good question actually, and a very important one. I guess since I live up in CT the biggest worry for me would be a freak snowstorm or water levels rising (I live within 2 miles of about 3 beaches). I suppose neither would be an immediate threat, since we don't have earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, etc. or really anything that can come up abruptly. So, no - truthfully I'm not prepared for any freak changes.

Hey guys. I just came across the Zhan Zhuang type postures, but have read many diverse opinions regarding their use. Can you explain what they are for? Are they just a method of power training for conditiong & retaining peace of mind? Can you recommend any books with a starter posture? (That no doubt will be difficult.. I'm looking for ones that DO require physical exertion, but aren't impossible Thanks

Morning all, I'm interested in adding some QiGong practice to my morning meditation. Truthfully, I'm more interested in seeing if QiGong actually does anything. Can you recommend some good books on QiGong, which explain it the best, and which give you the best exercises? I'd love to tag on 30 minutes of QiGong to my morning practice, and see if I feel any different in several months. Thank you & Have a lovely weekend, DaoChild

Not keen on drinking much myself. I guess it could stem from the fact that when I was a little kid I HATED water. It had no taste, so I never drank it. I drank lots of juice & soda. I went camping and could only drink iodized water for 30+ days, and now I only drink water & tea, and from time to time alcohol. I guess it's all what your preference are - if you want the very disciplined route, then only eat vegetarian & drink water and tea.

Good question. I'm hoping it will give me benefits beyond that of meditation (physical relaxation & peace of mind) E.g. internal power for Bagua.

You might want to research shamanic journeying, as I've done a lot of what are called "lower world" and "upper world" journeying -- they may fit your description.

Pietro has some sage advice - don't fall prey to silly marketing scams on the internet. He claims it has been "proven repeatedly in prestigious laboratories around the world" .. and proceeds not to cite anything. Certainly doesn't do well for his credibility. If it sounds too good to be true, it often is. EDIT: Important! http://www.amazon.com/ImmorTalist-Manifest...8855&sr=8-1 Ratings of his book were terrible.

I would agree with what others have said - It sounds a lot like a Pre-Out of Body experience. You can still experience the vibrations without paralysis though, and you can experience it before the POP that accompanies projection out of body.

I can't comment on whether or not it was a meta - physical reaction. More likely it was as follows: (A physical reaction). Just like bullies NEED to elicit a physical response, if you don't give them attention then 90% of bullies leave you alone. They get bored. If someone makes fun of you, and you shrug, or smile, or don't respond, then oftentimes they too get bored when they have no one to argue with. There is nothing you are bouncing back towards them to interact with. Most of us love arguments more than we think.

Thanks, you explained it a lot better than I did. That's essentially what I meant too

I enjoyed this article, but had several problems with it: A) They claim that the ability to be tranquil with emotions and mindful has to do with the brain structure... something that has been physically permitting us to do that. In my opinion: [/i]false[/i] ! If my friend criticizes me and calls me a JERK to my face, I can CONSCIOUSLY (and DO consciously) choose how to respond. Sometimes I like jokingly to argue - so I respond. Sometimes my response is silence, I acknowledge it, and it passes right through me - no energy given to it. They seem to attribute it to something that normal people can't do - which is totally and utterly false. I cognitively change how I respond to things every single day by self awareness. No doubt it's interesting to see that meditation changes the physical structure of the brain, but in my opinion the benefits of meditation aren't something that can be quantified .

Lightning doesn't have to hit the ground, but it's incredibly uncommon for it to happen. It forms from both the sky and the earth - the balance of positive and negative poles. The human eye isn't fast enough to see the FIRST part - the negatively charged particles which come from the sky. We DO see it grow from the earth (The positive particles), which then go up to reach towards the others and meet - forming lightning . And of course, the rapid heating of the air caused by lightning produces thunder.