VCraigP

This reminds me of some thing my teacher discussed. It is important to do your practice daily. You must push through these problems or they will not be cleared. continuity of practice is what creates real achievement. If you practice for 5 days steadily and then stop because of feeling crappy you will allow the gunk to settle back in and continue to create problems. If you persevere and push through with daily practice you can clear that and eventually run into a new deeper level of gunk, hence making deeper progress. good luck Craig

Are you doing any meditation: eg inner smile, tantien breathing, following the breath, etc. Can you get a sense of moving the energy without using sexual energy? Have you practiced scrotal compression? Have you practiced cool upward draw? I advise you work on the above items 5 times as much as the stimulated sexual energy. do the six healing sounds at night to help balance things out and get in touch with your organ energies. If the only Chia practice you are doing is orgasmic upward draw I would advise that you are setting yourself up for imbalances. What about any physical practices? Standing meditation. Martial arts? I was taught that the basic foundational work of many/most traditional martial arts is conducive to overall strengthening and opening. Anyway back to pure hot sexual energy cultivation. What is your goal? to have better control? The concept of SKF is to develop the ability to manipulate the Qi with your mind and move beyond gross physical manipulations in order first overcome lack of ejaculation control into the finer aspects of solo and dual cultivation. I recommend not treading so near the point of no return. Might not be as "fun" initially but would be better training IMO. Craig

It seems to me that a fundamental error is being made. When you post something it stands somewhat on its own, or should. Just because someone follows up in disagreement to a quality post doesn't mean their words will hold the same weight with others reading them. I think perhaps 5ET is making this mistake. If you don't react to someone when you feel they are baiting you it may leave the reader with the impression that you are above petty bickering, or at least leave room for others to just read your original words as they stand. My two cents. PS - I just did a space clearing ritual in my home which is a good energy hygiene procedure to do once in a while. Hopefully my family will notice or feel the difference on some level.

Hemp industry Cannabis industry Seperate issues. There is definitely no rational reason not to have a thriving Hemp industry to create a green industrial revolution without any Drug use permissiveness. Hemp it seems likely was banned because it's competition with cotton and OIL and plastics, but I believe they used the drug issues to achieve the necessary FEAR mongering. but that history doesn't have anything to do with whether or not liquor money may be fighting the legalization of cannabis. IMO ALOT of noise should be made about hemp. We are currently seeing a growing niche in hemp products in this country, without any domestic production. Canada is leading the way with producing this cash crop. We could take over that industry in a heartbeat if it was allowed. Seems a much easier fight to achieve than drug legalization but hasnt happened yet. ciao Craig

Favorite quote of the week!

While Freeforms method is elegant it does seem overly involved compared to what a teacher of mine would use. He was an acupuncturist and naturopath as well as very accomplished martial artist. This method merely involved asking the question internally and then checking the strength of index finger and thumb touched together. Watching him do it repeatedly at high speed while checking several body issues,functions,systems looked like a shaman doing magical incantations. right hand goes out and gestures towards an organ or meridian or whatever, then comes back to flick against the left hand with index and thumb touching and repeat, over and over. Like many things it looked like magic when I didn't understand it, but it's really very simple. much easier than pendulum or pendulum body. Less moving parts. Craig PS - Mal. Way to pull up an Ancient thread. More??

and we are all glad you don't. sorry, couldn't resist. complain to the management if you really think it is such an issue. Hey, if you want to help out Mr Peng, maybe you should contact him via his website and tell him it is convoluted yourself. Might actually help. Notifying people of a product from a teacher who has been mentioned many times over the year is a common thing here. ta ta Craig

No answer possible, insufficient data... Really depends on who you are. what qigong? the answer is yes or no. anything else is just silly. Is it possible. Probably all things are possible with energy work, including the ability to delude oneself.

Maybe true statement about USA at present. One thing you can say is there has never been any sharing of profit from the nation's resources, like oil, with the public as you see evidenced in Norway. This would be unthinkably Socialist and therefore EVIL!!!!! haha.

Hold on, I thought you were talking about Oregon for a minute....

The point being that this so called Grass Roots movement is NOT. It is funded by billionaires with an agenda. A point you conveniently danced around with insults and labels. Actually it would be refreshing if there were an actual movement against our corporatist (new word for FASCIST) government. I apply this label to 99% of republicans and at least 90% of democrat elected officials. But the tea party is just another delusion, distraction. Keep the rich getting richer. convince poor and unemployed people that the fault is big government. Billionaires convincing destitute people to lobby against their own economic interest. Taxes are bad, unions are bad, regulations are bad, social security safety net is bad, looking out for the welfare of the citizenry of your country is bad, glah blah. Meanwhile the ridiculously wealthy ask "Let us rape and pillage freely because we have divine right by way of being wealthy", and continue to do so. laughable when the right talks about the left doing the same thing. Liberal moguls donating to liberal causes. Oh yeah, those liberal Moguls are outnumbered 10,000 to 1 by Repugnantcans who carry on convincing deliberately dumbed down populace to vote against their own interest. Vortex dont even bother to reply as I don't know why I have even gone this far. Craig

And another finer point about Gingko TCM vs Gingko western standardized extract. TCM DOES include Ginkgo Biloba in it. it is not a major item in the chinese apothecary. I have no clue what White Rabbit is referring to here, what form was used in the study, and I concur with Taemeow here in that a single herb studied by itself is NOT TCM at all. Ginkgo biloba extract 24% ginko flavone glycosides, 6% terpene lactones, is the standard established originally by GERMAN Pharma companies who sought to take many herbs and use them as Pharma drugs. These items like gingko are considered as Drugs in Germany and elsewhere. There is hard science behind them (of course we could further dissect the value of "hard science" here but that's a tangent). My main point is that ginkgo as a standardized extract is what has been examined and is widely used. If you aren't talking about the standardized extract you are talking about something else entirely. TCM doesn't even consider Gingko for the same purposes as the "western" EXTRACT. Now I also agree about the problem of discussing Chinese herbs using western pharmacological models. I will go further to point out some text from the summary of the book mentioned and comment further; However, the use of herbs as an alternative medical treatment for many illnesses has increased steadily over the last decade, particularly since such herbs are categorized as "Natural Food Products" and are not yet subject to strict control by the FDA. This language speaks very LOUDLY to me. Especially the "not YET subject to control by the FDA. TPTB want to control or remove natural products from the market place. The FDA is Big Pharma's tool. The language here sounds very clearly to be the typical conservative whiny big brother language stridently saying they need to CONTROL this stuff. People cant be trused to make decisions about their health. This is dangerous stuff to be left to the "experts". We are blessed that so far in the US "Natural Food Products" are not subject to control by the FDA. But the FDA is not taking this lying down. They and their cronys are fighting this hard fought status quo tooth and nail since its inception. The DSHEA act was passed in response to the overreaching FDA who continues to try to shut down alternative and complemantary therapies, especially effective ones. My conclusion is that the aim of such a tome is to apply the Pharma model to all chinese herbs and eventually take them under control so they are subject to control as DRUGS and made much harder and more expensive to access. If the FDA could do that tomorrow, trust me, they would. end rant PS - White Rabbit may not be an actual propagandist but seems to be at least an accidental one to me. Craig

I used to regularly take GB years ago. I always noticed the effect. There was definitely a mental energy boost for me. Also I noticed after extended use that I would get a feeling of over use similar to caffeine over use. A feeling that Gingko was the flame and that the fuel was used up to some extent. Studies have shown that it increases blood flow to the brain, and peripheral circulation. Quality product in sufficient dose will have an effect IMO. I also agree that there is a great deal of pushback (propaganda) anytime something "natural" and unpatentable comes along which would compete with pharma products. Also I am not sure GB is a good solution for advanced geriatric issues. However it may well be very good for younger people to aid in mental acuity. and maybe just maybe long term use of the product could prevent or reduce symptoms of aging relating to cognition. I doubt such a long term study has been or will be done. For younger people with mental fatigue or need for greater mental energy I would highly recommend it. The difficult thing for me is that I almost always can tell when I have taken any herb and can perceive it's effects. Most people tend to be more "dense" than that and so need reassurance that these things have an effect. Hey, maybe I have a really highly developed placebo response. Useful?? Craig

Such action would be most generous. I mainly responded because I have never heard of this at all and couldn't find anything on a cursory web search. Thanks Craig

Thanks for the blog post. Question You recommend "Dr Graef's isotonal qigong exercises" in this blog. Can you provide a link here to explore this further, or can you expand on this modality yourself? thanks Craig

Such an important and wise summary. Unfortunately qigong is widely taught entirely separately from any martial tradition these days. But, benefits are still widely derived despite the distancing from the root. And so it goes...

Based upon what I have read the advice is to not to try to Learn something else at the same time as learning FP qigong. I dont think Yoga would be a problem, just not right before or right after if you want to be extra cautious. My two cents, take it or leave it. Craig

I worked with one of the first bulk ingredient companies in the US to import real Russian Rhodiola rosea over ten years ago. The Russians did a great deal of scientific research on the properties and constituents of this herb. Russia is not the only source, but they did the modern research establishing its value. Make sure you purchase Rhodiola Rosea. I strongly recommend you acquire a liquid tincture. this stuff is definitely a good tonic IF you get real rhodiola rosea. Rhodiola crenulata and other chinese/tibetan species are commonly used in the industry and they do not have the same effect. They do have some effect but not as strong, and perhaps not entirely the same. I find Rhodiola to be stimulating, but more so mentally. It is also quite astringent and drying. DanC If you ordered a powdered extract please determine if it is rhodiola rosea and whether it is standardized to contain Rosavin, rosacin. If it is standardized to contain only salidrosides you are getting poor product. If it is not fully identified as to species or constituent I strongly recommend you seek a refund. Blasto. the research for rhodiola to be effective for weight loss shows that it has an effect on stress. Reduction of stress causes reduced cortisol production and therefore reduced deposits of belly fat, or so goes the theory. Clinically it is possible that this approach might work under very controlled conditions. Practically it is probably less than effective for weight control. I also have the intuitive sense that Rhodiola is a tonic for the Heart (TCM meaning). I like it. PS - When I visited tibet in 2004 the guide gave the whole group Rhodiola extract in little bottles like you get ginseng in order to help us adapt to the elevation (10,000 feet at the airport). So it is known and used as an adaptogen by "modern" tibetans too.

I don't think I got you wrong. you said "I don't like his vibe" and "I feel a strong connection with the Yin World in him". Your statements seem very clear to me. You have never met him nor had any exposure to him other than his website and your intuition and you have received somehow a negative impression. It is your prerogative to voice your opinion. BTW - what does "I feel a strong connection with the Yin World in him" even mean? would you care to expand on or support this statment? You will understand when I say I couldn't possibly be more in disagreement with you, and I have spent a great deal of time studying with him (5 full weeks in 2008 alone). With respect Craig

I agree with Ya Mu, Hundun that one should not force a position which causes tension. Also depending upon ones oral issues it may never be possible to keep teeth touching and have relaxation. Finding what is natural is the watercourse way it is resonant and consistent with the principles of Taoism. Let me reiterate my experience. I did meditation and chi kung of the healing tao school for many, many years. I did not focus on touching the teeth. I only made sure that my tongue touched the palate. I DID experience results from these practices. Therefore I am NOT saying that it is ineffective if you don't touch the teeth. I found that this was an instruction of my new teacher which I took on board. I initially disregarded it as I rationalized that it would never be comfortable give my oral issues and habits. I decided at one point to see if I could do it and become comfortable with it. I did persist with it and I became accustomed to it and it became "natural" to me. Also during this time I went from practice of sitting meditation in a chair in the classical healing tao throne position. This position was very natural to me as I had done it for years (maybe decades). My new teacher was a proponent of full lotus sitting practice and I was initially resistant to that. Over a period of several months I became accustomed to and relaxed sitting in half lotus. So what is natural and what is learned technique? What is beneficial? What is effective? What is Optimal? to me touching the teeth is optimal. OK, so I think we agree relaxation is important, but in my opinion if you have no physical issues preventing it I believe teeth touching when tongue touching palate is optimal. I am definitely not saying it is necessary. In fact I believe that energy can and will flow in the orbit without touching the tongue to the palate, but it does help. Thanks for listening to this overlong discussion of a very minor technique issue. ain't it grand that we can have civil discourse? thanks all Craig

? ?? !!! ? ?? Huh? Yes.....REALLLLLY SURE. Have you met Master Wu in person? I have studied with him since 2006. I get really good vibes from him in person and long distance. Hopefully you are thinking of someone else? www.masterwu.net is his website. PS - a lot of people don't get a good vibe from M.Chia. do you? I have also met him in person (many, many times) and don't get a bad vibe from him. My thoughts and feelings about Chia and Wu are more complex than good vibe, bad vibe though. Perhaps you can expand on your thoughts? PPS - to not hijack this thread let me say again that Wu's approach is very traditional. I believe the common Taoist practice is tongue up AND teeth closed. Overall its quite a minor point however I found it made a distinct difference in practice.

Makes a better energetic connection than just the tongue. Teeth are the tips of the bones. With Teeth apart there is still an opening instead of a closed circuit. Of course the Du and Ren channels connect even without the tongue touching, but it is a matter of maximizing that connection to facilitate the flow. I would say this creates a much stronger connection from head downward through the skeletal system. Firmness is better than looseness in most practices, so this is a firm connection. The practices with teeth apart appear to be those with breathing out through the mouth which are designed to balance by expelling excess or sick Qi. Conversely mouth closed is to make a sealed container for qi and an unbroken channel for movement of qi. Craig

My teacher Zhongxian Wu insists on teeth together. I do find a difference. Initially this was challenging as I did HT meditations for years with tongue up but teeth apart. I recommend teeth together. Not clenched of course but held together. Craig

BTW, it wasnt that long ago when all Catholic service was performed in Latin. Something to think about. Craig