forestofclarity

It seems to work thus far (i.e. it produces tangible effects), but I could see where it would be difficult for people new to meditation. His explanations, if accurate, go a long way to decoding the secret Taoist language. Despite my misgivings (about my own time for one), I also decided to check out his Academy (although his stuff doesn't seem far off from what I'm already working). We'll see: I'm going to try an experiment in increased practice for a month.

So... did anyone do the course? I've been practicing the preliminaries.

WTF?

To be fair there is also a lot of "woo woo" nonsense out there as well, IME.

It all seems like quaint metaphors and lovely expressions until--- it doesn't. Quite literal. There are certainly levels of skill. On the one hand, there is an element of body alignment, physical mechanics, and physics, such as using the ground for leverage. Some teachers become very skilled at this physical level. But the level where you can distort perceptions or control movements with barely or no contract is another level. It sounds so phony and ridiculous until-- it doesn't.

You don't like doctors, but will accept medical advice from strangers online?

I also found this to be helpful: https://www.longrivertaichieng.org/peng-and-jin.html

Glad it helped, but did you think about going to the doctor? You may have heart issues or sleep apnea. My teachers usually say "First, eliminate medical issues."

I like his lo-fi, to-the-point approach. One of the early "spiritual" books I bought was Initiation into Hermetics. There was a joke about it online, because it was supposed to be a gradual, step-by-step program. But then you look at it, and it was like "Step 1: Become Perfect at Meditation."

Basically, it is a step-by-step to go from qi ball to the "qigong state of mind" so you can "swim." Sort of a back door, cheater's way.

Correct, I made the edit.

I enjoy D&T a lot. Bruce's system gets some flak on here, and his persona can be a bit off-putting, but it is the only qigong I've done that has healed my back (combined with energy gates standing). It has also helped my own meditation practices tremendously. Bruce's teachings dovetail nicely with Tibetan practices. Damo's MCO course is not suggested for beginners, but it is free. Also, he has a Foundations course you can look at on Vimeo. In both cases, I am skeptical about how much one can learn via online without in-person adjustments.

Yes, I wonder if the extra time is worth it, which is why I haven't messed with it. Maybe a few minutes before standing?

Did anyone actually experiment with this shaking?

I was a throat breather, until I started to do breath meditation at the abdomen. I found that my breath naturally sank. Interestingly, it has been pointed out that one can not only breath down to the abdomen, but also up the back.

I've always thought freedom, ease of mind, and compassion were a nice way to tell. If you have it, the physical signs don't matter. If you have the physical signs but not the freedom, ease of mind, and compassion then the physical signs again don't really matter. But any sign does not necessarily mean that the lack of the sign or the opposite of the sign means that there is no progress. I've noticed that there are often upheavals which back it seem as though one is even worse than before. However, once these subside (or are used for practice), the practice appears much stronger than before.

I suppose it depends on your specific practice and tradition, but many people get distracted by their imagination. It is easy to imagine things happening that are not actually happening. Do you have dreams? Inner mental dialogue?

Can you still cultivate? Of course. It may be better to not visualize.

Fun fact for today--- the Speed of Light is calculated by the ancients 14th Century? तरणिर्विश्वदर्शतो जयोतिष्क्र्दसि सूर्य | विश्वमा भासिरोचनम | taraNir vishvadarshato jyotishkrdasi surya | vishvamaa bhaasirochanam || which means “Swift and all beautiful art thou, O Surya (Surya=Sun), maker of the light, Illuming all the radiant realm.” Commenting on this verse in his Rigvedic commentary, Sayana who was a minister in the court of Bukka of the great Vijayanagar Empire of Karnataka in South India (in early 14th century) says: tatha ca smaryate yojananam. sahasre dve dve sate dve ca yojane ekena nimishardhena kramaman. which means “It is remembered here that Sun (light) traverses 2,202 yojanas in half a nimisha” NOTE: Nimisharda= half of a nimisha In the vedas Yojana is a unit of distance and Nimisha is a unit of time. Unit of Time: Nimesa The Moksha dharma parva of Shanti Parva in Mahabharata describes Nimisha as follows: 15 Nimisha = 1 Kastha 30 Kashta = 1 Kala 30.3 Kala = 1 Muhurta 30 Muhurtas = 1 Diva-Ratri (Day-Night) We know Day-Night is 24 hours So we get 24 hours = 30 x 30.3 x 30 x 15 nimisha in other words 409050 nimisha We know 1 hour = 60 x 60 = 3600 seconds So 24 hours = 24 x 3600 seconds = 409050 nimisha 409050 nimesa = 86,400 seconds 1 nimesa = 0.2112 seconds (This is a recursive decimal! Wink of an eye=.2112 seconds!) 1/2 nimesa = 0.1056 seconds Unit of Distance: Yojana Yojana is defined in Chapter 6 of Book 1 of the ancient vedic text “Vishnu Purana” as follows 10 ParamAnus = 1 Parasúkshma 10 Parasúkshmas = 1 Trasarenu 10 Trasarenus = 1 Mahírajas (particle of dust) 10 Mahírajas= 1 Bálágra (hair’s point) 10 Bálágra = 1 Likhsha 10 Likhsha= 1 Yuka 10 Yukas = 1 Yavodara (heart of barley) 10 Yavodaras = 1 Yava (barley grain of middle size) 10 Yava = 1 Angula (1.89 cm or approx 3/4 inch) 6 fingers = 1 Pada (the breadth of it) 2 Padas = 1 Vitasti (span) 2 Vitasti = 1 Hasta (cubit) 4 Hastas = a Dhanu, a Danda, or pauruSa (a man’s height), or 2 Nárikás = 6 feet 2000 Dhanus = 1 Gavyuti (distance to which a cow’s call or lowing can be heard) = 12000 feet 4 Gavyutis = 1 Yojana = 9.09 miles Calculation: So now we can calculate what is the value of the speed of light in modern units based on the value given as 2202 yojanas in 1/2 nimesa = 2202 x 9.09 miles per 0.1056 seconds = 20016.18 miles per 0.1056 seconds = 189547 miles per second !! As per the modern science speed of light is 186000 miles per second ! https://www.booksfact.com/vedas/rig-veda/speed-of-light-calculated-in-vedas-of-ancient-india.html

Interestingly, this got scrubbed out of wikipedia, under the speed of light history, whereas other less compelling (European and Islamic) sources were left in.

I listened to another slice of the interview. He reminds me of both Bodri (but more concise and to the point) and Verdesi (but less.. well, probably better not to say. I can see having a nice meal and a drink with Damo). An interesting point was made on the danger of Taoism. He talks about how some one who is an amateur hedonist may, upon practicing nei gong, become a professional hedonist since one would fuel whatever one's energy patterning is. He also talks about increasing will. He says it is important to apply insight, so the states generated can be sustained with increased qi (or so I'm paraphrasing). Interestingly, if a Taoist were incorrect about their view, and they build up an ability fuel the wrong state and they have improved their willpower, I can see that it would be difficult if not impossible to correct. Similarly, if one developed a high level of shamatha, and then applied it to the wrong object, it would likely also be difficult to correct. I suppose one has to be quite confident in one's teacher for such an approach.

I would agree, since from a Buddhist POV the sense of self is illusory. Even from a True Self model, one might say that the sense of self is merely an object illuminated by the Self, a false self, a contraction. But I suppose it depends on the teacher/teaching.

Not just in the body. There's no barrier between inside/outside, IME. Ummm.. .where do you suppose the body appears?

I can say having practiced with and without body-type of practices that I prefer the with. Practice is easier if your qi is settled, your body isn't hurting, and you're not depressed. Also, the qi-stuff can smooth out some of the upheavals that meditation can bring. Also, working with qi can be a bit of a shortcut. I actually prefer the Taoist over the Buddhist approach as Taoist can be smoother and more circular than the (Tibetan) Buddhist. But that's just my opinion. But if realization needs fuel, then one would think when a master gets sick, ages, and dies, their realization would suffer, but this is certainly not the case IME.