forestofclarity

I broke down and tried Intu-Flow yesterday. I had a hard PT day with a lot of aches. Because you can try it for , I couldn't resist trying it. I liked it so much I ordered the DVD. We'll see what happens.

20 minutes is great. When I first started, I tried to meditate 5 minutes a day. But I did it every day. Eventually, this grew to 10, 15 and so on. Now, if I don't meditate, it doesn't feel right.

I will. Thanks!

One of the reasons I'm doing this is because, like many others before, I thought Santi was deluded, a huckster, or worse. After taking KAP 1, I no longer thought so. I went on a retreat last year and lost contact with KAP. After some time, the cosmos is suggesting I get back into it. I'm not one to argue with the cosmos. Besides, I want to see where this goes. Things I've experienced so far, on my second round: 1. Increased energy sensations. The energy sensations feel much stronger, to nearly the same degree as solid objects. 2. Increased emotional response. Emotions tend to sweep through the whole body. I'm told this is a more feminine type of experience. Can be dangerous with anger, but not a problem given where I'm at generally. 3. Increased recovery time after sex. Also, less drainage. Overall, increased feeling of being healthy. 4. Increased spiritual insight. I must admit, this one puzzles me, because realization is more about seeing over and over again than anything else. But I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. 5. Increased feelings of bliss, especially on the weekends. 6. Increased inner heat and tolerance to cold. I also noticed that I've been feeling more "off" in the morning, but was able to determine that this was because of dehydration. 7. Increased incidence of lucid dreaming and dream recall. I won't say that KAP is the sole cause of these things as I have been cultivating Buddhist practice diligently for some years. But it is more like KAP somehow "speeds up" the process. I can't say that it is coincidence, either, as this happened last time I started KAP last spring. I can see the dangers as everything is amplified, the good and the bad.

The idea of this thread is to find out. Some of us have had more in-depth training already. However, it still seems simple. Make simple, make hard, I suppose.

Was your kundalini awakened?

Grindles, You might find this interesting reading: Small Boat, Great Mountain

A lot of Taoist arts are about reversion, or reversing the natural flow of creation in order to return to the Tao. In a sense, a lot of Taoism is against the stream. If you look at traditional Taoist texts, you'll see a lot of talk of reversion, returning to the root, guarding the one and so forth. Sexual practices may, but need not, be about channeling this outflow of energy into another purpose. How many animals beside man spend so much energy for nothing more than pure, momentary pleasure? Is this natural? As to longevity, I might suggest that long life is our birthright, one which we squander through poor acquired habits and wasteful outflows (i.e. by stress, overly complicated our lives, being unable to cope with things as they are, etc.). One theory about Taoist longevity practices is that they give one more time to develop spiritually. I suppose this all depends on what you think "natural" means.

I used to feel it was right to sit eat McDonald's, drink, smoke, and mentally curse everyone who passed by. I might not have had a lot of friends, health, or peace, but damn it, I had PRINCIPLE!

Yes, why not? Especially if your mother was a good mother.

Imagine moving your fingers. Then move your fingers. How would visualization ever work?

I think the main trouble people have with Chia, or any energy type work, is what they bring with them. I'm finding that as I learn to embody more Taoist/Buddhist principles, energy work is becoming easier. Some of the major problems I've found are: 1. Bringing the spirit of craving and competition into it. Taoist energy practices seem better when approached from a "making love perspective" rather than a "getting to the goal perspective". We may tend to want to dominate and control the energy like a tyrant, rather than yielding to it. 2. Relax, relax, relax. This spirit of craving can make us tense. I've found it more profitable to let go and open up. If you feel something, great. If not, great. A good meal should be tasted and savored. If you spend the time eating thinking of the next meal, or getting full, then what's the point? 3. Get into the body. Don't treat the body like a tool or an object. It is a living, organic thing in it's own right. 4. Too much or too little. On the one hand, there is a tendency to overdo it. Quality is more effective than quantity. It took me a long time to learn this. Also, expecting instant results without putting in the work. 5. Grounding. This is important for all aspects of meditation and energy work. If you don't have your feet firmly on the earth, there will be trouble. From my perspective, this means being to live and work as a normal, moral member of society. Energy work / meditation tend to bring to the fore some unpleasant seeds. If one can't cope with day-to-day living, doesn't have common sense or a grounding in the facts of the world, then these manifestations can be overpowering. Having a firm moral center is crucial as well. Just some observations.

How does one realize the truth?

The intellect can undo itself, if pushed hard enough. Most people don't push hard enough.

Marblehead, Why are you translating wu as mystery? Wu 無 means non-, no-, etc. Are you sure you don't mean hsuan 玄 or miao 妙?

The Chinese is going left to right: 至道, usually translated as Great Tao, can this also be translated, Great Ancestor? 唯嫌揀擇 Does the 唯 modify one, two, or three charcters? Or stand on its own?

I see that Chan and Tao are VERY similar. I notice that the Xin Xin Ming, the 100 Character Stele, and the Zuowang lun (坐忘論) point in the same direction.

My take so far: Arriving at the Tao is not difficult Just become disgusted with picking and choosing Only stop loving and hating True realization appears

Have a beer, but invite your emotions. Look at them closely. What are they, anyway? Where does the emotion occur? What's the difference between an emotion and a thought?

Who cares? Trees still bloom in the spring. If it is Mr. Yudelove, wouldn't it be more interesting to discuss points of practice?

I think this is an oversimplification, of both Taoism and Buddhism. First, traditionally in the Pali Canon, one is taught to meditate in the four positions of sitting, standing, lying down, and moving about. Moving meditation has been a part of Buddhism from the beginning. Many Buddhists practice qi gong and tai chi. Second, what you call Taoist practice seems to be mainly "Taoist health practices." The Tso-Wang Lun (Treatise on Abiding in Forgetfulness), for instance, doesn't talk about any of this. The Taoist criticism of Buddhism is usually that Buddhism focuses on Xing, while Taoists start on Ming and then cultivate Xing. It doesn't say forget the Xing! Third, to say the Buddhist way has little or nothing to do with thinking your way out of anything. It is about realizing truth, not thinking about it.

I was listening about this today, and actually the koan is "What is the sound of one hand?" This makes more sense.

I found this interesting article which explains many of the mysterious workings of the Taobums over the years. http://www.hsuyun.org/chan/en/features/out...eck-stages.html The short view is: there are four basic stages of spiritual development. The author noticed a trend in his psychotherapy practice: some people would become religious after therapy, and others less so. So he discovered the pattern of evolution: I. Selfish, self-centered, willing to lie, cheat, and steal. II. Fundamentalist view. Attached to the outward forms of religion. Ranges from light to extreme. III. Atheist/Agnostic/Skeptic. Questions things. Uses logic and reason. IV. Mystic, communal. All things are unified. Accordingly, the phases will increase in number, but those 2 steps ahead will not be understood. So now we can answer things like: Why can't the Taobums agree on even simple spiritual matters? Because we're all in different phases. Why do Taoists argue with Buddhists, and vice versa? Obviously some Phase II views, missing the forest for the trees (or attaching to the manifest over the transcendental) (or seeing the 10,000 things over the Tao). Why are the Buddhabums always arguing with Dwai about atman/anatta? Phase II views, whereas drawing analogies between Advaita and Buddhism is a phase IV activity. Phase II will never see it. Why are there atheists/agnostics here? They may be going through spiritual growth, from III - IV. Let the arguing begin. Or not. Whatever.

Tian Shi, The Ch'an masters of old warned their students against seeking a Buddha outside their own mind. If you want to find the answers to your questions, you have to look for them.

I really love this site. You can enter whole lines of text and see the translations. I've been using Kanji Networks for etymology. I'd love to find a better one, though.