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Whaaa? Do you mean to do something that goes against the will of your spirit? Do you have an example of this point? I'm not sure what you're trying to say...

I always thought of it as, intent is what your spirit intends to do. I intend to get fit and lose weight. My willpower is weak so i give up after a few days, my intent is still there but my willpower is weak. Weakness in willpower is due to weakened kidneys, exhaustion. The stronger your kidneys, the less intent you need, because you intent lightly and the willpower carries you through. If your willpower is weak, your spirit needs to be strong - there at work constantly reminding you of your direction.

Mmmmm. I think it's important to consider that these MMA fighters are Professional Fighters. That's what they do for a living. It's their full time job to train, fight and win money. They put their bodies through tremendous strain and most compete for a short period of time (Like professional football players) then retire. I'm not sure Tai Chi masters these days are the same. Perhaps in the warring states periods of China Tai Chi practitioners in the Army may be on the same sort of practice routine but i doubt so these days. Tai chi prepares the practitioner to always be switched on and ready for defense if somebody attacks. It's a lifelong journey. I remember my dad saying that back in the 70s and earlier there were many competitions between the eastern martial artists and western boxers, and the western boxers usually won. I think there are several factors contributing to this. Although it's true that most real Tai Chi masters have no pride and wouldn't fight in a competition. They probably pick rice in some tiny village or something and wouldn't put themselves in that type of danger just for money. But even still, these MMA guys are usually bigger, heavier and stronger than your typical tai chi guy. People may say size doesn't matter, it's agility and timing that makes tai chi so powerful, but regardless, weight does matter. They wouldn't have weight classes in martial art competitions if weight was meaningless. I've seen a pack of 4 - 6 tigers struggle and unable to beat an full sized elephant on David Attenborough.

This is a problem. On one hand a boy and grandmother has died, but on the other hand some others may have been cured of diabetes. So the world loses this technique that may cure diabetes for some, because now nobody will dare teach it because fear of being thrown in jail for 25 years..... and 2 have died because the technique failed them. You know i see amazing things on TV where western doctors can take lungs out of one dying patient and cut them and sew them smaller so they fit inside a child, then put them inside a child and sews them back up again, and after a few weeks or months i can't remember the child was running around! But I rekon their would have been quiet a few who died early through the same surgery that weren't shown on TV. So these teachers from the east who mean well need to learn the ways of the west, how to have responsibility for these things fall on the shoulders of extensively trained medical doctors. They are the ones (or moreover their training) who our western society gives their uttermost faith in with medical matters. They need to learn to work alongside these Medical Doctors so that we don't lose cures or alternative, often even more effective treatments It's something i am very mindful about in my practice, never to give advice where i'm overstepping my scope, and always have to tell clients to see their GP if they haven't already. From time to time a client may feel i have performed a miracle (only because everything else they've tried hasn't worked), and in their excitement they may feel they can stop their medications. I need to remind them all that they can only stop or change medications under supervision from the doctor... however often on these occasions i can see it in their faces, in their mind what the doctor did didn't work and what i did did, and they are ready to throw their meds in the bin, so in some instances i get them to sign something to say i have explained that they shouldn't stop their meds. I have to do it to cover my own bum.

There are so many different ways of healing, but you know the important part that everybody forgets? ... the wait... Slapping, stretching, rolling over muscles all do things, but unless you wait after doing them they don't do much. If a plant in a pot is sick, and you move it into the sun, in 1 minute nothing happens, so you move it to the shade, nothing happens, so you move it inside, nothing happens, then you put it on the roof and nothing happens, then put it back where it was to begin with (live your life the way you always have).... the plant stays the same. "IT DOESN'T WORK" we exclaim! If you watered the plant and left the plant in the sun for half a day it would probably stand up straight and blossom. We need to give our bodies chance to respond. After you stretch, slap or massage, just lay there and rest in stillness for just 5 minutes and let it take hold. Then go back to your activities and see if you feel any different. The rest is as important as the therapy.

I used to focus on the now, i think it's easier. Can also prepare for the future too, to avoid situations that emotionally trigger me. This way i could have the same reaction for any thought, it could just disappear. Going back and reliving everything that made you feel like shit.... gez that sounds like self punishment As i get older though i can see myself getting more in a habit of seeing the good in a bad situation so that it doesn't emotionally effect me.

Hi Kevin, I was wondering if i could check some of my TCM thoughts with you and see if they are sound or not. Also i have little dilemma at the bottom too if you know anything that may help... So eating lots of meat, dairy and say juices which have dense nutritional value, along with inner alchemy and building exercises like weights will cause / aggrivate kundalini syndrome? But wouldn't this also be the fastest way to develop that inner fire short term? however long term muscle building will slow because of excessive heat, hyperactivity and not enough energy reserved for healing / building the muscle tissues, instead it is all being expended outwardly through being overactive, sweating, and being anxious? So then what will cause the opposite of kunalini syndrome? Say that would be feeling sedated, mellow and even perhaps depressed? Lots of vegetables / fruit, perhaps a little juice, grains / potatoes, stretching and mantras? Is there anything else that can be done, or not done to increase the strength of this sedation? How about chilli? I know chilli warms and speeds up digestion, but does it burn kidney yin or just dry out lungs / large intestine? And with cardio exercises, say running or exercise bike. Would moderate amounts help remove phlegm, use up some excessive jing, or also help expel internal heat? Excessive amounts could deplete jing, increase phlegm because digestion becomes weaker through bodily exhaustion? What I find difficult is cooling and increasing the moisture in the body, especially in the upper jiaos. It's like putting moisture onto a hot pan that steams up instantly. However if i put everything into cooling myself down healing sounds / anapana / only stretching and walking & lots of fruits and veges, I can feel the moisture beginning to accumulate, but in the lower parts of the body. Trying to lift that moisture into the upper jiao where i really need it is difficult because 1. becoming more yin i feel more lazy and lose the motivation to consistently do it, and 2. trying to move the moisture with my mind creates heat, greatly reducing the cooling effect of the rising moisture. I feel predisposed to internal heat (i am liver dominant), and feel increased moisture in my body makes it easier for me to slow down and relax before i overexert myself, without becoming intoxicated, but it is so bloody hard to do it. Is just walking / stretching a better way to circulate the moisture? Are there other ways you could recommend?

Just do it until you feel tired. Then stay there some more. It's when you get tired that you start to get results. Muscles become weaker, legs start to shake, then you need to align with your bones so that you can hold the posture, otherwise your muscles can't hold you up, they are too tired. Like with tai chi, first the legs ache, then they shake, then they bake & then u know you've got it. Also practice against a wall first. Keep your back straight all against the wall. This will help develop good posture. Then come away from the wall a bit, as you get tired go back to the wall and test you are still straight. Back and forth like this until you know what straight feels like.

1. Good - Do it 2. Just standing and watching your body. Mantak Chia's (well at least it's in his book) embracing the tree stance is good. It will be on the internet if you search for it.

I think it's more about your personality. If you are a thinker, clever, etc, then the inner alchemy would probably appeal to you best, you would enjoy doing it more, but you would probably get better results from mantra type practices. For someone who is calmer, more relaxed and more physically orientated, mantra type practices would appeal more, but they would probably get better results from inner alchemy. It's a bit like physio exercises. Nobody likes to exercise their sore weak muscles, they want to show off with how much they can do with their strong healthy muscles. But this just puts them more out of balance. It's the weak muscles they need to strengthen..... similarly it's the weaker parts of the mind we need to exercise through meditation, so we need to do the practices we are not good at to bring balance..... If balance and health is what you seek....

36,000+ Posts Marblehead, you are a true wandering taoist. Your involvement in the forum would have allowed you to have seen what troubles and benefits people who come and go realize from the tao from over a decade. You are a true warrior, through life experience in the army and through talking the talk with the non-fighters. God bless u and your commentaries.

Is an electron equal to a proton? It's the polar opposite, but equal in charge. Equal but not the same At current in Australia we have gays and others lobbying for "equal rights". They propose that marriage should be equal and that we should change the wording of the current law so that marriage can be man and woman or man & man or woman & woman. I accept it's equal, however i don't accept it is the same. I propose that a new, equal law should be created for those who are gay. But the gay community seem intent on having one law for everybody. While personally it doesn't worry me too much, i am well aware that there would be many who would feel sick about the prospect that a hetro couple are seen as the same as a gay couple. I'm sure as time goes on we will see who's rights are more important. Sooo, sexual energy is not the same as spiritual energy, it's completely different. But it's "equal". Equal in that sexual energy can make a baby, and spiritual can't, but spiritual can give a grander life purpose but sexual can't. Perhaps if the two are blended together all meaning is lost. Then they really are the same, yet neither is spectacular in their own right. While something is gained, something is lost.

Mmmm a nice way of putting it that i didn't consider. Thanks!

I'm not sure it's glorified, apart from perhaps in movies (mainly American it seems). In real life nobody likes violence. It's like killing prey. I frequently spearfish, kill fish, gut then eat them. I make sure i eat all the fish (my chinese wife even boils the heads to make soup sometimes), or use the left overs for burley for the next dive. I remember seeing lots of fish and crabs in 2's, obviously with their partners, and killing one definitely does make me feel a little uncomfortable. But i bring the fish/crabs home to my family, we eat and enjoy them and the uncomfortable feeling is short lived. There was a time when i felt uncomfortable about sticking up for myself too. I would get trodden on into the ground because I was too nice. The problem was, when enough was enough, I had to make such a huge outburst to be heard and then i was the bad guy. It's better to keep these things in check. Little fights, small amounts of violence and everything runs smooth. Try to escape violence and it ends up catching up with us. Why do you feel violence is a failure? I agree with all of that Resist and rest for when a good opportunity arises

I think our sense of self is a real thing, and yes it bestows meaning to our existence and spiritual development. For the truth seeker most certainly, but even the overly compassionate one's body makes up part of the environment they consider that is themselves. But it's only a real thing because we make it a real thing. In one view there are no illusions. Without meaning there would be only life.

I agree 100% . And I'd say of all the people half are good, and in truth, they're only good half of the time..... as are the bad ones. That is, after considering the delayed destruction the good people cause and the new opportunities the bad people create. I think the art of peace is a long winded and good for old folks. The meek will inherit the earth, but only when the strong let them. So they both get it 50% of the time, the strong had to fight, the meek didn't. Like fighting? Take it. Dislike fighting, then you'll have to wait your turn. I think it no surprise that it's the OLD wise "master" saying that peace is the best way, and everyone should follow the way of peace and love, when it means the old geezer gets a greater slice of the pie sooner by convincing you to give him his share in exchange for that warm fuzzy feeling you'll get in your heart. The master, standing frail insists they are so spiritual that they "want for nothing" but can't stop trying their best to 'enlighten' you and convert you. Likewise the warriors arguments that we are at war so that we can have peace makes perfect sense when trying to convince the old wise "master" that they do infact want the same things..... but what is in dispute is the pie, or everything but the pie .... which then leads back to the pie (depending on who's side you listen to). So what then causes peace or war? A desire to change. The desire of the warriors to escape the misery of constant death and immediate suffering, or the desire of the peacemakers to escape the impending doom of ALL that draws ever near due to an increasing scarcity of resources triggering a slowly increasing global suffering. So then we can sit and be, enjoying the fruits (and dealing with the sufferings) of both peace and war, without either being overbearing and causing too much pain. But then this perfection becomes too boring and change is initiated once again as the left wingers become greedy and want more for everybody, and the right wingers become more selfish and want more for themselves. The adapt spiritualist's arguments and ways of discussing things are so cunning, yet still contain a thread of truth that the attempted convertee can relate and under the continuous bombardment of sneaky and cunning promises, the heavy truthful person begins to convert. They then spend years battling with their inner belief system under faith of the good intensioned spiritualist, until one day it clicks, yet the grass was no greener on the other side. At this point with the years of wisdom gained their physical prowess has been lost and yes, this spiritual path now seems right... However was it right for them before when physically in their prime? perhaps not. But conflict is necessary and a part of life. To not get into conflict is only to delay conflict or move the conflict to somewhere else. Being able to physically or emotionally defend yourself shouldn't be a back-up. Equally one should not rely on physically or emotionally attacking another person when it's not needed. It may simply not be worth injuring somebody over a parking lot for one day, but what happens if you have to walk from down the road to work because somebody takes your parking spot day after day? No? How about when they start taking more of your resources... how far do you go before you defend? ... or how little must one care for their resources before you can morally take them? You may console yourself that the walk from down the street does you good, that you can more easily learn to become a breatharian when your lunch money is stolen... but where does it end. It ends until you get pushed into another job (perhaps better or worse) or you push back. There is a time for peace, a time for war, and a time for doing nothing. That's a truth and twisting it in any which way won't change that truth.

That's well said too... "I like some of" .... "I dislike this whole"... I think deciding what's right or what's wrong is less important than deciding what i like or what i don't like, so long as the decision is taken from a point of experience not assumption. People seem to be drawn to (and like) things that balance them, so then those predispositioned to focus on the self get the most benefits from practices that help lose themselves, and those that have lost themselves gain more by focusing on themselves. I think aspects of different cultures leads to the type of popular practices in those regions. Feeling my way through, from practices i've borrowed from different paths selfless to self centered I can know whats best for me at any particular time. Clouds float along, they have little root, little sense of self. It floats along where the world takes it. When the cloud turns into rain it consolidates, has more root, more sense of self then knows where it should be going. Down it goes following gravity to the ground, following the shortest path to the sea. But equally true is it that some people's ideas of self are different to other ideas of self, because of stronger or weaker aspects of individual personalities. My experience of self is much different to anybody else's. Then, surely it must be true that a person who has no-self can have a different experience of no-self than somebody else depending on the environment they were in, since they become part of the environment. Consider the possible experiences of people who embrace themselves, or those who aim to lose themselves in some of these instances: Being part of a loving caring family, Being single and alone, Being a slave, Being a leader or follower. So then is trying to convince others of something a waste of time? Perhaps the best we can do for others is offer good opportunities and let them choose what they like.

Mmmm I dunno, compassion feels like unconditional love for me?

*Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself I like this one. Change the world, Change myself, don't change the world, don't change myself. Be changed by the world or resist any change. Do so passionately, or without passion. I sound like master Oogway from kungfu panda

I would imagine you are more balanced than that. I think unconditional love needs to be balanced with self preservation and insight, fruits of the other 2 treasures.

I have tried applying inner alchemy / meditation principles to real world situations and get amazed every time I find a new application for it, most recently I have been applying it to conversation. I have been watching the energy and flow of conversations, as well as dynamics within group conversations and where group attention is directed. Spending a little concentration on what is actually being said, but more rather on the tonality and facial expressions of people during conversation. It's especially handy when people are talking rubbish that i'm not interested in listening to, but i want to direct them or lead them in a certain way, even if it is just to make them feel happy and feel that i'm interested in what they have to say. I've found it's also great for sales, just saying the positive and omitting the negative to lead them down the path to a sale - while still being ethical, convincing them to pay for a service they really need and will be greatly benefited by receiving. Having the calm to carefully choose words, and repeatedly having similar conversations I have whittled down what to say and what not to say a great deal. My sales skills, while i'm still no master, are tons better than what they were (before i absolutely sucked at it). Some specific things i've noticed are, giving attention to those who want attention in a group, and giving them the type of attention they want. When somebody isn't interested in having a conversation with me, at the first instance i stop and direct my attention to somebody else, and once harmonizing their desire for attention (either me speaking or me listening), the first person then often begins to desire my attention. It has become a playing of energy with others, where what has been said becomes less important somewhat as to how the energy flows. Of course i need to have some idea of the actual words being used too, or the whole thing can come crashing down real fast, but i am finding my new understanding of conversation is greatly improving my interactions with people. Much more than crafting the perfect dialog, adjusting my conversational energy to the needs of those around me seems to have people agreeable much more easily. I remember watching a video with Milton, the Grandfather of hypnotism and seeing group dynamics on another, much more advanced level, but i didn't know how to do it, or how he did it. I feel i'm beginning to learn the basics now and it's very fascinating. So i'm wondering, is there any other things you've noticed with conversations, or any other real world applications of what you've realized through meditation that you would like to share?

Saw this video of a lightening strike captured in 7207 frames per second and slowed down. It seems to me that the earth, gods, universe, or whatever is just as unsure about how to achieve what it want's to achieve as we are. This lightening strike looks to me it is discharging it's self through trial and error. No divine sense of knowing or anything... ? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxQt8ivUGWQ

In trying to more deeply understand peoples interpretations of love, I'd like to ask in a forum where most people have an interest in cultivating love some hard questions and check out variance in the answers.... I wonder if you think it's ok to kill rats when they are in plague proportions (knee deep in your back garden)? Would you ever put down poison if your house was infested with ants. Would you fumigate (or get somebody else to) if termites were eating your house and making it unsafe to live in? Or would you just try to sell it to somebody else? What would us spiritual people do in these situations How loving would we be to these pests, or even.... enemies? If a dog was run over and whimpering while really messed up, would you shoot it to put it out of it's misery or leave it in pain, perhaps for hours, until it's last breath? Would you be cruel to be kind? Would you be kind while inflicting cruelty? Or do you see it differently? Would you try to avoid the truth and not answer? Thanks for your time

Ah both fantastic answers. Thanks, I like them and will use them at some point

I don't really have any real enemies. There are some people I don't really like, and i probably avoid them for the most part, as I don't see any point on trying to mix things that don't mix. When in contact I try to harmonize without devaluing myself. Yeah, i like that, 'attempts to develop loving feelings', that makes sense and i agree with it. But loving the enemy? Mixing oil and water? For that one needs an emulsifier. So when an emulsifier exists, like a common goal that my enemy and I can work together towards, we can easily mix, but without - it is working against the tao..... thats how i see it anyhow. I don't take the view it's ultimately yolked because although in many cases it may be, there are many instances where it is not. So now we have two types of love? perfect and imperfect? That's why I choose truth over love, because I know where i stand and i don't need to bend the truth. However as i'm getting older truth seeking is tiring work and i'm starting to see more benefits of love