.broken.

Yep. Did this for at least 6 months some years back. A large part of me still feels very much drawn to the set of postures... they brought so many benefits! But, boy, are they tough!! Here's a short list of some of the benefits I experienced: - opening of the throat chakra - opening of the leg channels; this resulted in being lighter on my feet yet more grounded at the same time - better sleep - improved mood - clearer vision; brighter colours, more detail, etc. Keep up your practice and you will see the benefits for yourself Love, light and life, James

Not consciously brother. I know London well, lived there for 12 years, and am also Christian (of sorts). Have a sheikh as a teacher now. You'll be able to do the same Blessings, James

Would help if I read previous posts That's a good link sinno!

I'm no expert but I am pretty certain that most sufis would require that you find someone willing to teach you in person, a sheikh at the very least. Sufism is not an easy path and requires vast amounts of determination, abstinence and prolonged periods of fasting. One requires direction from a sheikh as some of the techniques are vastly powerful and you need someone experienced in these to guide you through your practices. There are stories of sufis who have flipped, quite literally, and ended up mentally unstable. In most cases this is perhaps due to a misunderstanding of the teachings and/or irregular tuition. Having said that... There are some sources of information out there. Most sufi practices involve recitations of Qur'anic verses alongside special instructions on breathing. A quick google found me this http://www.nurmuhammad.com/Dwnlds/StepStepMuraqabahIllistrations.pdf Most practices, as far as my limited knowledge of this subject goes, consist of dhikr (zikr). Remembrance of God. Hu, Allah is a simple and common one. Another well known one would be La Ilaha Illa Allah (there is no God but God). Finding ourselves a genuine sufi sheikh to teach you might not be easy. Keep up your spiritual practices and when the student is ready, he will appear inshallah Much love to you brother, James

Guess it depends entirely on your objectives, either first thing in the morning or in your cultivation. I do the following at the start of the day: - lie in bed, unmoving, and remember my dreams/travels (moving links me to the waking world and hinders this process) - I sit up and put my feet on the floor and breathe through them and thank the Earth for letting me connect - I take a sip of luke warm water to start the digestive system - I stand up and let the blood flow & heart adjust to the waking day - if I've woken up early enough I may go for a jog (20 mins), thereafter I would do some yogic stretches (not a fan of doing stretches unless the body has warmed up) - I shower to clean the body and the aura - I give thanks to the water for its assistance - I then do some qigong Alas, I'm usually rushed during most weekday mornings so I don't have time for the energy to settle before breakfasting. I also do deep breathing on the bus, as well as internal mantra recitation. Hope this helps in some way... Peace, James

Hello folks, One sensation in particular has been prominent in my practices of late and I come here looking for your input. I rarely frequent TTB any more as I have settled on what practices I would like to advance with and find myself with little time to come here to discuss them and other routines/ways of living. However, there are many here with years of experience beyond my own and who have a deeper understanding of energy than myself - not the mention the vast amounts of intellectual knowledge many of you have. It is this that I greatly value about this community, which is why I find myself here once more. Of late, when I practice my qigong set from the KAP level 1 course, I experience what I can only describe as a refreshing breeze, or perhaps a small fresh water spring gently erupting inside my head, where the two hemispheres start (if one were travelling up from the spine). It's cool in nature, gentle, cleansing and nourishing. It has happened without fail every day this past week... As time has passed, the sensation increases in 'strength', or perhaps 'clarity' would be a better word. My knowledge of Doaist/yogic texts is sparse and I am keen to learn more about the phenomenon. Is this something that you have heard of/experienced before? What can you tell me about it? I look forward to reading your responses. Much love, James

Hello cat Very intriguing quotes, and I am glad that you brought these to my attention. I recall Dr Yang writing about 'the valley', the area between the two hemispheres, and your reference to this renews my interest in his writings - time for me to dig them out of the bookshelves me thinks. My own instinct is that my right hemisphere is lacking is energetic wiring, so to speak, and this spring at the top of my spine is gushing forth the necessary to bring it in balance with the left. I will ponder on the quotes you provided. Thank you ever so. Must admit, it would be bizarre if I'm experiencing something referenced in the Dao de Ching!! Stranger things have happened I guess... Ah yes, the practice with the dubious stories surrounding it. Much like anything else, eh As long as the practice bears fruit for you, brother, that is all that matters. KAP is very clear that it's objective is to develop the energetic body to a point where the kundalini awakenings and then go about ensuring it's permanent residence within. Your teacher, Max I assume, says that such a flow appearing in the head is a good sign. Pardon my ignorance, but a good sign of what? This is what I sought in my previous post and I apologise for not being clear enough. Perhaps more specifically, what is the objective of Kunlun? I am well versed and aware of not dwelling on sensations. I must thank you for bringing this to the attentions of those who read this thread without such awareness, as it is indeed exceedingly valuable advice. Many experiences and sensations have come to me throughout my spiritual career and one most certainly learns to let go after going through hell and back. Scars are made to heal and experiences are meant to be learnt from and eventually dropped. The sensation I get is not viscous, though it does feel healing and a little cool. As my sensation culminates at the top of the spine my guess is that the energies involved are rather different than those you experienced in your knees. Very good to read your story about how taiji is helping you, my friend Perhaps I should start taking it up again to fix my runner's knees!? Sounds very akin to what I experience. I came to the realisation today that I can re-ignite the sensation by relaxing the tract/muscles at the very back of my mouth; the passage leading up into the back of the nasal. It is this that releases the fountain of cooling, healing loveliness Mind you, this is not to say that the girdle muscles weren't involved as these have been releasing a lot of tension of late... to the point where I realise that I still don't know how to breathe properly! This has made me think that the spring in my head is perhaps the culmination of simply clearing the energy channels in the spine and learning how to breathe, or pump, the energy upwards. Well said. Dwelling on these things to an unnecessary degree can lead to great distractions along one's path. However, if this does happen then it is simply a lesson they need to comprehend before being able to move on. Ignorance of sensations is just as dangerous and leads one to a similar lesson. Anyway, this energy is giving me a cool head As above Much love to you all, James

Thank you wrenter. I've had a look and searching these forums for the words chi, qi, head and brain turn up innumerable results. I guess I was being kinda lazy and hoping that someone would come to me with an answer Peace and love to you too, brother. I think I know what you mean by "taking a shower from the inside out." It's the very reason why I do qigong. When I come home from work I always spend about 30 minutes doing some qigong to 'clean' myself I used to find that taiji sessions had a similar, though far more thorough effect. Now, harmony... I do like the sound of that! Appreciate your input. Awesome. I must admit that the irony that earth qi is like water made me smile My ability is not to standard yet where I can summon yang or yin energy at will, though I am starting to realise - thanks to your post - what practices beckon their presence. (In my case, breath retention for yang and qigong for yin in case anyone's wondering.) I am grateful for your words. They affirm that my daily routine is balanced between both yin and yang energetic practices and I find this comforting. Balance is important to me. Thank you. Aromas, eh? Sounds like 7th chakra stuff to me. If I ever get to a stage where such phenomena occur I'll certainly be looking for more advice Could you please elaborate what you mean by "a good indication" - indication of what? And could I also enquire as to what, in brief, your form of practice constitutes? Please pardon my nosiness, I merely ask for the sake of comparison, to see in what manner your practices may be similar to mine. KAP is one of a number of methodologies I indulge in. Many thanks and much love to you all, James

Apple cider vinegar is what I would recommend. A cap full in a glass of warm water twice a day for the first fortnight, and once a day thereafter. Check out various juice recipes too - there are many which aleviate the symptoms of arthritis. Here's one I've just found to hand: 1/4 of a grapefruit 1/4 of a pineapple 1 apple 1 small handful of blackberries 1 inch slice of cucumber 1/2 inch fresh ginger All credit to Jason Vale for the recipe. B vitamins and folic acid help to relieve stiffness in the joints. The recipe has a good supply of B vitamins and folic acid. The bromeline in the pineapples and the acids in grapefruits also are of great benefit to certain arthritic conditions. Prob a good idea to cut down on dairy, oranges, refined sugars and excessive alcohol & meat consumption. Another book by Sarah Merson recommends the following herbs/foods: anise apple artichoke asparagus black cohosh cabbage cayenne pepper chickweed chilli cider vinegar(!) elderflower fennel flaxseed horseradish liquorice millet nutmeg papaya pineapple salmon st john's wort strawberry turmeric ... Hope this helps Love, James

Superb Pretty sure Glenn Morris talked about doing something similar when going through his late life myopia. I do it occasionally when I've been staring at the computer screen too long. I open the eyes once they are cupped and breathe the warming energy from your palm chakras in. The effect is almost immediate. I would imagine she didn't do it any longer than 5/10 minutes...? Peace, James

Thank you Mikaelz - a beautiful piece. Love, light and happiness to you, James

For what it's worth, I am aware that some Western masters have talked about accessing the Akashic records. Samael Aun Woer was one such master and he wrote extensively on various esoteric subjects... He does make reference to both Egyptian meditations methods and the history of Atlantis. He wrote over 50 books, however, and having only read one or two I am in no position to inform you any further :/ James

Amazing! This first happened to me some years ago when I was meditating on my lower dan tien. A shaft of white light descended from my crown, but surprised me so much that I never got it again. Not until yesterday that is. A jovial ganesh gave me a lotus flower which floats above my crown and it's roots of glistening white pearls delve into my body. I can reach the stage again today by clearing my mind, or I can force it by visualising the lotus and calling his name. It's beautiful. Half tempted to paint it and I am still at the stage of drawing stick men Slight pressure in the top of my head every now and then too... Love, light and happiness, James

Quite the opposite happens to me. If I do my energy practices and meditations I will usually dream something. On the odd occasion I may even receive a teaching in my dreams. Have you asked your instructor about this? (S)he may have some answers... James

Perhaps recommendations of incense, sacred texts/symbols and crystals might help your friend's situation?

Totally agree. I was baptised Catholic, went to Catholic school and I was an altar boy for years. Didn't believe any of it at the time and just did it to keep my mum happy. I now meditate under the guidance of a sheikh, do qigong, study taiji, attend gnostic rituals, heal the one's I love and study the texts of every religion under the sun. However, your mother's approach is both controlling and uninformed. In your shoes I would make the necessary stand. Brush up on Non-Violent Communication, or Compassionate Communication, techniques to approach her if need be. Peace, James

Just wanted to give kudos to JK in particular for mentioning the benefit of raw foods and their ability to allow the mind/body to heal. Further kudos to those who mentioned other dietary healing methods. Watch Food Matters and Food, Inc. for further education on this matter. Moonbar, if you're in the UK and fancy a trip to London for a healing session then I am confident that my teacher can heal you. Drop me a message if you're interested. Peace, James

I'm afraid I have little knowledge of transgender issues but, for what it's worth, I believe that your current psychological condition is perpetuating a need for your to get rid of your penis. Would I be correct in assuming this? You've taken, or are perhaps taking hormones, of which the desired affect is to become more feminine. Needless to say, the presence of your penis is a constant reminder that you are not what you wish. This must make you feel very uncomfortable with your body and perhaps causes you to feel down when you think about it. There are two steps that you could take in such circumstances. Firstly, you could search for ways of ridding yourself of your protruding member or, secondly, you could take a look at your state-of-mind and analyse whether you think this your association to your body is a healthy stance to adopt. The prior suggestion could cost you both a lot of time and money. It may be worth spending some time wondering, however, about how you think you would feel if your wish came true? Would you perhaps rejoice at the fact it was missing to only later lament your loss? The latter suggestion would mean to look at how other people relate to their bodies, to talk to others about how they feel. Such undertakings could give you the chance to develop insight into your own body and how you relate to it. I did a very quick google and came across this website which may or may not be of use: http://www.genderpsychology.org/ I could be wrong but I would hazard a guess that you are going through the adolescent stage of human development. If this is the case you must understand that your day-to-day life as you know it now will settle once you reach your early twenties. I do not mean that you will have settled with a house, mortgage and all the other stuff the comes with this society. What I mean is that your hormones will settle as will the development of your body. Your body is yours to do with what you will but to take such a dramatic step during adolescence could seriously impact your health and well-being less than a decade down the line. I will applaud you, however, for doing your research. Keep reading and keep acquiring knowledge around the subject. The spiritual teachings which you have touched upon in your post take years of work and discpline. If you wish to adopt such high spiritual aspirations then may you be blessed upon your path, my friend. On a side note, there was a BBC TV series by the name of Tribe. In one episode the indigenous men of some far away jungle would invert their penises so they did not get damaged on their ventures around the jungle. I thought such an approach may be of interest to you. Wishing you well in life, love and happiness, James

Personally I rarely can be arsed to do anything to my water... Just run it through a filter. Occasionally I will charge it with energy (breathe in, collect energy from crown to heart, hold breath for it to intensify and blast it out through my hands to the water) or I will ask the Divine to bless it - sometimes both. I did read this, however, and it made me think of this thread... Peace be with you all, James

As much as I loath the materialism and the hypocracy that surrounds St Valentine's Day, I cannot deny that love is something to be celebrated and, Scotty, I applaud you for your intention. Love is extraordinary. That which enables compassion, that which frees us from our imprisonment to the ego(s), that which makes us truly human. "Love is the summum of wisdom. Love nourishes itself with love. The Eternal Youth is love." Venerable Master Samael. And a strange something from the beautiful country of Scotland: A Red, Red Rose by Robert Burns O my luve's like a red, red rose. That's newly sprung in June; O my luve's like a melodie That's sweetly played in tune. As fair art thou, my bonnie lass, So deep in luve am I; And I will love thee still, my Dear, Till a'the seas gang dry. Till a'the seas gang dry, my Dear, And the rocks melt wi' the sun; I will luve thee still, my Dear, While the sands o'life shall run. And fare thee weel my only Luve! And fare thee weel a while! And I will come again, my Luve, Tho' it were ten thousand mile! Love, light and happiness to you all, James

Yes, I've experienced this before. Alcohol relaxes the body greatly and allows for greater energy flow than during 'sober' times. There are dangers, however, as I'm sure you'd expect. Other than the effect of the poison for your body, of which I am sure you are already aware, the main danger is that of the man's tendency to succomb to folly when the intoxication hits. What do I mean by this? Emotions are greatly amplified and the inexperienced drunk becomes a slave to them. (Those of higher alcohol tolerance and of great experience in this field can learn to gain control of this element.) Rather than perhaps being in the present moment or working constructively with the energy, one adds fuel to the fire of emotion and this may have a destructive effect on one's physical body, energetic body, psychological landscape or one's relationships with other beings. It is the blessing of being an autonomous consciousness that gives you the freedom to experiment with this as you wish. You are your own man after all and your body is yours to do with what you will. I do have some experience in this matter and will offer the following advice: Do your research into the effects of alcohol. Forewarned is forearmed. You'll need to know how to attain a quick recovery (e.g. amino acid replacement, salt, vitamin C, hydration, naps to recover lost REM sleep, etc.) and there are other fun things to discover such as the effects of other drugs when combined with alochol (coffee is a volatile one ). Similarly, do your research when it comes to spiritual practices. I personally wouldn't recommend "spanking the monkey" as this would lead to a loss of vital energies and put a temporary hold on spiritual works. Qi can certainly help with the detoxification process both whilst inebriated and upon recovery thereof. I would recommended that you do some gentle practices during the recovery period to help regain vitality. Do some genuine psychological work on yourself. To think that drink is the key, however infrequent, to getting the "shit out" is a complete falacy. Drink acts as a distraction to the matter at hand and only holds off what needs to be confronted for a temporary period. Would you not rather face your "shit" when you are well and healthy rather than recovery from yseterday's drunken haze? Or perhaps your's is a matter of letting go and enjoying yourself because you find live to serious and responsibility a burden... Whatever the need behind getting drunk, find it and analyse it well. Getting drunk isn't a problem, it is our attachment to it that is. The above is the opinion I have adopted after my experiences in such antics. If you find anything useful in it then take it on board. Some spiritual masters used drink as an aid to their practices (e.g. Dorje Dradul) but rarely, if ever, to the point of inebriation. May your path be blessed and your spiritual work most fruitful, James

Haven't been here for a while but thought I'd add my two cents, so to speak. If it came to you in a dream then you should consider yourself lucky. My understanding is that such teachings are transmitted from other beings and manifest in the subconscious of a person with a corresponding 'frequency' thus allowing for the teaching to appear, if you will, in one's slumber. Whether you know this being in their physical form is irrelevant; such method of transmission allows for one to have teachers/students without the need for them to find you, or vice versa. The mudra probably felt different the following day because the energy of it developed. It's perhaps more likely that it was the peculiarity of the mudra being performed in public or the energy that it transduced/manipulated that caused the lady to look - as opposed to her look generating some hocuspocus (your average member of the public has little energy capabilities, in my experience at least). Now, to address the matter of secrecy, one should not fear doing one's practices in public, unless one is doing something far beyond the acceptance of the puritanical aftermath that still perpetuates throughout 'Christian' societies - sexual practices would be an obvious example. Spiritual practices are in their nature a very personal thing, that is something no-one can deny, and their existence is necessary for the development of energies/virtues/soul/spirit or whatever one's spiritual tradition elicits. It is this very reason, however, that means that one should never neglect their practices whether in public or not. Spiritual work is of utmost importance and the petty whines of the ego(s) should not be fed. Ideally it will be a 24 hours a day mission and joy. (Needless to say, how far you take your spiritual work is dependant entirely on your own motivations/aspirations... There's plenty of hobbyists out there.) Do not be mistaken that I cannot advocate telling everyone, arguably anyone, what you have been taught. Teachings are transmitted from teacher to student for the sole purpose of being used by the student to develop their being for the benefit of all living creatures. It is for you and no one else. If someone is worthy to receive it then you will know in your heart. Until that time, brother, keep up the practice and see where it takes you Love, light and happiness, James

And, alas, I just spent about ten minutes catching up on what was - on the whole - pointless jibes. I wish I was enough of an arse to tell you where to go, but I just feel sorry for you instead bro. Take it easy and rest that wrist. Maybe once it gets used again you'll have less energy to waste on this board. Love, light and happiness, James

By the great mystic that was William Blake