johndoe2012

I suggest you look into subpersonalities. It has already helped me to tone down inner conflicts in just a few days of work. I think your problem is not so much spiritual as suffering in the Buddhist sense, but more from a psychological issue. A short list of common subpersonalities: The protector/controller: Consists of that part of us which tries to fit into the parents and what they want. It notices what works and what does not work, what pleases and what does not please. It learns how to protect our vulnerability. The critic: This is one which tells us we have got it wrong. It is extremely acute, and notices everything which could make us feel rotten about ourselves. The pusher: This is the one which tells us what we have not done the chores, written the letter, done the exercises. [...] As soon as we cross an item off the top of the list, the Pusher will add one to the bottom. There are many more subpersonalities than listed above. If you have any inner conflict, it is probably because of two subpersonalities fighting. Ask all your subpersonalities these questions: * what do you look like? * how old are you? * what kind of situations bring you out? * what is your general approach to the world? * what is your basic motive for being there? * what have you got to offer? * what are your blocks to full functioning? * what would happen if you took over completely? * what helps you grow? * how do you relate to women/children/men? I hope you find it helpful.

so now Taoism has more precepts than Buddhism? Sorry, I don't believe it

yes, I think if one goes astray, it is because of too little doing metta of one way or the other. My wishing the best for all beings each morning is the best part of my practise and sets the mood for the day.

what I quoted here, I totally agree. The distinction between teacher and student is artificial, but some times useful for who need it. Not everybody does.

that sounds very nice in theory but this can only be achieved through cultivation, not just saying this consciously, because 95% of what you do is done by the unconscious. That's why holding to various precepts will only work at the superficial level. Regarding Native American shamanism there are no teachers here, so what you say is void, that particular knowledge can only be found in books in my situation. True that they all point to the same moon but sometimes you need various approaches.

Does this book describe Native American techniques? If not, could anyone recommend books on the above subject?

this performance by Jenny Lamb is very good IMHO http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VjcAxY_xzQ

very nice! obrigado!

chakra, you could try without the warm-up. In fact I found the FP meditations to be warming up the body in themselves without a separate warm-up exercise.

Regarding the DVD this is from an email from Sifu Jenny: "The DVD contents: 1. Ten Essential Qigong Exercises 2. Spontaneous Adjustment Qigong (Yi gong level 1) 3. Opening Channels Exercises 4. Tapping Qigong 5. Strike wall with back 6. The best time to practice 7. Plus extra bonus material On the DVD is what I teach at my seminars. Of course, having a teacher present is the best option, but you can learn what I teach from the DVD. I also offer retreats. You can see what they include from the description on my website."

I'll answer from my own experience, since Sifu Terry will be away for some time. When I don't have that much time I do a very quick warm-up, warming up the knees and then circling the arms forward, then backward. Sifu Terry mentioned somewhere that one do not need to that much of a warm-up when one has done lot of "gong-fu". I think he is correct. Warming up is helpful in creating increased blood flow, especially in the morning. Monk Gazing a Moon shouldn't hurt in the back. I only experienced a "internal massage"-like feeling in my shoulders, not real pain.

funny, you should ask; yesterday I felt really compelled to check out African percussion. I really like the primal sound, it makes you go into no-thought in no time

Any benefits compared to Chinese energetic exercises?

I think articles like these can help get you moving and question your beliefs. However more work is needed to have experiential knowledge, aka wisdom.

Focusing and similarities between it and vipassana as taught by Goenka

regarding that book, you can dig out the methods from it, but probably you should read Discover your subpersonalities instead. Rowan also recommends Inner work for working with these personalities. Personally from my short reading of "Subpersonalities" it seems to be a good approach to solve inner conflicts.

I don't think Wang Liping has written a book? Do you mean Opening the Dragon Gate: The Making of a Modern Taoist Wizard? Probably doesn't contain any secrets...

thanks cat. Initially I had a bit of aversion to the suggestion of a book with psychological self-help exercises but then I looked within and found that all methods should apply in self-healing. What's your view on transactional analysis?

Source, please? It doesn't sound like Buddhism to me.

Where do you get this idea from? Buddhism for me is about practical methods to achieve awakening and stop suffering at the core. I'm not sure what precisely in the results of Buddhist practise you dislike? At a practical level it just about seeing the world objectively instead of getting attached to your experiences. There are no authorities in Buddhism. What you perceive is your reality just as it is not as it should be. Regarding the article: Anatta (no-self) is the correct term and not ego. Personally I find my own limited experience of no-self is that I'm not separate from the world. I'm just a bunch of vibrations and sensations arise without my doing so they cannot be me, whatever "me" means.

My experience with the FP energy and vol 4 is that the long form has not shown its expression yet so much as a stand alone exercise and in the other meditations and that's with about 5 months of doing vol 1 + 2. However I'm doing vol 4 in the morning where my sensitivity is lower than in the evening. I'm pretty sure that the effects will come just as they came after about 1 month of doing Monk Serves Wine. Patience is necessary. My personal favorite at the moment is Monk Gazing at Moon from vol 1. I wouldn't miss this for the world It seems that you can explore each FP exercise for a long time to discover its subtleties.

If you are interested in the power of the mind you should read the Seth books. There are some books on facebook.

I kinda agree with on this however knowing that it could be a play of my mind. I have studied my mind lately and found that people who I really did see as having so many negative aspects suddenly didn't had them anymore. I was quite baffled to see this change of perception. So at this stage I try not to listen to my thoughts so much, silencing the inner judge and just be.

ha ha, yes, maybe, let's see welcome back to TTB by the way, I gotta read your personal practise section

thanks for the link to the video. The way he spoke reminded me of Bruce Frantzis in his description of the water method, by the way. Maybe it is because they have let go of so much tension that they seem so relaxed