laughingblade

This! Monkey mind rules in the playpen of all possibilities. There's surely no way to effectively evaluate practise 'A' if still spending hours on practise 'B' and 'C'. Change one variable at a time. YaMu's Stillness-Movement is powerful. I attended a workshop 18 months ago, and put in 100 days practise. In his book he says "Stillness-Movement Qigong must be taught by a teacher who can project energy-based information", so the transmission is critical. It's benign, Michael's intentions seem absolutely genuine, and I'm grateful to have it. He gives it generously and it really does change things. It's worth noting that once the Fire is Lit it stays lit: I'd not done any sitting at all (let alone S-M or GOT) for about 9 months until recently, yet within 30secs of my backside touching the cushion the movement kicked in (without having initiated it). Rich

The first Mrs GMP? I think I may have gone out with her sister for a while in 1972.

Cool! You'll be my first "people who see dead people" person with practise of their own. I'm cynical about it as it's another thing I can't verify for myself, and mostly what dead people have to say seems random and prosaic. And of course there's plenty of opportunity for scamming the punters. with cultivation practises I can do stuff and see what happens, which seems far more sensible. I see you're and old sannyasin too. Howcome you're not teaching neo-advaita like everybody else? ...just trying to strike a happy medium... Rich

KH was one of Blavatsy's hidden Himalayan masters from whom she received guidance. After a while several other Theosophist high-ups also began to hear from him... it was all rather competitive, and rather mucky. The history of Theosophy isn't particularly inspiring. It's gotta be tricky to distinguish between a genuine astral connection or channel, and one's own psyche or imagination. Occam's razor may apply. When I came across the "I see dead people" people I always wondered why they never actually had a spiritual or cultivation practise of their own...

I'm interested too! Anybody in the Glastonbury area would be well-advised to check out the Stanton Drew stone circles too. Near Chew Magna just south of Bristol. Moi babbers. Rich

It's never too late. Start now. There's no better time. More practically: I'm 51 and I've done various practises over 30+ years. I find when I take a break I need a while to get back to experiencing real benefits, but they are there to be had. I think it's a matter of simple practises, not rushing, and allowing thoughts to settle, body to relax, channels to open... I'd recommend Tai Chi, basic Qigong(8 pieces of brocade, 6 healing sounds, inner smile kinda thing), standing. Microcosmic orbit is often put forward as a first step, but you might want to leave it a little while. If all else confuses, then can I recommend The Barefoot Doctor (Stephen Russel) book Handbook for the Urban Warrior? Simple and inspiring. Rich

Um, no. Isn't this just a basic false analogy? Just because two phenomena are described in layman terms using the same loose language doesn't mean that they are the same phenomenon. Using similar analogies doesn't mean that the referents are identical. Rich

+1 this is the kind of thing I'd pay real money for. Thanks joeblast & snowmonki for these insights. Rich

Well thank you right back Mr Trunk. Love your work

I had a vasectomy about 2.5 years ago. I'm now 51, recently married. I've practised Taoist cultivation methods both before and since. I have sex fairly frequently, but don't ejaculate all the time as it tires me out and affects my practise - the Yellow Emperor knew a thing or two. The operation itself is very straightforward and inexpensive. I had almost no discomfort afterwards. The benefits in terms of spontaneity, not having to think about contraception, and the sheer trust/security engendered with my partner are huge. Ejaculation isn't noticeably affected. Most of the volume of ejaculate isn't sperm anyway. It's other fluids added along the way, so you get a very similar volume, and the very tiny amount of sperm is reabsorbed into the body. I get no sensation of pressure, backing-up or what-have-you in my balls or scrotum. Sensation right through the sex act has become more subtle and more intense. I have better awareness of the build-up, and I've found that great bliss and almost complete loss of control to sensation has become possible without ejaculation taking place. However I don't think this is significant in true cultivation terms, being likely just low-level chi / wind in the channels (some other bum may have some insight into the energetics of this?). HTH Rich

Aren't you being rather black and white here? Surely nobody runs blindly into anything without a little discrimination, a little research, before they invest time or money? Do you? I've learned an enormous amount from teachers who I've decided not to stick with after a short while. There's one at the moment where I haven't (yet) had the results indicated, but that actually makes me more interested to grok it. I get to take responsibility for my practise, my attitudes, and the experience I take away. Calling it a 'mistake' or blaming the teacher seems to me rather limiting, and says more about the student than it does about the practise or the teacher. Some people retreat into an intellectual redoubt where experience cannot enter. I protect myself by applying rationality up to a point, but then I take a leap and find out for myself. Sometimes you just have to get your feet wet. Maybe they can do miracles. Personally while I don't know I'll retain an interested scepticism. Wouldn't it be cool if they could do miracles?! What did you get from being banned? How did you use the time away? Rich

Heh heh that's made my day: "Wiley has been a Breatharian for some 30 years Wiley has had past lives as: ADAM, ZEUS, ENOCH, JESHUA (JESUS THE CHRIST), JOSHUA, ELIJAH, JOHN THE BAPTIST, ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI, KUTHUMI, BALTHAZAR (KING OF SYRIA), MUGHAL EMPEROR SHAH JAHAN (Builder of the TaJ Mahal in Agra, India), JOSEPH SMITH AND WILLIAM MULHOLLAND." And offers Immortality Initiation Workshops for $100,000 (No Refunds) I'd like to ask how you can have incarnations as two contemporaneous figures, or as a mythical Greek God? But that mightn't be duly resepctful, and I'll be stuck here on Fallback Earth while all the cool kids are hanging out in the 5th Dimension. Diet Coke is liquid light In the extreme case yeah, but for the average bum a few months practise allows you to put the tongue back into the cavity behind the epiglottis. And for older Brits among us: famous Sant Mat alumni #1 (FACT!): Martin Shaw Rich Edit for FACT! and more Wiley fun.

dp

In the early '80's I was initiated into a cult deriving from Sant Mat via Divine Light Mission... a very powerful, very real transmission which did reveal a light at the third eye, and a rumbling vibrating sound in the ears. There was a mantra, and use of the kechari mudra (tongue up and back) too, though they were definitely secondary. I'd never done the techniques before, so I don't know whether the experiences would have been there already. Nor do I know what the correspondences might be in terms of channels etc. However the energetic component was immense - turned me right around and for several years those inner experiences were far more real than the outer everyday. Rich

Tai Chi? Zhan Zhong? In both: settle down, look inside, listen behind. I'd imagine that these would build on your Chi Kung & meditation practices in a natural way without overdoing things (as discussed in some of your other posts). Keeping it simple, and keeping at it will bring results. Rich

You're welcome

Thanks SurfingBuddha for your write-up: you come across clearly as authentic and humble. Rich

"Information wants to be free" always sounded weak to me. A projection of personal bias onto inanimate stuff. I think information is little use without knowledge of how to apply it. In the case of Open Source Taoism I wonder where the transmissions would come from? No transmission and Ya Mu's Stillness Movement would just be sitting on my ar5e. Knowledge is indispensible, otherwise we'd be spending all our time pointlessly recompiling kernels or hacking driver code to get it working... Rich

Paying attention to the instructions? Well these systems are certainly not all in the public domain, and attempting to work out how to progress safely is hard, if even possible. So there aren't clear instructions in most cases. Who do you expect to look after you when you're a psychotic space case? Your Mom? The state? You're also ignoring probability; these aren't equal risks - chance of getting killed by a car: 2.1%. Chances of getting killed playing Russian Roulette: 83%. I'd suggest your chances of screwing up by blasting away are on the high side: i.e. you almost certainly will experience severe debilitating effects. Irresponsibile and lacking compassion, if you don't mind me saying... Rich

double monkey-fingers

Back on topic - in many Zhan Zhuang (standing) practises sealing at the navel/LDT is common. Not just Chia. Right hand over left, hold gently for a few minutes, You can rub/rotate the hands if it helps. Lam Kam Chuen recommends this in his Chi Kung - Way Of Power book. There are plenty of other rubbing/patting techniques in books - Eric Yudelove's 100 days book has a nice selection amongst others. I like to rub my hands together to warm them then rub kidneys x100, sacrum x100, then sole of each foot x100. Basically try out some of these sealing exercises and see what helps you. Oh, and be sure to warm p properly beforehand - jumping into powerful practises without loosening up your joints and muscles will make it more likely that energy doesn't move smoothly or consistently and 'sticks'. Regards Rich OP is a beginner. Chia has a large number of practises within Healing Tao - which one specifically is "in your experience" worthless crap?

Before enlightenment: feed the trolls. After enlightenment: feed the trolls.

So I've lost my bounce, said Tigger. Not unhappy, but too little boinggg... 50, a little weary and too often injured. My thought processes are slow... I've done a little Tai Chi & Qigong and am presently starting off Ya Mu's Stillness-Movement. When I'm not injured I'll be doing Ya Mu's Gift of the Tao, perhaps Pilates/Yoga for core and agility. What experience or advice does the panel have for regenerating pep, interest, vitality, in particular mental agility and enthusiasm? Nutrition and supplements perhaps? Brief therapies? Psychotherapy and Taiwanese jungle masters don't really resonate Rich xx Edit for typo

THT gave me the ZOMG LOLZ!11! rather than the OMGs, tho' tbh I've never looked into the idea of male menopause as yet. I wouldn't rule it out though and may go to the doc for tests. Ah, I'm certainly not experiencing chronic fatigue: if I'm not injured I'll cycle 40minutes a day as part of my commute and some other physical jerks - standing qigong and pushups & situps maybe every few days - and I have enough physical energy for that. No, the main issue for me is mental energy and sharpness. Discussing this with my beloved just now and she's reminding me of things I plan to do but don't - like a 3-4 day solo bike ride I sabotaged not so long a go - so "frustrated will" in her opinion is a key point. I've had a number of years where I (felt) I didn't have the option, but now I do and I want to kick-start a more positive dynamic outlook and behaviours... So thanks again for the input - I think supplements for now, along with qigong and more physical activity as my foot injury improves. Then more adventure, more inhabiting and listening to my body (thanks Oits), and more of doing what suits me! Rich