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Another testimonial from last weeks London initiated. Short, but sweet! Thank you for sharing your experiences with Xian Tian Dao Yin Shu and encouraging others. TESTIMONIAL 30: When I first learned of the school Xiao Yao Pai it seemed almost too good to be true. After waiting for over a year the day of the initiation finally came. I had forced myself to remain a little skeptical but when I called my Fu Fa Shen after being initiated a felt an invisible force move my torso in a circular motion while I was sitting on a chair. After the initiation when I got back to my hotel room I had a smile on my face because I knew what I was experiencing was really happening. I called the FFS and he/she started to move me around the hotel room cracking my joints back in their places. That was followed by qigong movements and sitting meditation. If you ever have the chance I suggest you to attend the initiation ceremony! Arttu Ruohola DAO YING - NOV 2016 - LONDON | UK

Yes, it all sounds very fantastical. The words don't matter. I can claim anything actually, but it could all be bullshit. So in our school we don't waste too much time on talking. If anyone wants to try to see if it's true, the initiation is there : ) Please, don't believe me. I want you to know it for yourself. That's the key. Don't follow me, lead yourself.

Actually, because I'm authentic, I can do whatever it is I want to, and that includes choosing who to answer and who not to answer based on their attitude. I was already typing up the answers to your questions, despite having answered them many times before, but after that message, I think I can definitely find something better to do with my time, especially on my birthday If you wish to, you can search our Facebook group for the answers to all those questions, or not. It's entirely up to you. I don't owe you even one peanut : ) Best wishes. Xuan Daoji

The physical dimension in which we live (Taiji) has three energies: Jing: physical matter such as; muscles, bones, tissues, fascia, phlegm, hormones, saliva, cerebrospinal fluids, sperm, sweat, tears, marrow etc. Qi: the subtle energy which flows through our meridians, also our organ energies and emotions. Shen: the complex of the acquired consciousness (the egoic mind and transient identity) These movement and combination of these three energies in different qualities and quantities helps to create all manner of life, but all their movement is limited to Taiji. If you think of a big ball then these post-natal San Bao (three treasures) are inside the ball. In Houtian systems (Post heavenly systems without immortal guidance), the disciple cultivates their awareness and energy to move up through the 3 Dantien. JING > QI > SHEN JING vibrates the slowest, that is why it is most visible and perceptible and palpable eg: you can feel your hands, your your spit, you can see your blood if you cut yourself etc. This is because of the frequency. Just like a hellicopters rotor blade, when its slow, we can see it, but when it begins to move very fast and the frequency increases it looks like it disappears all together. So there are something we can see and some things we can't see, some things our body can feel by itself and others it cant. Qi vibrates much faster. Up till today, scientists still havent developed the equipment to detect Qi or feelings, and yet it is there and we can feel our emotions flowing from one state and into another following basic 5 element theory in TCM. SHEN is the highest vibration in the Taiji dimension (physical dimension of duality). The mind can be lightning fast, but still it is a Taiji energy. The rules is that all things under Taiji follow the way of Yin and Yang. They ebb and flow, so that which is born must die. This is the basis of physical phenomena in our dimension. If we focus on cultivating the body only, when we die, we cannot take it with us, it will return to the earth and turn into minerals to be absorbed by the soil or eaten by animals. We can make our body insanely strong, just look at any body builder, some can lift up to 1000lbs. Its amazing, and if you compare them to any other human, they will appear super natural, but they also will die. If we cultivate only our physical Qi, we enable conscious control of our subtle energy, we can develop some skills and even use our extra energy to project it from the body to heal others. If a natural persons looks at this, you will appear super natural, some might even call you a magician or a holy one, but when the time comes to die, you cannot take this energy with you, because it is still under Taiji. If we focus on cultivating the mind (the highest vibration in Taiji) and we study hard, go to university, become a specialist, get a masters and a doctorate and accumulate thousands of books worth of knowledge, others might look at how smart and intellectual we are, and we will appear as though we are super naturally smart, but when we die, this mind that we have developed, we also cannot take it with us. Even though through post natal Shen gong you can learn to project your awareness and go and visit distant places with your subtle body, astral travel and so on and so forth, it is still just physical energy or if you prefer TAIJI energy. That is all. It is impossible to take it into the non-physical dimension (WUJI) because it is anchored in the physical body : ) Most of what people practice and demonstrate in many schools today are simple Taiji skills. Yes, from the viewpoint of many people, it can seem truly miraculous, but this energy is impermanent and governed by the dynamic of Yin and Yang and so where it is born it will also die. All these practices are good, but it is not spiritual cultivation. So in Houtian Neidan, what is the purpose? We learn to move our awareness and energy from Jing to Qi to Shen, when we consciously enter the SHEN level of cultivation, it means our vibration is beginning to push up against the wall of the ball. It is like a child little chick trying to break the shell to come out into the world. This is actually the level at which pre-heaven, Xian Tian cultivation can begin, only after our consciousness can break outside of Taiji, so you must penetrate that membrane of physicality in order for your awareness to enter Wuji where genuine spirit work begins. In this dimension, it is possible to actual cultivate the eternal soul and the original mind and to begin to unify the 3 Hun and 7 Po into Yang Shen. Neidan is the returning path, so we follow the reverse Ba Gua and unify everything back into one point of oneness. If a person cannot get to this level, then their consciousness is still trapped in Taiji. When they die, they will reincarnate, like it or not : ) First you must penetrate Taiji and exit to enter Wuji, then you awareness must learn to grow and function in Wuji so it can become independent. In all these processes our Fu Fa Shen guides us. The difference with our school is that we are not Houtian, we are Xiantian, so rather than a human, we follow an immortal that guides us and rather than having to raise our energy from Jing to Qi to Shen first in order that we can begin to communicate with the divine realm and study from the Xian, during the initiation, our Yuan Shen is activated directly and we can establish a connection to Wuji and directly to our school-assigned Fu Fa Shen. The perspective of FFS is such that they can see you on every level. Physicaly, Emotionally, Mentally and Spiritually on a soul level. They know your past and your present and they function beyond space-time. By the time you think of your FFS, he/she is already present : ) - this is because our mind is part of Taiji energy and bound by space and time, while FFS in Wuji is beyond that envelope all together. Whenever FFS begins to refine you, he will always go directly to the root. It's only been a few days since the UK initiation and I'm already getting lots of messages from Dao Yu about how their FFS know exactly what their problem is and prescribing exercises to deal with the issue. One Dao Yu was practicing for around 3 hours with heir FFS yesterday in just one session. Some at the initiation, their FFS was guiding them to perform accupressure on certain points and to flush energy out of the hand. I will show you all pictures and videos after I have post produced everything : ) So, yes, FFS works with you on all levels, to refine the post-natal Jing Qi and Shen, but also to refine the pre-natal Spirit, The Soul and the Original Mind. So any condition is ok, FFS can see it and knows how to cure it. To them you are just like a little baby. Even your greatest problem in life is just childsplay to them : ) More testimonials are coming in so youll be able to read for yourself soon. I'll post them here. Sorry for typos, was rushing. Best wishes.

Hi Seeker, English speakers have to wait for an initiation in the west, because there is 2 days worth of information to cover. If you speak Indonesian, I can arrange an initiation in Indonesia, but we prefer for those form the west to wait for an initiation in UK, US or AUS so they have a solid foundation. If my schedule is in order, I'll aim for end of 2017.

Hi Vajra, Terminating the apprenticeship is very simple. We just have to speak some words and address Tai Shang directly to make a sincere request; then the membership, connection and opportunity is dissolved for this life time. The practitioner will then have to find the school once more in another life if they wish to be initiated again. Once per life : ) Also, there is no obligation between us Fu Fa Shen, Sifu, your initiator or the physical or celestial branch of the school. Our motto is Xiao Yao Zi Zai - and our schools name is "Xiao Yao" Pai, so we always maintain a carefree and easy going attitude in all respects, all our practitioners after some years become like this. They are just carefree and easy going beause the mind has been relieved of prejudices. It's an ongoing development so we are always Xiu Xin Yang Xing. Karma is always give and take. When any Xian applies with Tai Shang to become an official Fu Fa Shen in our school, they can also do it for Gong De; to accumulate merit. So when a FFS teaches you and helps you on your path by guiding you along our schools curriculum, they also generate Gong De, which they can then manifest into spiritual power through their ongoing cultivation. Some FFS are 1000 years old, some 5000, some 10,000, some are as old as numbers that I do not know how to pronounce. When you sign up to go to a public school, you have your headmaster and each class has their head teacher. FFS is like the head teacher, while Tai Shang is the headmaster and director. Sometimes you need to go to another class to meet another teacher for another subject, and sometimes your head teacher will also change when you move up a year, but if you decide to leave the school, you do not pay your teachers any money or owe them any debt : ) - you can just say thanks for teaching me, then you can go : ) And about it being a "serious issue". I ask you this, how is it any more serious than any other karmic relationship establish with any other soul that we meet? Something is a miss there in your reasoning. Karma applies to everyone, squirrels and immortals alike. The difference is in the level of Wisdom, Spiritual Skill, Gong De (accumulated merit through selfless deeds) and Awareness. After a certain level any spiritual cultivator will become conscious enough to eject from the karmic current, but this does not negate their karma. It just means they can delay their reincarnation. So if someone focuses only on spiritual cultivation to solidify their subtle body, yes, they can choose not to enter Taiji again for a natural birth, after their death, but their karma is still there, waiting to be collected or paid to whichever souls they have interacted with, so sooner or later depending on the type of karma, they must willingly enter Taiji again through a natural birth in order to meet the souls with which they share a karmic affinity and neutralize the relationship. Some karma is lighter than others, so it can even be broken down or lessened, but others are quite heavy, like the karma of taking a life. So if the karma is light a new immortal can actually chose to become a FFS and guide someone through dreams, through practice, through their daily life, and in this way they can repay the karma to neutralize the connection, while avoiding entering the physical dimension (Taiji) through a natural birth. There are many different types of cases, it's not a linear matter. So we must focus on Spiritual Cultivation for Yang Shen, Gong De (merit) and developing our Wu (wisdom). One without the other is incomplete and will usually require some form of reincarnation. Whether the reincarnation is voluntary or involuntary will depend on the level of the cultivator : ) So again, when it comes to FFS, there is nothing owed, because as they teach they accumulate Gong De. In terms of anything carrying over to a next life ie if you dissolve the apprenticeship in this life. It is possible that your old FFS will become your FFS again in that life, because there is an affinity, but not a debt. So please, nobody should think they owe anything haha The immortals don't need anything from us, only low level spirits will hold you in debt, not a Daoist Xian Shen and definitely not a Daoist Tian Shen "Xiao Yao" - It's in the name : )

I will answer all your questions fellas, in due time. Pinky promise : ) Need to tune down from all the event craziness. Meanwhile here is our first testimonial from one of this weekends London initiated (Dao Yu) The proof is in the pudding! TESTIMONIAL 28 I am writing from the perspective of a complete spiritual noob - prior to the initiation I had exactly 4 hours in total of meditation for my whole life…and that’s it. The main incentive for me to start practicing Tao Yin Shu is also rather shallow – I wanted to experience something ‘supernatural’ so as far as I knew, Xiao Yao Pai is the only school that lets you use a ‘shortcut’ in a sense that you don’t need to have meditated and cultivated spirit for years for amazing things to start happening from the beginning. Sounded perfect for a lazy ass like myself so there was no second thought on whether I should join or not. Of course as a beginner, I didn’t imagine that my Fu Fa Shen would be able to connect with me straight away and was not bothered, I was eager to wait as much as it’s needed but OH MY! To describe what happened to me for the past two days as ‘mind-blowing’ would be an understatement. I may say so because I am young and impressionable… or because being physically moved by an immortal that resides in another realm is an experience that can’t be obtained anywhere now or in 500 years, neither though VR technology, years of isolation, meditation, fasting, self-mummification or whatever. In fact, the art is completely effortless and most importantly – unbiased and unselective - it accepts, guides and treats the spiritually elevated practitioner and the sceptic willing-to-try-just-to-prove-it’s-nonsense-non-believer equally. And I dare to give bold statements like that only because I saw it with my own eyes and experienced it inside my entire body. I was initiated on the 5th of November (2 days ago) in London. The ceremony felt peaceful and soothing to me, looked nothing like the scenes from the Exorcist or The Conjuring (that’s how I was imagining it to be). We were given incense sticks and the ‘password’ by the masters, sat quietly with our palms pressed lightly together on the chest level and waited for the miracle to happen. After a minute, before I started feeling anything, I heard light clapping behind me – someone from the group was already being moved. I envied, tried to focus harder. After a few seconds I felt IT and my heart was overflowing with joy. My doubts were gone forever - they were never about the credibility of the art, but rather about my worthiness to feel it straight away. As my palms were pressed together, I felt a very gentle, subtle energy between them…like a magnetic field that was spreading and attracting them again with only about a 1cm or 2 trajectory – in and out, in and out. We stopped and later on I learned most people were moving and doing all sorts of manoeuvres apart from me and another person. But I didn’t care because I had felt it and it definitely was not coming from my imagination. Later that evening, I sat comfortably, dimmed the lights, closed my eyes and recited the ‘password’. I admit I was anxious that nothing will happen now that I was on my own. In my mind I said to my FFS that I don’t mind being pushed hard, pulled, moved in any way, that I am not scared and I completely surrender. As soon as I thought that my arms spread and this time it wasn’t 1-2cm, it was all the way to the wall behind me, they were kept there and after 10 seconds pushed lightly together again. That exercise was repeated twice and I was so overwhelmed that I needed time to process what just happened. I opened my eyes and started laughing. The second day of the event started with a group practice – the same thing happened – my arms were wide spread and closed 2-3 times. When I was analysing the logic behind it I figured my FFS must have seen that I have back pains sometimes because of wrong posture and he/she started working straight on the issue. Later that night I was so tired but didn’t want to miss my practice session so I sat again leaning my back on the wall, called FFS and again straight away my arms started spreading and closing. The closing lasted only a second while the spreading - 10 and it took me a while to realise the wall behind me was a barrier, so I moved and then my arms were pushed back as much as my flexibility allowed. It felt so good! I repeated this exercise for about 15 minutes and then it stopped, but I was like: ‘Noooo, can we please continue, I want more…’So my lovely FFS made me lay on the floor and started stretching my hands as if I was doing jumping jacks on the floor. I guess that’s why last night I slept like a baby. I am looking forward to continuing my practice. For anyone who is sceptical about it, my only advice is to do it. If it doesn’t work (IT DOES!) you will know for sure and clear your doubts, if it does (IT DOES!), you will embark on the most exciting adventure in your life, you will gain a personal teacher, a friend, a healer available to you at any time like a genie in a lamp (pretty unedifying definition for the high divine power of FFS, but that is what I can say in consumerism language). I can’t talk about it without sounding like a Teleshop TV commercial from the 90’s: ‘What are you waiting for? Do not hesitate!’ Galina Kalfova. DAO YING - NOV 2016 - LONDON | UK Full list of Testimonials here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/xiaoyaopaitaoism/permalink/973319889399676/

Vajra Fist, my apologies if I've missed your question. Please ping me again. The list is very long, but I do my best to address everyone. It was not my intention to neglect you. You can text me on Facebook anytime as well If you use it: Xuan Daoji

A new testimonial from James. Thank you for sharing your experiences. It warmed my heart to see that you are so happy with the results. TESTIMONIAL 27 Having read many online posts about Xiao Yao Pai, I was very excited when the day for initiation came. At the same time, I was a little skeptical. Who wouldn't be? This is a spiritual path unlike almost any other, and it almost sounded too good to be true. Even so, it resonated with a deep part within me and I felt that it was the next step I needed to take on my spiritual path. As I approached the beautiful little retreat center on the first day of our initiation, I distinctly felt like I had entered another world. The atmosphere seemed to suddenly change once I got within 20 yards or so of the building. Everyone was quite kind and welcoming, and our hosts were wonderful. Shortly after, Masters Flymming and Nina began their detailed presentation on their lineage and method of training. We were given a thorough introduction to the practice over the next couple days. One thing that stood out strongly was that both teachers emanated such energy and enthusiasm despite having traveled from Jakarta, which they said was about 24 hours of traveling, and they had only arrived the night before the event. That alone is amazing. One thing that really resonated with me was that Flymming and Nina strongly encouraged critical thinking and active questioning in the spiritual path. They also did their best to address all of our questions and concerns. Upon initiation, my experience was quite nice. After inviting the Fu Fa Shen for the first time, I immediately felt my body begin making subtle movements, like my torso began swirling around. Now, I was curious how this would compare to my previous practice in spontaneous qigong, which was common for many of us in the group. However, I can say after a week of practice that, actually, the physical manifestations are quite different than spontaneous qigong. The movements with FFS are less erratic and bouncy, and there's a stronger energy behind them. You can also feel the abundant power of the FFS flowing through you. After my first session I felt refreshed, however my hands didn't move much and I didn't feel like I was able to establish a solid connection just yet. Later that night I went to practice for the first time on my own at the place I was renting with Brandon, my spiritual friend of many years, who also went to the event. While standing, I mentally told the FFS I was about to practice and asked if it would guide me. I had NOT mentally recited the password or invocation yet. Immediately after, I heard Brandon exclaim. I stopped what I was doing and looked behind me. He said that he had clearly, physically seen a shadowy tall figure walk right across the room toward me. Brandon didn't think I was practicing either, so there was no expectation. I had just finished stretching and he was facing away from me, so he thought I was continuing to stretch. This first practice session was great. I distinctly felt the sensation of something was touching my mingmen point multiple times. I felt powerful cold rushes up my spine. My body performed a few simple movements. The movement part of my practice ended very quickly, after about 10 minutes. Then I just meditated, enjoying greatly the energizing feeling my FFS had left me with. The following morning we practiced again, and this time standing up. I had real guided movements, and my hands started spontaneously forming mudras. Again, something that never happened to me quite like this in spontaneous qigong. After the short session, I felt incredibel! Very energized, refreshed, and alive. I've practiced multiple other types of qigong and internal alchemy, but the feeling Dao Yin Shu produced still surprised me. The other thing I would like to point out is that we had several students who had been practicing Xian Tian Dao Yin Shu for several years at this event. Many of them had only met Flymming and Nina once before. Each of them had incredible experiences with this training. It was so cool to hear Flymming adn Nina to describe various stages of progress, and the few senior students there would get excited and share how they had experienced this or that, in precisely the same way. This is not a lineage where the students do not have experiences. On the contrary, it seems like many of them are having very high level spiritual experiences fast. This is the greatest testimonial to XYP - the students are making the progress they were promised. Thank you very much to everyone in Xiao Yao Pai for allowing me to have this experience, and I hope my testimonial can help give you a better idea of whether this is for you! James Irving DAO YING - OCT 2016 - VA|US

Cheers Jeff I just want to clarify that although there is an affinity and relationship established by connecting to HFS, it is not a bond that cannot be undone. The practitioner always has full control and one is always free to terminate the apprenticeship at anytime of their own accord. As a matter of fact, after initiation one does not ever have to see or do anything with the physical branch of our school anymore. There are no ties to anything or anybody, nor demands or expectations. The motto of our school is Xiao Yao Zi Zai. Grassmountainsage. I promise to answer your questions after we wrap up the UK initiation in London this weekend. For now, I'd like to share a new testimonial from last weekends Virginia, US initiated. Best wishes. Xuan Daoji

Cheers. See ya : )

Alright! The first one from this weekend's Virginia Dao Ying (initiation) is in. Thank you for sharing, Brandon! TESTIMONIAL 26 I was lucky to hear about XYP right before an initiation was about to happen, booked the flight and was on my way. I heard some others had to wait 2-3 years to get initiated so I feel blessed. I am also very grateful for getting to meet the teachers from the tradition, who taught with enthusiasm and energy that is mind boggling considering they had been travelling from Indonesia just the day before which took them over 20hrs and landed them in a timezone that was 12hrs different from theirs. Besides the metaphysical experiences, their joy and humor in the midst of such jet-lag was probably one of the most obvious signs of the benefits of this path. I am very new, so this is not a matured response that has been born from years of practice, but I feel motivated to share at least what I have experienced so far just from the initiation and an experience a few months prior. My first experience happened about two months before the initiation. Before sleep, I asked for guidance from the spirits of the lineage called the Fu Fa Shen. Being slightly mischievous I prayed, "Fu Fa Shen, if you can see that I will be initiated into the lineage in the future, then can you please give me some early guidance and a sign that I should join now." That night, I had some symbolic dreams, and at the end something interesting happened. I was looking at the earth from above and watching a hurricane forming in the gulf that slowly went through Florida. I hadn't checked the tropical forecast online in a long time, because we haven't had a hurricane hit Florida in 11 years, but that next morning I looked and sure enough a hurricane was forming where I had seen it... a week later it literally went right over where I live. Then, just a month later I had to evacuate from a second hurricane! I took this as a sign, and made sure I signed up and bought tickets to Virginia to receive the initiation. At the initiation itself, like I said before, I was so impressed with the energy the teachers gave off.. and then was blown away when they told us they just flew in from Indonesia. Something else that left a deep impression on me was the lucidity of their answers. The answers were clearly from a deep reservoir of wisdom. It's hard to describe, but you can feel the 'freshness' behind their words. In the middle of the second day we practiced Shen Gong which is like a spontaneous Qi Gong. Basically, the goal is to be open to the guidance of the Fu Fa Shen (guiding spirit), and eventually they will move you during practice to help catalyze purification in the body. I have some experience with similar practices and knew not to expect much as it can take time to open up. In my past practices it would take at least 30 min or more before my energy started to flow and then I might move a little in response or usually not at all. While standing there meditating, I got a 'daydream' which gave me a visual along with a feeling of muscle movement of my hands moving out and coming in with my breath, towards and away from my heart. I wasn't sure if it was just me, so I stayed still. Right after, Master Flemming came up and told me "It's ok! Let it move!" I wasn't sure what was happening since my eyes were closed by I felt a wave of heat penetrate my chest at the heart and my hands felt like they were pulled out by a string, creating the movement I had seen in my mind moments earlier. I was impressed, and enjoyed the pleasant warmth continue to emanate from him into my chest and arms. As I said in the beginning, I am still new and cannot say where it will bring me in the coming months and years but these experiences are not small ones and I expect the best. I'm extremely grateful for them! Besides these experiences, every day since I have gotten back I have had more surprising things happening during my practices. Lastly, I think you can easily see how effective a system is by looking at their older students. Some were present at the initiation, and they were speaking of some impressive experiences and exuded good character and presence from what I could see for the short time I was around them. I am very happy I went, and the initiation left a deep impression on me. I hope this testimonial helps with your decision, and wish you the best on your path. Brandon DAO YING - OCT 2016 - VA|US

Actually, initiation is free, we cannot charge for it, but there's something very simple that I do need to charge for; operating costs. What Tai Shang Lao Jun grants us is of a non-physical nature; there's no monetary value on that, and it does not come from us so we cannot commercialise it. However, physical things like, plane tickets, hotels, electricity costs, rent, visas, equipment rental and advertising is not free to us, so it shouldn't be free to anyone else. This is pretty basic knowledge I would say for anyone who runs any sort of an organisation. Nothing new here. If you don't appreciate that, I can't explain in any other way. This will not change. If people can't accept that, they are honestly very ignorant about how the world works and what it takes to run an organisation. No it's not, you haven't cared to read through my posts before answering. Hu Fa Shen works on our physical matter, subtle energy, mind and of course also our spirit. Methods of communication include, but are not limited to: - Mind to Mind - Writing - Hearing - Seeing - Hu Fa Shen speaking through the disciples vocal chords. - Dreams - etc Again, wrong, you have not cared to read through my posts. Every Dao Yu (initiated practitioner) has the golden aura of our school wrap around them. It resembles a fire made of spiritual energy that acts as a cocoon and an incubator for our human spirit. The aura also has a strong apotropaic function in addition to its capacity as a medium of transformation. Its signature is regarded with the utmost of respect by cultivated spirits, immortals and other beings. It is like our uniform in the subtle realm which identifies us as students of Tai Shang Lao Jun. I'm sorry to hear that you have to beg. We do not beg in our school. The relationship between the Hu Fa Shen that Tai Shang has authorised to disseminate the curriculum of our celestial branch and ourselves, is one of mutual respect, guidance and apprenticeship. We talk to our Hu Fa Shen one to one as we would a friend, but we always show respect, as you would to any teacher, providing you have basic manners. Maybe in your tradition it is so that he teaches one person per thousand years. It is not in ours and again I can't help you with your difficulty in accepting that. Our Hu Fa Shen rarely vibrate low enough to match the frequency of the physical eye. They don't need to be seen in this way because in Xiao Yao Pai we activate the Yuan Shen on day one of the initiation, so communication with HFS takes place on a much higher vibration, so it's not necessary for the teacher to vibrate down so low, unless of the utmost necessity. In our development our aim is to cultivate our awareness to go deeper into the Dao, so we MOVE UP to match Hu Fa Shen's vibration through our connection to them, rather than using our awareness at the level of our basic physical senses. Sometimes HFS will do it. Maybe to pat you on the back or to instruct you as a matter of urgency, but generally speaking, It's us that have to match their frequency and try to go beyond and not the other way around. So again, maybe in your tradition it is different. Every Dao Yu is recorded in the heavenly register within the celestial branch of our school during Dao Ying. I think that if you are dealing with spirits that exhibit such selfish qualities, then you are working with low level and unrefined Shen who have still not purified their negative traits. Nobody ever achieves anything entirely on their own. A realised being would know this and certainly show compassion to others who struggle on the path they have just walked. Yes of course as always. Everyone else is fake and you are the chosen one. Here read some testimonials from others if you're genuinely interested and not just prefer to listen to yourself talk: https://www.facebook.com/groups/xiaoyaopaitaoism/permalink/973319889399676/ Yeah, so this happens to everyone who practises Xian Tian Dao Yin Shu. Nothing new here. I often tell new initiates that it can be like coming back from the gym sometimes after a hard workout. So.... nothing new here.... Cool. Well tell that to the people who were initiated in Virginia this weekend and the next ones in 4 days. When you're done with those, you can start e-mailing the other 10s of thousands. Let me know what you find out... Bottom line to everyone reading this thread: I stand by what I say. If anyone doesn't believe it or thinks I'm bullshitting or thinks that we are conning people - Then I invite them to attend an initiation and prove me wrong, although I imagine by now, since we've been initiating people since the early 70s and have over 140,000+ Dao Yu, that someone would have snuffed us out right? - Naaah. That would be inconceivable. I'm willing to accept that challenge and our school can back it up with experiential proof. So if you're someone who doesn't believe in what I'm saying. Come and see if it's true or not. Otherwise thanks for your text and good luck to you on your path : ) Finally, Flowing Hands, this is not the first time you've come to one of our schools threads and the stuff you say is always the same... How you begged and begged and that everyone must beg and work hard and suffer before they are chosen and so on and so forth. That's great. That's your experience, that's your life. Nobody in Xiao Yao Pai has to do that. Just accept it, because it's the truth and there are far more people that can vouch for that which been initiated and ineherited XTDYS that the grand total of a special number 1 in your case. Feel free to correct me If I'm wrong and you do actually have other living practitioners of your tradition that can support your claims. Further more, you have NO actual experience with our school, so everything you say is absolutely unsubstantiated and I feel sometimes slanderous. If you want anybody to take you seriously, then come to an initiation and verify if it's true or not. Until then your words hold no value I'm sorry but I really have no respect for people who make false accusations without any proof. You say you asked Tai Shang about it. How can you prove it? Can you initiate someone so they can ask themselves so at least there is someone else's word and not just yours? We can. The proof is in the pudding as it were. So please, next time if you want to make accusations and try to discredit us at least do it after you have had some official relationship with us and have had an opportunity to disprove what we claim and what we do during initiations. Is it too much to ask for? Evidence? Here's the hard truth, Flowing Hands and sorry to burst your bubble, but..........You're not special.

DAO YING VIRGINIA - OCT 2016 Congratulations to the new Dao Yu who this weekend inherited our school's art; Xian Tian Dao Yin Shu. They have been connected to their assigned Hu Fa Shen during Dao Ying and have actively begun their apprenticeship in spiritual cultivation through Xiao Yao Pai. I wish you the best of luck on your journey to your true self. The UK initiation is this weekend. Can't wait to blow peoples minds wide open!

Ooh, these are my favourite. We have one more new Dao Yu, the owner of the establishment! Congrats to Maggie M. for following her intuition. Maggie had initially declined to be initiated today, but later had a change of heart following everyone else's initiation reactions and some personal reflection. Welcome to Xiao Yao Pai : ) This is why I keep telling people; DON'T CLING TO THE TEACHINGS OF THE PAST. Daoism is alive HERE and NOW. Experience it first hand and know without a shadow of a doubt! We might say a lot of stuff and make some relatively wild claims in XYP, but at least we can back it all up and we yet again have a testament to this! That is what our initiations are for. It is the proof behind our word. I will post the new Dao Yu's testimonials after the US event is complete. I just want to add that our golden aura also has a strong apotropaic function in addition to its capacity as a medium of transformation. Its signature is regarded with the utmost of respect by cultivated spirits, immortals and other beings. It is like our uniform in the subtle realm which identifies us as students of Tai Shang Lao Jun. It is a very high honour, so carry yourself with the integrity, humility, and wisdom it represents, or Hu Fa Shen will kick your ass in training!

Hello all. It's my pleasure to welcome a special group of people to our school today. Greg Z. James I. Brandon U. Frances D. Neil P. Brooks W. Mark T. Deatria H. Geraldine B. Josephine D. Michael L. Thomas G. Beata R.. Louis H. Kelly B. Gordon T. Star Maggie M. You travelled from far and wide to meet in Virginia, at the bridge between the worlds (pun definitely intended). Some of you travelled across the ocean from the UK to be present today and I applaud you. I know that your journey has been rewarded. Today is the start of something amazing. It is a path unlike any other, full with mystery and wonder that awaits your discovery. You all would have experienced different things today, for no initiation is ever the same for anyone. We are all unique in our constitution and that is reflected in our practice. Each and every one of you has now had their Yuan Shen activated and you have been assigned a Hu Fa Shen to mentor you on your path of spiritual cultivation along the curriculum of our celestial branch. At the beginning there are three ways in which Hu Fa Shen can "move" us, and these are not always physical, so if you did not "physically" move today, don't take this as evidence of your inability to practice or think that you did not receive Hu Fa Shen. You all have. If Hu Fa Shen moves us on the physical level, it is easy to acknowledge because we are very familiar with our physical body, but if HFS moves our subtle energy, most people cannot detect it because their awareness still requires some tuning. More so, if HFS refines your mind, it is even more difficult to identify and observe the subtle energetic movements, but whether it is on any of these three levels or higher yet at the level of your spirit, Hu Fa Shen is always moving and refining us to raise our awareness higher. With practice you will be able to feel all levels of this movement and internal transformation and beyond. Your relationship with Hu Fa Shen is brand new now, but as you continue to practice Dao Yin Shu, it will get stronger and stronger and as your awareness beings to synchronise with that of HFS, you will be able to more fluently perceive and absorb information. Every Dao Yu (initiated practitioner) has the golden aura of our school wrap around them. It resembles a fire made of spiritual energy that acts as a cocoon and an incubator for our human spirit. When you practice Dao Yin Shu this aura will naturally transform your spirit from Yin Shen to Yang Shen and lead us to develop into a Xian. It is almost like hooking up to a server to download the files you need. Initiation allows us to hook up to the celestial branch of our school and download the blueprint for transmuting our spirit. There is no effort required at all. All you have to do is just disengage your attention from thoughts and be like a blank canvas, then Hu Fa Shen can naturally guide your awareness deeper into the Dao. If you still have some time today. I encourage you to practice alone in your rooms. Have some food, relax, have a shower and then say your Zhen Yan and invite Hu Fa Shen for a session. I'll tell you a little story. When I was initiated, I did not move. I was a little disappointed, because everyone else was moving around me. Everyone was actually quite surprised. To be honest I was gutted, but I realised my mistake was in focusing on the physical. On the way back home I decided to relax a little and meditate. As my mind cleared, I suddenly began to feel HFS working on my mind and clearing negative beliefs that were blocking my mind. As I tuned in more, I could sense what I can only describe as small energetic explosions of energy going off in random locations in my brain. It was like HFS was taking laser accurate mini shotgun energy blasts at the root concepts in my life that were blocking me. Memories that were so distant and deeply buried that I had forgotten they existed at all suddenly began to appear in front of my eyes and I started making connections between what was causing me pain in the present and what had occurred in my past, but before I had a chance to even focus on it for a little longer, Hu Fa Shen had already cleared it. Pent up energy like that doesn't just disappear though, and I began to see the connection between the belief structures that were being refined and my physical body, because everything is connected. When Hu Fa Shen released a blockage in my mind, he would then also simultaneously clear the physical manifestation of the root idea within the body. Usually this would force me to express a loud noise in tandem with a vigorous shake, transmuting the negative, and every moment was pure and utter release. I know some of you today have experienced some detoxing symptoms already. It is normal don't worry. Hu Fa Shen always goes to the root of the problem, so transformation can be very rapid. If you blink, sometimes you can miss it. In the next few months, my mind was clearer than it had ever been. I was at peace with so many things. Ideas and beliefs that had been a nuisance to me in my life just faded away and I was happier because of it. Prejudices that had plagued me forever and altered my perception of people and things, simply just washed away and disappeared. Looking back at myself now, I have changed so much that Its difficult to describe. I've never practised any system that so effectively and quickly gets to the root cause of every issue and this is just one very very small part of Xian Tian Dao Yin Shu. Eventually I soon began to move also. It was a welcome confirmation, but by then I already knew Hu Fa Shen was there and was receiving visions, experiences and instructions. So be patient with yourselves, because we are all very complicated and our rivers run very deep. Relax your awareness and let your teacher guide you and you will begin to change from a caterpillar into a radiant butterfly : ) Our art is a gateway to myriad wonders and transformations. Please remember that Hu Fa Shen can see our thoughts, our dreams, our fears, our secrets, our hopes, our good deeds and our bad deeds. There is nothing we can hide. This relationship will teach you humility and naturalness and how to be honest, confident and proud of who you are. I'm not an advocate of blind belief, but when we embark on a new journey and find ourselves in unknown territory, it is wise to trust in a guide to show us the way, just like we trust our GPS to get us from A to B in a foreign land. So trust that your HFS knows what is best for you and always remember, that Xian Tian Dao Yin Shu is a guidance art. That is why it is called The Divine Guidance Art, so It is always your choice whether to follow instructions or not. Eventually you will find out that when we decide not to take HFS's advice, the outcome is never in your favour, but this is how we build trust and your relationship to Hu Fa Shen is no different. You must build trust and understanding with your teacher, because while HFS knows you completely on a soul level, you must yet learn to know him/her through your own experiences. Good luck and please always feel free to contact me. https://www.facebook.com/groups/xiaoyaopaitaoism/permalink/1216937901704539/

The Dao that does not judge, such as it is, in its original primordial nature before the one gives birth to the two. It is the acquired physical mind that abides in the interplay of the complimentary dance of Yin and Yang, that gives arising to one vs the other, good vs bad, beautiful vs ugly and so on. This mind which always moves within the boundary of opposites, always waxing and wanning is a dynamic of Taiji. Therefore, like a bird raised in a cage it cannot fathom the idea of flight and like a fish born in a well, it cannot discuss the sea, for it knows of nothing else beyond its own experience - and so it cannot fathom the Dao beyond its well (Taiji.) The Dao that does not judge is beyond this mind. It resides in stillness and oneness, where the former cannot reach, for by its stillness and presence alone it will wither. Both of these Daoist concepts of the acquired mind and the original mind are both Dao. DAO is everything and not one or the other alone. For judging what is, rather than what is good and bad, we have the mechanism of karma, which we engineer through our own deeds. Judgment other than this is simply an exercise of the physical mind and its perception will always be trapped within the boundary of Taiji and the sea of relative phenomena. I'm surprised you don't know this considering that it's in most "Taoist Texts"

In terms of shamanism, of course the Wu of old have had many of their spirit practices survive till this day within the Daoist schools so you can find many Daoists who practice shamanism. Not my cup of tea, but to each their own.

Yes. Thoughts, feelings, energy and spirit; also your present, your future and your past. Fu Fa Shen knows your secrets, your good thoughts and your bad ones. Your perverted ones and your pure ones. You are like a naked baby in their presence. It is humbling, but offers the perfect foundation for refinement, because no masks can be employed. I hope so too. The better we can make life for people, the happier we will be : ) It is just like any other relationship, only their body is rarely visible in Taiji; you have to raise your awareness to Wuji to perceive them. You just have to relax your mind and make yourself like a blank canvas; Fu Fa Shen will guide your consciousness there naturally, so you can begin to learn how to perceive and translate extra-sensory information to fit your understanding. If it is yuanfen, then it shall be : ) Keep an eye out on the FB group for event announcements. A lot of people today who are well read are usually very adamant about their beliefs. Neidan should be this and Neidan should be that, but when I ask most to prove it, all they can do is point me to a text, that is essentially the record of someone else's personal practice experience. Dao ke Dao, fei chang Dao. Dao ke ming, fei chang ming. Again the difference with us is that because we have not lost the root of the old art, today, we can still prove it through a living and sense-based experience Because of this we don't focus as much on philosophy as many other Daoist schools, since our practice is alive and thriving and any initiated Dao Yu can feel this through their Hu Fa Shen, so while I often enjoy writing, it is ultimately useless when it comes to the Practice of Hu Fa Shen guided Neidan in Xian Tian Dao Yin Shu.

Hi Taoist Texts, I thought I had made myself clear, but gauging by your response I guess I was mistaken, haha. I'll just make it simple: We have relationship with Tai Shang, because we established one and he has authorised us to spread Xian Tian Dao Yin Shu because we asked for the permission to go public. It's at his discretion. The Xian Shen and Tian Shen in Xiao Yao Pai don't judge anyone by ethnicity. There is just oneness at this level. Ethnic prejudice is a Taiji concept driven by relativity and pertains to the realm of dualistic phenomena. In terms of "traditional", it depends on what time in the history of Daoism you're referring to, and as for being guided by Xian Shen in Neidan. This is part of many schools practices, such as Zhengyi Dao, under which there are many Schools and organisations. What about Shangqing? I've written in length about this in my recent posts. It's better to read about it there. One of the differences in immortal guidance between Neidan in Xian Tian Dao Yin Shu and Houtian Xiulian is the point at which we which we connect to the Xian Shen for guidance. In Houtian Neidan this is generally near the end, when the immortal child is ready to be released through the Bai Hui and the spirit can consciously function in Wuji in a completely aware and independent state. In Xiao Yao Pai, this takes place on the day of initiation. That's why it's very common for early beginners to see "the falling snow and dancing flowers". Either way. People shouldnt waste their time so much on the philosophy. All these names and concepts are just abstract pointers to an experiencable reality. Once the reality is experienced directly, the words and names that represent it conceptually reveal their true nature, that they are inherently empty. Emptiness pointing to emptiness. So if anyone wants to test us because they don't believe our claim on the inheritance of Xian Tian Dao Yin Shu, or that we are authorised by Tai Shang to initiate our disciples into the immortals guidance, they are welcome to come and test it. That's the only way to confirm or deny something. After they have proved it to themselves, then that's it. End of story. That's what makes our school stand out. We can actually back up what we're saying. If we had been lying about it since we went public in the early 70s we wouldn't currently have over 140,000 practising Dao Yu and someone would have disproved us by now. Yet, instead of that we are also initiating Daoist priests in China's temples. So there must be something mysterious going on worth exploring. You can find some testimonials here from initiated folks: www.DAOISM.uk

Hello. Our school has two branches; Earthly (Physical) and Celestial (Non Physical). In our physical branch here in Taiji, we have temples, organise seminars and educational events to teach Daoist theory and also help to initiate people into Xiao Yao Pai so they can be apprenticed by Hu Fa Shen. In our celestial branch in Wuji, we have Daoist Xian Shen whom have been authorised by Tai Shang Lao Jun to teach the esoteric arts to our Dao Yu (initiated disciples). Just like we have different organisations here on earth, so in heaven it is the same, and different schools there are regarded to have different qualities, just like here we have Harvard, MTI, Cambridge, Oxford, which are considered prestigious; there are also some schools that have a lower rank relative to the teacher's (immortal spirit) level of wisdom and attainment. Further yet, in Wuji, there are also independent spirit immortals who do not register under any organisation, so their conduct and credibility cannot be qualified or relied upon. For example; when you want to take your child to school, you will look for the best school you can afford, you might even get a private tutor with a good reputation or one who is officially registered as a teacher, but you wouldn't take your child to some random person on the street without credentials. Similarly, when one chooses to learn Daoism; there are different schools to choose from, private teachers, and also strangers on the street. So one must be careful to pick the right source. Just like people wear a uniform in many schools here, after initiation there is a golden aura of divine energy that wraps around the practitioner. It is our schools signature and a symbol of respect in Wuji among the Xian, because it demonstrates that we are students of Tai Shang. Our Grand Master, Li Shang Hu, was authorised by Tai Shang Laojun to spread Xian Tian Dao Yin Shu; the ancient art of Spiritual Daoism, so around 1973 we abandoned our status as a closed door traditional spiritual school and became a public school. Every Xian Shen must first register with Tai Shang Laojun to become a Hu Fa Shen for Xiao Yao Pai, so each of our Hu Fa Shen is verified. It is an arrangement between our Grand Master and Tai Shang and the purpose is to assist humanity in its evolution, but this arrangement which involves the transmission of Xian Tian Dao Yin Shu (The Divine Guidance Art); is limited to our tradition - and so we are its current inheritors. If I had to use three words to explain the motivation, I'd say compassion, wisdom and evolution. The teachings of our school are often very different from conventional Daoism, but it is those teachings that allow us to align ourselves with the wisdom of Tai Shang, which together with the authority granted to our Grand Master to spread Xian Tian Dao Yin Shu; allows our school to act as a spiritual facilitator between disciples and Tai Shang and his authorised Hu Fa Shen. It is possible that other high level spiritual practitioners have also managed to connect to Tai Shang after practising Hou Tian meditation and cultivating their awareness to the point that it can exit Taiji and enter Wuji to communicate with the immortals, but this can take decades to lifetimes to achieve depending on your practice methods and personal talents. So, yes, it's possible to learn from any Daoist Xian, but the practitioner must first develop the skill, clarity, wisdom, authority and spirit development to have an audience with them. In other words, one who is not initiated, can practice themselves to reach the level where they can request a teacher and be granted one if they are accepted into any celestial school. What we do in our school through Xian Tian Dao Yin Shu, is help practitioners connect directly to a Hua Fa Shen from day one, without having to cultivate for decades first before they can receive instructions from the Xian. Because of this, we don't have to focus on the preservation of the physical body as much as in Houtian Xiulian (post heavenly cultivation practice), because we trigger the Yuan Shen from the first day. So from day one of becoming initiated, a Xiao Yao Pai Dao Yu's spirit is already beginning to break out of Taiji and enter Wuji. The level of the practitioners Qingjing (clarity and stillness) will determine how effectively they can shift their awareness from Taiji to Wuji. If the mind is clear, it's easier for Hu Fa Shen because they don't have to vibrate down too low, but if our awareness is heavy, or if Hu Fa Shen is interacting with denser matter ie: meridian qi or physical jing, then they will have to vibrate down lower to synchronise with the vibration of the relative phenomena. In general yes, spirit possession is a real thing and it does happen all around the world, but these are usually Yin Shen entities. This links closely to what I spoke about earlier in terms of the Xian being registered with an official Celestial body before they are allowed to teach under the name of eg: Tai Shang Lao Jun. A Hu Fa Shen from our school needs to be invited to initiate practice. Their assignment to you is in the role of a teacher and guardian, but they also become our personal friends as we practice and learn more from them, just like with any relationship between sentient beings. Some Dao Yu even become so close with their Hu Fa Shen, they consider them as part of the family. You don't have to worry about that in our school, because again, these are not just any spirits from the street, but authorised teachers of the way. Here's something important to note. When we practise with Hu Fa Shen, the integration is synchronised. So if Hu Fa Shen is moving your body during practice into a specific form or movement, or if he is sending you information, your mind is always aware. You have 100% control of your awareness, this is because HFS is a Yang Shen; their vibration is very high so they don't have to displace your consciousness or awareness to interface with your being harmoniously. This is an easy way to differentiate low level Yin Shen spirits who do not have their negative characteristics refined and a Yang Shen spirit such as Xiao Yao Pai Hu Fa Shen. If a low level Yin Shen spirit (such can never be authorised by Tai Shang) tries to posses somebody's body, because the vibration of the spirit is so low (which explains the malicious intentions and not asking for permission from the owner of the body first) it cannot synchronise with the awareness of the human, it must DISPLACE the consciousness or awareness from the physical body and then occupy the empty space to take control of the body. That is why any trance inducing practice that connects to a spirit is connecting to a low level Yin Shen or malevolent being, because it must force your consciousness our and make you reduce your awareness so that it can interface with your body. That is why people in a trance often look stupid and dull and out of their body. So my advice is to stay away from trance practice. If you ever practice with a Yang Shen Xian, you will always have full control of your body. Even when we practice with Hu Fa Shen, he/she guides us to move, but we can always resist and pull away. Actually that is how we can be sure "something" is genuinely happening when we practice Xian Tian Dao Yin Shu, because we can also separate our awareness from that of Hu Fa Shen and feel them as well as ourselves. If they guide is to move our hand left during practice, we can resist and move right and through the resistance we can know the difference. Further, when you practice with a Yang Shen Xian, the mind is NEVER dull, the alertness or attention is NEVER lowered. In fact the mind becomes lighter, sharper, faster, clearer, stronger and continuously expands its perceptive capabilities to go deeper into the Dao. We actually have many experiences with spirit possession and often help people who are genuinely possessed (most just have mental problems). And to be honest the work is not much, because as soon as we have been initiated, the golden aura of our school repels any Yin Shen and malevolent beings. Only on rare occasions with more powerful spirits must we actually make an effort. If you ever encounter such a situation after you have been initiated all you have to do is just summon Er Lang Shen. He will kick their ass immediately. Take care. Xuan

"Thanks for your answer, Jean-Yves. It’s a good answer and I can see that you are well read, but information, like alcohol, often loses its beneficial effects when consumed in excess. This much is very true when it comes to Shen cultivation in spiritual Daoism. I just want to remind you that Xiao Yao Pai is not a western school and neither are our teachings. Our roots go back to the patron saint of the Dao; Huangdi, who established Xiao Yao Guan in Kong Tong Shan and his master; the hermit Guangzhengzi, from whom he inherited our schools art; Xian Tian Dao Yin Shu. The temple is over 5000 years old now and you can still go and visit Xiao Yao Guan today. It is commonly referred to as Dao Guan, the first temple of China. Of course I agree with you that Daoism is very, very old. A lot of its information is also grossly misinterpreted and sadly, this has been passed down into academia which has systematically produced generations of misinformed Daojia, many of whom don’t have the foggiest idea of Xian Tian Xiulian, that is at the core of Daoist cultivation. This misinformation and confusion gets even worse as one enters into the field of Neidan – with common misconceptions leading to practitioners ingesting mercury and lead orally and dying – not knowing that Mercury refers to the intangible Shen (Spirit) while Lead to the Jing (Essence). I believe that since our school became public in the early 70s; our initiative to re-introduce the ancient Daoist arts has been very well received, and many prominent Daoist institutions have been left in amazement after we have revealed to them that the Xian Tian Dao Yin Shu tradition never went extinct, and that there is still a living inheritor in Xiao Yao Pai. I appreciate your inclination to Religious Daoism, worship, devotional activities, rituals and ceremonies. The Dao has many branches, but there is only one root; and that is personal spiritual (subtle body) cultivation through Xiantian or Houtian Neidan; neither of which demand or require worship, or ritualism or tribute. This is also the genesis of the Fangshi – and even though some of them have practiced ritualism and worship, it was never the core or initiating practice; that has always been Neidan, even before the term “neidan” existed. The truth is that there is no need to, beg, devote yourself to or worship a deity for them to appear to you and guide you. This is the method of traditions that have lost the root of Xian Tian Xiulian and cannot connect directly through their Shen. Instead, they must start from Jing and work their way up through Qi, before they can enter the dimension of conscious Shen Gong and communicate directly with the Shen Xian to receive instructions for further practice outside of Taiji. All this is classified as Houtian Neidan. However, in Xian Tian Neidan, none of this is necessary. Usually an authorised school has immediate power to establish this connection between a disciple and the instructing Shen Xian or Tian Xian. In our tradition, each disciple is assigned a Hu Fa Shen that is granted by the head of our celestial branch; Tai Shang Lao Jun. He is the treasurer of spirits whom assigns the Xian Shen and Tian Shen to each disciple. This is the way of the old art. Some know it, some don’t. No biggie. You speak a lot about Religious Daoism and priests, stating that our schools teaching is “new-age”, but I ask you this: How do you reconcile that with the fact that our school has initiated priests in several of China’s main Daoist Temples and schools, and has been able to prove on each account that we have inherited the old art? Do you presume to know better than the priests, who you yourself regarded with such high prestige in your former reply? Perhaps there is something worth contemplating here. By the way you can also read testimonials from Dao Yu from Xiao Yao Pai who have inherited Dao Yin Shu and are being instructed by a Shen Xian. No worshipping or sacrifices or rituals required: www.spiritualdaoism.com/testimonials Wherever there are people, there is always some form of religious or spiritual activity. It is just in our nature, so of course you will find rituals and ceremony in the earlier periods of Daoism also. Realistically, It’s not even "some" that predate Laozi or the Dao De Jing, but too many to count, but it was really Zhang Daoling who officially coalesced everything into an organised and cohesively functioning unit, opening Daoism to everyone; regardless of their sex, social status or ethnicity. Today, there are still religious Daoist traditions which go on about sacrificing and slaughtering animals in worship of Gods. Just because things like these are very old practices that have survived through the ages, doesn’t mean they are not primitive and outdated. Daoism has always been about the evolution of our ontological awareness through spiritual and humanitarian development – and I believe that there are many old practices, rituals and ceremonies that are long overdue an appointment with the trashcan. It’s 2016. Let’s leave the dead alone and look forward to how we can advance humanity today by emphasizing and encouraging the aspects of Daoism that actually have a practical, utilitarian and functional value to our social, moral, ethical, educational, scientific and spiritual progress. Just look at the Daoshi and Fangshi of old and how much they achieved. Architecture, mathematics, physiognomy, feng shui, acupuncture, agriculture and irrigation, astrology, botany, qigong, martial arts, textiles, exorcism, so many medical and technological innovations. Believe me, this wasn’t a result of ritualism, deity worship and ceremony, but a direct result of their humanitarian and spiritual cultivation, which enabled them to expand their awareness and manifest afflatus of revolutionary change in so many fields. When was the last time Daojiao achieved any innovation of the sort and issued it to the masses in order to improve humanity? Laozi never claimed to have originated Daoism. He is considered the founding philosophical figure of Daoism; although in that incarnation he was just a spiritual cultivator sharing his personal experiences and summarising the knowledge of the past in a way people could digest. Nevertheless, he never held on to the past. Even in the Dao De Jing he refers to the ancient Daoists before him and yet when he met Kongfuzi who insisted new knowledge should be based on past; he also said: "The men of whom you speak are long since dead and their bones are turned to ashes in their graves." Spiritual Daoism will always be differentiated from Philosophical and Religious Daoism by its focus on the practical development of the body's Shen from a state of Yin to a state of Yang; all of which can be achieved without worship, ceremonies and sacrifices. It is because of this that spiritual Daoism is a universal practice, because it reflects the Dao and does not model anyone into a certain structure. Therefore anyone can practice it, regardless of their beliefs. On the other hand, an atheist will not be able to follow Religious Daoism and they may very well disagree with much of Philosophical Daoist texts. Both Philosophical and Religious Daoism are often inundated with concepts, dogma and belief systems, many of which are unsubstantiated and misinterpretations of Xian Tian Xiulian. Tai Yi is the “great oneness”. We have similar concepts in Xiao Yao Pai, such as Dao, Tai Shang Wu Ji, Tao Jiao Zhi Zun and Guang Gong, but again – none of these concepts or personifications demand worship. If you want to, you can, if you don’t want to, you don’t have to. It’s always choice. Free will is the highest right of the soul and so is our responsibility to bear the corresponding karma. I will conclude this by saying that, Xiao Yao Pai is different from many other schools that still exist today. Most of them have but their history to rely on, but they are not grounded in the present time and they have lost the root of ancient Dao Yin Shu; which connects one directly to the Xian as was in the old days. Anyone who questions our way or our teaching, is welcome to doubt us, but if you want to find out the truth about whether what we are saying is true; you can prove it to yourself by attending an initiation. If Daoist priests and abbots in prominent schools and temples can accept and acknowledge us for what we claim, but academia is still in denial, then I think it’s time to appreciate that there is a significant disconnect between the superficial perception of Daoism by its modern philosophers and the actual heartbeat of Daoism as it pulses within the fundamental undercurrent of spirit (Shen) cultivation that pervades all authentic Daoist practice. There very well might be something lacking in their understanding and I think that anyone who is serious about getting the full picture of Daoism owes it to themselves to investigate our claim; unless of course they just prefer the writing and reading part of Daoism to actual Xiu Dao and Neidan – in which case. Hey, to each their own."

"Ah, If only someone could build a time machine and travel to the past and slap Laozi across the wrist to let him know that he was actually a new-age practitioner and straying far from the root of Daoism, due to his lack of practice of deity worship and faithful religious devotion. That would surely fix things It seems you overlooked the most crucial and illuminating point of what I communicated. You see, there is a timeline in the transformation of Daoism and it begins with the sage and the hermit, eg: the founding father; Laozi. These are the progenitor spiritual practitioners and early Daoists. The writings and teachings of the spiritual practitioners were recorded in books and taught to others who became their devoted followers. These books and recordings then become the philosophy and theory of Daoism, such as the Dao De Jing, but they are not the "practice" of Daoism, which is the focus of humanitarian and spiritual cultivation. So the Philosophical side of Daoism, such as the Dao De Jing, is simply the "output" of the Spiritual Practitioners thoughts and experiences, but as Laozi himself said, they are no the Dao itself and the book of the Way is not the way itself. As an example: reading a book about architecture, does not make you an architect. Even if you read all the books on architecture, until you actually manifest that knowledge into the world and build something tangible that can change others life experience, like a bridge or a residential building or a beautiful monument, then what you have is just intellectual stuff. It is useless to everyone but your own ego, which naturally likes to feel good about itself and how smart it is. After sages like Laozi, died, they became venerated out of respect for their wisdom and life's work. Altars were erected to pay respects and statues were built in their image to convey this appreciation - and that's ok to do. It's ok to show respect to your teacher, but worship takes it to a whole different level. When that level is reached, some people chose to deify the individual and worship them as Gods. Were they Gods? No. Did they asked to be worshiped, no? It's choice. Zhang Daoling officially established the religious practice of Daoism way after Laozi, so It's very simple to distinguish the root from the branches and Religious Daoism is certainly not the root, unless you are asserting that Laozi and his followers such as Zhuang Zhou, came AFTER the formation of Religious Daoism and not before. Then you can call it new-age. Otherwise, that doesn't make any sense. After all, new-age is a term that implies a chronological idea. Laozi did not worship anyone, nor did he ask people to worship him or any other gods. Such organised practices came long after the spiritual way of the sage at the core of Daoism. You can see this in other traditions such as Christianity. Yeshua the Christ was not a Christian, and he certainly didn't ask anyone to build statues of him or to light candles and worship him. He just wanted to spread the message of love and teach people that we are more than the physical. Religious practice is always the outermost expression of spiritual cultivation, regardless of the tradition and it is generally always created by the followers of the founder and never the founder him/herself; who would probably be turning over in their graves to see what has become of their legacy. It is all Daoism, but we should know its differences by observing history. If one wishes to, they can choose to practice, Spirituality, Philosophy or Religion, or all three, or a combination of the three, but you cannot uproot the tree and turn it on it's head and call that its original state. The seed and the root come first. I'm really not saying anything new here. This is not my opinion. I'm just stating history and pointing to the obvious. The logic is undeniable if looked at objectively. If you believe something I've said here to be false. Please highlight it and let me know what you think. I'm interested in your opinion."

Someone in the Tao Te Ching forum on facebook posted something slanderous about Xiao Yao Pai and I thought my reply to him may be educational so I'd like to share it here. The persons post: My reply: Hi everyone, I'm humbled by your interest. My name is Xuan Daoji and I'm a representative of the Xiao Yao school, so I can help to clarify some queries, however, I feel this group is not really the place for it, so I will try to be succinct and address things directly, so as not to detract from the main theme of the group. Firstly, Jean-Yves isn't a member of our school, so I'm not sure where he is getting his information from or why he is making things up, but his statements of our school are inaccurate and slanderous. Most of you I imagine can think for yourselves and appreciate that he does not represent the whole of Chinese Daoism when he speaks on its behalf, and please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe also, none of their official organizations. Xiao Yao Pai is well known amongst the Daoist clans in China and we have on numerous occasions been invited to Daoist temples to reveal and demonstrate to the priests and abbots our claim of the inheritance of the ancient art. We currently even have initiated priests in Tian Hou Gong in Nanjing, China; who have inherited our school's art; Xian Tian Dao Yin Shu. Our initiative to re-introduce ancient Xian Tian Dao Yin Shu to the world is well known by those in higher posts within the respective governing organisations and we have been repeatedly recognised as the only known inheritors of the old art - and I'm happy to say that we maintain healthy and ongoing relationships, which I believe will enable us to continue to share our art. Further, we are also associated with Zhengyi. You can speak to the priests in Zhengyi in Longhu Shan about it. Wudang Pai id also acquainted with us. In addition to all this, you can also visit Bai Yun Guan (White Cloud Temple) in Beijing. You can ask the officials there to see the list of China's ancient schools as affirmed by the Chinese Daoist Association. Xiao Yao Pai is in 33rd place on the list. Since we are in the Dao De Jing group, let's remember what a wise man once said: Dao ke dao, fei chang dao; ming ke ming, fei chang ming! There is a reason why this is the introductory line of Laozi's seminal teaching. That reason is to express a notion of great import; that the essence of the Daoist way can never fully be written on paper or spoken in words, and the infinity of the Dao cannot be held in the palm of your hand, for its greatness is too vast to be fathomed by the imagination, yet alone contained by the body. Its ineffable nature must be realized through the fundamental core of our being. Some people think that reading Daoist books, performing Daoist ceremonies, wearing a robe, having a Daoist passport or having a Daoist name makes you a Daoist, but none of these possessions or titles can ever confer the Dao. He who thinks he knows Daoism by reading history books and reciting old texts has missed the mark altogether. You say that our way of teaching as taught through Hu Fa Shen, has never been heard of in Daoism. I am presuming perhaps, but could this be because your definition of Daoist "teaching" is based on the post-Celestial Masters' era? Additionally, It is well known that Zhengyi branch (one of the two major branches of Daoism today), aspires through its practice methods to achieve this very connection to Wuji and the Daoist Xian; where the adept may receive guidance directly from the Shen. So when you say that it has never been heard of in Daoism, I honestly have no idea what Daoism you're referring to. When we speak about Daoism, we must recognize the different stages of its development to avoid confusion; namely; Pre and Post-Tianshi. Prior to its officialisation as a Religion by Zhang Daoling, Daoism had its roots in the way of the sage and the hermit; such as was Laozi. The practice of Daoism was completely disconnected from theocratic affairs and ceremonial etiquette. Its focus was entirely on spiritual cultivation and attaining the Dao. This is the root of Daoism, from which its Religious and Philosophical offshoots arise. By having the pleasure of speaking to you again Jean-Yves, I am reminded of this meeting of Kongfuzi and Laozi: Confucius visited Laozi dressed in formal elaborate robes to discuss matters of ceremonial etiquette and tried to explain his belief that new knowledge must be based upon old knowledge...but was interrupted by the old master: Laozi: "The men of whom you speak are long since dead and their bones are turned to ashes in their graves." Laozi: "Put away your polite airs and your vain display of fine robes. The wise man does not display his treasures to those he does not know. And he cannot learn justice from the Ancients." Confucius: "Why not?" Laozi replied "The swan does not need to bathe daily to remain white." then abruptly ended the meeting. Confucius later said onto his disciples: "I know that birds can fly and fish can swim and beasts can run. Snares can be set for things that run, nets for those that swim and arrows for whatever flies. But who knows how Dragons ride the wind and cloud up into the sky. Today I saw Laozi. What a Dragon!'" In the early days practicing Daoists and masters of the arts usually passed down their teachings behind closed doors and in most cases, you either had to be an official or a direct descendant of the masters family to receive the school's teachings. The size of these schools was relatively small compared to what we have today, sometimes no larger than 2 to 5 people including the master. Despite this it was common for the members of these schools to swear an oath not to disclose the names of their masters, so as a result of this, quite often, students studying under the same master could pass each other on the street and not know who they were at all or that they studied under the same teacher. This is the level of secrecy which permeated many of the original Daoist schools. As Zhang Daoling's work progressed, many rules, positions, procedures and institutional hierarchies were introduced to help organize the increasing numbers of Daoist followers, because usually when it's just one person or a small family practicing, you don't need many rules, but as the organization grows, you have to have some rules or chaos will ensue. This is the beginning of the state officialised religious Daoism. Many people joined the Celestial Masters' movement, but many of the early schools of spiritual Daoism did not. Really, have you ever heard of any movement in the history of the world that was agreed upon by all? In this light, rather than becoming public, many schools stuck to their roots and remained closed door traditions. Unfortunately due to wars, inter-school conflicts and rivalries and other forms of aggression, not all of these old schools have managed to preserve their tradition. Some were completely wiped out and in other instances the master, unable to find a worthy student, simply chose not transmit his full teachings, taking his school to the grave and spelling the end of that particular tradition. Xiao Yao Pai is one of the traditions that has preserved its roots as a spiritual school of Daoism and we have never stopped transmitting our teachings. There are others, and some schools still are not public. So if our teachings as you say have never been heard of in the history of Daoism, it is because your history is incomplete, but that is partially due to us having been a closed door institution for most of our time. I say partially, because, many of the elder abbots actually know of us, but most think our school had gone extinct long ago. In reality, we simply kept to ourselves to avoid conflict, just like many other Daoist schools eg: The Southern Zhengyi who fled to Taiwan during the communist era. Nobody has complete knowledge of Daoism, and I do not know anyone who can claim to speak for all of it as Jean-Yves has today. This feat is beyond me. Today we have over 140,000 registered Daoists under Tai Shang Men Xiao Yao Pai, all in their own right inheritors and practitioners of Xian Tian Dao Yin Shu who have received Hu Fa Shen and follow the curriculum disseminated by our Celestial Branch. If we have managed to stay out of the public eye all these years, despite our numbers, it is because that is our nature. As it is said, the ripe rice plant bows low. In the early 1970s and for the first time in our school's history, our Grand Master Li Shang Hu, made our school public. Since then we have been a public institution. In terms of initiation, we do not charge for it as that authority is granted to us by Tai Shang Lao Jun. We do however like any other organization have running costs and we have chosen to cover those by offering for now, a two-day, yearly seminar to introduce Xiao Yao Pai, teach people about Spiritual Daoism, Physiognomy, Palm Reading, Feng Shui, Meditation and The Divine Guidance Art of Daoism: Xian Tian Dao Yin Shu. Every practitioner who begins an apprenticeship and is assigned to their first Hu Fa Shen is officially registered in our celestial branch and they may continue to study under the guidance of their Hu Fa Shen, until their physical body can no longer sustain their subtle energies; and they die. There is no such thing as paying more money to receive more instructions and there has never been in our school. Certainly, nobody from our organization has every posted anything like that in the decades since we went public. So I wonder why you would compel yourself to fabricate such a flagrant and misleading assumption? Today, if someone wants to study Daoism. There are three entry points or layers. At the core, there is Spiritual Daoism. This practice of Daoism places no emphasis on worship, ceremonies, etiquette. There are no belief systems into which you are indoctrinated, there is no dogma and there is no way because everyone is unique. Daoism is the way of no way because every individual is their own personal path through which they return to their inherent original nature. This part of Daoism focuses primarily on spiritual cultivation, where the physical body is used as a laboratory that enables us to awaken to and develop our congenital spiritual energies. If people practice this way, they can pierce directly into the Dao. If they wish to write a book about their experiences thereafter, that's their prerogative; as it is that of their followers to venerate and deify them. At the end of the day, I suppose one has to choose if they want to be a follower of others' experiences or a leader in their own journey of self-discovery. The sage Laozi is associated with this form of Daoism. The second aspect of Daoism and the first layer which wraps around the core of Spiritual Daoism is that of Philosophical Daoism. Here one may aspire to the Dao by "thinking" of it for themselves or following the written or verbalized experience of the Dao belonging to another practitioner (living or dead), but they may rarely practice spiritual cultivation of their own. Many of these followers ignore the first opening of the Dao De Jing, missing the forest for the trees and thinking that the Dao can be found in a book, but the book that describes sugar is not equal to the personal taste and sense-based experience of sugar. The smarter you are, the harder it is to find the Dao. For this Laozi said: To attain knowledge, add things every day. To attain wisdom, remove things every day. The lesson here is that the physical mind which is gradually acquired after birth, the one that we call ego or self, is restricted by the dimension of Taiji - as it pertains to the physical body and the 5 elements. Intellectual understanding accumulated by absorbing information via our body's 5 senses, can only take you to the precipice of this realm. Even if you go to the highest point, which few people do, you are still trapped within phenomenal duality. To go beyond Taiji and stream your consciousness into Wuji (phenomenal non-duality), whence the undifferentiated primordial Dao can be experienced, qing jing must be cultivated and stabilized (clarity and stillness of the mind). This is why it is said; "remove things" every day. Why does it work this way? Because the acquired egoic physical mind is sustained by natural movement. It is based on the ebb and flow and cyclic energetic movement of the complimentary opposites of Taiji that govern our relative duality. Therefore to thrive, it must move. If you close your eyes, you will see that your thoughts are always there and moving. The mind is always in motion, as it were, jumping from one branch and onto the other like a monkey; hence the term: "monkey mind". This mundane mind cannot synchronize with the original mind of Daoism because the soul of our true nature resides in stillness. It bathes in it. It is invigorated by it. However, stillness and movement have very different frequencies relative to their states of action and inaction. The mind that moves (acquired), cannot synchronize with the original mind (congenital) that does not move; and this is why all meditation practices begin with detaching the attention from thoughts so that the awareness can abide in stillness. When the awareness can abide in stillness, it begins to match the frequency of the original mind; and once that connection is made and maintained; spiritual transformation envelops the body of the practitioner like a cocoon. So if you dedicate your life entirely to "adding" and accumulating more information about Daoism, but never practice the core of Daoism. You are just developing your intellect, but not your spirit. The third and outermost layer of Daoism is the Religious aspect. This development of Daoism is yet another step further out from the root. While practitioners of Spiritual Daoism could have previously written a book, which led them to have many followers and elevated their status to that of a venerated philosophical figure -- within Religious Daoism, this very person is now raised higher yet and deified. In this form of Daoism, you will find a lot of Daoist ceremonies, devotional practices, deity worship, tributes, trance practices and so on and so forth. If one wishes to attain the Dao through this way, they will find it very difficult indeed, for they are farthest from the source and the ziran (naturalness) way of the sage. The way of the Spiritual Daoism of old and the foundation of esoteric practice is the awakening and realization of our own Godhood and not the worship of others'. The focus is internal, not external. So when you say, Jean-Yves, that we reject "traditional" Daoist devotional activities, you are right and you are wrong. Firstly, we do not reject anything. We accept the world as it is and make an effort to improve it, but we do have our own views. Secondly, our notion of "traditionalism", predates yours as evidenced by your familiarity with certain ideas. Thirdly, you're absolutely correct. We are a school of Spiritual Daoism, so we do not worship or pay devotion to any deity. We are devoted to ourselves and the evolution of humanity. This is why anybody can learn Spiritual Daoism, no matter if you are an Atheist, Christian, Buddhist or what have you. There is no dogma involved. If you can't experience it, then there's no reason to believe in it. Spiritual Daoism is evidence based and not a religious belief system. We may pay respects to our Hu Fa Shen or the head of our Celestial branch; Tai Shang Lao Jun, or other Xian like, Guan Gong, or Jiu Tian Xuan Nu or Er Lang Shen, but that is only in the way one would politely bow to their Wushu instructor out of respect for their achievement, merit, and skills. It has nothing to do with religious worship. That sort of practice "locks" and impregnates the mind it does not "open" it. To practice Daoism effectively. We must address three key points in unison. On their own, they lead to incomplete results, so they must go hand in hand. These are: 1. Spiritual Cultivation (Subtle energy cultivation) 2. Wisdom / Wu (both intellectual and divine) 3. Gong De (merit achieved through virtuous deeds) I would go into depth with these, but It has been a long day, so let me conclude this : ) Jean-Yves. If you would like to stop "guessing" and making assumptions about our school, I invite you to attend our yearly seminar in London. It takes place in November on the 5th and 6th of 2016. Unlike many schools who claim all sorts of things; we actually prove it in Xiao Yao Pai, and allow every person to judge it for themselves. Of course, this requires that you actually have a personal experience off of which to make that determination, not nil. Do we claim that we have a Celestial branch and connect our students to an official Daoist Xian who acts as their Hu Fa Shen? - Yes, we do. This is the ancient way of Daoist transmission. Don't believe us? Well, jokes on you, because we do not want anyone to believe us or our experience. We want every person to experience it for themselves and form their own opinion, because frankly, we could just be bullshitting. You'll never know until you know because you can't know what you don't know! So, come and know through your own phenomenal experience and you can prove it to yourself. Finally. I will go even a step further as I see that you live in Belgium, so as gesture of "authenticity" in light of your skepticism, I'm willing to spend my own hard earned money and buy you a return ticket to London and wave the seminar costs, all so that you can finally confirm for yourself whether what our school claims is true or false. (And hopefully so you can stop spreading unsubstantiated claims and slandering us) It's not very nice My only 1 condition? If our claim is true, you pay me back your air fare. Sorry, Christmas is coming, and I have presents to buy One often meets his destiny on the path he takes to avoid it. Best wishes Xuan

Nice find, buddy.