RyanO

Hmm...so far this sounds more Buddhist than Taoist.

I also find it interesting that you are a lawyer as well as a Qigong Master. I recently quit law school because it was sapping me of my vitality. Not enough heart energy. Not to say this would happen to everyone, I'm sure I just wasn't compatible.

FWIW, my opinion of the 5 tibetans is that they will give similar results as a good yoga/qigong program. Which is to say very good results, but there's nothing specifically magical about them.

Regarding this topic, I am attending Michael Winn's Fusion 1 workshop this weekend which includes a version of this practice. I plan on writing a report in the thread I created about it.

Romantic relationships are clearly a very difficult and important part of our lives. I generally agree with the advice given here, especially the parts about being self-reliant and not needy. When one is fully happy being single they are better able to handle relationships. It is important to have similar goals and be compatible. The fact that she told you she would cheat on you is clearly a warning sign. However, you have expressed that you want a relationship. As such, I don't think the advice to sow your oats while you can is necessary. Rather, find someone else who also wants a lasting relationship and is compatible. Obviously this is not the easiest thing, but it is important. I have found this site: http://www.reuniting.info/ to be very telling about why relationships fail, besides your standard 'oh they weren't compatible,' or 'they weren't really in love'. BS. Much could be said about the topic and the website and corresponding book do a good job. Suffice it to say she gets into biological theory, much like the Pickup Artists do (www.fastseduction.com) but takes a different route with this knowledge. Many PUAs seek to become alpha males in MLRs (multiple long term relationships). Because as mammals we are biologically hardwired to not be monogamous, if this is what we desire, we need to overcome our biology. Question if that is really what you want. If it is, I recommend the reuniting site. If not, check out fast seduction. I wish you the best of luck either way.

Thanks for the tips y'all. Haha I saw that Microcosmic Orbit formulation too and it gave me a chuckle. I don't know much (read:anything) about herbology but intuitively it doesn't seem like a formulation could be specific to that pathway, although I'm sure it would help generally. I was going to purchase pure He Shou Wu as Michael Winn recommended it, but decided to go for the formulation as it has some other good stuff as well. Just trying to give my Kidneys a little love. Anyone else have experiences with this or the Tonic Alchemy?

cat: Nice, thanks for the response. I have also found Michael to be a great teacher. It would be very cool if you could be there. I have met some awesome people at his workshops and I'm sure that would continue the trend jK: Wow cool Kings Mountain, funny you mention it, I just visited Crowder's Mountain to celebrate the Spring Equinox. Thanks for your advice as well. Namaste

True enough. I also mentioned that people have different definitions of what 'evil' is. I have no problem agreeing that some people have destructive intentions, that people experience pain, etc. I think the word 'evil' carries metaphysical weight beyond these things, in the common understanding. Admitting its existence means that there is something fundamentally 'wrong' with reality. The feeling that maybe reality is screwed up in someway leads people to believe in evil, and it is often pain that leads people to these conclusions. Resisting 'what is' is believing in evil.

Thanks for the tips Michael. I find I go deeper when the techniques are simple and more yin, so your advice to concentrate on fewer rather than all at once I think is good, I will keep that in mind. My guess is his approach/changes to the material these days will align with that advice. Funny you mention Minke, I literally just purchased her Tao Basics CD and some of her other stuff. Didn't get the Fusions, but might if I like her work and the Fusion material. Thanks!

Cool thanks Craig. I hear you on not going in with preconceived notions, and believe individuals vary greatly in their experiences. I've been having some powerful experiences recently doing Primordial Qigong, the Inner Smile, and the Six Healing Sounds. Like, really powerful. I almost want to explore these more before I get into Fusion, but I could probably do that forever! Also, I think my shen are eager to experience a little communion I'll let you know how it goes!

Not to get too off topic, but I think this is interesting. 'Evil' means different things in different contexts. Obviously, there are many acts and occurrences that could understandably been seen as 'evil'. My personal belief is that there is no such thing as something being fundamentally evil. I see this perspective in a lot of Eastern philosophy, and is the primary thing that separates from Western dualistic/monotheistic philosophies. For these systems to work, evil and original sin must be accepted as truth IMHO. I think there is no such thing as sin and that humans are not fundamentally flawed. I said imbalance is evil because that is the closest thing I see to being evil. Imbalance is what hinders flow of the life force. Any imbalanced emotion will do this, for example, and the outcome may be seen as 'evil'. Destructive forces are necessary for flow. Cancer is an example of the creative force gone haywire. But ultimately, I believe there is no evil and that reality is perfect because everything is of the Tao. This insight is what fuels my Inner Smile.

Round 2! Anyone have any thoughts/tips/advice about Fusion? Fusion 1 is this weekend, I must say I'm pretty excited about it. Thanks!

What I meant by the 'classical view of transmutation' was more about context and intention rather than technique. Celibates/transmuters will often pay lip service to the effect that sex energy is holy and we should transmute it rather than waste it (thought some do think it is evil), but in practice they still have the orthodox belief that the body and ‘flesh’ are base or evil, and that transmutation somehow makes the sex energy more holy. This belief affects the body on a subtle level and can cause issues such as we see with the gurus. A lot of it depends on religious belief. IMO, if one does not believe in the perfection of all of reality, including embodiment, there will always be tension. As far as technique, another thing I meant by classical view is the focus on bringing sex energy up the spine and to the higher centers. IMO, not only does this energy need to be brought down the front, it is also far more important to open the lower dantian. Yogic philosophy in particular would disagree. Patanjali subscribed to a dualistic metaphysic (Samkhyan) and this is evident in the Yoga Sutras. In this context, just bringing energy up the spine to escape the body and fully become spirit actually makes sense. However, I think it doesn't work because it is imbalanced. Misreading the Yoga Sutras as non-dualistic is a misinterpretation and creates problems. All this said, everybody/path is different and I realize these are generalizations. But valid generalizations nonetheless. I can't speak to your Buddhist monks because I don't know their contexts and techniques. If they are successful with transmutation, my guess is that not only do they have balanced technique, they have an understanding that there is nothing fundamentally 'wrong' our body or reality. Many people fail with transmutation because their efforts are unconsciously fueled by fear and resistance. Again, this is all my opinion, and I mean no disrespect to anyone's path.

Clearly there is a semantic problem happening with the word 'Guru'. If one means a respected teacher, then no problem. But I agree with markern in the sense that there is often a potentially dangerous dogma surrounding the traditional role of a guru. Guru worship (a very real practice) has its benefits, but these benefits can be had from other kinds of spiritual practice without the dangers. As far as I'm concerned, anyone in a body is not an incarnation of God, unless we all are. We have evolved spiritually. The guru relationship evolved in a time when it was necessary, but this is more and more not the case. J. Krishnamurti talked a lot about the spiritual problems with the guru/disciple relationship (which is funny because he is in the book!) As for Athanor's problem, as I stated in the first post I became disillusioned as well. I have found the Taoist approach to have answers as to why all these gurus had sex problems. Basically, it's because many religions are too focused on the formless, heavenly realms. Practically speaking, the view that the body is not as holy as the spirit is a subtle attack on the jing and does not allow it to be integrated or worked with. Thus it can be suppressed and eventually will require release. The classical view of transmutation is not sufficient IMHO. But this is another topic and has been discussed elsewhere (and how!). Sex is not evil. Women are not evil. Ejaculation is not evil. Imbalance is evil.

Thanks Mal!

I second the Inner Smile and Primordial Qigong suggestions. A little disclaimer: PQ is powerful and can bring to the surface some suppressed energies, so be aware of that. What you can feel you can heal. Inner Smile baby. If you're interested in physical healing, Winn also has a Deep Healing Qigong video that is apparently a lot like primordial but more medical. I haven't done it so I can't speak to it but if it's anything like primordial I'm sure it's great.

Good stuff. I always need less ZZZ when I do more ZZ

You're welcome! It's a great practice. I just listened to Winn's latest Healing Love two day audio course (Dec 2009) and as expected he spends a lot of time on Deep Earth Pulsing. He modified it a little to work more with sexual energy. He practiced testicle breathing first to get unaroused sexual chi moving. Then he taught his wudang pearl method coloring the pearl pink which he said was the color of sexuality (white male sperm plus red female blood). When teaching Deep Earth Pulsing, he put heavy emphasis on movement of the hip joint, which is the biggest joint in the body. The fluid in the joint creates a kind of compression that helps pump earth chi. Rather than totally releasing into the Earth, he emphasized pumping the Earth's sexual energy into the body, visualized as pink. Earth chi is satiating and cools sexual chi, and allows it to integrate more easily. Obviously there is a lot more he talked about and to do the practice you'd have to listen to the course, which I recommend. It was interesting to hear his modification compared to my evolution of the form. The emphasis on receiving Earth chi seems like a nice balance for my practice. Happy Spring

Microcosmic Orbit

Merry Spring Equinox! Anyone feeling randy?

1) For scientific skeptics, there are many frauds who claim powers/abilities they do not have, and since qi is difficult to measure or quantify, it is difficult to tell truth from untruth. I know some scientific studies are being and have been done, and applaud these efforts, but feel at some level qi will always remain a mystery. 2) Many people are out of touch with their bodies. They dissipate qi rather than cultivate it, and because they can’t feel it, qi seems unreal. When people begin to cultivate vital force, the benefits of qigong can be seen. This is especially true for meditators who create imbalances through improper practice. For these people qigong and grounding exercises can be a godsend. 3) Because of many subjective aspects surrounding qi related practices, it is difficult to tell what is objectively true. These practices are rooted in often superstitious traditions, and discerning what is objective and what is subjective is a difficult task. "What the thinker thinks, the prover proves". Just some thoughts. Any other ideas?

Yeah I figured you were. It's just that from a religious perspective there is a similar logic in titles. That they aren't arbitrary, but indicate a level of skill or advancement in their respective path.

For one thing, a title indicates a level of mastery over something that requires considerable effort and time. Thus, it is useful for a teacher. In religion and something like qigong, skill is not as easily observed as in something like athletics or music for example. This makes it a more difficult issue. Title examples: Doctor, Coach, Professor I'm not a martial artist, but I know titles are important there too.

I'm sure the edit was a good thing, but now I'm just curious.