RyanO

Howdy neighbor! Nice to meet a fellow southerner on here... They have come out with some sequels, but after the second they started going downhill. The running theme is creating an army with the 108 stars of destiny. The original Suikoden is on the Playstation Network if you happen to have a PS3. But like I said, it bears little resemblance to Outlaws of the Marsh. I thought about reading OotM, but I don't think I'd have the patience! I find it difficult to read classical literature. Same goes for Journey to the West, which by the way, the Japanese also did a video game version called Saiyuki which was decent. Peace

Haha, I played this game called "Suikoden" which is the Japanese name for OotM back in 1996. Its an RPG for the original Playstation. It's VERY loosely based on the original story. I think the only thing thats the same is the 108 stars of destiny. It's actually more like Star Wars meets Tolkien + Ninjas. You're the son of a great general of the Empire who becomes the leader of the Rebel Army, and you recruit 108 main characters (the Stars of Destiny). Amazing game, my fave of all time. I recommend it for any RPG fan (relatively short for an RPG ~20 hours, pretty old school, unlike those ridiculous MMORPGs today that dont even have an ending...) Anyways, my love for the game makes me want to take a look at OotM...

I don't really know any of you personally, and I'm relatively new here and haven't posted much. But I felt the impetus to express a deep amount of respect and love for the people on this forum. I think the connection I feel, besides simply being human or having something in common, is that most people on here seem to have heeded the call of passion, awaken to the inner spark. That is spirituality to me. Anyways, I know an internet forum is an odd place to express love and that I don't really know any of you, but unconditional love doesn't require that triviality. And no I'm not on drugs, unless of course you consider the Inner Smile a drug PS: I wasn't going to send this since there's not really something to discuss and didn't want to seem like I wanted any special attention or something, but I'm gonna send it anyways because I think it's an important message. Maybe for discussion we could talk about the nature of unconditional love and how to cultivate it. Seems like that word gets thrown around a lot without appreciation of the true nature of unconditionality.

Megan Fox huh? Send me a PM...As long as you're not a bitch I don't care how smart you are Thanks for the responses y'all (I'm from the South). CowTao, visiting retirement homes is a really sweet thing to do, I'm glad to have nudged you. Marblehead, haha I totally forgot it was Thanksgiving, which is weird because I'm having a meal with my family later. Must have been a subconscious thing...I'll have to spread the vibe to the fam! (Strange how simply telling someone you love and are thankful for them can be difficult and awkward...)

I disagree. This gets back to my distinction of moderate vs long retention. Most people here in America are told its healthy to ejaculate whenever they feel like it. There are benefits to moderate retention that are mostly unknown to our sex-crazed society. This advice is useful for people who are guilt ridden or maybe for those on the longer retention path. But I'm just imagining some lurker coming on here looking for basic advice, seeing this post, and using it as an excuse to indulge in pornography and excessive masturbation. This may be a problem of terminology, etc. I agree that long term retention is a tougher issue, but most people can benefit from a more moderate approach.

Well they can be, again it depends on your situation. So if you were a celibate monk, for instance, you would have different goals than a lay person who desired a sexual relationship. From my understanding a moderate approach to retention is beneficial and much easier than longer retention which requires more effort and practice to really transmute the jing. This is what I meant by 'spiritual advancement'.' Another good site for relationships is: http://www.reuniting.info There is a lot of good information on this site about the chemical downside of too much ejaculation. It suggests Karezza as a different approach to lasting sexual relationships. Check it out.

Good question. A lot of it depends on what you are trying to achieve, and if by semen retention you mean arousal or non-arousal. This makes a big difference. Sounds like you are looking more for practical benefits than spiritual advancement. One basic benefit of moderate semen retention is more energy and a feeling of vitality. Again, it's difficult to answer the question specifically because it all depends on your goals/level of advancement. I am a relative beginner myself. But from my limited experience, there is a paradoxical feeling of fullness and satisfaction that comes from not "spilling the seed" too often. Too often in our society we are told to ejaculate freely, and I think this just instills deeper and deeper levels of dissatisfaction, which is again ironic. So along with more energy there is more contentment. Meditation is huge, especially for its relaxation/stress reduction benefits. Then the energy can flow freely. But again I am a beginner and don't have experience with long term retention. More experienced bums may have more advice here. Trunk's site has a lot of good info http://www.precisiondocs.com/~altaoism/. Look up Healing Love. Though he is very experienced and I think that info is relevant to more advanced practitioners. I am interested in people's replies. I also wonder about long term retention and prostate health. There seems to be a lot of dissention in this area. Peace Ryan

Wow awesome post markern.

Wow thats super cool, I haven't thought about that. Seems to me there's a lot of implications this could have for various mudras. Is the technique simply raising or pointing the finger a little while the rest of the hand is relaxed? Any cool links for this?

The CD on the ordering page says it for Windows XP. Does that mean it won't work on Macs? Solutions?

I second the Six Healing Sounds recommendation for the evening (sitting version), combined with a gentle Inner Smile. It is a very good way to de-stress and relax. Also, it is great for preparing the mind/emotions for the journey into the dream realm...

Hey bums, very interesting topic. I have thought about this a lot myself, and will add my two cents. I think an important thing to consider is not whether "qi" actually exists, but the number of unbelievable claims people make with regard to what they can do with qi. That is, in its application. This notion of there being a force that we can control lends itself to ideas of telekinesis, levitation, etc. Many more people have been found to be frauds with regard to their telekinetic abilities than have been confirmed. I'm not saying it's not possible, but this is my experience. The very abstract and subtle nature of qi lends itself to people making false claims about what it or they can do. This is a huge problem for skeptics, especially considering how difficult it is to validate scientifically and how much weight our society puts on scientific evidence. In short, I think there are two issues here: 1.) The prevalence of sham artists taking advantage of the abstract nature of qi and 2.) An inherent discrepancy between the ancient Taoist and modern scientific worldviews. But yeah, I 'believe' in qi. Because just like love can be explained mechanistically, so can the many functions of qi. And I have felt qi in the way many people describe. Of course this brings into the discussion of objectivity vs. subjectivity which is another topic altogether. In the end, though, I am discerning in the use of the word 'qi.' Seems like it gets thrown around too much these days.

Dang thats sad. IMO performing euthanasia (love the pun) on an animal in the right circumstance is the compassionate thing to do. I think the karmic rules for domesticated animals are different than humans or wild animals. This is because of the nature of their relationship to us. Pets depend on us for food, shelter, affection, etc. We also give them medical treatment when appropriate. Under the right circumstances, as it sounds like with your dog, putting them to sleep is the right thing to do. I also say this because I don't believe killing is wrong in all circumstances. I'm sure more orthodox religious people might disagree, but that is my view. I feel for you, as I had to do this with my dog. Pets are definitely a reminder of the transitory nature of physical existence. -Ryan

Hello fellow tao bums! Longtime lurker here (sporadically for a couple years), never got around to joining. But here I am! As far as I'm concerned the subject matter here is about the coolest stuff on earth, and it's a shame I haven't had much success talking about this stuff with people in 'real life.' I guess most folks just don't get it. It's nice to know I'm not the only one who's crazy Most of my background has been in Yoga and Buddhism (read Autobiography of a Yogi a teenager, learned TM about 7 years ago, studied Buddhism in college), but have recently 'discovered' Taoism. I like it for its honesty/direct approach to duality. Nondualistic philosophies seem contradictory to me, and IMO end up being dualistic in practice. Working with dualism, however, seems to cultivate unity. Paradox much? Another important aspect of my path was encountering the rampant hypocrisy of Hindu gurus in the west. It made me question the validity of spiritual teachings, the place of morality, etc. In my experience Taoism has a more honest approach to sexuality. There's a lot more I could say but I'll leave it at that. But before I go, I plan on going to Michael Winn's workshops this fall, starting with Primordial Qigong this weekend. Anyone else? -Ryan