RiverSnake

I am still reading the 1st half of the book and have yet to get to the the practical (exercises) aspects of the book. Will let you know what results i get if i start to practice her methods. -My 2 cents, Peace

Magical Knowledge I by Josephine McCarthy is a phenomenal book. Working my way through it right now and its only 5$ on Kindle . http://www.amazon.com/Magical-Knowledge-Book-Foundations-Practitioner/dp/1906958440/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1355870080&sr=8-1&keywords=Magical+Knowledge -My 2 cents, Peace

I have found recently that posture is extremely important. During meditation and as you go throughout your day...in all situations always try to keep your posture relaxed and upright. Chi flows 24 hrs....crooks and knots in the back inhibit the flow and limit the amount of time you can put into cultivation.....also if your interested in pain relief perhaps you should see a TCM doctor or perhaps a "healer" -My 2 cents, Peace

Josephine emailed me again and asked if i would post her response to this post given she thought there was some misunderstanding regarding the topic at hand: "I think you have both misunderstood my comments and also have a very limited knowledge of the Western Mysteries, at least in the UK, Yes Lineage is important, (though not essential) but my point is that it is often used as a badge, as a hierarchical tool to play ego games with. The lineage is acknowledged but often the power/ability of the individual is not. So what I am saying there is a lineage does not guarantee quality, the line may identify the style of magic and indicate a level of proficiency, but that is all. So for example I would judge a magician on their magical and emotive maturity, their knowledge and ability to apply that knowledge practically - their lineage only tells me how they trained. I was not commenting on people who do not have a lineage, which is a different issue again. I found your comments regarding the western mysteries interesting. Just because you are not aware of lines existing, does not mean they do not exist, it just means you are not aware of them. There are many lines of magic passed from teacher to student in the West and always has been. I taught for many years, I was taught by a teacher (more than one) and they in turn were taught by teachers etc. So I am not quite sure what your understanding is. If you are talking about the direct initiation line of the Golden Dawn then yes, that line of specific initiation within that specific magical pattern was broken. But that was just one and it did spawn many teachers who in turn carried on passing on technique and knowledge. I think it is important to be careful about making sweeping statements about things you do not know much about. I would not presume to comment on the teaching of Daoism for example. I am not a lineage cultivator... I am one of many magicians of my generation, who were taught by the wartime generation, who before that were taught by their elders/betters. I have learned from many people, most of whom came out of the same stream of magic. Most of the magicians of my generation in the UK either know each other or at least know your teacher/ co workers because it is such a small community. I hope that makes it a little clearer. Josephine "

I contacted Josephine as i posted this thread and asked her to give any insights she found valuable. She sent a couple comments regarding the original post via email: "HI, I think you have a bit of confusion over the difference between a lineage as understood in the US and a consecrated line. A lineage in general is where an initiate is taught and eventually they go on to teach the next generation... thus creating a lineage of people. There is a big deal made out of lineages in the US, and is often given more kudos than the actual ability of the person. A line of consecration is a hands on passing on of a spiritual line connects those consecrated to each other both corporeal and non corporeal; so it becomes like a working team. Apostolic succession is a form of consecration. It was a method used in Ancient Egypt, Babylonian and Assyrian religions, in the Roman, Etruscan and Greek religions also... it is nothing new, it is nothing glamorous, it is nothing special, it is simply a logical step in the path of an adept when they begin more dangerous work or have to carry great burdens. It is not something you can list on your website, put with letters after your name and it does not give you a grand title. All of that is just dressing up. I discuss my own process with this briefly at the beginning of the Exorcists Handbook. Also Im afraid your transcribing of the interview struggled a bit with my accent.... you wrote: " you become like a High Being from a consciousness point of view. " I did not say 'high being', but HIVE being, you become part of a larger consciousness that you can access. > Josephine" Thanks for the feedback and corrections Josephine. -My 2 cents, Peace

Thanks for the book recommendation Dainin. I just ordered it. Also Tao Semko comes to a restaurant i work at all the time. Perhaps i will ask him about some of this stuff next time i see him. -My 2 cents, Peace

I read a book about NDE and Kundalini Awakening a while back, interesting stuff: http://www.amazon.com/Farther-Shores-Exploring-Near-Death-Experiences/dp/0006386245/ref=dp_ob_title_bk -My 2 cents, Peace

Wow, thanks for the great response dwai. I have had great results with surya namaskar. Its funny but i guess given that i am practicing a Taoist/Buddhist Tradition of meditating on the LDT and at the same time doing Sun Salutations i guess i am getting the energy flowing and opening from both ends. I'll remember to do some Shavasana next time i practice. Is Surya Namaskar a complete form in itself in terms of its ability to open up the entire body/preparing the nadis completely? I have found that i keep coming to deeper and deeper levels of flexibility and openness in my body. -My 2 cents, Peace

As i recall what Michael recommends is to have simply a balance of Movement and Sitting in terms of the time you put into each, one of those balancing Yin and Yang things i guess. I have never tried it the other way (perhaps i will)....but indeed i imagine they both have much merit. -My 2 cents, Peace

Sounds good.

TCM is not neccesarily related to Taoism, albeit they function on many similar core principles. However, in terms of the efficacy of food combining....its been proven to me in my own personal use. Try it out for yourself and then post the results you get from the practice.

If you're having difficulty with retention, i wrote a thread about about how to successfully conserve jing awhile back. Not sure if you already read it or not. Also, even if we could swallow are semen and have are energy completely re-stored you would still would be lacking in self-control and discipline. Learning how to manage and channel our sexual energy is a very important milestone on the path and also important for oneself as a human being...the goal of the path is self-knowledge.....ones sexual energy is a key tool in this endeavor. My 2 cents, Peace

Michael William Denny was a teacher whom used to post here under the screen-name 5elementao. He got pretty seriously involved with the runes and Teutonic Shamanism in general and he made a couple of good podcasts on itunes about the topic. Here's a post he made about his experiences with one of the runes: http://thetaobums.com/topic/16697-wuji-in-teutonic-spirituality/ -My 2 cents, Peace

One thing i noticed once i started using this diet and my body got used to it was that if i ate improperly i would get a bad stomach ache the next morning and cough up phlegm. Interesting stuff. -My 2 cents, Peace

"It is well known to mystics that if a man meditates upon a symbol around which certain ideas have been associated by past meditation, he will obtain access, to those ideas, even if the glyph has never been elucidated to him by those who have received the oral tradition by "mouth to ear". Dion Fortune, The Mystical Qabalah Get started any time: http://usgs.typepad.com/.a/6a013485938a51970c017c32c5bf81970b-popup -My 2 cents, Peace

Also i would add that ideally you want to eat each food by itself. Mixing the proper foods is good but eating foods by themselves is better. -My 2 cents, Peace

I read once in the 7 Yogas of Naropa (or some book like that) that if you achieve Clear Light Dreams then its thought that you will achieve enlightenment in this lifetime. Interesting stuff. -My 2 cents, Peace

My dad has been practicing from The Way of Energy for awhile now and wanted to possibly go to workshop with Master Lam but he has been unable to contact him or figure out if he actually does any workshops. I was wondering if anyone knows if he teaches others and has gone to a workshop and how to contact him? http://www.amazon.com/Way-Energy-Mastering-Internal-Strength/dp/0671736450/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354736932&sr=1-1&keywords=way+of+energy -My 2 cents, Peace

Thanks guys. My dad is actually taking a trip to california soon so maybe he can actually got to a lesson. Thanks for the links. -My 2 cents, Peace

I usually do GOT first and then practice S-M because the session seem more productive when your already "juiced up". I have recorded all of my experiences with the system in my journal as have several other bums but i will list a few here. 1. Expansion of Consciousness/ Clarity 2. Increased Sensitivity to Chi 3. Deep Peace and Calm -My 2 cents, Peace

thetaoiseasy: I couldn't find the post you wrote awhile back in order to quote it, but i remember you said something to the effect that having an erect spine throughout the day is the most important part of our practice. I practice hatha yoga daily so i am very sensitive to the knots we can accrue in our spine from improper posture and i realized awhile ago that posture affects our level of awareness........but man i never realized how drastically it can effect ones Chi Flow until now!!!!! Been practicing sitting up erect wherever i go and man i can feel a constant flow of warm/cool heat moving up my spine....i have never experienced the flow of chi in such a consistent way...i am just realizing now how having a slouched posture can really effect ones cultivation...i usually just relied on my morning yoga to undo all the knots i accumulated the previous day....but never again!!! Don't care if people think i am weird in class for sitting all the way at the front of my seat, its powerful stuff. Thanks for the tips, its definitely gonna improve my practice and energy level throughout the day. -My 2 cents, Peace

It would be great if Michael could chime in and give some solid advice. My understanding in the context of S-M is that you want to let the Chi do what its doing, The Chi KNOWS what's up, better not to try and force certain things from happening or not happening. Also make sure your doing the close down after you finish each session. -My 2 cents, Peace

Indeed, it is a mind twister, my understanding of these things will continue to deepen i imagine. This conversation reminds me of the Tree, we descend like a bolt of lighting then we have to ride the Middle pillar right back up the cosmos. -My 2 cents, Peace

This was an interesting nugget for me to contemplate this morning.......understanding what you are looking for on the path is important....if you are even looking for anything?........for me personally i feel that having the simple goal of Emptiness is very worthwhile......and also something that "clicked" with me. Its been my experience that all great attributes/virtue like compassion, wisdom, love....etc....cannot be cultivated.....but emerge from emptiness or a state of Naturalness/Being. For sure send me a PM -My 2 cents, Peace