RiverSnake

I believe the word tantra refers to "presence" or "meditation". So tantric sex means aware or meditative sex. -A book i enjoyed was Tantric Sex by Diane Richardson http://www.amazon.com/Tantric-Sex-Men-Making-Meditation/dp/1594773114/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1296079940&sr=1-4

My mom got divorced from my dad and as a result a lot of her negativity energy rubbed off on me. -It took me awhile to get over it. Chi-Gung and meditation helped me clean that programming out of my system. -Nowadays to many men are being raised by single mothers, as a result there growing up acting like women. -I used to be where Non is at a long time ago, he's been sold a bag of bad programming. -I found a teacher and got over the shit.

This stuff isn't rocket science. Be a masculine man and you will attract feminine women. -I recall somewhere reading about a concept called "Yin and Yang". Over analyzing things will just confuse you.

Welcome to the taobums. Simple meditation is a good way to get started in knowing yourself.

Hm...i actually made a post of this nature in my personal practice discussion. Its entitled "Sweeping the Mind" http://www.thetaobums.com/index.php?/forum/149-tao-apprentice/

Flying Phoenix eh? We have a thread that must be at-least 20 pgs long on that practice and still ongoing discussion. Enjoy.

It's been my experience that the easiest way to pin the ego is through the "F" word: -Fear...the egos primary tool of controlling you is through fear. -It's also been my experience that when you remove fear from your mind things flow naturally and things fall into place.

What she said

I assume you're referring to this sifu? http://www.huangtaichi.com/ -I just took my first class with him last week. He practices right by where i live.

I think to believe in something is silly. Personal experience is better.

Its funny because i saw this post and didn't recognize it, i thought: "someone made a post very similar to mine? i've never heard of Tao Chi?" -Thanks for the correction. Hope u enjoy the DVD.

Sound interesting. I'm 20 right now, maybe in another 10 or 15 fifteen years we'll beable to chill...until then this forum will have to suffice.

Its said that all difficulties stem from an imbalance between yin and yang: women and man. -I can only imagine how many unhappy and disconnected people live in Japan.

I agree. There's no need for mud-slinging.

I have not read the article but i assume based on the posts that it explains the usage and value of money in spirituality. -It's my opinion that the intentions behind an action are just as important, sometimes more so than the actions themselves. -Money and power can be used for good, evil or just to by a sandwich ...it depends on the intentions behind it.

I have always agreed with Taoist philosophy on the idea of moderation in all things be it alcohol, sex, food...etc -However, it never occurred to me that you could meditate too intensively or to long or practice yoga and Tai Chi for too much until i read this excerpt from "A Farther Shore". -It also occurred to me that what is moderate in our spiritual practices is somewhat of a moving bar according to the practitioner. A year ago when i was learning Reiki a women their told me that she was beginning to get serious about her meditation and practice 2 hours a day. At that time that seemed like an extreme, however, a year later 2 hours seems moderate to me. -I would like to hear what the opinion of the various practitioners on forum are on what "moderation" is in ones spiritual practices. "People frequently want to know how they can best stimulate the process of spiritual transformation. It should be clear by now that i believe moderation and balance are the essential ingredients in any attempt to further spiritual progress. With this in mind, i am providing a list of stimulants to kundalini. Be aware of them, use appropriate ones only in a balanced living, and consider the tragic consequences and throwing yourself into spiritual emergency --or worse. I do not say this lightly. In my work over the last fifteen years, i have seen people who, in their over eagerness to have spiritual experiences, did themselves great harm. One was a man i met at a conference a few years ago. I'll call him Jerrit. "I was a university professor in a town in the Midwestern United States. When i was in my thirties i had a profound mystical experience and decided i would do anything to have the experience again. Both the univeristy i taught in an the community i lived in were very traditional in their approach. At the time when i had my mystical experience, topics such as Eastern religion and meditation were considered strange. Even the practice of yoga was looked at askance. After my experience, however, i did find someone who recommended Gopi Krishna's books. I managed to obtain them and poured over them, absorbing as much as i could. I noticed that Gopi Krishna repeatedly urged moderation and balance and warned against the dangers of excessive spiritual practices. However, in my intense desire to stimulate another spiritual experience, i decide not only to not follow this advice but to even go so far as to finding everything that might stimulate Kundalini and then begin to practice it. I threw myself into intensive yoga, meditation, and Tantric practices. And i did eventually stimulate the awakening of kundalini. My body and mind were totally unprepared for the tremendous shock to my system. I was thrown into spiritual emergency, and then psychosis. Unable to function, i lost my job. I felt as if i were on fire or burning alive, and i endured sensations of light so bright that they were excruciatingly painful. I suffered through horrific visions and the blackest pits of despair and depression. Unfortunately, i was forced to endure this suffering for almost three years, because i couldn't find anyone who understood what i was going through. Finally, i found a sympathetic therapist in a nearby city through the Spiritual Emergence Network. I began to practice grounding techniques and to follow the moderate approach to life and spirituality i had first read about in Gopi Krishna's books. But then even i continued to suffer periodically for some time. Finally after year's of effort, i come close to full recovery." Jerrit''s story serves as a powerful warning, as do the case histories of others who have brought on spiritual emergency by intensive, excessive spiritual practices. At the conference where we met, he spoke openly about his experiences and his suffering and literally begged people no to do as he had done." A Farther Shore by Yvonne Kason and Teri Degler

There are others on the forum who could explain this better than me. However my basic understanding is that Kundalini is a energy that resides at the base of the spine and is latent in most individuals. -However, spiritual practice stimulates kundalini which is a form of sexual energy that rises up the spine through the seven chakras and triggers mystical experience or expansion of consciousness initially in most people for a short period of time. -However, buddahood or perfect enlightenment is when you live with constant kundalini exploding out of your head in a stable way.

Simple Meditation is a very powerful technique and no one is suppressing this knowledge. There are thousands of books on meditation out there as well as many books on basic Chi-Gung. -However, i think that people must arrive at the path in their own time. The quest within IME is not a cup-cake walk through Disney world, it takes some serious sand. -I was recently reading a book on Shamanism by Holgar Kalweit: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1570627126/ref=oss_product -One thing that he wrote which felt very wise to me was: "Healing means healing culture first, then people, and finally sickness." -After reading this line i felt that although healing the individual is important in order to have a larger effect one must heal the culture. In our culture i think that people are often pre-disposed to living unhealthy life-styles more than ever. -I am not sure how a person Heals the Culture but it sounds to me like a way of getting to the source of the disease and correcting the illness. -Not sure where i was going with this post but there it is.

Indeed, i am using a similar technique right now. I go back to any memory that was negative in my childhood and "fix it". Lot of powerful releases and quite a bit of tears.

Interesting post Taomeow. Good immune system analogy.

Indeed, i feel that your words have weight. -IME and from reading and listening to others i have found that often the path of healing and spiritual growth is one of suffering because we must drop a lot of garbage that we have become attached to. -It has also been my experience that although the individual has to muster enough courage and intentionally release there blockages, energetic work can often help strengthen the awareness to the point where it becomes easier to recognize and heal the wounds of the self. -So my question would be to what degree do you feel that that energetic practices and and spiritual growth are separated from one another? Can one achieve his ultimate goal simply with intensive self reflection? Or is the ego the ultimate divider between energetics and spirituality? -A Note: I know this is a technical question that might not have perfect answer. I simply would like to hear your opinion.

I was under the assumption that siddhis were a sign of ones progression along the path but not the end goal. -However, you implied hear that it is perhaps a detour or a side path that is not related to spiritual progression towards immortality/enlightenment/rainbow body...etc -Is this an incorrect assumption?

I try not to "believe" in anything. However, i am open to the possibility that such things do exist.

I enjoyed your story immensely SFjane.

A good introduction to the chakras for those who have not studied it.