Franklin

pizza almost any kind.....

are those the ones you would recommend from personal experience? just asking because I know he has a ton of books... way more than those three... i was just curious which ones people studying in his line would recommend to get the idea of his methods... i have some experience with his qigong and also learned his 5 cloud meditation (while attending TCM school some years ago) but was curious what kind of daily practices he recommended for people that followed him for cultivation... franklin

just to re-emphasize as I agree with Taoist81 Franklin

you should be able to get herbs from your local china town if one is nearby or you could try: http://www.ancientway.com/catalog/ or just search online for a herb supplier good companies are plum flower brand and mayway (but i don't think they sell to individuals) you can go to mayway's website and see if anyone in your area is carrying herbs from them http://www.mayway.com/store/general-index.jsp or you could search for a TCM practitioner in your area http://www.acufinder.com/ hope that helps franklin

if you do have a condition and want to treat it with herbs you should seek a qualified herbalist in your area if they practice TCM- they will give you a consultation and determine the pattern- as things in TCM are rarely as simple as A or B- but instead the body is a whole series of relationships and they should give an appropriate herbal formula based on the pattern differentiation and then go back for followups to monitor your status because as you get better or things change the formula will have to be adjusted or changed accordingly a fairly good low cost option if you have a TCM school in your area is to visit the school clinic you will be treated by interns but it will be supervised by experienced practitioners also TCM very rarely gives single herb formulas (medicinal grade herbs) for food grade herbs- they of course can be eaten singly as they are considered food examples- a hand full of walnuts to help tonify the kidneys or a hand full of goji berries to tonify the blood etc... franklin

this is all just my opinion- so take it as that and nothing more in a nut shell most modern people could be classified as excess not deficient so most people would not need to tonify here is an article explaining tonification according to TCM http://www.shen-nong.com/eng/lifestyles/tcmrole_bufa.html and here is some info on xi yan shen from the web: http://tcm.health-info.org/Herbology.Mater...-properties.htm ------------------------------- in TCM theory there are different classifications of herbs two general categories are food grade herbs and medicinal herbs we can effect the health and well being through the food that we eat rather than resorting to medicinal grade substances (which should be used as such- to rectify existing conditions then discontinued) the digestion (earth element) is the root of the post heaven qi in the body which means we get the vital stuff we need to stay alive after we are born from the air we breathe and the food we eat. simple tips for eating include: not eating till completely full eating at regular times each day eating things that are in season and local eating things that have not been processed above these simple tips you can choose foods according to seasons and current health issues based on the 5 flavors and the 4 temperatures of the food this gets more complex as it ties in with the 5 elements for further information about food and health i would recommend http://www.amazon.com/Healing-Whole-Foods-...3344&sr=8-2 and for more information about TCM- i would recommend this book for the person just starting to look into it: http://www.amazon.com/Web-That-Has-Weaver-...3344&sr=8-4 franklin

like Taoist81 said each type of ginseng / renshen has a different property the american ginseng- xi yan shen is cooler then its asian counterparts there is a theory that it might be more appropriate for most modern people as modern people tend to have excess yang and slightly deficient yin as a product of living in our modern society and eating modern diet if i remember the siberian or the korean red ginseng is the most hot another thing to bring up is that tonification may not be appropriate for most people yet many people seem preoccupied with the concept that they need to tonify franklin

actually growing tea was something that i wanted to try for some time i don't think it should be that hard or at least not harder than growing other plants right now i have some parsley, chives, banana, lemon grass, eggplant, bell pepper, red pepper, thyme, oregano, sage, and some other stuff around some fruit trees tried to grow goji but did not have any real luck with it i am going to wait untill my compost bin is ready and then i will start seeding some more things the best way i have found- is just try it..... its kind of fun either way- either it works out or it doesn't franklin

again not talking about any specific teacher or method ---------------------------- i think people are taking a very limited view of what payment is even is we look at the monetary aspect of payment- we can ask our selves how do we get money most of us trade our time by preforming duties and tasks for others in exchange for money so in a way to get the money you pay with your time and once you get the money then you can buy things like food and such or you can trade it for things instruction or other people's time and knowledge basically everything is an exchange (or a form of payment) --------------------- i think the catch is if you put a price on a teaching then it becomes worth something in people's eyes.. it has a certain value- and as such people expect a return on their hard earned money i think this aspect of payment for teaching is wrong for a number of reasons 1-the value is not in the teaching itself but what you gain from it- this aspect is not guaranteed as there are many factors in attainment- but it is implied that this attainment part is what you are purchasing- when in reality it is not this part but the teachings themselves which may or may not lead to any attainment for various reasons 2- many people have very deep issues with the concept of money and worth etc. etc..... now the other side of this is that if someone is cultivating full time and offering teachings - they need to be supported somehow- or else they will not have the time to cultivate and develop understanding- and teach and understand how to teach... so how should these people be supported?- charge for teachings? if they have a day job they might not be the best teacher they can be not many people have the opportunity to become monks now a days so that road is out for most and what should they charge? ---------------------- back to my original point- i think payment is necessary just not monetarily like it's said- if you want to get good at martial arts you have to pay with your blood, sweat, and tears its a payment - just it does not have a dollar equivalent... if you get into things like cultivation then the problem becomes even larger because the motivation behind learning and teaching such things has to be evaluated why is someone seeking teaching why is someone seeking to teach the motivation for each can be very genuine or it can be very convoluted... when mixed with money it becomes even more convoluted... then the question is what is the solution it probably is as simple as following nature and sitting in stillness franklin

[quote name='Cameron' date='Oct 1 2008, 05:54 AM' post='81151' According to Max, combining Kunlun with the Maoshan practice he teaches is what can give the Gold Dragon Body. i have read through most of the treads about kunlun since the Kunlun explosion here... i have read lots of references to golden dragon body but never anything that said what it actually was or why someone would want to reach such a state or if it corresponded to other things like "rainbow body" or the taoist idea of just entering the tao and returning to nothing leaving no trace... i did read about someone's arm disappearing through a train wall and something at starbucks that was similar but nothing else.... did i miss something so what is the "golden dragon body"? just curious franklin

not related to any style or system i think there is payment required for learning but not all the time it is money.... Franklin

do you know who the other 4 tigers are?

Thanks for the info and link it looks very interesting i also like this book on the same subject http://www.amazon.com/Mystery-Longevity-Tr...9526&sr=8-1 the mystery of longevity the author interviewed dozens of oldsters throughout china and has different sections outlining the habits, daily routines, etc for the people of the different regions... very interesting stuff Franklin

here is another good article on horse stance to take a look at here is an english translation http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/hejinghan-bagua...;l=f&fid=62 and here is another english translation which also shows the original chinese article with the full pictures of many old master sitting in horse stance archived website http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:JAakB...lient=firefox-a franklin

glad you are getting some relief looking forward to your update and hope it clears it for you i have only had very limited exposure to reiki (and honestly i was not too impressed- but it was a very limited exposure) one of my friends and teachers also does cranial sacral - it is some good stuff- he showed me some of the basics along with some old skool chiro energy stuff and applied kinesiology- and i have had some good results using some of that... franklin

i found this link when searching for the layout of the coral castle http://www.jesusofmalibu.com/science_jesus_of_malibu.html thought it was interesting franklin

there is a simple way that some lineages keep track of where everyone is and if people are actually in the lineage i have seen this method used in some martial arts and also some lineages of taoist practice i don't know what the official chinese term is but there will be a generation poem each character in the poem represents a generation and if someone brought into the lineage they will be given a name (the same character as the generation they correspond to) this is also a way to substantiate that someone is in the lineage- as they should know the generation poem and be able to answer certain questions... but this is an example form a more formal tradition in my experience most people teaching do not have such credentials which is fine and tracing the lineage back in a normal way (i learned from so and so who learned from so and so) is a good way to understand where something came from but this "normal" method of tracing lineage is harder to substantiate i think the best thing is to look for a teacher who is skilled and can teach those skills (and maybe one who does not make wild claims that are hard to check on- personally i find this to be a red flag) franklin

lol books and dvds can be a great resource live teachers can also be a great resource if you have viewed a bunch of dvds or books you you will have a broader perspective which is good because there are many live teachers out there that might want to take you for a ride so to speak even having a live teacher is not a guarantee that you will get "it" i personally think you should use every resource to help you along the way but with the idea that information is not training nor is it a substitute for training here is a case in point- when i first started in the martial arts it was in karate- near the beginning of my training i remember taking a test and part of the test was self defence so one of he attacks was a two handed push so I side stepped and put my foot out to trip the guy well my teacher came over and sort of huffed- "where did you learn that??" (it was not a typical sort of beginner karate response) so i told him that i read about it in a book but just reading about something gave me a broader perspective- one that said i could step to the side instead of stepping back and blocking and striking training and insight is also a great teacher Franklin

i practice and teach Yang style Taiji Quan Hebei style Xing Yi Quan Ba Gua Zhang (don't really teach bagua openly- it is more for advanced students or people with prior experience) and Five Family Southern Shaolin The Yang Taiji and Xing Yi that I teach comes from my teacher Gong Zhong Xiang who was a disciple of Chu Gui Ting Chu Gui Ting was a disciple of Yang Chen Fu (yang style taiji) and Li Tsun Yi (xing yi quan) The Five Family Southern Shaolin was brought to the US by the late Ark Wong- my teacher (Louie Martinez) was a student of Ark Wong's and also one of the instructors at Ark Wong's school I have also studied with other teachers- can see my website for a detailed list of who what when and where- (see my sig) I also learned several different types of qi gong and mediation practices- but those aren't really that martial Franklin xuesheng- i also learned some taiji and tien shan pai while I was living in maryland- i trained with a student of Dennis Brown's- I also got to meet Willy Lin and his disciple Gene Gause when I was living in Taiwan

People will attach themselves to a system or a guru and if a better one comes along they will jump over to the other one but be on the lookout for the next great thing. I think there is something to finding a practice that resonates with you. Maybe for the simple fact that if you do not like to practice chances are you won't. And what resonates with you might change over time and might be a natural progression. But this is different than actively searching and attaching to a school or teacher. I was talking to someone the other day and we were discussing someones relative who was recently converted to a new religion. And it was brought up that the recently converted usually have a greater religious fervor. Maybe this is to justify there choice to others or themselves, who knows. I believe everyone should be free to follow their own path. It makes life more interesting. For instance I enjoy reading the posts on this forum because they represent many different people with many different paths and life experience. To me practice is about building a relationship of trust, love, and respect with yourself. Also I noticed that the foundation work of many systems is very similar. I also think that simple practices delved deeply into and practiced consistently will also give great results. (this post is not an attack or a condemning of anyone but hopefully a vehicle to discourse) Any thoughts or comments are welcome. Franklin

lol how can your relationship with yourself not work out... find another lover- who else can you be but yourself at the end of the search you will find that you were there all along the famous quote "without going out the door you can know all things" i think that might be why people skip around so much - they are looking for another lover rather than building a relationship with themselves.... Franklin

I don't really feel right about uploading a file of the cd. (would feel like i am pirating the thing) I would be down with making a copy available for the lending library though if people were interested. i never really felt any qi emitting going on from the recording- it felt the same for me to practice with the tape or without the tape- sometimes group practice was a little better than single practice... the tape is basically yan xin talking in the background and the translator is basically saying the instructions that were written down in the thread that I linked to (i think they wrote the descriptions based on the recording/lecture) I think the practice was great but i wanted to explore other practices so have not practiced this one in a while- last time i did though I had very strong sensation from the practice. as for the advanced methods- if there is something more advanced than the nine steps then please I would be interested in hearing what it is about- not a step by step guide but at least a glimpse of what it is. the nine steps are pretty complete i was told that it should take about 9 years to go through them all the first step i was told should be the bulk of practice for a long time when you start (at least 3 years) the visualizations are similar to some Buddhist meditation that i have been exposed to- and on top of that it combines pore breathing the following steps involve visualizing the image of your mother or father practicing the same step one method in front of you then merging that image with your own body this seems similar to some of the Tibetan methods i have read about where you create a thought/form being until it is real and need to know how to dissipate - but this one seems more safe because instead of visualizing a god untill they are real it is either your mom or pop- so also seems to combine the confucious aspect of chinese culture... then the last step is practicing with some ancient being ??? as for some of the advanced methods i don't know what Yan Xin taught in his lectures but i do have some of his books or pamphlets that were transcribed from lectures i have one called "56 methods for qi gong practice" here is an example of the methods in this pamphlet: they don't really seem to be methods of practice in themselves i would be curious to hear the real story about what happened and why the qigong is no longer being promoted with vigor throughout the world- i heard all sorts of stories... but truthfully it seems kind of weird to me.... that being said it is a good practice my friends still practice the method and are happy and have gotten good results i tried it and it was a good method... YAN XIN GIGONG- i wish you well in trying to promote the method have you practiced it for a long time? what kind of results / benefits have you received from your training of this method? have you practiced other methods? and why do you choose to practice Yan Xin's method over the others? Franklin

i posted this in the lobby thread as well ------------- Yan Xin Qi Gong is a good practice- your recording must be different from the one I have- mine details step one and then also the other 8 methods but in a little less detail- (i converted mine to cd- wonder if the qi emitting converted over too ?) this older thread had some good info about yan xin qi gong Thread Here includes instructions for his qi gong i think there is also a link to his work "80 characters" franklin

Yan Xin Qi Gong is a good practice- your recording must be different from the one I have- mine details step one and then also the other 8 methods but in a little less detail- (i converted mine to cd- wonder if the qi emitting converted over too ?) this older thread had some good info about yan xin qi gong Thread Here includes instructions for his qi gong i think there is also a link to his work "80 characters" franklin