Sundragon

From what I have read about what energy work can do to heal the body I would think that your goal is certainly within reach. Love and Peace, Sundragon

In my practice I have already noted the power of the moon in regards to magick in the Western Tradition. I'm not surprised that Taoism has an astrological aspect as well as all peoples felt the influence of the heavenly bodies and seem to have worked this knowledge into their esoteric practices. Thanks for the links. I'll look more deeply into this. Love and Peace, Sundragon

My plan...actually what I have already begun...is a committed practice of Spring Forest Qigong (daily), meditation from Yogani's little book Deep Meditation by Yogani(twice daily) and the daily practice of Bhakti yoga in the form of service to an Ideal (mine probably being Christ as he fits nicely in my Hermetic Qabalist cosmology around the area of Tipheret or the Heart Chakra). This idea too is taken from one of Yogani's books ...Bhakti and Karma Yoga. My goal is to cultivate 24/7 insofar as that the mundane is as much a time for the "spiritual" as when I sit with my eyes closed in meditation or perform some sweet qigong moves. Spirituality is a part of the tapestry of my whole life and this year I am going to initiate living it fully from that perspective. Also with this deep cultivation I will become a far better Hermetic Qabalist and magician. On the more mundane level I am going to be getting more fit (I used to be a bodybuilder before I had a son that required the lion's share of my time) and finally dive into becoming a vegetarian as I have never been much of a carnivore. I could never go full vegan though as I do want some eggs or even a bit of fish from time to time. Love and Peace, Sundragon

Thanks for the responses Shaktimama, Ninpo-me-this-ninjutsu-me-that, and Drew. I had a strong intuition based on my experience and reading that I was dealing with energetic flows. The symbolism of the moon and the waxing and waning of psychic energy is just too strong to be a coincidence (not that I am much of a believer in coincidence). At first, when this all began months ago, I was looking at things from a psychological perspective which led me absolutely nowhere. I taught stress management and anxiety reduction strategies for years and am very good at self hypnosis but no matter what technique I applied nothing worked. I figured that something more was going on here and that ultimately to try to "technique away" the phenomenon was barking up the wrong tree. I intuitively knew that continue trying to get rid of these feelings would be to limit a necessary process of growth. My intuition told me that I was dealing with an energetic disturbance and that is why I re-started working with Qigong. Because of my training in hypnosis and the fact that western esoterisicm just doesn't have the language for this kind of experience I have been too busy psychologizing things lately. From this point on I will look at things in a more balanced manner ie. energetically and psychologically. Thanks for the insights. That's Aslan from the Narnia books. I am not a Christian (though Christ as metaphor for Christ Consciousness ie. enlightenment and as an ideal for bhakti yoga type practice is compelling) but the archetypal sacrifice of Aslan (as a Christ figure) always made me weep as a little child. I loved that lion and still do. Love and Peace, Sundragon

Though intellectually I realize that mystics of various traditions all seem to come to very similar, if not the same, conclusions; I am often emotionally struck by just how many similarities I have, as a Hermetic Qabalist, with some of the Taoist and Buddhist cultivators on this forum. I think that because I didn't allow myself to get locked into "My teacher/favorite author/favorite scripture says this ism" I didn't lock out my own intuitive knowing and have benefitted greatly by that openness. Though I love intellectual stimulation I realize that becoming dogmatic about things is foolishness because anything which is known intellectually can be overturned by the next bit of information. Ultimately, as mystics (because that is what we are) I think that we have much more in comman than we have differences. It is usually dogma...(you know the finger pointing at the moon??)... and not our personal experience of the Self/not-Self/Tao that causes arguments. That which is known through experience draws us together. Love and Peace, Sundragon

Words are collections of sounds and symbols used to convey a second hand reality (that of the writer/speaker to the reader/listener). Words are wonderful for intellectual knowledge and they can, occasionally, trigger something within the psyche that leads to direct experiencial knowledge...occasionally. There are places that words cannot tread, places that cause to ring hollow even the most eloquent language. If we aren't careful, words in the form of intellectualizations can diminish the power of direct experience by locking us up in our heads where we consider, like armchair magi/theologians/mystics, just how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. Only direct experience can tell us that. Love and Peace, Sundragon

We aren't discussing the hard sciences here of physical biology or physics. If we were actually dealing with issues of hard science there would be one practical and effective means of doing energy work and all others would be incorrect and ineffective but this is not the case. Hard science would require an energetic body that is, outside of slight individual deviations, fundamentally the same across the board for all people at all times in the same manner that human beings have always had, since the dawn of mankind and all of our vertabrate ancestors, a heart and lungs. I have worked with qabalistic standing meditation and have built the Tree of Life in my aura and have felt its effects. The attributions of the qabalistic Tree of Life are quite different from either Taoist or Yogic attributions. The number of energy centers is different, color attributions are different, the divine names invoked are different, the path the energy takes is different but I have felt the palpable effects of the practice and even achieved an out of body experience (unintentional) via such techniques. Qabalistic energy meditation works just like qigong works and just like kundalini yoga works. If we were dealing in hard wired, fundamentally physical realities that could be seen scientifically then there would not be multiple effective systems. No one can claim that there is a hard science, physical, testable and repeatable reality to their energy work because in doing so they are implying that others systems are incorrect. Also, the very fact that energetic work is fundamentally an intention based practice also takes it outside of the hard sciences. No matter what my intention, if I jump off a 1000ft cliff I am dead..that is physics and that is hard science. There can be scientific measurements of the effect of a given system perhaps but not of the energetic map proposed by the system(s) in question. Sundragon

I voted for...Of Little Importance and I mean that broadly speaking. Every system comes with its own particular idiosyncratic map of the energetic system of the body. You need to know the psychopsysiology insofar as the system you are working with is concerned. If someone is working with Qigong cultivation methods they will work from one set of assumption. If someone is working with a Kundalini yoga perspective then they will work from those assumptions. If someone is working from a Hermetic perspective then they will work with those assumptions. I believe that anyone who believes that it ultimately doesn't boil down to intentionality within the boundaries of a given set of symbols and metaphors is mistaken and is mistaking the map for the terrain so to speak. I may be working with a system that holds that one's liver houses anger (for an example) but I do not really believe that the liver houses anger. I believe that the unconscious mind, due to one's dedicated use of a set of given symbols, translates one's intention into the desired result via the use of the symbols it has at hand. Thus, one can work with Taoist, Hindu, or Hermetic symbolism/energetic maps and get similar or even the same results due to the fact that one's understanding of a set of symbols will govern one's intention behind using them and that in turn will govern the movement of energy and other various and sundry effects. Broadly speaking I believe it is little importance until finally settles into working within a given system. Once one chooses a given system of cultivation/practice one should assume the correct attribution of the system in question. This assumption should continue until such time as one's own wisdom/intuition governs that personally relevant corrections/changes should be made. However, one must know the rules before one can safely break the rules. I think it is important to remember that we are dealing with etheric/energetic realities here and not purely physical realities. The energetic can and will leave evidence of its process upon the physical body but it is not ultimately rooted there as a fundamental reality. There is correspondence of course but my heart isn't really my heart chakra, my pituitary gland isn't really my 7th chakra and so on. Sundragon

Hello All, Well, for my first non-introductory post I wanted to share something that really helped me. For a few years I meditated off and on without any real progress. My practice wasn't rooted in any tradition though over recent years I have gravitated to the practice of ceremonial magick/qabalah. I have found that the Western way speaks to me but not without a healthy dose of an Eastern understanding of non-duality and the Self (I'm ore more Hindu than Buddhist in regards to my understanding of this subject) and the infinite impersonal divine (nicely embodied in Taoist thought). In regards to my energy work, I am embarking on a "one seat" approach to Qigong and about to begin a year long focused practice of Spring Forest Qigong to the exclusion of all other teachings. I have already experienced this system and find that I can instantly enter a somatic trance of sorts where I can sense the movement of my Qi. Along with this I am going to work with Glenn Morris' Meditation Mastery course which I have had for quite some time but never got around to using it with any dedication. For a long time I noticed that I quickly developed a resistance to meditation very quickly after starting any consistant meditation practice in the form of profound stress and anxiety that would literally prevent me from progressing despite my best efforts. Well, being a trained clinical hypnotherapist I figured I must have some sort of subconscious block to meditation but nothing I knew in regards to self-hypnosis helped one bit. Deciding that there must be something out there that would help I stumbled upon (in a rather synchronistic way..."when the student is ready" and all that jazz...) the CDs of Dr. Lloyd Glauberman a psychiatrist and a hypnotherapist as well. I bit the bullet and bought a CD called Meditative Relaxation and I have to admit that the results have been nothing short of amazing. Years and years of resistance is melting away and I find that my motivation to learn meditation and practice both meditation and qigong is limitless. In fact it is this enthusiasm that got me to sign up to become a Tao Bum. This CD isn't the old fashioned paternalistic hypnosis of (You now want to meditate, Every day it gets easier and easier to meditate and similar suggestions) instead it is based on the power of Ericsonian hypnosis and metaphorical storytelling. It is amazing how quickly the subconscious mind responds to metaphors and stories in comparison to direct authoritative suggestions that can easily bring about even greater resistance. As in all things, our subconscious (or unconscious mind, inner mind) can either be our greatest enemy or our greatest ally. I am so enthusiastic to share what I have found to be an amazing aid to the practice of meditation which is so vital on the spiritual journey (not that there is anywhere to go of course). I am certain that I am not alone in having had trouble sticking to a meditation practice or encountering powerful resistance to a disciplined practice. Please check out this CD and see what you think. If I could give away copies I would but Dr. Glauberman deserves to be paid for his work. (and no, I am not either Dr. Glauberman or an affiliate selling his products) Any thoughts on the subject of resistance in regards to meditation, qigong and spiritual practice in general would be most welcome as I am here to learn. Sundragon

I believe that Western esotericists like myself benefit dramatically by getting an understanding of Eastern thought in regards to non-dualism, the Self (or not-Self if you favor Buddhist thought), mindfulness, emptiness, the Tao, etc. because a lot of Western esoterics is extremely left brained (Crowley's..."the method of science, the goal of religion) and, for lack of a better term...as dry as dust. I have found that hermetic practice can benefit dramatically from a bhatki attitude of devotion to the God (Adonai, YHVH, Jehova in the Hermetic Qabalistic tradition) along with a view of the interpenetrating immanence and transcendence of the Divine who is ultimately beyond all description in that He/She/It is truly No-Thing. Qabalistic mantras formed by using various divine names such as those attributed to various Sephiroth on the Tree of Life are very powerful. Using the Tarot as mandalas of transformation is very, very effective in that the cards of the Major Arcana are powerfully representitive of the process of individuation/self-realization/enlightenment. Many western magicians poo-poo mysticism as if they aren't the yin and yang of the one Great Work. Magick is theurgy that helps the magician to bring to divine down to earth thus transforming the personality of the magician who wishes to be "in the world but not of it" while mysticism is the devotional connection to the Divine that transforms the ego to make a suitable subordinate tool of the Self. Magick without mysticism creates the tremendous ego inflation and self-destruction that all can see in folks like Crowley and that I have seen amongst ceremonial magicians who bicker and battle like spiritual children and whose cultivation shows so dimly in demonstrated thought and action as to seem non-existant. Sundragon

Hello, I've lurked here for quite some time before actually joining because though I was interested in qigong I never had a consistant practice. Well I have decided to begin practicing with Spring Forest Qigong as I have read some pretty positive reviews of the system overall. I'm a Qabalist and a ceremonial magician with a solid background in sitting meditation techniques. I recently encountered a type of emotional upheaval that plagued me for a few weeks to the point where I considered getting a prescription for lorazepam/ativan just to take the edge off. Meditation, which I have practiced for years, did nothing whatsoever to help me ground and center. Finally, when I was able to meditate enough to seek answers, I was clearly shown that my difficulties were/are energetic as opposed to purely psychic (of course they are intrinsicaly interrelated). After looking over western energetic work such as that promoted by Donna Eden and other energy psychologists I decided that the East has way more to offer in regards to this work than Western culture. I think that qigong will dramatically improve all my spiritual work whether that is meditation or ritual as well as increase my overall physical and psychological health. I look forward to beginning in a couple of days when my materials arrive. As a Western Esotericist I find that much of what passes off as magick in the West is hyper intellectual to the point of being "dead" for lack of a better word. I have found that by adding the "feeling" or non-intellectual knowing of the mystical that I have found in the Eastern perspective my inner work has taken on greater depth (though I am not terribly familiar with qigong I am very familiar with non-dual Eastern thought). I have to say that after lurking here for some time I am struck by the level of experience some here have. One can learn more here about the purpose of meditation and spiritual practice than by purchasing many of the pop McSpirituality books on the market today. Its nice to encounter folks who have a wealth of knowledge who are willing to share it. Well hello again. I look forward to participating in myriad discussions with my fellow Tao Bums. Sundragon aka Christopher