Spectrum

Been playin w/ my balls for years ;o) All good ideas guys. I also think a very effective way to clear the channel is to engage in cross sides top and bottom escape flow for a few minutes then repeat. Rickson and others practice w/ half deflated basketballs to practice top pressure and pivoting on all the various vertices, roll down lines and edges, and traverse through a variety of planes. All using the simply geometry of a ball. Also I use every size ball imaginable for going down any line that feels like it needs it therapuetically. Two tennisballs stuffed in a nylon and tied off act as a good back roller as well. (thx Sifu Fong/pdx) Iron sharpens iron. Flow w/ the Go. There are no straight lines.

In true jedi form... preach it. Nice notes. Can't overemphasis the importance of notes for journey references. Even if they only make sense to myself.

Chi Gung : General Term for Cultural Rythmic Breath Movement Wei Dan : External Set : Circulate chi from the limbs inward : stillness in movement sets, forms, animals Nei Dan : Internal Set : Circulate from the core : wu ji movement in stillness : 1-3 postures : universal post/etc

Hans Jenny produced patterns on a resonating plate which consistantly conincided w/ sankrit vowel sounds including "om" the hindu/yogic concept of the sound of the universe. Hanso also wrote about the "tri-une" nature of these visable patterns which remain invisable without the use of special equipment. He documented these is his book "Cymatics" of which we can find some photos of shortly. Beautiful mandalas. As sacred as any temple including the body. (my opinion inserted) What Mr. Jenny had felt he had uncovered was an irrefutable order and frequency spectrum which was as beautiful of a pattern language visably, as it is to the ear when sound is organized into music. Music as a language is a interesting route; frequency modulation and "tuning" perhaps one the chi gung practitioner experiment with. Toning next to anything resonated produces harmonics you can feel when your still and surfing the tao of your voice. The most soothing thing is toning after a long wei dan, it resonates the circulation deep into your core, w/ all it's different shapes. I believe Jenny noted the most significant geometric distinctions with the sanksrit vowel sounds. Interesting topic. Spectrum

Remember the good ol' days... "my chi is bigger then you're chi... " ... "oh yeah?" ... <clenches fist> The internet... <sigh>

Hope in small things.

That is my point exactly. Fill in madlib, w/ "power". Can you explain the contradictory terms of language here? At first you say to thelerner some people have more chi, then to me you say so maybe you don't.... (?) not trying to jab you, just asking for clarification on your perspective. Then here again you say some people do. How many more? Thats cool, From my perspective all people leave trails. like ducks swimming through a pond of jello. We practice this in darkened rooms for locating, then first contact is sticky/push hands practice. Pretty fun really, you start off picking up on just heat, but as it sounds like you know moves quickly through the spectrum, pun intended, what you describe is common for chi gung groups who congregate and practice together. Again back to the idea of "more" or "more refined"? "I disagree, yi is an important tool to combine with hand movements, in my case the yi focus are the hands themselves, but it's a tool and the result of more chi is due to the practice and repetitions, repetitions, repetitions. Repetitions (or time spent) are additive for chi power." Am I incorrect in thinking "Yi" is about intent and not neccessarrily connected to physical movement? In this context the cultivation of Yi doesn't have much to do with physical movement, although I get what your saying about oribiting using your hands to guide, it's a GOOD idea, and obviously produces results for you, I have been paying attention to your posts and you have continuity in what you're saying. To me that means your practicing something. I'm resisting the idea of focusing on "more power" as some type of answer or truth to the condition most adepts start at. Less is more. If your wiring is yet screwy, more is not the answer... That's like saying that a good fix for a car w/ poor steering is to take corners harder.... It's natural to store and release, you can amplify any stage of the natural cycle. What about balancing and cultivating the forces between store and release... ? If you accumulate w/o balancing arn't you inviting a swing of extremes between storing and releasing w/o any type of balancing? Doesn't matter how big the battery is if what you're saving a few boulders that you can't carry on your back. Increase the size of your pack? Doesn't matter how big the pack is if you can't carry the weight. If we use what we have to our fullest ability, it makes sense to me we'll grow naturally. Obviously no offense intended, just friendly dialog w/ an obvious seeker. Spectrum

I used to think something similar, but now I don't think so. This the idea that a person can have "more" chi then another. I think it's an integration process of body & mind. Less mind/body dualism, more body/mind singularity or integration perhaps? In Shi Li (test of strength for internal arts) the student succeeds or fails based on their whole-body-mind integration process. The more you relax into the tension, the more tension is released from relaxing, the more successful at lining, aligning and realligning movement that does not naturally belong within their sphere to bring balance to the whole. The moment fragmentation occurs it's a break in the frame the same. Kinda makes you wonder about the defining spaces between thought intent and action. That's part of the profoundness of grasp sparrows tail while practicing push hands, that the cubical sphere being shared and reconfigured with each ebb and flow of weight transition (in push hands or solo) is a central point of reference for bringing balance to the whole once deviations are formed by "opponent". With this idea I've seen people taught that "holding the ball" is the transition to use for whole forms of TaiJiQuan no matter what order of moves. Although that's like only being allowed to use abbreviations for works, it's a workable begining pattern. (seen it called embracing the moon, suspended stance, etc) Yet look at all possibilities, all the various deviations, paths, routes that movement and energy can take. Are you sure any one person has any more "chi" then another? Chi gung is an interesting art no doubt, getting out of your head brings unseen information into the field of awareness. Visualization is still second place to kinesthetic experience when it comes to opening, transitioning or closing practice. From my perspective circulating is refining what you got not "getting" what you don't have. If you don't know how to refine what you have, there will be no room for any "more" to accumulate. Hopefully you don't fill in the madlib with "power". If it's the mind of the cultivator that has some determining factor; for example down syndrome kids are usually much stronger then you would think, how could one say that the "garden of their mind" has been cultivated in these cases? Also the classic examples of "Wife lifts car off husband!" Super-human strength stories of the average person in extraordinary circumstance. If the provable point is not a formula to be repeated, but a cyclic set of uncontrollable circumstances that must be navigated (whether inside... or outside world)... what goods a formula if it doesn't help you navigate the realm you occupy? From a "proper" Taoist perspective I'm thinking the "cultivation" we're refering to here is of the Yi. Being cultivated the mind functions in a more relaxed, open, aligned, and atuned state; this potentially responsive yet meditative mind being called "Sung" which translates as relaxed, but means more then the english relax. It is what I've encountered to be the prerequisite mindset for observation as well as chi gung & tai chi. It coincides with wuji, being the first posture after "opening" in every single chinese form I've ever seen. (endless variations from upright stance to a "empty" stance) Relaxed Expansive Contractive Counter Tensional Intentional Movement Paradoxes that Phi Pi Pho~ Phwam! Movement & Stillness Co-Exis1anT. You don't get more gravel in the same sized bucket by pouring more of the same size on top; you refine it and pour it in as sand. Just my .03c Spectrum

People treat the internet like they do cars, they do things behind a keyboard (or a wheel) that they would not do in a grocery line less they get ktfo. Spectrum

Sifu Siu is real no doubt. Here is the link to her school. She has been active on the island for a good amount of time. http://acupuncture-hi.com/foundermessage.shtml

...

You know... now and then... i forget who I was... tire of who I'll be... and remember who I am.

Krishnamurti had a sweet straight blast, to bad he didn't box. Generally living with your teacher for a spell should dispell any non-sense.

Next time I am in Honolulu I plan on visiting the school of immortals (actually a school of accupuncture and herbal medicine / taoist arts) of which Lily Siu, aka Dr. Chang Yi Xiang is head of. I am not sure she sees visitors anymore, but would be worth a visit if she leads a taiji group or similar. Definately an elder in the community. I have a book on chi gung printed by her school in 1981. It covered general theory, 8 brocade seated, 8 brocade standing, and some other things I can't remember right now.

Tread lightly on your path. Temper your cultivation with virtue / Te.

I always bring a compass in case I get lost while time traveling... errr (;o) I figure if I dont know what time it is, at least I'll know what direction I'm going.... less the compass spins because I'm in the perfect place at the perfect time... being rather paradoxial in the realm of time dialation, distance and direction always seem more important then how much time has passed, which remarkably enough, always seems longer or shorter then it was. Spectrum

Bow wow to the no now pow wow.

Perhaps a subject for a new thread.

Letting it out in a way that expresses your frustration, etc while not attaching it to others.... Physical work, sweating in a sauna, hot bath, etc are all good anger valves. Usually takes 30 min for the chemical neurotransmitter release from the fight/flight mechanism to reabsorb, so removing yourself from said situation (if it's not just in your head but is right in your face), and go for a 30 min walk full of breathing will cool you off by default.

I've heard it said that food is the most powerful drug. If I want to feel pissed off for no apparent reason (other then chemistry)I just eat a lot of refined sugar, some spicy food; ceyanne or jalapeno pepper does the trick, drink some alchol or stimulants like coffee or strong tea. A lot of one, or combinations will vary the milage... but either or, although the buffer has increased over the years A perfect recipe for unbalancing the acid and alkaline. As has been mentioned before liver anger issues are common for westerners. Recipes for rebalancing include herbals such as dandelion or liver stagnation formulas, mint. 5-htp works well to regulate sleep and seems to help create a buffer once things have smoothed over. Regular exercise/taiji/chigung & stretching are the single most "regulative" routine activities. Spectrum

"practicing some form of energy circulation on a daily basis is the key to managing..." ... and balancing extremes in your energy cycles, of which the various levels of arousal are interconnected.

Can you imagine standing right in the middle while doing universal post for an hour? Oh my!

In the spirit of the dialog at hand, I've added the latest addition to this thread as an attachment to post #1. It is a full color version of the Nei Jing Tu that closely resembles that copied by one E. Rousselle and printed in his book on taoist meditation published in german in 1933. This particular copy is similar to Rousselle's painting because of the halo's around head and torso, and the distinguishing color charataristics. I believe the content in this one is more true to the original (first visable diagram in post #1) as the fair maiden is seated, where in Rousselles painting she was standing, etc. I do not know the date or source of this reprint. Enjoy w/ High Regards, Spectrum

Thanks. Funny thing... my post 2:33, your post in response to #23 @ 3:22

Usually the first 2 years of Chi Gung practice is a kind of nerve tempering / cleaning out time. I think practicing yoga does the same thing... (non-strip-mall-yoga that has pranayama or equivilant breathing) ... that is lets old patterns work out, (sometimes amplifying as they do) and new patterns (like wu chi) are engrained. During this time often the practitioner feels out their own pleasure/pain relationships within their circuitry. Often working out their own "patterns" becomes the begining of the a foundational understanding of the historical chinese view of the human internal landscape. Yet Some people don't need "systems" to realize their human potential. Some people get "reborn" in various ways, some simply stumble upon their own treasures, guard or share them as they like, and never seek "guidance". In a way that is refreshing because often people who are constantly seeking "systems" and "masters" are power hungry, needy, or at worst completely wack, to put it technically. The ronin mentality of the western pioneers hold true for many caucasian practitioners. I think it would be irresponsable of me to let this go by without recommending a consistant chi gung or yoga practice in tandom with energy work of this type. There are many instances of Internal Arts pracitioners experiencing "effortless" movement in which they did not feel they were moving, but being moved, not breathing, but being breathed. Perhaps this would be considered only a very dim reflection of the infamous writhing of "kundalini rising". But I would challenge anyone to practice any work in Levels and Layers to reveal a spectrum of harmonics. Experience can seperate or unify. First you play the scales, then you play jazz. You don't just pound on the low end of the piano. It sound and vibration and energy being distributed, but it's not art. By unifying intention & movement (or stillness) you'll maintain surfing prowess in the process. The formless form. If a fireman just goes to the hidrant and cranks the valve wide open, sure lots of water comes out, it's only through guiding the water w/ yi (directing the hose), that the fire is extinguished. Let go, let God, let Tao do it for you, Ride the Tiger, Tame the Serpent. Stand Stake. The mind-body is a terrible thing to waste... might as well cultivate before it's time to fruit, it might make the fruit sweeter, and the seeds heathier. Daoist cultivation is one path, conservative as it may be, it produces consistant livable results. My mates path is yoga, and for her it is a consistant livable path, producing consistant results (changes/transformations). What we find together is indescribable. It's as much worship as it is personal liberation. Love is mysterious.