zerostao

"worldly men cannot transcend the mundane limit in which they have confined themselves; nor can spiritual devotees, having once renounced the world, deign to come down and mix themselves in its turmoil. yet men who are wholly engrossed in earthly concerns stand in definite need of help and guidance from those holy beings who bring light. so a place there must be where union of these 2 sets is possible"

"flex-steel wrapped in cotton" very nice to have such a thing. it is a common remark made in taijiquan and also there is a cotton fist system from northern china. but this made me think in respect to a person's character as well. "flex-steel wrapped in cotton" if one had this inner strength coupled with outer gentleness this would be a good achievement and the way to achievement. consider hexagram 9. hsiao chu with nuclear trigrams li and tui. the wind drives across heaven. the wind penetrates everywhere; this means refinement. the lower trigram is heaven , this means essence of character. "thus the superior man refines the outward aspect of his nature."

the great primal beginning, (ta'i chi) originally the ridgepole-a simple line symbolizing the positing of oneness, also implying duality(an above and a below) these are the 2 polar primary forces later designated as yang and yin. then thru doubling there become 4 images which correspond with the 4 seasons of the year. add another line and there arise 8 trigrams which contains the 10,000 things. or if you count like i do 11,520

at certain times they can be slow to respond. persistence pays off. try the [email protected] and you can contact at dragongatesanctuary.net . sometimes even if you are trying to send them money it seems they are ignoring you:lol: i know the feeling as well.

reminds me of a group, once, who's credo was "nothing is true and everything is permitted"

i agree it is good when they can figure it out on their own, even if it may take much longer for them to do so. becoz with self-dicovery one will have a deeper understanding unique for them. having said that, i am always grateful when someone can put me on the fast track to understanding specific principles. there are a few on TTB who have generously helped me along. i have no problem emptying my cup again and again.

thanks gerard for staying around from time to time the reason i post this song is the name of the band.

Little1 one of my favorite guys to talk about (and to ) is Da Liu. i have tried to bring him up a few times here and there on TTB and everyone tells me the same thing, "they have never heard of him". perhaps if you still want to talk about this remarkable taoist master PM is best? i do look at Yang Jwing-Ming as one of the great treasures of our time, especially here in USA. didnt Liang also study under Sun lutang? edit> i was thinking of another liang, i guess.

if the mods are willing to step up for this idea? seems to be the determinator.

at the local library they decided to do some spring cleaning and get rid of some older books. deal was 6 for a buck(1 usd) luckily i had my backback with me and empty so, i got a 1972 Human Physiology morrison,cornett,tethor,gratz Principles of Human Anatomy 1989 tortora Sun Power 1978 gadler adamson Literature of England woods watt anderson 1941 (maybe worth a buck in itself?) then 2 that kinda excited me Impossible Worlds (a 4 in 1 book ) optical illusions and adventures with impossible objects by bruno ernst AND magic mirror and the graphic works of mc escher i know i got my 1usd worth with that book ,hmmm i needed one more and found Fluorochemistry signed copy by jack de ment 1945 so i packed my backpack and headed home. damn spending money is kinda cool so i found another dollar and Mysticism happold rev ed 1970 Philosophy of Scientific Method mill 1950 Beginning Metaphysics geirson losonsky 1998 Educational Research gay 3rd ed 1987 Oriental Mythology campbell 1962 the Basic Writings of CG Jung 1953 ok i hit my budget limit for the day, unless cold beer appears on the horizon yep, they look good on my bookshelf and if i dont feel like reading i can look at the pictures of Impossible Worlds

oops double post , egads

when and if i figure out how to put these cool hexagrams on here i have 12 i would like to present as the waxing and the waning of chien and kun and how they also relate to specific psychic points.(taken from the I ching and the secret of the golden flower) some of the alchemy of taijiquan in the yang style will direct qi thru all the psychic channels in the cycles known as the lesser and greater heavenly circulations. at the beginning of the form when you raise your arms to shoulder height circulates the qi between li and kan, you may wish to repeat this a few times before continuing to grasp the sparrows tail which stabilizes the qi in the ldt as the right hand passes downward alongside the body. when the qi is stabilized, both mind and breath and concentrated in the abdomen.(fire dwells in the water place) our "cauldron" as Friend has mentioned. it diminishes water and increases energy. it is represented by hexagram 63 of the I ching, fire below the water. refines jing to qi. the sequence Push Up, Pull Back, Press Forward, and Single Whip achieves the LHC. when you Turn Body you begin a new process GHC, begins after Single Whip. with Diagonal Flying and Play Guitar qi spreads thru the entire body and concentrates along the Jen Mo. the sequence of forms Play the Guitar, Pull Back, and Step Forward and Strike with Shoulder is the conjuction joining the LHC and the GHC. GHC begins with White Crane Spreads its Wings. Brush Knee and Push Forward guides the qi up Tu Mo. the explanation of GHC is rather lengthy for me to describe here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNtRO3IrGg4

what is it worth?!

nice post, but i like all of your posts and topics. i think mosquito kill more people in africa than all the big cats, snakes, hippos, etc combined. i respond to this thread becoz i have lived in the wilderness in a small group and alone. i have done so in the forest(my favorite), the desert, and in florida. i have encountered black bears and found them very non aggressive, once there was even a small cub close by. only once i have ever caught a glimpse of a panther. i feel fortunate not to have been challenged by it. any animal has a survival instinct and ability to fight. (as the shaolin observed) i do agree that the good qigong player can drive off mosquito and also another bloodsucker pest found in the forest, the tick. my main defense has been herbal concoctions.(simple ones also found in the forest) i have seen both tick and mosquito land on me just to fall right off before they could bite. this year i have made many trips into the forest, without herbs, and still not one bug bite. (KNOCKS ON WOOD )

Jetsun, thank you for the interest. i will try my best to give what i Think would be the taoist version. (the version i used had ablutions, fasting, and a magic ritual,, perhaps the taoist would be similar? idk) best time would be in the morning but if work makes this difficult evening is ok. if walking use long high strides. the driver is the mind. the fuel is breath(qi) the wheels are arms and legs. eyes straight ahead. mid calm, body balanced, mind directed forward. tongue on the palate. saliva will provide nourishment. head and body erect. shoulders relaxed. arms natural and free. place mind and breath on the ldt.(center of gravity) steps are higher than normal walking but not too high entire body is relaxed. joints included. you want to feel light and nimble. if you play this everyday, begin with short times and increase gradually to over an hour. 2 hours would be great. the tiredness you feel in the beginning will disappear. you will begin to feel the vitality in your abdomen and it will gradually fill your entire body. the key is to be relaxed , then you will feel light and nimble. good luck and feedback is appreciated.

thank you for you kind words and encouragement also for kind words on chp 39. i did take your advice and read the art of war. i found it tao like. alot of common sense and wisdom wrapped in simplicity.

excellent thread and contributions here. imo emotional pain is the main obstacle for many in trying to find harmony and better qi flow. when i was trying to overcome my emotional pains which led to physical illness(severe) i didnt have any results with a sitting or standing meditation. taiji wasnt going so well either. i did find fantastic results with a walking/jogging type of meditation. for me it was a more workable method than just sitting(too much thinking of my emotional issues) in meditation. it was good in the free circulation of blood and breath- i live in the countryside and in nature- so i dont know if it works so well in the city. for me the exercise calmed the mind and invigorated my spirit. but it was the meditative aspect that healed the most. there are preparatory activities,etc if anyone wished for more info about this. one of mine was a bit like taking on the spirit of an animal while i was doing the jogging. i got to a level where i had a sensation i was riding the wind as a cloud. such lightness. you reach a state of awareness in which body and mind- and nature at large- coalesce into one. my source of information about this technique comes from the native american community. i would think there is a taoist version as well.

i like this entry. "Garden on" may become my new credo. It's all One. manitou repeats this over and over again. thanks manitou for the reminder. if the garden creates itself does it really need the gardener? i guess not , but it is such sublime joy to be the gardener. i wont deprive myself of that. again, Creativity is what i am getting from this. "Tao never acts, yet thru it nothing is left undone" creativity is without its own character. it is an ultimate notion of high generality at the base of actuality. we notice creativity in its manifestations, it is harder to notice the inner workings involved. the inner reflections. self-creativity. inner reflection fulfills the process of manifesting ultimate reality. the process is direct, immediate , and spontaneous. primordial creativity when the moon reflects the sun's light and shines does it use intention to cast it's image upon the water? is this spontaneous reflection the creativity of the Tao? invisible and unfathomable. creativity is conditioned. it is always found under conditions. if i could be fully charged with primordial creativity ... and not perplexed, bewildered, vexed, confused, or experience fearful thoughts brought on by my intellectuality, i think , just maybe i could attain the Tao.

yeah i am small, very very small. even if it does take an entire complete universe to sustain me. (perhaps it takes all the multiverses)

to see unity in multiplicity is one way to the understanding of creativity. unity can never remain static. it is both static and dynamic at the same once. the static aspect shows us the changeless. in movement we see it as changes. with understanding the unity of the multiplicity, we must also see the changeless within the ever-changing. until we do this we cannot comprehend the power of the great creativity. when unity remains within itself it is changeless. when it reflects itself it creates. to understand the complete process of creation, we have to understand the concept of the changeless within the ever-changing.( "there is a point in time when the arrow neither moves or stops") "the sages contemplate 10,000 years and conceive them as a pure complete oneness" chuang tzu. obtaining the one, all things lived and grew. the one is the source of creativity. "all things" "are created by themselves" but in each instance of creativity there is the infinite potential of unity. lifting a finger is the slightest of gestures, but when it is viewed from the vantage point of the absolute moment it generates the power of the divine and blossoms into creative vitality. obtaining the one, heaven was made clear. obtaining the one, earth was made stable. obtaining the one, the gods were made spiritual. relativity which is conditioned by time and space, here the arrow moves from point to point and from second to second. we detect its movement. but from the absolute view which is free of spatial and temporal limitations there appears no movement. the arrow moves all the time but at the same time it does not move at all. lao tzu says the Tao created the One. our understanding of this MUST come intuitively and not logically. lao tzu has already mentioned before; "all things are together in action, but i look into their non-action, for all things are continuously moving, restless, yet each is proceeding back to it's origin. proceeding back to it's origin means quiescence. quiescence means being-for -itself. being for itself means the ever- changing changeless. To understand the ever-changing changeless is to be enlightened" the changeless is the invisible complete oneness.

thank you Taomeow

thank you so much for the helpful reply. i will stay in contact with you and let you know how things are going. slow and meditative i feel i can work with. right now you are my first counselor. i have already PMed you. thank you for the help.

mewtwo, i was looking for the other thread you had about autism but i guess this one will work for my purposes. i have been asked to teach a 15 year old who has autism. the parents are leaving it up to my discretion what to teach, kung fu, qigong, taiji. etc i have not met the person yet. so i have an open mind right now. i would appreciate greatly any guidance you can share with me. i know you have considered to teach qigong yourself and you have said you have autism. all i know right now is the lessons will be private and at their home. you were the first person who came to my mind when i found out about this. i know you have some great insight you can share

yesterday evening , somewhere in between dusk and dark a huge "bird" was flying about 6 feet off the ground. it was flying right over the yellow line on the middle of my street. heading straight towards the bridge. it had white wings, probably about a 7 foot wingspan, and it looked like it had a red body. a little later i walked into town and met up with ronnie a new iron palm student of mine. i told him about the bird. he said it was probably a crane. then he said cranes really are not birds anyways if it was a crane , it was the largest one i have ever seen. ronnie is 22 has good balance, and apparently knows alot more about zoology than i do. edit> probably a good thing there was no oncoming traffic at the time.