Neophyte

Here is a video of Rachel Star, an American woman who states that she is trying to become famous as the female Jack-Ass. She performs many stunts--some of them quite dangerous. There was even an article about her in the Daily Mail a few months ago, interviewing her and discussing her stunts, so her popularity is growing. In this video, she is trying to pluck chocolates from a mouse trap, but keeps getting injured.

Here is a Symphonic metal band from Chile. I discovered them on Youtube. It has a male opera singer for vocals; and no, there are no grunting, growling vocals--just opera. You might really like this. I talked to the members of the band over Youtube and friended the band on Google+. They're nice guys. It's actually pretty beautiful music and uplifting. Listening to this really makes you feel good. So let's support our Chilean friends and listen to Eternus.

Agreed! Metal and opera go together well! Nightwish is one of my favourites. Pantera was my favourite band during high school. -- I'm uncertain of the genre, but I think this is a Progressive Death Metal band. Many people might not like this, but many people love it. Death Metal with hardcore opera vocals. I think that everyone should at least give it a listen.

What interview? I'm curious to hear an interview with a shaman.

Hey, I recently purchased a large statue of the Buddha and have it on display in my upstairs living room. It provides a suitable place for meditating and practicing qigong. I just wanted to post photos to share with y'all and to know what some of you think of it.

Yep. I like the Thai Buddha. I purchased it at a store that had many different Buddha's on display, many of them were of Thai version. This one was my favourite. I don't really like the fat Buddha's, and I don't the origin of fat Buddha's or which depiction of the Buddha is supposed to be the most authentic, but this one was my favourite. The photos don't do it justice. I had to decrease the sizes of these photos to under 1 MB. In reality, it is impressive to behold: The gold is resplendent, shining brightly, and the gold-edged coffee table also is bright. I bought it on sale (original price about 100 dollars); it's heavy and good quality. If I could have uploaded the photos in their original 3 to 4 MB sizes, it would look more impressive. GrandmasterP: Thanks for the tip! But I don't know what you mean by this? Is it a tradition of put fresh fruit by the Buddha. I never heard of this. Could you elaborate? GrandmasterP, I'm afraid I'm not well-versed in a lot of this. I don't know what you mean when you quipped, "Go figure". What are you deriving from the fact of his left-handed cosmic mudra, and being black? (If you don't mind answering.) BaguaKicksAss: I know I haven't filled out my magical name yet. Several years ago I dabbled in Majick. I created many of the magical implements (both of those chalices were made by me). However, I stopped practicing magic/majick for a few reasons. I may however get back into it because I recently made a friend who is getting involved in it, so he might draw me back into it. He wants to use my house to practice magic because his house precludes him from doing so, and I have a spare bedroom perfect for use. -- And for anyone who wants to tell me more about my Buddha statue, please inform me. I admit that I don't know much about it, but if you guys can tell me the background, etc., or point me to resources to educated me on it, I'd appreciate it.

Hi, I tried uploading a couple of photos in a thread I'd started, but received Error 413. TTB website allows a maximum file size of 2 MB to upload; I decreased my file sizes to below 2 MB, but I nevertheless receive Error 413. How can I resolve this?

Hey, I managed to finally get a photo to upload, but only after reducing it to below 1 MB. When uploading, TTB website states that the file sizes (each photo) can be up to 2 MB, thus, there is a discrepancy between what it states and what the programming actually allows us to upload. Could you please change the allowed limit so that we can upload files that are greater than 1 MB? (because decreasing the photos to under 1 MB diminishes their quality; moreover, I am unable to alter them myself, needing someone else to do it. ) Thank you.

Hey, I tried uploading again, but I still get the 413 message. I have tried using both the basic uploader and advanced uploader; neither work. My photos are all jpegs. I looked at the specifics of one of them. It's horizontal resolution and vertical resolution are both 72 dpi; the resolution unit is 2.

Hey everyone, For those who know about yin/yang, I'd like to know what does it mean to feel yin? How do I know if I'm yin? If I'm yang? Are we supposed to keep ourselves neutral, with our yin and yang in perfect balance? I heard about merging yin and yang--making them one. What exactly is meant by that?? Many people say that sitting meditation is a yin exercise, but I personally think that it's not yin. One must achieve, when sitting in meditation, yin and yang in perfect balance. If one becomes yin, then one is meditating incorrectly. But that's just my opinion, correct me if I'm wrong.

Thanks for all of the responses; they were all very valuable for me. I'd like to expand on by first post and on some responses. The reason I ask about "feeling yin" and "feeling yang" is because I hear people use those terms sometimes to describe their mental or physical states. From what I derived, feeling yin is feeling tired, cold, sleepy, etc. Feeling yang is often equated to feeling hot, stressed out, energetic, etc. There are many states described as "feeling yin" and many states that are considered "feeling yang"; however, these different states can be mixed (one can feel very weak but overheated simultaneously, for example), thus yin and yang are mixed, but not in harmony. When one has a preponderance of yang symptoms, he is described as feeling "yang"; when he is mostly exhibiting yin symptoms, he is described as "feeling yin". Correct me if I am wrong. During meditation, etc. we are trying to achieve harmony of the two, our physical and mental bodies are each therefore also in equilibrium and we are aware of neither (meaning we have reached the void). It is in this state of equilibrium (harmony) that we can use methods like neidan (internal alchemy) to build a yang spiritual body. When we are still in early stages of practicing meditation, we are not proficient yet, so we often end up feeling yin during/after practice, but we eventually improve on that. BTW, thanks Andrei for those videos. They were great and I subscribed to that channel. I'll watch more from him.

I'm thinking that it could be Negative Spirit. This should not be mistaken for positive spirit which will be achieved by practicing the first six steps of Taoist Yoga. Chapter 7 of Taoist Yoga talks about negative spirit which manifests as a light that appears during practice. It is harmless but should not be mistaken for positive spirit which is what we each need to be pursuing in our practice, and which indicates the fullness of generative force and vitality.

Thanks for all of the responses. The reason why I find it so important to know when hour tsu begins, and even taking into account things like daylight saving time, is because I've been reading Taoist Yoga and that text highly stresses the importance of meditating during hour tsu. TY even goes so far as to say that practicing the mco is ineffective if not done during hour tsu! It goes further, saying that the mco should only be practiced after you get a non-sexual erection at hour tsu. With careful studying of TY, it says that when one is cultivating nature in the upper tan t'ien with an absolutely still heart (mind), eventually the positive principle will manifest causing a non-sexual erection. This erection is necessary to achieve before practicing the mco; the problem is that it can happen at times other than the hour tsu. But it is only when it happens during hour tsu that the positive principle sparks, which enables the practiser to begin doing the mco. That's why I think it's necessary to know exactly when hour tsu begins in my time zone, and why I take into account things like daylight savings time. But maybe l'm mistaken, or I'm overthinking it, or maybe these are things which will become clear to me when I am finally able to achieve these steps.

Hey, great thread! I'd like to add a corollary question: 11:00 P.M. to 1:00 A.M. is the most yin part of the day, called hour tsu. When we in the west have daylight saving time, does hour tsu begin an hour later, thus 12:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m?

Hey, thanks for this. I will also find it of value. I'd like to note though, that I don't think that it's the text of the original document. I had read that Charles Luk's translation abbreviates and disincludes much of the text that he was translating. This text: 'Taoist Yoga' Chinese Text: 性命法诀明指 seems to be about the length of Luk's translation, and doesn't have the valuable information that the very original text is rumoured to have. I may be mistaken, though. I was hoping to one day to find all of that missing information that is said to exist (which Luk neglected to translate), because I want to achieve the full sixteen steps of the text.

A love song by Rammstein. This song really means a lot to me right now and I listen to it every day. And this song really brings me back to College. It was such an amazing time. This was one of my favourite songs. Watch it for the coolest dancing you'll ever see. This is gothic metal from Norway.

Great song! Thanks for introducing me to it. I'll be listening to it again. Some of Within Temptation's songs are really good, some of them aren't. I never heard this one before but it's really good.

I very recently started listening to this band. They're really great and I'm glad I discovered them. Does anyone else listen to this group? Listening to this band in the morning really pumps me up for the day. What genre would you classify them as? I think synth rock would be their genre. For those who know this band, what other songs by them would you suggest for me?

The OP simply stated dan tian, and I always observe the LDT being the centre of focus--both figuratively and literally (in this case)--but does anyone have a practice of ritually, frequently or consistently fixing one's attention on the UPPER dt? I personally focus my awareness on my upper dan tian many times throughout each day, whilst keeping my tongue on the soft palate (plugging the heavenly pool). (Not usually am I meditating, but I'm going about my day and having a few minutes of introspection whenever I get a chance.)

Here is a video from my favourite band. This band is sadly underrated and needs more promotion. Here is a woman from Canada. She's a very talented vocalist and has many fans in Canada. She has been a vocalist for a few bands over the years, and is currently in one, so please support her. We need to do more to popularize Canadian musicians, singers and bands. So please listen and buy her music if you like it. Her channel has some songs from her band you can check out. (But don't be offended by the title of the song, it's just a silly song; the title isn't meant to be taken seriously. It is quite a popular song though.)

Cool. I had never heard of this before. I've had acrylic blankets but had never seen this before, and I've never heard anyone talk about it before in all my life. It was interesting to see it happen, because I wasn't expecting it. I was thinking that it was just static electricity, but because I didn't have the shock or sparks, I was wondering if was something else. I had had an ionizer on in my bedroom for about ten hours preceding that, which is a device which ionizes (electrically charges) air molecules. So I had assumed that the experience was had mostly to do with the ionization of air molecules (which I did not mention in my first post). Well, maybe a little. I really thought that it was caused by my ionizer, which was in fact sitting on my bed, and was operating when I noticed the flashes. And because it electrically charges air molecules, I was sure that it was probably entirely the cause. I had quickly googled it before I left my house for the day, but didn't find anything in my searches. But you're right: somewhere in my subconscious, I was probably hoping it denoted something more.

If a person can abandon all thoughts, but maintain awareness, can one still be in an alpha-wave brain state? How does consciousness differ from awareness?

Which, the former or the latter?

Yeah, it's hard at first. I'd say impossible at first, but it's something that improves by slow degrees. Eventually, the change is profound. All of my life, I unfortunately did the opposite: I held onto everything, over-analyzed everything that I learned about. This led to obsessiveness and brooding over things that I could not change. I began to worry incessantly about everything and tried to come to terms with all of my concerns by learning everything I could about what concerned me, and then trying to fit it into the context of the world. This approach to life was all wrong and when I learned about the concept of letting-go, it was a very novel idea to me. And so began the long process of letting-go. This was the simplest but most important thing I've ever learned. All of my worries, concerns and attachments and interests in life used to seem inextricably bound up in me and rooted me down. Now, such things seem "outside" of me and minor, fleeting things. There seems to be an outer world of fleeting form, and then a formless inner world. I guess this is the beginning of what is taught about in books like Taoist Yoga.