GreytoWhite

Alas my current employment makes about any expenditure on these things a little beyond me. I have been training Chen taiji with a friend as well as some qigong. My seated and lying down practices are better developed as my body is still recovering from a stroke a little over two years ago. Lately my focus has been on zhan zhuang as well as seated and lying down meditation. I'm in the Fiesta District near where the White Crane studio used to be housed. I recognize the insurance fellow in the pictures from the site in your profile.

Wish I could afford it.

I laughed.

I highly recommend the following tool. http://www.ynab.com/

My good friend has been teaching me basic qigong and taiji and I've read a few books and watched DVDs. That said, I had a pretty radical experience about four months ago and just lately I've been feeling normal. I'm trying to find someone who can help with the external healing as well as guide instruction through neidan or other meditative practice. I was able to find a Supreme Science Qigong certified instructor here in my town but after reading about Jeff Primack here I'm not too impressed. Does anyone know of a good instructor/healer in the area?

Well, I don't mind talking about it. I first encountered the Baha'i Faith a little less than five years ago. I was shopping for religion. I had been abusing alcohol pretty heavily and cannabis for a good period of time. I moved in with my mother to dry up and get away from my "friends." Of course my first bit of information was Wikipedia. It sounded like what I was looking for. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahai I posted on Tucson Craigslist wondering if someone could talk to me about the religion. I met a very understanding fellow originally of Jewish faith. We spoke for a good three hours. I was very impressed with his answers, he had scripture to quote to back his viewpoints on everything, he was a very empathetic and understanding individual. He gave me a prayer book and the book below The Challenge of Baha'u'llah. http://www.bahaibookstore.com/productdetails.cfm?PC=7353 I read that book in one night. It was like a revelation had been dropped in my lap. When I was first presented an opportunity to attend a Fireside or devotional meeting open to the public I jumped. The meeting was quite fun. The people were incredible as was the food. I was asked what religion I considered myself and when I answered, "I currently think myself Baha'i" there was a great cry of joy and people rushed to get me things. I was given a comprehensive prayer book and a few scripture books as well. I think I received the Kitab-i-Iqan or in English, The Book of Certitude. Someone also burnt me a copy of Ocean. Ocean is a very comprehensive religious library full of works from many spiritual traditions. http://bahai-education.org/ocean/ My mother was much dismayed. Her fundamentalist Christian beliefs are something I rejected and have tried to deprogram myself from since I was 17. She quickly deemed me and my friends "terrorists." This was the first time I began to think of her praying aloud as "offensive religious muttering," when I was growing up it was a normal occurrence to pray for whatever little thing anyone in the church may have wanted or felt. Firstly I have to say that I was quite overwhelmed with it all. The lifestyle change was certainly interesting. I had devoted myself to celibacy outside of marriage and sobriety as the religion deems necessary. Shortly after my declaration of faith I had a "cougar" begin to stalk me both online and over the phone, offering to fly me to San Diego or meet up with me in Tucson. I have to say this was quite unnerving. Sobriety was extremely difficult as my mother is an alcoholic. Also I was going through an incredibly tough time health wise. As I was detoxing and eating differently I sunk into a deep depression. It was so pervasive that I was unable to work. The prayer practices were uplifting and there was a lot of material for me to read. My study of the faith kept chugging. I met another follower who was about my age who was raised Baha'i. He was a wonderful resource. Every time I attended devotional meetings, holiday celebrations, and Feast (the local community comes together to discuss furthering the faith's goals and issues within the region) I felt more attuned to the positive energy that the people seemed to exude. I met linguists, psychologists, engineers, and people of all different backgrounds. Persian food was always something I looked forward to and I had started learning Farsi through the Pimsleur courses. After being a member of the Baha'i Faith for about four months my mother kicked me out of her house. I stayed with my grandfather in North Carolina for a few weeks but in his senility he expelled me from his house for trashing a rotten sweet potato. I moved back to Phoenix and stayed with a friend of mine. In Phoenix the good friend I met who was about my age had relocated as well. I quickly connected with the local community and there were quite a few Baha'is that were closer to my age. ASU students mainly. I was working myself quite hard. Electrical in the mornings and tech school at night. Taking the bus was my usual study time away from prayer meetings and other events. My Farsi quickly progressed. I was very pleased when Persians kept asking if I were Persian myself which I still find entertaining; while I may be quite hairy, the blue eyes and pale skin give away my Caucasian (well a good chunk of the mix anyway) descent. I did not get into Sufism until I met a fellow Baha'i whose hobby was translating ancient Persian. He introduced me to Rumi and Atta. I quickly found in Sufism the heart that the extensive Baha'i writings seemed to lack. Although I must admit that I never read The Seven Valleys and The Four Valleys which is Baha'u'llah's address to a well regarded Sufi. http://www.bahaibookstore.com/productdetails.cfm?PC=5495 When I started working for AT&T U-Verse I found my religious beliefs fading quickly. The job was so stressful and the hours were long. I was unable to attend meetings, devotionals, Feast or just about anything related to the local Baha'i community. I will admit that I am still dealing with misanthropy and working U-Verse's second tier technical support quickly stoked that fire beyond any previous heat. After working there for a few months I encountered a couple who I had become friends with in my Baha'i community. They didn't recognize me. It was an emotional blow as they were people I had spent time with and they were my usual carpool in the months before. I began to slowly reexamine my reasons for joining the faith and came to the conclusion that I was looking for a crutch to get me away from alcohol. I began to drink again but this time with awareness of my limits and not as an emotional mute button. Unfortunately the drinking had a terrible reaction with the antidepressant I was taking (agomelatine phase III trial) and I had a minor heart attack which left me with a heart murmur. It was at this point that I abandoned religion entirely and decided to be an atheist. Since I've typed all of this up, it's rather interesting to reflect on it. Over the past year as I have been studying qigong spiritual feelings have reawakened and I have been making parallels between cultures and practices which I previously dismissed as hocus pocus or superstition. Recently I have been considering returning to the Baha'i community here in Mesa. I had a rather harrowing experience a little while back when I had my third eye and crown open unexpectedly and long before my body was ready. I'm sure I would not be alive today were it not for Baha'u'llah's assistance. I would certainly be a rather unorthodox Baha'i what with my experiences over the past few years and my regular usage of medicinal cannabis. I still think that the Baha'i Faith is the only religion I could consider following whole heartedly but I think it could greatly benefit from an infusion of guided meditative practice to many of its followers.

Aaron, I left AT&T about three years ago with a lighter heart. I left school a little before I left AT&T. The changing schedule at work ruined my schooling: ITT Tech only allows so many schedule changes a year so I was unable to complete my course of study. Ah well. As to the nature of God, Baha'u'llah's description is very interesting. From my understanding the idea is that God is not something a normal human mind can comprehend. Baha'is strive to reflect God in all ways, something akin to my understanding of rigpa. I'm of the opinion that Baha'u'llah's torture in the Siyah-Chal led him to an incredible understanding of Sufi meditation and the nature of the universe whilst trying to overcome pain.

Thanks for the endorsement. I heard back and it seems affordable. Hopefully my new job comes through and I'll be better able to devote the funds.

Very interesting. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/12/101222-new-human-species-dna-nature-science-evolution-fossil-finger/ I thought that was cool too.

http://sanctuaryofdao.org/ I sent them an e-mail. Hopefully there is someone local.

Thank you. I'm aware of him. It seems that Phoenix is rather lacking and I can find a decent bit of info about teachers and healers in Tucson. Unfortunately I am unable to drive at this time hence why I'm asking if anyone knows about Phoenix. I wish I could go down to Tucson. I may have to be patient and wait until I have a vehicle again to get proper tutelage. C'est la vie.

My roommate's wife wrote this down from this year's Valentine's Day rant. I just noticed the sticky note on the desk. Let's just say he's an interesting fellow. "No woman will ever truly be satisfied on St. Valentine's Day because no man will ever have a chocolate penis that ejaculates money."

This is where I first heard about what suninmyeyes was talking about. http://www.npr.org/2011/05/18/136402034/burgers-from-a-lab-the-world-of-in-vitro-meat

http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/science_nation/spidersilk.jsp Reminds me of the spider silk goats...

A friend of mine recently asked me to "do your tai chi stuff" for his "kids." When I energized his two sons he was dismayed and then explained he wanted his cannabis plants to grow well.

I personally find cannabis to be quite helpful when working with my upper dantian and for spiritual work. I think it has more to do with pain relief than anything in my case. My body is still recovering from a stroke two years ago.

I grew up in a fundamentalist Baptist church. The Holy Spirit was strong there but there was no development aside from adherence to the Bible and studying apologetics. I converted to the Baha'i Faith when I was 20. That was when I started Sufi meditation. I still practice the meditation without the trappings of the Baha'i Faith. I started learning Chen taiji and qigong a little over a year ago and it has been a great accelerator to my Sufi practice.

One of my exes tried to muscle test me whilst I was going through some of the worst parts of my stroke rehab. I found it ridiculous.

I first started learning the Chen taiji silk reeling exercises with focus on breath and proper abdominal rotation.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110331104014.htm Makes me wonder just how far down the chansigong effects a person.

Hmm... good question. I think it's a matter of communicating to a person that they are able to choose for themselves. Most childhood discipline I've witnessed has more to do with forbidding a child something rather than explaining consequences. This is rather hard to break from for most people.

That distance school for Gao style is associated with EmptyFlower.net. You may find more information there.

Mith is short for Mithrandir which is the name the elves in Lord of the Rings called Gandalf. The Shrike is a character from Dan Simmons' Hyperion Cantos. When I was an avid computer gamer a good 12 years ago I had used Mithrandir and then Shrike. I just combined the two so people would know who I was. I've used it ever since.