Harmonious Emptiness

Yeah, I think pretty much any consistent practice which develops a strong self-discipline can be a viable path to self-knowledge eventually, though I wouldn't pit it against the philosphical and spiritual teachings that accompany the instruction of Buddhist and Taoist monks. My source for the vajra being an ancient Indian weapon for catching, and breaking, swords was just an old Chinese guy in a Buddhist specialty shop. I couldn't find anything about it online. Not sure where you'd find more info about it. Indian martial arts? Here's a bit more about it. I think maybe the weapon had open prongs as opposed to them being closed and meeting together at the top as in the peaceful religious implement. http://www.exoticindiaart.com/article/ritual/

I highly suggest checking out the importance of the mineral Magnesium to body heat and sweating, it's pretty much the main influence in terms of nutritional requirements and effects. Magnesium can also helps the body to be calm, and to absorb calcium (calcium strenthens nerves and helps the body cope with stress). It is a very affordable supplement. I would give it a try, though I'm not health professional..

does anyone have suggestions for which other herbs are good to take with ginseng since "ginseng should not be taken by itself"?

posted this in GD "watching the mind" topic but should be here too: The more I'm finding about Taoist meditation, the more I'm seeing that a natural state without thoughts is necessary for the better stuff to happen. It seems to me like getting to that place is step one in the meditation and then other benefits and things unfold or are possible. Body focus and energy focus is enhanced when the thoughts are suspended or subsided, in my experience, though maybe neither one is the ultimate reason for meditation and practice.

The more I'm finding about Taoist meditation, the more I'm seeing that a natural state without thoughts is necessary for the better stuff to happen. It seems to me like getting to that place is step one in the meditation and then other benefits and things unfold or are possible. body focus and energy focus is enhanced when the thoughts are suspended or subsided, in my experience, though maybe neither one is the ultimate reason for meditation and practice.

I'll just add to this thread that Shaolin Grandmasters say that Gong Fu is really just exercise to develop discipline and health, according to http://www.amazon.com/Shaolin-Grandmasters-Text-History-Philosophy/dp/0975500902 Also in Shaolin Grandmasters Text it explains that it is considered suicide to attack a Shaolin monk since they will not attack you but will only return destructive energy projected towards them if necessary. On the other hand, you're asking about Vajra. My only knowledge of the Vajra is that it was an ancient Indian weapon used to catch swords and is now used in Buddhist rituals, maybe because it is mostly a defensive weapon (?), symbolizing "spirit and spiritual power" (wiki), and I'm pretty sure it's used for purification rituals somehow.. It also means thunderbolt and diamond (wiki)

If you're talking about astral-projection and Rainbow Body, some people are familiar with it here, though not me personally. I have read about Shamans travelling to spirit worlds and even stars or star worlds, but no experiential knowledge.. Also the dream world might be considered a trans-dimensional portal, especially for Shamans and apprentices, again, of which I'm neither

Whatever joker man.. read the post

Just wanted to point out the random generalness of the General Discussion is looking a bit too much like Off Topic. I'm pretty sure the posts should relate to the spiritual path somehow...

yeah, I can see how the title of this thread might seem a bit authoritarian, but was meant to be a "reminder", though the word was neglectfully omitted from the title.. just to keep within the reasonable bounds that I would say it still was. Really, if the stuff that would be posted won't draw discussion in Off Topic then I hope it does appear in the GD, preferrably... prefaced with a verse from the Tao Te Ching to encourage a philosophical treatment of it...

"Eating, Sex, Fun and anything that indulge the senses is WRONG!" hopefully you will listen to your teachers and learn what they want to show you; perhaps they would admonish you for indulging in internet quarrels as well, though they can be FUN which is in PLAY which is more or less a virtue in Taoism

Does this reflect your spiritual practice, or use of Tao Bums? You might want to rethink your approach if so..

Well, he was talking more about a philosophical approach to solving the issues, but good point nonetheless, lol.. really, I'm just trying to avoid a take over since politicos tend to be very zealous on the net and can quickly overwhelm a forum when they see an open platform. It's not at that point, but I think it would suck if that happened, though maybe a politics room or some thing would open up if it got to that point.. I do have the Tao of Politics (Masters of Huainan), maybe should start a topic regarding Taoist Political theory. The Wen Tzu is also really interesting on these topics. Cheers.

I appreciate and agree with your point, however, it's a Taoist forum to begin with, so even the Off Topic is connected to it, as I see it...

Body of Light, is that you?

Do note that mental alertness is greatly affected by kelp, actually that's more the reason that I was taking it as well..

yeah, once again, I hope people don't lose sight of the importance of flexing muscles around the prostate to keep it in good shape when doing retention. This also releases hormones into the blood which adds to the health benefits.

Thought this would be a good topic in helping to grow this community exiled from their own land So, there may be some questions about how to recognize Chi and Jing. I have some myself, for example, when your stretching and you feel that stuff shoot up your spine -- is that Jing? 1) And for Chi, a good test is to hold your palms close together but not touching -- the energy felt between them is Chi -- so says Waysun Liao in "Tai Chi Classics." Now when moving chi through your body, into the dantien, or compressing it in the dantien, what are some errors people can make in mistaking something else for chi; is it all chi? 2) The same in circulating chi through the microcosmic orbit. Is is possible to just be circulating Jing instead of Chi and what would be the differences during and after? I've heard some say the MCO can be done very easily without years of experience, others say it takes a very high level of expertise and that most people are not doing real MCO.

Sarsparilla tea is a good alternative to this. google it for more info about its effects and similarities to testosterone, as well as cautions etc..

Some important points to keep in mind when practicing retention is that you need to be able to massage the prostate (which can be done by muscle contractions in that area) to move the jing into the bloodstream and also to keep the gland healthy and flexible. People who just do retention and don't keep the gland flexible and healthy will over-stretch it and allow it to become rigid which is unhealthy. Also, if you multiply your age by 0.2 you will have the number of days which, if you retain for, you will not be depleting yourself. So if a 30 year old goes 6.6 days without a "rainfall" then he will not be depleting himself. He will not be gaining, but this is still very healthy. I forget where I read this, but it was one of the Taoist experts, maybe Stephen Chang?

just barging in with politics, like activists hijacking a political debate with arbitrary agendas. If you haven't seen this on every internet forum then I don't know where you've been.. The internet is great for political initiatives given the access to information and decent sized audiences. Forum-jacking was more intense when the Bush regime was still around (when I couldn't resist doing it myself from time to time) than it is today, but the rest of my post you quoted applies nonetheless, no?

Really, Off Topic is pretty dry, but if there was consistently interesting stuff put in there it would be pretty cool. It would also keep the General Discussion more focused and not risk inviting hijacking by activists in the future, while also making Off Topic a fertile space for these issues which many people would be interested in. A one stop shop with relevant departments for good Feng Shui? That would be one Taoist way to do it...

Thanks. I find the topics interesting and also important, but there is a room for that party. I'm also hoping they take it to the basement 'cause I'd like to see more of this stuff from the people who hang out here. Seems there's some more rare sides to it. Shit, we could have a Vmarco room when he gets back..

a lot of the time chronic fatigue has to do with an underactive thyroid. I took kelp capsules for a while and it helped a great deal. Of course, it's not good to mess with the thyroid without proper supervision since an overactive thyroid is dangerously difficult to treat. I would check with a good certified Dr. of Naturopathy since they know a lot about nutrition and so forth. As for kelp capsules, if you're obviously not showing signs of hyperthyroidism (nervous agitation type personality) then taking it 3 or four times a week couldn't hurt. Some kids in the maritimes chew seaweed like kids in the US chew gum. Either way, I'm not a doctor, but I find naturopaths to be a bit more of a sure thing than TCM, though TCM can sometimes cure the "uncurable."

Reminded me of this video I saw with Dr. Zhi Gang Sha. He teaches Werr, Ahh, Hung as healing sounds for upper, middle, lower dan tien about 18:30 in