Harmonious Emptiness

Still, you might find "Entering the Circle" similar to some of your experiences with light energy. "Expanding Love" by the Dalai Lama too, where he talks about benefiting from your detractors. I wouldn't suggest them as a replacement for any direct experiences, but they might be useful nonetheless to expedite others, if you are in the right place on your path. At this point though perhaps you're better to pay attention to and focus on the intense experiences that you're interacting with -- sort of like not reading the news while your on a date

There are quite a few books, autobiographies, by Native American shamans. Of those I have read, pretty much all of them say they wouldn't wish the burden of being a shaman on anyone. Furthermore, the tests that Native American shamans endure bring them to the points of near death and levels of terror that few could withstand with their sanity in tact. They have to be able to more or less negotiate with forces more powerful than most people would or could even contemplate. So, yes, there's going to be tests before these abilities are attained. Taoist adepts speak of being misled and tempted by spirits when they are nearing a higher level of attainment as well. There's also the "crabs in a bucket" side of "getting out." Other crabs will try to pull you back down into the bucket with them for some reason or another. As in China town, so in life.. lol. Consider too, as the Dalai Lama says (among others of course), that you should/can cherish your adversaries as you do your best friends since they are by far your greatest teachers of patience, determination, courage, forebearance.. all qualities necessary for advanced spiritual levels. "Your enemy is your Guru" As with all spiritual practices, the idea of "I am this" is really just one of those spirits (this time our own egos) pulling us back to an illusion that surrounds us, convincing us that this ego personality is real, when really its just an illusion reinforced by others and ourselves. It's just conceit - it's not real, it's not true. We are not this special thing. It does not exist other than in our beliefs. In The Diamond Sutra, chapter 9: Does a holy one say within himself, "I have obtained perfective enlightenment?"... No... If a holy one of perfected enlightenment said to himself "such am I [a holy one of perfected enlightenment]" he would partake of the idea of an ego entity, a personality, a being, or a separated individuality.... "...Chapter 28: bodhisattvas who achieve merit should not be fettered with desire for rewards. Thus it is said that the rewards of merit are not received." You don't receive your rewards -- even when you think you do *lauging on the inside* I'm just telling you what I've read mind you. I struggle to overcome these battles. I'm not sure if there is even a point where one no longer has fight with them. book reccomendations: Entering the Circle, Olga Kharitidi The Wind is My Mother, Bear Heart Honouring the Medicine, Kenneth Cohen Coyote Medicine, Lewis Mehl-Madrona

Some other things you might want to ask him about are Maca root and Borage tea, and Burdock tea. All of these are very good for your glands and hormone balance, though I wouldn't use Maca regularly along side the other two since they sort of do the same things and Maca can make people a bit high strung or even aggressive. I've been taking Borage tea for about a week now and seem to have less fatigue after work. It's supposed to stimulate your adrenal glands, and clean out stagnant adrenaline that gets released due to general stress but isn't used up. If you do a general search on Maca you'll see many testimonies of its effectiveness. Burdock is good for all kinds of things including gland health. Perhaps these will help in concert with the rest of your program.

From what I have read about this procedure, whether with coffee or water, the most dangerous part is that if you get internal bleeding from the tubes or anything else, then you will have internal bleeding in an extremely infection prone area since the blood will be mixing with all the toxic crap that you are trying to get rid of, including feces of course. There is also the risk of using too much water pressure and damaging an organ, including the heart. Doing this 3 times a day! seems to be a bit over the top. The healer, for all I know, might be very successful, well trained, etc., but how do you know this? It's important to be sure he's not putting you at this risk just to strengthen your faith and resolve that you will be healed. The fact that you are asking us this question shows that the both of you are not there yet, if that was part of the intention. The procedure is similar to an operation, which always entails a degree of risk which is only worth it if the alternative is totally unbearable. Do you really want to take that risk 3 times a day just to get started? There are other more non-intrusive ways to clean yourself of toxins. What is it that you are seeking his help for, if I may?

Someone gave me the audio-book of Dyer`s `Change your thoughts..` I found that it was good to have and gave some decent viewpoints from someone who has really does his homework, at least academically, on different spiritual traditions. He seems to blend self-help psychology with spirituality - which is not hard to do since there are so many overlapping ideas, and presents things in an easily acceptable way, generally, for people who are not ready to get into percieved `religious` scriptures or what have you. It`s a pretty good introduction for those reasons. If it gets someone interested, there`s plenty of study for them to move on to. Dyer may be a `self-help guru` but he`s done a lot more research than the rest of them it seems, and he`s trying to reach as many people as possible too, so people should be glad that he`s opened the door for a lot of people to become more spiritually conscious. If they get pissed off about that, then they have a lot more work to do before they critisize, imho..

Wudang - Cradle of Taoism http://english.cntv.cn/english/special/wudang_cradle_of_taoism/homepage/index.shtml

I should have also mentioned "Vitality, Energy, Spirit" a compilation trans by Thomas Cleary. This book has excerpts from many ancient texts that would have been studied, and some perhaps written, in Wu Dang monasteries. It may also show you some other texts that you will want to read in full if you can find them. You could also look up Dr. Zhi Gang Sha for your university paper as he seems to be one of the more contemporary Qi Gong icons, and Falun Gong seems to be another modern manifestation of Qi Gong. I think the main reason, really, that so much of Qi Gong language is coded, and prohibitive to outsiders, was that they don't want rationalist-positivists coming around trying to commoditize or destroy it if they couldn't understand and control it - pretty much the same as with other shamanic traditions. It can't be controlled, so why waste time with people who only want to "possess" it. I don't feel it was some kind of hierarchy trip, just shrewdness by people who understood this overpowering tendency.

Every book translated by Thomas Cleary is a priceless pearl, shining rather clearly through his well researched wording. If you see one, it will be worth while to pick it up.

The Teacup & the Skullcup:Chogyam Trungpa on Zen and Tantra The Dawn of Tantra, Chogyam Trungpa

That interview was great. Thanks for sharing. I've been reading autobiographies of Shamans for a little while now. Black Elk, Wallace Black Elk, Bear Heart, Lame Deer, Kenneth Cohen, and Lewis Mehl-Madrona. Hadn't heard of Bradford Keeney. Maybe you have a few more suggestions? If you haven't read the ones I mentioned above -- I'm sure the authors would gladly share the teachings. Some myths are only supposed to be told after the first snowfall, so some may choose to wait a bit before starting Lewis Mehl-Madrona's book. Absolutely enriching books

Hello everyone I happened upon this site when reading about some nutrition things and was pleased to find so many other people with an interest in Taoism, some with quite a bit of training as well. I've been doing personal 'research' into Taoism for about 15 years, picking up all the classics I could find at libraries and book stores - further inspired by the fact that many of them have been unavailable to the masses until about 60 years ago, especially in English! Other areas of interest for me include natural health and healing (nutrition, herbalism, traditional therapies and treatments), Aboriginal mysticism, Music, and Poetry (of the upper and lower case varieties). I look forward to finding out about some more books to pick up (already started a couple I learned about on here) and sharing wherever it might be helpful. Cheers!

Thanks Mel! Likewise!

Thank you Yes I have been seeing a lot of new translations popping up. I read "Qi Gong Massage" by Jwing-Ming Yang and really appreciated his explanation of a lot of concepts, so his translations would surely be great. I read mostly the philosophical texts, however. Any idea what he might be working on? Or websites with more info? Best

Thanks for the tip - trying to find it..

You could also check out "Opening the Dragon Gate: The making of a modern Taoist wizard" by Chen Kaiguo, Zheng Shunchao, trans. by Thomas Cleary. It provides a non-fiction account of the steps that some the most "select" pupils have gone through.

365 Dao, by Deng Ming Dao.. provides really interesting philosophy and background information on Taoism, as well as daily teachings geared towards the time of season. Plus, only one page per day.