Rocky Lionmouth

General goals: Mainly development of a personal and spiritual kind. Im very curious about my systems long term benefits and the whole "explore thyself" trip. Also hopefully to pass on something of value to coming generations of practicioners. And just mastering the techniques in new ways to see what happens after. One thing i've seen Grandmaster do are these seemingly effortless, minimalistic techniques that blow me away everytime. Even when they are simple illustrations of a concept or point, its all very clear and useful knowledge and skills. I'd like to be able to teach that to myself and others. And of course: wealth, cars, mansions and minions.

Tried standing for a bit yesterday evening while waiting to be served in a semi-crowded bar. I noticed that the people oscillated/swayed in a remarkably synchronized fashion, more like a social action than a consequence of inebriation.

Mani - im pretty sure you hit the spot there, linguistically speaking also. I had to google it and found that the word emotion takes root in latins "emovere" that denotes moving something outside, (by connotation also stirring up, agitating), and emovere is constructed (the allmighty internet claims at least) from: Ex (out) + movere (the action of moving or setting in motion). The direct connection to "feeling" came later. Edit: meaning that to say emotion and have that meaning also overlap the word feeling came later. Feeling was around as well, for claritys sake.

GMP - i like it what you got right thurr! An acupuncturist and qigong healer i met a few years back said hair was better at picking up qi than naked skin, wich he demonstrated by making a connection to my nose and then to my beard, pretty solid difference in intensity. However: my only experience with hat-gong is baseball caps (i noticed it so much i could notice very little besides it) and a knitted 100% wool cap (serious buzzing sensation after a while). Both times: awareness and chi went to the head, wouldnt leave.

Last time i was in a discussion about hats it turned deep edge of the pool in an instant, but hey, topic said "philosophical".

Same here, located in the spaces of the "diffused" concentric outlines created by the bending reed structures in the white portion. Mostly visible around the circumference of the entire "circle" it forms, but depending on focal point for the eyes and distance to the screen it appeared in the concentric circles within but never in more than one circumference at a time. Here and there i thought i saw nanosecond flashes of green also but it lacked consistency. So i went back to it and now its purple outer circumference and the inner circles are olive green-ish. Third times the charm: the black center circle is now showing purple spots moving about in more or less regular patterns and sometimes they are three purple slices and three black ones. Thanks for the trip, this might become addictive. First time is always free right?

Thanks for sharing Taomeow!

This read easy like humming a tune from start to finish, i'll be back for seconds and thirds for damn sure!

I find this incredibly interesting, up to here i must confess i skimmed a bit so i'll read again later and try to get on top of the details, yummy thread! Imo emotionlessness is an extreme and emotions are also part of the information that makes a difference in life. Sensing something wrong with a friend, having a good or bad feeling about a meeting, it tell me something of how im seeing myself and the thing i feel about, their relationship to each other. Its information about ourselves, the inner world. Seeing the emotions often gives me a chance to see biases and conditionings im not yet aware of and tke them into consideration. I do agree that it's common and easy to get entangled and trapped in the idea that one is ones emotions and thoughts, that this is ones firm and solid core identity, i'd describe it as living at the whim of mercurial rollercoaster of chemical surges related to all sorts of half-assedly organized stimuli. This is another extreme. Choosing to follow the pavlovian response bundle and calling it ME, thats selling oneself short i think. Acknowleding it as a part of the whole is a whole other pair of pants. From a perspective of cultivation, the five phases and tcm, emotions and virtues connect to the organs and the phases, an excess of certain emotions indicates that a specific organ is either acting up or might take damage from the emotional situation. Its part of self diagnostics and the process of maintaining health and energy. I get that we're not talking about bottling up and crushing the emotions but rather choosing to focus on something else. I think this might be a good metogd for training oneself to have distance, keepig the outer and inner separate. I feel scared about trying it as a more constant approach to life, but i've had the tendency to bottle up and disregard emotions and their information on a broad range as a coping mechanism and for me its been very destructive. I might be boring the excrements out of you guys or missing the point now but i think mastery in itself cannot be a state of full control, controlling is grasping, holding and clinging, an approach of force wich i guess means its going to cost you a lot of energy. Mastery imo is regulating, balancing and being aware of the changing situation. I know, im dangerously close to semantics arguments here but my distinction aims towards the comparison between rigidity and fluidity. Having said this, i must read all of the thread again twice and i'll probably be of a different mind althogether then

If its meditation, circle walking, mindful walking, zen walking or something specific, disregard all of the following. But if this is ordinary everyday walking we're talking about then there are some frugal and perhaps obvious thoughts... I tend to try to relax and just walk. What comes to mind comes to mind and leaves again, its easy to overdo it. Think however and whatever your mind brings you and forget it asap. Empty of intention. Often i find myself thinking a lot more when not walking relaxed and comfortable (for me personally it means staying in the shade, maintaining a flowing rythm, pacing my energy, relaxing the ming men and dan tien area, breathing smoothly and just enjoying the walking), thats when i find i dislike the houses or trees or start to think how far is it, is there a faster route there and such. If walking "right", i hardly notice i've come to destination, might even take another tour around the block for the hell of it. If walking feels wrong then its troubles all the way, shoes are wrong, clothes chafe, sun is too bright, air's too cold, rains too much, stupid people all around me, stupid cars, crappy road etc etc. All thoughts arise and there is immense and immediate clinging. I keep asking myself why sometimes it feels right and sometimes wrong, its probably because im not very good at staying empty and just let right and wrong be important.

Unless we go classic "old master" teaching style: Just be in the present, easy!

One thing ttb keeps confirming is that everywhere and at all times there is opportunity to learn about Everything and observe and scrutinize oneself. With the right mind anyone is your teacher. I've learned how much i really need to talk to others about the crazy floating around inside my mind as well as hearing/reading other express themselves, humble thanks to everyone sharing! That i am petty, hasty, quick to mounting high horses and spout spiritual garglenuggets and phlegmgems i already knew, but i didnt know that i have attained some level of restraint and that (feel free to thank me for it whenever) only a very small iota of all the crap i intended to post is now immortalized publicly.

Many people are genuinely surprised that there are other people in the world.

Liking this thread very much, thanks Student! Agreeing about the three treasures, really resonated with the idea of one and another one being two halves of a whole, a One. From here on, rambling: Its like when somebody needs to get past you in a crowded area. If you're into oneness you probably already maintain awareness of the lack of space, so that if someone touched you to beg for gangway, you're already moving before they say "excuse me". You might respond in a reflex fashion to the intention of the touch but also, you know already it might happen, its a factor of the whole you are part of imo, its tight, people need to get through here. Also, "paths" are created in crowds, some people are nodes or crossroads it seems, they're just positioned correctly, or better yet, their disposition, what they signal to others, is safe passage, they pose less obstruction than others. Space around them is perhaps freer. Everyone is part of the situation, some are more aware on a fuller level of the dynamics of the situation. Doesnt have to be concious though. Some might consider these people weak or easily spotted as a pathetic someone of submissive attitude, others might just recognize their tendency to ease social situations on, oiling them.

Appreciate the initiative and will follow some sort of collectional thread for writing! While i hope people discover this forum thousands of years from now its kind of scary. I feel careless with words already, the thought that it might come to be looked upon and valued for historical content gives my tummy the rumbles. For the heck of it, a spontaneous little poem on cultivating stillness: ........... ........... ........... ........... ..... Oh, me? I'm sorry, what?

I used to think a lot about this and felt i boiled down to questions. I think there should be questions about your progress from your teacher as well as questions from you to her/him. I think putting in time working with your teacher to get to know them, see if they seem relaxed and comfortable. For them to share their innermost discoveries i think its important to give back and to really spend time exploring the teachings deeply. That and lots and lots of practice. The fruits might be individual, but imho fruittrees dont grow unless the soil is right, to do one of those classical mysticological parables I think observing the system teachers and their ability to teach different types of people might be good also. Many times people are good students to their master but fail in putting the teachings in a good context for their own students. Maybe the teacher is trying to convey a true transmission but failing to "phrase" it properly. Imo a teacher should always be ready to tell you where for instance the power in the movement is and where it comes from if youre doing martial stuff, or at least say: i'm going to look into it so i can explain it better next time. If you're not getting explanations maybe you're not ready to apply their meaning yet? Or maybe your teacher doesnt know them? No teacher is perfect right? But hey, if you've been accepted as an inner door student or sworn yourself to your teacher and s/he's accepted you, either your getting the real deal already or s/he is testing you for a response. If you're unsure, ask about it and examine yourself, why do you feel skeptical or why do you feel you're being decieved?

I was gonna say that evil taoist debunker and bringer of light, wisdom and understanding but i think he might gong my wifi so better not...

Wu Tang Clan aint nothing to Sexual Alchemy with

Right down to the core of it, well said!

+1 for "whatever suits the individual practicioner" and "what do you want to learn?" I'd love to see a list of the worst and most unsuccessful qi gong systems. 6 Disharmonies Fist Death Anguish Enhancement Nei Gong Pai Not So Great Attainment Association sorry

True, and its a bit like discussing acieving gong fu in any endeavor. The Tao of Stressing Oneself to an Ulcer does sound odd but it could be an antithesis for didactical purposes. Some people have refined this art and while perilious it will force you to realize a closer relationship to the Tao of Healthier Living and Mindset.

I tried a tin foil beard but it didnt stick, later it served well as a hat.

Dude! Hats.

Can warmly recommend Lin Yutangs "The Importance of Living" and "The Importance of Understanding", both are pretty awesome and you can jump around in them for whatever chapters suit your fancy.