mjjbecker

This sort of thing was mentioned in some threads a while back (The 'Tantric Mongoose' stuff). http://www.sashacobra.com/Sasha_Cobra/About_The_Work.html Just occurred to me it might be useful for 'Non', given the issues he has raised.

http://www.thetaobums.com/index.php?/topic/6395-releasing/page__p__73658__hl__sedona%20method__fromsearch__1entry73658

Sound advice. Having a good teacher and following their instructions is paramount. Non, you have a teacher and a method. Do you doubt them? If you are happy with what you are doing, why change-or add to it? It doesn't seem like you have been practising this method for much time. It takes a lot of consistent effort to get results, over a significant period of time. Effort, time and patience.

Have you tried the Sedona method exercise I posted?

http://www.thetaobums.com/index.php?/topic/6395-releasing/page__p__73658__hl__sedona__fromsearch__1entry73658 And this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Stop_Worrying_and_Start_Living Another good book. Some of the advice I still use today. I've used all of the above, at times when I have been in a dark place. The process of letting go of pain can be difficult and painful. I have in the past compared it to food poisoning. The sickness inside has to come out. Once out though, it is like being reborn. The single most beneficial practice I follow now is Stillness Movement neigong. On a physical and mental level it brings me some peace. It also takes me towards being able to help others.

You are nothing if not consistent. Please tell us your real name, who you learned from and your years of training. After all, since you consistently feel qualified to sit in judgement of people you've never met and practices you've never tried, you must be something really special. Do share with us how you are so much more qualified to judge these things-purely on what you read on the internet it seems-than those of us who get out from behind our computers and actually go and meet the teachers and do the practices. Do tell.

http://www.thetaobums.com/index.php?/topic/15225-stillness-movement-neigong-and-michael-lomaxs-light-warriors-guide-book/page__hl__light%20warrior

Good points. I am several thousand miles away in another country and wont be back until early next year. On a treatment side, I lack the clinical experience-something I consider to be very important, particularly when trying to help a person with a very serious condition. Good intentions without the knowledge and wisdom to back them up can be dangerous for both the patient and the healer. That is something I am in the process of rectifying. Unfortunately you can show people qigong methods to help them, but you can't always get them to do the practice. This I've learned from experience.

Some neigong schools explicitly state not to practice on bare concrete. From personal experience, when I did standing practice at my teachers house, he had me practice on his lawn, not his concrete driveway.

Concrete will leach qi from you, so it is not good for grounding. If you want to ground, use earth or grass covered areas. You should not sit, stand or train on concrete without adequate insulation.

Hundun, What reaction do you expect from people when you make such statements? The above does not suggest you want to have a constructive dialogue. It suggests you want to 'shit stir'. By coming into the debate and encouraging someone to be negative, you are going to get a negative response. It doesn't look like you took on what I said at all. As for Otis, he looked for the most negative review I have seen of Michael's work, quoted it, and then said he agreed with that-and the DVD was even worse. Again, hardly a constructive addition to the debate. It DOES come down to one simply question though. How much time have you spent doing the practice? If you've done 100 days, an hour a day, then I have no problem you saying it doesn't work for you. If you've just looked at the book and DVD, then it is like someone giving a car review having seen its picture in a magazine and an ad on the TV. I would not 'dis' what Hundun does because I have no direct experience of it. I don't seek out and troll his posts. We have only crossed swords in the past due to the negative comments made on the other thread. As I said there: Some reciprocal courtesy isn't much to ask-but often seems to disappear on threads. It really does put people off participating here-I know this personally, and from people I've spoken with. That doesn't make for good discussion, it just makes for a lose-lose situation for everyone. No one is perfect, we all have our moments, which is all the more reason not to try and cause more negativity just for the sake of it.

Never mind.

Double post.

I'll chip in while I am here. The place was good if you are looking for a quiet location. However, it is 'basic', being a scout centre. It isn't a central location either-in the local area-so people wanting to eat or get to a shop need to either drive or walk there. Anyone looking for modern amenities provided by sports centres and yoga studios (on site catering for example, or other facilities such as sauna's, etc.) would be better off elsewhere. It has a kitchen, showers and toilets, but is otherwise just a room. Anyone staying over would be sleeping on the floor in the sleeping bag they hopefully brought. So, if a group wants very basic facilities, but quiet, then it will work for them. If a group wants a more modern facility, with services provided, this is definitely not the place for them. It is also out of the centre of London, so people coming would either need to stay on site-see above-or in one of the local hotels. Anyone taking on the facility also needs to clean up after themselves-there is no cleaner service or trash removal. It is down to the people hiring the place to do this. Hope that helps.

How many hours over how many months practice did you put in-either of you-before reaching your conclusion?

Please enjoy and also pass on the word. I had the great pleasure of reading through the drafts and offering some small pointers. It is, I feel, an excellent book. Having had the opportunity to try some of the techniques shown, I can also vouch for their effectiveness. Anyone looking for interesting observations on the esoteric will not be left wanting either. I did in fact advise Kostas to charge for the book but he was insistent on offering the e-book version free. People can read this and then decide if they want to get a hard copy or not. Kostas simply wanted to get the information out in the public domain (he remains busy with a proper full time professional career). Anyway, enjoy the book. http://www.lulu.com/product/file-download/pammachon-martial-art-of-the-west/14361038?productTrackingContext=search_results/search_shelf/center/2 Anyone interested in further information should look at Kostas' website: http://www.pammachon.gr/

No, I don't think I will. Not with your attempt to put me down and twist the issue. I made it perfectly clear in my recent post to Mal that I was not aware of any posts being deleted in the main forum. I made it perfectly clear that my comments were in reference to a post being deleted in a personal practice forum (I said the same to Stigweird when he PMed me). So, no 'insinuation' otherwise. Anyone can see my post saying such, and all such related posts, on the appropriate thread. http://www.thetaobums.com/index.php?/topic/776-no-insults-in-taoistpersonal-practice-discussion/page__pid__215614__st__20entry215614 I really don't care if it bores you or not. I do care that you made a public statement that England, France, Germany and Spain are largely devoid of good taijiquan teachers, compared to your 'star spangled haven'. I care because it is simply not the case-quite the opposite. The claim that these countries have to get people in, like your teacher, for seminars because there are 'few, if any' teachers of the same level in these countries is not the case. Europe has a number of fine taijquan masters, and I think I can assert that based on having spent time with some of them. My post stated this and provided links to the websites of several organisations, groups and individuals. That hardly compares to my comment about the 'sanity' of the forum. That things can, do and have gotten crazy and out of hand here is beyond dispute. I did not personalise my comment-you chose to do that. Purely because you wanted to get back at me. Shame you could not have done so by addressing the issues you raised and I replied to. That you were too 'bored' to hardly addresses the issue. It simply says you chose to avoid the issue because you were wrong, and didn't simply have the honesty to admit it. Now, if your comments were all simply made in jest, then it would have been quite easy to say as much. You didn't. You deleted your post and mine and then played the 'I'm so above all this kind of stuff' card. Pray do not play the condescension card. I think I have enough years of experience in all of this, from running and moderating forums, to qigong, neigong and taijiquan to offer a valid opinion. If you disagree with it, back your opinions up with something solid. If you can't, then forgo the bluff card or the arrogant response. It doesn't wash.

Well, from memory I recall you and YM rarely see eye to eye. Would you prefer I welcomed YM back by posting in your personal practice forum? Then you could continue your policy of deleting posts you disagree with. Or perhaps, you, like you accused me, didn't get the humour of the post? I suspect YM would not have deleted my post, or his own. He would have responded with facts, rather than censorship, instead. I do hope this post doesn't fall victim to extraordinary rendition.

I was clarifying my previous comments for Mal. I was not commenting on yours. I rarely read your posts so I wouldn't notice if some had been deleted. I can't comment one way or the other on your claim.

Nice to see you posting again YM. Sanity needs all the help it can get around here . Yes. This is a well trodden debate here though. I doubt anyone is going to change their views on this.

I'd just like to say this has been one of the most interesting threads I've followed on this forum. Thank you to everyone for the information and particularly Sifu Dunn.