Ulises

"The qigong practitioner feels as though Nature uses his or her eyes to see herself." Ken Cohen "As it appears to me, the world is amazing. Human beings are especially amazing. The body that we have is a sensory organ, an organ of perception that is an eye for the universe to experience itself. There is the universe, the stars and the galaxies, empty space, earth, ocean, rocks and all the physical manifestation. Every once in a while there is a soft spot in this universe. This soft spot has become so soft that it perceives its environment. That is what a human being is. Why not look at the world this way? Why look at it as if you are a human being who is born one day only to die another day, with problems and spouses and taxes in between? Why not look at it as if you are an organ of perception for the universe? There is no other way for the universe to know itself. Whether you choose to call it God or the cosmic being or the universe, there is no way for that existence to perceive, to experience, to live, except through living beings." A. H. Almaas Taking as an starting point the phrase by the Qi Gong teacher Kenneth Cohen, I'd like to get feedback from Qi Gong practitioners about their experiences in Nature (preferibly wilderness, but not exclusively). The thing is many times, when I've heard people commenting about their qigong practice, it looks like very solipsistic, totally anthropocentric, nearly oblivious to the surrounding living enviroment... (it would be great to hear experiences, for example, from Wuji Qigong - and other practices - practitioners..)

thank you for your beautiful sharing!

The sinologist and historian Joseph Needham concluded "the hallucinogenic properties of hemp were common knowledge in Chinese medical and Taoist circles for two millennia or more", and other scholars associated Chinese wu "shamans" with the entheogenic use of cannabis in Central Asian shamanism. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_and_spiritual_use_of_cannabis THE CANNABIS PAPERS The Sacramental Use Of Cannabis Sativa http://www.kamakala.com/cannabis.htm

"The moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself." --Henry Miller

...to revert the wave of death, together in sinergystic communion, before it's too late... http://organelle.tumblr.com/post/2625334661/were-sorry-you-have-reached-the-dead-end-of http://www.organelle.org/organelle/bmoon/bluemoon.html

The Bush administration was an "atrocity show", a death factory (J.G.Ballard), the opposite of awakening to the raw, ectatic experience of feeling fully alive in the middle of a magnificent Mystery..

What I mean is: I quit this thread, I'm REALLY bored about the Kunlun Church,the select hierarchy, the true believers, the heretics, and all the totally predictible ramifications (endless bizantine, trivial discussions,etc.) It's becoming deadly boring. I've had enough of these dynamics in my life before Bye, bye, good luck everybody involved with the Kunlun innership

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Coyote means Coyote,go and read the medicine stories of the traditions . Don't make bullshit word trickery with me!

Of course it's not...but it's the way it's introduced Max profile (X Men narrative), certain hilarious pecularities (the fence thing...come on!), etc. I don't doubt about the efficacy of Kunlun...but they are selling water by the river in a especial moment of our spiritual evolution when "the doors are open"(this has been said recently by many teachers of different schools): no need anymore for passwords, lineages,etc. to access what we already are... The interview with Chunyi Lin speaks volumes to that respect (opening of the heart) but, again, if you enjoy the "trip" around Kunlun, I understand (I'm a writer)

that's one way to approach, more Bushman-like; in "The Energy Practice", you begin relaxed, and without expectations....the important thing is being open, without over-seriousness, child-like, to be "danced" by the energy... I have experienced both, Kunlun and Shaking/Seiki Jutsu/Autokinetics: it's the same experience, only a different word trickery (very elaborated in the coyote way in kunlun)... It just bothers me the "X-MEN" narrative of Kunlun, with its ambiguity about siddhis, Shangri-La lineages,etc. (I've developed a trustable bullshit radar through the years - my own coyote side,in this case fox...) and smells fishy to the point, sometimes, of being hilarious...be careful with the fences... ; ) but again, if you prefer to think that kunlun is "different" (selling water by the river in fancy bottles) and is of benefit for you...no problemo, go ahead with the "pillar of bliss"

I really feel joyful that people are getting benefit from Kunlun...but for three dollars (well, perhaps a little more now...) in amazon you get the same quick results, without all the "woo woo"(of course, if you resonate with kunlun,forget all this non sense and, by any means, go ahead with the "pillar of bliss"!): "The Energy Break", Bradford Keeney... or simply following, in a relaxed, child-like, mischievous way, these simple steps: A GOOD PATH TO THE SHAKE Shaking in the company of others is one of the most powerful experiences I know. Your shaking can be catalyzed and deepened by the presence of others. You can join me and others for that experience, or you can begin on your own: 1 | Focus on good feelings -- preferably love, compassion, and kindness -- and stay connected to them. It doesn't matter what words or phrases, if any, come to mind. 2 | Turn on some spirited rhythmic music and start wiggling and moving. 3 | It doesn't matter whether your eyes are open, half-closed, or closed. Do whatever feels natural. 4 | Activate your muscles, wiggling and moving them from head to toe. 5 | Gradually increase the rate of breathing until you are breathing rapidly. 6 | Assume an active attitude toward becoming excitable. Encourage yourself to tremble, shake, and quake. 7 | Continue shaking for as long as you wish. This is not an indulgence. 8 | At the end of the exercise, let your body do what it wants -- lie down, sit, walk, or whatever feels right. 9 | Do this when you desire, even once a day, but at least once a week. --b.k. Again, the key point, as master Chunyi Lin eloquently states, is about the opening of the heart... Here are some possible experiences: • Highly charged excitement • Simultaneous deep relaxation and heightened arousal • Vibrating, prickling, or tingling sensations; sensations of energy or electricity-like currents circulating in the body • Intense heat or cold • Muscle twitches and involuntary body movements: jerking, tremors, quaking, and shaking • Desire to move into an unusual body posture • Awareness of an inner force moving inside you or an inner voice that guides • Feeling of being high ("drunk from the shake") • Intensified sexual desire • Increased heartbeat • Spontaneous expression such as laughing or weeping • Improvised vocalizations • Hearing inner sounds like bees buzzing, drumming, moving water or wind, roaring, whooshing, thunder, ringing, or music • Altered states of consciousness: expanded awareness, trance, or mystical experience • Blissful feelings in the head, particularly the crown area • Pervasive and indescribable bliss • Intensified feelings of love, peace, and compassion • Visionary and out-of-body experiences and imagined flight • Belief that you are acquiring a healing power • Stimulation of the desire for creative expression • Deepened understanding of life; enlightenment, conversion, or transcendent experiences Knowing that what you are experiencing is "normal" can make it more acceptable and pleasurable.

An interesting antidote to the mediocre sectarianism...it could be re-worked, of course, but I think is a good somatic starting point focused not in the content but in the process "...I am proposing the following definition of spirituality or the spiritual experience: a subtle, bodily feeling with vague meanings that brings new, clearer meanings involving a transcendent growth process. First, the spiritual experience involves a subtle, bodily feeling with vague meanings. The client has a vague, subtle feeling that can be attended to in the body at the present time. Spirituality involves subtle feelings, a bodily sense, and not simply a cognitive belief system. For example, a client may have a vaguely "good" feeling that involves a large sense of peace and calm in the chest or a vaguely "uncomfortable" feeling that includes a sense of emptiness in the torso area. The feelings are subtle, elusive, hard to describe, and more than can be put into words. The feelings are not just single emotions such as happy or afraid. They can be located in the body, for example in the throat, chest, or stomach. The vague, complex feelings carry implicitly felt meanings or meanings that are only vaguely felt. The exact meaning is not yet known. Second, this subtle, bodily feeling with vague meanings brings new, clearer meanings. "Bring" implies that people frequently perceive that they do not cause these new, explicit meanings to occur. At first the client senses an unclear feeling that carries only implicit meanings. As the client continues to pay attention to the unclear, subtle feeling in a gentle, caring way, new meanings unfold and become more clear. For example, as a client pays attention to a vague feeling of peace and calm, the client may receive a new, explicit meaning or understanding of "accepting another person's differences." Third, a spiritual experience involves a transcendent growth process. "Transcend" means to move beyond one's former frame of reference in a direction of higher or broader scope, a more inclusive perspective. Such transcendence is essential to human growth. A transcendent growth process, found in all human beings, involves moving beyond one's own unhealthy egocentricity, duality, and exclusivity towards more healthy egocentricity, inclusivity, unity, and a capacity to love (Chandler, Holden, & Kolander, 1992). The movement from unhealthy to healthy egocentricity might involve the ability to become more assertive or the increased ability to stand one's ground. Gendlin (1996) has described this growth process in the following way: ...when a person's central core or inward self expands...it strengthens and develops, the "I" becomes stronger. The person--I mean that which looks out from behind the eyes--comes more into its own.... One develops when the desire to live and do things stirs deep down, when one's own hopes and desires stir, when one's own perceptions and evaluations carry a new sureness, when the capacity to stand one's ground increases, and when one can consider others and their needs....One comes to feel one's separate existence solidly enough to want to be close to others as they really are. It is development when one is drawn to something that is directly interesting, and when one wants to play. It is development when something stirs inside that has long been immobile and silent, cramped and almost dumb, and when life's energy flows in a new way. (pp. 21 - 22) Spiritual growth involves bodily felt release, more life energy, feeling more fully present and whole, a sense of feeling larger and being able to accept or reach out to more parts of oneself, to more people, and to more of life (Campbell & McMahon, 1985). For example, a client feeling peace and calm who receives a new understanding of "accepting another person's differences" may have the growth experience of accepting others more as they are, thus reaching out to more people. After a spiritual experience, growth usually occurs in many areas of the client's life. When I taught Focusing in Japan, the importance of a process definition of spirituality for cross-cultural counseling was confirmed by participants in my workshops. In the West people often think of spirituality as involving more self-transcendence and love for others (content terms). The Japanese are raised with the assumption of oneness and unity with other people and their environment. Their language reflects this assumption. Personal pronouns, such as I and you, are frequently omitted from sentences. For the Japanese the process of spiritual growth tends to involve developing more healthy egocentricity, more of a sense of individuality and separation. When Westerners speak of spirituality in terms of unity and self-transcendence (content terms), Japanese people may have the reaction that they don't need spirituality. When I spoke about spirituality in process terms (implicit feelings unfolding into more explicit meanings that bring more easing and life energy), they could see the relevance of spirituality in their own lives. This definition of spirituality includes what is often referred to as "transpersonal experiences." Transpersonal experiences involve an expansion or extension of consciousness beyond the usual ego boundaries and beyond the limitations of time and/or space (Grof, 1976). Spiritual process may include transpersonal experiences, such as intuitive, psychic, and mystical experiences. Also, when referring to spiritual content, I assume that transpersonal content is included." http://www.focusing.org/defining.htm

I resonate with this approach to Maya. Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty, a Sanskrit scholar from the University of Chicago: Interestingly, she looked at the root meaning of the Sanskrit word, maya, and discovered that it could best be translated as "transformation". She writes, "To say that the universe is an illusion (maya) is not to say that it is unreal; it is to say, instead, that it is not what it seems to be, that it is something constantly being made."

Great book( can save a lot of innecesary suffering): Eyes Wide Open Cultivating Discernment on the Spiritual Path http://www.realspirituality.com/pages/book_eyes.html

Coyote has a polarity that can be very,very tricky, pure ambiguity...he is the Archetype of the Trickster world-wide: turning things upside down, to show the relativity of any frame, shaking things up, to dissolve any rigidity, but also doing word trickery: trickster can lead you to worship a pile of dung, for example; or believing that war is "holy", for example...creating worlds of fantasy and manipulating endlessly with his bla,bla,bla...let's not forget that Hermes was the patron of thieves... In the worst cases, like late Castaneda,you have a recipe for the disaster: http://www.salon.com/books/feature/2007/04/12/castaneda http://www.amazon.com/Sorcerers-Apprentice-Life-Carlos-Castaneda/dp/1583940766 "Haiti," a Vodoun priest once told me, "will teach you that good and evil are one. We never confuse them. Nor do we keep them apart." Wade Davis

I'll just say this: very excited,I went to a kunlun workshop, I bought the kunlun book.... I'd really want to say another thing, but I have to be honest, even if I'm ostracized from this forum (no more fear!). After careful consideration:fishy, fishy, fishy...or, being polite: extreme coyote style...

"As the protestors took over Tahrir Square in Cairo, I felt I wanted to tune in to see what information might be available from inner colleagues. I was thinking I might communicate with a spiritual being attuned to the Egyptian people but instead I found myself in contact with a Presence that seemed like an 'Angel of Humanity.' This Presence said in effect, 'What is happening here is part of a process that goes beyond Egypt and its concerns. It is a human occurrence. It is one expression, conditioned by the circumstances of the Middle East, of an unfoldment that all humanity is experiencing, not just Egyptians or Arabs. This is the most important thing to know.' (...) In December of 1963, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave a talk at Western Michigan University on the theme of social justice and the emerging new age. In it he said: "All I'm saying is simply this, that all life is interrelated, that somehow we're caught in an inescapable network of mutuality tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. For some strange reason, I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. You can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be. This is the interrelated structure of reality." This thought by Dr. King catches the sense of what this Angel was implying, but there was more to it even than this. It was, I think, an invitation to see ourselves as revolutionaries in the context of seeking to overthrow oppressive and limiting thought forms and ways of thinking. We, of course, are focused on the physical realm; it is the environment most apparent and immediate to all of us. But our colleagues and helpers in the spiritual realms deal with the invisible environment of subtle energies, thoughts and feelings. This environment can be every bit as oppressive as a tyrant; it can be every bit as harmful as a department of secret police. Certainly it can’t cause us physical pain and suffering, at least not directly, but it’s this environment that in its polluted and negative states gives rise to and energizes such physical phenomena such as tyrants and secret police, torture and terrorism, murder and mayhem. It’s this environment that can hold beliefs and thought forms that limit our conceptions of ourselves, that blind us to the wholeness of the earth, that make us doubt the goodness of the earth and the presence of the Sacred. It is the oppression of this inner tyranny of ancient and outworn thoughts, emotions, habits, and beliefs that all of us, all of humanity, is now struggling against, like a butterfly trying to break out of a cocoon. We are all being called to make our way to the Tahrir Square of our minds and hearts, there to stand together and demand the old ways step down so a new humanity may emerge. The world and we revolve around this pivot point of history in search of a new and better tomorrow, demanding creative and holistic change. The Revolution is upon us! What inner tyrannies will you overthrow today?" David Spangler http://www.lorian.org/davidspage.html#gpm1_2

We are not free. Yes, in Europe and most of the Americas we have formal democracy, but we are slaves to corporations of any kind (political, religious and the like) What if we remembered our ancestors...? Something similar to what happened in Egypt, but in a cultural spiritual level could happen to us...a colective soul retrieval. In fact I think it already is happening now... http://www.futureprimitive.org/2008/09/remembering-ancestors-martin-prechtel/ http://www.futureprimitive.org/2011/02/eliot-cowan-the-song-of-the-world/

I'm pointing to a thousand yeas ago to show the continuity of the terrifying history of Christianity to this day, including the continous abuse of indigenous people everywhere by christian "missionaries" TODAY: the increasing, psychotic christian fundamentalism could be a serious threat in our western countries in the near future: This is a sad resonant example of the spiritual/cultural genocide inflicted on us, European indigenous people (we enjoyed a spirituality very similar to the Native american), by the Imperial Church of Rome : native people infected with the mind virus of christian intolerance ("the one and only road to 'salvation' ") http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2011/02/free-to-be-intolerant-christian-crees-tear-down-sweat-lodge/ As we know in psychology, the abused victims tend to become abusers... We, westerners, did among us (European religious wars), first, and in the Americas (an American holocaust), later, what was done to us by the Roman Empire with its "spiritual" branch...and this continues today in more or less covert ways

Splendid!! "Using some of the basic principles of Taoism, Alan Watts is able to explain to us the true meaning of life, love, and simple existence in an astonishingly simple way...." http://www.amazon.com/Nature-Man-Woman-Alan-Watts/dp/0679732330

Just to add that through the work of scholar/mystic Peter Kingsley, it seems that the roots of western culture come from Mongolian shamanism, so the use of the word shaman by western people is perfectly correct historically... http://www.peterkingsley.org/Details.cfm?ProdID=60&category=2