JustARandomPanda

If I can scrape up enough money for the gas, food and a place to stay and to at least pay you something I think I might just do that. Feeling how tiny my root chakra is (it was by far the tiniest of them all) - and knowing it is the powerhouse that 'powers up' all the others - really has me depressed today. I am going to double up - maybe even triple up - on the Secret Smile and the Dr. Morris Earth Water Fire meditation audio Tao posted. You might want to PM him about it then. Unless it's one of his own threads or one that's obviously about sex he doesn't post much.

Perhaps Witch can help as my experience is of sex = internal burns that lubricants and creams do not much alleviate.

Hmm... I must think on what you said. Good stuff. Perhaps I can try to explain why what GiH said resonated with me by way of illustration. Have you ever heard of the Indian Mathematician Ramanujan? It is my understanding that this guy made substantial contributions to mathematics. Some equations and stuff which even today have not yet been solved. The story I heard was that he pretty much re-derived over 100 years of mathematics in near isolation. No access to other mathematicians other than a few old textbooks. But his discoveries went way beyond just what the textbooks taught. Case in point: The Elliptic Modular Function which as I understand has still not been solved today. Now I suppose one could say he did have teachers - those textbooks or whatnot. But I find it interesting that he somehow managed to come up with stuff way beyond what anything he was exposed to or taught. Kind of like Albert Einstein and Relativity or Isaac Newton. How do we account for such..hmm...flashes of knowing? I kind of see it as being similar to all of us having inherent Buddha Nature. The way I read what GiH is saying is that we all possess that same capability as did Albert Einstein, Ramanujan or Sir Newton. No one taught any of them (the thing they discovered that is) - yet they are the Giants upon whose shoulders we stand. That's why I waver back and forth. I can see the point of having great teachers. Yet I can also see what GiH was trying to get at (and Plato too for that matter). I am all very unclear about this so take what I posted as just pondering this stuff out loud.

He taught us Kan and Li. I was under the impression Tummo and Kan and Li are the same thing. Eep. I guess I need to spend the week doing heavy review as I must have missed that one.

Oh dear. Perhaps I was wrong. It certainly wouldn't be the first time that has happened. Forget what I posted, Enouch. The last thing anyone should do is listen to me. Best wishes

How odd. I actually find myself in agreement with GiH. He is not the only one to make that argument. I believe Plato has a dialogue that argues much the same thing as what GiH is saying - albeit Plato put it as one of Knowledge. That is how do we recognize something as true, right, good, instruction, etc... if we are in a place of Unknowing. For to recognize it implies that on some deep level we in fact already know. It just remains unrealized. The deep truth is there and the tool you need is already there. It always was. From my own experience though the REALLY hard part is the one most people say is the simplest - that is - to Just Pay Attention. REALLY PAY ATTENTION. Those 3 words pretty much sum up all the assorted meditation practices I've read about. Damn that is so easy to say and so freaking hard to do (at least for me). Maybe Enouch you could just...I dunno...play around with different breath patterns and where you feel them in your body parts or where you might consciously direct the air to, and the direction the air takes (front cycle/back cycle/side cycles/figure 8's/cascades/ high-pressure/low-pressure/deep and shallow pressure/ who-knows-the-heck-what-else), etc... then just sit back and pay attention to what happens? That's what I'd do if I wanted to learn something but no one would teach me. P.S. I'd also have a system check technique to check it against. Like say if you know how to see or feel the chi around and in your body - maybe use a spreadsheet to document any changes from your baseline. I guess it's kind of like a medical model. Take a 'system checkup' before starting so you get your baseline then every 2 weeks of your experiments compare the daily results with the baseline and see what trends emerge.

WTH? Did someone give me a Shaktipat tonight (!!) or am I just getting a delayed response from inadvertently tapping into the energy Santi sends out to his students everyday? I swear I could feel my wind chakra getting a workover. So much so my pec muscles actually alternately tensed and relaxed on their own. I started to break out in a sweat from anxiety. And there was the usual feeling of heavy fire, wind, spiraling energy....and something new this time.. I would swear it felt like pulses of energy in my root chakra. It buzzed me so much with energy I actually went for an hour long walk in the rain tonight. I still feel the buzz - like I just slammed down a pack of Red Bull. Did someone give me a Shaktipat or am I just being delusional? If someone did I very much want to thank you. p.s. Thank you Stigweard and VH. I will look into your suggestions VH.

Extended retreats are probably the best but some people don't have that kind of access. I wonder if there is a way to get the individualized coaching aspect of a retreat some other way? Maybe online? The way KAP is done?

It is a good book, isn't it? I pre-ordered it and finished it in 3 days. There's a LOT there to chew on for sure. I don't know about other people but I did a 'mini-review' of it here in the Karezza & Taoist Sexual Practice thread.

I've been listening to an audiobook recently. The Dalai Lama's How to Practice the Way to a Meaningful Life. It has some very nice exercises to practice daily. I especially like the practices that increase Compassion and Loving-Kindness. I'm on the 4th (of 5) cds. I've been so surprised to hear him discuss all the things VH has been talking about these past few months when it comes to Buddhism. I just now got to the audio section where he talks about some of the differences Buddhism has with many of the other world religions. Especially about how other major world religions posit an Ultimate Divine but Buddhism does not. He also has a whole section on Dependent Origination! I gotta say I have an easier time understanding Dependent Origination from the way the Dalai Lama explains it than I can from VH even though they're both explaining the exact same thing. One thing I noticed about Buddhism (and to some extent this is also true of Taoism - especially the Alchemy parts) is it seems to be rooted in a kind of empiricism. That if you do A/B/C...you will get X/Y/Z results (barring some unforeseen interference or perhaps practicing wrong). hmm... I wonder what it must feel like to be a big, spiritual dick... I wonder if that is even possible for women? How can you really know what it feels like to be what you don't have?

I don't see anything wrong about asking other people for their Jhana experiences and what steps they may have taken to attain them without attaching to them. In any case...if people *really* believed nothing was repeatable (true random chaos) then neither teachers nor students would exist. Lao Tzu, Plato nor the Buddha would have bothered to pass on what they learned and no one would have cared nor bothered to ask. Neither would books exist. Or instructional videos. Or apprenticeships, etc. I would like to learn of other people's experiences but I still know full well that the Map is Not the Territory.

Just found one of his articles. I don't understand where Drew is saying Pythagoras was wrong. But then...a lot of what he writes goes over my head when it comes to math. Edit: My eyes glazed over instantly but Math fans might find this article on The ancient Comma of Pythagoras interesting.

I've read some of them. Understanding them though is another story. I take it from your comments Drew must have posted an article about Pythagoras being wrong or somehow ruining western music?

In keeping with the theme of this thread...I found Drew's Pythagorean brother. An article on Pythagorean Harmonic Healing All this talk of music is making me feel guilty that I've been neglecting my guitar and banjo.

I actually felt a few things during this night's Shaktipat (mostly pain where the power hit my old injuries) but it was as cheerful this time as the last one was bad. The odd thing though is that some of the things everyone else was feeling - the heavy fire, rushing wind, spiraling light, etc... I'm only feeling it JUST NOW. It's so strong I can't sleep. I do not understand why my body seems to have a delayed response to Shaktipat but it appears to be some kind of emerging pattern. At least this delay was only a few hours instead of several days. Very odd.

In case you don't have Skype try downloading it here.

I must be a glutton for punishment but I'm going to log in. If depression hits no big deal. I'll cross that bridge if it comes to it. At least now I know what to expect. After that delayed Shaktipat effect I got there's no way in hell I'm going to miss out on this!

Thank you Trunk. Damn. Where was everyone years ago when some of this stuff first started.

Well that could certainly be true. I was just musing about why I am seeing results from KAP within 1 week but nothing with Frantzis's method over approximately 2 months. I'm sure it's also a big advantage that I actually have a teacher in KAP whereas with Energy Gates I was doing everything DIY. I'm no Qi Gong expert that's for sure. Take what I said with a grain of salt. Obviously Frantzis' method works for many people. If it didn't I'm sure he'd have long ago been looking for a day job. p.s. I confess I am quite curious about Michael Lomax's Stillness-Movement Qi Gong. However..I think it best to stick with KAP for now and quite possibly for at least a few more years. If I recall correctly, Dr. Morris said in his book the fastest one could reasonably expect to awaken Kundalini is 3 years and that's only if you spend hours each day dedicated to the practices! I don't have that kind of Pro Athlete style determination so it will likely be many years more than just 3. BINGO! I got all of the above. Naturally timid to the point of being a shut-in (that was both my Ex's nic for me and my current BF concurs - he said I'm more of a hermit than anyone he's ever met). Plus difficulty in feeling emotion or even know if what you are feeling qualifies as an emotion (maybe it's just energy instead?). The icing on the cake is the long term pain incurred from being hit by a drunk driver. Oh...and add sexual problems that can cause depression to boot. I'm damaged goods when it comes to sex but I'm actually feeling more cheerful and hopeful about finding workable solutions than I have in ages. Much in no small part due to some very encouraging and informative PMs I've received from fellow TaoBummers. *hugs to all TB-ers* I got a lot of repair work to do but I think I'm up to it. I guess I'll drop the Perineum Pumps since people seem to believe it's dangerous and unbalanced - at least for me. BTW - Witch I'm going to check out your book!!! p.p.s. Apologies to Old Man for hijacking his thread. Hopefully it will now get back to the original point of discussion as it has some good questions.

I have the books and tried Energy Gates for about two months or so. It didn't do anything for me. I suspect it didn't because I already have an excess of Yin. In 90 degree and up weather my hands and feet are constantly ice cold. Kan & Li let me physically feel how constantly damp and cold my interior is all the time. I need more yang fire in my body (recommendations for any herbs or teas, etc to increase fire are appreciated). KAP is much for 'fire' oriented. I'm responding to it as I never managed to with Frantzis's water method. I am very happy with KAP. (I bet someone with an excess of Yang will respond wonderfully to Frantzis's water method though). KAP's belly breathing isn't the same as Frantzis's Longevity Breathing IMO. At least not the first one I practiced. In Longevity Breathing B.K. advocates the 70% rule. Do everything to about 70% capacity in the breathwork in your belly (I liked that rule!). In KAP though Dr. Morris said to breath in the belly very deep. Like you are trying to get your navel to touch your spine.To do that requires going further than just 70%. After reading his first book Path Notes of an American Ninja Master I now see why he says to do it that way. Pulling in the muscles that deep gets the gut to act as a pump for the jing chi in the base. It helps pump it up the spine further than just Perineum Pumping does alone and thus helps distribute it throughout the body. I am looking into massage. I found a book on Amazon called Yoni Massage that has me curious. I don't have the option of partner practice (*envies all the ones who do*). Still...I'm hopeful Drew's method can work for me too. It seemed to do him a world of good! I want me some of those "O's at a D"! I've never had an orgasm but that sounds like a damn fine way to start! Bonus points for it bypassing my rope burn problem too!

Are you are talking about the "O's at a D" Drew is so fond of? If not, is there a way to have this be the starting point instead of near the end? Is there a link or article anywhere that can teach this mind to mind sex?

What is 1. Pelvic floor breathing (and how is it done)? 2. Lower and upper back breathing (and how is it done)? I will work on relaxing it as well but I suspect most people get far more workout from their Perineum than I do simply by having sex one or more times a week (even more so if you include self-play sessions).

I couldn't understand anything said at all the white noise and static was SO LOUD. I'm amazed anyone could make out anything. Is there a copy of this interview somewhere? A transcript? Or better yet a cleaner, static-and-white-noise-free recording?

I'm having zero luck with Vipassana meditation. I have been trying for close to 2.5 - 3 months now with zero improvement. Is there any meditation technique available that gives the same results as Vipassana but doesn't rely on focusing on breath?