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I have a question about circulating chi energy. I have been practicing for many months pulling the energy downward - mostly to my dantien and / or down and out the soles of my feet. I focused on the downward path because I'd read how dangerous it can be to focus on the upward path unless / until the downward path is strong. I think I remember reading somewhere 8 downward draws to 1 upward one. Well because I was concerned by the dangers I've ONLY been doing downward draw. Today...for some reason I decided to try to see if I could bring it back up and discovered I have to 'force it by will' to do so. OTH, I don't have to 'force' Chi downward. It seems to easily do that on it's own. Does this mean I've over-practiced the downward path? If so, does this lead to negative consequences or does it just mean neglecting the upward path means it's slowed down my progress?

I have been thinking over the nature of the mind and it's activities. In doing so for some reason...I don't even remember what sparked the thought...I began wondering how two men could come up with such polar views of one's sense of self (and by extension the world around us). I'm speaking of course of Descartes and his famous maxim, "I think, therefore I am". How very different from the Buddha's conclusion that the I of one's self is illusion. Even weirder..if I understand the Tao right... It would include and encompass both! And neither!! All at the same time!!! Is Philosophy of much use in helping one become more aware of what is and is not? Is it of much use at all for anything other than just mental exercises that lead to nowhere in particular (like the arguments on whose Buddhism is the True Buddhism at e-sangha)? Can there even be such a thing as an Enlightened Philosophy?

Hmm.... It was my impression that this interpretation was branded heresy by the early church but I admit I could be wrong...

Thought I'd point to this > Open Source Buddhism

Does anyone know where I can download such a program? Preferably free? I tried running several searches but it didn't help. This is my guess for the following words. Someone please let me know if I'm pronouncing them wrong. At the moment I'm not concerned whether they're tonally correct seeing as I don't have any actual Chinese people around to speak with. Lama 'Lahma' (just like the South American animal of the Andes) Dorjie - 'Door-Gee' Chodron - Cho-drahn (long o sound in Cho...like the 'o' in Hello) Rinpoche - Rin-posh Baihui - Bi-hu (Bi as in Bisect, hu like the 'ew' sound in Chew)

Can someone post a phonetic pronunciation for the 6 sounds? For that matter can anyone post a phonetic pronunciation for the following words Lama Dorjie Chodron Rinpoche Lao Tzu Baihui Yintang Jianjing Mingmen Shanzhong Dantien Huiyin Zhangmen Taiyuan Yuji Shaoshang Zhongfu Xiyangquan Huantiao Laogong Xuehai Yinlingquan Sanyinjiao Yongquan

I don't have the money for it unfortunately.

I'm 42 and no, never. Is that a problem?

Woops. Looks like it's still there. Yay! Thanks for the link!

I found this Wikipedia page about Thick Black Theory. Apparently the author's book was the Chinese equivalent to Machiavelli's The Prince. Doesn't sound like a very loving, compassionate or ethical path to practice in life.

Does Leshe's book give instructions on how to do this Inner Fire Bliss practice? I thought I read a reviewer on Amazon saying it just talks about it but never gets around to giving the steps for how to actually do it.

They say the research shows the side effects happen to women just as with with men. Orgasms (not just EJ only) are harmful to both. And it's especially harmful if two people plan to be together for longer than 4-5 years. Which is why they say unless you have the specific goal of trying for a pregnancy it's better to learn ways to have orgasm-less sex.

Is there another thing to substitute for the Ecstasy part that's just as powerful? I'm anorgasmic. Have never had an orgasm so I have no clue what they feel like. Is there something else I can substitute that's just as powerful?

I have the book Cupid's Poisoned Arrow which is authored by the couple who started Reuniting.info. The book spends a lot of time building the case that current medical/science research is confirming the benefits of Taoist and Karezza practices. The authors believe research now shows there's a biochemical reason why non-ejaculatory and/or intercourse without orgasm shows multiple health and psychological benefits. Orgasm in particular in both males and females triggers energy depletion as well as lowering of multiple hormones needed for health and upbeat mood. The brains of men and women who have frequent orgasms (whether from sex with a partner or from just masturbation and/or JO-ing to porn) show an uncanny resemblance to the hyperstimulated brains of cocaine and heroin addicts. In men hardcore addicted to porn there are actual physiological withdrawal symptoms - pretty much the same as what drug addicts going cold-turkey in rehab go through. The withdrawal symptoms can put them through weeks of hell. They are literally kicking a habit that has harmed and changed their brains as much as cocaine and heroin. They also say some research is starting to show that sex with orgasm sets up a gradual weakening of the love bonds a couple have for each other. They believe this is due to our mammalian genetic heritage and call it the add-a-mate strategy. After about 4 or 5 years the irritation (low dopamine/low vasopressin/oxytocin depletion cycles due to constant orgasm driven sex ) people are most at risk for splitting up. Many couples instead of splitting up just find their sex life withering away instead. It's why there are so many sexless and low-sex marriages. They believe there's enough research now to show that it may have little to do with psychological or other claimed 'irreconcilable differences' one hears about in divorce court. Rather they believe research shows frequent orgasms have the peculiar habit of eroding couple's bonds to one another. They definitely kill oxytocin and vassopressin - the two hormones which bind mates long term to each other with love. They believe in our orgasm-chasing/revering culture it could also be inadvertently leading to the rise in people who never marry and just hop from one relationship to the next ('serial monogamy'). I liked their references how modern research is backing up many of the claims of the ancient Taoist love texts. They don't mention whether they believe any of the energy benefits or inner alchemy stuff although I do know the woman of the couple says she doesn't believe it's the actual semen retained that gives semen retention it's benefits. Rather she believes research shows it's beneficial due to the cascade of higher levels of healing / health hormones which EJ-ing always depletes. I haven't finished it but so far I am impressed with the book. If what they are saying is true then society is only going to see *more* divorce and marriage may well become archaic. Everywhere men and women are having it drilled into their heads that more orgasms are better (if that really were true men addicted to porn would be the healthiest and most spiritually and emotionally fulfilled people on the planet). It seems frequent orgasms and long term happy marriage bonds are difficult to maintain together for decades on end. Somehow the ancient Taoists knew this. How they did I don't know but they did and they came up with ways to work with and turn on our genetic love-bonding mechanisms during sex instead of hyper stimulating our genetic bond-weakening mechanisms. And they didn't need expensive medical research to figure it out either. The more I learn about how current research is confirming what the Ancients knew the more it takes my breath away at just how much wisdom they attained. Edit: I've finished the book. Very much recommend it.

I have a somewhat unsual situation but I am curious to see if I could turn it into something that might further my spiritual self or be roped into my beginning meditation and interest in Taoist alchemy. It involves sex. Or rather the lack of it I suppose. I only get to see my boyfriend twice a year since he is lives and goes to school in another state but we voice chat via Ventrillo every night and webcam on the weekends. When he was here a few weeks ago he was here for 2 weeks. The background to my upcoming questions is this: I don't have an insanely high libido. If that were the case I couldn't be in a long-distance relationship because the natural outcome is celibacy. However... I keep reading that celibacy can be used to one's advantage and is even recommended for some Taoist practices but they always seems to be geared for men. I would like to know how women can use it the way men can. Can anyone direct me to a source or give me some beginner exercises to use my sexual energy to further my beginning practice? Perhaps there is a practice men use that can be modified for use by women? Any info is warmly welcomed. Cheers to everyone at Taobums - I love this site.

What is KAP?

I would like to let everyone know about a book that was just published a few days ago. It's called Cupid's Poisoned Arrow and is by the lady that runs the site Reuniting.info. I'm just starting to read it and love the info in it. She has whole chapters devoted to Taoist sex, Karezza, biochemical, neurological info etc. All on the brain, body, energy exchange, etc. I just started it last night and really think some people here may enjoy it too. p.s. no, I'm not a paid shill. I just like the book and wanted to let people know about it.

I sometimes wonder what it would be like to have a Taoist boyfriend. Especially one that practiced retention, etc. My boyfriend thinks meditation, Qi Gong, Yoga, Sexual Kung Fu etc as a bunch of horse poop. I made the mistake the other day of telling him I briefly thought of him during Inner Smile practice and he told me to not become a "crazy 60's hippy chick" on him.

Found this via an email. This link is to the article but the author now has expanded it into a book. Here is another Commentary by the author. I found it interesting and thought other Taobums might enjoy it. He's certainly got some interesting things to say. I wonder what Taoists would think of his commentary.

Thanks for the comment. Interesting how different people view different things as I didn't get a sense he was dismissing having healthy self-esteem.

What kind of 'deep breathing' should a beginner do if interested in this alchemy? As in something that can break it down step by tiny step for a totally clueless noob. Also...is the advice to abstain from any sort of sexual activity and release also necessary for women as for men? That video also had me wondering. Is the Yin body also the same thing as an OBE energy body? I just got Robert Bruce's 90 Days to Astral Projection book and his Astral Dynamics book and some things in the video got me wondering if they're two different ways of describing the same thing. Bruce stresses in both books how he goes out of his way to avoid adopting Eastern words and decided to come up with his own English-based words to describe energy bodies instead. He also talked about higher energy bodies than even the ones his book supposedly will teach you about but he said that's very advanced material and not something to teach beginners.

Sigh.... I do not understand why so many people feel the need to disparage other people who are trying to learn and/or teach about new philosophies, religions, scientific thoughts, discoveries, experiments, etc. Why is it that this seems to be an almost universal habit of humans? Where does this drive to sneer at anyone who doesn't agree with your study and conclusions or searches come from? I see it occasionally even in authors from religions and traditions that would seem to espouse the goal of open-mindedness about other views. I can believe that what I've studied is better than what I'm hearing or reading from another. Discernment and a willingness to ask questions and engage in discussion and debate which challenges another viewpoint is a perfectly valid thing to do when one is trying to learn. But I don't take the view that anyone who believes what I've learned or am learning who disagrees with me is somehow a simple-minded fool or sheep. And yet it seems even people who are striving for enlightenment or claim to either being close to attaining it or have attained often slip into this disparagment mode. I find it illogical. Forget about enlightened awareness or higher states of awareness leading to that conclusion (if it supposedly does). I came to that conclusion on plain logic alone. The only way I could take such a position logically is that I would have to be in a position of superior knowledge to every other scholar or enlightened person (or insert whatever other great accomplishment anyone has made). It wouldn't have to be a position of Absolute Omniscient Knowledge either. It'd just merely need to be sufficiently superior in knowledge and awareness to anything anyone else who's ever been born and experienced. It just strikes me as arrogant. I thought of all things the Tao would not lead one to that - Arrogance - subtle or not - that one's way is the best way or right way or what hands down seems to be the most popular - the most Historically Pure and Authentic Way. And yet I've seen even here on a few occasions people making disparaging remarks about others and especially of their students or followers. Although having posted this I assure everyone it was NOT any TaoBums posts lately that made me think of this topic tonight. I've just been reading reviews on other sites for assorted Taoist and Buddhist books and am struck by A) the level of scholarship-level intelligence of some of the replies coupled with B ) the nearly inevitable disparaging, sneering remark of how anyone could buy into what this or that author was saying and it could only mean the person reading and/or willing to believe the author was a mindless, Wanna-Be-Taoist and/or Wanna-Be Buddhist Lame-Brained Sheep. Apologies for my late-night rant.

Thank you for the links Afro.

Wow. This thread is one big Dieda fan thread. I've read some of his stuff but just found too many things he's described and advised to be off-kilter. I can't seem to drink the Dieda Kool Aid so many other folks do. Basically it's philosophical differences I have to a lot of the things he says. Some of the examples in the books he gives of a man standing strong to a woman being bitchy or a woman putting up with a man being contemptuous and angry...ouch (yes...you guys who picked up on that message weren't getting him wrong). Dieda could've just shortened one of the 'insights' he's selling to one sentence but since he's a writer in love with his own flowery words (it's his marketing schtick) I doubt that will ever ever happen. It is: In any relationship we get everything we tolerate. Whatever we tolerate will be the outer bounds of the behavior we see within it - whether of ourselves or others. That's true of men or women. And it's why so many people get stuck (to their own bemused surprise) in relationships that are unhealthy. I've never seen a relationship between two people start off where the unhealthy outweighed the healthy. It almost always grows gradually - but by then we're in pretty deep and things we never would've tolerated in the beginning we now do. It's why I disagree with a lot of his philosophy even though I know he means well. [i see him as a Flower Power Child version of the PUA community - just with a different selling angle.] I think some of the guys in here got their impression of Dieda putting more work on a man's shoulders because he doesn't really make it a point to illustrate how following his advice can turn sour as much as it might be for good. He focuses so much on working on your inner spiritual being I think sometimes he forgets there's a world 'out there' too. Sometimes a man standing 'masculine' and showing fierce "spiritual acceptance and love' backfires. Since we are not omniscient beings we can never really know in advance when following that advice will land us in a field of flowers or the fire instead (however - if there is a Tao Bum here who has obtained Omniscience - I want to meet you so please PM me! ). I got what Ian was saying about Dieda and pretty much agree with him. Dieda might have some interesting things to say but I think there are better places to go for the kind of info he's selling. Just my 2 cents (YMMV).