Red Pheonix

Personally I love having a community for Taoism and Taoist cultivation/discussion. Here in the US there are a ton of people into yoga, Hinduism, Buddhism; pretty much what ever is trendy today. That's not to say that all of these people are trendy, but it's not like we can't ignore the fact that spiritual ideals are now good for the market. Having said that, I've seen many a good Taoist discussion on here get totally confused an muttled because the posters would be coming from a variety of non Taoist perspectives. It's not bad to discuss other things like Buddhism, often times there is relative context in Taoist methods, but it does get bad when the core focus gets so far off track for long periods of time. First it's Buddhists, next it'll be the Pleadians or elephants with too many arms *giggle*. Each of these other agendas have several sites for their discussion, certainly far more than we have for Taoist discussion. In closing I'll ask this. If a Buddhist says they want a section on the Taoist site, aren't they being non Buddhist by not only having a desire, but going to far as to place it upon others? Uhhh huhhh... that's what I thought, are we really dealing with Buddhists here or is this a subversive scheme on the behalf of the Pleadians?!!!

To address the 'why' these sort of things aren't written about... The Way is a path experienced, I think that when people experience things like this they simply enjoy and proceed to the next level. Being fascinated with such things will prevent you from experiencing new levels, it will even halt your growth in the current level. If we think about it, talking of such things may be an indication of a desire to be validated or recognized. It's a catch 22 though, in order to attain certain things we must first relinquish cares or desires for even attainments themselves. I'm only speaking in generalities and from my experience, I know that I've hindered myself because of this very thing. In the end I find truth in the saying 'he who speaks does not know, he who knows does not speak'. Unfortunately I speak too much and by my own admission and logic have to wonder if I know lol. I find that it's better to receive such things in humility and appreciation, this allows us to experience them in a truer light and allow them to manifest without our hinderance

Consider 'why' you are jealous. Do you feel entitled to a thing? If so, relinquish your desire to be entitled. In truth you are entitled to nothing so accept that and smile. The answer most likely lies in your personal insecurity, ask yourself 'why' so you need such a thing to feel secure. It starts with observation. 'We speak out attachments', remember that and listen to the stuff that comes out of your mouth. You find direction by asking your self questions... your line of questioning may lead you all the way back to your childhood. Judgement is a nasty thing, nothing will bind a bad attitude to your heart more than judgement so don't do it. If you have judged someone in your past you better figure out how to love them and let it go because it might lead to stuff like this

These two have been intertwined since the spread of Buddhism (which is about half as old as Taoism), partially due to the physical proximity of cultures and also to the alternating whims of Emperors in China. Taoism started to grow with the Yellow Emperor nearly 5000 years ago, this was in the Qingcheng region which is on the edge of Tibet and China. This is where the 5 Elements came from as well as cultivation using air and fire. The older/shamanic methods are really quite brilliant, they way they get right down to animal nature in the way they connect to the Tao. The real nitty gritty of the cross over came from the mountain Taoists in south eastern China (Qingcheng and Emei) and the Buddhist sects coming from Tibet. Today you can go to Tibet and learn cultivation methods that they will partially attribute to the Zhang family, the Zhang family also attributes part of the method to The Sect of the Living Buddha; there is no conflict although each side will represent the form according to their alchemical beliefs. You see this same theme over and over, the same physical form with similar, but distinctly separate explanations with respect to the internal alchemy. Another thing that has muttled much of the two are the politics that have controlled them. Even today the land is wrought with political issues of ownership and religious ideology. For a long time they would have 1 Emperor that was Buddhist and the next would be Taoist; each would tear down the others temples and new factions would be created out of the old. Imagine being Buddhist or Taoist all of your life and suddenly having to convert because the one you chose was now illegal (you would most certainly carry some of your old traditions into the new belief). Unfortunately this is not an issue of the ancient times, it's still happening today.

I so feel your pain, I started my 1st ISP 15 years ago and I'm STILL spending time every week fighting spammers lol. I actually write scripts that add rules to the FreeBSD ip firewall based on spam/bad logins (attempts to brute force)... it's insane the lengths you have to go to. If you ever need another technical hand feel free to hit me up, I have joonux for breakfast every day lol. On second thought, perhaps we need to create a powerful Fu for the server!!! Go go gadget calligraphy

Are there any appropriate places to post a Taoist workshop? This is one of the few places you can post such a thing, keeping it on the low low while reaching people who would be interested in such things. ps. love the clarity you've brought to the forum

My method... Physical Relaxation; Don't worry about good posture at first... start at the top of your head and physically relax every part of your body, tell it to relax and it will. Mental Relaxation; Go to a beach for a bit and enjoy the sounds/smells and sunlight upon you. Count yourself backwards from 10 to 1 and clear your mind. Exist as a passive observer. Breathe easily/deeply through your nose with your tongue pressed to the roof of your mouth. Listen to the sound of your breath as if it were heavens own music... appreciate it and receive its love. Stuff that pops into your mind beyond this point is typically emotional garbage you have to clean out. Use this as a tool to identify attachements, desire and issues from the past. When you've relinquished these things you will be able to exist in peace and experience meditation.

I thought I would offer my two cents on the topic. This is just 1 perspective, I'm sure this particular cultivation manifests differently to different people. My intention is to address the general way in going about this, not to provide details on the method. I've learned 2 different methods, although very similar, one from Qingcheng and one from Maoshan. I cultivated it in what I would consider a short amount of time although that was only due to the right foundation work. I would say that this is easier for someone who's a strong meditator and has developed/opened all 3 dantians to a reasonable degree. I followed a simple method and did not make it technical at all, I practiced in simplicity for some time. I would think that a technical process would preclude one from being able to attain this because it distracts us; you can not experience a thing if you believe you already understand it having never known it (the whole child like nature is needed). It also never activated in practice; I never worried about anything activating, I simply enjoyed. The beautiful thing is that it activated when I put my hand on a students head one day, as if it was some divine medicine that would pour out only when everything was right. I found myself standing between 2 worlds, a large golden disc of light rotated in front of my minds eye and consumed me. Needless to say, it was the most amazing thing I had ever experienced up to that point. My best advice would be to learn the meditation method and practice in simplicity without the desire to cultivate this attainment. Details are great and I'm all for the technical knowledge, but making this overly technical will most likely hinder you.

I've had to put them down altogether, but that might also be because of lack of self control. I write software and LOVE writing bots for games, were it not for that I would probably never game. I played WoW, worked on both the Glider bot as well as Pocket Gnome (I soley wrote the 1.5 revision of PG). I crack out on it though and it's bad for me lol. I would play with 5 toons at once and loved being able to solo instances or dominate PvP, having the smallest richest guild was fun too lol. No self control though, it was all or nothing... I decided to save my ass and close all my accounts. As for any positive aspect, I can most certainly say that my time would be better spent on other things. As for recreation, sure it was fun recreation and we all need some of that, but now I resort to things like masting contact staff... just as entertaining and I'm gaining levels IRL lol.

Nice post! I've had my eye on the algae for some time, one company that's been working to develop it is located in west Texas (yaaaa haw!). The farms themselves look like a sort of large green house with rafts hanging through which the algae flows... in the desert is just fine (so long as you have a water source). One concept that I really enjoy about this is that the oil in the earth today comes from ancient algae. Seems to me like it's a smarter choice to skip the years it takes to create oil and just use the source

Very well stated, in depth and quite accurate! My spidey senses are tingling.... uuuuh huh!!! *huuuuugs* (but you knew that was coming) ps. thanks for sharing your water, we like with that sort of intention

Good point, I read something once that is a good illustration of this very point; it's actually how they learned where 'mad cow' disease came from. It was noticed that in tribal communities the women were the only ones who would get the mad cow. They followed that observation and discovered that it was because the women get the crappy cuts of meat while the men got the good cuts of meat. In the end it was determined that you would only get mad cow from eating crappy cuts of meat; if you ate a good cut from the same cow you wouldn't get sick.

That's why I switched to Taco Bell brah... their beef filling doesn't quite weigh me down like real beef does. seriously... think about it!

I love ECETI, I was up there when Kan (Kunlun/Max's student) exorcised a brother and produced a black cloud from his body... that place is just magic. He took some amazing photos too; he was saying 'look, theres a being' which none of us could see. He then started taking peoples cameras and snapping pictures, the crazy thing is that the beings would show up in the photos he was taking!? They looked like stacks of light; I could go on n on about that place lol. If you (taotongue) call up there ask for James and be sure to tell them what you think of Kunlun That goes for the Dragon Gate Sanctuary too!

I love this place, a wide variety of souls who come together and are actually able to share! NeiChuan, I'm still waiting on the Mo Pai manual... what gives, I've gotta get past level 2!!! *group huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuug*

K, lemme take a shot at clarifying this because it's one of the most important lessons a human can learn. The dictionary won't help as I'm not using these terms as explicit reference, but rather as symbols to represent the concept I'm trying to explain. Observation: when you observe a thing and do not make an emotional commitment. Judgement: when you see a thing and make an emotional commitment. Heres a repost of the example I provided; If someone I know does something bad I can react in 2 ways. I can observe their behavior and make a decision or I can make a judgement in my heart. If I simply make an observation and don't judge them then I am able to be true and to offer sincere help. If I judge them and carry that in my heart then I can no longer see them clearly and am not in a place where I can help them. In scenario 1 we have observation. Since I do not make a judgement and emotional commitment I am free to see the situation clearly and help out of sincerity vs the bias of a heart that's passed judgement. In scenarion 2 we have judgement. My heart is biased and cannot observe the subject with objectivity. I have instantly blinded myself in one aspect. Aside from that, the emotional commitment creates karma (a bad substance that can be seen in the spiritual world). If you don't believe in karma then you can also say that this puts a 'bad feeling' in the heart; this is something that will stay there until you resolve it. Your subconscious has recorded 100% of your judgements and somewhere inside of you they are lurking; one day you will have to relinquish them if you want to be free. Judgement also prevents you from being able to meditate; to illustrate this simply try to meditate and see what pops up in your mind *everything that is in your heart* This is a fundamental concept of the heart; 100% of the people reading this article work this way. I will state that as fact, however you should receive it as opinion.

My Kunlun friends? You know me so well *sarcasm*. Jenny is the originator and inventor of this system wow!? Why would I be curious about learning from someone with students that act like you (assuming you're student)? Then again, maybe I already know her and know that she has a better heart than this? I would take you up on all of your advice, fortunately I have someone else to train with. This is getting way off topic though and all you want to do is flap your gums imo; last stop for me

I'm making a distinguishment between observation and judgement. If you consider Christ a great master then go read proverbs as it illustrates this idea in many different ways. It IS good to make observations, but it is not good to go so far as to judge. This sort of judgement incurs karma and becomes a weight that you have to eventually let go of. So in this context we see that 'observation' is good and 'judgement' is bad. When you can walk without judgement then you avoid a lot of the karma and emotional issues that come along with it; this in no way inhibits your ability to observe and make good decisions Here's a practical example, if someone I know does something bad I can react in 2 ways. I can observe their behavior and make a decision or I can make a judgement in my heart. If I simply make an observation and don't judge them then I am able to be true and to offer sincere help. If I judge them and carry that in my heart then I can no longer see them clearly and am not in a place where I can help them. Hope that makes a lil more sense. This very lesson is one of the hardest I've had to learn (and am still learning); I'm quite certain that it's a condition which exists in all humans.

Kunloonie is a term that you or your friends have implemented in an effort to brand and bring segregation. Your techniques are only going to work on the weak minded though and make you look childish imo (I'm gonna guess that you're 16?). In the previous statement you further your agenda and branding, that's just my opinion though; the statement represents your agenda more so than the truth. I've enjoyed training with Max and have learned a few things from him. As for where I place the 'source' of my happiness; thanks for your advice, but I think you're rather off target here lol. Expand my horizons? Ah yes, I'll run right out and take your advice because I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing Again I see you using your branding term 'kunloonie', nice one... are your friends giggling with you? I'm laughing! He's actually not 'my' guru, thanks for your continuing effort to put words in my mouth though It's almost like you know me! *giggles* Honestly bro, your heart is filled with echos that you need to let go of. Sure it's ok to have an opinion, but imo you are trolling because you cannot find peace in your heart. Theres a difference between making observations and making judgements. Observations allow you to see clearly, judgement binds a thing to you and makes you act like... In the end no one here is perfect, including me. If we have judgement in our hearts then we leave no room for hope. Every person grows, we all change; hopefully for the better. So what sort of energy are you sending out? Energy capable of helping your brothers and sisters or energy that's intended to do the opposite? No need to answer this one, your actions clearly illustrate this result.

True true, it's shameless... I know that dork all too well!

I'm a kunloonie, should I feel bad or segregated? Funny cause I don't, I feel wonderful!!! It appears as if your destructive intentions don't work on me, hmmm... how can that be... unless... Label it up all you want, in the end it's what's in a persons heart that illustrates who they are. You can't hide your heart because we see it every time you open your mouth (true story). I don't know about wild goose either, but then again I don't think we should pick on people because they don't know your style. I do know a couple of forms, some of which you're most likely not familiar with; the difference is that I'm not going to beat you up about it... I'm gonna share if that's what you like (because I'm not a jerk about these things, that's not what's in my heart). As for spontaneous and shaking; I would concur with the others here, nothing uncommon about it. I practice several arts that involve this and would say it's most certainly an aspect of Taoist cultivation. Many of the primordial forms involve this as well as Longmen Pai. If anger and hate are in your heart then it's going to show, if love is in your heart it's going to show. What's in your heart? Don't answer that one... your actions and words will show us! The aforementioned statements are only opinion

Hey Ben! I think posting is an extremely important aspect, it sounds to me like you're learning from a great teacher. I believe that posting for years helped some things to open up because I had stored internal energy. It's not really something that gets old, but it does evolve. Some times sitting in lotus is just like posting, only you're not sending the energy down your legs. 'Sit as if you are standing, stand as if you are sitting'. I wouldn't say it's a diminished return at all, in fact quite the opposite. If you feel like you're hitting a ceiling with it then you most likely need to take a break from it; I do that at times and after a few weeks the energy is insanely stronger when I return to the practice. There are some series of posts (like maoshan 5E) that I can only do so many times due to the intensity of the energy, this happens in general though; there are some practices that you can only do so often. As for what to practice, it's all quite subjective! I would say continue with the Tai chi, it's the perfect place to be. When you've learned enough of that and want to learn more I would suggest Ba Gua, make sure you're learning from someone who teaches the internal aspect. Your Tai chi is a perfect base for it and it will teach you more explicit degrees of energy direction and integration. Xing yi is nice too. If anyones new to posting, heres some dork outlining good posture basics for posting;

The worlds greatest martial art!? As if there is any question, I've got the proof right here if you think you can stomach it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_C0_EVFyTAI

Heres a video clip with some sounds/techniques for helping your kidneys. It's not a complete video, but it shows the sounds and some of the hand postures. This is generally done after you build up some energy and are already hot. These sounds help you to develop back breathing as well as attract ducks (although I'm unsure as to where that's going to come in handy).

I think you're best off to find a good practice and be patient. It's kinda like the old story of the master and the student. The master says 'practice this for 10 years and you'll attain it'! The student says 'but what if I practice twice as hard'... master replies 'it'll take 20 years'. Developing your lower and upper dan tiens have different requirements, you don't need to open your crown or upper energy centers to develop the lower dan tien; imo it's best to work on that stuff after you've developed the lower dan tien. That's not to say you can't do them all at once or that you shouldn't, just referring to what worked better for my body. I think posting/qigong and learning to 'return tiger to mountain' (to return your chi to your lower dan tien) is an excellent practice. Learning to breathe into your dan tien is important too, eventually you can learn to breathe both into your lower dan tien as well as your back (kidneys). Mine kicks like a baby at times, heat can instantly be generated in the lower dan tien with little intention... it WILL develop for you! As for practical suggestions; perhaps just work on your breathing and meditation. Forget the visualizations at this point and work on the simple things; you can develop your lower dan tien without the visualizations initially (as you advance you can learn other techniques like Hunglung Zhuang). Work on your posting and qi gong, get used to returning your qi to your lower dan tien; even if you cannot feel it you are still developing the dan tien! If you develop it you will feel it much more when certain energies start to activate in your body. There's 1 perspective for ya