Green Tiger

Yeah, I always just kind of figured I was falling asleep sitting up. I fell asleep when I was getting the taoist medical treatment at the workshop yesterday. I could hear myself snoring.

That never happens to you? I'll start dreaming but it's weird, like you're still sort of awake but dreaming. I don't notice my ability to 'work with chi' changing, though.

I was doing 30-60 for a while, but I'm finding it's easier to go longer now. I'm always trying to push the edge of what is physically comfortable. When it starts to become uncomfortable, I feel like I'm not getting as much benefit. I did about 90 mins on Saturday and I could see myself doing 90-120mins regularly by next winter.

I don't often time my meditations, but I need about 40-60 mins to get a really good meditation. I meditated for about an hour and a half on Saturday. That's one of the longer sessions I've done. I was in between waking and sleeping after about 40-60mins. I don't know how long I stayed there. Eventually leg discomfort brought me back. What's the longest you've ever meditated, Ken?

The new GOT 3 move that focuses on the energy centers was also very powerful. Probably my favorite from that series. Was a pleasure experiencing it for the first time this weekend!

So you think it might be someone's destiny to create their own system based on the Mo Pai level 1 technique? I suppose someone had to be the first to develop it, but I also suspect those people lived in a society very unlike our own. And it absolutely should discourage people. Attempting to practice any sort of neigong without a teacher should be discouraged. Not saying it isn't possible, but I wouldn't recommend it. I don't think it's a good idea.

The only thing any seeker needs to know about Mo Pai is that John Chang, the only person qualified to teach it, is located on the island of Java in Indonesia. If you want to learn Mo Pai you should probably talk to him. Good luck finding him. So far as I know, no one who has his address is going to share it and Java is one of the most densely populated places on earth. If you do find him, I hope you are asian, because they say he won't teach westerners anymore.

I often wonder if it isn't sort of like the frog in the pot of water. You slowly get deeper and deeper until your normal everyday waking consciousness is as deep as your meditation used to be. But it's hard for you to see that, since it's the new norm. I heard a story once about some Indian guru taking a ten-strip of LSD and not being effected by it. One of the theories was that his everyday waking consciousness was just so far beyond what most people experience with acid that he didn't even notice it.

Good thread! I love this video of Williem de Thouars. I've heard a lot about him, but never saw him move until now. Very impressive! For the past year or so I haven't been standing very long. 20 or 30 mins tops. I recently met a local tai chi teacher who said 40 mins is the minimum for developing internal power. It is both inspiring and discouraging to read about people practicing 3-4 hours. On the one hand, I love a good challenge. On the other, I just don't have the time!

I've been waffling about this seminar for about a month now, but I think I might actually make it. It has been a year since my last seminar and seems like it's time to reconnect. I was really concerned that it would be somehow hotter and more humid there than in Iowa, but I just checked the weather, and the forecast looks almost identical. I should feel right at home in that muggy, 90 degree sauna. Isn't it winter in Brazil?

I . . . can only respond to you in a spoiler. I have to be very careful.

I hope this wasn't a response to me, because you didn't even come close to attempting to answer my questions. "From experience" of what Ken? What sort of practices did you try? What were their methods? How are they different from Mo Pai methods and techniques? You keep hammering on the point that you think a select few systems have 'validity' but you don't qualify what validity is or what makes them special. What is so unique about your chosen few systems? You can't just say, "Well cuz dey do sumptin and nuttin else does." Did thelearner say he doesn't have any inner power? Are you quoting him or just making conjecture? Again, you choose a selection of your 'practitioner elite' but you don't make any indication as to how they are related or what makes them special.

There are way too many forums popping up lately for me to keep up with them all. I think I'll just stick with Tao Bums.

What would you say are the key differences in the Mo Pai practices compared to the 10-15 'random' practices you tried prior? I believe that was a geographically limited assessment to southeast Asia. You notice he also says, "I think," indicating he is not 100% certain. You seem way more confident in his estimate than even he does. How do you know that what you've been experiencing with Mo Pai isn't just a stronger hallucination than the 'placebo effects' you felt with other systems?

That's what I call 'nap-time programming'. Fishing and golf. I tried to take a nap Saturday while watching Ghana/Germany, but I'm actually really enjoying the world cup games. Even the ones that tie. Mexico/Brazil was probably my favorite so far. That Mexican goalie was like an impenetrable force field in front of the goal!

I couldn't find the Facebook page you referenced, SotG. Could you provide a link? I think that is pretty significant. He provides a really nice response to anyone who speaks about mo pai practice with authority: "Show me your burn marks or shut up." I'm pretty sure those marks could easily have come from a soldering iron, but still, at least someone is going to have to go through the trouble of burning himself with a soldering iron or a hot bic lighter to earn his mo pai cred.

Most people I know seem to be seriously concerned about some sort of zombie apocalypse. Personally, I think they're nuts. It's not the zombies they should be worried about. It's the ROBOTS!!!

My dream when I was 20 was seriously to become a goat rancher. Ranch dem goats!

Scott has some new material coming out on Xing Yi Quan. Looks pretty good so far.

I'm just going to follow SotG's example and imagine that blood-sucking people I know will be reincarnated into them. I might also swat one if it gets too close. I (luckily) haven't had a close encounter with one in quite some time. Full disclosure: I also murder mosquitos with extreme prejudice.

Do you want to be a part of an elite martial arts attack squad? Do you long to raid the samurai stronghold in the dead of night? Are you super sneaky? Do you look good in black? Then the Ninja Hit Squad wants you! Please apply by posting in this thread. Include your qualifications, previous ninja hit squad experience, and 3 references.

I really liked what Dr. Johnson said in interview question #2: "I believe that in any tradition, if a disciple sincerely applies himself, eventually his teacher will appear to continue with his training."

One thing worth mentioning is that Stillness-Movement is a system that seems to be particularly good with healing. While there are several martial artists who practice it (one of the senior students is also a kempo master) it isn't really martial in nature. It might still make you a ninja, but instead of sneaking around and assassinating people, you'll be sneaking around and relieving their inflammation.

I used to listen to a podcast called Jeditrainer, back in the early '00s. It got pretty popular, but Lucasfilm heard about it and sent the guy a cease and desist letter. The training he was teaching was a Hawaiian brand of shamanism called Huna, so he just changed the name to Hunatrainer. I wonder if the Disney cease and desist letters will look any different than the Lucasfilm cease and desist letters.

I haven't studied with anyone from Johnson's lineage, but I've used his books as reference extensively. I understand BKA's concern. There are several practices, particularly in the Neigong book, that I won't be trying (no one has time to practice all that stuff!). That said, I think his books make excellent supplementary material. I would caution anyone from making it their only source of practice info, but so long as you have an instructor who is familiar with the stuff you're doing from Johnson's books, I think you should be okay. If you ask your instructor about something you read in one of Johnson's books and he gives you a funny look, you might want to ignore whatever you read. Personally I think the best thing in the Neigong book, and the thing that I use the most, is the 18 dao yin postural points. Those can be applied to just about any practice, since they are just instructions on posture. 50 pages of instructions on posture I also like the 5 yin organ exercises and I think those are pretty safe. He mentioned that is one of the things he practices daily. The internal alchemy books talks extensively about them, but you might want to get his chi kung DVD to practice with as well.