ChiDragon

Does it matter where the pain is....??? I am just very curious why there was no pain in the muscles to begin with in the first 6 months....???

Hello, nobody has ever told you that "no pain no gain"...??? If you had done ZZ for 6 months with no pain on your leg muscles, then you had wasted all your time and did it all wrong. If you had done it properly, you should had felt pains allover you leg muscles in the first few weeks. After 6 months, you should have overcome the pains and your legs should have great muscle tones. Another words, you should have stronger legs than 6 months ago....

I see that most people fell into the trap about Taoism. Taoism has two parts; and they philosophy and religion. You either believe in the philosophy or religion but not both. I see that where you are now in this dilemma. Wu Wei is to let nature take its course which is the Taoist philosophy. However, semen retention is not a Taoist philosophy; rather it is a mythical belief for longevity by doing so in the Taoist religion. In a way, this practice does not let Nature take its course which was in conflict with the Wu Wei philosophy. If you are studying Taoism, you must be able to distinguish the difference between the Taoist philosophy and Taoist religion. In philosophy, one deals with concepts and facts. In religion, one deals beliefs and myths or illegitimate practices.

"know the male, but keep to the female" Understood the hardness(the attribute of the male); thus keep the softness(the attribute of the female.)

1. There were speculations that Chi Kung practitioners, at higher level, which can direct Chi from meridian to meridian. However, there is a possibility that Chi can be directed to the wrong meridian and cause serious problem. Fortunately, this is not something that can be done by a beginner. Thus there will be a remote chance of getting injury for a novice. 2. That was not a good assumption.

They are not the same because the body is only a shelter for the spirit. It is the spirit that decides the body to be healthy or not. Thus the body is passive(yin) while the spirit is active(yang).

Do not go to the young ones nor walk in to a stranger to treat you. You should ask around to find a more reputable one. It is true that the older ones have more experiences. However, you should stay with one and only one that you are really trust. People are going crazy are only from the stories told by ignorant ones. You must have confidence in yourself to stay away from any fallacy. There are more positive facts about Chi Kung than the negatives. Indeed, you had said so yourself that Chi Kung Practice helps you in some way. There is an old saying: If you don't trust them, then don't hire them. If you have hired them, then trust them.

實事求是 Translation: Find out what it is from the truth of the matter. Philosophy: Do not say what it is because somebody else says that's what it is. Do not insert nor remove anything, in order, not to distort the facts.

He may not know what kind of symptom that you are having. It seems that he might activated the wrong acupoint instead of deactivating the proper one. Have you gone back and told him about this problem...???

It is normal because it is some kind of reaction inside your body, mentally or physically, which was called the Chi Sensation. The Chi sensation of spinning was an indication of the sensory system is out of balance. You may have this feeling for awhile in your practice until your body return back to normalcy. If you are having any Chi sensation or some kind of feeling, it means that your body is taken effect of the Chi Kung practice. Your body is making corrections or healing itself. Each individual has different reactions due to different symptoms.

I understand that you are not giving up. However, to the best of my knowledge, there is nothing wrong with your nervous system. It is because your NS was only reacting normally in accord to the Chi Sensation. If the weird feeling bothers you too much, then you should just practice it moderately in a shorter interval. No one can tell you how many days you should practice in a week. You should experiment on your own to see what works for you. Perhaps do Chi Kung every other day or shorter period or whatever.

It seems to me that you are very confused about your thoughts in your Chi Kung practice. IMO You should not stop your practice at all. As I said before, the weird feeling that you are going through was the Chi sensation(氣感) from the healing process. It is the worse nightmare from the healing process. Now, it is a painful time for you to endure the period of healing. The question is can you handle it...??? Please don't give up...

One keeps the mind in balance by avoiding all temptations; maintain a low lifestyle to a minimal necessity which able to maintain good health; and avoid all conflicts. Another words, follow the principle of Wu Wei[無為].

Any body that was eighty years old and above is considered to be immortal.

In regarding to the tenses, is a subject matter, our main concern is the root word which was used in the phrase. However, the tense was determined within the context and was mentally understood. The meaning of hua by the character itself is "transform"; but when it was used in phrase, the original meaning was altered. Exactly, this is not the case at all. It seems to mean that Jing was in a process producing some Chi instead of transforming into Chi. The logic just doesn't flow when translating "hua" as "transform". As far as interpreting Classic Chinese, the reader has the option to determine what a particular character means within context. The meaning of the character does't not have to be abide by its actual meaning. Thus, in this case, "transform" is not very logical for the meaning of "hua" in the phrases. Yes, Shen was not gone. The translation was done as "shen is transforming into emptiness" as the end result, then what is the final interpretation...??? What does "emptiness" mean here...??? "Shen" just went into thin air...??? Can you give me some kind of logical conclusion what the end result was...???

Yes, good point. If I have to use a mathematical model, I would formulate it this way. Prenatal Jing + Postnatal Jing => Chi ---> Shen The formula says that the Prenatal Jing depends on the Postnatal Jing to produce Chi; and Chi yields Shen. Therefore, if there was no Postnatal Jing, then there will be no Chi or Shen. If we wish to think that Shen is part of the loop, then it would be in the loop indirectly. Shen is not a direct product of Jing and Chi. Shen is only a spiritual drive to encourage the body to function at its highest performance. Jing, Chi and Shen are always there as long as the body was alive. However, the Prenatal Jing will eventually deteriorate as the person ages; and the Chi will be weaken. In general, the appearance of Shen will show a grotesque look of the aged person. In addition, senile and the slow reaction or things of that nature are showing the signs of weak Shen. In order to prolong the life of the Prenatal Jing, one must attempt to maintain a great amount of the Postnatal Jing into the body constantly. In deed, that was what the ancient Taoists had in mind. They perform Internal Alchemy to accomplish that. Actually, Internal Alchemy is a form of Chi King to be performed with eating special diets to maintain the health of the human body.

Owledge... In sometime last year, I heard echoes of everything that I hear even from watching TV. My left ear was picking up noise from distance away and it was real loud. My family doctor gave me some liquid to clean my ear but did not help any. What I did was continue practicing in my Chi Kung breathing. I don't know what really happened but the problem went away. I think the problem lasted about three months.

Balance and Kicking

The Cloud Hand and Repulse Monkey

Meow... Since you had mention the "repulse monkey", let's talk about why it should be no shortcut. The movements begin by moving the right hand toward the front, while lifting the left leg and move to the back. What is the significance of lifting up the left leg and moving toward the back....??? Well, there are quite a few things happening: 1. You let the body carry the weight of the left leg. 2. The weight of the body was shifted to the right leg. The muscles on this leg will generate the energy to support the extra weight than normal. 3. While moving the left leg toward the back, it controls the duration of the right leg to hold the body weight. 4. While all the body weight are shifted to the right leg, your body will be off balanced. Unconsciously, you will try to balance yourself by shifting your body weight to the right spontaneously. 5. As long the left leg is in the air, it will be how much time it took for you to maintain your balance. By saying all that, by now, one should be realized why that extra step was necessary to take to move back doing the "repulse monkey". Another words, no shortcuts. Step 4 was the significant purpose of the "repulse monkey".

For Tai Ji beginners, the speed in timing is not a major factor. It is the slower the better. At higher level, the movements will be controlled by your mind and body as your natural reflex. Your moves will be very quick and accurate before you know it. It is better to go through all the forms, as a beginner, with no short cut in a spacious area. Otherwise, the muscles and body coordination will not be developed as intended by the Tai Ji movements.

The Tai Ji movements have to be one smooth flow. Stopping in the middle seems to be loosing its elegance. If it says "repulse", then it has to be moved back. Otherwise, it will loose the repulsive effect. If the space is a limited factor, I would at least take one step back, instead of three steps or half, and then move forward again to repeat the previous movement. Again, repeat the one step back to do the repulsive monkey.

ahhhh....... I see what you are saying now. Well, if the left shoulder wasn't dropped, then the left hand cannot be moved as freely and gracefully. The left shoulder of the person is higher than other which gives an illusion that his left shoulder was not dropped....

迴光(Reflected light): The reflected light was referred to a phenomenon at sunset. It is the sun light which was reflected in the sky, for a short duration, before the complete darkness. It was analogous to a person before death; the person appears to be very healthy and lively, all the sudden, for a short time. Then, the person dies at the release of the last breath. Also, it is analogous to something that was appeared to be at its golden peak before it was vanished. The ancient Chinese Taoists, once thought, by applying the concept of the "safe keeping the Reflected Light" before it was diminished will prevent the death of the human body. Perhaps that was why Chi Kung was invented to continue breathing before the release of the last breath to prolong life.

First of all, one need to learn the basic concept regardless what others said. If one has learned the fundamental concept, then used it as basis to compare with other information to filter out the unwanted. People can snow anyone with anything if one takes everything for granted. In order to understand a concept, one must be able to explain it in his own words. If one just repeat verbatim or cited from another source, then one has not learned the basic concept.