Eric23

When he first came on TB's I thought he was full of it. Over the years of reading his posts and reading what he says my opinion has changed. Mike knows his stuff.

I believe it has to do with capturing a person's image and then reproducing it. They believe that when you take the photo you are not only gathering the image of the subject but all of the subject including soul. As a professional photographer I know that what we are really capturing is light that is reflected/absorbed by the subject and then re-transmitted. However I have the advantage (?) of a modern education that included some physics.

You are correct in being wary of the way native traditions are being bastardized by both new agers and some natives themselves. In fact when I read the post in question my first reaction was "Oraibi?, it was renamed years ago, either this is rather dated or it's fake." The point I was trying to make is that of all the Native American traditions and communities, the Hopi have in fact preserved theirs better than most. That is largely the result of the elders' persistent vigilance. A good point in fact is that the elders fought hard and kept the tribe from building a casino. Every other tribe in Arizona and the southwest are building casinos and bringing in loads of money, but the Hopis have resisted. I don't know if the message was from the Hopi elders or not, just wanted to point out from my observations and experience that there are in fact genuine Hopi elders practicing their ancient traditions.

I grew up in rural Arizona and still live here. One of my boyhood friend's father was with the Bureau of Indian Affairs on the Hopi reservation. He was able to get us admission to a snake dance on the Second Mesa. Although I was only 14 at the time it was very impressive seeing the elders reaching into pits and pulling out rattlesnakes. During the same trip we hung out with some of the Hopi kids and they are genuinely kind and peaceful people. During high school I had the fortune of having a Hopi friend as a track team mate. Again he was a quiet, peaceful young man. All of the tribes and reservations in the US have a number of serious problems and the Hopi are no exception. However from what I have seen and experienced over the years, the Hopis that stay home seem to do better than the others. Many of the tribes were forcefully moved out of their homelands onto the reservations while the Hopis have always lived on the three mesas. The Hopis have a rich shamanic tradition dating back to the ancient Anasazi people. There are Hopi elders, they are real. A few years ago at work we had a contract to do aerial photography over the Hopi communities. There were 2 villages that we had to give advance notice before the photography so the elders could invoke a protection against the photos stealing the souls of the residents. You do have a point about the New Age crowd being attracted to many Native American traditions and questioning their validity. However I believe the Hopis have held on to their traditions and that they are the real deal. One thing did stand out to me when reading the original post was the address. Oraibi was changed to Kykotsmovi a number of years ago (one of the villages we had to notify prior to aerial photography) making this message rather old.

Our very own Santiago From the art world... I would love to sit at Nathan Oliveira's feet for a while.

That's good news Best of luck.

Great stuff. Thanks Santi

Regardless of the style of yoga you settle on, pick up a copy of Bernie Clark's Yinsights. It's so, so much more than a book of pictures of asanas. Meanwhile, find a local school or teacher and start taking beginner classes. More than likely they will be Hatha classes, eventually you can branch out and see what's available in your area. I'm a Yin yoga (variation of hatha) person myself. I was drawn to yin by the meditative aspects of it, and continue to enjoy it every morning.

A nice book on philosophical Taoism is The Watercourse Way by Allan Watts. Of course you should get a copy of The Tao Te Ching.

I have no doubt that yoga can open channels. Sounds like an interesting program, looking forward to a report when you get back.

I'm not going to put down pay for play. Just make sure that you see someone who is a healer first and foremost. Just about every hooker (99.99%) of them are in it for the $$, it's get you off as quick as possible, the meter is running. The really good ones do it without you really knowing or caring because the service is so good. There are rare gems out there who understand that sex can be healing and will take the time to work with you. For goodness sakes, don't go down to the nearest stroll in your town and pick up a streetwalker. Also remember that "Pretty Woman" is a movie; complete, total fiction. Repeat-complete total fiction.

Don't throw the baby out with the bath water. Qi Gong is a wonderful way to open the circuits of the body. There are numerous forms that at the outside have nothing to do with retention or sexual kung fu. Qi Gong can be a very healthy wonderful addition to anyone's life. Agreed with the other posters that a young guy like you just starting out should let nature take her course in the area of semen. But don't confuse the universe of qi gong with specific sexual techniques, it's much larger.

The nice thing about Unwinding is that it is really easy, light on technique. Just listen to your body. Literally get in touch with yourself. Be gentle.

Unwinding the Belly is a self massage technique. You will need to buy the book and work at your own pace. It's not complicated at all and does not involve a therapist. There are a few of us here who have been doing it for a while. Feel free to PM me with any questions. Unwinding the Belly is based on a healing method called Chi Nei Tsang. If you are fortunate to live in a city where there is a Chi Nei Tsang practioner available, you could check that out. If not, the self massage techniques can be done on your own.

For me yoga is more about opening channels, quieting the mind. Like you said apples and oranges. Maybe do both let them compliment each other.

Our very own Trunk has put together a wonderful site full of information. Check it out http://www.alchemicaltaoism.com/ Go to the section Healing Love, read and then read between the lines. You could also pick up Eric Yudelove's book Taoist Yoga and Sexual Energy. However I spent about a year just learning the first chapter; The Basics. I've been slowly working with Yudelove's material with some success. Yudelove was a student of Mantak Chia and presents the system in an organized and easy to follow manner.

After reading through the entire thread, Apepch7 has given you some very good advice. I mentioned it in the thread you started in the healing section, but it bears repeating here; Unwinding the Belly is a system that gets right to the core from a physical standpoint. Safe, sound basic stuff that has the potential of dealing with the stress.

Is there a surgical procedure to fix the foreskin issue? Seems like this got the problems started, maybe a good place to start?

I'm a middle aged guy with bad knees and found that the wider, lower horse stance really got to them (knees). I'm not a martial artist and do ZZ as a qi gong meditation practice. For my purposes, a fairly upright, knees at hip distance works just fine.

I picked up Sam Hamill's translation last year and have been enjoying it. The intent of this translation was to capture the poetic nature of the TTC. In my opinion he succeeded in delivering a straight forward, poetic translation.

I'm not sure if Zhan Zhuang is isometric. I've read and have practiced Lam Kam Chuen's version of standing for a while now. It seems to me that ZZ operates under a different theory than isometrics in that you do not create tension of one body part against another. ZZ is based on relaxation. Would like to hear more about the book and what is missing from LKC's methods.

Guess I don't see diet soda or aspartine as an addiction. It's not good for us, but not physically addicting. I was drinking diet soda and eating lots of "light" stuff for much longer than you. Three years ago I made a new year's resolution to cut way back. Substituted ice tea for soda, got acquainted with some alternative products at the organic market and ramped up the water. Do something everyday for 3 weeks and it becomes a habit.

Nicotine is more addictive than heroin.

+2

For a little later on down the line. My parents were very good and I tried to do many of the things I remembered when raising my own kids. I grew up in an age when parents disciplined their children. Dad never let me get away with anything. If I got caught doing something wrong, I was punished immediately. If I got in trouble at school, I knew that whatever the teacher did to discipline me was nothing compared to what was coming at home. I was never hit or abused, but I did have to toe the line. Of course as I got older I learned how not to get caught! My wife and I were the same way with my son and he never got in what I would call serious trouble. I let up with my daughter to my regret. She made some bad decisions as a teenager that we're still dealing with now. The one thing that my parents did that I always remembered was that they supported all my activities. Every little league game, track meet, motorcycle race, concert etc one or both of them were there. When my son discovered hockey I was there. Most practices, every game; out of town trips we did together. My daughter never really found an activity that she could embrace and I wish she had. One thing for me was that I enjoyed being a father. Never saw the kids as hinderence. After the terrible 2's it's just amazing to watch them learn and grow. That's were we are at with my grand daughter and it's a real delight. Leads me to the best part of parenting, being a grand parent is even better.