Stigweard

Thank you for your response. Your assertions that Shen = Yin has certainly given me a stimulus for further research and contemplation.

Thank you Song Yongdao for your introduction to The Classic of Chong and Lu. It is always intriguing how threads will become congruent along the same lines. Over in Importance of yin ang yang exorcist_1699 and I were thrashing out the Yin/Yang relevance of Shen. exorcist_1699's point of view was that Post-Heaven Shen is Yin and Pre-Heaven Shen is Yang whilst I had the perception that Shen is Yang as per relationship of Heaven and Earth. Now after reading some of The Classic of Chong and Lu I am left with the feeling that we have a Hun/Po designation of Yang Shen and Yin Shen indicated by: "Their bodily form has been transmuted into vapor; the five vapors have reverted back into the one primordial vapor and the three yang essences have gathered at the top of the head." So what would your comments be on the Yin/Yang nature of Shen and its pratical implications for personal cultivation?

i am energized after some groovy taiji soar through the heavens

Thank you again for the kind regard of your response, this has been a worthy discourse. I certainly hear you that in the post-heaven 'environment' our mind, with all it's false associations and attachments, is most certainly within a degenerate yin cycle. And that, through the intrinsic process within nei tan of becoming intimate with the nature of qi, we can reintegrate our being into our pre-heaven nature. It would seem our initial misunderstanding was due to my, perhaps incorrect, perception of there being a sliding scale difference between what I would call 'mind' and what I would call 'spirit' or Shen. However, if I am reading you correctly, what you call Shen would be rightly reffered to as spirit/mind ... is this correct? Under the perception of Shen = spirit/mind then your statements are quite correct and accurate. The question that then follows is, under your perception, is there a more deeper spiritual essence then Shen? I am assuming that your answer would be qi ... is this correct? If so I would enjoy it if you would expand upon this. And thank you for your referencing the Huangdi Yin Fu Jin, "Yellow Emperor's Hidden Talisman Classic" ... you are right, I had never heard of it before. Of course I am aware of the Yellow Emperor's Classic of Medicine (Huangdi neijing 黃帝內徑). I found this site: http://home.comcast.net/~taoistresource/wdyfg.html ... is there more to the text? Is this translation accurate? Cheers

Cheers for this

Heya Sloppy Zhang, There are 3 main ways to consult the I Ching: 1. 3 Coin method: tossing 3 coins 2. Yarrow stalks 3. Seeds or beans Read more at wiki I personally prefer the seed method. As far as the Wuxing / Wu-Hsing 五行 (Five Elements / Phases) go, check out these links: http://www.lieske.com/5e-intro.htm http://www.northernshaolinacademy.com/new/...ementsChart.xls http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_elements...ese_philosophy) http://weber.ucsd.edu/~dkjordan/chin/hbwuushyng.html Cheers

Let me fill it for you then: