Rishi Das

How do you figure?

Going into a situation ignorant is the best way to do it form my experience and by the sound of it, your pretty new to all this stuff so your ignorance in my opinion will do you well. I was more trying to imply that it's not necessary to try and intellectulaize and conceptualize the whole ordeal by reading into and trying to understand ancient foriegn scriptures/texts. Find a teacher you trust and connect with, simply surrender and let all that arises, arise.

From my experience, ignorance is one of the biggest blessings in disguise. All it takes is the right guidance and a simple practice routine; with that, one can develop quite beautifully. In my opinion and from my observations, (take it for what it is) many westerners tend to get too caught up in all the unnecessary jargon and focus more intellectually on solving the problem rather than allowing it to naturally unfold. From what I have gathered, we are living in the 21st century and thus we must take literal translations of ancient foreign texts with a grain of salt, trying our best not to conceptualize and box up insights which were not our own to begin with. Sure the traditions offer a great amount knowledge, but the mere fact of the matter is that they were written for their time, in their time, and illustrate natural human phenomena with the language present during that time. What may sound mystical now, could be something so simple, so natural, it is overlooked due to the mere fact that it is sitting right in front of the eyes quite frequently, yet doesn't fit that "mystical" interpretation you thought you were looking for. It is truly a beautiful experience to experience and then read about, rather than read about and then try to experience. Intent on not getting off topic, this was written in hopes that mike md reads and understands that what is going on with him now is not some absurd problem or mystical experience but rather a truly natural and breath taking humanly process which does not need to be conceptualized, intellectualized or boxed up in any way shape or form. Go with the flow, enjoy, let go, surrender, and live. Trying to find an answer where no answer resides, is like trying to find a piece of hay in the haystack; as Adi Da gracefully puts it, and my Guru gracefully recites it, "You can't get there from here!"

I shake everyday for at least 15 minutes and have found it to be one of the most natural, powerful, profound, and simple ways of clearing things out. To me, there is nothing more beautiful than simply letting loose in the moment and allowing space for whatever arises to arise. Bradford Keeney style is the only style for me!

If you don't have anyone in your local vicinity who can truly help out, hopefully you've started dialogue via PM with this man...

Me too. An awesome workout; very functional. Kettlebell's offer an excellent way to strengthen that posterior chain. Do you have a link for this Scotty?

Thanks for sharing anamatva; truly a beautiful story! First time ever hearing of Lawrence Anthony, non-the-less he was a very inspiration man indeed.

Probably a culmination of events and experiences throughout my childhood and teen years; however one experience definitely stands out as the starting point for major growth and the acceptance and understanding that truth was what I sought and spirituality was where I would find it. It was about two and half years ago when my life literally turned on a dime, something inside began to call and everything shifted upside down, inside out. Up until that time I had not been interested in spirituality at all, never had it really even crossed my mind, and to be honest I thought anything that had to do with the topic was just a waste of time; the real deal was I didn't really even know what spirituality was outside of monotheistic religion. Anyways, a close buddy of mine started getting into massage therapy, functional weight training, and body mechanics; he was eager to share all that he was learning and I was there ready to listen. One day I walked into his apartment and was bombarded with comments of how horrible my posture was and that I really needed to do something about it. He proceeded to walk over and place one hand on my lower back and the other hand on my shoulders, helping to place me in what he said was "correct alignment." I remember the exact moment something inside clicked, the exact moment when my world shifted and everything was pulled drastically inward. From that moment forward I was conscious of my journey; plunged into an unknown world, I was beckoned to fulfill something so much greater than anything I had ever known to be true, transformed from projecting externally to internally all within a blink of an eye. Since that moment everything has simply unfolded in such perfect harmony, it's literally as if events, experiences, moments are lined up, destined to be lived out in perfect sequence; when one moment ends another new and exciting one follows right behind. I'm not sure I could answer the question what path are you on, because i'm not really to sure i'm on a specific path. I adhere to no tradition, seeking only truth, I will take from all traditions and discard whatever doesn't fit. In that way, I sincerely understand and adhere to your thoughts about keeping an open mind and never dealing in absolutes or fixedness. Knowing what is known now, there is absolutely no way I could ever turn back, the inner drive, that push, that calling is too strong to even think about giving in. Bottom line, I want truth more than I want the next breath. I am willing to do whatever it takes, willing to give whatever is necessary. So to make a long story short, that's where i'm at. EDIT: I appreciate you creating the space to allow me to share informer; i'd love to read some other personal stories, maybe even yours. Always enjoyable to hear what brings everyone to a forum like TTB.

Am wondering the same thing. A good amount of information just in that 6 minutes! I have a question for all you bagua practitioners; do the main benefits from baguazhang come from actually walking the circle or more so from the silk reeling involved throughout the set? It seems like a lot of the real movement and connectedness can be learned through silk reeling, leaving the walking to more or less link everything together. Don't know much about bagua so that may be totally off the mark; either way from what I have seen it is a very beautiful form. I thoroughly enjoy the silk reeling aspect, so am wondering where the best place to start for that is? Maybe here? EDIT: Think I was quick to assume silk reeling was the only aspect included in the form. I see other techniques (if you will) such as, vibrating palms, squats, whipping palm, etc. are definitely included. I guess my main interest lies in the silk reeling aspect.

Thanks for sharing that Trunk, beautifully put. Found these videos to give a nice reference point... Quoted this from the last video in the segment "Live notoriously, scare your neighbors, their too complacent anyways. Nothing bugs me more than normal complacent people." - Mark Griffin

This might be better answered by Hundun or Trunk, so don't hold me to the response. That being said, from what's been gathered on this end, it seems that Mark abides in some of the highest states of realization (fully risen Kundalini) and therefore is able to transmit that. Not sure that I can explain it from the qi perspective, but basically Mark transmits Shakti through Shaktipat which ultimately leads to the awakening of one's Kundalini, this in turn can definitely be felt as I have described in some of my posts. As far as teaching how to become strong energetically, i'm not sure that's what he's all about; it's more about self-realization and awakening to one's true potential. Having said that, any and all perks along the way might include becoming a "powerhouse," however ultimately that added accumulation is just part of the journey and not the ultimate goal.

I'd say for me, it has allowed an all around deeper more intimate connection to life and merely living. Probably the best way to sum it up; my journal goes into more detail of the actual energetic effects. My Journal

I know there has probably been several of these threads but I thought it would be nice to get another one going. I'd like for anyone/everyone to contribute links to videos of teachers they watch online; links always lead to more links which is always nice. Always interested to hear what people have to say. While many of them might not be online, it's always nice to check out the ones who are. To start, i'll add a few...

You can say that again! Literally mind blowing.

Mark Griffin is pretty awesome! Still processing all that I took from the event, so much was given it's hard to even know where to start. What a great experience, that man is the truth!

Well said. And good advice!

Thanks for posting this Owledge, sounds like a great experience! I really enjoyed this part, brings me back to that time I ate one to many mushrooms. There definitely comes that point of transcendence, whether or not it would really happen is neither here nor there, regardless the feelings and thoughts at the time allow it to crystallize in the mind as being quite real. While it really doesn't matter, and I really don't know, I have always pondered that that might be what the last big push is like, the final leap into the abyss, truly letting go and letting god; one would need to be in a state of pure open surrender to the fact that what will be will be, which would be followed by that final destruction of mind, nirvikalpa samadhi and the end of maya, enlightenment. Every time I have gotten to that point I refuse to surrender, everything tenses, the fear runs deeper than deep, and my ability to say yes completely vanishes. To me, spiritual practice truly is a way to open up, to understand the concept of surrender and truly bring yourself to a point where you can say yes to everything that arises; to really sit in those places that scare you most. Either way we are where we are so I think that last sentence really shows a lot of courage on your part; absolute acceptance on where you stand which is something I truly admire. I'd be interested to hear an update on your thoughts/feelings about this in a couple months (provided you don't use again for awhile); each time experiences like that have lead me to that state of "diving into life," after awhile however, that pull for freedom always returns. I also really enjoyed this piece and see it as having a strong connection with your thoughts above. When one truly surrenders to the heart space does the mind totally vanish, does wu wei then take over, does the end of illusion fade altogether and the abidance in pure emptiness, absolute stillness remain? Well i'm done rambling, because in reality I don't really know so it's just a bunch of mind chatter. That being said it's always fun to have the conversation and ponder over what could be. Anyways I really enjoyed the post and appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts with everyone! EDIT: Just realized that this post is kind of old!

I'm sorry if I came across as making you feel as if i'm "orders of magnitude beyond you," that was truly not the intention, and I can assure you I am beyond no one; in fact, just now getting started. I saw some resemblance of my experience in your post and got all excited that someone else was experiencing what I was experiencing; which ultimately meant I wasn't crazy! Keep on surrendering, keep on saying yes!

Cool explanation SB, thanks for sharing! I have a similar experience that has been coming up spontaneously as well; not really during practice but throughout the day at completely random times. I don't see any beams of light but it definitely radiates from the heart center. A deep ecstasy pervades every cell of my being, completely enveloping me in love (when I use the term love it's a totally different type of feeling than what I would usually associate with love, but love is the only word that seems to fit the experience). The feeling is usually so intense that I have to scream out loud, my body moves as if i'm having an intense orgasm; that being said, the feeling is so much deeper, so much more divine than any orgasm could ever be. The "I love the whole world" feeling definitely comes up and everything seems perfect just the way it is. Really hard to put into words but I can definitely relate to your description!

I like that; to me, it is training directly in fearlessness. I have found practices such as Tonglin to be very beneficial and a good way to open up and sit in those places that shake me up most. I think worrying about the "sick qi" aspect just takes away from the practice altogether. It seems to me that with an open heart anything can be dissolved.

Pretty awesome thread here, lot's of great suggestions to check out. To add one: Crazy Wisdom: The Life & Times of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche

I have found this link too be very useful for opening up the hips/legs. Growing up a Lotus Congrats on your Lotus anamatva.

Thanks for the input dawei, much appreciated!

My teacher is all about the crazy wisdom; my experience...hits home every time. He actually just showed me the movie "Crazy Wisdom" which is about Chögyam Trungpa and his journey to the west. A lot of really good stuff there; absolutely inspiring.