Yoda

Something credit card sized would be more convenient to carry around than a pendant, imo. I'm assuming it's some sort of copper circuit pattern? It doesn't set off shoplifting alarms or anything, does it? Sounds cool.

I enjoy it, but how much can a copper coil and a crystal cost anyways? I've been happy with the stuff I've gotten on knivesandcrystals.com and ozarkorgonite.com. I think ozark will send you a personal orgonite button for free, actually. So far the most bang for the buck is the $16 happy dreams orgonite from ozarkorgonite. I'd start there to get a feel for what this stuff is and then go from there. I've enjoyed their home enhancer and blue hhg too. I just read that their $40 pendants are custom doused and built per order!

I think it's hazardous to over emphasize the crown chakra. Doing that can open it prematurely and cause imbalances. I'm reading a Gopi Krishna book where he's going through just that.

2006 was less energy work and more meditation and it turned out well, so 2007 will be the same.

A few days ago, I was in a situation where there was some moral reprimand in the air when it came out that my kids sleep in the same bed as me and Mrs. Yoda. (actually two beds pushed together... the megabed) I've heard that kids sleep with their parents in Asia, Africa, and South America. If anyone knows about Europe do tell, I'm curious. Thanks!

Damn! Better keep Max out of our bed!

read my above post on the nuances of the poses, and you'll have everything important. Book 2 has lots of fluffy thoughts and testimonials that would be of moderate interest to keep motivation strong, but not vital to purchase on the whole.

I just met the owners of craftycelts.com and they are seriously cool. I just went to their website, and it's really nice too.

Hagar, Thanks, I was hoping for your Norwegian perspective! In most of the population in the US minus the Asians and Hispanics and Hippies is the belief that kids will be too clingy if everyone sleeps in the same bed. I think there are obvious pluses and minuses to either approach but given mine and Mrs Yoda's temperment and chilled out homeschooling lifestyle, cosleeping is the best. The judgement against me was that I was being a bad parent, but it was just a vibe from somebody I don't see much so no biggie. Actually, the grandparents on both sides are weirded out by it too, and the homeschooling, and all our little alternative ways, but we just don't chat about it and it all works out somehow. -Yoda

QiDr, I have no idea. I plan on doing it for 1 year and then judging based on that. The book I just ordered is a series of articles written by various contributors and the vibe there is that the 5 rites is just another cool variant on par with other yoga/qigong programs. It does have some impressive testimonials out there. Like the amazon reviews. More so than what you find for other systems, imo. My favorite one was in the book where an MD retires 65ish and was old beyond his years in many ways, does the 5 rites for awhile got most of his dark hair back and now he has to show his drivers licence to prove his age to disbelievers. Partial recovery of dark hair is said to be common per the book, and the publisher has done a fair amount of feedback research. 80% of people have positive experiences in general with the exercises. I think the whole thing could be settled by a current photograph of Peter Kelder who would probably be over 100 right now. All we are told is that he is still very energetic and healthy. But just making it to 100 and being energetic and healthy is, obviously, an encouraging sign. I'm just going off the fact that he wrote the book in the 1930s maybe in his 30s. I'll see if the book mentions his date of birth. The fact that his hair color at 100ish isn't mentioned or bragged about makes me inclined to think that he wasn't able to hold on to dark hair for 100 years. So it's my guess that we aren't talking preternatural results, but still it sounds like the publisher is right in claiming that it halts 'premature aging.' Goes along nicely with my recent reading of "Healthy to 100". If I can make it to 100 hail and hearty, then I really will be able to impress the neighbors with some yogic tricks here and there. Drink wine with my member??? What a fine sight that'll be! -Yoda

Internet Gold!!

On the same note, biologists have discovered in some trees that they share nutrients with each other. If one has a root that's sucking up some goodies on one side, they'll kick out the goodies on the other side so the other trees can chow down and pass it on to. So a whole stand of trees can be working together like that. That sort of sharing would provide to trees of competing species, too. This was just discovered in one species a couple of years ago (birch?) so I doubt there has been time to see if this sort of thing is the norm or not. Not something that competition theorizing scientists would even look for in the first place, so there may be many more examples of this sort of thing going on all the time. ps if you google friendliness tarot and click on images, you'll see an example.

cool angle.

I've never done #6 with any regularity. Chia advocates it too.

Ok, I'm with QiDr now about Neelam. I just maxxed out on youtube satsangs too. They are lovely people and I don't question their impressive attainments or the utility of getting a darshan fix, but they should just keep their traps shut like the nice gents in the second video. Gurus should have a method, teach the method, and stop nattering on about the view from the top. The students invariably start to parrot the language and mannerisms and hear "you just don't get it" guru speeches for the rest of their lives and are made to feel like idiots in the long run. Jmhmfo, Yoda

Daniel, The original book!! Outstanding. I've always wanted to take a look at it. It doesn't cover breathing, but it does cover the tensing up on #4 which I haven't been doing. Great read. Thanks!! One of my goals is to eliminate grey hairs. I'm 38 and I've done it before reversing an outbreak of greys in my mid 20s with it. It took about 9 months. I've been doing it for about 2-3 months so far and no grey reversals or mystic type benefits other than the general lovely qualities you'd find in any mobility program. But even if the benefits stop at just that, it's a nice miniyoga system that fits into daily life rather well. They recommend beginning of the day, but I prefer end of the day as I'm more chilled out. I did get a comment recently, "You are getting younger." from an aquaintance that I only see every few years. That was nice, but it's too soon to credit the 5 rites with that. I think my hairstyle had changed in the meantime which did the trick. -Yoda

I don't know which one is considered up or down, but as one's rear goes up that's where most of the inhalation takes place.

On an amazon review of "Miracle of Fasting" by Bragg one reviewer claims that he checked the death certificate of Paul Bragg and it was 82 or something along those lines and not as impressive as dying on his surfboard at 95. Good point about sudden death... does seem to be the way of chi and health folks. Maybe so they won't have time to debate this stuff. Imo, people who do lots of physical and/or energetic cultivation tend to have extreme emotional and energetic swings, so dying suddenly fits the breed.

Got the Ancient Secret of the Fountain of Youth II and checked it out. Nice book. I had my breathing wrong on some of the exercises. Wanderer's link: http://www.10ac.com/five_tibetan_rites.htm has the breathing explained correctly with the exception of rite 5 where you exhale while letting the body hang low, but the head is relaxed and vertical. Then inhale while first leaning the head back and then while moving the whole body up and the head angled forward then exhale while allowing the body to relax and sag. I tried it, and it is a more pronounced effect. Also, it's fine to do the 5 rites at a snappy pace too. The publisher is personal friends with Peter Kelder, and he talks about Peter's time in Hollywood during the 30s while he was writing the book and what a different world it was back then. The book was definitely before its time! Not much detail is divulged about Peter or how virile he still is, etc but that he's still healthy. There are lots of inspiring testimonials from older folks about the 5 rites and even a section by Robert Thurman re: Tibet and whether or not the 5 rites are really Tibetan. Thurman is open minded to it, but hasn't seen anything like it in his studies. The tensing the whole body in rite 4 (not something that I've done so far, and won't start for the time being) is actually classically a part of the Tibetan yoga system that to the best of my limited knowledge isn't found in hatha yoga. (am I wrong?) I'm not familiar with anything like it in the Russian system either. (yes?) So that might add credence to the Tibetan hypothesis. The book is nice, but not at all necessary to do the practice if you go by the above link. Just interesting secondary info. -Yoda

sniffing and lumping... very funny link.

Ran, Welcome to the Sperm Palace! "You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave..." -Yoda

Nice thread! Welcome to taobums! I've had zero experience with CCO, and limited experience with 'heartgasms'. Matthewqi who used to post here regularly said that he had considerable experience with the crown chakra and said that he has experienced kundalini awakening in his crown chakra and regularly uses Chia's practices. Maybe he's still PM-able? We also had that nice kundalini awakened farmer here who posted a bit maybe a year ago. Anyone remember his name? You might also check out advancedyogapractices.com. -Yoda PS, Freeform... Yoda believes you! So don't be a tease and cough up the recipe!

I think psychic sensitivity is more the rule than the exception... and my Mom swears she has seen the woodpecker. And her description seems plausable and unique, although she wasn't in a swampy area so the researcher she reported it to wasn't convinced.

A true story of a heretic preacher: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/pages/desc...ons/05/304.html

For life, liberty, but mostly the pursuit of happiness.