astralc

Dream analysis is an art, it truly is, the most important thing to understand is that your dream is absolutely particular and specific to you alone, no one else. Some dreams will be precognitive, some will be past life, some will be psychological and have particular meaning to you only, and some will be created by the chilli prawns thats upsetting your stomach while you try to sleep or the fever you have when you have the flu (both are hallucinations and not always very meaningful). I have worked with dreams personally and with patients for many years, and it is never an easy task. Personally, for me, they are great adventures, some are within my own mind but some are external of me, they come from outside my dimension and as such could be called astral traveling in other dimensions and are quite weird. Then there are those that predict the future or explain the past, past lives. And then there are those ones that are dying and those of flying. The dying ones I have had have all had particular meaning, whether being shot in the back by a shotgun while running away from danger, having my throat slashed by a saracen during the Holy War as a knights page, betrayed and stabbed in the back by a friend during Roman times or being stoned by a rioting mob, they have all brought greater understanding and insight into my life through personal analysis. I can only suggest that death dreams are personally educational and most particular to the individual having them.

I was learning tai chi in 1980 and after about 6 months I found myself waking up in my dreams, flying, and engaging in the dream itself. I spoke to my master about it because I was a bit confused. Sometimes I would find myself floating above myself when doing tai chi in the class, which was very disturbing, I feared I would fall down. But earlier, before tai chi, I was talking to people who had died, and always had weird dreams and experiences, precognitive dreams, sometimes ghosts though never frightening ones, just talking to them in my sleep. But when I woke up to find myself sitting up in bed talking to this old lady in a flowing ice blue gown for example I would freak out and hide under the blankets. So, I suppose it was already there and tai chi kicked it along to the next level.

adia, sounds like you are a very sensitive person and that you are on a journey to discover yourself. Taoism is one of those journeys or paths that you can take, it may be more interesting than others or it could be too hard or difficult or obtuse, but whatever you do, don't lose your sense of awe at life, we live a mysterious existence on an amazing planet at an incredible time. If you wish to learn more about taoism then may I suggest you take up tai chi, it is generally known as 'taoism in motion'. The experience you described is one many of us other 'searchers' have had and have asked the same questions you have. Good luck on your journey and keep us posted as to how you are going.

rok, its congested chi that moves into your head automatically, and as Gerard wisely says, ground it. If you leave it go too long it will begin to get worse and worse, it should be directed down out thru your feet, or you could use the Microcosmic Orbit to dissipate it back into the dan tien. Whatever you do, don't encourage more chi into your head. Good luck and keep us posted on how it goes, you can ask for more advice if this is not enough to help you.

hagar, lol, "the Elysian Fields, in Greek mythology, the final resting places of the souls of the heroic and the virtuous." From Wiki. The Elysian Fields is where your every dream can be realised, it is the ancient Greek's heaven, so to speak. I have only been there a few times but each time it was 'heaven', and you can imagine what dreams, lusts, desires and wants you may have and how many ways they can be fulfilled. It is an incredible place, as real as this world, and your desires will be satisfied. I have no idea how I got there, it happened by default. I would wake up and find myself standing on a cloud floating way above the landscape below, jungle, a wide river flowing between mountain ranges all laid out before me like a child's rug, and then the adventure would begin.

Hi rainbowvein, thats a good question, when I worked solid on my heart centre the love was way too powerful to allow me to 'rest' in it. The passion was not rage or anger or anything negative, it was just very very powerful love, a state of loveness, a state of bliss and rapture. It was not calm, it was all encompassing, like a river roaring through my body. When I opened it initially it was like being electrocuted, and I have been electrocuted several times as a kid playing with the poorly wired electric water jug, and it was much like that only no danger or pain, well a little pain only. My body shook like crazy for several minutes. Basically it was a kundalini surge focused on my heart. These days it is different, I can open my heart by itself if I want, but I don't do that because it will surge again, the love will become too strong, I will space out and my head will hurt for a day or two. And I become way too sensitive to everything for my own good. So I use the dan tien and open my whole body, not just my heart, it is so much nicer, and more balanced. Astralc

Hi Hagar, when I opened my chakras I wish I knew a bit more than I did, today I would have just stayed at the dan tien and let them all open by themselves, as they were doing anyway. Issues that arose were tinglings inside the heart itself, heart palpitations, pain in my chest, that sort of thing. The chi pumped itself thru the heart without any problem at all, it was wide open and the chi just flowed, so easily. But it was too easy, I could, with just a thought, explode my heart centre and away I would go into raptures of bliss. It would almost cry with bliss it was so powerful. Then the chi moved into my head centres and I would start to space out with these raptures. Then at night I would push the chi and my head would explode and away I would go into the astral planes. The heart centre was another door to the other side, fantastic, but the cost was too much, headaches, heart pain, spacing out for the following day after astral travel. I had been astral traveling for years before anyway, so why did I want to push it even more? Mind you, the visits to the Elysian Fields were well worth it So, with hindsight, I would just let it happen unconsciously, and stick to my dan tien. Astralc

I think the dan tien and the heart are both incredibly important in our journey along the tao. Moving chi into the heart can, in my experience, certainly expand awareness and mellow our earthly ambitions, it rounds us as individuals, but it can also stuff up our health, can create tension and congestion in the heart region causing anxiety, panic attacks and heart palpitations as well. I opening my energy centres over many years, when I eventually got to my heart centre I had to first work at moving through the palpitations and pain that came with it. I was amazed when it opened, I shook like I was holding onto a live electrical wire, the expression of love it released was beyond expectations, was truly extraordinary. After that I would 'see' things, situations differently, like thru a different coloured lens. I could then awaken my heart centre at will, with just a breath I would be off this planet, as high as a kite, like heroine only a million times better, but eventually I had to block it and move back down to the dan tien. The heart as a centre of being is, for me anyway, just too emotional and passionate. I had to centre back lower in the body, to reduce the imbalance of emotions that came with it. It is seductive, very much so, the feeling of love is all consuming, I would lose perspective, love was, but reality was not, so loving, and I had trouble separating the two - the all encompassing love within me and the harsh reality of the world outside. It certainly needed to be tempered with the grounding of the dan tien. Now, I use the dan tien quite exclusively, it expands and includes the heart centre, so I don't have to go separately to the heart. I think that is the best way for me to go these days. I would warn others on this path to be careful, make sure your dan tien is solid before venturing north to the heart or else you could experience some unpleasant side effects.

jay, thats quite a question you are asking, first off what do taoists say about death... I think someone already said it, 'it happens'. I think thats about it too, to dwell or give it too much energy is wasteful, so taoists would just use its ever-present influence to sharpen their practice. With death ever behind us, reminding us the 'end is nigh', we naturally practice just that little bit more diligently. For what its worth, what lies afterwards? Well, I have been fortunate to have met family members, friends, and a few others who had passed on. So, to me, existence, as we know it, doesn't stop. It just changes shape. What I would suggest you do is to stay on good terms with Lady Luck on the roads, obviously she watches over you, and keep doing your chi gung, that obviously works for you too. You are one heck of a lucky person, just keep doing what you are doing and enjoy the day.

Mark, the blobs were just that, black blobs, about the size of a small child only rounder. Slightly cute and innocent looking at first glance, but lightening fast.

Stosh, interesting point above, "I talked to a dude that said he practiced wu wei in his martial arts,". From my understanding, and experience, we do practice wu wei while practicing our martial arts. It is in the flow, going with the flow... so that when we are in the outside world our life begins to flow with the tao. I am not sure that I am explaining this right, but by flowing in our forms in practice, we flow in life a little easier. Wu wei to me is flow, flowing with life ("letting life take its course") or being in the tao, as opposed to forcing through life. You made some good points, thanks. Astralc

Everything, but in the end its still just energy, sexual energy, chi, and one day you will be able to use it in other ways besides sexual pleasure. Developing sexual chi is one of the goals in taoist tantra, guiding it to various parts of our body and then using it to transform spiritually is the ultimate goal. Congratulations on your achievements thus far, enjoy and learn and go forth on your adventures. The best advice I could give now is to go slowly and gently, otherwise that extra chi can get the better of you if you are not careful - even the best of us fall prey to the sensual pleasures of Lady Kundalini.

OK, lie down, relax, deeply, go to the dan tien and waken it, spread the chi thru your body, radiate it like a light globe. Then relax without doing anything else, just relax, no more chi work than that is needed, your body wisdom will know what to do, trust it. Then move your awareness into your testes, feel them glow, relax them even more, and glow again, keep glowing and relaxing until, one day, you will be able to bring your breath to your testes and breath, gently, in and out. Sometimes this will cause them to congest as this is what they are used to doing, so if this happens, move the sensations outside the testes, maybe 1 cm or half inch outside them and feel them warm and radiating from there. Remember this is to relax them, to dissipate chi, not to energise them. Its a water meditation with a touch of testes breathing. The goal is to dissipate congested sexual chi in your balls, and as you know and has been discussed by the wise minds here, Blue Balls are full of congestion. Focusing on sexual chi will congest somewhere, for you its the testes, for others its the lower back, the guts or heart, or eyes... I worked with a guy who prided himself on his ability to not ejaculate, the girls loved him and he was kept running between ladies to satisfy them. But he developed severe congestion in his sacrum, so severe his back would go into spasm. He would then be admitted to hospital where he was given a Valium injection to release the tension. He would have to masturbate regularly to ejaculation to release the pent up tension, otherwise, hospital. He could go on and on but he didn't circulate the chi, it got stuck in his sacrum. I don't think that he was a wise taoist (he thought he was) but someone who liked sex and praise from his harem of women. Anyway, good luck, and let us know how it goes please.

Everything, may I suggest you try testicle breathing, as opposed to testicle scratching, its quite nice, and make sure its gentle not forceful. You don't really want to awaken too much chi in them, just to warm them and to let your body wisdom do the rest. It should reduce the congestion that appears to be occurring there when you have your hour long lovemaking sessions. Oh yeah, practice this when not love making, and without an erection, just relax, and warm them with your chi. Let us know how it goes, It might help a bit.

"a man or woman whose life is in perfect harmony with the way things are." This is beautiful, poetry, like the perfect flow in tai chi, thanks for posting.

ditto, moving or forcing chi into the head before it is ready can bring on chi congestion, the excess chi irritates the sensitive nerves in the midbrain, causing headaches, migraines and all sorts of nasties. If you push this too much then sometimes Kundalini Syndrome can be the result. Best do as suggested, work on your dan tien and let it rise when its ready. When it is ready it will happen automatically during your sleep, like astral traveling, OOB, etc, this is much much safer than forcing it. So, do your basics, keep working on chi development, and it will happen for you, safely.

Just meditated on dan tien just now at work, found myself inside a balloon, rubbery and blue and I was thinking to myself in there, "I can't stay here, my patients won't be able to talk to me." I was a little worried for a moment, like I was trapped there, then I popped back to my body and dan tien. When I got up I looked down and saw my shirt, it was just the same blue as the balloon. Weird me, but I just love my dan tien and what it does for me, now I can't wait til tomorrow lunch time to try it again

Mark, onebir, the meditation of coming back to location that you describe Mark is actually so darn simple that one could easily discount it, but it works, and I like it as one technique I can use when I wake up in the middle of the night, thanks. The dan tien meditation as both have said, is not an easy one, onebir, your idea of elastic sided pants is a classic, what I do is place my hands over the navel and at times I tickle my navel to get the sensations going, it works nicely too. I know everyone says the dan tien is located 2 or 3 fingers below the nave, but I like to use the navel as its location because it is easy to stimulate to awakefulness. Its also an easy analogy to 'breathe' in and out of, like a lower nose. It also tingles nicer... Having said that, the dan tien is actually, from my experience, just below the navel, resting on its lower edge. When I first tried to centre my mind there I could, and what an amazing sense of awareness it gave. Like having your head in your navel. But these days I go there and breath, then I drift off, not quite getting my head in my navel though. I like to do my tai chi with the dan tien radiating like a lighthouse, thats a nice feeling too. As for the astral stuff, I have seen quite a few ghosts, but never have I had them come after me. I did once see my old friend and father with a group of others behind them, they were all walking towards me. This was soon after falling asleep one night after my old friend had died, I think about a week after he had died. I freaked out, I remember saying to myself, "Jesus! They are all dead!" But as they got closer I just calmed right down, no idea why though, I just lifted out of my body and we had a good chat. My old friend was worried about my health and stress levels, kept telling me to take it easy, while my father stood behind him and didn't say anything, just was there. It was during my uni days and at exam time and I was working my guts out doing 3 jobs. So, yes, my old mate was right, I needed to take it easy, but couldn't at the time. So, no bad ghosts for me so far, just those spooky black blobs

My community thinks we are mad, but then again tantra meditation, tai chi and kung fu are alien to our western culture, we can just change the setting (like China) and we are normal. I think it depends who we sit and have lunch with sometimes I appreciate what you are sharing K and TI, much what I do is pretty weird too, but I accept the weirdness in me now.

Yep, about 6 months after starting tai chi, and almost every night for the next 20 years until life, work, career and children slowed things down. My dear old Mum does tai chi too, I taught her years ago, she went on to teach as well to her seniors group.

K, fascinating concept, 'controlled break-down'. I think that the mental illness is the break down bit, the training you and I have is the controlled bit, hopefully we shouldn't need to put the two together for enlightenment

lol, considering I vomited blood for 3 days after the operation I think I might have been heading up to heaven

lol, that happened to me when I had tonsilitis and fever, and again when I had them out, floating up on the ceiling, lifting off with bubbles floating in the air, it was nice.

Good point K, some people do have kundalini expereinces without doing anything special, mostly during sex. And perhaps some with schizophrenia may as well, but I don't have any data on that one so I could be way off. As a diagnosis it would fit for many people, but generally it should be a specific for those who do chi kung exercises, rather than for someone with bipolar. Some good info here: http://en.wikipedia....dalini_Syndrome And here is the definitive DSM IV diagnosis - Qi-Gong Psychotic Reaction http://homepage.mac....cbs_qigong.html

Hi billb, I am searching for the helmet now... Mmmm, electromagnetic fields over the Temporal Lobes, OK, I think I know what they are doing. It is common medical knowledge that the Temporal Lobes do funny things, the inside of the skull has slightly raised ridges next to the Temporal Lobes, so if there is a solid head knock, or head injury the Temporal Lobes can bang hard against these ridges, there can be a Temporal Lobe injury, usually seen as slight bruising. In these cases this can cause Temporal Lobe seizures, epilepsy, and sometimes, spiritual or extrasensory experiences. The Temporal Lobes are notorious for being easily injured in head injuries - a good reason to wear a helmet. We can also induce mild Temporal Lobe seizure-like experiences, spiritual experiences, etc. by stimulating them. We can do it with biofeedback, electrical stimulation, magnetic stimulation... lots of ways. I have had some patients, being treated for anxiety, on the right Temporal Lobe (T4), have unusual spiritual experiences such as feeling very 'connected' to God and feeling of being very spaced out and feeling like they are in the 'hands of God'. Nothing magical at all about this, but who knows, is it really a 'spiritual' experience? Anyway, I agree with you, putting on this helmet and playing around with it too long could cause an over-arousal of the temporal sites with nasty effects, like panic attacks and severe depression. I recommend for anyone to stay away from them and to do tai chi instead. Thanks for your posts on this important topic. Astralc