Pai_Mei

Ah, that's much better Sorry BaguaKicksAss, it was my fault. Hit the wrong button. I am off of this thread now, no need to interfere.

Being compared to Yoda is always a nice compliment But: shouldn't I be more of a Sith Lord if I am a troll? Anyway...keep going.

Actually I was not trying to be a troll. What I wanted to do was to take that quote from this thread and move it to another thread (where I consider this comment to be more appropriate) but I seem to have hit the wrong button. So my comment was not meant for this thread but for another. Anyway, I said what I had to say and I am now done with it. Please keep going

What we should point out here really quick is and I say this without attacking you personally thunder_gooch is that any decent Neigong practitioner is also part of a cosmic brotherhood which consists not only of your living teachers but also your teachers on a higher level. Some people here react in a hostile way towards you as they are very familiar with this unspoken code of conduct that is a serious fact for anyone with a true tie to a lineage. A good student would never attack a lineage holder from another school (in this case Ya Mu) in the way you do and this is not about ego or politics, this is about being part of a traditon and being a man of cultivation. So respect your elder tongkosong here, please. Otherwise you are seriously messing up your Karma. So take care brother! PS: I suggest working on your liver-qi

I should also mention that I know Santiago and the KAP system very well, too. After studying with Swamiji for years I needed a breath of fresh air and wanted to see what other teachers had to share and therefore studied privately with Santiago for about 1,5 years. He is a great guy and has many things to offer. KAP is basically a system of "stuff that works" and very much suited for beginners as well as seasoned practitioners. But if you really want a practice with a very powerful and old lineage energy behind it you should study Tenaga Dalam with Santiago (he shares some of it in his PSD classes). This is a VERY powerful system. This systems sorts out the men from the boys. Highly recommended.

Yes, I studied with Swamiji for several years (still do) and I am one of his Om Kara Kriya teachers. He is a walking and talking encyclopedia of southern and northern Indian tantric practices. Very knowledgeable and kind, powerful and with an ingenious sense of humour - a true Tantric. He studied with many of the top Indian masters of Yoga and Tantra. Here are two stories of a fellow disciple (Tor Hitchcox / http://www.example2.nadacat.com) about meeting him. The articles are a bit difficult to find. That is why I copied them from his site: Meeting of Swami Anandakapila I had studied Hawaiian massage and martial arts and some western yoga. I had spent five years learning and trying to meditate. There was a conference for yoga on at Sydney show ground in 1996(International Yoga Conference). I went to listen to Niranjanananda originally, Swami Satyananda’s second in command. His lecture was not till the afternoon and I looked to see whom else I would like to hear a lecture from. There was a Lecture from Swami Anandakapila (Dr. Jonn Mumford) on Kundalini yoga. My first reaction was I did not want to go to that lecture as my former teacher had informed me that the gaining of siddhi (powers) in yoga was a distraction to the real work of finding yourself. I had been told from quite a few people that Anandakapila was a very adept siddhi. After getting over my first reaction and not seeing, anyone else I would like to listen to I attended his lecture. I walked to the hall. I made my way through the sea of people and found a place to sit. Anandakapila was a little late and he had laryngitis: he apologized with some quirky comments that had everyone laughing - from that moment on, I was mesmerized by the command and power of his voice. I do not remember much about the lecture as I was more drawn to the sound of his voice and the fact I was near the back of the hall and could hear him clearly with people whispering next to me. I do remember very clearly, when he said we are going to do a short meditation and the effect it had. We did a So Hum practice, which I had done many times before. This was different in its effect on my spine and energy. I was sitting taking my consciousness’ up and down my spine as he talked. Suddenly there was a heat in my back with pins and needles sensation. What was this? I left the hall calm and energized also a little scared, puzzled. Some time went by and I meet Megan a student of Anandakapila. After a chat she mentioned Anandakapila was teaching a kriya course at old south head road and would I like to come. My former teacher had left the country and I wanted to keep learning so I said yes. After another interesting evening and chatting to him in person for a brief time, I booked a one to one appointment. Going to Anandakapila’s house I was very nervous with many thoughts running through my tiny little mind. How much power did he have as I had heard he could stop his heart and breathing for over twenty min’s.(tested while connected to an EEC and EEG Machine) Was he going to take control of my mind? He did ha ha, but not in the way I imagined (he showed me my tiny little mind over the following years) I walked into the room and sat down. In his quiet but powerful voice he asked me what I wanted from him and yoga. My answer was I wanted to learn how to meditate. I had been doing many practices for five years at this point and could not sit and concentrate for more than five min’s. So began a long and sometimes painful process. Only painful because (I) fought so much with what he taught, ha ha Six months latter I could sit for thirty minutes (some days) with no problem concentrating. Eight years later I have done some meditations lasting nine hours. Now I am a beginner at learning yoga and as Jonn has imbibed in me the reward for hard work is more hard work. I pray that I can find more hard work with the axiom that I am careful in what I ask for (Gently please I’m now older in body but young in heart). Anandakapila silencing the mind I had been practicing regularly for some eight years under the guidance of Swami Anandakapila. I was quite content with how I could sit and concentrate my mind. The disturbances of past had been subdued for a while again. I felt confident and strength had been born within. Then came a shock! I had been in a relationship for a few years and as time had gone on we had drifted apart .The relationship had a beauty and love about it but I had grown uncertain of where it was going. It saddened me but I was compelled to bring the relationship to an end. I tried to finish the relationship in a good way. My partner at the time was that stricken with the separation she tried to commit suicide. The pain I felt, that she would try to do such a thing because of me. My mind went wild. What is my responsibility in this action? What could I have done differently to stop this? How could I hurt someone like that and driven her to such a state? How could I be so selfish as to end the relationship? I went to see swami Anandakapila on Thursday night as usual. So many questions? What is my karma from such an event? I knocked on the door and walked into the room. Anandakapila as usual saw what condition I was in. He said sit down and tell me about it Tor. I started like a runaway steam train. What ??? How am I ??? What Should I do ??? Anandakapila sat there patiently listening for quite a while not really saying much, just listening attentively as he does. Out of the blue he asked me to roll up the sleeves of my shirt and he started searching through the drawers. He pulled out a rusty rod about three millimeters in diameter and two hundred millimeters long. He said keep talking about your problems don’t let me distract you. He started pushing the rod through a lime. In and out it went with me in full steam telling him how bad I felt. I was still talking when he asked me to put my arm out straight and took my hand. I was still talking when lifted up the rod and started pushing it through my forearm between the bones and out the other side of my arm. I looked down in amazement as the rod passed right through my arm without any pain. Shocked and amazed at what he had just done. Anandakapila said to me to keep telling him about my problems. I said swami G I have a rod through my arm and would like to talk about that. He smiled and said tell me about your problems. My mind had suddenly become razor sharp and clear. Not a single thought in my mind about how bad I was. Not a single thought about the relationship. I could not talk about anything as I was totally focused on the rod through my arm. Focused on the moment. What is happening I am not in pain at all? He then proceeded to pull out the rod and to my amazement there was no bleeding. What is happening Swami G, I am not bleeding. He said tell me about your problems. I couldn’t find any problem to talk about. What had just happened? Having worked with many sharp objects that have cut or pierced my body over the years many times, I was shocked that there was no pain and no blood. I was happy there was no pain and no blood. In one swift motion Anandakapila had brought my tiny little mind back into present time and answered every possible question I had. Over the following days the experience bought many revelations to mind, The fear of siddhis being a distraction from the path fell away and what became clear to me -that right time, right place, right way a siddhi is a powerful tool that can be used by the skilled to assist on the path to inner peace. A deeper understanding about karma, that the action of the past (the suicide attempt) I did not have karma from the event in the way I was asking but I was creating karma by the perturbation and concentrating on something I could do nothing about. Meditation brings one more into the present moment, keeping that state is staying forever aware that, anything can happen to anyone, at any moment. Be grateful right now for what we have now.

Starjumper, you raised an excellent point here concerning "mechanical power" and "spiritual power".I would agree that spiritual power comes to those that have high virtues and a good character. From my experience power can be taken away from you from the higher levels if you misuse them. This is probably some other thing with pure mechanical powers. These are something you acquire through pure practice of certain energetic principles and are not necessarily connected to higher spiritual laws.

I see what you mean BaguaKicksAss. I used to be one of those. Not in this lifetime however In my case I was actually quite sick and frail towards the end of this particular incarnation due to the karmic kickbacks I received. It is possible to evade karmic kickbacks under certain circumstances but eventually it will catch up with you. At least that is what I experienced. So I am only speaking from personal experience.

Well actually I did not want to engage in this heated debate but I think some things should be pointed out that only practitioners that have real Nei Gong experience know. E.g. it has been stated over and over again that Nei Gong is not about character Nothing could be further from the truth. I know for a fact that when your Chi and Shen are strongly connected (especially when you are working with more martially related energies) it could literally kill you if you have no control over your emotions as you would seriously hurt your internal organs with this attitude. This is why some well known martial artists and Tai Chi masters (who where also famous for their bad temper) died in their late fifties or early sixties. Nature is wise and won't give true power into the hand of morons or only to sort them out. This sounds a bit harsh but I am very familiar with teachers from an occult and tantric background also and they all say the same. If you develop true power and acquire real Siddhis you should have a stable personality or these forces will destroy you. It all comes down to being a good and moral person with compassion for others. I consider being able to heal and uplift others as the greatest Siddhi of them all. I firmly believe true power comes to those that want to serve.

My sincerest open-hearted welcome to this forum, Qigong-brother! I hope you'll find lots of inspiration here. Just out of curiosity? Did you formally train with Sensei Niikura? I am familiar with his basic exercises (I learned them through a friend who studied with a student of Niikura). His Yin-style-mouth-breathing technique is quite interesting and his empty force skills are very strong. His school has a DVD of one of Niiikura's healing workshops wich I wanted to order (I am based in Germany) but I never heard back from his school. I guess you already met two superb teachers. Why wait?

Thank you very much for your kind words. And it was a joy and honour being in your presence, Laoshi. I sincerely hope it was just the beginning.

I have also practiced GOT now for a while and I also took part in Michael’s most excellent distance workshop. I remember that I had bought GOT some years ago already and after the first time I watched it, I thought that it was weird and I did not get what it was all about. Years passed, I practiced with other teachers, my sensitivity grew and a about a week before I signed in for the workshop this year I put the DVD in the recorder for the first time after years. The reaction was the same as most people react that seem to be ready for it and that was something like “Wow! What is going on here? Laughing, shaking, bliss!” lol* I later described it to a friend (who is not a practitioner but an interested listener) like that: “Imagine that there are higher levels to life just like a building has several floors. You made it to the first floor and you know for a fact that there is a second floor, third floor etc. And sometimes you get glimpses of these upper floors but the impression is not clear – a vague notion of their existence. Practicing GOT at times is like someone has ripped the ceiling away and you can feel the full impact of those floors.” Experiencing it for the first time was almost overwhelming for me. GOT is very powerful! Highly recommended - as is Michael’s Stillness Movement Neigong!. Very powerful stuff with a strong lineage energy and very strong higher energy information!

Well, what I like most about his teachings is his syncretism. So what he tried with his "fourth way" was not only a synthesis between different traditions (Sufism/Raja-Yoga/orthodox christianity/alchemy among others) but also the development of an "integral Yoga" much like Sri Aurobindo. So Gurdjieff work has breathing exercises, awareness exercises, dance, Zikr, enneagramme, memory exercises, exercises for training the will, self-observation etc. Well, being "integral" is trendy nowadays but at his time it was unique.

Most of the language of Gurdjieff is coded and deciphering it is actually the fun part on studying his teachings. But there are other useful tools that are more easily to understand. Just think of the "enneagramme". Anyhow, Gurdjieff did not suit you and that is okay for me. There is a path for anyone. And you seem to have a strong opinion on what your spiritual purpose is. I am cool with that, too as there are many people that have no clear opinion on anything.However as I am aware of several of my incarnations I would say that anything has its pros and cons. Reconnecting to some past-lifes was actually fun and rewarding - especially if you are able to reconnect to your knowledge as well.In that way you can get wiser even while incarnating rather than just watching the party from above One of my teachers used to say that the only thing that ennerved him concerning reincarnation was that he had to undergo toilet-training again and again

I have to agree with Jetsun here. Gurdjieff's teachings are very deep. So deep actually that only a few will understand them properly and he truly was an adept. Well without being disrespectful to any Mo-Pai-afficionado, but I read the "Magus of Java" and most of what I read was display of certain siddhis and certain high level-practitioners of this art that try to kill each other with Qi-balls The only experience of depth of John Chang that Danaos shared in the book (and there may be many more) was when he meditated in the jungle for a long time and had an experience of a presence he described later as being "god". If you want to risk your health for being able to throw cigarette boxes around then good luck! But what starts to annoy me is that most people that are interested in Mo-Pai are only interested (if they were honest) in aquiring Siddhis. I think that John Chang deeply regrets having shown his powers in public and having been so open to Western students that are unable to look past the display of powers.I am convinced that there is enlightenment to be found on this path but John Chang although being a businessman needs a much better marketing Maybe something like this: If you seriously want to develop yourself, come in. If you want Siddhis, get your arse of my property or my magickal Keris will cut you into pieces! PS: The question is also: If you could become immortal,would this make you any wiser, more humble, more connected?

Hi OldGreen, I am currently reading "Magical Knowledge I" and I must say that Josephine McCarthy is the "real deal". She is very knowledgeable. To get a better feeling of how she is like and if her work suits you,I would recommend listening to these two radio interviews: http://www.occultofpersonality.net/podcast-100-josephine-mccarthy/ http://www.occultofpersonality.net/the-magickal-work-of-josephine-mccarthy/

No ChiDragon, didn't know that. Did a research on the internet after you mentioned it. So sad to hear. He is one of the heroes of my childhood. I dearly pray for a speedy recovery! Gordon is a fighter, now he hopefully will do what he is best at. The hardest battles are presented by life itself. I wish him lots of strength!

uppps...McCarthy of course...

I might share something interesting with all of you which I found was the best occult interviews in years. Josephine MacCarthy is a very experienced magician and exorcist from Great Britain and her ideas are modern yet deeply routed in the true spirit of magick. In the first interview she delivers the best description of demons and negative entities I have ever heard. A needed breath of fresh air in the magickal community! http://www.occultofpersonality.net/podcast-100-josephine-mccarthy/ http://www.occultofpersonality.net/the-magickal-work-of-josephine-mccarthy/ Listen to this. I'd love to hear your feedback.

Before I forget: I would ALWAYS suggest to do an intensive closing massage after your session. I put an example in here to give you some suggestions. You could do this massage even exclusively for some days (e.g. morning and evening) until the excessive symptoms subside.

I am familiar with Johnson's concept of "Key-sound-multiple-orgasm". I guess what you are experiencing are emotional and energetic reactions from the practice which are normal for most KSMO-practitioners. That is why Johnson says that you should do the KSMO only for 20 minutes every other day. I wouldn't be suprised if you have probably overdone it a little ;-) These emotional reactions show that deep routed fear is coming up and is being healed. Often people doing energy work think that you will get happier and more blissfull day by day and all will be fine. Well, if you are doing REAL energy work, those energy reactions are normal and part of the practice. So there are days when you just physically or emotionally detox. "Garbage in - garbage out" as one of my teachers used to say. So please, limit your time as Johnson recommends. If these reactions persist, I would just stop the practice for a while - taking breaks are part of the path. As a sidenote: A lot of Qigong-practitioners start very early with sexual Qigong and some paths encourage this. Well, my experience is that it is a waste of time and you can screw yourself up pretty easily, especially if these practices are connected to deep routed fear and emotional issues. I would recommend doing more basic Qigong - especially Qigong that aims at strengthening your kidneys e.g. wall-squats. PS: Considering councelling and doing some therapy-sessions is recommendable, too. One of my teachers even recommended doing meditation and psychotherapy together. So if emotional issues come up during meditation you can discuss them with a therapist. Well, of course it is necessary to find one who is familiar with energy work or meditation or is even a practitioner himself.That would of course be the best choice.

I see two possibilites here: 1. Your base chakra has been activated (which is more of a tantric explanation than a strictly Daoist although the chakras are known in Daoism, too )as the base chakra is connected to the sense of smell. 2. A strong energy blockage might have been "burned" away which could have caused that kind of smell. A third possibility might be that you are meant to learn that you should not leave the stove on while you are meditating

Congratulations dear Qigong-brother, this is a very auspicious sign and shows two things: 1. Your subconscious is healthy and vital. 2. You are starting out connecting to a wider universe. The variety of experiences you can make in dreams are endless. Sometimes dreams are metaphorical and sometimes they are to be taken literally and sometimes they are just a "cleansing of the subconscious". I even had to battle once in a dream. As I shared this with my teacher he said the same thing I am now saying to you "Welcome on the path, my friend." PS: You can always gain great benefit of your dreams by reliving them in a meditation. Just get in trance with your preferred method and visit the monk again, just like you would do a meditation with guided imagery. What you also could do is to set an intent to meet this particular dream guide again while you are falling asleep. It may take some days with focussed intent in order to have this experience but it will work. You can also write the intent on a piece of paper and put it under your pillow or under your bed.