Alchemistgeorge

Thanks! I suspected that might be the case. I always wonder if there is any commentary that accompanies paintings like this. I haven't yet read Livia Kohn's book Chinese Healing Exercises: The Tradition of Daoyin - I don't know if that would throw any light on these archeological findings.

Also my copy of Wuji Qi Gong by Stephen Elliott

I'm putting more books on Paperbackswap.com Zen Baggage, a pilgrimage to China by Bill Porter Famous Japanese Swordsman of the Two Courts Period by William de Lange Be Like Water: Practical Wisdom from the Martial Arts by Joseph Cardillo Nine Headed Dragon River by Peter Matthiessen (his personal account of his study of American & Japanese Zen Buddhism) Harmonizing Yin and Yang by Eva Wong Legacies of the Sword - The Kashima-Shinryu and Samurai Martial Culture by Karl Friday

I dunno about belly buttons, but the vagus nerve runs down the center of the body and has been implicated in certain kinds of orgasmic experiences (if you read the literature about people who have spinal injuries). I haven't yet found out exactly where it is w.r.t. the genitals, but my guess is that it passes quite close to the back end of the vagina (posterior fornix)

Clearly you've been there and done that. No offense intended. My experiences were very different, the preparation method was different. There is a lot of interesting material in the Vaults of Erowid.

This makes me think you haven't done much research into Amanita Muscaria? I don't put into the same category as weed. I mostly think of poppy as a dreamer, although she is a temptress. Not that I'm recommending A. Muscaria - I think she falls into the 'approach with respect, sincerity, and humility' category of allies.

Not sure where to start. I've never heard the result described as "pumping semen into the glandular system." My experience is that the deer exercise will result in moving energy up your spine (or central channel). The semen stays put. In order for that to happen, the channel(s) need to be open. I mostly do the deer exercise to massage my prostate. During sex, if I do the deer exercise I will at least partially lose my erection and lose my urge to ejaculate. If sufficient energy rises, I may also have a 'brain & senses' orgasm. My channels are open, I learned the Taoist sexual practices decades before I learned the deer exercise. And I wouldn't expect results in a week, unless there is a bunch you haven't mentioned in your post.

"I intend to cultivate energy and understand opening the microcosmic orbit is the first step.I do not have access to a qualified teacher and will have to do with books and this forum.I have already been good advice on what to do here." hmmm. As others as said, the MCO is not necessarily the first step. I very much like Tao Wizard's post about learning the six healing sounds etc. first - also part of Chia's system. His " Awakening the Healing Energy Through the Tao " is the book i have which deals with opening the MCO. Is it a good guide? I think its a good (but not great) book. The method he explains is safe if you observe the safety precautions. And I recommend you learn the 6HS and Inner Smile first. I learned it all in one weekend in 1987, but I had years of martial arts practice and about 6 months of zhan zhaung (standing qigong) practice as a foundation. I have heard talk of his books being a little incomplete to his teachings being dangerous. Is this true? OK, this is controversial. Here is my take. All Taoist practices are dangerous to varying degrees. And some of the safest practices could be dangerous to a very few certain people - I've even read an account of someone hurting themselves energetically doing Tai Chi! Chia's books, are, imho, pretty well written, and the newer ones are better than the old. And he publishes openly a lot of stuff that was kept secret for a long time - often kept secret for good reasons. I've heard about and read about a bunch of people hurting themselves through qigong, some of them with Chia's material. All the cases that I personally know about involving Chia's stuff boil down to people who did not follow the instructions, did not do the pre-requisites, or ignored the safety precautions. If you spend time with google or search through the archives here you will find different opinions. FWIW in the 70s & 80s if you were on the east coast and got kundalini psychosis often you get sent to Chia or Chia's students who taught you how to open the functional channel and bring the energy down to the lower dan tien and then open the MCO. "I want to first open the MCO and then practice his cultivation of sexual energy, Iron shirt and bone marrow stuff.Is this the correct course or is there something better i should invest time in? He sure does have a lot of books out." I think the Iron Shirt practices, done properly (without force), are quite good. Mostly they are zhan zhuang - standing qigong. I'm a huge fan of zhan zhuang (wikipedia). Personally I have mixed feelings about the sexual practices - I no longer teach them because I haven't found students who (a) want to do them as an integrated part of a whole system and ( students who are willing to do the necessary (imho) daily grounding practices and meditations to stay in balance, stay grounded & rooted. I think there is a lot to say for Giles Marin's practice of having students learn the Fusion meditations before they learn the sexual practices. The sexual practices - well, I think that is pretty complicated topic - better for you to know more before you decide to undertake that. Bone Marrow practices are, IMHO, very powerful. I used to have before & after x-rays that showed results. I wouldn't do the weight lifting without an instructor - its not the the lifting and hitting - that is pretty easy to learn safely, but you want someone to keep an eye on you and the effect the practices have on you. Its, imho, more a question of making sure you "stay in balance." The practice is sort of intrinsically unbalancing. FWIW I was a certified instructor in Chia's system although I haven't taught in 10 years.

OK, I learned this practice (Iron Shirt 1) from Master Chia in 1989 after learning it from his students Marie Favorito and John Loupos. I did any number of weekend iron shirt classes with him and his students, and did the iron shirt week at summer camp at least twice. The last time I heard him talk about iron shirt was in 2002. He made it clear in 1989 not to use force in the "packing", and that the central aspect of the practice was about developing root & developing structure, and that the "being impervious to blows" part was (1) came at a really high cost and (2) was not very useful to most of us. For me, I always assumed that Iron Shirt was mostly the practice of zhan zhaung - standing qigong. I assumed the key part was the quiet standing part - that was what Master Chia always said. He was the first teacher that I had who spent any time explaining "structure" and he had some way to both explain it and teach it. I was impressed that he could stand effortlessly - he talking about being truly relaxed and having your body become very light, very empty. When you "pushed" on the senior students, the energy went right through them - you could feel it go - you couldn't really push them - when I finally had the experience in my body I found it truly remarkable. It was not a pre-requisite to tai chi chi kung in my day. I'm a HUGE fan of zhan zhaung. I recommend you try zhan zhaung. I've also found the 'bone breathing' to be an interesting and useful practice.

well, to express what may be an unwelcome viewpoint, I would take Castenada's writings with a kilo of salt. IMHO there are many compelling reasons to think that they are incredible works of fiction. His publishers don't agree, of course. I think The wikipedia entry gives a reasonable overview of the controversy. As far as I can tell, Castenada did very thorough research and used good primary sources for his early books. I am not saying that you cannot profit from them, or that there is not profit to be had from them. I would suggest you use caution in taking them as a guide, that the most profit might be had by viewing the books as allegory. Anyway, your mileage will vary.

or Collect and dispe rse the yeah. This is "collecting the energy from your entire body after practice" not "pull all the energy into the cauldron to make a pearl" - what you are reading is the instruction for ending microcosmic orbit meditation, etc. etc. I don't know if it will make any difference, I've never followed any particular direction or noticed a particular direction, you can always try it out and see how it works. FWIW In replying to your question earlier I briefly checked three different Mantak Chia books: Fusion of the Five Elements, Fusion of the Five Elements I, and Cosmic Fusion. In each only I only looked at a page or two - on the page where it talks for the first time about forming the pearl, but it was a fast check. Anyway, best of luck with your practice, if you want to dig deeper, Michael Winn - one of Mantak Chia's senior students - teaches a different approach to the Fusion meditations - I got about half way through a set of Michael Winn retreat CDs, I thought it was worth the money.

for me, when I used to do fusion every day, it produced a stillness inside that was hard to describe, a sense of being part of the world but less effected by it. If I did it before a sales call I never closed any business - apparently that 'less effect' went both ways.<smile>

I don't think there is any directionality in this practice - a quick check of my old books doesn't show any specific instructions. At the end of meditation when you draw energy from your entire body into the lower dan tien and spiral there to gather and then condense the energy, it that practice there is a directionality for male & female.

first (and foremost) practice practice practice. Fusion is a process of refining - mix, balance, purify - the process of drawing the energy into the caldron and mixing it changes the energy of the organs - bit by bit. As the energy becomes more refined the pearls become more dense and the energy more willing to stick together. I found that spirals and spiraling really help. I try to feel the spinning of the taichi symbols in each of the four bagua and the spinning of the taichi creates (for me) a spiral - like the blade in a blender makes a spiral in the fluid in the blender (whirlpool). feel the spiral in the bagua I "look" inside and down to the LDT and look for a spiral in the cauldron. You can try rocking your upper body in a small gentle circle as if your upper body was a spoon stirring a pot, or you can try to look for images - Whirlpool Galaxy - I find this one is particularly suggestive and powerful - this is tens of thousands of stars being slowly pulled into a black hole at the center. For me the 'pull from the center' of the cauldron drawing the energy to coalesce is a very powerful thing. Be willing to feel whatever you feel during the process - emotions (for example) - its all happening down there, and I never really noticed it. One thing for me has been a multi-year journey to let my belly, diaphragm, everything just relax - the calm at the center of the pearl is such a contrast to the tension elsewhere in my body. As I practice more and more, personally, I find it is about allowing what is, allowing things to happen, whereas when I started I worked to make things happen. You will notice more clearly the effects that aspects of your outer life have on your inner energy. You've been warned <wink>

I'm posting my old copy of "Dragon & Tiger Medical Chi Gung Instruction Manual" by Bruce Frantzis on paperbackswap.com. I just bought the newer edition, so I'm getting rid of my old one. One of the reasons that I do 'dragon & tiger' is that it helps balance me. If I understand the TCM terms, one can 'tonify', 'regulate' and 'purge' energy. I do other sets and practices that generally 'tonify' me (ie 'charge my batteries'). This set regulates your energy - balances - and in particular it helps you get rid of stuck energy, and has been helpful in sleeping through the entire night during times of very high stress. This is only one of several practices I do daily, and of course your mileage may vary.

I suggest you try 'the deer exercise.' Its in all of Stephen Chang's books and there are many sites on the net that describe the techniques. Yes, there are a lot of variations. I don't remember which book contains the variant I practice. General principles This is about feeling what is happening in your body, not about imagining or visualizing something. When the exercises call for strength, do so gently. As with any exercise, don’t overdo it. Of all of the parts of your body, do you really want to injure your crotch? The first thing is to strengthen your PC muscle. When you are peeing, gently stop, and then resume, and stop and resume. There is a very small muscle that you can build up by exercising. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pc_muscle As with many small muscles, don’t overdo the exercise, maybe once a day at first. Deer Exercise, step 1 (Stephen Chang) Rub the palms of your hands together vigorously. This creates heat in your hands by bringing the energy of your body into your hands and palms. With your right hand, cup your testicles so that the palm of your hand completely covers them. (The exercise is best done without clothing.) Do not squeeze, but apply a slight pressure, and be aware of the heat from your hand. Place the palm of your left hand on the area of the pubis, one inch below the navel. With a slight pressure so that a gentle warmth begins to build in the area of the pubis, move your left hand in clockwise or counterclockwise circles eighty-one times. Rub your hands together vigorously again. Reverse the position of your hands so that your left hand cups the testicles and your right hand is on the pubis. Repeat the circular rubbing in the opposite direction another eighty-one times. Concentrate on what you are doing, and feel the warmth grow. Deer Exercise, step 2 (dunno which book I got it from) To do this, sit in a chair or on the edge of a chair. Inhale slowly, drawing air into your belly – push your belly out gently as you inhale – instead of expanding your chest. Inhale slowly through your nose down to your belly to the count of 15, and as you do, gently contract your perineum and pull your anus in and up. [the perineum is the area between the base of your penis and your anus] Then hold your breath and continue to contract/pull in&up for 10, then relax your muscles and exhale quickly but calmly through your mouth. The exact counts don’t matter – inhale slowly, hold for a while, exhale. While you are inhaling and holding, you can use your breath to gently push down on your prostate while you are gently pulling up on the perineum and anus. Do this about 10 times. At the end, notice if you feel any heat or pressure in your head, if you do, imagine that it is all draining down the front of your body to your navel. This exercise is strengthening your muscles and massaging your prostate gland at the same time. You should notice a change in your muscle strength in a couple of weeks. When you are having intercourse, and you feel like soon you will need to ejaculate – before you need to ejaculate – pause for a moment, inhale, push down and contract your muscles (perineum, anus, pc muscle) for a couple of seconds and relax. Just like the deer exercise Maybe do this a second time. This should reduce the urge to ejaculate. While you are pausing, tell your partner how much you enjoy them, etc. In taoism, one of the causes of nocturnal emissions and premature ejaculation is that your ‘lower gates’ are open, so that the sexual energy can’t be contained. Strengthening these muscles strengthens and closes the ‘lower gates’.

well, some folks believe that you must have some amount of power to get to live in Sonoma County. <big smile from contra costa county> Welcome!

These are the two books I know of, my personal knowledge doesn't extend further than using Dit Da Jow for bruising. Shaolin Secret Formulas for the Treatment of External Injury by Bob Flaws A Tooth from the Tiger's Mouth: How to Treat Your Injuries with Powerful Healing Secrets of the Great Chinese Warrior by Tom Bisio

IMHO it is a good book for a beginner. The method presented in the book is very simple, and is the method that Mantak Chia was taught when he was a student. You can use it too. I used to teach the foundation course in this subject and we taught people three things: the inner smile meditation, the six healing sounds, and how to open their orbit (MCO). All three are good practices. I think of the inner smile meditation as the first steps through the doorway into the world inside your body. The six healing sounds regulate (balance) the six major organs. Here below is the way I was taught (by Mantak Chia) how to open the MCO. It is my favorite method of all the methods I have been taught, and it is no longer the method they teach. Not everybody is up to this method as a beginner - if you can't feel energy yet either use the method in Chia's book or learn some simple qigong (8 pieces of brocade, etc.) until you have the necessary skill. Use the diagram in the book for the names and locations of the points on the microcosmic orbit. Read the safety points in the book and follow them. All of Chia's books have really good safety points, do not ignore them. This is a very brief write up. sit comfortably, eyes closed. Breathe in. Breathe out. With your in breath, feel (not imagine, not visualize) feel energy coming towards you in the breath. Inhale and draw that energy in with your breath into your 3rd eye point on the orbit. Feel it move there, and exhale back out into the universe (horizontally). Do this until you feel 'something' at that point - like warmth. All the points on the orbit are close to the surface of the body - stay shallow here and with all points. Do this until you get something. It might be 10 minutes, 10 hours, 10 days or 10 months. At the end of each practice, regardless of where you have or haven't gotten collect your energy at your navel (see below) When you have something happening here at the third eye point, you add the next point. Next you breath into third eye, and draw the energy down to your palate (tongue touching the roof of your mouth), Feel it move there, and exhale letting the energy go up to the third eye point and out. When you can feel something happening at the palate point - like warmth or tingling, its time to go to the next point. inhale to 3rd eye, draw down to palate point, then draw down to throat point, exhale up to palate to third eye and out. After that, inhale to 3rd eye, draw down to palate, then draw down to throat, then to heart point, exhale up to throat, up to palate up to third eye and out. keep on doing this point by point until you get all the way around. What you are doing is waking up the points one by one and clearing the path between them. This is a superficial wake-up. It can take a while to get a response from a point - hours, days or weeks. Go point by point. Take your time. At the end of each practice session, concentrate on the navel point or the lower dan tien. Do the spiraling technique described in the book - you are collecting all energy you've brought in or woken up - if you want to be safe and health at the end of each practice bring the energy to the navel point or the lower dan tien.

Personally, I'd steer clear of Falun Gong. The reviews I've seen of their qigong is that it is "nothing special". The organization seems quite controversial, some folks think it is a cult. I'm sure there are some pretty extensive discussions of Falun Gong elsewhere on Tao Bums.

Unless your girlfriend is also practicing too, you are "asking for trouble". If your goal is to improve your sex life and relationship, without her active participation I would NOT recommend this. I've tried that multiple times. It never worked for me. With her active participation, you are talking about a difficult path which can lead to the deepest forms of intimacy far beyond anything that can be said in words. In a very real sense, dual cultivation involves mixing the deepest aspects of yourself with that of your partner. In order to start, IMHO, you need a foundation upon which to build. I think you need to have a solid daily non-sexual meditation practice, an active strategy for keeping yourself grounded AND some practice for integrating the sexual energy (which could be from your daily meditation). When I was trained I was taught these were an ongoing requirement. The sexual practices make you very 'high'. You can only build a building as high as the foundation is strong. So if you want to pursue this path, I'd suggest you start developing a daily meditation practice, if you don't have one already. Next, you must open your microcosmic orbit.

I agree with the many people who've talked about foundation practices. They are essential. The sexual practices are dangerous. Bear in mind you are playing with fire. If you follow Mantak Chia's methods (which I have, successfully, since 1988) you must observe the safety precautions. And remember that they are a part of a whole system, and that you need to have a solid daily non-sexual meditation practice, an active strategy for keeping yourself grounded AND some practice for integrating the sexual energy. Most of what I've seen published are fragments of other systems. I see a lot of that not only among the Daoists, but also among the neo-tantra crowd - see Dossie Easton's essay My Tantric Awakening Turned Me Off Sex - very few people talk about the dangers, and fewer know how to deal with them. What I've seen (and experienced myself) is that lots of men wind up using the sexual practices to become more imbalanced, that the readily available sexual ecstasy is not just compelling, it is quite addictive. I'm still only about half way through Bruce Frantzis' book. The thing about the BKF book is that it requires some degree of mastery of outer & inner dissolving by both parties. That is the route I am pursuing now. On a personal note, what I've found is that the Taoist practices are but one of many roads to ecstasy. If your goal is other than to "bring fire and water together' then there are [imho] other easier, safer paths.

Welcome!

OK this is humor, when I saw it I thought of Zhan Zhuang and this discussion. Dilbert's take on Zhan Zhuang <joke> "The topic isn't as complicated as you might think" seems sort of Taoist, don't you think?

Yes. Ignore the safety precautions at your own peril. Fire can cook, but fire can also burn.