GrandmasterP

....... I've been learning the Beijing 24-step short form with a super teacher and I am finding that a struggle. The QiGong is a doddle compared to the TaiChi as there are only 8 moves in Baduanjin Did you 'chunk' up the moves or make a mnemonic to remember the order?

Yep you could have a point there K. A lot of what we do is kinda traditional, almost Victorian. Seances have hardly changed at all since the early days. You look at those old photos from way back and change the frocks and fashions and it could be now. I just help them out with the mediuming when they are busy these days, the QiGong is my main focus. I tend to just do the monthly Tea with Spirit sittings plus a workshop or two during each year on the spiritualist side nowadays. Mediumship's been good to me for many a year as a paying hobby but you get to a point where you only want to do so much in your 'spare' time and, having a sedentary day job; the QiGong keeps me active.

Respect. That is a hard form to remember.

....... Paranoia?

.... Don't be silly. Santa only comes once a year (bit like a Buddhist). Nice Ninjas come round whenever they think you need cheering up a bit.

http://www.ugle.org.uk/ There ya go.... Have fun.

.... Nah, these are the nice Ninjas. They sneak into your house silently and leave thoughtful little gifts.

Don't have to be right just cos i believe it k. That's what I tells em and it works so hey ho. NE one's explanation is as good as another's with this stuff i reckon. Proof of the pudding and all that. If it works, goody. When it doesn't , they still don't get their money back cos we tells 'em... 'You mustn't resist the spirits next time'...

Yep saw that, moon was down to. Doesn't usually get me that way, that bad though. May have been a touch of the 'man flu' nothing worse than man flu. Fine and dandy from yesterday morning and chipper as is our friend old Mr. Chipper now; even though I am at work 'til 9.

............... Ninjas?

..... The Co-Masons accept women, That's a Theosophist offshoot. Eastern Star in USA is one such.

Spiritualism is fun too but hard to find outside of the UK, very few and far between are spiritualist meeting places in USA or Europe.

To join the Freemasons you have to be invited. Also pretty well connected, fat, middle aged and male as a rule. Spot a freemason by giving their secret handshake (find it online). They do a lot for charity though albeit their own charities. Always one of our male Royals is the Grandmaster. Duke of Kent at present I believe. Most of these magikal hermetic societies cater to the sadder loserer sections of society usually dodgy men. Witchcraft is your best bet or Paganism, very jolly crew are your Wiccans and Pagans.

........ All kids are destined to turn into their own parents to a greater or lesser degree given time. My one speech day pleasure whenever I had to say anything back in school teaching days was to have the students turn round and look for their parents or carers-of and give them a ave. then I'd say. 'And that's exactly who you will be in thirty years time, no better, no worse, just like the person you just waved to'. Sometimes there were muffled sobs. Ah life was good.

Hidden object finding is a secret that even if I told ya, you would not be able to replicate it right away as you could with all the other scams.. Not cos it's magic but cos it's one of the few tricks, only one I can think of at the mo, that need to be physically practiced a lot to have it work. That said for mind reading you need to memorise a code but that's pretty easy cos it's a sorta poem.

It will work, we usually have results, last workshop we did was nine tables, four or five to a table and all flew eventually, there are piccys in one of the mags, local press was there too. It's perfectly natural with a perfectly natural explanation just that most folk don't believe that explanation (spirits are physically moving the table VIA the table tilters) nor the evidence of their own eyes sometimes.

Amen to that K. Some days it just don't happen does it? Saturday was a stinker for me, no idea why. Soggy - soggy - soggy all day until quite late on.

Tell that to Pharaoh Tutankhamun.

The Chinese have bought a lot of Brazilian grazing land according to recent article in the Times, Iron Ore mines too. You'll never beat the market, who has the most cash always wins; and the Chinese have most of our money cos they are just about the only ones making the stuff that we tend to buy. They could have our land here if the price was right but it's probably too small for them to be interested in.

It's never ever done using crossbow for some reason although if the claims were correct then one presumes it could and should be.

Tricks are an essential tool in the Shaman or Medium tool box. They serve an important purpose historically and practically. Historically in that when a medium pitched up in a new town usually on market day he would draw a crowd (called 'drumming' in the trade) by sleight of hand and a few 'miracles', then move into his spiel to either sell nostrums or book sittings with punters. There are still one or two doing that in England mainly in summer seaside resorts, they are a dying breed though. These days tricks are essential. Take table tilting. My workshop demonstration will always include a dem of how tilting is and was faked (special gimmick worn on the forearm) . I do the same with billet reading (one in front) , mind reading (code plus suggestion), shock hands (Newtonian mechanics plus auto suggestion) and finding previously hidden objects (that's a secret) . Unless folk understand how the scams work then they are easily gulled as per one or two western writers on their holidays over in Java some years ago. That John Chang trick of being shot or shooting someone with an air rifle using a pre marked slug is one of the oldest tricks in the book.

Phosphor matches, slightly wetted; work well too.

If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck and looks like a duck....

QiGong isn't constrained by medical/spiritual. Qi is Qi hence many martial artists play QiGong of TaiChi or both to improve their arts, martially.