Seeker of Wisdom

My response is very simple. Forced celibacy ≠ jing retention.

Vmarco: There's a difference between repressive celibacy, and retaining jing without being forceful in any way about it. Tesla was asexual and he invented cyroengineering, radio astronomy, the Tesla coil, and alternating current. One of the greatest ever inventors. I don't see the connection between celibacy and lack of creativity or intelligence. Aren't young children often quite creative? You won't die if you don't cum for a few days, sheesh... many have experienced that a little moderation - without repression or denial of sexuality - has a wide range of positive effects.

There have been Christian mystics who experienced kundalini, they just called it 'incendium amoris'. Also, if you read The Song of Solomon, it seems to be about opening the heart chakra and various chi circulation that result. I suspect a few Sufis and Christian mystics got, through correct cultivation, to real deep insights beyond theism; and sadly couldn't say exactly what they realised for fear of stoning and the stake...

No, they're all secretly jellyfish in elaborate disguises. They can't move around too much or the seawater starts leaking from their costumes.

Obviously Dominicus couldn't teach some things to some groups. But surely many practices would suit anyone. I can't see anybody having an objection to mindfulness, metta meditation, anapana, and so on. I can see everybody feasibly meditating together and discussing afterwards; then Christians splitting off for a while to pray and discuss the Bible, while Buddhists go chant mantras and discuss sutras, Taoists do qigong and discuss the Tao The Ching; and all then reconvening to carry on.

That's a wonderful project you've set yourself. Good luck. I'd suggest asking around groups/churches/temples institutions in Tennessee for word of mouth, support, donations, advice on catering to these different groups, etc. You could run events on the holidays of various religions to raise money and awareness.

I've had experiences less strong than this, but times where the mind was unusually stable and calm and everything seemed more vivid. It's like normally we're using mental force keeping up conceptual barriers without even knowing it. In these flashes we perceive that effort, and simply stop doing it for a time. I look forward to stripping away layer after layer of the onion. TI, sounds like you're doing well... can't wait to get up the ladder to 'meeting Ramana' levels!

Self fulfilling prophecy...

Well you should probably get an MRI scan or something to be safe. Aside from that, try http://thetaobums.com/topic/25763-zhunti-mantra/ and something like tonglen or metta meditation. Also read a lot of good stuff - heart sutra, metta sutra, diamond sutra, platform sutra, Tao te ching, analects of Confucius, etc. When things improve, get 'The Attention Revolution' by Alan Wallace and practice it.

No idea, either way there seems to be more flowing so...

Maybe I'm imagining it, but the chi in my legs seems a little stronger.

Wherever you are born, it's your mind that ultimately determines how good a time you have (barring actual problems like malaria and starvation of course). Therefore, cultivate and treat other realms as insignificant curiosities.

Apparently the form realm is accessible to someone who's mastered the first jhana, and the formless realm to those who've mastered any of the 4 formless jhanas. See these 11 articles on samadhi: http://www.meditationexpert.com/zen-buddhism-tao/index.htm Really great info.

It shouldn't cause any problems, looks like it just teaches you to take advantage of how memory works. You won't develop habits to always associate things with images and fill the mind with junk because memory techniques like these are used consciously. They just don't work on automatic. If you want to improve your memory, go for it.

It's natural for people to personify things, but seriously a storm is just a natural event - not Thor being pissed off.

Read 'The Attention Revolution' by Alan Wallace. Making your mind a highly toned tool is KEY to success not just in any aspect of cultivation, but in life. Follow up with Thomas Cleary's 'The Sutra of Hui-neng', and you'll have a GREAT start to all this. The practices I suggest to start off with are anapana sati, and some nadi shodana pranayama. However, remember the latter is just an auxiliary to the former.

Adept: Agreed. I just did 80s, long enough to be pushing through resistance while being sensible. That brief time gave a really powerful sense of rising force. Five minutes must be for people quite experienced with horse stance.

I think, therefore I am: is it not more true to say 'thinking happens'? Are you reducible to an 'I', or are you a set of interacting processes? If the body is you, who are you after a haircut? Mind is meaningless without consciousness to perceive it: how could you be a mind? Consciousness is meaningless without things to perceive: how could you be consciousness?

Just shift your pelvis, and see when the position feels right and your back is straight and upright. Not sure how to explain better.

A trance is a state where normal mental functions stop by dropping into a zoned out state. In meditation we cultivate greater mental relaxation, stability and vividness by combining concentration on one thing with an effortless release of distractions and hindrances. This also leads to cessation of thought, but there is a great difference as, for one thing, our deeper prajna functions are unveiled. And jhana is a whole other level! Read The Attention Revolution by Alan Wallace, and see the difference between meditation and trance/laxity.

I've tried a few hand positions, and I think I'll stick with basic fists at sides for now. http://www.shaolin.org/general-2/horse-stance.html#gbaozzm says: Sounds good, and will fit nicely with my other practices.

Trances may have uses, but jhana is surely a better goal. Don't we want to be cultivating clarity, balance and precision, rather than du-yin states where we simply don't know how much of the experience is real and how much is warped by the contents of our subconscious? I would advise avoiding trances.

I just have fists at my waist, like this: http://www.shaolin.org/images-3/general-5/horse-stance04.jpg Tips regarding hand position?

Well, Homserat, I get that heat to some extent from all my practices, and it's a common experience. I think it's just a sign of more chi flowing, and kundalini waking up slightly. No worries.

That definitely adds something. It felt like a gathering force was trying to go up the central channel to the heart chakra. The h.c. and tailbone are warm, and there's a little pressure on something that feels like a flap or valve inside the h.c.