Truth Seeker

Thanks for sharing, Jedi.

I'm actually not a big fan of online forums because I find it a sad reflection of human weakness when conversations devolve into anonymous insults, weak reasoning and bragging. Rudeness is intolerable, and it grows like an unstoppable virus in online communication. Now and then I'll read someone on here who is truly polite, thoughtful and intelligent, and it gives me a sense of relief. We take the good with the bad, I guess, and online forums are the only way to crowd-source information quickly. As a quick introduction, I'm a taijichuan practitioner and I have a meditation practice. They've led to a steady increase in qi, which is a wonderful feeling, as well as an adventure all its own. I've read quite a few books on Taoism and inner cultivation, and I'm always interested to hear of the paths that others have taken in cultivating their energy, and where it has led. Merry Christmas to all, and best wishes for a healthy, fulfuilling practice.

Good point. If I'm not mistaken, it's accepted knowledge now in physics that all matter is, at the subatomic level, just energy. So the interesting thing is the constant transmutation of some energy, which the Tao of Physics wrote about. That empty space is actually fields of potentiality in which energy coalesces as subatomic particles for a fraction of a second and then breaks apart again. To me, that sounds like wuji - pure potential before it forms "solid" matter and becomes either yin or yang, a part of taiji. Perhaps this applies to the book's definition of qi as well, and not just empty space way out there in the universe. That is, perhaps this potentiality fills space all around us and within us, and our path is to be sensitive and harmonious with it. The particle/wave phenomenon really blows my mind, I can't grasp how something can be both, even though I've read multiple explanations.

Sure. I practice the Yang long form, not the short 24 form, and it takes about 20 minutes to do the set at my chosen speed (plus I do some qigong beforehand). That's enough time for the energy to ramp up. By about halfway through the set, I feel the qi circulate and permeate like a light energetic shield. My body becomes more relaxed yet alive, precise and even more flexible. There is probably some chemical involvement, perhaps endorphins being released, but the sensation is distinctly different from anything I've felt in exercise or other purely physical activities. When I meditate and focus on collecting energy, I get a similar sensation. Key components are relaxation, a quiet mind, and emptiness - just following the Taoist teachings of being an open, clean slate, and then letting the energy come in without trying to impatiently force anything. Another key component is periods of abstinence for about 1-2 weeks. As commonly known, creation of jing takes a lot of qi. So by combining abstinence, meditation, and qigong/taijichuan, it's a fairly simple recipe for build-up of qi in the body. Some amount of qi circulation remains at all times. Literally, I feel this light energy flowing throughout my body constantly and it's very pleasant. At night as I'm about to drift off to sleep, it gets very strong in my torso and especially my legs, very much like an electric current, and once or twice has actually become uncomfortably intense and made it difficult to fall asleep. So it's an interesting journey.

I know it's an old thread, but I just joined and am currently reading Nei Yeh, so I thought I'd blow the dust off this thread. The quote above was striking to me when I first read it in the book because if you think about it, it's really a metaphysical claim about the nature of the "vital energy" (qi). It comes and goes, and is therefore a real "thing" even if the question of mass is not addressed (i.e. it's in our minds and could be intangible like thoughts). It's smaller than an atom yet so vast there's nothing outside it. That seems to possibly be a massively important metaphysical statement in two short, unassuming lines. Since nothing is smaller than it, is it the building block of reality itself? And it permeates the universe, nothing is beyond it. Of course we're used to this concept ever since Star Wars, but this also reminds me of The Tao of Physics and the idea that energy - constantly changing and even popping in and out of perceptible reality - is the basis of all matter, and that this is line with ancient Taoist thought.

Weird, I click on the Longmen Pai links and I get a "403 - Forbidden" message about restricted access. Thanks to those who shared their experiences at the retreats. I'm curious to know how it compares to prior experiences you've had with meditation, qigong or nei gong? Would you consider the energy practices taught there to be intended for a beginner level or intermediate?

At the most exact level, every thought and theory could be qualified by saying it's just our perception of things, but in general we do divide things into the objective and subjective. And while our perception of cold, hot, etc. is subjective, that doesn't change the objective concept that cold is yin and yang is hot. So I don't think the CONCEPTS of yin and yang are "always relative." That said, and going back to the OP, during inhale/exhale different parts of the body may seem yin or yang depending on what they're doing, but my understanding is that as a whole, inhale is yin because it's receiving (moving inward) and exhale is yang because it's expelling (moving outward). This is the primary action of breath, and that dictates yin or yang, despite what the lungs, diaphragm, carbon dioxide, etc. are doing.

Thanks for your post, Manitou, and for sharing how this relates to you on a personal level. I think it's wonderful that you're applying this knowledge to real life and real choices, rather than as a hobby or exercise that we occasionally pick up and then put back down. I think you hit the nail on the head when you wrote about deciding how much energy to put toward making a living. Next to whom we choose to marry, it's the biggest life-changing decision we must make. I still struggle with it constantly when I feel my work has taken me too far away from spending time deeply experiencing life and practicing my chosen arts. I daily look forward to retirement, though it's years and years away. But I know it would be a crime to hold off living fully until I do retire, so the struggle to find balance continues daily. Nei Yeh is definitely a fantastic book for helping me to find that balance - the perfect reminder as to what is really important.

That's clever to connect the passage to "mental eating", I'd say it fits. When it comes to forgetting worries, my feeling was that it's dangerous for everyone, but is perhaps more understandable or permissable in those who are younger and have more responsibilities, whereas older people are already physiologically weaker and are therefore more susceptible to the ill-effects of worry. Therefore, if they don't move beyond worry, it can literally kill them. Realizing you have no control and therefore not worrying is, I think, not exactly in line with Taoist thought. Remember, the sage does nothing yet nothing is left undone. So I think it's more a matter of aligning yourself with the Tao and realizing that you don't NEED to control anything because you're in the flow of the Tao, and as long as you act from there, all things will become as they should be.