Rara

@Taoist Texts Thanks. It would seem that this is a different Daoism - I forget that the dogmas and rituals are unrelated to the early philosophies.

Hi both I'd like to know a bit more about the origins of Taoism, because I've heard that it's been spoken of as a "folk religion" prior to the Tao Te Ching. Not that it was "Taoism", at that point, but many philosophical ideas from said religion were later highlighted by Lao Tzu. Please let me know if I may be wrong, or is this a common understanding... Therefore, wouldn't the religion of Zhengyi Dao not be what @dmattwads is looking for, as this appears to have come about around the 7th Century? I would have thought that we would be looking at something from around 600 BCE. Apologies if I'm missing something here, history and dates have never been my strong points. I did drop that subject in school as early as I possibly could!

We practice it in context of fighting, but we don't spar. I do other martial arts for that. But yes, you're right. I started with my partner about a year ago and when asking if we wanted to continue with the "beginners class", we said yes. Year one we learnt a form, year two, we will be practicing more and more to actually get it right! Sure, we have sword forms and fan forms, but my practice this lunch time was about 6 moves, over and over again....as opposed to a full 40 minute long form!

Thanks for this - somehow I missed this part the other month. It's the way I eat soup around close friends/those less judgemental. Seems like the actual path of least resistence Not in front of my mum though. I'd never hear the last of it.

I've become a frequent hot water bottle user! Prone to back ache (possibly too much driving, and shivering!) I find this to be just as necessary as layering up. Bottle on the back, moved to feet on a rotation, gets me by. I live in a stone house so wall insulation is non-existant and with that, I find the floor is always cold. Treading on a cold floor for long periods of time is supposedly bad for the kidneys!

Ah! This reminds me, I belive someone on this forum once said there are 3 Qis. Depends which chinese character you're looking at as they mean different things. I could be wrong but I'm sure that's what he said.

Thanks Miroku! To speak of it scientifically, pre-natal would be the "genetics" and how we are probably likely to die based on what runs in the family (both by cause and timing-wise) For example, the majority of my family on both sides have had heart disease later in life and it has been the biggest factor in their deaths. Therefore, practices that reduce the risk would be methods of "preserving jing" (this being the post-natal) If say, some died around age 75 and others around 85, there would be steps that I could take to take me closer to 85... What, then is qi, really? Is this word not interchangeable with post-natal jing? Or am I getting muddled with the language used here?

Anything "third eye" related, I tend to only practice if I find that I've blocked my intuitive/creative and fluid side too much. I went through a phase of lots of "third eye" opening work and I went a bit too barmy. I probaly have a load of posts on here from years ago where I talking all kinds a surreal madness haha. Lower dan tien is better for me as I have a natural tendency to be very highly strung, hot-headed and an over thinker. But my main practice prior to this is empty head...spill thoughts onto the floor and don't worry about walking over them. They really are a waste of space. LDT/grounding work is only possible once those thoughts have been spilled. The way I do this is to allow them to keep pouring, like rain, until they go into overdrive and spill out of the head and land on the floor. Once the storm has stopped (usually takes about 10 mins or so) I can scoop the rest out with a bucket Once all that nonsense is out of the way, I'm able to sit and fill that belly. But work with what you need. It's easy for me to go in one direction and block that third eye out too much, which can leave me stagnant. That's no good.

We're practicing "get fat for winter" over here. Lots more meats, fats and dare I say it, sugars! Berries for fruit, and no shame in eating donut snacks. The latter, don't make a habit of The desired teas are of the "black variety", although I'll drink green after heavy meals, especially after anything meaty. Thick coats. Sometimes if it's particularly chilly, I'll begin Tai Chi in the coat. It's not long before my body heats up and it can be removed. After experimenting, things like chin ups don't seem to be a good idea. I think the muscles are generally too cold for most of the day, so no warm up for a temporary exercise like this can fully warm the back muscles up sufficiently. I've had quite a stiff back this winter!

I'm totally down with this!

Hi Stosh. Have you not seen an animal appear down or to suffer from anxiety before? Sure, they don't have the same expectations on them they way that we do, with the build up of how we are "supposed" to move through life. But how am i supposed to know what caused the animal's symptoms?!

Sure But my question to you is, how do you know this?

Heya Bums. Please check the tumbnail or skip to 2:18 and let me know what the name of this giant-skittle man is? I want one but don't know what to search for!!

Haha. I love the o/d voices!

Hmmmm, I don't know about this. I mean, biologists may have been able to run studies about this but we can't know for sure, right?

Generally yes, the outside persona shows strength and power as a front. I have to play this silly game to show I'm in control, even though I could be equally as in control without putting on the voice and throwing in the lingo to the bosses. However, it's not ALL like this within society and corporate structures. In business training, I have always been advised to do "SWOT analysis" and share these with mentors or even peers. That stands for "Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats". It's a way for us to identify not only what we do well, but also what we don't, and how to turn those weaknesses into strengths and threats into opportunities. Ok, so these are specific practices that probably only a small percentage of people get taught. And mentorship and counselling in itself shows a form of "weakness" to the outside world. This is a shame, because all these are are forms of training. Imagine if a football team didn't train to work on their weaknesses! I was on anti-depressants once. I told a friend, and he said "there's nothing to be ashamed about". Well, the thought of being ashamed hadn't crossed my mind until he mentioned it!

No. Just don't eat you fovourite meal every night. Balance

No, I'd just say that you put yourself through "cold turkey", but weren't quite ready to abstain from such things. I wouldn't take things from the Tao Te Ching literally, or as ritual. The more you (artificially) refine yourself, the further away from tao you will get.

Exactly why I quit. It was quite exhausting for 45 min "buzz" of being on stage. I like music, still. Just in moderation - makes it even more special when you bring out that great track you haven't listened to in ages.

Yeah, I'm staying in the Kensington area! Working in Oxford Circus by day.

The appetite is already gone before I walk in. I'm in the West End, London haha

Of course. But in these more "high end" restaurants, you see more "table etiquette". We feel obliged to play along

Sure. In fact, I have a semi-Indian background and use of hands is a regular thing for me when at home. In England, in a restaurant, I'd feel a bit out of place doing so.

This is EXACTLY what happened. I got fed up half way through haha

Well, I was definitely full half-way through the meal! I started with chopsticks but the part of me that needed to finish what I paid for picked up the spoon to complete the job! I'm away with work, using an allowance so leaving long periods of time between meals - long story....long days! Interesting about the non-use of metal utensils. Ceramic pots maybe doable? I can't imagine putting wood on a stove...