BaguaKicksAss

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It is the foundation practice of Bagua, to build your Bagua body . It helps build, strengthen and elasticize (the tendons in this case) your body. It also helps get you rooted, grounded and sunk during the entire practice. It also involves much twisting and turning. The circle walking process completely changes you from the inside out, and outside in, on many many levels. It tears you apart then puts you back together, completely changed. It is also about change, continual change, which is one of the principals for the martial art. It is also an amazing healing practice; with all those channels and energy paths being worked at the very precise angles and ways they need to be for clearing and healing. It also builds power, again on many levels. Sink, twist, tork, then walk. That is all. Enjoy .

Everytime I get an email notification of a new post in a thread I'm following which contains a link; it starts out with the right link, then the forums somehow auto-send it to this link: http://thetaobums.com/topic/64-reprinted-from-dontmarrycom/#entry160

If you are a Bagua practitioner, you can circle walk them . It goes far beyond that, but I only know about this via hints and impressions, so can't speak of it, but just to say that there is much to the trigrams.

How cool is that, folks can do a home retreat and follow along . I also like the price.

Also to note, google can also show you areas which it doesn't show the public. For example I could get backroom results via google when I was staff.

What you describe sounds like moving to a new city. Also many people end up where they have to do a career change at some point in their lives, sounds similar too. Also most marriages don't last more than half a dozen years, and how many times have we thought someone was the perfect one to look back later and wonder what we were thinking?... I would actually say all that you describe sounds relatively easy compared with mundane changes I have gone through over the years lol. Perhaps most people stay in the same place/job/relationship their entire lives? Hard to imagine though. For example think of all the folks who move to another country, or go back to school at 50. I would say more to plan for it. Save up beforehand if you can, if you can't, oh well it's more important than most dead end jobs people have anyways (a majority of the population have jobs they hate). Or perhaps plan it when you are in between jobs anyways; especially good for contract workers. Perhaps also when you are single, or when you are with someone understanding enough to get it. If your spiritual path is so important, why would you be with someone who doesn't understand (and can't keep up) anyways? Now friends, well you definitely don't want to interact with them during a retreat, as they try their best (unknowingly) to keep us the same. But there is no reason they wouldn't be there for us when we get back. Just explain to them beforehand where you are going and why. Of course there is the chance you may have changed so much you have no interest in the same people afterwards. Plan for it, but don't put it off to long or you will never get around to it. There are many times we have to pick up the pieces and start anew, that is sort of a part of life. I personally prefer doing it at times where I have clarity and know what I'm after on a deeper level . But something as simple as having everything you know and feel comfortable with, and hold onto disappear, in exchange for an exponentially greater connection with your path and the divine? Who wouldn't go for that? It's only stuff and things, they come and go. The only exception I can see if is you are married with children, you wouldn't want to uproot them. Though some people have successfully performed it at home with young children around. The good news is that the job/people/relationships/etc. afterwards end up being far better afterwards as they are what your heart and higher self truly desire. Not for everyone though, obviously, but definitely worthwhile for some. Now from your example I'm thinking of all of the Tibetans who have relocated to Canada (many in my city), who are trying to find housing, jobs, community and lives here. Edit to add: I find it odd that he feels westerners wouldn't be fundamentally changed after a 3 year retreat? I can't imagine someone not experiencing profound change. There's got to be mundane business oriented Tibetans too?

There are quite a few other local taichi teachers who are quite good .

Ohhhh that sort of thing . I wouldn't personally call that backlash, I would call that exactly what you were wanting from the retreat. Basically performing the Abramelin (or similar) working is stating that your magical/spiritual path is the most important thing to you in your life; you wish to discover your true will, then spend the rest of your life performing your true will (with the help of your HGA/Deity of course). I have known some people where their life did not change from such endeavors, and others where it did. Basically if how you are living when you start the working, does not serve your highest spiritual self/path, then it will go by the wayside. Who would want it any differently? Sort of like the Taoist folks who go to do a 6 month to many year long retreat in the mountains; they aren't going to stay the same and have their life stay how it is now. They want something greater (or perhaps one could say lesser). Of course if one has already practiced magic for years beforehand, a bunch of this removing what is not in your highest goal, has already been happening the entire time. Though the Abramelin still completely changes you as a person, as it is quite a bit of transformation occurring in such a short (6 or 18 months) period of time. Some folks go from practicing magic once in awhile, while living a mostly mundane life, to doing an extremely intense and transformational spiritual retreat! That is quite the change! Yes it also does happen with initiations, and also magic in general. Actually sometimes it just happens with one series of cleansing baths and a few Enochian rituals (the poor guy, but he still feels it was needed and long overdue). So I guess it depends on your perspective and why someone has decided to do this sort of operation.

OK "focusing on" would fit better than worrying .

First world problems? It is interesting though, some things which seem like nothing to some devastate others.

Or that! Are the Buddhist ones a particular path and specific? My personal bias says that some specifics and the path and path ancestors guiding you helps lots. Though it is possible that just a 3 year retreat on its own with a spiritual mindset could likely cause just as many wonders and results. That is amazing that you have planned ahead for this, many kudos. Please do let us know when you are done what you experienced. Even 6 months is rather life changing. You will definitely come out a different, and much more connected person. When you do return into the world, if you do, just make sure that you set aside some time each and every day to keep up the same practice you did on the retreat so it stays with you . PS the freedom bit that you feel during these things is indescribable...

I challenge everyone to put down the books and partake in the 6 month ordeal! Yes, yes, 6 months is a long time, but I have to say that I learned and progressed more in that 6 months than I had in the 12 or so years of DAILY practice before that. Oh alright, or at least plan for it at some future time... Highly recommended.

Towered as in like the tower card? I don't recall Aaron Leitch running into such trouble? I haven't had much trouble, accept for odd stuff for a couple of months after about 3-4 months after the finish. I think if someone performs the Abramelin working, then stops or slacks after terrible things can happen. Unfortunately many do tend to stop or slow down a lot after . Or get distracted by other things, or by life, or.... Though I also feel Abramelin and the whole KCHGA thing is sort of akin to an initiation, you are just starting to put your big boy/girl pants on now , so time to get some serious work done... No excuses after this sort of thing. Actually I think that would be an interesting discussion; the lives and times of people afterwards. One of my pet peeves though is modern magicians always coming up with blowback theories about everything these days. I would say it's more didn't quite do something right (this happens to everyone from time to time), or not understanding the work at hand, more than actual such and such causes blowback.

You live in one of the largest cities in the world, many teachers . Ask around. Many even teach for free or trade.

A backlash how? Books really have been saying the oddest things these days. I haven't seen any mention of that in the past 10 years on the Abramelin yahoo group, of people who have completed the working. I have to admit I'm also skeptical reading about HGA experiences from magicians who never disappeared from the internet for even a month, let alone 6.

Worrying about oneself and ones path is far more important than worrying about others and what they are up to. Sure if it difficult when they are around you all day everyday, but it can be done with practice. The handy thing about the external mundane world is that it helps us to learn about ourselves. While you are at it, making plans early for the type of life/situation you do want is good too. However, changing the external only seems like change for a time, but then the same old things tend to come back up. So a balance between what we feel is how a cultivator should live, and some practicality, is essential.

Have you tried mantra yourself for many sessions and found it to not work? I find it can work really really well depending on the mantra. Well actually those particular experiments were likely combined with mudras too. I personally wouldn't want a practice of only mantra though, but not due to effectiveness or not.

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I strongly recommend an in person teacher to guide you. Sure while these things do affect, they should not take over or be one's primary focus (that just gives them more power). Having something teach you and help you ground it out along the way will do wonders. You can also do a good cleanse and luck series.

One day we drove past a small festival in town. It was a group of people from India (first generation who have moved here) doing martial arts demonstrations with those ever so awesome giant swords and such . Hadn't seen that before.

What else do you feel is needed? Or are you meaning more that just random no-mind meditation doesn't cut it? Personally I feel that how my brain works most of the time is a pretty conditioned contrivance! Meditation is sort of helping peel away some of that conditioning...

This brings up my wondering of how Buddhist practitioners get rid of their internal crap? Or does it sort of just fall away naturally with the work and the non-being?

Is it wrong of me to be reminded of skittles ads right now?