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Xing & Ming in the Daoist Tradition The first paragraph of a recent article I and another member of the American Dragon Lineage recently wrote. In the Daoist worldview, the end goal of attaining the Source or Origins is by cultivating our ultimate nature (xing), and our life-destiny (ming). These concepts are two of the many complex concepts informing Daoist cultivation. In the early phases of the Daoist tradition, these concepts were thought of as a single unity. As the Daoist view evolved, innate nature and life-destiny became differentiated into two distinct entities. Innate nature became recognized as our original and inherent nature which is connected to the Dao (The Way). Innate nature is also perceived as our heart-mind (xin) with which we were born, thus innate nature is associated with the heart and spirit (shen). Life-destiny became known as our fate as decreed from the intelligence of Heaven. Life-destiny is associated with the kidneys and vital essence (jing-one of the three treasures). Both states are cultivated through stillness practices and movement practices like qigong, daoyin, and other yangsheng methods. In the process, we undertake these states as a dual cultivation of innate nature and life-destiny, which culminates in an ultimate state of Stillness, the same as the ultimate reality, the Dao. The rest of this article is available for members of the American Dragon Gate Lineage. A new membership level was recently created. Contact shifu Michael for details: qigongdragon.com

So something that intriqued me a few days ago watching Elon Musk talk on Joe Rogan was the way he processes information. By the look of it, his eyes move a lot as if he's recalling information or visualising things in detail on-the-spot, but it also reminds me of like very fast processing speed. Do people that have higher than average intelligence have more natural Qi development? Are their bodies just more efficient at organising information? Are they healthier than normal people? Is it a jing thing - with genetic factors (thus past-life merit/cultivation) being the primary cause of their intelligence? Or is it rather... that they have a more natural ability to enter samādhi and become fully absorbed as a consequence of above-average concentration; perhaps trained from childhood due to parental influences or just natural interest? Is it possible to enhance basic levels of cognitive performance through the internal arts ... and if so, to what degree? We read about samadhi and mental absorption and changing the physiology using internal alchemy; but while I can see it affecting your ability to concentrate and your intuitive capabilities quite dramatically (including but not limited to things like 'reading' people/energetics through the 'third eye') does it really enhance intelligence in terms of depth of mental processing, faster pattern recognition, logic, reasoning, etc. A thing I remember my Buddhist friend was that once truly enlightened and one had entered the stream - one would have access to a sort of wisdom stream - which would allow you to, if you made yourself a fit vessel (such as through studying the material) much more 'prone' to mental insights into any topic of study you put your mind to. What's the limit? Is there one? This may have been discussed before, but I'd be very curious to hear people's thoughts on this topic. Perhaps especially interesting to me at the moment because I'm spending all my time learning hundreds upon hundreds of facts and algorithms for my final medical school exam.

I am more than 40 years old now, but Gongfu and Internal Cultivation keep me young and vigorous, I believe my youth will keep when I am 50 years old. Now show my pictures which were taken when I was 40.