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Hi I am a practitioner of internal martial arts for about 1.5 years now, I am a skeptic when it comes to mystical thing but have a few strange experience I hope everyone can help with and to learn more about other people and their experience.

It is with great joy and humility that I join this online forum dedicated to the study and practice of Taoism. As a virtual gathering place for those who share a deep interest in this ancient philosophy, I am grateful for the opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals from all over the world. As we engage in discussions and share our experiences, I hope that we can all learn from one another and deepen our understanding of the Tao. May we all walk the path of the Tao with openness, humility, and a spirit of curiosity. Thank you for creating this space, and I look forward to exploring the mysteries of the Tao with you all.

My name is Fr. Cassian. I am an Eastern Orthodox priest, and a lifetime reader and student of the Daodejing. Over the last 5 years I have begun translating passages in a desultory way in an effort to understand the work in a deeper way. I am a theologian, writer, am married to a professional poet and professor of literature, and recently co-founded a small publishing house, Shack Simple Press, LLC. I have availed myself, often enough, of the corporate wisdom of this site when working on my own translations, and I thought that it might be time to formalize my relationship with the group. I have, for quite some time, found this to be a remarkable and interesting group of independent scholars. I hope my own contributions will ultimately be as helpful and illuminating as I have found many of yours' to be.

Hello, my name's Daeron I'm a beginner in the internal arts and my main passion is skateboarding.

Hello, this place has been on my radar for a decade, when I came across a fascinating man, initials D.H., who was posting frequently on abovetopsecret at the time. I practiced Tai Chi/Qi Gong as a teenager and am keen to get back into it. I also have some questions/advice that would only be relevant here. Be well!

Hello group! First post. I'm pleased to be among so many playing around with energy. I have ventured down many rabbit holes regarding energy work and have an affinity for radionics/radiesthesia and the projection of thought due to being a farmer thus practising most days. Other interests include Bio Dynamics, playing guitar, singing and observing. I've selected this moniker as it translates roughly "The strength at the base of the pillar" ....... I'd like to see what I could learn and hopefully add to the discussions on the forum and do so in a humble manner. Thank You all.

Hi - I'm very impressed with the wealth of knowledge being shared in this forum,and very glad to be here. As for me, I'm an ordained priest of the White Cloud Buddhist Society (Bai Yun Fo She).living in Seattle USA. I conduct Buddhist services at various ,(mostly Vietnamese) temples and teach at a local university. Presently I'm trying to cut back on my activities, as I am 83 years old (!) I look forward to exchanging information on the to forum - thanks for having me.

Hi everyone. I found this space some time back, but bookmarked it to come back to it... and finally I have. I've been practicing Tai Ji and Qigong for almost 19 years, and also was a professional Chinese medicine practitioner, but have retired (maybe temporarily, maybe not) from clinical practice a little over a year ago. I used to teach Qigong and Tai Ji also, but am not doing that at present either, as well as lecture TCM students in History & Philosophy. I'm currently working on a translation of the Yi Jing, and for some reason the Dao De Jing. I'm hoping to be able to share ideas and assistance with translations, happy to also share my experience with medical and qigong related topics too, if anyone needs it. One of the things I'm looking for is access to texts in original chinese, as well as translations of the more 'obscure' Daoist texts. I have a fascination with the Quanzhen school, mainly because I'm equally interested in Confucian and Buddhist philosophy also, and love the x-over there. Looking forward to reading your posts. 😊🙏🏽☯️

Hi there! I've been reading this forum for a couple of years and have learnt many useful things as a result. There are so many experienced people with different insights to share, I hope I can learn more by interacting with others here, especially since I've reached a point in my breathing and meditation practices where I feel like I'm facing specific obstacles and potential pitfalls without having yet found a teacher to guide me through them.

Hello, I am a middle-age fart with 3 Kids and a Wife and I am doing my best to bring myself back into a state of balance and good health. I am somewhat new to Qigong (I started practicing through Ken Cohens CD/DVD's some 7 or 8 years ago, but didn't stick with it long, and renewed my interest a few months ago after stumbling upon Sifu Anthony Korahais online instructional for Lifting the Sky (thanks Anthony!)), though I have been practicing various types of meditation and shadow-work throughout the last few decades. I also found interest in Dao through the Tao Te Ching as a youngster, and I am always working to apply its wisdom to my life. I've been on this site a few times over the years while searching for various things, and I'm happy to finally join the site and get to know some of you better!

Hey there, thank you so much for letting me register on this awesome website. I'm here to explore more about the powers and benefits of Qi Gong as well as going deeper into the teachings of Taoism. I've been meditating for 2 years, and I use most of my spare time on personal development. See you around! - alphaparty

Hello all. I'm new here. I've been practicing on my own for a few years, working with Mantak Chia's system a bit and reading the Tao Teh Ching and Zhuangzi. I've now started training on dragon gate lineage. I'm here to share and learn. I look forward to taking part in the forum. Nice to meet everyone!

Hi, I am new here. I read 'dao de ching', 'zhuangzi' and 'The secret of the golden flower'. I am practicing kuji in mudras and breathing meditation for almost a week. I hope I can learn more from everyone here. Please take care of me.

Hi, I’ve been practicing Flying Phoenix qi gong since July 2017. I read through the FPCK thread here through the fall and winter of 2017 - 2018, and continued to check in occasionally for updates. After the thread went private, I let go of the desire to read the thread... but now I’m curious to see if there’s anything new. So here I am actually signing up and saying hello! Anyway, I’m very much a beginner, just looking for info to supplement qi gong practice.

Hello all: I've been interested in daoism since late 2014, especially early Daoism, the Ddj, and Zhuangzi. Looking forward to sticking around for a long while, and scratching many of my itches of questions regarding dao along the way. Cheers, Z

Hello there, About a week ago, after listening to Tao Te Ching audiobook on YouTube for the second time, I recognized how deeply a part of mine got fascinated by this extraordinary teaching, and I found myself at the beginning of a journey of studying it. There is something about the combination of wisdom-filled simplicity and mind-blowing metaphorical depths in this book that totally makes me "go nuts" - yet I don't suppose there's a need for me to argue my point about this; being surrounded by many tao-lovers in this community, that is. What led me to look for a community like this is an unfathomable world of TTC translations out there, and the surprising amount of difference there seems to be between some of them. I find myself binge-reading as many interpretations available online as possible in order to get a clear sense of what this or that line could possibly mean. And I feel a need to find a space where I could discuss (or find ongoing discussions) about certain parts of this wonderful book in order to make sense of some especially vague parts. My gratitude to you, beautiful people, for keeping this community alive and well; and I hope we all will have a wonderful time here. Respectfully, Vidmantas from Lithuania, Europe.

Hey everyone, my name is Mike, found this forum a few days ago and excited to explore. I've been practicing Tai Qi for about 2 yrs now and was recently introduced to the more Qi Gong aspects of the practice through a workshop which has been fantastic. Also practicing meditation for several years although to say I have a regular sitting practice might be a bit generous.... Other than that I enjoy cooking (lots of soup!), a bone dry sense of humor, long long walks with my two awesome dogs, and am currently struggling my way through anything by David Bohm. Hope you're all having a great day, look forward to exploring the forums more

Hello Everyone, I've stumbled across this site while looking for somewhere to discuss the uncertainty I feel after reading differing translations of the DDJ. Many of you have taken the same route, I imagine! I can't wait to pick the minds of the many folks here who are no doubt more studied than I. Your Friend, Amigo

I have followed TDB off and on for some time as a guest. So I decided to sign up now. I really enjoy this site as a great source of information. It is like having access to a high powered research staff. And it is well balanced and not going off in any one dimension. I am a scientist by nature and schooling. It is fascinating to see the merging of multiple paths of inquiry and understanding. Only a few years ago some "science" groups were trying to discredit any approach to knowledge about the universe that was not by their proclaimed doctrine. Now it appears that science is developing the measuring tools powerful enough to observe what other traditions have discovered using "esoteric" practices. My primary practice is Zhineng Qigong. I have been mostly focused on the health and healing aspects of Zhineng. I am now wanting to learn more about special abilities. I am also interested in encouraging more acceptance of the health and social benefits.

I'm a spiritual wanderer, wanderlust, (thus the name VanderLutz, also my moniker as an surface designer at Society6) It's also a play on my ancestral name, Lutz. But that's just anecdotal fluff. The real reason I decided to join is that Buddhism resonates with me more than any other religion I've studied. Most recently I traveled to Thailand and learned a great deal about Theraveda Buddhism. I respect their more formal tenets of holding to Buddhist scripture, but am generally drawn to all Buddhist spirituality, mainly for the principle of the Middle Way and maintaining equanimity. Equanimity is becoming easier to achieve as I get older. I only wish that I could say the same for the world in that regard. The world is so out of balance now. So if there was just one reason for my wish to join this forum it would be to have an exchange with others in order to achieve and promote equanimity.

Hello, Everyone! I stumbled upon The Dao Bums a few weeks ago and have been lurking ever since. It’s nice to find an active forum where people are discussing Taoism, Buddhism, and other related topics. About me: I’m just a guy living his life. Once upon a time I considered myself a Taoist and perhaps I still am. It’s difficult to say. I practice mindfulness whenever I can. That’s a lot harder than it sounds. The mind wants to wander, forward, backward, sideways - anywhere but here and now. It’s like herding cats. There’s a lot of good information on this forum. I look forward to getting to know everyone here, and giving you the opportunity to know me. -Lost in Translation

Hi, I've been having The Tao Bums come up in searches for a while and have been pleased with the quality of the information presented and the discourse. I finally decided to request membership, so I can access more areas of the forum. This is my introductory post, where I thought I' provide some information about me and my practice. I'm in my early 50s, reside in New York's Mid-Hudson Valley and more a quiet reader than an active poster. In terms of background, I've considered myself a Daoist for some time now; and practice meditation, neigong, qigong and the Chinese martial arts. My daily meditation focuses on Daoist techniques because I was briefly introduced to the basics of qi cultivation through my martial arts studies and found it resonated with me. I've continued to further my knowledge through guidance from my teacher and personal research; with my main focus being cultivation and micro- and macro-cosmic orbit with reverse breathing. My martial arts studies encompass Northern and Southern Shaolin, Chang-tze style taijiquan, baguazhang from BP Chan's lineage, and Xing Jing (also from Chang Tung Sheng's lineage). While I've developed some reasonable levels of skill in some areas of the arts, I realize that I've only scratched the surface and consider myself a someone walking an eternal path; always learning and continually evolving. I look forward to learning more from the community. Thanks, Michel

Hello thinking people. My name is Eddie Bull and I'm a pseudonym. I have another one and his name is Swami Guru Yogi Bare a Boo Boo. Not just pseudonyms, branding projects too. And then there's me, Barrie. Have you ever noticed that every loser, stupid, character on TV is called Barrie? So just call me Al. My interests are living a good life, comedy, esoteric philosophy, comparative religion study, and everything else. I am particularly interested in the current Human condition. To that end I focus on early Greek philosophy and the Enlightenment period. Natural Law, The Social Contract, all that stuff makes me roll around in laughter. Sir Michael Caine, OK actor and nice guy said today in an interview "I would rather be a poor master than a rich servant. Very profound, I wonder if he stole from someone? As for the title of this post, it's a title for a book I am writing whose actual title is undetermined. It refers to a book written by Rhonda Byrne "The Secret." It became a multi-billion dollar industry and is complete bull hockey of course. I have a chapter explaining that. I am inspired at the moment by Sadhguru, founder of the Isha foundation, that guy cracks me up. I was reading a reply to a post that references Sadhguru by a member called GrandmasterP, so I wanted to try and connect with that dude as I liked his words. I'm 12, no wait I'm 58 and labelled by Society as a Disabled Veteran, but that's a whole different story, Peace~

Hello guys, i'm glad to have found you and the clear criticism on the AYP system. It always felt something was missing. Recently I experienced a kundalini overload as result of storing too much energy in my brain during a tantric intercourse practice, it left full with energy but very very grumpy. Luckily there were a view qi-gong books in the bookshelf and doing the microcosmic breathing in a tree pose helped a lot. From this moment I stepped away from AYP and found you and i'm very happy to have found a forum were open discussions can be held without personal resentment . Please allow me to introduce myself and ask you for advice on finding a simple practice system. My name is Pieter-Bas Prins since the age of 12 I have been introduced to spiritual practices through the book "The Wisdom of the Enneagram" and experienced for the first time myself and the world through the "Witness state". After a while it felt like i could turn on/off the "Witness state" like a switch. However after half a year i totally forgot about spiritual practices again until much later. My mother introduced me to the lovely poetry of Rumi and the Sufi movement in The Netherlands which summer retreats will always hold dear memories in my heart as well as Vilayat Inayat Khan and the name he gave to me Chadash. After lower school I was not sure what to do in live after finally going to University to study Clinical Psychology and the master Developmental Psychology. It the moment there are four passions in my life: (1) the lovely 3 year relationship with my current girlfriend. (2) helping others achieve psychological autonomy, a passionate life and joy. (3) Promoting self-sustainable living, in the sense of generating ones own food, energy and reducing ones ecological food print, for reasons of living an autonomous life in every sense and to be aware of the whole cycle of life and the consequences of ones actions. (4) Bringing healing and joy to the people around me, currently taken the form of preparing tea ceremonies combined with delicacies and mindfulness practices. For the past 4 years I have been practicing according to the AYP system, with slight adjustments. I engaged in 3 hours of deep meditation and spinal breathing a day. I focused heavily on having a mindful state of mind throughout the whole day as to observe all occurring vibrations, emotions and thoughts objectively and to reformulate the opinions i have given them. Starting with the enjoyment of cold showers and enjoying the rain (very necessary in The Netherlands ). This led to the most profound experiences I have ever had in my life. Taking cold showers and walking in the rain became blissful experiences, it became very easy and natural to communicate with others through the hearth with love and empathy, i became filled with tremendous amounts of energy and loving feelings radiating from my hearth trough my whole body and finally I was able to enter "The witness state" again like turning a switch on/off. My live was filled with bliss and unrequited love for all things... Until I could not relate to the problems of my flat mates anymore. All struggles they complained about seemed meaningless, illusions that led to procrastination or barriers to prevent themselves from opening up to others. I could not enjoy playing video games, watching cinematic movies and only some tv-shows (without American drama). It all felt so unnatural and unrelatable, barriers and excuses that stop us from accepting reality, afraid... I stopped practicing (i'm very regretful until this day...). Half a year ago i started practicing again. Back from the start but with a great longing to what i once experienced.. I tremendously enjoyed being filled by love, bliss, perceiving the once negative stimulation in life cold, rain, etc. with joy and to drift away on blissful vibrations in deep meditation. Unrequited love is still there, not overwhelming hearth warming and ever present but a conscious choice. However i would like to learn a lot more about Chi and healing energies. However the Qi-gong books i posses are very complicated with a million different exercises. Do you know of a system with simply and clear instruction building up like the AYP system around a few basic, simple core practices added on with healing practices. That can be combined with concentration meditation to develop stillness, blissful vibrations and a mindfulness state of mind. Simplicity is key as I would like to further research these practices in Clinical and developmental psychology settings. The current mindfulness based therapies are only suitable for a very limited group of people and are plagued with a great number of drop-outs and unwillingness to participate in daily meditation at home for the course of the therapy but however show great benefits for those who do. Thank you so much for the time it took to read this and, in advance, for the advice you have given. Warm regards and bliss to you, Edit: I'll be trying "Cobra Breath, Kundalini practices!" by Seth Ananda for some time. Does anyone know of a sample healing or standing chi manipulation practice I could combine with this?

Hi folks, Long-time taoist but relatively new to qigong. Looking to discuss ideas.