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I've been enjoying this podcast. A good walk through of Christian Mysticism, from roots to branches through history. https://shows.acast.com/the-christian-mysticism-podcast/episodes The main speaker also has an interesting book on historical miracles as well. They Flew

Thank you for making this opportunity available for others to share their experience in the Chinese Internal arts. My name is Eric Wilson . . . I trained and taught Chinese Kung-fu, Tai-chi, and Qigong for more than 24 years. And while I did realize a great manifestation of "internal" power, I also experienced some very strong negative effects. I am sharing my story and these experiences at the links below, and it is my prayer that these will be of help to those who also have had questions about the spiritual source of Chi and "internal" power. Thank you, Eric Wilson and family

We've all heard the term "Compulsive lier", "Compulsive drinker", and "Compulsive Eater". Any habit that we develop which becomes so engrained in us that we are no longer free and thus our past karma or programming is allowed to repeat itself over and over again without conscious thought on our part. I was thinking about this recently and its relations to the spiritual path, specifically relating to ascension. Specifically for men, the most powerful form of compulsive behavior that we have is our desire for procreation. From an energetic standpoint this is the sinking of vital force into the loins, a sensation most our readily familiar with. This is plain knowledge amongst most male practitioners and its a form of compulsiveness that we strive to bring awareness too in order to harness that energy for cultivation. However, something that i have noticed within myself and other male cultivators is that there is an equally powerful compulsive behavior that can take hold of our lives and that can blind us from the true joy of living: Mysticism By Mysticism i am referring internally to the opposite of compulsive procreation. I am referring to the opposite of the sinking of energy into the loins, but the shooting of chi up to the crown and beyond. Generally this is considered very beneficial as it is a very powerful and primal drive which pushes us to surmount all obstacles to our dissolution into nothingness. The desire for sex is fundamentally a drive to "Create" and the desire for ascension is fundamentally for "Dissolution". My purpose in writing this post is to make the subtle point that both of these energetic pathways within the body are potentially compulsive and limiting behavior. They both can potentially take you away from experiencing life as fully and as joyfully as possible. Any compulsive or unconscious behavior whether its for creation or dissolution is IME antithetical to what i feel is spiritual maturity. Each pathway has its time and place and it is best to understand both, yet remain centered in the heart. These are my thoughts as of late. Would like to hear your thoughts and feelings on this as well. Hope this post is useful to many. Blessings

Dr. John De Anzo and Dr. Kristen Lansdale will be offering the following Daoist Mysticism and Medical Qigong courses in 2014: 2014 SEMINARS Medical Qigong Seminars MONTEREY: Practitioner 1February 13 - 17 (Registration due by 1/13/13) Practitioner 2February 20 - 24 Practitioner 3March 30 - April 5 (includes two days of clinic) Practitioner 4June 7 - 14 (includes three days of clinic) Practitioner 1September 12 - 16 (includes three days of clinic) Therapist 1September 26 - 30 (includes three days of clinic) ADDITIONAL COURSES: Practitioner 1April 18 - 22 Kalamazoo, MI Practitioner 2April 24 - 29 (includes one day of clinic) Kalamazoo, MI Practitioner 1July 5 - 9 Europe (Location to be determined) Daoist Mysticism Seminars MONTEREY: Introduction to Daoist Mysticism 1March 22 - 24 Cost $500 Introduction to Daoist Mysticism 2June 21 - 23 Cost $500 Introduction to Daoist Mysticism 3September 20 - 22 Cost $500 Cost of pre-registration for all 3 seminars: $1350 (10% savings of $150) ADDITIONAL COURSES: Introduction to Daoist Mysticism 1May 17 - 19 Cost $600 Vancouver, Canada Introduction to Daoist Mysticism 1July 12 - 13 Cost $500 Europe (Location to be determined) Introduction to Daoist Mysticism 2August 16 - 18 Cost $600 Vancouver, Canada All dates are subject to change Medical Qigong Practitioner Courses:These courses are an introduction to the foundational principles of Medical Qigong Therapy with its knowledge of how to heal through self-cultivation and how to assist others in their healing process. The Practitioner level course is a 200 hour course, divided into four parts: Practitioner 1 - Introduction to Medical Qigong Therapy Link to syllabus Practitioner 2 - Introduction to Diagnosis and Treatments Link to syllabus Practitioner 3 - Clinical Foundations of Medical Qigong Therapy Link to syllabus Practitioner 4 - Treatment of Organ Disease and Medical Qigong Prescription Exercises Link to syllabus Clinical Theatre and Final Exam In addition to the Practitioner courses, five days of clinical internship are required for completion of the Practitioner level. The Practitioner 3 course will include two days of clinical internship and the Practitioner 4 course will include three days of clinical internship along with the final exam. Students are required to complete an additional 48 hours of clinical externship individually for completion of the Practitioner course. Upon successful completion of the course, the Medical Qigong Practitioners (M.Q.P.) will receive certification, be qualified to practice Medical Qigong Therapy and may continue on to the Therapist, Masters and Doctorate courses. $1500 cost per seminar $500 deposit required to register (early registration is encouraged to secure participation in the seminar) Cost of pre-registration for entire Practitioner course (P1 - P4): $5400 (a 10% savings of $600) The usual cost for the clinical internship is $1500. This amount is included in the above seminar cost for a savings of $1500. Cash, checks and credit cards accepted Remaining balance due before class starts Reading Assignments will be given from these Required Books written by Dr. Jerry Alan Johnson: Chinese Medical Qigong Therapy: Volume 1 - Energetic Anatomy and Physiology Chinese Medical Qigong Therapy: Volume 2 - Energetic Alchemy; Dao Yin Therapy and Qi Deviations Chinese Medical Qigong Therapy: Volume 3 - Differential Diagnosis; Clinical Foundations; Treatment Principles and Clinical Protocols Chinese Medical Qigong Therapy: Volume 4 - Prescription Exercises and Meditations; Treatment of Internal Diseases; Pediatrics; Geriatrics; Gynecology; Neurology and Energetic Psychology For more information go to: www.doaistmysticism.com If anyone is thinking of attending the Vancouver ones let me know . PS, I recommend reading the material for the medical qigong courses ahead of time if you can :>.

Folks! I have got to tell you about this! Coursera is offering a free (yes, free!) online university course on the psychology of mysticism...western mysticism traditions in particular! Perhaps you are aware of the Open Courseware movement? Universities giving online classes for free over the web? MOOCs (massively-open-online-courses) are like Open Courseware on steroids (hence the "massively" in the title). Here's an article that details one guy's experience of a MOOC course (mostly positive) and how it may someday change upper education (and maybe lower student tuition costs?). Edit: oops...the bit about changing upper education in the future is in other linked articles...not this one. pardon. And another article titled The Year of the MOOC edit: please read the 2nd article even if not the first. This second article details *exactly* what MOOCs are, how they operate and both the main negatives and positives. Anyway... Here's the link to the FREE Coursera MOOC course on Modern European Mysticism and Psychological Thought A blurb about the course: I've already signed up. The course is scheduled for sometime in 2013. No exact date has been announced yet. **** Just to give some personal insight I am taking a Coursera MOOC called Think Again: How to Reason and Argue. (you can still enroll in it too). So far I'm enjoy it! There's no pressure. Which means if you suck with sticking to milestones or deadlines you don't have anyone other than yourself prodding you to complete the course. OTOH - if that's not a problem or only a minor one for you - this is a fantastic way to learn new things and interact online with other students and (sometimes) tutors. Part of me is even tempted to say - even learning some things, however spotty, is better than nothing at all. Anyway...enjoy.