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Hi everyone, I would greatly appreciate any help with this question on Taoist meditation. In my studies I've noticed that the older texts suggest joining the mind and breath at the lower dantian to build the elixir, but in reading some later texts such as The Secret Of The Golden Flower, and Taoist Yoga, they focus more on the third eye and add more complicated techniques such as rolling the eyes. Some of this seems contradictory and unnecessary, although I understand the elixir moves upwards in the body after being vitalized in the dantian. Also, in Zen for instance, they do not stress any complicated techniques. I've heard focusing on the third eye will just give you a headache and focusing on the lower dantian is the classic method. I would be very grateful if you could give me your opinion on this topic. I understand there is a lot of information out there and it takes time to sift through to the essence. Thanks so much!

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What I'm about to describe, might indicate positive effects of my training; however, I'm not sure: it might be quite the contrary. Where I live it's been very cold. Nevertheless, I still feel toasty warm, even when everyone else is terribly cold. Sometimes, the effect is very extreme: I'm overheating, almost breaking a sweat. But it's a different kind of heat, not like one experiences on a hot summer day. It's a type of heat that I started experiencing when I started practicing Yang systems, such as Nine Palaces. A few nights ago, I stayed up late to practice the saliva-swallowing exercise (as described in Taoist Yoga and by Yang, Jwing Ming). In between swallows, I would spend a few minutes Embryonic Breathing, pushing chi down central energy line to dan tian with each breath. The following day I was extremely warm, even though my house's furnace was turned off all day. This shouldn't happen because saliva-swallowing is a Yin practice. And it's happened other times I stayed up late to meditate. However, this heat is something that's always with me, and seems to increase the more I practice. So what should I make of this? If it's a negative effect, how do I correct it?