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Gui Zhen Cultivation: Essence Refining By: Lin Ai Wei There is much information pointing in the wrong direction with this subject. Basically with coined terms as "Dual-Cultivation" and "Retention" practices. Retention is not harmful. It causes no health problems whatsoever. If one feels like they can't take the not-releasing of their sexual fluids, understand that it is due to habit of releasing and one's attachments to sexual desire. This means one's views about it, one's habits with it, and one's identification with it. Firstly, taking on any kind of Essence tonifying practice, one should practice refraining from entertaining lustful thoughts. A pre-requisite is to have refrained from sexually stimulating music, images, activities, and the like. In order to do that, one should practice quite sitting, contemplative meditation, recitation of a Buddha's name, and or practice going about in one's daily life without the habit of sexual stimulation. Why? Because when we entertain thoughts of a sexual nature, our mind moves to that very place where we associated these thoughts with. Not only that, but the thinking obstruction, feeling obstruction and conscious obstructions intertwine with each other, creating more false thoughts which are associated to the one who has them and the one feeling them. What this does is move your "energy" to the places of sexual focus, and further tonifies one's lustful feelings. This takes you away from your focus, and thus wastes your energy. Not much, if any, would be cultivated at that point, except from false thinking, and identifying with one's emotions and lustful feelings. Sexual stimulation is a habit. Nothing more. it is a habit of false thinking. Many regard sexuality and those feelings of lust, to be a natural occurrence, thus indulgence in them is seen as normal, and or in accord with the natural order of things, but it is not. Find the origin of lust, and one will find how false it is. Throughout the undertaking of this practice, do not release any male essence (sperm) do not have sex, do not masturbate, and do not eat onions, leeks, garlic, chives and shallots. These things are heating agents and that heat in the body is a sexual stimulant. For women to practice this, refrain from the above 5 flavors, No masturbation, and no sexual stimulation. Do not do this practice during your menstrual cycle. During the menstrual cycle, practice breathing to the dantian and filling the abdomen. Abdominal breathing is recommended for it will help soothe the liver and spleen, and assist in a less painful release (of course this depends on one's conditions during the menstrual cycle. Some women have blood deficiencies, liver qi stagnation and spleen qi deficiency which will disrupt the menstrual cycle and cause pain and lots of pain) Practice 1: Simply begin by changing your sexual habits. Daily, in place of sexually stimulating things such as music, movies, images, and activity, do something else. Build up familiarity with another type of activity. This is the gradual practice. The direct practice would be to contemplate who feels lustful, through sitting, standing, waking and lying contemplation. When you find the root cause of your desire, you will realize its falseness and see no reason to continue. This is a more direct method. Truthfully, either method can be gradual or direct. Its up to the capacity of the individual. In either case, once the desire and addiction, affliction is recognized, one must change the habit anyway. When your mind is not turned by sexual stimulates, when you feel somewhat at peace, still in mind, then actual practice on Essence cultivation can go to the next step. The first step is bringing the light back in, the second step is refining, and or perfecting ( just for the sake of saying) the concentration. Practice 2: There are many different ways to do this. So I will just focus on one way. Either sitting, standing, walking or lying (4 practices): The method is bring the light back to the source. Here we will say, the source is the kidneys, but we will go further, and also say it is the dan tian, the bone marrow, and even none of it. In this case of there being no source, it just means that this practice will take you to a point where the discriminating mind ceases. First step in part 2: Either of the 4 practices above: breathe in from your toes and finger tips, top of the head and tail bone.On the inhale keep focus on light entering in from these points in a constant flow (like a stream of water constantly flowing). Bring that flow to fill the whole body. When it is filled, exhale, but keep that concentration on light flowing in, it shouldn't slow down, or stop because you exhaled. Next begin to breathe naturally, tongue to roof of mouth, anal muscles slightly contracted, breath to the abdomen (abdominal expansion on inhale, and contraction on exhale. Breathe and maintain that focus of light flowing in. Let it now penetrate into the muscles and organs (you don't need to visualize each and every one, just the affirmation of knowing that it is happening is enough). Let it go deep into the muscles and organs as though reaching through every fiber, every nook and cranny. When you feel this is done, maintain the focus for as long as you feel able to. Part 3: Going deeper: On your next inhale, while maintaining constant affirmation of know that their is a flow of light streaming into the body, let all the light that has filled the body, muscles and organs begin to go deeper to the bones. Let it cover the bones, joints, ligaments; all the while maintaining the affirmation of knowing that there is a stream of energy penetrating the body and everything within it. Once the skeleton has been covered, exhale and maintain that focus for as long as you can. Breathe naturally while maintaining focus. Part 4: Marrow penetration: On the next inhale, while maintaining affirmation of knowing all of the above stuff is going on, let that light flow deep into every pore, every aspect of your bones and joints, and ligaments. Remember there is the affirmation of knowing this is happening. On that inhale, bring that light to go very deep into the core of the bones. Once you have filled every aspect of the bones and its core with light, exhale and maintain that focus. Do this as long as you feel comfortable. Part 5: Compression: At this point your concentration ability should be very sharp in this practice, and now you can utilize inner breathing. (The state of the flow of light into the body should be maintain, the affirmation of know it is happening is enough, but don't loose fundamental focus. On your inhale, feel as though the bones are expanding. Inhale naturally, and do not fill the lungs up to like with an "elephant's breath". Just breath slow and fill to a comfortable place. When you have taken enough in (breath), comfortably hold your breath, no force, no strain: as though you are simply not inhaling and not exhaling, but not holding either. Its a relaxed manner of suspending the action of breathing where the air passages do not get tight. When your breath is relaxingly in pause, feel as though the bones are contracting, squeezing deep, and in all directions, engulfing the marrow.Imagine the space where the marrow is, getting tighter, smaller, but not closed, just tight and small. Hold that focus for as long as you can, and then exhale and let the bones relax. Just a returning to their original mannerism before the contraction. Breathe normally, slowly, and focused, for 3 normal breaths, then begin again. This part will require one to do the expansion and contraction 3x's. After the 3rd time, is the next part. Part 6: Returning: After the expansion and compression has been done 3 times, after the 3rd time, and one has finished their 3rd normal breath... On the inhale, breath from the tips of the fingers and toes, top of the head and tail bone. But do so as though you are breathing from within the bones, at the core. breathe in that energy which was compressed in the marrow, and follow that stream from the tips of the fingers and toes, top of the head and tail bone and let it converge from all directions of the body, inside, to the middle place between right under the kidneys, opposite the navel, Ming Men. Let it enter that place from the inside. Once you reach that point, slowly exhale, and maintain the focus of this stream going to the Mingmen. Breath naturally maintaining the focus until you feel that the mingmen has been stimulated and the kidney area, lower back, sides of the torso and abdomen are full. Part 7: On the next inhale, imagine that light, that full feeling at the abdomen tightening slightly, not much, just a little. Relaxingly pause the breathing mechanism as before, and feel as though the abdominal muscles fibers, also the covering of the muscles, as well as the energy you have in place there from this practice, getting tighter and tighter, but not so tight as though using your muscles on purpose. as it gets slightly tight, imagine it surrounding the dantian, compressing it, and making its way into it, raising its vibration. Once it starts to make its way into the dantian, slowly exhale, and maintain that focus. On the next inhale, do the above part 7 step again, when it is done, do it for a 3rd time. When you have finished the 3rd time compression, sit for a few natural breaths. When you are ready, inhale, and bring that light from the dantian to the heart center. Maintain the streaming of light from dantian to heart center, (the place between the nipples at the sternum). Once you have reached there, maintain that stream and exhale. breath for 3 natural breaths, and on the next breath, continue the stream up to the third eye (pineal gland, and you have to feel as though you are actually penetrating the pineal gland) DO NOT LOSE FOCUS FROM THE DANTIAN TO THE HEART CENTER, ALWAYS MAINTAIN A STREAM FROM DANTIAN TO HEART, ETC. Once you reach the 3rd eye (pineal gland)maintain that stream and exhale. breath for 3 natural breaths, and on the next breath, continue the stream up to the crown. Once you reach here, feel as though it is penetrating the crown. On the exhale, maintain the focus of the stream from dan tian to crown for 3 more breaths. When your 3rd breath is done, Inhale one last time and bring the light from the crown and dantian and all in between, to merge together. Meaning, the crown energy goes doesn, and the dantian energy comes up. meeting at the heart center. Once on your inhale, both meet at the heart center, exhale and let that energy permeate throughout your whole body, inside and out, filling you and expanding your radiating energy field around your body (aura/wei qi). Sit in this and breath naturally for as long as you feel comfortable. When you are ready to finish, simply inhale and bring all that radiating energy into the dantian. Do so 3 times. Each time, when you exhale, maintaining the affirmation that such a thing is occurring. Only on the inhalation will you bring in the light to the dantian. On the exhalation maintain focus but do not pull in. On the 3rd inhalation, in affirmation that you have taken it all in, relaxingly pause the breath, hold your focus at the dantian for as long as you are comfortable, and then exhale as though everything has gone into the dantian. Slowly open your eyes, and smile. Gui_Zhen_Cultivation_Essence_Refining.pdf