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What's the difference difference between light 💡 orb upper navel vs lower Dantian? my experiences upon focusing on my dantian, I felt inner happiness(exactly if I were to smile when someone taking my picture) and bright light off and on in my sitting meditation and wuji standing dantian meditation. Has anyone practice this? The Essence of Dhammakaya The word “Dhammakaya” is an ancient word means the Body of Enlightenment (Dhamma means the truth or the enlightenment and Kaya means body). This term was found many places in many old Buddhist scriptures both in Theravada and Mahayana schools. It is not the new term or new theory from the Teaching of the Lord Buddha. Dhammakaya is the body that transformed Prince Sidhatta to The Lord Buddha. The enlightenment of the historical Buddha is explained as his mind became perfectly refined and purified to the same level of the refinement and purity of the Dhammakaya, and thus attains the body of enlightenment. The Dhammakaya is therefore seen as central to the Teaching of the Lord Buddha. Dhammakaya is a source of peace, wisdom and true happiness, exists in all human beings and can be attained through the process of self-refinement and self-purification. Dhammakaya Meditation Technique Dhammakaya Meditation Technique was rediscovered by Luang Pu Wat Paknam, the late Abbot of Wat Paknam. With his great work of meditation, he found that the station of stillness or the gateway of The Middle Way is at “The Center of the Body” around two-finger width above the navel. And the center of the body is the best point that any meditation practitioner should lay the mind down upon. The technique is simple but effective. Just keep your body and mind relaxed and maintain your attention slightly at the center of the body. Once you touch or feel the station of stillness at the center of your body, you will experience inner peace, true happiness and the transforming power that Dhammakaya Meditation can provide for every aspect of your life. Although Dhammakaya Meditation was developed as a technique by the Lord Buddha, its practice is not limited to Buddhists. The practice has nothing to do with any organized religion or sectarianism. For this reason, it can be freely practiced by everyone without conflict due to race, creed or religion. People from many religious backgrounds have experienced the benefits of Dhammakaya Meditation and have found no conflict with their profession of faith.

David Byrne of the Talking Heads launched a "non-profit editorial project" that shares inspiring stories. Mainstream media for me is unreliable, untrustworthy, and unbalanced. If you are not yet familiar, take a look at the Reasons to be Cheerful site and perhaps it will give you a lift. I'll keep this thread open, dedicated to good news, sharing of our own inspiring stories, and things that we find supportive in our own lives. There is more than enough information out there to reinforce fear, hopelessness, frustration, and other negative states of mind. The good news is that it is possible to feel good about oneself and the world, even in the most challenging of circumstances. Especially in a community of supportive friends. My love to you all!

Some time ago I ceased being able, or willing to spend much energy trying to manufacture happiness in my experience of life, through the exploration and alteration of the external world and I turned within. Some time after that I dropped any ability to put effort into the notion of happy being a desired state at all and released that pursuit once and for all it seems... now years later. When I ceased looking without to create happiness, something profound happened. I began to accept life as it is, to abide in my self wherever I was, in whatever conditions arose... and contentment was revealed. Lately I'm with Marblehead and a few others here, on the notion of happy. I don't want it. I find it unsustainable and manufactured. It's flame like nature seems to require fuel to sustain it and thus, when conditions change, the coin flips and despair/suffering arises. For me, happiness is an inflated emotional charge state, whose flip side is despair and they always revolve around each other, two sides of one coin being flipped every time we encounter conditions in the world and allow them to dictate the quality of our experience. Neither are sustainable for long as they require effort to maintain. Happiness resolves into despair when the external conditions of what is responsible for our happiness changes, shifts or is lost. 13 Hope hollow like fear. Both foster tension in mind. Success like failure. One imbued with hope, tension takes a joyous form, anticipation. When fortune turns ill, as seems inevitable, fierce anxiety. Bodies will suffer. An undeniable truth. Embrace misfortune. Sage knows the self, as a simple yet fine robe impermanent shape. Surrender the self. In humility, find trust. Now love world as self. Happiness to me seems unsustainable, born of identification with the external. Whereas Contentment is the ground work being, realized when turning within. Contentment, the way I experience it, seems a neutral, bouyant, natural state that arises without effort when inner conflict is released, when unacceptance of the conditions of life resolves and natual essence is allowed to be as it is... (think Mencius' sprouts of virtue being cultivated). Releasing all else reveals that which is our essential nature. Contentment isn't manufactured, nor does it rely on activities, or specific conditions. This notion has been reinforced through the hardest and darkest (spiritually) years of my life. There may be pain, there may be discomfort, there will be loss... none of that means I am suffering. I suffer when I reject what is... when I expect, desire, or try to force what isn't to be what is. When I ceased being able to put energy into finding my contentment in the external world (through teaching others what i think is right, expecting others to change their behavior to suit my expectations, judging others as wrong in the first place, judging the conditions of the world as right or wrong), I began to turn within. When I turned within, eventually a realization came. Contentment was more and more the status quo. And as these sprouts were cultivated, not through supreme effort, but again through constant release of notions of escape, alteration or subjugation, contentment revealed itself as a foundational, natural component of my essential nature. As I released into this abiding within and ceased incessantly focusing on making the external into something my internal could harmonize with, the harmony within my natural state, emanated and contentment sustains effortlessly, even in difficult conditions. This led to a most profound realization not long after, when I realized I no longer required a focus to be in love. I used to think that love came from a person, place, or idea that made me love it. Now I experience I am love and contentment. When the chatter of incessantly using my energy to try and force the external world to adhere to notions born of my unacceptance of the universe as it is, quieted/ceased. When I released all... that which remained was my essential nature. I am contentment. I am love. Ceasing to try and control the external, allowing myself to be the simple, beingness I am, releasing all notions of should/shouldn't and abiding only in the simplest raw presence of my own beingness... I realized love is not something I acquire through striving, effort and great knowledge. Love is the ground state and blossoms in my experience when all the mental chatter, thoughts, world noise, assumptions/notions/concepts are released. Love and contentment is my natural state... and where I used to think that my wife, or my pursuit of knowledge, or walking in nature were the sources of my love... 'i love her/this/that', shifted and I now experience it this way. I now see that these were the reflectors of my inner essential nature, strong enough in their emanations that they cut through the fog that was occluding me from realizing what it was that I was seeking... is what was doing the seeking. It's what was there all along, underlying all, foundational. Requiring no effort to sustain itself, it is that which sustains. I am love... love is my essential nature. I often forgot this, and on occasion still do, but thankfully I am reminded, either when those things that cut through the fog are near... or I quiet myself again and turn within to simple presence and beingness. I no longer say or think "i'm in love"... I am love. I am contentment. No effort is required to maintain this. No effort could create it in my experience. It is what I am. I only sometimes lose touch with it, when through my mental chatter, my unacceptance of conditions as they are, or my desire to alter that which is, clouds over the pure, simple, raw beingness of it.

Hi, this is Teresa Yeung and some people will call me Master Teresa. I coincidently came across Dao Burns a few days ago as I was googling. As there is no coincidence and I just follow the chi and join you". Wish that I can be of help and support to each other❤ Humbly I have been teaching Qi Gong over 20 years ago. I am the successor to Grandmaster Weizhao Wu who obtained the highest official Qi Gong title in China in 1995 from the Qi Gong Talent Bank of Peoples Republic of China. The Wu's Eye Qi Gong - a 4000 people research study for 3 years in 1980s led by Grandmaster Wu which helped millions on vision. On my 60th Birthday, I gave a my Free webinar on "Eye Healing Demystifed" for gratitude. I would like to offer you the link so you can enjoy my 1.5 hour webinar much information and chi practice with healing😊 https://www.theseventhhappiness.com/eye-qi-gong/history-of-eye-chi-gong.html

The giveaway is over - thanks! Goooood morning, everyone! I've recently finished working on my latest book, 50 shades of yay: great thinkers on happiness, and I thought I'd share it with my favorite bums, who can surely appreciate the importance of the topic. (Well, you guys and the rest of the Internet.) It's free to download today and tomorrow - and no, you don't need a Kindle to read it. As long as you have a device with a screen and Internet connection, you can read it on the Kindle app. Give it a shot, see what happens! If you like it, I'd very much appreciate some feedback - or a quick 5-star review. If you don't like it - well, it was free, wasn't it? Thanks in advance! "Happiness - what exactly is it and where I can get some? These two simple questions have remained unanswered despite all our efforts. Poets bicker about the definition of happiness, scientists try to determine how happiness works, and politicians promise all the happiness you can handle if you vote for them. The Declaration of Independence calls the pursuit of happiness one of the three unalienable rights, but how exactly do you go about pursuing it? This book collects 50 essays, poems, philosophical discourses, aphorisms and snarky comments from great thinkers of our past. They include famous names (Mark Twain, Socrates, Emily Dickinson, Abraham Lincoln, Helen Keller and others), as well as some that you've probably never heard of. (Christina, Queen of Sweden, just might have been the wittiest 17th-century monarch.) The 50 perspectives on happiness collected in this volume range from goofy to serious, from optimistic to morbid. No matter what your philosophical disposition, this book is guaranteed to help you with your own, personal pursuit of happiness. It'll make you laugh, it'll make you think, it might even make you cry. The "50 shades of yay" can do all of that - and much, much more." Download link

This expresses some of the background ethics, world view and attitudes which orientate practice in a particular tradition. A long read and perhaps only for the dedicated but worth it anyway. Advice from previous great masters Root guru, precious and most kind, Lord of the mandala, sole unfailing lasting refuge, With your compassion, take hold of me! I work only for this life, not keeping death in mind, Wasting this free, well-favored human birth. Human life, lasting an instant, like a dream - It might be happy, it might be sad. Not wishing for joy, not avoiding sadness, May I truly practice the sublime teachings. This human life, like a butterlamp set out in the wind - It might last a long time or it might not. Not letting ego's hold tighten further, May I truly practice the sublime teachings. A life of luxury, like a bewitching apparition - It might come to pass or it might not. With the ways of the eight worldly dharmas cast away like chaff, May I truly practice the sublime teachings. All these underlings, like a bunch of birds in a tree - They might surround me, they might not. Not letting others lead me around by the nose, May I truly practice the sublime teachings. This illusory body, like a rotting 100-year-old house - It might last, it might fall into dust. Not caught up in efforts to get food, clothes, or medicines, May I truly practice the sublime teachings. This dharma behavior, like a child's game - It might go on, it might stop. Undeceived by things that don't really matter, May I truly practice the sublime teachings. All these gods and spirits, like a mirror's reflections - They might give help, they might do harm. Not seeing my own deluded visions to be enemies, May I truly practice the sublime teachings. All this confused chatter, traceless as an echo - It might be interesting, it might not. With the Three Jewels and my own mind bearing witness, May I truly practice the sublime teachings. Things that may prove useless in time of real need, like a deer's antlers, - I might know them, I might not. Not placing my confidence merely in the arts and sciences, May I truly practice the sublime teachings. These gifts and money given by the faithful, like deadly poison - I might receive them, I might not. Not spending my life trying to accumulate evil earnings, May I truly practice the sublime teachings. This lofty station, like dogshit wrapped in satin - I might have it, I might not. Knowing my own rottenness at first hand, May I truly practice the sublime teachings. Friends and family, like travelers who come together for a fair - They might be vicious, they might be loving. Cutting attachment's tough cord from the heart, May I truly practice the sublime teachings. All these possessions, like the wealth found in a dream - I might own them, I might not. Not using tact and flattery to turn others' heads, May I truly practice the sublime teachings. This rank in the hierarchy, Like a tiny bird perched on a branch - It might be high, it might be low. Without making myself miserable wishing for a better position, May I truly practice the sublime teachings. Practicing the spells of black magic, like deadly weapons - I might be able to cast them, I might not. Not buying the knife that cuts my own throat, May I truly practice the sublime teachings. Doing prayers, like a parrot saying 'om mani padme hum' - I might do them, I might not. Without boasting about whatever I do, May I truly practice the sublime teachings. The way one teaches the dharma, like flowing water - I might be expert, I might not. Without thinking that mere eloquence is dharma, May I truly practice the sublime teachings. Intellect that makes quick discriminations, like a rooting pig - It might be sharp, it might be dull. Not allowing the barbs of pointless anger and attachment to arise, May I truly practice the sublime teachings. Meditation experiences, like well-water in summer - They may increase, they may lessen. Without chasing after rainbows as children do, May I truly practice the sublime teachings. This pure perception, like rain on a mountaintop - It might arise, it might not. Without taking deluded experience to be real, May I truly practice the sublime teachings. These freedoms and favourable conditions, like a wish-fullfilling gem - If they are lacking, there is no way to accomplish the holy dharma. Not throwing away what is already in my own hand, May I truly practice the sublime teachings. The glorious guru, like a lamp that lights the way to liberation - If I cannot meet him, there is no way to realize the true nature. Not jumping off a cliff when I know the path to go on, May I truly practice the sublime teachings. The holy dharma, like a medicine to cure disease - If I don't hear it, there is no way to know what should be done and not done. Not swallowing poison when I can tell benefit from harm, May I truly practice the sublime teachings. The changing cycle of joy and sorrow, like the changing seasons - If this isn't seen, there is no way to achieve renunciation. As a time of suffering will surely come around to me, May I truly practice the sublime teachings. Samsara, like a stone fallen deep into water - If I don't get out now, I won't get out later. Pulling myself out by the rope of the compassionate Three Jewels, May I truly practice the sublime teachings. Liberation's good qualities, like an island of jewels - If they aren't known, there is no way to begin to make efforts. Having seen the advantage of permanent victory, May I truly practice the sublime teachings. The life stories of the great masters, like the essence of amrita - If they aren't known, there is no way for confidence to arise. Not choosing self-destruction when I can tell victory from defeat, May I truly practice the sublime teachings. Bodhicitta, like a fertile field - Unless it is cultivated, there is no way to achieve enlightenment. Not staying idle when there is a great aim to be accomplished, May I truly practice the sublime teachings. My own mind, like a monkey's nonsense - Without keeping guard, there is no way to avoid conflicting emotions. Not acting without restraint, like a lunatic, May I truly practice the sublime teachings. Ego, like a shadow one is born with - Until it's abandoned, there is no way to reach a place of real joy. When the enemy is in my clutches, why treat him as friend? May I truly practice the sublime teachings. The five poisons, like hot embers among ashes - Until they're destroyed, one can't remain at rest in the natural state. Not raising baby vipers in my pockets, May I truly practice the sublime teachings. This mindstream, like the tough hide of a butter-bag - If it's not tamed and softened, one can't mix mind with dharma. Without spoiling the child that is born of itself, May I truly practice the sublime teachings. These ingrained bad habits, karmic patterns, like the strong currents of a river - If they aren't cut, one can't avoid acting contrary to the dharma. Without selling weapons to my enemies, May I truly practice the sublime teachings. These distractions, like never-ending waves - If they aren't given up, there is no way to become stable. When I can do as I like, why practice samsara? May I truly practice the sublime teachings. The lama's blessings, like spring warming up soil and water - If they don't enter into me, there is no way to be introduced to the nature of mind. When there is a short-cut, why take the long way around? May I truly practice the sublime teachings. This retreat in the wilderness, like summer in a lush place where herbs grow - If I don't remain here, there is no way for good qualities to be born. When high up in the mountains, don't wander back into black towns. May I truly practice the sublime teachings. Desire for pleasure, like a bad-luck spirit entering the house - If I'm not free of it, I'll never stop working toward suffering. Not making offerings to voracious ghosts as my personal gods, May I truly practice the sublime teachings. Mindfulness, like the lock on a castle gate - If it is lacking, one can't stop the movements of illusion. When the thief is surely coming, why forget to bar the door? May I truly practice the sublime teachings. The true nature, unchanging, like the sky - Until it's realized, one can't completely resolve doubts as to the view. Not letting myself be chained by theories, May I truly practice the sublime teachings. Awareness, like a flawless piece of crystal - Until it's seen, intentional meditation cannot dissolve. When there's an inseparable companion, why go off looking for another? May I truly practice the sublime teachings. The face of ordinary mind, like an old friend - If it's not seen, all that one does is misleading. Without groping in the darkness of my own closed eyes, May I truly practice the sublime teachings. In short, without giving up This life's preoccupations, there's no way to accomplish the sacred teachings after death. Having decided to show myself great kindness, May all that I do be toward the dharma. May I not have wrong views toward the guru who has given instruction in accord with the dharma. May I not lose faith in the yidam when misfortunes occur. May I not put off practice when circumstances are hard. May there be no obstacles to attaining siddhi. All these activities are pointless, like making a grand tour of a wasteland. All this trying just makes my mindstream more rigid. All this thinking only adds confusion onto confusion. All that passes for dharma to ordinary people only makes for further binding. So much activity - nothing comes of it. So much thinking - no point to it. So much wanting - no time for it. Having given this up, May I be able to practice according to instructions. If I must do something, may Buddha's teaching bear it witness. If I must do something, mix mindstream and dharma. If I must accomplish something, read the life stories of past masters. What's the use of other things? Spoiled brat! Take a low seat and become rich with contentment. Try hard to get free of the eight worldly concerns. May the guru's blessings enter into me, May my realization become equal to the sky. Grant your blessings so that I may reach Kuntuzangpo's throne. Written by Jigdral Yeshe Dorje for his own prayers, Condensing the essential meaning from the vajra words of advice from previous great masters. This was offered with prayers for the continued blessing of H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche, Jigdral Yeshe Dorje, and for the long life of his emanation, for the sake of all beings.Translated by Bhakha Tulku Rinpoche and Constance Wilkinson. Sarva Mangalam

All right guys and gals, I have to ask you this: Do we have "taoist immortal lovers" on board, a loving couple which practices taoist alchemy together with the goal to raise up together and exist forever in happiness as immortal lovers in the realm of the taoist immortals? ...one of my not so obvious traits is that I'm pretty romantic, haha! And I think this would be a pretty awesome goal to achieve.

I read 'Younger Next Year' and was very impressed, its about a doctor and older patient's investigation at how to improve life and health. Here is a TED talk that echoes that book by 93 year old Charles Eugster. Both have the same message, Work, Exercise, Diet are the secrets to turning back the clock and staying strong. But its hard, it takes great effort and discpline, certainly at first. JohnC wrote: "I've had experiences of wu wei, deep long term body injury healing(lower hip and atlas vertebra healing... I've had it that way for so long I just assumed that was how it would be forever...), alignment with my path in life(life just seems to flow), an over abundance of energy regardless of sleep, it will highlight your talents and any spiritual ones.. Over all it's pretty fucking awesome if you ask me. I usually practice gift of the tao through the day at different times, and from 9-11 every night I'll do 30 minutes of zhan zhuang, 30 minutes gift of the tao<S-M's flowing chi gong>, and 1 hour of stillness movement. Preferably 2 hours of stillness movement daily, 1 hour in the morning 1 hour at night." I don't mean to focus on a particular practice. But look at the time he puts in, the consistency, how it hits several notes and just as importantly is consciously carried on through out the day. Dainin is another member who is inspiring not for volumous writing, but for their consistent daily practice. Many members shine here, another S-M person is RainbowVein, but again people who have long term commitment to a practice that hits several facets of spirituality hit gold.