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Greetings to all, I am a novice always looking to learn more. I started on this path accidentally as a teen when I first felt energy that i could move through my body, though I had no clue what it was. So I stumbled and fumbled on my own for more than a decade as I grew up in a restrictive religious environment that treated such things as evil. It has only been in the last few years that I learned of more traditional cultivation practices. I'm poor at asking for advice and have only my own clumsy experiences with little traditional knowledge to share. So I look forward to learning more from those who wish to share and will share my own experiences with any who wish to know. Thank you in advance for your kindness.

I bumped into Daoism via Tai Chi classes. In reading on Tai Chi, I ran across Daoism, and that's where I am now, really just into learning about some principles of Daoism and how a Daoism perspective can help me navigate life.

Hello Everyone whom is interested. My name is James, and am looking forward to learning with everyone in these forms. A little about myself. Personal: I'm 23 years old. I am a martial artist, a vegan, and a newcomer to Taoism. My day job is a legal transcriptionist and digital artist/web designer. I recently graduated college with an Animation and Digital Media Degree. Also, I can play a mean didgeridoo, and have accidentally broken my fair share of them over the years. Taoism: For many years I was a Zen Buddhist. And for a while that was good. However I was reading Dr. Herbert Benson's "The Relaxation Response", and in the introduction he talks about some experiments and research he had dome with some crazy people doing "Qigong". I was immediately interested, because I had no idea what that was. I decided to take some classes, and over time that lead me to Traditional Chinese Medicine and Traditional Chinese Martial Arts. I decided that researching Taoism would deepen my appreciation for these practices, and found a shift within myself that is hard to explain. Basically I felt Buddhism was almost right, but not enough for what I wanted. Taoism philosophy just made sense, while making absolutely no sense at the same time. My goal here is to deepen my understanding. Find multiple interpretations and personal views on the Tao Te Ching, Yijing, and some information on the Daozang, for I can not find anything as of yet that seems useful. As well as learn to incorporate more Taoism into my daily life. Thanks everyone.

Hello all: I've been scoping out the forum from afar for a little while here and finally went ahead and joined up....About me: I'm a twenty-something guy from Massachusetts, USA. My searching the last few years has taken me from Buddhism, to ACIM, to explorations in nondenominational meditation, and most recently to Taoism. I love and utilize different aspects from all that I've studied, but I do feel as though I've landed in Taoism more firmly than anything else before. It seems to me to be in such harmony with many notions that I've felt deep down since before I would've even thought to look into different philosophies or religions. From little things like how I've always been interested in open spaces (as a kid imagining cool attractions in big empty parking lots), to my nagging feelings that much truth could often be found in the middle, to my personality being comprised of seeming paradoxes. Learning more about it brings me a lot of inner peace and in short that's why I'm here: to explore further. My only minor hesitation about joining a forum like this is that I sometimes convince myself that the only real way to practice is to sit under the proverbial tree, all alone, thinking by oneself. A mentor of mine used to say, "Never ask for advice" as a way to highlight the power of one's instincts....Perhaps I'm perverting the sentiment. That aside, though, the larger part of me is excited to meet everybody and be turned onto some new stuff. It seems like a very open-minded board made up of all different personal practices. Looking forward to talking with you soon Ell