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HI, I've been practicing the Small Circle for a while and am enjoying the feel of Qi. Before moving up to the MCO, I'm wondering if it would be reasonable to extend the Small Circle orbit to include the chest and the point opposite the chest. So, the new orbit would look like this: dantian --> perineum --> tailbone --> mingmen --> point opposite chest --> chest --> dantian. I'm thinking of doing this so that I can gradually build up flow of Qi in the orbit without the potential complications of not having enough flow and having Qi get stuck in my head. I've seen the suggestion that I can go up to the forehead in the orbit and then reverse course and go back to dantian. Your thoughts, please.

Is anyone practicing Zhen Qi Yun Xing? Mind to share your experiences if you do practice? Seems like a good place to start with build Qi in dantian too, if you ignore the MCO part.

This thread is for discussing Damo Mitchell's microcosmic orbit (MCO) course. It's free, 14 youtube video lessons, approx 7hrs total, shown below. Here's the link to his website MCO page: https://damomitchell.com/2020/03/23/microcosmic-orbit/ edit: Here's his introduction video to the course: The 14 youtube videos that comprise the course: #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9 #10 #11 #12 #13 #14

After several years of daily meditation and breathing practices, I have reached what feels like a very uncomfortable mid-point, where I can feel partially opened channels in my body, but am suffering all kinds of discomfort because they feel seriously twisted and contain some major blockages. Before anything opened up, my body consisted of many different abnormalities such as warped and twisted bones which no Western doctor has been able to explain. I can now see that all of these physical anomalies are situated in the places along the channels where I can feel blockages, so it seems that my irregular physique was like a living fossil of energetic problems. Firstly, I was wondering how common this kind of thing is. After baffling a sufficient number of doctors, I’ve now been asked to allow them to map my genome as they consider me such a curiosity. Clearly this isn’t something they encounter very often, but surely I’m not that unique as there’s an endless number of people complaining about blockages, twists and deviations on forums such as this. Am I just an extreme case? The second question I’m hoping those with more experience and wisdom than me can answer is whether the daily practices I do (mainly meditation, alternate nostril breathing, nine bottle breath, MCO visualisation) are helping or hindering me. I’m particularly worried it may be the latter because, as I say, I’ve reached a point where I’ve partially opened the channels and dissolved blockages, but it means I feel the existing twists and obstructions more keenly than ever before. Every time I succeed in “getting out of my own way” during meditation, so that energy starts moving on its own, I run up against these extreme physical barriers. It seems I have only two options: to push ahead with what I am doing, or stop altogether. Obviously stopping is the most sensible option, but I can feel the half-dissolved obstructions and half-straightened channels constantly in my daily life whether I’m trying to or not, so it’s very hard not to try to do something to deal with it. I’m suffering a great deal of discomfort all over my body, as well as frequent headaches and fatigue, so is this a sign of things opening up or of things going horribly wrong? Thanks for your help.

Does anyone here know what the difference is between Kundalini and MCO? They both send energy up the spine. I've been working to store chi in the lower dan tien but during the day I have ecstatic surges of energy rush up my spine, straight to the crown. These rushes happen when deep feelings of connection and purpose occur. For example, the other day I was at a court hearing and saw this young guy get sentenced to 40 years in prison. I was then overwhelmed by a feeling that people in society need inspiration. Every time a thought would hit me about how to do that, why it should be done, how to inspire people, etc. I would immediately get that ecstatic rush. If I think about doing something I'm genuinely passionate about or sometime that is meaningful to me at a deep level, those same rushes will hit me. Imagine if something amazing happened at a stadium and suddenly the whole crowd jumped up and roared in applause. Or imagine countless numbers of people roaring before a battle. That is sort of what it feels like. The only thing that worries me is that since my goal is to store energy in naval chakra, I want to avoid "spending" it so to speak. So if the energy is leaving the dan tien and creating a rush, then I would prefer to avoid that. However, if it's kundalini or something else that has no affect on energy storage in the lower dan tien, then I'm all in. Any thoughts?

At the end of my Sodarshan Chakra Kriya I started my Standing Meditation with the Microcosmic orbit. I immediately went into a state of Bliss that was many times more enjoyable than anything I have ever experienced before. It made all other sensations of sex, recreation, etc pale in comparison. I completed 14 minutes of standing and one 6 minute set of Tai Chi. A total of 20 minutes but, it seemed like 2. My Tai Chi was effortless. At the end of the Tai Chi set it just went away. I have noticed my meditations are better since then (three months ago) but, I have not experienced that state again Has anyone ever experienced anything like this? What are anyone's thoughts on this?

What is the most effective way to do the microcosmic orbit? How do you do it and how is yours different? Are there any tips you have that would make it more effective?

Acupressure and acupuncture are two therapies based in the practice of traditional Chinese medicine. They both believe that symptoms and diseases in the body are caused by an imbalance or blockage of energy flow in the body. These techniques aim to restore the flow of energy to improve health and well being. In Mantak Chia's book Awakening The Healing Energy Through The Tao he gives us a great insight on how to open or awaken are Chi through acupressure. I have been performing this mediation to help awaken the lower tan tien and may I say this is a great technique if you are having no luck opening the lower cauldron. Please read the book for full description. Here is brief description taken from his book: Use a Finger to help Concentrate When you concentrate on the navel focus one and a half inches below the skin. In the beginning, apply pressure on the point with your index finger for one to five minutes, then return your hands to your lap with the right palm over the left. Concentrate on the sensation created by your finger, pressing again when the point becomes indistinct. Once more, do not concentrate on breathing. Merely relax your eyes, tongue, and throat, and the mind will become still Once the mind is calm the power will accumulate. At first it is not easy to draw power to the energy center because your vital regenerative faculties have been abused for years. Your health cannot be restored overnight. The more you practice the stronger you will get, and you will be more able to endure heat produced by the higher voltage of chi. If you have been concentrating on the navel for a long time but do not feel any energy, change your focus to the Ming-Men, the point opposite the navel on the spine. This helps the energy to rise up to the head and descend down the front of the body to the feet. However, if you do not feel anything in the navel but have definite signs of improved health, you are on the right track. Remember, the experience of chi is different for everybody. Some people experience warmth or bubbling sensations, others feel as though their navel area is expanding, and some people can increase their chi circulation without creating vivid sensations. No matter what your experience is, try to be as sensitive and aware of your body as possible. Adventure into your body, it is a vast land laden with riches.

Some HT meditations presented in GIF ...

I would like to know the Buddhist view on Taoist practices like the Microcosmic Orbit, the Six Healing Sounds and/or the Inner Smile and other Taoist Neigong Practices in general. Do Buddhists use them, too or do they rather abstain from such kind of training? If so, why? Thank you!!

In Prof. Yu Yong Nian's book "Zhan Zhuang" he considered opening the Microcosmic as a 'trap with no way out' (p.139) - on another page (couldn't find the quote again...) he talks about the 'circulation method' as kind of 'the devil's trap'. In a video (also promoting ZZ) another master said, that it is bad to open the Microcosmic deliberately, cause it makes one "obsessed". Why do ZZ experts consider this as evil? I opened the MCO almost two years ago and I have the impression, that my ZZ practice benefits from that. I can clearly feel the energy as a warm, sometimes even as a hot flow.

Hello My name i go by is Asharana but if you would like to know my formal name its actually Kenneth. Ive practiced Microcosmic orbit from the mantak chia awakening healing light series as well as learning about the 3 dan tiens. Ive only recently been able to connect the spiritual body (macro) to the Micro(physical) so i am looking on where to go now i noticed each time ive connected to the northstar general other wise known as the northern star i feel either a strong spinning sensation or a pull from what feels like a strong vacuum effect of it. getting back to the intro i wanted to learn not only advance healing techniques but also how to have a strong or more fluid connection to the "Wuji" or emptiness I am unsure why but this seems to be one of the things on my bucket list before i move unto my next life. i can say ive experienced the silence of meditation and felt awakenings of the spiritual nature that hit me more then once like a mach truck of the universal energy . I was first developing or cultivating the energy that i have now when i was about 20-23 years old by first being attuned to reiki. then i realize there are methods that are more simple then reiki within in the first year of finding that attunement i decided that i would learn to be a healer to assist in developing my energetic body which i did not know could grow or i should say raise to higher levels until i started reading about "light/rainbow/diamond bodies" that is when i realize i had all the time i need to start working on my self to become better with my abilities and uncover new ones over time. So i am happy and hoping that within these few years ahead i'll be lead further down my path into the understanding of what my other spiritual bodies are like or even if my soul it self it manly multi-existantial

Hi guys ive seen many sources and authors refered about Microcosmic Orbit. Iam trying to find which are most respected self-learning materials about MCO. Can you post where did you learned MCO from ? I know many here learned MCO from a teacher - oral transmission which is of course the ideal way. But if you would recommend a self-study source to learn MCO what would it be ? Iam interested in self-study so books, video, web articles are prefered. Please be specific about the title. Author and title of the book or dvd, etc. I know aboout Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming - Qigong Meditation but for me this book is too encyclopedic/academic (430 pages) and he also keeps mentioning in this book you should read his previous book before you start (Embryonic Breathing - another 400 pages) - i dont want to read 800 pages to start practice Also Mantak Chia is mentioned a lot but he already has like 60 books and 50 DVDs - if you learned from Mantak Chia which title would you recommend most from his catalogue about Microcosmic Orbit Also Jerry Alan Johnson is mentioned, but i dont know his work at all, i dont know which of his books describe MCO. Could you guys post if you self-learned MCO... where did you learn MCO from ? What titles would you recommend ? Please dont post "i heard this and this should be good"... iam trying to gather tried and tested sources that really worked for people in the field, so i prefer recommendations that really worked FOR YOU... THANKS A LOT

iam practicing MCO for first time and the instruction says: PUT YOUR TONGUE ON PALATE BEHIND YOUR TEETH that makes sense but i read some different and conflicting instructions on internet (suprisingly) where exactly do YOU put the tongue on the palate ? my palate is not curved evenly like you see on all anatomic pictures (they are just average diagrams), i made a "picture" of mine, it has a long straight portion behind teeth and than it prolapses deeply upwards - creating high dome... <<PICTURE ATTACHED>> strangely... i can sense that some parts of palate deeper in my mouth have mild sour/alkalic taste (like licking very mild or diluted lemon) when doing MCO... i remember i read somewhere (will try to find source) that this spot where you can sense the sour/alkalic taste is the right spot to touch your tongue... i dont know where i read it... ARROW 1: this is where i guess most people place the tip because most instructions say "BEHIND YOUR TEETH" i dont feel ANYTHING here... ARROW 2, 3, 4: these spots are where i can sense faint sour/alkalic/lemon taste when i do MCO... the spot shifts a bit one moment its more 2, couple of minutes later its more 3 or even 4 WHATS ALSO INTERESTING is that after a while of practicing MCO i can sense a bump or engorged tissue develops around spots 2,3,4... this bump dissipates couple minutes after stoping MCO... <<PICTURE ATTACHED>>

This is an instruction you most likely have never heard of before: The Governor and Conception Channels each start at the anus. The first, runs from the anus, up the spine, and around the top of the head, to the upper lip. This meridian is called Tum Mo. The other meridian, known as Jen Mo, runs from the anus, up to the front of the body, to the lower lip. You will hear some instruction on tucking in the tailbone when doing Standing Gongs. When the tongue touches the palate, that is but one circuit connector - Ta-Chiao The other circuit connector is the anus. It must be slightly clenched, in order for the circuit to work at optimal operating potential. "Clenching slightly", but not too restricted, or the energy will pool here, and we want a smooth flowing. Some people, due to bad posture, misalignment of the spinal column, over weight, bloating, protruding/internal hemorrhoids, etc will have energy leakage from the area, especially when performing a deliberate- MCO routing gong - Hsiao Chou Tien The anus is obviously a hole, and if it is not sealed correctly, it will not allow for full energy circulation. Read more: http://lonemanpai.com/thread/877/most-mco-incorrectly#ixzz3mCRVoSqv

http://longmenpai.blogspot.ca/search?updated-min=2011-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&updated-max=2012-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&max-results=9 Quote: Mr. Cheng, male, from Busan , Korea. The followings are excerpt from his practice diaries. I have always liked Duke Zhou (周公) since I was a child, therefore when I was in the fourth grade, I borrowed the Confucius classics, Four Books and Five Classics (四书五经), from an old gentleman in my neighborhood. The old gentleman was a Confucius scholar, I studied from him and due to his influence, I started to develop a deep passion for traditional Chinese culture. I did not follow my father’s expectation and entered a Buddhist University instead, then, I began cultivation. The Buddha said, “all is created from the heart”, I thought then where do our hearts come from. This was the question I have been pondering on. After meditating on it for 9 months, the following was my conclusion: 心心本是空，莫问何处生。 夜月照天地，寒风摇竹林。 (Roughly: Hearts are originally empty, do not ask where they are from. The moon shines on the ground, the cold wind shakes the bamboo forest.) Beginning in 1991, I was the Abbot of two thousand-year-old temple in Korea (Guangde temple and Duoshuai temple), even though I came to China to study, my positions were held for me until 2009. When I was an Abbot, I always had this empty feeling about my lack of real achievement as a cultivator, so in order to search for the great Dao, I decided to come to China. I didn’t find any high level teachers nor any suitable methods however, so I entered the Shandong Traditional Chinese Medicine University to study TCM. 5 years of undergraduate, 3 years of Master and another 3 years for doctorate. Then I entered another doctoral program at Shandong University to study Pre-Qin dynasty literature. I wanted to write a thesis on “the link between Man and Heaven and Earth”, among the relevant literatures there are “Zhou YI Can Tong Qi”, “Ling Bao Bi Fa”, “Zhong Lu Zhuan Dao Ji” and “Wu Zhen Pian”, after reading them I realized that if I don’t know Dandao, I could not appreciate the Chinese Culture and Chinese Medicine at a profound level. Motivated by this, I began to search for people who has this transmission, I managed to meet the author of “Notebook on Internal Viewing and Observation” (内证观察笔记), he recommended “Opening the Dragongate” (Da Dao Xing) and “Walk on the Great Path” (Xing Da Dao). I was extremely excited after I finished both books, and with his introduction I was able to meet Mr. Shen Zhigang. From April 9th to April 19th, I went to Lanzhou and studied with Shen laoshi for 10 days. Shen laoshi taught me the core materials of internal alchemy, setting up the stove and installing the cauldron and the gathering of internal medicine. I had quite an experience only after a few days. I have studied Chan Buddhism for more than 20 years but I have never understand completely what the Buddha meant by “micro white brightness”, I can only interpret it superficially but I had never had actual experience of it. After coming to Lanzhou for three days, I have experienced “micro white brightness” and there is a series of transformations in my body too. I could feel the vibrations in my organs when I worked on the five elements. I was happy, excited and energized every day. I couldn’t even fall asleep for a few nights. Learning dandao has filled the empty part of my heart. After the 10-day class, I left the following poem in my notebook: 炼三宝，贵在呼吸； 修内丹，全凭口传。 世面言丹法，皆是口头禅； 明师引入门，无非真实法。 寻大道之颂 ——4月26日炼安神祖窍后而作 大道本无言，无名而无形。 若无借言说，不能显大道。 昔伏羲作易，后昆晓乾坤。 老子著经也，全彰道与德。 二圣明根源，兹以知还本。 人皆有性命，由此修大道。 魏老人撰书，凭易参同契。 丹道据天道，有钟吕传道。 灭邪小儒骇，传世为真宝。 谁知长生药，只在自身中。 As instructed by Shen laoshi, I continued to practice everyday for a month. Then I came to Lanzhou again on 9th May 2011 to continue my study of authentic internal alchemy. Shen laoshi furthered my study by systematically instructed me on the crucial steps of internal alchemy (Set up the stove and install the cauldron, internal medicine, external medicine, fusion of elixir and channel SHO). 20th: Morning and evening, we practiced enhanced method of gathering internal medicine, no reaction in my organs. 21st: Morning : Continued enhanced gathering of medicine, no reaction. Evening: Continued enhanced gathering of medicine, organs began to vibrate and got stronger and stronger. 22nd Morning: Continued enhanced gathering of internal medicine, organs continued to vibrate strongly and I almost lost control. With the guidance of the teacher I was able to take control again. Evening: Same as in the morning, after tuning my body position, I was able to control myself nicely. 23rd Morning: Use the first method of Ling Bao Bi Fa to practice the three-universe breathing and lower field, I could actually feel the stove and cauldron in “Set up the Stove and Install the cauldron”, very interesting and wondrous feelings. Evening: Began to gather the external medicine, I could see the spirit light going down to my lower field. 24th Morning: Practiced gathering of external medicine. I could see the spirit light but found it hard to condense them. Afternoon: We packed out stuff and headed off to Mount Xing Long. I had read the annontation of the Wu Zhen Pian by Liu Yiming and now I could come to the place where he cultivated, I had a deep respect for this place. 25th Morning: Enhanced method to gather the internal medicine, I could see the colors and their changes inside my organs. Afternoon: Continued enhanced gathering of internal medicine. Not only was I able to see the changes of the colors inside my organs, the outside bodily vibrations caused by the internal organs' vibration is calming down and getting into my internal body. The high frequency vibrations of my organs gave rise to a feeling that are interesting, calming and comforting, very special. Evening: Practiced Ping Heng Gong, I worked on a thousand-year-old giant pine tree. I could smell the fresh pine scent which permeated my entire body. This was my first contact with this divine tree and already I had this wondering feeling. I was very excited. 26th Early Morning: I practiced Ping Heng Gong in front of the divine tree. Again, I could smell the clean refreshing pine scent. When I was doing Zhan Zhuang with my back facing the tree, I could see different outlines of many temples with my eyes closed. Shen laoshi said that Liu Yiming had built over 70 temples on this mountain, no wondering I could “see” so many. Morning: When I was working on the external medicine, I could see great deal of bright yet transparent spirit light that permeated my whole body. When I condensed the light in front of my eyes, I retrieved it down to my lower field, it felt like a stream of water flowing down from the upper field, though the middle field and into my lower field. My three fields were bright like a sunny day. Afternoon: Same as the morning. Evening: Met with the divine tree again. When I was doing the Zhan Zhuang, I could see spirit light of deep green color flowing down into my lower field for more than 30 minutes. Afterward I "saw" many temples again. 27th Early Morning: Met with the divine tree again. The pine tree qi flowed through my ten fingers into my body and collected in my lower field. During Zhan Zhuang, I saw with my eyes closed a tree in front of me. Shen laoshi explained that this is “reflection to the origin”. Morning: During external medicine, the spirit light in front of my eye was sparkling and was making popping sounds. I could feel its incredible strength and it made my head vibrate. When I retrieved the light back into my lower field, my lower field started spinning and vibrating rapidly at the same time. Afternoon: During meditation, once I closed my eyes, a flood of bright golden color spirit light appeared in front of me. The light then changed into white color. When I retrieved the light, it felt like unlimited amount of it was filling into my lower field. My lower field wouldn’t stop vibrating. When I worked on Installing the spirit at the ancestral chamber practice, the strength of the spirit light was too great for me to condense. Evening: Met with divine tree again. During Zhan Zhuang, I continued to see the ancient temples, the mountain, the streams and old tea-colored walls of houses. Nighttime: Secret supplementary practices. 28th Early morning: Zhan Zhuang in front of the divine tree. With eyes closed, I saw mist-like spirit light filling into my lower field for more than 30 minutes. Fresh pine scent and flower fragrance flowed into my nose. At nine old clock in the morning, Shen laoshi said I am ready to try the Channel SHO. I burned some incense and prayed to the heaven. When everything was ready, I got into the full lots position. I regulated my breath, clamed my mind and strengthened my stove and cauldron. I felt that my lower field was burning and vibrating rapidly. After that, the Hui Yin point also began to vibrate then the qi flowed up my Du channel, the three gates on my back was broken though at once, my Heavenly eye point felt like it just exploded, my whole body was burning and inflating. There were many sparkling light on my body, liked firework. My tongue rolled backed and blocked my throat, I found it really hard to swallow,. Then suddenly after a “GU LU” sound, a hot stream flowed down my Ren channel into my lower field. After that, qi was like a spinning wheel inside my Ren and Du channel. When it was flowing slowly, it felt like an inch-wide white light. When it was flowing quickly, it felt like several light streams. The qi was flowing freely and there was absolutely no blockade. After letting it flowed like this for about 10 minutes, Shen laoshi asked me to stop. After getting off the lotus position, I felt relaxed and happy and I thanked my teacher. There was an interesting anecdote to this. I met with Shen laoshi before dawn, he said, “I dreamed at midnight that I went to visit a classmate in Qingdao, there was a long fish pond, more than 10 meters long and 1 to 1.5 meters wide, the depth was between 1.5 and 2 meters. Inside the pond, one can see many big fishes playing and chasing each other. There were many spectators around the pond and among them were friends and colleagues. Suddenly a fish jumped out of the pond, the owner picked it up and throw it back into the pond. When a fish jumped over the dragongate it became a dragon. I think this is a sign that you will open your SHO today.” I opened my SHO around 9:20 in the morning, the teacher said I was the 108th person that he helped to open the SHO. 108, a very nice and auspicious number. Afternoon: Sitting practice, I saw that the spirit light was clear and bright, my strength to condense qi had become stronger. SHO flowed again. Evening: Ping Heng Gong in front of the divine tree, I saw the temples again and I smelt strong flower fragrance. After opening my Channel SHO, I realized all the books on Daoist cultivation, internal alchemy etc on the market are pretty much worthless, what they describe are so different from the actual thing. The contents of these books are mostly empty words or just speculations of the authors. Same thing on the common understanding of “Wu Wei” and “Wu Xin”(“no heart”). A common interpretation of Wu Xin is that even the heart (Xin) is gone and that’s Wu Xin. However Xin is the most fundamental element, without Xin means there is nothing. So what is Wu Xin? For example, a bottle that contains nothing, we called it an empty bottle and not that the bottle itself is gone. Follow this then the concept of Wu Xin is clear, Wu Xin meant there is no polluted conscious thoughts in the heart. The heart of shining quietly is Wu Xin, without a trace of stray thought is “quiet”, when you know immediately a though has arise is “to shine”. No stray thought is the body of wisdom, once the level of the heart of shining quietly is reached, our heart then become the heart of the universe. Lu Jiuyuan said,” The universe is our heart, our heart is the universe.” This is exactly what it means. Buddhism and Daoism are not just about the heart, they have transcended the heart and the material world. People that have Western philosophy type of thinking all declare that Buddhism is all about the heart. If one can understand what is Wu Xin, then will he be able to understand what is the true meaning of Wu Wei and Wu Xin. They are more than the material world. The same thing can also be applied to Dandao, without actual cultivation experience, one can never understand the true extent and meaning of inner alchemy. There are only few true lineage of internal alchemy left in this world. I am extremely lucky to be able to learn the authentic internal alchemy of Master Wang Liping. 29th Early morning: Practiced Ping Heng Gong in front of the divine tree, while the mist-like spirit light was pouring into my lower field, another stream of spirit light entered the side of my left eye. My lower field vibrated and spun rapidly, SHO spun automatically. Morning: While gathering of external medicine, I found it much easier to condense but still I couldn’t condense all the spirit light. The light used to be pure white in colour but today it has a tint of green in it, very bright and transparent. Once the light got into the lower field, my SHO started on its own again. At first I was only able to feel the part of the SHO orbit below my neck but after I increased the strength in the lower field, the entire orbit could be felt easily. Afternoon: When fusing the elixir, the retrieved spirit light immediately appeared in front of my eyes. I didn’t listen to the daoyin and immediately collected the light into my lower field. The light poured down into my lower field like a giant waterfall and I could see many drops of pearl-like spirit light. I thought the scene was absolutely breathtaking! This beautiful scene continued for almost an hour and then I followed the daoyin again to work on installing the spirit at the ancestral chamber practice. Pure white spirit light flowed into my bladder, then it changed to grey and enters my liver, then it changed to green and enters my heart. Then it changed into tea-like color and entered my stomach, afterward it changed into sand yellow color and entered my lungs, afterward it changed into white and entered my kidneys, afterward it changed into grey and entered my bladder and finally it was still grey and entered my lower field. The ancients said that the five elements have their respective five colors, this is absolutely true. I was absolutely awestruck by their wisdom. Evening: I went to see the tomb of Liu Yiming. No one ever took care of the tomb and the place had been abandoned for a long tim. I felt very sad seeing this since I read his annotation of the Wu Zhen Pian before and I had respect for him. There was a really thick pine tree besides the tomb so I practiced Ping Heng Gong in front of it. When I did closed-eye zhan zhuang, spirit light immediately appeared in front of me. The qi here was different from the old divine tree, they were like misty pearls. After collecting them into my lower field and worked on the five elements, I felt for the first time qi moved vertically and horizontally inside my body. Qi in the liver moved from left to right and then from right to left and qi in my lungs and bladder moved up and down. The qi of the old divine tree shook and spun when it moved inside my organs. 30th Early morning: Practiced ping Heng Gong in front of the divine tree, I felt that the qi wasn’t that strong today, so I recited mijue while working on the five elements. The organs vibrated slightly, the strongest one was the stomach. During zhang zhuang, I “saw” the roads and the pine trees with my eyes closed, and also the mist-covered forest. Finally under the influence of the spirit light, I spontanesouly worked on the Bagua Yi Sphere. Morning: During meditation, I was able to see the color change of the five elements and also the surrounding area. I was meditating on the second floor but I was able to see the peope and the floor of ground level. Afternoon: During meditation, I had experienced a new phenomenon, my mind was very clear but I wasn’t able to hear anything from the surrounding. But after a while I was able to hear the daoyin again. I then saw within light-yellow spirit light, there was a rice-sized red sphere entering into my lower field. The lower field then immediately contracted and expanded slowly, like a massage, it was very comfortable. Evening: Ping Heng Gong in front of the divine tree. During the bladder phase of the five elements, my SHO started automatically and I wasn’t sure what to do. So I observe my SHO while continued to work on the 5 elements. There were influences from the two affecting each other but they still managed to be run at the same time. Five elements is small restoration cinnabar while SHO is grand restoration cinnabar, I didn't know why they appeared at the same time. 31st Early morning: I changed a tree this morning, it wasn’t as big and as old as the divine tree, the feeling was also slightly off. The tree appeared in front of my eyes while I was working on the Ping Heng Gong and also while I did zhan zhuang facing the opposite way. The movements of the qi inside my organs were not balanced, for example, the qi shook in my right lung while it spun in my left. It spun in my right kidney but moved in line-movement in my left. Morning: During meditation, spirit light appeared as soon as I closed my eye, so I ignored the daoyin and retrieved the spirit light inside my body. I saw many imageries, mountains, sky, rocks and pine trees, they were very bright, just like seeing with eyes opened. During the ancestral chamber practice, the spirit light was transparent and my ability to control it was better, the condensed light got smaller. After it went down into my lower field, qi began to move between my lower field and middle field automatically. After lunch, I took a tour of the temple where Liu Yiming cultivated, the Zizai Wo. After talking to the daoist in charge there, I entered the temple and closed my eyes to meditate, very quickly I saw yellow color spirit light. After condensing it and put it in my lower field, the feeling was quite good. Afternoon: After the tour, I got into full lotus and gather external medicine, I wanted to continued the feeling I had in Zizai Wo. Immediately after I closed my eyes, the spirit light appeared. Condensed it and retrieved it for about 30 minutes. After the light went into my lower field, I started the five elements practice. When it got to my stomach, the SHO started automatically. So I quickly finished the cycle and to concentrate on the movement of the SHO. An idea flashed into mind at that moment, I heard the method of Macrocosmic orbit from Shen laoshi, so I immediately thought about my Yong Quan points, suddenly two streams of qi flowed up from my Yong Quan points, through my legs and into the Hui Yin point and then followed the SHO and into my lower field. A new pathway appeared: Yong Quan -> Hui Yin -> Du channel -> Ren channel. It flowed in this new path for about 20 times. While the qi was moving, it shined a bright light, it was beautiful. Finally, qi flowed in circles inside my lower field, from big to small, from one direction to the other. My lower field was burning, it was very very hot. Finally I quieted down and finished up the meditation. Evening: Ping Heng Gong in front of the divine tree again. During the five elements cycle, qi flowed between my lower field and middle field automatically. I wanted it to stop this movement but wasn’t able to. I asked Shen laoshi afterward and he said let them move on their own. 1st June Early Morning: After greeting the divine tree, I closed my eyes and regulated my breathing, the spirit light appeared immediately. I condensed it to the size of a green bean and put it into my lower field, the qi in the lower field began to vibrate. The amplitude was small in the beginning but then it got greater and greater and even moved back and forth inside my Dai mai, there was some small pain. Afterward qi in my right kidney started spinning and then my left kidney. Qi in the lower field circulated in big and then small circles. After letting it be for about 30 minutes I started zhan zhuang. The same phenomenon appeared. During five elements, the qi moved between my lower and middle fields. Then it started moving in the Dai channel and I again felt a slight pain. Morning: Learnt the practice of “Using the external five elements to open the channels” , then full lotus, light appeared immediately after I closed my eyes. Macrocosmic orbits ran for about 30 times. Then qi moved between the middle and lower fields. Then qi moved in big and small circles in both directions in my lower field. Then qi was collected in my lower field and started spinning rapidly. Afternoon: Practiced “External 5 elements to open the channels”, then full lotus. Light appeared immediately after I closed my eyes, after collected it in my lower field and worked on the five-element cycle, the qi moved between the lower and middle fields, I immediately finished the cycle to observe the qi movement between the two fields. Then Macrocosmic orbit started on its own, it felt like every meridians and channels were moving in my body, I could feel qi inside several meridians were moving at the same time, they had different colors, very bright and moved very fast. There were also white color qi surrounding them and I also saw qi moving in front of my eyes. The entire meridian system were moving rapidly and I was actually a bit worried. But I remembered Shen laoshi’s advice to carefully let them work on themselves, so I quieted down and started to observe and count the number of cycles. After about 70 times, the speed began to be reduced. I then put some intention at the yong quan points and qi immediately flowed up from there into my hui yin then Du and Ren channels into my lower field. After about 100 cycles, qi began to move between my lower and middle fields. Then the qi started moving in big and small circles inside my lower field. Then the qi was collected in my lower field and condensed into rice-sized ball ad started spinning rapidly. Evening: Met with my favorite divine tree again. Light appeared immediately and I collected it into my lower field and then qi started spinning. When I retrieved the spirit light again, qi started moving between my middle and lower fields. After a while, I observed my lower field and the qi started the circular movments. During Zhan Zhuang, Macrocosmic orbit ran for more than 10 times together with several meridians. My 10 fingers were full of qi and they were very hot, I could feel qi moving in my meridian. 2nd Early Morning: Met with my favorite divine tree again. Light appeared immediately and I collected it into my lower field. Then Macrocosmic orbit ran for 70 cycles, then several meridians also started moving, the Dai channel also moved. 3 cycles of five elements and stopped, approximately 90 minutes. Morning: Full lotus on my bed, light appeared immediately. Put it in my lower field. Got into a trance for about 30 minutes, then 2 cycles of five elements. Macrocosmic orbits 16 times. During ancestral chamber practice the spirit light was like a yellow bean, golden color and a layer of rainbow on the surface. Retrieved spirit light into my lower field, it then vibrated very strongly which caused my body to almost leaned back. It happened twice. Then I used the spirit light for the five elements practice, when it got to the lungs, qi started pumping from the yong quan points, so I quickly finished the cycle to observe it. Macrocosmic orbit started running rapidly for about 200 times. Then starting from my toes, I felt vibrations, heat, light and electric shocks, I could even heard a noise that sounds like electricity moving between two metal objects. The phenomenon moved up my legs, thigh, waist. And starting from the waist, a bright qi loop appeared, same thing happened at my chest. I thought this must be the new latitudinal orbits mentioned by Shen laoshi earlier. So I tried my best to remember their positions and numbers. But after I finished the practice, I had forgotten almost all of them, it was just like a dream. After lunch, I went to Mount Long Tou with Shen laoshi. I meditated on mount Long Tou and light appeared immediately, they looked exactly like pearls, they dropped one by one into my lower field. The lower field began to move on its own. The qi inside it then slowly spreaded out like mist. I felt there were several small objects spinning inside. Circular movements of qi then appeared in the lower field. Because it was too sunny, I quickly finished up. Meditating on mount Long Tou felt different from other places, the qi at this place was particular strong. Afternoon: Back to the living quarter, after some tea, full lotus on my bed. Macrocosmic orbit ran for several dozen times together with all the meridians. Then ancestral chamber practice, I did it twice and collected the light in the lower field. Since I felt that the qi did not dissolve completely in my lower field, so I increased my intention to dissolve the qi in the lower field. When I hold my breath to dissolve the qi, a flood of white light bursted out of the lower field and spread to the surrounding. I could feel that my lower field was expanding and contracting and it was breathing rhythmically. At the same times new orbit lines appeared. I thought this was embryonic breathing and so I was very excited. So just like this, I inhaled, hold and then exhaled and during each hold breath, the lower field would started breathing automatically, it was very comfortable. It was like this for about 30 minutes. While this was happening, my legs really hurt and they started shaking, felt really hot, it felt like my legs were burning. During reverse breathing and drawing in the anus, it exacerbated the feeling. After some time, the vibration and burning sensation started to subside, my left leg did not hurt anymore but the right leg continued to hurt. The entire session was about 2 hours. Afterward I went to Shen laoshi and told him excitedly that I had embryonic breathing and I described the phenomenon to him. The teacher said calmly, “This is not embryonic breathing. This is True Breath” and he told me a story. Some guy thought he had reached embryonic breathing, just liked me, and he went to ask Master Wang. The Master did not answered directly but during the class he said,”In order to have embryonic breathing, you must first have an embryo. To have an embryo you must first have Yinyang. To have Yinyang you must have Taiyi (ultimate unity), and to have Taiyi, you must first have internal and external medicine.” Evening: Met with the divine tree again. Light appeared immediately. The circular spirit light had a very special coloration. It was tea color inside but the boundary was grey. After collecting it in the lower field, the lower field began to jump. Afte Ping heng gong zhan zhuang and five elements, macrocosmic orbits started to cycle, the qi movements inside my meridians were very thin. Then the new orbits surrounding the three fields appeared. 3rd Early Morning: Stood in front of the old divine tree, spirit light appeared immediately. The circular light was white and sightly brown outside and black in the center. After pulling it a bit, the color changed to white outside with some rainbow color and the center was gold color. Retrieved it back to lower field and it began spinning immediately, the qi circulated in big and small circles and in different directions. Then I retrieved the light again and the Macocosmic orbit started running, the speed was too fast for me to count the number of cycles, it must had been about 200 times. During the cycles, when it was slowing down, I would strengthen my intention at the yong quan points and then it would speed up again. After the orbits, I closed my eyes to do Ping Heng Gong, suddenly the tree became a giant white column and there were some crossectional light loops. The qi moved from the bottom to the top just like the meridians in the human body. During Zhan Zhuang, the macrocosmic orbit ran again for another 200 times. New latitudinal orbits were also circulating. I looked at it carefully and recorded thir positions and number. I finished up after 2 cycles of five elements. The entire practice was about 2 hours long. I asked about the tree light column, Shen laoshi said, “Trees also have channels where they transport the nutrients.“ he further added that “The number of loops and their position you saw are correct.” Lifes and nature are so wonderful and mysterious! Morning: I took a tour of the Qi Zhen Dian. I stood in front of the oil pine tree in front of the temple for a brief moment. Once I closed my eyes, the light appeared immediately, its color was just like the sun. Retrieved it down to lower field and it immediately began to spin, the Macrocosmic orbit also spun for a few dozens times. The qi of the oil pine tree was soft but full, the tree has a beautiful and respectable appearance. Afterward, I went inside the Qi Zhen Dian, after praying my respect and burned an incence, I sat down to meditate for a bit. The spirit light was liked the rising sun at dawn, when I retrieved it back, its color changed into sparkling gold, it was very strong and limitless, it poured directly into my lower field. I kept at this state while I slowly stood up, I continued to retrieve the spirit light and not long afterward the macrocosmic orbits started runnning for a few dozens times. The power of this authentic ancient temple was so great! Afternoon and evening: Full lotus, light appeared immediately, I collected the golden color light in my lower field. Macrocosmic orbit started running and also the new latitudinal orbits. During ancestral chamber and five elements practice, the Macro orbit also started running for about 200 cycles. I sat in full lotus for almost 2 hours and my legs hurt a lot, but the meridians seemed to be auto correcting themselves and the pain reduced, although the pain was still too much for me and I took one leg down. After tuning my body and looked up, spirit light appeared again, I collected down to my lower field and the true breath happened again. I got into a trance, semi-conscious and dream-like. Suddenly, my legs started shaking and I felt that there were three channels moving up and down and the pain in my legs disppeared and the Macro orbit started running again. I was in this state for a while longer and then I finished up. The entire practice was about 200 minutes. 4th After migdnight: Full lotus, took light into the lower field. Qi started spinning in big and small circles inside the lower field. Tuned my breath, inhaled, held an exhaled. When I was holding my bretah, the lower field started breathing, a rope-like white qi band was leading the lower field to breath, then slowely, my ordinary mouth nose breathing stopped and skin breathing began. Macro orbit started spinning. When the lower field started spinning, the top part would exhale and the lower part would inhale, rising and lowering regularly. During Macro orbit, it raise from the back and fall at the front. It was very comfortable and I got into a dream-like trance state again. I was like that for an hour. Early morning: Met with the old divine tree, light appeared immediately. The first time I condensed the light to a small point, it escaped. I tried it again and collected it to the lower field. The lower field started spinning and the Macro orbit also started running. I could see the dvine tree with my eyes closed as though my eyes were actually opened., the only difference is that it seemed to be cleaner and clearer with my eyes closed. During zhan zhuang, I could see mountain, lake, sky and bamboo forest etc. Morning: Full lotus, light appeared, ignored daoyin. Collected light to lower field. Dantian started spinning. I continued to collect the spirit light which was light blue color. I used my intention to spin my lower field while holding my breath, I could feel the true breath. True breah stopped when I heard the daoyin for ancestral chamber practice. Collected spirit light down to lower filed again and the Macro orbit started to run. Probably because I did full lotus for too long the day before, my legs hurt a lot so I changed into half lotus. Not long afterward, Macro orbit started again until I finished the session. After lunch, we packed up to go back into the city. Our car broke down though so we had to stop at a service pit to get it repaired. At the mechanic's, it was still possible to make out the location of the Qi Zhen Dian and the Oil pine. Shen laoshi said it is possible to retrieve the spirit light of the temple even from this great distance, so I decided to try it. The spirit light of the temple appeared in front me immediately and not long after, the oil pine's light also arrived. How did I tell the difference? I remembered the different colors of the spirit light from yesterday. So I sat in the mechanic’s place and faced Mount Xing long to meditate. Not long afterward, the spirit light of the temple and the tree appeared although the pine tree’s light was weaker than the temple’s light. Both light were somewhat weak at first but it got stronger and stronger gradually. After I collected all the light in my lower field, I was going to do five elements but the lower field started spinning on its own, so I let it do its thing. This lasted for about an hour and in between, true breath appeared and I could hear the surrounding sound, I felt like I was about to get into a trance. The qi slowly flowed into my lower field and the Macro orbit started running, I let it ran for almost 1000 times until our car was fixed. 5th Morning: Woke up and the Macro orbit started on its own, so I straightened my legs and lay on my bed to let it run for about 40 minutes. The night before, I dreamed a giant snake that had beautiful pattern on its body. I was a bit scared so I threw a rock at it, it chased after me so I ran away. It caught up with me though but at that moment, a beautiful tiger appeared and bit the snake at the 7th-inch position, the tiger seemed to be hesitating and so it stopped. I thought, did the snake also bite the tiger? The dream ended at that point. Afterward, full lotus for about an hour, I used the spirit light to link up with the spirit light from Qi Zhen Dian, after a few minutes the temple’s light appeared and I collected it to my lower field. Not long after, true breath appeared. After more than 10 minutes, qi slowly flowed into the lower field. Qi moved strongly inside my lower field and it was very hot. I could also feel granular shaped qi in the lower field, probably because it wasn’t dissolved completely. Then I did five-element cycle three times and took qi back to the lower field. I still felt that the qi wasn’t completely dissolved but my legs hurt too much so I stopped. Shen laoshi’s plan was that after coming down from the mountain, the focus would be shifted to the discussion of the three classics: Zhong Lu Zhuan Dao Ji, Ling Bao Bi Fa and Taiyi Jinhua Zong Zhi. I had read the three books before I arrived at Lanzhou, the words weren’t so hard to understand but the actual practice and their true meaning were of course hidden and I was really not so sure I understood them at all. I read it again after I got back to the city and this time, especially the verification parts, I felt that I really do understand them especially since some of verifications had happened in my own body. After Shen laoshi had arrived, I asked him about dream, he said just go and read the third chapter of Ling Bao Bi Fa. The third chapter is the Mating of Dragon and Tiger and then I understood, isn’t snake a small dragon? Today, we mainly discussed the first chapter of Ling Bao Bi Fa, the Matching of Yin and Yang. 6th Morning: Half lotus for 90 minutes, pretty much the same as the day before, nothing new. Today we discussed the second chapter, the collection and dispersion of water and fire. Night time: Today was the Dragon Boat Festival, I ate too much in dinner, my belly was swelling. I sat down and try to dissolve the qi in my stomach, after some noises from my stomach, I felt more comfortable. I continued the practice and retrieved the spirit light from Qi Zhen Dian into my lower field. Two cycles of five elements and I felt plenty of qi. I did two times ancestral chamber and then two more times of five elements. After collecting the qi to the lower field, the qi raise up and it looked like a 4 inch long light band, I tried to force it back down to the lower field but wasn’t able to, so I just let it be. I felt the qi raise up from my back and flowed down in front, the strength and speed of the movments were unprecedented. I felt like it was moving at 2 or 3 times the speed of the Macro orbit. My whole body was very hot and sweating. After I finished up, I felt very comfortable. 7th Morning: Half lotus, light shifted and spun in front of my eyes. After collecting it down to lower field, qi started moving between the middle and lower field. Today, we discussed the third chapter, the mating of dragon and tiger. Evening: Full lotus, light appeared immediately, collected it to lower field. One cycle of five elements and the macro orbit started running. After that, I did the five-element cycle again, when it reached my lungs, the macro orbit started again. Not long after that, there were big movement up my back and down my front, the movement was very fast. In between, several meridians and channels were also moving. But I felt that the speed and hotness weren’t as good as the day before. After 90 minutes, I changed into half lotus and then did five elements twice. I finished up then and the session was 140 minutes. Afterward, I felt that my skin was especially smooth. Night time: full lotus, retrieved the light from Qi Zhen Dian to lower field. After two cycles of five elements, the macro orbit started running. Then after ancestral chamber practice, after retrieving the spirit light, true breath speared and lower field started breathing. It expanded and contracted regularly like a balloon and the expansion got bigger and bigger and I felt like I was about to float up. My whole body sweated and I thought suddenly, what if I exploded? So I decided to ask Shen laoshi before I continued. I slowly reduced the movement and finished up after another two times of five elements. 8th After midnight: When I was sleeping, I felt that the macro orbit was spinning, so I woke up and meditated. Half lotus, took light back and then did 2 cycles of five elements. Ancestral chamber practice, took light back to lower field, two cycles of five elements, took qi back to lower field. My lower field felt empty and it seemed there were a lot of space in there, I thought where was my Dan? Then I finished up but the lower field started spinning again, I thought what was going on? Why does it happen again? I asked Shen laoshi later and he said,”In college, the junior year ended and the vacation began, the senior year hasn’t started yet, and that’s the happiest time.” I thought about what it meant. Morning: Cross-legged, linked up with the old divine tree, the light I got back was fairly weak, took it back to lower field. Two cycles of five elements and then Macro orbit started. Two more cycles of five elements and I finished up. There was a new phenomenon, whenever I was meditating or resting, as soon as I moved my feet or stimulate the yong quan points, the macro orbit would start running. It was a headache, but a blissful one. Today we discussed the forth chapter, the Cooking of Cinnabar medicine. Nighttime: Full lotus, light appeared immediately, took it to lower field. Macro orbit started running. Two cycles of five elements, ancestral chamber practice, I felt that my ability to control the light got better, two cycles of five elements, macro orbit, latitudinal orbits, entire meridian system moved up and down. 80 minutes in total. 9th Morning: Half lotus, true breath appeared. Saliva pouring out from under my tongue, I swallowed them to the lower field. Macro orbits, entire meridian system were running. I used my intention to contract some of the latitudinal orbits, they got smaller and smaller but their speed increased. Two cycles of five elements and then I finished up. 90 minutes in total. Today, we discussed the fifth chapter, the golden crystal flying up from the side. Nighttime: Full lotus. Light appeared immediately, took back to lower field, then five elements twice, then macro orbits and latitudinal orbits. After ancestral chamber and five elements, the macro orbits ran again. Then I tuned the latitudinal orbit and following my regulations of my breaths, the orbit got smaller and smaller while the speed increased. This time the upper, middle and lower field were connected in one line. The broken line is no longer broken! It was just like a meridian and starting running. Afterward, my legs hurt so I finished up. 70 minutes in total. Night time: Crossed legged. Light appeared immediately, took it to lower field. Five elements and then macro orbit, latitudinal orbits and entire meridian system started moving. I decreased the size of the latitudinal orbit to make it run faster. The broken line then also started moving. I was worried that the qi might burst out from the Tian Men so I use the body universe and personal universe to regulate it. Qi moved up and down between the upper and lower field. Afterward, I saw the sky, clouds and mountain ranges just liked with my eyes open. Then, I saw a flood of light, it was transparent and golden color, liked a curtain. I was going to finish up but the Macro orbit and latitudinal orbits just wouldn’t stop. So I continued to sit. 200 minutes. 10th Midnight: Half lotus. Light appeared, took it to lower field. Five elements and then macro orbit, the speed was much faster than before. Latitudinal orbit, broken line started moving. Used body and personal universe to regulate the movement. Qi moved to lower field. Then I saw the edge of the personal universe, I was sitting inside a big sphere, very bright, liked the scene when I opened my SHO but just without the stars. Morning: Half lotus, light appeared, took it to lower field. Five elements, macro orbit, latitudinal orbit. Qi to lower field, then it wanted to go up. Lower field spinning, five elements again. Finished up. In the afternoon, I left my place of rebirth, Lanzhou. I went home happily and a changed person. Conclusion A limited lifetime and an unlimited universe. How can a human obtain a lifespan that is as long as the heaven and earth? The ancients observe the movements of the heaven and earth, they understood the transformation of yin and yang, the movements of the sun and the moon. And using these observations, they revealed the rule of the great Dao inside the human body. This is Dandao, ordinary people only used their normal eyes to see man, things and the universe, but they don’t know how to use the Heaven eyes to see the world behind the ordinary world. Life is short, normal people don’t know how to escape the pain of living, like birth, old age, diseases and death. Living only in the material world, there is no escaping these pains. But if they looked back and read the wisdom of the old sages and started learning and practicing dandao, then there is a possibility to escape. The “On true immortals” chapter in Zhong Lu Zhuan Dao Ji is excellent, and one should study it carefully. Through the personal guidance of Shen laoshi, I was able to experience firsthand the pre-heaven movements of qi (SHO, macro, latitudinal orbits) and also the shining brightness of the original spirit and ling xing. I have changed completely as a person, from inside to outside. I understood what is meant by “Dao is not far from human”. By studying the three classics and the verifications in them and the things that happened inside my body, I was able to understand the Zhong Lu Dandao is the complete method and perfect integration of theory, method and verification. It helped me reaching a new level of consciousness and a deeper appreciation of traditional Chinese culture. This ended my 15 years of study in China at a high note and I hope a full ending would be possible with my own further tireless effort. June 10th 2011 at Lanzhou. End of the quote. Where are you in your [neidan] cultivation? What do you do? What do you see? What do you think?

Hey! The deal is this: I am putting together an exhibition about chinese medicine where I will illustrate the relation between anatomy and energy, between medicine and cultivation. There are some topics I will take up with my pictures: -direct relationship between anatomy and energywork -illustrations of movement of qi -illustration of healthy qi movement contra diseased qi movement Now, practitioners of chinese medicine and cultivators, i need your help. I am 80% handyman when it comes to my artwork, and I want to broaden my spectrum of ideas. What are creative ways to illustrate these things? And, do you have any other ideas of what you would want shown through an image? So far I have only made two images: 1. cultivation. This image is a more anatomically-oriented version of the neijing tu combined with some elements from the xiuzhen tu. 2. internal and external pathways shown with anatomy and the three dantian. So, please everybody, give me your opinions and ideas for how I can make a really awesome exhibition in october, and if lucky help evolve the way we imagine our body and mind. best wishes, j

'Doin' the MCO is Taoist fundamentalism, and it gets you the kinds of results that you would expect from fundamentalism.