what books to recomend a beginner?

[nashenas]

Hi!

Im new to this place, but I think I will stay here for a loooong while, I just stumbled upon this blessing to a site and have been reading nonstop for 9 hours, a lot of my questions have been answered and for this I am ever so gratefull.

 

let me start with some background so that you get a picture of where I am at.

 

I never belived on any of this stuff, until oneday I was chocked when playing playstation with a friend mine, we were playing fifa and during this something happened that chocked me and my world stoped for a second.

 

I feelt an energy entering my body. and this stayed with me for a long time, at first I tought I was becoming gay since I this sensation was so new to me my legs were radiating like crazy my world turned upside down, I searched everycorner of the internet for some answer I started praying to a god I didnt belive in for answers (big homofobia), and somehow I came across chakras and kundalini energy I keept on searching and found the book of secrets. I used one of the methods and one thing led to another and all of a sudden I was in grace.

 

I activated my 3rd eye some how, and my 2nd chakra is active and my heart center is about to activate ( I feel a very warm sensation)

 

all of a sudden I had very wierd dreams, but I wasent afraid I embraced it after reading what the 3rd eye does I understod it was its effect, I started studying the laws of the universe, Law of attraction etc, wich works very well with me.

 

read some of the bible the quoran some on hinduism budhism etc, and I could understand the teachings on a completly hogher level some snips and snaps here and there, never really completed any of the books but i got the whole idea and understod that they all lead to the same in one way or another.

 

 

now the problem is I dont know how to meditate. what meditation is, what the goal should be if there should be any goal etc, and Im feeling the effects of the psycological changes etc. and I have no mentor what so ever. So what im asking for is good information, ive seen over 1000s of teachings and tbh I dont know whats what. So you advanced pepole if you were me what books would you read to start with what dvds would you watch etc just to get a hang of it.

 

and can someone please explain why sometimes a lot of energy gets stuck in my left leg, can get a little bit akward from time to time, and why I only feel the energy on the left side off my body?

 

ive booked time with a reiki healer to solve the problem but I think its good to know what is happening.

 

Thanx for your time, and your help. bless you.

[magus]

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Edited July 8, 2010 by magus

[Mal]

Taoism as a "ism" Eva Wong: Shambala Guide to Taoism

http://www.thetaobums.com/Eva-Wong-Shambal...sion-t5001.html

i.e why is there no taoist bible / why does everybody argue about everything If there was one book that I wish I had read earlier then this is it. explains a lot about the different flavours of Taoism.

 

That should help you get a handle on things. Eva Wong and Thomas Cleary are great places to start with more traditional Taoism, but its a very broad topic.

 

I started out with the bits that interested me most (sex) and filled in the gaps over the years so don't stress trying to learn everything at once, it's a journey

 

Meditation "books" are not really my thing and searching for "meditation" here gives 21 Pages (Search results limited to first 1000) So I'll let someone else narrow that a touch for you because all I can think of recommending is Kunlun

 

Oh forgot DVD's if you are stuck by yourself and want to practice get this

Ken Cohen The Essential QiGong Training Course worth every penny, even though it's a lot of pennies and mine was a gift from my partner Too many people skip fundamentals, jumping to the complex stuff without a solid foundation.

[magus]

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Edited July 8, 2010 by magus

[Mal]

why does everybody argue about everything

I'm just being flippant too Actually it would be nice to read Chinese and check out the canon.

[Sloppy Zhang]

Relaxing Into Your Being by Bruce Kumar Frantzis.

[magus]

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Edited July 8, 2010 by magus

[Sahaj Nath]

Relaxing Into Your Being by Bruce Kumar Frantzis.

 

 

HEY EVERYBODY!

 

 

 

yeah, given what you've articulated and what you're looking for, i think this was the best suggestion so far.

 

keep it simple. don't get bogged down in all the theories and concepts that get debated around here. Relaxing Into Your Being is a great book. short, straight-forward, and solid.

 

if your interested in learning more about the energy side of things (which i recommend you do given how things are going for you), my standard textbook is The Healing Promise of Qi by Roger Jahnke.

 

if you only studied these two books for the next year, that would be a very fruitful year!

 

again, keep it simple.

 

good luck.

 

 

EDIT:

 

oh, and Mal's recommendation of the Essential Training Course is a thorough fundamentals program, but i never really warmed up to it. Ken Cohen really does know his stuff, but his program bored me to death to be honest.

 

Instead i would recommend Chunyi Lin's Spring Forest Qigong Levels 1 & 2.

Edited July 14, 2009 by Hundun

[Siliconvalley1]

HEY EVERYBODY!

 

 

 

 

Hudun!! Long time... hello

[bindo]

Hey, hey! Hundun!,

Good to see you are still around. I hope all is well with you.

 

I agree with you on The Healing Promise of QI, and Spring Forest Qigong. Haven't read Relaxing Into Your Being.

[Uncle Screwtape]

The Tao of Daily Living by Derek Lin is a wonderful beginners' book. I would also recommend his Tao Te Ching to anyone. It is very highly regarded. There is also Stephen Karcher's Ta Chuan, which is beautiful and a great introduction to some pretty deep stuff. If you can get it, John Blofeld's Taoist Mysteries and Magic is an absolute gem. Some might think it isn't right for a beginner but I think it would do a wonderful job of inspiring anyone to find out more. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintanance is a novel but it rather violently broadened my mind so that a lot of what was to come could fit. Someone has already mentioned Eva Wong's books. Let me just say they are fantastic.

 

Richard

[Dainin]

Awakening through Playstation, eh? I guess I was born too soon!

 

Everyone here is going to have a different perspective on what is good for beginners. I would suggest that if you are going to do any qigong or other methods that involve moving energy, that you balance that with either zazen or vipassana meditation. Some books I like on these methods are:

 

Mindfulness in Plain English by Bhante G

 

Everyday Zen by Charlotte Joko Beck

 

Three Pillars of Zen by Philip Kapleau

 

Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shunryu Suzuki

 

Jack Kornfield has some audio stuff on vipassana.

 

Dao de Jing makes a lot more sense for beginners than the Taoist Canon. Get a few different versions to compare them. Make things simple, don't get bogged down in a labyrinth of complexity.

 

You can learn some basic qigong sets from DVDs. Some that I like are by Dr Jerry Alan Johnson, Francesco Garripoli, Dr George Love, and Ken Cohen. It's almost always better to learn from a teacher in person though. And for tai chi, a teacher is absolutely essential. If you are interested in hatha yoga, I would recommend learning from a certified teacher of the Iyengar method first, so you develop a foundation of good habits. Then try some different systems to see what you like. Good luck and keep things fun!

[Mal]

HEY EVERYBODY!

 

Good to see you again

[voices that carry]

I would recommed "Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life" by Dr. Wayne Dyer

It is a down to earth, straight foward interruptation of the Tao Te Ching.

Peace be with you !

[magus]

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Edited July 8, 2010 by magus

[Gerard]

The Middle Discourses of the Buddha, if you are interested in Buddhism:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Middle-Length-Discou...n/dp/086171072X

 

 

In addition, try to find a good teacher because they will replace all the books found in this world.

[nashenas]

hey!

 

omg thank you each and everyone of you for your kind answers, I will read all of the books mentioned as fast as I get a hold of them, The thirst I have for information is incredible, ive read 2 books in one day and understood the concept of intention etc, very good stuff!

 

I read 2 books about reiki, and this helped me remove the negative energy on my leg, and for the first time im finally grounded, after healing my root chakra and balancing it! what an incredible feeling, feels like nothing can bother me.

 

one thing that is new now is (I will create a new thread about this to) that my second chakra have a life of its own. can you somehow protect it so that it only gets "signals" from those you want to get signals from and not everyone that is in your pressence? or is it on autopilot all the time? and what happens if I balance it and close it down? Ive learned how to open and close chakras in a mater of seconds and when i close my root yesterday all the energy went uppward to the center of my body instantly, so could it be balanced and closed or must it be open all the time? since my heart chakra is sending out energy all the time. I meet a girl today that im dating and she said " I feel cold" I asked if she wanted my jacket she said "no it feels coold inside" whats up with that?

 

im just asking because I dont want to hurt anyone in any way.

 

Bless you all for your time and knowledege!