Flying Phoenix Chi Kung

[Earl Grey]

41 minutes ago, DSCB57 said:

I think one reason for that taboo is the fact that it can cause envy or lead to those unable to have similar experiences being disheartened, which could cause them to give up. The main point however is that it is very rare for any two students to have the same or even similar experiences in the practice of Qigong cultivation. It is not considered good for students to have any expectations of what they are likely to experience in their training, as the mind is quite capable of providing such experiences, but these are not real. This can be very damaging to one's development, which is why the sharing of Qigong experiences is discouraged in many schools. I agree with this.  

 

You might say that the intention is to inspire practitioners to work harder, but it does not necessarily have that effect. It was after all in this spirit that I shared information here regarding the time it took me to complete each of the meditations, but I think there is sufficient proof that it was not taken in the way I intended at all. I think it's rather a shame as well as hypocritical that many others on this thread openly and frequently boast of their achievements and are applauded for doing so. Many of them should know better, and should be setting a better example to those less knowledgeable. 

 

For your information, I initially didn't plan on posting what I shared earlier on the main thread, but after an e-mail exchange with Sifu Terry, I was encouraged by him to post it here for him to respond and share some insights that he wanted the group to know about. 

 

I personally find no problem with people getting different results and I don't see what I do as boasting or showing off. If anything, I feel it's celebrating the joy of our discipline and development. Some feel good, some see strange but wonderful things, and others just don't have health insurance anymore due to their confidence in their practice. Who else can we talk to who also practices Flying Phoenix and with perhaps parallel sensations, confirms we are not crazy? Isn't that what this thread is for? To connect us with each other? My own personal practice journal was quite helpful for a few people, and not just for Flying Phoenix. 

 

We experience what we are meant to experience. That's all I have to say on the matter as I could very easily be jealous of others who describe things I have yet to encounter in my own work, but I am not, I am quite happy for them since their enjoyment does not take away from my own, and what I share should not discourage anyone else. Storytelling is a medium that has shaped our realities throughout myth and time, so why deprive the world of tales of wonder and awe? My stories and others' own stories have made me feel more part of this community and school, and those who read what we share and call it "boasting" and "hypocritical" probably don't grok the same reality.

 

To each their own, I guess.

Edited March 15, 2018 by Earl Grey

[DSCB57]

3 minutes ago, Earl Grey said:

 

For your information, I initially didn't plan on posting what I shared earlier on the main thread, but after an e-mail exchange with Sifu Terry, I was encouraged by him to post it here for him to respond and share some insights that he wanted the group to know about. 

What makes you think my comments were directed at you? 

3 minutes ago, Earl Grey said:

 

I personally find no problem with people getting different results and I don't see what I do as boasting or showing off. If anything, I feel it's celebrating the joy of our discipline and development. Some feel good, some see strange but wonderful things, and others just don't have health insurance anymore due to their confidence in their practice. Who else can we talk to who also practices Flying Phoenix and with perhaps parallel sensations, confirms we are not crazy? 

We were discussing the subject of it being thought of as a taboo. I merely explained why in many cultivation schools this is so, and added some of my own experiences.

3 minutes ago, Earl Grey said:

 

We experience what we are meant to experience. That's all I have to say on the matter as I could very easily be jealous of others who describe things I have yet to encounter in my own work, but I am not, I am quite happy for them since their enjoyment does not take away from my own, and what I share should not discourage anyone else. Storytelling is a medium that has shaped our realities throughout myth and time, so why deprive the world of tales of wonder and awe? My stories and others' own stories have made me feel more part of this community and school, and those who read what we share and call it "boasting" and "hypocritical" probably don't grok the same reality.

You obviously have not taken my statement in context. It has a very specific context, which was that I see no reason why one member's account of their training experience should be ignored whilst another's is applauded. I call that hypocrisy regardless of your opinion, and that is the whole question - you hit the nail right on the head. Why should I not also have the right to feel part of this community? What right do you have to make anyone feel alienated? I wonder, have you even bothered to read my previous two posts in order to understand what I am going through? No, I suppose not. To each their own, yes, you said it... 

3 minutes ago, Earl Grey said:

 

To each their own, I guess.

 

[Earl Grey]

1 minute ago, DSCB57 said:

Why should I not also have the right to feel part of this community? What right do you have to make anyone feel alienated?

 

Nothing on my part indicates I am trying to alienate you, but good luck with what you are working on. 

[Sudhamma]

DSCB57, I do read your posts in this thread but I can't comment in reply to your queries as my tradition is not "Flying Phoenix". Please do not feel depressed when there are no responses to your posts; it happens to most people. This is just a forum for sharing o experiences with total strangers and sometimes, what you post may not go down well with some people with different experiences/agenda. Perhaps going under a proper guidance by a good instructor should alleviate some of the problems that you had enquired instead of learning from videos. If this is no good, perhaps, take up a more simple yet effective qigong would help, for example, the simple swing hand qigong exercise (swuai shou) which was very popular in the early 1960s. This traditional form has undergone modification to the current p'eng shou swuai which has become more of a physical exercise than qigong. Or just concentrate on zhang zhuang with mco can also be satisfying.

[Aeran]

I'm going to drop the quote format, since at this point I think it will just bloat my post excessively.

 

- Your experiences of the energy on a "tactile" level sound very similar to mine, except that to me it does not seem to, in the course of normal practice, create a sensation of heat. There are two exceptions, the first is a very mild warmth, more a "glow" than a "heat," in the LDT during MHPearl or meditations which use the same hand positioning, and times when the meditations are seemingly having some kind of specific cleansing or purifying effect (I experienced this quite heavily when I first started practising, and again recently in response to some specific health problems - when I addressed the latter by changing my diet, the strong heat during practice disappeared almost overnight). But the energy itself, in the course of regular practice, doesn't usually feel intrinsically "hot." 

 

That said, it does feel "fiery" during certain meditations, or especially when it accumulates in large quantities after particularly intensive practice, but like a "heat-less fire," if that makes any sense. I know it sounds a little contradictory, but there you go. The closest physical sensation I can relate it to is that which you get when you quickly run your finger through a candle flame, able to feel the flame itself over your skin, but not holding it still and thus not letting it burn you. By contrast, the Qi I feel from most other systems of cultivation seems to have a more "electromagnetic" feel to it, for lack of a better word.

 

- The question of secrecy v. openness is a complicated one, and my views are no doubt coloured by the heavy emphasis on secrecy in the Western Hermetic tradition where I started out. Drilled into me by books and teachers and online communities right next to the importance of visualisation was the Four Powers of the Sphinx, "To Know, to Dare, to Will and To Be Silent."

 

I saw the exact interpretation of this debated endlessly, but I also saw the harm it caused. The confusion it created in aspirants, who were exposed to conflicting metaphysical concepts and denied concrete examples to help them sort the real from the absurd. The paranoia it created in students and practitioners, who were left constantly wondering if their experiences, or their lack of certain experiences, were normal or desirable or safe, if their goals were realistic or even attainable, but feeling unable to reach out to other practitioners and describe what was happening for guidance, and lacked other pre-existing examples to reassure them. The teachers who used secrecy as a cover for allowing implicit assumptions to buttress the reality of their achievements and inflate their public profile, or hid abuses or failures beneath it.

 

I think these are murky issues that everyone has to navigate for themselves and ultimately come to their own conclusion on, but I don't think either extreme is healthy and I do think that the current culture in these communities generally leans too far towards secrecy (although this is shifting - for the better imo).

 

I also think that context is important, and that sharing select experiences in a small subsection specifically for practitioners of a certain system in a relatively small community specifically for people interested in such systems of cultivation, is very different from shouting from the metaphorical rooftops about healing energies and blue lights and psychic experiences and visionary encounters.

 

But I also agree that there are certain things which one should be careful about because you can then "pre-load" expectations, which is why I do reserve discussion of a lot of the effects of I get from FP for private correspondences. I think we just have to do the best we can to strike the right balance on a case by case basis.

 

Even on your end, you  have no qualms about discussing some things - in certain places, even talking about energy sensations and "golden lights" and such would be verboten. So it seems like it's a question of degree, no?

 

And respectfully, I don't think your story about your MCO experience backs up your point. The way I read it, you had a teacher who did exactly what you're advocating, withholding descriptions of specific sensations which indicated attainment, and it sounds like at the least this didn't prevent you hurting yourself and, quite frankly, it also sounds like it possibly egged you on. And there are potentially other factors - was he teaching a proper method of opening the MCO? Was he teaching that method properly? Was he monitoring your practice and progress with sufficient attentiveness? These all seem at least as important to me as whether you received a description of what to expect or not.

 

Personally, the relative degree of openness (and it is only relative, I know I'm not the only one who reserves a lot for private discussions) which has evolved in this thread over the years is a large part of the appeal to me. If that isn't the case for you, then share what you feel comfortable sharing, and let others do the same. I think that's all you can expect of any informal discussion group.

 

- I still have an extremely hard time imagining your dream experiences, but it sounds like you have an equally hard time imagining the visual experiences I described last night. Such is life, I guess. The metaphor of reading doesn't really work for me, because I can't even think of a certain book, let alone remember or read specific passages from it, without it creating correlating mental imagery.

 

- Regarding your sense that people took your account of the speed at which you practised to be boasting, all I can say without a link to the specific section of the thread where the exchange took place is that there honestly isn't any speed at which someone could describe their practice which I would personally totally disbelieve, since I know the degree to which the movements and breathing slow down during the course of the FP meditations even without conscious effort, let alone when striving for the "speed of a shifting sand dune" as instructed.

 

The only exception would be if someone with no meditation/yoga/IMA experience claimed to be performing extremely long and slow sets, and even then primarily because like any other system, you can only practice for as long as you can comfortably maintain the posture and movement, and while the meditations might slow down movement quickly, they don't allow effortless holding of postures or repetition of movements without the concomitant physical strain. But that's obviously not the case here.

 

 

[cihan]

Well, we are all doing it, but unless we figure out the mechanics of FHPCK and other Doo Wai Family arts, we are lost in this endless chit chat, and can become excellent memorizers of the form, but thats it then. 

If we need to realize what is beyond our generic conscience, no one outside can really push us, maybe except for a real master who is willing. Just feeding of from the compassion of communities, friends and masters is not enough, we need to learn to radiate it back, and it is only possible by applying knowledge to personal experience, hence practicing.

Experiencing the central channel, getting familiar with its atomic radiation property at its centers, applying this as a key to figure out manifesting as well as learning to shine unconditional happiness & compassion, and then, once learned how to, manifesting wisdom to be beyond is my road map and “business plan”

Moving meditations are good improving and enhancing that radiation,  but to experience it first hand, stillness practices are much efficient, hence the static postures is a must.

FPCK system is excellent for solitary practitioners like me, as each form is a teacher itself, just apply it to realize and activate that atomic radiation - felt more than 2 senses, and feels real, not imginary-, then play with it in moving forms with absolute protection, with no need to nag anybody. 

If you can’t reach that radiation after some time, maybe you have to practice something else meanwhile or consult Sifu Terry. The wiring of FHPCK will be there to protect you from Kundalini destruction.

What can be better than this? 

Happy practicing😄

Ps: this is my understanding and may not be what FPCK is intended for. I just shared and expressed my experiences.

 

 

 

[DSCB57]

5 hours ago, Sudhamma said:

DSCB57, I do read your posts in this thread but I can't comment in reply to your queries as my tradition is not "Flying Phoenix". Please do not feel depressed when there are no responses to your posts; it happens to most people. This is just a forum for sharing o experiences with total strangers and sometimes, what you post may not go down well with some people with different experiences/agenda. Perhaps going under a proper guidance by a good instructor should alleviate some of the problems that you had enquired instead of learning from videos. If this is no good, perhaps, take up a more simple yet effective qigong would help, for example, the simple swing hand qigong exercise (swuai shou) which was very popular in the early 1960s. This traditional form has undergone modification to the current p'eng shou swuai which has become more of a physical exercise than qigong. Or just concentrate on zhang zhuang with mco can also be satisfying.

Hello again Sudhamma, and thank you for your supportive reply. Thank you for your advice, but I am pretty heavily invested in this practice, particularly because in all the years I have been learning and practicing different styles of Gongfu, Qigong/Neigong cultivation etc., this is the only one which produces such profound effects, and my recent post regarding my aphantasia is not why I undertook this training. I have far more serious health issues which needed healing, and although I knew that I was mentally blind, I had not at that point discovered that the condition had been named and identified, or that scientific studies into this condition were underway (I only discovered this information very recently). 

I am also not the type of practitioner who flits from one style to another, or easily gives up when I encounter difficulties, but I certainly agree with you that one cannot hope to learn either online or through studying a series of DVD as one could in person with a good teacher. But I am sure that you are also aware of the large proportion of so-called masters out there who either deliberately withhold information from students or water down the teachings or stretch them out unnecessarily over a large space of time for whatever reason. This is very much a part of Chinese IMA and general MA culture, and I have seen how much this can and has been abused in my own experience. 

In fact, I turned my back on one very famous master I had been training with as an indoor student when he told several of us how he had deliberately been giving non-genuine instruction to some of the latest batch of students, as he thought they did not deserve to learn the real thing. I was disgusted, and also began to wonder how much of the 'real thing' he was actually teaching us, or how much he was actually holding back. As it turns out he was actually doing the very same thing to us, and I know this to be a fact because I also spent several years learning from his 'thumb student' turned rogue who taught me what he had been taught originally by this master. 

I did a considerable amount of research on FPCK before visiting this forum, reading as much material as I was able to find and watching all the videos available at the time, and this convinced me both of the quality of the system itself and its master, GM Doo Wai. This is what brought me to this thread.

I do actually practice Swuai Shou as part of the Bamboo Mountain Qigong form, and was also taught by another Qigong master years ago that anyone past 50 years of age should practice it. I also agree with your recommendation for Zhan Zhuang, and in fact still practice this (and several of the movements in FPCK are also derived from ZZ, as recently verified in a post from Sifu Dunn). But despite quite a few years of assiduous training in both Yiquan/Dachengquan and Zhan Zhuang, I can say that it was not until I started to learn and practice FPCK that I was able to truly benefit from those arts in terms of deep relaxation, due to the constant severe pain caused by my spinal condition. This is another reason for my heavy investment in this system - it has produced results, and this is precisely what GM Doo Wai promised. 

However, I disagree with your recommendation to practice Zhan Zhuang with the MCO. I now believe that unless it happens by itself that practice is dangerous and unnecessary, but there are plenty of other threads discussing the matter on TTB to which I have contributed over several years, so this is not the place for such a debate. 

[DSCB57]

4 hours ago, Aeran said:

I'm going to drop the quote format, since at this point I think it will just bloat my post excessively.

Sorry, it makes it easy for me to keep track due to my mental blindness, so forgive me if I continue in this way.

4 hours ago, Aeran said:

 

- Your experiences of the energy on a "tactile" level sound very similar to mine, except that to me it does not seem to, in the course of normal practice, create a sensation of heat. There are two exceptions, the first is a very mild warmth, more a "glow" than a "heat," in the LDT during MHPearl or meditations which use the same hand positioning, and times when the meditations are seemingly having some kind of specific cleansing or purifying effect (I experienced this quite heavily when I first started practising, and again recently in response to some specific health problems - when I addressed the latter by changing my diet, the strong heat during practice disappeared almost overnight). But the energy itself, in the course of regular practice, doesn't usually feel intrinsically "hot." 

That makes sense, but is probably not applicable to a more serious condition like mine (I'm not talking about the aphantasia)

4 hours ago, Aeran said:

 

That said, it does feel "fiery" during certain meditations, or especially when it accumulates in large quantities after particularly intensive practice, but like a "heat-less fire," if that makes any sense. I know it sounds a little contradictory, but there you go. The closest physical sensation I can relate it to is that which you get when you quickly run your finger through a candle flame, able to feel the flame itself over your skin, but not holding it still and thus not letting it burn you. By contrast, the Qi I feel from most other systems of cultivation seems to have a more "electromagnetic" feel to it, for lack of a better word.

Yes, I agree with that, although for me there is also an 'electromagnetic' aspect to the FPCK energy, in terms of the attraction/repulsion feeling of an energetic polarity which is apparent in many of the movements within the meditations. I feel it is particularly apparent when the Laugong points are brought together, as in holding the ball, then when the back of the hand (reverse side of the Laugong) is placed behind palm (the positive side of the Laugong) of the other hand. A good example of this is the 3rd MSW meditation from Volume 7. 

4 hours ago, Aeran said:

 

- The question of secrecy v. openness is a complicated one, and my views are no doubt coloured by the heavy emphasis on secrecy in the Western Hermetic tradition where I started out. Drilled into me by books and teachers and online communities right next to the importance of visualisation was the Four Powers of the Sphinx, "To Know, to Dare, to Will and To Be Silent."

 

I saw the exact interpretation of this debated endlessly, but I also saw the harm it caused. The confusion it created in aspirants, who were exposed to conflicting metaphysical concepts and denied concrete examples to help them sort the real from the absurd. The paranoia it created in students and practitioners, who were left constantly wondering if their experiences, or their lack of certain experiences, were normal or desirable or safe, if their goals were realistic or even attainable, but feeling unable to reach out to other practitioners and describe what was happening for guidance, and lacked other pre-existing examples to reassure them. The teachers who used secrecy as a cover for allowing implicit assumptions to buttress the reality of their achievements and inflate their public profile, or hid abuses or failures beneath it.

This is all too common, particularly with the shift in recent years toward online teaching. The fact is that unless you happen to live in fairly close proximity to these people, you have no way to know who the flesh and blood person is behind the image they present to the world. And from my experience, one is just as easily fooled even in person. It takes a Buddha to know one, they say, until then we are forced to trust the integrity of whoever offers themselves as teachers to the world, and not everyone is worthy of that trust.

4 hours ago, Aeran said:

 

I think these are murky issues that everyone has to navigate for themselves and ultimately come to their own conclusion on, but I don't think either extreme is healthy and I do think that the current culture in these communities generally leans too far towards secrecy (although this is shifting - for the better imo).

 

4 hours ago, Aeran said:

 

I also think that context is important, and that sharing select experiences in a small subsection specifically for practitioners of a certain system in a relatively small community specifically for people interested in such systems of cultivation, is very different from shouting from the metaphorical rooftops about healing energies and blue lights and psychic experiences and visionary encounters.

My comments were not concerned with withholding secrets or not, as I said in my previous reply to Sudhamma's post, I feel that there is too much secrecy in the IMA schools. I understand the historical motivation for such secrecy, but to be honest today, I don't feel that can be said to apply to any great extent. What I mean is that at one time, keeping what gave your style the edge against other practitioners from rival schools was a matter of life and death, and obviously I respect that. But this is hardly the case today. Perhaps in some extreme cases, but again for different reasons, such as gung-ho students challenging or insulting another school or its master, which therefore has the potential to directly affect that master's capacity to earn a living, unless his school prevails . 

4 hours ago, Aeran said:

 

But I also agree that there are certain things which one should be careful about because you can then "pre-load" expectations, which is why I do reserve discussion of a lot of the effects of I get from FP for private correspondences. I think we just have to do the best we can to strike the right balance on a case by case basis.

Yes, that was my point precisely. The problem is compounded on a forum like this, as one never knows the level of experience of anyone who may choose to participate. Just as there are doubtless many seasoned and knowledgeable members who are also actually practicing, there are also no doubt a considerable number of members with very little knowledge of the IA world, who may have come from other very different disciplines or simple curiosity. The latter will have a very different understanding of the experiences many more advanced practitioners may have posted. Some may simply not believe any of it, and others may mistakenly assume that these experiences are the purpose of practicing this art. This is often seen on this type of forum, but rarely corrected. Like it or not, it is obvious to me that there are several people here under that misapprehension, and it does need correcting, rather than perpetuating. There is no doubt in my mind that it is incumbent upon those who are more advanced and experienced to see to it that this issue is addressed.

4 hours ago, Aeran said:

 

Even on your end, you  have no qualms about discussing some things - in certain places, even talking about energy sensations and "golden lights" and such would be verboten. So it seems like it's a question of degree, no?

I actually do have qualms about this, and I only decided to do so in direct response to your questions, and would prefer to have done so by pm, as I have done with a couple of other members. There is no doubt that there is a strong temptation to share one's cultivation experiences, but the fact is that these should really be shared with the master of the art, then he can decide whether or not that particular experience is relevant or conducive to the improvement of cultivation practice for the group as a whole - just as is the case for Earl Grey's recent post which he believed I was attacking.

However Sifu Dunn has not been very responsive to my emails in the past, and has only responded here within this thread, so I see no other option in my own case. 

In fact there is no reason why I would be so dependent upon this thread if it had been easier to maintain a dialogue with Sifu Dunn.

4 hours ago, Aeran said:

 

And respectfully, I don't think your story about your MCO experience backs up your point. The way I read it, you had a teacher who did exactly what you're advocating, withholding descriptions of specific sensations which indicated attainment, and it sounds like at the least this didn't prevent you hurting yourself and, quite frankly, it also sounds like it possibly egged you on. And there are potentially other factors - was he teaching a proper method of opening the MCO? Was he teaching that method properly? Was he monitoring your practice and progress with sufficient attentiveness? These all seem at least as important to me as whether you received a description of what to expect or not.

I regard both myself and my Sifu at that time to be both to blame for what happened to me. My Sifu was wrong to allow me to begin the practice knowing that I was about to leave for a 6 month tour abroad during which I would only be in contact by snail mail or possibly telephone, (although not likely, given the difference between time zones). For my part, I was also too impetuous, which, coupled with the fact that I had developed a powerful willpower and did not understand the dangers of using the mind to force the Qi rather than allow the Yi to lead it. We only exchanged letters twice during those six months, so I was very much left to my own devices. But his way of explaining the exercise was also far too complicated, involving different specific experiences for each gate along the MCO, and the necessity to continually return to the previous gate before continuing to the next. So I feel that the fact that he would not describe what I was to expect in any way really was not a good tactic. Also bear in mind the fact that he had no idea that I could not mentally visualize anything he might describe, so it probably would not have been as important a consideration as for anyone not mentally blind like me. Nevertheless he was quite adamant and I was far too much in a rush to achieve this MCO, and we both paid the price. 

4 hours ago, Aeran said:

 

Personally, the relative degree of openness (and it is only relative, I know I'm not the only one who reserves a lot for private discussions) which has evolved in this thread over the years is a large part of the appeal to me. If that isn't the case for you, then share what you feel comfortable sharing, and let others do the same. I think that's all you can expect of any informal discussion group.

 

- I still have an extremely hard time imagining your dream experiences, but it sounds like you have an equally hard time imagining the visual experiences I described last night. Such is life, I guess. The metaphor of reading doesn't really work for me, because I can't even think of a certain book, let alone remember or read specific passages from it, without it creating correlating mental imagery.

 

- Regarding your sense that people took your account of the speed at which you practised to be boasting, all I can say without a link to the specific section of the thread where the exchange took place is that there honestly isn't any speed at which someone could describe their practice which I would personally totally disbelieve, since I know the degree to which the movements and breathing slow down during the course of the FP meditations even without conscious effort, let alone when striving for the "speed of a shifting sand dune" as instructed.

I was challenged to produce a video, which I was not in a position to be able to do, and on principle it does not seem to me to be the right reason to do so anyway. But I will try and find the relevant link, it was one of my first posts to this thread under my new name. It was not before my writing on the subject that people started to also post on the subject, so perhaps my post had the desired effect anyway, which was to inspire others, just as watching one of Sifu Garry Hearfield's Youtube videos had shown me what 'moving at the pace of a moving sand dune' actually meant, and inspired me to also get to that point in my practice. Sadly that particular video seems to have been removed since.

4 hours ago, Aeran said:

 

The only exception would be if someone with no meditation/yoga/IMA experience claimed to be performing extremely long and slow sets, and even then primarily because like any other system, you can only practice for as long as you can comfortably maintain the posture and movement, and while the meditations might slow down movement quickly, they don't allow effortless holding of postures or repetition of movements without the concomitant physical strain. But that's obviously not the case here.

I'm sure that there will be exceptions, I have encountered quite a few beginners with a natural ability in the internal arts who seem to find everything easy. It is the same in all walks of life. But in this particular case, I feel that one needs a yardstick of sorts by which to measure that degree of slowness, as this was not found on any of the DVDs or videos submitted to Youtube of FPCK, or at least not when I began to practice these meditations. Sifu Garry's meditation does not count, as he was not demonstrating or teaching FPCK, and I believe the video clip I was referring to earlier was from a seated meditation from Sunn Yee Gung, although I am no longer sure from memory.

4 hours ago, Aeran said:

 

 

 

[Sudhamma]

DSCB57, there are indeed many 'secrets' in  CMA. In the Daoist tradition, the key to progress either in their internal arts and meditation is mco. Let me share this with you: about 20 years ago, I had a conversation with my sifu and told him that if we did not impart the mco method to the students, they would be stuck at a level unable to progress 'internally'. He gave his approval. However, it took me another 17 years before I could really start my students on mco. Why wait for 17 years from that conversation?  My students were not ready then with the 2nd stage of advancement. Meanwhile, students came and go during that period. Some trained for 3 years, and left to teach their friends. You can imagine my apprehension if they started to teach the system plus mco with their half-baked practice. Thus, studying the character and the level of training of the student are important considerations for the teacher. Certain things can't be rushed.

Edited March 19, 2018 by Sudhamma

[DSCB57]

12 hours ago, Sudhamma said:

DSCB57, there are indeed many 'secrets' in  CMA. In the Daoist tradition, the key to progress either in their internal arts and meditation is mco. Let me share this with you: about 20 years ago, I had a conversation with my sifu and told him that if we did not impart the mco method to the students, they would be stuck at a level unable to progress 'internally'. He gave his approval. However, it took me another 17 years before I could really start my students on mco. Why wait for 17 years from that conversation?  My students were not ready then with the 2nd stage of advancement. Meanwhile, students came and go during that period. Some trained for 3 years, and left to teach their friends. You can imagine my apprehension if they started to teach the system plus mco with their half-baked practice. Thus, studying the character and the level of training of the student are important considerations for the teacher. Certain things can't be rushed.

Thank you for sharing this Sudhamma. If you don't mind, I prefer to pm you about this.

David

[ridingtheox]

where did everyone go?  last post 3 weeks ago today.  i am  at day 24 of daily practice of the 5 short form almost 1/4   enjoying the journey... a new comer has joined my small tjq /tcc class.  He is older than I am! He is unable to lift his left arm much above his waist and his left shoulder must be 'stuck' at 2 inches higher than the right.    However,  he is already making progress restoring  movement and the shoulder is gradually returning to normal level.  (One of my students noticed this confirming my observation without my input.)   At this point we are doing a little Zhan Zhuang and some warm ups he can execute.   Then  the short form 24 Tai ji .  Ending with a silk reeling exercise the class is now learning and closing ZZ.

 

 

 

 

[Earl Grey]

Where did everyone go? To practice more of course!

 

I am not posting much as I have been taking more classes with Sifu Terry, although I should probably update everyone here and in my own ppj too because of a lot of development. Coming soon!

[zen-bear]

On 3/14/2018 at 11:52 PM, Earl Grey said:

The other week, I learned the long form Monk Serves Wine in what began as a one-hour session that quickly became two hours because of the awe-inspiring turn of events that transpired in my session with Sifu Terry.

 

It was just after he had posted to do the flash meditations as slowly as possible, which I had begun doing weeks before. We began our session and he was delighted to see how quickly I picked up on the form, but no more than I was due to the immense bliss (as Tao Stillness would describe) that I experienced doing the form, even before learning the breath control sequence and divided by sections at a time. Upon learning the form, we practiced several times with the breath control sequence and on the last one, something wonderful happened. I saw a blue sapphire gem and golden chains around it, then afterwards, a Buddhist stupa similar to the ones outside of the Javanese temple of Borobodur, and outside in front of it was either White Tara or Kuan Yin standing in a pillar of light. Sifu Terry said I just may very well have been initiated, but I do not know into what, and he recommended I reconnect with the being who came during our session or to talk with Eric Isen to see who this is and what this means.

 

Since that session, my average for the flash meditations slowed down, and now is anywhere from 4-6. 

 

There is also now a sphere or egg-shaped object I feel energetically that automatically corrects my form in Flying Phoenix and I see it carry over to my Tai Chi and Liuhebafa training. It is as though I am manipulating a sphere within, around, and in front of me at all times
whenever I move.

Also, during Temple Guardian Standing at Entrance (a Bok Fu Pai form for those who don't know), a friend came by and saw me standing there and began doing Zhan Zhuang Embrace the Tree in front of me, then said something strange about me was going on as he observed. My skull became deeper and face became wolf-like, as my eyes were closed but looked like they were open and piercing him. How interesting.  In previous sessions when we would all stand in a circle for basic Zhan Zhuang, he and another student would observe things like my hair becoming golden (not blond, but gold) and eyes and face changing or body size increasing, or seeing my body look like it was the cosmos, as though they could enter my body and float amongst the stars. This time in particular was interesting because it wasn't even 15 minutes, and the things he and everyone else would see would be around the one hour mark.

This now more than ever makes me want to learn more Bok Fu Pai from Volume 6 (and the whole system while I am at it) and both versions from BFP and FP of the form with the same name Child Praying to Goddess for Mercy. I was also excited because I did the fifth flash meditation that was the Bat Din Gum form and after doing it for six minutes it felt like my body hardened and had been doing Iron Shirt Qigong.

 

Yesterday, I also reached a milestone for practice of the long form. I began my afternoon session after a long nap with Basic Seated Meditation 5% 60% 80% 40% 30% (which I nicknamed "Tuning The Universal Intellect") for about 10 minutes. Afterwards, I did the flash meditations from volume 5 in order, and averaged 4.5 minutes to 6 or 7 minutes each. I then did long form MSW at about 11 minutes, then for standing long form from volume 5, I thought I would get a good 10-12 minutes for my average before my afternoon appointment, as I wasn't sure if I would move slow enough to beat my best previous time of 16 minutes. I opened my eyes after moving as slowly and gracefully as possible while allowing the form to do itself, and found myself shocked to see that I did the form in 24.5 minutes. 

 

I am about ready to consider draining my credit cards and sell things I have to get more sessions with Sifu Terry and keep learning more advanced practices.  

Hi Earl Grey,

 

Thank you for your update on your nice results from your practice following our last FP session.

Glad you are doing the Vol.5 "flash" meditations and doing them more slowly and as round as possible.

 

^{There is also now a sphere or egg-shaped object I feel energetically that automatically corrects my form in Flying Phoenix and I see it carry over to my Tai Chi and Liuhebafa training. It is as though I am manipulating a sphere within, around, and in front of me at all times whenever I move.}

 

The entire FP System is based on a perfected Monk Gazing At Moon posture.  All the other moving meditations build upon that, including the Vol.5 meditations.  Some internal Chinese martial art systems call the ideal shape/form:  the "golden bell."  Glad to hear that the  "golden egg" you feel is being carried over into your Tai Chi and LHBF  I had a lot of Wuji training since 1980 primarily due to my year of seminal training with Master Bow Sim Mark in Boston, so for me, it was more of a "meeting half way" between FP's golden egg and the Tai Chi Wuji shape/form.  I had a great depth of wuji in my mind-body prior to learning FP Qigong.  But once I had practiced FP for about one year, everything dramatically changed in my Tai Chi and LHBF.  I  remember so well that after I had practiced a complete set of "Bending the Bows" (18 rounds) for just a few consecutive days (3 or 4), my Tai Chi dramatically changed.  My practice of the 37 Form and  108 Form became much more effortless.  It was as if they would do themselves. 

Also, during Temple Guardian Standing at Entrance, a friend came by
and saw me standing there and began doing Zhan Zhuang Embrace the Tree
in front of me, then said something strange about me was going on as
he observed. My skull became deeper and face became wolf-like, as my
eyes were closed but looked like they were open and piercing him. How
interesting.
 

Explanation:  As a function of his own  Zhan Zhuang practice and personal predilection, your friend was able to "see" you as the whole of you--or the all of you--meaning your karmic lives all intersecting in the NOW.  A condition that is always visible to one who can see. While you were doing Guardian Standing At the Gate, you were in a relaxed, integrated state. Your friend was able to see a couple of your karmic past lives (or perhaps even progressions!) also possibly because you two have been karmic friends--i.e., friends in past lives.  For me, this was also true of crossing-paths with what turned out to be fellow martial artists in past lives.  When I have come upon my karmic friends in this lifetime for the first time, the recognition was mutual and instantaneous (at first sight).  And in the case of a couple of my karmic close friends, including one of my most important teachers in this life , the initial recognition, where the feeling was mutual spontaneous elation, was during phone calls at great distances before we had met in person-- one of which was at a distance of  3,000 miles across the country. 

 

In previous sessions when we would all stand in a circle for basic Zhan Zhuang, he and another student would observe things like my hair becoming golden (not blond, but gold) and eyes and face changing or body size increasing, or seeing my body look like it was the cosmos, as though they could enter my body and float amongst the stars.

 

Your friend's seeing one of your karmic lives with eyes bulging while your present incarnation was doing the "Guardian" meditation with eyes closed is very typical of seeing past lives.  E.g., in one of many of our Tao Tan Pai healing study groups in the late 70's and early 80's led by favorite teacher, the late Master John Davidson, I would see each of my classmate's karmic past lives change on their face and superimpose on their "normally seen" bodies--with every couple of breathes--and with vivid visual details such as ancient clothing,an asian bun hairdo on a caucasian guy in this life, a Chinese sword on one's belt, and seen most commonly are:  totally different shapes of heads and bodies, and totally different faces.  

 

This time in particular was interesting because it wasn't even 15 minutes, and the things he and everyone else would see would be around the one hour mark.

"Seeing" is a higher state of consciousness (HSC), to use the term of Daniel Goleman. The more one practices Flying Phoenix Qigong, Taoist Elixir Method Nei Kung or the certain systems of authentic Yoga, the more one steadily perfects one's seeing, and develops greater and greater  volitional control to ACCESS to the unconditioned, unfettered mode of perception.  For example, once one completes the training in Taoist Elixir Method, one slips in and out of "seeing" modality as required by protect, educate, and elevate one's spirit.  There are also natural-born seers who are just blessed (or cursed) with the capacity to see everything in the tonal.

 

 

This now more than ever makes me want to learn more Bok Fu Pai from Volume 6 (and the whole system while I am at it) and both versions from BFP and FP of the form with the same name Child Praying to Goddess for Mercy. I was also excited because I did the fifth flash meditation that was the Bat Din Gum form and after doing it for six minutes it felt like my body hardened and had been doing Iron Shirt Qigong.

• EG,  Nice that you were able to experience the very different energy cultivated by the last standing meditation (from the BDG system) on Volume 5.

 

Yesterday, I also reached a milestone for practice of the long form. I began my afternoon session after a long nap with Basic Seated Meditation 5% 60% 80% 40% 30% (which I nicknamed "Tuning The Universal Intellect") for about 10 minutes.

Great name that you coined for this meditation!  I may have to license it from you to use in future DVD programs.  As I have stated regularly on this thread, the first  first three exercises-- "basic preparatory seated meditations"--on the Volume 2 DVD are anything but "basic" compared to the universe of Qigong exercises that exist and especially compared to those that have been published.  For the past 6 months, at teh end o feachof my 90- minute Tao Tan Pai-31 classes, I lead students in 2 of these 3 "preparatory Monk Serves Wine mediations" to allow them to compare and contrast.  Without exception, everyone is startled by the intensity and power of these "basic" meditations.

 

Afterwards, I did the flash meditations from volume 5 in order, and averaged 4.5 minutes to 6 or 7 minutes each. I then did long form MSW at about 11 minutes, then for standing long form from volume 5, I thought I would get a good 10-12 minutes for my average before my afternoon appointment, as I wasn't sure if I would move slow enough to beat my best previous time of 16 minutes. I opened my eyes after moving as slowly and gracefully as possible while allowing the form to do itself, and found myself shocked to see that I did the form in 24.5 minutes.

Excellent that you took it upon yourself to practice the "flash" meditations on Vol.4 at a slower speed, averaging 4.5 to 7 minutes!  I would add to your practice my 2018 nuanced revision of my 2003 video instruction:  make your first position on the first meditation (90 80 30 50 40) more round and relax the angle of the wrists a bit.

 

Good job in increasing your practice time for the Standing Long Form Meditation (Vol.4 capstone) from 16 minutes to 24.5 minutes!  Lookout Charlie Thomas ("ridingtheox"), Earl Grey is hot after your record of 40+ minutes!

 

Best,
 

Sifu Terry

 

www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

Edited April 3, 2018 by zen-bear

[zen-bear]

On 3/12/2018 at 7:12 AM, DSCB57 said:

Sifu Dunn and everyone here. Please bear with me, as I feel the need to explain something which will possibly allow you to understand why I find it necessary to write as I do. I understand that this form of expression may have been a cause of annoyance or that many of you may have misinterpreted this for something else, and I certainly feel this very often, as though people here actually resent my contributions. There is a great deal more I would like to have contributed here, and I feel I have a lot to share, but am very reticent to do so, because I have the impression that I am barely tolerated and considered a nuisance to be ignored in the hope that I will go away and disappear.

 

I have discovered that I suffer from a condition recently named 'Aphantasia' (the condition was already known and to some extent recognized in the 1880s, but has only recently been given a name and become the object of rigourous , although as yet rather limited scientific investigation).

 

This condition basically means that the 2% of the human race who suffer from this have their brains wired in such a way as to totally preclude the ability to in any way use the faculty of visualization or imagination. This not only affects the sense of inner sight, but also touch, taste, smell, and in some cases even that of sound. 

What this means for me is that my only means of remembering anything, whether it may be something I have perceived or otherwise experienced is by means of my inner dialogue, because once I close my eyes, for me this world ceases to exist. There is nothing more than darkness and my inner dialogue (and physical and energetic sense perceptions) - the voice of my consciousness, if you will. 

So if I want to be able to remember anything, I have to go through a process of meticulously and precisely describing my experiences and perceptions to myself as one would need to to a non-sighted person, otherwise, I have no means of remembering anything. The moment after seeing something or hearing, touching, smelling or tasting it, nothing remains of that experience beyond what I have committed to memory via my internal dialogue. This reflects upon my way of expressing myself both verbally and in written form, and I apologize for this, although I cannot expect anyone with a functioning inner eye or the power to imagine to understand.

It also means that when I write, it takes me hours of reading and re-reading in order to ensure that I have committed everything necessary both to paper and to memory. It can be an exhausting process. It also means that I require a considerably more extensive amount of descriptive language input in order to grasp an idea or concept which for anyone non-aphantasic would be supplemented by their imagination, thus bridging the intellectual gap. It also means that my mind is considerably more active in this continuous process of interpretation of the world via my inner dialogue.

Let me give you an example: I am sure that for most of you, you take it for granted that when someone talks about 'counting sheep' in order to get to sleep, you will know what that means, and be able to experience it at will. Someone with aphantasia is only able to conceptualize what that means, but I cannot possibly actually understand what it means or experience this. As they say, if you want to know what ice-cream tastes like, then you need to actually taste ice-cream - there is no substitute. Well, we aphantasics cannot taste that ice-cream, figuratively speaking, because we simply lack the neurological wiring to enable us to do so. Another example would be if you were to ask me to form a mental picture of a scene such as a sunset setting over the ocean. My inner dialogue can piece together descriptions of what that might be like, but I have no ability whatsoever to perceive any sort of mental image of that scene, so any form of meditative contemplation requiring holding a mental image is impossible for me. The only way for me to remember a number with more than three figures is to hear it with my internal dialogue. 

If I do not remember the name of the street where I parked my car, I have no inner map to guide me, and spend much of my life getting lost and losing objects.

I am not asking for sympathy, as much in the same way as other senses will be augmented in a person who has lost any of their senses, our brains find alternative pathways to achieve the tasks we need to perform, and so in some ways this condition could be considered a gift, and in fact a considerable amount of aphantasics are considered highly gifted - nature's compensation perhaps... For example there is nothing but my inner dialogue to interfere during meditation, so I am able to enter into very profound states of consciousness relatively quickly and easily. 

Conversely, the breath sequencing system used in FPCK is very difficult for me, because the bliss experience interferes with my inner dialogue, and I have no way to remember which breath I am on and often have to start over. It also means that in order to remember the meditation forms, they must be committed to muscle memory, but if I leave sufficient time between practice sessions to forget any part of the form, then I will have to relearn it, thus I have probably forgotten more IMA and Gongfu forms than most people have learned in a lifetime, and they are gone forever, because there is no means to recall them from memory. Perhaps you can imagine how frustrating a life like this can be, and how this can lead to severe depression?

 

I hope this goes some way to explaining the tone, linguistic content and length of my written contributions here and elsewhere, as well as explaining why I find it necessary to ask so many questions and enter into so much detail. Thank you all for hearing me out.

 

David

Hello David,

Thank you for posting your detailed explanation what aphantasia is and how it makes your life difficult relative to those that do not have the condition.  Like other subscribers who have responded with understanding and support, I want to encourage you to continue posting any questions you have about FP Qigong practice and try to share with the thread your further experiences with FP Qigong practice, even though you've said that you don't remember experiences outside of your inner dialog.  But you might keep a note pad and pen nearby each time you practice and jot down anything that immediatly comes to mind after your practice.

 

I'm sorry for taking so long to reply to your posting but I had to read it a few more times and also to read your dialog with Aeran on page 186   to try to better understand some of the things you are experiencing while practicing FP Qigong.

 

Another example would be if you were to ask me to form a mental picture of a scene such as a sunset setting over the ocean. My inner dialogue can piece together descriptions of what that might be like, but I have no ability whatsoever to perceive any sort of mental image of that scene, so any form of meditative contemplation requiring holding a mental image is impossible for me. The only way for me to remember a number with more than three figures is to hear it with my internal dialogue. 

Based on this example of your inability to form mental images. I can say with utmost certainty that this inability is not a major handicap in terms of FP Qigong practice because as everyone knows of the system,  no visualization is necessary to do any of FP Meditations.  And this fact makes FP Qigong--amongst the universe of Qigong systems and yogas--probably one of the more suitable and beneficial for you and others with aphantasia.

 

Conversely, the breath sequencing system used in FPCK is very difficult for me, because the bliss experience interferes with my inner dialogue, and I have no way to remember which breath I am on and often have to start over. It also means that in order to remember the meditation forms, they must be committed to muscle memory, but if I leave sufficient time between practice sessions to forget any part of the form, then I will have to relearn it,

 

Try writing down the breathing formula for each FP Meditation on paper.  And then perform the breath control sequence by reading it with your eyes open.  Then close your eyes and do the meditation (except for Monk Gazing At Moon, of course).  While keeping the eyes open during the breath control sequence is not optimal, it is most important just to get it done.  

(Similarly, while it is absolutely not optimal to speak while doing the breathing sequences, because I have been doing FP Qigong for so long and because I teach it four times a week, I often talk my classes through each breathing sequence as I do the breathing and the meditation with them, speaking tersely and while doing the breath controls as best I can.)

*I don't know if this has any effect with you or others with aphantasia, but with the general population,  writing down the material or instructions that one wants to remember  in one's own handwriting script will put the information into the brain to some degree depending on the person. This works especially well when done just before on falls asleep.  Handwriting is an ideo-motor response, such that one's personality can be accurately analyzed by a graphologist, and conversely, through handwriting the material, a person can take in external information that one wants to memorize or program the mind with a set of instructions and have it executed the next day automatically by the subconscious. Such "programmed instructions" can be to do anything, including to recall information that one has seen or heard or movement or sensations that one has felt.  

 

...thus I have probably forgotten more IMA and Gongfu forms than most people have learned in a lifetime, and they are gone forever, because there is no means to recall them from memory. Perhaps you can imagine how frustrating a life like this can be, and how this can lead to severe depression?

I can't imagine how frustrating and exhausting not being able to remember forms of physical movement abd other specialized physical skills that one wants to remember or information about the world around oneself to this extent can be.

 

But this is something that you can set up and do if you have the resources... so that you can practice the entire FP Qigong system and derive a very high percentage of his salient health benefits:

A)   Play the CKFH DVD volumes on a large TV monitor and do the breath control sequences by reading the instructions on the DVD or by closing the eyes and listening to my verbal instructions of the breath controls that i give when I lead the final round of practice for each FP Meditation.  DON'T WORRY AT ALL ABOUT DOING THE BREATH CONTROL SEQUENCES FROM MEMORY.  THE GOAL IS TO SIMPLY PERFORM THE BREATH CONTROLS AND THEN DO THE POSTURES OR POSTURES WITH MOVEMENTS.  JUST DOING THE FP MEDITATIONS THIS WAY, SLOWLY AND STEADILY, FROM FIRST EXERCISE OF VOL.1 ALL THE WAY TO THE END OF VOLUMES 4, 5, OR 7 WILL ENABLE YOU TO DERIVE SIGNIFICANT HEALTH BENEFITS, WHETHER YOU FEEL THEM AND REMEMBER THEM OR NOT.   While not optimal, there should be no negative effects whatsoever from practicing this way.

 

B )   Do the moving FP meditations with eyes with squinting--almost closed--but just enough to follow the DVD instruction. Eventually, do more and ore sections of each moving meditation with your eyes closed, peeking at the DVD whenever necessary.  As many a subscriber has said about FP:   "Just do it".    In your case JUST DO IT anyway you can working around your handicap.

 

C)   If you can afford the expense of a second TV monitor (and this is something, btw, that any FP practitioner can do):  set up a video camera to shoot your own practice of the FP Qigong as you watch and follow a CKFH DVD.  And set up the second monitor (receiving the live feed of your practice) alongside the monitor displaying the CKFH DVD.  This is relative easy to do with a smartphone camera and Facebook:  you can do a live stream of your camera footage through any Facebook account.

 

In this manner you can more closely follow and mimic my form on the DVD's and get maximum benefit from each Meditation, given your aphantasia.  Again, there should be no negative effects from practicing this way.

Of course, you can learn any martial art, any yogic, art, any movement art with this type of one camera + two tv monitor set-up, as long as you get DVD or streamed footage of a high-level master or expert who adequately demonstrates the true art.  Always try to get the source material from the source!

 

Best of luck in your practice.  And remember:  the best cure for depression is activity.

 

Sifu Terry Dunn

 

Edited April 22, 2018 by zen-bear

[zen-bear]

Hello FP practitioners,

 

I want to report in addition to practicing "Moonbeam Splashes on Water" (Vol.3) and the FPHHCM Long Form (Vol.4) on a daily basis,  over the past 4 weeks--since just before the start of the last mercury retrograde cycle, I have been practicing three seated Monk Serves Wine meditations (full sets of 7) every other day over the past 3 weeks.  I have been doing various combinations of the MSW meditations, drawn from Volume 2 and Volume 7 and few others not yet published.  I do theses sets of 3 MSW's  seated usually in the morning before starting the workday, taking 40 to 55 minutes.

 

Each time feeling the reserve of FP Healing Energy increase and each time seeing blue light internally ranging from dark dull soft midnight blue (more often) to an elating flourescent sky powder blue (once in a blue moon--no pun on "blue" intended).

 

Also the usual physical symptoms from FP practice that I and others have reported in the past are manifest after each practice session:  feeling relaxed and rejuvnated, surface of the brain feels uniformly "charged",  and the grey hair count is definitely smaller each time.  And each time after I through my day's agenda mentally while in FP Meditation (during the resting breathes), the entire agenda gets executed throughout the day on "auto-pilot"--with straining to remember any part of the TO DO list.

 

In addition to these "normal" effects of FP practice, I also experienced these salient effects, which I don't believe I've written about and I recall anyone posting about yet:   hair on the head, beard, fingernails and toenails growing noticeably much faster--in fact, growing like crazy.  With hair and beard thicker.

 

I hope you all are progressing nicely in your regular FP practice--"slow and easy is the Way"-- and are attaining and enjoying such noticeable and verifiable benefits.

 

Carry on!

Sifu Terry

 

 

www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

Edited April 30, 2018 by zen-bear

[zen-bear]

Sharing a post that Sifu Garry Hearfield, my Bok Fu Pai classmate under GM Doo Wai,  made to my Facebook Page yesterday:

 

https://www.disclose.tv/fiery-phoenix-like-creature-recorded-over-colorado-314684

 

His note:    "Terence Dunn caught you flying around (leaked footage) 😁"

 

My reply : "Thanks, Sihing.  Yep, they caught my beginner student on video doing her thing in Colorado. 🤣🙏🐼💥"

[thelerner]

Respectfully, those of a mystical bend see an angel, those with an aeronautical bend see a (Boeing) 737 with the sun catching it low & on the left side as it banks, causing a bright flare.  ie you can see the right wing that's not lit up by the bright sun, imo. 

Edited April 30, 2018 by thelerner

[zen-bear]

On 4/24/2018 at 1:40 PM, thelerner said:

Respectfully, those of a mystical bend see an angel, those with an aeronautical bend see a 737 with the sun catching it low & on the left side as it banks, causing a bright flare.  ie you can see the right wing that's not lit up by the bright sun, imo. 

 

[zen-bear]

31 minutes ago, zen-bear said:

 

TL, 

Thanks for the aeronautical bend and view--but in this case, aka the ultimate party-pooper.  I knew it had to be a metal craft, but the shape and angle of the fiery wings befuddled me.  So I just blithely went with Sifu Hearfield's mystical proposition.  Then when you mentioned "737", I remembered the vertical wing tips of the Flying Phoenix-- I mean some versions of the 737 that I've ridden on--and, in a genuine Aha moment, I finally see the 737 banking right with the sun reflected on its left side.  Thus the mystery was solved and I recovered from my blissful lapse into hyper-suggestibility.  Alas.

 

Sifu Terry Dunn

Edited April 29, 2018 by zen-bear

[thelerner]

Alas indeed.  It's still good to keep one eyes on the skies and have a heart and mind open enough to see angels.   Cause they're out there, sometimes other people, the feelings in certain places and synchronicities whispered in life. 

 

addon> It'd be sad to look up and seeing an inhumanly bright winged figure moving rapidly through the skies and Not think Angel. 

Edited May 21, 2018 by thelerner

[BluePhoenix133]

Hi, i might try and catch up this thread since i havent been here for a while. But i always associate the number 37 with the flying phoenix, i have no idea why your talking about a 737 though.

I just wanted to ask what is the minum recommened repetitions/time for each meditation? If i recall its 18 reps for bending the bows, 5 mins for monk gazing at moon and 7 repetitions for the last three meditations on DVD 2. When i do the second and third meditations on DVD 7 i do 3 repetitions as they take a long time for me to do.

Cheers.

[zen-bear]

13 hours ago, BluePhoenix133 said:

Hi, i might try and catch up this thread since i havent been here for a while. But i always associate the number 37 with the flying phoenix, i have no idea why your talking about a 737 though.

I just wanted to ask what is the minum recommened repetitions/time for each meditation? If i recall its 18 reps for bending the bows, 5 mins for monk gazing at moon

 

Cheers.

Hi BP133,

 

Interesting that you always associate the number 37 with the Flying Phoenix.   I like your argument for the mythic meaning and representation in that photo.

 

Answer to your questions as to the minimum repetitions for various types of Flying Phoenix Meditations:

 

A.  For Bending the Bows:  the recommended (classical) no. of reps. that GM Doo Wai taught our group in the early 90's is 18.  One can do more or less, depending on time available for practice.

 

B.  For the stationary standing meditations such as Monk Gazing At Moon, Monk Holding Peach, and Monk Holding Pearl:  minimum duration of 5 minutes was taught by GM Doo Wai when we were first learned them. Throughout the all years of my personal practice (27 so far), I have kept to that minimm duration of 5 minutes.  When I teach them in classes and workshops, depending on the healing effects of the meditations and the depth of the jhanic absorption that I observe in  the students, I often will extend the practice of any one of them to 10 and even 15 minutes. [This past Saturday at World Tai Chi & Qigong Day celebration at Eastover Estate, after a demo of an 8 Sections Combined Form and William Chen's Yang sword form, I led the audience of about 60+ in practice of a Bok Fu Pai standing meditation (90 60 40 30), followed by 5 minutes each of Monk Gazing At Moon and Monk Holding Peach.]

 

C.  For all the Monk Serves Wine seated meditations (last 3 on Vol.2 and all 5 on Vol. 7 dvds) the standard and classical number of repetitions is seven.  I've found that 7 rounds ensures that your practice of any particular MSW Meditation imparts maximum energizing and rejuvenating effect with FP Healing Energy being most tangible throughout the body and especially in the brain. 

 

and 7 repetitions for the last three meditations on DVD 2. When i do the second and third meditations on DVD 7 i do 3 repetitions as they take a long time for me to do.

 

Of course you can do less than 7 rounds for shortage of time.  But be sure to take 3 deep breathes to end all FP Meditations.  But make time to do 7 rounds for each MSW meditation.  You will not regret it.

 

Cheers,

Sifu Terry Dunn

 

www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html

Edited April 30, 2018 by zen-bear

[tao stillness]

As far as the airliner goes, those who have true sight claim that angels do not have wings but are seen as light. People who have had NDEs also report this. But a great photo anyway. 

[ridingtheox]

On 4/20/2018 at 9:05 AM, zen-bear said:

In addition to these "normal" effects of FP practice, I also experienced these salient effects, which I don't believe I've written about and I recall anyone posting about yet:   hair on the head, beard, fingernails and toenails growing noticeably much faster--in fact, growing like crazy.  With hair and beard thicker.

yup  and my hair is darker  the white receding in most places.   beard?  i meam suddenly getting beard where none grew  not lots but some and my nails are definitely growing faster especially toe nails. 

I am now at day 51 of my short standing meditation 'gong'  half way point.   This year my allergies are virtually non-existent compared to a few years ago and other folks are saying this is a particularly bad year in Arizona.  I am hurtling toward 78 yr and have number of people asking how is that possible 60's max! 

Right now I am also doing some bone marrow cleansing exercises along with simple 5 element ...  practice intensely people this WORKS. 

Peace please 

ridingtheox ...

 

[BluePhoenix133]

Riding the ox, what meditations are you doing? Do you mean the short form 90 seconds power meditations on volume 5?

I myself was thinking of only doing 3 meditations a day but always different so i cycle through all of them, that way i dont put a burden on myself to do too much but also because i have trouble sleeping too much fp probably doesnt help. But perhaps i should give what your doing a try.