Choosing a Practice

[Gaelicrock]

Hello,

 

I am still relatively new to this wonderful forum. I had a thought today, and I wanted to put my question here, so that people who are still searching for their "Way" can gain some insight on what made YOU choose your path into the Way.

 

Let me explain: There are so many different practices out there; Nei Kung, Qi Gong, Tai Chi, Yoga, Taoist Yoga, the martial arts, zazen, etc.

 

Tell me, what did you go through to determine what was right for you?

 

I'll go first.

 

I am sure that I am one of the least accomplished in terms of knowledge of the tao and all the myriad concepts. Most of the forums here, I've got google up beside them and am typing in every other term I come across.

 

I've experimented with meditation, qi gong, tai chi, and yoga. I learned about the chakras and kundalini and found that this suits me.

 

Now, I am a Scorpio born in the Year of the Horse with a Vata constitution, so I've been given a triple whammy of restlessness. Before you say anything, I did not check my date of birth out and figure out what I was or take some "Which one are yoU?" tests online. I've studied all of these "new age" concepts and have found all of them to be very valid systems. Though if I had to choose one, the Chinese Zodiac seems the most vague, even with its monthly and secret animals, its too screwy for me.

 

Going on, I find that I have the most trouble with stillness cultivation and meditative techniques, and I favor yoga and tai chi, walking meditation, and observing nature. I can go very deep inside of myself when I want to, but I have not developed as much endurance as I'd like with meditation.

 

Please feel free to comment on my experience, and please please please post yours!

 

Namaste

[Aetherous]

If you're very restless by nature, I think that you'd get the most progress from disciplined zhan zhuang.

[voidisyinyang]

Hello,

 

I am still relatively new to this wonderful forum. I had a thought today, and I wanted to put my question here, so that people who are still searching for their "Way" can gain some insight on what made YOU choose your path into the Way.

 

Let me explain: There are so many different practices out there; Nei Kung, Qi Gong, Tai Chi, Yoga, Taoist Yoga, the martial arts, zazen, etc.

 

Tell me, what did you go through to determine what was right for you?

 

I'll go first.

 

I am sure that I am one of the least accomplished in terms of knowledge of the tao and all the myriad concepts. Most of the forums here, I've got google up beside them and am typing in every other term I come across.

 

I've experimented with meditation, qi gong, tai chi, and yoga. I learned about the chakras and kundalini and found that this suits me.

 

Now, I am a Scorpio born in the Year of the Horse with a Vata constitution, so I've been given a triple whammy of restlessness. Before you say anything, I did not check my date of birth out and figure out what I was or take some "Which one are yoU?" tests online. I've studied all of these "new age" concepts and have found all of them to be very valid systems. Though if I had to choose one, the Chinese Zodiac seems the most vague, even with its monthly and secret animals, its too screwy for me.

 

Going on, I find that I have the most trouble with stillness cultivation and meditative techniques, and I favor yoga and tai chi, walking meditation, and observing nature. I can go very deep inside of myself when I want to, but I have not developed as much endurance as I'd like with meditation.

 

Please feel free to comment on my experience, and please please please post yours!

 

Namaste

 

Have you tried full lotus yet? Full lotus is a great way to focus your high energy back into your body -- so instead of walking, etc. your leg energy goes up to your brain to open up the brain energy. And then once the brain energy opens up -- the third eye -- then you can sit in full lotus for as long as you want provided there's a continuous flow of energy going in and out of the body.

 

If you can't sit in full lotus then you know you have a concrete goal to work towards because if the brain channels are open then the body channels will be open as well. So the full lotus provides an easy means to counteract any ego issues which otherwise might cloud your meditation practice.

[Encephalon]

Zen mind, beginners mind! A great place to be.

 

We all have our individual journeys and try on different teachings until we find one that seems to bring our deepest longings to fruition. I thought my life was going to be understood in terms of before yoga/after yoga, but this took me only so far. It did compliment my personal training practice and enabled me to get freakishly strong AND relaxed at the same time, so when I started with the internal energy work, I was able to feel the benefits fairly quickly.

 

By googling "chi kung Los Angeles" I came across www.neikungla.com and the rest is my own personal history. Bruce Lee described his martial art philosophy as an ongoing process of stripping away the non-essentials. (He also had a degree in philosophy and thought the same sentiment applied to his mental universe.) So if you go to the Nei Kung website and indulge in google madness you'll find that it's a practice that is remarkably pure and unencumbered by countless interpretations and revisions, and is the springboard for all the medical, martial, and spiritual refinements.

 

When I visited Gary Clyman's website and read about his Tidal Wave Chi Kung and Nei Kung practice I became even more convinced that Nei Kung was what I needed for my peace of mind and spiritual growth. Clyman's work has garnered deservedly mixed reviews, but he is correct when he states that chi kung practice will increase your sense of personal worthiness (what he calls "deservingness") while stripping away your self-defeatism and self-loathing, a state of mind that is epidemic in western consumer cultures.

 

But, since I live in LA, not in Chicago, I went with Nei Kung because the teacher was here.

 

Another case of geographical determinism!

[Encephalon]

If you're very restless by nature, I think that you'd get the most progress from disciplined .

 

Yes, yes, yes.... the best advice.

 

This is the essence of Nei Kung practice. 20-40 minutes of Embrace Horse (zhan zhuang)followed by the 9 movements that circulate the chi you've built up.

[Aetherous]

what I want to know is, how did you choose your beautiful new avatar? )

 

It's just a decorative plate I've been looking at. Would be a nice addition to my practice space. Pretty expensive...84 bucks!

 

[WallaMike]

There aren't enough gigabites on this link for me to be able to describe all the roads and side roads I have taken to get to my present practice, which also morphs as it moves along. While the internet has helped me somewhat to sift the wheat from the chaff more quickly, one of my major barriers to getting to my present practice is that most every group, sect, form, etc. seems to indicate that theirs is "the best" or "highest" or "fastest". I realize the reasons this is done, but it still makes it harder than it should be. I also realize that my chaff may be someone else's wheat.

 

Of course, I also had the usual issues of finding a good teacher from among those that either don't fit me or who are well meaning (or not so well meaning), but deluded about their abilities to teach. Some just outright lied to me to keep me in their program. I actually have a good "bullshit detector", but if I don't listen to it, it doesn't work. (Duh!) However, some teachers are quite intimidating and when I would bring up my concerns, they were so convincing about how "screwed up" I was, that I ended up ignoring the alarm...until it got so loud I couldn't. I thank God that eventually I listened to it and finally have ended up with a good local teacher. While I still supplement with DVD's and books from the internet for things my teacher doesn't do, I make sure that what I do doesn't interfere with what he does.

 

I initially did Raja yoga and was a certified yoga teacher for several years. Then I got rid of an especially nutty teacher and turned to Buddhism and Taoism for my inspiration and path. This was quite a hard climb, as the literature and teachers in this area are legion and each path requires years of dedication to give it a good try. Given that I was living in Idaho and then rural Washington state, the only way to contact these teachers was via books or trips to their conferences or retreats. Very expensive and time consuming, given that each trip was only a toe dipping in the water for a week or two, then coming home and trying to do it one my own. I'll bet I read 1,000 books during this decade or so of trying to find what fit best for me and what was available in my area (Population 30,000).

 

Around 1993, I first learned Soaring Crane Qigong from a teacher that came to visit my city, liked that, but wanted more, so ended up taking a number of BK Frantzis (mainly Taoist and Tai Chi orientation) classes each summer for 5-6 years. This was fun and interesting and Kumar really has "Big Chi" and lots of talent. His book on Opening the Energy Gates of the Body is still part of a daily dissolving routine I perform, plus the basis for being able to dissolve away excessive energy or emotion, etc. That's another story, but SFJane's story, another TaoBums contributor, is much better.

 

However, around 2007, I got stuck and couldn't progress further, so road off in all directions at once, hoping to find the answer. I spent 3 months just searching the internet for something that would help me and read several dozen books during that time. One I read was Taijiquan: Through the Western Gate ( http://www.amazon.com/Taijiquan-Through-Western-Rick-Barrett/dp/1583941398/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1282246653&sr=8-2 ) by Rick Barrett. Unfortunately Rick is on the wrong side of the continent for me. However, the author mentioned Master Liao and Peter Ralston as people that he respected, so I got number of Master Liao's DVD's and several of Peter's books and finally ended upon going to some of their seminars.

 

Master Liao is in Chicago and is a Taoist teacher. He has outstanding DVD's, even if they are a bit pricy, plus the selection is intimidating. However, he does a lot of energy work and teaches tai chi in a qigong manner so that energy work and movement is a major part of it. This was exactly what I was looking for, so I learned his tai chi form, watched and performed many of his other DVD's and eventually was able to move a little energy around on my own.

 

However, surprisingly, it was Peter Ralston's book, "Zen Body Being" that did the trick for me. His long discussion on "creating feeling" was what helped me more than anything else I had tried, but I also realize that this idea might go against some other teacher's teachings of just "letting it happen". However, for me, it made me realize that I had had contact with chi all along, I had just refused to acknowledge that was what it was, because it was so "ordinary". Once I recognized what it was and was able to start working with it, I made relatively rapid progress (for me). However, I just wish I had known about this earlier, as there is only so fast a person can go and so I have a number of years of intense work ahead of me. I don't mind that, as I'm just relieved I made this breakthrough.

 

Perhaps unsurprisingly, about a year or so after I starting doing all this, I happened to meet this local tai chi teacher in Home Depot and mentioned I was interested in taking some classes from him. He actually suggested I work with someone else first, until I explained to him what all I was now doing. So, I started one month later and now one year later, I've progessed more in that time than in the last 5 years. Books are great, but teachers are so much better if you can find one that matches you and your needs. While my teacher is a very high level martial artist, and I'm not, his martial forms are energetically based and so he is one of the highest level energy workers I've been around, plus he's willing to do the things necessary to bring me up to speed.

 

So, only time will tell how far I'm able to progress, but at this point I see that I'll have to put in a good 4-5 more years before I'm even a shadow of what my teacher can do. But it will be worth it and I think it within my capabilities and that's all I ask.

 

PS: I've also actually had some very good advice from the Tao Bums group. Thanks!!

[Maddie]

Hey

You have a good question, and I'm sure you will get a lot of answers, so here is mine lol. I am also a scorpio and have a hard time calming down, (mind always going). Before I began my current Qigong routine I dabbled with various styles to see which one tickled my fancy. Still meditation (sitting or standing) was hard because I had a hard time being still. Tai Chi was rather complex to learn, and part of my problem in the first place was a lack of patience required to learn it, plus you should learn from a teacher and I couldn't do that. Yoga was too still abd didn't have enough motion for me (though it is relaxing).

So what I eventually made my regular practice was the 8 Brocades, which have helped me to be able to begin to do meditation. I like the brocades because you move, but the moves are simple to learn, you don't have to go to a class to learn it, its easy to memorize so you don't need a video or book for very long. Each movement is designed to work on a specific meridian, its good for your health and mind.

So from one scorpion to another I'd recommend beginning with the 8 brocades or some other type of moving physical qigong. ;-)

[WallaMike]

Yes, yes, yes.... the best advice.

 

This is the essence of Nei Kung practice. 20-40 minutes of Embrace Horse (zhan zhuang)followed by the 9 movements that circulate the chi you've built up.

 

 

Which 9 movements are you referring to? I'm familiar with the 8 brocades, but not the nine movements; are they meridian or otherwise based?

Thanks!

[adept]

3 things I would recommend.

 

1. A moving neigong/qigong routine. (8 brocades, xing yi nei gong , bagua, taiji, xingyi etc etc)

2. Zhan Zhuang.

3. A sitting meditation practice such as vipassana or zazen.

 

These are what I consider core practices. I only learned this through trial and error and lots of dead ends.

 

Good luck

[slimjim]

Hello,

 

I am still relatively new to this wonderful forum. I had a thought today, and I wanted to put my question here, so that people who are still searching for their "Way" can gain some insight on what made YOU choose your path into the Way.

 

Let me explain: There are so many different practices out there; Nei Kung, Qi Gong, Tai Chi, Yoga, Taoist Yoga, the martial arts, zazen, etc.

 

Tell me, what did you go through to determine what was right for you?

 

I'll go first.

 

I am sure that I am one of the least accomplished in terms of knowledge of the tao and all the myriad concepts. Most of the forums here, I've got google up beside them and am typing in every other term I come across.

 

I've experimented with meditation, qi gong, tai chi, and yoga. I learned about the chakras and kundalini and found that this suits me.

 

Now, I am a Scorpio born in the Year of the Horse with a Vata constitution, so I've been given a triple whammy of restlessness. Before you say anything, I did not check my date of birth out and figure out what I was or take some "Which one are yoU?" tests online. I've studied all of these "new age" concepts and have found all of them to be very valid systems. Though if I had to choose one, the Chinese Zodiac seems the most vague, even with its monthly and secret animals, its too screwy for me.

 

Going on, I find that I have the most trouble with stillness cultivation and meditative techniques, and I favor yoga and tai chi, walking meditation, and observing nature. I can go very deep inside of myself when I want to, but I have not developed as much endurance as I'd like with meditation.

 

Please feel free to comment on my experience, and please please please post yours!

 

Namaste

 

 

Well.. it took me about 2 years and a half to get the methods I needed to actually progress well, before that my methods were pretty scattered.

 

I would say.. Do anything that keeps your emotions/mind/body at ease.. If your tense most of the time and on edge your probably not doing the right practice.

 

Use basic meditation, clear your channels as maintenance, then use other methods to actually build and store energy.. If you lose your foundation you will eventually lose your progress.

 

Most of all find what works for you.

 

Meditation Teacher

[Encephalon]

[idquest]

Hello,

Tell me, what did you go through to determine what was right for you?

An accessible authentic teacher is a more important factor than a type of a practice.

 

Make sure that a teacher teaches the system that he/she practices him/herself. Sometimes people have some achievemnts but wanting to make some side cash they get certified and start teaching a system they don't really practice themselves. Studying under such an instructor would be a waste of time at best.

[goldisheavy]

I first examine the underlying doctrine. This has lead to my rejection of about half of all the mystical practices right off the bat. If the doctrine is reasonable, we can move forward. Then I compare the practice with the doctrine. Is the practice consistent? In a lot of cases I find the doctrine is wonderful, but the practice does something opposite or contradictory to the doctrine. This way I reject a lot of practices (for example, Taoist doctrine embraces death as part of the natural course of events, thus all the immortality-seeking practices can be rejected, but that doesn't mean amazing "immortal-like" abilities are impossible, the "-like" suffix is key). Finally, the practice has to be compatible with my nature. I am energetic. These days I can sit, but when I started, I couldn't sit and relax. I could either relax or sit, but not both at once. Thus my preferred method was walking meditation at first. Then I realized that what matters most is not a formulaic direction of the mind, but rather the underlying beliefs, the understanding I have. Then my main practice became walking contemplation. For a while, I also practiced lucid dreaming, because I had specific things I needed to find out, such as, what is the difference between dreaming and waking? How does magic work in dreams? And so on. Once I found the answers, I lost interest in lucid dreaming.

[Mal]

[Birch]

I didn't have any "practices" until my life went to shit.

 

I failed pretty miserably in various aspects of my life and I sought to understand why and what (if anything) I could do about it.

 

I have always liked books and those would be one of my first accesses (and recesses.)

 

So I tried a bunch of things from the books I had read.

 

I read a bunch. Tried a bunch.

 

 

Got a bunch wrong. Totally screwed up (on a number of levels) and found this bunch of people on TTB's. I like them a great deal. It's an awesome bunch of people.

 

I guess they really helped the most in deciding what practices to do. But generally tends to be (for me) more of a "I felt like it" kind of choice more than a "this choice would be ---because"

 

I would like to think that I am becoming more discerning when it comes to selecting practices. Nothing is less sure. But I'm getting better at it.

[dnice]

Good question.

 

I didn't really choose, it just evolved over time And what I chose probably isn’t needed to answer your question. But if you want to watch my practice evolve over time, check out my personal practice section. A few years worth of notes in there.

 

I just kept trying stuff. Over time I found I would practice what I liked quite naturally. Sometimes people would suggest great practices, but I might find that, for me, I just didn't enjoy practicing them. I would battle on and force myself to practice, because sometimes starting something feels different to actually doing it. And you don’t want to keep jumping around starting new stuff constantly. But if it wasn't fun, eventually I’d stop.

 

I feel “Your way” should be something enjoyable and something you look forward to doing everyday. Whatever that “way” may be.

 

Hope that helps a bit.

 

(Scotty - buy the plate. It's art, and the feelings art evokes is priceless )

 

 

 

 

I have only learned one thing , and this came out of meditation and the help of books that infuleunced me :...

 

"Always be conscious of yourself , Always be conscious in your dreams , never get attached to yourself, never get attached to your ego , never get attached to anything, instead watch everything like a movie ..

Stop dreaming in this life because it will lead to your dreaming life . If you wanna know if your really conscious you must watch how conscious you are in your dreams, Escape your prison of fantasy , Instead live your life with consciousness , dont be attached to your pleasures because they keep you asleep ,You must strive to be awake and to have non attachment . There is no problem in this world, the problem in in ourselves ,

 

in the midst of war to have peace within is the greatest achievement

 

wake up , escape fantasy! understand that external turmoil is necessary

for self growth and inner realization , you must practice conscious living in times of trouble,

 

this is my practice

Edited August 20, 2010 by dnice

[Gauss]

What I did was that I first tried a variety of physical cultivation methods like Biyun QiGong, Yoga etc. What I lacked was a profound theory of how to reach high levels. Also, most practices only want to reach your pocket for money.

 

Then I found Falun Dafa(Falun Gong) and all my questions about life and the theory of high levels were answerred.

 

Also it is completely for free which is unique in this world today.

 

FD includes the Dao and belongs to the Buddha Fa school of Qi Gong.

 

In addition the exercises are very detailed and make you reach a very high level quickly, free from illness. The Master of FD is called Li Hongzhi.

 

I suggest you start by reading the book Zhuan Falun and you will know if this is for you:

 

http://www.falundafa.org/eng/books.html

 

Good luck!

[Kali Yuga]

Hello,

 

I am still relatively new to this wonderful forum. I had a thought today, and I wanted to put my question here, so that people who are still searching for their "Way" can gain some insight on what made YOU choose your path into the Way.

 

Let me explain: There are so many different practices out there; Nei Kung, Qi Gong, Tai Chi, Yoga, Taoist Yoga, the martial arts, zazen, etc.

 

Tell me, what did you go through to determine what was right for you?

 

I'll go first.

 

I am sure that I am one of the least accomplished in terms of knowledge of the tao and all the myriad concepts. Most of the forums here, I've got google up beside them and am typing in every other term I come across.

 

I've experimented with meditation, qi gong, tai chi, and yoga. I learned about the chakras and kundalini and found that this suits me.

 

Now, I am a Scorpio born in the Year of the Horse with a Vata constitution, so I've been given a triple whammy of restlessness. Before you say anything, I did not check my date of birth out and figure out what I was or take some "Which one are yoU?" tests online. I've studied all of these "new age" concepts and have found all of them to be very valid systems. Though if I had to choose one, the Chinese Zodiac seems the most vague, even with its monthly and secret animals, its too screwy for me.

 

Going on, I find that I have the most trouble with stillness cultivation and meditative techniques, and I favor yoga and tai chi, walking meditation, and observing nature. I can go very deep inside of myself when I want to, but I have not developed as much endurance as I'd like with meditation.

 

Please feel free to comment on my experience, and please please please post yours!

 

Namaste

 

You don't find a practice. The practice finds you. You will find yourself inexorably drawn to a series of coincidents, find certain people charismatic, and find that it all is explainable only in retrospect. What is really yours will stick and the rest will fall through.

 

This is how it happened to me.

 

May I also mention that it is not so much about which practice as opposed to how deep is your practice. In kalimasada we do by training the breath under stressful circumstance. There are innumerable aspects to any given practice, all of which will deepen it. You don't have to look far, it's right under your very nose. Ask yourself what you can do to deepen it. Don't say you don't know because you really do, you just have to dig deep.

 

For example. You mention you don't have longevity of meditation or stability of mind. I myself used to have this. I am also born in the year of the horse and have a strong vata constitution. Before I couldn't sit to save my life. But it is all in how much you want it. Have an alarm clock going on. If you sit, make a firm resolve that you will not get up until that timer rings. Even if your mind is uneasy, even if your skin itches, even if you don't think you can do it. Just don't quit. Take baby steps, once you can get up to an hour consistently, push it even more. I swear to you you will never regret it. Your soul will feel as fresh and clean as a summer breeze.

 

Do you want the most deepest, awesome, most profound practice? Defeat yourself, your own weaknesses and tendencies, every moment of the day, all the time. The warrior's path. Nothing is gained without work -its the only difference between you and a true master. Think of yourself as an enemy to be defeated. Play this game with yourself and you'll be amazed how far you can get and how what was only a dream to you becomes reality. It's all about developing inner strength, once you have this anything goes.

[forestofclarity]

I agree with this. I often feel that my practice is guided by something higher. However, in order to tune into that guidance, two things are necessary:

 

1. An open, questioning mind.

2. Unrelenting inner honesty.

 

You don't find a practice. The practice finds you. You will find yourself inexorably drawn to a series of coincidents, find certain people charismatic, and find that it all is explainable only in retrospect. What is really yours will stick and the rest will fall through.