My first full lotus experiences

[voidisyinyang]

I can sit in full lotus for longer than 40 minutes straight, and my rule is to sit in full lotus for at least twenty minutes every day, at the beginning of each daily meditation practice. Physically, it is the most comfortable physical position I've ever experienced: my body feels as if it's sitting amidst an electromagnetic cloud (it feels like a cozy cushion of energy within and around me), my mind is very focused: it's all an experience of "perfect bliss".

 

But can anyone answer this?:

 

I sit with my hands in the mudra given in Chapter 1 of Taoist Yoga: it is the "negative embracing the positive" and it closes the two gates of the hands (laogong). Is this the best best mudra to use when sitting in full lotus (it is the one I always use)?

 

Is it okay to violate the "24-Hour Rule", to sit in full-lotus? I will abide by that rule if I need to, but I like to sit in full lotus as often as I can.

 

When I sit in full lotus, I count my breaths, keeping my mind on my breathing at all costs. However, I also focus on my upper and lower tan-tien: sometimes simultaneously, sometimes alternating. I am doing well? What ought I focus on? (upper?, lower?, only breaths?, etc.)

 

Thanks fellow taobums!!

 

Awesome. Someone asked about that mudra on my blog and I had to go back to discover I had originally misunderstood the description. I find the description in the book difficult to follow. Maybe you can explain it again or better if there is an image of the mudra somewhere. I did use that mudra after I had reread the explanation in Taoist Yoga and I did find that it focused in the energy in the lower tan tien amazingly well. I'm just wondering if there's any other source for this mudra as well?

 

I've never heard of the 24 hr rule for full lotus? If the mind is visualizing energy in the lower tan tien that is one thing -- the spirit. There is also the Emptiness which is non-dual and can not be visualized and is everywhere/nowhere. haha.

[Neophyte]

Awesome. Someone asked about that mudra on my blog and I had to go back to discover I had originally misunderstood the description. I find the description in the book difficult to follow. Maybe you can explain it again or better if there is an image of the mudra somewhere. I did use that mudra after I had reread the explanation in Taoist Yoga and I did find that it focused in the energy in the lower tan tien amazingly well. I'm just wondering if there's any other source for this mudra as well?

 

I've never heard of the 24 hr rule for full lotus? If the mind is visualizing energy in the lower tan tien that is one thing -- the spirit. There is also the Emptiness which is non-dual and can not be visualized and is everywhere/nowhere. haha.

 

The 24-hour rule isn't exclusively for full-lotus: it basically is the abstaining of sexual activity (or at least ejaculation) 24 hours both before and after any qigong or meditation practice. I read this in Dr. Yang's books. He said that some masters strongly believe that one must not practice qigong for at least FOUR DAYS on either side of sex/masturbation (but if I did this then I would never accomplish anything in meditation or qigong!). Dr. Yang suggests to at least wait 24 hours to allow qi to regulate itself in your body (after ejaculation) before practicing anything. I personally don't like to wait even THAT long, and so I often neglect the rule entirely. I was just wondering, specifically, what effect an ejaculation would have, shortly before sitting in full lotus for meditation? Would the meditation session be worthless?

 

When I concentrate on upper/lower tan tien, I do not visualize energy. I just focus on the centers themselves and the result is excellent: I can feel strong electromagnetic energy in the areas. It feels really good, my sinuses immediately unblock, too (allergies). But of course, I feel this any time I concentrate on those areas, even when I'm not in full lotus.

Edited November 25, 2011 by Neophyte

[voidisyinyang]

The 24-hour rule isn't exclusively for full-lotus: it basically is the abstaining of sexual activity (or at least ejaculation) 24 hours both before and after any qigong or meditation practice. I read this in Dr. Yang's books. He said that some masters strongly believe that one must not practice qigong for at least FOUR DAYS on either side of sex/masturbation (but if I did this then I would never accomplish anything in meditation or qigong!). Dr. Yang suggests to at least wait 24 hours to allow qi to regulate itself in your body (after ejaculation) before practicing anything. I personally don't like to wait even THAT long, and so I often neglect the rule entirely. I was just wondering, specifically, what effect an ejaculation would have, shortly before sitting in full lotus for meditation? Would the meditation session be worthless?

 

When I concentrate on upper/lower tan tien, I do not visualize energy. I just focus on the centers themselves and the result is excellent: I can feel strong electromagnetic energy in the areas. It feels really good, my sinuses immediately unblock, too (allergies). But of course, I feel this any time I concentrate on those areas, even when I'm not in full lotus.

 

Haha. I'm re-reading "Taoist Yoga: Alchemy and Immortality" right now. The link for download is on my blog but the mods might block it if I give a link to my blog here. haha. Anyway it's clearly stated in the book that if you're not storing up your sex energy and also NOT clearing your mind of such thoughts then the practice won't work. Of course I am guilty of this as well. We can do the reverse breathing still but it is just damage control for health purposes. To quote "Taoist Yoga"

 

If he does not know how to take advantage of the absence of thoughts in this condition of stillness to gather true vitality when the positive manifests (causing the penis to stand up) he will give rise to sexual desire which will transform the generative force into postnatal generative fluid which (is useless and) cannot be gathered.

p. 20

 

So the premise of Taoist Yoga is to keep building up this sex energy as the alchemical agent and any loss of it will cause the practice to start over again. So I would say that including myself -- most of us can not even get past this basic level of practice because the modern world is fixated on sexual desire and so are the people we are surrounded by. Still Taoist Yoga says the postive force can be saved even though the fluid is lost is there is quick reverse breathing of the lower tan tien via the nostrils. So it's not that it's not possible but it's more difficult. The younger you are the more jing energy you have to lose but you might regret it when you're older as it's more difficult to rebuild it and you're not going to be able just have better circumstances to practice, etc. Also if you're getting energy transmissions from a master then there can be some stabilization of third eye opening -- "the laying of the foundation" --

 

What you say about how long to wait -- Gurdjieff says it depends on the person -- everyone is different based on their internal jing energy, the type of food they eat, how much exercise/work, the type of people they interact with, etc.

[Nanashi]

Hello Drew, I am glad to see you back here, sharing your experience and knowledge.

 

I spend most of my sedentary time in full lotus-- even during martial practice I will sometimes break it up with pushing my fists against the ground and suspending my body sitting in full lotus (great for balance).

 

Most of my practice and philosophy is Japanese in origin, and I remember a long time ago you told me that all Japanese practices are just "mind yoga"-- also you recently mentioned on your blog how you sleep on your right side, putting weight on your hip and shoulder. When I go to sleep (also on my right side), it seems like I place all my weight on my face, causing a lot of pressure in my mouth. I've tried to adjust the weight elsewhere, but my head seems too heavy/uncomfortable in other positions laying down. Is this connected with mind-yoga?

[voidisyinyang]

But can anyone answer this?:

 

I sit with my hands in the mudra given in Chapter 1 of Taoist Yoga: it is the "negative embracing the positive" and it closes the two gates of the hands (laogong). Is this the best best mudra to use when sitting in full lotus (it is the one I always use)?

First locate the dragon cavity by bending the middle finger of your left hand and where it touches the left palm is that cavity which is lively and is linked with the heart and the lower abdomen by a channel (artery) passing through the left wrist. Then locate the tiger cavity by bending the middle finger of your right hand and where it touches your right palm is that cavity which also is linked with the heart and the lower abdomen by a channel (vein) passing through the right wrist.

 

'Now place the right palm on the left pressing the right middle fingertip on the dragon cavity (in the left palm) and the left middle fingertip on the tiger cavity (in the right palm) thus blocking both cavities.

p. 106 Taoist Yoga: Alchemy and Immortality.

 

So how do you press the right palm on the left palm? With the palms facing each other in the same direction (that is too awkward for the middle fingers to press on the insides?) or with the top of the right hand toward the bottom of the left palm wrist so the middle fingers block the insides with the space between remaining open? I was doing it the second way but that seemed too awkward also.

Edited November 26, 2011 by fulllotus

[voidisyinyang]

Hello Drew, I am glad to see you back here, sharing your experience and knowledge.

 

I spend most of my sedentary time in full lotus-- even during martial practice I will sometimes break it up with pushing my fists against the ground and suspending my body sitting in full lotus (great for balance).

 

Most of my practice and philosophy is Japanese in origin, and I remember a long time ago you told me that all Japanese practices are just "mind yoga"-- also you recently mentioned on your blog how you sleep on your right side, putting weight on your hip and shoulder. When I go to sleep (also on my right side), it seems like I place all my weight on my face, causing a lot of pressure in my mouth. I've tried to adjust the weight elsewhere, but my head seems too heavy/uncomfortable in other positions laying down. Is this connected with mind-yoga?

 

Oh yeah this "dragon coil" sleeping position is also taught in "Taoist Yoga" but you need to put your arm under your head! You create a kind of makeshift support by bending your right arm but the hand is supposed to be under the ear I think. Then the right leg bends to support the left leg. I'm looking it up in Taoist Yoga.

 

I read about this dude who goes to a monastery in Japan and it's two hour full lotus sessions on and off all day long or something -- so strict that most can not handle it....but it's a rare place.

 

Yeah it just says to bend the arm to use as a pillow. (p. 101) I tend to vary where I put it depending on the pillow I'm using -- if I have one, etc.

[Nanashi]

Oh yeah this "dragon coil" sleeping position is also taught in "Taoist Yoga" but you need to put your arm under your head! You create a kind of makeshift support by bending your right arm but the hand is supposed to be under the ear I think. Then the right leg bends to support the left leg. I'm looking it up in Taoist Yoga.

 

I read about this dude who goes to a monastery in Japan and it's two hour full lotus sessions on and off all day long or something -- so strict that most can not handle it....but it's a rare place.

 

Yeah it just says to bend the arm to use as a pillow. (p. 101) I tend to vary where I put it depending on the pillow I'm using -- if I have one, etc.

 

Thanks very much, I will try that. I was bending my pillow to try and support my neck, but the arm/leg bends make much more sense in supporting this sleeping posture.

[Neophyte]

"First locate the dragon cavity by bending the middle finger of your left hand and where it touches the left palm is that cavity which is lively and is linked with the heart and the lower abdomen by a channel (artery) passing through the left wrist. Then locate the tiger cavity by bending the middle finger of your right hand and where it touches your right palm is that cavity which also is linked with the heart and the lower abdomen by a channel (vein) passing through the right wrist."

 

"Now place the right palm on the left pressing the right middle fingertip on the dragon cavity (in the left palm) and the left middle fingertip on the tiger cavity (in the right palm) thus blocking both cavities."

 

p. 106 (Taoist Yoga: Alchemy and Immortality.)

 

 

So how do you press the right palm on the left palm? With the palms facing each other in the same direction (that is too awkward for the middle fingers to press on the insides?) or with the top of the right hand toward the bottom of the left palm wrist so the middle fingers block the insides with the space between remaining open? I was doing it the second way but that seemed too awkward also.

 

The first excerpt you quoted is simply the author telling you how to find the dragon and tiger cavities (by bending the middle fingers (onto its own hand) to accurately locate those points, and isn't part of the mudra he described.

The second part you quoted, says to PLACE the right hand on the left. The middle finger of right hand goes straight down to the dragon cavity on centre of left palm. The left middle finger goes straight up to tiger cavity on right palm. So the right and left hands and parallel, with right hand on top and a space the length of the middle fingers between right and left hands; the middle fingers are vertical and connect the two hands.

 

The author says that the dragon cavity is linked with the heart and lower abdomen, and mentions the channel passing through the left wrist; he also says that the tiger cavity is linked with the heart and lower abdomen too, by a channel passing through the right wrist. However, he says this just for information and understanding, and this info doesn't affect the mudra he describes.

 

This mudra is only for the exercise he gives in Chapter 10, to prevent nocturnal emissions, and isn't the mudra as described in Chapter 1. The latter (Ch. 1 mudra) is the one to use when performing daily meditation.

[voidisyinyang]

The first excerpt you quoted is simply the author telling you how to find the dragon and tiger cavities (by bending the middle fingers (onto its own hand) to accurately locate those points, and isn't part of the mudra he described.

The second part you quoted, says to PLACE the right hand on the left. The middle finger of right hand goes straight down to the dragon cavity on centre of left palm. The left middle finger goes straight up to tiger cavity on right palm. So the right and left hands and parallel, with right hand on top and a space the length of the middle fingers between right and left hands; the middle fingers are vertical and connect the two hands.

 

The author says that the dragon cavity is linked with the heart and lower abdomen, and mentions the channel passing through the left wrist; he also says that the tiger cavity is linked with the heart and lower abdomen too, by a channel passing through the right wrist. However, he says this just for information and understanding, and this info doesn't affect the mudra he describes.

 

This mudra is only for the exercise he gives in Chapter 10, to prevent nocturnal emissions, and isn't the mudra as described in Chapter 1. The latter (Ch. 1 mudra) is the one to use when performing daily meditation.

 

Yeah so that's the second way I mentioned and it is the way I was doing it. haha. Still it's a pretty wild mudra imo. I just practiced it as I got perv attacked tonight -- so I did a good full lotus session while I watched a kung fu film and then did the mudra.

 

Thanks for your description of the mudra even though you do the chp 1 mudra. Now I remember that one because I used to do that one also but had forgotten where I had read it. Sweet.

[JustARandomPanda]

Yay! My Fave Full Lotus Afficionado is back! Drew, Taobums has missed you.

 

 

Sigh...maybe someday I'll be able to sit in Full Lotus. Right now the best I can do is Half Lotus. Are there any benefits to Half Lotus or is it only Full that does anything?

[JohnC]

The 24-hour rule isn't exclusively for full-lotus: it basically is the abstaining of sexual activity (or at least ejaculation) 24 hours both before and after any qigong or meditation practice. I read this in Dr. Yang's books.

 

I know that some of the books say that, but the masters that I've met up with advocate sexual activity, in a healthy and loving light.

 

Both Lomax, and Terry Dunn's master say, sex/masturbation/ejaculation is fine.

 

But I have heard mopai and some of the martial practices say, 'no sex'.

 

John

[FixXxer1846]

Chunyi Lin has said that the full lotus will cause the small universe to happen automatically.

 

Interesting. That could well be true. Or at the very least it enhances the flow a bit. Seems to work when you go into emptiness and not work on the "small universe" practice in particular. The posture still caused pressure in my heart area after a while, but for now only when I go into emptiness and not when watching tv (might take too long). Also explains what Jeremy said:

 

When I managed to get into full lotus for the first time, I felt and heard lots of cracking and popping noises in the back of my neck. Energy traveling up to the head, I presume. I continued having these sensations as well as several nose bleeds during the few weeks of practicing full lotus. It eventually cleared up.

 

I had a very unusual nose bleed also today. But I have a cold, so could well be related to that.

 

Wondering why Chunyi Lin is so vague when talking about the full lotus. Looking at what he wrote down, he says full lotus "opens the most channels" and "allows you stay in emptiness the longest". He also seems to imply that it is a practice unto itself by saying it's possible to practice while watching television (as is possible with Zhan Zhuang). But there's no detail on what the practice actually does. Then in an interview last year Lin adds "There are a lot of benefits you can get from this posture. One of them is to strengthen your vitality faster..." And that's about it. A bit of a shame. If the posture is really that powerful (and may even render the basic small universe practice a bit obsolete) he should promote it more. It seems I'm one person who really benefits from this posture.

[voidisyinyang]

Interesting. That could well be true. Or at the very least it enhances the flow a bit. Seems to work when you go into emptiness and not work on the "small universe" practice in particular. The posture still caused pressure in my heart area after a while, but for now only when I go into emptiness and not when watching tv (might take too long). Also explains what Jeremy said:

 

 

 

I had a very unusual nose bleed also today. But I have a cold, so could well be related to that.

 

Wondering why Chunyi Lin is so vague when talking about the full lotus. Looking at what he wrote down, he says full lotus "opens the most channels" and "allows you stay in emptiness the longest". He also seems to imply that it is a practice unto itself by saying it's possible to practice while watching television (as is possible with Zhan Zhuang). But there's no detail on what the practice actually does. Then in an interview last year Lin adds "There are a lot of benefits you can get from this posture. One of them is to strengthen your vitality faster..." And that's about it. A bit of a shame. If the posture is really that powerful (and may even render the basic small universe practice a bit obsolete) he should promote it more. It seems I'm one person who really benefits from this posture.

 

Nice quotes from Chunyi Lin on the full lotus! Yeah most of his students probably don't practice full lotus as often they are relying on getting the healing transmissions from Chunyi Lin and so don't consider it necessary. There's some discussion about it on the Learning Strategies SFQ forum -- considering full lotus just one type of exercise that can even be practiced incorrectly. I suppose I was doing that since I wasn't storing the energy in my lower tan tien -- so while I could sit in full lotus for hours non-stop (except for bathroom breaks) -- my energy just remained the same, but I was processing tons of dirty jing energy, harmonizing it into weak chi transmissions.

 

So Chunyi Lin told the class that the first time he sat in full lotus for two hours non-stop was when watching a martial arts movie that he really loved. When the movie ended only then did he feel the pain in his legs being so bad. haha. After that he said he just kept doing two hour non-stop full lotus sessions. Then when Jim Nance was training to be a qigong master Chunyi Lin told him that Jim Nance had to do a two hour non-stop full lotus session every night -- without missing a night, no exception.

 

When I did my training I relied on small universe and the active exercises and then when I did sitting I did half lotus for self concentration. Then I worked my way into more full lotus. So that was a two or three hour practice session -- start with half hour standing active, then half hour intervals of small universe (on a chair) and self concentration sitting in half lotus and then end with half hour active exercise. Then as the electromagnetic energy built up I did more and more full lotus until it was two hours non-stop.

[Sonhoffman]

Just wanted to thank for this thread - both for bringing back mr. Hempel and for rejuvenating my FL practice.

 

Today I combined FL for the first time with Stillness-Movement for a full hour, and now I feel very good about it. I know of no other pose that gives such an extra "zing", it even keeps me awake and alert when I otherwise would be dozing off and drifting away. In other words it's painful but the pain is useful.

Edited November 28, 2011 by Sonhoffman

[Mokona]

What are the symptoms of the 'perv attack'? I'm male, and a meditator & cultivator. When I go out into public I tend to notice an overly 'sexed up' feeling when seeing females and at times feel very angry when looking at males and it can even turn into short day-dreams of fighting. Is this my energy mixing with females and males out in public or did I just tell on myself as having some wierd psyche issue? lol.

 

Thanks

[voidisyinyang]

What are the symptoms of the 'perv attack'? I'm male, and a meditator & cultivator. When I go out into public I tend to notice an overly 'sexed up' feeling when seeing females and at times feel very angry when looking at males and it can even turn into short day-dreams of fighting. Is this my energy mixing with females and males out in public or did I just tell on myself as having some wierd psyche issue? lol.

 

Thanks

 

Basically the energy should be in the heart. A perv attack means someone is trying to suck you off to create an external ejaculation -- this could be either from a female who thinks she needs guys to ejaculate so she can have an orgasm or it can be from a male perv addicted to his own ejaculations.

 

So if someone is trying to suck you off but your energy is in your heart then the energy will get moved to your liver causing you to be angry in response -- this is righteous anger and appropriate. Of course it's best not to demonstrate this anger but if you can perceive the energy being "deconverted" from heart chi energy into liver jing energy then you'll know the cause.

 

So the answer is reverse breathing and also to put the index finger against your thumb so that it closes off energy from leaving your body. Then if you can sit in full lotus this will reverse the damage very effectively -- you just wait until the sex energy is burned or ionized back into jing energy and then back into electromagnetic chi energy.

 

If you can't do the full lotus then do the small universe exercise (microcosmic orbit) as this again sublimates and purifies (ionizes) the energy.

[starhawk]

Basically the energy should be in the heart. A perv attack means someone is trying to suck you off to create an external ejaculation -- this could be either from a female who thinks she needs guys to ejaculate so she can have an orgasm or it can be from a male perv addicted to his own ejaculations.

 

So if someone is trying to suck you off but your energy is in your heart then the energy will get moved to your liver causing you to be angry in response -- this is righteous anger and appropriate. Of course it's best not to demonstrate this anger but if you can perceive the energy being "deconverted" from heart chi energy into liver jing energy then you'll know the cause.

 

So the answer is reverse breathing and also to put the index finger against your thumb so that it closes off energy from leaving your body. Then if you can sit in full lotus this will reverse the damage very effectively -- you just wait until the sex energy is burned or ionized back into jing energy and then back into electromagnetic chi energy.

 

If you can't do the full lotus then do the small universe exercise (microcosmic orbit) as this again sublimates and purifies (ionizes) the energy.

 

 

Hi Drew,

 

Interesting discussion.

 

Nice to see you here. I joined Tao-bums in your interim period. I partially read your manuscript and was going to ask the master about it.

 

What made you decide to come back to Tao bums now?

 

I'll PM you.

 

Cheers,

Starhawk.

[voidisyinyang]

Hi Drew,

 

Interesting discussion.

 

Nice to see you here. I joined Tao-bums in your interim period. I partially read your manuscript and was going to ask the master about it.

 

What made you decide to come back to Tao bums now?

 

I'll PM you.

 

Cheers,

Starhawk.

 

This is the PM I sent:

 

Awesome XXXX! My old high school buddy had the number 1 thesis at the U of MN in philosophy -- Heidegger. But that was in the early 1990s.

 

My manuscript is just me b.s.ing about stuff -- blowing off steam. Chunyi Lin said he's too busy doing healing to read books. Although he did read "The Holographic Universe" by Michael Talbot and he says that book accurately describes what it's like for an energy master. Also I just had my first phone healing from Chunyi Lin as I mentioned in the forum -- and he said my energy was very weak -- the kidney, heart and lung, especially the lungs. I had been fasting for three days so that was part of it but he said that I needed to store the energy in my lower tan tien.

 

So most of my book is based on the practice I was doing when I wasn't storing the energy in my lower tan tien. I actually did show Chunyi Lin an earlier pamphlet I wrote on qigong and nondualism -- and I said that he was the most powerful qigong master in the U.S. He said: You can't write that but you can say I am very wonderful. haha. Then I thought -- but if he can censor my opinion of him then he is even more powerful! haha.

 

Right now I'm still off-gassing crap smell when I eat too much but Chunyi Lin said that I need to eat to rebuild my jing energy. So my system is out of balance and so I am a hermit in the forest. haha. But I keep practicing and I said I need to get my energy back to where it was ten years ago. Chunyi Lin said: Yep. But ten years ago my chi energy was really strong so this is kind of scary! haha.

 

Still I have a permanent magnetic bliss in the center of my brain so for this I am always every grateful to Chunyi Lin on a daily basis. It is an awesome opportunity that you get to take classes from Chunyi Lin directly and when I asked him in person how much my right kidney worked -- he looked at my kidney and it felt like a laser! He said: Oh about 70%. haha.

 

So maybe you can have fun like that in class with him. I have many stories of what happened in class when he sent a ball of chi out to calm down a lady or when he did a long distance healing to open my third eye and the center of my brain was on fire! Or when I saw yin spirits coming out of his head - forming into bodies and floating off into the conference room to heal people. He said -- oh thoses are just my yin spirits. Then I saw dead spirits floating into the room -- yellow orbs shaped like people -- and Chunyi Lin said -- yes those are dead people that come to me when I do healing. He said that happens all the time and he helps the dead to then go to a deeper level of peace -- stronger light.

[Mark Foote]

 

So maybe you can have fun like that in class with him. I have many stories of what happened in class when he sent a ball of chi out to calm down a lady or when he did a long distance healing to open my third eye and the center of my brain was on fire! Or when I saw yin spirits coming out of his head - forming into bodies and floating off into the conference room to heal people. He said -- oh thoses are just my yin spirits. Then I saw dead spirits floating into the room -- yellow orbs shaped like people -- and Chunyi Lin said -- yes those are dead people that come to me when I do healing. He said that happens all the time and he helps the dead to then go to a deeper level of peace -- stronger light.

 

Pretty amazing tales, Drew. Do you think you can do it, what you are looking to do?-

 

I'm not well-educated in Taoist lore and practice. This is a great site for me. Taomeow, I always appreciate you down-to-earth advice and info.

 

I have taught myself to sit in the lotus. I sit 40 minutes in the morning, and maybe 20 at night. My understanding would be that the two autonomic respirations, pulmonary and cranial-sacral, use the sense of place in the occurrence of consciousness to effect reciprocal innervation in the fascia and muscles of posture. This just means that the stretch in the fascia on one side of the body generates nerve-impulses to contract muscles to relieve the stretch, which causes stretch in the fascia on the opposite side; so there's a back and forth of muscle activity that's not generated from the cerebral cortex, it's coming out of the reciprocal stretch of fascia and ligaments. The two respirations can place the occurrence of consciousness to effect activity out of balance, and that activity creates an alignment of the spine that opens feeling in real time.

 

That's my practice when I think of it. Lately I'm focused on the hypnogogic state in sitting, the place where feeling becomes continuous even in the face of involuntary muscular activity and stretch that always borders on painful in three directions. I had to learn to feel three pivots at the sacrum, I have to learn to feel the reciprocity between the extensors on two sides behind and the psoas on two sides in front around the tan-t'ien. Here's a great thing from Shunryu Suzuki someone posted on Warner's Hardcore Zen blog, about "have to learn"'s:

 

"That is the most important thing for me: to stand on my feet and to sit on my black cushion. I don't trust anything but [laughs] my feet or my black cushion. This is my friend, always. My feet is always my friend. When I am in bed, my bed is my friend. There is no Buddha, or no Buddhism, or no zazen. If, you know, you ask me, "What is zazen?" you know, my answer will be, "To sit on black cushion is zazen," or "To walk with my feet is my zazen." To stay at this moment on this place is my zazen. There is no other zazen."

 

That's from Chadwick's shunryusuzuki.com site, the lecture of July 6th 1970.

 

Here's the way I feel it, on a good day- ha ha!-

 

"Simply by being where we are, we can come to forget the self. The sense of place engenders an ability to feel, and each thing we feel enters into the sense of place- even before we know it.

 

This being where we are with each thing, even before we know it, is shikantaza."

 

Can't sit two hours in the lotus, and mostly I don't know that I ever will, but this transmission is consciousness from sense organ and sense object, impact, and feeling as it really is, and it's right where my mind as in heart-mind is now.

[Harmonious Emptiness]

I forget where, but I thought I read somewhere that one of the important things about sitting in FL is that the soles of the feet point upwards, for energetic reasons. Any insights on this? because I'm thinking a seiza bench might be the way to go for the rest of us.

[minkus]

Nice seeing you again Drew ! Kudos

[voidisyinyang]

I forget where, but I thought I read somewhere that one of the important things about sitting in FL is that the soles of the feet point upwards, for energetic reasons. Any insights on this? because I'm thinking a seiza bench might be the way to go for the rest of us.

 

Yes Effie P. Chow mentions this in her amazing book "Miracle Healing of China" -- she practices full lotus. It's called the five points facing heaven -- the two centers of the feet, the two centers of the hands and the top of the head. So that the body progressively turns into yang energy.

[voidisyinyang]

Pretty amazing tales, Drew. Do you think you can do it, what you are looking to do?-

 

I'm not well-educated in Taoist lore and practice. This is a great site for me. Taomeow, I always appreciate you down-to-earth advice and info.

 

I have taught myself to sit in the lotus. I sit 40 minutes in the morning, and maybe 20 at night. My understanding would be that the two autonomic respirations, pulmonary and cranial-sacral, use the sense of place in the occurrence of consciousness to effect reciprocal innervation in the fascia and muscles of posture. This just means that the stretch in the fascia on one side of the body generates nerve-impulses to contract muscles to relieve the stretch, which causes stretch in the fascia on the opposite side; so there's a back and forth of muscle activity that's not generated from the cerebral cortex, it's coming out of the reciprocal stretch of fascia and ligaments. The two respirations can place the occurrence of consciousness to effect activity out of balance, and that activity creates an alignment of the spine that opens feeling in real time.

 

That's my practice when I think of it. Lately I'm focused on the hypnogogic state in sitting, the place where feeling becomes continuous even in the face of involuntary muscular activity and stretch that always borders on painful in three directions. I had to learn to feel three pivots at the sacrum, I have to learn to feel the reciprocity between the extensors on two sides behind and the psoas on two sides in front around the tan-t'ien. Here's a great thing from Shunryu Suzuki someone posted on Warner's Hardcore Zen blog, about "have to learn"'s:

 

"That is the most important thing for me: to stand on my feet and to sit on my black cushion. I don't trust anything but [laughs] my feet or my black cushion. This is my friend, always. My feet is always my friend. When I am in bed, my bed is my friend. There is no Buddha, or no Buddhism, or no zazen. If, you know, you ask me, "What is zazen?" you know, my answer will be, "To sit on black cushion is zazen," or "To walk with my feet is my zazen." To stay at this moment on this place is my zazen. There is no other zazen."

 

That's from Chadwick's shunryusuzuki.com site, the lecture of July 6th 1970.

 

Here's the way I feel it, on a good day- ha ha!-

 

"Simply by being where we are, we can come to forget the self. The sense of place engenders an ability to feel, and each thing we feel enters into the sense of place- even before we know it.

 

This being where we are with each thing, even before we know it, is shikantaza."

 

Can't sit two hours in the lotus, and mostly I don't know that I ever will, but this transmission is consciousness from sense organ and sense object, impact, and feeling as it really is, and it's right where my mind as in heart-mind is now.

 

Yeah I keep studying the book "Taoist Yoga: Alchemy and Immortality" which I link on my new blog http://fulllotusqigong.blogspot.com/2011/11/why-i-am-ghost-currently-and-will-stay.html

 

So the book says if we are confused by all the details of the microcosmic and macrocosmic orbit practice -- then to just put the heart energy underneath the lower tan tien energy so that the cauldron is created that will burn away the generative fluid into generative force and then create the prenatal vitality - the electromagnetic chi which then will create the spirit energy -- the holographic laser light.

 

So my take on it as my book goes into is that the bone pressure from full lotus creates ultrasound which then ionizes the hormones and also creates sonoluminescence and sonofusion as alchemy. There's a secret to ultrasound as quantum cavitation creating mini-white holes of laser holography. haha.

 

There's a dude from Italy claiming to now have in production a mass cold fusion generator relying on this principle of ultrasound sonofusion -- some scientists have verified his results but most still remain sceptical until the production is finished. It's being built for Greece as a generator but the production is in Florida. haha.

 

Anyway two hours of non-stop full lotus -- it's a simple goal but yes quite elusive. haha. When I was "flexing" my pineal gland -- then no problem I can sit in full lotus for as long as I want -- for days non-stop. I went 10 days with no food just in full lotus this spring. But that's just transforming the jing energy into chi and I'm not building up the chi energy. So Chunyi Lin said if I keep doing that then my transmissions will always be weak. haha.

 

Thanks to the spiritual master!!!

[effilang]

Yeah I keep studying the book "Taoist Yoga: Alchemy and Immortality" which I link on my new blog http://fulllotusqigo...-will-stay.html

 

So the book says if we are confused by all the details of the microcosmic and macrocosmic orbit practice -- then to just put the heart energy underneath the lower tan tien energy so that the cauldron is created that will burn away the generative fluid into generative force and then create the prenatal vitality - the electromagnetic chi which then will create the spirit energy -- the holographic laser light.

 

In other words, to place the fire under the water to create steam?

 

Where does the vapor store itself thereafter, in the heart?

 

 

[voidisyinyang]

In other words, to place the fire under the water to create steam?

 

Where does the vapor store itself thereafter, in the heart?

 

Yeah I've been wondering -- it's stored in the lower tan tien.

 

But then it's stated that the stored energy can easily be turned back into fluid unless the fire is maintained.

 

So then I've read that the qigong masters have a strong chi ball in their lower tan tien - solid.

 

I've also read that then the chi gets stored in the bones as well -- for the deeper levels.

 

So the heart is the source of the spirit light energy and this combines with the chi steam -- and then with the generative force -- it's a kind of crystallized semen, blood, bone deal.