The front channel of the MCO.

[jacklantegi]

So it dawned on me a while ago that I have been doing the microcosmic orbit (small universe, more specifically) incorrectly since I started the practice half a year ago.

 

Basically, for some reason I thought the front channel was actually in the center of the torso, and not actually at the very front surface of the body. This is for a number of reasons:

 

-In the Spring Forest Qigong system, the main active exercise has you moving energy in a central column in the body.

-Again in SFQ, the emphasis is always placed on the lower dan tien, and that it is located deep behind the naval. This is repeated during the small universe meditation.. which sort of leads you to think that that is where the axis for the channel is located; in the center of the body.

-It is said that the front and back channels are connected when you touch the roof of your mouth with your tongue. This is also located inside the body.

 

I started to gradually train myself to move the front channel to the front of my body, and it felt very very awkward and unnatural. Eventually, after about half an hour I can get the energy flowing just like the MCO diagram would depict it, but as soon as I stop it reverts to going back to the center.

 

Even worse, eventually it started to go back further than the center, and allign itself with my vagus nerve. So what would essentially happen is the energy would flow from my throat directly INTO my heart, and from my heart back down to the lower dan tien area. This caused some immense problems from the strain this put on my heart.

 

Even with all the work I was doing, the energy sometimes decides to skip onto the vagus nerve and it is extremely, extremely difficult to move it out of there once it gets there. Most of the time I simply have to stop completely and start all over a few hours later.

 

Also, I can't do the active exercises correctly anymore since I'm completely unable to hold the energy in a central column in the middle of my body. It keeps skipping around everywhere.

 

I'm at a point right now where I am really frustrated. I have never been so frustrated about anything in my life because of all the work I put into qigong and now I'm even worse off than when I started.

 

I literally wish I could barely feel any energy at all like when I started instead of having these very intense, out of control lines of energy zig zagging their way between blockages.

 

Physically, it feels like I am a huge magnet. I feel strong currents of energy moving around my body, mostly in line with the MCO, but occasionally they move around, and it feels exactly like how it feels when you hold two magnets facing the same pole in each hand. They tend to very harshly repel each other, and when I move the energy, it feels more like I'm pushing a magnet around using another magnet with the same pole.

 

Is this even normal???? I mean, it basically feels like an immense current or river moving around. One going up my back and the other skipping around from point to point going down the middle and front of my body.

 

The moment any exercise requires me to visualize energy in a part of my body, it immediately gets caught in one of the two currents (mostly the front) and goes along the current very fast.

 

I don't know what the best thing for me to do would be at this point.

 

I have tried completely stopping all qigong for an entire week but it didn't change anything. I almost constantly had an irresistible urge to try and consciously reposition the energy during the day because it gives off a nagging physical sensation, especially when it got stuck in the vagus nerve. But even when I ignored it and eventually resumed, I didn't feel like I was in a better position than when I stopped.

 

FWIW, I have done 3 phone healing sessions with master Lin about 3 months ago, and I am very hesitant to try again because I got no benefit from those sessions. That's not to say they don't work, I'm sure they do, but I did not get any benefit from them.

 

I don't know any qualified energy workers in my area and I have looked. Acupuncture comes to mind but again, from the two sessions I had in the past, it doesn't seem to do anything.

Edited May 22, 2012 by jacklantegi

[jacklantegi]

I was wondering maybe if I should completely switch to just meditating without focusing on anything. But I do at least need to focus on my breathing.. so I start being aware of the air going into my nostrils and whoop, that focus, or energy, gets caught in the current of the front channel and gets dragged downward. It's really messed up.

 

I think I'm probably an exception to the rule and did something wrong from the very beginning, but it really sucks when you don't have a teacher. I mean, there is absolutely no frame of reference as to what to be aware of when you're doing something right or wrong.

 

What I got from master Lin's material is that the goal is to "feel more energy". And by feeling and creating more energy that would automatically lead to unblocking the energy blockages...

 

What it all boils down to, is it feels like I have created more energy, can feel more energy, but have also created even more blockages!

 

I DO feel much better mentally and emotionally, but that's probably because of all the regular meditation I started doing along with the qigong.

 

I need some advise, and fast, because I am getting increasingly frustrated when doing qigong now, since it pisses me off more than anything when things go wrong, and it leaves no room for the emptyness aspect.

Edited May 22, 2012 by jacklantegi

[jacklantegi]

I made an illustration to get a better picture of what's going on inside my body. This is how I feel the energy flowing at rest, pretty much all the time.

 

I drew in red the flow of energy. The larger spots or the "intersections" where the energy tends to accumulate, which are also the focal points in the small universe meditation. The larger the spot, the more intensely I feel the energy there.

 

 

[Informer]

What do you mean by the energy is going to the heart?

 

When the energy goes to the heart chakra or heart center, not the organ, the energy is transformed into love energy. That should be the next point to work with imo. This center is located above the solar plexus:

 

 

You should be able to find it by thinking about someone you love, and then practice expanding it to include the entire universe. This explanation helped me:

 

Contemporary instruction for the cultivation of loving-kindness – such as is found in the works of Sharon Salzberg,[11] the Triratna Buddhist Community's Kamalashila,[5] and Matthieu Ricard[12] – is often based in part on a method found in Buddhaghosa's 5th c. CE Pāli exegetical text, the Path to Purification (Pali:Visuddhimagga), Chapter IX.[13][14] This traditional approach is best known for identifying successive stages of meditation during which one progressively cultivates loving-kindness towards:

 

oneself[15]

a good friend[16]

a "neutral" person

a difficult person[17]

all four of the above equally[18][19]

and then gradually the entire universe[20]

 

One should avoid choosing someone to whom one is sexually attracted or who is dead.[21] For a "neutral" person, choose someone that you might come into contact with every day, but who does not give rise to strong positive nor strong negative emotions. For a "difficult" person, traditionally choose an enemy, but avoid choosing a person who has just wrecked your life, unless you are very well grounded in awareness.

 

Matthieu Ricard has recommended that metta practitioners choose to meditate on a person for whom it is very easy to feel unconditional love and compassion.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mett%C4%81

 

 

You are right, the centers are more forward in a biological yet relative perspective, this is the chart that I like:

 

 

I think you may be jumping a bit ahead because the LDT is one of the last points along the journey, have you activated the third eye center? There is a balance between creativity and logic, a sort of awareness from each part of the brain that come together in the pineal gland (third eye). Finding this balance may be helpful on your path. I have felt a sort of magnetic pressure before as well, when I was looking for the center (though I didn't know it was important at the time), however I became aware that the pineal gland can become calcified due to fluoride accumulation from most toothpaste after prolonged use. Maybe you could look into a chlorella + cilantro heavy metal detox.

 

http://www.naturalnews.com/026364_fluoride_pineal_gland_sodium.html

 

Some of these Solfeggio Harmonics particularly this Numinous Accord 963 Hz, seemed to help.

 

 

There are also other frequencies that have been defined and seem to aid me at times, such as the heart center 528 :

 

 

May you find some thing useful

 

<3

Edited May 22, 2012 by Informer

[Clarity]

Hi Jack,

 

If you want to PM me, I can look at any energetic weaknesses around your situation.

 

Nothing about MCO practice should be forced. In other words, you shouldn't have to force the energy to go anywhere.

 

MCO practice aside, there is a weakness around 'not getting it right' coming from the mind and spirit, corrected and deleted.

 

There's also a karmic weakness around breaking people's hearts, coming from the spirit, the non-conscsious mind, and other time and space. 100% with infinite potential, zero the power of minus infinity.

 

Sincerely,

 

-Adam

[chi 2012]

One thing I have learned from Master Lin's system over the years - is that he has set it up in a way, where it is virtually impossible to cause damage to yourself with it. I had similiar thoughts when I started SFQ. Turns out they were just anxiety thoughts that I had created. I used to forget where I was on small universe - and would get anxious on where to start next. Now when this happens - I just pick a spot...And I don't worry about it. The energy does what is best. When you are moving energy to the chest or heart - it doesn't matter which one you choose....the energy does what is best. In SFQ there is only good, better, and best. I didn't believe this at first and thought I could mess something up...But turns out I really can't.

[joeblast]

I'll second that the last thing you want to do is be perturbed by it, there is no need. Analyze and observe, guide where you may, but dont frustrate yourself over it.

[Ish]

Whenever i've had some sponateous activity in the central channel, there's also been some strong connection to a flow in the leg channel -> yongquan on the sole of the feet. Maybe feeling this out a bit will help to ground the energy causing your heart to race.

[Practitioner]

If you are having problems with Chunyi's system (which is a bit hard to understand being that the sole focus of his system is healing), I must ask you, did you move directly to the small universe exericise without actually performing the foundation exercise known as the Moving of Yin and Yang?

 

The moving of Yin and Yang is a very strong cleansing exercise and helps to balance out your energy all over your body, which seems to be exactly your problem at the moment. I wonder if you are doing the small universe without first doing this exercise? It's pretty much one of the most basic techniques from his system. If you're having problems with the small universe I believe that you should do more of this exercise first.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_1sPDntOTs

[jacklantegi]

I normally do 2x as much of the active movements than the meditation.

 

I average 3-5 hours a day of practice. I only recently (last month or so) started doing less active exercises and more meditation.

 

Thanks for all the replies, guys. I think the best thing I should do is schedule a phone session with master Lin. If nothing, he could give me his advice.

[chi 2012]

I normally do 2x as much of the active movements than the meditation.

 

I average 3-5 hours a day of practice. I only recently (last month or so) started doing less active exercises and more meditation.

 

Thanks for all the replies, guys. I think the best thing I should do is schedule a phone session with master Lin. If nothing, he could give me his advice.

While reading your post I accidently hit the button that says "vote your post up"...What the heck does that mean?

 

Anyway 3-5 hours is a lot of SFQ. You would think with that much a day you would be feeling like Superman...Maybe you're doing to much and over loading the system.