Young Blood

[Corey]

hi,

 

i'm pretty much new to Taosim [despite living my life losely down a Taoist path without even knowing it].

 

I'm 17 and pretty much alone. [there's no Taoist community, that i know of where i live]

 

My only way of learning of Taoism is through Benjamin Hoff's books [The Tao of Pooh and the Te of Piglet] and trying to muddle through the Tao Te Ching. Which is slightly difficuly since I can't always grasp what Lao Tsu means, just bits and pieces.

 

What i'm really saying is, how did [anyone whose reading this] find any Taoists in your area [if you did succeed in finding any] and how did you learn more about it? The internet is a beautiful thing but most everything i find is either numbers or contradictions of other sources.

 

So if anyone has any suggestions, advice, or good sources for one to check out i would be greatly appreciative.

 

Thanks.

 

P.S. I live in the Jersey Shore area if there is anyone also in the area. Just curious.

[GrandTrinity]

hi bud, glad you joined us.

 

Google th healing tao instructors association or check out universaltao.com to find a live teacher in you area. Other than that, you might want to check out pacifictao.com and also a good book, such as Awaken Healing Tao.

With a book, video and most importantly a live teacher you will be off to a solid start in tao practices.

[DentyDao]

Hey,

 

As a former Healing Tao instructor, I would caution you against this system which is largly an invention of it's creator. You might check out Wong Kiew Kit. He's actually a Buddhist with a Taoist flavor. As an all around system that's widley available, this is a good option and a good place to start. Anyway, check it out and see what you think. Just my two cents.

 

S

[Starjumper]

You are most likely to find a real Taoist teacher by finding a good Tai Chi teacher in your area, don't look for it to be a church type religion like Western religion. Tai Chi is also a much better Taoist practice than the Healing Tao stuff, which is a compilation of unrelated bits of practices that were thrown together. Most Taoists will warn you to steer clear of Healing Tao.

 

Someone your age should read more about Taoism from a good adventure book, Like Opening the Dragon Gate or Chronicles of Tao. Another good book that you might like would be Tao, the Watercourse Way.

Edited January 21, 2007 by Starjumper7

[thelerner]

Daniel Reid has some good long books on Taoism, history and health. Many here like Ken Cohens works too. Hit the library. Send out the desire and see what falls in your lap.

 

 

Michael

[mbanu]

hi,

 

i'm pretty much new to Taosim [despite living my life losely down a Taoist path without even knowing it].

 

I'm 17 and pretty much alone. [there's no Taoist community, that i know of where i live]

 

My only way of learning of Taoism is through Benjamin Hoff's books [The Tao of Pooh and the Te of Piglet] and trying to muddle through the Tao Te Ching. Which is slightly difficuly since I can't always grasp what Lao Tsu means, just bits and pieces.

 

What i'm really saying is, how did [anyone whose reading this] find any Taoists in your area [if you did succeed in finding any] and how did you learn more about it? The internet is a beautiful thing but most everything i find is either numbers or contradictions of other sources.

 

So if anyone has any suggestions, advice, or good sources for one to check out i would be greatly appreciative.

 

Thanks.

 

 

P.S. I live in the Jersey Shore area if there is anyone also in the area. Just curious.

 

To be honest, I don't really understand how it happened for me. I read different translations of the stuff by Lao Tzu, Chuang Tzu, Lieh Tzu, and the tales of the Seven Immortals and other bizzare Taoist folklore. I studied impractical hobbies that used Daoist principles to do fun things, like Chinese medicine and sexual yoga. I did simple meditations I stole out of the back of a Zen book, usually when I was depressed, or sometimes accidentally while out for a long walk. I never did drugs, but I quit listening to music, and bought a windchime. I argued with folks on the Healing Tao forums back in the day when they were more belligerent, and developed a dire hatred of those damned stoner-logic braindead never had a critical thought it their lives fucking hippie types. I had weird dreams about sitting in a 24-hour diner talking to a Chinese guy wearing monk robes. I became an ardent follower of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood on PBS. Later I became an alcoholic. Damned if I know.

 

To be honest, I think the big trick is/was just in doing my best not to be afraid to look at things with my heart as well as my mind, getting the two working together instead of against one another. Doing my best to give up on things without giving up on myself. I don't really have a good way of describing it. :/

 

As for the Tao Te Ching, online study versions that have multiple translations all in one place can be helpful for clearing up language problems. If it's a concept problem, don't worry about it. I've found the TTC is designed in such a way that it makes it hard to understand the things you don't NEED to understand, which is a good thing. Being told about the Tao causes far more problems than its worth unless you're situation is desperate.

 

Uh, so welcome, and good luck.

[Corey]

thanks everybody for all your help! i'll check all those out and see which works. THANK YOU!

[Yoda]

alchemicaltaoism.com, advancedyogapractices.com, Ken Cohen and Daniel Reid are my favs.

[GrandTrinity]

Yes wong kiew kits book is sweet, although I havent had a chance to read it yet - very very good I can see. It is the most poular Chi Kung book on the market

 

Also, bro, consider attending a "Healing Dao retreat."

 

Although many talk trash about Chia, Michael Winn's fundamentals course coupled with further study of this "money back gauranteed" system will get you off to a nice start. You would make a lot of progress spending 2 weeks at tao mountain, (what i did initially 3 years ago.)

Edited January 22, 2007 by GrandTrinity

[QiDr]

If you need a teacher be prepared to travel.

If you are actively seeking a teacher he/she will be the one who does not proclaim their mastery.

It is a Taois statement of fact that "he who speaks the loudest knows the least".

[Pietro]

I would like to put the accent on Chuang Tzu. It is a wonderful set of stories, much easier to start with. Also the I Ching is a sort of Taoist Bible. It tells for all the situation you might be in (this) life what is the correct way to deal with it. Don't throw the coins, instead read it as a book.

 

I would agree on those that warn on the Healing Tao. Although there are good thing to be learned there, please understand that it is a neo-taoist school. Neo taoism came about around a 1000 years ago by the connection of Taoism-Confucianism and Buddhism. If I recall well Eva Wong had a good and not incredibly complex history of taoism that was available. Please understand that Taoism is a huge river, with many internal sub traditions. Before starting with this or that school I would suggest you to read read and read. Just having a vague idea of what is around and available will give you a lot more opportunities to find what you are really looking for.

 

FOr example, are you looking for practices to become immortal, or are you looking for practices to go with the flow, even when this mean leaving the human body (dying). Are you looking to become a healer, a man of power, a martial artist. Just someone who follows the superior man point of view in his life? There are a certain number of arts that has been developped by taoist along the centuries and finding a man who is really good in those arts is often a good way to find a real taoist. That's because at a certain level the understanding you have in the tao will move directly to your understanding of the art. Thus the suggestion of finding a good Tai Ji Teacher. But also a Feng Shui teacher might do. Or an i-ching divination teacher.

 

This community (the tao bums) is quite unique in the sense that it contains people who are studying in different schools. There are people who are from the HT. Others like seandanty student of less famouse and more extreme paths. Some are trying to become immortal. Some just enlightened. And some happy.

 

For me I fell in love with Taoism when I was 16. Soon I was reading every book I could find on it. I started Indu Yoga when I was 19. Started in the HT when I was 24, and became an instructor at 27. And yet all the time I was there I did not felt I was really following a taoist school. Yes the practices (the arts) might have been taoist, but the underlying philosophy did not seem so. Now I switched school again and I am studying with Bruce Frantzis, and I finally feel I am learning in a Taoist school. Not just Taoist arts. But many people around here would disagree with me.

[Jonah]

Corey,

 

All the recommendations above have been solid, any of them will give you a good start. Find someone local you can study with on a weekly/monthly basis. In the beginning you need contact with a human being, not books or videos.

 

That being said, I would agree with Grand Trinity, and that a weeklong Chi Kung Fundamentals retreat at Michael Winn's Tao Mountain is definitely an excellent way to get some energetic foundation work in. God knows we all have had our issues with the Healing Tao, myself included, but the foundation work that Michael Winn is now teaching, I believe is very solid and safe. He will give you some real energetic insights that you can then apply to any other practice you will eventually move on to. Practice only the foundations for several years, there is no rush. Take your time.

 

People want things quickly, but the reality is that any skill requires consistent practice. You will being doing foundation work for the rest of your life, there's no way around it. No supremely enlightened teacher is going to open your third-eye permanently with the flick of their finger, and give you the ability to skip years of foundation practice. You will advance only when you are ready.

 

Healing Tao Fundamentals will give you a good energetic foundation. Healing Sounds, Inner Smile Meditation, The Microcosmic Orbit(Chi Kung and Meditation), Internal Chi Breathing, and Primordial Chi Kung are really treasures within the system. Very good foundation work, very useful. (The higher level meditations are too much to take on in the beginning, I would say they are better left until you're older. Keep it simple.) Definitely use Alchemicaltaoism.com as a good template for getting more out of the system. Keith Franzen has done an amazing job making it very user friendly and accessible to all.

 

Body structure and martial arts you will have to find outside the Healing Tao. Practicing with a good internal martial artist (Tai Chi, Hsing I, Bagua) would be another good first step. Supplemental physical education materials that are excellent and well recommended are Lam Kam-Chuen's "The Way of Energy" and Scott Sonnon's Intu-Flow system. Basic knowledge of yoga stretches are also an excellent idea.

 

Last but not least, don't get upset and expect everything to come from one system or teacher. Taoism is as vast as the universe itself, and every teacher you come across will have some amazing strengths as well as some very glaring weaknesses. We're all human, and even enlightened masters take a shit once a day. Bottom line, the higher you put your teacher on a pedestal the greater they will fall.

 

Best of luck!

 

Jonah

Edited January 25, 2007 by Jonah