Bring cultivation into daily life, please post your experiences.

[hydrogen]

I am sure for many practices and systems this is possible, and it is wonderful that you are trying to integrate your practice into your daily life.

 

However for many practices that revolve around profoundly deep states of meditation, it is not, and never will be possible to do while multitasking.

 

For instance I couldn't stay in a deep state of trance and suspended metabolic animation for 5 hours and at the same time cook dinner or go shopping or talk to someone on the phone.

 

This is not and never will be possible for people who follow such paths.

 

Sorry to animal lovers. My following story might upset you.

 

There is an old Chinese story about a butcher who can disect a cow with Tao mind.

 

 

A cook was butchering an ox for Duke Wen Hui.

The places his hand touched,

His shoulder leaned against,

His foot stepped on,

His knee pressed upon,

Came apart with a sound.

 

He moved the blade, making a noise

That never fell out of rhythm.

It harmonized with the Mulberry Woods Dance,

Like music from ancient times.

 

Duke Wen Hui exclaimed: "Ah! Excellent!

Your skill has advanced to this level?"

 

"What I follow is Tao,

The cook puts down the knife and answered:

Which is beyond all skills.

"When I started butchering,

What I saw was nothing but the whole ox.

After three years,

I no longer saw the whole ox.

 

"Nowadays, I meet it with my mind

Rather than see it with my eyes.

My sensory organs are inactive

While I direct the mind's movement.

 

"It goes according to natural laws,

Striking apart large gaps,

Moving toward large openings,

Following its natural structure.

 

"Even places where tendons attach to bones

Give no resistance,

Never mind the larger bones!

 

"A good cook goes through a knife in a year,

Because he cuts.

An average cook goes through a knife in a month,

Because he hacks.

 

"I have used this knife for nineteen years.

It has butchered thousands of oxen,

But the blade is still like it's newly sharpened.

 

"The joints have openings,

And the knife's blade has no thickness.

Apply this lack of thickness into the openings,

And the moving blade swishes through,

With room to spare!

 

"That's why after nineteen years,

The blade is still like it's newly sharpened.

 

"Nevertheless, every time I come across joints,

I see its tricky parts,

I pay attention and use caution,

My vision concentrates,

My movement slows down.

 

"I move the knife very slightly,

Whump! It has already separated.

The ox doesn't even know it's dead,

and falls to the ground like mud.

 

"I stand holding the knife,

And look all around it.

The work gives me much satisfaction.

I clean the knife and put it away."

 

Duke Wen Hui said: "Excellent!

I listen to your words,

And learn a principle of life."

[madMUHHH]

Zhuangzi rules!

[Thunder_Gooch]

Once upon a time was a man who wanted his cake and to eat it too, so he did.

Everyone lived happily ever after.

The end

 

 

 

Sorry to animal lovers. My following story might upset you.

 

There is an old Chinese story about a butcher who can disect a cow with Tao mind.

 

 

A cook was butchering an ox for Duke Wen Hui.
The places his hand touched,
His shoulder leaned against,
His foot stepped on,
His knee pressed upon,
Came apart with a sound.

He moved the blade, making a noise
That never fell out of rhythm.
It harmonized with the Mulberry Woods Dance,
Like music from ancient times.

Duke Wen Hui exclaimed: "Ah! Excellent!
Your skill has advanced to this level?"

"What I follow is Tao,
The cook puts down the knife and answered:
Which is beyond all skills.
"When I started butchering,
What I saw was nothing but the whole ox.
After three years,
I no longer saw the whole ox.

"Nowadays, I meet it with my mind
Rather than see it with my eyes.
My sensory organs are inactive
While I direct the mind's movement.

"It goes according to natural laws,
Striking apart large gaps,
Moving toward large openings,
Following its natural structure.

"Even places where tendons attach to bones
Give no resistance,
Never mind the larger bones!

"A good cook goes through a knife in a year,
Because he cuts.
An average cook goes through a knife in a month,
Because he hacks.

"I have used this knife for nineteen years.
It has butchered thousands of oxen,
But the blade is still like it's newly sharpened.

"The joints have openings,
And the knife's blade has no thickness.
Apply this lack of thickness into the openings,
And the moving blade swishes through,
With room to spare!

"That's why after nineteen years,
The blade is still like it's newly sharpened.

"Nevertheless, every time I come across joints,
I see its tricky parts,
I pay attention and use caution,
My vision concentrates,
My movement slows down.

"I move the knife very slightly,
Whump! It has already separated.
The ox doesn't even know it's dead,
and falls to the ground like mud.

"I stand holding the knife,
And look all around it.
The work gives me much satisfaction.
I clean the knife and put it away."

Duke Wen Hui said: "Excellent!
I listen to your words,
And learn a principle of life."

[Thunder_Gooch]

You can get deep restful sleep while awake and doing chores, cooking, cleaning, shopping, even work, all while sound asleep.

 

Sleep and wakeful activity are not at ends with one another and can be fully integrated together.

 

 

Do you see the problem here?

Edited May 23, 2013 by More_Pie_Guy

[voidisyinyang]

You can get deep restful sleep while awake and doing chores, cooking, cleaning, shopping, even work, all while sound asleep.

 

Sleep and wakeful activity are not at ends with one another and can be fully integrated together.

 

 

Do you see the problem here?

 

It depends - read the biography of H.W.L. Poonjaji -- "Nothing Ever Happens" - he definitely drove a winding mountain pass while in deep sleep and also he had multiple physical bodies at the same time while not being aware of it.

 

The Spring Forest Qigong Masters do long distance healing while holding a conversation. For example qigong master Jim Nance healed my mom while he was talking to me on the phone - I had no idea - until he told me he'd been having a "conversation" with her. My mom woke up a completely new person -- before she could barely walk up and down the stairs and the day after she was healed she walked a quarter mile and she still had extra energy. haha. She has stayed healed since that time.

 

So anyway yeah if the third eye is fully open then there are amazing possibilities to integrate the energy while doing daily activities.

[hydrogen]

You can get deep restful sleep while awake and doing chores, cooking, cleaning, shopping, even work, all while sound asleep.

 

Sleep and wakeful activity are not at ends with one another and can be fully integrated together.

 

 

Do you see the problem here?

 

I don't see any problem. You walk your path. I walk mine.

 

Again. I don't want to turn this thread into another concept debating thread.

 

Basically I don't want to know what you think how things should be, I want to know what you DO in your real daily life.

[Thunder_Gooch]

I want to know what you DO in your real daily life.

 

 

I don't as it isn't possible for me to do so.

[Thunder_Gooch]

Countless different Qigong and meditation exercises exist. All teach the basic idea of using consciousness to go into the emptiness where thoughts ultimately cease or greatly diminish and sensory connections to our bodies fade. We and everything in our world are all from the emptiness and will go back to the emptiness. It is a state of pure energy where we are one with the universe. Our bodies naturally direct us to the emptiness. When we get sick, for example, the first place we go is not to the hospital, but to bed. When we sleep, we feel relaxed and peaceful. We bring our mind and body into the emptiness. Everybody does this automatic meditation without noticing it during sleep and periods of deep relaxation. Most of our daily energy blockages are opened and resolved in this way The deeper you go into the emptiness, the faster your body will heal. By practicing Qigong we go into the emptiness where we effortlessly balance the Yin and Yang, the female and male energy. As the balance of energy comes back, the body heals.

 

-Chunyi Lin creator of Spring Forest Qigong

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It depends - read the biography of H.W.L. Poonjaji -- "Nothing Ever Happens" - he definitely drove a winding mountain pass while in deep sleep and also he had multiple physical bodies at the same time while not being aware of it.

 

The Spring Forest Qigong Masters do long distance healing while holding a conversation. For example qigong master Jim Nance healed my mom while he was talking to me on the phone - I had no idea - until he told me he'd been having a "conversation" with her. My mom woke up a completely new person -- before she could barely walk up and down the stairs and the day after she was healed she walked a quarter mile and she still had extra energy. haha. She has stayed healed since that time.

 

So anyway yeah if the third eye is fully open then there are amazing possibilities to integrate the energy while doing daily activities.

[voidisyinyang]

Yeah still it is fascinating how qigong master Jim Nance traveled to my room while he was talking to me!!

 

So then I heard on Coasttocoast this OBE dude who is really articulate and I checked out his book and he describes how some people develop this ability - and how the clairvoyant scene has a name for it. I had actually read about this - the difference between what they call the "astral tube" which is like remote viewing and then "astral travel" which would be like creating a yin spirit body.

 

So anyway I have seen Chunyi Lin do this also - like once in the Level 3 class we were practicing long distance healing and so Chunyi Lin asked for a volunteer for someone who needed long distance healing.

 

So this lady said her friend was in the hospital in severe condition and so could Chunyi Lin heal the person? So Chunyi Lin asked for the person's name, age, sex, location and so then he just got this blank look on his face as he went into the Emptiness for just a minute. Then he came out saying he had sent the healing.

 

So then the next week the lady was sitting in front of me and she raises her hand and she says how last week her friend had a miraculous recovery right when Chunyi Lin had sent the energy. She was in shock and she was getting all worked up because she could not believe this was possible and yet she knew it had happened. So while she is continuing to work herself up into an emotional state then Chunyi Lin in the front of the class just nonchalatantly raises his hands over his head as if he is stretching to yawn.

 

So then as Chunyi Lin lowers his hands I see him just briefly make a palm gesture towards the lady sitting in front of me who was all worked up into a frenzy. Suddenly this ball of chi energy just blasted into the lady - I knew because I was right behind her and I could feel the ripple sensation of the bliss electromagnetic energy and it just melted into the lady and she immediately just calmed down. As far as I could tell - no one else in the class even noticed this had happened! I just happened to be right behind the lady but no one else was in the path of the chi ball that Chunyi had sent out and he did it in a way that no one else would notice unless they had felt it.

[Thunder_Gooch]

Do you think they got any abilities they may or may not have from sitting in full lotus on a toilet seat, practicing converting their biochemical energy to smell like poop, while chanting the golden ratio octave of the 3/4 note of pi, to do an O&D to the newest issue of playboy, or from spending countless hours in deep meditation in "the emptiness"?

Edited May 24, 2013 by More_Pie_Guy

[voidisyinyang]

Do you think they got any abilities they may or may not have from sitting in full lotus on a toilet seat, practicing converting their biochemical energy to smell like poop, while chanting the golden ratio octave of the 3/4 note of pi, to do an O&D to the newest issue of playboy, or from spending countless hours in deep meditation in "the emptiness"?

 

You question reminds me of when this coworker emailed me -- her words were all nice and pleasant but the energy of her email was full of so much angry that I just sucked up her anger and then I fasted in full lotus for three days. On the third day I had this amazing internal orgasm since I had converted her negative emotional energy back into the relaxed parasympathetic nervous system to sublimate the internal kidney energy.

[thetaoiseasy]

..

Edited March 24, 2014 by thetaoiseasy

[voidisyinyang]

Yeah fasting is the best in my opinion - fasting in full lotus.

 

A few years ago I did a ten day fast in full lotus because someone had lied about me. haha.

 

Then they claimed that me fasting was stressing them out too much and so making them smoke too much!!

 

haha. That's how an exorcism works - the symptoms get worse before they get better. After that the person then tried to quit smoking!! They got to three months and then started up again.

 

Why? Because a deep addiction like that is controlled by the 100 day GONG training!!

 

But yeah when I fasted then it was threatened against me that the doctor would be called -- so then I would just go outside to do physical labor to prove I was healthy and strong.

 

On the tenth day then I took my nephew on a hike through the forest and then took him up the ladder to the roof to see my small experimental roof garden.

 

If fasting is done properly it is a very quick way to increase the chi energy. The strongest chi energy I ever had was after fasting for eight days on half a glass of water.

 

But yeah normally when you fast you want to be meditating all the time for it to be an "energy feast."

[Maddie]

Yeah fasting is the best in my opinion - fasting in full lotus.

 

A few years ago I did a ten day fast in full lotus because someone had lied about me. haha.

 

Then they claimed that me fasting was stressing them out too much and so making them smoke too much!!

 

haha. That's how an exorcism works - the symptoms get worse before they get better. After that the person then tried to quit smoking!! They got to three months and then started up again.

 

Why? Because a deep addiction like that is controlled by the 100 day GONG training!!

 

But yeah when I fasted then it was threatened against me that the doctor would be called -- so then I would just go outside to do physical labor to prove I was healthy and strong.

 

On the tenth day then I took my nephew on a hike through the forest and then took him up the ladder to the roof to see my small experimental roof garden.

 

If fasting is done properly it is a very quick way to increase the chi energy. The strongest chi energy I ever had was after fasting for eight days on half a glass of water.

 

But yeah normally when you fast you want to be meditating all the time for it to be an "energy feast."

 

Thats like whats been going on with my liver the past couple days. Very intense, deep, feelings coming out of it as I've been doing the liver meditation.

[Jetsun]

You can get deep restful sleep while awake and doing chores, cooking, cleaning, shopping, even work, all while sound asleep.

 

Sleep and wakeful activity are not at ends with one another and can be fully integrated together.

 

 

Do you see the problem here?

I get what your saying, in the book Blazing Splendor about the Tibetan Dzogchen masters there are a few examples of masters interacting with daily life and aiding students completely spontaneously while in deep meditation Samadhi. I have seen a few Buddhist masters give talks where they appear to be in Samadhi or some sort of deep emptiness state at the beginning and at the end but while they are talking and doing things they can't maintain it. Theoretically though the emptiness is found in the gaps so if you are aware enough you might be able to find it in daily life in the pauses in your speech and any other gap in activity.

[Thunder_Gooch]

Just from my personal experience it takes around 10 hours of meditation to get deep enough into trance, sometimes more.

 

I am sure there are those more advanced than me that can do it in minutes but not I.

 

 

 

I get what your saying, in the book Blazing Splendor about the Tibetan Dzogchen masters there are a few examples of masters interacting with daily life and aiding students completely spontaneously while in deep meditation Samadhi. I have seen a few Buddhist masters give talks where they appear to be in Samadhi or some sort of deep emptiness state at the beginning and at the end but while they are talking and doing things they can't maintain it. Theoretically though the emptiness is found in the gaps so if you are aware enough you might be able to find it in daily life in the pauses in your speech and any other gap in activity.

[hydrogen]

Time for my regular dental cleaning, I was petrified.

 

While my dentist systemicaly torturing my mouth, I gazed at the overhead lamp trying to relax my body.

 

It woked. The pain wasn't as intense as before.

 

I thanked my dentist in my heart for helping keep my teeth healthy.

 

Relaxed more, I scaned my body. I noticed that my shoulder was tense, I changed my arm position to let the tension go. I continued going downward. Just when I noticing a blockage on my feet, my mouth and my right foot got "connected". All the stimulates done to mouth somehow transfered to my foot. My right foot moved violently by itself.

 

When everything calmed down, the blockage on my right foot that I'd been tring to get rid for two years gone !!!!!!

[i am]

That's great.

 

I went through the whole Rolfing series, and you can believe I learned to relax my body, even during pain and anticipating pain. Very intense experience, and I almost think learning how to do that helped me as much as the actual Rolfing...

[Brian]

I think the starting point for "bringing cultivation into daily life" is to cultivate daily and then allow that cultivation to simply overflow into activities beyond formal qigong practice sessions.

 

I practice my qigong and sitting neigong daily but I also have made a conscious effort to employ those same techniques in everyday activities. As a result, I now "practice stillness-movement neigong" many hours each day -- while in meetings, while hiking, while mowing the lawn, while eating meals, you name it. I do this by holding my awareness on dan tien and keeping my tongue on the roof of my mouth and by being conscious of the moment, for instance -- by making an effort to dance in wu wei (as the saying goes) I begin to dance without having to make the effort.

 

I think it is important to point out, however, that this is not a replacement for practicing my qigong daily but is instead a supplement to it. I find that I am able to maintain the shifted state obtained during practice throughout much of the day, and slip back into it more quickly during practice, by essentially continuing my practice as an element of daily activities.

 

Would it be possible to someday eliminate my qigong "practice" and do only "daily-life cultivation?" I don't know, but I enjoy my practice so much that I can't see wanting to eliminate it.

 

Light,

Brian

[ssmith7]

 

I merely practice accepting each moment as if I chose it. Even negative thoughts and emotions are a part of the journey. They are welcome, too.