Help, I made an Alchemy mistake?

[Taiji Bum]

[Wayfarer64]

Darin,

 

After going through all of that, you deserve some sort of something!. It is a path that I would not attempt -because it would not be a natural path for me to attempt. I do not believe it is the modifications you made but the expectations you retain that get in the way of your finding some realization from all this- (what would be for me)-a dire trial.

 

I suggest going out and finding someone to share all that pent-up sexual energy with. Find a loving, kind and giving soul who wants to share. Share your deepest self with another whom you love. Stand back and have a good laugh with yourself and realize that there is no fooling mother-nature.

 

My take on this is as such...

One's own spirituality can not be programed nor built like a temple is built. It is not built at all, but found when our consciousness gets in touch with the sacred/devine spark within our selves. It is not created out of the manipulations of our mortal substance; but realized from our opening up to the world around us.

 

The immortality is there already. It is your own eternal being that came from the spirit that all life shares. You just let your consciousness get there and it will let you know. The body consciousness (karmic) does not really want your spiritual consciousness (Dhamic) to get any attention.

 

I'd try the opposite of all you have done and see what happens... I think you will feel a very different sort of self emerge that may have a stronger contact with the purely spiritual part of your being.

 

No amount of any sort of practice will grant awakening, until your own mind accepts that no matter what happens to you the rest of the world will probably not notice anyway...And that encludes your own perceptions!

 

In any case it is a remarkable story of devotion and effort that can be an inspiration, or an object lesson in striving's empty promise. Maybe just open your mind to the possibility that stepping off any given path sometimes offers a new and deeper perspective than the one you were given directions for...The journey is almost always more rewarding than the arrival anyway.

 

namaste-Pat

PS -edit in - I thought of one of my sonnets that may apply...Sticking to one way of doing things is a limitation...

 

(60) Limitation

 

With destiny and the projected self vying for choice and force

We need maturity to not regret lost options now made clear to us.

Will and fate can each hold sway, and both have a claim on course

Which brings us to understand why youth is esteemed so dear to us .

We watch improbabilities pass expectation's borrowed dream

Where the possible extends all boundaries with no end of range.

When lake water receiving rain slips its bank becoming stream

Who can remember anything that has not known a change?

We each cope with unique starts, fresh circumstance galore

Which sets us on various paths to find our pursuits fulfilled.

With fresh options bestowed in time, each moment a new door…

Winning efforts convince us that our performance is self-willed.

While an elder’s jaded grasp on death’s surety may be kept on hold

Whelps and neophyte’s sense of immortality induces them to be bold.

Edited April 22, 2007 by Wayfarer64

[fatherpaul]

be at peace with yourself

[yuanqi]

[mYTHmAKER]

Darin you've put a lot of work and effort into this.

I would seek out a Taoist priest or practitioner of the Golden Flower

for advice.

Not to stir up any hard feelings I seriously doubt that anyone on this forum is in

a position to give advice in this matter. Advice usually is given from the point of

view of the giver without the seekers experience.

Advice should be given from similiar experience and as far as I can guess no one

here has been in your situation.

Remember you have achieved a lot - more than most of us.

So don't be hasty and throw it away and don't be hard on yourself.

I for one am impressed.

[Wayfarer64]

i personally give you a pat on the back for the effort.

 

Hey-! I ain't getting on his back!

 

I agree with ya Mythmaker to a large degree- but I also guess that when someone asks for advice they just want some feed-back and new perspectives to mull over- to be taken with a peck o' salt anyway.- It would be rude and maybe even cold to not respond with our own perspectives on the issue at hand.

So Darin please accept my thinking as just that -it is not meant to sway your activities in any direction!

Edited April 22, 2007 by Wayfarer64

[Taomeow]

I would start out by getting a superior quality steak. If you've been abstaining from meat all these years, take just a little bit of it for starters, take it with some proteolytic digestive enzymes, and keep doing it till your body remembers how to produce them again. You will feel enlightened in a week -- or in an hour if that's in your destiny. I've seen it happen. I've MADE it happen. I'd love to do it for you too.

 

Don't fast, the time is not right -- you shouldn't do it in late spring, only early spring.

 

Find out what taoist alchemy really is. I recommend to start from scratch by studying the works of Joseph Needham, the most trustworthy authority on the subject of Chinese civilization the English-speaking world has ever produced.

 

Don't do anything "someone told you to do" -- except for the steak!

 

Good luck!

[spyrelx]

Do you have a teacher, a master, a guide for this program you've been on? It seems like an extraordinary undertaking to commit to without one.

 

I agree with whoever said that there's probably no one on here that can give you advice about the particulary program you've been pursuing. It would be interesting to know how many people in the world are qualified to give you advice from a real level of mastery of those practices.

 

If you have a teacher you should be asking him. If you don't I wish you luck.

[Smile]

The questions of specific stages and the dates when they were reached could be a problem. I would recommend finding a master who is qualified and also able to "see" where you are at the moment. The only person in the USA I know who is capable of doing that is Jeffrey Yuen.

[mYTHmAKER]

The questions of specific stages and the dates when they were reached could be a problem. I would recommend finding a master who is qualified and also able to "see" where you are at the moment. The only person in the USA I know who is capable of doing that is Jeffrey Yuen.

 

Has Jeffrey reached that level?

If not he might know someone who has.

[hagar]

First of all, I am in awe of your monumental effort. I have never been close to achieving that kind of determination for even a short period of time.

 

Second, did you follow your program stricktly based on the text "The Secret of the Golden Flower"?

If yes, your deviation from correct practice of alchemy is very difficult to trace indeed.

Actually, the instructions of alchemy cannot be static and taught strictly from a book. Even though you have experiences that correspond at certain degrees with what is stated as signs of progress, the universal energy has changed in make up since the text was written, and subtle nuances of practice must therefore change.

 

Another point to contemplate is the sentence" Don't indulge in guesswork". This is advice from most of the texts on alchemy from the Daoist tradition. Without a true teacher of alchemy to guide you on vital points of practice, your progress will be halted.

 

Lastly, has there been white and reddish sparks appearing at the base and top of your spine and nasal bridge?

If the white sparks haven't jumped over to the reddish one, the last stage of alchemy has not been reached.

Also, if you have reached the last stage, you should be able to have orgasm without ejaculation. It would have stopped by itself. After that, strange things start happening to your member, but that's details.

 

h

[Taiji Bum]

Lastly, has there been white and reddish sparks appearing at the base and top of your spine and nasal bridge?

If the white sparks haven't jumped over to the reddish one, the last stage of alchemy has not been reached.

Also, if you have reached the last stage, you should be able to have orgasm without ejaculation. It would have stopped by itself. After that, strange things start happening to your member, but that's details.

 

h

 

March 97-The back of the head from the spine and somewhat up from it was the luminious quicksilver of the "moonlight". You can feel the passage of energy up the spine and from the back of the head to the front of the head in the qi to shen stage very clearly

 

June 97- was another egress of the tiny body but I dont know if it was out of the forehead again of the top of the head.

 

December 97- the energy got to the back of my head and there was a glow off in the distance that grew brighter and brighter as I traveled to the front of my head untill it grew into a showering of red sparks.

 

My penis has not retracted and orgasm with out ejaculation has never been a goal so I dont know about that. But the physical symptoms of ejaculation with the perineum pumping happened everytime the energy rose up my spine with the tongue curling back into the back of the mouth and the stomach sucking in without loss of essence. Breathing and everything else ceased in the "lights" like I was dead or something.

[Yoda]

Darin,

 

It's extremely impressive to see somebody actually go after and attain much of the textbook Taoist path. I get the vibe that you did this sans teacher too... pretty sharp. I haven't the foggiest idea of what your next move should be, but I'd be inclined to go teacher questing if I were in your shoes.

 

If that's not to your taste, then it may well could be time to wander the earth.

 

I read an inspiring account of a South Korean Zen nun who did have a teacher but she also wandered in the forest for a couple of years... lots of fasting, food synchronicity, and experiences with animals taking care of her. She wrote a small book about her experiences out there in the wilds of Korea. Let me know if it's of interest and I might be able to google it up. I think she teaches in the US now. I'd read up on the forest hermits past and present to get the tricks of the trade.

 

Yoda

[fatherpaul]

Darin,

 

It's extremely impressive to see somebody actually go after and attain much of the textbook Taoist path. I get the vibe that you did this sans teacher too... pretty sharp. I haven't the foggiest idea of what your next move should be, but I'd be inclined to go teacher questing if I were in your shoes.

 

If that's not to your taste, then it may well could be time to wander the earth.

 

I read an inspiring account of a South Korean Zen nun who did have a teacher but she also wandered in the forest for a couple of years... lots of fasting, food synchronicity, and experiences with animals taking care of her. She wrote a small book about her experiences out there in the wilds of Korea. Let me know if it's of interest and I might be able to google it up. I think she teaches in the US now. I'd read up on the forest hermits past and present to get the tricks of the trade.

 

Yoda

 

yoda speaks true

[rex]

I read an inspiring account of a South Korean Zen nun who did have a teacher but she also wandered in the forest for a couple of years... lots of fasting, food synchronicity, and experiences with animals taking care of her. She wrote a small book about her experiences out there in the wilds of Korea. Let me know if it's of interest and I might be able to google it up.

 

Yes please Yoda, I for one would be interested.

[spyrelx]

Darin,

 

One more thought on this. You're post doesn't imply that you're experiencing any negative effects. I mean, it doesn't appear that you're getting mentally, physically or "energetically" ill or warped. It's just that no monumental positive changes have taken place recently.

 

If that's the case, then you're still in a pretty good situation. And have undoubtedly built up a significant level of spiritual "stuff" (energy, yang chi, feotus, internal discipline, whatever you want to call it) that will undoubtedly serve you well as you continue your journey.

 

It may be you're not doing anything wrong, but that you've plateaued for a while and you just need to keep doing what you're doing.

 

As I and others have said, I think it's a good idea to find a highly qualified teacher. But I'm not sure you need to worry too much.

 

Good luck.

[Taiji Bum]

Smile, how do I contact Jeffrey Yuen?

 

Thanks everyone, you dont know how much your helping.

[Yoda]

Rex,

 

Sorry, I can't find her. Korean zen abbess/sunim/nun, wasn't googling for me. Published in the late 80s I believe. There's a chap at forestsangha.org that I found. If he's the same guy I remember reading about... he's pretty hardcore when it comes to the tigers, cobras, and mosquitos of the jungle. Somehow he totally had the situation mastered, but many students lost their lives following his "go to the forest" recommendation. He said that's fine and that his students understand that losing their life to a snakes or malaria is just part of the path. He was cool with it.

 

In the book that I can't find is a photo of her and President Bush senior which is very amusing looking.

 

Yoda

[yuanqi]

Smile, how do I contact Jeffrey Yuen?

 

Thanks everyone, you dont know how much your helping.

 

 

jeffrey yuen is is one of the deans at the swedish institute in new york. its an acupuncture/massage etc school. i met him at the taoist summit in colorado last year. it was either his or ken cohen's autograph, lol i chose jeffrey. he gave a presentation in one of the breakout seminars talking about taoism etc. it was kinda funny that the first thing he said was " i dont know why they wanted me to speak on taoism as that means that i know something about it" i will never forget that and this from a guy that is an ordained taoist priest not just from one school but two. he was humble and very very knowledgable, he spoke off the top of his head for 2 hours, no notes. he was even subdued when ken cohen wanted to try to correct him on some things, but obviously ken's depth wasnt in the same category as jeffrey's but oh well.

 

address is www.swedishinstitute.org he is the dean of academic affairs/acupuncture i think but alot of the time deans like him arent there alot, but i am sure if you contact that school they will let you know when he will be in or i am sure take a message for him.

Edited April 23, 2007 by yuanqi

[rex]

No worries, thanks Yoda - that bit about helpful animals piqued my interest. A tropical forest has too many creepy crawlies for my liking. There's even nasty beasties that travel up the urine and lodge themselves in the urethra when one pisses in a river

 

Darin, have you considered moon phases and the astrological timing of your practices?

 

Rex

[Taiji Bum]

Darin, have you considered moon phases and the astrological timing of your practices?

Rex

Strange you should ask. The major tongue curling energy circulations always happened four days before the full moon or on the 20th of the Jewish Lunar Calendar. Why?

[Smile]

Smile, how do I contact Jeffrey Yuen?

Your best chance to talk to him is to take one of the workshops he teaches. Check his calendar here. He also teaches at The Swedish institute and at a taiji school in Chinatown in NYC (I can get you the name and address if you are still interested- no website though).

[Taiji Bum]

Your best chance to talk to him is to take one of the workshops he teaches. Check his calendar here. He also teaches at The Swedish institute and at a taiji school in Chinatown in NYC (I can get you the name and address if you are still interested- no website though).

I have read his bio and stuff and he is a priest of 2 traditions. But why do you think he can help? Does he teach Taoist alchemy?

[Yoda]

Rex,

 

On the animal side of things, she would often communicate with animals to find her next meal, shelter, etc and sometimes even sleep with them if it was very cold. She was in a temperate forest, not the jungle setting.

 

Yoda

[hagar]

March 97-The back of the head from the spine and somewhat up from it was the luminious quicksilver of the "moonlight". You can feel the passage of energy up the spine and from the back of the head to the front of the head in the qi to shen stage very clearly

 

June 97- was another egress of the tiny body but I dont know if it was out of the forehead again of the top of the head.

 

December 97- the energy got to the back of my head and there was a glow off in the distance that grew brighter and brighter as I traveled to the front of my head untill it grew into a showering of red sparks.

 

My penis has not retracted and orgasm with out ejaculation has never been a goal so I dont know about that. But the physical symptoms of ejaculation with the perineum pumping happened everytime the energy rose up my spine with the tongue curling back into the back of the mouth and the stomach sucking in without loss of essence. Breathing and everything else ceased in the "lights" like I was dead or something.

 

The sparks are the inherent light(Shen) within the physical essence (true lead). In reality, if you see red sparks, that should be a sign of a rising of the denser true lead. If you see white sparks, it is mainly the real Shen that seeks to reunite with the true lead. From what my master showed me, this kind of interaction should be visible, (the white sparks should "jump over" to the reddish ones at key cavities like the base of the spine and the bridge of the nose (not the Ni Wan).

 

As far as your explanations from the year 97, I really cannot say if that has taken place.

 

As to the natural stopping of ejaculation, I was told that it take special measures to keep the ejaculatory function at higher stages of alchemy. Then again, it is dependent on which cavities you tend to focus on.

 

If you by any chance are visiting England, Master Zhixing Wang teaches alchemy. He has received transmission from the Wudan lineages of int. alchemy

 

Good luck

 

h