Practitioners Young to Old

[RiverSnake]

I was at my martial arts class last week and one of the guys said. "Are we losers here on a Friday night with nothing else to do?"

 

I responded, "I am training and training is what i do for fun. I am glad to be here." He said that he wishes he had that attitude when he was younger like me and how he wasted much of his youth doing stuff that in the long run wasn't really fulfilling (Women, partying….etc). Many other people there began to agree with him.

 

I have gotten this response from many people because whenever i go somewhere like a workshop or talk to other esotericists i am usually the youngest one amongst them and they all tell me how they wish they started younger. So i decided to create this poll to see what the general statistics and opinions of the community at large are.

Edited January 6, 2014 by OldChi

[Aeran]

I'm 24, so I guess relatively speaking still quite young, but after 2 years of practice (the first one barely qualifying, for various reasons), I still find myself wishing I had started earlier, thinking about how much more progressed I could be if I'd started at 16 or 18 or even 20, even if it had just been 20 or 30 minutes a day.

 

Logically, I know it makes no sense, that I still have a ton of time to dedicate to spiritual/energetic stuff and that the personal development I went through in those years is what enables me to dedicate myself to study and practice now, but it doesn't stop me daydreaming about it occasionally

[adept]

I started martial arts before I hit my teens. It was through watching David Carradine in 'Kung Fu', Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Chuck Norris films that I seriously wanted to learn this stuff. Late teens however, and women, partying etc became the primary thing to do, and as a consequence, my martial arts were abandoned, only to return in my late twenties when I'd settled down and married.

Mid-thirties, and I started to explore the internal arts, as hard external forms had taken their toll on my body. which in turn has led to my sole practice of qigong as I'm now mid-forties.

I'm really glad I started young. I had the passion and raw determination, which has matured over the years, and seems to be leading back to childlike wonder. I feel my path has been a natural progression, starting hard and strong, hitting a peak, then a plateau, and slowly working down to ground level, trying to refine myself all the time.

[Brian]

Not really a category for me so I'll ponder a bit and then pick one.

 

I started with karate in pre-adolescence, praying mantis in late-teens. A little boxing, wrestling, judo and TKD mixed in. Started researching world religions in late-teens, too, including so-called "philosophical Taoism." The Tao moves in mysterious ways, however, and my path led in other directions for many years before spiraling back around to taichi and Taoist ideas in my early 40s. That led me to TTB and that, in turn, led me to jingdonggong. There have been many times in life when I didn't choose wisely but all of those choices, wise & otherwise, helped shape the path I follow. Trying to guess the complex future outcomes of alternate past choices seems of limited value today, if you follow me. I have been following "my path" my whole life...

 

[RiverSnake]

I'm 24, so I guess relatively speaking still quite young, but after 2 years of practice (the first one barely qualifying, for various reasons), I still find myself wishing I had started earlier, thinking about how much more progressed I could be if I'd started at 16 or 18 or even 20, even if it had just been 20 or 30 minutes a day.

 

Logically, I know it makes no sense, that I still have a ton of time to dedicate to spiritual/energetic stuff and that the personal development I went through in those years is what enables me to dedicate myself to study and practice now, but it doesn't stop me daydreaming about it occasionally

Lol, i have had the same experience. I started contemplating and practicing greater themes than getting laid when i was around 19-20 (i am 23 now.) Yet sometimes i wish i started practicing younger and think to myself "Oh my God…only if i started when i was 8 or 9 like that other guy did!!!! LOL!!. Yet one simply has to be satisfied with the present and use the lessons of the past to make better on the future.

 

My 2 cents, Peace

Edited January 6, 2014 by OldChi

[RiverSnake]

I started martial arts before I hit my teens. It was through watching David Carradine in 'Kung Fu', Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Chuck Norris films that I seriously wanted to learn this stuff. Late teens however, and women, partying etc became the primary thing to do, and as a consequence, my martial arts were abandoned, only to return in my late twenties when I'd settled down and married.

Mid-thirties, and I started to explore the internal arts, as hard external forms had taken their toll on my body. which in turn has led to my sole practice of qigong as I'm now mid-forties.

I'm really glad I started young. I had the passion and raw determination, which has matured over the years, and seems to be leading back to childlike wonder. I feel my path has been a natural progression, starting hard and strong, hitting a peak, then a plateau, and slowly working down to ground level, trying to refine myself all the time.

I feel that is often the trial of ones youth. We have so much energy and potential…but finding a balanced and healthy channel for that energy is difficult.

 

My 2 cents, Peace

Edited January 6, 2014 by OldChi

[RiverSnake]

Not really a category for me so I'll ponder a bit and then pick one. I started with karate in pre-adolescence, praying mantis in late-teens. A little boxing, wrestling, judo and TKD mixed in. Started researching world religions in late-teens, too, including so-called "philosophical Taoism." The Tao moves in mysterious ways, however, and my path led in other directions for many years before spiraling back around to taichi and Taoist ideas in my early 40s. That led me to TTB and that, in turn, led me to jingdonggong. There have been many times in life when I didn't choose wisely but all of those choices, wise & otherwise, helped shape the path I follow. Trying to guess the complex future outcomes of alternate past choices seems of limited value today, if you follow me. I have been following "my path" my whole life...

Indeed, i do not believe in predetermination but i do believe in choices and that they often define us and the character of our path. Starting young for me was great….but even that choice had some pretty deep sacrifices.

 

My 2 cents, Peace

Edited January 6, 2014 by OldChi

[suninmyeyes]

My first yoga class was when I was 10 years old . My every day spiritual practise started when I was 23, 24 .

 

It was good that I started with more dedication when I did , as the time was just right than .

 

The only thing that I wish to have had understood earlier is where and at what point do my reactions , emotions , likes and dislikes come from and mind workings - it would have saved a lot of confusion .

Edited January 7, 2014 by suninmyeyes

[Aetherous]

It's very unfortunate that many people think it's a good use of time, that they aren't losers, to go out and get wasted with fair weather friends...or have unfulfilling sex with strangers.

[silent thunder]

I think we come to the training that suits us when we're open to it and it's appropriate.

 

When I was young I trained hard styles for years.

As the body broke down, I discovered a great teacher of Qi Gong/Nei Gong and recovered my body strength and flexibility, I realized even though I could return to hard styles, I have moved on and no longer am interested in training that way.

 

It's an organic process to find a cultivation method or style of training.

I feel that we come to the training and stick with it, only when we are suited to it, young, old, thriving, sickly...

I don't worry about not having spent my youth training in soft styles or in seated meditation.

 

We find what suits us when conditions are right, then we flourish.

[Seeker of Wisdom]

I started, more or less, at 15.

 

I wasn't into cultivation or anything like that (atheist) but I wasn't a normal 15-year-old either. I've always been fairly introspective, and less materialistic than most, not massively bothered about money, sex, etc.

 

So then at 15 I was pottering around on YouTube when I ran across a quite new-agey OBE meditation and gave it a go. No OBE resulted, but I felt very strong chi effects. What made the experience particularly significant for me was that I had been laughing, literally, at how stupid this stuff was only a second before, so no chance of a placebo. That instantly shattered my certainty about atheism.

 

I got into the fluffy new-agey side of things, having rushed to get a new world view because feeling like I didn't know anything anymore was unsettling, but fortunately never full-on David Icke batshit. I kept my feet planted in reality enough to not get stuck in believing all that rainbow starchild indigo unicorn nonsense. If you're interested in my early days, my old posts on 'astralboobaby.net' under the name 'Light Shard' should still be available to giggle at.

 

As I started doing some yoga and considering philosophy a bit more slowly and carefully, I gradually developed more sophisticated ideas broadly in line with Vedanta, though I never studied it or considered myself a Vedantin.

 

After a year or so I got into a daily practice of Advanced Yoga Practices (don't recommend), which I practiced for around 18 months. By the end of this time I had slid far enough to Buddhism that I left that site, joined here, and replaced AYP with stuff like anapana sati. Before long, I was settled on Buddhism.

 

I'm very glad I got into this stuff early. More time to progress, and more mouldable mind when you start young.

Edited January 7, 2014 by Seeker of Tao

[RiverSnake]

I think we come to the training that suits us when we're open to it and it's appropriate.

 

When I was young I trained hard styles for years.

As the body broke down, I discovered a great teacher of Qi Gong/Nei Gong and recovered my body strength and flexibility, I realized even though I could return to hard styles, I have moved on and no longer am interested in training that way.

 

It's an organic process to find a cultivation method or style of training.

I feel that we come to the training and stick with it, only when we are suited to it, young, old, thriving, sickly...

I don't worry about not having spent my youth training in soft styles or in seated meditation.

 

We find what suits us when conditions are right, then we flourish.

 

It has also been my experience that people need to be caught at a certain point of open-ness in order to be receptive to esotericism. There are internal cycles as well as external cycles that we follow. Though of course we all also have are own unique internal make-up which responds differently.

 

My 2 cents, Peace

[RiverSnake]

It's very unfortunate that many people think it's a good use of time, that they aren't losers, to go out and get wasted with fair weather friends...or have unfulfilling sex with strangers.

 

IMO, that is what our culture promotes…and most people are a product of there culture and the psychological structures that there family puts on them as a youth. Not many have the self-awareness can see past the pull of there hormones. Monkey see…monkey do.

 

My 2 cents, Peace

[RiverSnake]

I started, more or less, at 15.

 

I wasn't into cultivation or anything like that (atheist) but I wasn't a normal 15-year-old either. I've always been fairly introspective, and less materialistic than most, not massively bothered about money, sex, etc.

 

So then at 15 I was pottering around on YouTube when I ran across a quite new-agey OBE meditation and gave it a go. No OBE resulted, but I felt very strong chi effects. What made the experience particularly significant for me was that I had been laughing, literally, at how stupid this stuff was only a second before, so no chance of a placebo. That instantly shattered my certainty about atheism.

 

I got into the fluffy new-agey side of things, having rushed to get a new world view because feeling like I didn't know anything anymore was unsettling, but fortunately never full-on David Icke batshit. I kept my feet planted in reality enough to not get stuck in believing all that rainbow starchild indigo unicorn nonsense. If you're interested in my early days, my old posts on 'astralboobaby.net' under the name 'Light Shard' should still be available to giggle at.

 

As I started doing some yoga and considering philosophy a bit more slowly and carefully, I gradually developed more sophisticated ideas broadly in line with Vedanta, though I never studied it or considered myself a Vedantin.

 

After a year or so I got into a daily practice of Advanced Yoga Practices (don't recommend), which I practiced for around 9 months. By the end of this time I had slid far enough to Buddhism that I left that site, joined here, and replaced AYP with stuff like anapana sati. Before long, I was settled on Buddhism.

 

I'm very glad I got into this stuff early. More time to progress, and more mouldable mind when you start young.

Lol….i love it when that happens. Nothing like a slap in the face from the universe telling you "You don't know what you don't know".

 

My 2 cents, Peace

Edited January 6, 2014 by OldChi

[BaguaKicksAss]

I personally can't think of a better Friday night than a Bagua class! Sometimes one of my students agrees...

 

The thing about Friday and Saturday evenings is that you are supposed to have as much fun as possible (imo). So obviously you would do something you enjoy.

 

I didn't start martial arts until I was 38, unfortunately. Those art lessons were great as a kid, but too bad it wasn't Bagua! Oh well art *does* pay the bills, and I enjoy it . You have noooo idea how frustrating it is when you have never practiced any body/movement memory stuff in your entire life and you are trying to keep up with martial arts classes! It is even worse when the rest of the people in the class have all been at it 5-7 years *and* are half your age! My first year or two of Bagua was one of the most frustrating times in my life! If only I'd attended more than 2 of those teakwondo classes in my early 20's . (though some tell me it would have ingrained bad habits into me).

 

Then again, in my early 20's I was rather busy chasing guys, partying and so forth, not so sure if I would have put in enough practice to make it worth it. Starting in my late 30's I trained as much as I physically could, every single day. I hear that much practice really helps. Better late than never I guess.

 

Magical/spiritual practices I started at 19 (I'm 43 now). Would have been awesome if I'd started those even younger too. Well actually, I did have some training when I was 5 by a theosophist friend of the family, but I don't remember any of those .

 

So to answer the poll, not sure if I count my martial arts training only or no?

[Ya Mu]

Can't say personally as I had the visits from the old guys wearing robes in my very earliest memories of childhood and started interacting with the Teachers at that point. By age 9 I gave lectures to my parents as to why the Baptist religion I grew up with was wrong and that I wouldn't be going back to church (can you guess how that went over?).

Later on I did a bit of rebelling because I wanted to do the same as my peers but even in the rebelling there were many lessons that unfolded. But basically have been on the path I am now my whole life.

 

As a Teacher of neigong, IMO people need to live their lives, enjoy themselves, and not start these sorts of practices before they personally feel the calling. The practices are too powerful and too interrupting when people have not yet decided what they wish to do in life. To attempt to do so before one is ready won't yield the same thing as to do so when one is. Everyone is different and I have trained one person starting at age 9 who became a qigong master at age 15. But generally speaking? I suggest to listen to your own heart as to when you begin these sorts of things and not be swayed by what one reads on the internet. Live life is a best gongfu!

[BaguaKicksAss]

Hmmm, looking over the poll, I have to say I never had a problem being distracted by women when I was younger... .

[GreytoWhite]

I was attracted to the arts at a very young age, perhaps the first time I saw Big Trouble in Little China. My mother put me in aikido class at about 10. I always felt the kihon dosa were of greater importance than letting my fellow classmates throw me. I read Andrew Weil's books on healing and explored different mystical traditions in secret. Our family was strict fundamentalist Baptist and I was attacked quite a bit when my interests in esoteric subjects such as meditation and quantum physics was discovered. I was forced to read Christian oriented fiction and instructional material, finding nothing of value.

 

I did not return to the arts until I suffered a minor heart attack and several small strokes. When I was offered free instruction I took the opportunity and did not look back. Practice, the benefits and troubles with it, have been the focus of my life for 5 years now.

[Marblehead]

Hmmm, looking over the poll, I have to say I never had a problem being distracted by women when I was younger... .

That's not fair!!!

[Marblehead]

I don't practice, as such. I did start keeping a healthier body in my mid-thirties. Yeah, I didn't start on my mind (brain) until ten years later.

 

I can't think of any reason to wish I had done either of those differently.

[CloudHands]

It was 30 months ago ! And I'm now 27.

Edited January 7, 2014 by Guest

[i am]

I've been interested in this kind of stuff as long as I can remember.

 

And I mean yeah, I can say "I wish I started younger", but as with lots of other things, I wasn't ready. A head start would have been nice, but I was absolutely not ready for real cultivation in my teens, twenties, and even early thirties.

 

It's still a struggle and a bit of a balancing act right now between old friends and habits, and the life I see myself wanting to live. But not nearly as hard as it would have been even five years ago.

 

It happens when it should..

[i am]

But I agree with your experience. Even at 36, I'm usually one of the youngest people in a class, when I go to one. Some of that has to do with my town, though.

 

I'll tell you...between my hobbies, passions and job, and interacting with the older people in all those places, I sure know how I'm NOT going to be when I get older.

 

I'm not going to sit around telling the young people "just wait till you're my age...oh it gets worse...oh do that stuff now before you're as old as me...oh aren't we lame being here on a Friday night...oh just wait your metabolism will slow down..." Etc. I can't scratch my head without someone making one of these comments, much less walk across a room or speak.

 

Ah...the joys of not living in a college town, and being surrounded by old people...

 

There are a few good examples who don't make excuses, apologies, and clearly aren't extremely unsure of themselves. But it's way more rare than I'd like.

 

Kinda sad when you hit your late thirties and see so few role models in the older generation. I know they're out there...but there are too few around here.

[chegg]

.

Edited March 14, 2015 by chegg

[RiverSnake]

Can't say personally as I had the visits from the old guys wearing robes in my very earliest memories of childhood and started interacting with the Teachers at that point. By age 9 I gave lectures to my parents as to why the Baptist religion I grew up with was wrong and that I wouldn't be going back to church (can you guess how that went over?).

Later on I did a bit of rebelling because I wanted to do the same as my peers but even in the rebelling there were many lessons that unfolded. But basically have been on the path I am now my whole life.

 

As a Teacher of neigong, IMO people need to live their lives, enjoy themselves, and not start these sorts of practices before they personally feel the calling. The practices are too powerful and too interrupting when people have not yet decided what they wish to do in life. To attempt to do so before one is ready won't yield the same thing as to do so when one is. Everyone is different and I have trained one person starting at age 9 who became a qigong master at age 15. But generally speaking? I suggest to listen to your own heart as to when you begin these sorts of things and not be swayed by what one reads on the internet. Live life is a best gongfu!

Some deep stuff.

 

I often struggle with the desire to shout from the roof tops to practice Chi Gung....it's the most amazing thing ever....but the amount of commitment and discipline needed isn't something to snuff at.....guess everyone finds there calling at their own pace.

 

I was actually having a conversation with a friend a couple of days ago regarding monk hood and he was having difficulty comprehending it.....I just told him It can't be something pushed on people through dogma....needs to come from within.

 

My 2 cents, Peace

Edited January 7, 2014 by OldChi