White flowers falling or maybe white snow flakes.

[MooNiNite]

In many books on Taoist Yoga or Alchemy

 

seeing "white snow flakes falling" or "white flowers falling"

 

is a sign one is close to sagehood. 

 

What is this phenomenon? WHat does the metaphor represent? 

[MooNiNite]

My belief - in my experience I saw small things shooting by in my visual field, I eventually figured out these are shooting stars. When one embodies the universe they also experience the movement of celestial bodies. However this experience may be unrelated.

Edited July 17, 2015 by MooNiNite

[Daeluin]

Perhaps I had an experience of this. Part of a repetitive expanding and contracting exercise. After several months of this every morning, I started feeling very selfless, very humble, very integrated, the energy/ming work becoming very refined. At the height of the expansion, arms out straight to the sides, elbows relaxed, energy out to the finger tips and toe tips, the contraction began. But in this state of integration and egolessness, I found that I would simply float down, no longer controlling my descent into horse stance, the energy buoying me up so that I could rest upon it like an eagle soaring on the wind. A gentleness filled my middle dan tien as I floated down - I felt like falling snow, but also felt as though snow was falling from my middle dan tien to my lower dan tien, and I was one with it. This lasted a few weeks and not sure what happened after - I likely didn't maintain a regular practice and as the seasons changed my practice perhaps moved on to a different emphasis.

 

In Eva Wong's translation of zhong lu chuan dao ji:

 

The jade elixir is the fluid of the kidneys. The fluid of the kidneys follows the upward movement of the primordial vapor and rises to gather at the heart. If you accumulate it, it will become the Golden Water. If you channel it upward, the Jade Pool will be filled. If you refine it, it will be transformed into White Snow. If you move it out of the middle tan-t'ien into the lower tan-t'ien, the immortal fetus will be bathed and steamed, provided that you have already collected the medicine. If you let it rise from the middle tan-t'ien and then direct it to the four limb, the body will be refined and your bones will be purged of mundane dust. However, if it is not received [in the lower tan-t'ien], it will not rise. This cycle occurs endlessly and it is called 'the jade elixir returning to the tan-t'ien.'

 

This describes a process that can unfold under the right circumstances of cultivation work, at higher levels, and should not be forced. The terms used in Neidan often describe the same ingredients using different names at different stages of refinement. The zhong lu chuan dao ji is very circular, a seeming riddle. It is very easy to miss something and jump to conclusions. But things are described from enough perspectives to uncover the truth, if one is serious in studying. But even with clarity in understanding, nothing can be forced or made to happen.

 

Hope this helps.

[gendao]

In many books on Taoist Yoga or Alchemy

 

seeing "white snow flakes falling" or "white flowers falling"

 

is a sign one is close to sagehood. 

 

What is this phenomenon? WHat does the metaphor represent? 

Dandruff.  Sitting in a cave with no showers =

[ChiForce]

No...is about the immortal fetus getting more matured and ready to burst out from the original cavity of the spirit.  That's a later stage in the cultivation process.  is beyond the completion of the micro and macro cosmic orbits.     Seeing here...may mean visions during your mediation.  I just can not believe your physical eyes would see raining flowers out from the sky...hehehehe.....

[voidisyinyang]

Its right before yang shen leaves the body. The original qigong master described this happening to him.

[ChiForce]

I thought this passage is interesting from the Taoist Yoga Alchemy and Immortality if you are already seeing the Mysterious Gate or Spiritual white/yellow light from the mixture of both negative heart chi and the positive chi in your dan tien.

 

"....a bright moonlight which rises from the lower to the middle and then the upper dan tien before the practicer sees falling snow and dancing flowers in the front of him."  page 150 footnote.

 

Does this mean the MOC pathway is going in partial reverse?  From the lower dan tien and flowing back up through the center channels and bursting out from the third eye and the crown chakra???      

[voidisyinyang]

I thought this passage is interesting from the Taoist Yoga Alchemy and Immortality if you are already seeing the Mysterious Gate or Spiritual white/yellow light from the mixture of both negative heart chi and the positive chi in your dan tien.

 

"....a bright moonlight which rises from the lower to the middle and then the upper dan tien before the practicer sees falling snow and dancing flowers in the front of him."  page 150 footnote.

 

Does this mean the MOC pathway is going in partial reverse?  From the lower dan tien and flowing back up through the center channels and bursting out from the third eye and the crown chakra???      

 

my understanding is it's when the moonlight is full of yuan qi as the White Tiger energy - becoming yang shen. So it's creating the golden immortal body -

[SonOfTheGods]

Eva Wong -The Tao of Health Longevity and Immortality

In the lower region, yin will disappear

in the yang within the yin and yang will rise to gather in the

palace of the spirit. In the central region, the yang within the

yang will be pure and will rise to gather in the palace of the

spirit. In the Yellow Chamber, the great medicine will be

purely yang and will rise to gather in the palace of the spirit.

The five fluids will move toward the lower region, the five

vapors will move toward the central region, and the five yangs

will move toward the upper region. After the three gatherings

are complete and after three thousand merits have been accumulated,

the crane will dance at the top of the head and the

dragon will leap up inside the body. You will hear sweet music

and see falling flowers.

[ChiForce]

 

Eva Wong -The Tao of Health Longevity and Immortality

In the lower region, yin will disappear

in the yang within the yin and yang will rise to gather in the

palace of the spirit. In the central region, the yang within the

yang will be pure and will rise to gather in the palace of the

spirit. In the Yellow Chamber, the great medicine will be

purely yang and will rise to gather in the palace of the spirit.

The five fluids will move toward the lower region, the five

vapors will move toward the central region, and the five yangs

will move toward the upper region. After the three gatherings

are complete and after three thousand merits have been accumulated,

the crane will dance at the top of the head and the

dragon will leap up inside the body. You will hear sweet music

and see falling flowers.

The process is supposedly as instinctive as a woman giving birth to a child...hehehehe....  When it happens, you are supposed to know when to push it through your crown chakra.  This immortal fetus is supposed to be dwelling in your middle tan dien until it is mature.  Let's look at it from a practical standpoint...  Do you meditate in a cave for 10 months and to continuously meditate until you can give birth to this immortal fetus? Before you can come out and to rejoin with the civilization?  Or you can go on living your life while this fetus is getting matured, but you won't be in a meditative state?  

 

Something tells me that the birth of an immortal fetus won't happen if your meditation is interrupted or you are still surrounded by civilizations. 

[Infolad1]

In many books on Taoist Yoga or Alchemy

 

seeing "white snow flakes falling" or "white flowers falling"

 

is a sign one is close to sagehood. 

 

What is this phenomenon? WHat does the metaphor represent? 

 

Hi MooNiNite,

 

It's not a metaphor. It happens once all the dantiens (Lower, Middle, & Upper) come online.

 

It's along the lines of what happens with the appearance of "The Mysterious Gate".

 

I saw the "Mysterious Gate" when my lower dantien was fully online, and middle, and upper

dantiens were coming online.

 

You see points of light that look like stars, and points of light first. Then the mysterious

gate shows up, first in your peripheral vision, then in front of you.

 

First time It happened, it was like "WTF was THAT!?" LOL! Then I remembered what was said In Taoist Yoga,

read the passage on it again, and was like "Huh..Mysterious Gate". LOL!  

 

The falling snow landmark was like that...x11. Instead of just a few points of light here, and there, It's a

BUNCH of them, coming down in front of your eyes. Kind of like white noise on an old style TV set, but

moving slower, and In the air in 3D.

 

You'll see the sequence happen a number of times, If you lose jing during your practice.

 

DON'T freak out, if you do. Folks get fairly neurotic about these things (I did, when I was younger, so I understand.

But you'll do your vehicle more harm, than good fretting over it).

 

And for goodness sakes, DON'T attempt to stop, or reverse an ejaculation. You'll cause injury to your urinary tract,

over time. Except for the first 100 days, just moderate your jing loss to twice a month, if you're in your 20s to 30s,

once a month, in your 40s to 50s, every 3 to 4 months to ideally never, beyond your 60s.

 

It just takes longer to go through the transformations, If you're constantly leaking. That's all.

 

Nan Huai-Chin likened It to climbing up a ladder, then sliding down a couple of rungs, again and again. you're not

going to make much progress.

 

Don't get too wrapped up In the details. Trust me, it'll happen, as long as you're doing 1 to 2 hours of emptiness

meditation daily (just focus on the breath: anapana)

 

Just follow what Master Nan says below:

 

 

Make sure you have subtitles on.

 

For more breathing mechanics details, check out various posts from joeblast.

 

I hoped this helped.

 

Cheers!

Edited July 22, 2015 by Infolad1

[MooNiNite]

 

Hi MooNiNite,

 

 

 

 

Can you describe the gate that you saw?

 

 

I saw light dots shooting in front of me, they were like shooting stars. My theory is that I became the universe and they really were shooting stars. Is this different from the flower petals?

[ChiForce]

Can you describe the gate that you saw?

 

 

I saw light dots shooting in front of me, they were like shooting stars. My theory is that I became the universe and they really were shooting stars. Is this different from the flower petals?

Is the Mysterious Gate or the white pearl which is being perceived by the third eye but emitting from your heart.   In the language of the Buddhist teaching, is the nimitta light.  It is not a sign before the birth of the immortal fetus!!!!  That's just the light or a sign that your MCO has completed its path and your third eye is seeing the voidless void.  

 

You can not have an immortal birth without seeing this white pearl or the mysterious gate!!!!   

[MooNiNite]

Is the Mysterious Gate or the white pearl which is being perceived by the third eye but emitting from your heart.   In the language of the Buddhist teaching, is the nimitta light.  It is not a sign before the birth of the immortal fetus!!!!  That's just the light or a sign that your MCO has completed its path and your third eye is seeing the voidless void.  

 

You can not have an immortal birth without seeing this white pearl or the mysterious gate!!!!   

 

You see it in front of you with eye open?

 

I often see a white ball with eyes closed

[Infolad1]

Can you describe the gate that you saw?

 

 

I saw light dots shooting in front of me, they were like shooting stars. My theory is that I became the universe and they really were shooting stars. Is this different from the flower petals?

 

Sure.

 

It was pure white, shining, radiating, a tear In reality, in the air. Haven't seen anything like it,

before, or since.

 

At first,  I would see it in my peripheral vision. Then it would appear In front of me for a second.

 

As I've said before, what's happening is that as you bring these different bodies online, you're

upping the frequency at which you can both function, and perceive.

 

These phenomena are just milestones to indicate that you've "upgraded", and can now access

these levels. That's all.

 

And the actual phenomena doesn't always manifest the same for everyone. Everyone's different.

 

We need to be a bit more plastic about these things, and not so rigid.

 

To say,"You absolutely MUST see so and so", is going to limit your progress.

 

Witness, but don't get wrapped up in the details of how it unfolds, just know that it will, if you do

the work. 

 

Dealing in absolutes using your human level of perception, can be a trap for a lot of people.

 

Cheers!

[Infolad1]

Don't worry folks, if you never see a pearl in your cultivation. I haven't yet. Third eye visions are not a reliable marker of one's cultivation progress.

 

But maybe one day I will see a rainbow pearl!

 

Exactly! People get incredibly dogmatic with these texts.

 

YOUR experiences take precedent over anything else. 

 

TRUE knowledge is direct experience.

 

Everything else is heresay. Might be right, might be wrong.

 

Don't believe. KNOW.

 

Wise words rainbowvein. Thanks!

 

Cheers!

[ChiForce]

You see it in front of you with eye open?

 

I often see a white ball with eyes closed

You must remember that this pearl is a reflection of your heart.  It is an internal reflection.  The light does not exist outside of you.  Eyes close or open won't matter because you are seeing it as an internal reflection of your heart.  It only arises when the internal negative heart chi is mixed with the positive chi of your LDT.  They are intense, like looking at the sun.  Generally, the appearance of the nimitta light is accompanied by a warm chi sensation running through your body.  Sometimes, mild to intense bodily vibrations....

[ChiForce]

Don't worry folks, if you never see a pearl in your cultivation. I haven't yet. Third eye visions are not a reliable marker of one's cultivation progress.

 

But maybe one day I will see a rainbow pearl!

It depends because how does one perceive this pearl light if it is not through your third eye???    This light has to be perceived, not felt somehow.... 

[ChiForce]

Exactly! People get incredibly dogmatic with these texts.

 

YOUR experiences take precedent over anything else. 

 

TRUE knowledge is direct experience.

 

Everything else is heresay. Might be right, might be wrong.

 

Don't believe. KNOW.

 

Wise words rainbowvein. Thanks!

 

Cheers!

Yeah but there are no shortcuts unless you were gifted before you were born.  Even then, it means that you can progress further or to experience a higher stage cultivation without investing the time needed to develop your foundation.  Still, it means that you can experience these stages much faster. It does not mean you would SKIP some steps.    

[Daeluin]

First - I agree, if we do the work the stages unfold naturally, unless we let ourselves get stuck by an obstacle / timing.

 

However, I'm curious - are we saying this nimitta light / pearl is the same as the white snow? I've seen this light, and was a very different experience than what I described earlier. Very much along the lines of what recent posts describe, and what is described here:

 

 

What is the Mandala seen by practitioner? Does it have any relations with Yuanshen, Jinhua, and ‘Turning the light back’, which are the important concept mentioned in the book? In fact, the Mandala is the light of one’s Xing or Yuanshen. One has found his Xing light if he sees the Mandala. <The Secret of Golden flower> considers that seeing Mandala means one just began to know how to turn the radiation light back and this is a very important and meaningful phenomenon in cultivation process, it indicates one has understood the principle and grasped the key point of practice. If one continues to practice in this right way, one may reach to higher steps as “the light begins to bloom”, ”the light is just in blooming”, and “the light congealed”. When you reached the step of “congealed”, your Yuanshen will begin to move and becomes active. When Yuanshen moves, one may find the truth of life. As a researcher, I tracked the entire processes of training these 8 foreigners by Mr. Wang Liping. The following is the record of ideas, designs, and procedure of the training as well as the various phenomena occurred during the training.

 

When the training started, what Mr. Wang Liping first paid attention was to transfer the student body’s vitality vigor, he said that Taoism cultivation takes the Xing Gong achievement as the ultimate goal but must take the Ming Gong as the foundation, if one does not have the Ming Gong foundational merit he could not reach high level in cultivation. Therefore initial several days he took the Ming training as the primary coverage, observed and controlled the changes of students’ bodies emphatically, after several times exercise, all students had the phenomenon of Qi (气) movement through meridians, although each student’s Qi movement is different from others, identically they had a common rule: Qi at first started from legs, the three meridians of foot started to generate, at this time the movement of Qi is in the leg, along with practice, the movement of Qi climbed to the abdomen gradually, at this time Wang Liping guided the students to make a little change of gesture, afterward obviously the Qi reached three yin meridians of hand by going up from the foot, then the movement of Qi was in the meridians of the upper body and arms, later to the yang meridians from yin meridians of hands, finally from the hand yang meridians rose to the head, then finally returned to the three yin meridians of foot. On each transfer point of meridian, Wang Liping would guide them to make a little change in gesture, in order to lead Qi to change route, which is very important. So how to grasp or seize the right time or opportunity is the key. When the Qi has not arrived at the switch point of transfer one cannot do something to lead Qi, only when the Qi reached the transfer point of meridian, at this time to doing something is effective. Wang Liping said,”some people do not know this, as they do not understand the principle of Qi movement of body, they could not grasp the transfer point to go forward, so their Qi always repeatedly move in the same meridians, the whole meridians of body could not be connected well to form a circle, thus they could not go further, always stay at the same stage in cultivation. So the ability of grasping the transfer point to do something or just waiting without action is the key in practice: when to do something or when to do nothing during practice? These depend on your understanding of the mechanism of body. If you have learned some knowledge of Chinese medicine, to master it will become easier for you, because Taoism’s’ theory is consistent with Chinese medicine theory, the two stems come from the same root.

After Qi passed the whole body’s meridian, it went to internal organs, the internal organs movement of Qi started in form of tremor. For some students, the tremor transferred from one organ to another until all five organs passed in circle. Some student said, ”I felt in clearly the internal organs will not be the tremor, but will be one kind of liquid in flowing.” Regardless of internal organs tremor or liquid flowing, the transmission had a definite direction and order, which matched the generating order of five internal organs of Chinese medicine. Wang Liping told students, at this moment do not use any attention to guide the movement, and do not forget to feel the movement, when it circulated to the last organ, use your attention to lead it down to your lower Dantian (丹田).As soon as your attention reaches lower Dantian (下丹田), your Qi follows and gathers there, then your lower Dantian will be full of Real Qi (真气Zhenqi) . Then, all students felt their lower Dantian starting to move, becaming warm and hot.

Later, the training was turned to Xing Gong. Wang Liping told students to lead their attention to Upper Dantian (上丹田) from lower Dantian. At this moment the formula Wang Liping told students is, neither attention nor will is needed, in fact, do not think, do not imagine, eyes still closed, just look at Xuanguan (玄关) in front of eyes, with the whole body relaxed and attention focused on looking. By several times practice, some saw a small bright light, Wang Liping guided, “pay attention to this small light, to stabilize it. This small bright light is the light of Yuanshen, present’s phenomenon is the appearance of Xing Light (Xing Guang)”. <The Secret of Golden flower>said, this light of Yuanshen radiates naturally but is not easy to gather; it is active, but is not easy to congeal, since this light presented now, our present’s duty is to practice, train this small light stable and bright, collect this scattered in disorder Xing light, let it congeal, this method is called “Turning the light back” in <The Secret of Golden flower>, if you turn the light back for a long time, this light will congeal”. By several times training, the small light or luminous spot became stable and bright; Wang Liping guided the students to move this luminous spot by will, this moving of the light was different from the original moving which was scattered freely in disorder. He told the students to move the luminous spot to a special position, Xuanguan, put that stable Xing Light (light of Yuanshen) in the place of Xuanguan and look at it. Practiced for several times, some students saw the marvelous Mandala, around only 8 days intensive training, 6 students saw the Mandala, certainly these 8 individuals had certain foundation, they are healthy, and they all like Chinese traditional culture, thought, have some knowledge of Taoism. Seeing Mandala means the radiated and scattered Shen light has been taken back and gathered in front of Tianmu, this is an important step in Xing training of The Complete Reality of Taoism.

In <The Secret of Golden flower>, there are described several steps in Xing light (Shen light or light of Yuanshen) training, first is “The light begins to bloom”. Seeing Mandala belongs to this step; to practice deeply ”The light is just in blooming”, at this step, body relaxed totally, mind opened completely, everywhere is bright; finally is “The light congealed completely”. If you reach the step of “Congealed”, the Xing light will be congealed into a Natural Body, and then your Yuanshen which stayed in Fangcun without motion will begin to move and becomes active. When Yuanshen moves, one may find the truth of life, so only up to this step you could know how to jump out of the three realms, transcend into the universe. Therefore obviously seeing Mandala is the symbol of knowing how to train Xing light, which The Complete Reality of Taoism emphasizes.

 

So this light appears to be directly related to Xing-gong, while the zhong lu chuan dao ji speaks of the White Snow in terms of the Jade elixir, which is related to the Ming, not the Xing, which is related to the Golden Elixir.

 

Chapter 8 of Secret of the Golden Florescence begins with a poem:

 

Master Lu-tsu said:
Taoist immortals have left behind a secret spell for freedom.
Through four (Chinese) characters the spirit crystallizes in the original cavity.
In the sixth month white snow is suddenly seen to fly.
At the third watch the sun’s disk is radiant.
In water blows the wind of Xun (Wind) ☴.
Traveling in Heaven, one returns to Earth
and absorbs the virtue of Kun (Earth)☷.
And the still deeper secret of the secret:
The land that is nowhere, that is the true home.

 

And this translation's notes seem to indicate this white snow is related to the white light, but something seems off to me. Later it says: The white snow flying, is the true yin within Li ☲ about to return to Kun (Earth) ☷. This would support the idea of the white snow being related to Ming - here being the True Yin trapped within Li, coming to return to the lower dan t'ien to form K'un.

 

So the sense I make of this, is that the light seems related to the creation of the immortal fetus, while the white snow seems related to the incubation of the immortal fetus:

 

The jade elixir is the fluid of the kidneys. The fluid of the kidneys follows the upward movement of the primordial vapor and rises to gather at the heart. If you accumulate it, it will become the Golden Water. If you channel it upward, the Jade Pool will be filled. If you refine it, it will be transformed into White Snow. If you move it out of the middle tan-t'ien into the lower tan-t'ien, the immortal fetus will be bathed and steamed, provided that you have already collected the medicine. If you let it rise from the middle tan-t'ien and then direct it to the four limb, the body will be refined and your bones will be purged of mundane dust. However, if it is not received [in the lower tan-t'ien], it will not rise. This cycle occurs endlessly and it is called 'the jade elixir returning to the tan-t'ien.'

 

I'd guess that when I felt what I described earlier, it was the white snow, but I had not gathered the medicines and created the immortal fetus yet.

Edited July 22, 2015 by Daeluin

[Daeluin]

 

 

In many books on Taoist Yoga or Alchemy

 

seeing "white snow flakes falling" or "white flowers falling"

 

is a sign one is close to sagehood. 

 

What is this phenomenon? WHat does the metaphor represent?

 

 

 

It's not a metaphor. It happens once all the dantiens (Lower, Middle, & Upper) come online.

 

It's along the lines of what happens with the appearance of "The Mysterious Gate".

 

I saw the "Mysterious Gate" when my lower dantien was fully online, and middle, and upper

dantiens were coming online.

 

You see points of light that look like stars, and points of light first. Then the mysterious

gate shows up, first in your peripheral vision, then in front of you.

 

First time It happened, it was like "WTF was THAT!?" LOL! Then I remembered what was said In Taoist Yoga,

read the passage on it again, and was like "Huh..Mysterious Gate". LOL!  

 

 

Hi Infolad1 - would you be open to elaborating more on this possible connection between either the white snow or the light/pearl and the mysterious gate? This is the first I've heard of them being the same thing. Thanks!

Edited July 22, 2015 by Daeluin

[ChiForce]

First - I agree, if we do the work the stages unfold naturally, unless we let ourselves get stuck by an obstacle / timing.

 

However, I'm curious - are we saying this nimitta light / pearl is the same as the white snow? I've seen this light, and was a very different experience than what I described earlier. Very much along the lines of what recent posts describe, and what is described here:

 

 

 

So this light appears to be directly related to Xing-gong, while the zhong lu chuan dao ji speaks of the White Snow in terms of the Jade elixir, which is related to the Ming, not the Xing, which is related to the Golden Elixir.

 

Chapter 8 of Secret of the Golden Florescence begins with a poem:

 

 

And this translation's notes seem to indicate this white snow is related to the white light, but something seems off to me. Later it says: The white snow flying, is the true yin within Li ☲ about to return to Kun (Earth) ☷. This would support the idea of the white snow being related to Ming - here being the True Yin trapped within Li, coming to return to the lower dan t'ien to form K'un.

 

So the sense I make of this, is that the light seems related to the creation of the immortal fetus, while the white snow seems related to the incubation of the immortal fetus:

 

 

I'd guess that when I felt what I described earlier, it was the white snow, but I had not gathered the medicines and created the immortal fetus yet.

Is not the same as white snow or flower....is the manifestation of the immortal fetus in its infancy.  The light has to turn golden first, supposedly.  I won't know since I haven't reached that stage yet, obviously.  However, I frequently see the white pearl or the nimitta light during my meditation and in my dreams.   

[ChiForce]

You have said some partial truths here.

 

Let's remind ourselves what the zen tradition admonishes practioners: ignore visions. The step you mention that no one can skip: Why do you think visions are pervasively experienced? Because so many get lost in this realm/stage. Then some, thinking that they have become a master, in turn lead others. Visions are only a partial truth.

 

Matthew 15:14

"They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch."

Is not a vision.  Is the basic nature of you and your heart.  It will always be there during your meditation...in your dreams...and while you are awake....just close your eyes and look into your heart and it is there.  However, if you look at the mysterious gate long enough and to allow your mind to come in, this light would transform into visions or into another imaginary.   

[Daeluin]

Thanks for the clarification - this thread is asking about the white snow, but many of the answers seem more related to the experience of seeing light/stars falling, etc.

 

Easy for those unfamiliar to get confused, but otherwise this thread offers some great clarity on both topics!

 

Sorta like asking the I-Ching a yes or no question.... you get an answer that speaks to something in between.

Edited July 22, 2015 by Daeluin

[ChiForce]

Thanks for the clarification - this thread is asking about the white snow, but many of the answers seem more related to the experience of seeing light/stars falling, etc.

 

Easy for those unfamiliar to get confused!

 

Sorta like asking the I-Ching a yes or no question.... you get an answer that speaks to something in between.

Hehehehe...we have to realize that by the time you see white snow and raining flower, you are almost an immortal..hehehehehe....you may already have been fasting and meditating in some cave for months.