Wang Liping's Mental Spheres

[MooNiNite]

Balls of light, that he refers to as mental spheres, are mentioned in Liping's book,

 

Does anyone know of other similar occurrence of these mentioned in any other texts that you have read?

[Aeran]

Could you be a bit more specific about the nature of these spheres?

[SonOfTheGods]

Balls of light, that he refers to as mental spheres, are mentioned in Liping's book,

 

Does anyone know of other similar occurrence of these mentioned in any other texts that you have read?

 

I do something like that -but they aren't mental spheres though.

 

They're Qi constructs.

 

I'd imagine he is using Shen for those

[Zhongyongdaoist]

Balls of light, that he refers to as mental spheres, are mentioned in Liping's book,

 

Does anyone know of other similar occurrence of these mentioned in any other texts that you have read?

 

 

Could you be a bit more specific about the nature of these spheres?

 

Yes, I have to second this, more information is needed, for example in his books on Daoist magic Jerry Alan Johnson describes a technique for creating "thought forms", the more usual Western term for something which might also be called a "mental sphere", by someone writing trying to translate a Chinese term for a mental construct used for magical purposes, or Wang Liping might be talking about who knows what else.  So a little clarification like a quote that describes these in more detail would be helpful.

[MooNiNite]

Yes, I have to second this, more information is needed, for example in his books on Daoist magic Jerry Alan Johnson describes a technique for creating "thought forms", the more usual Western term for something which might also be called a "mental sphere", by someone writing trying to translate a Chinese term for a mental construct used for magical purposes, or Wang Liping might be talking about who knows what else.  So a little clarification like a quote that describes these in more detail would be helpful.

 

Well what is interesting is that they are clearly visible. In his book he conjures "mental spheres" which are colorful balls of light that swirl around him.

 

This actually reminds me of a historic incident that happened in London where strange light spheres where circling about the city. If I find a article on that ill post it. Im curious is there are any more incidents or references to them, i'v never come across anything besides the london thing.

 

Mention of thought-forms is very common, but i'v never heard them referenced as being visible to normal people. 

 

 

 

With all the forms (on mental, physical and spiritual levels) that exist in this world, why would anyone spend time creating thought forms? How does that assist one in reaching (becoming one with) Tao?

 

He writes it out to be more of a result of cultivating and reaching the Tao. 

 

So it would have no use in assisting one towards reaching the Tao. 

Edited November 29, 2015 by MooNiNite

[dawei]

I do something like that -but they aren't mental spheres though.

 

They're Qi constructs.

 

I'd imagine he is using Shen for those

 

This would also be interesting to hear more about

[SonOfTheGods]

This would also be interesting to hear more about

Why?

 

I'll just post a link to it:

 

LoneMan Pai™- Magnificent 7- Technique

http://lonemanpai.com/thread/696/loneman-pai-magnificent-7-technique?page=1&scrollTo=17558

[dawei]

Why?

 

combined with ZYD comments on JAJ, from whose program I also learned to do a Qi construction for healing purposes... I'd like to hear more.

 

There are two sides to healing:

1. There is a natural desire among all species to offer healing

2. We can't heal everyone and everything

 

In-between this coin is a myriad area of gray.  

 

Those on a path for healing should seek more understanding from all possible techniques.

[Zhongyongdaoist]

With all the forms (that correlate to any of the three chi realms: mental, physical and spiritual levels) that exist in this world, why would anyone spend time creating thought forms? How does that assist one in reaching/becoming one with Tao?

 

I see dawei has already addressed this some what.  Creating thought forms is more a technique for beginners, though they can have many uses, and a creative practitioner can use them for a wide variety of purposes, but it is too complex to describe here.

 

Well what is interesting is that they are clearly visible. In his book he conjures "mental spheres" which are colorful balls of light that swirl around him.

 

 

This actually reminds me of a historic incident that happened in London where strange light spheres where circling about the city. If I find a article on that ill post it. Im curious is there are any more incidents or references to them, i'v never come across anything besides the london thing.

 

Mention of thought-forms is very common, but i'v never heard them referenced as being visible to normal people. 

 

 

 

 

He writes it out to be more of a result of cultivating and reaching the Tao. 

 

So it would have no use in assisting one towards reaching the Tao. 

 

Their visibility can indicate several things because their are different ways that "things" can become "visible" to a group of people, in some techniques they are only visible to people, but they will all describe the same thing, in others they can be photographed.  Does Wan Liping actually use the word conjure? And if so is he using it in a technical sense or informally? If he is using conjure technically, then it implies that they are spiritual beings of one sort or another, but it can be used informally in which case they could just be condensations of energy of one sort or another.

 

Thanks Son of the Gods for sharing his interesting technique.  This brings up the question of whether the spheres are small and float around or large and in particular places, such as the six directions and the center such as SOTG describes.  More information is needed, but it looks like this involves more speculation then I have a wish to indulge in, so I will bow out of this discussion.

[Daeluin]

Balls of light, that he refers to as mental spheres, are mentioned in Liping's book,

 

 

Coming to the foot of a mountain one day, the four travelers saw that it was getting late and rain was on the way. The grand master suggested they find a place to stay nearby. Scanning the area, at last they spotted a tiny settlement of a dozen or so houses nestled on the mountainside.

 

It was a quiet, rustic village; most of the houses were made of piled stone with thatched roofs. The county seat and the commune garrison were far away, the mountain paths were hard to travel, and very few Party cadres ever went there. Although the villagers were also members of the commune, they lived in extended families, with the elders still having relatively high status.

 

There was a small level area in the village, where there lay a millstone under a large tree. This appeared to be the community gathering place. Walking into the village, the three old wizards put their bundles on the millstone and sat down to rest while Wang Liping looked around. Soon a crowd of children began to gather. Few people ever came to this remote mountain village, so the appearance of these four strangers was a major event. Seeing the evident poverty of the hamlet, the ragged clothes of the villagers, and the hungry looks on the children, the three old Taoists were suddenly moved to pity. As the crowd of children grew, the Wayfarer of the Infinite forgot the weariness of the road and suggested to the Wayfarer of Pure Serenity that they should have Wang Liping put on a performance to entertain these village folk.

 

The Wayfarer of Pure Serenity agreed, and the next thing anyone knew he was ringing a broken gong. All at once the whole village was astir -- rarely was there any such excitement around there. Bracing the old and carrying the young, they crowded around the four strangers, eager to see what kind of performance they would put on.

 

The Wayfarer of Pure Serenity made the rounds with cupped hands, for all the world like a mountebank, expressing gratitude for their kindness: "We are fleeing famine and have nothing rare with us. We've just learned some minor feats to earn a bite to eat. Today we'll present a performance, in hopes of your generosity."

 

Seeing the three old men homeless at such an advanced age, the villagers were quite sympathetic. They also had good feelings toward the youth, who seemed like a good boy. These mountain peasants were simple folk, and quite a few offered the four strangers places to stay and food to eat. The Taoist travelers, teachers and apprentice, were very moved by this hospitality.

 

Without needing to be told, Wang Liping was already in the center of the clearing, bowing deeply and thanking everyone for their good will. Then he struck a pose in a state of supreme alertness, so magnificently dignified, even awesome, that everyone was startled at what they had thought was just a quiet student. Liping then went into a display of rapid-fire kicks, punches, and footwork, going through a whole routine that dazzled all eyes and drew rounds of applause.

 

Gradually Wang Liping grew still; then he slowly took up another posture, with his hands positioned as if he were holding a ball, which he began to roll all over his body. In a short time there actually appeared to be something in his hands; it looked to be about the size of a hen's egg, shining with light, dazzling the crowd. Everyone stared wide-eyed, wondering if they were just seeing things. But the fireball didn't disappear. Instead, it grew bigger and bigger, becoming more and more beautiful in the process, like a colored ball dancing in Wang Liping's hands.

 

With his feet, Liping now did some kind of step that was not clearly visible, whereupon the colored ball began to circle his body. Stunned, the villagers shouted applause, and just as they were marveling at this, they saw Wang Liping shake his hands, somehow turning the ball into three balls. Now he had one ball in each hand, and a third hung suspended in front of him at the level of his abdomen. Then the three balls spun around him, appearing like a colorful brocade wrapping his body, making a sound like whispering wind. Everyone stared in rapt wonder.

 

A moment later, there were nine colored balls flying around, encircling Wang Liping's whole body, revolving vertically and horizontally, flabbergasting the whole crowd. Even the old wizards, seeing Liping's accomplishment, nodded and smiled imperceptibly.

 

Suddenly Wang Liping came to a halt, and the colored balls disappeared in the blink of an eye. Slowly lowering his hands from his chest and opening his eyes, Liping concluded the exercise. The whole crowd of villagers were wild. That day their eyes had really been opened!

 

The reader will already have realized that these were the "eight trigram mental spheres" about which Wang Liping's mentor had taught him. The marvelous thing about these eight trigram mental spheres is not their visual beauty, which may please villagers, but in their special function.

 

This function is known as "distributing the body." Once a colored ball appears, one's own body has already been put inside it, although this "body" is invisible. When Wang Liping was seen manipulating the colored ball, in reality he was massaging a certain part of his body.

 

The eight trigram mental spheres also have another marvelous function, which is they can be used as a means of sending true mental impressions over vast distances. Because the "self" is in the ball, the ball is a hologram; everything in the self is therein, and it has life, thought, and spirituality like the self. There is no way for ordinary people to comprehend this.

 

The "information" of which modern people speak and the "true impressions" spoken of by the ancients are not the same thing; they are not even on the same order of reality and should not be confused. The word "impression" here is key, dividing the animate and inanimate worlds, and the universes of the lower and middle three realms.

 

Watching this young, gentlemanly scholar perform such feats, the villagers wound up seeing him in a different light.

[Zhongyongdaoist]

Thanks Daeluin, that provides the necessary information. I couldn't quite let go of this and had already been thinking in terms of some sort of power display that was at once not potentially harmful like setting newspapers on fire, or giving people electric shocks, but enchanting and delightful, something very Daoist.  This I can actually comment on, but I don't have time now.  I will try to get something up in a day or so, if someone doesn't beat me to it.

[Gerard]

Some astral projectors can see some of the Qi spheres rotating outside the body. They correspond to the trigrams of the I Ching (the chakras are merely an arrangement of the trigrams in the central channel, they act like networking nodes) which is located inside every one of us and manifested as:

Head, nose and Lung>Qian; abdomen and Stomach>Kun, ears and Kidney>Kan; eyes and Heart>Li; feet> Zhen; mouth and Spleen>Dui; hand and fingers>Gen; thighs, butt, lower back and Liver>Xun. 

 

This is the interesting fact, they rotate 'outside' the body as well, not only internally according to some astral projectors with strong ESP.

 

No books to read, some people are gifted in the ESP area. I suppose Wang Liping was chosen as a disciple of a millenary Daoist lineage of a reason; he is able to manipulate what is already there.

 

Purpose of this exercise, if you live in a mountain without anything else to do, playing with Qi spheres is a lot of fun. In addition, as discussed in the book, mountain Taoists use those spheres to communicate with other adepts over long distances?

 

As rainbow already pointed out, is this an essential practice, IMO it's not, you can accomplish the same thing without working directly on the spheres, I mean practice without paying attention to the 'tail lights of your car.'

 

A further reading if you are interesting in an specific training method of Baguazhang (8 trigrams + center, yin and yang):

 

Nine Palaces training in Baguazhang

Edited November 30, 2015 by Gerard

[bamboo]

The practice that the OP is referring to is the Bagua yi qiu/8 trigram mental sphere - it is not just mental construct. It is an actual exercises with regulated movements. The "Yi" is intention in this instance, and is so named because the intention is placed inside the ball made by the palms facing one another.

 

It is quite rare for a practitioner to get these balls to appear - it is quite a high level phenomenon. Even though we cannot get the balls to appear the external movements still give rise to internal changes. One of the effects of this practice is working with the nine palaces in the head - besides the function of extracting the external organs and massaging them mentioned in the book.

 

Best

Liam

[MooNiNite]

The practice that the OP is referring to is the Bagua yi qiu/8 trigram mental sphere - it is not just mental construct. It is an actual exercises with regulated movements. The "Yi" is intention in this instance, and is so named because the intention is placed inside the ball made by the palms facing one another.

 

It is quite rare for a practitioner to get these balls to appear - it is quite a high level phenomenon. Even though we cannot get the balls to appear the external movements still give rise to internal changes. One of the effects of this practice is working with the nine palaces in the head - besides the function of extracting the external organs and massaging them mentioned in the book.

 

Best

Liam

Just for clarification, I believe the Indians refer to nine miniature chakras between the 6th and 7th major chakras. Is this similar to the nine palaces you are describing? 

[bamboo]

I am no expert Mooninite but I don't believe they are the same. I don't know if you've ever seen the diagram of the 9 palaces according to Daoism but they are 9 chambers in the brain arrayed around the cerebral cortex I think.

 

When I first started to practice Longmen pai I really wanted to learn the Bagua yi qiu practice - I would ask all the practitioners I met if they knew it and if they would teach me. Then finally I found someone who new it and would teach me - now I know it I never ever practice it. Strange!! We always want what we don't have then when we get it we don't even use it.

[SonOfTheGods]

combined with ZYD comments on JAJ, from whose program I also learned to do a Qi construction for healing purposes... I'd like to hear more.

 

There are two sides to healing:

1. There is a natural desire among all species to offer healing

2. We can't heal everyone and everything

 

In-between this coin is a myriad area of gray.  

 

Those on a path for healing should seek more understanding from all possible techniques.

I see dawei has already addressed this some what. Creating thought forms is more a technique for beginners, though they can have many uses, and a creative practitioner can use them for a wide variety of purposes, but it is too complex to describe here.

 

 

Their visibility can indicate several things because their are different ways that "things" can become "visible" to a group of people, in some techniques they are only visible to people, but they will all describe the same thing, in others they can be photographed. Does Wan Liping actually use the word conjure? And if so is he using it in a technical sense or informally? If he is using conjure technically, then it implies that they are spiritual beings of one sort or another, but it can be used informally in which case they could just be condensations of energy of one sort or another.

 

Thanks Son of the Gods for sharing his interesting technique. This brings up the question of whether the spheres are small and float around or large and in particular places, such as the six directions and the center such as SOTG describes. More information is needed, but it looks like this involves more speculation then I have a wish to indulge in, so I will bow out of this discussion.

 

Spheres can be useful for long distance healing, and energy transmissions done remotely.

 

They can embody the elements, they can be sentinels, and they can protect.

 

When you see images of the fetus above the head of the cultivator, or the body being the pearl that leaves the BaiHui- these 'spheres" can help aid one in understanding what is taking place.