I'm not a bot!

[ned123]

Hey all,

I've got lots of questions - so this is just a quick intro because I don't think this will generate any real replies. I have been discovered Taoism back in January. From Feb I followed the Mantak Chia methods, and feel this is a complete game changer for me. My head is clearer now than ever, and I feel really excited about the future. But I have lots of questions and was hoping I may get some answers here...!

I can't help wondering where the name comes from...!? Dao refers to Taoism of course, but what is does 'bums' signify?

Ned

[Marblehead]

Hello ned123, and welcome.

 

Your membership is approved and we're happy you found your way to us. We look forward to accompanying you on some of the way that you still have to go.

 

Please take the time to read the two posts pinned at the top of this Welcome page and take a look at the forum terms and rules. This covers all you need to know when getting started.

 

For the first week you will be restricted to ten posts per day but after that you can post as much as you like. Also, until you’ve posted fifteen times in the forums, you’ll be a “Junior Bum” with somewhat restricted access and will be allowed only two private messages per day.

 

Good luck in your pursuits and best wishes to you,

 

Marblehead and the TDB team

 

 

Hi ned,

 

Right you are.  You're not a BOT.  The "bums" refers to the owner, he is a beach bum but he is also interested in Taoism.  I'm sure you will find some members who will entertain your questions.

 

You are welcome to jump right in ongoing discussions, revive an older thread, start a new thread of your own, or start a discussion in the "Newcomer Corner" sub-forms to expand on your introduction or ask general questions to help you get started.

 

May you enjoy your time here.

 

Marblehead

[thelerner]

Dao refers to Taoism of course, but what is does 'bums' signify?

Ned

Two theories.  One, we try to be pretty chill-  Miss a day worshiping the Taoist Pantheon of Immortals/gods and we're okay with that. 

 

2nd theory, its a play on Jack Kerouac's book The Dharma Bums.   Probably more that.  We're a pretty eclectic bunch, looking at philosophy and practices from all sorts of angles.   Early on I studied Mantak Chia's stuff, even taking a class with him when he visited Chicago, then taking some seminars with Michael Winn of Healing Tao USA. 

[ned123]

Two theories.  One, we try to be pretty chill-  Miss a day worshiping the Taoist Pantheon of Immortals/gods and we're okay with that. 

 

2nd theory, its a play on Jack Kerouac's book The Dharma Bums.   Probably more that.  We're a pretty eclectic bunch, looking at philosophy and practices from all sorts of angles.   Early on I studied Mantak Chia's stuff, even taking a class with him when he visited Chicago, then taking some seminars with Michael Winn of Healing Tao USA. 

Hi Thelerner,

Thanks for responding!

I started On the Road once but somehow didn't get further than a quarter way through. I need to give it another go. I think the Dharma Bums may be a sort of sequel? I just googled it. Thanks for explaining. I just didn't know what this website was really about.

I was amazed to hear you took a class with Mantak Chia, and I'm really interested to hear what it was like, and what he is like too. I am tempted to attend the London workshops in October but time may be an issue. I've worked through the Taoist Secrets of Love and have ordered 'Basic Practices of the Universal Healing Tao'. I think this should help me develop my understanding and practice of Taoism.

Discovering transmutation is a game changer. It's early days of course - my journey started earlier this year. But already I feel like I'm in more control of myself on several levels. My mind is finally clearer now after years of woolliness. My instincts told me that something wasn't right, and I had no idea it was caused by frequent ejaculation. 

Basically I'm really hoping I'm right and the more I look into it the more I find that there are other people on the same path. 

Didn't Michael Winn help write the MultiOrgasmic Male? How did his seminars help you? Are you still practising transmutation etc...has it lived up to your expectations? Have you become more creative and achieved what you wanted?

Sorry for all the questions - I'm a bit like a puppy with a new toy! I do apologise!

Ned

[thelerner]

The seminar I took with Chia was quite a while ago, almost 20 years.  It was just a 3 day seminar covering his basics.  He was enthusiastic, the teachings were much like his thick book.. what's its name, I have it somewhere upstairs.  He went through and reviewed internal smile, mco.  Gave some speeches wondering why it hadn't caught on more.  I enjoyed it, no particular breakthroughs.  I'd been doing the practices for a while, also I tend to not be very energy sensitive.  So for me energy movement is more of a sensation mantra, rather then the full blown experience some get out of it. 

 

I consider him to be a pioneer in bringing Taoist energetic practices to the West.  His dedicated students have gotten much out of his teachings and some have gotten pretty far down the path. (opened channels, a kind of enlightenment).  That being said without the live close teacher feedback some (or many depending who you ask) have gotten burned with some of his sexual and packing practices.  Which might have been avoided if they'd had a live teacher or gone slower, backing off when things got hot.

 

I probably got more out of Michael Winn's classes.  More time spent practicing, able to ask questions of him, other teachers and advanced students.  I enjoyed learning some simple but deep gi gung forms.  The last seminar I took at Healing Tao, was Fusion, I didn't learn much, but enjoyed it.  Soaking up the wah of the teacher, a chance to meditate deeply with peers, saw some amazing demonstrations of healing.

 

There are people, some who used to be very active here, who really blossomed under Chia's methods.  Others here have problems with him.   I'd say, if you connect, great.  Don't let the naysayers dissuade you, but neither ignore there advice, rather take it be cautious against the extremes and slow down the practice if things get strange or negative.  Keep the enthusiasm, but without a live teacher, be willing to go slow and steady.  I recommend against marathon sessions. 

 

For my path, I've gotten away from energetic practices lately, returning to the simple, just sitting.  That's not to say one is better then the other, but there are times life leads you in different directions, for me now,its keeping it simple.  Later on, that'll probably change. 

Edited August 5, 2016 by thelerner

[liminal_luke]

 

I was amazed to hear you took a class with Mantak Chia, and I'm really interested to hear what it was like, and what he is like too. 

 

Years ago, I attended a Chi Nei Tsang (Taoist bodywork) workshop with Mantak Chia.  He asked for volunteers.  Thinking this was a once in a lifetime chance, I eagerly raised my hand.  I lay down on the massage table and he proceeded to dig his knuckles into my sternum until I started to cry.  When it was finally over and I got up, a long-time teaching assistant leaned over to me and said "yeah, everyone tries that once."

Edited August 5, 2016 by liminal_luke

[ned123]

The seminar I took with Chia was quite a while ago, almost 20 years. It was just a 3 day seminar covering his basics. He was enthusiastic, the teachings were much like his thick book.. what's its name, I have it somewhere upstairs. He went through and reviewed internal smile, mco. Gave some speeches wondering why it hadn't caught on more. I enjoyed it, no particular breakthroughs. I'd been doing the practices for a while, also I tend to not be very energy sensitive. So for me energy movement is more of a sensation mantra, rather then the full blown experience some get out of it.

 

I consider him to be a pioneer in bringing Taoist energetic practices to the West. His dedicated students have gotten much out of his teachings and some have gotten pretty far down the path. (opened channels, a kind of enlightenment). That being said without the live close teacher feedback some (or many depending who you ask) have gotten burned with some of his sexual and packing practices. Which might have been avoided if they'd had a live teacher or gone slower, backing off when things got hot.

 

I probably got more out of Michael Winn's classes. More time spent practicing, able to ask questions of him, other teachers and advanced students. I enjoyed learning some simple but deep gi gung forms. The last seminar I took at Healing Tao, was Fusion, I didn't learn much, but enjoyed it. Soaking up the wah of the teacher, a chance to meditate deeply with peers, saw some amazing demonstrations of healing.

 

There are people, some who used to be very active here, who really blossomed under Chia's methods. Others here have problems with him. I'd say, if you connect, great. Don't let the naysayers dissuade you, but neither ignore there advice, rather take it be cautious against the extremes and slow down the practice if things get strange or negative. Keep the enthusiasm, but without a live teacher, be willing to go slow and steady. I recommend against marathon sessions.

 

For my path, I've gotten away from energetic practices lately, returning to the simple, just sitting. That's not to say one is better then the other, but there are times life leads you in different directions, for me now,its keeping it simple. Later on, that'll probably change.

Hey man, this is great feedback...

So when you said some got burned with doing sexual and packing practices without a live teacher, I was wondering what happened? I've only really practised the big draw and powerlock. And of course testicle breathing and scrotal compression. It all seems fine. I don't have a girlfriend at mo so that is all to come.. But I'm looking forward to taking that step.

Later in your response you talk of avoiding marathon sessions: would that refer to long sessions of multiple orgasms with or without a partner? Sorry to be pedantic - I'm just trying to learn from your experiences if I can.

Thank you Thelerner!

Ned

[ned123]

Years ago, I attended a Chi Nei Tsang (Taoist bodywork) workshop with Mantak Chia. He asked for volunteers. Thinking this was a once in a lifetime chance, I eagerly raised my hand. I lay down on the massage table and he proceeded to dig his knuckles into my sternum until I started to cry. When it was finally over and I got up, a long-time teaching assistant leaned over to me and said "yeah, everyone tries that once."

Hey Luke

So sorry to hear Mr Chia left you bruised!! I'm not familiar with chi nei tsang. I'm only really learning after getting to grips with multiple orgasms. I just really like the way I don't need to ejaculate and feel spent and almost depressed. Instead I feel energised and ready for anything.

Of course it took a couple of months of dedicated practice to get there but now it's pretty easy - and I'm scared I'm somehow mistaken and that I'm missing something. I know I need to circulate energy with microcosmic orbit. And bring energy down to stomach rather than leave in head.

Did your experience put you off Chia practices altogether? Have you had some positive results? What Tao practices do you recommend?

Thanks for you feedback dude

Ned

[liminal_luke]

Hi Ned123,

 

It did hurt, but no lasting bruises.  And no, I wasn´t really put off from doing Healing Tao practices.  Like TheLerner, I gravitated more toward Michael Winn´s material.  He´s basically the head honcho for the US branch of what is now the Universal Tao.  Every summer he coordinates a massive "Tao University" retreat with lots of different residential weekly workshops.  I´ve been to several of them and found them useful.

 

As far as practices, I think you can´t go wrong with the very basics -- inner smile and healing sounds.  If you sign up for Michael Winn´s email list (http://www.healingtaousa.com/) you´ll be able to download his ebook on the inner smile.  Highly recommended.  He also has a bunch of dvd´s you can order.  He´s on youtube if you´d like to check out his stuff a bit for free and get a feel for him.

Edited August 6, 2016 by liminal_luke

[thelerner]

Hey man, this is great feedback...

So when you said some got burned with doing sexual and packing practices without a live teacher, I was wondering what happened? I've only really practised the big draw and powerlock. And of course testicle breathing and scrotal compression. It all seems fine. I don't have a girlfriend at mo so that is all to come.. But I'm looking forward to taking that step.

Later in your response you talk of avoiding marathon sessions: would that refer to long sessions of multiple orgasms with or without a partner? Sorry to be pedantic - I'm just trying to learn from your experiences if I can.

Thank you Thelerner!

Ned

caveat I did Chia's stuff quite a while ago and am certainly not up to date or have any particular expertise in it.

 

I didn't have any bad experiences, so what I'm repeating is from others, you can do a search on Mantak Chia and find the threads.  Nor did I go very deep into the system.   I never got deep into packing, but that's a practice you should be cautious with.  Long sessions of sex sound good but within limits, same with celibacy, unless you're transforming it (?) its seems to be better to have a healthy discipline and that differs for each person.  For some once a week, others once a month. 

 

Marathon can be good, but early (year or so) on its probably best to build up to it.  If your energy sensitive (I'm not) and you do long sessions with energy work, circulation, you can heat up, negative things can happen.  So slow and steady, practice with integrity.

 

That never hit me doing Chia's stuff or the orbit.  A few years ago I'd do zhan zhang, standing practice, facing the afternoon sun.  Bringing it in, circulating it, felt good, active, until one day energy moving too fast up and down.  Kinda like it was cooking my heart.   So I stopped.  If I'd forced it, thinking it was a sign of progress, I'd open myself to myriad physical and mental problems.  People blow internal circuits.   I'll still stand sometimes, but not for long periods facing the sun.  Not unless I want to build up slowly.

Edited August 6, 2016 by thelerner

[ned123]

Hi Ned123,

 

It did hurt, but no lasting bruises. And no, I wasn´t really put off from doing Healing Tao practices. Like TheLerner, I gravitated more toward Michael Winn´s material. He´s basically the head honcho for the US branch of what is now the Universal Tao. Every summer he coordinates a massive "Tao University" retreat with lots of different residential weekly workshops. I´ve been to several of them and found them useful.

 

As far as practices, I think you can´t go wrong with the very basics -- inner smile and healing sounds. If you sign up for Michael Winn´s email list (http://www.healingtaousa.com/) you´ll be able to download his ebook on the inner smile. Highly recommended. He also has a bunch of dvd´s you can order. He´s on youtube if you´d like to check out his stuff a bit for free and get a feel for him.

[ned123]

Thanks Luke, I'll check out Michael Winn's site. At the mo I just need to build my confidence in the practices and it helps to get feedback and advice from people with experience and knowledge.

I'm committed to semen retention - but I know I need to transmute energy and meditate with microcosmic orbit. Sometimes I forget though! I've been feeling light headed for a couple of days. I was thinking of allowing myself to ejaculate but instead I persevered with meditation and circulating the energy to abdomen. Feel fine today I think.

Ned