Internal Alchemy Noob! xD

[Awakener]

I'm new to the game and I'm having difficulties establishing a firm daily practice. I understand the general concepts, but don't know the practicals. I'm more advanced in other forms of energy practice but I'm just beginning my journey into internal alchemy.

 

1) What's the fastest way to gather energy in the dantian?

 

2) How do you Cultivate Jing? Gathering Qi in the dantian is one thing but how do I generate life force? (jing) Or is it Jing that gathers in the Dantian... 

 

3) I can sense energy, but I can't distinguish between the three types yet. Is there a practice specifically for enhancing sensing? Or is that just attained as you go kinda thing.

 

4) I'm trying to get used to reverse abdominal breathing but I can't get used to it. It completely disturbs my meditative state. I feel like I'm doing something wrong. It's different from "Reverse Breathing", right?

Edited May 26, 2017 by Awakener
Added a #4 during edit.

[Taoist Texts]

You may wanna read this for your safety

 

[Awakener]

4 hours ago, Taoist Texts said:

You may wanna read this for your safety

 

 

This is so meandering and convoluted I'm having issues finding a point... It tells me that there are problems but not how to solve them.

 

It warns of meditation sickness and basically makes it sound like striving for cultivating the inner energies is all non-sense and misconception and will inevitably lead to Meditation Sickness but it doesn't say what to do instead to avoid the sickness... 

 

Why have I read an overly extensive warning label that warns against Symptoms, but doesn't guide one from its cause?

 

:Edit: - Don't get me wrong, I greatly appreciate the care and attention to the wellbeing of others and that shouldn't be discounted. I'm just confused because of the long-winded nature of it. It behave difficult to derive meaning from the format. Sometimes answers were posed to questions that weren't clearly defined. Many were helpful of course, but they all just arise more questions.

Edited May 26, 2017 by Awakener

[RiverSnake]

Conserve sexual energy for 100 days and during that process start breathing into the LDT, do it during your focused practice and throughout the day. There are many techniques, this is just one. Cheers.  

[Starjumper]

3 hours ago, Awakener said:

It warns of meditation sickness and basically makes it sound like striving for cultivating the inner energies is all non-sense and misconception and will inevitably lead to Meditation Sickness but it doesn't say what to do instead to avoid the sickness... 

 

Why have I read an overly extensive warning label that warns against Symptoms, but doesn't guide one from its cause?

 

In general the meditative techniques which involve posture and/or movement paired with no mind or non thinking due to body focus can be powerful and are safe.  In general the techniques where you visualize energy moving around your body in any manner are weak and not safe.  Retention is not required, reverse breathing is ... don't bother if it's for energy cultivation.  Just breath normally but more fully.

 

 

[Awakener]

49 minutes ago, Starjumper said:

In general the techniques where you visualize energy moving around your body in any manner are weak and not safe.

 

What if you can actively and consciously move energy and feel its movement and quality; not just visualize?

 

Is it still unsafe and weak?

[Jeff]

12 hours ago, Awakener said:

I'm new to the game and I'm having difficulties establishing a firm daily practice. I understand the general concepts, but don't know the practicals. I'm more advanced in other forms of energy practice but I'm just beginning my journey into internal alchemy.

 

1) What's the fastest way to gather energy in the dantian?

 

2) How do you Cultivate Jing? Gathering Qi in the dantian is one thing but how do I generate life force? (jing) Or is it Jing that gathers in the Dantian... 

 

3) I can sense energy, but I can't distinguish between the three types yet. Is there a practice specifically for enhancing sensing? Or is that just attained as you go kinda thing.

 

4) I'm trying to get used to reverse abdominal breathing but I can't get used to it. It completely disturbs my meditative state. I feel like I'm doing something wrong. It's different from "Reverse Breathing", right?

 

Regarding number 3... You currently are accessing both Jing and Qi (not really Shen yet). The difference between the two will be noticed most easily in out in nature. Jing is your local body flows, but at your level, your Qi currently will extend out to your surrounding environment. Sit quietly and peacefully with a tree and see what you get. You may also notice it flowing with a powerful/clear teacher. Broader interaction will help with your expansion. 

[Starjumper]

1 hour ago, Awakener said:

 

What if you can actively and consciously move energy and feel its movement and quality; not just visualize?

 

Is it still unsafe and weak?

 

Yes, it is.  As far as I'm concerned it is quite the same as jerking off, it can be a little entertaining.

 

The problem with all that sort of stuff is that it's a fundamentalist approach to a situation.

 

You may be able to move energy around with your mind, but so what, who says that the technique you are doing is the one your body or mind need at the moment?   Who says that some arbitrary pathway in your body is 'the one' you need to do while ignoring the other hundreds of circuits in your body?  Only some ignorant fundamentalists.  So what if you can run energy around in a certain way, it doesn't get you more energy, it's just pissing it away.

 

The wizards say to never flow energy in your body with your mind because it sets up a lot of bad habits that will prevent cultivation of real power at best and cause sickness for those who are in weaker health situations.

 

There are a lot of facets to this situation, I've only touched on a couple ... and then I realize, just let the fundamentalists do what they will, you can't change them.

 

You learn by listening, not by talking, and that applies to energy.  If you hold a posture or do a movement and then FEEL for what it does to your energy then you are learning something important in a couple of ways at least, that is listening to the energy, one of the foundational practices mentioned in the tai chi classics.  If you dictate with your mind rather than feeling the results of movement and posture  then that is like talking - blah blah blah, which is what I'm doing now.

Edited May 26, 2017 by Starjumper

[Awakener]

1 hour ago, Starjumper said:

You learn by listening, not by talking, and that applies to energy.  If you hold a posture or do a movement and then FEEL for what it does to your energy then you are learning something important.

 

Perfectly well said, thank you. That makes a lot of sense.

[Starjumper]

I'm glad you agree.  I advise, unasked, that the best things to practice if you are getting into cultivating energy are Zhan Zhuang and types of moving chi kung, you can find hundreds of good videos on these subjects for free on Utube.

[Awakener]

12 minutes ago, Starjumper said:

I advise, unasked, that the best things to practice if you are getting into cultivating energy are Zhan Zhuang and types of moving chi kung.

 

Fabulous, that's actually a question that I Wanted answered. Thank you! You've been a big help. Any other advice? The wisdom of others is something I graciously heed.

[Starjumper]

Well there is also sitting meditation, it's good to do some sitting after doing standing moving chi kung because the chi kung gets the energy moving, and then you can feel more energy during the sitting.  The sitting I am referring to is the type where you sit in a chair and hold the ball, not doing the moving energy with your mind.  Since you have done some of the visualization stuff already it will try to return so it can be a real effort to just stop dictating and instead observe energy, but much easier for someone who is beginning. I tried doing a little bit of that visualizing stuff, one was moving energy in body with breath, and realized right away that it would set up a bad habit and found it took some dedicated focus to then stop it from happening while meditating.  What if someday I wanted to send energy out while I was breathing in but I couldn't do it because of prior conditioning.

 

Here's a lil secret, in my nei kung we are not allowed to move energy in our body with our minds but we can practice moving energy outside our bodies with our minds.  It's a way to do energy healing on others using only mind power, no hands needed.  It's also a way to do Jedi type stuff and, for example, to make people fall down in the distance, dead or alive.

Edited May 26, 2017 by Starjumper

[Awakener]

10 minutes ago, Starjumper said:

Here's a lil secret, in my nei kung we are not allowed to move energy in our body with our minds but we can practice moving energy outside our bodies with our minds.  It's a way to do energy healing on others using only mind power, no hands needed.  It's also a way to do Jedi type stuff and, for example, to make people fall down in the distance, dead or alive.

 

That makes a lot of sense. I practice Reiki and some other external arts so I know a little about that.

 

One time (before I started reiki or could even sense energy very well) I accidentally induced an adrenalin rush on someone who was tired while I was trying to give them energy to stay awake in class. At one point I stopped trying to "send them energy" and used my energy as a "messenger" to aid in her body releasing it's own energy. It was pure intention, no visualization. She freaked out, along with me! Lol Though, I never thought about knocking people down... or how I'd even go about trying. o.o