What does everyone practice :)

[CedarTree]

On ‎8‎/‎4‎/‎2017 at 6:17 PM, oak said:

As much as i would like tai chi and contemplating nature to be my primary practices they're not! With few time to myself at this point in my life i need to be adaptive and practice what I can with the life that is given to me. So... after many internal struggles with myself because it is not , in any way, quite the contrary, a daoist internal practice I've finally let my instinct lead the way and started having as a primary practice 100 push-ups a day. I do them 3 at a time which makes me breath deeply for about half hour giving me the energy I need to keep up with my stressful life. A cold shower follows.

 

Also pray everyday, 

Also try to be as mindful as I can of sensations in every short break that I have.

Also, during the long trips on the passengers seat of my boss's car I keep practicing mentally my tai chi and my hatha-yoga, and... do I notice improvments in my practice? yes I do.

 

Also find a few moments for walking meditation almost everyday.

 

Oak I think there is a practice in practicing by ones circumstances   Hope you always bear fruit.

[oak]

28 minutes ago, CedarTree said:

 

Oak I think there is a practice in practicing by ones circumstances   Hope you always bear fruit.

 

 Thank you my friend.

[silent thunder]

On 8/4/2017 at 6:17 PM, oak said:

As much as i would like tai chi and contemplating nature to be my primary practices they're not! With few time to myself at this point in my life i need to be adaptive and practice what I can with the life that is given to me. So... after many internal struggles with myself because it is not , in any way, quite the contrary, a daoist internal practice I've finally let my instinct lead the way and started having as a primary practice 100 push-ups a day. I do them 3 at a time which makes me breath deeply for about half hour giving me the energy I need to keep up with my stressful life. A cold shower follows.

 

Also pray everyday, 

Also try to be as mindful as I can of sensations in every short break that I have.

Also, during the long trips on the passengers seat of my boss's car I keep practicing mentally my tai chi and my hatha-yoga, and... do I notice improvments in my practice? yes I do.

 

Also find a few moments for walking meditation almost everyday.

 

3 hours ago, CedarTree said:

 

Oak I think there is a practice in practicing by ones circumstances   Hope you always bear fruit.

As I read these together my mind clearly said to me

 

'yup... be where you are.'

 

thanks bums!  gems of light

[oak]

1 hour ago, silent thunder said:

 

As I read these together my mind clearly said to me

 

'yup... be where you are.'

 

thanks bums!  gems of light

 

"Shine on you crazy diamonds"!  Glad we have you here with us thunder.

 Near or far, all together in dao's  heart !

 

 

[Taomeow]

I currently dedicate the bulk of my practice time to the next/advanced level Instructor training in Chen style taiji.

 

Many of my taoist practices are a lifestyle.  I arrange my schedule around daily consultations with the yearly Chinese Almanach and, e.g., will never call a dentist for an appointment without having it in front of me.  I don't sit facing the Grand Duke anywhere I sit, and maintain a personal gua compliant direction for any practice or non-practice, be it meditation or computer or sleeping.  I eat according to yin-yang principles and build my wardrobe around my Four Pillars.  I seek or avoid people based on their idiosyncratic qi phase.  Oh, and I ask the I Ching to make more than half of my decisions for me... 

...incidentally, just read an article on cognitive neuroscience confirming, in "breakthrough" research, the benefits of minimizing decision-making instances toward greater health and happiness...  apparently humans find themselves in a better place when they don't have to make too many small decisions and instead make a few big ones and stick it out.  The scientist who was studying these things wound up rearranging his own life toward not having to choose even from the restaurant menu -- the decision made once and for all was to always order the second item on the menu.  Richard Feynman did that too.  Order dessert or not?  Once and for all:  always order dessert, and always make it chocolate cake.  Never have to spend your jing-to qi-to shen on thinking about it again.  I, however, might ask the I Ching first about a general approach to dessert, and she might tell me "always" or "never" or "doesn't matter."  And that's what will be chosen once and for all, unless she gives me the "inquire again later" line. 

 

Of formal practices, I follow Longmen Pai.

 

Some "other" practices are less regular and can vary.  They include taoist studies (almost exclusively directly from sources, almost no academic material and no "research" by non-taoists -- I only want empirical knowledge of taoism, not its interpretations by non-practitioners.)  These tend to be broad -- from talismanic calligraphy to herbal medicine to divination systems to Maoshan magic, to name a few.   

[thelerner]

On 7/31/2017 at 1:47 PM, lifeforce said:

Xing Yi Nei Gong.

Silent Sufi Meditation.

Spending time in nature walking with my Siberian Huskies.

Out of curiosity,

What is Silent Sufi meditation? 

 

I'm familiar with there famous circular dance/meditations and stories of there 'crazy' wisdom but not silent meditation.

[oak]

Cedar Tree, besides "formal practice" I think most of us dedicate quite some time to experimentation. On this thread started by the gentleman above there are some useful ideas:

 

[nyerstudent]

Pangu Shengong and Zhunti mantra recitation, with a bit of SFQ occasionally, too.

[Aaron]

When I was young(er) I was quick to tell everyone what I was. As I got older I realized that most people wouldn't understand anyway or they would judge me based on their misconceptions, so I've learned to be what I am and leave my personal beliefs and practices to myself. As far as the (relative) safety of this forum goes, I would say I'm an open minded person who practices Taoism, Vedanta, and Buddhism to varying degrees. I pick and choose, because I can and no one can stop me.

Edited August 9, 2017 by Aaron

[Brian]

39 minutes ago, Aaron said:

When I was young(er) I was quick to tell everyone what I was. As I got older I realized that most people wouldn't understand anyway or they would judge me based on their misconceptions, so I've learned to be what I am and leave my personal beliefs and practices to myself. As far as the (relative) safety of this forum goes, I would say I'm an open minded person who practices Taoism, Vedanta, and Buddhism to varying degrees. I pick and choose, because I can and no one can stop me.

<grin>

 

When I was in high school, I started telling people who asked that I was "a modified theistic existentialist with Taoist tendencies." It wasn't an exact fit (and is less so now) but it was in the right ballpark -- and it drew some interesting reactions (which I guess is what I was wanting then).

[CedarTree]

7 hours ago, oak said:

Cedar Tree, besides "formal practice" I think most of us dedicate quite some time to experimentation. On this thread started by the gentleman above there are some useful ideas:

 

 

I think experimentation is really important in some ways too.  I know that Spending time in various traditions, lineages, and understandings has helped me clarify my main practice and begin I think to truly delve into it.

 

Though I do think at a certain point it's time to knuckle down and get this whole liberation thing going  

[oak]

48 minutes ago, CedarTree said:

 

I think experimentation is really important in some ways too.  I know that Spending time in various traditions, lineages, and understandings has helped me clarify my main practice and begin I think to truly delve into it.

 

Though I do think at a certain point it's time to knuckle down and get this whole liberation thing going  

 

Clarity in what we want, yes, but knowing that the path itself isn't linear and yin and yang will always manifest in different ways... 

[CedarTree]

9 hours ago, oak said:

 

Clarity in what we want, yes, but knowing that the path itself isn't linear and yin and yang will always manifest in different ways... 

 

You are on point lately

[lifeforce]

On 08/08/2017 at 11:13 PM, thelerner said:

Out of curiosity,

What is Silent Sufi meditation? 

 

I'm familiar with there famous circular dance/meditations and stories of there 'crazy' wisdom but not silent meditation.

https://muraqaba.wordpress.com/2008/10/25/muraqaba/

 

Sorry for the delay in responding. I've been away from the forums for a while.

This is a good article which explains silent Sufi Meditation, muraqaba.

 

[oak]

4 hours ago, lifeforce said:

https://muraqaba.wordpress.com/2008/10/25/muraqaba/

 

Sorry for the delay in responding. I've been away from the forums for a while.

This is a good article which explains silent Sufi Meditation, muraqaba.

 

 

Great article lifeforce. Thanks so much for sharing it with us.

[Lost in Translation]

I place notes all over the place - on walls, on doors, on my computer monitor. These notes say one thing: "Remember." They also say "Thank You." I suppose that means they say two things. (Monty Python moment anyone? "Nobody expects the..." - I digress).

 

I remind myself to be here, to be now. I remind myself to be soft, to be supple. I remind myself to be compassionate. Other people are human beings, flesh and blood, hopes and fears, with full and rich stories, and not simply facades, or characters in stories, or avatars in forums. (This is really important in our anonymous digital age) I remind myself that life is precious, and to be lived consciously. I take risks. I make mistakes. I forgive. And I say thank you. Always thank you.

[ljazztrumpet]

On 7/30/2017 at 9:16 PM, Fa Xin said:

I try to practice no-practice, but it ends up being practice.  So then I stop practicing, and once I realize it's no-practice, I automatically start practicing and thus defeats the purpose.

 

One day I'll give up all practices and achieve the elusive no-practice practice.

 

But it takes practice...

Hahaha..I love this one!

 

I practice Pangu qigong and John Sherman's 'Self-Directed Attention' exercise these days. (justonelook.org) I use the SDA exercise to help me focus on the main objective of Pangu, which is kindness/benevolence. A lady from FLA who really helped me understand Pangu has the most clear understanding of the practice I have seen (more so than the creator of it, Master Ou, imo). I have seen some good talks about Pangu, and qigong in general, reading posts these last couple of months. The lady I mentioned has the clearest 'western english' interpretation of the Pangu password as far as I'm concerned:

 

"Take kindness and benevolence as basis" means to deepen the love inside you, not just for you, but for everyone around you. "Take frankness and friendliness to heart" means speak up but practice doing it nicely. "Speak with reason" means speaking and seeing all good and all positive: We can see the good in every experience, which will create a peaceful and grateful mindset. "Act with emotion" means to act with compassion. And last "Accomplish results", meaning to do it. This mantra is a constant reminder of how we should think and live our daily life. - Susan Deflavis Winters (now known as Susan Marie Spring).

 

My own version of the password is:

 

"I am kind and benevolent."

"I am honest and friendly."

 

at the end of the moving form:

 

"I speak about, and see, all things as good and positive. I see the good in every experience."

"I treat people with courtesy."

"I act with compassion."

"I accomplish results."

[ljazztrumpet]

On 7/31/2017 at 9:07 PM, roger said:

A practice I find very helpful is affirmations beginning with, 'Every part of me is.....'

 

Every part of me is worthy. Every part of me is healthy. Every part of me is divine.

 

It's been said that the best affirmations are 'I am......' affirmations.

 

I've found it helpful to use 'Every part of me is....' rather than 'I am.....' because the former tends to give the benefit of the affirmation to one's entire self, whereas it's possible that with the latter, parts of oneself will be untouched by the affirmation.

I watched my mother change her whole life with the use of affirmations from the time I was a teenager (I'm 42 now). She uses affirmations from the New Thought writer, Florence Scovel Shinn. I've never seen such a dramatic shift from using simple affirmations. It really wasn't just the affirmations though imo, it was the love in her heart she had for me that made it work so powerfully and dramatically for her. That was the vehicle she happened to be led to that resonated with her for whatever reason.

[ljazztrumpet]

On 8/2/2017 at 6:39 PM, Sebastian said:

 

 

When you drift, you practice being guided by the Divine.  When you drift, you practice being a beginner, open and willing to go anywhere. When you drive your Volkswagen, you practice accumulating things to get somewhere: like fuel (energies, blessings) or repetitions of movements & meditations, and you drive along your own limited spiritual perspective. And you try to go fast, often thinking you've got the Divine figured out. You are indeed an expert in that case, and there are fewer possibilities in your mind. The Divine has less room to maneuver in you, because if you are already perfect, what use do you have of the Divine ? So always stay a beginner.

 

Some last thoughts from things I've learned from my Masters in recent months....

 

Setting up a practice pattern is a good thing for your body to sort of know what to expect. So I have a practice. Being attached to the brand of your practice isn't as helpful. Being attached to your spiritual perspective is deceiving, because everywhere you look all you see is your perspective. That's why profiling people based on energies can never be done. No expert mind can ever grasp the Divine fully. So always stay a beginner and establish a relationship to the true expert, which is the Divine nature in you.

 

Recent revelations have had me realize how surrendering to the power of the 'I don't know' is very effective - at least in my own life.

[ljazztrumpet]

On 8/2/2017 at 7:06 PM, roger said:

 

 

I've found that physical exercise is a form of 'spiritual practice'.

 

It definitely helps one develop Chi and mental strength.

 

I've been exercising regularly for about six months, and I'm emotionally stronger and more confident and powerful in my interaction with others.

 

There have been many studies done that demonstrate that exercise helps with emotions like depression and anxiety, and also stress.

 

It doesn't require a ton of exercise to get the benefit. I just do a few sets of push ups, body squats, and calf raises, and curls with a dumbbell. I do each exercise twice a week.

 

It sounds crazy that physical exercise is a great spiritual practice, but I've honestly found it probably at least as effective as meditation.

I agree roger. I do HIT training (powerlifting stuff) 2x a week and I feel it is definitely part of a spiritual practice/meditation in my life. It definitely helps me feel more connected to this 'earth plane'.