How do you protect your qi?

[Phoenix3]

The more one acquires qi (through strict brahmacharya, breathing and eating well), the more unstable it seems to get. When my body gets full of qi (after 2 weeks of brahmacharya), it doesn’t take a lot of stimulation for my qi to start pouring out of the outer gates:

 

• Suppose I’m watching tv and I’m watching something interesting. I get really drawn to it and I can’t look away (qi pouring out of my eyes).
• If I play my favourite music, it makes me feel really good and it’s hard to stop listening (qi pouring out of my ears from my kidneys).
• When I see a beautiful woman, it’s hard to not have a higher heartbeat, feel hot, etc (qi pouring out of my eyes and heart).

 

I guess one way of protecting the qi is to stop eating rajasic foods, and instead restrict myself to sattvic and tamasic foods. Another way is by circulating the yin and yang throughout the body through qigong. The most important way I think is to control the yi, as when the yi has its focus upon a sense organ, qi escapes through that organ (correct?).

 

Does anyone have any other ways to protect the qi, and therefore stop it getting so sensitive to external stimuli?

Edited December 6, 2017 by Phoenix3

[Kar3n]

I am sorry, and I am not trying to be disrespectful, but I think that's a bunch of bullshit  I'm a very blunt and straightforward kind of girl and again I apologize for that.

 

Qi, chi, energy whatever you want to call it, is internal...  It is high and and it is low. Did you practice today? Did you have sex?

 

Many people, do not understand that the teachings that they are reading from men who are living in monasteries. These people did not have anything they had no social media they had no television they had no nothing. 

 

There is not a way to be uninfluenced by external stimuli. You only need to dive deep within yourself. I will do my very best to help you with that. You can PM me or we can discuss it here.

 

 

[Phoenix3]

Quote

I am sorry, and I am not trying to be disrespectful, but I think that's a bunch of bullshit  I'm a very blunt and straightforward kind of girl and again I apologize for that.

 

Say whatever, but at least quote what you disagree with and why.

 

Quote

Qi, chi, energy whatever you want to call it, is internal...  It is high and and it is low.

 

Of course it is. I never said it wasn’t found internally.

 

Quote

Many people, do not understand that the teachings that they are reading from men who are living in monasteries. These people did not have anything they had no social media they had no television they had no nothing. 

 

What has this got to do with anything? I just used my situations as an example of where qi is probably being leaked. I could say ‘vital energy’ instead if that’ll make you happier.

 

Quote

There is not a way to be uninfluenced by external stimuli. You only need to dive deep within yourself.

 

First you say there is no way to be uninfluenced, then you share a suggestion on how not to be influenced? I don’t get it.

 

Well, by external stimuli I obviously didn’t mean just the regular background noises and lights. I mostly mean any source which provides significant pleasure. The ancients still had that. They still had their alcohol, festivals, tasty food, etc. 

Edited December 6, 2017 by Phoenix3

[Seatle185]

I think one problem is you become attached to the things you hear or see too much that is why you get lost in music or t.v. you end up obsessing over it.. and forceful "retention" or abstinence is obsessing too, just the opposite direction (worse in my opinion because when you try to forcefully quit something all your mind does is think about it.). One of my teachers said it isn't the pleasure that is the problem, it is the obsessive attachment to the pleasure thats the big problem. 

 

Karen makes some good points. Alot of people have trouble understanding myself including, but i dont think the classics meant to cut yourself off from all external stimuli ( could be wrong...) otherwise might as well stab your eyes out and seal your ears and nose. It is learning to not obsess over them and keeping your center. Anyways i dont know just putting some of my thoughts out there for you.

 

And in my opinion dont feel bad for enjoying music.. alot of our old cultures felt spiritual connection to music, daoists including, and even if we are talking about the hermits living all alone in the mountains, they revel in the music of nature.

Edited December 6, 2017 by Seatle185

[Kar3n]

1 hour ago, Phoenix3 said:

 

Say whatever, but at least quote what you disagree with and why.

 

 

Of course it is. I never said it wasn’t found internally.

 

 

What has this got to do with anything? I just used my situations as an example of where qi is probably being leaked. I could say ‘vital energy’ instead if that’ll make you happier.

 

 

First you say there is no way to be uninfluenced, then you share a suggestion on how not to be influenced? I don’t get it.

 

Well, by external stimuli I obviously didn’t mean just the regular background noises and lights. I mostly mean any source which provides significant pleasure. The ancients still had that. They still had their alcohol, festivals, tasty food, etc. 

Personally, I think you guys take all of everything that has ever been said about energy, qi or chi or whatever the brand of the week is too seriously. Essentially, I disagree with most all of every teaching that says you have to retain qi. 

 

Qi is a give-and-take. It is an exchange with the environment with people, with every interaction that we have. Until you know qi, and it's true sense you'll never understand. Qi is not about a man retaining his holy semen nor is it about a woman slaying the Red Dragon. 

 

Qi is about balance, balance within, and has nothing to do with the opposite sex. Everything, all peace, all Divine is within. If you find a partner who is with you on that, that, it's a bonus to this lifetime

 

[Phoenix3]

Yes, i agree with you. Qi can’t be retained by the body. I just want to find a way to put that qi in a more peaceful state. I suppose cold showers might calm the qi back down, but i heard cold showers aren’t good for the heart.

 

after brahmacharya, there is definately a difference though

Edited December 6, 2017 by Phoenix3

[Mudfoot]

You could do it the classical way!

Find a cave or build a hut. 

Practice sealing the senses. 

 

POWER 

 

 

[dawei]

4 hours ago, Kar3n said:

Personally, I think you guys take all of everything that has ever been said about energy, qi or chi or whatever the brand of the week is too seriously. Essentially, I disagree with most all of every teaching that says you have to retain qi. 

 

Qi is a give-and-take. It is an exchange with the environment with people, with every interaction that we have. Until you know qi, and it's true sense you'll never understand. Qi is not about a man retaining his holy semen nor is it about a woman slaying the Red Dragon. 

 

Qi is about balance, balance within, and has nothing to do with the opposite sex. Everything, all peace, all Divine is within. If you find a partner who is with you on that, that, it's a bonus to this lifetime

 

Kar3n says what I have come to understand over years...   our variation in our understanding and exchange with energy (Qi), in context.

 

Elsewhere on the forum,  it was rightly said: practice of doing [not natural] gets you to non-doing [natural].  

 

But for some... from birth... there was no need of practice of doing... it was always natural... I call them The Gifted... don't confuse that with the X-Men TV show spin-off !  LOL

 

Back to topic... seems to be:  'other ways to protect the qi, and therefore stop it getting so sensitive to external stimuli?'

 

Question:  Do you think that is karma, past life, or destiny?

 

The reason I ask is... you ask about a concern like you feel an impasse or a cross-roads.  

 

Ask yourself the question of these three ideas

 

Spoiler alert... how to protect the Qi ?   start with a smile

 

smile doesn't mean happy, btw..  it means ONE with the issue. 

 

[silent thunder]

this subject is paramount for me lately and my sense of walking the path is reflected in this old taoist quote which as the years pass, becomes more saturated in my beingness and less understood in my mind.

 

'the Sage is in the world, but not of it.'

 

While I am in the world and part of it intrinsically... (connected, present, engaged), I am not of it.  (my internal process is not governed, determined, or controlled by it.)

[dawei]

8 minutes ago, silent thunder said:

this subject is paramount for me lately and my sense of walking the path is reflected in this old taoist quote which as the years pass, becomes more saturated in my beingness and less understood in my mind.

 

'the Sage is in the world, but not of it.'

 

While I am in the world and part of it intrinsically... (connected, present, engaged), I am not of it.  (my internal process is not governed, determined, or controlled by it.)

 

I think Jesus suggest that too... or you are paraphrasing Jesus?

[Maddie]

I suggest mindfulness, know seeing as seeing, hearing as just hearing, and pay attention to what it feels like to want to see while you are looking or even better when you're not looking but want to. 

[silent thunder]

3 hours ago, dawei said:

 

I think Jesus suggest that too... or you are paraphrasing Jesus?

I came on that quote in a daoist text, but would not be surprised to find it mirrored in other paradigms.  

 

It sure seems the closer one abides to source awareness, the more universal the experiences and insights tend to become.  

[Limahong]

6 hours ago, silent thunder said:

 

While I am in the world and part of it intrinsically... (connected, present, engaged), I am not of it.  (my internal process is not governed, determined, or controlled by it.)

 

Hi Creighton,

 

A profound thought.

 

I exist in this world, but the world does not exist because of me?

I am conceived through sexual energy, but I am not sexual energy?

Chi aroused my parents' urge to procreate, but I am not made of chi (but an egg and a sperm)?

So what when I abstain from sex? 

I protect my chi from what (when I am not it and it is not mine)?

More likely chi protects me (through jing => chi => shen)?

So chi is only a bridge for my well-being?

.....?

.....?

 

- Anand

Edited December 6, 2017 by Limahong
Enhance ...

[Gerard]

The OP is a stubborn man.

 

Second and last time I give him advice:

 

1. Find a real life teacher that promotes and teaches a long standing legitimate system. 

 

2. Enjoy the lifetime ride.

 

3. There will be lots of ups and downs

 

4. Be patient, diligent, and above all relax —-> Wu Wei.

 

Good luck

[idquest]

To OP.

 

When you start every day practice (at least 1 hour but every day), you will notice very quickly a natural tendency to simplify your life habits. Damo Mitchell writes very well about this in his Neigong book

 

You are right in your question, your inner energy is better to be preserved and not scattered all over the place. How to do it -  don't force yourself in limiting enjoying the life, this limiting should come on its own and without effort in wuwei way. And it will come if you practice diligently and regularly.

[thelerner]

So much of the initial question has to do with our idea of what chi is, how its stored and used.

 

I protect my Chi, first by staying healthy-  Wholesome food, sleep, exercise.  Secondly is the mental/spiritual game.  Trying to keep a quiet mind.  Third, cultivation, sitting meditation, forms...  And hybrids, walking in nature, sitting on the ground.. gratitude, listening to dharma talks.

 

needless to say, I'm not poster boy for the above, but I work on it in my own 'two steps forwards, one step back' way. 

[silent thunder]

 

8 hours ago, Limahong said:

 

A profound thought.

 

I exist in this world, but the world does not exist because of me?

 

Hey Bud!

I will say there is awareness... that much seems certain to me. 

The rest... all of it, seems to be little more than flavors of perception, shades of colored interaction/judgement, variations of frequency of awareness.

 

8 hours ago, Limahong said:

I am conceived through sexual energy, but I am not sexual energy?

While sexual energy seems to flow through my awareness physically, mentally... I do not consider that the basis of awareness... only a frequency of my experience of it.

8 hours ago, Limahong said:

Chi aroused my parents' urge to procreate, but I am not made of chi (but an egg and a sperm)?

Quantum physics tells me I, and all other perceived things are not made of anything solid.  Taoism also speaks very similarly from centuries in the past and my experience resonates with this. 

 

I am told I am human, yet no where I look, do I find a human element... there are many frequencies of elements, none of which are human.  The same is true of plants, animals, insects.  What is an egg and a sperm?  Patterns of energy made of what I am told are elements, which at their most basic level are also not solid, or static, but are varying frequencies of vibration.

 

At this point I don't know exactly what you, I, or anything are made of... only that I am aware.

8 hours ago, Limahong said:

So what when I abstain from sex? 

When I am not having sex I am aware.  When I am having sex I am aware.  I don't obsess about sex, or not having sex.  I allow myself to respond to the conditions of life as is most natural for me in a given moment. 

 

I am highly sexual at times and other times, sometimes for weeks on end, I do not think about sex, pursue it, nor respond to it when my wife approaches me.  This is utterly natural for both of us, not sought out.  My sexuality is a simple expression that occurs naturally when it does, and doesn't occur, equally naturally when it doesn't.

 

Sex, food, drugs, hobbies, friendships, romance, toys... none of these define my awareness, nor who and what I am... they are occurences that flow through my awareness.  Like birds and clouds in the sky.  They leave no trace when they have passed.

8 hours ago, Limahong said:

I protect my chi from what (when I am not it and it is not mine)?

When I resist, I suffer.  When I project and desire greatly, sometimes I have great pleasure and other times, intense pain.

 

When I release and radically accept and allow myself to respond naturally to life... I flow in effortlessness, even in the midst of great challenge. 

 

I don't see myself as a bucket that is either full or empty of qi that must be protected at all. 

 

Life is a flowing verb of awareness... not a static, solid thing.

 

It seems that within my awareness I am more akin to a series of tubes... that can open wide, or constrict.  When I am low in energy, these tubes are constricted and tight.  To open them, I allow myself to act naturally.

 

When I constrict, it seems to occur when I am taking the universe personally.  When I consider that I am potentially losing something by not experiencing what I want, or when I am feeling like I have achieved something great because conditions of life happened to coincide with what my temporary mind fantasy/desires may have been.

 

When I am seeking, pursuing, forcing, stressing, regretting... when I take the universe personally, when I am pushing... then suddenly it is easy to become fatigued, to get down.  The channels constrict and the flow is reduced.

 

When I acknowledge all that is occuring as natural and allow my actions, or non actions to also flow naturally, there is no protection needed or possible... For it is not possible to sully the sky.  Spit into the sky, throw dirt into the sky and it is not marred.

 

Release is I guess then, to me, the ultimate protection.

 

8 hours ago, Limahong said:

More likely chi protects me (through jing => chi => shen)?

So chi is only a bridge for my well-being?

.....?

.....?

 

- Anand

Much respect mate!  Great questions as always.

 

Cr8 10

[Limahong]

19 hours ago, dawei said:

Elsewhere on the forum,  it was rightly said: practice of doing [not natural] gets you to non-doing [natural]. 

 

Hi dawei,

 

Non-doing (natural) => wuwei?

 

19 hours ago, silent thunder said:

'the Sage is in the world, but not of it.

 

realization and liberation are simultaneous, inexoribly linked and require no effort

 

Hi Creighton,

 

Require no effort => wuwei?

 

10 hours ago, Gerard said:

Be patient, diligent, and above all relax —-> Wu Wei.

 

Hi Gerard,

 

Wuwei.

 

10 hours ago, idquest said:

How to do it -  don't force yourself in limiting enjoying the life, this limiting should come on its own and without effort in wuwei way.

 

Hi idquest,

 

Wuwei.

 

On 12/6/2017 at 2:06 PM, Kar3n said:

There is not a way to be uninfluenced by external stimuli. You only need to dive deep within yourself.

 

Hi Kar3n,

 

With no urges, the need to cling to some thought passes with it - en-route to Wuwei 無爲?

 

- LimA

[morning dew]

On 06/12/2017 at 7:25 AM, Seatle185 said:

I think one problem is you become attached to the things you hear or see too much that is why you get lost in music or t.v. you end up obsessing over it.. and forceful "retention" or abstinence is obsessing too, just the opposite direction (worse in my opinion because when you try to forcefully quit something all your mind does is think about it.). One of my teachers said it isn't the pleasure that is the problem, it is the obsessive attachment to the pleasure thats the big problem. 

 

Karen makes some good points. Alot of people have trouble understanding myself including, but i dont think the classics meant to cut yourself off from all external stimuli ( could be wrong...) otherwise might as well stab your eyes out and seal your ears and nose. It is learning to not obsess over them and keeping your center. Anyways i dont know just putting some of my thoughts out there for you.

 

And in my opinion dont feel bad for enjoying music.. alot of our old cultures felt spiritual connection to music, daoists including, and even if we are talking about the hermits living all alone in the mountains, they revel in the music of nature.

 

Well, I'm just a bumbling amateur, so I don't really have anything particularly deep to add to this thread (other than to agree with this and Kar3n). I would say, however, there doesn't seem much point in living if you're not going to experience life.  

 

ETA: actually, this thread kind of reminded me of this Zen story:

 

Quote

A senior monk and a junior monk were traveling together. At one point, they came to a river with a strong current. As the monks were preparing to cross the river, they saw a very young and beautiful woman also attempting to cross. The young woman asked if they could help her cross to the other side.

The two monks glanced at one another because they had taken vows not to touch a woman.

Then, without a word, the older monk picked up the woman, carried her across the river, placed her gently on the other side, and carried on his 
journey.

The younger monk couldn’t believe what had just happened. After rejoining his companion, he was speechless, and an hour passed without a word between them.

Two more hours passed, then three, finally the younger monk could contain himself any longer, and blurted out “As monks, we are not permitted a woman, how could you then carry that woman on your shoulders?”

The older monk looked at him and replied, “Brother, I set her down on the other side of the river, why are you still carrying her?”

 

http://www.kindspring.org/story/view.php?sid=63753

Edited December 7, 2017 by morning dew

[Limahong]

21 hours ago, morning dew said:

Well, I'm just a bumbling amateur, so I don't really have anything particularly deep to add to this thread (other than to agree with this and Kar3n). I would say, however, there doesn't seem much point in living if you're not going to experience life.

 

Hi morning dew,

 

You are just too modest. How can you say that you are "just a bumbling amateur" when you can share this:

"There doesn't seem much point in living if you're not going to experience life"?

 

21 hours ago, morning dew said:

ETA: actually, this thread kind of reminded me of this Zen story

 

I am not Zenny. What is the Zen moral of the story? I can only think of pragmatic mindfulness when it came to Monk Senior and tacky mindfulness re Monk Junior. How is the Zen story linked to this thread? What is ETA?

 

- LimA

Edited December 8, 2017 by Limahong
Enhance ...

[morning dew]

55 minutes ago, Limahong said:

 

Hi morning dew,

 

You are just too modest. How can you say that you are "just a bumbling amateur" when you can share this:

"There doesn't seem much point in living if you're not going to experience life"?

 

 

I am not Zenny. What is the Zen moral of the story? I can only think of pragmatic mindfulness when it came to Monk Senior and tacky mindfulness re Monk Junior. How is the Zen story linked to this thread? What is ETA?

 

- LimA

 

ETA = edited to add

 

I'm not hugely into Zen either. To me, it kind of reminds me of this thread in the sense that it's okay to experience life and not repress sensory input (i.e. it's okay to touch women, etc.), but on the other hand don't obsess about it either. 

 

It seems in line with Seattle's comment that I quoted:

 

Quote

 One of my teachers said it isn't the pleasure that is the problem, it is the obsessive attachment to the pleasure thats the big problem. 

 

It's not a perfect match, though. I'm sure there are better Zen stories I could have found.

Edited December 8, 2017 by morning dew

[doc benway]

On 12/6/2017 at 0:37 AM, Phoenix3 said:

The more one acquires qi (through strict brahmacharya, breathing and eating well), the more unstable it seems to get. When my body gets full of qi (after 2 weeks of brahmacharya), it doesn’t take a lot of stimulation for my qi to start pouring out of the outer gates:

 

• Suppose I’m watching tv and I’m watching something interesting. I get really drawn to it and I can’t look away (qi pouring out of my eyes).
• If I play my favourite music, it makes me feel really good and it’s hard to stop listening (qi pouring out of my ears from my kidneys).
• When I see a beautiful woman, it’s hard to not have a higher heartbeat, feel hot, etc (qi pouring out of my eyes and heart).

 

I guess one way of protecting the qi is to stop eating rajasic foods, and instead restrict myself to sattvic and tamasic foods. Another way is by circulating the yin and yang throughout the body through qigong. The most important way I think is to control the yi, as when the yi has its focus upon a sense organ, qi escapes through that organ (correct?).

 

Does anyone have any other ways to protect the qi, and therefore stop it getting so sensitive to external stimuli?

 

Rather than protect "my qi" I let Qi protect me. 

I don't try to control it so much, I recognize it's fundamental position in my life and learn to be with it.

The one trying to control is misguided. 

Let that one rest and just let it be as it is.

That's my game

[Wu Ming Jen]

All living bodies generate an external field of energy called Wei Qi (pronounced “whey chee”), which translates as “protective energy.” This field of Qi protects the body from the invasion of external pathogens and communicates with, as well as interacts with, the surrounding universal and environmental energy fields.

 

Both internal and external pathogenic factors affect the structural formation of the Wei Qi. The internal factors include suppressed emotional influences (such as anger and grief from emotional traumas). The external factors include environmental influences when they are too severe or chronic, such as Cold, Damp, Heat or Wind, etc. Physical traumas also affect the Wei Qi field. 

 

Any negative interchange affects the Wei Qi by literally creating holes within the matrix of the individual’s external energetic fields. When left unattended, these holes leave the body vulnerable to penetration, and disease begins to take root in the body. Strong emotions, in the form of toxic energy, become trapped within the body’s tissues when we hold back or do not integrate our feelings. These unprocessed emotions block the natural flow of Qi, thus creating stagnant pools of toxic energy within the body.

 

As far as TV, Music and woman I thought it was sex, drugs and rock n roll at one time That is all self inflicted so all one has to do is stop it, stop putting so much energy into it so one does not allow themselves to be robbed.

 

If you have a house and do not lock it up then robbers can easily take your stuff so do not leave the front door unlocked. the metaphor is you are the house inviting robbers to come in and take your stuff.

 

Lock it up, seal the passes, return to the center and bring all that free energy with you.

 

[Limahong]

On 12/7/2017 at 0:06 PM, silent thunder said:

I am highly sexual at times and other times, sometimes for weeks on end, I do not think about sex, pursue it, nor respond to it when my wife approaches me.  This is utterly natural for both of us, not sought out.  My sexuality is a simple expression that occurs naturally when it does, and doesn't occur, equally naturally when it doesn't.

 

Hi Creighton,

 

A beautiful intimate account that I can relate to. "A simple expression that occurs naturally". Thank you.

 

- Anand

[Starjumper]

On 12/6/2017 at 0:37 AM, Phoenix3 said:

Does anyone have any other ways to protect the qi, and therefore stop it getting so sensitive to external stimuli?

 

Chastity belt.

 

Quote

The more one acquires qi (through strict brahmacharya, breathing and eating well), the more unstable it seems to get. When my body gets full of qi (after 2 weeks of brahmacharya), it doesn’t take a lot of stimulation for my qi to start pouring out of the outer gates:

 

Celibacy, breathing, and eating well ... yahahaha.   That's like playing games with a drop of water, why concern yourself over such a miniscule amount of energy.  When you have a lot of energy it starts pouring out the top of your head and out of your hands at random times.  There are techniques to slow these down and they are not mental techniques!

Edited December 12, 2017 by Starjumper