Newbie-seeking-knowledge Posted March 18, 2019 Greetings. I'm new to this forum and the topics of Taoism, Buddhism, TCM, and other physiological/spiritual practices/disciplines. so I hope i am doing this correctly. I have joined this gathering in hopes of finding answers, improving my health, and possibly finding my own path in life. I am an American - who has had very little human interaction outside of public schooling and college education - so I have little idea where to start and much I hope to learn. the most I have done is searching the internet for general information (which eventually lead me here), attempted to find a teacher for meditation, and practicing the hatha yoga I learned in college at home. I have a low amount of funds to spend but a decent amount of free time on my hands. So any pointers on where to start with learning my fundamentals and building a foundation for safe learning would be appreciated. with that introduction over. Being an uninformed westerner I'm not sure what else to say. although I have a few questions that have been bothering me since I started researching. First can anyone learn and practice? is my age a limitation? second does learning one school of practice lock you out from learning another? Third and I hope this Question is not offensive. Does the religion I prescribe to limit my compatibility and ability to practice? Fourth and I apologize if this is offensive. does learning require that I divorce my self from the hobbies that I enjoy such as reading and writing fiction. Fifth and most importantly to myself could someone please direct me where I can obtain concrete information on how to properly meditate? 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fa Xin Posted March 19, 2019 Hello, newbie-seeking-knowledge, 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 post 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, Fa Xin and the TDB team Hi newbie seeking knowledge, Welcome. I'm sure someone will be along to answer your questions in depth. Basically anyone can participate in Daoism/meditation/the forum regardless of age, religion, experience, hobbies. Forum is a great place to learn for free, too! You are welcome to jump right in to the ongoing discussions, revive an older thread, start a new thread of your own, or start a discussion in the "Newcomer Corner" sub-forum to expand on your introduction or ask general questions to help you get started. May you enjoy your time here. Fa Xin Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cheya Posted March 19, 2019 Hi newbie seeking knowledge Welcome to the Bums! You don't need to worry so much about being offensive... you are a loooonnnng way from having problem with that. Maybe if you talk more about why you are interested in meditation, what you are looking for, it will be easier for you to get responses to your request for guidance... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OldDog Posted March 19, 2019 (edited) Hi Newbie Seeking Knowledge (NSK) and welcome to the forum. I have been here a little over a year ... so, also a newbie by any standard ... but I can tell you that you have found a place that has wide and varied points of view and experience. Your questions are a great place to start getting feedback from the forum. In my experience ... It's never too late to get started ... age should not be a factor. TDB is a very eclectic group. There are those that follow particular schools but that's what makes it great. You can hear from a lot of POVs . Religious limitations can be a bit unpredictable. Certainly the Bums are very understanding. What is more likely is that various religions may have issue with study outside of doctrine. I ran into that with some of my more conservative family. I was told that studying Daoism leads you away from Christ. While I don't see that as an issue others did. So, I just keep my studies to myself ... It's my journey. Your learning only gets in the way of other pursuits depending on how you chose to structure you time. Move at your own pace. Let your learning inform your other interests. There are a number of approaches to meditation ... Some very formal and others very casual ... Some not even related to eastern approaches. A good place to start is by just quietly sitting and letting the days cares melt away while you are looking for a fit. Good luck. Hope to be seeing you around. Edited March 19, 2019 by OldDog Manually correcting the autocorrection 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
