Kundalini equivalent in Daoism?

[Dev]

4 minutes ago, Shadow_self said:

 

The Magus of Java is not as clear cut and accurate as people like to believe....it is not a good reference manual for anything...a nice story perhaps, great to expose John Chang.....but that's where it ends imo..too many misunderstandings, speculations, and unfounded assumptions.

 

If you want accurate instruction on Dantien cultivation, Damos academy offers this, and he also has an intensive course on Dan Tian Gong for students of the school...Alternatively....there is another gentleman on this website offering a course on Dan Tian cultivation....you could always take that....

 

I am familiar with Damos methods and can confirm...they are as authentic as it comes

 

In other words...there's a teacher a click of a mouse away. You don't need to travel anywhere right now to get accurate, authentic instructions, methods, and most importantly, a system that works

 

Okay lovely, that's good to know. I'll definitely start watching his videos more. I did check out his academy the other day, its just quite expensive for me (I'm in africa so our currency is weak)

[freeform]

5 minutes ago, Shadow_self said:

he also has an intensive course on Dan Tian Gong for students of the school.

I didn’t know that - is that like a standalone program or part of his academy?

[freeform]

1 minute ago, Dev said:

its just quite expensive for me (I'm in africa so our currency is weak)

It’s probably cheaper than world travel to find teachers though 😅

 

If you get really good with the videos available for free, you can get pretty far… there’s at least 2yrs worth of practice in those free videos alone. No need to spend what you can’t afford.

[Shadow_self]

3 minutes ago, freeform said:

I didn’t know that - is that like a standalone program or part of his academy?

Its more like an intensive  deep dives into specific topics....but you'd need to be a student of the school for this  

http://lotusneigong.com/past-events-2/

[Dev]

3 minutes ago, freeform said:

The videos above will do that. 
 

What’s most interesting to me is when people discover that this stuff really ‘works’.

 

It can be surprising at first. It works and it’s strong - and it’s not all hyperbole.

 

But what’s important is that since it works, it means it can also work in a way that you really don’t want it to.

 

Its very easy to make mistakes with stuff that works. 
 

Ive made this error too - trying to improvise and ‘improve’ things and trying to find my own way through. It slowed me down and created problems that took months and years of hard work to reverse.

 

I guess this might be a necessary learning experience for some (myself included). But I have seen people damage themselves to the point where it becomes impossible to proceed on the path.

 

If you’re drawn to experiment, then by all means do so - but I suggest to be super cautious and realise that you’ll probably have to undo all of it at some point to progress. 

 

Yeah by nature I am drawn to experiment, but at the same time i am also cautious and not completely reckless - hence all my questions. But i think that I will follow Damo's method for now and save any potential experimenting for a later time when I am more knowledgable and experienced (or just not experiment at all to be honest).

[Dev]

2 minutes ago, freeform said:

It’s probably cheaper than world travel to find teachers though 😅

 

If you get really good with the videos available for free, you can get pretty far… there’s at least 2yrs worth of practice in those free videos alone. No need to spend what you can’t afford.

 

Sure, but once I finish my degrees I intend on moving overseas, and saving up cash (psychedelic assisted psychotherapy), then starting a couple retreat centers, and using that flow of cash to support me while I travel around and learn from various different teachers in different cultures etc. Thats perfect because then I can focus on Damos videos for a good couple years in preparation

[Dev]

On 20/08/2021 at 12:27 PM, freeform said:

There are a few different approaches. The quickest/easiest is with a combination of using correct standing practice and a teacher's assistance (they emit Qi into your LDT, which then works to attract more Qi to it). It also normally takes a teacher's assistance to help you get the right posture for standing.

 

The other, more 'DIYable' approach is by sinking your mind, your breath and your Qi to the correct area. 'Sinking' is different to just moving your attention there (which tends to send the 'deeper' Qi up to your head even if your awareness is low).

 

This approach takes longer and is more nuanced, but even the poeple doing the standing practice will eventually have to achieve this anyway - it's just slower to get the initial results. I've seen some good videos by Damo Mitchell that would help to achieve it (it'll take a while, just be patient and work on it a little every day). These practices and videos will help you get started the right way.

 

I've not come across anything as authentic being taught in public. But I'm sure there are others - I just don't know them. (Avoid Mantak Chia, anything by the Healing Tao organisation or any system with a heavy emphasis on visualisation - but that's just my opinion)

 

 

 

 

 

Hi freeform, so I watched all of damos videos (except the kidney nourishing, that's next). I'm currently practicing anchoring the breath in my meditations, and really enjoying it. I was wondering, in the first few steps of sinking the chi, should one focus on their dantien (when your hands are up by your eyebrows etc)? I know that he said you must in the last position when u use the mudra but not sure about the first part. (I'm going to continue practicing anchoring the breath and locate the dantien as he described first before i do that tho). Also, should one still be stretching the palm bones apart when doing the mudra?

Also, thanks for recommending damo, his videos are super informative, super helpful. Definitely going to watch every last video on his channel

[freeform]

1 hour ago, Dev said:

I was wondering, in the first few steps of sinking the chi, should one focus on their dantien (when your hands are up by your eyebrows etc)?

I don’t know exactly how Damo teaches it… but with these sorts of exercises I absorb my mind fully into the body before starting. So the full shape of the body - not just the Dantien.

 

1 hour ago, Dev said:

Also, should one still be stretching the palm bones apart when doing the mudra?

Again - not sure what he does - but when I train mudra, there must be ‘engagement’ in the hands - meaning they’re not loose, relaxed and floppy - there’s slight strength and engagement of the tissues in the hands.

 

1 hour ago, Dev said:

Also, thanks for recommending damo, his videos are super informative, super helpful. Definitely going to watch every last video on his channel

Glad you’re finding that helpful. He is very good in my opinion.

[forestofclarity]

2 hours ago, Dev said:

Also, thanks for recommending damo, his videos are super informative, super helpful. Definitely going to watch every last video on his channel

 

Just curious: have you reached out and explained your financial issues to them? 

[Creation]

On 8/26/2021 at 6:06 AM, Dev said:

Okay lovely, that's good to know. I'll definitely start watching his videos more. I did check out his academy the other day, its just quite expensive for me (I'm in africa so our currency is weak)

If you can get ahold of his books, they are quite good, and less expensive.  

On 8/26/2021 at 5:17 AM, Dev said:

 

I see. I hadn't got the time to properly watch those videos yet, so I will reserve focusing on anything until after i watch them. I read that in mo pai one should focus on cultivating the dantien, but also do postures such as horse stance to circulate the chi so that the dantien doesn't harden prematurely. Could focusing on this point be a substitute for the horse stance? Not that I mind horse stance, just interested

I can't speak to the concept of premature hardening, but Damo does teach movement exercises to "mobilize" the qi build at the dantian.  Look in to his "Ji Ben Qi Gong" for instance.  

[Dev]

On 27/08/2021 at 4:49 PM, forestofemptiness said:

 

Just curious: have you reached out and explained your financial issues to them? 

 

I haven't, I didn't know that was a thing.

[Dev]

21 hours ago, Creation said:

If you can get ahold of his books, they are quite good, and less expensive.  

I can't speak to the concept of premature hardening, but Damo does teach movement exercises to "mobilize" the qi build at the dantian.  Look in to his "Ji Ben Qi Gong" for instance.  

 

Okay sweet, I'll take a look at it. Thanks

[Frederic]

On 26-8-2021 at 1:00 PM, Shadow_self said:

...Alternatively....there is another gentleman on this website offering a course on Dan Tian cultivation....you could always take that....

 

Who is that and where can I find that? Thank you!

[Frederic]

On 20-8-2021 at 12:27 PM, freeform said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for sharing this. I'm working with his anchoring the breath meditation and from his MCO course little careful harvesting of Yang Qi. Do you believe that the Nourishing Kidney and Sinking the Qi meditations are as valuable for activating the LDT? Maybe alternate these practices?

 

Thank you!

[freeform]

1 hour ago, Frederic said:

Do you believe that the Nourishing Kidney and Sinking the Qi meditations are as valuable for activating the LDT?

They won’t activate the Dantien - but they will build that which is required for it to activate. If that makes sense 😅

 

The Dantien can activate without these exercises. 
 

But having strong kidneys and the ability to sink is a huge benefit for when it does activate. When the Qi starts to move it will want to move up… and it will want to ‘burn bright’ and therefore deplete your yin. If you have the ability to sink, and have a very strong level of yin, you won’t have these problems and an active Dantien will be immediately useful for your practice.

 

Hope that makes sense

[Frederic]

That makes sense! Thank you!

[Kushcee]

Thank you so much. Today has been very humbling for me as I have spent hours on tdb finally finding answers to some of my challenges. M. Chia leaves out very important elements in his books imo. But I am the one who followed so I must take responsibility. In regards to this thread those Damo videos speak of a crucial first step that I missed. Now when I go to sit down and meditate in even a basic way. My head starts sweating. Also I sometimes can sense that 'deeper qi' move up and I can only weakly push it down. And of course it does not stay (as force is not wu wei, can't believe I missed that). And today I learn that the ldt needs to be developed. So of course energy won't stay there. I have stopped all energy work. Should I try to practice these Damo videos or is there something even simpler I need to do first? And yes I am actively looking for a local teacher and will be setting down the Chia books. 

[awaken]

很多人誤解了陽氣上升和 Kundalini，把氣感當中的陽氣上升當作是 Kundalini，這完全是一種誤會。

 

陽氣上升是當注意力專注之後，會有一股上升的氣，這股上升的氣，到頭上之後，會引發欲界定幻境，還有昏沉。

 

但是 Kundalini 則是經過陽氣，烏肝，兔髓，化陰等程序之後，陰盡陽純之後的陽生三階段，開啟了虛空定空間，才能產生Kundalini，也就是道家修練裡面的先天真一之氣，這股先天真一之氣，會開啟凝聚金丹的演化歷程，包含大曼陀羅蓮花，霜飛，圓月，真人等，都在這個環境下演化。

 

把kundalini當成上升陽氣，是非常誇張的拉低了Kundalini的層次，這完全是兩種不同層次的現象。

[Wu Ming Jen]

Maybe Wu Chi the unmanifest aspect of Tao: Tao-in-stillness,  translated as infinite, unlimited, boundless or limitless would be a better understanding of kundalini aspect in Taoist practice. The completion is combining heaven and earth not just one part of the whole IMO.

[Shadow_self]

On 18/08/2021 at 10:10 PM, freeform said:

The kundalini makes an appearance in some of the Daoist alchemical lines, but not all.

 

Shakti is considered a very refined form of Yang Qi, on the ‘divine’ spectrum. There is a term for it, but I don’t remember - it’s not a major part of my tradition. 
 

It doesn’t reside in your LDT - it resides in your sacrum. It’s one of several ‘pockets’ of this divine sort of Qi… 

 

Its considered to be quite high level, and inaccessible until quite far down your path. What many consider kundalini activation, from this traditional perspective it would just be basic yang Qi mobilisation through the spine. The kundalini is something quite different.

 

My understanding is....these pockets....tap into the wrong ones......especially  these big ones those in the sacrum...and the results can be quite fatal unless there are decades of prerequisites in place

 

On another note...I have noticed that much like Kundalini...I now see the term Jhana being thrown around by people ever so trivially.....Sigh...I know comparatively little about the jhanas...but I would assume that entering into them is not some easy achievement