Newbie seeking best practices safety-wise? Lots of questions.

[yeq88]

Hey guys! I apologize if this isn't the right section, I wasn't sure where to post this question since it's not just about one system or other. Please move it to the appropriate section if this isn't the right one for it! There's going to be a lot here, so here goes:

I've been doing occult stuff since I was like, 15. Some of it worked really well for me, and I credit it for helping change my life. Though obviously, I can't know what was just caused by my brain developing.. LOL. Either way, I used to struggle with /everything/ as a kid, including basic social awareness - hell, I used to do echolalia for hours on end, and whisper to myself in public. Some of this stuff seems to have helped me get out of that. It helped me feel empowered and like an actual person like other people around me naturally seemd to.

But obviously, if you start that young, you'll do stupid shit! And I did. Lots of stupid shit. I've even made the most classic rookie mistake of all time: Mantak Chia's stuff! Though I didn't do the 'energy' stuff, except once or twice. I've never trusted stuff like imagining energies going into my brain or anything - I don't even trust medication without a few google searches, let alone energies. I even avoided the third-eye point when doing EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques). I did the Mantak Chia stuff because I thought it was just a Kegel exercise type thing.. lol, does doing it just like that harm you? I can believe it might since the nerves in that region are pretty sensitive. I do notice some side-effects. As you guys can probably tell, I am a bit OCD.

Now I'm in my 20's and I've been wondering: what are best practices for safety? I don't mean, "Is x method the safest?", I mean what are general principles to maximize safety, how do you deal with Qi Deviation and psychosomatic issues, how do you mix things like Qigong and western magic without well, blowing up?

So far what I've heard is this kind of stuff, but I'm a beginner technically so there may be errors:

Always stay calm - don't take things too seriously, don't assume off the bat that spooky stuff is happening, don't take psychosomatic events like tingling to be real as a beginner and lose your cool.

Mentally: Don't strive and contrive, get good at acceptance, develop self-awareness and self-knowledge, practice critical thinking, practice being at ease, don't load everything with intent, etc. 

Physically/magically/energy-wise: ground by doing squats and progressive-muscle relaxation, banish energies (for western magick), find a teacher if you can, don't mix methods unless you absolutely know what you're doing, don't do magick carelessly, respect the rules of rituals, etc.

What would you add to this? Also, what are practices or technologies/methods every practitioner should use? In the Western tradition that'd be stuff like the LBRP and its variations, right? I want to use occult methods to help me get to a functional baseline - I have no problems with methods that require patience and long-term work as long as they're structured and produce minor daily results. For instance if someone says: "Do the LBRP, it'll help you get a routine and give you a boost of energy" I'd be fine just doing that for a few months. I'm familiar with psychotherapy and most psychotherapy stuff seems to take up to six months to work, so it's no big deal to have to build up.


Sorry guys, I know this is a lot. I've honestly just been bursting with these questions for ages. I'm open to advice regarding a better way of seeking advice. Actually, I'm open to advice in general, esp from the more experienced posters here. You've helped a lot in the past!

To round it up:
1) I've been doing stuff for like 10 yrs now, but started when I was young and so got up to shenanigans that backfired a little, but also good results (imo)

2) I want to know what the best general guidelines are to maximize your safety. I'm fine with some level of risk - you incur that even just washing your hands. I just want to go slow, steady, and get to a healthy baseline. Especially since I have had side-effects.

3) What are methods and practices everyone dabbling with this stuff, eastern and western, should know/use? Includes stuff like: Total beginner stuff, fundamentals, things that'll help you always, and so on.

4) I've had bad results from mixing methods in the past. How can you mix eastern and western methods without effing up? I ask because I have used eastern methods in the past (EFT) and they work for me, but using it with some other stuff seemed to cause issues. I was using subliminal tapes and so I actually don't know what energies or things conflicted and so on. The creator wasn't transparent about what he was doing. I use EFT, which works with qi (I think? It's acupressure) for psychological aid - how can I do this without trouble?

5) What are the best firefighting methods? Ideally you don't get a fire, but once you do, what do? I know Zhengyongdaoist tends to recommend you call upon a certain Daoist deity of compassion, for instance. I also know you should take rest for a few weeks if you fuck something up - this, generally, has worked well for me as well. Likewise stuff like physical exercise, going out for a walk, etc. Sadly I'm stuck at home and struggling with mental health and the pandemic, so can't do those.

I had other questions too but these are enough for now. It's fine to just direct me to resources btw! I can do my own reading, though I don't have any money right now.

As for why I want to use this stuff, and what for: I just want to be able to live in peace, and use it to make small steps towards getting better - for instance, boost my energy a bit, more mental clarity, make the odds work in my favor when I want to find doctors so I can find good, ethical ones, do better in my studies, etc. Also, without causing stuff to get worse, lol. My country is not the safest one to be in, and I struggle, so I just want to develop this skillset so I can do a bit better and preferably live with contentment. I'm fine with total rookie methods as long as they work.

If you've read this far, I appreciate it. I know it's a lot, I just need guidance since I feel a bit lost.

Edited February 22, 2023 by yeq88
Fixed abbreviations

[helgaferae]

On 22/02/2023 at 11:23 AM, yeq88 said:

 

Edited February 25, 2023 by helgaferae

[Cobie]

Well you know a lot about mixing eastern and western traditions. Certainly a lot more than I do, lol … EFT? Google: China exchange-traded funds. ??? No, that's not it. LBRP? Sounds like Lots of BuRPing.  Google: Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram. Oh, ok.  So definitely no advice from me. But I just thought I’d tag @Nungali and @Lairg here, as they might be able to help you. Wishing you well. 

 

Curiosity killed the cat; “pandemic”, which country do you live in?

 

 

Edited February 22, 2023 by Cobie

[yeq88]

1 hour ago, Cobie said:

Well you know a lot about mixing eastern and western traditions. Certainly a lot more than I do, lol … EFT? Google: China exchange-traded funds. ??? No, that's not it. LBRP? Sounds like Lots of BuRPing.  Google: Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram. Oh, ok.  So definitely no advice from me. But I just thought I’d tag @Nungali and @Lairg here, as they might be able to help you. Wishing you well. 

 

Curiosity killed the cat; “pandemic”, which country do you live in?

 

Hahah, my bad. I'll edit the post to explain the abbreviations. I tend to get anxious and over-write or misapply myself.

I'm from India, btw! 

Oh my lord, I didn't know how to quote properly either :L fixed it

Edited February 22, 2023 by yeq88

[Lairg]

 

From my perspective, perhaps the most important aspect is identifying the overlighting entity/gestalt within whose energy field the practice is being carried out.

 

Humans take up practices without knowing the sponsoring entity involved and thereby not knowing the non-human agenda behind the practices.

 

Sponsoring/overlighting entities can be on many scales from local to cosmic in functionality.

 

In this solar system, unless the practice improves the light in the heart, I would stay well away from that practice.

 

There are however a few Earth humans that properly operate within past or future energy structures.

 

 

 

 

Edited February 22, 2023 by Lairg

[markern]

What Damo Mitchell says in this video about emotional releases is an approach to emotional releases that adds to safety. Less chances of old wounds coming to the surface destabilizing people when it is approached like this:
 

 

[markern]

Bruce Frantzis advices that people start off with a very modest amount of practice and then gradually increase practice time by only five minutes a month until the desired length is reached. He says this is safer. I think that sounds a bit too conservative but I think the general point is good. Start off with a moderate amount and only gradually increase practice time. The whole energy connected to plunging into intense practice is something I think can contribute to issues and side effects. Do a moderate amount and learn to digest it properly and give the mind and body time to become familiar with the effects instead of shocking the system by rapidly creating very intense experiences through a quickly ramped up intense practice. 

Another safety advice I think is good is that basic mindfulness should precede deeper investigations into the natura of self and reality. People who struggle with feeling their emotions with equanimity or being aware of their emotions at all should probably not plunge into noticing the three characteristics and dissolving their experience into little pieces right away but focus on feeling their emotions and bodily reactions in a healthy way first. 

A good system like Damo Mitchells Lotus Nei Gong has safety built into its progression. 

 

[markern]

Being involved with and competent at normal life and especially the physical world adds to safety IMO. My chi deviation issues was so bad I couldn't use grounding methods from qigong or other arts to sort them out (it only made things worse). Instead I have focused on things like addressing trauma but also things like becoming a practical person through doing physical labor, learning to fix things in my home and summer house etc. Doing any sort of sport or hunting, fishing, carving things out of wood, learning to fix your car yourself etc. are all things that make you more connected to the physical mundane world and daily life. For me that grounds my energy and reduces chi deviation issues. Learning to connect with the world in that way before issues arise should help with avoiding them too. 

[yeq88]

2 hours ago, markern said:

Bruce Frantzis advices that people start off with a very modest amount of practice and then gradually increase practice time by only five minutes a month until the desired length is reached. He says this is safer. I think that sounds a bit too conservative but I think the general point is good. Start off with a moderate amount and only gradually increase practice time. The whole energy connected to plunging into intense practice is something I think can contribute to issues and side effects. Do a moderate amount and learn to digest it properly and give the mind and body time to become familiar with the effects instead of shocking the system by rapidly creating very intense experiences through a quickly ramped up intense practice. 

Another safety advice I think is good is that basic mindfulness should precede deeper investigations into the natura of self and reality. People who struggle with feeling their emotions with equanimity or being aware of their emotions at all should probably not plunge into noticing the three characteristics and dissolving their experience into little pieces right away but focus on feeling their emotions and bodily reactions in a healthy way first. 

A good system like Damo Mitchells Lotus Nei Gong has safety built into its progression. 

 

This makes a lot of sense. I agree w/ this, and your other comment has given me much to think about. I live in a bit of a chaotic environment so connecting with it is difficult, but I believe I can make it work somehow. I think I'll start with just developing a healthy stretching routine and simple things like that and build up. Thanks for the advices, friend!

[freshpondtaiji]

My teacher has a bunch of public info here if of interest (might have to click around a bit, lots of links semi-hidden):

https://worldwideway.org/

 

My understanding is one of the most important things at the beginning is just to make an effort to get something going (without doing something crazy unsafe) but the results of the effort are directed based on the motive with which practice is approached, so eventually refining that motive (to develop/connect the highest spiritual part rather than only make the body stronger/healthier etc and definitely not with the goal of acquiring "powers"--that's a big trap/dead end for many reasons) becomes the most important, so that the energy provided by the effort actually goes to growing/refining the Spirit rather than just strengthening the Ego.

Edited April 3, 2023 by freshpondtaiji