Is this "chi" ? How can i help it stay ?

[Dr. Love]

i used to eat psychoactive mushrooms,

they helped me to temporarily be completely ONE with tao...

 

but then i stopped eating them for a long time,

and started doing sober meditation.

 

 

 

So recently i decided i was a little "stuck" in my meditation,

so i decided to stop masturbating... and also use a psychoactive mushroom for once since a long time.

 

this was around 10 days ago, i haven't masturbated since then.

 

 

 

 

mentioning the kind of meditation i do is not really that important,

but if you ask me it's the exact same stuff as talked about in the "tao teh ching".

...which is "doing without doing"... to be more precise.

 

other than this simple awareness meditation,

i don't really do other practices such as "tai chi" or "yoga".

 

 

 

well ever since 10 days ago.

i am much more grounded than before,

i seem completely centered... very energetic and very peacefully happy inside.

 

i also think that i can feel energy flowing upwards from the base of my spine

and it seems as if this energy is very natural and soft.

 

i'm not sure though wether these positive changes have to do with that i stopped masturbating,

the "mushroom experience" or both.

 

 

 

 

so i have two questions about this;

#1: Is this chi?

 

#2: Sometimes in short periods during the day, the feeling of being really grounded and centered goes away...

maybe this is because i lose focus for a while ? (and when the centeredness disapears, simultaneously does the "peaceful energy")

 

 

If it is the "chi" that is helping me be so LOVING and happy...

is there anything i could do to make sure that it continues "flowing" ?

 

because during the little periods that it stopped, i didn't know how to get it flowing again...

but luckily it resumed flowing automatically.

Edited August 11, 2008 by Dr. Love

[findley]

I think it sounds nice...

 

probably some form of chi.

 

or some form of psychosis.

 

either way, it still sounds nice...

[freesun]

some form of psychosis?

[findley]

Sure. It might all be in her head!

 

who knows.

 

But I said that it still sounds nice. I'd keep it up, either way.

[Stigweard]

The use of psychoactives can prematurely open the psychic passages -- often used by people to find 'proof' that 'there is something more'.

 

Drop the mushies, quit the masturbation and build a stable foundation of a clear mind and a virtuous heart instead of chasing phenomena. With a deep root in virtue all phenomena becomes passing scenery along the way.

[Dr. Love]

The use of psychoactives can prematurely open the psychic passages -- often used by people to find 'proof' that 'there is something more'.

 

Drop the mushies, quit the masturbation and build a stable foundation of a clear mind and a virtuous heart instead of chasing phenomena. With a deep root in virtue all phenomena becomes passing scenery along the way.

well ofcourse,

i understand the problem that comes with "chasing phenomena"...

 

and i used to understand that already... before my recent mushroom experience,

 

 

the difference is that now after this recent experience, i seem to understand it better,

as if some stuff inside has been cleaned up which might have taken much longer had i not used the mushroom...

 

which enabled meditational being to stabilize better.

 

 

 

maybe practices such as Kunlun or Taichi have similar results in clearing up blockages...

and are safer ways.

[minkus]

[Dr. Love]

one thing i still don't get tho,

 

is that in Tao Teh Ching for example,

Lao Tzu doesn't talk about doing exercises to "cultivate chi",

 

does he?

 

 

 

he simply speaks how to become aware of oneness with tao..

for example

"if you rush into action, you will fail"

"if you hold on too tight, you will lose your grip"

 

if i am not mistaken, tao teh ching is simply "(wei) wu wei".

 

 

so is "(wei) wu wei" not enough to become aware of and stay aware of oneness with tao?

is cultivation of energy through special practices necessary?

Edited August 12, 2008 by Dr. Love

[joeblast]

have a look here

http://www.thetaobums.com/index.php?showtopic=6291

[Dr. Love]

have a look here

http://www.thetaobums.com/index.php?showtopic=6291

thank you,

 

that settles it right

Edited August 12, 2008 by Dr. Love

[joeblast]

what made you decide that you were stuck?

[Dr. Love]

well like i said,

2 years ago i was still doing mushrooms quite often...

 

with these plants i had experiences of strong unconditional love,

but this love went away as soon as the mushroom stopped working.

 

 

 

this made me decide to go sober.

i was 2 years sober, and around 7 months or so i practiced a meditation technique

that is pretty good... taught by nisargadatta... i suspect it to be the same as "(wei) wu wei".

 

i had some good results, and i learned a lot about myself...

but it was as if there were some blockages in my heart...

which disabled the energy from flowing freely...

 

 

 

since i had that recent mushroom experience,

it's as if these blockages are cleared....

 

the love didn't go away like it use to 2 years ago,

but it just stayed with me since then.

 

i suspect this is because i had a good basis now in meditation,

which i previously lacked... and because the basis was there,

the mushrooms were much better able to give me permanent healing...

 

 

 

 

it is as if now,

my heart is open and it being protected by tao.

 

stuff that would usually scare or intimidate my heart strongly,

now does not cause a ripple in my heart at all...

 

it just stays unmoved all the time...

 

 

also,

since that recent mushroom experience (in combination with stopping masturbation)

i feel much more the energy from beneath my feet...

going upwards my body...

 

maybe this energy plays an important role in why i feel more centered, stronger and purer now.

Edited August 13, 2008 by Dr. Love

[joeblast]

indeed...using outside substances to influence meditations is a no-no, at least with any regularity. take the american indians for example - their traditional usage was a once in a great while thing, and though I believe that the different perspective have the potential to be helpful once in a great while, one needs to be careful. either way, you need a solid foundation in practices to get benefit - doing stuff too often you end up looking too much at the sensations generated by the substance = false. I'd say that stopping the shrooms would have a much greater effect than stopping masturbating.