Home › Forum Online Discussion › General › Honest, Critical Review of M. Winn’s “Star Alchemy” CD
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July 6, 2014 at 1:29 am #42596ribosome777Participant
1) the positive:
It is great that anyone would be present, in America, in English, covering any of this material to begin with… There are critical topics covered in the CD set which, given their reality, are life changing and of incomprehensible importance…
such as:
-the inner soul, or “third” heart within the middle cauldron
-a supposed divine celestial linkage between star systems, the brain and central nervous system, and an immortal energy network called, within the Tibetan system, the “Bardo”
-a means by which the “energy” body, linked by specific channels and meridians, comes “on-line” between a pre-existent soul and a physical embodimentGiven the reality of these topics and the innumerable years put into this work, bringing it to the Western world, etc.. this is
AN IMMENSELY BIG DEAL
2) the middle ground:
the material has, unfortunately, come across as a religion, despite many attempts by those such as myself to say “hey, let’s NOT have a religion…”
in this vein M. Chia has done a much more rigorous job, to my knowledge, in separating bio-chemical and factual form the old TAO which would seem religious to a Western audience… so that people can come away with something out of the practices…
3) the bad:
given the above,
I) my set came with 13 CD’s in a set marked 12, but now listed as 14 for the same
https://healingtaousa.com/cgi-bin/prod_order.pl?add=MKL13II) while the earlier workshops were wonderful (Lesser and Greater Kan and Li), things REALLY went downhill with Greatest and Star Alchemy…
I will note here that the Greatest Kan and Li set starts with NO introduction, no preparation, expecting a “telepathic” conveyance of planetary QI… this was an obvious and grave mistake during preparation.. but putting that aside, as it was not part of the original workshop..
the Star Alchemy disks were obviously selected from a week or two long workshop where many other interesting practices occurred, practices which were completely omitted form the recordings and which seem to be far more interesting than the “discussions” which DID make the disks..
The CD’s are also very unprofessional in editing, with sloppy track separation etc..
III) the worst… and it’s REALLY BAD
the net result is you receive roughly 2 cd’s worth of actual practice, 1 hours worth of useful dialogue, and a big question mark of what these people were doing during the day which you’d rather be hearing…
instead of that content you get endless recounts of barely interesting “first time experiences” of people doing something which takes years of practice..
this is NOT what was being paid for…
the material has become so un-TAO-ist it is absurd…
M. Winn spends endless time discussing complete “New Age” topics without even an attempt to reconcile or validate them with real, multi-1000 year old Taoist traditions..
this material is so divorced from the real history it is incomprehensible…
Furthermore, Winn has lost all common sense…the brutal:
a) at one point Winn recounts a “channeled Atlantian guide” of whom he says “he accepts his claim that he lived for 2400 years, 1400 years of which was in a cave”
OK…
b) at another point, this person or another is said to have been possessed, in what any one would say sounds like demonic possession, by an intrusion from the rear of the throat
OK… this is what is being paid for as Taoist Star Alchemy?
what happened to moxibustion, healing star herbs, anything but this?
c) Winn goes off on pseudo excursions into ideas that ALL HUMANOID LIFE originated in the Vega / Lyra star “systems”, that “Lemuria” was an ancient civilization…
OK.
The latter would not be so bad if he was not claiming someone lived in a cave for 1400 years…
Why would anyone possibly tell a group of new practitioners this?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vega
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_exoplanet_extremesThese practitioners have had NO time to have real experiences… The practices were some of the highest level esoteric practices of the Eastern world… the realm of sages and shamans…
it’s just not right.
I will not even touch the “cake” factor…
M. Winn has obviously obsessed on his “Earth Chi” during his New Age-ification of the authentic material…
I will note here
THERE ARE ZERO OCCURRENCES OF THE WORD SMILE IN M. CHIA’S STAR ALCHEMY BOOKLET..
A REAL SET OF PRACTICES WITH REAL EFFECTS.CONCLUSION:
the M. Winn workshops up through Greater are fine, go study the rest with Mantak Chia or an authentic person in the East…
if you have the nearly 300.00 to spend, the general ideas are fine if you don’t mind huffing your way through endless fast forwarding…
until there is a better branch of the lineage there aren’t many options..
but remember,there is no such thing as a NEGATIVE EMOTION,
there is such a thing as RIGHT JUDGEMENTJuly 6, 2014 at 7:39 am #42597c_howdyParticipantMathematicians or people who have very mathematical
minds, are often led astray when studying physics
because they lose sight of the physics. They say: Look,
these differential equations the Maxwell equations are
all there is to electrodynamics it is admitted by the
physicists that there is nothing which is not contained in
the equations. The equations are complicated, but after
all they are only mathematical equations and if I
understand them mathematically inside out, I will
understand the physics inside out. Only it doesnt work
that way. Mathematicians who study physics with that
point of view and there have been many of them
usually make little contribution to physics and, in fact,
little to mathematics. They fail because the actual
physical situations in the real world are so complicated
that it is necessary to have a much broader understanding
of the equations.
-RICHARD P. FEYNMAN, The Feynman Lectures on Physics, Vol. 2, 1964, p. 2.When the mind is silent and peaceful it becomes very powerful. It can become a receptor of bliss and wisdom enabling life to become a spontaneous flow and expression of joy and harmony. However this inner silence cannot arise while there is a continual stream of disturbing thoughts and emotions. All this inner noise of thoughts and emotions has to be removed before one can truly experience the soundless sound of inner silence.
-SWAMI SATYANANDA SARASWATIPersonally I think Healing Tao lacks this kind of practice like Bihar School of Yoga’s ANTAR MAUNA.
It’s badly named but it’s really the central practice.
For immediate purposes, in these conditions, UT/HT system already starts to be too intricate.
HOWDY
July 6, 2014 at 10:36 am #42599c_howdyParticipantThe Hebrew language phrase ruach ha-kodesh (Hebrew: רוח הקודש, “holy spirit” also transliterated ruaḥ ha-qodesh) is a term used in the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) and Jewish writings to refer to the spirit of YHWH (רוח יהוה). It literally means “the spirit of holiness” or “the spirit of the holy place”. The Hebrew terms ruaḥ qodshəka, “thy holy spirit” (רוּחַ קָדְשְׁךָ), and ruaḥ qodshō, “his holy spirit” (רוּחַ קָדְשׁ֑וֹ) also occur (when a possessive suffix is added the definite article is dropped). The “Holy Spirit” in Judaism generally refers to the divine aspect of prophecy and wisdom. It also refers to the divine force, quality, and influence of the Most High God, over the universe or over his creatures, in given contexts
-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_spiritAnneliese Michel (21 September 1952 1 July 1976) was a German woman who underwent Catholic exorcism rites in 1975 and died the next year, due to lack of medical care. Later investigation determined that she was malnourished and dehydrated; her parents and the priests responsible were charged with negligent homicide. The case attracted media and public attention because of the Catholic Church’s unusual decision to employ the 400-year-old ritual of exorcism, something that had been rarely seen since the 18th Century. The film The Exorcism of Emily Rose is loosely based on her story.
When Michel was sixteen, she experienced an epileptic seizure and was diagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy. She was determined to be depressed and was treated at a psychiatric hospital. By the time she was twenty, she had become intolerant of various religious objects, and began to hear voices. Her condition worsened, despite medication, and she became suicidal. Michel and her family became convinced she was possessed by demons, and appealed to a Catholic priest for an exorcism. While rejected at first, after much hesitation, two priests got permission from the local bishop in 1975, and performed exorcism rites on her for 10 months, in secret (as ordered by the bishop). After her death, Michel’s parents and the two priests were found guilty of negligent homicide, and were sentenced to six months in jail (reduced to three years of probation), and a fine. The case has been cited as an example of a misidentified mental illness, negligence, abuse and religious hysteria.
-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anneliese_MichelWhen Seth, the son whom God gave Adam and Eve in place of the murdered Abel, once entered Paradise he found the Tree of Knowledge and the Tree of Life inter-grown; their branches intertwined. From this tree Seth took three seeds, following the command of the Angel who guided him. He kept the three seeds and when Adam died, he placed them into Adam’s mouth. And a tree grew out of Adam’s grave; to those who knew how to look upon it in the right way, this tree revealed a writing in flaming letters the words: Ejeh Asher Ejeh. I am He that was. He that is, He that shall be. Now Seth took some wood from this tree and many things were made out of it: among them the rod which became the magic rod of Moses. And this tree multiplied; from its wood the portal of Solomon’s temple was made, and later on, when it had passed through many other destinies, it became the Cross upon which the Savior hung.
-RUDOLF STEINER,Theosophy and Rosicrucianism-Lecture XIV: Further Stages of Rosicrucian Training…at another point, this person or another is said to have been possessed, in what any one would say sounds like demonic possession, by an intrusion from the rear of the throat…
There are some things about which I would keep personally quite low profile.
But still ignoring these certain demonic elements belonging to the initiation, one surely is foolishly naive.
These are surely firmly part of Taost tradition as well Buddhism & Hinduism.
One way to see why things happen in certain way is to know when to join the flock.
HOWDY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4xiT67GrbY (exorcismanneliesemichel)
Shinay bardo (Tibetan): is the first bardo of birth and life. This bardo commences from conception until the last breath, when the mindstream withdraws from the body.
2.Milam bardo (Tibetan): is the second bardo of the dream state. The Milam Bardo is a subset of the first Bardo. Dream Yoga develops practices to integrate the dream state into Buddhist sadhana.
3.Samten bardo (Tibetan) is the third bardo of meditation. This bardo is generally only experienced by meditators, though individuals may have spontaneous experience of it. Samten Bardo is a subset of the Shinay Bardo.
4.Chikkhai bardo (Tibetan): is the fourth bardo of the moment of death. According to tradition, this bardo is held to commence when the outer and inner signs presage that the onset of death is nigh, and continues through the dissolution or transmutation of the Mahabhuta until the external and internal breath has completed.
5.Chönyid bardo (Tibetan): is the fifth bardo of the luminosity of the true nature which commences after the final ‘inner breath’ (Sanskrit: prana, vayu; Tibetan: rlung). It is within this Bardo that visions and auditory phenomena occur. In the Dzogchen teachings, these are known as the spontaneously manifesting Thödgal (Tibetan: thod-rgyal) visions. Concomitant to these visions, there is a welling of profound peace and pristine awareness. Sentient beings who have not practiced during their lived experience and/or who do not recognize the clear light (Tibetan: od gsal) at the moment of death are usually deluded throughout the fifth bardo of luminosity.
6.Sidpa bardo (Tibetan): is the sixth bardo of becoming or transmigration. This bardo endures until the inner-breath commences in the new transmigrating form determined by the “karmic seeds” within the storehouse consciousness.
-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BardoJuly 6, 2014 at 8:42 pm #42601StevenModerator>>>in this vein M. Chia has done a much more rigorous job,
>>>to my knowledge, in separating bio-chemical
>>>and factual form the old TAO which would
>>>seem religious to a Western audience…
>>>so that people can come away with
>>>something out of the practices…Do we really need to have biochemical and scientific details in a course such as this? Given that people in Star Alchemy have been in the system for a while, I think that they already believe it . . . validation (outside of one’s direct experience) isn’t really necessary. To be honest, I tend to daydream and be bored to tears when M. Chia goes on for 45 mins regarding scientific data. Intellectual mental facts do not help me do the practices any better, they just waste my time.
>>>the Star Alchemy disks were obviously selected
>>>from a week or two long workshop where many
>>>other interesting practices occurred,
>>>practices which were completely omitted
>>>form the recordings and which seem to be
>>>far more interesting than the “discussions”
>>>which DID make the disks.The audio disks are meant to be review for those taking the course, not as a substitute. If a bunch of physical qigong is taught, how would you be able to extract that from audio only? It would be nearly impossible, so Michael doesn’t bother recording that stuff. The people in the class learn the qigong and get handouts to remind them how to do it.
>>>The CD’s are also very unprofessional in editing,
>>>with sloppy track separation etc..This is true, but he is basically just recording his workshops and putting it out there for folks who are interested. There is no time to go through the whole thing and edit for a final publication, as within weeks or so, he is giving another workshop (and likely recording that). Maybe someday if he gets a bigger staff.
>>>this is NOT what was being paid for…
You are not paying for a course. You are paying for a recording of a course. If you want the course, Michael is offering this very thing live in two weeks, starting July 18. Have you ever taken his courses live?
S
July 8, 2014 at 11:54 pm #42603diogowatsonParticipantA few months after finishing my Greatest Kan&Li audio course I started the Star Alchemy set. I had a similar feeling to ribosome. I can’t get it only by the audio. What I did? Travelled to USA and learn the course live. And It was Amazing.
But I talked to people who only did the course by audio and felt fine about it.
This is a esoteric teaching. It’s not like buying a tv. It’s not I pay I get it.
And I’m a 100% with Steve about Mantak’s scientific speech. I understand that a beginner’s western mind may need it. But after you grown in the practices it’s a waste of time. And If you going to be fully critic about it they are more constructs and ideas than science. The cauldron is the same as dark matter? How can you validate that in scientific terms?
True, sometimes Michael say thing’s that scare us and make us wonder “who the hell i’m following here?” “He’s real or just some other mad guy?”. But I can say that the practice is real. When he say’s something I cant digest I put it on a little shelve and save it for later. Till I could validate it (or not). But I still do the practice.
I think people is always looking for perfect masters as a compensation for not having perfect fathers. And try to play to these teachers the same dramas they are playing internally with their fathers.
July 9, 2014 at 1:10 am #42605ribosome777ParticipantJuly 9, 2014 at 3:46 am #42607c_howdyParticipantThe Japanese term k¨an is the Sino-Japanese reading of the Chinese word gong’an (Chinese: ¹«°¸; pinyin: g¨ng’¨¤n; Wade¨CGiles: kung-an; literally: “public case”). The term is a compound word, consisting of the characters ¹« “public; official; governmental; common; collective; fair; equitable” and °¸ “table; desk; (law) case; record; file; plan; proposal.”
According to the Yuan Dynasty Zen master Zhongfeng Mingben (ÖзåÃ÷±¾ 1263¨C1323), g¨ng’¨¤n originated as an abbreviation of g¨ngf¨³ zh¨© ¨¤nd¨² (¹«¸®Ö®°¸ ©, Japanese k¨fu no antoku¡ªliterally the andu “official correspondence; documents; files” of a gongfu “government post”), which referred to a “public record” or the “case records of a public law court” in Tang-dynasty China.[1][2][note 1] K¨an/gong’an thus serves as a metaphor for principles of reality beyond the private opinion of one person, and a teacher may test the student’s ability to recognize and understand that principle.
-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KoanOne of the hallmarks of the Chinese Taoist classics, especially those of Nei Dan (ȵ¤, Internal Alchemy) is that they attempt to describe the indescribable. They were written in language that is both very specific and inherently ambiguous with meanings intentionally hidden from outsiders. It is a type of ¡°code¡± which must be interpreted in order to access the ancient wisdom contained within their lines.
The texts serve many purposes, but most were not intended for popular consumption. Rather, they were written for a small group of initiates. The classic texts of Internal Alchemy are thought to convey at least three layers of meaning: 1) Dao (µÀ), the great principles behind the work, 2) Fa (·¨), the actual methods or approach used by various schools, and 3) Shu (X), the specific techniques of the practices. The great principles presented in the classics generally apply to most traditions while the actual methods and specific techniques may vary by school or even lineage.
-http://yang-sheng.com/?p=8935One can easily see that there is very long Taoist tradition of using language in quite special way metaphorically.
So for example when in NEIDAN cinnabar, lead or gold are mentioned clearly it doesn’t necessarily mean that understanding these concretely will be beneficial.
But of course one should be careful not to use too dramatic language because although that can attract positive immediate feedback from simpletons it also can make oneself to look fool.
But it should be plain that Taoists have been very experimental when trying to convey more arcane realities.
HOWDY
Ps. Sorry for my broken English.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ks4J5FCJDsQ (ninjascroll)
Electric and magnetic fields are vector fields, which means that they not only have a size or magnitude at every point of space, but they also point in a direction. A compass located near a magnet points in the direction of the magnetic field. In a perfect world, the magnetic field would point precisely along the north-south axis everywhere on the surface of the earth . In the real world there are all sorts of variations from the ideal. A large iron deposit will influence the field in complicated ways. It’s exactly the ability to vary from point to point that makes magnetism a field.
The fields making up the Landscape are, for the most part, simpler than electric and magnetic fields. Most are scalar fields. A scalar is a quantity that has size or magnitude but no direction. For example temperature is a scalar. You won’t hear the weatherperson quote the temperature as “seventy-five degrees north by northwest” Temperature has a magnitude but no direction. Air pressure and and humidity are also scalars. But the weatherperson also reports a vector field: the wind velocity. Wind velocity is a perfect example of a vector field: it has magnitude and direction. Temperature, pressure, humidity, and wind velocity all share the property that they can vary from place to place. That’s what makes them fields. Of course they are just analogies. They have nothing to do with the fields that make up the Landscape.
-LEONARD SUSSKIND, The Cosmic Landscape-String Theory and the Illusion of the Intelligen DesignJuly 9, 2014 at 10:39 pm #42609snowlionParticipantHi,
Been doing these practice’s since the 1980’s was in the groups taught by Mantak & Maneewan Chia long ago…also friends with Juan Li, Ron Diana(RIP)and know Michael and many others from many years ago.Every teacher has their experiences, nowhere do I see gratitude for making the teachings available. I can remember when there was sparse or no material published unless in person on the higher practices for a long time. So I think he has done a noble job to teach an extremely complex system to common practitioners. I have previewed his practices they are very good and if you have experience in Taoist practices you will understand them. This is a path that takes years of dedication.
Michael helped Mantak Chia greatly shape these teachings and at some level should get credit for shaping Healing Tao. Its easy to criticize someone online, but as people grow into the practice so does their more profound understanding. You can tell alot of someones character that lashes out online. Its very un-taoist to do so. But I respect your viewpoint.
So obviously not every teacher will be the same (thank god for that) at least he’s not a carbon copy of what everyone else is doing; he brings to the world his uniqueness to the world and understand the traditions from his world view.
I hope he never changes and keeps to being unique and not a practitioner of organized despair.
Respectfully,
Snowlion
July 9, 2014 at 11:27 pm #42611russellnParticipantI have done the course material up to Star Alchemy as well. The suggestion that one will need to return to the basics to integrate and ground the higher energies I find is very true. On return to basics they are not the same but go deeper. Recently I have needed to incorporate more of basics like fanning, venting, 6 sounds, 5 animals, bone beating and breathing, fusion etc. It is lot of work but the payoff is worthwhile. It is not separate from lifestyle and many adjustments are needed. Not that easy to have integrity and dignity in all dealings but the practices help build. Sometimes the work seems the opposite of ideas about outcomes. For example if a person has some pattern of disrespect or similar on their bloodline this might be experienced again and again while it comes to centre, to a new true earth in which it is released and replaced with a more natural virtue. It seems worth recalling the range of experiences our ancestors had as this material can come up for review, of course. Doing ones family tree while doing the practices is instructive. Also the person who has the past experiences to process, that changes at same time. Back to Star Alchemy, sealing 5 senses, it is very similar in some ways to trance work from other methods, but having the solar system ladder in place does help step up and back. Also spontaneous downloads form Sun Saturn Moon levels can open to help. The heavier earthy or water energies from forms really need this meditation work. I see movie Man of Tai Chi (spoiler alert) concludes with message that martial arts training without meditation can be very destructive.
August 9, 2014 at 1:40 pm #42613ribosome777Participantin 13 cd’s not even a mention of steaming,
and the real technique is never even covered…the real technique sets up a pentagonal flow to connect the five organs to the brain…
with steaming being critical the whole process..
instead you get channeled junk from “Yokar”…
http://www.sophistimom.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/pound-cake.jpg
August 9, 2014 at 5:17 pm #42615StevenModerator>>>I think people is always looking for perfect masters
>>>as a compensation for not having perfect fathers.
>>>And try to play to these teachers the same dramas
>>>they are playing internally with their fathers.You can say that again. 😉
S
September 17, 2014 at 2:35 am #42617ribosome777Participantas nearly 20 years have passed he has nearly destroyed every real connection while creating his own junk New Age “Winn” ism
the orbit, star practices, everything existed long before One Cloud or Mantak…
Winn never even published his own book…
he is a total disaster…
the problem is that he appears to be intelligent due to “bio-technology” terms and has zero discretion or integrity
hence statements like “I accept my channeled guide lived 2400 years”
and “they lived to be 800″…
it is FRUITCAKE FODDER
September 17, 2014 at 2:36 am #42619ribosome777Participant -
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