Steven

The Daodejing states that the Tao is beyond description and
that words are insufficient to describe it. I accept this
wholeheartedly, but I suppose it’s fun to try to come up
with approximations motivated by intuition.

Thus, I would use the following pieces of cloth to describe
a part of the infinite tapestry:

1. If the lifeforce is…[Read more]

It depends on the context in which the phrase–in particular
the word “live”–is used.

On the one hand, the Tao represents the “arrow of change”
as driven by the lifeforce. Since we are all immersed
in the lifeforce as a function of being alive, in this
context it would be *impossible* to not “live in it”.
In this context, to “live in…[Read more]

Hi SD,

What you are doing, sounds about perfect to me and is pretty close
to what I do. I have a separate room I do qigong/meditation in, and
it is dimly lit with a candle and a “Himalayan Salt Lamp”.
It provides a real nice atmosphere for the end of the evening.

Best,
Steven

The key thing you’re missing I think is connecting to the Earth.

While practicing, maintain a constant connection to the Earth,
and draw Earth qi up into your body, cooling the system.

The more you can cool off via Earth qi, the less tension
you need. I would recommend avoiding creating too much tension,
as it creates qi blockages,…[Read more]

Hi SD,

Here’s something to consider that I’ll mention since
you are in academics like me.

Avoid studying/working/mental activities within 2 hours of
your intended bedtime.

At least in my case, I’ve found that if I feel I have energy
to continue working and so I violate the above rule, that when
I *DO* stop and lie down in bed that…[Read more]

Wow, you can really feel the tendon power and snake-like fluidity in his motion . . . S

>>>I appreciate your comments about cofe.
>>>If you right I will go another round with this.
>>>But if it going to be worse, I drink alot,
>>>then probably my aversion against the adictal
>>>behaviour will increase and perhaps I realise
>>>to stop completely.

Well, I don’t recommend drinking it to excess
to “kill the urge”. It…[Read more]

Hi SD,

As to your licentiate decision, it sounds like you’ve thought it
through carefully. It’s best to listen to your intuition.

As to your comments about coffee:

“I can drink it one day in the weeak, my new decission.”
“I think that the most important here for my health is to stop with the cofe.”

You know, as well as I, that if…[Read more]

I have a name for your new practice.
Call it the “Primordial Inner Smile”.
That’s what it feels like to me anyway.

It’s like you’re doing the inner smile, but
it’s being sourced from the formless side rather
than from the form. The energy feels more fresh, pure,
and rejuvenating–more primal. And you are right,
it is…[Read more]

>>>I totally understand the fear in not wanting to develop rigidity
>>>in the one place you might feel is so fluid

Yes, this is the issue.

I just don’t want the ego to replace the current structure
(and whatever its purpose is) in dreamland with an idea
that it now has access to extended wakefulness (think
one country invading…[Read more]

Can you briefly explain what the difference is between
“Taoist Dream Practice” and what is popularly known as
“Lucid Dreaming”–because the latter I seem to remember
being advertised as “become aware that you are dreaming,
and then decide how you want the dream to proceed”?

I personally don’t feel like I’m bright enough to
know…[Read more]

Hi Shenchi,

I seem to remember (from being on the list for a few years),
that a couple years back, Michael Winn had some posts about Ken Wilber.
He seemed to be familiar with his material, and seemed quite
interested in it at the time (at least as a side interest).

Have you asked Michael?

Michael may be busy, or no longer…[Read more]

This is always an interesting question trying to determine
what separates brilliant from crazy. It’s sort of hard to pin down.

Taking a stab, I’d say:

Brilliant: Unique vision of reality; Majority of others accept/share in
Crazy: Unique vision of reality; Majority of others don’t accept/share in

I mean the only real difference…[Read more]

>>>I still want to ask how y’all specifically feel you relate to EMFs.

I try to have my energy body ignore their influence, and just tune it
out as background noise. Again, everyone on a subtle level chooses
whether they want to resonate with something or not. It’s not something
I choose to resonate with, so I don’t. Moreover, once or…[Read more]

The sad thing is, is that people that fall into the
Messiah trap on some level are genuinely feeling like
they are helping people . . . and they feel like they are
going to help end the suffering of humanity.

So unfortunately they have good intentions, but as
we all know, the road to hell is paved by them.

S

It looks like a beautiful country, at least from the pictures.
I liked the bit about “Gross National Happiness”–a step
in the right direction 🙂

S

Hi Ryan,

There are stories of Taoist immortals or near-immortals
that became so skillful that they could be outside in
below zero temperatures with little protection from the
elements–yet they felt no discomfort or sensitivity to cold.

However, I’m not that skilled, so when its below zero outside,
I wear a heavy coat!

Likewise,…[Read more]

>>>In a sense, living life “addicted” to orgasm is unnatural.
>>>Yes, nature programmed us that way, but it’s only to drive
>>>us to procreate, even if it’s not optimal in other ways
>>>like health or emotional well-being. If you break the cycle,
>>>you go back to a neuro-hormonal state closer to what it was
>>>like as a child, and your…[Read more]

If you like the show and are only just finishing season 1,
let me tell you, you are going to LOVE the show!

Season 1 is important for the setup of the rest of the show,
but the episodes, show, etc. seem only OK at that point.

Season 2 is better, and starts to pick up speed . . .

Season 3 is even better . . .

Then by season 4, you…[Read more]