Dream Yoga/Soul Travel</h1> <article> <h1>Dream Yoga/Soul Travel</h1> <p>William — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 11:41:00 GMT</p> <p> </p> <p> Dream Yoga is an ancient practice that involves extending our waking consciousness to the dream hours. Why would we want to do this?</p> <ol> <li> Solve problems and recognize emotional patterns in our life</li> <li> Travel to different locations without leaving bed</li> <li> Meet great teachers and discuss questions</li> <li> For fun!</li> </ol> <p> Accomplishing dream yoga means practice and to help you get there it is best to focus on a small number of simple techniques and leave the tomes of books on the subject for later perusal.</p> <p> <i> To start, be sure that you are able to create a focus in your life now for a new practice. It will be much easier if you devote your attention to it during the day. The techniques can easily be incorporated into your routine. In fact, you may find them to offer many benefits including making you work more efficiently, leaving time in your day for other activities. </i></p> <p> <i>A. Before going to bed, create a space of ten minutes to relax from the day's pressures and bring your focus to the next stage in your day: SLEEP. Repeat to your mind that you will remember your dreams as you wake up. </i></p> <p><i> B. Create your dream journal. Creating a dream journal - mental record or written - helps to build the bridge between our subconscious and conscious mind, allowing the conscious mind to enter into the world of dreams. </i></p> <p> C. Perform reality checks during the day. Aim for 10 checks. Develop a positive curiosity about whether you are sleeping. There are two useful ways to do this. Look at the time on a clock and ask if you are dreaming. Look back at the clock and see if the time changed. Be genuinely curious if you are awake. If the time changes, you are dreaming, or should I say awake! Another tecnique is to press against and object such as a table and ask if you are awake. See if your hand will go through the object. </p> <p><br /> Devote two months of your life to these techniques and you may be left with many enriching memories. Post comments on your successes. And most of all, have fun and take things lightly. Don't get frustrated. Everything is learning. Soul Travel is for later....</p> <p> </p> <p>Dream Yogi William</p> <p> </p> <p> </p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>May 3rd Seminar</h1> <p>neo — Mon, 04 May 2009 17:21:00 GMT</p> <p>So I attended the may 3rd seminar Jazz hosted at his house and it was awesome!! </p> <p> </p> <p>We started off with everyone closing their eyes and just dancing to music to help everyone relax and open up (it also happened to be a lot of fun to dance around like that) and then we did another similar exercise with eyes closed and just babbled in any language but our own, haha. It really amazing how stepping out of your comfort zone and letting go like that, especially when you have to use your imagination, can help open one's self up.</p> <p> </p> <p>Afterwards we did the One breath or Buddha breath</p> <p>Followed by some standing and Maoshan five elements and reverse breathing</p> <p>Then we did Kunlun with the lineage transfer, which was nothing short of magical. One very unique thing we did that helped me open up more than I EVER have was a serpent variation of Kunlun. jazz said it was a more feminine version. I havent laughed like that in years!! It felt like I shook off plenty of stress I've been holding on to. Its really incredible how good it feels to just let go and allow your body to balance itself out.</p> <p>We also did the golden flower meditation, red phoenix, and laughter qi gong</p> <p>Everytime I see Jazz he seems to have improved his own practice and is therefore even more able to help me in mine</p> <p>Anyone who has aspirations about discovering their own inner nature and having fun while doing it, should check out Jazz's kunlun meetups</p> <p>His knowledge and ability to effectively teach and convey these amazing practices make it something not to be missed. And the chance to meet and practice with like minded people is fantastic.</p> <p>I will definitely be attending more meetups in the future</p> <p> </p> <p>Love and Peace,</p> <p> Max </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>email: max.newlon@uconn.edu</p> <p> </p> <p> </p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>REIKI LESSONS FOR LIFE</h1> <p>tatiana — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 01:44:00 GMT</p> <p>Great understand of Reiki by Marita Swatz</p> <p>I began to understand that Reiki i not only something we Do or something we Give or something we Share during treatments. Reiki truly is universal life energy. it is the energy found in the spiraling of galaxies, the roaring of the winds, the changing of the tides,and the silence of the eagle in fligh. Reiki is boundless creativity manifested in the beauty and wonder of creation, and found in each cell of our bodies. It is loving, and gently powerful energy that can flow into the areas of our thoughts, emotions, and physical nature to heal and renew us. It is the energy of unconditional love and acceptance that has embrace each of us and can move within us to bring balance and health. Reii is aspects of the loving energy from which we come and in which we can live, if choose to do so. Reiki is love and light, goodness, and compassion. </p> <p>From the Reiki Magazine</p> <p> </p> <p> </p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Benefits of Rising Early & How to Do It ?</h1> <p>Jazz — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 10:43:00 GMT</p> <p> <span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:small;">I came across below article, and was telling people at work how I was going to go home and read it. Then my wife said, why don’t you get up early tomorrow and read it. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:small;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:small;">So here I am reading it, and sharing it with you. For full article please click on below link:</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;"><a target="_blank" href="http://zenhabits.net/2007/05/10-benefits-of-rising-early-and-how-to-do-it/" title="Befefits of Rising Early" class="null"><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:small;">http://zenhabits.net/2007/05/10-benefits-of-rising-early-and-how-to-do-it/</span></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:small;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:small;"> </span></p> <p> <div class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;"><ol> <li><strong>Greet the day</strong>. I love being able to get up, and greet a wonderful new day. I suggest creating a morning ritual that includes saying thanks for your blessings. I’m inspired by the Dalai Lama, who said, ” Everyday, think as you wake up, ‘today I am fortunate to have woken up, I am alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others, to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings, I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others, I am going to benefit others as much as I can.’ “</li> <li><strong>Amazing start</strong>. I used to start my day by jumping out of bed, late as usual, and rushing to get myself and the kids ready, and rushing to drop them to school and come in to work late. I would walk into work, looking rumpled and barely awake, grumpy and behind everyone else. Not a great start to your day. Now, I have a renewing morning ritual, I’ve gotten so much done before 8 a.m., my kids are early and so am I, and by the time everyone else gets in to work, I’ve already gotten a head start. There is no better way to start off your day than to wake early, in my experience.</li> <li><strong>Quietude</strong>. No kids yelling, no babies crying, no soccer balls, no cars, no television noise. The early morning hours are so peaceful, so quiet. It’s my favorite time of day. I truly enjoy that time of peace, that time to myself, when I can think, when I can read, when I can breathe.</li> <li><strong>Sunrise</strong>. People who wake late miss one of the greatest feats of nature, repeated in full stereovision each and every day — the rise of the sun. I love how the day slowly gets brighter, when the midnight blue turns to lighter blue, when the brilliant colors start to seep into the sky, when nature is painted in incredible colors. I like doing my early morning run during this time, and I look up at the sky as I run and say to the world, “What a glorious day!” Really. I really do that. Corny, I know.</li> <li><strong>Breakfast</strong>. Rise early and you actually have time for breakfast. I’m told it’s one of the most important meals of the day. Without breakfast, your body is running on fumes until you are so hungry at lunchtime that you eat whatever unhealthy thing you can find. The fattier and sugarier, the betterier. But eat breakfast, and you are sated until later. Plus, eating breakfast while reading my book and drinking my coffee in the quiet of the morning is eminently more enjoyable than scarfing something down on the way to work, or at your desk.</li> <li><strong>Exercise</strong>. There are other times to exercise besides the early morning, of course, but I’ve found that while exercising right after work is also very enjoyable, it’s also liable to be canceled because of other things that come up. Morning exercise is virtually never canceled.</li> <li><strong>Productivity</strong>. Mornings, for me at least, are the most productive time of day. I like to do some writing in the morning, when there are no distractions, before I check my email or blog stats. I get so much more done by starting on my work in the morning. Then, when evening rolls around, I have no work that I need to do, and I can spend it with family.</li> <li><strong>Goal time</strong>. Got goals? Well, you should. And there’s no better time to review them and plan for them and do your goal tasks than first thing. You should have <a href="http://zenhabits.net/2007/05/the-amazing-power-of-one/">one goal</a> that you want to accomplish this week. And every morning, you should decide what one thing you can do <em>today</em> to move yourself further towards that goal. And then, if possible, do that first thing in the morning.</li> <li><strong>Commute</strong>. No one likes rush-hour traffic, except for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Oil">Big Oil</a>. Commute early, and the traffic is much lighter, and you get to work faster, and thus save yourself more time. Or better yet, <a href="http://zenhabits.net/2007/01/6-tips-for-commuting-to-work-by-bike/">commute by bike</a>. (Or even better yet, <a href="http://www.scotthyoung.com/blog/2007/05/23/twenty-ways-to-stay-productive-when-working-at-home/">work from home</a>.)</li> <li><strong>Appointments</strong>. It’s much easier to make those early appointments on time if you get up early. Showing up late for those appointments is a bad signal to the person you’re meeting. Showing up early will impress them. Plus, you get time to prepare.</li> </ol></div> <p> </p> </p> <p>Rest of article please read: <a target="_blank" href="http://zenhabits.net/2007/05/10-benefits-of-rising-early-and-how-to-do-it/" title="Befefits of Rising Early" class="null"><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:small;">http://zenhabits.net/2007/05/10-benefits-of-rising-early-and-how-to-do-it/</span></a></p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Its the Foolish one that knows the Tao</h1> <p>Jazz — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 16:16:00 GMT</p> <p>Remember to Surrender & Smile ... (key to raising Kunlun) <br />its the foolish one that knows Kunlun - as said by Max.<br /><br />"The wise one hears of the Tao <br />and practices it dilegently.<br /><br />The average student hears of the Tao<br />and gives it thought every now and then.<br /><br />The foolish student hears of the Tao<br />and laughs aloud.<br /><br />If there were no laughter<br />the Tao would not be what it is.<br /><br />Hence it is said:<br />The bright path seems dim.<br />Going forward seems like retreat;<br />The easy way seems hard:<br />The highest Virtue seems empty;<br />Great purity seems sullied;<br />A wealth of Virtue seems inadequate;<br />The strength of Virtue seems frail:<br />Real Virtue seems unreal;<br />The perfect square has no corners:<br />Great talents ripen late;<br />The highest notes are hard to hear:<br />The greatest form has no shape:<br />The Tao is hidden and without name.<br />The Tao alone nourishes and brings everything to fulfillment."<br /><br />TAO TE CHEN</p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Ignite the Fire Within You > change your Destiny - 1</h1> <p>firewithin — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 00:20:00 GMT</p> <p>What do I mean. Well I mean what the title implies.</p> <p>Discover the divine fire within you and realize that the light that you have always looked for on the outside is actually within you.</p> <p>This is the divine light which is at the core of everything. Nothing can exist without it. For it is all encompassing, opnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent.</p> <p>But in some cases this divine light/fire is so covered up with ashes of our false and destructive self-beliefs that it needs to be cleaned, ignited and fanned from a spark to its true essense.</p> <p>The material world that we see and experience is but a shadow and projection of this divine light filtered through the lens of our beliefs, thoughts and patterns. </p> <p>The question arises how do we know this is true. Try this, change one single belief of yours - example: if you believe that you don't deserve good things in life, just reverse the belief 180 degrees and start believing the opposite. </p> <p>Easy to say, but try doing this for even ten minutes and you will realize it is tough if not very very tough. Why is this so? Well the reason is because the programs/beliefs within ourselves are very deeply etched in our psyche and it is not enough to just overlap them with a new belief. </p> <p>The answer is to clean the underlying beliefs/patterns and then create new beliefs/patterns. </p> <p>How can this be done? </p> <p>There are a number of ways some fast, some slow. I believe a combination of these is the best way as I found out in my life.</p> <p>One of the fast ways is to shock ourselves out of it, this can be done through POWER CHOICES like walking on fire/live coals, walking on broken glass, breaking an arrow with you throat, bending a steel rod wih your throat, jumping in the freezing sea and more.</p> <p>The slow ways which include meditation and contemplation techniques help to clean the underlying patterns.</p> <p>Combine the above two and you can achieve miracles.</p> <p>Stay tuned for more.</p> <p>Note> I will be holding "Glass walking, Fire walking, Arrow breaking, Steel bending" seminars from May onwards. Keep checking the blog for details and more inputs on the FIREWITHIN... > agni-firewithin.blogspot.com</p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Fire – Agni</h1> <p>Jazz — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 22:36:29 GMT</p> <p>Fire was considered sacred for many early religions. I read somewhere that one reason was that it was one of the things that provided protection to early humans. During night it would give you warmth, burning it in darkness provided you light, kept the wild animals away.</p> <p>These days we take it for granted. </p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Spring Cleaning</h1> <p>Shweta — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 14:44:00 GMT</p> <p>Spring is around the corner and it cannot be a more perfect time than this to begin Spring Cleaning... with a underlying intention.. Cleaning up to make mind and heart clutter free..<br /> <br />All the past hurts, anger, resentment, grievance, negativities which have been stored away in back of your mind and heart.. can really hurt.. They pop out any time, any day, any place.. Simple events are enough to trigger a volcano of emotions which have the capacity to wreak havoc and turmoil for days and months on end.. Carolyne Myss once appropriately wrote - our biography becomes the bluprint for our biology..<br /> <br />Here are few Creative ways to Clean up, offload and travel on this journey of life lighter..<br /><br /> * Deep Breathing - With each breath out, exhale all the negativities and bring postivities in with each breath in<br /> * Clean the cobwebs off the mind and heart while meditating.. Visualise using a feather duster to shake the negativities off and opening the windows to let positivities in..<br /> * Be mindful of ensuring cleansing from within while doing routine chores as trash disposal, laundry, junk mail sorting, dishwashing or even bathing..- getting rid of negativities and bringing harmony and peace within.<br /><br /> <br />And while you are getting rid of them, ensure that no new ones sneak in.. Nobody in the world can hurt you without your permission. Try wearing an imaginary shield around you covered with reiki and white light and a reflective mirror if necessary, whatever negativities, people try to afflict, bounces away from you..<br /> <br /> <br />You are the master of your own life. You have the power to forgive and let go..You have the power to tell the world you mean Serious Cleaning inside-out. NO DUMPING ALLOWED - Nobody can dump their negativities in your sphere of white light.<br /> <br />While cleaning up your mind and heart, instead of leaving a vaccuum, why not plant seeds of positivity - seeds of love, amity, peace, kindness and forgiveness?<br /> <br />Let's make it a Spring Cleaning routine each day, enjoy the fresh air and simple joys of life..</p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Yoga Asanas - Postures: Poorna Pavanmukta Aasan / Full reduce air</h1> <p>Jazz — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 04:14:00 GMT</p> <p><b>How to do it:<br /></b>Start with sitting posture (Sukh Aasan)<br />brings legs in front and lie down on back<br /><br />Fold and bend right leg and hold<br /><br />Take a deep breath in<br />While breathing out, bend both legs and bring them closer to chest.<br />Next if you can lift your head and try to bring nose between knees<br />hold for 10 seconds<br /><br />Breathing in slowly come back down to starting position<br /><br /> <br /><b>Benifits:</b></p> <ul> <li>reduces arthritis in legs</li> <li>helps digestion, gets rids of gas/flatulence, diarrhea, dysentery, constipation</li> <li>pressure on stomach and inner thighs helps to reduce fat</li> </ul><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Patanjli Sutra</h1> <p>Jazz — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 02:50:00 GMT</p> <p>Patanjali in Indian history is considered the father of yoga, who put his thoughts and knowledge of yoga in "The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali". In this work, Patanjali compiled 195 sutras or concise aphorisms that are essentially an ethical blueprint for living a moral life and incorporating the science of yoga into your life.</p> <p><br /><br /> <i><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><b>"Heyam dukham anagatam"</b></span></i><br /><br />Since we are born, we will have to suffer, BUT on the day to day basis the suffering/pain that is about to come can be avoided. There is a lot in life that is not in our control such as our parents, our relatives, our nature/tendeancies. Every day there are things that will go against us. Because of our ignorance we will make mistakes and make wrong decisions. <br /><br />If some one does any thing negative in front of us and instead of reacting INSTEAD if we look at it objectively then we can choose to avoid suffering. The choice is ours!.<br /><br />We should be so alert, that before doing any action, we need to watch the state of our mind. If we are angry, then its better to stay quiet and this way the pain can be avoided. Any action that we do with balance state of mind will not bind us.<br /><br />If we are that much alert then the pain that is going to come in our life.<br /><br /><br /><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><i><b>#24 tasya hetur avidya</b></i></span><br /><br />Lack of understanding (of the union of Purusha and prakrithi) is the cause for spiritual ignorance.<br /><br />1. Prakrithi: phenomenon realm of matter, does action, gross matter<br /><br />2. Purusha = reality , caonconcsuness or god, pur conscuouness<br /><br />Question is that how did these two things that are absolutely opposite, get together to form man. yog says they met due to ignorance<br /><br />they attract each other like an iron and magnet. Once come together, they are stuck together.<br /><br />we have to realize that we are to know that we are not prakriti but purusha. that I am nothing else but pure<br /><br />increase knowledge, objectivity from prakriti to attain peacne and enlightement, reach godly stage is the path of yoga.<br /></p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Brian Weiss Seminar</h1> <p>William — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 17:09:00 GMT</p> <p> </p> <p> Despite my long interest in past-life regression, I have made few serious attempts to pursue it. It is one of the mysteries of the field that there are not more qualified therapists devoted to it even as studies consistently prove that regression is beneficial to a person's emotional/spiritual progress. My one previous visit to a past-life regression therapist was not successful.</p> <p> I had the feeling, though, that Dr. Weiss' seminar would be an opportunity to make strides. The first exercise in the seminar allowed me to relive my previous life and help to explain my phobia of marriage. Dr. Weiss guided us into a deep state of hypnosis. I was extremely relaxed yet aware. Relaxing my conscious mind allowed me to perceive spontaneous images from the soul level. At first I saw a wedding taking place from what seemed to be the 19th century( most likely ) by the attire. Due mostly to my lack of practice in hypnosis the images were fragmented. I next saw the same woman from the wedding run in a hurried manner and the next image was her( myself in the life ) getting married again. I think going through two marriages proved to be enough! Whereas my dreams mostly contain images from people I have seen before, these were stories containing vivid pictures of people I never met.</p> <p> More than just my own experience, I learned from the stories of others. Hearing other people share their accounts of dreams during a child helped me to understand that my own dreams at that time were not just random but may have pointed to clues of a prior life. Also the exercise following lunch was the most dramatic. In it, Dr. Weiss asked participants to pair up with a stranger and exchange person items. He then regressed us and asked everyone to report their accounts. One person told of seeing a boy with a certain injury - very specific - and a person on the other side of the room knew of a person with the same situation. Another person gave the name of a boy with his condition to the stranger with whom she was paired. The stranger knew someone with the exact condition. </p> <p> I am always cautious by nature to form beliefs but the evidence seen at this seminar was overwhelmingly clear. Beside just learning about past-lives, it strengthened my knowledge about the spiritual aspect of life. While I have always had a deep intuition about reincarnation and past-lives, this seminar turned it into something more experiential, personal. I encourage everyone with an interest to read about it. It may take practice, practice and more practice but the results are well worth it. </p> <p> </p> <p>-William</p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Past life regression - with Dr. Brian Weiss</h1> <p>Jazz — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 16:45:00 GMT</p> <p>4 of us attended a 1 day session with Dr. Weiss on March 8th in NYC.</p> <p>Dr. Weiss is the author of famous book Many lives Many master which deals with past life regression.</p> <p>details to follow.</p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Kunlun and Gold dragon body</h1> <p>Jazz — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 02:16:00 GMT</p> <p>One of the highest achievements of doing Kunlun and Red Phoenix meditation is achieving GOLDEN DRAGON BODY.</p> <p>Dragon body is in kunlun what Rainbow body is in Tibetan meditation traditions. Its where so much energy has been attained/collected and at will one can shift from body to emptyness and back from emptyness to body. Like it says in buddhist heart sutra - Form is emptyness and emptyness is form.</p> <p>You may have heard / read in books of tibetan lamas and Indian asetics/gurus who when they passed away at will left the body and what was left was only hair and nails. I have heard that in Rainbow body, the space in atoms of body begins to contract and you shrink to nothing and disappear into light. But in dragon body instead one shifts due to energy and is able to come back. </p> <p>One has so much energy that it may even start to happen itself. Few of high students of Max have attained Gold dragon body. One of his students Kan was in a coffee shop and people saw coffee cup fall down and his arm disappear. There are practices to stop it from happening.</p> <p> </p> <p><span class="searchlite"></span></p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Mind is Gravity</h1> <p>Jazz — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 01:57:00 GMT</p> <p>Max teaching us Kunlun always mentions "Mind is Gravity, you let the mind go - gravity will go", </p> <p>It is our mind that holds us back. We were born free, as we grew up we have been conditioned. Our view or reality is based on our conditioned mind.</p> <p>"Drop from the mind into the heart(or even better, connect them through the Kathika Channel) and you can begin to move more freely into other realities!.........then "magic happens because it's already there, smile".</p> <p> </p> <p> </p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Neigong: description</h1> <p>Jazz — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 05:04:00 GMT</p> <p><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><b>Neigong, </b></span>also spelled nei kung, neigung, or nae gong, is any of a set of Chinese breathing, meditation and spiritual practice disciplines associated with Daoism and especially the Chinese martial arts. Neigong practice is normally associated with the so called "soft style", "internal" or nèijiā Chinese martial arts, as opposed to the category known as waigong or "external skill" which is historically associated with shaolinquan or the so called "hard style", "external" or wàijiā Chinese martial arts.<br /> <br />Both have many different schools, disciplines and practices and historically there has been mutual influence between the two and distinguishing precisely between them differs from school to school.<br /><br />There is both martial and non-martial neigong. Well known examples of martial neigong are the various breathing and focus trainings taught in some traditional Taijiquan, Baguazhang and Xingyiquan schools. <br /><br />Neigong and the internal martial arts:<br />The martial art school of neigong emphasizes training the coordination of the individual's body with the breath, known has the harmonization of the inner and outer energy, creating a basis for a particular school's method of utilizing power and technique.<br /><br />Neigong exercises that are part of the neijia tradition involve cultivating physical stillness and or conscious (deliberate) movement, designed to produce relaxation or releasing of muscular tension combined with special breathing techniques known as the "tortoise" or "reverse" breathing" methods to name but a few.<br /><br />The fundamental purpose of this process is to develop a high level of coordination, concentration and technical skill that is known in the martial arts world as neijin. The ultimate purpose of this practice is for the individual to become at one with heaven or the Dao. As Zhuangzi stated, "Heaven, earth and I are born of one, and I am at one with all that exists (天地與我並生, 萬物與我唯一)".<br /><b><br />Neigong and meditation:</b><br />This type of practice is said to require concentration and internal reflection which results in a heightened self-awareness that increases over time with continued practice. Neigong practitioners report awareness of the mechanics of their blood circulation, peristalsis, muscular movement, skeletal alignment, balance, etc.<br /><br />What is said to be occurring as the result of continual practice is a type of internal alchemy, that is a refinement and transmutation of the "Three Treasures" or San Bao, in Chinese. The Three Treasures are known as Jing(精), Qi (氣) and Shen(神) and can be loosely translated as Essence, Vitality and Spirit.<br /><br />According to Daoist doctrine the Three Treasures can be described as three types of energy available to humans. The Dao De Jing purported to be written by Lao zi states in chapter 42 that "The Daogives birth to the One, the One gives birth to the Two or Yi and Yang and the Two gives birth to the Three (which some interpret to mean Jing 精, Qi 氣 and Shen 神, or sometimes Heaven Tian, Earth Di and Man Ren) and lastly the Three gives birth to the 10,000 Things; which is all that exists in heaven and on earth.<br /><br /> Internal alchemy, also called spiritual alchemy, (nèi dān shù) is a term used for different esoteric disciplines focused on balancing internal and spiritual energies. In China, it is an important form of practice for most schools of Taoism. <br /><br />Internal alchemy, like the more general alchemy from which it derived, focuses on transmuting energies and substances. The practices focus on restoring balance and elevating spiritual vitality.<br /><br />The goals of internal alchemy are enlightenment, improved health, longevity and peacefulness. Practitioners often seek immortality or reunion with God or another divine source.<br /><br />The energies and substances of the body are described in metaphor. Elements and metals and have all been used to classify and define characteristics of the human system. Internal alchemists map the body, noting which routes energy move through and which areas are associated with particular "elements".<br /><br />Medicinal alchemy<br />In many cultures, notably those of the East, diseases and medical ailments were thought to be due to imbalance in the afflicted person's internal alchemy, or a weakness of one's life spirit.<br /><br />One of many ancient Taoist practices was alchemy - the search for an elixir that would make a people immortal. Spiritual alchemy is a series of physical, mental, and spiritual disciplines intended to prolong the life of the body and create an immortal spiritual body that would survive after death.<br /><br />In Inner Alchemy, the human body becomes a laboratory in which the Three Treasures of Jing, Chi, and Shen are cultivated for the purpose of improving physical, emotional and mental health, and ultimately merging with the Tao, i.e. becoming an Immortal. In China, it is an important form of practice for most schools of Taoism.<br /><br /><br />Jīng (精) is the Chinese word for "essence", specifically kidney essence. Along with qì and shén, it is considered one of the Three Treasures. Jīng is stored in the kidneys and is the most dense physical matter within the body (as opposed to shén which is the most volatile).<br /><br />It is said to be the material basis for the physical body and is yīn in nature, which means it nourishes, fuels, and cools the body. Jīng is also believed by some to be the carrier of our heritage (similar to DNA).<br /><br />Production of semen, in the man, and menstrual blood (or pregnancy), in the woman, are believed to place the biggest strains on jīng. Because of this, some even equate jīng with semen, but this is inaccurate; the jīng circulates through the 8 extraordinary vessels and creates marrow and semen, among other functions.<br /><br />One is said to be born with a set amount of jīng (pre-natal jīng, also sometimes called yuan qi) and also can acquire jīng from food and various forms of stimulation (exercise, study, meditation.)<br /><br />Theoretically, jīng is consumed continuously in life; by everyday stress, illness, substance abuse, sexual intemperance, etc. Pre-natal jīng by definition cannot be renewed, and it is said it is completely consumed upon dying.<br /><br />So, this jīng is considered quite important for longevity in TCM. Many disciplines related to qìgōng are devoted to the replenishment of "lost" jīng by restoration of the post-natal jīng.<br /><br />In particular, the internal martial arts (esp. Tai chi chuan) and the Circle Walking of Baguazhang may be used to preserve pre-natal jīng and build post-natal jīng - if performed correctly.<br /><br />Commonplace in China is the sight of rénshēn on sale in herb shops, at a wide range of prices - Kung Fu classics fans may remember it used as a plot element at the start of Drunken Master 2. Rénshēn, particularly Korean and Chinese, is said to bolster the jīng and a common medicinal recipe is to add to porridge (of course congee in China) along with cinnamon, goji berries and ginger for a sweet, warming breakfast when the weather starts to turn cold in Autumn.<br /><br />Yin and yang are thought to arise together from an initial quiescence or emptiness (wuji, sometimes symbolized by an empty circle), and to continue moving in tandem until quiescence is reached again.<br /><br /> For instance, dropping a stone in a calm pool of water will simultaneously raise waves and lower troughs between them, and this alternation of high and low points in the water will radiate outward until the movement dissipates and the pool is calm once more. Yin-yang, thus, always has the following characteristics:<br /><br />The ancient Chinese YIN-YANG scholars believed that three are two natural, complementary and contradictory forces in our universe. The scholars named them as YIN and YANG. YIN represents the female, negative, darkness, softness, moisture, night-time, even numbers and docile aspects of things.<br /><br />YANG represents the male, positive, brightness, hardness, dryness, day-time. odd numbers and dominant aspects. YIN and YANG are continually in the state of flux and always looking for the BALANCE point. One moves , the other responses. Therefore, ancient scholars treated this natural phenomenon as a natural universal law.<br /><br />These scholars also believed that our universe consisted of five basic elements, which are Metal, Water, Wood, Fire and Earth (Soil). Everything, including humans, in the universe (between Heaven and Earth) must have a relationship with these five elements. So they tried to apply the five elements not only to every physical thing in the world, but also to the Colors, Directions, Seasons and Sounds.</p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Yoga Asanas – Postures: Ardh Pavanmukt Aasan – Reduce/gets rid of Air</h1> <p>Jazz — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 18:47:00 GMT</p> <p><b>How to do it:<br /></b>Start with sitting posture (Sukh Aasan)<br />brings legs in front and lie down on back<br /><br />Fold and bend right leg and hold<br /><br />Take a deep breath in<br /><br />While breathing out, bend leg and bring it closer to chest.<br />Next if you can lift your head and try to touch nose to knees<br />hold for 10 seconds<br /><br />Breathing in slowly come back down to starting position<br /><br /><br />Switch to other leg and do the same<br /><br /> <br /><b>Benifits:</b></p> <ul> <li>reduces arthritis in legs</li> <li>helps digestion, gets rids of gas/flatulence, diarrhea, dysentery, constipation</li> <li>pressure on stomach and thigh helps in reduce fat</li> </ul><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Yoga Asanas - Postures: Shav asan / Corpse pose</h1> <p>Jazz — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 18:54:00 GMT</p> <p>Shav Aasan or corpse is an excelent posture to relax body. It can be done before starting yoga or at the end of yoga.</p> <p><b>How to do it:</b><br />lie down <br />close your eyes<br />keep 2 feel distance on legs<br />tun palms upward to sky<br />relax and bring your attention to your breath.</p> <p>Intially if you need help, put one hand on stomach and one hand on chest to feel the breath. When you are relaxed and aware of breath, bring the hands back to ground.</p> <p> </p> <p>At this point you can do <br />body scan: bring attention to top of you head and slowly move down to each part of the body thanking/relaxing it.<br />OR<br />simply stay lying down and relax enjoying the bliss feeling of deep relaxation.</p> <p> </p> <p><b>To end: <br /></b>bring your attention back to body, slightly move fingers and feet<br />slowly turn to one side, put hands below your head.<br />slowly come into sitting posture<br />put hands together in prayer posture (Namaste)<br />and bow to your divine self.</p> <p>(video to follow)</p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Yoga Asanas - Postures: Bicycle Posture / Chakra Paad Chalan Aasan</h1> <p>Jazz — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 18:53:00 GMT</p> <p><b>How to do:</b><br />Start with sitting posture (Sukh Aasan)<br />brings legs in front and lie down on back<br />hands side slightly below hips<br />lift and bend left leg<br />and move like cycle 10 times forward<br />10 times reverse<br />switch to right leg and do the bicycle<br />birngs both legs down<br />close your eyes<br />turn to one side keeping hands below head<br />feel the relaxation<br />sit back into sitting posture<br /><br /><b>Benifits:</b><br />blood circulation in legs, reduces arthiritis pain in the knees<br />while bicycling the pressure on legs and stomach and helps reduce fat.<br /><br />(Video will be posted in future)</p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Yoga Asanas - Postures: Vritta Pad Chalan Aasan / Leg Circling posture</h1> <p>Jazz — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 18:28:00 GMT</p> <p><b>How to do it:</b><br />Start with sitting posture (Sukh Aasan)<br />brings legs in front and lie down on back<br />hands side slightly below hips<br />lift right leg straight up until comfortable <br />and make circles 10 times clockwise<br />then 10 times anti-clockwise<br />(try to keep equal distance in all directions when making circles)</p> <p><br />then switch to right leg and do as above.<br />brings both legs down<br />close your eyes<br />turn to one side keeping hands below head<br />stay in this position for 10 seconds to feel the relaxation<br />sit back into sitting posture<b><br /></b></p> <p><b>Benifits: </b><br />hip bones , circulation in legs<br />pressure on legs and stomach helps in reducing fat<br /></p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Patanjli Sutra: Tasya Hetur Avidya</h1> <p>Jazz — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 18:15:00 GMT</p> <p>Patanjali in Indian history is considered the father of yoga, who put his thoughts and knowledge of yoga in "<i>The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali".</i> In this work, Patanjali compiled 195 sutras or concise aphorisms that are essentially an ethical blueprint for living a moral life and incorporating the science of yoga into your life. </p> <p>In this post we will discuss 24th verse of the sutra:</p> <p><b><i><span style="color:#33cc00;">#24 tasya hetur avidya</span></i></b></p> <p>Lack of understanding (of the union of Purusha and prakrithi) is the cause for spiritual ignorance.</p> <p>1. Prakrithi: phenomenon realm of matter, does action, gross matter</p> <p>2. Purusha = reality , caonconcsuness or god, pur conscuouness</p> <p>Question is that how did these two things that are absolutely opposite, get together to form man. yog says they met due to ignorance</p> <p>they attract each other like an iron and magnet. Once come together, they are stuck together.</p> <p>we have to realize that we are to know that we are not prakriti but purusha. that I am nothing else but pure</p> <p>increase knowledge, objectivity from prakriti to attain peacne and enlightement, reach godly stage is the path of yoga.</p> <p> </p> <p>I will do more research on this and report back.</p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Stress & Disease</h1> <p>Jazz — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 18:09:00 GMT</p> <p> </p> <p>I have heard it quoted many times that 80 percent of the diseases are caused my over selves mainly due to stress. They are psychosomatic in nature; symptoms caused by mental and emotional disturbances. </p> <p>Disease is disturbance or in ease due to us going against the natural flow or being aware of one law.<br />What is going with the natural flow? <br />I think natural flow is being aware of One law, the connection between all of us, Unconditional love.<br />Living life without making seperations, hatred, jealously, anger.</p> <p><br />What is One law?</p> <p>Being aware of ONE - that we all are same! connected, interdependent. If we hurt another we are hurting ourselves.<br />Caring of others just like we care of ourselves. Universal unconditional love: not just loving our own children/parents but everyone.</p> <p> </p> <p>When we live, work and act in this competitive society, the interactions in daily life with others caus stress. What we have to remind ourselves is on how we can avoid stress and what we can do daily to get rid of it. I dont think the ideas to avoid stress but how to manage stress.</p> <p>Most of have jumping pulse that are signs of nervousness, anxiety, fear about future, depression. We have never learned how to breath properly. We mostly breath only to our lungs. If you bring notice to your breath and pulse when you are tense you will see that your breathing and pulse is rapid. Similar is true of the breathing of before you start yoga or meditation and the difference when you are done.</p> <p>Some helpful tips: to balance life that will reduce stress</p> <ol> <li><b>Phyiscal activity & exercise</b>: Important to dedicated a part of your day to do some kind of physical exercise.<br /></li> <li><b>Relaxation and rest:</b> proper rest/sleep with some form of yoga or meditation<br /></li> <li><b>Proper nutrition / eating habits</b></li> <li><b>Contentment and be happy:</b> are we happy with what hwe have in present.</li> </ol> <p> </p> <p><b>1. Physical Activity:</b> Its a struggle, but I make an effort to take few minutes a day in the morning to do few yoga postures or five elements of mao shan tai chi. Even just a little or 1 exercise can get me ready for the day.</p> <p><b>2. Relaxation: </b></p> <p style="padding-left:30px;"><b>Yoga technique: </b><br />For me simple yoga technique of breathing in making a sound while stretching and breathing out making a sound while thinking of letting stress go works.<br />In this technique: <br />You with control take a deep breath in (optional: making a loud fuuuuu sound)<br />stop when you reach stomach and its full<br />take a small pause holding the breath<br />when control breath fully out<br />take a pause while your body is empty of air.<br />Repeat.</p> <p style="padding-left:30px;">This technique can also be combined with every yoga posture to make the yoga more spiritual meditative, to aid one to do the postures from simple mechnical moves to be spiritual.</p> <p style="padding-left:30px;"><b>One Breath or Zen/Buddha breath technique for basic meditation:</b><br />sit in a relaxed posture, close your eyes, and bring awareness to your breath. The idea is not to control your breath but to watch it. If you can sense that you are not breathing to your stomach then with intention Guide your breath: by taking a long deep breath all the way to stomach and then without a pause guide it completely coming out. Again without a pause guide it back breathing in.</p> <p style="padding-left:30px;">After few efforts, simply just watch your body breathing one breath (full breathing to stomach and out without a pause)</p> <p style="padding-left:30px;">Difference between Yoga and Buddha is that:<br />Yoga: is controlled breathing with pauses in between<br />Zen/Buddha: can begin with intention but never any controling, only watching the natural breath.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><b>Auruvdya herbal remedy:</b> (ancient herbal remedy)<br />white pumpkin juice + 6 almonds + ginger juice 2 tea spoons, 1/4 spoon black pepper powder , 2 teaspoon basil, jaggery (Brown natural sugar)<br />drink 2-3 times a day.<br />Benefit: to feel grounded, emotionally balanced, calm your mind</p> <p> </p> <p>Let me do my best and be happy every day! </p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Yoga Asanas - Postures: Surya Namaskar / Sun Salutation</h1> <p>Jazz — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 15:56:00 GMT</p> <p><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><b>Surya Namaskar - Sun Salutation</b></span></p> <p><b>BENIFITS:</b> A greate excersise comrpising of 12 yoga postures. By itself if you do it 12 times a day, you dont need to do anything else. Recommended to do it first thing in morning facing the Sun. If doing with other yoga postures, an excelent sequence to warm up the body and stretch.</p> <p><b>HOW to do it:</b><br />Start with Standing posture <br />put hands together in front of heart<br />take hands up over head<br />stretch with tilting hands slight back behnd neck <br />bend down hands leading to by side of legs<br />one leg bend and <br />come into dog<br />coming down go into pushup<br />pusing up cobra<br />go back into dog<br />one leg forward <br />stand up<br />end with hands joined together in front of heart<br /></p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Kunlun caution</h1> <p>nitewater — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 14:02:00 GMT</p> <p>Hey everyone,<br /> I wanted to give out a little info on the Kunlun techniques and some of the effects of the practice. I talked to my energy teacher and described the techniques and he was very impressed with the methods and the effectiveness but he wanted to issue some caution and I wanted to relate this to all of you.<br /> <br /> The Kunlun, Red Phoenix, and Golden Flower practices are very powerful. Remember, Max's energy is so extreme that he can't even drive a car or balance a checkbook. He can't even see the color of our clothing. I've had a discussion with a Kunlun practitioner (ONLY 3-4 months of daily practice) and she described "blanking out" at times. She found this frustrating. After that one weekend seminar, I had some moments of emptiness happen a few times in the following three days. This might start happening to you and there are some methods to slow down the movement. Remember that Max said that this is the "Quick Quick" method. But "Quick" referring to what destination? What destination are you looking for? Unless your destination is to reach a higher dimension altogether (body and mind leaving this plane of existence), I'd suggest the use of precaution with these techniques. Cultivating and storing energy in an unbalanced way, with little preparation, and without the continued supervision of a teacher can be detrimental to physical and mental health. I'm not trying to instill fear, I'm just trying to communicate the fact that these techniques are very good at opening up higher functions that most of us are not psychologically prepared to handle. <br /> <br /> If you start to feel strangely or to have experiences of heightened awareness that are unsettling, there are some energy techniques that can be shown to slow the process down and ground more. If you are "blanking out" in the middle of situations, you are not grounded. There are some grounding techniques that are supplemental and will not affect the Kunlun practice. When our energy gets big, we become like antennas and tuning forks and we can start to pick up other people's energies to the point that we can become unsure about what is "Me" vs. what is "Not Me". Even a simple practice of wearing a pearl on the surface of the skin can be very protective from situations like this.</p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Meditation Introduction...</h1> <p>nitewater — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 15:57:00 GMT</p> <p><strong> I. Introduction</strong><br /> Meditation is a very personal journey. All that anyone can give, as far as instruction, is a few exercises that can act as training wheels for slowing down the processes and rhythms of your thoughts and visualization of ideas. The end goal of all meditation (and even the idea of "prayer") is to have intense concentration on ONE SINGLE point (that point can be a thing, feeling, idea, symbol, vision, etc.) with NO tension (physical tension, mental tension, inner conflict... etc.). <span style="text-decoration:underline;">I'll write that sentence one more time without any parentheses:</span> <em>The end goal of all meditation is to have intense concentration and awareness on ONE SINGLE point with NO tension.</em> As simple of a sentence as that seems, it's not easy... and there are obviously hundreds of ways to get to that final point.</p> <p>Depending on how far you want to take this pursuit, you'll most likely confront a few assumptions involved with the practice of meditation and I'll try and list a few that I can think of off the top of my head. Some of these might sound weird or like stupid "New Age" philosophy, but they are important concepts that will probably accompany some of the biggest "breakthroughs" that can actually happen during meditation:</p> <ol> <li>The answer to every question in the universe is inside you.</li> <li>The Universe is the result of Consciousness.</li> <li>Every human being has the potential to heal themselves.</li> <li>Love is the most powerful healing force in the universe.</li> <li>The intentions behind your actions usually play the most major role in the final results.</li> <li>There is no such thing as death, it is only physical death.</li> <li>When acting with true "unconditional love", one is outside the world of Karma.</li> <li>When you change your mind, you change the universe.</li> </ol> <p><strong>II. Popular Methods.</strong><br /> The two major things that meditation will immediately improve and specifically aim to improve are a) concentration and b) awareness. Don't be too stringent with your definitions of these two things... awareness comes in many, many forms. In order to improve these two things, it is important to limit distractions and use techniques to slow down the body's physical processes and the mental "noise". All of these exercises will lead you to a place where you feel more balanced and "centered". I'll try and give a few different methods that target these specific results. These are basic and if you feel like you're having quick success with one of them or if you particularly enjoy doing one, I can start giving you some more intermediate methods that stick to the same "genre". With every single one of these methods, the goal is to do them for longer periods of time. One day you'll get to the point that you can balance or center yourself with a small bit of concentration and a few deep breaths, then you don't have to worry about how long you spend doing some of these exercises... and you might end up wanting to do them for several hours...</p> <p><strong>A. Going Inside the Body </strong>(Steps)</p> <ol> <li>Sit comfortably with body straight enough that you know you're maintaining good posture. (a string should be lifting the top of your head straight to heaven and your perineum should be directly in line with that string)</li> <li>Close your eyes and take about 10 deep ABDOMINAL breaths while feeling as if the breath enters through your eyes and finishes all the way down at the bottom of your pelvis and exhale imagining the opposite. Abdominal breathing means that with each breath you use your diaphragm and you fill your belly as if you're blowing up a beach ball that pushes on all four sides of your belly.</li> <li>Now just breath normally visualizing the breath as being alive. It enters you and gives you life and when you exhale, it takes your stresses and toxins away. After you feel like you are doing this comfortably, start scanning your body and feeling for tension or squeezed muscles... or maybe there's a thought that you can't stop thinking.</li> <li>You can make this whole exercise much more powerful and couple the breathing to a visualization. Imagine a ball of peaceful light in a spot 4 centimeters behind and below your navel right around where your center of gravity is. Imagine that your skin is inhaling and exhaling along with your actual breathing and that all of that energy from this full-body breath is going into and coming out of that ball of light. This is like your entire being is one huge cell that is pulling energy from the air all around you and breathing into and out of that ball of light in your stomach. Try and make sure you don't forget any patch of skin like the bottom of your feet or your entire back or even your whole head... your entire skin surface is breathing.</li> </ol> <p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Notes:</span><br /><em>i) If you're really serious about starting meditation and putting a lot of effort towards it, you should keep a journal and record what feelings or thoughts or effects come up from things that you try.<br />ii) When scanning your body, you can try and feel certain organs, or feel your heartbeat, or swallow some saliva and feel it move through your digestive system as if it was a healing, light-filled liquid that clears out your system.<br />iii) If you decide to try and concentrate on specific organs or points, there is a major center in a spot about 4 centimeters behind and below your navel. It is a stable place of peace and energy. Notice that the best martial artists are very very conscious of this "center" (especially since it is the location of our center of gravity) and even some of the best drummers actually keep their rhythm within this "center". [If you EVER feel light-headed or dizzy or even if you're stuck in a bad dream or nightmare, put all of your concentration and feeling into this spot in your belly and imagine roots growing down through your legs and deep into the ground. This is a very very good thing to practice when beginning meditation. It has saved me from some strange experiences that I still can't explain.]<br />iv) A very nice quote that goes with the body meditation: "Of course you have a big brain in your head. What you don't realize is that you have a bigger brain in your chest, and an even bigger brain in your Abdomen."</em></p> <p><strong>B. Eliminate Mental Noise and Improve Concentration</strong> (Listed here are several ways and you can choose how you want to go about this)</p> <ol> <li>Take a small simple picture or drawing (most people use a Tarot Card because the imagery is very symbolic of the subconscious). Scan the picture in a systematic way (from left to right, top to bottom) and memorize it and keep the image in your mind. Now, with your eyes closed, systematically erase the picture in the opposite way you memorized it (right to left, bottom to top). When you've completely erased the picture, your mind will be surprised into being completely empty. As you practice this, your mind will stay blank longer and longer (this is one way to start "listening" to your subconscious).</li> <li>In a dark room, light yourself a candle. When you light this candle, imagine that you are also lighting a flame in your heart that will burn brightly inside you while you keep your attention on the candle flame. Feel that this light is love. Concentrate on the flame and see your own consciousness and love in the light. Witness all the beautiful characteristics of the flame and feel those same bright qualities within the light in your heart that burns along with this flame. Stay at this for 5 minutes and slowly increase the time as you feel more comfortable and more "connected" with the light. When you blow out the candle, maintain a sense of gratitude and graciousness for the external and the internal light that is shining. Remember, that light is love, it should be honored the way we honor those we love. This is a great concentration exercise and will leave you feeling pretty positive.</li> <li>Get comfortable... lay down or relax in a comfortable chair and close your eyes. Do some quiet abdominal breathing like the beginning of the "Going Inside Your Body" meditation. Once you feel like your breathing is calm and quiet, just let your mind go. If you're thinking about something, just try and watch as if you're watching TV or reading a book or listening to a concert. Don't fight it and try and stop it, just allow your mind to drift. Try not to fall asleep (remember, you're developing yourself and your mental awareness... falling asleep is nice and comfortable, but if you keep yourself aware, one day you might be able to step into your dreams without losing consciousness). As you do this more and more, your mind will slowly become less and less noisy. When you've gotten to the point that you can let it go and it remains quiet, you can start feeding it thoughts and questions and actually hear answers from your subconscious. This is like throwing a pebble into a lake and learning about yourself from the ripples in the water. When your mind is calm and relaxed, thoughts and actions will arise effortlessly just like when a master musician is playing music on stage and they don't even have to think about the instrument or the music.</li> <li>This is a great brain power exercise... soooo challenging but you'll see drastic improvements in concentration, memory, and awareness within days. When daydreaming or experiencing a string of thoughts, constantly trace yourself back to a previous thought. This can be difficult at first. Basically, if you're walking down the street and you see an attractive person and you think about somebody that looks like that person that is from your old college and was friends with that guy who was from Amsterdam where people like to go vacation so they can smoke pot and take mushrooms and have weird experiences like John used to have when I lived at that house in New Brunswick, maybe I'll call John cause I haven't heard from him in a long time... Holy crap, how the hell did I start thinking: "I should call John?" Now trace yourself all the way back to noticing the attractive person that started that whole thought sequence. This is an AWESOME exercise for increasing self awareness and overall brain power. It will also make it easier to remember your dreams and keep an eye on the instinctual reactions that hold us back.</li> </ol> <p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Notes:</span><br /><em>i) The mind is a dangerous place to keep your energy. If a person meditates and constantly imagines moving energy up their body and into their head, they can become schizophrenic or develop abnormal nervous conditions. If you feel heavy energy in the head or dizzyness, etc... do that "rooting/grounding" exercise in the brackets [] from the previous section's Notes.<br />ii) Depending on how often you practice one or more of these, results will come pretty fast. The results might not be obvious when practicing, but you'll start remembering small details better, you might feel calmer, more in control, less likely to react based on emotion, more clear in your explanations, and you might remember your dreams more often.<br />iii) When practicing these things for a decent amount of time, it will become obvious when certain thoughts come into your brain from nowhere. This is your subconscious throwing thoughts at you or messages of intuition about things outside of you. I'm starting to get more of those strange thoughts that I didn't think of and I need to start writing them down so that I can figure out what they mean and where they're coming from. A journal is a very good thing when practicing meditation. We're all different and by doing meditation, we're figuring out the map to our own Self. It's good to keep updating the map and returning to places that we weren't sure about.</em></p> <p><strong>C. Visualization</strong><br /> The end result of knowing how to visualize is to create a scene or situation or to give your mind a thought (like in #3 of B.) and to allow it to live and breath as if you were witnessing a dream. I haven't been able to do this yet and I can't wait until I can... cause this is how to CREATE out of body experiences or to walk right into a dream without losing consciousness. I've had one accidental out of body experience and at least 20 dreams where I was fully conscious of the fact that I was dreaming, but I can't make these happen... yet. So basically, this is another meditation <em>genre</em>. There are many, many visualization exercises and you can make your own reality or create your own visualizations if you want.</p> <ol> <li><em>Relaxation visualization.</em> Lay down. Imagine a large ball of golden light that starts below your feet and slowly moves up your body from your feet, to your knees, to your pelvis, to your chest, and up to the top of your head and back down through your body to your feet. When the golden ball of light is moving across your body, it is relaxing every muscle it touches. When it has gone up and back down your body, you should be completely relaxed. This is a good way to completely relax yourself before bed, before sleep, or even if you're sitting down and feeling tense.</li> <li><em>Basic Chakra Visualization.</em> Sit comfortably or lay down. Imagine a huge bright golden disc of light way above your head. Imagine that this enormous disk sends down a bright beam of light to a 3-inch ball that is just above the top of your skull. Let this ball glow. Imagine that the same beam of light descends down into the center of your brow and there's another small ball of light there. Let this ball glow. Light then moves from that ball of light into a ball of light in the center of your throat. Glow. Then down to a ball in the heart area of your chest, glow, down to your solar plexus, glow, down to a spot right in the center of your pelvis, glow, down to another ball of light at the center of the spot where your legs meet your body and then down into a ball of light between your feet. Remember to let each ball of light glow for a few seconds or even a few minutes if you feel like it. When you've reached the final one in between your feet, imagine that the light circles around as if a fountain is flowing down and outward and then out and up and around your body and back up into the ball of light on top of your skull. Now just feel that light continue to circulate down and thru you and then circling back up to the top.</li> <li><em>Straight visualization practice.</em> Look around your room or the room that you're in. Take mental notes of tiny details and try to memorize the whole scene. Close your eyes and rebuild the whole room with the tiny details that you remember. If you miss details or you don't remember, try and imagine it or think harder about what you saw. If you can't remember, open your eyes and look, then close them and go back to imagining and seeing the details of everything again. If you're done and you feel confident with the mental picture, ask yourself how you feel about the room or the things in it or the state that it's in. If anything feels negative, open your eyes and change it... this is the first step in "magickal" action. When meditation and visualization are mastered, you can start to imagine future situations and create the potential realities that will result from these future situations and eventually CREATE the future.</li> <li><em>More Visualization.</em> I just started doing this and I've noticed that it will be extremely powerful once I can finally keep it going. Imagine 3-dimensional reality. When we close our eyes and see things, and even when we feel things on our skin, we are imagining 2D reality. 3D reality is a major jump in visualization because it involves being aware of a complete environment and not just viewing something from the outside. When I focus on a part of my body, I usually get this picture like I'm standing next to myself and looking at myself from the right. This is a major limitation to my concentration because I'm putting too much energy into creating a visual image of the FEELING that I'm trying to concentrate on. A feeling is NOT an image. A decent visualization that can help this 3D idea is to find a spot of tension in the body and to imagine that you are inside that tension and that you are a cube of ice. Now let yourself melt. If that is successful and you can melt all the tension, then try and make the water evaporate until all that tensed up energy is completely gone and will not return.</li> </ol> <p><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Notes:</span><br /><em>i) Visualization, like all of these exercises, will only get better with practice... and trust me... it can be REALLY tough at first.<br />ii) Even though I separated these exercises into 3 groups, A, B, and C, it's obvious that each exercise does a little of all 3 things. Some are just better for different modes of concentration...<br />iii) Visualization is very very powerful for working with potential realities, Kind of like when someone tells a performer to see themselves performing well, or when a basketball player visualizes a shot going in. The stronger the mind and the stronger the visualization ability, the more success.</em></p> <p><br />Good luck and feel free to ask questions. I know I put a lot down here but I didn't want to leave too much out and I wanted to give you the chance to see a bunch of different things that way you can choose one that has a better feel for you.</p> <p>-eugene</p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> <article> <h1>First Post...!</h1> <p>nitewater — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 18:13:00 GMT</p> <p>Hello Meet and Grow, Eugene here, running a post, testing the display, developing momentum of devoting energy to this community, asserting myself as a voice! Now I'm going to listen to the voices and post again when I've affirmed that my preferences are in order! Have a wonderful day and play with your chi!</p><div style="clear:both;"></div> </article> </main></body></html>