RichieRich

http://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2014/11/30/harvard-professor-explains-daoism-with-help-from-rza/Phjqn9SKhx0L0LkL44on0H/story.html

This book looks very interesting.

The short summary: life is not about achieving happiness, it’s about achieving completion of your WHOLE self.

It strikes me that the book may be about means rather than ends. As the authors say

What we’re offering you here is an anti-happiness book that, paradoxically, opens you up to a far greater degree of…

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Thanks for the comprehensive answers. Very helpful.

I found your post very interesting and helpful.

Ultimately smoking addition is the result of a defect in the liver (wood system).

On QF2013, I remember Michael saying that addiction and obsession related to the spleen. So I was interested to hear that smoking addiction relates to the liver. Are different organs implicated in addictions to…[Read more]

Thanks for the Ocean Breathing (OB) link. From this, it looks like Michael combined Walter’s breathing method with a qigong form he created. Interestingly, in the link, Michael states that he combined the breathing with qigong in order “to open the lower dantien”. As Michael often uses “dantien” to mean the Door of Life, I take this to be anot…[Read more]

Ocean Breathing was originally a qigong form invented by Walter Beckley called “Radiant Hand Body Activation Method”. Michael borrowed it and renamed it Ocean Breathing [much better name], to which Walter agreed. Michael’s comments about Ocean Breathing’s “purpose”, are simply an opinion–no different than my opinion except my opinion is different…

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I asked

Can I just confirm that the purpose of Ocean Breathing to open the Door of Life wider so that ore pre-natal chi can pass through?

You replied

I wouldn’t say that that is the purpose.
I would say it is more just an aspect of the practice.
As you do Ocean Breathing, you bring in qi from many different sources . . . qi from the mingmen,…

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Thanks for this. Very helpful…especially for someone who indulges in much intellectual thought!

Feeling the qi descending down into the earth, brings your energy down toward…your lower dantian where it is healthier for it to be.

I’d never quite thought of it like this: that the ultimate aim of Deep Earth Pulsing is to bring qi to the lower…[Read more]

Deep Earth Pulsing is a grounding qigong…

Is Riding the Cosmic Horse also (primarily) a grounding qigong?

Deep Earth Pulsing is a grounding qigong, but it is one in which you are not rooted to the ground at all (you are continuously breaking your contact). Grounding and rooting are not the same things.

Ah! I hadn’t grasped that grounding and rooting are different concepts. That’s helpful.

I see you briefly discuss the difference here.

Grounding…

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Steven

You say

Iron Shirt 1 is much much worse . . . really you can only get about a 5% understanding (if that) on your own. You really do need live interaction with somebody . . . you just won’t get the root otherwise. This I can guarantee.

In which case, would Deep Earth Pulsing learnt live result in more/less/the same grounding as Iron Shirt…[Read more]

Steven

Thanks for your detailed response. Very helpful.

Your post is the first time I’ve seen three entities described: (1) the dan tien (2) its subset, the ming men and (3) the ming men’s subset, the actual portal, the Door of Life.

Location of portal
You describe the geometric centre of the dan tien as half way between the navel and…[Read more]

In much simpler terms, the lower dantian (“the dantian”) is the lower energy field, the ming men is basically the back door and the navel is the front door.

As I understand it, the real ming men is not the “back door” acu point DU4. In QF (Part 3, CD 2, Track 1) Michael says that the dan tien has a cavity inside of it called the ming men. He also…[Read more]

You are not artificially stopping the qi from rising once you rise about the waist. It’s not like you say, “OK I’ve reached the waist again, but since my numerical count is now starting ‘2’ I’m now done and so I won’t use the qi that I’ve already acquired from the earth anymore”. You are washing the body in both directions with qi from your hands…

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RE 1

Long story short, you can do it either way: simply exhaling the contents of your consciousness to sun/earth OR you send a qi ball to the sun/earth. It’s good to play with both and see how they work for you. Then pick whichever one you personally feel is the most powerful for you.

Thanks. That’s very helpful. I’ll play!

RE 2

I think it…

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I think much of what Martha Beck writes is smug, simplistic and plain wrong. Thus, I’ve no doubt Oprah will lap it up!

I’ve set four of Martha’s points followed by my responses.

MARTHA: In the past 10 years, I’ve realized that our culture is rife with ideas that actually inhibit joy. Here are some of the things I’m most grateful to have…[Read more]

InterANAL breathing! Now THAT sounds interesting!