storing energy

Any balanced development of the energy body, together with an active interest in dreaming (keeping a dream journal for starters) is said to lead with assurance to greater capacities in dreaming/astral presence, in Taoism, Buddhism, Sufism and in the Western alchemical/occult/magic tradition. Pretty good vote of confidence…
Generally higher chakras are thought to work better, although you could also end up keeping yourself from falling asleep at all this way–balanced is best.
For myself I think just steadily working on energy body meditations, staying fit, living a life conducive to having a good conscience, and having an interest in dreams, honoring them, acting on them, heeding advice and warnings, will naturally lead to greater dream awareness. If you notice them they will notice you back. Deciding to keep a dream journal is certainly one of the best decisions I have made.
For me it is important to keep in mind that the dreaming mind is a much deeper level of mind, much smarter than the waking me, so “lucid dreaming” is something I have come to approach with that in mind. To me, dreaming is a sacred activity, and like everything in nature, is an organic, intelligent, growing process.
I like the Tibetan idea, also present in a certain kind of shamanism, or in certain kinds of shamans, of just bringing more clarity into the dream state, developing greater interest; then greater awareness that one is dreaming can develop in a way that allows for all kinds of complexity, for benefitting from “going with” or getting in synch, more consciously now, with a deeper advice giving, teaching intelligence or intelligences.
As far as lucid dreaming/astral travel being a shift in perception, this is also the opinion of my favorite writer on dreams, Robert Moss. I very much recommend his book “Conscious Dreaming”.
I’d like to share a simple qi gong technique with anyone who is interested in experimenting with it. This technique was taught to me in the dream state. I have been working with it for about six months now, and it is thoroughly incorporated into my routine. It’s very simple. Here it is:
There are two main points of focus. One is that little cleft above your upper lip, and to a lesser degree your lips and chin. The other point is the lower back of the head and to a lesser degree the back of the neck. The idea is to shift steady, calm, firm concentration between these two points, which thereby efficiently gets the microcosmic orbit flowing and also very much relaxes the head and face progressively; eventually awareness of both areas can be maintained simultaneously. At least that’s what it does for me… The trick, as I see it, is someting like when you have a ball on a string and you want to make it go in circles: All you need to do is make short little motions back and forth.
Part of the information content of the dream instruction involved a suggestion that the effect of the concentration will be analgous to what happens, partcularly in the head-face-scalp region, with women in a natural way, as a result of the form and quality of body conentration they tend to naturally develop within our culture. But this was just one aspect of the instruction, not the main point, which was just to point out–here, this is a very efficient way to do something, and to help attain overall relaxation of the mind-body.
I find it to be an excellent warm up exercise, from which I move onto lower dantien, legs, other chakras–and leg and arm channels tend to spontaneously open up during the technique. Once stability on the two points develops, I find that using intent to augment, to help along, the orbit, is then very easy going, like just making a suggestion, an easy intent gesture.
So perhaps I live in a little dream bubble on this one, but I thought I’d share what is working for me and see if anyone else finds use in it. If anyone does, naturally it would be interesting to receive feedback.
S

Practice is art of polarazing energy. There is rumor that smart polarazing yields more free jing.

So I wake up daily with free jing.
I make it a practice to channel it in MO.
Same with ching that is produced in contemplation or before great stress.

Method is soft external stimulation of hui yin (example: sitting on bean) and soft internal contemplation of MO channel.

This have been doing before and end of bed time. And inbetween when water started to transform into (morning)wood that I couldn’t sipp internally alone.

(note that such practise may change energy flow from present (say down or out or whatever to other. but until you get it and relax into into, you are (internally) raving mad. yudelove does have practise when he directs ching into k1 to help groungind, but usually remains contemplating MO and dan tiens, which is nice with all kriya/orgasmic releases in body)

I usually directed this snake into gutt or head. I made it practise to fall in sleep in such state. Or in contemplation. And upon awake asume such action.

This shift in contemplation or from sleep offers superthinking. In mere moments I am in scan over my work, my surroundind, my relationship with concepts or people (whatever I am preoccupied with). I dubbed it superthinking for it is not of ordinary mind. It is more like ‘energy transfer’. Thus it is sincerity that counts, not local methods like dream jurnal. I have found that obsessing with not forgetting narrows the window. I have always recreated it anew, or even better, somehow.

Last time I was pissed for I was shiftind from within head (upon awaking from sleep). I tend to think with my eyes. So I shifted the end of bubbling to my solar (probably). I noticed it wasn’t as usual as I was more prone to comteplating work and apartment than relationships or concepts.

I believe that to everybody firmly grounded in this word all such games are, well if he watches you he still sees you. You are at least temporarely still connected to this world.All they are aimed at opening the dan tien or skillfully (or not) manipulating/cultivating jing.
The real thing would be opening/acccessing the gate directly. That is a scope greater. Then you are a chicken or water or not anymore to external observer rooted in this world.
That would be changing the world. Not skillfuly riding the wave of karma. Not nice practice. Not serious pracice. Nor true. The practice.
Medievals talked of monads. The realm of worlds.
Shift of worlds.

the chart is the cover

why store energy when you have instant and continuous access to the infinite qi of creation?

as for castaneda, IMHO, he’s darkside and you need to be very careful with anything you’ve learned from his books, if anything. better just to avoid it. his books are good reads though.