you get exactlly what you ask for

Sounds great . . .

Yes, I find that when doing a lot of practices,
to get real shifts–sustained shifts–devoting
around 2/3 of my practice to grounding practices
is about the right mix . . . at the very least,
more than half is essential . . . sort of like
having an ideal diet where your meat and dessert is
an important part to the meal, but the majority of
your meal is built up more with other staples
like broccoli . . . practicing this way doesn’t lead
to as many “in the moment” profound things, but is
the fastest route to long-term change, which I’ve
found to be much more valuable.

>>>Next step is to figure out how to keep my practices
>>>deep while working. I think it is important to have
>>>a balance between these “retreats” and work (the
>>>hermit in the mtn vs. in the city). Reading your winter
>>>hermit reports inspired me to really take the time
>>>that I had between work for practice.

When not on retreat, this is more of a challenge . . . definitely.
Only you can intuitively determine what is the right way
for you to proceed or form a good practice strategy . . .
But let me give you a few ideas that I’ve found, and you
can use/abuse/ignore them as you see fit.

1. First thing in the morning after getting up:
Do some Standing Practice

I find it to be a perfect way to get the blood flowing.
It provides a good way to use the time while you are
still groggy and not fully awake. All you have to do
is stand. First stand in comfortable wuji as you yawn
and start to wake up. Then after 5-10 minutes as you feel
ready, move your arms and body into a more active posture.

Doing even 20 minutes a day each morning of standing practice
will create profound shifts, and won’t get in the way of
you needing to go to work. You can consider it like
any other morning activity, like brushing your teeth.

In this way, you start the day off energized, while grounded
and centered in your being. If you have time for more practice,
great! Otherwise, incorporate other practice later.

2. Have a handful of short practices that you can pull out
at any given time when you have 10-15 mins.

There are plenty of times during the day when I realize that
I have 10-15 mins. to kill. That is the perfect time
to whip out one of these shorter practices. I keep a little
checklist of them. E.G. I’ll realize I have a spare 15 mins.,
and realize that I’ve got time to do a round of Primordial.
Then I do it. I actively look for such opportunities each day,
and mentally make a note of the desire to have completed Primordial
+ + + (stuff on list) by the day’s end. As I mentally check these
off as the day goes on, I feel good that I’m getting in a nice bit
of practice even while busy with my day. It is, of course, important
to feel relaxed and enjoy the actual practice time during
that 15 mins., and not treat it as another busy chore of life.
This is instead your moment to take a breath and enjoy life.

3. Have a devoted practice time, maybe an hour, either in the
morning or at night (or both, depending on your free time). Since
you only have an hour, save this time for your longer practices,
such as Deep Healing Qigong, alchemical meditation, etc. Don’t
do any short practices such as Primordial here, as those should
be done during your mini-breaks during the day. This is the time
to go deep.

I’ve experimented with a lot of different techniques over the years,
but using the above 3 guidelines has given me the most consistent
daily practice of a nontrivial amount. Trying to set aside a large
block of time daily (more than an hour) has not been effective for
me / sustainable for me in the long-term despite any intention to do so.
However, by following the above guidelines, I can get a good 1.5-2 hrs.
of practice in each day without really even trying to put forward an
effort to do so.

Of course what will work for you may be completely different, but
in any event, maybe it will give you some ideas.

Qi,
Steven

Sounds great . . .

Yes, I find that when doing a lot of practices,
to get real shifts–sustained shifts–devoting
around 2/3 of my practice to grounding practices
is about the right mix . . . at the very least,
more than half is essential . . . sort of like
having an ideal diet where your meat and dessert is
an important part to the meal, but the majority of
your meal is built up more with other staples
like broccoli . . . practicing this way doesn’t lead
to as many “in the moment” profound things, but is
the fastest route to long-term change, which I’ve
found to be much more valuable.

>>>Next step is to figure out how to keep my practices
>>>deep while working. I think it is important to have
>>>a balance between these “retreats” and work (the
>>>hermit in the mtn vs. in the city). Reading your winter
>>>hermit reports inspired me to really take the time
>>>that I had between work for practice.

When not on retreat, this is more of a challenge . . . definitely.
Only you can intuitively determine what is the right way
for you to proceed or form a good practice strategy . . .
But let me give you a few ideas that I’ve found, and you
can use/abuse/ignore them as you see fit.

1. First thing in the morning after getting up:
Do some Standing Practice

I find it to be a perfect way to get the blood flowing.
It provides a good way to use the time while you are
still groggy and not fully awake. All you have to do
is stand. First stand in comfortable wuji as you yawn
and start to wake up. Then after 5-10 minutes as you feel
ready, move your arms and body into a more active posture.

Doing even 20 minutes a day each morning of standing practice
will create profound shifts, and won’t get in the way of
you needing to go to work. You can consider it like
any other morning activity, like brushing your teeth.

In this way, you start the day off energized, while grounded
and centered in your being. If you have time for more practice,
great! Otherwise, incorporate other practice later.

2. Have a handful of short practices that you can pull out
at any given time when you have 10-15 mins.

There are plenty of times during the day when I realize that
I have 10-15 mins. to kill. That is the perfect time
to whip out one of these shorter practices. I keep a little
checklist of them. E.G. I’ll realize I have a spare 15 mins.,
and realize that I’ve got time to do a round of Primordial.
Then I do it. I actively look for such opportunities each day,
and mentally make a note of the desire to have completed Primordial
+ + + (stuff on list) by the day’s end. As I mentally check these
off as the day goes on, I feel good that I’m getting in a nice bit
of practice even while busy with my day. It is, of course, important
to feel relaxed and enjoy the actual practice time during
that 15 mins., and not treat it as another busy chore of life.
This is instead your moment to take a breath and enjoy life.

3. Have a devoted practice time, maybe an hour, either in the
morning or at night (or both, depending on your free time). Since
you only have an hour, save this time for your longer practices,
such as Deep Healing Qigong, alchemical meditation, etc. Don’t
do any short practices such as Primordial here, as those should
be done during your mini-breaks during the day. This is the time
to go deep.

I’ve experimented with a lot of different techniques over the years,
but using the above 3 guidelines has given me the most consistent
daily practice of a nontrivial amount. Trying to set aside a large
block of time daily (more than an hour) has not been effective for
me / sustainable for me in the long-term despite any intention to do so.
However, by following the above guidelines, I can get a good 1.5-2 hrs.
of practice in each day without really even trying to put forward an
effort to do so.

Of course what will work for you may be completely different, but
in any event, maybe it will give you some ideas.

Qi,
Steven

I used to practice for hours every day too and got huge impact but it was very up and down and when i didn’t have that meditation feeling i’d know. It was like feel perfect / feel less than perfect up and down.

Now i just do iron shirt for about 5-10 mins, enough to do 6 packings and 1-2 times of MCO of 20 mins each and while i’m driving to work i do healing sounds. Apart from that i try to expand my awareness and keep my mind silent as long as possible in daily life. It’s great. I have heaps more benefit from say 6-7 hrs of practice even though it’s not as intense as the qigong but because i’m doing it for such a long time it ends up being more. The great thing too is that i’m doing it in my normal daily life so my activities have been 10fold from when i was meditating lots.

The best advantage though is that now i can get that same meditative feeling while working, driving, exercise, eating and even getting called into the bosses office at work. In my opinion it’s heaps better than any normal type of meditating. It is meditating on what is around you and inside you, not on the energy. It’s grounding too because you are here and now and inside your body.

Thats not to say i don’t like meditating but when i was practicing hours a day like you were (i did it for over year when i was in china and didn’t have much else to do) it is a hell alot of wasted life when you could be out doing stuff and enjoying that state at the same time! Just try it. Its hard at first but in a years time you’ll be great at it. I mean you have got all day every day to practice! 🙂

I used to practice for hours every day too and got huge impact but it was very up and down and when i didn’t have that meditation feeling i’d know. It was like feel perfect / feel less than perfect up and down.

Now i just do iron shirt for about 5-10 mins, enough to do 6 packings and 1-2 times of MCO of 20 mins each and while i’m driving to work i do healing sounds. Apart from that i try to expand my awareness and keep my mind silent as long as possible in daily life. It’s great. I have heaps more benefit from say 6-7 hrs of practice even though it’s not as intense as the qigong but because i’m doing it for such a long time it ends up being more. The great thing too is that i’m doing it in my normal daily life so my activities have been 10fold from when i was meditating lots.

The best advantage though is that now i can get that same meditative feeling while working, driving, exercise, eating and even getting called into the bosses office at work. In my opinion it’s heaps better than any normal type of meditating. It is meditating on what is around you and inside you, not on the energy. It’s grounding too because you are here and now and inside your body.

Thats not to say i don’t like meditating but when i was practicing hours a day like you were (i did it for over year when i was in china and didn’t have much else to do) it is a hell alot of wasted life when you could be out doing stuff and enjoying that state at the same time! Just try it. Its hard at first but in a years time you’ll be great at it. I mean you have got all day every day to practice! 🙂