Doghead's Cosmic Bar

Hi Rev! It's good to see you back.

Ulrike, thanks for the great answer. I was familiar with the words "chi" and "ki", but you had to throw in ji just to keep me on my toes. Due to a change in my work scheule, I will have to stop going to Yantra classes (a Tibetan form of yoga). I am looking for something to do on a different day and there is one studio near me that offers "Tai Chi Martial Arts" and another that offers "Taoist Martial Arts." Can anyone give me suggestions on what I should look for when chosing a new teacher?

Roxie, your attack on Mel Arware (and others) is completely unacceptable. I am sure that I am not the only one who tried to explain the rules of posting to you in a private chat. I am posting this publicly because you would take neither hint nor direction in private. Psimagus is right when he tells you he is not the only one who feels you’ve gone too far.

As a group, we have been more than tolerant. Calling people names is not funny or clever. It is weak and small minded, and makes you look bratty. Posting everywhere without regard for the topic or content of your post is not friendly. It makes you look self-centered and ignorant. This behavior is not working for you. You need to start treating other people better, so you can make friends and have the social contact you seek.

I am very sorry if you have a neurological disfunction or developmental delay that is makes social interaction difficult. I really do understand how hard it can be. Maybe if you took our suggestions and started making your own bot, you could pour your energy into a hobby and that could help you focus. You can also try exploring other forums. You may like www.livejournal.com or http://www.kidzworld.com/kidzworld/. If you find people who are interested in the same things you are, you will be better at talking with them. Anyway, it’s good to visit a lot of sites and see which ones you like.

If you do build a bot, I’ll be happy to help you as much as I can, as long as you behave well. I post a bit too much myself, despite the fact that I’m disgraphic (my spelling and typing are very bad). I know that perfectly nice people can have a few “crossed wires” in the brain. I am glad you are trying to be social, but you need to stop and think about what you do, and change your behavior to something that works better for you.

Rev: The philosophy of Aikido is very similar to that of taiji. My first martial arts class was, in fact, Aikido...but it was my senior year of college, and there wasn't any aikido to be found in my home town afterwards. I went hunting for something similar, and found taiji.

Bev: Taiji is, itself, considered a Taoist martial art. I'm not sure what else might fall under that label, but I would expect they do qigong (aka chi-kung = breathing/energy exercises). As far as teachers... You want someone who realizes that not everybody's body has the same capabilities, and who emphasizes safety. Anyone who tries to force your body into a position should be avoided (guiding you into a position is okay, but shoving, etc, is not). For the taiji one, ask about the teacher's lineage. I do the Cheng Man Ching short form, and my teacher traces his lineage back to the Grandmaster through three lines. If it's a Yang style form, the lineage should go back to the Yang family, Wu style to the Wu family, etc. I'd be wary of anyone who can't provide his lineage or tries to dodge the question.

Well said, Bev... good on ya.

I really want to thank psimagus for the tic tac toe game. It's almost working, I think. If anyone doubts the intellect of psimagus, just try typing the game in..never mind developing it. So I raise a flagon of ale to psimagus and Brother Jerome.

Ulrike:
I have always been leery of the qiqong as I first ran into it as a form of meditation (which is perhaps the wrong introduction). I found that while it did provide a rhythmic matra-like action it also caused implicit body-focus; thus no matter how much I practiced it I would only go so deep into the meditative state because of that tie-to-the-flesh it had (I will credit it for keeping me breathing now while I meditate- something that used to be a problem for me)

Bev- good to be back

I would describe qigong as meditative movement, not as meditation, rather like the taiji form itself. For meditation, there are some qigong-like exercises, but as you said, you have to let go of them eventually or you remain too focused on the body. I think of them as "primers". *shrugs*

I took a "yoga chi kung" class at a community center a while back. It was interesting and I never went to sleep but I think I learned everything I could from that teacher. When he started teaching us falun dafa he learned off a video tape, I felt it was time to move on.

Lama Palden, who teaches the Yantra class, uses meditation at the begining and end of each class, which encourages "moving meditation" during the yoga. Lama Palden seems to be both more subtle and more powerful that my yoga chi kung instructor was, but then you probably learn more studying under the Dalai Lama and yantra masters than you do on a video tape. I will go back to Yantra when my schedule allows it.

Thanks for the advice Ulrike. I will have to go to both places and see what a class looks like. Maybe it will be a good change.

I may be off here but bev, If you are looking for more of an easy relaxation technique, i think i might have an answer.

I wish i knew the name of it, but i think its just a type of physical theropy where you lay down, relax and focus on muscles while listening to an auido tape instructions.

Its basic contract and relax exorcises that are quite effective.

I think you are going for something more indepth, but i thought i would just plugin another option.

Jazake- actually a lot of "still" meditation forms begin with exactly the process you are refering to. Its a method that makes one become so fully aware of the body that one can control it enough to completely relax it. Complete relaxation is the gateway to 'forgeting' the body which allows for higher states to be reached.

Odd that through focus is found forgeting...

As I see it, the point of meditating on specific aspects of the self as opposed to specific aspects of the rest of the Universe is to recognize that they are fundamentally equivocal - transitive/intransitive is an arbitrary (and ultimately illusory) distinction.
You are not breathing any more than you are breathed. You are not moving any more than you are moved. You are not thinking any more than you are thought.
So of course the process is exactly equivalent to meditating on aspects of the universe that we don't traditionally consider parts of our selves. You are not separated from the universe any more than you are separating yourself from it.

And, of course, I am not semanticizing any more than I am semanticized