Wisdom Quarterly: qigong

Showing posts with label qigong. Show all posts

Friday, September 16, 2011

Alchemy Conference (Long Beach)

The largest gathering of Alchemists in 500 years! Come for transformation and to learn an ancient wisdom for modern times, September 16-18, 2011

Discover the art of transformation

Be nurtured for three days in the alchemy way of life with initiation into the sacred mysteries. Find knowledge and tools that sustain and transform life. Forward thinking types will take part in finding solutions to current issues the world now faces.

The Alchemy Conference is a unique event. It is both an outstanding forum to learn about scientific findings and spiritual teachings from world-renowned experts and an opportunity to mingle with like minded seekers. Gain insights and a sense of personal improvement.

Take a quantum leap

East meets West, old meets new, people from all over the world gather and discover practical solutions for improving life. This is the largest collection of practicing alchemists in the last five centuries! The conference will be revealing the secrets to an extraordinary life. Action is important step toward an extraordinary life and planet. And abundant opportunities are now being offered to consciously transform life starting with the individual.

What resonates?

Meditations and experiments toward enlightenment
Awaken powerful energies to fuel transformation
Mysteries of the ages for bringing abundance and wealth
Creating a sustainable environment
Revealing the hidden secrets of life
Lightwork and bodywork
Recognizing hidden “signatures” of people and events
Transmuting emotions, thoughts into purified consciousness
Applying alchemical strategies for professional growth
Alternative healthcare and continuing rejuvenation
Spiritual transformation
Ancient techniques to increase sensuality and sexuality
Gain life momentum

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Shaolin: Kung Fu Buddhism (film)

Lewis Beale (Washington Post, Sept. 9, 2011)

Buddhist monks in "The 36th Chamber of Shaolin” (The Weinstein Company)

[It's] arguably the most popular franchise in film history, featuring the 1,500-year-old martial-arts tradition of some Chinese Buddhist monks.

I'll kick your @$$... once I finish this video game

The Shaolin Temple, founded in the fifth century, has been the key element in hundreds of movies and TV shows: “Kids From Shaolin,” “American Shaolin,” “The 36th Chamber of Shaolin,” “Shaolin Soccer” -- and now “Shaolin,” a new movie starring Jackie Chan and Andy Lau that debuted Friday on video-on-demand.

All are based on the martial-arts practices of the Buddhist monastery -- a special brand of kung fu that combines physicality and Buddhist spirituality and is, according to the Shaolin Temple’s Web site, “based on a belief in the supernatural power of Buddhism.”

“Most people don’t realize kung fu is internal and external, a peaceful and a martial application, and a Shaolin movie will include both... “Shaolin is all about spirituality, karma, your well-being,” adds Doris Pfardrescher of Well Go USA, which is distributing “Shaolin.” All other martial-arts films are “ just about action, fighting,” she adds, “but Shaolin is about religion, spirituality, being with Buddha.” More

Chi (breath energy) explained

Howstuffworks.com

Chi [breath, spirit, spiritus, prana, qi] is a primal substance that animates the universe in Taoism, a mysterious force at the center of ancient Chinese myths and legends that also brought attention to Tai Chi and the Tao [sometimes defines simply as the way or the path of least resistance].

Chi is the force that sets the world and everything in it into motion. Chi is also the force that sustains all things once they are created. [In Buddhist Abhidharma, chi is the "air element," one of the four fundamental characteristics of matter. It is responsible for movement and does not refer to mere oxygen entering and exiting the body. It refers to a far more subtle energy that diffuses throughout the body just as wind does.]

The Idea of Chi

The Taoist concept of chi is not easily accepted by Westerners. It is not a concept that appears in our mainstream religions [except for Christian texts in Latin that speak of spiritus and the "holy spirit," where spirit means "breath"] or philosophies [except for the now defunct theory of the Four Elements]. More

Light Meditation (how to video)

Sri Sathya Sai Baba in Sathya Sai Speaks (Vol. X, pp. 348-350, Shivarathri, 1979); text edited by Wisdom Quarterly

There are many meditations and lots of different advice. This is a universal and usually effective form, a first step toward spiritual [= spirit = spiritus = breath] development.

It takes discipline but leads to joy. Practice before dawn when the body is refreshed after sleep before dealing with the day. Have a lamp or a candle before you with an open, steady, straight flame. Sit in front of the candle in the lotus posture or any other comfortable sitting position.

Mayo Clinic recommends this meditation

Look at the flame steadily for some time, closing eyes when the flame is firmly in the mind's eye. Let it slide down into the lotus of the heart, illuminating the path. When it enters the heart, imagine the petals open one by one, bathing every thought, sensation, and emotion in light removing darkness from them. There is no space for darkness to hide. The light of the flame becomes wider and brighter. Let it pervade all limbs.

Now those limbs will not indulge in dark, suspicious, or destructive activities; they have become instruments of light and love. As the light reaches the tongue, falsehoods vanish from it. Let it rise up to the eyes and ears and undo dark desires infesting them. The head is suffused with light dispelling dark thoughts. Imagine the light grows more and more intense. Let it shine all around and spread ever widening circles, encompassing loved ones, friends, companions, strangers, rivals, enemies, all living beings, the entire universe.

As the light daily illumines the senses, a time will soon come when one no longer relishes dark and disturbing sights and tales or crave for base, harmful, deadening toxic foods and drinks, demeaning things, places of ill-repute and injury, or frame harmful designs against anyone at any time. Stay with the thrill of everywhere witnessing the light [which may refer to the nimitta preceding jhana in serenity or Buddhist shamatha meditation].

If one adoring the good (for oneself, others, and both) in any form now, visualize that form in the all-pervasive light. Practice this meditation regularly every day. At other times rest the mind on the breath just under the nose like an uplifting fragrance.

Monday, September 12, 2011

I'll kick your @$$... once I finish this video game

V. Tran, Seven Dharmachari, Pat Macpherson (Wisdom Quarterly)

5:30 reveals why* we have difficulty mastering either martial arts or meditation (Tstyle9).

This short documentary explores the myth and reality of the "One Inch Punch," featuring interviews with Eastern master Dr. Ze Lo (instructor Jeet Kune Do) and Western Wing Chun master Will Y.

It highlights the acting of Buddhist actress Uma Thurman (pictured left), daughter of former Tibetan Buddhist monk Prof. Robert Thurman), in "Kill Bill." It deals with what Bruce Lee demonstrated years ago as filmed and edited by Victor Tran.

The core message is simple: It is not the physical aspects of the exercise but the mental (concentration, absorption, jhana, or zen) and "spiritual" (breath, chi, qi, prana, spiritus) aspects that actually matter.

Chi is what gives the punch its power. Internal chi is far more important than external fighting because, as karma teaches, misdirected chi always turns against the practitioner. Chi can be used in meditation to great benefit. Its use in jhana leads to a meditative counterpart sign (nimitta). This establishes one and makes fruitful mindfulness/insight (vipassana) practice possible.

Who is Robert A. F. Thurman? He is referred to by the New York Times magazine as "The Dalai Lama's man in America." Scholar, author, former Tibetan Buddhist monk, co-founder with Richard Gere of Tibet House in New York City, a close personal friend of the 14th Dalai Lama, and father of five children including the actress, Uma Thurman, he is the Jey Tsong Khapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University. TIME magazine named him one of the "25 Most Influential Americans." He has lectured all over the world as his charisma and enthusiasm draw packed audiences.

Quentin Tarantino exploits Uma, Asian culture, martial arts, Lucy Liu, and even the original Mr. Kung Fu (Kwai Chang Caine) actor David Carradine all in one gory action thriller.

*Video Games are Ruining Us

WARNING: This funny "Mad TV" clip alludes to a cruel prank on boys and girls.