Meditation Qigong

[theBruiser500]

Could people who have practiced meditation or qigong talk about your experience with it? Thanks.

[InchoateHand]

[ QUOTE ]
Could people who have practiced meditation or qigong talk about your experience with it? Thanks.

[/ QUOTE ]

Meditation? No.

Qigong? Yes. Specifically I Qigonged some girl yesterday. Then I drank some green tea.

[theBruiser500]

huh?

[tek]

I like to boil ginger root in my green tea.

Green tea most delicious after qigong.

[InchoateHand]

[ QUOTE ]
I like to boil ginger root in my green tea. Green tea most delicious after qigong.

[/ QUOTE ]

Especially if you Qigong her in the butt.

[Blarg]

Chi gong(or however it's being spelled these days) and meditation are great for the body and psychologically, and can do a great deal to enhance concentration.

It's very hard for most people to learn, especially in today's culture, because it takes a kind of "listening" to your internal processes and patience, and even a certain kind of honesty, that are kind of polar opposites to the way most people live their lives. We tend to want immediate, glaring results or our money back. But you can't really force some things or get them by throwing a tantrum or making demands.

If you get good teachers or books, though, take some time, and have some patience and humility, you will start to feel the flow of energy here and there in your body, and where it's knotting up. Some days you'll be better at it than others, and not many people find it all that easy to make quick progress, but you can refine your perceptions and control over time to make it eventually much easier to direct and interpret your energy and that of those around you.

I'd highly recommend the Chi Gong and Tai Chi books of Ywang-Jing Ming and especially of Mantak Chia. They are extremely in depth books by guys who completely know their stuff.

I'd also recommend, especially for Westerners, meditation that is more active and has more easily recognizable results. Internal martial arts like Tai Chi, Bagua, and Hsing-I, and ones with strong internal components like Wing Chun, focus on energy in motion, and you can very easily see when you are really understanding and controlling your energy well. That's because not only is it easier to detect the proper flow of energy when moving than when still, but even more important, as such feelings can be deceptive, improper awareness is quickly and sometimes dramatically evident, as you can find yourself stumbling, or getting shoved around easily by other students, sometimes much smaller than yourself, if your awareness and control aren't what they should be. Or what you think they are. Proper use and understanding of energy is much more tangible and comprehensible in moving chi gong and internal martial arts than it is if you're just quietly sitting or lying down.

I think that leads to quicker and more satisfying progress for the average person. And it's nice to have your progress easily checked and verifiable; it keeps you away from nonsense and self-deception.

You might want to find a good Tai Chi man. There are bad ones, too, so look around. The good ones will let you watch a class or two before spending any money on lessons. Watch out for the ones who sell all the trappings but aren't sincere, or don't seem in good health.

[InchoateHand]

Cue the pic of shirtless Phil Hellmuth meditating.

["spaceman"Bryce]

[ QUOTE ]
Cue the pic of shirtless Phil Hellmuth meditating.

[/ QUOTE ]Theres a pic of shirtless PH meditating?hmm someone has to dig that up....

[theBruiser500]

I have Qigong Empowerment by Shou-yu Liang and tried it some. It's really hard, to have the patience to do it, and concentrate the whole time you're doing it, and the discipline to do it everyday. Plus sometimes I thought I felt the chi but it's a weird concept "chi" and I am kind of sketpical of qigong in general... this mystical energy that is supposedly flowing through you. I've read a little by Ywang-Jing Ming where he says it is bioelectricy and talks about it in scientific terms. In any case it was often hard to tell when I really felt chi and when I was just making myself think I felt chi, probably I was just overnaalysing and not going along with the spirit of qigong.

I tried learning tai chi from a book, too hard, definitly want to learn that at some point.

[M2d]

didn't Qigong die in episode I?

[InchoateHand]

I was kidding before about Qigong, but I agree with you. It takes a lot of discipline, but if you stick with it, I think it can really help with your concentration and mental focus. I try to do it every day, usually early in the morning. I think my focus is better at that time of day for some weird reason. THIS (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0940208296/qid=1113243289/sr=8-3/ref=pd_csp_3/002-9502233-3024015?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) book has been a huge help for me.

[ QUOTE ]
I have this book and I've tried it some. It's really hard, to have the patience to do it, and concentrate the whole time you're doing it, and the discipline to do it everyday. Plus sometimes I thought I felt the chi but it's a weird concept "chi" and I am kind of sketpical of qigong in general... this mystical energy that is supposedly flowing through you. I've read a little by Ywang-Jing Ming where he says it is bioelectricy and talks about it in scientific terms. In any case it was often hard to tell when I really felt chi and when I was just making myself think I felt chi, probably I was just overnaalysing and not going along with the spirit of qigong.

I tried learning tai chi from a book, too hard, definitly want to learn that at some point.

[/ QUOTE ]

[theBruiser500]

how long have you practiced qigong? what qigong training do you do?

[Popinjay]

What's better Qiqong or Zen meditation? Or are they almost the same?

[Blarg]

Yeah, you'll feel all kinds of things, and sometimes you'll wonder if you're making it up and sometimes you probably will be. A lot of it will feel like an uncoordinated mess.

But the mere process of being open to it is part of the learning. It's hard to be very relaxed but still very concentrated, but when you are, you'll find certain sensations repeating themselves and become more detectable and controllable.

I'm recommending moving chi gong and things like Tai Chi because it's so helpful to have a way to measure your progress and see if it's real or not. Doing sitting or lying meditation can make you wonder if you're really getting anywhere or accomplishing anything, or just psyching yourself out somehow.

You can do something like Tai Chi all your life, too, which is one of the great things about it. It can keep you very healthy even into your old age, unlike just about any other physical activity. And for an obsessive person, there's easily a full lifetime's worth of exploration and improvement in something like Tai Chi. It can keep you fascinated and working hard for a lifetime. The first time you see some little twerp casually tossing around a 220 pound guy like he was a little girl, you'll see there's a heck of a lot going on there.

Ywang-Jing Ming's books are very deep and good. You won't learn Tai Chi from them, but since they express Tai Chi from the inside out, there's still plenty to think about there, as they get very into things like breathing methods and concentration exercises that you really don't need a teacher for. Again, I would strongly recommend digging up Mantak Chia's books, too. They're incredibly good. Until recently, most of the stuff he was talking about wasn't even shared with westerners at all.

Keep at it. It's not easy to learn, but it's extremely good for you and very fascinating. And the positive effects will definitely spill over into other aspects of your life.

[RustedCorpse]

Damn you I thought you were serious and clicked. I'm soooo stupid.

[SpearsBritney]

I don't necessarily dislike the guy, but he sure does make me fukkin laugh.

http://img170.echo.cx/img170/6369/images1xz.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)

http://img170.echo.cx/img170/5480/phil30dj.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)

http://img170.echo.cx/img170/7381/philbrushstill2aa.gif (http://www.imageshack.us)

http://img170.echo.cx/img170/1984/philhellmuth011cv.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)

http://img170.echo.cx/img170/1699/philmedstill0sc.gif (http://www.imageshack.us)

[Blarg]

Jeez, how big a collection do you have?