Korpo
27th March 2007, 09:22 PM
Hello.
I wanted to share a technique I composed from other techniques. So I did not invent this stuff, and do not claim so, but I did adapt and IMO improve it.
Intro
This technique is not for immediate beginners, but I would not call it advanced. It requires certain skills I intend to describe. I'm practising some of the stuff I'm using herein for 3/4 year, some only recently. In the end I will describe where I got this from and where you could go for more detail if you're so inclined.
I myself have stumbled on this, and up until now it works great for me, and I will let you know if that stays that way. So take the parts as something from the Top 100, see if you like my remix. :)
Prerequisites
Inner feeling: You need to be able to recognise what's happening inside you, in your etheric body. You should be able to feel a blockage. A blockage should be a feelable thing, not something you suspect, or a diffuse thing. You should at least recognise some contour.
Leading energy: You should be able to lead energy through concentrated effort. You should feel at least a soft flow going where you will it to by concentrating on a spot. You should be able to hold such concentration without instantly jumping to another spot at the first distraction.
Sinking energy: You should be able to lead energy in a downward direction. You should be able to sink it below your feet. This is a safety precaution to ground and balance in case an energy phenomenon is to strong to absorb. You should be sure enough of the ability to do so even in a state of agitation.
Discipline: You should be able to persist through a certain degree of temporary inconvenience. You should be able to stop practising even if it feels great or alluring to continue.
These prerequisites are formulated very conservative. I guess you will know what's good for you and what not. Don't be put off by the many "shoulds". For me it is "Better safe than sorry". The techniques I described are not too hard to learn, but require some effort and some time, much more to master. Many if not most will know this stuff anyway. I will add later on where you may acquire skills lacking in your repertoire.
You can do this sitting, or standing in the Wu Chi pose or "Hugging a Tree".
Part I - Smile one-time down
* Form a smile on your face. Draw up edges of your mouth. Feel the positive effect.
* Do not stop smiling. Keep those edges of mouth up.
* Start out at the crown of your head. Smile there. Feel it slowly fill with positive energy.
* Feel any blockages. Let them be, do not spend too much time on them.
* Start travelling down your body with your mind. Smile until a place fills with energy and you can feel the place a bit, its contours, its blockages.
* Finish at the feet.
Smiling and concentrating on a point increases the "Chi pressure". Fill places up slightly, so that they feel normal. Don't overdo it. Smiling, even when induced by act of will, releases endorphins and good energy into the body.
Part II - Smile into the Lower Tantien
Now start at a bit below your navel and smile. Travel inside your body till you meet your spine. Travel inside your belly in the circular area between your navel, spine, and the sides of your body.
This region should feel a bit empty and filled with a bit of light energy. Tantien means "elixir field", so this is it. It may feel "bigger on the inside", therefore its other name: "Sea of Chi".
Travel slowly, and try to focus a bit on the line below your navel to your spine. Smile, and you may find a point become warmer, radiating soft warmth. It is at the approximate center of the ellipsis I described, and at the center of you whole body.
I believe this to be the "furnace" or "Yang within Yin" of Inner Alchemy. It should transmute energy.
Now smiling into it the warmth should expand from the center. It should expand along the center line of your body, up and down. Feel your body immersed in that warmth.
Feel your energy level rise throughout your body. Blockages may now feel more pronounced. You may feel more energetic. You may see white light before your inner eye, or it should at least become lighter before your inner eye. Enjoy.
Move on to the next step sometime before either your blockages start to feel pressured or you become agitated. Sink chi to the ground if one of these things happens.
Part III - Smile away blockages
Now that you clearly feel your blockages, select one and smile at it. One at a time. Keep on smiling and feeling it. It may get warm and flowing. Don't panic if it becomes inconvenient or if it gets incomfortable, that's the nature of the blockage. If in doubt, put your mind elsewhere. Keep on smiling till the blockage is completely flowing and soft, no pressure or tension. It has now lost its form.
You can either proceed from the center outward or start from the top of the body downward. From top to bottom is considered most safe.
Getting the blockage flowing is releasing the energy of the blockage. Watch out for agitation, as the blockage can store agitation and the additional energy can start to strain your energy body as well.
Furthermore take all the energy you're releasing downward. I recommend dropping energy from top of the head to the navel into the "furnace" and store it into the Tantien, and take the surplus and anything below the navel down into the ground. This should calm you, make good use of the energy, and avoid strain.
If you want the blockage to be cleared more thoroughly keep your mind on it after it got flowing. The energy will go from flowing to subtle, airy. Vent it outside your body, to the edge of your aura if you can do and feel so. This cleanses the blockages very strongly and neutralises the energy. Then again drop energy into the Tantien and below your feet (I went from the soles and toes).
Finish exactly like I described, sink your Chi into abdomen and ground. Feel grounded, feel calm, maybe even cool.
Congratulations, you have finished a session of what I like to call the "Cleansing Smile".
Origins
* "Sinking the Chi" and "Outer Dissolvement Process": These techniques I have learned from the books of Bruce Frantzis, they are taught in detail in the Qigong book "Opening the Energy Gates of Your Body" and the meditation manual "Relaxing into Your Being". Both these volumes deal with techniques to increase your awareness of what's inside and details of the energy body. The "Outer Dissolvement Process" is the technique to let blockages first melt, then expand outward.
* "Inner Smile": This meditative Qigong technique is mostly from Mantak Chia's "Tantien Chi Kung". This is a book about working with the Lower Tantien, putting your mind in it, etc. I find smiling enhances the techniques a lot, it adds a good flavour to the meal. It is hard to feel insecure or tense if smiling, so smile.
* "Yang within Yin": This is from the books "Qigong Meditation: Embryonic Breathing" and "Qigong Meditation: Small Circulation" by Dr Yang. He sees the Yin-Yang of the T'ai Chi symbol represented in the human body. At the center of the Yin that is the abdomen (black tear) is the "furnace" of inner alchemy (white drop). It's a point of expansive, strong energy amidst a field of soft, flowing energy. BTW the opposite of this dualistic pole would be in the center of the brain, the Upper Dantian. This upper Dantian is the white Yang tear, and its center the black Yin spot. This is called the "Yin Spirit Center" or "Mud Pill Palace", and houses the central glands of the brain. The interaction of both in spiritual practises is described in this volumes in utmost, yet somewhat dry, detail.
"Disclaimer"
I am no master. I have practised for over a year, have read a lot, but the responsibility for your energy body lies with you, not with me. I want to share information, and hope you can make something of it. Please be sure to ground yourself properly and take the safety precautions I recommended. Go into the practise with confidence or don't. If not sure, abort. Do not go beyond your limits. Never go to a point where you no longer feel in control of what's going on. If panicking for any reason, shift attention below your feet and stay there.
I feel good practising this. It enhanced my practise. Feel free to share your opinion and experiences. Feel free to ask. Enjoy.
Regards,
Oliver
I wanted to share a technique I composed from other techniques. So I did not invent this stuff, and do not claim so, but I did adapt and IMO improve it.
Intro
This technique is not for immediate beginners, but I would not call it advanced. It requires certain skills I intend to describe. I'm practising some of the stuff I'm using herein for 3/4 year, some only recently. In the end I will describe where I got this from and where you could go for more detail if you're so inclined.
I myself have stumbled on this, and up until now it works great for me, and I will let you know if that stays that way. So take the parts as something from the Top 100, see if you like my remix. :)
Prerequisites
Inner feeling: You need to be able to recognise what's happening inside you, in your etheric body. You should be able to feel a blockage. A blockage should be a feelable thing, not something you suspect, or a diffuse thing. You should at least recognise some contour.
Leading energy: You should be able to lead energy through concentrated effort. You should feel at least a soft flow going where you will it to by concentrating on a spot. You should be able to hold such concentration without instantly jumping to another spot at the first distraction.
Sinking energy: You should be able to lead energy in a downward direction. You should be able to sink it below your feet. This is a safety precaution to ground and balance in case an energy phenomenon is to strong to absorb. You should be sure enough of the ability to do so even in a state of agitation.
Discipline: You should be able to persist through a certain degree of temporary inconvenience. You should be able to stop practising even if it feels great or alluring to continue.
These prerequisites are formulated very conservative. I guess you will know what's good for you and what not. Don't be put off by the many "shoulds". For me it is "Better safe than sorry". The techniques I described are not too hard to learn, but require some effort and some time, much more to master. Many if not most will know this stuff anyway. I will add later on where you may acquire skills lacking in your repertoire.
You can do this sitting, or standing in the Wu Chi pose or "Hugging a Tree".
Part I - Smile one-time down
* Form a smile on your face. Draw up edges of your mouth. Feel the positive effect.
* Do not stop smiling. Keep those edges of mouth up.
* Start out at the crown of your head. Smile there. Feel it slowly fill with positive energy.
* Feel any blockages. Let them be, do not spend too much time on them.
* Start travelling down your body with your mind. Smile until a place fills with energy and you can feel the place a bit, its contours, its blockages.
* Finish at the feet.
Smiling and concentrating on a point increases the "Chi pressure". Fill places up slightly, so that they feel normal. Don't overdo it. Smiling, even when induced by act of will, releases endorphins and good energy into the body.
Part II - Smile into the Lower Tantien
Now start at a bit below your navel and smile. Travel inside your body till you meet your spine. Travel inside your belly in the circular area between your navel, spine, and the sides of your body.
This region should feel a bit empty and filled with a bit of light energy. Tantien means "elixir field", so this is it. It may feel "bigger on the inside", therefore its other name: "Sea of Chi".
Travel slowly, and try to focus a bit on the line below your navel to your spine. Smile, and you may find a point become warmer, radiating soft warmth. It is at the approximate center of the ellipsis I described, and at the center of you whole body.
I believe this to be the "furnace" or "Yang within Yin" of Inner Alchemy. It should transmute energy.
Now smiling into it the warmth should expand from the center. It should expand along the center line of your body, up and down. Feel your body immersed in that warmth.
Feel your energy level rise throughout your body. Blockages may now feel more pronounced. You may feel more energetic. You may see white light before your inner eye, or it should at least become lighter before your inner eye. Enjoy.
Move on to the next step sometime before either your blockages start to feel pressured or you become agitated. Sink chi to the ground if one of these things happens.
Part III - Smile away blockages
Now that you clearly feel your blockages, select one and smile at it. One at a time. Keep on smiling and feeling it. It may get warm and flowing. Don't panic if it becomes inconvenient or if it gets incomfortable, that's the nature of the blockage. If in doubt, put your mind elsewhere. Keep on smiling till the blockage is completely flowing and soft, no pressure or tension. It has now lost its form.
You can either proceed from the center outward or start from the top of the body downward. From top to bottom is considered most safe.
Getting the blockage flowing is releasing the energy of the blockage. Watch out for agitation, as the blockage can store agitation and the additional energy can start to strain your energy body as well.
Furthermore take all the energy you're releasing downward. I recommend dropping energy from top of the head to the navel into the "furnace" and store it into the Tantien, and take the surplus and anything below the navel down into the ground. This should calm you, make good use of the energy, and avoid strain.
If you want the blockage to be cleared more thoroughly keep your mind on it after it got flowing. The energy will go from flowing to subtle, airy. Vent it outside your body, to the edge of your aura if you can do and feel so. This cleanses the blockages very strongly and neutralises the energy. Then again drop energy into the Tantien and below your feet (I went from the soles and toes).
Finish exactly like I described, sink your Chi into abdomen and ground. Feel grounded, feel calm, maybe even cool.
Congratulations, you have finished a session of what I like to call the "Cleansing Smile".
Origins
* "Sinking the Chi" and "Outer Dissolvement Process": These techniques I have learned from the books of Bruce Frantzis, they are taught in detail in the Qigong book "Opening the Energy Gates of Your Body" and the meditation manual "Relaxing into Your Being". Both these volumes deal with techniques to increase your awareness of what's inside and details of the energy body. The "Outer Dissolvement Process" is the technique to let blockages first melt, then expand outward.
* "Inner Smile": This meditative Qigong technique is mostly from Mantak Chia's "Tantien Chi Kung". This is a book about working with the Lower Tantien, putting your mind in it, etc. I find smiling enhances the techniques a lot, it adds a good flavour to the meal. It is hard to feel insecure or tense if smiling, so smile.
* "Yang within Yin": This is from the books "Qigong Meditation: Embryonic Breathing" and "Qigong Meditation: Small Circulation" by Dr Yang. He sees the Yin-Yang of the T'ai Chi symbol represented in the human body. At the center of the Yin that is the abdomen (black tear) is the "furnace" of inner alchemy (white drop). It's a point of expansive, strong energy amidst a field of soft, flowing energy. BTW the opposite of this dualistic pole would be in the center of the brain, the Upper Dantian. This upper Dantian is the white Yang tear, and its center the black Yin spot. This is called the "Yin Spirit Center" or "Mud Pill Palace", and houses the central glands of the brain. The interaction of both in spiritual practises is described in this volumes in utmost, yet somewhat dry, detail.
"Disclaimer"
I am no master. I have practised for over a year, have read a lot, but the responsibility for your energy body lies with you, not with me. I want to share information, and hope you can make something of it. Please be sure to ground yourself properly and take the safety precautions I recommended. Go into the practise with confidence or don't. If not sure, abort. Do not go beyond your limits. Never go to a point where you no longer feel in control of what's going on. If panicking for any reason, shift attention below your feet and stay there.
I feel good practising this. It enhanced my practise. Feel free to share your opinion and experiences. Feel free to ask. Enjoy.
Regards,
Oliver