astralc

well done MaudDid, I think you just discovered something very special, now to consolidate your dan tien and keep doing. Good idea to stay away from your heart, that may not be ready just yet, allow your meditations to settle your electrical/nervous system into rhythm and you will find these chakras will begin to open while you sleep - safely.

Hi again New2Qi, Robert Bruce's techniques don't work for everyone but they are certainly interesting and worth trying. As for right and wrong practice, find a good teacher, and I mean a good one, shop around, ask people who are studying tai chi or chi king and find someone who can teach you. Don't forget, most people have no idea of chi or anything about what is discussed on these forums. And many of those who do talk about it have never had an experience. You will have to go slowly and feel your way through your first year or two until you know what questions to ask to find out what to do next. There are plenty of people on this forum who will give you advice but only a few know what they are talking about through direct experience. Find them and chat with them, that will help you a lot. All the best my friend and go slowly on this mystics journey, don't rush it.

Hi New2Qi, I suggest that you start with a teacher in tai chi or chi kung who knows what they are talking about. Don't try to do the astral travel stuff or energy stuff, that will just take you all over the place like a dog chasing its tail. Focus on the basics like movement and breathing, always go back to basics, I do and it has helped in times of stress. Do the basics properly and your body wisdom will take you to the next step, then the next and the next. Trust your instincts but try not to push the energy thing, I've seen too many people blow their minds up trying to move their kundalini before they were ready for it. As for visualisations, chi is about 'feeling', if you can't feel it physically then it isn't really happening. I guess that might be what people are saying. But at the same time there is nothing wrong with visualisations for certain things. Above all - enjoy learning. All the best my friend.

This is one method I use to feel chi and to precipitate astral travel. It uses the basic chi breathing method into the lower dan tien. I use this method especially when I wake up at night. By adding the cocoon it speeds up the process of leaving my body. Last night I woke about 2 am, I felt quite awake so decided to do this chi meditation, it goes a bit like this: I bring my mind into my dan tien, the navel chakra I breathe in and out until I feel the chi, like heat or like my lungs are inside my abdomen Next, above my head, I place a ball of light about 12 inches from my crown chakra About the same distance below the soles of my feet I put another ball of light I charge these two balls with my chi breathing - I make them glow I then connect each ball of light with silken threads to form a cocoon of golden light surrounding me I bring my breath back to my dan tien and breathe until I feel as though I have become a point of light in the centre of my body / cocoon By this time I might start to lose consciousness and disappear, sometimes I leave my body if I have enough energy (it is all about energy/chi). I feel chi most intensely when I am in a very deep state of relaxation. Last night this is what happened for me: I left my body and found myself flying over an ancient township - somewhere. I remember brilliant vivid colours of the people's clothing laid out to dry on the roof tops but I don't know where it was or when - I didn't really care at the time. I was mesmerised by the colours. The sensation of astral flying is always incredible, like a whole body electric charge. Kundalini always bursts out through my crown chakra when I do this. I hope this encourages others to try deep state dan tien meditations. With a lot of practice it could be your stepping stone to astral travel too.

CofW, the energy body sure evokes amazing experiences, but its hard to find words to describe it. I like how you described your heart centre opening, mine was like being electrocuted. I look forward to hearing more of your experiences.

Manitou, a word of advise if I may to go slowly and don't rush this. A kundalini awakening can be very nasty, energy through the head and crown chakra is not always desirable or pleasant. You have plenty of good advice on this forum I am glad you have taken the time to ask and listen, good on you.

Jox, that sounds much like I do, it's energy, the energy body or dream body, and it is composed of energy. Not black or white or anything unless you want it to be a colour. The feeling I get in this state is pure joy and ecstasy. There is no other way I could describe it, how do you describe pure ecstasy?

Don't forget your basic prostate health needs: zinc, natural anti-inflammatories like vitamin C, MMS and herbs. May I suggest you go to a good naturopath or TCM practitioner and get it looked into. Excessive peeing at night is a common enlarged prostate problem so get it checked out.

As SonOfTheGods said, its no big deal, you practice it enough and you will get the benefits. Use it in your daily meditations, tai chi, etc. and you will start to feel a little better about life. Good luck and maybe go and find a tai chi class to learn from a live teacher, that's usually a good place to start on the path to enlightenment.

When I was a teenager I told my mother that I would one day astral travel, it happened. I put it down to two things, tai chi and meditating on the dan tien; and dedicated practice several times a day. Idiot_Stimpy, can I suggest that you practice tai chi or chi kung and particularly the centered breathing at the navel chakra/dan tien. And practice, daily, after a while you will start to feel something different, you will feel energy at your dan tien. Thats a wonderful feeling - and your first milestone. This is the beginning of your journey, and it just gets better. I have students and clients who can do this in one sitting, not many, but some sure can. It took me a whole lot of time and effort to become proficient, but it certainly paid off. I remember watching a program on TV, it showed a guy sitting cross legged with his hands folded at his navel. He was doing zen / chen meditation, meditating on his 'hara'. I saw that and thought that I could do that too, and I did, I could feel my mind inside my navel. It was weird but exhilarating. First attempt, first time ever, it inspired me to follow this 'path least traveled'. I hope you too have your 'first time' soon, I_Stimpy

Personally I think that anyone can gain some experience in astral travel, I think that its one pleasant and insightful outcome of the amount of effort you put into your practice. I started astral travel after practicing tai chi for 6 months. At that time I was a very determined and dedicated practitioner and leaving my body while sleeping was a real buzz. In my experience it was the lower dan tien that was instrumental in achieving these experiences, later on the head chakra played a big part as well. I have also found that developing the base chakra brought about unusual astral experiences that were also a buzz. The most important thing to develop, I think, is energy. The more energy you generate the more you develop your dreaming body. The more dan tien breathing I did the easier it was to leave my body. At one time I found myself in the Elysian Fields, the ancient Greek heaven, with a bevy of beautiful ladies. Not all of the experiences were like that though, lol, this was a very special experience. And only once did I find myself in a nasty place. At that time my dan tien exploded and safely shifted me to another dimension. For me, its all about developing chi, and it takes dedicated practice using the right techniques and mind set. Practicing the wrong way is a waste of your time.

Breathing has almost always been a technique used in the internal martial arts to channel chi. Mindfulness of one's breath is one of the techniques in taoist meditation and tai chi for developing and flowing chi. Slow, deep breaths are one quite spectacular method for developing chi in particular parts of your body, such as the dan tien. So, to answer your question, if I really understood it in the first place, is yes, we are mindful when we breathe.

Rara, it is best to do a google search for Neurofeedback practitioners in your area, its not something that you can do on yourself, its like brain surgery, I wouldn't recommend it. You can go to these sites as well, they have information, research and registries of practitioners: ISNR - www.isnr.org EEGSpectrum - www.eegspectrum.com You are welcome to PM me if you have any questions.

I think that when meditating and breathing thru the lower dan tien it can easily connect and activate the base chakra, or whatever its Chinese name is, that point between the anus and the scrotum. In fact if you do enough of this activation it sure energises your ching chi as well (of course). I spent some months specifically activating this base energy centre, every few hours I would pump chi through it and scrunch my PC muscles. It felt really good too, lots of energy. It got to the point that I would leave my body at night when asleep and go flying with it. Its really hard to describe, but like riding a pogo stick, the energy beam came out of the base chakra and felt a bit like riding a beam of light or hot air. I am sorry I can't really explain that any better. I think the fellow this discussion is about highlights his dedicated approach to improving himself. It mentions that he spent 2 years meditating in a secret location with secret masters, that says enough to point out that the work he describes is more than just pumping chi into the body, it is about cultivation of his life purpose through dedicated practice. I think we could all take a leaf out of his book and follow his example. Great thread that opens the mind to more than just theoretical mind games, its practical, thanks.

Rara, I work with people training brainwaves for a multitude of neurological, personality and behavioral problems, its called neurofeedback. Deep sleep is delta = 0-4 Hz very slow Dreaming and the unconscious is theta = 4-8 Hz Calm googfing off no thoughts is alpha = 8-12 Hz (also called the 'resting state of the brain') Calm alert SMR low beta = 12-15 Hz (think cat watching out the window resting) alert and thinking is standard beta = 15-20 Hz (what you are in now) fast beta frustration, active processing and stress = 20-35 Hz (nasty stuff in the right brain particularly) I train a lot of stressed people and many who suffer panic attacks. At the right orbito frontal cortex we reward 2-5 Hz which is in low theta and delta to calm the mind and panic, it works incredibly well. At the same time we inhibit beta 12-35 Hz to stop the rumination, worry and suicidal thoughts. Google 'neurofeedback' and you will know some more about this incredible technology.