Energy surges

[Anonymous]

Hello,
I’m new to this forum. I have been meditating for quite some time but only recently began taoist meditation. I’ve been practicing the ‘heavenly orbit’ meditation I think it is called or the large orbit meditation. I’m not familiar with all the terms. What I notice happen is this. I focus my attention three finger widths below my naval, then move to my perineum then the the base of the spine, up the spine, over the head and down the front back to the beginning. After about the third cycle my perineum seems to lock as does the lower abdomen and it spontaneously lifts itself. The body spasms, the stomach is drawn in, the chest lifts my chin drops down and breathing stops. The body shakes quite considerably. I don’t know how to proceed after this. Was wondering if anyone would have a suggestion.
Thank you
Paul

[Anonymous]

Hi Paul,

Bruce has often said that in this tradition the large and small heavenly circulations naturally open up as a result of working on the neigong sets. They aren’t something that you work on specifically and he doesn’t teach them as specific exercises.

One of the guiding principles in this tradition is the 70% rule – only ever go to 70% of your current capacity so that your nervous system can relax. It sounds like you are going beyond that and having some strong reactions. If it were me I would back off in my practice and incorporate much more dissolving to remove blockages. You can read about the dissolving process in Bruce’s books ‘Relaxing into your Being’, ‘The Great Stillness’ and ‘Opening the Energy Gates of your Body’.

His 16 month meditation course (http://www.energyarts.com/taoist-meditation-circle-online-group) also builds a great foundation for Taoist meditation and teaches in depth about how to create the best circumstances for progress.

Best wishes

Trevor

[Anonymous]

Hello Paul, best wishes in your training..
I guess the first question is whether what you are doing, and experiencing, feels more natural, more opening and smooth- or more disruptive.. etc.
(that being a bigger question, as our culture- modern-wise, seems to have incorporated a ‘no pain, no gain’ and that of course if something seems to mess you up, you can feel it is working.. so we have a subcon interp that if it feels-ok not much is happening..
while OldSchool/water-path Taoism proposes that that is a diversion “What you practice, you become” -how, in each detail.. gets wired-in..
Bruce writes on this in the last few chapters of “Opening the Energy Gates of your Body” book, which has much in it.. many other systems written of, are.. different.

In terms of when you mention Taoist Meditation, it seems what you are describing is actually Taoist ChiGung, not meditation (although some meditation-techs might be described that way, but many books/videos out there write/teach methods of visualize/feel.. which triggers ideomotor responses.. twitching/uncon from triggers muscle-twitch.. which is different than working in the mind (which is what underlies working in/with energy.. and the energy-chi is what is worked in NeiGung… and can be that which flows over/through the nerves and fluids.. even the Connective-Tissue strands.. but also the Accu-Channels)

I felt compelled to write this, for any others that might read this thread, although it may seem off the track a bit (I and started this comment such that I hope to not imply any sort of dismissal of your expers.. if what you found is working-great… just coming from a different structural-framework.. many Systems that teach the sort of practice you wrote-about “Heavenly Orbit” don’t have an underlying method.. so hard to be sure the foundation is there, or how to link it up.. how to fine-tune it if one has talents and dormant capacities (vs developing those directly- via different practices).
The “Small Circulation/small-orbit (“Microcosmic”) being a up and then down within the body- top to bottom “circling”.. (Large Circulation/large-orbit (“Macrocosmic”) being through your entire connection with the environment — 2 different methods, I think what you describe is the first of those actually, though you name it the latter…
[my thought is actually that the Microcosmic/small circ, was originally a practice based upon bringing the Presence of one’s “Whole-self” to a part of one’s Whole.. in the “small-me” -which actually incorporates all of your expression in a place.. not just the “spine”.. not even just the body, nor “Aura” but one’s personal space, in the the room one is in… linking to the larger land around.. but also ties to all that Holds your mind.. where you are affecting and being affected by…… gathering up the whole of “You” in all that.. all the roles that you are, all the aspects/characters.. and Clearing away all the Fog.. and embodying in each.. finding the gaps, and “blindspots”… –Macrocosmic/large circ being similar but rather than “Whole-self” based on one as an individual (above in terms of the 7th ebody? “individuality”….) i.e. the Micro/smaller.. instead the Macro/larger is the “Whole-self” based upon that “small-me” (Who am I? or rather, with apologies to Maharshi.. “what is the nature of” what I am?).. and that small-me recognizing the relation to material it is made of.. Thus a tool going from 7th to 8th? how can tell but- in short- I think relates to going from, what Bruce has termed, “Personal Enlightment” practice, towards “Absolute Englightment” practice.. of the Te sensing the Tao in them..
………..
Back from interlude… I write above, and respond, from having practiced practices that triggered and sustained and deepened such twitchings for a while.. had some shifts and changes, but became a bit messed-up… then found Bruce’s stuff… began to practice/understand new context, while I still tried and integrated these other practices for a while… eventually realized and confirmed (to myself) that these Orbit-Visualizing Meditations don’t do what they are said to do.

The implication in much writings ties Kundalini (espec referencing GopiKrishna’s works), and ties to Heavenly orbit circling practice (and usually strained-breathing practice)- even though the GopiKrishna work references what he did to “raise kundalini” and it was not that practice.. which is a reinterpretation of Chinese system/ “re-booted” in to Indian Yoga..? (also Raja/Vedic Yoga and Tantric/Layakriya Yoga is usually blurred together.. as if those two- and ChiGung.. and modern physiology are all one mush…
and proof being that doing such a practice cause some reaction, therefore it works.. and therefore this ___ is what it means.. yet “a reaction” even a strong one, don’t mean it is an “energetic reaction” (especially not an evolution-type flowering)…
___
Yes, even though books by a certain author are on the shelves for years.. (in the big Barnes&Noble bookstores I’ve been to- for yrs- the main books on the subject are now by two specific authors.. which validates their systems as authority.. and then all the blogs and “youTube” teachers create methods based-upon… (a different sort of circulation)
—–
On a side note if you are interested in the sort of spasming work- Reich’s system unlocking “armouring” was explored by [Christopher S. Hyatt] see ‘originalfalcon’s site Radical Undoing, Energized Hypnosis… etc.

But most of all I’d advise reading the last section of Opening the Energy Gates (by Bruce, of this site’s publication) where he discusses Vibrating chi.. (a few “stories” of chi-practices, that are written such that they sound not a good-idea, but then one realizes you may have heard of those practices already but presented in a different way– so that they made sense…
-anyway, depends where you want to go- purpose ( the Taoist concept, what is it useful for? what is your goal?).. appropriate to the end you seek, and where you are at now, and thus coming-from..
and then in terms of Glass-Ceilings, and be sure your foundation is solid (not building upon sand.. so that the first, second, third stories go ok.. and then it all tumbles down…
——
This may not be the simple response you sought- but I figure the difference between data and information is in completeness and clarity per the foundation. .. things aren’t quite what they seem [most of all, I wouldn’t assume that just as a system says it relates to “meditation” is a part of the same cloth as all other systems calling them selves meditation.. likewise, just as other systems call themselves Taoist, and EnergyArts is a Taoist system, that they are part of the same cloth…

just as Tibetan and Zen are both of Buddhism.. and then there is Thai as well as “Academic-generalized” buddhism.. concepts that use the same terms, but go deeper to their principles, they may not be the same at all..

luck

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