Putting Neigung into the Lake Palm Change

[Anonymous]

I finished my Hsing-I warms-up this morning and started playing with different neigung elements inside the bagua palm changes. The more neigung you know, the more interesting the forms become.

For example, I started playing with twisting. I’d setup a twist of the hand and wrist in one direction and then twist the forearm in the opposite direction. The “energy” of the Lake Palm Change shows up between the two circles. Basically the tissue is spiraling toward each other and by emphasizing one twist more than another, you can target the intersection. At that point, you awaken the central channel. From there you can open that point, or close it, or make it simultaneously open and close, or you can just notice the consciousness that begins emanating from the point.

At this moment in my practice, the Lake Palm Change represents exactly the point between two opposites that helps you find pure consciousness or emptiness. For me, it isn’t a big booming experience. It is quiet.

So, I create this in another way with another neigung element. I play with the kwa and shoulders nest’s cavities. I create opposing circles in them. First just on one side of the body. It doesn’t matter which side. It doesn’t matter which circles in what direction as long as one circles in the opposite direction of the other. Between them a spiral targets a point along the side channel in some organ and consciousness appears. I can open there, close it, simultaneously open and close it, or just allow it to awaken the body further making it easier to work with all of the tissue at any level.

The top and the bottom open the center. This is the “energy” of the Lake Palm Change: the emptiness in the middle woken up by two opposites coming to the center.

[Anonymous]

This illustrates the fourth step in Liu’s Hung Chieh’s Overview:

4) For martial purposes, understand and embody how every square inch of your body can rotate like a sphere.

I’m just using this principle in two places in a particular way to create emptiness which is the beginning of step six:

6) For spirituality, learn about the chi of spirit and emptiness so you can eventually understand the chi that enables you to know who you are.

The culmination of the Bagua forms is the Lake Palm Change. Now, returning to the Single Palm Change (particularly the water single palm change), you can put the Lake Palm Change’s energy into it and IMO create emptiness in a like manner in all of the limbs and torso simultaneously. That water single palm change contains everything.

[Anonymous]

“All is the central channel.” This phrase is about emptiness. The body of individuality is when you still see the central channel as the barrier to whatever you think you are before it starts expanding into infinite space. That’s why I don’t experience emptiness the way Bruce does. I’m still stuck. I haven’t dissolved the barrier. However, my practice is now charging up the consciousness that is required to break through the barrier.

It is just a matter of time.

[Anonymous]

It is entirely possible that the consciousness that I’m describing is nothing more than activating stretch receptors (“A sensory receptor that responds to the stretching of surrounding muscle tissue and so contributes to the coordination of muscle activity.”). That would make sense. The more awake the stretch receptors are the easier it is to manipulate smooth muscle.

[Author]

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