Microcosmic Orbit

if i am not mistaken… i’m fairly sure that the elements you listed come from wicca not taoism (which is where the elements i listed came from)

i don’t know enough about wicca to speculate on if the taoist elements and the wiccan elements are one in the same or describing different phenomena altogether, but if i were to make an educated guess (and i do say this is a guess so no wiccans come in here yelling at me if i get this wrong) but i think the wiccan elements are about things outside the human body while the taoist elements have more of a fucus about the elements inside the body

I’ve actually been doing Taekwondo for about four years now, but whenever people say to use Chi in martial arts I wonder…how? (Specific examples please)

About chakras, actually I feel more chi in certain areas when I’m in different moods, happiness sees an increase in chi in the throat and other areas(damn it I should have written them down) and anger and depression seem to destroy chi in the center of the torso. I almost am always aware of my ‘aura’(bad name for it) of chi around me, sometimes it feels like fire(not painful though).

Thanks for the info on chakras.

according to tibetan buddhism the five elements are
fire, air, water, earth and space [which includes the ether].
the four dualistic elements [fire,air,water,earth] dance/play
in the fifth, neutral element of space. nevertheless are they
also pure lights in their essence but take up solid forms in
what we perceive as our everyday reality. space however
always remains empty/neutral. i can heartly recommend
“Healing with Form, Energy and Light” by Tenzin Wangyal
Rinpoche if youre interested in the balance of the elements,
which is for me one of the most enlightening books
ive ever read.

there is a simple and effective technique to balance the
two energy flows [positive/negative] inside the body
called “The Nine Purification Breaths” :
i) close the left nostril with the index finger of your right
hand and breath in [visualising pure green light streaming
in through the right side of your body]. close the right nostril
with the same finger
and breath out [visualising negative energy from the past
flowing out of the left side of your body]
repeat this 3 times.
ii) close the right nostril with the index finger of your left
hand and breath in [visualising pure green light streming
in through the left side of your body]. close the left nostril
with the same finger and breath out [visualising negative
energy which is about to come your way in the future
flowing our of the right side of your body].
repeat this 3 times.
iii) leave both nostrils open and breath in[visualising green and blue
light flowings in through the center of your body].
hold your breath after breathing in and try to remain
in the present - full awareness of all your senses.
breath out [visualising negative energy of the present
flowing out of your body].
repeat this 3 times.

this exercience will not only make you more balance but also
train your ability to remain in pure awareness, which is needed
for lucid dreaming. buddhist monks are advised to do this exercise
before their nightly sleep.

on chakras:
a powerful way to open the energy of the chakras is to meditate
upon the planets, which accord to the chakras :
sun - sahasrara
mercury - third eye
venus - throat
earth - heart
mars - manipura
jupiter - svadishthana
saturn - muladhara

OM SHANTI SHANTI SHANTI

think about a fire burning just below and behind your navel, when you do a kick imagine the fire shooting from your leg and out your foot at the moment of impact with your imaginary target (or actual target if you’re hitting a mit or heavy bag) and coordinate that visualization with your breathing (so you’re breathing out as you’re doing the technique and throwing out the imaginary fire)

try the same for your hand techniques too. i think martial arts teaches one to use their chi effectively, but these visualizations help with focusing and refining that process. chi is just energy after all, you’re using chi when you throw a punch or kick, even using it while you’re sitting at your computer typing :yinyang:

thanks a lot, that will be useful.

I was shocked to hear about that ‘green light’ thing, as that is what I first found was effective when I found out how to use this weird ‘force’ type thing(I was later told it was chi). Is green light significant in any way? And while we’re on this subject is the moon?

green light is visualised as the essense of air.
red for fire, blue for water, yellow for earth and white for space.
[in tibetan buddhism]
the four elements accord to different part of your body.
earth stands for your physical senses.
fire for heat / psychic energy radiating from your manipura chakra.
water for the lower part of your body [eg sexual organs].
air [breathed in through the vishudva chakra] is related to the
whole body and is also refered to as the ‘white light’ as it is the
primal thing that keeps us alive. thats why a lot of yoga and meditation
practices involve controlling the breath as it is a powerful mean
to control one’s thoughts.

As dreamFIBRE already said, every major chakra has its own specific colour. You can strengthen the chakra colour by colour breathing for instance, during which you combine slow abdominal breathing with coloured chakra visualization. Strengthening every colour in the heart of each major chakra may result in an overall increase in well-being, whereby every colour/chakra corresponds to specific domains on the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual level of the human being. This is ofcourse possible because chakras themselves are vortices which transform vital chi energy.

to add to chakra development, I think anything one does (naturally) in life affects how these centers work and evolve. For example, things like concentration, mindfulness, practicing chakra use, correct actions, etc. must have subtle but definite effects, perhaps related to the petals. The only book I’ve read to explain this is Knowledge of the Higher Worlds by Rudolf Steiner There’s a reason I say naturally :smile:

For example, when I feel totally depressed, in my heart and plexus I get cold spikes. On an emotional level it hurts terribly, and at the structural I don’t how much damage that does. Another example, fear. My whole body tingles and waves pass through. Besides the biological reaction, which is good for real danger, fear itself cannot be good structurally. Courage and strength of mind are again positive qualities with effects on the chakras.

I don’t know to what extent this is true yet. From logic and experience it sounds reasonable to me.

i agree… i think the physical body effects the subtle bodies (which the chakras are a part of) as well as the subtle bodies affecting the physical

they are so intertwined and dependent on one another that i don’t see how that couldn’t be the case.

Fire for psychic eh? Once when I was practising Chi meditation it suddenly changed from a ‘force’ to a feeling of fire(without pain or heat, so I guess you could call it a force still). Is there a ‘psychic’ Chakra?

the third eye chakra is the centre of your psychic energy.
all perception and thoughts arise here.
the throat chakra is an important centre aswell,
because as allready said its responsible for white light [breathing]
and thus also influences the psyche.
furthermore does also the root chakra influence the psyche
as thats where all knowledge is stored/arises.

MA A

Okay, finally we’re getting somewhere with the orbit. Yesterday for the first time chi moved through the sacral pump at the coccyx, pushing it up through the spinal cord with great power. What a wonderful feeling!
Got a question though for the other practitioners of this technique: the chi naturally flows along the acupuncture meridians. However when I practice, the chi movement never feels quite clear and restricted to the small meridians. It’s more like a diffuse warmth which tends to move around in a pretty wide path. Is this normal? Any idea how I can make the chi flow more distinct?

Hi, just wanted to say that if id try to describe it id say it just like that, so i guess its normal way to feel them. Its energy so why would it be restricted to only such small areas, as it also affects and is aura so isnt it natural to feel it all around you as it arises and moves.

You’re probably right. But I’ve read about advanced practitioners who can guide their chi very precisely along all the meridians. It doesn’t mean that there’s no chi between these meridians, only that the feeling is solely concentrated on the strict lines, because that’s where the main energy vessels, nadis, lie. Compare it with the big blood vessels. You may experience them, but in between there’s a whole network of tiny capillaries which also transport blood, though on a lower scale. And you probably won’t feel those.
The healing mechanisms of chi flowing doesn’t depend on how distinctive you perceive this flow. Hence I think it’s possible to develop your perception of chi until it’s less diffuse.

The chi flows everywhere or body parts would be paralised or at least numb or painfull depends on the sort of under or over flow of chi.
Probably more the case is that you are not yet aware of the more subtile meridians where chi flows through :smile:

You always start at a level where u feel general chi flow.
Recognision of subtal chi flow takes time/patience talent and practise.

It means Mystic that you are not yet done with general chi flow recognision :wink:
and genral chakra activity and the connection of chi and chakras in general.
All takes practise and talent, for yogi and chi masters it takes decades to really master chi and awareness.

I can only add that when i look what i can experience now with chi and 20 years ago that that really is a big difference. Then i could only feel the general main chi stream, now i can tune into way smaller meridans or subtile meridians and are aware of subtile chi streams that were totally beyond my awareness in those days. So with experience and practising and talent also comes recognision. But it all cost time, time these days is more worth then gold it seems :cool:

Accordingly to your talent and dedication and practising, chi is like a story in a book that tells it self. Every page you turn you get a better view over the whole picture. And will c and experience more then pages before.

I keep impressed by your experience and talent Jeff! :smile: Thx for the replies. So how long did it take before you noticed changes in your perception of the chi flow?

That took about 2 to 2 1/2 years Mystic.
The last 3 years it has gone faster like sometimes even in weeks.
But often in months. :smile:

Thanks :smile: So basically it’s a life long exercise, because you always get to experience more subtle levels of chi movement. Still a long way to go then :content:

Yes Mystic its a life long evolving and recognision :smile:

Talent, dedication, good info and patience all is important to reach a higher level. But from a certain level of talent and evolving chi will tell you its own tail, then its like a book you read from real practise and experience.