Hello, I'm new to this forum and introducing myself. I'm Michael and I live in Manchester in England. I first got interested in holistic healing matters around 1997 with a bit of yoga and meditation, and finally got more involved with traditional Chinese healing and self-healing arts. My way of seeing myself and the world has totally transformed and most of my low-level chronic health problems have more or less resolved to the point where I feel healthy and happy most of the time. Looking forward to corresponding with other who have compatible perspectives!
Hello, I'm new to this forum and introducing myself. I'm Michael and I live in Manchester in England. I first got interested in holistic healing matters around 1997 with a bit of yoga and meditation, and finally got more involved with traditional Chinese healing and self-healing arts. My way of seeing myself and the world has totally transformed and most of my low-level chronic health problems have more or less resolved to the point where I feel healthy and happy most of the time. Looking forward to corresponding with other who have compatible perspectives!
Interesting, very good!
Mind ~ Body connection is so important to general health. Shame more people don't take the time to explore it.
Could you explain more about self-healing arts?
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The art of medicine consists of amusing the patient while nature cures the disease
~Voltaire~
The self-healing arts I practise are chi kung (or qi gong) and meditation. Qi gong is a traditional Chinese system of exercises. There are probably thousands of different qi gong forms (a form is a particular sequence of movements). There are forms for many different purposes including self-healing, healing others, martial arts, and spiritual development. The forms I practise at the moment are for healing myself and also to improve my ability to heal others.
Some of the qi gong forms include meditation; I am also learning Buddhist meditation from the same teacher.
I have found qi gong totally amazing. I have more or less resolved most of my minor long-term health problems and my way of seeing the world has completely changed.
I expect there are other systems out there that are as well-established and comprehensive as qi gong. However, there are also quite a lot that aren't. The most important thing is the authenticity of the lineage and the ability of the teacher.
I hope you found that interesting. Please ask if you would like any more information.
Thanks for the offer Michael and yes, i did find it interesting!
You're learning Buddhist meditation! Were you already familar with Buddhism or are you researching its history as you go? I'm under the impression that Buddhism isn't a religion.. it's more of a philosophy, wouldn't you say?
It's beautiful, whatever it is...
Realizing truth for ourselves through our own direct experiences. Awesome!
I'm going to 'search' Qi gong to read up on it & I'll be back (eventually)~
I had practised a bit of Buddhism sporadically over quite a long time, but never really quite established a regular practice until about a year ago.
I would say that Buddhism is neither a religion nor a philosophy, though it has elements of both. It has some religion-like aspects like rituals, sacred texts, places of worship, doctrines, authoritative people and so on. It also has a huge body of philosophical theory. However, neither of these things are the essential content of what it is. Just doing the rituals or thinking about the philosophy - even if you decide you agree with it - will not lead towards enlightenment unless there is also practice.
Buddhism is a practical system to settle and clarify the mind. The aim is to be in a state of relaxed awareness all the time, no matter what happens, which is actually not as easy as it sounds. All of the different practices are tools to help overcome the obstacles in ourselves to attaining this state of being.
The practitioner is not simply told to believe a theory because the doctrine of the religion says it is true. The aim is to find out for oneself. This does require provisional faith in the methodology, but it gradually becomes easier as the practitioner starts to realise small bits of truth through the experience of transforming their own consciousness. Then it starts to seem more likely that the big statements of the doctrine are also true.
The practitioner is not simply told to believe a theory because the doctrine of the religion says it is true. The aim is to find out for oneself. This does require provisional faith in the methodology, but it gradually becomes easier as the practitioner starts to realise small bits of truth through the experience of transforming their own consciousness. Then it starts to seem more likely that the big statements of the doctrine are also true.
This is the key to Buddhism IMHO, and all enlightenment no matter what path one may walk. When Buddha was alive there were no rituals, no ceremony, no gods, no worship. Buddha did not even hand down a form of meditation that I am aware of, but please correct me if I am wrong..All that came after because I think the mind seeks to be busy and such things keep one out of trouble.
In my own personal search for "religion" I have landed on the most simplistic 8 fold path. ... This path can be incorporated into any religion. I am not a Buddhist. But I practice. Many people practice the 8 fold path and dont even know it. https://www.thebigview.com/buddhism/eightfoldpath.html
Qi Gong is wonderful. I wish there were a teacher near me. I found that walking can bring a similar effect. I stayed with a Taost teacher one time. His meditation was walking, alone.... all day, from just after breakfast till sunset, during the winter, come snow or shine, out in nature. Try doing that for a month or two and see what happens to your perspective on the world.
and welcome to the forum.
__________________
�God is the basis of life, life is the basis of energy, energy is the basis of matter.�... Carey Reams
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This is the key to Buddhism IMHO, and all enlightenment no matter what path one may walk. When Buddha was alive there were no rituals, no ceremony, no gods, no worship. Buddha did not even hand down a form of meditation that I am aware of, but please correct me if I am wrong..All that came after because I think the mind seeks to be busy and such things keep one out of trouble.
In my own personal search for "religion" I have landed on the most simplistic 8 fold path. ... This path can be incorporated into any religion. I am not a Buddhist. But I practice. Many people practice the 8 fold path and dont even know it. https://www.thebigview.com/buddhism/eightfoldpath.html
Qi Gong is wonderful. I wish there were a teacher near me. I found that walking can bring a similar effect. I stayed with a Taost teacher one time. His meditation was walking, alone.... all day, from just after breakfast till sunset, during the winter, come snow or shine, out in nature. Try doing that for a month or two and see what happens to your perspective on the world.
and welcome to the forum.
Yes, Buddha is the enlightened mind, so Buddhism is the practice of the enlightened mind, separate from any doctrine. The traditional teachings are there, though, as a guide, because it's easy to make mistakes. Look at all the people who try to practise enlightenment and get big egos because they have misunderstood something, then start making DVDs about themselves and some theory or other.
I'm not particularly well read on the history of it, but whether or not Buddha actually taught any specific exercises, the important thing is to understand the purpose of the exercises.
You've inspired me to go for a long walk! It's difficult to motivate myself to go out for walks living in inner city Manchester.
There's alot of Buddhist influence in Jesus' words, he must have studied with monks during his travels. I've read quite a bit on Buddhism and would like to practice it eventually, especially after reading your explaination.
I'm REALLY enjoying myself researching this chi kung/qi gong hahaha!!
Actually have tried some of the very beginner back exercises & was shocked at how much pressure was taken off my lower back. I did the qigong horse stance where you visualize being attached from the top of your head to the ceiling by a piece of thread. And you allow the rest of your body to sink down as though you're going to be seated. And the bow stance too.
These are exercises I can do at work to help my spine during the day.
Usually I get home, lay on my back on the floor & bend my knees in the opposite direction from my upper body to twist my back to pop in order to get relief.. can't exactly do that at work
There's alot of Buddhist influence in Jesus' words, he must have studied with monks during his travels. I've read quite a bit on Buddhism and would like to practice it eventually, especially after reading your explaination.
I'm REALLY enjoying myself researching this chi kung/qi gong hahaha!!
Actually have tried some of the very beginner back exercises & was shocked at how much pressure was taken off my lower back. I did the qigong horse stance where you visualize being attached from the top of your head to the ceiling by a piece of thread. And you allow the rest of your body to sink down as though you're going to be seated. And the bow stance too.
These are exercises I can do at work to help my spine during the day.
Usually I get home, lay on my back on the floor & bend my knees in the opposite direction from my upper body to twist my back to pop in order to get relief.. can't exactly do that at work
Good stuff Michael!
Jesus is regarded as a Bodhisattva in some Buddhist traditions.
Great to hear that you're getting something out of qi gong exercises. I would recommend finding a teacher at some point, if you're really getting into it. Not only can they fine-tune your postures, but you can also progress through a training syllabus.
Hello from Manchester, UK
and yes, i did find it interesting!
Hybrid Mode
