The first difficulty is that the figures he has used for the motions of the planetary bodies are not in dispute. These are widely accepted and relatively easily confirmed numbers.
The second difficulty is that more exact figures are extremely unlikely to upset the basic calculations.
The third difficulty is that there is no known mechanism through which the synchronization could be maintained. The fact that all measured bodies are synchronized means there must be such a mechanism, otherwise gravitational tidal forces would soon cause de-synchronization. It is difficult if not impossible to imagine such a synchronizing principle. ie, even f they were originally synchronized, or became synchronized through a known process of interaction, what for could maintain such a state over time?
The fourth difficulty is that even if a mechanism existed capable of maintaining the rotational period ( or altering it if required ) what possible communication mechanism can be imagined that would account for synchronization.
Quoting from this month's Astronomy magazine ( a large distribution serious mag. ).
"all planets have a bizarre numerical connection with Earth, and with 1/8th of a circle, which is 45°, or half of a right angle. Check it out:
During precisely one Earth year, each planet performs a certain number of spins on its axis, and then rotates a further additional angle which is always very nearly a multiple of 45°."
Check out the entire excerpt from the article here,
and the site which this rule's discoverer created with all the details. He calls it 'The Half Right Angle Rule'
It's a little hard to believe that the rotation periods for all the planets are known with such exactness. But the conclusion is clear, although I admit I did not check the guy's figures. Presumably there are complete running programs to do this sort of thing.
All our celestial neighbors are synchronized in their rotations, both on their own axis and around the bodies they orbit ( within a degree or 2).
Now the interesting questions are: 'Are the small remainders or offsets from the perfect 1/4 rotation changing over time? Is there some ideal arrangement that they all tend towards or are bound by?
G. Gurdjieff wrote strong warnings about something similar in 'All and Everything' before WW2.
In chapter XLV (45) entitled '`In the opinion of Beelzebub, man's extraction of electricity from nature and it's destruction during it's use is one of the chief causes of the shortening of the life of man." he describes a link between the use of electricity (the Romans had lead acid batteries) man's inevitabley deteriorating state as a result of cosmic desynchronization.
If all these planets have to stay in sync, we may be having effects beyond or local Global Warming. What does it do to our spin when the glaciers melt?, Antarctica melts? What about the 3 rivers gorge dam that tilts the earth with the water it holds back.
Gurjieff's warning is this. The falling water that is made into electricity never returns it's gravitational potential to the earth's rotation. The energy extracted is lost from the system.
Where is that energy being made up? G.s answer is no less disquieting today than it was in 1949. By the energy human's release when they die. And the more electricity we use, the more dieing there is. And it's true, electricity is what makes real high density possible. It's really just the other view. The more sinister part of G.'s story is that we have already taken Mars with us. It's atmosphere destroyed by greedy foolishness on earth ( we have been at this planetary destruction game for a while in his view).
My guess is the 1/4 rotation rule needs to look at comets and the lengths of their years.
The absolute complete synchronization of every movement of every object is reassuring in a way. But put's one on ones toes regarding upsetting what is described as an incredible harmony of the spheres.
Upon meeting Wang Liping, doubts about the veracity of the teachings and the living nature of the Dao fall away. Effortlessly, without displaying power, this man transmits the core teachings. Questions are answered without being asked. Realization comes without searching. How could it be clearer?
He knows you and you know it. Not the you of street and family, but the you of yourself. The hidden, invisible you you hide from the world. Nothing is invisible to one who's eyes are open.
So it's important because it is a change in protocol. A change in the manifestation of the Dao? This has not been seen before. Certainly there have been supposed masters who have tried to reveal the Dao and it's secrets in the past 2 centuries. There are the qigong masters who manipulate chi for their own profit. Some may actually help medically and perhaps even with longevity techniques but most care ( or know ) little about the real effects of what they do an teach. This is something entirely different.
Significantly more difficult of approach since it involves 'not doing', something enormously more difficult that learning a minor technique of qi adjustment or tuning or mere manipulation.
]]>David had explained before hand that to fully absorb his teaching already required a foundation of practice beyond most modern people. Conceptualization, impatience and unrealistic expectations are major stumbling blocks. David had been studying with WLP for three full years prior to his inviting this small group of his students to share his experience
The experience was at once uncomfortable ( to be kind, it was actually excruciating ) for reasons explained below, and inspirational in a way difficult to convey in words. One part of the teaching and meditative experience is the master's application of 'ya li' ( my pin yin sucks ) or 'pressure'. No matter what your meditative practice was prior to that experience, you could not be prepared for this.
The practice was more like a military drill than what one might expect sitting in front of a Taoist Master. There was brief theory, some illustration and a few questions translated by the translator ( possibly the local communist cadre keeping an eye on things ), and then - into quiet sitting, following orders. Simple obedience is a big thing, and absolutely motionless sitting for 45-50 minutes a strict requirement. And, after a few minutes of 'settling', the pain begins. The Master's pressure has the immediate effect of pushing the chi down into the legs, and if they are not already numb, numbness is the best you can hope for. The sensation is definitely of pressure, like the sky pushing down on some inner part of you. With a brief warning he would 'turn up the pressure', small increments at a time until it was a second by second experience to stand against it. No way to fall into inattention or drowsiness, but a continuous act of will not to 'break'. In the closing minutes, again with a spoken warning, and the end in sight, again he would up the pressure, creating a sensation for me like my legs were about to explode, the meridians splattered over my companions in the room. And then, the awaited words 'practice over', and instantly the pressure would disappear as if it was a simply imagination. The most amazing thing of all. In 30 seconds, you were longing for that something, caring torture from the Master, to return.
A few weeks later I was able to experience the true force of this field effect myself. I was staying a nearby apartment building 500 meters or so from where WLP and David were having a private session. I knew of the timing of these sessions and usually took that time to do some quiet sitting myself. On several occasions I was also subjected to the 'pressure' even at that distance. I could accurately report to David whether the session had involved sitting and the application of this field, including an estimate of the amount of force applied. I expect the intensity of the force was significantly greater for David's benefit, perhaps making it easier for me to detect.
I'm writing publicly about this now (April 2010) only because recently, WLP's students in the US (Atlanta Georgia) have published a web site, http://www.laoziacademy.us/ complete with registration for upcoming workshops with WLP ( register online for $3700 US) and incredibly, pictures, and where, well, on Facebook.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3230215&id=267557887607&fbid=267570012607
This is the man himself, demonstrating tree practice since it's daytime. The practice itself is generally done at night, when the trees are exhaling, not inhaling.
There are also websites, blogs with public and student comments and instruction and inspirational teaching from his senior students, YouTube Videos and all the modern social media wonders.
Fabulous, really fabulous.
James
]]>Dear Friends of the Dao,
Save these dates! November 14 - 19, 2009. You are invited to attend a special event in New York City with Daoist teacher David Shen Verdesi. We, David's students, have been urging him to teach in the U.S. for years and it's finally going to happen this year!
This comprehensive training is an opportunity to directly awaken to your true nature, the Dao. While closely related to Buddhist philosophy, this transmission draws on an ancient tradition that existed millennia before the Buddha Dharma was codified into a religion. The very same tradition made famous by the Daoist sage Laozi, author of the Dao Te Ching.
While the Dao Te Ching is considered central to Daoist philosophy, the unique teaching it points to remains a secret, not to be found in any book. Passed down through the ages from an unbroken line of liberated beings, without the bias of culture, race, creed, names and forms, it is a direct door to enlightenment.
To receive the direct transmission from a teacher who has awakened to the Dao is an opportunity to swiftly and directly awaken in this lifetime, a very rare thing in our modern day. David is such a teacher.
Individuals and students who study with David immediately recognize they are in the presence of someone who has mastered spiritual discipline to the highest degree. After decades of rigorous, diligent practice and the energetic transmissions of his master, David has gained the unique ability to directly activate the awakening process in students.
This powerful transmission is not binding in any way and is given in the spirit of a friend.
The seminar is open to the public. There is no prerequisite and participants are encouraged invite friends and colleagues by forwarding this info to anyone they feel would be interested.
"Lao Zi spoke, 'The Dao I teach is the Miao Xuan Tong Dao,' the Dao of the wondrous, ineffable and mysterious breakthrough that leads to Xi Ming, to penetrate - enlightenment."
Here's what Rene Navarro, Senior Universal Healing Tao instructor and 40 plus year martial arts and TCM veteran has to say about David:
"Scene: at an obscure hotel in Huangshan, Anhui, China. October 2007. We had gathered together and watched as David Verdesi was tested for Yin Yang Gong, the ability to emit an electrical current from his body. He wasn't successful at first, but after a couple of attempts, he was able to do it on 11 people. Yin Yang Gong is considered the 4th level in the tradition of the Lei Shan Dao/Thunder Path. It consists of mating the yin and yang in the dan tian. No other westerner has been able to do it, as far as is known. It was a very touching, and dramatic, moment for David, perhaps the crowning achievement at this point in his more than 15 -year search that started when he was a young teenager. Seeing David succeed in passing Yin Yang Gong, the past flashed in front of me: I recalled times he and I spent together over the years, his search for the authentic masters, the focus he committed to his journey, the obstacles he had to encounter and overcome, the heartbreak of rejection, the cruelty of skeptics, the loyal support he received from his friends and students.I have known David since he was 16 in early 90s when he used to join me at dawn for martial arts practice at Healing Tao retreats in upstate NY, and later, at the Tao Garden in Chiangmai. Through the years we have met and studied together ... in Thailand, Turkey, NY, Java, China. He is a genuine searcher who has sought the true transmissions from many masters. As a teacher himself, he has the ability to convey esoteric information in lay terms and succeeds in bringing difficult and rare knowledge to its basic components. I consider a student lucky if he can take a seminar with David Verdesi, a rare and exceptional teacher."
More about the Seminar:
David is one of those rare teachers with a remarkable gift for spiritual practice and a passion for research into the various spiritual traditions of the Far East. Over the years his research has primarily focused on his greatest passion, Daoism.
Early in the spring of 1998, during one of his many research excursions deep into the Asian continent, David was led by a series of profound visions to meet and study with the masters of the Miao Tong Dao or Enlightenment Path of the Dao, in Korea; the very same path that Lao Tzu spoke of in his famous Dao Te Ching. It was there, in Korea, that he was introduced to a being of immeasurable wisdom and enlightenment, a living Buddha. During his time there and in subsequent visits, he met many well known religious and spiritual figures that had privately come to study with and pay homage to this living Buddha, called simply Fo Tu; these included the Dali Lama and other high lamas from Tibet, who were there, much to David's surprise, as humble students, bowing in respect to these Miao Tong masters.
Although David was already an accomplished Daoist practitioner and had met many masters of remarkable achievement, this meeting was to mark the beginning of a profound transformation in his life; one that would eventually inform and stand apart from all other spiritual experiences. Throughout the many years of research and remarkable experiences, meetings with great masters and personal achievements, David found himself drawn back again and again to the path of the Miao Tong Dao until finally, with the aid of his primary master in the Miao Tong Dao, Sifu Ji, he was able to breakthrough the dream of this existence and awaken.
In David's own words:
"It is a teaching that deals with and teaches directly the highest faculty of loving, the elements of insight (consciousness, awareness and understanding) in pure form, using, according to need, energetic means or any other available tool. This is the teaching of my master, Sifu Ji.]]>He taught me using dress code and the language matching that dress code (in itself a teaching on Ming Xing names and forms). At times he dressed like business man, other times like a Daoist hermit. At times like a Tantric, often like a Buddhist, and, on occasion, even as a Muslim and a Christian, the true Shen Hua - transformation of the numinous- which is everything, yet is One.
He would teach in accordance to phase of transmutation, the construct of fluctuating energies and forms 'I' was undergoing.
He never called this with a fixed name, he called it what it was to be called for 'David' in that moment. Because we are now in a Daoist context we call it, Miao Tong Dao, Wu Dao, but one could call it Love, God, One, Mind, Being, Dharma or otherwise. What matters is whether you have tasted it? Do you know it? Do you know who you are?
Since we met, I taught you Nei Dan and Nei Gong with this spirit. Nothing has changed, except my realization of the words of Sifu Ji has blossomed into what it was supposed to be...
...I wish for all to have insight and direct experience; this happens both through your formal practice and your daily life. I'm committed to this to the best of my ability, with the help of God and the grace of those who have awakened, to talk to your hearts so that you can experience what countless saints of all times and places have realized."
May 29 - June 4, 2009
Register at www.healingtaonyc.com or 212-243-6771
Friday evening, May 29 - Introduction to Taoist Secrets of Love at the New York Open Center.
Call 212-219-2527 to register for this seminar only or click here.
Saturday and Sunday, May 30 - May 31 - The Tao of Sex - Healing Love Practices for Health and Spiritual Development on Saturday and Sunday, May 30-31 at the META CENTER, 214 W. 29th Street on the 16th Floor in Manhattan.
Monday and Tuesday, June 1-2, Master Chia shares the practice of Simple Bone Marrow Nei Kung at the META Center (address above). This level of Iron Shirt Chi Kung works directly on the organs, bones and tendons in order to strengthen the entire system beyond its ordinary capacity. An extremely efficient method of vibrating the internal organs allows the practitioner to shake toxic deposits out of the inner structure of each organ by enhancing Chi circulation. Learn how to strengthen your bones by increasing bone density and structure. Re-grow the marrow through bone breathing and internal sexual organ massage. Through the process of absorbing energy into the bones, bone marrow can be revitalized to replenish the blood and nourish the life force within. In ancient times, the "Steel Body", attained through this practice was a coveted asset in the fields of Chinese medicine and martial arts.
Wednesday evening, June 3 - Master Chia will lead us through the "World Link Meditation". This event will be at Subud Center, 230 W. 29th St. (next to the META Center) from 7PM - 10PM. Through the World Link practice you learn to empty the upper brain so your awareness and consciousness can be awakened. You link your own awareness and conscious centers, connect your “personal star” to other people's stars around the world and join an effort to link with the Universal/Cosmos/God Force. This will create an endless source of Chi that can be used for healing and spiritual development for yourself and others. The universe has abundant energy to enhance our life. All we need to do is connect to the source. It helps to understand the principle of fusing the three minds -- the aspect of mind in the brain; the conscious mind in the heart; and the awareness mind in the lower abdomen. The three minds combine and fuse together in the abdomen, creating one mind, called ìYiî in Taoist teaching. When people from all around the world link together simultaneously, the meditation is greatly empowered. New to meditation? This is a great way to start. Novices and people involved in other systems of meditation are welcome. $30 in advance; $40 at the door.
Thursday, June 4 -Finally, on Thursday, June 4 at the META Center (address above), Reprogramming Your DNA. Master Chia is known for integrating the latest advances in science with his understanding of the ancient Taoist techniques he learned from his Taoist masters. Reprogram yourself to your "Original Blueprint". Boost your immune system with meditation and energy directing exercises. Intentional breathing activates the training camp of your immune system and strengthens the blood in your bone marrow. Learn to release free radicals with Healing Sounds.
Feel free to contact me with your questions and concerns.
Register at www.healingtaonyc.com or by phone at 212-243-6771.
Please say you saw this on The-Tao.com when you register
]]>Make no mistake, this is not Qigong and serves a completely separate purpose. Not that qi is not involved. It's the purpose and method that is different. It's not about physical health, or healing or augmenting your income. It's neither easy or fast. Nor is it sold or promoted. It's months and years of work with no guarantee of success. What is provided however are some objective criteria for success. No mind games here. Just hard work.
James
]]>It's week two of a four week series of seminars covering foundation practice and theory in Taoist Alchemy, as transmitted to David by a series of the most advanced masters on the planet. No exaggeration.
If you know Charles Luk, author of one of the original books on Taoist Alchemy Alchemy and Immortality then you have some insight into the material. Travelling to Denmark directly from studies with Taoist Transmitters in China, David delivers the essense and sense of the living Tao. No new age qigong here, this is from the original sources. Detailed, deep and integrated, not for the quick seeker, available to anyone with the committment to practice this path of self-cultivation requires.
Interested? Check out the discussion forum organized by his american students.
Also, in Europe, his Danish Organizer. The requirements are strict and the results are real. David has what no other western teacher has goes where no other western teacher goes. Everyone who knows him agrees
Silkeborg, Denmark
]]>The early attempts are here.
Not A V-Rod (Jimmy West rides his steed)
Hockey Heros (Kier tells a story)
The Fish Room (Walkthrough shows the 10X zoom to great effect)
]]>Daily? Very unlikely, but one should at least aim high. And, armed with a high resolution video camera, (Sony HDR HC3) it will be illustrated as well.
Flight to Bangkok via Bejing is Wednesday, Nov. 9. Until then, it's Ottawa, Kingston and Toronto, visiting old friends and generally winding down slightly from 6 weeks of unending preparation.
And, thanks beaterboys and dozergirls for the great sendoff last Thursday.
]]>There is one of these places not far (in China this can mean anywhere from a few hundred meters to a few hundred kilometers) from where Sifu, Master Luo is from, near Zhanjiang in the extreme south. Across the harbour from the city center, near a long abandoned ferry landing, it's occupied by the usual fortunetellers, incense holders and doubly worn wooden benches for prayer. The unremitting noise and hot smell of fireworks trumps other worldly senses. Here one truly feels within the realm of the unlimited.
Adoration of Quan Yin is a national pass-time. Offerings to her benevolence and mercy fill the burners and tables. The doorway into the dedicated room into which the incendiaries are tossed is surrounded with her images, mantras and prayers. The sanctuary within holds countless Taoist, Buddhist and shamanic statuary and images mixed together with total abandon.
]]>As one of the triad of Jing, Chi and Shen, none of which has more or less importance as part of an essentially seamless whole, chi nevertheless predominates as a focus and end of practice.
So, Why?
Man sits between Heaven and Earth
Heaven is above and Earth is below.
Like this
Chi is likewise between Jing and Shen
Chi is to the life force as humans are to all of manifestation (Post Heaven)
So, immediately we can see that this focus on Chi results from humanity's place in manifestation.
Of course with deepening practice there can be no end to the subtlety of chi and no real division of subtle energy that is final and definitive.
Your Shen is Jing to the Chi of some part of yourself. Your job is to bring it all into consciousness, including the indivisibility of it.
]]>Ron Diana is back home in New Jersey after teaching excursions to Europe and South America. He also hosted Dirk Oellibrandt teaching 4 Dimensional Healing at Walker Valley in the Catskills. This inspiring series of retreats is ongoing. Attendees included the magical healer Gene Dotson from Chapel Hill NC., one of my favorite Taoist extraterrestrials. A regular presenter at the NQA annual retreat Ron is THE Chi Nei Tsang (navel energy massage) practitioner/instructor/master in the eastern US. He is a practicing herbologist among many talents. A longterm student of Taoist Master Dr. Stephen Chang, Ron sells Dr. Changs herbal formulas on TaoHealingArts.com. I have used a couple of these herbs in really threatening situations and I can tell you, they work, they are of the highest quality and we can all benefit from Dr. Changs devotion to his family tradition and the highest traditions of Tao.
Plato is back on the Tao Forum. This may or may not be good news, depending on your sensitivities. He has got Michael Winn going. Michael is well known to Europeans and Americans as well. His annual Tao Mountain Retreat is among the best resources anywhere for authentic Taoist transmission, due in great measure to Michaels extensive contacts among American Taoists. He is the founding president of the NQA and a vocal advocate of (his term) a new American Qigong. He has published numerous Articles on his site HealingDao.com.
]]>To what can Taoist practice be appropriately offered. The ego looms large and is impossible to contain. Inappropriate intention erodes and eventually destroys any benefit from practice. How can this be avoided while maintaining spontenaity. Difficult questions but not without answers. But what answers are actually helpful?
10% practice, 90% right action.
So how does one recognize right action.
Find it in practice. Apply it in life.
Without that connection, what meaning can practice have.
