FAQ: Martial Arts
What is your opinion concerning the practical significance of repeating the Taiji chuan forms (or the passes of Castaneda) in a state of lucid dreaming and the spreading of such forms throughout the Globe.
Actually, to those who have no control over energy change, dreams are uncontrollable processes. Even if by nature they have an open conscious link to the processes of body transformations and can observe (or even express) their own actions, they cannot use them for their own perfection if these issues are not processed in a conscious state of mind. Or rather, in a waking state. Personal states outside the dream should determine the nature of human behavior.
Now, regarding the passes of Castaneda, here everything depends on how well you understand the mechanisms, instead of simply repeating the movements. The same applies to Taiji. One must start by strengthening the mind and not by destroying it. Dreaming trainings should be done in specific locations and one should understand what and why he or she is doing. For those who have not yet built a proportionate body, dreams have no practical significance.
Theoretically, one can learn the proportions in a dreaming state in case their brains can operate with a frequency of more than 10-12 GHz, yet you should know that this puts you on the verge of shifting your consciousness and on the verge of inadequate behavior towards people around you. Yet apart from the issue of people around you, you should not become vulnerable.
Taiji is a true martial art (I am probably not yet up to taking up Vietnamese kung fu or the like). All one hast to do is speed up, master the movements and go for the goal. So my question is how can one determine what movements he needs? Because all masters created specific sets of movements in relation to their own specific personality thus finding solutions to their own practical objectives. And contemporary man has his own specific state, his own specific physiological or psychological ‘torment’ – for example, some neurological issue, a problem with the left leg or baldness… and to these we can add the state of the city, etc.
How can one pick the right practice? Perhaps, to some most suitable is Xin-yi, to others – Bagua, and still others should start with Taiji… Or something completely different, something suitable for them only… For look how many practitioners there are, yet where are the giants born from these practices? They’ve all gone completely insane!
You seem to declare everything in an affirmative fashion; therefore you are not really asking but rather stating how things stand. That’s fine, you can believe whatever you want to, you have the right to. Yet here we should talk not so much of masters but of knowledge. For masters should be commented upon in a very careful fashion.
The most important thing in Taiji is the head and not the movements. And here you run into the problem of expressing one’s personal identity. However, practices should not be chosen, they must be applied. All that we today call Taiji, Xin-yu or Bagua is a mind trap, for Taiji is the art of learning the proportions, Xin-yi is the art of learning Niwan Gong, and Bagua – the art of studying the axis. And until these tools have been mastered, their essence will remain unrealized.
Knowledge must be above any Master; this is the only way to know clarity. The task of the master is to not harm the pupil and to lay the principles. The task of the teacher is to teach the method.
Therefore, do not worry about your individual identity for it has not manifested itself yet, but pay attention to the knowledge and the principles. The time is not yet ripe for affirming, it’s still time to act.
Not too long ago I realized that no matter what ‘art’ I take up, I do it to put on airs and prove to myself and others that I’m strong, I’m worth something, that I’m not a ‘woman behind the wheel’ but a truly normal person. This realization was a true downfall for me and I still can’t seem to find a way out from this. After 23 years I could no longer find any ‘meaning’ in ‘practicing’ and ‘perfecting’ myself or in life as a whole. Because I had spent all my life proving something to someone, trying to make a difference and be stern. However, no one needs my airs and graces; no one needs me or my problems. And even if I learn how to fight, this will not help me get closer to myself.
Yes, it’s true that somewhere someone said that techniques help shape the spirit and return man to being a true Man. A lot of smart people around me say that. Yet I feel absolutely lost. I simply do NOT understand anything (anything at all), what’s wrong and what’s right. Who should I believe? Where does truth end and ‘contorting’, as you put it, begin? What qualities can help one switch to being ‘honest’ in one’s actions and thoughts?
I’m not even sure if there’s a point in writing all this. For whatever you say, I’ll have to catch up by myself.
Your question is not a question but an expression of emotion. Everything women do is to them above all an experience they reach beyond or through their sensations. Development in women should not be individual in nature, because women are part of space.
This is a social issue. Because whatever individuality a woman chooses, she is no different from the other 90%, who are in one way or another looking for the same sensations and experiences. It’s a matter of physiology. Women should learn to tune themselves and control this process, and only after that - start verifying their further steps.
And since there is generally no education for women, no institutes for the development of women, where they can preserve and develop their qualities, women get engaged in short cyclical processes and whatever they take up, they are never be able to develop what they actually need. Therefore, everything gets broken down into short emotional pauses in response to the lunar days. All that you have gained is the experience of these pauses. You don’t have to understand yourself. All you have to do is start over and understand that until you regulate and start controlling these inner processes, they will be controlling you. And technique is just a garment.
People spend a lot of time perfecting themselves - they do Taiji, Daoist alchemy - and then they simply get killed in some underpass by some drug addicts or smashed by a car (I’ve known such people in my life). Many martial arts disciples, followers of different spiritual trends and the Microcosmic orbits suddenly cower when confronted with someone who knows ‘the alchemy’ of the zone.
How can we apply the practices in reality?
(I understand that masters go unnoticed and sometimes I even understand why (I’ve wondered myself - you walk around some dangerous areas (as a child) looking for trouble and yet others get beaten up!)).
We live in a certain environment. And with the aim of changing this environment and ourselves, we must change our frequency or the temperature of our bodies, if you wish. Therefore, we must start not with the names of things but with analysis: what am I and what does my surrounding space understand by this?
I believe that millions of people who do Taiji don’t necessarily practice self-perfection. A lot of them actually do the contrary - they practice self-oppression. There are violent psychos, and quiet psychos …
There are ritual martial arts that do not destroy people’s spirit and personality. You have enumerated them. Yet there are others that destroy and deform. And this is obvious and clear. There’s the street where you can get a ‘blow in the face’ or even worse. If you let your Capoeira disciples out on the streets, you’ll outlive them. I’ve seen a Capoeira practitioner knocked down with a single punch. I know that violent people are everywhere, just like civilized people. Yet how can we explain this to the young, what can we offer them when, for example, someone comes and studies Taiji yet one day he gets beaten up, he looses an organ and then all his practices become completely meaningless. And the tough fighters, how can you explain to them why they need the hero poses and the body vessels. It’s too late. Where is the golden mean where you can still fight but not loose control? Which are the schools in Russia that can combine the spiritual and mind work with the rough and tough thrasher, if that’s necessary??? There must be something like a Yin-Ling-Chuan. I’ve heard about the school of the Divine fairy. There must be something. Perhaps, not everyone’s gone insane?
What you have described is the current state of our surrounding space, which is inhabited by various groups of people. This is, so to say, our natural environment. And we must learn to define ourselves within this natural environment. People no longer administer blows in each other’s faces – with a few not self-defined exceptions. Those who used to administer blows in the face are either gone (since each face eventually meets another face) or have transformed themselves into respectable Russian citizens.
The world changed a long time ago, and today it requires different actions and behavior. What is most important here is to be able to change and shift your dispositions instead of simply riding on the old and rusty locomotive. You can find the golden mean if you loose your dependence on the surrounding space or if this space is perfect. If both conditions are not met, then instead of looking for something you should set immediate objectives for yourself. And you should above all keep asking questions.
One must clearly distinguish between the following three categories of people: knowledgeable people, people-warriors, and people-magicians. The third group is comprised of the mystics who are good whenever space is perfect, whereas in a chaotic universe they simply get in the way of others. The mystics are the ones who have enough energy by nature (or have gathered it in the process of self-development) who have formed certain foolish ideas in their heads that help them feel good yet bear thoughts incompatible with the basic concepts.
The ones who follow the path of the warrior are uncompromising revolutionaries. Their basic problem lies within themselves. Because instead of fighting themselves, they fight everyone that comes within the range of their fist. This is the best group but it needs a good leader and a true authority. Just like Yue Fei at the time of the Song dynasty. Moreover, he became a true leader only after his death.
The last group is the group of the people of knowledge. This is the most complex and necessary group yet it must be developed very carefully and correctly. And here we encounter the following problem - we have forgotten or perhaps never knew how to live in agreement with a method. This group needs someone who understands what he or she is doing and not someone who invents stories about some ‘pure’ martial art.
Therefore, even knowing well the imperfections of your environment, you should understand where to find and how to develop your own self-perfection.
There’s a master who conducts his teaching mixing the energy frequencies of all his students whereas the disciples fix this mixture. Thus the pupils acquire great powers over a very short period of time. Can you please describe the possible consequences of these ‘instantaneous’ transformations for the pupils.
First of all, commenting upon a specific situation without preliminary analysis is wrong. We are dealing with people who assume the responsibility for doing what they do, and that’s their own problem. As far as pupils are concerned, this obviously attracts people with weak energy and poor education, who want quick results. If you believe that pulling a bush will make it quickly turn into a tree, I don’t think so.
Talking about the possible dangerous consequences from this practice or anything else is pointless. Having an undeveloped mind is either absolutely safe or very dangerous. To me personally, what you describe is nothing more than an esoteric experiment.
If things were that simple, we would all be capable of everything a long time ago. If you want to believe that the mightiest teachers are located here in our country, then that’s quite OK by me. Yet we should ask ourselves why are they doing this? As far as I know, they do it for the sake of martial arts. So they can go out on the street, approach some second-rate boxer and say: ‘I’ll beat you up!’
In general, everyone creates his own problems in his own unique way and then find his own solutions for them. Twenty-five years ago, for example, there were millions of people who wanted to do Taiji. All the groups were overcrowded with people looking for a miracle. However, when it became clear that the true miracle is in the constant strenuous work, both Taiji and its followers disappeared.
Hello! Six months ago I began practicing lucid dreaming. There’s a lot of information available on the Net, so as a basis I took Castaneda. I have reached some results yet they are not stable. Can you please describe what methods have you or are you still using for becoming aware in your dream that you would recommend, and generally, would you share your opinion on this topic. Thank you!
Since this question has been posted in the Martial Arts section, I presume the writer is an astral warrior. I don’t understand how can one take Castaneda as basis? What is he to you – your teacher or your father? Or a guardian angel?
You should first of all understand what the practice is about and what tools it uses. Understand your own energy consumption. Above all, learn to be aware of yourself while being awake, and only after that move on to dreaming. You mix energy and then what? You can mix it only once you’ve understood the difference between energy frequencies. Do you understand what kind of energy you are working with and where can this take you? You must first of all learn how to do proper push ups. That’s my method.
18 july 2010
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