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in taiji and qigong, we deal with the meridians, the rivers of qi that feed the organs the life-force, qi. also, we focus on the 'dantiens.' that is, the upper dantien, (third eye and crown) the middle dantien, (the heart and solar plexus) and the lower dantien, (belly and root).
recently, i was suprised when i found myself practicing a meditation in which i was focusing on the chakras, as in yoga. it was very strange because i had never heard or read of this technique, but it was, and is, a very powerful meditation! i think my Guide had a hand in this....
Sitting in your meditation posture, standing or laying down...deep, long, slow, gentle breaths through the nose.
breathe in the crown, out the third eye. breathe in the third eye, out the throat. breathe in the throat, out the heart. breathe in the heart, out the solar plexus. breathe in the solar plexus and out the belly. breathe in the belly and out the root. breathe in the root and out the bottoms of the feet.
do this for three or more cycles. then, continue breathing in the crown and out the bottoms of the feet for a while.
This meditation grounds one, invigorates and energises.
love
LL
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i have found that healing affirmations are very, very powerful! years ago, when i was at an extremely low point in my life, i was so despondent and felt so totally alone, one night, (my first christmas on my own) i fell to my knees, literally, and prayed for god to give me a prayer that would bring me out of the darkness, something i could hold onto in moments of pain and fear, a 'life preserver' so to speak. i actually heard a voice in my head, a deep, rich, resonant sound that i have heard only a few times in my life, so far. the voice spoke my prayer;
 "higher power, guide my thought, lead my action, shape my will."
i began to chant the words over and over. i wrote them on a piece of paper and hung it on my ceiling, over my bed, so i would see it first thing in the morning. before long, a feeling of peace filled me, i began to feel that i had a purpose and set out to find it. my life changed from then on. now, i walk a path i feel i was intended to walk. i still use the affirmation, but now, instead of a 'life preserver,' it is a compass. i offer this affirmation as a gift of light for any of you that feel a need such as i felt, or for those who seek to find their purpose in this life. it is my greatest hope that ALL may find and fulfill their purpose and come to feel the healing light of love.
love
LL[]

hi. i am a taiji and qigong instructor who lives and practices in Victoria, Canada (on Vancouver Island.) i'm happy to have found this board and look forward to sharing info with you fine folk here.
I feel that the ultimate purpose of our lives is to develop the spirit. I have also found that astral projection and similar phenomenon arise when one is on the spirit-path. Many are frightened by the side effects of spiritual growth, so it is good that there are sites like these to help travellers through the pass, so to speak.
love and light
LL[]

'shen' is one of the 'three treasures' of chinese medicine theory. in taiji and qigong, we cultivate these treasures with a combination of active/static/breath/movement/body/mind methods.
jing=physical strength/sperm
qi=breath/energy
shen=spirit

love
LL[]

perfect nagual! i would recommend that when doing the method i offered above; either standing in the wuji (wu chi) posture, as indicated, or sitting upright with the feet shoulder width apart, feet flat on the floor. crossing the legs can impede the flow of energy in the legs somewhat, although, it is a good position for deep meditation, cross-legged is not so efficient for energy work of this kind.
the chakra examples are a perfect match, tho'!
blessings
love
LL

hi foas. i'm not much of a sketch artist. but, if you do a search for 'chakras,' the areas i mentioned above are the same. the 'solar plexus' is the upper stomach area. the 'belly' is the lower stomach.
the 'root' is the area you can feel when you are squeezing that area like you want to pee but have to hold it. don't squeeze too hard!
love
LL[]

i haven't been here long enough to read others' advice, so excuse me if this is old to you, but, this is how i do it...
1-stand up straight, but relaxed, not stiff.
knees bent, think of 'dropping' the tailbone, as if gravity were tugging it downward. relax the shoulders, imagine a string from above is attached to the crown of your head and suspends you from above. this straightens the back of the neck - the chin drops, slightly.
2-keep your elbows below the shoulders and lift your hands about chest height in front. straighten the wrists and the fingers, but gently, without tension. keep the fingers together and extend the thumbs, again, gently.
now, turn the hands quickly, as though you were trying to 'shake off your thumbs.' keep it up for about 20 to 30 seconds.
shake your hands next, as if you were trying to shake off water, in a way, 'flicking' the hands downward, towards the floor.
3-now, remind yourself of the standing posture. knees bent, tailbone dropped, string from above suspends you. release all physical tension, stand as softly as you can. hold the hands in front of your lower chest, palms facing, as if holding a baloon, or a basketball.
breathe deeply and softly through the nose. touch the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth. breathe in from the belly, expanding the belly as you breathe in, then the chest. breathe out long and slow, the chest deflates, then, the belly. gradually slow the breath down and continue to release any tension you find in the body. let it go as you exhale. don't slump though, keep an erect posture, gently.
4-now, as you inhale, slowly expand the imaginary ball. as you exhale, softly compress it back to a little bit less than the original size. continue this slow breathing and expanding ball for about 5 minutes.  be mindful of any sensation between the palms. gradually increase the duration over several weeks. read the word 'gradually,' again.
you don't need to do this for more than 45 minutes, max.
love
LL[]

there's a variety of methods here.
http://www.meditationcenter.com/
love
LL[]

thanks for the warmth, nick and 11.
happy to be here...
love
blessings
joy
LL[]

blessings shadow, i don't know what it's called, to tell the truth. i refer to it as 'the 7 breaths,' and should tell you that i have shared this technique with several of my students and they all are reporting positive and sometimes dramatic results.
(remember, all the breathing is done in and out the nose and the eyes are closed throughout the exercise. also,the breath should be long, slow, deep, gentle and continuous. that is, there is no pause between the inhalation and the exhalation).
i have found that using the eyes helps too, even though they are closed. when you do the first inhalation (through the crown) look up with the eyes. then, let the eyes look forward as you exhale out the forehead and frown, to feel that area. then, breathing in the forehead, raise the eyebrows. out the throat, touching the tip of the tongue to the roof of the mouth. move the tip of the tongue back further on the roof of the mouth as you breathe in the throat. then, relax the tongue as you exhale out the chest (heart) and notice how the chest deflates. breathe in , expanding the chest, and out, noticing the stomach and how it deflates. breathe in the stomach, expanding it consciously, and out, feel the lower belly with a gentle squeezing. breathe in the lower belly and squeeze the anal muscle, (like when you are waitng to pee, but gently!) breathe out, relaxing the anal muscle. breathe in, gently tensing the anal muscle again, and out the feet as you softly expand the toes.....
love
LL[]

the analogy of kindergarden is only a 'false analogy' if you don't like it. this life is a school, in a very real sense. if you reject that premise there will be no useful learning for you, only pain.
what if you are wrong and there is a greater you that is guiding your life?
when you find a purpose that serves all, your pain will end.
love
LL[]

did you know everything about kindergarden before you went the first time? if we knew all why would we bother to come here at all?
it's not your soul that's dying, it may seem like it, but you are confusing your 'soul' with your emotional turmoil. you aren't the only one going through tumoil, believe me. i too will be homeless in two weeks and don't know what i'm going to do. what lesson are you to learn from your trials? that is the question you need to ask. do you rely on the opinion of others' to form yourself? that's a common error and until you change it (you) you will learn the same lesson, over and over, 'til ya get it right.
when you live a lie, the truth seems very strange.
love
LL[]

if you can find a way to contact your higher self you will understand how this works. what you think of as 'you' is just the tip of the whole, real you. the real you is an expanded, brilliant body of light and energy with great wisdom and enormous power. i don't expect you to accept my word on this, but if you want Truth, you have to find it through meditation, prayer and looking within.
love
LL[]

the way to remember dreams is first, to be intent upon remembering them. place a notebook and pen beside your bed and tell yourself that you will remember your dreams and write them down.(tell yourself this as you are drifting off to sleep.) then, upon awakening in the morning, get into the habit of just laying there for a while. do not go through the list of things you have to do later in the day. just lay there and 'free-float' before you come to full consciousness.
another really effective measure is to purchase five to seven grams of mugwort (from an herbalist shop) and place it in a small, cloth bag. (you can sew it together simply) and place it under your pillow at night. it's called a 'dream pillow,' and it really works. the mugwort is breathed in while sleeping and stimulates the production of seratonin in the brain, making dream recall easier.
love
LL[]

any activity that increases your circulation, whether it is cardiovascular or meditative will cause an expansion and increase in one's qi. ('chi,'or 'ki'). i would avoid the practice of raising the energy into the upper regions and leaving it there. i hope to not offend, but the practices that raise the energy can cause all kinds of problems, from headaches to hallucinations. in qigong, we focus on the energy as it travels through the body in a circular route. we end our qigong sessions by focusing on the belly, not the groin, the belly, where the 'sea of qi' originates. awareness is not a function of the brain as much as one may think. the 'mind' is centered in the belly and if we honor that reality, we avoid many pitfalls.
and yes, the healthier your qi, the healthier you will be overall, and, the deeper your meditation.
love
LL[]