Conservation of sexual energy

Classical Taoist sexual techniques are designed to increase a person's sexual energy and to retain it. This is because sexual energy is life-enhancing.

Taoist texts recommend that men should conserve their sexual energy by not ejaculating during sexual activity, as this involves losing sexual energy. A similar practice is recommended for women by some writers, although other texts teach that the female orgasm does not involve losing sexual energy but in some way increases it for both the woman and her partner, and that there is therefore no reason for women to avoid it.

This second philosophy leads the texts to recommend that men should have many sexual partners in order to gain access to the female release of beneficial sexual energy.

To Western eyes there may be a contradiction between the basic Taoist philosophy of not interfering in the natural course of events, and the highly interventionist sexual strategy recommended by Taoism. To Western eyes there may also be a rather distasteful favouring of the sexual experience of men against that of women, although it can be argued that the prolonging of intercourse by delaying male orgasm may in fact benefit women.

Taoist teachings on sex are clearly intended for adepts rather than ordinary people - if ordinary people practiced this level of sexual control all the time, then Taoism would cease to exist in a few generations.

Body and spirit

A true understanding of Taoist practice can only be obtained by studying with a Taoist master because many of the liturgical and practical elements of Taoism are taught through an oral tradition and not fully documented.

Taoism doesn't make a rigid division between body and spirit and regards physical activities, such as yoga, meditation and martial arts, as an important way to spiritual growth and a long life.

Taoist practice [seeks] to develop the body back toward the level of primordial energy, to the state at the beginning of creation. The body, no longer a mere means to live harmoniously in the world, becomes a universe in itself.
Livia Kohn, The Taoist Experience: An Anthology



Thank you for reading! I'll be back with more on Taoism soon! :)

- Clarice

Citations:
http://www.topchinatravel.com/pic/china-guide/philosophy-and-religion/taoism-2.jpg
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/taoism/practices/sex.shtml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/taoism/practices/bodyspirit.shtml




 Hey guys! I'm back with more on Taoism! :)

I'll be talking about practices of the Taoist. I'll be highlighting on Alchemy and Physical Practices.

Internal and external alchemy

Internal and external alchemy

Taoist physical practices, such as breath exercises, massage, martial arts, yoga and meditation are designed to transform a person both mentally and physically and so bring them into closer harmony with the Tao.

The writer Norman Girardot puts it like this:

the whole thrust of Taoism has always been in terms of healing methods that seek to re-establish the original balanced wholeness of human nature and society.
Girardot, N.J., Myth and Meaning in Early Taoism: The Theme of Chaos (hun-tun)
Many of these practices are called internal alchemy (nei-dun) by Taoists.

Taoists also practice external alchemy (wai-dan), which involves diet and the use of minerals and herbs to promote long life.

Why call it alchemy?

Alchemists are people who want to transform things into something more valuable, such as converting lead into gold.

Taoist alchemy is concerned with transforming human beings so as to give them longer life and bring them closer to the Tao.

The first alchemists were seeking an elixir which could be used to turn cheap metal into gold. They worked in laboratories, grinding, mixing and heating various substances together in search of the magical compound.

Other alchemists went in search of a different sort of elixir; a pill, potion or practice that would make human beings immortal.

Creating this elixir also involved various combinations of ingredients and particular methods of heating, grinding and mixing, together with other rituals.

This became known as wai-dan (external alchemy) presumably because it involved adding something to the body from outside.

It was both a literal idea, since some people must have hoped to live for ever, and a metaphorical one in which the spirit was steadily purified and came closer to unity with the Tao.

Interior alchemy, which didn't involve external physical compounds, probably developed slightly later. For a long time both were practiced together (rather in the same way that some modern patients will use both drugs and meditation to deal with sickness).

Interior alchemy also seeks to achieve longer life, purity and closeness to the Tao, but the practitioner works on themselves without the use of chemicals to transform the elements within their body into purer forms that will promote the energy of life.

The texts retain the alchemical link by using the language of making an elixir and of chemical transformation to describe internal spiritual development.

Physical practices


Because Taoism doesn't make a rigid division between body and spirit, it recognises that physical actions have a spiritual effect.

Purity

Taoist texts teach the importance of keeping the body pure in order to ensure spiritual health. To remain pure a person should avoid certain activities and foods. Greed, lust, pride and dishonesty are examples of things that should be avoided.

Meditation

Meditation is important to many Taoists. Complex meditation rituals are practiced in various temples.

A vital use of meditation is to create mental stillness and enhance mindfulness. This can give a person the mental space to know the Tao directly.

Breathing

Breath is the most easily perceived form of ch'i, and there are many Taoist breathing exercises. Taoist breathing exercises are called Qui Gong (qigong).

Energy flow

The flow of life energy - ch'i - within the body can be enhanced, regulated and harmonised by various forms of exercise, meditation, and techniques such as acupuncture and moxibustion.

Martial arts

Tai Chi (taiji) originally derived from Taoist exercises created by Chang San-Feng (Zhang Sanfeng) (1127-1279 CE). Modern forms of Tai Chi are more likely to be secular exercises than Taoist practices.

Diet

Classical Taoist teaching recommends abstaining from alcohol, meat, beans and grains.

I'll be back with more on Taoism soon! :)

- Clarice

Citations:
http://www.roletabjj.com/images/martialarts.jpg
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/05/22/article-0-19ED425F000005DC-707_964x640.jpg
http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/About/General/2011/5/23/1306170173777/martial-arts-training-at--007.jpg
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/taoism/practices/physical.shtml 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/taoism/practices/alchemy.shtml


Hello. jason here. AGAIN. i just got scolded by my teacher so i have to post again zzz. so yeah,

about trancing, a downside is the medium would receive many scars especially when he goes to traditional festivals called “ tua yew keng ”. During these festivals, the mediums ( with the spirits in them ), allow ridiculously large needles and swords to pierce through their skin.

The spirits protect the medium and stop him or her from feeling pain. The medium will have totally no control over his or her senses. The gods see it as a sort of game and the needles are seen as toys for the gods.

However, this also helps the medium cleanse his soul of previous sins. It also allows the spirit to be more accurate in calculating stuff and y
eah. below is a picture of what it looks like




 Hi, this is Bryan Lee and i'm here are some of the common questions people usually asked regarding Christianity.


1. Can Christian date or marry a non-christian? From a christian point of view, dating a non believe is an unwise thing to do and marry one is definitely not an option. The Bible says tells the Christian "do not be yoked with unbeliever" (Quoted from the Bible verse) . This means a Christian should not be too attached to a non-believer. Why is this so? This is because both parties have different values and different beliefs. The Christian puts God first and place God as their top priority because God is the most important to them. However, a non-believer may not be able to comprehend the value of God from a christian perspective. This means there can be no spiritual harmony between a Christian and non-believer. There are also things which the Christian can't do and a non-believer can. Christian are restricted to many things in order to be faithful to God. Hence, there will be conflict between both parties. There is nothing wrong with building a quality friendship with a non-believer but that is as far as a Christian can go. If a Christian were to date or marry a non-christian, he or she will be defying God because the Bible is God's word to them and Christians is suppose to follow what the Bible says. A Christian may ask for forgiveness from God by praying. Praying is a part of Christian and they do it often. It also helps Christian to grow closer to God.


 2. Why can't Christian drink or smoke? The Bible did not actually says Christian can't smoke or drink. Drinking is not a sin, drinking to excess is. The Bible says " Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life" . God want Christian to be the "master" of their body and does not want them to harm their body. A little alcohol is fine but excessive alcohol is considered a sin. The Bible says "Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body." This means Christians must take care of their body but smoking and drinking certainly is not the way. The negative effects of smoking harms lungs and the body which God does not want. Hence , smoking is considered a sin in Christianity. I hope i have answer your doubts regarding Christianity.

 Reference:
http://christianteens.about.com/od/whatthebiblesaysabout/a/WBSASmoking.htm


jason here again.

OK IF YOU'RE WONDERING WHY I POSTED 2 AT ONCE IT'S BECAUSE I DIDNT THE PREVIOUS DAYS SO I'M KIND OF OWING A FEW POSTS LOL. ANYWAY.....


A darker side of Buddhism is the existence of kumantong. It is basically a dead fetus inside a jar of some sort. It has been infused with black magic and the spirit of the dead fetus follows you around like a child. A direct translation would be ghost child. 

There is a father ghost, a mother ghost, and a baby ghost. All 3 of them have their specific uses. The father ghost is the easiest to handle whereas the mother ghost is the hardest.

 A baby kumantong does your bidding and would haunt a person in return for a soft drink or some sweets. and as we all know, haunting is bad. and haunting people is even worse. so there should be no need for black magic and kumantongs. because it is bad and the owners should feel bad. and if you own a kumantong, you are keeping the spirit on earth and not letting it reincarnate, which is also a bad thing.

hello, jason here again to do another post on buddhism........ Trancing however, is a more complex form of worship where the ritual is said to allow the " Gods " to come down to earth. Trancing allows a god to possess oneself. Trancing bears likelihood to dancing as the medium would perform some sort of hand and body movement specific to the god when the spirit enters the medium’s body. The purpose of trancing is to help believers with their problems, be it spiritually or physically. Believers can also ask the gods questions. It has been proved a number of times that those gods are real as they know exactly what a believer has been doing no matter how secretive he or she may be in doing a certain activity. Videos of the ritual procession can be found in the links below.

this is the standard first step of any ritual involving trancing. without this, the ritual can't proceed.

joss sticks are offered to every altar in the temple where the god is at.

chanting commences.

trancing starts. a special chair is needed and the chant has to continue until the god comes.

Credits to Limbang's temple. yes i took all the videos on my own so i dont owe anyone any copyrights.

FOLLOW MY TWITTER @ItsJayyyson!!!!!!

Have you ever thought of using soil or sand to clean your face? Yup, I doubt so either! However, there is actually a procedure in the Islamic circle that uses clean fine sand for dry ablution. This unique ritual is called the tayammum.

This procedure truly embraces the saying "Desperate time calls for desperate measures". The routine is an alternative for ghusl and wudu.

With niyyah (intention), the palms of the hands are tapped on the surface where there is clean fine sand or dust. Then, the face is wiped with it. The second tapping is repeated, to clean the two hands.

Tayammum is permitted (as a mean of purification for both minor and major impurities) under the following conditions:
1. Absence or inadequate water
2. Water available sufficient for sustenance
3. If the use of water aggravates one’s illnesses
4. If there is danger in reaching the source of water.

(Did I say this post won’t be wordy, I think I lied.)

I decided not to tell you about Islamic etiquettes and practices, in a terrible attempt to stop myself from rambling on. I’m sorry! L

Now, for the pictures I took at the Sultan Mosque! I missed the visiting hours but managed to take some photos of the mosque.

If you are interested to go to this temple, it is called the Sultan Mosque. This magnificent masjid is located on 3 Muscat Street. For more information, that click here!

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