this threads going wildly off topic, theres really no point getting nasty about other peoples beliefs.... Whether someone is prepered to break the law is upto them. And the healthy side, well theres legal things around which are argualby worse. Burger, cigs and beer anyone? Back on thread; whether it helps with the whole Tai chi thing, nobody here seems to know!
Well, let me ask you this, pgm... You wanna be in the same room with a stoner doing a t'ai chi sword form? Funny how that doesn't really make me feel terribly safe and comfy...
I can tell you I'd rather be in there with a stoner, as opposed to a **** head. But a sober person would be the safest bet. Walking late at night through a dark alley, I would also prefer walking past stoners as opposed to **** heads, or sober people for that matter.
how can you arrest something that doesn't exist? *runs and hides! * Legality aside, what is it's impact on taiji practice? I'd say they aren't good. True it can calm and slow some people down, but it also deadens the senses to an extent. It'll calm your mind, but it'll take you away from the practice as well.
I'm not a weed campaigner! Am curious about the meditation side of things. Not sure about the swords though! Although the article I read said that stoned drivers were safer. Again due to all there senses being more vivid ie the car would feel like its going faster. Don't know if this relates to someone swinging swords around, and I ain't going to be the one to find out!!!
Just for the record btw I am not 'anti-drugs' or 'pro-drugs' per se. I value the experimenting I did in my earlier life highly (sic LOL) but after seriously 'caning it' for 15 years with various substances and being clean for 9 years now, the conclusion has to be: drugs = highly overrated, illusory and definitely not healthy for the qi. I get better, more vivid peak experiences from meditation and qigong/taijiquan now than I ever got through drugs and I have to say the latter only gives fake versions of the real 'door-opening' experiences of the sages themselves (none such thing btw ) Someone commented that nobody here 'knew' for sure whether weed was good for Taiji or not earlier. Allow me to stick my neck out - I do - it isn't. My teacher spent years telling me to give it up though she was a smoker herself in her past. I didn't listen but eventually worked it out through experience and stopped. My TJQ has come on in leaps and bounds ever since. Before it was a dreamlike ritual I repeated as taught by my masters, now it is a dynamic, creative process that continues to develop in new and interesting directions. IMO drugs are best used in the most natural form possible and in highly ritualized ways as the tribes and their shamen do with specific aims and environmental preparations in place. The 'recreational' approach is a misuse of what can be highly useful for personal development at an early stage but is no substitute for genuine spiritual practice later. Why not read Carlos Casteneda's books for info on this and notice that Don Juan only uses 'substances' at an early stage in Carlos' journey and often does not partake himself. In the later stories the lessons are acheived through more direct spiritual means and drugs are no longer used. Regarding choice: I am pro-choice personally, but making statements that weed helps TJQ is simply not true. It may give you an illusion of progress, but this will not be true in actuality. Regarding alcohol: Cheng Man Ching died of alcohol poisoning so it didn't really help his TJQ did it? :Angel:
It doesn't sound like he was on a moral high horse, more like the people making ignorant, blanket statements about 'weed'. It's a very good point. The illegality of something means nothing in this kind of argument. If people enjoy a bit of marajiuana now and again, then fair play to them. Obviously, if you smoke it all the time, it's bad. Like if you eat big macs all the time. Or drink alcohol/smoke all the time. But back to the topic. Since Chi doesn't exist, then smoking weed will neither harm nor benefit it. I wouldn't advise exercise + weed though.
huh? The logic I used to consider trying to mix the two is that it isn't bad to get another perspective on the form. Obviously chronic use is harmful. But that doesn't mean that looking in through a different window while doing the form is going to mess the form up for you. At worst you just wasted your time. At best, you learned something about the form that you never realized while sober.
At the risk of provoking you can I just say 'why'? Anyone who thinks they practise IMA and doesn't 'believe' in qi is either ignorant, ill-informed or just not developed as a being IMO BUT they are entitled to their (mistaken) pov (and others are entitled to challenge it, surely?) Why is my saying that grounds for locking the thread? Or someone that doesn't know anything/understand about the 'internal' aspect of IMA saying it doesn't exist? Isn't there room for differing opinions here? As much of the debate in this thread hinges around weed causing damage to the flow of qi, surely the questioning of its (qi) existence and any rebuttals forthcoming are fair play, are they not.....? No? Is it me?? lol It's me, isn't it? :Angel:
Whooooaaaaaa, calm down there! I said that only because there are already about a million "Does Chi Exist" threads on the forum -- Way. Too. Many. Unfortunately, most of those threads turn into flamefests, and have to be closed anyway. Although, I would rather discuss chi than illegal substances.
This was an EXTREMELY interesting post. Not doubting you at all . . . I would like to know, how did you come up with this or where did you read about it? EDIT: About the "weed works by moving the ki from the kidneys to the mind where it is burned up" that is.
Sorry Kinjiro - I guess the downside of being straight is I tend to take life a bit too seriously sometimes.... LOL :Angel: (probably MOST of the time, some might say.... roflmao)
Rewording my point, since the existence of Chi can't be explicitly proved, then how can anyone claim to know whether weed affects it positively or negatively? Other than anecdotal accounts...
What about those water crystal experiments? or the chi kung dude who can light up a light bulb in his hand? Or are those just urban legends.
Oil and water? I should Co-Co lol All the material on this thread is anecdotal of course, but, seeing as scientific opinion on the benefit/harm of cannabis is also deeply divided I guess we'll have to say we're at an empasse, won't we....? OK that said.... Let's stick to what we know for sure: Cannabis is a depressant - Taiji aims at lifting the spirit Cannabis is a relaxant - Taiji relaxation is not the same as the unconsciousness or tranquilisation brought on by dope, it is an active state of awareness without unnecessary muscular tension aimed at developing good physical movement for martial art techniques and energy delivery Cannabis is a hallucinogen - Taiji aims at clearing/emptying the mind of clutter Cannabis slows reaction times - Taiji is a martial art aiming at improving reaction times Cannabis is a known carcinogen - Taiji is for health promotion Cannabis causes sexual dysfunction/impotence - Taiji promotes kidney energy and sexual function/drive Cannabis can cause psychosis - Taiji aims at balancing the five organs and bowels thus promoting mental clarity and balance Cannabis smoking (the most common method of use) can cause cancer, emphesema, bronchitis and other serious lung conditions - Taiji promotes deep healthy breathing Cannabis promotes apathy and lethargy - Taiji energises Cannabis can cause paranoia (original meaning 'delusions of grandeur') - Taiji promotes humility and ego-control Conclusion: the outcomes of cannabis and Taiji practice are at polar opposites - the one being used as the antidote to the other either way. The best you can hope for combining the two will be a neutralisation - dead yin and dead yang. I rest my case. :bang: :Angel:
Well I think you're hugely overplaying the negative effects there, many of which are unproven (and I haven't seen evidence of them), but whatever.
The ancient Daoists knew and experimented with marijuana but came to the conclusion that it caused great long-term damage in exchange for very little benefit. They determined it should only be used in rare circumstances and then in very small quantities. Marijuana stimulates stored kidney jing to be used, making you feel happy and horny in the short term. In the long term, however, it causes severe, chronic depletion of the kidney jing, resulting in all the problems TCM associates with kidney jing defficiency: impotence, anxiety, reduced sperm motility, lethargy, anxiety, paranoia... What's more, when the jing is depleted the amount available for conversion into qi will be lower, making it clearly bad for IMA and health in general.
