Through this intensive practice, you progressed rapidly. What experiences and events marked this progress? In what manner was your brain “transformed”?

The first energy transmission I had from Master Chunyi Lin was this flash of light (while my eyes were closed)…very bright, and my whole body filled with this amazing deep bliss. (Chunyi Lin was first healed by Yan Xin and later studied with Yan Xin’s teacher!) When Chunyi Lin walks into the room, you can immediately feel the whole room fill with this magnetic bliss energy.

One day, after a Spring Forest Qigong Level 2 class, Chunyi Lin stared through my body at my right kidney, and I felt this amazing laser bliss right on my kidney. By that point, I knew that Chunyi Lin had profound healing energy.

At the guild meetings, Chunyi Lin would stand in the front of the auditorium and I would see this bright yellow orb of light shooting out of his head.

“I moved 9 times looking for a quiet place, but mundane energy imbalances always intruded…I felt like I had come back from the dead and only consciousness was real.”

As the bliss and electromagnetic energy increased with more and more full-lotus sitting, I realized that there was water flowing from my brain! It was like an electrolysis converting the hydrogen and oxygen in the atmosphere into water through the electromagnetic fields of my third eye. Water poured into my belly, and I realized that this must be the “ambrosia” [described in neidan training manuals]. The top of my skull got soft, and amazingly it started pulsating with electromagnetic energy.

Does the full-lotus meditation posture have any special significance?

Chunyi Lin states that 20 minutes of full-lotus yoga or padmasana (with the ankles up on the thighs, legs crossed, left leg first and right on top) is worth 4 hours of any other meditation practice—if you want to see whether someone is an energy master, just see how long they can sit in full-lotus.

Through my own research, I discovered that yin and yang were originally music ratios—nonwestern music, which uses complementary opposites. (It’s very abstract reasoning, but something I had discovered from my music training while in high school.) I verified that 2:3, the Perfect 5th is Yang and 3:4, the Perfect 4th is Yin. The specific source is in my master’s thesis, “Epicenters of Justice” (2001) which is readable freely online. In short…

Nonwestern music healing works by transducing sound through natural resonance of frequency, to create ultrasound which ionizes the serotonin in the stomach. The more you listen to the source of sound, which is pure consciousness, the more electromagnetic chi energy is created; finally it turns into shen (spirit light). The full-lotus is a tetrahedron—pyramid power—which is composed of eight 2-3-4 triangles.

“I gave my car away. I began eating meat, and dumpster-diving for food. My focus in life was no longer activism; it was qigong.”

In Western science, the equilateral triangle requires the irrational number for geometric magnitude, but in music ratios of complementary opposites–from Pythagorean harmonics and Taoist yin and yang—the full-lotus pressure creates frequency resonance for turning matter into energy. Since the tetrahedron most efficiently creates the yin-yang ratios, the energy creation is fastest there.

How have these experiences affected your outlook on life, and your relationships with other people?

I started having precognitive visions in my full-lotus meditation, but I also was extremely sensitive to the energy imbalances around me. I desperately wanted a quiet place to meditate. I researched intensely all the monasteries around the world, and various other spiritual gurus and masters. I thought that if only I could find a better environment, then I could deepen my meditation. Amazingly I could not find a teacher who seemed on the level of Chunyi Lin—his ability is truly rare.

I moved 9 times looking for a quiet place, but mundane energy imbalances always intruded. I continued taking classes, but not at the same intensity of practice on my part. I stopped my special diet. I felt like I had come back from the dead and only consciousness was real.

My degree was over, and my funding was gone. I gave my car away. I began eating meat, and dumpster-diving for food. My focus in life was no longer activism; it was qigong.

I had no choice about it, and I still am trying to adjust. My experience was similar to that of Wang Liping, who was told to move back into society after his training (in the book “Opening the Dragon Gate“)…only I didn’t make the transition successfully. Ha ha.

I continued my research intensely, “reverse-engineering reality” by comparing science with my own experiences. I discovered some amazing things about the vagus nerve transducing serotonin and anaerobic bacteria. I discovered, by accident, what I call the “O at a D”: psychic mutual climaxes with females.

When Jim Nance, Chunyi Lin’s qigong master assistant, asked me to help him write a book on his training, Lin stated that the spirits would not like this. It seems controlling, but Jim Nance completely respects this, and even mentioned to me that it’s better to not post on the Internet.

Do you have any advice to offer those who are interested in qigong, but unsure quite where to start?

Chunyi Lin

The exercises that Chunyi Lin teaches are extremely simple and yet very effective. The “Small Universe” Level 1 CD is the same as the “Microcosmic Orbit” that Mantak Chia teaches. That is also the focus of the book “Taoist Yoga: Alchemy and Immortality”. Chunyi Lin has stated that the Small Universe is the foundation practice and can take you to the highest level. “Taoist Yoga” explains these steps in detail.

Anyone can practice the small universe—a paralyzed man in England healed himself just after the first session! I wholeheartedly recommend his Spring Forest Qigong meditation practice.

Enjoy the energy is my advice.

I’ve spent a lot of time online answering questions from readers, and I’ve posted on many forums to seek critical feedback, knowing that my peers are my greatest critics. So I’m always happy to learn from any readers, and enjoy learning about their qigong experiences as well.

Drew Hempel’s book, “Trance Songs: How to Make Love to the Universe”, is available at Lulu and Amazon. Drew currently blogs at Natural Resonance Revolution.

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Excerpted from Beyond Biofeedback, a record of Elmer and Alyce Green’s research on theta brainwave training, which they describe as an accelerated form of meditation.

When Jack Schwarz was in his early teens, he saw a stage hypnotist enter a self-induced trance and then push pins into his arm while he talked about the power of mind to control pain and bleeding. Jack had the normal response to pain until he saw that demonstration, and then, for no particular reason, he knew that he would be able to do the same thing. He got some pins and tried it, and sure enough he could turn pain off. What a conversation piece, he thought.

Jack said that at first he never tired of amazing his friends. He developed a cocky attitude, in spite of the fact that he had not had to develop his skills, but “woke up one morning and found all the diplomas were on the wall.” He could stop pain, stop bleeding, influence people through hypnosis, remove pains in other people by putting his hands on them and thinking about the pain going away, and could often “guess” other people’s thoughts precisely.

We did not make a focused effort to interrogate Jack when we began the laboratory work. As with Swami Rama, we asked him to tell us what he would like to demonstrate. Dale and Alyce wired him in the same way we prepared college-student subjects in other research. When he sat down in the experimental room he produced an envelope with two 6-inch steel sailmaker’s needles. He said he would push the needles through his biceps and demonstrate bleeding control.

Jack was wired to record the behavior or a number of physiological variables that gave indications of stress reactions: heart rate, breathing rate, galvanic skin response, skin temperature, and brain waves. While we were adjusting the equipment near him, one of the needles rolled off the board on which his hands were placed and fell to the floor. As I picked it up I realized that we had not sterilized the needles, and I asked if he wanted me to do anything about it. He said, “No, I often sterilize my needle by putting it on the floor and rolling it under my shoe.”

Before Jack began pulling the needle out of his arm, I decided that it would be useful for the record if it were demonstrated that Jack could bleed in a normal way. It had occurred to me that otherwise, even if Jack repeated this demonstration a hundred times, we really would not know whether he had control of bleeding, or merely a peculiar skin condition.

In order to control bleeding, it is necessary to control a normally unconscious process. All yogis who demonstrate unusual powers of self-regulation apparently have achieved a kind of coordination between conscious and unconscious. In effect, I decided to interfere with that coordination. Just as Jack was preparing to pull the needle out of his arm, I interrupted him and said, “Jack, tell me, is it going to bleed now?” He looked quite surprised and uncertain, like a man balancing on one finger when someone said, “Are you going to fall now?”

Jack said, “I don’t think it’s going to bleed.” But when he pulled the needle out, it bled freely. The photographer put down his camera, and he and I began mopping up the blood with paper tissues. Bleeding was continuous for about ten seconds, and then I heard Jack say very softly, “Now it stops.” Much to my surprise, the hold in the skin that I was dabbing closed up as if drawn by purse strings. It took about one second to close, and not another drop of blood appeared.

We were very much impressed, and I said to Jack, “I am glad to see that you are normal and can bleed, and can also stop bleeding. How about doing it again, but this time don’t bleed at all.” There was a pause. Many seconds went by, and I began to wonder if I had said something wrong, when Jack said, “Okay, I’ll do it again.” He pushed the needle through a different place in his arm, and allowed it to remain buried in the muscle for a half minute or so. Though I squeezed his arm, no blood came out when the needle was removed.

When the test was concluded we talked for awhile, and I asked Jack why he had paused so long before he agreed to do the second demonstration. He said he wanted me to understand that he did not force his body to do any of these things. He asked it to. He had to ask his subconscious and want for an answer. When it said “Yes” to him, he said “Okay” to me.

Faith, Hypothesis and Transcendental Knowledge

Attitude is a critical feature in biofeedback training, because volition is influenced by what one believes (although the psycho-physiological principle itself is entirely independent of what people do or do not believe). This fact was first brought to our attention by John Seaman Garns, who phrased it, “Mind operates under its own conception of itself.”

The average person was in a bind until the advent of biofeedback training. Consider some examples. One woman, who with the help of a biofeedback machine was learning to warm her hands, asked, “Do you have to have faith to operate this machine?” Our answer was that to begin with faith was totally unnecessary, because the machine is a faith enhancer. No more faith is required to learn to operate it than to learn to drive a car. We do not have to believe or have faith that the car will turn to the left if we turn the steering wheel to the left. All that is necessary is to try it. Then we know.

There seems to be a hierarchy of effectiveness of psychological states with respect to self-regulation of physiological processes. The hierarchy might be arranged as follows: to hope, to hypothesize, to believe, to know—and biofeedback makes it possible to leap the entire distance at once.

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Army’s New PTSD Treatments: Yoga, Reiki, and Bioenergy by Noah Shachtman (The Danger Room)
The military is scrambling for new ways to treat the brain injuries and post-traumatic stress of troops returning home from war. And every kind of therapy–no matter how far outside the accepted medical form–is being considered. The Army just unveiled a $4 million program to investigate everything from “spiritual ministry, transcendental meditation, [and] yoga” to “bioenergies such as Qi gong, Reiki, [and] distant healing” to mend the psyches of wounded troops…

Dangers of Kundalini Yoga by Anmol Mehta (Mastery of Meditation, Enlightenment and Kundalini Yoga)
Kundalini Yoga is certainly a powerful science and if not approached with intelligence and respect it can produce some challenges and difficulties for the practitioners. That is not meant to discourage you from taking up its practice, it is meant to help guide you so that you undertake Kundalini Yoga practice safely and thus, enjoy the enormous benefits that this form of yoga bestows…

Do Yoga and Christianity Conflict? by Paul Jerard (Aura Wellness Center)
Recently, I was reading about someone who claims Kundalini is “new age witchcraft.” Sorry to say, another person recently stated, “Good Christians should avoid the devil’s exercise,” in reference to Yoga. Are the Salem witch trials still so close to our hearts? These claims are interesting because ministers and priests have been practicing meditation for centuries…

Energetic Integrity with the Three Primary Energies of the Body by Gia Combs-Ramirez (The Science of Energy Healing)
Achieving energetic integrity with psychic, heart and sexual/creative energies takes a bit of practice. This post includes a podcast with a healing meditation for balancing and clearing the three energies…

The Christian, Energetic Medicine, “New Age Paranoia” by Elliot Miller
Flat earth Christianity is the too-often-prevalent Christian mentality that considers heretical and even demonic any theory that does not fit in with its traditions and present knowledge (e.g., for many medieval Christians the idea that the earth is round and not the Center of the universe was Considered anti-Christian). Although the view I’m advocating is exactly what inspired Kline’s term “flat earth Christianity,” I do not believe the label applies in this case. For Kline has not brought all the relevant factors into the discussion…

Why Are We Lazy? by baiguai (Kung Fu Artistry)
Why is it so hard to get up and exercise? The author [of a recent article I read discusses] how the reasons for our lack of physical activity are more complicated than we think, and outlines items like where we live, daunting exercise equipment etc. But the further I read, the more I saw it as even simpler, not more complex…

Mixing Holosync with Tai Chi by Norman Morse (The Game of Self)
I’ve created a new morning ritual (These things should change depending on your need, don’t stagnate). I listen to an hour of holosync while practicing Tai-chi Sword, Tai-chi open hand, Qi Gong and standing meditation…

The Scientist, The Master and The Deviant: Three Perspectives on Qigong by Martial Development
“I first lost control of one leg and then the other soon after. No concentration on controlling this force could help. My legs started walking without my control, and I started grabbing signposts and people to try and stay in one place. But to no avail: my legs were taking me toward Tiananmen Square. I called out to the soldiers not to shoot…”

Other submissions:

• Rapid Weight Loss with Kundalini Yoga: Free Exercise Video
• What Exactly Is Hypnosis?

Opinions expressed in this article series do not necessarily represent those of its publisher, and should not be taken as a substitute for professional medical advice.

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After reviewing the training methods of Qi Dao, Kumar Frantzis suggested that such material would be more precisely labeled as shen gong, or spiritual cultivation, rather than as qi gong (energy cultivation). While I cannot disagree with his observation, it seems to me that most English-speaking qigong enthusiasts are in fact seeking self-realization, harmony and peace of mind—not merely a vehicle for increased physical vitality—so some imprecision can be forgiven here.

Qi Dao: The Art of Being in the Flow is (to my knowledge) the first English book on the obscure Tibetan art of Shamanic Qigong, or trul khor. Written by Lama Somananda Tantrapa, an ordained Buddhist monk and longtime martial artist, Being in the Flow introduces the basics of this unique brand of Tibetan Yoga.

Sadly, kinesthesia is not a part of many modern people’s vocabulary. The sense of movement is the only way to experience first-hand the relationship between space and time. It gives you the direct experience of life. Many people only experience life through their visual and/or auditory senses. This externalizes their experience…they just observe life happen instead of participating in it.

The signature element of Qi Dao as a qigong style is its emphasis on physicality, unadulterated by the choreography of strictly defined forms. Just as Jesus Christ was no Christian and Shakyamuni was not a Buddhist, Lama Tantrapa teaches that we should not expect to attain self-realization by staring at the ground and tracing another person’s footsteps.

The Qi Dao curriculum has been strongly influenced by various martial arts, and practice with an “adventure partner” is encouraged. Partner exercises in the book explore the use of the complimentary forces (up and down, forward and backward, opening and closing) to harmonize with incoming energy expressed as grabs, knees and elbow strikes.

Video from the accompanying DVD

Although Qi Dao is said to be rooted in the traditions of Tibetan Bon shamanism, the sections dedicated to stretching and martial applications resemble equal parts Indian Yoga, Chinese Qigong and Japanese Aikido. These two sections comprise one-third of Being in the Flow.

Experienced martial artists will agree with many of the movement principles expressed here, but may object to the particulars of some illustrated applications—and to Lama Tantrapa’s ubiquitous references to the dream-like nature of existence.

Holding Out posture pattern

The most fascinating part of Being in the Flow is its discussion of holding patterns. These habits of chronic tension inhibit the healthy flow of qi, limit the natural range of motion, and create pain and discomfort.

From a very young age, your bodily movements naturally played an essential role in your emotional life as somatic (physical) expressions of your feelings and emotions…As you were growing up and developing your unique personality, you were also developing your particular way of holding yourself.

Self-undermining patterns—categorized here as Holding Forth, Holding Back, Holding In and Holding Out—are reconciled through the Qi Dao practice of somatic awareness. This awareness, rather than direct manipulation of energy, is the primary focus of the book.

Taking into consideration that people have a tendency to create rigid identities out of their habitual states, Qi Dao teaches to transcend attachment to the old sense of self expressed through holding patterns. It is not really your holding patterns that you are working on—it is your sense of identity attached to the states of consciousness manifesting as your patterns of holding tension that you are learning to surrender.

You won’t find a laundry list of chi orbits, locks and other esoterica in The Art of Being in the Flow, and that is a good thing. Lama Tantrapa uses clear language and entertaining imagery to describe how Qi Dao can help you develop a harmonious mind, body and spirit; his explanations apply to other high-level martial arts as well. If you enjoy reading Martial Development, then you will also appreciate this book.

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Qigong Yiquan Review and Impressions by Jacob (Parapsychology Articles and Blog)
I’ve written before about my first qigong lesson. Nowadays, I still go the classes and am much more knowledgeable on this subject.

Nourishing the Liver by Joanne Hay (Nourished Magazine)
Cleansing the Liver looks very different when seen through the soft, clear eyes of Nourishment. How do we treat Liverish symptoms that pop up in Spring without falling for the old cleanse, purge, no pain no gain paradigm? Some of our Nourishing recommendations may surprise you.

EFT Is Bunkum? – Part 2 by Dr Martin W. Russell
EFT is a simple self-treatment technique that claims amazing results for both psychological and physical conditions. But what is really behind it? I suspect that the outcomes from EFT have NOTHING to do with Chi, or energy flow, or acupuncture meridian points.

Online Yoga Exercises for Healthy Weight Loss by Anmol Mehta (Mastery of Meditation, Kundalini Yoga and Zen)
Effective yoga exercises for safe healthy weight loss, fitness and energy.

Acne Acupuncture Is An Effective Natural Treatment by DaveX (Mr. Clear’s Acne Reviews)
Acne acupuncture can be very effective. I have experienced this treatment myself and it worked very quickly and as a long lasting cure.

Reiki Healing – A Method Of Spiritual Healing And Self-improvement by The Alternative Medicine Zone
Reiki is a Japanese form of healing that is becoming more popular in the today’s world. Most of the medical practitioners are recommending reiki healing as a parallel system of treatment.

Photo Credit: Wolfgang Wedenig

Creating Intentions with Heart by Gia Combs-Ramirez (The Science of Energy Healing)
Get those intentions out of the disembodied mind and into the heart. Includes a meditation to guide you through the process.

Crystalline Consciousness Technique™ by Lexi Sundell (Energies of Creation)
CCT is a new cutting edge modality which is highly effective in propelling intentions into manifestation. Read about it here and find a link to try it for free.

What Is The Real Cause Of Colds? by Roger Haeske (Superbeing Secrets)
Do you want to know the real cause of colds and the flu? I can tell you right off the bat it isn’t GERMS. That’s an old fairy tale.

What Every Martial Artist Should Know About Chi and TCM by Martial Development
Are references to qi gong and Traditional Chinese Medicine a necessary component of martial arts instruction?

This concludes the first edition of Qigong and Energy Arts Forum. You may submit your article for the next edition, to be published in a few weeks’ time.

Opinions expressed in this article series do not necessarily represent those of its publisher, and should not be taken as a substitute for professional medical advice.

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Originally published in the London Telegraph, August 22, 1880

We are not told whether the Seven Sleepers who retired to a cave in Ephesus during the reign of the Christian-killing Emperor Decius, and only woke up 155 years afterward, when Theodosins II was on the throne, made any special preparation, but probably they did not. Perhaps it was not necessary. Those were stirring times for members of the new faith, and they had little opportunity to grow obese.

But, as a rule, to fast successfully it is said to be necessary for a man to abstain beforehand, and reduce himself more carefully to the required condition by a long course of preparation. Pre-eminent at this art of suspending animation—for an art it becomes—are the Easterns, and most wonderful stories are told of the natives of India, which, whether they powers are due to narcotics or any other process, seem to open up—if true—a wide field of medical study.

Once of the Indian stories, not easily accessible, but of considerable interest on account of the known veracity of the witnesses, will probably be read with interest at the present time, and is inserted here. The author of it was one Hon. Capt. Osborn, and the notes made of his statement, here subjoined, come from an almost unique copy printed from private circulation.

Caption Osborn’s Story

“Runjeet Sing had heard from a Seyd or Fakir, who lived in the mountains, that the latter could allow himself to be buried when in a condition of apparent death, without really ceasing to live, seeing that he understood the art of being brought back to life on being exhumed after several months had passed. To the Maharajah this appeared to be a rank impossibility. In order, however, that he should be convinced, he ordered the Fakir summoned to the Court, and caused him to undertake the singular experiment, under a threat that no means of precaution would be wanting towards the discovery of fraud.

However wonderful and perhaps laughable these operations appear to many, it is plain that these people must have a singular control over the different organs of their bodies…

The Fakir consequently caused himself to appear in a state of apparent death. When every spark of life had seemingly vanished, he was, in the presence of the Maharajah and the nobles who surrounded him, wrapped up in the linen on which he had been sitting, and on which the seal of Runjeet Sing was placed. The body was then deposited in a chest, on which Runjeet Sing, with his own hand, fixed a heavy padlock. The chest was carried outside the town and buried in a garden belonging to the Minister; barley was sown over the spot, a wall was erected around it, and sentinels posted.

On the fortieth day, when the chest containing the Fakir was dug up and opened, the man was found cold and stark in precisely the same condition as that in which he had been left. With much trouble he was restored to life by means of heat applied to the head, afflation in the ears and mouth, rubbing the body, etc.

The Minister, Rajah Dhyan-Sing, assured a friend that he had this Fakir, whose name was Haridas, for a period of four months under the earth at Jummoo in the mountains. On the day of his burial he had caused his beard to be shaved off, and when he was taken up again his chin was just as smooth as the day when he was consigned to the earth—a proof, as would seem, of suspended animation.

It is related that the Fakir in question took a pergative some time before the burial display, and for several days afterward lived only on a scanty milk diet. On the day of the internment it is said that, instead of taking any nourishment, he swallowed 30 yards of a strip of linen of the breadth of three fingers, which he immediately drew up again, his object being to clean the stomach.

However wonderful and perhaps laughable these operations appear to many, it is plain that these people must have a singular control over the different organs of their bodies, and more especially over their muscular contractions.

When all the necessary preparations have been accomplished, the Fakir closes all the openings of his body with stoppers made of aromatic wax, lays his tongue far back in his throat, crosses his hands on his breast, and suspends animation by means of holding his breath.

On his being brought back to life one of the first operations is, by means of the fingers, to draw the tongue away from the back of the throat; a warm and aromatic paste made of meal is then placed on his head, and air is blown into his lungs and into the ear-holes, from which the wax stoppers have been removed, the stoppers in the nostrils being presently forced out with an explosive noise.

This is said to be the first sign of a return to life. He then gradually commences to breathe, opens the eyes, and recovers consciousness, continuous friction of the body being carried on all the time.

A Second Eyewitness Account

Here is another curious statement of opinion on the subject of the Indian stories from an equally rare source, the little pamphlet of Sir Claude Wade, published in 1837. “I was present,” he writes, “at the court of Runjeet Singh when the Fakir, mentioned by the Hon. Capt. Osborne, was buried alive for six seeks; and, although I arrived a few hours after his actual interment, and did not, consequently, witness that part of the phenomenon, I had the testimony of Runjeet Singh himself, and others of the most credible witnesses of his Court, to the truth of the Fakir having been buried before them; and, from my having been myself present when he was disinterred, and restored to a state of perfect vitality in a position so close to him as to render any deception impossible, it is my firm belief that there was no collusion in producing the extraordinary sight which I have to relate.

“I will briefly state what I saw, to enable others to judge of the weight due to my evidence, and whether my proof of collusion can, in their opinion, be detected.  On the approach of the appointed time, according to invitation, I accompanied Runjeet Singh to the spot where the Fakir had been buried. It was in a square building, called a barra durra, in the middle of one of the gardens adjoining the Palace at Lahore, with an open veranda all round, having an inclosed [sic] room in the centre.

On arriving there, Runjeet Singh, who was attended on the occasion by the whole of his Court, dismounted from his elephant, asked me to join him in examining the building to satisfy himself that it was closed as he had left it. After our examination we seated ourselves in the veranda opposite the door, while some of Runjeet Singh’s people dug away at the mud wall, and one of his officers broke the seal and opened the padlock.

The arms and legs of the body were shriveled and stiff, the face full, the head reclined on the shoulder like that of a corpse.

When the door was thrown open nothing but a dark room was to be seen. Runjeet Singh and myself then entered it, in company with the servant of the Fakir, and, a light being brought, we descended about three feet below the floor of the room, into a sort of sell, where a wooden box about 4 feet long by 8 feet broad, with a sloping roof, contained the Fakir, the door of which had also a padlock a seal similar to that on the outside. On opening it was saw a figure inclosed in a bag of white linen, fastened by a string over the head, and the exposure of which a grand salute was fired, and the surrounding multitude came crowding to the door to see the spectacle.

After they had satisfied their curiosity, the Fakir’s servant putting his arms into the box, took the figure out, and, closing the door, placed it with its back against it, exactly as the Fakir has been squatting (like a Hindu idol) in the box itself. Runjeet Singh and myself descended into the cell, which was so small we were only able to sit on the ground in front of the body, and so close to it as to touch it with our hands and knees.

The Resurrection of Haridas 

The servant then began pouring warm water of the figure, but as my object was to see if any fraudulent practices could be detected, I proposed to Runjeet Singh to tear open the bag and have a perfect view of the body before any means of resuscitation were employed. I accordingly did so; and may here remark that the bag when first seen by us looked mildewed, as if it had been buried some time.

The arms and legs of the body were shriveled and stiff, the face full, the head reclined on the shoulder like that of a corpse. I then called to the medical gentleman who was attending me to come down and inspect the body, which he did, but could discover no pulsation in the heart, the temples or the arms. There was, however, a heat about the region of the brain which no other part exhibited.

The servant than commenced bathing him with hot water, and gradually relaxing his arms and legs from the rigid state in which they were contracted, Runjeet Singh taking his right and I his left leg, to aid by friction in restoring them to their proper action, during which time the servant placed a hot wheaten cake, about an inch thick, on the top of the head—a process which he twice or thrice repeated.

He pulled them out of his nostrils and ears the wax and cotton with which they had been stopped, and after great exertion opened [Haridas'] mouth by inserting the point of a knife between his teeth, and while holding his jaw open with his left hand drew the tongue forward with his right, in the course of which the tongue flow back several times to its curved position upward, in which it had originally been, so as to close the gullet.

He then rubbed his eyes with ghee (or clarified butter) for some seconds, till he succeeded in opening them, when the eyes appeared quite motionless and glazed. After the cake had been applied for the third time to the top of the head the body was violently convulsed, the nostrils became inflated, when respiration ensured, and the limbs began to assume a natural fullness [sic]; but the pulsation was still faintly perceptible.

The servant then put some of the ghee on his tongue and made him swallow it. A few minutes afterward the eyeballs became dilated, and recovered their natural color, when the Fakir recognized Runjeet Singh sitting close to him, and articulated in a low sepulchral tone, “Do you believe me now?” Runjeet Singh replied in the affirmative, and invested the Fakir with a pearl necklace and a superb pair of gold bracelets, and pieces of silk and muslin, and shawls, forming what is called a khelat, such as is usually conferred by the Princes of India on persons of distinction.

I shared entirely in the apparent incredulity of the fact of a man being buried alive and surviving the trial without food or drink for various periods of duration; but, however incompatible with our knowledge of physiology, in the absence of any visible proof to the contrary, I am bound to declare my belief in the facts which I have represented, however impossible their existence may appear to others.

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Please submit your article(s) for consideration no later than November 29, 2007. Include a 1-2 sentence summary of each article. Your participation, as a writer or as the host for a future edition, is welcomed and appreciated.

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Ever since the dawn of time (or when Yoga became Westernized), an elite team of Yogis and Yoginis have protected Yoga throughout Santa Monica. Led by a mysterious Guru, the Yoga Action Squad brings the clarity and focus of yoga to the mean Santa Monica streets. When called on, they respond with a resistance that opens up blockages, creating space for fighting crime!

Join Johnny Lotus, Crystal, and Mantra as they use their strength and flexibility to kick some asana.

Episode 1: Doctor Badvibes

Episode 2: Lacivio’s Flow Class

Episode 3: Pila-tease

Brilliant. The Yoga Action Squad made me laugh, but from a very deep and eternal place.

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In the ancient spiritual text Bhagavad-Gita, Krishna defined two paths to the highest realization of human potential. For those inclined towards introspection and contemplation, Krishna recommended the path of transcendent wisdom, or Jnana Yoga. For more active and extroverted people, he suggested the path of selfless service, or Karma Yoga.

Blogger Steve Pavlina discussed these paths in his recent article Are You a Lightworker or a Darkworker? After insisting that mastery requires a polarizing commitment to one path—and one alone—Steve denigrated the path of self-knowledge:

If you polarize as a lightworker, you are dedicating your life to serving the greater good. If you polarize as a darkworker, you are dedicating your life to serving yourself. To use a Star Wars analogy, it is similar to deciding whether or not to become a Jedi or a Sith.

For a darkworker the level of unconditional love is directed inwardly as love of self. It’s like a highly concentrated form of arrogance. It may not be expressed outwardly in the form of a smug attitude, but inwardly the person comes to embrace the idea that s/he is the most important person on earth and should act accordingly. Honoring this perspective can actually lead to a state of peace that is virtually the opposite of humility.

While some might label the darkworker path as evil path, I dislike using words like good or evil to describe these paths. They’re really two different sides of the same coin.

Are the paths of lightworking and darkworking truly exclusive? To understand the flaw in this theory, let’s examine a tool that is literally dedicated to gathering cosmic light: the Hubble Space Telescope.

The Hubble telescope is a precision instrument designed for taking pictures of deep space. Unlike most telescopes, the Hubble is located in outer space itself. This inconvenient placement has made the telescope very costly to maintain; in fact, NASA seriously considered an early retirement for this billion-dollar tool, rather than risk a mishap during a service mission.

Why did astronomers choose to send the Hubble into orbit, when using it on the ground would be so much easier? The answer is clarity. Ground-based telescopes are affected by atmospheric distortion, which causes a slight blur in the images they capture. Due to its location outside Earth’s atmosphere, the Hubble is able to see farther and more clearly than it could otherwise.

For this same reason, engineers spent years polishing the Hubble’s mirrors. They were attempting to create a perfect curved surface, free of any imperfections that would blur a reflection. After great effort, they succeeded in creating a curve so precisely correct that, if it were scaled to the size of the Earth, its largest bump would be only six inches tall. Thanks to their diligence, we can view the distant reaches of the universe in stunning detail.

As a human being, you are subject to the same limitations as the Hubble telescope. To see what you are looking at, as it truly is, you must first “polish your mirror” with contemplative practice. Otherwise, your perception of reality will be unavoidably blurred by your desires, anxieties and biases.

We do not see the world as it is.
We see the world as we are.

Those who cannot see clearly are in no position to serve others. While attempting to assist them, you may inadvertently injure them. Whether you consider yourself a lightworker, a darkworker, or something else entirely, you must realize that good intentions are no substitute for undistorted vision.

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In Kazakhstan, the favorite hobbies are disco dancing, archery, rape, and table tennis. In America, there are many hobbies too. I find more. Jenkui.

In the following video, Borat learns:

• Self-defense techniques from Danny Passmore, an 8th dan master of American Street Karate
• Yoga for Joy, by David Ramsden
• New Age dance, at Portland’s Conduit Dance Studio

Warning: this video is offensive and should not be viewed by anyone.

From the second season of The Ali G Show

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