well said... I do think in certain settings it is hugely beneficial to discuss how the realizations of the Neidan "practice" begin to manifest in one's daily life. Anecdotal and experiential comparisons can certainly help to continually frame and orient the mind of the practitioner, especially in the current time with people's perceptions being frequently mediated through various forms of technology and marketing.
All of the extra layers of filtering in the modern world do make it more and more challenging to get to the root of the matter (pun intended).
Short of having a readily and physically available group of capable practitioners the texts do come in handy for that as well. Certainly, the daily affairs of a practitioner over 1000 years ago are going to differ tremendously than at current, but the orienting toward a "sage mentality" is still able to be picked up in these texts; at least to me they are. Perhaps this speaks to the "timeless" nature of the awareness that begins to bloom as one's practice unfolds.
well said... I do think in certain settings it is hugely beneficial to discuss how the realizations of the Neidan "practice" begin to manifest in one's daily life. Anecdotal and experiential comparisons can certainly help to continually frame and orient the mind of the practitioner, especially in the current time with people's perceptions being frequently mediated through various forms of technology and marketing.
All of the extra layers of filtering in the modern world do make it more and more challenging to get to the root of the matter (pun intended).
Short of having a readily and physically available group of capable practitioners the texts do come in handy for that as well. Certainly, the daily affairs of a practitioner over 1000 years ago are going to differ tremendously than at current, but the orienting toward a "sage mentality" is still able to be picked up in these texts; at least to me they are. Perhaps this speaks to the "timeless" nature of the awareness that begins to bloom as one's practice unfolds.
'Preciate your efforts, Rob.