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Good to see you back,

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Hey adsman thanks for the thread, a few questions. I've tried meditating two ways, one where I just focus on my breathing, and then also qigong. I think it's called 'microcosmic' qigong, breathing in focus on a spot on lower back, and breathing out focus on 'dantian' spot near stomach and feel energy flow up and down legs to and from those points. I can feel it in my stomach and moving in my legs but not my lower back, thoughts? Also what is the energy, bio electricity I read somewhere has any research been done on how this stuff works?

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I've never heard of these two terms. The energy that you're referring to is known as kundalini energy. It can be quite powerful indeed. There is a meditation technique where you move this energy around your body. The points where you can feel it spark are your naval and the roof of your mouth. You need to keep your tounge pressed against the roof of your mouth for this to happen.

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Does it really matter which meditation I do?

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Do whichever one works best for you. When I runa course I give out 4 different techniques. People go with the one that they are comfortable with.

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they both seem like the same thing on relaxing the mind.

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Meditation is not about relaxing the mind. It's about giving yourself a break from your mind.

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What are your experiences with meditation? A lot of the time when I meditate I just get tired/sleepy/bored a friend said that she and her mom can't meditate before bed because they'll have too much energy and can't sleep how do I get to that point?

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Stay alert while meditating. You need to be aware. Also, make sure that you're not meditating close to your bed. This can induce sleep patterns.

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Can you go a full 20 minutes without thoughts arising?

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I wish. 5 minutes is my record.

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How much has meditation affected your calmness and daily attitude in life?

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I become very quiet and calm. I am a very good listener, in the sense that I really listen, I'm not working out what I want to say while the other person is speaking. I see the world from a detached viewpoint. I tend not to get emotionally tied up in things that are happening to me. It's much easier to see a clear decision, as if I were giving advice to a friend.
Also, things tend to drop into my lap when I need them. That's the syncronicity thing I was talking about earlier in the thread.