Fire's Journal v2

[Fire]

For a couple months now I’ve been wanting to restart my old journal, and document some of the things I’ve done personally, including experiments with released/unreleased titles.

And that’s what we’re going to do.

Last year, I did approximately a year on Paragon Vitality + followed a very regimented health protocol - this has resulted in some quite interesting discoveries on my health, as well as overall improvements to it. This has paved the road to the two subsequent titles I’ve started running - Hair Protocol and an experimental version of Emperor Fitness.

For the past two years, I’ve basically completely stopped gym/working out, in favor of complete focus on Neidan practice and teaching - which has resulted in an unfortunate pouch being developed in place of my old six pack - so now I’ve begun a strict 4x20 minute regiment of calisthenics, as this doesn’t completely impair the body for serious spiritual practice. Sensitivity still takes a hit but it is what it is.

The new Emperor Fitness (let’s call it Reforged) has been extremely effective. While I wanted to cut down, it seems I’ve basically been losing fat at a rapid pace and at the same time gaining muscle again - chest has grown much more than before in my bodybuilding days.

And this isn’t newbie gains where you can do both easily, or the common mistake of thinking you are gaining muscle when in fact you are leaning out - no, there’s actual muscle growing and filling out in places it hasn’t been before. After years of bodybuilding, any such change is noticeable right away.

It’s quite… insane. And this week, I’ve added carbloading to the mix, which has allowed me to train much harder with less tiredness overall, while losing fat even faster.

I suspect with Emperor Fitness Reforged, I’ll likely overshoot my most shredded physique in a couple months.

As for the second title I’m running - Hair Protocol - I’ve sadly started losing hair on the top. Classic male pattern style. While I can rock the bald or buzzed look, I simply feel more like myself with hair, so I’d rather not lose it.

Well, not anymore. All hair shedding has stopped, and regrowth has begun. The temples are starting to grow in with an insane amount of new hairs coming in. I used to have a jungle on my head - that’s how dense my hair was - and over the years saw more and more hairs in the shower drain.

So to see that hair shedding has completely, 100% stopped, is quite insane, and its even crazier to see the frontal part and temples growing in. Today I buzzed my hair, and within the next 3 months I’ll likely have my full hairline back - and then I’ll go long hair.

Of course, it’s a whole process that Hair Protocol guides you through, hence why we always say to take action. But even something as “impossible” as hair regrowth can be tackled, if you just listen and take action.

As for the emotional side, it’s still strange to think my father passed away - sometimes I catch myself wondering why he isn’t chilling in his chair, and then remember he’s gone. Other than such moments, there isn’t any super strong emotion - this is mostly due to my Neidan practice, and the developed deep inner calm from it, as well as the constant cleaning of the internal system. It’s a difficult thing to explain to someone who has never felt it, but it was extremely useful in helping my family get through such a crazy time.

PEACE however, aims to help one develop deep inner peace, so for those who think this sounds like a powerful state to develop - go for it.

That’s it for tonight - we’ll see how the new Emperor Fitness performs, but I have quite high hopes for its eventual release.

[Judoka]

Hope these questions arent invasive,you can just ignore them if so but are you taking any measurements (arm size,leg size) or peds? Would a pyhsique pic be possible? Aldo height and bodyweight? Bodyfat?

Im really interested in bodybuilding myself

[dreamingheroes]

I have such tremendous respect for you @Fire - I wish continued support and love for you and your family.

@Fire

Sensitivity still takes a hit but it is what it is.

This is of real interest. How would you say strength training dampens energetic sensitivity compared to traditional spiritual practices like Neidan or Qigong?

[gerard]

(post deleted by author)

[Fire]

@Judoka

Hope these questions arent invasive,you can just ignore them if so but are you taking any measurements (arm size,leg size) or peds? Would a pyhsique pic be possible? Aldo height and bodyweight? Bodyfat?

Im really interested in bodybuilding myself

Unlikely, we like our privacy.

@dreamingheroes

This is of real interest. How would you say strength training dampens energetic sensitivity compared to traditional spiritual practices like Neidan or Qigong?

And @gerard - no need to delete.

Basically, it’s a line. The more you go into physical training, the harder your body becomes, which becomes worse and worse for advanced spiritual practice.

Your body becomes “wooden”.

What I’ve found in my personal experience, is that spiritual practice is at its best when there’s minimal to no physical training - but of course you’re leaving on the table health benefits, which can be highly desirable.

You also might find yourself gaining weight, which can lead to things like feet pain if you do a lot of practice - which is also a detriment. Traveling to faraway places will also be harder (unless you know specific methods) - but if you are traveling regularly to such places (like mountains), then this is less concerning for you as this will naturally temper your body.

For this approach, walking would likely be most beneficial to keep weight off, without compromising on practice.

Next step up I’d say is calisthenics. You can get a good, natural, fit and athletic body with just some simple exercises, but you need to be careful with harder things like rings - this gets into the territory of resistance training. Overall, I can definitely feel the impact calisthenics has on my practice - it’s harder to get deeper into the body, to relax more deeply, there’s more of a “shell” to it, but I can practice for longer (which, if you’re practicing correctly, you should be able to practice effortlessly regardless) without getting tired. And no weird pains or health issues due to excess weight.

Final I’d say is resistance training. Weights, rings, extreme calisthenics, bands, basically anything that allows you to load your body externally in a more strength-demanding manner - and good luck. I did it for two years, and I did make some progress, but ultimately if you have serious spiritual goals, you have to say goodbye to the gym.

It completely locked my body up, and the difference of two weeks off gym is immediately noticeable. I wish it wasn’t so but, it is.

Now, there’s also another tier - this would be physical exercises that are actually spiritual in nature, and actually help you develop the body and practice at the same time.

This is much harder to find, and it’s harder to get the same “Western” training benefits like when you’re really pushing yourself, but this would be the most harmonious. One example would be some exercises from Taiji performed really low to the ground.

Personally, I’m yet to find methods that would give the same Western style external body with its benefits, while also not impacting practice.

Back in those days, there wasn’t as much of a focus on a good physique - you won’t really see a shredded to the gills Chinese in the times of Huangdi. Hence why such methods aren’t really prevalent. I’ve heard of some, but have yet to see them.

So ultimately, you have to try for yourself and weigh the pros and cons. Calisthenics Is the furthest I’d go, and if you want to look good while continuing with your spiritual practice at a good tempo, go lean.

Let go of your dreams of being like Kyriakos.

[Ryder]

@Fire

For the past two years, I’ve basically completely stopped gym/working out, in favor of complete focus on Neidan practice and teaching - which has resulted in an unfortunate pouch being developed in place of my old six pack - so now I’ve begun a strict 4x20 minute regiment of calisthenics, as this doesn’t completely impair the body for serious spiritual practice. Sensitivity still takes a hit but it is what it is.

Sight this is essentially why I chose a different lineage. I was originally gonna do Damo Mitchell’s Internal Arts Academy but found out that around year 2 or 3 you pretty much gotta give up all bodybuilding to go further into the system.

I ended up going with Flying Phoenix Chi Kung(sifu Terry Dunn) because it seemed more like a householder lineage. But overall I can’t give up bodybuilding, I love it too much…

I was just gonna ask you, is the no bodybuilding rule strictly a Neidan practice thing? And can you still further in the system if you do bodybuilding anyways or is there just a hard rule of no?

EDIT: NVM you just answered it rigth above this post LOL

@Fire

The new Emperor Fitness (let’s call it Reforged) has been extremely effective.

New Emperor Fitness???

[Ryder]

@Fire

Final I’d say is resistance training. Weights, rings, extreme calisthenics, bands, basically anything that allows you to load your body externally in a more strength-demanding manner - and good luck. I did it for two years, and I did make some progress, but ultimately if you have serious spiritual goals, you have to say goodbye to the gym.

Are you saying that you can still make progress if you do strength gym training, just at a much slower pace, or do you just hit a ceiling?

[bujin]

@Fire

Now, there’s also another tier - this would be physical exercises that are actually spiritual in nature, and actually help you develop the body and practice at the same time.

Personally I found qigong and vinyasa yoga, which emphasizes smooth transitions coordinated with the breath, complimented each other nicely enough for my purposes. Maybe not the intensity of exercise you’re after though.