This is a very complex subject so I have introduced a Taoist perspective and a general and his first commander to try to portray something that is so deeply complex.
The Art of War
From a Taoist perspective, alignment through cooperation is key. A Taoist master once told a story of how energy plays a crucial part in conquering an enemy. He spoke of a famous general who was to go to battle.
As they were preparing for the conflict to come, he had noticed within his ranks covert dissent towards his authority. He observed subtle eye gestures, minute tones, that revealed his cohort did not favor him as a human being.
The general quickly seized upon the circumstance and said to his right hand commander that if we go to battle with any form of conflict, in terms of negative energy between us, it will bring grave danger to us all.
“I have noticed your disposition. I am left now with a very difficult decision. If I leave you here to defend my lands and the family of my warriors including my own, the background of my being will be held within stasis, knowing that my greatest wealth, in terms of the bonds of comradely to the warriors that accompany me in this impending battle of power, will be weakened via your intentions.
“Will you avoid being slain because of this and allow the one’s that I care for to be taken in my place – whether it is intentionally or not?
“The energetic precedence is set. Thus I could leave a great part of myself behind, watching what I have left in terms of my unsettled energy towards your intentions.
“So not only is it a blow to my chi but also to the collective power of my warrior’s families.”
The Taoist master paused and continued. He said there are many consequences that exist in the old world that still apply to the new.
As the general was portraying his dilemma to his cohort he said,”now knowing what I know if I take you into battle with me, our village will be safer but the consequence of your presence beside me will not only weaken me but the dissent of your intentions will indicate to my enemies that my field is not complete and my troops are not aligned via this process.”
The Taoist master explained that what is meant by this is that if the general, when engaged in combat with his first blows, if he has the complete support of everyone behind him, his first strike will deliver a powerful impact – not only knocking one person from their center – but up to thirty or forty men will be weakened through his delivery of power and this happens via collective insight. It is an unwavering knowing.
Therefore if the enemy is stronger within their alliance, the general consequently could be struck and injured irreversibly via the energetic weakness of not doing what needed to be done in terms of keeping his power whole, and many of his warriors will fall energetically and may not recover because of this.
So then the general said, “I cannot leave you, nor can you accompany me. For you may bring misfortune.”
He asked then, “where do you reside within?”
As this statement of power was delivered to the general’s right-hand man, there was no recourse for him but to align his energy in accordance with his circumstances, for he realized, at that point that he had put himself in grave danger after being presented with such a dilemma by his general. He quickly internally realigned, realizing all the consequences towards his own being were being reflected in the general’s words towards a truth that gave light to his own personal inevitability as a true mirror to the consequences of what was never spoken, yet so plainly seen.
Testimonial
It was in the beginning of 2014 when I had heard about Lujan Matus for the first time. I had checked Lujan’s website and was hooked right away. One part of myself knew that Lujan was representing everything I had been looking for. Another part was looking for the catch: This sounds just too good to be true.
I ordered Lujan’s first book and booked the Golden Lotus Workshop in Bad Belzig before even finishing it.
Lujan was a tall, humble and cheerful guy with an intense, powerful energy. I was impressed by the way he moved, talked and behaved. The way Lujan interacted with us, taught us the movements, and especially the way he himself performed the movements, was amazing. I have some experience in martial arts, and I have seen beautiful forms, but the way Lujan moved was outstanding. Can you even say “move”? It is way more than that, or less. Lujan is flowing or being moved, with an acuity and elegance within his gestures that was awesome to witness.
I had a strange feeling of remembering or recognition or arrival, although this was just the beginning.
Lujan’s presence was inspiring. His patience, joy, humor and sincerity at the same time, his way of explaining things and connecting with us – I was witnessing an outstanding teacher.
After the workshop I had this continuing and not ending urge to perform Lujan’s spiraling movements at least once a day. I felt that it benefits and “works” for me.
Little later I found myself booking private tuition with Lujan: One week of Whispering Palms. It felt really good after all was set, I was smiling and really confident with myself.
At the first day of my week with Lujan we did the starting movements of Whispering Palms and in between discussed various things. The corrections, feedback and insights go much deeper compared to what a workshop can provide. I had been quite moody because the airline had lost my luggage, but during the day I lightened up a little. I was totally unprepared when at the end of the day we sat down and Lujan addressed me: “From the way how you performed these last movements I can see that you have a leak. You are leaking sexual energy.”
My inner dialogue was jumping right away: How can that be, I do not have sex, I try not to think about it, try to do the asexual approach with woman, I do not masturbate at all. I had thought I was actually doing good on this topic. But I also was frustrated that I was not having sex. I was even more frustrated that I was experiencing wet dreams every couple of weeks.
“It’s not that I am having much sex right now…”, I complained. Lujan sensed my inner turmoil right away and confronted me directly: “Now, within your voice I sense anger, complaint, frustration and aggression”. I did not like the topic at all. Lujan responded to every move of myself and gave me instant feedback for my actions or behavior. Body movements, posture, tone, facial expression, glance.
“Notice your glance, your eyes. How you look at me. Someone who tries to push you is in real trouble. Pushing you is very dangerous. I am only touching you very gently, I am speaking very calmly and nicely to you – and check out your focus on me now.”
He was right. What perplexed me the most was the harsh way I reacted. I asked what I should do about my leak. Lujan said that it is about inner processes that occur inside of me. I should become aware of them and reveal them to the open. Not in terms of being talkative, but in terms of being honest. “You can lie to me, but at least be honest to yourself.”
A part of me knew that Lujan’s confrontation and what he said to me was the best that could happen to me, another part wanted to get out of this situation as fast as possible. Sounds really interesting, but lets call it a day and maybe deal with this tomorrow. I did not say that. What I said was: “Thank you for telling me.”
Lujan read me like an open book and did not allow me to get away with it that easy: “See, and this little thanks of yours is all I get. You do not expose any of yourself. You are covert, underhanded. You are a poison dragon.”
Now I really was feeling uncomfortable. But how, but where, I don`t get it… But I did get it. I felt that Lujan was right. I tried to say that, but did not find words. “You can feel it resonate” Lujan said. “Yes, something like that. It is sinking in” was all I could mumble.
On the third day of the week I had been lingering in front of Lujan’s apartment complex, stalling some time. I came in a little late. Lujan laid open to me how I exposed myself to others, drew attention to me and his place and that I had promised to be discrete but did the opposite. I had the urge to justify but was silent. I knew he was right again and wondered why I did such things.
During the day Lujan wanted to know whether there had been a time in my life when I have been vulnerable. I answered that I have had an emotionally abusive karate trainer and that he tried it on me too. Lujan did not need to hear more. He laid open this guys characteristics and tactics, his manipulative, covert, underhanded behavior, how he put me in places I did not want to be and should not have been. Everything he said about that guy was accurate. He said that the guy or the guys behavior was in me and that I was using the same tactics. Lujan clarified this by recapitulating my behavior on that morning and throughout the day. It was pretty obvious. He also said that with the movements of Whispering Palms this topic or part of mine had to come up during our week together.
Lujan advised me to face my covert behavior and then stop it. In regard to the Karate trainer he said: “You just have to forgive the guy. He is just a covert bully.” That I knew, but again I felt frustration. “You don’t think it´s that easy”, Lujan said. “I have tried to forgive him before”, I answered. “But you have not been confronted like this before.” Again he was right. I knew before this week I was not completely done with the Karate guy, but I had no idea how present he still was inside of me – and I never wanted to see or accept the fact that I even acted just like him. I had not seen or did not want to see any of my maneuvers and lies at all.
On my last day with Lujan the first thing he asked me after I came in was: “So what happened yesterday?” I did not know what he meant, but then he explained: “You left something here in the room.” I played stupid although it now dawned on me. On the end of the day before I had asked about dragon gates, and Lujan answered that my words were more a demand than a question. He had then explained dragon gates, but his words had not satisfied me. I had expected something else, something more, more mystical, more practical, easier to understand, although Lujan’s words had been very mystical, very practical and very easy to understand. I nonetheless wanted more, more, more.
Lujan said that if something was up or I had a problem with him I should speak out loud and say it. He also said to me that I could not be trusted. If he was to go to war, he could not take me, because I could not be trusted and put myself in places I should not be, like my karate trainer had done with me, and I would be a danger for everyone around me.
I admitted that this was probably the strongest blow for me. “It is very interesting that you see it that way”, Lujan said to me. “Who am I fighting here? I am not fighting you. I am fighting the Karate trainer. He is sitting here in the room with you. You brought him here, and I have to deal with him. This is internal Kung Fu. And if we see each other the next time, and the Karate guy is there again, I will deal with him again.”
At some point I was really pitying myself. Lujan responded right away and told me to be a man and look him in the eye. He said that the Karate guy had taken my personal power and that I should claim it back. “Be a man and claim your personal power.” I stated that that was what I wanted. “That`s why I am here for.” – “No, you are not”, Lujan responded, “otherwise you would have said what’s up and taken responsibility right away when you got here.” Again he was right. As a matter of fact, I had been afraid that something like this would come up during the tuition.
Lujan’s actions and words and his kind but uncompromising approach impressed me more than anything I can remember. My covert part did not like to be unmasked at all, but Lujan made me look at the lies I was living, and the way he did it made it impossible for me to continue my self-delusion. Lujan has opened a door for me. I am deeply grateful that I am given this chance.
Arne
Germany
It is the feeling of needing something external to satisfy ones desire. Once there is no energy leaking, one finds all needed inside. Sexual energy leaks because of sexual attachments and none other reason. The remedy is “recapitulation” of them, for which Lujan within his teachings explains all I personally required for that, in forefront with The Mirror Technique. The leak, once one sexually attaches, creates in energetic field of a beign, sort of a hole, emptiness, at place in accordance to where multidimensionally perception is limiting, in otherwords not natural and that is reflection of that loss which is the actual sexual attachment in sense of what you do not have and need, so if one instead of needing externally to satisfy, contend with the emptiness that is causing that leak in a first place, one will regain all energy back, sealing it, returning the energetic field into natural state. What we emmanate is what is drawn to us and as I stated before – sexual energy is everything and as one binding force, yet transforming constantly from beginning of the universe to it’s end.
Great response, Thankyou.
And what might be the cause for ones sexual energy to leak? And remedy? Is it the feeling of needing something external to satisfy ones desire?
In any regard sexual energy is everything and as one binding force, yet transforming constantly from beginning of the universe to it’s end.
That includes state of a body and energetic configuration, status and overall mood.
…and uncontrolled transformation.
Can you elaborate? Uncontrolled transformations, in what regard might changes occur?
What are the consequences of leaking sexual energy?
Weakness of character
Loss of energy overall, misuse of energy(i.e. engaging in duplicity and underhanded behavior; being dishonest; to yourself and others) having poor emotional boundaries which allows others to manipulate you – and then when you realize it you do the same manipulative and underhanded behavior – eventual laziness and not taking responsibility for your own mental, emotional, physical and spiritual processes, allowing yourself to get into “victimhood”, as it were, and if the leak goes on too long, loss of health overall.
Precise words CB! Great explanation!
I have wanted to create emotional boundaries (thank you for describing it this way!) for a long time. I have been held in this self created paralysis of not speaking my truth. I’m improving slowly!
Your words ring well with me. I am a yes person. And many a time I have agreed with someone even when I disagreed with them to keep the conversation agreeable and on a good feeling.
I am very pleased with my slow progress at being able to disengage from a compromising conversation with actions and words that feel right to me.
I am slow and now I have learned to say to people, for example: “I don’t have the answer right now but I will reflect on that and get back to you” or “no thank you. I don’t want that for me because it just doesn’t feel right for me.”
I guess what I’m getting at is that it feels good to create emotional boundaries in a way that works for me. I remember a while ago Lujan talking about martial arts. He was talking about the importance of the practitioner’s own touch, his/her uniqueness in the practice. It feels good to find those touches in eve day life for me.
Another one that works for me at present is closing my eyes when someone is angry and talking to me and focusing on my breath. It helped me to be involved while keeping my distance. God this feels so good to express these things.
Much love
David please use complete words – not just the first letter for example w and bc. It is hard to understand. Thank you. Warmest regards, Lujan.
Oh ok Lujan.
Sign of laziness to use incomplete words. I will realign!
I desire to be a complete person who uses complete words!
Funny, tonight I had an intense situation moments after I wrote my previous comment.
In a discussion that I was part of I closed my eyes and felt someone’s intense anger towards me. I closed my eyes and breathed and listened and just kept focusing on my breath and intending be calm and aware over and over. My heart was beating but I was calm! Then I just spoke from my heart and it was such a soft, gentle breeze but there was something lovingly powerful! It feels great!
I’ve lived in ‘victimhood’ most of my life. I’ve only just realised I may carry the ‘saboteurs’ around with me. It affects energy in my skin?
Thanks
The realignment of energy is a wonderful multifaceted undertaking.
There is diet (including all the substances that come in contact with it our nutrients), that realigns the natural gut biome which in turn helps balance mood and nutrient absorption.
There is the mind, that returns to it’s rightful function of finding value in the information it receives.
There is the heart that returns to becoming the compass of our path, so that true awareness of what one needs to act upon becomes clear.
There is the body that returns to being the voice for all the above to happen. The skin being it’s true brain that interacts with the immediate environment.
The skin sees and feels and thinks. It is connected to the energetic fibers of the universe. All the cells in all of the skins of the body (and there are so many!). That is one of the most powerful gifts of the 8 Gates of Dreaming Awake: it returns the voice to the cells of our skins.
I used to read about all these energetic ‘bodies’ and never experienced nor understood them in the context presented. I wonder now if these are the energetic bodies of all the different cellular layers within the body. For example, the emotional ‘body’ is the endocrine system, as all our emotions are governed by hormones that in turn create neuropeptides.
The many skins in our body like strings on a harp. Listen to your skins.
I’m listening … it says beautiful luma.. Thank-you. 😉
My recent posts on the blog, some internal garbage that arose while posting, reflecting and worrying about what I posted afterwords, and the way that the Art of War post kept re-informing me over time, especially after Henk’s comment, has been a good experience for me. It leaves me uncertain about when I should try to share and express, and when i shouldn’t. I am not currently doing all that I can and know how to do, to have more integrity, due to unadressed laziness and unhandled self-importance. After I address this will be a better time to post on the blog perhaps. So much good effort within this community to support a worthy purpose. I want to be aligned with that.
Respect and Appreciation to everyone here.
True inner alignment as true warriorship. It’s the most powerful gesture to spirit I have ever seen. Carpe diem.
“In the garden of my heart, flowers of peace bloom beautifully.”
Thanks Lujan and Arne for a most lucid description of some key principles. I Wanted to say one can read much between the lines, but realy this piece provides one with principles one can use to read between the lines in many other posts… And in one’s own thought dialogues. Thanks again.
Thank you Lujan, the art of war text is so intense and helpful! It gave me goosebumps and shivers, especially with the last sequence, when he quickly internally realigned. And thank you everyone for the comments, they gave me goosebumps and everyone of you made me smile too. It feels really good. And when I look at my life and all the steps and hints that led me to Lujan – what a miracle! Derek, awesome that you are going to meet Lujan! zip! zap! ching! 🙂
Thank you Arnefor sharing this. Thank you Lujan. Reading this account and the wonderful responses moved me to a place of inner knowing., I like it here 🙂
hahahahahahaha
im just posting again so i can tick the box to be notified of comments in this thread and i’ll take this opportunity to express an extra flourish of gratitude thankyooouuu! zip! zap! ching! 🙂
zip! zap! ching! 🙂
thankyou arne and lujan.. this is really really great. I too had this kind of challenge presented to me with meeting Lujan and discovering how id brought people from my past into the space through my gestures and behaviour. A couple of months after my first few weeks learning Lo Ban Pai I had an intense and long vision which physically knocked me over so suddenly that i had to lie down. The vision was very long, maybe 45 non-linear minutes and it contained the teachings of this art of war and connected it to love, both communal and personal love. It is one of the most amazing things I have ever seen / received. I am both shocked and delighted to read this post today because of how deeply it reflects these things back to me, i had no idea this was the content of the Art of War, and the magical wonderful timing of things as they are. Thankyou. Great kind blessings!!
Beautiful! Thank you Arne 🙂 I felt like I was in the room with you as I read your account, and was happy for you that you got to hear this. Some people go through life never hearing or dealing with it. And so, never recognising that they are not owning their power.
It’s been maybe 9 months since Lujan has seen me last and I smiled remembering our conversation back then, and smiled again wondering what he would see in me now if we met again at present.
No matter what the conversation is though, or how painful the subjects that come up, it is always good to hear it so honestly from someone who has nothing to gain from saying it to you. And every time I’ve spoken with Lujan I’m left refreshed by noticing how un-expectant his energy is and how much of my daily interactions are laced with people twisting words to get some sort of attention. One only recognises it after a meeting like that of with Lujan where it isn’t present… like fish not noticing the water until someone takes the water away. Lujan makes it blatantly clear 😀
: ))) I had a knowing that I am the general and the commander, facing truthfully the parts of myself that align with repetitive self-importance and at the same time acknowledging how dangerous that is for me. It made me laugh at myself.
I can really relate to that Luma.
“I am my own worst enemy” 🙂 How often I see one part of me subverting another.
I also regularly feel the effects of the people who I looked up to when young, that abused my regard with veiled or overt cruelty. There is a lot of weight behind the subtle and overt daggers I throw at people, but I often see that they are just something I’m passing along, not something I’m creating. I’m still responsible for what comes from me, but I really want to understand the covert agendas I have that make this a regular behaviour for me still. I catch glimpses of what that is regularly, but can’t focus on it, so for now I just keep noticing whenever I can. I know i’ve been equipped by the things Lujan shares with us and the Parallel Perceptions community to figure this out, so no excuses!
Arne, sharing the details of becoming aware of what is covert in you is very helpful to me, I appreciate your bravery and desire to be transparent. I know that something covert and dripping with self importance lingers in my desire to connect with Lujan, and I hope to figure out what that is before I meet with him via Skype in May, as I’m now certain that I will face it then if I don’t. 🙂
Lujan, this is so deeply profound and helpful. Thank you, and thank you Arne.
There are times when people have been underhanded towards me and sabotaged me in my life, and I still struggle to speak my heart directly once I see what they’ve done. It makes me really sad to feel their judgement upon me, yet when I refuse to carry it, it continues to linger for ages and ages regardless. This brings an anger and defensiveness that I find difficult to resolve, and I see that it is their energetic signature attached to me. I observe it and see that I am in an emotional state of war with them and so in a state of war within myself.
Other than observe this dynamic, the only way I have seen to step through it is to reclaim my integrity and use the better parts of myself when these things push my buttons. It doesn’t always work, so I still feel like I’m missing something.
Why is it so hard to let go when we have been injured emotionally?