Testimonial
As soon as I fully committed to attending the workshop by purchasing my air tickets, life got interesting. Cans of worms burst open all over the place, I had to stand up and speak my truth, and navigate the conflict this caused. And my spelling suddenly got terrible! It was quite remarkable how quickly this all blew up after purchasing my ticket.
Another thing that happened around this time is that my visual sense shifted – it was like I was on a low dose of some sort of hallucinogen all the time, the trees and mountains glowing with a subtle light of life. This was quite unsettling to begin with – every time I looked out at the world I’d get both surprised and lost in the beauty of it all. It’s still there, but I’ve become more used to it.
Fast forward to several months later: I’m sitting on cushions in the Dzogchen centre in Barcelona, my head full of stories about how the workshop should be, watching other students come in and find a seat. I’m not in the room. I’m not present. I’m living an artificial reality prescribed by the empty chatter of my internal dialogue. (It takes four days before I let go of how I think things should be, shed my expectations, and arrive fully.)
The session begins to unfold with questions from the students and answers from Lujan (punctuated by big, booming, infectious belly laughs). Lujan offers down to earth wisdom and often a humble “I don’t know” in reply to the questions asked. I’m scribbling, catching as much as I can, but it’s like trying to catch a river in a cup.
It’s time to get up on our feet, and Lujan dives right into showing us the movements. It’s very physical, and there’s a lot of information. I’m feeling overwhelmed, then I remember I felt like this when I learned the Golden Lotus series, so I let go and keep up with each new movement as best I can, trusting that my body will remember.
My legs are screaming, and Lujan explains that we need to push our bodies so that our bodies will know that we are not dying, and respond, growing stronger. I duck up out of the horse posture for a quick rest, and then get back to it. Lujan calls for a short rest with more questions, and I guzzle cold pressed juice, hot and sweaty, subtly altered in my awareness, feeling strange and light headed.
Then it’s straight back into the movements of Opening The Tao, I’m sometimes totally lost, and sometimes I hit a sweet spot and feel in my body what to do. A lot of the time I’m somewhere in between the two. After the clock tells us that two hours have passed (though the sessions are timeless, and it feels like a LOT longer), it’s time for lunch. My legs are like water as I walk carefully down the 5 flights of stairs.
This was the rhythm of each two-hour session for the rest of the week. Sit, questions, talk, up and flow through the movements, rest and more questions for a bit, then more movement. I noticed my body awareness blossoming slowly into new understanding of the ‘tick-tock’ movements, of ‘burying the bones’, and of ‘entering and leaving’ as Lujan walked us through each new movement.
Lujan was endlessly kind, and at the same time utterly implacable, forthright and honest about what he was experiencing from us students.
The week was dream like, seemed to last forever. During the sessions the feeling of magnetism in my hands grew and grew, and at times with some of the movements I had a lot of internal heat arise. (Lujan told us that wearing magnets is important for health and well being – due to the earths magnetic field weakening – and that doing so increases magnetism. I’ve purchased the wrist guards, and the feeling in my hands is noticeably stronger when I wear them.)
I had moments while sitting in the restaurant or walking the streets with everything almost seeming to stop, and feeling very unreal. Also I noticed that I was reading people’s micro-gestures more deeply – receiving a lot more information about what was going on than I ever had before. I also noticed that I would have insights about interactions like this some hours later, suddenly realising more about what was really going on.
All too soon it was the last session, and armed with fantastic notes, and after hugs goodbye it was time to fly home. We have been up at 5:00 every morning six days a week since we got home to practice ‘Opening The Tao’.
It’s hard work, and very rewarding. I’m slowly starting to know what comes next and to make sense of the movements, or maybe the movements are teaching me how to do them as I practice. I’ve felt the lovely presence of Lujan now and then – it makes me smile, brings happy tears to my eyes. The magnetism and inner heat are getting stronger the more I practice.
‘Opening the Tao’ is revealing itself more and more, every day. My body is responding, packing on slabs of muscle, getting stronger. The first series I learned, ‘The Golden Lotus’ is transformed by the information and movements from ‘Opening The Tao’ – much more magnetism, more inner heat, stronger sensations in my body, and lots more body awareness of the subtleties of the movements. One thing I have found with practicing Lo Ban Pai is that the movements highlight and release deep physical tensions in my body. I find that having good bodywork helps this process move along more quickly and easily.
Since first meeting Lujan, everything in my life has changed so much. I couldn’t stand in horse stance for more than about 5 minutes when we went to learn the ‘Golden Lotus’ series, and was told to “Bend your Legs, Edward” many, many times that week.
Lujan told me about herbs to take for Lyme – so I started taking them. Mizpah has helped me get the right supportive herbs for my kidneys, endocrine system and gut. Then during the online shamanic guidance sessions we did (more than a year ago now), Lujan persuaded me to go onto the detox (mostly) raw vegan diet from Raw Food Solution.
It was hard. I had serious food addictions! I didn’t stick to it at first, and then Lujan encouraged me to go back to it – I did, and was on a strict detox diet for six months, during which time I did a week-long watermelon fast. Now that was a truly psychedelic experience! And I’m still on a high fruit, mostly raw vegan diet.
I’m the healthiest and most vital I’ve been for more than 20 years (I’d suffered badly from what I thought was CFS, but was most likely Lyme). My body is putting on muscle, and I feel great – though there’s still a way to go to get to 100%. I’m kinder, more present, and growing into myself more and more. Lujan has been the single most positive influence on my life that I have been impacted by.
Thanks so much, Lujan! And lots of love!
Edward
Australia
Questions
Can the influence of an experience like attending ‘The Opening the Tao’ affect us before we arrive and participate in the workshop in our linear understanding of time?
Yes of course. We always arrive in a space before we arrive there and we are constantly affected by all of our decisions – not the thought process though. It is our feelings that drive us.
Is the visual shift in perception (and the very strong heightening of all my other senses) I am experiencing due to endogenous DMT production stimulated by practicing Lo Ban Pai?
Yes indeedy. You can blame it on Lo Ban Pai and everything else that you may do that increases your personal power.
thank you so much Ed, for what you have written, it helps me experience again that sense of beauty and heart
Thank you for sharing those gems! Had trouble writing fast enough,too.
And reading it again after those few weeks and realizing that what Lujan said is reaching an even deeper level by now leaves me in awe about the power, speed and depth of realizations possible through the practice of Lo Ban Pai along with the transmission during the workshop.
🙂
Some glimpses of what Lujan said during the workshop – some slightly paraphrased, as I had trouble writing fast enough!
“There is nothing to understand.”
“Be nobody! There is nothing to solve, everything to experience.”
“Relinquish self completely and be willing to be uncomfortable.”
“Everyone presents an illusion which becomes them.”
“Don;t set an example, be an example.”
“What you do doesn’t matter. Who you are is relevant.”
“You have to become the environment.”
“The only way you can become what you live is not to possess it.”
“To become something you have to reduce yourself to absolutely nothing.”
“Don’t hint anything – express what you need.”
“If you hide who you really are, it’s going to be very hard for anyone to find you.”
“Take away every motivation to discover what’s there.”
“Let go of everything you think you are.”
“Be totally someone else.”
“It’s all about the other person. If it’s all about you the other person doesn’t exist.”
Thank you for sharing, Edward. It felt really good to read your words. It brought me back to Barcelona and helped me focus on the magnetism even more. Also, you spoke of a lot of things that I had experienced as well, so I also appreciated Lujan’s replies to your questions.
You’re very welcome 🙂
Wow! What an awesome testimonial & story – just reading this I have gotten so much from it – thank you thank you <3
Thanks!
Really fun read. Thanks. Felt so light and intriguing.
Thanks!
Absolutely beautiful writing Edward. Reading your testimonial was absolutely riveting. I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen! Thank you for sharing your experience with us all!
No worries!