This elegant and lucid introduction to the traditions of Taoism and the masters who transmit them will reward all those interested in China and in religions.

A guide to the practice of the Lesser Kan and Li that gives birth to the soul body and the immortal spirit body • Shows how to awaken higher consciousness through practices in total darkness that stimulate the release of DMT by the pineal gland • Shows how to transform sexual energy into life-force energy to feed the soul body The Lesser Enlightenment of Kan and Li practice combines the compassion of the heart energies (yang/fire) with sexual energies originating in the kidneys (yin/water) to form and feed the soul or energy body. Practice of the Chinese formula Siaow Kan Li (yin and yang mixed) uses darkness technology to literally “steam” the sexual energy (jing) into life-force energy (chi) by re-versing the location of yin and yang power. This inversion places the heat of the bodily fire from the heart center beneath the coolness of the bodily water of the sexual energy of the perineum, thereby activating the liberation of transformed sexual energy. Darkness technology has been a key element of Taoist practice--and of all Inner Alchemy traditions--throughout the ages. A total darkness environment stimulates the pineal gland to release DMT into the brain. The darkness actualizes successively higher states of consciousness, correlating with the accumulation of psychedelic chemicals in the brain. In the darkness, mind and soul begin to wander freely in the vast realms of psychic and spiritual experience. Death is no longer to be feared because life beyond the physical body is known through direct experience. The birth of the soul is not a metaphor. It is an actual process of converting energy into a subtle body. Developing the soul body is the preparation for the growth of the immortal spirit body in the practice of the Greater Enlightenment of Kan and Li.

Cattoi and McDaniel present a selection of articles on the role of the body and the spiritual senses - our transfigured channels of sensory perceptions - in the context of spiritual practice. The volume investigates this theme across a variety of different religious traditions within Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Daoism.

A global study of the psychospiritual body and its central role in the esoteric and spiritual traditions of the world • Explains the nature, purpose, and functions of the subtle body • Explores the role of the subtle body in such traditions as Alchemy, Ayurveda, Tantra, Qi Gong, and Yoga • Shows how the various layers of the subtle body provide a map for various levels of consciousness Ancient traditions of both the East and West have long maintained that the human being is a complex of material and nonmaterial systems, or energy bodies. The “subtle body” is an energetic, psychospiritual entity of several layers of increasing subtlety and metaphysical significance through which the aspirant seeks knowledge of the self and the nature of God. In many traditions, the component parts of the subtle body serve as a map of the different levels of consciousness. The practices and disciplines that evolved from an awareness and understanding of the subtle body, and how the material and nonmaterial work together, form a coherent system of psychospiritual transformation that is central to numerous and extremely diverse spiritual practices--including those of the Gnostics, Sufis, Native Americans, Vedic seers, Chinese, and Greeks. The subtle body plays an essential part in more recent traditions such as Anthroposophy and Gurdjieff’s Fourth Way and the cutting-edge science of Ervin Laszlo’s research into the Akashic field. But the benefits of understanding the role of the subtle energy body are not confined solely to the spiritual plane. The energetic bodies provide a coherent system of life-affirming principles and practices for the diagnosis and treatment of the whole person that is not only part of many traditional healing systems, such as Acupuncture and Ayurveda, but also is forming the basis for a synthesis of traditional and contemporary healing practices that could lay the foundation for the medicine of the future.

Containing sixty translations from a large variety of texts, this is an accessible yet thorough introduction to the major concepts, doctrines, and practices of Taoism. It presents the philosophy, rituals, and health techniques of the ancients as well as the practices and ideas of Taoists today. Divided into four sections, it follows the Taoist Path: The Tao, Long Life, Eternal Vision, and Immortality. It shows how the world of the Tao is perceived from within the tradition, what fervent Taoists did, and how practitioners saw their path and goals. The Taoist Experience is unique in that it presents the whole of Taoist tradition in the very words of its active practitioners. It conveys not only a sense of the depth of the Taoist religious experience but also of the underlying unity of the various schools and strands.

Using a wide variety of original sources, this book examines how and why early Taoists carried out such ascetic practices as fasting, celibacy, sleep deprivation, and wilderness seclusion.

This book explores the relationship of human bodies with natural and cultural environments, arguing that these categories are linked and intertwined. It argues for an environmentally sustainable and healthy relationship between the body and the earth.

Daoist Body Cultivation is a comprehensive volume by a group of dedicated scholars and practitioners that covers the key practices of medical healing, breathing techniques, diets and fasting, healing exercises, sexual practices, Qigong, and Taiji quan. Each presentation places the practice in its historical and cultural context and relates its current application and efficaciousness. Ultimately aiming to energetically transform the person into a spiritual and trancendent being, Daoist cultivation techniques have proven beneficial for health time and again and can make an important contribution in the world today. Daoist Body Cultivation provides a deeper understanding of the practices in their cultural and historical contexts, bridging the gap between healing and religion and allowing both scholars and practitioner to reach a deeper understanding and appreciation. Contributors: Shawn Arthur, Bede Bidlack, Catherine Despeux, Stephen Jackowicz, Lonny Jarrett, Livia Kohn, Louis Komjathy, Michael Winn.

This two volume set collects in a conveniently accessible form the most influential articles by leading authorities in the study of China. It provides an international reference work, combined with an authoritative introduction by the editor.