[Note: This message is a pasted copy of message #5439 from the Healing Tao USA discussion site, of the Title, Date and Time noted.
James McConnell is a Healing Tao Instructor,
and is the teacher at Tao Atlantic in Canada.
The fact that James' post exists here does not imply his agreement with anything else on this website (including the presence of the Kan & Li practices on this website).]
Keith, Small Steps and others;
I have delayed answering this post mostly because this is such an important subject I wanted to have time to respond carefully and in detail. I realized this was not going to happen any time soon so this is the closest I can come:
The original reply to which Keith refers was made off list and was generally on the topic of the appropriate sequence of practice and the place of Kan & Li in this sequence. I think this is one of the most misunderstood issues not only in the Healing Tao but throughout all esoteric practice. You always find people who just want the "highest" formulae so they can practice "that one" thinking that since it's the "highest" it must be the most important or best in some sense. A few moments thought will dispel this obviously wrong thinking but the phenomenon prevails. Don't take this personally, Keith, but if it applies, please consider what action is appropriate.
The statement I made at that time was about the purpose and place the Fusion practice has in the process of "putting oneself together in one piece", which to me describes the process of Taoist alchemy. In this process there are two stages. First you must reconstruct the original unity with which you came into this post-heaven (manifest) world. Then and only then are the conditions there for further evolution. Prior to that you are simply going back toward some previously attained state. Fusion is the practice whereby this is done. Or more correctly, Fusion is a practice to do this, certainly not the only one in Taoism, let alone all the other systems and methods. In the practice of Fusion, (and possibly spontaneously in opening and circulating the orbit) an energetic reunion of sorts can and (hopefully) eventually will take place. This is the event which traditionally was named "The Tiger and Dragon mate". Essence and Sense (Conscious and Unconscious) rejoin. The 100 day practice, taught in the Healing Tao and popularized by Eric Yudelove was meant to achieve this restoration. To anyone who has experienced what happens when the Tiger and Dragon mate, the process is unmistakable. The primordial energy is restored, and the Tan Tien energy re-established. This can be accompanied by visions, sensations of experiencing God, or Bliss or many other "forms". None of this is anything really important, just a step in the process. This is the pre-requisite for Kan and Li. Taking the workshops is a paper prerequisite, energetically the primordial energy must be restored before Kan and Li can be practiced. It's a little like multiplication and division being based on addition and subtraction.
This is not to say that there is no purpose in practicing Kan and Li before the energy is restored. Going through the process (while continuing to maintain the Fusion practice) may actually help the Fusion process. It is impossible to make a generalization, but what Keith is bringing up here is basic good sense. When you feel yourself going out of balance, go back to Fusion.
The Kan and Li process requires that the thrusting channels be really open. This, depending on the accumulation of lifetimes, may take years. By methodically building the pearl and refining that energy, more and more refined energy can be absorbed from Heaven and Earth through the thrusting channels. Give this time to develop.
I recommend digesting some of the very valuable classic literature on this subject. As I said, I find The Book of Balance and Harmony to be the most accessible (by far). There are good references to the Hexagrams and I Ching terminology generally which makes cross referencing easier. There is also Understanding Reality and others delving deeply into the Tiger and the Dragon. [see Additional Reading]
So Keith, yes, go back to Fusion regularly. Let us know how your experience of Fusion is enhanced by the Kan and Li practice. Is Fusion a different experience when you go back to it. How do you experience that? Is the quality of the pearl different. How can you compare the experience of the Fusion of the 5 elements into a pearl at the Tan Tien with the coupling of Fire and Water. What could the primordial energy be and how is it related to the pearl? Is the pearl still there in Kan and Li? If so why is Kan and Li different?
My apologies if I have rambled.
James McConnell