Hey all,

I'm wondering if anyone has any resources (books, podcasts, YT videos, etc) about getting started with a tummo practice. The goal is mostly to have some fun, experiment with energy and visualization (my background is mostly vispassana, non-dual, and some jhanas. So this would be my first real dive into this stuff unless you count metta), and to keep warm this chilly winter at the monastery! I've always really enjoyed having a secondary low-stakes novel meditation technique as a sandbox to play in. In the past I would do something like 1 hour vispassana, 20 minutes something fun, but now my times are more like 3 hours vipassana and 1 hour something fun.

If anyone is really well versed in energy practices, I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences with how things like tummo fit into the bigger picture of energy practices (like if I use fire in the winter to keep warm, do i use water in the summer to keep cool? Can you go full elemental? Are the energies like qi/kundalini/tummo/reki/metta basically getting at the same thing?)

Hey Geoffrey,

I'm not well verse in energy practices, but I've heard good things about this book: https://wisdomexperience.org/product/bliss-inner-fire/

Perhaps worth checking out.

Best,
​​​​​​​Olivier

I have a lot of experience with energy practices. I learned spiritual healing at a Spiritualist church and took their certification course in healing. As part of that I had to obtain notarized affidavits from people who felt some benefit from my healing efforts.

However I don't know anything about tummo. So I guess I'm replying just to say hi.

The practice I do now is most like qigong or tai chi energy practices.  I was pretty impressed with what I read about qigong which is the most developed form of energy healing I know about (as I said I don't know about tummo).


I have a few articles on my blog and web site that discuss the subject.
http://sites.google.com/site/chs4o8pt/spiritual_healing

https://ncu9nc.blogspot.com/2013/01/a-synthesis-of-spiritual-healing-and-qi.html
I need to update this article, to include individual attention to the arms and legs but it gives you an idea of my daily self-healing routine that also develops sensitivity to "energy".

If you are excited about learning Tummo from its foundation up from a qualified teacher I can recommend this : https://tummo.thefield.us/ . It is a online course specifically about tummo , it will be starting this January though. 

Josef, this does look interesting! Could you talk a little bit more about your experience with the teacher (what are they like, how do they teach, etc), the class (like is 8 hours of lectures plus say 1 hour/day for 60 days enough time to get into it?), and what you got out of it? [Just cause it is $600...]. Also would you say its as "eccentric" seeming as a lot of the normal tantric stuff, or more sanitized like some western dharma?

Hi Geoffrey,

Check out 'The Bliss of Inner Fire,' and 'Introduction to Tantra' by Lama Yeshe.  Lama Yeshe also has a lot of good youtube resources,

Best,

​​​​​​​Ben 

I'm curious. What were the other "fun", novel, meditations you'd do? Sounds like I need to get me some.

Oh that’s a good question. So I studied for a minute under this guy janusz Welin, and one of his strong points as a teacher was coming up with fun interesting meditations - like walking meditation with eye closed to see your mind create 3d space, or merging with love (if you send him an email and said Geoff sent you he’d probably hook you up with some guided meditations). I also did a good amount of silent illumination (a more concentration based one that takes you directly to a nondual spacious state. I can dig up the specific instructions if you’re interested) and do-nothings as a “fun” break from noting (not realizing that was actually a natural thing to pick up in the DN). Nondual concentration. Metta. Some the yogic ones from Dr K (but I never got into those as much tbh).