An illustrated guide to follow the path to the Immortal Tao • Reveals the 9 inner alchemy formulas for the Sealing of the Five Senses practice, including strengthening the senses and activating the Thrusting Channels • Explores how abuse of the senses leads to energy loss and degradation, for example, listening too much hurts the mind • Explains how to transmute warm chi into energy for the immortal spirit body, created through mastery of the three Kan and Li practices In ancient times, the Sealing of the Five Senses involved both Taoist Inner Alchemy and physical sealing of the sensory organs to prepare the master for extended periods of astral travel and meditation, during which he would remain completely motionless for years at a time. In modern times, physical sealing of the senses with wax is no longer required; however, in order to accumulate profound energy and gather cosmic light for the immortal spirit body one must stop the energy losses that occur through the senses. In this guide to energetic sealing of the senses, Master Mantak Chia and William Wei reveal the 9 inner alchemy formulas for the Sealing of the Five Senses practice, including strengthening the senses, connecting the senses to the organs, activating the Thrusting Channels, and harnessing the energies of the Big Dipper and the North Star. They explain how to stop energy losses through the five senses and transmute warm chi into energy for the immortal spirit body. The authors explore the importance of proper diet and eating habits in this practice, providing striking examples of World War II concentration camp survivors who were able to obtain energy from chewing water. Revealing the benefits of Sealing the Five Senses for non-Immortals, the authors explain how abuse of the senses leads to energy loss and degradation, for example, listening too much hurts the mind and crying too much harms your blood. They show how sealing the senses allows one to create the Crystal Room cauldron, where fire and water energy can couple to generate a superior essence used to achieve greater awareness and “steam” all the body’s major organ systems. An advanced practice for those who have mastered the three Kan and Li practices, the Sealing of the Five Senses is the final step on the Taoist path to Immortality.

A comprehensive guide to the core practices of the Universal Healing Tao System and the advanced esoteric practices of Inner Alchemy • Explains each of the nine levels of Inner Alchemy and their more than 240 formulas • Explores the Four Healing Arts for transformation of the emotional body, physical body, energy body, and spiritual body • Provides simplified versions of core Universal Healing Tao practices to more easily integrate the system into your daily life • Shows how these exercises were designed to increase longevity and ensure the survival of consciousness beyond death Explaining the evolution and core of the Universal Healing Tao system, Master Mantak Chia and William U. Wei offer a condensed approach to the Inner Alchemy practices taught to Master Chia by his first Taoist Master, Yi Eng, more than 60 years ago. Beginning with the basic principles called the Five Enlightenments, the authors explain each of the nine levels of Inner Alchemy and their more than 240 formulas, including simplified versions of the Microcosmic Orbit, the Inner Smile, Sexual Alchemy exercises for men and women, Fusion of the Five Elements practices, Kan and Li Alchemy, the Sealing of the Five Senses, and Star and Galaxy Alchemy. They explore the Four Healing Arts that encompass the nine levels of Inner Alchemy--Living Tao practices for transformation of your emotional body, Chi Nei Tsang practices for transformation of the physical body, Cosmic Healing practices for transformation of the energy body, and Immortal Tao practices for transformation of the spiritual body--all aimed toward the survival of consciousness in a self-aware vessel. They also offer simplified versions of the other core practices, such as Iron Shirt Chi Kung, Bone Marrow Nei Kung, and Wisdom Chi Kung, to help you easily integrate Inner Alchemy and Universal Healing Tao practices into your daily life. Providing a primer not only on the foundational practices of the Universal Healing Tao System but also a condensed guide to the esoteric practices of Inner Alchemy, Master Chia and William U. Wei show how these exercises were designed to increase longevity, providing you with enough time to master the more advanced spiritual techniques and ensure the survival of consciousness beyond death.

A fully illustrated guide to the most advanced Kan and Li practice to birth the immortal spirit body and unite with the Tao • Explains how to establish the cauldron at the Heart Center to collect cosmic light, activate the Cranial and Sacral Pumps, and align the Three Triangle Forces • Details how to merge energy at the Heart Center to birth the immortal spirit body, allowing you to draw limitless energy from the Cosmos • Discusses the proper Pi Gu diet and herbs to use with Kan and Li practice • Reveals how to expel the three Worms, or “Death Bringers,” that can imbalance the three Tan Tiens, leading to misdirection in your sexual, material, and spiritual goals After mastering the Inner Alchemy practices of Lesser Kan and Li and Greater Kan and Li, the advanced student is now ready for the refinement of the soul and spirit made possible through the practice of the Greatest Kan and Li. With full-color illustrated instructions, Master Mantak Chia and Andrew Jan explain how to establish the cauldron at the Heart Center to collect cosmic light, activate the Cranial and Sacral Pumps, and align the Three Triangle Forces. They detail how merging energy at the Heart Center then leads to the birth of the immortal spirit body, uniting you with the Tao and allowing you to draw limitless energy and power from the Cosmos. The authors explain the proper Pi Gu diet and herbs to use in conjunction with Kan and Li practice and provide warm-up exercises, such as meditations to expel the three Worms, or “Death Bringers,” that can imbalance the three Tan Tiens, leading to misdirection in your sexual, material, and spiritual goals. Revealing the ancient path of Inner Alchemy used for millennia by Taoist masters to create the “Pill of Immortality,” the authors show that the unitive state of oneness with the Tao made possible through Kan and Li practice represents true immortality by allowing past and future, Heaven and Earth, to become one.

Who were the Gnostics? And how did the Gnostic movement influence the development of Christianity in antiquity? Is it true that the Church rejected Gnosticism? This book offers an illuminating discussion of recent scholarly debates over the concept of “Gnosticism” and the nature of early Christian diversity. Acknowledging that the category “Gnosticism” is flawed and must be reformed, David Brakke argues for a more careful approach to gathering evidence for the ancient Christian movement known as the Gnostic school of thought. He shows how Gnostic myth and ritual addressed basic human concerns about alienation and meaning, offered a message of salvation in Jesus, and provided a way for people to regain knowledge of God, the ultimate source of their being. Rather than depicting the Gnostics as heretics or as the losers in the fight to define Christianity, Brakke argues that the Gnostics participated in an ongoing reinvention of Christianity, in which other Christians not only rejected their ideas but also adapted and transformed them. This book will challenge scholars to think in news ways, but it also provides an accessible introduction to the Gnostics and their fellow early Christians.