The Cauldron of Heaven

The Alchemy of Star Light with Juan Li

(Deutsch)

For the ancestors of the Tao practices the night sky filled with glittering stars represents the celestial cauldron where the energies of immortality stir around the circumpolar stars. All the elements that make up our bodies, both physical and subtle took their origin in the cauldron of the ancestral stars. When we look at the celestial cauldron we are looking not only at the lights of a 100 billion suns but also at our primeval ancestors. Becoming consciously aware of our stellar origins and learning to work with starlight is one of the most basic aspects of the superior practices.

In this class we learn to work with light as a source of healing and as the basic energy for developing what Taoist call the Crystal Room in the center of the brain The first practice will be with the visible and invisible light of the Pole Star: the yang light as a source of healing energies and the yin light as a centering power which increases the energy flow through the central channel.

The seven stars of the Big Dipper are the foundation of the five elements. We will learn to establish the inner stars of the Dipper in the organs and joints as a way of developing the `inner light'. We will also develop simple practices with stars that increase the process of energy absorption and facilitate dream practices. One of the most immediate effects of working with starlight are a greater sense of inner peace, expansion of perception and accelerated spiritual development arising from connecting consciously with the dimension of infinite possibilities.

The class will be divided in two parts: The yin of theoretical knowledge that will be done in the classroom in the daytime and the yang of practical experience that will be done at nighttime bringing Heaven to Earth.

How The Spirit Becomes a Star: The ancient Taoist Practice of Celestial Ascent
The spirit's ascent to the stars is a major theme in ancient Taoist practice, as it is in many shamanic traditions. For the Taoists, the sky is the true home of the spirit, both where we come from and where we will eventually return. The idea that the spirit's origins are celestial was also present in the ancient Egyptian tradition, Platonic, Neoplatonic and Hermetic traditions and was inherited by Medieval Europe and the Renaissance. In our own age dominated by Darwinian notions of natural selection, this ancient cosmological perspective is a salutary reminder that it is only very recently that we have come to regard ourselves as having haphazard and lowly origins. Today we will explore and celebrate the magnificent alternative view of our nature and destiny, that stems from ancient China.