Has anyone else tried this?

[Cam]

so i was wondering...has anyone else tried to assume the void? cuz ive tried quite a bit and it is DAMN hardddddd

what are your thoughts? has anyone done it successfuly?

[Luckers]

It matches a Taoist meditation type actually, so somewhere out there theres a bunch of people that use it.

[Kijuri]

It's meditation in general, meditation is about making your head clear of thoughts, which sort of is the void. Not exactly but how it's first explained it's like getting all your thoughts emotions etc burned up by a flame in your head, which is a way of meditation.

 

and sure i tried. not often and i did not yet get to it, but i'll keep trying :)

[Aarthas]

I've tried, but it didn't work :P

[RobertAlexWillis]

There is a method, described in some detail in "The Darkness that Comes Before" by R. Scott Bakker, and related to real methods used by various eastern monks, of slowly eliminating conscious thought through a series of chants, sometimes called mantra, which are reduced in length over a period of time, (usually long periods for the unpractised, as much as week at a time) until at last a one word mantra is used, followed by, when it is reduced, nothing. Needless to say, this is a much more cumbersome method than the one described by Jordan. It is also much more likely to work. The "emotionless" state described by the Void would be difficult (to put it mildly) to assume instantly without years of practice in meditation. Rand's backstory gives a semi-plausible explanation, since his father taught it to him for archery, years ago. But practicing a similar form in real life would take alot of dedication, patience, and even training, not to mention discipline.

 

This is why eastern monastic traditions have never caught on well in the west. Westerners don't really exhibit the patience for it.

[LazyGun]

Tis easy to assume the void..... my head is empty all the time :)

[RobertAlexWillis]

:lol: Thats the Void and the Echo, not the Flame and the Void.

[Mardragon]

I have heard that it is dangerous to blank one's mind of all thoughts. I.e. if there's nothing there, theres space for something else to get in....

 

Sounds like superstitious clap trap I know, but since emptying ones mind of all thought isn't really a natural state to be in, it could be argued that it's best avoided.

 

I have seen some things at the church I used to attend that suggest demonic possession is real, although in these cases I don't think the cause was a person blanking their mind. It was usually the result of people dabbling in things like spiritualism or the result of people recieving 'treatment' from a witch doctor. Ouija boards are another possible cause...

 

I do like the whole flame and the void idea in these books though.

[okstate91]

i think that its a book and its kind of wierd that u tried it...

[Lews Therin Telamon]

maybe we can figure out how to channel while we're at it

[young lan]

While sparring with boken or hand to hand I've tried achieving the flame and void and it works like a charm... a charm that doesn't work. Try picturing the flame before you go to sleep, it's like counting sheep.

[AnaifelleLothoraies]

I read about a similiar Void and Flame in a Barbara Wood book...

[Lews Therin Telamon]

I tried balefiring my boss the other day but that didnt work

[young lan]

Well, that's not your fault. He probably had a fox head medallion.

[Cam]

*balefires okstate91*

HA!

it worked :P

i just think it would be cool to do...i think i almost got it once... :P

a house blew up tho...not sure if there is a connection

[Deathblade]

How can this work. This is that state I live most of my life in... It is an instinctual thing, to me. I requires no flame, no void, merely a concentration on mind, rather than emotion. It's hard to explain, though the "flame and void" is a way to enter it. It's useful for high concentration activities shooting , climbing, sparring, video games, etc.

 

Many people often say they cannot read me due to this, cannot tell my thoughts. I thinks it' kind of cool, to be "stone faced", as RJ writes...

[Luckers]

While sparring with boken or hand to hand I've tried achieving the flame and void and it works like a charm... a charm that doesn't work. Try picturing the flame before you go to sleep' date=' it's like counting sheep.[/quote']

 

You spar with a boken? I've seen people seriously injured trying that. Though to be fair neither was wearing protection.

[Deathblade]

I've never sparred with an actual boken, per se, but i have with wooden doweling practice swords that me and my friend made. (both a single 3/4" and multiple 3/32" (bundled lathes)) works pretty good. Though they hurt like a bugger to have broken over your neck.... But we did wear some protection, gauntlets are pretty much a must. :cry:

[RobertAlexWillis]

Sparring is no fun if you don't risk a few broken knuckles. :lol: Most of my scars are from splintered wood being smacked into my hands and arms by my brothers or my friends. But how else were we supposed to practice a skill that has no real useful modern application, huh? Tell me THAT!

 

And trying to practice assuming the void when someone is coming at you with a practice sword is a good way to get smacked in the head or the ribs.

[young lan]

As long as you remember that sparring is not killing, therefore everything should be controlled (controlled doesn't mean slow and/or weak), you shouldn't get more hurt than necessary. There are only a few people I trust to spar while using the boken, but I come out better for it. I've been sword training since Thundercats made their extendable swords, but obtaining the void is something I can never see myself doing, though it doesn't mean I won't lie about it ;)

 

oh and Robert, I would suggest not practicing to assume the void while someone is running at you with a sword, but maybe practice side stepping to your left...or to your right. The choice is yours really.

[Deathblade]

And trying to practice assuming the void when someone is coming at you with a practice sword is a good way to get smacked in the head or the ribs.

 

It's not the "flame and void" you assume. You are merely without emotion. When you sre utterly calm you do most things better.

[RobertAlexWillis]

oh and Robert, I would suggest not practicing to assume the void while someone is running at you with a sword, but maybe practice side stepping to your left...or to your right. The choice is yours really.

 

Actually, young Lan, I prefer stepping into the blow, parrying it, and snapping a slash at my opponent's chest (or neck .... but that can be dangerous).

 

And yes, Deathblade, fighting in a detached emotionless state is more effective. It is not, however, the "Void" or "Oneness" described in the books, or at least, if it is, I'm going to be very dissapointed. The "Void" suggests to me a deeper almost meditative state.

[Kalythase Breen]

I do a lot of mountain biking and I've heard many atheletes call "the Void" "the Zone".

Basically, while you're in the middle of working out, (which could include sword practice), you blank out everything except paying attention to your breathing or your exercise. It's sort of a way of ignoring pain or tiredness, too.

It's sort of the same with yoga and meditation, but with meditation, it's more of a quiet "Void", sort of zen-like, because it's completely blank, emotionless, nothingness. It's not really scary - it's actually quite refreshing to rest your mind.

[Guest Fire Lord]

I've tried assuming the void-and failed miserably. many times I try to imagine that flame-and I think I've seen somewhere, most likely not in the books, that instead of a flame you use a diamond-but strange thoughts keep interfering. And I feel somehow foolish doing it.

And while we're at it, has someone ever tried that trick of not sweating? I think it is described in New Spring-you focus on a point somewhere around the navel, correct me if I am wrong, and breathing etc, etc. Has it worked for anyone?

[young lan]

I've tried it, but then I would start sweating.