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Thunder Dragon
Neigong and Alchemical Arts
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Casual Qigong Practice Leads Nowhere
Taijiquan, Qigong, and Yoga originated as profoundly powerful systems of internal cultivation and alchemy. They were not invented as casual fitness trends, nor as recreational hobbies to fill time between work and entertainment. They were designed as serious methods of transformation—tools to strengthen the body, purify the mind, regulate the emotions, and ultimately relieve human suffering at its root. Yet in modern times, these practices have been reduced to something far s
Josh Goheen
2 days ago5 min read
🌿 Plant Profile - Blue Tansy (Tanacetum annuum)
🌿 Blue Tansy Botanical Name: Tanacetum annuum Family: Asteraceae Common Names: Blue Tansy, Moroccan Tansy Parts Used: Flowering tops (essential oil most commonly used) Energetics: Cooling, drying, dispersing Tissue States: Heat, inflammation, allergic reactivity, irritated skin, histamine excess, nervous overstimulation with inflammation Primary Actions: Anti-inflammatory, antihistamine-like, antispasmodic, nervine (aromatic), skin restorative, antimicrobial (mild) Blue Tans
Josh Goheen
4 days ago22 min read
🌿 Plant Profile - Pomegranate (Punica granatum)
🌿 Pomegranate Botanical Name: Punica granatum Family: Lythraceae (formerly Punicaceae) Common Names: Pomegranate, Granada, Chinese Apple Parts Used: Fruit (arils/juice), peel (rind), flowers, bark (historical use) Energetics: Cooling, drying, astringent Tissue States: Damp heat, lax tissues, excess secretions, inflammation with discharge, heat in the blood Primary Actions: Astringent, antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, cardiotonic, gut tonic, styptic Pomegranate
Josh Goheen
6 days ago23 min read
Yin and Yang, Shiva and Shakti: Understanding the Divine Masculine and Divine Feminine in Alchemical Cultivation
Few topics in the modern world are surrounded by more confusion, distortion, and ideological noise than the subject of the masculine and the feminine. In many circles today, it has become difficult—even socially dangerous—to speak plainly about what male and female are, much less to discuss the deeper spiritual principles that underlie them. We have arrived at a strange moment in history where the most basic realities of nature are treated as debatable. Postmodern society has
Josh Goheen
May 87 min read
🌿 Plant Profile - Nutmeg (Myristica fragrans)
🌿 Nutmeg Botanical Name: Myristica fragrans Family: Myristicaceae Common Names: Nutmeg, True Nutmeg, Jaiphal (Ayurveda) Parts Used: Seed (nutmeg), aril (mace), essential oil (external use primarily) Energetics: Warming, drying, deeply grounding Tissue States: Cold digestion, damp stagnation, nervous depletion, insomnia, diarrhea from weakness, excess mucus with coldness Primary Actions: Carminative, antispasmodic, nervine, sedative (mild), astringent, digestive tonic, antimi
Josh Goheen
May 623 min read
🌿 Plant Profile - Marjoram (Origanum majorana)
🌿 Marjoram Botanical Name: Origanum majorana Family: Lamiaceae Common Names: Sweet Marjoram, Knotted Marjoram Parts Used: Leaf and flowering tops Energetics: Warming, drying, gently relaxing Tissue States: Cold stagnation, dampness, nervous tension, digestive weakness, respiratory congestion with chill Primary Actions: Carminative, antispasmodic, mild nervine, expectorant, antimicrobial, circulatory stimulant Marjoram (Origanum majorana) 🌱 Botanical Description of Marjoram
Josh Goheen
May 422 min read
From Monkey Mind to Mastery: Xin, Yi, and Zhi in Internal Cultivation
We live in an age in which people are far more likely to emote than to think. Personal feelings have been elevated to the status of truth, while objective reality has been pushed aside—if it is acknowledged at all. A person no longer needs facts, logic, or evidence. They need only to declare how they feel, and the modern world demands that everyone else treat that feeling as unquestionable reality. This is not progress. It is regression. A society that is governed by fleeting
Josh Goheen
May 15 min read
🌿 Plant Profile - Sassafras (Sassafras albidum)
🌿 Sassafras Botanical Name: Sassafras albidum Family: Lauraceae Common Names: Sassafras, White Sassafras, Cinnamon Wood, Ague Tree Parts Used: Root bark (traditional), root, leaves (filé powder), occasionally twigs Energetics: Warming, drying, aromatic Tissue States: Cold stagnation, dampness, sluggish circulation, lymphatic congestion, chronic toxicity with skin eruptions Primary Actions: Alterative, diaphoretic, carminative, circulatory stimulant, mild antimicrobial, aroma
Josh Goheen
Apr 2922 min read
🌿 Plant Profile - Tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus)
🌿 Tarragon Botanical Name: Artemisia dracunculus Family: Asteraceae Common Names: Tarragon, French Tarragon, Dragon Herb, Little Dragon Parts Used: Leaf and flowering tops (fresh preferred) Energetics: Warming, drying, slightly bitter Tissue States: Cold digestion, damp stagnation, sluggish bile flow, nervous tension with digestive involvement Primary Actions: Carminative, bitter tonic, antispasmodic, mild nervine, digestive stimulant, antimicrobial Tarragon (Artemisia dracu
Josh Goheen
Apr 2720 min read
The Four Pillars of Internal Cultivation: How to Organize Taijiquan and Qigong Training for Real Results
One of the greatest challenges modern practitioners face in the internal arts is not only motivation, nor even access to instruction—it is organization . Taijiquan and Qigong contain many methods, many training approaches, and many layers of depth. To the typical student, it can quickly become confusing. What should I practice each day? How long should I stand? Is seated meditation enough? Do I need forms? Why do some people seem to gain real internal power while others only
Josh Goheen
Apr 246 min read
🌿 Plant Profile - Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense)
🌿 Wild Ginger Botanical Name: Asarum canadense Family: Aristolochiaceae Common Names: Wild Ginger, Canadian Snakeroot, Indian Ginger, Woodland Ginger Parts Used: Rhizome and root Energetics: Warming, drying, stimulating Tissue States: Cold stagnation, dampness, cold phlegm congestion, sluggish circulation, depressed vitality Primary Actions: Diaphoretic, carminative, expectorant, circulatory stimulant, warming nervine, antimicrobial Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense) 🌱
Josh Goheen
Apr 2222 min read
🌿 Plant Profile - Virginia Snakeroot (Aristolochia serpentaria)
🌿 Virginia Snakeroot Botanical Name: Aristolochia serpentaria Family: Aristolochiaceae Common Names: Virginia Snakeroot, Snakeroot, Serpentaria, Snakeweed Parts Used: Root Energetics: Warming, drying, stimulating Tissue States: Cold stagnation, damp congestion, low vitality, sluggish circulation, chronic infection with debility Primary Actions: Diaphoretic, stimulant, bitter tonic, circulatory stimulant, antimicrobial, carminative, expectorant Virginia Snakeroot (Ari
Josh Goheen
Apr 2022 min read
The Principle of Polarity: Yin and Yang as the Key to Balance in Life and Practice
In this fifth article of our series on the Seven Hermetic Principles and their relationship to the alchemical path and the internal martial arts, we now arrive at the fourth principle: the Principle of Polarity . This principle explains one of the most unavoidable truths of existence: reality expresses itself through opposites . Wherever there is one pole, the other must also exist. Where there is: light, there is darkness up, there is down heat, there is cold expansion, ther
Josh Goheen
Apr 175 min read
🌿 Plant Profile - American Spikenard (Aralia racemosa)
🌿 American Spikenard Botanical Name: Aralia racemosa Family: Araliaceae Common Names: American Spikenard, Spikenard, Pettymorel, Life-of-Man, Indian Root Parts Used: Root and rhizome Energetics: Warming, drying, stimulating Tissue States: Cold damp stagnation, respiratory congestion, lymphatic sluggishness, chronic catarrh, depleted vitality with damp accumulation Primary Actions: Expectorant, alterative, lymphatic stimulant, diaphoretic, carminative, anti-inflammato
Josh Goheen
Apr 1523 min read
🌿 Plant Profile - Ginger (Zingiber officinale)
🌿 Ginger Botanical Name: Zingiber officinale Family: Zingiberaceae Common Names: Ginger, Common Ginger, Sheng Jiang (fresh), Gan Jiang (dried) Parts Used: Rhizome (fresh or dried) Energetics: Warming, drying, stimulating Tissue States: Cold stagnation, dampness, digestive weakness, sluggish circulation, cold phlegm Primary Actions: Carminative, circulatory stimulant, diaphoretic, antiemetic, anti-inflammatory, digestive tonic, expectorant Ginger (Zingiber officinale)
Josh Goheen
Apr 1324 min read
Structure Is Freedom: Why Internal Cultivation Requires Discipline, Not “Go-With-the-Flow” Spirituality
The modern practice of internal cultivation arts such as Qigong, Taijiquan, and Yoga is often approached with an attitude that can only be described as loose, casual, and unstructured. Many practitioners are encouraged to abandon form, to release restraint, and to let their inner feelings guide the practice. “Follow what feels good” has become the unspoken mantra of an entire generation of modern spiritual seekers. This approach is not accidental. It is deeply influenced by
Josh Goheen
Apr 105 min read
🌿 Plant Profile - Mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana)
🌿 Mangosteen Botanical Name: Garcinia mangostana Family: Clusiaceae Common Names: Mangosteen, Queen of Fruits, Mangostan Parts Used: Pericarp (rind), fruit, occasionally leaves and bark Energetics: Cooling, drying, slightly astringent Tissue States: Heat, inflammation, damp heat, irritated mucosa, sluggish lymph with heat Primary Actions: Antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, astringent, immunomodulatory, digestive support Mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana) 🌱
Josh Goheen
Apr 820 min read
🌿 Plant Profile - Dragonfruit (Hylocereus spp.)
🌿 Dragonfruit Botanical Name: Hylocereus spp. (syn. Selenicereus spp. ) Family: Cactaceae Common Names: Dragonfruit, Pitaya, Strawberry Pear Parts Used: Fruit, seeds, occasionally flowers Energetics: Cooling, moistening, mildly sweet Tissue States: Heat, dryness, dehydration, mild deficiency, intestinal irritation Primary Actions: Hydrating nutritive, antioxidant, mild laxative, prebiotic, cardiovascular supportive, cooling tonic Dragonfruit (Hylocereus spp.) 🌱 Bot
Josh Goheen
Apr 621 min read
Beyond Validation: Identity, Attachment, and the Alchemical Path of Self-Cultivation
Modern culture has become fixated on one central pursuit: being seen . We are told, explicitly and repeatedly, that mental and emotional well-being depends upon being acknowledged, validated, and affirmed—not only as individuals, but as members of communities defined by race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, trauma history, and personal experience. To be recognized publicly is framed as a necessity, almost as a form of survival. To be disregarded, questioned, o
Josh Goheen
Apr 35 min read
🌿 Plant Profile - Lychee (Litchi chinensis)
🌿 Lychee Botanical Name: Litchi chinensis Family: Sapindaceae Common Names: Lychee, Litchi, Lichi Parts Used: Fruit (primary), seed (traditional medicine), peel (less common) Energetics: Slightly warming, sweet, moistening Tissue States: Fluid deficiency, mild dryness, cold stagnation (especially in lower abdomen) Primary Actions: Nutritive tonic, fluid generator, mild digestive stimulant, blood-supportive (traditional), analgesic (seed), warming dispersant (seed) Ly
Josh Goheen
Apr 116 min read
DISCLAIMER:
As with any diet or exercise program, always consult a qualified physician prior to beginning any new routine, especially if you have any health issues. The training and information provided on this site and in person is for educational consideration only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any disease, nor is it to take the place of any qualified medical treatment.
All original material presented represents the thoughts, opinions, and experiences of the author and is intended to be taken as such. All quoted or shared material is the property and responsibility of the original author/source.
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