Ep244: Taoist Adventures - Mattias Daly
Mattias Daly is a Taoist practitioner and translator of ‘Taoist Inner Alchemy’, published by Shambala.
Available on Youtube, iTunes, SoundCloud & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.
Mattias reveals how youthful delinquency and substance abuse problems saw him kicked out of the University of Chicago and drove him to seek out martial arts and meditation instruction under a Taoist master.
Mattias shares his travels to China and unusual training adventures there including bodily purification through tree slapping, encounters with religious cults, and experiences with profound spiritual masters.
Mattias also discusses having a generational demonic possession exorcised by a Māori Tohunga in New Zealand and warns of the danger of incorrect internal practice such as psychosis, premature ejaculation, and more.
00:00 - Intro
00:57 - Why translate Taoist Inner Alchemy
04:58 - Trying not to be a scumbag
06:50 - Attraction to Buddhism
09:06 - Meeting Red Pine and mentoring relationship
11:59 - Red Pine’s influence and friendship
14:02 - Chaos Elemental
15:01 - Professor father and blue collar mother
18:34 - Childhood delinquency
24:07 - Model of masculinity
24:14 - Entry into the martial arts
26:27 - Male role models and discipline
28:57 - Did UFC destroy traditional martial arts?
31:34 - How to win a fight
33:34 - Limits of Chinese Kung Fu schools
35:31 - Rock bottom and kicked out of University of Chicago
38:09 - Return to martial arts and finding a Taoist master
41:17 - Initial Taoist training
45:01 - Buddhist vs Taoist cultivation
49:26 - Possession by demonic entity
55:58 - Generational demonic possession
59:50 - Learning Chinese
01:01:49 - Finding teachers in China
01:04:19 - Powerful purification experiences in Taoist cultivation
01:09:58 - Encountering a spiritual cult leader
01:17:04 - Reflections on spiritual charlatans in China
01:18:43 - Discovering the power of the empty state
01:22:13 - Practicing Taoist Inner Alchemy
01:25:17 - Move to Taiwan and walking away from Chinese medicine
01:27:36 - The dangers of meditation and internal cultivation
01:32:52 - Premature ejaculation and the lower Dantian
01:33:39 - Qigong and Tai Chi delusions
01:35:53 - Psychosis and Qigong fever
01:36:40 - Being in the presence of powerful teachers
01:38:07 - The heart of the path
Pre-order Mattias’ new book at a 30% discount with the promo code ALCHEMY30 at https://www.shambhala.com/ten-discourses-on-daoist-alchemy.html. Valid through March 11th.
To find our more about Mattias Daly, visit:
Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James