Beginner with Questions

[Bosatsu2]

Greetings everybody,

Over the course of about 2 years my life coaching mentor has introduced me to a lot of books and upon reading "The Alchemist" my views on things had changed and I started to put more emphasis on studying spirituality than on studying psychology as a college major. Currently, I am 20 years old and will be turning 21 in a few weeks and over a year ago I stumbled across the Tao Te Ching which is what drew me to Taoism.

More recently, as I've grown and changed many things in my life, I find myself exploring more and more Japanese and Chinese philosophy. I came across Neidan a few weeks ago and I went to explore it more but I was halted because I haven't been able to find any introductories to Neidan meditation. I would like to start practicing Neidan meditation but I'm unsure of how to go about this.

Unfortunately, being a college student, I have almost no spare money so while I can purchase books there's no way for me to have access to workshops or paying to learn the basics under a master. I'm really unsure of how to go about practicing Neidan, or what the goals and benefits of Neidan are. For that matter, I have knowledge of Taoism but I consider myself to be a complete beginner who knows of instead of is wise in Taoism.

So, my overall question is; how do I learn about Taoism, and practice Taoist teachings regarding meditation? What's the purpose of Taoism and Neidan?

Thanks everybody,

-Richard

[laotan]

So, my overall question is; how do I learn about Taoism, and practice Taoist teachings regarding meditation? What's the purpose of Taoism and Neidan?

Thanks everybody,

-Richard

I don't know what neidan is. As for the Taoism, it is a way of life inspired by the rhythms of the Universe (to quote Alan Watts). Regarding Taoism meditation, we offer a short online course at http://www.taopage.org/levelthree.html Checkout and see if it fits your need.
One more course is about applying the Taoism teachings in our day to day life. It is a course intended for people in search for practice. It is at http://www.taopage.org/taoism_practice.html