New Initiate Guide

Welcome new initiate; we are so grateful to be able to share this path of awakening with you.

This guide is one part of the gift of sacred teachings Primordial Alchemist has made public to the world.

If you have not done so, we invite you to explore the other public teachings: The KUNLUN Systems Book, One Breath, as well as all the videos and interviews on our media page.    

We also have several articles on the system here: KUNLUN System Basics, KUNLUN Dos and Don’ts, Frequently Asked Questions, and Awakening is 99% Clearing the Mind.

The New Initiate Guide on this page provides recommended steps to begin practicing the KUNLUN System. The following passage from the KUNLUN System book describes the journey many of us take before finding this path.

“As we become adults, we often lose the root, childlike excitement of life and its mysteries. This is the unfortunate moment when we begin to drift away from our true nature. What is the cause of this? When you were a newborn baby, you were pure, with the light still glowing in your eyes and heart. Then one day, someone comes along and sees something they do not like about you. These people pick on you until you either change their dislikes about you or your change yourself in order not to be picked on.

As the years go by and this behavior becomes habitual, you may find yourself as only an image of other people’s desires. You have lost yourself and now you seek something more than what you see. Perhaps you become interested in spirituality, read many books, travel to other countries, but eventually you come home dismayed. You traveled on the path that was and is important but in vain, your heart still seeking the path of truth fulfilled in life. Then when you give up the search, the right teaching comes along. But you had to travel outside yourself before discovering the truth that the path was inside the entire time. When you are no longer looking, the right path reveals itself. This is what I term surrendering to the divine.

So, now this KUNLUN System comes into your life. Is it be interest or accident? Understanding that everything and everyone has a purpose, you realize that there is more to life than growing up, working, growing old, and dying. You may ask yourself questions like “Why am I here?” or What is the true purpose of my birth?” As you begin this simple approach to awakening, you will shake off what no longer serves you. Life water off a wet dog, you will shake off the gross stuff that holds you back, including whatever the people of your past have laid on you to make you forget your life’s purpose. Just remember that for everything you let go off, you will be renewed and filled with the bliss, the elixir of life.”

Page 9 of the KUNLUN System Book by Max Christensen

The KUNLUN System is referred to as the path of no more learning, and for good reasons. We are very grateful to support you. We recommend new students take the following steps to begin.

New Initiate Steps

  1. Read the KUNLUN System book
  2. Begin mastering the One Breath
  3. Practice the Five Elements
  4. Practice The KUNLUN Method
  5. Meet Mugen Roshi in The Whispering Teapot
  6. Receive the KUNLUN Transmission at an In-Person Course
  7. Live Your Art
  8. Stay Motivated and Connected

Max Christensen

“Dragon and Phoenix meet within the center palace. Stillness is the great awakening.”

Max Christensen

“Dragon and Phoenix meet within the center palace. Stillness is the great awakening.”

New Student Steps

  1. Read the KUNLUN System book
  2. Begin mastering the One Breath
  3. Practice the Five Elements
  4. Practice The KUNLUN Method
  5. Meet Max in The Whispering Teapot
  6. Receive the KUNLUN Transmission in an In-Person Course
  7. Live Your Art
  8. Stay Motivated and Connected

Max Christensen

“Dragon and Phoenix meet within the center palace. Stillness is the great awakening.”

New Student Steps

  1. Read the KUNLUN System book
  2. Begin mastering the One Breath
  3. Practice the Five Elements
  4. Practice The KUNLUN Method
  5. Meet Max in The Whispering Teapot
  6. Receive the KUNLUN Transmission in an In-Person Course
  7. Live Your Art
  8. Stay Motivated and Connected

STEP 1: Read the KUNLUN System book

The first step we recommend for new initiates is to read the KUNLUN System book, which was written to provide anyone in the world a means to begin their path of awakening. The book includes the history of the system, many practices, inspiration, and many explanations of the awakening process. Practitioners often share that each time they read the book, they experience new insights and inspiration. The system taught is simple but powerful.


STEP 2: Begin Mastering the One Breath (from the book)

The first technique we recommend you begin in the book is called the One Breath. Practicing the One Breath is a very advanced practice that will help you restore the original breathing you had as a baby. Breathing has many functions besides providing oxygen to our bodies. It massages and pumps our organs and regulates our nervous system. These are the outer manifestations of breathing. As with all systems, there are outer, inner, and secret effects. The breathing also connects us to our source, and much more. We invite you to begin to quiet your scholarly mind, do the practices, and allow your experience to teach you. Our western civilization has trained us to acquire more and more knowledge making us masters of none. Experience is the best teacher. Master this practice, and your life will change. The simplest practices are often the most advanced

STEP 3: Practice the Five Elements 

The next technique you can begin at the same time as the One Breath is the Five Elements. The Five Elements are present everywhere in nature and within you. As you do the practice, your organs, emotions, meridians, and energy channels will begin to balance, open, purity, and energize. This practice is very much mind training. You will observe the nature of your mind and begin to master the monkey mind. Remember mind is gravity.

STEP 4: The KUNLUN Method Posture (from the book)

The KUNLUN Method Posture is the key to the One Law of nature: the law that demonstrates that all things are connected through and accessed by the loving nature of the heart. This technique will purify your being, energize you, and help you remember your original state. It is the path of divine surrender, and it is a water path. There is nothing you must do or be. Simply surrender to your divine nature, and all will unfold naturally. This path is very different from the fire path, which uses self-generated energy to move up from the base to the top. This practice works with the downward heavenly flow without effort. Eventually, you will experience your life from the state of surrender and bliss that you experience in your daily practice. Living your art means you embrace and embody positive virtues such as love, humility, compassion, and joy every moment. The cultivator makes every moment of her/his life a practice.

We recommend you begin practicing the One Breath, Five Elements, and the KUNLUN Posture as soon as you read the book. One Breath will eventually become your default and normal breathing. In the beginning, bring your attention to your breathing several times a day, and remember this breathing. We recommend you practice the Five Elements two or three times a week, working up to 12 minutes and then 20 minutes per posture. When practicing the Five Elements, you will also be doing the One Breath breathing. The KUNLUN Technique can be done five days in a row and then take two days off. Important note, the energy body must have time to sync and integrate with the physical body. Your days off, allow this to occur. More practice does not mean better practice. Remember to stay grounded: the higher the tree grows, the deeper the roots must be.

 STEP 5: Meeting Max (Mugen Roshi) in the Whispering Teapot

After you have practiced for awhile, you may begin to have questions. We invite you to join our Q & A event called the Whispering Teapot. It is a marvelous opportunity to connect more deeply with the lineage you are learning and get personal questions answered. We invite you to read the book thoroughly and practice so that you can get the most out of the experience!

 STEP 6: Receive the KUNLUN Transmission in an In-Person Course

To attain the full awakening in this tradition, you will need to receive an in-person transmission from Max Mugen Roshi, Diana Dao Shi, or Kan-san. You will only need to do this once. Do not worry if you cannot do this right away. Students often practice the book for years before they do this. One must trust that you have everything you need to complete your path and that all will come to you effortlessly. You are all you need to master your awakening.

"What I have seen over and over again is that we first become aware that there is something missing in our life, something special and unseen. As we develop our inner sensitivity through various methods, we suddenly become aware that what we see and experience with the five senses is limited, but when a sixth sense starts to slowly develop, there is the awakening, a realization or illumination that we are light beings in physical form, and at this level there is an emanation of light from deep within. It is the spiritual light seen only by sensitive people, when their sky eye opens, not by people with limited openness.

In various traditions throughout the world, this level of illumination is called the indestructible diamond body, the gold dragon body, the red phoenix of the nine palaces, moksha, and the returnable rainbow body – just to name a few reflections of this spiritual attainment. Enlightenment is the culmination of one’s spiritual life on Earth, which can come to one’s soul before death, during the dying process, or even after their life on Earth has finished. As to variations of such matters, there are different levels and forms of enlightenment, again based on the system of awakening. The Taoist way of the diamond body, gold dragon, and red phoenix body are forms of practice leading to the great opening towards enlightenment.”

Page 10 of the KUNLUN System book by Max Christensen

STEP 7: Living Your Art

We often refer to students on the path as practitioners or cultivators. A practitioner is one who does the practices and then goes back to mundane life. We all begin as practitioners. As we progress, our practices bleed into all areas of our lives, and there is no separation between practices and normal-life. That is what we call a cultivator. It will happen naturally, as you dissolve the distinction between spiritual and mundane life and realize that all is one. It does not mean we exist in an unaffected state without human emotion or experiences, but our minds become centered in our divine-hearts, and that becomes our home. We learn to dissolve the monkey mind and bring our minds back to the heart. Please know to have a human body is a great gift, and also a very advanced experience.

STEP 8: Staying Motivated and Connected

Many of our students find that they don’t have others around them to share this beautiful path with, and sometimes you can feel isolated. For this reason, we offer online events and a membership program. Each month we hold the Whispering Teapot event, which is an hour of questions and answers from students or sometimes an exploration of a specific topic. This event is an excellent opportunity to see other KUNLUN Practitioners and to stay motivated on the path. For those students who like to attend this event each month and be a part of our private online community, we offer the Immortals Cavern Membership. You can read more about the membership here!

Through out the year, we offer various online and in-person courses on a variety of practices and subjects. Please remember that once you know the One Breath, Five Elements, KUNLUN, and Red Phoenix you need nothing else to attain your awaking but your own cultivation. We offer these classes as a way to keep you connected and motivated!

We hope this guide has been helpful for you.

Please remember that you are the beginning and the end of your path. This life is indeed wondrous and magical and the possibilities of life are endless.

Much Love,

Primordial Alchemist