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Yesterday I received an email with this sad news about Stuart Alve Olson entering hospice care. I've found some of his materials (books and courses) to be both interesting and useful over the years, and wish him a peaceful transition. Dear friends of the Sanctuary of Tao, We write to you today with a heavy heart to share that our beloved friend and teacher, Stuart, is now in hospice care at home. Patrick and Suzanne are taking care of him, offering comfort, warmth, and companionship as he enters this time of sacred passage. His vital signs are gradually declining, and he is now receiving medication to keep him peaceful and free of pain. The hospice nurse has said he will likely pass in the next day or two. Patrick and Suzanne are holding vigil — reciting for him and staying by his side. We invite you to join this vigil from wherever you are: through chanting, prayer, meditation, or simply holding him in your heart and sending love. If you know it, you may wish to chant the Da Bei Zhou, or offer any mantra, spiritual text, or prayer that carries meaning for you. This is a time of deep grief and sorrow for our community. As you receive this news, we extend our hearts to you, knowing that many of you have walked closely with Stuart in one way or another. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for the love, support, and prayers you have shared throughout this most difficult journey. We are deeply grateful for your care, and for holding Stuart in your hearts and prayers in the hours and days ahead. With heartfelt gratitude, Sanctuary of Tao

I always had a question about, that if there's no self in Buddhism, then who realizes its absence? Like who learns about Buddhism? Who does anything? I just don't understand how something that is not there, then who is learning about its absence?

The ocean is vast because it admits all rivers. (Chinese idiom) Meaning: The wise man listens to all sides. ~~~ 海 纳 百 川 (hai3 na4 bai3 chuan1) sea admits 100 rivers 有 容 乃 大 (you3 rong2 nai3 da4) is allowing therefore big

The context is a sutra where the buddha Avalokitesvara has deep and complete realization of reality and is sharing that realization with the bodhisattva Sariputra. In Mahayana Buddhist terms this expression from the Heart Sutra points to the deeper reality that "emptiness" (or Dao/Unity) is the underlying quality of everything that appears in consciousness, it is in FORM ("things") that this "emptiness" is visible. You never have the unity without the illusory appearance of separate things. This is what is being pointed to. It is true, you can't have one without the other for this reason. Forgetting the theory of it for a moment, this is something anyone can be shown enlightenment or not. Seen from enlightened mind, this is obvious and is seen always and everywhere. "Emptiness" happens outside of space, time, and "self". It is not a quality OF seemingly separate things (form), yet it can only be seen in them since separate things are what there is to see it in. Indeed, it is in fact this emptiness/Dao/Unity that is the one salient characteristic of ALL phenomena that can be perceived, and the only permanent quality. Space time and "self" are delusions. Enlightened mind sees that there is no separate "self", no separate here and there, and no separate time, only now. Anything else is a mental construction. "Self" is a construction of the mind created by deciding that certain phenomena and sensations belong to "me". Space is imagining that there is any other place to be than here, or that there is any space between the imaginary "I" and anything else. Time is always now... the past and future are always thoughts you are having now. All thoughts, artifacts, and beliefs about a past or future always arise now. When the mind is still all of this can be seen. - Emptiness is the ABSOLUTE quality of "things", impermanence is a RELATIVE quality. Both can be seen at the same time. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_truths_doctrine Ultimately all of these explanations in ANY "non-dual" tradition are just mental constructs which are themselves intended as bridges to understanding. To say that ANY intellectual explanation is actually the absolute "truth" is an error:

Alaya or 8th consciousness, is a Yogacara construct that is for sure not related to the idea of soul. Their is no soul in Buddhism. For a deep dive into the weeds of Yogacara theory, check out this article. There's a lighter read here. _/|\_

destroyer does have some strong connotations, I'd say another way to get a handle on the idea is a "return" (as spoken of in the T.T.C. with the "One" said to be the first born), thus the manifest sprang forth or transformed from the Tao and the manifest returns or transforms back to the Tao; Btw, In the dualistic Bible there is a kind of related saying about the "first and the last" which i correlate to mean the first to spring forth and the last to return. the transcendent and emanate are connected, so not just one or the other except to give one a handle about same.

OKay sorry .... just like down over here and I will bring you some tea .....

No , and I wasn't claiming you did say it , it was in relation to me thinking that " women are closer to Divintiy than men are " Thats what you said - I was agreeing .... they are more advanced towards divinity with a hint that I think they are more advanced in lots of other areas too .... like the comments I made about the stages of life for a man . Got it . - see above . I am not saying it applies to ALL women either . However I will openly admit bias . I been around a long time and I cant say the male sex has impressed me that much . .... its not only women they try to oppress though ya know - I have fought against it most of my life . Sure women do it to , but I am going on my own experience and what I have learned - bearing in mind I been around a long time , I have worked with refugee relocation , sometimes ex torture victims , in a hospital dealing with accidents , violent crimes , injuries and also involved in women's shelter support . So I could have a biased view on it , I'll admit that . But the stats seem to indicate something as well . I could say a lot more on that but maybe its too far off topic . On another level I have heard sort of similar to what you said about men being ... well ... 'the priests ' and the women having a different relationship . In another tradition that has both men and women as 'clergy' , Ie Priest and Priestess , some women, ( from outside the ritual ) commented it was a bit sexist , the priest is doing all this stuff and incantations and actions and rituals while the priestess is just sitting there holding stuff for him . But then one of the priestesses commented 'You think we are doing nothing ? You cant imagine what is going on for me when I am doing that , the energies ! I have to ...... ( do this and that ) all these people are here with their different energy and ... etc . ' From my perspective , I much prefer to teach women aikido , they get it a lot easier than most men _ if you understand how Aikido works you will known why ...... it can easily peasily deal with big man upper body strength . A lot of guys I taught ... a lot of 'unlearning' was required . And at least on one occasion , I saw a woman master it , instantly after a few minutes instruction - for a moment She was very thin and slight , two big burly random guys could not lift her up , the look on their faces ! But then she 'lost it ' ( the right 'state ' and energy flow ) and then up she went - easily .... she had a very surprised look on her face as well - what just happened then ! ? Do you do any sort of Qigong or similar practice ?

I agree with your comments about Snake & Horse nature but a Fire Horse is the peak of Yang and there is a lot of Yang build up on the planet already I see 2026 as a liberating year of what has been building up since 1966. It will be good for some not so good for most. Transformative indeed like the Snake but the Horse is stomping force rather than moulting.

The Buddha did not say there is no self. The Buddha taught non self. If there was actually no self, none of us would be suffering. But we do suffer. It is more the process of attending to phenomena more honestly. We cling into a sense of self, and hold on to qualities of me, mine, myself not just conventionally speaking, but also internally. With ignorance, there is a self. With wisdom, the self gradually has to dissolve. The Self does not hold water, it is not dependable, unstable. We see how things are unfit to be regarded as self. The "self" in Buddhism is defined as something that is "permeant", ever lasting, does not change. But as we go through phenomena, we realize things in the world are unfit to be regarded as "self", due to the impermenant and changing qualities. And so we attend to the nature of phenomena, and navigate skillfully to release ourselves from suffering. And that involves seeing anatta, non self.

It means the 5 aggregates are not-the self, so there is a self.

Here is my student practicing a basic ding shi set from Jiang Bagua that I learned from Dug Corpolongo. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIk9t91kv9A

how to energy train to kill entities and for physical superpowers 1.use no energy thats not ur own or wasnt made by you even attack what u think is urs with ur energy to confirm it aint a trick positive cant harm positive nature and sun energy feel good but dont trust so far they look ok but what if its a high level trap also they can get corrupted so dont try em its safer 2.waterfall every day or until u feeel recovered dont overtrain rest 24 hrs at least imagine water from a source at head to source in hands make em cycle like those tank tires kind of and also with water source in feet and move as much water as u can till u feel u trained enough today this is better than u/erasethematrix s version as with this u can walk with this while doin it 3.always do primordial skin a yt channel called purple energy made video but also use all types energys u can make for skin like origin source refinery etc. btw lots of skins with intentof recharge and one with intent for each good energetic thing (by that i mean one for charge on for erasin negative energy one for strength etc) thinkable yall may be tryin to be making lots of skins if ur creative enough 4. make chi balls till it feels good enough or one pretty dense ball then ground objects made usin limbs 4.get more physicaly focusedl when feels good intend to see energy layer closer to physical and move water there too also do skins more physical too 5. erase all negative u can in u this shit will try slowing u erase imagine and intend to blast 6. do train before sleep preferably so nobody tries fuckin u up when exhausted 7 . also the veil the one that makes it so u dont fly and shit is basically a bunch of crap if cleared at least from surrounding and negative was erased from bodies too physical powers would be ez then this is why physical clearin is important 8 dont trust entities ever no matter what they say if u are able to visualize more water later thats more energy to measure growth say if an object was u yesterday how big now then while watterfallin check using intuition id recommend you stay away from people as they turn against someone who trains ask questions its bbeen months since i was here

Hey everyone, I’ve been curious about the Vasudhara mantra and whether anyone here has had real success with it—both in the material and spiritual sense. I’m not used to thinking of wealth as something deeply spiritual, but I’m starting to realize that it actually can be. It’s challenging to shift my perspective from seeing wealth purely as “money” to seeing it as a form of abundance and harmony that supports spiritual growth. If you’ve worked with the Vasudhara mantra, how did it affect you? Did it change your relationship with wealth—both in the outer, practical sense and in your inner life? I’d love to hear your experiences or insights, especially if you’ve gone through a similar shift in perspective.

Oh no ..... I should not have said that last part .

Not with this mantra but by another process ... I thought I'd share this observation with you . Many years back, I was living with a partner of questionable honesty , short story, she got pregnant and said I was the father (turns out I wasn't - but I believed her for a while ) ... YIKES ! I better get my self and this place together . I had another building next to the cabin and thought I could fix that up as a proper 'civilized' nursery . But I had little money so I did a 'working' to get money to buy wood to start work on this building , which had open 'walls' . It was already a 'sleepout' . Nothing ! Not a cent . Then after a while I heard an illegal bush saw mill and closed down and someone had nabbed some wood from there so I went to have a look . There was a caravan there and some security guard came bolting out , accused me of trespass , told me to get out of there or I will be charged . Whoa ... settled own big fellah . I just came to have a look at the closed down mill ... what will happen to all this wood lying around ?" " None of yer business , the bank owns all this now , probably get sold to Japan for wood chips ." " Wow .... all this beautiful Australian hardwood from our forests turning into chips of wood .... Japan eh ? Well, no wonder , they ain't gonna cut down their forests ... they consider them sacred and a national treasure .... Not that I dislike the Japanese ... but ... ya know, I lost an Uncle in WWII fighting them of in New Guinea ( I didn't t ... I was bullshitting ) trying to preserve or land and forests and resources from them taking it over and enslaving us . WWE won the war , yet here we are ... all of our wood , going off to them for bloody wood chips ! " ( I must have gauged the guy right ... he had seemed 'old school' and would be holding such sentiments , I have heard them expressed before by a few ) . He started at me : " What would YOU do with it ?" " Girlfriend is pregnant , I got no money , I need to build a new, clean , healthy nursry room off the side of my bush cabin ." He started at me ... a pause ..... " Can you get a trailer ? " " Yes ! " " Okay , today only .... ONE LOAD ... don't tell ANYONE .... " "Okay ... thank you ! " - Zooooooooom ... zoom back ... he even helped me load it It wasn't until I was nailing boards up that I was ; " Hey ! Here is my free wood, I didn't need the money after all ! " . Then the truth about the baby came out . Later we split up . I finished off the 'nursery ' with beautiful looking Borneo teak ! ( new eco-friendly plantation 'stamped' ) and set some glass walls in it ( I got 6 giant glass pool fence panels for $100 at a 'garage sale' and now I have a 'cocktail bar ' , still partially open to the outside , with some glass walls that look out to garden , fish pond and my mermaid statute Moral ? You might 'get there ' in the end , but the route might not be what you expected ... nor indeed the outcome The only time I have been able to 'magically manifest ' $$$$$$$$$$ has been for someone else - damn !

it seems to be that: since the Absolute is not bound or limited by time space and form, then the Absolute can also express in ways that are not bound by time space and form. The worlds of Separation (which are bound by time space and form) are an expression of the Absolute. But certainly are not the only expression of the Absolute. i agree that from the perspective of the physical human form, the predominant view is limited to and circumscribed by "the universe and everything in it." Is there something beyond that? Of course. The bread crumb trail left for us indicates this. Otherwise there would not be a distinction made between the Absolute and the relative. With the distinctly different set of attributes for each clearly and consistently spelled out. That which is limited and finite and illusory the formed the created the born the physical the changing that which has a beginning and an end (the relative); simply can not also be the extent or parameters of that which is infinite unborn unformed uncreated unchanging and unlimited (the Absolute). The Absolute is far too vast for that very narrow limited range of expression. Therefore the Absolute also expresses in other ways. Which are not limited by time space and form. The Absolute is not a one-trick pony.

The exact origins of Vajrayana are hard to pin down historically. However I think it is fairly safe to say that the form of Buddhism which was transmitted to Tibet in two waves mainly in the 8th and 10th Centuries was the same as what was being practiced mainstream in Northern India at the time. And thus is actually Buddhism and not some kind of strange hybrid which the person is suggesting. I suspect the poster is Nepalese Hindu and thus is anti- Buddhist in some way which is uncertain. Those are my thoughts anyway.

I don’t think the “universe and everything in it is all in my head and thoughts I am thinking”, , not at all. I think the “universe and everything in it” is real. It’s imo the philosophising about it that’s not-real, “Everyone has their own imagination”. I just believe in God, total panacea. Love that bit. Same here.

From the opening post: Use the last line of the preceding haiku as the first line of yours. Now then: wouldn't know from bed the great spirit, holy ghost love me some Marley

Yes, that is correct. Those are all "Relative" constructs - bridges to the Absolute. This is complete realization of no-self. It isn't the end of anything, however.

In Mahapralaya the ‘void’ is total darkness; in Daoism the ‘void’ is total light (無極 wu2 ji2) Void is void. No one knows what it is like. Everyone has their own imagination.

This is the same in RC. RC is dual. Humans are distinct from God.

Unfortunately, there's Yang Fire in the Heavenly Stem AND Yang Fire in the Earthly Branch next year. (Unlike the European zodiac that places the 12 astrological animals up in the sky, the 12 animals of the Chinese one are all in the Earthly Branch and are just helpful to remember particular "personalities" of the main players -- the wuxing or Five Phases of qi. Analogies, metaphors... stuff like that. They are popular in mass culture though, but older feng shui schools don't use them -- and newer ones that are serious and traditional view them in the similar vein, more like "pointers," psychological traits, etc.. For analyzing the energies resulting from the Heavenly Stems interacting with the Earthly Branches in a particular year -- or month, day, hour -- they are like mnemonic devices, but wuxing analysis in and of itself usually suffices. Well, that and the Flying Stars and... but don't let me get carried away "going there.") So anyway, 2026 is Yang Fire in the Stem and Yang Fire in the Branch... Ugh... That's a year when anything can happen. I might do a more comprehensive forecast later... I shudder in advance at the possibilities. Although some of the currently prominent feng shui masters, from what I gleaned reading their versions over the years, simply love Fire, the more the merrier... Might be their personal bazi chart influencing their perceptions, who knows. (People are typically attracted to either phases that are deficient or the ones that are overrepresented in their chart -- in the first case because replenishing the deficient ones is beneficial for them personally, and in the second, because the excessive ones are the easiest to access for them personally.)

From the little news I've been watching, this year seems to have seen a lot of plane accidents, forest fires, war zones etc. Would next year bring even more disasters ? (W.rt. To the year of the fire horse)

i responded earlier in the thread also, but here in concise form. from Tzvi Freeman: "That is the starting place of Torah, and the first approach of even the simplest Jew—that there is really nothing else but God."

Emphasis mine. Sounds like you have yourself a koan now! Seriously, it's a very good question to consider. If the Buddha taught the view of non-self, then what is reading these words, and what is typing them? This kind of question can't be answered philosophically or intellectually. The answer is instead "experienced". Give it a try! And, to say there is no self is a big mistake, as it is to the say there is one. One thing is all things; All things are one thing. If this is so for you, There is no need to worry about perfect knowledge. The believing mind is not dual; What is dual is not the believing mind. Beyond all language, For it there is no past, no present, no future. (trans. R.H. Blyth, Zen and Zen Classics) Just popped this off the Xin Xin Ming wiki page. The verse talks about avoiding dual thinking (such as self and no self), and also an idea that has been going through a couple different threads about time, or the lack thereof. I like the last two lines, which suggest that the the 3 times of present past and future are empty. Even the present! Because as soon as we say "this is the present", it's gone. It's a very important concept when considering Buddhist teachings.

these are great insights and resources, thank you so much. Including the other thread that was linked to. This is exactly what i was looking for. Now I can not-cling to it and un-grasp the questions i had . my own personal outpicturing of 'Ask and ye shall receive.' and 'Before you ask it is already done.'

speaking of Shiva. There is a temple in South India called Chidambaram that has friezes of the 108 karanas of Shivas dances that is referenced in the early medieval text of the a great yogi Tirumalar - the Tirumantaram . A portion of them are used in self cultivation as a prelude to meditation. The last frames shows part of the initiation ceremony of the Mrigasthali Naths of the Goraknath temple of Pashupatanam temple complex in Katmandu. These are kanphata naths that have the center of their ears pierced as part of the initiation. As far as relating to the comparison topic this shows a link between the Tibetans (some of the pictures are from the temple in Lhasa Apso), Saivism/Naths in Nepal and the South India Siddhar tradition. The teacher featured in this once said there are paths in Buddhism, Yoga and Daoism that are comparable and at the beginning the practices are similar. However after the entry level it’s better to choose one and focus on it as each has its own way.

"Becoming a Buddha is like ... You discover yourself, you don't get rid of yourself.” (Yongey Mingyour Rinpoche - From Confusion to Clarity) https://www.thedaobums.com/topic/55590-is-buddhism-a-complete-path/?do=findComment&comment=1025834

Yes !!! I heard that in an Eckhart Tolle video on you tube. Now i know the source. He draws on different traditions including Zen (with great humor). Thank you!

Understood. It's a bit of semantics, I suppose. The impermanence is a result of the lack of independent origination. There is no beginning, and no end, just a flow into something else. All dharmas are subject to dependent origination. Our bodies have minerals in them that are old as the stars. At the same time, by the time you finish reading this, the exact composition of your blood will be very different. Kind of amazing. Btw, I am no scholar, or even the last word on this stuff. It's just what I have learned and experienced over the years.

“ There is, monks, an unborn, unbecome, unmade, unconditioned. If, monks there were not that unborn, unbecome, unmade, unconditioned, you could not know an escape here from the born, become, made, and conditioned. But because there is an unborn, unbecome, unmade, unconditioned, therefore you do know an escape from the born, become, made, and conditioned. “ (Khuddaka Nikāya - The Minor Texts; The Udana - Inspired Utterances of The Buddha; 73. Udāna 8.3: The Third Discourse about Nibbāna; Translated from the Pali by Ānandajoti Bhikkhu).

All cultures spin elaborate fantasies around their core belief. Systems in isolation become more elaborate and complex. Exchange of ideas strips down again to the core basic principles.

I’m not comparing traditions as a whole, nor minutely examining what a term means, I’m merely demonstrating the ‘higher dualities’ that are suggested by these terms shiva/shakti, true yin/true yang etc. For me if a tradition names these higher dualities this is of interest, like a heads up, I might be more inclined to sample their literature, but only to hear a broad view of expressions on this very specific topic. Sometimes a description really hits home for me, for instance I hadn’t realised shiva was the destroyer until this thread, in fact it was only after the word destroy in my post was rejected by someone that I looked it up, and of course I fully concur. In turn this may lead me to look into shiva a bit more, maybe not, but it’s certainly of interest to me. This is how an inner directed path works, I step, and then look around to see if others have walked this way. Yes there’s some good stuff there.

The void of outer space is full. Everything else is empty. Check out "A Universe From Nothing" by Dr. Lawrence Krauss MIT Basically empty space is full of matter/antimatter particles fused together. Random quantum vacuum fluctuations can separate these into equal amounts of matter and antimatter.

it's a process for me of identifying what resonates with me. i figure there are lots of paths so that there is then something well suited for each and everyone.

To be honest, I think it's an ongoing process for now. But, yeah I am putting myself out of it by taking responsibility.

Like I used to say to people at work " As long as it was fun .... good ! " (and what makes good 'fun' ? The extremes of human experience - apparently .)

So that's why I don't use that emoji !

There's over 500 active geothermal phenomena there -- hot geysers, hot springs, mud volcanoes... but Yellowstone has more geysers, and a far bigger volcano. If that mother wakes up... And who's to say it won't -- the July 30th one in Kamchatka slept for 600 years. Fire Horse years are challenging (and also transformative -- the last one, 1966-1967, was quite noteworthy), but they happen every 60 years and that Kamchatka volcano ignored them for 600 years --and Yellowstone, for 640,000 years. Besides, the way I was taught Xuan Kong feng shui, the coming next year does get foreshadowed a couple of weeks in advance, a month tops... that's when its ruling qi is getting close. But six months ahead, no. It's still the antics of this-here year. Still the Wood Snake. It does carry Fire inside (concentrated in its venom and also firing up its sudden outbursts of the lightning fast strike -- but that's not a whole lot of Fire, it is actually cold-blooded after all). If you don't step on its tail, it is, generally, a rather peaceful animal (which may be one reason there were no casualties in that eruption, nor in the 8.8 earthquake that preceded it.)

there is one of the Flying Phoenix movements that should be AVOIDED before bedtime because it tends to PREVENT sleep. I don't recall which specific movement it is. Someone else can chime in on that. it is beneficial for any of the Flying Phoenix movements to do them verrrrrrrrrry slowly. Slow them way way down. My understanding is that this increases the benefit. Do them slower than shown on the videos. Often times a person feels benefits right away during or right after the session. And it is noted by many that 3 or 4 hours later the energy kicks in again. See how your own system responds, it is good to be aware of that. And this may vary from person to person. So being your own "laboratory" to test is probably most useful. There are specific instructions when an exercise is repeated that are very important to follow, regarding breath sequence to enter the exercise and breath sequence to exit the exercise. Those must not be changed, altered, or omitted. I will let others respond on the specifics for that. There is a ton of good information in this thread, but it can be daunting to go through 244 pages of reading. It may be helpful for starters to filter the search so it shows only the posts by Sifu Terry Dunn. That winnows it down to about 62 pages. They contain a lot of excellent specific instructions and this is is sure to enhance doing the practice. For me i find it fascinating to read the whole thread, it gives a lot of in depth richness and flavor, and hearing other people's experiences is in my view valuable. It will answer questions that you may not even have yet but will be quite useful as your practice goes along. Also feel free to ask any questions, there are many helpful people on this thread with Flying Phoenix qi gong experience.

it sounds like in the frameworks presented overall, then yes for me the nondual is where i fit. Thank you. (in my religion, the most important prayer we say everyday first thing upon waking, and last thing before going to sleep, and sing to our babies, and the first prayer we teach our children, and recite as we are dying, is a simple short six-word prayer and the last word translates to "is One.")

I’ve been exploring Shakti Shiva dualities across systems, something that fascinates me, maybe someone here might find it interesting. Note, this table has been put together by AI so there may be mistakes. Neidan (Taoist Alchemy) Hindu Tantra / Kashmir Shaivism Vajrayana (Tibetan) Sufi Mysticism Gnostic / Hermetic True Yang – Yuan Shen (Original Spirit), pure pre-heaven yang, unchanging Shiva – Pure consciousness, the witness, static pole Method (Upaya) – Bliss/clarity body; sometimes coded masculine Jalal – Majesty, transcendence, awe Christos – Logos, ordering principle, the still divine mind True Yin – Yuan Qi awakened from root, pre-heaven yin, transformative force Shakti / Kundalini – Dynamic energy, manifestation, active pole Wisdom (Prajna) – Emptiness/energy awareness; sometimes coded feminine Jamal – Beauty, intimacy, immanence Sophia – Wisdom, movement, the animating feminine Union of True Yin & True Yang – Leads to the Golden Elixir, immortality of spirit Shiva–Shakti Union at Sahasrara – Final liberation, cyclical descent & ascent Union of Method & Wisdom – Single taste awareness Kamal – Perfection, balance of majesty & beauty Syzygy – Reunion of Christos & Sophia, restoration of fullness Sequential refinement and merger Often symbolic but also mapped onto subtle body Symbolic + yogic practices (tummo, channels, drops) Mostly metaphorical but experienced mystically Mythic narrative with inner mystical reading Where people get stuck Over-controlling Qi, suppressing yin movement; fear of emotional storms (Shakti) Romanticizing Shakti, chasing bliss, ignoring Shiva’s stabilizing clarity Overemphasis on “emptiness” without embodied union; or fixation on heat/bliss states Attachment to devotional ecstasy (Jamal) without Jalal’s containment Over-identifying with Sophia’s suffering or Christos’s abstraction; fail to unite them The key thing that stands out here is that: In Taoist and Buddhist systems, Shakti/true yin is often suppressed in favour of mental stillness. In Tantric and devotional systems, Shiva/true yang is often underdeveloped because bliss states feel “enough.

A cat I once had used to share its hunting kills with me. For instance I once lived in the woods in an old shack and sometimes I'd wake up at night to the sound of her eating a mouse right next to my head and if I didn't wake up at that time in the morning I'd find some mouse parts she left behind for me. (right next to my head) She even dragged a rabbit kill home to share with me which I happily cooked up for both of us. (me being low on food)

a pretty big deal...

If you remember or ever noticed , I often put up a reminder about Ida Craddock * , on one of her anniversaries ( birth, death, or ancestor night , etc . ) What a story ! Modern experience - More than one woman I know that has been married and had children says they never had 'intimacy ' . WOW ! From a doco I saw some time back , interviewing women in a traditional African tribe ; "I notice a lot of you women have much older husbands ? " " Oh yes, young girl marry older man , its good, he has experience , good hunter , good lover, good father ..... young man cant do that - too busy doing other young man things ." " But then you have to have an old husband ?" " Yes, but he won't live a long time , then children grown up , father dies , mother still young . " " So what does she do then ? " " Then she gets young man for a lover ." " But I thought they were irresponsible ? " " Yes, but as a father and for family , now family grown up, doesn't matter , just having a good time with young man ... and we can teach them how to do it properly , so they know for when they get older and have a family . . . then they have a younger woman . " The Wedding Night ' by Ida Craddock https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/zeaamericanstudies/14/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ida_Craddock Ida Craddock - Sexual Mystic and Martyr for Freedom https://www.idacraddock.org/ ( this site , I believe, was set up by the OTO and some nominated Ida as a 'saint ' for the Order . ) This one is particularly heart wrenching Ida Craddock's Letter to her Mother on the Day of her Suicide https://www.idacraddock.org/mother.html

She's almost two thousand years old by now, so the age difference may be a bit too much for some. The fact that women are at a stage where they are ready to share this information, especially with a guy, is at least a step forward, albeit a small one. "Ladies don't move" used to be what both sexes were taught about "proper" sex -- and of course they don't talk either. I've read, don't remember where though, been a while -- that in matriarchal societies teenage boys competed for the attention of older women hoping to learn The Real Way from them, and only approached girls their own age after having been properly educated. Ah, the good old days...

Ahhhhh , bliss ..............