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I mean individually. What was the spark that started your journey

A very dear friend of mine suffered bad sexual abuse as a young girl . Her and her step-sister (in a similar situation from the same man) did a runner from their small rural and a bit isolated community - a few farms together in a small inland valley . Eventually they took off ..... 'went bush ' . Now they were free but in fear of being 'hunted' and bought home or being turned in to the authorities and now, two young teens alone in the bush ... they still did not feel safe . One day two women riders found their vacant camp . By looking at the camp, they knew something was up ; whosoever camp it was , it looked like they knew somewhat what they were doing, but some indications made them curious and worried . So they went looking for them . And they tracked and found them . My friend said, if they had not realized they were women, they would have taken off . They sat and chatted with the two older women , who seemed amazingly understanding and sympathetic when they heard their story . '' You need to come with us , we have a safe place , you will fit right in ..'' So they did , and that is how that (now a ) woman came to live for a while , and have times of refuge, at 'Women's Land ' . She picked up some skills there too , as women do everything there , and teach others . - Women's Land is a near myth around here , it has been going for a long time . Its a closed rural community out in the 'semi-wilderness'. One can imagine from the title .... no men allowed . It was started for women ( and perhaps by women ) that had a similar experience to those girls . That woman, who was that little girl was my GF for a time and when I found out what area she spent her young days in I asked her ; ''Hey ! Have you ever heard of Women's Land ? is it a real place ? '' '' Women's Land ! .... Heard of it ? .... I used to live there ! and run away to there all the time ! '' ( Thats how I heard this story ) . - I guess I found my 'special place ' as well

I think whether censorship is a form of violence depends on the situation. It can be, but it can also be argued a lack of censorship can be a form of violence. Many places intended to be safe (especially online), for example, can become unsafe very quickly if people who want to spread hate or express toxic views infiltrate those spaces and are not booted promptly. Go to literally any forum online intended for women, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, etc - sadly it is a very common problem. But the world is a big place, if those are someone's views, without a doubt there are more appropriate places for that person to express those views without consequence. Everything needs balance between what it is intended for and the diverse views of individuals, and the right balance can be a bit of time to workout because it can be different in every space.

I'm curious to know about the groups origins. What got you into the occult, philosophy and religion?

That has got to be a knuckle break LOL! I'm not one to consume or turn on the News. It's hard to decipher as a consumer the biases of media. I would rather learn about the struggles of people locally to me and how I can help them. That is where I have found the most peace in being non-violent. I cannot blame either side and I can support the communities around me. I found myself at one point consuming the trauma-porn of the world rather than spending time helping those close by. Now I can work on changing that. This is a tough question and one that my teachers get asked a lot! Firstly, I do not surround myself with violent people. I associate with people I know will not bring me harm and I do not need to go out of my way to use "self-defense" on those I assume are going to harm me. However, this week a peaceful protest on my street was attacked by a group of angry men who were likely very lost in hate. I walked past just hours earlier, and I wonder what I would have done if I was there... There are ways to protect others and yourself in non-violent ways. Defending is not always violent - you can use self-defense as a means to de-escalate or escape from a situation if you are capable. There is nothing wrong with protecting as a means to stop others from getting seriously hurt. To me, however, hitting an attacker in anger back or with the desire to truly hurt them is where violence stems. These things happen so fast; it's hard to theorize about what I would have done. And - we are human. Mistakes are made and that's okay. As long as afterwards you can address them and grow. Today I can ask myself: how can I help in that situation? What would be the best way to defend myself and others in a way that aligns with my morals? I couldn't judge anyone on how they choose to approach the current state of the violent world we live in. This statement strikes me, and I think it depends from person to person. But, violence does not need to be the answer to violence. That will only feed the cycle. Thank you for sharing these thoughts! It got me to do some thinking today

try letting go, stop chasing results and lusting for outcome. Don't be excited or disappointed, those are just illusionary emotional responses from the mind.

Hey everyone, Just wanted to give a somewhat dissapointing update. I managed to work my way in, it was hard, it took 8 years, but through networking with all the official and unofficial masters, volunteers, my friends, people I met while in the temple, I finally managed to find a rogue SKY master who's no longer official who agreed to teach me astral travel. As you can imagine I was over the moon, I have after all been searching for this skill for 10 years, and have tried A LOT of methods. However when I was in the temple grounds with this rogue master, I was so at peace. It felt so normal and natural. Even though he's left the organisation, he exudes deep vibes of a sense of discipline, gratitude as well as the awe of the holiness and sanctity of Vethathiri Maharishi's teachings. It was a very religious feeling, in a positive way. During my stay he taught me several discontinued SKY meditations, so was happy to learn all of these things. When the morning came and we had to get up at 4 to do the astral travel, I was very much at ease, despite ofc being tired from jet lag as well as getting up at 4 Indian Time The meditation was much, much simpler than I had imagined. Just like I had heard, you meditate on a particular chakra the night before, blessed by the master. Then you go to bed and fall asleep while meditating with the masters blessing and prayer on that chakra. When you wake up you go to the temple, lie down flat, relax your whole body, then you do the meditation itself, which is super simple. You start with the well known SKY chakra meditation, then you visualise step-wise certain things. Out of the 6-7 steps, at the 4th step I was SURE I was leaving my body. From one moment to the next, the sensation of my physical body completely disappeared, my breathing also stopped, yet it felt very normal and natural, I felt at ease. I felt "ok, now my soul will soar". However for some reason I didn't get the full seperation, so instead I kept going with the step by step visualisation as guided by the master lying next do me (we were both covered by white sheets/blankets). Then we finished the visualisation and "visualised coming back". The moment I visualised my spirit coming back I felt a huge burst of energy all over. It was as if my whole aura or energy field had been somewhat small because of tiredness, lack of sleep, jetlag etc, hence I was a bit tired. But after the meditation (we visualised going to certain places to get energy), when I visualised returning, it was "real", meaning the energy we had collected came into my body. So my whole energybody / aura / field expanded and I felt so refreshed. The master told me that there's a specific 108 day long practice to go through first, which will ensure you have the power and energy to actually seperate that I should now go home and do on my own. And the visualisation is a kind of practice, but suddenly one day it will really happen, and you will really fully seperate and fly around. I was 100% convinced I would get it when I returned home to my country with the 108 day practice, as the practice under the master's guidance was so powerful, I really, truly deeply felt "ok, this is it". Now I've been home for more than 4-5 months and I did the practice, but I unfortunately still didn't get it. So am somewhat disappointed, yet also feeling satisfied "that I gave it my all". I went to the end of the Earth, I spoke to 100s of people, networked, travelled, spent money and time, took off work, I did all in my power "to get it". I got something, but still kind of "failed" at my main mission, unfortunately. I've spoken with several of the other SKY masters now, revealing I learnt the secret technique, without revealing from whom (as that would create political havoc and negatively impact the rogue master), and they shared their own experiences of astral travel and simply advised me: "it's not the technique, it's just 2 things: 1) be fully relaxed with your physical body, 2) completely shift your attention to your energybody". When you do this, you automatically pop out one day. So right now my plan is to simply keep practicing, 1 hour pr day Master Wu's qigong (the best I ever did), and 1 hour pr day SKY meditation. Then hopefully 1 day it will happen on it's own. My last hope is some of the tantric, magical daoist and sleeping qigong programs I'm sometimes doing particularly for astral travel will one day work, but so far I've done 3 tantric methods (some for 41 days, some for 90 days, and some for 100 days), I didn't succeed. Then I did daoist ways (mantra, mudra, talisman, meditation and connecting with particular spirits), some again for 49 days, some 100, and one method I really believed in I did for about 9 months straight every single night. I also failed. Sleeping qigong I've been doing for about 6 months, where 2 of the meditations can cause soul travel, but so far nothing. Will keep going. Anyway, just wanted to give you all an update, several people have privately messaged me asking about the results of my India trip and astral travel adventures/searches, so just wanted to share for all to see.

I favour Ma Bu:

It strengthens when exercised. Just like muscles do.

Long form, 50-10-50, monk holding pearl, some Golden Lotus meds for heart. Sitting mostly 7-10 mins per med. Sometimes other meds, depending on needs.

Hmmmm ... I can agree with that regarding wrong attention . But with a correct attention to her, she can teach us how to behave so our harm is either minimal or ' manageable ' .

If it´s any consolation, I miss the Current Events section too. (Though, to be honest, I did suggest it be abolished and thus cannot complain.)

as far as charities go I've donated to N.R.D.C for a long time, before and during that time to several other similar groups including Jacques Cousteau's ocean environment concerns and also the Calypso endeavors. In the past 4-5 years to 'Seva', a vision health and restoration group for folks for that can't get such help or afford it! Are you familiar with those ?

Hello Friends, Nice to meet you all, I am very excited to be apart of this community. I've ended up here after being a fan of cultivation manhuas and web novels for a while now. I found out that some of the concepts, systems and traditions explained in those cultivation stories are actually inspired from reality, which was a mind blowing discovery for me. That being said I would also like to start being a practitioner to improve my well being and discover new dimensions of this life that so far I've been ignorant about. I would really appreciate some advice on how to get started, maybe a course or something, like I said I'm a complete beginner

apathy in any realm brings other realms down, and silence or enforced censorship along that line is also a form violence...

Hi all, I did a search for this, but didn't really find what I was looking for. I notice some systems are pro-visualization, while other seem against it. I was wondering what the reason for this was, and also what are the pros and cons of using visualization in our practice. Thanks in advance! Keith

For me, a bizarre meditative experience when I was in my mid-twenties. I saw that the entirety is just pure Grace.

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I don't use visualization in practices, but this is a very lovely description of how it could be useful.

Most human attention is rather mixed with selfishness. So the first stage is for the spirit functioning through the human format to give attention to the functionality and alignment of the persona (mask). When the persona is clean and aligned with the local Cosmos, the spirit of the human can build right relationships with other humans and other life forms. At that stage the enlightened persona attracts greater beings and establishes partnerships that work within the Cosmos

Visualization, with practice, becomes actual seeing. When I am demonstrating some inner plane energy work, I will visualize it myself, and if the person I am with has mental energies compatible with mine, s/he will easily see the energies also When the energies are seen, they can be managed more easily, using intent, and observing flows and obstructions. Energies range from life force in the human body, to life force connecting universes, to the origins of life force.

Nice question I will answer from perspective as a Spring Forest Qigong-Student. When I think about what I’ve learned from Spring Forest Qigong from Master Chunyi Lin, I remember one key principle: “Where your intention goes, your energy flows.” it is about the fact , that our intention guides our energy, which either brings healing or creates Blockages I think we visualize all the time — just often unconsciously like When we daydream, when we imagine things we don’t want, when we replay old stories — all of that is visualization too, but more fear-based - which in return creates blockages. Does all this make sense?. So why not use this same ability to create something loving and uplifting, something that supports our healing and balance? Visualization, for me, also helps build concentration energy. It strengthens my ability to stay centered in meditation and to calm the monkey mind. It’s like training my energy to flow in one clear direction. It also makes subtle energy easier to feel. For example, when I practice the Small Universe, visualizing how the energy moves helps me sense it more clearly. It becomes more real, more tangible. At least for me, I notice how I can easily visualize things I desire in the outer world, but it takes more practice to visualize inner states— like peace, calm, contentment, happiness, or joy. So, for me, visualization is also a practice of tuning into those frequencies— setting the intention that *this* is the space I want to live from. And the more I practice it, the more natural it becomes. Right now, I don’t see anything negative about visualization. As Master Lin would gently add: Visualization is wonderful if it comes from an open heart and loving intention If it’s forced, fearful, or too mental, it can block the flow — because then the energy stays in the head instead of flowing through the heart. Since visualization is part of my path, I can say I’m *pro visualization* — because it helps me focus, feel, and connect more deeply with the living energy of the universe.

Every system needs to set boundaries.

Thread locked. I'm sorry but we no longer allow political subjects to be discussed here.

Haven't been around for awhile. I thought this might be worth a look. The author hadn't been explored the last time I was here.