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My initial experience of awakening was completely unexpected, completely unlike anything I'd ever read or could have anticipated, and yet I somehow knew precisely what had transpired. I felt it deep in my bones, no room whatsoever for questions or doubt. On the other hand it was also disorienting, particularly in trying to carry on with my family and professional life. The lack of conceptual context created sort of a cognitive dissonance between the discursive "me" and the abiding nature. Reconciling and integrating the self-awareness with mundane responsibility and obligations became challenging at times. Priorities changed but I wasn't ready or willing to give up my family and professional obligations. I knew there was room and validity for both the relative and absolute. Years later I encountered a teacher who was able to help me with that integration. The beauty is that it happened almost completely non-verbally and non-conceptually. I came to him looking for help contextualizing and integrating my experience. He told me almost nothing in words but his manner, his openness, his warmth and genuine caring caused something in me to click in a very profound way, bridging the relative and absolute through openness of the heart.

Hello to All, What started a few years ago as a quest for health (95% solved) has evolved into a quest for energy. To this end, my primary interests right now are qigong and consciousness. I've been practicing zhan zhuang every day for a year now, eight brocades for ~5 months, and inner smile meditation for ~4 months. I reached a comfortable 90 minutes in chenbao, and recently I've returned my focus to wuji. I am seeking the highest state I can achieve, spiritual, mental and physical; with no particular limit to this goal. At the moment I am cross-referencing Yang Jwing-Ming and Mantak Chia, with the aim to develop embryonic breathing and small circulation, with the further aim to master semen retention and large circulation; so I may begin to conserve and refine my energy, and see for myself what a human bodymind can really accomplish. I look forward to learning here and hope that my thoughts may be of help to someone, someday.

??? Practice with effort and in solitude (it makes a huge difference), and you'll soon see what the Mind really is. All these endless Internet discussions lead to nowhere. I'll do the WALK before I do the TALK. Very cool saying.

Because those people DO unlike thinking and Internet forum discussions: 1. Too much talk 2. Little attainments Wisdom is gained by the amount of effort you put in (footwork) rather than the amount of talk and reading, which only reinforces the EGO. Work hard and you'll reap the results!

Devotion and Worship may be something you secretly dispise or are attracted to. It can be for some a sign of giving up on autonomy and or willful self journeying and isolation from mass hysteria and lazy followership. But it has nothing to do with these things - though all elements of human frailty may be found as is true everywhere. In abiding wakefulness grace is ever present - gratitude pours forth to nothing - it is not in devotion - it is the light But Devotion simply dawns - it dawns as one sheds the ebbing rude coarseness that stood solid on so many willful grounds of insanity and ignorance. In the beautiful stillness - the boundless Presence - the magnificence and majesty - Devotion is camaraderie with the highest light. It is attending a dance with Angels. IN NOTHING great transcendence radiates within - one cannot but be in devotion. It is not a choice or a falling or failing - it is the twilight of all holding - the touch of one finger to the hand of Divine Essence in Living Light. Love unbounded - unbinding

I also think there is a lot of ego/media driven "grade inflation". Very common for someone to have some energetic opening, read a book, and then declare it as awakening/realization/done. Like a spiritual ego trap where you get stuck.

My comment seems to have created a pretty little cloud. I don't always share a whole lot, and at the same time a sentence can include a whole mountain. Three decades ago I was a teenager whose mother was suicidal and fluctuated (sometimes very rapidly) between loving and violent. One day I got off the bus to walk up the dead end road we lived on. The breeze touched my skin, and the thoughts fell away, the anxiety and fear fell away - everything I was holding fell away as the breeze danced across my skin. Yes, everything shifted at that point. Soo very simple, and soo very plain.. And not anything I'd label enlightenment. Years later I was given The Power of Now as a gift by someone who said they kept hearing my voice as they read the words of another. I thought Tolle used too many words. There has been much unfolding since then, a few pitfalls I managed to stumble into. And some kind souls who offered a hand to guide me out. I've noticed one thing about my personal pitfalls, and that's that they become such due to the thoughts and stories I wrapped them in - even if the stories were pretty. And this is important ..

At the store. Mom: what part of no do you not understand. Kid: the part that says I can't.

Hello. Im new to this forum. Im interested in Tai Chi and Taoism plus meditation and spirituality. Looking forward to learning and sharing. Thank you.

I am fascinated at our human ability to create a belief system, or a guru who we worship. I am reminded of the 4 century BC statesman Demosthenes who said: "A Man is his own easiest dupe- For What he wishes to be true, He generally believes to be true". Back in the day, more than 20 years ago, when Eckhart Tolle wrote "The power of Now", which I read, and it did make a big impression on me to the extent that i dropped my original soto Zen, and started looking into the whole promise of "awakening" in the western fake neo-Advaita movement for about two years, until I started to see the manitic ego involved in it. I even use to listen to Mooji, until I got that itch on the back of my head that told me, "something is off about this guy". The last time I even looked at him was about a year or more ago, when I locked on one of his "satsangs" and he had this very young man, or teen who had laid his head on Mooji's lab during the entire "teaching'. Right then, I knew something was very wrong. Now I find this news, and to be honest, have not fact checked it, so it might just be someone trying to lamblast Mooji, but from what i have seen, it does have a ring of validity to it. Would be interested to know if anyone else got caught up in this time period. cheers. and Happy Friday.

The idea of escaping the 40 hour work week is more and more evaporating from the youth and society. Organizations of high echelons perpetuate the philosophy of danger, plight and abstruse. They own both sides of the same coin, (left, right, repulican, democrat) and imbalance and rebalance only to disbalance. It is now highly democratic it is gauranteed to flip sodes after making a full revolution. Only to perpetuate again. They want you to work with hopelessness ever shrouding.

I got a lot of thoughts about this, staff is the wu chi i’ve put most hours into and it’s exciting in its simplicity. I say a PVC pipe with end caps is all fine as a beginning tool but using a living material like hardwood, waxwood or rattan just makes the whole exercise come alive differently. I prefer rattan staffs of equal diameter all the way, same goes for spears, i been taught its called a Double Headed Serpent. Theres plenty of styles using this, many other use the Rat Tail Gwan (tapered thick to slimmer, thick end is where hands go most often), theres Olive Kernel Staff (thick middle and slim at both ends) and more i cant remember. Bamboo is not recommended no ,atter what anyone says if you’re going to use it for power or support, since the sections are hollow it’s very brittle and bamboo dries out quickly so it’ll loose its ability to transer energy a lot faster than more equally dense plants. I’m with a southern school and our approach to staff i pretty different from most i’ve seen actually. North shaolin styles often have a right hand forward weilding the power and use the left in the back for guiding support, like an anchor point. Where i come from the right hand is power and movement while the left is guiding support and the odd little flick but their position is reversed. Now all three of my teachers with staff have all been strict and stern in their own way. The first two learned from our grandmaster who is the third of my teachers and i’ve come to be pretty allergic and snobbish with staff and staff methods, i’ll try to keep it toned down. A couple of percepts to guide anyone who wants to learn staff are to follow, skip if you dont like it, i just gotta say this ok? Choose your staff well and treat it like its your closest friend. That means take care of it, don’t abandon it and keep it fresh and unhurt. If you break staffs on the regular you’re using your muscular force like a moron, no offense. Study the Wing Lam video of Lau Gar staff, especially his body alignment and footwork. These two are second and first priority respectively. Power comes from stepping and using principles of levers to transmit power. Your spine should be erect and your power should reach the staff tip a millisecond after your moving foot touches ground. The WLE video shows a huge amount of awesome staff method and technique, observe his body first and see how the staff moves after. His stepping and shifting weight is very much in control, his feet are light but as soon as one of them is supporting they’re like tree trunks of steadyness. The shift between fluid and firm is instantaneous, strive for that. I think if he’d do it on a wet beach he’d leave minimal amounts of messy gouges. The earth is providing his strenght and power, he lets it and therefore the fight between them is minimal. Now the Bamboo stick woman made my hackles rise, her entry position or at rest position is just senseless (WHY would you expose joints, staff and everything to stand in such a clumsy and slow to action posture?!) and her form and movenent is coarse, she falls into stances with her full weight (poor control), she tilts completely forward with head and shoulders as she kicks and then i had to stop watching. The exercises might be good but hers are, sadly, a poor rendition of them, sorry if this is harsh but thats my honest opinion. Again with the WLE video, he clicks the staff to the ground, he’s not hitting the ground. I’ll leave anyone who is interested to figure out what the difference means and how to use that. Target practice with stick or staff is good, it teaches you to use form, the correct amount of power and how to handle it. Notice i’m underlinging the correct amount of power, there is no need to smash and bash, you’ll break your stick. This relates to the above paragraph regarding clicking. Figure that out and you’re on a good way to actually making sense of staff power. Balance and control exercise should be coupled with intent of power exercises. If you hold the stick perfectly horizontal in one end with both hands and want to raise the tip it should move with equally distributed power in the whole stick. If someone were to give 2kg of opposition at the tip your staff should not tilt even a little bit when you raise it upwards but stay perfectly perpendicular. Try this by attaching a string with a water bottle (vary weight as you progress) so that moving the staff means that the weight immediately leaves the ground. Keep the line taut but with no resistance, the lift the bottle. Sounds easy but it can take quite some time to figure out. Try using the full lenght of your stick as a weight to train your forearm strenght and control, use only one hand and grip it off center. Try just holding it straight for a while, you’ll see what i mean Also consider studying how quickly you can change grip and grip position on the staff without dropping it. Study this in absurdum. Twirl and play, practice speed and flow and to stop right in the middle of a movement, just to challenge your control and the amount of power you unconsciously and needlessly add to it. Earth gives power to the body, the body moves the arms and the stick obeys. You’re the boss of the stick btw. It should do what you want it to do, like you finger or your head. Dont follow the stick, this is a sure way to ruin. Humblest regards from you friendly neighborhood staff-nazi, i hope someone finds this useful and pardon my rant. PS. Adding some links with suggestions for routines, will update if i find more good ones. Nice form, decent speed so you can see the movements nicely, observe how the steps and stances guide what the staff does. Very few weak positions, few silly exposures and not much of flourishy transitions like you can observe in most Yin Shao Gun from Shaolin Temple, and in all respect there’s immensly skilled people doing it.

When I suggested BatGap is was with the idea of the opportunity to hear now nearly 500 accounts of “ordinary” people that have Awoken. Time after time they explain in practically the same way what Steve, Dwai and myself have experienced. With slight variations these would be my exact words and I’m certain this is true for Dwai and it is easy to see from then on what is actually being said in so many teachings. In the batgap interviews many variations are discovered but there are quite a few underlying common element that lead to the awakening. And it is clear in their language if they have in fact Awakened - there a few in which they have not - but very few other than some where the interview was simply an interview with “an interesting person”. The negative reaction is a testament to just how much judgement is set off upon this stuff and how far off seekers are prior to Awakening. This is perfect 😎 Students walk in and out of these teachings all day with solid rock walls of “understanding” and EXPECTATION. The wilfulness is thick and the ear wax like epoxy. - Steve mentions a perfect simple bond with a teacher where little is said - I have had two teachers in my path and my relationship was nearly identical to his words. My most recent current teacher speaks no English - it was is never needed. Michael80 shared this - without any reference to who wrote it: Awareness of Presence or "Transcendental Consciousness" is the experience of expanded alert awareness along with profound peace and silence, either in the environment in activity, or deep within during silent meditation. There can be the feeling of detachment from the body/mind. It is a fourth definite state of consciousness unlike waking, dream or sleep. It is a precursor to the actual shift to Self-remembrance. Transcendental Consciousness is being awake to the silent peace and stillness that is the true nature of the Self. There can be many degrees of intensity and various levels of witnessing in trancendental consciousness, but the clear recognition by the Self of the Self has not yet occurred. There are millions of people around the world today experiencing varying degrees of presence consciousness.  States of Consciousness 'States of Consciousness' does not mean states of individual consciousness. It means states of Consciousness itself. Consciousness itself is an unbounded field of pure Awareness. There are distinct perspectivess of Consciousness of itself as it becomes more awake its total reality, and there are many levels of clarity of refined perception within each state. These states cannot be missed. Experience, knowledge, perception and reality are completely different in each, even though Consiousness always remains the same One Consciousness. Cosmic Consciousness or "Self Realization" is awakening to being Pure Consciousness itself. It is the first stage of Enlightenment. It is a very profound shift in your sense of being and existing, the sense of who you are. The sense of Self shifts from being the person you think you are, to being the unbounded field of Awareness itself in which the person and all perceptions exist. You discover that there is no separate individual sense of self at all. The separate individual self was an illusion that happened as a result of conditioning and the false identification with the individual body/mind. Your real Self has always been unbounded, infinite and free all along.  It is not an altered state of Consciousness. It is Being Consciousness Itself -- what you really have always been. It is not a temporary experience; it is a natural, permanent state of being. The innermost self awakens to the unboundedness of its Self and finds itself to be the silent source of everything everywhere. Even though this feels like the final step and there is nowhere else to go, it is actually only the first step in the unfoldment of Consciousness to itself.  Refined Perception in Cosmic Consciousness or "God Realization" is Consciousness' refined perception of its nature as the process of experiencing. It is the perception of the flow of divine intelligence responsible for all experience. The underlying mechanics of the process of creation is revealed. It is the experience of the flow of intelligence responsible for all thinking, feeling, perceiving, experiencing, and all form and phenomena everywhere in your entire field of perception. The cosmic dimension of the individual mind/body is revealed. It is a continually deepening process of refinement and unfoldment taking place perpetually within Consciousness, though experienced differently in each state. The shift to unity Consciousness and beyond can happen prior to the full unfoldment of the depth of experience of refined perception. Unity Consciousness or "Oneness" happens when the Self, the subject and unbounded underlying essence of all things, awakens to itself as being the objects and phenomena of experience on the surface of life. It is a transition from being the unbounded field in which everything thing is happening , to being everything everywhere in the range of perception and experience. "Consciousness is everything everywhere, and I am that Consciousness". The unbounded subject has remembered itself to also be all objects of perception. They are One. The unboundedness of the Self has entered into the mind, body, and environment. All objects in the surroundings, while remaining the same from the perspective of the senses, are experienced as my Self. The world is no longer an object in Consciousness. It is Consciousness itself. It is my Self. It is the oneness of experiencer, process of experiencing and objects of experience. All of the apparent boundaries in the world are found to be my own Consciousness in appearance. From this perspective, the world is experienced to be even more real, because it is constructed out of the material of Consciousness itself, out of my own unbounded Self. The environment is now seen as pure unmodified Consciousness in the guise of the objective modifications of body, world and universe. It is not that the world and universe are seen to be an illusion. The illusion is that the world and universe is an objcetive physical reality. It has always been Consciousness itself, my own Self, pure subjectivity. There is no longer any distinction between inner or outer. The outer is the inner, the inner is the outer. Everything everywhere is my Self. "I" am all that there is. Refined Perception Within Unity Consciousness or "Unity in God Consciousness" is a further refinement of perception from the perspective of being everything. Consciousness awakens, with further clarity, to the underlying mechanics of creation and experience. It awakens to the subtle mechanics of its own innate intelligence that is responsible for creating the appearance of all life everywhere. It is the same shift in perception mentioned above, to experiencing the refined cosmic dimension of the feelings, intellect, mind, body, personality, senses, and all objects of experience; but it is experienced from an entirely different perspective now, one of wholeness, of being all that is. It is experiencing the flow of finer flavours and layers of intelligence within the wholeness of Self. It is Consciousness awakening to its internal dynamics as the perpetual flow of itself experiencing itself. It is the experience of the ultimate reality of the depth of the Self, the totality of Consciousness, and it is all Divine.  Beyond Consciousness or "Brahman Consciousness" is a perspective prior to Consciousness, prior to Intelligence and prior to existence itself. It is neither Self nor non-Self, neither Existence nor non-Existence, neither Being nor non-Being, neither Consciousness nor non-Consciousness. It is the clearest experience of Reality. Words like universe, multi-verse, Absolute, Totality, Self, God, Being, Presence, Pure Consciousness cannot touch it. It is beyond description. It is pure Nothingness. From this perspective; the body/mind, the world and the universe are not just an illusion, they have never even come into existence. The ultimate reality of something made from nothing, is nothing, not something. The word "nothing" does not do justice to the supreme peace, perfect equanimity, unlimited freedom and total knowledge that It is. It is truly indescribable. It is exclusively self-evident to itself alone.  Refined Perception Beyond Consciousness or "Refined Brahman Consciousness" is a completely different perspective of the same refinement of perception that is perpetually happening in Consciousness. But, because it is prior to Consciousness itself, there is no perceiver, no perceiving and no perceptio in the same sense. It is perpetually swelling in all the same divine flavours and qualities of wholeness and love as experienced previously, only in a finer more exquisite delicacy and fullness, prior to differentiation or distinction. It is the subtle intentention within nothingness to know itself. It is Pure Divine Power. From this perspective, the effect--Consciousness itself, and the creative intelligence inherent in Consciousness which is responsible for the appearance of creation, is also uncaused; and as such, so too is all creation. It is beyond all understanding. Supreme Reality Another shift to an even deeper perspective occurs in this state when that Nothingness recognizes that divine power as its own pure Supreme Divinity that has been cloaked in the appearance of creation. That supreme divinity is the ultimate cause of all causes. It creates and appears as the sense of Being, Consciousness or Self; all divine creative intelligence, and all creation. It is pure divine radience. Refinement of perception of the universal body/mind continues in this state. Many of us here that have Awakened and not have considerable experience in the above. Some of us are far along in the above levels and know them well and without delusion. But talk of them on many levels is of no worth to the seeker and more often than not fills them with a sense that by careful reading they actually know something. My daily experiences are outlandish but I’ve become sick of words like awesome, incredible, immense, limitless, vastness, unbounded, etc etc etc - But I have no other words for this constant expansion and absurd energies. The first time I Awoke it knocked unconscious 3 other people in the room who only moments before were conversing with one another. The energies we absolutely beyond any slight previous comprehension and made a massive kundalini experience seem like peanuts by comparison and yet it was sustained in utter beauty and stillness. - It does nothing for a seeker to hear most of this stuff prior to Awakening. The basics of practice and the pointers to Awakening are the core of the teachings - they ARE the advanced stuff - (the secrets). The seekers have it backwards - they want to get past the basics and piece together in concept what is waiting for them. Nothing is waiting for “them” but the death of “them ness”

Then what creates Mind?

I have struggled with anxiety for years. It has gotten to the point where I fear social situations, come home from work mentally exhausted after having to 'put on a face' around others and, ultimately, have it affecting my physical health. When I have something on my mind bothering me I obsess over it. It takes over my life for days or weeks at a time where I get physical symptoms of anxiety. Anyway, I'd really like to learn how to better handle it. Meditation doesn't really help because I have quite severe ADHD and OCD(which feed off each other), so I am hoping a more active form of it in Tai Chi will help, which lead me to look in to Taoism. I've flirted with Buddhism in the past but felt there were a few too many things I didn't believe in. Looking forward to meeting you all. Miguel

Very beautiful and thank you for sharing. I am sure his natural radiance helped with you finding a better energetic balance. People often get stuck in a more receptive mode and it can be very overwhelming.

I already listened to some of those some time ago. I found them interesting as far as they described their actual experiences. But unhappily their interpretations were of the usual non dualistic dogmatic type where mind or consciousness was posed as the foundation of everything else. I have heard the preaching of this fashionable but unfounded doctrine so many times now, that I thought it wiser to simply quit listening and resume with my daily business.

Not sure what you mean by ascension - and each to his own of course - but I would fill up quickly at the gas pump and drive on

Ok my final words for tonight: A wood or rattan staff will weigh just enough, keep them oiled: they’ll behave better and live longer. My reference for any beginners staff is to find or buy a piece of solid round construction wood, the kind used for handrails and drapery-hangers. Spruce or similar inexpensive wood is fine, even has a little flex. About 30 to 35 millimeters thick (1.3 inches roundabout) and get it cut to 100-200 mm taller than yourself (4 to 8” more or less). Sand it lightly with mid and then fine grit paper so you dont get any splinters, round the ends off so they dont fray as easily. Extea fancy version: soak it in boiled linseed oil for a couple of days and hang (HANG) it to dry and sweat for a few more. Maybe give it another ever so feathery light pass with your fine grit paper and let it dry some more. Dont varnish or paint it, you’ll catch blisters from friction with sweaty palms. Try it out!

I took a quick look at your link, but it would take me many hours to read. Could you give a simple and short description of what you understand by spirit quests.

I actually meant the opposite ... translation being more true to the tradition than interpretation. I guess the clarification is in what is meant by translation vs interpretation. Translators are attempting to render the work from the original source Chinese into some other language. That would require knowledge of Chinese and its ancient usage, understanding of the cultural and historical context and the philosophical and religious traditions of the times. I think the likelihood of loss is lesser under this sort academic rigor. Interpretation does not necessarily require the above. Interpretation can be done based on other sources and levels of academic effort. Interpretations are often influenced by poetic license and other belief systems. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as long as it is clear that the rendering is of this type. It can be quite useful depending upon what the reader is looking for.

It is quite possible that the world as a whole has a total of zero energy, so in that case all that is needed are the laws of nature. The world could just start from nothing. Evolution than does the rest. Now Tao is the ancient Chinese concept corresponding to our laws of nature. So from that perspective Tao and not mind or consciousness could be the foundation of the world. Now where does Tao come from? We don't know. And that is the nice thing about (philosophical) Taoism, it doesn't loose itself in empty speculation about things that are beyond our understanding. The over-the-top claims to absolute knowledge of the Awoken as they are exemplified by some posts here on The Dao Bums are nicely tackled by Chuang tzu's story of the dream of the butterfly. One simply cannot know for sure that one has finally waken up. Maybe the Awoken are more asleep than the non-Awoken, who knows?

While I am not a fan of guru bashing, as I believe there are true gurus (light) in the world, I am always saddened when people start to believe their own marketing hype.

In time of peril A calm mind and strong body The wise find safety

And yet for all of her obvious faults we have up and coming female M.P.'s who seek to emulate her style. See Victoria Atkins below, staunch Remainiac, barrister and establishment figure who spent days searching for a matching anchor chain to wear around her neck.

Stupidity is a lack of intelligence, understanding, reason, wit, or common sense. Stupidity may be innate, assumed or reactive. Oh I think she fits the bill.

This kind of thing is not without precedent: “bravery and determination of the British forces had won Hitler’s respect, though he would make fun of the peculiarities of the British army. He claimed, ironically, that the British were in the habit of stopping their artillery barrages at tea time, so that he, a messenger, could run his errands safely at that hour”

I think I've already recognised that in actuality there is no deal as such. It is simply the arrangements for leaving. After leaving things like trade negotiations start - this is how the EU insisted it should be. So what May presented to Parliament was just a list of agreed (or not agreed in this case) arrangements concerning how we leave. To be honest apart from the payment of 39 billion most of it seems of little consequence - especially the back-stop. All it does is allow a kind of orderly withdrawal under controlled conditions - which as I have said before I favour.

Take a look at this letter published in the Times, doubtless authored by Angela Merkels lady in waiting Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer but countersigned by numerous luvvies. It is of course a load of effusive drivel but is praised by Remainiacs as showing how much we are loved by our German cousins.

I forgot to mention that the trees are standing dead trees. Not so impressive now. This is not an anti buddhist agenda just a warning for buddhist Do not screw off, the time is now while trees are still standing. My sword hand will not be held back.

This is the most important principle of existence, reality, Tao, nirvana, gods, demons, ghosts, humans , heavens, hells, whatever dimension, supernatural state or being you may think of; in other words EVERYTHING: Mind creates Reality. It should be our daily mantra. Followed by: Everything is yin & yang And for dessert (behavioural principle), from one of my teachers, but that was a long time ago: Accustom yourself continually to make many acts of love, for they enkindle and melt the soul. Be gentle to all and stern with yourself. (Saint Teresa of Ávila) The rest are simple garnishings. Toppings if you like, to make things more colorful. With my thoughts I create the world! it is a constant that is always changing indeed. Reality is a projection of our inner selves.

I have (almost) enough versions of the Tao Te Ching now, and the one of this topic didn't make it through the selection.

I can relate to this. The result was that I just laughed when I realized what it was that I was searching for...it was sitting right "under my nose" (so to speak)! I find that over-cleverness and over-romanticizing these teachings is natural for most seekers. When the seeking ends, it becomes clear that the answers were always direct and clear and no parables or riddles were meant at all. It is just that the mind and intellect in its habit of cleverness tried to make the simple teaching into an intellectual exercise. I see this with many of my master's students (who also go to other teachers for supplemental teachings) even today. Many even quit saying that he doesn't know how to teach. But his words were always direct and coming from a place of direct experience. All we had to do is drop the mentation and the teaching spontaneously manifested within (and in our experience).

Best approach might be to quietly be. The sun doesn't go to people to illuminate. An awakened one will enlighten just by being.

Or neither. It's quite conceivable that the many paradoxes in the interpretation of quantum mechanics derive from our continued use of the inappropriate concepts of "wave" and "particle". The micro-world could very well consist of something else that sometimes manifests as waves and sometimes as particles.

Reincarnation can easily be disproved. For even if it were true than the fraction of the personality of our previous incarnation that actually survives in our present existence has to be minute, or else the proof of the reality of reincarnation would have been overwhelming with so many people living today, and there would have been no doubt about it. I think it is a pity that the idea of reincarnation has become so popular lately. It's just muddled talk like so much in modern day spirituality. The same goes for the nonsense about everything being an illusion. If that were so than Hazrat Inayat Khan himself would also be an illusion, and we wouldn't have to bother about what he said.

I agree on the very considerable shift. Infact that is what it exactly is. A considerable shift and when it happens rapidly in some, it seems to leave a strong impression of a new state, or even mislead some to think they are enlightened. Is the person free from all sufferings and afflictions as Buddha stated? The answer seems to be no. To me, this awakening is just the start of the journey. Long ways to go afterwards. The challenges after the so called awakenings are much higher than before. One needs to let go and keep expanding to cope up with them. When they resist to let go, they suffer. Divine guidance is essential after the awakening.

I've had fun moving in the opposite direction. Having a metal pipe as a jo and using a suburito, extra heavy bokken. Heavy creates respect. Slows you down, enforces proper body mechanics, especially if you want to control the weapon rather then have it control you. It's nice to whirl around a light instrument, hear it whistle as it moves, like a cheap kung fu flick, but heavy has its rewards and honesty to it. As does old fashion striking (repeatedly) a large tire. Striking the air, no matter how fast or pretty does not substitute for hitting a hard target.

sounds very interesting but PVC is not really flexible. DOes that matter? Thanks for sharing

Because if you go along with the flow then you make no exercise of your free will, you are just dragged along by the river. This is the situation for most humans and creatures on the planet. No judgement of it. Free will is very rare, it means you have the ability to do something of your own, at will, you can make yourself do whatever you wish whenever you wish it. And the way to develop it is step by step by doing things that are not easy. If they were easy the would not require free will. Of course such things are of no interest to most people whose main goal is to be the biggest slob possible. Of course the human population tells themselves how wonderful they are and dream of being George Clooney at the same time, whilst wiping chocolate cake off their face lying horizontal in front of Netflix !!!!

Well this conversation could always join the various Mo Pai and Trump threads in the pit...

Farther along in the article presented.... "First - the plans for the Saturn V DO still exist (despite internet rumors to the contrary), but as others have stated, some of the exact manufacturing processes used to make some of the parts were never written down. So we have the design of the part, but would have to re-create the process of making the part. If money were no object, and the objective was to re-create in exact detail, a perfect flying replica of the Saturn V, using genuine 1960's hardware - that would be a very very difficult and expensive task! Could it be done? Absolutely! "

it amazes me that the same ones who scoff at people over religious beliefs and faiths are often the very same ones who accept anything the science community presents without a second thought. no belief or faith involved with that, oh wait the fact is that today Monday, December 17, 2018, NASA cannot go to the Moon if it wanted to. whether Tibetans or West Virginians used to fly mountain top to mountain top in the past or if NASA went to the Moon in the past makes for amusing conversation

Life ebbs and flows, then its over. Whoever leaves with the most stuff, inside, wins.

Farmers know things, carpenters know things. Why ? Simple, because they are not slobs. They have to know to do their job, and importantly their job uses several faculties together, the body, the mind, and the heart (pride). And together you learn, and you learn good. Basic principles, weeds, knotted wood, weight bearing and non-weight bearing, critical moments in the rhythm and uncritical moments. You learn from small things, pay the price, and then you can apply to all areas of life. That's real work. And you pay for it, your arms hurt at the end of the day. Some things that people do today which are not good is : - trying to take what is not yours - eating when you didn't work - talking without experience - letting others do things for you - not contributing - allowing yourself to become weak - refusing to use what you have The internet has drawn people into a large web of dependence and shared group thinking. This normally results in the atrophy of the intelligence of the individual, and we can expect the brain size of humans to degenerate even more than it has already. The internet will not lead to awakening humanity, but to the robotisation of humanity, the more people consume ideas, the less there is a need to think. And it reflects a lack of interest in higher things, within the species, or even within the whole planet. A deep sleep. So, tremendous inner resolve is necessary to be alive whilst you are here. It is wise to do everything yourself, you will soon see the benefit. Also one has to not judge this world, the source loves all its creatures equally. When you are born as a tree, some are born in a large and fertile field and grow readily to a great height. Other trees grow in marshy soil, always struggling with the ground, never growing to their blueprint. Should they complain ? We are part of a great system, it requires willing workers to take up the yoke of an incarnation no matter where it be.

Since 911 it is quite easy to see how people become interested in alternative versions / explanations of events. For instance looking at the history of the lease that the UK had on Hong Kong before it was handed back for humanitarian reasons, is interesting ! Likewise the petro dollar and the US deals with the Saudis in the 1970s. Most of mankind is extremely habitual, and will always be, they refuse to use the possibilities that are available in their intelligence. They are happy with easy answers that allows them to continue going through life without feeling anything. As for the Moon .... well, if you have seen a plane takeoff or a rocket launch, then how much more is it to get to the Moon. Not that much and if you have massive NASA funds from the worlds biggest economy, plus hundreds of German scientists borrowed after WW2, then surely they can do that. Even I drove once through the night 600 miles, running on diet coke and grass. But, the real stories about such events are hidden and often quite manipulated. Always interesting to hear personal perspectives from people involved in the space programme, or in the political side of things in that era. It was a great era, many things happened, and society closed down now. The most important thing is not to "know" if they went or not, but to truly challenge yourself on what you know, to be willing to try. For instance how can you prove conclusively that the Earth is not flat .... without recourse to anything you have ever been told, any books or any internet. Just you, walking in a field .... can you prove the Earth is not flat ? To try and do that, in a serious way, to really challenge yourself will open your intelligence like never before. But the funny thing is, I don't think many people would even try, they might imagine they would try .... but they wouldn't actually try. Humans are cowardly sheep and always will be.

Haha. Comparing flat earthers to people who question the mainstream moon landing narrative is a big stretch. I KNEW it was going to happen though, because I've noticed this pattern of comparing the mainstream moon landing narrative to flat earthers when I have seen similar posts online. The comparison reminds me of those who call the people who believe in a global elite working together for certain aims, believers in "the lizard people!!1" It is basically just an attempt to create a straw man by using a metaphor which does not reflect reality. Of course I believe in outer space. I believe in the moon. I believe human spacecraft has been to the moon. I have my doubts as to whether or not humans have been on the moon. Currently, I am around 60% disbelief and 40% think it actually happened. I am trying to learn as much as possible to get a better understanding of the matter. There is no need to clinging onto a view until one can see the situation clearly and fully. I was agnostic on God for the first 20-25 years of my life until I found what was conclusive for me (based on subjective experiences and objective understanding). Why is questioning a subject "stupid" or "superstitious"? In my opinion, the stupid people DO NOT question, they just accept things blindly. I am not even questioning anything that seems basic, or to be taken for granted, like gravity, space, existing as a human being, etc. I am questioning a NARRATIVE pushed out by a government organization in a time when this government was hugely deceitful and corrupt. I am not saying the narrative is 100% false. Something can be 75% true and 25% false, but still be deceptive. Cult leaders often fuse the truth with a lie, and that generally gives them more power than just lying all the time, which is really obvious to most people. I agree with you, flat earthers are pretty stupid. However, I can almost see where flat earthers are coming from -- since we have been lied to SO MUCH by our government, our education systems, our media... it almost wouldn't be surprising to find out the Earth really was flat. Yet of course that is ridiculous, but this highlights how ridiculous the lying has gotten in the last century, like I said earlier.

warning for some it may be usfw view at your own risk

MOTHERLOAD ! An underground mine in WA’s Goldfields has produced what its owner believes are two of the biggest gold specimens in recorded history in what has been described as a “once-in-a-lifetime” discovery. Since last weekend, RNC Minerals has been tallying the bonanza haul from a single cut of rock blasted about 500m underground at the 45-year-old Beta Hunt gold mine near Kambalda, 600km east of Perth and 50km south of Kalgoorlie-Boulder. The biggest of the stones came in at 90kg and is estimated by the company to contain about 2300 ounces of gold, a total that at current prices would be worth about $3.8 million. The second-biggest piece was not far shy at 60kg, with an estimated 1600oz lodged within the quartz specimen, valued at about $2.7 million. And there’s more where that came from.