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I was driving home from work one early evening when I saw the flash of a police camera. I figured it went off for exceeding the speed limit even though I knew I wasn't speeding. Just to be sure, I went around the block again, passing the same spot, driving even more slowly, and again, the camera flashed. Now I began to think this was quite funny, so I drove even slower as I passed the spot once more, but the camera again flashed! I tried a fourth and fifth time with the same result, and was now laughing in between muttering unutterables as I rolled the car past at a snail's pace. By that time, I had almost forgotten how preoccupied I was as I left work, trying to make sense of an internal audit that was taking longer than it should. Two weeks later, I got five tickets in the mail for driving without a seat belt.

Trust in the value of strangers. No need to google for teachers. There is likely one right down the street. Provided the weather is decent, go ahead and walk over there when you get a break. Also check behind any trees you may pass. Do not be afraid to give a big smile and a wave to the teacher wherever you meet them. Even if it's forced. It need not go any further than that for now. Repeat this process, and the truth you seek will eventually open up. As for hell.. there's obviously no way to say with absoluteness what becomes of an individual mind that undergoes whatever form of death awaits it. But may I remind, that in the case of suicide, continuation and multiplication of suffering are guaranteed. Even if not in the experience of the individual, but by those they'd leave behind..

Was doing some tantric work with Kali today. About 30 minutes in, her form changed completely for me. I’ve been working with Kali for a couple years now, and generally perceive her (via the minds eye) one of two ways. This is now a third. A few thoughts on this. It felt like I had gone deeper than previously before with her, and she revealed a new (and more personal) image to me. I’ve found that with this new image, the connection is a lot stronger now. Just thought I’d share... I’ve found tantric practice to take on a life of its own. It may start one way, and morph and transform as we go along.

I think the 2016 election showed symptoms of what was going on around the US... and likely not just the immediate past... but lots of folks feed up on politics/politicians/division/false promises and failed attempts at hope, etc. I think Trump was voted in as a disruption to all of this; a reset, a reboot, a re-alignment of lost issues over decades of bad decision making domestically and abroad. Anyone paying attention to life in general for the last 40 years has heard the name Trump and knows what he is generally like and about. In fact, many who now malign him used to be friendly with him. Did he change or did folks change? Seems an easy call. Folks showed themselves generally fake in the end and would likely suggest that Trumps front and center assault style in business was simply moved from real estate mongol to WH menace ? That still mis-understands the outcomes we see. People have turned their back; congress has turned its back; media has turned its back... Why ? Just because of One person ? No... because he has revealed the weakness in getting comfortable in disastrous deals; he has up-ended the train wreck of policies that got us into bad trade deals as well. He has called BS on 40 years of domestic and foreign policy that everyone was just sipping pool side drinks from... thinking that as long as I can just sit and sip, this is the 'good life'... Trump woke up the fantasy that folks in the US have slumbered through in a dream like state. Now that they are awake, instead of seeing re-building and re-fashioning, they can only see the walls come tumbling down. The walls of the imaginary comfort called political blindness of the people. This is a reboot going on. Long over due. Wait 50 years and there will be a lot said about this... how the US re-invented themselves in the modern era of global influence without losing their roots. That's my opinion.

So you ended up in a sh.ty place with your vehicle, and got confused so much that you want to crash your vehicle delibaretely. If you crash it, you might not be imbursed a new one by the insurance co. as you were deliberate, and caused unnecessary turmoil to interdependent fellows on the road, and might get stuck in the same place, with a much inferior vehicle, or none, depending on your past records. Only way to move on is by another vehicle as you had not cultivated wisdom enough to figure out what is really happening. Only a weathered vehicle can get you out of your current scenery, so while you still have a decent one, hang on to it. Stop listening to the whining channel on your receiver and start by cleaning up, do some maintanence and get it physically fit. Happiness sprouts from physical balance, and a balanced vehicle withstands anything with a hearty laugh.

4D Chess .. for sure.

A friend did it in Sydney when the new under harbour tunnel first opened. It wasn't used that much at first and she was a very early commuter, no traffic, had a nice car new car, no one about so ; zoooooom through the tunnel. That was fun. Same next day and the next and the next and Then about 8 days later got a ticket in the mail for speeding , the next day another ticket tin the mail ... and so on. " They got a camera in there ! " she said . ................

The "Squad" - Ayanna Pressley, Ilhan Omar, Rashid Tlaib, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez - are four freshmen congresswomen who embody extreme anti-American sentiments while occupying the cultural foreground of the modern progressive movement. While not actually leaders in Congress, they nonetheless hold positions of cultural leadership. Trump, via his tweets, is bringing this information to the foreground of the American people and is forcing their rhetoric front and center of the conversation happening now during the Democratic party selection process. He is forcing the Democrats to acknowledge the skeletons in their closet, namely that they are lurching far left towards full blown communism. This conversation serves a vital purpose: it forces the American electorate to wake up and realize what is happening (indeed, has been happening for decades) and make a choice. That choice is simple: allow the progressives to take power and hasten the decline of traditional American values in place of progressive values (i.e. big government collectivism) or return to traditional American values (limited government, liberty, and capitalism). It's a genius move, and you don't even see it since you are discussing how he treats these poor women while ignoring everything these women are saying.

Committing suicide is just another way to keep the ego. This time you sacrifice your life so that the illusions can continue. Strange, but true. In fact most people are sacrificing their life to continue a mad dream. There is only one solution.

Yes, its obvious from my earlier allusion to pandora's box that i can sense some great dismantling happening. Traitors are one thing, but spineless, gutless, and hypocritical yes-mens are almost the same thing, and there are a few buzzing around Trump. Why not call them out for their hypocrisy?

to clarify, the only reason we're still talking about sides is simply because there were more traitors in the democrat party vs the republican party - at this point in time. because a lot of the uniparty-elected were purged from the Rs, which makes the %compromised difference even that much more stark right now. you'll find no love for republican traitors here either! which is why I have railed against people like john Mccain or the bushes...or Justice Roberts....or Paul Ryan...comped comped comped... but you have to recognize that there's a giant game being played, a giant cat and mouse game - so a lot of trump's fiery rhetoric is just aimed at the network of treason and people who support that network of treason. useful idiots like AOC or Omar are just side shows.

There was a desire to not allow the United States become a subject state to the UN... There is a lot of madness being released from foreign interests who want the US to fail. We are in a similar time as to the run up to the Civil War when the two sides were being stoked from behind the scenes by England and France who wanted their colonies back. And England and France being manipulated by their bank.

As are you Trump in a vacuum is not an interest as the last year shows... you have to look at the broader circumstances going on. This is not meant to be a biographical thing. The topic could likely get renamed to 'political events' or something more generic as that would capture what has been going on in such threads for over a year. Some could be split (Epstein). He has been called out by some here... several have said he puts his foot in his mouth, talks too hastily, needs to cut some of the games and BS... it pales in comparison to the triggered reaction of millions calling on death and demise of the administration and departments; folks going mental over what ? And the dangerous derangement is people exercising their right to end up in a straight jacket. Its hard to find the media or hollywood or any triggered person speaking even a small resemblance of truth and objectivity. Most every candidate is lying to and demeaning even voters... Welcome to politics.

Jeesh dude , thats an insult gangsterish , racist , insults . Who are you kidding ? The latest spat with the ems is that he invited some people who hate america , to leave. If they think someplace else is better, GO. They grouped themselves off based on the color they imagine themselves to have, that isn't Trumps segregation of them , that's them lumping themselves and accusing Trump for being white , of racism so that no criticism of them can escape the counter accusation of racism. AOC looks white to me, and as such , it cant be racist to tell her to get out. The one who married her brother , and evaded taxes isn't innocent either.

Laughter? No. It's more like a case of ebola. Another one? I thought it was Tacoma, WA with the loser from Vashon Island. The island that is only accessible via boat.

What exactly was gangsterish or racist ? This looks like misguided and false accusation. Being a neutral observer, i suppose this really irks me some, and please dont misunderstand and attack my position. This is as much false, as the first statement. You arent neutral , and you should withstand the correct criticism of the bad claims.

Thats your opinion, and you're entitled to it. The same could be said of Trump, but of course, in your eyes and others here, he can do no wrong since there's so little objectivity present, making one wonder what the real purpose of this thread is, other than to vent how crooked, ignorant, biased, incompetent, corrupt everyone else is, when the focus, if done objectively, should remain on Trump, evaluating his strengths as well as weaknesses in equal measure, minus some of the irrelevant conspiracy theories which has nothing to do with the topic at all. I wish one of you will call him out on his uncouth remarks even once, but like those immediately in his circle, you guys cant seem to bring yourself to acknowledge his imperfections. If this is not an indication of bias, and even maybe a lack of courage, I dont know what is. Being a neutral observer, i suppose this really irks me some, and please dont misunderstand and attack my position.

I also have similar experiences. The type of bodily activity (or passivity) and variation in food intake produce different states. After I finish a weight training workout, I feel ferocious and enter what I call a primal state. A strong craving for eating animal products develops. When I eat animal products (the strongest effect is from red meat, then chicken, eggs and fish), I feel a strong desire to do weight training and possibly other violent things. I believe this is the experience you describe as dark; I prefer to call it primal or ferocious. Similarly, if I refrain from eating meat and consume a purely vegetable based diet, I have the exact experience as you do. The urge for violent physical activities subsides and I enter an elevated state where meditation and energy work becomes much easier. The saying "you are what you eat" has deep meaning. Kudos for water fasting, I engage in it regularly and reap the benefits. In the end, I prefer to view these states as primal vs. elevated instead of dark vs. light. I think it is useful to listen to the body. I find that the body sends us many signals and many people choose to ignore them. If I feel like I'm catching a cold or flu, I feel a strong need to eat lots and lots of vegetables and also spices. At other times, I feel like eating animal products and engage in strenous physical exercise. For me, striking a balance works best.

Was speaking to a yogini the other day and she was astounded to learn that I eat meat as most following the 8 limbed path abstain from that type of sustenance. Obviously a lot of them are quite frail and don't engage in lightly choreographed violence along with their regular spiritual development but it was a very interesting conversation that got me thinking and now I'm curious as to what you lot make of the topic. Through the years I've tried loads of different eating styles on for size and, amusingly enough, haven't found one that fits. Going the vegan approach literally made me lighter than air as you can tell the body runs a lot "cleaner" in terms of inflammation, waste processing, recovery etc.. as the food digests and excretes so much quicker. It also had the effect of making my meditation so much easier/deeper to focus with but the bad part was that no matter what/how I ate and hit my macros etc.. I just didn't look healthy even though I felt pretty awesome. It also wasn't easy to tap into the darker emotions for use when training as my vibe was elsewhere. Going a full on meat eater approach I found almost the inverse with boatloads of power in the ring but I could tell from the way my body felt it was running on "dirty" fuel as it used it but not as smoothly as the vegan path. A combination of the two is acceptable but satisfies neither end really as I can feel the meat dishes sitting in my gut longer than usual whereas the veg ones excrete exceedingly quickly. Its obvious to me that each type of food has a "charge" in terms of how the body applies it and what states it generates and this in turn depends on your individual makeup and how you engage with life along with the types of activities you partake in so there are quite a few variables at play. Another fascinating factor is this, pure conjecture on my part but very interested in hearing what you make of it, I feel that its easier for me to get in touch with (and thus liberate) the darker emotional states I carry within via my sparring when I'm eating the flesh of dead animals. Now, and here we go so strap in tight, there is a part of me that feels very strongly that this is due in part due to the emotional imprint of said creatures sad life and death being conveyed to their flesh (possibly via endocrine reactions releasing stress hormones?) which I then consume and thus use as the building blocks of generations. Its hard to build a happy home from bricks made of rage, seen? On the flipside the Vegan approach seems to make me very top heavy in the sense that there is very little in the way of grounding and I spend a lot of time being a blissninny as it just feels so good even if it its quite impractical. Obviously I can force a "state" with either eating plan but I prefer to allow myself to ease into my practice and feel what arises when I'm on the mat as that is more naturally aligned as I don't like this mood making approach that many have as its akin to wearing a mask and I'm about the opposite of that. Also the use of spices. Folks, I could go for hours on this topic as its so evident that some create a "hot" temperament whereas others "cool". I say this not physically but almost like a hue instead, akin to a very low level filter placed over your consciousness that the rest of your reality is decoded through, very subtle but noticeable. The most amazing experience has been totally refraining from eating and going on an extended water fast just to see what happens. Now that was very, very interesting in terms of providing an insight into both mind and body as your awareness is literally on a whole different level and after a few days when ketosis has kicked in you actually are very energetic but with a supremely clean type of energy that is far different from the other two previously mentioned as it appears more centered or, to be more accurate, centrally radiating outwards. Obviously this was not at all sustainable as emaciated isn't a good look on the way but I thought I'd give it a spin for the experience and I highly recommend everyone who is healthy try it at least once after making the appropriate presentations. One of the saddest things about modern life is the majority of food you buy is literally dead. There is no energy surrounding it and not in a woo woo kind of sense but once again based on experience of living on a farm for a while where the farmer had what he grew with pills and potions for commercial sale and what he grew to feed his tribe. The difference was literally night and day, its so hard to explain yet you grasp it with the first mouthful as there is more, way more, to the food that its visual/physical aspects as this intangible element makes all of the difference. Whether this is due to accident or design, the commercial processes they do these days to keep food fresh and shiny, how its grown or the combination of all the above the simple fact is food isn't what it used to be, especially if you're engaging in both internal and external methods of development simultaneously as the correct input is essential for your optimal performance. No point quoting old masters, their days and thus tastes were different as they inhabited a vastly different world. This is a very modern situation and one I don't think many notice and if they do fewer speak on as they are either a) too busy trying to fit the paradigm assigned to them by ancient wisdom or b) have never experimented with their options of c) just don't feel the difference. Plus there are so many other factors these days like EM interference, artificial light and its impact on innate rhythms, endocrine disruptors etc.. For me it is very, very evident and in as little as 30 days I can totally flip my frame depending on what I choose to eat and it creates very noticeable effects in not only my physical presentation but also mental processes and thus presence which others easily detect even when I haven't told them I've changed anything as their comments say it all. Just wondering out loud really as one must eat to live it seems and whether your domain is primarily mental or physical when it comes to development there is no getting away from the rather unique situation we all find ourselves in these days as I hope I've illustrated. I welcome your input and hunger for some food for thought! Best

You keep claiming neutrality and then disprove it. Your assertion of flaws is again , your subjective spin, again , it's an insult. In This post, you again dodge what the racist gangsterish stuff IS. You can hang tough but that is not where you diverge from neutrality, you diverge as you pass judgement and claim objectivity. They called Pelosi a racist, they called Biden a racist, they called Homan a racist, they claim ICE is racist. Trump is called Hitler etc. It's ridiculous. Do you even know what the Nazis did? It would appear you dont. Obama deported more people, and built the detention facilities. Castro and Schumer voted for border controls. Omar and AOC voted AGAINST , funding for toothbrushes and beds. They,, like you,, are throwing around this slander as a panacea for their own faults. A third , a third, a third of the kids being brought across the border are being TRAFFICKED and are not even related to the people who are exposing them to criminals, rapists, bringing them across the deadly desert, across the churning Rio Grande! The guys dragging them out of the river, are our border guys,,only half of whom are Hispanic themselves!

I despised Trump while he was running. Ted Cruz was my candidate of choice. At the time I thought Trump was a bumbling fool and was terrified at the prospect of him winning the nomination. When Cruz dropped out and Trump became the nominee, I was aghast. I even considered voting for Hillary. Then sanity returned and I realized I had two choices: vote Hillary (whom I knew would be bad for the country) or vote Trump (whom I hoped might not be bad for the country). On election day I crossed my fingers and voted Trump. When he won and was subsequently sworn in I watched with great trepidation. If he acted as president the way he acted as candidate then I would be quick to take action. To my great pleasure he began keeping his promises and actually started governing quite well. He still speaks off the cuff and says cringeworthly things, but by and large he is showing great leadership and is worthy of high praise. As you can see, I completely understand the change in Lindsey Graham.

thanks for the input.

Hi Rocky, Yes ~ the Earth revolves fast and we earthlings evolve snail-like. But from a yin-yang perspective ~ there is relative/relativity harmony/balance? To each ~ his/her/its own speed? - Anand

Mostly because Kar3n said so 😇 I mean I guess we could split hairs and say that if someone was actively harming others, and decided to delete themselves, would net suffering decrease over time? Or if I existed in a hypothetical karmic vacuum, and nobody would know the difference either way. But for the most part, it’s only passing the buck.

ah, the life of a double agent

You may need to give examples but I see this as a real challenge on some level... meaning, folks join an administration to further its goals (dare we say campaign promises which are normally empty and rarely really kept or meant in the first place). And you have traditional politicians who don't want to rock the boat because they only know one size boat and how to survive on it. I think a very apt idea is: If you can't support the program, you should leave. That may be unfair to career politicians... but if you are remaining, then a neutral person would work in any administration to further their departments missions, and not be leakers, naysayers, etc. Maybe that sounds like an ideal political world but I think the current environment is a kind of test of it.

I think he is implying that DJT is the one having "meltdowns". After all the media in constantly spinning that and they never lie.

that is one of the most non-neutral things I've ever read... your going to guarantee 100% across the world that there is no love for someone such as you say... I might venture to say, parenting reveals unconditional love in a way that may be hard for others to comprehend. And children learn that too... when thinking of their parents (despite their flaws). Love can look beyond opinion at times. Being able to see it on both sides is neutral. Seeing the scales of One vs One million is hard to also not see objectively. So I find it humorous when the million can pounce on the One but the Million don't see the irony in their meltdown.

"Thats just my opinion, not an accusation, based on what he publicly uttered wrt the latest spat with the dems." Wake-ey wakey , you are expressing your opinion , which is not neutral , and you had no explanation for the accusations you are making.

Anyone getting a ripping laughter out of AOC and her gang of four Pelosi called them 'like five people'. Since when is counting up to five so challenging AOC said: "Why do people think they can mess with Bronx women without getting roasted?" But when another New Yorker acts that way... he is racist ? Telling Pelosi she is picking on the newbie 'women of color' was responded with a resounding accusation of 'playing a race card'. The Antifa guy who tried to burn down a detention center in TX and was killed, left a manifesto... sounding off some of AOCs talking points... AOC has yet to denounce that, yet screams others are encouraging White Nationalist. She is a very confused lady... Here is is at age 8:

~ DILGO KHYENTSE RINPOCHE ~ The body contains channels and the mind is associated with the energies that flow through the channels. When the impure karmic energy associated with the deluded mind flows through impure channels, it gives rise to the three poisons – attachment, aversion, and bewilderment. If the karmic energy that creates these three poisons is purified, this allows the wisdom energy to arise. And when one’s channels, energies, and essence become wisdom channels, wisdom energy, and wisdom essence, one obtains supreme concentration, perfect recollection, and irradiating confidence.

My understanding is that the people of Gautama's time were largely superstitious, and believed strongly that their fate, and the fate of everything else, lies in the hands of the gods they revered. Gautama presented an alternative view which basically challenged this premise using very simple deductions based on the Four Noble Truths. I think what he wanted very much for his listeners/followers to understand is that each individual has their own karmic propensities, and because of this, each will perceive Brahman according to their own unique propensities, and therefore, Gautama posed the question whether or not the gods (under the command of an assumed triune Godhead) that supposedly appropriate punishment and reward, are actually doing that without regard for the possibility of some form of complex mitigating circumstances that the individual, in some small way, must first be personally held to account (rather than shunning all responsibility, which was prevalent at the time, and, strangely, still persists till this day). If the answer is yes, then there must be a way to work on those circumstances personally without having to defer to external adjudicating forces deemed greater or more powerful.

I read (from Eliade I think) that Gautama was following the Indian way of not answering to questions deemed irrelevant (such as "why is there something instead of nothing ?"). It makes sense then he would refuse to discuss this matter that by definition escapes words, and indeed has little impact on practice. Maybe going with the "emptiness" approach was also a mean to prevent further speculation, and make sure Dharma students were not distracted by trying to conceptualize or rationalize a named entity (as it is common in the Vedanta for example, with whole Upanishads dealing with the Brahman itself).

If we just view Taoist dantians and the Indian chakras as some kind of centers where energy comes out, then it is easy to make some sort of comparisons , however , people seem to miss that there are yin-yang and i-ching concepts behind the Taoist dantian theory which the Indian system lacks of . For example , in the Taoist system , wherever part of our body gets convex/overhanging part and/ or hair growth , wherever is viewed as the part possessing yang qi . It is therefore not strange to find that the lower abdomen, center of our breasts and forehead plus the in-depth part from it to the skull be viewed as dantians ; and by focusing on any of them , it is much easier to mobilize qi we want . The general rule is while women be advised to paying attention to their middle dantians , men are advised to focus on their lower abdomen. The upper dantian , despite being some kind of short-cut to the final destination , due to its difficulty of being manipulated in terms of how strong a strength we should apply , is seldom advocated. There is also no I-ching typed of concepts such as using water ( hidden in the lower dantian ) to counteract the upper fire ( the fluctuating minds) in the Indian system . In fact, it is unlikely that the mind can settle itself , empty itself without other help . In most cases, the more eager we want to settle it, empty it, the more minds we are putting into it... ,making it nearly an impossible job . Taoist solution gives us another perspective to deal with the issue .

Let me put it this way, if you feel this is bad, then what awaits you after suicide will be worse the soul must go through a process of purification, which detaches and cleanses it from all things "earthly"....if you try to escape the things you want, rather than face them....you'll be made face them without any prospect of ever achieving them. We'll not enter into discussions regards the kama locas and whatnot (for now, at least). But i will leave you with this (and it is a most accurate description) from the movie "Jacobs ladder" along with a corresponding piece of art by Matthias Grunewald which depicts the process "If you're afraid of dying, and you're holdin' on, you'll see devils tearin' your life away. But if you've made your peace, then the devils are really angels, freein' you from the world" FYI nobody who has made peace with the world and themselves commits suicide...its simply not natural My advice would be to remember that the meaning of life is very simple....it has been splattered across the faces of every race and every person since the inception of man. The meaning of life is simply, to learn. By trying to escape learning whatever it is you are meant to learn...you will inevitably find yourself further back along the "wheel of learning" So long story short, don't do it...and stop measuring your self worth against societal expectations of successful...its not good for you. Also, chin up and head high!

Moment, thank you so much for the words of inspiration!!! There is one thing us youth are guaranteed to lack and that is true wisdom from experience . Something certainly needed in the app / tech world today.

Oh! at first glance, I thought that she was poring tea, in a new-age sort of way.

Period?

To answer the OP, as simple as this: https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/ The rest is and has always been the same ----> soul evolution.

Its hard to say what would the actual repercussions be since its your life you are talking about here and so far you know the best how it is you are living it. Making bad choices in life gives us a bad life even if we have the same things and live in the same world as others. I guess people make these choices with awareness that they could live with them once they make them but once they realize they can't they search for new solutions. Thus we come to the death option.. But what is death? And here is the catch.. How we live our life also greatly affects how will we relate to our own death. This in itself doesn't really explain what death is and what happens in stages after it happens but its still important because the different ways of life can take you to different destinations in afterlife since they have a different approach to death momentum. In reality death is an energetic happening that happens to everyone and most people die in a way what is considered today a "regular death" an energy process which they have no control of to what is happening to them which leads to a stage process of reincarnation but since energetically most of the population isn't 100% human before incarnating back to this world as human they get to first incarnate back to the world they came from as whatever energy being they existed as and after spending a lifetime there they can incarnate back again here. The human self part that people dream about splits and travels permanently to a location to continue dreaming an unconscious dream for the time's being. This location is a dreaming version of the waking Earth world we live in which all people naturally inhabit and have access trough dreaming when asleep where they either have lucid dreams or they dream with other people dreaming bodies resolving their subconscious issues. The fake identity part that people consider themselves to be coupled with the petty internal dialogue that follows it isn't even real to begin with as such and isn't a part of our being and therefore as such just continues to plague on everyone living in this world like it already is. Since it isn't real and listening to it only creates illusions taking its advice's regarding life and death would be a bad choice since it doesn't lead to a better solution but rather to a miserable life with just more problems to deal with. This gets us back to the question is death really liberating? I would say that death itself since it is a powerful energy moment in our life touches our whole being in such a way that makes us realize what it feels like to be touched by God again and this is truly liberating but since for most people it happens in an uncontrollable manner and last for just a few seconds before the stages of reincarnations take place leading you to different worlds which are mostly worlds that everyone just wants to break free from, any other strong energetic momentum that takes you away from the mind dialogue and away from your usual self will have the same effect on you, momentum's like meditation, internal silence, lucid dreaming, energy practices, even drugs or power plant medicine. They are all good for your well being if used as such and there is always time for death it happens eventually anyway. And if you get proficient at it and face death as an energy being instead of facing it unprepared you will have to option of keeping the best of your humanity with you on your journey in the afterlife being transformed into a new kind of being, a being that is able to choose its own destination which is truly what freedom is about. This is the point where your fate transcends your purpose. Now if you want to know the abouts of the world you came back from you can find it and experience it for yourself trough consciously controlled lucid dreaming with the little help of the energy beings that live in a near by dimension which can be met trough the avenue of dreaming. This exploration will put you on a path itself. The question is will you want to live there when you see the problems of the very world you came from which the inhabitants experience coupled with a prolonged life span which can seem like long suffering instead. There are also plenty of paths that cover life and death in their own way and the very modern life of a man is also one of them, my point is that everyone is trying to live their life according to the options they know about and if we knew more we would respond accordingly whatever beliefs we have. This is just how I have been taught and why I choose Nagualism as my path since it covers all of the above I've written. If interested Carlos Castaneda covers and writes on Nagualism in his books as the teachings of Don Juan. On the personal side what I like about you is the strength you have and that can be felt behind your decisions all the way from the moment you came on this forum. I also saw that your thinking is still muddled by petty thoughts which I assume is due to being quite young and no much experience on regular work on silencing the mind. Nevertheless this strength is the reason I wrote back because there is a type of intelligence behind it that moved me and make me respond since I wouldn't otherwise, I just couldn't disregard it and be the same. Life has its ups and downs it flows like a wave and after it hits bottom it raises to its glory Wish you well.

So potent that you are willing to share this. Thank you. For me, there is and always has been only one cornerstone philosophical question. Continue life or not? That's it. All other lines of questioning are predicated on the answer to this one. I've been on the verge of suicide three times. Knife in hand, ready to go. In the third experience, I was leaning against the tree I had chosen to bleed out on, knife was pressed to neck, about to plunge. Amidst the fog, the pain and the voices of ruin and apathy, the following settled in mind so very distinctly, unforcefully and plainly, it cut through the fog. one constant of life is change. what is now can not remain. all is change. Therefore it continued... why this permanent solution for a temporary experience? The voice fell silent, i put the knife away and walked home. I have no words of warning about dire consequences for the deed itself, your life is your life and none can stay your hand if you so choose. However, the impact on those who remain... good god, that is a crushing weight to bear, an acid that does not cease burning. Ruinous. Calamity. So why a permanent choice for a temporary feeling? can always do it later. Why make that permanent decision just now. There's shift in the wind... Change is the real master of life and all find release to death eventually, you'll get to have that peace. I for one, being far from perfected self crave many things... among them, is to share more words, ideas and time with you. Connection is the meaning of my life. This above all others I cultivate am sustained and nourished by... And no matter how you play this, I will be a voice who, you can assure yourself will never blame you, despise you, nor judge you, should you choose to pass. But I will sing from my heart mournfully, how much I am with you, and how dear you shine for me through the momentary connection you offered me through your caring enough to share. I will never judge you, but I will deeply mourn you and in your passing, I will experience my own self as less. That voice led me to another insight eventually. My skin is not the barrier that separates me from all of life... it is the very bridge that connects me to all. Love and respect to you for sharing.

He he he ..... mwa ha har ! < starts polishing the bird perch >

Who in their right mind has a polished brass bird perch? That's just plain mean, Mr. P.

I never went into a seminar with too much enthusiasm or high hopes. They all tend to advertise miracles and produce less. Thus I haven't gone to one in a decade or so. Yet, I don't regret the ones I've been to. If I pick up a technique or two, its worth it. Meditating with some higher level people is worth it.. soaking up some wah. Also, when the student has a totally bad time, they need to accept some of the blame for it. Teaching is a two way street. I hope the rest of the seminar, if you're still there, goes better for you. A problem I found with Healing Tao is they focused on so many techniques, when to me, going deep is better then going wide. What I'm working on these days in my meditation is 'no intention'.. a paradigm change from the past.

I would ask you to do one thing, and that is include the Chinese text along with whatever translation(s) you are providing. The DDJ is very terse, and almost always there is more than one way to interpret a verse. Each translator chooses one per verse, so you need to look at several translators to understand. The DDJ is the most translated book in the world for that reason. There are tons of commentaries, especially in Chinese, and kind of more all the time since there are sites like Baidu that have discussions going about it. There are also quite a few versions that vary in age and completeness, because Qinshihuangdi burned the books, and people hid it and even in the past few decades, new copies have been unearthed. In China, when one studies this text in a class, that will be the title of the class, and the students are expected to memorize the text and be able to quote it from memory. That makes for an ability to think about verses at any time and any place and draw meaning from life's situations. There is also a fairly sharp distinction between Daojia and Daojiao -- Daoist philosophy and Daoist religion. DDJ is usually, but not always, considered Daojia. Daojiao is what priests do.

I am sooooo luke warm about this. I envy your enthusiasm. In some ways it makes me wish for more youth. In many ways apps are our digital future. Yet, the Dao encompasses that and much more. I am very interested in your efforts, long life and prosper.

Might want to include some other sources besides or in addition to DaoDeJing. Westerners especially view DDJ as "the" "manual of" Taoism. That's because of Western academia. DDJ is not showing a philosophy in any detail. Just how to apply it to one large task - running a municipality of people. There are MANY other aspects of Taoism to study and understand besides this one thing. But in popular media culture and the related educations available - nobody would know. Best is to study overall first, before concentration on one specific item or source. Wishing you best luck in making Taoist phone "app", and I do think is a good idea generally. -VonKrankenhaus

So I just got back home from work. My dog is laying on the back patio covered in dirt with a rabbit in his mouth. The rabbit's not bloody, just dirty. Now, my neighbor's kids raise these Blue Ribbon WINNER Rabbits. I instantly knew it was one of their rabbits. So I took the rabbit away from my dog, I rushed inside, washed all the dirt off it before my neighbors could come home. It was stiff but I heard some ANIMALS play dead when they are AFRAID, I couldn't remember which animals because I was NERVOUS. I took it and placed it back in one of the cages, then I ZOOMED back home. NOT 30 minutes later I hear my neighbors screaming. so I go out and ask them what's wrong? They tell me their rabbit died three days ago and they buried it but now it's back in the cage!!! (random fb joke)

Insomnia.. I'll tell you a story.. This really happened.. The girl I met was called Insomnia.. and boy she was nasty.. She almost made me loose my soul! Couldn't understand her at that time.. Wanted to tell her how to behave, to control her.. I tried to force my ideas of the world onto her but that nasty vampire didn't want to respect me for that instead she constantly judged me. I closed myself off in my room in hopes she won't disturb me since I wanted to have a so much deserved rest in my life.. But she didn't stop and insisted on interfering in my life pointing all my flaws, all the time and all my failures. She seemed bigger then me, bigger then my life and all of her nasty remarks made me suffer badly.. I forgot that once was a time I actually didn't fucking care about this type of negativity.. I even forgot that I was always free to say "it was crazy exciting to meet you I really tried to do my best with you but I have to continue with my best with the world now, I can't forever just stay here with you, there is so much good people that wish me good and so many I wish good to and.. life is incredible! so.. farewell!" but I slowly started to remember.. Remembering.. You know I want to tell you about this brother of mine such a great man really, we had so much fun together laughed like crazy when everything seemed so boring.. Haven't seen him in a long since times changed and he did seem to change as well just as me.. but I wanted to see him, talk to him, share stories on the couch and enjoy it once more as if time stopped deep in the night.. So we finally got around to get together and started talking about all kinds of things and since I started to feel good enough that I can trust him as I always trusted him I opened up.. He listened as a best friend could, he was there for me so and it was very easy for me to tell him my story.. Since I trusted him so much when I started talking I really gave my whole attention to narrating the troubling events I was experiencing. In the end I told him I do feel kind of lost and he understood this.. He asked me if I want to solve this and I kindly replied yes as I missed my good self back so much this is all I really wanted.. He said he might have a solution for this problem! So he asked me.. "do you remember that summer time when you I and Fini where at the river jumping in and Fini decided to get naked so we followed and laughed mindlessly at our peckers?" I said yes while laughing and chuckling with him as reliving the moment again.. "we should get together and have some fun he said it was really a long time that we didn't!" I agreed this seemed a great idea since I always liked hanging out together with him and Fini as we would always tell ourselves some good jokes and have hell of a good time laughing! So we did.. and we had a great time.. I forgot I had any problems while hanging out with my brothers.. As time went by I met my dear honey.. She has been here for me ever since!.. and I met my new buddies Val and Mel.. But this wasn't a solution.. I felt this deep inside me.. Then one day.. Suddenly someone banged on my door! It was Insomnia! When I opened boy she shocked me! She looked so different now as if another person is standing in front of me! Another makeup, another haircut, her eyes looked different and the more I looked the more I couldn't comprehend whats actually happening. I got dizzy everything seemed to spin for a second so grabbed the door.. With a sly smile she remarked that I look as if I'm gonna fall down.. She seemed right as I was feeling as if I'm gonna loose it any time soon.. I felt so tired so exhausted that I thought the best thing would be for me to get some rest.. How could this be I thought? I already told her to leave me alone in the past as I wanted to get rid of her, who wouldn't I thought.. She had so many friends that they all drove me mad in the past I definitely didn't want this to happen again.. I didn't feel ready for this and the more I looked into her eyes the more mesmerized she became.. I started thinking she was a demon, a ghost an evil apparition.. Her friends didn't look that different then my friends but they sure didn't feel like so.. If this wasn't hell I don't know what was.. I even forgot when it was that I actually met her.. I thought there must be some lesson here for me to learn but the more I investigated by looking into her the more it seemed I'm falling under her spell.. This called for fast action and solution! I remembered some distant information of some student getting teached by a great man of knowledge.. I gathered up my attention to find this student just to realize he wrote a book.. It was about a teaching he had with this man which he called the "Art of Attention". So I got the book and started reading it and as I liked reading good stories this book was full of it! Dramatic encounters with nasty persons as the ones I was having problems with were a big concern in this book so I was avidly reading.. It was also full of jokes and funny anecdotes similar to those that I shared with my brothers in life.. Then something rather unusual happened..This one night I left the book beside my bed and the book opened up all by itself!! As if I wasn't surprised enough a small magical man appeared as if a real hologram just got invented in front of me! Holly shit I thought!! I really didn't know what to expect and yet it all felt so magical and intriguing.. He started talking and at first I couldn't hear him quite well but since I wanted to understand him I started hearing him better and better. What he told me is that STORY TELLING is used in the teachings as it is a way of hooking our FULL ATTENTION!! then he stopped here for a moment as if he was trying to let me understand what he just said.. I thought wow nice no wonder I had felt free of Insomnia while reading these interesting stories!! He nodded and added that not only reading hooks up our attention but talking them and writing them down does too! It made a lot of sense but I couldn't really understand what was he saying so I asked him "What do you mean?" ... Suddenly he enlarged himself and stretched his hands as if he was holding up a green rainbow cloud in his chest and asked me to look inside it. I did just to realize I'm looking at the situation with my brother on the couch... I clearly saw how much attention I gave into narrating my story to him!! While I was talking I wasn't really having any insomnia problems even tho I was being able to carry these problems in my consciousness. The more I looked the more I started realizing the very power of my FULL ATTENTION!! I started feeling it! I also saw my brother in special light how much he listened, how much good he was, how much he was helping me by just listening me, as if he is letting me develop my FULL ATTENTION! Then the great sorcerer told me putting special emphasis on wording .. "The secret of everything is in ones ATTENTION!!" This is the most incredible thing there is in this universe!.. ..at that moment something happened .. I remembered!! I remembered how to say farewell!! I knew farewell is said with love! and love never ends!! If we meet again I'll embrace you as I once did! Nothing is real as love! ... I knew that there are many like me, many people that live with insomnia and we never really give "her" full attention as this attention is only reserved for our True Selves, the one I have been missing so much.. Nothing is holding us to love people and give them full attention! We are all brothers and sisters even if you believe you are alone I assure you are not! human beings are kind and still live on this earth! We laugh together we talk together we live together... The wise sorcerer nodded smiling and said: "The only way to STOP THE MIND is with the power of your FULL ATTENTION!! This attention originates from your heart and will make you accept everything and everybody on your path as you go in life! Nothing is certain anymore everything is a surprise a shock!!! A shock of awe!! You can find this ATTENTION in all those sincere acts of giving yourself to a moment of beauty and it is possible to prolong these moments by INTENDING them which will lead you to most powerful and avidly seeked state of the spirit **SILENCE**