silent thunder

Agreed. I would also put forward the dandelion principle in their failure to wipe out the religion with violence. The action that condition put forward in causality was one of spreading high level rinpoches and lamas and teachings all over the world in exile, thus spreading the religion in a way it might never have done had they left Tibet to its own inertia.

My rules for hallucinogens. Environment is the main trigger, people and surroundings. Natural outdoor setting is almost always my prerequisite. Anything heavy or deep emotionally that happens the day of a trip, will likely be processed or come up in depth during the trip. Expect it, or delay the trip for another time. Be around people you genuinely love. The best guide is someone who's done it, that you have a strong heart connection to. Trust in a trip is like mana in a video game, pure magic juice.

General question. When you say you are going cold turkey on sugar, do you include natural fruit sugars during that step, or just refined and cane sugars? I don't do much refined sugar any more and no caffeine, but still get a lot of fruit sugars.

Good stuff. Thanks for sharing.

My life is my practice. Everything is permissible, except the stuff that's not... Sometimes I only know what's not, when I'm doing it. Balance is a mantra I use live daily and break often, when required.

I still give her shit about that from time to time, that she'd rather fly around the ethers than be with me? lol But it's amazing, when I bring it up, she gets this look as the sense memory kicks in and her eyes go out of focus and she's sort of transported back into that experience. It always brings her peace. Me too my friend and thank you. If not for her, I wonder how long some of my healing would have taken or what ways I would have had to walk to find it, if ever. We are students of the world and are both lovingly obsessed with other cultures and customs. Food, art, music, etc. I'm Norwegian by ancestry, American by birth and Minnesotan by culture. She's Scottish/German by ancestry, Northern German by culture. I've got one I could share quickly, the others are more involved. My first experience was when I was around 4 years old, I was having a nightmare: (in it, I was riding down the stairs in our house on my butt, thump-thump-thump, like I loved to do... then I would crawl up the stairs and do it again. Only the last time I rode down and turned to my left, from behind the water heater, came a hooded man holding an axe... thank you very little sub-conscious... So now I was desperately trying to get away from the terror, crawling up the stairs when I slip and start to slide back down. As I'm slipping down the stairs, I can feel the carpet under my hands and hear the steps behind me, as I reach the bottom and my terror spiked, suddenly everything changed... ) I was hovering above a small boy with red hair sleeping in his blue bed. And I thought "well this is odd" all terror vanished in surprise. Then as I settled into the experience of hovering I realized that I was looking at myself and thought 'that's not right' and snapped back into myself and woke up. YIkes don't get me started , I could write chapters about this, but I'll give a very brief definition. I see the human being as a series of energy fields of varying frequencies and vibrations. I see the biological body as an interactive sensory/information acquisition process that consciousness co-creates to explore and exchange information within a certain bandwidth of dense vibration that we call 'physical reality'. It is tied to duality via the nature of tai ji and yin/yang and the five elements and affects us emotionally and mentally via the conditioning of the nature of the antipodal relationships of co-dependent opposites within the framework of our culture and family. I say multi-dimensional because (to me) emotions/thoughts/dreams/intuitions occupy varying other levels of more subtle frequency that can have an effect on our experience of reality and our physical senses, yet exist beyond the body and can be experienced completely (seemingly) free of body input. Spiritual frequencies are so far out, I can't even put words to them, but they are myriad varying levels or dimensions of vibration/frequency higher than the subtle body that involve experiences that are difficult to describe in word symbols, yet have massive impact on all other levels of the sensory suit. I call it a suit because, though I'm very attached to it, it's not an attachment I equate to my survival, but more like how I look at a favorite old coat... maybe worn and rumpled, but has some style and so many stories (good and bad) attached to it, that it is quintessentially me. Hope that's not too convoluted and thanks for the great discussion. I'm fairly blown away by this place.

Thank you for sharing! Loved it.

Based on my advanced degree in guessology with a minor in instinct... I would venture it's a sphere of light.

We've been married since 1989. I don't recall the minute of the day (it was late afternoon), but vividly recall the 2 minutes she had no pulse and was not breathing. I revived her, (trained in CPR). Boy was she pissed when I brought her back! She made a full recovery. Broke her T-7 and her Coccyx. Her physical therapy consisted of yoga and ecstatic dance. She's sitting here next to me eating spicy shrimp curry. Birth and death are yin and yang. One defines the other, like light and shadow, beautiful and ugly. I've experienced consciousness free of the body on a few occasions; so even though I'm attached to my body and favor it as a really awesome multi-dimensional sensory suit, and I have no whim to throw it away... I'm not tied to it too intensely as my experience of my essence lies beyond form. By no means do I think I understand death, I just find it to be as natural as birth, so therefore nothing to fear. Now, the manner in which I pass might not be very pleasant from a certain perspective, but reality tunnels/paradigms and perspectives all get radically altered when the focus of self separates from the body process.

I've been feasting on Alan Watts, with a few side doses of Terrence McKenna and Drunvolo Melchizedek.

Enjoying the thread. This seems appropriate to share now. My wife died for a little under two minutes about 20 years ago. She fell heels over head down a 20ft staircase and fractured her spine in two places. She was, at the time a pretty staunch materialist. Her experience on the other side was utter bliss. No tunnel, but a grey bliss-filled light surrounded her. Enveloped her. She said no other experience in her life has felt so right, so completely saturated with love and completion. As I revived her and she could start to hear my voice, she told me later, she was so pissed off at me. "Stop talking, would you?! Just shut up I'm fine!" She still has no interest in any formal religions (other than to discuss concepts philosophically), but her materialist paradigm was shattered and her old conceptions about the nature of life and death were opened up exponentially. For her there is no fear of death and no worry. What a gift she received that day.

Well met and welcome. Look forward to learning about your experiences.

I used tobacco briefly at a point in my life when I was quite depressed and processing dark emotional patterns. Looking back I can see that I was using cigs as an emergency relief valve. But it's a double edged, short term fix, with a hammer-ass-back-hand-retaliation effect that leaves you worse off than you were when you sought its relief. For me, the first rush of a cig would give that good climber high while simultaneously, dampening the heart field and give the impression of relaxation via dampening all emotions, thus it feels like it's relaxing... as that wave crests and recedes, then the real effects become apparent, mainly increased tension and anxiety. The real addiction for me was not the cigarette, but the cascade effect that broke the emotional/thought pattern that was 'causing' my suffering. Emotions are far stronger than crack and at the time, the cigarette was the lesser of two evils. They served a purpose. The 'cascade effect' in the system is what I sought, really just that first puff is all I needed, the rest of the drags on the cig were rather pointless, but it was a great interrupter to the signals I didn't want to deal with at the time. I just had another signal to deal with instead of the ones I was escaping. My mind knew I could break a signal pattern with a drag, so in certain 'trigger events' my mind would remind me I had a craving to interrupt a signal. Not long after taking up qi gong and meditation daily, I began to get similar cascades. I call them 'body pings'. It's much like someone taking a mallet and striking my inner energy being like a bell, with a subsequent wave that can roll outward, inward, up, down, etc... They have a similar effect of interrupting signals/thought chains and emotional clouds, but these are linked to the breath and true relaxation and leave me vibrating higher and clearer. Emotions are now the real addiction for me. Thought/emotion trigger chains, Shenpa clouds I call them. Meditation, Qi Gong are my new signal interrupters. Congrats on your desire to release them, but don't kick your own ass if you fall off the wagon. There are plenty of others willing to do that, just see it in the moment for what it is, really take the moment and be present in it, I think, soon you'll see it's not serving the purpose you are conditioned to believe. Cheers!

I have experienced some very strong energy magnification in groups. I've noticed similar boosts in certain outdoor settings, near running water or certain trees. In the end, the best practice is the one I actually do, no matter where or how, just practice.

Layers. That really resonates with me. So many layers to peel. It's easy to get frustrated when an old emotional cycle reveals itself again even after 'considerable time spent contemplating and healing has been undertaken'... 'seriously? this problem is up again?'-'I've dealt with this! why am I here again?'-'why does this never go away?' I find the onion metaphor releases some of the ego abuse that goes with peeling. Many layers to peel to get to the center. Today's work is today's work. My core emotional issues were built over many moments, reinforcing the emotional onion or knot. So there are many layers to peel to reveal the truth of the core. So while I am 'still' dealing with (insert name of my emotional issue here)... I am not in the same place I was as the last time I peeled this onion, I'm not peeling the same layer. The work is progressing. The work is cumulative. Having this in mind helps me to release the self abuse that goes with the 'here I am again woe-is-me' ego trick. Somewhere inside a voice says 'just drop the onion'. Can't tell if it's a guilt tape talking, or my higher self. Or maybe my emotional onions are really tootsie pops and I'm still enjoying the 'taste' of the process. Anyhow, thanks for the layer reminder. Good timing for me on this one.

Why am I curious about death? Huh. I guess to put it in words I'd say... similar to the reason water flows downhill. As for young, I'm 44 now so still pretty young and still trying to unlearn shit everyday. As for taking things for granted, some things certainly, but one of my main practices in life is breathing gratitude. This practice has grown out of my experience with my family. My wife and I have built a small, simple life over the last couple decades based on compassion. The result of our focus on compassion has led me to an awareness of how the simplest acts can wield incredible power for change and transformation. I have had a chance to see some of the truly nasty shit life has to offer. I think it's precisely the 'negative influences' as I viewed them that have allowed me to appreciate how amazing life is now. As for taking the body for granted; I personally was given a second chance. It's a long story and I'll share it at some point in detail, but suffice to say, I went from being a martial artist/rock climber/outdoor athlete, to nearly losing a foot and being unable to walk without a cane or crutches for three years. That led to being 40 lbs over weight, 3 surgeries, high cholesterol, high bp, depression, meds etc... When I discovered that I could do QiGong and began to understand the importance of nutrition, my being completely turned around. The foot fully healed over a period of years while the body responded immediately to good nutrition. Emotions balanced as the diet improved and the qi gong effects kicked in. Today, no meds, 10lbs overweight, clean blood, flexible and full of energy. I still will randomly hop around on my old 'bad foot' in front of my wife and she will smile and laugh and just beam with joy that I'm healed. As for taking digestion for granted, yes I do. I really don't think about or try to direct that process in my practice. Perhaps I will as I get further in my practice. But I do now pay extra attention to what is about to go into my body. Cheers!

I'm obsessively curious about death. Stoked to experience it, (though I'm not looking to end the ride early). No fear, no worry. If birth is Yang, death is Yin. I don't think or worry about it, the way I don't think or worry about digesting my salad, or how my thalamus is operating.

I'm curious to find out what some of you do first thing upon waking in the morning? One of my great curiousities about my human experience is the play between various states of consciousness. Lucid dreaming is something I engage in regularly and recently I'm trying to incorporate more discipline to my dream experiences rather than just enjoying and playing. But that is a precursor to my question. The transition between states of consciousness fascinates me. Especially the transition from sleeping awareness to the waking state. Those first few moments upon waking... Usually, based on my ridiculous schedule in my early 20's and my habit of setting my alarm clock to the last possible moment to get as much sleep as possible, I would leap out of bed at full speed and blaze out the door. These days, I still often find myself mechanically 'hopping' up and getting right to action with what needs doing. For many years I paid no mind to how I woke up, I just got up and went about it. Recently, one day I hopped up and looked in the mirror and stopped. My heart was jumping and I asked myself 'what's the emergency? Why in such a hurry?' Now I'm taking the first moments of the waking state, to just sit and observe... memories of dreams if there are any, listen to the sounds of morning and focus on my first conscious breaths. I then get up slowly. Go out and squeeze the juice of a lemon into a cup of hot water and look out the window as I sip. I leave the lights off. I get up quite early on work days 3:45 or 4:00am. After that I do some mild stretching and a few cycles of Tumo breathing. Then it's make lunch and head out to work. I'm curious what others do upon waking?

Yea, welcome. This place is a well spring of awesomeness is it not? What practices specifically do you use?

So many great comments. I'm often confused. About food, I'm pretty clear. Life is food. I'm food. I really enjoy good food. But most importantly, I love feeling great and vibrating on a high level. The more awareness (not knowledge) I have, the higher I vibrate. As my practice has progressed and my awareness of how things react in the conditions of my body, I find myself making changes. Or rather, not changing so much as noticing my desires shifting. I know how I feel after eating certain things and if they don't amplify my vibrations, I don't want them coming into me. Some things I refuse to take, others will come when the time is right and some, I can't get enough of... I grew up hunting and eating a lot of meat, eating pretty much anything. Exotic and simple, toxic and refined and thinking nothing of it. After my first kill though, my bell was struck pretty hard and I couldn't stop thinking about the moment the spark of life left that pheasant. My Dad, who taught me how to hunt and hike and camp, was not spiritual at all (engineering background and materialist perspective), so for him it was sport and good food; but in the moment of that kill I knew the nature of the sacrifice and my benefit from it and I was changed. Up to that point I had never paid any attention to what I ate or where it came from. So here is my long-winded-get-to-the point-already point... For me, (who still eats flesh of a couple types, once in a while), I developed a personal acknowledgement and spiritual ritual, whenever I hunted or ate any flesh. I kept it quiet from my dad and his buddies, knowing they were not operating on that level. But for me to engage in that process, I could not hunt without intention and an acknowledgement of the sacrifice and my benefit. I find intention is the key to how the energy of any form of consumption/expulsion plays out in my system. Birth, life, death is all transformation. Food transforms from Jing to Qi in my practice. Without intention though, it really feels like 'waving my arms in the air'... there is no amplification, it lacks vitality and the flow is weak. I now honor the sacrifice in anything I take into my system. Water gets highest accolades. The honoring begins in preparation and finishes with loud sounds of happy ingesting, usually surrounded by people I love. It's grown into a game I play with my son while we cook and eat. We'll be making something and we'll try to think of everything that was possibly involved in the creation of the food we are about to eat, the more obscure the better. Sun, rain, wind, dirt, who grew it, who picked it, packaged it, painted the picture on the label, who drove it, who made the truck it drove in, the gas in the truck, the bugs in the dirt, the poop that helped it grow (he really loves that one) who made the silverware we use... it's a fun game that acts as a way to instill in our active awareness, a whole plethora of energy patterns related to what we are bringing into us. I find it amplifies my experience. As does this conversation, thank you all.

Deep bow of respect. Pure Awesome!

Wow... what a truly awesome synthesis of the essential. Thanks!

I found a solid, basic book for working on tactile visualization. It might be useful. Energy Work: Robert Bruce http://www.amazon.com/Energy-Work-Secrets-Healing-Spiritual/dp/157174665X It's focus is on using physical stimulation to engage attention with a physical sensation. No mental image projection. Once the attention is on the sensation, the stimulation is removed and you use your attention to continue the sensation. Simple exercise: Lay your left hand on your lap, palm up. Take a soft brush or the fingers of your opposite hand. Close your eyes and gently brush your palm and fingers. Focus attention fully on the sensations in your left hand. Do this for one minute, or until you are fully focused. Stop brushing the hand. Now brush the hand with your attention and focus on sensations. Once that is established you can begin to play. Change the speed, direction, nature of the touch etc. I find that using tactile visualization often brings about very clear mental imagery, but I don't seek it or feed it. Eventually you will just put your attention on the palm, or joint, muscle group, organ etc, and the response will be clear. Energy flows where attention goes. It's a solid book of fun, simple exercises, explained by a great guy.

Wow do I love this place! Deep bow of gratitude to you all. The forms I use daily, both use RAB and NAB: Relaxation set, static set, energy ball stance and some energy moving stances use NAB. While dynamic forms RAB is used. We run energy in both directions, oscillating as the form progresses. In one form, we start at DT, inhale and run up the Ren channel to the Bai Hui, exhaling down the Du Channel ending again at DT. This continues for a few cycles and then we change course, inhaling and running energy up the Du to the Bai Hui, exhaling down the Ren channel ending at DT. As I understand it, the use of running up the Ren Channel and down the Du channel, (which was described as going in reverse) is a bit like pushing your hand against the current in a river and is very useful for clearing blockages and opening the channels. A bit like priming a pump before unleashing the joy-fury of my attention-directed, uber love, energy-powa!

I equate power to Wu Ji. My experience of power is not yin or yang until I define it, or fill it with intention. The desire to attain and grasp power can be harmful if out of balance, i.e. am I obsessed and it interferes with my balance? But the desire to attain power can also confer the ability to relieve suffering, so here is a desire, yet it can result in benefit. The methods I go to, to attain power can be harmful or helpful. But the raw energy is neutral, like a tool. I don't find it to be yin or yang until I try to 'understand' it or 'make sense' out of it. Harm or Heal... are two ways of experiencing the same force. So for me, it seems, often it's just my perspective that determines how I experience it. Or it's the intent with which I encounter the energy that determines the experience. But that experience can change and is fluid. Harm may become heal etc. For me, a good example is pain and pleasure. Two experiences of sensation. I lived with chronic pain for decades and was able to manage it quite often and function well. Other times, not at all. As a child, sitting in class, when I was bored, sometimes I would take and push a pin into my hand. Just a bit, until it got uncomfortable. Then, as my curiosity rose (how far could I go?), and as my friends reactions were egging me on, I started to see how far I could push the pin into my hand without suffering (I was no superman). Or rather, I could feel the pain, but could I find a place where it did not bother me. In my mind, I would stare at the spot I was inserting the needle and I would try to find the center of the pain. If I could find that center, I could go into it and through it in a way and the sensation I experienced in my hand was not 'pain' it was a level of sensation I could get used to and so my experience of it, was not one I avoided. Often, there was no real experience of pain until I went to remove the needle, sort of breaking the trance and then feeling it. I found this tactic immensely helpful when dealing with intense training and pain from chronic body issues. Just a few weeks ago, I was working on a show and an old propmaker shared his definition of pain that really resonated with me and it applies to power for me as well. Pain is a level of sensation, deemed to be unacceptable. I would venture that cultivation, philosophical study of the Tao or any spiritual pursuit, or any interest at all, is based on child like wonder. Foster that spark and when it flames, keep the flame in balance and it will serve well.