Whitehawk

I live in the bible-belt, and the fear is almost palpable. It is truly sad. The bible even states that "ours is not a spirit of fear." I guess everyone missed that part. Especially now, after the election. Many of the of the otherwise intelligent, rational people I know that are regular church-goers have almost lost their minds over Obama. If you caught the episode of South Park after the election that had all the McCain supporters hiding in bunkers awaiting the end, well it isn't far from the truth. Seriously, it's like these people believe he's going just hand the whole country to Satan while murdering babies. It all seems to sprout from fear. And evidently I'm a devil worshipper because I "channel satanic energy" while doing "eastern occult practices." Who knew? Chris

Thanks everyone for your responses. As I read each of the replies there was so much familiarity in the advice and insights shared. The thought keeps recurring to me about how minds reflect each other. Thanks again. Chris

Thanks. That was beautifully put. Do you think a time will come when all doubts disappear? Chris

I read this a year or so ago. It's a little fuzzy now, but I remember really enjoying it at the time.

I was speaking mainly of doubt regarding spiritual training and progress. I see doubt as a major stumbling block in any endeavor. Whether its enlightenment or sobriety or whatever. It steals the will and resolve to accomplish the goal, whatever the goal may be. For example, how do you know for sure you are "on the right path?" How does one not doubt that they can reach their spiritual potential? And more specifically and personally, How does the solitary practitioner combat doubts regarding their spiritual progress? This is the one that always got me. As far as philosophy/spirituality goes, I am mostly self-taught, although I place tremendous faith in the inner light as a guide. And so far the inner teacher has helped me at every point; I was just curious about how others handle their own doubts. If one has a teacher, or is part of a lineage, then they have a guide to help them through the stages were doubts surface. But if one is alone... But it doesn't have to be a spiritual doubt. Defeating doubt is still defeating doubt. Chris

Check this guy out. If you like The Dave Matthews band, you'll probably like this guy. This is my favorite song, or at least it is the most-stuck in my head at the moment. Enjoy Chris

I need some help. You see, there's this demon that needs killin'. It is a wily, old devil. Very powerful. In fact I've fought with him for a long time,off and on, and I'm sure all of you have as well, or will at some point. My hope is, that in a place like this, some would emerge who have vanquished this old foe before, and who could help light the way for others. The name of the demon is Doubt. Or more specifically Self-Doubt. What is the best way to let go of Doubt? Chris

Hundun, Big Trouble In Little China is one of my favorite movies. Probably because it is so cheesy.... and full of great quotes as well. Thanks for responding to my question. I have been pondering this idea for a few years now, and I was trying to figure out how to word the question in a post that made some sort of sense. I hadn't been able to yet come up with a way, but, thanks to you, I saw the opportunity open and took it. Do you think that what Wilber calls the Witness, The ever-present awareness, is the same realization that Taoist writings describe as "the center in the midst of conditions" or "the center of the compass" or the "valley spirit" or "the mysterious female" or what have you? The weird thing is, it seems that for some schools, this realization of the witnessing awareness would come about as one of the fruits of meditation. For other schools it is independent of meditation. And then, from what I've read of the taoist literature, it seems that this realization is almost a pre-requisite, before one can work on things like immortality and such. Chris

Hi All, I just wanted to weigh in here. I first read one of Wilber's books about 7 or 8 years ago, The Essential Ken Wilber, I believe it was. and to say the least, I was impressed. From that I've gone on to read pretty much everything of his I can get my hands on. I understand that some may have a negative view of Ken, but finding his writings was an important step in my spiritual growth. His writings are intellectually strenuous at times, no doubt. But they can also be beautiful and inspiring. The last book I got was The Simple Feeling of Being, which is a collection of writings on various subjects. No joke, I often read passages from this book for meditation. I find that he is able to communicate with a clarity that often lacking in spiritual writings. But thats just my opinion. To each their own. Hundun, and other fans, I have a question. Coming to recognize yourself as the Witness, which then dissolves into nondual awareness, do you think this is the end of meditation or the beginning? Chris

Lately it's mainly been: OAR Dispatch Thomas Cunningham all on Pandora.com. I listen to it all the time at work. A great site if you have access. Chris

Favorite shows, in no particular order: Battlestar Galactica. Both the new and old, but new one is better. Southpark Lost Heroes Anything of the Three Stooges. Bugs Bunny Inuyasha Samurai Jack Avatar: The Last Airbender Ghost Hunters. Numbers I guess I really like cartoons. Chris

Hi All, Reading this thread inspired me to begin practicing the full lotus. I've done seated meditation from the half-lotus for years now. I guess I never moved on to the full lotus because I thought the discomfort would hinder my practice instead of enhance it. Well I'm on my second week now, I do two 15 minute sessions, one in the morning, one in the evening. Actually sitting in the position is not so bad, but getting out of it hurts like the devil. Especially my ankle. You have to start somewhere, though. But, I have noticed a pretty dramatic increase in flexibility of my legs and lower back. Also, weirdly, my body feels lighter for some reason. Anyway, thanks for the inspiration. Chris

Hi Bums, I was studying the other day, and I ran across a reference to a taoist dream yoga practice that sounded pretty interesting. There were only a few sentences to describe it, but gist of it is that during lucid dreaming you duplicate the 72 magical feats of the Monkey King, you know, from The Journey To The West. It sounded as though practicing the feats during dreamtime would help open energy channels and maybe even develop super-cool wizard powers in real life. Which is all well and good, but really I'm just interested in having some structure for my dream training. I've got some natural lucid dreaming ability, but I want to develop this skill as much as possible. Anyway, I've been trying to find a list of these 72 feats, and I'm having no luck. Has anyone ever heard of this training before? And does anyone know were I could find a list of the Monkey King's magic feats? And are the feat's described in The Journey To The West? I've never read it, so I have no clue. Thanks, Chris

Hi all, Seriously, aren't we making this levitation thing way more complicated than it needs to be. I mean, I thought it was a generally accepted fact that in order to fly, all you have to do is throw yourself at the ground--and miss. Chris

I'm going to go ahead and apologize in advance for this... ...And the bartender says to the dude, "Hey guy, you've got a steering wheel down your pants." The dude replies "Yeah I know. Its drivin' me nuts!" Chris