TheSongsofDistantEarth

Being realistic is helpful yes. Sitting here saying not to worry or trying to get a novice to recite spells,draw fu's is suicide. Again if you truly feel threatened Then you have to find a teacher or somebody at least that is capable of offering some protection.

Well, for what it's worth, I believe Mo Pai Guy's suspicions about you are correct, and you just popped in on his thread here to intimidate him in the guise of offering helpful "advice".

I say again, its impossible for a novice to defend against somebody experienced. No mind f#### about it, just a fact.

Thanks for your input, it's really helpful.

Well its impossible for a novice to protect themself against an expert. Your best bet would be to contact Ken or Kathy. Perhaps they can give your photo to master wang and he might be able to put some kind of blanket around you. Your already in the water pie and if you dont learn to swim then you go under.

Ooh, nice try at a mind f*ck, TheTaoBum. Don't listen to him More Pie, he's full of shit. Jeez, I think your suspicions about this guy are correct, but if he's so powerful, why is he ripping people off for small change? He's a small time rip-off loser, don't worry about his "black magic"

Nice! Many thanks!

Again, more confirmation of a low level path attracting, well, you know...

More Pie, really, this is how you're going to escape rebirth, with 'Chinese Black Magic'? Seems as though one would only build up more karma on this path.

And that is how anarchy works. No rules from the outside, but respect from within. Here we make it up as we go along; stay close to our side arms and all is ok.

Works for anarchists, but not so well for everybody else

I want my 3m12s back

Done! Here ya go...!

I'm still skeptical of the guy. I'll go take the test. But just saying that there is no dysfunction, it's all a misunderstanding is wrong. I worked an inner-city ER for 18 years, and lemme tell ya, mental illness and dysfunction is no illusion. But sure, encourage those with challenges to overcome them. I just suspect this guy, that's all.

I find the whole point of it off-putting. And the haranguing tone: ALL the establishment is wrong, and only rebels are right.

That "test" is also total bullshit ("ooh, I'm a rebel, a nonconformist, anti-establishment dude") the whole thing is just self-promotion for Mr La Porta. There is nothing there if you take his thing apart. Unless you're into total anarchy, we need some sort of 'establishment'.

And it looks like the drivers in Venezuela do have rules, they just came up with their own. Yes, they did, otherwise there would be a collision at every intersection.

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=wBgdoUDpsQw

 

so intense I couldn't watch to the end.

Yeah, talk about senseless violence...

Otis, that entire video gave me the chills. I loved it. It spoke to the part of me that knows that The Way underlies everything; and that every once in a while a light-keeper comes along to further the Way. We are lightkeepers here. There is something so inherently good in Life, if we CHOOSE to look at life this way.

 

I love your spirit, my friend.

 

'You may say I'm a dreamer. But I'm not the only one.'

I dunno, it's mixed, I watched it again and don't understand what he's talking about fully...singing the praises of the dysfunctional? I like the spirit of it, but maybe I don't get it.

From the Video above:

"Your mood swings reflect the natural pulse of life...they give you unstoppable energy when you're high, deep soulful insight when you're low"...maybe true, as many bipolars have been famous people, but they often leave much wreckage behind...

"and diagnosed with a disorder? That's society's own way to deny it's own illness by pointing the finger at you"...yeah, perhaps sometimes, but there really are effed up people out there too, with body dysmorphic disorder, alzheimer's dementia, depressive disorder... are they just misunderstandings od creative genius?

"Your addictive personality is just a symptom of your vast underused capacity for heroic creative expression and spiritual connection"... That's all addiction is? Jeez, who knew?

I dunno, this is all over the place...I understand the desire to motive people, but what is he saying? "We are all the same you know, because we are all attracted to the flame" Yes, in theory...

 

 

The wonderful thing about books like this is that they can be reread at various phases of our development and it's as though we're reading a totally different book because we are a different being every time we read it. The great ones are like that.

Yes!!!

Requiem for a Dream. Holy f*ck. Try it, you'll see. Darren Aronofsky. Haunting and intense film about addiction. Amazing soundtrack, too.

Jacob's Ladder.

A movie about the Bardo, where the main character played by Timothy Robbins doesn't know if he is dead or not.

I have a couple more, which I'll post later. Great topic, Blasto.

I don't quite know how I feel about this. Inspired words, some of it bullshit: "Your distractibility is an artifact of your inspired creativity". Um, no it's not. "You cant stand rules because in your heart, you know there's a better way". Yeah, but we need rules to function. Rules are necessary, they just have to be correct.

I have to sit with this. Part of the problem is that most of the 90% of asleep people he refers to who view this video will lump themselves in as a Wayseer. Everybody sees themselves as 'the rebel'.

It seems as though he is out to press a very specific button, and I feel manipulated by this video, so I don't buy into it. Darn clever wordsmithing, though.

I like this guy better:

Excellent book - my understanding and appreciation for Daoist ideas has developed more from "non-classical" sources than from the classics. Alan Watts' books, Osho's When the Shoe Fits, J Krishnamurti's work, Anthony Demello's Awareness, and most of all - meditation and Taijiquan. The classic Daoist works are certainly worthwhile but have a lot more to offer once some fundamentals are assimilated. The fundamentals, IMO, are best integrated through practice rather than study. One beautiful image from "The Book" is the "bag of skin" illusion. Once that is seen through (not so much intellectually but in one's bones and breath), real understanding begins.

Are you referring to a book here, Steve F?

Fear of what if's is the major motivation for me. I was atheist till 2005 when I had something like a kundalini awakening gone horribly wrong. I had been working with entraining gamma band brainwaves like monks I had read about in studies. I experienced my mind moving into and out of multiple layered realities simultaneously, and it was a horrific experience, that led me to believe that the mind will continue past death. That experience led me to believe that reincarnation was probable, and researching masters like John Chang, Wang Liping, and Chunyi Lin who all confirm their belief in reincarnation added to my suspicion that it might occur.

 

I don't know why or how I got here or if I have some purpose, but I feel pursuing methods to expand my consciousness, and spirit are my calling.

 

 

Well, don't ever try any serious psychedelics, if that freaked you out. Back in the day when I was intensely curious about consciousness brought about by psychedelics, I had a friend who would eyeball/guestimate dosages of some insanely powerful rare psychedelics and overdosed us several times. I remember lying naked, unable to drag myself anywhere or even put clothes on, experiencing a realm of hell in the middle of a path in Zion National Park. Thanks God nobody came along. It was a moment to moment trying to hold on to sanity for hours and hours and hours...afterwards I felt strengthened that I had endured and emerged perhaps stronger.

But many of us have the same motivation as you.

Reading this now. Will follow with my thoughts and impressions.

I will tell you the correct answer according to the most learned Taoist sages, for me to provide the answer however, will cost you $200.

Probably not since he's most likely into yoga.

:lol:

Practicing QiGong in the Rain?

Do you like Pina Coladas?

I don't hate life on earth so much as I find it bizarre and death/rebirth unacceptable.

 

Life itself just seems so bizarre, I woke up here as a child with no memories just poof here I am, I have to destroy and eat other lifeforms to continue to exist, and my body is rotting and soon in a few decades I'll be gone again back to the state I was before my birth. That is bizarre, and really if I had a choice in the matter I'd stop the cycle (if there is one) altogether. I don't want to have to go through the birth and death cycle any more, I am making an effort in this life to stop it, should it exist. If rebirth doesn't occur, that's fine too, I wouldn't see my life as wasted. I am just ready to get off the merry-go-round, that is how I feel with every fiber of my being.

 

Eternal nonexistence while less preferable to spiritual immortality is a reasonable facsimile to it in my opinion. I don't feel that wanting to dedicate the rest of my life to training and meditation to end rebirth is superficial, but maybe you disagree with my reasoning behind the goal. Whatever, it's my life to be superficial with I guess

 

Also you criticize me for not making something of my life, well I went into the field I enjoyed most (computer repair, networking) and I am probably the most competent tech in my area, I am one of the few A+/Net+ certified techs here. I do all the extra work I can handle on the side.

 

I could make more money if I moved to the city, but the much higher rent, higher cost of groceries, need to have a newer car for transportation, would mean I would actually earn less than I do now, not to mention the increased stress and effects of pollution of all kinds on health.

 

If I had to do it over again I would have gone into a better paying field like optometry or pharmacy, but that is hindsight now and I don't have the desire to go back to school for eight years to get a job I would have a hard time doing part time.

 

I don't believe it is possible to work full time and seriously dedicate your life to training, so I am going to work part time to support myself. If I have to give up electricity, and motor vehicles to train full time I guess I will.

 

I've thought seriously about going back to school but there are no good paying jobs that can be done part time that don't involve being around sick and dying people or infectious diseases. I spent weeks researching the BLS.GOV occupational outlook handbook which lists virtually every job type, the demand for it, it's working conditions, pay etc. I can't find anything that is in demand, that pays well,and that you can do part time. I contacted career councilors and job advisers asking this same question with no answer other than go into nursing or start your own business.

 

I've toyed with the idea of running my own business, I know I could make it work. The problem however is time, I would be pouring more time and effort into it than I am now. That kind of defeats the point.

 

My father is a very very very successful business man, he's made more money than I could ever hope to, but he is also very miserable and worked his body until his spine is broken (literally). He has all this money, but lost most of it due to bad business investments. He has traded his time, his very lifeblood for money, and now he's lost his most of his money. Even when he had money though, he was still miserable. Work, work, work, money, money, money, but no time to enjoy any of it.

 

 

The amount of life, and soul my father poured into his quest for wealth ultimately brought him nothing, and I don't plan on following his example.

 

I just want the basics and to work as little as possible to support a minimal existence.

 

Also I do see monks who beg for food as similar they are basically asking the community to feed so they can focus on their training, it's just more socially acceptable that way.

More Pie, it seems you have the desire to stop the wheel of rebirth for yourself "with every fiber of your being". Have you thought why you might have taken birth in a body this time around? Totally random, or is there a 'reason' for being here? I ask because you have the makings of a real spiritual adept, but your thinking seems off on a lot of this, and you seem to have grasped quickly at solutions rather than exploring things deeply. You are a man of action, but you seem impulsive, committing your life to ends perhaps prematurely, and dismissing much without real knowledge.

I still disagree with your analogy of your situation with monks in other cultures. In other cultures, the population understands the monks and wishes to support them; in our culture, you would be freeloading on the backs of people who are pulling their own weight and would not approve of your ways if asked. I am guessing that you are impatient, wanting answers and results, and don't have the time or patience for subtleties.

But you basically have adopted a number of beliefs that suit you, given slightly different circumstances, you could easily have other beliefs, but would be none the wiser. You have assumed a lot, but don't seem to have dug deeply for what the truth may be, you seem only interested in escaping the pain of a physical life and are grasping at what you think is the ticket out.

I am very curious because you seem to have laser-like focus and unswayable determination on your mission, I just question whether you have looked very deeply into these questions. You seem to be caught in reactivity toward your revulsion for being alive. I know we've gone around with this before, but that is an attachment that must be overcome to attain what you are seeking. It's like hating someone: the very act of hating them ties you to them energetically? Has this occurred to you, that the same would apply toward your distaste and disdain for a physical existence?

I do wish you the best on your path.

If you PM me, I will send you this book to keep, not to change your mind, but to see that there are other ways to go:

http://www.amazon.com/MOST-DIRECT-MEANS-ETERNAL-BLISS/dp/0979726786/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1300929638&sr=8-1

Kinda weird, but it made you want to see the whole thing.

Ulises, that was beautiful and insightful beyond words.

 

I like to think that good character and integrity are what we do when no one is watching.

Also insightful, manitou!

My life and environment are too chaotic, I need to work less to get some sort of normalcy in my life to get back in the zone for training. I am in the process of getting into the position to pursue training full time, and I feel like I am doing the best I can. I meditate on my off days after all the shopping and chores are done and everything else is taken care of, when I work my nerves are sore and my mind is inundated with chaos.

 

Eventually I will get around to sitting down and scanning the taoist yoga book, I plan on replacing each weird obscure term with plain and simple english, then going back and simplifying down to a grade school level. That is what it would take for me to be able to read it without wincing, and is actually on my todo list, just way in the back.

 

I thought the mozi neidan book probably was a fake book, but the slim hope that it might be legit clouded my judgement. I was hoping that should it be legit it could be translated professionally via a group effort, although I knew the odds of such being very low. It was pretty retarded of me to believe that some guy who sells amulets on a blog could ever somehow find such an important text, I guess I just wanted to believe.

It might be worth your while to develop/cultivate while you are working, since you never no how long this phase will last. If 'mindfulness' is too dull for you, try Gurdjieffian Self-Remembering and Self-Observation. If you can't wake up from anywhere in your life, you'll find you are your own worst enemy when you finally create all the "right" conditions to escape rebirth. Gurdjieff stressed the friction of being in life for development, rather than creating special conditions in order to cultivate.

This book will keep you busy for a long while; you may dismiss it as not 'powerful' or exotic enough, but you would be making a mistake.

I haven't disregarded Buddhism completely, I've just never heard of any Buddhist master or otherwise claim to have freed themselves from rebirth. I've bought several Buddhist books that others suggested I read dealing with rebirth and spoken with many Buddhists about this to no avail. What I've found is that with all the Buddhists I've spoken with rebirth is a taboo subject, and there is no way to stop it because it doesn't happen.

 

I am following the best leads I have at the moment, but I am open minded to others as well.

 

I haven't really heard of any other systems that show results like the schools I am interested in, I am sure they are out there but I am ignorant of them. I just want out as quickly and efficiently as possible, and from my own research Buddhism doesn't seem to offer what I am looking for.

 

Traditionally Buddhist monks used begging bowls while they meditated relying on others to feed them to survive, I believe they too could have gotten off their lazy asses and worked more as well.

 

I'll meditate more on this, and think about it carefully before I decide anything.

Well, what are "results" you mean? Ability to manipulate chi doesn't mean anything other than that.It seems you equate spiritual attainment with fireworks and "results". I'm sorry, but I am not impressed with your spiritual search. It's very, very superficial, the path you describe for yourself. What the heck happened to you that you abhor life on earth so much that you would rather be without awareness for eternity than alive?

And being on public assistance does not equal monks with begging bowls. Go beg then, or get sponsors, but shamelessly going on public assistance 'cause you would rather spend your time meditating...you already know that ain't right. (Don't let Joeblast find out!). I certainly would have no respect for someone who is doing what you proposed.

Too bad you weren't able to apply yourself early in life to make something of yourself and 'retire' early to follow the path of a sadhu, or found something where you could pull your own weight and still have enough time to cultivate...it's possible. I worked 1/2 to 2/3 time for many years and made a nice living helping people.

I hate to seem argumentative, but I grew up in a fundamentalist household, and I know for a fact that many Baptists and other Christians would be turned off by any mentioning of Monastic practices, Church Fathers (A true fundamentalist will tell you that there's not father, but God They would not be happy about hearing anything that's based on Catholicism or any sect that isn't their own. If it ain't in the King James version of the bible, then it's a false doctrine

 

 

Oops.

The other thing is to just be who you are, if they don't like you and your ideas, so be it. Doesn't bode well for the future if you can't be yourself.