Uroboros

Rene- OHH! Ok, I gotcha. Hah, I wanted to make sure. I want to understand these writings. I would rather not continue thinking I was right when I was wrong.

Well, shucks! Thank you! Im glad I have made some progress in understanding the Chuang Tzu.

Ah, Yes. We must go slow. Newbies like me need to build the solid foundation.

Marblehead- Glad you liked my thought bubbles!

The TaoTeJing can be hard to penetrate, since its not using stories so much as poems.

It seems that Chuang Tzu wanted to give another way to express the principles. To help people.

I can see how the problem of Taoism becoming...different would be a problem. Moving away from its root. Less people actually understanding/ cultivating.

If its just a rehashing, all the better! Another way for us to penetrate the core, root principles!!

This is fun, I feel, Marblehead. Lets keep going!

I feel like this version of the Joker could very well be a Taoist expression.

I feel that he is very in touch with him self. He states multiple times how he is in touch with his deepest, purest desires.

"I’m like a dog chasing cars, I wouldn’t know what to do if I caught one, you know, I’d just do…things."

"You see I'm a guy of simple tastes, I enjoy dynamite and gun powder and gasoline."

"All you care about is money, this town deserves a better class of criminal"

He may seem to be chaotic and at war with him self and the world, yet that is not entirely true.

He knows who he is. What he is. He does not plan, he does not scheme.

He acts. He does.

All coming from his core.

Its easy to say someone like him is not enlightened or wise or anything other then crazy.

Yet, if we dont touch that part of us that he embodies, are we truly whole?

Who are we to say that he is not a fully integrated person?

I have always felt that this type of character has huge amounts of wisdom within it.

So often, in our society, we ignore the aspects the Joker expresses.

The wild, crazy, chaotic aspects.

Its scary! It hurts! Its not "right"! Its immoral!

Hah!

I feel that Heath Ledger out did him self in this role. He embodied the chaos, the insanity in such a way that few have.

That is why this is one of my favorite movies. The Heath Ledger Joker is my favorite character that expresses and embodies the more chaotic nature of life.

Peace.

Rene- Thanks? Im not sure what you meant by- uroboros post is just fine.

If im not understanding and penetrating the chapters, I definitely want to know! hah!

Peace.

I had a thought about the P'eng and the Quail.

I think he is also talking about paradigms and perspectives.

The quail cannot even conceive of the view the P'eng experiences. It is so far outside of its mental range that it seems absurd.

We experience that all the time. If we dont believe something, its stupid, or silly or it does not exist.

In the story, I feel like he is showing how that is a faulty attitude. We get stuck as the quail, never seeing the entire horizon that the P'eng sees.

Also if something is SO far outside of what we choose to know, then it might even be so difficult for us to experience it, that it seems impossible.

A closed mind or an expansive open mind...

Peace.

T.S. - Fantastic!

Im glad you have done so much work. It does make things go...a bit smoother if you have a certain level of self understanding.

A sensitivity to your inner workings.

Hehe, my posts were not just for you and others, they are a good reminder to my self!! HAH!

I know I need to follow my own advice. hehe.

Ahh, the core....Ive spent some time on that one.

Its very illusive, which I find enjoyable. Its always there yet never quite there.

Its like grasping at smoke. You have it but you dont have it.

Atleast, thats how it is for me in my current state. That too, will change.

For some people self love is simple. for others, they must put forth effort to cultivate it.

I figure, if we keep going, stay open to new possibilities, we will get somewhere good!

Getting stuck is a big one, though.

In my own experience, keeping and expansive mind, in such a way that you can look at all possibilities seriously, helps allot.

Maybe that might help you.

Peace!

Effilang- This article you wrote is excellent!

Theoretically you should be able to use the reverse process, Shen to Qi to Jing.

I think its great that you are opening your mind to see what else is out there.

We have to always bring it back to the foundation. For us the foundation is Taoist Cosmogenesis.

Wuji- Taiji- Yin/Yang- 5 Phases, etc.

One of the foundations of the theory is that, like breathing, there is a flow.

The manifestations go back to Wuji and Wuji moves into manifestation.

So based on that, you must be able to go , Shen - Qi- Jing.

The question is how. I dont know!

Maybe you will figure it out. Maybe not.

At the very least, I feel like I have grown from expanding my mind, even if I dont "reach" the "goal".

Anywho, the eyes are important, I agree.

I look forward to seeing what comes of your investigations. If i find something that may help, I will add it.

OH, ok. Thought.

What is Shen?

If we are going to start with Shen, we need to have an idea what it is...Is it mind? Spirit? One thing or many?

If its many, do they need to become harmonized, like a laser or can it stay the way it is?

Questions, questions..

Good luck!

Peace.

T.S. - If you put energy into something, its going to affect it. The thing is, how do you go about it?

What is your intent? That seems to matter quite a bit.

Are you contemplating your various aspects of self to find the core? Looking to understand?

Or just affirming that the words are true?

Also, who will think your traits are highly undesirable? Do YOU think they are? Better yet, do you FEEL they are?

If you can penetrate your internal world with enough fine tuned sensitivity, you can start to see where it comes from and what its made of.

You can understand it. You may realize that a thing, a word, a part of you, is really good and then you just suddenly, in that realization, drop the pain around it.

Can you accept your self, completely? Thats really hard, at times.

You may want to consider a few things.

1- is it true? Look at statistics and look at the world around you. Say, if you feel you are ugly and unlovable. Are there people who are "uglier" then you who are loved? Are there people who love you now?

If you can find those things, then its not true.

2- Is this thing something you want to change? Such as, you think you are fat/ unhealthy and feel bad about your condition.

Do you want to change that? Can you change it?

3- how vital is this part of your self to your Self? If this thought pattern/ emotion dissapeared, was let go, would you still exist? Do you NEED it?

4- do you want to change your self or accept your self? You can go the path of mindfulness and just let these things play out with equanimity.

Or you can change your self to be who you want to be.

They are both great paths, I feel. I have used both. I feel they each have their own time and place. As do others.

The point I am trying to make is that if you are still vague and grasping at smoke concerning the inner workings of your mind/ self, its may be hard for you to make much progress.

It may also not matter at all! hah

Peace.

Marblehead- That would make a huge difference. Focusing on the concepts, the core of the tales instead of the tales themselves.

Rene- fantastic point! The difference between what Chuang Tzu felt the concept was and what we think it is.....

Both would help us understand it better, I feel. Each individual interpretation, whilst understanding, as much as we can, what Chuang Tzu felt...

Good stuff!

Every one of the classics I have read, they all apply to the now, as they do to the future and the past...

I feel that these "sages" spoke to timeless truths and aspects of life....

Part of why their writings last.

Penetrating the concepts and realizing insight is needed to really implement, though...

The difficulty! The joy! Oh my!

I was thinking more on this and I had a thought. As one does. Hah.

What do you think of as your self? We can generalize and say, I hate my self..what is the self we are hating?

I know in my case, its not ALL of what makes up my identity, my self.

It is various aspects that I feel hatred towards. Fears, weaknesses, pain, opinions of others I took on as my own, failures etc.

Heck, there is even pain going WAY back to when I was an infant/ child.

Such as when my Grandmother died when I was 5, there is a feeling of - it was my fault.

How I got that opinion/ feeling? Who knows! Its still there.

By knowing it is there, I can...become aware of its existence within me. Watch it play out, see the threads of its existence/ workings internally.

That does seem to help me work thru/ release emotions.

When you dont know, you dont know, much harder to do anything.

Peace.

This could be thought of as a practice to harmonize the waves/ vibrations being emitted by our body to a more refined space.

Breathing does help quite a bit. Its not the whole thing, though.

We can always find models within western science and taoist science to bring them together, if we need too.

Like vibrations/ waves/ electromagnetic and such of western science.

Jing, Qi, Shen and such of taoist science.

They may not be the same thing, it can still help a person begin to penetrate that which they dont know, they dont know.

Anywho, good video share, Jonas!

Many people feel hatred and dislike towards their self. Its not really that surprising considering how many times we are shown/ taught that who we are is not enough. That what we want it not as important as what others want for us.

That is one of my big trials/ hurdles...I dont have any answers for you, since I have not gotten over that hump my self.

What I can say is that the only way I have gotten anywhere in this sort of work is by going into the "pain".

Hiding from it, repressing it, ignoring it, hating it.....Never get me anywhere.

Acceptance and a willingness to feel and learn, to let go of, has helped me work thru allot.

Sometimes we must go into the deep, dark cave or else we will never find the treasure chest.

Peace.

MarbleHead- Thank you for your efforts in creating a way for various peoples to understand the Chuang Tzu.

I have found some of his works to be easily understood and others very shifty.

Hehe, after I posted in here, I went and found your previous attempt. There were some good insights and opinions.

For me, the first chapter always throws me. Its so...vague yet clear...He speaks of giants and tiny beasts.

It seems the Chuang Tzu, Lao Tzu and the others like them were precise in their language.

So I feel that the words they use are important.

Yet, they can also make it seem as though they are precise when really the words mean little!

HAH, such is my confusion!

If there is something I can do to help, let me know.

Peace.

Marblehead! I would love to participate in studying the Chuang Tzu. If you do start one, I will bring forth what little insight/ mind vomit that happens to be relevant.

Are you wanting it to be like a study group/ book club? Everyone reads a chapter, gnaws on it and exchanges ideas as to what they feel it means?

Which is your favorite translation? They do seem to make a big difference.

Peace.

Lin!! Do the TaoTeJing commentary! That would be loads of fun....

Anywho, as usual, the show is fun, helpful and filled with good info.

Looking forward to future good-ness!

Peace

You can learn allot from the contrast the extreme states created by spending allot of energy/ sexual energy / jing.

It may be very helpful for you to listen inwardly and see how your body moves. How it uses the energy, what is there, what is not there and so on.

Getting familiar with the states that occur can help you figure out how to go about storing and revitalizing.

Example, if you store your sexual energy/ semen and then you start to feel very hot and angry after a few days, you now know something about your current state.

You can go deeper. What does your body feel like in various places? In the pelvic region? heart? Head? Etc.

You may start to communicate and understand your body which, I have found, helps tremendously with finding out HOW to store the energy/ use it without driving your self into an extreme state.

I dont have any answers...just ideas/ questions that may or may not help you along your path.

Peace.

Thank you for the interesting article, SonOfTheGods!

I have felt for awhile that most of what people think is a Kundalini awakening/ movement is not the real deal...mostly because of what happens during and after.

This article explains what many are experiencing and I have observed.

I enjoyed the read.

Peace

Good question, Friend....What is the purpose of putting so much effort into a name, a persona...if it is erased, forgotten.

Hmm....maybe the purpose is for the individual. Less about other people. More about the person living.

If we did not exist in the minds of the world, would we be who we are? Would we be doing what we are doing?

Would things like lineages and reputation matter? I dunno.

It is interesting to see what comes up when we question such things...

What if a person did not learn in a "legitimate" way and still cultivated high levels of skill? Do they become recognized or are they still considered "illegitimate"?

Just some thoughts.

Peace.

Thank you, JoeBlast and Creation! I have been pondering whether or not to buy it...Now I will put it on my list!

Cat- In my opinion sex is is a microcosmic version of creation. Both polarities, shiva/shakti/, yin/yang merge together and in that merging life can be created.

Even if there is no conception, the amount of healing and power generated is huge! Sexual energy is very powerful.

We can use that energy to create a new energetic vessel for a spirit or to heal and strengthen our selves.

I figure, since its so powerful and such a strong drive within us, it deserves a certain level of respect and devotion to understanding.. The potential, the truth of what it is.

As I have been thinking about the paths that use desires instead of destroying them.. I wondered if the reason so few take that path is because the desires, especially sexual, are so powerful that it is far harder to go into them without being consumed by them...

Just some thoughts. Thank you for the great posts, Cat!

Creation- What is your opinion of the Taoist Sexual Meditation book? Im curious as to the quality/ usefulness of the information...

Peace.

Friend- In the Tantra book I am reading (mentioned in previous post) they say that when two lovers/ partners are breathing thru both channels, the Pingala and Ida creating the Sushumna, a baby conceived then would be an old soul/ more evolved.

Dunno how much that would effect the spirit incarnating, I can see how it would affect the body/ spirit sack that is made, though.

Maybe this helps!

Peace

Perfect post, Cat!

I started reading Tantra the Yoga of Sex by Omar V. Garrison yesterday and they talk about this in the book.

Not as specific as your post, though. The specifics of time and duration are very helpful!

Thanks allot!

I do feel better after spending at least 30 minutes having sex. Have not tried this exact form yet, its on the list, though.

In the Tantra book they talk more about Polarity and harmonization between those the Feminine and Masculine/ Shakti, Shiva.

They used the same example of the Arabian couple.

Peace.

Snoop D O Double G say's - Don't do it, kids!

JoeBlast- I can do that sometimes with sneezing, too. I go into the feeling fully and the sensation/ energy moves but there is no explosive contraction/ exhale.

Not sure if thats actually a good thing for me, though. hah!

What do you think?

Res- Ejaculating is pretty much the same mechanism as a sneeze. Both are hard contractions that result in the expulsion of something.

Orgasm is different then ejaculation, though.

Maybe the guy sneezes because he feels threatened by intimacy on a deep level, so his body is preparing to defend itself against perceived invaders.

NineTailedFox- I have noticed the gap in sneezing. Same with yawning. Yawning requires more....awareness to experience the gap, I find. It feels deeper to me, though.

Interesting talk, Lin! Thank you for another enjoyable, informative video/ talk!

Peace.

Dzogchen- Thank you for the information. I was asking BaguaKicksAss to expand on what she was going to say because I have found the things she shares to be interesting and insightful.

I was curious as to what she was going to say.

Peace.