roger

This truth is so important that it couldn't be overemphasized imo.

Except for "New Age" (for lack of a better way of putting it) teachers, nearly all traditions overlook it.

ACIM defines "death" as the apparent (but not actual) loss of one's divine nature and identity.

It says, "What is the end of death? Nothing more than this; the realization that the Son of God (all beings) is guiltless, now and forever."

Essentially, "enlightenment" is knowing your innocence, your worth, which are part of your divine nature.

Now, I DO believe a person can be awake, realized, or whatever, and not INTELLECTUALLY understand that all beings are innocent. BUT, they must have "found their innocence" in some way- whether they call it "innocence" or not.

The shortcut to enlightenment, the easy approach that can save years or perhaps even lifetimes, is the total acceptance of the fact that one is entirely guilty of nothing.

Thanks for sharing this amazing teaching, C T.

It echoes my own thinking that "there's no real problem, and no separate self to have the problem."

That approach to spirituality and awakening has been a large part of my path.

A quote from ACIM is, "The world has invented many remedies to its problems, but the one thing it hasn't done is questioned the reality of the problem."

It's nice to read something that reflects and confirms this teaching for me.

Thanks again!

That's where I'm at too.  I most times love myself, most others tend to irritate me too much for me to love them.

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O81i6zibYCU

 

I love my family. I don't love my enemy. How does that work?

MH, the thing is that, in terms of experience, it's not so that you either love a person, or you don't. Everyone loves everyone to some extent. You, personally, are very loving imo, and that love for others is a reflection of your self-love.

z00se, the point I was making is that a specific action, choice, or thought, is either loving towards oneself and others, or towards neither.

For example, when a person feels hatred, that feeling isn't loving towards themselves, or others.

It's not really SELF-loving to not love one's enemies.

Something very meaningful to me, and that I feel is of utmost importance these days, is the relationship between self-love and love for others. The "self-love movement" is a good thing imo, but many people still haven't resolved the basic conflict because of a simple misunderstanding.

Here's the thing: An act of love is either loving towards yourself AND others, or NEITHER.

You can't love yourself at the expense of others- that's not self-love. And you can't love others at the expense of yourself- that's not love for others.

To attack another is to attack yourself. To bless another is to bless yourself.

Consider the justice of this, not as a "punishment" of any kind, but as love.

If it were true that an act could be best for oneself but not for others, truth itself would be an absurdity. Love would then be attack. Loving oneself would be attacking others. How insane God and truth would be!

This is the essence of divine justice and what ACIM calls the "law of love" (karma).

You either love yourself AND others, or NEITHER.

It has many names yet it really shouldn't have one in the first place as it can become a massive distraction as most words and concepts have baggage. It's the most obvious and allusive pot of gold (or crap) there is



 

Nonetheless.





 

Do you really want enlightenment? I mean really want it. 





As in throw away all that your have achieved up to now in regard to your path and trinkets you picked up along the way (pun intended).



 


Ah yes. That should be addressed. The way, the dao. I love this stuff. When I learnt about the Way many years ago it lit something inside of me and since then i've been, erm,  lets say brainwashed, by several ways to be, how to be,  why to and what to be - not that i'm complaining, it was a fun ride.

 



So.

I have a, lets call it, (un)perspective, that differs to almost all those around me and I see people getting bogged down in stories that although are fun and entertaining, will untimely never lead to, erm,  enlightenment - unless it's seen for what it is - which might be the reason they exist in the first place. Who knows.



 

Oh yes. I'm not all knowing but I know something that can't be wavered and should (being modest here) be able to stand up to almost any line of inquiry (or attack if you're feeling feisty).



 

I'm not really sure why i'm here, I both don't care and stopped asking certain things. It is what it is.
 If it becomes unhealthy for others I'll leave - if i get bored i'll also leave.


 

And enough noise, back to the original question, do you really want enlightenment?

 

If so, whats stopping you from seeing it right now (and i mean that literally, not figuratively).

People fear enlightenment, even those who passionately seek and desire it.

What nearly everyone fears is their divine nature, their innocence, their love, and, particularly, their self-love.

Enlightenment is the realization of those things, which everyone ALREADY has.

Everyone really DOES want those things, and profoundly so. We long utterly for them.

So basically, what we fear and what we truly want are the SAME.

The journey is about letting go of the fear and manifesting the desire.

Hello.

 

Perhaps this is rude, definitely selfish -- i searched for a Daoist forum just to ask this one question.

 

The question is asked on buddhism stackexchange, so far receiving no satisfactory answers. http://buddhism.stackexchange.com/q/18738/5849

 

There is a sense that i'm asking for too much, asking a question that can not be answered in words. Perhaps the Daoist community has a different take, a more hands on answer.

Perhaps this question is of interest to others as well.

 

Thank you.

 

 

PS. To add a life example to the question:

Sometime in the morning i wake up with an urge to pee. Sometimes i can stay in bed for 10-20 minutes, for no good reason, knowing well that there is no escape from this bodily function. In that state, i examine my volition: i can easily get up, and just as easily stay in bed. So what phenomenon makes that choice? Why is it that one day i get up right away, and other days it can take "forever", yet feeling that the choice is "right at the fingertips"? Who is, what is volition?

 

Again, thank you.

Your "divine nature" makes the choice. That's why everything is in "divine order." All is as God wills it.

You have no choice but to do the will of your divine nature, it's YOUR will.

Can anyone share some good advice for staying mindful and in the present?   

Believe that it can be fun, and that it doesn't have to be extremely difficult. When you believe that, it will be your experience.

Also, be clear that you really and truly want to do it. For many people, it's more of a fantasy than something they truly want. If you're not clear that you really want to undertake the practice, ask God or whatever you think of as a higher power to help you get clear. It may very well be that the lifelong undertaking of mindfulness isn't for you, and that's OKAY if that's the case. Do what gives you joy.

Finally, experiment with the affirmation, "I am aware."

Saying that to yourself can immediately help you become more aware.

A variation of that affirmation is, "I am aware that I am aware." That's very helpful too.

Enjoy the journey- that matters more than reaching the destination.

Btw, I'm currently reading "Mindfulness for Beginners" by Jon Kabat-Zinn and it's really good.

"I can not believe I am saying this: I am sorry. I can now say with certainty that 'opening' your third eye and getting involved with occult practices, witchcraft, and even meditation for heightened spiritual 'power', will open you up to demonic influence. The crap that I got sucked into, and helped to spread, is out there to distract and move us away from the one and only God; and God's son, Jesus Christ. This is not a game. You are not here to become a God or a Goddess and 'ascend' to higher dimensions, or learn how to fly out of your body and move objects with your mind. We are in the devil's playground. Go with God."

 

 

I read this on a video where a person talks about opening the third eye then years later posts this onto their video after experiencing an awakening, any thoughts on this? do you think the person just had a bad experience or couldn't go through her problems etc?

My opinion is that the person wasn't exactly successful in their path, and so chose something they found easier and less threatening- in this case, Christianity.

Involvement with occult practices and witchcraft can definitely be dangerous.

Probably what happened in this case was that the person's spiritual path wasn't truly grounded in LOVE, but in pride and ego, and when they finally had enough nonsense, embraced Christianity in a loving way.

ANY form of spirituality- Christian, New Age, Buddhist, Daoist, atheistic- can be harmful if one's heart isn't in the right place.

This person seems to have blamed the practices, rather than themselves, for their failure.

Of course, I don't know the exact details of their situation, but based on the quote, those are my conclusions.

IMHO trying to figure out the exact nature of the relationship between the mind and body is a minefield and a distraction.

 

I think you're making things a lot more intellectual than they need to be. 

This is what I was thinking as I was reading the OP.

Soaren,

You said you want to understand your shadow, and making things complicated and difficult is actually exactly what your shadow might attempt to do.

The shadow self wants to AVOID truth, love, and peace. It wants to keep them "at bay," keep them at a safe distance.

It seeks distraction and entertainment (I'm not implying that entertainment is always bad).

One of the great teachings of Taoism is the emphasis on simplicity.

Find simple answers to complex questions- that's a Taoist approach to problem solving.

Mostly I wonder why I as an individual feel hurt if the nature of my self is the totality of existence, then why do "I" get hurt?

What I see here is that there's a deep curiosity in you about something very specific, which basically everyone has, whether they're conscious of it or not.

What it is is the need to recognize GUILT as it is, to see that the fundamental problem, the block that keeps us from knowing oneness, and the basic illusion that causes suffering, is the false idea that we are guilty.

Hurt feelings, anger, and fear, arise out of guilt.

The truth is that we're all innocent- no one is guilty.

I just want to recommend something very powerful, that can help tremendously.

For a few days or so, a few times each day, say to yourself, "I am guilty of nothing. Mark is guilty of nothing. Sara is guilty of nothing." Use whoever comes to mind, for a minute or so.

What you'll be doing is training yourself to see yourself and everyone as innocent.

I hope this helps.

Daimai,

What everyone really needs and wants is oneness.

You seem to have realized, as few have, the futility of seeking oneness socially. No one ever finds it that way.

The only way, ultimately, to have it is to realize that you ALREADY DO!

We're all the SAME life, the same consciousness, the same love.

I am a FORM of you. It's just that we're only consciously aware of being in our bodies.

The deep understanding that everything is the same universal consciousness may be the solution for you.

You know V, in "Lord of the Rings," the problem with the ring of power was that everybody misused its power.

You see, you might do bad things with such a ring, and you'd suffer utterly for it- you'd pay a great price for misusing your power.

If you want power, call upon God. Give your life to God. Invite God into your life and heart.

Then you'll have as your provider and protector a Being infinitely more powerful than any ring. But never ask God to do anything wrong for you, that's not a good idea.

Just pray, "God, I give you my life. Please bless and protect me. Help me to live wisely and to find happiness."

God WILL answer your prayer.

And don't think God will ask you to change or give up anything, such as having sex or anything that gives you pleasure. God wouldn't do that. He loves you.

Something I consider of utmost significance is how, with every choice we make, we're teaching, learning, and reinforcing the beliefs out of which those choices arise.

There was a girl at a restaurant last night who was somewhat unkind to me, and it was apparent that she had a deep-seated sense of shame and unworthiness.

So, by choosing to interact with others in that way, she was reinforcing and giving power to the belief that she doesn't feel good about herself, that fear is justified, that she needs to have her guard up, and that that's the kind of person she is.

Another girl, today, was very kind to me. By making the choice to be kind, she was learning and reinforcing the idea that it's safe to love, that she feels good about herself, and many other postive and ultimately true ideas.

I walked pass a beautiful woman today, and I turned around to look at her. I felt that I had to. It was compulsive. Unfortunately, I reinforced and learned the underlying false ideas- that I'm not really free, that women's beauty has power over me, that I'm not in total control of myself, and so on.

You're FREE whether you ACT like it or not. But if you don't act like it, you're giving power to the illusion that you're NOT free.

I feel that our choices are very important and powerfully reinforce the beliefs that sponsor them.

It's inconceivably (not capable of bring imagined, unthinkable, are classic definition(s) descriptions for inconceivable) wise to choose love?

 

Did I miss the point?

Inconceivably.

And that's a wonderful thing.

Peace.

Wisdom and justice dawned on my mind today. I "saw the light." I've been very at peace since this happened.

I feel strongly that if anyone reading this is honest, open, and willing (how), they too can grasp the essence of the point I'm making.

It's very, very simple.

It's inconceivably (to a human mind) wise to choose love.

It's profoundly unwise to choose lack of love.

Think for a while about that, and it could very easily change your life.

I received an incredible sign today. I feel that things like this help people to have faith in the fact that there really is some kind of higher spiritual reality and "divine order" to things. Many things I've experienced throughout my life have helped me in that way, as I find it impossible to see them as coincidence.

I was thinking today about the subject of power, and how I seem to have had a certain sense of powerlessness in my experience with others, and that many have abused their power in their relationships with me. I seem to have been too willing to put up with subtle abuse and respond kindly to mistreatment.

V-Origin (I've referred to her as V) made a post about meeting people with supernatural power, and I was thinking about that, and also about the fact that the number 8 in numerology represents power.

The first sign was that a truck parked next to my car, and I looked at it and read on the side, "Power Stroke V8."

The second sign was that I was driving down the street and saw a billboard that said, "Cut EAO loose."

My older sister's maiden name is Elizabeth Ashley O'Neill- initials EAO.

I've always felt that my childhood relationship with her (she's 6 years older) was where my tendency to give away my power originated. She definitely abused her power and I innocently allowed that. People tend to repeat patterns learned in childhood in their adult life, and I took the sign as meaning that I needed to let go of (cut loose) my childhood view of her and our relationship with each other.

I thought these were two really amazing signs that spoke to me personally.

I feel that I've long since gone from merely thinking or suspecting that this kind of thing is valid and is evidence of the divine, to true certainty in it. It becomes immpossible to deny when you've experienced enough of it first hand.

Jack Kornfield said recently on twitter that the spiritual path is mostly self-acceptance.

I think part of the whole problem people have is this deep seated sense of being at odds with themselves. And that comes from feeling that one isn't really okay, that there's something wrong with them, something "bad" about them.

I find that the more I grow and heal, there's an increasing sense of feeling okay about myself. It's a process of coming to terms, coming to grips, with oneself.

The truth is that everyone really is okay, and no one is "guilty".

I have been coming to a conclusion that, running to meditation or any other "healing" techniques is just another way for the mind to escape what is and build a resistance to it, which win turns creates persistence.

 

So, my conclusion seems  to be going toward loving and enjoying what is even if it was negative as much as sorrow, which will allow us to experience it, and thus, there is no resistance. and maybe it may heal the permanent reaction to the memory that is causing sorrow and such. 

 

Please, don't throw concepts like (accept what is, allow, let go), please, provide explanation in terms of how to, what state of mind, or a feeling state that is needed to reach a Genuine feeling of loving and joy, not just a fake one that is like: "oh i love you, i'm enjoying this" but deep down we hate it soo bad and want to be positive. 

 

And please avoid techniques that are used to make us focus on something else to feel happy and joy as a result of escaping the negative feeling and ignoring it. Im looking for something that would dive deep into that feeling and embody it to love it and enjoy it.

 

Thank you!

There's a bliss, an ecstasy, in life, including in suffering, that need simply be recognized as such. In fact, it really need not even be recognized, because it's already there.

Some people enjoy being miserable.

Look deeply at your own suffering. Try to see the bliss, the "deliciousness," of it.

There was a young man who said he was only happy when he was angry. His anger gave him a sense of vital being, a sense of self-worth, of justice.

It's like the fact that it can feel GOOD to cry. There's a pleasure in crying.

And it's crazy, but often, the deeper the pain you feel when you cry, the deeper the release, the catharsis.

It's like the more your tears hurt, the greater the pleasure.

Just try to see that there's ALREADY a pleasure in your suffering. You just need to recognize it.

It may sound crazy, but I tend to view people as two beings simultaneously, a person and a soul. (a third would be universal spirit- all that is)

So from my pov, your soul knows everyone is doing their best, you just haven't "remembered" that consciously.

Your universal spirit IS me, and is everyone, and therefore knows literally everything. Spirit is the "soul's soul."

That's my new moral perspective.

I want to add that I'm not talking about being a so-called doormat, sacrificing yourself, engaging in false moral standards like not drinking alcohol or not masturbating (unless that's your desire), or "trying" so hard to be good that it makes you miserable. None of those things would be TRULY loving.

I'm talking about being as truly loving and good as you can be, to the best of your ability.

And here's something crazy and infinitely wonderful: Ultimately, everyone is ALREADY doing this. Everyone is doing their best.

First let me say that I make no claim whatsoever that I KNOW that what I'm saying is correct. I just believe it is.

I feel that I "received" this information, in the same way that Esther Hicks receives messages from Abraham. Again, I acknowledge that I could be mistaken.

The reason I'm sharing this is because I feel guided to, and because I think these are very helpful ideas.

Basically, there are 8 different paths one can take, based on any combination of 6 options.

The primary focus of one's path is on one of each of the two possibilities for each of the three catagories of Love, Truth, and Joy.

After one has completed their path, they begin the opposite path of the other options.

There are three main aspects to the spiritual path: Love, Truth, and Joy.

Of these three, there are two possibilities for each one. I put what I think of as a good example of each possibility in parenthesis.

Love: 1. self-love (having very healthy boundaries) 2. love for others (giving abundantly)

Truth: 1. wisdom (let go) 2. understanding (all is in divine order)

Joy: 1. peace through detachment (just be) 2. pleasure through indulgence (going out to eat frequently)

I feel that the main focus of everyone's path is on one of the eight combinations of the six possibilities above.

If you can discover which of those eight types you are, it can help you tremendously, imo.

I wanted to share this with everybody, because I feel that these are very powerful meditations, but the first of these isn't right for me, although it may be for some people.

The affirmation is: "I am aware."

The problem I had with this affirmation, is quite simply, I became overly aware. All the negativity in my unconscious mind bombarded me. I started feeling angry and afraid. Problems that should come up naturally when I'm READY to deal with them, came up PREMATURELY. I feel that sometimes it's best to let the unconscious mind just BE, without trying to tap into it, or prematurely look into everything hidden there. So, practice at your own risk!

The second is: "I rest in God." Or, instead of "God," you can say, "peace," "my divine nature," "my true being," or whatever.

I really like this meditation, and I feel a deep sense of rest and relaxation when I use it. Try it!

I started Tae Kwon Do when I was 7, got a black belt when I was 11, and quit when I was 18. I'm 41 now.

I was very poor at sparing (fighting), but I really loved doing forms, or what some call kata, which is like a meditation.

That was really my first experience with meditation. You weren't supposed to think when you did forms, and your body was supposed to remain still in between moves.

I really loved it, and have occasionally thought about doing the forms I learned as meditations. I haven't done a form since I quit Tae Kwon Do, but now that you bring it up, Prince, I might try doing them again.

Talking in  another post about energetic parasites and given this theory is correct - has anybody ideas/experience how to get rid of them?

 

Here my ideas:

1. Since tney are feedig off negative energy, just raise your "vibration" through meditation (e.g. Loving-Kindness Meditation), which makes your energy unattractive for them.

 

2. No giving off any energy through tempering ones moods and behaviours (Vipassana may help).

 

What do you think?

This might not be right for many people, but my approach to this kind of thing is simply to pray about it.

Simple prayers like, "Help please, God," "Protect me, Divine Mother," "Thy will be done, Father," or, "I ask for your blessing, Universe," can be very powerful.

If you don't believe in such things, but aren't sure, you can always ask for clarity and to know the real truth. But, unless your desire to know is wholehearted and honest, you could easily be deceived.

Of course, I acknowledge I could be mistaken

I've heard karate men from the kyokushin and shotokan backgrounds speak of using chi/ki to make their martial arts effective during the later stages of life after they reach a certain age and their athleticism is gone. I don't understand how this is possible but many karate men have also stated that karate in its most advanced stages looks indistinguishable from tai chi.

 

I've seen Jigoro Kano (and there's footage out there) avoid virtually any and all attempts to be thrown in judo. I believe this was done through a very deep understanding of body mechanics and using his own chi.

 

My questions are how is chi directly applied to martial arts? Also, can it also be applied to boxing? You can't talk about this in a boxing environment or you'll be ridiculed and they'll start making references to Dragon Ball Z. Boxing is an excellent martial art but it's also spiritually retarded and not always the most intelligent way to approach fighting or self defense.

I feel like there needn't be a specific or particular approach to applying chi to martial arts. It's just that, if you have a high level of chi, your performance will be greater in many ways.

You see what I'm saying? In life, strong chi helps you in many ways, and the same is probably true for martial arts.