roger

Silent thunder helped me understand the idea of just being, effortlessly.

I feel that that's a very Buddhist and Taoist principle, and is what the meditative mind is about.

Thanks ST!

Don't deliberately engage in negative speech or thinking.

Harsh or unloving words and thoughts reinforce suffering.

On May 31, 2017 at 4:44 PM, Living said:

Focus on Breath vs Mantra which is a better meditation technique to develop concentration?. I would love to hear from people that have used both for a considerable time. Some people feel that mantra is something that you throw in from outside creating and promoting stories and illusions within the mind whereas when you focus on the breath you are not introducing anything unnecessary from the outside and that breath is natural. Some others think that mantra lets them go deeper in concentration meditation and mind whereas the focus on breath keeps them at the surface and aware of the body (which makes it difficult to go deeper). Yet others think that mantra is better because it will go with you the day you are without the body and the breath. As I said I would love to hear the perspective of experienced meditators who have used both techniques for a while and can compare them.

In TM, one doesn't use concentration. Yet, TM can greatly improve one's ability to concentrate. That's just TM, though. Concentrating on a mantra is also an effective technique.

For mindfulness of breathing, it's good to effortlessly bring your attention back to the breath whenever your mind wanders. You can eventually get very, very good at keeping your attention on the breath.

I do TM regularly, and occasionally mindfulness of breathing, and also choiceless awareness. But mainly I meditate in the way Fa Xin said- just sit there and be, without effort or a technique. I call it non-meditation.

Thanks for sharing this.

I think I'll buy that book.

On June 12, 2017 at 1:35 AM, taoguy said:

 

I'm not looking for forms to cling onto, but insights to destroy my delusional state.

Accept yourself as you are and do what feels great.

Growth happens naturally that way.

Don't try so hard to figure everything out. Guidance and answers will come when you're ready for them.

Accepting yourself as you are, including negativity, may be the key.

If you TRY so hard to be positive, and fight against negativity, it can just make things worse.

The Buddhist approach, as I understand it, is to just be aware of negativity and accept it. Doing this gives one the power to let go and be positive naturally.

Wade,

Have faith and be positive. Do what makes you happy, what gives you peace. Know that everything is okay, and that your experiences are right for you. We don't always see the good in things, but it is there.

When you have a positive attitude and trust that everything is happening as it should, problems get solved and healing happens.

I've experienced similar things, and it worked out for good. Everything eventually does.

All is well.

Wade,

It's very possible that you have a strong desire for oneness, intimacy, and a deep connection with others, and out of that desire, you absorb others' energy, as a way of connecting.

But the thing is that taking on others' energy comes from a MISUNDERSTANDING of oneness. You're ALREADY one with everyone. Separation is an illusion.

When one has 'separation anxiety', they can engage in false and unhealthy forms of joining, including absorbing others' energy.

Just know that you already have total oneness.

What not to do: try very hard to change, grow, and become more perfect.

What to do: know that you're already perfect, accept yourself as you are, and just enjoy your life.

Change and growth happen naturally when you take that approach.

Hello from Windsor, CT.

 

As my posts says, I'm looking for people to network with in person (as well as on the forum).  I've been practicing martial arts for 15 years, last 5 years have been focused on wu style taiji and really trying to get internal.  I've practiced a bunch of kung fu styles as well as western martial arts and taiji is where it's at for me.  I'm hoping to find some like minded people in the area that would like a friendly, no ego exchange of skills and ideas and just try to get better together.  

 

I'm also a long time qigong practitioner and I recently got my degree in TCM from beijing so that's another thing we could explore and discuss.  

 

Anyway I'm fascinated by the internal arts and after having felt what's possible from my shifu, I really would like to get some hours of experience in.

 

Hopefully there's someone out there looking for something similar.

I'm sure this website will be a place where you can connect with like-minded people.

The internal arts such as qigong are something most people here take a special interest in, as you do.

Just relax away the need to debate self/no self.  The experience of having a self arises spontaneously from the reality of no self.  "I" just don't want to alter my typing to include stuff like "there is a spontaneous desire arising that feels like the need to teach in this non self's perception".  This age-old argument is holding you [me] back.

 

It's really easier to identify with the ego when trying to communicate with other people.  Yes, I slip back into ego identification occasionally.  Hell, most of the day I straight up abide in it.  Abiding in ego consciousness does not change the fundamental reality of no self.

 

No attacker, no attacked, no attack.  The ego is a tool.  There is no wielder.  Ego consciousness is a part of the One just like everything else.  You cannot possibly be out of oneness no matter how flawed you think your views are, no matter how flawed others think your views are, no matter if you do actions that are good or evil etc etc etc etc

That's very wise imo.

And congratulations on your breakthrough.

(A thread to share some thoughts not to argue)

 

No matter how much people get deep into spirituality, they always remain in prison. A prison that might be wider than non-spiritual people but it remains a prison.

 

Whether a daoist, buddhist, sufi, christian, astral, light...etc. Each has its own custom prison, size may change, but remains a prison.

 

A prison that is made of beliefs. beliefs that sound liberating, wise, sometimes true but they remain Beliefs.

 

Belief may help us to see a truth but only its truth and nothing else. They are like the bars of the prison, one after the other blocking us from seeing the whole truth and what is beyond them.

 

Coming from a small prison to a bigger one, may feel liberating, freedom but for how long? And what is beyond that?

 

Are you ready to drop your beliefs?

My feeling is that, if the belief is correct (an idea that is actually true), then it's liberating, not imprisoning.

ACIM says that an idea can be, 1. wholly false (a lie) 2. partially true (a "half-truth") 3. wholly true (an "absolute truth").

I guess I'm saying, but not with the intention of arguing, that I feel that beliefs can create freedom, or bondage if false.

Fear will also hinder us.  Fear of the "truth"?  Perhaps.

Fear of the truth.

That's the problem imo.

Why do we fear it?

Because truth is the demise of illusion, of our false self.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, LimA.

Scientific and pragmatic; a great combination.

I don't know what the definitions of "religious Taoism" or "philosophical Taoism" are, but it would seem that "religious" would imply some kind of supernatural concept, such as immortality, reincarnation, or a non-physical existence of some kind. "Philosophical" would be more like an atheistic perspective.

Or is there another definition of them that has to do with the precise approach to the study and practice of Taoism?

what does hinder us?

Pride.

Or you could put it, specialness.

Another word, ego.

That's what I've been taught and in honesty I fully agree with it.

"Wisdom comes from LOVE, not 'intelligence'. There have been many 'intelligent' people who have done great evil."

There's a book called "Why Smart People Do Stupid Things".

Well, I haven't read the book. But I can tell you that the reason is because being smart has almost nothing to do with being wise.

Maybe the common definition of intelligence is inaccurate.

J. Krishnamurti said, "The only intelligence is the intelligence of compassion."

As Forest Gump said, "Stupid is as stupid does."

I guess one could define it in several different ways.

 

I mainly see it as a basic goodness, that everyone is loving and pure in their true essence.

 

Do you believe there's a Buddha nature, a divine nature?

 

Being a website devoted mostly to Eastern kinds of spirituality, probably most of the people who interact here do.

I just want to add something, because the thing is that it's very apparent and obvious that, while people may be pure in their "true essence," many people certainly don't act like it or have thoughts and emotions that reflect it.

In Buddhism they teach that it's like peeling away the layers of an onion, after which you get to the core of it.

We have layers of illusions, underneath which is love and goodness.

Meditation, according to most Buddhist teachers, is a way of releasing or letting go of those layers. Another way to put it is "polishing the mirror".

Another thing is that it's supposedly quite possible to let go of ALL of those "layers" in one feel swoop- "instant enlightenment".

Although I would consider that to be a virtually superhuman feat which almost no one is capable of.

How does one precisely define 'divine nature'?

I guess one could define it in several different ways.

I mainly see it as a basic goodness, that everyone is loving and pure in their true essence.

Do you believe there's a Buddha nature, a divine nature?

Being a website devoted mostly to Eastern kinds of spirituality, probably most of the people who interact here do.

Absolute or so called real truth is an illusion in the minds of true believers.

Even ideas like, "Everyone has a 'divine nature'"?

I take a different pov but I respect your opinion.

Anyone saw that movie "Limitless" ? Gosh I swear people have been talking about nootropics and stuff all over the forums and I have tried basically all the nootropics except for the super secret stuff like J147 and AMPA-kines and what not. I've tried all the racetams, methylene blue, cerebrolysine, huperzine, galantamine etc. etc.

 

Some of these things work a little but they are absolutely nowhere near the omnipotence that the main hero from the movie got out of that fictitious pill NZT-48.

 

Ok I know "It's just a movie". However all of us here should know by now that nothing is impossible, so saying "Look, it's just a movie" won't cut it here.

 

And I've exercised my brain a lot as well. Started playing the piano from age 6 profesionally, was the first in my class to read/write (way before I even started school). I have great insights every now and then but I just don't feel that I'm living up to my potential. In fact I'm rather mediocre for what I have. And I know I have much more. It's one of those things that you just know with your third eye. But I just don't know how to unlock it. Exercise is not the key, at least not of the classic type (e.g. learning to write with left hand, doing mind games, reading dostoevsky, painting etc.). Sure it helps, but is still nothing special. I want the premium package, the absolute vision to change the world in real time.

 

I will do anything to have it, I will even jump off of a cliff if that will solve it. I need to know tell me,  what are the secret techniques to unlocking the mind, no matter how dangerous. Thanks.

You must be WILLING to see the truth.

That's the key.

Krishnamurti called this the "awakening of intelligence".

People usually "see what they want to see".

They believe what they want to believe, what they think "works for them".

If a person wants to see the real truth, they have to overcome this problem and become willing to know what's really true.

To put it another way, if you want to see the truth, you have to TRULY want to.

Another one they didn't include:

"Don't think. FEEL!"

These 32 Bruce Lee quotes really blew my mind.

wellnesscom.info/32-powerful-bruce-lee-quotes-will-change-life

edit: I just realized it didn't do a link....I guess you'll have to type it in if you want to read the quotes...sorry

Three quotes from A Course in Miracles are:

"To see yourself as attacked is to believe you are a body."

"True perception has one law, that you see the Son of God (which is all beings) as not a body."

"The advanced Teacher of God no longer believes he is a body."

We HAVE bodies, but the body is not your actual self.

You have a mind, a personality, consciousness, a divine nature......you are the life within you.

I've found that there's no shortcut to salvation. I heard a Tom Petty song tonight that had the line, "There's no easy way out." You just have to do your best. You have to keep "chipping away at the stone."

The most comforting thought for me is that everything is happening as it should. God, the Self, or however you want to put it, is in control. Keeping this in mind can make the journey easier, but still, "There's no easy way out."

The thing that's so important, the factor that determines success, is living wisely. A life lived wisely will bear fruit eventually.

Love is wisdom.

Every choice is born either of love, or fear. Choose love. It's of utmost importance to do that, both for oneself and for the world.

Part of the problem is that the humility it requires to live a very loving life is absolutely extreme. You see, we give in to pride. The many times I've failed were usually times in which I've given in to pride. Don't trust yourself when you're feeling that way. You're not thinking clearly. You don't have to "swallow your pride." It's absolutely essential to let it go however. It can take great courage to do that.

Also, honesty is the key to finding wisdom imo. We tend to "see what we want to see." Be willing to see the truth, be honest with yourself. There's no other way to find truth.

Finally, be strong. Be a real man, or woman. You can handle suffering, even a lot of it. No guts, no glory.