Michael Sternbach

It is conceivable that the Revelation of John and the Kalachakra prophecy don't refer so much to particular individuals but to general influences (both negative and positive) that will be embodied by various individuals to one degree or another.

I posted an explanation (with a reference to thanking ghosts), but after I hit the post button, it just vanished! No kidding.

This one made me think, what about the person punching you? It would seem that he is burdening himself with karma by this act, but how can this be, if he is just helping you to balance your own karma? And how did your karma build up in the first place if, likewise, all you did was to unwittingly even out things for others? And yes, the punch is yang which you could balance with yin (yielding, evading).

Wu wei means getting out of your own way, then letting inspiration act through you. Acquired knowledge and skill may play a role insofar it has sunken deeply into your unconscious mind.

Weird story, Taomeow...

No further comments on chapter 4? Cool. Because here comes - believe it or not - chapter 5!

Since wu wei means action in harmony with Dao or our inner self, it can be expected to be constructive and, yes, "good" - although it may not necessarily be seen as such according to conventional standards.

Well, I do think that mass events are created by the masses. Rarely will a single individual have such an influence, it would seem. Although we all know cases when an individual acted as a catalyst and unfolded a great influence, but those are the ones that get written down in history. Or so it would seem... If Everett's Many Worlds Theory is right, then whatever could happen actually does happen in some parallel reality. This should also hold true on the collective level. So maybe as individuals we unconsciously choose also which collective reality we want to be part of? While another version of ourselves chooses another possibility. Just speculating...

Welcome to TDB, yellow-phoenix! I am always impressed by people who manage to overcome severe obstacles with the help of meditation, Qigong, Taiji and other things of that kind. Your username tells your story.

My best take on that discrepancy so far is trying to program my subconscious with the tasks I am supposed to do while letting them go consciously. My subconscious will then ideally navigate me to take care of each of them at the most suitable moment.

Yes. The problem are rather the things that we don't love to do, yet feel obliged to do. I have experienced resistanceless states when I could do unloved, overdue things one by one like some kind of automaton, but found it unsatisfactory, somehow.

While I fully agree with others on this thread that wu wei doesn't really mean avoiding action, there is in fact a discrepancy between the very spontaneous way of life suggested especially by Chuang Tzu, and the purposeful planning that Sun Tzu recommends. Alright, the latter in a war manual - which, however, is a Daoist text nevertheless and supposedly of use for all kinds of situations. I'm sure there is a way to bridge that gap - if you know the secret, do share it with me, please.

Also known as 'dumbphone'. In the psychiatric practice I was working as a counsellor, there was a sticker attached to the reception desk saying: "With us, it's ALWAYS the computer's mistake!"

It is a creation insofar you tend to attract people and circumstances to you that are in line with your beliefs - "as within, so without". Moreover, you will filter and interpret all information that reaches you in light of your beliefs. Thus, beliefs are self-reaffirming and largely create your personal reality.

Hi Rocco, From my perspective, the bitchy waitress was attracting both the unruly customer and you, representing the opposite pole to your explicit kindness. The Dao always seeks balance. Edited: Typo

Much like in medicine, it is much better to strengthen one's immune system than to overly worry about and fight against germs. It has even be shown that children growing up in a super clean environment tend to have weak immune systems. All the more it is important that they have confidence in their own abilities. A warning of overconfidence. Also: Theoretical knowledge is insufficient if one isn't able to implement it. The greatest warrior is not necessarily the hero resorting to dramatic actions that gain him great popularity, but the one who acts in accordance with the Dao - unseen and irresistibly. Better yet, he dispels conflict at the outset! For who wins and who loses is no accident. Again, it's preparation first, then having the flexibility to act when the circumstances are favourable. It has already been won on the "mental plane", accessed by the general in his "temple" (see chapter 1). Once again, we could see all this emphasis on measurement and calculation as being at odds with the spontaneity of the Daoist sage. My best take on this is that a working balance between control and detachment is key. The way I read this, it's again a reference to the superior position of the one who is able to successfully seize the initiative.

Gendao, I agree that improving limberness (including working towards the lotus posture) could be part of such a process, however, care should be taken to avoid injury - which would delay any progress greatly.

I find this differentiation into Action Reality and Ultimate Reality clarifies things. Based on some observations, I tend to agree to the assumption that there is something in us seeking out and reinforcing painful experiences. Many years ago, I read about this in Chris Griscom's Time is an Illusion. However, she doesn't call it a "body"; it would at most be a certain part of the emotional body (one of the layers of the subtle body in her scheme which at least in this agrees with the Theosophic writers).

But let that knee heal first, and even then, go easy on yourself! I have been doing both Zazen and Yoga, and I would advise against making these postures a top priority for you, much less plopping down into them . Personally, I never found it difficult to assume the lotus in a comparatively slow and relaxed manner, but then, I am the slender and flexible type by nature. I guess my martial arts training helped me too, in the course of which I have done a fair amount of stretching. Nonetheless, I reached a limit when that Indian guy had me stick my both arms through my legs crossed in the lotus, and stand on my hands that way. When he saw one of my arms turning white and the other one red, he told me to release the posture quickly.

Right, we essentially agree with each other (not only) here, I would say. Yes, most certainly. Basically every belief that people put their faith in can be misused for manipulating them. That includes the belief in the excellency of their country - which they are moreover encouraged to identify with the excellency of their government as the country's political leadership.

Your beliefs create your experience of reality - what you experience and how you experience it. They don't create the larger framework of reality which (luckily) has its independent existence, according to a set of non-arbitrary rules without which there would be no coherent and meaningful reality possible in the first place. When Seth and others talk about "false beliefs", they refer to beliefs which are not in keeping with the rules of that reality. Since you are a co-creator, yoyr false beliefs do create an illusionary reality - although it appears permanent and convincing enough. This teaching is in fact in accordance with Eastern philosophies which emphasize that, in many ways, we don't perceive reality as it is but according to collective and individual delusions (maya).

Yes, as long as human beings don't learn to settle their disagreements in more constructive ways, and don't understand how they are being taken advantage of by means of emotionalized propaganda (they are in fact being conditioned towards that end from childhood on), war will be inevitable.

Yes. Such unresolved conflicts are typically sooner or later being capitalized on by a power-hungry individual with some insane doctrine, promising the unsatisfied masses the Garden of Eden, if they but follow him. It is common for that kind of leader to even contribute to the escalation of the conflict on purpose to gain additional support from the populace.

Despite the overwhelming and ceaseless participation in this thread, it is time to move on to the next chapter. Where Sun Tzu teaches us all we need to know about: