Michael Sternbach

For many people, lucid dreaming and astral projection are a good way to get in touch with psychic powers. Space trips are my favourites! 🙂

To illustrate, I once found myself on a planet which (in my very real-feeling dream) I understood was orbiting a red dwarf that was in turn circling our Sun at a distance of over one light year. I remember looking at this planet's crimson star hovering in the sky from some kind of elevator platform. As I typically experience during such trips, I felt incredibly centered, and focussed in my lower dantian -- far beyond what I have achieved in my waking life so far.

In this particular case, the sensation may have been further amplified by the artificial gravity field of the elevator platform, though. Standing on it, I was travelling through a system of looping tubes that interconnected the cities and tall buildings on the surface of the planet -- without me ever loosing the sensation of being upright!

Years later I learnt that Nibiru expert Andy Lloyd assumes this legendary planet to orbit a binary to our Sun.

https://darkstar1.co.uk/

The theory of a red or brown dwarf star circling our Sun was actually quite popular with astronomers in the last century. It was called 'Dark Star' and 'Nemesis'. While no longer predominant, this theory still finds support by a number of scientists.

Here you see my approximate artistic rendition of the city I saw in my dream (creating digital art being one of my various interests).

4 hours ago, Shadow_self said:

 

Aha...these two.

 

 

I recall there were also accounts of lengthy battles with millenia old Naga snake demons (which were won, apparently)

 

 

https://ancientmasters.org/library/other-worlds

 

You think so?

 

 

Daniel, You misunderstand

 

They dont do lightning

 

 

They do FIREBALLS

I was just speed reading the linked page and may have missed out on certain things, but it seems clear that the author is writing about his experiences with lucid dreaming/astral projection.

In which case things like flying to other planets, shooting light rays from one's eyes (and perhaps even having a harem of college girls) are not uncommon, as a matter of fact.

Nowhere (as far as I've seen) does the author claim to be able to do these things with his physical body.

DDJ, chapter 21 (Feng translation):

The greatest Virtue is to follow Tao and Tao alone. 
The Tao is elusive and intangible. 
Oh, it is intangible and elusive, and yet within is image. 
Oh, it is elusive and intangible, and yet within is form. 
Oh, it is dim and dark, and yet within is essence. 
This essence is very real, and therein lies faith. 
From the very beginning until now its name has never been forgotten. 
Thus I perceive the creation. 
How do I know the ways of creation? 
Because of this.

1 hour ago, old3bob said:

 

I'd say The Great (un-nameable) Tao needs no seeds to carry (It) over after one cosmic cycle ends and another begins, being that it is the source of seeds and cycles, (and the One, The Two, The Three, etc.) and with no-thing never being lost,  (as the Tao goes far and returns as I believe is pointed to in Chap.14 of the T.T.C.)

If there is no information carried over from one cycle to the next, then there can be no evolution taking place.

Furthermore, I wonder how you reconcile the concept of complete annihilation at the end of a cycle with "no-thing never being lost" within the Dao.

Unless, of course, you think of the Dao as being transcendent to Creation (as your last post suggests). In which case the Dao may be very well be the 'data carrier' (akin to the alaya-vijnana of Yogacara Buddhism) that conditions  each succeeding cycle.

For that matter, I believe that the reincarnational cycles of individual beings, the cycles of humanity (a.k.a. history), and the cosmic cycles that pertain to planets and stars, and ultimately to the whole universe, express the very same principles -- in their respective ways. 

12 hours ago, old3bob said:

I don't see any way to reconcile all of the stated contradictions (given by their prophets or founders) among or within the Abrahamic religions;  which also extends to whatever degree (?) even in their esoteric versions... granted there is some important and related common ground but that can only reach so far imo.  Good luck

To me as a metaphysicist, that's the part that truly matters. For that's the part that is universal and timelessly valid.

The external framework, however, contains the rules that pertain to specific times and cultures. Little of that will remain in the long run.

5 hours ago, Daniel said:

 

it's not my law, so it's not exercising my will.  It is submission.  "Thy will be done" is following the law which is different than "My will be done" which is a happy coincidence that the law and my own motives are in alignment.

 

Which presupposes a dichotomy between God and yourself. God may be transcendent in your view, but He is not immanent.

4 hours ago, kakapo said:

 

Unsure, last I heard he was looking for people to build inter-dimensional portal devices, so they must still be in whichever dimension he left them.

 

 

OMG! The poor things must be starved  for a saviour! I shall use my superpowers to break them out!

4 hours ago, kakapo said:

 

I think crossing the event horizon of a supermassive black hole or a being at ground zero for 50 megaton thermonuclear bomb would probably end badly even for a hsien.

In fact, if you were crossing the event horizon of a supermassive black hole, you would hardly even notice it. It's the much smaller stellar black holes that spaghettify stuff due to the extreme gravitational gradient in their vicinity.

5 hours ago, kakapo said:

 

Most people die with a husk of a spirit,  however we each have the potential to grow our spirit just as acorn has the potential to grow into a tree. 

 

An immortal is one who has gone from an acorn to a great oak tree during their lifetime.

5 hours ago, old3bob said:

 

partly agreed, yet even a great oak tree also returns to The Great (and formless) Tao, would you say yes or no per most Taoist schools that you may know of?  

'Tis true, yet the oak tree leaves behind so many acorns that pass on its genetic code.

5 hours ago, old3bob said:

 

A return to Formless (chap 14 of the T.T.C.) would not retain any form...is the way I read it but I'm not representing or quoting a particular School of Taoism, are you?

I am representing the Unnameable School of Daoism; you probably never heard of it.

It states that from the conjunction of Form and Formlessness, Yang and Yin, or Logos and Chaos, a new world is born.

If there were no in-form-ation carried over from one cycle to the next, karma would not exist.

What about the harems of college girls? 🙂

42 minutes ago, Michael Sternbach said:

One way to look at this question is this: When, at the end of a cycle, Pralaya sets in, what has been perfected in the foregoing time retains its form and indeed becomes the form that gives structure to the next cycle. Whereas what hasn't been perfected gets 'recycled' and becomes the matter that constitutes the world to come.

Actually, 'completed' might be the better term than 'perfected'.

In my view, by "following nature" those texts you mentioned primarily suggest following your own nature. 

Remember that the Dao is acting not only in the nature that surrounds you but also in your own being.

One way to look at this question is this: When, at the end of a cycle, Pralaya sets in, what has been perfected in the foregoing time retains its form and indeed becomes the form that gives structure to the next cycle. Whereas what hasn't been perfected gets 'recycled' and becomes the matter that constitutes the world to come.

1 minute ago, Zoya said:

The unreachable dream will help center me on a path that on the long run will be beneficial for my own growth as a person.

The woes of ADHD and other issues demands outstanding motives to focus on.

 

What's more outstanding than seeking to become a powerful immortal?

Absolutely, and I congratulate you on your boldness, stating that intention of yours on a public forum (even if it's -- arguably -- a Daoist one).

And I agree with you that, in a sense, the way is the goal.

Will you actually reach the ultimate goal of becoming a powerful immortal? Will I? Is it even possible?

Well, there's one way to find out! 🤩

14 hours ago, Daniel said:

 

The example of a good-and-evil thing from this specific story is "double-speak" which is employed by Adam, Eve, the serpent, and even God in this story.  I'll give the example of the serpent's double-speak, because, I think it's the easiest to show.

 

In Gen 3, when Eve states the prohibition ( as she was told by Adam, presumably ) the serpent responds "לא־מות תמתון".  This has a double meaing.  It could mean, "No, surely-die" which is correcting Eve (technically she quoted the rule incorrectly ) and avoids any accusation of lying.  Or, as it is translated into english, it could mean "Not surely-die" which is also true, because the prohibition wasn't given to Eve, but the serpent has no way of knowing this, it wasn't there when the prohibition was given.  It's possible the serpenthad an accomplice hiding inplain sight.  But that's not important right now.  What's important is the serpent was able to speak truth and lies simultaneously, "double-speak".  It's typical serpent behavior, speaking with the silvery forked tongue.

 

After Adam and Eve eat the fruit, they both gain knowledge of how to use double-speak.  This can be seen in the confessional.  They also pass this knowledge to Cain who employs it against God to save his own life which ultimately leads to the corruption of everything that moves and the global flood.  Abraham uses it later, so does Aaron, so does Moses.  

 

So it was learning the art and science of double speech that got us kicked out of Paradise?! Original thinking granted, but I do think you're going out on a limb with this theory.

On the other hand, if we assume "the knowledge of good and evil" to metaphorically refer to the ability of discursive thinking, then yes, this certainly made us more "God-like" in the sense that it contributed a lot to making us the dominating species on the planet and shooting rockets into outer space.

I maintain though that reaching the true divine state would be in transcending the duality of the discursive mind and finding back to original "innocence" -- and ideally, immortality. 

But wait -- there's yet another tree standing in the Garden of Eden...

1 hour ago, Unota said:

 

 

Ah, that must be what's happening! I'm having problems grounding myself. Unfortunately I think finding another person would be impossible, because I don't live in much of a community. I live in an agricultural zone, surrounded by expanses of farms and plains, and I'm unable to drive.

 

After looking into the 'Horse Stance,' this seems like a good idea. Putting strain on muscles will force me to keep some awareness...Whether I like this or not. I'm wrinkling my nose just at the thought of it.

Start comfortably with doing it for just half an hour and work up to three hours at a time. 

Make sure you stay really low during the whole session, any cheating will immediately negate all your effort. Best to do with a low ceiling right over your head.

(Note that I am pulling your leg.)

20 hours ago, Nungali said:

I'll start o/f by throwing a wild question at you ;

 

In a few spear or longer staff forms   ( and in one long staff  form I  practice  *  there is one move like it )

 

there is a move like ; one end of the staff or the spear is sweeping up , usually from the back, coming down and then to the front , sweeping up rather vigorously and ending in a  high position . As it sweeps up , the rear leg is lifted into a high position , knee bent and high up , lower leg  vertical and foot down .

 

Why lift the leg up when doing that ?

Hmm, this sounds suspiciously like the description of a scorpion kick.

Amazingly, the move seems to work under certain circumstances. 

But yeah, I'm going out on a limb...

1 hour ago, Mark Foote said:

 

 

Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.

 

(NKJV Genesis 2:16-7)

 

But in what sense, "die"?  

 

Whoever finds the explanation of these words will not taste death.
 

(The Gospel According to Thomas, coptic text established and translated by A. Guillaumont, H.-CH. Puech, G. Quispel, W. Till and Yassah ‘Abd Al Masih, p. 3 log. 1, ©1959 E. J. Brill)
 

 

As (one) dwells in body contemplating body, ardent… that desire to do, that is in body, is abandoned. By the abandoning of desire to do, the Deathless is realized. So with feelings… mind… mental states… that desire to do, that is in mind-states, is abandoned. By the abandoning of the desire to do, the Deathless is realized.
 

(SN V 182, Pali Text Society V p 159)

 

The relationship between "determinate thought" and action is at the core of Gautama's teaching:
 

…I say that determinate thought is action. When one determines, one acts by deed, word, or thought.

 

(AN III 415, Pali Text Society Vol III p 294)

 

 

But how can a person relinquish "determinate thought", volition, that is based on the  knowledge of good and evil?  "This is right, I must do this"--"this is wrong, I must not do this." 

 

 

(One) cultivates right concentration, which is based on detachment, on dispassion, on cessation, which ends in self-surrender, which plunges into the deathless, which has the deathless for its aim, which has the deathless for its end.

 

(SN V 54, Pali Text Society V p 44)

 

 

 

The difficult thing for most people is to realize that action can take place in the absence of "determinate thought", in the absence of volition.  Here's an example I gave stirling over on the "Bliss and Enlightenment by James Swartz" thread:
 

One day in 1975, i made a determination that I was going to try to be mindful of each inhalation and exhalation, no matter what I was doing.  Sometime in the afternoon, I was sitting at my desk when my body got up and walked to the door of the room, but not because I exercised the will to walk to the door.

 

 

Years later, at the end of a lecture at the S. F. Zen Center,  Kobun Chino Otogawa admonished his audience:

 

You know, sometimes zazen gets up and walks around.

 

 

So do sleepwalkers!

Daniel, Mark, and others,

One way to read the narrative of The Fall rests on the assumption that Man, by learning about the "good" or "evil" consequences of their actions, lost their capability of spontaneous, "innocent" action.

With the words of Richard Wilhelm in his commentary on hexagram 25 of the I-ching (translation is my own):

Accordingly, if movement follows the law of heaven, then man is innocent and without wrong. This is the genuine, natural thing, which is not clouded by any considerations or ulterior motives. Where one notices the intention, there the truth and innocence of nature is lost.

However, this kind of interpretation raises the question in what way the knowledge of good and evil would make Man more God-like -- when at the same time it led to the Fall from Grace and the loss of immortality. 

Please share your thoughts on this.

Hi Galen,

While we have many threads here that discuss the spiritual and cultivation aspects of the martial arts, including the fitness side, general principles, and historical aspects, there are forums out there suitable for the more comprehensive treatment of the topic in all its aspects.

Currently the best one is probably:

www.martialtalk.com

Kenpo greetings,

Michael 

Hi there Knightgame,

Are you familiar with the Gospel of Thomas? This is one of those books that came from the same time and place like other Biblical texts, but -- for whatever reason -- wasn't included in the Bible. As a matter of fact, many scholars believe it to be closer to the source text of the "official" Gospels than the latter.

The teachings of the Gospel of Thomas are very much in line with the Dao De Ching in my view. If I were to reconcile a non-dogmatic Christian belief set with Daoism philosophy, this is where I'd start.

Cheers 

Michael 

4 minutes ago, old3bob said:

"I always maintained that at the core of all genuine religions, the same metaphysical truths can be found -- although sometimes with a different emphasis, and complementing each other when we look at different systems."  Michael S.

 

I partially agree with this although religions are normally founded by human beings with their particular take put at the core of same...so depending upon how evolved their founders are has a great deal to do with what is genuine in regards to being aligned with the "metaphysical" or Spiritual Source that is not limited to human or earthly sensibilities... so goes the quandary and I also think the idea of dividing mankind into the advanced and the masses is at least problematic and in many cases counter to us working on our human problems.

Well, I am not suggesting that people who are not on a spiritual path would be of less intrinsic value in any way. However, it has always been just a minority who was even interested in exploring the deeper question in seriousness.

It is quite inevitable that simplified and watered down representations of metaphysical reality would arise to satisfy the needs of those less inclined to do their own research. Typically, this involves the use of metaphors and comparisons with mundane things, that are easy to understand, but often fall short.

Sadly, with this comes the potential for outright misrepresentation of metaphysical truths for manipulative purposes.

4 minutes ago, old3bob said:

Apparently many other creatures of the earth are feeling the mountains of dark anti-dharmic weight that we are bringing upon ourselves and them,  with some of them checking out from it, for example whales beaching themselves en masse!

6 minutes ago, kakapo said:

If you like the Matrix, here is another good AI generated song:

 

 

Great! I would totally support using this song in the next Matrix movie! 😃

Were the lyrics for this one composed by ChatGPT as well?

15 hours ago, old3bob said:

 

Thanks for that great deal of information Daniel.   Starting with your first sentence, "It's all the same deity being considered from different perspectives"  well that sounds plausible on the surface but to me is irreconcilable at the core...We have God in Islam which has scripture ordering the murder of those that don't convert to it,  we have scripture in Christianity that says those that don't convert to it in end will burn in eternal hell,  what exactly we have in Hebrew scripture along those lines I don't know because I have not studied it except for some parts given in the Old Testament, for instance their God favors the "chosen people" above all the rest of mankind with orders given in the Old testament to go out and murder this and that tribe of other peoples.   So it is very easy to see why millions have had good reason to have turned away from the Abrahamic religions.  More examples: Moses taught an eye for an eye,   Muhammad taught that he was the very last go-to prophet with a Koran that is frozen in the dark ages being that all other teachings are lesser or false thus resulting in millions being slaughtered in his name,  thankfully to me Jesus himself  rose far above most of that and had the best spiritual teachings of the Abrahamic religions when they were not corrupted by priests hell bent on co-opting him and the Bible to wield near absolute control and power over the common man, for instance Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount yet even that still did not completely reconcile the dichotomy between  Man and God being that much of mankind still had to and would burn in hell according to scripture  (per what is in the Bible as the fate of millions of native or pagan peoples)  Anyhow there are mystical aspects to all the Abrahamic religions like the Sufi's, the Kabbala, and esoteric Christianity yet those are not in effect, practice or known to most of us and so millions or billions of us are left living as "strangers in a strange land" to say the least!  For me the Upanishads and teachings very similar to them are the only ones where spiritual reconciliation is found and known 100% at its core. (and again with some other eastern teachings pointing to or having similarities to them)  That's my spiel for the day, see you around and thanks again for taking the time for your post.

PS. of course there are some exceptions to some of the bleak history I've pointed out above...

I always maintained that at the core of all genuine religions, the same metaphysical truths can be found -- although sometimes with a different emphasis, and complementing each other when we look at different systems.

You can distill these principles out of the Bible and perhaps also out of the Koran, but it is true overall that certain apocryphal and Gnostic texts talk about them more openly. And in more or less close affiliation with the latter, we have Hermetism, (Neo-)Platonism, and Ancient Greek philosophy/metaphysics in general.

The three Abrahamic religions as commonly practised are exoteric systems "for the masses", with Sufism, the Kabbalah, and esoteric and mystical Christianity as their spiritual core. In contrast, the foundational texts of Hinduism, Daoism, and Buddhism are works that are openly metaphysical and esoteric in nature.

It goes without saying that, in the Eastern religions, things have been simplified for the general follower as well, but there is definitely less of a gap between their esoteric and their exoteric side.

I suppose that this is the reason why many spiritually inclined people are more attracted to Eastern than to Western traditions today -- at least in the earlier stages of their quest. Later, some of them may develop a more comprehensive view, though.