dontknwmucboutanythng

https://phys.org/news/2023-08-visualizing-mysterious-quantum-entanglement-photons.html

How spirituality protects your brain from despair "... But it's worth noting, of all the forms of spiritual life, the one that most correlates with the thick, strong cortex, if you will, the fortification of the awakened brain, is altruism: love of neighbor. If you really feel stuck, if you feel trapped in despair or depression, stand up, walk out the door, and bring something of beauty, of love to your neighbor. Bring them a meal. Shovel their driveway. Step out of your comfort zone just enough to do something a little bit nice for someone. And as you do, you'll see that long ago you paved the highways into your natural seat of transcendent awareness. There is a way back to God, your higher power, the Universe- and it was paved long ago. If you own it and take it back, you will have jump started your awakened brain. ..." https://bigthink.com/the-well/how-spirituality-protects-your-brain-from-despair/

“Like a Vibration Cascading through the Body”: Energy-Like Somatic Experiences Reported by Western Buddhist Meditators Abstract There are numerous historical and textual references to energy-like somatic experiences (ELSEs) from religious traditions, and even a few psychological studies that have documented related phenomena. However, ELSEs remain an understudied effect of meditation in contemporary research. Based upon narratives from a large qualitative sample of Buddhist meditators in the West reporting meditation-related challenges, this paper offers a unique glimpse into how ELSEs play out in the lives of contemporary meditation practitioners and meditation experts. Departing from studies presuming a “kundalini awakening” framework, this paper presents a broader scope for understanding ELSEs by describing the metaphors practitioners used when speaking about them; the trajectories and impacts of ELSEs, including the factors that were reported as influencing their nature or trajectory; the various ways in which they were interpreted and appraised by practitioners, teachers, and specialists, such as doctors and therapists; and how practitioners responded to them or managed them with particular remedies. Deciding how to interpret and manage ELSEs entailed recruiting frameworks from within and/or beyond the meditator’s specific Buddhist lineage. https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/12/12/1042

Hello, I am really bad at sophisticated/deep thinking, could you please elaborate on how is "suffering ... optional", especially illness related suffering? Lots of thanks! > Life is life. Death is life. Dying is living... and suffering... is entirely optional.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/02/well/family/random-acts-of-kindness.html From one reader comment: "..."...Do you know the story - now spread across the internet - of the 7th grade teacher who changed the lives of her students by one simple positive act? A seemingly small - no, almost insignificant - gesture? I had wondered for awhile if it was another internet myth but no, it was quite real. It took place over 50 years ago, but it still touches many hearts. One rainy afternoon, the students in class seemed distracted, so the teacher asked them to set aside their books, take out a piece of paper, and write one nice thing about each of the other 24 students. She collected the papers and over the weekend, put together each thing the students said. On Monday morning, she passed out a sheet to each student with the kind statements about them written by the other 24 students. They were all shocked; they ALL had felt that for the most part, they were rather insignificant in the eyes of the others. Quite some years later, the students met up again at a memorial for one of them who had died in Vietnam. At one point in the service, the deceased soldier's mother came over to the teacher and handed a tattered piece of paper that had been found in the dead soldier's wallet. It was that paper the teacher had put together years before. Slowly, other students came up to her, took out THEIR papers, which they had saved all those years, so much had this one simple gesture meant to them..."

Hello, Do you have suggestions for mantra or any method to reduce persistent health related anxiety? Thank you for your thought.

After a couple of years of meditation/introspection I thought I made a bit of progress on pride/ego. But a few recent next to nothing incidents proved I was wrong, perhaps even regressed. So any tips on training to reduce pride/ego would be much appreciated. Thanks!

I’ve been watching this one legged song bird really struggling hunting worms to feed her 3-4 babies. I am thinking of buying a box of live meal worms to help her (yes there are lots more human that need help and I am already doing as much as my resources allow). But I am mindful of creating (this is selfishness, isn't it) bad karma of trading many worms to 3-4 small birds. Though I pray daily, my understanding of various religions is surface level at best. But isn’t there something about “life value” of higher v.s lower life forms? On the other hand, worms that I might supply will take place of worms that might be hunted by the mother bird. But still something doesn’t feel right. Thanks for your thought.

My apology for this very late thank you for all the suggestions.

Effect of rosary prayer and yoga mantras on autonomic cardiovascular rhythms: comparative study https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC61046/ “… Recitation of the rosary, and also of yoga mantras {om mani padme om), slowed respiration to almost exactly 6/min, and enhanced heart rate variability and baroreflex sensitivity… … Both the Ave Maria and the yoga mantra had similar effects, slowing respiration to around 6/min and thus having a marked effect on synchronisation and also increased variability in all cardiovascular rhythms (table). This was seen not only in the respiratory signals but also in the RR interval, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, and in the transcranial blood flow signal…”

Could someone provide a bit more explanation to the below passage, "...nose doesn't exist ... what's hurting..."? Thanks! “ In the first story, the Zen master asked the novice monk: “Tell me about your understanding of the Heart sutra.” The novice monk joined his palms and replied: “I have understood that the five skandhas are empty. There are no eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body or mind; there are no forms, sounds, smells, tastes, feelings, or objects of mind; the six consciousnesses do not exist, the eighteen realms of phenomena do not exist, the twelve links of dependent arising do not exist, and even wisdom and attainment do not exist.” “Do you believe what it says?” “Yes, I truly believe what it says.” “Come closer to me,” the Zen master instructed the novice monk. When the novice monk drew near, the Zen master immediately used his thumb and index finger to pinch and twist the novice’s nose. In great agony, the novice cried out “Teacher! You’re hurting me!” The Zen master looked at the novice. “Just now you said that the nose doesn’t exist. But if the nose doesn’t exist then what’s hurting?” “ It is from the below link: https://plumvillage.org/news/thich-nhat-hanh-new-heart-sutra-translation/

Hello, Does anyone happen to have mantra/prayer to ease anxiety/worry? Thanks!

Through out the days I have to kill a bunch of ants crawling around the kitchen counter. I don’t know if an ant has soul, I hate doing this regardless. I would let them be, but they would take over the house and I can’t risk contamination. It seems hypocrite to ask this, but what can I say to “ease” (for lack of better word) their passing. I recall reading a story in incarnation research where a child remembered being a snake in his previous life. Part of himself was in the snake and part of himself followed the snake around. He said life was tough being a snake. Anyway, thanks for your comment.

I'm not sure where to post this. During meditation, how does one recognize these: inner voice, a thought, internal monologue, and inner voice that is not oneself ? Thanks.

What to do when anxiety is due to a serious health issue of oneself or love ones? Thanks.

Hello, In the below image which hand position is the correct one, the one on the left most or right most? Are the two pinkies sticking up (left most image) or fold down (right most image)? Also do the tips of the two thumbs touch the other fingers or stay up in the air as in the left most image? Lastly can I use this mudra while praying in general or praying to other Buddhas? Have you ever seen a Christian holding this mudra while praying in a church? Many thanks.

Hello, Hope you don’t mind sharing your experience regarding to these: What do you do (mantra, or ???) when “Churchill’s black dog” and/or anxiety bites? Does knowing the existence of other realms or superior beings (God, Buddha, Deities, etc) help handling of this life’s difficulties? Many thanks!

Hello, Does the phrase "Om Bhrum Soha" function as a multiplier for the mantra that was just recited before it? If yes, what is the multiplication factor? If no, what does this phrase mean? Thank you.

I came back from dinner last night and happened to watch Anthony Bourdain’s show about Madagascar and Ethiopia. In one part of the show, the train that Bourdain rode on stopped at a food station after a long ride, all the passengers were hungry. As the passengers ate, there were rows of young children longingly looked on. I could see the hunger in their eyes, and could almost feel their hunger even through the TV. Bourdain and his travelers couldn’t stand to eat and started handing pieces out to the children. The children pushed/shoved to get near the food, hands reaching up, mouth-watering, and my heart ached again. I often saw scenes like this and other worse form of suffering through various documentaries of many unfortunate countries. A few tiny donations here and there have been less like a grain of sand on the beach. Even the generosity of people with vast amount of resources like Bill Gates and Warren Buffet aren’t close. Even if current evil/corrupted leaders of these nations somehow no longer in power, the problem remain, as many similar others would take their places, on and on. But then I came upon this web site. I have been reading bit and pieces of this site and elsewhere. I get the impression that there might be people who might have gain some sort of “supernatural” power on their quest for awakening, enlightenment, or some other supernatural goal. Are you out there? If you alone aren’t powerful enough, can you sense the others, and join forces to influence “those leaders” mind to improve their countries and ease suffering of the people? Please don’t mention karma, and yes it’s wishful thinking. How many being can be/will be liberated from suffering one at a time and how many millennia will it take?

Yes, I have been doing a number of conventional charities type and of course praying for daily. But it seems conventional methods (even on very large scale) don't go very far or lasting, unless a country get very lucky with regime change to a benevolent care for the people regime. Hence my wishful thinking about supernatural mean. Anyway, when I wrote about "no karma", I just didn't want to hear something along the line that they are in that situation because of bad actions in previous life, whether "karma" is real or not, may be lessen the penalty a bit, perhaps 1/2 a meal a day, instead of none. So sorry, I think I am rambling.

Hello, If one has opportunity to travel to Japan in the near future for a very short time, would you please suggest some ways to find a teacher or to obtain empowerment (in Buddhism and/or Taoism) in these cities: Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, and Nagoya? Thanks so much!

Hello, I hope you don’t mind and it’s ok (per your school) for you to answer these questions: What was the event(s) that convince you the “supernatural world” (deities, ghosts, heaven, hell, reincarnation, etc) exist? By “convince” and “know” I mean as in knowing like 2 + 1 = 3 or some sort of hard evidence and not something like “closing your eyes” and mentally experience the other realms. No insult or any sort of offense is intended by the preceding sentence. Did that event(s) just happen out of the blue, or after a long period of training? How did this knowledge change you if at all Thanks so much!

I am too slow (or reading thing too literally) so I'll reread Stosh's post a few more times, but a quick question for Stosh: does "Manifest the ideas" mean continue to practice/pray? Thanks.

Thank you all for answering. I wasn't sure if the 2nd reply (Michael) was a joke, though it did cause me to reflect on his answer. YES, absolutely I don't know much (if anything at all) about the theory/practice to connect to the supernatural world and/or enlightenment. The main reason I asked is to have "real" evidence to motivate/convince me to progress in my "practice". A friend who is very experience/knowledgeable in the practice of Taoism and Esoteric Buddhism, put it to me this way (paraphrasing), from the time I started school until I understood calculus, then to get a degree, it took decades (slow learner, ha ha) with diligent studied and practiced. It could possibly take as much or longer to “get” some of this stuff. So well put, but as I reflect on this I realized that with conventional education, there are evidence of progress all around me and readily accessible, relate-able, i.e I knew the kid next to me understood 2+3=5, the one in high school knew trig, and so-on. From my extremely limited exposure (read, infer, and talking with a very few people) these “supernatural” experience/worlds are all in the mind (again not mean to offend anyone). This of course makes learning/practicing difficult. However, perhaps there is hope (in learning for me) after stumbled across (papers, books) reincarnation research at University of Virginia and the book “The Quantum and The Lotus” and recent advance, I am beginning to be able to relate some of this to my limited knowledge of conventional science. Still, I am looking for some “hard” evidence, and especially if these are physical in nature. Somewhere I read (or came to an understanding) that the stronger one’s belief the more one’s wishes/prayers (nothing fancy, just for less suffering in this world) stand a better chance of becoming true. I am hoping someday my practice (daily prayer/mantra to God-Buddha) will be based more than just faith. Thanks again.

Hello, In the below Zhunti mantra, is the phrase "Om Bolin" need to be added at the end of each Zhunti's mantra? I am not sure what is "the end of each reciting cycle" mean, hence the preceding question. Hopefully this is not too dumb a question, section "IV" paragraph "IV" the "image" might show up in one's mind (visualization) and not actually in front of a prayer while his/her eyes open, right? Incidentally I can't even visualize a straight line. Many Thanks. http://www.meditationexpert.com/meditation-techniques/m_buddhist_zhunti_meditation_opens_your_heart_chakra_for_enlightenment.htm#