adept

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Posts posted by adept


  1. Hello folks. Happy holidays to you all.

     

    I feel a bit daft posting this but I've never spoke to anyone apart from my wife about this before.
    As long as I can remember, probably going back to my childhood (40 + years), I've been able to know what people are thinking (not word for word but in general), what their intentions are, and the course of action they're likely to follow. All this is sometimes through eye contact only. Other times I don't even need eye contact, it's a feeling. It's usually a first encounter with someone which sets the tone. I immediately know, and feel the energy coming from them. It's either positive, or in most cases, negative. Never neutral. In nearly every case I'm spot on with my observations.
    This has made me very skeptical as I find a lot of the human race extremely non-trustworthy. Whereas most people would give someone the benefit of doubt, I do not, and cannot because I can feel what the person is thinking or planning to do.
    I'm not sure if this is a blessing or a curse to be honest because the bad seems to outweigh the good at a ratio of 10:1.
    The thing is, I feel I should be doing something with this ability, if it can be called that, but I don't know what or who to speak to about this.
    If there's anyone who can offer some advice I'd appreciate it.
    Thanks

    • Like 3

  2. Thanks for all the replies so far. All of them have been worth reading.

    I used to have a daily sitting meditation practice in which I rose at 5 AM, did my 30 minutes meditation, then had breakfast and set off for work. It fitted in well around my busy life. However, in the last two years I've been made redundant three times but have had the good fortune to find jobs after each. This totally messed up my cultivation schedule and the adjustments that I made just never felt right.

    Now I have a job where I work some day shift and some night shift. To try and fit a daily sitting meditation practice around these is not a viable option. Either the house is too busy, with the kids and my wife going to school and work etc, or I would have to get up at 4 AM, which I don't really want to do when I've got 12 hours of work to follow. :blink:

    So, I'm thinking of maybe a silent mantra japa practice that I can do in the times I can sit to meditate, and which I could also do whilst working, out walking, travelling, and other everyday tasks. Something to focus my mind and get me into a meditative state.

    Now, as to which mantra I choose. The Vedic mantras are probably going to be my choice. No offense to the Buddhist ones but they don't seem to resonate with me.

    After a little bit of poking around the internet a couple have caught my attention:

     

    1.The Pancaksara Mantra - Om Namah Shivaya

    2. Krishna Mantra (not the modern Caitanya/Prabhupada Hare Krishna mantra !) - Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya

     

    Both of these don't require any special preliminaries or association with a Guru to practice. Only wholehearted concentration, diligent practice and devotion. I've had a quick practice and I really like them both. The rhythm, pronunciation and concentrative qualities definitely resonate with me.

    Would there be any value of using both mantras, obviously at different times ? :blush:

    If anyone with experience of mantra could advise me I would much appreciate it.

    Thanks.


  3. I am most interested in the most ancient and genuine form, that has not been altered through generations.

     

    It would be like searching for the gold at the end of a rainbow.

    Throughout history, all forms have been altered to suit the needs of the practitioner.

    Also there will be variations based on locality, family, tribe etc.

    Just find a style which is health orientated and has a long history.

    Baduanjin, or 8 Brocades as it is also known, would be a good style to immerse yourself in.

    Best wishes

    • Like 2

  4.  

    Avoid channeled material like the Koran

     

    Read Sirens Call of Hungry Ghosts:

     

    "No matter how I mulled over the range of possible explanations, I always returned to the premise that the voices and their distinct personalities were generated by mischievous, and possible malevolent, discarnates. "

     

    "But most of all I pondered the significance of the lying and manipulations channeled in the exalted name of guides and spiritual teachers and camouflaged as love, wisdom and solicitousness."

     

    "Every reference that I uncovered concerning earthbound spirits seemed to fit the channeling phenomenon at large......These earthbound spirits or, in Tibetan Buddhist phraseology, pretas or "hungry ghosts." are individuals whose minds, at the point of physical death, have been incapable of disentangling from desire."

     

    "....evolved nonphysical entities influence humanity telepathically, without speech.......The discarnate spirits who are making themselves available though channeling are united in their desperate need for love."

    Thanks for the advice.

    I've already abandoned that particular path.

    I think it only intensified the problems I was having.


  5. Greetings.

    A bit of self-reflection over the last few days has uncovered a trait in myself which I don't particularly like.

    I have become overly critical of other folks, both online and out in the real world. I seem to have developed grudges and biases without even realizing that they have crept up on me.

    I wish to apologize to all the people whom I've argued with, upset, annoyed or disrespected.

    I also apologize to all the folks here who've offered me help before but I haven't followed up.

    With the end of the year approaching I feel I need to commit myself to a spiritual practice of one sort or another. I've dabbled in various things for as long as I can remember but always end up stopping for whatever reason/excuse my mind contrives.

    I have a moving qigong form which I've practiced for years and has been of immense benefit, so I'm covered in that respect.

    To be honest I'm confused, lost and not sure of which direction I need to go.

    I'm sure other's have felt this way before and wondered what steps you took to remedy this.

    Thanks

    • Like 7

  6. And I will even go so far as to suggest that religious tolerance and the idea to accept 'people of the book' is partially contingent on the idea of a shared sovereign God.

     

    Yes, that is correct. There is only one God/Creator. The same God of Islam, Judaism, Christianity.

    The religious trappings of the various sects have nothing to do with belief/knowledge in a supreme God/Creator.

    We should more than tolerate. We should accept and embrace people of all religions, and of none, as they are, without question. Unfortunately, governments and the powers that be, have manipulated religion, belief and ancient culture, over thousands of years in order to create conflict and exercise control over the population.

    • Like 1

  7. It was a definitive trial with weeks of testimony by numerous scientists, including ID "scientists".

     

    And the federal judge was a Christian republican appointed by W Bush.

     

    All the more reason not to believe a god damn word they say ! :D

    Politicians and judges ??? What has this got to do with the supposed debunk of a Creator ?

    Your arguments are becoming all the more questionable as you desperately cling to dubious resources for your flawed reasoning.


  8. Federal judge ruled that Intelligent Design=Creationism, and therefore illegal to teach in American science classes:

     

     

    Who cares if some 'suits' passed their judgement on the creation/ID argument.

    Does that make them correct ?

    That's hardly credible evidence for a debunk. Just more opinion.

    • Like 1

  9.  

    Haha what a load of rubbish ! Have these scientists nothing better to do than make up ridiculous theories.

    How could the universe and everything contained within it create itself ? How preposterous !


  10.  

     

    But the Hadith say the Koran is corrupted.

     

     

    You do understand that al-Bukhari etc. are considered the best Hadith by even Muslims right?

     

    There is a huge difference between traditional religious sectarian Islam and Qur'anic only monotheism.


  11.  

    But the Hadith say the Koran is corrupted.

    That is because the authors of these hadith's wanted to control the masses by creating religious sects and dividing Islam into sunni, Shi'a, Sufi etc etc. This is why today you have crazy stuff like muslim beards, hijab, burkha, stoning, religious intolerance, touching the kaba etc etc. The Qur'an continuously warns against such corruption and deceit.


  12.  

    The Koran is corrupted

     

    The following is straight up Hadith from an Islamic website on the corrpution of the Koran.

     

    http://sunnah.com/bukhari/66/27

     

    "Narrated Ibn 'Abbas: Umar said, Ubai was the best of us in the recitation (of the Qur'an) yet we leave some of what he recites.' Ubai says, 'PI have taken it from the mouth of Allah's Messenger () and will not leave for anything whatever."

     

    http://sunnah.com/muslim/12/156

     

    "We used to recite a surah which resembled in length and severity to (Surah) Bara'at. I have, however, forgotten it with the exception of this which I remember out of it:" If there were two valleys full of riches, for the son of Adam, he would long for a third valley, and nothing would fill the stomach of the son of Adam but dust." And we used so recite a surah which resembled one of the surahs of Musabbihat, and I have forgotten it, but remember (this much) out of it:" Oh people who believe, why do you say that which you do not practise" (lxi 2.) and" that is recorded in your necks as a witness (against you) and you would be asked about it on the Day of Resurrection" (xvii. 13)."

     

     

    http://sunnah.com/urn/641130

     

    "Az-Zuhri said: "'Ubaidullah bin 'Abdullah bin 'Utbah informed me that 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud disliked Zaid bin Thabit copying the Musahif, and he said: 'O you Muslims people! Avoid copying the Mushaf and the recitation of this man. By Allah! When I accepted Islam he was but in the loins of a disbelieving man' - meaning Zaid bin Thabit - and it was regarding this that 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud said: 'O people of Al-'Iraq! Keep the Musahif that are with you, and conceal them."

    Hadith's are the fabricated works of man and are therefore subject to corruption and biases. According to the Qur'an, no other book is needed in order to understand the message of the Qur'an. I have no desire to read hadith's or sunnah.


  13. Of course it does. I wasn't raised Muslim. I have no affinity to Islam.

    Neither was I but I've read the Qur'an and found that it contains information which scientists have only just discovered. It is also a mathematical masterpiece with the verse and chapter numbers corresponding with such things like the elements of the periodic table, golden ratio, fibonnaci sequence etc etc. There are many links online for further study and investigation. An illiterate sand dweller in 7th century couldn't possibly have made it up. Some of the maths need computers to make sense of it all. Therefore it is the word of God. Allah is the Arabic name. He is the same God of all Abrahamic religions

    Mind boggling stuff.