BigSkyDiamond

islands float in air, astonished eyes shine and smile enthusiasm

But that is exactly what we are. you are. i am. Consider this. What if you ARE exactly that (an immportal being) and what if you DO have that level of power over reality. This is a serious question for consideration; and it is NOT a "what would you do if you were God" question. Let me use an analogy. When you have a dream and you are also in the dream, who has power over the dream? Who has all power over this level of reality that is the dream you are dreaming? This is actually where I am holding right now with my own frame of reference. And there are paths of religion and spirituality which correlate with this. When I am in a dream it feels very very real. Even when i have the same recurring dream it is very scary every time and i feel the sensations and it bodily feels like I am right there (for me it is being chased and it is terrifying.) Who has all power over the dream? Well the me having the dream is "real" and when i wake up i see that the me in the dream that was being chased is not real. whew. I always feel better upon waking up with extreme sense of relief that it is over, that it has ended, and most of all that it was not real. So glad that did not really happen. Nothing really happened. OK. Who has power over the dream? Well, no one else is having the dream, so the dream stems from me, comes from me, and 100% belongs to me. Therefore I am responsible for the dream and I have power over the dream. Not the me "in" the dream because it feels very real in the dream and i just want to get away. But the me having the dream. That is what physical reality is. The world the universe and everything in it people places and things, is a dream that the "real me" is having. In the dream it feels very real (the physical world and physical body that we inhabit and all the other people in it). But when I wake up from the dream i see that it was not real. Nothing really happened. That is why it's called Awakening. It's like if you invented a computer game, and then you fell into the computer game and you were running around and kept being killed and coming back over and over and went all the different levels and explored all the different quests, and chose all the different characters you could be (the wizard, the warrior, the farmer, the magician). Who has power over the computer game? How do you get out of the computer game that you designed and built and then fell into as a character and you are stuck in there. Like the post above says what would you do and what would it be like as an immortal being with all power over this level of reality. The you that designed the computer game is the real you. The you that is stuck in the computer game is of course not real. It's like that. The correlation in some paths of religion and spirituality is getting off the cycle of birth and rebirth completely. And being the "real" self. That is the immortal part. Because the real "me" or the real you, the dreamer, the computer game designer is unborn unformed unchanging always was always will be no beginning no end, outside of time, no time no space no form. good thread topic by the way, thank you for starting it

Thanks Cobie. I went ahead and started another thread here specific to verse 42 of the Tao Te Ching, for further discussion. I didn't want to go too far off topic from "God Interacting With Humans"

pasting here two of Cobie's posts from other thread. Thank you Cobie.

Thank you Cobie. I have always read or understood "the ten thousand things" as the universe and everything in it. And that there are intermediate steps in the sequence between The Tao and then eventually the worlds of form (the universe and everything in it) what is your sense of the top of the heap Tao, its characteristics. My understanding is unborn, unformed, unchanging, always was, always will be, no beginning, no end. questions for anyone to discuss or address. I may be going too far off topic for this thread "God Interacting With Humans." Is there an existing thread for discussion of Verse 42 from the Tao Te Ching, or maybe I should start a new thread? (new to the forum, seek to stay in compliance)

OK this is great thank you so much for input on the lines from verse 42 in the Tao Te Ching. Regarding the first line especially, I have wondered about and tried to get a sense of that for the longest time. I am still trying to.. How do you see or describe or understand what is the difference between Tao and the One in this sequence shown: The Tao gives birth to the One. The One gives birth to the Two. The Two give birth to the Three. The Three give birth to the ten thousand things. --- from verse 42, Tao Te Ching or if you have a translation that might clarify that. I get that the Tao is the top of the chain. And I get that the 10,000 things is well shorthand for me is "the universe and everything in it. . What i am grappling with is what differentiates the Tao from the next item mentioned which is the One. I would also like to hear how people understand what are the emerging "the Two" and "the Three." which precede the Ten Thousand things. But my burning desire most of all is with regards to the first line. I have such an appreciation for those on the forum who know Chinese and (gasp) are able to read the original and translate the Tao themselves (wide-eyed me in awe). I like using the resource online that has a whole bunch of translations so i can pck a verse and read a whole bunch of different versions. But what i really want is to hear how people understand the first line and the progression described. Thank you any and all for in put.

i would say it is because of 33 years doing energy work which includes 10 years hands-on practice treating clients. Craniosacral training was my favorite and things accelerated from there. Doing craniosacral work tends to open things up and so people tend to "see a lot." It also requires developing a fine tuned sensitivity to palpation , feeling sensing listening at a very deep level through a very light touch. I also think i came into this lifetime with a store of previous experience carried over from previous lifetimes. I remember in my first craniosacral workshop we worked on each other and the class was a mix of beginner and experienced students. The person i was working on as soon as i started working on her reached up and put her hand on my arm and said "you've done this before." Some years later when I was receiving the Reiki level where they hands on put the symbols into you, the fellow providng the trasmission busted out laughing with his hands on my head and said "They're already there! You already have them!" With certain modalities as i learned them (even the advanced craniosacral with the Upledger Institute) it did not feel like learning how to do it, it felt like remembering how to do it. For me that is the indication it came with me from a previous lifetime. I remember reading that is why for instance a four year old little kid might be able to sit down and play piano pieces, because they are basically picking up where they left off. That makes the most sense, in my frame of reference.

I really liked this interview online, we get to see and hear Sifu Terry Dunn and there is so much good information, it is over an hour long, chock-full of goodies, insights, stories, and radiates shining enthusiasm. www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pblWQWe9xM

I would like to hear more from others on that also. Also would like to confirm that Flying Phoenix is compatible with Zhineng. Zhineng taps into draws on qi from "out there" in the universe, from the earth and beyond. Does that qualify it as a "heavenly" qi gong? My background and training as a bodyworker (and licensed health care practitioner) with experience in several different healing modalities, has been when working on others to NEVER send from myself, but always connect to another source to send, and have it come through me but not from me. The reasons are two fold: to avoid depleting myself and to avoid taking on other people's stuff. (If gunk is being released from their system, i don't want it coming in to my system.) So when Grand Master Doo Wai said (earlier post) that we can always tap into the Flying Phoenix Healing Qi (seen by some as visible columns reaching to the sky), that sounds to me like it (a) identifies the source stream flow; and (b) gives us permission to access. Any and all input from those with more background and experience and knowledge is greatly appreciated. I am a beginner with Flying Phoenix qi gong. Thank you.

The five standing which i do as a set all together are what is on the Flying Phoenix DVD volume 1 by Sifu Terry Dunn. The other DVDs in the series (Volumes 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7) cover other parts of the Flying Phoenix system. The description of what is on each volume is shown here on the catalog page: https://www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html Bending the Bows (it is one of the five standing) for 18 times was recommended on this thread and i have found that very beneficial.

in an earlier post Sifu Terry Dunn indicates that Flying Phoenix "subsumes" Zhang Zhuang. So for me it feels like I didn't really "stop doing Zhang Zhuang" but that it is covered included contained within Flying Phoenix when I do the set of five standing together as a set. That is my understanding. (For me the difference is that I feel more with Flying Phoenix, there is no pain after, i can hold the stances for longer, more naturally drop into no-time state, and the residual effects carry over into my daily life to a greater degree.)

yes. for now I am fine with the five standing as a set mid-day (60 miniutes), and one seated in the evening (7 repetitions). The tracking log i use documents 100-days on one page (shows daily blood pressure, walking, and qi gong practice). My focus for now with the Flying Phoenix is eyes closed, verrrrrrry slow, deep relaxation, and resting deeply within. to savor the goodies and enjoy the show.

OK that helps. Thank you for the additional information and articles. I had also looked up on line the chart posted earlier, and was reading about it here https://www.janetmyatt.com/post/7-the-spirit-s-descent-into-human-life. So it sounds like at the tippy top is Beingness, am I understanding correctly? Looking at the first two rows of chart you originally posted (Divine and Monad), Divine is at the top, so is Beingness same as Divine in the framework presented? wait a minute i am looking at the chart again, it looks like those levels are only for "existence" (physical plane) but not for the before existence. So Beingness (when there are no universes at all) is not on that chart, is that right? i think i'm starting to get it. So then regarding this Periodically Beingness seems to desire experience and causes Existence with its myriad universes and intelligences - and Beingness interpenetrates them all Beingness "precedes" and is the source or cause of Existence; and Existence includes the universes and everything in them. Beingness is found in the universes and in Existence, but when the universes and Existence poof are gone, it does not affect Beingness, Beingness does not go away. is that correct? and are the characteristics of Beingness the following: always was always will be, no beginning no end, unborn unformed unchanging. (I had a buddy online who shared sometimes about the Vedanta framework). my other question is, since Beingness "interpenetrates all of Existence" including me, then i can trace my origin all the way back to Beingness. When the universes Existence poof disappear and only Beingness remains, am i still within the Beingness? Or do you see it as when the universes disappear poof so do the crop of beings who have been cycling through and reincarnating all those lifetimes . And in the next new universes with new planets and oceans and animals and myriad life forms, are the humans reincarnating then different ones? i just want to see how our views align. Thank you

I got my DVDs today ! Hooray this makes me very happy.

I love this !! It's like if i hear a child crying in the shopping mall i can tell if it's one of my kids. The Mother Trees do that too !!

Help me understand, so does everything (all physical and non-physical, the universe and everything in it) flow from and trace back to the single Entity at the top? Not just me and all my lives, but all species and all of everything? I'm not sure what Existence refers to. Is it the "universe and everything in it"? So just like all the quartz has access to each other, then we have access to everything because we are all part of the same One, is that it? I'm looking at the chart and i see "monad" but there is also something above it "Divine." I'm familiar with this from the Tao. is there a parallel or correlation regarding the highest couple of layers from the chart ("monad" and "Divine") to this flow. In Tao the ten thousand things is the universe and everything in it. So I'm always trying to get a sense of how the One, Two, and Three are explained or seen in various paths or frameworks, and before that even above, that which gives birth to the One. The Tao gives birth to the One. The One gives birth to the Two. The Two give birth to the Three. The Three give birth to the ten thousand things. --- from verse 42, Tao Te Ching Thank you for the engaging discussion.

i don't see them as vindictive or punishing, more like mirrors that reflect and send back and amplify whatever a person may carry or harbor. because it's not about "the gods" it's about each of us developing our own character and integrity. we have access to immense power but when it is mis-used it eventually implodes on us.

i love that imagerydescribed. someone said think of trees and all their roots in the ground a vast system of all those roots and all those trees, and that of course they could communicate as one.

That is exactly what it is. I will not be bullied into responding. Every person is able to choose which posts they respond to and which conversations they engage in.

Yes, the ability to sense has increased in general recently across the board. My focus is shifting away from the specific expressions (rocks, trees, mountain) and more towards that which gives rise to it, the non -physical back of whatever physical expression i see out my window or on my daily walk in nature. So for instance instead of figuring out which herb to use for this or that symptom (specific physical plant), instead i am infusing a glass of water with my hands for the result or outcome needed. Enjoying this discussion immensely. I am interested and fascinated to hear your views and experiences, and frame of reference. I remember reading about an herbalist who had a healing practice and worked with plants and herbs from a number of different sources, and suddenly the suppliers he used were unable to provide a certain plant. He was in a panic because the plant was needed for a number of different tinctures and remedies. It was a turning point for him however, because that was when one of the plants he worked with (he communicated with the plants) informed him that the physical plant was not needed, he could call forth the essence of the plant because he already had a connection to it established. He was reluctant to accept that this would work because to him it had always been the physical plant carries the medicine. He tried it and found it worked for that plant. He tried it for other plant varieties, making the remedies without the physical plant, and they also were effective. So that is the shift I am seeing. so if a mineral catches my eye then connecting with the essence of it, and physical mineral not needed. I'll find photos on the internet and collect them in a folder and use those and can tap in that way.

yes. well said. caution and discernment are absolutely essential. I had it explained to me this way: just as there are neighborhoods in the city you would not go wandering around in because they are dangerous and have unscrupulous characters likely to cause you harm. So too in the non-physical realms. As above so below.

if the view is expressed on a forum which is dedicated to discussing paths of religion and spirituality, that god is not good, then it is reasonable to ask if that view is being expressed by an atheist. It helps clarify and provide additional data and a baseline for understanding each other's views, and participating in the conversation, if someone chooses to do so. my view is that bashing other posters and denigrating other paths is something for me to avoid (that is for myself to avoid engaging with, and avoid engaging in). Seeking to understand something that perhaps is problematic can be a fruitful discussion. Understanding other views i may disagree with can be engaging conversation.

that is exactly what i did

I remember in grade school (this was back in the 1960s) when there was a history lesson and the teacher was describing that the native people talked to the stones and the trees. The tone of the teacher and the classroom was a blend of pity and condescension and superiority. Most of the kids in the class were laughing and guffawing and shaking their heads and rolling their eyes. My immediate reaction upon hearing that however (i was about 7 or 8 years old) was I remember thinking all of the following: how did they do that, when do we get to study that, when do we learn how to do that, i want to learn how to do that, and what were the trees and rocks saying. i waited a long time in school many grades went by and many classes and many books all through middle school and junior high and high school and to my dismay it was never taught. Never once did i doubt the reality, i just wanted to know more about that and learn it. Eventually as a grown up i was able to pursue that on my own.