BigSkyDiamond

Yes to both of the above. It was bluntly pointed out to me that they are distractions. That helps keep me from chasing after them and meandering off into all manner of tantalizing detours which ultimately yes are barriers and obstacles. engaging in "magic" of any variety (black or white) also falls in the category of distraction, barrier, obstacle. I remember early on hanging out with a few buddies and we were excited about a variety of things like channelling and seeing auras and talking to various beings. One of these buddies constantly saw colors and auras and conversed with all sorts of beings that accompanied her. We would go out to dinner and she would be talking to me and she would also be relaying whatever the non-physical being at the table was telling her. It was wild. Part of me was a bit miffed that I could not "see things" like this. I remember asking about this in a reading. I asked it a few times and always got the same reply, which I am now (a) grateful for, and (b) can see the wisdom in it. The simple blunt reply was "For you it would be far too much of a distraction. It would pull you completely away." so not everything has to be experienced along the way. It is not an indicator that we are "not there yet." It does not mean we are "lacking" or "unskilled" or "behind." And if something is not in my best interest to experience then that is OK. thank you doc benway and stirling for the contributions above. Nowadays for myself the best advice to me is observe and let it go. don't go chasing after it. in Zen parlance, just another cloud passing through the sky.

I am loving what is described here. I will now go try this out on the sharp pain in my right foot at top of ankle, which started a few days ago with no rhyme or reason and comes and goes. About 17 years ago i was in a bad car accident and taken by ambulance to the emergency room. It resulted in a number of injuries the most severe was a double whiplash (my vehicle hit twice both from the rear and in front). I knew from being a bodyworker how problematic neck injury was and that receiving treatment right away was key, the sooner the better. So after being released from the hospital two days later, i started calling around to find someone who would work on an active acute whiplash two days post accident including not just posterior neck work but also anterior neck work. Many licensed practitioners will not touch anterior neck at all even in healthy client. So as expected, when i stared trying to find someone to work on the injury, most people would not touch it, i just kept calling. Finally i found someone who was licensed, could provide insurance documentation with chart notes, and most importantly had learned a specific whiplash protocol that included anterior neck work. I started seeing her the next day which was 3 days post injury and was seeing her 4 days a week, then gradually transitioned to 3 days a week, 2 days a week, and then weekly. I was seeing her for close to a year. It was gruelling work to do but by receiving treatment right away and finding a pracitioner who knew what she was doing, i regained 98% range of motion and full pain relief. The court case took close to 3 years to settle (other driver's fault) so all the medical expenses for all that treatment were reimbursed. anyway it was during those many many hours on the treatment table that i started seeing for the first time as she worked on different sections of my neck, i started spontaneously seeing injuries in great detail from other lifetimes of mine. I did not see the time or place, but i did see the weapon and specific entry and exit point. for instance a spear with a wooden shaft and sharp stone point went in my neck and out through by upper ribs on the side. Some of these weapons i did not even know what they were until i looked them up when i got home, for instance "musket ball." i saw vividly where it lodged in the occiput (no exit wound for that one, it was stuck in there). It looked like a round heavy metal dull grey ball with a textured surface about 0.6 inches across. i remember seeing it and thinking what the heck is that (the bush spear i at least recognized as a weapon) and then heard clear as a bell "musket ball." Over the course of our treatment which spanned close to a year, there were about 8 or 9 fatal injuries shown to me, all of them a result of being attacked. in other words, no death from natural causes. I know that trauma lodges in the body so it felt like in being shown these during treatment sessions, that the work she was doing for the neck injury, was releasong trauma carried over from all these other different lifetimes. It was wild. I will try an intentional use of that with this strange pain on my ankle. These days when something happens like that i see it as a way to try whatever healing modality is currently on the radar for me. I agree wholeheartedly that working on the etheric plane is fast and effective. And I happen to find it fun also. Thanks Lairg for the post and details.

yes there is a similar site for the oh so many mangled tattos in Hebrew. which end up as bizarre unintended messages. for instance a lady had tatooed on her back in Hebrew what she thought was "I love ____ (boyfriend's name)". She used the online Babylon translation software. The tattoo on her back actually reads, "Babylon is the world's leading dictionary and translation software." dozens of hilarious examples. badhebrew.com or google "bad Hebrew tattoos"

From an energetic standpoint, it puts a person at risk. piercings also have an adverse effect. https://omtimes.com/2019/04/energetic-influence-tattoos/ https://www.clearspaceliving.com/blog/body-piercings/

Thank you Stirling, I appreciate it. And there are posts of yours which resonate with me that I see on other threads.

I am new to posting on the forum but have been reading threads for awhile now, and have found useful practical information. My primary interest at this time is qi gong. It is helpful for me to hear more and learn more and be able to ask questions about these : Zhineng, Flying Phoenix, and Wild Goose. I am reading through the 241-page thread on Flying Phoenix and it is wonderful. Thank you everyone for sharing such helpful contributions.

Thank you Giles, I am enjoying your posts when i see them on other threads.

Thanks Pak Satrio. While waiting for the Flying Phoenix DVDs to arrive, please can someone confirm this is the order for the first five standing. I want to be sure to do them in order, since my understanding (reading this thread!) is that more effectively builds the energy. This is the order I am doing them and i definitely feel it building successively and cumulatively within the session. When I do Bending the Bows 18 times (a post on this thread mentioned that) it turbo charges everything. By the time i get to Wind Above Clouds, one time doesn't feel like enough and i really want more. But that could be because by the end of the practice session (60 minutes) it feels so pleasantly charged. gazing at moon bending the bows holding peach holding pearl wind above clouds i will send you by message the link I am using, it is a set of 3 on you tube. He mentions Terry Dunn as the sole source at the beginning of video 1. Thank you.

yes i wholeheartedly agree !

It is unclear to me what is meant by "existence" above . Please clarify. Thank you. If "existence" refers to the physical universes and everything in them, then for me that is the 10,000 things. This includes physical human beings. That is the downstream physical byproduct of the upstream non-physical Source. What decision triggers the appearance of the first universe? it is a passing thought. consider a plane of reality where whatever is "thought" instantly becomes "real." Have you ever stood on a balcony or cliff or rim of a canyon and for an instant imagined falling off? Then you stepped back and went along on your hike and with your day. You saw it was a bad idea and did not go there (did not fall off). You remain unharmed and whole (whew) in your physical life, glad that it "did not really happen" though you imagined perhaps the crashing and rocks and pain and bloody bits. You wondered about it but also recognized it was not real. The physical unverses and everything in them are like that. A passing thought for instance "what would it be like if there was a plane of reality so dense that i forgot the truth of who i am [unborn, unformed, unchanging, always was, always will be, no beginning, no end] and thought i was separate and even denied that Source existed" and boom instantly there was physical universe and everything in it. or universes for those who subscribe to the multiverse variety. What decision results in the removal of that universe? As long as a person is attached to the belief that separation is real (physical universe and everything in it) then they are stuck in the dream. When we are in a dream, it feels very very real. Systems in place such as karma keep us coming back over and over. We also have systems (fortunately) that act as a map to shows us the exit door, the way to step off the repeated cycle of rebirth. To step out of separation. What happens to a dream after you wake up? well it wafts away. and we have the sense of relief whew, that was a bad idea. let's say on the cliff you "fell into the dream" of falling off the cliff. and that dream was a very scary dream, it felt so real. the pain the agony the suffering. and it kept happening over and over. maybe you even recognized at some point hey this is a dream. how do i get out of this dream. wake me up. get me out of here. it's like that. that's when we start paying attention to and taking seriously how do we step off the wheel of karma altogether. It is called "Awakening" for a reason.

i'm not sure what is meant above by "existence." why does there need to be a "wish to achieve" ? being just is.

yes, which is why "before thought" and "before thinking" are so delightful and so appealing. being the big clear sky and not the passing turbulent stormy clouds. (i am currently reading and adore the teachings of Korean Zen Master Seung Sahn)

bold above, yes. well put. i agree.

so with regards to the topic question asking "why is there so much evil in the world" good and evil are opinion, belief, interpretation. they are not universal. they are not factual. they are not agreed upon and there is no baseline. given that, if someone does not believe in "evil" then it does not exist for them.

there is awareness and observing. of what just is. pause. separate from that and subsequent to that, a person may go into interpretation, judgment opinions. "good and evil" are examples of judgment, opinion, interpretation. putting an end to something is not escaping it. it is dissolving it. it no longer exists. there is no good or evil without the judgment, opinion, interpretation. let's say there are conditions circumstances events people which are labeled "good" or "evil." without those labels opinions judgment opinion there is no "good or evil." good and evil no longer exist. the events and circumstances still do exist. so there is no escape. but there is an end to the labels. those no longer exist.

why do you need a reason?

before thought, before thinking is the essence that does not change. the 10,000 things (including thoughts, including feelings, including science, including the entirety of the universes and everything in them, including good and evil) all change. However they flow from that which does not change. In the Tao: (verse 42) The Tao begot one.One begot two.Two begot three.And three begot the ten thousand things. Brahman is not in my frame of reference so I can't speak to that. But i can speak to the essence that does not change, which from the human point of view is the essence of each of us that is unformed, uncreated, unborn, unchanging, no beginning, no end. it is tracing back to the Source. the Source does not change. stuff flows from the Source. but the Source is not changed by that which flows from it.

my transformation dried snake skin on desert floor dragon wings thunder

it was a passing thought. which was then dismissed. when we are in a dream or having a dream it seems so real. when we wake up the dream floats away and is seen as having no substance. just a passing thought.

Which way? Which way now? TAO now, brown cow. Where stones sing and your wild mind soars.

a low estimate matters not when dreamer wakes all wisps waft away

dharma blossoms now. The ten thousand things dissolve in sweet clear stillness.

What a great topic for thread! Two come to mind for me, which I have found to be consistently potent and effective. The first one i will list i found to be not only powerful but also unnerving and at the time disturbing. So be forewarned. I ran across it about 25 years ago and thought oh that sounds good and carelessly said it a few times. "I RELEASE THAT WHICH NO LONGER SERVES ME." The very next day i was "let go" from my job and told the position had been "downsized" and eliminated. It was totally out of the blue and unexpected. My boss was overseas on assignment and she was furious this happened in her absence. At any rate I was dumbfounded and astonished. On the one hand it was upsetting to suddently have my position eliminated and be unemployed. At the same time I remember being absolutely in awe that "holey moley this stuff really works." I still use that, but have a healthy regard for its potency and far-reaching effects, and since then always brace myself for what may come. The second one that comes to mind which i have found to also be effective, particularly where other methods have not worked, is "REMOVE MY DESIRE FOR THAT WHICH IS NOT GOOD FOR ME." I have used this for food cravings that i could just not give up or get rid of. It worked like a charm like flipping a switch. I decided at one point to stop eating pork and shellfish (I made a commitment to keeping kosher). Literally the next day when i thought about those foods or saw them in the market or remembered eating them (and I cooked wonderful Chinese dishes for many years with pork, or prawns, or lobster sauce, or oyster sauce, you get the idea) i did not feel deprived, there was no struggle. it was bizarre and no willpower or forcing myself was involved at all. Later I decided to also stop eating beef and chicken and used that invocation again and again it worked like flipping a switch. No craving at all, no feeling deprived, no desire to eat it at all, even the good stuff at the Rabbi's house when I went over there for supper. I remember having a bite and it just had no appeal whatsoever. About once every year or two, usually at a barbecue, i will try the meat dishes prepared by the chef, because i wonder if it is still in effect or will bbq beef start tasting yummy again, and every time i find nope, still flat. really strange. it has also come in handy with people or situations that are shall we say not good for me but i don't have the fortitude or development yet to stay away from, i.e. getting sucked into drama instead of having the skill or tools to stay away from it. Works great with co-workers and office drama and other sticky interpersonal circumstances or unhealthy attachments to people places things or situations. Breaks patterns that i am not able to stop otherwise.

I have started doing the first 5 standing from Flying Phoenix. After the DVD set which i ordered arrives (6 volumes total), then I will begin adding seated movements from Vol. 2). This long thread has been and is an excellent source of information. I have read sections which came up when I did Google searches on line, but now I am reading the entire 241 pages straight through from the beginning. It is a great resource and has answered many questions which have come up for me. I am at page 34 (out of 241 pages). Previously i did Zhang Zhuang for a few years but i would always end up with sore back and shoulders when i did it in 30-minute stretches, which resolved when i took a break from doing it. Shorter sessions were fine 15 or 20 minutes. And some positions were fine (Wu Ji and hands in front of lower abdomen). Wu ji for 30 minutes was no problem and it has always felt the best to me. What's interesting is that in the one week so far that I have been doing Flying Phoenix standing, and it contains some similar postures I recognize, I have been able to do it for an hour with ease and no soreness afterwards which is quite pleasing to notice. When i did it for 75 minutes (all 5 postures) it was too much but not in terms of soreness in back and shoulders. It just felt like too much in my system. So i scaled it back to 60 minutes for all 5 together in a row. And that feels really good. The one time i felt like it was "too much" was also when i did it first thing in the morning, so I am not doing that. I have moved it to a mid day slot for practice. And keeping Zhineng qi gong for my first thing in the morning practice (about 70-90 minutes). I also do Zhineng in the evening. For the standing postures in Flying Phoenix, one resource says do them one at a time and gradually add more each week or 2, but i also saw on this thread that Sifu Terry Dunn said do all 5 together in a single session and that really appeals to me and feels really good. So I am going to keep doing that. Even though I have not yet received the DVD yet for the first 5 standing, there is an interview with Sifu Terry Dunn where he explains the breathing; and the breathing sequences for the five standing are on line, plus there is a video from someone who trained with Sifu Terry Dunn detailing each of the first five standing; plus the wealth of information provided in this thread. So i feel safe and equipped to do those five standing for now. Plenty to work with there. In the past I also did BaDuanJin which felt more like physical exercise but not much else. I did not develop a feeling of ease with it. Nor did i see improvement in for instance being able to drop lower in the horse stance. And when i read on Dao Bums (i had done a search on line for "pain after doing qi gong") a brilliant post which for me was a light bulb moment of insight, the post said simply "maybe a different type of qi gong would be better for you, maybe try a different qi gong like _____" and then people chimed in with different types of qi gong. It felt so good to be able to put down what had become honestly a chore that felt like it wasn't getting me anywhere. So I am now quite happily practicing Zhineng and learning Flying Phoenix. Qigong is dear to me (literally got me out of a bedridden state in 2019 when nothing was working and there was much despair) and will always be part of my daily life. I am happy to wake up once again wanting to do the practice, and also seeing benefits and improvement.

I was wondering the same thing myself. Also, a being can choose NOT to come back. They can choose to remain as a non-physical being and not return to the physical plane