BigSkyDiamond

the above is my understanding also. i get how Beingness (or God or Divinity or the Dao or first cause or Source) is non-physical and generates all forms (the physical plane, the universe and everything in it. So the physical limited finite is dependent upon and requires the non-physical infinite. But the non-physical infinite is not dependent upon nor does it require the physical finite form. And the finite form does not cause or generate the infinite Source. Hence my confusion. Thank you.

is that the same as Pa Kua?

yeah, that comes to mind also. it does have that look of "bank robber" or "bandit" or "protester" or "burglar" wearing ski mask to conceal identity during criminal or disruptive activity, along those lines.

what does this emoji signify? usually rolling over the emoji shows the sentiment indicated, such as "Wow" or "Oh boy" or "confused." but this one just says "ph34r" i can't find it online either. closest to it is the ninja emoji, but he is shown with sword over the shoulder. thank you

screaming at husband to the extent that children nearby are getting upset, does not seem to me to be the behavior of someone with balance in their thought, speech, actions, emotions. If someone is balanced, then the only thing i can think of that would justify screaming at someone else, is if there is imminent danger or threat of harm, or extreme fear or trauma response. there is a reason we teach children (and adults) not to scream at others. I don't see it as justified (either the action or the justification offered) in the situation described; and i am unclear on how that is model behavior.

How to filter for viewing only the posts by Sifu Terry Dunn Go to Sifu Terry Dun's profile (he is zen-bear) click here in upper right quadrant, click See their activity in menu on left side of page click Posts There are 61 pages of posts, in reverse chronological order, most recent posts on page 1 Enjoy!

there is one of the Flying Phoenix movements that should be AVOIDED before bedtime because it tends to PREVENT sleep. I don't recall which specific movement it is. Someone else can chime in on that. it is beneficial for any of the Flying Phoenix movements to do them verrrrrrrrrry slowly. Slow them way way down. My understanding is that this increases the benefit. Do them slower than shown on the videos. Often times a person feels benefits right away during or right after the session. And it is noted by many that 3 or 4 hours later the energy kicks in again. See how your own system responds, it is good to be aware of that. And this may vary from person to person. So being your own "laboratory" to test is probably most useful. There are specific instructions when an exercise is repeated that are very important to follow, regarding breath sequence to enter the exercise and breath sequence to exit the exercise. Those must not be changed, altered, or omitted. I will let others respond on the specifics for that. There is a ton of good information in this thread, but it can be daunting to go through 244 pages of reading. It may be helpful for starters to filter the search so it shows only the posts by Sifu Terry Dunn. That winnows it down to about 62 pages. They contain a lot of excellent specific instructions and this is is sure to enhance doing the practice. For me i find it fascinating to read the whole thread, it gives a lot of in depth richness and flavor, and hearing other people's experiences is in my view valuable. It will answer questions that you may not even have yet but will be quite useful as your practice goes along. Also feel free to ask any questions, there are many helpful people on this thread with Flying Phoenix qi gong experience.

those are really good points (post just above). Also my understanding or interpretation of an element from the "outside" of a path, can be very different (or way off base) from what that element means or how it is used "inside" the path. Context determines meaning. When i lift it out of one context and plug it into another context there is typically a distortion. This is compounded even more when there are translations across a different language because that too changes the meaning. Just as there are words and meanings and concepts which don't even exist in some languages, so too there are elements in a path that do not exist in other paths. And sacred scripture by nature carries multiple meanings for a single word or element or teaching. By its vary nature there is never just a single or simple meaning, but there are stacked meanings (which are often contradictory) which intentionally gives a richness and depth. Also for the same passage, it may mean something very different to me when i first read it than when i read it one or two or ten years later. My own view (and how I experience it) is that sacred texts (holy books) carry and deliver a transmission to the reader. All books do this to a certain extent, but it can be more pronounced for sacred texts due to the subject matter. .

No, becauase the discussion occurred in the context of religious roles duties tasks obligations and responsibilities. So race is not relevant, because it is not a determining factor, nothing is race-specific. Gender is a factor, race is not. The context matters.

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no matter how much "study" and "knowledge" and "information" a person thinks they may have collected, it does not and can not compare to the boots on the ground lived experience of someone who is actually practicing the path. "study" is not the practice. "history" is not the practice. "archaeology" is not the practice.

it also teaches another reason why men are given a greater amount of religious duties, obligations, tasks, and responsibilities than women. Because keeping them busy and occupied with more obligations means they are less likely to get in trouble. I remember when the rabbi was explaining this to me i must have look surprised, I had never heard such a thing. It just seemed so novel to me, and at the same time very practical. He went on to say "look at the prisons, it is the men causing trouble." I looked it up: Men commit 90% of violent crimes (Sweden , 2013 data); federal prison population is 93% men (USA, 2017 data)

OK. Thank you.

For those "preparing the way" how do we recognize that, what does it look like, what makes them different. It seems like we are able to use intent now. I guess i'm not understanding why that is deferred to some future era. Thank you.

For Chassidus it is yes. In addition to the "outer" meaning, Chassidus also looks at the "inner" meaning. Yes it is the Shema. During the Shema prayer we declare that everything is God. The physical universe is a product of Divine consciousness. The universe and everything in it flows from and is an outpicturing of Divinity. God is infinite, permanent, unchanging, existing beyond time and space as an eternal absolute Being, the continuous source of all creation. God is both transcendent ("out there") and also immanent ("in here" within me). There is no place where God is not. אין עוד מלבדו (ein od milvado) There is nothing other than God

it sounds like in the frameworks presented overall, then yes for me the nondual is where i fit. Thank you. (in my religion, the most important prayer we say everyday first thing upon waking, and last thing before going to sleep, and sing to our babies, and the first prayer we teach our children, and recite as we are dying, is a simple short six-word prayer and the last word translates to "is One.")

thank you for the charts presented across many paths.

thank you for the additional information, much appreciated. People within a path always know more about the path and practices, and variations and nuance. We all benefit when there is context and background provided, and it is always helpful (in my view) to hear more. This forum is a really good place for that. Thank you for filling us in.

Yes that is a good point. Mixing systems can cause problems. for me anyway. i may be overthinking things. also there is viewing things from the level of my small "s" self, my physical human finite self and personality. . and then there is viewing things from the level of my big "S" Self, from the soul level, my infinite Self. and navigating both perspectives with balance, order, and harmony.

Those are all valid. I bump up against those. That is why I am always thirsty to hear how different paths reconcile and resolve this. Thank you. It's like a domino effect, when I change or update a belief say here or there, then other beliefs are affected and start toppling over too. For internal harmony i seek to align them.

Sure thing! I am an Orthodox Jew.

Thank you. OK. I don't know what a subtle body is (something like soul compared to physical body? my infinite non-physical being compared to my finite physical body?) but i appreciate the information and following along with this discussion and all the contributions.

Interesting. What might those look like for us?

The quote above, which is not attributed in the post, appears in a Thelemagick publication, and is from Golden Dawn lectures. The identifying logo displayed is the Seal of Argenteum Astrum, a magical order founded by Aleister Crowley, and closely associated with Thelema, a philisophical and religious system also established by Crowley. A central tenet of Thelema is, "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law." Golden Dawn was an earlier hermetic magical order, and influenced Crowley.

and the natural extension of this is to recognize that "all appearances" includes also everything i see when my eyes are open too. All physical objects, the table the books, the trees, the streets, the cars and airplanes and planets and galaxies. All appearances are generated by the mind. Yes. Basically, the universe and everything in it, is all in my head, generated by the mind. (And the logical extension of that then, is that each person generates and views their own universe.) That is my understanding. I am curious to hear from Steve (or anyone) on where Dzogchen (or any other tradition) stands on that.