liminal_luke

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Everything posted by liminal_luke

  1. Life After Death? Life After Life?

    I love that D.A.D. shared his out-of-the-ordinary experience; stories from direct personal experience make for inspiring reading. But this thread illustrates why most choose to keep their most profound spiritual events private -- some people take great joy exercising their skeptical abilities and not always in the most sensitive way. For many of us, our deep spiritual life is the most vulnerable part of us, something we rightly treat with tender respect. This is not to say that the conclusions D.A.D. draws from his experience are correct. Or that thereĀ“s anything wrong with debating the issue. But if youĀ“re levitating or walking through walls or waking up after death, well, IĀ“d think twice before posting a detailed account or, especially, a video. Just sayinĀ“.
  2. I think Kunlun and the Healing Tao practices are difficult in the same way all genuine spiritual cultivation is difficult: you donĀ“t get very far without bumping up against aspects of yourself that arenĀ“t pretty.
  3. Chatroom sexcapades has been removed

    First the sexcapades themselves were banished, and now the thread about the sexcapades has suffered a similar fate. Probably for the best. One wonders: what other threads could the good citizens of Bumsville best do without? Disappearing all threads related to Mopai would no doubt be a popular choice, but I personally would like to obliterate from view all posts containing the word "objectivist." Beginning with this one.
  4. I second what Thelerner said. Kunlun practice might accomplish the same thing as the Healing Tao practices you reference (or not, I donĀ“t know) but it doesnĀ“t follow anything like the same method. Michael Winn, head of the US branch of the healing tao, no longer recommends shooting the pearl out the crown of the head, btw. Says that itĀ“s originally a Tibetan, rather than Daoist, practice and that most people end up dissipating their energies that way. ThatĀ“s what I remember anyway. So IĀ“d be careful about that aspect. IĀ“ve practiced both Kunlun and fusion of the five elements and like both. They are both powerful and thereĀ“s plenty to dig into within either system. My advice would be to pick the one youĀ“re most drawn to and practice just that. Either way, you wonĀ“t be missing out.
  5. Means to Cultivate the Body?

    HereĀ“s my suggestion... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tEAaq293Wk This is the first section of Sheng Zhen Healing Qigong. There are three sections all together, and if you like it you could buy the dvd and just practice along with it once a day. A seated qigong form thatĀ“s specifically focused on cultivating the health of the physical body, can be done in less than 90 minutes, and doesnĀ“t require personal instruction to get started. Highly recommended.
  6. Everyone post some favorite quotes!

    People like you to be something, preferably what they are. John Steinbeck
  7. Count me among those who believe that everybody alive is on a spiritual path, though most stumble along somewhat mindlessly.. (The dead likely have their own spiritual journey though I canĀ“t speak to that -- yet.) IĀ“m not an advanced practitioner so I wonĀ“t mention the usual business about overcoming ego, non-dual awareness, and levitation. Plenty of threads on those subjects already. Instead, here are some signposts along the beginning of the spiritual path that will likely be familiar to most. (1) Fighting with parents, children, or significant other. (2) Getting sick (3) Struggles with money and employment (4) Inner conflicts around sex and food (5) Feeling emotionally triggered by fools on internet forums. Experienced any of these? If so, congratulations and welcome to the spiritual path.
  8. A few stories/metaphors about awareness that IĀ“ve heard over the years. Chi Nei Tsang teacher Gilles Marin talks about "the price of awareness," that point in the process of healing when we feel worse rather than better because weĀ“re no longer numb: we can actually feel how crappy things really are. Feeling crappy kind of sucks, obviously, but you canĀ“t get rid of crap you canĀ“t smell. Or so they say. Another old Healing Tao/acupuncturist teacher of mine, Bernie Bayard, made a similar point about clean eating. If youĀ“ve had a daily Twinkie for the last few months, eating one more probably wonĀ“t make you feel much different. But eat well for a month or two and then try to eat that Twinkie -- big-time stomach ache. He likens digestion to a lake. Throw dirt in an already dirty lake and nothing happens. Throw dirt in a crystal clear lake and youĀ“ll see the difference.
  9. May I suggest ... spark plug.
  10. Perhaps itĀ“s just different stages of the practice, but my experience was different. I found myself opening and feeling like I was more myself than ever before. Like I was picking myself up and putting pieces back in place that had been lost long ago. I felt more in my body, less scattered. It felt like coming home.
  11. Time to Rotate

    Hi Michael, IĀ“m just about as out-of-the-loop as it gets, having gone into chat exactly once. ItĀ“s a rare occasion when people are up to sexual shananigans -- with each other or strictly on the astral planes -- and I donĀ“t know about it. Not sure how I could of missed this one. (If indeed, this has anything to do with anything, which, IĀ“m realizing as I edit, it may not.) What I can say with some confidence, even without having met you in person, is that you want the best for this board and are rightly concerned for the wellbeing of us Bums generally. I know that your actions as a moderator reflected those values of care and stewardship... that you did what you thought was right. If thereĀ“s a hard and fast rule about moderation rotation, well, so be it. But if any part of this rotation decision has to do with a conflict among moderators and staff, now thatĀ“s something else. Seems to me like an odd way to say Thank You. In any case, none of this takes away from the good work youĀ“ve done for so long. Moderation, as everyone knows, is tough. If youĀ“re not making unpopular decisions, youĀ“re probably not doing it right. Thanks for bringing your unique persepective and expertise to the job. This place is all the better for it. Liminal
  12. thinking not the same as lying in a cornfield looking at the sky
  13. Personally, I didnĀ“t get much past the title. If Sionnach really wants to discuss Marxism in the off topic area (without the anti-semetic overtunes), couldnĀ“t he just start a new thread about Marxism? Easey peasey.
  14. A few years back someone (I think it was Trunk) brought up the difference between resting your mind on the lower dan tien, and actually switching your center of consciousness so that itĀ“s actually emanating from the dan tien itself. An important distinction, I think.
  15. Deception was my job

    Murderers come in all ethnicities and racial persuasions. But my hatemongering radar goes up when I read thread titles like this one. Learning history is one thing, fanning prejudice another. IĀ“m not going to report this thread but I think itĀ“s skirting a line. Whenever someone names a minority group and tells us that we "mustnĀ“t forget" something negative about that group...well, youĀ“ve got to wonder about motivation. Here are some other potential threads IĀ“d find similarly questionable. We mustnĀ“t forget that... Asians are bad drivers. Blacks are gangsters and thieves. Arabs are terrorists. And so on. Some stereotypes really are best forgotten.
  16. Avoidance or Cultivation?

    Hi Orion, IĀ“d hit it with everything you got. Sounds like this situation is really bothering you and you need some sort of hopeful change, some relief, soon. Nothing about internal work implies that we need to sit and stew in a situation that isnĀ“t working for us. And, likewise, no external change will render inner growth redundant or unnecessary. There may be times when a person naturally gravitates toward one or another approach, but IĀ“d get out of the either/or mindset. Do both. You know how it feels to be a kid standing on a rocky outcropping on the riverbank, deciding whether or not to step off that ledge and fall into the icy cold water below? The dance of fear and hesitation as you considered whether or not to take that leap into the unknown. And then you jump... (PS. Please make sure the river isnĀ“t running too fast, the rocky ledge not too high. IĀ“m not advocating recklessness. Just a gentle jump that will land you somewhere new. It might be someplace better or worse. Either way, know that you are strong enough to make your way.)
  17. the dao of time

    Or do they?
  18. the dao of time

    Brian recently posted a story about reassuring a fast-food worker that she was going to be OK just before she suffered some sort of health collapse in the back of the restaurant. What does this story say about spiritual practice and our experience of time? Most of us perceive time in the same linear way, one second following another in strict, boring order. Seconds do not generally cut in front of each other in line. I donĀ“t speak from personal experience, but my sense is that practice changes all that, that thereĀ“s a stage of spiritual development where time goes all funny. Time can slow down, speed up, stand still. Time can hop around in ways that defy conventional understanding. You know that bumper sticker: ItĀ“s never too late to have a happy childhood. Call me nutty, but I believe itĀ“s literally true.
  19. Truth and Progress

    HereĀ“s the thing, Papayaapple. All those people talking about our inherent spotless enlightened nature and how it has been there all along? They didnĀ“t just wake up one morning with that realization. Ask them how much they practiced before that understanding came. Ask Spotless. Ask Silent Thunder. A person has to practice a hell of a lot before that kind of knowing sinks all the way in. (Even if the sinking, when it comes, seems to happen suddenly.)
  20. What is freedom?

    Beautiful! What particularly strikes me is the order. So many times I think people try to jump to transcendence before adequately addressing the "soveignty over oneĀ“s own energy" part. Then again, others struggle so mightily to establish a firm boundary between themselves and others that they are loathe to let it go even when the time has come -- it can feel like going backwards I think intimacy is like this too. Most of us start out neurotically fused with other people, and have to do lots of work just figuring out where we start and our loved ones begin. Eventually we figure out how to be ourselves and let other people be themselves too. Healthy boundaries. And just as soon as we learn how to make those boundaries the next spiritual step is to let them dissolve. Such a sublime paradox.
  21. Hillary and Trump

    If JoeBlasts sources are correct, Hillary is bumping off anybody with the wherewithal and inside information necessary to expose her evil ways. Maybe IĀ“ve been binge watching too much House of Cards lately, but this sounds plausible to me. And Trump is...well, donĀ“t even get me started. Mind altering substances have never been my thing, but maybe itĀ“s no mystery that these postings recently turned to pot. This is a thread best read stoned.
  22. Vulnerability

    Thanks, Marblehead.. I wanted to emphasize the part you wrote above -- so true! People always see so much more about us than we think they do. Or at least thatĀ“s my experience. Even online, different personalities really come through.
  23. Vulnerability

    Do you mean the older we get the more vulnerable we become, or the harder it gets to be real with ourselves and others about our vulnerabilities? At fifty, IĀ“m already feeling a certain kind of vulnerability that comes with increasing years. Health, in general, seems a more fragile thing. IĀ“m beginning to believe, at long last, that I will die one day. New friends are a little harder to come by. At the same time IĀ“m kind of just OK with everything. I accept myself now in a way I didnĀ“t in my twenties. Our culture celebrates youth but have you ever noticed how bat-shit out-of-their-heads a lot of those twentysomethings are? (No offense, I hope; there are many, many exceptions.) You donĀ“t have to look farther than this forum to see it. Look at all the young male whippersnappers all torn up about their sexuality, for example. Some of the older people on the forum have mental health issues as well (ahum), but they are less likely to express obvious anguish -- or even admit to having any difficulty whatsoever. In these cases, vulnerability has long been buried in the emotional landfill of personality. So anyway, IĀ“m growing in self-acceptance as I age. Growing in self-acceptance at a snails pace, granted, but I accept that too. This forum is pretty darn humbling. You ever notice how many brillant people there are here? How many people who have put in serious work at their spiritual practices and really got somewhere? Looking around at the Mensa-level intellects and enlightened spirits (a few people qualify for both groups!), a guy might start feeling a little small. IĀ“ve felt small before, but IĀ“m more OK now, taking my place here. ItĀ“s like walking in a grove of mighty redwoods. IĀ“m talking about self-acceptance because I think itĀ“s key to allowing vulnerability. When I accept myself, I have the strength to let you see me. You might not like me after you do, but I know IĀ“m going to be OK.