liminal_luke

Dreambliss, They may appear to contradict each other, but I don't think you'll go wrong following either Louise Hay or Eckhart Tolle. Take your pick. Loving and accepting yourself, as recommended by Hay, would certainly be very helpful. Then again, nothing wrong with not having a relationship with yourself, just being yourself, relaxed and comfortable, as recommended by Tolle. They are simply speaking from different, although complementary, points of view. A Buddhist monk might see all of reality (correct me if I´m wrong) permeated by the bliss and wisdom of the dharma, but that doesn´t mean he wouldn´t bother to feed the hungry. Can you find a way to love yourself and not have a relationship with yourself at the same time? Can you see everything as already perfect and complete and still work to improve it? Your mind will tell you these things are impossible. So go ask some other part of your being. My two cents. Liminal

I´ve written things before that I later thought better of. Sometimes one or the other has to go, the post or the poster. I usually opt to delete the post. That said, it is slightly irksome when someone who usually says interesting things chooses to delete. I solve this problem by checking taobums every five minutes. Sure, it cuts into other things I might be doing with my life but we all gotta make choices.

Sounds like a wonderful idea Taomeow. Whether it can really be carried off is an open question, but I don´t think we lose anything by trying. Liminal

Oh, I know, I know. My post was partially tongue-in-cheek. But there´s lots to like about a big city in spite of everything: the sometimes amazing mix of cultures, varied and delicious food, flourishing microcommunities--everything from artists to people doing tai chi in the park. Liminal

I like visiting the natural world, but I wouldn´t want to live there. Liminal

Hundun, Love the shaking! Wondering about a few things. How long do you recommend shaking for a beginner? How long do you practice it yourself? Also wondering whether or not you see it as different from Sifu Jenny Lambs Yi Gong? I´d be grateful for any thoughts. Thanks, Liminal

It might sound weird, but I find bathroom breaks a wonderful opportunity for short snippets of practice. A great way of doing 30 seconds or so of something you want to engrain into your body memory. Perhaps some breathing, a discreet stretch, healing sounds, smile (secret or otherwise). Liminal

The Conditional Say tomorrow doesn’t come. Say the moon becomes an icy pit. Say the sweet-gum tree is petrified. Say the sun’s a foul black tire fire. Say the owl’s eyes are pinpricks. Say the raccoon’s a hot tar stain. Say the shirt’s plastic ditch-litter. Say the kitchen’s a cow’s corpse. Say we never get to see it: bright future, stuck like a bum star, never coming close, never dazzling. Say we never meet her. Never him. Say we spend our last moments staring at each other, hands knotted together, clutching the dog, watching the sky burn. Say, It doesn’t matter. Say, That would be enough. Say you’d still want this: us alive, right here, feeling lucky. Ada Limon

Everyday relationships between partners who don´t know beans about taoism are, nevertheless, wonderfully alchemical. Relationships spur personal and spiritual growth not in spite of our flaws but because of them. Liminal

I sometimes think about how I could have funded my own personally devised education program, a program that wouldn´t have resulted in a degree but might have resulted in a better learning experience. Chalk that one up to another "if only I had." Given that I wouldn´t have had the foresight or gumption then to carry out the kind of plan I would envision now, university wasn´t a bad option. Liminal

Carbonbreath, You´ve received a chorus of replies (mine among them) urging you to stay away. Sounds like you´re taking the advice to heart. I´m very glad. Still, as a man-loving fellow on the verge of my old gay years, I´d like to clarify my opinión a bit so as not to inadvertently perpetuate the destructive "dirty old man" stereotype. There´s nothing wrong with being old. There´s nothing wrong with being old and gay. There´s nothing wrong with being fat, old, and gay. There´s nothing wrong with being fat, sick, old, and gay. There´s not even anything wrong with being a fat, old, sick, gay guy who finds handsome much younger men, perhaps like yourself, sexually desirable. There´s everything wrong when anyone tries to parlay alledged knowledge or abilities into sexual favors. Liminal

You´re gut is telling you to stay away so listen to your gut. Let him find someone who actually wants to have sex with him, rather than trying to exploit people looking for spiritual help. That kind of "help" you don´t need. Liminal

I agree that the lands were taken illegally. So much pain around this. Still. That said, I don´t think rounding up everybody who has herpes or whatnot and sending them off to Europe is the answer. Perhaps a topic better suited for "Off Topic." Liminal

I´m 49. Not quite there, but sense peace and contentment sneaking up on me. Liminal

My take. Self-development often proceeds unevenly and in an idiosyncratic manner, in a way that reflects a particular person´s talents, interests, and history. When we value a certain aspect, it´s easy to believe that someone who isn´t acomplished in our pet area of interest couldn´t possibly be acomplished in some other way. And that´s just not true. And so we get...authentic mystics who act out in sexually inappropriate ways, fat unathletic healers, people with boundless compassion and sucky tai chi...and on and on. The takeaway lesson? When looking for a teacher I don´t demand all-around perfection. As long as the teacher has something I´d like more of in my life I´m good. Liminal

Nikolai1 is an extremely judgemental person who lacks inquisitiveness, and needs therapy. Lth spouts hippie bullshit. Idiot stimpy is likely autistic. And clearly I´m not so hot myself. Oh well. Liminal

Owledge, You were upset by something that happened in the real world. So you posted about it here at Taobums. And got lots of feedback posts. Among them some high quality responses. But you seem very disgruntled by almost everyone, offended by even very gentle critiques of your point of view. Seeing as all the perceived conflict is swirling around you, it might be helpful to consider if you have any part in generating it. Liminal

Edited out the snide parts which (opps!) turned out to be the whole thing. Liminal

Yes, everybodies experience is different. I thought maybe you were basing your thoughts on just a visit or two, but if you´ve lived there you know what´s it´s like for you. Liminal

I despise the city of Portland for its 9 months continual rain and for the totally ungrounded, etheric, vapid and impractical population of "spiritual people" it attracts to itself. Yasjua I lived in Portland for several decades and none of my friends are anything like you describe. Well, maybe a few. Portland´s not exactly a metrópolis, but it´s population is too big to fit neatly into the popular stereotype; rest assured, plenty of grounded practical people live in Portland. You are right about the rain though. Liminal

Do eagles fly high? My heads been down so long now I don´t remember...

Hi Gabrielnb, I don´t know about Ji Ben Qigong, but, while not an expert, I feel confident that vipassana and zazen couldn´t hurt. I know for a fact that other Kunlun practitioners have combined Kunlun with vipassana and felt that the combination was particularly fruitful. Sifu Jenny Lamb, who Max originally learned what he calls Kunlun from, is a Buddhist and says that Yi Gong/Kunlun practiced without awareness isn´t really the practice. Something like vipassana, which is all about awareness in my understanding, should help, not hurt. You might ask a teacher of course, but thought I´d share my perspective. Liminal

For what it´s worth, Juan Li, a senior healing tao instructor, used to teach a weekend workshop in Dream Yoga. Not sure if he still does. Not that that proves it´s a traditional practice or anything. Taoist practice is vast, and it´s hard for me to imagine sleep and dream practices aren´t a part of it somewhere. Afterall, sleeping and dreaming are part of the human experience. I´d think that at a certain point, regardless of the spiritual path followed, consciousness illuminates that part of our lives. Not because someones allegiance is to Taoism, Buddhism, Yoga or what have you, but because that´s the natural trajectory of spiritual development. Liminal

Loved the link Gerard. As extreme measures go, one could do worse, in my opinion, than an intensive silent Buddhist retreat in a natural setting. One need not even be overtly dedicated to Buddhism per se to benefit from something like vipassana. A willingness to confront oneself deeply in a quiet beautiful place while paying excruciating attention to the breath for hours on end is, in my admittedly limited experience, the only requirement. Less painful than getting ones balls cut off, though I´m sure some retreatents might beg to differ. Liminal

Hi Flofilil, Recently heard a quote that might be apropo to your situation: "Everythiing is about sex, except sex." The mystery of our attractions runs very deep indeed, and is tangled up in the most profound --and usually hidden--reaches of our selves. For a fascinating, and helpful, exploration of the way this happens I love Jack Morin´s book, The Erotic Mind. I´m not very optimistic that someone here will be able to give you the key to turning off your sexuality, and even less convinced it would be a good thing if they could. Which is maybe a jerk comment given how much pain you´re in. I get that you want the feelings to go away, and certainly something needs to change, but I just fear that radical sledgehammer approaches to that end would end up doing more harm than good. Obviously more is going on than would be appropriate to go into here at Taobums. Have you gotten in-person professional support from someone who specializes in this? Liminal