hyok

I'm not sure what voices from a valley sound like, but sometimes when i'm meditating, the air flow from the vents begin to take on a strange chanting sound. It gets seemingly louder and more clear as I think about it. To be honest, I think it's my mind messing with me, or maybe it's not? I don't know. RE: Maturity. In my mind i was emphasizing insight more than maturity, although i really have no idea where the lines are between these two words. Throw in wisdom while we're at it. I guess maybe insight is the ability to pierce into the core of the formless with yang penetration and yin intuition. Basically what i'm thinking is that maybe you needed to waste those years to arrive at a point where you said, "screw this. i'm doing it my way." and then it worked. I can see how this type of development can be beneficial for the practitioner. It's like in that movie, The Last Dragon, where Bruce Leroy kept looking for the master, constantly seeking and searching for the master, only to discover in the end that he is the master.

Findley, may I first say that I appreciate your style of expression because I find it to be very effective, as opposed to the koanish verbiage that normally dominates this site. Of course, I would not be thinking this if you didn't seem like you knew something. SEEM being the keyword here. That said, I haven't read the Secret of The Golden Flower in its entirety so I will read more idiotically than you would want, but my question is this... How important is a practitioner's level of insight and maturity when attempting to open the mysterious gate? Moreover, relative to time, do you think everyone has their own pace, or do you think this method is a working model for anyone? Thanks!

It's Sunday, 91 degrees in Cali and while sitting here watching a Blu Ray 1080p DVD copy of I Am Legend and wondering why this movie was so not-so-good, a flashing thought came to me! I am a noob in the Tao! And i'm stubborn and holding on to my ego for dear life! I don't practice enough, I'm moody and irritable and everything spiritual about me seems like it's falling apart at the seams every second! And I can't help it! Every time I feel like this, which has been lately A LOT a lot, I read the I Ching and it makes me feel better, because no matter who I speak to about this, no matter how much I think about how I KNOW what i'm doing wrong, it does nothing. But whenever I read the I Ching and the texts of the early hexagrams, it is like having a one-on-one psychotherapy session with the Tao. I've been on the Bums for a few months now and I've seen a lot of posts from beginners that mirror my own beginning to the present. Aside from the superficial aspects of feeling within a community, no matter how buried they are, I have discovered that it's hard to argue with the enduring blankness of information contained within the I Ching. There is something so nurturing and reflective within the words that its like mother's milk for the spirit and soul. I highly recommend it for new adepts.

For me, it's helped me feel better whenever I feel weak and unworthy. Just read it. I think one receives from it whatever one needs.

Apparently it's not good to talk about experiences and attainments. That's what I hear. Not that it always stops me because I see it like you do too. I dunno, seems like an arcane and outdated rule considering the state of humanity, but what do i know.

Can someone know if another is enlightened? I'm pretty sure people with auric-vision can see if other ppls chakras are open, but I'm iffy on whether enlightened ppl know if others are enlightened, and i definitely don't think any of us could tell. I imagine the only way to know for sure is to meet up with them on the other side.

Certainly would make things a lot easier! lol. What I would find interesting is reading a detailed description of what one sees. Not just images, but the texture of the images. The mixture of color as well as appearance and disappearance of imagery.

I think it's easy to get lost in all the words and names. When I first started meditation, I didn't know what "emptiness" really meant. First I thought it was "no thought". Then I hear it's not, then I hear it is, then I realized it wasn't. And even "bliss". Sometimes i think that word gets tossed around a little too frequently, cuz bliss to me was ejaculating with my HS gf after the 25th time, or somewhere around there. I haven't felt that while meditating even when people were telling me I was. Meditating in emptiness (generally speaking) , to me, is a process that begins with relaxing the body and taming the mind so we can accomplish different things with different practices - i.e. harnessing chi, raising kundalini, training our consciousness to release itself from the confines of matter. While I don't know how everyone else goes through the process of it, i try to imagine myself as a microscopic reflective orb, or as Wang Li-Ping described stillness, a clear and calm body of water, so calm that it reflects. He added that sometimes in the stillness of mind, a ripple in the image of a friend might appear, and a few mins later the friend might unexpectedly call or visit. Things like this definitely happen and it's kinda cool. lol.

This is an interesting topic for me too because I always found it odd that we should suppress desire, but so many practitioners desire greater spirituality, attainments, abilities, power, and in a sense the practices recommends it. I can also understand the reasoning behind non-attachment, but I would add to it that abysmal and black pain derived from great loss is in-and-of-itself beauty. Its pureness and emptiness is unique in the spectrum of human emotion thus I see value in it, at least in a single experience of it to know what true loss and what attachment can do. Perhaps the teachings are assuming that almost everyone will experience loss and hardly anyone will ever transcend it, but it's a way to make it easier.

Came across this link last year some time. Reading posts on over-population reminded me of it. I highly urge anyone who reads this to click the link below and watch the short animated video that follows. It will, at the bare minimum, really make you think about Earth as well as the nature of celestial bodies in the universe. http://www.continuitystudios.net/clip00.html

I'm not sure if this topic has been discussed before so sorry if it's a re-hash for you oldies. What I appreciate most about the fields of metaphysics is the nature of trusting experience as opposed to words or teachings. It's been said that truth cannot be taught nor expressed in words -- it can only be experienced, and this mentality is basically what has led me where I am now - developing a philosophy based purely on experiential processes and heavily scrutinized analysis of these experiences. However, within the subject of energy centers there seems to be reports of different experiences regarding activation and openings. What I am wondering is how these energy center openings have manifested themselves in your physical body to assure you that it has actually happened. 1. how did you know something had opened or activated? 2. What did it feel like, exactly?

I have actually heard of stories of people born and trained in the ability of market sensitivity. There are actually even financial astrologers out there who've been quite consistent in their predictions. I think with the internet, it's become quite easy to hunt down the Gurus and learn the methods of analysis on the macro level. Long-term investment wise, understanding macro-economics is the key, to me. Mindset and the laws of attraction are definitely important, but understanding of the bigger systems will probably provide more solid results in the long run. For me it's simple -- all gold until the price is set again by The Powers That Be. I think this time period, from now until 2012-2015, is when the tide of investment capital moves out and everyone will see who has been swimming naked and who has not. I think we will soon discover just how broke all banks and most companies really are, and will be in a few years. Whatever awaits, It's my humble opinion that gold will be the only investment that will provide any kind of return of real value. Gold is God's money for humanity and this will be embraced again.

I think the Chinese will keep buying to keep the system going. What I THINK will happen is that eventually the Chinese will urge the BIS to stop the devaluing of the USD as well as all the other currencies in relation to their ability to purchase oil, since the Chinese will need more oil than anyone, they will want some kind of guarantee that this debt they're buying will not result in them being unable to purchase the oil they need. I think the BIS will eventually, after the sheetstorm, force the US Federal Reserve to get back on a gold standard so the world can revalue their currencies in relation to energy and get the books in order. This is why I think all the rich people are going nuts over gold because if true market price of gold in relation to the USD and oil as well as the fake paper price of gold reveals itself, it's gonna be five figures easily per ounce. Asia has the largest stockpile in gold reserves via S. Africa. Perhaps this is what they've been accumulating for? BTW, Smile, check this out. I think you will enjoy the read. http://www.usagold.com/goldtrail/archives/another1.html

I think the possibility of food shortages can and will be a reality one day. It will probably be a lot worse in poorer countries, but the US at some point, especially if the Dollar loses its role as the world's reserve currency, will cause countries that export goods to the US to demand something other than paper money. This is a very real possibility that is looming with every Trillion dollar check Obama signs. Distribution channels would probably be effected for a few months, but within that time a lot could go very wrong on the ground level. As for the OP's article, I'm sure the US Govt would love to do that but I don't think the Chinese would enjoy getting shot at by crazy Americans when they attempt to move in.

Personal wealth and its effects on a person's character has been on the forefront of my mind lately. Reason being is that the older I get, the better off those in my age group are. I look around and see a lot of people who, at one point in their lives, did not care for wealth and riches but have now become very tied to their wealth, so much so that it seems as if they find their identity in their net worth as well as the things they own. I know in the Christian bible, Jesus lashed out at the rich with sayings like "it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye than for a rich man to enter heaven." I used to think these sayings about the adverse effects of wealth on a human being were mostly exaggerated, but now that I am surrounded by people who fit into a certain income bracket, and having known them for quite a long time, it seems like these sayings are all very true! I know its difficult for people to come to grips with having excesses, but it breaks my heart at times to see how wealth can so easily turn a nice person into an a-hole. What are Taoists thoughts on wealth and the negative effects it can have on a person? Are there any? Is this subject glazed upon? Thanks in advance.

Yes! I have seen this documentary before and was floored by it. Even to this day I look at the sun and wonder what it exactly is! lol. Definitely engaging and a perfect extension from the Earth expansion theory. Thank you for bringing it up!

The article is by Hal Turner. Like many people over the years, I've fallen for his articles in the past because they read so convincing, but none of them have ever been true.

EDIT. gonna make a thread on it.

I'd honestly never felt Chi until i attempted the 100 days a few months ago. Around the 3rd week I FELT Chi actually move in my body. It felt like a energy/magnetic/electrical fist or ball moving sharply and then slowing down. Regarding the Q, i don't know what Chi is. I've tried to contemplate the nature and meaning behind this force or field of energy that we can seem to harness, but I cannot come to any conclusion or meaning that I find acceptable. Words seem to fail in this case.

Maybe the quote in the OP should do better at defining what "frequent orgasm" or "over-ejaculation" exactly means.

For me, I chose money at around the age of 23. Around 28, I regretted it and went through an identity crisis and a minor depression. Around 32, after some soul-searching and maturity, I was content with my decision but nonetheless still harbored a desire for more freedom, which I still do to this day. I think either path has its ups and downs and whatever choice we end up making, somewhere along the way we'll realize what's best for us and act accordingly. If anything, knowing the Tao will surely ground you in whatever choice you make.

Could also be applied to physics - particle/wave, positive/negative charges.

http://gigapan.org/viewGigapanFullscreen.p...6648c2b4b06233c Pretty cool!

I'm gleaning over the House bill now, and apparently this type of information gathering is referred to, within the bill, as EHR (electronic health record) Technology. From what i've read in the "Division B - Other Provisions" section of the House bill, Titles III, IV and V regarding health issues, EHR technology seems to be the main focus covering qualifications for EHR funding(pgs 500-505 in pdf file), grants and implementation of this technology within medical academia and the private sector. Might read some more later, but so far the article is legit.