steve

I can’t quote any data but there are a wide range of programs. I suspect the efficacy is related to the price here but that’s not necessarily the case Recidivism with addiction is certainly very high.

Yes. Been there, done that. And Pink Floyd and Genesis Progressive rock rules!

INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE VISITING EARTH In the event that you wake up and find your soul separated from source and manifest into material form, don’t panic. Your condition is only temporary. You have been selected for the opportunity of human incarnation. This 3D simulation is designed to break up the monotony of eternity by giving you a fully immersive experience as a distinct ego identity. Your body will serve as your physical avatar as you navigate a dense and dramatic reality. There will be many distractions causing you to forget your true nature and origin. You will experience a range of emotions, from joy to loneliness to despair. But remember – no matter what trials and traumas you encounter, your soul remains perfectly safe. At times you may feel lost or afraid. This is totally normal. If you ever need guidance, simply slow down your busy mind and bring your awareness to the quiet place inside yourself. On this planet, nothing is permanent. People and things will come and go. You will fall in love and form sentimental attachments only to lose everything you hold dear. So cling to nothing too tightly, even yourself, and when it’s time to let go, let go with grace, for nothing is owned, only borrowed. As you walk among the people on the planet, try to be a good guest. Tread lightly. Remember that you are only visiting. Don’t make a mess. Listen more than you speak. Give more than you take. Don’t keep your soft heart locked inside a glass cage, protected from wear and tear. You’ll never make it out alive and time passes quickly. So come back with some battle scars and good stories to tell. James McCrae

And when does violence cause silence? Another head hangs lowly Child is slowly taken And the violence caused such silence Who are we mistaken

I've never considered myself a Dead head, never even saw them live despite multiple opportunities. Nevertheless, a few of their tunes will always hold a very special place in my heart...

I often think about what I can be doing, feeling like I should be doing more, and one thing that keeps coming up is the silence; connecting with the silence in myself, and helping others to hear the silence, to feel the stillness and spaciousness of Being. In a time when I feel so impotent, I think that inner quiet is so rich with potential that it should not be under-estimated. For me it is far more valuable than expressing and reifying my anger and frustration through social media. What does that do but fan my own flames and those of others? I haven't seen much benefit from it in my own experience. Consequently I've gotten back to teaching more and it's been really rewarding to hear the stories of the benefits of meditation, small and large, in people's lives. One recent story was of a young mom who has been struggling with the chaotic experience of caring for her toddler, worrying about their future... In a particularly frenetic moment she remembered her informal practice and was able to connect with inner stillness and silence. It took her only a few moments and out of that inner peace came the spontaneous warmth of connection with her precious child, transforming frustration into joy. It was beautiful to hear her describe her experience.

Silence can certainly contribute to violence. Silence can also contribute to solutions to violence. The inner and outer voices that are rooted in emotional reactivity and intellectual over-activity can be a formidable obstacle to discovering something new and unprecedented; and the old answers clearly aren’t working. Creativity comes more often from inner quiet than from strenuous effort.

For all the lip service about our addiction problems, Fentanyl, the need to kidnap foreign leaders and such… addiction treatment programs are completely inaccessible for most who need them in the US And those folks for the most part comprise our homeless population. I was working in hospitals in a major city when some of the largest inpatient facilities closed. Our homeless population exploded overnight, overwhelming ERs and outpatient clinics. Many of them ended up in prison or dead of hypothermia.

I know very little about your Grandmaster and his teachings but I know you are a very dedicated practitioner Dainin. I am confident that you will be a vehicle through which his legacy will live on and benefit others. My condolences on your loss _/\_

Ain't that the truth, very sorry @Nungali

I think this dynamic applies to things like dream interpretation, tarot, psychoanalysis, and many other areas. Certainly there are archetypes and commonalities, but they only go so far, IMO. I hope I don't come off that way with my reply above, that's not at all what I intended. I do think everyone can benefit from this type of investigation, provided they're in a good place mentally. But I consider it a very intimate and individual process. Glad to hear it Luke

Thanks Not the case in Buddhist schools, as far as I am aware but i’m not that knowledgeable. That type of error is addressed by the Two Truths doctrine as well as the fourfold negation. At least that’s the way I see it. That doesn’t mean that Buddhist schools consider “dualism” to be “real” or true, mind you. Like Advaita Vedanta, Buddhist teachings do consider our perception of duality to be illusory, or I prefer to look at it as an incomplete understanding.

I consider it an invitation and an opportunity. I do buy it in that sense because over time it has proven itself to be true... for me. If it doesn't seem to be true in a particular instance, rather than write if off as wrong, I allow the possibility that maybe I just didn't discover the connection... yet. The way I approach it is this - When something elicits reactivity in me, I turn not toward the thing that I "don't like" so much but toward what I am feeling - in my body, in the inner and outer words and stories, the feelings, memories, expectations, and so forth. Almost invariably, I make discoveries that show me something about myself. I find a lot of value in that process. YMMV

Which schools would that be @old3bob? I’m not familiar with any.

Person steve has a similar experience, that’s a very good way to describe how I’ve used qigong over the years. The practices are there when I need them, predictable and reliable.