Bluefront

I don't find anything because I'm not looking for something specific, or I don't know what that is, so I can't say "found it!" So what have you found? Tell me please, what should I look for? If you don't know what it is, how can you them claim to find 'it'? Since you never knew what you were looking for in the first place.

What is "yourself" and where did you find it? I have been searching for it too, although with no success so far.

I would say searching is the opposite of surrender, so good luck!

You are correct, that was pretty much my whole point? =)

Otis, I get really confused by what you are saying. What the hell are you plugging yourself into, and why do you believe that you need to, and what are you in the case when you are not plugged in then? Dead? Nonono, your belief in a separate presence is what's making you THINK that it's not taking place, when in reality it's always here. Look at whatever you think is keeping you separate. The ego only appears to exist because it identifies with things that actually do exist. For example the body: There is a body (fact) - This is my body (Ego claiminig ownership) This is not just a game of words. You say that 'you' are body, when in reality there is just this human piece of flesh and bones. Tell me, is there somebody making your heart beat? Or a thinker that thinks your thoughts? Where is this you that you claim your body to be? Some things actually exist, while others don't. All thoughts are just symbols. Symbols pointing to something other than themselves. All thoughts are false. Every thought you think is false. Let's say you get smart, and go "But these letters are black and appearing on white background, that is a true thought" Actually the letters are much more. Black on white background sais nothing. What about the form, the shapes, meaning etc? Well, you can go on listing all features of the letters for 2 hours and still don't get a accurate representation of them. You would need to think and think and more thoughts to compliment each other. But no single thought is a true representation of whatever it is pointing to. The letters remain the same regardless. Thats why you just have to LOOK! NOT THINK! Informer: Would it interest you to answer my previous post? People that get catatonic zombies when trying to look at awareness are simply misinformed, or they haven't really bothered going all the way, or they simply don't care. Just see how the seer can NEVER be the seen. Awareness can never be a object of itself, and doesn't need to in fact, since everything is already it. Subject can never become the object. Truth can never be expressed, since being non-dual it cannot be conveyed dualistically as the object of a subject. That's why everyone should get these alarm bells ringing as soon as they reach an ultimate statement.. I am this, I am the soul, I am awareness etc etc. If you think think think and arrive at this cozy identity then.. well, you are just deeper in the mud than you were before. You are what observes, not what you observe. - Buddha Let me remind you that the perceived cannot perceive. - Huang Po

It seems like you have had some kind of experience with RT. So have I some time ago. I don't care about them at all though, and do agree with them being a bit too cult-ish at times. But there is really no difference between their message and anatta, non-duality and so on. Look at the moon, not the finger pointing at it. Who gives a fuck about the finger! To me it looks like you are clinging to this concept of soul or spirit out of desperation. You try to fit this soul thing in every where you can. Is this some kind of cozy concept of a super identity that you can always fall back on when things get rough? Can you explain, for the sake of clarity, what you mean when you say "Soul" ?

I don't really agree with this. Or I'm not sure exactly what the Dalai Lama is trying to say here.. all I know for sure is that his English sucks really hard, and I wouldn't take things too literally, word by word from him. In the end nothing should not be taken like that, but experienced for oneself. You have to do the math The 'I' only appears as a thought (impermanent) and has no existence in and of itself. If you talk about it, there it is. As a thought. But the thought is pointing to something false. That is ok. This eventually boils down to seeing the false as false, and true as truth.

Sounds great.. Nice experiences, now just beware of clinging to them. Always go FURTHER.. never stop.. always further RT is cool because it helps people see that when they look for the self, they can't find it. It's really easy to just swap one identity for another. Before you realize it you have assumed the "i have no identity"-identity. Believing in no self is also lame as fuck. Then you just end up walking around like a zombie thinking "THERE IS NO SELF" What you resist, persists. If you deny something, you imply that it exists. Get it? "NO SELF" NO ... what? In the end, this "problem" appears due to language being dualistic in nature and subject to the play of opposites. Up - down, me - you, low - high, self - no self. Etc. Therefor the ONE, the void, emptiness, the non-dual (call it what you want) cannot be put into words. Thats why thinking about any of this can't help one to realize that there is nothing to realize. Direct experience is the only thing that matters Again I highly recommend reading/listening to the books of Jed McKenna since they help immensely with de-mystifying this whole deal. This is also a great website: http://theendofseeking.net/

We have to understand that everybody has a thousand different ideas of what enlightenment is and isn't, and most of it just empty assumptions. Like discussing a color one has never even seen, or a smell that one hasn't smelled, although it's always present and available. The biggest misconception seems to be that enlightenment is a state that one can reach somewhere distant in the future. Enlightenment is always here. The buddha guy said something like "Everything already has buddha nature" I see "enlightenment" as seeing what is true. The truth of existence. Seeing what is real and what is false, and being able to act from that point of view. And if one drills it down to the core, the ultimate lie of the human experience is the belief of a entity called "Me" that exists separately from the universe. The buddha talked about anatta (no-self), taoists call this non-duality and so on. One without a second. It's all the same thing. This belief in a separate "me" is the root cause of human suffering. It's what creates the sense of separation from the universe. And this sense of separation is what fuels the human to seek and find an end to it. Enlightenment is the end of seeking. Everything else is bonus. The only thing standing between someone and enlightenment is fear. It's the fear of no-self. What would be left if I don't exist? The irony is that, if there was a self in the past, it will exist now and in the future too. So nothing changes. If there is no self, it has never existed and never will. So again, basically nothing changes. The fear is from the belief that one will go from a state of SELF to NO-SELF. This is wrong. No-self has always been here. Nothing is removed, nothing is added. You just have to see which of these two is true. It can take just a few seconds of honest looking. If you carry alot of bullshit it might take longer. But you don't have to meditate for 25 years or do yoga or tai chi for eternity. Ask yourself, does this experience have a separate experiencer, or is there just the experience?

Thanks these are all very excellent suggestions. I don't know of any qi gong specialists or bodyworkers here. Even if I did I would consider it a bit too much. It's not like this is killing me. I also prefer to take care of this myself. I meditated and focused on experiencing the pain with calm and equanimity. So far it has seemed to help a bit. Or it's the ibuprofen doing it's thing. Probably both. I'll try tomorrow when I have no ibuprofen in my system so I can experience the pain as it is. I'll continue with it daily anyhow until I'm good. I think standing meditation in Wuji hugging tree posture would increase circulation in the upper chest area (correct me if I'm wrong). I'll definitely give this a try in the morning though. Thanks again. Can't believe I forgot about just experiencing the pain with equanimity. Sometimes the most simple things are forgotten.

I thought that I might have misunderstood you. Let's not care about right or wrong here. Let's just flow with this discussion "You are "It". I am "It". I hope that helps to clarify things." Well, what do you refer to when you say You, Me & I here? Who/what is "It" ? PS You don't have to explain yourself for being "cranky". It's life bro You can hit me with anything, I won't take it personally. Promise! : - )

Thanks. I'm already doing some massage where I can and I'll give the grounding a try. Is there any specific posture that would increase circulation around the chest? I shouldn't do any flowing movements yet, so I'm really hoping there is some good still posture for this.

It contradicts everything This is a dualistic view of reality. I'm not that into taoism, but I do know that non-duality is it's central core. For there to be one without a second there can't be anything outside of the one, the universe. Honestly this is very hard to put into words. Actually it's impossible, since our language is constructed in a dualistic manner. There is nobody to be the universe, and there is no universe to be in somebody. There is just the universe. Make any sense? I mean, there is no separate self that is distanced from the universe, outside of it, and neither is there a separate self containing the universe, since it only exists as an idea.

Hey I was jumping of this pretty high cliff into the water and the impact stretched and damaged my tendons and sinews around the chest/neck/shoulder/upper back (mainly at the center of the chest where the ribs are connected though) and it hurts like hell while doing any physical activity, even deep breathing is painful. Doctor recommended ibuprofen to ease the inflammation and I'm ok with taking just that. I'm wondering if there are any eastern methods to speed up this healing, such as focusing on some specific meridian or some qi gong postures that could help. For various reasons I have to be completely rehabilitated in 2 weeks. Thanks!

"I walk every day, but never touch the ground; I eat every day, but chew no rice" What does this mean? I picture a guy walking in the air and taking in food intravenously.