Wayfarer

If you are replying to my message, I was addressing it to Zerostao

Sorry if I'm barging in. Just wanted to add something to the OP as below

"deci,

does someone enlightened and can see complete absolute reality hold hostilities towards others that dont see exactly the same"

I see this more like a parent who watches their child make mistakes through a lack of knowing; how can they be angry at a child's innocence? Also, to experience enlightenment is to know it does not exist, if anything, I guess the closest way I could describe it is a sudden lack of ignorance or not-knowing. To know "complete absolute reality" is to know there is no self or other - so for anger to be there means there is still a sense of self lingering. Depending upon what triggered the awakening a person may be as caught in the idea of the absolute or SELF as they once where in self. Ultimately, the 'pure' natural state (for want of a better word) is to not be aware of self or SELF - there just is ISNESS without thought of it being ISNESS. Then the mind is the presence of clear openness, actions arise from the infinite settledness and we live in a kind of calm spaciousness without consciousness of it.

If you want to experience it, just be like it, until it finds you where it has always been.

Some excellent writes Deci Belle. Nothing to add.

Hello Rene,

Having read some of your earlier posts I would think that you already know the answer to this question as I'm sure you have that wisdom but nevertheless it makes for an interesting subject.

I came to Taoism about 20 something years ago but for around 15-20 did nothing about it. I then experienced something a kind of spiritual epiphany and rather strangely stumbled across V16 of the TTC I had written in an old Tai Chi note book and saw "this described my experience" and it has become the religious/spiritual practice that best describes my findings and consequently is also the practice I think is best to help others to experience the same. So...how do we cut out the crap if we are to experience something worthwhile? By studying the words of people believed to be awakened, those believed to Know. If we only follow the word of those who 'think' they know, or who intellectually work things out, well we are in trouble really. If we are concerned over the translation we can learn some of the Chinese written language (as I think Chi Dragon reminds us to do) or take a look at a few translations and work with what speaks to us.

We can also compare different scriptures such as the Huai Nan Tsu and the TTC...what eventually we come to is the root of their meaning, of practice. What we think they mean, what scholars say they mean and we argue here is superficial to what they mean directly to us.

Of course, if you can find a teacher who has 'experienced' these deeper meanings then all the good. This is what I was referring to in my post about the future of Taoism in the West. There are people at TB who 'know', who have 'experienced' and can help clear the path for others. And may be this is the very forum to do it.

Marvellous huh?

Although reincarnation is a viewpoint of many religions Karma is mainly Buddhist and Hindu (?). It is said that a Buddha is a person who in awakening steps off the wheel of cause and effect and ends karma. There is also no-birth and no-death. In Taoism there is immortality and also in Christianity (read the opening lines of the Gospel of St Thomas for instance).

So if we cannot die and cannot be born we cannot reincarnate. If there is no cause or effect then there can be no karma.

Also we are told there is no-self. So in our practice if 'we' think of a 'we' there is a self, so we have to question this, if we trust the teachings. If there is no-self what happens to karma or reincarnation, birth or death?

Does that help?

Cat - that's lovely thank you. And Aaron very wise also. Thank you

Hi all,

Taoism in the west seems to me at least to be in its infancy yet there is a kind of purity to it also. There are various associations such as the American Dragon Gate, British Taoism and those of Spain, France and Belgium - not to mention the Zhengyi 'magical' traditions prominent in the States. These particular examples stick close to their temple/lineages from my limited experience and nothing wrong with that.

There are a lot of knowledgeable experienced people on this forum who have deep understanding of the teachings, or perhaps the teachings reflect their deep understanding? We are a little like the old Taoist masters who would come together now and then to chat, cultivate and learn together. So, I wonder do we have a responsibility regarding this that stretches beyond the remit of TaoBums?

I ask this because for four years I avoided setting up a Taoist group because I felt it should come to me and not me go to it. I had a few people ask for something to be set but felt like I needed some authentic lineage before doing so yet finally when I did start a group up people came to it like bees to a flower and it seemed to have happened at the right time and it appears to be what people want/need. So how do you wise sages reconcile the "doing-nothing/non-interference" principles with making something available to those who need it? The four years I sat with this, were partly because I wanted to be certain that none of this 'need' was tied to the ego - I felt it was coming from the heart and not the head - which is precisely why I started this subject...something of the heart is calling for this expression. Who am I to argue with it?

I guess I cannot be the only one with such thoughts even if they are only vague ones.

Best wishes,

Heath

So almost everything is in the title...

 

There have been many looooooooooooong discussions about what Wuwei is (and isn't), but I'd like to focus on the " qi" aspect of this, not just on the philosophical part.

 

This can also be the link between daoist philosophy, as read in the DDJ and others, and the qigong (neigong, meditations, IMA etc.).

 

I noticed that my qi would rise when I was doing "wrong actions" from a taoist point of view. Usually, this means that I am - even very lightly- taken away by some kind of emotion: anger (or a slight frustration) fear (or even surprise), or excitement.

 

In my bagua walking the circle practice, I notice that if this happens, I lose power/balance. It may not be obvious from the outside, but I know it.

 

The solution that seem to work is relax, and slow down.

 

"Slowing down" doesn't mean that my actions will actually be slower , but I stop being in a rush.

 

This is quite hard to explain, because it is more about feeling it than just talking about it.

 

Anyway, I'd like to hear your thoughts about this.

I think you describe this rather well Baiqi as does everyone here really. I'd like to echo something Seeker of Tao says from my own rather simplistic point of view...(and at the risk of sounding like a broken record!)

Your slowing down/not-slowing down quote is exactly how it feels. Stillness is referred to all over Taoism but to me it does not refer to being still, it refers to being settled. When we are settled our energy becomes calm, when we are disturbed emotionally it feels (to me) like something raising from the abdomen area into the chest (hence why people experience shortness of breath when stressed I suppose).

I firmly believe, from experience that we have a metaphorical well within us, where its base is at the lower cauldron and the rim is by the solar plexus...if we experience much settled-ness in our life it is as though something drops into this space...this I feel is what is meant by the energy and spirit (tiger and dragon) copulating in the Crimson Hall (around the solar plexus, if I've remembered its name correctly) and the subsequent energy "returning to the root" (of stillness) as it passes through the organs, tan tien, and below. This returning to the root is a secondary meaning to V16 of the TTC/DDJ. So you are sensing this - this is absolutely vital to your cultivation because you are beginning to Notice. 'Being aware of this' has a colourful name too but I forget, something like Entering the path of the Mystic Gate??? What you are becoming aware of is the presence of that which is Immortal; which occurs within us and the same feeling/presence is in things outside of us...so you can feel it there too just as clearly.

So my take on this is to just forget about Qi and where it is moving, don't even think about dragons, tigers and hidden chambers just fill your day with tranquillity where possible and when emotions start to 'disturb' your peace - return to stillness, feel yourself spirit or whatever sinking lower down then eventually the 'contents' of this well/cauldron clears, when it does you 'see' what is there. What could be more simple lol?

Heath

This is great stuff. I will check out the links. There are pictures in Africa and Egypt of giant skeletons etc so you usually find these myths are based on some truth.

I wouldn't say that it "exists seperately from intellectual cogitation entirely"

Because that would suggest "we" have a sufficient understanding of what that cogitation is about.

Once one part is in motion, the rest is in play.

Yes, good point. Essentially, even if I think something really bad it is still the One and not separate - nothing is separate and yet my naming it the "one" distances myself from that I am not separate from.

I suppose it is a little like the Bible says - the devil is our thinking (as our thoughts get in the way of noticing God). That's enough thinking from me for now lol.

IMHO both Taoism and Druidism have they roots in "pre-historic Bon of Eurasia". Do not confuse it with modern Tibetan Bon which is very similar to Buddhism.

Some more information here: http://boandbon.com/contents.html

I will read this, it looks very interesting. Thanks for the link.

G'morning Heath (-:

 

I am not a member of OBOD, but like you I explored it thoroughly. I'm always on the lookout for something within relative reach to participate in that lines up with my own ideas...lol. Of course, the core of this 'same Thing' can be found in all traditions, within their own depths, but alas - the top layers of required interactions isn't my cup of tea. I love to sit in the back of a church to inhale the music and spiritual energy, but would not do well in their 'social functions', if you know what I mean. The Ovate grade appealed to me as well.. yet the more I looked into it, it became clear I was already doing all those things and more - so I let that pass by. Besides, you and I already have a teacher for these things.

 

Which Black Elk book did you order? The one I quoted is good, and the best one to experience his original vision is "Black Elk Speaks, by John G. Neihardt".

I bought the Black Elk Speaks one, so looking forward to getting it. Yes, I appreciate what you mean about your view of the grades...I'd thought perhaps I may be able to help people to get a deeper connection with the "Way/Tao" through nature and the courses would help me to understand the "Druid" angle but as Antares points out, Druidry is lost really - we have brief descriptions from Roman times and have the poetry/songs of Bards and of Ireland to refer which are giving scholars new understanding but even so...no matter where you look it comes back to the same thing...there are either a kind of 'superstitious' belief practices i.e. a drought occurs because we haven't pleased God or there are the 'Realisation' based ways of Buddhism/Taoism - whichever, they get lost beneath endless metaphors and misunderstandings. And what better teacher do we need than the one we all have?

I look forward to reading Black Elk with a cup of tea and a cool shady spot under a tree somewhere - that's all the religion I need. I'll come back to you Rene once I've read some of it.

Best wishes everyone.

Heath

I'm with you on this one Wayfarer. I'm celtic and my son has Taliesin as his middle name to honour the lineage.

 

Have you had a listen to Michael Tsarion? he has a lot of stuff on YouTube.

Thanks Cat, what a great name for your son. I will check out Michael Tsarion right away.

Apech...agreed, all interesting. And the picture of your cat (if it's yours) is brilliant...it doesn't need to say anything, you can see it is an enlightened sage lol.

Rene I've ordered one of Black Elk's books so thanks for that!

Heath, hi, great topic, and thanks for those links. Are you a member of OBOD by chance?

 

I tend to think along the same lines as you re the connections. Sometimes there is a physical meeting of cultures, and sometimes isolate cultures evolve in strikingly similar ways!

 

Here's a footnote excerpt from "The Sacred Pipe, Black Elk's Account of the Seven Rites of the Oglala Sioux".

 

"Wakan-Tanka as Grandfather is the Great Spirit independent of manifestation, unqualified, unlimited, identical to the Christian Godhead, or to the Hindu Brahma-Nirguna. Wakan-Tanka as Father is Great Spirit as related to His manifestation either as Creator, Preserver, or Destroyer, identical to the Christian God, or to the Hindu Brahma-Saguna. .... (and in the next footnote) "As in the distinction made within Wakan-Tanka between Grandfather and Father, so the Earth is considered under two aspects, that of Mother and Grandmother. As Mother, the earth is considered as the producer of all growing things, in act; whereas Grandmother refers to the ground or substance of all growing things - potentiality. This distinction is the same as that made by Christian Scholastics between natura naturans and natura naturata."

 

Do you see the patterns? The seen and unseen? So cool. So druid. So tao. The rituals detailed in that book are very similar to others' rituals also. Fun stuff. (-:

 

warm regards

Hi Rene,

Yes I am a member of OBOD are you? I did their Bardic course recently to discover a bit more about what Druids say about spirituality etc. To be honest I was attracted to the Ovate grade but I can't seem to get the point across to the tutors that I didn't really learn anything new from that bardic course but found it interesting nonetheless - so can't see me doing the other grade. How about you?

A great quote by Black Elk - he is mentioned in the Bardic course; about everything in life being like a circle etc. I will see if I can find any of his work. Do I see the links, oh yes. We are all talking about the same Thing one way or another. Good huh?

Interesting stuff. Heath, I think you are spot on! I can only connect with that vast space when I am present and in the moment. In complete "I AM" presence. I know that this vast space is consciousness, but I have yet to realize it as such. It feels separate even though it is so close, runs through everything, and is the reference point for which all thoughts, emotions, actions, inside/out, theirs/yours/mine are recognized. It is also easier to connect with the emotional or stuff of "others" using the space. Probably not because "I am connecting to them" so to speak, but because I am recognizing the Greater Self in 'them/us' and feeling from that perspective.

 

To the point about feeling as though consciousness spreads through the space: It feels as if my internal consciousness can spread out to meet this space when I move into the Astral realm. In the Astral realm, the space is a bit easier to identify with as "I AM" because wherever there is space or form, there is consciousness. I mean, you can go anywhere because you are already everywhere... So we call it nowhere. It is my practice, now, to loosen the grip of form identity and realize more of space/consciousness identity.

 

As to your point about knowing without thinking: Spot on! There are moments during out of body experiences where entire languages can be understood using pure knowing power. To call it a power is a bit dramatic, but I believe you know what I am saying. It is like having perfect intuition. I cannot say that I have access to this while I write this, but it is who we all are at the core. You have identified it in your post.

 

Thank goodness for this online community. One can begin to think they are going nuts if they cannot share with others.

 

I am interested in light transmission. What is it about? I've recently become interested in Maharashi, a being that was said to "know" everything. Since he was fully realized, I believe he simply knew things without seeking.

 

Thank you

Hi, thanks for sharing once again. I found it difficult to experience some of these things without the help of someone to share them with. TB is a great forum as there are many people here who speak very eloquently about what they know etc. We are really a little like those ancient Taoist and Zen masters coming together once in a while to discuss the Tao.

The key reason for my response here is that I believe things need to 'develop' naturally of their own. What we have been discussing all along are 'triggers' rather than the big bang. You are getting loads and loads of triggers, so if you have not yet had the OMG realisation it can only be a matter of time but it happens of itself. For me, I had started a Buddhist group and began a 2-year foundation course to understand more about it and the second book we read was called the Two Truths. I wondered what was meant by this, and read three hundred pages of Tibetan beliefs of the relative truth but no one seemed to explain what the Absolute truth was. I got frustrated at the course thinking if it is the Truth it will be simple. So I jacked it in, sat in the garden and noticed this presence within but alas it went in a flash. After sitting more, it came back long enough for me to notice it was a presence of ever-lasting stillness - a peace without end. When one day it went from my stomach to my face I wondered if this was my True-Face, etc. Some weeks later while getting out of bed I glanced up at a cloud and felt, saw, heard that same presence in the sky and BAM I got it, the same as getting a joke. And no matter how simple you think it is, it is more simple.

In that flash I understood all of Buddhas teachings but for Impermanence and Compassion which I meditated on for about a year until I got it. Some four years on and my understanding is far greater than it was then and it has all come of its own accord by doing what you are doing - paying attention to it.

Now while it is true, and it has been said here, thinking of I AM and being aware of I AM is not our natural state - the state of 'complete' reality but I'd argue it is very difficult to arrive at this state of no-thought and no awareness of IT by denying it, as denying it is thinking about denying it! There is a big difference between denying self and experiencing no-self.

You are that which already knows. Let it speak to you in its own way - you can decide not to think about it afterwards!

Best wishes,

Heath

Hi everyone,

Some of my earliest experiences of Taoism (other than the Tao Te Ching) where learning Lee Style Tai Chi in the early 90's, which has a heavy interest in Taoism. In this practice it was told that the healing arts and spiritual practices of Taoists were transmitted to the Chinese by the Sons of Reflected Light - a people with strange clothing, some up to 7 feet tall and arriving in China around 10,000 years ago.

I'm sure many of you will know about the Celtic mummies discovered in China which are believed to be dated around 3-4000 years ago, if not see here:

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=western+mummies+in+china&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=4M0DUuiiMorEPPDqgNAE&ved=0CGcQsAQ&biw=1280&bih=879

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarim_mummies

You will see plaited hair, long beards, white skin (reflected light?), tartan clothing, conical witches hats and herb containers etc.

While I doubt we will arrive at some conclusive answers here I wondered if anyone had any thoughts that can be added here.

I got involved with Druidry about the same time I did Taoism but through Tai Chi etc I went the way of the latter until a few years ago when failing to find a nearby practice group I joined a Druid group. Interestingly, I discovered that Druids believed in Awen; the flow of the Creative and how it is expressed in our life (like for instance the I-Ching) and Nwyfre (Welsh) or Imbas (Irish) for life energy e.g. Chi. They taught herbalism, believed in the appearance of the Adderstone (Taoism - Jade Pearl etc) when the spirit and Nwyfre settled in the 'lower cauldron' and told tales of immortality such as Ceridwen and Taliesin.

The bard Taliesin whose name means "Radiant Brow" wrote the Black book of Carmarthenshire which through cryptic clues and references to other scripts explains the art of inner alchemy. They also learned to divine by reading clouds, they wrote in talismans, they exorcised spirits and read the stars. All very similar huh?

There are too many similarities to write here but hopefully you get a sense of what I'm implying. The Romans wrote that the Druids wrote and spoke Greek and where known to have taken their teachings as far as Persia. Interesting to know that we in the West have a similar tradition to that in China even if does mean it has been lost to the images of dancing around stone circles etc.

Of course, the opposite may be true, the Chinese could have taught the Druids and they may have sent people to return with it.

Heath

The only experience I have of this is from Reiki...the idea behind them in Reiki is as a tool to focus the mind of the therapist, it works to imagine the energy being drawn into the symbol they are writing as they do it, and acts to concentrate the mind. Essentially, it doesn't alter the energy that is transmitted, though some would argue that the intent is more powerful and therefore so too the healing.

I expect that Taoism is a little like this and it is possible the reiki symbols originated there. Fwiw, I think if it is in nature to do this, we would already be doing them naturally. But belief is a funny thing - ask any doctor to explain the power of placebo for instance.

Heath - have you ever merged (or directly shared presence) with another being? Directly sharing presence is the basis of light transmissions.

Hi Jeff, no I haven't. I've tried to explain it to people and so far only one person I know of has awakened but that was mainly because I kept forcing the conversation to a particular route rather than directly sharing something. Do you mean in the sense as Buddha with Kashyapa after he awakened on observing the flower and later he transmitted Mind with mind (which I confess to not being sure what this means as I didn't think anything could be 'transmitted')?

Sorry forgot to say in answer to your point about meditation and "It is possible, I believe, to stay in contact with this empty stillness all day without mental strain. To wear it within you. In fact, this stillness seems to exists seperately from intellectual cogitation entirely."

I entirely agree. 'Meditation' becomes something that is not sitting down but everything we do. It is a kind of gently holding that presence that space within. So this, is like that 'language' all things speak, it is the energy you refer to also. And out of interest if you are doing an exercise that involves much endurance you can keep your energy within that space and not get as tired. This is what Wang Zhe refers to as Cloud Wandering (at least to me!)

Heath

Thank you, Heath. These were my thoughts, as well. Have you ever connected with the Void by meditating on this empty space that surrounds, engulf, and is within all things?

Hello again,

The closest way I can explain to the experience of what I think you refer to is 'knowing'. I don't 'think' the Void, connect with it or have communion with it, I am it but to think cognitively is different than it thinking through me. It's like there is a wisdom there that has the answers and there comes a point where I no longer have any questions. I just 'know'. It's listening to the space in us rather than thoughts in us. Such thoughts arise when our ear is deaf to that which doesn't speak.

On another level, this and what I said before opens a few big doors...the 'me' that is Heath and the 'you' that is S.Smith are the same thing. I don't believe that this means I can read your thoughts but the knowing "I" have is the knowing "you" have - so we share the Wisdom. Thoughts arise from a metaphorical distancing from IT, whereas its nature is that of knowing without an awareness of knowing - this isn't basic spirituallity lol, so hard to put into words.

So a slight difference between our view (or at least how I have interpreted it) is that you describe the space as being a "medium for consciousness to travel through", whereas I see that space as being consciousness itself, so it has nowhere to travel - our idea of distance relies on there being more than one thing but when there is only One, there is neither here nor there, so nothing travels - the Heath and the S.Smith are everywhere, as everywhere is nowhere, there is only a single place.

Your 'connection' may be much stronger and more developed than mine - it something for you to explore for yourself and not take my understanding as being true. To me, everything speaks a single language. When you are Aware of the silence that speaks, it can be seen in animals, it speaks through plants and through rocks - we are all speaking the same language but we don't notice it generally unless we first notice the Silence.

So you may be right and I may be wrong; perhaps this 'space' allows for telepathy, for astral projection etc. The one thing I am certain of is that is the Nameless. And when we have known it for sometime (depending upon the trigger that caused the awakening to it), we reach a stage where we do not think about 'IT', we go about being without thinking of being - so there is an unconscious engagement with not-thinking. Like how we were before around 18 months old; all appears like a something but we are not yet aware we are different from that something.

Hope this helps and sorry to have waffled on.

Best wishes and hope to continue this wonderful discussion.

Heath

deleted this post as probably confused matters rather than helped

 

There is stillness all around, now. I imagine it has always been there. Both inside my body, your body, and all the 'space' that seperates us and everything else. What is interesting about this empty stillness is that it can act as a medium for consciousness to travel through. I am not sure if the stillness and consciousness are mutually exclusive sources. It is through this space that I am able to connect with other sentient beings, feeling their energy, transmitting my own, etc. It is possible, I believe, to stay in contact with this empty stillness all day without mental strain. To wear it within you. In fact, this stillness seems to exists seperately from intellectual cogitation entirely.

I know you must know what I am speaking of. What do you call it? Is it the seat of the eternal? Is this the 'void' that I am sensing from within my own body?

Again, thank you for the time and consideration

Ssmith7: welcome to the Beauty.

The stillness is present everywhere as you say, I personally think it helps to describe it as Settledness and in that way people we are talking with don't think it refers to a state of not-moving; something that is flying or running can be equally still. This presence is the expression of "That-Which-Is" - read the Tao Te Ching V16 for instance, or the Psalms for "Be still and know that I am God" or Buddha in the Sutra of Complete Enlightenment "following enlightenment, cultivate stillness"...this is the Oneness of IT. So the consciousness that you sense is ITs consciousness and not individual thought, it is the wisdom we each share that is timeless and is not added to or detracted from during our lives.

The stillness you hold contact with throughout the day is your True-Self; that which requires no thought. This True-Self, is the true-face of all things for they only share a single profile - now you have begun to see it, feel it, know it. This is why the old zen masters would say "regard the inanimate to know the Self". It is both outside your body and within it because your body is not what you are; you are without boundary, that which is vast but takes up no space. If you think 'you' and 'other-than-you' still exist - try this exercise:

hold contact with the feeling of the presence of stillness within you. Look to clouds (particularly on a bright day) or to the stillness of trees (especially evergreen) then you will 'know' beyond the intellect that you are both within and without, you are One. Forgive me if you are 'there' already. It is the emptiness that is full, the fullness that is empty.

Wonderful.

Heath

Thanks Basher what a lovely response. I'm glad to hear about the Purple Cloud Temple as it has been an iconic symbol of Taoism for centuries, that said, we are no different in the West with our iconic cathedrals etc...it is of course their significance that attracts the tourists to begin with.

The Awen is a flow, it Welsh for breath. It is the same principle as the I-Ching and in Druidry it is seen as the energy of the Sacred coming through us as an expression of creativity. So, to be close to the Divine is to create. I personally believe that to be close to the Divine is to be tranquil and not create as to want to create is to overlook the Oneness of all that Is. And totally agree that Wu Wei is living in that flow of effortless effort. So I guess our main difference in approach is that to Know the One is to realise nothing needs to be created for the One cannot be improved upon. We think the One creates but it is that which is uncreated and all 'things' are an expression of it, not because they are individual manifestations of it or it flows through them intrinsically but that IT is IT. Nothing comes into creation or goes out of creation.

So, yes, creativity can be a spiritual experience, an internalising and externalising of our spirit etc to me though (and no big deal, so no need for anyone to respond), creating takes us away, metaphorically, from that which is uncreated.

Anyway, back to David, nice to have 'met' you and for our paths to have crossed. Many thanks Basher!

Heath

Marblehead, hi, interesting thread!

 

 

Is that the purpose of Taoist Cultivation?? No wonder I'm not Taoist, philosophical or otherwise. (-:

 

To me, it makes more sense to experience the objective and subjective as simultaneous perspectives; utilizing the individual aspects of each, rather than trying to sublimate any differences.

 

Would you really try to attain a condition wherein you found no difference between the heads and the tails of a single coin? For what reason?

 

Maybe what you're trying to acquire is that the two sides are both part of the same coin at exactly the same time.

 

What say you?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is the purpose of Taoism, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism etc etc. We think there is a difference between the object and ourselves and we go through life overlooking what is right before our eyes. The few that do 'see' realise they are not a 'they', that their body is the same as what is not the body, their mind is the same as what is not the mind. This is the purpose of Taoism for sure.

Even the endless energy exercises found in Taoism are a poor second to Realising. Such a person comes to know that there are no individual aspects of this and that, there are no differences to bring into harmony - if there is no object or subject how can anything be brought into harmony? It has nothing to be in balance with. So yes, our Nature is to see there are no heads or tails, not even a coin. We leave this 'perspective' when we learn of a 'self' - and we find ourselves in the world we live in, in the sickness of humanity that is constantly trying to achieve unaware there is nothing to achieve, or never being at peace by overlooking that which is always at peace.

That's the reason we cultivate, is it not? Because even though we may not 'know', we trust there is a way that is different than the way we live, we believe there is something more profound - it aches in our heart for expression and knowing. So those who practice wish to return to that pure state of knowing but not-knowing, of being carefree, of knowing they are that which can never die and in being completely at peace no matter how the world around them tries to disturb that peace.

How is everyone's Jade Pillow point? The base of the skull. This point is said to take longer to "open" compared to most other points on the orbit. Personally, I am having some difficulty with this point. I do attribute this difficulty to living in an environment where I am surrounded by people who are perhaps 'less than" healthy, particularly in the neck. Still, I am looking for ways to re-align this Atlas bone so that it stays proper aligned and the Jade Pillow fully opens. This point is said to part of the Earth element.

 

This one bodywork in Switzerland devised a healing method for fixing the atlas, and it's supposed to work after just one treatment. This is a quite interesting interview if your inclined:

http://www.consciousmedianetwork.com/members/mhane.htm

 

What are your experiences with this Jade Pillow point? It appears this point is a major source of everyones health problems, as the atlas bone is misaligned in most everyone starting at birth.

 

In the above interview, the founder of this Atlas realignment method even claims that humanity may be esoterically controlled and kept docile by this point's breaking - like some conspiracy. This might have to do with elite Taoists...

 

It is interesting to note that the Jade Emperor/ress is the highest God in the Tao pantheon.

Hi GT,

I've done some work with this but it's probably just another point of view to throw in the pot and maybe I have learnt wrong...

I thought the Jade Pillow was at the back of the head opposite the eyes and at the risk of saying something blasphemous, to me this particular point is of less importance than the next parts which I have experienced but don't get much further:

If you are doing this to open up various centres to Awaken (in an alchemical sense) then wherever the Jade Pillow is take that energy to a point behind the eyes and in the centre of the head while pressing the tongue against the roof of the mouth - don't know why but it seemed to work for me. The sensation you look for here is of warming up or a feeling of swelling (not the brain but an essence!), then that energy is gradually taken forward through the "Hidden Chamber", the "Bright Hall" and to the "Celestial Eye" - between the eyebrows. The previous 'areas' are in a line between the eyebrows and centre of the head about an inch and a third apart. When the centre feels warm/swollen and the focus moves to your eyebrows a feeling can arise of a pinpoint of vibration or throbbing - this definitely works for me...but I don't feel much else afterwards. So this represents the "Celestial Eye" opening. The cycle is then taken to the bridge of the nose, down the nostrils (magpie bridge) to the throat then down the various organs, to the crown jewels if you are a man lol then back up the spine - the whole process being called (amongst other things) the Waterwheel Cycle - which is also used by hermits to draw heat around the body to keep warm during meditation.

Now, all these fine names and explanations of what is going on is to me (probably most incorrectly) secondary to how this should be approached. All this focus occupies the mind, the thinking but develops a deep internalising and meditative state. The problem for me is everything we are trying to do here; settle the energy, calm the spirit, purify the system, rest our thinking...all this goes to pot if our thinking is piqued. Ultimately, all these things occur naturally if our thinking becomes still and we reach a point of no-thought. We cannot do that if we are focussing our thoughts on different parts of the body as we are in fact simply occupying our thoughts in just as much a distraction as thinking about shopping or work for instance. What we need is for the cognitive mind to stop thinking.

So, if you are struggling at a specific point, or you feel a block at the Jade Pillow or Crimson Chamber etc - you don't need it, let it go. These are simply tools and like any tool they allow you to do a job. It is the job that is important and not the tool. So the same can be achieved by being tranquil, if a thought arises, no problem, let it go; at some point the gap between them grows a little. It is what is in this gap that all this is about. Here is where lead is changed into gold - when in fact it is just a realisation, a metaphor. You are that gold whether you realise or not.

Best wishes,

Heath