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Not to much sir, but a little. On happiness: I have heard that we all have a baseline. Events can draw us down or lift us up, but only for a while; sooner or later we return to our «natural state.» I had a dream about this, now i wish i remember it. On spolitude or leaving the tribe: this one is pretty universal, I think. We have shamans going to the wildernes before returning, initiation/comming of age rituals, the koryos (indo-european in origin, but found in many decended cultures), monks, Jesus in the desert… I am sure Nungalina knows of a million others. Interrestingly, depressed people aslo find a need for solitude (nedlesset to say: no medical advice here), and i have also heard that the dreadfull, sterile enviorment in hospitals are designed that way for a reason: because a low stimuli enviorment have a healing effect. So maybe it is a way to fine, or get in tune, with our true self (not the persona)? If we can live in bliss all the time? My western mind says no, day is defined by night, but then again, there certainly seem to be a few gems out there who are able to achieve both higher and longer periods of bliss.

Been practicing eight pieces of silk almost daily for a few years now, also standing on and off. lately been standing most days, some days I don't have a chiropractor and acupuncturist who I believe are probably fixing up whatever problems there are with my practice. they and my practice helped me recover from a chronic pain disorder i reinflamed my body by overworking at an art project, currently reevaluating whether digital visual arts are worth it for me. they are bad for my body, there's just less positional options for drawing a line if you are using digital tools, whereas with traditional mediums you van adjust your body much much more. I work with kids, if i didnt do this stuff I'd go insane at them and lose my job. I live for the arts, it's like my mission. currently not drawing for a week while my body heals. I really fucking love standing meditation. just beend doing the one with the arms dropped down Oh I also keep a dream diary, feel connected to God through them sometimes. after waking i contemplate the dreams sometimes and have a vision of a painting with much of the imagery from the dream, it helps me understand it. i compose the thing in the morning. I want to make these paintings and share them and apart from physical practices I been reading ursula le guin's literature while also looking at her dao de jing rendition. it's nice

Albert Einstein's IQ was 163. Marilyn Monroe's was 168. So much for the dumb blonde. She had about 400 books in her personal library, mostly quality fiction, some nonfiction. She wrote poetry. Here's a few of her poems: *** O, Time Be Kind Help this weary being To forget what is sad to remember Lose my loneliness, Ease my mind, While you eat my flesh. *** Life, I am of both your directions Existing more with the cold frost Strong as a cobweb in the wind Hanging downward the most Somehow remaining Those beaded rays have the colors I've seen in paintings--ah life They have cheated you Thinner than a cobwebs's thread Sheerer than any- But it did attach itself And held fast in strong winds And singed by the leaping hot fires Life - of which at singular times I am of both your directions - Somehow I remain hanging downward the most As both of your directions pull me. *** I left my home of green rough wood, A blue velvet couch. I dream till now A shiny dark bush Just left of the door. Down the walk Clickity clack As my doll in her carriage Went over the cracks- "We'll go far away." *** Don't cry my doll Don't cry I hold you and rock you to sleep Hush hush I'm pretending now I'm not your mother who died. *** The smart one says the eye is not truly round. His are, though, fat with looking.

In the classic geocentric Western cosmology developed from Plato and Aristotle, the realm of the four elements below the lunar sphere is where things are impermanent and constantly changing. Everything from the moon outward is eternal. This is the cosmology that was basically standard up until Copernicus. You see it all over ancient and medieval literature, e.g. Dante's Divine Comedy. A short and sweet summary can be found in the Dream of Scipio at the end of Cicero's Republic. The commentary on this passage by Macrobius was hugely important for transmitting this cosmology to the Latin-speaking world.

Hey, I'm someone who's been trying to find a way to reach the stage of turning comprehension directly into strength for years, yet have not found the start of a path that doesn't end. I believe comprehension is my strength, and making that literal is my dream. Please guide me!

It's hard to generalize but at least some of them did. The Stoic explanations of divination based on cosmic sympathy were influential for later Platonists. I think Synesius' preference for dream divination over, say, haruspicy, has something to do with his lineage- his teacher Hypatia was in the vein of Plotinus and Porphyry, who were not entirely keen on the bloody sacrifices of traditional rituals, whereas Iamblichus was a fierce defender of them.

The history of Christianity, especially imperial/Nicene Christianity, is often framed with a sharp division between Christians and "pagans", that required everyone to choose one camp to the exclusion of the other. Sometimes this was true but I think often things were considerably more fluid. The case of Synesius of Cyrene offers a really interesting case. Synesius was a Platonist and disciple of Hypatia whose rhetorical skills won him admiration in the Alexandrian Christian community, to the point that Pope Theophilus of Alexandria agreed to make Synesius bishop of Ptolemais. Did Synesius reject his earlier views to accept this office? Not at all. We have an open letter he wrote to his brother which states clearly that he refused to accept the office unless, 1. he was allowed to remain married to his wife and 2. well, read the following: Basically, he retained his Platonist convictions in pre-existence of souls and the eternity of the world, and rejected the bodily resurrection as anything more than an allegory. Pope Theophilus, who is often regarded as stringently orthodox, and whose nephew Cyril would succeed him and take orthodox militancy to infamous heights, nonetheless accepted Synesius' preconditions. Synesius' last letter, on his deathbed, was a fond farewell letter to his teacher Hypatia who would later be murdered by Cyril's followers. For those interested in hearing more, the SHWEP had a great interview about Synesius discussing his life and work, that you can listen to here: https://shwep.net/podcast/jay-bregman-on-synesius-of-cyrene/ Synesius' fascinating essay On Dreams, a really interesting collection of dream and divination lore and speculation, can be read free online here: https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv9b2wvp

There is dreamwork in therapy context, others believe in it, others don't, interpretation of dreams is very personalised. If someone chooses to do therapy that involves dreamwork, personally I found the work on dreams about the shadow self and dreams about the anima to be helpful. Helpful in understanding ourselves, even parts we may try to reject or parts we don't understand. That said, going beyond that, there's a point where one may want to consider if it's worth to spend the day analysing what they saw at night. Keep in mind that only few dreams have significance most are garbage and one can always see something just because of a stomach ache due to food. Astral travels, haven't really been studied, no clue as to what they are, they're not even well defined, two persons may mean two different things with that phrase. A common definition is that they are very vivid, distinctly more so that other dreams, tend to start off somewhere resembling the real world in great detail and seem to have their processes for occuring. People choose to call them astral because they believe they go to some objective realm they call the astral realm. Of course no such physical realm has been found. Whether this type of dream actually does work beyond our psyche ie works with the collective unconscious, the psychoid etc, I don't know, can't rule it out either. Honestly one of the best ways to explore eg the collective unconscious and other concepts is to do active imagination work with an analytical psychologist. The difference to dreamwork is that there's more structure in how it's done, a therapist is there when it's done, the therapist also is aware of all previous active imagination sessions. Beyond dreamwork in therapy, I had found some lucid dreaming techniques interesting, especially working with lucid nightmares. Instead of fighting bad guys/daemons in dreams, I just let them wipe me off the face of the earth and then remanifested myself, why not, it's my dream after all. After a few occurrences of that, bad guys/demons didn't appear again and interestingly nightmares became all about stuff that may happen in real life, a loved one getting sick, a work crisis etc. So at that point I chose to abandon dreamworld and lucid dreaming entirely as in a sense itself telling me to do so. Btw don't believe anyone who says ah you need to be lucid when dreaming, you need to have awareness in your sleep, otherwise if eg you die in a dream blah blah. It's fine to lose awareness sometimes, you may even not even want to have awareness sometimes eg during surgery. Usually it's a sign of needing to be in control/not letting go if someone wants to always keep awareness in dreams, though a lucid dream here and there can be fun.

There are all different types and functions of dreams , you should not think that 'dreams' is just one thing . I dont find it strange that we dream , I dont find it strange that we dream strange dreams . We are strange . Do all animals dream ? Including plankton .... and tardigrades ?

Yes, its that strange world of half dream , half awake . Love unrequited, robs me of me rest, Love, hopeless love, my ardent soul encumbers, Love, nightmare like, lies heavy of me chest, And weaves itself into my midnight slumbers. When you're lying awake with a dismal headache and Repose is taboo'd by anxiety, I conceive you may use any language you choose to Indulge in, without impropriety; For your brain is on fire, the bed-clothes conspire of Usual slumber to plunder you: First your counter-pane goes, and uncovers your toes, And your sheet slips demurely from under you; Then the blanketing tickles, you feel like mixed Pickles, so terribly sharp is the pricking, And you're hot and you're cross, and you tumble and Toss 'til there's nothing 'twixt you and the ticking. Then the bed-clothes all creep to the ground in a heap And you pick 'em all up in a tangle; Next your pillow resigns and politely declines to Remain at it's usual angle! Well, you get some repose in the form of a dose, with Hot eye-balls and head ever aching, But your slumbering teems with such horrible dreams That you'd very much better be waking; For you dream you are crossing the channel, and Tossing about in a steamer from harwich, Which is something between a large bathing machine and A very small second class carriage, And you're giving a treat (penny ice and cold meat) to A party of friends and relations, They're a ravenous horde, and they all come on board At sloane square and south kensington stations. And bound on that journey you find your attorney (who started this morning from devon); He's a bit undersiz'd and you don't feel surpris'd When he tells you he's only eleven. Well you're driving like mad with this singular lad (by the bye the ship's now a four wheeler), And you're playing round games, and he calls you bad Names when you tell him that "ties pay the dealer"; But this you can't stand so you throw up your hand, And you find you're as cold as an icicle; In your shirt and your socks (the black silk with gold clocks) Crossing sal'sbury plain on a bicycle: And he and the crew are on bicycles too, which they've Somehow or other invested in, And he's telling the tars all the particulars of a Company he's interested in; It's a scheme of devices, to get at low prices, all Good from cough mixtures to cables (which tickled the sailors), by treating retailers as Though they were all vegetables; You get a good spadesman to plant a small tradesman (first take off his boots with a boot tree), And his legs will take root, and his fingers will Shoot, and they'll blossom and bud like a fruit tree; From the green grocer tree you get grapes and green Pea, cauliflower, pine apple and cranberries, While the pastry cook plant cherry brandy will grant, Apple puffs, and three corners, and banburys; The shares are a penny and ever so many are taken by Rothschild and baring, And just as a few are allotted to you, you awake And with a shudder despairing You're a regular wreck, with a crick in your neck, and No wonder you snore, for your head's on the floor And you've needles and pins from your soles to your Shins, and your flesh is acreep, for your left leg's asleep, And you've cramp in your toes, and a fly on your nose, And some fluff in your lung, and a feverish tongue, And a thirst that's intense, And a general sense that you haven't been sleeping in clover; But the darkness has pass'd, and it's daylight at Last, and the night has been long, ditto, ditto my song, And thank goodness they're both of them over!

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The buckets and spades of outrageous fortune, Or to take a quick trip to the pub And by opposing her then. To die—to peep, No more; and by peep to say we end up at Suzie's lunch time strip show The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to: 'tis a consummation Devoutly to be wish'd. To drink, to dream To sleep, perchance to dream... of Suzie—ay, there's the rub: One hopes ! For in my snooze what dreams may come, When we have raked this garden path Must give us pause—there's the respect That makes calamity of so long life. For who would bear the words and scorns of wife , Th'oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, The pangs of dispriz'd love, the law's delay, The insolence of office, and the spurns That patient merit of th'unworthy takes, When he himself might his quietus make With a bare bodkin? Who would fardels bear, To grunt and sweat under a weary life, and Sunday is the only day off I get to do this But that the dread of something after the weekend, The undiscovere'd country, from whose booze No traveller returns, puzzles the will, And makes us rather bear those ills we have Than fly to others that we know not of? So best to take a cruise ship Thus conscience doth make cowards of us all, And thus the native hue of resolution Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought, And enterprises of great pith and moment With this regard their currents turn awry And lose the name of action. Or should non action be my course It would , but this pain in lower abdomen and pressure begs ask to awakane or not for 'tis a matter of To pee, or not to pee, that is the question.

... and by a sleep to say we end The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to. ’tis a consummation Devoutly to be wish’d.... To sleep—perchance to dream. Ay, there’s the rub! For what if, in that dream, the very chair we sit upon in sleep, falleth over... (Hamlet, appended)

I Have a Dream speech by Martin Luther King .Jr HD (subtitled) - YouTube I watched this again and, I have to say, it really is something. It's hard to imagine a leader giving such a moving speech today.

And why would the astral realm be a real place where you can witness things. If it happened in sleep time, fine the dream was more vivid than anything else, like being awake it started off somewhere that's exactly like the real world, but if you think about it, while there's something that makes it different to other dreams, there's probably no indication that this place is outside your own psyche. So what you learned there says things about your unconscious, not about what happens when we die, our unconscious doesn't necessarily know that. In general, while our unconscious knows a lot, it's not infallible.

If there is an afterlife, then we would have to be connected somehow to it already, for otherwise, we are merely trapped in our bodies experiencing life individually, and not in some way (other than inhabiting shared space), collectively. If the afterlife is in us individually, then we would probably lose it should we be burned to ash and not buried. If we are connected somehow on some field of energy, then we could inhabit a shared soul network, which is perhaps something like a dream state. The only thing to consider there is: how much control of the dream state do we have, and are these states desirable? Certainly we would want a good Heaven to experience eternally? Is it based on our current state of thoughts and deeds? How would we then reincarnate? Do we somehow enter a body of a living person and enter their sperm or egg and get born again? If this is how it happens, then why aren't I aware of my past life? And if I am not aware, does it even matter if it's true? The only way to ensure control over one's knowledge and self is to be practiced at knowledge of self and life, and not be at the mercy of uncertainty and desires, and in this situation, one could then defend the arts of knowledge and knowing-commanding ones will to do. In this case, obtaining the philosophers stone, confessing sin and making atonement, and fixing one's karma would be a highly recommended path.

The harder part is not only to create a religious dogma though, but have people to buy into it too. People at the time bought into resurrection as it was part of teachings that resonated with them. In terms of interpretations in general, there's just no unique POV. If you see a vivid dream with deities you can interpret it as being symbolic, as being divination, as having eater rotten food the night before, as meaningless, as connected to recent events, as connected to your childhood as many things tbh. Remember this isn't a repeatable experiment, it's a one-off experience, so there can only be many interpretations and they can only be subjective.

What others called divination experiences, Jung interpreted using his archetypes, collective subconscious, psychoid. One may see a vivid dream where they are in a mirror of the physical world and call it astral projection another one may interpret it differently or may say it was just a dream. At the end of the day it doesn't matter imo, the interpretation of spiritual experiences is subjective, the concepts for describing them are just words that have meaning only within an approximate mental model/spirituality framework. Which is totally fine, they're still something very valuable. There's no value deduction due to lack of objectivity.

I bear in mind that there have been many changes in the interpretations of the teaching, even in the Theravadin tradition. In the end, I'm going with: Therefore… be ye lamps unto yourselves. Be ye a refuge unto yourselves. Betake yourselves to no external refuge. Hold fast to the Truth as a lamp. Hold fast as a refuge to the Truth. Look not for refuge to any one besides yourselves. And how… is (one) to be a lamp unto (oneself), a refuge unto (oneself), betaking (oneself) to no external refuge, holding fast to the Truth as a lamp, holding fast as a refuge to the Truth, looking not for refuge to any one besides (oneself)? Herein, … (one) continues, as to the body, so to look upon the body that (one) remains strenuous, self-possessed, and mindful, having overcome both the hankering and the dejection common in the world. [And in the same way] as to feelings… moods… ideas, (one) continues so to look upon each that (one) remains strenuous, self-possessed, and mindful, having overcome both the hankering and the dejection common in the world. (Digha Nikaya ii 100, Pali Text Society DN Vol. II pg 108) Isn't the question really the meaning of "one-pointedness", of "one-pointedness of mind"? That's the consistent thing in the four initial concentrations, in my reading, and in my practice these days. I'll wait, then! I don't practice sleep or dream yogas, I just look to fall into one-pointedness of mind as I am waking up or falling asleep. The thing about insight meditation--how exactly is a person supposed to see the chain of dependent causation for themselves, without experiencing the cessation of ("determinate thought" in) feeling and perceiving? And to do that, is to have arrived at the concentration that eluded Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputta (Gautama's teachers), and which required the supremely talented Gautama the Shakyan six years under the Bodhi tree--right? I do see that action of the "consciousness-informed body" is possible, without "determinate thought". From that, I have an appreciation for the illusory nature of identifications of self in the five groups, but I can't claim to have cut off the hindrances like cutting off a palm tree at the stump, and I can't claim to have the perfect wisdom of insight into dependent causation. I only have enough to appreciate Gautama's way of living, mindfulness in the four arisings, which I believe involved regular experience of the cessation of ("determinate thought" in) the activity of the body in inhalation and exhalation. I don't hear anybody teaching that. Maybe they're teaching it, but not in so many words?

The Parimukha is front of the face, not front in general. Mukha is face/mouth. So containing the only source to Anapasati, the chest area is still excluded. Imo even taking Anapasati in isolation it's sufficient, as it's impossible to feel the breath in other places in the front of the face but other Pali texts are even more detailed. I see from your response that Bhikkhu Thanissaro assigns a different interpretation, all I can say is that I fully trust the interpretation of the senior Theravada monastic who teaches me. So here I guess each will trust the sources they trust and their translation/interpretation, so you we'll agree to disagree on this. By point of focus, I refer to point of focus of the first four steps of the Anapanasati, the Samatha part of it as this is the part where the question of having the awareness on nostrils/upper lip vs hara is mostly relevant. You open some new and interesting points but today unfortunately I don't have much time, so in short, - re sleep, Samatha before sleep is a good practice. Eg In dream & sleep yogas ( these are not Theravada practices ) it is common to include a Samatha meditation step. - re bridging conscious to our subconscious and unconscious. In my view that's the most important aspect of meditation. Most meditations do that to some extent, insight meditation does this more so than others. Samatha ( which pre-existed the historical Buddha) is not enough for this and hence the historical Buddha provided us with his insight meditation.

Ok, I don't have a clear view of what you are looking for in shielding so I'm stopping here. It might be interesting for you to learn that Shuigong also has protective visualizations in its dream practice. These aren't humanoid figures though. Bodhicitta. Either you use the extra energy in pursuits of altruistic love and higher causes or it escapes through habitual vices. That's how I see it, but you might want something else per your teacher's recommendation that you quote.

It is true. The equivalent of shielding, at least in Theravada, is practice of the four immeasurables. My experience in practical terms is that this is to be interpreted as building "long term" shielding. Folks who do dream/sleep practices tend to do more than that, right before sleep.Eg in Dream Yoga, it could be a small mantra before sleep and/or visualisation of Dakinis standing at the house's windows, doors, corridors etc. I don't really enjoy that practice, one of the reasons being that Dakinis are something that's too far culturally speaking, at least for me, so I want another practice. The less Vajrayana I do, the better ( for me, not for everyone ). Chanting indeed is also an energetic practice in Zen, there's no conflict there, plenty of folks who chant in Zen ( which anyhow happens regularly before Zazen ) also do Qigong. There's also not much on transforming sexual energy, TNH recommended Qigong for this ( or yoga ) in his book on the 5 mindfulness trainings. Essentially nothing is needed strictly speaking, eg sexual energy can also be transformed with Reichian psychology techniques and I'm sure there are other techniques for shielding too, for more energy into the day there are plenty of methods as well. But as a "one stop shop" for filling the above gaps, Qigong seems to fit the bill nicely, so I'm going to pursue it.

Thank you ! For the latter part ( why QiGong ), I don't see it as a replacement for my meditation practice, more as a complement. I don't view the two as incompatible, ie there's a ( Zen ) monk from Plum Village who has a Qigong YT channel. Shaolin monks, which fall under Ch'an, also practice Qigong. As to what I'm looking into getting that I don't get from Buddhist practices? 1) I need more energy during the day 2) some grounding, centering and shielding methods can become handy ( shielding has no coubterpart in Buddhist practices, the others do), As I practice Dream Yoga, there if you get into a dream within a dream within a dream you lose lucidity and the above can come in handy. 3) transformation of sexual energy ( none less than TNH recommended Qigong for this ) So in short it's all related to energy, not looking to replace my spiritual practice. Zen is definitely not at odds with Qigong, some Zen practitioners are also QiGong practitioners. In Theravada they may not be big fans but Qigong practice won't break any precepts taken either. Buddhism is broad btw, maybe Vajrayana ticks some of these boxes as well, they also have body movement energetic practices Tsa-Lung, Krul Thor, their tantric practices perhaps also cover 3). But Qigong knowledge is more widely available than Tsa Lung, I'm not a huge fan of the guru role in Vajrayana and I'd cherry pick a tantric technique only in isolation and only when there are no alternatives. Not meaning to sound negative, it's a great tradition, it's just not for me.

The Sphinx is a symbol of ordered civilisation, such as “Government” The Sphinx riddle in Greek mythology of the word puzzle that Oedipus has to solve to become the King of Thebes, is an analogy for leaders chosen for their ability to solve problems and help the people In Egyptian mythology, the sphinx is said to symbolise the solar deity called “Horus of the Horizon” “Horus of the Horizon” is “Torus of perspective”. The sphere which brings forth directional perception, within which dimensional space can exist “Horus” is the personification, of what we would call today “Torus”, or what is detailed in the correctly translated Old Testament “Torah” It is no different to the Om symbol. Which is no different to the numbers, 1, 2, 3 Which is not different to any other TRINITY FREEMASONS Entered Initiate – Primary (Internal) Fellowcraft – Secondary (External) Master Mason – Gateway (Directional) CATHOLIC Father – Primary – Thought (External) Son – Secondary – Emotion (Internal) Holy Spirit – Gateway – Spirit (Directional) ROSICRUSCIAN Head – Thought Heart – Emotion Hara (Gut) – Action DAO Qi – Mind Shen – Heart Jing – Body TCM Upper Dantian Middle Dantian Lower Dantian BUDDHIST Thought Speech Action SUFI Head Heart Hand PHYSICS – ELEMENTS Gas – Sky Liquid – Sea Solid – Earth ASTRONOMY Earth – Brain / The Complex Venus – Veins / The Flow Mars – Muscle / The Flesh EGYPTIAN Akh – Arch Ba – Bear Ka – Carry ILLUMINATED (Un) The Eye – Mind / Sun / Sky (To) The Waters – Heart / Moon / Sea (The) The Hand – Body / Solar System / Earth All these things are merely application of 3 phase states of the torus One that can be applied at any level across the macrocosm/microcosm. To any torus, sphere or cell The sun in the sky, is no different to the mind in your head Your hand itself, with the the thumb centre, fingers surrounding, and palm between internal and external curvature Width, Depth and Height, are not possible until you have a sphere of influence, giving “direction”, to which these things can be applied 4th Dimension - Width 5th Dimension - Depth 6th Dimension - Height These are directional extensions (see image below) Without the 1st, 2nd and 3rd torus/sphere dimensions, to give concept of direction. There would be be nothing to “face” or “point” in those directions, in order to perceive or correlate width, depth, height There would be nothing for up, down, left, right, north, south, east or west to exist within All geometry, needs exist within a sphere. Or it could not exist All patterns of 4, are “relative” conceptual alignment Such is the SPHINX, sitting prone to the SPHERE (the torus, which allows the perception of its horizon. “Torus/Horus of the horizon”) 3 is balance within the sphere. Source 4 is balance upon the sphere. Subject 3 allows you align across all centres of influence (gravity) across the spheres in phase The light focused in the centre of your eyes, the same as the sun in the sky The light focused within the centre of the eyes of someone else, the same as the sun in the sky The light focused in the centre of your eyes, the same as the light focused in the eyes of someone else The hole in the centre of the galaxy, the same as the hole in your pupils The same as any gateway or conduit Within a deep meditation, I have passed through the eye of Sagittarius. The super-massive black hole at the centre of our galaxy, no different than passing through the pupil of an eye (interestingly enough, turning into a lion as I did) I traveled up a massive vortex spire, similar to what is described as Mount Meru. Until I burst through into a semi-physical dimension, which glowed of a golden white light, different to any other I had ever seen A council of giant beings lined the inside walls where I entered. Bodies all made of luminous glowing light. Heads shining a light so brilliant, they shone like suns, impossible to look at They all seemed to be some type of avatars. Asleep, connected to forms of themselves, elsewhere. As I guess, I myself would have been asleep, before entering my avatar One awoke, and asked what I was doing back so early When they hugged me, I felt a warmth and love like family, but also a tremendous electrical like force, pulsating between their head and my own. Like polarised magnets, or orbs, which are not supposed to be as close to each other as they are when hugging This place felt familiar to me like home, while I was there. But also felt something like a dimensional laboratory I told them my friend I had returned to collect the turtle, to take it to Earth with me They did not seem to like the idea, but did not try to stop me. Only warned me “do not let it breed with anything else on Earth, because it lives for 15,000 – 20,000 years” This turtle seemed very different to the turtles in this world. It felt like something very ancient, sacred and beautiful Though, I did not get to see it. As I placed my hands into a large black hole to collect it, I was ripped back to Earth into my physical body My point is, that 3 allows you to go anywhere, across time, space and creation. And align with anything, or anyone Source, God, unity, or otherwise I have felt the solemn longing for home, standing on the bow of a viking vessel, sailing silently across the cold night waters of the most beautiful and calm fjord I have ever seen. Watching the moon and clouds in great detail. Watching a blue glowing bio-luminescence passing under the boat, with caution I have stood on the verge of breathtaking cliffs. Impossibly big, seemingly larger than anything we have in this world. In a world where the curvature of the horizon seemed immense compared to our own. Like I was on a much larger planet I have experienced deaths, real enough to now say I know what it feels like to be stabbed in the chest by a spear or sword. I tasted the steel in the back of my throat. Felt the feeling of weakness and panic, at being able to pull it from my body Waking up crying because I can still feel the physical pain and sadness of dying and having my life taken from me unfairly early. Pains which can take quite some time to subside after waking Real experiences, far removed from any dream I have ever experienced in my 30 years prior to being initiated I know what it is like to experience deaths, pains, joys, pleasure, lives and worlds, in places and times, other than in my own waking world These are just a couple of examples of many experiences like this The point being, that the “sphere” we see as “mind” is not limited to the seat of our physical body Nor to dimensional perception such as width, depth and height. Left and right, up and down It can be extended across all torus, spheres or cells It is fairly simple through meditation, to "collapse" your physical form into the sphere of mind, free from these dimension perceptions. So that your hands, arms, legs, feet and entire torso, feel as though they have been shrunk down into a small ball in the middle of your forehead Which is free to roam through time and space, without any limitations like width, depth, height, left, right, up, down, forward or reverse There is no need to "travel" within such structure. Within the orb of focus, you can phase directly anywhere, or within anyone, at any time. Easily and instantly Within such, things like distance and time, do not exist Within 4, you cannot do this. 4 aligns across the linear planes, to the structure and systems relative to the sphere. With your linear physical bodies and appendages, projecting "measure" such as distance and time It is reference within the physical. Which, as I stated before, has very little to do with the first 3 spheres In Illumination we see systems of 4 as within linear perspective, as limitation. Which usually only exist for the purposes of interaction and communication within the physical mediums They are, generally, not something which is supposed to be analysed. As to do such, is either as redundant, or recursively pointless, as reflecting upon a reflection I am not saying that systems and rules of 4 are not important, because of course to exist within this world, communicate and interact, they are incredibly important I am just saying that these systems are "subject" to the source, not of the source itself. And should not be considered in any way of the source itself Unless your intention is to cut yourself off from your own potential The concept of “you” that you referring to, where you shake your hand and look at it in space, means you are wired to perceive yourself (in mind) and the construct of your existence, as emanate and subject of a physical form (4, 5, 6) Which at its “conceptual” minimum, is 6th dimensional Though more precisely, “looking at your hand” or perceiving your physical form, as relative to construct or mind, is perception between the 60th to 69th dimensions (or degrees) What we refer to as "gravity" (for example) is the 36th dimension (or degree) The first 9 dimensions are conceptual This means, there is no width, depth, height. There is no physical body, with no hand, no planet, nor physical form of any sort. Only concepts, within which geometric principles can be applied, through which such things can eventually come to exist All “negative form before zero” as you described, would again, be subject to a sphere of influence, before such dimensions could exist. Regardless of whether it could be perceived by us within our own spectrum Consideration of these things is the same as cancelling out sound waves. Redundant to form “Dark matter” and negative spectrum or dimension, are merely a type of gateway, through which a phased reality can be allowed to exist, persist and sustain itself. Through itself When I gave you this diagram, I was not being figurative about the correlations and universal alignment listed within it The black hole in the centre of the galaxy is not “like” the pupil of your eye. “It is” the pupil of your eye We exist in a phased reality The external body of the universe outside of us, is very literally the exact same one as the internal body, of the body you walk around in It merely exists in phase Considerations of negatives outside of this phase relationship between internal and external body, are irrelevant They, like concepts of God, are unknowable by design of the system But the system itself, is all knowable, from creation to decay We are merely a directional phase within the medium, experiencing cycles which shift through each other, limiting in perception to the spectrum of our particular sphere of influence, within it If we were able to look at the sky, and see into the relative spectrum or dimension of “space” and things like we call “dark matter', we would see flesh and blood Space would appear as a network of bloody entrails and tissue, with electrical pathways between it. Suns concentrating like neurons in the brain. Electrical pathways coursing between them, no different to those within the human brain What exists “negatively” is only an illusion of our directional perception, as beings native to the sphere of the Earth in which we were formed To those born on a different planetary system, with a different mathematical (geometric) configuration to our own system, we (and our world) could be completely invisible Theoretically, our worlds could even inhabit the same space, within different spectrum. Without one being aware of the other Like two people in the same town who have never met, and do not know each other exist The “reality” is, that we do not need to travel through space to find other inhabitable planets. All we need do is talk to another person. This is the same as visiting another planet We are all formed in much the same way, through exactly the same processes. So the perspective of things such as planet, stars, etc, appears the same. Even if we exist within our own world, we still exist within the common. It is just the alignment between these two that is tricky It could be that we are all be living on different planets, in much the same way we live in different houses, with different seats of physical perspective But whether or not we are, is irrelevant. The potential of our influence and alignment is the same regardless If indeed we do end up needing to physically travel through space, it will not need be in a craft designed to travel linearly across measurements of distance. It will be within an orb able to shift (phase) through to higher or lower spectrum of dimension Much like zooming out on a digital map, to then zoom in on somewhere on the other side of the world. Moving to the other side of the universe, instantaneously Except within the relation of our bodies physical structure, to the universe The “unity” that you speak of, in reality, is all we are Everything beyond this is an illusion of directional precept, allowing linear perception But every sphere is the same We stretch across the phase in transit of cycles, giving us the polarised, dual nature of things formed around a source which is passed through/within every sphere, at ever level The influence stretches from the largest spheres of the universe, to the smallest of cellular construct We exist in between the push/pull of the phase relationship between them Body <==> Bodies - Gravity Magnetism <==> Polarised Magnetism - Time Growth <==> Age The Freemason understanding of the concept of sacred utterance is a little off. Like many teachings they aligned to their order, it is based off of Illuminated understanding and processes, within various ancient mystery schools But as with what is described in the story of Hiram Abiff, those who properly understood the secrets were gone Meaning, many of the teachings of modern Freemasonry (as with certain religions) are based off the translations and understanding of those who never actually went through any type of genuine initiation. At least, not under the guidance of any that could be considered ascended In Illumination a sacred utterance is any word (usually within single syllable relation), which is phonetically pure to both the meaning of the word, and the symbol or number Within numbers, there is a very particular phonetic sequence, which is “sacred”, which is the EXACT meaning of the the sequence, as well as the symbols for the number, and the word used to convey within language A sequence, which tells the story of creation 1 – Un 2 – To 3 – The “Un to the” as a process, can be related to thought, emerging from your mind “Un to the” as a process, can be related to a God bringing forth creation “Un to the” as a process, can be related to the big bang, forming the universe “Un to the” as a process, can be reltaed to the sun, shining its light forward to promote life “Un to the” as a process, can be philosophy. It can be psychology. It can be religion. It can be spirituality. It can be medicine. t can be the astronomy. It can be astrology. It can be physics. It can be biology. It can be geometry. It can be mathematics It can be the basis of any conceptual reality It is the process of “creation” itself Which is the primary sequence we call “numbers” But, it can also be formative to “decay”. Which is the secondary sequence we call “letters/words” (Hiram Abiff - “Decay apparently”) This is what makes it sacred “Un to the” relating to “1, 2, 3” is geometrically perfect, as a process across both internal and external manifested spheres There is a very specific sequence from 1 – 12. Which are the dimensions of first perspective concept One that I will not give publicly. But which very specifically, and undeniably, tells a story of creation And there are versions of this sequence, that are relative to any of the “aspects” within that creation, or individual perception of source They are phonetic keys, within language. Connecting the limiting “decay” system of letters and words, to the unlimited “creation” system of numbers NUMBER = CREATION LETTERS = DECAY Like Arthur pulling the sword from the stone Record yourself saying the name “Arthur” and play it backwards. It will still say Arthur, regardless of if you play it backwards or forwards The limitation within language (particularly "English") is what the story of the sword in the stone is about Pull your intention within creation, from within the limitation of the applied layers of decay above it? You will earn the right to rule England, and its language This is another type of “sacred” phonetic key. One which cannot be limited by the algorithm of connective language It is the same reason I refuse to use full stops at the ends of paragraphing And why I write in concise verse structure In Illumination, we spend many years studying language, to free ourselves from its limitations. Down to understanding the meaning of the individual symbols we use for our numbers and letters We study things like semiotics, phonetics, morphology, phonology and syntax to a degree that very few people in this world ever will We break down all possibly combinations of a words formation and phonetics, correlating it not only forwards, but backwards Looking for phonetic matches in words, with the same meaning read backwards as forwards. To find algorithmic "keys" within the language These keys can give you tremendous insight into people and their use of language, which they do not know they are giving you. That most would be helpless to prevent "showing you", even if they were aware of it This is a major part of how we re-wire our brains to think in both directions cyclically, instead of linearly For years we read everything, both backwards and forwards. Words backwards, sentence forwards. Whole sentence backwards. Words forwards, sentence backwards. Cutting not only the sentence to pieces to pieces, but the individual words within them, to form sometimes hundreds of “alternate algorithm” meanings and translations One simple three word sentence, can be broken down in hundreds, if not thousands of hidden meanings and messages. Especially when you start using alternate phonetics It is a rather painful process to go through. As once you have trained your brain to start recognising the patterns fluidly to a significant extent, the world begins to bombard you with “messages” constantly To the point of madness, in public places where you are surrounded by atmospheric input Like the world realises you can “see and hear” it, and suddenly decides it want to tell you everything, about everything, all at once These patterns are not “chaos” as many believe them to be. It simply feels that way, while your brain is being impossibly overloaded It simply takes many years of training your brain, to see them and forget them, taking only the important things you need to see from the overload of possibilities. It is a process of alignment, that feels like having your mind destroyed. Excruciating painful, both mentally and physically. Until you adjust to the new pathways and blood flow in your brain But this alignment, aligns you within much more than just patterns of numbers and language It aligns you within those around you as well You will hear a stranger say something in passing to their friend, which is relevant to the exact thing you were thinking of at the time A woman at the shopping centre, telling her friend “don't forget cereal for Sam”. Which is my name Reminding me, just as I was about to leave the supermarket, that I also needed to get cereal Cereal, which ended up being the exact same cereal she was buying for her Sam Much like the friend of yours ringing with a pain in their back, exactly like mine. Just after you read my post (mine in in my back, under the right should blade, extending down behind the ribs) This type of alignment is constant, once you train your brain to recognise the patterns The more you recognise the patterns, the stronger, more pronounced and noticeable these alignments within the world become I will see a snake slithering across the road as a leave my friends house. Two days later (on the 3rd night) I will see one slithering opposite to this on the road outside my house, as I am arriving home Things that happen on one side, then happen exactly the same (or near identical) on the other side Apparently, this is part in parcel of becoming a centre of gravity within a logos. Things around you begin to gravitate within balanced internal/external cycles I will not go too deep into this, other than to say it is part of what I was originally speaking about, when I came to find helpfuldemon, about needing to isolate during initiation I sometimes find myself actively having to ensure I do not inadvertently influence someone to my alignment Making them want to give me something, or act in a way they would not normally act, because of their interactions with me Then, to your question about concentrating on my affliction … I never said my affliction was a problem I genuinely appreciate your help with it, and you are right, that it is something similar to what people describe as a hydra … Something particularly unpleasant to feel, emerging out of your face (mouth and nose), as well as your rear-end, in the middle of the night Something which feels like an invisible octopus curling its tentacles around your face and thighs, and there is nothing you can do about it I would, of course, love for it to be finally over, which is why I am grateful to any of your suggestions on what could speed along the process But I do not see it as a problem More as a necessary process. Something I must endure, until it finishes its purpose in realigning me across dimensions Its purpose is to seek out and triggers pain (mind), fear (heart) and impurities (body) within me A process, during which I am polarised across the medium Within this, if you resist it, you are only resisting a mirror of yourself it applies to you helpfuldemon seemed to me, to have a very, very deep understanding of what happens when you are “aligned” in such a way, polarised to fight a version of yourself Which says to me they are genuine initiate. Yet, I do not understand why their guardians did not give them very particular and relevant keys they needed towards the understanding they have It is almost like taking someone out into the cold rain, where you know they are going to be miserable. Then leaving them there Which is why I came to share some of what I know I have only ever encountered one other person online, who has been through this process, before I read his thread on levels of initiation If I manage to complete my purge, the "hydra" will have pulled everything it needs to from all spheres of my form, and it will leave me And I will carry a light in this world, that very few people ever achieve As I said before, I am hoping the end is Easter this year, which will mark the end of the 12th year 12 years since I met the woman with the blood-red hair, where the water meet. The woman who I await to return, that I call “soul-mate”. Loved for 12 years, without any contact I'll either succeed in beating the affliction, or it will kill me I am not really worried either way (though I would obviously prefer the primer, to the latter) I only mentioned the affliction, to explain why it takes me some time to read through things and respond Thanks again for your help. I do appreciate it Hopefully, I've given you something helpful in return

I have finally understood why I was angry and frustrated of Taoists denying my ideas and made-up technique. I failed to understand what we search for was different and our understanding of Internal Alchemy was never really the same. Classic Taoism & Internal Alchemy Classic Taoists are just fans of the Tao Te Ching, like old Chinese philosophy/poems and maybe even have a bit of religious believe in talismans and shamanism. Classic Internal Alchemists, however, believes in meditation where one think of deep, sometimes dark, things to overcome their traumas and inner demons. Their version of "spiritual" is psychological rather than supernatural. They use Qigong in hope of, not immortality or true longevity like living for 1000 of years, but to heal their mortal body and mind. I, however, was searching for the Xian immortal version of Internal Alchemy. To live for as long and how young I want, to become strong enough to split mountains and seas, like in the Xianxia novels. Before you say that was childish, yes it was, however, in my defends I do have and am diagnosed with atypical autism so I have all the right to be a bit childish and dream about the impossible. Also that buzzing feeling that keep take the shapes of the meridians on the acupuncture maps did make me believe of was right and you were wrong, blinding me with arrogance. I'm sorry for my outbursts and being mean. Totally not because my mom forced me as punishment for my arrogance... Joke aside. I will still leave this community because this community doesn't support my search of the Xian immortal art or whether it is real or not. Thank you for the experience of understanding arrogance. P.s. please delete my account as I will not be back. P.s.s. My Yin Yang Lotus technique wouldn't have caused Qi deviations since it focuses on moving/generating that (physical) buzzing feeling (not emotionally) rather than your inner thoughts and demons like classic meditation does. Bye.

I thought it was the other way around. As Lu Yan told Tripitikas when he had passed through the gate-of-no-gate into the Forbidden Kingdom: "Where you came from is the dream." Only on rare and auspicious occasions will a causal realm event be transmitted to the lower dimension with enough energy to break a natural law.