From Fiction to Fact

[Zoya]

I won't beat around the bush, I'm here to learn if the stuff I read in novels has an ounce of truth or if fiction and fact are too far apart.

 

I aim to become a real immortal through means like Qigong, Daoism and TCM, but if not an immortal than just stronger than humanly possible.The bigger a person's dreams, the more for them to do, right?That will guarantee me a not boring life at least.

 

 

[Trunk]

Welcome!

[Cobie]

Welcome to the forum. 

[-ꦥꦏ꧀ ꦱꦠꦿꦶꦪꦺꦴ-]

On 07/08/2023 at 8:30 PM, Zoya said:

I won't beat around the bush, I'm here to learn if the stuff I read in novels has an ounce of truth or if fiction and fact are too far apart.

Some of it is true, depending on the book

[-ꦥꦏ꧀ ꦱꦠꦿꦶꦪꦺꦴ-]

@Zoya you might find this interesting 

 

 

[Zoya]

1 hour ago, Pak_Satrio said:

@Zoya you might find this interesting 

 

 

Indeed I found this interesting.

Very interesting.

Edited August 11, 2023 by Zoya
word

[-ꦥꦏ꧀ ꦱꦠꦿꦶꦪꦺꦴ-]

5 hours ago, Zoya said:

Indeed I found this interesting.

Very interesting.

 

Check this one out from 30 seconds onwards, he’s emitting qi from his hands which gives an electric shock effect: 

 

 

I went to see him last year. Really powerful shock. Here’s a video of him doing it on my partner:

 

 

Edited August 12, 2023 by Pak_Satrio

[DynamicEquilibrium]

On 07/08/2023 at 7:30 PM, Zoya said:

I aim to become a real immortal through means like Qigong, Daoism and TCM, but if not an immortal than just stronger than humanly possible.

 

 

 

Our ancestors surely had to do something everyday for their survival, they had to face all kind of threats for their Lives, they had to endure hunger, thirst and cold, they had to risk their own Lives for the Lives of next generations. 

Can we still remember what they went through and that Life doesn't come for granted ? 

 

Hundreds of years if not millenia of forgiveness of doing some kind of preparation is maybe one of the reasons behind the current overall weak physiological and psychological condition of the living beings with human shape but still, most of the people hoping that the next generation would become stronger and wiser without doing anything in this purpose within their own body/mind system and in their ways of living in this ever growing artificial environnement.

 

For Taoism, "stronger" might be related to the carrier and the content transmitted to the next generation, related to the education, to healthy growth and developpment, related to the slowing down of degeneration, related to the ways of living etc...

 

In terms of sustainable developpment, is it really reasonable to try to challenge almost 4 billions years of Nature's activity on the planet with human intelligence ? 

 

How to grasp, learn and integrate the knowledge and wisdom of the Great Nature in our individual and collective systems might be one of the main subject of becoming "stronger" in the tradition carrying this prehistorical intangible cultural heritage from our far far ancestors. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 12, 2023 by DynamicEquilibrium

[Zoya]

3 hours ago, DynamicEquilibrium said:

Our ancestors surely had to do something everyday for their survival, they had to face all kind of threats for their Lives, they had to endure hunger, thirst and cold, they had to risk their own Lives for the Lives of next generations. 

Many people around the world still live that way, many because they lack power to be able to make choices and can only take what's given to them.

 

And you don't need to go far to see that.Just look on the streets.

 

 

[Taomeow]

On 8/7/2023 at 10:30 AM, Zoya said:

The bigger a person's dreams, the more for them to do, right?

 

As long as it's not about what George Carlin meant when he said,

" the more complicated the Starbucks order, the bigger the asshole."     

[Zoya]

23 minutes ago, Taomeow said:

 

As long as it's not about what George Carlin meant when he said,

" the more complicated the Starbucks order, the bigger the asshole."     

Never heard of this guy nor this quote.

 

[whocoulditbe?]

5 hours ago, Zoya said:

Many people around the world still live that way, many because they lack power to be able to make choices and can only take what's given to them.

It's similarly displeasing, but that kind of passivity almost seems like the opposite of what DynamicEquilibrium was describing.

[Taomeow]

6 hours ago, Zoya said:

Never heard of this guy nor this quote.

 

 

Never heard of George Carlin?..  Could be a generation thing, could be a country other than the US, most likely both? 

 

They don't make the likes of him anymore.  Current comedy is simply tragic in comparison, and sarcasm can get one cancelled.

 

Anyway, your goals are lofty.  If you're ready for obstacles that match their size (and on this path they are guaranteed),

fusheng wuliang tianzun.    

[silent thunder]

George Carlin, to me, is a modern day Chuangtzu. 

 

George very capably elucidated the extremities and subtleties of social interactions, unwritten more's and the limitations and potential abuses inherent in the structure of the english language and its built in assumptions, (particularly in the euphemistic misdirection used by beaurocracies and legaleze).  He did this using long form story humor to highlight the abstracted and absurd aspects of socialized conditioning and misdirection.

 

I highly recommend his sharings.

Edited August 13, 2023 by silent thunder

[Zoya]

14 hours ago, Taomeow said:

could be a country other than the US

I'm not from the US.

Not even from an English-speaking country for that matter.

 

14 hours ago, Taomeow said:

Anyway, your goals are lofty

Big goals are the only ones worthy to have, because they're the ones that push you forward in life.

 

If it weren't for lofty dreams, humanity wouldn't have crossed the oceans, gone to the Moon or achieved amazing discoveries in history.

 

14 hours ago, Taomeow said:

If you're ready for obstacles that match their size (and on this path they are guaranteed)

I won't know if I'm ready for them until I face them, but I feel ready enough to at least try.

 

And that should be good enough for now.

 

 

 

[Taomeow]

On 8/7/2023 at 10:30 AM, Zoya said:

 

I aim to become a real immortal through means like Qigong, Daoism and TCM, but if not an immortal than just stronger than humanly possible.

 

1 minute ago, Zoya said:

If it weren't for lofty dreams, humanity wouldn't have crossed the oceans, gone to the Moon or achieved amazing discoveries in history.

 

 

Methinks those are two very different sets of dreams.  Daoist self-cultivation/immortality pursuits were always a very personal affair, shared only via one-on-one interactions with a master or else a very small group of like-minded friends and/or disciples, and sometimes entirely solitary.  "Humanity's" generic dreams was something they were trying to get away from, not gain fame and fortune pursuing.  

[Zoya]

4 minutes ago, Taomeow said:

Methinks those are two very different sets of dreams

Sure are, I just wanted to make a point that big dreams are what move people forward and that was the best comparison I could make at the moment.

 

I'm not good with words to say something wise and flowery, just plain and crude.

[kakapo]

On 8/7/2023 at 1:30 PM, Zoya said:

I won't beat around the bush, I'm here to learn if the stuff I read in novels has an ounce of truth or if fiction and fact are too far apart.

 

I aim to become a real immortal through means like Qigong, Daoism and TCM, but if not an immortal than just stronger than humanly possible.The bigger a person's dreams, the more for them to do, right?That will guarantee me a not boring life at least.

 

 

 

I think that being mentally hygienic should be your top priority.

 

What I mean by that is that you need to be very careful not to believe things, or trust people's claims without evidence to substantiate them.

 

If there is no evidence, assume there is a good reason for there being no evidence.

 

Only listen to teachers, and invest time into systems for which there is compelling evidence and ignore everything else.

 

If evidence arises in the future to support a teacher or system you previously ignored, then reevaluate at that time and not a second before.

 

I think everyone, when they are younger, catches the Chuunibyou syndrome at least to some degree.

 

This leads down a dangerous path of magical thinking.

 

"OOH I can just read this book about magic spells and then I fly if I just get the spell right!"

 

"If I read all these old grimoires and combine their teachings I can make something new and more powerful!"

 

You have to understand that there are millions of lunatics and liars out there who have no abilities and their insane ramblings will never lead you where you want to be, no matter if they have over 9,000 5-star reviews on Amazon.

 

You have to remember that being a popular teacher in the spiritual scene isn't necessarily a good thing, as most of the adherents of the spiritual community are not firing on all cylinders themselves.

 

“Those who know do not speak. Those who speak do not know.”

― Lao Tsu, Tao Teh Ching

 

“Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.”

― Buddha

Remember the map is not the territory, and if you build maps on the advice on random crazy homeless people you met at the bus stop, then your map isn't going to reflect reality very well.

 

The idea here is to make your map of reality reflect actual reality as best as is possible, and that requires building a map with correct information, and identifying and excluding false information.

 

It really doesn't matter what a million crazy people think, or which teacher they "believe" in this week.

What matters is evidence, and if they can't offer you that, you shouldn't devote your life to it.

If you are as serious as your post claims, then you should realize just how important having the correct information is when planning and just how disastrous false information can be.

 

Just my $0.02.

[Zoya]

1 hour ago, kakapo said:

you need to be very careful not to believe things, or trust people's claims without evidence to substantiate them.

I know.

 

I want to believe but I also was taught to not be naïve.I am open minded but I reserve myself the right to judge after I learned more or experienced more.

 

1 hour ago, kakapo said:

I think everyone, when they are younger, catches the Chuunibyou syndrome at least to some degree.

Funnily enough it isn't even about that.

 

I simply feel like I have no real interesting goals in life aside the usual of living well and doing stuff I like.

 

This is not only a motivator for me to train to go after the power I seek(the power to be self-reliant) but it also makes my life more exciting.

It's good to have "lofty" goals.They add flavor in life regardless if you achieve them or not.

 

1 hour ago, kakapo said:

If you are as serious as your post claims, then you should realize just how important having the correct information is when planning and just how disastrous false information can be.

My dream is above the skies but my methods will be rooted on the ground.

[DynamicEquilibrium]

On 12/08/2023 at 4:47 PM, Zoya said:

Many people around the world still live that way, many because they lack power to be able to make choices and can only take what's given to them.

 

And you don't need to go far to see that.Just look on the streets.

 

 

The symptoms of "body/mind" differentiation are everywhere just under and behind our eyes indeed!

 

[kakapo]

On 8/13/2023 at 4:39 PM, Zoya said:

I know.

 

I want to believe but I also was taught to not be naïve.I am open minded but I reserve myself the right to judge after I learned more or experienced more.

 

Funnily enough it isn't even about that.

 

I simply feel like I have no real interesting goals in life aside the usual of living well and doing stuff I like.

 

This is not only a motivator for me to train to go after the power I seek(the power to be self-reliant) but it also makes my life more exciting.

It's good to have "lofty" goals.They add flavor in life regardless if you achieve them or not.

 

My dream is above the skies but my methods will be rooted on the ground.

 

The first step is learning how to separate the wheat from the chaff.

 

You are going to be inundated with chaff especially in online forums.

 

Always remember garbage in, garbage out (G.I.G.O.),  it's an old concept from programming. 

 

It means if you feed the computer bogus information, it can't magically turn that into the correct answers you are looking for.

 

Also remember that getting the consensus opinion from 10,000 crazy people, doesn't mean there is any validity to it.

 

Just because a lot of people adhere to a certain belief or opinion, that doesn't give make it more "valid".

I am sure if you look hard enough you can find testimony from people in Scientology who can tell you how it's benefited them and how the story about Xenu chaining aliens volcano's and dropping hydrogen bombs on them was literally true.

 

The placebo effect is real, and the human mind seems to have an infinite capacity for delusion and self deception.

 

You also have to acknowledge that a lot of people who post in communities like this are here for the LARP aspect.

 

They won't tell you that as it breaks character but it's true.

 

There have been people here who claim to be able to shoot lasers from their eyes, have harems of college girls in another dimension, and fly faster than the speed of light. 

 

When people asked for evidence of such claims, it only enraged them.

 

Not everyone in a public forum is firing on all cylinders, so be careful trusting the person you are speaking with is of sound mind.

Edited August 14, 2023 by kakapo

[whocoulditbe?]

4 hours ago, Taomeow said:

Methinks those are two very different sets of dreams.  Daoist self-cultivation/immortality pursuits were always a very personal affair, shared only via one-on-one interactions with a master or else a very small group of like-minded friends and/or disciples, and sometimes entirely solitary.  "Humanity's" generic dreams was something they were trying to get away from, not gain fame and fortune pursuing.  

And yet the Daodejing can be read as a polemic on governance, just as much as a guide to personal cultivation.

 

26 minutes ago, Zoya said:

Funnily enough it isn't even about that.

That sounds like something a Chuuni would say. 🗞️

 

51 minutes ago, Zoya said:

I simply feel like I have no real interesting goals in life aside the usual of living well and doing stuff I like.

But here you sound like you're already living the life of a sage!

 

2 minutes ago, kakapo said:

Always remember garbage in, garbage out (G.I.G.O.),  it's an old concept from programming. 

Clearing away garbage you're attached to can be heartbreaking.

[Shadow_self]

14 hours ago, kakapo said:

 

Beware of people who want to give you their personal testimony,  remember people believe in crystals, copper, and magnets.

 

What specifically do people believe about copper that others should be weary of?

Edited August 14, 2023 by Shadow_self

[-ꦥꦏ꧀ ꦱꦠꦿꦶꦪꦺꦴ-]

1 hour ago, Shadow_self said:

 

What specifically do people believe about copper that others should be weary of?

Let’s not get into that 

[Shadow_self]

58 minutes ago, Pak_Satrio said:

Let’s not get into that 

 

Sorry, curiousity is getting the better of me here...

 

The apparent magical properties of the metal warrant further explanation