Newcomer

[arion07]

*post meant for welcome /newcomers section but unable to post there *

Hi all, late 20s man here (married and my wife is also interested in Taoism) 

 

I first came across spirituality at age 16 in a Hindu context after losing someone close to me - and read bhagavata Gita, Vedas and then quickly discovered on Buddhism and Taoism; 

 

Having already came from a dysfunctional home where i didn't have much of a sense of self /ego to begin with , and had also seen a whole lot of suffering , the teachings of Buddhism resonated with me ; 

 

Its probably a well known trope among us Gen Z'ers , but i also used pornography as an emotional coping mechanism and i guess, some level of sex- ed , having received none from home; This started since age 13, and while not excessive by modern standards, the messages in all religions noted that lust was not satiating, neither good , and especially bad for the male body;

I pursued Bramacharya , and did some pranayama , and was mostly successful

Having been with my wife for almost 5 years now , we decided to explore celibacy and have both experienced, feelings of innocence, more contentment, intuition ,deeper dreams , all within weeks. I would say i have an inclination towards celibacy , and usually feel better and more at peace in this state , within reason. 

 

That inspired me to revisit these forums, where i have lurked silently for some time in the past, but rarely actually committed to any practices  

 

I am not materialistic, despite working in the corporate world in finance for almost a decade.

I have dabbled into nonduality practices, vipassana meditation and the like, but would now like to learn from, and in time offer support, about energy practices- qi gong, cultivation and Taoist philosophy;

I do have a yearning to know what is beyond the apparent, and would like to explore it via actual practices and teachings; Willing to even explore masterclasses/ workshops and stuff as well ; 

 

These are some of the teachings/teachers i have learnt from ( i have no allegiance, nor endorsement of any teacher's teachings) :

-Nisargadatta Maharaj

-peter ralston

-eckhart tolle

-adyashanti

-parahmamsa yogananda 

-swami vivekananda

-lao tzu

-sam harris

-richard lang

-leo gura

-tara brach 

-ramana maharshi

-mantak chia/ michael winn (briefly)

-neville goddard

 

sidenote-i stumbled upon some chinese anime- called donghua, which interestingly, while being fictional, still draws from taoist and buddhist philosophy, and the word cultivation is mentioned alot ;p  that has been to a low extent, nontheless inspiring 

 

All in all, happy to meet everyone and learn a thing or do ; happy to dig around, research, bring ideas, and experiment/ walk the path 

Would love to get to  know you all and also share more about myself/open up, in time to come 

 

[forestofclarity]

Welcome!

[Cobie]

Hi arion07.  Wow, wonderful intro. Impressive range of experience you have already, being relatively young (I’m 70).  Yes it’s been my experience too that celibacy has great rewards; and can be the true Way.  

We once had a younger person here who said they only encountered cultivation through manhuas and donghuas.*  Great to have you on the forum. Enjoy. 

~~~
* Both are art that focuses on characters who engage in cultivation. 

 

manhua 漫 畫 (man4 hua4) manga, comic  

漫 unrestrained

畫 drawing

 

donghua 動 畫 (dong4 hua4) animation

動 moving

畫 drawing

 

 

Edited Sunday at 08:28 PM by Cobie