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Here's a series on how to meditate according to Mahasi style vipassana. https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL603BD0B03E12F5A1&si=jSNFEgUc_7Ldx4Wq Yutadhammo Bhikku has a discord server and offers weekly check ins over voice chat on an individual basis for students.
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On one of those very rare (once in several years) occasions when I get what I call dream-visions, I was visited by a jellyfish UFO. It appeared in the sky, swimming through the air the way jellyfish swim in the water. It was a biotechnological thing, alive and sentient but also a vehicle. I won't tell the whole story (I may have at the time it happened, years ago), but I get a jolt of recognition every time I see pictures or video of some rare jellyfish from the deep ocean, with lights all over and everything looking similar to that magnificent thing from my vision, only simpler.
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looks safe, no teeth?
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( gif won't work )
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I have seen some strange things diving , but never one of these . I have never heard of them before . The pyrasol . Is it one creature or a collective ? It looks like a giant undersea worm / hollow tube . What's the big deal ? Well, some are big enough for a person to swim through !
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Many years ago I switched from sciences to economics. Several times each day I would find that I was about to do something ordinary and I would stop and think about the assumptions behind the action. And I could not believe how stupid were the assumptions I was using - having been taught those by parents, religion and school. For about 9 months I felt like I was in free fall. Eventually my assumptions stabilized for a couple of years and then the process started again - but more gently These days I consider every belief as an hypothesis awaiting a metaphysical experiment
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Certainly. The exercise unfolds the spiritual qualities and purposes implicit in the human incarnation. The human learns what it is - on several levels Have sent you a message
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Looking back... THeoretiCally: 1. If a person was their own 'free moral agent'(an unpopular Bible verse, contrary to most sects which indoctrinate) this would mean that a person coming of age would be responsible for their own learning and developed knowledge outside their formative years. 2. The implications of: you are responsible yourself for your own outcome to learn to think for yourself is quite reasonable. Lets contraSt with Nature vs. Nurture in pSyChology: Nature - Is tHe preMiSe that an eNtity Cannot ChaNge and its ingraiNed traitS are unaffeCted By tHe ecology of its environmeNt. Nurture - is the premise that an eNtity or person is priMariLy deterMiNed By its enVironmeNt inStead of its quaLities. Obviously neither one or tHe other is entirely true. A person that is DeterMined to learn will learn of their own volition despite the circumStanCeS. Yet a person who seeks instaNt gratification and seeks to fulfill desires will not learn. On theSe accounts and situations it seems to me that learniNg is not an eCology or environment proBlem. Literally, what I am saying is that, through reasonable experience, if I was Hitler who was cloNed and giVen the Best upBringing and family life, I would still do the thiNgs I do. God makes Crooked thiNgs. Only God makes crooked things straight. Let God Be praiSed. AMen. Naturally, I am not speaking for anyone. That is why I say: They haVe eyes But they do not see. THey haVe ears but they do Not hear. SuCh is that geNeration until it is coMplete. There is no valid sect of Christianity beCauSe they don't follow BibliCal rules. Ecology (nurture) or Nature? A person could simply read the BiBle and eVaDe the majority of ChriStian myths, others go to Church onCe a week. This is alSo a Nature proBlem. If all of these thiNgs are a problem of inheirent nature, then the majority of what was taught in school was wrong aNyway. Who would know tHe differenCe? Lets look at this again in a forum situation. How maNy times does it happen that a post replied to is not fully read or understood resulting in commuNication Breakdown? Quite often in fact. ENough that we know learning Can neVer be an eCology issue. Its like how alan watts sees it. It like the VerSe from Time By Pink Floyd. "Noone told you when to run... You missed the startiNg gun" If eduCation is only 35% effectiVe, then it isn't eduCation's fault. It is whoeVer it is and they own it, we don't. Its Not our part to plaCe blaMe except thoSe who chooSe not to learn. As it was written: there weRe those who's hearts were harDeNed and they were swallowed up by the Red Sea. Education is only as effeCtiVe as the indiVidual so, indoCtrination doesn't work. How maNy people haVe you Met throw up their hands in fruStratioN and say "I'm going to heaVen", eVen though we know theRe is NotHing that speCifiCally Says the righteous go to heaVen? THere is no deVils advoCate either...
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It’s fine now.
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Thank you for your input @Lairg I got this from another post of yours. Would this help to dispel internal darkness, feelings of depression, mental clarity ? I remember lurking through the forum at some point and read the very interesting concept of being in the right relationship with cosmos, to not force our way through or have to suffer karmic retributions accordingly. I have experienced first hand the consequences of lack of alignment and am working on course correction, I have no other choice now. I was advised to reengage with the world, I am looking forward to find some employment that is "spiritually" aligned and won't add more troubles.
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The yang side of English bulldog ownership is they can’t reach their butt. The yin side is that it needs wiping from time to time...
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Knocking on that Bad Gateway Too pearly for the swine? If sean remembers we’re out here waiting Everything’s gonna be fine!
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What I think is important is that we have the capacity and willingness to really look at our beliefs, where they come from, what they mean, and who they benefit. Then equally important to be open to new possibilities, even those that seem far fetched or implausible.
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...look into the book "Taoist Yoga" : https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/taoist-yoga-alchemy--immortality_charles-luk/297106/item/5255171/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=us_shopping_zombies_hvs_21811042479&utm_adgroup=&utm_term=&utm_content=717415192734&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADwY45hQCW-K8eSzaSBTOEWDnwrAS&gclid=CjwKCAjwwLO_BhB2EiwAx2e-39QLefe47JPnZwK0TngFVSrnRYHIhKG6vEOqRNRcMl6kNTngLwtYLRoCYpEQAvD_BwE#idiq=5255171&edition=2578262 All explained in there, pretty comprehensive. I've never done it, because I think it's too dangerous without knowing someone to guide you as there are MANY cases of people FAILING and Really causing harm to themselves because of improper understanding. As noted from the ending stages - when you (the practitioner) cannot be moved for days on end and require the aid of others to sustain yourself. These kind of practices are not for lay people, nor anyone who doesn't have the time (years) of understanding and attempting them. Please don't be convinced by anyone that the internal world is not extremely sensitive and nuanced - and is not really meant to be turned into an experiment. There is a difference between experimentation and true mysticism/magical practices (whatever you want to call it) that deal with the unseen forces. Experimentation is very risky, knowledgable practice is less risky.
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I went down to the DaoBums tried to read or write a post no one could read or write any Bad Gateway took the host
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Not really, people who believe themselves to be free, are usually the most enslaved ones. You don't need to force, you can indoctrinate, when you control the media, it is easy to do so
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I went down to Bad Gateway, fell down on my knees, Down to Bad Gateway fell down on my knees, Asked the Lord for mercy, “Take me to DaoBums if you please.
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“The primarily pure awareness of all sentient beings is inherently pure. It needs no refinement, knows no enlightenment and cannot be an object of intellectual understanding. For it, there is no arising or cessation, no worlds or events, no improvements or losses. It is the sky-like singularity of the Bodhichitta itself.”
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I don’t have to imagine it. Looking back at my education, I see very little but indoctrination. Looking at the current state of the world, I see very little information that is not propaganda. None of this is accidental and it exists even in “free” countries. Priming us from early childhood makes us more pliable as adults.
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on-going thread for this issue:
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That seems to me to be the foundation of spiritual unfolding - for 95% of humans.
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So, some countries have freedom. Why, do you ask? Because if you forCe beliefs on people they rebel. Can you imagine being told what you should accept, what the truth is and how you should behave? What if the opposite was true? This is freedom of speech and religion. So, if you want your own beliefs... I would fight for that. Otherwise the next generation will decide everything for you. Note I didn't mention artificial intelligence because it already tries to do this. If you don't believe me test it out. You can't get aNy of the majority of LLMs (AI) to agree that people haVe the right to belieVe what they waNt.
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I just happened to swing by for a visit and and I saw this old thread of mine from almost 3 years ago had popped up again. My own views and experience since then have continued to grow and evolve. What I would like to offer up for consideration now is that some ordinary every day people who don't practice any form of cultivation can live well into their 80's and 90's while still being able to function reasonably well and still have pretty decent mental clarity. A smaller few even make it to the low 100's while still being able to get around to some degree and some still seem to have pretty decent mental clarity. At the very least, the neidan practices I am familiar with are supposed to bring good health and also notably increase longevity (yes, in my experience those are some common claims made about the benefits of neidan practice), yet I personally don't know of many daoists in modern times who have done too much better than many ordinary folks in the health and longevity areas once they get older. Any 'spiritual' benefits beyond these more mundane benefits would be very hard if not impossible to quantify, but the basic achievements of good health and longevity well into old age don't seem to be too far above the average of 'ordinary' people. That's not to say I think neidan practice can't help improve health and longevity, because I actually think it can, but just that I wonder if there really are many who truly achieve even those basic goals in neidan practice which would place them very much above the norm for health and longevity into old age. Some may well do, but it doesn't seem to be too overly many that I know of, anyway. Therefore I would suggest that we should just feel blessed if we can truly achieve good health and mental clarity into old age, and also achieve true longevity above the norm if one desires that. Talk of 'spiritual immortality', etc., seems a pretty lofty goal when many don't seem to even achieve good health and mental clarity into old age beyond what is the norm. In my view, if you can truly achieve and maintain good health and mental clarity well into old age, you would be doing very well indeed in your daoist and related practices. I truly wonder whether we even really need any special 'spiritual' cultivation beyond just trying to understand self better and improve on our interactions with others, as certain schools of thought are that we are all 'immortal', anyway, and we are actually here experiencing this physical life 'dream' by choice made at some deeper level. I can't say for certain what is true or not true in that regard, but I am inclined in that direction. At any rate, any practice that is really beneficial should, of course, have notable practical advantages for you over time. If you just seem to be spinning your wheels, maybe it's time to do some re-evaluation. Best wishes to all.
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kissing your dog is sloppy! (more so after they lick their butt!)
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Gematria, Calculation Mem-Samekh-Vav
Sanity Check replied to NorthWide's topic in Abrahamic Religions Discussion
Beast in the bible refers to a few different things. 1. Person 2. Nation 3. Army The term beast refers sometimes to a person. The beast upon which the whore of babylon rides refers to a nation. The beast that comes from over the sea, refers to an army from abroad.
