silent thunder

Yea, my mind occasionally turns away from the light and then bitches about the shadow. The shadow that mind is casting...

I spend less than I earn.

Are there any outer objects?

We stink of zen liminal... you and i both. Love ya! In concept, projection and reality.

nope

Don't think it's a language thing, neiwrong is routinely condescending.

The cognitive dissonance behind that statement is gobsmacking. It reminds me of the observation made by George Carlin. "Fighting for peace is like fucking for virginity."

Aye. Raw reality is as it is. Occlusions to awareness of true nature can be likened to dirt on a window, preventing one from seeing past it. The window may be cleaned due to active, focused pursuits and praxis. Or a natural rainshower may bring clarity of itself, tzujan. Myriad Paths. One Source.

He was certainly committed to his path full throttle and unapologetically. In that aspect he garnered some guarded respect from me. But in his treatment of people... not so much. C'est la vie. RIP

I started out in camp 1 with diligence, focused work on specific aspects. Then some years in I realized I'd morphed into camp 2 in that, the nature is already within and effort can cloud the revelation of its nature as surely as ignorance. And went into a period of radical release. Sort of like letting a cloudy glass of water rest until it was in clarity. and now I find i've rather come round to comfortably occupy both camps, simultaneously. Praxis (far more relaxed and open) provides an environment conducive to releasing what obscures clarity and awakening spontaneously arises. Even in my most diligent of years... the awakenings always arose seemingly spontaneously in the moment, tzujan. As if of themselves. It's a fascinating question and I suspect there is no wrong path. Perhaps one or the other are more effective at given points in our process and both have their place. That's what I'm living currently at least.

They may offer a lot, if however it's not in public domain, it's a big no no to link it on the forum.

Institutional Science has become as embarrassingly dogmatic in some areas as the old priesthoods. You either repeat the assumptions handed down by The great god Materialism and the unsupported assumptions of the priesthood of the Cartesian Model and molecular biology; or you are reviled, rejected and driven out. Marked heretic and ostracised. True Science occurs precisely where there are unanswered questions, freely explored... Not where there are unquestionable assumptions endlessly repeated, that it is heresy to question. Though the tide seems to be shifting... Sheldrake, Haramein, Bohm, Hoffman to mention a few.

Is it in public domain now?

Of course! Blofeld! That short work by Blofeld struck me in several arenas like a bolt of lightning from a clear blue sky. Time to revisit it. Thanks for sharing bob and thanks for finding the source cobie.

A very Hermetic/Kybalionesque view. Intriguing, where is the quote drawn from?

Don't expect my intellect has the capacity to understand the how of it. My little mind expects aspects of life such as these lie beyond the ken of words to describe. The realization simply arose in awareness, just as all of them have in my life, spontaneously, tzujan. Whether from within, or without i no longer try to distinguish. But like Vajra, its veracity struck my awareness like a bolt of lightning and my paradigm of perception shifted irrevocably into the diamond it has remained. For me, the realization arose in the midst of deep suffering due to pain and the mental worry of would I ever be whole and be able to play and run with my son and work and earn a living and... and... and... each day was a replaying of that theme in varying levels of intensity. The shift just simple arose, either from the depths, or as a stone dropped in the pond of awareness. But it was palpable, like a silent crack that resounded like thunder throughout my entire awareness. In mind-body, there will occasionally be discomfort. There may also be pain. This does not mean i must suffer. Pain and discomfort may be unavoidable, yet Suffering is optional. I didn't magically stop feeling the sensations of pain and discomfort. But the realization that the suffering i was experiencing was a self generated layered on top of the existing sensations that were unpleasant was paradigm shifting. on a side note, a venerable older guy I worked with, overheard me sharing this and offered his experience of it. Pain. He said. Is nothing more than a level of sensation, deemed unacceptable by the self. Suffering is a crisis generated and layered onto an ongoing experience. The wrestling of that, for me, came out of my crafting a piercing and unflinching relationship of observation with The Storyteller.

I'm mostly surprised they've evaded me for this long... They're so mundane and so readily available here. It seems odd. Perhaps it's that they resemble peaches. Peaches that aren't done yet... Don't eat the baby peaches!

.

*nods* Of utmost importance. Without that, it's just an excuse for any whim to be carried out regardless of potential impacts. A cover for reckless disregard and selfishness. More often than not of late, the surrender I experience is to not act, not interfere and realize that nothing is required aside from my acknowledgement and presence.

@liminal_luke You've reminded me of a conversation I had with Marblehead here, about my notion of surrender and acceptance in life and how it has become central to my process. I had mentioned how I surrender to the conditions of life and my place in them and acknowledge what is and going with it. As those who knew him, or have read much of his contributions here will ascertain... It raised his hackles and caused him to go into 'radical honesty marble mode' while we explored the topic. Marble's radical honesty was a trait of his I always appreciated deeply. One may not have agreed with Marble, but you would never have to try and ferret out or guess where he stood on things related to you, he was unapologetically honest, wonderfully direct and that is refreshing these days. To say what you mean and mean what you say has become a rarer commodity in recent decades. He managed to remain open to listening to other views without being threatened by them and thus, true conversing could take place with him. He reminded me so of my Father in many ways, that one perhaps above others. My love and appreciation of him has only grown since his departure from form. But in the end, he realized the manner in which I was using surrender wasn't the blase' passivity of surrender in conflict, war or adversity; it is a recognition of one's place within The All of life. It is one's intent and an awareness of one's authentic nature, in any given situation, which included at times opposing, and even violent action in a few rare cases for me. He came to agree with me, which I suspected he would (if I could find the chain of words to adequetaly express my notion) and to this day that conversation still resonates in my awareness with the joy of true connection. I bring this up because of liminal's keen insight about many folks these daze/days seeming assumption that Taoism (or any spiritual cultivation) requires a sort of passivity of its followers in regards to the conditions of life. I see it as well. For me, this notion of passivity has always been associated with the realm of Reclusivistic Buddhism, or stoic Zen, or recidivist monastic life. But Taoism, no. Taoism never. Taoism for me is authenticity in action, in reaction, or in stillness. The stillness is not passive, it is still. Surrender, or Release is one of three cornerstones of my cultivation process. Surrender and radical release has revealed itself as the pivotal and crucial point of stillness about which the other two foundational processes (acknowledgement and acceptance) revolve in an ever unfoldingness of my experience of being. And from which, my actions or non actions in life spring. And the surrender of which I speak is not some mealy, mamby pamby, take whatever happens to you and then shrug kind of surrender. It's not passive, or apathetic. It's piercingly inquisitive, radically explorative and wholly engaged. You see one may surrender and give up, or one may surrender to the impulse to act. And here is where Marble and I came to agreement. As explained, my notion of surrender is not a blanket passivity or giving up. Quite antipodal to it... because when I surrender, it's to authenticity of awareness in the moment, within core impulses that are within the context of the conditions of life arising in that moment. When I surrender it's to the impulse to action or to non action that arises tzujan, from within my authentic nature. The surrender arises after acknowledging the conditions I find myself a part of (in non crisis, this involves receding into the quiet center for a time, until awareness expands to encompass what is being encountered. Once acknowledged, and accepted as what is, my place within is revealed in clarity and a non hesitent surrender to action or non action occurs) [in moments of crisis there is no going within, the within spontaneously expands outward instantly and authenticity of action arises without impedence, and I act according to my nature]. Marble got hung up on Acceptance as well for a bit. Though it too was reconciled between us as my notion of acceptance is hinge and pin in line with my semantic notions on surrender. When I say I Accept: I do not imply that I 'wholly support', condone, or endorse what is occuring. Acceptance is a release into the acknowledgement of what is. And when I accept what I've acknowledged is occuring... because it is what is, Then I accept what arises from within my nature. And act, or not from that. TLDR; in my case, my notion of acceptance and surrender means I am surrendering to my authentic nature and accepting its undeniable place within the conditons of The All (a term I'm using more and more in place of Tao which has become annoyingly reified in my mind of late). I surrender to the expression of my authentic self that arises of itself, tzujan, in response to the myriad conditions The All, of which I am an intrinsic part. My relationship to acceptance and surrender/radical release has developed into a potent access to the network of personal and residually available environmental power. Far from debilitating, it is simultaneously liberating and empowering.

He picks up the umbrella, though... it doesn't say he uses it. He picks up the umbrella. The story came through another angle for me not centered on the umbrella or the rain, but on the illusory association with them... it then promptly meandered on into the following. The student was a fool for being swayed by forms and words and identifying with the 10k. When he discarded his umbrella he demonstrated this; and then continues on, double fool now thinking himself free and clever and improved, yet still operating in the same realm of 10k. Lao picks up the umbrella. When the next student arrives and stops, asking him 'why are you standing in the rain while holding an unopened umbrella?' Lao hands them the umbrella and replies 'compassion'.

Been a Rat Pack afternoon here...

Suffering in my experience of it, is a crisis of perception. Of mis-identification. An attempt to reject or try and avoid what is. I spent many years in crippling pain and for many terror filled days I was consumed in suffering over being crippled, or just from the agony of physical pain. For several years there was nothing visibly wrong, then when diagnosis was possible, the treatment left many years more of pain from the corrective procedure. I lived in a constant state of suffering from the issue and the treatment. (i despise pain killer's affects on my psyche) so even the temporary relief from the physical torment was a trade for a mental despising of the fog induced by frequent use of heavy meds. Then one moment, in the midst of suffering... a lightning strike of vajra shattered awareness into sudden, irrefutable, irreversable realization. There will be discomfort, there may be pain. This does not mean I must suffer. bam... just that... out of the unsought aether, that thought rose to my awareness and shifted my paradigm. It bears out as i write this. In mind-body, there will occasionally be discomfort. There may also be outright pain. This does not mean i must suffer. Pain and discomfort may be unavoidable, yet Suffering is optional.to me My relationship to suffering and pain in particular shifted that day and now that the toothpaste is out of that tube, it's not gone back in. As an expression of this in addition to my rather tepid expression above. A friend of mine is dying. It's been going on for about a year now, progressively becoming more acute. He's got a malfunctioning thyroid somewhat in control and his digestive system is seemingly eating itself from withinsimilar to what my wife is experiencing which is exacerbated by the medicine treating the thyroid condition. The digestive issue has resisted all treatments for correction, shows no signs of slowing and he's run the course of modern and sidereal knowledge and options. No dietary changes have brought improvement. Nothing in the realm of medicine is an aid. In bluntest terms, he is literally vomitting and shitting himself to death. And yet, he's entirely ok. And he is blissful, and gentle and loving. A cuddly, warm, joyful being. And occasionally, a grumpy being. He is however, not suffering. Not even in the midst of the rhythmic arrivals of piercing pain throughout his abdomen. He longs seemingly only to be together and simply share space and time with those he loves. And love he does. He is revealing himself as an icon of inspiration to me as this process unfolds. Particularly given my little glimpse into the voluntary or self inflicted nature of suffering i realized in my process. Life is life. Death is life. Dying is living... and suffering... is entirely optional.

If a direct translation of the source materials were feasible; would the cornerstone works of any of the great houses of modern 'spirituality' even be recognizable, I wonder? As to fruits; I'm going to try an apricot for the first time today...

If humor's on the outs in daoist process... perhaps someone should pop a time note back and warn Chuantze.