Birch

Just a suggestion for a tweak ;-) "I am not going to let you harm me" "I am not going to allow you to attack me" Although I think there might be an issue with the use of negatives. I read that elsewhere - supposedly you can't use negatives with your unconscious mind for some reason - possibly BS - but then it would have to be: "I am going to remain unharmed by you" "I am going to remain unattacked by you" And I think that's zero-karma drinks all-round;-)

Apart from religion - there are so many other opportunities for us to operate in a less than awake manner - the rewards are often pretty good! Look at some business communities, academia, science, medicine, look at some national cultures. It is also very tempting to consider oneself as being "awake" in response to these things when all that has really happened is that you were rejected by the others and suffered and had to find a different way of going about things. Yes I speak from several personal experiences ;-) I've also met people who were part of a tight religious group. They confessed that they didn't believe anything as much as they knew they would be ostracized if they questioned. They didn't know how they'd fare on the outside of the group either so they sucked it up and continued being a part of the thing.

Yup, this would be a reason to enjoy a healthier media and information diet. Anyone here doing something like this? I've pretty much quit TV and when I do watch something, it seriously feels like junk food. But I'm not doing so well with the web. If I refer back to the other cool thread about ego - then it might be interesting to consider the thoughts that you have as a result of reading, viewing or listening to something as much as any other "homegrown" ones. But I'm sure there are differences of some sort. Haven't worked out what exactly yet;-)

Carson, Mr Marble, -o-, Steve and Albert and everyone, I'm so very happy this thread is here! Carson, -O- expressed what I wanted to explain as pain (suffering) much more beautifully than I ever could have. It is the experience of pain I referred to ("there is suffering") For many other parts of the post, I'm still contemplating it. Maybe your posts are too thought/contemplation provoking Carson - hence the fact they drop off the front board pretty fast then no-one can find them again;-) I was happy to see the idea that a baby's particular way of sensing the world could be the precipitating action (or maybe this would be better considered as "intent" or how about "Karma?" without the mysticism?) that forms its personality and way of being. I read another cool thing somewhere else about children with autism and the suggestion that they just physically hurt if hugged in way they consider too rough. It's very possible that this does not help their development and their sense of connection with others and so their conditional loop pursues in that sense - when all it might take is a lighter embrace, or just being there. I don't know, sometimes I am sad at the lack of care we seem to take when around each other. Does this come from lack of awareness? (Another thread?;-)) Just as not all waterfalls are the same, neither are people. And yet we keep looking for what makes us all the same. Maybe it's just the water;-) This is what I get an eeny teeny glimpse of sometimes, and I call it Tao (but I could be wrong - as usual.)

While Jung is stuck in his stone tower, I'd like to jump back in because I've been really MORE interested in the stuff Carson's referring to that anything else this past while. Carson, you said: 1.) Can there *be* unconscious mind-content? I'm so very not sure about this one. Certainly we habitually accept that there is and that it is even a driving force in us (one of many, now including "genes") Are we still "right" about this? What would it mean for us if we were wrong? This isn't meant to be anything other than an idea. I think what there might be is "habituation" (the "conditioning" that is often referred to by some Buddhists) which just doesn't require consciousness to function. So it's not a driving force unless it's set in motion, just an efficiency. I think there is a point at which it becomes painful BUT this point is reached only when this ability results in a response that isn't actually adapted to the situation at hand. The less than desirable result is then re-fed back into the whole thing. So we might also be looking at a system that is in constant reality-checking mode while also using its very efficient pattern-recognition process. I know I'm using sort of geeky-tech words, but I don't have others that I know to use to tell you what I'm after. 2.) Can you honestly be aware of mind-content and decide it *isn't* ego? Yes I think you can. If you're reading a novel for example and conjuring up the scenes in your mind, you know it isn't "you" - I think the "you" has to have a certain (something;-)) about it to be acceptable to you as a "you". What that might be is?? 3.) Can the ego exist *without* mind-content? I think that it would depend on 1) and 2) Thanks for the interesting discussion!

Yup. Agree with Mal, it was so very 90's;-) Loved the playing with balls jokes - it even managed to keep me laughing into the following - pretty serious thread. Which I'll now have to re-read;-)

"Tao is established. It's different" I had just figured Tao as the "..." that encompasses and pervades and is everything - including us lot - sort of the same deal as "if you hadn't noticed already, you are that - which includes the "not that". It's moving all the time yet relative to ourselves and we can sometimes feel its stillness, vastness and voidness and we are in awe if we are fortunate - despair if not . I didn't see any difference between that and DO. At worst, you are "just a part of it;-)" But it is really you so watch out;-) Otherwise find me the being who exists outside of it all. Therein lies the god problem - that we have created to prove to ourselves that we ourselves are outside beings? Because we aspire to becoming gods? Anyway I agree that everyone is one with Tao or DO or whatever you care to call it because they already are part of it whether they'd like to be or not. Kind of like the enlightenment (problem). Anyhoo, what I was considering even more fun to consider was that the 10,000 things are the exactly same phenomena as - well - the phenomena that Buddhists sometimes talk about, but they classify them differently. They can't be different things until they are considered as phenomena. Anyone care to consider (again) how it comes about that we seem ourselves to be phenomena considering phenomena ? I like that Taoist approaches have dualism all built in (Yin and Yang) as well as other systemic approaches (5E) - Certainly it's easier for this pea-brain to contemplate;-) Yes I feel quite happy and clever about this post but please to attack me on content and not cocky attitude;-)

Interesting! What I noticed first off was little orbit (running same way) but I didn't crank it any as far as I can tell, rather I rolled it into a LDT ball (or similar if we're looking at chakras). How do you crank it up?

Hoo! you must be Kipling's crocodile;-) Anyway, I am presently disappointed because I was anticipating something smart to carry my own (I thought it was quite good) post forward. Damn you Mr Head;-) Ever go apple-bobbing?

Marble-friend, please don't leave it alone;-) I understand you don't want trouble;-) But who cares? Unless you're going to bring apples into it.

Hum. What I am thinking right now is that "ego" is only the content that you decide it's going to be (structurally they are all the same;-)) So you could have a very small one (sorry to anyone to whom the double-entendre is offensive;-)) or you could have a really BIG one - encompassing - oh, I dunno - everything in all of its richness and connectedness- but that would mean you'd have to act accordingly And that is a lot of ff-ing work Apologies for the allusion;-) I love discussions when we start off thinking we're all talking about the same thing, but it has so many perspectives and then we get further on and we might ask ourselves if we are all talking about oranges and if they are from Sienna or not;-) I dunno SB - I think only you can tell your level of Secret Narcissism. If you are interested in Narcissus, read his myth. Or at worst, read Joseph Campbell or Thomas Moore. The question I would ask is why do you require confirmation of anything at all? What I'm wondering about here onTTB quite often is that that we seem to be using a sort of normative (albeit on a scale of what might be considered completely nuts to others;-)) approach to experiences that may or may not have a reference point until some time has passed and enough others have identified (I don't say "had" and we can look at that some other time) the experience to consider it "normal". I know that maps exist and yet they were made for (sometimes) very different cultures, different models, different epochs.

"When I run to the end of my savings, I need to turn inward to be compassionate to myself." I liked this. ALWAYS start with yourself! Was "Love thy neighbor as you love yourself" assuming we love ourselves? Could our problem (for some) = we don't love ourselves? But if you also realize that to be compassionate to others is also to be compassionate towards yourself - THEN we might be getting somewhere. OT we could stand to discuss dualism/duality a lot more;-) Check out the asshole who cut you off on the freeway - if you are compassionate towards him, you may save your own ass from a stress-filled day in which you would require many minor actions to compensate for the "terrible start". Depending on how you roll, the actions might be inward or outward snark and/or injury. But I don't think that compassion can replace an understanding of what's really going down. Just don't ask me what's really going down;-) I tend to err on the side of compassion;-)

Cool thread. What's funny (or not) is that mine sometimes runs "naturally" up front and down back and forcing it the other way is a very conscious effort. Can absolutely be done but sometimes causes squiggles or pointy things when forced. Tend not to like disharmonious stuff going on - even very subtle disharmonious stuff. I think what could be interesting to look at is the way it already runs

Hey Ryan, I felt like jumping on this thing you wrote "Truth is when it happened..." and you haven't so far explained what the "it" that "happened" is. You don't have to, I was just observing how close the ideas were to each other based on what you wrote. When I asked what would happen if you removed the block, I was gunning more at an actual life effect - not only (as if it were!) an energetic body response. This was more about me than you;-) Hopefully you are NOT taking my "advice" as that was not my intention. It was more a mix of trying to help and all the while understanding. Yes, it is a big fault I have! See below for the idea about "trying". I also jumped on this "trying to accept it as I can" - which sort of said to me that you aren't accepting it (whatever it is) - The only technical worry (and I really consider it to be technical!) I see is that the "trying" part is a bit of a bind and not really close to "accepting" it - especially if the "it" is actually part of you (an idea, a thought). hum

I was looking at the mudras from the bio-energetic/structural perspective. Yup I'd say that they not only provide contact between parts of the body that tend not to be in communication AND they also change bone settings depending on leading limbs and interlocks. But I'm still a n00b with this stuff. Interesting remark from Scott on manifesting. Thanks!

Hey Santi, Yup, that'll do it! Glad you are feeling much better. Love, Kate P.S. Feel free to chat in your spare time. I swear sometimes I catch you ;-)

I'm reading this and I'm concerned about Santi who said he'd taken on all that major stuff after his global Shaktipats. Maybe there was a reason people didn't get to this stuff BEFORE they'd done some research. Other options, Santi can transmute the whole thing - which sounds to me like a shitload. So we're back to share and share alike... Or maybe it's just too much for him. I'm thinking, let's all give ourselves a break.

I liked that you mentioned side "effects" and side "affects" in your post about placebo (which is also a pretty cool band;-))

Are you sure it's really a "blockage"? I don't want to suggest too much in case it's not that and I also want to say that sometimes one thing can be interpreted as another. Even so, it could be interesting to look at what is "doing the blocking." If you removed it, what would happen? And I love this form of question "what would it be IF you knew what it was?" There could be many answers to that! Do you think it's possible that you're not giving as much free reign to physical techniques as you might? If KAP "worked" for everything else, why not this thing? Just an idea. Does the "block" serve/help you in any way? As far as I know - third is a fire/will/volition thang. I reckon (and likely read somewhere too) it is the seat of the ego. It's "enemies" are shame, lack of willpower, lack of discipline and a whole bunch of other stuff which I can't remember.

Like I just said on another thread "y'all had me at drunken sex";-)

I dunno. Y'all had me at "drunken sex"

I dunno, but check out what those domestic cats can often do: - get into a warm and loving environment - get fed - get your shit picked up for you - get tickled (more if you make cute purr noises) - sleep all day in a pool of sunlight All that just for being furry and cute. I think I'd said elsewhere on here that I might as well get my fur and tail back...

The whole reason I'm doing any of this stuff is because I know I'm delusional and would like a better understanding of it. When I'm not working towards undeluding myself online in the company of fun - and mostly smart, with a few exceptions- people (NB try talking about this shit with just anyone and see what happens;-)), I work at same offline. I dig learning all kinds of ways to do this, including (and not limited to): statistical analysis, sociology, cultural anthropology, neuroscience, biology, psychology, cooking, sports, design and business. I dig mind/body connective practices (not that they're not connected, but you get the point). Also, Taoism and KAP are super sexy-fying, so I am now learning to undelude others with all of my loving intentions;-) Also, it's fun.

Have a look at the top TTB's banner. The dude to the very right (bottom) hand side is a transparent silhouette. Has it been like that since the start? I tried the Waybackmachine to check but got an error.

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