Birch

Several HUNDRED thousand?? What on earth have you been up to? And why wasn't I your guru;-) ----cynical 2cts post--- CAN people sue for this stuff?

Interesting post! I watched the 1st video twice. First time I couldn't get over the obvious teleprompter reading and very thick glasses and the (obviously) lightbulb in back of his head and the excruciating editing. Also I did feel a little heat at tailbone so I found that silly. And when I watched it a second time, nothing much. The mantra was hilarious.

Who are you talking about? I'm feeling a drive-by coming by

She's also a wheel-turner. Make sense now;-)?

Well, there's a thing. Many people looking for enlightenment believe that it will (it must) bring relief and happiness and good health and all that. Ok, only me then:-) But what if it ain't all that? Still want it? Frick, I don't/wouldn't. I'd rather feel better and enjoy life, friends etc. Which I've obviously neglected, given all this frickin time trying to figure things out.

Indeed! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakshmi

I guess the bums are pals enough fer me when it comes to such. Hey, we're 'bum-pals'

Mr MH, I will get you for that comment! -----evil female karmic-based revenge smiley--- Mr Pie would like a GF who isn't an airhead, but does look like one. Nothing wrong with that:-) Edited and re-edited for speculations on level of spiritual attainment of Viggo Mortensen (sp). He was in the Lord of the Rings. That counts, right:-)?

Yeah, I stopped at the weird-looking signup URL. I don't like signing up for Daoist things. Last time I did I ended up with lots and lots of spam, as well as the seminar promos and my inbox-fu leaves some to be desired. Could you post it here TCCII? I'm convinced lots more folk will download it if you do.

Men have feet?

No attitude required:-)

Personal experience reference. When you apply awareness to things, shit happens.

Are there fewer women than men really? Or are we talking about it as if anything the Tulk says were true?

Right. Not when you just fall over in the street for no reason. Not when terror strikes as you realize 'you' have a closer relationship to dead things than anything else. It definitely depends on how you understand it. Currently, I'm going with the 'don't worry about it' idea. 'She' is black Kali as well as Durga.

Only things I can come up with right now are toning down the intensity of the exercise, BK Frantzis' type meditations, yin yoga and acupuncture. How long it lasts? I don't know. For me the 'worst' was over in about 2.5 years. But it sounds like it was nowhere near as bad as yours. Ask Tao Sempko and/or Santiago at KAP. Or some of the more martial guys who have been there.

That has also been my experience. Turns out we weren't actually friends:-)

I like normals. I'd like to be one of them. I wonder what a normal's life is really like. I think it must be very nice. None of this questioning everything. None of this over-introspective self-absorbed 'who am I really?' BS. None of this cultivation stuff (that only sort of works).

What do you mean by this Cat? I fell across an article that seemed to be about this but I find it curious nevertheless.

There's so much wrong with it that I probably shouldn't comment further:-) However, I will. - The 'universe' is not your personal catalogue. Neither BTW is the earth or nature and until we stop believing this crap (as well as other crap about being 'saved') we will continue running it ragged. - LOA leaves huge door open to uncompassionate beliefs and behavior. The cancer patient has 'attracted' their illness (so no, we don't have to change anything about the products we use in our environment or the foods we eat) . The abused child has 'attracted' the abuse (so no, we don't have to be outraged and intervene) The burden of 'responsibility' is placed on people upon whom it should not be. - Instead of awareness, it promotes magical thinking (no I don't need to learn anything or study) and a lack of critical thinking (I don't need to understand anything about myself or anyone else, just 'mote it be')

http://www.mudrashram.com/spiritualcontrol1.html Article I found interesting.

Cat, I figure it does depend how old one is:-) Used to be BP for me (think Thelma & Louise days). Now definitely Viggo;-)

Mean ones most certainly do. Does whether she is unintentionally doing it or intentionally doing it change anything? I suspect it does, however that may be more of a burden to the person on the receiving end of it. Speaking from experience. It's also one of the reasons I'm so interested in causality, healing, psychology, all of it, so I might just understand why it was happening. I've gotten some way with that but for the most part it hasn't really changed the effect it has had (and in some respects) continues to have on me. THAT's the part to resolve, mean mom or not. I also consider that lumping 'mothers' into some kind of catch all category (nice or average or nasty) without discerning who they are as people is a very good way to avoid looking at them. 'Fathers' used to be in this monolithic unspeakable category also, but (IMO) feminism got us past that. We ought to do same with 'mothers'. Otherwise 'nasty' gets to hide there a bit longer. It has no gender. ---2cts rant--

"so what exactly are you saying? is this a wrong way to meditate? and ill say again that im not trying to suppress my thoughts.. it's just when i focus on my breath or bodily sensations, what else is going to happen? i thought this is what happens to everyone. so really, what happens to other people's thoughts when they practice breath mindfulness meditation? " I can tell you about my own experience in meditation, that I used focus on the breath or body to avoid thoughts. A sort of a back and forth of attention. Thought arises, reaction to thought (in my case turning away because I thought that was what I was supposed to do), return to breath or body. It does happen very fast. I found this was wrong for me.

I'd reckon if you're already doing this 'suppression of thoughts' outside any meditation practice, it's IMO/IME pretty likely that it could continue as part of meditation practice and that it gets taken (I won't say mistaken) for what meditation is. Especially if you have been told (or understood) that meditation is about 'calmness' and 'stilling the mind'. So you might (quite naturally) go into meditation with that aim but use what you already know (quite naturally) to achieve it. --2cts opinion--

Careful is fine:-) Thanks Seth. Fixed definitions on that continuum from 'careful' to 'stupid' less appreciated - although I get what yer saying. Fine-oh-fine-oh.