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Everything posted by Birch
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I was going to say, you can have my PPF - given the distinct lack of PP I'm posting in there. But I know, it won't feel the same. It'll feel hand-me-down-disk-space. What? You mean there's actually something sustaining the few k of text and images and youtube links? Apech, accordingly, please remove mine, I'm sure I can post my irrelevent musings somewhere on this website. It's mostly what I do anyway. Although if that changes, you know I'll want a PPF back again - so just do whatever is easiest.
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I want bliss really badly. What is the quickest path to my goal?
Birch replied to dc9's topic in General Discussion
You mean you want to feel "feeling on the verge of orgasm all the time."? Or not? Tibetan_Ice wrote a really good post. I can relate to this - ahem - feeling on the verge of orgasm all the time which, as it turns out - ain't as much fun as you'd think. And you'd think (perhaps?) that spontaneous orgasm might be fun? Ok, it's a bit fun , but it hasn't actually changed lots and lots of things about me. Or at least, not the things I want changed. -
Bad idea to quote me out of context;-) (I was thinking the other day of doing a photographic essay on people doing stuff in context and then removing all indicators of context to see what happened - just people on a white background - but my Photoshop-fu is not as good as necessary) Anyway when you said, "To me entities cultivate and invite others to do cultivate certain things... each one chooses what to energize with their directed qi... what each states is what they like and depict as each cultivates stuff... some would like individuals to believe and hold that they are powerless rather than have individuals who truly realize the power they hold. Evil entities will try to convince many that they do not exists, it makes their manipulation easier to perform. Alternatively they will push and pull buttons to induce the actions they want. Good entities will show many what be going on and the options they have... observe and decide it what be right now is what be truly wanted... " I had to sit with that for a while. Also think about entities that we 'collectively' have created (or, for some, have been subjected to, I think the latter is the kind I'd like rid of the most). I still can't work out what it takes for an entity to sustain 'over time' - and I realize I could be referring to the same mechanisms that sustain myself as an entity, but I digress:-) Of course those buddhist folks say there are no independent entities, in which case why are they so concerned with some of them (buddha being one obviously).
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I want bliss really badly. What is the quickest path to my goal?
Birch replied to dc9's topic in General Discussion
Why not? I'm trying to be obtuse but I suddenly wondered 'why not'? If you can understand 'why not' then you could do something about it. Immediately. -
I want bliss really badly. What is the quickest path to my goal?
Birch replied to dc9's topic in General Discussion
But 'technically' the impulse for enlightenment would come from the source of enlightenment itself, right? So the student 'going for shaktipat' would themselves be part of that impulse. No matter 'who' it goes through to get wherever. The 'karmic working' stuff seems to me to be entirely impersonal (as is the source of enlightenment) although each person self-attributes themselves to whatever conditions etc 'happen to be' in their lives while being part of the process to 'evolve the whole' through 'karmic' resolution. It's IMO one of the reasons why dogma and religion are more of a hindrance than a benefit (because they are prone to reification and degradation, misunderstanding etc until people get far enough on their paths to dispense with them anyway) and why it is said that 'liberation' is of benefit to all sentient beings. Paradoxically, although I'm sure there are flaws in my idea (one of them being based on a fashionable 'holographic universe idea' which I figure just the same as 'as above, so below), it's also why I'm so interested in astrology etc because through it (not the 'pop' type) the probable (the degree of probability would be a good discussion point) conditions of one's life could be anticipated and allowed for to maximum benefit for all while the process of liberation is consciously undertaken. --opinion alert--- -
These days I don't know. Which is probably a bad sign. I was aiming for 'enlightenment' but apparently I'm in my own way at present. So, I'll take some lesser stuff, like being less stressed out. Maybe I'll come around and maybe I won't.
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I want bliss really badly. What is the quickest path to my goal?
Birch replied to dc9's topic in General Discussion
They do it 'long distance' too:-) -
I want bliss really badly. What is the quickest path to my goal?
Birch replied to dc9's topic in General Discussion
The guys at KAP http://kundaliniawakeningprocess.com/ and the guys at http://www.hardlight.org/ For the rest: IME, 'issues' are not 'black n' white' which IME is why not all of them wants to be 'gotten rid of'. However 'balance' is IME worthwhile. For the other stuff, I wouldn't have an icecube's in hell of convincing you:-) -
Always a possibility, yet not because anyone else says so:-) Stay tuned in the PPF for British humor to follow. Thank you.
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I want bliss really badly. What is the quickest path to my goal?
Birch replied to dc9's topic in General Discussion
Actually, it may very well be (from what you've said) that you've already kicked yourself off into some kind of 'ego-death' (from what little I've understood about psychedelics, that's what they do, they kick out your frontal cortex so you get to experience 'whatever' is being held back by it. But if you've done this without 'consciousness' of whatever you've experienced, then it's not quite as useful, apparently. Read up on various TTB's accounts of Ayahuasca to figure out the differences, perhaps? Oh, and then there's Daniel Ingrams' (sp) interactive bhudda e-book online which suggests that you could be smack in the middle of that 'dark night' stuff that follows (some would say 'inevitably') certain 'peak' experiences. Hopefully something in there helped. Edit: typo -
I want bliss really badly. What is the quickest path to my goal?
Birch replied to dc9's topic in General Discussion
Heroin. Apparently is a very fast route to bliss but it doesn't last. From what you've said, you don't sound like you'd be able to take it or leave it. 'Kundalini' could 'work' but the 'bliss feeling doesn't last (at least not IME so far) either and its process could (I won't say 'will' because everyone is different (need a 'special snowflake' icon)) f*ck lots of things up in your life, everything from your sense of self to your relationships, to your health to your job (if you have one). Being happy as you are (I know that sounds trite) is IME/IMO the 'goodie' to go for. However, if you go for 'shaktipat', please go for it within a (relatively) well-known system - because the other people who have already been there, done that will be able to help when things hit the fan. The guys at KAP do very well. I'd also PM Hundun and the Hardlight people. -
It's great that you can do that. Personally I dislike much of the imagery (including the actual artwork) of the 'Western' schools but I can't say why exactly. Even a skull-bearing multi-armed Black Kali or the martial and aggressive version of Kuan Yin I prefer to the William Blake-ish and Bosch stuff (it's easy to call that type of style 'naive' but then there are more pleasing cave-paintings that don't depict multiple souls in anguish. Western churches I've found cold (and not just due to the damp weather) and over-imposing. I hate crucifixion imagery (except maybe Dali's semi-cubist version). I guess I have conveniently bypassed the whole 'funeral grounds' stuff too. I like dragons - which I probably wouldn't if I came face to face with one.
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Beginner's [REAL] Magick: Instruction Q&A
Birch replied to Disabled Not Broken's topic in Esoteric and Occult Discussion
Hum, I reckon there's a couple or a few here but they don't post on that stuff. Why? I could speculate (see my previous post and yours below:-)) Agreed. Not to say it's not great. Need to ask the Chinese-speaking folks in their TTB forum. I'm kind of suggesting the 'Taoist magic' folks DO post details about stuff that 'ought' to give everyone the heebies (my most recent memory was that dude with the Fu that Yoda eventually started learning from, but he was laughed offstage) except the 'Westerners' can get around them via language, conceptual issues etc. Not sure what to say about that. I'm sure she was doing what she thought was correct but I would appreciate knowing the reasons, specifically. If we take the 'Vatican' as example with all their stored-up documents and 'stuff', I can figure it might be 'better' not to put certain stuff 'out there' at various points of history. But the point is 'better for whom' and 'when'? Many states have made similar arguments about their scientific and/or military progress.- 202 replies
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Beginner's [REAL] Magick: Instruction Q&A
Birch replied to Disabled Not Broken's topic in Esoteric and Occult Discussion
I don't know more about Enochian than 'I feel/think it's creepy' I'm afraid. Yet I have been willing as a practitioner to do 'Eastern' stuff that resulted in 'super-weird-shit' (as a personal experience) whereas the 'Western magic' just freaks me out to start with (and in comparison to the abject terror I've experienced with 'Eastern practices' that's an interesting perspective, I figure). Apech would be a guy to discuss with as much 'Western' practice seems to have its origin in Egypt/Greco-Roman culture. As would Santi, although I reckon he's got a 'cultural' leg up with some stuff. Anyway every time I read the term 'straw man' I get this horrible 'pagan' image of one burning:-)- 202 replies
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Beginner's [REAL] Magick: Instruction Q&A
Birch replied to Disabled Not Broken's topic in Esoteric and Occult Discussion
Sort of a "depends where you start and then mean to continue' kind of a thing? For example, if you begin with the 'all is one' or the 'you're already enlightened' or the 'you've fallen' or the 'you're born of sin' idea(s) (apologies for not using other examples of origins - there are lots), where exactly does that leave you off if you are actually born into and live for significant periods of time (allowing that time is a succession of personal experience (sic) in any of the latter? (need word for idea-driven environment) And then depending on where you've started off, how do additional systems (of belief etc) play into all that? Damned if I know. In passing, I did listen to that podcast with the British/American exorcist that was posted on DNB's thread. It was really interesting. AND I suspect the discussed entities might be the closest people have to 'consistent phenomena'. Hence the attraction to them and the power attributed? I'm speculating and wondering/wandering, but am very interested.- 202 replies
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Beginner's [REAL] Magick: Instruction Q&A
Birch replied to Disabled Not Broken's topic in Esoteric and Occult Discussion
I reckon you should go for it. There has been limited Bazi and some Feng Shui discussion on here but as far as I've seen since I've been reading/participating in TTB's it's been mostly meditative and yogic (and some martial) techniques and 'stuff' that has been discussed. I've been wondering why that is (well, like this morning and yesterday:-)) and more or less came up with the idea that it's because TTB's is heavily 'mind/body' practice-based. AND I reckon the 'mind/body' practices are (presently) also considered to trump lots of other 'stuff'. The 'stuff' being trumped is exactly the 'environmental' stuff like FS and astrology. Why that might be is a guess. I have my own guess, that there's a heavy 'Neo-buddhist' undertone to the forum. Not because that's all there is, but because it's likely all that can be successfully exported/imported in cultural terms is mind/body (and even then, look at the time spent debating concepts and definitions). The other stuff (Feng Shui and Bazi) requiring pretty intense calculations and conceptual understanding seems to me to be even more fraught with such issues. Which is sort of why I'm in favor of it being done for 'Western' 'stuff'. See also my post about 'close to the bone' in the qi to fight entities thread.- 202 replies
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Great! It's possible I missed it. Also just sprang to mind. The way that 'Eastern' systems, methods and language seems a little less 'close to the bone' - and therefore less 'creepy' to study than 'Western' systems. Plus you've got all that jargon, translation issues, any number of things that can serve as a 'stop' between what is being discussed and the actual experience. ---opinion etc-- At least that's how I explain the creepiness to myself!
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Beginner's [REAL] Magick: Instruction Q&A
Birch replied to Disabled Not Broken's topic in Esoteric and Occult Discussion
I agree with this Serene Blue. I pointed to it in the thread about qi to fight entities but perhaps not as well as you have. The system I worked in (KAP) had a 'psychic defense' course as part of it - which I didn't take, but have sort of deduced as 'keeping your nose clean' in a variety of ways. I suggested that DNB make similar available in his teaching thread because I thought it was missing.- 202 replies
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'Funny' that this thread turns up in proximity to those DNB magic threads. I was pondering this and wondered about asking DNB if he would include reliable 'self-defense' in his threads as well as the freaked out shit. Why? Because IMO/IME people who are undertaking spiritual cultivation, because they are in a process of stripping down beliefs and examining the contents of their unconsciousness, or simply having strong emotions around, can be vulnerable to the sort of 'darker' emotions and thoughts that DNB is posting about. I thought of asking you to stop DNB but that wouldn't be fair (or useful to the folks who are really interested in your posts). But I reckon it's worth pointing out. What do you think?
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Beginner's [REAL] Magick: Instruction Q&A
Birch replied to Disabled Not Broken's topic in Esoteric and Occult Discussion
Yes I agree, creepy sh&t. Not my thing either. On the eugenics movement, check out how it has become the 'genetics' movement and the folks in there. Or the 'transhumanist' folks. That's also some creepy shit IMO:-)- 202 replies
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Meditation and Suggestibility- Placebo or Real Occurrences?
Birch replied to Aaron's topic in General Discussion
Hi Aaron, for your girl-friend a book, http://www.amazon.com/Trances-People-Live-Stephen-Wolinsky/dp/096261842X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346813504&sr=1-1&keywords=trances+people+live but may also validate your ideas. Last involvement I had with hypnosis included me 'doing mindfulness' which I reckon coloured the experiment. Funny thing was the hypnotist told me after the session that he had seen himself in the environment I was telling him about. I was seeing it too but it was a made up thing intended to please the hypnotist (don't ask:-)) After that, I really did wonder whether or not we'd both seen the same thing. David Blaine huh? Ah well, seems the douchebags can claim they meditate too:-) @Seth. Yes please do write something about placebo/reality. It's mushy stuff both but I appreciate the distinctions:-) -
No, in theory. But unfortunately that's exactly what happens in practice. I take the example of sending a child to a church to be indoctrinated. It's one thing to choose to practice a 'path' or study 'spirituality' or philosophy, quite another to have it force-fed. I suppose it also depends a lot of where you live. In more homogeneous cultural areas it's going to be a hell of a lot more difficult to express actions or ideas that run counter to the prevailing ones. In some cases, even opening certain subjects up for discussion and questioning could be seen as a non-desireable move and have consequences that may not benefit the person. ---2cts opinion alert---
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"There will be, in the next generation or so, a pharmacological method..." I'd just say 'methods'. How far away from this is the TTC idea of keeping the villagers idiots? Have fun with this
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Yes, it's all very serious I was thinking about them (the Tibetan Buddhists) today and about how I reckon they spend so much mental power in very specific ways. Or maybe it might be more about what they don't use it for. Not using it to make weapons that could reduce us all to toast for example, or messing up our living area (planet). Which is in fact, relatively serious. They also haven't used it to reduce poverty in their country, apparently. Nor have they used it to avoid annexation by China. Anyway, what I meant was that liberated beings aren't subject to karma nor rebirth - the latter two being, as far as I have understood so far, being stated goals of their practices. By Buddhist standards I'm still very much un-liberated, and apparently still subject to some kind of remaining 'karmic' whatnot, otherwise, apparently, "I" wouldn't be here (which of course 'technically' in the buddhist terminology of 'reification' (there, I said the r-word) I am not anyway but whatever). Off to find a nice picture of Sam Harris:-)
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Meditation and Suggestibility- Placebo or Real Occurrences?
Birch replied to Aaron's topic in General Discussion
Tricky one Aaron:-) The ongoing debate between 'placebo' and 'real'. Surely there's a 'better' way of describing the difference between them. I'd agree that hypnosis rides on a person's ability to give up agency voluntarily to some 'other' (whether that be an actual person, a recording, a script or whatever) whereas 'emptiness' meditation, well, I dunno. Another 'big thing', 'suggestibility' hangs on IMO/IME is the assumption that some other person (let's call them an 'authority' to get started) is able to resolve or do 'stuff' 'for you' that you can't do yourself. In many cases IME that's been true. Mired as I have been known to get in my own 'loop'. Ethics.