TheSongsofDistantEarth

I love it! Do you know of the technique called 'sungazing'? There is a Bulgarian teacher named Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov who taught the highest form of Yoga, the Yoga of the Sun (Surya Yoga). The Sun is a conscious being and manifestation of the Godhead, and therefore connecting spiritually with the Sun holds enormous benefits. My own nickname comes from some music that has guided my life. There is a book by Arthur C. Clark called 'The Songs of Distant Earth', and musician Mike Oldfield did a fantastic album based on this book. The song 'Crystal Clear' on it somehow just contains everything for me. I discovered Oldfield one night in the 70's at age 17, alone in my bedroom late at night, when music came on that changed my life. It was 'Tubular Bells', the 15 minute long piece written by Oldfield when he too was 17, and he played all the instruments on it. When I heard it, I knew it came from 'somewhere else', was music not of this world. Another subsequent album, 'Ommadawn', was even more astonishing, with an orgasmic spiritual climax that still sends chills down my spine! Oldfield's music, which he has said does come through him from somewhere else, has been the soundtrack of my life. He had a lot of psychic pain and difficulty in his younger years that somehow opened him up as a channel for this music. I can listen to most things by him endlessly. I would like to have Ommadawn played at my funeral someday. He is now in semi-retirement, he's an elusive chap. But it's not about him, it's about the music for me, and 'The Songs of Distant Earth' carries great meaning for me. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PycZnSWMvi0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDs_cm1bDWk

Robert S. de Ropp, student of G.I. Gurdjieff and author of The Master Game and Warrior's Way, also wrote a book called Self-Completion, from which I quote: "In their incompleted state human beings thought they were awake when they were really moving about in a state of hypnotized sleep. They thought they had will but they had no real will. They thought they were free but they were really slaves. They thought they had something called "I" but they had no real I, only a multitude of petty selves with different desires and different aims. In their state of "waking sleep" humans voyaged from birth to death aboard a ship of fools. The captain was asleep, the steersman was drunk and the navigator had forgotten the aim of the voyage. Any fool on board could push the steersman aside and try to steer the ship. The great human agglomerates that called themselves nations were just as much at the mercy of the fools in their midst as were individual men and women. The technological Titanic, modern society, was proceeding full speed ahead into the fog, but there was no one in control. Under these circumstances it would not be surprising if the vessel hit a rock or an iceberg. The surprising thing was that it stayed afloat at all." How many selves do I notice? Many. There's my work-self, my home self, my brother self, my 'awkward teenager self' around attractive women self, my sexual self, my warrior self, my fool self. Have you ever experienced 'road rage' and almost done something that later you were really glad you didn't? Who was that directing things before you came back to some more usual version of 'you'? Ever been tongue-tied around an attractive member of the opposite sex? "Where did that come from?" you may wonder afterwards. Unity of self only comes with awareness and ability to observe one's self dispassionately. It comes from many years of cultivating and working on one's self. It comes with mindfull living in the present moment. Many people, especially those on a spiritual path delude themselves that they are a single, non-fractured self. I agree with de Ropp. I do live aboard "a ship of fools" that I am becoming aware of. Becoming aware of this is the essential first step in self development.

Very interesting. Thanks, Mr. Cow.

Claiming Your Postnatal Qi "The navel is the beginning point of your earthly life; the point through which your earthly portion of hun, shen, and po is distributed, the entry point of your postnatal jing. While rubbing the kidneys addresses prenatal essence, [this exercise] stakes a firm claim to the portion of you that you came in the world with. After having rubbed the kidneys over the Ming Men point until they are hot, bring the hands back up to the heart level. With the forearms raised slightly higher than parallel with the ground, press together the thumb, forefinger, and middle finger of each hand. With the hands in this mudra, close your eyes and count down each number that forms the date of your birth, year, month, and day, in that order, nine times in a row. For example, if you were born on October 17, 1952, you would repeat "one-nine-five-two-one-zero-one-seven" nine times. Speak these numbers silently in your mind. If you know the exact time of your birth, include the numbers that make up the hours and minutes as well. Only include birth time numbers if you are positive of their accuracy. If not, you are better off leaving them out than guessing. The person you were born into this world as was created by Heaven and Earth. The moment you were born, the best part of you was born- what is most truly you. Your birth was perfectly timed, generated by that unique blend of Yin and Yang that was specially meant for you. Remember that it's only at the exact moment of your birth that the hun, shen, and po split in two, half to your ren ying and half to your mi ying. The Taoists do not believe that the spirit, soul, or animal spirit are present in the womb-- they appear only at the moment of birth. Your birth numbers represent the exact combination of Yin and Yang forces within you. Concentrating on these numbers puts you in touch with your Original Qi. The numbers that comprise your time of birth form a powerful personal talisman. If you are experiencing problems, recite your birth date numbers to resolve them. If you are trying to bring better luck into your life, saying them to yourself while in this posture will have a positive effect. There are a number of interconnected reasons for this. First of all, your thumb represents yourself, the first finger represents your mother, and the middle finger represents your father. When we are born into the world, 50% of the Qi involved belongs to our parents. The other 50% is ours alone. By bringing these three fingers together while reciting your birth date, you are strengthening your 50%." -from 'Qi Gong for Wellness- Increase Your Energy, Vitality, and Longevity with the Ancient 9 Palaces System from the White Cloud Monastery' by Dr. Baolin Wu and Jessica Eckstein

They come bearing downloadable dvd's and movies from Outer Space...

Fx for Zhan Zhuang addiction: Shaking practice.

Um, grease and sugar and carbohydrate?

I smell a rat. I think the CIA has him alive. I won't believe he's dead until I see a convincing picture of him dead, and even then...

Here's a music video with heart and soul, will make your day and bring a smile to your face. :) :)

Sir Percival Tally-Whacker of her Royal Highness' Mystic Knights of the Sea.

'Source Code' is great and thought provoking spiritual suspense, with references to 'Jacob's Ladder', a movie about the Bardo state after death. '

Much to ponder in the above post.

Jeez, bodyoflight. I have a feeling that you're going to read what you posted on this thread and go back and edit out your responses, which seem like the responses of someone drunk or on something. Just saying, my impressions. Flirting with an insult ban, too, I would think.

Check it out and let's discuss...autonomy, purpose, mastery...

Now, there you go again with the siddhis! Well, I think it's a pretty lively place, and I certainly have compassion for all, including those I disagree with. Vajrahridaya (currently waiting out an insult ban) and I have gone round on this forum forever, and it's gotten pretty spirited. I disagree with the way he touts the superiority of his own Buddhist way and puts down all other paths as lesser. I don't accept that behavior, so we go back and forth with it. But I can tell you, that I respect his dedication, enthusiasm and depth of knowledge. And if he ever needed my help, I would be right there for him. But you can't tell that from some of our rancorous discussions. This is a kind of rollicking spiritual forum, one where we had a heated, many page discussion on 'Dependent Origination', for chrissakes. I showed it to a friend of mine, and she was amazed at the level of passion and debate for an esoteric topic. But, even with some of the more inflammatory discussions, I feel that we all care about each other. Go to the healing circle and see the compassion for each other. But it doesn't mean that our discussions about siddhis, or evolution, or D.O., should be reigned in. We have the mods and insult policy for that. Shakti Mama, sexy new avatar! Wa-whoom, can feel the shakti!

I enjoyed Cutting For Stone, especially the Medicine contained within. I found Verghese to be a little workman-like in his prose, and so for me the book was good, but not great. I found the character of his twin Shiva to be underdeveloped and he seemed more like a literary device than a fully realized character.

Hmmm, Steve, we must be on the same wavelength. Got Radix on deck based on ralis' enthusiastic recommendation, finished Cutting For Stone, just bought Unbroken to feed to the kindle, and to be honest, I think I bought Cloud Atlas on your recommendation.

Can you tell us more what you are getting out of working with 'Taoist Yoga'?

Taoist Yoga by Charles Luk?

I got a Kindle, so some of these are on it... Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell Falling Into Grace by Adyashanti Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky Spiritual Bypassing by Robert Augustus Masters Under the Bleachers by Seymour Butz

No, it wasn't me, manitou I wish it were me, it's the kind of thing I used to do in my younger days with drawing, I was heavily influenced by R. Crumb (who drew my avatar). It certainly seems as though intrinsic reward comes through those qualities, and it's interesting that if the reward remains only financial, performance crashes! I found this video (of Daniel Pink discussing the ideas in his book 'Drive') to be very inspirational. I just took a job for the first time with a corporation in a directorship position and the only thing that made me interested in working with them was that there appears to be appreciation and potential for a sense of purpose and satisfaction along the lines of the ideas in the video. (I will report back as things progress for me in corporate world--should be interesting).

Great point, Dorian.