Jadespear

All belief stems from the facts of symbolism. Symbols are what make up our inner mental working of thought. All language is symbolic in the nature of temporary significance to be made meaningful. "Truth is a path less land. " JK

I wish I could meet just one person who has actually completed any of the steps in Bardons works... All I've managed to do is achieve the mystic death state which he describes and am able to transmit my thoughts outward into the world which are expressed through other people verbally. It's quite a bother when I'm alone in bars because people who have no mental willpower end up blabbering out my thoughts sometimes .

I was posting in response to the first question and situations posed. Spotless... I live in the SF bay area too! I would love to meet you and chat sometime...would you be interested in meeting up briefly and meeting one another in person?

Wouldn't it be nice to see god? How else would we free ourselves from all the misinformation pounded into our culture over time? God is simply a name to a phenomenon. And even more complex, a system used for political gain. No matter how hard you think about it, or try to deduce a logical explanation, you will still not be able to actually experience the phenomenon. And therefore you will be operating behind the barrier of belief. If the truth is what you are after, you must disbelieve in order to find it.

I think this abyss is the space which all thought travels through, which may create new dimensions.

New age spirituality is simply yet another piece of spirituality people have developed. Just as a tree that grows a new branch. Since we live in the times of its influence, how could it not influence some aspect d your social life...that is if you have one. Timeless truths are what I am after. If I need to refresh my thinking using new age explanations to explain uncertain ancient concepts to me than so be it.

Before one attempts to assign and identify what has come to perplex everyone as unidentifiable, could not a simple line of questioning based in fact, reason, and logic help to clear falsity, untruth, and illogical assumptions to eventually illuminate that which is? What exactly is the story of all that exists? All that carries an awareness, or consciousness? Isn't the simple timeline of birth, sustenance, and death one that all that exists goes through? What is consciousness beyond the simple state of being aware? Is the universe aware? Have you ever sensed or had an experience that would lead you to begin investigating into the fact of the existence of a super sensible universe? One that is aware of itself and that functions as such? I have. People may refer to it in different names, but I have experienced many things which lead me down that line of questioning. " the Tao that can be named, is not the eternal tao."

Here is what I have to say about your "invisible nuisances".... they are either real, a manifestation of your mind, or do not exist. Additionally, I don't think all religious talk of nefarious intended beings is entirely false. I would encourage you to stop any practice you have been doing up to late and reflect on the state of your mind. There is also one comparative fact that I find interesting; the existence of the nether world. The nether world has been referred to throughout the ages, and if you have read that book, "The Magus of Java", you may notice a slight similarity to the description of the nether world historically described and the black area that John Chang visits in spirit where there are spirits suffering. Taken a step further, a research group called the SSRF, also speaks of this nether world. Furthermore, this group, the SSRF may be totally wrong... but they also say that as you begin to practice your inner path, you will also slowly become more attuned to newer energies and beings that you are unfamiliar with, beginning with low level ghosts. I've thought that I had been interrupted by nefarious beings before, but I was not, to the best of my knowledge, I was creating them with my mind. It is all too coincidental that there may however be a place like the described nether world... not all people are nice, I don't see why anyone would think all spirits would be nice either.

Interesting.

Being in the absolute present moment has at times a timeless quality... However I'm curious to ask if the "feeling" of being lifted up actually took place. Was your car elevated in the air? Or did it just feel that way? Did the driver simply lightly tap the brake out of pure instinct, and you both had a synchronicity of immediacy? As far as you being the manifester...I think its more like you are the inputer... the inputer of cause.... and the laws of the universe carry your input to its end- an effect. And on that note... I've had several experiences of thought transference to peoples minds which have then been reflected back to me, and times when through thought transference have been able to alter electronic sounds, words and even electronic power supplies.... those have been short and small effects, there is no reason why they could not be made larger through another agent of some kind or mechanism. As far as angels, hands of god, and all that.... I wouldn't rule that out... I mean there are spirits that are active in our world and in our lives without our awareness at times... possibly even constantly. To the experience of time standing still... There was a time when I was in deep concentration when I perceived and felt as if I was at the center of all my foreseeable surroundings and they were all quickly moving. This happened in almost a second however... it did not last long. To you, sound stopped, but to me in that short infinity I heard a very deep low hum tone... All very interesting to think about, and also perplexing to develop a method of investigation besides deeper and deeper meditations.

Dude... you don't think every time I see a hot woman that I don't have a sudden sexual arousal?.. just a hint of the sexual flame? Of course I do. You must learn to control yourself. There is no other way. It's just like when an alcoholic gives up drinking, or a smoker gives up smoking.....you have to separate this part of your identity from the part that you want to create for yourself in the future. There is no going back. A fully grown tree cannot return to its seedling without dying. You must shed the skin you've become accustomed to.

Hello, I am wondering if anyone has had any success with actually reaching certain stages of the IIH steps. I have come to notice and attain certain miraculous feats...but not in the way described or instructed by the book. I am specifically interested to know if anyone has had any success in making elementals and the physical elementary, or the fluid condensers to magically animate pictures.

Interesting.

We should not do or not do anything according to anyOne outside of ourselves.... Especially not th Christian god of the Old Testament. All you have to do is read some biblical passages to see how compassionate his followers were oh yeah.... Some really brutal mass killings by Elijah of opposing worshipping factions. And many more. Check out the book of kings, both of them. I used to think that there was a common thread in some religions as a theistic god, and there is.... There is always some theistic god who is different than someone else's who people fight and kill each other over. Religious acceptance and tolerance is not really the answer I don't think for the world at large at all. It's scientific inquiry and actual knowledge of how the world works, things that are true and indisputable no matter what god you worship or imagine to be the cause of anything at all. Actual knowledge is what has helped mankind, not superstition and mythical gods.

Pretty sure the "ten thousand things" is a poetic device as in it means every part of the lexicon of whatever language you use to communicate.... In other words, the names, and meanings, of all of them. There is no sovereign god in hermetics. The word hermetics is derived from the Greek Olympian god Hermes. A god who had different meaning and action in different stories written by different authors throughout time. Different groups and different people use the word "hermetic" to describe different things. For instance the "hermetic order of the golden dawn." The " hermetic" movement of scientists in Europe. The stories and information recorded by Hermes Trismesgustos .... Etc etc etc.

Some people search to find. Some people search to get away. Some people search to lead others astray. If anything in this era of time has become more controversial than money... I don't know what it is. Money as a medium of exchange is a form of social power. People like to accomplish things so they can feel god about themselves and what they are interested in...duh. Its called competition. From the moment we enter the world, we are being influenced by our surroundings and how our relation to it dictates our point of view on the struggle that life, is. I agree, there is so much nonsensical mindless talk on the net now. Its actually funny, how much people believe in some of the things they have been told and even funnier how they try to defend them against the reality of life. ..."Many of the truths we cling to, rely on our point of view." "If you know how to be satisfied, you are rich." - Lao Tse.

A few thoughts... Sovereign God? ----- Since the concept of God that you all seem to be working with is one of an incomprehensible and unknowable one, how could you even begin to prove it? Thats called trying to prove a positive, a total pseudoscience that is of no real help to anyone at all. And since this is a taoist site why don't we reflect on one of the very first verses of the Tao Te Ching?: The Tao that can be named, IS NOT The ETERNAL Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name The nameless is the origin of heaven and earth The named is the mother of myriad things

Hey man, Buddhism focuses mainly on the suffering aspect of life because that is what a man who lived long ago taught about. So if you listen to that and attempt to believe and follow it, of course you will be depressed. But, your not the man who laid down 4 noble truths or anything right? So let them think their way, and you think your way. "Truth is a pathless land." - Krishnamurti. You might like a book I found online one day, that has totally changed my life forever: "The Man who Saw God." by Joseph Pagen. I wanted to see what the truth was about every religious thought and concept of God, nothing else really mattered to me on my "spiritual path". Perhaps God has the answers, perhaps it does not. Perhaps just perhaps, I am God, you are God, and God is just another word to describe the unifying aspect of everything in existence. And Perhaps, through reaching through the depths of existence I may find what I am looking for. And perhaps as well How I relate to universe, I in my total consummate form. Only then would I venture to say I have been enlightened in any way beyond normal human awareness, and only after continued proof. Seek the truth, leave all belief behind. Isn't it amazing what you can do, when you are still, rooted in the now?

Stare at them very hard and pierce their soul through their eyes, and let them know where your coming from. Do you want them to change their opinions about something you hold as true, or do you want them to agree with you? Either option is futile as people only ever truly listen to and act from a basis of self knowledge to direct their lives. Let go.

Is there a significance we cannot measure? Is there a meaning that does not fall victim to the thoughts that compose us? Can we identify without clinging? Can we identify without anything? Do not all currents of the mind eventually subjectify? Do not all currents of the mind eventually die? Do not all streams of belief, meaning, and significance through the passage of time become unbelievable, meaningless, and insignificant? What then remains? What then.

To Prevent Cancer: 1. Don't Smoke Cigarettes. 2. Don't Smoke Cigarettes. 3. Don't eat fast food. 4. Breathe fresh air 5. Exercise. Much research has led many people to believe that cancer is in fact a type of malignancy due to to our diet, or food intake. The only way to prevent anything terrible like cancer from happening is to have a very strong immune system. Many taoist teaching reinforce the combination of herbs with natural food to enliven and strengthen all of our physical/mental/spiritual lives. Herbs combat free radicals in our bodies, and consistent quality food intake provides us with necessary nutrients and vitamins and energy. Exercise of course keeps everything moving and your blood flowing well.

Dude, I understand the idea fine. All I'm saying is that if you really want to "know", then would it not make sense for "knowing" to be the effect of an observation tested with the principles of science? For instance, we "know" the process of photosynthesis works within plants to generate cells...we know the earth orbits around the sun, we know without drinking water or eating food our bodies will atrophy.... so therefore would it not make sense that the only way to actually know that reincarnation could take place, ie. could be true through the observation of it happening? Through actually seeing someone re-incarnate? It seems to me that such an observation is the only way to know it...the same as with all truth everywhere. Leaps of faith are fine, there's nothing wrong with that, I'm not arguing against that. And I wasn't speaking with certainty about karma or reincarnation either...I just said I wrestle with the idea, because through my observation the concept of karma came about through human conceptualizing and philosophizing from the Mimamsa school of philosophy of the ancient yoga sutras...

Well. Ok. What's the point then of even believing in the concept? Does it make you feel better? The truth of life is still the same and the guardian angel cannot protect you from your strengths or your weaknesses... So I just see this concept as erroneous and unnecessary on the pursuit of knowledge and wisdom, as it inhibits ones penetration into the mystery of whatever one is pursuing in an individual way. Seems to stem from fear...

This is a topic that interests me as well. So from what I understand then, we are all already connected to this holy guardian angel...and the entire concept of meeting with it is somewhat of a misnomer as it is already there... Already existing within everyone everywhere as the voice of inner truth and inspiration. So, if we live strictly according to and heeding this voice then we are in constant union with it. The only thing that converses with it are the questions that arise in our minds that our intellect is not capable of answering...but seeks to?

Dude, physical pain is not totally caused by psychological pain.