Jadespear

Buddhism is simply a way to enlightenment is it not? But the big question is of course what that enlightenment actually is. The 4 noble truths and the 8 fold path are a way of living. If we can take a way of life, the whole paradigm of it, we could give it another singular name- religion, or any other term. The whole lexicon of human thought is a creation every word we use is to describe a symbol. All religions are proliferated in a similar way. The truth is the same everywhere, one which is impossible to know- because all knowledge is a working function of accumulated experience of the past.

Right on. Damn, a monster? Did it try and eat you or something ?

Haha! Just because I accept facts of life doesn't mean I despair over them or attempt to change my own. I'm here because I love Taoism. From what I understand Taoism was created as the sciences of life so that we may all live long happy healthy and wise. What else is of value in this life?....

Right on Hydrogen. In my practice I want to begin to travel out of the body. To astral travel. Have you any experience with this?

Ok. But is there an end to individual consciousness?

Interesting. I'm quite certain of a few things in that regard, and I need to use some of hermetic terms to explain it. First thing is that people in bars or people who are drunk are weak minded... They are easily influenced by anything....a thought, a sound, whatever. So now onto hermetic terms, which are influenced by ancient Hindu terms. The Akasha aspect of creation is the source of the 4 other elements. The Akasha aspect in us is our causal sphere, or the world which causing things from within ourselves to happen outside of ourselves. It causes all effects everywhere. So that being said, I also believe our minds to be receivers of the outside world, when they are turned on in such a way.... So as people who enter into stillness our Akasha aspect is strong and if we hold onto emotions or thoughts in that stillness we cause the effect of them to manifest in the world around us. Magicians refer to this phenomenon as the cosmic mirror. It's nothing more than your inner thoughts and emotions being expressed back to you as a function of the law of cause and effect in harmony with the laws of the universe.

Dude, The Cloud Atlas Sextet, from the movie "The Cloud Atlas" is awesome. New Daft Punk record is pretty good too.

...you better find that girlfriend or your rent is going to be double. Even if you do find her, your going to be spending money on her...haha. And you have no money budgeted for food....the most important part of this lifestyle that you want to live. And you have no payments on your car or motorcycle so I'm assuming you already own them and have them paid in full... Listen man, if your living in America you need to be making at least 40,000 a year to be able to travel twice a year and spend 5,000 on it. Vacations suck when you have no money. They suck even more when you have a giant credit card bill to come home to. Good Luck.

Right on Songtsan. Yes, in the now, in the present...in the Tao....it is a truely free and wonderfully exuberant feeling! I sure would hope you would be all about the bliss!....what are you- a sadist? Have you ever tried hindu chanting, or developing spiritual emotion (bhav)? They lead to some real intense bliss man...things I've never smelled or felt prior. It's awesome and totally worth checking out. Just a side note....the intense focus you talk about I think I have used...it was in a bar once. I was so still, that all my thoughts and emotions began to become expressed through everyone else in the bar. My thoughts became their words, my pains became their sighs...my joy became their laughter. I was on a real internal emotion roller coaster that night! haha Also, that same night I was able to basically hold and store up enough energy at the level around my head, that once I released it...it was like a wind gust coming from behind me and extending out. Crazy cool stuff man. All that it took was for me to be still....for extended periods of time. I love your profile pic too man, that's awesome!

If you can bear progressing slowly and making mistakes through trial and error, then why would you need a teacher...you could do it by yourself. I've taught myself how to play guitar with minor instruction through books. The concept of self learning is no different whatever the subject matter is...if you understand it you can learn to practice it, you can become good at it, and you can master it. No matter whatever it is that you want to learn. It is however very helpful to keep an objective and subjective view or journal of yourself as you go, so you don't have to remember everything little thing that does or does not work. How do you think all of this information about chi, energy, spirituality, and everything else was ever discovered? There was at some point in time someone who was curious who sought out experience and answers for himself, found some, and communicated them to others. And that's where we all sit on Earth, right now.

This is what I don't understand about some of these topics...we are one with what is...the illusion is that we are not...the truth is that we already are. What is all the fuss about? We can feel closer, we can even absorb ourselves in total meditation...but that doesn't replace the fact that we are already one with what is. Once you begin thinking about that you will lose that sense of oneness because your mind does that for a reason. We are meant to co-create with all of our faculties to glorify the Great Tao... All meditation and spiritual cultivation does is bring you closer to more subtle/gross energies and states of mind that exist in the universe, super-powers are side effects, and the vehicle also to explore other dimensions. The mind is not dualistic...you were not born thinking in dualities..."The mind is a great servant, but a terrible master." All the judging that you do in your mind has a purpose...which is what I was talking about in a separate post about how our ego's exist for self preservation and can be used to move forward for the greater good... If you do not care about yourself and let yourself wither away, how will you be able to help anyone or do anything? That's the ego's job to me...not the ego of pride. The ego in the sense of self worth, of self motivation, of caring about yourself so you can learn things and help others, so your not a helpless worm in the cosmos. Balance of course is the key fundamental attribute of taoism. Without balance in everything, our lives have holes. Holes that we seek to fulfill. And fulfill them we do...for awhile.

We are all what we are.... Labeling and identifying is the nature of the mind to be able to understand and communicate. You may call yourself a Taoist, Buddhist, Christian, Jew..... But that is not what you actually are those are thoughts concepts and ideas you carry around floating around what you actually are. You actually are a moving living organism living on a planet that depends on that planet for your survival. How else could you truthfully define yourself? As such an organism you begin to see that everything else is the exact same as you... Living organisms dependent on the planet for survival. It's only logical to love and have compassion towards all things because it keeps you alive.

As to the timeline of Lao Tzu and Buddha- there are conflicting scholars who quarrel over the idea that Lao Tzu was an actual person at all, let alone existing before the Buddha....most historians believe that Lao Tzu was the pen name used by a group of taoists for whatever reason. I mean actually translated it reads " old man".... Which is not an identifying name. I love the Tao and the writings in the Tao Te Ching, but I find it very hard to believe the legend of Lao Tzu.... Come on a baby kept inside his mothers womb for 72 years who is born an old man with grey hair ? ..... Sounds an awful lot like one giant Taoist metaphor to something.

"Truth is a pathless land." Krishnamurti "Your belief in god, is nothing but an escape from your cruel, stupid, and pathetic life." Krishnamurti "If you want to be happy, be." Tolstoy "Fuck it." Humans "Concentrate, feel the force flow" Yoda "It's never too late to be wise." Me

Hello there. I too like Mantak Chia. I have his Healing Light of the Tao book which is excellent. Apparently he has been very busy and has written over 50 other books... I've had some success with the inner smile meditations... Very slight success though as I've not practiced them diligently but just in my down time. There is also another cool book called " The complete system of self healing, internal exercises" by Stephen T Chang, which is very cool as well... It describes a different way to open the microcosmic orbit, which is the goal of the beginning Chia books...

Hmmm. Ok. The ego I am referring to is quite simply the sense of self worth that people have about themselves...I guess you could call it a function of their minds...if people have no sense of self worth than they cannot accomplish anything...which is why I said it was useful in moving forward in human affairs toward a greater good. Don't get me wrong, we could go back and forth about what "ego" actually is, but the fact remains that you and I believe in ourselves, and that is a function of mentally created "ego" per se. You might find the philosophies of Thales of Miletus interesting, he apparently is the first greek philosopher to have invented the idea of two separate worlds- the known, and the unknown and consequently the term "God." "The concept that a being is a self, and has a life and is living one and will one day die is purely a concept." ---- How is this statement true at all? If so, you are simply trading the word "concept" for "perception". The fact that we are both alive and talking on this website is not a concept....it is not a theory that I am talking to you and you to me. The fact that people physically die and vanish from the Earth we inhabit is not a concept, it happens all the time. Are you telling me that when my grandpa died physically, he did not? Are you honestly trying to say that there is no difference between what we think and what actually is in front of us? Are you honestly not seeing the difference between truth and belief? Or are you simply saying that our fundmanetal "being" is the only truth...which is uncreated and therefore does not die? As far as the original question is concerned- you may want to take a look at some theosophical writings about the "Levels of Initiation" which, according to them, every individual consciousness must go through as part of the "Divine Evolution" I thank you for this question because it sparked an interest in me. Somehow strangely I think I was right about the evolution into a collective consciousness if The Theosophists are right as well...apparently according to them we are all born with the yearning to understand and control everything in the Universe as part of God's will, so that one day we may serve others in any conceivable way to help them however they need to be helped. Service to others is the very nature of our souls. Reaching various levels or "initiations" involve expanding your consciousness to become aware of more...your consciousness will be affected but it will not end. You will also gain siddhis, or powers along the way. It is truly perplexing to experience some of these siddhis....like the power to control peoples thoughts and speech....or the power to move the wind....or the power over the "all" as described by Jesus in the lost gospel of Thomas.

Right on. I think the ego exists for the purpose of self preservation. It is not evil, nor false. And is useful to direct our lives towards a greater good. I still don't get the question I guess.... An end to individual consciousness? Everything that exists is connected. Perhaps the question is more geared to a separate consciousness... Separate from the rest in a sense. I don't know. "There is no union There is no separation There is only one."

Great stuff man. Would love to know how it goes.

Woah. That's incredible. Thanks !

I don't know if this is related, but sometimes I think negative entities have tampered with my television....sometimes i have seen people's eyes turn red, like fire red! It's freaky.

Love always works to get you whatever you want. Just direct it. I've communicated to people across thousands of miles by simply envisioning them in my mind, loving them, and asking them what I want them to do..... It's amazing the speed and consistency of how the universe really does listen to you.

Songtsan - I love your artwork on your profile! Great stuff.

Words are the use of symbols to communicate. The Great Tao is not limited by them, but is partly understood through them.

I too have thought about the possibility of being possessed. But deep down I knew I never was, I did however know that there was something going on outside of my own field of perception. Very strange things happened to me for awhile that I could not explain....doors would close in rooms that no one was in, I would wake up and feel a slight lift of air next to me in my bed like a spirit was leaving, my computer would have open documents on it that I did not open after being away from my apartment, picture frames would fall...voices would speak to me through my car radio. Spirits would hide things from me in my car- the reason I know it was actual spirits is because the car doors would be shut, but the weatherproof seals were loose around them...as if someone pumped air into my car to open the doors slightly. I am not insane, these things have happened to me. The creepiest thing though was when I felt something that was pure evil that somehow creeped into my bed while I was about to be sleeping...it was like a gust of fear and paranoia accompanied by air movement, I was paralyzed for a few seconds. Literally paralyzed. Over time I have gathered and searched out information on all things spiritual. In the book, "Initiation Into Hermetics" by Franz Bardon there is a chapter that deals with entities that are created through the power of our minds- phantoms and schemata. Schemata are self created and possibly reveal themselves to their creators. Your friend may be experiencing a schemata he has created, which will go away after he stops thinking about it. Some of the things I have experienced I do think were caused by myself, some were not. And all that I really learned and understood from all of it was that there are definitely spirits out there who do not care about you at all, BUT they only come around when they sense your fear, your paranoia, or your loss of faith. I think it would be best for your friend to simply get rid of the board, forget about the "vibes" he's been feeling and move on with his life, that way if there are any malicious spirits around they can move on to. Also, there is a good website published by a group called, "Spiritual Sciences Research Foundation" that has some information that may be beneficial. It is highly hinduistic though. Just google SSRF, and you should see it. Also, if your friend actually does want to communicate with spirits there is another way outlined in "Initiation Into Hermetics" which could be safer and clearer than using a ouija board. P.S. The band, The Mars Volta, were into Ouija boards for awhile.....until they actually encountered a REAL Demon....AFTER That they buried the ouija board in the desert.

Hello.