roger

One time I was meditating with my eyes open, and I became very solemn, I felt very dignified. What I was looking at started to sort of disappear and reappear, I feel that I was basically transcending time, and then it disappeared completely. Then something divine appeared, perhaps the "Void," it seemed immense and very holy. I left the experience quickly because it scared me. It lasted a few moments and I deliberately ended it. That has only happened to me once, but I've experienced the Self many times as extreme love. It used to happen more often than it does these days. I used to frequently feel explosions of intense love for other people, which I feel was the love of my divine nature or Self.

I'm reading a book by the atheist apologist Sam Harris, who argues emphatically that the interfaith idea that all religions are basically the same is nonsensical. He thinks that they're definitely and obviously very different. The thing is, and this seems so obvious that I think almost no one would disagree, different traditions have BOTH similarities AND differences. Surely that is easy for anyone to understand and accept. The ideal in my opinion is to respect and celebrate both the similarities and the differences.

I feel that we should debate very lovingly. The thing is that divine love manifests in the most subtle of ways. I'm not judging anyone, just trying to love and say what I feel is helpful. Ask yourself if your words are aggressive, gentle, conflictual, healing......what is the spiritual nature of your words?? The importance of divine love can't be overemphasized, and is understated even by Christian ministers in my opinion. Two questions to ask are: 1) What would I want to be said to ME? 2) What if EVERYBODY said this, what would that be like? I know I could be construed as "preaching" but I honestly don't mean it that way, just trying to help. Peace.

My opinion is that the reason people are transgender is because they chose to come back as that before they were born. Why would one make that choice? For the same universal reasons that one makes any choice concerning reincarnating: spiritual growth, joy, learning, to create opportunities, to serve others, because it may provide a sense of security......for GOOD reasons.

Based on my own experience, and also Paramhansa Yogananda's teaching about how to enhance intuition (perception), I recommend you try what I call non-meditation. The way Yogananda put it was, after you finish your practices, just sit there. Non-meditation is: no effort, no technique. The reason this dissovles blocks is because you should be completely free and natural when you do it, and energy is released without any conscious effort. Two ways of describing this utterly simple technique are to be like an animal......animals just ARE, they're totally natural and therefore free. And secondly, one time I described this to a person and he said, "Like me when I'm driving my car." When most people are driving, their minds are very natural, it's like a meditation. There's no compulsion to control the mind, and no effort. The mind is completely natural. Thoughts come and go without conscious effort. I've found that doing this is a great way to release negative energy, including blockages. I've been upset or angry before and done this, and the negative emotion just naturally leaves. I almost always feel 100% better afterwards. It sounds overly simple, but I've found this way of meditating to be extremely effective.

I just wanted to share a theory I have about exactly how and why physical movements, breathing patterns, and visualization techniques really work. It has to do with the fact that, because we're all the Universal, the Universal (our true self) is the one doing the technique. The technique then becomes a way of experiencing and connecting with one's true self. How is it different from ordinary daily activity in this respect? In other words, if it's the "true self" who's doing the technique, wouldn't it be the true self brushing your teeth? The thing is that ultimately, yes, but when you do spiritual practices, there's a certain conscious awareness of the divine- there's something within that knows you're being your true self, it's implied in the doing of the technique. This is just one perspective, but I'd love to hear everyone's opinions about how and why things like physical movements, such as in qi gong, tai chi, and hatha yoga, are effective.

Interfaith, interspirituality, is the way of the future in my opinion, and is possibly the only solution to interreligious conflict, including terrorism. Perhaps it's okay for people to think their path or religion is the ONLY acceptable way- I think that's not necessarily dangerous. What's dangerous is when killing and even genocide become part of the problem. I'm currently editing this, and I want to add that thinking and proclaiming that your religion is the only correct religion probably IS dangerous. It largely fuels terrorism, and also creates suffering for those who disagree. In the end, it may be far more dangerous than we realize to proclaim your way is the only way.

I have the same desire. And while I haven't fully experienced it, I have definitely had moments of clarity and transcendence, and those moments are when I really feel truly at peace, when I feel OKAY about everything. It seems to me that having faith that "all is well," and that everything, including YOURSELF, really is OKAY, is basically the goal. For me this is what gives me peace and serenity. When I'm having faith- in the Dao, in myself, in the goodness of life. Of course, formal practices such as qi gong and meditation can help to induce these feelings of utter well-being, and also the moment-to-moment acceptance of oneself.

I have a very interesting story about opening the third eye. Mine opened prematurely when I was four. All the kids in the neighberhood were playing one night, and my older sister of six years thought she'd impress everybody and told me and two of my friends to stand in line, side by side, I was in the middle. She had a rock in her hand and walked back fifteen or twenty feet, then threw the rock and hit me in the middle of my head, just above my third eye. My dad took me to the hospital and I got stiches that night. After I was hit, I fell to the ground, and my best friend (he wasn't one of the two standing next to me), stood in front of me and kept saying, "Poor Dave!" (my real name is David btw) I remember I could see the color of his energy, his upper body was red and his lower body was blue. Ever since this experience, basically all my life, my perceptions of both spiritual and sexual beauty have been overwhelming and arguably excessively extreme. My third eye opened prematurely, but it's all good because I believe it happened for a good reason. In other words, "premature" is only relative, ultimately, everything happens at the right time.

Kongming, When I look closely at your words, I perceive that you possibly WOULD LIKE to be Daoist, but that you feel hesitant, and maybe even want "permission," so to speak, to do so. People sometimes don't feel entirely free to follow their heart, do as they please, or otherwise do what is right for them. Basically, what I'm saying is that I think you WANT to be Daoist, but that you're waiting until you feel more free to make that decision. Of course, it's very possible that I'm mistaken, only you know. I remember many years ago, I couldn't decide between J. Krishnamurti and Paramhansa Yogananda. I remember agonizing over which of the two of them was "right" and which path to follow. I eventually realized that both were valid, although I tend to look at things and hold beliefs more similar to Yogananda than to Krishnamurti. The Dao De Ching emphasizes simplicity. Often Buddhist teachings can seem somewhat complex. I side with Daoism in this matter, although I'm sure many Buddhists would disagree with me that Buddhism is complex. Simplicity is a wonderful way to solve problems and to make choices. People usually get too complicated with their problem solving. So my question is, considering what I just said about simplicity, which path would you like to follow? What do you WANT? Is my observation that you'd prefer Daoism correct?

Thanks OldChi. I feel more eager to experiment with it now and see how it works for me.

Galloway, It could possibly help to look into Ultimate Reality and Truth from a certain angle, which has helped me to accept myself and feel comfortable with who I am. What I'm talking about is some of the more difficult questions that have to do with the very structure of reality. (btw maybe you already have answers to these kinds of questions, but if you don't be open to the possibility that those answers CAN be found) My journey has largely been one of asking and seeking answers to questions such as: "Is it true that everything is as it should be?", "How can that be the case if there's so much suffering and darkness?", "Does "evil" exist?", "If everything is as it should be, do we have free-will?" For me, it's been very important to try to understand these kinds of things. I feel that if people put in the effort, they can find the answers that are right for them. Peace.

Absolutes. "I'm doing well." HOW well? "She's pretty." I know many pretty girls, but none of them hold a candle to Josie Maran. "I'm having a good day." That bad, huh? "I don't like sushi." It's horrible isn't it? "I think Jesus was a great man." You're probably right. "She's very intelligent." Kinda like Einstein? You get the point.

Hi Galloway. Well, this isn't necessarily a Taoist approach, although it certainly doesn't go against it in my opinion. Let go of the guilt. Forgive yourself. They say that guilt and shame, and the emotion-backed judgment of things as "bad", keeps us stuck in attachments. I'm not meaning to imply that you, personally, feel guilt and shame about your habits, but many people do, and if you do, an effective way to overcome them is to forgive yourself. Another thing is that, many people don't THINK they feel guilty, but that's because they've suppressed their guilt, they're just not consciously aware of it. No one is guilty in my opinion. Everyone is doing their best and there are reasons people do what they do. The verdict: NOT GUILTY!

My older sister has accused me before of not being able to take a joke. I do feel that I take myself too seriously. I tend to be very sensitive and get hurt fairly easily though and that can influence a person to be very serious. There's a channeled book called Steps to Knowledge which, like ACIM, has a year long workbook, and one of the lessons is: "I am lighthearted and serious at the same time." Maybe that's what people who are too serious need, to learn a healthy ambiguity, to be simultaneously serious and not serious.

What I think is to just make sure the goal that is set is born of love, inspiration, higher consciousness or however you want to put it. The problem with many people's goals is that they arise out of fear and confusion. The way you can discern whether the goal is born of love and higher consciousness is how it makes you FEEL. Does it give you true joy, does it comfort you and make you feel great, does it give you a sense of freedom? A goal born of lower consciousness can make one feel imprisoned and unhappy. The thing is it seems obvious that our goals should give us joy, but not everyone approaches it like that. I remember fifteen years or so ago, I decided I would practice drums several hours every day for years, and it felt like a real burden, it didn't give me joy. I didn't end up doing that (I did it for a few weeks), but it's just an example of having a goal that does NOT give you joy and that feels like a burden.

One way to experience Chi is to open your heart. You don't need any practices to do this. You just let love come through.

I just realized this topic is, "When friends turn ON YOU". The first time I read it I saw, "When friends turn YOU ON". lmao

This is where religious beliefs and theology come in. What I believe, and what I feel Taoism teaches, is that Tao IS a "living entity"- it is the Universal Life, the Universal Consciousness that we all share. The Native Americans call it the "Great Spirit". Eastern religions, including Taoism, assert that we are all connected, really, we're all ONE. The life within you is the SAME life within everyone- THAT LIFE IS TAO. Or you could call it the Christ, the Buddha, Krishna Consciousness, or even God. You are a FORM or MANIFESTATION of that Tao, that God. This is what I consider to be the basic foundation for Taoist, Eastern, New Age, and perennial philosophy.

The idea that people are already living in The Way sounds like an absolute- like people are fully living wisely. I think many people are partially living wisely and lovingly, but that also sounds like an absolute. So the reality is that people are living wisely to different degrees. Maybe one goal of spirituality is to live, be, think and behave MORE wisely. What I find as I observe the world is that many people have taken a path similar to your description. They're just living their lives, and perhaps learning and growing, but without learning about esoteric ideas such as discussed on this website. Another thing is that many people follow traditional monotheistic religions, in this country obviously Christianity. I will say though that I honestly feel there's a real danger in such religions. Ideas like eternal hell, the devil, the wrath of God, and "sin" have a very negative impact on many people, and particularly on society. That's just my opinion but I'm sure many here at this website would agree.

I had what I would consider to be a very great insight and clarification as I was thinking about my post in which I said that we are content, not form. My perspective was that my "true identity" is ONLY divine nature and pure consciousness, but not form (such as martial artist, musician, etc.). ACIM says that an idea can be wholly false, partially true, or wholly true. The clarification I had is that it is partially true that we are only content, and also partially true that we are both content and form. It's partially true that Bruce Lee's actual identity was both divine nature and martial artist. And it's also partially true that his true identity was only divine nature, but not martial artist.

Veezel, That's a great question in my opinion, and I don't claim to have a definitive answer, but I'll share my perspective. Simplicity is a major idea in Taoism. Keep things simple, this can help with confusion and certain difficulties, and is important for solving problems. Don't look for a complicated solution. A simple idea of Taoism is to just live, just be, don't make a big deal out of everything and just enjoy your life. Another thing is to trust in the Tao, the Source of all things, you can have faith in its provision for your life and allow it to guide and support you. Two good books to read are, obviously the Tao Te Ching, and Benjamin Hoff's The Tao of Pooh. Hoff also wrote The Te of Piglet but I haven't read it, I imagine it's good though because The Tao of Pooh is amazing.

A Course in Miracles says that "error comes from confusing the levels". In other words, confusing the ABSOLUTE and the RELATIVE. I asked a friend of mine once if he thought it was okay to lie. He said, "Ultimately no, but relatively yes." He was confusing the absolute and the relative. The truth is that ultimately, it IS okay (because everything is happening perfectly), but relatively is where it might not be okay. ACIM says, "Miracles as such do not matter, the only thing that matters is their Source, which is far beyond evaluation." That's in the absolute sense. Yet the Universe says through Mike Dooley, "Everything matters." That's the relative. What we truly desire is for all the suffering and darkness in the world to be perfect and to NOT matter in the absolute sense, but TO matter in the relative. That's the way it really is. Most people confuse the absolute and the relative, and think that it DOES matter and is not okay in the absolute sense, but that it does NOT matter in the relative. That's where the dissatisfaction comes in.

It really is safe to love yourself. Just don't be naive about it