Yascra

lol, "defend" statements against the fact that you don't agree with them. Who do you think you are? Well, if your energy and for you "directing energy" is linked to your "body breath", that might be your case. If you've not made it to dis-link them yet, that's okay. But actually, in that case you have to rely on what other people teach and won't understand my point anyway. I'm aware of the fact that most writings are directed towards beginners, and therefore teach you that breath is linked to energy. If you would have the experience that "energetical breathing" is independent of "body breathing" you would have been able to understand my point right from the beginning, I assume. So obviously you either lack the experience, or you lack the interest in conversation or the wits to be able to connect that experience with what is brought up in conversation. Anyway I'd hardly think you'll understand it. So why should I waste too much typing about it And still I'd really like Chang to explain his issues against me, instead of silently putting me on igno first and now following you and liking posts that are directed against me, still not being brave enough to put his aversion against me into own words.

And the point is that "being interested", which is a way of creating new thoughts about a certain topic, as well as "entertainment" are both not the purpose of meditation.

Hahaha. In other words you've well been aware of the offending character of your words, still in your following post you pretended that something like that had not taken place. And still you blame me and see no need to just say sorry. Well, it's okay. I don't care about judging people anyway. I just make remarks about whose presence is a reason for me not to discuss in those particular threads. I definitely dislike dishonesty, and I have no need spending my free time with people who behave like that. Have fun with the thread anyway, I think I'm done with it. And definitely no "thanks" for that. edit: Thank you for your optimism @Rara. But obviously sometimes people are not as nice as you are or you would like them to be. So sorry for the sarcasm above. I just don't like it if people do something and lateron pretend that had never happened. It's not your fault anyway.

Hm, let me guess: You never talked to people, do you? I mean, really including understanding what people say and so on? That is okay. Just stick around awhile. You will find threads in which people interpret for you what others are saying. You just have to dig deep enough into the threads to find those few posts in which people clearly write what they mean.

@zerostao, okay, what exactly do you think I did understand in a wrong way of what you've written here I can't think of a more direct way to tell someone that in their opinion the addressed person doesn't practice anything that might be relevant to a forum like the one we're writing on. But if you had something else in mind but calling me a noob who doesn't understand what you're talking about when you wrote this, you might well let me know. This way to adress me is first of all not about any topic. It's just setting up a picture of me as a participant who has not a clue anyway.

Ah, BS you're talking. Yes, of course, what you're calling me is just a complete noob, stupid, spiritually illiterate etc ^^ Of course I know about energy aspects. But who cares, as obviously you prefer to make wrong assumptions than taking into account that maybe someone is not an idiot though writing things you don't get. What would be the point about posting and reading in this forum here if I wouldn't practice spiritual stuff. What I'm telling you is, no, energy is not linked to your mechanical breath. If you shouldn't get what I'm talking about I'd sincerely ask you to think about things before answering.

I would say using your muscles to expand lung volume, creating low-pressure to get fresh air into your lungs is breathing in. Allowing your muscles to relax, thereby compressing lung volume and releasing air is breathing out. Thanks for asking.

Well, if you're not aware of the fact that many parts of your body are working quite mechanically, that's really not my problem. Using muscles and bones is mechanical work. But thanks for assuming a lot of things that aren't correct instead of taking into account that I might have been aiming at something different. Of course I do practice. I also do play a kind of flute, or different flutes, so it would be better for me to know something about breathing. Maybe just stick around long enough to learn how to use the search-function to get a more complete impression of people before judging them. Thanks in advance.

lol But that's more like a worst-case-scenario you're putting up, isn't it? You know, when I'm sitting in a cafeteria and talking friendly with someone, and suddenly have someone walking in who's shouting around how sh*tty this place here is, and that we are all stupid etc. .. then I really like someone who has this option to not discuss too long about whether we would appreciate this person as a member, but just have them kicked out, and who draws the consequences to really put this person out of that space where I'm trying to talk. So I think in regard to the topic we're discussing right NOW .. when we've already stated that insults etc. might not be the environment teachers would feel comfortable in .. sorry, but it's not very the way to improve things. I for my part don't discuss personal stuff that's relevant to me in an environment in which certain kinds of behaviour are tolerated with nobody caring about it. But, to be very honest, though I feel that it's actually this topic that upsets you a little at the moment .. sharpened mod or admin action is not the topic of this thread we're writing in now

Hello Kodoninja, and welcome to The Tao Bums I think being skeptical about what you might experience or about things that are new to you is not too bad in the first place. Finally you have to find out things for yourself to be sure about them, right? ;-) Your introductory post has been approved, so you'll be able to post on the forum now. Please keep our Terms and Rules in mind when participating here. Good luck and all the best to you! Yascra

The point is, what I think .. well, actually I think that most possible options are already there. Articles for example - you might well get together some users, via OT-threads just for organization, or in their PPFs, who just put together their ideas and experiences and make a nice article series out of that. All you could do to improve that, in my opinion, would maybe be some direct link to articles, based maybe on how many users liked that article. Don't know how to actually do that, but it should be possible somewhere. PPF.. well, that's indeed a space where you do have the possibility to control things, but sometimes it's not so easy to navigate them and find really helpful one's - if you should not already know about someone who contributes good stuff So that's more the hearsay-variant. Maybe writing some good articles to get attention and then having a link to one's PPF in the signature might help with that? Question-threads, I think have also worked quite well in the past, at least those made some part of how I found this place here. So I think it's really not an issue of lacking options. To answer the question of what you might improve, I think all you could do for that sake is bring in some structure. In one forum I've been on there was a user who created a thread, for example, including a link-collection to worthwhile contributions and threads, adding posts with some excerpts and quotes of those threads. So it would not even be necessary to do that in a complicated way that changes the whole design. I think I've even seen such approaches somewhere on the forum here .. unfortunately with some of the links not working any more. Problem of that approach is that it is work for the person who's doing it. As moderating team you could appreciate such work by sticking it. At least that would be the most easy way to improve something, I think. Problem of any "class-room-subforum" I'd see would be .. well, it doesn't really matter on which part of a building you set up a hierarchy. Teachers will meet in the teachers room, and students will be students even in other threads if you just have that idea in people's heads. As someone who is sick of teachers I'm afraid that might cause trouble on the long run.

Oh, I never really liked insulting etc. in general. It is only - well, I really DO like the idea of this cafeteria-setting. In a temple where someone is sitting on his or her throne it is quite clear who will be kicked out if the person on the throne doesn't agree with something. Even if it should be the person on the throne who talks rubbish .. and I have personal experience with that happening. I mean, I'm a Western student with no real lineage that would care for me or my development, so it's up to me myself and heaven's help to some degree. Even with holding up a daily practice as good as it's possible as a householder I SHOULD in theory not be the one who understands more than persons who've had the benefit of growing up in a community in which any kind of spirituality is appreciated, instead of ridiculed like it tends to be the case on my society. BUT .. I found it to be like that. That does not mean that I'd like to be the person on the throne. But it does mean that I've had the experience of abuse of that "artificial" hierarchy by persons who were definitely not so great in their own practice. People notice if someone really cares for them, I'd say there are some positive examples in here in which you can see that. So if someone is really a good and balanced person willing to teach and to give insight, wisdom, knowledge, yes, there might be some few people who might bring in personal issues and attack even such guys, that's the disadvantage of "same level". But my impression is that most people will be grateful for such possibilities, and those who are not interested might at least be fair enough to appreciate that this particular person who's teaching has something valuable to offer (at least to others), and let them do that in peace. What I was aiming at was that I'd say such balanced persons would be able to handle some few people who misbehave, and not blame others for that. Report functions are available for everybody who feels s/he's being attacked or offended. At least I know on that level that I won't be kicked out here just because I'm not crawling in the dust due to some titles of which some "teachers" are extremely proud. Not everybody who is acknowledged publicly as a teacher is a high-level practicioner - which is okay in principle, as long as those low-level teachers don't get the power to give me a suspension because they're jealous that I'm able to bless my food on my own, and don't bow whenever they enter the room. Might sound ridiculous, but that's what I have encountered even in real live. I don't need that kind of teachers, and I definitely don't want them to have power in some subforum just because they have enough charisma to accumulate some disciples or fans who follow them. Once begun, where would you stop that? It's a difficult issue in the whole spiritual scene. It would be a great idea if you would have some test to make sure that someone is a good teacher, which would per se be someone who would never abuse any power you give to them. Well, as mentioned earlier in the thread, basically I'm okay with that, but people wouldn't like my tests and observations, and definitely people wouldn't like to wait 2 - 6 years until I'd approve them as "good teacher". [i really don't care about system or religious background, I'm just talking about good practice and personal development.] And no, coming back to that, insulting people is not my plan actually ^^ I've never been very good at it anyway. As long as I don't see people harm others I tend to not even bother people with very honest (negative) opinions of mine. Unfortunately bad practicioners are extremely good in feeling offended by just seeing someone holding an opinion they don't share - and that's the sort of "not my problem" I really wouldn't like to cope to much with in my free time. 'nough said, so far, I assume. Have a nice day

I think Nietzsche was an idiot. Spitting all the time on people and an attitude without whom and which he wouldn't have been able to live too long, or comfortable in any way. Typical case of someone to whom you'd wish that anybody would listen to his ideas, so he might get an idea what his creations might lead to, by directly tasting the consequences himself.

Hello klr, and welcome to The Tao Bums Sorry, personally I can't help you, but I hope you'll find someone in here who might have some good advice :/ Your introductory post has been approved and you'll be able to post on the forum now. Please keep our Terms and Rules in mind when participating here. Good luck and all the best, Yascra

Hello Roman, and welcome to The Tao Bums Hopefully you'll find what you're looking for here Your introductory post has been approved and you'll be able to post on the forum now. Please keep our Terms and Rules in mind when participating here. Greetings and all the best, Yascra

Thank you all so much for your postings And sorry if you find me lacking in discussion, but ... I'm a bit slow at times, and tend to need some time to digest things and go into them. As far as I get it, the word "philosophical" is a bit misleading in this case. My association with "philosophy" is more that dried-up stuff that might have been inspired by cool persons some hundred years ago, maybe Greek or so, but tends to refer to a kind of discussion that's just for the sake of discussing things, without any thought of application. So .. you don't take it that way, I feel? I think, as far as I've read through it, the Chuang Tzu is absolutely made for practice. You can take it as things to study, though I feel that this is like "studying" poems - you can spend too much additional words on them, but that will just destroy the beauty of it. Things like appreciating aesthetics. So, hmm, still thinking about it, and exercising in practice of course, lol Thank you so far for some interesting input! Best to you, Yascra

I would say he rarely speaks, but he tends to smile in a very friendly way I don't know what about my 3rd eye, but I tend to feel and see a lot of things. Though I have to say, very often I have problems to trust those perceptions of mine. Well, that's the point of it. I don't count that mantra you know, and I rarely chant loudly, more silently or in my mind. But actually he appeared right when I started that practice. I have to say that I have had quite a connection to Avalokiteshvara as well long before. One day you might just open your eyes on that level and see him sitting right in front of you

Joyful and peaceful, I would say

Hello stillnessinmotion, and welcome to The Tao Bums! Nice nick you chose, and thank you for this beautiful introduction I'm sure you'll find some possibilities to discuss things that work in here, and maybe get some new impressions Your introductory post has been approved, so you'll be able to post freely on the forum now. Please keep our Terms and Rules in mind when participating here. Good luck and all the best, Yascra

Actually I'm not "invoking" a "person". But I definitely have to say that I have contact to some very cool and beautiful being on the astral plane who helps greatly by working on my energy system. If you should look for him, he's looking more like an androgynous male to me Oh, and usually he appears in a form with two arms. I sometimes also see him in a form with .. more .. arms, BUT that still scares me. Of course that should not inhibit anyone of regarding that mantra as some more "transcendental" thing - actually it works on MANY levels simultanously. For me it's just a strange thought that you never seem to have direct contact to or perception of that being like I do, for he's quite active in working on me, would be really hard not to notice that to some degree Finally, yes, he can't hardly be "not me". But I think that should hold true for every enlightened being out there. Best to you, and sorry for double-posting

I'd say that mantra speeds up a lot of things, though this effect might depend on your karma. But I'd also say that it hurts, or helps accelerating things, including chances to work through bad karma. When this happens, it's not necessarily a nice experience. At least you're done with it afterwards. Btw, I do not recite it extremely often in a sense of strict recitation. The mantra just ate up most of my other mantras

Hm, topic would better be placed in the Tech-Section I assume? Sorry, don't have an explanation, as for the only idea which I have concerning editor-settings, you would not even be able to choose another font or size. A general suggestion of mine for this size-thing would be, if you use a Windows-system, to click "Strg" + "+" simultanously. That will expand everything in your browser, so you don't need to adjust your own writing-size all the time, and will be able to read all the other things as big as you'd like to (To turn the size back to "normal" just click "Strg" + "-") But of course that doesn't solve your font-problem. Maybe really try a Browser-update? I just checked things out and everything worked fine over here. All the best, Yascra

I don't understand what's so great about breath. It's a mechanical way to put air in your lungs. Nothing less but necessary for survival, but also nothing more than that.

Still, all that living people seem to be interested in is "lineage" aka "association", and if you refer to "Vajradhara" you might be worshipped for that when you'll be dead, but as long as you're alive they'll call you a faker or mentally ill.

This is a comment based on remembering which of the possible roles as "tortured" or "torturer"?