Michael Sternbach

I have a sweat shirt with this logo on it - actually my fave, currently.

Jesus accepted a task that would inevitably put him in harm's way, no?

How would you know? Do you think immortals would go advertising themselves on Xmas markets? Would you - if you were one of them? Cheers Michael

Hi Sue Welcome to TDB! You and I share a background in qigong and alchemy - even though in regards to the latter, I am more knowledgeable in regards to the Western variety. Hope you will be taking away something worthwhile from your interaction with this forum. Best wishes Michael

Fee Lion

I don't know about China, but in Japan it is very common that people are wearing masks for avoiding to pass on an ordinary cold or flu. In fact, this is one of the first things that stick out to an unsuspecting visitor, IME.

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Most of all, an enlightened civilization wouldn't be handling that kind of crisis in such a self-destructive fashion. While I would not go as far as calling Sweden an advanced civilization, I do think that it probably handled the pandemic better than any other nation so far. No lockdowns, no restrictions to speak of, no businesses going bankrupt... No more than a few behavioral recommendations - not including the wearing of masks! Constantly being poo-pooed by other nations right from the beginning, that are untiredly painting dire pictures of the upcoming doom that is inevitably going to befall the Swedish, I do think the statistics speak for themselves: Currently 267,953 cases of positive test results (out of a population of 10,327.589) of which no more than 249 (0,1%) are in a serious condition! https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus//country/sweden/

The answer is yes. Consider that, from a modern scientific perspective, a meditative state is associated with the brain wave frequency range called alpha; while alpha waves predominate during conscious relaxation - indicating that increased capability of manifesting your intent you mentioned - the brain actually produces alpha waves to one degree or another on a continuous basis. This represents the activity of your conscious mind tuning into the subconscious even while in the more externally oriented waking state. It can further be assumed that this will occur more with the experienced meditator. I have in fact heard of a professional soldier who had developed the ability to operate from an alpha state while there were bullets flying around his head! Certainly a most useful skill when required to master a potentially harmful situation.

I would agree that those realms may exist as mental projections of their inhabitants. Some kind of dream worlds as it were. Then again, even physical experience is our own creation, at least from a certain perspective. However, there must be certain universal principles behind it all. For instance, whether I am subject to reincarnation cannot depend on me being a Buddhist or a Hindu. I have heard that individuals tend not to stay too long in the more hellish realms, whereas indulgence in heavenly worlds might last quite a bit longer... Being 'foolish' is not necessarily a bad thing... The innocent and child-like nature of a fool is essential to many spiritual paths, from Daoism and Zen Buddhism to esoteric Christianity and Tarot.

Stand and deliver

Oh! Oh! Oh!

I would agree that undiscriminating intake even of vitamins may not be unproblematic. Individual requirements and ability to process them vary. That said, vitamins can not be nearly as potentially harmful as those vaccines. If you have faith in vitamins (specifically vitamin D has been suggested) to protect you, by all means, take them. With any kind of medicine or supplement, part of their effect will be due to your belief in them anyway. This is called placebo effect and well known even in conventional medicine.

C'mon DB...

So in your view, all religions are indeed based on some kind of metaphysical reality, but of a different and highly specific kind in each case. Well, that opens up some interesting perspectives... If I choose to be Christian, I am promised to be eternally leaning on Jesus' bosom - well, not really my kind of thing plus there is the considerable risk of being sent to an overheated place stinking of sulfur for all my sins. Nah, out of the question. If I devote myself to Islam, especially if I sacrifice my life for its sake, I could be spending my afterlife in a beautiful place with several wives, which sounds kind of attractive at first, but when I come to think about it, this might just as well result in eternal suffering again - so no, thanks. If I decide to be a Buddhist, that means I am in for an endless series of reincarnations, but hey, I enjoy being in physical reality, plus some of the other places that (especially Tibetan) Buddhists can go to don't sound so bad either, so yes, Buddhism seems to have much to offer in terms of future planning - all the way to well-deserved retirement by popping into oblivion, ultimately! As a Daoist, my only path to an afterlife to speak of seems to necessitate turning myself into an immortal - which is a rather challenging task to be sure. However, as it seems in line with other things that I'm on to anyway, this option will deserve further consideration. There are yet more scenarios to consider - that have turned into actual possibilities, now that my eyes have been opened! So thanks for that, Old3Bob, I feel like the proverbial kid in the candy store right now. Alas, there is that pesky inner voice reminding me of the unlikelihood of every religion actually providing its own Heaven and Hell... I am afraid I am stuck with my previous view of all systems essentially representing aspects of a singular metaphysical reality. So I guess that's the world that actually awaits me - would you agree we call it the Eclectic Philosopher's Paradise?

Would you happen to have a link?

Makes perfect sense to me...

Horse stance

Naysayer

Which in my view is nothing but archetypal symbolism. Other religions may use their own symbols in reference to identical existential states and facts. Often only sophisticated metaphysical interpretation will reveal this, though. Please note, I am talking about metaphysics of the comparative and unifying kind here... Not about "esoteric" views dogmatically held by this or that cult.

Neti neti

That sounds fair enough. The question remains if there can ever be peace over religious matters as long as there are so many people thinking of their particular religion as exclusive truth. Anyway... Thanks for the clarification.

I always dug this song... Even though its lyrics seem to be every bit as 'psychotic' as the video that originally accompanied it! If anyone amongst you guys can make some coherent kind of sense out of it, though, please let me know...

Old3bob, With all respect, this is so not true. From my perspective, all major religions provide valid outlooks on the one metaphysical reality that is actually there, even though emphasis on this or that aspect may indeed vary from one system to another. But relating their 'esoteric' core teachings to each other, common ground can be established quite easily, while sociocultural differences may veil this fact on more external layers. Understanding of the essential unity of all religions by a majority of people will hopefully one day reveal the utter foolishness of religious wars and render the latter obsolete for good.

“Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it.” ~Andre Gide