Michael Sternbach

Unlimited light

I was going to say something similar, but you beat me to it.

Jesus

Enlightenment

Lead to gold

Wow, that makes four of us.

I was also very analytically and scientifically minded in my childhood and earlier teenage years - almost (but somehow not quite) exclusively. Books like The Dancing Wu Li Masters and The Tao of Physics helped me find access to spirituality, along with martial arts. It was Zen and Daoism that first took me to realms beyond the rational.

Understated

Romantic

MH, I agree with parts of your post, but I do believe that we humans are part of the Earth/the Cosmos/Dao in search of consciousness. We are their eyes/brains. They need to process so many different perspectives to reach full understanding of themselves, eventually.

Well, I am not sure why exactly you would think you are able to tell what understanding and attainment of living Dao somebody you know very little of has or has not attained, but I respect your wish for any statements to be backed up by reliable sources. In line with this, regarding the questions whether things created can also be considered an aspect of Dao, I do think of this as pretty conclusive: From Livia Kohn, The Taoist Experience: An Anthology, 1993. About Livia Kohn, we read: Source: http://www.east-west-dichotomy.com/livia-kohn-professor-dao/ By the way, "Professor Dao" is highly respected not only for her scholarly meticulousness but also for her practical lectures in living Dao.

Inquisition

Roger Boscovich

Sure. Not necessarily, as I probably won't have time and leisure to look up suitable references in the Daoist literature, even though they may be there. I have collected some knowledge on Daoism, and generally, I do value factual knowledge, however, my approach is to let my mind process what I have gathered and draw my conclusions based on my own philosophical thinking and intuition. If you are interested in the kind of living Dao that I talk about, I will be happy to share my insights, but if you are only open to discussing Dao as far as it is described in decaying scrolls, I am afraid that my dust allergy keeps me from going there. Not inclined to be either sender or a receiver of such. Hmm... Primarily, the opinion of my inner Daoist master. That's really kind of you, but if you indeed wish to carry on this discussion, I suggest that, instead of quizzing me, you simply talk about your personal view of this.

I beg to differ. But seeing how you tend to react to people who don't agree with you, I am perfectly content to leave it at that.

Hi Songtsan, nice to see you posting again! I very much agree with your post and would add that some of these people may have developed a psychosis also if they wouldn't have started meditating - who knows, maybe even a worse one. In line with this, people interested in things like meditation are typically those with strong unconscious activity, psychic sensitivity and other traits that also make psychotic states more likely. In this context, it should be borne in mind that in aboriginal societies, often the individuals that get educated as spiritual advisers and healers (shamans) are exactly those experiencing states that would without a doubt be diagnosed as psychotic by most psychiatrists. It should also be considered that proper meditation can in fact help settle an unstable and confused mind. But where are the academic surveys showing that? Well, at least I know this one which is about psychosis in relation to the meditation programme known as Silva Mind Control (of which I am an graduate). In conclusion, and not least based on my own work with many psychiatric patients, I wouldn't discourage anybody from meditation, but I would emphasize that a suitable method and guide should be sought.

While there may be some Hsing-I practitioners on this website, a more specialized martial arts forum is http://www.martialtalk.com/ Good luck!

Hello Tiger, Welcome to TDB and the way of Daoism. If you follow this way, one day you may find that the crouching tiger has turned into a hidden dragon.

chaos

Wind

What isn't Dao?

Kite

hide

RT, I find the parallels between Tantric and Tarot symbolism intriguing, thanks for bringing this topic up. I'm pretty sure, Aleister Crowley would love it too. I may not find the time to search and check out the sources you mention so soon, but by all means, feel free to make our gears rattle again by starting another thread on the topic whenever you see fit. Not to forget the charyagiti dohas, of course.

Thank you Brian for your elaborate reply. I have missed your posts about building a house, it simply made sense to me, mostly since the Prince of Pentacles belongs to Taurus - and that's the architect among the signs - and because the Ace of Pentacles typically has got to do with laying some kind of foundation. I'm glad that you found the reading useful.