Bindi

Having this ‘acceptance’ step honestly seems unnecessary to me. If I see something happening, let’s say someone being bashed, for me to intervene and try to stop this from happening it surely goes without saying that I acknowledge it is happening In the first place and I have accepted that it truly is happening. It’s like pointing out an inevitable and obvious part of the process, does it benefit anyone to point out this step? Regarding the sage treating all things and people as straw dogs, this is not my model of spiritual success. Removed, beyond, disengaged. How can a sage ever have compassion or care for anyone else, without falling from the state of sageness? Aren’t they two disparate aims?

Did you know Abraham is believed to have been brought up in the Sumerian city of Ur in Mesopotamia? It’s possible, even likely, that the biblical fall of man was Abraham’s (or Moses’) retelling of the Mesopotamian fall of man story in the Myth of Adapa. Beyond the detail, I read these myths as describing something missing, something that people are aware of and are searching for. In both myths it is immortality that is missing. Immortality was achieved by Jesus in the biblical story, this makes him an interesting figure to me. I like to go beyond the bible though, I don’t see it as the infallible word of God. Neidan also searches for immortality. I’m more interested in what all these stories have in common, what motivated the originators of these stories to specify these exact aspects, and then I always have the question in the back of my mind, did Jesus really achieve this? If I had to make a bet on it right now I’d put my money on yes, but I might change my mind at any point.

I do get what you are saying, his arguments might not satisfy me either if I were dealing with your Issues. In the end I walked away from belonging to any group, so I can hardly preach to you about accepting anyone’s arguments or justifications against homosexuality as a sin in the bible. The reason I think original sin/the three granthis/the three worms(sanchong) are more fundamental is because they are all saying there is something amiss within our energy system, there’s something wrong and we might be able to fix it and make it right. Since we both agree there is nothing wrong with homosexuality, then it isn’t a stumbling block that needs to be removed, it’s more like a non-issue, and if Christianity doesn’t see it that way that’s their problem, not yours. However, there being something inherently amiss in yourself is your problem, and it’s everyones personal problem that they are accountable for. I don’t agree with any systems ways of making it right either, so I follow my own way.

I hold to the directive that the kingdom of heaven is within, and pursue only this, though the Ten Commandments are a good way to hold us in check externally before we find it. Why does Christianity say we are born with original sin, why does ‘Hinduism’ say we have three knots (granthis) to undo, why does Taoism say we have three worms that need to be removed? This is a more fundamental problem than why has the bible been interpreted to view homosexuality as a sin. Anyway, read Matthew Vine’s take on why homosexuality is not considered a sin here. I’m not a Christian, I have found I can’t squeeze my thinking down to fit any religion or philosophy, though I see value threaded through many of them, and I have a lot of faith in what I am doing so I’m prepared to run with it. When I was just out of school I seriously considered becoming a nun, I was educated in a Catholic school and my intense desire to know and embrace the ‘spiritual’ was at first projected into my cultural conditioning. But even before I had considered becoming a nun, I had made a decision to examine and understand and follow my dreams, and after thinking I would like to become a nun I had a dream that said ‘don’t do it’, ie., don’t become a nun, and this dream voice was the voice I followed. In retrospect I believe that being a Catholic nun would have limited me, I prefer my own independent path, it makes things harder and more confusing on the way, but it’s getting easier.

Clearly there is a greater issue here than homosexuality, as Christians nowadays aren’t required to be circumcised nor do they follow Jewish dietary law. Are all Christians therefore already least in the Kingdom of Heaven? In Western nations adultery isn’t punished by the death penalty, yet in the bible death is the required punishment. How then can you explain that Jesus stopped the stoning of an adulteress, which is a clear case of him not following the Law? Also, Jesus was taken to task for healing on the Sabbath. I could argue that he was not averse to breaking the letter of the Law when it suited him. Personally, I believe that ‘heaven and earth’, and bringing heaven and earth together, are legitimate placeholders for energetic realities within an individual.

A lot of writing and discussion has already happened regarding being gay and Christian. Some haven’t chosen to throw out the baby with the bath water, and have instead re-examined the history of the anti-gay stance of the church. In some denominations openly gay clergy are being ordained. If you are drawn to Christianity, you can read up on the conversation so far, you could try something like or read good material online like https://theconversation.com/a-thousand-years-ago-the-catholic-church-paid-little-attention-to-homosexuality-112830 Jesus as a figure is worth listening to, and it would be a shame if the institution that has grown up around him puts you off. Much better to force the institution to change by questioning its assumptions.

Is it a Mazda?

Sure, I think Triplicity is true, I favour the yoga model of there being a central channel in between the two side channels, and in my worldview they all need to have the same ‘spiritual’ energy running through them in the end.

I read this in Richard Cassaro’s article here. Duality has a lot going for it in my worldview™, but when it devolves into good/bad it has lost the way.

I decided today that I’ve been trying to fit my worldview into Daoism, and it just ain’t working, so from now on I will try to define my view in my own distinctive system. So I won’t refer to yin and yang which has already been defined to Taoist’s satisfaction, and instead I will refer to black and white subtle energy channels, and these are defined differently to yin and yang. They aren’t active and passive, strong and weak, or any other such pair, they are in fact almost opposite, the black/female is the emotions on the earthly level and the active doer on the subtle level, and the white/male is mental on the earthly level and gives the instructions to the doer on the subtle level. A bit clumsy, but a declared separate view at least, and in the end not at all like Taoism, but then again it’s not Whew, this position was a while coming

I admittedly don’t have a solid Taoist education, all I have is a solid subtle energy education which sometimes has remarkable similarities to Taoism/neidan. Taoism/neidan as it is presented reminds me in turn of a very long and intricate game of Chinese whispers.

Yin is black, yang is white, and they can be functionally and usefully viewed as female and male, but this doesn’t extend to yin + yang = all conceivable paired opposites. It is the endless extension of the principle that is patriarchal thinking. Non-patriarchal yin/yang is how it presents in the subtle energy field, where yin and yang are ‘male’ and ‘female’ polarities, and the subtle mind equivalent of the two physical brain hemispheres, empowering the subtle body. In this sense yang is the ‘hemisphere’ that gives the command to the yin ‘hemisphere’ which carries out the action. I don’t have any issue with the words quick or witch.

Yes agreed, the patriarchal comprehension of yin and yang reflects the patriarchal mindset, not the subtle reality. Alive and dead, strong and weak, in Masonic lore good and bad. Ultimately they’re only shortchanging themselves and anyone willing to go along with their concepts without examining them. yin/inert yang/active is another patriarchal assignation as far as I’m concerned. If this is what Daoists believe, then IMO Daoism has not been spared the patriarchal brush.

Awesome! Where can I get some bismuth for my son who loves melting stuff with a propane torch? I was reading this article just yesterday, bismuth is apparently the easiest metal to turn into gold https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fact-or-fiction-lead-can-be-turned-into-gold/

@Apech, you’ve asserted multiple times that emotions are the path, and you’ve held on to this assertion in a way that makes me wonder what has informed your view, why are you asserting this as a fundamental truism?

In non-technical language another piece of the puzzle was given to me from a friend who had a dream for me - in her dream she was a messenger who had to deliver a letter to me - and in short her dream was about passing three tests. The first was a test of courage, I had to ‘use my strength’ to face what I most feared In the world, the second was a requirement to ‘climb the mountain’ which to me in retrospect was surmounting a multitude of emotional issues, and the third test was to ‘not respond’, in full I was informed that to pass this test I had to “Do not speak, do not move, do not look to the left or the right, do not respond”. This is a non-emotional test, and only to be done after the first two had been completed. ‘Do not respond’ sounds more ‘spiritual’, more in line with Buddhism or Daoism, but in this message to me it was the third test, there was a definite order in which to do things. This all boils down in my mind to 1. Face the fear in the gut, 2. Attend to the feelings in the heart, and 3. Get out of the way and allow the subtle body system to do its thing, don’t be distracted by Siddhi’s, and don’t engage in the dynamics of the two polarised side channels. It’s doing the third test at the beginning where I think things can go wrong.

Rudra granthi seems the most about attachment to me and the least about emotion, associated as it is with attachment to siddhis, psychic phenomena and the concept of ourselves as individuals. I like this more emotional perspective on the first two though: “The first, Brahma granthi knot of creation, prevents the energy of kundalini shakti, the great creative power, from being released and traveling on to swadhisthana. This knot creates fears around safety and security and ‘propagation of the species’. Vishnu granthi ‘knots’ the shakti energy flowing from manipura chakra causing you to feel less powerful than you are in reality. This insecurity is felt in anahata chakra and hinders its full expression of true love.“ https://celiaroberts.com.au/emotional-anatomy-interview-with-swami-mukti/ I‘m not restricting myself to one traditions concepts, I was just saying how it seems to me. Perhaps I’m more aligned in my thinking with Buddhist Tantra and Yoga which asserts “the channels (rtsa) are tunnels for circulation of the subtle winds (rlung) and consciousness (sems).“

Coincidentally I posted these verses today that refer to both Shen Ming arriving and cleansing the heart-mind.

Outer Yellow Court Canon 太上黃庭外景玉經上 太上閑居作七言，解說身形及諸神，上有黃庭下關元，後有幽闕前命門。呼吸廬間入丹田，玉池清水灌靈根，審能修之 可長存。黃庭中人衣朱衣，關門壯籥合兩扉，幽闕俠之高巍巍，丹田之中精黑微。玉池清水上生肥，靈根堅固老不衰。中池有士衣赤衣，田下三寸神所居。中外相距 重閉之，神廬之中當修理。玄膺黑管受精符，急固子精以自持。宅中有士常衣絳，子能見之可不病，橫立長尺約其上，子能守之可無恙。呼嗡廬問以自償，保守完堅 身受慶。方寸之中謹蓋藏，精神還歸老復壯。俠以幽闕流下竟，養子玉樹令可壯。至道不煩無旁午，靈臺通天臨中野，方寸之中至關下，玉房之中神門戶，皆是公子 教我者。明堂四達法海源，真人子丹當吾前，三關之中精氣深，子欲不死修崑崙。絳官重樓十二級，官室之中五黑集，赤城之子中池立，下有長城玄谷色。長生要妙 房中急，棄捐淫欲專守精，寸田尺宅可理生，繫系子長留心安寧。觀志遊神三奇靈，閑暇無事心太平。常存玉房神明達，時念太倉不飢渴，役使六丁神女謁，閉子精 路可長活。正室之中神所居，洗身自理無敢污。歷觀五臟視節度，六腑修治潔如素，虛無自然道之故。物有自然事不煩，垂拱無為身體安，虛無之居在幃問，寂寞曠 然口不言，恬淡無欲游德園，清爭香潔玉女存，修德明達道之門。 太上黃庭外景玉經上 太上黃庭外景玉經中 作道優游深獨居，扶養性命守虛無，恬淡無為向#1思慮，羽翼已成正扶疏，長生久視乃飛去。五行參差同根節，三五合氣要本一，誰與共之斗日月，抱玉懷珠和子室。子能知之萬事畢，子自有之持勿失，即得不死入金室。出日入月是吾道，天七地三#2迴 相守，昇降進退合乃久，玉石珞珞是吾寶，子自有之何不守。心曉根基養華釆，服天順地合藏精，九原之山何亭亭，中住真人可使令。內陽三神可長生，七日之五迴 相合。崑崙之山不迷誤，蔽以紫宮丹城樓，俠以日月如連珠，萬歲昭昭非有期。外本三陽神自來，內養三陰可長生，魂欲上天魄入泉，還魂返魄道自然。 太上黃庭外景玉經中 #1向：疑當作『何』。 #2三：原作『二』，據文義改。 太上黃庭外景玉經下 遊璣懸珠環無端，迅牝金籥常完堅，載地懸天周乾坤，象以四時赤如丹，前仰後卑各異門，送以還丹與玄泉，象龜引黑 至靈根。中有真人巾金巾，負甲持符開七門，此非枝葉實是根，晝夜思之可長存。倦人道士非有神，積精所致為專年，人皆食穀與五味，獨食太和陰陽黑，故能不死 天相既。試說五臟各有方，心為國主五臟主，意中動靜黑得行，道自持我神明光。晝日昭昭夜自守，渴自飲漿飢得飽，經歷六腑藏卯酉，轉陽之陰藏於九，常能行之 不知老。肝之為黑修而長，羅列五臟生三光，上合三焦道飲漿，精候天地長生道，我神魂魄在中央。精液流泉去鼻香，立於玄膺含明堂，通我華精調陰陽。伏於玄門 候天道，近在我身還自守，清今無為神留止，精氣上下關分理。七孔已通不知老，還坐天門候陰陽，下於喉嚨通神明，過華蓋下清且凍。入清虛淵見吾形，期成還丹 可長生，還過華池動腎精，望於明堂臨丹田，將使諸神開命門，通利天道藏靈根。陰陽列布如流星，肝氣似環終無端，肺之為黑三焦起，伏於天門候故道。清液醴泉 通六府，隨鼻上下開二耳，窺視天地存童子，調和精華理髮齒。顏色光澤老不白，下於喉嚨何落落，諸神皆會相求索，下入絳宮紫華色。隱藏華蓋通神廬，專守心神 傳相呼。觀我諸神辟除邪，脾神還歸依大家，藏養靈根不復枯，至於胃管通虛無，閉塞命門似玉都，壽傳萬歲將有餘。脾中之神遊中宮，朝會五神和三光，上合天黑 及明堂，通利六府調五行。金木水火土為王，通利血脈汗為漿，二神相得下玉英，上稟元氣年益長。循護七竅去不祥，日月列布張陰陽，伏於太陰成其形，五臟之主 腎為精。出入二黑入黃庭，呼吸虛無見吾形，強我筋骨血脈成。恍惚不見過清靈，坐於廬下觀小童，日一夕存在神明光，出於無門入無戶。恬淡無欲養華根，服食玄 黑可遂生。還返七門飲太淵，通我喉嚨過清靈，問於仙道與奇功，服食靈芝與玉英。頭戴白素足丹田，沐浴華池灌靈根，三府相得開命門，五味皆至善黑還。大道蕩 蕩心勿煩，被髮行之可長存，吾言畢矣勿妄傳。 太上黃庭外景玉經下 常存玉房神明達，時念太倉不飢渴，役使六丁神女謁，閉子精 路可長活。正室之中神所居，洗身自理無敢污。 Eternally preserve the Spiritual Illumination penetrating the Jade Chamber. When meditating on the Great Granary (the stomach) there will be no more hunger and thirst. When this is accomplished there will be a visitation from all Six Jade Maidens. Close off the Child at the Essence Gate to acquire the medicine for longevity In front of the Foremost Chamber Hall is where the spirits reside. Cleanse the mind to self-heal rather than wither from impurity. - Olson By always thinking and guarding the Jade Chamber, one’s bright spirits [Shen Ming] will arrive. By always thinking of T’ai Ts’ang, the Great Warehouse, one will be free from hunger and thirst. By commanding the six Tings, the goddesses will come to pay respect. By blocking off the routes for the essence, one will live long. The main chamber is where the spirits reside. One should bathe and groom oneself and be careful not to get dirty. - Huang Frequently store the attained bright light to the jade room. Meditate periodically on the stomach area (Great Granary) to eliminate hunger and thirst. Once Qi starts flowing, all six Jade girls will be also present. Close your essence gate to achieve longevity. Straighten the room in the middle so spirit would live within. Cleanse the heart-mind [Xin] so it would be inclined to self-healing rather than self-intoxicating. - Archangelis and Lanying

Regarding how dealing with emotions results in spiritual growth, it’s complex and I don’t have all the answers, but some parts of it I understand. Stored emotional and mental ‘complexes’ (to borrow a useful term from psychoanalysis) exist in each dantian which is somewhat equivalent to saying there are three granthis or knots (in the same positions as the dantians) in the human body. The granthis are considered to be energetic or psychic blocks that prevent Prana from rising up through Sushumna Nadi, so this is the problem, and emotional work untangles these knots one by one, starting from the lower dantian. Yoga mentions Prana as rising up through Sushumna Nadi, I can’t help thinking consciousness rides on this Prana, by which I mean to say to my understanding consciousness also rises over time from the lower dantian until it reaches the 7th chakra. Where the 7th chakra is, is disputable. The ‘immortal foetus’ is not so difficult to birth in the lower dantian once emotional work is started, to me it is a spontaneous and early event in the lower dantian, but nurturing this subtle matter and raising it are hard and not possible I think without guidance. edit to add: Mixing traditions outrageously it’s like resting awareness on the sacral chakra and feeling the feeling there, which simply responds by birthing the subtle level of yin and yang in the beginning of internal work. The sacral chakra or second chakra is located two inches below the navel, and is represented by the color orange. This chakra governs emotions, creativity, sensitivity, sexuality, intimacy, emotional well-being, and self-expression, and is associated with the element of water.

Vibrant and still at the same time - perhaps Qi singing through the channels while we remain peaceful and unperturbed emotionally and mentally.

I looked up just now at the news which is on in the background, and I saw footage of a women’s rally and a woman holding up a placard on which was written “VIVA LA VULVA”. Well, it made me laugh.

I probably should have responded to LL’s post, where he posits stillness as the end result of feeling emotions. You had responded to his post, so I responded to yours without thinking it through. In terms like stillness or emptiness I don’t get a sense of the vibrancy that I feel is part of the end result.

Hmm, what about Ananda from the phrase ‘Sat-Chit-Ananda’. From yogapedia: Ananda: bliss, a state of pure happiness, joy and sensual pleasure And from a Chinese perspective there is Shen Ming: There is a term in Chinese Medicine for when your eyes are shining brilliantly – we call it Shen Ming (神 明), and it often translated as ‘the radiance of the spirits.’ Shen Ming is a concept that appears throughout Chinese Medicine and philosophy that refers to the luminosity and radiance of our true Self. When you see someone whose eyes are shining brilliantly, like they are awake and filled with bliss, that is Shen Ming. We see it very often in babies, who for the most part don’t have much in the way of their pure joy in life.

In sources related to the early Way of the Celestial Masters a rite called heqi is described which aims to create a perfected being: “On the left the Supreme, on the right the Mysterious-Old, and the Most High: These three pneumas are born together within our bodies and inchoately become one. This is named Peach Vigor (Taokang)... The yang pneuma turns to the left, yin pneuma proceeds to the right... He [Peach Vigor] stands precisely in the gate of destiny (mingmen).“ Again there is one on the left and one on the right, and a third Higher One which suggests to me in the middle and above the two on each side, not so different to many of the pics you’ve been posting. Together these three are the just formed or rudimentary immortal foetus, born in the mingmen which is at navel height towards the spine, thus starting the journey in the lower dantian. I see this as a description of a subtle energy event, it seems the immortal foetus is more substantial than ‘spirit’, that it has subtle substance, and that it has the capacity to develop.