wilfred

just let go sounds like you may have too much awareness concentrated in your head, very common. it's great that you can silence your thoughts but this isn't great if it's through tension. i would look into doing qigong or more physical exercise in order to get more grounded, you said that yourself and it's totally on the money. also watch out for technology use as it's very stimulating and sends energy up to the head. things are far easier to let go of and there's naturally more equanimity when your energy is better organized. it's like a totally different reality when you get grounded, you can more easily 'absorb' the feelings that trigger, it's like having a big trampoline to land on instead of a rock.

Ideally you want and may need both - intellectual understanding of the processes and transmission of indescribable concepts/states of mind. I don't know how common it is but there can certainly be transmission as part of Theravada teaching. In my experience it's used differently than in the more Tibetan Buddhist systems ie Dzogchen. Regardless of the path there is an ongoing relationship to the 'basic ground of awareness' as well as systematic mind cultivation in order to be able to see clearly. The difference with the more esoteric systems being they focus more on this relationship as a direct approach, in Theravada it's something that will become self-evident when the mind is more purified. I will say that it's still very useful and maybe even essential to have a reference point for the ground of awareness in the systematic approach. Such is the nature of us western people we really need all the help (namely transmission) we can get in order to be able to drop our stuff. Many people will be too scared to start dropping their stuff if they don't realize there's something beyond traditional notions of nothingness (this basic ground) there to fall back on.

do you have any photographs of yourself when you were happy? find the happiest photo you can and see yourself like that, being happy. this is an initial stage in the actual practice of metta, to see yourself being happy, sending love to yourself. for many of us this is not an easy feeling to cultivate and it may be that you need preliminary healing practices, energy reorganizing, before your heart will open up enough. still, it can't hurt and the word 'hardcore' certainly isn't the right approach, it isn't something that can be forced like that.

it's all karma anyway. what matters is your response (or non-response). and sometimes there's a fine line between apathy and equanimity.

new Mayer Hawthorne https://soundcloud.com/mayerhawthorne/cosmic-love

i like the term 'regressive left' that has gained more traction lately: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regressive_left as if to demonstrate the point they have been trying to get the article pulled from wikipedia...

the problem as i see it and this goes for liberal ideology in general is when you take compassion for individuals to its logical (or illogical) extremes, there's a good chance the population as a whole will be worse off. by this i mean the integrity of the system is liable to break down if policy is based on sympathy and not pragmatism. whether we like it or not capatalism has a proven track record of creating wealth, just based on how we behave as humans. and this shouldn't be confused for the crony capatalism or increasing shift to the left in recent decades. so while this type of thinking is not much compatible a spiritual path i would think none of us here aspire to be politicians or some type of business leaders etc. if you have to make decisions based on the lesser or two evils, you're already in the wrong karmically speaking. but the thing that surprises me (well, not that surprising actually) is the fear of the 'far right' or the right in general, considering how far to the left things have swung lately. there's something called horseshoe theory which is along the lines of the far-left and far-right eventually intersect, both become authoritarian and fascist. remember Hitler came into power under the guise of the 'National Socialist' party. I see the mainstream media as overwhelmingly to the left of the spectrum and pretty far to the left at that. if there's brainwashing going on this is where it's pushing people and it's certainly up for debate what the overall purpose of this might be, conspiracies etc. but the fact it's so deliberate raises suspicion. recently we've seen some examples of censorship when it comes to reporting facts, total omission of covering stories in the name of political correctness, when the bigger issue is how avoiding reality will always jeopardize the integrity of society. much like the result of abadoning a rule of law, which has also been happening in very obvious ways. don't know where this is going, i guess the point is i see the danger of fascism being stronger from the left side of the spectrum. i see it as highly unlikely we'll swing to the far-right based on the the level of information available to us nowadays. and when Donald Trump is literally Hitler, it shows you peoples idea of what the far-right actually is has been heavily skewed. the left is far more insidious based on the fact they use 'rational discussion' and appeals to sympathy in order to push an agenda of censorship and right-think/wrong-think. people strongly to the left also have this penchant for lying when hypocrisy or holes in their arguments are exposed, with much of their empathy being feigned, based off projections and the need to feel morally superior. i'm not big on politics myself, never voted, but do feel we need to move to the right for any kind of hope of a free, productive, society to be maintained. we need to be pragmatic about what is happening in the world and ways in which we can create genuine wealth (life support). there are too many narcissistic, narrative following, free speech squashing people on the other side. if we keep going to the left, next economic/financial crash we're heading straight for a socialist, authoritarian state, 1984 dystopia etc.

if you liked the healers tea, try their 'Yin Replenisher' tincture, much cheaper for how far it goes, the same lead herb (Dendrobium). goes great in the Spring Dragon Tea (Gynostemma) or any other tea/fruit drink really. my personal favourite concoction for major YIN is in watermelon juice

isn't 'narcanon' part of Scientology? gets people off drugs with the aim to bring then into Scientology...

was going to post something similar, another reference showing the stages/progression via the Theravada system: http://www.paaukforestmonastery.org/books/teaching_training.pdf (skip to p.57 for some maps/diagrams showing the order of progression) also worth noting the range of meditation objects used in this training path, particularly four elements. four elements is supposed to be a very important foundation (mandatory here, doing it early is the fastest route of progression) and from my experience very effective at cultivating direct perception - a faculty that is critical in the later stages (vipassana).

at least with my tinnitus it hits peaks at certain times of day undoubtedly to do with the fluctuations in organ energies. noting the times it's worst at and then referring to TCM etc for when certain energies are strongest-weakest should provide further insight into the problem.

i suffer from tinnitus related to incoherent energy issues in the liver area. i believe hearing issues in general (non ear damage related) come from blockages in liver channels, so that's a good place to start.

i think anybody who has recently moved to a country and is found to be involved in violence like this should be deported. it's not a perfect scenario but it beats the other options (more taxpayer money, risk to society) and could act as a deterrent. i also find the comparisons to rowdy crowds at music/beer festivals to be laughable and symptomatic of a larger problem with leftist apologists when it comes to criminal behaviour from minorities. it's double standards and reverse racism galore when it comes to many of these people. people are too scared of being called a racist to look at things objectively or be open to the possibility of issues with open border policies. seems like even the swedes are starting to face up to reality that these far-left immigration policies are not sustainable. the rape epidemic there in recent years is very troubling.

i find it dissapointing that the media and liberal types don't want to explore this story fully when it seems that many women have been intimidated and assaulted. they didn't even start reporting on it until peoples videos and pictures started hitting the internet. the details aren't clear but if the perpetrators were migrants then it points to increasing issues going forward, considering germany's plan to let millions of people in over the next few years.

seems like the calmness that is present when abiding in the ground of awarness is being misunderstood if its being narrowed down to thought-no thought. you can be in this state and still think about things, if you chose to. it's just the motivations and volition behind these thoughts won't be rearing up from the subconscious mind. we can still use our judgement faculties to get things done in the present, however awakened.

fresh & funky

yes! have to agree with the above post, refinement seems to be a key factor when we're talking access to insight and higher levels of attainment. but again, how can you tell and measure this? one of the reasons i'm drawn to buddhist teachings is because if you attain jhana level concentration you know you are getting somewhere. this seperates the wheat from the chaff in my mind, though it's something that needs to be verified by a qualified source. jhana being a higly refined state of consciousness (particularly the higher levels) you can't reach with delusion remaining. isn't it convenient how many of these gurus follow their own path or a 'path' where there is no way to gauge quite how much ego is remaining. not that jhana means insight by itself, but it's certainly a better indicator of attainment than powers, from what i can gather.

i believe some people can quite easily become realized along certain axis of development (due to past kamma) including the faculties that allow for 'powers'. but being an advanced person does not mean fully enlightened and these people may lack the insight that arises from the highest levels of attainment. this is why they are still liable to do things that could harm others. so while anyone that can point the way can be valid the difference with a true master etc is they can see what guidance/support a student needs from a much higher perspective, knowing where to push and how hard in a way that is congruent with their kamma. even then they are still human in the sense they are using their judgement to ascertain what is appropriate or not. the difference being there is no volition coming from a place of delusion (ego) and they have the full range of information to work with. reason enough to look at teachers lineages and using proven paths as the reference point for our journeys, methinks.

and a happy new year.

we are?

love has no opposite.

merry christmas bums! been a pleasure joining in this forum over the past year, lots of great knowledge and insights shared by the people here

have to agree, you get messed up then come into this stuff, that's karma and the beginning of the end.

this is kinda cruel but lol...'still a great night' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmqAjr0xs04&

hello fellow Brit!