wilfred

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Everything posted by wilfred

  1. Which books sit on your nightstand?

    couple on the go: Burgs - The Flavour of Liberation Vol 1 & 2 - a big meditation/Dhamma manual. huge amount of knowledge on the path and its energetics made accessible for modern readers. Chalie Morley - Dreams of Awakening - on lucid dreaming, quite basic but covers a lot of ground - spiritual context, scientific angle and techniques to increase their occurrence.
  2. Ethics - binding or liberating?

    the paradox here is they are both binding and liberating. things don't open up unless you play by the rules and when it comes to this energy stuff, there are indeed rules. we can't free ourselves while pretending we live in our own little universe but i imagine the experience of being 'bound' is something that totally breaks down as one aligns themselves more and more with the natural order, transcends the lower mind. it becomes more of an effortless flow, all that's needed is a strong motivation to keep ones virtue and things open up very quickly indeed.
  3. What are you listening to?

    nice new groove for the summertime https://soundcloud.com/djcassidy/future-is-mine-master
  4. Quality buddhist forum (other than this one) ?

    from what i've seen from popping into some of those other forums, they are rich in people versed in the theory but not necessarily the practice/energetics of the path. that's a red flag straight away, if you want to avoid egos i'd steer clear of people who take it too seriously. it's often to the point of dogma - it's OK as long as you agree with certain voices. i think you'll find much more fruitful discussion and useful advice on here. the whole point of the teachings is their experiential nature, so going down the academic rabbit hole is pointless compared to meeting teachers etc. my 2cents.
  5. Cannabis effect on Cultivation; views in CTM

    i've used cannabis regularly in the past and learning meditation have some new insights on what it's doing, in line with comments here and why it might not be beneficial. namely intoxicants disturb the heart base and in this instance the heightened sense of awareness is artificial. in meditation terms it's totally 2d whereas with the heart being settled everything comes alive and has more depth. it's a fun plant, i always enjoyed it, but it's tuning you into it's own thing at the expense of your own gear which is more clear and penetrating. totally agree about the spirit being out of body and it sending your energy upward, a bad thing when the whole point of much of our practice is to be grounded and build up our energy centers. it offers an interesting perspective but without the ability to cultivate genuine insight. it offers a lot of relief from bodily pain (can be addictive) and it's better than many medicines for lots of afflictions. but with the wrong temperament/lifestyle can be trouble, it's ultimately better to get the root of things than take refuge in being high. i still enjoy it, but reserved only for social, outgoing occasions. and that's only because i still have stuff to work through, ideally it wouldn't make much difference at all.
  6. Potassium

    surely there is enough of this in a healthy diet?
  7. Taoist Tonic Herbs

    his book 'Healing Thresholds' is one of my favorite health books (must be OOP, has disappeared off the website) but maybe he's now boiled it down into the one you described. i will definitely be checking out his newer books now! http://www.amazon.com/Healing-Thresholds-Rehmannia-Dean-Thomas/dp/1452500207 i found it a lot more insightful than Ron's book which is mostly on the herbs, whereas Dean goes into depth on the background theory, taoism, TCM etc. the workshop sounds awesome, great you could attend and get some first-hand insight. if you're looking for a source of Dendrobium, DH 'Yin Replenisher' tincture goes a long way, one of my staples for when energy has been expended. they do the 'Healers Tea' in elixir packs but it's quite a bit more expensive. http://uk.iherb.com/Dragon-Herbs-Yin-Replenisher-Super-Potency-Extract-2-fl-oz-60-ml/34122
  8. welcome! love your anecdote, there's no way back now!
  9. Please, I need help

    heya, welcome from the UK. 'cancel out every sexual thought before it arises' woah now, i think you might be punching a tad above your pay grade there as far as porn addiction goes, you've no doubt built up excessive lust-attachment energy from all the sexual fantasies. speaking from personal experience, the idea is to not react/feed those thoughts and channel your energy into finding real world relations or skillful transmutation. stopping them arising isn't realistic, it just needs tempering before the underlying issues can be worked through. the digestion stuff sounds like you're concentrating/building up this pent up energy in places where it's effecting health-bodily function, causing blockages etc. i would imagine spleen-liver are problem areas, as well as energy flowing up to the head as this stuff is related to visual stimulation. send me a message if you want to talk, this porn stuff is a real nightmare seeing as it forms conditioning based off our deepest drive. lots of messy energy.
  10. New guy from the Czech Republic

    welcome from the UK! you're mighty young to be aware of any of this energy stuff, impressive! wishing you fruitful interactions and practice in the future i had/have a similar problem with too much energy in the head, seems commonplace with technology-modern culture causing non-stop mental chatter, leading to lack of concentration/clarity. can also cause all sorts of health problems. good news is there's plenty of grounding practices and folk around here well versed in all things cultivation related
  11. Vegan

    yeah it seems to be one of their top tinctures, safe for pretty much anyone and effective for sustained use. as for the dragon herbs products, not cheap but i think they're pretty much the best out there. when they say 'di tao' ingredients it's legit, the dried gojis are amazing. and the FITT extraction on the goji drops makes for a really fresh tasting, flavourful extract. 'Jing Herbs' is another one if you fancy getting bulk powders, something DH don't do and their quality is brilliant. i had a couple of bags of their Schizandra extract which was what initially got me into that herb, very powerful as a tea. they've got both the Goji & Schizandra episodes of their podcast up on this page http://www.jingherbsradio.com/page/2/
  12. Vegan

    heya, it's tough to say with so much stuff on the go, but that's one i've been taking daily for a few years so can probably attribute quite a few of the jing building benefits to. schisandra seems to come over like an energetic wave through the whole body, which is consistent with it effecting all meridians/organ groups. i feel like it's tonifies yin functions more than anything, opens up the kidney/lower back channels and increases speed and efficiency of fluid production through the whole body. citrus/ginger seems to be a perfect compliment to break through cohesion/sticky energy and enhance it's cleansing effects. saliva, seminal fluids and mucus are formed-ejected much more readily when you've been on schisandra/yin tonics for an extended period. skin is also noticably improved, softer and smoother and my mindfulness/awareness kept increasing as jing energy became more refined. not necessarily a good thing, but i'm working on the other stuff now
  13. Vegan

    schizandra is awesome! been taking it for quite a while and it seems to have many benefits. for convenience the product i use is the dragon herbs goji/schizandra drops, just add some it into berry juice with a dash of ginger cordial and you have quite an elixir! http://www.dragonherbs.com/prodinfo.asp?number=012
  14. New here. Looking for healing

    hi there and welcome! sorry to hear about your skin condition. may i ask where you are based? if it's where i am (UK) i can point you in the direction of a retreat where you'll be taught how to heal yourself. skin conditions seem to be about the blood being badly organized which can be for a variety of reasons. you may well need to start some internal cleansing regimens as the people are saying above. very likely you're liver has been over-burdened by absorbing toxic materials over a long period. anyhow, welcome and best of luck in finding healing.
  15. What are you listening to?

    throwback soul/funk band 'St. Paul & The Broken Bones' - really good if you like this type of music!
  16. Excessive Yin Jing?

    i think the problem could more be with the balance yin-yang energies in the body. i don't think there's anything wrong with eating these herbs/foods, the body will use what it can. but i have read some comments about refining energy, it's not always the issue with people.
  17. Supplements you use

    i take too many supplements. having too many supplements is nothing more than an attachment as far as i can tell. looking to not have to worry about any of that in the future. for now i feel i'm supporting my physical faculties as much as possible while the underlying energy is still messy, minimizing jing leakage. but there's leaking from all the thinking about this stuff so the question is whether it's worth it. at least in my case i think it's been worthwhile for the sheer amount of health changes, functionality increased in lots of observable ways. it feels like jing is building and awareness along with that.
  18. Meat

    i think that meat needs to be more regulated than eggs, eggs are a better alternative overall. or fish something about the really bottom of the food chain based organisms, insects, small sea creatures, they pack a lot of jing due to their relative size-strength, concentration of minerals. has anyone tried krill oil? i think it might be better to use than the standard cod liver, has less of a putrid kind of smell too.
  19. Sufi Dance - What is this?

    lol @ the street fighter music. in all seriousness that looks like a great time.
  20. Ways to Increase Charisma?

    i'm not sure seeking charisma is the right volition for these type of practices, ie it will only get you so far. sounds like it is very much rooted in wanting to be seen a certain way. nonetheless, energetic cultivation will markedly increase that quality in an individual, no doubt. i do think that kamma comes into it, some people can radiate this type of quality despite being self-obsessed at many levels. so some of us will need to work a lot harder and it might be troublesome to narrow it down to what things you need to let go of and which you don't, to see the desired increase in 'charisma'. a better starting point may be to realize we need to drop pretty much everything we 'think' and go from there. it's a tough one - we're social creatures but there's a fine line to tread between practicality in our lives and hindrance, when embarking on this path.
  21. Irritations

    the way i see it, the conscious mind can still become tired and tired of things, it's a natural energetic response if we think of it at a mechanical level. the behavioral manifestation of that might seem on the surface like the person is frustrated or annoyed, context depending. where it would differ for arahants/liberated ones etc would be what's going on beneath the surface. their reactions would never be particularly strong because there is no aversion being registered on a subconscious level. likewise no attachment to those feelings, so everything is pretty much in and out. reactions in the present create no ripples, they are just that.
  22. Enlightened movies

    John Carpenter's 'In The Mouth of Madness' - awesome 'horror' movie that's a lot smarter than it seems, raises a lot more questions than it ever gives answers. one of my all time faves for sure...
  23. Crying - its role in spiritual practices

    my deepest tears are the most humbling experience, as if the ego is literally shrinking and the futility of all the storytelling that goes on in my head has become blindingly obvious. like a big depressurization of built up mental charge, deflating like a balloon. my reflection is generally 'what on earth have i been doing to myself?' and yes it feels like an empathetic reaction, for myself in such instances. there's something deeply beautiful about seeing the madness we put ourselves through for what it is. likewise upon seeing others reflect in a similar manner, experiencing deep empathy for a person trying to put the pieces together and struggling in similar plight to let themselves be free.
  24. there seem to be plenty of 'interesting' beings on here!