Limahong

Hi yyitself, THAT'S IT! - LimA

Hi seby223, I am not going to pretend that I have any answers for where/who you are. Then why am I still on your thread? Because I like to believe your 'openness' needs some 'closure'. Can I help you with 'closure' per se. No not directly. Why? Because you need to take ownership of the 'openness/closure' dichotomy yourself. Then how can I help indirectly? By giving you a bit of my time so that you are not alone in your search for/of yourself. If that can help a little ... I have googled for something relevant to/for you. And I found this: EXPECTATIONS AND DISAPPOINTMENT July 5, 2013 Sterlin Mosley Expectations. We have them about virtually everything in our lives. We believe expectations propel us into action and help to manifest future joy (or pain). Sometimes expectations help us to prepare for what may come. But more often than not expectations are a slippery slope to disappointment. Typically disappointment arises when some idea we have about what is supposed to happen (or what we want to happen) is dashed. We think our idea of reality is better than what is really happening and as such enter into a frutiless war with the suchness of life. Whatever the case; good, bad or falsely indifferent; all expectations take us out of the present and into an imagined future. Expectations at their root are another tool the ego uses to manage uncertainty and give us the illusion of control. Human beings can make the smallest expectation into an indicator about "the way life really is". Those little expectations built up over time become ample food for our stories about life. And what ego doesn't love a good story? Some stories are superficially more fun, positive or exciting, while others are a bit more dismal. But a story is a story. Many spiritual teachers tell us to drop the story. Byron Katie asks us to, "make friends with reality", and to question our beliefs about everything. In her estimation "reality is God because it rules". I think this is a beautiful way to concretize a wildly misunderstood concept. It's an entryway into what the Divine truly is. It's a truly liberating practice to detach from our expectations but we can have a hell of a time trying to do it. Personally I struggle with the good ol' "things never work out so why look forward to anything" AKA "expect to be disappointed". I often play this off as though I have no expectations, but embedded in that message is the hope or the challenge for Reality (AKA God) to prove me wrong. When it doesn't I get to reinforce my story that things and people disappoint me, and when things do work out I have the grandiose belief that my mental temper tantrum somehow eeked out my desired result. What's your expectation drug of choice, because I can get my high on mine way more than I should when I'm not practicing being present. Inherit in all expectations is an idea about the way things should be; a distrust that what life has to offer will be fundamentally undesirable. We might even go so far as to say that expectation is one of human beings' greatest limitations to true happiness. It's difficult to truly drop all expectations but the more we practice presence the more they seem to loosen their grip on our worldview. Even positive expectations can create problems, it's almost as though we become so attached to the positive outcome we turn into the overly stressed out, rigid party planner that can't enjoy the celebration because their too busy creating a "fun" "positive environment". You may be asking, "without expectations what are we left with, wouldn't you be leaving behind excitement, happiness and your personal standard for life and other people?" A valid and important question. Without expectation we're left with a resolute tranquility that whatever happens is absolutely perfect. Without the idea or the future projection of what should, could, or ought to be we move out of the future and into the present. We actually make greater room for the miraculous to occur because we aren't clamping down possibility. Our thought energy is immensely powerful, and expectation often limits wonderment. We become cradled by the knowledge that what is meant to occur will occur with or without our mental projections. We become, as Byron Katie says, lovers of what is. We can check in any time to whether we are holding an expectation. Chances are you're doing it all the time and don't even realize it. A practice I use is this: Stop yourself mentally and notice whether you have an idea about how things are supposed to be. If you do, allow in the thought that whatever happens next is exactly what is supposed to happen. Drop the judgement about your desired outcome or what is "good" or "bad", and just allow whatever is happening to unfold. Watch yourself in the situation. This may be uncomfortable at first, particularly if you're used to leaning on your expectations. You may feel anxiety, sadness or anger, as you relinquish control, and you may then decide to let back in the expectancy, that's okay, don't beat yourself up about it, just notice that you've let it back in and what it's doing for you. With practice you'll find yourself relaxing into the present. You'll have less desire to interfere, control and manage reality. But we all have flare ups, so be kind to yourself when it happens, we're human beings with human egos we have to learn to be friendly with it. Letting go of expectations doesn't mean we have to eliminate excitement and joy from our lives, and it also doesn't mean that challenges don't still arise. It means that we approach life with curiosity. It means we can entertain possibilities but give them no importance. We can marvel in the mystery of the Universe's plans and stop pretending we are the sole cartographers of our life's trajectory. There is a much broader picture to be seen that is impossible to perceive if we are only focused on what how we think it should look. If you want to know how to make God laugh, tell him about your plans.-Woody Allen There are many hidden nooks and crannies to every situation that we cannot appreciate when expectation clouds our view. Reality is often a much more apt architect than we are. We become a co-creator to our life stories rather than that megalomaniacal micromanage in the cramped corner office whose always stressed out because be believes the company won't run unless he spins the wheels, because nobody wants to work with that guy. Hope the above can provide some new avenues for you to move on => forward. This will be my last posting on your thread for a while. Believe in yourself that you can find your own yourself. I believe you can. Hi CedarTree. ? - LimA

Hi Jeff, I was pulling your leg. Best kind of knowledge - experiential knowledge - when truthfully and sincerely shared. Good night. - LimA

Hi Dada, Walking back to happiness? - LimA

Hi Jeff, At whose expense? - LimA

Hi Jeff, Great. This is what I mean when I think of supportive brother/sister-hood at TDB. - LimA

Hi seby223, All good wishes. - LimA

Hi Dada, (i) If never make it there and yet (ii) have not miss anything; so in the net (iii) pointless to go to Needles? (iv) Can I throw in Pins? (v) Try Needles and Pins: Where do you want me to poke them on you? I am a budding accupuncturist. You will not be punctured - no pain and everything to gain. Waiting in anticipation, - LimA

Hi Brian, You use 'doggy night' to explain. You have never been to Spain. It is best to go there by train. Especially when there's rain. Why? Save $ down the drain. I have never been to X Y Z. But now very happy at TDB. Don't be naughty. - LimA

Hi Nintendao, Yes, a very fine marker. The day when ying (moon) was in full embrace of yang (sun). Now you are Taoistically blessed. Go forward with your daily commitment, Heavenly Child. (i) My wretched frame The amazing grace ... that saved a wretch like me ... (ii) Siu nim tao form? (iii) Ving Tsun? A smoking horse? A old kungfu horse? - LimA

Hi Dada. To see the Spanish rain. Fall on their very plains. You went by small aeroplane. Touched down - in great pain. You touched Spanish dames. Got slapped - only little pain. No pain, no gain. JOY is the main. - LimA

Hi nohbody, INHUMAN ACTS: Sad. - LimA

Hi All. I feel ill at ease to see 'Limahong' (as a poster) appearing one time too many. I am just a new kid on the TDB block. I am very sure that there are many Bummies with great experiential stuff below their belts. Can I request for more sharing? Let us move from EGO to ECO (google 'Presencing'). Let us not allow great experiential knowledge to leave this world with us when we say goodbye. Can we space out? Lost and many others have provided us with threads for great tapestries to be woven. Perhaps such interlaced knowledge can be valuable to generations after us. And what is it for our generation? Well we are given the privilege to be here. Yes/no? And we have not lived in vain. Yes/no? - LimA

Hi Mo Tzu, I second that. I have been advised that it is the safest place to store my chi when I am energised. Have been doing it for quite a while and now I can feel some stirring when I focus my mind there. It took me quite a while to be where I am at the moment. I feel blessed. Hi Lost, It will be nice to know where/how you are now. Why? So that others reading this thread can learn something from the advice given by some others. - LimA

Hi Miffymog, Another experiential gem. Thank you for the honest and open sharing. This will keep TDB in good stead. Good night. - LimA

Hi blue eyed snake, Thank you for your experiential perspective. My perspective is that of a researcher - detached. Trust seby223 can use your perspective for a weigh in. You have reinforced my developing belief - there is rooted at TDB a brotherly camaraderie . - LimA

Hi seby223, You are correct I am "prejudiced against cannabis". But my reasons are (i) not only because "it's illegal in Singapore" but (ii) there is a wider legal perspective when it comes to cannabis. This is an excerpt from Wikipedia on - Legality of cannabis by country: The legality of cannabis for general or recreational use varies from country to country. Possession of cannabis is illegal in most countries as a result of the agreement about Indian hemp, also known as hashish, in the International Opium Convention (1925). However, many countries have decriminalized the possession of small quantities of cannabis; In the United States, medical cannabis is allowed by some state, territorial, Indian reservation, and District of Columbia law, but medical and recreation use is illegal by federal law. While federal law is controlling, the government has chosen not to prosecute users operating in compliance with local medical and recreational marijuana laws. As of 2017, Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, Germany, India, Jamaica, Mexico, the Netherlands, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Uruguay, and some U.S. jurisdictions have the least restrictive cannabis laws, while China, Egypt, France,[5] Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Norway, the Philippines, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam have the strictest cannabis laws. (Please read in-depth at Wikipedia). Besides the legal aspects of cannabis, I am also concerned about its chemical effects. I am a chemist by training. This is an excerpt from Wikipedia on - Effects of cannabis: The primary effects of cannabis are caused by the chemical compounds in the plant, including cannabinoids, such as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is only one of more than 100 different cannabinoids present in the plant. Cannabis has various psychological and physiological effects on the human body. Different plants of the genus Cannabis contain different and often unpredictable concentrations of THC and other cannabinoids and hundreds of other molecules that have a pharmacological effect,so that the final net effect cannot reliably be foreseen. Acute effects while under the influence can include euphoria and anxiety. Cannabidiol (CBD), another cannabinoid found in cannabis in varying amounts, has been shown to alleviate the adverse effects of THC that some consumers experience. With very high doses, THC can induce auditory and visual hallucinations. Research about medical benefits of cannabis has been hindered by United States federal law. Smoking any substance will carry the same risk as smoking tobacco due to carcinogens in all smoke,[8][9] and the ultimate conclusions on these factors are disputed. Cannabis "use disorder" is defined as a medical diagnosis in the fifth revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders(DSM-5). Please review "where I am" through more reading. Please read very carefully and take very good care of yourself. I like your openness. - LimA

Hi seby223, You are your own best teacher. Your openness - your strength. I sense your lightness of being. Get to know yourself more. - LimA

Hi phil48, When you go travelling please check out first which country is cannibis tolerant and which is not. Please get on the wrong side of a host country's laws. I like to believe most teachers have within each a human heart. - LimA

Hi seby223, Please stop the cannabis. Don't destroy yourself. If you think that it is going to be difficult to stop - you are right. But you are not alone with your struggles to go drug free. I like to believe that there is sense of brotherhood support at TDB. Just think of the great guy within you trying to get out. To walk in the sunshine and rain. Please stop. - LimA

Hi Everyone, From Goodreads: Swami Vivekananda “Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life; dream of it; think of it; live on that idea. Let the brain, the body, muscles, nerves, every part of your body be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success, and this is the way great spiritual giants are produced.” “You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own soul.” “In a conflict between the heart and the brain, follow your heart. ” “In a day, when you don't come across any problems - you can be sure that you are travelling in a wrong path” “The great secret of true success, of true happiness, is this: the man or woman who asks for no return, the perfectly unselfish person, is the most successful.” “All power is within you; you can do anything and everything. Believe in that, do not believe that you are weak; do not believe that you are half-crazy lunatics, as most of us do nowadays. You can do anything and everything, without even the guidance of anyone. Stand up and express the divinity within you.” - LimA

Hi Everyone, When I engaged with this thread from Sublimation at the beginning, I perceived "struggles" as disabling. Then my thinking was associated with three negative words - 'cold', 'darknes' and something 'evil' From the interfacing with the many positive Bummies on this thread, my above associations started to expand thus along the way: (i) 'cold' = absence of heat (ii) 'darkness' = absence of light (iii) 'evil' = absence of love, faith and true belief in the Spiritual Divine Now that I can identify more with the three words (instead of just associating with them), my mind is primed forward positively - in search of human warmth, enlightenment and the Spiritual Divine. I really look forward to the search and now "struggles" are enabling me to do so. My thinking per (i), (ii) and (iii) is rooted in Swami Vivekananda thus (Wikipedia): Swami Vivekananda was an Indian Hindu monk, a chief disciple of the 19th-century Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a key figure in the introduction of the Indian philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga to the Western world and is credited with raising interfaith awareness, bringing Hinduism to the status of a major world religion during the late 19th century. - LimA

Hi Nintendao, You are funny. Get on board. - LimA

Hi nohbody, This will be my last post on war heroes - real human beings fighting with their ilves for world order. Our heroes need to rest after all the fighting. Here goes respectfully my salute to them: DEAR HEROES, THANK YOU. REST IN PEACE WITH A SMILE. We will carry on your fights in different ways - with peaceful struggles. - LimA

Hi Lost, Heavens you are not lost. Only disturbed - very most. Return to Normal @ no cost. Thank U for your post. TDB a very good host. My Dada is correct. You are not completely lost. Trust my Dada. Maybe you had seen a ghost - at most. Yes. STOP just STOP. Yes. STOP! Yes. Stop. Yes. STOP just STOP. Now that you have stopped, what do you see in front of you Lost? I am very sure you are seeing this: Now can I stop here? - LimA