Zen Pig

Like most things, thoughts, ideas in this world, we think we are on to some new idea, and then come to find out that this new idea was discussed at least 3500 years. This is a humorist rendition of Plato's Allegory of the Cave. Enjoy--- Socrates: “Why do people think philosophy is bullshit? Let me put it this way - imagine you’re in a cave, all chained up so you can’t turn your body at all, and all you get to look at is this one wall. Some assholes behind you are making shadow puppets using the light from a fire and making echo noises and that’s all you or anyone else chained up has seen or heard all your life. Sounds terrible, right? Except it’s all you’ve ever known, shadows and echoes, and that’s your whole world - there’s no way you could know that, really, you’re watching a slightly-improved M. Night Shyamalan film. "In fact, you get pretty good at understanding how the patterns in the show work, and everyone else chained up is like, ‘Holy shit bro, how did you know that that tree was going to fall on that guy?’ and you’re like, 'It’s because I fucking pay attention and I’m smart as shit.’ You’re the smartest of the chained, and they all revere you." Glaucon: "But Socrates, a tree didn’t really hit a guy. It’s all shadows." Socrates: "No shit, Glaucon, but you don’t know that. You think the shadows are real things. Everyone does. Now shut up and let me finish. "So eventually, someone comes and unchains you and drags you out of the cave. At first you’d say, 'Seriously, what the fuck is going on?!’ Well, actually, at first you’d say, 'HOLY SHIT MY EYES’ and you’d want to go back to the safe, familiar shadows. But even once your eyes worked you wouldn’t believe them, because everything you ever thought was real is gone. You’d look at a tree, and say 'That’s not a tree. I know trees. And you, sir, are no tree. THAT DOWN THERE is a tree.’ But you’re wrong. Down there is a shadow of a tree. "Slowly, as your eyes got better, you’d see more and more shit. Eventually, you’d see the sun, and realize that it’s the source of all light. You can’t see shit without the sun. And eventually, you’d figure it out. Something would click in your brain: 'oh, shit, that IS a tree. Fuck me. So… nothing in the cave was real? I feel like such an asshole.’ But it’s not your fault, so don’t be so hard on yourself. "Finally you’d want to go down and tell everyone about everything you’ve discovered. Except, and here’s the hilarious part, they think you’ve gone fucking crazy. You’d say, 'Guys, real trees are green!’ and they’d say, 'What the fuck is green? THAT is a tree over there.’ And you’d squint and look at the wall, but you know you’re fucked because now you’re used to having sunlight, and now you can’t see shit. So they’d laugh at you, and agree that wherever it was that you went, no one should go there because it turns people into dickheads. "Philosophy, same thing. The soul ascends and apprehends the forms, the nature of everything, and eventually the very Idea of Good that gives light to everything else. And then the philosopher has to go back to the cave and try to explain it to people who don’t even know what Green is, to say nothing of the Good. But the philosopher didn’t make up the Good, it was always there, and the only way to really make sense of it is to uncover it for yourself. You can’t force knowledge into a dumbass any more than you can force sight into a blind man. "So if you want to learn, be prepared for a difficult journey, and be prepared to make some mistakes. That’s okay, it’s all part of the process. True knowledge must be obtained the hard way, and some people just don’t want to see the light.” – (Tommy Maranges)

yes, been there myself. still have a little psi pin wheel used for telekinesis. While this works, after a time it did not satisfy my wanting to have verification. I have also had profound experiences in my forest sitting in meditation that i will not go into, but that too , after the initial experience, just became another experience. In fact the so called supernatural experiences I have had happened when I was not trying to obtain them. They just happen when thinking mind takes a back seat, and just lets things unfold. All I can speak form is my own journey, but i got a sense that wanting verification can never be satisfied, it looked like, as far as my journey goes, as if this was a slippery slope of wanting more and more in order to somehow convince myself that "this is really happening". That doubt of the realness of an experience can never be validated. The mind always brings up questions of the experience afterward, doubts. That thing that is beyond experience, beyond wanting seems to never loose its wonder. But like I say, that is my experience, maybe yours is different, and you will gain something out of this. good luck

Looks like an interesting book. i got to ask, "why does one want supernatural powers in the first place". To be powerful,? To loose fear? To subjugate others? maybe to help others? that last one would be nice , but we already have that supernatural power, called love. we can do that right now. curious thing.

yes, Destiny is real, so is free will. so is manifestation. nothing is separate. This is only my experience, so folks could have different experiences. But the thing that makes you and me 'wonder" is the thing that locks us into an idea, a belief, a feeling that we need to know. we fear what we do not know. Who wants to walk down an unknown road for no reason, and without any idea of what to expect. better for most to grab onto the belief life line, even if that life line is attached to the ship we just got off of and is sinking. Just my two cents. good luck and keep looking.

If this kind of meditation works for you, then that is all you have to say. doesn't matter what does or does not work for others. good luck

From my experience, the shifting attention and the focus are two sides to the same coin. When i do martial arts, I do not focus on only one thing, I am aware of everything, but i am still aware of that one thing. if that makes any sense.

yes, this is my experience. we seem to need both. they work in tandem, until they merge in a way. Like active meditation on the hara/ dantian and circulation, which at some point expands into "everything" while at the same time still seeing the circulation, along with everything else. both methods are needed, (at least in my experience, others might have different experiences)

hmmmmm. interesting discussion. my only connection to Taoist work comes from ten years in tai chi, (long yang form and chin forms along with mother forms). but that was years ago, left tai chi and did jujitsu for 7 years, discovered the Ki/chi flow connects all forms at some point. be that as it may. my own journey of just sitting in meditation shows me that so called "truth' is so simple and profound that most of us miss it. We , by nature try to cover very simple techniques and understandings with secret understandings, guru's who need to be followed, people to pay, and on and on. maybe this works for many. Hopefully folks will get something out of these "secret" techniques. As the Old Tortoise said in the Taoist story when the Kings guard asked him if he would like the grand honer of being killed, taken to the palace, stuffed, and covered with jewels and worshiped by all,.. he said, "I think I will just lay here in the mud"... LOL

your only 50! dam girl. you ain't old. you should be dancing with the moon. LOL

well. never said that i did not have problems. LOL. but i still like to dance.

yes, i like this. or like the old saying goes, "I cannot tell you what good or evil is, but I know it when I see it".

wow. how do you know this? in the old days, (and even today), I have no idea how to determine if anything or anyone is "higher or lower", (what ever that means) then anything else. puzzled.

The question of good and evil are very ancient. Even in the western world this question is at least 3000 years old as far as we know. So here goes. a good starting point to keep thinking about this kind of stuff is this is your hobby. good luck. "`What is good and what is evil?'; Philosophers of all ages have thought over this question. Each reckoned that he had solved the question once and for all, yet within a few years the problem would re-emerge with new dimensions. In fact, most of the answers would be later found inadequate or unsatisfactory. Religious thinkers also joined in presenting a solution in this regard but only added confusion. The Qur'an also offers a solution to this question and an effort will be made to explain it later in this dissertation." http://www.al-mawrid.org/index.php/articles/view/good-and-evil-1-views-of-the-philosophers

yes. same here. I had lucid dreams as a lad, but not many in young adult hood, later after sitting every day for a few years, the lucid dreams returned, and most of my dreams are lucid, semi lucid, (where one is playing the part of the dream, but can change it at any time), and what I call "wise dreams' which are very deep, educational, and profound. I can be out hiking in our hills and I feel like I am in a lucid dream. not real, not un-real. weird fun stuff

Part of my morning meditation is what some folks call big or large circulation meditation. This kind of movement of life force, chi, ki is very interesting, and one must be careful to not "try" to make it happen. , The circulation is very natural, and very obvious and profound once it starts. In fact one of the pit falls in my experience is once one really feels the circulation, one gets caught up in the novelty and then starts trying to do it, in my case, this made it stop right away. Its about relaxing, and letting it happen. Be that as it may, one of the results of this circulation is opening up areas in the body that were either blocked, or kind of muted from daily life. For me, it was the Heart Chakra. While a lot of folks would really love there hearts to be more open, I find it to be kind of a problem at first. Its not that I am some kind of non feeling monster, and I would give up my life to protect the family that I love, and others. But once the heart starts to open due to this circulation, one starts to feel empathy. I usually act out of honer, and duty in my life. I see something wrong, figure out how to fix it, and just proceed. so to speak. Now I am torn between peoples feelings, which is odd, but needs to happen. One thing i have learned on this path is to relax, let the universe figure out what we need, and let it happen.

Thanks for your good thoughts. And good guess, but our little neighborhood bar is in the hills of Northern Colorado, about a mile from my valley. cheers.

Deep gassho bow of realization. It was my own hubris and ego that I made light of this post. The more i learn, the more I see just how much more I need to see. Thanks for the wake up call.

ok. yes, and if one was born Dec 31 2000 at 11:59 pm and 59 seconds, on a rocket ship going 98 percent of the speed of light, then it would be 2018 on earth, and both 2017 on the rocket. LOL. this is fun.

Guys, not trying to be an ass wipe mr. smarty boots, but if i could draw a number line for any year someone was born, and there age, it would add up to the current year what ever year that is. you guys have got to be pulling my leg, or pulling something. loL. lots of fun

I think you are pulling our legs. . of course your age plus the year you were born would be this year. Lets say that you are 100 years old, then you would have been born in 1918. of course 1918 Plus 100 would equal this year. funny to say that this will not happen for another 1000 years! good joke

Oops, too late.

Been there my brother. "this to shall pass"..... good luck, as you know this will pass. just ride the wave.

Once again, from my experience, (which is all i try to speak from), focus on breath is kind of a way to start quieting the mind, the body also becomes more relaxed, and one sees energy start to move. But after a time, breath is just an inseparable part of the whole. One starts to be "aware" of everything, so to speak. Both breath, the dog barking, the wind blowing, everything, nothing is separate. It seems to be something we cannot force. in our modern society, we want things Now. Meditation is something that is not instant gratification, for me, it took years, and is still taking years. .

This is a very good question my friend. "What do we want? What are we looking for"? To comment on the original question in this post: As far as energy flowing, from my experience it happens naturally, when the time is ripe. No forcing, no expectations. Actually in my experience, and others can have there own experience, the energy is kind of stored or collected from the center or Hara/Dantain, and after a while, it will start to flow into the sternum, heart, up the neck and into the top of the head on its own. just watch it. nothing special. Won't be the cure all of ones life, but it is just another journey down the unknown road. good luck

“I gained nothing at all from Supreme Enlightenment, and for that very reason it is called Supreme Enlightenment.” ~ Gautama Buddha Eat when you are hungry, drink when you are thirsty, cry when you are sad, and have a great roll in the hay with the person you love when you are horny. Over thinking does nothing. go sit. good luck