old3bob

Borrowing broad concepts which originally and largely come from Hinduism's schools is one thing...but as far as assumptions (sounding like a dismissal?) per assumptions, well I'd caution about making them, being that certain schools and lineages have been practicing and developing associated yoga's for thousands of years which have fostered true and rare Kundalini masters and knowers of the Self which is beyond any form including the subtle body. (and I'm not guessing on that)

Btw, as far as I know to Saivites Shiva (or Siva) is Supreme Being or Brahman, with Brahman being beyond all categories which then comes into manifestation as first Shakti of the purest energy and the dance of that energy represented by Lord Nataraja, along with or through Lords Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Btw Saivites have several major schools or sects and they don't agree on everything although they do agree on a great many of things. I think most any discussion about Shiva should include such credit to & some basic info about Saivites... which one could then do their own verification and research on.

Hey Mark, To me reading through certain convoluted Buddhist texts is sometimes like trying to cut one's way through a dense jungle with a machete. Such may be clear as a bell to you and some others but I venture to say not all of us. On the other hand many of the short, simple but profound sayings of Zen, Taoism and parts of what Nagarjuna and the historic Buddha said are clear as a bell to me...go figure or maybe not. Btw, why some Buddhists reject "Buddha nature" is very telling to me...

and of course that is the Buddhist take that you forgot to mention nor applicable to the points i brought up...

true if you no longer have any karma, ego or identification as a human, astral or causal being to deal with, thus a tiny percentage.

well said but also and in the meantime someone has to feed the kids, pay the bills, do chores and work some kind of job... thus and only a tiny percentage of folks are or have become renunciates who maintain such a pure state, as for a householder with duties (who granted may sometimes visit such a state) who also try's to live a renunciate's life at the same time will incur bad karma for breaking householder Dharma ... many of the masters or advanced spiritual folks quoted at this site are renunciates in various ways along with their teachings related to that life, and do not have (or no longer have) spouses, kids, bills, 9-5 jobs, etc. that they have to deal with in the world.

hesitate about following one's "still small voice" and be more or less lost.

or it could be keeping quiet and listening in good faith for what higher forces may be saying...

...and without a certain variation of faith who would get in their car and drive anywhere if they had lost faith in a high percentage of other drivers to follow the driving laws and thus put them in excessive danger? Similar variations of faith are needed when it comes to living our daily lives that for a long time have often been taken for granted. Many have lost faith (for good reason) in millions of "fellow Americans" including their own family members who are voting for and supporting a proven violent pathological fascist and self described wana-be dictator, along with his dozens of other decades long criminal actions and malicious words of hate! As for the right and privilege, bought with bloody sacrifice in wars and with other types of effort so that people could also practice various "eastern" ways like Buddhism, Daoism, Hinduism, Skihism, etc., along with Jewish, Muslim and native American ways are finding their rights and ways of life are in increasing danger from fanatical Christians, which there are many of in positions of power; (like the speaker of the house and his ilk) who in their own words say they want to do away with such teachings, thus take away our religious freedoms and make all of America into a land of hard core, non-Christian, Christian fanatics without there being a separation of church and state!

Intuition is not meant to be separate from our being and neither are a great many other factors including a leap of faith, when or as it's needed.

and in many cases there are preparations and faith gained through making smaller leaps or steps that can lead up to a biggy...

I wouldn't say so...also that saying about "he who hesitates is lost" comes to mind, and if used in this context points to an an inner knowing of when to take such a leap which has to be beyond hesitation or half ass-ing it.

all systems and a teachers help are for preparation with some being more "complete" than others, but making preparation's for a leap of faith into the unknown can only go so far or are not covered- since doing that is up to us alone. (and i don't mean blind faith)

Good fortune to you, may you find what you are looking for.

I'm 99% pork free because 99% those critters suffer horribly in tiny cages or very crowed pins until they are slaughtered. Btw. they are known to be smart animals) As for cattle at least some live for awhile on wide open semi-natural grazing land in the several western states, but sadly many don't and also suffer greatly in confined and dirty spaces! AKA as not kosher.

Alan Watts made some useful bridges for me in understanding Eastern ways...and it was also said that he drank a lot and whatever else against some of those eastern teachings.

well Tom Hanks survived for years on coconut fat and fish oils in his movie, whereas and unless one is an old fashion lumberjack or in other high fat burning occupations one does need much lard.

Some great links there Taomeow, thanks! I'm posting an excerpt copy from the last about sweetness addition, also the first link speaks about liver, kidney and gastro intestinal effects (as far as I read so far) which sound pretty hairy! "One of the major problems with sugar is that it is addicting. In fact, studies have shown that it is just as, and even more addicting than cocaine. For example, when lab rats are given free access to both cocaine and sugar, they prefer sugar over cocaine. Even rats who are already addicted to cocaine quickly switch their addiction to sugar as soon as they are offered a choice.1 People, too, become addicted to sugar. That is one of the reasons why we have an obesity epidemic. Like cocaine, sugar triggers pleasure centers in the brain that drive us to eat sweets and encourage us to overindulge. Haven’t you ever eaten a piece of chocolate and then just had to have another and another? You just had to eat more even though you knew you had eaten enough. When you ignore sound judgment and make decisions based on cravings, you are addicted. The addiction to sugar is not isolated to just sugar, but extends to all non-caloric sweeteners as well. It is not as much a “sugar” addiction as it is a “sweet” addiction. We become addicted to the sweetness rather than to sugar itself. Non-caloric sweeteners trigger the same pleasure centers in the brain that sugar does and causes the same cravings and addictions. Researchers tested rats using saccharine, which is completely different chemically from sugar. The results were the same. The type of sweetener didn't matter, it was the sweet taste that triggers the powerful effect, not the type of sweetener or the specific chemical makeup of the sweetener. Stevia has the same effect. When rats are given the choice between saccharine or stevia, their preference for stevia is just as strong as it is for saccharin.2 Addiction to stevia was one of the characteristics I first noticed. People would switch their addiction from sugar or aspartame to stevia once they began using it. Instead of eating desserts and junk foods sweetened with sugar, they were eating the same types of foods sweetened with stevia. And they had the same cravings for sweets. Stevia does not curb your sweet tooth at all, it feeds it, keeping sugar cravings and addictions alive and active".

ditto for U2 mate,

sounds you might need some help with your self created attack habit,

I wonder if any studies have been made about possible addictive effects of some products made with Stevia? I haven't looked around for same yet.

no, you don't need any special power to see or feel a lie or a truth, your intuition should tell you a lot, and if for whatever reason it doesn't tell you much then also use some of the other insights on healthy signposts that people have listed.

find where i said all drugs or certain other therapies in all cases are bad....you won't find that since i've never said it, in fact I've said that in some cases such may be needed (and carefully applied and monitored) So your unfortunate past, which most of us have a variation of in our lives is not unique, also you can also keep your presumptions about me in your pocket.

a yogi (who may have developed some powers) is not considered a Sat guru although they are supposed to be on the way ..there are only a few Sat guru's while there are thousands ("x" times whatever number?) of yogi's at several different levels in different schools, also if a yogi attains complete Self Realization they may still have "yogi" as part of their name but with their greater attainment comes recognition beyond the level of a yogi. A Sat guru in the complete meaning of that term has gone past the point of no return, namely they can no longer return to egotistic ways which can lead to falling or turning fake. (Btw. some people may co-opt the term yogi or Sat guru but not be so, thus being fake from the beginning.) Impressionable folks may cross paths with a certain yogi and mistakenly think they have found a true guru when in fact a yogi (in a traditional position) is often or is a helper for a true guru of a true school.

I'd say that the thousands of dead people from kids to older adults (and their loved ones that remain) wouldn't give a rats ass about your pet peeve.