Daniel

The screen-name is "toward-theosis" Theos... a greek god concept.... towards a greek god concept appears to be "what they're doing exactly"

OK. According to this, Self is Nirguna Brahman, Brahman lacking all attributes in Advaita Vedanta ( radical non-duality ). Other than that, it's debated. http://www.mahavidya.ca/2015/03/04/nirguna-and-saguna-brahman/ https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ātman_(Hinduism)

My inbox is open if you ever want someone to listen or share advice. Sometimes, just having someone to talk to is remarkable for releasing baggage. You won't be judged, I promise. I won't offer advice unless it's requested. Open ended offer.

Thank you for saying this. Thank you for saying this.

Since I am here late, and I cannot see the post immediately ahead of your comment, it's possible this is referring to my comments: Therefore I will repost what I said: which is neither biased nor fundementalist. Just common sense.

I'm not diagnosing anything. Please reread my posts. No signs, no symptoms = no diagnosis. This is what I said: "Are you sure it was only cbd?" Sounds like it was not only cbd. It is something else. For clarity, "dulling the senses" is a mistake. For sensory overload, perhaps anathestic, perhaps a tranquilizer, cbd probably fits these as an herbal rememdy. This is not a diagnosis. It's friendly advice in the form a perscription. If I were to diagnose, I would be saying something else.

Agreed. The audience is human. The intention is for the text to be relatable to humans. And that's why the "masculine" would be communicating dominance "penetrating-all". That's penetration. Masculine. It's primal imagery and symbolism. It's timeless. Perhaps, a person can ignore it, or move beyond these sorts of gender specific stereotypes? ... Yes. Definitely. But was that the intention of the author / source? I'm going by the english that was provided. I think it's a fair analysis based on that. Probing deeper, I think, would require knowledge of the original language and a trustworthy manuscript.

My friend, if there is a "wrong" perception that gaurantees that reality is dual. Let's not debate this OK? That would have been A LOT of cbd to produce that sort of reaction. Are you sure it was only cbd? That sort of perception is not clear, it's simple. The details are being washed-out. Flattened. Nothing wrong with that.... until there is. Daoist cultivation involving directing chi here-and-there requires clarity, and accurate sensory feedback. Misdirecting the chi is known to be harmful. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7858248/ CBD enhanced fronto-striatal connectivity and decreased limbic activity during resting state, and modulated brain activity showing task-specific patterns during different cognitive paradigms. For example, CBD increased activation relative to placebo in the parahippocampus during auditory processing, and reduced activation in this region during the processing of fearful faces. In addition, CBD decreased connectivity between fronto-limbic regions (i.e., anterior cingulate cortex and amygdala) during the processing of fearful faces and enhanced fronto-limbic-striatal connectivity (i.e., inferior frontal gyrus, dorsal striatum and posterior hippocampus) during salience processing. What does this mean? They're both good things, generally. It's why CBD is considered theraputic. But, that theraputic effect is decreased sensitivity. Which is not ideal for cultivation. The enhanced frontal-straital connectivity produces a false positive, making the practioner feel they are progressing when they are not. It's the same chemical response that occurs in long-time tai-chi practioners, but this is temporary and artificial because it's coming from the substance not the practice. Let me say that again. It's coming from the substance, not the practice. The decreased limbic activity is also "dulling the senses". A person feels they don't have physical or emotional "needs". It's not difficult to imagine how this can bring relief of anxiety and PTSD. But, this can also be described as "detachment", which is an "attainment" in meditative practice associated with progress. Again, a false positive is produced. The practioner thinks they have acheived something, and maybe they have. But if it is temporary, then it is a false positive. It's coming from the substance, not the practice. That's why I said at the beginning of the thread: "If it can't be done without chemical assitance, I think something's wrong." I think the challenge is distinguishing between "dulling the senses" and "clarity". Maybe dulling the senses helps produce a version of clarity? Maybe. For practice that does not involve moving chi, transmutation of subtle essence, maybe there is less risk? I don't know. But if the clarity requires dulling the senses, I think something is wrong.

The Self, capital "S", I think, but I could be wrong, is Saguna Brahman. Which includes all qualities. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saguna_brahman That said: In the quote you posted: He seems far away, but is ever near.He is within all, and he transcends all.... "Distant", "transcendant", and "penetrates all" is typically masculine. "Ever-near" ( aka proximal ) is typically feminine. So, it's 3/4 masculine and 1/4 feminine stereotypes / inclinations. Now looking at it in sequence to analyze the flow of what is written. He seems far away ( masculine ), but is ever near ( feminine ).He is within all ( masculine ), and he transcends all ( masculine ).... Masculine >>> Feminine >>> Masculine >>> Masculine Seems like the author intended "HE" for this.

I would very much appreciate reading more about this. Is there anything available online?

OK. There's other side effects to be aware of. False perceptions / sensations, and increased suggestability. It's a departure from reality. There's nothing wrong with that. People do that all the time: watching movies, reading books, listening to music, going to see stand-up comedy. And the suggestibility is just another way of saying "opening the mind to what is unlikely or unexpected." But mixing this departure from reality with daoist cultivation is not a good combo in my opinion. I'm not sure how cultivation would occur with one's head in the clouds. At best it's unpredictable, at worst harmful.

Compared to: Chapt 1 says: 無 was a name given.... Chapt 25 says: I don't know its name... Conclusion: The subject of 25 "There was a thing formed by chaos.... " is not 無 ??

Thank you! I have been studying this one. I very much appreciate the translation.

Bingo! Yahtzee! "Spicy-Psychology"

Just FYI, this is very-very rare in America. Most people vape now. Some people are still smoking "flower", but it is almost never mixed with tobacco. Vaping is cheap, much easier to be discrete, and is considered safe, and it's true that it's a lot better in regard to particulates in the lungs. However, it is always missing the full compliment of psychoactive compounds. The manufacture strips out everything but the THC. Terpenes may be added back, but they're for flavor. The other naturally occuring compounds are considered waste. The plant as it has evolved naturally is not in any way being consumed. It is being commercially processed and then marketed. And then there's a whole discussion that can be had about the strains which are being cultivated. They're factory farmed. Dialed in for maximum THC output because that's what sells. The naturally occuring hybrid is a thing of the past. It's either Sativa or Indica, usually because that's what the consumers want and they're easier to market. This is a different world, far away from the yellow river. This is not LaoTzu's weed.

For the record, I didn't say that. I was talking about cultivating chi in the DanTien per the question asked.

Arsenic is a naturally occuring substance. People can get high from oxygen deprivation, that's not healthy either. But, there's nothing "wrong" with intoxicants, all I'm saying is, the fact that they are natural is not a good basis for judgment of healthy/harmful. Some people simply want to get high or stoned, and are looking for ways to justify this desire. It's not needed. In fact I think deluding oneself regarding this desire is harmful. I think people should be honest with themself. If they like the feeling of being high or stoned while they practice Taiji, fine. It has nothing to do with cultivation, then. It's recreational.

I'm also not a fan of taking short cuts.

it's an archetype? archetype being a middle option. Not "spiritual", not "physical", spicy-psychology. I saw on a video, that the chinese word for dragon is also a "queue" a "line", people lining up at the cash register. @ChiDragon can you confirm this? It's strong will-full intention?

I vote 'no' on using intoxicants during cultivation. If it can't be done without chemical assitance, I think something's wrong.

Heck yeah I would.. that makes perfect sense... vessels... the ancient mystics used vessels, created a "spiritual" vaccum, sort of. Drawing down the divine. More like a honey pot. But "vaccuum cleaner" works for me! It's a big'un too. A real beauty. And a keeper, stood the test of time. I was in belize going through caves where they did rituals... broken pottery all over the place. The guide didn't really know what was happening. They told us about the ritual as best they could. But it matched the profile. They intended to evoke the spirit/god/angel/demon/whatever, into the vessel. Then they would smash it to release it.

These are the lines that seem significant to me because of the paradox. The earth and the sky are both versions of formless-forms? Their origin is a formless-form?

As stated earlier in this thread... this is not an insult, but a compliment. But I get your meaning and intention. Thank you. I will continue to avoid the immature juvenile inclination whenever I can. Practice, I'm sure, will make it easier as long as I do not give up. And I never quit.

Thank you for all your help. I consider you a valuable and knowledgeable resource.

@ChiDragon, 5-6 years ago I was advised by someone I trust, a fluent native Chinese person, daoist, very high cultivator by my immature estimation: never try to interpret a Chinese written character by its shape. ( please don't laugh too much when reading this ) The advice was given to me because I was sharing with a friend that I noticed, to me, 善 reminds me of a dragon's face blowing me a kiss. Hopefully you know this English phrase? "Blowing a kiss" Do you have an opinion about this? Interpreting a Chinese character like a pictogram? Since I received that advice I try to avoid it. But it's tempting, and I find myself doing it accidentally in an effort to aid memorization.