Seth Ananda

Sorry about the exciting title people, but this is a info hunting page. I wish to learn about the spiritual side of Mathematics and Geometry as practiced by the Pythagoreans and Neoplatonists. Can anyone recommend any good and practical resources on these subjects? Preferably by practitioners themselves rather than language or number scholars {who are an acceptable last resort} Books, websites, audios? Thank you. Seth.

Hi fellow Bums. I Have Master Waysun Liao's books and I love them. I am wishing to start purchasing DVDs but due to the sheer number and the price, I was wondering if anyone would recommend which ones are of particular value? And in what order would you consider valuable? Also please tell me if there are doozy ones, that double up on material already gained elsewhere or that teach material that is better taught elsewhere? My aim is learn the Temple style form, any necessary chi and breath stuff, and have a strong enough foundation for later learning the advanced spiritual stuff. Please share. And thank you. Seth.

Here are some of my favourite books, {not in order} that I have found very helpful 1. The Sun of Wisdom, by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso is the best and most readable introduction to Nagajuna I have found. {thanks again CT } 2. Rainbow Painting, by Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche. Sheer Dzogchen Awesomeness, especially the chapter called 'the vital point' which Tulku Urgyen told his students to read over and over again 3. Flight of the Garuda, compiled by Keith Dowman. more Dzogchen Awesome! 4. What makes you not a Buddhist? by Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse which is a brilliant meditation on Impermanence. {very helpful for me} 5. The precious Treasury of the Basic Space of Phenomena, by Longchen Rabjan and is just beautiful... 6. The words of my Perfect Teacher, by Patrul Rinpoche I do not know why I like it so much, I just do... 7. Contemplating Reality, by Andy Karr, which I have not yet finished but so far seems a brilliant analysis of the View, in Tibetan Buddhism. 8. Psychotherapy without the Self, by Mark Epstein, is just great if you like both Buddhism and western models of the Mind... 9. A path with a Heart, Jack Kornfield... Always a pleasure to read his Heart Language.. 10. Mahamudra Teachings of the Supreme Siddhas by Ranjung Dorje. The aspiration prayer is just great 11. Wild Awakening by Dzogchen Ponlop, which is a great compiling of the Dzogchen and Mahamudra teachings. 12. Pointing out the Great Way, by Daniel P. Brown, which is not an easy read, but is so comprehensive on the Mahamudra tradition...

To quote Swami Lakshmanjoo: These five states, which comprise the individual subjective body, are called jāgrat - wakefulness, svapna - dreaming, suṣupti - deep sleep, turya - the fourth state, and turyātītā - beyond the fourth [fifth]. 1. In jāgrat, wakefulness, the individual subjective body is traveling in the world of objectivity (prameya), which comprises the world of elements, names, forms, words, and sounds. Here, it loses consciousness of its subjectivity and becomes one with the objective world. 2. In svapna, the dreaming state, the individual subjective body travels in the impressions (saṁskāras) of the objective world. Here, it also loses the awareness of its subjective consciousness. It takes hold of these impressions and becomes one with the world of impressions. 3. In suṣupti, deep dreamless sleep, it has entered a state of complete void (śūnya). If it was previously traveling in the world of objectivity in the waking state, then upon entering deep sleep, it loses consciousness of this objectivity and also of its subjectivity. If it was previously traveling in the world of impressions in the dreaming state, then upon entering deep sleep, it loses consciousness of these impressions. In deep sleep, it is no longer aware of anything. The impressions of the objective world remain but these are as if dead. When it again returns from the state of deep sleep, these impressions, which were seemingly dead, again come to life. 4. And when, by the grace of a master, this subjective body enters into subjective consciousness with full awareness, and maintaining unbroken awareness becomes fully illumined in its own Self, this is called the fourth state, turya. 5. And when this individual subjective body takes a firm hold of turya and does not lose consciousness for even a moment, then it is established in that state called turyātītā, above the fourth. It is completely established in its Self. Its awareness of Self is maintained constantly in wakefulness, dreaming, and deep sleep. It never loses its consciousness. Even at the time of death, because it lives in the body of consciousness, it remains completely Self aware And: There are only two names actually attributed to this state of turyātīta, one given by worldly people and one by jñānīs. Worldly people, because they know nothing about the state, call it turyātīta, which means “that state which is beyond the fourth.” Jñānīs, on the other hand, have a name for it. They call it mahāpracaya, which means “the unlimited and unexplainable supreme totality.” Yogins do not actually attribute any name to this state because they have no knowledge of it. It is completely outside of their experience. Yogins have though, through the use of their imagination and guesswork, imagined one name which might be appropriate for this state: satatoditam which means “that state which has no pause, no break.” It is a break-less and unitary state. In samādhi it is there. When samādhi is absent, it is there. In the worldly state it is there. In the dreaming state, it is there. And in the state of deep sleep, it is there. In each and every state of the individual subjective body, it is there.

Haha, sorry Nothingness, I didn't read down far enough to get to the sarcasm. My blah fatigue was already at max levels by the time I finished the first two, so when your first few lines looked the same and simply tapped out..

Why do the top 3 posts sound like the same person?

1, massage/rub your face regularly. 2. Close eyes, pick a patch of tension {say left eye socket} and slowly breath in, focusing on the tension, letting yourself become very aware of it. Breathe out with a letting go intention. Just let go. Like with the feeling of a sigh, that just gives up/lets go. Then move to the next patch of tension. Then just keep repeating the process until your body/mind system has quit holding on to the tension there. If It wont shift, just pick another patch and work on that. Sometimes an area is so tight it is better to relax the areas around it before tackling it directly. Breathe in focussing on the tension. Breathe out letting go.

It was a pretty groan worthy affair. No material components from trumple, publicising it so christian groups and cheetoh friendly witches can work against it - poorly thought out. Even trying against someone with all that faith and prayer behind them is generally considered a waste of time, especially with no material component. I think they hoped they could just muscle it through with the sheer numbers of people contributing globally. Interesting Idea. Also, it wasn't even a bad spell really. It was a binding with the motivation of protecting people from harm. Lots of activists and newbies in on it. At least they tried something however.

Along with the Zohar, Isaac Luria and his student Chaim Vital

"There is no peace among the stars, only an eternity of carnage and slaughter and the laughter of thirsting gods." The Emperor

Same thing

It's an interesting question but sorry Shad282, no one with a labrador in their profile pic will ever get superpowers. They are reserved for cat people not dog people!

Can an omnipotent God create bowl movements so bad he cant fix them?

There is a whole spectrum of things that could fit the term parasite. The effects could range from devastating to barely noticeable. They might cause Illness, or a flow of 'bad luck' which serves to increase the particular emotions they feed on. They might give cravings for earthly substances they once enjoyed and want more of, or they may hang out for years and years skimming off the top of the energy that humans naturally emit and not really adversely effect anything apart from creating a mildly swampy or haunted feeling atmosphere around the home and field of the human. Some are wandering predatory intelligences that 'attack' to feed on a person, and move on - much like the way we eat broccoli or a cow. If a person was particularly easy or flavoursome they may continue to search out that person for further munching. Some are location based denizens that feed on whatever hapless foodsource wanders into their home. Some are sent by other agencies working against the person, which could be from a curse, or some kind of retribution for a perceived injustice or slight. Some bury themselves inside a person to live on whatever thing they most like. There are the weird larvae things that don't seem to have much functionality or intelligence apart from a desire to feed. They pretty much just suck life force, or a particular emotional quality. Some seem to feed on the quality of a particular organ they are fond of. Some are humans who travel at night. There is a whole range of creatures that get called 'vampiric' but that is just the way they eat - and lets be clear, everything lives off the life force of something else. However our aim most likely is to not be food for something else for as long as possible. Since you included Archons, Jinn and Demons in the thread tags, I'd say Archons are considered humongous world moving powers that would barely even notice individual humans. Jinn {from what I have read - I haven't encountered any} seem much like the 'Demons' as described in various grimoires - also immensely powerful beings that are above us on the evolutionary chain. That probably wont be a popular view with some here, but its true. Magicians ask them for knowledge, tutorship, or for help doing things the magician is incapable of doing himself. The word demon itself is problematic however. The original greek work δαιμον simply denotes a type of spirit that brings messages from the gods {like angels} but can also deliver messages to the gods as well. As language is an changing symbol system however, over time it came to be used to describe all kinds of different spirits to different traditions. The christian view of 'evil demons' would have seemed very strange to the original worldview, but, the word gets used to describe the experiences of certain spirits with hostile intent, and those experiences and spirits are real {usually}. Some parasites are quite friendly - much like the way we like the atmosphere and feeling of our friends and loved ones, and feel fed by their company. Its just that that is reciprocal and hopefully not detrimental. But to get practical, working on Spiritual Hygiene. Cleaning the space, the body, clothes ect. Herbal baths, Insenses, Ancestor and Deity veneration, prayer, offerings. Introspection in terms of looking at the things that have a grip on you - that dampen your soul. Energy practices like qigong or somesuch. All good starts. Dont rely on just one thing. I know a vipassna person with parasites for instance. All the sitting in the world {and he does a shit ton - 3-4 months at a time} and he is not aware of them still. Also 'raising your vibration' does not mean you cant be influenced. I used to experiment on people who were obsessed with this (shiny happy looking healthy vegan types obsessed with ascension and constant light based meditation), and if anything they seemed more susceptible not less. My theory is that is because they frown on 'lower vibrations' which happen to be always part of them via the body and the denser energetic structures that support it - that it leaves a massive open door in their psyches for invading forces. Like junkies, all their attention is on feeling blissful light sensations and ignoring all else. Also dont take any shit - Like in the gif I posted. If you bump in to something you cant deal with run like fuck and see a specialist.

The header for that gif is 'Dealing with larvae as an experienced necromancer' From the Social Magic Reactions tumblr site which is very very funny. http://socialmagicreactions.tumblr.com/post/144873592466/dealing-with-larvae-as-an-experienced-necromancer

Most need a gradual practice. There are very few people anywhere who can 'become a deity right now' no matter what level of practice they are given.

What makes you think it is rock solid? Have you used it? Are you aware that Bardons school 'plays around' with Kabbalah? [see his book on kabbalah] And works with external forces? [see his book on evocation] Also considering that you are a newby [asking about how to deal with parasites on another page] why are you handing out advice to people?

Yidam style training is a far more powerful way of developing 'inner sight' than merely concentrating on the forehead. That said, the eye I think tends to stand for different things depending on the context. It can represent miraculous siddhi sight, like seeing things thousands of miles away, seeing through walls, seeing in 360 degrees, seeing past or future, seeing diseases inside someones body, or seeing spirits and other realms. These experiences come about through intense practice, and are probably achievable by most with the right dedication. The other kind of 'eye' however is the eye of prajna or wisdom. Its the ability to see things as they are. Empty, selfless, dependently arising and impermanent. All the concentrating on the brow in the world won't help achieve that, well not by itself anyway. But I do think they can support each other. For instance seeing through something with siddhi, can help ones understanding that its not as 'real' in a permanent way as it looks. Also seeing something with wisdom, as an empty dependently arising process breaks the normal view which the strangeness of siddhi sight seems to be able to flower from.

Sorry if this is too off topic Dwai - let me know if it is and ill drop this line of conversation, but its so interesting. I used to think like this too, dividing beings up into these kind of categories, and maybe I have little hangovers of it left - but the only being I would consider being 'half me' would be something I have control over {or even half control over} - And none of the beings I work with are in any way susceptible to that kind of nonsense. I know however that some servitor experiments create a basic intelligence that you can manipulate - which I have no interest in whatsoever anymore. But anyway the Animist in me believes that everything is alive - everything - and that life is an ensouling process. As soon as something exists it takes on (or tries to the best of the capacities it is given) independence and life of its own, no matter where it begins -even if that was someones mind, or cultural ideas. Its life span and ability to sustain itself may be in doubt, but it at least exists for a little moment of time before the death process takes it, and I treat it all as such. I also find the concept of ownership problematic. Where does inspiration come from? Who owns it? We are all so sure we are us, like an island somehow not touched by the sea or other land masses - and if we heard an idea in our heads or had a creative impulse pop up in our psyches we take immediate ownership or claim authorship of that inspiration - maybe some variation of Mary that's seems so culturally specific or culturally created was inspiration to humans from her herself? Another interesting thing is the dual faith observance that some traditions have - where an older spirit of an older tradition lives within the surface image of say a catholic saint, and even seems to thrive there.. Its a weird world So even if it 'seems' to have started in a cultures religious ideas, or a magicians mind or a psychotics splintered psyche, I don't think we really know what the possible causes behind it are, or that we can accurately say it is 'just' an egregor, a construct, an archetype and so on..

I totally object to the "archetype" description these days. It just does not fit my experience of these beings. They are them and no one else, at least most of the time - no matter how similar they may seem to others in some list of corresponding Venusian spirits. Look at the various Papa Legba/Ellegua/Eshu/Exu variations. If you make a pact with one you owe him what you offer him, and if you change to or adopt another 'variation of him', you can not carry over your promises to the new one without repercussions from the old one. I wont say it does not get weird though.

I know how you feel. Very few groups can do this well.

I would say it depends on what you are being initiated into. Also there are inner Initiations and 'formal' initiations, and some groups attempt (to varying degrees of success) to blend the two. Outer ones confer title or memberships/brother/sisterhood, and the benefits associated with whatever that group or title has. There is a often a challenge or an ordeal as part of it, to symbolize or demonstrate ones worthiness hold the position or to be part of the (real or imagined) prestigious and elite individuals who fill its numbers. Inner ones usually require going through an inner ordeal or experience like the Tower card, the breakdown of old structures to make room for whatever new state or energy the initiation will grant. In the spiritual world Initiation is an ongoing constantly recurring process. Some groups excel at pushing the initiate to be, towards an inner ordeal and will Initiate the member once this has happened. This can be very powerful. Lots of others groups try to imitate this with little success, and they probably lack good relationships with the initiatory spirits themselves. I imagine that stems from leadership problems. If a leader just wants the power of their role as 'head of the group' then they probably will no longer throw themselves upon the alter of Initiation and beg for the dismemberment that would build them anew.

I accept that!

People burning others to ash in the name of rationality are just as out of touch with rationality as the so called mystics who kill are out of touch with the Inner states that give piece.