findley

Following practice of The Secret of the Golden Flower Last few days I have been trying to find and cultivate 'Dao' directly. I'm not really sure what I am doing. It is easy to open the heart, and feel the subtle bliss there through practice. But lately, in attempt to deepen my practice, I have been trying to 'open' my 'mind' (/'head' may be better word,) as well. In what I am trying to do, I feel that the strongest obstacle to my direct experience of Dao is in my head-- and so, I have been trying to 'open' it, like I have the heart. It's very much different from the heart, however-- and I am doubtful that the experience should be the same. -One point is that when I opened my heart, I rest my attention on the heart. Now, I am spending my attention on trying to realize tao-- and that is my folly. Perhaps now that I have opened my heart, I should rest my attention on my mid-brow, like the book says... probably most obvious answer... anyways, I'm going to read through the book again tonight-- but if anyone has any faint idea of what I am trying to express, I would really very highly appreciate some advice.

I think that drugs, particularly psychedlic drugs, are perhaps the best 'external alchemy' one could ever experiment with. (emphasize: experiment) -Alot healthier than eating lead, anyways They have introduced me to a wider array of psychic experience, (good or bad,) and have taught, (and are teaching,) me valuable lessons.

All I see are a whole bunch of ass--ociations with the temporal. How do you expect to find any sort of genuine spiritual wisdom from that load of nonsense? What I speak has significant undertones. I am not just another lubby-dubby ass-kisser thanking VCraigP for his comments on his psuedo-'alchemy'. 'Don't feed the trolls' PLEASE and who are you, with your nonsense, to speak so? Tell me, with all your practice with lineages and colors, masters and organs, breath and qi-- can you open the mysterious gate, and cultivate the primal essence? OR IS THE EXTENT OF YOUR PRACTICE LIMITED TO A CONSCIOUS RECOGNITION OF MYRIAD TEMPORAL PHENOMENA, AS DESCRIBED IN YOUR OH-SO-BRILLIANT 'ALCHEMY' CRAIG REALLY, WHO IS THE TROLL? -I beg, instead of all you ass-kissers 'blessing' his 'alchemy', why don't you attempt to UNDERSTAND IT

I think I proved my point with pot in the prior message-- It helped me to understand that I had 'conceptualized Dao' and that by 'diving into' such a conceptiualization, I was really only diving into 'oblivion'. This 'faulty conception of Dao' did not really become clear to me as such until I smoked a bunch of pot. So there you go. -Minkus, don't make too big a moron out of yourself. What do you expect to happen? -That I skip around winking and jerking and asking everybody to have a nice day?

God, I gotta write a book like this. You guys know, one of my students the other day jumped over a building. I myself would fly into space if I wasn't a self-limiting Bodhisattva. My practice is similiar to Kunlun, too; however my catch-phrase is 'release'.

I THOUGHT YOU WERE AN ADEPT PRACTITIONER OF THE SECRET OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER, DARIN HAMEL WHAT NON-SENSE DO YOU SPEAK ...It's been years since I read the kybalion-- but I do remember it was utter crap. If it is, indeed, a prank-- then perhaps it has some saving grace

BAH how do you have so much conscious patience to pull off all that complicated crap? Start associating with the stars and all the constellations, too. I bet that will give you a hard-on

"It is my opinion that we do not 'realize' Tao - we experience Tao." -Exactly . What I had done was unintentionally develop a conceptualization of 'Tao', and spent some time trying to 'dive into it'. What this had led to was a state of 'oblivion' (as described in tSotGF.) This realization dawned upon me in a powerful manner-- I had smoked a bunch of pot to accentuate and emphasize the experience. It was unpleasant. (really, the first tip off... while it is possible to maintain an unpleasant practice whilst maintaining the subtle biss, oen should realize immediately if the practice is unpleasant.)

Cleary's translation of the Secret of the Golden Flower

your 'chakra' doesn't exist. Your problems are in your head. You're asking the wrong question, if you want to overcome whatever your problem is.

Do you think we should have any reason to believe that if we are successfully cultivating Dao, that social (even financial,) issues in our lives will settle, at least generally, in our favor? For example, I am hoping to earn a massive scholarship, and am waiting on word of my winnings-- which should come by the end of July. Is it absolutely ridiculous to think to myself that perhaps, in light of the cultivation of the Tao, (of which I am certainly sure is genuine,) that I will be awarded the fruit of this scholarship? -especially considering that such an award would be a substantial boon to my very practice and cultivation? Oooh, we'll see. . . Really, I don't see why the Tao would give a damn about my scholarship-- but perhaps some ghosts or immortals will come to my aid, eh? Or the energy of my cultivation will leak into my social reality a la 'The Secret', eh? Oh, I wish life for the enlightened fellow was not grounded on so much mystery !

Homeless enlightened dude? -Then what's the problem? just follow him around ! You don't have to do anything. (except, perhaps, not be a coward. . ...)

LOL z00se-- meditation has obviously nt made you any smarter! !! !!!

ah... so Dao does not make one 'lucky'.. got it... thanks...

erdweir-- you mentioned 'fake bliss' as some sort of pit-fall on-the-way. what is 'fake bliss'.... I must know, I may be guilty !

skipping through the chatter and replying to original post; If you have genuinely ceased 'thinking', and abide in a quiet state: contemplate on, and dwell in, the 'mystery' having stopped thinking, the mind may be as a 'polished mysterious mirror' (TTC,) or you may just have simply 'clamped down' on your mind, and by means of forceful concentration ceased to stop thinking-- this latter possibility is described as a state of 'oblivion' in the Secret of the Golden Flower, and leads to generally unpleasant states of being. Reaching 'oblivion', however, was a crucial step forward for me in my cultivation of the light-- because you, afterall, have learned to stop thinking. The next step, if you are afterall in an 'oblivion' state, is to relax your grip on your mind and being, whilst mainting quietness. Contemplate the Dao-- that is, it is nothing, and yet is everything... there and yet it is not... it is as if the mystery is an ultimate 'nothingness' lying yin to, and just under, corporeal reality we otherwise know and live in. Having stopped thinking, contemplate the Dao and abide in the mysterious 'nothingness'-- you will find yourself automatically cultivated a 'light' that will only grow more and more powerful as you live your days abiding in the tao. -I hope that helps.

That's an awesome story, daochild I would suggest to you, Fox, that you need to forget your need for happiness. 'Happiness' is an emotion. It is just as valid an emotion as anger, anxiety, or suicidal depression. In my personal practice, I cultivate something within myself, (I call it a 'soul'.. but also perhaps, 'the light',) that lies on a subtler level of my being. It persists throughout the day, despite my emotional tendencies. What does this mean? Happy, anrgy, even suicidally depressed; the subtle bliss of the cultivated light persists. You have to accept that, psychologically speaking, you are going to continue to experience shifts in emotional states. You are not going to 'plateau' at some emotional state. -And you really wouldn't be living, if you did.

FUCK YOU

the subtlety of your remark, supplemented with a 'wink', does not 'blind' me from the implications of your words, buddhist. 'buddhist enlightenment' ... ...please... --and what are your implications, there? typical lubby-dubby buddhist nonsense. if you're going to remark in my direction, have the balls to do it directly. subverting aggressive energy is not overcoming it. blind.... please.... you're blind.... you're still yearning to some sort of superiority, through your subtlety. (do you think, perhaps, that it is wisdom? mayhaps it is, if you're surrounded by fools...) I've got you, Buddhist. As long as you cling to your traditions, to your bullshit religion, you will smell like shit to me-- and you will never succeed me in either wisdom, or spiritual progress.

Thank you guys-- especially for those last few posts. Yes-- I understand certain things, (aneros...) and have therefore, ....of course.... entertained certain idea's at certain 'occassions'... But I understand further, now, that entertaining such things, at such those certain times, don't really amount to too much outside of those circumstances. However, it is definately just cause for some degree of confusion. I have since 'cut through' the confusion since my original post. Despite entertaining such notions, at such times, I am definately not entertaining the thought that I am, indeed, a closet homosexual. On an interesting note, I believe that my 'homophobia' is simply myself claiming my heterosexuality. (Otherwise, fags be fags.) I admit, perhaps I will experiment one day-- if only I were ever attracted to another man. (though such has never happened before. . . I almost feel as though I am missing out, eh! -Or that the majority of homosexual's have just 'given in' to the confusion and mis-aligned their identity as homosexuals... albeit perhaps sometimes to the extent that they have learned, or acquired, such tastes. Probably in much the same fashion it may be possible to develope tendencies towards beastiality. [honestly...] )

I'll provide you a hint. Do your homework for the rest. .... This will answer your question. If not you may need another 100 lives, who knows. ... ----- God, you are so full of shit. Responding to the fact that such nonsense is posted on a Taoist forum, I'll give youa hint! in fact, I'll spell it out for you: D-O-G-M-A -With each one of those 'affirmations' you render Tao asunder with folly implications. You suck my ass buddhist! "Also called the ten fetters." yeah, I bet! asshole !

If you are really 'practicing' 24/7, you're probably pretty much a buddha. -In my recent experience, cultivating the Secret of the Golden Flower: I find that I must have reached an apex; the up-hill battle seems to have climaxed, and now practicing '24/7' is becoming more and more a realistic goal. (maybe in a few years I'll be tempted to train in some sort of sleeping practice...) but in the last few months, I believe that the 'light' has 'crystalized', (however more in my chest than in the head/mid-brow,) ... and now I need simply only remember it, and a subtle bliss comes alive. On an interesting note, the term 'crystalization' of the light seems faulty to me, now. . . in that I am finding that, whereas once I 'held on to' the light, I am now learning to 'let it go', (or 'surrender' to it. I am reminded of an indian saying, in regards to cultivation, "This isn't it... This isn't it.... this isn't it..." when I pay attention to the light...) The consequence is that the 'light' seems to 'stream', or 'flow', and in that becomes more and more powerful. It's probably going to be a long, long process for me, cultivating this 'light'. But it is there, and the subtle bliss is very real. Maybe when I find a master in beijing and start studying/practicing qigong/tai-chi again, my being will really be prepared to open up. ...anyways, practicing tai-chi, qigong, or whatever 'active' practice 24/7 sounds completely ridiculous to me now. (including standing!!) Such 'active' practices should only be done in short bursts to compliment a strong 'passive' practice, (tSofGF, for example...)

btw vajrasattva, I remember once you had written that you read a book a day. It made me feel incredibly incompetent ever since. I study philosophy, and I feel accomplished if I can read through 50 pages a day. -What are you reading? Goosebumps? romance novels? ...fantasy? Perhaps to deal with my apparant incompetence, I have justified myself against your claim by convincing myself that your 'reading habits' are complete utter bullshit-- and even if you did manage to read the words of any decent book, you couldnt possibly manage to digest any substantial portion of it. I'm warning you, vajrasattva-- and this goes for dr. morris, too-- we will meet one day. I might only just give you a disappointed look, if you fail to substantiate your boasts. . . But I am going to kick glenn's ass. I'll probably kick his ass anyways, but he had better impress me, somehow, to save face. ... What is that old TTC wisdom, in regards to boasting...? that he who boasts has no merit... I'll see you two in the following years.

skipping the chatter, and replying immediately to the original post-- that is such a huge load of shit. It is manipulating. . . what? Where is the emphasis, or 'stage', wherein the 'light' is directly cultivated? I don't care much for confidence, love, or 'orgasm' ecstasy-- --I was hoping that glenn would have the capacity to write a better article. Which is why I clicked on, and read, the original post. ugh.

God, you're all a bunch of pussies. Try this: get yourself drunk. Not too much, you want to enjoy yourself; it's your last hurrah! Keep drinking drunk until you get tired... sleepy... then, when you feel like getting around to it, get a big black garbage bag and tie it around your head. Make sure it's tied around your neck well enough-- you don't want any fresh air getting in ! It's pretty easy, after that. Just fall asleep.