liminal_luke

People often overgeneralize their own experience to humanity at large: milk gives me indigestion therefore nobody should drink the stuff. My personal experience with porn is that it´s not good for me, so I (mostly) avoid it. While I´m not the only one who finds porn problematic, it´s a big world out there and other people´s mileage can and does vary.

I´m typing this post at a cafe that sells what looks to me like really delicious cheesecake. Should I go up to the counter and snag a piece? Hmmm...I´d love to. And isn´t it my right as a free human being to put as much delicious cheesecake in my mouth as I desire? Yes, it absolutely is. It´s also my right to step back and consider: while it´s true that cheesecake tastes good and would provide some short-term pleasure, it´s not really the best choice for me right now. People who love me and are concerned for my health have suggested that I cut down on the cheesecake. If I can´t stop myself I might have to go to Cheesecake Eaters Anonymous. Human beings often struggle between what feels good in the moment and what leads to wellbeing in the longer term. We´re free to give in to temptation and we´re free to find reasons not to.

That´s quite the position statement on drugs, Profounded. The fact that it´s so thoughtful and carefully reasoned leads me to believe that drugs are a big part of your life. You´re obviously questioning whether or not that´s a good thing or you wouldn´t be sharing this with us. I´d suggest talking with an addiction professional to help you evaluate your use and whether or not it´s in your best interest. Just my two cents. Liminal

My gosh....I don´t remember writing the above quote but if it´s really true that I´m mumble typing the name "Aetherous" than my admittedly extreme views on abortion are the least of my problems.

I agree with Silent Thunder about punishment -- what´s the point? The whole idea of justice or revenge seems preposterous to my higher self. (My lower self, on the other hand, is all for it.) Is punishment a deterrent to crime? It depends. If people could choose not to pay taxes with no consequence I´m pretty sure more of us would choose not to pay. If corporations could pollute the environment with no consequence, there would probably be more pollution. Still, I´m not sure the threat of punishment deters violent crime, especially so-called crimes of passion. Abusive parents and spouses are unlikely to consider the threat of punishment and stop. Ditto for rapists and murderers. Generally speaking, criminals don´t get rehabilitated in prison and that´s too bad. If we can change the system so that rehabilitation is possible I think we should. We have a legitimate interest in locking people up who are likely to harm others if they were free. That´s pretty much it, I think. I´d rather we move past eye-for-an-eye ideas of justice or punishment. That kind of thinking imprisons us all.

Heart-mind interaction is a western science thing too -- neurocardiology. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurocardiology

I think you´re gonna love it -- the best people go!

I´m not sure about the quality of the tai ji or the music, but I love the unexpected juxtaposition. That guy didn´t look to me like the sort who would do tai ji but he does. Sometimes it´s nice to be wrong.

After my dad killed himself, I hugged my mom tight and told her that we were free. He would never again yell at us. My emotions during those few days leading up to his funeral are a jumble, but one of them was definitely relief. I think dad suspected that we would be better off without him and shot himself as a kind of twisted kindness. Since his death, I´ve been able to be my authentic self in ways I´m not sure I could have if he was alive. It´s not enough, however, to end the story of our relationship on a resoundingly sour note. I believe one of the developmental tasks of adulthood is to see our parents in a nuanced way, not merely as good or bad people but as complicated mixed bags. My dad wanted great things for his family. He moved us out of LA to rural northern California so we could live the idyllic farm life he thought we´d want. He signed us up for 4-H and helped us raise cows and pigs to auction off at the county fair. We had chickens and ducks and geese. We were living the dream, and it was a good dream, just not one I shared. Some father´s get outgoing sons who date girls and play football. If I´d of been that kid, maybe my dad and I would of been friends.

Inner alchemy is fascinating. I´m interested in it myself and if other Bums share my interest, I certainly don´t blame them. This forum attracts a wide variety of people in all different places in their lives. The Bums who in my view are farthest down the spiritual path share something in common: they aren´t especially bothered by the idea of death. I don´t pretend to belong to this rarified group. Me, I´d like to push death off for as long as possible and if I can push it off, well, forever, so much the better. The ultimate goal of inner alchemy, in my understanding, is immortality. Sounds good to me. There is one thing that bugs me, however. How come there are so many masters here on the forum? How come so many experts? It´s a little hard to believe that this place is quite so overrun with spiritual adepts as posts would lead a person to think. Now don´t get me wrong: I know there many genuinely knowledgable people here and I appreciate their sharing. It´s just that sometimes I yearn for the laid back companionship of ordinary spiritual Joes like me who don´t have any superpowers and aren´t about to attain any anytime soon.

If I had kids here´s what I´d teach them: education first, job second, healthy relationships third, basic conventional happiness fourth....and then maybe...once they´d really nailed all those things ... enlightenment. Would I be a western-style parent or what?

Consider hormesis. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18162444

OK, let´s say you´re asked to do something nonsensical as part of your job. You´ve considered Windwalkers suggestion of finding other employment and determined that´s not the right course of action for you at the moment. I´d start thinking of this seemingly futile task in another way. It may be futile in terms of the stated objectives of the job, but it´s not futile for you because doing it is part of what allows you to keep this job that you´ve decided you want to keep. Everytime you do this task you are taking care of yourself, earning money that allows you to do what you want in life and not be dependent upon others. By doing this task you are showing maturity, recognizing that not everything makes sense in life and part of taking care of ourselves as adults is doing things that don´t make sense. You are not abusing yourself by doing this task. You are taking care of yourself and meeting your own objectives of having a job and making money.

How important is it to be right about things anyway? The older I get the less stock I place in having correct views. Of course some people have to be right about things because it´s part of their job. And some people like to think about things because it brings them intellectual pleasure -- like a hobby. This is all well and good. In general, though, being right is overrated. There´s one area of life where being right -- or thinking you are -- can really mess a person up and that is marriage. Who wants to be married to someone whose always right? Is it important to be right for spiritual growth? I don´t think so. A person could just as profitably chose to develop humility or kindness or simply rest in the awareness of being itself. These are my views and I´m convinced they are true. If you disagree, I´m happy to argue the point with you all day because I need a distraction from simply feeling my body and my breath, a distraction from going outside and feeling the warmth of sun on my face. There´s nothing I love more than arguing endlessly with people I don´t really know on the internet.

I´ve gone to workshops with Michael Winn. Sometimes people are really good at one thing and phenomenally bad at something else. If you look at what they are bad at, it´s hard to believe that there´s this other skillful part. I believe this is the case with Michael Winn. He knows his stuff and can teach. You just wouldn´t know it from watching him stand or move.

I like this explanation, https://ichingdao.org/en/bone-breathing-2/

Yes, that´s it exactly. I´m a big fan of your both/same time philosophy.

Perhaps effort and effortlessness are not ultimately so opposed. Like the primordial forces of yin and yang, they can interpenetrate, give rise to each other in a natural rhythm. Weaving intentionality and surrender together in a single braid, we arrive at...´(well, honestly I don´t know where this goes but I´d like to get there.)

Something interesting is happening here. A thread that was started for the purpose of disparaging one person´s practice claims has turned into a thread focusing on disparaging the original disparager.

Quote from an Esther Perel podcast (Where should we begin?) A part of why sometimes, a woman likes the bad boys -- to be very very clear -- it´s not because she likes the man to be a predator. But it´s because the bad boy, as you describe, knows how to take care of himself perfectly well, thank you. And so he frees her from having to feel responsible for him, from having to worry about him, from having to experience his anxiety, and so since he can let go and is in his pleausre it frees her up to be in her pleasure.

Junior Marcus, When first dining at the qi gong buffet, it´s tempting to pick up a little of many dishes. I´d resist this temptation. Better, I think, to pick one thing and practice that one thing with dedication. Here are my reasons... (1) As a personal experiment, you´ll probably want to understand how a practice effects you. Say you´re doing 7 different things and your health improves. Which of your various practices is responsible for the change? It will be difficult to know with any certainty. (2) Every practice will create changes in your energetic body, and in some cases these changes are not harmonious with each other. It´s a little like trying to listen to a song on the radio and tuning into seven different frequencies at the same time. (3) Something magical happens with singular dedication. Practitioners who pick one thing just seem to get farther. Can I woo-woo out on you for a second? My personal belief is that a lot of the oomph that comes from a practice is due to unseen support from the spirit realm. Perhaps this is the power of lineage. Say you decide to pick stillness-movement as your practice. I believe there´s crucial support available from the spirits of master practitioners of that system who have passed on. These spirits are more likely to lend a hand if they see you´ve put all your practice eggs in their qi gong basket. I can´t prove this but it´s what I believe. I think we intuitively understand the power of doing one thing with intensive dedication, even if we often ignore this intuition (myself included). Try this thought experiment. Picture in your mind a master practitioner who has practiced hours a day for years and gained significant understanding and ability. Is this person more likely to be someone who does seven different things from different systems or just one?

Just to name a personal preference -- I like threads which promote more than ones that detract. The most productive discussion happens when someone starts (or continues) a practice and is willing to share a positive story about it, how doing XYZ has helped them in their life. Threads telling me not to do something don´t seem nearly as useful. Do knowledgable folks have an obligation to warn others of dead-ends? I get the argument and don´t dispute it. I just prefer the positive vibes I get when reading about people excited about doing great things.

Immortality or a slice of pecan pie with a side of vanilla Hagen Daz. Such a hard decision...

Hi Junior Marcus, There are a wide number of programs you might start for physical health improvement. I like Sheng Zhen healing qigong. I¨ll post a youtube of the first few movements below. By energy arts do you mean Sifu Jenny Lamb´s yigong? That´s another good one, in my opinion, though somewhat controversial. It can be very strong and purifying, more so than some are ready for. If it was me, I wouldn´t hesitate to explore Spring Forest, Stillness-Movement, or Flying Phoenix. Although I don´t have personal experience with these systems, they´ve gotten a lot of good press here and have been around a long time. I don´t think you can go wrong with any of these three. Good luck!

I recently participated in a Bon meditation workshop online with TWR. One of the practices taught was to meditate on stillness. Your post reminds me of what TWR called the stillness of being -- a stillness that is not dependent on an absence of movement.