Sloppy Zhang

You're a god amongst men!

Right, well look, I can meditate and reflect on the nature of human existence and the nature of suffering. I can feel compassion and sorrow for my fellow human being. But when push comes to shove, and there are people in this world who will push and shove, what can I really do about it? Nothing. All the reflection and compassion I can feel for someone won't stop them as they wreak havoc either on myself or those I care about (yeah yeah, attachment attachment attachment, blah blah). A single bullet can take away everything I hold dear. A sharp piece of metal can cut through any compassion I have for someone. And a couple of strong people can hold me down and keep me from being able to do anything about it. So at the end of the day, I am still asking: what change has there really been? I get a meditation high as I feel love and compassion, meanwhile a bunch of shit goes on around me? Seems like it'd be a better use of time to hit the gym, learn where to stab someone, and buy a gun Now that's fucked up, if you ask me.

So I was browsing through the forum and saw "taoist magic", and thought "wow, exactly my type of thread". I wonder way, I started it Went back and read through some of the old posts. A little over a year. Still want powers Still don't have any repeatable, objective stuff yet It's interesting, the more I get involved in meditation and stuff, the more of the world I see, the more I interact with people... the more I see people who have "power" without "virtue". People who abuse power. People who get it through unnatural, unhealthy, unfair, or dangerous means, and then abuse good people It pisses me off to no end, as good people suffer or are victimized and think they deserve it, or that that's how the world works. On some days I'm sorely tempted to just give up and go straight for the power, because at least then I know that I won't be an asshole with the power.... but I never can do it So I still do what I'm doing, with a belief that somehow it'll be okay.... though I'm proven time and time again that it's not the case.

It goes by the manga pretty much word for word, so when the manga does a comic scene, it's animated pretty much exactly like it is shown in the manga. So there are a few places where it seems out of place, but in the manga it was timed a bit better. Overall, the series picks up drastically. The first dozen episodes (if I recall correctly) are nearly the same between the two. The place where it branches is where the Homunculus Greed is introduced. The homunculi are handled VERY differently, which has much larger ramifications for the whole story. It's also more complex, full, and has (I think) a better resolution. I really enjoyed that as well (manga is still ongoing). As an aside, I did read a good manga called "Kenji". Basically it's about a kid who learns Bajiquan from his grandfather, and then travels through Japan and China to find his grandfather. He meets a lot of martial arts teachers and learns a lot of good stuff. The target is a much younger audience, and it's not real flashy with a lot of good fights. But I enjoyed the martial arts story and the focus that a lot of good martial arts get. The manga is still ongoing. I haven't see the anime, so I can't speak to that. Chances are good, though, that if an anime has a weird ending, it's because the manga is still ongoing, and the anime wasn't approved for a new season/was canceled. In those cases, check up on the manga, and you might be really surprised. I felt like it was never intense enough for me. I felt like they could have take it much further than they did. The concept was amazing, though. There are some stories with the sole purpose of being fanservice, you know History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi actually has TONS of fan service in the manga, which really surprised me. I watched the anime, which had a lot of it cut or toned down, so when I made the jump I was like "whoa, what's with all this now?" It's by far the best thing (not just anime) I have ever seen.

Avatar: The Last Airbender was actually pretty good, had some cool fights, and worked in some nice spirituality stuff in there to boot. I was very pleasantly surprised. Speaking of xxxHolic, Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles was amazing. I only read the manga, but I think there is an anime adaptation. It was very good. Story kind of intertwines with xxxHolic, but you don't have to know the story of xxxHolic to get Tsubasa. Ah, yeah. The first story was good in its own right, don't get me wrong. But Brotherhood is better by miles.

We talking about the first series, which developed its own anime story, or Fullmental Alchemist: Brotherhood, which follows the manga pretty much word for word? Both are pretty good. But Brotherhood is WAAAAAAAY better than the first anime to come out. It's a fully fleshed out story that is, in my opinion, much more satisfying. Yeah, Cowboy Bebop was one of those kind of "meandering" anime, where there are a bunch of episodes loosely tied together by an underlying plot. Overall, only about 5-7 eps had any real "plot", which was still pretty awesome. Then each character had an episode or two for their back story. And then miscellaneous stuff. For the friends who can't get into it, I usually just tell them what episodes to watch so they get the characters and the story. If you don't like the way the story is set up (and a lot of people just can't get into it), it's easy to miss out on a pretty good story.

Shigurui is amazing. The anime ends rather abruptly. But the manga continues right through the finish, and is great.

Code Geass is probably the best anime I've ever seen (Code Geass- Lelouch of the Rebellion, two seasons- there are some spin offs and stuff, but that one is the best). (Tengen Toppa) Gurren Lagann is also another great series (only one season- totally epic). Death Note is also amazing (two seasons). Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex 1st and 2nd Gig (basically gig 1 is season 1, gig 2 is season 2) is another great anime with great plots, characters, action, and philosophy all interwoven. Those are just off the top of my head series that are pretty amazing, even if you're not a fan of anime.

When did I say he wasn't? This is exactly what I said: "Because one day someone released a documentary of a man lighting newspaper on fire with his hands, shocking people, moving things without touching them, etc etc." It was exactly what. Actually, no, it isn't. Every master has a right to teach or not teach as they see fit. Here is exactly what I said: "So even though he stepped back (which is of course his prerogative to do so), people are STILL on the lookout for what can actually get them some tangible RESULTS!" I make no comment, positive or negative, about your so-called "Western entitlement" which leads people to STILL search for him even though he exercised his right to retreat back into anonymity. I am merely observing what, in my opinion, is the reason why so many people are STILL after Mo Pai even after the master and many students have repeated over and over and over again about not teaching- the fact that there is some promise of tangible, physical, objectively verifiable RESULTS should one train in that style!!! What other style has promised that AND shows a video of a master actually performing it??? Which again brings me to my same point- if masters really want to change the world, if they really want to get people to start thinking that more is possible beyond what our everyday experiences would tell us, if they want people to think on another level, they need to examine what it is about Mo Pai that is STILL getting people interested in it: 1) Evidence (scant though it may be) 2) Promise of tangible results Because there ain't a video of Wang Liping lighting shit on fire with his hands and saying "you can do it too"!!!!! It ain't that hard to understand.

Because one day someone released a documentary of a man lighting newspaper on fire with his hands, shocking people, moving things without touching them, etc etc. People can SAY "oh there is more than one path", but the reason people keep coming back and asking about Mo Pai is because a representative came forward and said "here, watch me do something, this is what I do, and this is how you can do it too!" So even though he stepped back (which is of course his prerogative to do so), people are STILL on the lookout for what can actually get them some tangible RESULTS! Oh sure, a greater sense of well-being and happiness is all well and good. But let's not fool ourselves- people want exotic, mystical secrets of the orient that will bring magic in their lives and open them up to something that they don't get every day, and certainly not something they could get at their local strip mall. If masters really want to change the world by leaps and bounds, if they want to create a quantum leap in human consciousness, if they want to turn people on to the path, if they want to spread their teachings to as many people possible, the ones who can should step out and actually DO something!!! Find a camera and do it. Find a public access television network and show your stuff. Get on the local news and blow the anchors away. Get in front of some university scientists and show them that you can break their theory! That will get the ball seriously rolling. If you don't believe that, I present to you exhibit A- the Mo Pai phenomenon.

Yeah, thanks for the heads up!

The bottom line is that it comes down to you, what you do, how you do it, and how well you do it. A great student without a teacher who is able to dedicate themselves to the path will make much more progress than a mediocre student with a great teacher, as the mediocre student won't pick up even a quarter of the nuggets of knowledge that a great teacher would drop. Someone doing it with a teacher is going to have to put in the same amount of time "on the mat" (as it were) as someone without a teacher. They're going to have to go through the same hurdles. A teacher won't make you succeed at that, and a book won't make you fail at that. In the end, everyone has to do the same work themselves.

Maybe it's just me, but in these past couple of months I've become more and more interested in Norse related stuff (and to a certain extent, pagan as well). Maybe I just saw that movie "Thor", but something about it suddenly started to appeal to me...

Sorry if this is too off topic, but do you mind talking a bit more about this? I'm still dealing with issues that (I think) have to deal with getting too open, and not knowing how to reinstall the natural defense mechanisms which I seemed to have disabled, and it'd be interesting to hear a bit about this. I hear a lot about "all is one" and "be unified with the universe", which is great in theory, up until the point that you actually start feeling that

Pay particular attention (and you'll see what I'm talking about when you get the books) to the neck area. Frantzis makes a big deal about not closing down the base of the skull where it meets the neck, and not closing down the neck. Basically what happens in most people, due to the way they tense their neck and shoulders, as well as the way their posture is (hunched over at a computer, neck facing forward) really clamps down that whole area. As a result, blood goes to the head but is unable to come back down. So you wind up getting a lot of tension in the head, headaches, combine that with eye strain, etc etc etc. That's why in some of his texts he says, if you can't get the alignment just right, and if you have to tilt your head forward or back, it's better to have it slightly forward than slightly back, because tilting back will clamp down that area, and tilting forward will at least open it up partially. Of course, ideally, you aren't tilting your head too much at all. And if you are, it can be fixed after regular practice of releasing body tensions that put you into that position, as well as getting more aware of where your body is in space. But the world is rarely ideal. Not to mention the entire practice itself is a great way to "get out of your head", as he writes in the books.

I suggest "Opening the Energy Gates of the Body" if you only really want to get a single book. The longevity breathing as well as the full dissolving method is taught in the book. And keep in mind- you don't HAVE to stand, you can also sit and lie down (you can also practice during walking and during sexual activity, as those are the five modes that Taoist practices can be done in Frantzis' tradition, but those are a bit more advanced). It's taught in standing since that's a good starting point to check for alignments, keep you aware, and prevent you from falling asleep, as well as to prevent you from getting distracted/activating ingrained tension habits that you may activate in other modes (like moving and during sex). "Relaxing Into Your Being" and "The Great Stillness" give you a larger philosophical background of Frantzis' water tradition. The first book presents a basic breathing exercise, a basic standing exercise (but recommends you consult "Opening the Energy Gates of the Body" for the full exercise), and a basic moving exercise. The second book presents a circle walking moving exercise, a basic sitting exercise, a basic lying down exercise, and a basic introduction to the energetics of sex. The last part describes (but doesn't teach) the process of alchemy. Overall, I'd say all three books give you an excellent core foundation of practice and philosophy from the water method. If you're interested in something different, check them out. If you only want to get one, go with "Opening the Energy Gates of Your Body". There is still some good background philosophy wise, but the practice given is the full one.

A lot of my knowledge is coming from some articles found here. The ones written by Prophecy and Veos especially relate specifically to Hermetics from an IIH paradigm. Basically, there are a lot of different factors. There are spirit beings that have certain influence over certain areas. For instance, there are entities which control the rain. A magician with the proper ability to see and speak to and hear spirits might be able to get a spirit to cause it to rain. Or the magician could consult the spirit and get the spirit to teach the magician how to make it rain. Since the spirits themselves have lots of knowledge, sometimes they know better ways to do it than just the general ways that a magician might find out. Sometimes these lessons come in the forms of gifts, and sometimes in the form of deals. The style of magic that Bardon seems to teach frowns on the deal making. Basically, a magician should develop themselves to the point where they are fully capable of doing it themselves. That would mean working with the water element to the point where they can handle it as well. Since each person can do it themselves, it makes little sense to go around making deals with spirits. The knowledge isn't always enough. Sometimes you need real capability, and that can only come from genuine practice.

effilang, great questions, and some that I've been considering for some time. As I've written here in the past, Bardon's work really appeals to me in the sense of what he's talking about and the practical ways in which he trains a magician, and the practical things that a practicing magician is actually supposed to develop as part of mastery. But Taoism has been what has appealed to me in terms of what fits me and my practice needs. Basically: I don't know the answers to these questions. I'd love to know them, though and it would really help integrate what I see as different halves of my practice. I will say that in reading through bits and pieces of "Opening the Dragon's Gate", I was surprised at a lot of crossover similarities between what was being described there and what I have seen described in Bardon's work. But maybe that's just me.

Okay, well you just started, so I guess I'll throw out some stuff. There are a couple of theories as to where Bardon got his knowledge from. Supporters of Bardon (as I've pointed out in a couple of places) believe that he was a more refined soul who decided to incarnate into a human body, take on its karma, and then teach to the world these techniques. People taking a less mystical approach believe he merely did a lot of research and practice of the current practices of the time, and merely synthesized them into one book. For instance, people point to the Seven Hermetic Letters by Lomer and writings from some other lady (whose name I don't recall), and mention that Bardon's work simply combines their ideas. I read somewhere that he was a member of some lodge, something involving Jupiter, if I recall correctly, which was big in the pre-Nazi days, but then went underground/disbanded as Hitler and the Nazis started coming to power. I don't know how much he had to do with the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Their approach is a lot different than Bardon's (though I've read that combining the ritual of the Golden Dawn with the real magical power that Bardon helps you build leads to some stuff). I don't know how much he had to do with the Illuminati. And I don't know how much he took from yoga/Tibetan Buddhism. Text itself references yoga and the chakras, but suggests one look to already published materials to read up on it, as writing it in the book would just be a rehashing of what was already done. For sure there was a lot of sharing of knowledge. It was "cool" in those days to study up on India and Tibet. I feel like a lot of people took that as inspiration, and combined what (little?) they knew of those practices with what fragments of western mystical traditions they had at their disposal. And for sure, various lodges were trading material, and I'm sure a couple of people had dual membership, as the impression I got is that, at some point, these organizations were much more like social/research clubs, than serious spiritual places (except for perhaps the upper echelons). Bardon, I think, read a lot and practiced quite a bit. "Steal" is a loaded word, and depending on your vantage point in the situation, might be the word you want to use. For sure you can trace elements in his work to what was going on in Europe at the time, specifically what was going on in mystical groups and what was being brought in from India and Tibet. And I don't think any particular group was sponsoring him to do anything to any particular means. Anyway, that's what I got when I researched the matter (because I do like to find the origins and lineages of people).

Care to help out the rest of us?

In an older thread about Jerry Alan Johnson, ralis asked about the one through ten meditation that JAJ mentions. But the link is dead now Anyone have a description of the meditation, or where I can find it? He also mentions a "three invocations". Anyone know what that is/where to learn it?

Thanks everybody!

You can learn a lot about people from what they type on the taobums

Or does it? I dunno, I've stayed out of all of those "what is enlightenment" threads. Since I'm not enlightened and have no idea what it actually is, I prefer to keep my options open, rather than to come down on one thing for "certain" and to rule out other options. If the universe is a reflection of you, or a reflection of what's in you, then if what's in you is enlightenment, then the universe reflects...? Or maybe the universe isn't a reflection of you. Maybe it exists regardless. In which case, if you were enlightened, and you knew your place in it, then what about the universe in which you aren't aware? Would that be enlightenment? Or maybe ALL of you are aware. Then there's no universe in which you aren't aware. Uh oh. You broke the system. Unless you all remove yourselves from inside the realities to get a larger perspective. But then there's no you. But then the act of observation changes the system, now doesn't it? We've gotten ourselves into quite a mess. So then who proved to you that enlightenment is just about knowing your place? Right. Karma. There's a scene in V for Vendetta that someone posted a little while ago that I think underscores exactly this point. Basically the detective was saying that he had looked at the history, and based on the history, knew how the people would respond. Sure, they had the CHOICE to act in a totally different manner. But because of their past actions, they were basically locked into the future actions. If you understood all the players and all the pieces, you could pretty much predict what was going to happen next. So know what people are doing and know what the effects are going to be. And you'd have quite a bit of understanding. Maybe that's how buddhas can see the future? Could you then see the past by reverse engineering the present? Could you then see into other realms by going down other decision trees? You'd have to see every little thing. That'd be quite something!