9th

yeh.. if you have any interest in "energy work" you better be prepared for an endless horde of shysters and onion-eyed worm ticklers man... thats just the beginning, too

mellow is the man who knows what he's been missing many many men can't see the open road many is the word that only leaves you guessing guessing about a thing you really ought to know - robert plant

The only reason there can be a non-practice "practice" and other ideas of that nature (no progression, return to originality, etc.) is because society trains people in adverse ways. So, the idea is to reverse or release the training or conditioning that society has imposed on you. Beyond this conditioning (or before it, prior to it) is the original source material, which is already perfect and takes care of itself in the best way possible. Its a non-practice practice, because its not additional. It is easy to use a spiritual tradition or cultivation method to further condition yourself, because that is what it is designed to do. However the ultimate goal is unconditional, and that is why the individual and independent nature of original reality must prevail over established and static forms in the collective. Otherwise, such "spirituality" or "practice" becomes simply another occupation of the larger society, and aligns with its automatic objectives and mechanical principles.

no, the feet should be pointing straight and parallel - the idea is to get past the muscular tensions and drop into the realm of bones and tendons, getting to the most raw physical efficiency - and thats gonna take a while

if you are talking about crystalization, you are talking about geometry but plenty of the time you dont know what you are talking about, so thats just to be expected

The pulsations do not "create" the chemicals, but amplified harmonics are certainly involved in the process. As we all know, there is a geometry to energetics which favors certain configurations over others for certain endeavors - and the functioning of the endocrine system reflects this. What Drew is describing is the state where energetic alignment becomes obvious, even to the average person. There is a subtle (but very physical) light transmitted through the eyes, and most notably, the pheromones released from the skin do not decay and deteriorate either - which means that such a person has a much different "body odor" that smells like flowers or other pleasant aromatics, instead of the common armpit/foot effluents. It is akin to the way a baby smells - but instead think of that being fully matured in an adult. It is what human pheromones are actually supposed to smell like, in the fully operational sense.

btw, the tibetans love of scripture is the reason that prayer flags and prayer wheels exist.. the wind carries the prayers into space

The tibetans I was with took it as far as not placing any books containing scriptures on the bottom shelf (and certainly not on the floor) - it had to be on the highest one. Also, if any sutras or teachings were printed out on a sheet of paper, you could not just throw it away in the trash - you had to do a ritual to dispose of it. You have to understand how tibetans regard scripture as sacred, and especially the written form - because the written tibetan language was created specifically to record and translate the buddhist sutras when they were imported from India. Their written language itself is intrinsically tied to them. They owe a lot to buddhism because it brought education and other social enhancements to their world. Now, we could go into deeper debates about the darker side of things that most avoid talking about, but it would be a very long conversation as there are many topics. Suffice to say that there was also a significant wealth gap type issue that remained entrenched and justified through it (as in all human cultures it seems). Beyond that, specifically the modern American buddhist community does contain some strong undercurrents of fundamentalism in a number of areas, of course not as a rule in every circumstance, but it certainly is there. However you will tend to find this kind of thing in every spiritual tradition that has been institutionalized to such a degree - as it is a beacon or attractor for people in that frame of mind. The cultural/spiritual content doesnt really matter, the main point is the trappings of authoritarianism, the external infallibility, the self-importance, etc.

thoughts and ideas and concepts are mind in the same way the sky and the trees are mind

Supposedly the Tarot may have derived from some Sufi teaching tools and/or a confluence of traditions between practicing aristocrats in Venice. It did not spring up from nowhere, but rather arose through efforts which systematized and codified many correlations of esoteric thought, brought about from the synthesis of cultures in the renaissance period. So the 3 around the wheel may be an addition from a non-european source, as a further clarification of the concept.

Indeed. Great minds think alike, as they say. For instance, I posted that song since the title is the same as Frater's response to you above, and also that song is specifically about "illumination". Most of the time I dont explain what I do, as I find it counterproductive. I also dont really post lyrics much anymore but in this case I think it will be fun for old time's sake. This is what we like to call "the short path". There are no words that can describe The joy I feel just in being alive And when I look inside of me I see love, faith and fidelity Within the dark night of the soul There lies a hidden, warming glow And if that glow were blue and white Could you sleep dreamless through the night ? But if that glow were red and black Would you want your money back ? It's hard enough, hard enough Just to survive, just to be alive madness, madness, madness and death Respect, Humility, Respect madness and death All you see and all you know Hangs from a stick before your nose The bread of life, all that you wish Is lying at your fingertips If all you see is what you want And what you see is what you get Then cease your searching, low and high Listen to my whispered lies Ask for nothing Close your eyes It's hard enough, hard enough Just to survive, just to be alive SURPRISE !

Prāṇāyāma (Sanskrit: प्राणायाम prāṇāyāma) is a Sanskrit word meaning "extension of the prāṇa or breath" or "extension of the life force". The word is composed of two Sanskrit words: prana, life force, or vital energy, (noted particularly as the breath), and ayāma, to extend or draw out. (Not "restrain, or control" as is often translated from yam instead of ayāma). It is a yogicdiscipline with origins in ancient India. Prāṇāyāma (Devanagari: प्राणायाम prāṇāyāma) is a Sanskrit compound. V. S. Apte provides fourteen different meanings for the word prāṇa (Devanagari: प्राण, prāṇa) including these:[1] Breath, respiration The breath of life, vital air, principle of life (usually plural in this sense, there being five such vital airs generally assumed, but three, six, seven, nine, and even ten are also spoken of)[2] Energy, vigor The spirit or soul Of these meanings, the concept of "vital air" is used by Bhattacharyya to describe the concept as used in Sanskrit texts dealing with prāṇāyāma.[3] Thomas McEvilley translatesprāṇa as "spirit-energy".[4] Its most subtle material form is the breath, but is also to be found in blood, and its most concentrated form is semen in men and vaginal fluid in women.[5] Monier-Williams defines the compound prāṇāyāma as "(m., also pl.) N. of the three 'breath-exercises' performed during Saṃdhyā (See pūrak, rechak (English: retch or throw out),kumbhak".[6] This technical definition refers to a particular system of breath control with three processes as explained by Bhattacharyya: pūrak (to take the breath inside),kumbhak (to retain it), and rechak (to discharge it).[7] There are also other processes of prāṇāyāma in addition to this three-step model.[7] Macdonell gives the etymology as prāṇa + āyāma and defines it as "m. suspension of breath (sts. pl.)".[8] Apte's definition of āyāmaḥ derives it from ā + yām and provides several variant meanings for it when used in compounds. The first three meanings have to do with "length", "expansion, extension", and "stretching, extending", but in the specific case of use in the compound prāṇāyāma he defines āyāmaḥ as meaning "restrain, control, stopping".[9] An alternative etymology for the compound is cited by Ramamurti Mishra, who says that: Expansion of individual energy into cosmic energy is called prāṇāyāma (prāṇa, energy + ayām, expansion). — [10] Some scholars distinguish between hatha and rāja yoga varieties of prāṇāyāma, with the former variety usually prescribed for the beginner. According to Taimni, hatha yogic prāṇāyāma involves manipulation of pranic currents through breath regulation for bringing about the control of chitt-vritti and changes in consciousness, whereas rāja yoga prāṇāyāma involves the control of chitt-vritti by consciousness directly through the will of the mind.[11] Students qualified to practice prāṇāyāma are therefore always initiated first in the techniques of hatha prāṇāyāma.[12]

Yes, this could be it. The reason I said that is because I have been around a number of buddhists for a number of years, and most of them are very reverential of the sutras. Particularly these people were into Tibetan buddhism but also Theravadins and Zen people as well. In general, Ive found that predispositions of this sort are more about human nature than a particular tradition. Of course, all traditions have their advice and wisdom from notable sages - but the average person can make all sorts of claims as to whatever they want. For example there is the somewhat well known story of the monk who carries the girl across the pond, later questioned by another monk saying they are not allowed to touch women, to which he replied "I put her down back there, why are you still carrying her?". But as tends to happen most of the time, people only pay lip service to such ideas... and instead remain firmly affixed to the teat of external authority, whatever they determine it to be.

4 at the cardinal points is more in keeping with the medieval symbology.. its earlier, not later

I am proposing that bodily functions such as the workings of the internal organs and autonomic nervous system can be considered unconscious.

Sounds like you havent hung out with very many Buddhists

One thing you might want to ask yourself is: what keeps your heart beating? Are you consciously making it pump blood through the rest of your body? How about your lungs? Are you concentrating on extracting oxygen and nitrogen from air molecules? Just some thoughts to help you with a "new" concept.

The Wheel of Fortune turns: Diminished, I descend; Another is lifted, And raised too high; A king sits at the summit - Beware thy ruin! For under the axle we read That Hecuba was Queen! - Carmina Burana The wheel represents the inexorable rise and fall of fortune. In her right hand Fortuna holds the tiller by which she steers the course of events, and in her left she holds the cornucopia, the fruits of respecting her laws. At Fortuna's right a young and nimble youth ascends with the wheel; his rising station and power sow the seeds of his inevitable decline, but his sprouting ass's ears show us that he cannot see beyond his immanent triumph. His power reaches its maturity and he is the king of all he surveys, yet this very power leads to rigidity, which will topple him with the wheel's revolution. Still the ass, he cannot give up his rigidity although his power falls precipitously. Only when his fortune bottoms out, does he begin to loosen up, and regain the flexibility that will allow another, hopefully wiser, ascent. So it is with kings and corporations, societies and schools, fortunes and philosophies. The alchemist knows Fortuna's law, and can use it beneficially, harnessing the descent as a means of disintegration to achieve a higher integration. Then the rotation of the elements becomes an ascending spiral. He also knows that, although the wheel's rim always moves, hidden behind Fortuna's captivating form is the stationary axis, the unmoving hub, the fixed point immune to changing fortune. This is where he stations himself when he has had enough of riding Fortune's Wheel. X.Fortune has no corresponding trigram because she is the Lady of Chance, the yin force opposite to I.Magician, the Lord of Chance, the yang force; together they govern the First Ogdoad, the Personal Triumphs, comprising trumps II-IX. X.Fortune separates the Personal Triumphs, which represent the descent of spirit into matter, manifesting as success in the world, from the Universal Triumphs (trumps XI-XX), representing the re-ascent of the spirit from matter, manifesting as a turn inward and as spiritual accomplishments; the Wheel is the "turning point" from "involution and generation" to "evolution and regeneration." (Nichols 190-1). It is significant that Fortune is trump 10, for the Pythagoreans say that the decad is a higher-order unity, since the decad circles back on itself and encompasses all the elementary numbers. This is symbolized by Greek and Roman numerals, since the Greek numeral for 10 is I, which is also the Roman numeral for 1. The Pythagoreans also call the decad "Fate" and the "All-fulfiller," since it brings all things to their natural ends. It represents the wheel, for it comprises the monad (1) and the ennead (9), which are the hub and the rim. Indeed, it is the outermost rim of the heavens, which turns all the inner spheres. X.Fortune heralds a new epoch of integration. (Cooper s.v. numbers; Jung, Aion 134; Nichols 199; Schimmel 182 ; TA 79, 81-3, 86; see also my commentary on the 10s in the Minor Arcana) Thus, the Wheel has both the perfection of the decad (Greek I), but the excess of the hendecad, which marks the first step (Roman I) beyond that perfection to another level, for the Wheel separates the personal triumphs (I-IX) from the universal triumphs (XI-XX). According to Rene Guinon the hendecad represents the Hieros Gamos (Sacred Marriage), which both joins the bodies (2+3) and unites the souls (243) of the female (2) and male (3). (Schimmel 189, 191)

Im not gay so I cant exactly speak for them - but this idea seems suspect at best. You are suggesting they should feel guilty for their sexual preference? Im not sure why they should be "regretting" anything.

Drew, have you seen this book before? You might get a kick out of it The Solar Plexus Or Abdominal Brain (1920)https://archive.org/details/solarplexusorab00dumogoog