9th

All the discussion is fine and good, but the basic point that I find so often overlooked is that you need to be aware of unconsciousness before you can approach it and begin to deal with it. Consciousness, in this sense of the word, is co-created intentionally by the person in relation to their environment, its not an automatic thing like a bodily reflex. This is why it is spoken of as "cultivation". Service to the cosmos is mandatory for everyone and everything, but there is also a great deal of choice available between the lines, if you know where to look. A fully operational bridge between microcosm and macrocosm is an intentional endeavor. Squaring the circle requires a specific kind of cooperation that engages the most basic and fundamental aspects of awareness in conjunction with the most basic and fundamental aspects of phenomena. It is not a necessary process in terms of maintaining physical reality. It is a choice. It requires intent. Creativity is a partnership that is enacted through specific efforts of compromise. Even if you want to be absolutely passive, its not going to happen. Beyond that, growing into the changes, according harmoniously with events - such things are like a form of art. People can get very confused by ideas like wu wei when taken purely as theoretical concepts rather than living experience. That is why I try to discourage pontification as much as possible, especially when it comes to certain kinds of philosophical and metaphysical ideas. When you are personally dealing with this kind of thing on a moment-by-moment basis, then you will understand it - much later your ideas and descriptions of it will follow suit and become useful to others. In the meantime, highly elaborate conceptual discussion often serves an entirely different purpose.. distraction, entertainment, self-importance, etc.

The 'wings of slack'/'time control' emblem was designed by the artist and painter Robert Williams. Its an interesting interpretation of the winged disk symbol, which fits the subgenius mythos in a few different ways.

You are getting closer to it, but everything that exists is conditioned in some way, in the sense of all things being inter-dependent. That is the nature of existence itself - conditional relationships of various forces in various permutations. Such variety encompasses an incomprehensible spectrum, on an unimaginably vast scale. So, you can say with great certainty that some things are vastly less conditional than others, some much less, some a little less, some a little more, some much more, so on and so on. This is why I would regard modern man's educational understanding of the world as vastly more narrow and limited than the understanding of physical life itself which has evolved and adapted to the Earth over the past millions of years. In other words, our body is "infinitely" more intelligent than our rationality - even though nothing is "always" "absolutely" right. That which is entirely aimless, and entirely unmanifest is not conditional, and as such is not an experience or a state of being. We could talk about the ground of reality, but what is the point? Such transcendental philosophizing and theorizing and so forth is, again, practically meaningless - in the sense that when it comes to self-cultivation, what we are concerned with are practical matters. Practice of living methods, not just static ideas and statements. Walk, not talk. Ideas that mooji espouses (like the watcher is not the doer) tie back into the neo-advaita philosophy that there is nothing to practice, nothing to learn, dont do anything, everything is already perfect - which I disagree with. IMO, an actual realization of the untouched and untouchable observer is an essential gateway, or portal. It is not a goal in itself, or a stopping point. It can be treated as such, but ultimately it is a temporary dalliance... and one which could potentially come at great cost. However this may be a necessary lesson for some.

Yeh I think that is the idea in general though, for folk knowledge. What he was involved with was clearly an herbalist/naturalist tradition (perhaps slanted more towards incantations and spellcraft such), and the little he showed me seemed to indicate really old world type views. He didnt claim anything about the origins himself, other than his mom and grandma and hers before that and so on had practiced this stuff. It just sort of flashed as intuition for me, that it was medieval european healer type knowledge. There was a distinct air of real ancient-ness to all the various items and writings. I find the european roots are a very interesting topic, for example regarding the transition when Odin became the head deity of the european pantheon, apparently displacing an earlier deity, who fit a different archetype. It must have happened long before the time of the Romans, who identified Mercury (Hermes) with Odin, noting the Celts as followers of him. Tracing Hermetic correlations through various cultures in various times is a massive undertaking that still isnt close to being fully explored.

Then the Savior created [...] of them all - and the spirits of these are manifestly superior, being blessed and varying in election - and also (he created) many other beings, which have no king and are superior to everyone that was before them. Consequently, four races exist. There are three that belong to the kings of the eighth heaven. But the fourth race is kingless and perfect, being the highest of all. For these shall enter the holy place of their father. And they will gain rest in repose and eternal, unspeakable glory and unending joy. Moreover, they are kings within the mortal domain, in that they are immortal. They will condemn the gods of chaos and their forces. Now the Word that is superior to all beings was sent for this purpose alone: that he might proclaim the unknown. He said, "There is nothing hidden that is not apparent, and what has not been recognized will be recognized." And these were sent to make known what is hidden, and the seven authorities of chaos and their impiety. And thus they were condemned to death. So when all the perfect appeared in the forms modelled by the rulers, and when they revealed the incomparable truth, they put to shame all the wisdom of the gods. And their fate was found to be a condemnation. And their force dried up. Their lordship was dissolved. Their forethought became emptiness, along with their glory. Before the consummation of the age, the whole place will shake with great thundering. Then the rulers will be sad, [...] their death. The angels will mourn for their mankind, and the demons will weep over their seasons, and their mankind will wail and scream at their death. Then the age will begin, and they will be disturbed. Their kings will be intoxicated with the fiery sword, and they will wage war against one another, so that the earth is intoxicated with bloodshed. And the seas will be disturbed by those wars. Then the sun will become dark, and the moon will cause its light to cease. The stars of the sky will cancel their circuits. And a great clap of thunder will come out of a great force that is above all the forces of chaos, where the firmament of the woman is situated. Having created the first product, she will put away the wise fire of intelligence and clothe herself with witless wrath. Then she will pursue the gods of chaos, whom she created along with the prime parent. She will cast them down into the abyss. They will be obliterated because of their wickedness. For they will come to be like volcanoes and consume one another until they perish at the hand of the prime parent. When he has destroyed them, he will turn against himself and destroy himself until he ceases to exist. And their heavens will fall one upon the next and their forces will be consumed by fire. Their eternal realms, too, will be overturned. And his heaven will fall and break in two. His [...] will fall down upon the [...] support them; they will fall into the abyss, and the abyss will be overturned. The light will [...] the darkness and obliterate it: it will be like something that has never been. And the product to which the darkness had been posterior will dissolve. And the deficiency will be plucked out by the root (and thrown) down into the darkness. And the light will withdraw up to its root. And the glory of the unbegotten will appear. And it will fill all the eternal realm. When the prophecy and the account of those that are king becomes known and is fulfilled by those who are called perfect, those who - in contrast - have not become perfect in the unbegotten father will receive their glory in their realms and in the kingdoms of the immortals: but they will never enter the kingless realm. For everyone must go to the place from which he has come. Indeed, by his acts and his knowledge, each person will make his (own) nature known. - "On the Origin of the World", from the Nag Hammadi Library

When I was a kid I knew a guy brought up in this tradition. Apparently his family had been practicing for generations, going back to colonial times and so forth. He had a family grimoire filled with super-complicated runes, showed me some antique ritual mats and tools and all that stuff. Very, very far from wicca stuff. It seemed to be from the legacy of medieval herbalists and healers. And in turn, that tradition could very well go all the way back to prehistoric european shamanism.

The neo-non-dualists are a curiously dualistic bunch sometimes, especially in the way they seem to separate things. As always, look to the intent rather than the content. And unfortunately, simply claiming to be beyond karma does not necessarily make it so. Watching is the root of doing. Consciousness is at the root of phenomena in general. Movement is a virtue of time and space. To say "the watcher is not the doer" is overly simplistic reductionism, and practically meaningless - in much the same way as saying "different colors are not the same". Now, if you were to speak of the extremely conditional "intelligence" of modern man, via language and "education" as opposed to the natural intelligence of DNA itself - that is another matter. Have you been taught how to digest your food? Did you have to learn how to make your heart pump blood through your body? And so forth. So arguments about who or what is "doing" in this case takes a different tone - which is much more valuable for exploring, imo.

The issue of the remaining Gurdjieff "schools", which have not retained the actual spark (and flame) of inspiration and initiation, would be a matter for another discussion. Suffice to say that they are chained to sparse forms of disconnected practices, to which the importance they attribute has been blown far, far out of proportion - much like their own egos and ideas of themselves. For example, virtually nothing has been passed on from the all-lesbian group that Gurdjieff assembled known as "The Rope" - who supposedly received the most "advanced" practices. In terms of his own descriptions, there is no need to guess. Let us continue: There are many further references which continue to illustrate the idea of the "kundabuffer" in the context of this story and self-cultivation practices in general. In particular, this is one of the most key points:

This topic is a mine-field... and unfortunately not enough people asked Gurdjieff the right (fucking) questions when he was still around. Suffice to say, some information can be pieced together from 'Beezlebub' and also 'In Search of..'. BTW, this Samael character is quite deluded, imo. Osho speculated that Gurdjieff was trying to directly subvert the Theosophical groups, who were the biggest proponents of this term in his time period - which was many decades before the upanishads and other yogic literature was widely available in the western world in its original form. In other words, he claimed Gurdjieff's definition of kundalini was a re-definition of what theosophists referred to as "kundalini" - instead of being a definition of the historical concept itself. Here is what Gurdjieff himself once said during a lecture, and as you can see he does refer specifically to "occult" literature rather than the sutras themselves, and also clarifies this term is not referring to sex energy... many years later he would write about the "kundabuffer" apparatus: And as usual, he returns to these ideas again, in different ways, illuminating the same things from other angles to give a fuller picture, and a broader view: http://thetaobums.com/topic/32100-immortality-yin-yang-or-pure-yang/page-3#entry487426

Before asking for such things from others, you must ask yourself - would you be able to notice such a demonstration in the first place? Or were you talking about stuff like chewing glass or dragging a bulldozer with your nutsack? Maybe you should be a little more specific.

Precious Mirror Samādhi The dharma of suchness is intimately transmitted by buddhas and ancestors; Now you have it; preserve it well. A silver bowl filled with snow; a flying heron hidden by the moon. Related to each other, they are not the same; Joined together, their places are known. The meaning does not reside in the words, but a pivotal moment brings it forth. Flee and you are trapped; hesitate and you fall into doubt and vacillation. Ignoring and confronting are both wrong, for it is like a massive fire. To portray it in literary form is to stain it with defilement. In darkest night it is perfectly clear; in the light of dawn it is hidden. It is a standard for all things; used to remove all suffering. Although it has no activity, it yet speaks. Like facing a precious mirror; form and reflection behold each other. You are not it, but in truth it is you. Like a newborn child, it is fully endowed with five aspects: No going, no coming, no arising, no abiding; "ba ba wa wa" - is anything said or not? In the end it says nothing, for the words are not yet right. In the six lines of the doubled Li hexagram, appearances and reality interact, Piled up they become three, the permutations make five, Like the taste of the five-flavored herb, like the five-pronged vajra. Wondrously embraced within the real, rhythm and melody begin together. Penetrate the source and travel the paths; embrace the crossroads and treasure the route. You would do well to respect this; do not neglect it. Natural and wondrous, it is not a matter of delusion or enlightenment. Within causes and conditions, in time and season, it is serene and illuminating. So fine it enters where there is no space, so vast it transcends all boundaries. A hairs-breadth's deviation, and you are out of tune. Now there is 'sudden and gradual', because teachings and approaches arise. When teachings and approaches are distinguished, standards appear. Whether teachings and approaches are mastered or not, reality constantly flows. Outside still and inside trembling, like tethered colts or cowering rats, The ancient sages grieved for them, and offered them the dharma. Led by their inverted views, they take black for white. When inverted thinking stops, the affirming mind naturally accords. If you want to follow in the ancient tracks, please observe the sages of the past. One on the verge of realizing the Way, the Buddha contemplated a tree for ten kalpas, Like a battle-scarred tiger, like a horse with shanks gone grey. Because some are blinded by themselves, there are jeweled tables and ornate robes; Because some are wide-eyed wondering, there are wildcats and white oxen. With his archer's skill Yi hit the mark at a hundred paces, But when arrows meet head-on, how could it be a matter of skill? The wooden man starts to sing; the stone woman gets up dancing. It is not reached by feelings or thoughts, how could it involve deliberation? Vassals serve their lords, children obey their parents; Not obeying is not filial, failure to serve is no help. With practice hidden, function secretly, appearing like a fool, like an idiot; To persist in this way is called 'the host within the host'. - Tung-shan Liang-chieh

plane ticket in hand hearing with the eyes, the wind carrying children

http://www.rustblade.com/2014/10-to-the-power-of-9-vol-1/

Yeh, you've got the right idea. And in some cases, its more like handing a loaded gun to a 5 year old child. Some kinds of knowledge are not just inert data. It depends on the specifics. There may be a great deal of energy invested in certain methods. And raw energy doesnt discriminate.. its equal opportunity, just like a gun. Its a tool. The usage depends on the person in question. http://youtu.be/AoFUL6VpYfw

Basically this, but thats the kind of secret that would solve all the problems - not get you into more of them. Thats why its self-protecting... because nobody wants to know that kind of secret. People actually want more problems, believe it or not. They want drama, division, tension, release, dynamics, magnetism... etc. Its the same "secret" thats right in front of everyones face all the time, just ignored in favor of other concerns.

You arent. You should either have understanding, or admit that you dont know. It serves no purpose to jump to the most immediate conclusions without any sort of understanding of the topic in question, especially in terms of very esoteric matters which have been described and researched for many generations. Its like a high school kid walking up to NASA and saying "Moon rockets use fuel made from pop-rocks and soda!" Its 100% uninformed, and also completely ridiculous in actual context. If you want to learn about rocket fuel, you study aerospace engineering... you dont just make wild guesses and then assume its true because it sounds good to you.

didnt you say desire doesnt exist? in your case, i guess its time to rethink that position

imho you cant learn qigong properly without a teacher - you can do some preparations but to really learn the forms and methods you need actual, first-hand instruction that applies to your body type and situation, etc. and its not always necessary to go to china to find a well-trained teacher (or even a master) .. if you can keep an open mind as well as a healthy amount of critical thinking, you can benefit from any legitimate teacher with sufficient skill level .. "lineage holder" or not

safe journey