9th

There is a difference between man-made morality, which differs according to culture and geographic location, as well as time period (for instance in some places and times it is morally correct to chop off a thief's hand, to take a woman against her will, etc.) - and the feeling of conscience, which is inborn. Morality belongs to the conditional world of learned response, conscience belongs to the natural function of the human body-mind. In terms of "lawfulness" in regards to actual reality, and therefore cosmic operations - morality is useless while conscience is essential. Conscience is a type of perception derived from heart-based awareness.. and this is not just metaphorical. It is directly related to the physical and subtle functions of the heart and is intimately related to the solar plexus area as well. It is the non-dual aspect of feeling, the mediator and unified field of all emotional manifestations. This is the gateway to accordance with cosmic principle, wu-wei and so forth. It is the means by which alignment to the source of all things is derived and maintained. The (oftentimes great) discrepancy and disconnect between the overarching morality of a given group or society and the universal dictates of conscience is the origin of what has come to be known as "holy madness" or "skillful means" or "crazy wisdom". Such people and actions are considered "crazy" or "mad" from the perspective of society, due to its slavish devotion to (frequently perverse) man-made morals and customs, and its obscuration and repression of conscience and universal (physical, natural) law - which is the source of actual "holiness" and "wisdom". One of the most telling examples for thousands of years has remained as the rampant self-serving materialism which is considered to be the goal of life, and so forth - but in actuality is a harmful disease in terms of the health of our species. Of course morality has often been used as an attempt to bridge the gap between those who may 'see' the necessity of universal accord and those who cannot, giving us Hammurabi's code, and ideas of the "golden rule", and 10 commandments and so forth. Unfortunately such systematic implementation of ideologies do not equate to universal accord itself, and even though this social experiment is long overdue for a efficiency review, the system itself has become a heavily entrenched method for controlling populations, and therefore resources. So its usefulness to the people who profit most from such systems has determined its status as inviolable sanctity. It is not possible to automate conscience or universal accord as in the functionality of a utopia. This requires consciousness, which is also anathema to conditioning in general, and particularly the diseased social mentality which is most prevalent in our day and age and which hinges on self-importance, egoism and so forth.

good luck

Some people need training wheels before they can learn how to ride a bicycle successfully. It is the same idea with "ignore" functions. It is like cybernetic training wheels for people who are still learning how to cope with their own mind. Eventually they may be able to learn how to not be bothered by the manifestations of others, but until then they may need some helpful devices to make it easier. Its certainly not evil, but its certainly not virtuous either. In reality, its just a lack of requisite psychic fortitude. In regards to practices of self-cultivation, it is a hindrance to be overcome. In regards to the average person who has no interest in self-cultivation, attempts to rectify this issue are not necessary.

The instructions in that video are incredibly basic fundamental concepts of meditation found in almost all traditions, and are the same given by almost all teachers. You speak of having such interest and passion for practice, but frankly it is all talk, all bluster. What you have the most interest in is generating a certain appearance - the appearance of being "spiritual", the appearance of having "understanding", the appearance of being "sincere" and so on. If you want to practice, you just do it - there is no discussion involved. The basics are so simple to grasp - really the only difficulty at all is in sustaining and deepening the practice endlessly. Your reticence here is not genuine caution, but rather symptomatic rubbish of a more pernicious self-generated manifestation.

http://youtu.be/DUCSA_MkZ_I

A monk asked Joshu, "I've heard that you were a student of Nansen. Is it true or not?" Joshu replied, "The province of Chin produces giant radishes."

"This is ordinary man," he said, "man number one, two, three, and four. He has only the physical body. The physical body dies and nothing is left of it. The physical body is composed of earthly material and at death it returns to earth. It is dust and to dust it returns. It is impossible to talk of any kind of 'immortality' for a man of this sort. "But if a man has the second body" (he placed the second body on the diagram parallel to the planets), "this second body is composed of material of the planetary world and it can survive the death of the physical body. It is not immortal in the full sense of the word, because after a certain period of time it also dies. But at any rate it does not die with the physical body. "If a man has the third body" (he placed the third body on the diagram parallel to the sun), "it is composed of material of the sun and it can exist after the death of the 'astral' body. "The fourth body is composed of material of the starry world, that is, of material that does not belong to the solar system, and therefore, if it has crystallized within the limits of the solar system there is nothing within this system that could destroy it. This means that a man possessing the fourth body is immortal within the limits of the solar system.

Do you control the beating of your own heart? Can you stop your heart at will? Can you go without sleep forever? Do you ever require food? These processes are unconscious. The question you should be asking is: is it possible to be conscious? Most people are not, they are wholly motivated by entirely unexamined processes which they have no control over, far above and beyond simple instinctual needs. The psyche has its own realm of operation, and the general basis of its principles are almost always based on the erroneous idea that our being is separate from the world around us. As such, all internal edifice built upon it is likewise erroneous and leads to all manner of unintended and spurious consequences by way of misperception. Its not a question of nature vs nurture, both are accountable. The natural aspect of man is the ability to harmonize heaven and earth - which requires our hand to fulfill, it is not given automatically because that would invalidate the principle itself. We have a choice whether or not to fulfill this possibility. Society and the world of learned behaviors which continually condition everyone throughout history do not predominately lean in this direction, rather they favor a life which gravitates to simple animalistic concerns, as they arise at the human level. But this social conditioning itself arises directly from the unfulfilled potentials, so it is directly relevant as well and therefore can serve as the means by which such potential is accomplished. The disparity of a persons (friendly, cheerful, etc) mask vs the actual bent of their (selfish, hurtful, etc) motivations is derived partly from social conditioning - as it is of course easier to achieve an objective that is unknown to those who may oppose you. However it is also derived from the internal discrepancy itself, filling the gaps between what a person thinks of themselves (as loving, caring, "good", etc.) and the actuality of their actions which may be entirely opposite to this. There is a great deal of psychological pain generated by the internal discrepancy between fully invested self-belief and its lack of accordance with actual reality, so ignorance of this is constantly reinforced to maintain the functionality of life and of course these hypocritical aspects of it.

It was a very concise summary, perhaps too concise for some. The figure given along with that description is thus: In all instances the addition of a new element is accomplished by way of harmonious balance. The symmetry of the geometric symbols helps to show this. The process refers to the generation of the four higher bodies. G. also gives an alternate description using another metaphor: "An Eastern teaching describes the functions of the four bodies, their gradual growth, and the conditions of this growth, in the following way: "Let us imagine a vessel or a retort filled with various metallic powders. The powders are not in any way connected with each other and every accidental change in the position of the retort changes the relative position of the powders. If the retort be shaken or tapped with the finger, then the powder which was at the top may appear at the bottom or in the middle, while the one which was at the bottom may appear at the top. There is nothing permanent in the position of the powders and under such con­ditions there can be nothing permanent. This is an exact picture of our psychic life. Each succeeding moment, new influences may change the position of the powder which is on the top and put in its place another which is absolutely its opposite. Science calls this state of the powders the state of mechanical mixture. The essential characteristic of the interrelation of the powders to one another in this kind of mixture is the instability of these interrelations and their variability. "It is impossible to stabilize the interrelation of powders in a state of mechanical mixture. But the powders may be fused; the nature of the powders makes this possible. To do this a special kind of fire must be lighted under the retort which, by heating and melting the powders, finally fuses them together. Fused in this way the powders will be in the state of a chemical compound. And now they can no longer be separated by those simple methods which separated and made them change places when they were in a state of mechanical mixture. The contents of the retort have become indivisible, 'individual.' This is a picture of the formation of the second body. "The fire by means of which fusion is attained is produced by 'friction,' which in its turn is produced in man by the struggle between 'yes' and 'no.' If a man gives way to all his desires, or panders to them, there will be no inner struggle in him, no 'friction,' no fire. But if, for the sake of attaining a definite aim, he struggles with desires that hinder him, he will then create a fire which will gradually transform his inner world into a single whole. "Let us return to our example. The chemical compound obtained by fusion possesses certain qualities, a certain specific gravity, a certain electrical conductivity, and so on. These qualities constitute the characteristics of the substance in question. But by means of work upon it of a certain kind the number of these characteristics may be increased, that is, the alloy may be given new properties which did not primarily belong to it. It may be possible to magnetize it, to make it radioactive, and so on. "The process of imparting new properties to the alloy corresponds to the process of the formation of the third body and of the acquisition of new knowledge and powers with the help of the third body. "When the third body has been formed and has acquired all the properties, powers, and knowledge possible for it, there remains the problem of fixing this knowledge and these powers, because, having been imparted to it by influences of a certain kind, they may be taken away by these same influences or by others. By means of a special kind of work for all three bodies the acquired properties may be made the permanent and inalienable possession of the third body. "The process of fixing these acquired properties corresponds to the process of the formation of the fourth body. "And only the man who possesses four fully developed bodies can be called a 'man' in the full sense of the word. This man possesses many properties which ordinary man does not possess. One of these properties is immortality. All religions and all ancient teachings contain the idea that, by acquiring the fourth body, man acquires immortality; and they all contain indications of the ways to acquire the fourth body, that is, immortality.

No, thoughts can create your reactions to reality. For instance, you cannot think about growing wings and then turn that into reality. You cannot think about walking on water and then accomplish it through your thoughts. Such ideas about creating reality with thoughts will serve no truthful purpose. This is commonly called "magical thinking" in psychological circles. It is a common outlook for small children, but has nothing to do with "magic" as a practical tradition. Subjectivity does not create objectivity. Subjectivity creates its own relative perception - by being in relation to objectivity.

"The transmission of the meaning of symbols to a man who has not reached an understanding of them in himself is impossible. This sounds like a paradox, but the meaning of a symbol and the disclosure of its essence can only be given to, and can only be understood by, one who, so to speak, already knows what is comprised in this symbol. And then a symbol becomes for him a synthesis of his knowledge and serves him for the expression and transmission of his knowledge just as it served the man who constructed it. "Man, in the normal state natural to him, is taken as a duality. He consists entirely of dualities or 'pairs of opposites.' All man's sensations, impressions, feelings, thoughts, are divided into positive and negative, useful and harmful, necessary and unnecessary, good and bad, pleasant and unpleasant. The work of centers proceeds under the sign of this division. Thoughts oppose feelings. Moving impulses oppose instinctive craving for quiet. This is the duality in which proceed all the perceptions, all the reactions, the whole life of man. Any man who observes himself, however little, can see this duality in himself. "But this duality would seem to alternate; what is victor today is the vanquished tomorrow; what guides us today becomes secondary and subordinate tomorrow. And everything is equally mechanical, equally independent of will, and leads equally to no aim of any kind. The understanding of duality in oneself begins with the realization of mechanicalness and the realization of the difference between what is mechanical and what is conscious. This understanding must be preceded by the destruction of the self-deceit in which a man lives who considers even his most mechanical actions to be volitional and conscious and himself to be single and whole. "When self-deceit is destroyed and a man begins to see the difference between the mechanical and the conscious in himself, there begins a struggle for the realization of consciousness in life and for the subordination of the mechanical to the conscious. For this purpose a man begins with endeavors to set a definite decision, coming from conscious motives, against mechanical processes proceeding according to the laws of duality. The creation of a permanent third principle is for man the transformation of the duality into the trinity. "Strengthening this decision and bringing it constantly and infallibly into all those events where formerly accidental neutralizing 'shocks' used to act and give accidental results, gives a permanent line of results in time and is the transformation of trinity into quaternity. The next stage, the transformation of quaternity into quinternity and the construction of the pentagram has not one but many different meanings even in relation to man. And of these is learned, first of all, one, which is the most beyond doubt, relating to the work of centers. "The development of the human machine and the enrichment of being begins with a new and unaccustomed functioning of this machine. We know that a man has five centers: the thinking, the emotional, the moving, the instinctive, and the sex. The predominant development of any one center at the expense of the others produces an extremely one-sided type of man, incapable of further development. But if a man brings the work of the five centers within him into harmonious accord, he then 'locks the pentagram within him' and becomes a finished type of the physically perfect man. The full and proper functioning of five centers brings them into union with the higher centers which introduce the missing principle and put man into direct and permanent connection with objective consciousness and objective knowledge. "And then man becomes the six-pointed star, that is, by becoming locked within a circle of life independent and complete in itself, he becomes isolated from foreign influences or accidental shocks; he embodies in himself the Seal of Solomon. "This same process of the harmonious development of man can be examined from the point of view of the law of octaves. The law of octaves gives another system of symbols. In the sense of the law of octaves every completed process is a transition of the note do through a series of successive tones to the do of the next octave. The seven fundamental tones of the octave express the law of seven. The addition to it of the do of the next octave, that is to say, the crowning of the process, gives the eighth step. The seven fundamental tones together with the two 'intervals' and 'additional shocks' give nine steps. By incorporating in it the do of the next octave we have ten steps. The last, the tenth, step is the end of the preceding and the beginning of the next cycle. In this way the law of octaves and the process of development it expresses, include the numbers 1 to 10. At this point we come to what may be termed the symbolism of numbers. The symbolism of numbers cannot be understood without the law of octaves or without a clear conception of how octaves are expressed in the decimal system and vice versa.

a koi pond dragon garudas, rudra's thunderbolt pictures on the wall

not really a fan of this guy, but even a broken clock is right twice a day...

Kundalini has nothing to do with djinn, unless you consider djinn to be the latent energetic potential within your own body.

On one occasion, at one of these meetings, someone asked about the possibility of reincarnation, and whether it was possible to believe in cases of communication with the dead. "Many things are possible," said G. "But it is necessary to understand that man's being, both in life and after death, if it does exist after death, may be very different in quality. The 'man-machine' with whom everything depends upon external influences, with whom everything happens, who is now one, the next moment another, and the next moment a third, has no future of any kind; he is buried and that is all. Dust returns to dust. This applies to him. In order to be able to speak of any kind of future life there must be a certain crystallization, a certain fusion of man's inner qualities, a certain independence of external influences. If there is anything in a man able to resist external influences, then this very thing itself may also be able to resist the death of the physical body. "But think for yourselves what there is to withstand physical death in a man who faints or forgets everything when he cuts his finger? If there is anything in a man, it may survive; if there is nothing, then there is nothing to survive. But even if something survives, its future can be very varied. In certain cases of fuller crystallization what people call 'reincarnation' may be possible after death, and, in other cases, what people call 'existence on the other side.' In both cases it is the continuation of life in the 'astral body,' or with the help of the 'astral body.' You know what the expression 'astral body' means. But the systems with which you are acquainted and which use this expression state that all men have an 'astral body.' This is quite wrong. What may be called the 'astral body' is obtained by means of fusion, that is, by means of terribly hard inner work and struggle. Man is not born with it. And only very few men acquire an 'astral body.' If it is formed it may continue to live after the death of the physical body, and it may be born again in another physical body. This is 'reincarnation.' If it is not re-born, then, in the course of time, it also dies; it is not immortal but it can live long after the death of the physical body. "Fusion, inner unity, is obtained by means of 'friction,' by the struggle between 'yes' and 'no' in man. If a man lives without inner struggle, if everything happens in him without opposition, if he goes wherever he is drawn or wherever the wind blows, he will remain such as he is. But if a struggle begins in him, and particularly if there is a definite line in this struggle, then, gradually, permanent traits begin to form themselves, he begins to 'crystallize.' But crystallization is possible on a right foundation and it is possible on a wrong foundation. 'Friction,' the struggle between 'yes' and 'no,' can easily take place on a wrong foundation. For instance, a fanatical belief in some or other idea, or the 'fear of sin,' can evoke a terribly intense struggle between 'yes' and 'no,' and a man may crystallize on these foundations. But this would be a wrong, incomplete crystallization. Such a man will not possess the possibility of further development. In order to make further development possible he must be melted down again, and this can be accomplished only through terrible suffering. "The 'astral body' is not an indispensable implement for man. It is a great luxury which only a few can afford. A man can live quite well without an 'astral body.' His physical body possesses all the functions necessary for life. A man without 'astral body' may even produce the impression of being a very intellectual or even spiritual man, and may deceive not only others but also himself. "This applies still more, of course, to the 'mental body' and the fourth body. Ordinary man does not possess these bodies or their corresponding functions. But he often thinks, and makes others think, that he does. The reasons for this are, first, the fact that the physical body works with the same substances of which the higher bodies are composed, only these substances are not crystallized in him, do not belong to him; and secondly, it has all the functions analogous to those of the higher bodies, though of course they differ from them considerably. In theosophical terminology the first is the 'physical' body, the second is the 'astral,' the third is the 'mental,' and the fourth the 'causal' (that is, the body which bears the causes of its actions within itself, is independent of external causes, and is the body of will.)

There are an infinite number of them. Destiny and fate is a tricky idea. You need to take into account the time period such concerns were originally brought forth, namely when people were very interested in studying the movements of the stars, and the sun and moon, and other aspects of heaven. Its more accurate to look at destiny as an outcome of trajectory or path of motion, rather than an appointment that will happen regardless. Yes it is the destiny of living things to die, because they have been born. Only that which is unborn does not die. It is a bit like the course of a ship on the ocean - you cant stop on a dime and reverse direction, you have to steer correctly and flow with the movement of the water to effectively change where you are going. Destiny is like the results of karma, but karma is continually in flux and malleable.

have you done any "sleuthing around" regarding the origins of the imagery in your signature?

Hekátē of the Path, I invoke Thee, Lovely Lady of the Triple Crossroads, Celestial, Chthonian, and Marine One, Lady of the Saffron Robe. Sepulchral One, celebrating the Bacchic Mysteries among the Souls of the Dead, Daughter of Persês, Lover of Solitude, rejoicing in deer. Nocturnal One, Lady of the Dogs, invincible Queen. She of the Cry of the Beast, Ungirt One, having an irresistible Form. Bullherder, Keeper of the Keys of All the Universe, Mistress, Guide, Bride, Nurturer of Youths, Mountain Wanderer. I pray Thee, Maiden, to be present at our hallowed rites of initiation, Always bestowing Thy graciousness upon the Boukolos.

"According to real, exact knowledge, one force, or two forces, can never produce a phenomenon. The presence of a third force is necessary, for it is only with the help of a third force that the first two can produce what may be called a phenomenon, no matter in what sphere. "The teaching of the three forces is at the root of all ancient systems. The first force may be called active or positive; the second, passive or negative; the third, neutralizing. But these are merely names, for in reality all three forces are equally active and appear as active, passive, and neutralizing, only at their meeting points, that is to say, only in relation to one another at a given moment. The first two forces are more or less comprehensible to man and the third may sometimes be discovered either at the point of application of the forces, or in the 'medium,' or in the 'result.' But, speaking in general, the third force is not easily accessible to direct observation and understanding. The reason for this is to be found in the functional limitations of man's ordinary psychological activity and in the fundamental categories of our perception of the phenomenal world, that is, in our sensation of space and time resulting from these limitations. People cannot perceive and observe the third force directly any more than they can spatially perceive the 'fourth dimension.' "But by studying himself, the manifestations of his thought, consciousness, activity—his habits, his desires, and so on—man may learn to observe and to see in himself the action of the three forces. "Examples of the action of the three forces, and the moments of entry of the third force, may be discovered in all manifestations of our psychic life, in all phenomena of the life of human communities and of humanity as a whole, and in all the phenomena of nature around us. "But at the beginning it is enough to understand the general principle: every phenomenon, of whatever magnitude it may be, is inevitably the manifestation of three forces; one or two forces cannot produce a phenomenon, and if we observe a stoppage in anything, or an endless hesitation at the same place, we can say that, at the given place, the third force is lacking. In trying to understand this it must be remembered at the same time that people cannot observe phenomena as manifestations of three forces because we cannot observe the objective world in our subjective states of consciousness. And in the subjectively observed phenomenal world we see in phenomena only the manifestation of one or two forces. If we could see the manifestation of three forces in every action, we should then see the world as it is (things in themselves). Only it must here be remembered that a phenomenon which appears to be simple may actually be very complicated, that is, it may be a very complex combination of trinities. But we know that we cannot observe the world as it is and this should help us to understand why we cannot see the third force. The third force is a property of the real world. The subjective or phenomenal world of our observation is only relatively real, at any rate it is not complete.