cloud recluse

Correct me if I am wrong, but in traditional Japanese Zen, was some kind of little cushioned wedge made available to prop your butt up a bit if the cushion was a bit low for your height/body type ? Or is that a recent innovation? And what are they called anyhow?

Thank you. And please, call me Cloud. None of this 'Mister' business

Oh there is no mystery whatsoever as to how I got myself into this

Thinking about it , any irl Teacher / Community relationship might not be really feasible till my living situation stabilizes. I hate hooking up with a group somewhere , liking it, only to disappear over the horizon a week later. Having said that , resurrecting this thread over the past few days and getting feedback from y'all is re-igniting my 'holy curiosity'. Have spent the past few days breaking out of the 'winter snooze' mode of sleeping in later and later, so I can have an opportunity to practice before the daily chaos erupts. Woke up at 617am today , did not nap at all, progress looks promising. Its 5:11 pm and Im only just starting to feel dull. Will most likely haver a crack at sitting tomorrow morning..

While no language game can contain the Dao , some of them can certainly obscure it . As the language game of our culture starts to change and loosen up, the initial View becomes more readily evident to more and more people , even if its only the preliminary glimpses I have had sofar. Which is not surprising . It is the Always Already Present truth of our human situation .

Thank you. Currently stuck in Hobart, Tasmania , in an 'interesting' living situation.

No, I dont mind. Perfectly reasonable question. Because I dont have an enlightened teacher , or the support of any kind of Sangha , I struggle to maintain the necessary formal meditation practice in my current circumstances. However I appreciate how those circumstances stimulate attachments , and try to relax and observe them as they arise instead of running after them(psychologically speaking ). So lots of 'mini-meditation' throughout the day.....kinda.

Well thats what started during the second glimpse , I briefly 'fell' in to the Heart for a short time, whereas the first glimpse was still kind of up in the Head , more or less. This is the most difficult part to express, a kind of 'luminosity' in the chest but not seen visually , more felt with a degree of feeling that was almost visual. Now practice consists of remembering to relax when separative strategies re-emerge, and trying not to chase after that experience again.

Currently Im trudging through a weird intermediary state , wherein part of me knows full well the futility of my ego-strategies , while another part of me engages them with what feels like a delusional sense of desperation . In many ways those compulsions now hit more intensely than before, with the emotions driving them more raw, more brutally obvious , like some defence mechanisms have been disabled. At the same time , it doesnt take much to relax beyond them, when I choose to do so. Imagine being on a wild rollercoaster, while feeling very chilled about it. Regards, Cloud

13 years , and a great deal of chaos in between . Sorry for taking so long to respond, but the last 5 months have been 'interesting'. Thank you for this , ".. when we have a spiritual insight or breakthrough, what we are feeling is the release of whatever was blocking us. So we will feel the opposite of whatever the obstacle was". I like this , it seems very sensible to me , and also kind of humbling. Regards , Cloud

An update. This is a diary entry from 2018; " Approx 10:45pm 30/06/2018 A slight shift. Shallow, but strong...if that makes any sense. Sitting in the shower , started looking for " the Victim" , the alleged 'One' who feels threatened enough to produce fear/anger. There is no 'one'. There has never been a 'one'. Life has never required it , doing continues to be done. No One . No one passes through the Gateless Gate. Had to stop myself laughing aloud . Its so fucking funny. All that effort for an impossible 'one' , an unacheivable solid knot. Not there , never has been. Cant die coz it was never alive , at least not by its understanding of life and death. Half an hour later , Im still prone to chuckles and a degree of amused relief. All I have to think is "Look for the Victim" and I start grinning again. Feeling physically wiped out though. " In the light of this , the first experience in the park seems to be more of a mystical expansion of the self , an insight into what 'non-dual living' would be like . The more recent experience seems to be a dropping of the self-strategy all together , if only temporary. Does anyone here appreciate that distinction ? Regards , Cloud

Would pretty much agree. As the mind calms down , various habits are simply seen through & fade out through lack of interest . A compulsive , automatic pseudo-sexuality is included in that . No moralistic babble about 'detachment' , just a natural maturation in which priorities spontaneously change. However , having said that , a Retention Practice can be engaged as a response to this , a conscious amplification of this , if the individual deeply feels it to be appropriate . Not from any contrived sense of 'moral obligation' , but more of a yogic experiment with ones current disposition. Regards, Cloud

Not necessarily

The north seems to be getting wetter, & the south hotter . Im glad Im a wanderer down here .That freedom of movement is coming in useful. As Ive just got back positive news of a close freinds safety , I wanna register my appreciation of any prayers sent .

So, what are the Daoist / Yogic treatments & lifestyle options for this one ?