farmerjoe

I read Bradford Keeney's book too "Bushman Shaman" he was practicing spontaneous movement long before he met the african shamans. No one gave him a transmission.You may need a good teacher for occasional guidance and direction but not one to get you started or keep you going. Joe.

There are teachers that can teach me something useful everywhere, so learning how to balance "within" and "without" has become the most important thing for me. I learned the hard way though that when there is a showdown that I should always let "inside" win. Joe.

No inside or outside. No walls. No fear. No judgment. No labels. Just the dance that no one owns. Nothing that can be grasped. Everything and nothing. I like that. Joe.

There's a scene from the movie Evan Almighty where Evan's wife has left him because he's building an ark because God told him to. On the drive over to her mother's house she and the kids stop at a diner for lunch. She calls a waiter ( God ) over to the table because she wants to order and then God asks her what's wrong because she seems so sad, so she tells him about her crazy husband. She just wants her family to be a happy and love each other. God tells her as an example; if you prayed for more patience do you think things would be simple or would you find yourself in situations where you learned more patience? I don't think anything we do or feel or go through is unnecessary. Maybe I say that because I don't want to think of anything in my past as being a mistake.I learned something from it and what I learned continues to make "now" better for me. Joe.

I used to jump into things and then stayed too long even when I knew it wasn't benefiting me. That's one of the reasons why I started practicing meditation, I hoped it would help me make better decisions. I've learned to contemplate things too and ask myself questions all the time by writing them out in a journal. Questions like "what do you want?" and "why am I doing this?" and it helps to keep things real and keep me present. So what you've written is good advice goldisheavy. I enjoy your posts and thank you for sharing. Joe.

Thanks for this. Joe.

Thanks for this. Joe.

Wow. Is this how Sifu Lamb developed the forms she taught you Cameron? Did she learn them or was taught them from opening to the spontaneous movements? Joe.

I would like to know what Jenny's views are regarding those that learn the Kunlun practice then teach it to others. It seems to me that Jenny is saying that you should go to the teacher that you learned the practice from. What if the teacher you learn it from has no real experience with the practice or teaching and are new to both, what kind of direction would they be able to offer someone? Joe. How often has that happened people getting stuck to fences etc? All that might have happened with Kunlun but it doesn't seem to be the same practice with the quiet way Sufi Lamb has been teaching it. When I practice I find a private spot. No point in being seen and having to worry my mom about it. Maybe that day will come but if she gets exposed to it I think I'd do better introducing her to Sifu Lamb's way of presenting the practice where the focus seems to be about getting healthy. I don't think my mom would worry about my mental health then. Joe.

I thought this made sense that it's okay to voice your opinion and respond. Reading through this site I've found that there are those that want to help, maybe too much and they aren't qualified to help other people. I say that because very few people have totally altruistic motives. That's why some discussions turn ugly because it becomes personal and people get judged and then it stops being about helping another person and turns into a battle to determine who is right and who is wrong. Joe.

Before, during and after. Joe.

This was really great! Thankyou. I almost skipped reading it because of not knowing what the topic was about. I'm glad I was curious enough to check it out. Joe.

Thankyou. Joe.

What I was trying to say but you said it better. Joe.

Your post to me is the definiton of the Tao Bum Know It All. You got in the middle of your two friends working something out and you presensted your views in an arrogant and condescending way. A good friend would have stayed out of it. Joe.

http://www.thetaobums.com/index.php?showtopic=5833&st=0 Kunlun Lineage I've been talking with a couple of Kunlun students that told me that Max's credentials have been detailed on the Kunlun site and they seemed very satisfied with them. Joe.

I keep hearing that I should question everything and then come across posts like this. There is so much information that contradicts itself. I see now that it is okay that I am confused about choosing a practice and a teacher because so are a lot of other people from what I've read. It's better for me not to hurry and make a decision. I came across this site that I found helpful in regards to choosing a teacher and it might help other people too. Joe. http://buddhism.kalachakranet.org/spiritua...acher_guru.html

I think I have some more understanding around what happens to you. With understanding comes more patience, tolerance and compassion. Joe.

I like Keeney's and Sufi Lamb's version of the spontaneous practice. They seem purer and more straightforward and something that I would be able to practice on my own. Kunlun is a bigger package, you don't just learn Kunlun but lots of other things and you get "Max" who is obviously well liked and somewhat of an enigma. I'd certainly have questions with so much to explore and add to that a transmission, ancestral help and my stuff which would be stirred up and it all might possibly tie me to the teacher and other students and take over my life. Lots to think about. Joe.

Thankyou freeform. I am reading Keeney's book and it is very good. This is serious freeform because my life will change. Joe.

This was very helpful and what I thought was going on as I read through the archived material. It was frustrating reading through some of it because a huge percentage of it reads like insanity or episodes of Jerry Springer. I appreciated you sharing this joeblast, what you wrote was very helpful to me. Joe. No it isn't not as I see it, you've all just gone out of your way to make it seem that way. There was a topic about "Normals" and how they just aren't interested in your world, maybe that's because you create the division without realizing it. Someone mentioned that how well you wanted to get a message across rested in the delivery of it. After reading through the material on this site I would have to agree with that. Joe.

There used to be a time when the villain was easy to recognize, he dressed in black and wore a moustache but not so nowadays. We rely on each other for information but with Kunlun it's all jumbled and in pieces and there's so much doubt and it doesn't seem very straightforward at all. Where is all this doubt and confusion coming from? My inner guidance is telling me to take a wait and see approach in regards to Kunlun. Joe