thelerner

If you loved the movie Groundhog Day, you should look into the book 'Replay'. Similar premise, but longer time period, ie the man keeps dying at 54, and being reborn at first into his teens, then as replays go on, he continues dying at 54 but re-awakening in his original history, later and later. Living and learning through many lives but each life gets a little shorter each time around.

So.. if a vegetarian 'suffers' its not because of eating tortured murdered carcasses, its because of.. because they don't eat meat! If they did they'd be happy, well adjusted, less judgemental people.. By your logic, if a vegetarian suffers, its for the same reason an omnivore suffers.. a diet that goes against Karma. They need a Big Mac to get right with Karma. It is simple. Sorry for the sarcasm but the dark side of believing in Karma is that the rich are good, the poor and suffering are bad (and deserve it) and that's the way it should be. And one points toward those with different beliefs as being Karmically challenged. Personally I admire the vegetarian diet for its ethical and environmental points, but it doesn't make people better, worse or happier then others.. at least not much.

Fascination with tummo was one of the things that drew me to Wim Hof method. I'd had some light tummo training through the KAP program and with an old member who had an elemental system where the Fire element was with deep horse stance, slow breathing, visualizing and sanskrit chanting- seemed pretty old school. Wim Hof is not traditional tummo at all. It takes another route.

I've noticed you've started many many threads lately. If they're not active questions but mostly observations of things you're interested in, you may want to get a PPD, where they'll be stored in one place and easier to see and access. That's really what a PPD, personal discussion site is for. For making notes on things that interest you, and people who answer are the ones truly interested. Otherwise the home screens become filled with the same persons errata, and the board becomes less about discussion then one persons miscellaneous throwouts. ie, right now your mostly one post threads have 14 out of 17 of the nonlocked positions in the Rabbit Hole section. That can stifle other conversations here, as active conversations get washed off the front page. Not that they're bad, its just too much for a multi-user site, ie if everyone did it, it'd be a board of Spam. Perhaps better to put them in a PPD.

A couple physical things.. as Dawei pointed out in another thread, beware of sleeping on your left side, it can put pressure on your heart (cause its lower). Raising the head of bed a few inches, ie put some books under the legs, can help with indigestion and heart burn by having gravity keep the acids from creeping up. If its bad, have some antacids like tums nearby (short term), then see if dietary changes help (long term), especially evening and night. The advice above is good, exercise helps.. instead of fighting insomnia using it as a call to meditate is good. Melatonin is cheap, low doses tend to work as well as higher ones, though not for everyone. Worth a try.

Hopefully Rene won't be laost for long. This is a good opportunity for those who use the board regularly to give back a bit and volunteer to be a mod. See behind the screens; it can be fun and giri..

Respectfully, there's truth to this.. yet in the case of a breathing pattern done in horse stance.. I don't think there's much danger. It may not work well without the 'secret' ingredient; I'll call it 'juice', and if a person is generating much heat, be careful, slow down or get proper instruction. These things should not be forced or over done. Yet, when we're facing the cold if there's a simple breath pattern that can provide some warmth, it seems fine to share.

Counting my breaths. Often the classic 1 through 10, repeat. Sometimes using Doctor Morris's Mind Cleanser (also 1-10) where you have to go back to 1 if/when a thought intrudes. Sometimes counting my breaths up to 100 or 200, and needing to concentrate on keeping the count straight, through the boredom. Barry Long's work is very good on keeping a quiet mind. He has a guided meditation as well as talks about it on Youtube. With my own biocomputer I imagine there's two record players. One playing my current emotional state album, the other sounding off surface thoughts. Keeping that in mind I'll see what's playing and often raise the needle to quiet down the noise. Get quiet enough and you start noticing the subliminals playing on the records.

One of my sensei's used to say 'Everything I teach you is a lie, but necessary ones to get you from point a to point b'. A good metaphor could cut through hours or weeks of training. Thus I've gotten comfortable with 'acting, as if' rather then through strictly logical proofs. Not that they're always opposed to each other, but with one.. you live in a larger world, with more possibilities, navigated as much with logic as with insight and instinct. And it works for me. This mish mosh world view.

For a brief respite from winter cold. Enjoying a few days in the 40's.

Course, that's also the game we tend to play with regards to interpreting Karma.

In one of Richard Bach (Jonathon Livingston seagull) books Illusions; memoir of a reluctant messiah, he writes all books or newpapers can be used like prophetic bibles. Think of the question, and open them up at random, start reading.. and there you go. It may be mysterious, but you will get your answer. Can't vouch for it myself, but I've found all great writing is philosophical, even when its not.

Also not a fan, yet being outside his sphere, our view is necessarily distorted. By the news sources we read and by our own prejudices. If we really had inside sources and studied his life indepth, all the good, bad.. loving and bankrupt things he's done we'd probably have a far different opinion..maybe. We need to beware being too attached to opinions made through distant telescopes, ie okay to make them but beware of 'knowing' they're the absolute truth. Everyday we move this world knocking over dominoes without knowing how they'll fall and in which directions they'll spill into. So.. with this Karma stuff, be generous, not for reward but because we're in this world.. shareholders, tiny tiny co-creators.. So, help others and also realize that those in power trying to do good, will often create unintended consequences that wreak havoc elsewhere.

As a cosmic concept, I don't think there's anybody keeping a scorecard on what I'm doing. On a personal level, its a good concept for living a better life and leaving a better world in our wake.. so for me- acknowledging my actions have consequences is a good way to live. The cosmic happenings are above my paygrade, but kindnesses are not.

After years, an old mantra is like an old friend. I can't imagine showering without one. The acoustics give another dimension to the meaning, rhythm and sacred sound.

Good question. I'd say, Get a meditative sitting practice, a movement practice and work on dropping judgements.

Not arse about face nor letting my haste make waste keeps me from my task

Okay, thanks. Anyone else, who'd like to talk about how they interpret the GF's instructions into how they meditate. Not looking for a quote from the book, rather a description of what their practice is.

Are you able to expand that.. explain it as a meditation exercise? Or no, its just -turn the light around, preferably in the niwan. I consider light anything under 8 or 9 pounds. I know some consider light to be awareness, others consider light to be an inner vision of brightness. Others go further and say it really does look Golden Flower-ish, though often people's assumptions influence there inner vision. Similarly niwan, is often taken as third eye area, though deeper readings are it's in 9 sections. The more I do, the 'deeper' into the head I'll place my focus, though it naturally seems to go a little lower then my 'aim'.. eye level instead classically above the eyes. Often I'll see a light blob in my third eye section, which I sometimes 'hold' in place. At times its almost eye-like, though that getting a little anthropomorphic.

To those who practice the Golden Flower as a meditation method rather then a philosophical reading.. What do you actually do? (Please no theories, just what you do)

So.. what should a Golden Flower meditation session look like? Here's my shot.. To me, its sitting, I do half lotus, probably full lotus is better. Eyes relaxed, in 'half eye' position, lids half closed, a lightly staring at the tip of the nose. The mental focus is on the third eye. Not the surface, a little deeper in. A secondary focus on the breath and keeping it as quiet, noiseless as possible. Which automatically means slow and gentle. Especially on at the beginning and end points. Keeping up this up as long as is comfortable or perhaps a little longer. Let thinking go, only the stare, the mental focus on 3rd eye, and a vigilant ever so quiet breathing.

Could you talk about breathing patterns in more detail?

If people want to discuss the philosophy who a teacher is that's great.. I'd prefer you do it on another thread. I'd rather not see most of this thread taken up by that question. For now, like the OP said, a teacher is someone who knows there crap well and has taught students for over a year. If you think the definition should be only people with orange auras should be able to teach, start an orange aura teacher thread. I'm sure this thread will get hijacked but I don't want it to be all continually a discussion of Who A teacher REa;ly REally is. Okay? Not here.. start a new thread- 'I Want to discuss What A teacher is' thread.. or put it in your PPD.. or ask around.. but not here. For a short while.. lets keep this to 'Q's.. ONLY Teachers may Answer..'

Enough conceptualizing, back to OP. Any questions for Teachers?

Looks like a blend of austere Gothic and Christmas-y. I take you believe vampires are real, and regularly attend services there?