thelerner

Welcome aboard, read, question and post

Michael Pollan's book, How to Change your Mind, has a chapter or two on the widespread practice (on the US West Coast) of psychedelic sitters (way cheaper than 60K & caveat emptor) as well as advice on how to do sit with someone. Set and setting is very important. Your odds of having a good trip are much greater if you begin with equanimity and in a safe spot. Unfortunately people take such drugs without that prerequisite. Worse they have the notion more is better. I've found psyllium mushrooms, like LSD to be powerful hypnotics. You flow strongly towards what captures your mind- conscious or unconscious. They can be powerful tools for good counselors. As Pollan says, part of their magic is they wake up the mundane. So a commonsense concept like Alcohol is bad for me, hits harder. Plus all the love and peace stuff. In the 1950s before it was closed down, mushrooms (along w/ counseling) were noted to be way more effective than other means of quitting. There were similar benefits to other shroom driven therapies. They shut down by early 60s and are now being re-discovered. But there is definitely a darkside to it. While tedious and multi-step such things can grown for $50 or so bucks. So far, they're still on the fringe. I kinda wish they were more available with counseling. Or in safe places.

I'd add aids are nice but to grow we have to get rid of them. I collect guided meditations, yoga nidras, bi-aural sounds, new age music and meditation apps. They're nice, but also crutches. They occupy the mind, give it a little something to follow. Just sitting, You vs Mind, you learn more. Facing the physical and mental itches, you can choose big or small. I used to go small. Quieting the thoughts, seeking peace. Nowadays I'm going big. I itch, I think, but I'm also above it; they run and quiet of their own accord. Instead of shutting down my senses, I honor and listen them with bright awareness.

With the right hand build alliances, with the left, quietly assassinate (or discredit) the top players on the other side. In some ways Kissinger's greatest powers grew from hosting social dinners and having an extensive Christmas card list. He was incharge of foreign students at Harvard. He was exceptional at it, gave young promising students great support, hosted them for dinners. Never forgot them. Thus his rolodex of future top business and government leaders was unparalleled. Similarly he started a self published magazine at Harvard and solicited top decision makers to write articles for it, often not knowing how small it was. Thus his correspondence and connections, 'soft power grew. Soft power.. personal connections.. little gifts and little debts.. by such things empires tilt toward rise or fall.

To conquer without fighting. In Risk, the common(sense) strategy is to defend one's borders, which necessitates dividing ones troops. instead one can hold all your troops amassed in one section. That's half the strategy. The other half is letting your opponents know that if they attack your border you'll answer with your full force against them. Cutting through them like a knife. This works particularly well in games with multiple players. Twice, Russia was successful in taking bites out of Ukraine. They had a large standing army, world leader in tanks and nuclear weapons. There threat was enough to allow walking in and taking. There's a saying though, nothing works 3 times in a row. You see it in competitive video games often; a strategy works twice, but the third, the enemy knows, is waiting and counters. Warfare is horrible and murderous, but like a bad writer, Russia forgot the rule of 3. Assumed they could win easy; practically without fighting due to overwhelming force. There bluff was called, countered. NATO and much of the world stood against them, even after threats of nuclear war. This isn't about the Russian/Ukraine conflict, as much as how we see the dynamics of Sun Tzu play out in real life.

I understand the arguments above. If everyone is clear on where the other party is at, Why we pull the thread back to the OP? The Reality Behind Cultivation/Foundation. To Tie Everything Together Is the OP our goal? To see the Oneness in all things. Isn't that the Satori experience? Our quest is to experience and stabilize it, without going too crazy according to societal standards. <it occurs to me, is and isn't are strangely interchangeable. isn't it.>

I can't tie everything together but lately I'm getting a better inkling on why so many masters have said the ordinary mind is enlightened. We're all There but don't recognize it. We see and sense the big, out there but we are attached to the small and personal. There's nothing wrong with the small intimate personal tik-tok perspective but when it's your whole world, it's limiting. Painful; little me against all, including myself.

I've heard earthquakes are even more dangerous Down Under. Greater chance of getting dislodged and falling down into the sky. Up North in the States the smoke from Canadian wild fires is pretty bad. When we go outside we carry fly swatters. A good swat and we can look forward for a bit til the smoke fills the space back up.

Find a vastness, smile and relax into it. A vastness so large the mind may still chatter but in the vastness it's small and quiet. The body can itch and belch but in the vastness it's inconsequential, fine; one re-positions or scratches. No rules, the mind thinks, the body twitches, awareness returns to the vastness. What is the vastness? It's your body and thoughts, its the noise you hear, that comes and goes. All that tweaks the senses. What your awareness is aware of. It's also the world beyond you. Resting in bright awareness you don't need to discriminate, follow or focus. Your thoughts are fine and in the vastness they'll natural lessen, you don't have to do anything. Same with the body. Except maybe keep the awareness bright, not dull, open.

Breath is foundational. Not a bad practice to work on while looking for a lineage you fit into. One of my favorites practices is from a youtube called Breathing Mantra. Dozens of 30 minute, timed breathing exercises ie breath to the sound rhythm. They have even in out, 3 way, and 4 way/box breathing. Find a style you want to work with and once it comfortable, move up. Example 5in-5hold-5 out to 7-7-7 to 9-9-9.. Breath is the connection between physical and spiritual, it certainly calms the body and mind. Here's a link, there's are places you can turn it into straight mp3s. https://www.youtube.com/@BreathingMantra

I had some rambling advice but nothing specific or overly useful. But this came to mind- Get a dog. Having a dog makes you a member of the dog tribe. They'll see you, talk to you and you'll have a built in subject. It can be hard to ask people out for coffee and stuff, but it's way easier to hook up to walk your dogs. Nobody gets to know a neighborhood and the people in it, like the dog walkers. For the introvert it means meeting one on one or in a small group. Also mean learning from the dog. Friendly, energetic, in the moment.

Sometimes I think the concept of Enlightenment is dangerous. So I keep mine simple and low, splitting it into two. A body type enlightenment and mental type. Course people can have them both. My paradigm probably isn't correct at the highest but gives me something to shoot for.

I am saddened at his passing, RIP, old school friend. What a brave maverick. He had a vision and built it. A very rare thing. Talented, dedicated, ornery, calls it like he sees it, take no prisoners or bullshit. Yet approachable and helpful. Very Tao. I had daydreams of going to his small retreat down south. I'm sure I would have learned much.

This is kinda a song version of the OP-

At least he kept his fingers, which puts him ahead of some disciples.

I like this. Power is not bad, it is the capacity to get things done. It should come naturally in a well lived life, even if not used. Yet as the writer said, without balancing it with wisdom and compassion, power can go nuts. Blow up the ego, get side tracked into paranoia or delusions of grandeur.. dark places. Wisdom and compassion, gratitude and giving, keep one in balance.

Any excuse to get the family together, share a meal, show gratitude is welcome. even when its low key.

No problem. I've thought, for the householder path, ie not the monk or ascetic, beyond a wholesome discipline, be natural. Find a comfortable middle ground where you have some discipline, based on where you are now, which you can grow or lessen depending on the season and where you are in life. If you find it acceptable, imo, it's not wrong to play your cultures (dating/mating) game. Learn the rules and within a healthy regimen, and not hurting yourself or anyone else, be natural, have fun. When we're young, as men, losing jing, feeling attraction is normal, its our nature. We can partake of it, positively. Drew wrote about psychically connecting to woman, often without consent, advanced but not very moral. He didn't write about dating or having a healthy relations with any. In other words imbalanced, imo. His writings could be fascinating but had a frenzied, sometimes scattered energy to them. I wish him well, the man seemed to have some juice and knowledge (certainly more than I) but lacked balance which is so important.

It's not showing up as a map from me. Here's what I get when I hit it: This map is currently frozen. To unfreeze, please Upgrade the account that owns this map to one of our paid plans for more visits. In case the map is not owned by any account, Sign-Up for the service and claim the map with a paid account. Any one know another map site we can start?

I'd point you to yoga nidras, the original guided meditations. Some are more sleep oriented, all of them deeply relax the body. To some extent relaxed body and mind can be the best you can hope for, especially when an energetic meditation, chemical or worry is keeping you up. Here's a good source for ones to try : https://www.yoganidranetwork.org/nidras/

I think that is or is close to a Pangu Kaishan Golden Shield/Bell art I did years ago. Physical body armoring with some chi gung practices built in. An iron shirt like practice. I liked it, had applications for self healing, toughness, martial arts. As far as Golden or Rainbow body I don't think it went there. Though who knows at its highest level. I take Golden and/or Rainbow body as semi-mythic. In the stories told, the main 'hero' doesn't come back to teach, ie a dedicated student spends years or decades studying at the monastery, disappears, maybe there ashes or finger nails and its 'assumed' Golden/Rainbow body. I assume if you gained such powers you'd stay there, at least for a bit and teach. Teach your friends, your masters, parents, brothers etc., You'd want to share, but seemingly they are never seen again, vanished to quietly explore other dimensions. Mythic. I never expected to be as good as teachers who spent there life dedicated to their art. At best I could be a middling student and thats fine. I have a life to live. Monks and masters spend the majority of their life working hard and long at it. 4 or 5 hours a day doesn't cut it. That doesn't imo, mean long dedicated practice bears no fruit, it means you probably won't get supernatural powers. If it was easy, everyone would do it. If it was very very very hard but possible, you'd see 1,000s with it. With Golden/Rainbow body as far as I know, simply doesn't have living role models. Its mostly anecdotes and finger nails. With an art like Golden Shield qigong above, you'll working from slaps to fists to sand bags, to wooden bricks to sticks to bats. Cool stuff, takes time and practice and should make you healthier, more resistant and energetic, not supernatural but you'll have a living teacher and fellow students along the way. With arts like that, a live teacher is very important for feedback.

Can't help you with Golden Body, but at various times I made notes on the Golden Flower meditation. Its a tough nut to crack. One of its central practices: 'Turning the Light Around' has been a koan of mine for a long time. I've come to believe, like many traditions, some of it was oral and not written down. Its interesting to read translation of the original source, perhaps even more to see how different practices have been interpreted from it. <hah, re-reading my notes, I ignore whole chapters; 1-6 as yakety yak that'll probably earn me 3 or 4 lower incarnations > Can't say I've gotten far with it, but its a practice I keep coming back to. In any case here are my notes: Some of the latter posts include summations that nicely thimble-lize the practice:

I hate to discriminate, the right fruit at the right time can be orgasmic. Had some blackberries this morning, only 2 actually, both on a fruit plate. Soo good. Maybe its because there were only two. When pineapple is at its sweet juicy best I'll eat till my mouth burns. Perfectly ripe, slightly chilled honeydew, is something I'd marry or more likely have a short term fling with. Not off topic, since its a fruit, avocado is something my body craves, deeply satisfying. I second Taomeow's call out to Mexican street vendors. Here in Chicago, particularly the south side, they serve up something special.

Desire has its good side, but it's not all wanting and getting. Often its wanting and being screwed, or wanting and getting then wanting more and more. Often we chase after shiny illusions. To me, its best to downgrade desires to preferences, ie I have a preference for this over that but I'm happy with what I get. To enjoy life I need to savor what I have. I can prefer more, work towards it but life is best when I'm happy with what I have and the striving is done as much for its own sake as the end goal.

they did in 2016 . One was by Michael Winn on spending about a week in a Daoist cave in China w/ no food or water. He did have urine.. Interesting article. I forgot what the other one was about.