CarsonZi

Namaste Micheal..... For me it is read, learn, apply, UNlearn.....not forget. I always remember where I've been and what I used to "know" (small "k"). Don't we all! Not pointing fingers No, probably not....not unless you did them in a past life Yes indeed....but in the end we all have to walk using our own two feet, not a guru's. There are many who can point the way, but when it comes down to it it is all about individual effort/non-effort (however you see it). Yes for sure! In fact my own practice set is the AYP system (mostly) which is a prime example of a "synthesized" or "integrated" tradition....but in the famous words of NA (Narcotics Anonymous) "it [only] works if you work it". True...but if that DOES happen, it is meant to happen and there is a lesson to be learned...either in this life or the next. Time to have faith in the "inner guru" I think. Absolutely....preaching to the choir. Love, Carson Namaste sheng zhen.... Thank you for the validation. Now it is time to stop looking for validation that I don't need to have validation (which is what these "maps" are for me...validation that I am going the right direction) and time to just DO it. Time to BE. Thank you. Love, Carson

Yeah, we are pretty aware of the rise in sea level....this particular property (remember it is 50 acres) has a section right on the coast (which gives us great access for fishing) but is boardered by cliffs. The altitude of this particular plot of land should be safe (unless the seas rise like 25 meters or something....then we are ALL in trouble no matter where we live ) Thanks for the heads up though! Last thing we want is our IC to be underwater! Love, Carson P.S. Our land on that map linked above is part of the yellow section on the very tip of North Vancouver Island...we should be ok according to that map.

Haha.... Not totally sure if I was the first one to post that www.ic.org link, but I certainly have posted that link here at TTB in the past. A friend of mine has purchased 50 acres on the tip of North Vancouver Island (right at the end of the North Coast Trail) on which we hope to start an IC....not Taoist as most of us are not specifically religious, but we are all spiritually like-minded and the friend who owns the property just finished his Masters (with distinction) in Environmental Sciences (Coastal Water Management) and has quite a few great ideas on how to create and maintain a sustainable community out there. Perhaps when we are more organized you and your wife could come out and visit the site and see what you think. This is all a few years in the future, but it's great to be prepared! Hope you enjoy the book! Love, Carson

Hi Blasto.... Canada unfortunately isn't the "bubble" it may seem to be from an American perspective....we are in the same boat as the US both financially as well as culturally. IMO Canada is basically a "cultural void". We are known world-wide as being filled with people content with mediocrity and apathy. Sure we have more lenient marijuana laws etc, (perhaps indicitive of our love for mediocrity and apathy ) but we also lack any sort of cultural vision. I guess the US is no better. Just saying running to Canada may seem like a good idea while living in the US, but once you get here you will realize you are jumping from the pot into the fire. Running period is a bad idea. There is nowhere to go....All is here Now. Send me your address! I wasn't kidding, I would love to send you this book as a wedding present. If you aren't comfortable sending me your address that is fine too. No worries. Love, Carson P.S> There are voices of reason everywhere, not just in Canada....we may get more "airplay" then those of a similar view in the US., but we exist everywhere I personally find that the homeless have more things of value to say then most spiritual leaders.

This book right here: http://www.amazon.com/Real-Love-Unconditio...s/dp/1592400477 is awesome. It isn't really about planning your wedding, but IMO wedding days are a LOT of buildup and anticipation for 10 hours of your life. It's what goes on AFTER the wedding that is truly important in my opinion. Reading the above book changed the way my wife and I relate and communicate with each other. I can't recommend it highly enough. I know this isn't really what you are looking for, but it is what I felt led to share. If you want, PM me your address and I will send you a copy as a wedding gift. Congratulations! Love, Carson

Haha....*blush*....I always do my sadhana in the buff....doesn't everyone? Love, Carson

I think Wu Wei in AYP-speak is translated as "Stillness in Action" or "Silence in Action".....all actions flowing from the inner silent core without conditioning/biases/ego being a deciding factor in reactions/responses. Love, Carson

Hey Markern... Might not be exactly what you are looking for, but in my asana practice I include 2 sets of 35 "pranayama pushups"....It's a nice balance between cultivation and muscle toning/building. It's just normal pushups (perfect form of course, no lazy pushups) in which on the "pushUP" you breath in deeply and on the "pushDOWN" you exhale fully. You can do these fast or slow, and I always get a really nice lower back sweat going on and I always feel the burn. I also touch my ajna spot to the floor on each "down" (don't rest on your chest though and don't bend your head down to do this).....if you have large pectorals already you may hit your chest muscles at the same time....same with your genitalia...if you have a big "johnson" you may be hitting that on the ground simultaneously with your forehead. I also find doing "handstand pushups" against the wall pretty good for building upper body strength. Love, Carson

Thank you for sharing this Freeform! I assume this is about the Kalahari Bushmen right? I have read a lot about them, but hadn't read this particular piece....do you have a reference for it? Where did this writing come from? Thanks again for sharing I really enjoyed the read. Love, Carson

Namaste SereneBlue.... I am not familiar with Indra's Net....perhaps you can fill me in? You mean Siddhi I assume right? I don't think having an open third eye itself can be considered a siddhi, but I think some of the side effects of having an open third eye could be considered siddhis. Having intuition into things you can't possibly know, and perhaps seeing things with your eyes that others can't see could be considered siddhis. The greatest siddhi is "happiness" though, so....the others really aren't all that interesting to me Love, Carson

Namaste Cat and thank you for answering my question! Haha....yes of course....we are all beginners until we are not. And if you are not "here, now" then everything is in hindsight ..... hahaha. But in regards to the opening of the third eye; You are saying that when your third eye opened you saw things as I am describing right?....as light emanating from all living things. But as it opened further you began to be able to discern the colors of the light coming from these things correct? Not much of a TV/Movie buff, so I don't know the "Clint" reference, but I can say with definity that I don't see "auras". As long as auras means you can see thecolor of people's auras.... I can see the light coming off of people, and I can see how it is "spinning/vibrating" but for me it is all a whitish light....no colors yet....don't really need to either though....I can "see" people's vibe without needing to see any colors. K....when I read this I just about jumped out of my seat here at work.....you sometimes see "the grid"? WOW! This is what happened to me when my third eye "fully" opened, or opened to the point that it doesn't "shut" anymore....meaning I see this all the time now. When my ajna opened I started to see "the grid" all the time. I didn't know how to describe it at the time though, so I wrote a poem to try to put words to it....the poem went like this: Vortices of Light, Chrysanthemum Blossoms. Fabric of Reality, Infinite Potential. Cloth of Life, Boundless Love. Chalice of Undreamt of Possibilities, Overflowing with Intelligent Infinity. Letting Go, Conditioned Responses. Truth Revealed, Deep Within. Nowhere to Go, All is Here. I wrote that right after my third eye opened "for good". After experiencing this type of "sight" for a while, I realized that using the words "Vortices of Light" wasn't the most accurate description of what I was seeing....I changed it then to "Lattices of Light" because I thought that word better described the "grid"-like aspect of what I was seeing. This is what I wrote in explanation to the above poem: "My inner vision has taken a huge leap forward over the past few days and I have started to see (mostly when my eyes are closed but occasionally I will also get a "glimpse" with my eyes open as well) what I would describe as "vortices of light" filling up the "space" around us. These "vortices" are basically little flashes of light that intersect with each other at all sorts of angles in both a macrocosmic and microcosmic way. My intuition tells me that this is the "intelligent infinity", the unlimited potential, that lies dormant except at the moment of movement (mental, physical, spiritual). I feel I am on the verge of being able to fully "let go" and drop all that I am not when I see this in my mind's eye....I can not only SEE the potential that lies in wait for me in the space between spaces, but I can also FEEL it. This experience reminds me that there is really and truly "nowhere to go"....Everything is right here. All potential, right here, right now......In the space between spaces. Visualized as light vortices intersecting each other at every angle in every space at every moment. ALL is this unlimited potential. This is The Creator, The Cloth and The Loom all rolled into one...weaving the fabric of life/reality. And: "Upon further investigation I feel it is more accurate to call them "light lattices" instead of light vortices. And yes, totally holographic. Meaning some sections are seen as streaks of light, but other sections of the same "line" might be seen as just a slight distortion in whatever it is overlaying. Dark light/mirror light. Kinda hard to put words to. Anyways, these lattices connect in "4D" if that makes any sense and are constantly changing. Meaning the sections that I see as "light streaks" are constantly changing, although uniformly/geometrically/symmetrically. Kinda like an Alex Grey painting except less "formed". I guess that is the price you pay trying to put form to the formless....the form will always be at least slightly distorted due to the un-define-able nature of it. " And: "So hard to describe. There seem to be intersecting points, but where those are is constantly changing, yet that changing seems stable if that makes any sense.....like that changing is the only constant in the whole equation. So if you took a "slice" of time and froze it, I think you would see that every single atom/molecule is an intersecting point for every line....so in one way all is the intersecting....but then at the same time, nothing is intersecting and there is this lattice network of light (the intersecting would be viewed as light being everywhere, you couldn't see anything but light intersections) stretching on and on into infinity in every direction. Even imploding into itself as it expands outwards (there is no movement though)." Sounds wonderful. Thank you for sharing. It is comforting to read about someone else who "sees" things similar to the way I do. Love, Carson P.S. You said that you turn to AYP for guidance and clarification.....just wondering if you post on the forums over there and if you do what your moniker is.....don't feel pressure to say if you don't want to, I am just curious. Thanks again!

This sounds similar to how I "see" things as well......"shiny" ...... I don't really see grass as gold, but I see shiny light on everything living now....grass, trees, people, animals, flowers, water...even rocks. Just wondering Cat....did you always see "colors" or is this something that developed for you over time? I don't really see colors around things, like seeing an aura....I just see everything emanating different vibrations of light. But perhaps (and very likely) I am still in the beginning stages. Just curious. Thanks. Love, Carson

Nisargadatta is always great as is Ramana Maharishi. Love, Carson P.S Adyashanti's "Emptiness Dancing" is a great book and I can highly recommend him as a teacher

Hi Ed..... Doctors, schmoctors Like a hologram (that's what you are describing from the Star Wars movie). Question for you....Do you see trees and animals like this as well or is it just humans for you? How about flowers? Sounds like you are seeing the energy fields around people. Do the "bubbles" have colors for you or are they just light? It's all love/light light/love...... Yeah that's really common. Definitely not a symptom common for a psychotic Love, Carson

Hi baloneyx.... In my experience there is a difference in both physical sight and astral sight once the third eye is open (again, this is just MY personal experience and I don't know if others' will be the same). With the physical eyes things start to "Shine". You can see "light" in a whole new way and you begin to percieve all as it's light properties more then the physical properties we normally would see. This isn't a "thought process" this is physical. I don't really know what to compare it to other then the visual effects of some hallucinogens. But that said, I have done every hallucinogen out there though and none quite catch the full beauty of it.....the closest IME would be ayahausca, but even that is a far cry from the real thing. When looking at an object now it has more of an ethereal quality to it. Objects of different densities have different perceivable "light vibrations" and different "qualities of shine" to them. Definitely not one huge light show. Not much different from before other then being able to percieve the "light" of things. With the astral sight it is totally different. Reminds me again of hallucinogens, but again these never quite show the full glory of it all....IME the astral sight is closest to a borderline K-hole dose of Ketamine. No longer bound by the physical senses. All senses are activated. I only get this when I am "sleeping" though and I can't induce it. It just happens. Hope this helps more then it confuses! Love, Carson P.S> Others here seem to be talking about the "other" effects of having an open ajna chakra, such as the intuitive effects....I thought you were only asking about the physical sight aspects....am I correct in this assumption?

In my experience when the third eye opens you begin to percieve everything as light. That's my experience anyways. Love, Carson

Only ego's think that they can rid others of their misunderstandings. Only ego's think that THEY have the answers others need. Only ego's post in every topic saying that they know and can expound on "The Way" for others. Love, Carson

This isn't too specific but it is an interesting read in regards to this topic. Enjoy! http://www.aypsite.org/T11.html Love, Carson

Hi Sloppy Zhang...... I would recommend reading two books.... "Loving What Is" by Byron Katie is an excellent system of Self Inquiry...you can do the process online for free here: http://www.thework.com/thework.asp ..... The other book I would recommend is "Dancing With Life" by Phillip Moffat.....this book is a discourse on the 4 Noble Truths and the 12 Insights surrounding them. These two books I think will help you to find ways of releasing that which you are not. Love, Carson

Woah now! Who are you calling a Buddhist hahaha....I know Gandhi wasn't really a Buddhist....He said that he "did not see Buddhism as a new religion but, historically, as the most daring effort made to reform and revitalize the sanatan Hindu tradition of India", and I certainly am not a Buddhist....so who exactly is the Buddhist you're agreeing with? Love, Carson

As Gandhi said; "BE the change you want to see in the world". He didn't say "TALK about the change you want to see in the world". Love, Carson

Hi Marblehead.... For many many years of my life my path to liberation was "dialectic conversation". I find silence much more liberating now Love, Carson

Hi Moonbar..... Might be worth checking out the book "The Second Coming Of Christ": http://www.yogananda-srf.org/scoc/scoc_frameset-des.html by Paramahansa Yogananda. It is his translation of the 4 Gospels. Supposedly he was in contact with Jesus Christ while writing this. I have read it and it is a LOT of material, but if you are truly interested in debating scripture with your friends this will be a GREAT resource for you. Love, Carson

Maybe for some....not for me. Love, Carson

Hi nac.... I have no desire to argue with you, nor to prove my personal experience to you, but I will quote the Buddha (although I am not a "Buddhist"): "Nothing in Life is certain except that death is never partial". Meaning NOTHING (not even what you believe to be Universal "rights and wrongs") is certain. 1+1=3 (or 1 depending on how you look at it....definitely not 2 though) when you put sperm and egg together. NOTHING is absolute. There are no universal rights and wrongs. Everything is individual. Losing the "judgements" while Knowing yourSelf as the inner silent awareness will give you the freedom to realize this for yourself. Love, Carson