doc benway

Very cool avenue of self inquiry. Perhaps a similar perspective is that "me" is the conduit or construction that facilitates life to be self aware? Every living thing is me. There is nothing alive that is not "me". "Me" is always there no many how many "me's" come and go into and out of living. So it seems that "me-ness" is somehow a condition that is always present. It seems to be dependent on the existence of life but not restricted to any individual experience of life. Sort of like a non-local effect that is both dependent on things like sensory apparatus and neurological function but at the same time, unrestricted and beyond measurement or localization... Sorry to ramble but it's a fun subject... pardon the pun

A few thoughts and opinions based on my experience with studying, practicing, and teaching Taijiquan (Tai Chi). Taijiquan is a martial art that includes multiple elements. What you see most commonly is practice of Taijiquan forms. This is the slow moving, meditative dance. Based on what you describe in your opening post, I think that you could potentially benefit a great deal from proper instruction in Taijiquan. The basics that would help you along your path include standing meditation, breathing, and practice of the form. There are many other practices which you can get into later, if you like. The reason that the forms are practiced in slow motion is to allow the student to develop a very deep connection between mind and body. This includes developing a high level of awareness and sensitivity as to what is going on in the mind, body, and environment. In order to develop the mind/body connection, one has to achieve a level of tranquility of the mind. This is basically the same type of mental tranquility that we cultivate in sitting meditation practice. The difference is that it is connected with breathing and body movement. This is an extremely beneficial practice that can greatly enhance every aspect of your life. This is the same thing that goes on in proper Qigong (Chi Kung) practice. As the mind learns to be tranquil, awareness develops. Awareness is the key to everything. You become more in touch with how your body feels, functions, and moves. You develop a deeper understanding and control of how the mind controls the body and how the body controls the mind. You eventually develop a level of mind/body coordination that can allow you to do things that might seem to the uninitiated as "magical" or "superhuman" but it is simply proper use of mind, body, and spirit. Some of the higher levels of attainment can only be achieved by incorporating certain sitting meditation practices but that is way in the future if you are just starting out. I would highly recommend Taijiquan if you are interested in developing a healthier mind and body, if you are interested in the cultivation of internal energy, or if you are interested in an exploration of yourself. There are plenty of other practices that offer similar benefits (Qigong, Yoga, etc...). In my experience, however, Taijiquan practice by itself will not result in some of the very deep spiritual awakenings that one encounters with more dedicated practice of meditation and self inquiry, but it is a VERY good complimentary practice to coordinate the spiritual development with cultivation of a healthy body, mind, and spirit. The alchemical practices that convert Jing to Qi to Shen to Wu are not a part of the normal Taijquan curriculum. They are beneficial practices in their own right and are elements of Daoist meditation methods. These are the methods I referred to earlier that are important in the development of high level Taijiquan skills. They are not needed in the first few years of practice but can be added as a very beneficial supplement at any time (provided, of course, that you have credible instruction). Good luck with your journey!

I have nothing intelligent or insightful to add but I can't help but share a lyric from King Missle's song: It's Saturday I want to be different, like everybody else I want to be like I want to be just like all the different people I have no further interest in being the same, because I have seen difference all around, and now I know that that's what I want I don't want to blend in and be indistinguishable, I want to be a part of the different crowd, and assert my individuality along with the others who are different like me I don't want to be identical to anyone or anything I don't even want to be identical to myself I want to look in the mirror and wonder, "who is that person? I've never seen that person before; I've never seen anyone like that before." I want to call into question thevery idea that identity can be attached I want a floating, shifting, ever changing persona: Invisibility and obscurity, detachment from the ego and all of it's pursuits. Unity is useless Comformity is competitive and divisive and leads only to stagnation and death. If what I'm saying doesn't make any sense, that's because sense can not be made It's something that must be sensed And I, for one, am incensed by all this complacency Why oppose war only when there's a war? Why defend the clinics only when they're attacked? Why are we always reactive? Let's activate something Let's fuck shit up Whatever happened to revolution for the hell of it? Whatever happened to protesting nothing in particular, just protesting cause it's Saturday and there's nothing else to do John Hall and Roger Murdock I mean no one any disrespect, I just dig this song and wanted to share it...

I usually like Snopes but they seemed way too far in the American Meat Institute's camp on this one. Wikipedia has better info, IMO.

And you haven't even mentioned seafood, water, air... And people wonder why we are seeing growing rates of asthma, depression, all kinds of cancers, and the list goes on and on. We live in an increasingly toxic environment - air, water, earth, food... and we are paying the price.

How so? On the Snopes site, Pink Slime is being primarily endorsed by the American Meat Institute - From the AMI website: "About AMI AMI is a national trade association that represents companies that process 95 percent of red meat and 70 percent of turkey in the US and their suppliers throughout America. Headquartered in metropolitan Washington, DC, AMI keeps its fingers on the pulse of legislation, regulation and media activity that impacts the meat and poultry industry and provides rapid updates and analyses to its members to help them stay informed. In addition, AMI conducts scientific research through its Foundation designed to help meat and poultry companies improve their plants and their products. The Institute's many meetings and educational seminars also provide excellent networking and information-sharing opportunities for members of the industry." What IS enlightening is the list of previous users of Pink Slime who have discontinued using it - McDonald's, Taco Bell, and Burger King. And those that continue to use it - the public school system. Given that it is cheap, legal, readily available, endorsed by the AMI and the USDA, and DOES NOT NEED TO BE LABELED, it's curious that McD, TB, and BK have publicly stated they have abandoned the product. The real question is, are they telling the truth? Some additional info from the ABC investigative report - "The “pink slime” is made by gathering waste trimmings, simmering them at low heat so the fat separates easily from the muscle, and spinning the trimmings using a centrifuge to complete the separation. Next, the mixture is sent through pipes where it is sprayed with ammonia gas to kill bacteria. The process is completed by packaging the meat into bricks. Then, it is frozen and shipped to grocery stores and meat packers, where it is added to most ground beef. The “pink slime” does not have to appear on the label because, over objections of its own scientists, USDA officials with links to the beef industry labeled it meat. “The under secretary said, ‘it’s pink, therefore it’s meat,’” Custer told ABC News. ABC News has learned the woman who made the decision to OK the mix is a former undersecretary of agriculture, Joann Smith. It was a call that led to hundred of millions of dollars for Beef Products Inc., the makers of pink slime. When Smith stepped down from the USDA in 1993, BPI’s principal major supplier appointed her to its board of directors, where she made at least $1.2 million over 17 years. Smith did not return ABC News’ calls for comment and BPI said it had nothing to do with her appointment. The USDA said while her appointment was legal at the time, under current ethics rules Smith could not have immediately joined the board." The emphasis is mine.

Can you imagine feeding this shit to our children? Is the Pink Slime in Your Child's Lunch?

Oops- bad spelling, it should be bai hui. It's the crown point. Here is a diagram of it's location - Generally I recommend that you feel the top of each ear, then draw a line upward and where those lines intersect with the midline at the top of your skull is the location of this point.

I think it's also important to acknowledge that the USA was founded on the principals of individual freedom for white European protestants. Catholics and Jews were tolerated and marginalized, Asians were indentured, Africans were enslaved, and the indigenous were subjected to genocide. All of that is a part of our cultural make-up as well.

Nice to see you Lin, welcome back.

I have a method you could try - Practice a basic standing posture you are comfortable with. Turn your attention inward. Follow the breath for a while. Then begin extending downward and connecting with Mother Earth. Stay there for a while. Next extend deeper into Earth beyond the surface. Open up fully. As your sensitivity increases there are lots of places you can take it - - can you connect to a magnetic awareness? - directional? - inertial? If you open up at the bai wei region the downward flow can take on a different character and intensity. Another simple exercise - Stand comfortably Bring the palms overhead and focus them on bai wei Establish that connection Slow scan downward, washing over the body Down into the earth. Repeat this a few times, coordinating with breath. Then you can do a similar scan internally. Enjoy

If you are interested in that, please feel free to research the topic. There are lots of clinical trials in the literature documenting successful use of meditation in managing mental illness of different types - psychosis included (depression, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder). In general, you won't find clinicians using the term "cure" when referring to psychoses as that requires a very specific set of definitions. They do show measurements of level of function and level of symptoms with and without specific therapeutic regimens. There are successes and failures as in anything else, including drugs. It is fairly well accepted that meditation doesn't cause psychologic damage but allows someone who is predisposed or already clinically ill to be exposed to things that were previously repressed that worsen their condition. Our defense mechanisms are exactly what meditation dismantles. So if one is mentally ill or fragile, or has a lot of painful, repressed experiences (such as in PTSD), it's very important to use specific techniques and use them with care. In an otherwise healthy individual, there is little or no risk to practicing meditation.

Personally, I would not make a blanket statement that "meditation is hazardous and not for everyone, not for people who're fragile and unstable." Meditation is such a wide, catch-all type term, that such a statement is overly general and therefore inaccurate. I do agree that certain exercises are inappropriate for certain individuals at certain times in their lives. I also think there are more gentle and subtle methods that can be used specifically, and successfully, for people who are very fragile and unstable, and with serious mental illness. Meditation has been successfully used in the management of some psychoses. And even the best instructors and healers may mis-judge what someone needs at any given moment. So of course there is always a risk that someone may have negative effects from any practice. That's self evident, IMO. Hence the need for personal responsibility.

Epiphanes are cool. Thanks for sharing that.

How does this reply of yours, relate to the disastrous effects of meditation as suffered by the people depicted in the various examples in the links I've shown previously in this thread? This was my point of starting this thread. Talking about meditation, that its about 'figuring out who you are', finding a teacher, are simply going off tangent. Ah, and if you had read accurately in my post numbered #15, in the first block quote; Obviously this sufferer who had a 'psychotic episode' and who was hospitalised, had clearly received instruction as he was on the 10-day Goenka retreat. That comment was meant to share something of my opinion of what the word "meditation" means. The spiritual and energetic gymnastics that people play may or may not be associated with anything like real meditation. I'm not a fan of intensive retreats, they're fine for the experts but are terribly demanding and clearly hazardous. And you can't forget personal responsibility either - a lot of fragile and unstable people are looking for answers in the spiritual arena and it's no surprise that folks flake out occasionally during a "spiritual experience," especially one as concentrated as a 10-day retreat.

How sure is the illusion that it will be dispelled by something it does? If the illusion provides an answer, how valuable is that? When all is said and done, my answer to the question has nothing to do with you. I'm not your authority. My answers are not yours. You need to do the work and see what happens... or not. It's totally up to you. There are no guarantees and whatever anyone else tells you is their stuff, not yours, caveat emptor! True meditation has little to do with sitting or standing in a certain posture, making noises, employing mental gymnastics, and all of that. Those are all nice activities one can participate in which may or may not facilitate meditation to occur. Meditation is about figuring out who you are. And much of the crap that needs to be peeled away to explore that question is dark and unpleasant or very resistent to let go. This is where a teacher or guide comes in. They can help us to deal with the nasty stuff and difficulties that come up in the process. One resource I found helpful is Krishnamuriti's "This Light in Oneself: True Meditation." Another book I'm reading currently and find extremely insightful is Michael Singer's "The Untethered Soul."

How sure am who?

Meditation it terrible for "you" That's because the "you" that worries whether meditation can harm it is the illusion that meditation dispels... Then "you" is free and there is nothing more to fear.

Who is doing the watching?

For me, intuition is a good illustration of the difference between belief and faith. Belief is aligning with a particular explanation, expectation, or authority. Faith is a willingness to let all of that go and open to what remains. Intuition means having faith in that sensitivity.

I use a cushion. In fact, I use a zafu and zabuton. If I'm traveling, I'll usually just use a chair that is high enough to keep my thighs parallel to the ground. It helps to have the bottom a bit higher than the legs for most people to facilitate proper spine alignment when sitting on the floor or ground. The most important considerations are that you need to maintain a relaxed, upright posture without wasting a lot of energy or having to use muscle work to maintain it. The key is simply to minimize distraction and maximize stability.

The most simple and direct way of dealing with something that is getting into your head is to practice letting go. Any time you find yourself thinking of her, allow yourself to feel what is going on with that emotionally, physically, energetically... Then let it go. Don't push it away, don't try not to think about it. Let it come in, observe what goes on inside, then let it go. Do this over and over. It takes patience but gets easier with practice. It's a great technique.

One interesting benefit of reverse breathing is that is works to strengthen the diaphragm and accessory inspiration muscles (esp quadratus lumborum and iliopsoas). During NAB, the abdomen relaxes so there is minimal resistance to the activity of diaphragm contraction. During RAB, the increased abdominal pressure works to resist the activity of diaphragm contraction providing an isometric exercise for the diagphragm. This resistance seems to be why we engage the accessory muscles more with RAB. They are not needed as much with NAB. That said, there is also a method of practicing RAB where the abdomen does not contract so much but the empasis is placed on inhaling into the chest and relaxing the abdomen on exhale. This does not lead to as much work for the diaphragm but is valuable in internal work.