doc benway

I like this version

🌈

No worries, I like to breath and wear pants... I spoke my truth and can move on.

Wow! Beautiful to see such humility and contrition. It’s rare here. 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽

🥱 You can do better than that! 💋

I’m not really interested in tarot or Akashic so I’ll leave it to others to phrase questions. I rarely engage with anyone here but I’ve gotten tired of sitting back and watching all of the childish name calling and bullying. I do appreciate that you owned your actions in the other thread and provided an explanation. That shows integrity and self-awareness, two qualities I value highly.

About what I expected. You are a bully. You’re unable or unwilling to see it or own it. You’ve been banned for your endless abuse before and, if moderation comes back, I’m sure you’ll be banned again. It’s just your nature. What names would you like to call me next, Stevie? 💋

He does it because that’s who he is, he was bullied because that’s what bullies do. Own it. Plenty of people didn’t attack...

Definitely! The clouds are dissipating and when that happens the sun can’t help but shine.

I also don’t learn that much from information or opinions that are posted. I have learned some great lessons from watching how people treat others (good and bad), and even greater lessons from learning to watch how I react to and treat others (good and bad).

His timing was neither good nor bad, it just is. What counts is my reaction. That's also neither good nor bad, it is what it is and it is all about who I am, not who he is. That's my path. He's stuck with his...

I was a disciple of a Daoist master and studied, trained, and taught with intensity and a strong sense of duty and obligation for about 13 years. I'd prefer not to get into the details but I ended that relationship and found my current teacher and lineage in Bön. I no longer identify as a disciple. My current relationship has developed with no requirement or expectation of fealty from my teacher and no feeling of obligation or duty on my side. I feel devotion, love, trust, and enormous gratitude because I've seen profound, beneficial changes in my life as a result of my practice. Furthermore, my teacher has instilled in me the realization that this is all about me. I'm the one that needs to do the work. I have the tools I need. I have access to him when I need it and I'm to the point such that when I have a question or doubt, I hear his voice and see his face and know the answer. I'm not saying I'm a master at all, but I don't feel that umbilical cord and yoke of discipleship. I feel the freedom of spontaneous devotion. It's very different for me. I think it's important to make this point, sorry for so many words. I like ChiDragon. I think he is passionate and open, albeit deeply misguided. If you look back at my interaction with him when he was here before you'll see I have no illusions about his level of competence. He is self-taught and his practice and understanding are fundamentally flawed, IMO. I take nothing he says seriously but it's my hope that he may learn something from his interactions here and grow as a practitioner as a result. While he certainly does try to give the impression that he has a level of deep understanding and mastery, he also generally shows respect to others and an openness to criticism to a degree. There are lots of self-declared masters that come and go here in all sorts of disciplines. I decide for myself what their level of skill and understanding are and agree that it's good for us to give warnings to the less confident members about people like this. I haven't seen anything like that yet from Josh. Yes, he wears robes and I have no clue how legitimate they are. I'm not bothered by people wearing unusual or exotic outfits. That's their prerogative. I try to notice when judgement comes up toward others and look at what that says about me and where I want to be in my practice and my treatment of strangers. I am on a path of reducing judgement and cultivating acceptance of others for who they are. There is a line, however, and when I see disrespectful or abusive behavior I do tend to become very protective of the vulnerable. Yes, Tibetan Buddhism and Daoism take things very seriously. That is wonderful and valuable, it helps to keep the lineage alive and uncorrupted and the teachings pure. I am responsible for my own attitudes and behavior in my relationship with my path and lineage. I am not the sheriff of Bön. I try not to judge others for their choices in their relationship with their path. There are protectors of the lineages and that is their responsibility as well as that of the lineage holders. I personally would never wear robes that I did not earn but if I felt offense with someone else doing that, I would discuss that with them directly and openly, whether in public or private. I would not assault them with insults and ridicule due to the festering of unexpressed emotion. That goes directly against the nature of my personal practice. Yes, I agree with you. Perhaps he is bragging, perhaps he just has a psychological need for attention, maybe he just loves flashy colors and clothes and cars, and maybe he's tripping... who knows? My current approach is to see what he is showing me and, far more importantly, see what reaction it brings up in me. Whatever comes up for me, I try to be aware and simply leave it as it is. If something needs to be done, it will happen, as it did regarding Jeff and his crew. I really appreciate you taking the time to discuss this with me. Peace PS - I do get where you’re coming from and respect it, for me what is important is what we do with that

I get your point, Dad. I’ve been here for 13 years and seen a few shake ups and changes. I think some of us take ourselves and this place a bit too seriously. I haven’t seen any evidence that Josh is a scammer. I am also quite aware that the forum is ripe for scammers and I am generally on my guard... I’m not buying or selling anything here, only occasionally giving things away for fun.

I didn’t take it that way. Cars, fancy clothes, and money don’t impress me. I get the sense that he’d be the first to offer me a ride and a drink and want to share his passion and good fortune. I could be wrong but I choose to give him the benefit of the doubt.

So are the insults and dick measuring.

My grandma did some shocking things when I was a young boy using pieces of silver and a very large and beautiful quartz crystal. About 2 years ago, a very large hurricane was headed directly for my family in Florida, it was a Category 4 or 5. I followed grandma's formula, used her crystal and some of her very old pieces of silver. Just before impacting my family's city, the storm turned sharp right, headed north for a hundred miles or so, then headed back along its initial course, sparing them entirely. I have no idea (and quite a healthy bit of doubt) whether my actions had any effect but it was sure amazing for all of us to watch it happen. I know nothing about magicks, even less about weather magick, but I'd like to offer a fond welcome to you Josh. Your practices and demeanor are at the opposite end of the spectrum from mine but one of the things I value most about this forum is the wide variety of personalities. Particularly when they are respectful of others. While I'm not sure I have too much interest in magick or weather personally, I suspect there are some here who will be quite interested. Nice to see you're not too put off by the welcoming committee. There are some fragile egos here who seem to feel that intolerance, insults, and haughty attitude are indications of superiority. Or maybe they're just run of the mill bullies. Generally there is a deep insecurity at the root of such behavior, in my experience. Sadly, they tend to shout down many of the more thoughtful and truly advanced practitioners. I can't say that I'm a car guy but I did buy a Tesla Model 3 last year and I've never been so happy with a car. It's outstanding! If you've not had an opportunity, take one for a spin.

Both eyes!

Seeing the truth of Dawa Gyaltsen’s pith instruction for oneself is so liberating! The entire path in 5 lines... 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽

UG always referred to his experience as “the catastrophe.” I think it’s a mistake to call his transformation enlightenment. The nihilistic aspects of his experience seemed to far outweigh the spontaneous expression of enlightened qualities that are the hallmark of enlightenment, at least in a Buddhist context.

You explicitly and publicly put it to me to decide if you stay or leave. I didn’t ask for that responsibility. If that is not a transfer of responsibility, I don’t know what is. Others have stated they feel that you are not taking responsibility for your interactions with them. Their perspective is as valid as yours. You may want to look at this a little deeper for yourself, or not. Your choice. You posted the question publicly so I responded publicly. I rarely use PM here.

I have no intention of asking for you to be banned, or anyone else for that matter. These scans hold little meaning or significance for me. I stand corrected for mistakenly thinking you identified as a part of the group in question.

Your vision is nothing more than your mind. I don't see it as my responsibility to decide if he leaves or stays. That is his choice. I mentioned a ban on all members of your group if the energy games continued here in order to protect the members from manipulative behavior. Sean is clearly not here but ultimately has the authority and responsibility at this point to ban members. I don't know what this means. Yes, the pressure was placed on me. It's interesting that even when it came to whether to stay here or not, Jeff was not willing to take that responsibility. It was placed on me. I have no formal authority here and assume Jeff chose me because he respects my perspective. While I appreciate that, this is something Jeff and your group need to own. Not me. Outed generally refers to exposing someone's secret. Is that how you are using the term here? Again, it's Jeff's choice to stay or go, say goodbye or not... Not mine. Undoubtedly, that is why I am cautious with my interactions with people. Imagine the trace left when fucking with people's heads, sexuality, trust in deities, and so forth. Major responsibilities that require one to actually take ownership and be accountable. No problem. It would be easy to be reactive to your flights of thought as expressed here. Great practice for me to breath, notice my reactivity, then address your musings with kindness rather than whatever emotion pops up. Great, nothing is more valuable than the ability to let go. I feel the same. The way Jeff is handled here is up to Jeff, the collective, and the administrator. It should not be my unilateral decision. Peace

I think that’s accurate.

I’m with you...

Kabbalah is not taught publicly or freely and is considered very holy and potentially dangerous, not at all heretical. Students need first to demonstrate a deep knowledge and understanding of Torah and Talmud. After that a study of Kabbalah may be offered in small group or private sessions. It’s similar to how tantra and dzogchen used to be treated.