onlyindreams

LBDaoist, can you provide us with knowledge on the healing sounds that will benefit the kidney / bladder organ system?

Can you share more about these two details? What were your experiences / experiments with cordyceps? and what does Glenn Morris specifically recommend?

I'd like to know more about this jade pillow point... it seems to be a very important part of the spine / skull. can anyone share their knowledge / thoughts / beliefs?

Though I have personally felt the effects of stillness on my felt sense of being, let us share as wide a stance on 'repairing' jing as possible. I have personally been eating a large quantity of raw cacao and goji berries every day and I feel that my energy levels are consistently (stable) high and I feel vigorous, more so than I was before I began consuming the cacao and goji berries about a week ago. (I plan on eating these two foods in the same large quantities for another week or so and then taking a break for two-three weeks from - during that break from goji and cacao, I will be taking reishi, schizandra, tribulus/fo-ti/ashwagandha tea in the morning along with fresh bee pollen from british columbia that I let dissolve in water for about 12 hours before drinking it as well as hemp seeds, which I intuitively sense is a very nourishing and rebuilding food.) Because it's the winter and because I have the time in my day, I have also been sleeping as often as possible. I have also been abstaining from ejaculation and all drug/alcohol use. (Chronic drug use along with a toxic environment and constant stress is what depleted my jing / damaged my reserve energy in the first place) As I said, I feel my vitality returning subtly through abstaining from ejaculation, a nourishing diet, proper breathing, awareness of self as often as I can capture it during the day, deep rest, and allowing 'stillness' to manifest in my sphere of life, my immediate existence.

Reading about Gurdjieff's philosophies earlier resonated with me - specifically his explanation of the three traditional ways to enlightenment + his "Fourth Way": I'd like to start a discussion about the path of the warrior, which I see as a truly viable way to enlightenment, a distinctly fifth way. The one who seeks to come to a deeper realization of consciousness and the essence of being through facing death, conquering fear, and destroying his enemies, physical and ethereal. The one who lives with death constantly on his shoulder, striving to always be aware of death (and its cousin, impermanence) The one who lives and trains daily to embody the warrior qualities of heroic courage, decisiveness in thought and action, total commitment, unconquerable spirit, indomitable willpower, and finally, compassion towards all living beings in his sphere of life. The one who will truly lay down his life for an ideal, for love. I am intensely reminded of Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido, and his first enlightenment experience, when he faced off in a sword duel with a famous Japanese military officer, a renowned swordsman - without a weapon of his own. He defeated the officer without harming him. Ueshiba was then walking along a path when There exists a book called the 'Art of Peace', which is a compilation of aphorisms credited to Ueshiba. I will share with you my favorites, which I have assimilated into my being. If those quotes resonated with you, go out and pick up that book - it may change your life as it did mine. You can also find it posted on various websites online. I am also reminded of Miyamoto Musashi, Japan's most legendary samurai, who defeated over 60 men in duels to the death and is best remembered for his book, 'The Book of Five Rings', a masterpiece (I highly suggest that anyone who feels that he possesses the warrior mind set to read this book.) Here is an excerpt which I have also committed to memory and posted on my wall: That's all I've got to share with yall at the moment. But like I said, I want to start up a discussion on this topic [which I believe is my life's calling, my vocation] and it's role / place / absence / presence in today's western society.

The Gita will be with me for the rest of my life... such potent words, such insight to be contemplated I look forward to seeing where this thread goes.

and that there is truly the beauty of mindfulness i appreciate the posts you shared in this topic

great post ill be sure to read it over tomorrow when i'm mentally fresh and i'll also be saving it on my computer for future reference and analysis as well

my one observation of life that frightens me is the existence of the bystander effect i'll try and keep it short: i was at a mexican fast food joint with two friends and on wednesdays they have a half-off special so the place was packed - line extending and winding 3/4 on the perimeter of the store so i'm on line around the double door entrance when i look outside and see a girl, lying face down on the ground, not moving. there were two kids sitting RIGHT in front of her, literally three feet away on a bench so i thought it was just some odd joke she was playing a girl standing behind me with her boyfriend said out loud 'why's she on the ground like that?' i made eye contact with her to show her i understood what she had said and that i was aware of the situation about two seconds later, i see her twitch her arm and struggle to bring it up to her face (she was lying face down with arms down by her sides / waist) at that instant, some urgent drive kicked in i slammed open the doors and stepped outside and knelt by her side and placed my hand on her back and told her in a calm voice that everything was okay, that she was okay and that she would be fine immediately, i felt her stirring back to life and she raised her head and looked at me and tried to get up but i had her remain on the ground the girl who expressed her concern came out as well and she helped ease the fallen girl's anxiety i looked over at the two guys sitting in front of her - worthless boys (but definitely over 18 years old) who wouldn't be able to take care of themselves let alone save and protect their loved ones in a catastrophe i looked over to my left, at a table with about six college age kids, still eating, observing me, the girl who came out to help, and the girl on the ground one of the kids sheepishly stood up and asked me if he should call 911 i told him no and looked at him in a way that made him sit down and shut the fuck up apparently, the girl began feeling very ill while inside the joint and lost consciousness as soon as she took her first step out the door - landing face first on her chin and lips without being able to break her fall with her hands EVERYONE out there witnessed this ALL were 'men' (more like little confused boys) and NONE OF THEM DID ANYTHING during the 2-3 minutes that the girl was lying face down on the ground, not moving or speaking. and so i wondered all that night: what's going on with the younger generations that i am a part of?

but by telling them that they will hurt themselves when they won't, you dissuade potential seekers and cultivators from a true gem, a REAL exercise that is worthy of all of one's effort you must atleast present your point of view, why you consider the horse stance / deep squatting dangerous.

yes... i noticed this as well... let's work together on discussing the knowledge and being understanding of where another is coming from because this thread is one of the few that have caught my eye in weeks gerard, can you tell us about your understanding of how training in the stance builds / stabilizes qi?

it seems youve already taken offense so don't take it here when i say that I as well would read any posts from you with a grain of salt now back to the horse stance: i speak from experience and some understanding of human physical potential, exercise science / kinesiology, and anatomy... this is one of my passions now, from my experience in squatting countless repetitions, i have concluded that squatting with attention to form and also awareness of overtraining is the furthest thing from being 'dangerous' i don't know where and what you base this assumption from - is it from personal experience? or something you read or heard about? have you ever practiced the horse stance with any consistency? i ask these questions because i am curious, because i am willing to accept all knowledge as valid if it makes sense and has a measure of potency

you are holding yourself back with that mindset that squat position is not impossible to attain, nor is it 'horrible' for your knees, in fact, such exercise and movements can only strengthen the sinew and tendons that govern that knee joint and the muscles involved in invoking the power of the core / lower dan tien (and i'll go as far as to say that perhaps the deep squat is the best way to protect the knees from its eventual slow deterioration) in fact, it is one of the most fundamental and 'comfortable' movements of the human body perhaps with terrible form and more than double your bodyweight on a barbell on your back compressing your spine and joints, such deep squatting can be detrimental to the knee joint, but with bodyweight, hellll no ever since practicing deep squatting and lateral squats while focusing on my breathing and sense of root, my legs have never been stronger and on a subtler level, my sense of 'spaciousness' has never been so pronounced my breath feels like a bellows, something that i have never experienced thus far in my life its all about consistency of practice, dedication, and awareness of body again, and in conclusion, deep (bodyweight) squatting is truly a foundational exercise if you are serious, you will work towards it

Hey Stig: where did you gain this knowledge? what pushed you to embody this mindset? who is your personal inspiration?

Thank you. Truly, this is the kind of writing I was hoping to see more of. "The true warrior has only one concern... freedom." Succinctly and well said. "When we examine carefully the conglomerate mess of our own individual social conditioning we realize that it's all based on descriptions and explanations, all of which make up our individual view of the world." So part of the path would be to identify any abstract knowledge, the ego that arises from the knowledge, the thoughts that arise from the ego, and the spoken words that arise from the thoughts in each and every instant that it appears in our experience. Going along with that train of thought, I intuit the necessity of silence / solitude / stillness and the development and continual cultivation of those prerequisites as another key 'facet' of the path. "But the Warrior needs an edge in the fight for their freedom." Elaborate on this 'edge' How does one cultivate this 'edge'? How does one invoke it? How does one strengthen it (if that is possible?). I imagine a sense of austerity, simplicity, and self - honesty is crucial to cultivating this edge (which I think is the ability to remain on the cusp of the present moment at all times...) "And it is in fact death that the Warrior embraces as the branding-iron that quickens their spirit. For the reality is that death could take each and every one of us in this very moment. Death is the ultimate leveller of people -- it regards everyone equally and will take the rich just as quickly and as heartlessly as it takes the poor." This paragraph resonates with me as I spent part of my day reading Book 5 of 'Meditations' by Marcus Aurelius. Aurelius truly embodies the warrior mindset that you describe here. Anyone who has or will read the book will know exactly what I speak of. "The Warrior embraces death as their teacher and so, almost as a mantra, the Warrior asks of themselves, "Death could take me this moment -- in this moment am I living to the fullest? Am I being impeccable?" Impeccability to a Warrior means that they are acting to the best of their knowledge and power. To do anything else is to die with regret and regret has no place on the Warrior's Path." I've got a .doc called 'taobums wisdom' that is a compilation of (what I believe to be) genuine wisdom from the posts on Tao Bums. I read over it frequently when the urge arises. The last two paragraphs of your post have been added to it. Thank you for taking the time to collect and share your thoughts.

I need to sit with this one for a while but it reflects a truth / set of questions that I have become intimately familiar with.. What is this mystery? What is it truly, at depth? and who are you whom I so faintly hear? who urge me ever on? what voice is this that speaks within me... guides me towards the best? As Rumi so eloquently stated: Thank you 3bob

Who said anything about dying for my country? I have grown to dislike speaking of myself so much and detailing my thoughts in this thread, but I will say this: I will die to uphold what I instinctively believe to be right, a decision that I hope to make without any self-consciousness. I will die standing, on two feet that are firmly planted and with my chin held high - with a measure of dignity and equanimity... again I'm reminded of: "Love nothing but that which comes to you woven in the thread of your destiny." and fuck believing in the hype - I choose to play the game though.

and not without a SINCERE desire.

Which one of you two will lay your differing opinions aside and settle down? I admire the conviction displayed by both of you, but from my perspective, you two are now engaging in bickering, making assumptions, even arguing semantics and making statements for the sole purpose of enraging the other person... I say this because the discussion's been led to a real loaded topic - one that could derail this thread.

First off, thanks for sharing your thoughts and beliefs. This term 'spiritual warrior' is being thrown around often in this thread - what do those words mean to you? and why do you believe that one cannot embody a 'spiritual warrior' in today's armed forces? I'll say one thing in response to the other stuff you wrote: having seen and heard reports of the progress made on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan from those who are actually there - don't let what you may have read in the papers or what you have seen on the mainstream media or heard from a friend be your only reference to draw conclusions from... Regardless of the underlying motives of the oligarchy who created this circumstance, there is much good to be found on the ground. Regardless of what you all may believe, you will find that some of the finest minds in America, some of the biggest hearts, and many who possess a developed sense of integrity, a TRUE sense of integrity (who instinctively know the difference between right and wrong, who know that there is NO middle ground when it comes to that matter) are to be found in our nation's military.

I wholeheartedly agree. Talk to us more about why you said "all [of] which can be warriors in their own way" How so? What is your definition of a warrior? How can one invoke that energy, that mindset in every day living? Can you share with us the clearest remembrance you have of a time when you felt you acted in a manner befitting a 'true' warrior? I see this thread devolving into a petty, trivial debate about the state of geopolitics and American foreign policy. Let's bring the focus back to the path of the warrior in today's age.

Even introductory statistics courses teach that most statistics do not reflect the actual truth.

Quoted so that people may have a chance to read it again if they missed it here.... Some succinct and powerful words right there

"we have met the enemy and he is us..." i know i am my own worst enemy. i have put myself through much suffering by [unconsciously] hanging onto painful states of being, but overcoming those individual struggles, detaching from them and seeing them for what they really were has gone a long way into my development on all levels. can that not carry over? if we have met the enemy and he is us, what is to be done then? simply resting in that realization does nothing. what is required then? doing? not doing? undoing?