C T

more form, less function how all cars are made today barely lasts five years...

Thanks for the effort Susan. Much appreciated. Will forward this info when i next visit this person. Hope it will resonate in him.

Yes a very interesting debate indeed! Just want to add that its the same here in most parts of Ireland. I have seen people become 'rich' thru fraudulent means by siphoning off the welfare system by signing on in the Republic and then going over to Northern Ireland for another check!! All that was apparently needed was a registered address. Its a major headache. This flared out of all proportions during the boom years because these 'suckers' knew the govt wouldn't move a muscle to pursue them cos they were too engrossed with their own dirty greed and glory from all the 'juice' flowing into their pockets, co-created by them, with their crony bankers and developers to hatch the property bubble. Its a big mess now, nobody wants to admit accountability, and the fatcat developers and bankers are still having a good laugh, playing golf and sailing their yachts! There is so much hue and cry over the cost of welfare here, yet the amount pales in comparison to the bailout handed to these idiot bankers and their VIP developer clients. Heard a great little tale last month about a bank who made a 'show' of an attempt to deal with one of its rogue developer customers. They managed to catch hold of this guy, and invited him to a meeting with a few of the bank officials. These guys had thought that he would show up with a retinue of accountants and lawyers in tow, so they pulled out all the files and whatever, and got their solicitors briefed etc. The day of the meeting came and this brazen chap shows up, walks into the meeting, all by himself, holding a small shopping bag in one hand. He sits down, and attentively listened to what the bankers had to say, and when they finished, they asked him what he thought of the situation and how best it can be rectified. The guy stands up, reached into the bag and took out a bunch of bananas and handed one each to all in the room. As he walked to the door, he turns around and said, with a wry smile on his face, "Mind you, I am not the only monkey in this room."

Hello Susan I was just wondering to myself if that would be good advice to offer someone who wakes up consistently during the night with a very pronounced feeling as though there are a million centipedes crawling all over his body. (Am citing a real example here btw - a kundalini initiate who surrendered his all, including leaving his wife and 2 kids, and donating all his material wealth to his wonderful 'guru', who then tells him his karma was to blame for the backlash of blockages strewn all over his path, but do not worry, these soon will fade - just be patient and remain steadfast in the power of shakti (and in the meantime he feels like he is slowly being 'eaten alive' by the critters). What are your thoughts on this? Thanks.

Yes, A7 - i have had the good fortune of meeting many individuals from diverse spiritual traditions in my role as a volunteer at a good number of Buddhist retreats over the years, and have witnessed the distress shown by so-called 'unguided dabblers' of kundalini, many of whom present themselves at retreats displaying symptoms ranging from mild psychosis to full-blown schizophrenia. However, i have also met many k.practitioners who are extremely 'mature' (unsure if this is the app description?) and the majority of these have studied with the guidance of a teacher/s. It would appear that K. is not some work that can be approached in a haphazard fashion, and plenty of caution is advised, and a grounded disposition seems in order. One teacher i know puts it this way, he said, " The decision to be initiated into higher spiritual practices (like Kundalini or Tantra Yoga) is like putting a snake into a hollow bamboo - its impossible to retract without abrasive consequences, so keeping to Samayas are extremely important." (samaya = precept)

Two interesting Kundalini Yoga articles: 1/ Kundalini FAQ - - http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/~keutzer/kundalini/kundalini-faq.html#top 2/ Kundalini and Tibetan Buddhism - - http://easternhealingarts.com/Articles/KundaliniTibet.html (with grateful appreciation to the respective writers)

Hats off to all contributors here - great questions asked, greater insights offered. Much to be grateful for. Thanks.

I think you'd know by now that this world and her human inhabitants are a strange and wonderful lot... and trust me, there are a lot less significant things that bother people every single moment - wrinkles, hair out of place, the way their steak is prepared, how their kids behave according to their social status etc. It all stems from some sort of inner loss of equilibrium, which, unfortunately, is fanned by the constant bombardment of subliminal media 'brain wash' propaganda that somehow we are never gonna be satisfied, no matter how hard we try, we will be hard-pressed to erase the imprint of 'lack' that has been, and fervently continue to be layered on to the human psyche.

art seeks surer way like a child learning to walk wobbly spurts of glee!!

Is all vanity? Most times it begins with greed followed by envy...

well...get what you see or just go window-shopping for some wonder-bras?!!

fade away cloud fade drift into obscurity awaiting rebirth...

Broken dharma wheels! Rollin' along happily whistlin' a tune... (added later) thanks Artform... an oversight on my part - should've used 'whistle-ing' instead!

must be truth dawning in the middle of the night with two flat tyres... (humble apologies for the rogue 'p' that went astray, apepch7... hope you make it home soon - your cat misses you!)

nothing left but peace an ode to apech seven found in translation...

Perhaps that is the reason you purposefully omitted the 't', eh?

with a touch of dust and a sprinkle of ashes some form is reborn...

Not a conundrum at all, Jane SF. Just want to reiterate what was asked, "Whats so wrong with being self-absorbed anyway?" Nothing more to add, except to say that you are wished the best of luck in getting your book(s) published. (Counting and making sure no I's were used here )

soaring hawk circles magnificent, majestic wonderful Nature...

Cant believe i got a nudge from a rather stern moderator for posting this observation! I was merely expressing the first thought that came to mind when reading the afore-mentioned post and thought, "Geez look at the number of I's in this post...", and then i read Lucky7's observation, which was found to be quite agreeable - which prompted the need to highlight it. There was not a trace of malice attached, but if Jane wants to be sensitive about it, then its something she may need very much to deal with herself. I am offering no apology for making such a weightless remark. Whats so wrong about being self-absorbed anyway? Guess i better 'tie' myself to the Haiku Chain from now on... Shhh.... intelligentsia at work here.

Well its pretty obvious Jane is quite self-absorbed. ME, MYSELF, I, and MINE... clearly demonstrated in the post above yours. Just count all the I's in that short post. Not being critical... just an observation in passing.

Very helpful post Xabir.. thanks. You might be interested to reflect on this: http://www.thebuddhadharma.com/issues/2003/summer/neverborn_khyentse.html All the best to you.

cold in the garage i pull out an old blanket thank god it was dry... (It was one of life's little pleasures Mark... so you're more than welcome!)

Why are you being such a brat Tzu? You are behaving, for all your gusto and clarity, like a spoilt child in a public playground vainly attempting to shove out all the other kids?? With all your declarations and proclamations of clarity, simplicity and unpretentiousness, there are still parts of your psyche that you need to scrutinize, and after some thoughtful self-analysis, which hopefully will throw up some rather dark aspects of your personality that is so obvious to everyone else but yourself, you might actually begin to recognize a pattern in your own fallible little self. Reminds one of the story where Jesus rebuked some guy for pointing out the tiny splinter in another's eye... or something to this effect. I believe even bacteria has a place and a role in the evolution of Tao... or is your brand of Tao some kind of exclusive country resort where Buddhists are vetted out of membership?!! A bit of humility would go a long way towards concreting your clarity and simplicity. Am i being straightforward enough here?