Aaron

Talking about it and doing are two different things. I judge people, even though I know sometimes it's not necessarily right, but the fact is there is no clear cut right or wrong, at times you're required to judge someone, especially their actions. If no one judged anyone, that would be ideal, but then how do you prevent people from hurting others or even protect ourselves from their actions. So this is my own philosophy regarding this, if you judge someone, then you should not be upset if others judge you. If you cannot forgive someone, then don't expect forgiveness. Treat others as you would like to be treated. Simple stuff, but it's the best way to interact with others. If you want to get metaphysical, then look at people as they are, transient upon this earth. Each of us is only what our experiences have made us. The person you judge could've been you, if you had lived their life. So with everyone show as much compassion as you can. Do not judge so harshly that you cannot allow yourself to forgive. Give everyone a chance for redemption, but do not be blinded by compassion, for there is no compassion in allowing another to repeat the harm they've done in the past. Aaron

I honestly hope the mods understand how completely inappropriate and offensive what you posted was and ban you. For one, posting nude pictures is against the posting guidelines, but posting pictures of naked dead women is just beyond appropriate. If you seriously don't understand why someone would want to have sex with a living person and not a dead person, you are more F-ed up than I thought. I hope to god people get a clue and stop feeding your ego addiction. You're just like a little kid trying to get attention, doing it in the most shocking way you know how. You're like the seven year old child in the store that wants a new toy, his mom stops paying attention so he starts throwing things all over the place til he gets it. Guys are my thing by the way. I thought you already knew that. Get some freaking help. If you think you'll get in any monastery with the serious psychological issues you have, you're in for a surprise. If I haven't said it before, you are sick! "Oh I'm going to die 'cause a spirit came and told me so! No wait, I'm already dead! No I can't tell you anything about it 'cause it's special and you gotta be in the Tulku is an awesome guy club to know about it!" Get a grip and go get some psychological help before you hurt yourself or someone else. Aaron

Jesus... could you stop starting three new posts every freaking day. We all know you're here. Do you really need that much attention? I mean if they had any substance that would be fine, but you type a sentence, scream "look at me!Look at me!" Then start another once people stop paying attention to you. The fact you are still around after posting pictures of naked dead women, insinuating you would beat to death a woman if she offended you, and so many other things, tells me someone is not paying attention here. you are sick, plain and simple, and you need serious psychological help before you do actually hurt someone. Aaron

Hello Tulku, Not sure where you got the pictures of the dead women, but it was really, in my opinion, far beyond acceptable or appropriate. Every day I talk to you I realize more and more how totally screwed up you really are. You have no understanding of what is appropriate and what isn't. I retract my recommendation that you go get laid, because more than likely it would involve you breaking some law in your area. You are in such need of attention it's really sad and a bit sick. Maybe your mother didn't hold you enough as a kid or your father never said, "I love you." Really it doesn't matter, we shouldn't have to compensate by answering your troll questions. The fact you thought of dead women and then took the time to find them, well seriously, do you understand how absolutely sick that is? Aaron

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< . >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> I hope that helps. Aaron

Very beautiful. Well said Steve. I think if it was convincing, it wouldn't be very honest. Aaron

This was funny. Thank you Tulku. Lately I've been taking things quite seriously and it's nice to have someone to come along and allow me to laugh. You are certainly quite certain of all this, I'll give you that, but I think the problem is that you have experienced a great deal of pain and anguish, and I would never for a second try to compare my own experiences to yours, but what I will say is that you have it backwards. Humanity needs to experience love in order to change for the better, when they experience love, then the pain and anguish is bearable. I sense someone has hurt you deeply, so I give you this piece of advice, from one who has suffered at the hands of another, until you forgive them and move on, you will never be free. You will be trapped in this cycle of suffering that you wish so much to be free from, and those who have hurt you will continue to hurt you. Only when you give up the past and live in the present can you free yourself from these burdens, for these burdens do not exist anymore, except within your own thoughts. I sense the stillness beneath me and through me. In its movement there is life and death. The wise do not ponder it, The child does not yearn for it, The dying do not fear it. He who knows stillness knows peace in all things. He who has found stillness will never leave the place he lives, for within those walls resides everything he will ever need. You are looking for answers everywhere but where it resides, within you. Stop searching for the truth and the truth will find you. Live your life as you need to, for when you learn what you need to, you will still live the same way. There is nothing great gained from awareness or enlightenment, nothing special, only that which you already possess, but cannot know til you awaken. Stop dreaming and start awakening. The only way you can do this is to experience life and understand what you experience for what it is. So long as you know the answer you will never find it. Aaron

My point isn't that it isn't bad or that it is, but rather that I have no business making that decision for China or involving myself in their issues. In my opinion, if we don't start worrying about our own country (or countries) and looking at the future, not just in the next ten years, but the next 50, then we're almost certainly dooming an entire generation to poverty and hardship. We are straining to provide for the people we have now, when we reach 10 million we'll begin to feel the pinch around the world, and that's not really that far ahead in the future. Change needs to happen and it needs to happen as soon as possible, but everyone seems to think we can stick our head in the sand and just ignore it, but that's not going to make it go away, it's just going to make it all that much more worse, because we're not even taking small cautionary steps towards this future, but rather running head long. That's enough out of me. I'm hoping the young wake up, because the old don't seem to give a shit. Aaron

Tulku, I would like you to explain to me and everyone else, just why you think the world is the way it is. Sometimes (actually nearly every time) I hear you speak, I think of a young teen or adolescent. You really need to stop thinking of the world in such concrete terms, good and evil, black and white, peace and chaos. If you had experienced "true reality" then you'd realize that giving anything a quality or label is pointless, the world is what it is. It's not grand or perfect or even imperfect, it just is. Stop whining about everyone and everything. Stop thinking you've got the key to the room with all the toys and most certainly stop believing that you are special. You aren't. You're just the guy who goes by the name Tulku that says a lot of crazy shit and needs to get laid. Aaron edit- Had to put "true reality" in quotes.

Tulku, I would like you to explain to me and everyone else, just why you think the world is the way it is. Sometimes (actually nearly every time) I hear you speak, I think of a young teen or adolescent. You really need to stop thinking of the world in such concrete terms, good and evil, black and white, peace and chaos. If you had experienced the true reality then you'd realize that giving anything a quality or label is pointless, the world is what it is. It's not grand or perfect or even imperfect, it just is. Stop whining about everyone and everything. Stop thinking you've got the key to the room with all the toys and most certainly stop believing that you are special. You aren't. You're just the guy who goes by the name Tulku that says a lot of crazy shit and needs to get laid. Aaron

I would love to be a nun, but not a monk. Aaron

Sometimes I think, God I'm crazy, then someone comes along and makes me feel absolutely normal. Thank you someone! Aaron

Yes... this is the point I was trying to make. It's also why it's so important to seek out people with practice when you're trying to learn more about a philosophy or practice. A person told me that you don't (necessarily) learn Qigong or Tai Chi to learn about Taoism for instance, that if you ask your instructor about Taoism more times then not they'll just stare out you with a blank face, but oftentimes the good instructors are adepts at Taoist philosophy without ever having read the Tao Teh Ching. Of course there are a great many Qigong and Tai Chi instructors that are well versed in Taoism as well, just something I thought was interesting to learn. Aaron

I think mental masturbation is fine, but it's like real masturbation, don't mistake your skill in masturbating to indicate your actual prowess in the "real thing". Aaron

Thanks for all the info guys. C T, I always call you Tao Cow for some reason, sorry about that. I will take a look at those youtube videos as soon as I get a chance. I never go to youtube or facebook, at heart I'm not very interested in social sites, but I guess they'd be a good place to start looking. Also thank you for sharing your experiences as well. It's nice to hear what other people have achieved with lucid dreaming and also their thoughts about those experiences. Aaron

Hello folks, No I've never been in a monastery, but I had a friend in college that was a monk for several years that used to talk about it and I've had professors that were monks and nuns. They used to talk about it quite a bit. A good book to read about the monastery life is "The Empty Mirror: Experiences in a Zen Monastery" by Janwillem van de Wetering. His second book in his autobiographical series is about a commune in Maine, it's title is "A Glimpse of Nothingness: Experiences in an American Zen Community". Both are great books and tend to be brutally honest. My friend told me that one of the reasons he left was because he got hit on a lot in the monastery and also he was disillusioned with the experience. I would recommend that anyone that is interested in going to a monastery check out the specific monastery (they're different places after all) and also ask yourself if you can achieve what you want to outside the monastery? If you can, then you might want to ask why the monastic life is so appealing to you. If you're truthful, the answers may surprise you. Also it's not as simple as walking up to the door with your bags and saying, "I want in." They actually vet candidates thoroughly these days. In most cases you'll have to talk to counselors and monks extensively before they decide whether you can enter or not. Aaron

I might not agree with a lot of things that go on in China, but what I can see is that they were the first to try to deal with the population problem and people immediately attacked them because of it. I guess we're all so ingrained into believing that our system is the right system, that we forget that in some places people are happy with the way things are and just because a minority resists, doesn't mean that majority isn't happy. I say let China be and worry about our own problems. If they want religion, let them have religion, if they don't then let them decide that as well. Who are we to stick our noses into another countries business? Especially if we're not asked! I mean in forty years, when the population of the world has increased to 20 billion and the majority of people are living at the same poverty level as those in Mexico, do you think we'll still be complaining about China? No we'll be complaining because we had to dig through a garbage heap to find food or something to patch the roof of our hut, even as our neighbor's have lost their newborn child, because half of the children born die within the first year... If people understood how bleak the future actually is, I'm not talking conspiracy theory, global warming bleak, but actual figures and studies concerning sustainability, then perhaps they'd see why the rest of the world needs to catch up to China in some regards. Aaron

Monks have an abundance of stress, most related to their interpersonal relationships and also the competition that exists within many monasteries to be the star student. Monks are normal people, not superhuman, they have the same desires as everyone else, that's why you see a lot of sex behind the walls of monasteries, a lot of competition, a lot of backbiting and intrigue, and of course a desire for success. I'm not sure where you get this idealistic image of monasteries from, but I'm certain if you can get in one, that's if you can pass the interview process, then you're going to see that things aren't all that rosy. Aaron

Hello Jetsun, Very well said. I Think you make some very good points in regards to practice and that your example could be used to represent people from many religions. Again, well said. As devil's advocate, I will say that I've met a lot of Christians that actually seemed to practice their religion, but most were older men and women. Aaron

Seth, Don't make it painful to talk to you mate. For god's sake you don't have to poke your finger into every pie that comes along. Since you left for Ruthless Truth and came back you've been acting like Lone "freakin'" Ranger... just give it a rest. The world doesn't need you to save it. If Encephalon/Blasto wants to reply he can. Oh wait, could it be that you're just attacking me again? It seems like, if anyone is going to jump down my throat (or any of the none elite newbies that dare to touch the toes of the established order) more often than not it'll be you that does the jumping. I really had no idea you've been practicing for nineteen years either, I thought from what you've shared about your level of experience that you started a few years ago. I too started practicing awhile ago I think 1991 or 1992. I didn't do Qigong, Yoga, or anything quite as exciting, rather I read a passage from the Tao Teh Ching and just sat and meditated for 30 minutes to an hour each day. It was boring I guess, but I'm a madman for ritual so once I started it was like trying to go to bed without brushing your teeth. Anyways, hopefully your new Kangaroo Jack method of communicating is a passing phase, because you definitely seemed to have a greater depth of compassion awhile back than you have now, but the same could be said for me. I still get the stinking suspicion that your comment has less to do with Blasto and more to do with your feelings towards me or at the very least a misdirected anger at yourself. Aaron

Hello Everything, I was going to comment on this, but I got distracted and forgot to. Anyways, let me start by saying if you don't want to do something, there's no reason why you should want to do it. If it's something you have to do, then just do it, simple as that. There's no need to expound and extrapolate about this, it's actually very simple to understand. We are all forced to do some things we don't like (perhaps an awful lot of things) that doesn't mean they don't have to be done. You either suck it up and get going, or you can sit alone and complain about things that need to get done. I hate housekeeping by the way. It takes a monumental force of will for me to motivate myself to clean my house. Aaron

Hello Seth, My reply was actually meant to be an amends, which means I understood I might have done something wrong and tried to do what I thought was right in that instance. As fellow 12 steppers (Me and Blasto), a lot of what I said is based on the things we learn in the program about dealing with others, if you haven't been in the program you might miss that. So first, don't assume that you know what's going on, just because you see things happening. Second, don't dis the young people, they're our future. You should be thankful they're here and participating and showing a desire to learn. Third, I certainly hope you weren't including yourself in that list of knowledgeable people or is whining and complaining a sign of knowledge in the Yoga/Qigong/Energy practice world? Keep in mind I'm not claiming to be knowledgeable about anything but my own experience, which I'll gladly share with the old, young, inexperienced, and experienced alike. In regards to interesting topics, perhaps you've been staying away from the Buddhist section, but I've yet to see a thread in there that wasn't great. Maybe you just need to look around a bit more to find where the hot topics are. Aaron edit- As a side note, this isn't meant as a knock against Blasto, but in the year and half I've been coming to the site, he's left and come back four times, never staying more than a month, that's part of the reason I made the comment that people aren't going to change, that maybe what needs to change is himself.

So I share this knowing it's going to make me sound crazy, and clinically I guess I would be categorized as crazy, but to be honest I really don't care what people think so much, rather I wanted to share this and get some feedback from others. Anyways, inside my mind exists the home I lived in when I was eight, also there is the front yard and the street and the dock and lake across the road. It's just a small space, but it seems real, I can smell things there, feel the ground and the objects in it. Now the thing that scares me is this, remember I said I had an experience where I found myself laying on my bed and a younger version of me came out and comforted me, well that Aaron is there, but there are other versions of me, three to be exact, one is named Noel and he's around the same age as the Aaron that visits me from time to time, eight or so, Ryan who is around eleven and a younger Aaron, who they call little Aaron, that's around four or five. I know it sounds weird and unbelievable, but it's really there and they're really there and I'm not sure what to do about it. They don't cause me any trouble or pain, but I think maybe that's the problem that they're there because I haven't dealt with something and I'm keeping there for some reason. I wonder if they're real people or just figments of my imagination, but then when I talk to them and watch them they seem so real, they're not the same. Little Aaron is hyperactive and just out of control, Aaron is shy and introverted, I guess I'm trying to say is that they all seem to be different, but I know they must be me, just me caught at some specific time and spot. Anyways, it seems like more and more lately I keep getting drawn back to that house and when it happens I can't remember anything while I'm there, it's all blank, so I'm worried about what I might be doing while I'm there. I've had blackouts for years and years and I know this is the reason why, but my question is why am I suddenly finding myself in this house with these kids more and more? So I guess my question is what should I make of this? (I guess this throws any doubts of me being a Bodhisattva wannabe out the window.) So what I'm sharing now is the real me... the me that I'm afraid to talk about, but I would like to talk about and get off my chest, and maybe get some insight from others. The reason I was thinking about this is because I've been sharing my pacifistic philosophy with others and someone made the comment that maybe the reason I'm such a hardcore pacifist is because I've been hurt for so long I just gave up and decided it wasn't worth fighting anymore. Maybe that's why these kids are still inside me, unable to grow older or change, because I've failed to allow myself to escape the pain of my past? Anyways, this is just what I've been thinking about. I guess when I experienced the light awhile back I thought somehow that would change who I was, but all that's seemed to happen is that I've become painfully aware of just how screwed up I am. Aaron edit- That's the nice thing about online communities you can share the crazy stuff without having to worry about dealing with anyone face to face, so you can be a bit more honest than you are with the people around you.

I think once you develop self examination as a regular practice, you tend to notice when you're not practicing it. The one great aspect of the Twelve Steps program is that those who practice it tend to be able to handle life's problems in a realistic way, address those issues they can address and let go of those they can't. It's very much a program that teaches you to live in the here and now, rather than the future and past. Aaron

Where did I say that it was authoritative? I said I did some research on the internet and this is what I discovered. I also said that "they've found" not "found conclusively", so I'm hoping that people will be able to take from that, that there may be a correlation. The person who wrote the article was a M.D. so it's not like I was referencing an article by a religious spirit healer. Would you have felt better if I said that cracking the knuckles causes spiritual energy within the knuckles to leak or actually say something that's based on factual evidence? Aaron