Astral_Anima

If you can expand your consciousness, release it from time and space, then theoretically you could tap into all of the information in the universe and beyond. I think the biggest problem is our language. A problem for humans is that we have to use symbols to share experience, we can't transmit our experience directly. For example how do you know what we call green in the same for us? Or perhaps what I call happy is in fact a different experience that what you call happy. Thus we have a wall, the best we can do is use words as symbols to attempt to translate our feelings. This makes the very act of sharing information extremely difficult, because you're right, concepts (subjective) change all the time, even though the actual experience(objective) may not. I think if we all develop telepathy(direct transmission of thought/feeling) then start sharing ourselves with each-other we'll eventually ALL be enlightened, because we'll all know everything. As for the actual idea of whether or not one should want to know everything or not...thats tough. I mean there's definately some excitement in mystery, but at the same time, lack of understanding/ignorance I believe is the main cause of suffering in humans today. I mean if i'm trying to make a life decision, pick a path, I want to know where that path will lead, I want to know the consequences of my actions so i'm making the "right" choice in my mind. AT the same time though, know EVERYTHING may indeed get alittle boring. For example imagine playing a card game knowing what each-others cards were and seeing the game play out before you even began...no much point in playing, lol. But ..., at the root of motivation is desire for experience. For example, sex. Generally we know what sex feels like, we know the experience of orgasm, of the loving, comfortable feeling of cuddling, etc and we LIKE that (at least I do, lol) so even though we know what we're going to feel, we still enjoy actually feeling it. Same thing with food. We know the taste of our favorite meal, yet we choose to eat it over and over again, doesn't really get boring. I mean if we knew everything we'd know exactly what to do and what not to do to experience the most bliss possible. SO it could actually be something worth shooting for. Of course if you believe something is impossible it really will be for you because you won't put any effort into achieving it just my 2 cents -Astral

Huh...i'd never heard of the yoga nidra OR the buddhist thing. Did they say why it was best for only 2-4 hrs twice a night? That sounds a little easier to do socially. But yeah i'm not so concerned with the visions and such, although the vivid dreams might be fun, especially if it turns into lucid dreams (which i'm TOTALLy trying to do). The real motivation for this is to maximize time for meditation and practice. Also I'd like to optimize my mind/state of awareness so that it's easier to slip into the right state of mind for meditation. I'm trying to incorporate sensory deprivation as well. I just ordered this thing called a "Mindfold" which blots out like ALL light, i'm thinking of using some binaural beats, maybe burning some incense, etc. Yeah the concerns though are something to take into consideration. I don't really have a metabolism right now and I don't really eat much anyway, so i'm not so concerned about that. I just hope that I won't do any long term damage by follow a regime like that. I don't fully understand the functions sleep serves but I DO know that meditation is my priority so i'm willing to put up with discomfort.

"and cross you feet in the lotus pose (left leg under right thigh and right leg on top of left thigh)" Wait...I thought lotus pose was BOTH feet on the opposite thigh? left foot on TOP of right thigh and right foot on TOP of left thigh...? Am I wrong? Would this pose still work?

Haha, I only know that I percieve. And thank you, s'good to be aboard XD

Veganism? pfff, easy man. RAW VEGAN...now there's your trouble, lol. But yeah just vegan there's plenty of great ways to make it work, but before I share, I'll just share with you a quick website that inspired me to stick with it. http://www.mikemahler.com/articles/vegan_diet.html This guy was my hero/inspiration that made the vegan diet work. As for spirituality...only in the sense of karma. It's theorized (especially by essenes) that when you eat the flesh of a slain animal you're taking part in it's murder. You're eating the product of death which binds you to the cycle of birth and death. Also it's theorized that when the animal is slain it releases fear, anger, and anxiety into it's body and we end up ingesting those same vibrations. Personally I just don't like the taste, smell, texture, look, or idea of meat so i tend to avoid it. As for dairy and eggs...by the above theory, factory farmed dairy and eggs would be unhealthy but organic ones who are raised with love would theoretically be okay. I think the whole animal kingdom is riskier assuming the vibrational theory is true. Because animals can feel such strong negetive emotions like we can one always runs the risk of ingesting some of those "lower" vibrations. It's theorized that plants have less consciousness and don't feel the same negetive emotions animals feel so that they're "safer" to eat; less karmic debt as well. I've heard that in the "first level" of heaven they eat nothing but fruit and honey, and in all the higher levels they live off of subtle energies. Thus it can be theorized that if one adjusts to a diet of less and less food they train their body to use more energy from other sources, like the sun or breath, and in turn they begin to experience life in a different way. Look into breatharianism/sungazing Anyway, down to making it work. Proteins pretty much a myth unless you're like SUPER active and even then... So really just focus on fresh organic fruits and veggies. Grains are for some reason looked down upon in some "higher" daoist sects (unless sprouted), if that means anything to you. I mean most of any diet is just lowering your addiction to tastes and textures and slowly learning to eat for sustainence rather than sensation, it's actually rather hard to be deficient unless your body hasn't had time to adjust to whatever you're doing. If you're worried about protein mixing and variation of nuts/seeds with grains or beans works well. Lots of greens (chlorophyll is a potent detoxifier). If you're looking for omega-3s chia seeds and flax seed are abundant. Oh and the B12 issue. B12 is synthesized in your gut by bacteria. Keeping up your intestinal flora will keep this issue in check. many vegetarian societies (including certain farms) Usually eat alot of food raw, right out of the dirt, without washing it and thus ingest the minuscule amount of bacteria needed to continue synthesizing B12. It's my theory that because of the now over-germaphobic society that focuses on killing bacteria (everything is anti-bacterial) that they're killing all of the GOOD bacteria that regulate gut flora and health. And the BEST advice I can give you is not to worry about nutrition. Honestly i've had more health problems cause by worry/anxiety than by any deficiency "which i've never had throughout all my fasting and diet experiements). Remember the 7 emotions of TCM... http://www.shen-nong.com/eng/principles/sevenemotions.html best of luck in your journey -Astral P.S. Avoid soy like the plague along with commercial wheat products. Anything that you find in everything has the tendency to be bad. You'll notice that wheat, milk and soy are in EVERYTHING. Try to stick to a WHOLE FOOD (only one ingrediant) diet.

Hey all, I'm a long time stalker of the forum, really great discussions. Mostly interested in the Mo-Pai and still plan to try an learn that, but first I plan on opening myself up more on my own so i do not burden any potential masters i meet in the future. I just picked up kunlun, the ever controversial "taoist" practice and have been studying kundalini yoga, tantra, qigong, sungazing, raw foodism, character development, etc. for quite a bit. I look forward to sharing and discussing with you all. -Astral