Cat Pillar

Hello Tree Stump, Thanks for your thoughts! I've never really thought of being in the present as any form of "clinging." I've always envisioned it as more of a natural flow unclouded by programmed response or beliefs about how things should be. Could you clarify what is short-sighted about this? Isn't being present the same as "clinging" to the actual world? I'm not sure how abiding in natural law and being present are different. Perhaps we're using different definitions. Taoist Thread Necromancy is a sacred and ancient art. Do not question its power!

Okay, there's just no way that I could reply to everyone individually who posted. That's more time than I have, unfortunately. This is a great discussion though, and I'm glad so many people participated! My personal take on it so far is that I haven't had any experiences that confirm for me one way or the other what happens when we die. I remain open to either possibility, but if I could pick one it would be continuation of experience. I'm drawn towards the approach in pennyofheaven's post; just being present in the now. Regardless of what comes after, I'd like to focus on what's here and now. Letting the unresolved question create anxiety is unnecessary stress. Granted, I have a hard time "letting go," but it's something I work on everyday. Practice, practice, practice...

Thanks! I agree, our situations provide a unique opportunity for growth and cultivation. Personal responsibility is one of the qualities I consider most important. You can't change something you don't own; if you think it's not yours, then it remains out of your reach. Once you own it, you can shape it however you want. You make it sound like we're rapidly approaching some cliff and once we're over the edge all hope is lost! That's an awful lot of self-induced anxiety right there. "Older" people find love all the time! I guess it's certainly possible that I'm less concerned with finding a partner because I'm getting older, but I like to think it's more because I'm learning how to live without attachments (by which I mean accepting the temporary nature of all phenomena). You make an assumption that I'm looking specifically for a younger female of a particular age group, and that I wouldn't be interested in a relationship with someone in my age group, or maybe even a little older. Do I have desires and preferences? Of course! Everyone does. But I'm open to things outside of my "ideals," because my ideals aren't necessarily the greatest indicator of what's truly best. I may experience something in the future that I would never have chosen for myself, but turns out to be the most wonderful thing ever. Personally, I think my virility is weak because I don't exercise enough, and allow myself to fall prey to my fears and anxieties. My diet is poor too, which doesn't help. However, regular meditation does seem to be strengthening my character, and I am making small but steady steps towards increasing my physical activity level. I fully intend on practicing qigong in addition to Wing Chun, once I find the best way to go about it. I'm not exactly "happy" with my situation. But not accepting it is living in denial, and takes you away from being present. My situation is what it is, and if I want to see it change I need to accept that so I can clearly see what needs to be done in order to alter the situation.

24 and still a virgin? I'm 26 and my snake's never even seen grass up close! My problem is definitely lack of confidence, but I'm working on that. I still don't think any woman would be crazy enough to fall in love with me, but I'm not so concerned about that these days. If there's a girl out there for me, I'm sure I'll find her. If not, maybe the Universe wants me to be celibate anyways. I spent 11 years with severe depression gnawing away at my soul. But a willingness to face my personal demons and confront the structures that create my perceptual filters has brought me far from the brink of suicide. Also, I sought professional help. Works wonders if you're willing to be honest with yourself and your therapist. The most important thing in the world though - you have to want to change. If you don't want to change, you will find every reason or excuse not to. Your view of reality is your world, and it is altered by your beliefs and your perceptual filters. Change your view, and your world changes too.

Wow, don't check in for a day and suddenly there's four pages! Thanks for the great replies and discussions, everyone! I'll get to responding either later tonight or tomorrow.

Hello Gerard, I've never tried walking meditation before. I'll have to see if I can add that to my practice...although, getting it to an hour with an additional hour of sitting meditation would require I cut my nightly sleep allotment to 4 hours, so I doubt I can do that...at least, for now.

One of my favorite songs by this band...love the lyrics From out of static time has grown Existence formed by substance unknown Prelude to matter, shift of disorder Completion of bonds between chaos and order The era of seasons, the essence of being The continuous process awakens the living Absorber of every flickering sun Arranging the pieces to vivid perfection The stream of mortality flows uncontrolled A boundless downward spiral to prospective void Existence takes its toll, extinction unfolds The Colossus falls back from its threshold The cosmic grip so tight. Heed the celestial call The rise, the voyage, the fall- tangled womb of mortal soil Universal key of inception, pulled out of the grind The growing seed of creation and time Complex fusion, the bond of four- the nature's core Universal ritual, aesthetic beauty adored The pendulum upholds the carnal deceit Eternal, endless, indefinite The paradox, render and the merge is complete Nothing but the process is infinite Nothing but the process is infinite Eternal, endless, indefinite

I'm curious about something. Can you fully develop spiritually without ever experiencing "powers"? Or is that a necessary part of development?

Yes, thank you for sharing! It's certainly had an impact on me.

Thanks for the links, Astral! I've heard the spirit guide thing a lot, that everyone has them...I've not met or communicated with mine though, so I can't say for sure they're actually there. I've made a couple of efforts in the past to call on higher help, but I've never received guidance in any form that I could recognize or make use of. Maybe I need to shower more...

Hello Tao Apprentice, Thank you for your insight. I still have quite a bit of fear in my mind, and it is something I am trying to work on being mindful of. ---------------------- Astral_Anima, This seems like good advice...especially about not getting to caught up into it. Fortunately, the Skept is strong with me so I think it will serve me well in staying grounded. I've heard of fire paths and water paths before, but I have not read a description or comparison of them like yours, so thank you for your insight. Both have aspects that appeal to me. Thank you for your recommendations. I've seen Spring Forest Qigong recommended many times in this forum, so I will need to look more into that. I'm not familiar with Kunlun, so that deserves researching as well. Who's Max, and where can I find his talks? Nei Kung I will need to look into as well.

I've heard this warning about Kundalini many times, and respect it. Although, your post made me realize once again, I don't really know what is ego and what is not. All I know must be ego, if I cannot make the distinction. I wish I had a teacher...or, apparently, that I was ready for one... ---------------------- I'm looking for my path...my Way. I want to be in harmony with the Universe, rather than feeling separate and discordant with it. I want that flowing ease of being, that effortless form of existence. Whatever comes with that is window dressing, icing on the cake. I'm just curious what that path might look like, and whether siddhis are likely to be a part of it.

Hello CowTao, That sounds like a very nice way of being. I'd like to experience that...such a fluid way of life. That is what exemplifies internal peace to me, those qualities you talk about. What you believe cannot be cultivated, is what I'd like to cultivate. That state is what I idealize. My inability to consistently live up to this ideal causes a lot of internal conflict for me. I can see why. You're welcome! Although I'm not sure what you're thanking me for. Thank YOU for the welcome. And the reply. --------------- Sunya, Are you working on raising Kundalini now, or are you still focusing on training/graduating? It was sort of a general thing, although I suppose my intent was mostly towards the siddhis that directly/indirectly affect reality (including things like clairvoyance). Thanks for your reply!

Ah, I believe I misunderstood your context. Yes, I can see how Robert's method would be dependent on mastering previous skills. However, I do believe that others have successfully (and safely) awakened Kundalini using other methods that did not have OBE as a prerequisite.

Thank you for finding the quote, alwayson. Again, while I respect Mr. Bruce greatly, and I understand his reasoning behind this precaution, I do not believe this is worded so as to imply that raising Kundalini is dependent on mastery of the mentioned skills. Rather, I believe these are his guidelines for the earliest it would be safest to pursue the raising of Kundalini. If your understanding is the same, I apologize for the mistaken inference otherwise.

Thanks for your replies, everyone. King Kabalabhati, I suppose if I were an empty vessel, a clear channel, I would not have any apprehension towards siddhis. --------------- fiveelementtao, I should have been clearer with the intent of my question...it was not my intent to ask if siddhis represent spiritual development, but rather if they were a natural aftereffect of such. Although you do address that later in your response. I'm not so sure I really want siddhis, hence my question. My perception of them is that they appear to usually be a lot more trouble than they're worth. Granted, I have no personal experience with them so my opinion is biased and based on other people's experiences and opinions...but I have started to question if they're worth the effort to develop. --------------- alwayson, I have a great deal of respect for Mr. Bruce's techniques, but I'm not so certain about this particular assertion. I have read that some people experience Kundalini awakenings without any intention or practice directed towards it. I don't have any direct quotes to support this (and unfortunately don't have the time to look for them) but my impression of what Robert was saying was more along the lines of a recommendation that Kundalini not be pursued until one has already mastered OBE and other abilities. --------------- Sloppy Zhang, Although Bardon's pathworking involves direct cultivation of siddhis, he makes a kind of indirect agreement with this. If I remember correctly, he often states that focusing exclusively on certain abilities to develop them to a high degree is pointless and unnecessary, as once one becomes a Master all these things will come to you anyways. I like how you stated this. While I'm apprehensive about siddhis in general, perhaps a balanced approach would be best for me. Mostly because it would provide some more obvious signposts of progress. I also agree with your analysis of Mr. Bruce's work. Were you aware that he's studied Hermetic (specifically Bardon) magic as part of his path? IIH is a book he highly recommends. ---------------- forestofemptiness, That's interesting. Would you be able to expound more on that, specifically about the karma aspect? Thanks again for your replies, everyone!

Otis, That does sound like a great way to relax!

Apologies if this is an inappropriate place to post this; if so, mods please move the thread. I just wanted to say thanks for this subforum, I've read through the chapter 1 discussion thread and am going to be working through the others, but along with the threads pointing to other resources I can see how this will be very beneficial to my studies on Taoism. So thanks everyone for starting and contributing to this subforum, I can tell I'm going to get a lot out of it!

Immortal4life - I can see how you could be right. I do practice meditation every day for at least half an hour, so I have managed to be consistent so far. phore - my kundalini is as dormant as a doormat right now. The way you relax your body, do you start by tightening the muscles up, and then relaxing them? Rainbow_Vein - thank you for the recommendation! The prices seem very reasonable so I'll be looking more into these. Looks worth a shot.

I find it very difficult to relax most of the time, at least to any deep degree. Usually the most I can accomplish is a sort of surface-level relaxation...I'm not particularly discomfited, but I know there are tensions all throughout my body. When meditating I can go a little deeper into relaxation, but I'm starting to think I should be adding a physical relaxation technique at the beginning of my practice. Are there any that you would recommend?

Hello everyone... I'd like to explore something with the community here in the hopes that someone may be able to offer an insight that will help me past a block. As much as I try to remain open minded, a traumatic upbringing in fundamentalist Christianity has embedded in me a very deep mistrust of anything that claims to be spiritual. I saw so many liars and frauds that I became convinced there was no such thing as higher truth, only individuals out to manipulate my beliefs in order to control me. This bitter and cynical worldview is not one I want to keep, but the patterns are so strong that it's very difficult to break them. I've started a meditation practice, and want to study inner alchemy, but I'm concerned that my cynicism will prevent me from making any progress beyond basic health benefits from the relaxation. Is that a valid concern? Is there a practice that can overpower my worldview, or is it necessary to have faith before I can experience anything beyond the mundane? I'd like to avoid drugs...it would be too easy to dismiss anything I experienced as a simple drug-induced hallucination. Is there such a thing as a practice that will work even if you don't believe in it at first?

Thank you for explaining it to me. Do you think that focusing attention on the space between thoughts would be a fruitful way to cultivate the undifferentiated experience you mentioned?

I'm confused by the title and content of the thread, there seems to be a contextual jump...or I'm just missing something, one or the other. Hmm...contemplating that, I had these thoughts: The more we become attached to our daydreams/non-fulfillment cycles, the further we get away from the natural fulfillment of genuine experiencing. The longer we are away from this fulfillment, the more we forget about it. If we stay in the cycle for really long periods of time, we start to forget about the natural joy that was there to begin with. If we forget about it long enough, we lose our way back to it, and meditation is a tool to find our way back to that place.

Thank you, 9th. I will try to stay encouraged. There is certainly something to be said for releasing attachment to results...I'm sure it will take time to fully adjust into a new perspective, but even acceptance of the goal of remaining unattached to results has already resulted in the introduction to a peaceful feeling I hope to explore and cultivate further.

9th, I must have heard this in various forms at least a thousand times, but never presented quite like this. My intuition tells me I should listen, so I will. I'll take your advice and do my best to focus on the practice, and let the rest flow naturally. Hello NeiChuan, I'm not entirely sure what you mean by the following: Could you elaborate? rex, Thank you for the link and the information! That's a very interesting website, I like the name. I'll be sure to read the article more thoroughly when I have the chance. Namaste, Gerard... I think your advice dovetails nicely with 9th's, and my intuition is prodding me here as well...I've already made a good start on this, for the past week and a half I've been meditating for half an hour a day. But I will keep your advice close. Little1, I can certainly see where it will come in handy. Thank you for your reply.