Cat Pillar

This was definitely a top-notch event, well worth the trouble and expense to attend. I'm already planning on attending the next workshop whenever it may be. Now to see what happens in the next 100 days.

I'm sorry for the loss of your friend, shanlung. The story is a beautiful memorial.

I can sympathize with MPG. I can see how having a relationship with a woman who has no interest in cultivation could be completely uninteresting to him. GrandmasterP...I understand your experience far outweighs my own, but it seems somewhat naive to assert that there truly is "someone for everyone." I personally do not believe that holds as a rule of life. The simple fact is that not everyone finds someone. Some people do spend their entire lives single. I'm too young to apply full certainty to the statement, but I consider it probable that I will not find a suitable companion this time around. I view this as a gift in many ways - less chance I'll get distracted from my goal of being content and at peace regardless of external circumstances. A relationship might become a crutch and prevent me from learning to be content and at peace in the midst of loneliness. Not everyone is destined to be with someone.

Yes.

Maybe the first Richard was a jerk? I got nothin' on Margaret.

That'd be cool.

I've asked myself that many times and find it fruitless to keep asking. An answer isn't the answer. But fear certainly did arise. To who or what...*shrugs* I dunno. Maybe the experience of knowing will arise, maybe it won't. I'll just keep chopping wood and carrying water.

Can I have a cookie?

That was a really good movie, I enjoyed it a lot even though it disturbed me a little when I first saw it (years and years ago)...I put myself in his shoes and felt tremendous fear at the idea of never being able to wake from a dream.

I know I'm intruding on your discussion, and zanshin is in no need of defending...but this seems to be quibbling over such a minor thing. IMO, contextually, zanshin's statements about liking questions more than statements and the discussion that has followed has not been contradictory on her part at all. There is more to her position than the surface appearance of forum postings. It seems more like you're trying to pick a fight than have a discussion. Certainty can be limiting. There is a kind of uncertainty that is more liberating than any solid conclusion could ever be.

I feel the same way much of the time. Except I do not have many experiences that would be classed as out of the ordinary...I am simply weird and childish by nature. I'm quite certain I would be a pariah if I didn't sanitize the information I present to others. I'm less concerned with censorship on this forum, but there are things I will never say or reveal to anyone. It would not be advantageous to either party, so why bother? That's a big reason why my participation in the forums is pretty limited, and my posts are often just fluff. I have found lately that it is much simpler to remain quiet, and let the mind deal with itself. There really isn't anything anyone can do to help me through this part of my path anyways - and that shouldn't be taken negatively, it's only a recognition that ultimately I must come to truth on my own. Guides and sign posts are helpful to a point (and I fully intend on utilizing Michael Lomax as a guide into the world of Taoist energy medicine), but there are points in every journey where one must make their own decisions and find their own way.

Interesting. I read "The Stranger" when I was in school...didn't really understand it very well back then, maybe it would be fun to revisit. Right now I'm avoiding putting value judgments on life. Is it worth living? Is it not worth living? What is "worth"? Life is. Of that much I am certain. I am certain of little else, and starting to enjoy it. There's a certain freedom in uncertainty.

So, I'm going to be getting in to the hotel around 4:30 PM on Friday...anyone attending the workshop want to hang out the night before it starts?

Nihilism is an easy pit to fall into. I find myself mucking around there on a regular basis.

Superpowers used to be my goal. Now, I'm just trying to come to terms with a reality that is completely illogical. I don't understand anything anymore. Life itself is just...confusing. There's no purpose for it, no reason for it to exist. Yet here it is. How strange!

Ah, MLP, who watches that anymore anyways? *whistles and wills everyone to ignore his avatar*

That's pretty much how I "got through" my depression. It's proving difficult to undue.

Makes one wonder about all of the cases where comatose people or people who have been dead for a short time experienced nothing at all.

Paul was a dick, hahaha. The biggest problem I see with Christianity these days is the majority of churches don't actually teach people ways of getting closer to God...they just throw words at them and tell them how to act. If someone had taught me a true method prayer, I'm sure my experience would have been different. As for the thread topic, I'll be partaking in the Stillness-Movement lineage soon. If the lineage likes me I'll stick with it, but I'm never averse to adding things from other traditions as long as it's an aid and not an impediment to the journey.

Oh I agree. I think I was taught a really twisted version of Christianity - if it had been closer to what it was originally intended to be, I doubt it would have been a primary factor in the beginnings of my chronic depression. I come across passages from the Bible every now and then that really strike me as amazing...my bitterness is towards the religion, not necessarily towards the Bible or Christ. This is why I avoid beliefs and faith. I'm only interested in what I directly experience. Words are useless to me unless they can point me to a direct experience. I'm not particularly interested in learning interpretations of what is...only in how to experience what is.

It's interesting...I still get a little confused when people talk about mixing Christianity with other faiths. I was raised Christian, and it was always pretty explicitly taught that ALL other faiths are false, and the ONLY way to salvation is through Jesus Christ. Anything else is worshipping idols. (also mediumship and magic/occult were expressly forbidden). Of course, I was raised in a fundamentalist (though non-denominational) sect. I'm still working through some bitterness towards that faith...it messed me up pretty badly. Although, I have to admit it wasn't all bad. I was a really strong believer when I was younger, and I DO think that helped me develop compassion and kindness (trying to act Christ-like). I just seemed to take it a lot more seriously than anyone around me and I got disillusioned when I realized that no one else really seemed to care about actually following the faith.

It's not just boring, it's painful! But I started doing it, too.

This is starting to sound very familiar....

Why do you do horse stance?

Forget chess, let's all play Go!!