Callan

Thinking about it your first reply was fair enough. I have a tendency to retreat to philosophy rather than take action sometimes, thats probably what you were picking up on. So less talk, more action.

You're kind of missing my point. Of course there's a darkside, because the universe allows us to choose. We can choose to further evolution or we can choose to destroy. Probably we've all done both at one time or another - I certainly have. And it's always a choice to look at what you're doing and learn from it and some people take longer than others. And I'm definitely not saying everything's lovely but I'll still say its all perfect. Some people have to explore the darkside for the sake of their evolution. Doesn't mean I won't oppose them. Actually I just watched the film Fearless yesterday (Jet Li - good stuff) and it's along these lines. Most times we have to fuck up before we decide to do things differently, and sometimes the people who make the biggest fuck ups gain the most from the experience - just look at Darth Vader! - loads of potential, gets lost and manipulated, turns to the darkside, kills millions, then realises what he's done to himself, destroys the emperor and becomes one with the force! Anyway to get back to real life. You also said if the world wasn't fucked why would you bother evolving. How about because it's fun and exciting and challenging. Getting out of the shit is just the start for human beings. Once we've done that is when things are really going to get exciting.

OK. Thats one way of looking at it. The other way is that the world isn't fucked its just you started with a perception of the world being fucked and through looking at your fear and paranoia through the mirror of conspiracies and secret societies and all that other nonsense you gradually altered your perception. At least thats certainly what I did. So there isn't anything wrong with the world and there never was. Also there isn't any force opposing god - god is everything. So George Bush is god and Iam god and everybody and everything else is god as well. Its what you were saying about thanking the agents for helping put you on the path. These energies are there to intensify the craziness so its in everybody's face to help us wake up. They are god as well - they're being used by god. How do I know this? Because you told me this. You are god as well and you told me thats how you've used these energies. The thing is not all of us have to trawl through the conspiracies to get there. The main point is to not buy into the fear and paranoia to get on with our lives, really live to the best of our ability and grow and explore our potential.

I'm with you on that one. Not only is fixating on problems not worthwhile - it's completely insane! There's probably some truth in what you're saying Karen but really others peoples conspiracies aren't worth paying any attention to. It only feeds them. And if you're acting out of your own fear and paranoia then that's all you're going to create. Thats where those people are coming from. They think there isn't enough power/money/whatever to go around, so they're scared and they think other people are going to take whatever they've managed to hold onto. On the other hand if there's something positive you can do on a personal level go for it. The most positive thing I can think of in this case is to go and have fun, ignore all the conspiracies and counter conspiracies and then maybe work out how I can use less electricity and recycle more. Social responsibility may not imply loss of personal freedom but it certainly narrows down the actions you are prepared to take.

Sides of nail.

I'm not sure why that would be either. It certainly relaxes and opens up the shoulders which would help breathing. Probably worth trying. In the meantime if your breathing is difficult try squeezing your thumb ( side to side rather than front to back.), that often works. Shiatsu can certainly help respiratory conditions - might even help with the allergy. Sorry if I dented your enthusiasm for Bowen.

Interesting. I've worked a lot with a teacher who does group work where he channels energy which pushes a lot of garbage up to the surface and then the group moves through this over the course of a few days, helping people who get stuck in places and teaching people how to work with things for themselves as we go. Sounds similar to what you're talking about.

It's a bit limited but very good at what it does. I have a relative who trained in it. She said that among practitioners some of them did the moves exactly as they'd been shown and wouldn't deviate from it all and didn't look any deeper, while others were more interested in trying to find out how Bowen had worked these things out in the first place and were looking around to other systems to fill in the gaps. I had a short treatment once and noticed some subtle realignment inside my shoulders but not much else. Of course I practise Shiatsu so I'm completely biased.

The image of the crucifixion would make a lot more sense if Jesus was depicted with a hard-on and a look of ecstacy on his face. There is a link. It's different from being a victim or a martyr. Or maybe he could be shown being spanked by Mary Magdalene.

Well, you know where hunters set pitfalls...along paths. The "Way" is not a "Path". Better to avoid paths, which is why we are TaoBums and not Taoists. Chris How about if we called it pitfalls of the "Way" in that case. Not believing in them doesn't really take them away. However maybe we don't need to think of them as pitfalls. Either way most people are going to go through some or all of them. THey're challenges. Places in our consciousness we have to learn to deal with one way or another. Pitfalls because we can fall into them and get stuck there for a while until we learn how to deal with them.

I think I read something about coQ10 helping teeth heal, will have to look it up though.

Seems to me this is more of a terminology thing. The trick for me is to connect deeper and deeper internally. This involves detaching from things that prop me up in the external world but it certainly doesn't mean being detached in the emotional sense. Maybe this is where the confusion comes in. I agree with cloud that this involves living as much as we can without our protections and really experiencing everything intensely : just not getting stuck in it - whatever it might be. As for desire - I know if I desire something outside of myself then I'm splitting myself in two and it hurts. The only way I know at the moment to counteract this is to be grateful for whatever is happening to me at the time - no matter what it is. I still want things and ask for things just don't get caught up too much on whether I get them or not, or how I get them. I loved that rant. There is a lot of bullshit around that has been misquoted or misinterpreted or was just plain crap to start with. Maybe we need some new ways to describe some of this stuff.

Wasn't the monkees film called "Head"? Anyway like the terminology. and yes there do seem to be two types of people. Something that occurs to me though is not destroying the matrix but finding the ability to remake it as we see fit and then when we can do that then we can bring this ability into the "real" world. So all these shifts in consciousness that we make have a knock on effect on other people. I used to be very clear on what the two types of people were like but now I'm not so sure. I've noticed that some people just seem to get on with their life and their evolution without much need to define it. I read Richard Branson's autobiography recently and it's amazing what he's done in his life and the directions he's taken and the way he has evolved and all the people he's come into contact with and changed. Yet he doesn't have any spiritual jargon for it. Anyway, more power to anyone who's willing to talk to strangers like that when they see that spark of life in them. "take action or be left behind" You're not wrong!

Until this "relaxed intesity" is felt & its contrast with ego-desperation understood viscerally,thers no point on going on to those practices more typically thought of as "Tantric". Thanks Cloud. That really clarifies the whole thing for me. I remember the first taste I had of being desireless. My body was completely at peace and at the same time completely alive and my ego couldn't handle it at all - it just kept going thinking how will I ever connect to anybody or know what to do or get anything done - kept going until it reasserted itself. Real desperation in it. I've had Odier recommended to me before. Sounds like he really knows what he's talking about

I mostly agree with neimad. For me just now sex is great and getting better all the time but sexual desire is extremely painful. They are definitely two different things.