Jeff

Are interviews and textual studies both supposed to only be subsets of Daoist? Maybe move both up a layer? Or at least interviews. Thanks, Jeff

Then for all, I repeat this thought as my view... Our uniqueness, our individuality, and our life experience molds us into fascinating beings. I hope we can embrace that. I pray we may all challenge ourselves to delve into the deepest resources of our hearts to cultivate an atmosphere of understanding, acceptance, tolerance, and compassion. We are all in this life together. Linda Thompson

Definitely. Also, I like your style with your comment. People did not seem to get the attempted irony in my posts, and even seemed to miss my label at the end of them. Oh well... Seems like time for me to just float in that sea.

Beautifully said.

You may have not noticed my constant statements at the end about "tongue and cheek" or "just stating this to show where the bums is headed". The views presented are not my actual views, but more an example of an extrapolation of the counterpoint that was being expressed. But, to you actual point. Energy and actual clarity are the same thing. Just opposite sides of the same coin. Anyone with true realization/clarity will radiate it. Also, if they do not also have conscious control over it, they don't really have the realization. Yes, I have. In the end, it does not really matter. It is not a misunderstanding that is the problem, but more the attachment to a view. The key is to be able to let it all go. This last point is what is missing from the bums lately. Depending on your definition, yes morality also flows through. It is not possible to realize higher levels if one is still caught up in using it over others or abusing them. But, no question someone can be a total jerk and still have some juice. On many occasions, I have had separate people form what you could call "evil gurus". If someone has true unconditional love they radiate like the brightest sun. They are my definition of powerful. As I said earlier clarity=power. Also, refined energies are the subtlest, but they can also easily quench the less subtle energies. First of all, thank you very much for these great questions. I wish this was more the nature of discourse at the bums. To your point, I would somewhat disagree that the universe is all union. As the buddhist's state, it is also inherently empty, hence your "union" is a perceptional aspect and not the primordial. So one is both "in it" and also "not it", so it is totally possible to read while being in it. Just like you can check out your own finger, while it is still a part of entire body. Finally, there is no metric (or any kind) that declares the worth of a person, especially to be included or not. That is my real point of those posts. All judgements of others, do nothing but belittle the one attempting to do the judging. I expressed my own personal view on this topic recently in another thread with an apt quote... Our uniqueness, our individuality, and our life experience molds us into fascinating beings. I hope we can embrace that. I pray we may all challenge ourselves to delve into the deepest resources of our hearts to cultivate an atmosphere of understanding, acceptance, tolerance, and compassion. We are all in this life together. Linda Thompson

As I said, the only valid bases for the true capability of a tradition is the relative energy power of their current practitioners. I can easily tell if someone has any real juice or not. I have discussed this in many threads. Have you not seen all of the posts and threads warning members where I am too powerful to be allowed to talk to the newbies? Buddhists have the same problem as taoists. They have been misled and all of the true knowledge corrupted. The last buddhist with any real juice was Norbu, and he is now gone from the world. Very sad for all... (Again, this post is for fun as an example of where the bums seems to be headed)

Not correct. Most taoist systems have been corrupted and the true meaning of teachings like the TTC have been lost. Con men just write books and make up lineage histories to support their cons. You can easily tell that they have no real juice. Many what you would call "New Age" have really been efforts by higher beings to reintroduce the true teachings that have been corrupted. They have attempted to help, but the con men and powerful religious establishments make up lies and disparaging labels to keep all of money flowing to them. The only valid test of validity of a system is the actual power that a practitioner has, everything else can be simply meaningless words telling you to breathe backward or forwards... This post is tongue and cheek to make a point.

And who is going to define the standard of what is effective and what is not? As an example, Taoism has not generated any immortals in thousands of years, and Manktak Chia stuff just makes everyone ill, so we should probably ban all of that Taoist stuff... This place is seems to be going more and more intolerant every second. Let's see... Since people want to ban moms, maybe we better ban all dads too, don't want to discriminate...

Our uniqueness, our individuality, and our life experience molds us into fascinating beings. I hope we can embrace that. I pray we may all challenge ourselves to delve into the deepest resources of our hearts to cultivate an atmosphere of understanding, acceptance, tolerance, and compassion. We are all in this life together. Linda Thompson

The Tao Te Ching clearly states your point... Chapter 27 A good traveler has no fixed plansand is not intent upon arriving.A good artist lets his intuitionlead him wherever it wants.A good scientist has freed himself of conceptsand keeps his mind open to what is.Thus the Master is available to all peopleand doesn't reject anyone.He is ready to use all situationsand doesn't waste anything.This is called embodying the light.What is a good man but a bad man's teacher?What is a bad man but a good man's job?If you don't understand this, you will get lost,however intelligent you are.It is the great secret.

Ignoring is not the same as dissipating (or letting go). Ignoring means you still feel its existence and simply avoid it. When something is dissipated it is simply gone, like it was empty and never really existed.

If you are fighting something, you are caught up in it. Freedom comes from being able to let is simply dissipate.

Nothing related to the merge. If you attempting to differentiate it in someway, it would relate more to what I was calling the KS Siva aspect of the primordial. In a way, you could say that Siva = Universal Mind = Everything that exists + anything that has the potential to exist. Words are kind of meaningless as it is all really more a direct knowing and beyond definitions of mind. Like all of this stuff, it needs to be realized/experienced, it is not something that can be intellectually imputed. That is why being able to directly share it becomes so critical. The good news is that it can all be demonstrated and used, making it easy to prove your point.

When a sentient being bubbles up into existence it forms many attachments (forming energy structures) as it grows into conscious awareness. The overlay transmission (perceived universe) helps to stabilize the new bubbles. If they do not become stable they ultimately cease and it is as they had never existed. Form is never separate from the primordial, it is just a different layer of perception. Like a baby being born cant handle the raw data and be remain stable, but still always is primordial even though it may be obscured by the beings own issues/attachments.

It is all you. Like tripping over your own feet. Or you could say an obscured version of your primordial being. Every sentient is like a bubbling up of primordial nothingness. What you see as the universe is more like an overlay transmission by what in Buddhism could be called the primordial Buddha.

Our joint experience was not what I was describing, the dynamic (and energy aspects) was significantly different. Additionally, as we discussed at the time, your issues and the situation were particularly unique. If you want to discuss the specifics of our interaction, just let me know, but it is not really relevant anymore with the broader shift in the world that I have talked in many past threads. The dynamics of what you were doing energetically have been sort “superseded” (and no longer work that way).

Sorry, that my explanation does not make sense. Maybe it is better to just describe it in practical terms. Residing in the primordial, all issues and fears simply dissolve when they come up (not avoided, simply gone). The underlying issue and fear is gone, leaving free flowing energy/light in it’s place (knowing it is empty - hence dissolves). Also, since there is “being Siva” (or being all/everything) aspect, you are one with everything (or like Jesus said, we are all one in Christ). This knowing that one is all allows this “dissolving” aspect of the primordial to be directly shared (similar to a merge). So if one understands that when Jesus talks about “sin” he means that which separates one from the primordial (issues and fears), and my definition of directly sharing is what he meant when he said he had the power to forgive (or take away) sins. You just need to believe and accept the release (not ego hold on to them). As a direct example, the dynamic is what I have people work on when I lead what some call a “dive”. I extend the field directly to the participants, and have them bring up an issue or fear. With a strong and trusting connection, the fear will dissolve for the person, but even with a weaker connection, the issue holds no fear or power while the field is shared, so they then can know/realize that they underlying fear is “empty” and simply an energy flow running around their subconscious. That version make more sense?

I think the problem is with definitions of words like mind. In my view, it is all “you”, so it does not matter what is mind or not mind, but in Buddhist terms i think it is easiest to compare and explain with the Yogacara framework. Things do not flow freely when there is separation from those issues and fears. They remain subconscious to your conscious awareness. Residing in the “primordial state” is what I mean by cutting through. All of the “states” of mind are really the same, more simple an overlay on the primordial. Based in the primordial, the rest of it does not go away, but when one “hits” an obstruction, it spontaneously perfects (or clears). This clearing vs. not being affected by, is the difference that I have been trying to describe in past posts. In my view of the primordial, it really does “dissolve”, leaving free flowing energy/light in its place. That is why I am always advocating be it all... No separation from any aspect. It is all empty, but it is also like KS describes of being Siva.

Depends on how one defines a state of mind, but yes, similar to what CT described with his Rigpa description. Such happens when deep meditation is “known” to be the same as normal daily life. It is not mind or the use of it that creates the problem, it is the getting caught up in the obstructions (issues and fears) that create the perception of suffering. When it flows freely, there is not the attachment or avoidance that stimulate the suffering.

Thank you. Very helpful.

Thank you. This is exactly the same thing that I have been saying. All such "separate" states of mind are a perceptional illusion. But, Steve and Ilum are worried that such an approach is misleading and can lead to stagnation. Have a good weekend.

Thanks for sharing. If you have any good examples of such people who demonstrate that I would be interested. No question that there is huge variability in eye blinking, but some of the most notable examples tend to be people in the military. Some generals are famous for it.

Depends on your definition of "state". But when all the states become the same, there is such a possibility.

I totally agree that we should all work with truth of every individual moment. I was just stating a fact that you now seem to agree with. People having obscured states of mind is the perceived reality for pretty much everyone. But, pretending that it is not simply a perceived/obscured state of mind seems to be counter productive. The stagnation can come from obscured thinking you are "done", but not from recognizing the truth (and talking about it) of every moment. Suffering itself is a state of mind.

So that increasing stability could not also be described as the letting go of obstructions that block the stability? Not really the same thing? Also, why would a diminishing need to blink a sign of original wakefulness? Or what would be the textual/sutra reason for it?