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Brace yourselves, incoming links http://thetaobums.com/forum/223-esoteric-and-occult-discussion/ http://thetaobums.com/forum/99-healing-circle/ http://thetaobums.com/topic/36578-is-celibacy-for-10-years-realistic/ http://thetaobums.com/topic/36585-regarding-shen-and-its-natural-properties-to-restore-essence-why-would-one-work-so-long-on-the-lower-regions/ http://thetaobums.com/topic/36572-what-is-the-force-that-keeps-us-unconscious/ http://thetaobums.com/topic/36598-can-an-8-month-old-infant-master-tai-chi/ http://thetaobums.com/topic/35896-astrological-musings/ http://thetaobums.com/topic/36533-christian-qi-gong-masters/ http://thetaobums.com/topic/36568-cultivation-in-the-heart-want-to-feel-what-happens-with-your-energy-when-you-think-less-almost-nothing-during-the-day-an-example/ http://thetaobums.com/topic/36553-why-are-so-many-individuals-involved-into-spirituality-with-third-eye-open-or-not-countering-all-negativity/ http://thetaobums.com/topic/36558-what-is-the-ideal-thing-that-can-happen-to-you-in-meditation-no-thing-nothing-happens-why-and-how-to-attainembody-god/ http://thetaobums.com/topic/36549-independent-news-paper-uk-life-after-death/ http://thetaobums.com/topic/16504-internal-vision-and-remote-viewing/ http://thetaobums.com/topic/36469-will-meditation-alone-achieve-special-effects/ http://thetaobums.com/topic/26533-great-spiritual-physical-mental-benefits-from-semen-retention-celibacy-and-mental-emptiness-my-experience-and-thoughts/ http://thetaobums.com/topic/6911-nine-steps-to-spiritual-immortal/ http://thetaobums.com/topic/36468-what-the-hell-is-all-this-complex-stuff/ Speak for yourself Also, I'm the one who feels trolled. I keep going on and on about how crazy this place is and then you tell me that this whole time you were trying to prove that spirituality is thinking that life is wonderful or that roses smells nice. This is not a site about rainbows or roses or wonderment or spirituality giving life meaning. This is a farmhouse where everyone thinks they have psychic powers and that's wonderful.

Spiritual wonder What is life? What am I? I want to know and I must search for the answer. It's calling for me to know myself. I want meaning I get it! I give myself meaning! Life is a journey and I can go anywhere! I have this strength in me to be whatever I want to be... and I always had it... I didn't know how to use it... or did I? Did I need to learn to meditate to know my own mind? Is it really as important as I've been told? As I've told myself? What did that give me? I can do anything and my potential is infinite, but didn't my journey use some of my potential? I need time to meditate. I need time to read books. I need time to learn. Things that told me about myself, things that were always true Things that brought me back where I started Now I have power, but it took so much time to finally start... but I want to keep going I want to know more about the world and myself. I like the journey and life is a journey, I can reflect on that but, have I actually lived, yet? Of course I have, and I will live more. I've learned about my spirit and I will learn about other spirits, about magic, about astrology, there's qi gong to do, there's yoga, there's meditation. So much work to understand the supernatural and finally reach enlightenment. Very familiar, and naive Scientific wonder https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k8AbL28uoQ Spiritual people like to think that they have answers to things that science doesn't. One day science will understand something we do and they don't. But these things are based in faith and not evidence. Spiritual people like to think that the Earth cares for them. Scientists can see that it plainly doesn't. Nothing on Earth is made for us, we evolved through billions of years for Earth. There are a few places where we can live safely and eat nonpoisonous food. We didn't evolve for the bottom of the ocean or space. And the space is larger then we can imagine, we don't even register in it as a speck, but we like to think it matters. Spiritual people find so much comfort out of the Earth caring for them, that if that belief shattered, they wouldn't know where to go. If they knew from the start, they could have adapted and seen beauty in things they couldn't imagine existed without science. A spiritual person could see the beauty of nature in a forest, but a scientist can see beauty in tiny cells each tree is made of and actually see the cells, while the spiritual people guess about the existence of the Spirit of the Trees and try to convince themselves that they can see/feel these spirits, some like to think there is a spirit just because it makes them feel better. Not many can see/feel tree spirits but the spiritual persons can convince themselves that the spirit exists without truly examining the source of the feeling that tells them there's a spirit in that tree. Many would say, "I've seen the tree spirit, that's enough proof for me and I know someone else who've seen a tree spirit. It can't be just a coincidence. We must have discovered the tree spirits before science has." A religious person would use the same reasoning to prove that they've met Jesus. There could be insane amount of evidence that there were no angels pulling you out of a car crash, even though you think you saw them and thought they were real. Must mean there are angels. Spiritual world used to be a lot bigger. There were faeries, dragons, spirits, other things. Science came and cameras were invented. Spiritual world became smaller and smaller. So many don't believe in god but believe in some other spiritual possibility. Science keeps cutting things off, no more magic, no more faeries. Yet the spiritual people expect science to one day prove that magic exists and that there are faeries. If you fail to present evidence, there will be no new discoveries. What can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence. The onus is on you to say why, the onus is not on the rest of us to say why not.

Science can break it, science can potentially fix it Spirituality... can't really do much outside of the human condition... but then there are meditating cats... science can take away mystery our of meditation... it can take away lots of things spirituality has until only the wonder of the real world is left

The only statement atheism makes is that there is no god. it's not an answer to anything except for, "is there a god?" It's like a hammer that tears things down and doesn't put anything in its place. Just because an organization is secular it doesn't mean it came up with its ideas out of atheism "Hey, there's not god." "Well, that's one thing less to worry about" "What do we do now?" "Let's think of something" That something won't come from atheism because atheism is not a religion or a philosophy. It just means that the organization didn't put god into its equation. Atheism is simple, no god around. There's no need to make up some straw-man argument about atheism by adding a capital letter "A" and adding a whole bunch of unrelated things to classify it as something completely undesirable and then attack the said straw-man. Just because you've met some annoying atheist online, it doesn't mean you've squared off against the true face of atheism. It comes in all shapes and sizes, plus the classic American anti-theist who's tired of listening to every damn Christian tell them that they're going to hell. If you don't like it and it doesn't apply to you, then stay out of the crossfire. May the force be with you. RAmen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrAAbJNhqQg

Let's break this down DJ, SPIN IT Atheism is a lack of belief and is outside any system. Atheism is also the default position of every living person. Ex: Every baby born is an atheist. As the default position, atheism doesn't have any of these. Explanations for existence and such stories are learned with age and some people keep their atheist stance as the evidence becomes insufficient, or revert back to atheism when new information is learned Atheism doesn't make any statements about the cosmos, human nature, morality, ethics, or lifestyles. Atheism simply states, " I don't believe in god." Everything else is learned, even the arrogance, or whatever bothers you

Let's see, pages and pages of videos on the topic Ah! This one seems funny https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTL-P2V8xKk

Strange, haven't heard of any new spiritual advancements, especially ones that could fix global warming. http://sutura.io Science can loose all the grips it wants, I can't imagine anything replacing it. For some reason I started talking about science a lot and then came the enlightened sandwich movement... dark times... I'll go center

I explained already about how for an individual it's spirituality and for many people it's a religion yada yada come on already Do I really have explain what Zen is to someone who doesn't understand what spirituality means. The definition of spirituality cannot be whatever you want it to be. If spirituality is actually so shallow as it can be whatever you want it to be, then I don't need to explain why it's so useless. It's self-defeating, and silly. Actually, Allan Watts should be on my list, too. Oh wait. It's a new type of vicious cycle, not Zen at all. Instead of worrying about something then worrying about worrying and then worrying about worrying, in spiritual vicious cycle you wonder about how spiritual a sandwich is then wonder about wondering and wonder on wonder with wonder. Sorry, Infinity lol We can't just BE we have so see spirituality in everything, with a trained enough mind, spirituality is the same as someone who is stuck in worrying loop, but it's not because they don't want to but because it's like drugs. The effects wear off and you are left with nothing, but you want more. Spiritual pursuits are like a hunt for more and more wonder, but it's all an illusion. Just be, that's Zen.

Am I the only one seeing this? The infinite possible versions support the idea that my version is the superior one If just wonderment is acceptable as an example of spirituality, then how good a sandwich tastes like should, too. My list is simply everything that is yin. Things that are not based in reality that lead to magical thinking and suspension of reason. Magic becomes more acceptable and things like astrology and such become legitimized. Questions about astrology actually pop around here, even though it doesn't work or should work in any way. When religion is gone, spirituality will take its place as the next dangerous thing.

Four versions of spirituality so far, any more? It's like it can be whatever you want as long as no one is looking, but when someone is an authority in it and everyone else believes in it, it becomes an orthodoxy, or even better, a religion. Man, no wonder Buddha didn't want what he said to be written down. He just used to be some shmuk until his spiritual journey became a basis for a religion. Beyounder, imagine you have the privilege of learning from a great master. He lives in a far away country, so you travel there. He lives on top of a mountain, so you climb it. He wants to test your dedication, so you let him. After your long journey he finally reveals to you, "Treat other as you want to be treated yourself..." That's so pointless that I would want to punch him, but the irony would kill me, or at least hurt.

Oh hey, good question. I wrote quite a bunch about chi and horse stance around here. Chi powers Yi and creates Jing. There are many interpretations for the relationship between the three but this is my favorite and makes most sense. Yi means intention so Chi is the energy that powers intention to create Jing, that is in this relationship means action or physical representation of the intention. For example, you intent to move your arm and it moves, the intention is yi and the action is jing. If you want to lift a weight that you think is heavy but is actually isn't, you will put more chi into it then needed and it will fly off the ground like it's nothing. It's a mental thing, not supernatural. If you want to feel chi, you won't until you use it to express it somehow. Like, you want to know it's in your hand so you express it through warmth and your mind will tell you that your hand is warm. There is a limited potential in people for how much chi they have for different things off the bat so people do practices to build up chi, like the one will lifting a weight. Chi follows the course of less resistance like a water current, weak current will wash around a rock and a strong one will blow it away. If you stop water from flowing then release it at one, you will have more power for the action you're doing. Imagine flicking something with a finger, that's how the build up works. So chi is like a mental fuel. Theoretically it could be used to start fires with your hands but we're not build for that. Chi follows the course of less resistance, so instead of starting a real fire in your hand, you will feel warm because that's easier for your body to do. If you use chi instead to lift weights, through repetition you will have big muscles that represent jing and additional wires for the current to flow through. Theoretically that repetition like lifting weight in a gym wastes a lot of chi to create a lot of jing so you won't have a lot of energy left for other things. Kung fu people use more static training like horse stance to stop the current from escaping and get ready to flick their fingers on command. People get great results from kung fu so they assume they can use chi to do other things, but we use muscles to lift things while we don't have muscles for levitating, throwing fireballs, reading minds, other things. So, there's a limit.

I think I explained spirituality as a personal form of religion. When many people believe the same thing, it's a religion. When one guy does, it's a spirituality. Even the ALMIGHTY INTERNET doesn't have a clear definition, but come on, wonderment? Seriously? a state of awed admiration or respect That's not what books are written about and people scammed out of their money

Sorry for the rant

Dharma Punx sounds like a rival gang

Wait a second, why did I talk about science so much and what does it have to do with anything? This is a thread about how useless spirituality is, and what does spirituality have to do with making anyone happy? It's as much of a virus as a religion is. You don't know how much you need spirituality until it stares you in the face. We can survive without technology and be happy living in nature but it doesn't mean we have to be spiritual when living that life. Enlightenment is useless on the grand scheme of things. You're a Buddha now, whoopity doo. Carry water, chop wood. There's no need for spiritual fulfillment without knowing spirituality. Enlightenment is treated as an unreachable goal for most people. The goals like that are very freaking arbitrary. "I've reached enlightenment" "No, you didn't" "Why?" "You don't have super powers" Don't get me started on the rainbow body, and what do silly exercises have to do with anything? First you get a feeling like you need more out of life, then some guy who lived on a mountain for forty years sells you a book and by the time you get to reading it you forger why you were feeling like that in the first place. Yeah, I'm following the profits alright. Deepak Chopra, Mantak Chia, John Chang, the list goes on COME OUT YOU BASTARDS AND FACE MY SCIENCE!!! that should be on a shirt

Smart people will invent new ways to be stupid, look at cellphones Cut off one head, two grow back. Still want to cut off that first head, though

People being nasty and "evil" comes from ignorance, I believe. Many religions demonize people, their own and others, and self centered outlook on life and disagreements cause clashes. Many many wars were terrible mistakes and most caused by religion. People are not evil, they are good. Science is not responsible for happiness, that is a misconception you came up with. Technology can take away things that make us unhappy, like disease. It can bring a person from the brink of death and continue life. It gives more opportunities and live lives we couldn't live before. We could all just live in a forest and be happy, but that will end sooner then if we lived in the space age. Whoops, meant to put 'not' in there. With technology, the people who don't have anything will disappear. That's called transhumanism, we're almost there. http://thetaobums.com/topic/36005-nature-good/ Thread about how much I want to be a robot Space has other worlds where we can live, with difficulty. It has resources that we need on Earth. If we take from space, we wouldn't need from Earth. Earth is cool, but too fragile, if we work on other planets more in the future, we could better preserve nature on Earth. Possibility of living on a spaceship is very exciting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LfcPxHseDw Imagine all religious war gone thanks to atheism. Imagine need for resources gone thanks to space exploration. No, it's the other way around. The points of TTC stay, Taoism leaves, that's the point I'm making here. Laozi' thought has found a new vessel but since it's true, it doesn't belong to him. Gravity was always there, doesn't mean it stops working if you forget about Newton. But the people who learn about someone like Laozi think of something more. Like, if they learn about Taoism, they will unlock something, but that something they already knew. The thought is important but the temples are useless. It's funny how TTC became a religious book for some people thanks to shamans who needed something to hide behind. Good thing there are no Newtonians worshiping the moon or something Gump and Atlas are not my examples of happiness either, thinking of different kinds of possible experiences here. My example of happiness would be Bladerunner. With more open possibilities, more people will have a shot for happiness, I think. Mine involves robots Science should be used to destroy superstition, Brian. For example, there will always be a tiny chance that there's such thing as god but if we cut away things that are wrong, we might one day understand the real thing if it's there. Not understanding how everything works is fine, I'm an atheist but It would be curious to know how the real possible god would work and my ignorance of its existence doesn't stop it from working. But if these gosh-darn Mormons think they have a leg to stand on, they have a few problems

Somehow I knew if I mention Buddhism, I'd mess up hehe I was mostly thinking about monks and meditation there The Bible was a very important part of the spiritual development of the western world. It's not pretty, but that's what happened. Also, it's so popular that it's a perfect example for the case. I could've used TTC but it would have used a lot more specific examples and a lot more writing. A religion is a form of spirituality. Look at what happened to Buddhism(Buddhism again). Instead of studying dharma, religious Buddhists just bow in front of an altar and clap their hands. "Wouldn't make humanity any less shitty" eh? For someone who doesn't seem to want to be influenced by biblical thinking, you make a comment on humanity's sinful nature. hehehe Science is responsible for our technology, medicine, and our current well being. Our technology levels are perfectly balanced throughout the Earth. You can see how poorer countries fare-out out there and how we live. We have a luxury of being able to live longer, eat better, and learn anything. We can even go into space. We still have war, we still have poverty around the globe, and we are not all happy. But I believe that "science and progress will lead to all men's happiness" It's a job of intellectuals and these doing science, I think everyone should be a scientist Again Let me bridge the gap between scientific advancements and how "they make life better" Also, how old spiritual philosophy is obsolete btw beyounder, that is why we have imdb http://www.imdb.com/list/ls000000906/ Ancient knowledge that is thought of as being valuable has stopped being special. It is common knowledge in the modern world thanks to the way we learn things. We learn through stories, and stories are a human experience. Stories were told, they were written, now they are absorbed through movies and series. That's where the knowledge is, in the experiences of real and imaginary people. TTC tries to convey wu wei while Forrest Gump lives it. Everyone else would be over-thinking things while to Forrest, they just happen. We have ancient stories, we have modern stories, and we have predictions of what might happen. Right now we live lives that are completely different from the ones we could have lived just a century ago. Lives on other parts of the globe are different from the ones on this side, and we can learn about them. We can keep changing and we can keep on being the same all at once. The future will be different and it will be wonderful because it's different and because we will live it. 3 hour movie, gonna watch it again There's a learned Buddhism and Taoism. There is a natural form of spirituality inside us that comes from experiencing that likes Taoism and Buddhism because it agrees with them, but it knew about them before meeting them and it's better. We just want to live and experience, science will give us new experiences.

I can't imagine that working out well Adapt whenever appropriate

Actually, I think that at this point I transcended spirituality through materialism. Yin turned Yang here. Let's take the Bible as the example. The whole book is obsolete and not just as a religious book. It's a collection of older books and stories put together to make something new. Even from across different religions. If the laws from it were used in modern age, people would go insane. That's one part of it, but the stories are almost anecdotal and have been retold better through movies and other books made by Christians. They think they are glorifying the word of god by making movies and stories with the same values, but the movies with the said values are better then the bible itself. C.S. Lewis made a better series through the Chronicles of Narnia. Superman is better Jesus then the one from the stories. The Bible is oozing through the western culture so much that there's no need to read the real book to learn the positive lessons it's trying to teach. http://www.filmsite.org/top100spiritual.html And obviously by not reading the bible, nothing negative will be learned *cough*commentary*cough* Science and spirituality are not on the same levels. Science is the pursuit of truth while spirituality a pit stop to look at the scenery. It's an illusion and a belief that the life can be more wonderful from turning away from reality and looking inwards. But we don't live our lives internally, we live from inside out and outside in. Our beliefs shape our reality and how we see life. We walk on Earth and are seen by other creatures. If our mental health is bad, we look and feel bad. Buddhism proves that with enough control, we can live happily without material attachments, but we are heavily influenced by the material. Without a healthy body, our minds suffer. Food is a material input we need, but another material input we need is good information. Spirituality is a struggle to find new information from looking inwards to find it, but there is a limit to how far that can take you. Looking only inwards to see whats outside will create a wrong perspective about the world, and when faced with truth, it will shatter. That's how Science works, it will find the truth then challenge the tradition, religion, and belief. If philosophies and beliefs don't fit with reality, they they actually are "nonsense". No matter how smart important and influential Aristotle was, his version of physics was wrong. It's time to face reality, not spirituality.

It isn't

Great, now read my thread about how nature is bullshit and we can start the technological revolution around here MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA

The answer has never turned out to be magic.