futuredaze

That's impressive. One meal a day I could see working if I am not expending too much energy. Walking, qigong, even biking or swimming a bit I could imagine doing, but lifting weights always makes me super hungry. I'm pretty sure it is my body (or at least my mind) craving protein. How much protein do you get in that one meal?

Yeah. I've used sweet wormwood in tea before. It's supposed to help with bacteria coinfections that occur with Lyme disease. The year I got Lyme disease, it turned out my friend was growing a bunch of sweet wormwood, and gifted me a lot of it. That seems to happen a lot - illness and the cure manifesting in close proximity. Like the time I had bad insomnia from camping out in the cold, and I met a girl who was camping close by who just happened to be making a sleep tincture in her tent with valerian root, lavender, and lemon balm. Mugwort tea is strong but it's supposed to be purifying as a spring tonic so I like to drink it in Spring time. It seems to help me open up my third-eye and dreaming abilities.

Alternate nostril breathing has been really helpful. While I like other pranayama, this one gets me very noticeable results and fast. I feel like it makes me more harmonious in myself, by balancing the left and right halves of my body and brain. Taoist healing sounds and mantras help a lot since my throat chakra is pretty blocked. Even if you don't have this problem, I still find them to be very helpful for cultivating peaceful energy. Before sitting meditation, doing some movement meditation can really help me get grounded, too.

I've experimented with a lot of diets - paleo, vegetarian, high-fat, vegan, etc. My main thing is I am not against death, it is a natural part of life. Having worked on farms, animals do play an important role in farming - goats can clear fields of weeds, pigs can eat compost and make more compost, etc. By utilizing animals, more vegetables can be yielded and the soil can be enriched. Plus, they offer vital sources in food thru dairy and meat. Introducing animals inevitably leads to the reality that they might reproduce, die, get sick, etc. Population control is a sad-but-true reality with animals on a farm, but it can be done humanely, sustainably, consciously. My friend took amazing care of the goats on the biodynamic farm I lived/worked at. I am not against dying, it is a natural part of life. I am, however, against torture and inhumane conditions. Some might say "well why bring animals into the farm in the first place?" - that is harder to answer. When I see animals on a farm, pigs, chickens, goats, whatever, who have abundant room, are fed to, and taken care of (my friend played flute to his goats and we would take them on walks) - I don't think they are suffering, they actually seem quite happy. Call it speculation if you wish, but this is how I see it. Animals bring more than just benefits for their food and the farm, they bring a certain life energy and character to a farm as well, while providing a lot of life lessons too. I hate industrial animal farming, and I try not to support it by buying things from tyson, et. al. Will I eat a cheeseburger at a BBQ if I am hungry and there are no options, sure, but I try to avoid it. Humans are flexible. Meat eaters get a lot of vitamins and nutrients like B12, creatine, CoQ10, some others I forget, that vegetarians do not get. In modern times, we have internet access and these supplements are available, so I think veganism/vegetarianism can be healthier than ever, now. Even if omnivore diet is healthier than vegan+supplements overall, I think if one gets peace of mind from vegan/vegetarianism, that is more important than getting a bit extra nutrients from animal products. I definitely think most people eat way too much meat, and most of it is really horrible quality. From my experience, having meat 1-4 times a month is best, mostly white meat, fish, and venison. Grass-fed, local, organic are best, of course.

Hops are definitely estrogenic, but I also heard the amount used in beer is not enough to make a drastic change. My personal take is that it probably adds up if someone drinks several hoppy beers a week, but just having a few here or there probably isn't a big deal. Since there are already tons of xenoestrogens in the environment, lots of soy in everything which is estrogenic, etc. I try to avoid the hoppy beer. Maybe one day I will home brew beer, hard cider, and wine - I always feel better when I drink home brews, probably because there are still trace minerals and probiotics present that would get destroyed with more processing. http://gruitale.com/art_fall_of_gruit.htm - some interesting reading. I've heard mixed things about cannabis being estrogenic. Lately, I've been trying to abstain. I don't think having a little here or there would hurt, and could even be helpful, but if it becomes a daily ritual it seems like it can hinder practice, it becomes a crutch (unless someone has serious health issues). I don't know if you need to counter the upward, heady energy of cannabis while stoned. Just enjoy it. When you sober up later, then practice MCO or some form of meditation and observe the differences. The older I get, the more I realize I don't need cannabis, while at the same time I can enjoy it more when I do partake (as long as I don't do it in excess) - quite paradoxical, but true.

Good points, I agree with most of this. I think that the therapeutic/introspective benefits of these substances can have profound effects on one's spiritual life, though, even if it is not direct and instantaneous. Sometimes, a realization about even a seemingly minor aspect of one's consciousness and lifestyle can have huge repercussions in other aspects of their lives. For instance, overcoming an addiction, realizing negative thought-patterns, and being honest about our own shortcomings will lead to spiritual development. As they used to say in the Zen Monastery I would go to, "the spiritual and the mundane are not separate." Like Alan Watts says, "once you get the message, hang up the phone" - a lot of drug users get addicted to being connected to that telephone wire so they miss out on other things. Speaking of Alan Watts, he was a very heavy drinker, which is what killed him if I recall correctly. I didn't know him personally, but he is well-respected, many people consider him realized. I'm sure there are other examples, Ram Dass obviously used LSD and such but I'm not sure if he put that aside when he really started focusing on his spiritual journey.

Yeah, having a sitter is important - especially for those new to the experience or those trying to take a larger dose. I think it would be better to have someone experienced as a sitter, but I think having someone who you feel really close to, who is supportive and open-minded is just as important if not more so, than someone experienced. In my opinion, these agents can give shen a different character or energy (hard to find the right words...). I wouldn't say it is better/worse, higher/lower, or anything like that, it is just different. In this altered state, one can look at themselves in a new perspective, tackle challenges and issues from a different angle, and sometimes find new insights or new depth to prior insights. They seem to amplify the subconscious and make it more noticeable. One of my first experience on mushrooms I was camping, up late into the night, having lots of energy, watching the dawn come in as birds began waking and the sky gradually became a lighter and lighter shade of blue. Earlier, I was watching how my breathing effected my emotions, thoughts, sense of body, and even the visuals I was seeing on the mushrooms. After feeling a bit anxious, I simply changed the way I was breathing and gradually felt peace stir in me. I've had this happen before, but it was really profound and drastic this time, I think it made a big impact in my meditation practice and also made me realize that meditation is way more essential to my well-being than any substance. One reason people do so many drugs might be that they are not breathing properly, IMO. Usually, they are not even aware of it! Qi flow can be more noticeable in these states. Most of my experiences were done before I could feel the qi like I can now, but I have done some low-doses since and definitely felt the energy circulating around my body even when I wasn't trying to. I often feel a bit more child-like in these moments, in the good ways, there is a lot of curiosity and playfulness, I feel more open. Having a good meditation or qigong session can evoke similar things, but it is a very different character. Like I said, there is no "better/worse" with it, but I definitely think that these agents are not to be used regularly, at least not in the higher doses. I am not sure how these agents effect jing, but I think they can provide insight on the relation between internal alchemy with jing, qi, and shen. A good psychedelic experience is cleansing itself, but afterwards I usually try to be more health conscious and in tune with my body. To return to my metaphor of perspective on the mountain - things like psychedelic drugs, intensive retreats, intense solo journeys, etc. are sort of like trying to summit the mountain. It is life changing to climb up the mountain, to face ourselves totally in solitude, with many challenges and beautiful sights along the way. To reach the top is to effectively bridge the heavens and the earth. And yet when we get to the top, we must come down. If we are stuck up there for too long, we will get lost, go mad, or die, and the whole journey will be in vain because it is not integrated into a bigger picture. The town is like sober, grounded consciousness. Yes, it sucks to be there sometimes, but that is where we make our livelihood and spend time with people we love. It is where we grow food for nourishment and get rooted in our daily life. And while it may be fun to tell others about our journey, the real purpose of the journey is to fulfill something deep within ourselves, something that we can nourish and then share with the world in our own unique way.

I've eaten some pine pollen right from the trees, not bothering to make a tincture or grind it and put it in supplements. I don't think I had enough to notice much of a difference. It's cool that a very yang part from a very yang tree can build testosterone and balance yang levels if they are too low. Next year I will try to make a tincture with the harvest... I am 25 years old so I don't really need the testosterone though, but I like the adaptogenic properties and would probably use it in moderation for balancing.

How do you define romantic? If you mean an idealistic, sentimental feeling for a person in a way that is not in accordance with reality, then I agree. Unrealistic expectations inevitably lead to disappointment or worse. I've been victim to thinking such a way before, and have always been kicked in the ass. I like to think I learned a lot from it, but at the same time I wouldn't be too surprised if it were to happen again. If you mean sexual relationships, I would say that depends on someone's own goals and priorities. In my opinion, moderation can be achieved with sexual relationships that would not hinder practice, and might even help. The sex should not be the emphasis of this relationship, of course. It needs to have a strong foundation of being in the same place so to speak, being open and truthful with each other, mutually supportive, etc. I am not really an advocate of celibacy, exclusive relationships, or open relationships - I think people should decide their path for themselves and be open to changing their minds about it in the future.

I am thinking of the story/saying: Student: What if I don't have time to meditate for 30 minutes a day? Master: Then meditate for an hour a day! I think work can be a good challenge and way of cultivating one's self. However, moderation is important. I feel optimal with 25-35 hrs/week of work, more can be draining, leave little time for other things, and less makes me feel not as grounded. I am a 25 year old male with little money but no debt, so I can make a few thousand dollars sustain myself for a while, meaning I don't have to work much. I don't know other people's financial situations here, but I can easily imagine myself being in a situation where I need to work well over 40 hours a week. In this case, I'd have to make the best of my circumstances, and might be able to thrive off of the challenges. To me, Tao is not "found" but always present. As we grow, our senses open and we begin to feel it in different ways. Over time, we can even develop a relationship with it. I think anybody can do this, regardless of their economic situation. However, I do think that we do have freedom to navigate the world with, and that there are better ways to cultivate awareness. A monk will experience the world in a very different way than a person who works 60 hour weeks as a chef, even though both are just as capable of being in harmony with Tao. Moderation seems to be a key, so I think any excess, whether in work, food, sleep, sex, even meditation or qigong practice, can have a negative effect on health. Who determines the excess? Ourselves - thru personal experience and experimentation.

Alejandro Jodorowski's The Holy Mountain comes to mind. It has a lot of reference to tarot and alchemy, but it is extremely surrealistic and quite obscene in parts. I love the film but a lot of people can't stomach it - it's worth a shot, at least! Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_k8oaeHsnc

I think a lot of people place too much focus on 3rd eye and crown chakras. The Western bias of hierarchy and superiority seeps even into the chakra systems. A lot of people are not rooted. Rooting, IMO, takes not only physical and psychological training, but for us to find something significant that gives our lives meaning. A tree does not root to itself, it roots to the Earth. Balance is key, of course. Any under-active chakra/dimension of psyche can be overcompensated by another chakra/dimension of psyche. And vice versa, overactive centers can burn out or re-direct energy away from other centers which become diminished.

I combine techniques a lot in meditation. Often I start with alternative nostril breathing to clear my nose and lungs out and balance out the left and right sides of my body. Then I like to do more "active" meditation which might be some simple arm movements coordinated with breathing, mantras, healing sounds, whatever. Followed by a "passive" meditation which is usually zen-style or the microcosmic orbit. Try different stuff and see what works best. A lot of people do better from not combining techniques in the same sitting, and that is fine.

Looking to meditation, spirituality, and mysticism to get "high" or for escapism is harmful. While it might not be as harmful as doing these things to feel better than other people, it is still a form of attachment and is a hidden hindrance to spiritual practice and energy cultivation. However, with awareness, these "natural highs" eventually lead to a radical sobriety. By being aware of our thoughts, patterns, and how we might be using our beliefs to avoid our fears or responsibilities, we eventually gain new direction and empowerment. We can still feel bliss from our insights and practice, but that bliss is not the thing we are seeking for. Bliss is like a good, healthy meal, it is nice but once we eat it, it is gone. The thing we are seeking is more of a way of cooking and gathering food, and a way of being grateful even if we are hungry, and a desire to share what we can with others with an open heart. Edit: I've been working a lot with opening the heart in the past few years. I think I was able to open my mind in my late teens,early 20s thru meditation, psychedelic drugs, long retreats in nature, but opening the heart is a lot more challenging. Meditation, especially loving-kindness meditation, helps a lot, but there are definitely times I don't really feel empathy or emotional connection. Reading some of Stephen Buhner's books were helpful for this, especially Plant Intelligence and the Imaginal Realm and Secret Teaching of Plants: The Intelligence of the Heart in the Direct Perception of Nature.

For myself, I don't find sexual energy sinking or grounding. Sexual energy is creative energy, but an excessive of creative energy can lead to an excess of energy, unsettledness, anxiety, etc. Too little sexual energy is a lack of energy, a void. It can be beautiful after meaningful sex or conscious masturbation but it feels a bit depressing after porno or random hook ups (I don't do that stuff anymore... at least not much). Being in the middle, it is a clear-headed creativity and productivity that might get aroused but the arousal never takes over (like with too much sexual energy). I think being grounded helps get in this middle-level of sexuality, but in itself is not the cause of feeling rooted.

It is summer so I've been listening to a lot of dub/reggae. The early stuff with Bob Marley & Lee Scratch Perry is incredible! I can't believe I didn't discover it sooner since I really enjoy both musicians work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7F8pU5ykQpI

That is truly horrible! I'm curious to know more, like how they were able to use you for these rituals to begin with. What were these groups like, did they have many members, what the member base was like, where they were located? If you don't want to share any of this or prefer to do it via PM, that is fine too. I remember when I lived in upstate NY, there was a lot of occult things seeped into local politics, environmental groups, businesses, pretty much every facet of the small town. I'm not sure they group was performing S.R.A., I have no direct evidence, but some of my friends seemed to think so...

The high of ganja seems to be "yin." On the plus side, I am receptive- sometimes more open to the sensory world (although serious meditation is undoubtedly the better way to go about this), so things like walking around in the woods can seem a lot more "epic" and "awesome." Sometimes it also helps me find empathy for people, but it can be overwhelming, as if I have no shielding. On the negative side, I feel that I start to have some qualities like overly emotional, hypersensitive, mood swings. I guess I can experience the best and worse parts of my "feminine side" on cannabis. Compare this to other drugs, I would say things like caffeine and cocaine are more yang. Psychedelics seem to just amplify the internal world, so they are harder to categorize. I've never done sedatives, but they seem more yin as well. Alcohol seems to be yang at first and then yin as the effects start to wear off. Pot is a bit harder to place than downers and uppers, probably because it is a very complex plant with a lot of different psychoactive components. For instance, the CBD-rich indica stuff is used medicinally more for anxiety, insomnia, whereas THC-rich sativa is used to treat depression. Perhaps knowing one's internal balance is the first step to knowing how to relate with drugs. If I did not sleep well, I have no problem drinking coffee, but if it is nighttime that is a dumb thing to do. Of course there are factors to keep in mind besides the yin/yang balance of drugs, such as side-effects, potential for abuse, and long term effects. I feel a decent balance of yin/yang for the most part, so I think any regular use of drugs will throw off my balance.

Those are good points. I can see how the quote is perceived as pretentious, or even contradictory. At first I thought it was contradictory but then when I read it again it made sense. In my efforts to make sense of the world, I have broken down desires into three types. There are desires that arise out of impulse -- sexual desires, desire to eat, desire to have shelter and warmth, desire to socialize, etc. Some of these are absolutely essential to survival, some things are just beneficial to social functioning or reproduction, so they aren't quite as "necessary." However, we do have impulses to socialize that are not only conditioned by culture. The second type of desire involves pursuit of something for a greater purpose than one's individual survival/reproduction. It is Tesla who wanted free energy for all. It is all artists who want to share their vision with people to inspire them, even if it means they don't make money and eat less. It is the Buddha after he realized that his message could be shared, and rather than blissing out he chose the more challenging path of sharing his wisdom with others. The third type of desire doesn't involve survival directly or creation/desire for a "higher purpose". When the ego becomes a self-serving entity, it creates a narrative that wants to consume and consume but is never satisfied, like the hungry ghost. Eating too much, being addicted to sex, wanting to own things and get lost in material goods, are types of these desires. These are desires which might be rooted in the desire for survival, like eating food or acquiring goods to be a more appealing mate. However, the cosmic irony of this one is that often these desires end up fucking people over, dying because of their obesity, disconnected from their materialism, etc. The quote seems to imply that the 3rd type of desire I mentioned leads to an apathetic state. The 2nd type of desire, however, is filled with passion and leads someone to "become" rather than to live a stagnant life of hedonistic pleasures.

After having some time to digest this information, plus looking online for more sources, I have decided to not smoke anymore. Western medicine is finding all sorts of uses for cannabis, for physical and psychological ailments. I think for a long time I was using some of my medical conditions (insomnia, had Lyme disease two times) to justify getting high. And although it is less harmful than alcohol, cocaine, etc. I shouldn't use that to justify my vice. Hearing how cannabis can mess with my organs, energy levels, jing, and shen, I have totally re-evaluated my recreational use and want to be sober as I continue my practice. Not that I will never have it again, but I am done doing it regularly/semi-regularly. Thank you sll so much for your feedback, it has helped me make this decision!

I'm not sure about that last part. Breathing is something that exists whether we believe in it or not. Ownership is a real concept, that becomes a social & political reality because enough people believe in it. If people stopped believing in ownership, it would change. If we all stopped believing in breathing, we would not all stop breathing. Even so, I wouldn't say ownership is 100% an illusion, though. Even if it is rooted in belief and not necessarily something tangible, physical legal documents and stuff can exist stating details about ownership, etc. That makes it more real, since there is a systematic enforcement of the idea, rooted in belief. So ownership seems to be a function of the economic, social, and political system at place. If we looked at suburban America vs. a hippie commune, they will have very different beliefs on ownership, although I think it is safe to say that everyone believes in it in some form. Even the hippies who share everything and believe "we don't own anything man" will probably get upset if someone takes a favorite possession or food. The difference is, some people think that ownership is a God-given truth, a fact of life, whereas other people (like myself) see it more as a social construct.

So you mean to say that creative writing has no value because we should "just live"? That's pretty ironic you even responded to this post then, rather than "just living." Why post on a message board in general? Is that not the anti-thesis of "just living"? Now, I am partially serious and partially joking with you now. I hope you don't take this too seriously. I enjoy this quote because it is a short summary of how ownership and empathy mentalities differ. I can see how it might seem convoluted, but if you can get past your judgment of his prose I think you can at least appreciate that the underlying message celebrates giving, and is a commentary on how the illusion of ownership stems from not seeing reality clearly.

I enjoyed this quote, from Mount Analogue: “I am dead because I have no desire, I have no desire because I think I possess, I think I possess because I do not try to give; Trying to give, I see that I have nothing, Seeing that I have nothing, I try to give myself, Trying to give myself, I see that I am nothing, Seeing that I am nothing, I desire to become, Desiring to become, I live.” ― René Daumal

I don't often eat a big meal for breakfast often. When I do, I like making vegetables sauteed and then add a few eggs to it. Sometimes I use tempeh instead of eggs. Very filling and delicious. It's much cheaper to make food than eat out, even if you are using high quality produce. A lot of days I will have fruit with nut butter or nuts in the morning and eat bigger meals later. Apples and bananas with peanut butter is a go-to snack that is healthy, cheap, and easy. I also like oatmeal a lot. Lately, I have found out that I like some other grains, millet for instance, more than oats in terms of how it effects my energy levels. Oatmeal has some very minor sedative properties, not good early in the day I think, compared to millet which does not. With these cereals I like to go the sweet route usually, with fruit and nuts and honey or maple syrup. Sometimes I add yogurt if I can.

Once I ate a fruit, the coontie palm fruit, that I later found out was toxic. I didn't know it was at first. My friend, who is also interested in foraging (much less cautious than I am, though) brought back a bunch of stuff from his visit to Florida (I live in NY) for us to try. One of these things was the coontie palm fruit. The weird thing about this fruit was it tasted absolutely delicious and was quickly intoxicating, almost similar to the come-up on mushrooms. It is bright red and tasted like cherry mixed with almond, I remember. Intuitively, this plant seemed to have a different energy right from the start, which I could not put my finger on then. Not too long after eating one (and the seed too, which is supposedly the most poisonous part), I decided to look it up online. Lo and behold, I found that this plant was listed anything from poisonous to "extremely poisonous" and "deadly poisonous." I was bugging out, but wanted to wait for any serious symptoms to emerge before calling a hotline. I kept meditating and calming myself down, mostly was feeling okay but there were definitely moments I was really nervous, especially at first. Besides anxiety and the initial effects of intoxication (funny how what is at first somewhat pleasant quickly becomes unpleasant after reading about this plant online), I had no real effects so I slept it off. There was a part of myself that realized I could die in my sleep, and I was left with no choice but to confront my own mortality directly, and to make peace with it. It was a transformative experience, and in a way I like to jokingly refer to that experience as "eating the fruit of knowledge." I was fine, it didn't even upset my digestive system or anything. But I'm not going to fuck around with eating anything before I can identify it again! I think that seeking out such experiences would be a trick of the ego. Even if it can be utilized in spiritual practice, it is still the ego acting on its own behalf. If something comes up, though, embrace the fuck out of it, sure! There are enough toxins if you hang out in a city, eat most fast food, swim in a chlorinated pool, drink tap water, etc. Our livers are already overtaxed IMO.