GrandmasterP

LOL @ 'wimpy mysticism'

If we didn't play music during class the only musical acccompaniment would be gentle farts. It's healthy.

Good topic. Maybe spirituality has been packaged and marketed as a lifestyle add on. Something to do on top of evertday life and something to be paid for through buying books DVDs or kit,or through temple oferings or the church collection plate. Someone else being invlved be they teacher or priest,shaman or Sifu to whom money is paid. The western paths ar more that way than the eastern and where that model has caught on in the east the professional providersgot the idea from the west maybe. We are spiritual beings made flesh for a while now and again so true spirituality is what we ARE all the time rather than something we do now and again and often have to pay for that dubious privilege. A priest in any tradition is like a thief who steals your watch then charges you to tell you what the time is .

Cultivation once a day in the open air promotes healthy sleep. A 30-minute to one-hour brisk walk with intention pays dividends for those able . Our senior citizens QiGong class includes wheelchair users and whenever the weather is suitable even through winter they wrap up well and cultivate 8 Strands of Silk Brocade [no leg moves] in the open air. They all say how it helps them sleep well. In a park with trees or just on grass beats outside on or amongst hard man made surfaces but outside under the sky is always preferable to being stuck indoors wherever you can do it. Good Luck and keep going.

Swedenborg Society in London have free stuff online,or did. Heavy going, some of it.

Language hinders us here in the West to some extent too. In English verbs enact nouns every time in every sentence so we tend to presume that one thing MUST follow another. Hence logic and thereby, to a certain extent; dualism. You get much more room for subtle nuance with pictograms.

Perfectly natural Sinan cultivation ebbs and flows. You're doing the right thing keeping up with it. Shows how far you've progressed too. You'd not have had such insight twelve months ago. Top Man :-)

42 people practice Taoism to gain supernatural powers. Mind you that's just a rough estimate 'til the 'real' figures come in. ;-)

Poor Robins. Plus you'd need a lot of them to feed a hungry family.

Hungry Ghosts can be nasty but are easily dealt with. They only ever have as much power as people choose to give them. ;-)

Earl Hansen retired. Sold the hardware store in St Paul and retired to Florida with Louanne his wife of forty years and fulfilled a lifelong dream of buying a fishng boat. After a few months he began calling himself Captain Hansen. Louanne's sister Betty calls up one day and asks. So Earl's a Captain now is he? Louanne chuckles and replies... Betty to me Earl's a Captain, to the kids he's a Captain. But to a Captain.......

One thing's for sure whichever side of the pond you live... Whoever you vote for, a politician gets elected. Voting simply encourages 'em.

Some forms can hurt like heck when you begin with them but once you get used to them - no more pain - only gain. Remember that 'recovered memories' craze a few years ago? That sure brought a few whackos out of the woodwork. I wonder if this idea is on similar lines.

Well if you breed chickens you get chickens. Bigger maybe better chickens but still chickens. We breed chickens hence I think that evolution is a crock. Waste of time trying to convince a scientist though. Those guys are true believers. Jolly useful too when it comes to inventing stuff but as far as metaphysics goes our chickens know more than your average scientist. Plus they lay eggs. :-)

No international copyright law covers just words. Ideas and concepts are also very slippery eels to try to pin down. In the old days if anyone was found trading under someone else's name the Master would go round and knock three bells out of the young pretender. If however the pretender beat the Master then that was that. Face lost, students lost. Happy days.

Thing is with Ancient Egypt same as with the Celtic fancy, nobody knows for sure so anyone can pretty much package up their own ideas in Ancient Egyptian or Celtic wrapping paper and put them on sale in their shop windows. Templars is another topic. Keeps the publishers and programme makers in business. Some people like the mysterious and mystical, you only have to look on the internet,mag racks or Amazon to be able to find something that suits your current interests. For those who like that sort of thing, that is the sort of thing that they like. The produers make lots more money than the consumers of these products so why not write your own mythos? Given the right packaging and advertising then somebody is sure to buy it.

What an unusual name for a musical combo. Is there a Mr. Shaggs who formed the orchestra or did they perhaps choose the name as one appropriate to that which they intended to do to musicality do you think?

And I forgot the punchline. It's such an embarrasing experience when that happens.

Apologies if I appeared to be trolling that was not the intent. There are strong views on both sides all equally valid. As I respect the opinions of others I've been in the woods long enough to know that's not a universal approach. Best to read the book, make up one's own mind and move on. Some will agree with one view,others will not and no one will ever be argued into what is perceived to be an opposing camp. We are each right in our views insofar as we have a right to hold views. Howsoever unpalatable such views may be to others. Any offence caused by my own viewpoint here was unintentional and, on a Taoist forum; one could have hoped; not necessarily inevitable. Apologies once again that such seems to have been the case here. No more from me on this fractious issue.

Follow on movement being... Yellow puppy shows his heels

Only had the two initiations. One when I was young and foolish. Had a great time then moved on and the other back in the 80s when I knew a bit more but that was more entering into an apprenticeship along the lines of [and by one of the people] the southern China fashion. Nothing remotely mystical about it. That one actually 'worked'. Cheng school. You may have heard of it.

That whole enlightenment thang seems a bit over rated to me. I've listened to and sat with more than one or two who claimed it. Even had a master years ago who traded on the idea. When you get to know 'em though they are just guys getting by same as the rest of us. Nearest I get is when it all sorta comes together in cultivation and that sure doesn't last for long. No way can I describe it. Transcends words somehow. You know what I mean K.

We call those 'senior moments'. I sometimes find myself in a room of the house having completely forgotten what I went into the room to get. Recently had in one hand socks for laundry basket and yesterday's newspaper for recycling bin in the other hand. Paper went into laundry basket before socks almost went into bin. Happily university teachers of my age are called eccentric rather than senile. ;-)

And Brits end to have the weakest old bones too. I blame all that roast beef they made us eat for school dinners . :-) Reading Shanlung retelling these stories is akin to hearing a revered older brother teach. A joyous experience.

Good point MH. All is one 'deeper'. The underpinnng unity of the Tao. 'As your movements flow,search for the meaning of the Tao;and follow its natural way'