manitou

Bumpin' my own topic. Maybe someone'll bite?

I withdraw my comment. The couple times Joe and I have fallen into tantric sex (accidently, but the tantric presence lasted for about a month) there was no movement required at all - it was a complete merger and blissful as you describe. And everything was fair game, no hangups, no differentiation....

Has anyone ever thought to ask the female if she's wanting five hours of pounding sex?

It seems to me that a good comparison would be the Buddhist meditation on non-attachment. The more we meditate on our nature, the more we learn why we are the way we are. It inevitably takes us back through memories where we see our own tendencies starting, flourishing down the road. I've found that a simple and daily way of going in to self is to check my own motives for doing things, on a daily basis. To look at my own selfishness and make attempts to turn the huge boulder of selfishness around. To try and get out of the mindset where it's All About Me. And to understand that I have each and every character defect known to man, most likely....there's no shame in that, it's our condition. Until we make the decision to change it. Some people are forced onto the path of self-discovery by the trouble they've gotten themselves into in their physical existence - in my particular case it was alcoholism - but any of the destructive crystallized patterns will work. To recover from these horrible patterns requires an emotional and mental ass-kicking that does the job in a short amount of time - or at least sufficiently that the person is able to stay away from booze or drugs. for this, the steps of recovery were invaluable, in my case. I didn't even realize I had character defects prior to the necessity for my own recovery. But once the process is initiated, the process of looking within and coming to the conclusion that we are indeed imperfect (easy enough to say about someone else!) the process, once it's started, takes over from there. I no longer 'work the steps' in any sort of organized fashion (after 30 years of doing this) but rather the Grand Inquisitor is always sitting there on a ledge and ready to tell me when I am acting purely out of self-interest or selfishness. It's just a continual dynamic that goes on and on...

Surfing Buddha - is there any way you can paraphrase the point of the video without folks having to watch 2 hours of it?

In order to HAVE the relationship we want, we must BE what we want. If we jump into a relationship before we are truly self-realized, then 'It' will use the relationship as a continuation of your own personal growth. The relationship may be a rough path to a particular realization - but the relationship path can aid with self-discovery in a big way. We now have another person to consider - their wants. Whereas previously it was only Our wants that were important. Having a serious relationship is a one-day-at-a-time journey into self, if we take it seriously. If we use the relationship only to Make Ourselves Happy, then it's destined to fail. If we use it to learn to live with another human and consider their needs at least 50% of the time, then this is a big step toward our own liberation.

I think when people talk about the ego as a negative thing, it's because it's a hurdle to their growth. It's hard to see something through eyes that aren't ours - to place ourselves in the space of someone else and see through their eyes. Your point is well taken as to the ego itself being a spiritual achievement; no doubt man is the only animal who has fully developed it (although I've seen some pretty egoistic stallions, bulls, and dogs too). But IMO cutting through, sidestepping, or transcending the ego is necessary for us to get to the bottom of who we are. To keep ego in check we must constantly examine our own motives for doing or not doing a thing. If it's for our own aggrandizement, this only serves to reinforce our ego even further. If instead we are acting out of compassion for others and place ourselves in a secondary position, then one day at a time the ego is trimmed down to size and we can actually see around it. Spiritual splendour, yes! The ego appears to be a device for It to break through; apparently it's a necessary part of the process... Thanks for your evolved post!

My ears have been ringing for 40 years, high pitched. No medical problems Im aware of, but maybe there's a kidney issue I'm unaware of. I'm thinking it probably came from years on the shooting range. I've just taken to living with it. I perceive it now as the audible life stream, the constant reminder of Who we really are. It actually fits in very well with a Here Now mindset, if you look at the audible ringing as the continuation of what came before and what comes after. I just finally embraced it.

Hi Jack - I watched the first 15 minutes - does the film posit that there will be a mass collective awakening at some point?

If it helps memory, Im going to do it to....

Arfing brilliant

The Song of Push Hands was beautiful Taomeow - thanks for posting that. The economy of motion is beautiful, like a flowing dance. Less is more, it appears. I've never involved myself in martial arts but have wanted to in the past -- but back when I used to have to be able to fight at the drop of a hat (cop) there developed intuitively an understanding of economy of motion combined with throwing off balance and surprising the perpetrator. Back then, when I went through the academy, they didn't have the fusion of East and West yet when it came to training - it was still all baton and handcuffs. thankfully, one instructor changed all that on the LAPD - he introduced the martial arts into police training, and things have improved greatly as to police preparedness. I remain in awe of the cumulative knowledge on this website. Thanks again -

As it say in the TTC: I alone am muddled and nebulous

The soft overcomes the hard?

As I think about the concept of children in regards to spirituality, the metaphor of becoming As a Child in our own way of being is of huge importance. Those masters who teach us to become as a child are telling us to cease the judgment, to look at the world through the eyes of innocence and with the pure joy of being. Children, until they learn otherwise, don't put people into categories, have formed no opinions. I think the saints all have this in common - seeing the world through the eyes of innocence; seeing people for what they are and accepting them. This seems to be the essence of the child.

I quickly took a look at his blog - I would be a little put off by his focus on Evils in his work - who's the decider on what that is?

Really interesting. What's astounding to me is how the mosquito manages to pull itself away from the drop before it hits the ground. Talk about Will....

GeoBall - I really enjoyed your music. It sounds slightly reminiscent of Cirque de Soleil - the wildness, the buildup - you are very talented. A beautiful blend of that which is light with that which is heavy. Thank you for posting that

bankei - I got onto your link and was surprised by the last paragraph. I have a side of me that could totally do this, a monasterial existence. But another side says to merge back with life, even the parts I've previously transcended. I am curious - is this your current way of being? Partaking of no sensual pleasures? I would be really interested to talk to one who truly follows this mindset. Or maybe this paragraph pertains solely to the intent to not return as another incarnation? For me, energy arose, Unbinding was clearly seen. There's now no way I could partake of sensual pleasures. Having followed the holy life, I will not return.

I don't know what a fire mudra and fire vector are, but the whole concept is absolutely fascinating! What an incredible observation, Taomeow - and what's a wuxing phase? I'm always amazed at how intelligent the body is, the unconscious mind. the symbolism it comes up with in dreams to get something across to us is phenomenal - and the fact that the unconscious body would be able to figure out and concoct a way of flying in the dreams (involving a petroleum product, no less!) is just wonderful. If this is really the case, I'm just in awe....

wow. Isn't that the case? I get so angry watching the news on TV, on the rare incidents when I do any more, that I've actually found a way to turn TV into a great spiritual practice. Try to LOVE the right-wingers. The bible-thumpers. The whole lot. They are Us. All One, just a different ray of the same sun. Damn. I have beliefs when it comes to politics; but politics is All One too....it's just part of our collective consciousness, acting out its maturity level at any given moment. Going back to the original question on the post: All is One - what does it mean to you? My Final Answer on this - the Very Final One - is that I need to put my money where my mouth is on this All is One stuff. If I'm going to proclaim that, I must act that. I must try and love John Boehner, Carl Rove, George Bush. I must find Compassion for each and every human being on the face of the earth, because they too are Me. I used to square dance, some years ago. I danced regularly with a Jewish dentist who was apparently one awakened dude; he said something that I didn't really understand until about a year ago. At that time, I was an in-your-face born again bible thumper. Needless to say, I tried to thump him (not in the biblical sense), and in repeated conversations I'm sure I mentioned the virtues of being a christian. One day, he sat me down and said, "Barbara, I want you to tell me everything you know about Jesus Christ. I don't want to have any resentment toward him left at all." At the time, I didn't realize what he really said. I went off at the mouth about Jesus, I'm sure - missing the essence of what he had just done. He had made the decision to override his 'belief' in his traditional Judaism, to become Whole in every sense of the word. To try and find Love for the one historical figure that he must have felt most conflicted about....to heal himself from the dualism and to feel the Oneness of impersonal Love. What a guy. Can't believe I let that one sail on by....

It's more like a come-as-you-are party.

It's funny how sometimes people need a Device to fly in their dreams. My mom can fly, but she has to be holding a piece of colored cellophane. My nephew flies as well, but he needs to be holding a piece of sandpaper between his ankles. Go figure. My hands need to be up, like in a praying position. But if I thrust them out over and over again, I can control my speed. If I position them up over my head, backwards, I can do a backflip.

Now that I am in awareness that I was lovingly forcing my will over the past years, the thing for me to do at this point is Nothing. (Except the apology I gave, thank you Chi Dragon). Most likely the interference I supplied over the years didn't hurt him all that much His art remains in a corner of the garage, I will not worry about it. Some of his art is for sale down at the Nursery in town, I won't worry about that either. This opens him up for a new dynamic as well - and he is certainly a path follower, he just doesn't post on this site. If he doesn't want to work with wood any longer, then it will be interesting to see what else he comes up with. My Intent was certainly not to control - not consciously. But I know enough about myself after so many years of questioning my own motives, that i do see that the underlyer, in my case, is always to control. I will constantly reenact, at some level, the overriding need to try and control the violent chaos that was my child-life. My own particular dynamic with Joe has been one of co-dependency, as mentioned earlier. He was a skid row wino when I met him in an AA meeting. My Savior Complex saw that fellow and about did a wheelie. The dynamic, for nearly 28 years, has been one of Savior and Saved; only through the years has this dynamic become more balanced, by attentive work on both sides, his and mine. This particular dynamic, the one where I am his art agent, is in the process of changing. thanks to you guys. It was more means to control. Another layer of the onion. I love you all.