manitou

I've started a thread, Riding the Ox, for those who wish to comment on the path that we all walk, whether Taoist, Buddhist, Yogi, or just plain self-realized. The focus is on our daily everyday lives - using some of this theoretical wisdom to actually bring the wu-wei to the office, to the home, to the coffeeshop. I've placed it in General Discussion for lack of a better idea. Please come stop in and place one of your life anecdotes on the thread from time to time......

Yesterday I went to the little cowboy town down the hill to pick up my mail. There's a coffee house right next to the post office, a nice patio outside where my puppy and I had a cup of coffee (she actually had part of a scone). I was sitting there, all blissed out, looking at everyone as One. I transcended the scene in a way; the Oneness of everyone was all I felt. Until I felt a stab in my heart. I was sitting there so blissed out that I had failed to see a frail elderly woman (even more frail and elderly than I am) take a large package out of her car and struggle in to the post office with it. I noticed it just as she was going in the post office door. I was immediately sorry that my blissful state had rendered me useless and I had been unable to help her. NOTE TO SELF: Don't forget to be in the Here and Now. It's like the old Christian hymn "You're So Heavenly Minded You're No Earthly Good...."

I see what you're saying. I read a book once, the Tao of Physics by Frijtof Capra, that tries to explain quantum physics for lay people such as myself. What I took away from that was that since matter is both a particle and wave, that the particle takes up space. Whereas, the wave (of possibility) takes up time. A wave of anything would take time to get from point A to point B. Therefore, it makes sense to me that we're sitting at the crossroads of space and time, if you look at it from a scientific angle. It all seems to triangulate...

Would you discuss this? I love the imagery--

I'm curious, Mark - are you a meditator, and for how long? Also, I just got onto your site and got quite a jolt. I've never heard it put into words the sensation of Riding the Ox as it pertains to the fascia under the spine (or however it was said). Since my kundalini awakening 7 years ago, there has been a definite 'sense of tingling (and tickly) vibration' in this very area that they refer to being stretched. I didn't know there was a practice dedicated to this phenomena. There is definitely a surreal feel to this; one intuitively knows that it's not so much a physical thing as a physical/spiritual thing combined. Right before mine started I distinctly heard and felt the unsnapping of three little snaps way down at the bottom of my spine (completely different than feeling your spine pop) which happened as I was bending over to pick up a shoe. It felt more like the image of a flap on a plastic envelope with three little snaps on it, coming undone. That's exactly what it felt like. I don't know if this figures into anything at all, but it was sure odd at the time.

Omigod. (or OmiVoid, whichever you prefer) The conspiracy of cause and effect - how beautifully put. I often think that - that I would probably do exactly what they would do, given the same stimulus, the same life story, the same hula-hoop of influence that individual has. I think that mindset goes a long way to establishing the non-judgmental attitude that is necessary to Oneness. The woman camped next to my RV is trying to save my soul by playing Christian sermons this morning. I can hear her sneakily turn the thing up when I'm out there - she tried her best last night to save me, but she walked away knowing I was a lost cause. I started to get a little annoyed this morning when this started, but instead of submitting to the annoyance, I asked her if she could turn it up a little. She was truly surprised that I was asking, but ask I did. The reason I asked, was that I figured this would be a good test for me, seeing as that's where I come FROM - that's what I was born into. If there was anything in that sermon that made me angry, I figured that would be an indication of an area that needed a little more looking into. I'm happy to report that the sermon passed without incident. I listened to it in peace, knowing that was her 'hula-hoop' and this was right where she was supposed to be. Hopefully that old structure within me has taken all residual fears with it when it left.

Huzzah. Let that puppy unfold.

I am finally back online. So nice to be here - There is a separate reality that I seem to be inhabiting these days. It has been particularly active in this period of time in which I was incommunicable because I now live up in the mountains of Santa Barbara, CA - no longer in Ohio. I no longer live with my partner of many years. I seem to have transcended the need for living with darkness, for living with bipolarity. I seem to have transcended the need to raise a child, even if that child was an adult and the 'raising period' was a total of 27 years. I never had a child during that young adult life period, when people normally have kids. Apparently this was an unmet need within me that I now realize took every single one of those 27 years to play out with Joe. I am Exhausted. I am sitting here, in my beautiful 5th wheel trailer, in the middle of a valley up in the hills; a horse ranch / campground. I feel as if I'm still vibrating, although I've been alone for 6 weeks now. Every day I get just a little stronger. I dwell in a different place now, in my head. The nuts and bolts of life are unimportant now; I have 3 pair of jeans and 3 tee-shirts. That's all I seem to need or want at this moment. Something has felt like it has inflated inside my head and my soul; almost an airiness that is totally unconcerned as to what day of the week it is, what time it is, whether I'm even hungry or not. I don't seem to get hungry any more and it doesn't matter. It's not depression; it's something altogether different. Like the complete realization that this is all an illusion that we, the communal Creator, continue to create one day at a time. It has evolved within me during this entire process of splitting our life in two. I am in control of my thoughts. If I desire quiet in my mind, it is there instantaneously. I now realize Who I Am and am starting to find comfort in wearing it. I have been present at several odd healings lately and my previous ability to triangulate has morphed into a 3-D thing as well. There is no way to describe this transformation. Only another who is going through it will understand. I'm hoping there is such a person on TTB's. I'd sure love to talk with one.... Barb

Hi Steve, The funny thing about tortoise and milfoil (or today's counterparts) is that this type of stuff is wonderful for triangulating. If one stays in the absolute here and now when trying to See something, the answers are in the ethers at that particular moment; the synchronicity is there. This goes back to being 'as a child'. A child will see the crow talking to the sparrow, or the wind coming up at just the right moment. Shamanism absolutely figures into all the traditions, as far as I can see. Synchronicity is Here Now! The trick is for us to get down to our own naivete, our child-nature, to see it. To not be afraid to be considered naive and child-like; actually being considered by others as being 'stupid'. It's just not real politically correct, and it makes one feel like a fool, to be seen as an idiot by most others. But this goes directly to ego too. If it bothers us to be viewed as an idiot, then we still have some ego work to do. This stuff runs deep.....

I think the kid has stopped staring at the candle.... The organized approach you put together regarding autonomic respirations sounds like a wonderful quasi-physical thing. I think that's about as far as one can get using a left brain approach. The phenomena I'm speaking of is anything but left brain, and that's why it's nearly impossible to explain it. It seems to me that there are 3 aspects to clarity of vision - the 'triangulating' part. I can only speak for my own life and my own self-realization path. One aspect is the years of study of the words of others - regardless of any particular tradition, they all seem to go to the same room when extended out to their full length. The second component, I've discovered, is the ability to shut down one's thoughts. In my case, this was finally achieved after 30 years of meditation. I don't know that it would take anybody else that long - I just know that I had a massively strong left brain to get through; my thought patterns were way too organized and detective-like in logic to actually see the magic of the here and now. The meditation finally achieved what I was shooting for; thoughtlessness. This is not easy, and it results in the ability to shut off one's thoughts at the drop of a hat. This can be done, and I don't think it's possible to enter the wu-wei without this ability. The third aspect seems to be inner work; constantly questioning our own motives and seeking out those selfish parts of ourself that always want it our way. This is an earnest lifetime project. There truly is a pony at the bottom of the manure pile. It was after years and years of focusing on the above 3 aspects that I was in a small fender-bender; rear-ended from behind by a truck, while sitting at a signal. Lo and behold, this seemed to be the very invitation for the kundalini energy to rise about a week later. This is when things really started getting weird and 3D; it merely gave me a different perch on which to sit and observe. This was what's called a spontaneous kundalini awakening; many folks say this is bullshit. But I guarantee if it happened to them, they would change their tune quickly. Mark, I do now have a vision that extends way out into the ethers. It is this vision that can be used to either go way out in space and turn around and view situations in the world, and see things from a different point of view. It's also the vision that allows you to see the enlightenment within another's character. It's the same vision that can instantly triangulate another's personality, because I have gone all the way down into mine. Once we have seen ourselves, without drama, without judgment, then we can truly triangulate others. I was very fortunate in that I was a pathetic alcoholic 31 years ago and made my way to a recovery program. The steps to recovery changed that. My insides were a mess. They no longer are a mess, despite the upheaval I just went through with my partner of 27 years. I do think that thing we're looking for is found within ourselves; the words and works of others only go so far. Incidentally, I want to start a Self-Realization pinned topic; a place where those of us who revere the inner work can share experiences and get input from other like-minded Bums. I say, Let's Mix It All Up, instead of the nice delineated little pathways we now have on TTB's. I prefer a big tasty stew---

The broccoli picture: We're all the broccoli. Each little individual node is one of us; however, we can't see that we're actually the whole broccoli. We just think we're separate from each other.

It's difficult to wear the garment after 64 years of thinking otherwise. Takes some adjustment.

Sorry, double post.

I'm going to go over the top on this topic. Visualizations works because We Are God. We are The Void. In order to have visualizations work, the first thing is to stop calling them visualizations. Instead, call it Pretending. As a child would pretend. Even the J-Man told us this; we must become 'as a child'. The creative process involves pretending that we are making something happen, and then fully trusting the fact that it is happening. As naive as a little kid. A friend of mine is a famous artist in Palm Springs. He paints incredible things that spring from his mind, his separate reality. I asked him how he finds his motivation. He smiled and did a little pirouette and pretended to pick up a hat off the table. He pretended to put it on. He merely said, "I put on my Picasso hat". This seems ridiculous, I know. I have proven this to myself by roping an escaped stallion with an invisible rope. I pretended I roped him, and he pretended that he was roped. We walked with his pretend halter back across the highway and back to his corral. I don't expect a soul in the world to believe this, other than me. But did it happen? Yes. To make the pretending work, it must be accompanied by a vacuous mind that has no thoughts running through it, and an intent that is impeccable. We are bordering on sorcery in the wu-wei with this.

There you go. The backwardsness of the whole thing. And somehow we return to self and find that our greatest wisdom was that which we possessed when we were about 8 years old. That's when we were able to say the things we needed to say without editing and making them pretty. Mythmaker - yes. I've empied my cup. That's exactly what it feels like... Vortex - Yes, I do believe the inner one is finally raised. Going back to what K said - it's exactly backwards from what I thought. I have become the inner child. Something about me seems to be getting younger by the day. It really feels...crazy. Aaron - a big fat cyberhug back atcha. Thanks everyone, for your kind thoughts. As I glance behind me I do see where there is a greenish-yellow bubbling substance trailing behind me....so there must be some physical movement. Albeit slow.

ain't that the truth??? No reverence for the end of one's life (capital punishment) but plenty to say about the reverence of the fetus in someone else's womb.

My suggestion, just as a starting point, would be to try and integrate yourself psychically with the outside world. By psychically, I mean look at the relationship between You and Them (outside world). The little 'I' that lives deep inside you is the same little 'I' that lives deep inside me or anyone else. To realize that makes things not so scary. I would throw Love into the mix too. Realizing that your 'I' is the same as everyone else's 'I' makes it positive for us to actually feel a Love toward strangers; knowing that their exterior is merely a series of contortions and twists since their moment of birth, done to them by false information from others, as false information was given to you by others from the moment of birth. As children, we easily take on the opinions and attitudes of those closest to us. Is there any part of you that can see, smell, and feel the Oneness of all life? Can you go outside and lay face down in the grass and smell the earth, knowing that this is your mother and of her you are a part? We are all made from stardust, that's all - merely ants on the globe from a distant perspective. We all have the same needs, which manifest as wants and fears. You fear others because you consider yourself separate from others. In actuality there is an Essence deep within you that is immortal, and we all share it whether we know it or not. It just takes work to get down to it. There is something that happens to a person when they've been earnestly walking the upward path for a very long time. There is a subtle shift in perspective that awaits you in which things are seen very clearly. Fear and isolation will be removed, as you will Know that all things work in concert; even those things seemingly unreconcilable. Very best wishes to you on your path. Your sincerity and earnestness is the open door inward.

My guess is that the Sage, understanding perfectly the concept of wu-wei, would allow all things to come to him. He would only act when the situation called for action, at the proper moment. His timing would be flawless, waiting for the opportunity. I think the Sage more often than not 'lets things happen'. when it's done in this perspective the 10,000 things are easily viewable for what they are. This can be modified with desire in the equation too; only a Sage would set his Intent on a result and then wait for the opportunity to align before acting. It's a dynamic that must be realized in all traditions, I believe. It's fully trusting in the overall upward dynamic of spirit. What's to crave, if you relax into life? Money is just stuck energy. Hoarding it might be pointless. Finding the 'perfect' mate can't be done until we ourselves are 'perfect'. Anything less than that (which we all are) will always involve our heart jumping at another who fulfills us in some way. However, the fulfillment is actually artificial, because it's mere existence is evidence that we are not 'filled' to the brim with the Oneness of all life. Perfect love, I believe, is that between our hearts, our minds, and the One. The One is found at the end of all paths that involve an inner journey.

One of the most astoundingly helpful reads I've ever found for acceleration along the Path is the "Light on the Path", as commented upon by Yogi Ramacharaka, published in 1904. The Ramacharaka book is called "Advanced Course in Yogi Philosophy and Oriental Occultism", but the thrust is a discussion of a small pamphlet previously written by an M.C. (an English woman named Mabel Collins). In lesson 1, the "Way of Attainment", as it's described, the quote first discussed from the 'Light on the Path' pamphlet is as follows: Before the eyes can see, they must be incapable of tears. Before the ear can hear, it must have lost its sensitiveness. Before the voice can speak in the presence of the Masters, it must have lost the power to wound. Before the soul can stand in the presence of the Masters, its feet must be washed in the blood of the heart. Ramacharaka expands this a bit by saying that before the eyes can see with the clear vision of the Spirit, they must have grown incapable of the tears of wounded pride - unkind criticism - unmerited abuse - unfriendly remarks - slights - sarcasm - the annoyances of everyday life - the failures and disappointments of everyday existence. This certainly connotates a daily transcendence of the mundane, combined with the ability to hold it in our hearts daily. It's to see us all as the same zillion-armed creature; a creature which is One when we get down to the basics of our nature. To our 'god-nature'. We must dwell in the upper regions of the mind and spirit. To quote a little further: "These are not mere dreams and impracticable ideas. If many of you had an idea of how many men, high in the puppet-play of worldly affairs, have really awakened to the truth, it would surprise you. Many of these men play their part well - with energy and apparent ambition - for they realize that there is a purpose behind it all, and that they are necessary parts of the machinery of evolution. But deep within the recesses of their souls, they know it all for what it is. One on The Path must be brave, and must acquire a mastery over the emotional nature. This precept does not merely refer to physical tears - for they often spring to the eyes involuntarily, and though we may be smiling at the time. It refers to the feeling that there is anything for us to really cry over. It is the thought back of the tears, rather than the tears themselves."...."The voice that scolds, lies, abuses, complains, and wounds, can never reach the higher planes upon which dwell the advanced intelligences of the race." If anybody's interested in further discussion of this wonderful writing, I'd be happy to input further excerpts and discussions.

Precept 21 (sorry, I thought it was only 20, this one snuck up on me). Look for the flower to bloom in the silence that follows the storm; not till then. It shall grow, it will shoot up, it will make branches and leaves and form buds, while the storm continues, while the battle lasts. But not till the whole personality of the man is dissolved and melted - not until it is held by the divine fragment which has created it, as a mere subject for grave experiment and experience - not until the whole nature has yielded, and become subject unto its higher self, can the bloom open. Then will come a calm such as comes in a tropical country after the heavy rain, when nature works so swiftly that one may see her action. Such a calm will come to the harassed spirit. And, in the deep silence, the mysterious event will occur which will prove that the way has been found. Call it by what name you will. It is a voice that speaks where there is none to speak, it is a messenger that comes - a messenger without form or substance - or it is the flower of the soul that has opened. It cannot be described by any metaphor. But it can be felt after, looked for, and desired, even amid the raging of the storm. The silence may last a moment of time, or it may last a thousand years. But it will end. Yet you will carry its strength with you. Again and again the battle must be fought and won. It is only for an interval tht nature can be still. There is one further footnote that M.C. Collins writes that deserves just a little more space. This is the concluding paragraph of the manual "Light on the Path". NOTE: Those that ask shall have. But, though the ordinary man asks perpetually, his voice is not heard. For he asks with his mind only, and the voice of the mind is only heard on that plane on which the mind acts. Therefore, not until the first twenty-one rules are past, do I say those that ask shall have. To read in the occult sense, is to read with the eyes of the spirit. To ask, is to feel the hunger within - the yearning of spiritual aspiration. To be able to read, means having obtained the power in a small degree of gratifying that hunger. when the disciple is ready to learn, then he is accepted, acknowledged, recognized. It must be so; for he has lit his lamp, and it cannot be hidden. But to learn is impossible until the first great battle has been won. The mind may recognize truth, but the spirit cannot receive it. Once having passed through the storm, and attained the peace, it is then always possible to learn, even though the disciple waver, hesitate and turn aside. The voice of the silence remains within him; and though he leave the path utterly, yet one day it will resound, and render him asunder, and separate his passions from his divine possibilities. then, with pain and desperate cries from the deserted lower self, he will return. Therefore, I say, Peace be with you. 'My peace I give unto you' can only be said by the Master to the beloved disciples who are as himself. There are some, even among those who are ignorant of the Eastern wisdom, to whom this can be said; and to whom it can daily be said with more completeness". This concludes the discussion of "Light on the Path". Thank you for allowing me to share this with you, it's been a pleasure to re-read and type out the 21 precepts of M.C. Collins' particular Yogi philosophy. Best wishes to all.

20. Seek it not by any one road. To each temperament, there is one road which seems the most desirable. but the way is not found by devotion alone, by religious contemplation alone, by ardent progress, by self-sacrificing labor, by studious observations of life. None alone can take the disciple more than one step onwards. All steps are necessary to make up the ladder. The vices of men become steps in the ladder, one by one, as they are surmounted. The virtues of man are steps, indeed, necessary - not by any means to be dispensed with. Yet, though they create a fair atmosphere and a happy future, they are useless if they stand alone. The whole nature of man must be used wisely by the one who desires to enter the way. Each man is to himself absolutely the way, the truth, and life. But he is only so when he grasps his whole individuality firmly, and, by the force of his awakened spiritual will, recognizes this individuality as not himself, but that thing which he has with pain created for his own use, and by means of which he purposes, as his growth slowly develops his intelligence, to reach to the life beyond individuality. When he knows that for this his wonderful complex, separated life exists, then, indeed, and then only, he is upon the way. Seek it by plunging into the mysterious and glorious depths of your own inmost being. Seek it by testing all experience, by utilizing the senses, in order to understand the growth and meaning of individuality, and the beauty and obscurity of those other divine fragments which are struggling side by side with you, and form the race to which you belong. Seek it by study of the laws of being, the laws of nature, the laws of the supernatural; and seek it by making the profound obeisance of the soul to the dim star that burns within. Steadily, as you watch and worship, its light will grow stronger. Then you may know you have found the beginning of the way. And, when you have found the end, its light will suddenly become the infinite light."

Hello, anyone who's been following this thread. I'm going to post the rest of the precepts all at once, because my husband and I will be pulling a 5th wheel from Ohio to California and I don't know how often I'll be online for a while. Ramacharaka's comment on #19: Seek the way by advancing boldly without. "Be not afraid. Nothing can harm you. You are a living, eternal soul. Therefore, be bold. Look around you and see what is going on in the world - and learn lessons thereby. See the workings of the great loom of life - watch the shuttles fly - see the cloth of various texture and colors that is being produced. See it all as Life....." "Live your own life - on your own plane of development - but scorn not those who are still on the lower planes. See Life in all its throbbing forms, and realize that you are part of it all. It is all one - and you are part of that one...."

god knows, love is worth struggling for. I can't tell you how many horrible things we've had to put up with each other over the past 28 years. Much worse than a messy room - theft of a large sum of money from my mother, skid-row alcoholism (when he went off the wagon). I'm sure he has his share of stories about me too. My feeling is that you have 'attracted' this into your life for some reason. You have manifested it. Even if your conscious self didn't know of her tendency toward messiness, your unconscious did. There is a reason you are put in the position of 'cleaning up after someone else'. If you don't work it out in this relationship, you will have to work it out in another relationship - your need to clean things up for another person. My guess is it's not a coincidence, in my experience this is how things work in life. If you stand back really far out in space and look at your totality, you may find that there was something in your young years that you were unable to 'clean up' - a messy situation (physical or non-physical) perhaps involving one of your folks or siblings that was continually messy in some respect. An out-of-control dynamic in your young life that you wished continually to be able to change but were unable. Maybe parents continually fighting? A continually bad relationship with a brother or sister? A parent who was a 'perfectionist' and who rode you really hard about not being organized enough or 'good' enough? If it is one of these dynamics, this is the very dynamic that you can put to bed through this relationship. It's about control, I'll bet. Maybe you're frustrated because you can't 'control' her behavior; if that's the case, then this is the perfect opportunity for you to lighten up on your need for perfect order (if this is what it is). Maybe the very thing that attracted you to her (maybe spontanaity?) is the other side of the coin of her messiness. Or maybe it's something that's out of her control too. Could be she has an old attention-deficit disorder component that keeps her flying from one thing to the next without putting things away - I can sure relate to that one. In any case, it seems like an opportunity for you to go inside and see why it is so irritating and why it bothers you so. Might be you're being too hard on yourself in some way, and have been for many years....and the dynamic is being played out in front of you for your continual growth. My guess is that if you don't work this dynamic out, you'll keep attracting it. That's the problem with kicking one out and going for another. The dynamic is still there and you will most likely attract the same thing, perhaps in a slightly different form, as you will think you have 'learned' from this experience and not go for another messy one. But there will be messiness in another area, if not papers on the floor. Might be you're right where you're supposed to be

Really nicely written, Scott. After having thought about this very thing for many years, I realize that the thing that addiction did for me (and still does, I can get addicted to anything really easily) is that it keeps my eyes off self. It gives my body and mind something else to focus on rather than focusing on the disorders within myself. addiction seems to deflect the attention. It's hurtful to go in, to admit that we are imperfect and in fact have screwed up many times in life and need to go back and rectify things to make things better for us....