manitou

I second that one, friend.

The shaking practice you refer to, Seth - is that good for spreading the heat around? Sometimes it sits in my back and shoulder blades (it's going down the back side) and it's so hot it's like someone's holding a flame to the inner side of my skin. Sometimes I get a sort of flash that the shoulder blade heat has something to do with wings - perhaps another incarnation? I just had a massage the other day to try and spread it around, and it wasn't too successful. It's very bothersome right now. Any suggestions?

Could you please further define shamanic initiation? Having been a long time fan of Castaneda, I'm not sure what you're talking about and how it would relate to Kundalini. I think all paths go to the same place, and there's a kundalini component that kicks in when the time is right, whichever path we're on. If you're referring to a shamanic initiation that somehow involves electricity moving up and down your spine and doing all sorts of odd things, then yes, the parallel is certainly there. I because kundalini active as the result of an auto accident (spontaneous awakening), but I'd been meditating on the TTC for about 20 years. I think I 'manifested' the accident for that particular purpose. It was not too long after that the the Castaneda path 'captured' me (my husband was on it) and it came across the ethers and grabbed me too. If you're referring to a shamanic initiation that involves hallucinogenic herbs or plants and this force is activated during this time, yes, I would think that would qualify as well.

The only problem is that there are some holy books like the TTC, Yogi philosophy, and others like The Impersonal Life that each time you read them you see things you didn't understand before....because you are in a different place every time you read it. I'd maybe hang onto those. All the stuff that's an offshoot, i.e. other people's ideas about what they have read...that stuff is good for one digesting and then passing it on to someone else. I love to go into coffeehouses and place the copy of Enlighten Next I've just read - you never know where and when a seed will be planted.

Could be the same thing.

My very best wishes to you and your wife, Adept. Dealing with the sudden void of losing a child must be like having the earth crumble beneath your feet. I wish there were something I could do to share your pain. Yes, our pile of little books looks pretty silly next to an event of this magnitude. such deep loss brings different opportunity for understanding.

Hi everyone - We had a Nei-Yeh thread going chapter by chapter, but I can see that there is much more interest in this particular thread - the old Tao Bums rendition of the Nei-Yeh. I agree that this translation by Shazi Daoren just can't be much improved upon - I'm just posting to let you know I won't be continuing with the other discussion - not that there was much participation anyway. Folks seem to be coming out of the woodwork for this discussion. Thanks to everyone who did participate on the original thread... And thank you, Stig, for posting this wonderful translation. Barb

Nice application, Otis. In the hands of the Sage, he looks for the uncarved wood in others. He looks for the most natural of men to lead the country. Men who are embellished with pomposity or arrogance are not the right ones to lead.

My understanding of wu-wei must be all forked up. I'm under the impression that it takes an extremely wise person to see what it is that a situation actually needs. The extremely wise person has done all the inner work to get down to the Essence. It's from this Essence that he can See. When the wise person can See the situation for what it really is, he is able to then Tweak. He tweaks it way down at the base of the matter and Knows how it will play out, because he has changed the dynamic in a small but huge manner. The do-nothingness of it, to my understanding, is to then let the dynamics play out. To do nothing, to let them come to you. When action is required, only the minimal necessary action is done, and then done only with love and kindness. I don't think that wu-wei is a state that we live in constantly. Although it's called 'not doing', I think it's actually doing something by 'not doing' it. Once we remove our ego dynamic from the situation and let it happen rather than make it happen, everything comes out differently. Yes, the wu-wei'er may have to swallow some ego in order for this to take effect. But it's the very fact that the wu-wei'er is capable of swallowing his own ego makes this all possible, because he's done the inner work and can sidestep ego with little pain. Wu-wei, to me, is relying on the Universe to know what it's doing.

Beautiful, but a little on the passive-aggressive side? How do you feel about your stepmother?

Hi Seth - I don't know anything about the shaking process - does this help spread the kundalini out in a more comfortable fashion? Currently my kundalini is going down the back side (it's been several years) and my back and shoulder blades get so hot sometimes it's like someone's holding a flame to the inside of my skin. Or in the back of my head! You can feel the heat coming out from a foot away. Currently I'm trying a masseuse to try and spread it out. (Mine was a spontaneous awakening after a traffic accident, but I had been doing inner work for years; the inner work came first, then the K-activity).

Please tell me you're not ascribing the reason for wu-wei as the same one used in the Jesus Club where they get a Get Out Of Jail Free card in the 'afterlife'. Wu-wei is here now.

As retired law enforcement, I could't agree with you more. The current system we suffer under is barbaric and punishment-oriented. Anyone with half a bubble should be able to figure out that those years could be actually input with positive stimuli - would work for some and not for others. But it would sure be an improvement over the current street-smart school that prison is now. On the good side, I've seen a few pieces recently on the news that indicate the awareness is starting to set in within a few penal communities and attempts are being made to rectify the situation.

Knowing. But this can't be explained very well.

Personally, I think the damage it would do to one's insides (the murderer) would be very difficult to transcend. A complete psychopath may be able to transcend the horrible commission of the act (assuming we're not talking about self-defense here) but in most cases the act would forever change the actor. On the other hand, as much as I love to try and live in harmony with everything, the idea of abortion doesn't really make me scream either. I think this is where the straw dog metaphor comes in. I don't think the Tao really cares one way or the other who is murdered and who is not; after all, it is just an illusion that we are separate from each other. Every time someone is killed, the Tao is losing a small part of it's ability to EXPERIENCE; however, there's sure more where they came from. This may be a really twisted point of view, but it's my current one.

The meek will finally inherit the earth I can't help but think we're watching this happening now - all over the world. At the present time, they're not so meek - but I think what the biblical passage refers to is the lowly man, the everyday man, anybody but a dictator or heavyhanded king. Aaron, what beautifully written thoughts. As someone who has utilized the 12 steps of recovery for nigh on to 30 years now, the distinction between need and want is something that is a topic of conversation in meetings often - for the very reason that it's our wants that keep us sort of forked up. It is the point between need and want that Gratitude separates. If we find a way to be grateful for everything in our lives at the present time -= to take care of everything we have in the present moment - goes a long way toward peace of mind. The very things we take for granted - the fact that we have a home when so many in the world live in hovels - are certain points of gratitude. One reason I think the need (or want) for a mate messes us with us so badly, is that you have to Be the person you want to Be With. My guess is that about 90% of the people in the world spend their lives looking for that Someone that is going to fix them and make them feel whole. We here know that's an individual job, done from the inside. No one can do it for us. We are reflections of each other. Another way of putting it, is that The Intelligence will always give us what we Need, not necessarily what we think we Want. If we have a destructive tendency inside to be emotionally unavailable for some reason, The Intelligence will continue bringing forward the situation until it is worked through. It's very possible to work through all the negative and remain in the relationship, which is what Joe and I have done. Thankfully, we're both long time recovery people, so it makes it a little easier to look at ourselves. There have been many times we've tried to split up, only to come back together in tremendous gratitude for having each other. This gratitude has only grown over the years. Even having tremendous gratitude and caring for the car in our driveway that may have 100,000 miles on it - it is this that will give us peace of heart as well - knowing full well that the Intelligence will always provide, somehow, when the time is right. Conditions will appear. If we try too hard to make our Wants happen, we're keeping our eye off the ball. We allow ourselves to remain in a state of unrest. I remember from my old biblical days "Do not covet your neighbor's (whatever)". Maybe this was given as a commandment for this very reason - that it messes with our peace of heart. (Although I don't particularly remember anything in the commandments or anyplace else in the Bible that talks much about personal inner development, other than the words of Jesus, which seem to me have been pretty grossly misinterpreted by our current crop of organized Christianity). Gratitude is key. If we find more gratitude for what's here now, the rest will fall into place one day at a time. Opportunities will arise and fall into your lap.

I can testify to this, personally. My young years were filled with inferior virtue. It is by becoming a total alkie and low-life, it 'forced' me to change by way of recovery programs and psychiatry. That path definitely did lead to this path.

And yet when our inner dialogue starts up, generally because of some ego concern, the moment is lost. Until we mindfully seek it again. It is a daily yin and yang.

At the risk of sounding dual, the devil made me say that.

Thank you for that beautiful explanation, TWIV. You explaining it in such an uncomplicated and masterful way makes it understandable. Coming from a different direction, it's nice to see the parallels once the vocabulary is learned. I thank you again.

Oh yes, you should see them. Big veiny things, totally pumped, capable of doing the left to right to left to right muscle show-off thing.

Really stupid question here: For an old lady like myself (still in good shape though), wouldn't the constant gravity bump tend to pull the facial and boob muscles down even further than they already are? And what of the cellulite, lol?

Otis - on one of my trips to Ventura CA I'm going to look you up on Rodeo Dr. and come give you a big hug - particularly if you've got a pink wig on and rollerskates.

The little man sitting on my lap is so old and wizened that Joe doesn't even seem to notice.