manitou

I'm taking it that your 'like' was a yes? You are one enigmatic dude, lol. A blessing, but an enigmatic one.

Different spelling. That's b-r-a-i-n.

CT - do you think there is a parallel here to the Buddha-lands referred to in the Lotus and Avatamsaka sutras? It just all comes back to Mind, doesn't it? It also somehow reminds me that Einstein figured out that time and space are relative and are curved. And that eternity runs not only forwards but backwards as well, including the Now.

Thank you so much, Brian! If we can find enough Brians around, surely she will meet her goal.

Thank you, Tibetan Ice! Hopefully anybody who sees your reply and wishes to donate can do so off your link. I understood about 1/3 of your message - the other 3/4 was over my head, lol.

Aligned with where we are at this particular moment, may I add this? The brute instincts are still with us, constantly forcing themselves into our field of thought. Occultists learn to curb and control these lower instincts, subordinating them to the higher mental ideals which unfold into the fire of consciousness. Do not be discouraged if you still find that you have much of the animal within your nature - we all have - the only difference is that some of us have learned to control the brute, and to keep him in leash and subordinate and obedient to the higher parts of our nature, while others allow the beast to rule them, and they shiver and turn pale when he shows his teeth, not seeming to realize that a firm demeanor and a calm mind will cause the beast to retreat to his corner and allow himself to be kept behind bars. If you find constant manifestations of the beast within you, struggling to be free and to assert his old power, do not be disturbed. This is no sign of weakness, but is really an indication that your spiritual growth has begun. For whereas you now recognize the brute, and feel ashamed, you formerly did not realize his presence - were not aware of his existence, for you were the brute himself. It is only because you are trying to divorce yourself from him, that you feel ashamed of his presence. You cannot see him until you begin to be "different" from him. Learn to be a tamer of wild beast, for you have a whole menagerie within you. The lion; the tiger; the hyena; the ape; the pig; the peacock, and all the rest are there, constantly showing forth some of their characteristics. Do not fear them - smile at them when they show themselves - for you are stronger than they, and can bring them to subjection - and their appearance is useful to you in the way of instructing you as to their existence. They are an amusing lot, when you have reached the stage where you are able to practically stand aside and see them perform their tricks, and go through their antics. You then feel strongly that they are not YOU, but something apart from you - something from which you are becoming rapidly divorced. Do not worry about the beast - for you are the master." (Commentary by Yogi Ramacharaka in "Advanced Course in Yogi Philosophy and Oriental Occultism" - commentary on "Some Light on the Path")

Life is the practice. Amen.

Glad you're here, jebach131 - your description of some of your symptoms almost sounds like the beginnings of a kundalini awakening. If you're not familiar with it, you might want to do a little googling on the subject. But one thing's for sure - you're in the right place. Your awareness is pretty astounding for a young man. Best wishes to you, and hope to hear from you on the forum. Manitou

(Can't figure out how to separate the two sentences for separate comment. My computer skills on the site are legendary.) CT has always been a teacher on this site, as far as I'm concerned. As high as he was when I first encountered him, I see even more and more elevation over the years, although I wouldn't have thought it possible. But elevation there has been. Or perhaps my eyes just get higher and higher to be able to see it. I'm sure that's part of it. I treasure this thread. Bud - I feel a oneness and love with you as well. And your comment about life being a living meditation is so very well put. I feel grateful to have others to communicate with who are like minded. Few and far between. And yet, there are probably many of us out there who quietly continue to keep our thoughts elevated, to love, to try to be free of labels and judgments, despite our negative and judgmental conditioning. We just don't make the News. The one thing that keeps me going is that I know there is an equivalent amount of yin for the yang that is more apparent. When I look at the politicians running for president in this country, particularly on the Right, it is absolutely frightening to think that this could be our future. And yet, I know that there is a counter balance to them, even if a silent one. The Logos, the Dao, will do what it is to do, and if our destiny is to be led down the path of hatred by the gun-lovers and the top 1%, that too may be what is needed for total realization of Oneness. Perhaps the blocks will fall into place as part of The Plan with a right wing president, who knows? Perhaps this country must lead the way into bellicose world war for things to get back into balance. All I know is that we are all tentacles of the same giant squid, and that the presidential candidates too are all actors just playing their part. Sorry for the distraction here - but I know everyone here understands. Now I look forward to more of CT's glorious 'finds'.

Thank you, CT, for that wonderful foundational explanation of Dzogchen. Although this is not a path that I am familiar with in my own experience, it makes me see the similarities between how one arrives at a true perception of reality through one's own suffering, as he explains in the first wheel of Dharma. As many know here, I was an alcoholic for many years, many years spent in personal degradation and humiliation. If that isn't the reality of suffering, I don't know what is. The cessation of suffering, in this particular case, it takes the inner work of realizing that every perception and conclusion one has come to up to that point is probably exactly backwards. That all my conclusions to that point had been wrong. And that there was nobody to blame but myself for my own actions and karma. And then there's the tendency to place the blame for our original conditioning on our parents, until one realizes that they were conditioned exactly the same way; we are all victims of victims. His categorization of the First Turning in the wheel of Dharma - seeing the impermanent as permanent - seems to be my practice today, however from my own perspective. This moment will never return. The lamp that is lighting the keyboard of my computer is degrading as I speak. My body is aging as I type, it is not the same this moment as it was a minute ago. His explanation to Wake Up! is beautiful. I just came back from Florida the other day. On the plane, I was gazing out the window at the sky, and in gazing I saw what appeared to be tiny little shooting stars, going every which way. It make me realize, one more time, that everything is living. The stapler on my desk is alive with atomic energy. We are all Life, the One Life. We are contained in separate bodies, like the same wine being poured into different vessels, but the same we are, only differently conditioned. And we are all actors in this grand play, and each must play his part (thank you, Shakespeare and Elvis!) I am getting forgetful, I am getting repetitive. I will be 69 in a couple months. He reminds me that the secret to not losing one's memory is to be absolutely attentive to each moment, to be in the here and now, to truly See that which is in front of me. But more importantly, the interplay and inter-causality of all people, places, things, animals, sky, rocks, ideas, senses, perceptions, thoughts; ad infinitum. The Big One. I don't think the darker paths should be discounted. The path of Dzochen must truly be the highest path one can encounter within all the paths. But as Yueya said earlier, 'Every path can be a demon, Every demon can be a path'. My path was a demon, and it led me to you, CT. You are truly my teacher, and have been for years although perhaps you didn't know it. My practice, I'm ashamed to say, does not involve a great deal of meditation. Some, yes. But not more than perhaps once a week. But what my path is, is to check my motives at all times. To try and keep my thoughts high, that is a true discipline. To try not to judge. To love my brother as myself. To realize that when I'm judging, I'm merely seeing a reflection of that which is in me, and which needs to be removed. I am the Detective. I have been all my life, whether involved in the career or not. I want nothing more than the Truth out of life. And the dark path, lo and behold, has brought me to the highest place I've ever been. Higher than any substance I have put into my body, alcohol or drug. I am in mindfulness most of the time now, and when I find myself getting angry, impatient, aggravated - I instantly know that I am not here and now, watching the interplay of all aspects of This Moment. I love you. And I love Alan Wallace. Thank you.

Welcome, KundaliniLinguini - you'll find plenty if K-active folks here, myself included. I too have to deal with PTSD from my old police dept. days. You are really in the right place. No question that you can't ask that somebody here hasn't experienced. Take what you need and leave the rest. This is a great community. Very best wishes to you on your continual journey. BTW, my husband experienced the kundalini explosion from the base of the spine going out of the top of his head; he walks a shamanic path and had no idea what it was. That really sets you back on your heels, doesn't it, lol? He too is a seer.

But why? Did we not have the freedom beyond the cycle before it started? Why?, asks the detective.

Hi bass line - are you a fisherman or a musician? You'll probably find plenty of both here. Glad you've finally decided to come out from the shadows and start sharing your inner self and your ideas with us. The best to you on your continual journey, Manitou

Hi, inthetao, You're the second person who just joined who mentioned ayahuasca in their initial greeting. We've had threads on that before, and you're welcome to discuss it here - perhaps General Discussion would be the place to start. Seems like that vine brings many to the simplicity of the Logos, the desire to remove all that is unwanted within us and find the Oneness. So glad you're here, and I look forward to your input. Lots of wisdom here. Manitou

Hi Viktor - so glad you're here! Sounds like you've been on quite a quest, and it would be interesting to hear of your ayahuasca experiences. We are all just looking for peace of heart, I guess, in the long run. Glad your quest has brought you to a Daoist perspective - many on this forum have found it just the way you have - by just rooting around and landing here. We are truly a hodgepodge of folks who are coming from various perspectives, but have found commonality in the philosophy of the Dao De Ching, an incredibly wise and mysterious writing that comes from ancient times but contains wisdom that is lost in today's way of life. When you get around to posting or starting an ayahuasca thread, for example, General Discussion may be a good place to do that - my guess is that there would be many responses from those who have had similar experiences in their past. No particular viewpoint or religion is pushed here - merely people who are on the same quest for inner peace and who find it through a holistic simplicity. Very best wishes to you as you continue your quest - Manitou

Hi Alexander - You seem to have quite a few issues - many of them can be addressed on this forum. But the search for wholeness is a journey in simplicity, and you might want to approach your issues in a holistic fashion. The Dao De Ching (or Tao Te Ching) is a wonderful place to start. There are numerous translations out there, perhaps the simplest to start with might be a very small book by Stephen Mitchell (Tao Te Ching). Most folks on this forum are very familiar with the Dao, and there is no one translation that is recommended; but I find Mitchell's to be succinct for one starting to understand this path. Many times the stanzas will appear at odds with itself, but to get to the point of understanding the dichotomies contained within are part of the journey. Enough thought will bring understanding. There are physical movement specialists on this forum that specialize in qigong, for example - and many find nearly miraculous results from learning these stillness-movements. We have some very wise and knowledgeable folks here, and my recommendation to you would be to do some reading on the various threads first, just to get the hang of it - particularly in the Daoist section where qigong will be spoken of often. But the quest is an inner one; we find the stillness and the Oneness within ourselves, by removing those qualities inside ourselves that are counter productive, so that the Oneness can manifest within. Please don't be afraid to post your questions (many can be posted in General Discussion if you wish) and you will get many responses. Some here have transcended the structure of any particular belief system at all, realizing that they are One with the universe, and living their lives from that perspective. I wish the very best to you, and I hope you can find some peace here. I guess that's all any of us really want after all is said and done. Love to you, Manitou

Universal, simple energy. I love it. The Logos. We are It. Very best wishes to you on your continual path. Welcome to the Bums. Manitou

Aaaah...an open minded one -

I love what Eckhart Tolle says - to Leave Life Alone. This infers to me the same as the above post. It's all good. Expectation, judgement - Joe and I were talking about Trust yesterday. What a strange concept, trust. Trust what? Trust someone to be what we think they ought to be? Trust someone to meet our expectations always? Or to just trust that that person is going to be exactly what she is?. The whole concept of trust just doesn't make sense to me, other than in the above concept in CT's quote. Trust that Life is a friendly thing, whether seemingly good or seemingly bad. Trust that we are a zillion cars with the same driver, and there is nothing to do but love each other. Trust that life will always take care of us if we are in acceptance of the Oneness of all life, that Awareness seems to be the operative necessity always. That's all we can Trust. And judgement of others, when we find ourselves doing it, is a good indication of what we ourselves are, and what we need to work on within ourselves. We are nothing but mirrors of each other. I love this thread. Best ever.

Hi Murraya - So glad to have you here - you've found a very nice community of friends here. Hey don't worry - Mistakes 'R Us. Manitou

Hi Zevonwolf - glad you're here, and look forward to your input and conversation. My husband and I just bought a mobile home in Ocala, FL to get out of the Ohio winters. We were down there just a few days ago and about froze our arses off one night in the motel. You might want to PM another Floridian, Marblehead - he's quite active on the forum and he's in Jacksonville. Takes his gardening and fish ponds quite seriously. I look forward to spending some of the year down in your neck of the woods. Manitou

Welcome, starstern - so happy to have you here. Sounds like you're really attuned to what you need for perfect health - Manitou

Hello Grassmountainsage - glad you found your way to us. I look forward to your input, and best wishes on your continual journey - Manitou

Hi Peg - I'm right next door to you here in Ohio, about 40 miles west of Pittsburgh. Not one snowflake yet this year - isn't that incredible? BTW, the trail I'm walking in my avatar is Gretchen's Lock, if you're familiar with the lock system in this area. Delighted to have you here, and best wishes on your continual journey. Manitou

Hi Alex - delighted to have you here, and look forward to your participation. Best wishes on your continual journey - Manitou