Search the Community

why cant we just have the bureaucratic one corporate state that we all dream of? that would watch our every action and thought? (for our own protection) (and not necessarily just for marketing purposes) monsanto!, its not just for breakfast anymore,,,, i dream of a daring new corporation that has self funded its own research, peer reviewed itself too, that comes up with the next biggest best thing, a body fluid that will allow humans to operate (minimially and without questioning) almost half-way alive, this new corporate body fluid would replace that outdated concept of blood. the supreme court would rule in favor of the required 'fluid change' for all us citizens. the corporation of course will self regulate all safety, environmental, health concerns (as corporations do now) the new advanced 'fluid of life tm' will be available in cold weather only warmer climate variety( becoz that is all we need now) and it is able to absorb trace levels of CO2, actually it operates better on CO2 additives, each month or every 3,000 miles there will need to be 'fluid of life tm' change and check up. this will only cost 33% of your disposable income. but there will be the add on tax to support corporations that have gone multi-national and no longer hire us citizens. beginning in the year 2017 all citizens will be required to have their old outdated (not to be trusted) blood removed at authorized corporate blood drainers tm further good news is that while republicans argue for a blood draining credit voucher to cover this procedure for impoverished citizens (yes! the govt corporate state will even accept(demand) poverty blood) and the democrats actaully want this procedure included in the new entittlements package. (actually this will be the main entitlement) so, however bureaucratic corporate state (red, white, and blue) (altho this new entitlement also will take the red out of the red white and blue.) but isnt some dullish industrial gray a better color? and gives us a nostalgic rememberance when there was industry in america. its the world we always dreamed of and coming soon

The rice fly of zazen samadhi (Lake County, California): The Pomos around the lake certainly had their dreamers--I guess most First Nations peoples did. Gautama did not perform miracles (although he said that the greatest miracle of all was to teach). Wonder if that's why some Tibetans say he never achieved the "rainbow (dream) body"?

Perhaps. In zen, and most Mahayana, three bodies are spoken of, which could be translated as -- the physical body, the dream (rainbow?) body, and the body of reality (many names for this as Gunther could likely recount). In my not-so-humble experience, such mental fabrications and phenomenal appearances are only a distraction to zazen samadhi and finding our true body.

Thanks! Never a dull moment. yeah. I think it will be more interesting when I join the long distance course. Lucid dream are common for me, used to do what some may call oobe and astral projection for lack of better term. Not so much now, but lots of them when I'm younger. I am interested in the dream qigong that you guys do to. Hope can get to that level one day.

Is a dream that is not remembered a dream at all? Doesn't the definition of a dream imply that? Could it be that those that are not remembered are "unconscious brain activity" that happens all the time? Maybe the waking state draws us very far away from that activity, and when we sleep and thus it doesn't, some part of us connects with that activity.

I own "Chinese Herbal Medicine Materia Medica" by Bensky/Kaptchuk, among other books on the subject, it's seven hundred pages thick, and I've read it cover to cover, over the years. What you say applies to many herbs and herbal formulas, but not all -- sometimes you can safely go with tradition (never with commercial rap). Tradition says -- ginseng benefits older people (the older you are, the more benefits you get), but can create imbalances in younger people. Tradition says -- dong quai is good for most women after menopause, but can create imbalances in women of child-bearing age. Tradition says -- astragalus or deer antler is good to take in autumn/winter, not in sprig/summer. Tradition says -- licorice and aged mandarin peel and cinnamon "harmonize the formula," making adverse effects less likely. And so on. There's many things to know, and a "complete education" is a pipe dream. But most herbs are nowhere near as dangerous as even an aspirin, to say nothing of heavier pharmaceuticals. Few have side effects that are not transient, exceedingly few have adverse effects that are irreversible (can't even think of one, though I'm sure they exist), and in most cases, the worst thing that can happen from "unauthorized" but intelligent use of herbal remedies is a waste of money. So I would say my position on those cautions and warnings is, yeah, sure, if in general you're living your life very very cautiously, that's part of where you may want to exercise caution. But herbal adventures are not among the most dangerous endeavors. Now with pharmaceuticals, it's a different story... I wouldn't equate the level of emphatic "think before you leap" of the two.

Another factor at play in the arising of duality is having the capacity for language. It seems to me that humans distinguish the "self" from "other" as a function of language, at least in part. All living creatures need to be able to distinguish threat from asset but I wonder to what degree the distinction between self and other arises in living creatures other than humans. Do lions eat water buffalo because there is the sense that "I" must survive? Or is it simply a natural consequence of experiencing hunger and having the appropriate physical characteristics to hunt and eat along with learning from their parents and pride... Perhaps our primary distinction between self and other resides in our capacity for abstract thought. Abstract thought is predicated upon the capacity for language. For me, a practical and effective way to define duality is the conceptual discrimination between self and other. Non-duality is simply non-discrimination between self and other. This is not conceptual, however, it is experiential. Understanding what non-duality is has nothing to do with resting in non-dual experience. In fact, I suspect it may be an obstacle for many people. All speculation on my part. I'm not as interested in understanding as I once was although that curiosity and tendency to think and analyze is still there. I've found that, for me, my "understanding" of non-duality has little to do with questions and answers and far more to do with having adopted what seems to be an effective practice that encourages, cultivates, and reinforces a deeper level of non-dual experience. Over time there is more familiarity with that absence of self - other distinction. It gradually comes off the cushion and into action and interaction. I feel that it can be cultivated into a very high level of application and consistency. I also agree with those who emphasize the importance of things like devotion, surrender, trust, gratitude, and so forth. Those are the fuel and the context within which blessings tend to manifest. I've never seen this play out more clearly than in my practices of dream and sleep yoga. It's quite astonishing at times.

How does one burn up Karmas, especially, the karmas you have absorbed from others? My life is not short of personal sadness but that's pretty much dealt with. However, it seems that my mind is occupied by events took placed some 10 years ago. Mostly about a dead end job I had for 8 years. When I left and I thought I had friends but....even my so-called mentor just disappeared. Before that, I was in college earning a stupid degree in a college environment which was not conductive to my spiritual path. It was a waste. I kept telling myself these events do not matter. Yet, I dream about them often enough. My old workplace which no longer existed. My old college in which I felt lost, in the dream. I know they are impermanent but my mind didn't think so. Oh, before that, my past life karma and past life memories emerged. Ironically, I have that resolved very well. So, now, in the morning when my chi energy is flooding my brain, I could either start to mediate and completing the MCO within 15 minutes. Or I could fall back to sleep and to experience some of the most anxious dreams. They are often time about me fighting something. Trying to make my point across in a situation. Or I had to make some important decision. At times I feel like going back to these places and to tell them how worthless they are. How inconsequential they are in the whole world scheme of thing. I felt like they were holding me back because they were not exceptional in what they do. Ah....

Hm, I am not the right person to answer probably, but I hope my two cents can help a bit. I am not sure if the becoming the observer is the right thing to do, but I don't know. I have noticed what helps me a lot is to try to relax in the feeling and realize how everything is impermanent and just like a dream (meaning in is gone quickly and we have only fading memories). The fact that everything is impermanent is not sad fact, it is just a fact, no reason to be depressed from it, it actually makes one feel more free and happier a bit. From my experience death is a horrible thing to deal with and it takes years to really process it. This year it will be 5 years since my father's passing and I still sometimes catch myself missing him and hoping he could see how far I've got. What I would suggest is laughter. I remember I was soo frustrated with everything for few weeks after his passing until I made a very dark joke about my mother talking to his ashes, that made me laugh for solid several minutes. And it was one of the most relieving experiences in my life. Humor is a process of healing, unless of course it is hurting someone. Also I think you could try reading Pema Chödron's books she writes a lot about dealing with sadness anger and other emotions. Also Tibetan book of living and dying by Sogyal Rinpoche is a good piece of writing (despite the horrible things he has apparently done). Anyway. Don't expect to things go back the way they were. Don't expect yourself ot be the same. Things change. Be kind to yourself, loving to yourself and give yoruself time and space to heal. Do your best to be happy. Also, contact Garchen Institute, I think they do rituals for deceased people so you can give them info about him and also maybe photos. Garchen Rinpoche is called a mahasiddha and he really is. Greately compassionate teacher. https://garchen.net/ So if you want you can also try to benefit your spouse this way. Or, if you have different religion try rituals in that. Rituals are here to help us and the ones we do them for, so do not underestimate them. Best wishes, hope my ramblings helped

While we live and function in the world, all things happen in duality or multiple mode only. Even after non-dual or any realization for that matter, one functions in the world outside in duality. This, I call the 'practical'. But, the real answer to your question is in the Abhivanagupta's quote above. I think those words of Abhinvagupta comes from such wisdom that transcends realization. If everyone is realized, already in non-dual state, there is also no need for compassion as I stated before. If we hold the manifest world or maya to be equal to a dream, then this would be valid. I personally feel some people like Abhinavagupta and Buddha went far beyond this state of realization in their wisdom, to be able to reintegrate the world and help others with compassion.

I freaking love sleep! My wife ribs me routinely and giggles often at my rather involved relationship with pillows and posture while sleeping, (I have up to eight pillows that I use in various combinations). You know how a dog circles around before she sleeps... it's very similar to watch me set up and place my pillows as I nestle down. Last ten years or so, I always sleep on my sides during the night and on my back during the day. No idea why my body prefers this, but I long since stopped questioning and ignoring the very clear signals and now recognize and follow the wisdom of my body and simply comply to its cues with gratitude and benefit. I adore sleep these days and am gladly reclaiming all the sleep I fended off when I was 3-37. When I sleep in the day, I drop deeply into sleep in moments on my back in free fall gravity position and it is glorious. Knees are supported by three pillows two under my knees and one under the feet, that lift my legs up in a gentle arc above the heart level. My head rests on a small, very firm pillow that follows the contour of the back of my neck/head so the head peers every so gently upward. My arms 9/10 times are up over the head in victory pose, but arching out wide to the sides, cradled in two soft pillows... once in a while the arms will tell me they want to be by my sides... in this case the upper arms rest on the bed and the two pillows move down to the waist area, and my hands rest on those creating a gentle arch. side note: whenever I have straight arms or tightly bent arms my body will wake me quickly saying, 'curve that shit up mate... yer stifling flow'. At night, I sleep on my sides. I always start on my right side and then rotate back and forth. I have two pillows under my head to straighten the spine... the firm contour pillow I mentioned earlier is not tall enought to keep my head/neck straight, so I top it with a softer down pillow that yields at first, then when compressed holds my head in a cup that supports it and gently cups the limbs, helping to hold them in place. I roll and shape the soft pillow until my face is free and my neck straight. Next I have two large down pillows that I hug along my chest to rest my upper arm on and to spread and keep the chest wide open. This is absolutely paramount. If I do not support the upside arm, my chest compresses and stifles breathing, waking me soon. Two more pillows between the legs, again paramount for me. One between the thighs and one between the feet in a T shape, so my upper foot can slide forward or back as it wants while supported keeping the leg bones in line with the hips. This opens the hips wonderfully and my body gently hums with soft gratitude when I get it right. When I wake. I simply roll over, carrying my chest pillows with me, reset and clear my face and I'm back to sleep in moments. We long ago got rid of spring mattresses. Metal spring mattresses are abhorrent to me by nature. I prefer the floor to those things. And my wife broke several vertabrae in her spine some twenty years ago and spring mattresses are akin to a torture chamber for her. We use an air chamber/sleep number bed, so she can adjust it as her needs shift. My side of the bed is always pumped up a good 30 seconds after it reaches its maximum 100 setting for firmness. I highly recommend the book Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche. Sleep used to be something I avoided and tried to do without all too often in my fiery youth. Now, it is an integral and foundational part of my process and an active part of my energy work, in dreams.

It's a weird feeling I have these days. I am very happy with everything. Everything feels extremely weird. This existence is weird, random, like a playful dream that rises up for the sake or rising up, just because it can. The reasons for beginning on this journey no longer matter: the anger, insecurities, obsessions, desires, the ego, the needing to figure everything out. I don't much care anymore what is yesterday, today, or tomorrow. I play along with the things I have to do. When I'm in pain, I'm in pain, and when I'm happy, I am happy. But everything is fine because experiencing is good in itself. Whenever I feel or think, it's like: wow! cool! how cool is that! There is no direction or anything to do. I don't even feel the need to meditate anymore, or do Kunlun, or think about non-duality, or dependent origination, or the Self, or enlightenment, or who's right and who's wrong. Sometimes I sit, and I just sit. I eat, I just eat. I complain so I just complain. Or whatever: existence simply reveals itself. I don't worry much anymore. When I feel the need to do something, I just do. When I don't, I don't. I don't think i care about dying anymore. Or going to hell. Or going to heaven. Or awareness. Or no awareness. Or starving to death, or over eating. Or time or timelessness. Compassion or suffering. This body or soul. I like to sleep, I like to play, life is like rolling on my bed sheets on a breezy Sunday afternoon. I just am. Everything seems to be practice for nothing. Practicing...living...just living. Creating without a purpose. An endless dream; I feel more and more awake the deeper I dream. Mmmmmm....

And god said "oh my god!" What's happened to the human being What's happened to my lovely creature They all become a cold machine No more love no more power Machine without gasoline Wake up wake up crowd Wake up from your boring dream

Your ceremony was beautiful. Your interpretation of your dream is as much your right to own as was the dream itself. One rarely comes without the other but only if you ask. You have asked and received your answer. Let him be. He will heal in the way he is meant to heal. Of course we all want him to walk again. The Tao doesn't see it the way we do. And it may be to his best advantage in this life to have physical problems from this. Send him your love as you are doing. That is just what "God" would do. You can do no better than God. Because you are God. I could be dead wrong about Pike's level of contribution to Scottish Rite. I am basing my opinion on conversations with other Masons on the topic. According to my friends, the material Pike started with was incomprehensible, fragmented to the point of no return. A. Pike did the Masons a great favor by sorting this stuff out, and his book is a gift to the world. I will get a pdf of it along with Hall's book. I would be glad to discuss this with you. There is a great deal of unspoken knowledge that is received from the ritual directly and cannot be put in books. You may then find my perspective interesting. I will look at Joshua. ... I am channeling: You are an incredible gift to this world. We will learn much from you. God bless you. Joshua? Yes. We love you. I know it. There are masters who teach in the form of yoga and so forth, all the stuff on this forum, and there are masters who teach us just as Joshua is doing. Is that all you have to say? No. When I look at Joshua, I don't see the crippled body and finite mind that's attached to it; I see an immense being of infinite power and creativity. Joshua is in no danger of going wrong no mater what happens to his body or whether it heals or not. Let's drop down to a level that we can relate to as humans. No. I am told. Look deep. The door is open; I pass the guardian of his inner world. It is dark, a void. No thoughts, no sight. Peaceful Nothingness. We are One. My body is filled with a strong energy. I see a vision of me stepping into his limbs and putting on his body like a suit of clothing. His limbs are filled with golden light. This is not a healing. I am simply sharing existence. I am sharing this with Joshua. I cannot distinguish the difference between us. I am stretching my arms out above my head and I am taking a step forward with my legs, waking for the first time since the accident. The vision closed.

Anyway, about JC.. He's not the 'lovey-dovey, angelic' type that many people might make him out to be. His vibe comes across pretty good in this GoT. Very hardcore type of love - Very, 'This is a very narrow path and you really have to get your shit together to be on it. No F-ing around!'. So that's why it's a little intimidating for me to try and reconnect with him yet again. After my first session with that lady I mentioned a couple of months ago, I had a dream with JC in it - and this was before I knew she was into Jesus and that she felt he was the main dude/spirit/being working through her. Don't get me wrong, I realize Jesus is a very great spirit/being who is here to help people and to show us that's it's possible to do what he did - because we are exactly like him - We are made of the same exact stuff and are the same exact being - it's just that he's way further evolved. I don't know what's going to happen from here regarding JC and all that. I am just an average guy with no special gifts but, for whatever reason, I've attracted people into my life over the years who have absolutely tremendous mystical gifts and who I've had a lot of mystical experiences with. So it's anyone's guess what's going to happen next. In Jesus's last lifetime (as a healer in Germany in the 1940's/50's) he recommended people read a book called 'The Life and Teachings of the Masters of the Far East' which I believe is a 5 volume set that was published in the 1920's by Baird Spaulding. It's a work of didactic fiction that continually points out that all the power we seek is right within us and that all the 'spiritual masters' in those books, including JC, are just people like us and they are continually emphasizing that we can do what they do - and to never elevate them, put them up on a pedestal, or anything like that. They are just normal dudes that have evolved further and it's where we're all going.

A disciple of Lao Lai Tzu while out gathering fuel, chanced to meet Confucius. On his return, he said, 'There is a man over there with a long body and short legs, round shoulders and drooping ears. He looks as though he were sorrowing over mankind. I know not who he can be.' 'It is Confucius!' cried Lao Lao Tzu. 'Bid him come hither.' When Confucius arrived, Lao Lai Tzu addressed him as follows: 'Ch'iu! Get rid of your dogmatism and your specious knowledge, and you will be really a superior man.' Confucius bowed and was about to retire, when suddenly his countenance chanced and he enquired, 'Shall I then be able to enter upon Tao?' 'The wounds of one generation being too much', answered Lao Lai Tzu, 'you would take to yourself the sorrows of all time. Are you not weary? Is your strength equal to the task? 'To employ goodness as a passport to influence through the gratification of others, is an everlasting shame. Yet this is the common way of all, to lure people by fame, to bind them by ties of gratification. 'Better than extolling Yao and cursing Chieh is oblivion of both, keeping one's praises to oneself. These things react injuriously on self; the agitation of movement results in deflection. 'The true Sage is a passive agent. If he succeeds, he simply feels that he was provided by no effort of his own with the energy necessary to success.' Prince Yüan of Sung dreamed one night that a man with dishevelled hair peeped through a side door and said, 'I have come from the waters of Tsai-lu. I am a marine messenger attached to the staff of the River God. A fisherman, named Yü Ch'ieh, has caught me.' When the prince awaked, he referred his dream to the soothsayers, who said, 'This is a divine tortoise'. 'Is there any fisherman', asked the prince, 'whose name is Yü Ch'ieh?' Being told there was, the prince gave orders for his appearance at court; and the next day Yü Ch'ieh had an audience. 'Fisherman', said the prince, 'what have you caught?' 'I have netted a white tortoise', replied the fisherman, 'five feet in semi-circumference'. 'Bring your tortoise', said the prince. But when it came, the prince could not make up his mind whether to kill it or keep it alive. Thus in doubt, he had recourse to divination, and received the following response: "Slay the tortoise for purposes of divination and good fortune will result." So the tortoise was despatched. After which, out of seventy-two omens taken, not a single one proved false. 'A divine tortoise', said Confucius, 'can appear to prince Yüan in a dream, yet it cannot escape the net of Yü Ch'ieh. Its wisdom can yield seventy-two faultless omens, yet it cannot escape the misery of being cut to pieces. Truly wisdom has its limits; spirituality, that which it cannot reach. 'In spite of the highest wisdom, there are countless snares to be avoided. If a fish has not to fear nets, there are always pelicans. Get rid of small wisdom, and great wisdom will shine upon you. Put away goodness and you will be naturally good. A child does not learn to speak because taught by professors of the art, but because it lives among people who can themselves speak.'

About entering the "dream-state" during meditation, here is a device that I used a number of years ago called the Mirror by some. After quieting the mind, you simply reach out and open a door that is right in front of you and walk through it. Then you travel until you are surrounded by a Nothingness. At that point, almost anything can happen. Sometimes I would put on a cone-shaped hat which would then sprout wings (like the wings of Hermes), and fly through the Mirror into the unknown, visiting strange worlds or beings. Another way I used was to give a ThetaHealing command to take me into a past life, then I'd either push through something like a cloth veil or travel through a tunnel and find myself observing scenes from the "past". You can enter someone else's past life in this way too. Recounting what I saw was almost always a healing experience for the person whose past I had observed. I ran into a device not too long ago which proved to be very effective for entering this other reality. First, you quiet the mind with Autogenic Therapy, ending with "I am at peace" and envisioning a place that brings you peace. The place is called your Peace Image. When you get good at this Autogeninc Therapy, you can move into the "Autogenic State" very quickly and skip the need for lengthy meditation to become quiet. Next, you shrink the image down until it is gone, leaving you with a blank screen. The mind is empty at this point. This is all stuff that I played with a number of years ago, but here is the new part that I just read and tried out. You put an edge on the "blank mind" like a TV screen, then press your fingers together like turning on a TV with a remote control. The "blank mind" screen turns on and you are taken into the world of vision. Affirmations will direct you to where you want to go, be it a past life, or another dimension, or an understanding of something, or the clearing of a blockage. Whatever you choose. Notice the finger pressing which is a Hermetic technique to trigger the opening of your vision. Once you establish this finger pressing as a valid "mudra" to take you into the vision state, you can skip all the other stuff; after a moment of meditation, press your fingers together and off you go into the unknown. There are numerous ways to enter the unknown: Mantras, affirmations, focusing on various energy centers in and around your body, various doorways such as a cave like the Cave of Da Mo, or ... too many to think about. Why do this? NOTE: 'dream science' is a term I made up on the spot to refer to anything you might do consciously or subconsciously to encourage dreams and their interpretation.

Here is a link for Robert Waggoner s Lucid dreaming emagazine . On the page 10 is an interesting story about a woman healing herself in the lucid dream and not having to undergo operation as a concenquence . There are many such testemonies . http://dreaminglucid.com/issues/LDE58.pdf It is interesting how interconnected dream /sleep and waking states are ! So much more depth than to popular common belief of what dreams are . What we take for unshakable reality is a joke .

Very interesting with exciting possibilities. I guess its your etheric energy body(?) your interacting with in dreams and if you manipulate the energy in a dream and are sensitive enough you would feel this on waking? Some times I do a middle of the night cultivating session and when I eventually go back to sleep I usually have lucid dreams and have been wondering what to do with them. I want to train my dream attention and do some kind of energy work. I would say that rabbit hole leads to a very large warren which is all part of the play of consciousness! Very interesting possibilities, thanks for your post. NowHere ∞

The lesson is that ignorance has a price. Learn to think for yourself. Alchemy is simply using Metaphors - albeit in an acient (dead) language AKA: 'conceptual metaphor.' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conceptual_metaphor Metaphor Definition: Metaphor is when you use two nouns and compare or contrast them to one another. Unlike simile, you don't use "like" or "as" in the comparison. Examples I am a rainbow "I am a rainbow" is a example of metaphor because it is comparing two nouns, a person, and a rainbow, but does not use like or as. I am not Anger "I am not anger" is an example of metaphor because it is contrasting two nouns. MY LIFE IS A DREAM My life is a dream, like a tiger waking up from her deep sleep. My life is like a dream, it's all up to me, the trees are purple, the stars talk away the night, the moaning moon lights up the sky. By Autumn I AM LAS VEGAS I am Las Vegas growing by the infinite awake morning by night, or day. I am Las Vegas My hand is the sand. By Rachel I AM A SWORD I am a sword, Sharper than a tongue Nobody can defeat me, Because I am a sword, I can not be hurt by what people say About me, I will not show my anger Against Someone else. By Alex MATH Math is the career for kids. If you don't know math you won't make any money. you won't get a job. you won't get a house. By Jake http://library.thinkquest.org/J0112392/metaphor.html

Hi there. Well done for figuring out so much about how you feel. I'm looking forward to hearing more about your findings when you feel able. I'm going to tell you a couple of things I have done for myself which may or really may not be relevant to you.. if they are then hooray, if not, then pffft!!, move swiftly on... these things are really simple and quite amazingly effective, they are to do with thoughts and images arising, and you may well not have thoughts arising that perpetuate your state .. so.. the same technique may be applicable to a persistent psyche-soma response... one is a technique I got from a dream yoga book, which suggests that we regard daily life as a dream, this technique is to apply specifically to life problems that seem insoluble.. every time the issue arises in the mind, say to yourself 'it is just a dream'.. over a period of time, whatever was recurrently arising in the mind, gives up and goes away.. (like magic!) another technique like this which I employed super effectively was one I made up inspired by Richard Bandlers techniques for finding images of what you want to minimise/eradicate about your behavior/thoughts, and shrinking them visually so that they become very small, removing the colour from them so that they become sepia, and turning any volume down on them so that they are silent. What I did, was see the image of what I needed to be free from, and see it dematerialise, turn to dust and blow away in the wind. I did this repeatedly and a very very longstanding issue just stopped being an issue, surprisingly quickly. I guess it is mind training. I had no idea it was fast and effective. This may not be relevant to you because you may not have any thoughts to deal with, but instead have the residual issue of the forehead etc.. in which case you may be able to get an image for the physical stuckness and dissolve it .. or you may be able to work on dissolving the original trauma if you have recall of it. Another very helpful body -mind technique is EFT, google Gary Craig. The techniques are on youtube. Acupressure is also great, it's something we can do for ourselves. Anyway, I'm in danger of writing an essay here.. Good Luck and Welcome to the forum!

"What do you mean by being fatter?" refuted the robot. "You are all haggard-looking and skinny like dried fish!" "How can that be?" exclaimed the boy and the ball-shaped alien in bewilderment. "We were all treated to an exotic grand feast at the palace!" "I've captured our epic on video," interjected the Octopus-like alien, "Let's view it now." The four of them thus sat down and glued their eyes to the TV monitor depicting the playback of the footage. The initial scene had no issues; it simply showed their walk in the darkness. However, things got a bit spine-chilling when it showed that they were complaining about the unbearable sun. "Where is the sun?" yelled the robot. "We don't see any sun here, right? It is still in darkness." More inconceivable things were screened thereafter. For example, when they were pointing to a lake, there wasn't a lake at all. When they were "swimming", they were simply stroking their limbs on land. Even when the boat arrived, the men were represented as "fireballs" and they were still walking on foot because there was no boat to begin with. What happened at the palace? It was an abandoned town with lots of skeletons lying around. As they were "feasting", they were either consuming "air" or swallowing dirt from the ground. By now, you should be able to decipher what had actually happened at Shangri-La. Such senses were injected into them, making them believe what they had experienced was genuine. But in reality they weren't real. Whenever we have dreams that seem so real to us, we will think that IS reality. But when we wake up, we then know it was just only a dream. So how can we prove that we aren't now in a "larger dream", that we haven't woken up? Perhaps we will "wake up" only after death? Of course, I am not disputing the idea that we can neither disprove that now isn't a dream but reality. But Heartists go on the belief of the Second Axiom, that nothing exists physically. And now the Third Axiom.....

Yes, I know that this is where you are right now. I just don't like the word "void" because as I undersand the TTC, Lao Tzu does not speake of it. In my understanding, void would equate to "absolute Nothingness" and this, just as with Tao, cannot be spoken of. Okay, now I can agree with you because you didn't yse the word "void". Okay. Nice dream. Now forget about it because it was only a dream. When you woke up you were still you even though your mind has changed slightly, this which happens all the time without those types of dreams. Rest your mind and you won't have them anymore. All you will have is the 'now' moment. That's reality.

I include the following excerpt from a book I have. I do so because this excerpt deals directly with the Amrita (Amrto, Amrta - aka Nectar of Immortality, aka Sweet Dew) the Rebirth in Pureland mantra invokes. The following comes from Kundalini: Aghora II by Robert Svoboda [ISBN: 978-0914732-31-0] pp. 88-89 Svoboda 's Guru: "Ordinary Kundalini Yoga is difficult enough, but an Aghori makes it even more intense. Do you know how you feel when you are full of lust? You can't wait to enjoy sex; you will rip off your own clothes, and then rip the clothes off your partner. Likewise an Aghori, filled with the desire to experience Reality, rips the coverings, the clothes, off the Universe when he wishes to love it. If you really want to progress at Kundalini Yoga you must forget your body, that thing which is clothing your consciousness, and to do that you must first forget food and water. After 3 days without water you begin to feel dizzy, your blood thickens, and so on. After 5 days you begin to gasp, and unless you are really dedicated you will decide you don't want to die and you'll drink. Aghora is the fast, direct way, but it is too difficult for most people. "If you don't want to force yourself to quit eating, and want to progress by stratagem instead, which is the way of the clever sadhaka, you must first understand the nature of food. To do this you must first thoroughly understand the nature of the 3 Coverings of the universe, which are----" Svoboda: "The 3 Gunas, the 6 Tastes, and the 5 Great Elements." Svoboda's Guru: "The 6 Tastes are within the body, not outside. Have they taught you this yet in the Ayurvedic college?" Svoboda: "They have alluded to it." Svoboda's Guru: "oh, they have alluded to it, have they? Anyway, if you want to do without food and drink entirely and live only on air you must manufacture all the tastes within the body; then there is no need to take them from outside. Amrita, the 'nectar of immortality,' is a glandular sustance created within the body which is necessary for this purpose." Svoboda: "That too had been alluded to in Ayurveda, with little explanation." Svoboda's Guru: "We exist only because of the 3 Gunas: Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas. Most people do not know that Sattva and Tamas are two sides of the same coin. Sattva is Amrita, which is of the essence of the Fire Element. The Amrita in your head, this glandular substance, is the physical manifestation of pure Sattva. Tamas is Visha, deadly poison, which is of the essence of the Water Element. The metabolic toxins in your body poison both it and your mind. When you remove the bad qualities from poison it becomes nectar, and if you add bad qualities to nectar it will become poison. Ayurveda is full of examples of how poisonous plants and minerals can be used for medicine, and how improperly used medicines become poisons. I believe I am correct?" Svoboda: "Yes, You are." Svoboda's Guru: "Rajas is the bridge between the two. Rajas can transmute Tamas into Sattva, and it can degrade Sattva into Tamas. Rajas is pure shakti, energy, the very incarnation of illusion, of Maha Maya. Rajas does not know what it is doing; it just does it, so it must be well controlled. When Rajas is properly controlled almost anything can be achieved. And the only being Who knows how to control Shakti is Shaktiman: Lord Shiva. [my note: my own preference here would be to say the One Who Knows and Properly Controls, With Pervasive, Perfected Wisdom is a Samyak-Sambuddha / Tatagatha but since this book is from a Hindu perspective I want to keep the words exactly as published.] Svoboda's Guru: "The name Rudra, which is another name for Lord Shiva, indicates the shedding of tears. Rudra brings you nothing but tears. Before the Rudra Granthi is pierced the sadhaka sheds tears of misery, of Maya, because he cannot be sure of himself, or of the existence of God. This doubt continues until that Knot is pierced, when all doubt is removed. The glands of the body then begin to secrete Amrita: they 'shed tears'. This Amrita causes the devotee to shed tears of joy. Shiva drinks poison but he converts it into Amrita. In order to do this you must know the relation between Visha, which is poison, and Vishaya, which means sense object. The world of sense objects is the true poison because it is impermanent. People fleetingly regard it as permanent, and this leads to delusion. During sex, for instance, a man feels, "Oh! What bliss I am enjoying!' But suddenly, pfssst! - emission. Then he realizes, "No, it is no longer there.". His dream construction of heaven has evaporated. "Everything Shiva takes in is converted into Amrita, which is called Amrita because it is permanent, not transitory. And that is why it is connected only with Lord Shiva, Who is your real Self, your soul. As long as you are in the world your consciousness is connected with sense objects; it is the state of transience, of ignorance. Only when you come to Shiva can you find Amrita. "To obtain Amrita the grace of your guru is also necessary, at the very end when you are just on the threshold of progress. It is like a Rishi's goat sacrifice. The Rishi who kills the goat will send it into a higher womb, but the goat doesn't know that and feels great pain at first. The sadhaka who wants to do without food also suffers, but a good guru is relentless, and finally the Amrita is obtained. The disciple goes beyond food and becomes a Siddha, an immortal." ***** edits: assorted typos

Hou Yi lived on in despair, the turmoil of days past slowly by and by. Like a dove, Hou Yi love for Chang E was unbreakable. Unbearable misery surrounded Hou Yi and his love of life and legend diminished, for it was weak in comparison to that love he still had for his beloved. So close yet so far away, Chang E remained in Hou Yi's every tear. Tears he cried and wept every night, for the sorrow in loss he could not fight. The will of the warrior could not succumb to the power that love had over him. Hou Yi often dreamt of being reunited with Chang E, and together they were one. In a glade the green blades glimmered with the joyous laughter and humor resonated through the leaves of the trees as the vibrant sky was gifted with vibrant hues as far as the eyes could see. In Hou Yi's dreams he felt alive and free, more alive than he did when he opened his eyes to see the empty and bare lonely room stretching out before him. More often then not he went back to sleep, to be with his one true love in his dreams, milking every precious moment, until he could not sleep due to thirst and hunger, he had to get something to drink and eat. Hou Yi would sleep for days on end, and slowly began to wither away, until one day, he didn't awake and remained in a dream state. Or so it would appear, here he remains for all to peer: Chang E whispered into Hou Yi's ear "Wake up, wake up, I miss you dear, I fear the winters just about here!" Hou Yi awoke when Chang E's tears melted with his into a sphere, the dream that would forever persevere.