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P.S. Hi Lloyd, many days later, I realize that I didn't respond to your account of seeing flashes of light and color in meditation. Lots of practitioners have reported all shorts of light shows while doing meditation with eyes closed and the FP Qigong in particular. I have one long-term student in los Angeles who sees lights and when her eyes are open, sees human energy fields in vivid colors. I myself don't see in colors, but in varying textures of transparent, colorless layers. Indian, Tibetan and Chinese (and other traditions) other yogic literature have some treatment of colorful lights and dramatic dream-like visions while in meditation. Here is link to one Indian analysis/categorization of "visions" with a little blurb about lights at the bottom of page. http://www.scribd.com/doc/2678894/Visions-in-Meditation (sorry, this is the only thing I found and it's not great.) I personally don't lend any weight or validity to this cookbook-type of analysis--it's the same rote and blind ascribing-assignation of "meaning" to dreams that crumby dream books do all the time. Every human psyche and consciousness is unique and utilizes various symbols according to language,culture and spiritual predilection (also diet, level of war, street crime, hours in front of a TV and drug-ingestion). And like rendering a holistic cure in Chinese medicine to a patient, where the healer develops the cure/remedy ON THE PERSON IN REAL TIME WHEN HE/SHE'S IN FRONT OF HIM, so the analysis or clarification of a vision is done with the person in front of you so you can see and read his entire karma, energy system, psychological processes, etc. Having done many-many years in guided meditation, dreamwork, hypnotherapy (using hypnotic regressions (as both subject and operator), and worked in holistic counseling a good deal, I believe in "analyzing" or giving meaning to a person's vision by letting their subconscious knowledge of the meaning rise to consciousness. Unless it's a spiritual visitation from an entity (and that does happen--such as the Buddhistic images that another contributor to this thread reported when he first started practicing FP), the "vision" comes from one's own mind. Therefore you know the meaning at a certain level. Or there may be no meaning at all to a vision or light show--abstract, bizarre, nonsensical visions and "venting dreams" happen all the time (on a daily basis); it's the mind doing "house-cleaning." Anyway, got carried away there a bit. but one thing for sure, FP qigong facilitates deep, deep states of mind-body relaxation, altered states of consciousness--normally Higher States of Consciousness (or HSC as coined by Daniel Goleman)-- and is a great stirrer-upper of your subconscious and unconscious Mind. Regards, Terry

after you can use Almond oil or apricot seed oil to put on your skin, should be organic if possible - very nourishing and grounding oils and also warming Actually based on what thelerner said in his post you could even add fresh or try sage or sage oil to the bathtub, or sandalwood oil (in india they use sandalwood to get rid of strange energies) my girlfriend did that with lavender oil for me one time - I felt like earth itself after that bath and slept 13hours straight, I was traveling through half europe in 2 weeks before that, translating for one of my lamas, my girlfriend saw me and put me into the salt bath immidiately - was sooooo good, like a day in a spa just cheaper and bigger results dont use soap when you do the baths or showers, just hot water (as hot as you can stand!!! should be HOT) and salt (all together 500gr for the bath or 250gr for the shower) repeat for some days, and see what happens to your day to day life and dream life also I want to remind you again that you are most probably meeting parts of your own psyche, maybe split off parts? I can't say that for sure of course but I do think it is a better working basis to overcome this obstacle then the idea that magicians or shamans or enteties are attacking you, I mean ok maybe they do - maybe, who knows. but I got a feeling that you are not under any sort of attack from the "outside" I do guess work here, but I will try to tell you why I think it is not from the outside.... you can agree or disagree I actually more and more believe that the ideas of "inside" and "outside" are not a good way to deal with reality when I was in Psychotherapy my gestalt therapist even proposed that everytime you think this or that person is like this and that, has this and that charackter and this and that problem, as soon as those thoughts pop up, he said just stop and ask yourself why AM I LIKE THIS AND THAT, WHY DO I HAVE THIS AND THAT CHARACKTER AND PROBLEM? a 180 degree shift in perception - because most of what we think of as out there is just our "ideas" projected unto something inexpressible anyway. he also said as long as we think situtaions out there, people out there are the source of our problems and suffering we basically confirm that we are weak and victims - better to take responsebility for ourselves and our problems - because then we can do something about it - we can't change the outside world too much to conform to our imagined needs and wants anyway - better investigate and work with our minds that is the same basic working position of all the mahayana mind training teachings I received, so also Buddha and Buddhist masters of India and Tibet work on the basis of not looking for faults, problems, obstacles "out there" but "in here" they are just more radical because even if it is obviously really obviously not your fault but comming from an "outside" aggressor well still its your fault because of previous Karma so one should be happy to be able to go through this Karmic effect and let it go, practice the paramita of patience shantideva says in his "entering the way of a Bodhisattva" there is no greater evil then anger therefor there is no great austerity then patience an very simple example for this (the level of western psychology, not eastern psychology): you go to work and meet one of your co workers, you look at this person and want to ask him "why are you so tired, you look so stressed" - just stop a second, don't ask this person and ask that quesiton yourself "why am I so tired and stressed?" most of our interactions with other people are based on our projections and introjections etc. I also think you will overcome this problem somehow and slowly have alot of precious insights into human nature - and I wish that to you as well stay strong and yes take a break from practice - reduce it a bit and simmer down, integration of new energies and insights is as important as opening them up in my experience

Interesting you mention sexual energy. On the night of the new moon, i woke up to a sexual dream which hit me out of the blue because I was not watching any movie or TV show which had R rated content. These kind of dreams seldom happen to me, and when it happens i can usually pin-point the cause of it. It would be usually a sexual thought that was happened in my mind during the past 2 or 3 days. This time, i was totally shocked because i have been busy with other thoughts and had not exposed myself to any thought that could be sexually oriented. But, i did brush it aside soon, and woke up in equanimity, not getting upset about it - i used to get upset about these dreams in past.

Hello Raven's Fire, and welcome to the forums! Your membership is approved and we're happy to have you here :-) You might find this annoying but I have to tell you that my wife and I are huge fans of the TV show Northern Exposure and our favorite character is Ed Chigliak, the mild-mannered, young Tlingit film-making genius :-) It was thanks to that show that we know anything at all about your clan (if that's the right way to express it). Alaska is defintely on my short list of places to not only visit but to experience before I die. And with my qigong, I hope that means I still have a lot of time available to realize the dream :-) Please take the time to read the two posts pinned at the top of this Welcome page and take a look at the forum terms and rules. This covers all you need to know when getting started. For the first week you will be restricted to ten posts per day but after that you can post as much as you like. Also, until you’ve posted fifteen times in the forums, you’ll be a “Junior Bum” with somewhat restricted access and will be allowed only two private messages per day. Good luck in your pursuits and best wishes to you, SC and the TDB team

Why china ? You could do this right here in US, where natural beauty abounds. Have you thought about basic things necessary to run a retreat center like you dream of ? Water supply, food supply, medical emergencies, accessibility for people to get in and out etc ? Life could get real harsh in remote areas. I remember watching this show called "Life below zero", which shows solitude life in Arctic region. Going back to the original topic - one week (one month is even better) of 24x7 practice is very powerful, even within the confines of society. It works great, if one lives alone or has a partner who would understand and cooperate for a week of silence in the home. We work so hard in society so that we have money to seek out sensual pleasures, without understanding these sensual pleasures are a never ending evil in life. A week of solitude and silence becomes more feasible for the multitude, mostly upon retirement.

Oh My Goodness! What a subject for discussion! Yes, our dreams are just as real as our real world is (while we are dreaming). I think the phrase "while we are dreaming" is important. Our dreams come from our unconscious mind, in the most part. They are most often a collection of data that may or may not be associated. This will present wierd dreams. I think that there is a similarity between our dreams and our illusions and delusions. All are real to us but they are not necessarily real in the real world or real for anyone else. Yes, I have heard that we can control our dreaming. I have never tried it so I can speak to the concept. I rarely dream (that I am aware of) so dealing with dreams is not a problem for me. I think an important aspect of this subject is "what do we do with our dream memories upon waking?" I think that when we have dreams of negativity we have a subconscious problem that we have not yet dealt with. Perhaps our dreams are telling us that we have work to do? Peace & Love!

Why would most people not be capable of astral protection no matter how hard they try? If they can dream couldn't they surely astral project? These abilities can be acquired energetically couldn't they? Isn't saying "you won't be able to do it no matter how hard you try" the equivalent of telling them that qigong is useless because they won't be able to cultivate chi no matter how much work and effort goes into the practice? In my opinion allowing folks to know that they can conveniently communicate telepathically with each other, plants and animals as well as knowing what they're capable of through deep meditations (or while their bodies are at rest) can turn them on the spiritual path. Instead we rely on material things and technology (used by governments and corporations to control and enslave us). I'm aware of what Shakyamuni said about getting attached and distracted by these abilities but in today's age the spiritual path is no longer so cut and dry.

Yeah wifi effects me big time. I had to turn it off before I went to sleep, once I forgot and I had a dream my brain was really hot and frying from wifi signals... I wake up and was sure I turned it off but it was the one time I forgot. Another really weird thing I've had for the past few years is when I'm waiting for a lift (aka elevator), I can feel it when it comes up through the ground infront of me... it's like I get slight vertigo and loss of balance when I'm outside the lift without even having stepped inside. I put it down to a big mass of metal coming up through the ground affecting my feet energy centers or something... such a strange feeling.

Meditating/visualizing yourself into a dream is a very difficult task. Tenzin Wagnyal Rinpoche addresses the issues newcomers have and seems to guide you by the hands in his book. I haven't really had the chance to put that part of his material to work as of yet as I'm really devoted to mastering the Taoist dreaming techniques at the time of this writing. I don't want to give off the wrong impression and make everyone think that I'm anti-science or anti scientific research. I'm just not a fan of sacrificing the cultivation of a skill set to effortless mastery and perfection for the sake of introducing endless data and theory. In the end all this does is leave you with all this knowledge that you can't really put to use. I'll use myself as an example and I've spoken out against this on a separate post. This is the exact same reason I left healing tao and healing tao doesn't (and likely never will) fit the definition of a science by scientific standards. I'm also not very fond of the arrogance and all the misleading that goes on when they hijack spiritual practices. In my opinion they're almost as bad as those frauds in the metaphysical community (these are the absolute worse) who prey on desperate people for very large sums of money or develop cults. I love science but most of the theory and data can be saved for later in cases like these where SKILL is what you should be working on first. Afterwards you can learn the theory and data if you choose and connect with the information much more deeply and with true understanding. I feel the exact same way about the esoteric material. I'm considered the scientific/analytical type in the offline world and no one in the real world could ever imagine that I would be into qigong,lucid dreaming or meditation as I keep my spiritual life PRIVATE. I guess you could say I was fortunate enough to have have spiritual experiences which has allowed me to keep an opened mind. DreamBliss, I'm with you on developing a lucid dreaming form which is accessible to everyone. At the very least to everyone on this forum. Something that actually WORKS the way we envision it should and won't cost anyone a dime other then their desire to learn it. Maybe we could develop a style of qigong that works in tandem with this. We'll have to see what happens but there isn't any reason for anyone here NOT to experience these energetic planes.

Hm you get a full grasp of how the dream may come to be.. Not the story, more like.. One dream may actually repeat over and over in sequences before its actually fully experienced. When you read over your dreams and began to recognize them for what they are, aswell as remember them you'll begin to learn while still in them... Also found it cool your in florida, I'll be there in 3 days

Incubation, tibetan yoga of dream and sleep, yoga nidra, some forms of sufi dikr, etc... are - I think - just different cultural versions of the same practice.

I am now at chapter 74 of 基督山恩仇記 or ji du shan en chou ji. I said I read this book in English twice before. The first time in early 70s. The second time was in late 80s. So much of what I read in English existed vaguely in mist of my memories. In this reading in Chinese, I am enjoying it in details and richness almost akin to reading it for the first time. Or rather, in hearing it spoken in Chinese via Google translate and myself following the fantiji chinese words in print via http://mandarinspot.com/annotate In next letter I will show you the usefulness of using http://mandarinspot.com/annotate. I have seen folks asking to read newspaper in Chinese. I can only say do not ever do that if you are not good with Chinese, or even if you are very good (as expat) in Chinese if ever you want to get into the Chinese language and thoughts. You have rode in taxis before. Where the taxi drivers almost always felt they are F1 drivers overlooked by others and therefore they will drive taxis in style of F1 drivers. Writers and editors of Chinese Newspaper felt that they are overlooked denizens of Hanlinyuan 翰林院 "Hanlin Academy" . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanlin_Academy They felt compelled to write in WenYenWen when simple sentences in Chinese will do just like taxi drivers compelled to drive like F1 racers. Further more, newspaper articles are short and require you to know almost every word those aspiring Hanlinyanist dug out from obscure chinese dictionaries. Getting into Chinese via Chinese newspaper is akin to wanking yourself with a handful of coarse grit and sand versus getting into Chinese via a good long novel (can even be Chinese sex stories) is akin to wanking yourself with Ponds cold cream. You need to make this journey as enjoyable as you can. This will be a long journey. I reckon you might take 3 months. Which will be better than that 3 years and more that almost all other expats assured that you will take, while wanking yourself with wet coarse grit I can hardly think people can do things painful to them, useless as tits on a man, and continue to final conclusion of getting into Chinese An American's humorous perspective about Why Chinese Is So Damn Hard. In long stories such as 基督山恩仇記 or ji du shan en chou ji, love was spelled in in different exquisite ways repeated and repeated. Or vengence or how vengence to be carried out spelled out in details from different angles thereby ensuring you understand the different nuances of love and vengence on how 基督山 伯爵 Jidushan bo jue (count of Monte Cristo) carried that out. Words and paragraphs repeated with different variations to enable you to see the height of their love or vengence taken and executed. And thereby allowing you to see the same group of chinese words used in different ways in ways that you enjoy and never forget without the efforts of commiting that into memory. If you want to commit all that into memory, then go and re-read in chinese 2 or 3 or more times. As a reflection of how far I had gone on this road, I wrote a note way way back in 1990s when I first started in Taiwan and you can see how abysmal my chinese was. Much of what I wrote lost when that demonic entity fingered my hard drive Fragments of earlier memories of Taiwan Extracted From http://shanlung.com/taroko90dec.htm Written in almost real time there and then. 29 Dec 90 I have planned to spend the New Year long weekend at Hohuan Shan. I thought I would walk up from Tayuling and then down to Wushu returning to Taipei. As the bus from Hualien to Tayuling will leave only at 730am, it did not really matter if I leave Taipei late on Saturday. That timing was fateful, as was the can of Pepsi I bought. I took the 11.43pm train from Taipei to Hualien. I bought some snacks and a Pepsi from the Station. Finished the snack and fell asleep on the train. 30 Dec 90 They woke me up at Hualien. That can was still unopened. Taking that with me, I slung on the backpack and walked out of the station. Pulled the tab and strode on into the cold morning air of Hualien City. I wanted to go to the nearby park to watch the dawn breaking over the city. Walking past the bus stop, I thought it would be more comfortable to sit there and finished the Pepsi first. There were some Taiwanese there sleeping and sitting at the bench when I made my way to a seat. A conversation started up with three guys there. They had backpacks all over, and I think people with backpacks always find others with backpacks to be fascinating to each other. While we may have different dreams and routes, we share the same urge to explore and find out a bit more of our world. That curiosity extends to people as well. Besides, talking about routes help to pool information for any later plans. They knew I was not a local from the way I talked. They were intrigued by the way I wandered around by myself here in Taiwan.Told them also of the way I checked out other parts of the world by myself. The talk switched to philosophy and political world. I guessed that failed when they brought in one more member of their group as interpreter. She told them I was talking on 'Eastern Europe' and not 'Eastern neu-rou' and that have nothing to do with neu-rou mein or neu-rou chang (this is directly translated to 'beef place', a place where pretty girls will sing two songs each, the first song will be sang in beautiful elegant outfits, and the second song with just their shoes and a smile). The disparity of what I was saying and what they thought they were comprehending was so vast. That knowledge of the standard of Chinese I commanded depressed me. I wondered that perhaps my earlier conversation with them on philosophical matters must also have taken on warped undertones as well. I reckoned if I try to set that right, even greater damages may result. I gave a big sigh deep inside my mind. Her name is Amanda and she has a friend Chin-hua with her( I tend to pay more attention and remember girls' names better). It was getting about 5am, I suggested we could perhaps walk on to the bus station about 1/2 hour away. They woke up the rest of the group, a guy with his newly wed wife, her sister and boyfriend, and a girl with a most enchanting voice like notes tinkling from wind-chimes. A pretty girl with delicate Chinese features and who smiled from her heart. I gathered they were going to walk on an old road at the Taroka Gorge though I was still not clear of the details yet. I gathered the road was somewhat above the existing road that the traffic runs. I thought it was going to be a fairly easy walk. I enjoyed their company, and I thought where I wanted to go can still be done another time by myself. A trip on their route may not be possible on my own. They readily accepted me when I asked to join them. Shortly after breakfast, we left on the local bus to Taroka Gorge. It was driven by a very friendly man who became even friendlier and talkative when he heard from them where they intended to go. We dropped at the bridge shortly after a dam. We clambered 20' down rocks,a little bit different from the 'old road' I expected to 'walk' on. I thought that's only the start, and that it should get easier later on. Never was I more wrong. We crossed the bridge to the other side of the Gorge. We then climbed up more boulders, pushed through some under growth, and down onto the river bank. I cracked my right knee on the first jump, just what I need to add to my left ankle, still wobbly after the wrench it received 6 weeks back. Grit my teeth , told them no problem and continued. The pain eased after a while. I knew I dressed wrongly, having thermal undershirt on with thick T shirt and padded shirt. Also had on my old pair of jeans meant for walking. That was with me for over 15 years and we have been to many treks together. It was too tight to allow me to bend my legs freely to climb up or down. I thought I was going for a walk in the cold air of Tayuling to Hohuanshan in the first place. Stripped off my shirt as I was over heating in the climbing up and down of the boulders along the bank. It was fun still. The boulders appeared so deceptively small when seen from the roadside. They were the size of big buses and cars we have to climb over. At one place, we had to take off our shoes and socks to wade in the swift cold water of the river. The smoothness of the boulders,despite their size, gave an idea of the force of the river at its peak flow. Powerful as the river was, the driftwood packed twenty feet above the water line showed what it could really do. Those boulders must have been washed along like pebbles. The banks were molded out of granite and marble. History of powerful events of long time past where recorded in the striations. They were further twisted and fused by the forces of the tectonic plates grinding and heating them. Pages of the history of the world written in a way befitting to them. To add to the fun, at one point, some yellowish metallic particles were found in the sand. One of the guy collected a fair bit of that. I thought they were probably mica. However, when examined through a magnifying glass, they appeared to be granular and not flaky. I did not see any quartz normally associated with gold, should that really have been gold. If I had, I would have collected some myself. I thought also if all those shining stuff have been gold, people would have been mining and panning for those stuff as well. We climbed up and down, transfering backpacks. I felt embarrased at the weight of those three leaders' pack. They must have packed a lot of gear. My own pack was light, consisting mainly of warm clothing. I noticed those three were normally in front actively seeking out the route. I wondered why are we looking up at people at the road above us when we should be looking down on them far below as briefed earlier. They did their best, but it was not passable. We turned back the same way we came by to the bridge. We rested at the northern tunnel which seemed to be abandoned half constructed. It had chinese words saying it was connected with hydroelectic power. Still, looking at the construction, it contained certain characteristics and seemed to be designed for military uses. I have build and seen enough of such features. They pulled from the packs stoves, pots and pans and cooked up a meal of instant mee. Very tasty too. Also showed a little bit why the packs were heavy. After a short rest, we carried on by the main road. Looking back across where we tried to travel, we could see why it took us two hours to get to a point where the main road on the other side took us 20 minutes. At the point where we turned back, not even a mountain goat could get through. Just before Yen-chi-kou, there is a spidery suspension bridge of steel wire and bamboo spanning the river 200' below us. The leader pointed us to go down. By now I expect the unexpected. I peered over the road edge to see a series of flimsy ladders going down. It moved with my every step. I thought it to be dangerous. When I finished with the trip, I would have consider that to be so ridiculously safe. The bridge could take us across one at a time. The swaying could get you queasy but it was fun in its own way. The other side have broad paths of cobble stones. The way water were seeping out from the wall, a series of pools of clear running water were formed like fountain terraces backed against the cobble paths where they seeped through in turn. It was a beautiful day with little wisps of clouds and a nice warm sun. The green trees and bushes marching down the gorge slope made us linger on a while. I was fascinated with the tadpoles in the pools. Acid rain and other pollutants have apparently wiped out a lot of the frogs in Europe and North America. As amphibians they seem to be most sensitive to the effects of man. Whether we shrugged off their departure or we take them as canaries used at mines where their deaths will give early warnings to miners is up to us. I am happy to see them around. As we gathered to move on, I offered to switch the heaviest pack as I felt guilty. They declined assuring me it is ok with them. We went up the slope on a little path. Zig and zag up the side. The trees and undergrowth were thick and cannot be seen through to a distant. Now and then, yellow trail markers were tied to indicate the path. It was tiring and hot. The nice warm sun that felt so nice earlier seemed to be making its effect even through the cool leaves. I was glad no one took up my offer to switch packs. 15 minutes took us to another suspension bridge spanning a chasm. I thought the 'road' would start there as that was a big red bridge easily seen from the main road. There was no 'road'. If one look carefully amonge the bushes to the side after the bridge, a little path can be seen. Seems like the bridge was build big and painted a nice red so pretty pictures can be taken of it by tourist in their buses on the main road. The uphill climb continued. The mountain slope is a good 65-70 degree. The path twist and turned upwards. The air must be cool. After all, it is supposed to be winter, on a mountain slope with air filtered by green leaves. Others are wearing thick sweaters and moving on smoothly. I only feel my sweat coming out, flowing down my back. I breath heavily, to draw in more cool air. I meditate on ice orange juice . I switched to thinking of wind-swept Artic winter. I imagined the soaked thermal underwear and T shirt to be evaporating and cooling me. My legs kept moving. I looked above at the swaying hips of girls and imgagined how the rest of their bodies would looked like to distract myself. My body could not transcend to those thoughts. I poured and poured sweat. Then the upward climb ended after rounding a group of boulders. We reached a meadow where we rested. I could only think of water to drink. After a long draw at the bottle, my mind then recovered enough to look around. Before us, stretched a field of waving 'Maung chow' grass in full flower. The sloping light of the sun backlight the bushy tops in a soft silvery glow. On a gentle rise just behind the field, humble dwellings of two families can be seen. Then the ground rose again into a knoll. Two jagged mountain tops appear behind them with white scars tracing where parts broke off into screes dusting lower parts of it. Clouds flow past them playing a game of hide and seek . Right of the clearing, the forest grew rising and dipping carpeting the slope in different shades of green towards the top. Now and then, maple trees with red leaves made crimsom splashes in that sea of green. Standing on the boulder, the other side of the gorge loomed upwards. The main road and traffic could just be made out at the foot far below. Yes, I could see that we are way above them now. We walked on to the huts. That place is called Pata-Kang. There were two families there from the Tai-yah-chu hill tribe. Their traditions were fast fading. They lived off the land on sweet potatoes and other crops they grow. The youngest is a toddler about 3 years old. One of them was said to be near one hundred years old and looked like it. She have a broad black band tattooed across her mouth. They allowed us to camp and presented us with some sweet potatoes. Three tents were quickly set up. Stoves, pots and pans and a staggering amount of food poured from the backpacks. That explained the weight of some of the packs. The girls got organised and I tried not to get in their way. We ate and ate. Fruits were Mandarin oranges and tiny hill peaches taken off the orchard nearby. Flickering flames from a big wax torch lit up the night while we glutted ourselves. The tattooed lady joined us producing a bottle of rice wine. I bribed her with cigarettes to get a share. It tasted so nice in that cool night air. None of the other guys wanted it. Yu Hwa, the girl with the tinkling voice liked the aroma and joined us two in enjoying the wine. We sat around and talked away in the warm afterglow of a good meal and our sense of achievement of that day. They still thought I was a bit unusual in traveling so much on om own. Then a voice broke in on us. My jaws dropped along with the others at the sight of this guy walking nonchalantly into the circle of light with his backpack and a small torchlight slung over his shoulder asking if he could join in. It was tough enough during daylight hours to get up. He came in alone in the middle of the night like he was strolling to the 7-11 store. When asked how he felt about coming up alone at night, he said "oh yes, it was a bit scary". We laughed at his understatement breaking the ice, if any. Quite a good looking slim guy and charming too. It was interesting to see Amanda (the interpreter) and her girfriend Chin-hwa talking to him like probing his suitability as a boyfriend. I must say that is my guess from the body languages expressed as they were using their normal chinese too rapid for me to understand and not the simple one they used with me. The others soon prepared to go to sleep. I declined their sincere invitations to join them in the tents. I have been told by friends I snore and I do not wish to strain the new friendships I have made.I also do not sleep early. The night was really too beautiful up there by the mountainside. The moon was nearly full, lighting up the surrounding with its silvery beams, almost bright enough to read by. The air had just a slight nip of chill. The down sleeping bag I was in would be enough. The canopy of the sky was comforting . It was one of those rare moments in life where it is good to sleep under the stars. I took out a candle preparing to read Barry Lopez's latest book, 'Crossing Open Ground' before I sleep. Lone Ranger joined me shortly. Found he is better known as Chen-hung. He lectures in software and 'C' language when he is not roaming around the mountains on foot or on his mountainbike normally on his own. He decided too that the night is too beautiful to sleep in the tent and dragged his sleeping bag out as well. We talked on for a long time, sharing our experiences and philosophies, too complex to put into words here. Went to sleep as we did not want to disturb others too much. I think we may see a bit of each other after the trip. 31 Dec 90 Woke up from a good sleep I have had. The wind blew up a bit during the night. I was aware of it in my dreams. Nice to be wrapped up in the sleeping bag and cocooned by the raw elements. Felt good to have been near and intimate with Mother Nature. We all packed and prepared to continue on. Chen-hung said his goodbyes and continued on while we carried on with the breakfast. We then loaded up with water and went on. The trail snaked up behind the fruit trees at the back. I got an inkling from the day before and stripped down to a T shirt and jeans this time as it was hot work walking up. Got to know better what we were doing too. I first thought we were going on some road build in the Ming dynasty because of the name . It was Mingkuo chu liu nien (translated roughly to 6 years from the start of the present rule started by Dr Sun Yat Seng) or 74 years back. It was the only way through the gorge before the new road was carved out recently. Now the old road is used mainly by hikers. Not many hikers here. We did not see anyone else coming or going on this way unlike the normal 'renshan renhai'(mountains of men and seas of men) that packed and jammed others places I have been to here in Taiwan. I shortly understood the reasons why. The climb started upwards sharply again after the little knoll. We got into the rythmn . Consisting of weaving our ways up the forested slope on the path marked out by other groups. Couldn't see much of the woods for the trees so to speak. Compared to the later part of the day, the morning climb had no difficult spots to speak about other than the physical task of taking yourself and your pack up the slope. It was tiring work. The heat build up in my body wasn't so bad. We stopped for welcomed short breaks now and then. We could then look around and admire the view if there were breaks in the trees. During the walk up, one have to concentrate on the foot holds and the surroundings could not be taken in well. The dynamics of the group was getting clearer to me as well. The first three guys I meet took us all up. Lee Wen-hwa, the leader of the group took up the rear. He seemed serious and wrapped in his thoughts as the trip went on. Lee Chinghai and Ting Huakuan took the front actively seeking the path markers. They were more relaxed , possibly less burdened with the responsibility of the group. Amanda bubbled along with energy ,quite expressive with her voice and gestures as to her likes and dislikes. Chinhwa, her goodnatured friend was more quiet and always seemed happy. Hsu and Shi kept much with the Lin sisters in their quiet little group. I concentrated on absorbing as much as I could of the feeling of this place. About midday, the steep almost continous upwards climb ended. We came to an overgrown rough path which could be seen easily unlike much of the trail before. It turned sharply right punching through an outcrop of the moutain. It was a short lenght of tunnel that we would have camped in last night if not for the time lost in the morning. Beautiful place where we had a short break. A maple tree was at the edge. The sun overhead shining behind it made its red leaves glow like rubies. The richness of the red against the light blue skies can only be captured in the mind's eye. We walked on. I was already deliriously happy with the exquisite beauty of such a place. Then after another turn in the trail, the true grandeur and the magnitude of the trail broke on me. The trees fell away as the side of the mountain plunged into an 85 degree drop. The tiny path was hacked and blasted as a little niche in the sharply sloping granite walls of the mountain. The mountains marched motionlessly on to the horizon. Down, down at the bottom of the gorge the river flowed as a tiny trickle of water. A thin ribbon of black with just barely discernable box like objects was the road with their tourist buses. The mountains we were on were accompanied by the mountains on the other side of the gorge. They seemed alive infused with a bemused air at us. Stillness of the Tao and motion without motion. The mind expand and the body falls away as the consciousness struggled to take it all in. That subconscious attempt conflict with yet another part of the mind yearning to stay in the comfort of a smaller world where the Id is tangibly bigger in comparison. Like a frog taken out of the well to see the world and finding how small it actually is against that scale, then struggling to get back in preferring the more comforting illusion the whole world is in the well. Tiny bushes, flowers and ferns clung on to life even on the bare granite walls and the path we were on. I walked in small measured steps half in reverence for that place and to savour the feeling in the air. Also, perched on that 2 feet wide path suspended 2000 feet above the ground below by an almost vertical granite wall doesn't make you want to take very wide steps. Helped also by the granite chippings which skid a bit now and then. And thinking of the earthquake which struck Hualien with a force of 6 on Richter scale only a weekback. And that 600 over earthquakes struck Taiwan every year. I was happy no strong winds were blowing to add in the fun. I recalled a walk on a similar path a few years back after Jomosom in Himalayas where I faced winds gusting between force 2 to 5. That was a very long 400 meters stretch. When then path turned around the shoulder, I was relieved to be back in a more sheltered stretch . The slope wasn't vertical allowing soil to support trees growing there. Nice for this frog to be back in a well. Then, the path twisted out again. With the road far far below , and we were walking on the ledge once more. Earthquakes did not hit us then. But over 67 years, it hit the trail many times. It is a measure of how well it was build by those brave people way back then that the trail remained intact most of the way. It is only in a few places where the mountain cracked and tumbled down, taking the trail with it leaving empty gaps. At those places, the 2 feet wide track I thought to be scary looked so safe and comforting to be on when you crossed the gaps. They span them with little pieces of wood tied up with thin wires. I looked at my lifeline etched in my palm to reassure myself many times that day. I became very conscious of the 105 kilo I packed into a pair of shoes. At times, we have to make our way down across debris of granite and marble boulders and clawed our way back up again. Or up over the break and down again to the path. At places, thin steel cables were in place to assist. If your footing gave way, those cables would slice into your palms. Movements have to be made very slow with fingers feeling for every fissure and feet placed very carefully. Had to expand the consciousness to heighten the awareness of the environment and every movement made with slow deliberation. At lips of overhangs, the path was the dust which gathered on the tangled roots of grass. They gave slightly with every step. In addition to those plastic strips of trail markers, we looked for 'lohans' or little rocks piled up to show the way. The knee hurt a bit especially on the downhill parts across the debris. It would be a bad place to have further injuries. The jeans I wore as I thought I would be walking did were difficult to climb with. I should have just changed them but never thought of it then. Stiff-legged myself down by the seat of the pants over rocks the size of small cars and inched up again. Those three guys have been incredible in getting us all across. At bad places, they got over and ferried the backpacks to the other side. I found it tough enough without the packs and they crossed with that on. Of the three, Ting was the mountain goat. Small size but really tough guy. My heart dropped to see him move at some places. He have an incredible eye for ledges and footholds which do not exist till you see him like walking on air. People seating in cushioned comfort in buses and wooing and wowing at the river a few hundred feet below them and probably thinking that was all to it at Taroka gorge could not imagine the drama played 2000 feet above them. They may, but I wasn't looking at them. At one part, the pieces of wood I was worried about have been longed for. One strand of wire hung down from the other side. An earthquake took out our side leaving a gap of about 15 feet. They got the packs over. Positioned themselves to pass the girls across. I have to say, the girls were courageous. Anyone panicking will not panick for long. I crossed last. I spend the time in re studying the foot and hand holds, replaying that over in my mind a few times to make sure my movements would be smooth. I had to depend on myself as I do not want to take the chance of pulling anyone.. Taking faith in that only the good die young, I moved through like a wraith in a dream. That was a very very long two seconds in my life. Anyone of those crossings will be enough to flavour the trip. Just like a little bit of chilli will be nice with food, but a lot of it really spice it up to the stage that the whole mouth becomes numb. It was like that on that trail. What would have been dangerous were became routinely expected. The already tremendous experience from the view transcended further into one where we walked with our souls. We have been lucky. The weather was fine. If it have had rained, some of those crossings would not be passable. We ran short of water. I sweated a lot and the dehydration was getting in on me. We have been moving with very little stops since morning when we set out. No lunch either except for the beef jerky and chocolates and caramel sweets I had with me that we shared. We wanted to get to a place with water for the night. Exhaustion was setting in as well. In the late afternoon, every stop would have me out completely in a dreamless sleep, sometimes not even taking off the backpack. Night came. We carried on a while with torchlight. The concentration required to walk on safely cannot be sustained with the fatigue and using torchlight. Those three must have came to the same conclusion. They called a halt where the path broaden a bit. I dimly recalled pulling out the sleeping bag, changing out of my sodden clothings and sleeping immediately. Woke at 11pm with most of the fatigue gone. Found the three have courageously gone on to try to get water. The rest of us were resting across the path shrouded with trees on both sides. So many times I woked up on New year day with hangover vowing I will spend a 'dry' New years eve. I got to do it this time, the last day of this decade. I thought of my friends who would be drinking away wondering where they are and the cheers they would be exchanging. It would be a New year eve I will always remember. Tried to bring comfort to the girls assuring that those three would be safe as time went on and they did not return. I felt they must have been tired also and would be back in the morning. Spoke to Shi taking turns with him to keep watch. Some moonlight filtered in through the trees allowing a bit of visibility. It would be comforting place, but the absence of those three gave me a deep disquiet and troubled all of us. 1 Jan 1991 Light broke. I decided to stay in the trackpants I used for sleeping. I knew I could not take the girls across the way others did. In case they did not get back, I have to assume the worse and go down myself to get help from other people. I threw the jeans down the slope among the trees and bushes. It will be a fitting rest for it from the trips we shared together. It also lightened my load. If necessary, I might abandon the backpack as well. The others wanted to leave that place. I told them those three would have started at day break. It may take 1 1/2 hours. That place we were at have been the best place to rest since the whole afternoon before. We should wait for them there. If they did not get back by 730am, I would go down while they stayed. I felt good when at about 7am, we heard a whistle. Then their shouts from across a valley. I never wanted to be a hero. Heros are good guys and they normally die young. Especially since by doing so, it would have meant that those three have met with accidents. They got back with the water 20 minutes later. They got down allright. Lost their way getting back. They were tired and rested till daybreak before getting back. That water was important. We cooked breakfast and drank to our hearts' content. Giving us the strenght to continue on. We still had to make a few more dangerous crossings. I would have hate to do it by myself even in the morning without the food and drink. It would be very dangerous when done at night. Only they could have done it. It exceeded by far what the other guy have done the night before. After that, it was all downhill. We took all together about 3 hours to get to the spring water at the bottom of a valley strewn with huge marble boulders the size of houses. From then it was easy. We made our way to the main road. Got out near a bridge. I forgot the name, but on the other side of the bridge is a gigantic boulder with a little pavilion build on top. Thumb down a lorry which gave us a lift to Tienchi a few kilometers down the road. While forest and wilderness are nice, I must say so is civilization where there are restaurants and cold drinks. Interesting coincidence was the bus driver taking us back to Hualien was the same stout friendly driver who took us there originally. Found he was called Mr Yen. He detoured the bus to drop us at the railway station. I have to say it was a real good trip. I do not know if I get such experiences again. But one thing for sure, I will find out. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa So now you got to know how I got to know ChengHung. And from him other Taiwanese friends. I felt compelled to give them what I could give. The most important part (in addition to friendship), was to drag as many of them kicking and screaming into the English world. As said, after they studied for years every year in school and every year in University, they could not speak or write two coherent sentences in English. But get it straight, they were so goddamn smart in English that I could even feel embarrased. They knew more grammars in English, present particibles, active particibles, future indefinate, blah bal blah then I knew ever existed. They knew english words of more syllables that I could not even recalled the first syllable by time they got to the last syllable. But they could not speak or write two fucking coherent sentences in English unless they recite it from a book or from their incredible memory. There were at least 4 males that graduated from my course. Much like my telling you all here. You have to drop English totally when you are in Chinese, and for them to totally drop Chinese when they are in English. I explained to them that perhaps they needed to use mental translation of English into Chinese and then Chinese into English at the early stage. Using analogy of you having broken your leg and needing a crutch to walk on initially. But once your leg healed, using that crutch to walk meant you cannot ever walk or think of running. Furthermore to translate in the head, meant that word already known. And if they know the word why the fuck do they need to do mental translation? In English time with me, I watched their eyes. The moment the eyes rolled up, they would be doing mental translation which earned them a yell and scream from me and smiles from them in wonder how I knew they were doing mental translations. I got them books tuned to their interest. For Chenhung it was a book on mountain climbing in English. For another it was a book on collected stories of Sherlock Holmes. And for another it was on computers. For another, the son of Mr Yu that I gave Tinkerbell to, itwas Peter Pan. http://shanlung.livejournal.com/14633.html All tuned to what I knew that they love. I sat with each of them going through the first 20 pages or so. To the point I knew the love for their subject ignited. And most important of all, that they did not even realised that they were actually reading in English as their enjoyment for what they were reading overcomed their ingrained fear of English. I was never their teacher in English. I was their catalyst to make them use English. And after that , they all could write and speak 4 or more coherent sentences in English. The same did not happen to the girls. We all got too distracted and found more interesting and important things to do than to yank them kicking and screaming into English. Idiotic Taoist all ready to read 鹿鼎記 https://en.wikipedia...nd_the_Cauldron once I finished with Count of Monte Cristo - and when I then finished Romance of the 3 Kingdoms , I might then think I will do TTC

Thanks! I found it good, I was lucid dreaming previous to it, for me all I really need is intention (meditation before sleeping helps), going to bed early with a light stomach, being well hydrated and natural deep breathing, I find peppermint oil enhances this and clarity. Sleeping with amethyst under my pillow too. + Keeping a dream journal writing down everything you remember in the morning/waking at night even if small.

I realized at some point I should not be posting here as I'm not really sticking to a 2 year old thread's point No. Some can see Qi.... so it really begs the question why folks who practice Qigong can't see Qi I do agree that experiencing energy is similar to access to different wavelengths or frequencies... but I've not measured it in a way to give any real understanding in that way. I think there is a disconnect in some language usage... Qi, Shen, Ming, Liang ... are just chinese characters which represent various ways of saying, Energy, Spirit, Destiny, and Light. They are all the same but we can compartmentalize them in the manifest world as to what we have access to... but they are all one and the same: Original and Pure Energy of the Source. Internal cultivation, by whatever means and I mean to include your dream approach, is but a mirror of an external observation of the source light. We can use whatever word fits for our experience.

I can find not materials by Namkhai Norbus at my library or on YouTube related to Lucid Dreaming. The man appears to be another liberation focused Buddhist monk. I have, honestly, had quite enough of the religion of Buddhism. But thank you for the suggestion, if life puts the man in my path, I will be allowing, open and receptive. I have a hold on Arnold Mindell's, "Dreaming While Awake." Nothing at YouTube behind psychology. I find psychology to be just about as esoteric as the Buddhist practices. This book, as I recall, was very hard to read. But certainly interesting and worth reading. For those interested: http://www.amazon.com/Dreaming-While-Awake-Techniques-24-Hour/dp/1571743596 Maybe Lucid Dreaming can lead to enlightenment, or higher states of consciousness, or is a higher state of conscious. Honestly I don't care. For me this is simply something I can practice and derive benefit from. I don't need or want anything else. Just being able to Lucid Dream on a regular basis, to begin to use this time to have fun, invent, learn and practice, that is enough for me. I'll let anything else happen or not happen as it will, it is of no interest to me.

But do not, at various times, we see revision ? These are only the oldest civilizations we know of so far. Its like we have certain evidence to reasonable postulate many things about ancient Egypt ... from what we know so far . But maybe 80% is 'undug' ( and much will remains so ). But speculations without reasonable evidence , although fun, are just that. Surely you and TM by now have read some of my other posts ? I aint no real straight laced materialist 'sheeple' ya know. I have rad views on theology , philosophy, magic, anthropology, demonology ..... But it is all tempered by some research ... and in some cases Uni study and living it in the field. Fuck man, I have even lived out with the oldest culture on Earth and have adoted their spirituality . If you want my view on what I believe is going on .... its that we are all in a dream that is being ' dreamed up ' by a giant snake lying asleep underground in an underground 'ocean' . Yep! That's what I believe . (You with me here Cuz ? )

semantics wasnt the right word, and only now have i heard the word referred to as "meaning" and not just "medium for meaning", or as you put it, grammar and syntax. regardless of the meanings of the words, the point of question i am trying to establish, i thought, was blatantly obvious. ANYWAYS. I DO wish to aide this world into an awakening, to raise awareness to the equal level of real reality and immunize our collective selves to propaganda and falsehoods. I feel like i have been waiting 5000 years for humans to GET THE FREAKING PICTURE. That is too much for a 24 year old to feel!!! BUT the problem i have is that the only way i can see guiding anyone in this world to a better way of living is to RECEIVE that guidance first! I've sought it long enough that, at this point, if some random farmer appeared at the door unannounced and unexpected, i would warmly welcome their proepr example and not question wher they came from except in conversation. Heck, at this point, i'd GLADLY accept "i materialized out of thin air a few minutes after you posted your response on ttb" Even if only to acquire the necessary seeds to plant for my first steps toward fulfilling my wishes. But without opportunities to move forward, wishes are nothing but desires made verbal. I've tried dream resolution... but it's pretty useless when you never have dreams. I havent been able to conjure up subconscious dreaming for the last 12 years. ALL my dreams are now nothing more than conscious desires for opportunities to embrace contentedness. "day dreams" as it were. im SO pissed off. Well that sure seems impossible. Experience dictates that it is impossible to make my dreams come true, let alone dream LET ALONE influence my dreams. I am about || this far from calling you a politician type with nothing but pretty words and promises

I was just thinking about this topic recently. I was actually having a conversation in a dream with someone about it I think last night or the night before. My dreams have been insane lately..sometimes really good sometimes really fucking sick. Here is what I have read. I think I first read this in the magazine "Tricycle:The Buddhist Review" like 10 or 11 years ago. Basically what they said..and I was talking to someone about it in a dream last night or the night before..is therapy is working on the story of your life. That you were born in such and such a place at such and such a time and a and b happened to you and your Mom and Dad were loving or unloving or controlling or didn't care or whatever and you did this and that. And it is working on working those things out for you psycologically. So that you can feel better about the story of who you are. I am not sure this is totally accurate I havent gotten into therapy and some teachers I respect alot like Ken Cohen seem to think therapy is a good thing but that was what the zen or Buddhist/Taoist dude was saying. Now, spiritual practice, the article went on to say, is not working on the story but working on that thing that transcends the story. The thing that is unborn and does not die. You probably can get a sense of this listening to those Adyashanti retreat cd's that he is getting at trying to awaken you to something that is beyond your personality. Or your ego. Or the person that you are in this lifetime. You "wake up" from the dream of the ego/seperate self identity that is a kind of prison for your personality. Then when you do this the personality you have is just a kind of funny(or not so funny) not self so creation that is pretty much held together through the minds discriminating activity. I can't explain it the way he can but basically it is way beyond just making you feel better about Mom and Dad or your childhood or your Wife and kids and job. Not that that isn't important probably it is but probably one is way more profound then the other. My guess. Since we are on the topic..does anyone else get this really tense sense of contraction from people who are really into themselves or there own ego? It seems that those who are more awake have this more expanisive sense to their personality that isn't contracted into this something. I got a sense of this from master Yoda hanging out over Thanksgiving but even some so called high level Buddhist or Taoists have this kind of contracting energy that is always sort of giving energy to the ego instead of always expanding out and opening to new possibiilites. Not that I never "contract into my ego" myself but it is intresting how with more energy work I am starting to actually sense and experience how people do this on subtle or not so subtle levels.

http://www.amazon.com/Dream-Telepathy-Experiments-Extrasensory-Consciousness/dp/1571743219

I'm more on the Tibetan side of things so I won't post anymore medical advise, only that much: there are some good pills within the tibetan traditional medicin as well - like Vimala, it helps alot with sleep disorder(that is a disorder of wind or prana, they way that is explained is basically the same like in chinese medicin - just different words) and also makes dreams more vivid to do dream-yoga (also it takes some time to really work) and I don't know if there are any good tibetan doctors in europe. So basically stick with the chinese system or what andrei mentioned: Ashwangandha is a great herb! anyway I can tell you some other tricks to have better sleep: Before going to bed for at least 1/2hour no sreens(computer,smart phone, TV etc.), no light (to read etc.), just be in the dark in silence and maybe do some mantra or breathing exercises - I like to do 20min - 30 min of lying on my back and just being there - letting it be as it is. or other times I just sit on my bed and recite some mantras and do visualization ina relaxed way (also in the dark of course!) till I get tired and then I go to sleep then I usually sleep very well - sometimes I wake up in the night but usually I sleep like a stone, waking up feeling very relaxed (takes some time to move my body) and well rested but thats a habit you have to form also, it will take time till your mental chatter can subside when its time to sleep - and being in the dark helps your brain to understand its time to go to sleep also important is rythm - so wake up no matter what at the same time and go to bed no matter what at the same time every day - 7 days a week (sounds strange but it really helped me to overcome my light sleep, I never had serious insomnia, I would maybe sometimes not sleep for 2-3 nights but never longer times then that) lets say you wake up at 6am - then do this every day, also if you couldn't sleep just take a nap later (20 min is great nap time) so my little advice: routine and darkness for 1/2h before sleeping I hope it helps you as well as it helped me

DA POINT BE NOT JUST TO REMMEMBER DA DREAM, DA POINT BE TO *CONTROL YER ACTIONS* IN DA DREAM. LUCID DREAMMIN BE JUST DA PRE-CUM-DITION, BUT DA BRAKE-TRHU OCUR WHEN YA CAN MAKE DICCISIONS N IMPLEMMENT EM IN YER DREAMS, EVVENTUALY YA CAN SIT N PRACTICE DA CIRCULLATION O DA LIGHT WHILE DREAMIN N THAT BE DREAM YOGA. BUT TO ACCHIEVE THAT YA GOTTA GO LIKE YER VERRY HEAD BE IN FLAMES. THAT MEAN, YA GOTTA MAKE A METTER O LIFE N DEATH OUTTA IT. BYE NOW RJ

It takes the understanding of there being others to have compassion. The contemplation is that there are no ultimate others, so thereby you realize detachment, and that relatively there are others... so, your compassion is greater because of objective detachment. At the same time... because you are also an other to others, you simultaneously realize that you don't inherently exist. Unlike in paths that take up a formless experience as an absolute, like Shaivism for instance, where you take up a self importance kind of solipsism in experience of divinity and while merging with it, creating experiential and intellectual excuses for a deeply engraved sense of clinging to a self center. Though enlaced with bliss as it might be, is not really liberation from clinging, no matter how exalted the experience and no matter how much your environment reflects this dependently originated subjective idealism. Thus... the Buddha's teaching of Anatta (pali) or Anatman (sanskrit) or true selflessness is not fully realized as you are basing all your actions on an ultimate self as an excuse for action itself. But really, there is only relativity, so compassion is the only act to be, not getting lost in a blissful repose of non-beings as ultimate either. Anyway... this insight must be realized directly by contemplating the truth of inter-dependent origination/emptiness, not as a divine Self, but as reality is relativity there is no ultimate Self. Ok... dream well and dream deeply.

Hi all, (excuse my english - its my second language) this is my first personal contribution to the forum, I picked the Topic of Time because it is very interessting to me. Last year I had the great opportunity to receive teachings on Shantidevas "Bodhisattvacharyavatara" three times - two times with a focus on the 9th chapter, each of those teachings lasted for about a month, sometimes less. I would like to share one very interessting AhAAA moment I had while receiving these teaching (a little buddhist geeky intellectual orgasm). Madhyamika has a very beautiful way of dealing with time - for this school of thought when you say time you say reincarnation and when you say reincarnation you say time so I for one still believe in having a masala chai tomorrow in the morning - I still believe in Time. If I belive in Tomorrow - I unknowingly believe in reincarnation or a cuntinuum of conciousness Now for people who have tastes of meditation - Time is not such a fixed Idea anymore, because when one tastes Nowness Awereness (Keith Dowmans translation for Ye She) Time is seen to be a construct of the mind thats exactly what madhyamika is saying - reincarnation (time) is realtive truth, functional and important but realtive because why? The continuity of Consciousness is a mere imputation - an unborn phenomena (like all phenomena) that arises like a dream. If one starts to investigate no such thing like a continuity of mind exists -> ultimately the commentators on the ninth chapter of shantideavas classic (Khnepo Kunphel or Ju Mipham Rinpoche) use the analogy of the mala to talk about this: A mala is a compound phenomena, a collection made from 108 or 111 round stones or seeds or whatever and a string - each one of them doesnt constitute a mala and a collection of 108 "not malas" doesn't have the power to produce a real substantial mala. The beads themselves can be analysed down to its smallest particles that can be further divided into the 10 direction etc. they are shown in ultimate analyses to be like space its the same with our feeling of continuity of consciousness so Time and Reincarnation are just a figment or hallucination of our mind. I always had a problem with the Idea of reincarnation - I said to myself "Oh well its to keep us social good hearted animals - that doesn't hurt" - this explanations of my lamas (that I tried to share here in a much much shorter and easy to understand way) helped me alot in understanding basic buddhist nondualism and the conception of time/reincarnation in that light I hope its some food for thought

If you would be so kind Marblehead my friend, perhaps you could share with me examples of stuff you know are confident in your proof of knowing. I lack even a mechanism to know if my entire life experience stream has all been a dream, and all my collected experience data points have not been more than perceptions filtered through human sensory limitations and bias. As beings who perceive in 3 dimensions and an infinitely thin slice of a 4th, we tend to get pretty confident about having a handle on things, despite perhaps complete transparency of sensory equipment to detect the higher level dimensions required to give rise to the tiny fraction we directly see/touch/taste/smell in this infinitely thin slice of the 4th we call Now. Unlimited Love, -Bud

Alan watts also used lsd quite a bit in his earlier years I believe. Even did it with his daughter. Terence mckenna is also a very insightful person who dabbled in psychoactive substances. I dont know if hehe'd call him self realized.. but his perspectives about life and the planet are very interesting and helpful. Osho even used nitrous oxide I have read haha. He was in the dental field when he was younger so I could see where he got introduced to it. In the past 6 months I got 8 teeth removed and was under nitrous twice. The other time I wss knocked out.But the first time the experience felt so familiar. Like it had happened millions of times before in my dream. Then the second time it wss with a nother doctor and it felt a little less mystical and was a bit more aware. But both doctors said the exact same thing as they dod the procedure. Theyd say "open turn slightly. Litttle pinch " this made it seem like terrible dejavu. Even the girl assisting the second doctor acted the EXACTA same way as the first girl who helped the first doctor. She would ask how im doing. Say a joke id look up rolling my eyes to the ceiling almost to laugh and shed laugh and move back and forth in a weird motion. It just made me very aware of that moment. And everything seemed so dreamlike. Probably more intense then any other psycho active substance ive used.