Search the Community

one with compassion may desire to remain in some form and or reincarnate to help others until the end of this great cosmic cycle...for the "dream" is not absolutely real (depending on certain interpretations) but it real enough and exists to an "x" degree to be worked on and with, BESIDES, samsara is nirvana when properly understood...

The journey so romantically spoken of is non-existent. Its all just a play created in the mind. There is no benefit speculating on the future. If you are a practitioner of some significance, the bardo of death will not be any different from that of life... all a dream. If grasping and clinging is present at that point of departure into the moment after the last breath, then the subtle consciousness will seek rebirth. This can be verified now while living - simply direct your mind to something and boost it with some motivational intent, and see what happens. Why would those last moments pre-death be different? Its not so difficult to imagine, in a general sense, the frame of mind of those who are about to depart - look at the faces of those who die a natural death compared to those who die prematurely or violently - completely different. Understanding how each moment evolves and causes the next moment is not about falling under the weight of determinism - its about awareness of certain laws which can be tapped and utilised to extract the best possible outcome with the potential thats there.

Yes, certainly can. Not sure exactly what info is needed, but here's a quick overview: Background: Started meditating as I wanted to get out of social phobia. At the time I saw a psychologist. I got a huge insight into my condition one day, and felt I had gotten over the existential part of the social phobia (still feel that), Next day, the Kundalini imbalance started. Personal practice: I found Michael Winn's healing tao system two years ago and starting practicing it in order to harmonize and ground the energy. Am nearly done with the fusion practices, soon moving on to healing love and the first Kan and Li formula. Do the orbit, pan-gu and standing in stillness breathing every day. Have done all fundamentals. Sex life: None whatsoever right now. Stopped watching porn recently because I don't want to watch women have sex with men that they're uninterested in. Stopped masturbating to save jing. It's going well. Am still dating however. Physical constitution: Good. Healthy, lift weights. Athletic. Social and family life: Come from a loving nuclear family. Have many friends. Emotional/mental: Tendency to hypermasculinity, especially in the past. Need structure, order in many things. Can't force a smile . Social anxiousness gradually becoming better and better. Points of interest:Think I may have a left-right male/female imbalance. The right side of my face looks different than the left (right looks more angry and not as firm). The left arm feels lighter than the right arm. Think I experienced a spiritual awakening around August last year. Feels like there were layers of my body that were scraped off. Since then things have been interesting. Feel like I know what infinity is. Vast increase in creativity. Some nights I almost don't sleep. Much less reactive. More moral about a lot of things. Sometimes I feel I have infinite opportunity to express and manifest myself. More understanding of my fellow human beings. Other than that I'm employed in a corporate job, which is boring. But I'm building my dream career on the side and recently it seems like we got a breakthrough (we're a team). So am happy with that .

Kunlun Red Phoenix is about manifestation or better still materialization and the ability to intend either into the dream or, of a new dream. The larger body of intent is ever present and when we gain access to a part of it, it seems as if we were already enlightened.

Josama, thanks for the story. Man, it was heart-breaking to read.. You've had a tough ride. You've got some heart I must say, and it also seems like you've gotten a lot of wisdom. That makes me very happy . I was moved by the story because I have had problems myself too. I suffered from social phobia for ten years, and then came an unexpected kundalini awakening. I've been in the black depths of life too, although not as serious as you have. Now I'm doing much better. I am on the right path and am building my dream-life step by step. I no longer am constricted by social phobia and my qigong practice is grounding and harmonizing the kundalini experience. I wanted to reach out with some advice, for what it's worth: Regarding your story, I wouldn't want to do a single edit. It's great as it is. You speak from the heart and it's clear to see. It's going to connect with some people. Secondly, if you suffer from possession try and look up Robert Bruce who is an astral travel expert, and also an expert in removing entities and the like. I think his site is called astralbob or something like that. I haven't had that problem myself; I've only seen negative entities (astral critters) and they aren't dangerous. But I can imagine the extreme irritation and fear you must be experiencing. Thirdly, upon reading your story I wondered to myself if you perchance still deeply regret watching that child pornography and beat yourself up over it? Don't get me wrong - child pornography is horrible, and yes, we shouldn't support it by watching it. You did make a mistake. But here's the thing: We all make a lot of mistakes in life. I know I made a ton. There are people I hurt, even when I was subtly conscious of it. There are opportunities I didn't take, even though I knew I had to. And I used to spend years beating myself up over it. Until I realized that there's always a reason for why we do the things that we do - even though we are subtly aware that we're doing the wrong thing. Something inside us - our intuition, our curiosity, our fear - depending on the actual situation - compels us sometimes to do the things we deep down know are wrong. And then we regret it. And through our regret we - at some point - learn not to do it again. There's always a reason for why we did something. And it's important to recognize and understand that. You did what you at that point were capable of doing, and you need to forgive yourself for that. It probably couldn't have been any other way. We sometimes are the person that we are - with the flaws that we have. It's important to understand that, and to embrace ourselves for the human beings we at the end of the day still are. I don't beat myself up over lost opportunities or errors anymore. Instead, I understand my wrongful actions - and by understanding them from the inside out I am able to change them if I should be in a similar situation in the future again. From that point of view, there's nothing to really regret. We did what we were capable of doing at that point. And we gained wisdom from it. Perhaps you already know this. I just wanted to share in case it makes a difference. Other than that, I would like to thank you for your insightful piece. I gained a lot from it. You've come a long way, and with your mindset I am sure you will go even further . PS: Final note: Michael Winn's qigong system is excellent of ridding oneself of negative thought-patterns, once you get to the fusion practices.. just a tip in case you want to widen your spiritual practice at some point

yeah. my style was pretty much based on fighting application Yep .... that's 'fighting application' yes .... but people think I am a bit nuts when I talked about 'dream training' ....but then got confused when I came up with new applications they hadn't conceived of before ( I even got accused of going to another teacher . Some of it was cross-training as well, but they knew I did that - it was more the 'imaginative combination' of principles from different systems than the direct mixing of techniques - if that makes sense.) Well, I enjoy an MA concept rave too ... and like to avoid clashes ... but 'when experiences lack resonance ? ' ?

I didn't mean anything specific. The principle of cultivating the internal here is to develop speed and circularity, which when applied at a high level have very few limitations. People who really develop skill to this level have little reason to use it for fighting. If I can move faster than the strike, then I can simply close in with horizontal power to where the weapon is awkward, where there is leverage. Circularity can be used to step in low while spinning into a twist while bending under a strike (that you are stepping into), even as you snake out a hidden strike, all one fluid change. I like the concept of training via dream meditation, which might be considered an advanced form of opponent visualization allowing for scenarios as realistic as one's mind is able to create, offering potential for greater exploration than physical energy expenditure allows. I prefer to speak of concepts rather than experience to avoid clashes arising when experiences lack resonance.

@ Steam: Very interesting experiences. I have also experienced the sensation of being both out of body and traveling and at the same time, still being in the body. In my case, I wandered back into my bedroom from flying around outside and as I got close my body, "I" began to wake up. It was very disturbing being in two places simultaneously. The physical me then opened my eyes, turned my head and looked in the direction of the astral me. For a moment we looked at each other, and it created a horrible bouncing feedback effect before it finally ended with my astral self reentering. Before I had this experience, I assumed that my soul left my body during astral travels. After this I sided with Robert Bruce's interpretation, that the consciousness somehow generates a copy or double, which it sends out from itself. Therefore, the astral body contains a copy of the consciousness, not the original. Then when your astral body reenters the physical body, the travel memory is downloaded back into waking consciousness. He claims that this subtle memory transfer is the reason for many of the ephemeral quality of dream and astral memories (he also says a similar effect creates an inwardly projected dream body). One would think that Occum's Razor would kill this theory, but I have yet to come up with a better explanation for the experience of being consciously aware in two places at once during the astral projection phenomenon. I am sorry that you had several not-so-fun experiences. The majority of my experiences have been very positive, and I have been privileged with the opportunity to visit several heavenly realms. I have encountered some unpleasant beings as well, but they tended to stick closer to earth. If decide to pick up your practice again and engage in astral projections, you ought to focus on trying to travel to one of these realms. The best way that I know to do so is by flying so fast the everything becomes a blur. This tends to shift you to a higher realm. Also you can try teleportation, by closing your astral eyes and visualizing where you want to go (this is a little harder because it takes a lot of concentration).

I'm wondering. What about people that suddenly dream very vividly and who didn't really dream that much before? Wouldn't it feel pretty otherworldly to them? Dualism is interesting wherever it pops ups IMO. Personally used to making up all kinds of stuff, every night;-) And we could argue, everyday, too;-) Stuff that I've read here that I found freakier than that are the CIA projects concerning remote viewing. Literally millions of $ spent on that. What other things could be done with millions of $ that could directly help people while the RV project was going on? More to the point, why was a RV project underway??

THE IMPORTANCE OF PRACTICE AND POTENTIAL HAZARDS "Do not be content with just intellectual comprehension—take the teachings to heart. Recognize the Dzogchen view, and maintain it at all times with mindfulness. Do not succumb to habitual patterns; let all thoughts come and go. See everything as a dream, as a magical display. With this understanding, perform all of your activities with bodhichitta. If you practice like this, you’re on retreat even while you’re working in the big city. There are two stages of practice. The first stage is called the “practitioner chasing meditation.” This means that in the beginning and for a considerable time afterward, a great deal of effort is required. Meditation does not come easily or naturally. Our habitual patterns are still strong, and practice requires continuous acts of will. But if we continue on this path with courage and commitment, we will certainly reach the second stage known as “meditation chasing the practitioner.” At that time, there will no longer be a need for effort—no more, “Oh, now I must meditate.” Now practitioner and practice have merged. Whether we’re walking, talking, sitting, or sleeping, we’ll always be unwaveringly in the meditation state. Even if we try, we won’t leave the meditation state. But until that time comes, we must exercise diligence. We must keep up our practices. We must continue to chase meditation until meditation catches us. While we’re chasing meditation, progress will be made and some realization will come. But if we mistake this for the final attainment and discontinue our practice, whatever realization we have attained will be blown away like a rainbow the moment the stormy winds of habitual patterns return. The teachings say that we must maintain our practice with powerful, hook-like mindfulness until our realization is absolutely stable."" ~ Venerable Khenpo Rinpoches The Beauty of Awakened Mind Dzogchen: Lineage of the Great Master Shigpo Dudtsi (pg 177)

I suggest reading this thread on the Taoist conception of Hell and its historical origins. http://www.thetaobums.com/index.php?showto...;hl=taoist+hell Also, the land of the immortals, Peng Lai, and several other heavenly realms can be found in references from the most ancient Taoist texts available. See the Lieh Tzu, sections of Chuang Tzu, the Huinan Masters, and the Songs of Chu. All of these texts are from the Warring States period and are not later "additions" by some outside group of religious Taoists. Granted, in the early texts, they do not make a strong distinction between the dream state and the afterlife/other world, but then Chuang Tzu famously put into question the relationship between waking life and dreaming (in the butterfly dream), so it is still a valid and important line of spiritual inquiry. For the ancient pre-Taoists (Taoism did not exist until the Han dynasty) the question of dogmatic belief did not play in at all. It was simply important to question and explore these things for oneself through meditation, dreams, astral projection, visions, and other mystical means. To explore and to wear down any artificial boundaries that we put upon ourselves through self-limiting and ultimately relativistic beliefs.

My whole point is that technology and science are not the same thing. Technology works without science. Science is not something that proves itself via technology -- the most fundamental sciences are too complex to even dream of creating, by any linear methods, any technology that could use them. Try creating a worm... not based on the technology already in existence (the actual worm) but from scratch, based on the science of how a worm is put together that we currently have. Try it... it's been tried, and it's not doable on the basis of our science. Tinkering is doable, you can disassemble and reassemble the worm. Science is not -- you don't know how to make one no matter how much data you've accumulated on how to tinker with parts. The illusion of our technology being based on our science is what lets our science claim the knowledge it does not possess. We're good at tinkering, we're good at slapping together theories to create an illusion of the latter explaining the workings of the former. But in reality theories are theories and tinkering is tinkering, and one does not depend on the other at all. Everything that "works" in our world was based on tinkering, invented by tinkerers. None of what works works worse if we don't have a theory for it, or better if we do. Investigate for yourself, you'll be shocked... The inventor of microbiology clearly saw the tiny homunculus in the head of each spermatozoon under the microscope he tinkered together, and believed that that's how we reproduce, because that was the theory. It did not affect the practice, it only affected how what was observed was interpreted. The rest of it is exactly like that too. We can make a bomb, that's true, but it does not mean we see and understand how it works, we've just tinkered enough to produce it. Many theories have replaced each other since we first produced it, with no effect of tinkering on the science or of the science on the tinkering. We don't have a science that produces technology. Shocking but true. We have technology, and we have science, and we have the illusion of one being based on the other. One is used to glorify the other the way you would claim expertise in biophysics behind your ability to lift your arm. You've got the technology, but you don't have the science behind it. It's every bit like that with all our external technologies. Shocking...

And again we pretend that these purportedly isolated (from what? From what we can isolate them from, nothing more -- and that's not the universe, or even society, or even the meddling bosses) "laboratory conditions" "minimize the impact" of the fact that the scientist will have to have his proposal for the experiment in this "isolated" laboratory approved by some "higher ups" and financed by them in case he manages to shape it just so that they would want to, and the work will have to be "peer reviewed" by peers who are in exactly the same boat they don't want to rock under any circumstances lest they themselves fall out of it, and in case they get the wind of this work promising rewards before reviewing it, they will rush their own replica and try to publish first (I'm currently reading a book by a leading geneticist expounding on this very situation), and while at it, cutting corners and tweaking with data to rush their package and establish priority, and that the multitude of other factors on the "outside" of the "isolated lab" will all be "objective" to the max and no consideration will be given to how this new information affects the whales of the field (what if it invalidates everything they built their career, position, power on?), and no corporation will buy the rights to use the applications and then put the discovery on the shelf (any scientific discovery has millions of potential applications, from cognitive to pragmatic, unlike an "invention"), and that highest caliber science produced in this 'isolated" lab will be accepted and acknowledged just because it's true, regardless of who this discovery makes rich or poor, makes look stupid or gives a chance to say "told you so" to, or "in your face!" or "you are fired?.." Dream world, Neo.

Hmmmm ... there is an idea ! Dream bliss .... have you thought of signing up for the Army .... that would be a good career for you . (Make your parents happy too )

Stirred up by Dream_Bliss. When I think about something, I use my mind. My mind consists of both past and future. In my human state I can only assume a future, consciously. I am not capable of clearly perceive a future, yet. And I can take out what I already know, out of my past, my subconscious mind. So in the end, I fantasize. Some individuals call this "creating". But how effective is it? The assumed future has no real substance to it, since we all know how wonderful and colorful a day-dream can feel like and the real application feels Totally different. And when I think, I usually utilize my past. So I think always in the past. Nothing new is ever thought. Thought is simply a reflection of what already happened, so it is eternally the past. Can you see this? This moment right here and right now can not be thought about, because it is so fresh. It can only be experienced directly. Do you see the human dilemma, especially today in our modern world? People "think" they live, but they do not. They think. Living means being right here in this moment and experiencing. Making a direct experience with life. That does not require a setup, a preparation. Can never, how could it be? How can you think about what will happen in the very next moment? You can only assume it from what you already know. Do you see where this leads? It is an endless loop. Endless repetition. Do you see the "humanity" in all of this? How all of our trends are ruminated over and over again? How nothing profoundly new is ever invited? How could it be? It can only happen Without the use of thought, through a clear knowing. Please reflect upon it and see what is actually and only going wrong in this life. This penetrates all layers of our day to day life.

When I think about it, I use my mind. My mind consists of both past and future. In my human state I can only assume a future, consciously. And I can take out what I already know, out of my past, my subconscious mind. So in the end, I fantasize. Some individuals call this "creating". But how effective is it? The assumed future has no real substance to it, since we all know how wonderful and colorful a day-dream can feel like and the real application feels Totally different. And when I think, I usually utilize my past. So I think always in the past. Nothing new is ever thought. Thought is simply a reflection of what already happened, so it is eternally the past. Can you see this? This moment right here and right now can not be thought about, because it is so fresh. It can only be experienced directly. Do you see the human dilemma, especially today in our modern world? People "think" they live, but they do not. They think. Living means being right here in this moment and experiencing. Making a direct experience with life. That does not require a setup, a preparation. Can never, how could it be? How can you think about what will happen in the very next moment? You can only assume it from what you already know. Do you see where this leads? It is an endless loop. Endless repetition. Do you see the "humanity" in all of this? How all of our trends are ruminated over and over again? How nothing profoundly new is ever invited? How could it be? It can only happen Without the use of thought, through a clear knowing. Please, please reflect upon it and see what so many of you do all the time and call it normal.

Well, I know an electric bull will give some women a wet dream.

That was so funny for me. I have called some people I have known slugs. And yes, they dream. As to the real slugs, I kind of doubt it. I'm not even sure they actually have a brain rather than just interconnected nervous systems.

Do you know if slugs dream too, MH?

awesome. I used to practice with the Yan Xin student group at the University of MInnesota - all Chinese except one other white older dude - like a homeless guy. Anyway I first went to an event when they brought in these Canadian Chinese Yan Xin practitioners and so we did the meditation and they had a mike in the audience for anyone to report their experience. I said I had felt a lot of heat - in my stomach - since they had asked if anyone had felt that. I didn't know what that meant at the time - I was ... 27 years old at the time. So then I went to more of the group meditations - just a small room - but they showed the Yan Xin Superman documentary made by the Chinese government - all in Mandarin but the Chinese students translated for me and the other guy. It was an impressive doc with the nuclear scientists being interviewed about the experiments that are mentioned online. Changing the decay rate of radiation, etc. So then when I met Chunyi Lin in 1999 - then I realized he had been first healed by Yan Xin - what a coincidence! haha. I continued practicing the Yan Xin step one meditation cassette along with the spring forest qigong. I figured they would compliment each other and indeed Chunyi seemed to incorporate quite a bit of it. So - but then as my energy increased and then Chunyi had said I had an enlightenment experience - but also after that experience I truly felt who I was was not any material reality around me - and so I got rid of the Yan Xin meditation tape. I didn't think I needed it anymore. I also got rid of this old journal I had - over 500 pages - it had documented a precognitive dream I had recorded in 1995 which came true in 1998 in great detail. haha. Oh well. Anyway when I told Chunyi about how I got rid of the Yan Xin meditation tape he said my mind was still confused. So then I was pondering something Chunyi taught in his level 3 retreat - when I had my energy very strong - and it took me a few years to finally figure out what I had been confused about. LIstening to the Yan Xin healing vid right now - the reactions are better than a Beatles or Elvis early rock show. haha. Seriously you can feel the qi energy - as Yan Xin said his energy is imprinted in his qi meditation cassettes also. Soon after the crack down on Yan Xin - then the Minneapolis Yan Xin group required that people take a long lecture class of several weeks before they could purchase the meditation cassette again. I'm not even sure they are still teaching in Minneapolis. nope - there's Spring Forest and Falun Gong and another type of qigong but no longer Yan Xin. Too bad. That was the "free" spiritual training center. But yeah someone had sent me the Yan Xin qigong lecture from online somewhere so I did listen to it again. Don't have it anymore. But these 13 hours of Yan Xin healing qi-emitting lectures should do the job.

Id generally say that most people become interested in the occult as a means to an end - as a way to get something done through alternative means. Or they may be drawn to "power" or "hidden" knowledge for some reason or another. As far as your question about illumination - if you yourself do not have a specific idea of what it is, then it will be very difficult for you to receive an answer in the first place. For example, someone could explain it in detail and you would miss it because you would not know what to look for. That is why most esoteric traditions have a process of "initiation" which is considered an entrance into a new world altogether. Real initiation involves what has been called "transmission", which is the direct transfer of knowledge or states of being. The results may be immediate or not, but the effect is real and total - otherwise it is not an actual initiation but rather a fantasy or dream. And while most real practitioners will have multiple initiations into more and more subtle realms - the first initiation of this lifetime will be unique and significant in that sense. Beyond initiation have been termed stages such as neophyte, adept, master - which are fairly good reference points. At first you get your bearings, then you learn methods, then you perfect your own style. In all stages, the initiations remain the real thing - it literally takes years, even decades to understand and unravel all the secrets contained in such an event. The unfolding of the depths of understanding regarding your own personal initiation becomes your own personal illumination, which then bridges towards illumination of the universal. In terms of occult practices, I must reiterate - it goes on and on, further and further... far beyond siddhis for their own sake. In terms of public knowledge (in even the most obscure books), very little is known about the actual practice of what is called "magic"... and it cannot be another way... in the same way the sky cannot be red. It could be... but its not.

Hahaha.....especially mine! I have had a reoccuring dream since childhood in which I am standing in front of the bathroom sink/mirror brushing my teeth when I realize I have a loose front tooth. I wiggle it and can't stop.....I end up pulling it out. Then I realize I have another loose tooth...the same happens....can't stop wiggling it and eventually pull it out. By the end of the dream I have no teeth left and am left staring into the sink which is filled with blood, teeth and hair. I am usually fairly distraught. Love, Carson

Hi i've been reading about chi kung and alchemy and i like this forum. I'll post some doubts today Greetings, Dream

This thread is spinning off my "Tarot as a System of Metaphysical Philosophy" thread, where I started a conversation with Mandrake that I took the liberty to transliterate here. As I was asked to go into certain specifics that might break up the original thread which is of a more general kind. That's cool with me. May I ask you why this topic particularly interests you? I shuffled the cards, then fanned them out for the querent to draw the required number by their left hand (the one that connects to the heart or, in more modern terms, to the right cerebral hemisphere) - a very common method. However, especially for therapeutic application, I think it's advantageous that the querent selects the cards by themselves, so they would identify with their message more readily. I then laid them out using whatever spread would seem most appropriate regarding the query. Ranging from the good old Celtic Cross to relationship and decision spreads. If you want me to demonstrate some of my favourite spreads, just ask... This could conceivably be a problem especially for OCD types doing Tarot on their own. It's also typical for excited beginners (at least they get to know the cards fairly quickly this way). If the readings are supervised by a sensible counsellor, this is hardly an issue. Cut to the core of a problem immediately. Much like a well interpreted dream might, but available any time on purpose. I remember that psychiatrist I was collaborating with once looking at one of my spreads, then exclaiming: "This one card here is worth a whole psychotherapy!" Furthermore, he was convinced that Tarot can outline the way for a patient to progress in a straightforward manner. Also, I would highlight that a card image or a certain symbol on it can assume a particular meaning for the querent, which they can take away from the reading and think of when the need arises. Lastly, using Tarot offers a playful approach to psychological problems that is quite in tune with the childlike nature of the unconscious mind which is very receptive to its archetypal symbolism. All the more due to the impression that a spot on revelation based on a seemingly random process leaves. You are very welcome. It's fun for me too to think back to those Golden days... <sighs>

I readily admit I do not have laboratory alchemical experience, perhaps a better rephrasing of the thread would be 'alchemical theory applied to spiritual work' - with that being said, UFA seems to be the most knowledgeable person here, but he hasnt proved anything to me either, all of his writing while intellectual as heck could be all conjecture, he could be hallucinating in the laboratory, etc, - just as well I could be hallucinating during my work (*insert my occult experiential claims here*) - but in alchemy I found the most accurate model for my experiential knowledge. Thanks! Edit_ its not a big deal, I will go ahead and relate an example: When I was first able to separate my consciousness from my body I encountered a black man expaining something to me about burning spheres, or burning a sphere, or how to burn the spheres - then how there are three things which are One operating in different modes, it was a woman who illustrated the point, she appeared three times in different locations rapidly. I then went outside my backyard, it was real as taking my kids to mcdonalds for breakfast, not a dream, fully awake - then where the moon was supposed to be was Saturn, it began to eclipse rapidly, I ran to get my camera but reemebered i was not solid, then a snap, and what seemed like one thousand crows began to caw violently... at the time I was doing simple meditations based of the Sefer Yetzirah and the work of Abraham Abulafia. Then about two years later I started reading about the symbolism of calcination and was taken aback by the similarities inherent in that first separation. At the time I did not even know about the principles of Salt, Sulfur, Mercury let alone the significance of Saturn or the Crows! Completely objective.