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First there was Fist of The North Star, then there was Dragon Ball, and then finally there was One Piece! If there's anything more amazing then One Piece, then it's Eiichiro Oda. Dude is a Dragon Ball fan and it shows, his basic story thing is similar to the weird stuff that was going on in Dragon Ball but like in Dragon Ball, the weirdness doesn't last. Luffy starts off as just being some random rubber dude who goes on random adventures like Goku did(note: Goku is not rubber), but not in the same way. Oda develops his own storytelling style early in the story and it stays the similar way except for when it improves. My story of watching One Piece was just a frikin miracle. Years ago I would sometimes stay awake for a very long time and sometimes catch One Piece on YTV still being dubbed by 4kids. The whole show looked impossibly ridiculous until the Nami's island story arc. That story arc was so good that even with a horrible dub I stayed to watch it, but the English version of it was cut off at the very end and I would go online to watch One Piece there. I watched the arc there and it's still my most favorite arc even though Oda made some more impressive stories later on. I went onto watching One Piece without watching stories that came before it. The arcs are mostly separated into islands, the crew would go to an island and do stuff there until they beat the bad guy and go to another island. That's basically what happens but it's masked by how awesome the locations where they go to are. Sometimes it's not even clear who the bad guys are going to be or if they are on the island where all the action is going to be happening. Sometimes they would go to some places where they have to go to be somewhere else. Like before going to the Sky Island they have to go ask around on Jaya and proof that Luffy is awesome. It stays a shonen show with the fighting stuff and all that good role model stuff but the essence is different. The main characters are pirates and therefore are bad guys. They don't go saying that they are good pirates or anything, they don't have to go fight bad guys because they are good guys and they hate people hurting other people or something. They are bad people who have to care only for themselves. Pirates and bandits and all that. They start the fight only when they are being messed with and their pride is being stepped on. They fight for only what they believe in and that is one of the themes of the show. For example this guy named Sanji would rather die then hurt a woman, and he almost died a few times because of that and he still stood by his principles. And sometimes they don't fight at all. The back stories are very interesting and make you want to care for the characters. It's like instead of just watching some show you watch a bunch of people live their lives and try to fulfill their dreams. Everyone has a dream that they want to fulfil on that ship. It's very important to them and so the show is about what it takes to fulfill some dreams. And sometimes you gotta fite! And the fighting is good and creative. It also feels good watching them beat up the bad guys because the bad guys realy get painet as someones who need a beating. There is always a good reason to do somewhing because the writing is good. But I guess some adults who lost their dreams and just wait to die might not like One Piece, eh?

SB, Well for me all I can say is that meditation is a kind of natural and intuitive process. A kind of internal empiricism. If you use very simple techniques these are the most powerful in the end. Its a bit like the mind is a landscape of different terrains and you are exploring it. Nothing is counted in and nothing out. For instance there are states of dreamy confusion and states of intense clarity (and many many more). the 'trick' is to find a way to negotiate all these different terrains without losing the thread of continuity of consciousness. For a long time I rejected states of dreaminess because I wanted clarity, they seemed unreal and I wanted real stuff, but then I realised you can dip in and out of the dreamy states and not loose yourself ... and also that you gained energy by doing so. The dream states have their own 'reality' too. In fact if for some reason you are depleted in your energy body (for want of a better term) these states are your body's way of re-energizing just as in ordinary sleep you get refreshed(only better). I'm not saying by the way that you should just let yourself nod off ... what i am saying is that the more you notice these states and observe what happens you will naturally develop ways of maintain continuity through them. If you have a history of psychotic episodes then def. take it easy ... be gentle but persistent. practice, practice, practice ... and don't reject one session because maybe you felt sleepy just say its all part of the process. Just my perspective. Also I would suggest that you look for one school/system/practice which makes sense to you and that you feel a genuine connection to. Look for a teacher who seems to know what they are doing and stick to that for a few years.

Have you read any of Bruce Frantzis books on the Water Method meditation SereneBlue? he talks about going into dissociated dream like states and explains what they are and how to deal with them, he is the only person I have found who discusses such things in any sort of satisfactory way as it happens to me too.

Hmm...well I called it cat naps because of what Tibetan Ice described it as - as in - that's HIS word for this state. He describes my current meditation problem almost to a T and labeled it cat napping. Bringing my attention back to the object (Lower Dantien) even after these sometimes loooooong dreams was disorienting to say the least. And from the few books I've read not a single one EVER mentioned this state as being one that could happen! The few instructions from the books I've read were about 1 or 2 sentences long. "Focus on your breathing. And when your attention wanders bring it back to the breath." Which seems intuitive. Until you come upon the things I've been experiencing. I suppose in a way it's a humbling experience to say the least as it shows just how little "control" I really do have over my thought processes even with something as "no-brainer" as focusing on the breath. Oh I just figured I AM is just a way-station on the way to No-Self and 2-Fold Emptiness. I mean...Xabir definitely sees himself as a Buddhist yet he had a lengthy I AM stage. But you're right now that I think about it. Daniel Ingram, for example, never went through an I AM stage. I guess I just use I AM because at least it has definite markers and I think I experienced it once...very, very briefly one morning as I was waking up from sleep. My thoughts and images were literally just like watching things on a movie screen. There was a Presence inside "watching" all the thoughts and images but it was definitely not a part of them. And it was an incredibly peaceful state. I also had an equally amazing evening one time as I was lying in bed meditating (yeah, yeah...I know...I'm a lazy ass. I should be upright and lots of times I am but it was very late and I was tired). My thoughts were on loving-kindness and bodhicitta and for one incredible moment a blazing light appeared right between my eyes at my forehead as brilliant as a blazing, white star. It was in 3D! That surprised me! This happened just as I fell asleep. But it was vivid enough I remembered it immediately upon waking up. And of course, it's never happened again either. One TTB I'm currently taking lessons from said this was a good sign I'm getting progress and that my efforts are starting to bear fruit. Unfortunately, that incredible morning and incredible evening has never happened again and instead I'm plagued with sinking into these damn dream states. Or else a cacophony of thoughts and images. So I figured I don't know "all that" when it comes to meditation (not by a long shot) and it might be a good idea to read more than just the usual "focus on the breath and return to it when your attention wanders." Cheers to you as well!

Hi Serene, I stand by everything that I've said and I believe you are getting the right interpretation about mantra repetition ala TM or DM. That is excellent that you are reading "The Attention Revolution". If you look at the bottom of page 77, you will see this part: So you see, Serene, there is a need to be able to assess your state of attention and apply a remedy in order to keep a balance between excitation and laxity. I too had the same problem as you. I was passing into the sleep cycle, the dream world would open up before the third eye and then I would fight with myself to not being drawn into the dreams. I did discover that I could hold the 'entering of the dream" at bay by not breathing out into the dream, but that only works until you hear a sound in the dream and then you are sucked right in. It had never occured to me that I should have been cultivating vividness at the same time as relaxing the body. The solution is that these functions are already built into the breath, as I have learned by studying Alan Wallace's writings and podcasts. Basically, by focusing on the out-breath and even the pause at the end of the out-breath, it calms the body and removes thoughts. If you focus on the in-breath, vividness is enhanced. By putting attentional emphasis on one or the other, you combat either excitation or laxity. When I first started doing breath meditation practices as Alan Wallace has written about, there was a thick layer of mind that I had to get through. I was intrigued by the idea that there should be vividness as I always thought you had to shut off consciousness. However, after getting to the point where the breath becomes a mind object, I discovered that it is true, that you can make your perception of thoughts and visions way more vivid by adding interest during the in-breath and at the top of the in-breath. Keep in mind that there is no controlling of the breath while you do this, you do not control the breath in any way, you simply watch where it is in the cycle and then put more emphasis on which part you want to enhance. Lately I've increased the vividness to the point where thoughts are just as bright and luminous as if I were looking at object through my regular eyes. I still have to get used to that and I'm still digesting the concept.. So, my practice is this. I assess my current state, place my awareness in the body and take a census of my level of excitement (how many roudy thoughts I am having). If there are many, then I focus my attention on the out-breaths and the bottoms of the out-breaths while letting go and calming the body. As my mind calms, that is, each out-breath expels thoughts and the light of my conciousness becomes brighter (you see more white light and fewer thoughts, everything brightens up). At that point I focus on the breath until it becomes a mental object. It appears as a moving attentional point which is somewhat luminous. I just keep focusing on that until the stimulus from the five senses dissolves away and then the nimitta appears at the third eye. Last night I discovered that I do have the ability to rest my awareness at the top of the breath's mind object. I didn't know that was possible, but it is. It is like plopping your attention down like a sack of flour and the attention just stays there.. We will see where this will lead to.. Also, placement of the eyes plays a role in excitement and laxity. In some of the teachings it is recommended to fix the eyes pointing downwards, away from the brow. Not only does this then permit you totally relax your forehead and face but it keeps your attention away from the third eye. It is very important to relax the forehead and face and eyes. When I first learned about that I didn't want to do it because all the visions and action happen at the third eye. But later, after trying it out for a while, I saw the advantages and actually discovered that once your senses are shut off, it doesn't make any difference anyway, the visions and lights still appear at the third eye. But, to begin with, it is a great aid to focus the eyes downwards and totally relax the forehead and face. Another suggestion is to keep the eyes partially open. This also helps to quell thoughts. You know, Alan Wallace has so many good suggestions. Like, for example, if the mind is very coarse and excited, you focus on the lower tan tien ( below the navel) to monitor your breath. Then, the motions are very easy to detect and easy to focus on. If your mind is not so coarse, you can focus on the finer sensations at the nostrils. As your state of mind refines and becomes more subtle, you change your object of attention to match the level of subtlety of the mind.. and perhaps do practices such as watching thoughts with equanimity until they diminish and the conscious mind dissolves into the substrate consciousness. Awareness watching Awareness, Dzogchen, and watching thoughts are very effective practices. What is the purpose of the mantra? In practices like TM and DM, the mantra is just a hypnogogic tool that elicits the laxity response and allows one to cat nap, dip into deep sleep or beyond. It is like bobbing in the ocean. It is refreshing from a sleep perspective and may have physical health benefits, although I have read that cat-napping during the day may not be such a good thing to do. The mantra in this case, is a meaningless sound, or may have meaning but the meaning is not used or focused on. In practices such as regular or conventional mantra repetition, the meaning of the mantra plays a key role, whether it be to call a deity, pray a prayer, or affect your own subconscious in order to precipitate a desired energy event. The meaning here is key as the meaning helps you involve your intent and will. In any mantra repetition, you will notice that the lower tan tien starts the process. Any mantra first comes from the lower tan tien. If you don't believe me, just sit in a meditative posture and then go to start the mantra and then stop. Even before the sound starts, you will notice that the lower tan tien clasps up, however slightly. Then, the seed of the mantra rises up to the medulla and the parts of the brain stem that control breathing and speech. The two are intimately tied together. By repeating a mantra physically, mentally or sublimally, you are causing the whole mechanism to kick in (LTT, medulla, throat chakra). The motion that this process causes is referred to as a wind in Buddism, a movement of energy. Yes, movements of energy can calm the mind, and are a wonderful method of communication and manifestation of thoughts. But, if stillness is sought, you can't keep stirring the winds! The breath is a good thing to focus on because you can do so without stirring any wind. If you choose a mantra to still the mind, you have to keep producing the mantra. There is also another part of mantra repetition which most people have yet to realize. By repeating a mantra, silent or otherwise, it sends energy to the medulla, breath and speech parts of the brain. Eventually, if you stimulate this area too much, the body/brain has a natural mechanism that will try to shut off the stimulus, because it is not natural. That is why, occaisionally during mantra repetition the practitioner will experience states of no-breath. It is the brain trying to shut off the repetitive agrevating stimulus. This accounts for the "bobbing" effect of mantra repetition like TM and DM and the fact that the episodes of breath stoppage are only momentary and recur frequently. According to James H. Austin, MD, : The difference between TM/DM and other forms of conventional dharana/dhyana meditation are the fact of a continuity of awareness throughout the meditation, even during states of no-mind. This awareness has to be cultivated by increasing vividness and sustaining awareness (vicara). After doing so, the more esoteric states of mind (including the breathless ones) can be held onto indefinately. This is something that TM/DM style meditative techniques do not teach nor realize the value. This is the value of mindfulness, anapanasati and the Buddhist approach. Anyway, Serene, I hope this helps. TI

Because deep down I believe that you and just about everyone wants to cultivate kind caring loving notions... its just that quite often individuals just get entangled into doing something contrary to what they really want... unaware of what they do ... without knowing what they do... or why they do it... its difficult to learn what to do... when the cards are on the table, and one sees the different games, its easy to pick the wining hand... and given the choice few would pick a losing hand to win... its a bit more involved because the cards on the table involve choosing between apparent identical games though actually being quite different hands: - what seems to be because it be - what seems to be because it just seems to be... but isn't I like to say be it a dream be it for real always choose the better ways... hedge the choice to ensure always being on the wining side...

I am not familiar with that Sutra. In fact...I've never heard of it until this thread. I've only read a handful of sutras. Some of the Shurangama sutra, all of the Lotus Sutra and Heart Sutra. Also bits of Sutra from In the Buddha's Words - which is an anthology of selected Sutras from the Pali Cannon. *********** My main thing right now is trying to get meditation practice solid (along with Taoist inner alchemy but that's a separate category). Some of the symptoms I experience seem to be similar to what Tibetan Ice insists is cat napping. Except he makes it sound like people are deliberately not being rigorous enough in their meditation and thus falling into a cat nap dream state. That isn't what happens with me. I get swept up in the dream even despite repeated attempts to sustain focus on my lower dantien. If I *could* stop the 'entering the dream sweep' I *would*. It's the fact that I do not seem to have any control over this that ticks me off so much that I've been looking around to see wtf I'm doing wrong with my meditation practice. ****************** Right now I'm reading Alan Wallace's The Attention Revolution in the hopes of seeing where I'm making mistakes in my meditation practice. And I get ticked off at the guys who say "you're trying is what's messing you up". To which my reply is - if you, Mr Don't Try Because You're Already Enlightened - are already so Awakened then quit posting on TTB, and quit giving advice to people to "quit trying".

I don't think we're all losers fantasizing in virtual reality. This site has a lot of great insight to offer. If it is your "true" dream to root out the bad guys and regimes then go for it. I know a great tailor who can make a stunning costume for you, cape and all!

Very good points. I reread the entire Castaneda oeuvre about 3 or 4 years ago and really got a lot out of it. It's also helpful to read some of the other Toltec authors to get a sense of Carlos' point of departure. To be clear, I do not discount the possibility of magic. In fact, I think my very awareness/existence is more magical than anything my measly mind could dream up. It's just too close and familiar to be meaningful unless we make the effort to thoroughly investigate it (remember the admonition "to turn the light back on itself?"- mundane yet profound). On the other hand, rather than believe in something that may be beyond my direct experience, I currently choose to focus on what I can experience directly. That is, I intend to put one foot in front of the other and continue to train and investigate in order to see if I can discover whatever there is that may transcend what I currently know and experience. If the magic is out there, beyond me, I intend to try and find it rather than simply believe something I read or am told. I think it will be a better use of my time to focus on the day to day training. This is something I got from my teacher - very much a pragmatist. It's already paid off, in fact - big time. The methods work and you don't even have to believe, just practice... The reason I tend to emphasize the more mundane and approachable side of the arts is that I find that the majority of students will get distracted and waste way too much time looking for magic rather than developing the real magic through hard work.

"so Ichigo had to become even more powerful to beat him" It's such a cliche. Also them backgrounds if you read the manga and not just watch the anime (fillers ho boy). Your review is dead on. Still it's funny how spiritual bleach is, at last at the beginning of the anime. But I guess it is all Japanese common myths just cartoonish. If we look at One piece then we see the concept of Haki (will-power) (walking in air, seeing stuff in the dark, sensing others presence, overwhelm others with your will and harm the imaterial (harming logia user that can turn himself into gas)). I quess they where lucky with their culture, all we get is christians crying about the good old days when people died at the whim of the church and collectivists doing the borg dance. On the subject of the spiritual swords, I got mine in a dream (i saw myself shining while holding a sword, then i woke up), and every day after I can visualize it. If you can remember something better then your house keys, mobile number, glasses on your head and etc then you know its a part of you. I still need to learn its name, and yes, you can't change its looks, the sword just "ignores it".

dc9 first, please drop all expectations about bliss. just forget them. second, begin to meditate, shamatha/vipassana, anapanasati, zuowang, zazen, just pick one and start doing it every day for a comfortable amount of time. if you research those and find them not to your liking, at least try mantra meditation. look up so'ham, or if ten bucks isnt too much to ask, download the mark griffin mp3 called prana - so'ham - four bodies then, third, while the meditation is changing your mind into something more conducive to bliss, save your money and go see mark griffin when you can for shaktipat. Since you live in the bay area, he's only a couple hours away. He is amazingly powerful, not some snake-oil salesman in robes but a shaktipat guru from a proven lineage. You'll probably have to experience meditating in his presence to believe it. I have streamed meetings and a shaktipat intensive online with him, and it is a blast of energy, as he calls it, a thunderbolt of awakening. then, since meditation has prepared you by giving you patience and discipline, you will need it to do the work that kundalini demands as it tears through your energy body and mind cleansing out what doesn't serve you and twisting you around until you actually develop the qualities to handle her. For someone like you its no picnic. I can't say this clearly enough, for what you want, there is no easy way, there is no pill, there is no smooth path to get from where you are right now into bliss states of kundalini ecstasy. You are chasing a dream IMO a fantasy that is held only by two kinds of people, those who read an article about kundalini and believe it before ever experiencing her - and siddhas who have dedicated themselves to their spiritual cultivation for years, with all the patience and diligence that they could possibly muster again good luck to you

lol, I do think that maybe you shouldn't be put off so quickly if you start reading something et-thoughts, there was one paragraph about ego or personality in there, and it didn't say you should eliminate it. You haven't read even one -fifth of the text, and now that I've read through it all, yes, there's a couple nice passages in there about what it means, it's a little wordy/long maybe, but it'll take you just 10 or 15 minutes. What do you mean by 'when it got to associate the ego to the world' ? this has nothing to do with reality being a dream or a holographic reality or any such thing. I copy/pasted a couple passages, maybe, if you're interested: "If a person believes himself to be the ego, the identifications, ideas and past experiences, then he is said to be "not in the world, but of it." He is not aware of who he really is, of his essence. This is difficult to understand unless we are aware of our own essence at least some of the time. [...] "Being in the world but not of it" means that you continue doing what you do, you continue to pursue your career as a physicist, a gardener, a mother and so on, but all the time you remember and realize that it is only a reflection of something else, that what you wish most deeply is to actualize a part of yourself. And the main effort and work of what you have chosen to do is directed toward understanding that certain part of yourself and actualizing it. If you live that way, it is true you are in the world, but your motivation is different; you are not of the world. your purpose is to find the precious pearl, your personal essence. If you're a physicist you could be awarded one prize after the other; if you're a lawyer you could become the state attorney. But you will still feel unfulfilled if you don't find the pearl. You'll still have to do more, try more, prove more and so on. You could spend your life striving for bigger and better results. [..] So the saying isn't "not of the world," it is "in the world but not of it." "In the world" means not meditating on some mountain, not living in a monastery. You're actually living the life of the world. Your life is an adventure, and whatever you are doing in the world is not an end in itself, but the process, a crucible for melting the gold from the ore." [...] Once you know yourself to be the personal essence, what you do doesn't matter much. You choose what will enlarge and enhance your real self. There can never be a sense of lasting fulfillment unless you have realized that essential part of yourself. Nothing else can take its place." Maybe I can find something more concise, lol, but yes, I do think I agree with this notion and the way I am in the world, but not of it ∞Nelida

Ok so what was the point ... I hold that I do understand what you meant and I am sort of putting it on the table to see if indeed we should cultivate such a notion... I realize that to some this reality is just a dream, a holographic experience quite akin to more advanced video-games platform... that even allows to make modifications from within the game. What you said is something like --- remember to be in the game but not of it ... having just said that I have realized a whole different 'new interpretation'... remember to be in the fight but not of it... meaning participate in the encounter but not as a fighter participate in the encounter as a graceful dancer... The gracefully dance can transform the fight into a dance... so one be in the game playing and transforming the game by higher rules, values, principles ... I went to the link and read just a bit... I stopped when it got to associate the ego to the world... To me the ego needs to be educated rather than eliminated... its like with judgements... one better educate oneself how to judge because one is bound to judge... yes we are forced to judge and to choose while free as to how we do it... and what we choose and it all does matter... so judge in caring loving ways and choose understanding wisdom with love and peace... thank you for this opportunity to see a new the perspective of the notion ' in this world but not of it' ... I hope I have provided in this response other enriching food for thought... Personally I prefer to dialogue each presenting their ideas ... the pointing to go look elsewhere can be a bit of a distracting quest... who knows if what I find there is what you wanted me to find there...

The dream is real only as long as the dreamer dreams. When I am not dreaming I cannot be a butterfly.

In the dream world, it does not matter at all be you a butterfly or a fish, or just a dream. For all we know, the reality that we think we are in are just figment of a vast vast dream.

Wait I think i might have been misunderstood. I mean like literaly, i had a dream and the next day it happened, sort of. I saw a girl i never met before in my life, in my dream and the next day I saw her at a store. A very old song played in my dream and I heard it the next day while buying a skulbag. How can keep visions of the future coming?

Take steps to fulfill the dream ... if that is a future you desire for yourself

so I was getting somewhere after all, lol and I like talking about his too I didn't find anything in-depth about Tzujan yet, I will have to look a little further, I'm surprised I really didn't hear about it until now, thanks! "My personal opinion of socialization is that its a "double edged sword"that should best be blunted on one side and sharpened on the other" I like this thought, very nicely put this way aside from the fact, though, that you need ( do you? ) to decide on a certain term to be able to know 'this is what we are speaking of right now" isn't this also in part because the things we speak of now in this thread aren't part of our western socialization, not part of the reality or paradigm that we were raised in? I suppose people who were raised with certain concepts wouldn't have a need to discuss this in the manner we do, it would be part of their respective socialization. They may also have differing views, of course, but what happens here a lot, in the west I mean, when trying to describe such concepts as are completely unfamiliar to us, is that the discussion may get stuck in the semantics, people disagreeing about a description of something that must be accurate, linguistic nitpicking? while it isn't really about a description, but about understanding what it is, really. maybe if you were raised in a society that acknowledges the existence of...qi, or natural spirits, or sees that people have animal guides and recognizes its characteristics, really any society that the west might view as superstitious and primitive, then you would also have a 'name' for something 'unnameable' simply for the purpose of addressing it, but then people would know what the other was talking about simply because they also have in themselves this connection with this nameless thing. Would socialization have to be blunted on one side too then? But maybe I'm just too inclined to think that the west is, for all its science and technology and so-called 'superiority' and reasonableness, actually...naturalistically backward.... What if we could dream together and wouldn't need words to describe but could share the direct experience? we could bypass all this.... ∞Nelida

Yea! It was something I have never experienced before. The first day was so-so, but the second day for me was like a psychedelic trip. Because my studies began on monday I had to leave after the second thay. And you know what? A miracle has happened. You see before the workshop I could not do sitting or standing meditation. It took me 50 minutes to get the movements going and because I have cronic fatique syndrome, my body could not handle keeping up the posture. After the workshop, I woke up 7am went straight to sitting meditation, did it for 1hour no side-effects whatsoever. Next day same thing, except that today I also did 1 hour of standing meditation later. Now I can access the movements right away and when they get going its not taxing for the body, infact I feel more energetic afterwards. So the workshop changed everything for me Come weekend I will start experimenting with Gift of the Tao.. This is beyond awesome, doing spiritual practice has always been my greatest dream. Thnx to Michael and Brion, who projected their chi into me my life has started to turn around. I'll certainly hold on to this chi and build it up with practice Words are not enough to describe how happy I am

So, you reckon Mary and Joseph were a random pair of strangers? I'll bet you do based on your doctrine of a levelling Tao, something only a Marxist socialist could dream up. Equality is a western political sentiment. It has no place in Chinese philosophy which is not philosophy in the western sense. The Tao Te Ching predates western civilization. So, how is a fella like you going to jump out of your cultural brainwash to grok something that is eternally removed from you? A Chinaman doesn't have your handicap and to point that out is not being racist. Racism is another western hang-up implanted in the western psyche by Jewish reaction to anti-semitism. Here again, the Chinese is not burdened by this emotional baggage. What you will take away, after all your study, is a monster that bears no relationship to the Tao Te Ching. It will be your own little baby that look just like you because it is you who fathered it, not Lao Tze.

This came about in a dream sequence I had last year. As It Becomes You The unattributable occurs blamelessly Lifetimes proceed in light of encounters Selflessness is the regality of impersonal nature There being no person; the court of no account is wordless Clearly, there is nothing to know: Wholly unborn and undying. Phantoms encountering the world Who is left out? Encountering the vertical, there is unutterable firmness Switching abodes, you take over creation: The office bustles with unreality; It is a business where nothing in due course happens. Already possessing the medicines; malady is presumed and prescribed This is the necessary step to self-refinement: Don't settle down in it and make this your career. Affirmed, you go on Following the incline of sameness Prior illuminates have tread. First awaken on your own, then see someone else It is your own regal impersonal nature Waiting on the rise. Stepping over eternity is not worth talking about As it becomes you Just wear out the shoe.

Very interesting stuff! thanks guys! I generally don't consume sugar... Then fathers day yesterday... cake / sweets etc haha... wasn't all that much really I couldn't relax or sleep well + dream state wasn't as pleasant as usual

I used to know a woman who was a very religious Catholic, who actually had Jesus come to her in a dream, shine his divine light on her, and proclaim the only message he had for her, in a commandeering and somewhat indignant tone of voice: "Darita-Rose, Get Off Sugar Already!" This story cracks me up every time I remember it, yet Darita-Rose took this unique divine intervention absolutely seriously -- and her health benefited greatly.

Once I decided to raise body temperature to combat the cold... and voila I ended in the infirmary with 104 temperature feeling terrible... I learned to be careful when playing around with the controls knobs ... as the saying goes... be careful with what you wish for, for you just might get it... Key is to learn how to wish, learn to dream, learn to think, learn to feel...

you are most welcome i think that visualizing death and really preparing oneself for the eventuality in which they will not have a flesh body, or anywhere to go but into the bardo, is good. To familiarize oneself with the light is what the Bardo Thodol recommends, because a lot of people get "out there" and its like a dream, they are kind of on autopilot.. the great light appears and they fear it, they fear their own dissolution, the unmaking of themselves, and they run from it deeper in to the bardo. They can spend a lot of time in the inbetween, or they can in the snap of fingers enter the light. Some adepts can rest in the light for a long time, bathing in bliss and dissolving samskaras and obstructions effortlessly for ages on end. So if one doesnt go into the light, where the will of divinity itself has a say in what happens to the person, they might go into the other portals into the worlds of gods or animals or to hell, they might, like in a dream, just do it habitually, not even really realizing skillfully that they were doing it as it was happening. So the best thing to do is be prepared to be confronted with an overwhelming light that has the potential to be terrifying because it will dissolve "you" and spit you back out somewhere else. But it is overwhelmingly agreed that entering the light and being absorbed is the best option, and the ticket to several other more interesting options, such as staying in the light for a long time, and being reborn in an enlightened realm like siddhaloka or a buddhist pure land etc. Mark Griffin has an excellent excellent mp3 series on the Bardo Thodol here which is well worth $26.95 (and im poor) so checking that out might prove fruitful too.. i find that the original text by Padmasambhava is a little archaic and confusing, and that Mark's talks might be a lot better for westerners. btw its a 5 part talk, each part is like 70 minutes long