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This is something I wrote weeks ago in another forum, but I felt it might be of relevance here as well. -------- I saw some writings in facebook and online articles (commonplace, really) about 'I am not my body, I am the deathless Presence/Absolute/Awareness' and this triggered me to write a post about this... I was living in the state named as 'enlightenment' by Richard since February 2010 since the my self-realization culminating from almost two years of self-inquiry practice, and since Feb '10 I went from being identified as a formless Presence, and later to a seamless Awareness that unites every experience into a seamless field in which subject and object are inseparable and everything is simply seen to be inseparable expression of that single field of awareness (August 2010, onwards). At that time I see myself as being a bodiless, birthless and deathless, transcendent Self, a metaphysical Absolute, God, Awareness, etc.... because my view had it that Presence, Awareness has an independent, permanent, inherent existence. In September, while I was busy doing my BMT, I had a dream*... of awakened beings whose bodies were semi transparent. I immediately intuited that, to deepen my experience I have to undergo what is known as a 'body-mind drop-off' to experience total transparency... I also asked him, What are You!? That semi transparent being gestured non-verbally and it was very clear what it meant: this sensate body. Two weeks later I got it... the realization of Anatta arose, and also, the body-mind construct dissolved... there is no longer the sense of a solid object 'in here'... the body is merely disjointed sensations and perceptions that we link up into a feeling, a conjured mental construct of a solid entity with forms and shapes being a stable, solid entity 'here'... that is merely an illusion.... yet at the same time, it is not the dissociative experience of 'I am not my body' I had even much earlier on. I am not a grandiose universal consciousness, rather, I am this sensate, flesh and blood body only (which is nothing solid, but an ever-dynamic, fresh, sensate experience of being this body, being these sense organs seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, touching and thinking)... I am the universe experiencing itself as a sensate, reflective human being, interacting with other fellow beings in a process of interconnectedness (as contrast to oneness) without agency or control and the illusion of being an Identity, a Soul, a Feeler, Seer, Observer 'inside my body' looking outwards at the world... has dissolved. And neither is the world seen as being subsumed or contained in an all-subsuming Awareness... And awarerness is now realised to be more of an effect rather than a cause or source: cognizance depends on body and its sense organs for its manifestation... It is a dependently originated manifestation, in contrast with the previous state where the entire universe is seen to be a mere projection of awareness/consciousness, which is seen to be a single unchanging, unifying and universal source. There is absolutely nothing immortal and metaphysical about consciousness/awareness. I am the seeing, the hearing, which means in the seeing is JUST the seen... the scenery... in hearing is just the sound... there is no such thing as a perceiving nor controlling agent.... perceiving is just the perceived. This is the insight of anatta. This was what I basically realized after contemplating on bahiya sutta. Awareness, the seeing, is just the seen! There is nothing metaphysical and 'absolute' about Awareness... there is no 'The Awareness' or 'One Awareness'... there is pure awareness of sight, pure awareness of hearing, etc... to pure awareness of thought. There are six kinds of pure awareness corresponding to the six senses (five senses + mental activities). Awareness is nothing transcendental or metaphysical, it is precisely the activities, the manifestation... The process itself rolls and knows without a knower. Without an identity, that separates and distances 'me' from 'the world', I am in intimacy with all things actual... with the floor, the chairs, the trees, and so on. The sun feels as close as my breath. The entire universe is experienced as alive, wonderful, delightful, a fairy-tale like paradise. It is now seen that there is no two entities, one called body and one called spirit. Our universe is not made of entities, but activities and processes. All there is is this body, and it is not that there is a body 'in here' in contrast with the environment 'out there' - our perception of a body is simply a bunch of disjointed sensations and perceptions not seperated from, and forms part of the environment... The perceptual environment made of various sensations and perceptions. The clinging to a construct and sense of a solid body 'in here' dissolves without denying or disassociating from the actuality of the bodily sensations (the body reveals itself to be a luminous and transparent field of aliveness), and there is a sense of being transparent and intimate with the entire environment, without any sense of and inside or outside, and this is what is known in Zen as the 'mind-body drop'. Nowadays there are rarely any authors that have clear insight into anatta, most just stop at I Am (realization of the formless Presence, taken to be one's purest Identity), and the deepest most go is substantialist non-dual (subject-object collapsed into oneness, all forms subsumed into a single field of awareness), the realization of anatta (I.e. The seeing IS the seen, in hearing just the heard, etc) and for this I am greatly indebted to Thusness's guidance. The least I could do is to share what I know and experience and hopefully it can be of help to someone else. * Thusness later revealed that my dreams manifested due to his intention for me to know certain important issues crucial for my next phase of insight... And that he could manifest dreams to me due to our deep connection. He also does seem to have an uncanny ability to know accurately what is the 'next step' for another person, and even exactly when will those insights occur for that person. I had a number of such spiritual dreams during my BMT phase (possibly because I hardly had much time to talk with Thusness during that period) of profound significance regarding my spiritual practice that helped me to understand a lot of what I am going through and was very helpful... now not much anymore and Thusness often visits me... physically, not in dreams, haha.

The process started a year ago. Through contemplating the question 'Before birth, Who am I?' for almost two years with a deep desire to resolve the matter of the truth of my Being, there suddenly arose the insight into the essence of existence, being, presence. This is a direct insight into something undeniable and unavoidable. For the first time I realized what presence, luminosity, awareness actually is, directly and non-conceptually without intermediary. And I realize that to be my very essence, in which there is no division between 'me' and 'it' - I am That, the self-knowing presence. It is so clear and undoubtable that there arose a certainty of Being, something more undeniable and intimate than the breath, and if anything it is the only 'thing' that cannot be denied. At this phase, the construct of duality and the construct of inherency still remains strong. As such, I see 1) an inherent awareness 2) awareness is the ultimate observer of objects, and I am that all-pervading awareness, I am not the objects - the objects are objects happening to/in awareness, and awareness is like a vast container for them to arise and subside. This phase continued for the next six months where I deepened the insight and experience of I AMness in terms of the insight and experience of impersonality, where everything is seen to be the spontaneous manifestation and doings of an impersonal source. It feels like I am being lived by a higher power. Due to the experience of impersonality, there is the impression that consciousness is universal and everyone comes from the same source. There is also the refining of that insight and experience in terms of the intensity of luminosity, seeing through and dissolving the need to abide, and effortlessness. So these four aspects are the 'refining factors of the realization of I AM' and is what eventually led to further non-dual insights. That said, in the I AM realization phase, due to the lack of insights, I was skewed into trying to abide more and more as the I AM and trying to make this abidance constant. In August, while dancing in a nightclub and just immersing myself into the movement, the music, and sensuousness of everything, I experienced non-duality very intensely and effortlessly as the sense of self just dropped off. Although I have had non-dual glimpses (lasting only a few moments usually), this was different as it became very effortless and constant. Everything was very intense, blissful, and luminously present - and it was not because of alcohol or mind-altering drugs... the subsidance of the sense of dualistic construct is very blissful, and this bliss and clarity did not just stop - it became a perpetual experience in daily life. Now, Awareness is seen to be seamless by nature. I no longer see and experience Presence and Awareness as a formless background to everything. In fact, it is seen that there is no division between the observer and the observed - I am the seeing, the hearing, the smelling, the tasting, the touching, everything arising moment to moment, there is no separate self or experiencer, there is only that - and that is non-dual presence. However, the construct of an inherent awareness is still strong, and as such, I see 1) an inherent awareness 2) awareness is not divided with all manifestations. In other words, I see everything as the manifestation of the same aliveness/awareness, and Awareness is seen as a seamless undivided field of being in which everything is equally an expression of, and not other than, this field of aliveness/awareness/consciousness. As such, the purpose of practice is no longer geared towards achieving a constant, 24/7 abidance in the purest state of Presence, the Self. Rather, seamless and effortlessness is discovered to be totally non-dual and seamless with/AS all manifestations, rather than abiding in a purest formless Presence. At this point, I keep questioning myself, "Where does awareness end and manifestation begin?" and the answer to this is a non-conceptual, borderless, centreless, seamless field of undivided presence in which everything is included AS non-dual presence. In October upon the contemplation of Bahiya Sutta while I was marching (was enlisted last year for a mandatory two year military service), I realized Anatta. The contemplation of 'in the seeing just the seen, in the hearing just the heard' as Buddha instructed Bahiya triggered that realization. As such, I no longer see an agent that perceives, i.e. an Awareness. I realized that there is no agent that perceives at all, no subject to be found. In seeing, there is only just the seen, the scenery - the seeing IS the seen, the seeing IS the scenery. There is just scenery - and that alone is the seeing. There is no seer, no agent, no perceiver behind perception. Only always just perception without perceiver. Everything is just happening. There is no "seamless field of aliveness" because aliveness is simply these everchanging and ungraspable sensations arising and subsiding each moment. Just thoughts, sensations, sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, that's all. Phenomena manifesting. The entire process itself rolls and knows, there is no knower. There is no Awareness that is one with its perceptions. There is just perception, the perception itself is its knowing. Because there is always only arising phenomena, there is no such thing as 'unicity'. There is no awareness to be united with objects, no mirror that is one with its reflections. There is no subject to begin with that could be inseparable with its objects. There is always only phenomena. Few months later, I began to notice this subtle remaining tendency to cling to a Here and Now. Somehow, I still want to return to a Here, a Now, which I found to be a subtle illusory yet hypnotic conceptual image that represents 'Presence'. In reality, Presence is empty and non-local. It cannot be located, it cannot be found, it cannot be pinned pointed even as 'here' or 'now'. It cannot be grasped in any way, because there is no core or essence to Awareness. There is always only dependently originated appearances, that alone is Presence, and that is unlocatable, ungraspable, unfindable in any way whatsoever. Therefore we must not only dissolve the construct of "Who", even the more subtle construct of a "Where" and "When" must be dissolved for true liberation. When this is seen, the subtle tendency to seek an inherent source/awareness/presence is then allowed to be dropped, and in place of that seeking tendency is the effortless and natural spontaneous manifestation of interdepedent origination. Soon afterwards, there is the realization that what there is, is unsupported, disjoint thoughts and phenomena... There is only the ungraspable experiencing of everything, which is bubble like. Everything just pops in and out. It's like a stream... cannot be grasped or pinned down... like a dream, yet totally vivid. Cannot be located as here or there. Prior to this insight, there isn't the insight into phenomena as being 'scattered' without a linking basis (well there already was but it needs refinement)... the moment you say there is a Mind, an Awareness, a Presence that is constant throughout all experiences, that pervades and arise as all appearances, you have failed to see the 'no-linking', 'disjointed', 'unsupported' nature of manifestation. The luminosity and the emptiness are inseparable. They are both essential aspects of our experiential reality and must be seen in its seamlessness and unity. Realizing this, there is just disjoint thoughts and phenomena arising without support and liberating on its own accord. There is nothing solid acting as the basis of these experiences and linking them... there is just spontaneous and unsupported manifestations and self liberating experiences. Therefore, this ‘disjoint, unsupported, bubble-like, non-solid, spontaneous, self-releasing’ nature of activities is revealed as a further progression from the initial insight into Anatta which is still skewed towards non-dual luminosity and being grounded in the ‘Here/Now’. So... that's the story so far anyway. I claim no finality, and in fact, am pretty sure more insights are going to unfold in time to come. And since I see reality as a process, I do not make neo-Advaitic claims like 'oh the time bound story is just relative stuff and actually all there is is Here/Now' - there is no inherently existing 'Here/Now' at all, there is just phenomena rolling on its own accord and telling its story but without a self at the center claiming ownership of the process (and yet using personal pronouns is unavoidable for convenient communication - I don't want to sound like a weirdo for using impersonal pronouns) And yet since reality/phenomena is as ungraspable as lightning strikes, no phenomena including enlightenment could be captured or clung to. So I always refer back to what Zen Master Dogen wrote: To study the Way is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be enlightened by all things of the universe. To be enlightened by all things of the universe is to cast off the body and mind of the self as well as those of others. Even the traces of enlightenment are wiped out, and life with traceless enlightenment goes on forever and ever. Lastly, I see enlightenment as nothing mystical. It is simply the lifting of veils to reveal subtler aspects of reality. Once we lift conceptual thoughts, we discover I AM. Once we lift the bond of duality, we experience and discover non-dual awareness. Once we lift the bond of inherency, we experience and discover the absence of agent and an wonderfully luminous yet empty universe occuring via dependent origination. This is it... in short. For a much longer e-journal/e-book you can see http://awakeningtoreality.blogspot.com/2010/12/my-e-booke-journal.html And for a much shorter version of a path quite similar to mine (by Thusness who I consider one of my teachers): http://awakeningtoreality.blogspot.com/2007/03/thusnesss-six-stages-of-experience.html

Your statements have a lot of misunderstanding. It is totally possible and I am speaking from experience... to permanently end the illusion of self. Yes, you are right in that through the power of concentration and absorption, you may temporarily send the sense of self into abeyance, in a state of samadhi. But samadhi is NOT enlightenment. Enlightenment is a permanent realization about the nature of reality - in the seeing there is just the seen, no seer, in the hearing there is just the heard, no hearer, in the thinking there is just thoughts, no thinker. Having direct realization of this ends the illusion of self forever. This is not an experience that has entry and exit - you do not enter this, and you can never exit/escape this 'condition' - because always already, there is no self, so there is no self to remain, no self to cease, no self to [insert token]. This needs to be realized. So yes, there is no 'permanently annihilating self', since annihilating self implies there is a self, but if you realize no self, then it is seen that there is no such self to remain or cease... the illusion is seen through and what is seen cannot be unseen. This is vastly different from a temporary samadhi state. A samadhi state does not bring realization. "Life is suffering" is one of the most misquoted thing attributed to Buddha. The Buddha did not say this. He taught that there is suffering, he didn't say life is suffering or there can only be suffering. Please read this article: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/lifeisnt.html ...You've probably heard the rumor that "Life is suffering" is Buddhism's first principle, the Buddha's first noble truth. It's a rumor with good credentials, spread by well-respected academics and Dharma teachers alike, but a rumor nonetheless. The truth about the noble truths is far more interesting. The Buddha taught four truths — not one — about life: There is suffering, there is a cause for suffering, there is an end of suffering, and there is a path of practice that puts an end to suffering. These truths, taken as a whole, are far from pessimistic. They're a practical, problem-solving approach — the way a doctor approaches an illness, or a mechanic a faulty engine. You identify a problem and look for its cause. You then put an end to the problem by eliminating the cause... ...Other discourses show that the problem isn't with body and feelings in and of themselves. They themselves aren't suffering. The suffering lies in clinging to them. In his definition of the first noble truth, the Buddha summarizes all types of suffering under the phrase, "the five aggregates of clinging": clinging to physical form (including the body), feelings, perceptions, thought constructs, and consciousness. However, when the five aggregates are free from clinging, he tells us, they lead to long-term benefit and happiness. So the first noble truth, simply put, is that clinging is suffering. It's because of clinging that physical pain becomes mental pain. It's because of clinging that aging, illness, and death cause mental distress. The paradox here is that, in clinging to things, we don't trap them or get them under our control. Instead, we trap ourselves. When we realize our captivity, we naturally search for a way out. And this is where it's so important that the first noble truth not say that "Life is suffering." If life were suffering, where would we look for an end to suffering? We'd be left with nothing but death and annihilation. But when the actual truth is that clinging is suffering, we simply have to look for the clinging and eliminate its causes... This isn't true, suffering does not require pleasure. Also, suffering is not displeasure. Unpleasurable sensations can arise yet without mental aversion or suffering. The world is not an illusion, and there is no reality apart from the world. But this not to say that the world is real (inherently, independently, permanently existing) - there is no independent existence of the world of its own as all appearances dependently originate without anything that can be pinned down as having inherent reality. The world is like an illusion, but not an illusion, looks there but isn't really there. http://awakeningtoreality.blogspot.com/search/label/Acharya%20Mahayogi%20Shridhar%20Rana%20Rinpoche First of all, to the Buddha and Nagarjuna, Samsara is not an illusion but like an illusion. There is a quantum leap in the meaning of these two statements. Secondly, because it is only ‘like an illusion’ i.e. interdependently arisen like all illusions, it does not and cannot vanish, so Nirvana is not when Samsara vanishes like mist and the Brahma arises like the sun out of the mist but rather when seeing that the true nature of Samsara is itself Nirvana. So whereas Brahma and Samsara are two different entities, one real and the other unreal, one existing and the other non-existing, Samsara and Nirvana in Buddhism are one and not two. Nirvana is the nature of Samsara or in Nagarjuna’s words shunyata is the nature of Samsara. It is the realization of the nature of Samsara as empty which cuts at the very root of ignorance and results in knowledge not of another thing beyond Samsara but of the way Samsara itself actually exists (Skt. vastusthiti), knowledge of Tathata (as it-is-ness) the Yathabhuta (as it really is) of Samsara itself. It is this knowledge that liberates from wrong conceptual experience of Samsara to the unconditioned experience of Samsara itself. That is what is meant by the indivisibility of Samsara and Nirvana (Skt. Samsara nirvana abhinnata, Tib: Khor de yer me). The mind being Samsara in the context of DzogChen, Mahamudra and Anuttara Tantra. Samsara would be substituted by dualistic mind. The Hindu paradigm is world denying, affirming the Brahma. The Buddhist paradigm does not deny the world; it only rectifies our wrong vision (Skt. mithya drsti) of the world. It does not give a dream beyond or separate transcendence from Samsara. Because such a dream is part of the dynamics of ignorance, to present such a dream would be only to perpetuate ignorance.

As to being the observer of the weirdness, this reminds me of waking up into a dream in the morning - floating along with the dream for a while, thinking it makes perfect sense. Then, when you decide to open your eyes and actually get up, you realize 'Damn! - that was one weird dream!' It's like there's this separate reality in dreams where causation is entirely omitted, and yet at some level we fully understand what the dream is doing. Our waking self apparently requires the cause and effect-ness of our daily understanding. The dream is happening all Here, all Now. I've heard it said that although it seems that dreams may involve a long span of 'time' (to our sleeping perception), they actually occur in a very short time. Somehow our dreaming mind is not respectful of the laws of time or space or gravity.

Wow, thanks for the crapload of responses! It gives me a variety of options to start with. A few notes rang true for me (seeking acceptance, high expectations as a kid, stuck in child mode too much (Most frequently recurring dream is me sitting in elementary school saying "I don't belong here anymore!"), hating others what I see in myself.) There's a myriad of other stuff, but I would loathe to try and turn this thread into an internet empathy vortex. I feel a bit skeptical of the "Let all the hate in, plus some more hate, to see how hate is ridiculous" because I've seen what hate can do to people when left on a simmer for decades, and jumping head first into seems rather counter-intuitive. Would you care to elaborate? I'm a complete novice when it comes to energy work. I'm relatively young (21), I've read only a couple books on qigong and tai chi, but I've read enough to know that without a good teacher, I'm bound to cause painful mistakes if I choose to pursue those paths. Due to lack of funds/time, pursuing at this point isn't really an option. Perhaps later.

i get it from people that study and practice in real life what we only dream of, and my heart tells me they tell the truth. i know too little, yes, that is a humbling reality that i try each day to challenge. you?

Why do we buy into it? We collude with this linear x causes y magic pill type coveting? Kunlun isnt a magic pill, going to Asia to get a guru isnt a magic pill, there is no magic pill qigong to help you get over your chronic anger, or feel the spark to play with your kid? A "complete system" of enlightenment may work for some, not for others, hence it is no magic pill either. In the aggragate, we chip away, grind, grunt, keep an open mind to new solutions or possible remedies, or behaviors that we can adapt to advance our path. Then we are hit with another doozie that makes makes us realize it isnt so easy to progress. Then grind and grunt, and muddle through. Many times, when I give some advice on this forum, I am hit later with some kind of sitution that makes me think I am in no position to give advice. But I do want to thank those that post their problems and queries as it gives some new angle to chew on and try to find and answer to, and even if my posts are not helping anyone, and just another fake-out of my ego to gain esteem. In any case, it helps me think of spiritual path, in this mundane, Age of spiritual darkness. As to magic pills, these are only for the simplistic mind to consume and believe in. Its easier to communicate that way. Girl A is sold on the idea that a lipstick can help her attract a man and live happily every after, we are sold on a number of things, we want them to be true for us. We are used to being sold like that, and formulating our speach like that, spreading that same magic pill type belief. It just may be that the lipstick is the deal clincher, who knows. But in most cases, just a pipe dream.

Non, You are a healthy young man, not blind, not deaf, not a dwarf, not sitting in a wheelchair or missing a leg or arm right? You have food on the table and a place to live right? You have a college education right? You live in a free country where you can surf the internet freely and whine about not getting laid and how messed up society/women is right? You don't have to sell your body to creepy old men to be able to support yourself right? Then you are better off than probably 90% of the worlds population. You have so many possibilites in your life that most people can only dream about. Now go and look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself what the fuck whining about the same thing on a forum for almost 2 years is doing and don't start another thread like this ever again.

Hello Imortal4life, I didn't watch the youtube posts, sorry. What I can say is that after years of contemplation I believe that we make god in our image. I think that is inherently the problem with Western Spirituality, because in making it in our image, we oftentimes miss that perhaps we are not made in the image of God, but are actually God. Manitou has pointed this out in another thread and I actually have made several mentions of this idea, which is not entirely original since it comes from Vendanta Hinduism and may be up to 10,000 years old. Essentially the idea is that everything in existence is God and that only when we become completely aware of it can we escape this existence (which is oftentimes compared to a dream) and return to what is actually real. Anyways, again, we create god in our image because we cannot conceive of any type of intelligence or way of being that is alien to our own. Aaron

This is weird. Sometimes I'll be laying in bed in the morning with the news on. I drift off into a lucid dream-type thing, and then there will be characters who are actually speaking the words that are coming out of the TV - in real time! Often times they are cartoon characters or stick figures, which is even stranger. But the words are synchronistically 'matched' with those coming out of the TV - I don't know how the heck it happens, unless maybe I'm watching the Synchronicity Channel.

I am on the verge of lucid dreaming. The other night I dreamed that I was dreaming. My understanding is that this dream signifies the beginning of my subconscious becoming aware of itself. Now, despite not having lucid dreams yet, I have reeceived some very deep and significant messages in my dreams.

I've been lucid dreaming since I was a kid. First found out it had a name in 6th grade. For a period of about 4 years (last two years of high school, first two years of college), I was really into lucid dreaming. Got really serious into that mind hacking stuff and whatnot. Trying to be lucid every night, trying to get to know my subconscious, memories I had forgotten (like pages upon pages of textbooks- being able to recall any info through 100% lucid dream would be VERY handy), contacting spirits, or whatever else dreams are made of. One week I did some "seclusion" thing. Didn't leave my apartment for a week. No tv. No internet. No friends or family. Lots of mediation, reflection, and focus on lucid dreaming. Had to clear out the surface layer of mind to ease into the dream state. Well I noticed THEN, EXACTLY how much dream material is from day to day thoughts and actions. A LOT. Even thinking about meditation gets turned around and stuff like that. Ever since that time, I've been able to trace exactly where all of my dreams come from- what snippets of conversation I've overheard, etc etc etc. And that, in and of itself, has some value. And I suppose I should note that even during that seclusion, I didn't have that dramatically higher a frequency of successfully inducing lucid dreams. My point is, lucid dreaming, unless you are just one of those souls with the karma to do it "right" from the get go, is going to be nothing but your own fantasies, projections, unresolved issues, and other assortments of mental clutter. For it to get beyond that, again, you either have to be that 1 in a million person who can resolve it on their own, or you have to have some type of practice that sorts through all the gunk that is in your mind. After that, lucid dreams, prophetic dreams, communing with spirits, etc, will happen as a RESULT of your overarching practice. Not the other way around. I don't say this to discourage anybody, because I do think a lot of good stuff can be done with dreams even if it is only ever at the "mental inventory phase". But, unless you are that 1 in a million person, it is my humble opinion that it is highly unlikely that it will ever get to anything significantly meaningful.

thanks! I look forward to any input. I will update in the morning if I do indeed dream. In the past I gained weightlessness/short periods of soaring in the clouds and the view is absolutely magnificent. I can see a city underneath, the funny thing is the city is never set in the same chronological time period. Also quite often I jump over large bodies of water. Then there is the talking cat fish who is often harsh, but offers advice that applies in the real world. Just a few thoughts...

...................... Hug to you from me, sun, for all we feel. I'm glad you havent had problems with hatred. It's a weird, complicated yet pure and exhausting emotion to suffer. I felt it as like a seemingly never ending ream of hot chewing gum that hurt a lot, strangling my heart. Purging it was actually quite quick, but the sensation of purging brought with it a sense that it was taking soooo long to get it out of me... strong feelings seem so HUGE, we tend to image them as potentially bigger than us. ( Hence people dream of tsunamis when they are losing control of their emotional floodgates..) I have the sense that a lot of what I was carrying was family of origin constellation, unexpressed by others, floated to the surface via me. Ancestral Qi!

Oddly (or not) enough I was shaken awake by a family member who told me that I was screaming in my sleep. Whew. I can remember what I was dreaming. In my dream I was trying to shout, but was unable to scream loud enough to warn my father of impending danger. Might sound silly, but was very real. So obviously that dream was not quite lucid as I could not do as I wished inside that world.

Hello, I have been quite the avid lucid dreamer for about 18 years now. I keep a dream journal. I was just wondering if any other tao bums here that have experienced a dream only to see it come to fruition in real life? Just interested in pretty much any input, personal experience or anything of that ilk. I put this here because i am new here and don't want to waste space in the main forums.

Something I wrote in my forum today. ----------- Experience, Realization, and View Our paradigm, view, insights, experiences, affect our every moment perception of life, self, the universe. Speaking from experience, this is what a seeker might go through: Duality Generally every normal non-spiritual person sees himself as a subject, self, perceiver, doer, which is a psychic entity conceived as locating inside the body - be it inside the head behind the eyes or in the heart or some other locations. This conceived psychic entity causes a sense of alienation as 'I' am inside my body, looking outwards at the world through my eyes, ears, etc. I am self-contracted, separated from the world out there, and so experience is divided into 'inner' and 'outer'. Reality consists of three components: I, the seer, sees the world out there. (Seer, seeing, seen) I, the doer, does the deed (Doer, doing, done). All these actions, and perceptions, are felt to have occured by virtue of this psychic entity residing inside my body, which I call Me. This mentally conceived sense of alienation from a separate objective world resulting from the perceived existence of a separate self and psychic entity residing within this body-mind results in all manners of passionate feelings such as fear, anger, craving, malice, sorrow, and all forms of destructive undertakings endemic in our world: war, murder, torture, rape, domestic violence, corruption and so on. Basically it comes down to this: craving (craving for sensual pleasures, craving for existence, and craving for extermination), which arises due to the view of there being an inherently existing self alienated from the world, whereby the self must always get away from unpleasant experiences and chase after pleasant experiences, in search for happiness and the attenuation of suffering, not knowing this process of craving is precisely what causes suffering. Self-Realization, Partial Duality By the practice of contemplating on the Source of experiencing ("Who am I?", "Who is the Source?"), we trace the radiance back to the essence of mind-consciousness. At the moment where the seeker reaches the pinnacle of his self-inquiry, one has a non-dual, non-conceptual, direct, immediate perception of the self-luminosity of mind's Presence. The self-felt certainty arising from the non-dual, non-conceptual, direct, immediate mode of perception (NDNCDIMOP) of mind's luminosity leads to a self-felt certainty that results in utter conviction of having touched the essence of being and existence. As all doubts pertaining to the nature of one's identity can no longer linger, one's self-inquiry into 'Who am I' comes to a closing conclusion. Being absolutely intimate as a sheer sense of Presence, Beingness, and Existence, shining in plain view prior to conceptual sullying, it is nevertheless immediately reified due to the paradigm and view of duality and inherency, even though in itself it is a non-dual perception. What it is reified into is a grander entity than the psychic entity conceived as locating in the body as previously conceived. Though the psychic entity located inside the body, aka. the ego, is now being released through seeing the falsity of a personal self, the Identity remains intact at large, now expanding to become a Metaphysical entity transcending space and time, the grand, impersonal, and universal Self that is birthless and deathless. Due to the view of duality still largely being intact - Presence and Awareness is also seen as the Eternal Witness, an impartial and unchanging watcher of all phenomena that passes. 'I' am God, the ground of being, the source of all animate and inanimate objects, the universal consciousness underlying all my manifestations which comes and goes like waves in the ocean of Being. All along not knowing that what they have realized is simply an aspect of luminosity pertaining to non-conceptual thought, a manifestation of mind-cognizance, and is as such nothing ultimate or special (as compared to any other manifestations). Non-Duality Via the contemplation into the absence of a separate self or the seamlessness of awareness and its contents, a direct and experiential realization that the subject-object separation and dichotomy is illusory arises. Everything is experienced at zero-distance in the absence of the bond of dualistic psychic construct. Nevertheless at the beginning, as the insight of non-duality arises but not the insight into no-inherency, one ends up falling into: Substantial Non-duality - subject-object dichotomy collapses, and is subsumed, into inherent oneness - due to the view of inherency (that reality must have 'existence' located somewhere and somewhen, even if it is Here and Now), the vivid 'realness' of non-dual luminosity is being treated as something Absolute, as having inherent, independent and unchanging existence, and is being reified into Noumenon (in contrast to illusory phenomenon), and as being the ultimate non-dual Self - the intimacy experienced via the collapse of subject-object dichotomy is being referenced to a grandiose all-pervasive Self ("I am Everywhere and I am Everything") - all phenomena are seen to be illusory projections of a single underlying source, such that all phenomena are self-expressions of the single nature of Awareness, as depicted by the analogy of the mirror and its reflections - reflections as such do not have an objective, independent existence outside the mirror - and in fact only the Mirror is seen to have absolute, independent, inherent existence - only the Mirror is Real, and the appearances are only Real as the Mirror - appearances are inseparable from the Source, and yet the Source is independent of appearances Insubstantial Non-duality - also known as the arising insight into anatta, it is seen that seeing, cognizing, awareness is precisely and only what is seen, heard, tasted, touched, manifesting - the intimacy experienced via the lack of separation has no frame of reference due to the lack of something inherent - in the seeing is just the seen, in the hearing is just the heard, there is no True Self of any sorts - the world only references itself without an agent - there is no grandiose, universal consciousness, only individual bodies and mindstreams interacting with each other due to interdependent origination, without any conceived 'underlying oneness behind multiplicity' - absolutely no identity remains, even the notion that "I am you and you are me" is seen as absurd - there is no such thing as 'seamlessness of awareness and contents' or 'inseparability of awareness and its contents' - for awareness IS the process and activities of cognizance only, there is no such thing as 'awareness + its contents' - seeing, cognizing, awaring never exists as nouns pointing to a noumenon but as verbs collating various activities of cognizance - what is seen, heard, taste, touch, are activities manifesting on its own accord with the presence of requisite conditions and factors via interdependent origination, without an agent, perceiver, controller, doer - further penetration into anatta reveals that all phenomena are disjoint, unsupported, unlinked, bubble-like, insubstantial, dream-like, and self-releasing - there is absolutely nothing, not even an Awareness that underlies two thoughts, two manifestations - in fact there is not even two thoughts as such, just this thought, which spontaneously self-releases upon inception leaving absolutely no traces - there is absolutely no collapsing of subject-object dichotomy into a base or oneness existing somewhere, even as a Here/Now - there is no linking base, oneness or source at all, only the experience of dispersed-out and de-linked multiplicity - all manifestations are intrinstically luminous and vivid yet insubstantial and vanishes without a trace upon inception like drawing pictures on water manifests vivid appearances that does not leave trace - no existence of any sorts can leave traces when reality is a dream-like process with no inherent existence, like an illusion but not an illusion

THE TAO TE CHING (SLANG VERSION) ----- Part One TAO (The Way) 1. If you can talk about it, it ain't Tao. If it has a name, it's just another thing. Tao doesn't have a name. Names are for ordinary things. Stop wanting stuff; it keeps you from seeing what's real. When you want stuff, all you see are things. Those two sentences mean the same thing. Figure them out, and you've got it made. 2. If something looks beautiful to you, something else must be ugly. If something seems good, something else must seem bad. You can't have something without nothing. If no job is difficult, then no job is easy. Some things are up high because other things are down low. You know you're listening to music because it doesn't sound like noise. All that came first, so this must be next. The Masters get the job done without moving a muscle and get their point across without saying a word. When things around them fall apart, they stay cool. They don't own much, but they use whatever's at hand. They do the work without expecting any favors. When they're done, they move on to the next job. That's why their work is so damn good. 3. If you toss compliments around freely, people will waste your time trying to impress you. If you give things too much value, you're going to get ripped off. If you try to please people, you'll just make them really angry. The Master leads by clearing the crap out of people's heads and opening their hearts. He lowers their aspirations and makes them suck in their guts. He shows you how to forget what you know and what you want, so nobody can push you around. If you think you've got the answers, he'll mess with your head. Stop doing stuff all the time, and watch what happens. 4. How much Tao is there? More than you'll ever need. Use all you want, there's plenty more where that came from. You can't see Tao, but it's there. Damned if I know where it came from. It's just always been around. 5. Tao's neutral: it doesn't worry about good or evil. The Masters are neutral: they treat everyone the same. Lao Tzu said Tao is like a bellows: It's empty, but it could help set the world on fire. If you keep using Tao, it works better. If you keep talking about it, it won't make any sense. Be cool. 6. Tao is an eternal mystery, and everything starts with Tao. Everybody has Tao in them. They just have to use it. 7. Tao never stops. Why? Because it isn't trying to accomplish anything. The Masters hang back. That's why they're ahead of the game. They don't hang on to things. That's how they manage to keep them. They don't worry about what they can't control. That's why they're always satisfied. 8. "Doing the right thing" is like water. It's good for all living things,and flows without thinking about where it's going ...just like Tao. Keep your feet on the ground. Remember what's important. Be there when people need you. Say what you mean. Be prepared for anything. Do whatever you can, whenever it needs doing. If you don't compare yourself to others, nobody can compare to you. 9. If you drink too much, you get drunk. The engine won't start if you're always tinkering with it. If you hoard wealth, you fall into its clutches. If you crave success, you succumb to failure. Do what you have to do, then walk away. Anything else will drive you nuts. 10. Can you hold on to your ego and still stay focused on Tao? Can you relax your mind and body and brace yourself for a new life? Can you check yourself and see past what's in front of your eyes? Can you be a leader and not try to prove you're in charge? Can you deal with what's happening and let it happen? Can you forget what you know and understand what's real? Start a job and see it through. Have things without holding on to them. Do the job without expectation of reward. Lead people without giving orders. That's the way you do it. 11. A wheel has spokes, but it rotates around a hollow center. A pot is made out of clay or glass, but you keep things in the space inside. A house is made of wood or brick, but you live between the walls. We work with something, but we use nothing. 12. Sight obscures. Noise deafens. Desire messes with your heart. The world messes with your mind. A Master watches the world but keeps focused on what's real. 13. Winning can be just as bad as losing. Confidence can mess you up just as much as fear. What does "winning can be just as bad as losing" mean? If you're down, you might be able to get up. But if you're up, you can get knocked down real fast. Don't worry about the score, just do what you have to do. What does "confidence can mess you up just as much as fear" mean? Fear can keep you from getting the job done, but confidence can get you in over your head. Walk tall, but don't get cocky. Know your limits, and nothing can ever hold you back. Deal with what you can. The rest will follow. 14. You can't see Tao, no matter how hard you look. You can't hear Tao, no matter how hard you listen. You can't hold on to Tao, no matter how hard you grab. But it's there. It's in you, and it's all around you. Remember that. 15. The ancient Masters were damn impressive. They were deep. Real deep. Words can't even begin to describe how deep they were. You can only talk about how they acted. They were careful, like a man walking on thin ice. They were cautious, like a soldier behind enemy lines. They were polite, like a guest at a party. They moved quickly, like melting ice. They were as plain as a block of wood. Their minds were as wide as a valley, and their hearts as clear as spring water. Can you wait for that kind of openness and clarity before you try to understand the world? Can you hold still until events have unfolded before you do the right thing? When you act without expectations, you can accomplish great things. 16. Keep your head clear. Stay calm. Watch as everything happens around you. Everything reverts to its original state, which was nothing. And when something becomes nothing, it gets right with Tao. If you don't understand that, you're going to screw up somewhere down the line. If you figure it out, you'll always know what to do. If you get right with Tao, you won't be afraid to die, because you know you will. 17. When a Master takes charge, hardly anybody notices. The next best leader is obeyed out of love. After that, there's the leader obeyed out of fear. The worst leader is one who is hated. Trust and respect people. That's how you earn their trust and respect. The Masters don't give orders; they work with everybody else. When the job's done, people are amazed at what they accomplished. 18. When people lose touch with Tao, they start talking about "righteousness" and "sanctity." When people forget what's true, they start talking about "self-evident truths." When people have no respect for one another, they start talking about "political correctness" and "family values." When the nation is unstable, people start talking about "patriotism." 19. Get rid of sanctity. People will understand the truth and be happier. Get rid of morality. People will respect each other and do what's right. Get rid of value and profit. People will not steal if they do not desire. If that's not possible, go to Plan B: Be simple. Be real. Do your work as best you can. Don't think about what you get for it. Stay focused. Get rid of all your crap. 20. Don't spend too much time thinking about stupid stuff. Why should you care if people agree or disagree with you? Why should you care if others find you attractive or not? Why should you care about things that worry others? Call bullcrap on all that. Let other people get worked up and try to enjoy themselves. I'm not going to give myself away. A baby doesn't know how to smile, but it's still happy. Let other people get excited about stuff. I'm not going to hang on to anything. I'm not going to fill my mind with ideas. I'm not going to get stuck in a rut, tied down to any one place. Other people are clever; I guess I must be stupid. Other people have goals; I guess I must be aimless. Like the wind. Or the waves. I'm not like other people. I'm getting right with Tao. 21. A Master stays focused on Tao. Nothing else, just Tao. But you can't pin Tao down-- you can't even see it! How are you supposed to focus on something like that? Just remember what Lao Tzu said: The universe began as a void. The void fills with images. Images lead to the creation of objects. And every object has Tao at its core. That's the way it's been, ever since the world began. How can I be so sure? I just know. 22. Learn how to stand still if you want to go places. Get on your knees if you want to stand tall. If you want wisdom, empty your mind. If you want the world, renounce your riches. Push yourself until you're exhausted, and then you'll find your strength. You can go far if you don't have anything to carry. The more you acquire, the less you can really see. A Master takes this to heart and sets an example for everybody else. She doesn't show off so people take notice. She's not out to prove anything so people take her at her word. She doesn't brag about herself but people know what she's done. She hasn't got an agenda but people know what she can do. She's not out to get anybody so nobody can get in her way. "Learn how to stand still if you want to go places." That's not as crazy as it sounds. Get in touch with Tao, and you'll see what I mean. 23. When you have nothing to say, you may as well keep your mouth shut. The wind and the rain don't go on forever. If nature knows enough to give it a rest sometimes, so should you. If you're ready for Tao, you can live with Tao. If you're ready to succeed, you can live with success. If you're ready to fail, you can live with failure. Trust your instincts, and others will trust you. 24. Keep your feet firmly planted unless you want to fall on your face. Learn how to pace yourself if you want to get anywhere. Don't call attention to yourself if you want people to notice your work. Nobody respects people who always have excuses. Nobody gives credit to people who always take it. People who hype themselves have nothing else to offer. Think of being in touch with Tao like eating at a buffet: Take only what you need. Save some for everybody else. 25. Something perfect has existed forever, even longer than the universe. It's a vast, unchanging void. There's nothing else like it. It goes on forever and never stops, and everything else came from it. I don't know what else to call it so I'll call it Tao. What's it like? I can tell you this much: it's great. So great that it endures. Something that endures goes a long way. And something that goes a long way always comes back to the beginning. Tao's great. Heaven's great. Earth's great. And someone in touch with Tao is great, too. Those are the four greatest things in the universe. Someone who's in touch with Tao is in touch with the earth. The earth is in touch with heaven. Heaven's in touch with Tao. Tao's in touch with the way things are. 26. To be light on your feet, you need a steady mind. If your body is active, your mind should be relaxed. A Master can travel long distances and still see everything she owns. She may be surrounded by beauty but she isn't caught up in it. Why run around thoughtlessly? If you act lightly, you lose your bearings. If you act recklessly, you lose your self-control. 27. With enough practice, you could come and go without a trace, speak without stumbling over words, do complicated math problems in your head. You could build a door with no lock that nobody could open. You could tie something down with no knots, without even a rope, and nobody could pry it loose. Masters have time to help everybody, and ignore nobody. They use their resources wisely, wasting nothing. Some people call this "following the light." Good people teach others because they have the potential to be good too. Brains count for nothing if you fail to respect your teachers or to honor the potential in others. That's one of the most important lessons of Tao. 28. If you are strong, but remain sensitive, power will flow through you. With that power, you'll always be right with Tao: It's like a whole new life. If you are idealistic, but stay rooted in reality, you are an example to others. Set that example, and you'll always be right with Tao: There is no limit to what you can do. If you are honorable, but remain humble, you will see things as they are. If you see things as they are, you'll always be right with Tao: Your life will become simple, yet full of potential. Let Tao show you how to get right with Tao, so your slightest gesture can change the world. 29. Want to take over the world? Think again. The world's a holy place. You can't just mess around with it. Those who try to change it destroy it. Those who try to possess it lose it. With Tao, you push forward, or maybe you stay behind. Sometimes you push yourself, other times you rest. Sometimes you're strong, sometimes you're weak. Sometimes you're up, and sometimes you're down. A Master lives simply, avoiding extravagance and excess. 30. Listen up: If you want to be a leader who's in touch with Tao, never use violence to achieve your goals. Every act of violence backfires. An army on the move leaves a trail of tears, and a military victory always lies in ruins. The Masters do what needs doing and that's all they do. Do what you have to do without arrogance or pride. Get the job done and don't brag about it afterwards. Do what you have to do, not for your own benefit, but because it needs to be done. And don't do it the way you think it should be done, do it the way it needs to be done. The mighty will always lose their power and any connection they ever had to Tao. They will not last long; if you're not right with Tao, you might as well be dead. 31. Weapons are terrible things. If you want to get right with Tao, reject weapons. The Master, knowing all things came from Tao, recognizes what he has in common with his enemies and always tries to avoid conflict. But when there is no other choice, he uses force reluctantly. He does so with great restraint, and never celebrates a victory; to do so would be to rejoice in killing. A person who would rejoice in killing has completely lost touch with Tao. When you win a war, you preside over a funeral. Pay your respects to the dead. 32. Tao is an eternal mystery, so small you can never take hold of it. If a leader gets right with Tao, people will follow him on instinct. All will be right with the world. People will do the right thing without being told. Everything that comes from Tao needs a name. But once everything has its name, you should make no other distinction between things. This prevents you from becoming trapped by them. Everything in the universe is full of Tao and leads to Tao, just like the water in rivers that flows into oceans. 33. Knowing things makes you smart, but knowing yourself makes you wise. To rule others, you must be powerful, but to rule yourself, you must be strong. If you have only what you need, you have true wealth. If you never give up, you will find a way. If you stay true to yourself, you will never be lost. If you stay alive your whole life, you've really lived. 34. Tao flows in all directions. It's in everything, but nothing can contain it. Everything needs Tao, so Tao provides, and never expects anything in return. Everything comes from Tao, but Tao doesn't call attention to itself. It wants for nothing. Think nothing of it. Everything leads to Tao, but Tao doesn't call attention to itself. Pretty impressive, huh? It doesn't strive for success. That's why it succeeds. 35. When you get right with Tao, everybody wants to be your friend. When they're around you, they can relax and enjoy themselves. People can be easily distracted by music or good food. When we try to talk about Tao, it seems boring by comparison. It doesn't look like much. It doesn't sound like much. But no matter how much you use, there's still plenty left. 36. To make something smaller, you need to appreciate its size. To make something weaker, you must recognize its strength. To get rid of something, you need to hold it tight. To take something, you must give it up entirely. To put it another way: Sensitivity and weakness overcome unfeeling strength. 37. Tao never does anything but nothing is left undone. If our leaders could get in touch with Tao, the world would take care of itself. Even if they wanted to impose their own ideas, they'd be drawn back to Tao's nameless simplicity. When our lives are that simple, we want for nothing. We can relax, and the world becomes a better place. ----- Part Two TE (Virtue) ----- 38. People with integrity don't even think about it. That's how you can tell they have integrity. Other people talk about how much integrity they have, when they really don't have much. If any. Truly powerful people don't do anything, but they get the job done. Other people are always busy doing something, but nothing ever gets done. When kind people act, they do so without thinking about it. When the just act, they're always sure they're doing the right thing. But when the righteous act, and nobody reacts, they try to force everyone to do things their way. If you're not in touch with Tao, at least you can still have integrity. If you don't have integrity, there's always kindness. If you don't have kindness, there's always justice. If you don't have justice, all you have left is righteousness. Righteousness is an pale imitation of true faith and loyalty, and always leads to trouble. If you've already made up your mind, you don't know the first thing about Tao, and you never will. The Masters pay attention to what's beneath the surface. They'll look at a tree's leaves, but eat the fruit. They turn all that down, so they can accept this. 39. Since time began, this is what it's meant to be in touch with Tao: Tao made the heavens clear. Tao made the earth solid. Tao made our spirits strong. Tao made the valleys fertile. Tao gave all living things life. Tao gave rulers authority. Without Tao, the heavens would collapse. Without Tao, the earth would crumble. Without Tao, our spirits would fade away. Without Tao, the valleys would dry up. Without Tao, all life would become extinct. Without Tao, rulers would stumble and fall. Humility gives us power. Our leaders should think of themselves as insignificant, powerless, unworthy of their stature. Isn't that what humility is all about? Be strong, but pay no attention to hollow praise. Don't call attention to yourself. Don't make a scene. 40. Tao is always heading back to where it came from. Tao advances by not pressing forward. Things exist because they are. They are because they once were not. 41. When a wise person hears about Tao, he gets right with it. When an ordinary person hears about Tao, he tries to get right with it, but eventually gives up. When a fool hears about Tao, he just laughs and laughs. If he didn't laugh, it wouldn't be Tao. Here's what they find so funny: The path to enlightenment seems covered in shadows. The way forward feels like taking a step back. The easiest path seems difficult. Those with the most virtue seem debased. Those who are most pure seem to be grubby and soiled. The deepest thoughts appear shallow. The greatest strength looks like weakness. What is most real strikes us as imaginary. The largest space has no boundaries. The greatest talent seems to produce nothing. The greatest voice is unhearable. The greatest beauty is invisible. Tao is hidden to us and it has no name. It is the source and the strength of all things. 42. Chapter 42 starts out with some cosmic mumbo-jumbo about Tao making one, one making two, two making three, and three making everything else. I don't know what it means, and, frankly, I wouldn't worry about it too much. Let's get to the practical part: Men hate to be called powerless, insignificant, or unworthy, but that's how Masters describe themselves. Because when we lose, we've won. And when we succeed, we've failed. Other people will tell you what I'm telling you now: "Live by the sword, die by the sword." That's pretty much what Chapter 42 boils down to. (See Chapter 46 for more details.) 43. The softest force in the universe can overcome the hardest of objects. Something without substance can pass through the space between atoms. That's how I know about the power of doing nothing. The silent teachings and the power of doing nothing can only be understood by a few people. 44. What's more important, fame or your well-being? What's worth more, your money or your life? What is more dangerous, winning or losing? If you are too attached to your possessions, they will bring you misery. If you hang on to your riches, you will suffer substantial loss. If you know when you have enough, you will never be disgraced. If you practice moderation, you can stay out of trouble. And that's the secret to lasting success. 45. The greatest achievements may look like mistakes, but you will always be able to build upon them. The fullest reserves may seem empty, but you will always be able to draw upon them. The straightest line looks crooked. The most skilled people come off as clumsy. The most eloquent people are usually silent. When it's cold, you can move around to stay warm. When it's hot, you should keep still and stay cool. But whatever the weather, if you stay calm, the world will sort itself out around you. 46. "When the world is right with Tao," Lao Tzu said, "horses haul fertilizer to the fields. When the world loses touch with Tao, horses are trained for cavalry." Nothing is more insidious than possession. Nothing is more dangerous than desire. Nothing is more disastrous than greed. If you know when enough is enough, you will always have enough. 47. You don't have to leave your room to understand what's happening in the world. You don't have to look out the window to appreciate the beauty of heaven. The farther you wander, the less you know. The Masters don't wander around They know. They don't just look. They understand. They don't do anything, but the work gets done. 48. Usually, we try to learn something new every day. But if we want to get right with Tao, we have to let go of something every day. We do less and less, until we end up doing nothing. And it's when we do nothing that we get the job done. Let events take their course, and everything will turn out in your favor. If you act on your ambitions, they will never pan out. 49. The Masters don't make up their minds. They turn their thoughts to other people. They are good to good people, and they're good to bad people. This is real goodness. They have faith in the faithful, and they have faith in the unfaithful. This is real faith. A Master throws himself into the world completely, forgetting everything he's been told. People pay attention to him because he lives a life of child-like wonder. 50. People who look for the secret of long life wind up dead. Their bodies are the focus of their lives and the source of their death, because they think a healthy body is all there is to life. Lao Tzu used to say a man who truly understood life could walk through the jungle without fear or across a battlefield without armor, totally unarmed. Wild animals and weapons couldn't kill him. I know, I know: what the hell does that mean? "Well, he couldn't be killed," Lao Tzu said, "because his body wasn't where he kept his death." 51. Tao is the source of all living things, and they are nourished by Tao's power. They are influenced by the other living things around them, and they are shaped by their circumstances. Everything respects Tao and honors its power. That's just the way it is. Tao gives life to all things, and its power watches out for them, cares for them, helps them grow, protects them, and comforts them. Create something without holding on to it. Do the work without expecting credit for it. Lead people without giving them orders. That's the secret of the power of Tao. 52. Everything starts with Tao, the mother of all things. If you know the mother, you know the children. If you know the children and remember the mother, you have nothing to fear in your life. Shut your mouth and keep still, and your life will be full of happiness. If you talk all the time, always doing something, your life will be hopeless. It takes insight to see subtlety. It takes strength to yield gently to force. Use that strength to hang on to your insight, and you will always be at peace. That's how to get right with Tao. 53. If I had any sense, I'd be trying to get right with Tao, and the only thing I'd worry about would be messing up. It's not that hard to get right with Tao, but people are easily distracted. "When the king's palace is full of treasure," Lao Tzu said, "ordinary people's fields are smothered with weeds, and the food supplies run out." Today, you see sharply dressed people carrying flashy weapons and living the high life. They own more than they could ever use, let alone need. They're nothing but gangsters and crooks. That's not what Tao's about. 54. Tao's power is so deeply entrenched it can never be uprooted. Tao's power clings so tightly it can never slip away. It will endure for generations. If you get in touch with the power of Tao, it will become real. If your family gets in touch with the power of Tao, the power will flourish. If your community gets in touch with the power of Tao, the power will grow even stronger. If your country gets in touch with the power of Tao, the power will become abundant. If the world gets in touch with the power of Tao, the power will be everywhere. How can I know this? I just do. 55. A person filled with the power of Tao is like a baby boy: bees can't sting him, wild beasts can't attack him. A baby has soft bones and weak muscles, but a firm grip. He hasn't had sex, but he can get an erection. That's because he's got lots of energy. He can cry all day and never lose his voice. That's because he's at one with his world. If you're at one with the world, you know constancy. And if you know constancy, you've been enlightened. It's not healthy to try to prolong your life. It's unnatural to impose the mind's will upon the body. People waste time and energy trying to be strong or beautiful, and their strength and beauty fade. They've lost touch with Tao, and when you lose touch with Tao, you might as well be dead. 56. Those who know, don't talk. Those who talk, don't know. Shut your mouth. Be still. Relax. Let go of your worries. Stay out of the spotlight. Be at one with the world and get right with Tao. If you get right with Tao, you won't be worried about praise or scorn, about winning or losing, about honor or disgrace. That's the way to be. 57. You can run a country by sticking to principles, and you can win a war with strategy and tactics. But you can gain the entire world by doing nothing at all. How do I know this? I've seen it happen: The more restrictions a nation imposes, the poorer its people become. When a nation hoards weapons, troubles arise from within and from without. When its leaders try to be cunning and clever, the situation spins further out of control. When they try to fix things by passing more laws, they only increase the number of outlaws. A wise leader says to himself: "I do nothing, and people transform themselves. I keep silent, and they do the right thing on their own. I stay out of the way, and they prosper. I want for nothing, and they lead simple lives." 58. When a nation is ruled with a light touch, people lead simple lives. When a government is harsh and demanding, people will spend their time trying to outsmart it. Happiness is rooted in misery, and misery lurks beneath all joy. Who knows what could happen tomorrow? Everything is relative; what's considered proper today may become improper. Correct appearances may hide dishonesty and sinfulness. No wonder so many people get confused. The Masters have sharp minds, not sharp tongues. They are austere, but never judgmental. They are straightforward, but not provocative. They are brilliant, but not flashy. 59. Leadership is based on moderation. Practice moderation, and you'll get in touch with the power of Tao. If you get right with Tao, nothing is impossible. If you get right with Tao, there's no limit to what you can do. If you get right with Tao, you can be a true leader. Remember this advice if you want to be a leader: Plant deep roots in firm soil. Get right with Tao, and you'll always see things clearly. 60. Being a leader is like cooking a small fish; get right with Tao, and it's quick and easy. When you're in touch with Tao, you don't need to worry about misfortune. You can't make it go away, of course, but you can keep it from harming other people. Also, as a wise leader, you cause no harm to others, so people won't have to worry about getting hurt, and they'll take the opportunity to do the right thing. 61. Power flows down to every level of existence like a river to the ocean. Victory comes from lying perfectly still and waiting for power to come your way. If you yield to someone less powerful than yourself, you will be in a position to influence them. If you submit to someone more powerful than yourself, you create an opportunity to get your own way. So if you want to get ahead, lay low and bide your time. That way, everybody's happy. 62. Every living thing gets its strength from Tao. Good people respect the value of Tao. The wicked and foolish don't, but Tao provides for them anyway. Some people gain power and prestige through fancy words, others through great deeds. But Tao is available to everyone, not just the powerful. So don't look down on anybody. When people become powerful, and everybody lines up to kiss their ass, sit still and stay right with Tao. Why have the Masters always respected Tao? Because when you get right with Tao, you can always find what you need to get by, and trouble can never find you. 63. Keep still. Don't work so hard. Learn to appreciate everyday life. Pay attention to details. Start small and work your way up. When people give you trouble, let it slide. Break everything down to its essentials. Get the job done before it becomes a chore. With the right preparation, difficult tasks can be completed with ease; every major project consists of simple steps. The Masters don't take on more than they can handle, which is why they can do just about anything. Don't promise more than you can deliver, and don't underestimate the task: You'll only make things harder for yourself. The Masters are always aware of the difficulties involved, which is why they never have to deal with them. 64. It's easy to maintain balance. Trouble can be nipped in the bud. Fragile things break easily, and small things are easy to lose. Deal with the situation before it becomes a problem. Keep everything straight so it can't get messed up. Every tree was once a seed. Every skyscraper started out with a shovelful of dirt. And--stop me if you've heard this one before-- a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. When you try too hard, you defeat your own purpose. Cling to stuff, and you will suffer loss. The Masters make no effort, so they never fail. They aren't attached to things, so they never feel loss. People often screw up when the job's nearly done. Pay as much attention to the finishing touches as you do to the initial steps, and you won't screw up like that. The Masters try to be free from desire. They don't collect precious things. They don't cling to any beliefs. They pay attention to what everybody else ignores. They help the world get right with Tao, but don't try to change a thing. 65. In ancient times, leaders who were right with Tao didn't teach everybody how to become enlightened. They kept people's lives simple. People who know too much can't be taught anything. Leaders who try to be clever always screw things up. Leaders who keep things simple always make things right. If you get that, you'll understand the mysterious power of Tao. That kind of power is so deep, so extensive, it penetrates into every level of existence. 66. An ocean is greater than the hundred rivers that flow into it, and all it does is wait to receive what they bring. If you want to teach people, don't talk down to them. If you want to lead them, find out where they want to go. People love leaders who make them feel safe without smothering them. They'll always support a leader like that, and because he doesn't try to compete with anybody, nobody is able to compete with him. 67. Everywhere I go, people tell me, "Tao is so powerful, so immense, it's inconceivable!" But it's only powerful because it's inconceivable. If we could wrap our minds around it, Tao would be just another thing. The three most important qualities in life are compassion, or showing kindness and mercy to others, moderation, or knowing what a thing is worth, and modesty, or knowing your place in the world. Courage stems from showing kindness and mercy to others. Generosity starts with knowing what a thing is worth. True leadership begins with knowing your place in the world. But these days, I see everyone trying to act courageous without any trace of compassion. They try to be generous but they don't practice moderation in their own lives. They act like leaders, but they have no sense of modesty. No good can come of this. If you want to get ahead, show people compassion. When other people attack you, defend yourself with compassion. It's the most powerful force in the universe. 68. A true warrior never uses force with an attitude of pride or anger. A true victor does not pursue vengeance. A true leader shows humility. This is the power of modesty. It's the best way to deal with people. It's always been an excellent way to get right with Tao. 69. There's an old military saying: "I'd rather face an attack than have to make one. I'd rather retreat a foot than try to advance an inch." That's the secret to moving forward while staying put, preparing for battle without revealing your strength. When you defend yourself without any show of force, you give your opponent nothing to fight. Attacking an enemy you've underestimated is a costly mistake. When two forces oppose each other, the winner is the one most reluctant to fight. 70. Lao Tzu's advice was easy to understand and easy to follow. But nobody understood him or did what he suggested. His words stemmed from ancient wisdom, and his actions were highly disciplined. People didn't get that, which is why they didn't understand him. And the less they understood him, the more meaningful his advice became. That's why the Masters live simply, hiding their wisdom deep within themselves. 71. If you know what you don't know, you're doing great. If you don't know what you don't know, you're sick. The only way to get rid of that sickness is to be sick of it. The Masters aren't sick, because they got sick of being sick. 72. When you show no fear at all, the universe gives you something to really be afraid of. Don't try to fence people in or grind them down. Just let them be, and they'll always be on your side. The Masters know themselves, but they don't reveal themselves. They love themselves, but they know what their lives are worth. They let go of all that to concentrate on this. 73. Those who dare to be bold die. Those who dare to be careful survive. So--what do you want to do? Why is life like that, you ask? I don't know. This is how Tao works: It doesn't push itself, and it always succeeds. It acts silently, and it always reacts. It can't be summoned; it comes whenever it's ready. It can't be rushed; it's always on time. "Heaven casts a wide net, with big holes," Lao Tzu used to say, "but nothing ever gets by it." 74. If people's lives suck, and they look forward to death, what good does it do to threaten to kill them? If people are afraid to die, and the wicked are condemned to death, then who would dare to commit evil? But that doesn't mean you or I can just take life and death into our own hands. That'd be like walking up to an industrial buzzsaw and trying to use it without any training. We'd only end up hurting ourselves. 75. People starve because the government taxes them to death. People rebel because the government tries to run their lives. People act like life is meaningless because the government takes everything they have. People who know how to enjoy life are wiser than people who value their lives. 76. A baby's body is soft and gentle. A corpse is hard and stiff. Plants and trees are tender and full of sap. Dead leaves are brittle and dry. If you are rigid and unyielding, you might as well be dead. If you are soft and flexible, you are truly alive. Soldiers trained to fight to the death will die. A tree that cannot bend with the wind will snap. Here's a useful saying: The harder they come, the harder they fall. Here's another: The meek shall inherit the earth. 77. Lao Tzu said using Tao was like pulling on a bowstring: The top bends down, the bottom bends up, and all the energy is focused in the middle. Tao takes energy from where it is, and sends it where it needs to be. But most people take from those who don't have enough, so those who have too much already can have more. So who in this world is truly generous to others? People who are in touch with Tao. They do their work without taking credit. They get the job done and move on. They aren't interested in showing off. 78. Nothing is softer or more yielding than water. Yet, given time, it can erode even the hardest stone. That's how the weak can defeat the strong, and the supple can win out over the stiff. Everybody knows it. So why don't we apply it to our own lives? Lao Tzu used to say: "Take on people's problems, and you can be their leader. Deal with the world's problems, and you'll be a Master." Sometimes the truth makes no sense. 79. Sometimes, when an argument is settled, feelings of resentment still remain on either side. What's the point of carrying a grudge? The Masters care about what they owe other people, not what other people owe them. People who are in touch with Tao do their duty. People who aren't try to force others into submission. Tao doesn't play favorites. But if you do right by Tao, Tao will do right by you. 80. Lao Tzu had a dream about a small country with very few people. They didn't need machines to get their work done faster. They took their lives seriously, and stayed close to home. They may have owned boats and carriages, but they never went anywhere. They may have owned weapons, but they kept those weapons locked up, securely hidden. They had so few responsibilities, they never had to make a To-Do list to remember what had to be done. They enjoyed simple foods, dressed plainly, lived comfortably, and kept their traditions alive. And even though their neighbors were so close they could hear the dogs barking at night, they had no interest in leaving their homes, where they grew old peacefully and died. 81. The truth isn't flashy. Flashy words aren't true. Educated people aren't always smart. Smart people don't always have an education. Good people don't argue. People who argue aren't good. The Masters don't hang on to things. They're always doing something for other people, so they always have more to give. They give away whatever they have, so what they have is worth more. If you want to get right with Tao, help other people, don't hurt them. The Masters always work with people, never against them. -----

Hello Lucky, You asked a lot of questions and I'll do my best to answer them. My ego resides within my body. It is made up of the brain cells within my body. My experience of the ego is exactly that, the things I experience as an ego-self. Philosophies only become practices when one practices them. So yes they are practices, but before practice they are philosophies. It doesn't matter. Whether there is light or darkness what resides there is still the same. Our fear of darkness does not stem from our fear of the unknown, but rather being alone. If you doubt this, then just consider the fact that the child who cries in the dark is comforted when their mother holds them close. One does not need a spark of light to feel comfort in the darkness, only the knowledge that they are not alone. Another way of looking at it is that darkness is ignorance and light is knowledge. In that sense then you do need knowledge, but it does not spark a new being, but rather it brings the awareness clearly into sight. The fact of the matter is that this awareness was their from the beginning, the light only brings the illusion that it just arrived. I would love to read the textbooks that sound like these ideologies if you can point me in that direction. Yes I have. I know this because I have experienced it and contemplated it and when contemplation wasn't enough, allowed it to be. This is not conjecture but rather experience. It's the reason I make the distinction between intellectual enlightenment and experiential enlightenment. Sickness in a dream only exists within the ego. When I am asleep I hear a jet plane roaring overhead, but when I awaken I find a fly buzzing at my ear. The Jet plane never existed, only the fly. There is no cure for this, rather you are aware that you were dreaming. I understand that you are using this as a metaphor for self and no-self, the idea that our existence is really just an illusion that is based on the conditioning of our ego. My point is that conditioning does not create an illusionary reality, but rather that the illness comes when one ceases to accept reality because they view it as a sickness. Written in stone is a metaphor for something that cannot be changed. What I mean to say is that everything we have ever experienced is housed within the cells of the brain. When people undergo brain surgery memories are often triggered when the doctor touches a part of the brain. When this occurs the memory is so vivid, it's as if the person is actually there. This is the problem that arises from this notion that self does not exist, it does exist in very real and physical sense. It exists within the cells of the brain. There is more than enough proof to support this that arguing about it seems fruitless. This is also why I say you cannot remove the self. The only way the self is ever removed is when the body dies, even then the memories will remain, even if they are never used, so long as the body does not deteriorate. (Of course that's a topic for a science fiction forum rather than this one.) I'm glad you love my ideas, but I think that what I'm advocating is the furthest thing from speculation (aside from the spirit-self which I cannot prove exists, but can be experienced.) My understanding of self stems from my understanding of reality as it is right at this moment. In my opinion what I'm claiming is not grandiose in the least, at least not by Buddhist, Hindu, and Taoist standards, and instead is quite practical and rational. It is an explanation of self that can be supported and understood by nearly anyone that pays attention to what is being shared. You are absolutely right about simplifying it to the moment, but that simplification has it's time and place. This thread isn't about saying, "just accept things as they are," but rather it's about knowing things as they are so that one can truly accept things for what they are. I hope that answers your questions. If you have anymore please feel free to ask. Peace be with you. Aaron

Where is your ego? What is it made of? What is your experience of the "ego"? Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism are not philosophies, they are practices. Do you remove darkness, or does the light simply spark a new being? These sound like mere textbook ideologies. Have you experienced these things? Where does your sickness in a dream go when you've woken up? Do you now cure it when you are awake? Written in stone? Then my body must be a stone? What? Remove the self? How do you remove a dream when you have once awakened??? I love your ideas, but it's just another form of mind play and logical speculation. Simply see reality as is right at this moment. No need for grand designs of the universe or grandiose interpretations of the self. Simplify it to this moment, like sway your hand in the air.

A similar experiential view about the soul from the kahunas... The Oversoul The Hawaiian word for the higher, immortal, spiritual aspect of the self is 'aumakua, a term that might be translated as "utterly trustworthy ancestral spirit." It could also be interpreted as "the spirit that hovers over me," revealing why so many perceive it as a benevolent winged being or guardian angel. It can also be considered as 'our ancestor' as the word 'makua' means parent, and 'au' means time... our parent in time. It is variously known in the West as the higher self, the god self, the angelic self, the overself, or simply as the oversoul. Occasionally, individuals who have a spontaneous mystical experience or lucid dream will find themselves in the presence of an immensely powerful and beneficent god-like being. The average person usually interprets this event, and attendant conversation, as a visit from a deity, a mythic spiritual hero, or even 'God,' and of course, we must always acknowledge the possibility that this may be so. But most often, the supra-human visitor and source of that uncommon dialogue is that person's own god-self, their oversoul. The kahunas understand that our oversoul is always in contact with us, throughout every moment of our life. The ease with which this connection may be achieved reveals that when we are embodied here on Earth, the spirit world is not in some faraway, remote location. The invisible realms are all around us, all the time, and our oversoul can be accessed right here, right now, once we know how. The kahuna perspective reveals that our oversoul is in constant attendance, carefully watching everything we do, listening with concern to every word and thought, monitoring every choice and decision, silently applauding when we succeed, silently feeling concern when we fail. It never interferes with our life, nor does it ever tell us what to do. This is because the power of individual choice and free will is always honored. Our oversoul contains within itself all the experiences garnered in our past lives, and thus it possesses all the knowledge of which we ever might have need during our lifetime. It communicates best with us through the medium of inspiration, sending us ideas and hunches, dreams and visions, revealing it to be the source of our intuition. Through providing its embodiment (us) with intuitive guidance, our personal oversoul serves as our primary spirit teacher. Often when we sit in silence in meditation, a feeling of tranquility may begin to pervade us, filling us with a sense of utter peace. We may notice that if we consider some problem at such moments, the answer to the dilemma usually appears in our mind. Our oversoul is the source of that feeling of tranquility as well as the origin of the information that arrives in our conscious awareness in response to need. This is why my great Hawaiian friend, the kahuna nui Hale Kealohalani Makua, was found of saying "You will never find a better teacher than yourself." From the kahuna perspective, the oversoul is also the ultimate source of who and what we are, serving as our personal creator. In this capacity, it is the immortal soul-aspect that resides always in the Upper Worlds, the one that divides itself, sending in an energetic hologram of its essence, a seed of light that takes up residence within our body at the beginning of each new life cycle. This essence contains and reflects the totality of the character that we have developed across countless lives. The divine breath (of life) that the Hawaiians call the Ha, is the vehicle through which this spiritual transfer occurs. When we are born, we receive our Ha with our first breath, and it remains with us throughout life until we release it with our last. It is the divine breath that conveys our immortal soul's seed into our new body at life's inception and then carries it back to its oversoul source at life's end-a reincarnational insight that is clearly reflected in the Judeo-Christian traditions that proclaim with authority that God breathes life into form. In Latin, the word for breath is the same as the word for spirit-- spiritus. In Hebrew, the word for spirit and breath is also the same-- ruach. For the kahuna, however, it is not some monotheistic, authoritarian, creator-god that breathes life into us, listens to our prayers, and sends occasional messengers to Earth who usually get treated badly. It is our own personal god-self--our oversoul, our 'aumakua-our own immortal spirit soul, who gives us our breath of life, and the messenger is us. Hank Wesselman http://www.sharedwisdom.com/article/hawaiian-perspectives-matrix-soul

why would a master wanna seek to influence society if that society doesn't give him any benefits? and even if the master becomes an outcast so what? life is like a dream and we all die in the end.. the ultra-dimensional ETs are now openly walking among us.. if any human is to become an outcast, it is because the ETs have shut off his ultra-dimensional faculties which is prevent him from using ultra-dimensional technologies and getting used to a ultra-dimensional society.. but then if the ultra-dimensional ETs refuse to open up the ultra-dimensional faculties of a master, then you can't blame the master for becoming an outcast..

WEll the reason I guess it doens't manifest into a full erection is probbaly due to the fact that I don't want to think about sex too often. If I do, I try to make it as "karezza/neotantric" as possible or just.. well... a female I like, and it's just touching or eye contact and smiling (imagination of course) and channeling "love energy", getting the energy to rise rather than stay stagnant in the penis. Because usually what happens after I fantasize about sex is after it goes down I start leaking precum or something. That's when I know I've lost something. Maybe that is the 'toxic' part of the semen that is coming out? THe part that has accumulated which may also be an 'excess' that sometimes it's ok, or if not better that it comes out and especially during a wet dream? Usually though I'm so.. retentive (I guess) in trying to channel it that I think subconsciously it does this automatically when I have a wet dream and it doesn't even cause an ejaculation in the real world, regardless if I may have one in the dream world. BUt those have started to die down since I stopped entertaining sex fantasies. NOw I just feel my organ stir, and try to channel it upwards.

I guess it might also be necessary to state that I don't sleep normally. I have a polyphasic sleep schedule in which I'm never up at the hrs of 11-1am (usually anyways) and the hours of 3-5 I'm usually up. But... this morning I did feel a stirring around 4-6-ish in which I felt like I would have an erection if I had not been so focused on something else... or sleeping, or with a full bladder and sleeping AND int he dream state (heheh). So yea.. maybe it's not so bad after all , ie like an erectile dysfunction and low testosterone. In fact I regularly feel my organ stir I just choose to not sort of manifest fully into a Full erection, and try to channel it upwards but I usually don't know how. Anyone know how? Joeblast said thru dan-tian but through which channel is that? du, or ren? or "central" channel? I also felt as if concaving my lower back might help target it going up the du channel.

My interest for something similar came from a therapeutic effect called EMDR psychiatrists use for ptsd patients. I think people are told to focus on a specific emotion and idea that they call the traumatic event memory, then allow their mind to naturally think its way trough this memory while moving the eye balls from left to right. This eye movement somehow processes traumatic events in more useful ways allowing the patient to still remember the trauma but have its value reduced by atleast 70%, often more. It is pretty amazing, because this kind of physical things change the actual hardwiring of the brain or chemistry. Removing the root of the problem, the most significant and earliest trauma, will allow all the other problems to fade away like leafes of a broken tree. The video here reminded me of that. It seems similar to the effects of the eye movements in EMDR technique, My personal experience on this is that we can also just stay as present as possible, trough the use of the 5 senses and then observe our selfs through this present mindset, as if we are the starring character of the movie we call life. In cheap words: increase you awareness. As Taoist put it better then I ever could: "Deal with the past by using the present" or something similar. Notice that how you are emmediatly distracted and carried away into this imaginary dreamland of the past and future the moment you try to think about your memories. There is the ability to recall any moment in your life and still stay present, but it will require little effort on your part to keep yourself present trough the use of the 5 senses. One complex concept I made to help me with this is trying to "observe your perceptions". It's pretty deep, but it really keeps you as present and aware as possible. Works better for me, plus the amount of lucidity you get during sleep dreaming is tremendous this way. This does not cause direct happiness, but it reduces sadness, anger and fear by 70%. Sometimes it is scary how cool you can be. People will get confused and think you are not paying attention, but they're soon proven wrong given your strong energy and respone time when you are absolutely grounded in the present moment. Don't even need to process trauma's or anything like emdr or do weird movements like in the video. This de-switching your brain is not possible with some quick technique but will require some practice I think. Like the practice of "observing your perceptions." I got the concept from my lucidity practice. Recognizing our dreams, we can wake up or continue dreaming with this higher awareness. In dreams, everything is in us. Recognizing the dream in our waking life is a much more dificult one. We often confuse the environment for being the dream, while in a dream your own idea of the environment makes that dream. changing this idea changes the environment. In waking life things are diffrent. Your ideas can change, but the environment is not in your head so it will not directly effect the environment. But all of your perceptions of the environment is in your head. Only your personal reality might change. That is how I made the concept of "observing your perceptions." Where perceptions might be your own ideas and believes of everything, including the things in the environment. When you can see your self being afraid of spiders, you will laugh at yourself, literally. You might even challenge yourself to see what will happen, just for the curiousity of self-exploration. Many people think they're observing themself, but are they really? Are you really? Did you notice you're behind a screen? Where are you sitting on. When did you loose awareness of these perceptions. When you started reading this or earlier perhaps? How does it feel to sit here, how does it smell, taste. Can you observe what you perceive from the corner of your eye and how it is perceived compared to the center of your vision? All these things are gold for increasing awareness, changing brain chemistry, stimulating self-regulating brain parts, etc. TYou'll have to notice the benefits for yourself. It is not a pushbutton kind of technique, neither is it the coolaid.