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In my cultivation I have come to look at consciousness and awareness as 2 different things - consciousness being the many layers of the mind, our perception, the subconscious, while awareness is simply the state of being that exists beyond consciousness. My teacher asks her students to explore this awareness beyond consciousness, primarily through meditation and sleep/dream yoga. This has been a most fruitful practice for me and I think I have had tastes of the experience you describe Aaron. Of course in trying to describe my own experience in awareness I need to recruit my conscious mind, and the experience is immediately lost or at least altered my my own filters and lenses and limitations of language. And once expressed it is again altered by the lenses and filters of those receiving my words. Perhaps this is part of why the Dao that can be spoken is not the true Dao. This concept was well articulated by Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj in the book "I Am That" - that book provided the missing link for me in my development, and helped me put so many of the classics texts of Buddhism and Daoism in to perspective, as well as the often seemingly contradictory teachings/methods of the masters I have had the fortune of studying with.

Hi first, Hi Then what!? the Hermetic Tradition is wonderful! My primary background has been Kashmir Shavism {a school of Tantra}, But my other Great inspiration on the way has been the Hermetic/perennial tradition. In fact part of the reason I stayed with Tantra so long was that It is so incredibly similar to the Hermetic perspective, and is still a 'Living' tradition. I used to believe that the Hermetic tradition was dead, [no real teachers left who can transmit it] so I stuck with Tantra. I no longer believe It is a dead tradition, just so few good teachers available, yet within it [over many years] I have found the most astonishing teachings, that parallel and sometimes enhance the deepest oral teachings I have received. My dream is to see the Hermetic tradition fully restored, for us westerners whose psyche it is so native too, In all its Glory. We are talking about the tradition that pretty much began Art, Philosophy, science, religion, navigation, magic, ethics and medicine as we know them In the west. A book you may enjoy which hints at a lot [enough if you can understand] would be 'The Secret history of the world' by Jonathan Black. another is 'The Perennial Tradition' by Norman D Livergood. But, what if I may ask are you finding creepy and dark? Have Fun. Seth.

Septimus, It is true, the highest heaven is not enough... for the even the highest heaven is still a thing so to speak as related to what could be called heavenly time, space and or forms. (thus any Beings or gods identified with those realms also suffer in one way or another) Btw, imo certain aspects of Buddhism which may be only partially understood can surely blow one's mind if there is not also the knowing of the pure joy which is beyond all realms and never fails or falls to sorrow; (sorrows such as identification with various forms in time and space which are prone to corruption; and I'm saying that even though I don't claim to fully understand everything about Buddism) "To be, or not to be", are not options for the Great Tao or Spirit if you will (?). Thus the quintessential freedom which is enough begins in knowing oneself as Spirit, the Spirit which can never be nailed down by any power of thought, no matter how great or keen such may be. Nothing is not nothing, and such are both thoughts. Further, the great "Wheel" is also like a dream, and even the relentless and exacting keeper of that dream is like a dream and thus has no power over the awakened Spirit that returns to Itself... which it never really left. Om

Hi Vector, First, whenever someone puts Lol in response, it always seems derogatory to me, just making that point. I'm not sure if you intended it to sound that way, but to me it sounded like you thought I was missing the point. In response to your definition about there being no "you", it's true in the sense that "you" are a part of a greater whole, that we are all the universe, but I still disagree with the idea that the void is empty of "you". This is my view and it stems from the Tao Teh Ching, my readings on Zen, and Vendanta Hinduism, that the emptiness is not empty of me, but that I am very much a part of that emptiness, just as it is a part of me, that the underlying creation force that exists within the universe in fact is not an empty void, but rather a non-material conscious that exists everywhere and within everything. In my own experience the collective conscious is what they considered to be the void and if one looks at it from a superstitious view, then it's easy to mistake it for a void or emptiness, because there is no physical substance to it, no physical sensation involved with recognizing it, rather recognizing it is merely achieved through an awareness, a knowledge that it exists and that you are part of it, not even part of it, but actually it. The void that they talked about is not missing me, it is me and everything else that exists. So I stand by my first comment, the ancient Taoists and Buddhists got it wrong, but it's understandable that they would come to this conclusion, especially since they believed that there were spiritual forces at work in the universe, such as ghosts and demons. When one is unaware of the physical laws at play in the universe then it's easy to look elsewhere to answer questions, to find a solution that makes sense according to this paradigm. When one understands on an intuitive level their place within the universe, then there's no doubt that there is more to it all than emptiness or lack of emptiness, that those things we thought were absent are in fact full and that those things that seem very much apart are not apart at all. In response to Steve Norquist, well he had it partly right, the universe is a dream, but we are the dreamer. In closing, if you want to continue to talk, please be aware that I will only continue my conversation if you participate in the conversation with respect for me. You don't have to agree with what I'm saying, but I would rather not have to deal with mischievous derision and gloating. Aaron

Hello Kate, Nature is unsentimental, man is sentimental. Catastrophes occur without malice. Atrocities occur with malice, but in the grand scheme they occur because certain things happened to cause them to occur. There is no greater force making these things happen, rather it's our own decisions that cause them to happen. To say that the collective conscious allows these things to happen is true, but to say that it causes them to happen may not be so. The reason I say good and evil are irrelevant is because one person views an action as good and another views it as evil. Good and evil are subjective to each persons interpretation. You can't even take something as universally reviled as incest and find a consensus that it is evil, after all Ramses the Great married three of his own daughters and he was the ruler of a civilization older than the entirety of Western Civilization. Our views are not as important as the results of our actions. If one causes another to suffer, then they should stop, but to think that suffering will end is silly. We are all asleep, dreaming. Some know they are dreaming and try to awaken, others have given themselves over to the dream, revel in the dream, believing the dream is real, when in fact it isn't. In my opinion life and death are equally important, but realizing the true nature of our existence is even more important. To understand that placing a value on something doesn't change it, to realize that compassion, whether viewed as good or evil, is still compassion, and choosing to practice compassion, now that's an amazing thing. When I lump atrocities and catastrophes together, it's because they both result in the same thing. You are placing a value on the cause, rather than what's happened, believing that by knowing the cause you can somehow stop it, when that's not true. Man, so long as he places value on things, will always have atrocities. This is the reason the Tao Teh Ching tells us to stop placing value on things, because greed is ultimately the root of strife. Even placing values on actions causes strife. If we truly want to live in harmony with one another, if we truly want to find peace in this world, then we must first be willing to give everything we have to another, without regret. If you can't do that, then I would suggest you become accustomed to atrocities. There is this notion that people need to change to be the way we want them to be, because we have the handle on how people should behave, yet we forget that all this is, is how we are taught to believe. Everything we know as good and evil is good and evil because someone has drilled into our heads that it is good and evil. The next time you see someone doing something "evil", like robbing a bank, ask yourself why they're doing it, what caused them to do it, and ultimately what the real "evil" is. In the end though, there is no good or evil Kate. Good and evil only exist within the confines of your mind. It's how you view things that makes them good or evil. Once you realize this, then good and evil become irrelevant and what is relevant is how you behave and treat your fellow man. Aaron

and unfortunately for most people the "real world" is this Every day the same dream a browser game that is really quite depressing, but see what you can do I love art that manipulates emotions, makes you consider life

Absolutely agree that "all" plants are teachers... "Sacred" ones are different in that we have receptors in the brain tuned in to their teachings and can translate them into human comprehension more readily than the teachings of those plants that don't concern themselves specifically with our species, but in the grand scheme of things, "all" plants are sacred. Love McKenna's view of biology: "Animals are something plants invented in order to move seeds around." So true, so hilariously exactly right! I had a dream once, one of those which I recognize as "dreamtime dreams," as real as waking reality only more so. The context was weird (as often is the case with dreams): I was making a speech in front of an audience, advocating country living vs. urban or suburban, and couldn't come up with anything but platitudes -- "well, you get fresh air... more greenery... fresh produce... less pollution... fresh air..." when a loud and clear voice from the back of the audience offered, "And the pig squeak, don't forget the pig squeak!" I was very surprised but repeated sheepishly, yeah, OK, and the pig squeak... I woke up perplexed, with an urgent "don't forget the pig squeak" in my mind for no good reason. I told about the dream to a bunch of people online, and someone responded, "pig squeak is the name of a flower, a decorative garden plant." I googled up a picture and... OK, I recognized it. This plant grew in my back yard, right under the wall of the house, but I didn't plant it there, it planted itself. I didn't know what it was, maybe a weed? -- and I was thinking of pulling it out, but then decided to sort of ignore it and see what it turns into come summer. So when I put two and two together, I realized that the dream was induced by this plant, and it was asking me to water it. Don't forget the pig squeak! Since it's not a psychedelic plant, it had no other chance to penetrate my consciousness than to enter it in dreamtime, and since it's normally not a talking plant, it expressed itself briefly, but did succeed "planting a seed" of understanding, which flowered in my mind the next day, with a little research. The plant itself flowered a couple of weeks later (of course I started watering it daily), pretty pink flowers, pig squeak... beautiful. And quite entirely mind-blowing, come to think of it.

Through mushrooms, I learned that we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively, that we are the imagination of ourselves... that life and death is but an eternal dream... no beginning, no end... we are all God/Tao, and love is the greatest power/energy of the universe, and that is what we are here to experience... the human race is slowly awakening itself to its true nature, that we are but spiritual splinters of a One (Tao) great being of infinite intelligence and love... meditation opens us to the wisdom of the universal mind, cosmic intelligence, increases our energetic vibrational frequency in ascension to unity.

I am greatly relieved to report that my high school friend of 35 years and his Japanese wife have decided to fly home from Japan March 21st on one of those US Gov't. charter flights. He's been living his dream of teaching English at a university for the last 20 years and travelling throughout Asia during breaks, but it's time to come back to California for awhile.

Physically Candiida is a correct assumption. Spiritually another Yeast release methane during their growth cycles. Their growth cycles are increased by carbohydrate consumption and many other causes including dips in immunity that may be caused by consumption of pathogens in food like E. Colli that it's self resides bound to nerve tissue of the bladder. Chronic bladder infection in males may have no obvious symptoms especially if it was inherited or picked up at very early age from say Taco Bell. Bladder infection effects the kidneys and Edrenal cortex (((ADRENAL FATIGUE))) <<<-- all doctors will attempt to prescribe some form of (benzene) anti anxiety medication for the symptoms of adrenal fatigue (reduced cell mass of the adrenal cortex, The Cortex is extremely sensitive and suseptable to Alcolhol (kills the cortex cells, even in very small amounts) and COFFEE by increased weight on the kidenys ridding of toxins and reduced life force (neural energy) Here's the link between spirit and body in this: the kidneys produce the life force by de-ionization of water. That energy is the power supply for the psychic nervous system via a nerve link running direct between the adrenal cortex and PINEAL body which is where stimulus to chemical production in all the glandular bodies begins. I mention before about Yeast producing Methane( is does so in large quantity) that directly effects the adrenal cortex. Dips in immunity caused by antibiotics that may destroy yeast usually allow for increased growth in the aftermath of other slower producing and tougher organisms like E Colli. Kidney and Adrenal may both be affected by by E Colli after antibiotics. Most all Anti Anxiety medications( sleep aids ) are designed to bind to calcifying tissue. The most calcifying tissue in the body is the Pineal gland. Benzene (Benzoprine, Benzodiazepam and about 60 others) is listed as an amnesiac. It does so by shutting down nerve receptor and their associated nerve channels. The link here is obvious: adrenals, thyroids, testicles ans so on. Psycho spiritually all the effect you have noticed also occur when the upper Dan Tien begins to open first before the other. I don't have energy cover all that right now, but it boils down to developing ability to see the mechanism of and force that decides actual outcome in manifestation, not an easy road. If you are interested i will write more later edit: """ Here's what happens when you change your diet, thinking that diet alone will reduce the level of candida to a level where you feel healthy again: When you stop eating the foods that feed candida, the candida goes into an armored spore form, which means the candida will protect itself by transforming itself into a dormant form. If you are not doing anything to remove the candida from your body, it just lies in the dormant form until you once again begin to eat the foods that candida feeds on. When you reintroduce those foods, the candida will reactivate with great intensity, and a rapid increase of candida waste products (acetylaldahyde and methane gas) will very quickly bring back the effects of a candida overgrowth in your body. """ When yeast is reduced other pathogens that also produce gases like Ammonia collect and can affect digestion, spleen and gal bladder. If you can stomach hot tea? cinnimon and reishi mushroom. When the magnetic/radionic/chakras/endocrine glands restart full function (result of Tan Tein opening)(provide magnetic impetus and chemical communication between the glands and heart) an uncomfortable event in biblical term "the seven seals" or Egyptian "seven plagues" This is most often associated with and "kundalini awakening" though may be brought on by other internal changes depending on the order of awakening you chose. there are typified pathology to each way. I am curious if you have any injuries like falling down before the traumatic events of your youth These things happen in order and if purely spontaneous are over looked as unfortunate and common place events though the reason for them my be divine. From the subconcious: "" Chemical Society organized an elaborate appreciation in Kekulé's honor, celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of his first benzene paper. Here Kekulé spoke of the creation of the theory. He said that he had discovered the ring shape of the benzene molecule after having a reverie or day-dream of a snake seizing its own tail (this is a common symbol in many ancient cultures known as the Ouroboros "" The two most common sources of Benzene are volcanic eruptions and oil spills. The former be the greater of the two. The energy as in your snake experience runs up the front, not the spine ans sometime seems to get stuck before moving on

Well your (1) is new to me, i was talking about (2). Also I am happy to further discuss this and anything related to longmen if anyone is interested in my limited understandings but can we start a new thread? I don't want to discuss authentic teachings of Master Wang under a thread that's titled "David Verdesi". Yuck, I feel sullied and I don't want to give him any free association of Master Wang for even a tiny hint of legitimacy. Edit: You mean his high fantasy? There is nothing traditional daoism is his writings, it's 30% half-truth and 70% bullshit aim to tempt the naive 20-year olds with wet dreams of super power. Although I have to give it to him that he is a pro-active person who really go out and seek out his wet dream, which is more than a lot of people who want to cultivate from their parent's basement through the internet. But he is still a liar shitface scumbag though.

Whoa, what a question! I've had several interesting dreams lately: in one, under cover of darkness I moved out of the apartments above Hamburger Mary's in the South of Market, San Francisco- key turned in, cut loose and moving not sure where (I lived there in the '80's). This morning, at the end of my sitting, I felt like I was sleeping awake and it was ok to be that way. I think that's what the dream of Hamburger Mary's was about, leaving off my effort and accepting the human condition and the place I'm in (which is fundamentally homeless). That was effortless a lot of the time in childhood, but now I know that everything else is there as well, at the place I am sleeping awake. What a homecoming that is, for me. Childhood without the trauma.

Many sincere thanks for your thoughts. For anyone who would like a bit more on this Buddhist “non-existence” idea, I offer this brief and entirely inadequate little bit of info: Buddhism grew out of Vedanta - or rather out of the Buddha's dissatisfaction with the priest's exclusive practices of the time in India. Advaita Vedanta is a later non-dual evolution of Vedanta. Buddha's teachings eventually trickled into China as primarily Mahayana Buddhism. They gained broad interest when Bodhidharma (possibly a mythical figure) brought both a martial arts form (he was a warrior prince from India) and highly evolved Buddhist meditation methods to China in about 500 CE. He became the first patriarch of Zen - at Shaolin. He has only one inheritor of the lineage bowl and robe but from there Chan Buddhism took off quite fast as it adapted to and merged with existing Taoist philosophy. This became Chan or a little later "Zen" in Japan. In some circles, Chan/Zen is an absolute heresy and is not even considered proper Buddhism. The original or Theravada Buddhists thought that one is responsible for ones own cessation of suffering (enlightenment) and for that one only. As the Mahayana got going it was recognized that the reality of enlightenment is not a personal thing at all. It also recognized that there is no difference or division between some enlightened world and this very one. Only the knowing it is so, that there is no difference, is the difference. This is an awakening which does not rest on the idea that life is an illusion to be seen through and which must be then totally discarded. Mahayana sees that This Is It. Just as it is. Mahayana finds that it is both the emptiness of all the form of life and the fullness of the forms of life, taken together, that actually describes awakening fully. THIS IS IT, AS IT IS and it is incredibly so. The Buddha said that it is like a dream, a phantom, lightening bolt and a bubble in the stream. And there is naught else! Nothing any more or less sacred or important or discoverable than what is right here right now! END OF SEARCH. There are several Mahayana sutras which are important to Chan Buddhists because they describe this in a kind of detail not readily found in the somewhat more symbolic language of the Tao-Te Ching. The understanding is present in the TTC but I find that the Taoists who intuitively understand this are somewhat less able to express it as so. (it's just my experience...) And also, many Buddhists are too often drowning in emptiness - thinking that every thing is empty, end of story, get over it. It is just not so when understood in the Mahayana. The Buddha himself warned about this - as nihilism. In this is way it is called the middle way between the extremes of nothingness and something-ness. It all looks the same – its just all in the understanding of what one is “looking at” and who is doing the looking . AS the Zen people say; "Nothing Hidden" Here's a few zen sayings which point to the truth of the Mahayana in which emptiness depends on form which depends on emptiness. A Taoist understanding if ever there was one! To stay with emptiness alone is no less dissatisfying than to stick with form alone. In learning this as a practice, the first thing is to try to see through form and understand why. When done, emptiness is recognized, and maybe, even the sense of a self that has found it may be disintegrating somewhat.....but don't stop there. An amazing realization is in ready to be uncovered – right in one's own pocket - or backyard - or the supermarket..... ---These quotes describe some understanding as the two come back together as the All That Is. “First there are mountains and rivers then there are no mountains and rivers then there mountains and rivers again.” ~Zen saying “If you understand, things are just as they are. If you do not understand, things are just as they are.” ~Zen saying ---On the practice of getting rid of something - such as form (the world) - which would employ the pursuit of something such as “emptiness”: "Make no effort to work or to renounce: all effort is bondage." ~Ramana Maharshi "If you seek the truth in some special way, you will gain a path. This is to lose the truth which is hidden in the path. If you seek truth without any special way of seeking, it is found as it really is.... and it is life itself. ~Meister Eckhart “Truth is a pathless land”. ~J Krishnamurti “Inside every human being there is an authentic person that has no position, rank, standing or path.” ~Chan Mster Linji So none of this leaves any place to stand or to hang on to – including non-existence. “ The Tao that can be spoken (or practiced) is not the Tao.” The Tao is not emptiness or non existence either This leaves what the original Chan masters sometimes offered as HuaTou dialogue as a method for understanding. Such dialogue is not complete without the acknowledgment of What Is also in the perceptions of consciousness, as form, as intrinsic complete IS-ness. This is “suchness” or “thussnes”. In Buddhism this understanding is outlined in the Mahayana Diamond Sutra and others. The Mahayana Buddhist vow is to “Save all sentient beings.” Obviously impossible. An yet there is a way to recognize what this means. It might be expressed as: If you do understand, then saving all sentient beings is impossible. If you don't understand, then saving all sentient beings is impossible. So...what is understood? It's not nearly so simple as just abiding in emptiness and, at the same time, is even easier and much more 'complete' that that. To take a stand in either emptiness or in form is to ascribe to a religion, path, a place to stand from which to make religious pronouncements of doctrine. To make the claim that Buddhism is a religion is to make a religious claim based in an unconscious religion - a common mistake. And yes I am sure there are much better ways of expressing this. If you know, then please point the way! Best wishes. Edited I just read some of the BKF interview and I was reminded of something that relates to this idea of the desirability of 'no place to stand'. My own satisfaction with Buddhist practice and study has been in the exposure of the trance like hypnosis we all are floating in until we wake up to it. Personally, I think it is absolutely important to recognize what that trance is and how it is induced - self or otherwise. (For a good look at transparently induced trance induction, check out Effie Chow videos on Youtube. She could teach Bandler and Grinder a thing or two. ) It is not always necessarily a bad thing, but one should have the choice. Constantly feeling compelled to choose one or another stance or ideology or philosophy - including 'Buddhism', because it is thought to be better than the previous one, is a never ending proposition and is actually like a ball and chain. No clue at all where he gets the idea that Buddhists are less interested in living the here and now. Maybe I just didn't understand what he said. Also was mildly amused at BKF's assessment of the lack of naturalness and humor in Buddhism. I'll grant him his experience, and Tentai is sometimes rather sternly serious, and yet the funniest most irreverent people I know are Zen priests, Buddhists in general and the very funniest is a Tendai monk. So sad this has been his experience with Buddhism because it certainly is not mine. I cannot compare to Taoist priests and even if I could, well, that would just be choosing a place to stand for a comparison that makes for more attachment or aversion. Respectfully.....

Words usually fail and are but another instrument when I listen to music. For me Tool is kinda in the same basket as Dream Theater - technically amazing, but...the overall listen just isnt there. But then again, I dont want to listen to other's music when I've got my head immersed in my own.

I don't have the exact memory of the first imprint. I know it's definitely related to church, as I had a fundamentalist/evangelical upbringing. It can be really hard for me to draw up specific memories from childhood. I'll be happy to accept your offer of help if I can ever find that first memory. I have been making an effort not to judge people, but I guess I need to try harder. I'm still trying to cultivate love of self, that's still a hard one for me. Hehehe, I'm not much for young studs, but maybe a sexy lady... Naw, it's nothing like that. My dream is to become an Adept; to master internal and external martial arts, and the subtle energies. To experiment and try to come to new understandings about human interaction with energy.

Thanks for the reply, manitou! Point taken on "spiritual mistake" versus any other kind. This in particular struck me, "Get over your pride. It is nothing other than the other side of ego. If Spirit, or Void, or It, or Whateveryoucallit wants to manifest through you, who do you think you are to think you know better, or deny it.?". Never really thought about it like that. Pride is one of the biggest issues I struggle with...or rather, fear of being prideful. It seems I allow fear to guide my actions more than I really acknowledged before. In fact, I think I can point to two particular areas where this is quite applicable. My response to the desire/dream is usually in a much different tone..."How arrogant you must be to have these desires. Who do you think you are? Your pride will ruin you!" I believe myself to be arrogant and prideful, so I play down my victories and blow up my failures in an attempt to balance things out. Usually when I have a big victory, I'll be ecstatic for a short time, sharing the good news with friends and family...then a day or two later, I'll experience a wave of guilt over how prideful I acted, how arrogant of me it was to boast like that. I can't allow myself to feel lasting pride, because if I do people will see how arrogant my true character really is. I also believe myself to be very selfish. In order to make up for this, I give away a lot of what I generate. I almost always put other people's needs before mine, unless I have nothing left to give or it puts my roof in danger. I MUST give things away and put others before myself, because if I don't others will see how selfish my true character really is. This is part of why it's so hard to find time for my practices...I've already given most of my time to helping other people pursue their dreams. Interesting, how much of this is based on projected perceptions of others. I guess I really do care a lot about how other people/spirits feel about me. You offer some good advice...I'll see if I can free up that 10% of energy.

What a wonderful question. First mistake: calling it a spiritual mistake. It's all one. Your physical is manifested by your spiritual. The pride you feel for your talent is the same pride I felt before I started practicing my talent. I just said fuck it, as my sweet old grannie used to say. Yes. I play keyboard like an angel. There. I said it. I'm glad. Get over your pride. It is nothing other than the other side of ego. If Spirit, or Void, or It, or Whateveryoucallit wants to manifest through you, who do you think you are to think you know better, or deny it.? Now, if you want to get WAY honest we get into the arena for charging for talents, and that's a nightmare of its own. So much of a nightmare, in fact, I do most everything for free these days. How to put a price on free creativity? I really do not know. Every time I've put a price on a painting, or a piece of Joe's dremeled furniture, it's like it rips the life out of it by the throat. I'd rather give them away. Then there is love in the transfer, although of course we put Intent into each and every piece. Second mistake: Basing anything on fear. At the very bottom, we manifest from love or fear; gotta be one or the other. Fear of Karma is based on fear. Base it on love instead; your karma has a loving side that you have not been able to see because you have been afraid of its underbelly. Raise your eyes a bit. My actual advice, (as one who always Wanted To Be A Cowboy and never did), is to maybe devote 10% of your physical and your psychic energy to your dream. Then you won't feel like it's tapping behind you on the shoulder; you'll at least feel that you're doing something about it. The tapping will stop. Let the other 90% keep doing as it's doing. Then one day maybe you'll see that you'll be able to devote maybe 30% of your time to your dream, 70 to your other life. And so on. It's just Intent. That's all. Make a promise to yourself and take the tiniest of steps every day. Each and every day. It'll happen. Strike when opportunity raises its head, which it will. Trust the universe. Be kind to everybody. Short course in wu-wei.

It is now one year and eight months since I have had this energetic awakening. I practice with the energy everyday and it is stronger than ever. I need nothing to start it up except my awareness. I did some more research online and found that this initial awakening was an awakening of CHI. During my research I also discovered some videos and writings on KUNDALINI energy, which is a tightly coiled ball of energy located at the base of the spine. When this energy awakens, it rises like a serpent up the spine and clears energy blockages. I received an awakening of my KUNDALINI energy not long after my first posting on this board. It is similar to my CHI energy, but it travels in a different way. I'm still not experienced enough to describe the difference though. I guess I could say that the difference is in how it physically feels. While they seemlessly blend together, it feels like the kundalini is more inside and the chi is more outside. I'm still trying to understand it, and I have to admit that it's a beautiful mystery to me. I have been going through a full blown kundalini awakening, which affects me physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. It's not always an easy ride. Awakening can be painful as well as ecstatic. The kundalini releases energy blockages caused by emotional traumas. Some traumas are very deep, so I have some pretty painful blockage releases. Painful emotionally and physically. But what I read about the process through other people's experiences is that it is a cleansing. And that it gets better and more ecstatic. It is the process of the lightening up of my heart. Clearing block after block, lifting veil after veil, filter after filter, all the layers until I'm so light I can fly... That's the dream and the hope. With such few responses in the taobums forum, it seems as though there is not much interest on the subject here at this time. And so this will be my last posting here. However, I want to clearly state that the energy is stronger than ever before. I feel that it will be with me forever, as it only gets more intense with practice. 2CB was the entheogen that initially awakened it in 2004. Since then, psilocybin mushrooms or sex would awaken it. LSD is the entheogen that completely awakened it this last time in 2009. However, NO ENTHEOGEN IS NEEDED ANY LONGER. What I believe happened is that a filter was removed with the use of entheogens. It's as if a gate opened. I am glad that it happened. My life is much richer now. If anyone is interested in having a kundalini awakening without the use of an entheogen, it is possible to have one given to you through a process called SHAKTIPAT. Shakti is the divine energy and pat means to transfer. So it is a transfer of divine energy from one person to another. It may sound unbelievable, but you can get shaktipat by simply reading about it or seeing it being done to someone. I got shaktipat on youtube by watching others receive it. Of course I had already gotten a head start with the entheogen awakening my chi. When I saw the physical result of the people who had received it, I also started to feel the physical feelings of receiving the shakti energy. I simultaneously received shaktipat while watching videos of others receiving it! All you have to do is look on youtube for shaktipat... There are also kundalini yoga breathing exercises created for the purpose of awakening the kundalini. Just look up kundalini yoga awakening on youtube. Good luck and many blessings to all who wish to embark on this journey! Infinity Energy in Macau

I got the movements right away on the first session today. But then I'm a bit more kinesthetic and get occasional slight involuntary muscle trembling or movement here and there...(which is why I thought this (Jenny Lamb's DVD practice actually) might work for me). I'm complete qigong noob, you have been warned, before I go on with my opinions as that's what it is: Your body knows spontaneous movement qigong already. It's when you are a bit worried or stressed and palm your forehead automatically. Or you feel like stretching yourself a bit during day and do that..at any place..in office chair...in bus...sitting in waiting room.... When you feel like dancing and do the few dancing steps to feel better. You do it all the time, some in more or some in less subtle ways. The key here is to let it happen, allow your body to move. If you feel some sensation, let the movement develop out of it, allow it to happen. It's said "do not guide your movement" but there is a very tiny margin between guiding and allowing and you have to explore that for yourself. I don't know if I did it the right way today...I don't celebrate that I got the movements...I'll try to empty my cup yesterday, and the days after, again and again, and again start from zero. From my understanding (sure, first day in only) getting the movements is unimportant, it's important to get in touch with "it", allowing, feeling, letting yourself be guided by the inner wisdom, becoming one with "it", there I feel a long way to go myself. I admire your dedication, one hour is only a distant dream for me.

It seems that this is where the inner cultivation starts to take shape. The previous chapters were more a description of what the Tao is; this tells us more how to gain it and use it. The translation that I posted does use the words 'loose' in both chapters 8 and 9. I don't guess it makes much different, but it does seem like semantically the word 'lose' might have been more appropriate; but maybe not. To 'loose' something would be an inference that something was possessed, but then allowed to cut loose. This doesn't necessarily connotate loss, as the word 'lose' would. Something that is loosed could theoretically be reattained. I think I'm indulging in hair-splitting. When I think of being aligned and tranquil, as in chapter 8, it brings to mind Ram Dass and his Be Here Now mindset, which I use constantly. The more one practices this mindset, the deeper it becomes; ultimately it does lead to the One. Those who are aligned with the One see that we are not really separate individuals at all; we are connected at the hip by the vital essence, if we can but find it. Very interesting when he says 'When there is thought, there is knowledge, But when there is knowledge, then you must stop.' This aligns with many discussions we've had on this forum regarding left brain vs. right brain knowledge. Left brain knowledge tends to get set in cement; our egos get involved in being very knowledgeable people, and once that happens, well....you know what happens. The essence is loosed. Or lost. Either way. Right brain knowledge, the knowledge we attain from knowing ourselves and our inner workings to the quick, is the quantum knowledge that doesn't follow what we think of as logic at all. It tends to come in the form of inspiration, hunch, intuition. A flash of brilliance, as it were. It seems to be the knowledge that is forming without our conscious thought; the knowledge that settles in somewhere in the back of our brains and figures stuff out as we sleep, as we dream, as we're distracted elsewhere. Then, one day if we're lucky, it all comes together in a flash of inspiration; you can almost hear the tumblers drop into place. There is no questioning this type of knowledge. It just Is, that's all. It resonates its assent in our souls and we Know. This is not a left brain function at all. Regarding chapter 9, the Wise are the ones who do know themselves to the quick; realizing that we are all One, he sees that there is no Basic difference between thee and me. Man, woman, child, rich, poor, black, white, Muslim, Christian - it's all the One. When we find our vital essence, as in chapter 8, we have the basic building block, the keystone, of every human being. Yes, our separate experiences have produced what appear to be separate beings, but that is the illusion. Actions of the human are based on either Love or on Fear, one or the other, after it all breaks down. The Sage will base his actions on Love each and every time, if he is mindful and in constant awareness. No easy trick here. Love and wu-wei are joined at the hip as well. When the Sage is in a do-nothing mode, this is not enough. The other part of the wu-wei dynamic involves Love or Compassion; when engaging in wu-wei in a particular situation, not only do we take ourselves out of the middle of the dynamic; not speaking here of physically; more of a 'wear the world like loose clothing' thing where we intentionally transcend the emotions for the purposes of effecting the perfect result (as per the will of the Tao). To just let it be and let the chips fall where they may. But the Love half of it requires us to perform the dictates of what Love would require in our responses, in our attitudes, in non-judgment. This must be walked during the wu-wei period. To do less is to interject a negative dynamic into the workings of the wu-wei and this will throw it off course each and every time. Sometimes Love means to tell the truth, as you see it, to someone who needs to hear it. But never in anger; always with Love, with tenderness, with compassion. To be strong enough to tell the truth when we have to, when no one else has the fortitude to do it; this is a gift of the Tao as well. A mixed blessing, for sure....but the Sage understands that all things rise and fall at the appropriate times; the Sage can ride out the anger of another, and do it with an excess of love and kindness to boot. What incredible chapters.

Definitely so. Visualization is visualization. Meditation is meditation. My own experience is that meditation can teach that visualization is what we are doing all the time anyway. Meditation can teach what the mind actually is and that, to me anyway, seems a first priority so that all other energy practices are in perspective. Certainly that state which we call "dreaming" is quite the visualization and if mind is better understood then dreams are not only clearer, but are not the cause of unwanted effects of this visualization. Ultimately it can be seen that daily life is a dream, a trance state, a visualization of the totality as well. When this is known, visualization is obviously recognized as a determining factor in what happens next - next being very soon or quite a long ways down the road. And finally, knowing this much, it is easier to keep track of all those little thoughts that run the mind as well as the big ones. This knowledge directly informs the phenomena of virtue and morality. It is also a major step to complete freedom. Good luck!

That's what gong is all about! Our DNA is in a dynamic relationship with our environment, behaviors, and other life patterns that influence the way it expresses. Changing any one or combination of these factors results in new and varied things being coded for. Two weeks of eating something and your body starts making those metabolic pathways more solid at the expense of certain other, less frequently utilized ones. We play with our sleep cycles similarly, affecting things as varied as melatonin regulation and dream content. Beyond that, we do relaxation and breathing exercises to calm the cortisol and adrenal responses, paving the properly alkaline environment for certain other genes to come into subtle alignment. The nature versus nurture argument is and always has been off the mark, assuming a false dichotomy when really it's a complex unfolding feedback loop in a dynamic dance between the two. Naturture!

Today the funniest thing that happened to me was what my teacher said to me before English. She stopped me on my way in the door and said "I had a dream last night and you and your friends were in your corner during class. You were like the spokesperson and you stood up and said 'We're the corner that hates you Ms. B!'" lol, it would have been insulting if I hadn't know that she likes me and I'm generally a very nice person. Other than that the other thing would have had to been the video we watched in our medical class on taking temperature rectally. It was funny, because I didn't look at the screen when they were actually demonstrating it and I heard my classes complaints. Yeah, a pretty eventful day

I dream of a world where man cares for his fellow man, where everyone is a teacher and we all help each other learn and grow expecting no reward other than the good feeling one gets, where wisdom is widespread and shared freely. I dream of a day where we no longer kill men out of anger and no longer kill animals for our gluttonous palate. I dream of a day where money is abolished and those who have share with those who have not. I dream of a day when relationships are based around harmonious partnerships, based around love, when men and women are equals who compliment one another, when the complimentary difference of gender is celebrated. I dream of a day where the power of love overcomes the love of power...a day I no longer feel the need to seek power for the sake of protecting myself or anyone else from those who mean harm... What are your dreams? Anyone want to help mine come true? -Astral