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Yes dreams serve a purpose. They give us hope. However, that wasn't the point of the story. If there is something you want to do pursue it - don't just dream about it or later when it's too late you may regret you never tried.

in the end, this isn't so bad, the dream served a purpose..imho.. T

Enough talk. Just do it or don't and move on. With that I am remindes me of a story I was once told. So you want to be an actor. You take one lesson and sit on your ass. A few years later you take another lesson. You keep dreaming of being an actor. Once you even go to an audition. Sometime later you take another lesson sit on your ass and dream. One day you wake up and you have no teeth. The End

Same thing here, except it was staring at a thumbtack on the wall until the wall was gone. Thought it was crazy of coarse. Utterly mind wrenching while I figured out it was impossible while thinking about it. This was probably one of my first learning experiences about what it means to 'still the mind'. I am grateful for the man who taught me, he retired and went on to live out his dream of selling his boathouse for a grand sailboat and sailing around the world. Thanks Phil, your simple words of wisdom have kept me warm on cold nights. Spectrum

thanks, these are all helpfull. I suppose the chapter that gave me the most confusion, was 48. I guess I can still play football without "private ends to serve". So to renounce all, doesn't mean to renounce all? I guess the idea is to only do what's necessary, and since football is an inner desire though strong, should it be abandoned, or approached with a philosophy of non-attachment? From the five quotes of the masters of Haui Nan: it is five that I'm currently relating to, perhaps I should enjoy what I have now, it only seems natural to plan or anticipate some of the challenges for what is to come ahead. At least day dream a bit. Or is this distracting me from now, or inner quiet. This is often my confusion with zen and my personal desires, but I will continue to read the posts in response and mull those ideas over.

Ch'iao Chi Admonishing Myself sit in the clean breexe sleep in the high white clouds no one can spit in your face when you're there hum a tune, and laugh let the rest of them yoke themselves to millstones hide in a hole, with peace, and joy east? it's within me. and west? that too. clouds may be thick or thin windows may be dark or bright take it easy, you can break the poor old dragon's jaw by pulling teeth for "meaning". stumble along, as upright as you can and don't be avaricious. who tries to hold what flashes in the worldly storm, will drown. flow and you'll fill the forms stop, and you'll leave a hole doing? within me. and hiding? that too. pretend to be stupid, act like a fool pretend to be deaf, to be dumb what can a man make that's lasting? hum a few phrases, pour out more wine dream white clouds coiling your green mountain pillow see everywhere embroidered white with peonies. flourishing? within me. and fading? that too. The uses of not Thirty spokes meet in the hub. Where the wheel isn't is where it's useful. Hollowed out, clay makes a pot. Where the pot's not is where it's useful. Cut doors and windows to make a room. Where the room isn't, there's room for you. So the profit in what is is in the use of what isn't.

Chi gung will definately change how you "feel". That is one of the main focuses of chi gung is feeling during practice. Getting out of your head is another way to put it. Kinesthetic another. Taoist mytisism did a nice job of preserving a healthy optimism towards observing the most naturally occuring things. Especially not thinking about anything. Chi Gung practice is renowned for adjusting and balancing biorythmic energy cycles on many levels. One of the first breathing exercises I learned was to elongate and lengthen the breath cycle. The idea being that the body in turn adjusts the mind to be in tune w/ the rhythm. This in turn lengthens and suspends the space between the breaths. The longer and slower the vibration the smoother the ride. This seems to have a certain dialating effect on awareness, say from central to peripheral. A good time to practice is morning before tai ji or chi gung or evening before sleep; one subjective result possibly being a ride into dream lucidity. There is a wide scope to draw from here in relationship to what your energy is being used on. After I was convince chi was real simply by slowing down my breathing, the next series of primary lessons were to learn to tune and adjust the basic ways Chi enters and leaves the body. I thought huh? What about the Gung? But the most basic practical approach is done in a most simple, and so very Chinese! Through methodical Breathing Exercises, Diet, and Health Movements done in perscription or routines outside of the habitual. An example of these basic evening talks from a chance encounter over 10 years ago now is coming directly into play w/ my relationship w/ coffee... 24 days to go. So it was Chi and the Human Body 101: Air Chi, Food & Water Chi, Other Sources of Chi (Meditation/Chi Gung/TaiJiQuan/Gung Fu) After seeing how super duper good food and water makes you feel after opening your pores w/ chi gung or yoga or whatever gets your chi flowing, some type of personal form of PrOgressive-Creative Art are great release valves. For me it naturally fed into the Martial. Overcome through yeilding. Taoist approach to combat. By defeating the opponent inside you can respond to attack clearly. Something like Y0da would say. Exercise #1: 2lb barbell weight: hold it up 45 degree towards a corner in the room. Look through the center into the corner, breath naturally. With the gung going get ruff; breath naturally. When your arm burns, breath naturally and r-e-l-a-x, do not under any circumstance "quit" before making a stream of adjustments to continually float yourself in the center of wu ji. Consciousnly choose to return your arm to it's resting position in time w/ your breathing. Switch sides. Exercise #2: Place hand on a table at rest, preferablly after exercise #1. Raise your hand 1 inch off the table. Relax and replace it on table. Repeat reducing the height in half. Repeat reducing the height by half until your hand is not visably moving. COntinue to reduce movement by half until it's just the intent. Reverse the exercise. These are exercises you can do to help develop a proper wuji foundation if done daily. Longevity Arts are Accumulative. These are also examples of games to play to put the body into various metabolic states. Chi Gung is the study of riding the edges of the various states of routine metabolism including regulation of heat and energy conversions. It's a brilliant tradition with the whole history of traditional (folk not TCM) chinese medicine as it's foundation. Listen to your body. Opening / WuJi / Trinity Postures / TaiJiQuan in 2nd or 3rd depth stance. Chi Gung or TaiJiQuan done very slowly w/ progressive resistance load + punching and kicking slowly shaping and conditioning hands/feet through continually good alignment Gung Fu "Moves" & "Weapons" "Standing Meditation" Learn what you can, in todays my way right away ufc world we are living in days where pre-cultural revolution masters are still alive and are teaching, by the end of our lifetimes they will be gone, and hopefully they will pass on as much cultural wisdom as possible in order to preserve it. I even heard it called Ancient Technology. Preach it brother, preach it! Uh Huh!

hello all ~ I have been lucky enough to have had the opportunity to work with a female peruvian shaman in aya ceremony twice. Just to clarify, in true Daoist style, this is experience is nothing at all what your mind thinks it is before actually taking the medicine. So that clears up some issues about expectation and trepidation. Also, if you experience Ayahuasca yourself, your experience may be nothing at all like what I describe below. I just feel called to share a free flowing presentation of this spirit medicine and how it effected me. I feel that it is important to realize, when working with such plant spirit medicine, that we are actually taking the Spirit of the plant into our body and consciousness. It is a symbiotic process through which the Spirit of Ayahuasca, a female presence known as the Mother Vine, moves through our body, mind and spirit. As a generalization, first she travels through our meridians, in a sense diagnosing our current state. Then she activates the Purge ~ this is when we release toxicity on every level, physical, emotional, and psychic. After the purge, often we find ourselves in a visionary state, where aspects of our life are shown to us. What needs attention in my life? Oh, I need to clean my room . . . holy order. And in my experience, I was shown how to share the transmission I recieved from my journey with others through a state of presence. On another level, there is often a transportation into a realm of geometry, sound, light and fluid Oneness with all that is. This experience is beyond words. And then, on another level, I experienced my Spirit dwelling in the rainforest of Peru, as the Aya spirit did her work with my body. We switched homes for a little while, and learned from one another. After the ceremony, over 6 hours of the shaman singing her Icaros (magical songs of healing taught to her by the plants), there is an overwhelming feeling of Belonging * * tribal consciousness, multi-dimensional connection with Nature, other people, my family. And a renewed sense of purpose, wholeness, dedication to grounding my lessons into the present moment of my life. My qigong practice was what helped me to integrate the lessons of Aya. into my cells, into my heart/mind. I was shown a door . . . and realized that Qigong is the path which opens the door and allows me to walk through on a daily basis. One realization came through so clearly to me ~ that my Qigong teacher, and my Peruvian Shaman are spiritual family. They are doing the same work in the world as if brother and sister. I am so thankful for both of them, and the teachings they share. Ayahuasca and Qigong can be partners in the dance of life. As the great explorers of the Way that all of you are, I suggest keeping an open heart when it comes to the teachers of Nature, the plant spirits. Our culture had done much to demonize these substances as 'evil', and there are remenants of this programming in each of our cells. Perhaps the very reason that they are illegal, is because they teach us to awaken from the 'Matrix', the great dream of our society which tells us we must conform and pay our taxes so that the good war can continue. Sleeping Tiger Awakes Spiritual Sword slays the Demon Returning Everything to the Heavenly Cave. blessings and love qi, riverheron

Speaking of ghosts I credit Ron Jeremy for this statement. How is your practice going to help you once you're dead? I think dream practice is invaluable for the 'practice of death'. Being conscious of who and what we are at all times. I consider hell a made up idea, brought on to scare us into a faithfulness. A hungry ghost after life is possible I guess. I've got the locations of a few nice water fall picked out. I figure I'll hang out there, bathe in the waters, soak up the sun, feel the living earth and continue to practice. Maybe fear of death, is more the enemy then death itself. I think its so important not to die scared, lonely or in terror. Or clinging to your possessions, body, past or present, or hardest of all you're loved ones. Michael

I've related some aspects of my experiencing these states of being on other threads...The out of body and lucid dream states took place while my body would have seemed to be unconscious. I thought I had discribed my consciousness as being concentrated in various parts of my body. Why would I make a difference between my consciousness and myself? Do you tell yourself what to think before you think it? Maybe to clarify... that which observes these aspects and retains the memory of them I concider to be the me of my consciousness. And yes where I contact the bliss of the void is indeed deep within my mind/memory/consciousness, but is not the only hyper-cosmic state of being that I am aware of. It is not my goal to end up there. I am not a big proponant of Buddhism. It ranks about the same as Christianity with me, as a system of beliefs that I would follow. I am a Taoist who has faith in science more than esoteric wishful thinking to explain my reality and the potentials of my cosciousness through practice or faith or study or just enjoying my existance...

Vitamin B6 and Melatonin will do this. I've often gone straight into a lucid dream after taking melatonin. Also regarding your question on energy. The Castaneda material references the need for Jing in order to have lucid dreams. T

Dream Journal : Record dreams right when you remember them Suggestion: think about strong dreams as your falling asleep Reality Checks: Develop a standard reality test for youself. This is what has triggered repeatable lucidity. Problem Solving w/ Creative Solutions: Under intense problem solving, spontaneous lucidity regarding creative solutions Lucidity changes from intended to spontaneous through practicing basic principles. Spectrum

When we dream, we invent a past with alot of detail. In fact, we are absolutely certain of the reality of whatever situation we're in. I'm not so sure we don't 'disappear'. Think of your body right now..where was it 5 minutes ago? Maybe you just dreamed it back. I'm not so sure Einstein would necessarily say we can't put our hands through something.. T

I think Randi has elevated skepticism to the level of a cult. What he's saying is that he is the ultimate judge. This is retarded. At some point in the next few decades a group of serious thinkers will bare out the facts. Look at the history of science; every hundred years evreything we thought we knew changes completely, It's evolving toward the realization the power of the mind is creating "reality" and whatever we can dream eventually becomes reality. This is why it's important to keep an open mind. This doesn't mean ordinary people can just go outside with no training and fly around like immortals, but the technology is out there for that too. We put a man on the moon and there are still people who don't believe it. Not because they think it's a conspiracy; they're just that stupid. This is basic Buddhism.

Lozen - both of my parents are teachers. My dad has been a teacher for 30 years and would never dream of being anything else - but he would be the first person to point out all of the ways the system doesn't equip all children equally. Imagine his frustration when his own daughter (being me!), who is certainly no fool (last time I checked anyway), was completely uninspired by the process of schooling. It would be nice if there were as many methods for learning as there are students to learn. It is impossible to put 1000 kids through school with only one system to teach them with and think you are going to "succeed" with each and every one. Of course, resources, pay levels for teachers, the conditions the students are expected to learn in, the food they get sold at the canteen and 1,000,000 other things have an impact on this system. I don't expect perfection... But, hey - this is just my opinion... L

Michael, it seems to vary some, one friend and I often each/both remembered and later spoke of sharing dreams ( as when sleeping) sometimes one of us didn't remember, but then tried to. That seldom worked. It seems memory is the variable, and memory of sub-conscious or alternative conscious states of being and there related events are much harder to remember, some of the time. What is striking is how some of these dreams we have been describing are so very real in memory! And so very telling in real time applications and resulting states of being in "reality" ala what both twotrees and Taomeow have related earlier... Again my interest in Quantum theory comes to mind as how "idea" may manifest into "being" all the time... Where is Cloud Recluse? Even when some may disparage dreaming - the dreamers delight in and learn to understand something beyond "knowing" when grasping a dream's potential and direction...Martin Luther King may have been onto something more than a catch-phrase!

The active search for and sharing of esoteric knowledge has been going on for many mellenia, my own only since 1968. I hope that most of the young and cock-sure seekers here, don't fade away or burn-out in the decades to come. I have seen it happen to very strong and able practitioners. Their consciousness did not grow with their intake. There is always more to understand than we will ever know. And knowing is not understanding. Knowledge is of no use if the holder of it can not or will not apply the concepts into their reality/dream state and work to make for a better understanding, not a mere accumulation of powerful ideas and states of mind, that bring them self-satisfaction, but do not change how they live and accumulate merit and kharma. When yr kharma hits yr dogma in the here and now ( or in the great beyond), it is what you have done and how you treat yr fellow beings- when you had the chance, that has any register in cosmic value structures. Kharma does not preclude the smack to the head of master to doltish students... Often enough the sillier applications of Qi turn back to simple wind as if blown out of one's ass... And thus, in the hands of the very vapid and selfish, It just raisies a stink, while a true master will heal and cure and develope strengths in others, some will use these abilities as a con-man sells his snake-oil, to get-over on suckers and fools. It takes all kinds, so caviat emptor, take note of attitude and the dynamics of applications when judging those who would seek followers, not mere knowledge and ability.

To have lucid dreams: 1. Get a notebook and a pen, put them beside your bed. 2. Every morning write down what you can remember about your dreams. 3. A few times everyday say to yourself "Am I dreaming?" 4. Repeat 2 & 3 until you wake up in a dream. It should not take more than a few weeks. The longer you practice this the easier they become. If you stop practicing the ability to have these dreams will fall off.

How incredible this struck me, to read of this as resolving the issue with your father. It seems as if I'd used this same or horizontally fashioned approach to do the same with my stepfather, a couple of years ago. After I'd had a very detailed series of issues and then release of all the tensions in a dream pertaining to the on-going conflict that we've had with each other, his whole attitude was completely different in normal life. He'd somehow calmed down, become more docile and silent ... which most of the family connected with his growing old but the timing was just eerie. Also, I will add that my first Native American shamanic spiritual teacher contacts me in a way similar to the way that yours visits you as well. It's a long and strange story, but to keep it simple she has a way of showing up when things are at their most dire or blissful ... it's all relative to situations and is not very common.

I don't know how long its been there, but on the HT USA site under articles there is a section of transcriptions of Michael Winns Tao series. From Fundamentals I to Lesser Kan & Li. Well worth taking a look at, and if you're into Winns brand of tao, worth printing out. Though as he says its no substitute for the CD's, DVDs or live instruction. I once tried to transcribe notes from his Dream series tapes. Within 15 minutes I had 4 pages and gave up. He throws out ideas and concepts pretty quickly. Michael

Developing a habit of touching doors as a lucid dream check, good idea. When I try to work on lucid dreaming I find I can't fall asleep. It seems to work best when I wake up extra early and fall back to sleep with a firm suggestion or listening to a hypnotic tape. We should shift the lucid dreaming discussion to its own thread. Michael

School sux! I graduated 13 years ago. My main problem was that nothing taught there was interesting enough for me that I would bother taking the time to study. Many hours spent in the school counsellors chair telling me how I was underachieving and me telling them - "Give me something interesting to do then!"... Formal education is definitely a time delineated concept - so much to learn in such a small space of time. Week 1 learn this, Week 2 learn that...etc etc. So much emphasis placed on providing the "useful" tools. The whole system reeks of pressure - pressure of time tables, pressure to care, pressure to decide your future, pressure to do well...ARGH! No wonder people throw their hands up in despair! Also, it must be hard to teach and actually make a connection with so many students in one room. In all my years at school, I can only remember one teacher who really made an impression and I found out a few years later that he was a raving alcholic! (Maybe that is why he could see outside the square and get a bit fired up about things ) If you have a burning desire Rainbow, then follow it. At your age...the possibilities of following your desire without having to still achieve at school are minimal. So, you may as well suck it up as best you can and get on with it in that regard. (Harsh but realistic...sorry, sweets!) What works for me is to always try to have a little bit of my day where I can foster my dream/desires and start building the network that will eventually be my support for when I am ready to throw myself right in Just my feelings on the matter. I suspect, Rainbow, that whatever you do that arises from true desire and inspiration - you will achieve Don't worry about *how* - the universe will take care of that. Blessings Leidee

No. You were critisizing the language a particular teacher uses. I don't have any problem with that. You get attracted to whatever language appeals to you. But to think one teachers way of expressing is better than another in an objective sense can lead to some serious confusion IMO. In other words, if you care to avoid the sort of disrespectful tone that was in your post, you could say..I am not particularly fond of her expression. I think Lao Tzu's expression is better. The point being I am sure she has taught many people and hepled people who were drawn to her expression who may not have been drawn to Lao Tzu. I love Lao Tzu, and wouldn't dream of even comparing anything from Tao Te Ching to anything else. But this is a living teacher(Lao Tzu isn't around you know) who is expressing from her experience studying with the Indian sage Papaji and talking to westerners. There is nothing and no one to defend. It's just basic stuff any of us who have been communicating here for a period of time are sensitive to. If you prefer to give your opinions in a more blunt style that's ok with me to.

I liked the Bose inear headphones as well. The soft rubbery lining that goes in the ears is very non-evasive and comfortable. As long as you are not jamming out totally it shouldn't damage your lobular vesicules. Picked up the Rush classics, eh, you don't waste any time Why don't you try some Dream Theater or Savatage, if you think about it sometime in the future ? You will not regret it.

I just got an order from ozark orgonite. They are aesthetically prettier than Dennis' in general and they are all made of the non-stinky resin, so that's good. Got a dream enhancer, so I'll check that out too. Dennis' lemurian hhg is very pretty, but everything else from him isn't. Still, his stuff is quality. Ozark is nice to look at. I'll report on the sweet dreams.