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Hi! , Lately been feeling that goals, targets makes me feel tied, and more stressed and affects all my decisions and life just to reach those goals. Once I achieve those goals or so, I feel free, relaxed and boost in my life, it feels like freedom from a specific direction. Can we just live for the sake of living and without any objective, target and direction in life and is it possible? I feel it is difficult for me, since having a target or a direction provide a sense of safety since you know where you are going and maybe have something to strive for? though i know these stuff aren't much healthy to have. The question is where would I end up if I have no goals, targets or direction in life ?

what is your opinion regarding releasing attachments to what makes you happy and/or from which you derive an identity, a purpose from. Ending up purposeless and not having a reason to exist... no identity to preserve and no thing or person to get happiness from. Then the question is, why to exist in such reality if you have nothing to get happiness from or a reason/purpose to live for? on the other side of the equation are pains that we resist and we are averse to. how are you going to handle living with them if you have even have no purpose or something to live for. Ending up with pains and nothing to live for.

I wrote a post on my blog it is pretty lengthy but is very genuine. I have quoted it below. I am wondering if I should continue on the path? Or change yet again to something else. What about an enlightenment course? Or is there a point where you just give up? I don't necessarily mean suicide either. Note: therapy seems pointless because it only works on the ego and not the Self below (or above) it. Which is my target (Self Realization). I have had some glimpses of no-ego and it is an amazing place to be. Entheogens seem like the next best option.

Man, sometimes I don't see the point anymore. What's the point of helping people if they don't want to help themselves? I see humanity going in a downward spiral. People don't care about the environment- the planet they depend on. All people care about is entertainment and collecting crap they don't need. And having more kids. It's so obvious that overpopulation is becoming a huge problem yet everyone still wants to keep reproducing. I feel I'm supposed to be a healer and a teacher. I want to teach about the Dao. But will anyone listen? I thought about becoming a Zen priest, but I don't know if I can take vows to be compassionate if humanity keeps being so self-destructive. Maybe it's because I'm in the US and I'm surrounded by "lol what war are we gonna start next omg." But occasionally I feel like war is a good thing if only to help control the ridiculous population explosion. I don't know, maybe I'll sell all my stuff and go live in the woods. Anyway, I don't know if this is the right place to post this. I'm not trying to vent only, so it's not exactly a journal. I would like some opinionated discussion on this.

All of us at some point or another hit cross-roads in life where small time frame defines our next destiny. I am at such place and have been thinking about next steps and nothing shows up so far. I am wondering how do other people solve such puzzles? I.e. move or stay in certain location, get or not get that job, do or not do something, study or not study, etc... I know the teaching point of "following your heart", but my heart so far is screaming about what IT DOES NOT WANT to do, but not about what IT WANTS to do". How did you do it in your own life? Meow...

What are the lessons that your spiritual journey taught you and changed your understanding perspective regarding spiritual practices like, enlightenment, kundalini, third eye, TCM....etc ? Thank you for sharing.

what is the reason we exist in life ? if spirit exists.. then why would a spirit put itself in a box, limited reality to experience it and try to realize itself ? is it game ? if it is for fun or game... boredom doesn't exist. If other realms/dimensions exists... then why do they? what the whole point of all of this? what the point of tao? ... to learn? learn what ? and what would this knowledge really help us ? and if reincarnation exists... why everytime u have to learn the same stuff ? or even... why do we have to learn stuff that as a spirit we are whole, why to box ourselves and try to rediscover ourselves ? If you have an answer, how much are sure of it?

Do you think that nothing in life is static and everything is relative? In other words, if you dnt believe in chi/energy, you won't feel it. It could be that the belief is what creates our own reality, what we feel, see, hear, touch, smell, taste. And nothing really exist... we just inherited genetically and got taught beliefs that makes our own reality and put us with people with same of those beliefs that reinforce them and thus lead to make it a very real reality. Nd could be that the chakras, energy/chi, meridians...etc just another packaged reality, that we can choose to believe in out of many other realities, all is real but nothing really exist? Are there some static stuff in the world? That foes beyond all possible realities? Or could a majority belief be made a a static to all other possible realities? Does nothing really exist.. because all realities cancel each others out and what is left is emptiness or just another belief? thank you

We normally use the terms Existence and Life very casually. What do they mean actually? What factors determine existence or life. I would like your ideas on this. I would also like to have an in depth analysis into this topic of discussion.

it seems for me hard to trust the universe/life.. you can see people who struggle and suffer due to stuff beyond their control, for example a kid that is living in war or on street hungry and such.. why would the universe put that innocent kid in such situations and pains. Even tho, some may say, will help him to develop and become strong and other benefits of these situations.. but these lessons could have come in another way. why the universe/life has to make its learning through suffering? couldn't be upgraded to a new positive way of teaching? how would I trust that the universe won't try to teach me through such kind of events of pains? i know i can cop up with such events that I consider painful or whatever.. but are they necessary. it is like you know the way out but do you have to go through it from the first place? I do believe that we create our own reality but that is make me increase the control i have over myself and my actions and increase my awareness of thoughts and sensations to be able to control my own reality 100%. but at the same time I think it is not really we are the only one who make our own reality, no matter what we do, because how would an innocent pure kid put himself in such situation and experience: (no karma plz) http://www.aol.com/article/2016/08/20/brother-of-omran-daqneesh-boy-who-became-the-symbol-of-syrias/21455644/ isn't the universe harsh?

So I am interested in a self taught yoga method that would help me gain flexibility and peace of mind and for a better meditation posture as well as something that would keep me limber for other forms of exercise. I've been considering starting with Yogani's Asana's book cause it seems simple and I won't have much time on my hands this year. I also am considering "Systematic Course in the Ancient Tantric Techniques of Yoga and Kriya" by Satananda Saraswati. Seems like a complete guide and I like a lot of its other content about cold showers, neti pots, etc This book seems a lot more time consuming to follow and some have even deemed it dangerous to practice such tantric routines without a guru present. Anybody farmiliar with these texts?

In one aspect this idea of being celibate and doing meditation daily seems enticing, but living in modern society, I doubt anyone is going to be successful in achieving enlightenment. It seems like becoming a monk is the noble path for fulfilling enlightenment. It also seems that many religions tie celibacy very closely to enlightenment. But does becoming a monk and pursuing Buddhism full time lead to enlightenment in actuality? Or does it just increase your chances? I know it would make celibacy easier, but is there really a purpose to all that? They say desire is the root of suffering. Is there more suffering in this life that is outweighs the positives? This leads to deeper questions like what is the purpose of life? Is it just to procreate? Can one find peaceful/enlightened states while procreating? Is this 10 day silent retreat (Vipassana) just a way of forgetting these animalistic urges short-term? Or does is lead to a powerful new technique for developing mental stillness while overcoming the rigors of everyday society? I recently picked up the Bhagavad Gita due to suggestions by Indian spiritual readings and I found it saying that we are nothing and everything at the same time. It doesn't seem like procreating or even having intercourse embodies this philosophy. The texts goes so far as to say we shouldn't take part in worldly pleasures. Yet, I have also read that the Hindu gods rejoice in sexual intercourse and even embrace it for marriage and with multiple partners. This leads to a word that has been on my mind many a day lately and that's the subject of lust. Lust to me is what I find in a partner. And isn't love the way we are suppose to feel for all other humans? I have a partner, but my animalistic instincts direct me away from having just one partner. And that brings me to my point of if having a partner is even good in the first place. I feel in every day society and partner life/attachment, at least moving out to a semi secluded area down the road would be the most logical. That way I would not have to deal with the ongoing issue of lusting for the opposite sex. Thoughts? Warmly, Chi Boy

Vedanta philosophy is an Indian Philosophy from the end portions of the Vedas. Vedanta also means the ultimate knowledge or End of knowledge since there is nothing more beyond it to learn in life. What is that knowing which there is nothing else to be learned? Being born as human beings, it is the prerogative of every individual to know what is the purpose of life and what is that which is the source and cause of their life. In Vedanta we know it as the Supreme Self or God or Divinity or Truth, which is the enlivening principle, the very source, cause and support of life in all living beings. The purpose of life is explained as achieving Self Realization or achieving God consciousness. How does spirituality help us in life? Spirituality or Vedanta is primarily about rediscovering our original true identity of Divinity or Supreme self or Godhead within and giving up our false and wrong identification with the Body, Mind, Intellect and Ego. All our lifetime we waste our life in extroversion believing that we are merely the limited restricted beings of Body, mind, Intellect and Ego due to our ignorance of the Supreme Self. Vedanta clears this ignorance and lets us lead a meaningful life of spiritual enlightenment and material prosperity as well. Spirituality helps us lead a principled life of self discipline and righteousness. Spirituality or Vedanta aids in developing an awareness of the various personality layers, subtle faculties and also help us with spiritual practices to achieve the ultimate purpose of human life and human existence called Self Realization. What other benefits do we gain by spirituality or study of Vedanta? Vedanta gives incisive insights into the truth and realities of life. It develops noble qualities like self control or control of the senses, objectivity, self sufficiency, humility, non hatred towards all the beings of the world, forgiveness, Dexterity, cleanliness, etc. Above everything it renders the personality with clarity in thinking, free from egoism and desires of the Mind for sensuality and materialistic pursuits. By this, the individual leads a life of duty consciousness, selfless service, sacrifice, universal love, proper discrimination that helps develop and practice good sense of values along with appropriate sense of proportion. The result of all these is that the individual leads well balanced life of equipoise, mental equanimity, perfect judgement, unbiased and impartial outlook towards life and enjoys playing his / her own different roles in life with perfect harmony with laws and designs of Divine Providence and Mother nature. Such a life alone is purposeful

What is the book that lead to a change into your perspective of life and taught you lessons or practices that helped you in your journey? For me, it was: The power of now and practicing the power of now by Eckhart tolle. It taught me about mindfulness and the present moment and how to be aware in my life.

In the last week, things were going wrong or at least not going in the way that the people desire. Stuff happening to me and to others i know, in a weird way. I usually see the relationship of cause and effect among things and can notice what my mind or the other person's mind was thinking or focusing on, that lead to an event to happen. but seems like these sudden events and situations are just appearing out of nowhere sometimes. even tho. i tried to look for the resistance, aversion or craving that lead to such events to happen, was kinda hard to see. maybe it is my mind state that is cluttered or something. letting go of looking for the reason, i was wondering how to solve the events or issues that appeared suddenly into my journey? I m trying not to resist and go with the flow and allow things to be and just be still and optimistic. even tho I did notice a change in the flow and change in the outcome of the events but it seems it is fluctuating and not maintain the desired outcome or less undesired outcome to stay. It is kind of a crucial and critical event that is happening and that is why i m asking for help. Thank you ! <3

‪What does it mean to be in a land that never ends? This question seeped into my thoughts when I was writing an anthology of poetry, Evolutionary Nothingness Vol.1. I tried to understand the nothingness as something that does not exist, or a place in the mind that never ends. ‪An extension of thoughts that are so strong, they become pieces of you, resembling vivid emotions. Read more here: https://medium.com/@leonbasin/the-neverland-9fd31a6e4921#.ijo804lzy

We've all heard the term "Compulsive lier", "Compulsive drinker", and "Compulsive Eater". Any habit that we develop which becomes so engrained in us that we are no longer free and thus our past karma or programming is allowed to repeat itself over and over again without conscious thought on our part. I was thinking about this recently and its relations to the spiritual path, specifically relating to ascension. Specifically for men, the most powerful form of compulsive behavior that we have is our desire for procreation. From an energetic standpoint this is the sinking of vital force into the loins, a sensation most our readily familiar with. This is plain knowledge amongst most male practitioners and its a form of compulsiveness that we strive to bring awareness too in order to harness that energy for cultivation. However, something that i have noticed within myself and other male cultivators is that there is an equally powerful compulsive behavior that can take hold of our lives and that can blind us from the true joy of living: Mysticism By Mysticism i am referring internally to the opposite of compulsive procreation. I am referring to the opposite of the sinking of energy into the loins, but the shooting of chi up to the crown and beyond. Generally this is considered very beneficial as it is a very powerful and primal drive which pushes us to surmount all obstacles to our dissolution into nothingness. The desire for sex is fundamentally a drive to "Create" and the desire for ascension is fundamentally for "Dissolution". My purpose in writing this post is to make the subtle point that both of these energetic pathways within the body are potentially compulsive and limiting behavior. They both can potentially take you away from experiencing life as fully and as joyfully as possible. Any compulsive or unconscious behavior whether its for creation or dissolution is IME antithetical to what i feel is spiritual maturity. Each pathway has its time and place and it is best to understand both, yet remain centered in the heart. These are my thoughts as of late. Would like to hear your thoughts and feelings on this as well. Hope this post is useful to many. Blessings

This is something I wanted to share from my blog. The original post is here: http://adifferentpath.blog.com/2014/04/13/apparent-reality-vs-reality/ I am reading Adyashanti’s “Falling Into Grace” and at first this text was really speaking to me. But then the author started talking about “accepting what is” and how some things are “immovable and unchangeable.” I disagree, 100%, with this belief. I can easily demonstrate why. All around me are walls and windows. Someone like Adyashanti may say that the reality is that these objects are solid. You can’t go through a closed window or a wall. That is reality. But this is a false statement. There is another reality, that the windows and the walls are made of particles and space. That these particles vibrate at a certain frequency, and this is the same frequency my physical form vibrates at. As a result my hand won’t go through a wall because of this vibration. But there is also yet another reality, that I can affect my body with my mind, so if I could affect the vibrational rate of my body, then I could, theoretically, walk right through a wall or a closed window. All these “realities” are really only “apparent realities.” Accepting the “reality” of the solidity of closed windows and walls is not really accepting reality. It is accepting a belief about reality. That such things are solid. In truth nothing is immovable or unchangeable, or else it would be perfect. Another author said it best, something along the lines of, “It is only real if it never changes.” I think it is as foolish to accept an unwanted apparent reality as it would be to fight against it. In fighting what appears to be real we are, in essence, giving it power over us. We are making it more real for us. But in accepting it as real we give it the same power. We never challenge it. By letting things be as they are we are essentially saying that is is OK for these things to be the way they are, when maybe it is not OK. If we are going to accept, admit and allow we should accept, admit and allow everything, including when something is not OK. A Buddhist monk who sits there as someone prepares to shoot them or cut them in half with a sword because that is the reality of the situation is foolish. They are not giving value to either their life or the life of the one about to perpetuate the act, as every action has a consequence, and murder has a consequence in the life of someone who commits it. The monk should defend themselves or run off. Because it is only an apparent reality that they are about to be killed. As they aren’t dead yet, it is not real. They have just as much chance to escape, or win their freedom, as they do of being killed. The apparent reality in our American cities is that here are many homeless people. It is foolish for us to simply accept that and say, “Oh well, that’s just how things are.” No, the truth is that this is how you believe things are, and how other people in society believe things are, but this is not the reality, only a collective belief in an apparent reality. Going out there to feed and clothe the homeless also enforces the apparent reality of homelessness. Because the energy of service draws more service to it, so in truth you create more homelessness by serving the homeless. Also fighting against homeless, trying to remove them from the streets, will only give the apparent reality of homelessness more power. I think what we have to do here, in this example, is accept the apparent reality of homeless, but not in any way invests belief energy into this state. We acknowledge it appears to be real, that homeless people have come into our sphere of awareness. Then I think the next step is to look inside ourselves. What is being reflected to us outside is showing us something wrong inside, inside each of us individually and inside society collectively. Addressing whatever it is that is allowing homelessness to appear is how to address the issue of homelessness. Our beliefs about apparent reality that we actually believe are reality, our beliefs about society, our beliefs about the individual’s place in society – these are where the issue of homelessness has been given birth, and until we address this, no matter how much we serve the homeless or throw them off our street homelessness will continue to appear. It points to a flaw in society itself. Exactly as sap coming from a sawn limb points to an injury in the tree, or blood coming form a wound points to an injury in the body. In the case of our Buddhist monk, an even better tactic of non-resistance is to not even resist the bullet or sword blade! Really! The only way a bullet can pierce or a sword blade can cut is because of our beliefs in what bullets and sword blades can do. These beliefs are reflected in our bodies. We believe the bullet can hurt us, we believe the sword blade can hurt us, so these things can hurt us. But remember, this us apparent reality. It seems to be enforced by all we know about the world around us. But it is not true reality. In truth the monk can make his body non-resistant to bullets and blades, so that both would simply pass through, leaving them unaffected. It only requires mental training of the ability to use one’s mind to change the vibrational state of the body. Monks are already most of the way there. They have exceptional mental clarity. In some cases they have exceptional body control. This is just the next step in the natural progress of their training. It is not about defying reality. It is about defying apparent reality. This is done without any kind of seeking, including the seeking of control, and any kind of struggling. You accept what appears to be real, but you also know, with every fiber of your being, that it is only apparently real, that it is not necessarily what is truly real. You become non-resistant to apparent reality, but in this acceptance and non-resistance you still challenge it. You test it. You ask, is this really real, or is it only apparently real? Do I really know for sure that I can’t walk through this wall or allow the blade to go through me? You can’t honestly say you know this for sure. You can’t honestly say that you have learned everything you need to learn to walk through a wall or allow a blade to pass through you. You can’t honestly say you know everything you need to know. You can’t honestly say you have tried everything there is to try. You can’t honestly say you are no longer investing belief energy into apparent reality somewhere. You may still have deeply ingrained beliefs about apparent reality from society, your family or your culture. An example is needed here, and we will use the Bible, which may be a fable, or may be false, but for now we will assume that all accounts are true and that there is hidden ,meaning we may not have uncovered yet. Jesus stepped out of a boat and onto the surface of lake or sea, during a storm. He walked on water! The apparent reality is that water is not solid, that you will sink, and when one of his disciples tried it, they started to sink. For a moment they stood on the water as they forgot apparent reality, seeing Jesus out there, walking around, but then their beliefs about apparent reality, literally, began to sink in! But Jesus invested no energy in apparent reality. He did not fight the water or the waves. He probably did not fight opposing beliefs. He probably accepted everything, allowed everything, but invested no energy at all into apparent reality. So he stepped out and walked on water. If Jesus could walk on water, we can too. We can walk through walls and let blades pass through us. We simply have to invest our belief energy into knowing, having faith, we can, rather than in the apparent reality that we can’t. Everything Jesus did, everything Buddha did, we can do, and more, without exception. We are limited only by our beliefs. Our thoughts do affect reality, but not directly. First we have a thought, then we choose to believe in that thought or not, then if we have chosen to believe in it the thought it affects our perception of reality. Jesus probably had a thought such as, “water is not solid, you can’t walk on that, everyone knows that!” but he chose not to believe in it. He chose another thought, probably something like, “Through my father I can do anything, even walk on water.” He believed that thought and stepped out, knowing that the water was a surface he could walk on, and as a result he was able to walk on water. It was not a miracle. It was just a different thought, belief and perception. A teacher like Adyashanti seems to be saying, unless I am misunderstanding him, that we are powerless. That there are things we can’t change, that we can’t control. I say that is absolute bullshit. I say that seeking to control and change things will lead to suffering, same as any seeking, and in that aspect he is correct. I say that accepting apparent reality (and it is all apparent reality at this stage, because it is always changing, all the time) is as foolish as struggling against it. Both approaches give apparent reality power, and take it away from you. I say that you are not powerless, that you can control and change things. But you don’t do it through seeking or struggle. You change things by seeing them as they appear to be, as they present themselves to you, and then simply choosing not to invest your energy there anymore. Whatever the truth, you have an energy in you that is the same energy in everyone else and the whole of creation. You can interact with that energy using your thoughts, solidify that energy using your beliefs, and through your perception experience that energy in any way you wish. Here is an even simpler, parting example… Someone comes up to you and spits in your face. You have a thought about this experience. From these thoughts you choose what to believe and that determines your response. If in your culture it is an honor to be spat upon, you have a though that this is an honor, and you smile and say thank you. If you are a descendent of Irish settlers in South Bronx you have a thought that this asshole is insulting you, and you punch him into next week. If you smile at all it’s to show all your teeth in a threatening gesture. If you are a Buddhist Monk you will probably have the same thought as the Irishman, but will still smile lovingly at the person who spat on you. In this example, whatever you chose to do, you had a choice of action. Thoughts came, you chose which ones to grab onto and then you choose to invest energy into the corresponding belief. That belief, in turn, had a direct effect on your perception of reality. You chose to be honored, insulted, or to simply accept it as what is. You determine what is real for you, which is in fact only an apparent reality. This is your power,, to choose what beliefs you will put energy into, and this will directly affect your experience of apparent reality through your perception of it.

There have been so many beliefs I had to let go of from my former Christian faith. Some of these, such as the concept of sin, have been a relief. As I progressed along my spiritual path I found other beliefs that empowered me, such as the concept that my thoughts create my reality. In other words, the world I experience is a reflection of my thoughts. But now I am faced with the possibility that this belief too, may be wrong. As a Christian it was all about God. If it's God's will. In God's time. It was such a relief to be out from under the thumb of some all-powerful eternal entity outside myself, who seemed to have the same ego-driven impulses as the human race He created. Judgment, punishment, allowing Job to be tormented. And Heaven was not the perfect place I was brought up to believe it was. How could it be, if Lucifer and 1/3 of the angels fell from it? Where could sin come from in a perfect place? Why would I want to spend eternity in one place anyway? I mean I no longer have a physical body. So I don't need to eat, I don't need money, I can go wherever I want. A grand adventure awaits me! These realizations helped me work through the threat of eternal damnation, something I had to struggle with when I renounced my faith. I turned my back on that belief, and all other organized religions. I decided instead to learn from the teachings of each religion whatever I needed to learn. After all I went through all that, and my experience with the tulpa I believe I created and had to disconnect myself from, I thought my struggle was over. I was actually feeling peaceful, serene, calm. Anger and depression no longer had the hold on me they once had. I was able to smile and laugh more often, when before I smiled and laughed rarely. This concept that I create my reality with my thoughts opened up the world for me. It did not matter to me that I did not have the power on a physical level to challenge or change the things in the world that bothered me. I knew I could change my thinking about them, stop investing belief energy into the reality these happenings proposed, and thereby remove all power from them. I could, just by addressing how I thought about things, change the world. At the same time I could come to what I now called the Source, a general-purpose name for what I used to call God that I adopted, about anything and everything. The Source, unlike God, had no ego. I simply could not bother it with my requests as it is eternally and perfectly loving and creative. All I had to figure out is how to access that power to manifest the things I wanted in my life and the world. How to properly ask for things, or pray. Kinda like figuring out what plug would fit this socket. If I could do that, I could do anything I wanted and be anything I wanted. But then I started reading things that told me that the creation part was finished. Everything was pretty much set in stone. I could not heal myself or others. I could only Treat them, by not focusing on the person or the dis-ease but on the nature of God. It was God that did all the work. At this level of my spiritual growth I could accept God and Source as different names for the same thing. God is not at all, in my mind, what He was when I was a Christian. Now God is more of an It, an energy, as I started. So when I use God from this point on, outside of the reference to my former faith, I am still referring to this new concept I have of this entity, which I also call Source. Anyhow up to this point Jesus, as detailed in the New Testament, became a sort of a role model for me. Now that I was no longer a Christian there was more freedom in studying the Bible. With other things I had read I could see this book differently now. I could see Jesus as a man who figured out how to plug in. I thought if Jesus could do it, so could I. We are both children of God afterall. We are both connected to or one with God. I am still struggling with this oneness thing. This essentially made me feel that I could live a life without limitation. All my life I had been limited by my circumstances, beliefs, thoughts. I had never been a powerful or wealthy person. All of a sudden it seemed as if I could experience what that would be like, to have the power in me to heal, transport myself anywhere in the world, fly, take control of my dreams, astral project and explore the energetic realms of the afterlife. I thought I could do anything. I was flying high, then the plane stalled. Now once again I was being told I was wrong. My beliefs were wrong. I can not control things. I can not create my reality. My thoughts do not create my reality. I do not do the miracles. There is nothing I can do. The world is set in stone, creation is finished. Even though what I, and the rest of humanity, call reality is not how things really are, how things really are can't be changed, so what would be the point in knowing the Truth of reality? I guess I though if I knew the Truth, I would then know how to do the things I wanted to do, or how to become what I wanted to be. Essentially everything now is hopeless. My life has no purpose. I have no idea what my dream may be. Even if I were to see reality as it really is, I can't change anything. Reality is set, my course is set, I have the illusion of free will, of the ability to do anything I put my mind to, but these are as illusory as what I think of as reality itself. On top of that there seems to be no way to really know the Truth. Everyone has different definitions, who knows which one is right? I have to hear my parents constantly saying that the world is coming to an end, the second coming a big part of the Christian faith. I also read in text after text that the purpose of my life is to serve, which I know is a pile of bullshit. So that just adds to the depression energy I feel. All day, every day. It is no wonder that I finally got sick in my physical body. It is a reflection of my inner state, in serious dis-ease, I am sure. So now I have to ask, if everything is set in stone, then what is the reason to keep going? I can only come up with one. Illusory or not, there is a big world out there, and the Big Sur has stuck in my mind, so I guess I am going to have to ignore reason, free my intuition, step out in faith, with no guarantees I will even have a place to sleep, clothes on my body, or food in my belly, and go. I will have to lay my son on the alter, so-to-speak, the comforts of living here. I am blessed with a roof over my head, clothes and food. But I am starving spiritually, and if all my life were to be was living here, I would kill my physical body right now and free myself without hesitation. I need to let this go, get rid of unreasonable reason, and act solely on intuition. I know this is a major area in my life I must address. But how do I deal with this desire to have some measure of control or power, which I have never had, my whole life? I will have even less when I am hiking or biking down the coast. No safety, no security. No assurance that even if my inner landscape is at peace, and I am thinking nothing but loving thoughts, that I will even survive on the way down there, or if I get down there, once I am there. I mean if my thoughts do not create my reality, I certainly can't create a realty of getting along with everyone I meet, can I? If things are set in stone, if fate or destiny or karma rule, then I am powerless to insure a pleasant experience for myself. If I can't think good thoughts about what will happen, and the people I will meet, and expect that to be the reflection I see out in the world, then I am at the mercy of the whims of some design already set in place. The script is written, so-to-speak. I only think I can ad-lib. Once again I am left without answers, without even the faith I once had that if I just thought correctly about my circumstances and the people I meet, that I would be safe. I know I need to deal with the things driving my need for control, power and magic. I will use the word magic to describe acts that most people do not do. Walking through walls, teleportation, flying, healing. Maybe miracles is a better word. But I have always thought of this as magic. That this world is plain and dull without magic. Without wonder, a sense of wonder, without amazing things. Not that life in its many forms on this planet is not amazing. But a beautiful bird that can fly is nothing to a human who is flying, with no wings, devices or anything other than simply having figured out how to supersede the concept of the law of gravity. I need to figure out the roots of these desires and address them. But I am tried of this letting go. I am weary of it. Every time it has hurt and taken me a long time to recover, and I still have not recovered fully. I am hurt and tired. I don't believe oneness with God is any more of a desirable future than Heaven or reincarnation. I question the things I have been reading. I wonder what the Truth really is. I wonder if things have to be so hard. If I have to go through all this shit just to finally, someday, when I am 90 years old and have little time left physically to enjoy it, be able to do the things I have always wanted to do and be the person I want to be. I am not even sure who that is. Someone who is doing whatever they love to do, that thing they loose track of time doing, that thing they get lost in. I guess I want to live that life, and I want to live a life without limitations. I am tired of limitations, restrictions and rules. I want to live an unlimited life, doing what I love doing. If I am going to have a dream that is it. If this is an impossible dream to attain in a reasonable amount of physical time I guess I had better just kill myself and be done with it. There would literally be no point in living if I can't have that life. Or at the very least a life where I am doing what I love to do, and I have figured out how to access, channel or work with the Source to keep my own physical body healthy and manifest needed things. I guess now I want to see what others think. If you have a point of view I would appreciate it if you expounded on it. I remember in a previous thread that someone said my thoughts do not create my reality. They never explained why they said that. I seek understanding here, and if it is available, confirmation. I seek the Truth, whatever that is and however painful it may be. The true Truth too, not the Truth according to your religion. The Truth that has been proven to be experientially true by someone with many years experience on their own spiritual path. I am feeling a little lost and directionless right now. I have hacked my way through the dense jungle of various spiritual teachings and am now standing here, unsure of where I should go next. Please point me in the right direction if you can.

With his forty five years of experience, Shifu Hayashi (Christopher Goedecke) explains the spiritual nature and the transformative process of the Martial Ways in the Mindfulness Tradition of the ancient lineage masters in this 3 part interview. I know everybody on the Way will find wonderful relevance in this interview. -Tom

Is there a significance we cannot measure? Is there a meaning that does not fall victim to the thoughts that compose us? Can we identify without clinging? Can we identify without anything? Do not all currents of the mind eventually subjectify? Do not all currents of the mind eventually die? Do not all streams of belief, meaning, and significance through the passage of time become unbelievable, meaningless, and insignificant? What then remains? What then.

You people have got me thinking about 'Salvation' lately. What does it mean to be 'saved' ?. I hear alot of 'Christian' people tell me Jesus saves but they give no explanation other than needing 'faith'. I know of (Chrisitan) masters that can assist people towards salvation after they have passed on. I know of the buddhist deal with repect to ending the cyle of death/rebirth - i.e. I believe its getting to at least the 4th plane in waking life and making your way from there. So, to me, is seems that merely becoming aware of where to go after death enables you to get there after death. But, if you cant become aware of those realms that exisit in the after life, Jesus/Christ is a good fallback plan for helping you to get there. Now, I notice from experience, that its almost impossible to move from lower planes to higher planes on your own. Just by 'willing' ascension through your own effort on the other side seems impossible (but maybe not improbable). The question then arises, can you ever know for sure that you are guaranteed to reach heaven or break the cycle of death/rebirth while in waking life ? Is it just a matter becoming aware of where to go or does one require assistance of some sort ie., help from the other side or help from a conscious master on this side ? Incidentally, I recall a youtube video of one guy who was taken to a plane of existance 'a hell' as he describes it and could not, by any effort of his own, get himself out of it. He was fully conscious and the experience was very real. This one was a Christian based story by the way.

If you had only one day to live, what advice or life lesson would you give your daughter/son or loved one? Assuming that you know you are going to die. Mine would be in no particular order; 1) The golden rule. Treat others as you would like to be treated. 2) Masleows hierarchy of needs 3) If you live in the past, you wil be depressed. If you live in the future, you will be anxious. If you live in the present, you will be at peace. Any constructive thoughts on the above?

God, Nature, The Universe, The Earth, Life, Mind, Human History, Worldwide Flood Myths Ultimate Greatest Thread Ever Made. Bar None. Chinese character for Qi- vapors rising Vapor and rice together Here is a quote about Chinese Medicine and Martial Arts- Connection to the earth. Center of gravity. For sweeping the sweep digs a trench into the earth. The hips are like pendulums, connected to the ground Video showing a little bit of internal energy Anyways, that's one article I found interesting. Throughout history, teachers would teach mankind through oracles such as the I Ching to teach about oneness. About how everything is vibration , and octaves. Galaxies, stars, planets, moons, humans, light, matter, vapor, sound. The kings and emperors had no problem with this as long as they could become immortal, lead be turned to gold, or if their futures could be predicted. Wuji- the formless, shapeless, nebulous, great void, before creation Taiji- the beginning of creation, experience, companionship, and duality, Yang and Yin turning around and eternally alternating giving birth to thousands of things within certain planes in the universe. Yang, one extreme pole- Yin the other extreme pole- One of the representations of Yin and Yang, is Water and Fire SmallYang-BigYang-BigYin-SmallYin- There are many meanings, including Summer, Autumn, Winter, and Spring