Archaic17 Posted September 16, 2009 hi my names brandon im 18 you see my main goal in this life is to learn the full potential of my human mind and body and i feel i can learn this from taoism... maby not all of it but a good chunk.. i want to learn chi-kung and nei-kung taoism is for health and longevity and stilling the mind... i can use the stilling of the mind but will the rest really help me along my path.? i wish to learn to do things with my mind that the ancients long before us knew... when the time come ill be ready to devote myself to it forever if thats what it takes... martial arts are also a goal of mine... i dont want to live in this mind controling society of america and be a working slave to money day in and day out.. honesty.... i just want to run away to the himalayas and become enlightend... if i could do that i would in a heart beat.. i would leave all this BS behind and take that chance and find out who i really am... i became a taoist follower because it made the most sense to me, and above all else i seek wisdom taoism seems so ideal and perfect for me but i am wrong? this is a serious question... please i am finally opening up myself...to people i dont even know but to people with hopefully like interests... please respond kindfully and helpfuly thank u very much Brandon Pearson aka Archaic. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freeform Posted September 16, 2009 Hi Brandon, Welcome. It sounds like you've got some great ideals. Taoism is very practical - it's about experiencing the divine within the mundane. Taoism isn't about running away from anything, it's about discovering where you are right now. My greatest advice is just go for it - do something - don't take your thoughts too seriously. Do some qi gong - practice it and enjoy the opportunities you have as a young man. Don't get stuck in idealism, in thoughts and dreams - of what could be, of what you want or need, thoughts like this draw you in and entertain you, but as soon as you start giving them too much importance they start to rule your life. So yes - you've chosen the right path... in fact you really had no choice in the first place (don't ask! lol)... but your idea of what this path is, is not the path itself - so get off the idea and get on the path. Find a teacher and get stuck into it. and enjoy! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Trunk Posted September 16, 2009 Taoism has some really valuable material, and you'll find - as the years go by - that the fundamental principles that you learn on one path are present on all others. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ryan T. Posted September 16, 2009 As long as you are always learning and moving forward on the path you can be on the right path. Keep in mind the path is rarely straight and has many forks to choose from. As far as your learning goes, martial arts are great as are chi-kung/nei-kung. I personally think more "Western" -style learning such as anatomy and physiology(to learn about actual functioning of the human body, very handy in the martial arts), psychology(to better understand your mind and the minds of those around you) and mathematics(another way to look at the world). A person can learn much from whatever they focus on as it relates to the "Way". A book you may want to look at is Scholar Warrior by Deng Ming-dao. It outlines the path you write of above in more elaborate detail. Regarding the "running away to the mountains" idea, remember "the stillness in stillness is not the true stillness." How enlightened can one really be if they choose to hide away from the world. There is, of course, a time and a place for seclusion and isolation but one should not think this is necessarily the way of enlightened beings. Good luck on your journey! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
33865_1494798762 Posted September 16, 2009 (edited) hi my names brandon im 18 you see my main goal in this life is to learn the full potential of my human mind and body and i feel i can learn this from taoism... maby not all of it but a good chunk.. i want to learn chi-kung and nei-kung taoism is for health and longevity and stilling the mind... i can use the stilling of the mind but will the rest really help me along my path.? i wish to learn to do things with my mind that the ancients long before us knew... when the time come ill be ready to devote myself to it forever if thats what it takes... martial arts are also a goal of mine... i dont want to live in this mind controling society of america and be a working slave to money day in and day out.. honesty.... i just want to run away to the himalayas and become enlightend... if i could do that i would in a heart beat.. i would leave all this BS behind and take that chance and find out who i really am... i became a taoist follower because it made the most sense to me, and above all else i seek wisdom taoism seems so ideal and perfect for me but i am wrong? this is a serious question... please i am finally opening up myself...to people i dont even know but to people with hopefully like interests... please respond kindfully and helpfuly thank u very much Brandon Pearson aka Archaic. I was just about to mail something very thoughtfull,... but then something strange happend: On the street below my window, a whole kindergarden class just passed by. They all cried and scremed highly engaged: "hundelort" (dog poo - in danish), hundelort, hundelort, hundelort,.. 1008 times "oh, and there is an other hundelort!", "and yet an other one!","One more,...!","I see one!" "- Hundelort, hundelort" they kept going. Imagien that, 38 kids or so singing like that in hight pittch! LOL Edited September 16, 2009 by Guest Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
33865_1494798762 Posted September 16, 2009 (edited) hi my names brandon im 18 you see my main goal in this life is to learn the full potential of my human mind and body and i feel i can learn this from taoism... maby not all of it but a good chunk.. i want to learn chi-kung and nei-kung taoism is for health and longevity and stilling the mind... i can use the stilling of the mind but will the rest really help me along my path.? i wish to learn to do things with my mind that the ancients long before us knew... when the time come ill be ready to devote myself to it forever if thats what it takes... martial arts are also a goal of mine... i dont want to live in this mind controling society of america and be a working slave to money day in and day out.. honesty.... i just want to run away to the himalayas and become enlightend... if i could do that i would in a heart beat.. i would leave all this BS behind and take that chance and find out who i really am... i became a taoist follower because it made the most sense to me, and above all else i seek wisdom taoism seems so ideal and perfect for me but i am wrong? this is a serious question... please i am finally opening up myself...to people i dont even know but to people with hopefully like interests... please respond kindfully and helpfuly thank u very much Brandon Pearson aka Archaic. Your main goal in this life is to learn the full potential of your human mind and body - wonderful To do so you don't need a path. Path is mind, it's the past experiences, thoughts, the collective memory and it's is your only tool to recognise anything with, you have no alternative. But, what we are is in fact always new, there is no original you to recognise. Mind will never understand life. Maybe your are just afraid of being you, maybe you rather like to be recognized as someone instead of being you. A goal is only an idea set in that past, that is why a path only leads us back to that very idea. What a tragedy. And any path will do, they are no different from each other. In fact when we set a goal we have already accomplished it. I would reconcider, othervise I think your qust is chanceless, however with out a goal, there is a good chance you will be able to express that what you truly are - surrender to that what so ever. You may not recognise it but we will, trust that. Edited September 16, 2009 by Guest Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
markern Posted September 16, 2009 Maybe check out michale lomax stilness movment system and do a workshop with him. It seems like it is a very good taoist system and he seems like a great teacher. KAP is another great system several here practice and it has a lot of taoist stuff in it but is not a "pure" taoist system as such. Anyway, if you choose a ssytem like on of those that are realy powerfull and spend an hour and half each day on them you will not have to leave society to get enlightened because they are quick. They will also gain you healing powers:) You can still live in america and be just like "the ancients" but you would participate in america in a different way. Maybe find a straight forward job aimed at helping people and that gives you enough time to practice on your spare time. Become a country doctor or veterenarian. More then enough stilness in rural america. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
33865_1494798762 Posted September 16, 2009 (edited) hmm.... I'm not so sure I agree with this advice. All my life I never had a "Path". So much so my family sometimes complain I never amounted to anything either professionally or personally. My BF agrees with them. I think they might be right as I'm now trying to rebuild it. For me being "Pathless" crippled my life, not added monkey-mind distraction stories to it. A Path can be useful in traversing life. Furthermore it can be flexible while still providing a guiding light. Once you reach Wu Wei the path can be dropped. But unless one is some highly realized wu-wei Taoist Immortal I think most people - especially young people - would find a path helpful, not a hindrance. To use a metaphor - in learning to draw it is helpful to learn things like perspective, notan, color theory, etc. Once that Path is mastered it can then be used or discarded as needed to bring one's life to a higher 'realization' or into 'wu wei'. Yes, it is a self-fulfilling act, please continue. It's perfectly normal but only statistically are we sane. In reality, knowledge kills the question, and since "I" only is a question, setting an goal (The goal being knowledge) for "I" will turn us into the walking dead. Listen to this funny guy John Lloyd - inventories the invisible Great fun, I however do not agree entirely with Mr. John Lloyd though. Please watch! By the way, speaking of drawing. One day when my elder brother was about three years old, we went by car and we passed a tower. Some hour later, back home he had drawn that tower, not only in perspektive from different angels but also as what it looked like from within. He was correct all the way even in details. The senses and it's extended media, pen and paper will teach us to remember, al it takes of is a need to remember. Schools and traditions want us all to be usefull to the elite, by making us remember the same, in the exact same way. Edited September 16, 2009 by Guest Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Encephalon Posted September 16, 2009 Huh? Ditto. Huh? Scholar Warrior by Deng Ming-Dao is the absolute essential book for starting out. I own all his works except the latest. Ming-Dao offers westerners a deep insight into Taoist principles and practices. In my opinion, too many folks leap into ancient texts and suffer the plight of misinterpretation of abstract Chinese thought. People begin to whack each other over the head with quotes from the I Ching or the Tao te Ching, just as Bible thumpers try to assault others with Biblical references taken entirely out of context. If someone would have introduced me to the subject of the Microcosmic Orbit at the beginning, I would have avoided many false starts and dead ends. Scholar Warrior will do this for you and you can get a copy at Amazon for $3. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
33865_1494798762 Posted September 16, 2009 (edited) Huh? When we are confused or in one way or an other disturbed, we can benefit from the small setback it is to set a goal. It is to calculate our failures and make the least of them. This setback will provide us with a clearer picture and maybe we can correct our mistakes. At least it is better to stop, or even take a step back than to continue hurting our self, but the setback- the goal it selv, will never, ever producese something of value, it is not a solution at all. Edited September 16, 2009 by Guest Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
33865_1494798762 Posted September 16, 2009 (edited) Uh...maybe I'm not understanding what you are trying to get at because as of now...from reading over your explanations...I don't agree with that statement or that life philosophy. If goals "never, ever producese" anything of value then by definition it loses its function and purpose. You can and will drift in life and think you are being fabulously Wu Wei all the time. Thing is...unless you are already a Taoist Immortal or Buddha I think following that explanation does more harm than good when it comes to practical, get-down-to-brass-tacks-advice to hand out to people. Even Buddhas and Taoist Immortals had to travel the road of goals (Noble Eightfold Path, anyone?). But then it may be that I've not understood what you are saying. It wouldn't be the first time that's happened. Your statement on drifting is based on the assumption of an existing goal. Anything will be experienced as drifting, when a goal - a reference point is set. It is exactly as solid and firm as you, because it is you. The goal must be known, right!? (Y/N?) other vise we have no way of putting it in front of us, correct!?) The known can only be from the past because it's based on an experience, it is only a memory of something successful, that already took place, hmmm!? It's a reference point, a thought. It is not real, it has no energy. But if it's known, there is no reason to set up for it. It will lead you nowhere, call it walking backwards or in circles, it is just poetry. There is no reason to do anything! Because you know it already, the you (identification) contain it - you believe you are it, no? So you say it has value and with out it you are lost (or whatever:) - I ask: - How can you know that? (Maybe you have a memory of being fooled by a goal, that ones promised you stuff it perhaps never revealed?) The life creation is never copying, it's only producing new stuff. We are that life in fact, we are nothing but new stuff Only our perception of reality can and will be copied - not the matter it self. or to make it sound ancient: - How can you eat when you are full? You will have to wait or puke to conteniue. You see, the goal is the mother of all your problems! Edited September 16, 2009 by Guest Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JustARandomPanda Posted September 16, 2009 Uh... Can someone translate the above post. I am thoroughly lost by it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
33865_1494798762 Posted September 16, 2009 (edited) I would love to - Which part? Please take into account, English is not my mother language, I might use wrong words, wrong spelling, etc. Edited September 18, 2009 by Guest Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mYTHmAKER Posted September 17, 2009 hi my names brandon im 18 i just want to run away to the himalayas and become enlightend... if i could do that i would in a heart beat.. i would leave all this BS behind and take that chance and find out who i really am... One can't run away from ones self. "Where ever you go there you are" Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
goldisheavy Posted September 17, 2009 hi my names brandon im 18 When I was 18 I couldn't even think like that. Consider yourself fortunate. you see my main goal in this life is to learn the full potential of my human mind and body and i feel i can learn this from taoism... maby not all of it but a good chunk.. I think you are right. As long as you refrain from becoming a dogmatist, and approach wisdom with an open mind, I think you can find a lot of what you want by studying various Taoist teachings and methods and by applying them every day. However, there is wisdom in all kinds of traditions and many non-traditional approaches also have wisdom in them. To direct your mind only toward Taoism to the detriment of examining other alternatives may be harmful for your goals. The mind and the powers of the mind are way beyond what any doctrine can teach. So to try to learn everything from just one small set of people is a mistake, in my opinion. However if you see it only as a "good chunk" and nothing more, then it's OK. i want to learn chi-kung and nei-kung taoism is for health and longevity and stilling the mind... i can use the stilling of the mind but will the rest really help me along my path.? i wish to learn to do things with my mind that the ancients long before us knew... when the time come ill be ready to devote myself to it forever if thats what it takes... martial arts are also a goal of mine... Do it. i dont want to live in this mind controling society of america and be a working slave to money day in and day out.. You and me, both. honesty.... i just want to run away to the himalayas and become enlightend... if i could do that i would in a heart beat.. i would leave all this BS behind and take that chance and find out who i really am... i became a taoist follower because it made the most sense to me, and above all else i seek wisdom taoism seems so ideal and perfect for me but i am wrong? this is a serious question... please i am finally opening up myself...to people i dont even know but to people with hopefully like interests... please respond kindfully and helpfuly thank u very much Brandon Pearson aka Archaic. I don't recommend running away. There is a good chance you will gain some wisdom from this twisted world if you examine and learn precisely the manner in which it is twisted and also learn how to deal with it constructively. It's OK to leave this world for some other world, but not because you're running away, not because you're afraid and cannot cope with it. This world needs courageous people who are not afraid to stand for change. You're pretty young though. I suggest you worry about your own wisdom and enlightenment until you're 30 or 35, and only then worry about changing the world. Take care of yourself first before you try to help the world. But at the same time, if you take care of yourself and then run away, it would be a big loss for this world. All these are just my opinions. I'm 35 and started serious spiritual/wisdom development around 20. If you like Taoism, I strongly recommend you read "Chuang Tzu: The Inner Chapters". If whatever Taoism you study doesn't match the spirit of Chuang Tzu, it is likely to be fake. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
33865_1494798762 Posted September 18, 2009 (edited) Edited September 18, 2009 by Guest Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
