The Tao of Dying

[sree]

Again, I question the metaphor..riding a tiger..are we really a moment from death every second, one slip and that's that? Not really, most of us will make it past our 60's, we may be a healthier bunch with most of hitting their 90's. Whether its a tiger, horse or tortoise, we're all getting off sometime.

 

I guess a taoist would say we ride an ox, I'd say horse. Its not getting off the horse that's so important(particularly if you only get off once). Its learning to ride well, making a friend of it and getting to where you want to go.

 

My friend, you sound quite content with your ride on whatever animal is under your crotch. I wish you a good landing.

[hydrogen]

So, what do you think is a good life then? I have been trying to figure that out too looking at an insect crawling in a glass jar. It kept walking round and round and up the jar only to fall back to the bottom where it went walking round and round again before going up and falling back to the bottom.

 

Your life has been lived over and over a zillion times in this glass jar of a reality. When is this insect going to wise up, stop figuring how to live a good life and look at me looking at it in the jar? Now, that would be one smart insect.

 

Who cares what the truth is. I prefer to pretending to be the favorite creation of God than thinking oneself a trapped bug inside a glass jar. I'd rather want to feel empowered than helpless, curious than dull, content than bitter sour.

 

Think about it.

 

If we're truly the creator of our own world, we build a free world. We win.

If we're truly the creator of our own world, we build a jar to imprison ourselves. We lose.

 

If we're truly a bug inside a jar. It doesn't matter what we do. We lose.

 

Without knowing the answe, only a very very stupid person thinks himself as a bug inside a jar or a thing on a tiger.

[gentlewind]

You know how to live but do you know how to die?

 

Even though life is a mystery - at least, to those who are still searching - you live it without any doubt as to who you are, with regards to your place in society, and where you are, in terms of geography on this planet.

 

One thing for certain is that your body is going to die and your sojourn in this reality will end. So, how does this fact govern the way you live? Do you live it like a pilot who flies an aeroplane and knows how to land it when the flight is over? Or do you live like a passenger who has no idea how to deal with it?

 

 

A few times a week I meditate on dying. I have inside knowledge due to my Near Death Experience at age 12. I also have a wacky sense of humor, and visualize myself bungy jumping from my physical body when it finally evicts me!

 

Fear of Life is behind a lot of my failures, such as fearing what other people think of me, which I'm well past now! But I have no fear of dying as it is simply the removal of this rented physical vehicle, in fact I am looking forward to returning Home; some folk say I'm almost too eager!

 

Also, due to cancer I have come very close to returning Home! 2003 almost saw me make it Home - a close scrape indeed! I have developed a dark sense of humor which my wife dislikes with a vengeance!

 

Namaste,

 

gentlewind

[sree]

A few times a week I meditate on dying. I have inside knowledge due to my Near Death Experience at age 12. I also have a wacky sense of humor, and visualize myself bungy jumping from my physical body when it finally evicts me!

 

What happened at 12?

 

Fear of Life is behind a lot of my failures, such as fearing what other people think of me, which I'm well past now! But I have no fear of dying as it is simply the removal of this rented physical vehicle, in fact I am looking forward to returning Home; some folk say I'm almost too eager!

 

Why are you afraid of life? And what is "Home" to you?

 

Also, due to cancer I have come very close to returning Home! 2003 almost saw me make it Home - a close scrape indeed! I have developed a dark sense of humor which my wife dislikes with a vengeance!

 

Your wife is a dependent; also, if you have been together for a long time, you are her life and she needs you to be alive.

 

What kind of cancer? I know some people who had cancer. They know it can come back but they are living their lives harder than me.

 

Namaste,

 

 

gentlewind

 

Are you from India?

[sree]

The idea of death was intellectual until a doc told me that I probably would die.

 

Are you still going to die or was that doctor wrong?

 

It intensified my everyday experience of life. Just like someone on this forum asked me once I started meditating "how long do you meditate, how much time do you spend in meditation"..both these two priceless discoveries have one thing in common. the idea of death and the death of action gave me more life in a shorter span. Both states were like a clean-up. Surplus shit was expelled. What makes it possible for an organism to tell, to organize? What is it about that black space? "Buddhist here buddhist there"..

 

How are you doing now? Are you bracing yourself for departure from this life?

[sree]

Who cares what the truth is. I prefer to pretending to be the favorite creation of God than thinking oneself a trapped bug inside a glass jar. I'd rather want to feel empowered than helpless, curious than dull, content than bitter sour.

 

Think about it.

 

A favorite creation of God is listed in Forbes list of billionaires.

 

If we're truly the creator of our own world, we build a free world. We win.

If we're truly the creator of our own world, we build a jar to imprison ourselves. We lose.

 

If we're truly a bug inside a jar. It doesn't matter what we do. We lose.

 

Without knowing the answe, only a very very stupid person thinks himself as a bug inside a jar or a thing on a tiger.

 

But you do know the answer. You are a bug in a jar.

[zanshin]

That billionaire seems more like a rat in a maze than a bug in a jar, but pretty similar analogies. That business motivational book about mice and cheese, boss put it in the staff bathroom, I recommend it for those who get constipated. Farm journal and tractor magazines are also good.

[sree]

Farm girl, you are down to earth, so let's cut out the crap. All things being equal, would you rather be a rat or a bug?

[DragonsNectar69k]

Hahaha. Almost forgot to post this. Woke up from a dream the other morning. I was in a hostage situation with a bunch of people. In my hand I held a chunk of bread. Before I woke up, I had heard a voice say "Were making a life for a chance to live, not a chance to die..." I then dropped the bread on the ground for the hostager and woke up as I began to walk away. The bread symbolized life, possibly Christ. Beats me. But I found it rather ironic concerning this ongoing thread.

 

Those with eyes to see and ears to hear, will know.

 

Good Day!

[sree]

Hahaha. Almost forgot to post this. Woke up from a dream the other morning. I was in a hostage situation with a bunch of people. In my hand I held a chunk of bread.

 

Dreams seems to be important to you. We are led to believe that they are nothing more than random brain activity during sleep. You see differently. And you want to be taken seriously.

[DragonsNectar69k]

Dreams seems to be important to you. We are led to believe that they are nothing more than random brain activity during sleep. You see differently. And you want to be taken seriously.

 

Hahaha. Seriously? No, please don't. The world does not need a new religion. We just ARE.

[sree]

Hahaha. Seriously? No, please don't. The world does not need a new religion. We just ARE.

 

Apparently, you need a new religion and have found one in dreams. I am giving you some air time to show it to the world.

Edited May 4, 2013 by sree

[DragonsNectar69k]

Apparently, you need a new religion and have found one in dreams. I am giving you some air time to show it to the world.

 

I see.

[gentlewind]

What happened at 12?

I died! And returned to tell the tale! So I am fortunate to know where I'm going when this decrepid body finally evicts me.

 

 

Why are you afraid of life? And what is "Home" to you?

I think the majority of us have to deal with a fear of Life, whether they admit to it or not. Some folk use a variety of aids to survive their life whether it be drugs, drink, alcohol or food. For me I had to navigate my early years with a domineering mother and a control freak of an elder brother! Fear of Life, is also not knowing what this journey is all about! Thankfully I have come to know that I am Life unfolding

 

 

Your wife is a dependent; also, if you have been together for a long time, you are her life and she needs you to be alive.

My wife is not dependent upon me. If I pass over to Spirit I know she's more than capable of carrying on. We love each other very much, and know that we'll meet up again on the other side.

 

What kind of cancer? I know some people who had cancer. They know it can come back but they are living their lives harder than me.

Bowel cancer which resulted in my large bowel being removed and small bowel being reconstructed to what is known as an ileo anal pouch. Other cancers were abdominal and believe it or not a tumor in my nose of all places! My Dad had three cancers when he left his body in 2001 - lung/prostrate/skin. He is still my hero!

 

 

Are you from India?

No! I'm from the UK!

Namaste,

 

gentlewind

[sree]

 

What happened at 12?

I died! And returned to tell the tale! So I am fortunate to know where I'm going when this decrepid body finally evicts me. and

 

You didn't really die; otherwise, you wouldn't be talking to me now. Your body must have clinically died and revived for you to tell the tale. What was it like when your body evicted you that time when you were 12?

 

 

Why are you afraid of life? And what is "Home" to you?

I think the majority of us have to deal with a fear of Life, whether they admit to it or not. Some folk use a variety of aids to survive their life whether it be drugs, drink, alcohol or food. For me I had to navigate my early years with a domineering mother and a control freak of an elder brother! Fear of Life, is also not knowing what this journey is all about! Thankfully I have come to know that I am Life unfolding

 

What have you come to know? What do you mean by "I am Life unfolding"?

 

 

Your wife is a dependent; also, if you have been together for a long time, you are her life and she needs you to be alive.

My wife is not dependent upon me. If I pass over to Spirit I know she's more than capable of carrying on. We love each other very much, and know that we'll meet up again on the other side.

 

I am glad to know that you have a loving wife. Partners who are very close are known to die within months of each other.

 

 

What kind of cancer? I know some people who had cancer. They know it can come back but they are living their lives harder than me.

Bowel cancer which resulted in my large bowel being removed and small bowel being reconstructed to what is known as an ileo anal pouch. Other cancers were abdominal and believe it or not a tumor in my nose of all places! My Dad had three cancers when he left his body in 2001 - lung/prostrate/skin. He is still my hero!

 

You have been through a lot. Have you ever wondered why you had to go through all that bodily trauma? What's the point to being born into this world only to suffer? It seems so unnecessary to me.

 

 

Are you from India?

No! I'm from the UK!

 

What's with the "namaste"? Are you a Hindu?

[DragonsNectar69k]

Why must you keep dying sree?

[xor]

...

Edited May 23, 2013 by Guest

[zanshin]

Farm girl, you are down to earth, so let's cut out the crap. All things being equal, would you rather be a rat or a bug?

Since you asked, I thought about it and I'll choose insect, but not a crawly jar insect. I would like to try mayfly, dragonfly might be even better. So while we are talking of life and death, Sree, what do you think of idea of karma and reincarnation? Is this life all we get?

[sree]

Why must you keep dying sree?

 

I need to focus on dying. This is the one thing that is controlling how we live our lives and we are all living it badly because we don't know how to deal with it.

 

It amazes me how the brilliant masters of the universe - like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and Carlos Slim (the richest of them all) - were and are not seeking the solution to this universal human problem. Rats in the maze, all of them. And Steve Jobs had no excuse because he was into India- style spirituality and Zen Buddhism in a more serious way than all of us are into the Dao.

[xor]

What makes you think Steve Jobs was more serious about Zen Buddhism than all of us into the Dao?

[sree]

Sree, you might check out neurosurgeon Eben Alexander's book "Proof of Heaven" if you don't believe people can be clinically dead and come back. He died and had parts of his brain destroyed that neuroscience tells us hold our personality, skills, etc.

 

Don't tell lies. No part of Eben's brain was organically destroyed the way fresh meat is destroyed after blood supply to it is stopped and it is left to putrefy. He was only in a coma with no detectable sign of neuro activity (whatever that means to the doctors who attended to him).

 

I have not read that book but I did check out Eben's story the moment news of it broke out in the press. I was curious because I have long maintained that consciousness have nothing to do with the brain. I thought he would corroborate my preposterous point of view. On the contrary, Eben's near-death experience merely corroborated the near-death of experiences of others and reinforced his own belief in the afterlife. I don't believe in the afterlife, something that is not supported by the Tao Te Ching.

 

Plus I still recommend finding that state after the body sleeps and your awareness stays in your "not-meditation" of dying and going to sleep. It's not something that's hard to reach if you honestly try.

 

Why don't you elaborate on what you mean and describe your experience of this after-sleep state? I am willing to listen with an open mind to what you are willing to share.

 

I'm wondering... Are you really looking for the right way?

 

Let's find out. Be objective and find out. If you can prove me wrong, you would be doing me a favor.

[sree]

What makes you think Steve Jobs was more serious about Zen Buddhism than all of us into the Dao?

 

You can see the Zen rigor in his products that drove Apple's phenomenal success. How many of us are that uncompromising in living the teaching of the Tao Te Ching?

[gentlewind]

You didn't really die; otherwise, you wouldn't be talking to me now. Your body must have clinically died and revived for you to tell the tale. What was it like when your body evicted you that time when you were 12?

Clinically dead is pretty close to being dead, even if only for a few minutes! Their is an amazing account of a NDE experience of a Russian gentleman who was dead for over three days - spent in a morgue! When his body was being examined in the ortopsy and he sat upright the poor examiner almost fainted! I read about this in the PMH Atwater book recently, good book to read.

My NDE was beautiful. I looked at the physical body as I exited, and then travelled through what I can only describe as swirling brownish colored clouds. I arrived in what appeared to be a desert setting, sand everywhere. I floated rather than walked. I saw many stone built bungalows but never saw anyone else, but, I knew I was not alone; I knew I was loved, I was Love. I was enthralled by the vibrancy and aliveness of the colors, the sky was a perfect blue, and the Sun, so bright; yet when I searched the sky for the Sun I could not find it. I finally arrived in what I can only describe as a cathedral - unlike anything I'd ever seen(Liverpool has two cathedrals), it was enormous! In my 41 years following my NDE I have never seen anything on Earth to match it, and never will! I stood ther drinking in the majesty and mystery of this spiritual building, I knew I was loved. Then a voice spoke to me, not an external voice, it appeared to come from within. The Voice asked me three questions:- 1. Is your name **** 2. Do you believe in G_d, 3. Do you love G_d. I answered all questions, I gave my name, and answered yes to the second and third questions; funny thing was in my Earth life I was an out and out atheist who gave the religious education teacher ;hell'! After the three questions I returned to my body and struggled for six months to re-adjust to this mundane existence!!! I was depressed! And wanted to return Home!

What have you come to know? What do you mean by "I am Life unfolding"?

Its hard to put into words really. What do we actually do here whilst being a human? Do we breathe, pump the blood through our veins, do we beat our hearts, blink our eyes etc etc? No! All our bodily functions are done automatically - the human is amazing and we take it for granted, often giving more importance to material objects like the house or car we own! We neglect our own vehicle! So, onto our thoughts! Were do they come from?! The Quantum Vaccuum maybe! Some of our thoughts appear to be supplied by an external force. I've had thoughts pop into my head and wondered were they'd come from! So just what do 'we' do?!?! Thats why I say 'I am Life unfolding'! Hope that helps!

 

 

I am glad to know that you have a loving wife. Partners who are very close are known to die within months of each other.

I am blessed to be loved by an angel! I met my wife after my first two operations, my wife of 12 yrs left me when I returned home after four months in hospital; it was a blessing, it was meant to be! She couldn't cope with my illness, mind you she'd had an affair whilst I was in hospital and so obviously didn't love me anymore. I harbour no ill feeling towards her.

 

 

You have been through a lot. Have you ever wondered why you had to go through all that bodily trauma? What's the point to being born into this world only to suffer? It seems so unnecessary to me.

I have not suffered, this physical body has! Once the collective consciousness of planet Earth has evolved then all suffering will end. We live in a world, a perfect world; because it is Life unfolding. We are all responsible for the state of this world. Life is a divine Mystery, we just need to embrace the divinity and Mystery of her charms. To live from the Heart.

 

 

What's with the "namaste"? Are you a Hindu?

I am pure energy - pure Love. We are all One. I don't attach any particular label!

Namaste,

 

gentlwind

[xor]

....

Edited May 23, 2013 by Guest

[sree]

Since you asked, I thought about it and I'll choose insect, but not a crawly jar insect. I would like to try mayfly, dragonfly might be even better.

 

If you cast a spell that turns a billionaire into a rat trapped in a maze, then that same spell turns you into a crawly jar insect. You don't really care to be an insect, do you? You just have an aversion for billionaires, and this class warfare mentality is destroying America.

 

Look, you have just one life. What do you have against having the money to live like a dragonfly flitting to anywhere you want to go and lazing in the sun all your life in absolute financial freedom?

 

So while we are talking of life and death, Sree, what do you think of idea of karma and reincarnation? Is this life all we get?

 

Yes, this life is all we've got. I think karma is true. If you choose to be a bug, you will die as a bug. To me, reincarnation is a cop out for losers who don't have gumption to make it. This is very unAmerican. I believe in metamorphosis, though. If you don't want to scoot about in the water squirting water through your anus all your life and die as a larva, you'd better think this through with me so that you can turn into an immortal dragonfly.

Edited May 5, 2013 by sree