greetings all, what is stranger than fiction?

[sunchild]

/

Edited April 3, 2014 by sunchild

[thelerner]

No, not at all. There's a magic to writing or least a mind set that it creates. Good writing originates in the subconscious and flows through our filters. Good art changes your how you interact with the world. A photographer looks at the world different, they noticing negative space. A writer notices dialog and possibilities within every day life. Multiply that with kundalini sensitivity and it can be like a strange ride.

 

Your post reminds me of Julia Camerons work. She's written many books on the link between creativity, writing and mood. Her book The Artist Way is in most libraries.

 

Personally I don't think we make/create the world. Rather we create a mindset that notices, focuses and interprets in a unique way. Same world different lens.

[Chang]

Hello and welcome to the Tao Bums Sunchild. An interesting introductory post which reminds me of a Hermann Hesse short story I read many years ago where a prisoner paints a scene on his cell door of fields with a path running across them. He then walks out of his cell through the wall and along the path to freedom.

 

I cannot throw light on your experiences with "creative" writing but I am sure that it will create great intertest on the forum.

 

You will now be able to post freely but first we ask that you read the two posts pinned at the top of the Lobby and take a look at the forum terms and rules http://thetaobums.com/topic/19575-forum-terms-rules/ This covers all that you need be aware of.

 

Good luck and best wishes,

 

Chang

[RiverSnake]

It's interesting that you used the word Magic in your post. One thing you should realize is that Thoughts backed with lots of energy tend to manifesting....atleast that's my experience. Given your undergoing some kind of energetic awakening your thoughts/imagination are likely being unintentionally empowered at an accelerated rate and your thus unintentionally manifesting things.

 

I highly RECCOMEND you pick up some kind of inter-alchemical practice and also learn to develop concentration so you can have more control over your mental and astral sphere.

 

My 2 cents, Peace

Edited March 26, 2014 by OldChi

[GrandmasterP]

Welcome sunchild.

Beautifully written first post.

More please.

 

[soaring crane]

Hello Sunchild and thank you for a very interesting introduction.

 

I wouldn't know how to analyze your situation. But then, my "advice" is to not analyze things

 

Write more when you get a chance.

[Captain Mar-Vell]

...

I think you are crazy.

 

So am I.

 

I know what you mean.

 

My word we get some interesting introductory posts these days.

 

So funny, man.

 

A very warm welcome, Sunchild.

...

Edited March 26, 2014 by Captain Mar-Vell

[sunchild]

wow. i appreciate the sincerity and timeliness of all of your replies

 

...

I think you are crazy.

 

So am I.

 

I know what you mean.

 

My word we get some interesting introductory posts these days.

 

So funny, man.

 

A very warm welcome, Sunchild.

...

thank you captain mar-vell, but i beg to differ (actually i just differ)

i'm not crazy an neither are you.

i don't like to label myself as anything (hard habit breaking out of it), especially words with such negative connotations.

are you crazy according to your standards/being, or according to another mans 'measurement'?

sorry to pry. it's just that i'm not crazy, i simply Am.

[Captain Mar-Vell]

...

I have to admit, I say it with a certain irony.

 

The fact is, the world at large is crazy, and I am sane.

 

Ish.

 

I did not intend to comment negatively.

 

No doubt you are highly rational.

 

I was extremely intrigued by your introductory post and not at all sceptical.

 

Some would say that's my problem.

 

But like you, I would differ.

...

[thelerner]

I'm glad your mom is better. During an emergency, its good not to feel anything.?! Feelings can be a luxury that slow you down when you can least afford it. When shit hits the fan, it's wisdom to go into third person mode until danger has passed, then let the feeling back in. imo.

 

What helped bring balance to my life when I was younger; stressed out at work and too much in my head. Martial arts. At 25 I started doing Aikido. The physicality of it; people attack, you throw'em. You attack, they throw you. Think too much and its goes screwy. It demanded focus and attention.

 

Not saying its for everyone but it worked well for me. It also connected me with some very nice people in the club. As important as the physical and focus were, going out afterwards, hitting some special trainings, also put more balance into my life.

[sunchild]

I'm glad your mom is better. During an emergency, its good not to feel anything.?! Feelings can be a luxury that slow you down when you can least afford it. When shit hits the fan, it's wisdom to go into third person mode until danger has passed, then let the feeling back in. imo.

 

What helped bring balance to my life when I was younger; stressed out at work and too much in my head. Martial arts. At 25 I started doing Aikido. The physicality of it; people attack, you throw'em. You attack, they throw you. Think too much and its goes screwy. It demanded focus and attention.

 

Not saying its for everyone but it worked well for me. It also connected me with some very nice people in the club. As important as the physical and focus were, going out afterwards, hitting some special trainings, also put more balance into my life.

thank you! i'm glad too, she's my mommy!! .

 

true. it's better to be able to handle the situations than be reduced to a sobbing mass i guess.

 

 

yea, that sounds really fun!

a while ago i had a friend who did aikido for years and he showed me a bit on how to meditate and the 'first steps' of aikido, i honestly don't know hahaha. like i had to track all of my food intake for a bit, record my emotions to different stimuli throughout the day, a couple other things i can't really remember, but that was the gist of it. **showed me a couple forms too, and how to properly punch/kick, deflect a strike... and disarm someone with a gun...didn't really trust that one **

 

a martial art sounds fun, but i lack funds at the moment. i really need to get another job, maybe not in a restaurant this time

to me there's an almost tangible difference between someone being genuinely nice and someone being polite. there was a lot of 'politeness' there.. amongst other things..

 

you're post has me thinking about starting a morning run though for starters, i know i repress some things.

 

they have this krav mcgaw (sp?) place around here and i think that's pretty cool too. one of my friends, who recently moved , told me that it's like 'instinct training/sharpening' sounded cool. i like practical things

Edited March 27, 2014 by sunchild

[RiverSnake]

Being "distant", "rational", "detached"....etc.......when you start cultivating.....ie.....Meditation, Chi Kung......etc......becoming extremely detached from things is a natural part of the process.....and also a very painful part of the process......it will definitely strain your relationships because people will notice your changing and interpret your detachment for "not caring".....even when you may feel a deep and profound understanding and compassion for others around you....and humanity at large. Also becuase you change internally your life at large will change (friends, desires, motivations, dreams.....etc)

 

Not gonna sugar coat it.....your whole life will change and given your experiencing some kind of spontaneous awakening your growth will likely be accelerated and very often be quite difficult.....but also very rewarding. I have found nothing more profound in my life than cultivation (meditation, internal alchemy......etc)......but it has its own trials and tribulation that will test you down to the minutest fabric of your being, it is an adventure in the most beautiful and terrifying of ways.....IME

 

If you still want me too I can recommend you some practices, I will gladly do so.

 

My 2 cents, Peace

Edited March 27, 2014 by OldChi

[Yascra]

i love my mother so much, and to have an event like that Not trigger an immediate tear or Something, its very unsettling. i got her an icepack talked with her some more, and just went back to my room and reflected on why i felt so far away. it was a sad night. she was happy i was so responsive and caring, and i was.. it was just a new thing for me Not To Feel it in my chest.

 

Dear, just because society tells you that good persons cry whenever they see something that's supposed to bring up tears, that's not necessarily how it is, or should be.

Obviously you were very caring - and that's the important thing. (Clinging) love is not the same as compassion, in fact, clinging love is what you HAVE to get rid of if you want to be really helpful for others. Compassion is what makes you helpful to others.

 

So, I can't exclude that you're maybe making some mistake in your meditation - for example, of course you have to set a kind of "border" in time and space to get yourself the time to meditate and not let anything disturb you. A mistake might be, if you conclude from this that you should put yourself into kind of a social and feeling-vacuum, for that's not what meditation is for.

On the other hand it might well be that you're sliding into a state of detachment, in which you simply are not affected so much by any disturbances, which also means that on some level you stay calm. That is what you WANT to reach by meditation practice

You know, I had an operation once at my shoulder.. had not even known that there had been quite a lot of pain involved all the time. I just noticed AFTER that operation that this pain was gone, and first this was unusual, cause something was "missing" in the first hours - cause not everything you're used to has to be positive. But actually, a pain-less state is better, though it might feel strange at the beginning

 

Just reflect about it and get clear about whether you really feel that something is wrong, or whether your (maybe not so correct) implications that society put on you tell you that it's wrong.

 

Actually, this unability to be guided by Western society "standards" is one of the aspects that make cultivation difficult in those cultures. But it's just a hindrance you have to be aware of, especially at the beginning, doesn't mean you'll never get rid of it

 

All the best to you!

Edited March 27, 2014 by Yascra

[soaring crane]

 

i've been doing better about 'being in the now', like when i walk my dog i just observe nature/the neighborhood as i walk him i don't think about the breakfast i'm about to eat or anything. i just try to stay open.

guitar helps too, even though i'm just picking it up again (albeit a lot more seriously) it's fun. it flows more than, trying to match words to things. sounds are so much more emotive/open to interpretation.

i like to Feel

 

here's a poem i wrote about snow a couple months ago

 

~ snow ~

fleeting beauty

draping its delicate lace in sureness

unconscious of its transient beauty

not repeating a stitch

 

 

Very nice

 

My dog is my most trusty qigong partner. I take her out on the meadows with me when I practice, and she runs around investigating the area, sometime wanders out of sight, but never too far. The reason I write that is because I'm actually more focused on my activity when she's there than when she isn't. So I'm wondering if you notice a similar effect when you go for a walk. Can you stay in the here and now as easily without your companion?

 

And another similarity: I play my guitar often (like you, though, I mostly enjoy the feeling of holding it and the vibrations that come from it. Actually, from my amp, I play a telecaster haha)

 

Lovely little poem, too. Maybe take a look at our Haiku thread:

 

http://thetaobums.com/topic/4535-haiku-chain/page-397

 

No commentary, just take the last line of the last post and make something new from it

[GrandmasterP]

hi soaring crane! i love your dragon.

yes i try not to over-analyze things.

i've been doing better about 'being in the now', like when i walk my dog i just observe nature/the neighborhood as i walk him i don't think about the breakfast i'm about to eat or anything. i just try to stay open.

guitar helps too, even though i'm just picking it up again (albeit a lot more seriously) it's fun. it flows more than, trying to match words to things. sounds are so much more emotive/open to interpretation.

i like to Feel

 

thank you very much grandmasterp!! i really hope you aren't being facetious

i would like to be a writer of some sort as a profession.

(i want to go take some classes to hone more, thank you for reminding me )

i just have an awfully hard time thinking of things to write about, when i'm not too scared to write them down

 

i'm not too sure what to write more about? is there anything about me you'd like to know?

 

here's a poem i wrote about snow a couple months ago

 

~ snow ~

 

fleeting beauty

draping its delicate lace in sureness

unconscious of its transient beauty

not repeating a stitch

Nope, not being facetious at all.

It's clear to see when someone puts care and creativity into a piece of writing as you did in the OP.

Mrs GMP, who used to edit an in- house staff magazine for the Post Office when she was training to teach, as a late career switch; used to teach 'creative writing for pleasure and profit' as one of her 'evening class' sidelines' and encouraged the students to keep writing, keep submitting and to celebrate everything published.

They used to compose short 'fillers' for magazines and send those in.

By the end of the course most of her students had seen their names 'in print' and been paid a small fee or won a small prize via their work being published in some periodical or other.

Edited March 27, 2014 by GrandmasterP

[sunchild]

Being "distant", "rational", "detached"....etc.......when you start cultivating.....ie.....Meditation, Chi Kung......etc......becoming extremely detached from things is a natural part of the process.....and also a very painful part of the process......it will definitely strain your relationships because people will notice your changing and interpret your detachment for "not caring".....even when you may feel a deep and profound understanding and compassion for others around you....and humanity at large. Also becuase you change internally your life at large will change (friends, desires, motivations, dreams.....etc)

 

Not gonna sugar coat it.....your whole life will change and given your experiencing some kind of spontaneous awakening your growth will likely be accelerated and very often be quite difficult.....but also very rewarding. I have found nothing more profound in my life than cultivation (meditation, internal alchemy......etc)......but it has its own trials and tribulation that will test you down to the minutest fabric of your being, it is an adventure in the most beautiful and terrifying of ways.....IME

 

If you still want me too I can recommend you some practices, I will gladly do so.

 

My 2 cents, Peace

yes please recommend me a practice(s), i guess i should have been more direct :/

 

also if you had anything to share about the following it'd be appreciated:

yoga and qigong seem pretty cool, i just don't have $/transportation to seriously pursue it

kabbalah sounds cool, from the little i've read about it.. also sounds dangerous..

prayer/centering prayers seems legitimate.

[sunchild]

Dear, just because society tells you that good persons cry whenever they see something that's supposed to bring up tears, that's not necessarily how it is, or should be.

Obviously you were very caring - and that's the important thing. (Clinging) love is not the same as compassion, in fact, clinging love is what you HAVE to get rid of if you want to be really helpful for others. Compassion is what makes you helpful to others.

 

So, I can't exclude that you're maybe making some mistake in your meditation - for example, of course you have to set a kind of "border" in time and space to get yourself the time to meditate and not let anything disturb you. A mistake might be, if you conclude from this that you should put yourself into kind of a social and feeling-vacuum, for that's not what meditation is for.

On the other hand it might well be that you're sliding into a state of detachment, in which you simply are not affected so much by any disturbances, which also means that on some level you stay calm. That is what you WANT to reach by meditation practice

You know, I had an operation once at my shoulder.. had not even known that there had been quite a lot of pain involved all the time. I just noticed AFTER that operation that this pain was gone, and first this was unusual, cause something was "missing" in the first hours - cause not everything you're used to has to be positive. But actually, a pain-less state is better, though it might feel strange at the beginning

 

Just reflect about it and get clear about whether you really feel that something is wrong, or whether your (maybe not so correct) implications that society put on you tell you that it's wrong.

 

Actually, this unability to be guided by Western society "standards" is one of the aspects that make cultivation difficult in those cultures. But it's just a hindrance you have to be aware of, especially at the beginning, doesn't mean you'll never get rid of it

 

All the best to you!

thank you yascra!

i appreciate you sharing your experience with me.

you do have a point about the influence of western society, some things are obvious as i'm working through them, but it definitely helps to have an outside perspective

 

a painless state?! that sounds very intense

[sunchild]

Very nice

 

My dog is my most trusty qigong partner. I take her out on the meadows with me when I practice, and she runs around investigating the area, sometime wanders out of sight, but never too far. The reason I write that is because I'm actually more focused on my activity when she's there than when she isn't. So I'm wondering if you notice a similar effect when you go for a walk. Can you stay in the here and now as easily without your companion?

 

And another similarity: I play my guitar often (like you, though, I mostly enjoy the feeling of holding it and the vibrations that come from it. Actually, from my amp, I play a telecaster haha)

 

Lovely little poem, too. Maybe take a look at our Haiku thread:

 

http://thetaobums.com/topic/4535-haiku-chain/page-397

 

No commentary, just take the last line of the last post and make something new from it

yea, i can be 'present' without my dog, but it's definitely a noticeable difference when he's not around.

i'm always talking to him with my thoughts, so i can always tell when his 'presence' is near

 

practicing qigong in a meadow sounds beautiful,

i will check out the haiku thread since it comes recommended.

 

thank you

 

ps- telecasters are cool, they have the 'twang'

[sunchild]

Nope, not being facetious at all.

It's clear to see when someone puts care and creativity into a piece of writing as you did in the OP.

Mrs GMP, who used to edit an in- house staff magazine for the Post Office when she was training to teach, as a late career switch; used to teach 'creative writing for pleasure and profit' as one of her 'evening class' sidelines' and encouraged the students to keep writing, keep submitting and to celebrate everything published.

They used to compose short 'fillers' for magazines and send those in.

By the end of the course most of her students had seen their names 'in print' and been paid a small fee or won a small prize via their work being published in some periodical or other.

wow.

i was speaking with my sister about taking a creative writing/writing classes a week or so ago,

i'm thinking about moving out the city. change of scenery would be nice :/

this is very encouraging!!

i really appreciate you sharing this with me mr. grandmasterp

[sunchild]

Hello sunchild.

 

The experience of No Feeling is hollow and unnerving, isnt it. It doesnt seem like a reality, more an absence of presence, a dysfunction.

 

Maybe start a thread on it in the General Discussion forum, for more input.

 

I would like to read such a discussion.

 

What comes to mind, reading your description of loss of connection to feeling, is that it is a proccess of recalibration, and the previous emotional set up is absent... and a new one will be structured.

 

A system upgrade, perhaps. I hope so.

 

Numbness is not a place to stick around in, is it.

 

Maybe you can write about free flowing feeling, connectedness, access to all areas...

i'm going to do that and see what comes of it cat, thank you!

 

yea, i'm hoping for another upgrade and not a 'trial period'.. guh.

last time i was about to have an 'upgrade' i felt like i was dying with lightning going up and down my back.. this one shouldn't be so bad..

[GrandmasterP]

yea, i can be 'present' without my dog, but it's definitely a noticeable difference when he's not around.

i'm always talking to him with my thoughts, so i can always tell when his 'presence' is near

 

practicing qigong in a meadow sounds beautiful,

i will check out the haiku thread since it comes recommended.

 

thank you

 

ps- telecasters are cool, they have the 'twang'

 

The 8 Pieces Brocade QiGong form is really easy to learn and has stood me in good stead for many years.

I reckon it keeps me supple ( I'm 62) had to give up strenuous Martial Arts so took up QiGong after finding out that TaiChi was too much for me to remember.

I could never dance either but Mrs GMP loved dancing and she took to TaiChi like a natural.

It's about remembering 'steps' to some extent is TaiChi so maybe being a good dancer helps.

QiGong suits me though.

There are lots of cultivations out there and it is fun finding out what suits .

If you can get to one then a skillful teacher is a real bonus.

Learning from clips is OK but a good teacher can help you out 'there and then' whereas a video can't.

Enjoy.

Edited March 27, 2014 by GrandmasterP

[RiverSnake]

yes please recommend me a practice(s), i guess i should have been more direct :/

 

also if you had anything to share about the following it'd be appreciated:

yoga and qigong seem pretty cool, i just don't have $/transportation to seriously pursue it

kabbalah sounds cool, from the little i've read about it.. also sounds dangerous..

prayer/centering prayers seems legitimate.

A good thread on the various systems of Qigong, find one that resonates with you: http://thetaobums.com/topic/27757-what-is-the-best-qigong-lineage-to-start-out-with/

 

Also you said you don't have money. Here is a link to a basic qigong exercise that will get you started. Practice daily: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gr5MkMLyoeI

 

My 2 cents, Peace

Edited March 28, 2014 by OldChi

[idiot_stimpy]

Its real. Be careful what you wish for, it might just come true.

[sunchild]

Its real. Be careful what you wish for, it might just come true.

how do you cope with this/integrate it into your life idiot_stimpy?

[dogson]

hey sunchild,

 

if you can get your hands on it, a fascinating book relevant to your inquirity is Mutants And Mystics, by Jeffrey J. Kripal.

It's a book of essays on the origins of superhero comics. Basically, as it turns out, most of the originators of our superhero mythos were experiencing intense kundalini awakenings of their own, and created comics as a way of "sublimating" their experiences. There's an entire chapter, called "Authorization" dedicated to these writers who would write something and end up experiencing what they wrote. It's really inspiring and fascinating stuff.

 

I echo a lot of the advice already going in this thread about qigong, and especially just learning how to ground yourself. Being able to access your tan tien, and use it to ground yourself, no matter what you're experiencing, is really, really valuable.