Cultivation of the Mind

[Daeluin]

 

Oppose? What do you call learning to tolerate cold, heat, hunger? And then what do you call learning to use the power of one's own mind to change one's state from cold to warm, from hunger to content, from heat to coolness, etc? This is opposing. And most Daoist adepts have been doing just this opposing that you oppose.

 

In fact, trying to slow down the flow of thought is also oppositional to nature. Thinking is natural for humans. To empty the mind of its concerns is completely unnatural and is oppositional. This is especially true of the concern for survival and bodily comfort.

 

Early humans didn't have fire, and lived naturally, the same as animals without presuming to better their environment. Just as caves, which have a natural emptiness, do not presume to control that which enters or leaves. Human fires and huts presume greatly upon nature. Whatever alchemy animals perform to keep warm is instinctual and natural, and does not come from a mind of contrivances. It flows with the weather without opposition.

 

Surely, in changing my environment, I am opposing one nature in favor for another. To me one is natural and one is not. Please do not let it bother you, it is my way.

 

 

Chapter 24

The Voice of Truth

 

The Great One said, "There is a voice that is ever-present. Clear and subtle, never failing in its response to the true seeker, it speaks to generation after generation. It is the voice that carries the eternal truth of universal life. When people are awake, it is near and distinct; when they are asleep, it seems remote and non-existent. Few ever awaken to its message.

 

"Dear friends, let your ears heed and your eyes behold the voice in the deep core of your own true nature. It can still emerge from all the dusty layers of obstruction that have accumulated through many, many lifetimes to reveal that people are not innately bad; they only appear to be so when they lose touch with their true self-nature. People, whether they are proud of their achievements or disappointed in life, can renew themselves by listening to and following this voice; with its help, they are set free of the wounds and worries of the troubles world by rediscovering the essence of their own being.

 

"This truthful voice which can carry you back to who you really are and where you were before you began the journey of life is none other than your own deep communion with the divine nature of the universe itself. It does not ask you to become the follower of anyone or anything, it only tells you to develop your own inner nature. It bespeaks the image of no image and the form of no form without ever encouraging the dominance of the conceptual mind.

 

"Despite the cultural and religious accomplishments of human history, the true human spirit died a long time ago. The madness and confusion we see today stems from the loss of each individual's plain, truthful nature. People have thrown away the divinity of their own being and fervently poured their strength into things that are only make-believe. By neglecting the plain truth of their own lives, they live a life of struggle that ends in death. The divinity that can be described is merely a product of people's vanity. Few are able to recognize and rejoin the true and indescribable oneness that is neglected and buried away. Instead, a conceptual image is aggressively and emotional hailed under the guise of reverence which is only another name for compensation and revenge. Wise friends, God needs no lofty description. Through self-communion you can rediscover the truth of yourself, life and the universe. The effort is light and the harvest great.

 

.........

"When the path of subtle universale integration applies itself in its own natural way,

It acts as an unnoticed, gentle influence.

In its unfathomable profundity, it is the real master of all things.

It has rounded off its own sharpness, untangled its intricacies, softened its light,

And dissolved its non-formed form to be one with its surroundings.

Behind all the perplexing superficialities of the world, it is the subtle order of the great harmony.

It has no source, for it is that which existed before all things and all beings."

 

Ni Hua-Ching, The Uncharted Voyage Toward the Subtle Light

 

I've actually been living in a tent since February. To me, there is nothing oppositional about it. Even when it is freezing out, I find I do not need to intentionally oppose the cold and find ways to warm up. Sure I have blankets, but oddly enough I find that as I spend a few days outside in the cold, my body adjusts naturally.

 

When I live in warm huts, I may be comfortable while inside the warm huts, but as soon as I venture outside I find myself feeling very separate from nature. I have to bundle up to survive and don't like to say outside very long, and in my heart I feel that I have separated myself from nature and it is now opposing me. In addition it takes an abundance of resources to keep these huts warm and causes pollution to the environment. Human nature is very oppositional to me. As I listen to truth and explore alternatives, I flow with what feels least oppositional to me. Removing my unnatural insulation from the ebb and flow of the seasons is most natural to me and does not require me to stand against anything. Perhaps this is different for you. Please do what is natural for you.

[Marblehead]

Surely, in changing my environment, I am opposing one nature in favor for another. To me one is natural and one is not.

That first sentence felt so good then you went and spoiled the feeling with the second sentence.

[manitou]

 

 

In fact, trying to slow down the flow of thought is also oppositional to nature. Thinking is natural for humans. To empty the mind of its concerns is completely unnatural and is oppositional. This is especially true of the concern for survival and bodily comfort.

 

 

This is interesting, looking at it with long eyes.

 

"Thinking is natural for humans..." It is natural at this point in time, because our linear minds put linear words together to form linear thoughts.

 

But I wonder about early Man. They had limited language, their thoughts wouldn't have been linear much at all. More in the Here and Now. It's interesting to think that maybe the concept of Time has 'evolved' with the linearity of our thoughts.

[doc benway]

Thinking is natural and necessary but also quite maladapted and the source of enormous mental anguish and impairment...

Credible methods do not intend to end thinking but rather return it to its natural place where it is helpful, valuable, creative, and less of a source of suffering. Those who attempt to end thought are misguided, IMO.

[Daeluin]

Thinking is learned.

We don't have it in the beginning.

It is a choice.

[manitou]

Thinking is natural and necessary but also quite maladapted and the source of enormous mental anguish and impairment...

Credible methods do not intend to end thinking but rather return it to its natural place where it is helpful, valuable, creative, and less of a source of suffering. Those who attempt to end thought are misguided, IMO.

 

To be in the mental place of the I Am, to truly be there - requires No Thought. But to perform on this plane, this physical plane of appearances, does require thought. What kind of Catch-22 is that?

 

When we say Thinking is Natural - I just think thinking has evolved a whole heck of a lot since Ancient Man came on the scene. They wouldn't have had a fancy language to think in. It would have been immediate, one-word spontaneous.

 

Example: 'Grunt...Ugh!' (translation - there's a tiger behind that bush. Look out!

 

Today: "Holy crap - there's a tiger behind that bush - if you're not careful you're going to get shredded to death. Better get outta here! Did somebody bring the gun?"

Edited July 21, 2014 by manitou

[Daeluin]

Thinking is the post-celestial xing.

 

When we cultivate the pre-celestial xing we develop intuition to such a high degree of skill that we do not need to block the mind with thinking in order to hold conversations or make decisions. With the clarity of heaven who needs to think "which way" when they can simply see the way?

 

I know several highly developed individuals who no longer find thinking necessary or natural. It prevents seeing clearly on the subtler, more spiritual levels, which they are naturally flowing with by following the intuition.

Edited July 21, 2014 by Daeluin

[manitou]

I would guess those highly developed individuals live in places where they're not interrupted by 'news' of the day. To hear such reports and then transcend it does require a thought process of not only elimination, but viewing all players as part of the same entity which are interacting to accomplish the purpose of the 'entity', whatever we want to call the Underlying Order.

 

Once practiced for a long time, it is possible to stay in the Consciousness for much of the time. For those times that it is necessary to engage thinking in a linear fashion - keeping one foot grounded in Love seems to be a beautiful template for reaction to all other circumstances.

[doc benway]

To be in the mental place of the I Am, to truly be there - requires No Thought. But to perform on this plane, this physical plane of appearances, does require thought. What kind of Catch-22 is that?

 

When we say Thinking is Natural - I just think thinking has evolved a whole heck of a lot since Ancient Man came on the scene. They wouldn't have had a fancy language to think in. It would have been immediate, one-word spontaneous.

 

Example: 'Grunt...Ugh!' (translation - there's a tiger behind that bush. Look out!

 

Today: "Holy crap - there's a tiger behind that bush - if you're not careful you're going to get shredded to death. Better get outta here! Did somebody bring the gun?"

 

Very true - thought seems to be a consequence of language.

I wonder to what degree non-verbal sentient beings think and what that thought feels like.

Even when I am able to rest in "whatever you want to call it" thoughts still come and go.

The method I practice currently looks at those thoughts as inseparable from the ground "substance" hence whether they are there or not makes no difference and, when skilled, does not affect one's ability to continue to rest.

[Daeluin]

At one point I found myself sitting in a cafe, very busy, lots of people walking around. I had just come from tai chi and was in a very sensitive and vulnerable state of oneness. Often when I am very sensitive I feel like a tiny boat in a raging storm in such circumstances. But this time.... I simply trusted.

 

I was able to maintain my center and simply radiate trust and love outwards, accepting that as my field met the fields of others it would change. As this happened I felt that not only was I able to maintain my calm, I was able to merge more harmoniously into my surroundings. Rather than reacting to the ways my field was being manipulated by the busy minds of others, I trusted my energy to slip like water between their cracks and flow however they needed it to. Rather than feeling like a boat in a storm, I felt the very shape of how my field was transforming begin to form a picture of the mental/emotional scenery around me. Rather than my mind opposing theirs, my mind merged with theirs, all based on the principle of humility.

 

I would guess those highly developed individuals live in places where they're not interrupted by 'news' of the day. To hear such reports and then transcend it does require a thought process of not only elimination, but viewing all players as part of the same entity which are interacting to accomplish the purpose of the 'entity', whatever we want to call the Underlying Order.

 

If one does not attach to news being good or bad, but simply truth, why should truth have an adverse affect on us? Even "negative" truths may have a positive purpose in the long run. Who are we to judge whether the news is good or bad? If we find ourselves reacting to it, we've identified an attachment we can dissolve. If we encounter negative energy, our presence can help purify it and later on we will refine ourselves again.

 

Once practiced for a long time, it is possible to stay in the Consciousness for much of the time. For those times that it is necessary to engage thinking in a linear fashion - keeping one foot grounded in Love seems to be a beautiful template for reaction to all other circumstances.

 

I think this is similar to becoming comfortable in warm huts in the winter. When we leave the safety of the warm hut, we struggle where it is not warm. I think isolation can be very healing when one is trying to recover from a sickness, but they say the immune system develops strength when it is exposed to the full gambit of life. We may heal up in our warm hut, or explore the depths of the mind in isolation, but as we learn to maintain our evolution in the natural world full of its changes, we gain strength.

[manitou]

Very true - thought seems to be a consequence of language.

 

You almost have to look at it backwards to see it. To see it from the Point of View of the I Am, the Current. We are the current, and we are manifesting from the inside to the outside. Perhaps it is as Flowing Hands recently said in his translation of the TTC: The sage is as a tree (or something close to that).

 

So what does a tree do? It takes its nourishment from the Mother; it transforms its energy to put out into the air, to enable a more sophisticated organic life. It is ever giving, this is its purpose, this is its plan.

 

I wonder to what degree non-verbal sentient beings think and what that thought feels like.

Even when I am able to rest in "whatever you want to call it" thoughts still come and go.

The method I practice currently looks at those thoughts as inseparable from the ground "substance" hence whether they are there or not makes no difference and, when skilled, does not affect one's ability to continue to rest.

 

I do that sometimes as well - let thoughts ramble through and just look at them. I just find more rest in the void - gets me away from any PTSD tendencies I may have acquired, it puts my cells back to Reset. But normally, I don't walk around with too much inner dialogue any more. I'll bet you don't either,

 

The method you mention seems like a method of non-differentiation, no? All matter is equal, visible or not. My metaphysical way of looking at it would fit in there somewhere: all is Mind, we are as a hologram of the illusions of Time and Space. Our Mind holds us together by repetition of thought, of habit. The more we can unloose the habit patterns the freer we become. It's an inside job. (in a nutshell, lol)

 

Your mention of one's continual ability to rest is a bit of a challenge for me, since K-activity. There is an excess of qi that manifests by wanting to manifest as a moving snake - seriously! - in my back. It is with me 24/7 unless I consciously step out of it.

 

Will you be calling the police?....

[manitou]

At one point I found myself sitting in a cafe, very busy, lots of people walking around. I had just come from tai chi and was in a very sensitive and vulnerable state of oneness. Often when I am very sensitive I feel like a tiny boat in a raging storm in such circumstances. But this time.... I simply trusted.

 

 

This is so beautiful. We can get to the point where we realize that it's our choice to view life with Fear or with Love. If we choose Fear, everything will be fearful. If we choose Love....we realize in our soul that the Universe is a friendly place after all. Loving, in fact. After getting to the place where the Choice is met, why would anybody in their right mind choose Fear again? Total restriction of choice, as I see it.

 

As I think about it, all I've ever really wanted in my life was freedom. Of what? I was never sure. Just freedom. I used to think that meant running away from home when I was a young girl. It's been a life long passion, and how many years I wasted looking for Freedom in this or that other substance or self-destructive behavior.

 

I think this freedom of choice of how to relate to the world is possibly the most crucial one. The difference is black and white.

Edited July 21, 2014 by manitou

[ralis]

Early humans didn't have fire, and lived naturally, the same as animals without presuming to better their environment. Just as caves, which have a natural emptiness, do not presume to control that which enters or leaves. Human fires and huts presume greatly upon nature. Whatever alchemy animals perform to keep warm is instinctual and natural, and does not come from a mind of contrivances. It flows with the weather without opposition.

 

Surely, in changing my environment, I am opposing one nature in favor for another. To me one is natural and one is not. Please do not let it bother you, it is my way.

 

 

I've actually been living in a tent since February. To me, there is nothing oppositional about it. Even when it is freezing out, I find I do not need to intentionally oppose the cold and find ways to warm up. Sure I have blankets, but oddly enough I find that as I spend a few days outside in the cold, my body adjusts naturally.

 

When I live in warm huts, I may be comfortable while inside the warm huts, but as soon as I venture outside I find myself feeling very separate from nature. I have to bundle up to survive and don't like to say outside very long, and in my heart I feel that I have separated myself from nature and it is now opposing me. In addition it takes an abundance of resources to keep these huts warm and causes pollution to the environment. Human nature is very oppositional to me. As I listen to truth and explore alternatives, I flow with what feels least oppositional to me. Removing my unnatural insulation from the ebb and flow of the seasons is most natural to me and does not require me to stand against anything. Perhaps this is different for you. Please do what is natural for you.

 

I am curious as to why you choose such a primitive lifestyle and still rely on modern conveniences such as the computer or phone you are using to post here? Nothing natural about it.

[goldisheavy]

Thinking is learned.

We don't have it in the beginning.

It is a choice.

Who taught it?

[goldisheavy]

A few of you replied with the "prehistoric man" idea. But prehistoric men were not naturalists and didn't believe in objective reality the same way we believe. Some prehistoric men could talk to plants (animism, which is common). Some believed the world was dreamt up (Australian aborigines). They had all kinds of wild ideas about phenomena and did not structure them as we do now. And this is as best we know. We can try to go even earlier than my examples, but then the evidence becomes scant and the speculation increases.

[Daeluin]

Who taught it?

 

When we're born we don't think. Our parents teach us by example. Often their thinking involves words. Even without words we might come to think on our own, making various connections with our minds. Thus, we might teach ourselves.

 

Never the less it remains a choice.

[Daeluin]

I am curious as to why you choose such a primitive lifestyle and still rely on modern conveniences such as the computer or phone you are using to post here? Nothing natural about it.

 

Primitive by whose standards? My particular needs and wants are my own, and in my tent I have an electric kettle, a lamp, a table, my collection of books, and what passes for a soft bed. My phone has internet.

 

How did I come to be living this way? Honestly it was by flowing with the Tao. Was only going to be temporary, as the land I am on has a house that is being renovated. As the renovations went through multiple delays, I realized I am quite comfortable as I am, and I rather find that having less separation between myself and the sunrise, sunset and changes in weather makes me feel more sophisticated and connected to the web of life around me. Living in conditions where I need to go outside to get a feel for the weather seems rather primitive at this point. Recently the situation changed and I am getting the message to move on... at the same point I was invited to live on the land a little ways out of the city, where I am exploring plans to build a small geodesic dome. Something that requires minimal building materials while being structurally sound, is large enough for me to do my forms in, still breathes with the seasons, and keeps me dry. Easy to setup some solar panels to power a single lamp and small refrigerator. Right now that is all I need.

 

As far as natural goes, I am merely flowing in the direction most natural for me, and I've asked that others do the same for themselves.

 

A few of you replied with the "prehistoric man" idea. But prehistoric men were not naturalists and didn't believe in objective reality the same way we believe. Some prehistoric men could talk to plants (animism, which is common). Some believed the world was dreamt up (Australian aborigines). They had all kinds of wild ideas about phenomena and did not structure them as we do now. And this is as best we know. We can try to go even earlier than my examples, but then the evidence becomes scant and the speculation increases.

 

Why prehistoric? There are entire movements of people who have woken up to the idea that living in ways that are destructive to the environment is not sustainable for our species. The way our huts and fires tend to destroy forests and create desertification over time can be seen as parasitic activity, and there are many who would prefer to live in symbiosis with the planet which sustains them. There are many ways to do this and still live in huts and have heat, but they tend to be off the electrical, water and sewer grids. Many use their intelligence to design sophisticated water filtration systems using the lay of the land. Small scale hydro-electric is very efficient, and solar panels have become very cost effective as the devices they power require less and less electricity to run.

 

There are many new farming techniques that now recognize how mono-cropping rows and rows of the same plant tends to sap the nutrients in the earth and invite pests requiring the use of pesticides. Rather than following such practices which are oppositional to nature, people have turned to following the example of nature, and mixing species together into deliberate ecosystems designed to protect and support each other, resulting in healthier crops AND healthier land. Permaculture follows principles, just as taoism does, and adapts to its environment to provide the most benefit to both the land and to the needs of those humans tending the land.

 

When you say this is the best we know, I'm not sure what specifically you refer to. Mental development? I would agree with that, in one sense. Right now we have a scientific understanding that precludes the influence of deluded religious beliefs and a society that for the most part is built upon the structure of scientific belief. And the internet has been excellent for the the sharing of ideas on a global scale, depending on how you look at it. At the same time our attachment to scientific reasoning tends to preclude the development of the intuition, and also seems to have trouble recognizing the earth as a living entity that is not simply there to be exploited.

 

I am lucky to live in a rather open minded and spiritually inclined city. Here people stray from the norm and express themselves in creative ways. Rather than being judged by being different, people just accept it. It is very common for men of all ages to wear long bushy beards and women to not shave their legs and armpits. These practices aren't a fringe of society here, or a statement, people are simply living naturally, just as clean and cultured as any other people. People here feel a greater freedom to be themselves without judgment, and the city has been rated as one of the happiest places to live for many years.

[Daeluin]

Also, I feel this applies to the dual cultivation of xing and ming at a very deep level. Our society itself acts in ways that separate from nature, oppose nature and rise above the flows of nature. Above I mentioned some examples of people who are deliberately trying to leave those ways behind and to merge more deeply with nature.

 

Perhaps for those of us who are addicted to TV, need to have lights on all night and are afraid of the dark, this seems very unnatural. Many people in these patterns are also out of touch with the rhythms of their bodies. Please take this as my opinion if you disagree.

 

So, I believe this modern way of living, which I see as being out of touch with nature, is rather primitive. And I am working on adjusting my lifestyle so that I am more integrated with nature. For myself I mainly want to be more connected to nature, do a little exploring with forest gardening, and slowly wean myself off the internet. I see this as a way of merging xing and ming, as my lifestyle greatly affects my inner balances. I also view this as a more sophisticated and sustainable way of living that will become more common in the future.

[GrandmasterP]

+1

There are very few of us here in the 'developed' world who could not get rid of quite a lot of the 'stuff' we're surrounded by.

Your way wouldn't work too well here as we have tough winters and tougher 'planning and zoning' laws against permanent year- round camping.

There's only TiPi Valley in Wales as far as I know where people live permanently under canvas ( officially) in the UK.

 

[manitou]

Early humans didn't have fire, and lived naturally, the same as animals without presuming to better their environment.

 

interesting point. But I'll bet the first time that the early human smelled the sizzling flesh of a dead deer after a forest fire, he said "Damn!" to the aromas. Maybe the fire thing just came circumstantially.

[GrandmasterP]

Yep

Same for the first guy ever to eat a crab.

Now that was a brave and innovative ancestor right there!

Crabs and Lobster 'au naturelle' don't exactly scream 'Tasty Food Here" do they?

Edited July 22, 2014 by GrandmasterP

[Daeluin]

Yeah, I am also lucky to live where the winters aren't so bad. On average in the heart of winter we hover above or below freezing, with occasional dips into single digits. In colder climates this is likely a much different scenario. But that doesn't mean there aren't other ways of integrating more harmoniously with the land while still retaining a sophisticated lifestyle. If this natural living trend ever reaches a critical mass in our lifetimes, it will be interesting to see how different cultures adapt in their own ways.

[manitou]

I think it may reach a critical mass out of necessity....

[goldisheavy]

When we're born we don't think. Our parents teach us by example. Often their thinking involves words. Even without words we might come to think on our own, making various connections with our minds. Thus, we might teach ourselves.

 

Never the less it remains a choice.

 

This is false. I was thinking without my parents aid when I was born. And I've never ever heard my parents think. I've heard them talk. But not think.

 

I also think using images that don't exist in the real world. My parents didn't teach me that. When my parents would look at my human body, they didn't have to explain to me, "Son, when our eyes are angled this way, it means we're looking at your body." I think it's fair to say that I knew 95% of everything I needed to know when I was born and only learned the 5% specific to this realm.

[CloudHands]

I really have some inclination to live the way you do Daeluin. I understand and respect that a lot. Actually I think that all humanity is creating to make life look easier is weakening us.

 

I'm very comfortable to see west going down, we'll have to rebuilt solidarity, living together and think about alternatives.

 

With my wife we probably will build some minimalistic (but well thought/crafted) house it's a matter of money and time. Also it's very important to us to grow our own vegetables.