Eye of the needle...

[dwai]

There are many ways to view the analogy. At a surface level, a rich man has many things and wants to hold and accumulate more things. Such desires keeps one trapped in world (as one is not seeing through it) and leads to death. At the level of mind, a rich man is one who has many thoughts and his mind is full of concepts that he holds dear. If one does not let go of the attachment to things or concepts, one does not realize the kingdom of God.

I think it depends on what we define as "rich"

 

Who is "rich" and what is the yardstick by which one measures. I think it is a matter of attachment vs lack of attachment thereof. I know many "rich" generous people who give freely and are able to let go of attachments. It also depends on the background/circumstances... I know many not so rich people who hoard attachments like there was nothing else.

Edited April 29, 2015 by dwai

[blue eyed snake]

Male and female energies are the same thing, just seen from a different perspective. Male is transmission, female is reception. At the level of local body mind on does not really feel energy/light, one feels it "hitting" issues and obstructions. That is why most traditions call it Shakti (or energy female), because they notice it on the reception. All energy is the wind moving through different pressure zones. Male and female energies are like two polarities of the same thing, but we tend to notice relative to our physical body.

 

this is a very helpful post, thanks!

[Jeff]

But that is just my personal experience. 

 

They usually say, keep following the light until the path is clear. 

 

It must be some form of fear or resistance that keeps one from realizing the true direction, however sometimes doing the "right" thing can only cloud ones mind....

 

nevermind though, thanks for the posts Jeff. 

 

How does doing the right thing cloud your mind? Also, how do you decide what is the right thing?

[Jeff]

I believe in Taoist terms this means that you can't bring any yin with you. You have to be pure yang to enter the eye of a needle.

 

Yin = energy that has a lot of baggage

 

Yang = energy that has undergone steam cleaning

 

Thank you. Very well said. On going refinement with the dropping of issues, fears and obstructions.

[Jeff]

I think it depends on what we define as "rich"

 

Who is "rich" and what is the yardstick by which one measures. I think it is a matter of attachment vs lack of attachment thereof. I know many "rich" generous people who give freely and are able to let go of attachments. It also depends on the background/circumstances... I know many not so rich people who hoard attachments like there was nothing else.

 

Definitely agree. It is all about the desire and attachment relative to the description and point.

[MooNiNite]

How does doing the right thing cloud your mind? Also, how do you decide what is the right thing?

 

Well that is as simple as doing what you dont love in order to support others or be an upstanding citizen. 

 

Welll to me doing the right thing expands the experience. It is a path of self realization. Following the path itself leads to one experiencing self realization. The path is light, and light is the ability to see. But that is sacred knowledge Jeff...

Edited April 30, 2015 by MooNiNite

[MooNiNite]

 

its kind of loud. 

 

This is basically the "right" path

Edited April 30, 2015 by MooNiNite

[Jeff]

Well that is as simple as doing what you dont love in order to support others or be an upstanding citizen. 

 

Welll to me doing the right thing expands the experience. It is a path of self realization. Following the path itself leads to one experiencing self realization. The path is light, and light is the ability to see. But that is sacred knowledge Jeff...

 

While providing for yourself and others is important, is not being an "upstanding citizen" dependent on the society and culture you live in? Does it not also mean that one desires the recognition of others? How does being an upstanding citizen help one to spiritually grow?

[Jeff]

I was referring to the chi refinement process. Nothing more.

 

So was I. The less refined energy is "attached" energy. Issues, fears and karma are stored (or frozen) energy structures in the energy body. Purification is the breaking down (or releasing) of those structures. The flow feeling in the body goes from bumpy to smooth as silk (and beyond).

[Jeff]

Silky sensations can be enjoyable. But not necessarily confirmation of the chi refinement process.

 

Then could you describe what it is a sign of? What is happening that creates the silky energy flow feeling?

 

Thanks.

[idiot_stimpy]

.

Edited April 30, 2015 by idiot_stimpy

[Jeff]

If I said "derefinement," would you be able to consider this as as a possibility?

 

Thanks, that description is helpful.  Sounds like we are describing different things regarding the silky sensations of the energy/light flow. In general, I would agree that it is possible to create any kind of sensation that you want at the (local) mind level. As an example, one can use mental level energy to build a local mind fantasy image that becomes so real that one then becomes "attached" to the image and essentially "derefines" (or builds a new energy structure stored in the energy body). But, when doing such, one rarely notices the energy flow as the mind is caught up in the scene/fantasy/emotions.

[MooNiNite]

While providing for yourself and others is important, is not being an "upstanding citizen" dependent on the society and culture you live in? Does it not also mean that one desires the recognition of others? How does being an upstanding citizen help one to spiritually grow?

 

im saying it doesnt help one spiritually grow. it  is just a reason someone might do what they dont love

 

i edit all my posts because i cant think straight, stop asking me questions Jeff.

Edited April 30, 2015 by MooNiNite

[Jeff]

im saying it doesnt help one spiritually grow. it  is just a reason someone might do what they dont love

 

i edit all my posts because i cant think straight, stop asking me questions Jeff.

 

I apologize if my questions have caused you some concern. 

[MooNiNite]

I apologize if my questions have caused you some concern. 

haha im just kidding lol

[dawei]

Male and female energies are the same thing, just seen from a different perspective. Male is transmission, female is reception. At the level of local body mind on does not really feel energy/light, one feels it "hitting" issues and obstructions. That is why most traditions call it Shakti (or energy female), because they notice it on the reception.

 

All energy is the wind moving through different pressure zones. Male and female energies are like two polarities of the same thing, but we tend to notice relative to our physical body.

 

Do you hold that the energies which the local mind feels 'hitting' home is/isn't akin to more yin or yang? More thin or dense?

 

I am wondering if what we interpret in terms of the sensation or feeling could be like saying divine male or female energy?

 

For example: Some light energy which touches my heart causes it to jump and be carefree while another feels very dense and thick.

 

Or would you rather say that instead of looking at the receiving end (my local interpretation), you would say the sending side is simply sending it differently?

[Bindi]

Just taking things back to the concrete level which I like to work on, I’d like to throw in some thoughts about ida and pingala. I’ve been a bit confused about ida and pingala for a couple of weeks, and I’ve started figuring out the issue after looking into it. My issue was that though ida and pingala are associated with feminine/soft(Ida) and masculine/strong(pingala) qualities respectively, yet my first hand information about them was that they were both female. So what I have found out is that there is another division in Hinduism that explains this, and that is the concept of odic and actinic forces.

Ida and Pingala are both odic forces = dense and heavy and of the material world. I think they are both yin in this sense, but yin is divided into Ida - the feeling current, associated with the moon, and pingala - the intellectual current, associated with the sun. For myself, and this seems to be in line with Hindu thought, these dense yin energies need to be brought higher chakra by chakra and merged with the sushumna channel (which is actinic - actinic force is the pure life force coming from the central source deep within, throughout the nerve system) at certain chakra levels.

The sahasrara chakra, the ajna chakra, and the vishuddha chakra are primarily actinic force centers. The anahata chakra, which allows us to look out into the external world and within to the internal areas, is primarily a mixture of actinic force and odic force called actinodic. The lower three chakras -- manipura, svadhishthana and muladhara -- are primarily odic force chakras - they are the forces that make up the physical world.

Edited May 1, 2015 by Bindi

[silent thunder]

when one is obsessed and focused on the shapes of things and their forms and uses, beingness is lost in the fog of want and not want... 

[Jeff]

Do you hold that the energies which the local mind feels 'hitting' home is/isn't akin to more yin or yang? More thin or dense?

 

I am wondering if what we interpret in terms of the sensation or feeling could be like saying divine male or female energy?

 

For example: Some light energy which touches my heart causes it to jump and be carefree while another feels very dense and thick.

 

Or would you rather say that instead of looking at the receiving end (my local interpretation), you would say the sending side is simply sending it differently?

 

It is more like energy has various frequency ranges or levels of refinement. Each of these frequency ranges can be found (or percieved) at different depths (of levels) of consciousness. At the energy body level it is also sometimes called sheaths or layers. The deeper (or higher, depending on your perspective) one goes, the greater the range of one's energy perception. In your specific case, you have a very broad range and hence you are able percieve such light/energy that causes your heart to jump/carefree. But such light that you describe is in a frequency range that is beyond the (local) human mind level and very rare to be able to percieve.

[Jeff]

when one is obsessed and focused on the shapes of things and their forms and uses, beingness is lost in the fog of want and not want... 

 

As an excellent zen koan points out...

 

First the mountain is there, then the mountain is gone, then the mountain is there again.