Why does it get harder to cultivate as you progress?

[cobrien]

Something I've noticed for quite awhile is that the more I cultivate the more balanced I become. It's like fine tuning over and over again until the balance is so precise that you can transfer a very high voltage of energy.

 

When I think of how difficult it is to reach a high degree of mastery of any energy based cultivation it's obvious that it is necessary to dedicate your life to seeking the ultimate nirvana.

 

Your mental orientation is just as important as your bodily. What I mean by that is to develop or cultivate you must also refine your thoughts, beliefs and behaviors. I can't imagine that the thought of nirvana is selfish.

 

I am about 2 years into my cultivation practice. I've noticed that progress and breakthroughs are often tied to events that occur in your life. I bet this is why that often masters isolate themselves.

 

The idea that as you cultivate you are refining an energy balance or perfecting circuitry for energy transfers seems like a valid idea to me. I'm interested on every ones thoughts on this.

[dawei]

You said:  "I've noticed that progress and breakthroughs are often tied to events that occur in your life."

 

As opposed to what life?

 

what does 'ultimate nirvana' mean... this? refine your thoughts, beliefs and behaviors

 

what is your end-game?

[Jim D.]

For me cultivation means Spiritual Cultivation. In the beginning it was very difficult. Now in my later years, it has become formless as if I were born with it. In my opinion, Cultivation needs to be tweaked a bit through vigilance and mindfulnes of the inner life and how it is being allowed to express its energy in the outerworld. There was much thoughtfulness and discussion with my mentor in the beginning. But as time went on we met less, and less, only to touch bases from time to time. And now it seems Spiritual Cultivation works me.

[RiverSnake]

Yes, internal changes reflect external ones...are energy field is in a constant state of interaction with what we "perceive" as external reality. Many energy fields all overlapping and inter-penetrating one another. It's like one big cosmic orgy.

[Jim D.]

How old are you "Old Chi?"  I have vacationed in Miami a few times, and been down to the tip of the Keys. The swamps in between were smelly.

[Apech]

Something I've noticed for quite awhile is that the more I cultivate the more balanced I become. It's like fine tuning over and over again until the balance is so precise that you can transfer a very high voltage of energy.

 

When I think of how difficult it is to reach a high degree of mastery of any energy based cultivation it's obvious that it is necessary to dedicate your life to seeking the ultimate nirvana.

 

Your mental orientation is just as important as your bodily. What I mean by that is to develop or cultivate you must also refine your thoughts, beliefs and behaviors. I can't imagine that the thought of nirvana is selfish.

 

I am about 2 years into my cultivation practice. I've noticed that progress and breakthroughs are often tied to events that occur in your life. I bet this is why that often masters isolate themselves.

 

The idea that as you cultivate you are refining an energy balance or perfecting circuitry for energy transfers seems like a valid idea to me. I'm interested on every ones thoughts on this.

 

In terms of energy cultivation, what many people overlook is that stages involving renunciation (in the sense of losing attachment to worldly goals) and conduct (as in having an ethical view) are important to forming a stable and strong subtle body.  The more work you do on yourself the more adequately you will be able to respond to life's demands and also the more you refine the rate at which you can assimilate new experiences (on all levels) will increase.  We are incarnated in this world to learn this, or so I believe, which means each time you take a knock, you get up a little stronger - 'what does not kill us makes us stronger'.  There are times when cultivators have to retreat in order to master some inner subtle process but for the most part engagement with the world is healthy and necessary for our development.

 

Ultimately reality can be viewed as a field of energy and beings within it are modalities of that field.  Our ultimate identity is with the field itself - but the work to attune to this level is quite hard.  The boundaries which form beings (our skins if you like) are formed by that intelligent power (spirit) for good reason and so whilst ultimately there is no separation between beings - in effect we need to work within the boundaries formed.  As above so below, as within so without.  And so the cultivator works in the microcosm on perfecting their own being.

[Jim D.]

In my opinion, the human organism is like a battery just waiting to be used. In the field of experimental psychology it is called "Action Potential of the Neuron." A battery is restored from the generator. The "action potential" of a neuron is restored to homeostasis through the balanced amount of ions inside and outside of the neuron. When there is a depletion of electrolytes there are physiological ramification even up to the risk of death.

 

Chi is a "bioelectric" phenomenon, or also know by a differenct name depending what culture we are living in.

 

Now, read the above post made by Apech and ask yourself this question: Would I want to hear from a physician that in order to save your life we need to restore your chi, or ineed to infuse electrolytes into your body intraveniously. Oh! And by the way, it is your wife, mother, or child we are talking about here. 

[Jim D.]

What you are talking about Earl Grey is called complacency. I need to monitor the threads of my thoughts and behaviors in order to keep my self right sized. My ego will hurt, or be hurt.

[Orion]

What are we really talking about here? Progress involves levels of attainment by overcoming various trials, but in the end there are no levels. It's like progressing through levels one at a time until finally you break through to an empty plateau. The "levels" look like achievement until you peel back the last onion layer and simply live in alignment with true nature.

 

In my experience, things were the most difficult right before they were about to disintegrate. After that, there was no difficulty, just stillness. And it doesn't mean the end of suffering, it just means non-attachment to practically everything.

 

If you're talking about the physical energy body, life can become more challenging with each degree of refinement if you're still coming into contact with unrefined energies and realities. For instance, I find living in the city more and more difficult as my refinement level increases, to the point that only natural settings are truly tolerable. Things become more abrasive.

 

I practice TCM and my life used to be at a point where the degree of focus on my energy state was so refined that I was literally  using milligrams of herbs rotated regularly to fine tune my body. But you know what I realized? The act of trying to be so in control ended up causing a much bigger imbalance. How much fine tuning do you really need to do? It's not like you're "getting anywhere". After facing major health challenges, the resultant chaos brought a new eye of the storm that was an untold awakening, more than I ever could have achieved with such fine tuning.

 

But to each their own.

[Apech]

In my opinion, the human organism is like a battery just waiting to be used. In the field of experimental psychology it is called "Action Potential of the Neuron." A battery is restored from the generator. The "action potential" of a neuron is restored to homeostasis through the balanced amount of ions inside and outside of the neuron. When there is a depletion of electrolytes there are physiological ramification even up to the risk of death.

 

Chi is a "bioelectric" phenomenon, or also know by a differenct name depending what culture we are living in.

 

Now, read the above post made by Apech and ask yourself this question: Would I want to hear from a physician that in order to save your life we need to restore your chi, or ineed to infuse electrolytes into your body intraveniously. Oh! And by the way, it is your wife, mother, or child we are talking about here. 

 

If a person is suffering from serious illness then you should follow Doctor's advice.  In extremis it is more important to preserve the body integrity and to prolong life.  If the treatment itself produces imbalance this can be dealt with in the long term.

[Jim D.]

Now I am truly joyous inside to read your response. Very good answer. Shows your are grounded.

[dawei]

Now I am truly joyous inside to read your response. Very good answer. Shows your are grounded.

 

Cats always land on their feet 

[Jim D.]

Is your mongram a picture of a cat? Is that what the comment is about. What does Admin mean and how do you relate to this shortened word?

[Spotless]

It only appears to get harder as one cultivates:

 

People are in the future and past - willfulness increases along with increased energies. For some time in ones practice all the bad habits are still in place while the general capacities have begun to increase tremendously.

 

Practice will lead to a more wholistic internal setting but this is initially outstripped by immediate energetic risings on nearly all fronts.

Self control on some levels can be very difficult - couple this with the feeling you are not doing enough, that these are setbacks (because of future expectation) and we compress into our system anxiousness and futility or we tend to torment those we love and things in a sort of dumb raging sputtering.

 

This is why diet is so necessary to cultivate along with practice - the diet with regard to all intake.

Mind looping Hate radio increases the reactive mind, sugar intake increases the reactive mind, stimulants increase the reactive mind.

 

Why did Milarepa's teacher have him do such menial constant physical repetitious work after having killed so many and fallen so far - it was not to atone for his sins - but to heat his being in the constraint of willfulness until it was burned up and consumed and shown to be the concoction of illusion it is comprised of - Presence then shines as his "I" is replace by Oneness.

 

Much of the increased difficulty we encounter in practice peaks fairly early on within a year or so - either because we quit or because we have adapted. Unfortunately many that continue set about labeling and archiving expereiences, concocting strict rules and ironclad judgements and arming themselves with a thousand solid quotes to fortify their arsenal of self colored glimpses. They believe themselves to be "spiritual warriors" - but they have often become no more than wizened street punks - a hard place to let go from ( they believe they have experienced much and because of this understand much - until by grace they drop their story their veil is more armored than a fool ).

 

Cultivate patience - everlasting patience and unconditional acceptance.

[Apech]

..... They believe themselves to be "spiritual warriors" - but they have often become no more than wizened street punks - a hard place to let go from ( they believe they have experienced much and because of this understand much - until by grace they drop their story their veil is more armored than a fool )......

 

 

 

 

Better known as DaoBums.

[dawei]

Is your mongram a picture of a cat? Is that what the comment is about. What does Admin mean and how do you relate to this shortened word?

 

I was referring to your comment on Apech.  Apech is the feline picture

[Jim D.]

It seems harder to cultivate as you progress because there is so much more that you become responsible for. The brain is the bus driving the organism. Try and ask it to tie your shoes differently and it will complain by making you feel uncomfortable with the mindfulness you have imposed upon it.

 

But as the behavior becomes formless, the new behavior becomes mindless. The more you ask of your brain to learn, the more difficult it feels.

 

Think of the Buddhist monks that made the decision to be hermits. This was a process for them...to renounce creature comforts they had gotten use to. Their progress of renunciation was difficult. Ah! But now living is easy because they have gotten use to the routine. It became formless.

[Papayapple]

 

Cultivate patience - everlasting patience and unconditional acceptance.

"Excitment, adventure - a Jedi craves not these things."

[sagebrush]

don't tie the shoes-

flip flops, slip ons, clogs

avoid the KNOTS

[Jim D.]

don't tie the shoes-

flip flops, slip ons, clogs

avoid the KNOTS

 

 

I don't understand the above. Are we off topic?

[dawei]

I don't understand the above. Are we off topic?

 

I take it as doing vs non-doing...

[Jim D.]

Are you saying that if you don't want to tie your shoes than wear sandals, flip flops, clogs, or slip ons? Than how is it that you can not express yourself directly. I tried for a while being vague and cryptic. I thought it made me look wise and above others. It only confused people. I am sure I came off like a "poser."

[dawei]

I can't speak for the post that started this... but to me, it may suggest... the shoes you wear are an indication of something.

[Jim D.]

I don't wear shoes when I see clients in the Summer time. I wear sandals when I go out of doors. But as we move towards the cooler months I will wear what is appropriate for the season.

[cobrien]

Language can only at best approximate understanding. I assume during my cultivation practice I draw yang chi downward which is then met with yin chi flow upwards as my body is energized at a slightly more refined balance.

 

I don't know how to define chi. When I feel the chi that rises earthly thoughts come to me. When chi descends I feel as if one thought encompasses all.

 

I am not sure of this. It seems that the chi entering from the earth draws experiential catalyst to my reality. I'm starting to think the yang chi is like a law of evolution and yin chi is like a law of attraction.

 

If I have been shown one thing by my experiences, it's how vast the mind is. I feel such a strong urge to face the self.