From Fiction to Fact

[Nungali]

On 8/15/2023 at 10:15 AM, Michael Sternbach said:

What about the harems of college girls? 🙂

 

They are in another dimension

 

 

 

Edited August 18, 2023 by Nungali

[Nungali]

On 8/16/2023 at 12:22 AM, Daniel said:

 

My natural reaction was a chuckle, because, something like this for Year 1 Semester 2 course work would naturally be attractive to certain sorts of personalities.  However, I'm reserving judgement because my creative mind can imagine many non-literal meanings for what this coursework could possibly entail.

 

 

Does it involve chili powder and underpants ?

[Nungali]

On 8/17/2023 at 4:41 AM, Neirong said:

There is one thing more outstanding.

 

Desiring to become a powerful Immortal, but being stopped by a 100$ price tag, not per day, but per month.

 

Indeed  ...... I found a cheap immortality course on line for $100 a year !  

 

Immortality courses should be run by ..... of course .... immortals . Immortals are around a long time and can therefore turn over production more and charge less, but over time, get a greater income .

 

Thats how you tell if they and their course is  'fer real' .  Those fake fly-by-night  immortality teachers that are not immortal charge more as they have less time alive to make money .

 

Its common sense really .

 

 

[Nungali]

.....   I might run an immortality workshop at  'Lovefest' .    

[Nungali]

On 8/18/2023 at 7:09 AM, Pak_Satrio said:

Well “Qigong, Daoism and TCM” will require you to pay for a teacher or other services if you want to learn properly so I was wondering how you plan to do so when you stated you don’t want to pay.

 

Anything worth learning won’t come for free.

 

Nah .   I have never charged a cent for what I teach and do .

 

I have a firm philosophy on it .   My 'magical mystery school' forebode it  . When I became an initiator I swore not to do it . In martial arts , my teacher never did that and I followed his example .

 

The only exceptions where if certain equipment or ...... was needed for the student to use they are expected to pay for that , or if bought to be used in a ceremony where it is given to them , they should pay for that .   In martial arts , no money,  but  you might end up helping teacher in his catering business .  or here .... no money, but you can chop firewood    

 

( I often do that one :   " No no no .... what happened to the rest of your body ... look how you are cutting with that sword , this is the problem , once some get a sword in hand, they forget they have a body .  Look, come over to the chopping block , now split that bit of wood  for me .....good !  Now, what did you just do ?  You  shifted and planted your feet in a stable position , you got a good grip on the splitter , hands right distance apart , you even 'sunk' a little in your 'stance' as you delivered the blow .... and exhaled and made  a little grunting 'kiai' .  

 

....   very good .... now, you  go practice on that pile ... over there .....      

[Michael Sternbach]

On 15.8.2023 at 8:15 PM, Pak_Satrio said:

Very cool experiences. I like your idea of making digital art of your dreams!

 

Thank you so much for your kind words!

 

I actually spent this whole year so far creating an entire universe based on my space dreams and spiritual experiences:

 

The World of Spacepunk

 

There are currently a collection of print images, an art book, and the first novel of a planned trilogy Spacepunk I -- Humanity at the Crossroads in the works.

 

upload image

 

More to come. 😉

[-ꦥꦏ꧀ ꦱꦠꦿꦶꦪꦺꦴ-]

4 hours ago, Michael Sternbach said:

 

Thank you so much for your kind words!

 

I actually spent this whole year so far creating an entire universe based on my space dreams and spiritual experiences:

 

The World of Spacepunk

 

There are currently a collection of print images, an art book, and the first novel of a planned trilogy Spacepunk I -- Humanity at the Crossroads in the works.

 

upload image

 

More to come. 😉

That’s amazing! Please keep me updated, would like to check it out. How long have you been lucid dreaming/astral projecting?

[Zoya]

7 hours ago, Michael Sternbach said:

 

Thank you so much for your kind words!

 

I actually spent this whole year so far creating an entire universe based on my space dreams and spiritual experiences:

 

The World of Spacepunk

 

There are currently a collection of print images, an art book, and the first novel of a planned trilogy Spacepunk I -- Humanity at the Crossroads in the works.

 

upload image

 

More to come. 😉

Is this a real or AI made illustration?

[whocoulditbe?]

46 minutes ago, Zoya said:

Is this a real or AI made illustration?

It's easy to become sure that it's AI if you look closer. Elements of the background obscure the foreground in the bottom right corner, for example.

[Zoya]

2 hours ago, whocoulditbe? said:

It's easy to become sure that it's AI if you look closer. Elements of the background obscure the foreground in the bottom right corner, for example.

I had my doubts but I didn't want to guess incorrectly on the small chance it was real.

 

You can see on her torso that there seems to be a multiplication of her torso as there is a line "in the middle" that should be the light from the background, and right after that we have a secon torso.You can also see it by checking the top of her belt.

Edited August 21, 2023 by Zoya
word

[Michael Sternbach]

12 hours ago, Pak_Satrio said:

That’s amazing! Please keep me updated, would like to check it out.

 

Sure thing! I will be happy to keep you and any other interested parties posted.

 

For that matter, please consider following my blog http://michaelsternbach.wordpress.com

It has been dormant for quite a while, however, I will soon start notifying subscribers about any progresses made with my creative projects.

 

Quote

How long have you been lucid dreaming/astral projecting?

 

I vaguely remember making some experiences of that kind already in early childhood. The first one I have a clear recollection of occurred in 1989, while I was a late adolescent studying Zen Buddhism and martial arts in Japan.

Edited August 21, 2023 by Michael Sternbach

[Michael Sternbach]

14 hours ago, Zoya said:

Is this a real or AI made illustration?

 

It's a character from the sci-fi universe I created and started illustrating with the assistance of various image AIs.

 

She's also artificial in the sense that she's one of the androids my story's protagonist invents in order to protect Earth from an impending alien invasion.

 

And to look good while doing so! 😃

Edited August 21, 2023 by Michael Sternbach

[Gerard]

On 8/8/2023 at 3:30 AM, Zoya said:

I won't beat around the bush, I'm here to learn if the stuff I read in novels has an ounce of truth or if fiction and fact are too far apart.

 

 

 100% accurate:

 

Our favourite books for an introduction of Chinese Medicine

 

The rest (most) written by ungrounded, delusional and ego-driven individuals. Edit:

 

BASICALLY A BUNCH OF FAIRY TALES! 

 

 

Edited August 22, 2023 by Gerard

[Taomeow]

2 hours ago, Gerard said:

 

Our favourite books for an introduction of Chinese Medicine

 

 

From that list, toss Paul Pitchford's vegetarian drivel disguised as having anything to do with Chinese medicine.  

In fact, Kaptchuk and Laozi would be a fine start, while the Yellow Emperor's Classic is definitely not something for a beginner without a teacher.  The remaining two I have no opinion of, Beinfield's I read too long ago and don't remember how it compares to many similar ones, and Swanberg's I haven't come across. 

 

2 hours ago, Gerard said:

 

The rest (most) written by ungrounded, delusional and ego-driven individuals. Edit:

 

BASICALLY A BUNCH OF FAIRY TALES! 

 

 

 

Fairy tales are in the eye of the beholder.  E.g., most Western medicine practitioners and recipients alike still think that acupuncture is in that category, and only a small percentage reluctantly admit that "it can help with pain" -- but that's where they draw the line between fact and fiction.  Moreover, in the hands not too skilled (which is to say, most hands holding acupuncture needles in this day and age) it is indeed lagging light years behind what it can do in the skilled ones.

 

The same goes for the rest of the fairy tales.  Depends on who's telling them, and to whom, and what about...  

Edited August 22, 2023 by Taomeow

[Neirong]

8 minutes ago, Taomeow said:

Fairy tales are in the eye of the beholder.  E.g., most Western medicine practitioners and recipients alike still think that acupuncture is in that category, and only a small percentage reluctantly admit that "it can help with pain" -- but that's where they draw the line between fact and fiction.  Moreover, in the hands not too skilled (which is to say, most hands holding acupuncture needles in this day and age) it is indeed lagging light years behind what it can do in the skilled ones.

 

The same goes for the rest of the fairy tales.  Depends on who's telling them, and to whom, and what about...  

That is a good point, and most internal and genuine cultivation experiences will sound like a fairy tale or cosmic fantasy to an uneducated non-initiated bystander.
 

And the further you advance in practice, the more bizarre the gap between normal people's reality and cultivators. I think the ability to see Qi with your own eyes and the ability to interact with the spirit world directly is like a waterboard between the world of mortals and the world of spiritual development.

it is not possible to explain those concepts in words, and not possible to pass through the wall without a guide or a teacher transmission. (And a lot of training)

[RobB]

7 hours ago, Taomeow said:

From that list, toss Paul Pitchford's vegetarian drivel disguised as having anything to do with Chinese medicine.  

In fact, Kaptchuk and Laozi would be a fine start, while the Yellow Emperor's Classic is definitely not something for a beginner without a teacher.  The remaining two I have no opinion of, Beinfield's I read too long ago and don't remember how it compares to many similar ones, and Swanberg's I haven't come across. 

 

Pitchford seems to be going for a synthesised view of 'eastern' rather than CM specifically. I prefer Daverick Legget's books which focus on CM food energetics. Beinfield's book is heavy on the Wu Xing - in a good way. The descriptions of how these might manifest in an individual are interesting. She has this slightly odd questionnaire in the book to determine your element 'type'. I'm not sure how good it is but the way she talks about the Wu Xing fits quite well with BaZi Day Masters (at least in me and some people I know).

[Taomeow]

1 hour ago, RobB said:

 

Pitchford seems to be going for a synthesised view of 'eastern' rather than CM specifically. I prefer Daverick Legget's books which focus on CM food energetics. Beinfield's book is heavy on the Wu Xing - in a good way. The descriptions of how these might manifest in an individual are interesting. She has this slightly odd questionnaire in the book to determine your element 'type'. I'm not sure how good it is but the way she talks about the Wu Xing fits quite well with BaZi Day Masters (at least in me and some people I know).

 

Right.  It's the more sensible parts of Pitchford's book that were from Chinese medicine as I recall, in particular his designations of the thermal nature of foods -- an important aspect of nutrition completely overlooked by Western "nutritionists."  But for a better take on food from the "esoteric" perspective there's books by Henry C. Lu (e.g.).

 

A questionnaire to determine one's wuxing type?  The world is going to the dogs in a basket. 

[Michael Sternbach]

9 hours ago, Neirong said:

That is a good point, and most internal and genuine cultivation experiences will sound like a fairy tale or cosmic fantasy to an uneducated non-initiated bystander.
 

And the further you advance in practice, the more bizarre the gap between normal people's reality and cultivators. I think the ability to see Qi with your own eyes and the ability to interact with the spirit world directly is like a waterboard between the world of mortals and the world of spiritual development.

it is not possible to explain those concepts in words, and not possible to pass through the wall without a guide or a teacher transmission. (And a lot of training)

 

I agree with you for the most part. However, even though guides and teachers are sometimes needed (and  can come in many forms), I never cease to be astonished how very close 'the other reality' is to the one we are generally familiar with -- if we just look in the right direction.

 

Do you know this nice little Zen story about Huineng?

 

When Hungren saw his death approaching he told his monks to compose a verse showing an intuitive understanding of his own inner nature. He who could do this would be given the "transmission" and receive the robe and bowl of office as Sixth Ancestor.

The favorite for the title was Shenxiu, who wrote:

 

Our body is the Bodhi-tree
And our mind a mirror bright.
Carefully we clean them hour by hour
And let no dust alight.

 

Marveling at this, the other monks decided it could not be bettered. But Hongren responded to the verse by telling Shenxiu: "This verse does not demonstrate that you have yet achieved true understanding of your original nature. You have reached the front gate, but you have not yet entered into full understanding. Prepare your mind more fully and when you are ready, submit another gatha." Shenxiu departed, but try as he might, he could not produce the second gatha.

 

As the story goes, Huineng, not knowing of Hongren's test, saw the verse on the wall, asked someone to it read out to him, and dictated his own poem to be written alongside it:

 

There is no Bodhi-tree
Nor stand of a mirror bright.
Since all is void
Where can the dust alight?

 

💡

Edited August 22, 2023 by Michael Sternbach

[Gerard]

18 hours ago, Taomeow said:

 

The same goes for the rest of the fairy tales.  Depends on who's telling them, and to whom, and what about...  

 

[Gerard]

18 hours ago, Neirong said:

I think the ability to see Qi with your own eyes and the ability to interact with the spirit world directly is like a waterboard between the world of mortals and the world of spiritual development.

it is not possible to explain those concepts in words, and not possible to pass through the wall without a guide or a teacher transmission. (And a lot of training)

 

 

 

 

[Gerard]

Flawed forum system that doesn't let you copy-paste poster's comments. Because of the FLAW I have to reply like that, so sorry for excessive and UNNECESSARY posts on my behalf.

 

Fairy-tales:

 

1. Irrelevant stories that only entertain the child and immature.

2. Made-up stories that have zero factual basis.

 

Let's start with the list:

 

1. Ability to see Qi?

 

And who cares. Irrelevant. Directly related to Star Wars pop culture.

 

2. Ability to interact with the spirit world. Brother, make sure you fix this very world of yours you created with your OWN MIND than worrying about others!

 

3. Guide, teacher transmission. Basically, a gateway to the cults that plague religion and spiritual groups. Buyer beware of the bullshit that has been going on for millennia!

 

Now let's stick to the reality of spiritual development:

 

1. Grounding, grounding and more grounding work.

 

2. Yin & yang, two phases, four seasons, five forces, 8 trigrams, Qi or the force that binds material reality and interacts with the yin & yang forces within you following an exact organ-meridian pathway which shifts on a daily basis according to the 'time' of the day & night. 

 

3. Your astrological profile (yang-heaven-Babylonian system & yin-earth-Taoist) and Ba Zi (four pillars of destiny) make-up which will determine WHO you are now in this current cycle of your spiritual evolution (incarnation).

 

4. Hard work and practice in nature. You seldom here this on internet forums. Endless reading of books, microcosmic orbit and filling up the lower tantien? Seriously a waste of time that leads to nowhere.

 

5. Ah! The ENLIGHTENMENT stuff. Pretty amusing. It deserves a good bag of popcorn or chicharrones. 

 

Edited August 22, 2023 by Gerard

[Taomeow]

 

[Klinsly]

On 8/15/2023 at 12:19 PM, Michael Sternbach said:

For many people, lucid dreaming and astral projection are a good way to get in touch with psychic powers. Space trips are my favourites! 🙂

 

To illustrate, I once found myself on a planet which (in my very real-feeling dream) I understood was orbiting a red dwarf that was in turn circling our Sun at a distance of over one light year. I remember looking at this planet's crimson star hovering in the sky from some kind of elevator platform. As I typically experience during such trips, I felt incredibly centered, and focussed in my lower dantian -- far beyond what I have achieved in my waking life so far.

 

In this particular case, the sensation may have been further amplified by the artificial gravity field of the elevator platform, though. Standing on it, I was travelling through a system of looping tubes that interconnected the cities and tall buildings on the surface of the planet -- without me ever loosing the sensation of being upright!

 

Years later I learnt that Nibiru expert Andy Lloyd assumes this legendary planet to orbit a binary to our Sun.

 

https://darkstar1.co.uk/

 

The theory of a red or brown dwarf star circling our Sun was actually quite popular with astronomers in the last century. It was called 'Dark Star' and 'Nemesis'. While no longer predominant, this theory still finds support by a number of scientists.

 

Here you see my approximate artistic rendition of the city I saw in my dream (creating digital art being one of my various interests).

 

 

 

 

Sri Yukteswar Yoganandas guru in the book the Holy science goes into detail about how a binary star to ours causes the procession of the equinox, and the zodiacal /yoga cycle by sending us way around the galaxy and when we are closest to the center it's the golden spiritual ages, but we just ended the furthest point and are heading back up thus the massive influx of technology and knowledge in the last 2 centuries.  very fascinating take from a supposed highly enlightened master.

[thelerner]

On 8/22/2023 at 5:29 PM, Gerard said:

 

Let's start with the list:

1. Ability to see Qi?

And who cares. Irrelevant. Directly related to Star Wars pop culture.

2. Ability to interact with the spirit world. Brother, make sure you fix this very world of yours you created with your OWN MIND than worrying about others!..

5. Ah! The ENLIGHTENMENT stuff. Pretty amusing. It deserves a good bag of popcorn or chicharrones. 

 

You have two feet firmly planted in the tik tok world. Not a bad place to be.  Logical, well adapted to our reality here.

 

Yet..as I've traveled and met people.  One of my feet, a few toes are a little across the line of tik tok into.. a realm of other possibilities; of dimensionality and coincidences we don't normally see.  Other people's experiences and stories have convinced me enough that I put the unknown into an 'I don't know, maybe' category.  Stuff that's above my paygrade, but I'm willing to drop my skepticism and listen.  

 

Pretty much the top of every field of human endeavour has individuals performing things mentally, physically that are impossible for me.  With training I can get better but I'll never touch the level of of these one in a million individuals.  Could be the same in the  spiritual field.  People of great natural talent planted in the right spot to get the right training.  

 

People like wise funny head monk Ajahn Brahms, who has tons of informative dharma talks.  Highly respected meditation teacher; a few of his teaching include seeing the Thai forest through other eyes and fantastic otherworldly creatures there.  Rabbi David Cooper writes about being a meditation hall and seeing a little guy dancing on a lecturer's shoulder and asking a fellow student there, 'You see that?' and they say, yeah, looks like Leprechaun, right?'  There's no profit for a rabbi admitting he saw a leprechaun, nothing to do with his heritage or teaching, quite the opposite, yet that's what he wrote.

 

Michael Winn talks about a dream flight school where students would gather in dreams to learn how to dream fly.  Rawn Clark talked about meeting up with other advanced Hermetics during dream time for discussion and later on the phone to verify.

 

At Yoga ashrams I've listened to top yogi's explain that the Hindu gods are real.  The prayers and chants are methods for talking to them as surely as he talking to us, but it takes dedication and heart.  Same as Taoists.. get hardcore enough and see and get guidance from spirits etc.,  

 

Is it real?  Maybe.. certainly above my payscale, but sometimes we get surprise checks in the mail.  In the meantime, every now and then looking at Life as Dream, yields perspective and wisdom that I find useful  

 

And the tik tok world is a little boring.  To keep a foot, an ear or an eye open for that other reality can make us live a better, more open in this one.  Though I am admittedly a slacker who holds some skepticism and their wallet.  

 

 

 

[Gerard]

And that is what makes us HUMAN right here right now, not in the fictitious la-la land. Mindfulness, middle way, the present moment. Chop wood, carry water before and practice. It's paramount being grounded. 

 

The OP will benefit from the following reading:

 

https://www.lionsroar.com/forum-do-you-believe-in-miracles/

 

 

Btw, you are already in that other reality but let's not forget about this other one either.