Destiny
The Taoist belief, as far as I can interpret it, is that we* are all here for a reason. This naturally leads to a belief in fate and destiny - something I have great faith in.
What I am interested in is breaking this down. The greatest destiny, obviously, in any of our existences as humans is being born and dying. Between these two occurances ( Read more... )
The Initiated Adept, who had successfully passed through all the trials, was attached, not nailed, but simply tied on a couch in the form of a Tau, in Egypt, of a Svastika without the four additional prolongations in India, plunged in a deep sleep -- the "Sleep of Siloam," as it is called to this day among the Initiates in Asia Minor, in Syria, and even higher Egypt. He was allowed to remain in this state for three days and three nights, during which time his Spiritual Ego was said to "confabulate" with the "Gods," descend into Hades, Amenti, or Patala -- according to the country -- and do works of charity to the invisible Beings, whether Souls of men or Elemental Spirits; his body remaining all the time in a temple crypt or subterranean cave. In Egypt it was placed in the Sarcophagus in the King's Chamber of the Pyramid of Cheops, and carried during the night of the approaching third day to the entrance of a gallery, where at a certain hour the beams of the rising Sun struck full on the face of the entranced Candidate, who awoke to be initiated by Osiris and Thoth, the God of Wisdom.
Do you have sominex or niquil or excedrin pm up in Canada?
- Robert
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Cheaper too. ;)
L
P.S. Thank you for this. You should definitely start up a live journal....
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I like Chogyam Trungpa's Tantric Karma Yoga technique. The tantric part doesn't refer to sex but to negative neurotic energy. The karma part refers to transforming it. Basically you use your neurosis to attain enlightenment. Sadly, I'm not very neurotic, but I've found an effective substitute, about 20 cups of instant coffee drunk (?) drinkin (?) drank (?) on an empty stomach. Man, I'm a twitching bundle of Folger's crystal enlightenment about to happen. Should be about 30 more seconds... 8....7...6...5....4....3....2.....1... blammo - Hey, I'm a substitute crystal neurotic Buddha. Uh oh, it's gone now. Damn, I'm already a FORMER substitute crystal neurotic Buddha, it's only 11:30, I've got work tomorrow but my residue enlightenment will probably keep me up until 4...should have listened to Zen Master Roshi ...
"There are NO enlightened people, only enlightened moments." -
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I'll have to look up Chogyam Trungpa. I have never heard of him. What other spiritual paths have you explored?
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As glamorous as instant folgers crystal enlightenment is, I can't say I recommend it to anyone but the stoutest of heart. 48 hours later, I've sunk to negative satori 7 on the wilted diamond scale of washed out Dummy Buddhas... Hands stuck in the injured badger claw mudhra... legs reverse folded in quarter pounder lotus position...fingernails bit to the nestle's quick...visible kundalini leaks in Motown chakra... accidentally sat on my tantra halo...second one this month, that's gonna cost me.
I'm sort of a dilettante when it comes to spiritual paths. I might walk down one for a while, then get distracted by something moving in the bushes, the rangers yell at me. I did practice Raja yoga, Shiva division, for a while.
How about you?
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I'm sorry it's taken so long to write back. I'm freaking out over not being able to find a hotel room in Kurashiki Japan at the moment. I spent the entire day searching the net for one in Hiroshima and finally found something grossly overpriced, which is going to mean I'll have to skip a few meals.
There's nothing uglier than a stressed Taoist... grrr
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Also there is this: Though I cherish my time alone I am afraid of being alone in the world. In travelling half-way around the world from everyone I know I will surely face my fear. A taste of aloneness I suppose, as I plan to return after a mere 11 days. The only thing that is keeping me from being truly terrified of taking this trip is the belief that I am going home in some way, shape or form.
Sorry for the rambling. You got me thinking out loud. Do you have any plans for your holiday other than going to the library?
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There are some dream techniques to produce a past life regression. I followed the recipe given me by my Shiva guru and had a dream where a narrator's voice came on over my dream's public address system and said - "This is your last life time." But it was only a dream about the end of my last life, and I got the impression I had been a real idiot and so don't attach much credence to it. My guru also said past life experiences are notoriously unreliable so I had an out and continue to maintain in my last life I was King Arthur, King of England, leader of free men everywhere.
"But it is possible to make friends with the desolation and appreciate it's beauty. Great sages like Milarepa relate to the desolation as their bride. They marry themselves to desolation, to the fundamental psychological aloneness. They do not need physical or psychological entertainment. Aloneness becomes their companion, their spiritual consort, part of their being. Wherever they go they are alone. Whatever they do they are alone. Whether the relate socially with friends or meditate alone or perform ceremonies together or meditate together, aloneness it there all the time. The aloneness is freedom, fundamental freedom. The aloneness is described as the marriage of Shunyata and wisdom in which your perception of aloneness suggests the needlessness of dualistic occupation. It is also described as the marriage of Shunyata and compassion in which aloneness inspires compassionate action in living situations. Such a discovery reveals the possibility of cutting through the karmic chain reactions that recreate ego-oriented situations, because that aloneness or the space of desolation does not entertain you, does not feed you anymore. Ultimate asceticism becomes part of your basic nature. We discover how samsaric occupations feed and entertain us. Once we see samsaric occupations as games, then that in itself is the absence of dualistic fixation, nirvana. Searching for nirvana becomes redundant at that point." - Chogyam Trungpa "The Myth of Freedom and the Way of Meditation"
Well, so far on my vacation I've gone to a Hurricane benefit at a hollywood nightclub for a voodoo priest who has to relocate here to Southern California. I took a lot of pictures. If you want me to send you some photos put your e-mail address on your "about" page (only until I send the photos - then you can take it back off again if you want.)
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