Destiny

[kioftenshi]

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

Comments

taoist magic

[anonymous]

Ancient Taoists believed if you paid attention to the spiral you were on you could spot the re-occurance of certain personal patterns and adjust your destiny slightly as you rounded the corner going down your spiral - very similar to dna spirals - nurture vs. nature - maybe a little of both? They also believed the highest purpose of magic was to enchant the everyday and the mundane...

Re: taoist magic

[kioftenshi]

Funny you should say that. I find spirals in places least expected. Most notably, they show up in my own poetry. Perhaps there is something sub-conscious going on. My life is certainly enchanted.

Do you know of any places - books, sites etc - where I can go to read up on this subject? And do I know you from somewhere?

Thank you...

Re: taoist magic

[anonymous]

hmmmm, maybe destiny is subconsciousness itself or the emergence of subconscious patterns into consciousness? I don't know. My destiny right now is a nap I think. I read (or heard) (it was a book on tape) about the spirals and the enchanting of the everyday and mundane from a new commentary on the Tao de Jing - I wish I could remember the name - got it at my library - next time I'm at the library I'll find out and tell you. It was a very good commentary. There's much more Chinese historical/linguistic/cultural scholarship available to inform the meaning of Taoist texts. My name is Robert. I'm too sleepy to start a live journal, but it's probably my destiny sometime in the future. I live in Anaheim, home of the Magic Kingdom, the happiest place on earth. I can see Tinkerbell's nightly fireworks from by patio.

Re: taoist magic

[kioftenshi]

Pleased to meet you Robert. Your patio sounds enchanted indeed. It's no wonder you are drawn to learning about magic. My name is Linda and I live in a place with true seasons, the most beautiful of which is just around the corner.

I hope that when you do fulfill your destiny of creating a Live Journal you will be my 'friend', though not necessarily restricted to quotation marks. :) And please do tell me if you come across the title of your reference.

Thank you for writing... Hope you enjoyed your nap.

Re: taoist magic

[anonymous]

ah, is there anything more magickal than a long nap in a pyramid

Re: taoist magic

[kioftenshi]

We do, but there's nothing quite like meditation to increase awareness of the nothingness which is restful repose.

Cheaper too. ;)

L

P.S. Thank you for this. You should definitely start up a live journal....

Re: taoist magic

[anonymous]

Yeah, that's true, I like experimenting with the different traditions. Currently I'm reading Chogyam Trungpa, a now deceased Tibetan Master of the left hand path. I think he died in Canada in the late 80's. His Shambala organization has a couple of retreat centers up there. I'm reading his books -"Meditation - the Myth of Freedom" and "Spiritual Materialism

Re: taoist magic

[kioftenshi]

Oh man, you have no idea how much I needed that laugh. Thank you so much. I can't imagine it would be very easy to meditate on a drug like Folger's. Maybe you should try putting it in a bong. At the very least you may end up with some of that neurotic energy lest the neighbours catch you trying to smoke coffee. ha ha ha

I'll have to look up Chogyam Trungpa. I have never heard of him. What other spiritual paths have you explored?

Re: taoist magic

[anonymous]

I haven't seen a bong since the lost teen years. God, I remember there used to be a bong in every garage in Southern California at one point - that and a strobe light.

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?

Re: taoist magic

[kioftenshi]

I've really only been into Taoism for just over a year. Before that I was all but devoid of spirituality, knowing of nothing to believe but Christianity. That never went over well with me in the first place...

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

Re: taoist magic

[anonymous]

Oh no! Sorry to hear about your housing difficulties. I still haven't been to the library to look up that Taoist book. I'm on vacation myself next week so maybe I'll go. Are you on some kind of quest over in Japan? Well, good luck over there.

Re: taoist magic

[kioftenshi]

I'm on a quest to find peace. I realize that makes no sense whatsoever...peace can only be found within after all. I suppose I do hope to have some questions answered. I think I'm hoping to produce a self- past-life regression.

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?

Re: taoist magic

[anonymous]

Is there anything more counter intuitive than inner peace? I want constant excitement and all I get is this endless inner peace! You want inner peace and you get exotic Japanese adventures - shoplifting rice balls to survive