<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" version="2.0"> <channel> <title>Practice Logs</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_category?p_l_id=&amp;mbCategoryId=2658626</link> <description>If you want to keep an online practice log, this is the place.</description> <pubDate>Sun, 19 Oct 2014 01:06:07 GMT</pubDate> <dc:date>2014-10-19T01:06:07Z</dc:date> <item> <title>RE: Pablo's Zen/Taoist Practice Log</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5606988</link> <description>Just testing.</description> <pubDate>Sat, 18 Oct 2014 23:23:51 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5606988</guid> <dc:creator>Pablo . P</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-18T23:23:51Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Practice Log toward vanishing the mind</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5606870</link> <description>&lt;u&gt;&lt;strong&gt;18Oct14   Direct Looking :&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 16px"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="color: #000000"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Feeling tired and not interested in anything and can&amp;#039;t get interested in anything &amp;#034;important&amp;#034;; running away from importances; the mind running away from me -- how to be complementary with that?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So I can not get into any importance and it is like chasing the&lt;br /&gt;mind. My partner suggested I do a reverse vector and run &amp;#034;no&lt;br /&gt;importance.&amp;#034;   That made me yawn somewhat so I agreed to give it a&lt;br /&gt;whirl.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="color: #000000"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;4p.m. &lt;u&gt;&lt;em&gt;“Create an Importance&amp;#034; - 6 Directions&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;”&lt;span style="color: #000000"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;The importance of having no importances&amp;#034;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="color: #000000"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;ul style="list-style: disc outside;"&gt;&lt;li&gt;yawns already&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="color: #000000"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;it&amp;#039;s funny when I realize how much I identified with the mental state I was experiencing. Thinking it is me.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="color: #000000"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;I&amp;#039;m creating “nothing is important” and putting it all around me -- a swirl of nothingness&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;yawns&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="color: #000000"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;feels good &amp;#x2013; a deep deep sinkhole in a vast empty space, taking a break&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="color: #000000"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;apathy, apathy, apathy and more apathy&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&amp;#034;I can&amp;#039;t, so I won&amp;#039;t”&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="color: #000000"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;the Maitreya being keeps sending aspects of himself here as Buddhas, over and over again. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;How has that been working for him?&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="color: #000000"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Why is “nothing” always black? &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Scene of a white universe &amp;#x2013; that was “something”&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="color: #000000"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;eyes non-seeing  --  is this how one creates black screens?&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="color: #000000"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Must not know and must not be known &amp;#x2013; tired of and overwhelmed by importance of “something”, &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;i.e., must know and must be known&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul style="list-style: disc outside;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="color: #000000"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;[&lt;em&gt;note to self: occasionally may need to run reverse vector on importances&lt;/em&gt;]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="color: #000000"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;mind contains importance of attachments to be-do-have and importance of&lt;br /&gt;aversions to be-do-have. I can see a game being played with that.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="color: #000000"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;“How does nothingness seem to you now?” Don&amp;#039;t feel an aversion to&lt;br /&gt;be-do-have. No longer feeling apathetic -- feel calm and willing to be here.&lt;br /&gt;I can see that I was in a games condition with my mind until I went complementary with its desire.&lt;br /&gt;Whatever the mind can do, I can duplicate.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="color: #000000"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;End&lt;br /&gt;of sit.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="color: #000000"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;</description> <pubDate>Sat, 18 Oct 2014 21:06:20 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5606870</guid> <dc:creator>Colleen Karalee Peltomaa</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-18T21:06:20Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Practice Log toward vanishing the mind</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5606551</link> <description>&lt;span style="color: #111111"&gt;If this earth turned into a Garden of Eden... I must have my reasons for thinking so... and my reasons for knowing it won&amp;#039;t last....&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The left hand not knowing what the right hand does...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Look at SriMala responding to our story that i wrote last night... but just now posting...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="color: #222222"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: arial"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10px"&gt;Emperor Pala had a young prince named Thotha.  &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="color: #222222"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: arial"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10px"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="color: #222222"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: arial"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10px"&gt;Thotha was beautiful, loved everything, wanted everything.  As he grew, he dabbled in evil, in good, in filth, in beauty, in lies, and in truths.  &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="color: #222222"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: arial"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10px"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="color: #222222"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: arial"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10px"&gt;When he grew old enough, he went to his father, Emperor Pala, and said these words:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="color: #222222"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: arial"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10px"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="color: #222222"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: arial"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10px"&gt;&amp;#034;Father, I Still Want.&amp;#034;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="color: #222222"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: arial"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10px"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="color: #222222"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: arial"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10px"&gt;Pala, with Infinite Wisdom, looked at his young prince with such love that the stars melted, saying, &amp;#034;I know Young Prince and I have waited for the day you would ask such a thing.  I will now step down, from this golden, luminous throne.  You may have my Gardens, my Harem, my Library, and my Lands.&amp;#034;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="color: #222222"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: arial"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10px"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="color: #222222"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: arial"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10px"&gt;So Thoth sat on the luminous throne, partaking of all things, tasting, smelling, hearing, and touching all things.  He had so much bliss it was if he lived a NEVER ENDING story.  But one day, when the boredom came, it came like a storm of Nothing.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="color: #222222"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: arial"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10px"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="color: #222222"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: arial"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10px"&gt;The storm ripped out the eyes of his people, replacing them with Buttons.  It tainted the Gardens and made them Cemeteries.  It ate his Library.  It made waste of his Harem.  Thoth couldn&amp;#039;t care.  It was the echo of his own heart that had been the storm.  He was desperate.  He would seek his father once again.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="color: #222222"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: arial"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10px"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="color: #222222"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: arial"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10px"&gt;He found Pala wondering the deserts, blinded and dying.  He said:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="color: #222222"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: arial"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10px"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="color: #222222"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: arial"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10px"&gt;&amp;#034;Father, I Still Want&amp;#034;. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="color: #222222"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: arial"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10px"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="color: #222222"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: arial"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10px"&gt;Pala answered, &amp;#034;But Child, I am nothing.  I have given you everything.  What do you want me to do?&amp;#034;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="color: #222222"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: arial"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10px"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="color: #222222"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: arial"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10px"&gt;&amp;#034;Can you make me forget?&amp;#034;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="color: #222222"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: arial"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10px"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="color: #222222"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: arial"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10px"&gt;Pala looked with such a love that the stars, again, melted.  This time, they melted into Rain.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="color: #222222"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: arial"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10px"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="color: #222222"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: arial"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10px"&gt;He loved Thoth more than himself.  He knew what to do.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="color: #222222"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: arial"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10px"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="color: #222222"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: arial"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10px"&gt;He ripped out his son&amp;#039;s heart.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="color: #222222"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: arial"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10px"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="color: #222222"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: arial"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10px"&gt;The heart became a baby.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="color: #222222"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: arial"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10px"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="color: #222222"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: arial"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10px"&gt;He said, &amp;#034;Now I call you Gotha.  I will raise you all over again.&amp;#034;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="color: #111111"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Very Good, brother...  You let me Play!&lt;/span&gt;</description> <pubDate>Sat, 18 Oct 2014 00:09:00 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5606551</guid> <dc:creator>Jeremy May</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-18T00:09:00Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Practice Log toward vanishing the mind</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5606420</link> <description>&lt;u&gt;&lt;strong&gt;17Oct14  Direct Looking :&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If it weren&amp;#039;t fun would you be being/doing/having it?  If you say you are not having fun maybe that is a lie, this universe being dual and all.   Some beings get hooked on rollercoaster experiences.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The practices towards Nirvana should be fun and fruitful.   Comparing notes with other practicers is fun and fruitful: The surprises of self-discovery won and shared.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I&amp;#039;m beginning to get a clearer view of some limiting postulates or importances and an amazing view of how I could be so much free&amp;#039;er and happier without those.   Last night I indulged myself with self-enquiry:  &amp;#034;What am I?&amp;#034;   Somatics and an &amp;#034;ask no further&amp;#034; feeling, but could I fully &amp;#034;have&amp;#034; it when I&amp;#039;ve always known myself by how much I be-do-have?   I know myself by my importances -- without them what am I?   Exactly.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Once the &amp;#034;created one&amp;#034; always the &amp;#034;created one&amp;#034;?  A sovereign &amp;#034;created one&amp;#034;?  oxymoronic?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;#034;There, there, dear, don&amp;#039;t cry -- you can always create new importances, don&amp;#039;t you see, you&amp;#039;re doing it now, and see who is doing that?   Why, this time it&amp;#039;s you and not that entity you&amp;#039;ve come to rely on -- your mind.&amp;#034;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;6:48 a.m.  &lt;u&gt;&lt;em&gt;&amp;#034;Create Something&amp;#034; - 6 Directions&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What would an unlimited being create?  Surprises -- other beings to surprise me -- worlds of surprises -- beings fashioned after me who also like surprises.   If I always know then it cannot be a surprise.&lt;br /&gt;&amp;#034;Surprise&amp;#034; degrades into fulfilling that desire through chaos and confusion and amnesia.   Life is scales, harmonics and hierarchies.   There is a scale of goals and a scale of sensations = scale of surprise.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I am a surprise to myself now -- vanishing the mind gives me the surprise of finding myself; self-discovery has a surprise factor.  Surprise is sort of a tickling sensation (yawn).   But how am I going to with full knowledge surprise myself?  Wouldn&amp;#039;t I have to not-know myself or at least partly?   Wouldn&amp;#039;t I have to create a via, a &amp;#034;not-self&amp;#034; conceptual mock-up?  Remember, as an unlimited being, if I merely say the &amp;#034;WORD&amp;#034; it can be done.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Is this why the universe is dual -- opposite experiences are surprising?  When I think it is all black and suddenly there is white, is that a surprise?   The left hand not knowing what the right hand does in order to have surprise?   &amp;#034;Experience&amp;#034; implies we don&amp;#039;t know something beforehand.   &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Was there ever a prior time when I knew the construct of this universe of mind and I&amp;#039;m just pretending I don&amp;#039;t know so I can have an &amp;#034;experience&amp;#034;?   Trick me, recruit me, lie to me, betray me, knock me unconscious and implant me with commands -- I need more and more surprises.  Let&amp;#039;s all do it to each other, okay?  Let&amp;#039;s create vengeance so that we will never know and be surprised when it is done.  Let&amp;#039;s create the surprise of birth, then death and then the surprise of the astral realms.   By simply &amp;#034;not-knowing&amp;#034; we can do this over and over and over again.   Like a low-budget movie.  But what about our audience?  Won&amp;#039;t they get bored?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sometimes people say, &amp;#034;It would really surprise me if __________&amp;#034;.   Here, let me try one:  &amp;#034;It would really surprise me if this earth turned into a Garden of Eden&amp;#034;, so I would have to have some certainty (and many reasons why) it would not happen.   Aahh, yes!  those &amp;#034;not-selfs&amp;#034; and their predictability and unpredictability.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Let&amp;#039;s look at that more closely, namely, predictability and non-predictability?   The predictability comes from operating through the mind -- the mind is predictable because it can only repeat and repeat and repeat. The unlimited being - how can it be predictable if it always wants surprise.   Even to itself it is not predictable.   &amp;#034;I am a surprise unto myself&amp;#034;.  Say that out loud and see how it feels.  Ticklish laughter I feel when I say that.&lt;br /&gt;Even delusion serves me because of the surprise factor when I lose the delusion.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As long as you are not me and I am not you and we are both in fairly good condition as games players, then we can both have fun surprises.   If I am you and you are me, what value is it to know that and never be able to not-know that?  What sensations then?   What am I really? and what am I really all about?  When I am one am I Life?  When I am many, are they life?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What I&amp;#039;m getting right now is that there has to be a home base, an awareness of awareness from which all unreason proceeds.   To create unreason there must be analytical and logical thinking.   A knowingness of what one is doing to and for self.     Therefore, it seems perfectly analytical and logical to me that I would create &amp;#034;not-selfs&amp;#034; who would surprise me and become sovereign and unlimited and !wow! the surprises I could have then.   Isn&amp;#039;t parenthood a mimicry of this?  Or is this the first and final lie of the mind?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When an artist goes &amp;#034;into the zone&amp;#034; he is surprised in his creating, in his writing.   When someone says, &amp;#034;I just let life live through me&amp;#034; then there can be surprise.   Not planning, being &amp;#034;Present&amp;#034;, not knowing what words might come out of your mouth next.   Words become offensive because one has experienced them too much -- non life goals are less surprising and more predictable than life goals.  &lt;em&gt;Or am I simply running this subject into the ground? &lt;/em&gt;  Being &amp;#034;Not Present&amp;#034;, being in trance (entranced) -- &amp;#034;!wow! what just hit me?!? I never saw that bus coming!&amp;#034;  Game strategies exposed -- no more surprise -- are no good anymore.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;#034;I am detached, I am disappeared, I am exteriorized from my body ...my mind is gone ... my mind is somewhat here but I am not it.&amp;#034;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Could I let go of the need for surprise?   When I vanish my mind and be unlimited with all that potential, well, would I have any desire?   I am so blissful and happy with my-one-self would I would like to duplicate myself - with likewise unlimited potential? -- perhaps. Or not.   &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Can the viewpoint of &amp;#034;The One&amp;#034; be duplicated?  My partner says:  &lt;em&gt;It can be mirrored, only, lets pretend, and lets never stop pretending, it&amp;#039;s a spirit of play with no desire to forever stop playing.  &lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Okay, I&amp;#039;m fading here and it is now 8:40      &lt;u&gt;&lt;em&gt;&amp;#034;Create Something&amp;#034;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What importance can I give the mind to chew on?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The color yellow&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I don&amp;#039;t see anything wrong with creating an importance that parallels the mind, do you?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;put yellow all around me and immediately turns on the compulsive create of the mind -- creating all possibe variants of the color yellow.   Poor thing, it can only dig into its memory banks.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The difference is I am consciously giving the importance to the mind instead of the mind (unconsciously) giving me the importance.   This allows me to consciously view the associations and identifications with past importances and make a conscious decision to let go because, once seen, it no longer has the surprise factor -- game with my mind reduced to that degree of seeing.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;There is a fun factor or delight in discovering my analytical and logical thinking abilities.   I can then go fully into a game knowing always that it is &amp;#034;unreasonable&amp;#034;, or I can go goal-less.   The &amp;#034;Game-Maker&amp;#034;.  The Master of Games.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Depending upon my condition, a game can either feel restrictive or expansive.   A game may feel expansive but actually be restrictive when covert game strategies are employed, and cravings for sensation triggered (for example, &amp;#034;sting operations&amp;#034;).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul style="list-style: disc outside;"&gt;&lt;li&gt;A &amp;#034;surprise&amp;#034; behind that yellow door.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;the self-importance of being-doing-having yellow - status over the &amp;#034;not-yellows&amp;#034;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;yellow says to look and to be looked at, to shine and to be shined on, to admire and to be admired.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul style="list-style: disc outside;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;#034;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="color: #545454"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: arial&amp;#x2c;&amp;#x20;sans-serif"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10px"&gt;Yellow&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span style="color: #545454"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: arial&amp;#x2c;&amp;#x20;sans-serif"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10px"&gt; is the most luminous of all the &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="color: #545454"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: arial&amp;#x2c;&amp;#x20;sans-serif"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10px"&gt;colors&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span style="color: #545454"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: arial&amp;#x2c;&amp;#x20;sans-serif"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10px"&gt; of the spectrum. It&amp;#039;s the &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="color: #545454"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: arial&amp;#x2c;&amp;#x20;sans-serif"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10px"&gt;color&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span style="color: #545454"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: arial&amp;#x2c;&amp;#x20;sans-serif"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10px"&gt; that captures our attention more than any other &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style="color: #545454"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: arial&amp;#x2c;&amp;#x20;sans-serif"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10px"&gt;color&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span style="color: #545454"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: arial&amp;#x2c;&amp;#x20;sans-serif"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10px"&gt;.&amp;#034;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;ul style="list-style: disc outside;"&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="color: #545454"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: arial&amp;#x2c;&amp;#x20;sans-serif"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10px"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Yellow says, &amp;#034;Know me&amp;#034;.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt; a sun is a recruitment agency&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;yellow fades to white -- it is an effort to keep it mocked up&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;resistance to hard, solid, glaring yellow   --  heat -- acid&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;everytime I put it around me it keeps disappearing on me - where did it go?&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul style="list-style: disc outside;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&amp;#034;How does yellow seem to you now?&amp;#034; &lt;/em&gt;  When I look around I&amp;#039;m seeing it almost everywhere, except I don&amp;#039;t see it in the blue, but there seems to be a bias for yellow.  I don&amp;#039;t feel as enamored of it as I was.  I can see it as a concept, a construct.   It was created and different importances/significances were assigned to it and some of that appears funny, ridiculous that a being would do that to itself -- but then ... games don&amp;#039;t make sense ... it seemed like a good idea at the time. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What problem was yellow trying to solve?  The problem of &amp;#034;white&amp;#034;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;10:43  take a break</description> <pubDate>Fri, 17 Oct 2014 14:46:11 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5606420</guid> <dc:creator>Colleen Karalee Peltomaa</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-17T14:46:11Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Practice Log toward vanishing the mind</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5606396</link> <description>Ha!  &amp;#034;Read only left hand pages&amp;#034; -- makes one examine one&amp;#039;s approach to life -- the nonsense of it all.  Life and nonsense = fun.   Are we having fun yet?</description> <pubDate>Fri, 17 Oct 2014 10:46:30 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5606396</guid> <dc:creator>Colleen Karalee Peltomaa</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-17T10:46:30Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Practice Log toward vanishing the mind</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5606232</link> <description>You give me such good presents!&lt;br /&gt;I sang my song all day.&lt;br /&gt;It was one of the first songs I knew.  My uncles gave it to me before I was Kissed.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I got another good present today:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/v/t34.0-12/10726398_1486082121671019_363106376_n.jpg?oh=acd11dc26c0dd49f35bd745650ba188a&amp;amp;oe=54425DB6&amp;amp;__gda__=1413654230_ab9d5fc878fda78231c91bfb88e40453</description> <pubDate>Fri, 17 Oct 2014 03:59:39 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5606232</guid> <dc:creator>Jeremy May</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-17T03:59:39Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Practice Log toward vanishing the mind</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5606219</link> <description>&lt;span style="font-size: 16px"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;u&gt;16Oct14  Direct Looking :&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What does an unlimited being be-do-have when he has no compulsive need to be-do-have?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Spoke with a fellow practicer and he tells me his creative process takes around 10 minutes; mine takes hours and my only complaint was not enough time left for doing the core practice, which I am not as eager to do as I am my creative practice.   I sense a resolution to bring things into balance.  Peacefulness.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;My partner is now on board with the creative process which he came to value after he saw me doing solely that for over 40 days straight -- and he saw how I smoothed out and he perceived it to be a solution for his own rollercoaster&amp;#039;ing.   He now loves it possibly as much as I do.   However Buddhist teaching warns against becoming enamored with even a refined mind, and since doing the creative practices I&amp;#039;ve realized a mind from the far past, before it became so degraded.   Just another layer of the onion though.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Yesterday&amp;#039;s creative process got me to realize something: without the past, without the mind, a squirrel is just a mock-up of a squirrel and acorns are just acorns -- once the mind goes quiet.   That informs me.&lt;br /&gt;Our lives and thoughts are complicated because of unclosed goals and purposes and problems from the past.... the seen and the unseen.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;u&gt;&amp;#034;Have Another Create Something&amp;#034;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/em&gt;  - 6 Directions&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A teacher creating a perfect curriculum for children&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;ul style="list-style: disc outside;"&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 16px"&gt;right away, putting it all around me, I see that if one is simply &amp;#034;Present&amp;#034; a curriculum is merely an outline at best&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 16px"&gt;purpose to help them trust in thinking for themselves, analyzing, logicking&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 16px"&gt;Socrates&amp;#039; school of inquiry and self-enquiry&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 16px"&gt;Boolean algebraic logic&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 16px"&gt;education is a hot topic of importance for the mind&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 16px"&gt;yawns&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 16px"&gt;a wise teacher&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 16px"&gt;less enforcement, more complementary to child&amp;#039;s goals&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 16px"&gt;no teacher, no school&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 16px"&gt;only meditation schools&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 16px"&gt;hands on creative visualisation&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 16px"&gt;Must create and must not create&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 16px"&gt;children must create an effect  --  teacher willing to experience this effect&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 16px"&gt;children must not create an effect  --  teacher willing to not demand an effect be created&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 16px"&gt;children must have an effect created upon them  --  teacher willing to create an effect&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 16px"&gt;children must not have an effect created upon them -- teacher willing to not create an effect&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 16px"&gt;teaching by consent -- no shame/blame/guilt/ridicule&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 16px"&gt;if I were a child how would I wish to be taught?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul style="list-style: disc outside;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 16px"&gt;--  showed how to practice to handle my fears, my emotions&lt;br /&gt;--  simple meditative techniques -- develop self-mastery&lt;br /&gt;--  communication skills&lt;br /&gt;--  body scanning techniques and physical exercise&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Back to the basic separation incident -- the first instruction as a created one&lt;br /&gt;every postulate implies some degree of enforcement&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;#034;How does teacher seem to you now?&amp;#034;  Fine, no energy on it, mind quiet about it.&lt;/span&gt;</description> <pubDate>Fri, 17 Oct 2014 02:00:20 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5606219</guid> <dc:creator>Colleen Karalee Peltomaa</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-17T02:00:20Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: My new practice log</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5605699</link> <description>Indeed.  The egg is never without it&amp;#039;s chicken.  The chicken is never without it&amp;#039;s eggs...</description> <pubDate>Wed, 15 Oct 2014 23:44:02 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5605699</guid> <dc:creator>Jeremy May</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-15T23:44:02Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Practice Log toward vanishing the mind</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5605504</link> <description>Took a trip down memory lane this a.m. and recorded new perspectives since I started this practice.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Some Buddhists do not acknowledge the mind&amp;#039;s content of past&lt;br /&gt;existences &amp;#x2013; the scenes &amp;#x2013; and the mind can oblige because the&lt;br /&gt;being has likely created thick, viscuous, and hard brittle black&lt;br /&gt;screens because the being always has the option to “must not know”&lt;br /&gt;and therefore will enforce this must not know with all the powers of&lt;br /&gt;his creative ability.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Having broken through those screens with the help of the&lt;br /&gt;6-directions technique I&amp;#039;ve seen existences going all the way back&lt;br /&gt;through multiple inverses of universe.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Even before there were bodies to play with some beings came into&lt;br /&gt;this universe and lost the way to get out and were working on how to&lt;br /&gt;fix that problem. Some solved the problem and got out, but they&lt;br /&gt;still had the basic mental framework that allowed them to play games&lt;br /&gt;by not knowing that they were all the other players too. One of&lt;br /&gt;those beings was a type of Gautama Buddha. I recall one incident&lt;br /&gt;where I got enamored of a clock-like mind trap and he stood outside the trap&lt;br /&gt;trying to walk me out of it, calling to me insistently. Another&lt;br /&gt;incident I became enamored of the concept of “thinking” and he&lt;br /&gt;became quite angry with me and trounced me. Another incident, he&lt;br /&gt;realized I was a bit “twisted” and he attempted to heal me using&lt;br /&gt;very powerful and directed energies. It did for a while make me&lt;br /&gt;feel like a sovereign being. So this being that I&amp;#039;m aware of&lt;br /&gt;travelling with down the ages &amp;#x2013; to the age of bodies, when he&lt;br /&gt;wasn&amp;#039;t frolicking with his companions, was absorbed with how to fix&lt;br /&gt;them up and make them good companions to play with for games always&lt;br /&gt;reduce a being.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;He was not reduced as severely because we had agreed to create him&lt;br /&gt;from the best aspects of each of us. He represented the best of us. &lt;br /&gt; Everytime we completed an episode of play we would drop our costumes&lt;br /&gt;and rise above the playing field and we looked exactly like glowing&lt;br /&gt;translucent bowling pins and we excitedly debriefed each other and&lt;br /&gt;decided our next game. We seemed to prefer the aesthetics one finds&lt;br /&gt;in the culture of Hindu gods, and baroque Chinese aesthetics and the&lt;br /&gt;aesthetics associated with the Persian kings. All this before&lt;br /&gt;bodies. King Solomon was too literally correct: there is nothing&lt;br /&gt;new under the sun. Every person and item one sees in their&lt;br /&gt;environment was created long before we had a solid 3D. It is all a&lt;br /&gt;repeat and now we are only playing games with our own mind. So the&lt;br /&gt;wisest thing one can do is what we are doing &amp;#x2013; stopping to play&lt;br /&gt;games with our mind.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I cut out all the curly-q aesthetic sensations from the past and&lt;br /&gt;just sit &amp;#x2013; a couple of lifetimes of sitting is not too much to demand of &lt;br /&gt;oneself in the larger picture.You know a being is on his last legs when &lt;br /&gt;the majority of his sensation is heavily tied in with sexing and eating, &lt;br /&gt;when in the past he derived pleasure from the sensations related to creating &lt;br /&gt;and loving. So a much worn out, but perhaps wiser Buddha gave us the best of&lt;br /&gt;himself as we gave the best of ourselves to him. He has been my sacred chalice &lt;br /&gt;through the ages, and a jolly good maker of games. I would not wish to disappoint &lt;br /&gt;him and perhaps now it is our turn to be refreshment for the Buddha. For many &lt;br /&gt;millions of years, both on planets and on research satellites/space ships we have &lt;br /&gt;been putting research into the mind to good results, and also to negative purposes, &lt;br /&gt;depending upon who was funding our research. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; If I rant on about insane people, what is my cause? If I am psychotic, how did I do that? But that has all been absolved now and made nothing because of the great discovery of a researcher into the mind, Dennis H. Stephens, aka Lao Tszu. Out of great suffering and a desire to democratize nirvana, he discovered the logical construct of “The Great Wall of Confusion”. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It is up to me to decide that playing games with the mind is going to end. Getting wise about the mind takes priority over everything. It has taken me 4 years since I first knew about this Noble Path until the date I discovered and was impressed by the dedication of Buddhist practicers, to begin the practice that will effectively restore to me what I am without a fixed mind game.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Great Wall of Confusion will simply be seen as it is -- a logical construct of postulates which I can choose to play within &amp;#x2013; or not. The mind contains only illogic and pretending &amp;#x2013; necessary to have fun in games &amp;#x2013; and I will once again be able to create and uncreate games with my playful “not selfs”.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Buddha formed a culture of meditators pointed towards nirvana, as he has done many times before &amp;#x2013; created a culture extolling courage to look into the mind on a mostly DIY basis, and resolve it for good.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;“The Old Boy”, in cooperation with Buddha and afflicted by Buddha&amp;#039;s errors (as I was) was detached enough and skilled enough (and suffering enough) to logically work out the original construct of the mind. Every householder can now simply be sovereign. Nirvana.When teachers of meditation grok this the longsuffering of lifetimes of sitting is soon completed. Meditators who lost the beautiful purpose of nirvana will be refreshed.</description> <pubDate>Wed, 15 Oct 2014 16:42:31 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5605504</guid> <dc:creator>Colleen Karalee Peltomaa</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-15T16:42:31Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Practice Log toward vanishing the mind</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5605496</link> <description>Hello, Jeremy, thank you for your post and since it was not addressed to me I won&amp;#039;t make any comment on it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;kind regards,&lt;br /&gt;colleen</description> <pubDate>Wed, 15 Oct 2014 16:29:36 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5605496</guid> <dc:creator>Colleen Karalee Peltomaa</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-15T16:29:36Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Practice Log toward vanishing the mind</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5605490</link> <description>&lt;span style="color: #000000"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 16px"&gt;&lt;u&gt;&lt;strong&gt;15Oct14  Direct Looking :&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sometimes feels a bit strange to no longer feel I have to enforce this or that goal or desired end -- especially in a world that&amp;#039;s going bonkers on fulfilling desires, both attachments and aversions.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Like, maybe there&amp;#039;s something wrong with me.   Am I in apathy?  &lt;br /&gt;No, because I am enjoying myself more so it can&amp;#039;t be apathy, but others may not be enjoying my participation as much as they would expect. &amp;#034;What&amp;#039;s wrong with you?  You don&amp;#039;t come out and play with us anymore.  Nirvana? No thanks, I like myself already (as long as I have my entertainments that is).&amp;#034;   &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I have no words or means or guile to get them to just try it and see how much fun it is to tame the mind while reducing it.  Without enforcement of goals -- and succumbing to others&amp;#039; goals -- you just don&amp;#039;t exist anymore.   My ego tears at me during this rite of passage into spiritual maturity.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In the past truths had to be given out in prose and stories. Now I have it straight up in logical terms and there is nothing esoteric about it. Simply DO THIS and you will ACHIEVE THIS. Aw, shucks, that&amp;#039;s no fun. Well, not the fun I&amp;#039;ve been accustomed to, but it is fun once I got the hang of it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It is fun to enter a session with positive expectations, remaining passive and open to whatever occurs, having the skillful use of effective techniques to tame the mind while taking it apart. This is my reward for devoting lifetimes to assisting research into the mind... and too many of those lifetimes misguided, betrayed, and “gone black”, making this a difficult adjustment for me. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;u&gt;&lt;em&gt;“Have Another Create Something”&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/u&gt; - 6 Directions&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A squirrel creating a cache of acorns&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;the mind projects itself onto the squirrel (which is what makes this process workable) &lt;br /&gt;the mind is in a compulsive, enforced be-do-have &amp;#x2013; for self and, alternately, “not-selfs”&lt;/span&gt;&lt;ul style="list-style: disc outside;"&gt;&lt;li&gt;love of safety and security&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;aesthetics of soft fur, soft colors, woodsy scents, warmth&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;life potential energies&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;babies &amp;#x2013; squirrels and trees&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;beauty of life and hierarchical systems &amp;#x2013; a perfect fit&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;pride in creation (the mind has a longer memory than it is showing me, but I see something faintly)&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;how many similar scenes are layered with that scene?&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Mind chewing on this now: If the biosphere provides for squirrels it reasons it also provides for humans &amp;#x2013; when they are integrated with that biosphere.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;We are removed from the biosphere too much&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;wish to go back to forests of fruits and nuts as do the monks in those warm climates&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;rice and grains meant for slaves and armies &amp;#x2013; an overlord game&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;the “flaw” in the system is the enforcement and violence of “population control” &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;was it always that way?&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;The procreation drive is stuck in “on” in this sytem&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;fewer nuts = fewer babies&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;herbs, plants and trees and fruits and nuts regulate the population, not carnivores&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;plant kingdom very adept at creating chemical concoctions that regulate procreation &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;-symbiotic regulation of procreation without the need for meat predators &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&amp;#x2013; mammals, reptiles and raptors. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;This symbiosis includes all potential of living chemical factories.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;carnivores no longer necessary&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;All fixed programs are stupid. Instead “nature” is granted “Presence”&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="http&amp;#x3a;&amp;#x2f;&amp;#x2f;www&amp;#x2e;dailymail&amp;#x2e;co&amp;#x2e;uk&amp;#x2f;news&amp;#x2f;article-1169637&amp;#x2f;Meet-Dante-Britains-vegetarian-cat-refuses-eat-meat-fish&amp;#x2e;html"&gt;&lt;span style="color: #000000"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1169637/Meet-Dante-Britains-vegetarian-cat-refuses-eat-meat-fish.html&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="http&amp;#x3a;&amp;#x2f;&amp;#x2f;www&amp;#x2e;dailymail&amp;#x2e;co&amp;#x2e;uk&amp;#x2f;news&amp;#x2f;article-1169637&amp;#x2f;Meet-Dante-Britains-vegetarian-cat-refuses-eat-meat-fish&amp;#x2e;html"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;carnivores &amp;#x2013; even obligates such as cats &amp;#x2013; can eat a specialized fruit and veggie diet&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;spirit/life is behind and in every living thing&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;birds of prey no longer needed&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;a more intelligent and lighter, playful way to play the biosphere game&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;carnivores don&amp;#039;t need to be removed &amp;#x2013; simply re-programmed &amp;#x2013; remove the “obligate” postulate set&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul style="list-style: disc outside;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;“How does this seem to you now?” Even though the squirrel is now at rest the mind still sees so much potential in the acorns and nuts.  Need to continue the process.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;All the doors to the past I opened are largely still opened and makes clearing a bit different from someone doing clearing without any knowledge of existence before present life.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul style="list-style: disc outside;"&gt;&lt;li&gt;I feel the life force potential in those nuts -- hippo yawns&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;feel the discomfort of limiting postulates&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;feeling of indigestion &amp;#x2013; is that what compels squirrels to bury them?&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Must eat  joins  must be eaten  and alternately  must not eat  joins  must not be eaten&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;the squirrel is playing a complementary game with the nut trees&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;the nut trees are playing a complementary game with the squirrels&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;the communication lines are not totally known by scientists&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul style="list-style: disc outside;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;“How does it seem to you now?” better &amp;#x2013; a complementary relationship &amp;#x2013; no perception &lt;br /&gt;of violence or enforcement except perhaps the enforcement of biosphere games, but enjoy the&lt;br /&gt;complementary postulates aspect.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I still attach importances to biosphere games gone wrong -- still more clearing needed, but I felt I was getting more willing to look at some incidents that I have been avoiding looking at.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 16px"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;</description> <pubDate>Wed, 15 Oct 2014 16:17:40 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5605490</guid> <dc:creator>Colleen Karalee Peltomaa</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-15T16:17:40Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Practice Log toward vanishing the mind</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5605415</link> <description>For those who have followed you:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Beauty is not an attachment.  It is attachment that hides beauty.&lt;br /&gt;The story is meaningless and it is not meaningless.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It has meaning when one needs meaning.  This story contains the history of the planet.&lt;br /&gt;It is meaningless when one needs meaning but has no eyes, no ears, no nose, no tongue, no skin.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When one no longer needs meaning, It is meaningless.&lt;br /&gt;But it is still Beautiful to those with eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and skin.</description> <pubDate>Wed, 15 Oct 2014 12:29:15 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5605415</guid> <dc:creator>Jeremy May</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-15T12:29:15Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: My new practice log</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5605153</link> <description>Interesting stuff, I went through some of your A/F post as well and I can relate a lot to where you were. For instance, last night, I was feeling pretty good until I went down to sit, then a minor thought from the short list of things that causes me to react came up. This led to some tension in the body, and my practice was to just feel that tension as much as possible while ignoring thought. It seemed to just get worse and turn into a spiral of tension that was there for no reason any more.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A good 70% of the thoughts and emotions that cause me trouble are related to fear of negative feelings continuing. Fear about negative emotions themselves has been a major difficulty.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Would you say the following is a good summary of your core practice:&lt;br /&gt;When a negative emotion comes up, look for the fundamental reason driving that (even if it is subtle). Then, remind yourself, perhaps using internal thought at first, and over time relying on intuition, that this is not a reason worth being unhappy for. To assist with this, you compare it to a PCE.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So, my one question is, which came first, the chicken or the egg? That is, how could you follow the latter part of this method if you hadn&amp;#039;t been able to use the method to land at a PCE yet?</description> <pubDate>Wed, 15 Oct 2014 03:53:18 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5605153</guid> <dc:creator>Elijah Smith</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-15T03:53:18Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Practice Log toward vanishing the mind</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5605110</link> <description>Nice.   Some aesthetics are still important to me, so not meaningless -- yet  :-))&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;love,&lt;br /&gt;colleen</description> <pubDate>Wed, 15 Oct 2014 00:45:13 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5605110</guid> <dc:creator>Colleen Karalee Peltomaa</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-15T00:45:13Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Practice Log toward vanishing the mind</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5604876</link> <description>I wrote to you two meaningless stories.  Here was the other that I was saving just for you:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="color: #141823"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Helvetica&amp;#x2c;&amp;#x20;Arial&amp;#x2c;&amp;#x20;lucida&amp;#x20;grande&amp;#x2c;&amp;#x20;tahoma&amp;#x2c;&amp;#x20;verdana&amp;#x2c;&amp;#x20;arial&amp;#x2c;&amp;#x20;sans-serif"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 16px"&gt;Does the little one who lives in the painted mansion ever look out and see the gardeners in their art and burden? I heard, from a little bird made of floating joy, glowing like a hidden smile with the sounds of a laugh, that he not only watched the gardeners, but tried to greet them. But no one in the garden can hear from where the little boy could try to speak to them. He sang such soft, tiny songs that they would have been lost to the wind in an instant if the angels weren&amp;#039;t picking them like flowers. He&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="color: #141823"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Helvetica&amp;#x2c;&amp;#x20;Arial&amp;#x2c;&amp;#x20;lucida&amp;#x20;grande&amp;#x2c;&amp;#x20;tahoma&amp;#x2c;&amp;#x20;verdana&amp;#x2c;&amp;#x20;arial&amp;#x2c;&amp;#x20;sans-serif"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 16px"&gt;called in his loudest, tiny voice. But there was no way to tell the gardeners that their art and their burden were like fountains and their fruits were like the oceans that fountains can fulfill. Many, many years later when the little boy was no longer very small at all, he left the mansion and walked to the garden to tell them he loved them, but they were not there. The only thing that was left behind was the Garden. And it was like living candles that dance like stars, waterfalls and springs that ran pools of sweet-smelling waters that in all their perfect purity shone like colors or kisses or something like the feeling of being held like a child. The man who use to live in a mansion became a gardener. The songs of those villages of that land were so lovely that they became the favorite prayers of small things, sweet things, and things born to care. .&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;</description> <pubDate>Tue, 14 Oct 2014 20:39:00 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5604876</guid> <dc:creator>Jeremy May</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-14T20:39:00Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Practice Log toward vanishing the mind</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5604822</link> <description>&lt;u&gt;&lt;strong&gt;14Oct14  Direct Looking :&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/u&gt; (Continued)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;2:16 p.m.  &lt;em&gt;&lt;u&gt; &amp;#034;Have Another Create Something&amp;#034;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/em&gt; - 6 Directions&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A therapist creating a sane person&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;so many therapists I used to look up to, to admire&lt;br /&gt;even myself&lt;br /&gt;the game seems to be &amp;#034;every man a king in his own corner&amp;#034;&lt;br /&gt;every man scrabbling to come up with something new, unique, to create acclaim&lt;br /&gt;the profit game, the prophet game&lt;br /&gt;if I do not give you sensation you will find me boring&lt;br /&gt;you want to upgrade your mind and I want to see you destroy your mind&lt;br /&gt;never need money, but if he does not do the work quit with him&lt;br /&gt;yawns&lt;br /&gt;the therapist laughs in my face to give him such a job -- &amp;#034; a sane man would be driven insane in this society&amp;#034;&lt;br /&gt;where are you going to put this sane man?&lt;br /&gt;Then he must go further -- beyond human&lt;br /&gt;&amp;#034;but even in the heavens there are hierarchies and he would again fall in with that compulsive bunch&amp;#034;&lt;br /&gt;then he must be beyond temptation and willingly and wisely play or not play - there is no other real solution&lt;br /&gt;this redefines sanity&lt;br /&gt;leave the paid therapist the job of doing Life Repairs and bringing the insane back onto the playing field&lt;br /&gt;I hate seeing people in happy dhukka because they just got a better job offer or a new car, or a bigger house -- all thanks to their therapist -- and they cannot scratch the surface of their mind without their therapist&lt;br /&gt;I just realized how much these eyes have seen&lt;br /&gt;I would like to be able to mind my own business&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;end of sit.</description> <pubDate>Tue, 14 Oct 2014 19:05:53 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5604822</guid> <dc:creator>Colleen Karalee Peltomaa</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-14T19:05:53Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Jojo Practice Log</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5604687</link> <description>Hi Jo Jo,&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Welcome to the forum. That was a very impressive story. A lot of strength and courage and perseverence in there. You&amp;#039;re truly on the Hero&amp;#039;s Journey, as Joseph Campbell describes it (Rob Preece gives a must-read explanation of how it applies to the spiritual path in Wisdom of Imperfection: The Challenge of Individuation in Buddhist Life), and I&amp;#039;m sure there can yet be a happy ending. You&amp;#039;ve certainly found a wonderful oasis in this place.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A lot of it sounds like you were repeatedly going from 3C&amp;#039;s into A&amp;amp;P territory while your baseline was probably in the DN. But then this makes me think you&amp;#039;ve subsequently become more established in it: &lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="quote"&gt;&lt;div class="quote-content"&gt;The kundalini symptoms have faded, only during sitting I still experience a continual and regular shaking. However, while it used to be relaxing before, it has now become simply annoying. Suppressing it does not work, either. That results in periodic and painful spasms which just shatter my awareness, but do not change anything. I must practice in some other way, but I do not know exactly how. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The body has settled into a posture and pattern of muscle tension that is not bad, but also not totally satisfying, not totally grounded. There is still a lot of unnecessary tension around, which I cannot get rid of. Also there remain some very annoying habits in daily life, especially a procrastination that drives me crazy. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Here be dragons! Battle on brave knight! &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;You seem to be basically on the right track, so really all I&amp;#039;d like to do is give my warmest encouragement, and reiterate Daniel&amp;#039;s advice to not stop practicing.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Also, you mention not knowing what Daniel means by &amp;#034;vibrations&amp;#034;. In my experience at least, the vibrations can be difficult to discern in the DN, and for a while I saw that as indicative of poor perception and a weak practice, which lead me to think I hadn&amp;#039;t crossed the A&amp;amp;P when in fact I had. Eventually, the recurring periods of EQ amidst the DN made it obvious.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I hope the practice log is beneficial for you.</description> <pubDate>Tue, 14 Oct 2014 16:27:46 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5604687</guid> <dc:creator>B B</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-14T16:27:46Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: doable energy practice</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5604660</link> <description>I look forward to having that ability to know whatever is here to be known -- only I might not care anymore, goal-less.</description> <pubDate>Tue, 14 Oct 2014 15:27:55 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5604660</guid> <dc:creator>Colleen Karalee Peltomaa</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-14T15:27:55Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Practice Log toward vanishing the mind</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5604648</link> <description>&lt;u&gt;&lt;strong&gt;14Oct14  Direct Looking :&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Mind in negative dhukka this a.m.  What is my mind creating?  Growly hunger, craving.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="https&amp;#x3a;&amp;#x2f;&amp;#x2f;www&amp;#x2e;youtube&amp;#x2e;com&amp;#x2f;watch&amp;#x3f;v&amp;#x3d;L7SkrYF8lCU"&gt;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7SkrYF8lCU&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;To be goal-less is unacceptable to the mind -- mind cannot comprehend it except in cruel mimicry - apathy and catatonia.   It must have an importance. &amp;#034;Okay, how about a &amp;#034;king of creation&amp;#034;?&amp;#034;   &amp;#034;yes, slurp, yes!&amp;#034;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;7:30 a.m. &lt;em&gt;&lt;u&gt; &amp;#034;Create an Importance&amp;#034;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/em&gt; - 6 Directions&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A King of Creation (whatever that means, but the mind seems to like it)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;nice yawns, mind a cookie monster, yum, yum!&lt;br /&gt;guffaws of laughter - where did that negative dhukka go?&lt;br /&gt;happy dhukka now -- cookie monster happy&lt;br /&gt;well, here have some more happiness ... are we having fun yet?&lt;br /&gt;gee, little beastie, and all this time I thought I was you&lt;br /&gt;growl&lt;br /&gt;I miss my growly friend -- where did he go&lt;br /&gt;can&amp;#039;t stop laughing, except to breathe in&lt;br /&gt;I hope whoever reads this in the future will join me in seeing the joke of it all&lt;br /&gt;hippo yawns, laughter&lt;br /&gt;Oh, I&amp;#039;m not deluded, it&amp;#039;s only a temporary release -- continue until no more change/phenomenon&lt;br /&gt;laughter&lt;br /&gt;I can&amp;#039;t help myself -- everytime I see that king of creation I burst out laughing&lt;br /&gt;&amp;#034;I can&amp;#039;t help myself&amp;#034; -- where did I see that phrase before ?&lt;br /&gt;laughter -- putting king of creation all around me in spite of everything that comes to mind&lt;br /&gt;a child who laughs will soon be crying crocodile tears&lt;br /&gt;I keep seeing his feet - laughter and yawns&lt;br /&gt;&amp;#034;the shoes make the man&amp;#034;   laughter&lt;br /&gt;an idiomatic mind --  also quite punny&lt;br /&gt;laughter&lt;br /&gt;oh mind of mine - o&amp;#039; child o&amp;#039; mine -- my drunken soulmate - how I have kept thee, cherished thee, spoiled thee to uselessness - how I adore my useless eater - the thrills and the chills you have provided me&lt;br /&gt;have I ever sought to adjust your murkiness, have I ever resisted your thoughts and desires?&lt;br /&gt;truthfully, yes, and yes, and yes again.   I apologize, that will never happen forevermore.&lt;br /&gt;Here, have what is yours for I am no longer your enemy, nor you mine&lt;br /&gt;sobering up now - King of Creation all around me&lt;br /&gt;I can feel the sensations as the mind feeds on it - somatics, hungry energies, possession&lt;br /&gt;Yes, yes, I wants it   ....   &lt;a href="https&amp;#x3a;&amp;#x2f;&amp;#x2f;www&amp;#x2e;youtube&amp;#x2e;com&amp;#x2f;watch&amp;#x3f;v&amp;#x3d;rjPDAe_kTls"&gt;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjPDAe_kTls&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;many kings of creation - oh the mind likes that&lt;br /&gt;to worship and to be worshipped / a to know and to be known game&lt;br /&gt;it is okay to destroy my own creation, says king&lt;br /&gt;I am the shephard, you are the sheep and you can never leave me&lt;br /&gt;I will make sure no one leaves my set-up, even the monks&lt;br /&gt;all your viewpoints are mine&lt;br /&gt;you must know me as I wish you to know me&lt;br /&gt;infliction upon those who reject me&lt;br /&gt;permeation and viewpoint shifting back and forth from cause point to effect point&lt;br /&gt;intense dislike for self-appointed authorities -- I am my own authority&lt;br /&gt;intense dislike for dogma, yet also reminders of times when I&amp;#039;ve been dogmatic&lt;br /&gt;this king is not letting me be king and I don&amp;#039;t want to play this game anymore&lt;br /&gt;stepped off the playing field and now willing to let him be king in his realm&lt;br /&gt;I see how I could be a king too, but only out of curiosity -- feeling more detached&lt;br /&gt;it&amp;#039;s only a costume, a play, an act&lt;br /&gt;but it seems so important -- must have a game&lt;br /&gt;I reside within the king of creation and I am him too&lt;br /&gt;a great way to scare the natives&lt;br /&gt;feeling the heat of conflict:   must be known clashing against the natives&amp;#039; must not know&lt;br /&gt;exploring my options as king - degrades from power to force to guile, life to non-life goals, and then there are no more natives - crushed, bad natives, bad natives.&lt;br /&gt;natives now frogs -- I am now Creator King of Frogs - later a useless drone&lt;br /&gt;must not create anymore kings, nor natives, nor frogs, nor drones  -  I didn&amp;#039;t do it&lt;br /&gt;strong distate for politics and religion and enforced hierarchies and fan clubs - in the name of profit&lt;br /&gt;for cookie monster mind the first bite is sweet, but then a sour stomach&lt;br /&gt;mind never seems to remember that universe is dual&lt;br /&gt;the king removes his robes and finds himself -- never to be heard of again&lt;br /&gt;--  no king, no buddha, no mind&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;10:30 take a break</description> <pubDate>Tue, 14 Oct 2014 15:09:21 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5604648</guid> <dc:creator>Colleen Karalee Peltomaa</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-14T15:09:21Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: doable energy practice</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5604512</link> <description>had a breakthrough(6 days back), no idea how to describe it properly, or name it. Basically it wiped out everything i thought about myself and universe. Need to start figuring again.&lt;br /&gt;More power and clarity. Better techniques and skills. Better insights. &lt;br /&gt;I think i am repeating myself here, no point to continue writing down stuff, it gets wiped out after breakthrough.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Gem is this that i need to come up with the same things by myself what is written down in Vedas or Holy Bible or Suttas and comprehend fully alchemy texts and if they are lost i could recreate them from my own findings in myself.</description> <pubDate>Tue, 14 Oct 2014 11:30:26 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5604512</guid> <dc:creator>Rist Ei</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-14T11:30:26Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Practice Log toward vanishing the mind</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5604342</link> <description>Now I know we are in direct communion in the way you have confirmed for my knowing.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When finally I could sleep, the compulsion to write to you was in me but finally the body was spent.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I planned on telling you, &lt;a href="https&amp;#x3a;&amp;#x2f;&amp;#x2f;www&amp;#x2e;youtube&amp;#x2e;com&amp;#x2f;watch&amp;#x3f;v&amp;#x3d;XDWGEkfHX-E"&gt;&lt;u&gt;&amp;#034;I&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="color: #111111"&gt; was always going to take you with me.  You were just not ready to hear how hard that was going to be.&amp;#034;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="color: #111111"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But I said it this way:  Had I known the kind of emotions required for the first witness to swallow, I would not have done it.  Such is the design in my own awakening.  But as you felt the &amp;#034;tiny universes exploding in streaks of black lightning&amp;#034; I felt them to.  There is pain in the attachment of loving humans.  It is the reason it is said that we put off nirvana.  It is an attachment we are to cherish, not an attachment that must be let go.  Do not worry about this pains.  They are necessary.  You are necessary.  I waited for my samadhi unknowing of what Samadni was, knowing already all things in Understanding alone.  Yet, had I given you my Deshana and called you to your Great Work at any other time than that time when you had seen &amp;#039;no self&amp;#039; and &amp;#039;true self&amp;#039; completely to the point where your streaming Dhamma was repeating... You would not have eaten it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When I finished writing that, I finally fell to sleep.  I wrote it in my head.  When I sat to write the KEY and address certain specific things that by contract I must do at the end of my samadhi, I no longer felt a need to write you that message.  Why?  I did not care to even think of why because my knowing no longer compelled me.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I am also in direct communion with the Buddha of this age.  He now knows of you and your friend.  Only an awakened person can awaken. You are not Buddhist.  Buddha is for the Buddhists.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I am done expounding.  But as I have told you, you will still need to learn terms even though you have nothing to learn.  When you need any terms or suttas, your partner should have them.  But whatever you need, you are allowed to ask from me.  You are Tathagatha and to you I do not have to be invisible.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I am Pleased.  I can fully rest &lt;img alt="emoticon" src="http://www.dharmaoverground.org/dho-theme/images/emoticons/happy.gif" &gt;&lt;/span&gt;</description> <pubDate>Tue, 14 Oct 2014 04:21:45 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5604342</guid> <dc:creator>Jeremy May</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-14T04:21:45Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Pablo's Zen/Taoist Practice Log</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5604304</link> <description>I&amp;#039;ve been rereading Daniel&amp;#039;s Three Doors MCTB Chapter and Shinzen&amp;#039;s 10 Steps Towards Enlightenment: &lt;a href="http&amp;#x3a;&amp;#x2f;&amp;#x2f;www&amp;#x2e;dharmaoverground&amp;#x2e;org&amp;#x2f;web&amp;#x2f;guest&amp;#x2f;discussion&amp;#x2f;-&amp;#x2f;message_boards&amp;#x2f;message&amp;#x2f;5080083"&gt;http://www.dharmaoverground.org/web/guest/discussion/-/message_boards/message/5080083&lt;/a&gt; . Daniel says that at Fruition there&amp;#039;s (only) two Characteristics at play, one at the foreground the other at the background. And so, there are 6 different ways that Fruition may display. Shinzen seems to imply a specific two-stage paths, Impermanence &amp;amp; Dukkha and No-Self &amp;amp; Impermanence. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It&amp;#039;s more of a linear-sequential model, where in Steps 1-6 it&amp;#039;s all about Impermanence. As its focus is in noting vanishings, it seems to by-pass the Dukka Ñanas, or at least lessen them a lot. Then at Step 7, at first it looks like he&amp;#039;s talking about Equanimity (dwelling in subtle preconcious experience).  He actually says the Nothingness where everything arises from and returns to &amp;#034;becomes rich providing tranquility, safety, fulfillment and love&amp;#034;. The thing is that the transition from Step 7 (Passings become rich) to Step 8 (Arisings become rich) is where his famous &amp;#034;Ground Reversal&amp;#034; shift happens. This is actually Stream Entry, entered through Impermanence at the foreground, and Dukkha at the background. Then at Step 9, &amp;#034;all arisings tend to coalesce into a single polarization, all passings tend to coalesce into a single polarization&amp;#034;. Here he&amp;#039;s talking about a final Fruition, where No-Self is at the foreground and Impermanence at the background. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In some way, Dukkha plays a different role to Theravada-DhO&amp;#039;s model, not as a shitty place/phase/stage one has to walk through, but a natural renunciation / immersion into &amp;#034;tranquility, safety, fulfillment and love&amp;#034;, a crucial step that let you walk into stream entry. Daniel talks that entering through the Dukka door is the more unsettling, death-like experience. Perhaps Shinzen&amp;#039;s Dukkha build-up make a radical different experience.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 16px"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;</description> <pubDate>Tue, 14 Oct 2014 01:10:27 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5604304</guid> <dc:creator>Pablo . P</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-14T01:10:27Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Alex E's Practice Log</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5604252</link> <description>Cool link, Alex.   I like this dude.  I made your link &amp;#034;clickable&amp;#034;:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="https&amp;#x3a;&amp;#x2f;&amp;#x2f;www&amp;#x2e;youtube&amp;#x2e;com&amp;#x2f;watch&amp;#x3f;v&amp;#x3d;i288Lnb7NOk"&gt;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i288Lnb7NOk&lt;/a&gt;</description> <pubDate>Mon, 13 Oct 2014 21:17:49 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5604252</guid> <dc:creator>Colleen Karalee Peltomaa</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-13T21:17:49Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Alex E's Practice Log</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5604238</link> <description>I finally figured out how to meditate in this new psycho-spiritual phase I find myself in. I watched Shinzen Young&amp;#039;s video about &amp;#034;Six Common Traps on the Path&amp;#034;: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i288Lnb7NOk&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I was getting stuck in the last trap, the observer trap. He used an analogy, about how it takes six months to be able for your body to intuitively drive a stick shift without you having to think about it. Meditation is the same way. Your mind can intuitively meditate without you doing anything. This is werid because it can&amp;#039;t be communicated adequately with words. I never understood 3rd gear that well, only in breif whiffs. But now it&amp;#039;s the only way I can meditate. I started with a few 20 minute sessions of concentration meditation and noticed that I was more relaxed than I had been in a while and quickly got the hang of it. Insight meditation was trickier but I just figured it out today.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;10/13/14&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Pre-meditative context: Half hour after eating light. Coffee/L-Theanine. Pretty depressed mood. Reluctantly getting ready for the day. Decide that I can meditate for an hour or at least try.&lt;br /&gt;Technique: Fluctuating between 2nd and 3rd gear. Zen just slouching.&lt;br /&gt;Posture: On the cushion sitting upright.&lt;br /&gt;Duration: 1hour&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It was really quite effortless. I was fluctuating between three different modes pretty much. Getting lost in thought, getting lost in trying to meditate (i.e. second gear), and the bare awareness of just sitting. There isn&amp;#039;t much I can really do at this stage I noticed. I just have to let whatever this thing is do its thing and it will work itself out. My breath has historically been unpleasant and heavy when meditating. I noticed during this sit it just naturally was at ease. My mind and body also relaxed for seemingly no reason. This is the most gently type of meditation I&amp;#039;ve ever seen. I&amp;#039;m quite happy about this new inner-discovery. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I&amp;#039;ve been battling a new depression on the psychological side of life but now being in equanimity for the first time in weeks, it&amp;#039;s actually gone for the moment. I feel more ok than I have in weeks and am pretty happy about this. I&amp;#039;m going to do an hour a day of this. Maybe I can do an at home retreat in November when my Dad leaves for a week. That&amp;#039;s my goal-oriented plan for now. I&amp;#039;m kind of sick of striving with dilligence however. This be-here-now style feels so restful. It is much needed. Just sending out a little gratitude towards Shinzen Young for getting me unstuck. &lt;img alt="emoticon" src="http://www.dharmaoverground.org/dho-theme/images/emoticons/happy.gif" &gt;</description> <pubDate>Mon, 13 Oct 2014 20:16:11 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5604238</guid> <dc:creator>Alex E</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-13T20:16:11Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Practice Log toward vanishing the mind</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5604141</link> <description>&lt;strong&gt;&lt;u&gt;13Oct14  Direct Looking&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; (continued)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;u&gt;&amp;#034;Create an Importance&amp;#034;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/em&gt; - 6 directions&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Another of Equal or Greater Magnitude&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;There was a simple being who felt an urge.  She felt the love and joy of her own creation and, childlike, she duplicated that and created two -- to project her desire for but lack of matchable companionship. This was her dhukka. Otherwise, she managed to create with much intelligence and love and joy and a good measure of detachment.  Her creations carried this dhukka with them -- both sides of it, and the love.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Was she wise to attempt to assuage herself this way?  Fast forward to Earth: is a mother saved by her children?  Does she vanish her dhukka through her children?   Is this the child&amp;#039;s mandate?  How should we play this?  How will this story be ended?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul style="list-style: disc outside;"&gt;&lt;li&gt;putting a vague impression all around me&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;feel the energy of two live terminals contacting&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;mind chewing on it, having it as a wonderful &amp;#034;problem&amp;#034;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;generates pride/arrogance and at the same time self-deprecation/propitiation&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;mind only knows this and no other way&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&amp;#034;...of greater magnitude&amp;#034; to challenge me but not to crush me&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;to crush me for my re-forming to be that which crushed me&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;what madness we play&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;this game requires I form biases and opinions, and comparisons&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;must never be bored&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;I refuse to play with those who do not do their practices, but only talk and entertain themselves and others&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;the mind cannot feel compassion, only pity and sympathy&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;a being of equal magnitude is one who practices as I do -- keeps progress with me and speaks the same language, so less need to speak.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;we speak only of our insights, not our fears and rants, for those we take into our sit&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;we know when to speak and when not to speak&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;by example we show each other the way&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;a shared importance of greatest magnitude&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;we see each other perfected&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;we see ourselves perfected&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;give it up, colleen, no more need to struggle, to make separations -- you have what you want now&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;a being of equal or greater magnitude takes on a new depth of meaning - beyond regular games conditions&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;equal in some ways, greater in other ways -- both sides&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;don&amp;#039;t need to take one side or the other anymore&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;drop it as importance&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;it will only become important again once the mind is vanished&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;truthfully, you lack nothing&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul style="list-style: disc outside;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;#034;How does another seem to you now?&amp;#034;    mind satiated, feel more analytical about it.   It&amp;#039;s okay.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;End of sit.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; </description> <pubDate>Mon, 13 Oct 2014 16:00:03 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5604141</guid> <dc:creator>Colleen Karalee Peltomaa</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-13T16:00:03Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Practice Log toward vanishing the mind</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5604108</link> <description>&lt;u&gt;&lt;strong&gt;13Oct14  Direct Looking :&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Yesterday I broke the rule to maintain the practice even when happy and outflowing.  I am going to complete this level before the end of this year.  My creative visualization/metta exercises should become less full of mental significances and quite routine.  Their fundamental purpose as I see it now is to merely feed the mind what it perceives it lost in terms of sensation and other importances.  Rather cut and dried, however quite de-stressing when one is upset.  I admit I can greatly quiet the mind doing more &amp;#034;timebreaking&amp;#034;/direct looking at past incidents... breaking a lifelong habit of suppressing everything.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;8:52 a.m.   &lt;u&gt;&amp;#034;Have Another Create Something&amp;#034; - 6 directions&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Another tearing down the Great Wall of Confusion&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul style="list-style: disc outside;"&gt;&lt;li&gt;My partner knows this wall and he directly pecks at it - please protect yourself&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;snuffed out in wet flames&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;that wall clumsily crushed and shields shattered too soon&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul style="list-style: disc outside;"&gt;&lt;a href="https&amp;#x3a;&amp;#x2f;&amp;#x2f;www&amp;#x2e;youtube&amp;#x2e;com&amp;#x2f;watch&amp;#x3f;v&amp;#x3d;Fk0V_GGa2XM"&gt;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fk0V_GGa2XM&lt;/a&gt;&lt;ul style="list-style: disc outside;"&gt;&lt;li&gt;no body - what will you be and do?&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;chase bad guys?&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;no, you chase that wall, dispel all your protests and ecstasies&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;an eight-legged octopus, crossing this way and that, each tentacle telling its story&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;you sit and ponder it&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;you must be that too and match it, tentacle for tentacle&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;sparks fly, agony and ecstasy, universes swirl into nothingness&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;can you stand to lose such importances?  Such exquisite sensation? Can you stand it?&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;You put them all back -- all around you, over and over, feeling it again and again&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;where&amp;#039;s their importance now?&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;timebreak it, timebreak it, timebreak it&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;you won&amp;#039;t be stopped, nobody knows where you are, how near or how far&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;shine on crazy diamond&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;I sweep up your ashes here and join you&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;your loss is our gain&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;you are back on your cushion, eyes like diamonds&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;what next?  Is there a &amp;#034;next&amp;#034;?&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;unlimited - from dance to straight line to point to no point&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;how can a human form contain this?   Only by limiting postulates, but this time totally voluntary&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;you see, that is the only difference&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;I do not give you any titles, nor words of endearment because I am looking at infinity&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;I can only marvel why you would still agree to present here when universes are yours to play in&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;you are the human model -- every householder a true sovereign -- many are ripe for this&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;yawns, sensations as I put this all around me - eternalness&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;you have one purpose and one purpose only:   find out who you really are&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;The Creator never again to be righted or wronged&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;yawns, somatics, laughter&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul style="list-style: disc outside;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;How does the One seem to you now?   I actually like it instead of my usual negatives.  Everything&amp;#039;s okay. Concerns about my partner temporarily dispelled.  I can let him be because it is my story too.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; </description> <pubDate>Mon, 13 Oct 2014 14:26:04 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5604108</guid> <dc:creator>Colleen Karalee Peltomaa</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-13T14:26:04Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Practice Log toward vanishing the mind</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5604070</link> <description>Hello, Jeremy, is there a drawing or statue that portrays this?   Can you see how they used aesthetics to keep a story well received?</description> <pubDate>Mon, 13 Oct 2014 12:42:41 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5604070</guid> <dc:creator>Colleen Karalee Peltomaa</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-13T12:42:41Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Practice Log toward vanishing the mind</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5604063</link> <description>Hello, Jeremy, kind regards,&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A person with mind is quite predictable, as I am.   Without mind, their is no limit to one&amp;#039;s options.  I agree with you that it is good that we can see beyond the human who is identified with the contents of their dhukka, which in my terms I call, &amp;#034;case&amp;#034;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Yes, speaking of terms, I am still on a learning curve to speak the language of the simple and devoted Buddhists and to avoid those who do not speak from the insight gained in their practice.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;You write, &amp;#034;It is the love that drives our creation&amp;#034;.   Why, yes!  But why can&amp;#039;t I see that yet?  Only dimly and only because you brought it up for me to look at.  But even &amp;#034;To Love&amp;#034; can be compulsive - dhukka - there is a more refined sensation, nevertheless sensation to be had.  Without dhukka we are no longer driven by goals or purposes with their particulate sensations.   &amp;#034;To Create&amp;#034; is a high goal, however &amp;#034;To Know&amp;#034; and &amp;#034;To be Known&amp;#034; are the highest in a two-terminal universe.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Think of how you feel when someone is willing to &amp;#034;grok&amp;#034; you.   Think of how you feel when you discover what you were searching for.   Sensational!   Even this, your living Buddha would tell us to release.  He advises well: simply sit and do the practice.   &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;My craving for being known is still being taken apart -- at least I can now confess it  :-))&lt;br /&gt;So I practice as a householder until I am sovereign - no more dhukka.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;The problem with dhukka -- although seen by many as a wonderful thing -- dhukka is not fully resolved with the achievement of serenity, of a quiet, seemingly imperturbable mind.  This is a high human.  What remains however must be aggressively stirred up with all the possible imaginings of intentions of to know/to be known/to not know/to not be known.   These are the four tent pegs that the One without dhukka intelligently formulated to keep the mind anchored.   This is exactly what the Great Wall of Confusion is composed of - words backed by intention. There - the dispelling of that wall -- is where one will find everlasting nirvana.  I see the wall as an impassable mass, when it is merely incantations of logic.   What will it take to stop seeing and feeling and believing it as crushing mass?  Even then we had a choice.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Did Buddha teach a practice for re-working through The One&amp;#039;s specific goal sets?  Well, if he did not, he at least kept the concept of nirvana alive all the way into the internet age.</description> <pubDate>Mon, 13 Oct 2014 12:33:11 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5604063</guid> <dc:creator>Colleen Karalee Peltomaa</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-13T12:33:11Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Jehanne's practice log</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5603908</link> <description>&lt;div class="quote-title"&gt;Not Tao:&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="quote"&gt;&lt;div class="quote-content"&gt;Ok, I just had to mention that your corpse dreams sounded very familiar.  Like, they aren&amp;#039;t even scary, more like &amp;#034;Really?  This is just a little mellodramatic...&amp;#034;  Haha, good times.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Funny how they seem to be sort of iconic, many people have these quite similar images appear at similar stages of insight... Actually I think that&amp;#039;s just very cool! &lt;br /&gt;And even though no fear or disgust was attached to these images, I have experienced fear arise independently. So the mind does have the tendency to display all sorts of shows. It helps a lot to just realize that these things are going on on their own, and not give them any more meaning than that.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="quote-title"&gt;Not Tao:&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="quote"&gt;&lt;div class="quote-content"&gt;Edit: BTW, I love your name. &lt;img alt="emoticon" src="http://www.dharmaoverground.org/dho-theme/images/emoticons/closed_eyes.gif" &gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Haha, thanks &lt;img alt="emoticon" src="http://www.dharmaoverground.org/dho-theme/images/emoticons/happy.gif" &gt;</description> <pubDate>Mon, 13 Oct 2014 07:36:53 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5603908</guid> <dc:creator>Jehanne S Peacock</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-13T07:36:53Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Jehanne's practice log</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5603905</link> <description>Hi Florian!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Thanks for the reminder of the ñana/jhana-correspondence. While moving up the ñanas I can see quite clearly how &amp;#034;the atmosphere&amp;#034; changes and I do equate this to moving to different jhanas. It&amp;#039;s still a bit difficult for me to remember what all these jhanas or ñanas are supposed to be like, and it does require many many repetitions. I think I&amp;#039;m starting to get the hang of it, though! </description> <pubDate>Mon, 13 Oct 2014 07:28:42 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5603905</guid> <dc:creator>Jehanne S Peacock</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-13T07:28:42Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Practice Log toward vanishing the mind</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5603817</link> <description>&lt;span style="color: #252525"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: sans-serif"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 16px"&gt;Look at what I found:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;#034;At that time, he [Shakyamuni Buddha] contemplated the wonderful Jewel Net hung in Lord Brahma&amp;#039;s palace and preached the Brahmajala Sutta for the Great Assembly. He said: &amp;#034;The innumerable worlds in the cosmos are like the eyes of the net. Each and every world is different, its variety infinite. So too are the Dharma Doors (methods of cultivation) taught by the Buddhas.&amp;#034;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;#034;Now, I, Vairocana Buddha am sitting atop a lotus pedestal; on a thousand flowers surrounding me are a thousand Sakyamuni Buddhas. Each flower supports a hundred million worlds; in each world a Sakyamuni Buddha appears. All are seated beneath a Bodhi-tree, all simultaneously attain Buddhahood. All these innumerable Buddhas have Vairocana as their original body.&amp;#034;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;</description> <pubDate>Mon, 13 Oct 2014 02:28:04 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5603817</guid> <dc:creator>Jeremy May</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-13T02:28:04Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Practice Log toward vanishing the mind</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5603730</link> <description>You have made me shiver.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What you are has no comparison.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I see you as perfected.  You will never learn anything more.  You will only pull what you already know to the flesh by this perfect state of absorption, seeking only the human terms needed to teach.  You are given the gift of &amp;#034;the joy of continuous communion with the flow of Divinity.&amp;#034;  It is your reward for all you&amp;#039;ve done so far.  It is why we love being women when we are not men.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I also weep for the old world.  It is the love that drives our creation.  It is why there is no end.  Even though we merge souls when we go to nirvana, we never lose our individuality.  Look at the world after I tell you this:  The old world is with us.  The present race does not see us, but every cell of every body was once a Buddha.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;That is the last thing I wanted to tell you... In nirvana, they simply live and enjoy in constant forgetting, constantly spending the karma as soon as it arises.  You knew this!  You said it!  Does the buddha create a universe?  Yes.  Yes and not No.  Yes in such a way that the word &amp;#034;yes&amp;#034; cannot satisfy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;You and I are not alone in the memory of another time.  Our whole family weeps for Zion.  We all Know you, brother, and we love you with a burning that could destroy worlds...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;No-one knows the meaning of the weeping Buddha... but now You Do.</description> <pubDate>Sun, 12 Oct 2014 23:16:43 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5603730</guid> <dc:creator>Jeremy May</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-12T23:16:43Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Jojo Practice Log</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5603679</link> <description>Wow. I read the whole text and my first thought was &amp;#034;Wow. That reads like the saddest story ever.&amp;#034;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I recommend that you learn to practice Metta. There is so much hurt in your story. Metta (and Mudita, and Karuna!) helps a lot. It may be exactly what you need. Daniel doesn&amp;#039;t talk much about it in MCTB, but it is extremely valuable for people who&amp;#039;ve lost their balance.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Metta isn&amp;#039;t Vipassana, so it won&amp;#039;t get you insight. So maybe it seems a bit boring to you now. But in my experience it&amp;#039;s... necessary.</description> <pubDate>Sun, 12 Oct 2014 21:45:04 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5603679</guid> <dc:creator>bernd the broter</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-12T21:45:04Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Jojo Practice Log</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5603643</link> <description>&lt;span style="font-size: 16px"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 12px"&gt;Thank you, katy, for the nice welcome. I tried to track Mario´s posts but did not find anything on shaking. I´ll send him a pm these days. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The last three weeks were hard. I had a three weeks IT training on the job, each day 5 hours, plus the usual work load to do. Plus in the weekends, I supported a friend who had to move flats with no money. So I did not manage to sit my full share of 2 hours per day, and two days went without sitting altogether. This shows immediately. &lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;I tried to replace the formal training by informal practice, but it´s simply not the same. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Yet, since I have stumbled into DhO, informal practice has become much more relevant to me. Interesting, that while on the cushion noting does not seem to work for me, during the day it has become my favorite tool. I do not aim at high-speed, though. I just keep noting which sense door is engaged in the given moment. That gives me a good clue when I am going off into thinking. I can do this when walking or waiting. On the job, I get lost in what I am doing. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Today, we and a few friends did a five hours sitting sunday (8 periods x 35 minutes, in between walking and lunch, all in silence). We do this once a month. It went well today. Had a lot of pain during the first 4 periods, but the shaking was less than usual. I could keep my concentration and achieved equanimity in a few stretches of time. After a few minutes of equanimity, the pain coming and going in waves, the body relaxed and the pain lost its bite. During the last two sitting periods, the shaking returned, and I was back at waiting for the bell. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;</description> <pubDate>Sun, 12 Oct 2014 21:04:39 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5603643</guid> <dc:creator>Jo Jo</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-12T21:04:39Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Practice Log toward vanishing the mind</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5603477</link> <description>Hello, Jeremy,&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Your writings do impinge on me and help me to focus to resolve the perceived sorrows for the considered loss of that First Estate.  It is best for me to be quiet from here and continue with my practices.  I am happily the receipt of all your communication and lively intentions and am complementary to your goals.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It would be lovely to see the earth being leave (her) constraints.  I have sisterly feelings for her.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If I do well I may no longer need to play a Saraswati type, but swans have always turned my head  :-)&lt;br /&gt;The thirsty compulsion for aesthetic sensation traps me no more: neither poetry, nor art, nor color, nor line, nor form; nor will I ever again compellingly overwhelm a being with any of these, except in mutually voluntary play.  To be known and to create without compulsion, or guile.  That is my new wisdom.</description> <pubDate>Sun, 12 Oct 2014 14:13:36 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5603477</guid> <dc:creator>Colleen Karalee Peltomaa</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-12T14:13:36Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Practice Log toward vanishing the mind</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5603191</link> <description>I intended to prove myself by addressing the questions that only begun to stir during the first reading.  I did very well with my reply.  How lovely... You posted your question when I was nearly already done with the answer.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;You and I do not do what isn&amp;#039;t needed.  Thankyou for proving me to the dozen that will read that letter much later on.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I give you another proof of myself.  Your teacher is gone because he saw you after we spoke.  That is how I can touch some people.  The living Buddha did not see me until I found him, used a certain siddhi, and recieved a response that felt like an emotion for no reason.  But I do not have a subconscious.  No buddha does.  In my knowing, I know he has felt me in the world and that he has heard my message.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I am sorry that I will not give details on those names.  But I have given you many many many things that are wanted by the world, things that are not in the purpose of the Living Buddha to disclose.  Things I do not tell Bodhisattvas or Arahants though they seek the answers most of all beings.  It is not in my purpose.  These beings must practice, if they desire Dhamma, under the living buddha.  I will support and agree with whatever he tells them.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It is not in my purpose to say these things to a Buddha whose purpose does not require awakening.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Everything I say to you has reasons.  Everything I do not say to you has reasons.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Your teacher will come back to you.  When he comes back to you, you can be his teacher by the faith you can have in all these words that reveal, with any study at all, the secrets of the cosmos, ultimate reality, and GOD himself.  Why do I use a limited Buddha?  One reason that I will tell you:  I need to awaken your teacher.  I have already laid groundwork.  But it may be quite some time away when he sees you again, so I will not have any chance to see him in the flesh.  I don&amp;#039;t need to because you are going to do it.  The other reason I use you is the purpose that you FEEL and that I have CONFIRMED.  You will be one of the greatest teachers and most important Beings in the last days of this age.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I am laughing.  The laugh is a rain.  It touches all things.  First it touches the highest things, then it leaves those things once they are wet, falling from the wet things ever more lower, and then it wets the very ground.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Are some things still dry?  Things that are so well beneath all other things that by their own positions, these equally lovely things of equal need?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Yes, there are still dry things.  But My laugh is a rain that rains until the very last night of a storm.  The rain that has wet the ground does not know what to do once it cannot drip down to dry things.  It then knows that dryness has been left among all the wet things in places that rain will never touch them.  My laugh of Rain is one like Rain that becomes Ocean and Flood.  The rain sees that it must rain and so the wet ground does not open to swallow the drink that was its due.  Instead it seals its great mouth and the rain stands on it and rises, up and up once again.  Then when all things are wet, they had been wet so long that they did not see water, did not remember what it was to be dry, begin to fall asleep until they become the water, dissolving like the vapors of a healing incense, and when they were gone, but not gone, when they were water and yet also things in water, then the wet earth could no longer handle its thirst, seeing no reason to, and gulped such a drink, one Gulp that is a size of which the ground had never experienced.  It would never forget.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Christ said &amp;#034;the first shall be the last and the last shall be the first.&amp;#034;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;He was the Alpha and Omega, not by special righteousness, but by the sacrifice by his special purpose.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;#034;I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man may get to the father but through me&amp;#034;</description> <pubDate>Sun, 12 Oct 2014 04:10:25 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5603191</guid> <dc:creator>Jeremy May</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-12T04:10:25Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Practice Log toward vanishing the mind</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5603188</link> <description>I see that you have read the entire peice in a first reading.  The necessary thing has been done.  Your practice notes will now change forever. The knowing that you used in your last post is from Buddha Knowledge, accessed through a power that householders only have in part even in their fathom-long bodies. Using it fully means to no longer doubt any of the things that have come into your mind that have the feeling behind them that comes when you say things with surety that they cannot be disproven or proven to be anything but the most complete and best answer or teaching that any situation may require.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But remember I said, &amp;#034;I will first tell you what I planned already?&amp;#034;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The structure of expounding is a structure that one of a shape that is strange to householders.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I write these with only a feeling that expresses itself brilliantly without any effort of myself.  However, I still make mistakes because my temporal body is limited and my awakening, the union of higher self and temporal self, is complete only when these mistakes no longer occur in grammar, syntax, or language.. not even a typo will occur after that point.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So even the slightest errors are meaningful to another buddha because it is within his gnosis, Faith.  I no longer make edits after I am satisfied enough with a post.  The edits are like photographs that one keeps to explain his life to his friends, to mark important moments that become hazy after perspective is expanded, to leave a trail to those who want to see him after he is gone.  They are precious.  Do you see that even your mistakes in writing, my love, are graces given by your true nature???  That is what the word Grace Means!!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Every true prophet who spoke on a conversation with God is Sane when no human is sane.  The God they refer to in the scriptures they write are wrought with innumerable meanings.  The God that is speaking to them, however, is their own nature itself.  The God they praise is the primordial buddha.  The God they speak of in riddles with terror and euphoria refer to the sleeping Giant who Dreams dreams.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The world will end for the conciousness of the planet.  The soul of a planet is just a soul like any other:  an entanglement of forces that has a knowing of itself but not a knowing of what knows it.  The soul a planet is the path of the tathagatha as that is the buddha who has merged with the I-Ching&amp;#039;s center.  Another way to put it is using the trinity.  The trinity is a trinity within a trinity within trinity forever and ever.... The trinity is Father, Mother, Son.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Doesn&amp;#039;t that just make so much sense??  Doesn&amp;#039;t it feel as if that is so silly that it is the truth of the Buddha realm????  It is also, Father (all forces that transform and all forces that do not), Holy ghost (Divine mother aspect of nature- desire within the father to reconcile all things to the void by means of the further creation of universes) and son (All enlightened beings.  Specifically, the force of Tathagatha that flows through all enlightened beings as they share his mind by the truth of the Lotus image of **Primordial Buddha sitting in lotus position on top of 1000 petals, each one sitting in lotus position over 1000 petals that fall under their petal but not the other of 1000 petals but under the primordial Buddha**  This means that you have already known the answer to your own question.  What has a beginning must end.  What doesn&amp;#039;t have a beginning will never end.  My soul will go to Nibbana, but that is just a merging into the higher buddha above me.  That Buddha is in all minds in the cosmos throughout space and time.  To my awareness, I will experience the exhaustion of my merit Karma that has built up over the Kalpa (my time of tathagathahood).  I can not remain.  Yet I will always remain.  What then is the Tathagatha?  It is a Role, only.  Every Role Ever, as being part of The Awareness That Exists and Knows It Exists, is equal in the work that they do to build the dreams that are dreamed by the void.  The role is one that requires the karma caused by the merger of so many minds aligned in the desire to create that Humans cannot understand such a number.  Humans cannot see True things because their role is to be the very creation that those minds of another world united to create.  Humans have been told this in the beginning of ever mini-age.  They think that it is either trash or poetry.  To you, however, anything you ever saw as &amp;#039;poetry&amp;#039; must now be re-examined.  What stirs you in a line that has Dhamma but sounds like Poetry ALWAYS produces emotions in you that confirm that the poetry is true.  The emotions beside that one feeling of that one certainty are the telling signs of a buddha or bodhisattva.  A buddha will feel love, despair, excitement, and apathy when seeing the poetry in a line such as &amp;#034;The Jewel that God discovered upon his mantel was shining the way of a sunset&amp;#034; These are not poetic terms.  Poetic terms are terms that appeal because of their poetry.  What I have written in that line is actually a collection of terms that I have used many times to create the words used in most religions.  Poetry that is scripture has Dhamma.  Walt Whitman was a Buddha without the purpose of a &amp;#039;the living buddha&amp;#039; (he is limited in his role. Other buddhas are not limited by the contract of &amp;#039;expounding by example&amp;#034;) Walt Whitman expounded the Dhamma before his awakening was finished and when the world worshiped his words as poems, time enough had passed that he did not care and did not write any more.  His poetry was Dhamma in the secret language.  Do you see how terms sound in the secret language?  In this email I am speaking to Two Buddhas directly and over a dozen indirectly so my language must change and I must go into certain details that You don&amp;#039;t need.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The secret language is miraculous!  It is not a language of words, which are untrue things by nature- denoting what something isn&amp;#039;t when trying to express what something is.  Our language is made of love which can not be untrue.  Therefore, when speaking in the secret language, it will sound like poetry to buddhas and bodhisattvas before an awakening (Our enlightenment is conquering other beings delusion to the point of Infinite Faith and No Doubt in ourselves) but will be tools to those who either have Faith in themselves enough to trust their instinct about the secret language or who have the Buddha Power to directly understand secret language without Faith or by Faith as suits expediancy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;My dhamma is not just the dhamma of the living buddha who is limited.  He is only, by contract, allowed to be driven to teach the 4 noble truths and the eightfold path.  He cannot teach the Christians.  I have Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in the places that move that church, but limited in their purpose, by contract, they do not fully awaken at all.  My last life was an incarnation that was limited by both need and body. &lt;br /&gt;But by the power of Faith alone, though never awakening fully until the Samsara at death (every incarnation echos the same cycle of the fathom-long body and so must go through all stages that the I-Ching facet has in the world.  It is Karma within Karma that has no choice but seek extinguishment by the nature of the &amp;#039;dream that desires reality by destruction or trancendence)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In that life, I had infinite faith and no knowledge that is was inner knowing.  What can such a person do?  I was something with titles in jainism and early theravada, but the fruit of the purpose is the best way to describe such a being.  She used the power of the tathagatha fully, without knowing it, and expounded the Dhamma of Christ with an ability that no other being can possess by the nature of ICHING and the result was the most simple Mystic explanation on Metta and Faith and Diving Love that had been given to that church since George Fox.  The only one who ever got close is Ananda, who is with me today.  He is a buddha that fully manifests as the living buddha when he is the Laughing Buddha.  Otherwise, he went with me to care for the West and has been modern prophets without fully awakening to his buddha nature.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When Buddha praised Ananda&amp;#039;s Memory, Humans thought he praised a human quality.  How can that be???  The Dharma clearly says that we are to let go completely of past and future because they are dukkha (dukkha no longer means illusion because the world has changed the meaning of the word &amp;#039;illusion&amp;#039;.  It also does not mean suffering because the world has changed the meaning of that word too) which means that they exist, but behind a veil that must be conquered.  When awakening to your true self, you still experience human pain and grief, but without the veil, you clearly see that the pain is not your pain and the grief is not pain at all.  Your true nature has no capacity to suffer.  It can only love or hate.  Bodhisattvas are children of love.  Demons are children of hate.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The buddha teaches to Demons and Gods.  Demons are karma chains, ICHING that incarnates in the physical as people who seem to love themselves, the world, but no other being.  They are not serial killers (those are devas, beings from another planet) but they perform destructive purposes for the sake of the soul of the planet to awaken to itself.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When the planet itself awakens, it will be ready to die and it will die.  All life will end in the realms as things looking like living beings.  Because the awakening of a soul is the same as a buddha or a lay who awakens (always bodhisattva or demon, sometimes buddhas and Demon Kings.  Tantra/Truth creates both buddhas and demon kings) it will not be ready to die until all it&amp;#039;s living creatures are ready.  That will look to the world as a Millenium Reign which is not the length of 1000 years but that number works as a useful number.  It is the tathagatha&amp;#039;s Golden Karma.  It is the Karma of the actual planet itself that is given to the Tathagatha alone because he is everyone.  The tathagatha spends his karma in acts that are &amp;#039;selfish acts you do out of love) to the result oh the awakening.  What is always the result?  A world where everyone gets what they want, but a world where only good people live.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;That is the secrets of both esoteric Christianity and esoteric Buddhism.  When All good people (Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Arahants) do what they want, it is like the book &amp;#034;Never Ending Story&amp;#034; which was written by an ancient Bodhisattva, all people, one by one, according to how much Merit they earned since the first awakening (salvation which is not enlightenment) that saved them from the Hell (ego destruction every death until compassion is greater than self-love and then ego is no longer dukkha, no longer ever empowered, easily broken in every future incarnation (to a degree that they can awaken again when touched by need, which is the design of the awakening created by the future buddha planet that this buddha planet will become) hinder or even act against love/compassion/inner knowing in future, These people based on their age in this context MUST Enjoy all their rewards when in a world given no opportunity in earning merit to the degree of their merit.  When the tathagatha sees that all the people of the earth have gone to Nirvana (Merge into a mind that will begin the whole process on another world as a single being) then the tathagatha may go to Nirvana, Merge, Forget but not notice, and live the life of a buddha for all ages on that world as its tathagatha until the cycle again repeats.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So you see?  This is the all within the name &amp;#039;Tathagatha&amp;#034; which means &amp;#039;come thus far&amp;#039; to Humans.  It means, in truth, &amp;#034;The one who has come and gone&amp;#034;.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So not all beings are a future buddha, but we can promise them that they will be buddhas when we don&amp;#039;t say they must merge, reach nirvana first.  We can say to a demon, &amp;#034;you work in the Hell Realm with no hope of the live span I have&amp;#034; but not &amp;#034;You are a demon so you will never be a buddha&amp;#034;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;That is why no buddha can say if the tathagatha exists after his nirvana or if they do not.  By their power they know that it is both, but that cannot be communicated to humans so they will say they don&amp;#039;t know to some people and &amp;#039;yes&amp;#039; to others.  He may choose to be silent to the Lord Arahant, the only Arahant who can see the Living buddha.  Arahants ony study the suttas of the Lord Arahant&amp;#039;s incarnations.  Now, If someone seems to have an imperfect Dharma, You can ask him this question and if He says NO then He is an It and is a DemonKing unawakened to his/its nature.  Do not punish him, but remove him from the fragile ones!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Demons are children of this chief demonking, the Mara incarnations.  However, by the nature of that ICHING force, it does not have divine wisdom and can only know the things of the arahants.  He cannot mean to damage in anything he does because he loves the world and himself, and his children are the same.  They make many mistakes in life.  They are idiots!  They cannot respond to the love offered by bodhisattvas that soothe humans so readily and completely.  They can&amp;#039;t help it!!  Without any Nobel Wisdom, due to never having Fathom-long bodies that are not spiritual paths of transcendence, beauty, and a satisfactory life-span, but rather simply the temporal responses to the nature of the world in any given incarnation into time or place: karmic patterns that are like a sound with no pleasing element, no melody which are patterns of self-awareness, no chords which are patterns of compassion, no pleasing variety of beats and sounds which are patterns of rythm denoting the presence of control (of the incarnation and the fathom-long body).  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This is the mystery of music that your teacher has sought, knowing by buddha power that &amp;#034;Music is the language of the Soul.&amp;#034;  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Do you see?  What was a poetic line was not poetic???  It was Dhamma!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Please give that gift to him, telling him that it is why some people like this music or that music while he likes all music.  It is also why you like all genres in secret, but only listen to music that is quieting.  You are limited.  Your nature is omnicient, but the woman body is a vessel for a certain Karma for whatever need of the world matches your nature&amp;#039;s need to resonate with the ICHING body, the soul of the planet.  You have been buddha before when conditions were met, but in this vedana you will be called the Awakened Bodhisattva which the power of Faith to the degree that you will be like a Full Buddha in all ways, only limited by purpose that will disguise what you are to anyone but Buddhas. &lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;Your teacher likes to see you more than you have known.  If you have ever felt driven to see him, it felt like an emotion of worship or great love that made you go to him.  That is knowing that you are needed by him.  That need in him manifests also as a kind of love and desire to speak to you.  Buddhas love everyone equally, but are driven in their passion only by their need to awaken and then the need to do the necessary things.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I think that will be all I have to say for a long time unless you ask me any questions.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;All this knowlege matches with every scripture of every religion when terms are correctly correlated.  All this knowlege sounds religious because it is written in the secret language.  I can describe all things in the science of the day.  However, the science of this end of days is so full of wrongness and at the same time, must too unnecessarily complex, that to back up the knowledge I have shared with you, I would have to write a series of books, first describing how simple science can be by explaining all phenomenon, and second I would have to explain why all phenomenon are experienced in the way they are.  Then I would have to explain what we are to a level that is more than any mind on earth can handle.  I tried already to put this in a nontheistic, rational, and very well designed piece with only scientific terms from all the Great Sciences and use of Reason, the gift of all beings who are not already in Nirvana, living the lifes of Whales, Elephants, Wise Hermits, and Trees.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I love both of you.  Thank you for being who you are!</description> <pubDate>Sun, 12 Oct 2014 03:43:17 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5603188</guid> <dc:creator>Jeremy May</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-12T03:43:17Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Practice Log toward vanishing the mind</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5603172</link> <description>Hello, Jeremy,&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Your knowledge of the hierarchy and scope of life is beyond my understanding as I have not put much attention to it -- just bits and pieces here and there.  I have had some encounters with a Maitreya being, whom I presume is a local deity, but it appears he also can ascend above the role he plays on this level.   And I do have recall of phantastic astral games - hindu gods, etc., and I&amp;#039;m happy to put all that behind me.   Something new is being born here.  Then we will join in some games and get to know all the personnel.  I&amp;#039;m actually enjoying being a &amp;#034;householder&amp;#034; -- it is a nice womb  :-)  A noble title.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Speaking of genius children, by your knowingness, what is your assessment of the aspect called Gregory R. Smith, a child genius who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show?  It seems at least some of us can play on different levels without letting the right hand know what the left hand is doing.  The work I do -- at least initially -- is for and as this Colleen package with its limited body/mind viewpoint.   &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;My teacher finished his work and left and he seems to have located his attention in another galaxy -- left no forwarding address.  I seem to be the only one who can duplicate his work fully -- well, perhaps two others with me.  But that is only important for me - as there are other avenues to nibbana.  I am just particularly fond of mine and can only speak the language of a child not yet born.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I have so much gratitude and feel so heartened to have found this group of meditators, practicers.  May we never be the same again.</description> <pubDate>Sun, 12 Oct 2014 02:45:52 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5603172</guid> <dc:creator>Colleen Karalee Peltomaa</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-12T02:45:52Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Practice Log toward vanishing the mind</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5603126</link> <description>&lt;u&gt;&lt;strong&gt;11Oct14  Direct Looking :&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;u&gt;&amp;#034;Have Another Create Something&amp;#034;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/em&gt; - 6 directions&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Volunteers building and repairing houses for elderly and homeless&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul style="list-style: disc outside;"&gt;&lt;li&gt;Habitat for Humanity&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;becomes a groundswell of grassroots movement all across the country&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Beings of vision guide it and the people say they did it all themselves&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;but what to do with the drug addicts?   compassion grows&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;simplicity, patience, compassion grows, but what to do about them?&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;communities come together and build gardens and greenhouses&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;everyone who works to build and re-build eats and has shelter&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;the old man on the mountain looks on and smiles&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;people are content to stay home and work within their sphere of influence within the community&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;at first one family at a time, one house at a time, but it grows&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;People are talking about it and feel empowered and feel as if a burden is lifted off them&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;It is better than FDR&amp;#039;s program and totally grassroots - no bureaucratic entanglements&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;buy back houses at a discount from banks and banks make charitable gestures&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;such co-create and co-existence makes evil stand out like a sore thumb - game strategies exposed&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;if the people don&amp;#039;t do it it does not get done&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;suppression is lifted and there is something new -- never seen before&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;the people are happy to stay home and mind the business of their community&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul style="list-style: disc outside;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;#034;How does volunteerism seem to you now?&amp;#034;    Good, like a redemption of human nature, a society based upon compassion.  Very good feeling of havingness when I create this.  I did not feel so good when I started this and now I&amp;#039;ve forgotten that.</description> <pubDate>Sun, 12 Oct 2014 00:09:03 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5603126</guid> <dc:creator>Colleen Karalee Peltomaa</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-12T00:09:03Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Practice Log toward vanishing the mind</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5603113</link> <description>&lt;div class="quote-title"&gt;Colleen Karalee Peltomaa:&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="quote"&gt;&lt;div class="quote-content"&gt;Hello, Jeremy, kind regards.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Thank you for taking the time to convey some importances to me.   I&amp;#039;m going to reply as best I can.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I only know that yawns are a discharge of unconsciousness or energy.   Even dogs yawn.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;RE somatics my teacher did not put any emphasis on them and it seems I am only to at best acknowledge them and keep on with my practices.   Now that you got me to pay attention I do notice somatics turning on and off.   Are you saying somatics can be an indicator of what stage the practicer is at?   My teacher says simply when I can look at anything from my past without flinching and without thirsting for sensation then I am ready for the final level of practice which he promises returns one to the nibbana condition.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So you can see why I am keen to focus solely on what scenes my mind brings up, no matter how dimly.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Oh, but perhaps you are talking about the siddhis - the abilities.   Okay, I have not exercised myself as far as my abilities go, however I am considering the best approach.  Perhaps starting this winter.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Your views on science and philosophy are so well expressed and I can&amp;#039;t add anything to that but my agreement.   Yes, it is glorious to finally see what sanity is, and as the only treasure worth having.  So, I see you see me  :-)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I have a chart of these interconnected karmic chains of desire and it is going to get me &amp;#034;home&amp;#034;.  I am preparing to have my mind blown  :-)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Yes, my sacred cows being sacrificed.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The paragraph, &amp;#034;... Energy goes on...&amp;#034; , respectfully, isn&amp;#039;t there a distinction between energy and the postulate/counter-postulate that creates that friction and would not the postulates be senior then?   In the final level of my path I am tasked to handle the postulates that sustain the mind, hence the universe (for myself anyways).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Yes, &amp;#034;The Great Confusion&amp;#034;, I&amp;#039;ve been to that wall already and made a jot of progress to unstick my viewpoint as the created one only.  With much gratitude for my teachers.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I would also like to imagine that an enlightened being can place his viewpoint in all the wherevers he pleases, depending on what interactions he would like to experience.  Would he be able to create universes?  I do not like the idea that there would be any remaining string of karma if the job is done completely -- if all four corners of the mind are scoured clean of any fixed postulates.  I more like the idea that there would no more be any limiting postulates regards this universe mindset.   Other universes ... it remains for me to find out.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If a creator god says, &amp;#034;let there be light/let there be dark&amp;#034; and then through fortune or misfortune finds his viewpoint shrunk down to human level saying the creator is someone else and himself did not make those postulates, therefore he is the effect of those postulates and all the lesser postulates he made after that... if he can somehow re-view his postulates and the postulates of his &amp;#034;opposing not-selfs&amp;#034; -- all the way back to &amp;#034;The First Great Confusion&amp;#034; when he was like a lone snake furiously biting off its tail - retrace the decisions and demands back up that karmic spiral, then he no longer need be a stuck player in this universe, and he will undoubtedly see there are other universes with their own peculiar matrix of postulates.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Wise Reconciliation of all Things would then be perhaps his first voluntary and untainted life goal/game ever since before he cracked from the Egg.  It is not a reasonable activity because it is all illusion, but it is a fun game, and he can leave the game anytime he pleases and go &amp;#034;OM&amp;#034; on a mountain until another fun game. Erasure of all Dhukka/case.   This is my current concept of Life and Postulates (&amp;#034;The Word&amp;#034;). However I can&amp;#039;t preach this as a truth to anyone and it certainly is open for edits and corrections.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;love,&lt;br /&gt;colleen&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When I felt this letter, I could not see where you put it.  When I decided to write you again, I found it.  I will tell you first what I had planned to tell you already because it answers all the questions in this letter fully by the miracle of a &amp;#034;Buddha&amp;#039;s Tusita Siddhi&amp;#034;.  This is not the term that is in sutras, but it is the best way to say it to you.  I am allowed to mix language as it suits me.  It is easier than using a language that others do not speak and so there are words used by the Living Buddha that cannot be translated to another language.  To use two of his terms: &lt;span style="color: #252525"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: sans-serif"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 16px"&gt;Yatha sankalpa samsiddhih, &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;davanam saha krida anudarsanam devanam.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Why can a Buddha commit an action that he cannot explain?  Was I ignorant? Yes.  Can a buddha be ignorant? Yes and No, both, and neither.  Can a Living Buddha be ignorant? No.  That which the Buddha can know only in Noble Wisdom and not translated even by the greatest languages (to the degree in which it can be transmitted to Arahants) is called the Buddha&amp;#039;s Deshana.  I like the term &amp;#039;tathagatha abdidharma&amp;#039; because that term denotes the Dhamma (teachings) that the tathagatha gives all Buddha&amp;#039;s as the language we can use to speak to each other.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Otherwise it would be useless to speak to you.  How do I know that it is not Useless?  When words are useless they have no affect.  It is not like they are even words.  I may safely tell you secrets that will shatter a householder because anyone may read this letter, but how can it affect them?  It will be like they are reading nothing... they will finish reading and feel as if they have read nothing... If an arahant tries to understand my letter, there will be a repulsion.  That is actually the proper reaction because these beings have the greatest intellects in the world.  They do not become buddhas.  If they did they would be called buddhas and not arahants when the Living Buddha of an age meets them, expounds their dharma, and praises their powers.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;These beings are very important to the world, you see.  They are as important as the Tathagatha was/is important.  They are important as Christ, a form of tathagatha that cannot be called tathagatha or buddha in the realms.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;They are those that are called by the world &amp;#034;Genius&amp;#034;.  Their I.Q.&amp;#039;s measure above 150 if the tests are given correctly, but any IQ above this point is actually an indicator of Infinite Intelligence.  There is a Lord Arahant.  He alone is not repulsed by the words of Buddhas even though he does not feel, ever, that he needs them.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;There are names for him in suttas and scriptures.  He is incarnated now.  Think of him as Carl Sagan and Newton.  He is in the world, still.  He can be known only by a buddha because it is obvious to them when they see the power that appears as a life of Noble Wisdom, yet when tested by a buddha, there is no Noble Wisdom present in the intellect knowingly.  He will never say a wrong thing, but he is limited by the sciences of the time and the words of the time to the point where he awakens Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and his own children, the league of Arahants that are called &amp;#039;Monks&amp;#039; in ancient scriptures.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But I call you a buddha.  The title will not feel painful to you.  Only arahants are repulsed by such a title, feeling it to be flattery and by the powers of their Enlightenment they destroy flattery.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;How can I call you a Buddha when you say you are not yet Enlightened?  This answer applies only to you as if I know everything about you even to the degree that I know you better than you do.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The future Buddhas have already changed all their incarnations.  In fact, by the nature of being outside of time, it must be said in the human language in this way also: The souls that, once born from the sounds made in the dark, align with whatever force in the universe (I CHING!!!) hears the sounds.  This is why living things are the minds of nonliving things.  Buddhas are the minds of Buddhas, the mind of the tathagathas, which are the mind of the primordial buddha who is God the Father within the Void (The God that has no name and can not be explained in language alone).  Bodhisattvas are the mind of the Bodhisattva-Buddha, Saint Mary, samantabadra who is one of the three who are the tathagatha&amp;#039;s mind.  The Evil one, Lucifer, Mara, antichrist, also reincarnates in every lifetime and is real.  We don&amp;#039;t speak about that to Arahants.  He is holy and does the work that all Enlightened beings do, but good people must and will always see him in the way the need asks him to manifest.  He is in the world in its history if you look with minfulness from this characteristic alone:  He is considered as a prophet equal to Buddhas, saints, prophets when he fully comes out of Tusita by need, yet his dhamma is anti-dhamma.  His teachers are the wisdom that leads to destruction both in life and in the fathom-long body, the complete path that the sounds took when they made you.  Jim Jones was the holy but evil anti-buddha.  You will find him if you follow his string in the succession of his &amp;#034;human moments&amp;#034;.  His children share his purposes but those beings do not last long enough to have names, only roles.  They reach nibbana first, in a way.  They reach nibbana in the most painful way, destruction of self.  That is why Buddha tolerates evil in all forms.  He sees that there is no person, only energy entanglments that become confused into believing that they are an entanglement  and not the sounds made by the sleeping giant which seek self-annihilation in all and every way as all entanglements seek to entangle once they see they are not sounds at all, but pieces of the sleeping giant that dreams dreams of awakening, yet does not.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Okay... You see:  You do not have the delusion in your lifetimes that other people have.  Those who seek the Enlightenment of escaping suffering have the delusion that they exist only as a human that lives once in a cruel environment with no help from anything but luck in finding anything good in life.  This delusion was never yours.  The delusion that you are fighting to overcome is different.  You know, intuitively, what all Buddhas know.  Your life was lived in a holy way.  Even the mistakes you think that you made were acts where your buddha knowledge was at odds with the physical vehicle (the brain has its own development, its own karma, its own delusion, its own enlightenment and this process must take place.  It should end somewhere during your twenty&amp;#039;s.  The awakening lasts into the thirties in bulk, but putting knowledge in the mind is something we do when our intent requires it.  The awakening is actually complete for a buddha when they realize that they know everything and everything they have ever told someone is True though they could not know it do to the limits of the brain itself which exists in the realms.  This is the same as saying that reincarnation requires an integration of a force of nature needing to integrate into the bodies of the realms within time in order for the force of nature to create an utterance outside of time, which it does in dreaming.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I have answered all your questions.  If you want to ask me them again, specifically, you alone are welcome.  Your teacher must learn from you these things.  He is buddha too.  I see him.</description> <pubDate>Sat, 11 Oct 2014 23:03:16 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5603113</guid> <dc:creator>Jeremy May</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-11T23:03:16Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Jen Pearly's Practice Journal</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5603107</link> <description>Thank you, everyone who has commented on this practice journal. Your comments have been helpful and inspiring. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I&amp;#039;m moving to Awake Network, where my account has just been approved. When I get myself set up there, I&amp;#039;ll try to circle back here to give a link, although, unless you have a registered account there, you won&amp;#039;t be able to see people&amp;#039;s practice journals. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Some of you I&amp;#039;ve not been able to reach through the messaging system here to say how to reach me if you want to do so; therefore, if you want to stay in touch outside of AN, then I welcome it. Dream Walker and Eric MW have my email address and my permission to give it to X X, Teague, Colleen, and anyone up this thread whose identity is verifiable via the messaging system here.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Peace.</description> <pubDate>Sat, 11 Oct 2014 22:37:57 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5603107</guid> <dc:creator>_</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-11T22:37:57Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Notes on noting</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5603014</link> <description>thanks again for replying - I appreciate the comments....  Our time zones must be different though!  I was still fast asleep at 4.30 am - probably wrote this at 8.30 or thereabouts - weekend lie-in.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Yes, you may be right that I have analysed the enjoyment out of things.  Unfortunately at the moment this isn&amp;#039;t just for previously harmless vices like chocolate, (or the local beer from the micro-brewery down the lane in my case) but also family life and pretty much everything that makes life meaningful.  I hope this is a temporary glitch, and some more emotionally-based practices may sort me out!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The &amp;#034;how does life seem to you now...&amp;#034; question is what I needed to hear. I can get sucked into things sometimes.  This brings me back to what&amp;#039;s important. To be honest, right now it seems like a lot of hassle to get over and done with.  Time for some changes methinks....&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Hope you are well &amp;amp; best wishes</description> <pubDate>Sat, 11 Oct 2014 18:10:32 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5603014</guid> <dc:creator>Hugh Fox</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-11T18:10:32Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Richard's insight practice</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5602963</link> <description>Does it have to though?  Wanting something badly can be seen through as much as anything else. Just let yourself be excited the same way you let your mind wander or you let your emotions arise and pass. &lt;img alt="emoticon" src="http://www.dharmaoverground.org/dho-theme/images/emoticons/closed_eyes.gif" &gt;</description> <pubDate>Sat, 11 Oct 2014 16:59:35 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5602963</guid> <dc:creator>Not Tao</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-11T16:59:35Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Practice Log toward vanishing the mind</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5602902</link> <description>&lt;u&gt;&lt;strong&gt;11Oct14   Direct Looking  :&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Woke up with usual funk .... &amp;#034;How does life seem to you now?&amp;#034;   I can&amp;#039;t hardly get up a good interest in sensation anymore -- taking it apart one by one.    However was able to satiate the mind with some internet surfing -- should stop doing that before a sit.   Sit first, internet second is the correct sequence.   Analytically, life is perfect more and more, especially with the promise of exteriorization from bodily concerns and the resulting expanded viewpoint.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Mind:&lt;/strong&gt;   where&amp;#039;s my sensation?   Spiritual practice = ugh.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Me:&lt;/strong&gt;  thankful and spiritual practice is like mother&amp;#039;s milk&lt;br /&gt;Who wins the day?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;u&gt;&amp;#034;Create an Importance&amp;#034;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/em&gt; - 6 Directions&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A Perfect Cat (Continued)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul style="list-style: disc outside;"&gt;&lt;li&gt;life; life creating distinctions for a dance, a playful game&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;it&amp;#039;s already here, not yet manifest   &amp;#034;... faith, the evidence of things not seen ... &amp;#034;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;what are the sensations?  yawns as I look at each possible sensational experience&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;the soft fur, the contented purr, the affectionate nuzzling and nipping, the aesthetic movements, the eyes, how it writes its own life - aloof from others&amp;#039; compulsive postulates&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;I must have the thrill of violating another being&amp;#039;s &amp;#034;must&amp;#034; or &amp;#034;must not&amp;#034;, spinning them&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;I must have the thrill of toying with another being&amp;#039;s mental compulsions&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;that is &lt;em&gt;my&lt;/em&gt; compulsion -- thus says the cat.   I see myself in that cat&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;but what about &amp;#034;the perfect cat&amp;#034;?&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;99% of my importances are fixed in the mind&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;a cat that has found its inner purr&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;embraces a detached mutual co-existence and can&amp;#039;t understand why the chipmunk runs from it - why maybe it wants me to play chasing it, hmmmm, well, not right now&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;has a fascinating inner world, exterior to bodily impulses&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;food tastes better when attached to the thrill of the hunt&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;heat somatic&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;priests kept the cats as a refuge for tired old souls seeking a more simple experience - if I were a temple cat no one would force me to play their game, to dance to their tune&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;if you were going to be a cat what kind of cat would you be?   Not a silly cat, not a mean nor scaredy cat, not a fawning propiative cat, not a lazy nor hyper cat, nor an overly vocal cat, neither greedy nor picky - I would be a cat with &amp;#034;presence&amp;#034;, that&amp;#039;s all.  What person would have a cat like me, even if I did not dance to its tune?&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;No irrelevant compulsively repetitive speech patterns - rather, silent meditative insight&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;a sane cat -- is that an oxymoron, like saying, a sane human?   Could I &amp;#034;have&amp;#034; sanity - could it have me?&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul style="list-style: disc outside;"&gt;see an incident&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;DIRECT LOOKING STARTS HERE:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;Mother crying, &amp;#034;I have lost you&amp;#034;  [repeater tech] &lt;br /&gt;-- she should have let him go and loved the unborn child instead&lt;br /&gt;-- the first child is often inconvenient&lt;br /&gt;-- mother gives her poison to drink; I know my cause in this and I should leave, but too compulsive, no faith&lt;br /&gt;-- simultaneous viewpoints of &amp;#034;I have lost you&amp;#034; and at the same time, &amp;#034;I have lost myself&amp;#034;&lt;br /&gt;-- postulate failure - the game is not going well&lt;br /&gt;-- settling in - no more thrashing around - inner peace returning - more analytical - opening up to more life-oriented options&lt;br /&gt;-- this man makes it his game to separate the mothers from their children -- he alone must be known&lt;br /&gt;-- &amp;#034;he is gone and now she will know only me&amp;#034; - peace and safety for all&lt;br /&gt;-- he wants me to know him as the noble savior matyr who came back in spite of all -- for me - that he did the &amp;#034;right&amp;#034; thing and his ego should be preened for it -- he needs to be &amp;#034;big&amp;#034; and that means we must be &amp;#034;small&amp;#034;&lt;br /&gt;-- I&amp;#039;ve always had a strong dislike for men who are both brutish and subtle at making women less&lt;br /&gt;-- a strong dislike for societies that degrade women, yet I see a lifetime as a degrading male ...&lt;br /&gt;-- I see a lifetime as a female with a superior regard over males&lt;br /&gt;-- &amp;#034;I have lost you ...&amp;#034;   Okay, we see our game strategies and that it did not work the way we expected&lt;br /&gt;-- The biggest must-be-knowner wins for now but the &amp;#034;winning&amp;#034; leaves a bad taste in the mouth that only alcohol can wash out&lt;br /&gt;--  Life is just a game of who is going to be known best, even if it means murder, rape, pillage, famine, vengeance, rinse and repeat.  I must give a good reason for a game even if reduced down to my last dwindling postulates.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;#034;How does it seem to you now?&amp;#034;  Less interested in pursuing non-life goals, employing game strategies.  There is one other option -- no opposition, no game and thus no crossing the line to pursue non-life goals.  It requires a certain faith and trust, or centeredness.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Metaphorically, I am birthing myself into a new way of living life and it requires me to face up to the male and female games and resolve all this within myself.  Lamenting and ranting over postulate failure should be taken to the cushion and resolved there.   I am very blessed to have the time and space for that, thank you. Gratitude.  </description> <pubDate>Sat, 11 Oct 2014 14:59:24 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5602902</guid> <dc:creator>Colleen Karalee Peltomaa</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-11T14:59:24Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Notes on noting</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5602865</link> <description>Good morning, Hugh.   My time stamp says you posted this at 4:32 am.  A great way to start the day.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I have been likewise feeling rather flat and realized it could be the result of systematically killing my thirst for sensation coupled with not quite enough metta or creative visualization.   &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Could it be that the things we used to &amp;#034;get off on&amp;#034; just don&amp;#039;t do it for us quite the same way?   Why, I can&amp;#039;t even get up a good craving for chocolate anymore since I did some insight into it -- took it apart I did.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;However, when I go into thankfulness, that has certainly increased and expanded to being thankful for my whole life -- with tears still streaming down my cheek.   It also finally occurred to me to ask my &amp;#034;astralized&amp;#034; mom for forgiveness, when I kept thinking she should be anytime now asking me for forgiveness.  Relationships are starting to become more important than the diminishing love of the quest for sensational desires.  I actually have a scaled chart of sensations that is being checked off.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;#034;How does life seem to you now?&amp;#034; is one of my self-enquiry questions when I feel funky.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I am demanding of my sit time that I get this funky feeling resolved -- or else I would question my practice, I suppose as you are.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;kind regards,&lt;br /&gt;colleen</description> <pubDate>Sat, 11 Oct 2014 10:59:59 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5602865</guid> <dc:creator>Colleen Karalee Peltomaa</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-11T10:59:59Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Notes on noting</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5602818</link> <description>well, practice has been consistent and the time is increasing now with generally 40 mins sitting and then 10 mins walking.  I may look at breaking this up a bit differently to maintain concentration; sometimes my mind gets lost in content after a bit of sitting, so maybe inserting the walking in the middle may beat this.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;My own mental states of late have been dominated by negative thoughts and feelings and a feeling of remoteness from things I value - like family and work and friends etc.  I&amp;#039;m sure many factors contribute to this, but on the cushion I plan on adding in a short metta-bhavana practice to try and integrate some &amp;#039;heart&amp;#039; stuff into all the insight practice.  It&amp;#039;s all well and good having insights and understanding but you need to live in the world too...</description> <pubDate>Sat, 11 Oct 2014 08:32:33 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5602818</guid> <dc:creator>Hugh Fox</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-11T08:32:33Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Richard's insight practice</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5602785</link> <description>&lt;div class="quote-title"&gt;Dream Walker:&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="quote"&gt;&lt;div class="quote-content"&gt;&lt;div class="quote-title"&gt;Richard Zen:&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="quote"&gt;&lt;div class="quote-content"&gt;Last night I was doing some noting and I reduced the verbal note from outloud down to mental and then just to consistent bare awareness (because I felt it allowed more detail). I started noticing that my mind was going into a dream like state (but still wide awake) and there were several bits of mental talking from different people with separate identities. A lot of it was incoherent but I could tell it had some kind of affect and without that kind of mindfulness it&amp;#039;s running in the background. I&amp;#039;m thinking I may have tapped into an area where views are stored from different people I&amp;#039;ve met. Whatever mental conditioning a person has is deep inside. It was the deepest not-self experience I&amp;#039;ve had so far because the sense of agent disappeared and every experience, movement and intention became not-self. I&amp;#039;ll try to see if I can do this for more than a few minutes. This may be the first time I could actually note a wandering mind without feeling totally lost in it. I&amp;#039;m eager to see what more can come from bare awareness.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I think Daniel&amp;#039;s instructions in MCTB says it right in that if there&amp;#039;s distractions there should be MORE noting during this time. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="quote"&gt;&lt;div class="quote-content"&gt;during this time. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;The dream like state you describe where thinking takes the backseat is what happens to me right before popping out of that state into the three moments leading to cessation. I do not do any noting at this stage of high eq....I dont &amp;#034;do&amp;#034; anything but let it happen. Maybe make a resolution and see what happens.&lt;br /&gt;good luck,&lt;br /&gt;~D&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Thanks for the tips.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Ahh the elusive cessation. I have to be careful because I wanted it so badly before and that&amp;#039;s exactly what makes sure you don&amp;#039;t get it. </description> <pubDate>Sat, 11 Oct 2014 05:59:06 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5602785</guid> <dc:creator>Richard Zen</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-11T05:59:06Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Richard's insight practice</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5602764</link> <description>&lt;div class="quote-title"&gt;Richard Zen:&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="quote"&gt;&lt;div class="quote-content"&gt;Last night I was doing some noting and I reduced the verbal note from outloud down to mental and then just to consistent bare awareness (because I felt it allowed more detail). I started noticing that my mind was going into a dream like state (but still wide awake) and there were several bits of mental talking from different people with separate identities. A lot of it was incoherent but I could tell it had some kind of affect and without that kind of mindfulness it&amp;#039;s running in the background. I&amp;#039;m thinking I may have tapped into an area where views are stored from different people I&amp;#039;ve met. Whatever mental conditioning a person has is deep inside. It was the deepest not-self experience I&amp;#039;ve had so far because the sense of agent disappeared and every experience, movement and intention became not-self. I&amp;#039;ll try to see if I can do this for more than a few minutes. This may be the first time I could actually note a wandering mind without feeling totally lost in it. I&amp;#039;m eager to see what more can come from bare awareness.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I think Daniel&amp;#039;s instructions in MCTB says it right in that if there&amp;#039;s distractions there should be MORE noting during this time. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="quote"&gt;&lt;div class="quote-content"&gt;during this time. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;The dream like state you describe where thinking takes the backseat is what happens to me right before popping out of that state into the three moments leading to cessation. I do not do any noting at this stage of high eq....I dont &amp;#034;do&amp;#034; anything but let it happen. Maybe make a resolution and see what happens.&lt;br /&gt;good luck,&lt;br /&gt;~D</description> <pubDate>Sat, 11 Oct 2014 04:40:20 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5602764</guid> <dc:creator>Dream Walker</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-11T04:40:20Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Practice Log toward vanishing the mind</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5602724</link> <description>&lt;strong&gt;&lt;u&gt;10Oct14   Direct Looking :&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Shaman session today and had opportunity to ask qestions of Lester Levenson (founder of Sedona Method) and discovered a new and still experimental spiritual enhancement technique.  He said one can continue to do their practice in the &amp;#034;astral&amp;#034; but it is more difficult because the mind is given more free rein -- postulates work instantly there.  He said because the mind is encumbered by the brain/body it is best to get as far as one can to null their thirst for sensation before death.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;u&gt;&amp;#034;Create an Importance&amp;#034;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/em&gt; - 6 Directions&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A perfect cat&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul style="list-style: disc outside;"&gt;&lt;li&gt;yawns, scenes of past cats&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;yes/no/maybe&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;no neurosis or compulsions&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;calm, meditative&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;big yawns, hot flash&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;must love / must not love&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;must be loved / must not be loved&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;a cat that leans towards &amp;#034;must know&amp;#034;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;the practicalities get in the way of the ideal&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;it is a spiritual being too&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;capable of pan-determinism&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;must be loved&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul style="list-style: disc outside;"&gt; &lt;br /&gt;Getting late, and tired (to be continued)</description> <pubDate>Sat, 11 Oct 2014 02:21:43 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5602724</guid> <dc:creator>Colleen Karalee Peltomaa</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-11T02:21:43Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Richard's insight practice</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5602700</link> <description>&lt;div class="quote-title"&gt;katy steger:&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="quote"&gt;&lt;div class="quote-content"&gt;&lt;div class="quote"&gt;&lt;div class="quote-content"&gt;&lt;span style="color: #111111"&gt;I had little preparation due to other committments and I had too much content but I have found I have a sense of humor and descriptive quality with my wording that got the Toastmasters people less bored. Of course all the praise leads to serotonin and it gets to your head but it was quite healthy and I can disregard it when I compared my current skills to what is expected in business environments that are often demanding and hypercritical. Having a cheering section provides that extra motivation to stick your neck out.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This is great to read, especially as you&amp;#039;ve given the community some great summaries of &amp;#034;good chemistry&amp;#034;, like here:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;[url=]&lt;a href="http&amp;#x3a;&amp;#x2f;&amp;#x2f;dharmaoverground&amp;#x2e;org&amp;#x2f;web&amp;#x2f;guest&amp;#x2f;discussion&amp;#x2f;-&amp;#x2f;message_boards&amp;#x2f;message&amp;#x2f;4539340&amp;#x3b;jsessionid&amp;#x3d;62105ACD8C9C592F98A68DFFA69846B4&amp;#x3f;doAsUserId&amp;#x3d;U4FYRpmIICQ&amp;#x25;3D&amp;#x25;2F-&amp;#x25;2Fmessage_boards&amp;#x25;2Fmessage&amp;#x25;2F10847&amp;#x25;2F-&amp;#x25;2Fmessage_boards&amp;#x25;2Fmessage&amp;#x25;2F95028"&gt;http://dharmaoverground.org/web/guest/discussion/-/message_boards/message/4539340;jsessionid=62105ACD8C9C592F98A68DFFA69846B4?doAsUserId=U4FYRpmIICQ%3D%2F-%2Fmessage_boards%2Fmessage%2F10847%2F-%2Fmessage_boards%2Fmessage%2F95028&lt;/a&gt;[url=]&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Yeah I noticed that. I find wisdom faster than I can apply it but it&amp;#039;s sinking in at whatever pace it&amp;#039;s going to LOL!</description> <pubDate>Sat, 11 Oct 2014 01:18:25 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5602700</guid> <dc:creator>Richard Zen</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-11T01:18:25Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Richard's insight practice</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5602676</link> <description>&lt;div class="quote"&gt;&lt;div class="quote-content"&gt;&lt;span style="color: #111111"&gt;I had little preparation due to other committments and I had too much content but I have found I have a sense of humor and descriptive quality with my wording that got the Toastmasters people less bored. Of course all the praise leads to serotonin and it gets to your head but it was quite healthy and I can disregard it when I compared my current skills to what is expected in business environments that are often demanding and hypercritical. Having a cheering section provides that extra motivation to stick your neck out.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This is great to read, especially as you&amp;#039;ve given the community some great summaries of &amp;#034;good chemistry&amp;#034;, like here:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;[url=]&lt;a href="http&amp;#x3a;&amp;#x2f;&amp;#x2f;dharmaoverground&amp;#x2e;org&amp;#x2f;web&amp;#x2f;guest&amp;#x2f;discussion&amp;#x2f;-&amp;#x2f;message_boards&amp;#x2f;message&amp;#x2f;4539340&amp;#x3b;jsessionid&amp;#x3d;62105ACD8C9C592F98A68DFFA69846B4&amp;#x3f;doAsUserId&amp;#x3d;U4FYRpmIICQ&amp;#x25;3D&amp;#x25;2F-&amp;#x25;2Fmessage_boards&amp;#x25;2Fmessage&amp;#x25;2F10847&amp;#x25;2F-&amp;#x25;2Fmessage_boards&amp;#x25;2Fmessage&amp;#x25;2F95028"&gt;http://dharmaoverground.org/web/guest/discussion/-/message_boards/message/4539340;jsessionid=62105ACD8C9C592F98A68DFFA69846B4?doAsUserId=U4FYRpmIICQ%3D%2F-%2Fmessage_boards%2Fmessage%2F10847%2F-%2Fmessage_boards%2Fmessage%2F95028&lt;/a&gt;[url=]</description> <pubDate>Sat, 11 Oct 2014 00:21:40 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5602676</guid> <dc:creator>katy steger</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-11T00:21:40Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Richard's insight practice</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5602598</link> <description>Now that I&amp;#039;m making myself busy and making committments, those actions have made it hard to return to procrastination habits and indifference. I recently joined Toastmasters and did my first ice-breaker speech. The meditation practice has made the nervousness much less, yet nervousness is still there at the beginning of a speech. I think it&amp;#039;s pretty obvious I have plenty of emotions but they don&amp;#039;t seem to hurt much at all. Considering I find the Buddhist texts that believe in eliminating emotions quite scary then I think I&amp;#039;ve found a happy medium. If you like what you&amp;#039;re talking about then you get excited to continue and it all looks natural.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I had little preparation due to other committments and I had too much content but I have found I have a sense of humor and descriptive quality with my wording that got the Toastmasters people less bored. Of course all the praise leads to serotonin and it gets to your head but it was quite healthy and I can disregard it when I compared my current skills to what is expected in business environments that are often demanding and hypercritical. Having a cheering section provides that extra motivation to stick your neck out.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I&amp;#039;ve also started to talk to professionals to get more information on my career path by creating coffee meetings and I&amp;#039;ve gotten more information about how things are and challenged some negative beliefs that wouldn&amp;#039;t have been challenged if I stayed introverted. Stepping into that extroverted world is a breath of fresh air. More dopamine and serotonin in the right contexts is healthy because it&amp;#039;s guilt free and sends you in the right direction.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When going against preferences the results of that are similar to cognitive therapy in that the rewards for going against preferences create new and better preferences/desires. There are times where I relax and just meditate to replace time I might waste online or watching TV or some other pointless endeavour.</description> <pubDate>Fri, 10 Oct 2014 22:01:53 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5602598</guid> <dc:creator>Richard Zen</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-10T22:01:53Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Practice Log toward vanishing the mind</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5602458</link> <description>&lt;u&gt;&lt;strong&gt;10Oct14  Direct Looking :&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 16px"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I lament, for I am the only one I know who diligently follows this path.  Perhaps I should take the attitude it was only put here for me at this precise time, and that I arranged it that way long, long ago. I have not yet evolved beyond the need for a congenial companion who will come with me on this journey.   &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 16px"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 16px"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 16px"&gt;I see only talkers, not doers, slackers with no self-discipline, ignorance presented as wisdom, status-seeking, predictably making excuses for self-destructive behaviors, blaming others for why they can&amp;#039;t do their practice.   The really scary part is that I am so close to being all that, that being around people like this is temptation to join them in their oblivion for the sake of companionship.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Having to sit there for hours and listen to someone tell me the long way around that they never will follow the simple path and yet still profess to be a follower is an evil distraction for me.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Why is it so hard to simply DO IT?   Even myself, I feel the mind&amp;#039;s resistance and I feel I should, for the working out of my own salvation, distance myself from people like this.   I&amp;#039;m still climbing that slippery slope and, of course, they all agree with that:  &amp;#034;Colleen&amp;#039;s dhukka is very heavy,&amp;#034;   &amp;#034;If only Colleen would resolve her dhukka, then I could be happy ...&amp;#034;  &amp;#034;She spoke unkindly to me and now I&amp;#039;m done in and cannot do my practice.&amp;#034;   The hypocritical non-practicers are most eager for me to do my practice, and with eagle eye look for signs of my ego - eager for the opportunity to degrade me as a way to not have to look at themselves. That is the only favor they do me -- expose to me my ego.... but not to their own saving.  They are only saving themselves from having to do their own saving.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I have no such consolation -- only the bitterness of being the sole cause of my unhappiness.  Which, when you think about it analytically, is quite a consolation in itself:  I am my own happiness.   I may lament the loss of a true companion for a short time but my happiness is assuredly eternal.  Thus I sit and find joy only in that.  Don&amp;#039;t get me wrong - I still feel growing compassion for others but I must first ruthlessly get myself past that slippery slope.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;#1 Rule: &lt;/strong&gt;  When happy, do practice; when unhappy, do practice.  They are both of the mind until the mind is vanished.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;#2 Rule: &lt;/strong&gt;  Don&amp;#039;t do Core Practice until completely de-stressed through creative exercises&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;#3 Rule:&lt;/strong&gt;   After doing Core Practice don&amp;#039;t end sit until creative exercises are completed&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 16px"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;u&gt;&amp;#034;Have Someone Create an Importance&amp;#034;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/em&gt; - 6 Directions&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Someone making &lt;em&gt;doing&lt;/em&gt; this practice important&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul style="list-style: disc outside;"&gt;&lt;li&gt;thanks and gratitude for all the logistical help and support I have received and am receiving -- for this space and moment to devote to my clearing.   Thank you.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;either way I have lost &amp;#034;the him&amp;#034; for either way it will never be the same again&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;the new will not be like the old I have become familiar with&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;maybe I should get a housecat for some physical presence - the body seems to need it&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;on this path one can decide how far within the human range they wish to reside and how far beyond the human range they wish to proceed -- to no longer &amp;#034;be human&amp;#034;.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;I see a dead body, ashen gray - no one&amp;#039;s home&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;he would rather keep a problem/conflict mocked up than do his practice&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;We should honor our teacher who was diligent in his research and practice&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;he is so close to going beyond human -- it would be such a waste&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;decide your life now  --  write your story now&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;we cognite at our level of awareness&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;yawns&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;harmless, intense about clearing himself&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;reading glasses, notebook, pen, recorder, e-meter, undistracted room&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;sitting tall, intense in his work&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;beautiful, handsome, sovereign&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;yawn, releasing the charge of conflicting postulates&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;take back your sanity and then decide if and how you wish to fight the non-life&amp;#039;ers&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;resolve all your importances -- bring them all to the session (world leaders, suppression, degradation, employers, survival) and exteriorize from all bodily concerns&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;going beyond the human way of resolving importances&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;no more flailing around&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;intensity fully harnessed into doing the practice - evening out&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;no more attention on unusual and unnatural practices&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;full self-mastery, fullness of postulate power and pan-determinism&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;no longer a danger to self&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;This planet lacks an impartial Rules Keeper, an unbiased Referee&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt; stepping into his boots to play a voluntary game&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul style="list-style: disc outside;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;#034;How does this subject seem to you now?&amp;#034;    Good because I can out-create any non-life scenes my mind presents and I can make my creations more real than &amp;#034;reality&amp;#034;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;End of Sit - to be continued</description> <pubDate>Fri, 10 Oct 2014 17:41:17 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5602458</guid> <dc:creator>Colleen Karalee Peltomaa</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-10T17:41:17Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Jen Pearly's Practice Journal</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5602172</link> <description>Jake,&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I found Robert Bruce&amp;#039;s work on Kindle and am downloading. Thanks so much. You guys are the best! xxxxx</description> <pubDate>Fri, 10 Oct 2014 07:00:59 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5602172</guid> <dc:creator>_</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-10T07:00:59Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Practice Log toward vanishing the mind</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5602111</link> <description>&lt;u&gt;&lt;strong&gt;9Oct14  Direct Looking :&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Been trying to figure out what&amp;#039;s wrong with me instead of just sitting down and doing my practice.&lt;br /&gt;Also feeling more resistant than usual to doing the practices.   Here goes.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;u&gt;&amp;#034;Create an Importance - 6 Directions&amp;#034;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A perfect body&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul style="list-style: disc outside;"&gt;&lt;li&gt;body building, martial arts, pilates, qi gong, speed of silver bullet, opaque pearly white skin, toxin free&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;quicksilver shapeshifter&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;wispy clouds&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;What!?!   I just really want to be a perfect nothing - that can be-do-have a perfect something when it feels like it.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;I want my postulates to work instantly - indignant&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;astral realm - thousands of perfect bodies - millions I can create; I want to be there NOW&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;why can&amp;#039;t I have a new internet cable NOW!?!   I hate myself!   I hate this world!&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;I&amp;#039;m tired of being &lt;em&gt;nice&lt;/em&gt; about it  -- it&amp;#039;s not fair!  FUCK MONEY GAME!!  To hell with these bodies&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;I don&amp;#039;t trust my postulates&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;bodies were created by tormented spirits&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;this is why Tolle calls it &amp;#034;The Pain Body&amp;#034;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;I pity these bodies&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Just do my practices - finish and get the hell out of here&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;I hate these lying bodies; the joke of the universe&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;destroying bodies everywhere I can find them -- free the degraded spirits&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;not working - creates more problems, apathy, unconsciousness&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;yawns, self-disgust&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;it was all for me - to help me find my way home&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;it&amp;#039;s not so bad - don&amp;#039;t take it seriously&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul style="list-style: disc outside;"&gt;&amp;#034;How does a perfect body seem to you now?&amp;#034;  An interesting game, but not relevant to vanishing the mind.&lt;br /&gt;&amp;#034;How do you feel about your postulates not work?&amp;#034;   Still sore about that, but the only way out is through, so more determined to cut the fluff and beef up the practice.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;End of sit.</description> <pubDate>Fri, 10 Oct 2014 02:38:34 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5602111</guid> <dc:creator>Colleen Karalee Peltomaa</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-10T02:38:34Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Practice log Pjotr</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5601861</link> <description>Still practicing twice a day. As I am doing a mindfulness teacher course, I have included some bodyscanning in my training as homework. My daily practice is still mostly noting and some metta. During my meditation I often have really pleasurable experiences. Tingling and pressure between my eyes, and the feeling of waves of energy passing through me with my breath. I experience the same sensations during daily life pretty often as well.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The spillover in my daily life is great. I am highly productive and get feedback from other people that the noticed a positive change in me. What is most remarkable is that my confidence has very much increased in the last weeks. And while i used to have regular anxiety that also seem to have disappeared. So I am motivated to keep practicing, and also am taking good care of myself: enough sleep eating healthy and regular exercise. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I am a bit puzzled about where i am at maps. Probably best just to keep practicing...</description> <pubDate>Thu, 09 Oct 2014 19:04:36 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5601861</guid> <dc:creator>Pjotr Hill</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-09T19:04:36Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Practice Log toward vanishing the mind</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5601442</link> <description>Hello, Jeremy, kind regards.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Thank you for taking the time to convey some importances to me.   I&amp;#039;m going to reply as best I can.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I only know that yawns are a discharge of unconsciousness or energy.   Even dogs yawn.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;RE somatics my teacher did not put any emphasis on them and it seems I am only to at best acknowledge them and keep on with my practices.   Now that you got me to pay attention I do notice somatics turning on and off.   Are you saying somatics can be an indicator of what stage the practicer is at?   My teacher says simply when I can look at anything from my past without flinching and without thirsting for sensation then I am ready for the final level of practice which he promises returns one to the nibbana condition.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So you can see why I am keen to focus solely on what scenes my mind brings up, no matter how dimly.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Oh, but perhaps you are talking about the siddhis - the abilities.   Okay, I have not exercised myself as far as my abilities go, however I am considering the best approach.  Perhaps starting this winter.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Your views on science and philosophy are so well expressed and I can&amp;#039;t add anything to that but my agreement.   Yes, it is glorious to finally see what sanity is, and as the only treasure worth having.  So, I see you see me  :-)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I have a chart of these interconnected karmic chains of desire and it is going to get me &amp;#034;home&amp;#034;.  I am preparing to have my mind blown  :-)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Yes, my sacred cows being sacrificed.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The paragraph, &amp;#034;... Energy goes on...&amp;#034; , respectfully, isn&amp;#039;t there a distinction between energy and the postulate/counter-postulate that creates that friction and would not the postulates be senior then?   In the final level of my path I am tasked to handle the postulates that sustain the mind, hence the universe (for myself anyways).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Yes, &amp;#034;The Great Confusion&amp;#034;, I&amp;#039;ve been to that wall already and made a jot of progress to unstick my viewpoint as the created one only.  With much gratitude for my teachers.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I would also like to imagine that an enlightened being can place his viewpoint in all the wherevers he pleases, depending on what interactions he would like to experience.  Would he be able to create universes?  I do not like the idea that there would be any remaining string of karma if the job is done completely -- if all four corners of the mind are scoured clean of any fixed postulates.  I more like the idea that there would no more be any limiting postulates regards this universe mindset.   Other universes ... it remains for me to find out.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If a creator god says, &amp;#034;let there be light/let there be dark&amp;#034; and then through fortune or misfortune finds his viewpoint shrunk down to human level saying the creator is someone else and himself did not make those postulates, therefore he is the effect of those postulates and all the lesser postulates he made after that... if he can somehow re-view his postulates and the postulates of his &amp;#034;opposing not-selfs&amp;#034; -- all the way back to &amp;#034;The First Great Confusion&amp;#034; when he was like a lone snake furiously biting off its tail - retrace the decisions and demands back up that karmic spiral, then he no longer need be a stuck player in this universe, and he will undoubtedly see there are other universes with their own peculiar matrix of postulates.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The Wise Reconciliation of all Things would then be perhaps his first voluntary and untainted life goal/game ever since before he cracked from the Egg.  It is not a reasonable activity because it is all illusion, but it is a fun game, and he can leave the game anytime he pleases and go &amp;#034;OM&amp;#034; on a mountain until another fun game. Erasure of all Dhukka/case.   This is my current concept of Life and Postulates (&amp;#034;The Word&amp;#034;). However I can&amp;#039;t preach this as a truth to anyone and it certainly is open for edits and corrections.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;love,&lt;br /&gt;colleen&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  </description> <pubDate>Thu, 09 Oct 2014 05:02:16 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5601442</guid> <dc:creator>Colleen Karalee Peltomaa</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-09T05:02:16Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: My new practice log</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5601425</link> <description>I think it&amp;#039;s easy to miss the reason for a feeling - especially if you&amp;#039;re dealing with a whole mass of anxiety.  Untangling it requires a lot of honesty.  I&amp;#039;ll give you a recent example of a discovery I made.  I&amp;#039;ve had some instability with my job, and it&amp;#039;s been on my mind a lot.  I was feeling anxiety about it, but it seemed like everything I did to work through it fell flat.  Just yesterday, though, I realized that the reason I was anxious was actually my old driving phobia expressing itself through my fear of losing the ability to work at home.  I haven&amp;#039;t made much effort to disassemble to driving phobia, and I can readily admit that I&amp;#039;ve been avoiding it.  The problem was that I was using my focus on my job to hide from the driving phobia so I didn&amp;#039;t have to deal with it.  Dealing with it is so much easier than trying to calm down all the time, though, and I know now that it&amp;#039;s actually possible to change the feeling associated with driving.  With my fear of spiders, I was actually able to remove that sick feeling in the heart so that my experience with spiders doesn&amp;#039;t require bravery anymore - I just feel fine when I&amp;#039;m around them.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The moment I pinpointed that it was driving that I was afraid of, I felt a great flood of relief.  It became so obvious - and I already know the techniques work - so I saw a way out.  The thing is, acceptance and surrender do work, but they work on the simptoms, not on the root of the problem.  You could treat it like a skill to eventually perfect, where you&amp;#039;re always automatically letting go - and that&amp;#039;s a noble enough goal - but it can happen much faster if you ALSO pay attention to the triggers.  It isn&amp;#039;t a either/or thing - what you describe as surrendering is exactly the first step, you keep doing that while investigating the emotion.  You can surrender to the fact that you want an emotion to go away, you don&amp;#039;t need to do any mental acrobats to trick yourself into surrender.  If you can find the triggers, though, you can practice surrendering with negative visualization - I see it as an aid to the process of letting go, not a replacement nescessarily.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I agree that feelings can cause thoughts, but one of the reasons for this is because feelings are such a mystery.  When you can see your thought patterns clearly, the mystery is gone, and you don&amp;#039;t get stuck in ruminations.  I think you&amp;#039;re on the right track with what you do currently, I&amp;#039;m just saying there are things you can add to it that will make the process faster and more directly available to you.  Surrender, alone, works on a subconscious level to let go of things.  If you watch carefully, though, you can see what those things are and do it intetionally next time.  The hours of waiting for relief and trying to figure out exactly how to give yourself over completely turn into a few moments of self examination.  It really has worked this way for me! &lt;img alt="emoticon" src="http://www.dharmaoverground.org/dho-theme/images/emoticons/closed_eyes.gif" &gt;  You don&amp;#039;t have to stay in the dark to surrender - just surrender to your desire to understand, and your desire to escape as well - make it so there is nothing off limits for your mind to think about.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Something you said, about trying to prove negative thoughts wrong - I&amp;#039;ve had trouble with that too.  I had more success embracing the idea that I don&amp;#039;t need fear/anger/sadness to cope with negative things.  An example is that I became a bit upset when I read a story about how people were killing a bunch of animals because they were an invasive species.  I was angry and I was trying to convince myself not to be angry about it.  It didn&amp;#039;t work, though, because it felt like I had to give up my opinion that it was wrong.  So, instead, I came from the other end and asked myself, &amp;#034;what would my goal actually be in this situation?&amp;#034;  I realized that what I really wanted was for the people to stop killing the animals, and that if I was angry at them, I wasn&amp;#039;t going to be able to convince them of anything - I&amp;#039;d spend the whole time focused on myself and how I wanted to make them feel bad.  So I was able to let go of the anger because I understood it didn&amp;#039;t have a reason to exist.  Each time I felt it, I was able to turn my mind away from it without feeling like I was betraying myself.  This kind of thing can be thought of as actively ignoring a prompt to feel a certain way about something as soon as you see it.  If an emotion is sticking around, even though you want it to go away, you probably still see it as legitimate for some reason.  This is all your mind, and it really is accessable to you and under your control.  We ignore most of the inner workings because it&amp;#039;s more efficient to live that way.  Eventually, though, if you can untangle the web and prune out the things that are causing you trouble, it will allow the good habits to grow and you won&amp;#039;t even need to think about it anymore.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;@Jeremy: Feel free if you think it will help someone. &lt;img alt="emoticon" src="http://www.dharmaoverground.org/dho-theme/images/emoticons/closed_eyes.gif" &gt;</description> <pubDate>Thu, 09 Oct 2014 04:01:56 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5601425</guid> <dc:creator>Not Tao</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-09T04:01:56Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: My new practice log</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5601373</link> <description>&lt;div class="quote-title"&gt;Jeremy May:&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="quote"&gt;&lt;div class="quote-content"&gt;It is not actually the meditation that ever helps.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But eventually it is what you learn from the meditation once you are able to do it long and deep enough.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I swear on everything holy that these techniques, and the others you will learn, completely and utterly cured me from a lifetime of depression. A despair that no hospitalization or medicine or therapist had ever even slightly eased.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Depression is not a physical condition manifesting in the mind, It is a spiritual condition that manifests itself in the body.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;All Spiritual paths teach that suffering exists from a delusion.  The delusion is in caring about your temporal life.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;You have recieved the best advice I have ever read in this thread.  These guys are amazing!  So I can&amp;#039;t add anything to make it better but I do want to tell you a place in my practice that was pivotal for me:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Stop caring about whether or not your depressed.  Stop caring about ever being happy.  Let it go.  Disregard the rest of your life.  Decide to live like the Cats live, perpetually napping and eating.  Decide to live just to help the people you love without ever letting them know you&amp;#039;re helping.  Live as if you died.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Good to hear from you Jeremy, great to hear about your successes. In the most fearful places I&amp;#039;ve had to learn to come to terms with everything I care about (my career, mostly, which is the center of my life... graduate school at the moment) going away completely. It&amp;#039;s a hard ass thing to come to terms with but the dark night forces you there.</description> <pubDate>Thu, 09 Oct 2014 01:38:53 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5601373</guid> <dc:creator>Elijah Smith</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-09T01:38:53Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Practice Log toward vanishing the mind</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5601369</link> <description>4:30 pm   &lt;u&gt;&lt;strong&gt;8Oct14 Direct Looking:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It was a joy today to walk someone through the exercise of both creating and direct looking -- and see them get a good result from it.   I can&amp;#039;t remember anything better I ever did for anyone than that -- except for staying home and minding my own business  :-)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;u&gt;&amp;#034;Create an Importance&amp;#034;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/em&gt; - 6 Directions:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Don&amp;#039;t feel like running any huge significances today -- a bit tired - keep it simple (cross my fingers)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;My &amp;#034;healthy&amp;#034; apple pie&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul style="list-style: disc outside;"&gt;&lt;li&gt;yawn, my old friend, compulsive create turning on&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;blah, no creative joy, so boring, why do I do it&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;apple pies of the past streaming by me -- so much better&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;apple pies = great taste, love, admiration, joy in the creation, social bonding through ...&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;-  white sugar, wheat, cinnamon&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Aha!   the cinnamon and sugar -- keys out the mind - makes it very desirable&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;see why I have resistance to apple pie without white sugar mixed with the cinnamon&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;feel like a drug addict feels - certain sensations can really grab a person without their knowing why or what&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;once I see the components the game is up and feel desire ebbing away&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;feeling better about healthy apple pie as &amp;#034;grindage&amp;#034; - no resistance&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul style="list-style: disc outside;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;#034;How does apple pie seem to you now?&amp;#034;   The pies of the past are now in the past and no thirst for sensation as the raison d&amp;#039;etre. Inner joy returned because mind finished with chewing on it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;u&gt;&lt;em&gt;&amp;#034;Have Another Create an Importance&amp;#034;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Ralph creating a grape arbor (I&amp;#039;m going to keep doing this until the grape arbor is done or I don&amp;#039;t feel the &amp;#034;must&amp;#039;ness&amp;#034; of it anymore)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul style="list-style: disc outside;"&gt;&lt;li&gt;I&amp;#039;m going to tell him if he splits the wood I will do the rest&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;he probably won&amp;#039;t like that, but I don&amp;#039;t want to wait anymore and I would love doing it myself -- my own way&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;see the curse of having a dhukka that is very suppressed in communication - suppresses emotions&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;see how this simple practice brings me back in loving communication, instead of repressed resentment, nagging, critical thoughts, feelings of lack and frustration&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;I&amp;#039;m beginning to let myself work this out analytically&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;feel impatience bleeding off&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;see Ralph creating a million grape arbors - nicely framed lattice panels everywhere&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;I&amp;#039;m way too happy about this, keep going&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;just another job -- no big deal&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Ralph showing me how to make one and letting me use his tools&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&amp;#034;How does a grape arbor seem to you now?&amp;#034;   For now, just another function, no fixed attention for now.  More attention on doing my practices -- that is where I will find comfort and safety.  Don&amp;#039;t know why I was making a big deal of it.  Love, you, Ralph.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul style="list-style: disc outside;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;End of Sit</description> <pubDate>Thu, 09 Oct 2014 01:04:52 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5601369</guid> <dc:creator>Colleen Karalee Peltomaa</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-09T01:04:52Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Heath's practice log</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5601342</link> <description>&lt;div class="quote-title"&gt;Colleen Karalee Peltomaa:&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="quote"&gt;&lt;div class="quote-content"&gt;Hello Heath, kind regards from a fellow fast typist.   I too just signed on and my practice has gone to a new level and the results show it.   Geometric progression is starting to kick in.   I think too it is a mutual morale boost to see other practicers moving along a sure path to Nirvana.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;colleen&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;Thanks for replying! I guess by &amp;#039;signed on&amp;#039; you mean your practice / practice time has ramped up? &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I agree about the mutual morale boost. It&amp;#039;s so refreshing to see that there are other people out there with similar pursuits. Good luck to you. </description> <pubDate>Wed, 08 Oct 2014 23:22:50 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5601342</guid> <dc:creator>heath</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-08T23:22:50Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Heath's practice log</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5601334</link> <description>Definite dark night territory starting mid yesterday into today. Er... well, what else could it be? In certain respects I feel a bit iffy saying that when I start to &amp;#039;feel bad&amp;#039; and weightier, emotional thoughts start pulling at me that I&amp;#039;m automatically in DN. Sharp sounds aren&amp;#039;t bothering me as much as they usually would when I think I&amp;#039;m in DN, but who knows. I guess I&amp;#039;m either DN or Re-observation?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Anyways. Regardless of what the name of this particular state is, I pretty much know how I got here and what comes next. I decided earlier this afternoon that I&amp;#039;m just going to do what I think of as Zen / &amp;#039;letting things be as they are&amp;#039; until I&amp;#039;m out of this territory so that I don&amp;#039;t have to worry about how it&amp;#039;s affecting my job/life. Lots of things going on right now that I can&amp;#039;t afford to miss a beat on. This is a point where I think some knowledge of maps excels -- the ability to &amp;#039;plan&amp;#039; your spiritual path, like Daniel has talked about. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This past day and a half I&amp;#039;ve really appreciated what it means to just power through DN, accepting it totally as part of the path and just examining objectively what is happening. This morning&amp;#039;s sit was interesting. Even though I had a very difficult time with thoughts/emotions, I would continually bring myself back to bare awareness and every few moments I could see them &amp;#039;as they were&amp;#039;, as just mind-stuffs arising, not me, and not mine. This experience is happening more and more frequently for me and I take it as a sign of progress. I&amp;#039;d like to see that kind of awareness extended to encompass more of my day and I can actually see that happening now. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;After this I move to concentration practices while I settle into a new phase at work, finish a move, and potentially begin a new relationship. </description> <pubDate>Wed, 08 Oct 2014 23:17:31 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5601334</guid> <dc:creator>heath</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-08T23:17:31Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Eric's Practice Log</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5601289</link> <description>And congratualations for giving birth to that OBE you&amp;#039;ve always wanted!</description> <pubDate>Wed, 08 Oct 2014 22:41:13 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5601289</guid> <dc:creator>_</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-08T22:41:13Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: My new practice log</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5601213</link> <description>It is not actually the meditation that ever helps.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But eventually it is what you learn from the meditation once you are able to do it long and deep enough.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I swear on everything holy that these techniques, and the others you will learn, completely and utterly cured me from a lifetime of depression. A despair that no hospitalization or medicine or therapist had ever even slightly eased.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Depression is not a physical condition manifesting in the mind, It is a spiritual condition that manifests itself in the body.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;All Spiritual paths teach that suffering exists from a delusion.  The delusion is in caring about your temporal life.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;You have recieved the best advice I have ever read in this thread.  These guys are amazing!  So I can&amp;#039;t add anything to make it better but I do want to tell you a place in my practice that was pivotal for me:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Stop caring about whether or not your depressed.  Stop caring about ever being happy.  Let it go.  Disregard the rest of your life.  Decide to live like the Cats live, perpetually napping and eating.  Decide to live just to help the people you love without ever letting them know you&amp;#039;re helping.  Live as if you died.</description> <pubDate>Wed, 08 Oct 2014 20:42:17 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5601213</guid> <dc:creator>Jeremy May</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-08T20:42:17Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: My new practice log</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5601205</link> <description>&lt;div class="quote-title"&gt;Not Tao:&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="quote"&gt;&lt;div class="quote-content"&gt;Hey,&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I dealt with anxiety for a long time, so I can understand what you&amp;#039;re going through.  It&amp;#039;s very tempting to see meditation as a cure-all, but the bad news is that it isn&amp;#039;t.  Noting sensations and emotions will not stop cronic depression or anxiety, and it may make them worse due to the increased concentration if you are trying to escape with a sense of desperation.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Please realize, you&amp;#039;re going to need to change the actual thought patterns and beliefs that are fueling your anxiety.  Meditation techniques can be helpful in analyzing your mind to discover the source of your anxiety, but the reason you feel afraid is going to be mundain (i.e. everyday life).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What you are calling the dark night, here, is a habit you&amp;#039;ve developed to focus on negative emotions and thought patterns.  This is habitual rumination at its core.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Here is what I did to break out of my own thought patterns.  Maybe you can try this before meditating each day.  Firstly, open yourself up to how you feel, don&amp;#039;t suppress anything.  You need to be able to see your thought patterns clearly.  If you&amp;#039;re like me, you might find that, not only is something specific on your mind - but your also afraid of the fear itself.  You might see desperation to escape, and a distrust of contentment, specifically, because it hasn&amp;#039;t been reliable for you.  These thoughts make up a chorus of voices in your head that want to be heard, and because of habitual supression, they&amp;#039;ve gotten louder and louder over the years.  Your mind is split into pieces.  Some of these pieces are trying to communicate, and others are trying to ignore, and it&amp;#039;s all just a massive struggle.  Once you let go of control and allow everything to say what it wants, the mind can relax its efforts.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Now letting go can be confusing and seem hard to do - but, by definition, it is the easiest thing you can do.  Instead of trying to deny the fear and push it away, give it a moment to express itself.  The next moment, a doubt will come up, or an alarm will tell you &amp;#034;no, you&amp;#039;re not doing it right, you&amp;#039;re trying to suppress something!&amp;#034;  Let that alarm through as well.  Let it say what it wants to say.  Let all of the doubts, fears, fears about doubts, anger, resentment towards your own mind, desperation, etc.  Let it tell you what it wants to say.  And, because you are finally listening, they will begin to quiet down, take turns, and present you with real information about what you believe and why you believe it.  In the short term, this technique can even cause temporary blissful states of ease and relaxation.  But then thise old doubts will come back and say, &amp;#034;you can&amp;#039;t trust this contentment, it isn&amp;#039;t safe!&amp;#034;  You must let that through as well.  Let it say what it needs to say.  You will lose the contentment, and it can be painful and create desperation again, but that must be let through as well.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Now, as you settle into this receptive attitude, your mind will understand that you&amp;#039;re willing to listen, and you&amp;#039;ll be able to gather information about who you are.  You can use this information to work through your problems logically and sanely without the desperation to escape.  It&amp;#039;s important to remember, as well, that you aren&amp;#039;t trying to focus on the painful manifestations of an emotion and wait for it to go away, you&amp;#039;re specifically trying to let go of control and allow the suppressed reason to make its way into your consious thoughts without resistance.  Ever tiny spec of anxiety you feel has a real life mundain cause, I&amp;#039;m going to make that guarantee to you.  There is no such thing as formless anxiety - we are very logical creatures.  I used to think I was anxious for no reason, or maybe for some chemical reason in the brain, and I&amp;#039;d spend my time laying on my couch asking, &amp;#034;why do I feel like this!? It makes no sense!&amp;#034;  The reason I couldn&amp;#039;t figure it out was because I was so focused on how bad I felt.  If you feel stuck in an emotion, go distract yourself for a while until you feel a bit better, then come back to it.  During the transition between feeling good and feeling anxious, you can often see the trigger quite clearly.  Don&amp;#039;t dismiss any reason as silly!  My &amp;#034;formless anxiety&amp;#034; actually came from a fear of touching sticky or dirty objects.  Imagine my suprise that it was something so simple!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Now, once you know the beliefs that are causing your fear, I have an exercise I like to use to challenge them and remove them.  You have to realize that, unless your life is full of dangerous situations, you are basically afraid of your imagination.  You&amp;#039;re afraid of what it will present to you.  The solution, then, is to allow your imagination to run wild, and face what it has to offer calmly.  My anxiety has been caused by a number of things over the years: spiders, driving a car, touching sticky objects, calling a stranger on the phone, knives, the list goes on.  So what I do is sit down and imagine scenarios like getting into a car accident, having spiders crawl on my face, getting stabbed, being mocked or shamed, and as I imagine these things, I challenge each reaction that comes up.  I might feel a little jump in the heart reagion, so I&amp;#039;ll stop for a moment, say to myself, &amp;#034;no, I&amp;#039;m not going to hold onto this reaction,&amp;#034; and then confront the same scene again.  It works very quickly to completely disable a habitual reaction because you&amp;#039;re facing the worst your imagination can offer you, and you&amp;#039;re coming out of it perfectly fine.  You can supliment this with images and videos if your fear is physical (I googled spiders and accident photos, for example).  The goal is to unify the mind, remove all inhibitions, and let go of the guarding mechanisms you are using to protect yourself from thinking certain thoughts.  Once these guards are removed, you will be free to experience contentment without the distrust because there will no longer be anything to run from.  You will be fearless, rather than brave.  See what I mean?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I know how you feel, so I hope this helps.  If you need some hope, it really only take a few weeks to disable a phobia.  If your fears are more existential, and you feel they are justified, it may take longer as you reorganize your pholosophy of life to account for them - but it is posiible, and it&amp;#039;s possible sooner rather than later.  Remember this, fear does not make you better able to cope with anything, it doesn&amp;#039;t help you remember anything better, it doesn&amp;#039;t make you work more quickly, and it doesn&amp;#039;t make you treat people better.  It&amp;#039;s completely useless - a mind that is content is willing to do any of those things, and can do them better because it isn&amp;#039;t preoccupied.  It is safe to let go of the fear.  It is safe to be happy, even when life is difficult.  A happy mind can solve any problem better than an axious one.  You can give yourself permission to trust your future self to handle things.  You don&amp;#039;t need to rehearse for bad situations, and you don&amp;#039;t need to solve problems and mistakes that have already happened.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Once you have freed yourself from the guarding mechanisms, vipassana practices will be much easier because there is very little resistance to things.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Can I share this with people outside of this forum?  This is exceptional.</description> <pubDate>Wed, 08 Oct 2014 20:26:06 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5601205</guid> <dc:creator>Jeremy May</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-08T20:26:06Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: My new practice log</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5601134</link> <description>Hey Not Tao,&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Thanks for the advice, good to hear from you. It&amp;#039;s good to hear from other people who have made progress on similar issues. See comments below:&lt;div class="quote"&gt;&lt;div class="quote-content"&gt;Here is what I did to break out of my own thought patterns.  Maybe you can try this before meditating each day.  Firstly, open yourself up to how you feel, don&amp;#039;t suppress anything.  You need to be able to see your thought patterns clearly.  If you&amp;#039;re like me, you might find that, not only is something specific on your mind - but your also afraid of the fear itself.  You might see desperation to escape, and a distrust of contentment, specifically, because it hasn&amp;#039;t been reliable for you.  These thoughts make up a chorus of voices in your head that want to be heard, and because of habitual supression, they&amp;#039;ve gotten louder and louder over the years.  Your mind is split into pieces.  Some of these pieces are trying to communicate, and others are trying to ignore, and it&amp;#039;s all just a massive struggle.  Once you let go of control and allow everything to say what it wants, the mind can relax its efforts.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Now letting go can be confusing and seem hard to do - but, by definition, it is the easiest thing you can do.  Instead of trying to deny the fear and push it away, give it a moment to express itself.  The next moment, a doubt will come up, or an alarm will tell you &amp;#034;no, you&amp;#039;re not doing it right, you&amp;#039;re trying to suppress something!&amp;#034;  Let that alarm through as well.  Let it say what it wants to say.  Let all of the doubts, fears, fears about doubts, anger, resentment towards your own mind, desperation, etc.  Let it tell you what it wants to say.  And, because you are finally listening, they will begin to quiet down, take turns, and present you with real information about what you believe and why you believe it.  In the short term, this technique can even cause temporary blissful states of ease and relaxation.  But then thise old doubts will come back and say, &amp;#034;you can&amp;#039;t trust this contentment, it isn&amp;#039;t safe!&amp;#034;  You must let that through as well.  Let it say what it needs to say.  You will lose the contentment, and it can be painful and create desperation again, but that must be let through as well.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Now, as you settle into this receptive attitude, your mind will understand that you&amp;#039;re willing to listen, and you&amp;#039;ll be able to gather information about who you are.  You can use this information to work through your problems logically and sanely without the desperation to escape.  It&amp;#039;s important to remember, as well, that you aren&amp;#039;t trying to focus on the painful manifestations of an emotion and wait for it to go away, you&amp;#039;re specifically trying to let go of control and allow the suppressed reason to make its way into your consious thoughts without resistance.  Ever tiny spec of anxiety you feel has a real life mundain cause, I&amp;#039;m going to make that guarantee to you.  There is no such thing as formless anxiety - we are very logical creatures.  I used to think I was anxious for no reason, or maybe for some chemical reason in the brain, and I&amp;#039;d spend my time laying on my couch asking, &amp;#034;why do I feel like this!? It makes no sense!&amp;#034;  The reason I couldn&amp;#039;t figure it out was because I was so focused on how bad I felt.  If you feel stuck in an emotion, go distract yourself for a while until you feel a bit better, then come back to it.  During the transition between feeling good and feeling anxious, you can often see the trigger quite clearly.  Don&amp;#039;t dismiss any reason as silly!  My &amp;#034;formless anxiety&amp;#034; actually came from a fear of touching sticky or dirty objects.  Imagine my suprise that it was something so simple!&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;span style="color: #ff0000"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;This really reminds me of the opening technique that helped me deal with the most extreme anxiety I was getting. I just sat with the feelings and let them do whatever the hell they wanted. Complete surrender, I wouldn&amp;#039;t really put but a really light intention to feel exact sensations, but rather just let it present itself. This helped a lot. For whatever reason I&amp;#039;m finding this doesn&amp;#039;t work as well with the misery type state I&amp;#039;m encountering now, and that&amp;#039;s why I went back to putting a larger intention to pay attention to specific sensations, with the hope that I could reach some new insights that would lead to changes.&lt;div class="quote"&gt;&lt;div class="quote-content"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Now, once you know the beliefs that are causing your fear, I have an exercise I like to use to challenge them and remove them.  You have to realize that, unless your life is full of dangerous situations, you are basically afraid of your imagination.  You&amp;#039;re afraid of what it will present to you.  The solution, then, is to allow your imagination to run wild, and face what it has to offer calmly.  My anxiety has been caused by a number of things over the years: spiders, driving a car, touching sticky objects, calling a stranger on the phone, knives, the list goes on.  So what I do is sit down and imagine scenarios like getting into a car accident, having spiders crawl on my face, getting stabbed, being mocked or shamed, and as I imagine these things, I challenge each reaction that comes up.  I might feel a little jump in the heart reagion, so I&amp;#039;ll stop for a moment, say to myself, &amp;#034;no, I&amp;#039;m not going to hold onto this reaction,&amp;#034; and then confront the same scene again.  It works very quickly to completely disable a habitual reaction because you&amp;#039;re facing the worst your imagination can offer you, and you&amp;#039;re coming out of it perfectly fine.  You can supliment this with images and videos if your fear is physical (I googled spiders and accident photos, for example).  The goal is to unify the mind, remove all inhibitions, and let go of the guarding mechanisms you are using to protect yourself from thinking certain thoughts.  Once these guards are removed, you will be free to experience contentment without the distrust because there will no longer be anything to run from.  You will be fearless, rather than brave.  See what I mean?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 16px"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: arial&amp;#x2c;&amp;#x20;helvetica&amp;#x2c;&amp;#x20;sans-serif"&gt;Your approach reminds me of CBT, which I tried prior to starting meditation. My issue was that it sometimes seemed to make things worse because I would challenge the thoughts yet the feelings would still be there. I found that an approach of purely accepting the feelings and thoughts seemed to be the only thing that kept me from totally freaking out, though there was still a lot of pain. My issue with modifying thoughts and CBT in general seems to be that the underlying assumption there is that thoughts case feelings. On the other hand, in my case, it also seems like feelings cause thoughts. Really they jointly arise and working with the thought doesn&amp;#039;t necessarily help. Though to be honest, I never gave it a full on shot, I tried it for a couple weeks, it didn&amp;#039;t do much, so I stopped. I also think the way that you apply it in particular, of simply realizing that you can cope with any bad outcome, is a more useful method at this point than trying to convince myself that none of the negative thoughts I have are true, and could be worth giving a shot. I intellectually realize they aren&amp;#039;t true, but they continue to arise anyway.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Thanks again!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Also, out of curiousity, do you think any of the progress you had would be possible without having done a bunch of meditation first? I often wonder whether meditation makes possible progress using other nonmeditative techniques.</description> <pubDate>Wed, 08 Oct 2014 17:40:10 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5601134</guid> <dc:creator>Elijah Smith</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-08T17:40:10Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Jehanne's practice log</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5601088</link> <description>Ok, I just had to mention that your corpse dreams sounded very familiar.  Like, they aren&amp;#039;t even scary, more like &amp;#034;Really?  This is just a little mellodramatic...&amp;#034;  Haha, good times.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Edit: BTW, I love your name. &lt;img alt="emoticon" src="http://www.dharmaoverground.org/dho-theme/images/emoticons/closed_eyes.gif" &gt; </description> <pubDate>Wed, 08 Oct 2014 16:46:24 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5601088</guid> <dc:creator>Not Tao</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-08T16:46:24Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Practice Log toward vanishing the mind</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5601052</link> <description>Greetings and love to you too, Jeremy.   So good to see you here.   As you can see, my practice is simple and my insights are rudimentary -- not very intellectual or scientific.   Feel free to talk to me likewise.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I have yet to do daily sitting and would like to read and then respond to you once I am more &amp;#034;connected up&amp;#034;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;love,&lt;br /&gt;colleen</description> <pubDate>Wed, 08 Oct 2014 13:30:48 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5601052</guid> <dc:creator>Colleen Karalee Peltomaa</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-08T13:30:48Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: My new practice log</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5600946</link> <description>&lt;div class="quote-title"&gt;Ian And:&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="quote"&gt;&lt;div class="quote-content"&gt;&lt;div class="quote-title"&gt;Elijah Smith:&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="quote"&gt;&lt;div class="quote-content"&gt; I guess the doubt I usually have is that I have practiced for two and a half years but still haven&amp;#039;t really relieved much of the suffering I started out with (though it has changed). It happens pretty regularly that I will apply the meditation techniques (noting, relaxing, acceptance, awareness) in the face of negative emotions and not get much of anywhere.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Try going for twenty years and having that same result, and wondering whether it is all still worth pursuing. Things were better, even after a year or two in my early practice. But the same nagging negative reactions were still arising, and I was not any closer to solving them then than I was when I started. The reason things haven&amp;#039;t changed quickly is because your attention is being diverted from the real CAUSES of the stress (&lt;em&gt;dukkha&lt;/em&gt;) or basic dissatisfaction, and you are not discovering the causes and putting an end to them. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When a person seeks relief from stress (&lt;em&gt;dukkha&lt;/em&gt;) in the mere practice of meditation itself, they are cutting themselves short of attaining the goal of Dhamma practice. Meditation is just one tool to be used in the whole process of practicing the Dhamma. Once a person is able to begin &lt;strong&gt;seeing and identifying&lt;/strong&gt; the causes of stress, then they are able to pinpoint a target which they know must be destroyed if relief is to be achieved.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The practice that Gotama recommended for the destruction of &lt;em&gt;dukkha&lt;/em&gt; was the practice of &lt;em&gt;satipattana&lt;/em&gt;. &lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;The practice of &lt;em&gt;satipattana&lt;/em&gt; helps you to begin to identify the causes of stress, to see these causes at their inception, and begin to weaken and ultimately destroy them. Find and read Ven. Analayo&amp;#039;s book on &lt;em&gt;Satipattana, The Direct Path to Realization&lt;/em&gt;. It will help to guide you in this practice. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;One thing you can do to begin identifying the source of &lt;em&gt;dukkha&lt;/em&gt; (once your concentration is up to par) is practicing the second &lt;em&gt;satipattana&lt;/em&gt; wherein you watch for and identify the arising of &lt;em&gt;vedana&lt;/em&gt;. Once you are able to quiet the mind enough to see the arising of &lt;em&gt;vedana&lt;/em&gt; (the tendency to judge pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral reactions to an object) and you understand (with insight) why these judgments have been made, then you are able to alter your reaction to them. This practice gives you &lt;em&gt;direct insight&lt;/em&gt; into what is causing the ultimate negative reaction pattern that you are seeking to find and destroy. The patterns begin at the level of &lt;em&gt;vedana&lt;/em&gt;, when one reacts with &amp;#034;this is pleasant&amp;#034; or &amp;#034;this is unpleasant&amp;#034; or &amp;#034;this is neutral&amp;#034; to whatever object one is observing. The whole point of &lt;em&gt;satipattana&lt;/em&gt; practice is to help you see and to stop &lt;strong&gt;identifying&lt;/strong&gt; with these reaction patterns. To develop equanimity toward them, thus dissolving the experience of &lt;em&gt;dukkha&lt;/em&gt;. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;That was the whole point in the discourses where the admonition (and thus release from &lt;em&gt;dukkha&lt;/em&gt;) is expressed as &amp;#034;This is not mine, this is not me, this is not myself.&amp;#034; When you recognize that these unwholesome reactions are being grasped by your ego and identified with, then you can release them, let them go, and in the process, experience relief from &lt;em&gt;dukkha&lt;/em&gt;. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="quote-title"&gt;Elijah Smith:&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="quote"&gt;&lt;div class="quote-content"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What keeps me going is the thought that it simply takes time; &lt;strong&gt;I do think my concentration skill and insight are improving, but slowly&lt;/strong&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Dhyana&lt;/em&gt; (jhana) practice can help to solidify concentration abilities. It will teach you how to enter into &lt;em&gt;samadhi&lt;/em&gt; at will. &lt;em&gt;Samadhi&lt;/em&gt; is a state wherein concentration is at its peak, and where other objects (like the causes of stress) can be observed and noticed for what they &lt;em&gt;really&lt;/em&gt; are and then released (let go of). This practice when combined with &lt;em&gt;satipattana&lt;/em&gt; can help you begin  making progress in relieving stress. &lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="quote-title"&gt;Elijah Smith:&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="quote"&gt;&lt;div class="quote-content"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Perhaps these thoughts are simply a product of &lt;strong&gt;being in the dark night&lt;/strong&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Be very careful what concepts you allow your mind to accept. It&amp;#039;s okay to recognize a condition, but don&amp;#039;t allow yourself to begin labeling a condition (&amp;#034;dark night&amp;#034;) and then &lt;strong&gt;falling into identity with&lt;/strong&gt; that condition. That can just exacerbate the condition (if it is not viewed with wisdom and insight, and thus broken up, dissolved). &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Richard had some very good things to suggest and of which to take heed. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="quote-title"&gt;Richard Zen:&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="quote"&gt;&lt;div class="quote-content"&gt;The best way I can look at faith is that if you keep diligently doing the practice (including the important daily life practice) results will show up as conditions you are creating. &lt;strong&gt;Whenever you&amp;#039;re suffering just look at that as a moment of attachment and lack of mindfulness&lt;/strong&gt;. &lt;em&gt;Any stress is fuel for practice.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The fact that some of your suffering has changed (I&amp;#039;m assuming for the better) is because you created the causes and conditions for those benefits. &lt;strong&gt;Mindfulness always brings up all the repressed stuff we don&amp;#039;t want to look at and if it keeps coming up it&amp;#039;s because it&amp;#039;s heavily conditioned.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I also think that those who have less attachments in the first place or they haven&amp;#039;t suffered with real loss &lt;strong&gt;can get to equanimity much sooner because their mind is already calmer.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;If one has deep seeded preferences for how one&amp;#039;s life should be&lt;/strong&gt;[,] &lt;em&gt;then it&amp;#039;s much more practice and consistent mindfulness to uproot that&lt;/em&gt;. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For most people it&amp;#039;s a lifetime practice because even if old habits are weakened &lt;strong&gt;a weakened version of that habit can wreak havoc so we can&amp;#039;t even give those impulses a chance or the predictable result of stress will appear again.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This is it.&lt;br /&gt;Thanks again Ian And and R. Zen for the source of inspiration. Much appreciated. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I&amp;#039;m sorry I can&amp;#039;t give you an advice Elijah. I can only give thumbs up and moral support. For what it&amp;#039;s worth we come from similar backgrounds. Doubt and scepticism is also what drives my intellectual mind. But we also have curiosity. ;-) I believe I&amp;#039;ve managed to make that first step and finally start meditating. It took a lot of time/reading but I finally started. What&amp;#039;s to lose? Hehe.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;with metta,&lt;br /&gt;ftw</description> <pubDate>Wed, 08 Oct 2014 08:06:08 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5600946</guid> <dc:creator>ftw</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-08T08:06:08Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: My new practice log</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5600930</link> <description>&amp;#034;On other days, instead of following body sensations I just try to surrender to whatever is occuring without even trying to pay attention carefully. It&amp;#039;s pretty crazy how much this changes the experience of the sensations (though not necessarily in a good way - it is just different). Instead of feeling anxious sensations throughout my body, they tend to be more head based and more &amp;#034;pain&amp;#034; than &amp;#034;fear.&amp;#034;&amp;#034;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I can relate to this as well. If this is happeneing, you&amp;#039;re pushing the cause of the fear away so far that you&amp;#039;re losing touch with it completely. It&amp;#039;s tempting to follow this track because it offers a bit of relief, but it is a good idea to ask yourself if this state is really something you enjoy, or is it just a path of desperation? In my case, I determined that it wasn&amp;#039;t where I wanted to go. What if it becomes perminant?</description> <pubDate>Wed, 08 Oct 2014 06:33:54 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5600930</guid> <dc:creator>Not Tao</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-08T06:33:54Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: My new practice log</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5600922</link> <description>Hey,&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I dealt with anxiety for a long time, so I can understand what you&amp;#039;re going through.  It&amp;#039;s very tempting to see meditation as a cure-all, but the bad news is that it isn&amp;#039;t.  Noting sensations and emotions will not stop cronic depression or anxiety, and it may make them worse due to the increased concentration if you are trying to escape with a sense of desperation.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Please realize, you&amp;#039;re going to need to change the actual thought patterns and beliefs that are fueling your anxiety.  Meditation techniques can be helpful in analyzing your mind to discover the source of your anxiety, but the reason you feel afraid is going to be mundain (i.e. everyday life).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What you are calling the dark night, here, is a habit you&amp;#039;ve developed to focus on negative emotions and thought patterns.  This is habitual rumination at its core.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Here is what I did to break out of my own thought patterns.  Maybe you can try this before meditating each day.  Firstly, open yourself up to how you feel, don&amp;#039;t suppress anything.  You need to be able to see your thought patterns clearly.  If you&amp;#039;re like me, you might find that, not only is something specific on your mind - but your also afraid of the fear itself.  You might see desperation to escape, and a distrust of contentment, specifically, because it hasn&amp;#039;t been reliable for you.  These thoughts make up a chorus of voices in your head that want to be heard, and because of habitual supression, they&amp;#039;ve gotten louder and louder over the years.  Your mind is split into pieces.  Some of these pieces are trying to communicate, and others are trying to ignore, and it&amp;#039;s all just a massive struggle.  Once you let go of control and allow everything to say what it wants, the mind can relax its efforts.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Now letting go can be confusing and seem hard to do - but, by definition, it is the easiest thing you can do.  Instead of trying to deny the fear and push it away, give it a moment to express itself.  The next moment, a doubt will come up, or an alarm will tell you &amp;#034;no, you&amp;#039;re not doing it right, you&amp;#039;re trying to suppress something!&amp;#034;  Let that alarm through as well.  Let it say what it wants to say.  Let all of the doubts, fears, fears about doubts, anger, resentment towards your own mind, desperation, etc.  Let it tell you what it wants to say.  And, because you are finally listening, they will begin to quiet down, take turns, and present you with real information about what you believe and why you believe it.  In the short term, this technique can even cause temporary blissful states of ease and relaxation.  But then thise old doubts will come back and say, &amp;#034;you can&amp;#039;t trust this contentment, it isn&amp;#039;t safe!&amp;#034;  You must let that through as well.  Let it say what it needs to say.  You will lose the contentment, and it can be painful and create desperation again, but that must be let through as well.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Now, as you settle into this receptive attitude, your mind will understand that you&amp;#039;re willing to listen, and you&amp;#039;ll be able to gather information about who you are.  You can use this information to work through your problems logically and sanely without the desperation to escape.  It&amp;#039;s important to remember, as well, that you aren&amp;#039;t trying to focus on the painful manifestations of an emotion and wait for it to go away, you&amp;#039;re specifically trying to let go of control and allow the suppressed reason to make its way into your consious thoughts without resistance.  Ever tiny spec of anxiety you feel has a real life mundain cause, I&amp;#039;m going to make that guarantee to you.  There is no such thing as formless anxiety - we are very logical creatures.  I used to think I was anxious for no reason, or maybe for some chemical reason in the brain, and I&amp;#039;d spend my time laying on my couch asking, &amp;#034;why do I feel like this!? It makes no sense!&amp;#034;  The reason I couldn&amp;#039;t figure it out was because I was so focused on how bad I felt.  If you feel stuck in an emotion, go distract yourself for a while until you feel a bit better, then come back to it.  During the transition between feeling good and feeling anxious, you can often see the trigger quite clearly.  Don&amp;#039;t dismiss any reason as silly!  My &amp;#034;formless anxiety&amp;#034; actually came from a fear of touching sticky or dirty objects.  Imagine my suprise that it was something so simple!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Now, once you know the beliefs that are causing your fear, I have an exercise I like to use to challenge them and remove them.  You have to realize that, unless your life is full of dangerous situations, you are basically afraid of your imagination.  You&amp;#039;re afraid of what it will present to you.  The solution, then, is to allow your imagination to run wild, and face what it has to offer calmly.  My anxiety has been caused by a number of things over the years: spiders, driving a car, touching sticky objects, calling a stranger on the phone, knives, the list goes on.  So what I do is sit down and imagine scenarios like getting into a car accident, having spiders crawl on my face, getting stabbed, being mocked or shamed, and as I imagine these things, I challenge each reaction that comes up.  I might feel a little jump in the heart reagion, so I&amp;#039;ll stop for a moment, say to myself, &amp;#034;no, I&amp;#039;m not going to hold onto this reaction,&amp;#034; and then confront the same scene again.  It works very quickly to completely disable a habitual reaction because you&amp;#039;re facing the worst your imagination can offer you, and you&amp;#039;re coming out of it perfectly fine.  You can supliment this with images and videos if your fear is physical (I googled spiders and accident photos, for example).  The goal is to unify the mind, remove all inhibitions, and let go of the guarding mechanisms you are using to protect yourself from thinking certain thoughts.  Once these guards are removed, you will be free to experience contentment without the distrust because there will no longer be anything to run from.  You will be fearless, rather than brave.  See what I mean?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I know how you feel, so I hope this helps.  If you need some hope, it really only take a few weeks to disable a phobia.  If your fears are more existential, and you feel they are justified, it may take longer as you reorganize your pholosophy of life to account for them - but it is posiible, and it&amp;#039;s possible sooner rather than later.  Remember this, fear does not make you better able to cope with anything, it doesn&amp;#039;t help you remember anything better, it doesn&amp;#039;t make you work more quickly, and it doesn&amp;#039;t make you treat people better.  It&amp;#039;s completely useless - a mind that is content is willing to do any of those things, and can do them better because it isn&amp;#039;t preoccupied.  It is safe to let go of the fear.  It is safe to be happy, even when life is difficult.  A happy mind can solve any problem better than an axious one.  You can give yourself permission to trust your future self to handle things.  You don&amp;#039;t need to rehearse for bad situations, and you don&amp;#039;t need to solve problems and mistakes that have already happened.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Once you have freed yourself from the guarding mechanisms, vipassana practices will be much easier because there is very little resistance to things.</description> <pubDate>Wed, 08 Oct 2014 06:21:11 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5600922</guid> <dc:creator>Not Tao</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-08T06:21:11Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Practice Log toward vanishing the mind</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5600908</link> <description>The Yawning is an interesting effect when experiencing udanayama.  Samyama on Udana, the upward flowing electric current, is also felt as shivers that radiate up the spine and outward over the shoulders, down the arms and legs, and threw the neck up to the top of the head.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Mindfulness (samyama) on this effect, experimenting, and further samyama will awaken the current into stronger and longer-lasting bursts.  It can be quite pleasant.  And the Patanjali says that continued practice on this phenomenon can allow you to walk on water.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Science is the methodology of observation.  Theoritical science is philosophy.  Philosophy is usless unless it is Dharma, or at best, only useless in teaching what is useless.  Buddhism is science as it is a practice based on the collected observations of thousands of years of experimentation, measurement, and precise, systematic recording of observed data.  Yoga is science.  Truth and Science are the same.  Reason, True Reaon (abdidharma), agrees perfectly with Spiritual Truth (Faith), Science, and Sacred Geometry.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It is Glorious to be sane, isn&amp;#039;t it Love &lt;img alt="emoticon" src="http://www.dharmaoverground.org/dho-theme/images/emoticons/tongue.gif" &gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I wrote this on another thread, but I want to make sure you read if (if you will) and tell me any thoughts you have:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A way to put it:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The cycle of Rebirths refers to the cycle of the rebirth of the &amp;#039;ego&amp;#039;.  That is what is said to reincarnate as a self-perpetuating illusion into cycle after cycle of suffering due to the ego being, essentially, interconnected karmic chains of desire.  It is desire that is illusion as Truth clearly reveals that there is nothing that is &amp;#039;real&amp;#039; enough to desire.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But Energy goes on!  Energy is not a substance but an action.  It is Karma.  Just as objects with mass carry momentum, desire also carries momentum.  It is simply the progression of states from imbalance to balanced.  It is the law of Entropy at work.  So even when The Arahant sees the truth and can understand all things clearly, He reincarnates.  But the ego does not.  The Arahant is born in his next life as someone who naturally has little or no ego and effortlessly reaches enlightenment again in their youth, and carry own in cultivation of his karmic bodies until either reaching oblivion or annihilation.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But it cannot be said that the Arahant has not escaped the cycle of rebirth.  What is reincarntated?  It is not the ego.  It is not anything that can be called a &amp;#039;self&amp;#039;.  The Arahant reincarnates not as a deluded ego, but simply as the strings of karma that continue after extinguishing the Great Confusion.  He reincarnates as a light in the world of darkness.  He guides others, even before re-enlightenment, because without the ego, our focus of our karmic momentums naturally turn toward the Divine Desire of the Reconciliation of All Things.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;After enough lifetimes, the focus on the karmic momentums has caused such purity of awareness that we must call that bundle of energy something other than Arahant.  The string of energies has united so well with the Karma of the World while at the same time in complete Union with the Divine Desire, that is can teach the WAY in any set of terms, ideas, or religion that is usefull to the moment.  Well call this a Buddha.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Don&amp;#039;t worship the Buddha.  There&amp;#039;s nobody there &lt;img alt="emoticon" src="http://www.dharmaoverground.org/dho-theme/images/emoticons/happy.gif" &gt;</description> <pubDate>Wed, 08 Oct 2014 05:07:43 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5600908</guid> <dc:creator>Jeremy May</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-08T05:07:43Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Jen Pearly's Practice Journal</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5600864</link> <description>What kind of bodywork, are you thinking of, Colleen? The only bodywork I have engaged in has been restorative yoga and deep tissue massage. I need to start going for massage regularly again. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;There is just so much to learn. </description> <pubDate>Wed, 08 Oct 2014 03:38:27 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5600864</guid> <dc:creator>_</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-08T03:38:27Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Jen Pearly's Practice Journal</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5600861</link> <description>X X:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="quote"&gt;&lt;div class="quote-content"&gt;&lt;span style="color: #111111"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Arial"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 16px"&gt;One of the sweetest things in the world is to be blameless. . . .  &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="color: #111111"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Arial"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 16px"&gt;It can be good to even take a bath before practice. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;span style="color: #111111"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Arial"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 16px"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Yes, good reminder. I&amp;#039;ll amp up the metta practice before diving into fire again. I do almost always take a hot Epsom salt bath at night before I meditate. It is part of my regular clean routine.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I was more startled than frightened. And then I was excited. Dream Walker reminded me . . . approach this stuff with equanimity. So equanimity and metta . . . and I need to order more Epsom salts. I buy 20 lbs. bags and go through one every 3 weeks.</description> <pubDate>Wed, 08 Oct 2014 03:36:22 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5600861</guid> <dc:creator>_</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-08T03:36:22Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: My new practice log</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5600842</link> <description>Thanks for the comments guys, they really keep me motivated. I&amp;#039;ve still been stuck in that dark night, in fact, it&amp;#039;s becoming more consistent, though it does feel like it is part of some kind of natural evolution of the energy. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In particular, when I pay attention to the sensations in my body during the day there is a persistent gnaw that is there, generally without reason, most often appearing in my calves and head. I associate with a &amp;#034;spiritual&amp;#034; dark night because it is a pain that doesn&amp;#039;t seem to be caused by a life issue. The sensations in the calves previously occured in my feet but have moved upward (this is somewhat interesting, maybe someone could provide some insight). It feels like a sharp contraction. There is also a generally weird foggy/dazed type feeling in social situations that sort of popped up out of nowhere. In general this sounds like bad stuff but it also just feels like the next step of some energetic process. It would be much easier if I just knew for sure that this energetic process was going to unfold into something positive, rather than just taking over.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;On other days, instead of following body sensations I just try to surrender to whatever is occuring without even trying to pay attention carefully. It&amp;#039;s pretty crazy how much this changes the experience of the sensations (though not necessarily in a good way - it is just different). Instead of feeling anxious sensations throughout my body, they tend to be more head based and more &amp;#034;pain&amp;#034; than &amp;#034;fear.&amp;#034; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 16px"&gt;On a somewhat more positive note, mindfulness seems so automatic now. Even when I intentionally set aside the intention to be mindful, feeling my feet while walking, hearing sounds, hearing thoughts, all just seem to happen.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 16px"&gt;&lt;/span&gt;</description> <pubDate>Wed, 08 Oct 2014 01:44:02 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5600842</guid> <dc:creator>Elijah Smith</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-08T01:44:02Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Jen Pearly's Practice Journal</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5600838</link> <description>Yes, metta would temper the weirdnesses, agreed.  And I can see how some body work would keep one grounded -- both before and after.</description> <pubDate>Wed, 08 Oct 2014 01:32:38 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5600838</guid> <dc:creator>Colleen Karalee Peltomaa</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-08T01:32:38Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Gerry's Noting practice log aiming for Stream Entry</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5600818</link> <description>Quick update. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;My baseline seems to have moved up from DN to late Re Ob/Low EQ. I do find that I hit higher EQ in sits, and also that I cycle back down to Re Ob from time to time, although the frequncy of that seems to be going down. Motivation to practice is down, but I think that&amp;#039;s due to the shitty sensations either ceasing to bother me, or just plain not showing up anymore. Pain motivates the hell out of me to practice. I do remind myself just how bad Re Ob is so I try and at least do 20 minute sits when I don&amp;#039;t feel like, or am not motivated to sit.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Things I&amp;#039;ve noticed include my ability to read is back. For a time I found reading comprehension just not there. My libido is much better. During the DN my libido was almost nonexistant. Somewhat paradoxical to the reading comprehension is the fact that my focus is wider. Feels somewhat relaxed outside of meditation, and during meditation I can notice the space surrounding me, I&amp;#039;ve gotten to what seems like infinite space. Energy is relaxed, just want to rest most of the time, exercising is down, but I almost don&amp;#039;t need it to control stress, noting things is working much better than that, although I will go for a jog today. Pains are also way lower in intesity and frequency. Also, a few days ago while I was picking up the remote control, my hand seemed foregn to me, like it was me watching a hand picking up a control instead of &amp;#034;me&amp;#034; moving my hand. Pretty cool.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As for actual technique, I have continued to note. I can&amp;#039;t believe how much time I wasted resisiting the technique, but I&amp;#039;m really seeing the benefits that the practice has for me. Note when I can throughout the day, but I make sure to meditate everyday. If it&amp;#039;s not a couple longer sits, I do various smaller sits. Noting what shows up to me, and when things get super quiet and it seems that there&amp;#039;s nothing to note, I try and look for the &amp;#034;looker&amp;#034; which usually leads to some pressure in the third eye area, or the actual eye. I note that as &amp;#034;attention, focus, pressure, slight pain&amp;#034; depending on how the &amp;#034;looker&amp;#034; is &amp;#034;looking&amp;#034; so to speak. Noted &amp;#034;space&amp;#034; today as things got very wide. I also notice the relay of information that seems to happen in the eye area. Like for example my tv makes weird little snapping noises outta nowhere, and they startle me a bit. My usual note is &amp;#034;sound&amp;#034; or &amp;#034;startled&amp;#034;, but I notice when that happens my eyes sorta twitch which seems to imply that that&amp;#039;s where the receier of information is. Gonna keep investigating that eye area, things got a little wobbly a few days ago when I was noting everytime I &amp;#034;focused&amp;#034; on something, but haven&amp;#039;t been able to reproduce the experience again, which is cool as I just need to note what&amp;#039;s there. I also have been able to notice vibrations. I&amp;#039;ll be in the bathroom peeing and I&amp;#039;ll focus on the wall and I can see tiny dots composing the totalty of my vision moving around. Not like those eye floaters, but like tv screen pixels moving around. Really cool. I&amp;#039;ve also noticed pulsing on my temple area start turning into tiny vibrations as well as just vision during meditation be vibrational. Don&amp;#039;t know if it&amp;#039;s significant, but I thought I&amp;#039;d share.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Things that I&amp;#039;m having trouble with are things like subtle thoughts that seem to carry me without me noticing. During the DN, that didn&amp;#039;t seem to be as big of a problem as it is now.  Another is just lack, or seeming lack of things to note at times when things get quiet, or when my awareness is just scattered. During those episodes I&amp;#039;ll look for the &amp;#034;looker&amp;#034; if possible, but sometimes even that is difficult. I don&amp;#039;t know what goes on at times, but I really can&amp;#039;t help but space out at times. I try and note, but I get sorta sleepy and not completely there. I&amp;#039;ll realize it and note that I was carried away, or what carried me away, but a bit later I get caught up again. Guess I just gotta roll with the punches, practice can&amp;#039;t be perfect all the time I guess, although I put in as much awareness as I can. Motivation to do much of anything is kinda low as I&amp;#039;m pretty spacey, although I&amp;#039;m very happy with my anxiety being reduced. I&amp;#039;d rather be chill than to be hypervigilant and anxious. Another issue is just frustration at times at not getting SE yet, but I try and note that when I can. I&amp;#039;m sure it&amp;#039;ll come soon-ish, just gotta be patient and let go of wants when I can remember.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Oh and I also forgot to mention that about 4 or 5 days after my last post I fell back HARD into Re Ob/Earlier DN. I attribute that now to stopping noting. I think I need that feedback and objectification of the noting technique to keep me from falling back so far. Learned a big lesson there, I just hate that I have to learn these lessons by failing. Wish I was wise enough to learn from others&amp;#039; mistakes, as I&amp;#039;ve heard that falling back is inevitable if proper practice isn&amp;#039;t continued, but I guess I&amp;#039;m just a damn knucklehead who needs to be whacked in the dome to learn these damn lessons. Oh well. Moving forward.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;That&amp;#039;s about all for my update. There has been much more subtlety and more experiences going on during all these days of practice, but for now that&amp;#039;s all I can remember. It&amp;#039;s very hard to remember all of the little things that happen or questions I may have during some sits, but I guess that&amp;#039;s why I should start keeping a notebook on things... Now if I wasn&amp;#039;t so damn lazy to do so. lol&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Anyway, thanks for reading</description> <pubDate>Wed, 08 Oct 2014 00:09:33 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5600818</guid> <dc:creator>Gerry V</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-08T00:09:33Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Jen Pearly's Practice Journal</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5600806</link> <description>When getting into the wierd realm of not-quite-normal-reality stuff, it can be really helpful to do a bunch of metta practice for yourself and all beings who may be near by, seen or unseen... as well as all being who may be at the farthest corner of the cosmos, seen or unseen. Really, you don&amp;#039;t want to hurt or bother anyone when you practice, not even a candle flame. If you spend some time on this, you&amp;#039;ll have no ill will or regret, even when things seem to go wrong. One of the sweetest things in the world is to be blameless. No necessary always &amp;#034;right&amp;#034;, but rather pure of heart, without ill will, and so therefore blameless. It seem like this is especially important when you get into power-sy stuff. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Maybe wish your father well, wish the woman spirit well, wish all beings well, even wish the candle flame well. It&amp;#039;s time well spent. When the heart is clean, do your practice for the benefit of all beings, known and unknown. May we all awaken, may we all be free from suffering, may we all be happy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It can be good to even take a bath before practice. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Just some things that might help. &lt;img alt="emoticon" src="http://www.dharmaoverground.org/dho-theme/images/emoticons/happy.gif" &gt;</description> <pubDate>Tue, 07 Oct 2014 23:49:18 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5600806</guid> <dc:creator>x x</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-07T23:49:18Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Jen Pearly's Practice Journal</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5600678</link> <description>&lt;div class="quote-title"&gt;Eric M W:&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="quote"&gt;&lt;div class="quote-content"&gt;I used to know a guy who could bend them. He couldn&amp;#039;t actually just bend them with his mind, he had to give it a nudge with his finger. It was still impressive, because it bent like hot wax. Oh, and it really was HOT to the touch, so don&amp;#039;t burn yourself...&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;a href="http&amp;#x3a;&amp;#x2f;&amp;#x2f;www&amp;#x2e;crichton-official&amp;#x2e;com&amp;#x2f;qa-travels&amp;#x2e;html"&gt;Q &amp;amp; A with Michael Crichton: Travels- Re:spoon bending&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div class="quote-title"&gt;Eric M W:&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="quote"&gt;&lt;div class="quote-content"&gt;Maybe back off the fire kasina until you figure out what exactly is going on.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;The rational mind will not &amp;#034;figure&amp;#034; it out. It is experiential.&lt;br /&gt;No fear.....but if you are doing it inside/ near flammable stuff...get a fire extinguisher.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Have fun,&lt;br /&gt;~D</description> <pubDate>Tue, 07 Oct 2014 19:09:54 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5600678</guid> <dc:creator>Dream Walker</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-07T19:09:54Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Jen Pearly's Practice Journal</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5600640</link> <description>That&amp;#039;s interesting, it sounds like you didn&amp;#039;t actively intend to make it jump. Sounds like you are a natural at this sort of thing! &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If you want to get the hang of psychokinesis, bending spoons is safer than fire. Start by coating a sewing needle in butter or lard and letting it float completely suspended in a glass of water. Concentrate and use your intent to tilt it to the left or the right. When you become proficient with that, you can apply the same principle to spoons.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I used to know a guy who could bend them. He couldn&amp;#039;t actually just bend them with his mind, he had to give it a nudge with his finger. It was still impressive, because it bent like hot wax. Oh, and it really was HOT to the touch, so don&amp;#039;t burn yourself...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Maybe back off the fire kasina until you figure out what exactly is going on.</description> <pubDate>Tue, 07 Oct 2014 18:05:34 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5600640</guid> <dc:creator>Eric M W</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-07T18:05:34Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Practice Log toward vanishing the mind</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5600617</link> <description>7Oct14  &lt;u&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Direct Looking:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Eternal bliss comes only after the job is done.   However, yesterday for about 2 hours had a taste of it.  A nice chunk of Dukkha fell off during session with partner.   Yesterday it was a beautiful day and I looked at the clouds and they seemed unreal somehow.   I started repeating to myself, &amp;#034;It&amp;#039;s only a movie&amp;#034;, and things started happening in the mind -- things kept coming up and then leaving, one after the other.  Letting go of importances.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Then came the question, &amp;#034;Could you take responsibility for this movie?&amp;#034;   The answer was &amp;#034;to take no action&amp;#034; -- to no longer be a player in this movie -- to take myself out seemed to be the most responsible thing to do.  My partner was making fun of the silly smile on my face and I saw him as another actor wearing a costume (his body).  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It went on and on and as I became involved in the mundane chores I started noting (thank you to all the &amp;#034;noters&amp;#034; on this forum) -- noting that I was &amp;#034;scripting&amp;#034;.  Ah!  The Writer -- my nemesis archetype.  He&amp;#039;s a lot better now though -- doesn&amp;#039;t write such scary stories anymore.   Whenever the scripting turned on I noted to myself, &amp;#034;scripting&amp;#034;.   Got some mileage from that.  Also, from &amp;#034;rehearsing&amp;#034;.   It was all a fun game played eons ago and now put on automatic.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;7:50am  &lt;u&gt;&lt;em&gt;&amp;#034;Create an Importance&amp;#034;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/u&gt; - 6 directions:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A Surprise&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul style="list-style: disc outside;"&gt;&lt;li&gt;what does a creator do?  create effects   what does that give the creator?   a surprise&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;yawn&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;where does the surprise come from?   &amp;#034;over there&amp;#034;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;some people don&amp;#039;t like surprises -- even nice ones&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;yawns&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;mind brings up good and bad memories of surprises -- flowing past me while I yawn&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;gratitude for my teachers, for my practices&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&amp;#034;All I ever wanted was a surprise&amp;#034;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&amp;#034;they can surprise me, but I must not surprise them&amp;#034;  that&amp;#039;s not fun ...&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;cut through the complications and simply postulate a surprise&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;you can&amp;#039;t say what it is because then it would not be a surprise&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;you can say, &amp;#034;a nice surprise&amp;#034; if you can only experience &amp;#034;nice&amp;#034; effects&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;nice, self-fulfilling feeling ensues&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;putting it all around me -- this no-thing in the center&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;body somatics turn on&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;there is a scale or categorization of types of surprises (by sensation) and in the body it is called Chakras&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;a being should be free to leave a game anytime  -- this is a surprise people don&amp;#039;t like&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;no reason should be needed other than, &amp;#034;I don&amp;#039;t want to play games anymore&amp;#034;, or &amp;#034;I want to play some other games&amp;#034;, and if wanting to play other games, attention must be paid to ending off properly, especially in male/female relationships&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&amp;#034;How does a surprise seem to you now?&amp;#034;   &amp;#034;I wish to stop playing that game on a compulsion&amp;#034;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;In my sits I&amp;#039;m always surprised what will come up and how the sit ends&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;When I tell myself to &amp;#034;create a surprise&amp;#034; I cannot create the actual surprise and I can only get the feeling I feel when I am surprised, and I put that all around me.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;sensations coming from root chakra and spleen chakra&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;okay, now emotions, etc. really turning on - why did it take such a long time?  I was being in my head, not passive enough - expecting the same results&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;yawn, dread, excitement&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;shock&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;past incidents coming up (keeping eyes open while re-viewing)&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;a disappointing surprise - anticlimatic or &amp;#039;not what I wanted&amp;#039;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;TIMEBREAKING STARTS HERE:&lt;/strong&gt;  A sticking incident from long ago and contains intense sensation and reaction - 6 directions - yawns&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;If I can throw a picture into someone&amp;#039;s mind it stands to reason another could do the same&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Life and postulates and throwing up scenes of a play  -  recreate that scene and put it all around you&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;make it really important&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;throw in a white cat&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;makes me know I am the center of it -- I created it - I am the zero point&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;introduce a feather - tickles, laughter.   who is it doing the laughing?  who is feeling the tickles?  I am&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;what am I?  A tickle machine  ???    &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Re-view the incident&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;feel like I pick-pocketed someone else&amp;#039;s mind - their incidents&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;everything I ever believed important is rubbish&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;only my practice has importance, relatively speaking&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;If I keep seeing that anything my mind has to show me is rubbish -- of no importance -- what&amp;#039;s to become of me?&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;I&amp;#039;ve been holding onto all these to build importance -- to make &amp;#034;myself&amp;#034; important, and more important than others, and to really impress myself until I forgot that I am the source of it all and that source is only awareness of potential.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;by trying to solve a problem, or score a point, I created more problems and dug in deeper and deeper into games play, devil-may-care attitude&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;when you have removed the postulate structure of the play - the skeleton - all the emotions and sensations and &amp;#034;not-selfs&amp;#034; and anything associated with that postulate structure falls away.   Take away the structure and the mind is undone - vanished.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;sobering&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;life is hierarchical -- games within games within games and I saw the larger game of beings stealing pictures from other beings and also implanting pictures into other beings.   This went on wholesale at that games level.  As with all games, eventually one&amp;#039;s viewpoint and potential deteriorates to a lower level of games play.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Now it makes sense why I like being a &amp;#034;mind-doctor&amp;#034; - my interest in the mind&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul style="list-style: disc outside;"&gt;Only by postulate agreement would anyone be considered sane -- as long as they agree with me and I agree with them then we are both sane or at least in agreement to be insane.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;All games are unreasonable and if &amp;#034;unreasonable&amp;#034; = insanity then we are by default, when entering into a game, agreeing to unreasonableness.   Is that &amp;#034;sane&amp;#034;?   It sure can be a lot of fun/sensation though, and we can get quite a challenge creatively coming up with &amp;#034;reasons why&amp;#034; for our be-do-have postulations.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;My best advice (to self and &amp;#034;not-selfs&amp;#034;) :  sideline yourself off the playing field as best you can and invest your time into learning how to take apart the postulates you made (and now cannot take apart because of the importance invested in them). Take a write-off, call it a loss if you must.  So what if the mind gets noisy and chattery - that happens when it is not getting its usual methods of satiation by sensation.  I.E., sex, food, possessions, control, admiration, love, aesthetics, etc.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;At the very worst, we will find ourselves on a whole new higher, more expansive field of interaction, where games are more fun than they are being stuck in the viewpoint of a human body.  The operative word here is &amp;#034;stuck&amp;#034; by imposed limitations as a natural result of playing games, i.e., spiraling cycles of winning/losing. Nothing wrong with being human on a totally voluntary, knowing basis, willing to leave the game at any time, win or lose.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I used to be able to think like a Games Master and now I can only make a squirrel think about an acorn and feel I&amp;#039;ve done something rather unusual.   I&amp;#039;m walking away from it all -- from bottom to top.  Because, truthfully, even a Games Master wil lose his footing.  This is the shortcoming of my associates -- they wish only to restore themselves to some higher games level, or to play a better game.  Nirvana is not in their scopes.   The power of full self-mastery.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;No more half-way re-hab for me.  I need to once again be able to be in an absolute &amp;#034;no-games&amp;#034; condition (nirvana), and alternately, an absolutely voluntary games player - cycling between the two and nothing more or less.  End of rant.  :-)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;#034;How does a surprise seem to you now?&amp;#034;   I enjoy the surprise of being released from a stuck viewpoint of importance and viewing life  -- and myself -- from a higher perspective.  I like the expanded perspective that is less narrow and limited.  I find it refreshing.   Surprises happen everyday.  Life happening.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I feel very fortunate to have fallen off the game field -- considered a &amp;#034;broken piece&amp;#034; and left alone, not impressed into anyone else&amp;#039;s game.  Very blessed in that respect.  Now I am re isupposed to want to do the proper thing and fix myself so I can once again be a &amp;#034;citizen&amp;#034;, a &amp;#034;player&amp;#034;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Here is how a being feels when he finds out his postulates aren&amp;#039;t working anymore:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="https&amp;#x3a;&amp;#x2f;&amp;#x2f;www&amp;#x2e;youtube&amp;#x2e;com&amp;#x2f;watch&amp;#x3f;v&amp;#x3d;8C1z7OlhJJ4"&gt;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8C1z7OlhJJ4&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;u&gt;&amp;#034;Have Another Create Something&amp;#034;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/em&gt; - 6 directions&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; </description> <pubDate>Tue, 07 Oct 2014 17:24:57 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5600617</guid> <dc:creator>Colleen Karalee Peltomaa</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-07T17:24:57Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Heath's practice log</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5600599</link> <description>Hello Heath, kind regards from a fellow fast typist.   I too just signed on and my practice has gone to a new level and the results show it.   Geometric progression is starting to kick in.   I think too it is a mutual morale boost to see other practicers moving along a sure path to Nirvana.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;colleen</description> <pubDate>Tue, 07 Oct 2014 16:38:10 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5600599</guid> <dc:creator>Colleen Karalee Peltomaa</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-07T16:38:10Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>Heath's practice log</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5600583</link> <description>Hello everyone! My name is Heath. This is going to be my new practice log. Previously I was keeping everything in notebooks, but this is so much more efficient and allows me to be more expansive, since I type faster than I write. After a few posts I will probably start to settle on a format that seems to make sense for an online forum. Eventually I will get around to posting some more background on my practice to help give context. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;My last post on this forum should have been the first entry in my practice log, so I&amp;#039;m going to  link to it here: &amp;#039;&lt;a href="http&amp;#x3a;&amp;#x2f;&amp;#x2f;www&amp;#x2e;dharmaoverground&amp;#x2e;org&amp;#x2f;web&amp;#x2f;guest&amp;#x2f;discussion&amp;#x2f;-&amp;#x2f;message_boards&amp;#x2f;message&amp;#x2f;5599936"&gt;Some questions about noting&lt;/a&gt;&amp;#039;. I listed two questions about my noting practice that I&amp;#039;d love some kind feedback on if anyone feels inclined. Either way, I am looking forward to keeping a log here and participating more actively on the forum. This is going to really help me ramp up my practice. Thanks everyone!&lt;br /&gt;.....&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;1hr sit in my car this morning.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Today&amp;#039;s practice continued the general downward trend in vividness and stability in my sits this past week and a half. Having a hard time settling into any technique. Tried just sitting and breathing contentedly and even then continued to get lost in thought. (Part of this I know is residue from not practicing over the weekend, combined with extended work hours (~12-15) for 5 days, and two nights of drinking...) I am happy that now I can get lost in thought and not be mad about it or feel like a failure. I also seem to be immune to feeling that a given sit is a &amp;#034;bad&amp;#034; sit or that I&amp;#039;m &amp;#034;not trying hard enough&amp;#034; or something to that effect. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For a moment I was thinking about the post I wrote yesterday, wanting someone to respond to it. All of a sudden Daniel&amp;#039;s voice came into my head and, after reading my post, he said something like &amp;#034;I think your practice is good; you don&amp;#039;t need any additional help right now. Just keep doing what you&amp;#039;re doing.&amp;#034; That was funny enough in itself. Once I noticed what was happening, I brought my attention back down to where the thought/voice seemed to emerge from and saw that it seemed to be of the same form and consistency, the same weight, as other thoughts/images that had come just moments before from my &amp;#039;own&amp;#039; self (not an imagined someone-else) and realized that this Daniel-voice was just another one of the things that arise and pass away in my mind, did not come from &amp;#039;me&amp;#039; and are not possessed by me. It was just one of the mind-stuffs that occasionally happen. This was something I&amp;#039;ve experienced many times before, but this time the realization seemed more solid. And of course I immediately got lost in thought again.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I also spent about 20 minutes attempting to look at my attention/awareness itself. The sense is like looking softly into a mirror that contains my &amp;#039;face&amp;#039; looking back at me, but my face is not there, just my &amp;#039;presence&amp;#039;. Sometimes I have felt like I alternating between these &amp;#039;presences&amp;#039;, trying to switch places, or trying to become the same thing, or something like that. I don&amp;#039;t know if this is a concentration or insight practice or both. I find that this is almost my &amp;#039;default&amp;#039;  meditation practice. When I first attempted to meditate when I was younger, this is what I would do. I thought meditation was about becoming very still and settling into myself and this is the practice that I ended up doing.</description> <pubDate>Tue, 07 Oct 2014 16:27:13 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5600583</guid> <dc:creator>heath</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-07T16:27:13Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Jehanne's practice log</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5600568</link> <description>Hi Jehanne&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;cool! If you are able to observe the ñanas at this level of clarity, you might also appreciate the &lt;a href="http&amp;#x3a;&amp;#x2f;&amp;#x2f;www&amp;#x2e;dharmaoverground&amp;#x2e;org&amp;#x2f;web&amp;#x2f;guest&amp;#x2f;dharma-wiki&amp;#x2f;-&amp;#x2f;wiki&amp;#x2f;Main&amp;#x2f;MCTB&amp;#x2b;The&amp;#x2b;Vipassana&amp;#x2b;Jhanas"&gt;Ñana/Jhana correspondences&lt;/a&gt;. One possible way to line them up:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;1st Jhana - ñana 1&lt;br /&gt;2nd Jhana - ñana 4&lt;br /&gt;3rd Jhana - ñana 5&lt;br /&gt;4th Jhana - ñana 11&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Have fun, keep going!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Cheers,&lt;br /&gt;Florian</description> <pubDate>Tue, 07 Oct 2014 15:57:57 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5600568</guid> <dc:creator>Florian Weps</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-07T15:57:57Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Richard's insight practice</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5600526</link> <description>Last night I was doing some noting and I reduced the verbal note from outloud down to mental and then just to consistent bare awareness (because I felt it allowed more detail). I started noticing that my mind was going into a dream like state (but still wide awake) and there were several bits of mental talking from different people with separate identities. A lot of it was incoherent but I could tell it had some kind of affect and without that kind of mindfulness it&amp;#039;s running in the background. I&amp;#039;m thinking I may have tapped into an area where views are stored from different people I&amp;#039;ve met. Whatever mental conditioning a person has is deep inside. It was the deepest not-self experience I&amp;#039;ve had so far because the sense of agent disappeared and every experience, movement and intention became not-self. I&amp;#039;ll try to see if I can do this for more than a few minutes. This may be the first time I could actually note a wandering mind without feeling totally lost in it. I&amp;#039;m eager to see what more can come from bare awareness.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I think Daniel&amp;#039;s instructions in MCTB says it right in that if there&amp;#039;s distractions there should be MORE noting during this time. Maybe if there&amp;#039;s a sensation of any kind it has to be noted consistently enough to be seen for what it is and there seems to be so much embedded in consciousness when you take a deeper look. It also challenges some of the perceptions that sitting down is doing nothing when in fact the mind is constantly doing something.</description> <pubDate>Tue, 07 Oct 2014 13:51:57 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5600526</guid> <dc:creator>Richard Zen</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-07T13:51:57Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Jehanne's practice log</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5600318</link> <description>I&amp;#039;ve been comtemplating about cycling through the stages of insight. It seems part of my confusion about &amp;#034;where I am&amp;#034; was due to the fact that I wasn&amp;#039;t paying enough attention to the way these stages present themselves. I had started to believe I was in EQ, but then my following experiences didn&amp;#039;t quite match up to that, which then led to confusion.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So, I&amp;#039;ve done some experimenting! &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I decided to specifically look for any signs of insight stages and whether I see myself cycling through them. It&amp;#039;s only been a couple of times I&amp;#039;ve tried this, but it seems that looking at the process like this I fall actually pretty easy into equanimity within 15 to 30 minutes.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A typical session is something like this: I start and don&amp;#039;t feel anything special, some thoughts here and there, everything is pretty ok and hard to describe. I observe my breath at the nostrils, focusing on that the whole time while looking for anything else that come up. But I always come back to the breath, so I don&amp;#039;t get carried away with thoughts. Then I observe what might be called seeing the intention before the act of in/out breath. Again, I can&amp;#039;t explain this with much more detail, but there is some part of my experience that seems to be the same before each in and out breath. After this I usually get a few jerks and twiches, nothing major but still I count it as three characteristics because as far as I know, that&amp;#039;s what it is! Next follows A&amp;amp;P which consists of some tingling and blissfull sensations around the torso and head, I feel great and everything is clear and wonderful. Then Dark night sets in, I notice it first by the weird sensation like every small sensation is out of harmony, kinda feels like some odd jazz tune. I try to pay attention carefully to fear, misery, disgust etc, and sometimes I sense small traces of these, like a scary rotten image, or a sense of sorrow, slight nausea. Nothing terribly unsetling, but just some small indications that allow me to label this phase as Dark night. Then arises Equanimity with a sense of everything quieting down. I feel tranquil and I start loosing feeling of having a body, or it is lessened a great deal. The feeling is just nice, but I do notice some aspects of it that are stressfull. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Yesterday while at this EQ phase, my alarm clock went off I just coudn&amp;#039;t bother turning it off. I was just staying in that state, listening to the alarm for quite some time, observing all the sublte emotions that came up. Eventually I got annoyed and turned the alarm off, but decided to continue the sit. I then observed what I thought was sliding back the stages of insight to DN, A&amp;amp;P and pre-A&amp;amp;P stage. Then I got up. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I&amp;#039;ll continue along these lines also next time, since it seemed effective. I was able to sense very subtle feelings and thoughts and aversions throughout the sit, each becoming more subtle as I went up the ladder of insight stages. I came naturally to contemplating space and volume and those sorts of things towards the EQ.</description> <pubDate>Tue, 07 Oct 2014 06:43:19 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5600318</guid> <dc:creator>Jehanne S Peacock</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-07T06:43:19Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Jen Pearly's Practice Journal</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5600218</link> <description>&lt;strong&gt;Fire Kasina Gone Wild (October 6, 2014, Only 33 Minutes)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;Last night I intended to try the fire kasina practice for at least an hour; however, I abruptly cut the session short because what happened startled me.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As with the last time, I added a mantra and observed the rays elongating. But then I decided to focus on the color and after a few alternations between having eyes open and having them closed, I started seeing the purple disc behind closed eyes. The second time I saw it, I had a few moments of confusion wherein I couldn&amp;#039;t tell the difference between &lt;em&gt;imagining&lt;/em&gt; purple and &lt;em&gt;seeing&lt;/em&gt; it. Then it became clearly seen with my eyes closed. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;About the fourth time that I closed my eyes, something weird happened. The disc started growing bigger and showing these brighter purple sparkling spots within the main disc. I was letting this develop and just watching it rapidly grow to fill all of the visual field when suddenly my vision popped up bright and became completely bright orange, the color of flame. I opened my eyes to see the actual flame leaping up high, and then quickly returning to normal and staying normal height.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This happening shook me up, set me a-trembling, and I ended the session early.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src="http&amp;#x3a;&amp;#x2f;&amp;#x2f;www&amp;#x2e;dharmaoverground&amp;#x2e;org&amp;#x2f;documents&amp;#x2f;portlet_file_entry&amp;#x2f;10128&amp;#x2f;FireKasinaWeb&amp;#x2e;jpg&amp;#x2f;4e125420-2a03-4dfc-b845-69640be1bb16" /&gt;</description> <pubDate>Tue, 07 Oct 2014 04:13:10 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5600218</guid> <dc:creator>_</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-07T04:13:10Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Jojo Practice Log</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5600151</link> <description>Hi Jo Jo, &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Thank you for such a clear explanation of how you got here. Wow. I personally don&amp;#039;t think you need to be shorter; it was so clear and easy to read. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Okay:&lt;div class="quote"&gt;&lt;div class="quote-content"&gt;&lt;span style="color: #111111"&gt;Any comments and thoughts are very welcome.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;span style="color: #111111"&gt;Okay, about your shaking. Have you read the posts of a man named Mario Nistri here? Or contacted him? I don&amp;#039;t know if you two will resonate well, but he&amp;#039;s dealt a lot with such body shaking and has written somewhere on the forum of ways he&amp;#039;s been working with that aspect.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Else, I can just say I relate to your zen start. I love it now, and needed it to &amp;#034;get the party started&amp;#034; twenty-plus years ago, but there was a long window in there where it did not apparently help me and I needed these clear path-type practices. I also want to say that I think the moral practices (similar to your not-criticize maybe), the &amp;#034;paramis&amp;#034; are essentially companions: generosity, ethical discipline, patience, joyous perseverance, meditative stabilization and their resultant understanding. Anyway, that&amp;#039;s just me. It sounds like you find your way well.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Welcome to the forum and best wishes.&lt;/span&gt;</description> <pubDate>Tue, 07 Oct 2014 00:50:33 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5600151</guid> <dc:creator>katy steger</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-07T00:50:33Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>Jojo Practice Log</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5600063</link> <description>I am not a native speaker of English. So please excuse clumsiness and mistakes.   &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Here is my weird story (to borrow a nice expression from Jenny, with gratitude): I stumbled into Zen in the dark later nineties, when I was doing a therapy that was supposed to remove my suicidal tendencies (which it did, actually). &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;No real internet around then, no printed readings on practice available in the bookstores, so I trusted completely into what the next corner dojo Zen monk told me. Which was close to nothing.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;At that time I supposed that it needed to be this way. Zen monks were supposed not to talk, so I did not ask either. I went to his dojo once a week to sit for an hour. He was an nice and scruffy old man, in an scruffy old dojo. I liked him because he was totally unesoteric and did not threaten to hug me, nor demand any kind of false harmony. During the sitting, I made up colorful stories, to get around the pain, while he read to us small stories about Zen monks, which I did not understand.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Half a year later I went to a 9 day Soto retreat, totally unprepared in terms of technique, and since I thought that enlightenment was somehow to do with severe pain, I sat through, always on the brink of screaming, tears and total desperation. That was one of the worst experiences in my entire life.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The master who lead the retreat, was surrounded by 200 practitioners. His entourage made clear that he was not available to beginners. So I remained silent. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;On the last day, however, I decided to quit this shit. Before the monks in charge could pick me up in the dorm and drag me to the dojo (absence from sitting was not allowed), I went off and took a long, silent walk in the woods, watching the sunrise and listening to the awakening birds. Which, after this week of torment and pain, was heartbreakingly beautiful.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And this was the point when I had a kind of - I would have said experience, why not. A very profound experience. I understood completely how beautiful the world was, and that I was totally free, had always been. That was one of the best experiences in my entire life.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The best about it was that my body TOTALLY relaxed. For the first time in my life, I was physically free, and this made me emotionally and mentally free. I went home and thought “wow, now you´re enlightened!”. Obviously it had worked out: pain -&amp;gt; enlightenment. I no longer needed this shitty sitting practice, did I? So I dropped it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I was free for six weeks in total, in which I put my life upside down, or better downside up. I started doing whatever was needed, no procrastination or depression any more, no more suicidal tendencies, no more social phobia. The positive consequences from these six weeks bear fruit until the present day.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;And then the cob webs of angst came back into my life. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I went back to the cushion, but did not talk about this, neither about my sudden freedom nor about my going back to body-and-mind-jail, neither to my Zen friends nor to the teacher. I sat once a week at the dojo, and went to more retreats to bring back “the experience”.  The main difference was that I now KNEW for sure that there was something in Zen that I could not get otherwise. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;After four years of waiting and spinning away on the cushion, I gave up and stopped sitting.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I went about my life, depressed as ever, and spent the next six years getting into a job (which was, at that time with mass unemployment, not easy), and after a near physical breakdown, went to AA to get rid of my inclination with alcohol (and luckily, was able to get rid of it). &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But still my life remained to be a mess, and in the back of my head, there was always this longing, for this experience I could not forget about. So one day in 2006, in a book store, I picked up a book by a Theravada nun about meditation techniques. And that was it. Finally I understood that there was something to be done on the cushion. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I walked straight to the next Soto Zen dojo, enrolled as a member and plunged into the practice. Which at that time meant 30 minutes sitting at home every day, three times a week sit one hour in the dojo, and three retreats per year, one of them for nine days, two for three days. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This time I made sure to ask whoever I met what exactly he was doing while sitting on the cushion. The answers remained very vague. The teachers I met were equally elusive. I could not make out if I was on the right trip. Now, having read my way through MCTB, I think they did not know what they were doing. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Still, I carried on and in 2008, had another experience which reminded me of what I was looking for: everything lightened up, the body relaxed, and a great joy welled up, and turned into love and compassion with everything and everybody. It lasted for two days, and then quickly faded.&lt;br /&gt;I went to a Soto master and he asked if I knew how I had gotten there, and if I was able to reproduce this experience.  I did not know, except that there had been &amp;#x2013; again &amp;#x2013; a period of severe pain before the opening. So he told me to go home and practice until I knew. That was the teaching. &lt;br /&gt;At least I gained from it that there obviously was a systematic way of achieving this state. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Well I tried to find out how to do this, but shortly after my talk to this teacher, my job life turned into a horror movie, and my focus went onto daily survival rather than onto the exploration of meditative techniques. At that time I came across the Soto precepts, and because it appealed to me intuitively, I started practicing very seriously to put a focus on “not criticize”. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;At that time, my mind was deeply inhabited by criticizing &amp;#x2013; myself and others. Looking back, I must have started doing an intuitive kind of noting technique on “criticizing thought”, combined with the practice of equanimity towards results, and a practice of consciously detecting and dissolving all negative somatic feelings that arose in combination with my numerous communicative failures.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The sitting faded at that time, I was not able at that time to maintain a daily sitting schedule. But the practice of “not criticize” changed my communicative behavior very deeply. On this basis, after four years or so, I managed to unravel my job difficulties, and my life settled a bit. Still, my depressive tendencies continued. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I started peeking around for teachers outside the Soto tradition I had been stuck with for all these years. I found a teacher who did secular Rinzai style retreats with a demanding amount of sitting hours, and went there. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;After the second retreat with him, I knew that my previous style of practice was not going to work with this. I had to do much more sitting at home. Which I did. I turned to volume up to two hours per day. And something started changing, while I did not know exactly what. In October 2013, I lost my depression, and my panic attacks. They disappeared and never came back.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A few months after the depression went away, my body &amp;#x2013; which had always been very stiff &amp;#x2013; began to shake during sitting. This lead to a gradual relaxation of the body and to profound changes in posture, which at times were very painful, but in the end lead to a much better physical and emotional balance. I was able to drop the “not-criticize”-practice.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I also started experiencing strong kundalini symptoms, first trembling, then shaking, and after a few months, spasms. A few times I even woke up at nights and found my body shaking, literally jumping about in the bed. I was not frightened, because it was so relaxing. But I had no idea what this was. The Rinzai teacher was either unable or unwilling to help me with this, and so I searched the internet. During this search, I came across various kundalini theorists and practitioners, and also across Shinzen Young and the dharmaoverground platform.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I am very glad to FINALLY have found a place where somebody is actually talking about meditation and what is happening in it, in plain language and not in a mystic tone. So I am now here, trying to figure out where I am, what is going on, and how to proceed. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The kundalini symptoms have faded, only during sitting I still experience a continual and regular shaking. However, while it used to be relaxing before, it has now become simply annoying. Suppressing it does not work, either. That results in periodic and painful spasms which just shatter my awareness, but do not change anything. I must practice in some other way, but I do not know exactly how. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The body has settled into a posture and pattern of muscle tension that is not bad, but also not totally satisfying, not totally grounded. There is still a lot of unnecessary tension around, which I cannot get rid of. Also there remain some very annoying habits in daily life, especially a procrastination that drives me crazy. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Currently, I am trying to settle with a conscious technique. I tried Mahasi style noting, but for me it seems to lead only to confusion. I have no idea what these vibrations might be Daniel is talking about. It seems better to me to stick with a simple focus out, and especially with somatic experience at a wide focus. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;On the other hand, after the spectacular changes which have taken place during the past months, it is hard for me to stay with the subtler physical phenomena. I find it simply boring. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So at the moment, I feel a bit stuck, and maybe need some reflection. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sorry for this long piece, there is one more newbie splashing her lengthy story out above the board, but I felt I needed this in order to explain it to myself, and to give me a foundation. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I will continue in much shorter pieces. &lt;br /&gt;Any comments and thoughts are very welcome.</description> <pubDate>Mon, 06 Oct 2014 22:27:31 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5600063</guid> <dc:creator>Jo Jo</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-06T22:27:31Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: New practice.</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5599968</link> <description>Please excuse my late and brief reply.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Practice did a &amp;#034;dead cat bounce&amp;#034; &lt;br /&gt;Every thing came to a standstill.  Got another 4 hour day and  another 7 hour day in... then crash and burn.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Local contitions, local influences outside of practice, terminating practice.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;ftw.... Send more metta   Want soonest return to cushion.  Allowed someone to get too close in the real world.  Now paying for bad decision.  I am a fool!  In refuge, i throw myself at the Triple Gem, The Buddha.  Dharma and Sangha.  Would like to see the path a little clearer.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;ftw  .....May have a line on Theavardin physical Sangha.  Dhammagiri Forest Hermitage, about 6/700klms from where i live.  Looks like they take in lay meditators. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Be Positive.</description> <pubDate>Mon, 06 Oct 2014 20:35:54 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5599968</guid> <dc:creator>stuart chas law</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-06T20:35:54Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Practice Log toward vanishing the mind</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5599791</link> <description>8:54 am   &lt;strong&gt;&lt;u&gt;Direct Looking - 6 directions:&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Life got a little too interesting this morning, with my hobbies, and I will use that for the subject of today&amp;#039;s insight meditation.  Much &amp;#034;shifting&amp;#034; occurred yesterday from the previous mind-blowing session and I had to periodically during the day stop and put something all around me to clear the mind and assist the shift.  Body also responded to the shift with its own de-tox.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;u&gt;&lt;em&gt;&amp;#034;Create an Importance&amp;#034;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/u&gt; - 6 directions&lt;br /&gt;Building a neat-o tinyhouse on wheels&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Can already feel the compulsive create mechanism turning on and I used to worship that but now feel it is a bit uncomfortable, unnatural, not really how I wish to create anymore -- seeking the mind for answers.  I have this idea that better ideas come &amp;#034;from above&amp;#034; or from a more analytical, detached mind -- whatever remains once the compulsive mind is out of the way.  But then, one may decide not to do it and be okay with that.   Right now, I could decide not to do it, but it would be suppressing a desire, not resolving it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul style="list-style: disc outside;"&gt;&lt;li&gt;To create or not to create are both options (the mind gets too fixed on one or the other -- or just gets hung up between both)&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;craving for that particular &amp;#034;in-the-zone&amp;#034; create sensation; it is an awesome sensation and I can see how one can get stuck in it -- feels almost next-to-god&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Once I went to register my complaint with a &amp;#034;Game Lord&amp;#034; who was high up in the hierarchy of life, and he told me I could change it because I created it.  Cheeky bastard.   Was also told that in another place I visited.  That is true for all, not just for me and the trick is to find that out for ourselves.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;mind wants to pull out the graph paper&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;yawns&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;with this compulsion there is a feeling of force&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;auction it on Ebay&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;give it to charity&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;everyone needs to take responsibility for their life, for their past, now, and future&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;everyone needs to take responsibility for their own mind, their own mental structure&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;a tinyhouse as portable, interactive canvas&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;the delight is in the nicely surprising discovery of details&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;waiting for direction from &amp;#034;god&amp;#034;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;laughing&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;afraid I might take this process &amp;#034;too far&amp;#034; and decide I don&amp;#039;t want to build a tinyhouse  :-(&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;laughing out loud -- joke&amp;#039;s on me&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&amp;#034;Get the feeling of how good that would feel -- building a perfect tinyhouse&amp;#034;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;washing the dog feels so boring and mundane, yech!&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;get rid of the dog  (laughing)  must focus&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;besides I want a cat anyways&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;I love my mind  :-)&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;laugh attack&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&amp;#034;How does building a perfect tinyhouse seem to you now?&amp;#034;   Really funny, can&amp;#039;t stop laughing&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;grateful for my isolated quiet space to laugh away in&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;don&amp;#039;t stop -- laughing is part of the process&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;can&amp;#039;t help myself - can&amp;#039;t stop myself (use repeater tech on &lt;em&gt;&amp;#034;I can&amp;#039;t help myself&amp;#034;&lt;/em&gt;)&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;yawns, laughs at the joke of it all&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&amp;#034;I can&amp;#039;t help myself, I just have to do it!&amp;#034;   (repeat)&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&amp;#034;I can&amp;#039;t help myself from feeling this way!&amp;#034; (repeat with emphasis)&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;peals of laughter -- oh the things I say to myself  :-)&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;[this method of noting is soooo awesome -- it really keeps me focused and moving along quickly]&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;[closing eyes to go deeper into mind] I can see/hear my mom saying that long ago, lol&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;seeing/hearing others say this&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&amp;#034;I want to go home&amp;#034;, lol&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Run &amp;#034;must feel / must not feel&amp;#034;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&amp;#034;I must feel&amp;#034;   (an emotion, sensation)&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&amp;#034;see, feel it&amp;#034;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&amp;#034;I must have that experience&amp;#034; -- also -- &amp;#034;I must have this experience&amp;#034;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;wanting to have the experience of now AND the experience of the past -- how to do that?&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;why, simply stack all of the past up with the now, voila!&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;grief, loss -- running &amp;#034;I must have this experience&amp;#034;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;see an actress on a stage agreeing to have an experience for the entertainment of others&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;bringing up a scene from yesterday and re-viewing it&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;yawns, scene fading, losing importance&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul style="list-style: disc outside;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;repairing loss of importance by putting scene of me building a tinyhouse all around me 360 degrees (yawns)&lt;br /&gt;-- replacing a fixed importance with one of my own conjuring&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;11:20 am -- gotta get going   (perhaps to be continued)</description> <pubDate>Mon, 06 Oct 2014 15:21:28 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5599791</guid> <dc:creator>Colleen Karalee Peltomaa</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-06T15:21:28Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: doable energy practice</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5599743</link> <description>had a cultivation result at the end of the august or something this year. Black sphere rised from the bottom. It was second of this type. Also noticed when i am cultivating &amp;#034;lower area&amp;#034;(i think its jing to chi cultivation) now i feel lower abdomen too, before only perineum area.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I think i have opened with this, second chakra. &lt;br /&gt;Path attainments and chakras correlate, reading the descriptions of the chakras and fetters model etc.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I think sensual craving correlates with jing/essence recovery level. At least its said in Taoist yoga that vitality will be restored to the level we had at child age.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Second chakra is 2nd path. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;first path: 1/3 of first path is here http://www.dharmaoverground.org/web/guest/discussion/-/message_boards/message/4476085&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;everything starts to make more sense and previous claims were part of the bigger stuff what got smaller after cultivation progressing.&lt;br /&gt;it seems that to open a chakra there is needed 3X3 openings within it. Within one opening there is cultivation of jing to chi to shen.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Current guess is that i have opened second chakra and working with the third.</description> <pubDate>Mon, 06 Oct 2014 13:30:36 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5599743</guid> <dc:creator>Rist Ei</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-06T13:30:36Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Plne Practice Notes</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5599624</link> <description>&lt;span style="color: #333333"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family: Helvetica&amp;#x20;Neue&amp;#x2c;&amp;#x20;Arial&amp;#x2c;&amp;#x20;sans-serif"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 16px"&gt;I recognise how in the cold of early morning practice I use shamata as place to hide. As something to make me feel good. This is not satisfying. Better to hold fear, discomfort, anguish, etc, thereby allowing expansiveness, deepening. As usual my practice seems like tantric/alchemical rather than the deconstructive insight. A practice of submission rather than poised observation. That, itself a lazy observation. Something remembered, made up even, rather than something directly seen as I write in this moment.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;</description> <pubDate>Mon, 06 Oct 2014 09:25:26 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5599624</guid> <dc:creator>Plne</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-06T09:25:26Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Practice Log toward vanishing the mind</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5599388</link> <description>&lt;strong&gt;&lt;u&gt;5Oct14  Direct Looking&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; (continued)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;u&gt;&amp;#034;Have Another Create an Importance&amp;#034;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/em&gt; (continued)&lt;br /&gt;A grape arbor (continued)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This appears to be more of an exercise in pan-determinism.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;detect feelings of lack&lt;br /&gt;yawns - many big yawns&lt;br /&gt;&amp;#034;How does a grape arbor seem to you now?&amp;#034;   Like it just might happen, and feel more detached too.</description> <pubDate>Sun, 05 Oct 2014 22:30:15 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5599388</guid> <dc:creator>Colleen Karalee Peltomaa</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-05T22:30:15Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Practice Log toward vanishing the mind</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5598617</link> <description>&lt;strong&gt;&lt;u&gt;5Oct14  Direct Looking :&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Session with partner rudely stripped away big chunk of ego-protective and limiting way-of-being.  Appears to have been picked up from Mother (which she picked up from her mother, etc.).   Kept repeating &amp;#034;I Know&amp;#034; .... it had already started to come apart and I was ready for it, but still lots of tears (&amp;#034;I&amp;#039;m melting, I&amp;#039;m melting&amp;#034; - is this what is called &amp;#034;The Dark Night&amp;#034;?) and feeling very naked, soft - no longer brittle and hard - defenseless.   &lt;br /&gt;Then for balance, ran &amp;#034;I don&amp;#039;t know&amp;#034; which brought up scenes of degradation - both done to me and what I had done to others and had been my &amp;#034;reason why&amp;#034; for keeping the armor in place.  Flipping back and forth between arrogance and self-deprecation.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Felt like crossing of the Rubicon -- no ships or bridges to go back -- and the game is now exposed and I can&amp;#039;t do that anymore, neither do I want to.   I cannot say for sure the whole issue is 100% resolved, but am more resolved to get on with my &amp;#034;exit, stage left&amp;#034; plan -- doing my practices.   Truthfully, I would appreciate more sessions like that, in spite of the death throes.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Now, that is something new I probably have not done for a few eons - actually clear the mind.   I feel that when I first cracked from the Egg, I left the starting gate with a strong &amp;#034;something&amp;#039;s just not right here&amp;#034; feeling and am finally starting to deal with it.  I know it was a long time ago but it has always been with me through existence as if it had happened today.  Today is all that counts.  Need to learn to put the past back into the past...to let go like I did last night.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;8:21 a.m.  &lt;em&gt;&lt;u&gt;&amp;#034;Create an Importance - 6 directions&amp;#034;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A Silent Person&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul style="list-style: disc outside;"&gt;&lt;li&gt;feels impossible&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;would have to stop wanting to play the game of being known and knowing&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;would have to internalize that, resolve that&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;happy to respond to others but ego is silent&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;no ego needs due to maintaining higher viewpoints&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;simple, patient, compassionate&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;centered on the &amp;#034;tao&amp;#034;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;I was trying to give my life some sort of meaning, purpose&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Osho said about Mother Therese, &amp;#034;It is about time for her to jump in a lake&amp;#034;.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;At first I could not see this silent person as me but now I am starting to see it is within me, but under a lot of accretion of postulates...they make my mind jittery and noisy ... they &lt;em&gt;are&lt;/em&gt; my mind&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;the meaning and purpose of life seems to have been to aggrandize my ego - to increase it as myself&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;a silent person seems useless for my purposes, however, I wish to re-assess my purposes&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;the desire to be more than the baseline of zero is strong&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;no purpose -- just being -- seems very peaceful&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;as long as I am not concerned in any way by how that beingness is being&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&amp;#034;aware&amp;#034; is the baseline  - remove obstructions to aware&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;I love and trust my path even more&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;voluntarily dropping all compulsions&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul style="list-style: disc outside;"&gt;&amp;#034;How does a silent person seem to you now?&amp;#034;   An optional beingness, whereas before it seemed impossible&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;10:06 am   &lt;em&gt;&lt;u&gt;&amp;#034;Have Another Create an Importance - 6 directions&amp;#034;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A grape arbor (feels &amp;#034;grounding&amp;#034;)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul style="list-style: disc outside;"&gt;&lt;li&gt;yawn -- it&amp;#039;s just me wearing a different &amp;#034;costume&amp;#034;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;reminds me of this particular limited beingness -- I want to be the one doing it, but feel I can&amp;#039;t&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;yawns&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul style="list-style: disc outside;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Oh, dear -- interruption (to be continued)</description> <pubDate>Sun, 05 Oct 2014 14:25:40 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5598617</guid> <dc:creator>Colleen Karalee Peltomaa</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-05T14:25:40Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Practice Log toward vanishing the mind</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5597978</link> <description>&lt;u&gt;&lt;strong&gt;4Oct14  Direct Looking:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;7:03 pm  &lt;em&gt;&lt;u&gt;&amp;#034;Have Another Create an Importance - 6 directions&amp;#034;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Serenity of beingness&lt;ul style="list-style: disc outside;"&gt;&lt;li&gt;yawns&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;this is so wonderful -- why don&amp;#039;t I do it more often!&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;feel like I could sit here and do this all day -- presto! world changed!&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;having others create is just as powerful as having self create&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;both creates require mastery of self over the noisy mind regards self and regards others&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;This is so much better than worrying about someone&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul style="list-style: disc outside;"&gt;&amp;#034;Think only upon those things  you want.&amp;#034;   Lester Levenson, &amp;#034;Ultimate Freedom&amp;#034;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;End of sit.</description> <pubDate>Sun, 05 Oct 2014 00:31:35 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5597978</guid> <dc:creator>Colleen Karalee Peltomaa</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-05T00:31:35Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Practice Log toward vanishing the mind</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5597626</link> <description>&lt;strong&gt;&lt;u&gt;4Oct14  Direct Looking:&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Direct looking still being avoided/resisted, however &amp;#034;Importances&amp;#034; exercise seems to become more effective and it is a crucial foundational exercise so will not push the stats just yet -- continue developing with the Importance exercises.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;u&gt;7:14am  :  &amp;#034;Create an Importance&amp;#034;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;To Control - A Controlling Person&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul style="list-style: disc outside;"&gt;&lt;li&gt;yawns, images, scenes&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;a havingness, having a controlling person feels like a havingness&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;delight&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;I like being controlled -- makes the other person responsible&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;the other person is more right and more superior than I am&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;controlling person does not teach me to think for myself&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;when I&amp;#039;m a controlling person I do not teach others to think for themselves&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;a controlling person gives opinions, judgements, suggestions almost as commands&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;a Master merely asks questions that generate insights -- &amp;#034;how might you solve that problem?&amp;#034;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;a controlling person burdens himself and forms attachments&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;a Master is detached&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;trap a person by provoking the need to be controlled, playing upon their compulsion&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;controlling person must convince other they need to be controlled (put them down somehow)&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;good control vs bad control&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;craving to have someone else tell one what to think - someone who knows only degradation and tyranny&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;egoic resistance to control&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;desire to have someone who wishes to be controlled -- the joy of that&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;better to teach them insight meditation&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;robotic person needs to be controlled until no longer robotic -- needs therapeutic measures&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;seeking to control others towards self-mastery instead of controlling self towards self-mastery&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;running one&amp;#039;s own Dukkha on another instead of addressing it as one&amp;#039;s own dukkha&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;there is control as a life-goal -- control of oneself is most powerful -- and then others as if they were self - from that higher viewpoint&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;silence of the mind needs no control&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;it is okay to control and to be controlled -- can be a fun game provided one can quit at any time and go complementary&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;a compulsively controlling person wants a fight in order to get that &amp;#034;I&amp;#039;m in control&amp;#034; sensation; overwhelming the resister gives sensation -- I feel it&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;a compulsively controlling person seeks his level -- seeks out people susceptible to being controlled&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;a compulsively controlling person is in danger of flipping valences into &amp;#034;must be controlled&amp;#034; (myself)&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;control is not the enemy, rather the compulsion to control leads to bad choices and entrapment -- is not the way &amp;#034;home&amp;#034;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;one can only be in good control to the extent they can control themselves - to the extent they are not compulsive&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;sad to see a &amp;#034;must control&amp;#034; person -- not a good game&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;a &amp;#034;must control&amp;#034; person cannot have a game unless there is someone who &amp;#034;must be controlled&amp;#034; -- a non-life goal for both, eventually, i.e., &amp;#034;must subjugate/must be subjugated&amp;#034;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;a must-control person will insist he&amp;#039;s not trying to control you ...  &amp;#034;but ....  &amp;#034;    laughter&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;feels like a low, degrading game&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;we don&amp;#039;t need to play that anymore&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;invite control by asking for advice -- use powers of insight instead?&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;an insightful person can give good advices when asked but better to help one get their own insights&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;very important to clear my mind of &amp;#034;musts and must nots&amp;#034;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&amp;#034;it&amp;#039;s important to have a &amp;#039;very important person&amp;#039; in one&amp;#039;s life&amp;#034;  -- take a look at that&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;maintaining my practice takes top importance&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;having a v.i.p. makes me feel both important and not important&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;I like to play games -- for that good sensation at the expense of another&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;whenever I feel uncomfortable with someone it is my &amp;#034;must/must not&amp;#034; opposing their &amp;#034;must not/must&amp;#034;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;the true opposer is self against self, wherein lies the origins of the mind&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;yawns (&amp;#034;recall a time when you opposed yourself&amp;#034;)&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;from the highest viewpoint, there was never a time when I opposed myself -- that too is an apparency&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&amp;#034;recall a time when your mind opposed itself&amp;#034;   -  more yawns&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&amp;#034;recall the first time you set up opposing goals&amp;#034;  --  more yawns&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;they feel like they originated within me&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&amp;#034;GET THE IDEA OF ORIGINATING OPPOSING GOALS&amp;#034;  -- yawns&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;it seemed like a good idea at the time -- like it might give me a thrill, pursue that thrill&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;jaw-breaking yawns&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;all sensations can be self-generated if one knows how -- makes pursuing those goals a little less interesting -- less of a compulsive edge to them.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&amp;#034;How does a controlling person seem to you now?&amp;#034;   It&amp;#039;s just me.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul style="list-style: disc outside;"&gt;10:57  End of sit. (run next, &lt;em&gt;&amp;#039;have another create an importance&amp;#039;&lt;/em&gt;)</description> <pubDate>Sat, 04 Oct 2014 15:02:20 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5597626</guid> <dc:creator>Colleen Karalee Peltomaa</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-04T15:02:20Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Practice Log toward vanishing the mind</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5597425</link> <description>&lt;strong&gt;&lt;u&gt;3Oct14 Direct Looking:&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;u&gt;7:46pm  &amp;#034;Create An Importance - 6 Directions&amp;#034;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;An insightful approach to business&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul style="list-style: disc outside;"&gt;&lt;li&gt;yawns&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&amp;#034;Business Person&amp;#034; identities running off&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;I don&amp;#039;t necessarily have to mock up an identity&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;hatred for business -  profit, exploitation, rampant materialism, status seeking&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;accept the learning curve -- proper self-assessment&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;love for learning and interaction&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;gratitude for my practice&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul style="list-style: disc outside;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;End of sit</description> <pubDate>Sat, 04 Oct 2014 02:59:32 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5597425</guid> <dc:creator>Colleen Karalee Peltomaa</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-04T02:59:32Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Richard's insight practice</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5597084</link> <description>Okay now that I think I&amp;#039;m gaining much more control I&amp;#039;ve going to push myself everyday to go against useless habits and leave them behind for good. If there&amp;#039;s a&lt;strong&gt; preference &lt;/strong&gt;I&amp;#039;m going to think about opportunities to do differently. The goal is to refrain from those habits and to do nothing at the minimum (just to avoid doing the wrong thing) and ideally do more work and expand myself.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The benefit of getting busy will also create a momentum to not fall into a quick sand of complacency and procrastination. The thread won&amp;#039;t be about perfectionism but a record of pushing against complacency, and developing renunciation. The goal will be to have some record keeping of the power of habits and aversion. If any meditative discoveries are made they will be included.</description> <pubDate>Fri, 03 Oct 2014 19:45:21 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5597084</guid> <dc:creator>Richard Zen</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-03T19:45:21Z</dc:date> </item> <item> <title>RE: Jen Pearly's Practice Journal</title> <link>http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5596644</link> <description>Thanks, Jake. I&amp;#039;ll track down Bruce&amp;#039;s work. I&amp;#039;m glad that worked for you. Thankfully, these things I&amp;#039;m experiencing are not frightening, just interesting, warm, buzzy, expansive, and kind of magical feeling. I started getting them immediately after stream entry, but they do seem to be less frequent now than a few weeks ago. Nonetheless, I&amp;#039;ll check out Bruce.</description> <pubDate>Fri, 03 Oct 2014 04:46:09 GMT</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.dharmaoverground.org/c/message_boards/find_message?p_l_id=&amp;messageId=5596644</guid> <dc:creator>_</dc:creator> <dc:date>2014-10-03T04:46:09Z</dc:date> </item> </channel> </rss> 