Hello there!

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Doug M, modified 9 Years ago at 10/10/14 10:52 AM
Created 9 Years ago at 10/10/14 10:51 AM

Hello there!

Posts: 27 Join Date: 10/10/14 Recent Posts
Hi folks,

Wanted to find a spot to introduce myself without getting in the way of more focused conversations so "misc" seemed appropriate. emoticon

I heard Dan on a podcast this morning and after a google search found this site.
I can't wait to dig into it.
It's a little overwhelming as there's so much here, but that's a good problem to have!

I'm a relative noob, and it's hard sometimes to find truly good groups and teachers outside of the major metros.
I'm hopoing this site may help fill that gap for me.

Some "about me" stuff if you're interested...

Been playing around with meditating (on/off/on) for a while, but only got serious about a legit practice earlier this year. Along with that came a desire dig into it and understand all the "Eastern/Buddhist stuff" behind it.

I had tired of the most obvious spirituality choices presented to me as a westerner, and was instantly drawn to the practicality of Buddhist thought. I was focusing in on the Theravada flavors at the time, and the fact that it boiled down to techniques to be tried/experienced vs. blindly accepted (the lack of dogma) was amazing to me. That it was all done with a goal of living better here and now was refreshing.

I was impressed that the practice of these “Buddhist teachings” were completely compatible with any belief system – or the lack of one. 

Since then I've been reading, studying, and practicing.
Seen unquestionable improvements in how I feel, and how I react to the people & world around me.

Still have LOTS to learn. Lots to do.
Looking forward to it.
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Dream Walker, modified 9 Years ago at 10/10/14 11:10 AM
Created 9 Years ago at 10/10/14 11:10 AM

RE: Hello there!

Posts: 1657 Join Date: 1/18/12 Recent Posts
Doug M:
It's a little overwhelming as there's so much here, but that's a good problem to have!

A good place to start is by reading Daniel's book MCTB. Here is the link -
Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha,
an Unusually Hardcore Dharma Book,
by Daniel Ingram

Lots of good stuff in there and most of the people here use the vocabulary if nothing else.
Welcome to the forum
~D
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katy steger,thru11615 with thanks, modified 9 Years ago at 10/10/14 4:38 PM
Created 9 Years ago at 10/10/14 4:37 PM

RE: Hello there!

Posts: 1740 Join Date: 10/1/11 Recent Posts
Hi Doug, 

Yes,  welcome to the forum!
Still have LOTS to learn. Lots to do.

I wanted to add a biological tidbit:
So sometimes fear is the reason for coming to meditation and sometimes fear comes up in meditation.

You may know this, but when we trigger fear through either hypervigilance (constantly anticipating a threat) or through an actual hazard, the the brain is said to shut down to the brain stem and some amygdala function. And we know this is happening by three things. We find ourselves:
a) in a fight (physically or emotionally)
b) in a flight (same: retreating physically or emotionally) and/or
c) in a freeze-- we become immobile.

The brainstem and amygdala are small "learners" relative to the rest of the brain. So if there's threat/fear arising, then one can take up long, slow deep breathing to help recover the use of the WHOLE brain and get out of the limited brainstem.

And another really common fear that arises in a community setting is making a mistake in front of people. Boo! So I want to welcome you by sharing two mistakes and helping to ensure that DhO is a safe place for learning and, naturally, making mistakes, which are a great sign that curiousity and learning are happening. So, one, I made a mistake this morning and didn't see irritation arising, so I communicated a little testily. And, two, I got very into long sits a year ago and didn't walk enough: now I do a lot of yoga for piriformis tenderness. So I keep my whole brain available to learning by saying, "Okay, one mistake was fear-driven: I sort of fought. And the other mistake was just a natural learning mistake: my body had a limited to sitting last fall so now I put meditation everywhere I can and sit fewer long sessions."


Welcome emoticon
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Teague, modified 9 Years ago at 10/10/14 6:20 PM
Created 9 Years ago at 10/10/14 6:20 PM

RE: Hello there!

Posts: 104 Join Date: 8/1/11 Recent Posts
Ah, I remember when I stumbled upon this site.  I felt like it was just the bunch of Dharma renegades I was looking for.  People who would tell it to me straight and not beat around the bush.  As dreamwalker said, check out the book.  You can also get a hard copy from Amazon.
-T
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heath, modified 9 Years ago at 10/10/14 9:23 PM
Created 9 Years ago at 10/10/14 9:23 PM

RE: Hello there!

Posts: 11 Join Date: 3/12/14 Recent Posts
Teague:
Ah, I remember when I stumbled upon this site.  I felt like it was just the bunch of Dharma renegades I was looking for.  People who would tell it to me straight and not beat around the bush.  As dreamwalker said, check out the book.  You can also get a hard copy from Amazon.
-T

I second that. I got a hardcopy on Amazon recently and the quality of the book, print, etc. is great. It's a longer book than I thought too. 
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Doug M, modified 9 Years ago at 10/12/14 11:07 AM
Created 9 Years ago at 10/12/14 11:07 AM

RE: Hello there!

Posts: 27 Join Date: 10/10/14 Recent Posts
Thanks folks I apprecaite the welcome!
I've made a bit into the book and I'm really enjoying it.
(which is a blessing and a curse as I'm also enjoying about three others.) emoticon

Lots of questions already coming up from the book, but will read more and re-read some before inudating everyone with them. 

Thanks again!
Doug
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Doug M, modified 9 Years ago at 10/17/14 9:43 PM
Created 9 Years ago at 10/12/14 11:10 AM

RE: Hello there!

Posts: 27 Join Date: 10/10/14 Recent Posts
Thank you Katy!

Very nicely put. Failing in public is indeed often a scary concept... failing publicly online - even more so. 
But I've been trying to welcome the failure as much as success.
If/when someone wants to take that as an opportunty to attack or otherwise act in an "unskilful" way I try to remember that's a problem for them, and it doesn't have to be mine.
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Dream Walker, modified 9 Years ago at 10/12/14 11:32 AM
Created 9 Years ago at 10/12/14 11:32 AM

RE: Hello there!

Posts: 1657 Join Date: 1/18/12 Recent Posts
how to search the Dho (Dharma overground)

Google this ---> site:http://www.dharmaoverground.org searchterm

Tons of questions already answered.
Good Luck,
~D

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