.freeform.

Since I dont really believe in shen as some seperate ghostly entities I dont currently have an oppinion as to what happens to the shen when we die.

hi bagua

I generaly consider that whatever influences me *is* me. Philosophically speaking there is no way to prove that anything but me exists outside of me – since whatever I experience is filtered through my own subjective world-view, and there is no way for anyone to experience ‘reality’ otside of their subjective world-view.

I dont…[Read more]

I wrote the following post in another forum and thought that it would be interesting to throw it into this cauldron of discussion:

Last night I watched a program on TV called “The Root of All Evil?”, it was presented by the famous evolutionary biologist, Richard Dawkins. I think this was part one of a three part documentary. The premise of the…[Read more]

hi mla7

Personally, I like to think of the shen as a metaphor, rather than ‘real’ ghostly spirits living inside your organs. A metaphor is much more flexible – sometimes the shen theory reminds me of Jungian psychology and the archetypes that drive us, sometimes I think of the shen as ‘parts’ of my unconcious, at other times I think of the shen…[Read more]

Hi 7directions

Primordial Qigong is a complete taichi-like form, you can explore this form for a lifetime, if you enjoy movement and relaxation it’s a great choice. Qigong fundamentals 1 is a foundation practice, it’s not a complete form like primordial, it’s the begining, foundational level – this is where most people start. Although you could…[Read more]

Hi max

In my experience, it works best when you really go deeply into your healing sounds for a number of weeks. That means doing all the relevant positions, feeling all the relevant emotions, smiling, going back to center (in your ltt) etc. you need to take your time.

after doing it this way for a few weeks you will feel the healing sounds…[Read more]

>I wasn’t serious,

great! I tend to think that the less serious conversations bring the most rewarding insights. In reality it’s our monkey-mind playing with words and ideas – so why not play with words and ideas that entertain as well as enlighten?

I reccon space…

As fish got out of the water and onto land and progressively into the air, there is no reason for us not to leave the earth and settle in space. I sometimes amuse myself with the idea that the real intelligence here on earth is DNA – we are just its tool to propogate it throughout the universe and help to bring about its own…[Read more]

The way i understand it, valley spirit is yin spirit (vally-yin, mountain-yang). From what I’ve read ghosts are usually composed of yin spirit – some managed to store a bit of yang and so they often ‘appear’ to untrained people (this is quite rare) – however to see a fully yin spirit (and allow other untrained ppl to see it) you must have a LOT of…[Read more]

I also heard that it is very hard to get hold of Minke… but to my surprise the day after i emailed her, I got a reply (I wanted to buy some of her cds also) – she told me that she will find out the shipping charges for the cds and email me back… and that’s the last i heard of her. Her cds really do sound pretty good, it’s a shame no one can…[Read more]

Emotions are like flowers… you need to let them bloom and die out naturally. If you supress them from fully blooming they’ll dig the roots in and start trying to force their blooms out in other ways.

Just as you would observe a flower, you can observe your feelings. With a flower you can differentiate the petals, leaves, colours, stem etc.…[Read more]

I wonder why the sudden decision – but as always: follow your bliss. If you do, however, decide to have some non-taoist discussions please feel free, I’m always interested.

All the best,
f

>Alright, I give up, how *is* this supposed to work?Still too simplistic I suppose. But I’m beginning to feel discussing it doesn’t help!<

not simplistic at all, I think you got my point now. I'd agree that discussing it any further without some input from someone who agrees with and understands this Merit model will not lead to any further…[Read more]

Thanks, Michael this makes things a little clearer…

>Those presuppositions have not been made clear really by Max, who would help things along here by clarifying what is Merit and who decides it according to his buddhist tradition.<

Yes, it seems that Max is the most qualified person to answer my questions. And yes, I dont agree with that…[Read more]

>Am I being too simplistic here?In your Shipman example you were trying to judge a man’s actions by some, as you put it, “Aristotelian measure” – but this isn’t necessary.It is a question of noting how you feel, that’s all.When it comes time to act, simply act as best you can and again note how the result feels.The “objective measure” doesn’t…[Read more]

>1. because their religion/believe is telling them to do so
2. because they hunger for appreciation, attention and love
It is coming from outside in or using their good deeds to fill the gap within…<

That's a really amazing insight, wendy.

I've noticed that being 'the helper' is a big character trait, and I've also noticed that with…[Read more]

Thanks so much, baba. Your post really made me think.

I guess that as you get more and more in contact with your inner core, the more your outward actions are congruent with your inner self – this usually translates to actions that can be deemed ‘good’ by some people.

What I meant by Aristotelian logic is the way that people (especially in…[Read more]

I get a little confused with this notion of merit… I understand that if you do ‘good’ deeds you get ‘good’ merit and if you do ‘bad’ deeds then you get ‘bad’ merit (is that right? – or do you just not get merit if you do ‘bad’?)

My confusion is how it is decided whether whatever deed you have done is ‘good’ or ‘bad’. I was thinking maybe the…[Read more]

>Not only this but every meal you prepare and eat, every step you take and every breath you take, I’ll be watching you… sorry, what happened there?<

LOL! – you had me in stiches for a good 10 minutes there! – kind of a creepy song when you see the lyrics without the music.

The water invocation thing reminded me of a 'concious eating'…[Read more]

I was lying – there is some obligatory text… good on you for being curious