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AYPforum
351 Posts |
 Posted - Jul 06 2005 : 5:52:04 PM
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138 From: "David Fiske" <david.fiske@sympatico.ca>
Date: Tue Mar 8, 2005 8:42am
Subject: There is only Tao fiskedavid
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I am taking the liberty of posting an essay that is on my website
(under topics) see links. This essay addresses the problem of
attempting a philosophical solution and finding an energy solution.
There is only Tao.
One will see statements like this in much Taoist writing and on
Taoist chat forums. It is generally speaking useless advice as far
as how to live one's life. I remember well on a cold drizzly morning
when the TM group I led was trying futilely to save a large and
carefully constructed cardboard Buckminster Fuller geodesic dome
that had collapsed from rain. It was going to be part of our
exhibition at some New Age festival in Cape Town.As a replacement we
had ordered a large tent. There was some panic amongst those
assembling and those preserving. The festival was starting. Someone
was energetically, perhaps feverishly hammering in stakes. A Hippie
walked by and sweetly commented,"Go with the flow." That's the sort
of thing I mean. When you are trying to pay off a mortgage or raise
bail or get a good seat in a film, concert or a bus, when the roads
are iced and you are in a hurry, when you've lost your glasses, when
your child has gone missing, when you've sliced your finger you
won't think of "there is only Tao." Nor will you appreciate been
told this.
But it is good knowledge for good times and it is in the good times
you should explore it because life spirals, and things can abruptly
become chaotic. Once you get the hang of it it just takes a focussed
breath and you are there.
There are schools based on Shankara's Advaita philosophy. Non
dualism. Ramana Maharishi. (I visited his ashram in Tiruvannamalai
in '69). His practice of asking,"Who am I." Nisargadatta's ("I am
That" is a marvellous, miraculous book) advice to meditate on "I am
not the body."
People walk around muttering,"this is all illusion." Say that to
your bleeding finger or the bailiff! People write little articles on
that for chat forums. It is almost common knowledge in certain
circles. Probably the person a student told me about who had learned
Tai Chi in 3 months believes it.
Nevertheless it is true, even if the proponents may seem flakey.
It is the old problem of claiming knowledge prematurely, knowing Tai
Chi after 3 months. That sort of thing.
Kashmir Shaivism teaches Monism. A sort of Glorified Advaita. There
is only One. All is Shiva's dance. Or more accurately The Dance is
Shakti, and Shiva Is. It is the Tantric approach, the Toltec
approach.
My approach, and what I teach in my classes.
I say,"don't say you are not the body". That is fake and artificial.
Book learning.
Go into your body and discover who you really are. This is Taoist
internal alchemy
It is not a weekend workshop endeavour. It is a lifetime commitment.
I have just finished Bob Dylan's "Chronicles". Like all artists I
know or have read about he studied his art. He practised. Probably
still does. He did his homework and paid his dues. None of it fell
into his lap no matter how great his genius. Bob Marley wouldn't
allow laughter at rehearsals. (Dollar Brand told me to keep quiet or
get out when I laughed at something humorous he said while his jazz
group were rehearsing.)
Not everyone is musical or talented in drawing or writing poetry.
The world is full of well meaning mediocrity.
We all have bodies. We all have nervous systems. We all have an
inner energy grid. This can be our instrument. We can make of our
awareness, our meridians a work of art. How wonderful a work of art
depends only on your focus and your passion, the time you put in.
You can be a wannabe or you can really become that.
You will discover your internal energy. You will feel how it moves,
how it spirals, circulates. You will discover a miraculous thing, by
going in you start to feel what is without.
You will have seen photos of our Milky Way galaxy, how the energy
moves in a graceful spiral. It is simply beautiful. A few delicate
spirals contains billions of stars, and contains us, here on earth,
in our own homes, pondering it all. The energy passes through them
all and it is clear that it is one system. Seen from a large enough
perspective it can be perceived as one system, a unity.
Is any of this relevant? You betcha!
It has been my experience that when the inner energy becomes
expanded, balanced, harmonious, luminous, flowing, spiralling (none
of these words carelessly chosen) when your energy grid has been
purified, when the lights have popped on inside, so you will feel a
connection with the lights out there. It is as though the body
becomes the earth, becomes part of that great Milky Way Spiral.
Something extraordinary happens then. The energy makes me feel so
cleansed, so empty that nothing else exists. It is hard to say "I",
to feel "I". There is only the dancing, the joy.
There is only Tao.
Only
One
!
139 From: daniel s <lionreb@yahoo.com>
Date: Tue Mar 8, 2005 6:08pm
Subject: Re: There is only Tao lionreb
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Dear David, I just want to add to the chorus ( I would hope) of positive responses to your comments. It makes absolutely no sense to repeat things of which we have no experience, because someone else said them, especially, when it comes to religion. We can do this, but we make little or no spiritual progress until we begin to pay attention to what is true for us personally. This is my personal experience. This "I am not the body" chant has certainly been one of those annoying, perplexing, and mysterious mantra's that is oft repeated and little understood. The way for me to settle down so that I can meditate is to pay attention to my body, by exercising and relaxing it , not disidentifying with it. Thank you for you comments, Lionreb (Daniel)..
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158 From: "David Fiske" <david.fiske@sympatico.ca>
Date: Wed Mar 9, 2005 8:19am
Subject: Re: There is only Tao fiskedavid
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--- In AYPforum@yahoogroups.com, daniel s <lionreb@y...> wrote:
> Dear David, I just want to add to the chorus ( I would hope) of
positive responses to your comments.
>
Thank you for the generous and positive comments. I have been
fortunate. I grew up in South Africa and as a young lad had a very
physical sporty life. At University this became Beebopping and
partying and then yoga. I would stand on my head for half an hour
and could hold my breath in the lotus for 15 minutes. I started TM
in England and 6 months later on a course with Maharishi my
kundalini rose in a never to be forgotten ravishment of Bliss to my
Sahasrara. In 43 years I have never had an adverse kundalini
abreaction, some purifications yes but those are all steps on the
way. Since then I have continued to explore internal energy. Now as
an older man (smile at the queries re the eldery and kundalini) I
still do.
I 100% support the goals of AYP. It is the only game in Town as it
were.
My life focussed on the physical. But not only. Mental and emotional
hygiene are crucial. Life is a paradox. You start with the physical
and it takes you into the non physical. Your focus on the body
brings you to the bodyless. I say that for shock effect for it is
really subtle physical and Bliss Body I talk about. The Bliss Body
is so satisfying.
As an older person I can say I live a paradox. I embrace life with
passion but really look forward to dying.
In a few days I hope to post an essay on kundalini on my website.
The AYP sites are valuable. I hope they are well used.
Love,
David
140 From: "David Fiske" <david.fiske@sympatico.ca>
Date: Tue Mar 8, 2005 10:00am
Subject: There is only Tao fiskedavid
Offline
Send Email
This essay tackles the problem of those approach Truth
philosophically and the advantages of approaching it energetically.
On my website I have a few essays (www.esotericarts.org) under
topics.
I thought I had sent this an hour ago but it appears not to have
arrived. If it comes twice apologies.
love,
David
There is only Tao.
One will see statements like this in much Taoist writing and on
Taoist chat forums. It is generally speaking useless advice as far
as how to live one's life. I remember well on a cold drizzly morning
when the TM group I led was trying futilely to save a large and
carefully constructed cardboard Buckminster Fuller geodesic dome
that had collapsed from rain. It was going to be part of our
exhibition at some New Age festival in Cape Town.As a replacement we
had ordered a large tent. There was some panic amongst those
assembling and those preserving. The festival was starting. Someone
was energetically, perhaps feverishly hammering in stakes. A Hippie
walked by and sweetly commented,"Go with the flow." That's the sort
of thing I mean. When you are trying to pay off a mortgage or raise
bail or get a good seat in a film, concert or a bus, when the roads
are iced and you are in a hurry, when you've lost your glasses, when
your child has gone missing, when you've sliced your finger you
won't think of "there is only Tao." Nor will you appreciate been
told this.
But it is good knowledge for good times and it is in the good times
you should explore it because life spirals, and things can abruptly
become chaotic. Once you get the hang of it it just takes a focussed
breath and you are there.
There are schools based on Shankara's Advaita philosophy. Non
dualism. Ramana Maharishi. (I visited his ashram in Tiruvannamalai
in '69). His practice of asking,"Who am I." Nisargadatta's ("I am
That" is a marvellous, miraculous book) advice to meditate on "I am
not the body."
People walk around muttering,"this is all illusion." Say that to
your bleeding finger or the bailiff! People write little articles on
that for chat forums. It is almost common knowledge in certain
circles. Probably the person a student told me about who had learned
Tai Chi in 3 months believes it.
Nevertheless it is true, even if the proponents may seem flakey.
It is the old problem of claiming knowledge prematurely, knowing Tai
Chi after 3 months. That sort of thing.
Kashmir Shaivism teaches Monism. A sort of Glorified Advaita. There
is only One. All is Shiva's dance. Or more accurately The Dance is
Shakti, and Shiva Is. It is the Tantric approach, the Toltec
approach.
My approach, and what I teach in my classes.
I say,"don't say you are not the body". That is fake and artificial.
Book learning.
Go into your body and discover who you really are. This is Taoist
internal alchemy
It is not a weekend workshop endeavour. It is a lifetime commitment.
I have just finished Bob Dylan's "Chronicles". Like all artists I
know or have read about he studied his art. He practised. Probably
still does. He did his homework and paid his dues. None of it fell
into his lap no matter how great his genius. Bob Marley wouldn't
allow laughter at rehearsals. (Dollar Brand told me to keep quiet or
get out when I laughed at something humorous he said while his jazz
group were rehearsing.)
Not everyone is musical or talented in drawing or writing poetry.
The world is full of well meaning mediocrity.
We all have bodies. We all have nervous systems. We all have an
inner energy grid. This can be our instrument. We can make of our
awareness, our meridians a work of art. How wonderful a work of art
depends only on your focus and your passion, the time you put in.
You can be a wannabe or you can really become that.
You will discover your internal energy. You will feel how it moves,
how it spirals, circulates. You will discover a miraculous thing, by
going in you start to feel what is without.
You will have seen photos of our Milky Way galaxy, how the energy
moves in a graceful spiral. It is simply beautiful. A few delicate
spirals contains billions of stars, and contains us, here on earth,
in our own homes, pondering it all. The energy passes through them
all and it is clear that it is one system. Seen from a large enough
perspective it can be perceived as one system, a unity.
Is any of this relevant? You betcha!
It has been my experience that when the inner energy becomes
expanded, balanced, harmonious, luminous, flowing, spiralling (none
of these words carelessly chosen) when your energy grid has been
purified, when the lights have popped on inside, so you will feel a
connection with the lights out there. It is as though the body
becomes the earth, becomes part of that great Milky Way Spiral.
Something extraordinary happens then. The energy makes me feel so
cleansed, so empty that nothing else exists. It is hard to say "I",
to feel "I". There is only the dancing, the joy.
There is only Tao.
Only
One
!
142 From: "Cristhal Bennett" <silverlightguide@comcast.net>
Date: Tue Mar 8, 2005 7:30pm
Subject: RE: There is only Tao silverlightg...
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Thank you David.
"If you want to make your dreams come true, the first thing you have to do
is wake up" -Kabir
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