Jordan of the Shire

Yes, letting go is a powerful tool. I see his values as stemming from a lack of self-awareness and some foolishness. By "letting go," I mean something quite specific: it’s the practice of seeing things directly - clearly observing their qualities without distortion. In that direct seeing, a natural sense of space opens up, and release happens effortlessly. From there, I drop the urge to chase or grasp for the "next thing." I simply relax. In this context, letting go isn’t about dropping, ignoring, or suppressing a problem, fixation, or attachment. It’s a penetrative, clear seeing that naturally brings peace, while simultaneously releasing the compulsive drive to keep seeking or moving on to something else. It’s relaxing in relationship to whatever arises, and relaxing in relationship to the habit of constant seeking. When this cycle is carried out, values change This is what I do for work in some cases. Someone comes in with distortions, and instead of debating or socratically addressing them, I teach them how to see space within contraction through training. This process changes them.

Ting means listening in chinese and you can use ting to listen internally, or externally. There are levels of ting. What you can listen into. Practicing Ting could help.

Hey Judy I sometimes feel this way too. There is a quality of the normal way of living that requires constant and unending productivity and strategy that can be exhausting and limiting when not doing something you feel purposeful about. Even when there is purpose and passion, it is possible to become too focused, too tense about it, which ultimately affects happiness. There is a happy balance between doing, and non doing. When doing something all the time, we don't have time for things that are done, to settle and work on the subconscious or collective level. We need periods of rest and acceptance of the way things are to be able to let things happen. There is a causal connection between control, and things getting stuck. It can be difficult to let go of control, but an easy way to get some experience is to have a sip of water. When you do, notice that refreshing feeling. Notice how for a moment, things in awareness expand just a bit. Then notice how there is this thing that comes in, to push you to the next moment, or that moves you to the next thing. That thing is the craving for the next thing. It is sometimes phrased as, "the craving for becoming, the craving for things to stay the same, or the craving for things to go away" These are called the Tanhas, and they can be felt as contraction, or control. When you observe the feeling, and soften your eyes or hands, or something in relationship to it, then there is peace. Then the degree to which you can allow yourself to enjoy that peace will determine how long it lasts. Another way is , try standing on one leg. Are you trying to keep a perfect posture so you don't fall over? Or perhaps youre in a yoga class and doing a posture. Are you trying to look good? Or can you let yourself wobble, and relax the muscles around the posture. Maybe you're not perfect, but things are open, energy can flow. This is also another way that we can see this quality of control. We can use these moments of noticing control as a way of becoming aware and releasing in relationship to this to allow things to flow. When this quality of release has moments in your day, you will find yourself experiencing more happiness, and you'll find yourself enjoying that happiness for longer. Do you have any questions?

I can see that - it's an exploration of the phenomena of myopic vision based on assumptions and expectations created and lived by to the extent that it creates problems. I like how you indicate why you put it in self development - a different take on what self development means. As to the truth of the matter between who's right and wrong in the situation. That to me is debatable. It shows up to me as reality drama television with an emotional bait. We can get caught up debating about these two people and his validity or her validity, but it doesn't matter. For me, I see this - I go through the cycle, see (the internal contraction i have about the situation), know (see space within the contraction), and let go (enjoy the spaciousness of not actually getting attached to this arrangement of energy), and enjoy Then the situation doesnt matter. Not that it isn't happening, but that - these people are not releasing. They are caught in some way. And psychologically and philosophically we can go into all the reasons why. But I think , its just contraction. He's contracted. She's contracted. There's a problem.

Brother, this seems like a waste of attention. In my opinion. This kind of glamour reality television deserves to be ignored and disregarded. Why waste any thought on some petty dispute between two people? One is a liar, the other may be vain. Who cares. They got into this mess because 1: lying. 2. Vanity. and 3. This looks staged. "Why waste any thought on some petty dispute between two people" This isn't rhetorical actually, though i initially meant it to be. I'm genuinely curious about your perspective. Though I frame it in a potentially negative way, I'm open to a reframe. I personally see it as a petty dispute not worth attention.

Compassion has helped me deal with difficult to stop behaviors. Non judgement. What kind of meditation are you doing?

@Natasha Tori Maru Yea this makes a lot of sense. @Lyubov It sounds like you had a healthy relationship with your teacher. I see why it would work well to have a teacher give you the skills, then encourage you to go practice on your own for awhile. I'm experiencing something similar. It can be a trap to get involved in a never ending treadmill of new skills and teachings. Dependency in a way. @Jodistrict I see the benefit in a gentle hierarchy based on recognizing a difference in expertise, while still acknowledging our common humanity. I like the term spiritual friends or sangha. Respecting the sovereignty of eachother, while still being in community. Even when the gap in skills, knowledge, wisdom, etc etc could be large. @Olaf As an example: I am impressed by someone like Damo Mitchel. After close to 50 years of dedicated practice and mastery in the arts, he sees his teacher, who introspects and reflects with him about his intentions, actions , failures and successes, and the responsibility he has as a teacher, and guides his development. He speaks openly and advocates for teachers even at the highest levels. His humility inspires a sense of humility in me. ----- I think too that having no teacher and sourcing through the path with the tools you have is fine too. But you could say that a forum like this is kind of like a sangha, where we are collectively guiding eachother, whether directly or indirectly. So though we may not have a dedicated teacher, we are still learning through osmosis through relationship. ----- Imo, it's kind of an art - trying to figure out your own path and what works for you.

Hyperion was really good

@Olaf Yea brother, anytime

Yes, and unchecked qualities such as lust, greed, anger, and delusion are empowered by an increase in life force energy. Arts that increase life force energy quickly are not great for these kinds of ailments in people. It's one of the reasons why taking care of the basics and being a decent human being is considered important in pretty much every spiritual tradition. It's true you can become better with practice - but you can also become worse.

100% I find fiction far more entertaining to read, and stories are always packed with implicit dilemmas that are entertaining to reflect over

I love how you're able to express emotion in your writing. I see it in your posts. I can feel what you're saying. Yea! All the themes give me goosebumps. I particularly love the part when he meets Abbé Faria. Reminds of me a time when I was young. I spent about 5 years and 6 months in correspondence with a mentor. Learning in an unconventional way. He was skilled in science and spirituality, and he would teach me in life, and through experiences. The excitement he gets in learning reminds me of the blessing of this archetype. The elder-wise man. The performances were amazing.

Prana is another word for it. We have electromagnetic fields in our body called Dan Tians. They serve to facilitate different functions, such as organizing the mind and body. When the Dan Tians are consolidated and full, the channels of the body, and channels of the spirit are open. Energy flows, accumulates, and expands outward, given release. If you have ever heard the term Siddhi, this is how these powers become available. The Taoist reframe special abilities as "efficiency of the mind and body" rather than a special gift or a sign of nobility. Yogi's will call Siddhis dangerous and distractions on the path. I've heard Sadhguru say that he will even remove siddhis from his students who develop them because they often lead to a "circus". Kind of like what we have here with Massaro. People being under his spell is probably not an understatement. In addition to being extremely skilled in manipulation and persuasion, he also has a magnetic "aura" or field which affects the quality of the electromagnetic fields around him. This is common for people who open their channels and develop their Qi. If you watch closely, while he speaks, he is repressing, controlling, and projecting. Side note: When working with psychedelics, it would be wise to do some research into Qigong Deviations. To see how energy can get mixed up while opening the circuits.

I think it's worth emphasizing and noting again that these things can happen because of too much Qi, developing too quickly, and not being mindful of ones own character traits. It's not too far fetched to say that anyone can be vulnerable to their own latent selfishness, and that this work exposes us to it. I feel like this goes understated, or unrecognized a lot of the time, as the conversation of Qi may not even come up - as we may put everything to rationality. It's important. Especially if you're doing spiritual work.

It's kinda crazy but think about a tesla self driving car. The amount of tiny miniscule changes it makes in any given movement. When you have access to the subtle bodies and not control of your character ... then you'll "self drive" to outcomes that are maybe not the best for others, or the broader network. These tiny movements of mind and intention create undulations in space and time which influence people around you. This is part of why people with access to pure awareness can be so magnetic. States of Samadhi, pure awareness, or even just certain Qi gongs, generate a lot of Qi. But how you refine that Qi, nurture that Qi, and what you do with that Qi is a matter of character. The spiritual arts are often dangerous because of this aspect. Having a bigger battery empowers all of what you are. Including the qualities of character that this person we are discussing seems to be displaying.