Jordan of the Shire

I've been drinking this smoothie in the morning and it's been great 3 kale leafs, 3 chard leafs, 2 eggs, 1 apple, 1 tomatoe, 2 carrots, 3/4cup of high fat grass fed cream top yogurt, 3/4 cup of bluebs, 2 scoops of collegen powder, 1 banana, 1 avocado, 1 celery stalk, teaspoon of coconut oil. I sit and drink it slowly, paying attention to how it touches the teeth, the mouth, tongue, throat, and belly, and I focus on releasing in relationship to it, softening the awareness and feeling it. Noticing the joy and paying attention to that. Have found it to be a nice addition to the morning. Dinner I've been livin' cheaply. Noodles, frozen veggies, and chick peas. 4$ meal, easy, and filling. I try not to eat much enriched flour, sugar, or seed oils.

Yea this makes a huge difference. And I want to add that maybe his compulsion and fixation on strictness and control can contribute to illness as well. One of the benefits of things like Neigong is the cycle of Wu and Wu Wei. Daoists make it a practice to stop trying to control things and to allow things to work - allow energy to do what it needs to do. Daoists (I mean people who do the practices typically attributed to the shamanic path) They understand that the capacity of the mind to control every tiny aspect in perfect balance is not possible, and that nature knows what to do. So in balance - doing, setting the course, the watercourse way. Then letting the water flow. Trying to control everything has its problems because control by its nature leaves gaps. Nature flows and fills and expresses. So using control a little to lay the river beds, then letting nature do its work. What comes up for you in relation to this?

Immortality is something that has been looked at by people in the past. There's an extensive tradition that involves deep spiritual alchemy and waidan or external concotions for changing the body to allow for this. It's great to see Bryan making efforts to improve the baseline health of people by constantly advocating for the basics, and by going into the deep end. I see Bryan as a Modern day Daoist Immortality Focused practitioner. However, I don't know if he buys into the Daoist Alchemical Practices. I think it might be important for someone to look into if they were interested in that kind of thing. Because there are changes that happen to health when you develop different energy centers by changing the conditions of the attention and the shape and substances in the body, which might have an important part to play in the game of living longer and curing problems of the body. I want to add too that in Waidan, the shamans knew it wasn't just the substance consumed, it was how the practitioner worked with it internally. The relationship between the substance and the person matters, so, I think, in consuming anything, the quality of mind that it is consumed in will affect what it cultivates on both a physical and energetic level.

Not yet but re-centering has eliminated relationships with neediness and clinging and has brought balance to the force ;P

@LordFall My priority shifted from a committed relationship to addressing my distorted views about the world, the deficiencies and excesses in my philosophy, and to dealing with what gets in the way of presence and kindness. I walked away from relationships for awhile while i sorted some things out within myself.

Hey brother, It sounds like you have contraction around the whole dilemma and also not having that intellectual connection. I had the same issue in the past. But learned that it was my own inability to feel content in myself and be at peace than it was the qualities of my partner. I left that relationship and later realized i wasn't seeing things clearly. When you see the nature of thought as being something to disregard and to abide in awareness. I mean this as repeated action, done over time, than you'll have joy. I would practice this method of softening your relationship - the awareness of the perceived lack you see within your relationship. Soften how you see, literally, how your awareness knows the ideas and intellectual dissatisfaction you have. See if there is spaciousness there and relax with that. Keep doing that, and do it when you're with her. Keep doing this, and when that thought comes up like "this isn't enough" "i want something else" "I need something different" etc, soften in relationship to these thoughts. Perceive the spaciousness within thought, around the head, within the body, and let go, drop the stories. When you see her, soften your eyes, become aware of the aversion you feel, use it as practice. The greatest spiritual practice is with our current conditions, whether we are completely satisfied with them or not. And when you release like this, and let energy flow, than the right decisions and clarity will arise for you my friend. Hope this helps, let me know how you go.

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