10-30-2016, 12:00 AM
nameless wrote:Years ago I was "at the height of my power." I had control over dreams, reality, the past and future, so on and so forth. But I had no control over myself. The first part of the statement is hard to imagine in this context. How can you have no control over yourself and have control over the things you say you did. It makes no sense. Basically, since dreams, past and future relate to yourself, spring from yourself, and since you say you had no control over yourself, therefore, you had no control over dreams, reality, past and future either. Sorry to go logical on you . But... ok... having had my fun... I do understand what you are saying . Next, it would be interesting to know what helped you get control over these areas and what degree of control you had / have over them. I am different to you in that I put first what you, based on what you say, put last. Funny how people work... You say you did not like the person you were and decided to change. I congratulate you on that. Also, I would say that seeing your own ugliness is an important step on the path. One that is basically unavoidable if one is to progress and start getting rid of one's s*hit and shitty behavior. Shamanism is about the inner self. What is outside of ourselves? Some things maybe are, but to reach them in any way we have to again look at/go through the inner.
nameless wrote:I was on the verge of dying myself, but I didn't like the person I was. You mean you almost died? Your phrasing is a bit strange I am not sure I am interpreting the sentence right. The two meanings I see in the sentence are: "I was on the verge of dying" or "I was on the verge of killing myself". I keep the second meaning as an option because it makes it pretty interesting that you would not kill yourself and go on with a self that you found dislikable. Either way, you seem to be saying you had control over your death and decided to step back and do some more work.
nameless wrote:Trying to become a decent man.
....
So, nearly eight years later, I feel I may be ready to start actively pursuing shamanism once more. What needs to change in me now is a bit harder to define. I need to revert back to the non-thinking state of mind, I guess you could say. These formless, powerful shamans that you spoke of before, did they not function as role models on this matter? Were they not decent and fair? Were they not magical?
I am not sure decency goes by default with the non-thinking state. At least in the sense that our thinking faculties can be helpful to us when pursuing this matter.
I think you have picked a good goal / thing to focus on, not that it matters what I think . But I am glad to hear someone is focusing on something really worthwhile, in my opinion.
nameless wrote:Right now the topic that interests me most is the flyers mind and shedding it.Yes, I see the connection. Imo the best way to go at flyers is my own awareness, full vigil over my own mind/being. Doing lots of self-stalking and bettering of myself while keeping a look out over my inner processes. It is then easier to spot stuff that does not come from the inside, but the good thing is lots of helpful stuff comes from the outside too, it is not just flyers that are out there . Therefore, there is lots of hope for human beings...
One thing a person needs to deal with though is that we are responsible for our own ugliness, not flyers.
What part about shamanism propels you onward and makes you feel alive? Is it really stories and tales of ascension and promise of life after death? Interesting. I am not convinced in the sense that that is more a thing you hear or read about and not something you experience yourself (not for a very long time at least). (But then, one might experience the dream or idea of it, hmm.) However, if something not directly experienced has so much value to you it is really nice of course. It is almost magical . For me, it is something I can experience. You did not ask and I do not feel a need to share here . Maybe some other time.
Coming back to my question about the death meditation and how I wonder if it would be good for the body.. You say it is not for the body but for the mind that this is done. Of course, but it still affects the body as well. The body is a sentient organism, it has its own awareness, memory, intelligence, you name it. If I think of burning, my body dislikes it . My body is the one afraid, not my mind (my mind has already been tended to, to a degree, whereas I am just discovering the body). My body does not want to burn. My body does not want to be left behind either. One of the things I am trying to figure out is how to accommodate the wishes of my body. My body is doing so much for me here on this planet, I would not want to torture it. Given ofc that I am surely doing things that are not best for my body, but so far it is a work in progress. I was, therefore, wondering if you are aware of the body when doing this meditation and how it is affected (if at all). But if you are not that aware of your body and put all your focus on the mind etc, then you might not be able to answer my question. I do like what you write about the process and aim of the meditation though. As unlikely as it sounds (me not being a veteran and such) I have also faced death. No prior meditations , but I kept my cool, made my peace, summoned all of my awareness that I was able to and faced it with a sharpness that was surprising to me. The shift that happens when this is going on, I wonder if that can be trained by such a meditation (you seem to be saying yes, thus it seems it could be useful). However, I do not think such a state is sustainable 24/7 (surely not in my current state, but I wonder if that is even desirable, I'd say no, but what do I know ).
I would appreciate if you could revisit one thing from my questions post. I would like you to describe how men are, in your experience, after they have lost their human form. (I rememberedd that you actually gave an answer to my question concerning what is true power in one of your previous posts, you said it is power over ourselves. So no need to go into that again).
Thnx for sharing a part of your story, looking forward to it being continued. Interesting stories are one of the great things that come from talking to people on the path.
nameless wrote:I was on the verge of dying myself, but I didn't like the person I was. You mean you almost died? Your phrasing is a bit strange I am not sure I am interpreting the sentence right. The two meanings I see in the sentence are: "I was on the verge of dying" or "I was on the verge of killing myself". I keep the second meaning as an option because it makes it pretty interesting that you would not kill yourself and go on with a self that you found dislikable. Either way, you seem to be saying you had control over your death and decided to step back and do some more work.
nameless wrote:Trying to become a decent man.
....
So, nearly eight years later, I feel I may be ready to start actively pursuing shamanism once more. What needs to change in me now is a bit harder to define. I need to revert back to the non-thinking state of mind, I guess you could say. These formless, powerful shamans that you spoke of before, did they not function as role models on this matter? Were they not decent and fair? Were they not magical?
I am not sure decency goes by default with the non-thinking state. At least in the sense that our thinking faculties can be helpful to us when pursuing this matter.
I think you have picked a good goal / thing to focus on, not that it matters what I think . But I am glad to hear someone is focusing on something really worthwhile, in my opinion.
nameless wrote:Right now the topic that interests me most is the flyers mind and shedding it.Yes, I see the connection. Imo the best way to go at flyers is my own awareness, full vigil over my own mind/being. Doing lots of self-stalking and bettering of myself while keeping a look out over my inner processes. It is then easier to spot stuff that does not come from the inside, but the good thing is lots of helpful stuff comes from the outside too, it is not just flyers that are out there . Therefore, there is lots of hope for human beings...
One thing a person needs to deal with though is that we are responsible for our own ugliness, not flyers.
What part about shamanism propels you onward and makes you feel alive? Is it really stories and tales of ascension and promise of life after death? Interesting. I am not convinced in the sense that that is more a thing you hear or read about and not something you experience yourself (not for a very long time at least). (But then, one might experience the dream or idea of it, hmm.) However, if something not directly experienced has so much value to you it is really nice of course. It is almost magical . For me, it is something I can experience. You did not ask and I do not feel a need to share here . Maybe some other time.
Coming back to my question about the death meditation and how I wonder if it would be good for the body.. You say it is not for the body but for the mind that this is done. Of course, but it still affects the body as well. The body is a sentient organism, it has its own awareness, memory, intelligence, you name it. If I think of burning, my body dislikes it . My body is the one afraid, not my mind (my mind has already been tended to, to a degree, whereas I am just discovering the body). My body does not want to burn. My body does not want to be left behind either. One of the things I am trying to figure out is how to accommodate the wishes of my body. My body is doing so much for me here on this planet, I would not want to torture it. Given ofc that I am surely doing things that are not best for my body, but so far it is a work in progress. I was, therefore, wondering if you are aware of the body when doing this meditation and how it is affected (if at all). But if you are not that aware of your body and put all your focus on the mind etc, then you might not be able to answer my question. I do like what you write about the process and aim of the meditation though. As unlikely as it sounds (me not being a veteran and such) I have also faced death. No prior meditations , but I kept my cool, made my peace, summoned all of my awareness that I was able to and faced it with a sharpness that was surprising to me. The shift that happens when this is going on, I wonder if that can be trained by such a meditation (you seem to be saying yes, thus it seems it could be useful). However, I do not think such a state is sustainable 24/7 (surely not in my current state, but I wonder if that is even desirable, I'd say no, but what do I know ).
I would appreciate if you could revisit one thing from my questions post. I would like you to describe how men are, in your experience, after they have lost their human form. (I rememberedd that you actually gave an answer to my question concerning what is true power in one of your previous posts, you said it is power over ourselves. So no need to go into that again).
Thnx for sharing a part of your story, looking forward to it being continued. Interesting stories are one of the great things that come from talking to people on the path.