Philosophy

Lao-Tzu The Great Dragon Man

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A short story of Lao-Tzu meeting Confucius & what Confucius said about Lao-Tzu:

“It is not until the first century B.C.E., however, that we find a history, the Shih chi (or Records of the Historian), that contains one of the oldest recorded stories about Lao-tzu. Here we find the story of Confucius visiting Lao-tzu at the Court of Chou where, by this account, Lao-tzu served as the court librarian. In that meeting, Lao-tzu was said to have scolded Confucius for his pompous and self-serving ways, and afterward Confucius is reported to have said to his disciples:

“I know that birds can fly, fish can swim, and animals run. For those that run a net may be set, for those that swim a line cast, and for those that fly an arrow set free. But a dragon’s ascent to heaven walks the wind and swims through clouds, and I know of no way to trap him. Today I have met Lao-tzu, who is both man and dragon.”

Lao-Tzu is known for multiple things; he was a master. One of his best known works is the Tao Te Ching, one of my favorite books of all time.

This dragon man’s knowledge & wisdom continues to be known & shared today.

Who Do You Listen To?

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“If you go to Paris you know more about reality than people who don’t. If you smoke DMT you know more about reality than people who don’t.”

— Terence McKenna

Would you listen to someone talk to you about Paris if they have never been there?

Same thing with psychedelics… so many people love having an opinion about psychedelics, but almost no one has actually gone on any deep & true psychedelic trips.

Why listen to people who have never lived? Have never experienced?

Choose who you listen to.

Truly this world is filled with liars & cheaters & schemers who live through an egoic awareness – ego breeds ego. So many people love having an opinion about things they know nothing at all about.

Learn to discern what you hear and who you listen to.

This world doesn’t need any more liars & criminals & thieves in high places.

This world needs some truth, some love…something real.

Learn who to ignore, and who you should actually listen to.

The Fragile Ego

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“The ego is always on guard against any kind of perceived diminishment. Automatic ego-repair mechanisms come into effect to restore the mental form of “me.” When someone blames or criticizes me, that to the ego is a diminishment of self, and it will immediately attempt to repair its diminished sense of self through self-justification, defense, or blaming.”

— Tolle

The ego can be fragile – easily offended, easily angered, feeling threatened easily, quick to blame others…

Is there anything beyond the human ego?

Obviously, yes, but most of us grow up in environments that enforce & reinforce individual egos – in both inferior & superior ways; artificial identities.

We learn to identify with our race & country – & to feel threatened by other races & countries… We are taught to identify with where we were born & to imagine that our country & race is superior to other countries.

Is anyone’s country or race superior to another? No, but people are not taught this. People learn egoic identities from an early age & egos are reinforced time & time again until people genuinely start believing in lies: that their race & country are superior to other races & countries .. politicians especially reinforce theirs & others egos by preaching supremacy, & then pastors in churches reinforce politics by preaching supremacy by supporting racism, sexism, egoic ways of thinking…

the blind flow of the ego has led us all here… will we continue with the fragile & easily threatened egoic ways that cause wars, hatred, violence?

… or will something new emerge?

Something beyond the ego? …

Fight For Your Mental Freedom

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“If the words ‘life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness’ don’t include the right to experiment with your own consciousness, then the Declaration of Independence isn’t worth the hemp it was written on.”

— Terence McKenna

Experimenting with your consciousness is not for everyone, and it’s sometime seen as taboo, but it should always remain open to experiment with. Clearly. Even if it brings clouds & smoke your way at times, it can also bring clarity and love.

I don’t encourage anyone to experiment with their consciousness. I encourage people to do what works for them.

I, though, once or twice a year, use a high dosage of a psychedelic, and it takes me to often heavenly and sometimes hellish places … it’s worth it to me every time, since I rarely do it, and since the experience is so alien & cosmic & beautiful, for me at least.

The integrations before during & after are important, but sometimes the purpose is about the experience itself; nothing more & nothing less. There & then. Here & now.

It’s not for everyone, but if you’re interested in the psychedelic experience, here is a guide containing preparations & activities before during & after your experience.

Trip well 🙂

Discard Emphatic Trifles

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“At times the whole world seems to be in conspiracy to importune you with emphatic trifles. Friend, client, child, sickness, fear, want, charity, all knock at once at thy closet door, and say,–‘Come out unto us.’ But keep thy state; come not into their confusion… 

…The power men possess to annoy me, I give them by a weak curiosity. No man can come near me but through my act. What we love that we have, but by desire we bereave ourselves of the love.”

—Emerson

Conspiracy.

Was Emerson right?

Do people actually go out of their way to bother others? – To try & bring emphatic trifles into another’s life?

I can’t imagine any decent person doing that to someone, but this world is filled with a whole range of people.

It’s filled with people seeking power, liars, manipulators, greed, ego .. all for what?

People don’t even know…

Some light would be nice. Some truth.

& some encouragement even maybe – rather than discouragement & bothering others… but if you want to be encouraged, begin by encouraging yourself.

Don’t enter the confusion of the masses & of the criminal “leaders” of today…beware of their greed & their shallow ways, and just go your own way.

Love yourself, & don’t ever expect love from a lying politician or any of the criminals in the “upper” class.

From The Outside In To The Inside Out 

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In the United States & places of the West, people are often, if not always, living from an outside-in perspective. 

They experience life never within themselves, but always outside of themselves – reacting to environments & people rather than experiencing life. Most have literally become a product of their dead political environments, & not a part of the true living nature that is within us & all around us, at all times. 

I have studied & practiced methods & techniques from both the East & the West, & I enjoy learning about all of them. I do prefer living life from the inside-out though – I prefer living empowered within myself – & not being a reactive machine conformist to nothing – to a dead society. 

I choose life & non-conformity every time. 

This doesn’t make me better than anyone – it just is me making a choice to choose what I believe & how I perceive life – rather than taking someone else’s word for it – rather than being manipulated by the criminal oppressors of this world… 

Here’s Alan Watts with a short relative paragraph to this topic:

“Just try and see something from another point of view for a change. I’m not saying that we should do what the Hindus do, but just look at it in from another point of view. And they would smile at us and say, ‘You really think it’s as real as all that?’

‘Have you never experienced what’s on the inside of this game?’

See the trouble with you Westerners is you never experience first. You never got down to the root of reality. You don’t know that state of consciousness. And so you’re frantically trying to patch everything up, and pin it all together – Screw the universe up so that it’s fixed…

You can never do it. All you’ll be doing is wildly rushing around and creating trouble.”
-Alan Watts

My question to you is, are you experiencing life? 

Or merely existing? 

Do you live as a reaction? 

Or do you live alive & active?

Meditations are a great way to begin going within and trying the inside-out perspective — to at least try it for even a short time and see if it’s for you or not for you. It’s perfect either way! 

Begin your meditations here: 

The Phantom Mind & The Active Present

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“. . Action always happens in the present, because it is an expression of the body, which can only exist in the here and now. But the mind is like a phantom that lives only in the past or future. It’s only power over you is to draw your attention out of the present.”

— Dan Millman

If I were to tell you that there are people & organizations working to manipulate people out of the true present moment, you may or may not believe me.

There are also some who work in love to bring themselves & others into a loving present moment – which is more difficult than living in the past or future, but it’s where everything is truly happening, all the time.

Anyway, Millman talks about the phantom mind & the present moment here. Action happens in the present moment, but even in action many people are living in the past or future & not actually in the present.

The phantom mind is powerful, but the true present moment is more powerful, & usually more beautiful.

Meditation practice is one of the best ways to experience the direct present moment.

Begin here, now 🙂

Living Beyond The News

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“To a philosopher all news, as it is called, is gossip, and they who edit and read it are old women over their tea.”

— Thoreau

The media, the news, is often nothing more than gossip.

Most of today’s “popular” news really is fake news – to divert viewers attention away from the viewers life, & give it to an electronic media that doesn’t care about viewers.

The media is often dis-empowering, but there is a solution to regain your power – turn off the news. Ignore it. Politicians will still be lying & complaining tomorrow & the next day, & that’s not changing anytime soon.

Anyway, I sometimes watch the news for entertainment, but I don’t take it seriously. Some of it may be serious, but most of it’s not.

What is real is my life, and your life. What is real is your direct experience with life here & now & into your future.

You matter – & believe it or not, your life is more important than every single politician on this planet. I promise you this is true – your life is more important than theirs.

Take some time to turn off the news & reclaim your power, your life.

Being A Mad Philosophical Hatter

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“It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours.”

— Diogenes

When it comes to reality, there are billions of interpretations of what life is.

Who is to say what the ultimate reality is? Can any human or any species even know or really understand it?

People like to limit reality to their limited views so that they can “understand” reality, &/or “understand” people & other species, but “understanding” a limitless species with a very narrow & limited perception, usually breeds war, violence, hatred – & it usually stems from misunderstanding rooted in ignorance. – rooted in thinking that they know for sure the ultimate reality and they know for sure how humans & other species are & how they “should” behave.

Some tyrants even convince their followers to hurt & kill the “others” because the others are different – or the “others” have an original mind that doesn’t fit into their criminal & oppressive machine systems…

States & religions often punish people for thinking, and they praise conformity.

Emerson said: “For nonconformity the world whips you with its displeasure.” & this is still very true today.

Galileo was put under house arrest for the last 9 years of his life for being smarter than the current government & churches…he spoke the truth about the movement of the planets, which the state & church were ignorant of, and rather than communicating with him & seeing if what he spoke was true, they quickly punished him without any critical thinking.

Societies today too, especially when ruled by tyrants, are often quick to punish any & all forms of non-conformity.

I say don’t conform. Don’t bow down to a system that punishes genius. Don’t bow down to machine systems who only desire to control you, & to never help you. Don’t conform to nothing. Don’t give up your own mind & heart to serve mindless robots. Keep your mind. Don’t be a robot. Be a human.

And when you really are able to experience your human brain & heart deeply, you may get a glimpse into the vast cosmic universe within you, and you will know for sure that your insides are not filled with medal parts like a car is, but that your insides are filled with limitless knowledge & wisdom that should never be dehumanized & treated like a machine.