Yang Chu.

[Guest guest]

From Jarrett's perspective calling Daoism a superstition

is part of the justifiable destruction that would find good company with

 

Lonny: Greetings Yangchu. I never called Daoism a superstition. I said

that it, like all the pre-modern teachings held a lot of

superstitions. I hold Daoism in high regard as indicated perhaps by my

first text. But, let's face it-it REALLY is filled with a fair amount

of myth and superstition. Fox spirits, demons, ghosts, immortality,

Laozi was 800, large amounts of mercury are good for you, and on and

on. I find it too be a thoroughly beautiful teaching. But among its

superstitions there are two that need to be subjected to particular

scrutiny in light of new information. One is that time is circular and

the other is that the unborn is the only absolute. In light of the

discovery of evolution I think these things are open at least to

discussion, don't you?

 

Again, Warm regards, respectfully, Lonny

[Guest guest]

Lonny,

 

The Buddha's opening statement in the Dhammapada is " Mind is the forerunner of

all actions. "

 

This discussion ensues by basically telling us to put our minds in the right

place. This sounds exactly like what you're suggesting. Carl Sagan maintains

that there's essentially been no " evolutionary " change in humans for the past

30,000 years. Of course, the spiritualist will beg to differ, but I'm genuinely

perplexed by your meaning of " evolutionary. "

 

The crux of what we're sharing about not servicing patterns of aberrant behavior

and thought is why I feel EFT is such indispensable for those practitioners

interested in giving patients the tools for real change.

 

Not servicing destructive patterns requires skill that can only be gained

through deep compassion, particularly toward ourselves since patients are

largely a reflection of ourselves. Such compassion seems hardly to have much to

do with shattering and killing but with deep and profound love, the likes of

which is expressed by Thich Nat Hahn.

 

Thanks for the kind words. They're appreciated.

 

 

best peace,

~y.c., EFT-Adv

http://vytalpathways.com

[Guest guest]

Lonny,

 

The Buddha's opening statement in the Dhammapada is " Mind is the

forerunner of all actions. "

 

 

Lonny: When I use the term " mind " I'm referring either to the

neurologically given capacity to orient in time and space OR to the

conditioned ego. What you refer to as mind here is what I mean when I

use the term " consciousness " .

 

 

Yang Chu: This discussion ensues by basically telling us to put our

minds in the right

place.

 

 

Lonny: I'd interpret this to mean that we have to discover ourselves

AS consciousness and the n use will to orient to THAT.

 

Yang Chu: This sounds exactly like what you're suggesting.

 

 

Lonny: Yes...insofar as my comments above.

 

Yanchu: Carl Sagan maintains

that there's essentially been no " evolutionary " change in humans for

the past 30,000 years.

 

 

Lonny: Remember when apple nicknamed the beta version of OS X " Carl

Sagan " and he sued them? They changed the name to " Butthead

astronomer " . I'm not kidding. Sagan was a very conservative,

Orange/green meme (please google) thinker. Yes he was a brilliant

astronomer but he didn't have a particularly enlightened view of the

world. He was a materialist and, I believe an atheist. I'm putting

forth a perspective in which spirit/consciousness are always primary.

 

 

 

Yanchu: Of course, the spiritualist will beg to differ,

 

Lonny: I beg to differ.

 

Yang Chu:but I'm genuinely

perplexed by your meaning of " evolutionary. "

 

 

Lonny: Moving from lower to higher value spheres. I wrote 20 pages on

this in Clinical Practice ch 37 " Beyond " . I thought I

had sent you a copy? Specifically, what is it about my use of the term

" evolutionary " that you do not understand?

 

 

Simply put: If we agree the body/mind/spirit are One. And we agree

that there is only one consciousness (mind in the Dhammapada's terms).

Then, it at least makes sense that the capacity of mind to recognize

itself is dependent, in large part, on the complexity of the nervous

system that is its carrier.

 

When the first trillobite's eye opened on the bottom of the ocean

consciousness, that which had driven the process of cosmic development

for 14 billion years (can we agree the material form of the universe

has " evolved " from energy/light to matter to rocks to life to

consciousness to the self aware recognition of consciousness in homo

sapien sapiens (Sapien=wisdom)?). But what does consciousness learn

when a human looks through the Hubble telescope (thank you Mr Sagan)?

Would you say that there is a vertical difference between the

awakening of consciousness through the perspective of a trillobite

seeing the ocean floor 600 million years ago and a human being seeing

spiral gallaxies 10x24 light years away?

 

So, if we can recognize a vertical hierarchy in species overtime in

their capacity for awakening can we not recognize that among people

different value spheres represent relatively lower and higher degrees

of development?

 

Such development would correlate with the nature of self

identification. The more inclusive the identity the greater the

development until subject and object merge. So from " me " to Family to

tribe to clan to religion to nation to world-centric to kosmocentric

( " Thou art that " , " the father and I are one " or in current terms " " I

am a vehicle for the evolution of consciousness-that which has

motivated cosmic development for 14 billion years-the choices I make

literally determine the degree to which consciousness, the inner

dimension of the universe-evolves " ). This would represent an

evolutionary progression of consciousness and a progression of value

spheres from lower to higher.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yang Chu: The crux of what we're sharing about not servicing patterns

of aberrant behavior

and thought is why I feel EFT is such indispensable for those

practitioners

interested in giving patients the tools for real change.

 

Lonny: I don't know what it is so I can't comment. I can say that I've

witnessed real, meaningful, change is some of my patients for many years.

 

 

Yangchu: Not servicing destructive patterns requires skill that can

only be gained

through deep compassion, particularly toward ourselves since patients are

largely a reflection of ourselves. Such compassion seems hardly to

have much to

do with shattering and killing but with deep and profound love, the

likes of

which is expressed by Thich Nat Hahn.

 

 

 

Lonny: For post-modern people who represent the mmost fortunate humans

to have ever lived I'd still put the equation at 51% truth and %49

compassion.

 

I think it's interesting to consider this:

 

While compassion may be a good virtue to have for people, what part of

ourselves wants compassion from others?

 

 

 

I really think this bears deep and serious consideration and I think

the answer can be very illuminating in regard to the point your making

relative to the average person who comes for acupuncture treatment in

say, Boulder, LA, Berkley, Santa Fe, Victoria BC, and Western

Massachusetts.

 

 

 

 

Yang Chu: Thanks for the kind words. They're appreciated.

 

Lonny: And thank you.