For Taoists of sciforums: "Lessons" for Taoists...

"as i understand it the book was written for the lowest common denominator. maybe it is utopian and that's part of the reason i'm here, but i definately got something from it, at least enough that i wanted to find out more. "

You got into the wrong forum if you are searching for the lowest common denominator. While we have a lot of teenagers that are studying science, there are plenty super high IQed people here.

BTW: I read the book with rape and sex and violence scences (too many four letter words) that I could not stomach. As far as Multiverse theory....I do subscribe to a 5 dimensional universe where the 5th dimension is the size of one mm or less but attaches to other 4D universes like pages in the book. It is far out but people are working on it and we will soon know in about 15 years the mathematics behind it. So that is not far out.

I am still waiting for the cliff notes - the juicy parts....

 

"i don't really agree with you regarding the four letter words. i don't remember a lot of sex and rape. imho the purpose of the book is to emulate reality using graphic language and scenes. i think it would be closer to fantasy if it wasn't so strong. my interpretation was that we have to suffer in order to build callouses. maybe i missed something. "

No, you did not miss it. That is not my world even the world has violence and sadness. I dont have to spend a month in prison to understand the criminal philosophy or be raped to understand the violence. It is an assult to my senses. I try to stay clear of it. I rarely use four letter words at home or in business - even though I have managed hundreds of millions of dollar projects. Some do. Obscene language and violence is the antithesis of a civilized society. That is not reality - at least not where I live. People here still say "Sir" and "Ma'am" in public.

That is not the Tao I look for in one's life. I follow the words of "Desiderata".

Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexations to the spirit.

The book is then, not my philosophy, But, now I understand your POV.

 

As I said, I understand your POV. And, I dont have to be evil to understand the true nature of evil. Power is neither good nor evil - it is how one uses it. Do you know that today we can simulate large nuclear explosions in a super computer to understand its effect? This does not mean that we can not understand the true devastation because we actually did not explode one.

The capacity to understand lies in the knowledge and the neural configuration of ones brain. The ability to experience certain events and possibilities can be greatly enhanced through meditation and following the methodology of the ancient rishis without actually being there. Consider the dream state. You can still dream being violated without actually being violated - yet your heart will race and pulse get higher and you may wake up with profuse sweat - and call it a nightmare. Do you know why it is so? Do you know how it feels to fly an unicorn? Visit a world that you have not seen depicted in any movies or books? Be in the past and smell and touch people a thousand years ago - a physical experience that no books and movie can provide?

True Taoism is the capacity to expand ones self beyond the limitation of present boundaries of time and space, to simulate a world as if it is real, and yes to feel the power that transcends good and evil.

Been there....done that....

 

Will do... my brain door is always open to new ideas....

"What if you could melt into the entirety of space and time, experiencing multiple universes at will? For thousands of years, spiritualists have claimed that the possibility is real, but only now are modern science and philosophy finally bridging the gap, providing crucial evidence to support those ideas..."

my personal experience for the last 15 years points to that direction and getting stronger everyday....even though my first OBE was in 1962. I am hoping the experience can be exponential in nature....

 

How?

1. Understand the nature of your thought process and the nature of the world around you.

2. Practice meditation and cleansing of mind, body and spirit.

3. Goto One

You can still function in a society but with a higher performance.

 

A4Ever:
Edit 1: what you would like to know?

Edit2: OBE ...here it goes. I am sure I posted about it in this forum. First a disclaimer. I experienced something the cause of which I did not know. It matches with what people describe as OBE and hence my use of the term.

It was summer of '62. Just finished my highschool and getting ready to go to college. One night, I was outside (backyard) watching stars on an air mattress. During that time, I was learning transdental meditation even though the name was not invented yet. So, I decided to meditate a little while thinking about earth, our place in the universe. I was highly relaxed. Suddenly, I felt I am about 30 feet up and see myself on the ground on the air mattress. I felt calm. Then I just kept going up and up at very first rate and saw earth below as a very large ball with light glow all around. Cities with points of light everywhere like what you see from a plane but with a background light like it is full moonlight. I kept going somewhere - every thing was dark except a lot of points of light. Then the sky again got lit up and I saw the most beautiful cloud (looked like many clouds) with multicolor hues and strings of lights, swirling patterns and so on... then I moved back towards perhaps earth and in a short order I reversed my path and back on the mattress.

I did not have a stroke or was on any medication or was not dying. Just a normal day. Many years later I saw a picture the hubble telescope took that was identical to what I saw. Since it only happened once and I never had any opportunity to experience it again, I consider it as a fluke. Nevertheless, it was an OBE experience. So, there you have it. At a subconscious level, we have the ability to connect to the underlying cosmic intelligence - I think. One of thesedays I need to do some serious scientific experiments to prove my point one way or the other....

I do have a lot of lucid dreams, most of them with solutions to complex problems I encounter in my job. Others are either past history or a view of futue. I use the stuff I can to earn money. It is good for something....(the performance part)...

 

A4Ever:

Let us start by understanding the tools that are needed to get there. I build expert systems that others call AI. One of the basic foundation in building such a system is "data" - and lots of it. Then I set up rules and associations that provides the information. Then the neural net does recursive algorithms to calculate the new threshold values - that becomes knowledge. I did not reach the wisdom stage on a software because the system is too limited at this time.

Applying the same principle with humans...you need to start aquiring data from your friends, this forum, books, documentaries, text books etc. That is the first step. Then you have to continue doing it for the rest of your life. As you soak in the data, always remember some may be incorrect and others are correct within a boundary condition. Luckily your brain is designed to shift through and create associations while you sleep or meditate.

This will go on for a few years. During this time - always keep an open mind and make sure the data is validated against the boundary conditions and expanded as needed to new conditions. (We call that open mind) You need to acquire data in every field that you interact in your life - medicine, law, politics, psychology, etc...simply because your own life will pass through events that require you to have a basic understanding of this information to make decisions. If you read most of my posts in different topics, you will get a feel for what I am talking about.

This is the best method to manage oneself in a society yet stay detached to a certain extent to keep one centered. Any other method lack survival components. Unfortunately it is not something you can acquire over night. Training can help - but I have not started a school yet (One Canadian wanted me to do that for Canadian business people but flaked out at the last minute).

The procedure is painless but may require one to two hours of talking or several sessions of text communication...I recommend for you to stay on the learning mode for now and gradually incorporate the associations. I will do the best I can to show you the right direction (that reduces the time only). Eventually you will make your own direction....

The reason I did not answer to specific alleged contradictions is in order to resolve it, you need the underlying data and result set which could be massive if you pick piece meal. If you understand this statement...you are in good shape.

 

Is that the process of forming information from the data? Why do you say you need to sleep or meditate for this? Isn't this done by simply thinking?

NO. The thinking part only works when you already converted data to information. Then you can draw some conclusions based on that information. However that information has to be limited. The conscious brain can not process too many new variables. That is why the saying "Let me sleep on that". It can only collect the rules that has already been formed in the background.

An analogy is a computer program. When you interact with it, you only see a limited facet of that activity. A lot happens behind the scene. A large company has to collect the data that happens during the day and processed in the middle of the night to digest the data in proper format so that in the morning, the management can get the reports of yesterdays activity. It is the background processing vs the limited processing of the "now" information.

"if you pick piece meal" - means items without reference or context. It is like standing in the middle of the desert and not knowing where you are headed....The analysis and inference is difficult....lot of dancing around the subject matter....you got it...

While you may admire a Buddhist monk for certain aspects of their life style, there is a minor problem in the context of the universe. Assuming it is a great life style, can you analyze what happens to mankind if everybody becomes a Buddhist monk? Ten years from now, thousand years from now? Ten thousand years from now?

 

I recommend a book you can pick up at any library. It can provide some insight as to how our brain works (real life analysis). You should also read some background information on the good doctor.

Everything in slow doses.....

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The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat
by: Oliver W. Sacks

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If your university library has a electronic catlog, you can search it fast. The book (and other books by the author) is a required reading by students who take medical courses.

Then come back and we shall discuss it. In the meantime you can post other stuff as needed....

Good luck on your exam....