This dude (Papaji) is a real groovy guru. If you want to skip the enlightenment and go straight to the orgasm it starts at about 4:30.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4PZL7wg_g4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4PZL7wg_g4)
Screw the 'big-book' religions - this is my sort of spirituality.
Quote from: Boston Rockbury on December 12, 2012, 06:33:51 AM
This dude (Papaji) is a real groovy guru. If you want to skip the enlightenment and go straight to the orgasm it starts at about 4:30.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4PZL7wg_g4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4PZL7wg_g4)
Screw the 'big-book' religions - this is my sort of spirituality.
Never gone in for the whole "guru" thing myself; adds up to nothing more than mind control and letting some asshat do your thinking for you. Most, if not all of them, are frauds using people for money, sex, worship, power and feeding their "I'm god" ego, etc. Unfortunately, stupid people worship them as some kind of "enlightened deity." One little prick up in Northern California had his followers literally eating his shit to gain his "enlightenment" while he was banging every women (some under age) in his organization claiming that he was doing so they could "join with him and be god like he was."
(http://dudeism.com/smf/Themes/default/images/post/thumbdown.gif) That was this little worthless maggot.......
(http://i.ytimg.com/vi/H0O9IK8bxM8/0.jpg)
(http://dudeism.com/smf/Themes/default/images/post/thumbdown.gif) And worthless dipshits like these undudes.....
(http://i.ytimg.com/vi/TSf4Drev5VM/0.jpg)
(http://dudeism.com/smf/Themes/default/images/post/thumbdown.gif) And - http://trickfist.com/content/stranger-worlds/weird-health-rituals-dangerous-tradition-in-india.html (http://trickfist.com/content/stranger-worlds/weird-health-rituals-dangerous-tradition-in-india.html)
Quote from: DigitalBuddha on December 12, 2012, 07:21:55 AM
One little prick up in Northern California had his followers literally eating his shit to gain his "enlightenment" while he was banging every women (some under age) in his organization claiming that he was doing so they could "join with him and be god like he was."
(http://i.ytimg.com/vi/H0O9IK8bxM8/0.jpg)
I'm not saying he was perfect but you gotta love the dress-sense.
Same dude as in the video on this page.
http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/look-into-my-eyes (http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/look-into-my-eyes)
Quote
One behavior that you can readily notice in many gurus, as well as in their students, is an unusual commitment to maintaining eye contact. In the best case, this behavior emerges from a genuine comfort in the presence of other people and deep interest in their well-being. Given this frame of mind, there may not be a reason to look elsewhere. But maintaining eye contact can also become a way of ?acting spiritual??and an intrusive affectation. Needless to say, there are people who maintain rigid eye lock, not from an attitude of openness and interest?or from a desire to appear open and interested?but as an aggressive and narcissistic show of dominance. (Psychopaths tend to make exceptionally good eye contact.) Whatever the motive behind it, there can be tremendous power in an unwavering gaze.
Most of you know what I?m talking about, but if you want to witness a glorious example of the grandiosity that a person?s eyes can convey, watch a few minutes of the following interview with Osho (Bhagwan Shree Rashneesh). I never met Osho, but I have met many people like him. He was by no means the worst that the New Age had to offer. He undoubtedly harmed many people in the end?and, perhaps, in the beginning and middle as well?but he wasn?t merely a lunatic or a con artist as many other gurus have been. Osho always seemed like a genuinely insightful man who had much to teach, but who grew increasingly intoxicated by the power of his role, and then finally lost his mind in it. When you spend your days sniffing nitrous oxide, demanding fellatio at 45-minute intervals, making sacred gifts of your fingernail clippings, and shopping for your 94th Rolls Royce? you should probably know that you?ve wandered a step or two off the path.
Quote from: Boston Rockbury on December 12, 2012, 07:47:07 AM
Quote from: DigitalBuddha on December 12, 2012, 07:21:55 AM
One little prick up in Northern California had his followers literally eating his shit to gain his "enlightenment" while he was banging every women (some under age) in his organization claiming that he was doing so they could "join with him and be god like he was."
(http://i.ytimg.com/vi/H0O9IK8bxM8/0.jpg)
I'm not saying he was perfect but you gotta love the dress-sense.
Sure, perfect and trendy enough for his jail cell. Also, very Romulien like.......
(http://exastrisscientia.files.wordpress.com/2007/06/une-romulienne.jpg)
Of course, the West has it's pile of maggot shit who are just as corrupt, greedy and evil...........
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_hryFd4zMU2c/SX5uUKlsxkI/AAAAAAAAACk/iIQYLONTWUw/s400/jancrouch.png)
(http://noun.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/nairobi.jpg)
(http://www.nndb.com/people/605/000022539/hinn-000105-MED.jpg)
(http://ivarfjeld.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/benny22.jpg)
(http://api.ning.com/files/sZ*d*E4thsSqKNMqiqIt0vE8M1kyBD6MXb2zSHMnVAAFRdpbMSe84NH2WSpZcXWx4Hpm7cn6digN4J*6ZpcXwvwRUaT-K60A/tf1.jpg)
(http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1276018300p5/55044.jpg)
Is that not Donald Sutherland in disguise?
Quote from: milnie on December 12, 2012, 03:55:34 PM
Is that not Donald Sutherland in disguise?
Hell no! That's me! ;D :o
By the way, check out......."Jim Bakker, convicted felon and purported man of Christ, continues fleecing the faithful each weekday at 7am through The Jim Bakker Show at Morningside church. I blog about it here."(http://www.nndb.com/people/061/000023989/jim_bakker.jpg)
MARK HIM ZERO! - http://jimbakker666.blogspot.com/ (http://jimbakker666.blogspot.com/)
Don't even call it religion... it's outright mind control. If some useless fuck with a few bucks to buy some air time at 4 in the morning can get a following, then hell, the idiots who send in the money deserve to be fleeced.
I just wish they'd send it to me. ;)
Quote from: Hominid on December 12, 2012, 09:56:51 PM
Don't even call it religion... it's outright mind control. If some useless fuck with a few bucks to buy some air time at 4 in the morning can get a following, then hell, the idiots who send in the money deserve to be fleeced.
I just wish they'd send it to me. ;)
Start a Religion.
Quote from: cckeiser on December 12, 2012, 10:58:23 PM
Quote from: Hominid on December 12, 2012, 09:56:51 PM
Don't even call it religion... it's outright mind control. If some useless fuck with a few bucks to buy some air time at 4 in the morning can get a following, then hell, the idiots who send in the money deserve to be fleeced.
I just wish they'd send it to me. ;)
Start a Religion.
Some dude named Oliver beat me to it. ;)
Quote from: Hominid on December 13, 2012, 12:25:14 AM
Quote from: cckeiser on December 12, 2012, 10:58:23 PM
Quote from: Hominid on December 12, 2012, 09:56:51 PM
Don't even call it religion... it's outright mind control. If some useless fuck with a few bucks to buy some air time at 4 in the morning can get a following, then hell, the idiots who send in the money deserve to be fleeced.
I just wish they'd send it to me. ;)
Start a Religion.
Some dude named Oliver beat me to it. ;)
Not so sure; to me, Dudeism seems to be more of a "fellowship" than a religion. But that's just like my opinion, man.
Quote from: DigitalBuddha on December 13, 2012, 12:57:04 AM
Quote from: Hominid on December 13, 2012, 12:25:14 AM
Quote from: cckeiser on December 12, 2012, 10:58:23 PM
Quote from: Hominid on December 12, 2012, 09:56:51 PM
Don't even call it religion... it's outright mind control. If some useless fuck with a few bucks to buy some air time at 4 in the morning can get a following, then hell, the idiots who send in the money deserve to be fleeced.
I just wish they'd send it to me. ;)
Start a Religion.
Some dude named Oliver beat me to it. ;)
Not so sure; to me, Dudeism seems to be more of a "fellowship" than a religion. But that's just like my opinion, man.
I dunno dude, I have this certificate of ordination that says otherwise! ;)
But I hear what yer sayin'
funny thing about BigOne shri Rajnish is that everything you hear about him makes him sound like a nutter and yet i have two really: aware, switched-on and very wise friends who totally love the dude. One is a leading authority on tantric sex, the other is a very successful sanskrit musician. When you hear these people speak they are not credulous or gullible, rather they have a great sense of perspective. Makes me think there must have been something good abut the BigOne.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1O-WP07Elo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1O-WP07Elo)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjcJDP3b2PU (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjcJDP3b2PU)
Quote from: Boston Rockbury on December 13, 2012, 10:08:07 AM
funny thing about BigOne shri Rajnish is that everything you hear about him makes him sound like a nutter and yet i have two really: aware, switched-on and very wise friends who totally love the dude. One is a leading authority on tantric sex, the other is a very successful sanskrit musician. When you hear these people speak they are not credulous or gullible, rather they have a great sense of perspective. Makes me think there must have been something good abut the BigOne.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1O-WP07Elo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1O-WP07Elo)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjcJDP3b2PU (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjcJDP3b2PU)
And your friends "loving the dude" proves....? :o
quotes.
QuoteImagination is the ground of the mechanics of potentiality
QuotePerceptual reality serves the doorway to chaos
QuoteSelf power undertakes boundless mortality
QuoteYour consciousness explores exponential possibilities
Quote from: BikerDude on December 13, 2012, 01:10:15 PM
quotes.
QuoteImagination is the ground of the mechanics of potentiality
QuotePerceptual reality serves the doorway to chaos
QuoteSelf power undertakes boundless mortality
QuoteYour consciousness explores exponential possibilities
Is that some kind of Eastern thing? ;D
Quote from: DigitalBuddha on December 13, 2012, 12:48:50 PM
Quote from: Boston Rockbury on December 13, 2012, 10:08:07 AM
funny thing about BigOne shri Rajnish is that everything you hear about him makes him sound like a nutter and yet i have two really: aware, switched-on and very wise friends who totally love the dude. One is a leading authority on tantric sex, the other is a very successful sanskrit musician. When you hear these people speak they are not credulous or gullible, rather they have a great sense of perspective. Makes me think there must have been something good abut the BigOne.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1O-WP07Elo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1O-WP07Elo)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjcJDP3b2PU (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjcJDP3b2PU)
And your friends "loving the dude" proves....? :o
Doesn't exactly prove anything but when people I respect say "this dude's a real dude" maybe it gives credence to the fact there might be something in it.
Quote from: Boston Rockbury on December 13, 2012, 01:59:15 PM
Quote from: DigitalBuddha on December 13, 2012, 12:48:50 PM
Quote from: Boston Rockbury on December 13, 2012, 10:08:07 AM
funny thing about BigOne shri Rajnish is that everything you hear about him makes him sound like a nutter and yet i have two really: aware, switched-on and very wise friends who totally love the dude. One is a leading authority on tantric sex, the other is a very successful sanskrit musician. When you hear these people speak they are not credulous or gullible, rather they have a great sense of perspective. Makes me think there must have been something good abut the BigOne.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1O-WP07Elo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1O-WP07Elo)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjcJDP3b2PU (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjcJDP3b2PU)
And your friends "loving the dude" proves....? :o
Doesn't exactly prove anything but when people I respect say "this dude's a real dude" maybe it gives credence to the fact there might be something in it.
Not to pick on you BR, but I have a very close friend who is an evangelical born again christian. We debate all the time, and we know where we each stand. Doesn't mean I give credence to his belief system, though I love him dearly as a brother. Giving a third party credence is a personal choice...
I liken it to a friend's recommendation for a movie or a place to eat - sometimes they're real flops!
Quote from: Hominid on December 13, 2012, 02:58:53 PM
Quote from: Boston Rockbury on December 13, 2012, 01:59:15 PM
Quote from: DigitalBuddha on December 13, 2012, 12:48:50 PM
Quote from: Boston Rockbury on December 13, 2012, 10:08:07 AM
funny thing about BigOne shri Rajnish is that everything you hear about him makes him sound like a nutter and yet i have two really: aware, switched-on and very wise friends who totally love the dude. One is a leading authority on tantric sex, the other is a very successful sanskrit musician. When you hear these people speak they are not credulous or gullible, rather they have a great sense of perspective. Makes me think there must have been something good abut the BigOne.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1O-WP07Elo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1O-WP07Elo)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjcJDP3b2PU (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjcJDP3b2PU)
And your friends "loving the dude" proves....? :o
Doesn't exactly prove anything but when people I respect say "this dude's a real dude" maybe it gives credence to the fact there might be something in it.
Not to pick on you BR, but I have a very close friend who is an evangelical born again christian. We debate all the time, and we know where we each stand. Doesn't mean I give credence to his belief system, though I love him dearly as a brother. Giving a third party credence is a personal choice...
I liken it to a friend's recommendation for a movie or a place to eat - sometimes they're real flops!
You know what dude, now I think about it you're right.
Quote from: Boston Rockbury on December 13, 2012, 01:59:15 PM
Quote from: DigitalBuddha on December 13, 2012, 12:48:50 PM
Quote from: Boston Rockbury on December 13, 2012, 10:08:07 AM
funny thing about BigOne shri Rajnish is that everything you hear about him makes him sound like a nutter and yet i have two really: aware, switched-on and very wise friends who totally love the dude. One is a leading authority on tantric sex, the other is a very successful sanskrit musician. When you hear these people speak they are not credulous or gullible, rather they have a great sense of perspective. Makes me think there must have been something good abut the BigOne.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1O-WP07Elo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1O-WP07Elo)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjcJDP3b2PU (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjcJDP3b2PU)
And your friends "loving the dude" proves....? :o
Doesn't exactly prove anything but when people I respect say "this dude's a real dude" maybe it gives credence to the fact there might be something in it.
(http://paulmarcelrene.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/fools-in-chains.jpg)
I don't really care what others say about your "Enlightenment Orgasm" buddy. With a person such as that, I prefer to come to my own conclusions independently of other opinions. Myriads of weak minded people have held respect and misguided confidence for a multitude of deceptive idiots in the past and paid a terrible price for doing so. I prefer to do my own thinking, which you should do and not follow some boneheaded self declared "guru" spouting out his spiritual sounding bullshit, in this case mindless crap like "Enlightenment Orgasm," ad infinitum. We really don't need anymore "gurus" preying on gullible people and acting like they have all of the answers for life. In short...piss on the asshole; he's an fucking idiot.
Sorry to be so blunt about it, and with all due respect to your opinion, man, but I just have no time and little patience for fuck head so-called "gurus." Remember this "guru?" .........
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/df/Marshall_Applewhite.jpg/220px-Marshall_Applewhite.jpg)
And this one.........
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/01/David_Koresh.jpg/220px-David_Koresh.jpg)
And this one.........
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Charles-mansonbookingphoto.jpg)
And this one.........
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/76/Sun_Myung_Moon_and_Hak_Ja_Han.jpg/220px-Sun_Myung_Moon_and_Hak_Ja_Han.jpg)
And this one.........
(http://www.cultnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/_39854848_ashara203_ap.jpg)
And let us not forget this asshole.........
(http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/images/hitler1.jpg)
As always; IMHO. ;)
The problem with Rajneesh (Osho) is that his words are actually very sober, skeptical, inspiring and broadminded, but his organization, followers, and alleged crimes are all appalling.
I spent a couple weeks on his ashram in Pune, India. It was one of the worst experiences I'd ever had. I lampooned it in my shitty unpublished and unpublishable novel "Big American Breakfast." I've never been more lonely than to be surrounded by thousands of utterly crazy narcissists who gladly paid a relative fortune to participate in idiotic "classes" while at the same time openly disparaging the dirt poor Indians outside of the ashram for not being as spiritually advanced as they were. Also, I never got invited to any of the alleged orgies. Ha ha.
To be honest I haven't read one of his books (they are all transcriptions from his speeches) in a long time. Maybe older me would find them less enjoyable. But the ones I did read were surprisingly free of bullshit. And funny, to boot.
I still remember one of the songs we sang as part of a "music yoga" session. It was so hilariously awful.
So make up your mind to be happy
Life is a merry go round
If you miss out this time
Don't let it freak your mind
Love will work out in the end
Bum bum bum!
We had to hold hands and look into each others' eyes as we sang this. Actually this was the only thing in the two weeks that was kind of light hearted and not totally full of shit.
I found out later that the "guru" I had studied yoga with two months earlier in Nepal was a disaffected disciple of Osho. He took some of the techniques (like laughter yoga and jibberish meditation) and removed all the cult of personality and new age stuff. And he charged very little and had no followers. That was one of the best experiences I've had in my life. Guru just means "teacher." They're not all bad.
One more thing - I haven't watched the video (still waking up) but I had an extraordinary peak experience while studying yoga and meditation for the first time in Nepal. I literally felt like I was on ecstasy for a full month afterwards. It was inexplicable - as if I'd suddenly excised the part of my mind that created negative feelings. But of course, it came back. And I tried in vain to reproduce the feeling for many years after that and couldn't.
Just saying - there's something to the practices, and sometimes you need a teacher to show you how to do it. But the traditional method of "having a guru" (India) or needing "transmission" from a master (Catholicism, Reiki, Buddhism) poisons the system by infusing it with a power structure that is too easily corrupted.
I'm often a bit uncomfortable in my role as "Dudely Lama" because I'm torn between the necessity of offering some stewardship and embarrassed by the implied arrogance that I'm it's "leader." I trust that you guys will cut me down to size if I lose my mind and start asking for donations on late night TV.
Also, given that most Dudeists are not exactly rich and that 80 percent seem to be guys, I'm not going to be able to squeeze much cash from the flock, nor surround myself with a bevy of fawning nymphs. What the fuck was I thinking?
Quote from: forumdude on December 13, 2012, 08:55:48 PM
One more thing - I haven't watched the video (still waking up) but I had an extraordinary peak experience while studying yoga and meditation for the first time in Nepal. I literally felt like I was on ecstasy for a full month afterwards. It was inexplicable - as if I'd suddenly excised the part of my mind that created negative feelings. But of course, it came back. And I tried in vain to reproduce the feeling for many years after that and couldn't.
Just saying - there's something to the practices, and sometimes you need a teacher to show you how to do it. But the traditional method of "having a guru" (India) or needing "transmission" from a master (Catholicism, Reiki, Buddhism) poisons the system by infusing it with a power structure that is too easily corrupted.
I'm often a bit uncomfortable in my role as "Dudely Lama" because I'm torn between the necessity of offering some stewardship and embarrassed by the implied arrogance that I'm it's "leader." I trust that you guys will cut me down to size if I lose my mind and start asking for donations on late night TV.
Also, given that most Dudeists are not exactly rich and that 80 percent seem to be guys, I'm not going to be able to squeeze much cash from the flock, nor surround myself with a bevy of fawning nymphs. What the fuck was I thinking?
WTF were you thinking is right! I mean, free vagina?
Kidding aside, it seems to that those of us on a path of enlightenment and self awareness run into these pieces of work who have nuggets of great transformative technology that works great and help us move up to the next plateau, so we get hooked. Then we look for that fix to be repeated. Then we're disillusioned because they can't deliver any more. Think "one trick pony".
Bought the t-shirt.
Quote from: forumdude on December 13, 2012, 08:55:48 PMI literally felt like I was on ecstasy for a full month afterwards. It was inexplicable - as if I'd suddenly excised the part of my mind that created negative feelings... a bevy of fawning nymphs.
;D(http://dudeism.com/smf/Themes/default/images/post/thumbup.gif)
I often feel the same way upon completing my own version of the "islamic hajj" to my local In-N-Out-Burger. A few burgers, a few beers; my negative feelings are over, dudes. But I'll have admit, have yet to experience a double burger and a jumbo bag of fries while having coitus with "a bevy of fawning nymphs."
Though that DOES sound awesome!Though I'm open to many new experiences, I have so far not felt compiled to circle the In-N-Out-Burger while helping my lady friend conceive, man. ;D :o
All kidding aside; one thing I dig about Dudeism is that it is, more or less, an open field yet to be developed. But then again, I hope it is never actually "developed" and remains always open to new ideas, new ways of doing things and respects the experiences of all peoples.
In respects to "enlightened orgasm;" I still jerk off manually, wouldn't have it any other way. ;D
Those are good burgers, Walter!........(http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/807/graphic02.jpg)
Behold, my idea of a Burger Guru.......(http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lz4zlfgWen1qz7wfjo1_500.jpg)
Quote from: Hominid on December 13, 2012, 10:56:04 PM
Quote from: forumdude on December 13, 2012, 08:55:48 PM
One more thing - I haven't watched the video (still waking up) but I had an extraordinary peak experience while studying yoga and meditation for the first time in Nepal. I literally felt like I was on ecstasy for a full month afterwards. It was inexplicable - as if I'd suddenly excised the part of my mind that created negative feelings. But of course, it came back. And I tried in vain to reproduce the feeling for many years after that and couldn't.
Just saying - there's something to the practices, and sometimes you need a teacher to show you how to do it. But the traditional method of "having a guru" (India) or needing "transmission" from a master (Catholicism, Reiki, Buddhism) poisons the system by infusing it with a power structure that is too easily corrupted.
I'm often a bit uncomfortable in my role as "Dudely Lama" because I'm torn between the necessity of offering some stewardship and embarrassed by the implied arrogance that I'm it's "leader." I trust that you guys will cut me down to size if I lose my mind and start asking for donations on late night TV.
Also, given that most Dudeists are not exactly rich and that 80 percent seem to be guys, I'm not going to be able to squeeze much cash from the flock, nor surround myself with a bevy of fawning nymphs. What the fuck was I thinking?
WTF were you thinking is right! I mean, free vagina?
"Free vagina" I dig your style, dude! ;D(http://dudeism.com/smf/Themes/default/images/post/thumbup.gif)
Quote from: forumdude on December 13, 2012, 08:24:36 PMI've never been more lonely than to be surrounded by thousands of utterly crazy narcissists who gladly paid a relative fortune to participate in idiotic "classes" while at the same time openly disparaging the dirt poor Indians outside of the ashram for not being as spiritually advanced as they were.
That's what happens when something like religion has something like a leader. Every damned time. A guy can work the angles can make a comfortable living and gain a lot of ego gratification in the spiritual tourism trade, whether he's in India, Jerusalem, Vatican City, Guyana, Sedona, or even Roswell. Or on the teevee. If you see The Buddha on a web site...
I dunno, man. It seems to me that if you need a boarding pass to find your spirituality you're doing something wrong. But that's just my opinion and I'm often wrong. Either way, I find mine close to home and often right here in my desk chair. Works for me. Your mileage may very.
Quote from: RighteousDude on December 14, 2012, 01:52:44 AM
Quote from: forumdude on December 13, 2012, 08:24:36 PMI've never been more lonely than to be surrounded by thousands of utterly crazy narcissists who gladly paid a relative fortune to participate in idiotic "classes" while at the same time openly disparaging the dirt poor Indians outside of the ashram for not being as spiritually advanced as they were.
That's what happens when something like religion has something like a leader. Every damned time. A guy can work the angles can make a comfortable living and gain a lot of ego gratification in the spiritual tourism trade, whether he's in India, Jerusalem, Vatican City, Guyana, Sedona, or even Roswell. Or on the teevee. If you see The Buddha on a web site...
I dunno, man. It seems to me that if you need a boarding pass to find your spirituality you're doing something wrong. But that's just my opinion and I'm often wrong. Either way, I find mine close to home and often right here in my desk chair. Works for me. Your mileage may very.
I recently had an email discussion with a good friend of mine on crazy religions and Islam also came up. He had mentioned that a Muslim, in a debate he had online in a chat room, had used the sheer size of Islam, a billion plus followers, to "prove it was a fact" (as if that is proof of anything).
I told him he should tell his Muslim buddy that we have a saying in America which goes like this... "Eat shit; because ten billion flies can't be wrong!" ;D
Quote from: forumdude on December 13, 2012, 08:55:48 PM
One more thing - I haven't watched the video (still waking up) but I had an extraordinary peak experience while studying yoga and meditation for the first time in Nepal. I literally felt like I was on ecstasy for a full month afterwards. It was inexplicable - as if I'd suddenly excised the part of my mind that created negative feelings. But of course, it came back. And I tried in vain to reproduce the feeling for many years after that and couldn't.
Just saying - there's something to the practices, and sometimes you need a teacher to show you how to do it. But the traditional method of "having a guru" (India) or needing "transmission" from a master (Catholicism, Reiki, Buddhism) poisons the system by infusing it with a power structure that is too easily corrupted.
I'm often a bit uncomfortable in my role as "Dudely Lama" because I'm torn between the necessity of offering some stewardship and embarrassed by the implied arrogance that I'm it's "leader." I trust that you guys will cut me down to size if I lose my mind and start asking for donations on late night TV.
Also, given that most Dudeists are not exactly rich and that 80 percent seem to be guys, I'm not going to be able to squeeze much cash from the flock, nor surround myself with a bevy of fawning nymphs. What the fuck was I thinking?
ILLUSIONS.The adventures of a reluctant messiah by Richard Bach may add to your perspective.And another thing.For the peasants outside the Ashram,keeping body and soul in the same general location is probably considered more important than improving said soul.IMO it is up to the more advanced to show kindness and consideration to the less well off.Rug Pissers excepted of course.
Years ago i used to suffer from eczema, I once scratched myself so hard i nearly came, does that count?
Quote from: meekon5 on December 14, 2012, 08:00:19 AM
Years ago i used to suffer from eczema, I once scratched myself so hard i nearly came, does that count?
No
A few thoughts...
First, I want DB's Burger guru. Damn.
Next, for the Dudely Lama, I respect you but got no problem calling bullshit. :) To be honest I don't think any of us do. I didn't hitch my rope to this wagon because I thought I'd get enlightenment or free nookie. Not saying I would avoid either. I'm not stupid!
To me Dudeism and the CLD isn't so much of a religion as it is a place for like-minded people to share thoughts. I've been involved in various religious & philosophical groups, even had a Rajneesh book, been a Kabbalist, even had a vision. The one thing I learned from all of that is that the more we learn the more we bullshit. When I was a little kid I told a teacher that learning things makes us learn more. I told her the more I learn the less I know. She was surprised and I didn't know why until years later.
Most dudes here know there's not much "right" and "wrong" but a lot of gray areas. That's why I hang around.
Hey BD - that "Burger Guru" - Is she looking for help to conceive??? I'm free this weekend.
Quote from: Hominid on December 14, 2012, 03:01:57 PM
Hey BD - that "Burger Guru" - Is she looking for help to conceive??? I'm free this weekend.
Vagina? ;D
Quote from: meekon5 on December 14, 2012, 08:00:19 AM
Years ago i used to suffer from eczema, I once scratched myself so hard i nearly came, does that count?
Well dude, we just don't know. ;D
Um, OK... (Hominid fills his lungs...)
VAGINA!!!!!!!!!!!
Quote from: Hominid on December 14, 2012, 03:06:29 PM
Um, OK... (Hominid fills his lungs...)
VAGINA!!!!!!!!!!!
Far out, man!
That one is so big it goes off the page of my browser ;)
Quote from: milnie on December 14, 2012, 03:25:28 PM
That one is so big it goes off the page of my browser ;)
Size DOES matter!
Quote from: Masked Dude on December 14, 2012, 01:56:32 PM
A few thoughts...
First, I want DB's Burger guru. Damn.
Next, for the Dudely Lama, I respect you but got no problem calling bullshit. :) To be honest I don't think any of us do. I didn't hitch my rope to this wagon because I thought I'd get enlightenment or free nookie. Not saying I would avoid either. I'm not stupid!
To me Dudeism and the CLD isn't so much of a religion as it is a place for like-minded people to share thoughts. I've been involved in various religious & philosophical groups, even had a Rajneesh book, been a Kabbalist, even had a vision. The one thing I learned from all of that is that the more we learn the more we bullshit. When I was a little kid I told a teacher that learning things makes us learn more. I told her the more I learn the less I know. She was surprised and I didn't know why until years later.
Most dudes here know there's not much "right" and "wrong" but a lot of gray areas. That's why I hang around.
I should hope none of you have a problem calling any of us on their bullshit! Good on ya for that.
But you have to define your terms. What are you calling bullshit on?
I disagree that the more we learn the more we bullshit. Some people, yes. But then, they probably aren't learning for learning's sake, but to win at pub quizzes, trivial arguments at parties, and of course, the occasional Internet forum.
The Tao Te Ching does touch on this idea often - that the more we learn, the less we know, but I think that's more than a warning than a principle. I like to think of Picasso, who learned everything there was to know about painting and then never drew a normal picture again.
There's a salient quote from Alvin Toffler: "The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn."
Maybe the problem is a semantic one. Or an epistemological one: what does it mean to "know" something? I like to think of the scientific method as one of the most profound spiritual methods in existence: namely, that we don't know anything for sure, but we have provisional tools which are useful only so long as they seem to provide more tools, and so on. Socrates alluded to this long before science technically existed. He "knew" nothing. But of course, this was false humility. He knew much more than the average idiot, so much so that he was one of the few who realized that he knew nothing for certain. But that didn't preclude him from gathering a broad range of knowledge (or tools, in the parlance of this post).
Another problem: the overspecialization of knowledge. Too many academics have spent their whole lives studying one little piece of experience. The thing I like about Dudeism is that it seems to cast its net quite widely - doesn't delve too deeply and officiously into anything, but rather tries to take a jazzy and reverent look at the whole enchilada.
I feel like pretty much all of you here at this a here forum are in more agreement on most of the issues raised here than you even might realize. Though sometimes there are some kerfuffles, they're largely over semantic issues, not principles or attitudes. I dig your style, Dudes. Thanks for contributing.
Oh also, regarding the boarding pass quip (too lazy to look up who said that) - you're right. No one should have to travel to India or Nepal to pursue spiritual stuff. I wasn't looking for it at all. Just thought I'd do the "when in Rome" thing as I was traveling around the world and was pleasantly surprised to have had such an experience.
So I'm wondering what an "Un-Enlightening Orgasm" would be? ;D
You're right FD, I believe most of us do have in common a core set of beliefs/values that are mostly unspoken. That's why I keep hanging around here... I have this strong sense that many (like you and me) have this "re-learning" gene in our brains that has guided us throughout our lives to experience this and that, commit to this and that, though never really fully drink the cool aid. Although I do have to say that the more I experience, the more I become a lone wolf. Like they say, twice burned, thrice shy. Yet here, we all seem to be cut from the same cloth. I don't know dude, you really have started something unique.
I just woke up, have a hangover, so maybe I'm just blathering, but it seems the more I learn about the inner workings of people's lives in this forum, the more similar we all seem to be....
Quote from: Hominid on December 15, 2012, 11:48:42 AM
........ it seems the more I learn about the inner workings of people's lives in this forum, the more similar we all seem to be....
I dig that point dude. Maybe we are reserved about saying too much about ourselves because we don't want to be self-indulgent and bore other people but actually it's often the most interesting part of a post when someone let's slip a bit about who they are and how they got to be where they are.
Quote from: forumdude on December 15, 2012, 07:41:01 AM
Oh also, regarding the boarding pass quip (too lazy to look up who said that) - you're right. No one should have to travel to India or Nepal to pursue spiritual stuff. I wasn't looking for it at all. Just thought I'd do the "when in Rome" thing as I was traveling around the world and was pleasantly surprised to have had such an experience.
Having reread what I wrote, I see that I didn't express myself clearly. I meant "you" as the anonymous collective who are never as smart as anyone present ;D and not you, personally, and I was expressing disdain for the spiritual tourism industry itself.
I have no trouble with vaguely unfulfilled rich bitches flying off to get blissed out for four grand a week, and if that's their gig then so be it. I figure that the spiritual tourist who doesn't appreciate the great irony of a greedy Buddhist probably needs the experience anyway. But I get bummed out when people I know, people of more meager means, drop their life savings into it and then come home to balky furnaces, tired old cars that cannot be depended upon to make the daily commute to the job that puts food on the table, and the inability to recreate the blissful state they ostensibly went all that way to learn how to achieve.
"A fool who persists in his folly will become wise." some dude wiser than me once said. Most people don't feel worthy of spiritual wisdom. They need a "mountain to climb" a "hardship to endure" and then they will feel they've earned it. So they make a "mountain" in their mind and climb. We are standing in our own way. Guru's, prophets, monks or clowns are only others we see as being closer to "it" than we are and we are desperate to skip over the mountain that we make ourselves! Round and round we go, when it stops nobody knows. Keep'er easy dudes.
Nah, forumdude, we have no reason to call you on anything. I was just saying that if you ever lost your mind and said something really out of line, we wouldn't have a cult mind and let it slide. So far you've been a good guy. :)
Yeah, the bullshit wasn't quite how I should've stated it. My point was that the more we learn, the more we're able to BS people. So yeah some do, most don't unless they're Cliff from "Cheers."
What I probably didn't explain well was that learning skills and facts open your world to new things. You learn notes on a guitar, then you learn chords, then you learns riffs, etc. When I taught college, I loved the students that always felt like one bit of knowledge could open theirs minds up to more.
I guess that's a sort of Nirvana for me. I love knowing I can never learn everything. :)
I've been fortunate enough to receive an advance copy of Jeff Bridges and Bernie Glassman's new book "The Dude and the Zen Master" - there's some really groovy stuff in there in which they discuss exactly this topic. The not-knowing idea implicit in Zen. And the paradox that one can know and not-know at the same time. I've really been impressed with the book so far. It's a fun way to delve into some Zen ideas and also get some cool insights into the process of acting and movie making.
Just as an aside, my "spiritual trip" happened like this: I did the two week Annapurna loop trek in Nepal and made friends with some British travelers. They were keen to learn about Buddhism at the Kathmandu "Friends of the Buddhist Order." So I went with them and found myself sitting in a room with all westerners, being taught about Buddhism by a westerner who was clearly a bit of a novice.
I said to myself, why the fuck am I in Nepal listening to some English dude tell me about some kind of Eastern thing when the legendary Gurus of the Himalayas are so nearby? So I started looking into the offerings and found a hilarious flyer for a guy named Vikash who had such a huge beard that you could barely make out his face among all the hair. There was a laundry list of techniques listed on the flyer in way too many different fonts and charming broken English. I said to myself, "this is my guy!"
Traveled to a small village outside of Kathmandu, at the foothills of the Himalayas and stayed in his very modest compound, one most people I know would have considered bordering on a shanty. For five bucks a day I got a full day schedule of all sorts of weird shit: vomiting in the morning, neti pot cleansing, various types of hatha yoga, laughing meditation, other types of meditation, some basic veggie meals, had to bathe with the locals in run off from snow melt, etc. etc.
I don't know what happened but all the attention and kindness and crazy techniques conspired to give me some sort of a mental breakthrough where all my late adolescent (I was 24) hang ups and anxieties just went right out the window. I think that just for the first time I realized how cool it was just to be alive. Looking back, there was nothing spiritual (per se) about it, it was just that it helped to break down some of my conditioning.
Apparently this is a relatively common occurrence for people who study this stuff for the first time. And it's also apparently common that duplicating that "satori" feeling is really hard to do. The mind doesn't like to be tricked like that and builds up greater fortifications.
But I have to say, just the memory of that experience, that I briefly got out of my own ego was enough to give me a "north star" to remember that I am living most of my life with a shitload of baggage and false worry.
I really kind of hate that word "spiritual" because it's so often positioned opposite to the word "rational." But most of my life since that trip has been endeavoring to look at what people call spiritual or mystical from a rational point of view. I think that's a pretty good way of describing Dudeism. But of course, "rational" has its own baggage. Words are fucking pains in the ass.
I agree with you Masked Dude. I think it's awesome to think about how much there is to discover in the world. I don't understand people who say they wouldn't want to live forever - maybe they're the type of people who just like sensual pleasures and know they'd be bored for eternity. I would love to have the option of learning new shit and creating new shit forever. I hate the fact that as I approach middle age I can hear doors shutting. I guess I'll never be an astrophysicist or a midwife or a kickboxer or a plumber or a farmer or a stockbroker...
I wish I believed in reincarnation.
Quote from: forumdude on December 15, 2012, 11:30:00 PM
I really kind of hate that word "spiritual" because it's so often positioned opposite to the word "rational." But most of my life since that trip has been endeavoring to look at what people call spiritual or mystical from a rational point of view. I think that's a pretty good way of describing Dudeism.
Right fucking on, man. Life is really very cool for those who'll just let it be as cool as it is. And isn't that where Zen tries to take us, out of our own heads and into the world?
It's really difficult to translate Eastern teaching to the Western world. It's relatively easy to get blissed out in a place where a traffic jam is a balky yak on the trail, but most of us don't get to live in those places. Dudeism seems to have the potential to make a limber mind accessible to the rest of us -- at any rate, the abiding way I've been practicing since right about 1976 makes it accessible to me, and a lot of what I've read here (outside of the heavy reliance upon the movie as perhaps a tad more than metaphor) resonates so I have this vague feeling that Dudeism and my approach are pretty similar.
Eh, whatever the hell Dudeism is, man, thanks for getting the ball out of the bag and giving it a hurl.
Glad you dig the unknowable/knowable Dudeist way as it unfolds, Righteous Dude.
There's a great quote, I think it's from The Razor's Edge: "It's easy to be a holy man on top of a mountain."
The hard part is being a holy man when you're knee deep in shit.