http://www.Nyingma.org Excellent Books: Gesture of Balance by Tarthang Tulku Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Suzuki
Go into the magazine shop and scan the article. One point is that the mind is plastic. This is good and (maybe in ur case was) bad. You may have screwed up the clusters in your brain that are strengthened by meditation. You may also, as I think u suggest, have created a new cluster that inhibits meditation - in which case you probably need to extinct the new cluster. If you don't read the article you might want to look up a book referenced in it: The Attention Revolution by Wallace and Goleman. I havent checked it out but Goleman's first book on the mind was pretty interesting and it got some high marks so far at Amazon but a lousy review at B&N.
The best book about Zen meditation I could find is called Zen-Training, written by Katsuki Sekida. It is quite a practical guide and is a very profound introduction for westerners, even so written by a Japanese born in 1893, who was a teacher of English.
I cant, and, probably did. But to suggest I screwed up those things, well-normally i would say, you must be joking. I didnt bring about agonising, appalling , mind numbing pain on myself, F#ck no, stuff does, actually , just happen. Yup. The mind is plastic, for sure, that is one of my favorite analogies, that things are plastic- perhaps in my mind, i associate plastic with, strangely enough, inflexibility and brittleness, fakeness, and temporary philosophy. I have little more to add here, except that neuron searing electrical impulses through out the body, are to be avoided at all costs, because by my reckoning, they will impact on ones ability to focus, and think clearly. This is a very interesting topic for me though kiwi, im not trying to diss anyone, i gather i often come across in a somewhat negative fashion. Im just not the kind of person who pops down to the shops for a magazine, as such.
You misunderstand my saying "you" screwed things up. Take it more in the sense that "what happened to you" and possibly also "what you did when it happened to you" changed things in your brain. Plasticity in this sense means changeable ... more flubber than bakelite. Negativity is fine. I find it an excellent device. You may be able to get it from your library but no matter anyway - I just found the article interesting.
While we're entertaining Eastern practices and philosophies, I'll add my two cents. Acupuncture, for me, has been instrumental in changing my life. Specifically, it has helped me understand a great deal about myself and thresholds. As my self-comprehension increased, so did my ability to trade successfully. I gravitated towards strategies that fit "me," and have seen a tremendous decrease in my stress level.
Two experiences I can say. One is daily, if I sit and meditate for 60-90 minutes - the last 30-60 seconds of that effort is exceedingly blissful - and not just in a mental way. My body is completely still, in a kind of pleasant numbness, my internal thought process is temporarily suspended and I am in in a seriously tangible state of pleasure. Whatever worldly "bliss" you care to name (I have tryed many of the pleasures of the world) doesn't even come close to that crescendo that comes when meditation is done correctly like that. No bullshit. One time I was meditating in a "Tantra Pitha" - a particular spot that carries a special energy because a yogi had sat in that exact same spot in the past and acheived "Moksa" - full liberation by total merger of unit self with cosmic self. I shit you not (this was on a farm in India), after meditating for an hour or so, the vibe of that spot kind of took over, I was completely "gone"- a rush a breath surged (without any effort from me) from the pit of my stomach and shot out of my nose - I was absolutely shocked (but kept meditating. The cool thing was that a spiritual festival was going on at the time and I could hear the chants of devotees in the distance. I went back to join the crowd and everyone had the look of a devotee in raptures in there face - and I couldnt believe my experience. Funny thing was that if i told anyone it would be no big deal, hence i didnt bother even telling anyone! Another thing I can say is that - whatever you do in life, put meditation on the very top of your lifes priorities, the earlier the better. Do not think twice about it actually, as realisations can not properly be put into words that do them justice, and the experiences are intensely personal for the most part, and especially a forum like ET would not be a place that I want to share any "pearls" like that.
well put...yea...most people that have had metaphysical experiences tend to guard them out of so called "envy" i guess you could say...its almost selfish i guess...b/c you become to understand life in a way most will never see...so you feel superior
Yes this is a great book. http://www.amazon.com/Zen-Mind-Begi...=pd_bbs_1/102-2293935-9347321?ie=UTF8&s=books I've been involved in these things for years. Shunryu Suzuki was the Zen Master at the San Francisco Zen Center http://www.sfzc.org/ until he died in the early 70's. A great teacher. I was hitchhiking around CA with a friend of mine when I was in my early 20's visiting various spiritual communities and we stopped by the Zen Center to do the beginning zazen (zen meditation) class which he was leading. Unfortunately we were about 10 minutes late so they wouldn't let us in. Never did get to see him. He died right after that. We did visit their monastery Tassajara in the mountains behind Big Sur though and it was very nice. http://www.sfzc.org/tassajara/
I prefer the dark arts, there's nothing like a really good blood sacrifice to start the day and get your mind focused on trading