The Newbie's Guide to the Spiritual-- what lies in the rabbit hole?

Hi, Im rather new to ATS so bare with me. I have lurked and lurked around ATS reading about AP, OBE, and other "spiritual" topics. I ask the spiritual guru's of ATS to guide me and whoever else is reading on how to meditate or induce a consciousness altering experience.


I have read nothing but positive things in these forums. I myself am aspiring to become more in tune with things beyond the computer screen we are staring at right now. I ask the ATS gurus for help on my spiritual journey.


Thanks, I hope you can help

reply to post by Relentless.D


Here you go friend, this thread is full of everything you need to get started for meditation, and wonderfull discussion afterwards.

A Beginners Guide To Chakra Meditation

Hope you enjoy .

~Keeper

reply to post by Relentless.D

A few videos for you...

reply to post by Relentless.D

What lies in the rabbit hole?

Rabbit turds.

Welcome to the light side! Once you discover this path I feel like it is next to impossible to go back to your life as it was before. I was never into anything spiritual as I was raised catholic and hated going to church and never understood why we should base our lives on some stories that people wrote thousands of years ago.

It all started for me with meditation. If you are looking to have an OBE, go deeper into yourself, lucid dream, connect with the creator, contact higher dimensional beings, become more mindful, be a better person, I believe it all starts with meditation. Take a look at the chakra meditation videos and thread, very good stuff.

In the end its all about becoming AWARE. Stepping out of your everyday thinking patterns and becoming the observer. Try looking at the NOW thread in my signature below, it will surly help you.

Good luck my friend and feel to u2u with any questions.

reply to post by Lasheic

Taken from the video discription...

You are not special. You are not a beautiful or unique snowflake. You are the same decaying organic matter as everything else.

You might not think you're beautiful or special, but I certainly am my friend, and I think if you looked a little deeper inside, you'll find you are too!!

Mind can accept any boundary anywhere. But the reality is that, by its very nature, existence cannot have any boundary, because what will be beyond the boundary - again another sky. That's why I'm saying skies upon skies are available for your flight. Don't be content easily. Those who remain content easily remain small: small are their joys, small are their ecstasies, small are their silences, small is their being. But there is no need! This smallness is your own imposition upon your freedom, upon your unlimited possibilities, upon your unlimited potential.

- Osho





[edit on 21/8/2009 by Neo-V™]

reply to post by Lasheic


Isn't it funny how you say you are not special, but yet somehow manage to be special enough to tell other people they are not special. So, ummm what makes you so special to say such a thing?

Whats next? People saying they don't know, but then manage to know enough to tell others they are wrong?

Yeah, for some odd reason I think you are full of it.

[edit on 8/22/2009 by badmedia]

reply to post by Neo-V™

You might not think you're beautiful or special, but I certainly am my friend

I'm sure you're convinced that you are.

and I think if you looked a little deeper inside, you'll find you are too!!

One can be both special and insignificant simultaneously. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

reply to post by badmedia

Isn't it funny how you say you are not special, but yet somehow manage to be special enough to tell other people they are not special.

I never said I was or was not special. I mere said, and I quote, "Rabbit Turds".

Whats next? People saying they don't know, but then manage to know enough to tell others they are wrong?

Why not? Spiritualists do it all the time. Religions do it all the time. They proudly commit to "know" things which they cannot substantiate or demonstrate, nor indicate any physical evidence of the phenomena ever existing in any form ever...

Science at least weighs it's hypothesis and theories on preponderance of evidence, which makes predictions which are falsifiable, that are demonstrable, repeatable, and observable. Even if a theory or hypothesis is ultimately proven wrong - it would, at least in some part, have been right to some degree - having been able to make accurate predictions on some level or within some framework. Newtonian Mechanics only works to a certain scale, while Einstein's Relativity fills in the gaps on larger scales... yet neither can be reconciled with Quantum Mechanics. All three theories are correct within their proper framework, yet none of them display a full and accurate model of physics on all levels.

To a degree, we know Newtonian Mechanics are wrong... yet understanding Newtonian Mechanics can still be used to prove incorrect the idea that the Earth is hollow.

Yeah, for some odd reason I think you are full of it.

The sentiment is mutual, I assure you.

----------------------------------------------------


To either one of you who criticized the video I posted as my own words, I ask....

Please quote for me to last 20 seconds of dialog from the video first and foremost before any response given, and give your interpretation on what it means within context. If you cannot or will not do this simple task, then you forfeit any further responses; as it's counter productive to argue the point if you are incapable or unwilling to comprehend what the video and it's message (which I endorse) actually say.

Originally posted by Lasheic
reply to post by Relentless.D

 

What lies in the rabbit hole?

Rabbit turds.

I was going to say a snake.



If you like deep, deep reading, (and I warn you!), allow me to suggest to you this ancient, ancient text if you have not already read it:

Tao te Ching


That text has been translated into more languages than any other book but the Bible. And it is totally non-religions; a philosophical text with the potential to greatly alter your perception of reality. Just approach it in a relaxed but contemplative state of mind, and be ready to allow your intuition to step back and take a larger look at reality.

Here are 3 of the 81 short chapters, chosen pretty much at random (they are ALL worth posting, but I can't! ):

27

A good traveler has no fixed plans
and is not intent upon arriving.
A good artist lets his intuition
lead him wherever it wants.
A good scientist has freed himself of concepts
and keeps his mind open to what is.

Thus the Master is available to all people
and doesn't reject anyone.
He is ready to use all situations
and doesn't waste anything.
This is called embodying the light.

What is a good man but a bad man's teacher?
What is a bad man but a good man's job?
If you don't understand this, you will get lost,
however intelligent you are.
It is the great secret.

48

In pursuit of knowledge,
every day something is added.
In the practice of the Tao,
every day something is dropped.
Less and less do you need to force things,
until finally you arrive at non-action.
When nothing is done,
nothing is left undone.

True mastery can be gained
by letting things go their own way.
It can't be gained by interfering.

51

Every being in the universe
is an expression of the Tao.
It springs into existence,
unconscious, perfect, free,
takes on a physical body,
lets circumstances complete it.
That is why every being
spontaneously honors the Tao.

The Tao gives birth to all beings,
nourishes them, maintains them,
cares for them, comforts them, protects them,
takes them back to itself,
creating without possessing,
acting without expecting,
guiding without interfering.
That is why love of the Tao
is in the very nature of things.

Also the other links in my signature are good reads. And the chakra information, I agree you will be led to energy body development if you pursue any given spirituality long and deeply enough, because it is literally your entire awareness. There are lots of good threads around here honestly.

Originally posted by Relentless.D
I have read nothing but positive things in these forums. I myself am aspiring to become more in tune with things beyond the computer screen we are staring at right now. I ask the ATS gurus for help on my spiritual journey.


Thanks, I hope you can help

Why do you want to become more in tune with things?

General advice, see everything as a possible teaching to learn from, get up each day and take a moment to wonder about all the things you've taken for granted. Try to understand humanity is crazy and delusional but because there are no sane people around we don't know, listen to others for inspiration but never accept whatever they say, especially the parrots who retell the messages of the masters of old. Read the original texts instead of some popular modern interpretation.

Make up your own mind!

[edit on 22/8/2009 by Dragonfly79]

Hello spiritual seeker,

much of what you will find on the Internet, including here is not spirituality but one of three things (as already evidenced by some of the responses):

Left-wing Atheism ("You are a turd")

Right-wing Religionism ("Others are a turd")

The Lower-Astral Circus ("I am a messenger of the Ashtar Command and touching my spacecraft will make you an Indigo Child if only you pay a fee of $5000).

So enjoy your trip but discern.

What lies at the bottom of the rabbit hole? Why the broken small body of a young girl named Alice. She didn't understand that the rabbit hole was the rabbits journey, not hers. Know what you are seeking.

Originally posted by Lasheic
Science at least weighs it's hypothesis and theories on preponderance of evidence

A little food for thought for you...

Consciousness and Quantum Mechanics
Neither Heisenberg nor Schrödinger could fully anticipate in those early days just how much their discoveries would change the Newtonian world back home. The wonders that this quantum realm revealed would soon undermine the materialistic determinism that had been the basis for the Newtonian universe. As one crossed the border into the quantum realm, materialism evaporated. Thus, just as the pioneers of Columbus' time could return home with word that the world was not flat, our quantum pioneers would bring us word that the world is not ultimately made of material objects. Regarding the assumption of materialism, Schrödinger comments, "anyone who wants to make it can do so; it is convenient, if somewhat naive. He will be missing a great deal if he does." Or, as Heisenberg put it, "materialism rested upon the illusion that the kind of existence, the direct "actuality" of the world around us, can be extrapolated into the atomic range." And he adds a warning that "the naive materialistic way of thinking is an obstacle to understanding the quantum concept of reality."

Source

Originally posted by debris765nju
What lies at the bottom of the rabbit hole? Why the broken small body of a young girl named Alice. She didn't understand that the rabbit hole was the rabbits journey, not hers. Know what you are seeking.

You are right. If you are going to begin this sort of thing, be 100% aware of what you are doing. Things CAN go wrong. Sure, they don't often... but they can, and have. (google the 'side-effects' of meditation and spiritual journeys).

In MY opinion, our reality is a delusion. A very intelligent one. Schizophrenics and Buddhists, other enlightened groups or individuals, either consciously or subconsciously have seen past the delusion that the mind has created.

The brain is very intelligent, even more so when you consider that it is the brain that is analyzing itself in these situations..

When you take into account how the body hides one of the keys to enlightenment, involving sticking your tongue to the back of your throat (or something like that, I can't really remember) I think the brain has tried very hard to protect itself from the "truth" so that it (and obviously, us, since we are it) can live without "losing our marbles" - so my point is the brain has obviously tried to prevent us from reaching this "enlightenment" so it isn't all love and peace, research well and stay safe.

[edit on 22/8/09 by Nventual]

Welcome, Dear One!!

Soooo nice to see You here! I hope that Your Search is going well. Eventually You will tire of it and then the real stuff is re-membered and re-cognized. Just re-member, everything that You will read about any path leading to enlightenment is a lie. All any One can do is show You a map. It is never the "Territory". Lot's of maps!! So here is another map:

Yet another thread teaching Presence and Oneness

It's a good map. Especially if You get lost. Those are the best kind of maps. If the map says it has a destination, throw it in the trash. That map is no good. Find a map to help You get good and lost. That's a good map.

I LOVE YOU more than YOU can know!!

In Lovingkindness

=)Namaste

Erik

Id like to thank everyone for helping me out. I just want to experience something other than the incessant cycle of pursuing a means to a means to a new horizon. I undersatand that at the heart of every person is duality, everyone is a contradiction intersecting and effecting one another. I have always been interested in physics, philosophy, and other "mysterious" topics which is why I would like to experience something beneath the surface.

Again, thanks for the suppport.

reply to post by Relentless.D


The biggest thing I have learned is that perusing something with the attached notion that you will be happy when you get there, never works. You put your happiness in the future so you can never be truly happy now, for example, "I'm not happy right now but I know I will be once I achieve enlightenment."

Its fine to look into all this stuff because I never would be where I am today if I didn't, but you have to be able to let yourself be happy right now. I know easier said than done, but you are on the right path. The fact that your on this website asking about this subject matter means there is a seed growing in you and that seed will not stop growing.

I literally see and feel and smell this world differently than I did 3 years ago. There is more of an aliveness to everything. I appreciate things more, I wake up earlier, mundane tasks are fun for me, and this world is all still a mystery. We are put here to accept what is and enjoy every moment. I find myself enjoying the tough times even more than the good times because inside, I know that I am on the brink of a great change or realization that will shake my foundations. And I know that I have called these things twords me for my greatest good and learning.

Life is a journey and an adventure, If we can put aside our overreacting, over-thinking, computer-like mind aside, something else fills that void and its the most beautiful thing you will ever experience on this earth. It is the end of suffering and true happiness without any attachments.

Congratulations on even being curious enough to ask the question. That, in itself, is a remarkable step. The answer to what lies in the rabbit hole is..basically...you. What "you" are is the strange thing. No one here can define it for you, because there is no definition.

I've created links to a few posts that basically sum up what I feel on this subject, if you're interested:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

www.abovetopsecret.com...

www.abovetopsecret.com...

www.abovetopsecret.com...

www.abovetopsecret.com...

www.abovetopsecret.com...

www.abovetopsecret.com...

[edit on 24-8-2009 by Silenceisall]