Posts by Benjamin Taylor6

Husbands won't be able to register at the main house while the wife stays at the vacation home:

Robert Rubin stated today in Indianapolis that utility fees are essentially a relic of the old socialist era—which, let's face it, we've moved past—and therefore they should be replaced by a property tax. His goal? To make the American tax system actually transparent so that any entrepreneur out there has a clear, predictable roadmap of what they're dealing with.

Rubin believes this new legislation will effectively shut down fraud attempts. "We can't have situations where a husband is registered at the primary residence while his wife is listed at a seasonal getaway," he noted. Apparently, since we started using Social Security numbers to track everyone, the computer systems have become incredibly pedantic—they flag every single inconsistency. Now, the government knows exactly how much water you use, your electricity consumption, your salary, and where you’re officially living... If a couple wants to live apart, fine, that's their business, but if it's just a paper sham to dodge taxes, they'll be hit with massive fines. According to The New York Times, Rubin insists this isn't a tax hike, just a structural swap.

He expressed confidence that The Cabinet will have the final draft of the property tax bill ready by March, with the congressional debates expected to kick off in April.

On paper, sure, this looks great for the treasury because the state gets to collect more revenue. But honestly? I know several couples who REALLY do live separately despite being married.
For instance, my neighbor—his husband inherited a cottage on the coast and makes his living fishing, while his wife inherited an apartment in the city and works as a nurse. They aren't playing games; they just live different lives.

Ryan Nelson5 said:I am saying the pyramid scheme narrative is a lie—the idea that debt can never be repaid. That is false, whether you are in the US or anywhere else.

That is true, but for entirely different reasons than some conspiracy against us.

The reality is that banks here financed consumer spending because government policy encouraged it through massive debt. If you constantly borrow money and hand it out to the public, they will spend it. Banks simply adapt to that system by issuing consumer loans because demand is high... they avoid the business sector because it's too risky. However, if you stop handing out money like crazy, consumption drops, demand for consumer credit falls, and banks are forced to pivot toward financing the economy.

Banks in other countries don't fund the economy out of the goodness of their hearts; they do it because policy creates those conditions.

And that is exactly what we are seeing play out right now:

Ryan Nelson5 said:It's the same tired lie every single time...
A bank isn't some black hole where money vanishes once you repay a loan...
That capital flows right back into the economy through the spending of employees, owners, and shareholders...

In America, this isn't even a conspiracy theory—it's just reality. The plain truth is that banks get richer while the average American gets squeezed harder. These institutions barely do anything to actually support the economy. They play it too safe—too risk-averse—and they don't want to do the heavy lifting required to drive growth. Nobody likes taking risks, I suppose. Besides, even the big banks are looking a bit bloated and complacent now, especially since the housing market has basically hit a wall. 😢😲😁

urbanotter said:Exactly!

It really just comes down to whether political decisions are sound or flawed.

And more often than not, we seem to be making the wrong calls.😉

Pegging our currency to another one is a purely political maneuver, and honestly, there's mounting evidence that it was a mistake from the start.

I don't think you'll find many examples globally where a nation with its own monetary sovereignty would choose to tie itself so tightly to a foreign currency, going through all that effort just to maintain a fixed exchange rate.

Usually, you only see that kind of thing in some unstable banana republic or a developing nation in Africa.

I recall reading about a period when Winston Churchill was serving as the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the United Kingdom, and he pushed for the pound to be pegged to gold. It nearly tanked the entire economy. The poor guy was operating under what sounds like sound logic—that money should represent real value, and gold is "real." But let's be honest, gold is only "fictional" real. In terms of actual utility, bread, meat, electricity, or olive oil are far more "real" than a hunk of metal sitting in a vault...!

rowdyranger44 said:urbanotter, there aren’t any easy fixes here, no magic tricks where you pull a rabbit out of a hat to solve everything. If you start cranking up the printing presses, you’re essentially murdering the savers while simultaneously handing current debtors a massive break through internal devaluation. It’s a massacre either way. Someone is bound to get slaughtered before we can establish a new equilibrium that actually aligns with how competitive the American economy is on the global stage.

Printing money would only be a justifiable move if it were funneled directly into projects with rapid returns—things that export goods and services to foreign markets. Dumping that cash into infrastructure? That’s a total catastrophe. It creates this pathetic illusion of reducing national debt, when in reality, you're just stripping away the wealth of anyone actually producing something tangible.

Of course it isn't simple. Money printing has to be moderate—it should serve as a LOAN to those who are actually thinking ahead or INCREASING production!
It absolutely shouldn't be used, for instance, to fund something like a massive bridge project.
Because that kind of thing is an investment with a very, very, very long horizon and a painfully slow return on investment!

Example:

And here is the commentary at the bottom:


The only real argument against non-credit-based money issuance is the fear of driving up inflation. However, it's quite obvious that when you have a small government deficit (say, under 5% of the total money supply), there's no real reason to fear runaway inflation, especially since the multiplier effect has a much stronger impact on inflation rates than the mere existence of non-credit issuance. To put it plainly, it's absurd to claim that we must forbid the state from issuing money "in the name of fighting inflation." De facto, a monetary system built entirely on debt is nothing more than a giant Ponzi scheme, because debtors can only settle their obligations if new debtors enter the fray, creating the new deposits required to pay off the old ones. For this to work, you need an infinite credit expansion—essentially exponentially growing debt. Since we all know that "credit expansion" cannot last forever, you inevitably hit a wall where the "credit bubble" bursts, leading to mass foreclosures, bankruptcies, liquidity crises, and eventually a complete economic breakdown characterized by rising unemployment and a descent into debt slavery. It is glaringly obvious that a debt-only monetary model is unsustainable in the long run; in such a model, debt must grow exponentially just to keep the system solvent. Yet, since the money supply grows more slowly in this model (because interest rates on loans are always significantly higher than interest on deposits), such a model is doomed to a credit crisis. Unfortunately, informal power structures tied to banking cartels have managed to impose this exact model. They've insisted on a system where the state is forbidden from issuing real money to cover deficits, while banks are simultaneously allowed to issue non-existent money in the form of debt. That is the heart of the problem. Is the purpose of money strictly to create debt, or is it to facilitate the exchange of goods, drive economic growth, and maintain a sustainable monetary model? Think about how new money enters circulation—either through the issuance of real money by the state or through the credit multiplication performed by banks. I believe it makes much more sense for the state, which holds a monopoly on issuing currency, to be able to issue real money, while simultaneously curbing the credit multiplication practiced by banks. Furthermore, the way banks multiply money prevents the state from controlling the money supply and managing targeted inflation, simply because banks have the power to conjure money out of thin air. Now we reach the "core of the matter," the question of all questions. There is a practical conflict here: non-credit issuance by the state and money multiplication by banks cannot coexist peacefully. Why? Because if the budget deficit is 5% of the total money supply, theoretical inflation should also sit around 5% (if the state covers the deficit by increasing the money supply by 5%). However, if banks have the ability to multiply money, they can simulate a much larger influx of cash than what is actually happening. In our current model, they can effectively double the money supply by creating multiplied deposits and their associated credit extensions. In other words, instead of 5%, inflation hits 10%. And once inflation climbs past the 8% mark, its effect on the economy shifts from positive to destructive. Many wonder what the fundamental issue with the monetary system is, or how to find a solution. To understand why the current model is broken, one must recognize the necessity of non-credit issuance—the idea that a portion of money should not enter circulation solely as debt. Without non-credit money issuance, a credit crisis is inevitable because, in a debt-only model, debt will always outpace the growth of the money supply.

I honestly have no clue where that commenter is pulling those 5% inflation numbers from! I mean, it’s not rocket science—even ten years ago, it seemed obvious to me that the government should be printing money specifically to fund industrial production and stimulate growth. But to suggest we'd see an annual inflation rate—basically a devaluation of the Dollar—hitting that infamous 5% mark? Give me a break!

urbanotter said:Right now, the Federal Reserve's foreign exchange reserves sit at roughly $11 to $12 billion, which serves as a cushion they can tap into whenever they need to intervene if the dollar starts getting too strong.
They also step in to buy up currency if the dollar’s value starts to drop too low.

That $47 billion debt wasn't used to build up those reserves; it was allocated toward entirely different purposes.

If we were strictly using newly printed money just to buy up foreign currencies, then sure, we'd run into issues.

But when that capital is actually deployed toward things like payroll, taxes, supplies, and the various operational costs of the specific projects that triggered the issuance in the first place, the math changes. In that scenario, you wouldn't see a surplus of cash flooding the market; instead, most of it stays right here within the domestic economy, which tends to stimulate demand and ultimately drives up production.

The tourists who come down to my place for summer vacation always look at the US economy and scratch their heads: the economy is basically stuck in neutral, yet the dollar is somehow stronger than the Euro!!

And honestly, I’d just tell them: the dollar is just paper, and paper can be bent to any shape. It's completely shackled to whatever political whims decide to move it!😢😲😁

Thanks for the advice. To give you some context, I’m dealing with a house out on an island where there isn't even a municipal water system. A lot of folks around here skipped out on payments because they figured it was pointless—why pay for service you aren't actually getting? They just didn't realize sooner that this isn't about maintaining local water infrastructure at all; it's really just a specific tax that goes by a slightly different name. It feels just as absurd as telling someone living in rural Kansas they have to pay a coastal management fee for the Pacific Ocean.

So, what’s the actual drill when you want to contest an enforcement order?
Here’s the situation—I just got hit with an enforcement notice regarding some local utility fees. Now, look, I’ll admit I was behind on those payments back before 2005, but since then, I’ve been paying everything religiously. Every single year, though, I’d get one of those stern notices in the mail: "per our official records, you owe amount yxqw." From what I understand about American statute of limitations laws, those utility claims should have expired after three years. So now I'm wondering how the whole appeals process actually works. Should I go through the hassle of scanning every single old receipt I have, or is it better to just demand a full payment history from the City Hall?

Michael Roberts9 said:I’m telling you, the devil is inside me, whispering, "Look how great life is, check out those curves, look at those asses..." *slurp* 🙂 🙂 🙂

Man, forget about trying to understand women!!!
You can only feel them!!!

And if your heart is crooked, women will just get even worse for you!!!

My bad, guys 😉

Has Solomon's "Song of Solomon" actually been translated into American English? 😁

Michael Roberts9 said:Yeah, I was checking out 🙂 🙂 scrolling through the White Lotus by Osh and stumbled onto some serious wisdom...

"They say Moses' face glowed when he caught a glimpse of God up in the mountains. His face became so radiant that he actually had to cover it, putting a veil over his face. He came back to his people wearing that veil. They were confused and asked him, 'Why are you covering your face?' And Moses replied: 'Because it became so bright, so full of light, and I don't want to look holier than everyone else.' That’s what true holiness is. 'I don't want to prove I'm superior to others, but my face is so filled with light that if I walked among you without a veil, everyone would think I was chosen, that God descended into me, or that my heart was touched and transformed by God.' It's a beautiful story, incredibly significant—that's how the holy always lived: behind a veil. They live like ordinary human beings; that's the point of the story. It doesn't mean they literally hide their faces—you don't need to do that. It's not about hiding, because that just draws even more attention to you."

"You'd expect Buddha to let women into his circle more easily than Mahavira did. But Mahavira allowed them in without any hesitation—not once did he say no. On the day the first woman asked him, he initiated her immediately, just like he did with the men. Yet Buddha kept turning women away for another ten years. His own disciples kept pushing him to change. They’d cry and wail, 'This isn't right!' and he’d just respond, 'I'll think about it.'"

"You can only grasp what you can meet on the level you currently exist. There was this Zen teacher who got caught stealing small things a few times. He was a highly respected teacher, so his students asked him: 'Why are you doing these ridiculous things? What's the point of all this? We're ready to give you whatever you want—you don't have to steal!' But the teacher would just smile and say nothing. He'd get hauled off to jail for a few days, and as soon as he got out, he'd do it again. Near the end of his life, his students finally asked, 'Please, tell us your secret!' And the teacher answered: 'The secret is simple. I wanted to help prisoners in the cell, and they could only understand me if I was a prisoner just like them. There was no other way to help them. I had to drop down to their level so I could help them rise up to mine.'"

Maybe my distant cousin is a sort of undercover female teacher. He’s a professor at a local school, makes a decent salary (he's 54), isn't married, and still lives with his parents. But he loves swiping candy bars from big-box retailers like Walmart. Mind you, he’s never actually been caught. But he doesn't do it because he craves the chocolate; he does it strictly as a protest against the sheer power held by these massive retail chains. 😢😲😁

My first post of the year, so: HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013 TO EVERYONE!

stormyviper12 said:Jesus said: "The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are deemed worthy of the age to come and of the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. Truly, they can no longer die: they are equal to Angels and are children of God because they are children of the resurrection." (Luke 20:34-36)

🙂

Honestly, it’s no surprise that followers of Islam don't have much love for Christians. I mean, let’s be real—the Christian version of paradise is completely devoid of sex, 😁
which is a pretty hard sell compared to what they're promised in Islam.

Michael Roberts9 said:Basically, Osho is saying they’re boring if you’re watching them 🙂 because you're expecting some big, spectacular show, but instead it's just silence and peace... You think they're about to drop some massive truth bomb or something, but then they just end up rambling some nonsense 😉

So, picture this: this great prophet is out there, just pounding the pavement—running and running without any sign of stopping. And he’s got this whole entourage of disciples trailing right behind him, keeping pace, totally locked in. Then, all of a sudden, he just stops dead in his tracks. Naturally, everyone behind him hits the brakes too. They’re all standing there, eyes wide, leaning in, probably expecting some profound, life-altering revelation or some deep spiritual epiphany. And what does he do? He just turns around and tells them, "Look, I'm sick to death of all this running. I'm going home." And then you have these followers—and honestly, they act like such cowards—just standing there panicking, wondering what the hell they're supposed to do now that their guru isn't leading the charge anymore. It's pathetic, really. 😢😲😁

I was sitting around earlier—just one of those slow afternoons where you find yourself spiraling down a Wikipedia rabbit hole—and I ended up reading through the entire history of *Forrest Gump*. Honestly, it’s one of those films that people either absolutely adore or they just can't stand, and frankly, I think both sides have a point. It’s such a massive piece of American cinema, isn't it? The movie itself is basically a whirlwind of 20th-century American history seen through the eyes of this incredibly simple, yet somehow profoundly impactful, man. You’ve got everything in there—the Vietnam War, the civil rights movement, even those weird moments with Elvis Presley—all tied together by this guy who just happens to be in the right place at the right time. It’s almost frustrating how much luck plays into his life, which makes me wonder if we’re all just drifting aimlessly while he accidentally stumbles into greatness. It’s funny, because back when it came out in '94, it felt like this grand, sweeping epic that captured the soul of the country. But looking back now, through a modern lens, some of the themes feel a bit... well, let's call them "uncomplicated." It’s a sentimental journey, for sure. I remember watching it in a theater in Chicago back in the mid-nineties—the air was thick with popcorn and nostalgia—and seeing everyone react to Forrest’s journey. There was this palpable sense of shared experience, even if the movie does lean heavily into that "destiny" trope that some critics love to rail against. Is it a masterpiece? Is it overly saccharine? It’s probably a bit of both. But you can't deny its place in the American cultural landscape. It’s one of those movies that stays with you, even if you spend half the runtime rolling your eyes at the sheer coincidence of it all. Just a thought..)

George Sullivan88 said:The room was quite small, and because the light source was positioned so far away, everything felt a bit swallowed by the shadows; I simply spun around, lunged toward safety, and pulled the covers tight over myself. I didn't manage to drift off until somewhere around 4 or 5 in the morning, truth be told, as I was gripped by such an intense sense of dread. There was this sudden, jarring movement, almost as if something heavy had just tumbled out of the darkness, though nothing actually fell; when I looked up, there was just this strange flash reflecting off the closet door. I scrambled back into bed, feeling so shaken that I was nearly moved to tears 😢

Now you’ve gone and spooked me, too. Ever since I was fifteen, I’ve had this nagging fear that my closet doors are going to swing wide open in the middle of the night. 😢😲
Indeed, they haven't actually opened on me yet.
Someone else actually went through something pretty similar to yours:

George Sullivan88 said:I was attempting to settle in for the night quite late yesterday, having finally turned in, when I experienced the most unsettling sensation as my closet door simply swung open on its own accord; at first, I foolishly assumed perhaps a stack of clothes had merely tumbled down, but that wasn't the case at all, as a sudden, piercing flash of light momentarily blinded me, prompting me to scramble back under the covers and hide my head beneath the blankets

Was it merely the headlights of a passing car on the street outside catching the window at that exact millisecond, or could it have been an actual spirit manifesting itself in my room? I truly cannot say, though I am certain the atmosphere felt incredibly strange, especially since the temperature in the bedroom plummeted so sharply despite the central heating being set quite high

Since that peculiar occurrence, I have found myself feeling rather unsettled by the whole affair, so I must ask, has anyone else here ever encountered something similar to this? 🤷

It’s kind of bizarre that you ran straight for the bed. If that were me, I would have flipped every single light switch in the house.

I can't tell if it was just the glare from a passing car on the street right at that moment or if it was an actual ghost—who knows? All I know is it felt incredibly strange, and the room turned freezing cold despite the heater being cranked up.

It's been weighing on my mind ever since; has anyone else dealt with anything similar? 🤷

You really should have looked closer at how that closet door opened. Was it a smooth movement, or did it feel forced?
And you ought to have checked the temperature with a thermometer on the wall.
My own experiences have been a bit different, to be honest: http://www.forum.com/showpost.php?p=3...&postcount=138

By the way, you could have shared your full story over here: http://www.forum.com/showthread.php?t=177508&page=313

Michael Roberts9 said:One day we’ll finally get those answers when Jesus shows up in all His glory 🙂
Osho reminded me that I once dug into Tantra—it’s top-tier insight. Honestly, I can't recall a single word from it, but the vibe stuck, and that's where I caught the essence... I even had a realization: you don't need to grind so hard, you just have to channel everything you've got inward. Truth is, Osho is way sharper than me; he just calls it like he sees it while I'm still stumbling around blind... he definitely won this one 😉

But look, you’ve gotta cry out to God. It’s written that you need to return to Him with your whole heart, and coming from Osho, that hits way harder 😉
I’ve done exactly what I described above and it worked for me. I had my reasons to go that route, but does anyone else feel like they need to?

Enough with all the endless theorizing. It’s high time we actually put this into practice! I mean, seriously—how does one actually pray correctly? Who are we talking to, and what's the actual protocol? Is there some kind of "casual" way to do it while you're just going about your day? For instance, at my office, I usually have a sung Mass playing in the background during my eight-hour shift. But, well... let's just say my coworkers aren't exactly the most spiritually engaged crowd. So, most of the time, it ends up being a total solo mass for me. Just me and the music.
And besides, there are plenty of prayers out there—here’s one that’s more for the recreational side of things: I’ve been sitting here thinking about this whole mess—really chewing on it—and I can't help but feel like we're just circling the drain of our own making. It’s one of those things where you think you see the pattern, you think you’ve finally grasped the underlying structure of the chaos, only to realize you were looking at a shadow on the wall. And honestly? It’s exhausting. I was reading some old stuff the other day—nothing too heavy, just some reflections on how we perceive reality—and it struck me how much we struggle with the concept of "being." We spend so much energy trying *to be* something specific, trying to force a certain identity or status, that we completely miss the actual experience of existence. It’s like trying to catch water with a net; the harder you squeeze, the more you lose. There’s this idea in some spiritual circles—not that I’m preaching here, mind you—but even when you look at the teachings of someone like Osho, there's this constant push toward presence. But instead, we gravitate toward this frantic, restless energy. We want the ecstasy without the discipline. We want the destination without the walk. It’s a fundamental flaw in how we approach life in America today—this obsession with the "next thing" that prevents us from ever actually arriving. I remember back when I was living in Chicago—just a kid really, full of misplaced confidence—I thought I had my entire philosophy figured out. I spent months convinced that if I just followed a specific set of rules, everything would click into place. Pure arrogance, looking back. I was trying to legislate my way into peace. You can't do that. It’s not a legal contract; it's an internal shift. It reminds me of what Michael Roberts9 was saying earlier—that sense of frustration when the external world refuses to align with our internal expectations. It’s maddening. You do everything "right," you follow the steps, you play by the rules, and yet the universe seems to be laughing at you. But maybe that laughter is the point? Maybe the friction is exactly what we need to wake up? If everything went smoothly, we’d all just drift off into a permanent, mindless stupor. We need the resistance to know we’re even alive. It’s a tough pill to swallow, especially when you're in the middle of the grind, but there's a certain grim necessity to it.

Let’s just be real for a second—Osho is clearly miles ahead of both you and me. It’s written all over this picture: I honestly can't wrap my head around why people still cling to these outdated notions—it’s almost exhausting to watch. I was sitting in a coffee shop in Seattle the other day, just minding my own business, when I overheard this guy trying to lecture someone about "tradition" as if that somehow justifies being completely wrong about how the world actually works. It’s the same pattern, really. We see it all the time in these discussions. People get so caught up in their little bubbles that they lose sight of the bigger picture—the actual reality of things. They argue over minutiae while missing the forest for the trees. And frankly, it’s frustrating. You try to bring up a logical point, a grounded perspective, and suddenly you're the one being unreasonable? Please. It takes a certain kind of stubbornness to ignore what's right in front of your face. We need to move past this constant need for validation through old, tired ideas and start looking at things with a bit more clarity. If we don't, we're just spinning our wheels in the sand. Anyway, that's just my two cents—not that anyone ever seems to want to hear a reasoned argument around here.

Michael Roberts9 said:Osho basically called me out, telling me to get my act together before he breaks every bone in my body! Honestly, I’m not exactly a scholar when it comes to this stuff, and I read way too fast to catch everything. But man, Our Father... that prayer is such a powerful spiritual law. Looking back, my last few prayers felt incredibly selfish. I used to actually pray for others when I was a kid—I was pure back then...

The back of the book says *Lives of the Saints* by Swami Sivananda... So, what defines a saint? According to him, it's someone who lives in God or the Eternal. Someone stripped of ego, people-pleasing, intolerance, selfishness, vanity, possessiveness, greed, and rage. A saint is someone gifted with an equal vision of all beings, a balanced mind, mercy, tolerance, justice, and cosmic love, possessing divine knowledge. Sivananda nailed that description. And he writes pretty incredible things about Jesus, saying He lived in India as a young man and acted as an Eastern yogi. Whether that's true or not, he recognized His teachings just like I recognize the truth in all faiths. Look, I'm no genius, I just love hearing myself talk. I guess I lacked 🙂 so go ahead, vote for me 😉

But Osho actually said it—about those saints—that they’re just incredibly boring people! 😲

Actually, my friend's mother went through all of this right at the end of her life—she had Alzheimer’s, so she was essentially living like a plant. It sounds strange, I know, but she was completely stripped of everything that usually makes people difficult... you know, the egoism, the constant need to please others, that unbearable irritability, selfishness, vanity, possessiveness, greed, and all that bitter resentment. She just wasn't there anymore.😲

Michael Roberts9 said:Look, anyone who actually wants it—or even someone who tried before and finally found the drive again—can hit holiness in just 40 days if they commit to the spiritual path. I’ve also heard this theory that if you stay mindful of your breath 24/7, just constantly feeling every inhale and exhale (I mean, what's the big deal there?), you'll reach enlightenment. Honestly, I can't deal with that; I don't even have the time... Anyway, you’ve gotta strip away every single distraction and excess you feel pulling at you. A spiritual hermit will find their way in no time if they listen to me... I actually experienced holiness for the first time back when I was with my old flame and my current wife; we both got swept up in it that night... Our voices didn't even sound like ours anymore, they were so much more beautiful! Truly... and our eyes weren't even ours either! They looked way better, like they were glowing! We didn't even need words because our senses were so dialed in, we were basically swimming through that world.... I did it a couple more times with weed, but nothing like that since...

So yeah, you both should try smoking weed, kind of like how you'd feel after you grab a few 🙂 because I've felt it that way myself, but it's definitely not the real thing 😛

Only 40 days. That sounds absolutely fantastic. Meanwhile, I’ve been grinding away with these TMA-style mantras for 32 years now. 😢😲😁
Maybe I'm just praying wrong?

I'm genuinely curious about this "high-speed" prayer technique. Assuming, of course, it doesn't involve weed. Or sacramental copulation 😕

electrictinker26 said:We'll either figure it out or reach some sort of enlightenment where it won't matter anymore. I once sat in on a lecture by a spiritual teacher who mentioned he used to work sixteen-hour days back in the day. He hit a point where he felt completely broken—just praying for a way out because he couldn't go on. But he pushed through it, grit his teeth, and kept moving. He told us that once he crossed that threshold, everything became easy; he had essentially transcended the feeling of exhaustion itself.🙂

It reminds me of a story about my late great-grandmother—she passed away back in '49—who spent her entire life working the fields from sunrise to sunset. She worked herself right into an early grave because her heart just gave out from the sheer physical toll of it all. And look, it wasn't even like she had some obsessive compulsion to work; it was just how things were. In a sense, she transcended life itself.

Jacob Sanchez7 said:Buddha didn't pick that specific path because it was objectively "the best." All paths hold equal value; it really just comes down to which one pulls at a person and which one resonates most deeply. One person follows the way of Mother Teresa, another follows Osh. It truly doesn't matter.

And you totally missed the point regarding the wood and the water. That’s an old Zen proverb.

It wasn't a misunderstanding on my part; I just chose to frame my response differently than what you see here:

poetic license 😁

casualtiger2 said:Just as I thought. Benjamin Taylor6—your little stories can be entertaining, sure, but even though you act all well-informed and worldly, judging by what you're saying about Komai and MacKenzie, you tend to twist things so they have absolutely nothing to do with the actual subject.
Right here is the manual for the basic Komai meditation technique, and the very first line under "General Instructions" reads: "Komai meditation is performed for 30-40 minutes in the morning and for the same amount in the evening."
MacKenzie meditated for hours every single day—and even now (technically) meditates while leading his courses (though my gut tells me he's basically meditating non-stop).
So, your little jabs about "tantra, beauties, and easy living"—they don't hold water.

I've already pointed out once how superficial your approach is (and apparently, you're too lazy to actually look things up), so now I'm starting to wonder if your "life stories" are even real, or if you've just "interpreted" those, too.
And really, how much have you actually grasped regarding your T-Mobile teachers, Zen Buddhism, Buddha, tantra, or anything else spiritual? 🤷

Komaja meditation is done somewhat similarly to T-Mobile. It also consists of two parts. The first part is mantra chanting, and the second is the T-Mobile siddhi program.
But there are still significant differences, because with T-Mobile, you just chant the mantra and relax—there’s no need to visualize anything, nor should you feel desire or love.
Perhaps only in that second part, where you might simply wish for certain positive things while being in a state of deep relaxation.
I’ve studied this Komaja meditation myself. But I haven't found any indication anywhere suggesting that this meditation should be practiced while your partner is sitting on your lingam. 😲
So, I couldn't quite wrap my head around why Franklin is considered a guru who devotes so much spiritual energy to sexual awareness. I was under the impression he provided specific spiritual exercises to be performed during intercourse. That’s more the style of what David Stanton describes in his books. http://www.tantra.com/books
I’ve also looked into some of the details regarding sexual magic described by M. J. Slavinski in his writings. I was supposed to travel to a nearby island this summer for it, but I didn't. First off, there was a cost involved. And second, I’m not exactly a businessman. 😁 http://cnn.com/promo/tantra-for-business-people

p.s.

By the way, "It'll Be Easy" is actually the name of a restaurant on my island: http://itllbeeasy-island.com/en
And here is something related to Tantra: http://itllbeeasy-island.com/wp-content/u...h_party_13.jpg

Jacob Sanchez7 said:We can’t be certain about much of anything. Really. The whole point of spirituality is the practice itself—taking those lofty metaphysical concepts and actually testing them against the grind of daily life. It’s simple, really. You just have to be brutally honest with yourself. Recognize when you're merely observing and when you're just getting carried away with wild extrapolations. Think critically. That’s the whole game.

You could spend your life chopping wood, making grits, strolling along the boardwalk, or even just disciplining your kid—everyone chooses what they love most. That phrase "If Buddha had known..." is such a clumsy way to put it. He knew. He knew plenty, but he chose what he chose. History is full of enlightened people; some lived like ascetics, others were materialists, but neither lifestyle adds to or subtracts from their spirituality. Before enlightenment, you chop wood and carry water. After enlightenment, you still chop wood and carry water.

That's the thing. Maybe that's exactly why Buddy's path seemed so right and appealing. Or maybe the poor guy didn't even realize there were temples out there filled with statues in all sorts of... expressive positions. He saw an ascetic and decided to follow that lead.
Personally, I'm nowhere near enlightened, so I've still got to chop wood and haul water from the well. But once I finally hit enlightenment? Well, then I'll be cranking the AC and cooking on an electric stove. Water will just flow right out of the faucet—assuming, of course, that I can actually afford the utility bill.😁

casualtiger2 said:What's the context here?

If Buddha had known you could reach God through sex, he wouldn't have gone off to live as an ascetic. He would have just married a few more beauties—and practiced tantra with them! Instead of sitting under a tree for hours and hours trying to meditirati.

Maybe this path is actually better—even more elevated—than being a tapas. Honestly, the teacher who introduced me to TM actually turned his back on that bearded Maharishi guy to pursue nirvana through sex. And get this: he actually charges people for it while teaching others. Though, not too much: http://www.nytimes.com/article/lifestyle/tantra-classes-prices-for-ecstasy

'Tantra isn't meant for those who think they can just "bang" a few women every day; it's a technique for achieving bliss through hours of sexual ecstasy.'

p.s.

I was looking at the page about Komaja, and I couldn't find any detailed instructions on how to actually empty out the tantra! ?

Angela Cox4 said:Seriously though, if that's the case, why did the Buddha spend years meditating before he actually reached enlightenment? Like, what was the point of all that sitting there?

Honestly, once this guy starts trying to buff out a brick, I’m pretty sure he’s just gonna end up hitting himself in the head—total brain melt, lol.

He clearly had no clue about Zen Koans.😁

Or even Saint Francis from Assisi.😲

Angela Cox4 said:Oh, so enlightenment is just a myth now? 🤣

Look, there are people out there who are lightyears ahead of you—way beyond me, too—and they aren't guessing; they're dead certain they know exactly what enlightenment feels like.

Maybe it was this specific guy: 😁


One afternoon, while Mazu was sitting deep in meditation, Nanyue decided to point out his fundamental weakness with some pretty sharp insight. Nanyue asked him, "What are you doing?" Mazu replied, "I am meditating." Then Nanyue pressed him, "And why?" Mazu answered, "I'm doing it so I can achieve buddhahood." Nanyue didn't say a word—he just picked up a brick and started polishing it. When Mazu asked, "What on earth are you doing?", Nanyue told him, "I am making a mirror." Mazu sat there thinking about it and finally asked, "How is it even possible for a brick to become a mirror?" And Nanyue just looked at him and said, "If you can't even polish a brick until it becomes a mirror, how do you expect to become a buddha through nothing but meditation?"