Lol. It's an education I still use to this day, but I did not pursue that god forsaken profession. I did not heed the warnings.Royal, last time you were studying hard for your accounting degree. Were you successful?
I needed something to challenge my creativity and moved on to more impactful roles.
Such a BE moveWay back in the amkon days he wanted me to fly out and meet him somewhere halfway in between us. In my heart, I am very much the quiet, bookwormy earthy person and knew there was no way in heck that BE and I would ever be an item. I declined his offer but remained very respectful of him.
what a legend. I did not agree with him on everything but respected the magic in his posts. So witty and fun to banter with."Pana, I love ya, GI Jane II, can't wait to see it." But really, I have so much mixed feelings over someone stepping into a structured religion. In one hand, you get a full experience via full commitment. In the other hand, you get an incomplete experience but greater freedom. What's driving you toward this path? Maybe you can post some reminders about ways to stay mindful? This forum can use its own Sahdguru.I am moving forward with entering into a monastery next year and take up refuge as a bhikkuhini (female buddhist nun) in the Thai Forest tradition.
I will take a look at what you guys have been about here.
Us? The unofficial philosopher kings of the internet? (*delusions of grandeur)You two were always able to carry on a murmuring discussion that went off in little leeways and great tangents.
Same. Maybe you can post? Getting tired of Pigeon's attempts to sow distrust of Government.I am sure you both are even more seasoned and worthwhile to read and listen to.
In 2015, I sold my house (city in the Canadian prairies) and went back to my home area in the Rocky Mountains. For a year I did nothing but haunt riverways, forest paths, mountain lakes, snow drifts and cry. I became very quiet and still.
Royal wrote: ↑Wed Apr 20, 2022 4:39 am
I needed something to challenge my creativity and moved on to more impactful roles.
What could be more impacting than accounting? Seriously. Accountants created writing. You have to give them that.
...and I'm DYING to know what you went into then. With a lead up like that, can you begrudge my curiosity?
Such a BE move
He had a philosophy degree and was trained in logic. Those who are, are powerful in the analytics and are worthy to watch and listen to whether one agrees with them or not. BE was the second person I've known who could walk into a discussion and it would be like watching a master boxer patiently jabbing away at a novice, destroying his game with skill. In some ways, you would feel sorry for the idiot that took them on but in other ways, it was beautiful to watch the skill unfold.
...and yeah, he was fun.
"Pana, I love ya, GI Jane II, can't wait to see it."
If one needed a symbol of everything that's wrong in western society, that incident and the immediate aftermath would be a great shoo in.
I shaved my long hair off in 2019 as part of my initial decision to take refuge. The funny things about being bald as a woman is, you no longer feel attractive and feminine (and then you have to ask yourself if you really are that shallow to feel that way), people wonder if you are have cancer and are taking treatments and if they are not wondering if you have cancer then they are wondering if you are a lesbian which then cues up that horrible feeling of not feeling feminine any longer. Going bald was a mind trip. But! I know I can do it now. I've let it grow since then but, yes, it will have to go again.
But really, I have so much mixed feelings over someone stepping into a structured religion. In one hand, you get a full experience via full commitment. In the other hand, you get an incomplete experience but greater freedom. What's driving you toward this path? Maybe you can post some reminders about ways to stay mindful? This forum can use its own Sahdguru.
I think its very dependent upon the character of the person. For some, like me, the experience of the ordained is enough. I have wanted to do it since I was eighteen but because of a million reasons didn't do it then. Instead, I went about and experience life (very unhappily!). The ordained life is the real life for me. This life out here is not real. I was never satisfied with it. It has always felt empty and meaningless for me.
For other types of people, they would see the ordained life as smothering and meaningless. For those, yes, it would not be beneficial.
I have always walked the edges of this, attending dhamma talks through the years and retreats. Reading, reading reading. But in truth, I never felt good enough for it. I felt tainted, edgy and like I had seen too much badness to fit in with 'good' people. But I never fit in out here either. Damned both ways!
The last five years, I really did some neat stuff looking at 'my story' and narrative and just letting myself be a stupid, beautiful mess (it did not feel beautiful, let me tell you!) in a dark place in the wilderness. Within all of that, I slowly started meditating more, thinking more, figuring things out and kind of piecing myself back together. In a shiny way that I can go yeah, this feels right. In 2019, I contacted the monastery via a long letter and the abbotess phoned me! I broke down in tears. Big moment for me! She was speaking in a language that only I knew from all my years of reading and could never share with anyone or when I did, they rolled their eyes. She was responding mainly to my question of asking if I'm too old to become a bhikkuhini. (Nope) and she gave some alternative ways of going about things. Then Covid hit. At the time, I was living in a backwater prairie town (that I had moved to to get away from the city) that was highly christian conservative and working at an addictions treatment centre. I had my house to get rid of which I did just after Covid hit and moved back into the city to be closer to my type of buddhism. I follow the Thai Forest Monk tradition and it only has 5 women's monasteries in the world. There is a hermitage in Ontario (I'm in Manitoba) and it was the abbotess of this place that I had been speaking to.During covid, everything closed down, including the monasteries so I'm behind on my game plan. I'm going to wait until next year. Currently working and quietly plodding along.
The buddhism I follow is not sexy nor is it westernized. When buddhism is brought up over here, people tend to think of mindfulness, chanting and namastes. Psychology has hijacked a lot of buddhist tools for healing but left out the equally important values and ethics. I tend not to say much about it unless people show an interest. Even then, I kind of just say, hey, you might want to check out this Ajahn (teacher) or read this because well, it's personal and what is right for one might not be right for another!
...cont...
I will take a look at what you guys have been about here.
Us? The unofficial philosopher kings of the internet? (*delusions of grandeur)You two were always able to carry on a murmuring discussion that went off in little leeways and great tangents.
Same. Maybe you can post? Getting tired of Pigeon's attempts to sow distrust of Government.I am sure you both are even more seasoned and worthwhile to read and listen to.
